Yugi woke that morning with a long stretch. He hated mornings. He wasn't a morning person at all. And the fact that he ever had to get up made Yugi really mad at times. But he kne he had to. So, he shuffled into the bathroom and pulled out his electric shaver. He turned it on with a slow click and began to shave. He carefully guided the buzzing beast over his face, careful not to hurt himself with it.

"Morning Yugi," Yami greeted from inside Yugi's head in a voice that was a little to cheerful for Yugi's liking.

"Morning," Yugi grumbled sourly.

"Why the foul mood?" Yami asked teasingly, grinning a stupid grin that he only got when no one was looking and he was teasing Yugi, and that closely resmebled one of Joey's looks.

"Shaadup!" Yugi snapped bitterly back.

Yami snickered at little. This same thing happened almost every morning, and Yami never got tired of it.

Yugi wasn't very social or active until he had gotten one cup of the 'elixir of life', a.k.a. coffee. He never was. And until he started college, he had never had this problem. But now that he had some early classes, he had to have his coffee to wake him up and get him moving, and remotely socail.

Yugi finished shaving and turned the shaver off with another slow click. After he put the shaver in its correct place, he trudged out to the kitchen where he picked up the sacred coffee pot. Picking up his mug that was reserved for his coffee in the mornings, he poured the black liquid into the cup and watched the little bubbles that came from the pouring swirl around a little bit. Then, he began to drink. He drank slowly, and then with increasing speed as he began to wake. As soon as it was all down his throat, he felt much better. He felt like his old self again. Like he did before college and the reidicously early classes. And sure enough, he sprang to life and got ready for his college classes, just like Yami had seen every morning. Yugi had picked up his backpack and was just about to head out the door when the ring of the phone sung out through the room. And the sudden noise caused Yugi to jump. But he answered quickly.

"I wonder who that could be," Yugi stated as he picked up the phone after two rings. "Hello?" he said into the mouthpiece.

"Yes, is this Yugi J. Mutou?" an elderly man's voice asked in a catious tone.

"Yes, this is him," Yugi answered, nodding a little out of habit.

"Could you come to McSmities'?" the man inquired, his tone getting a little bolder.

"Uh, sure, but why?" Yugi questioned, raising an eyebrow involuntarily.

"You need to pick up your friend, uh, Joey Wheeler I think," the elderly man stated uncertainly, as if he wasn't sure that he was doing the right thing.

Yugi's heart leaped. What had happened? Why did he need to pick up Joey? Did Joey get hurt? Was he seriously injured? Will he be okay? And suddenly, a memory hit him. It was only then did he realized what McSmities' was. It was a bar. And that could only mean one thing. It could only mean what Yugi feared it meant.

"I'll be right there," Yugi assured the man.

The two hung up and Yugi raced to his car. He had to get there quick. He didn't know why, exactly, but that feeling was now pulsing through his body, telling him to move faster, quicker, to get there in a rush. Yugi speedily buckled his seatbelt and revved up the car with a twist of the key. Yami appeared in the seat next to him, and stared at Yugi quizzically for he had not been listening to the conversation between Yugi and the elder man.

"Yugi?" he asked to get his light's attention.

"No time to explain Yami," Yugi replied quickly. "You'll see."

"If you say so," Yami sighed and turned his eyes to the upcoming road.

Yugi sped off in the car towards McSmities. He knew he had to get there fast. He raced down the road to Joey, towards his best friend. The wind whipped through his hair relentlessly, because Yugi's car was an old, beat up one that didn't have a top on, unless Yugi put it on. It was sort of like a really cheap convertiable that took five minutes, and some muscle to convert. So, during the hot, and warm, months, he left the top off and when it became cold, he put it on and left it. It was quite a system he had worked out, really. But the system, or even the cool wind of the transition time between summer and winter didn't matter to Yugi. The only thing he cared about now was coming to the aid of his friend.

When he got there, he hesistated a little outside. He wasn't sure whehter he really wanted to go in. He had heard some bad things about McSmities. He had heard how it was the most violent bar in all of Domino. He had also heard how most of the people who die from alcohol overdosage came from McSmities because of the fact that the drinks were so cheap. He knew why this place creaped him out, and why he had never gone in. For one thing, Yugi never drank. He had never had an alcoholic beverage in his life, and didn't care to. The other reasons were the terrible things he's heard. But aside from all that, it was the most popular bar in town, most defiantely for the cheap drinks. Yugi didn't want to go inside, but he knew he must.

So, he pulled his unwilling body out of the car, mustered up all the courage he had, and walked in the door. He was greeted by the smell of alcohol and mens' bodies, and some other things that he'd rather not describe. He looked around. He saw men of all shapes and sizes. Some were big and muscular. Yugi was positive that they could break him into half without even trying, if they wanted. However, they were so focused on their conversations and drinks, they didn't even notice the small man come into their dwelling. Yugi was about to go to the bartender, which appeared to be the old man he had talked to earlier when he stopped. Yugi then saw a body underneath the bar, between two stools. It was Joey. He slumped over, his back curved in a sloppy manner while facing Yugi. His chin nearly came to his chest, stopping just inches short of his shirt. Joey's eyes were dull and unfocused as he looked at the ground, not really seeing anything. His mind was blank, Yugi could tell just by looking at him. Yugi, taking a breath, timidly walked over to him. It took a great deal of guts for Yugi to bend down and look closely at Joey, who seemed to be a little on the beaten side. Yugi sighed and put a hand on Joey's shoulder. Joey didn't seem to notice for a second, and then, he slowly looked up at Yugi.

"Joey, you okay?" Yugi asked, almost choking on the words.

"Hey Yug," Joey greeted, his words slurring together, a sloppy grin creeping over his face.

"What happened to you?" Yugi tried a different question seeing as how the first one didn't really get a response.

"Nothin', just had a couple drinks is all," Joey stated, his words slung together and undefined.

"Why?" Yugi persisted.

Yugi knew that Joey had a small alcohol addiction. It was a known fact with his friends. Whether Joey had ever said he had a problem or not wasn't the question. Most could see the problem. He could go through three twelve packs of beer in less than two weeks, sometimes less than two. And even though he may fight it, that isn't something that someone who has a beer every now and then can do. Joey always said that he just needed a drink every now and then, but that "every now and then" was two or three times a day. However, Joey had never gone to a bar, to Yugi's knowlegde. And he most certainly had never drank enough to become drunk. So, Yugi wondered what in the world happened.

But at the last question, Joey's face darkened and he looked back at the ground. Yugi could see sadness in his usually happy eyes. Something bad had happened to Joey, and Yugi had to find out what. Joey couldn't keep living like this.

"Joey," Yugi pressed a little urgently for he was beginning to feel eyes on his back.

"She said no," Joey mumbled, still not looking up.

"What?" Yugi asked, at little bewildered.

"She said no, not while I still had a problem with drinking," Joey muttered again, as if he had never wanted to tell, as though he regretted it.

As though a thunderbolt had hit him, Yugi understood. He now understood what Joey meant, and why he had done what he had done.

Flashback, last night

"Man Yug, I can't wait until tonight," Joey said happily as he sat by his best bud on the couch and putting his feet on the small coffee table infront of them as the two of them watched TV.

"Oh really? Why is that?" Yugi looked at his friend, taking his eyes off the screen to turn towards Joey out of politeness and interest.

"I'm gonna ask her tonight," Joey grinned widely, as though it was the best thing in the world.

Yugi gave him a puzzled look because the phrase didn't register in his head and simply responded with, "What?"

"You know, I'm gonna ask Mai to marry me tonight," Joey smiled, explaining himself a little better. "I've got reservations at a nice restaurant, and then, when I take her home, I'm gonna pop da question."

"That's great Joey," Yugi smiled at his pal with a nod.

Joey's smile got bigger and he pulled out a small black box from his coat pocket. With a slow movement, almost as though what was inside was the most sacred thing, Joey opened the tiny black box to show Yugi what it held inside its clutches. Inside laid a small golden ring that sparkled in the light. There were a couple of stones wedged into the top of it and in the middle of the two smaller stones, there was a slightly bigger one. It looked very expensive and it shone like Joey's eyes now did. Yugi smiled an encouraging smile as he looked at the ring.

"I think she'll love it Joey," Yugi nodded with a grin as Joey closed the box and slipped it back into the inner coat pocket it had come from.

"Come on Joey, let's get you home, or at least to my place," Yugi groaned as he tried to hoist Joey up on his feet.

But Joey was much to heavy for Yugi. The small man tried in vain to get his friend up. Yugi was just not strong enough. Yugi tired and tired to get Joey to his feet. But every time he braced himself against the ground and pulled on Joey's arms, he would just fall and fail.

"Come on Joey! Get up! I can't do it alone," Yugi told the dazed blonde that hadn't moved an inch.

Joey sat there for a coupld of seconds longer. And then, he stood up in a slow motion, making sure he didn't hit his head on the top of the bar. He swayed a little as he tried to steady himself. Yugi began to walk out when he noticed that Joey wasn't. Yugi sighed and walked back over to Joey, offering a shoulder. Joey leaned on it, almost greatfully. Then, the two walked to Yugi's car in a slow shuffle.

The short ride to Yugi's apartment was silent. Neither said a single word. Neither of them could come up with anything to say. They both felt tension between each other. Tension that they hadn't felt in years. And yet, Joey didn't know why he was silent. He had so much he needed to say, so much to get off his chest. And he had always trusted Yugi. So what was he waiting for? Why couldn't he say anything? Maybe, he thought, maybe because he felt as though his life had ended the night that Mai had said no.