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The game had just begun; that’s how Joey felt, at least, until it all came to an abrupt, humiliating end. Kaiba hadn't even tried while Joey had given his all. It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair.
Later that night, as everyone sat around the campfire making small talk and laughing, Joey sat as far from his friends as possible without drawing attention to himself, going over the duel in his mind over and over again. Where had he gone wrong? He'd been doing really well in this tournament. He'd beaten Rex Raptor for cripes sake! He'd beaten Mai Valentine! He wasn't just some amateur anymore. He was an official duelist. He was a great duelist.
"Hey, Joey, are you okay?"
Snapping out of his reverie, Joey gave his friends as big a fake smile he could manage. “Sure, Yug. I’m just fine.” His hands fidgeted with each other, unable to remain still in his lap. He was sure that everyone noticed his agitation, but instead of the outcry of support he expected, everyone just turned back to their own conversations, leaving Joey to his thoughts.
His friends meant more to him than anything else in the world, but he couldn’t help wishing that they hadn’t seen his failure. He knew that they didn’t judge him for losing, but a sense of helplessness washed over him, leaving him paralyzed. What if he wasn’t as good as he thought he was? What if everyone was just humoring him, telling him he was doing well while they secretly laughed at him? What if he really was just a mongrel, like Kaiba said?
Joey shook his head. No. None of that was true. Losing one duel to someone with as much dueling history under his belt as Seto Kaiba didn’t matter; after all, Joey hadn’t been dueling for very long, and the fact that he’d beaten two top notch duelists showed that maybe he had a chance at winning this whole thing after all.
But the only reason he’d won those duels in the first place had been because of Yugi’s advice and constant cheerleading. Without Yugi, he wouldn’t even be here. Without Yugi, he’d still be back at home like the useless little (“Don’t say it, don’t say it, don’t say it!”) dog that he was. He cast a sidelong glance at his friend, his heart welling up with admiration and pride, while his head filled itself with venomous abuse.
I’m so worthless. I don’t deserve to be here; not with great duelists like Yug and Kaiba running around. I never should have come here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Everyone else had long since gone to sleep, but Joey found himself tossing and turning, his mind refusing to give him any sort of peace. After a while, he sat up with a frustrated sigh, running a hand over his face. He knew that he needed to get some rest, but there was no stopping the constant replays from earlier.
He saw that the fire was dying and noted the chill in the air; he looked to his sleeping friends and saw how they curved in on themselves in an effort to preserve body heat. He vaguely remembered some cold nights without blankets from back home with his father and how he’d woken up with his body sore from curling into a ball.
Rising to his feet, Joey took off his jacket and placed it over Tea’s legs. She was, after all, the one wearing the least amount of clothing. A look of relief passed over her sleeping face, making Joey smile. If he could help his friends, then all of this would be worth it - even if he didn’t win the prize money for his sister.
He added some kindling to the fire, warming his now bare arms. The dry sticks popped and crackled as they were consumed by the flames, an action that Joey couldn’t help but feel connected to; ever since he and Yugi had become friends, he’d felt as though he’d been filled with an entirely new spirit, one that was more bold, one that was more willing to go out of its way to ensure the safety and happiness of others. The friendship of one boy had changed his life so completely, and he knew that he was better for it.
“Joey? What’re you doing up, man?”
Joey looked over his shoulder at Tristan, who was sitting up and rubbing his eyes. “I couldn’t sleep. Sorry if I woke you.”
Tristan shook his head. “Naw, man, you didn’t wake me. I was having some trouble sleeping, too.” His friend stood, stretching and yawning. “What’s up?”
Joey looked back at the fire, resting his chin on his hand. “I dunno, man. I just feel kinda lost right now, I guess.” He sighed as his friend plopped down next to him, their knees bumping together as Tristan sat criss cross.
“Because you lost to Kaiba?”
Joey gave Tristan a look out of the corner of his eye. “How’d you guess, genius?”
Tristan shrugged, a small smile crossing his face. “It’s not hard to tell. You’ve been pouting ever since you lost.”
“I have not,” came Joey’s too quick response, his hand slapping over his mouth too little too late. Tristan laughed, earning a glare.
“Hate to break it to you, dude, but you’ve been looking like a kicked puppy all night. Everyone noticed.”
Heat rose in Joey’s cheeks. He hadn’t realised just how obviously upset he'd looked. “Yeah, well,” he started lamely, "you'd be upset, too, if you lost a duel to a jerk like Kaiba.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Tristan conceded, placing a hand on Joey’s shoulder, “but I didn’t duel anyone, so I’m allowed to laugh at you.”
“Eh, come on, man!”
A fight broke out between them, though without the usual uproar - they knew better than to wake up their friends - complete with headlocks and half nelsons and friendly tackling and lips brushing across earlobes and -
And….
Joey hadn’t realized that Tristan was on top of him until he noticed just how warm his whole body felt and just how brown Tristan’s eyes were and just how close their lips were. Joey’s face heated up once more.
“Tristan….”
“Oh! Yeah, sorry, dude.”
As Tristan rolled off of him, Joey found he missed the heat from the other’s body already. He ignored the feeling, sitting up and laughing awkwardly.
“What was that about, man?” Joey made sure his voice was as exasperated as he felt, though his exasperation was more due to - to what, exactly? To not getting to beat up his friend more? To no longer being underneath him? To not getting a - a -
“Come on, Joey, don’t be like that.”
“Be like what?”
“Don’t get all butthurt because I totally had you pinned.”
“I was totally going to get out of it! You just didn’t give me enough time!”
A smile crossed Tristan’s face. It was a very knowing smile. Joey’s heart fluttered in his throat at that smile. “I think you’re butthurt because you wanted to kiss me.”
Joey balked. “N-no!”
Tristan practically giggled. “You totally are.”
“Tristan - ”
“You wanted to kiss me, dude! Don’t even pretend that you didn’t!”
Joey couldn’t believe that Tristan had noticed. Was he really that obvious? There was no way this could be happening. Not to him. Not now. Not in the middle of this huge tournament with so much on the line. Not with Yugi and Tea asleep a few feet away from them.
“Tristan, come on man, just drop i- ”
Tristan’s lips were now on his cheek, bringing Joey’s train of thought to a screeching halt; his lips were soft on his skin, and warm, and - oh lord, he was being kissed by his best friend on the cheek and he wanted more than just a kiss on the cheek.
“Well,” Tristan asked, just a breath away, “was that what you wanted?”
Joey couldn’t answer right away. His mind was reeling; he remembered how he and Tristan had made it through middle school together, how Tristan had been there for him no matter what, even when he was being a jerk. Tristan had always been there, even before Yugi and Tea.
“Yeah,” he whispered, turning his head to face Tristan head on, “it was.”
And then their lips met in a tender kiss. The two boys leaned in closer to each other, hands reaching up to hold each other’s faces. One of Joey’s hands rested on Tristan’s shoulder while the other slid up his face and into his hair. Tristan gave a little moan, his grip on Joey’s hip tightening.
“Tristan….”
Joey couldn’t help gasping as Tristan laid back, bringing Joey down on top of him.
“Joey.”
They stared into each other’s eyes, their breath mingling between them, their hearts beating in tandem to a furious tattoo that thrummed through the pair of them. It was electric, making the hairs on the back of Joey’s neck stand up. Just as they were about to start another session of furious making out, a noise broke them from their reverie; Bakura had started to stir, rolling over and grumbling to himself. Joey sat bolt upright, staring at Bakura until he lay still once more.
“Come on, let’s go back to sleep.”
Looking back to his friend, Joey noted the smile that was in his eyes. He looked content, like the experience they’d just shared brought him some peace. Joey noticed, too, that his own mind had quieted, no longer tormenting him over his loss. His mind’s eye was now consumed by Tristan, something that made Joey smile. He knew that he could fall asleep now; maybe tomorrow this would all seem like it was just a dream.