Heart of the Cards [COMPLETED]

Dark Magician:

Yawning, Téa sped up her walk, knowing that if she didn't hurry she'd be late for her very last day of high school.

Excited was an understatement, though she was nervous too. The end of high school meant university, which meant going separate ways with many of her friends; she wasn't quite ready for that.

Yugi was taking a gap year, to help his Grandpa fix up the shop. Joey wasn't going anywhere but Tristan was off to America for an adventure.

Téa wasn't sure what to do. Go on vacation, go to university, take a gap year, or just forget about everything and live life to the fullest? It wasn't an easy decision to make, that was for sure but it was upon her now and she only had a few days to decide.

"What's this?"

Téa stopped, glancing directly in front of her where two men were standing in her way. One reached for her arm and tugged her into an alleyway that was directly adjacent to them while the other followed dutifully behind.

"Little girl headed for her last day of school? Looks like you may be a little late."

"Hey Gyojin, ain't she the girl always hanging around Yugi Motou, cheerin' him on?"

"You know, Tamaki, I think you're right."

Téa grunted as the first man pushed her into a wall. Her leg lashed out as the second, Tamaki, came closer, kicking him between the legs. She threw her leg out again when the one called Gyojin came to help Tamaki but he caught it.

The man yanked her leg, causing her to fall back against the wall, slamming her head into it painfully. Téa yelped before gathering a deep breath and doing the only thing that could help her.

She screamed.

Thankfully someone had heard her, one single person had heard her scream and had raced into the alleyway, his dyed pale purple hair whipping behind him as he went.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing to her? Let her go!"

His dark grey eyes swept over her, checking for injuries before hardening on her attackers. Sick, twisted human beings are the only things that would harm a girl, no matter how beautiful she a was.

She sat on the ground, her skirt barely covering the parts of her which should not be seen by random men she didn't know. Her hands held the back of her head where it was obvious most of her pain was coming from.

"Scram kid, it ain't none of your business!" Tamaki growled, advancing on the man as Gyojin grabbed Téa by her arm, yanking her up painfully.

"Let her go."

Gyojin laughed as Tamaki threw the first punch and landed it square on the mystery man's jaw. Grunting, Téa's would-be savior fell back a few steps before shaking off the pain and full on attacking Tamaki.

Within moments, Tamaki was unconscious and bleeding heavily from his nose, while Gyojin tried to figure out if he should stay and fight or just run.

In the end, when the man advanced towards him, Gyojin chose to run and left Téa standing in the alley with an unconscious man and who she deemed her hero.

"Are you all right," she questioned, moving towards the man unsteadily. Her head was hurting terribly and she felt a bit nauseous but he'd taken a couple of obviously powerful punches to the face.

"I do believe I should be asking you that, but you seem mostly unharmed so instead let's restrain him and call the police."

***

Two weeks later found them sitting in a café, Téa sipping hot cocoa with extra cream on top, and Dharc gulping down a steaming cup of coffee.

They had barely separated themselves from each other since Téa's incident.

She'd introduced him to Yugi, Tristan and Joey already, and he occasionally helped her and Yugi fix up the card shop. The only day they'd really been apart was just the day before, when Tristan left for America. Her boys, as she so fondly called them, and she had spent the entire night watching movies and just generally hanging out. That afternoon, a party had been held to wish Tristan the best on his travels and that night, they went with him to the airport to say their goodbyes.

Téa wouldn't lie, she had cried like a baby for the rest of the night, but first thing in the morning Dharc was calling her to see how she was doing and asking if she wanted to go out for lunch.

So here they were, having already finished eating and sitting in a comfortable silence drinking their coffee and cocoa.

Téa stared at him, his unnaturally colored purple hair and dark grey eyes went oddly perfect with his purple skinny jeans and green top.

He was odd, in a most beautiful way, he spoke with words much too old for his age and sometimes too formally. It was as if he came from a time hundreds of years ago yet like he didn't belong anywhere else but right there, in that moment.

He was timeless.

"You're staring at me, yet you seem like you're in another place altogether. What is on your mind?"

"Go on a date with me!" She blurted without properly thinking on what she was saying. Her eyes widened in surprise just as his own did before he chuckled.

"We are on a date, we have been on several dates already, have we not? Or would you prefer movies and a dinner? Or perhaps a picnic? Whatever you wish, I will make it happen. Because you deserve everything your perfect, beautiful heart desires."

"I-uh.. No. This is fine. I just didn't think you thought of them as dates."

"I do, do you?"

"Y-yes?" It sounded more like a question to her but he seemed appeased by the answer and turned back to his black, two sugars coffee.

"Good."