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-"Are you sure about this Mr. Mutou? Even if you are not all that interested in dueling anymore, you could still participate in tournaments from time to time. Besides, I have to imagine those probably pay very well."
-"Money really isn't a problem for me, I still get royalties anytime they play reruns of Battle City on TV and streaming after all. And this isn't a impulsive decision, I have been thinking about this for a good while."- "Mr. Mutou" replied to Kaiba's assistant, while looking over the documents his old rival had left over the table. The CEO meanwhile was still staring at him with an complicated emotion on his face, seemingly a mix of horror and disgust.
Yugi Wheeler-Mutou was known worldwide as the first King of Games and the creator and owner of Turtle Game Inc. (one of the most successful video game companies of the last few years), being considered a very beloved public figure, even if he did not do as many public appearances in the past few years as he used to do in his youth, now that he was working mostly on game development over playing the games himself.
But Kaiba was still shocked that Yugi had called him to announce that he wanted to officially retire from dueling, and work out how to end his contract with Kaibacorp. While he wasn't obviously not the most popular duelist of the world anymore in his early 50s, he was still very well known, and he knew that tournaments were always giving him invitations to participate, or at least to make a short appearance and help boost their ratings.
Him proposing to never appear in one again was very unexpected. And made him wonder…
-"So, Yugi, does that mean you will make the last duel that you have ever participated in a professional tournament setting that pathetic one that you played against Miss Rhodes to show off the newest Duel Disk model? That's a very underwhelming last duel for the King of Games, don't you think?"
That made Yugi finally raise his head from the documents he was reading, staring at Kaiba while frowning. -"…I suppose? I hadn't thought about it."
-"Well, do you still want to give up then? I mean, there are duelists even older than you that have won tournaments before, I even remember your grandfather joined tournaments at an old age…"- Kaiba commented, watching his old rival's expressions closely. He then seemed to think of something, as he stared at the brunet with a smile on his face.
-"Well, I have an idea, since you are clearly trying to get me not to do this: I'll do a last big duel, to retire myself from dueling. It will be televised, you can also put in on Twitch, Kaibacorp's VR thing and whatever other places you desire, sell it as "the King of Games' last duel" or something along those lines."
-"Huh…"- Kaiba thought about the idea, and it did seem to be something that would be very profitable, and also honor Yugi's King of Games title (not that he wanted Yugi to know that he cared about it…). But there was something still missing. -"I suppose I could think about it but…"
-"Oh, one more thing though: I get to choose my opponent to this duel."
-"…Why, who are you planning to duel against? That Yuki guy?"
-"No, I have someone in mind already…"
-"Huh?!? Wha- Yuug, come on, you can't be serious about this!"
-"Why not? You are a great duelist, and it would be a very pleasant final duel! I always enjoy playing Duel Monsters with you!"- Yugi told his old best friend, now husband for more than 15 years, while writing some email for work. He admitted his agreement with Kaiba rather casually while Joey asked what he wanted for dinner, leaving the blond to stare at him flabbergasted.
-"But… You're still a lot better at dueling than me, man. And your last big duel on TV should be something more exciting than… Joey Wheeler…"- The blond scratched the back of his head, staring confused at the confused expression on Yugi's face. -"I don't know, maybe you could duel against however won the last big tournament that Kaiba made, or… Pegasus I gue-"
-"…But I want to duel you! Not some random duelist, Joey Wheeler!"
Joey was actually a little shocked at how serious Yugi was about this decision, even if he knew how much his partner wanted to stop going to tournaments: they had talked and debated many times about the topic in the past few weeks, with his husband explaining how he felt more discomfort and anxiety going to those big championships than the excitement he used to feel in his youth, how he preferred to create his own games, play online or have casual matches with friends, among other reasons.
Joey tried to argue against it at first, as he felt like Yugi could maybe regret that decision someday, or realize he was just having some weird kind of midlife crisis, but Yugi was very insistent that he had been thinking on the topic for a while now. He had accepted that, but now… As much as he felt honored that his husband had chosen him as his final big opponent, he felt like he still deserved something a little… better, than just dueling his own husband on TV.
There was also the fact that it would be sold and the King of Games grand final game… What if it was very underwhelming, or if the blond won the duel and people were angry with him, thinking that the Yugi gave him the win just because they were married? It could ruin both of their careers, maybe even affect their relationship, and-
-"Joseph Wheeler, look at me."- At that moment Yugi took his glasses off, grabbed one of his hands and made him look at his eyes, a serious expression in his face.
-"…If you really don't want to do it, I'll accept it, but I really don't want you to think that a duel between us would be not be interesting or something like that."- Yugi murmured. -"Besides, I've never seen you run away from a challenge before! Even on Duelist Kingdom, you always found a way to improve, even against people way more familiar in the game than you! And you are an even better duelist now!"
-"Yeah, that's true…"- Sure, Joey had never had the best luck at winning tournaments, but was usually in fourth, third or even second place in the ones he participated, which gave him a lot of fame as the… underdog duelist (he did not like that nickname at first, but that was what his fan-club called him and Yugi found it a little cute, so he accepted it), but still he wasn't sure if he should accept it…
-"Well, there's also other thing… You never dueled just against me in a serious duel, just against… Atem."- Joey then realized that his husband now had an gloom look on his face, one he was very used of seeing on Yugi when he had to comment on their old friend who had left for the afterlife. -"I really want to have a final duel with you. See how much we improved and if we are at the same level. We both managed to win against him after all."
The blond stayed quiet for a few seconds, lost staring at Yugi's eyes and thinking about it. Eventually, he gave the man a familiar smirk and said: -"You know what? I accept it. But I won't want you to go easy on me! Let's both do our best!"
Yugi looked shocked for a few seconds, but then gave Joey the biggest smile he could, and said: -"I promise I'll do my best for you too!"
About 2 months after that night, the two found themselves in a car in front of the Kaibadome stadium, preparing themselves for the duel they were about to have. Joey had claimed before leaving their house that he felt prepared for anything that could happen, but Yugi knew him well enough to see him trying to subtly stall for time by checking if his jacket was clean, if they had parked correctly, among other things.
-"Look Joey, I'm pretty sure nothing has disappeared from the backpack in the last 2 minutes, it's alright."
-"-my deck, your deck, your Duel Disk my Duel Disk, water bottle, wallet, keys… Yeah, everything's here! I think we can enter now!"- The blond exclaimed, looking at his own face in the car mirror and frowning. -"Damn, do you think I should have shaved?"
-"Huh? No, you look great!"- Yugi told him, while cleaning his glasses and looking in the mirror too. -"I think we are both ready then! It will start soon, so we better enter now."
As the couple entered the stadium and looked around, they saw how big of an event it really was: not only was the place full to the brim with people, they also saw a lot of merch and posters relating to the two plastered all around the place: from pictures of their signature monsters, to themselves in their youth, to some videos of their duel in Duelist Kingdom (though most people did not know it was not actually Yugi by himself in that duel)…
-"Well, I guess I should have expected that Kaiba would make our duel into something this gigantic…" - Yugi commented, still looking around a little overwhelmed.
-"Yeah, he's always really over the top with stuff like this…"
-"Hey, I'm seeing some familiar faces here! Mako's there with his kid, I recognize some students from Kaiba's school in the back… Oh, Rex and Weevil-"
-"Oh great, those two."
-"…Look Joey, I know that last time we weren't on the best terms with them-"
-"Who the hell insults someone in their wedding vows?!?"
-"-Finally you two arrived."- They turned around and saw Mokuba ( both the vice-president of Kaibacorp and a popular streamer somehow) approaching the two with an annoyed face, wearing a coat not too dissimilar to the ones their brother wore (though a lot less flashy) and holding a clipboard. -"What are you two doing here? You were supposed to come to the backstage immediately!!"
-"Oh, we have just arriv-"
-"No excuses, follow me!"- They exclaimed, grabbing Yugi's hand and dragging him towards what looked like a waiting room that went directly to the big stage where the two would duel, while Joey followed the two, a little amused by Mokuba's extreme distress in that situation.
-"So, Mokuba, are you really going out with Leon like those tabloid said, or-"
-"No."
-"Oh yeah, I forgot, you are with Rebecca, right?"- He asked, clearly just to tease Mokuba in the same way he liked annoying their older brother sometimes.
-"…Wheeler, I was never "with" Rebecca, we are just coworkers."- They replied, though the couple could see that the tournament organizer's face had reddened a little. -"A-anyway, you two will have to enter the arena by that door, so get ready. Prepare your decks, check if your clothes are decent for live TV… Do you two have your Duel Disks ready?"
The two nodded and took them out of their backpack: Yugi's was the one Kaiba had given him in the last tournament he had participated, lean and modern with some pink lights all over it; Joey's meanwhile was clearly an modified version of the bulky ones that had been given out during Battle City, with cracks in some places, but still in decent shape all things considered, seeing how old it was.
-"Really Wheeler?"- They heard Seto Kaiba muttered as he entered the room, staring at his Duel Disk with disgust. He wore an long white coat with some belts and silver details, though this one did look a little more professional than the ones he wore as a teen. -"I'm sure you are paid well enough to use something better than this in such an important duel. I don't even know if newer cards even work in that."
-"Yeah, I have newer disks and stuff than this at home, but this guy had history with me! I can't just not use him today. That sentimental stuff you don't like, y'know?"- The blond murmured the last part, but the look that Kaiba gave him showed that he clearly understood it well enough. -"And I tested all my deck on this Richie, I know it's working perfectly!"
-"Well, it will be your problem if it doesn't work. The duel will start in 5 minutes, so you two better get ready."- The CEO told them as he left, Mokuba following him behind.
-"Well, I guess we should shuffle our cards before we enter."- Yugi told his husband while taking his deck box (a golden one inspired by the one that used to protect the Millennium Puzzle) out of their backpack. The blond also took his deck out and started to do the same, the two quiet for some moments, only hearing the crown outside.
After a while though, Joey turned to the other man and said: -"Hey Yuug… Before we start this, I just want to thank you."
-"Huh? For what?"
-"Well, I guess I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for you… You, Atem and your grandpa taught me the game, and you helped me become a better person… You really changed my life. To this day I don't know if I'll ever be able to repay you…"
-"Oh Joey please don't say this! You are an incredible person and duelist, and already make my life better every single day! Besides, you helped me a lot too! Made me a more courageous person, encouraged me with my job…"- Yugi gazed at his husband with a gentle, loving expression that made the blond very happy. Suddenly though, his husband had a sly expression on his face, and said: -"Well, you could show me the cards you'll use if you want to thank me, you know…"
-"What!?! But…"- Joey then realized that Yugi was biting his cheek not to laugh, and approached his husband, faking annoyance while pointing at him. -"Well look at that, the King of Games trying to cheat!"
-"Not cheat, but you know.. It's my last official duel today and I never really took advantage of being the King of Games."
-"Well, I could win against you fair and square and become the new King of Games today right?"- Joey told him, getting even closer to him and holding his chin. He had joked before about being the Prince of Games since he was married to Yugi, and never seriously considered being the King of Games himself before…
-"Oh really? And what would you want to do as the next King of Games?"
-"Uhhh… Get a fancy dinner, a free massage maybe… Is it too late for that fancy card and three million dollars?"- That was finally enough to make Yugi start laughing, which made Joey beam with joy. He then continued: -"…Maybe you could wear that black 'thing' with the 'things'? That leather one?"
-"Uh? OH, that one… Well, I could think about it…"
-"AHEM, I hope you two are ready to enter!"- The couple stopped talking as they heard Seto's harsh voice calling them from just outside the room.
-"OKAY, we are coming out!! Geez…"- Joey exclaimed as the two rushed to put their Duel Disks on and leave the room. As the two walked towards to enter the arena, listening to some announcer talking about them, Joey murmured: -"Yuug, I'm honored that you want to have a duel like this with me. You asked for my best, and I intend to give it to you."
That made Yugi's heart beat faster, both from the excitement he always felt before a duel, and from the warmth and passion that he saw in Joey's face, the same that had made him fall for him in the first place. -"Joey, I won't insult you by giving you anything less than my all. Thank you so much for accepting this."
The two walked towards their separate corners of the arena, putting their decks into the Duel Disk and preparing to start.
-"Let's duel!"
-"Alright, I'll start!"- Yugi exclaimed, taking a few cards and giving Joey a little smirk. -"I'll put these two cards face down, and set Green Gadget in attack mode! Then I'll end my turn."
-"Huh… I'll put these two cards face down too, and also… This monsters face down. Then I'll end my turn."
After that, the duel continued in a… fairly one-sided way, with Yugi summoning a Marshmallon and a Yellow Gadget to the field, killing most of Joey's weak face-down monsters and giving him direct damage, leaving him with 2000 life points.
-"I hope you have some strategy Joseph, I don't want this duel to end this early."- Yugi commented, looking at his husband's frowning face.
-"Nah, don't worry, I have a plan…"- The blond voiced back as he started his new turn by taking a new card and smirking: -"And it just so happens that I got just what I needed! I use the Spell card Black Hole, to destroy all your monsters on the field!"
-"Oh!"- Yugi stared at him surprised and impressed as all the monsters disappeared. -"Didn't know you had this on your deck, and it's the only way to destroy Marshmallow… Good move! Let's see if you can keep up."
After that, the duel was a lot more balanced, with Joey putting some strong monsters on the field and managing to take some of Yugi's Life Points, but him also managing to come back with some well-timed Trap cards and monsters with enough defense to protect his life points.
Some turns later though, the field had an Silent Magician Level 8 on Yugi's side (one of his stronger cards, with 3500 ATK points) and a single Panther Warrior protecting Joey's measly 500 Life Points now that all his Scapegoats had been destroyed, with the blond staring at his hand thinking about what he could do now.
'Damn, I don't have anything strong enough for him right now, and he has a bunch of cards face down… But, if I just got that card, I could maybe win this! Come on heart of the cards, I just need one thing… YES !'
-"I'll start my turn by activating Giant Trunade, which sends all your Spell and Trap cards back to your hand! This way you won't try anything funny. Then, I'll put down Monster Reborn, to bring your Silent Swordsman to my side of the field! And now, I'll sacrifice these two to summon my Red-Eyes Black Dragon!! Then I'll put these two cards face down and end my turn!"
As the magestic dragon appeared on the field, Yugi did feel a little emotional. It was a card with a lot of meaning between the two of them and Atem, but still, he had a duel to win. -"Huh, that was a pretty good turn, Joey, but your dragon is still weaker than Silent Magician!"
-"Yeah, I know that. Now's your turn. Good luck babe!"
"He's… way too confident. He clearly has a plan, probably related to those cards face down. If only I could destroy all of them, I could attack him with no worries! I do have a Twin Twisters card in my hand, but it only destroy 2 cards, and he has 3 cards! Well, I'll just have to try…"
-"I'll activate Twin Twisters, which let's me destroy two of your Spell or Trap cards by just discarding one card! And I'll choose… the one in the middle, and the one in the right!"
-"Oh…"- Joey said, putting both of the chosen cards in his graveyard. He had an complete poker face at the moment, but Yugi tried his best to decipher it, thinking he saw a little of… sadness? So maybe he had chosen the right cards!
-"Alright, Silent Magician, attack his Red-Eyes!"- Yugi exclaimed, pointing at the monsters and watching the female spellcaster start her attack animation, prepared to win…
-"I activate Skull Dice!! Now let's see how many points your Magician will lose!"
-"What?!"
And so the familiar little devil holding a dice appeared in front of them, throwing it and watching it roll until it fell on…
-"5! So now your lady will have her stuff divided into…"
-"700 Attack Points!"
-"Yeah, meaning my dragon has more attack points than her! Bye-bye!"
The magician disappeared after attacking the dragon, making Yugi receive 1800 of damage, almost enough to make him lose, but still leaving him with 100 Life Points.
-"That was a great plan Joey! I'm surprised at how good you were at pretending you were sad at those traps getting destroyed!"
-"Oh, that was because you took out my Graceful Dice, and I kinda wanted to win with Red-Eyes getting stronger… But this was probably better! Now it's my turn! Red-Eyes, take out his remaining Life Points!"
Yugi stumbled back after receiving the attack directly, almost falling down, but managed to get his balance up while watching the big screen marking their points show his life going down to zero. For some seconds there was no sound in the arena, with every person absorbing what had just happened, until…
-"I… I did it?"
-"Joey, you won!!!"- His husband exclaimed, running towards him to give him a hug and a kiss on his cheek while the black dragon disappeared in a flash of pixels, signaling the end of the duel. -"I knew you could to it!"
At that moment the crowd went wild, with many exclamations of surprise, cheers and people screaming Joey's name. Kaiba and Mokuba also joined them on stage, shaking both of their hands to congratulate the two.
-"Congratulations Joey, this was a great win! Definitely worthy of being Yugi's last duel!"
-"Thanks Mokuba! And you Kaiba, aren't you going to congratulate Joey too?"- Yugi asked his old rival, his voice genuine but with a hint of sass in it.
The brunet stared at the two for a little, before grunting: -"Yes, I can't pretend it wasn't an interesting duel… But you still depend way too much on luck on your deck, Wheeler."
-"Well, that's better than what I expected from you…"- The blond said mockingly, before turning to his husband.
-"So… How are you feeling, King of Games?"- After hearing that, Joey made what was possibly the funniest face Yugi had ever seen on him, eyes widened, mouth wide open, body completely frozen.
-"H-huh?! W-what, I… I thought you were joking about it!!! I can't be-"
-"Well I'm pretty sure that's how that works, right Kaiba? That if someone wins against me in an official tournament setting, and I'm willing to bet it as the prize, they become the next King of Games?"
-"I believe that's right, we would have to check it with Pegasus to be sure what was the original rules were but I think Joey would be the King of Games now!"- Mokuba added, while Kaiba tried to look anywhere but at them. Joey was still speechless and stuck in place, making it so his husband had to grab him by the hand and guide him out of the arena.
-"We are leaving then! I guess I promised we would do some things if he won, I want to go early and have time to set them up!"- The shorter man exclaimed, waving at the crowd forming around them while the newly appointed King of Games slowly came back to his senses, now sporting a goofy grin on his face and starting to wave at the people around them too.