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Yami couldn’t believe he was up before 8 am on his day off. Stumbling about his kitchen and looking for his mug and creamer, he tried to remember everything that needed to get done that morning. He needed to pack up… something on top of his normal routine. Satisfied with how his coffee tasted, he re-read the messages in his friend’s group text and tried to convince himself not to go back to sleep.
From Téa, “Be ready to go at 7:30, I want to get a decent parking spot.” This was followed by a few emojis of the sun and waves.
“Who’s in charge of bringing what? I’ve got sunscreen, some chairs, and an umbrella.” Tristan asked.
“I’ve got gas money and the volleyball set!” Joey texted.
“I guess I’ll bring the food.” Yami offered.
“Awesome! Can you get some hot Cheetos?” Joey asked.
“Sure. Does anyone else have a preference?”
“Oreos and beef jerky!” Tristan texted.
“Twizzlers for me, please.” Téa requested.
Yami had given each reply a thumbs-up as he put the snacks in his cart last night at the grocery store. Now that he remembered what he needed to bring, he pulled out a cooler and put the snacks and some chips in a tote bag he’d packed with Yugi’s beach toys and a few towels. After making more substantial food, he layered the cooler with ice, water bottles, juice boxes, sandwiches, and the fruit he’d gotten yesterday. When everything was ready, he checked the clock once more, 7:10, too late to take a quick catnap. Sighing and drinking the last of his coffee, he grabbed his small shoulder bag and stuffed it with his essentials, then dropped it on the coffee table. Everything was ready to go, he just needed to wake Yugi up.
He strode into the child’s room and found him curled up with his bedmates, Kuriboh and Marshmallon. Seeing his peaceful face elevated Yami’s mood a tad as he flipped on the light and sat down on the bed.
“It’s time to get up, little one.” He said as he pulled the covers down.
Yugi groaned and snuggled closer to his stuffed toys, trying to conserve heat. “Nooo, too tired.”
“Do you want us to go without you?”
“Nooooo,” Yugi replied miserably, torn between sleeping and playing with everyone at the beach.
“Then you have to get up. It’s time to get changed,” Yami said firmly, then coaxed him out of bed and into the swim trunks and short-sleeved hoodie outfit Yugi had picked out the night before. He left him to finish getting ready on his own and went back into the living room to wait for their ride. There wasn’t a text from Téa yet, so he pulled up a dueling app on his phone and started a match against the AI. As he debated what trap and spell cards to put under his Magical Hats trap, Yugi cuddled up next to him on the couch. The kid had brought along Marshmallon and looked like he was about to fall asleep again. That would be fine in the car, but Yami had too many things to carry down, and adding a sleeping child to the mix would make the chore more complicated.
“Yugi, I’ve got a big job for you, do you think you can do it?” Yami asked, putting his phone down. When Yugi looked up at him, he continued. “We’re going to be on the road for a very long time.”
“How long?” Yugi mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
“About 2 hours. I want you to pack the Switch so we can play it in the car. You’re going to be in charge of it, so I want you to make sure it doesn’t get lost or broken. Do you think you can do that?” Yami asked.
Yugi nodded, looking more animated as he found the case for the console and extra controllers. With everything bundled up, he returned saying, “Marshmallon will help keep it safe too.”
“Ah. They need to stay here, buddy.” He noticed the frown he got in response, but he was too tired to think of a gentler way to tell his son that he didn’t want to spend the weekend getting sand out of a two-foot-tall pillow. Instead, he ruffled Yugi’s hair in consolation. Yami played his winning card against the dueling AI when the door below opened and Tristan and Téa came through. After exchanging pleasantries, Tristan took the cooler and hauled it to the car.
Téa went to the two on the couch and held out her hand, “Ready to blow this popsicle stand, cutie?”
“Do you think we’ll see any fish?” Yugi asked as he took her hand.
She pretended to think, “Maybe. How many fish do you think are out there?”
“Hundreds! When Daddy took me to the aquarium, there were lots and lots of different fish, so there has to be even more in the ocean, right?”
Yami listened to the conversation drift off as Téa led his child downstairs. Double-checking to make sure he didn’t forget anything, he picked up his bags and turned off most of the lights. When they were outside the game shop, he locked the door and went to the car. Tristan was already buckled in front, so Yami slid in next to Yugi and Joey in the backseat.
With Yugi babbling non-stop in his seat, Yami realized he might have made a mistake by not letting him go back to sleep on the couch. After a drive-through breakfast, everyone was wide awake and Yugi capitalized on his captive audience to talk about everything and anything that popped into his head. Eventually, the kid ran out of questions to ask and, despite thinking he had a decent amount of patience, Yami believed that he would throw himself into oncoming traffic if they played one more round of I Spy. From the looks on his friends’ faces, they felt similarly.
“I vote we play the quiet game. The first one who talks loses!” Tristan suddenly said.
“1, 2, 3, go!” Téa chimed in, eager to raise the volume of her playlist over the car’s speakers.
The silence lasted for 15 blissful minutes and Yami took that time to look out the window. The concrete highway walls weren’t much to look at, but he needed a small respite from the other passengers in the car. Feeling Yugi wiggle around, he saw him looking for something to do. He opened his mouth and closed it again with a set look on his face but when their eyes met, his determination crumbled and he silently pleaded for help.
Yami took pity on the boy and pulled out the Switch, turned its volume off, and booted up Super Smash Bros. He took the orange joy-con, gave the purple one to Yugi, and set up a match. Yugi’s Pikachu had taken Yami’s Steve down to one life when Joey decided he was done with his Cheetos. While Pikachu was looping through one of his idle animations on the victory screen, Joey cleaned off his fingers and pulled out a spare controller. The three started up another round when Joey’s controller synced and Kazuya joined the battle.
In the end, it was Téa that broke the silence. A song they often listened to while traveling between dueling tournaments came on and she started to hum halfway through. Shortly after, Yami joined in and then the rest of the adults were singing along, caught up in nostalgia. When the next song started to play, Yugi leaned against Yami’s side and slightly turned his head up to listen. The older Mutou hardly sang at home, despite the almost constant flow of music, so he guessed the little boy was enjoying it while it lasted. When the playlist changed to some of Téa’s more recent favorite songs, Tristan turned down the dial. He began catching up with the adults in the car and Yugi was content to silently enjoy his quiet game victory all the way to the beach.
A couple of miles from the beach, the group could smell the salty ocean air through their open windows. The mix of cars driving past, seabirds squawking, and pop music made for a discordant melody, but they endured it to keep the windows down and enjoy the light breeze coming through. The beach was mostly empty, spotted with dedicated surfers trying to catch a few waves and workers setting up their stands and booths for the day. After setting up camp, Téa called out, “I’m going to rent some goggles, does anyone else want to come?”
“I’m good,” Joey called over his shoulder. “Tristan, pull on that pole like you mean it, the net’s gonna be too loose if you keep this up!”
“Why don’t you do it yourself then, Wheeler! I’m not going to play volleyball anyway, I’d rather find a date while we’re here.” Tristan snapped back and pulled harder on the volleyball net they were setting up.
“I see you can’t comprehend my brilliant strategy.” Joey stabbed his pole into the sand before slinging an arm around his best buddy. “Girls dig volleyball. It’s easy to pick up chicks if you play a good game. Not to mention, you get to admire them up close…”
Yami turned away, not interested in their juvenile conversation. Yugi looked up at him confused, but he just shook his head and continued to put sunscreen on his son’s cherubic face. Yugi would understand when he was older and, by then, Yami would teach him how to be more tactful when trying to get a date. Téa crossed her arms across the thin cover-up she was wearing.
“Pigs, the both of you.” She said haughtily. “I should tell Mai right now what your plan is, Joseph. I’d like to see how fast she’ll drop you.”
Joey slapped Tristan’s chest with a wink and in his practiced, most remorseful voice said, “I was only looking out for our pal, Tristan, here. He’s been whining that he hasn’t gone out with anyone for months and, being the great friend I am, I thought I’d give him a few pointers. Why don’t you give me a hand and show him how to pick up guys, Téa?”
“Dude! I can get a date without your help.” Tristan huffed, blushing and pushing Joey off of him.
“Wanna bet?” Joey provoked.
“Yeah! I bet I can get at least 3 numbers by the time we leave here!”
“Deal! Lose and you owe me a trip to Nike. There’s some sneakers that have been calling my name.”
Tristan stuck out his hand, “Fine. Since you’re so invested in my love life, if I win, you’re paying for all of my dates for a month.”
Téa rolled her eyes and mumbled something unintelligible before directing her attention to the pair underneath the umbrella.
“How about you two, want any snorkeling gear?”
“What’s skor-kaling?” Yugi asked
Yami chortled and said, “Snorkeling , Yugi. You wear big goggles and breathe through a tube so you can keep your head underwater for longer and watch the fish.”
“I want to try it! Please, Daddy, please?” The kid gave his best puppy-dog eyes.
“Okay, okay. Follow Téa, I’ll be there in a second.” Yami said as he pulled his bag out of the pile and threw it over his shoulder. When he caught up with them, Téa had picked out goggles for both of them while the stand’s employee adjusted a pair for Yugi. He paid for the rentals and dropped them off with Joey, who was digging through the cooler for something to drink. Téa left to join the surfers out in the ocean while Tristan joined the Mutous on a walk to see the tidepools.
Watching the waves crash on the shore and retreat into the ocean, Yugi asked, “Why is the sand darker over there?”
“It’s low tide, kiddo. The waves used to go up further and covered that part in water.” Tristan replied.
“Why?”
Yami slowly drew in a deep breath and saw Tristan close his eyes. Both men recalled the first part of their road trip.
“Something about the moon,” Tristan mumbled.
The group reached a large rock formation surrounded by smaller wet boulders. The formation had a clear line from where the high tide consistently hit it and was covered in algae, barnacles, and mussels. There were plenty of seagulls nesting above them, screeching, and waiting for an opportunistic snack. It wasn’t particularly crowded, but a few people were milling about and peaking into the shallow pools of water. Overall, it felt like the land was still waking up with everyone else, enjoying the mellow and chill vibes before it was surrounded by boisterous summer fun.
Passing the point where soft sand became rough rocks, Tristan decided to try his luck with a small group of people flying their drones around shore and ventured off on his own. Yami took Yugi’s hand and led them to a tidepool, saying, “Watch your step, it’s slippery here.” There wasn’t much in the first pool the two looked into, only mussels clinging onto the rock wall. The second was similar but had some life in it.
“Yugi, look here! There’s some sea anemones in this one.” Yami said as he crouched down and poked the creature. It slowly curled around him before he pulled away. It retreated into itself for a little bit before slightly blooming outwards again. As Yugi moved to mimic his dad and poke a different one, Yami warned him, “Be very soft, they’re delicate.”
The green anemone reacted immediately and wrapped itself around his tiny finger. “It’s sticky!” Yugi giggled and took his hand out, watching for other signs of life.
They moved on to the other pools and got lucky. In one, they saw a few sea urchins half-hidden underneath the rock’s lip and Yami had to stop Yugi from touching them and getting pricked. Yugi caught movement in another hole and found a few minuscule brackish-green fish camouflaged against the algae-covered rocks. The two even spotted a small octopus crawling around the bottom of a larger tidal pool and skirting around the green anemones and barnacles. After they’d watched it for a while, Yami looked up to catch another person’s attention and told them what they’d found. A crowd formed around them and the Mutous stepped out of the way to explore other habitats closer to the large rock formation.
There were a few starfish, more anemones, and crabs scuttling around. Waiting for the right timing, Yami struck out his hand and caught one of the crabs, holding its flat body between two fingers and showing Yugi. The child carefully looked at its brown-and-yellow spotted body and wiggling claws before smiling, satisfied that he’d seen enough, and turned his attention back to the starfish. Yami put the crab back down and it indignantly shuffled off to continue on with whatever it was doing before a rude giant decided to pick it up.
Tristan came back, pausing to see what the group of people were looking at, and made his way back over to his friends. Yugi immediately pulled on his hand to show him what he’d found.
“Those are cool! They look like your hair.” Tristan said, trying to find something nice to say about the stars the little boy was proud of.
“No it doesn’t!” he looked horrified and turned to his dad for confirmation.
“Well,” Yami reluctantly admitted, “it does a little bit,” He remembered all the times his schoolyard bullies would mockingly call him ‘starfish-head.’ Judging by Yugi’s frown, it looked like the nickname was passed on to his son. “But I like our hair. It’s unique and you look very handsome. Anyone who tells you otherwise is doing it to be mean and you should ignore them.” He elbowed Tristan, looking for support.
“Huh? Oh, yeah! You look fine, I meant it as a compliment!”
Yugi hummed and watched the waves. “Can I go exploring?”
“Sure, but stay close and don’t go in the water alone.” Yami allowed.
“Okay!” And with that, he was off, making sure not to step in any pitfalls or slip on algae.
Yami watched him clamber around the rocks and asked, “How’d it go? Did you get your first number of the day?”
“Yep, Joey will regret making that bet with me.” The brunet stooped down and poked at something in the pool. “I don’t know though. After talking to her, it didn’t seem like we clicked that well. If it wasn’t for the bet, I don’t think I would’ve asked for her number.”
“Isn’t that leading her on?” Yami was out of his depth.
“Nah, by the time she expects me to text her, she’ll have moved on and forgotten all about me,” Tristan explained. “How about you, any plans on dating again?”
It took tremendous inner strength for Yami not to sigh and walk away. He hated this conversation. “No, I’ve been too busy running the shop and taking care of Yugi.” He deflected.
Tristan looked up at him incredulously, “You know that one of us would babysit for you.”
Yami mirrored Yugi and hummed in agreement, he didn’t have a good comeback. All he knew was he wasn’t interested in dating again. He was never really interested in the first place, which he felt only put a bigger gap between him and his peers who, at one point, seemed to pine constantly for romance. His thoughts on the subject were hard to pin down and he hadn’t done enough soul-searching to define it clearly yet. At the same time, though, he felt too old to be still thinking about this. Instead, he bottled it up and made excuses when his friends encouraged him to find another partner.
“You need to get back out there, man. What happens when Yugi’s gone and you’re stuck alone in a nursing home?” Tristan reasoned.
“That’s easy, you’re going to be right there with me. Along with Téa, Ryou, Mai, and Joey.” Before he could go on, Tristan made a gagging sound.
“If I’m stuck with you only guys, no offense, but take me out back and give me the Old Yeller treatment.”
“I am so glad we mean that much to you,” Yami said sarcastically.
“I said no offense! I don’t want to be in one of those places without a partner with me, heck, I don’t want to end up there at all!” Tristan tried to smooth over.
“Uh-huh.” He responded noncommittally.
“I’m serious, though. It’s been three years, and raising Yugi by yourself is only going to get harder.” His friend dug his heels in.
“I don’t want to search for a partner if I’m only doing it so they can help me raise my child. For one thing, there’s no guarantee that they would stick around, and if I already introduced them to Yugi... Losing one parent was hard enough for him. I don’t think he’d respond well to losing another. Besides, I think I’m doing alright with your guys’ help. I know it’s not ideal, but I’m doing the best I can do.”
“It’s not like you’d treat them like a nanny. They’re called ‘partners’ because they’d be with you even after Yugi’s gone! You’d support each other through life’s hardships. The sex is simply a bonus.”
“That sounds awfully close to plain-old friendship, minus the bonus, of course.” Yami countered.
Tristan looked him dead in the eye, “You know you can tell me anything, right? I’m not going to judge if there’s a reason you want to stay single…”
“I’m not sure I fully understand what you’re implying.”
Tristan mulled over what he wanted to say, but ultimately let it go. “I’m here for you, man. If you want to talk or need help figuring this out, you can always call me.” With a pat on the shorter man’s shoulder, he walked off to talk with someone admiring a tide pool on their own. As Yami shook his head, Yugi came hustling back, trying to be mindful of the uneven terrain and keep an even footing.
“Daddy! Daddy, quick, look!” The kid thrust his hand out and had a vice grip on a hermit crab’s shell. The poor thing was curled up tight as it waited to be eaten or set down.
“That’s a hermit crab, Yugi, be gentle with him. He certainly has a pretty shell, doesn’t he?”
Yugi nodded vigorously. “He’s different from your crab, but they both have pinchy hands!”
“You’re right, their claws are pinchy! Thanks for showing me, why don’t you put him back in the water so he can go home now?”
With a nod, Yugi settled the crab next to his starfish. He took Yami’s hand and walked back to their towels. “Can we try the goggle-swimming?”
“Snorkeling? Yeah, let’s head out there.” Yami agreed and grabbed their gear. Approaching the shoreline, Yugi jumped over the waves as they stretched themselves thin and Yami stopped when their feet were fully submerged in water.
“Time to put the fins on, then we walk backwards until we can swim.” He said and put the rental life jacket and green fins on his son before putting his own on.
The kid giggled, “I have frog feet now!” and tried to hop backward, but could only lift his heels and tripped.
Luckily, Yami caught him, “You do! Jumping is going to be hard, though. The water is too heavy to lift up this part.” He tapped the front of the fin.
They both stopped when Yugi was about chest-deep in the water. Yami knelt down and felt the cold waves press on his back. They weren’t strong today. Good. This was the boy’s first time swimming in the ocean and a softer current would make things easier.
“It’s going to be less painful if you get your hair wet. Can you dunk your head underwater like you do in the pool?” Yami asked as he leaned back and submerged his head underwater.
Yugi plugged his nose and, after some hesitation, dove down and popped his head back up. He beamed at Yami’s praise and stayed still as his dad fit the mask over him.
“Swimming like this is different from swimming in the pool. First, you want to swim with your legs and use your arms for balance if you need to. Then, you need to remember to only breathe through the snorkel. Your mask will fill up with water if you try to breathe through your nose, okay?” Yami ticked off on his fingers as he ran through his list and got a nod in return. “Alright, we’ll practice here.”
For a while, Yugi was fine with the new equipment. The child quickly realized that using his fins helped him go further, faster and he hadn’t had a mishap with the goggles yet. Yami laid back and followed him for a while, he was thinking of swimming in deeper water when Yugi cried out and stood back up. The seal on the goggles broke, letting the water in and he pulled at them to get it out.
“Remember, don’t breathe through your nose. Do you want to try again?” encouraged Yami.
Yugi was determined and nodded before diving back down. Quicker than before, however, he let out a muffled, panicked wail and sprang up to cough out seawater that went down his snorkel.
“It’s alright, that happens sometimes. When it does, pretend that you’re a whale and blow it out as hard as you can!”
“I’ll remember next time!” Yugi said and entered the water again. A few minutes later, the same thing happened and Yugi was significantly more frustrated. Grumbling, he took off the mask and hid in Yami’s chest.
The man sighed and patted his boy’s back, “Let’s take a break. There’s no need to get upset, you did well for your first time, my little fish.”
They returned to shore to trade their goggles and fins for Yami’s sunglasses and Yugi’s marshmallon-themed swim ring. Joey was lounging underneath the umbrella and waved at them as they reached their spot. Yami was putting the rubber stopper on the now-inflated ring when a gaggle of older children and their teenage siblings came up to them.
Joey awkwardly asked “Can we help you?” when the group seemed too stricken to say something first.
A 10-year-old bashfully spoke up, “Are you Joey Wheeler?”
“Yes, who are you?”
“I thought it was you! I’m Natalie and one of your biggest fans! Can I please have your autograph?”
That was all it took to break the floodgates and soon Joey was surrounded by a crowd of kids wanting to meet their idol.
“One at a time! There’s enough Joey to go around, don’t push.” Joey grabbed a pen out of Téa’s purse and took a piece of paper that was shoved in front of him. Realizing no one had recognized him yet, Yami kept low under the umbrella and backed out slowly, quietly pushing Yugi behind him. He felt like prey escaping from an oblivious predator. This only worked until he stood upright and some teenagers spotted him. Immediately, the older generation began flocking to him.
“You were my favorite duelist growing up, Mr. Mutou! Can I get a picture with you?” An 18-year-old redhead in a lilac sundress asked.
Yami blushingly obliged. He was rusty with meet-and-greets, especially when they were improvised like this, but he felt it was important that he never turn away a fan that came up to him. With every person that he talked to, his PR skills came back to him and his smile became less bashful and more like his old confident smirk.
“Do you think you’ll go back to dueling?” a black-haired boy in glasses enthusiastically asked.
“Maybe in a few years or so, but not anytime soon. I have something more precious than my dueling career to take care of.” Yami said, looking fondly at Yugi who had escaped from the crowd but was still watching them curiously.
“Can you help me with my deck!?”
“Of course, but I’m on vacation right now. I run the Kame Game shop in Domino and I can help you there when I return.” Yami assured the eager young duelist.
Yami and Joey took a few photos with their fans as Yugi watched on. When they were alone again, Yami walked over to his son and placed his hand on the small back.
“Are you ready to go swimming now?”
Yugi gripped his inflatable doughnut tighter and murmured, “You and Joey are famous.”
“Mmm, I guess so. Joey is more well-known than I am now. But it’s not about being famous, it’s about doing something with passion and kindness. There will always be people who look up to you if you put all of your heart into something and you should encourage them to do the same.” Yami tried to downplay his popularity and teach Yugi a lesson about leadership at once.
“You liked it when they talked to you.”
That caught him off guard. “What was that, sweetheart?”
“You liked it when they talked to you.” The boy said more firmly. “Your face got all red and you were smiling lots and lots.” He paused to puff out his chest and spun towards the ocean. “It makes you happy, so I’ll wait my turn like a good boy next time too.” With that, he took slightly exaggerated steps toward the ocean, obviously impressed by his maturity and imagining himself to be older than he was.
The retired duelist was dumbfounded. He was surprised that Yugi saw through his little speech and perceived his vanity so clearly. The kid’s response also puzzled him. Running back the past several minutes in his mind, he saw Yugi gripping the pink floaty tightly, standing off to the side, and vacillating between looking at the group in admiration and disappointment. Ah, Yami thought, he’s jealous. All Yugi knew was that his dad dueled on TV and, until now, he most likely didn’t connect that fact with Yami having fans who would want to interact with the retired King of Games. Yugi must have been jealous of the sudden lack of attention. The man caught up with his son and patted him on the shoulder. He waited until Yugi’s attention was on him before kneeling down to look him in the eyes.
“You’re right, I do like it when people come up and talk to me. It means I did something right and it inspired others. But, I’m always going to take care of you first. You’re almost old enough to come with me to tournaments, so I was thinking about dueling again but I’ll only do it when you’re ready to share me.”
Yugi laughed and attempted to hug him, but was forced back by the inflatable ring. “Silly, I know how to share! I can be patient and wait my turn if it will make Daddy happy. Let’s swim!” Pulling on the older man’s hand, he guided them to the ocean and was obviously done with their conversation.
Sure you can, my little liar. Yami thought. Oh well, they could take their time with this and Yugi would become more independent soon enough. When that happened, Yami could seriously think about dueling competitively again.
He led them further out where the waves swelled up and cautioned Yugi to never let go of his floatie. He put his arm around his son and held the ring close to his side as he turned to watch the waves. Spotting a good one, he leaned back and let the wave carry them both up and towards the shore. At Yugi’s giggle, Yami waded back out with Yugi swimming closely behind and repeated the process until they were soaked and Yami’s sunglasses were almost lost to the briny depths. He dove down to grab the glasses and, when he stood back up, Joey was on his way to join them. Yugi kicked his way between the two men, splashing them and being an overall menace. The kid’s plan worked because the two duelists would push on his marshmallon ring whenever he got close and send him toward the other man. A few times, Yami’s or Joey’s aim would be off and they’d hurl Yugi further out to sea, forcing them to fetch the kid before he went too far. Soon, that became part of the game and Yugi would laugh and paddle away from their grasp.
Over on the shore, Téa and Tristan shouted for them to get back on land so they could eat lunch together. Joey bolted for the cooler with Yugi right beside him. Yami trailed behind and took his time joining them, he was ready for a nap in the sun. As expected, Joey and Tristan inhaled most of the food with little regard for the rest of the group. Téa had to stop them from eating everything to ensure Yugi had something to snack on while they all chatted.
Between swallows, Joey pulled out his phone and showed off a picture of a thin, yellow-gold ring boasting a large diamond that was surrounded by smaller diamonds and amethysts. “Whaddya think of this one? Is it flashy enough for Mai?”
“You’re proposing?” Téa asked, shocked, at the same time Tristan looked over and said, “Yeah, that’s about right.”
“Mai beat me in a duel last night and I’m a man of my word. She’s lucky to have me as a fiancé!” Joey said with a prideful chuckle.
“More like you’re the lucky one, she’s way out of your league.” Téa took Joey’s phone to look more closely at the ring. “If I were you, I’d do it as soon as we get back, that way she doesn’t have time to realize her mistake. Have you planned out how you’re going to propose?”
Joey looked confused, “There’s more than asking her and giving her a ring?”
Tristan cuffed him on his ear, “Of course there is! Haven’t you seen someone propose before? Traditionally, one person gets down on one knee and gives a little speech before asking the other person to marry them.”
“That seems like a lot of work, ugh. I can’t think of a good speech, why can’t this be simple!”
“If you don’t think that’s what Mai would want, Joey, then you don’t have to do it that way.” Yami decided to chime in, thinking he might be able to give some advice.
“Traditions are traditions for a reason! They’re respectable and Mai seems like the kind of gal who’d want that too.” Tristan said forcefully.
Even though Yami knew that he was hopeless when it came to romance, he still wanted to help his friends in the same way that they’d helped him so many times before. Putting his arm around Yugi, as if for emphasis, he said, “True, but as the only person here who’s come close to proposing, I know what I’m talking about, I looked online for advice and asked Grandpa how he proposed. He told me that, not only do you have to think about what you and your partner would want, but also what you’re capable of doing. If that’s going the traditional route, then that’s what Joey should do. If not, then he should do what his heart tells him to do.”
“Neither of those will work,” Téa said as she passed Joey back his phone. All three men looked at her. “The ring looks great, make sure to ask for her size before you buy it and get it insured too.” Turning to the other two guys, “The traditional ‘surprise’ strategy only works if it’s catching her off-guard and she knows about it now. And even though Grandpa Mutou’s advice will put Joey on the right path, it’s totally vague. Mai might care a little about how fancy her proposal is, but she’s more interested in you showing her that you genuinely care for her and that she’s worth planning something memorable, Joey. Now, what was her favorite date that you two went on together? What was yours?”
“I don’t know,” Joey mumbled.
“Figure it out and when you have an answer, think about why it was so special. Then, we’ll work together to recreate it. Yami, you’re good at giving speeches. You’ll help Joey scrape together something decent to say, right?”
“I wouldn’t say that I’m good at it…”
“You will help him, right?” Téa commanded more firmly.
“Yes ma’am!” Yami straightened up.
She nodded and turned back to Joey. “Good. Now, Joey, I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say I am super proud of you. You’re usually such a goofball and it’s great to see that you’re bringing your relationship to the next level. I want to wish you the best but, with us supporting you, there’s no way it’ll go wrong!” She gave him a hug and Yugi hopped up to join them, not wanting to miss out on a sudden cuddle session. Tristan patted him on the back and Yami nodded in agreement.
“Thanks.” Joey said while wiping his eyes, “Did anyone ever tell you guys you’re the best friends someone could want?”
Tristan nudged him with his fist. “Don’t get sappy on us, Wheeler. I need to find a date for your wedding now and having a weepy wingman doesn’t look good.”
“I ain’t crying! Just got some sand in my eyes…” Joey said. Yugi looked confused but snuggled closer and patted his uncle on the chest to comfort him. After scrubbing the “sand” out of his eyes Joey looked around desperately.
He picked up the volleyball and gave it a spin. “It looks like my bachelor days are limited, so I’ve got to live them up while I can!” Standing up he offered Téa his hand, “Let’s throw the ball around and get a game going.”
She took his hand and the two went over to their net and bumped the ball back and forth. The beach had significantly filled with more people, so they had four extra players in no time.
“I’m going to head out too,” said Tristan. “I’m still two numbers short and I don’t think my wallet could survive buying Joey shoes.”
Yami nodded, “Are you still going to have him pay for all of your dates if you win?”
“Mm, maybe for only half of them now. He needs to save up some money for a good proposal. Whatever Mai’s favorite date was, it had to be expensive.” Tristan said with a stretch.
“She certainly knows what she wants.”
Yami felt a tug on his hand and looked down at Yugi pulling on it with his sand bucket hanging off his arm.
“Make sand castles with me?” the eager boy said, ready to continue playing.
So much for taking a nap, Yami thought and let himself be dragged off a few feet away. They filled the blue bucket with dry sand and were disappointed when the structure didn’t hold its shape. Their next few experiments of mixing dry sand with the melted ice in their cooler didn’t work well either. Yugi pouted and Yami researched on his phone.
“Can you fill this up halfway?” Yami asked while reading an article. After Yugi put the sand in the bucket, he took it to the ocean and filled it until there was a distinct liquid layer on top. “Ok, now to mix it.” He stuck his hand in to make the sand concrete the article had written about. When the contents no longer looked like a soupy mess, he flipped it over and Yugi tapped on the Dark Magician Girl decal that was smiling and cheering them on. Slowly, they pulled it up to reveal a mostly intact sand castle. The bottom held itself together, however, the top still crumpled and the little walls that were supposed to be on the top were stuck inside the bucket’s grooves. The two boys sighed in disappointment.
“Let’s make a pyramid instead, huh?” Yami suggested, thinking it would be easier to build something by hand than it would be to figure out how to use the bucket.
“Yeah! I’ll get more water!” Yugi said and trotted off to get more water. When he returned, they pushed and piled sand from their other experiments into a giant mound shape. It held up better than the failed castles it was built from and the pair took turns getting bucketfuls of water to add to their creation.
After Yugi returned from his second trip, Yami asked, “Do you know what pyramids are for?”
“No, but we learned that they’re in Egypt!” Yugi gave what little knowledge he could.
“The pharaohs use them as graves.” Yami began to explain.
“Who?”
“Pharaohs, they’re old Egyptian rulers. When they died, they wanted to be buried with all of their favorite things because they believed that they could bring them to the next life. The pyramids were built to keep the ruler and their belongings safe.” Yami said as he scooped more sand on top of their pile.
“How do pyramids keep them safe?”
“They added a lot of traps and puzzles so only the people who were supposed to be there could go in and out.”
“Like in the Zelda games?” Yugi asked enthusiastically.
“Sort of, yeah. These traps were a lot harder, though. If they were too easy, tomb robbers would steal all the treasure inside.”
“I want to build puzzles in ours! We have to keep the pha-ph… the king safe!” Yugi said and tore down their half-built pile of sand. They traced out a simple maze on the bottom level of the structure and dug a pit around it before covering it all up with sand and adding false walls to the next level. Layer by layer, they constructed puzzles and pitfalls that would be covered up by their next idea. Yugi decided that the pharaoh would rest at the top of the pyramid because it would be the safest, and also because they forgot to put the burial chamber on a lower level. Anyone who wanted to disturb the ancient sandy pharaoh and his shell treasures would have to run through a gauntlet of daunting tasks before reaching them. The Mutous worked in silence for a while, building up the last level of their creation and trying to give it a definite shape.
Out of nowhere, Yugi asked, “How old are you?”
“I’m older than the moon,” Yami said as he concentrated on patting down a side of the pyramid.
“Daddy!” Yugi said, exasperated. “That’s not true!”
The corners of Yami’s mouth twitched and he said, “I’m twenty-eight.”
Yugi was quiet for a while and then began digging out a moat to protect the tomb within their pyramid. “Does that mean you’re as old as the dinosaurs?” asked the boy seriously and then looked up with a sparkle in his eyes. “If you’re still here and they aren’t, that means you’re stronger than all of them, right?”
The man snorted, barely able to keep his laughter in, and played along. He sagely nodded and said, “The trick was out-smarting the big ones. I’d wait while they fought with each other and made friends with the small ones. There’s more power in large groups than there is in brute force.” His smile gave him away, unfortunately, and Yugi scowled at him.
“You’re lying again. It’s not nice to play tricks.” He scolded.
“You’re right, I’m sorry. The dinosaurs were long gone before I was born.” Turning back to their pyramid, “I think the pharaoh is nice and safe now, no tomb raiders would try to cross that moat.”
“It needs crocodiles! Help me make some?”
“Sure, go grab us some more water, alright?” Yami said, leaning back to watch Téa and Joey play volleyball. When the first crowd had left, the two recruited some other sunbathers and they were seriously going at it; the ball didn’t hit the net or the ground the entire time Yugi was gone. Tristan had moved from one girl and was chatting with a man working at a shaved-ice shack on the boardwalk, Yami wondered how many people had given him their numbers. It looked like this one was a success though, as they pulled out their phones and the man gave Tristan a wink and a cup of shaved-ice. Tristan sauntered back to the group, trying to look unaffected by the handsome man he had talked to. The cool guy persona was instantly ruined by the deep blush and love-struck grin carved into his face.
Soon Yugi returned with his bucket and the two attempted to mold crocodiles within the pit Yugi dug. Yami’s creature ended up as a poor, spiky lump with legs and Yugi’s wasn’t looking much better. Maybe if he made a line for the mouth, it would take on a better shape. He bent down to work from a better angle when he felt his sunglasses leaving his head.
Looking back up, he caught the glasses thief holding them up to his chubby red face with his two tiny hands. Yami broke down and laughed as Yugi looked through his glasses. He had the most serious expression, but all Yami could see was his mouth set in a small, open-mouthed frown, and his furrowed eyebrows. The rest of him was covered by the lenses, making the kid look like a silly puppet. Looking away, Yami was able to take a deep breath and clear his throat.
“What are you doing?”
“You don’t need glasses, so why are these special?” The boy said as he tried to balance the frames on his nose and looked over them at his dad.
“Pfft, hold on. Stay still and I’ll tell you.” Yami said as he leaned towards their stuff to pull out his phone. “The glass is darker to protect your eyes from the bright sun.”
Yugi tilted his head to the side, holding his hands to the sides of his face so the glasses tilted with him. “What’s so funny?”
“I don’t think you’d understand even if I told you, sweetheart. Let’s put some more sunscreen on you, you’re turning red. Do you want to go swimming again?”
“No... Can I have some juice, please?”
Yami nodded, pulled out a juice box, and traded it for his glasses. After he reapplied sunscreen on Yugi, his kid insisted on helping by rubbing some lotion on his face too. They relaxed under the umbrella and watched the volleyball game.
When Téa’s team scored the winning point and the game dissolved, she abandoned the net to flop down in the sun nearby. She fiddled with her earbuds and scrolled on her phone between sips of water, trying to find a good podcast to zone out to. Yami followed suit and laid down next to her, relaxed with his hands behind his head. Yugi cuddled up between the two, using his dad’s bicep as a pillow and reaching out to hold Téa’s bent arm. It wasn’t long before the older man was lulled into a nap by the rhythmic crashing waves and murmurs of far-away, cheerful conversations.
He woke up to giggles and dull pats on his legs and feet. Propping himself up on his arms, he found himself buried under a sand mound. Yugi was busy drawing on the sand pile and Téa was adding a tailfin that splayed out in all directions like a betta fish. With a grimace, he made a mental note to shower especially well tonight.
Yugi tried to push him back down, but he didn’t move and only raised an eyebrow. “We’re making you a pretty merman, Daddy. You need to lay down again or it’s going to be ruined.” Yugi explained and kept applying pressure.
“Is that so?”
“Yes, now, lay down! We’re almost done, we need to make lines like Tristan did.”
Yami glanced over to Joey and Tristan. Joey had also gained a large sand tail, but it looked more like a tuna fish’s, with small spikes tapering down to his two-pronged tailfin.
“That’s another win for Tristan Taylor! Man, I am on a roll today.” Tristan gloated and moved on to giving Joey a new, sandier, hairdo.
“Boo! You had an unfair advantage, Joey will sleep through anything.” Téa shot back as she got up towards the gang’s pile of bags.
“What’s going on?” Yami asked.
“We had a friendly competition. Whoever could make the best merman before one of you woke up, won.” Tristan explained.
Turning back over, Yami watched Yugi decorate his sand pile, disheartened but determined to finish what he started. The man didn’t want to stay trapped in the sand any longer, but he also didn’t want to be the one to destroy his kid’s artwork. He had to come up with a way out of this.
“Wait! I know what you’re thinking. At least let me get a picture before you destroy it. We worked hard to make you look good.” Téa returned with her phone in hand.
Yami rolled his eyes but didn’t argue with her. He simply pulled his glasses back down and tried to strike a cool pose, even though he felt ridiculous.
“Get in the picture, too, sweetie. Got to have a shot with the artists!” She said as she shuffled next to Yami.
With the two sculptors lying on either side of him, Yami threw his arms around them and beamed at the phone. “Are you finished now? Can I get up?” He asked.
“Yeah, yeah, Mr. Fun-Ruiner. Go ahead, ruin what we’ve worked so hard on for the past hour.” The woman said as she walked over to Joey and Tristan. Yami sincerely hoped that these photos wouldn’t end up on her Instagram.
Looking down when Yugi sighed, Yami knew he couldn’t break himself out of his sandy prison. “Honey, if you make Daddy a merman, he’d have to go live in the sea without you. Remember, from The Little Mermaid? Do you really want that?”
Manipulation wasn’t his favorite parenting tactic, but it worked whenever he was in a pinch. Yugi’s eyes widened when he realized he’d doomed his dad to live at the bottom of the ocean forever, so he pulled his fist up to punch the tail at Yami’s knees. That hurt, but Yami couldn’t say the pain was undeserved and climbed out. He gave Yugi a hug saying, “Thanks, buddy. I didn’t want to live without you too. Do you want to try snorkeling again? I need to rinse off some of this sand.”
“Oh, that sounds like fun, I’ll come with you guys.” Téa hooked her phone to Yami’s portable battery and took her gear from the pile.
Yugi nodded, a bit scared, but willing to give it another go. The trio got in the water and put their fins and the boy’s life jacket on. They’d moved to a less crowded spot in the ocean to practice again. Yugi tried using the breathing tube and swam between the two adults but he kept running into the same problem. He tilted his head too far down which would fill his snorkel with water and he’d jump up, afraid of drowning. This happened twice before Téa came up with an idea. She laid back and purposefully filled her snorkel with water and blew it out.
“I bet I can blow out more water than you can.”
“Nu-uh, I can!” Yugi said and imitated her. Yami “kept score,” thankful she made up a game to help Yugi get more comfortable.
When the kid seemed ready, Téa stopped and said, “You win, pumpkin, good job! Do you want to try swimming out a little bit deeper?”
Yugi looked unsure and swam over to her, “But… What if water gets in again and I can’t fix it?”
“Then one of us will hold you until you get yourself sorted. It wasn’t super scary after we did it a bunch of times, right? It won’t be scary there, I promise. It’s a lot to remember, but if you look straight down and don’t move your head too much, water shouldn’t get in.” Téa soothed.
“We’ll be right there with you and we can watch all of the fish together.” Yami joined in and hoped it would be the push Yugi needed to get out of his comfort zone.
“Okay…” Yugi relented and they went further out until none of them could stand upright anymore. Both adults took one of Yugi’s hands and swam against the current, intending to make a slow curve and end up parallel to the shoreline.
The sun shining directly into the water gave it a cerulean hue and the refracted white light shining on dull-yellow sand made for a pretty view. There was a cliff off to their sides and the sea moss growing from it waved gently with the current, like wheatgrass swaying in the breeze. Téa pointed at some oblong-shaped object weaving in and out of the green, but it was too far away to make out.
Yami's attention was taken by the school of smaller sharks a few feet in front of them. The sharks were gray with dark spots and their tail fins were an interesting shape. Unbothered by the people above them, they cruised along the bottom of the sea. Yami had heard that leopard sharks weren’t dangerous to humans, so he pointed them out and heard Yugi squeal in excitement. He checked on the boy, making sure he didn’t need a break to get water out of his mask, but he was fine and watching the sharks ahead of them.
Intermingled with the sharks were groups of light blue fish and tan-ish, gray-striped fish. They didn’t seem that afraid of becoming the sharks’ next meal and swam about, pecking at the sand for food. After watching the scene for a while, Téa tugged them towards the direction of the sea moss and the thing from before.
As they approached, the mysterious shape came out of the mossy fields and its hard, multi-toned brown shell was easier to recognize in the bright ocean light. The turtle had finished grazing and was ready to move on further seaward. It didn’t bother looking at the group staring at it in awe and kept its half-lidded eyes trained ahead. Téa let go of Yugi’s hand and dove further down to be on the same level as the sea creature. Keeping her distance, she followed it for a few feet as it flapped its brown-spotted fins away from them. Yami was impressed by how long she could hold her breath. She stayed with the turtle for a minute before coming back to the surface and grasping Yugi’s hand once again.
Turning away from the rocks, they swam parallel to the shore, coming across several more schools of fish in reds, blues, and grays. They paused once to get water out of Yugi’s mask and give him a break before carrying on. There was plenty of marine life along their path and they pointed out what they thought the other might miss. When the little kid between them struggled to keep up, they turned towards the beach and let the ocean push them back inland. Yugi was quiet and plodded back to their base with a tired, tranquil smile. Joey was enjoying a beer in the late afternoon sun while Tristan sat on one of their beach chairs under the umbrella, texting someone. Yugi stumbled over to Tristan and climbed into his lap when the brunet opened his arms.
Tristan locked his phone and turned his attention to the boy. “Did you have fun, bud? See a lot of fish?” He only got a nod in return and took that as a sign to urge Yugi to put his shirt and short-sleeved hoodie back on before he passed out.
“You should’ve come with us,” Yami said as he sat on the ground next to them and filled his friend in. “There were a lot of fish and Téa found a turtle.” He looked up when there was a small tug on one of his bangs. Yugi had stretched his hand down and grabbed an end, trying to signal that his dad should get closer. Yami complied with the non-verbal request and let Yugi play with his hair while he leaned against Tristan’s legs.
Téa joined Joey, retrieving a lager for herself, and initiated their favorite pastime, people-watching. Yami listened in on their game and laughed at their thoughts on the other beachgoers’ lives, mostly because they tried to one-up and build off each other to come up with the most outrageous stories.
“Grab me a beer, Yami? I can’t get up.” Tristan requested.
Yami did so, evoking a small whine of displeasure from Yugi. He took out two cans, as a water bottle, from their cooler. Passing Tristan the beer, he insisted that Yugi take a few good swigs of water before resuming his position and letting his son continue to play with his hair. The intervals between Yugi patting his head grew longer and, when he looked up, the child was passed out against Tristan’s chest. He gave the two a content smile and turned his attention back to the ocean. Taking sips of his drink, he listened to Joey’s story about the couple walking on the shoreline. Apparently, they were undercover agents investigating the overpopulation of seagulls and french-fry blackmarket. Téa laughed while Yami snorted.
His phone vibrated with a text from his mother, inviting the two Mutous to dinner and a movie next week. After some internal arguments, Yami agreed and sent her pictures of Yugi wearing his sunglasses and of him looking proudly at the camera with their sand pyramid. Turning the phone to mute and locking it, he remembered Joey and Tristan’s bet.
“Did you get the third number yet?” He asked, leaning back.
“Hmm? Oh, no. I was thinking of using an old number, but that’s not really fair. Especially when so much money is on the line. I’ll ask someone on our way out, it shouldn’t be too hard.” Tristan said, distracted.
“I take it you’ve been texting that guy from the stand? Have you set up a date yet?” Yami teased him.
“How did—you weren’t—you know what, never mind. I haven’t yet, I want to get to know him better and see what he’d want to do for a first date. Don’t kill the mood.” Tristan softly smacked him upside his head.
“Don’t mess with the hair.”
“It’s already ruined. If the water didn’t do it, Yugi certainly did.” Tristan went back to his phone and Yami slumped his shoulders. He mentally added “conditioning and brushing out his hair” to the long list of things he needed to do when he returned home. Pushing all that out of his mind, he took another drink and watched the sun sink further down.
Surprisingly, Joey got up first and stretched, “What do you guys say we start heading out? I’m hungry and want to pick some food on the ride home.” So maybe not so surprising, but they all agreed. Yami returned the rental equipment and came back to help pack up their belongings. Joey was breaking down the volleyball net, Tristan had laid Yugi on a towel and was folding the chairs and umbrella back up, and Téa had run off to throw their trash in a nearby garbage can. When she returned, they carried their bags to the car and left Joey and Yugi behind. Yami returned alone. Téa stayed to rearrange the luggage so she could see out of her rear window and Tristan was talking with a random group also leaving for the day. His first effort didn’t seem to work, so he moved on to help a surfer strap down his board on the top of his car.
By the time Yami returned, Joey had put away the volleyball equipment and was looking between it and Yugi, presumably thinking of a way to carry them back in a single trip.
“I got him, Joey,” Yami said and scooped the sleeping child onto his hip. Yugi grumbled but quickly settled down once he knew who was carrying him. Joey grabbed the last of their things and, as they walked back over to the car, were stopped by tiny turtles toddling their way into the water. The little reptiles emerged from their nest a few hours too early, the sun still beating down and leaving them completely exposed, but they were quickly marching into the sea as best as they could. One of them had already found its way into the water and the second was close behind.
Joey got out his phone and Yami quickly jostled Yugi, “Baby, wake up, there are more turtles.”
Yugi slowly opened his eyes to see what was so important and grinned as he registered what was happening. He watched and waved at the hatchlings, “Bye-bye, turtles!”
Yami placed his cheek on the top of Yugi’s hair, it was brittle from the seawater and a bath was in the boy’s imminent future. But for now, Yami enjoyed watching the brown-shelled babies scuttle their way to the ocean. They stayed until the last one made it to the water, Joey fending off a few seagulls that tried to swoop down and carry the turtles off. When they made it back to the car, Téa’s patience was wearing thin.
“It’s about time, I think Tristan has talked to everyone in this parking lot,” Téa said with annoyance.
“Sorry, there were newly hatched turtles and we stopped to watch. The poor things were defenseless and Joey saved them from hoards of starving birds.” Yami explained.
She gave him an expression of mock hurt, “What! And you didn’t think to come get me? I thought we were friends.”
“Drama queens, the pair of you.” Joey mocked as Téa leaned into her seat, the back of her hand to her forehead, and Yami placed his free hand to his chest, stumbling back as if he’d been shot. “I filmed most of it. I figured you and Mai would want to see it.”
“At least someone was courteous and thought of their friends. I guess I can forgive you, Joey. Yami, you’re still on thin ice.” The brunette teased.
“What about me?” Yugi piped up, feeling left out.
“Oh, I could never be angry at you, lovebug.” Téa cooed and Yugi snuggled closer into his dad, happy with her answer.
Yami merely chuckled and shook his head. Taking the towel from Joey, he dusted as much sand off of him and his son before getting into the backseat again. He helped Yugi with his seatbelt, put his own on, and leaned against the window. When he felt Yugi try to claw his way back into his lap, he stopped him.
“Sorry, kiddo. You know the rules for the car, you have to stay in your seat with a seatbelt on.” In an effort to comfort the displeased boy, he wrapped an arm around him in a loose hug. The gang passed through a fast-food place for a late dinner and, afterward, Tristan handed Joey his phone.
“I got four numbers so I won the bet.”
“No way!” Joey panicked as he looked at the screen, but calmed down after deliberating, “When I said ‘wanna bet’ I didn’t mean it as a real bet. It was more of an encouragement for you to get out there, you know? Besides, these numbers should be a reward by themselves, right?”
“Not a chance, Wheeler. Pay up.” Tristan said as he took back his phone.
“I have to save up for a wedding and you’re going to make me pay for a month’s worth of dates?”
“No. It’s only for a week now and I better be your best man.”
“Fine, have you at least followed up with any of them?” Joey accepted.
After an awkward pause, Yami chimed in “He’s been texting the man from the shaved-ice place and you should’ve seen the look on Tristan’s face after he got his number. It was like he was a teenager with his first crush.”
“Dude! Consider your free handyman gone! I’m not lifting a finger the next time you need a window fixed.” Tristan ranted, obviously uncomfortable with the conversation.
“Settle down, children,” Téa said as she turned onto the highway. “Leave Tristan alone, if he’s too shy to talk about it right now then we shouldn’t push him.”
“I’m not shy! There’s nothing to talk about!” Tristan countered.
“Uh-huh. Just let me know if you want to go clothes shopping again, I’m sure the last outfit I picked out for you is covered in oil stains now.”
“You are all awful. I don’t know why I bother hanging out with you guys.” Tristan turned towards the window.
“Consider it payback for what you did to me in high school. As I recall, you had me write your love note to… who was it again? Miho! To Miho and we had to cover for you when the teacher found it.”
“I had completely forgotten about that! She put the jigsaw together in front of the whole class, too. What happened after that?” Joey mused.
“I told Miho about how I felt after school and she completely rejected me,” Tristan grumbled.
Téa gave him a pitying frown, “She talked to me later that night. She was so embarrassed about the whole thing that she couldn’t even look at you without remembering it. It wasn’t because she didn’t like you.”
“Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better.” Tristan hunched his shoulders, “We had a good time at the beach. Why is it pick-on-Tristan Hour suddenly?”
“Aw, teasing is how we care about you.” Joey patted his left shoulder while Yami nodded.
“Whatever, let’s listen to some music and not talk about my inability to find someone who’ll date me,” he said and turned the radio on and volume up only to have Téa turn it back down slightly.
“Someone’s trying to sleep.” They all turned their attention to Yugi. His eyes were barely open and he was clinging onto Yami’s arm as if his life depended on it. Tristan sighed and watched the other cars speed by his window. Joey pulled out the Switch fifteen minutes later and he played a few more rounds of Super Smash Bros with Yami. Considering he couldn’t move one of his arms, Yami had a rough time playing the game and chose an easier character to control but still couldn’t win a match. After losing four times in a row, he decided he’d had enough and passed Joey the controller to let him play alone. Instead, he joined Téa and Tristan’s conversation up front and quietly gave his input where he could.
It took them less time to return to Domino than it did to leave, so they were parked out in front of Kame Game in what seemed like no time at all. Joey passed him the Switch in its case and Tristan got out to help him bring in his things.
“My keys are in my bag, can you get them for me?” Yami asked, twisting his shoulder for Tristan to get the keys and unlock the door. He said his goodbyes to Joey and Téa and followed Tristan up the stairs.
“Thank you for bringing it all up, I appreciate everything you do.”
“No problem, see you later.” Tristan grabbed the rest of the beer and a water bottle from the cooler before walking downstairs towards the idling car. Yami flopped down on the couch, wanting a short rest before tending to chores. He needed a shower and wanted to strip Yugi’s bed down to only the sheets so it would be easier to clean up the sandy mess he knew would be waiting for him in the morning. Leaning back, he held his sleeping son closer and rubbed his back, eliciting sleepy, nonsensical burbling from the boy.
He lolled his head to the side, towards the digital picture frame his mom got him for his birthday last year, and noticed the new pictures sliding into view. His friends had all downloaded the frame’s app on their phones so they could put photos onto it and someone was using Téa’s phone to add more. There was a shot of him buried under the merman tail with Téa and Yugi. Next was a picture of Joey with his tail and Tristan crouching down, throwing a peace sign at the lens. Yami could practically hear Joey’s objection to the photo from his couch and softly chuckled.
Some of the older pictures cycled through, one of Yugi blowing out the candles on his birthday cake, and another of the two of them on an Easter egg hunt. Then one more new picture showed up. It was of Yami holding Yugi as he waved to the turtles they'd watched earlier. The fact that his smile in the picture reflected the calm he'd felt in that moment along with the joy in Yugi’s tired eyes, made him think the whole trip was worth it. Once his hands were free, he’d add the two pictures he’d taken to the collection and text his friends to thank them. Right now, though, he was going to enjoy a few more peaceful moments to himself.