«I'm more of a Dog Person.» | Joey Wheeler x Reader [Yu☆Gi☆Oh!]

Chapter 7 ❀ "I'm more of a Dog Person."

"Besides, ain't I da one who should be insecure?"

That was the moment you reassembled the strength and courage to look the Brooklyn boy back in the eyes and even raised a brow at his vague question. "What do you mean with that?"

"I like ya lots and there's plenty o' reasons for dat. Yer kind, yer funny and ya don't judge others by their status and stuff. But what about me? Why would someone like ya like someone as plain as me?" The way Joey had so insecurely put things had made you lose yourself in your thoughts. At some point those thoughts ended up being how you had heard somewhere that the people whose smiles were the brightest were also the ones bearing all the sadness by themselves.

Up until now you had witnessed the confident Joey, the one who wouldn't feel down even if Tristan and the others made fun of him, his Dueling, his dog suit or his corny jokes. But perhaps the blond was even more similar to you than you had originally thought. Maybe he as well bore the same self-doubts you had been trying to tame and keep hidden.

"I ain't a ladies' man like Duke or da King o' Games like Yuge. I also ain't a rich boy like Koyba. Da last thing I need is for Tristan ta be da better guy than me." Despite the fact that Joey was showing you his most vulnerable state, he had even tried to make the whole rant sound less gloomy by pulling the comic relief into it all. "They're way more awesome than I am, so why me?"

"I... I guess I'm more of a dog person." There was no need for philosophical answers in what concerned love to begin with, and given how Joey was the person you were interested in, making things more humorous and being straightforward was the best possible way of approaching the matter. With a blush confidently searing across your face, you stared up at the taller male and could feel yourself melting when he genuinely chuckled at your response. "Dis is da first time I'm grateful dat I wore dat stupid dog suit."

"But ya see, I haven't always been da nice guy in a dog suit." Even though the blond was happiest after having heard your unique confession, he felt the need to tell you something about himself and his past that he wasn't so proud of and that he hadn't mentioned to you up until now. If he didn't, he thought it would be as if he was lying to you and deceiving you into thinking that he was someone else. "Before I met Yuge, I used ta be one o' dem nasty delinquents."

"I know how much ya don't like dem kinda' guys, so I feel like I don't deserve ya..." Joey had been staring out into the sunset when he said those gentle words, and turned his face in your direction only when he was done speaking. Without realizing it, you had made a sheepish expression and cupped both of the young man's cheeks in order for him to look you straight in the eyes, not leaving him with the option of avoiding your gaze any more times. "Joey, that's all in the past, we all have things we did that we're not proud of."

"I know for a fact that the Joey I fell in love with isn't some awful delinquent. The Joey I like is the kind Brooklyn boy who likes to make corny jokes, the Duelist I respect and the big puppy everyone can't help but love." Somehow it had become much easier to put all those things into words, and you didn't even have the time to question yourself about how you had even managed to say all of it right in the dirty blond-haired male's face without so much as stuttering once. The bright red color still graced your cheeks and so did the small smile you flashed Joey once you had released all the feelings that you had been holding bottled up inside of you.

"Ya... ya really mean all dat?" The shade of his cheeks now matched your own, his face still resting in the palms of both of your hands even when you gave him a silent nod as a reply. Just like two magnets, the two of you inched closer to one another, you tilting your face to his while slowly closing your eyes in the process. You kissed him slowly and curiously, feeling his body loosen and his hands touch your back shyly.

The first kiss lasted merely two seconds, innocent as if it were a tease. The first time you distanced your lips from Joey's, you couldn't help but take shaky, shallow breaths. The close proximity of your faces allowed you to feel the same kind of nervous breaths coming from Joey before eventually feeling his lips caress your own directly anew. His lips brushed yours once... twice... and then he claimed your mouth in a hungry, almost possessive kiss.

With every time that your lips were separated and reunited with the Brooklyn boy's, you could feel yourself melting more and more into his arms until you ultimately leaned against his chest. The fact that there was absolutely no physical distance left between the two of you made you fear that Joey might have been hearing the loud thumping of your heart beating against him, not that it would have been a bad thing since your feelings were unmistakably mutual. You were almost at a loss the moment the blond had broken off the kiss in order to allow the both of you to catch some breath.

"Hey, [Name]...? L-Let's do dat again. Da kiss, I mean."

----------------------------------------------------

My note to you:
We've already reached the end of the story, yay. >3< Writing something so short isn't what I usually do, but it was a nice change of pace. ^w^

For those of you who love Mahad, I'll probably upload a short story dedicated to him in the next couple of days (hopefully), so I hope you've got another thing to look forward to! :3

Thanks for reading and see you next time!