I am half convinced that I'm going to kill Joey by the end of this if he doesn't stop meddling in my affairs. It's already bad enough that he and Yami have suddenly started talking about my love life with one another, both finding particular interest in the topic of the identity of my mystery romance. Walking into that conversation was almost heart attack inducing. 

   Finding Yami and Joey sitting alone together on my couch was peculiar enough, but to discover they were actually conversing with one another was just bizarre! Joey seems to have adopted his lover's affinity for finding humor at the expense of other's comfort, in this instance my comfort is rather inconsequential. Yami had looked rather perplexed by my tense response to their report; it would seem he thought I would be pleased by this discovery. For someone so intelligent and gifted with strategy, he can really be quite dense.

   "Are you ever going to forgive me?" Joey questions over the phone, his tone light with repressed humor. 

   "That depends, are you prepared to stop meddling in my personal affairs?"

   "You mean with Yami." It wasn't a question. A blinding heat crawls up my neck like ivy, fingers of flame wrapping around my skin like a vice as it inches its way to my cheeks.

   "You know exactly which affair I am talking about."

   "He's in the room with you, isn't he?"

   Crimson eyes meet mine in a curious glance from his reclined position on his bed, legs crossed at the knee as his foot sways in the open air. He's been sparing me glances ever since I picked up the phone, his curiosity and interest claw at the back of my mind like a cat descending drapes. Physically he attempts to conceal his observations from me, but through the bond he is much more honest, his emotions offering no cover to his watchfulness or his lack of remorse in observing me.

  "That has nothing to do with this conversation."

   "Oh, he must be pretty close by if you're being so careful with your word choice." I can practically hear Joey's grin through the phone. "Has he figured out your talking to me yet and not your mystery man?"

   "You know, ever since you started dating Kaiba, you have been quite the pain in my ass." 

   "I was always a pain in the ass, Seto has nothing to do with that." Joey huffs, he almost sounds indignant that I gave his boyfriend any credit on his behavior. What kind of monster have Seto and I created here?

   "I doubt that." I mumble, sinking onto my bed and turning my face towards the wall. Careful to avoid brushing gazes with Yami as he thumbs through his phone, social media surfing acting as his poor man's subterfuge. His eyes may be focused on the flashing lights of his screen, but our bond tells no lies and it tells me I have all of his attention. His mental openness reminds me to raise my barrier, checking its stability before returning to my somewhat covert conversation.

   "You need to relax, Yug. I didn't say anything, you'd definitely know by now if I had."

   "That isn't comforting." 

   "I doubt anything I say right now will bring you much comfort," he mutters. "You're probably too pissed off at me to care about my apologies, anyway."

   "You're probably right." 

   "You're in the most painful part of the crush process, I don't envy you." His sudden shift in direction surprises me. What brought this up? My eyes narrow slightly as I weight his words, analyzing every word as I search for any sign of strategy or wordplay, but as far as I can tell there is no double meaning. Unfortunately, I'm left to assume he's being genuine in his act of pitying me. I'm not entirely sure how to feel about it.

   "Thanks," I grumble, staring holes into the wall as a creeping sense of humiliation dawns on me. "how considerate of you."

   "Sorry, that was dickish, I will admit," he sighs. "but you know, instead of pining over someone you're practically living with, you could just tell him, no games or strategies."

   "You're literally dating a guy who made it his life's mission to have four of the rarest cards in a children's card game, spent a considerable amount of his fortune pursuing those cards and hosting tournaments for the game, and you're telling me games and strategies aren't important to your relationship?"

   Yami chuckles in the background, the sound of his laughter easing some of the tension I failed to notice growing behind my eyes until it faded. The warmth of his humor washes over me in a wave, causing my lips to part silently as my body sinks deeper into my mattress. An unconscious smile curls my lips as I all but purr from the sudden relaxation. God, when was the last time I've felt this relaxed? My eyes droop slightly as I have to fight the result of sleepless nights mixed with the sudden relaxation of my body, it's practically a siren song of slumber.

   "You think you're being clever, but Seto has grown a lot since then." Joey's voice is jarring enough in his indignation to keep me awake. I hum quietly in acknowledgment as he goes on a rather long-winded ramble about his boyfriend's growth and development since we first met. If I hadn't known how poor of a student Joey is, I would have assumed he conducted a research paper on him. "I'd like to think I've helped become a better person. You'll know once you get into a relationship that there are methods for helping your partner improve themselves."

   "God, you have no idea how much I don't want to hear about your methods. I can't help but feel like I'll need therapy after if you told me." A quiet laugh escapes me as the line clicks. "He hung up on me."

   "I'm shocked," Yami drawls, his lips quirking upwards in the corners as I glance over my shoulder at him. "You were such a sparkling conversationalist." 

   "Shut up," I laugh.

   "I'm serious, you should have been an orator."

   "If those had been my ambitions, I doubt Joey and I would have ever became friends." A yawn claws its way up my throat and slips past my lips. My eyes droop, descending with a will of their own, as I struggle to keep my vision focused. 

   "You should sleep." 

   "I... ok."

   He chuckles softly as my eyes close and as I drift off to sleep, I remember feeling so warm I thought I was melting, a soft molten glow that radiated from within me, whisking me off to sleep.