Dreamaway

Disclaimer and Authoress' Notes: Let's think about this logically for a moment. If I owned Yu-Gi-Oh, why would I be sitting around at my house writing fanfics about them? I don't think that I would be.

Yet another Yuugi/Jounouchi fic from me (though Seto/Isis seem to produce themselves more). Don't worry, Unchain Your Soul From Hate is still in progress, though my mom would kill me if she ever found out I was writing it so time I can work on it is highly limited. Actually, with my internet temporary disabled, it's very hard for me to find inspiration to write anything. Except this inspiration came from the Goo Goo Dolls' song "Hate This Place." So, on with the show and enjoy!

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The moon and stars shone down on Domino City, watching as a red leaf broke away from a tree. It spiraled down slowly, twisting and turning through the air until it finally hit the ground gently. Yuugi sighed, watching a bird fly by overhead, its outline silhouetted against the light of the full moon. He sat on the bed, staring out the window and waiting. Waiting could be the worst part of life sometimes, especially when the results of what one was waiting for could be so uncertain.

He was determined to wait, even if he was going to have to stay up all night. Violet eyes traveled from the open window to the messy room he was waiting in. Absent-mindedly, he reached down and picked up a crumpled t-shirt, throwing it into the laundry basket in the corner. It would give him something to think about besides his deep-seeded worries, and it would make his father happy. Yuugi certainly needed something else to think about at the moment. He began methodically cleaning the room, throwing the garbage away and placing the dirty clothes in the basket.

Somehow, it didn't seem to be distracting Yuugi very much. His mind wandered to what he was waiting for as he began to straighten up the desk. He barely paid any attention to what he was doing until his hand came in contact with cold metal. He looked down at a small silver key that was resting on the desk, memories rising in the back of his mind. He quickly brushed the key aside, along with the memories.

A loud crash came from behind him, followed by a loud, vehement curse. Yuugi smiled slightly; at least the waiting was finally over. "Jounouchi-kun," he said, turning around to face his friend.

Jounouchi had just managed to climb through the window and was now sitting on his bed. He pushed his hair out of his eyes, attempting to smile at his friend. "Yuugi, what are you doing here?"

Yuugi didn't answer him; in fact, he wasn't paying much attention to what Jounouchi was saying. He was too busy looking at the long scratch on Jounouchi's forearm which was still dripping blood that ran in a rivulet down his arm. He had been afraid something like that would happen, and he shook his head sadly. Jounouchi, noticing what Yuugi was looking at, felt a small twinge of guilt. Though, honestly, it wasn't like he asked Yuugi to worry about him so much. He tried to keep Yuugi out of it as much as possible. Yuugi's sad, violet eyes met his, and suddenly, all of Jounouchi's normal excuses didn't seem good enough anymore. "Jounouchi-kun..."

Jounouchi didn't know what to say. He didn't appreciate it when Yuugi sent him on these guilt trips, making him feel like he had done something wrong when he really hadn't. But it was obvious that Yuugi had been worried about him and that was why he had been waiting for him to get home. What was he supposed to do? Apologize for making him worry? Jounouchi, not able to look at Yuugi anymore, looked down at his floor, which was now clean. That only made him feel worse. He bit his lower lip, staring at Yuugi's shoes. "Yuugi, I -" This was absurd. Was he supposed to apologize for being himself?

Yuugi shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Jounouchi-kun." Jounouchi looked at him in surprise, then quickly looked away. Yuugi leaned back against Jounouchi's desk. It was amazing, the games they would play.

"I should probably get cleaned up," Jounouchi muttered, eyes kept on the floor as he made his way out the door.

Yuugi was left waiting alone in Jounouchi's room again, though this time he didn't have anything to worry about. He should have been used to it by now. Jounouchi was always disappearing for a few days, showing up later with cuts and bruises covering his body. Maybe he wouldn't worry about him so much if Jounouchi would just tell him where it was that he went. But Jounouchi never told anybody, and it seemed it would always remain a mystery.

Still, deep inside him, there constantly resided his darkest fear that next time would be the time that Jounouchi didn't come back. He never told anyone about this concern; he wouldn't even confide in his other half about it. The one person he wanted to talk to about it was the one person he could never tell. Things in his life were just complicated that way. Yuugi could faintly hear the sound of water running in the other room and he closed his eyes. If he asked Jounouchi about where he had been, all he would receive was another lie. The lies were commonplace by now, and Yuugi suspected that somehow they had entwined themselves with the truth.

The water stopped and a few moments later, Jounouchi came back through the door. At least he was clean now, though his hair was still dripping water as he made his way across the room. Yuugi watched Jounouchi make his way across the room, eventually sitting down on his bed. Hoping Yuugi would respond the way he normally did, but not quite so sure, Jounouchi hesitated before asking "Yuugi, do you think you could help me with this, please?"

Jounouchi was relieved to see Yuugi nod in agreement and start towards him. It was hard to wrap a bandage with one hand, and Jounouchi knew his dad sure as hell wasn't going to help him. Jounouchi couldn't remember anytime his dad had actually helped him. Yuugi kneeled down beside the bed, his gentle hands going to work at wrapping Jounouchi's arm. "Jounouchi-kun, are you sure you don't want someone to look at this?" Yuugi asked, looking up at him in concern.

Jounouchi quickly shook his head no. Doctors were always asking questions that he didn't feel like answering. Yuugi, on the other hand, had always been there for him, no questions asked. Not anymore, anyway. Yuugi was so gentle and had gotten so skilled at what he was doing that Jounouchi barely noticed what was happening until Yuugi said "Done."

"Thank you, Yuugi," Jounouchi replied, looking down at his now bandaged arm. Yuugi was too good to him at times, and there were points in his life when Jounouchi wondered if he had ever done enough for Yuugi. Sometimes he wondered why Yuugi had put up with him for so long. "What did you tell my dad when you got here?"

Yuugi shook his head, laughing slightly. "Nothing. He was so drunk he thought I was you." Jounouchi didn't see what was so funny about the situation. His dad could have seriously hurt Yuugi. "Jounouchi-kun?"

"Hmm?"

Yuugi moved from his spot on the floor to sit next to Jounouchi. "You're not going to make me go home now, are you?" What was Yuugi thinking? Why would Jounouchi send his best friend home all alone at this time of night? He shook his head, wondering what had gotten into Yuugi recently. "Good," Yuugi said in response, lying down and stretching out on the bed. "I think I've suffered enough tonight. I'll sleep on the bed and you can take the floor."

Jounouchi playfully shoved Yuugi to the side as he stretched out on the bed next to him. "I don't think so. It's my bed." With that, he closed his eyes and flicked off the light switch. "Good night, Yuugi."

"G'night, Jounouchi-kun." Yuugi stayed up for a bit longer, listening to Jounouchi's steady breathing and watching him as he drifted off into a peaceful slumber. Yuugi was so relieved to have him back and safe again that for one brief moment, he thought Jounouchi would stay this time. "Dream away," he added in a soft whisper.

~ You know the drill. This is the end of the first chapter and this is the point where you review and tell me how much you want me to continue. Please oh please review. I love feedback. See ya!