Not Boyfriend (Part 2)

DIMENSION: ANIME (The One that Pays to Save the Day)

Bakura didn't look upset with the boyfriend question. He got off his bike and went right toward him. Tristan wasn't scared, he didn't have any powers anymore. He could take him if he had to. "That's against the rules. Masika and Téa agreed that no one would ask. If no one asked, then the question goes unanswered."

Hmm. That wasn't a friend vibe at all. "Well I just asked."

"Oh please don't!" His friend Bakura came over to the darker one. "I just heard what you ask, and you shouldn't do that. It's not your business, and it's not your deal," Bakura warned him. "It is for Masika and Téa to know."

"Oh, but you know." It was obvious his friend Bakura knew.

"Look. Ancient Egypt is not like now," his friend Bakura insisted. "Things were different. Relationships were different."

Damn these guys. "Are you getting it on with Masika when she is Téa or not?"

"Don't ask that!" His friend Bakura looked serious.

Well? "I don't think I have to ask. I think I got my answer." ///Tristan: Poor Yugi. He needs to pull himself out of the friend zone if he wants this to stop./// Tristan knew now. Yugi couldn't bury his head in the sand about it.

"Not in this time," the Dark Bakura actually answered him. "Not in this time."

Oh? Good, Masika was respecting boundaries. Although, his friend Bakura looked horrified at the evil one. He obviously knew, what was that about?

"In Ancient Egypt,-"

"Stop, Dark Bakura-"

"-I had Téa too, but I wasn't-"

"You!"

"-boyfriend."

Huh? Tristan watched his friend Bakura turn around and practically start to pace. "Not a boyfriend?"

"No. You see, Téa remembers being Masika. Ancient Egyptian memories are all wound up in her too. They are distant, farther away, and she is a different part with a different personality. But they were once, one. And they were more than once, both mine physically."

"Then you were a boyfriend."

"No," he insisted. "I'm a friend. I wasn't jealous if others were taking them in pleasure. I was usually the one instigating it."

" . . . what?!"

"it's like training," his friend Bakura said. "Oh, that sounds horrible! But? They . . . were slaves, Tristan. That means that they had to follow their owner's wishes. Husband's wishes. Whoever owned them. They couldn't yell or say no," he said softly. "He just showed them how to survive the easiest."

Oh . . . Tristan nodded. "I get it."

"Don't tell Yugi!" his friend Bakura said to him. "Téa doesn't want him to ever know a lot of details. He knows she knows Ancient Egypt. She was supposed to tell him soon, but she was going to act more like Bakura was just a boyfriend on the side." He glared at the evil Bakura. "You are the first person he told in more vivid detail."

"That's no detail," the evil Bakura insisted. "I'm not going to pull that card out on them."

"Surprising," Tristan said to him. "You've pulled off a lot more than that without any conscience." He watched the evil Bakura walk away.

"Just, don't mention this again," his friend Bakura said, still not being overly sweet. "Night, Tristan."

Right. "Night. Night?!" He looked at his watch. Oh man. "Shoot, dinner and Serenity!" How much time did he waste on this? ///Tristan: Okay, I just have to go home and take a shower. Change clothes and fix up my hair. Then I'll just head over and meet her in her room to see where we are heading to. No problem.///

---

Tristan's Place

After he was almost ready (don't forget deodorant) he answered his phone. "Hey, Joey."

"Tristan. You gonna be there tomorrow when she arrives?"

Ah yes, Joey would be back, but with Mai. "You know I'm there for you, Buddy."

"I want you there, but don't be there if you are going to say anything bad to Mai. I've already gotta tell her about . . . you know, the card."

Tristan rolled his eyes. "These payments. It's not fair."

"Yeah, I know. Yugi and Atem and Téa. Now me and Mai."

Oh, that wasn't all Joey. He wasn't going to tell him over the phone, Yugi wanted to tell him face-to-face about Serenity. Serenity just couldn't bear to tell him all about it. She shouldn't have to either, nothing was her fault. Just that terrible smelling God's Brew. He swore he could still smell it in his nose. "How could anyone drink that God's Brew? It smelled disgusting."

"Nah, I liked it. Nostalgic. Wait, how'd you get your hands on some?" Joey asked him. "That stuff is real rare."

"Rare and stinky."

"Where'd you get it from?"

Oh. "Kaiba."

"You snuck a drink of Kaiba's, huh? Yeah, it kind of lulls you to it. Real strange."

Let him believe what he wanted. "I gotta go, Joey, I'm meeting Serenity for dinner." And more, but that was best left out for now. "If I show up, I promise to be good."

"If you show up?"

"I'll see you soon afterward if I can't."

"Can't you just get over it? It wasn't even your soul."

"Yeah, it was yours, which is . . ." ///Tristan: Which is why I don't get why you can get over it. She stole your soul, Joey!/// Ugh. Even though the God's Brew was to blame, Joey wouldn't have ever been anywhere near Mai if it wasn't for wanting to stay beside her to protect her.

"Fine. Then, I'll see you afterward, Tristan."

"You'll see Yugi either way. He's got some stuff to share with you," Tristan told him as he ran a comb through one last time. "Alright, I gotta go. See ya, Joey." He grabbed his keys and wallet.

----

Game Shop

"Sorry, we were cutting it kind of close," Téa apologized as her and Yugi entered the game shop. Masika just gave her a look. "Up to our room for the night." She went up the stairs with Masika tagging along.

"You didn't tell him."

"I did, but-"

"-you caved-"

"I don't want to hurt Yugi. And? I feel like he's right," Téa said as she went in her room with Masika. "It's really about friendship and trust, so it can't be a bad thing if he's picked. We should give it the whole amount of time to solve the puzzle of what happens. Three months is three months."

Masika bitterly sat on her bed. "Of course, I knew it."

She did? "How did you know?"

"Atem was very at ease."

Huh?! "You didn't tell him?"

"I didn't give him any fine details, and he won't tell Yugi."

"Yugi sort of heard it." Not all of it. "Close enough." Dang. "Are you getting along better with Atem?"

"Ebonnee is still so fearful. She won't leave this room until he is safely gone or in his own," Masika answered. "Still? He played Connect Four with me."

Téa smiled. "I'm glad to see you are making an effort."

Masika sighed. "You are the vessel."

Oh? Was she finally going to start to cave? "So? Yugi?"

"No, I never agreed to that," Masika said to her, "I just know that it will not be easy to get you to see reason with your feelings for Yugi."

Yeah. "He's a really good friend."

"Friend, yes. He is." She stood back up. "If a robber actually came in here with Yugi and Dark Bakura in the same room, you know which you would run to first. The same one we always did."

Téa made a cutting motion with her hand. What if Yugi overheard her? She looked out the door. The guys weren't coming up yet. She closed the door. "Joey comes tomorrow. Yugi wants to talk to him privately first, so you can stay here tomorrow. Grandpa can help if they are gone awhile. You'll meet Mai later again, I'm sure."

"Yes, Téa. I will stay," she answered. "Yugi and Atem can have a day with their friend, I don't mind. But? Do you feel something strange?" She looked toward Téa.

Téa looked back. She looked at the necklace. There was a feeling that she should check it, but she didn't want to. "We don't need to know. Things can change anyway." She didn't touch her necklace, just lied down in bed. "Goodnight, Masika."