I'm back! Here's the new Fusion! The old one will be taken down after I've gotten a few chapters up!

Story/ Chapter Summary:

When the world goes to shit, 25 year old Joey Wheeler propels to the past to prevent

doom. Having been sent back too far he decides to have fun. If that involves throwing

himself at his future husband, well, why not?

What Joey hadn't counted on was that his preventing his world's apocalypse would open the door to something far worse.

(Or, the one where Joey loves messing with people's sanity, Duel Monsters are real, and Seto Kaiba is too young for marriage)

Be Careful What You Wish For-

Domino City, Japan

Year 2013

Transformation took little effort now.

With a practiced ease, ink-black hair receded to give way to blonde tuffs. Red orbs simmered to amber, the markings on his face and body vanished. It was a vast change to be sure. He looked normal now.

Once upon a time he felt normal too.

A roar sounded from somewhere near. The blonde man smiled at the sound. His familiar always made a show of protest whenever he cut off their bond. Not that it was ever truly cut off, though it was severely muted.

He reached out to give the black-scaled head a rub. "It'll be a long while buddy, but not forever. I promise."

A purr sounded and warmth touched him from where it flared out of his familiar's nostrils.

He laughed. "You big lug."

The blond stared at the spot where his familiar dematerialized from view for a few moments. With a hard swallow he pushed down the knot that threatened to form in his throat, a maneuver he'd long since become familiar with.

Finally, he turned to his other companion.

Full-blown white eyes faced him.

Although he cut down on his predilection for outbursts, he couldn't quite stop himself from flinching then.

His companion smiled, smugly. "I still scare you."

A blond brow twitched. That wasn't a question. "Not my fault you got them freaky eyes."

"I take offense to that."

"But it's true!"

"I take offense to that too."

"Oh Ra," the blond groaned, slapping a hand to his forehead and rubbing it down his face. It stopped at his chin as his eyes turned up. "The sky will be blue again."

"Mmm?"

"It's been more than a year since the sky's been blue," he explained. Amber eyes narrowed at the ash and gray that lit the view above them. "It'll be… weird, I guess."

His companion eyed him carefully. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

A sigh. "There's no other option."

"You'll be starting over."

"It'll be worth it."

"Not just with the events, but with the people too."

"You think I don't know that!?" the blond snapped, making a cutting gesture through the air with his hand. "Those people are no longer here!"

Silence.

"Look," he huffed after a tense minute passed. "We've been over this. I'm going back and making things right."

"We won the war."

"But the cost-" the blond paused, again swallowed with difficulty. "The cost was much too high."

His companion waited a moment. "Your friends won't be the same. The realization will jar you."

He scoffed, a trait picked up. "We've been through a lot, since before this chaos even began."

"But you never fought like this, not then. The bonds forged here will be lost."

The blond didn't respond.

"Your husband-"

"Enough!" amber flashed red, momentarily. His arms crossed. "Just... enough."

"Very well," the Ethereal figure relented. It moved to stand in front of him, bringing back attention to the all-white gaze.

Fuck if those eyes weren't creepy.

"So, how does this start? What do I have to-"

"In solving one catastrophe you open up another with far more reaching consequences. Time will come when you will wonder if this was not the better alternative."

"Wait, what?" the blond blinked, hands falling open to his sides.

"Do not give in to such wonder," the figure urged him.

"Hold on a sec! Tell me what that's-"

Pain.

The damn thing moved too fast for him to counter. The blond male being who he was, that was no small matter.

Though, he did manage to mutter a curse before the blackness took over his consciousness.

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Domino City, Japan

Nearing the end of Freshman Year

March 2004

The sound of glass breaking woke him.

Not that it took much to rouse him out of sleep anymore in all honesty. He had a few moments of shock regardless when his eyes first popped open; immediately searching his surroundings, assessing.

'Where am I?'

Wait-

He knew this place. So much time spent away couldn't erase the memories of these four walls.

'Shit.'

He'd been warned he could be sent back further than he like, but this- this was years before the war would begin if he was correct about the time period.

His eyes landed on the school uniform lying in a heap just as he heard more glass breaking.

With more fluid grace than he possessed at this age before, he got up and quickly changed. He was out the window in record time, easily slipping the screen back into place behind him. He paused as he looked back in through the window, caught in a memory the sight of his old bedroom brought up.

Previously, the sound of his father shattering beer bottles would have sent him tripping across the room, dressing haphazardly, throwing the window open, tearing the already frayed screen some more as he flung his body through it, and making his way down the fire escape so fast he was lucky he never plunged down headfirst.

But, that was then and this is now; which is the same then so to speak but what will become different future.

'It's called establishing an alternate reality,' his husband's voice echoed in his head, the teasing tilt to baritone voice something he'd come to love with time.

The blond choked on air, hands coming to grip the railing of the fire-escape with white-knuckled fists.

He could still hear him at times. Picture the sway of brown hair as his husband shook his head fondly, the bright light within blue eyes that failed to veil amusement.

The memories still managed to hurt, every time.

'Fuck.' A shuddered breath was expelled. Another. 'Fuck.'

CRASH.

Another bottle broken.

But, the haze he got caught up in was broken too.

He threw his legs over the railing and maneuvered down the side of the fire escape. Probably not the best way to test if his strength and agility was up to par, but there would always be a recklessness to him.

He was happy to find that he only really lacked in sheer strength. It was expected as he no longer possessed the musculature he built over years of fighting. His agility was relatively the same, though it could always be better. The only reason it was decent now was from his years of running with a gang. Literally having to run some of the time wasn't always enough to keep the cops from catching you. Being able to maneuver and squeeze through obstacles often made all the difference between a narrow snag.

Although he'd never been a weakling, this time around he'll build himself up sooner. If he'd just been a bit faster, just a little bit stronger last time around he could have prevented some of the deaths-

Angst rolled his belly. He stopped his brisk pace, hands clenching at his sides.

'Stop it.'

He hadn't meant to think of it like that, something so horrible looked on so casually. He didn't want to focus on it either. That future no longer existed. That's what he was here for, to make sure it never came to be.

His friends were here. Alive.

The world wasn't yet lost.

His husband-

He sucked in a breath, tight, through his teeth.

He wasn't 25 anymore. He wasn't married anymore. For all intents and purposes he was (at least he thought he was) 16 years old again.

Focus.

He resumed his walk. As soon as he got to school he'd be able to determine his age for sure.

Just don't think.

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"Good morning Joey."

The blond had frozen when he entered the room and spotted the tri-colored head. His heart pounded when said-head swiveled around and lilac eyes found him. Yugi greeted him with a happy smile. A smile he'd known to grow rare- up until it was just gone.

His lips stretched of their own volition.

"Mornin' Yug," he replied rather affectionately.

His friend's eyes lit up at that and Joey's smile stretched just the bit wider for it.

He drank in the sight. Yugi, young and alive.

And happy.

"What? Are you just going to ignore us?"

Joey covered a shuddered breath with nervous laughter.

"Mornin' Tris. Mornin' Tea. Mornin' Ryou."

"That's more like it man," Tristan bumped shoulders with him. "So good morning to you too bud."

"Yes, good morning," Ryou returned, lips thin but eyes soft.

"Wonderful actually," Tea admonished as she took to staring at Joey. "You seem distracted."

Clever Tea. She'd always been the most perceptive of them, though she lacked in pinning down just what was up.

He tried so hard to keep from gathering them all up in his arms. His fingers itched at the tips.

"Oh ya know, just being here at school and all," he answered casually with a shrug. 'Dammit.' His own smile began to hurt. But, he couldn't retract it. He was here, with his friends. How could he not be happy? His heart could pop from all the happy that swelled it.

"Hey Joey, wanna duel before class starts?"

Pop!

Yeah, there went his heart.

As Joey shuffled his cards he ruminated on whether or not he should outplay Yugi. It would be so easy to beat the 'King of Games' as he was right then.

The door slid open and he looked over out of habit, unable to keep himself from keeping track of the people who entered and left the room. The appearance of this particular person stilled him.

His husband.

He could see it in the teenager, the man he'd come to love. The comfort he found in the tall stature leading to a habit of pressing kisses to the pale curve of his jaw. Smells of coffee he'd never taken a taste to, but developed a habit of brewing in the mornings for his surprisingly lethargic lover. The touch of brunette locks on his cheek when he awoke, almost as often as he rose to find himself cradled against smooth pecs.

(Oh, how he teased his love about his tidy appearance. And was teased in return for his caveman hygiene)

Time stretched before him to show the love, the understanding, the acceptance he always so desperately craved all wrapped up in this one person. Someone he so gloriously had...

Joey groaned and slapped a hand over his eyes to disguise how he fought back tears. There was so much love that wanted to burst from his skin and pour out of his mouth, but remained stuck within.

It had to remain within.

The tall brunette paid no one (least of all him) any mind as he took his seat and pulled out a book.

So much would come to pass before they even got to the point of admitting they tolerated one another. In the grips of almost tearing each other apart, they unearthed love out of hopelessness.

Could he survive having to go through all their heart-rending trials again?

Joey had yet to look away from the person who had yet to spare him even a single glance.

Reality sunk in.

'Four years,' he mused.

He had four years before the world went to hell.

Four years of planning and preparing. Of choosing what to change and what to keep the same. Of preventing as much bad as he could.

Joey brushed off his friend's concerns, mumbling something about being hungry, and grinned as Yugi began the duel.

The fact was, he had too much time.

Why not have a little fun along the way?

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"That's incredible man! You won again!" Tristan gaped at him, eyes wide.

"You've picked up the game remarkably fast," Tea mentioned.

Yugi smiled brightly at him. "You're really awesome at this Joey."

"You guys are too much, really," the blond replied cheekily.

"I'd love to duel with you sometime Joey."

He looked over at their fair-haired friend, only just keeping from raising a brow. 'That's different. Ryou's outspoken when the mood strikes but he never liked to reach out for fear of Bakura…' A grin formed his lips nonetheless,"Sure thing Ryou." 'I'll do better by you this time too,' he mentally promised.

"Tea's right though," Tristan relented, slapping a hand down on Joey's shoulder. "How did you get so good so fast?"

"There's someone I want to challenge."

Yugi blinked. "Who do you want to challenge Joey?" the short teen asked.

Joey lifted his hand and pointed with a wicked grin. "Him."

His friends and their classmates around them all turned to look.

"Seto Kaiba!"

The outburst caused said brunette to look over only to find Joey pointing right at him.

"Yup," the blonde confirmed, catching the blue gaze. "That's who I want to duel." His hand retracted and his grin melted into a peculiar smile. "You ever notice how good-looking he is? Because he really, really is."

Maybe that was too far off tangent. Everyone stared at him with a mix of confusion and incredulity, especially his friends.

"What?" he teased, enjoying this far more than he expected he would. "He is! Those lips of his makes me wanna kiss him senseless, ya know? Hey Kaiba, have you ever modeled before?"

Seto wasn't as hard-hearted as he came off as (and how many years it took for him to learn that was embarrassing). Seto's eyes had widened initially at his words, though not long enough for anyone but Joey to notice as they quickly narrowed upon him.

The blond recognized how his once-love scrutinized him, trying to assess where he was coming from. It made his heart pound.

He tried not to feel hurt when Seto merely scoffed at whatever he thought he found and turned back to his book.

"Are you serious?! Is that why you want to duel him? Because you think he's… good-looking?"

The look on Tristan's face could have curdled milk. Joey almost laughed out-loud.

And yet, he could tell by the subtle shift of the tall brunette's chin that Seto too waited for his reply.

"Well, handsomeness aside," he drummed his fingers on the desk. "He is the Inter-Continental State Champ. He's one of the best duelists out there."

"I didn't know you followed Dueling at that level," Yugi remarked with slight awe.

The blond smiled. "I don't."

"What do you mean you don't?" Tea inquired, eyebrows drawn together.

Joey's smile only split wider. "There's another reason though," he continued. "Something I want from him should I win."

"Joey!" Tea remarked, though not without a blush and a hand to her mouth.

"Wow Tea." This time he did laugh, unable to contain it. "That's dirty."

Tea blushed harder.

Ryou looked away from them, but Joey caught the smile he wore.

"What is it then?" Tristan asked, giving him a poke.

He grinned impossible wide. "Why, to win his hand in marriage o' course."

The blond didn't pay attention to the uproar he caused. Instead, he studied the blue orbs that snapped up to catch him in their depths.

They matched the shade of the evening sky.

He really had missed the sky.

End Notes:

Let's break it down shall we?

Yugioh Duel Monsters aired on Kid's WB in the USA from 2001-2006

Because of that I've set the gang's graduation date for 2006. Joey will be 18 then, thus making him 25 in 2013.

The school system will be under the Japanese school system (the following is a generic sample of dates):

First Semester- April 7 to July 20

Second Semester- September 1 to December 25

Third Semester- January 8 to March 25

(This fic starts March of 2004, so the gang is just about to finish their Freshman year of high school, during which Season 0 of YGO takes place, and Duelist Kingdom occurs during the break before their Sophomore/Junior year)

The gang's ages (unless stated otherwise):

Freshman year- 15/16 yrs old

Sophomore/Junior year- 16/17 yrs old

Senior year- 17/18 years old

I have no idea when the following events take place, but these are my best guesses and what will be used for this fic:

Duelist Kingdom occurs after their Freshman year (between March and April of 2004).

Battle City occurs Winter Break of Sophomore/Junior year (December 2004 to January 2005) (This means there will be snow as it snows in Japan during Winter).

Yami departs during the break after their first semester of Senior year (during which the Millennium World Arc takes place) (between July and September of 2006).

And Yami returns 2 years later (2008).

War begins in 2008 and ends in 2013 in the Original Timeline (which Joey is now back to prevent).

Feel free to comment if any of the above confuses you or if there are any contradictions you'd like to point out!

Or if you just like/hate the story. I always appreciate feedback!