Disclaimer: I do not own YU GI OH or any of it's characters. However all original storylines are mine. This story has been written purely for entertainment value and no money has or will exchange hands. Thanx.


Harpies Lover.
by Arami heartilly

"There is no escape and no one to save you, no one can reach you here and soon there will be nothing left of you to reach." He spat, once again sealing her inside herself, there was no escape and nothing that she could do.

She could see her friends before her, running around in their daily lives without a thought for what was happening to her. Did they really not care? Was she really on her own from eternity?

Somewhere in the back of her mind she remembered a voice, a face and a laugh that belonged to someone who had once cared for her… a face that now looked through her place of entrapment like she was nothing to him. He and his friends had forgotten her and all she could remember was Meriks words…

She would never escape.

Half screaming Mai slipped back into consciousness and darted up out of the bed.


'RING' 'RING'

"Uh, what?" Joey mumbled, still half asleep as he tried to reach the source of the noise.

'RING' 'RING'

It continued as he fumbled around his nightstand until he found the phone.

"Hello?" he phrased it more as a question as he sat up in bed before he managed to fall back to sleep again. 'Who calls at dis hour?' His number was restricted so he knew the person on the other end had to at least know him. But all that came from the other end of the line was someone's breathing.

"Hello?" he asked again, louder this time. He couldn't explain it but he didn't think that this was a prank call – it would have been over by now and there was something not quite right about who ever was on the other end of the line. It sounded as though someone was crying, a girl at that.

"Hey are you alright?" Joey sounded a little more desperate this time, "who is dis and what's going on? Do you need - " but the phone line cut off leaving him sat there listening to the prolonged tone.

His thoughts flew from one scenario to the next as he tried in vain to redial the number so that he could talk to whoever she was again. He considered that it could have been his sister, but he quickly banished that thought, it wasn't her number and he'd spoken to her that evening – she'd been fine. It bothered him that someone he knew was in some sort of danger and that he was powerless to help.


"Hey Joey, you look tired this morning – you been up late on that game again?" Yugi asked as his blonde friend approached.

"Huh? What?" Joey questioned, running his hand through his hair and trying to shake himself back into some form of consciousness.

"You look like you've been up all night that's all." But the taller of the two seemed to have paid attention this time around and he answered his friend.

"Well you're half right Yuge." Joey told him, continuing to walk towards the school in a world of his own.

Yugi looked confused for a second and he stopped walking, something was obviously bothering his friend.

"Joey, do you mind if I ask you why?" and the blonde seemed to have noticed he was walking alone, he turned around.

"What? Sorry, it's just dis phone call I got last night, someone was crying at da other end and since den I haven't been able to concentrate on anything." He didn't seem to realise that he he'd answered Yugi's question though and he continued, "sorry Yuge, what was it you were askin me about?"

"Ahhhh, it doesn't matter, did you manage to get the number?" it seemed like a simple thing to him, but he knew that sometimes Joey seemed to miss the obvious and jump straight to the worst conclusion possible.

"Yeah, of corse I did. But I don't recognise it… I thought dat it might be Teá or Serenity, but I know der numbers and – "

"Have you though about Mai?" Yugi asked, cutting the blonde off.

The comment however seemed to have hit a nerve and Joey's face turned a deep shade of red very quickly.

"…Uh, what? Why would I think about her? She's just a friend a mine…. Sure she's good looking and everything but der's no reason for me te spent time thinkin about her and if you're suggestin…" he finally realised that he was over reacting when Yugi's eyes seemed to glaze over in confusion.

"No, I meant that maybe it was her who called you." He explained, and then noticed how Joey had now decided to find the pavement very interesting.

"Oh." And Yugi wondered if he was trying to hide the colour of his face.

"Well think about it Joey, it must be someone who knows you – or they wouldn't have your number, and it's not any of the other girls we know so it has to be Mai." It was good reasoning and probably very accurate, Yugi was beginning to notice that his friend looked at him whenever he mentioned Mai's name as well and he wondered for a second why something hadn't happened between them sooner. Especially not after what he'd watched Joey go through to try and save her from the shadow realm.

"Yeah, but I don't remember givin it to her – where else would she ave got it from?"

The smaller boy shrugged. "Maybe serenity gave it to her." He suggested, knowing that the two girls had become good friends.

"But why my number?" it wasn't as though he hadn't considered giving it to her… just that he hadn't quite got up the courage to actually go through with it.

"She was staying with you wasn't she?"

"Yeah, I suppose." Joey nodded, it made sense after all.

"Well then, call up directory enquiries. They'll be able to give you an address for the number, that'd help if she was staying in a hotel or has just moved house."

"You really think so?" Joey asked, glad that he'd spoken to his friend about this… he doubted he would have been able to figure it out on his own. He also glanced behind him, looking at the way he'd come. There was probably nothing he could do while he was at school and he still didn't know why she had called him. Whatever was wrong with her wouldn't wait till the end of the day.

"Yeah sure, I mean it's worth a try isn't it?" Yugi told him, before noticing where his friend was heading.

"Ahh, Yuge, do me a favour an tell the school dat I have some personal issues or something… I have to do dis now. If Mai really is in some sort of trouble then I have to go find her."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Yugi asked, already knowing what his best friends answer would be.

"No, I'll be fine – you go on ahead, I'm the one who has to do dis… I'm the one dat she called."


It was only after he got all the way home that he realised she could have been calling form a phone box somewhere… but that fear was quickly destroyed when he called up directory enquiries. He took the address, but he didn't want to just turn up, he still felt like he had to try something sooner – he didn't know how long it would take him to find her apartment.

So he called the number again, figuring she might actually answer him this time, but it just kept ringing and ringing.

"Damn it Mai, pick up da phone!" he muttered through gritted teeth, but the only thing he managed to get through to was the answer phone. Which at least clarified something – he knew then for certain it was her who'd called him.

"You've reached Mai Valentine, just leave your name and number."

But it only seemed to worry him; there were no sly remarks or quirky comebacks…

"Hi Mai, dis is Joey. Ahh, look are you ok? Cause I'm… uh, I'm really worried ok? Look I'll be there as soon as I can." And he put down the phone, falling onto his bed shortly afterwards.

He wanted to go and find her right then – he knew that was what he had to do, but he was scared of what he'd find or that she'd some how react badly to seeing him.

The truth was, despite the fact that she'd been the one to call him; Joey still held this fear that she would push him away as far as she could. It was the same fear of rejection that had kept him away since battle city, and evidentially since held started to consider her as more than just a friend to him.

But maybe it was time to swallow his pride and go after her, help her with whatever it was that was going on. This time he wouldn't be pushed away, even if after all of it she still only wanted his friendship. He had to make sure that Mai was all right; he cared about her too much to just leave things as they were.


At one point in her life she'd found comfort in the darkness that came with being alone. But that time had long passed and now all she wanted most in the world was the comfort of another human being. A familiar person to bring some form of light to her current state.

Even when she was awake it stayed with her - the threat of darkness and of complete isolation and slowly but surely it was pushing her to her limit.

Yet despite all of this, she still couldn't make herself pick up the phone and call him back. Part of her mind was still convinced it was nothing more than a cruel trick of her mind; he would never care enough to call her – would he? She knew that he had saved her once before but the memory seemed to be tainted somehow by the shadows and the details seemed to slip in and out of her mind.

Mai Valentine, the young woman who once said that she didn't need anyone, now needed someone more than anything else. She needed Joey wheeler to saver her from the darkness once again.


Two hours and two burger joints and three bus journeys later, Joey Wheeler stood in front of the apartment complex Mai hopefully lived in. It wasn't even that far away from where he lived – half an hours walk at the most. But he'd gotten lost several times – it seemed his road map wasn't as up to date as he had first thought.

The place looked exactly as he'd imagined, situated in one of Domino's more expensive areas it was obviously a very expensive and well kept building. Exactly the sort of place he'd expect Mai to live in.

But he had a feeling that it suited her for more than just that reason, he was beginning to notice that she used high class and money to hide sadness inside. He didn't know much about her past but he knew she hadn't exactly had the happiest of childhoods – something that he could relate to. But whereas he'd taken to the comfort found in friendship… she had decided to live on her own and close herself off from the world. Which had ended her in more pain than he was sure she'd started with.

With this in mind he fought back the nervousness he was feeling and pressed the bell next to her name.

"Mai?" he asked when he heard the intercom click on at the other end.

"J – J – Joey?" she answered slowly.

"Mai?" he asked, knowing that it was her but he felt so relieved to finally hear her speak to him, it let him know that he'd at least really found her.

"Yeah it's me… look I don't know wether ya got dat message I left…. Can I come in Mai?" Joey asked quickly, he still thought that she might ignore him like she had done on the phone.

"Joey?" her question seemed to be for even more confirmation that it was actually him.

"Yep, Joey Wheeler at yer service Mai." A loud buzzing sound followed his words and it took him a few seconds to realise that she'd opened the door that lead into the main entrance, he moved inside as quickly as he could and scared the two flights of stairs that lead to the floor she lived on.


Within a few minutes he was at her front door, having checked the piece of paper he'd scribbled her address down onto before he'd left home. There had been a few people walking the corridors ad they all seemed to look at him with an air of authority, he hadn't exactly helped this by running through three corridors but he wondered what Mai was doing in that sort of place. She might have had the money, but she had a far kinder heart. Well hidden, but it was there.

So, ignoring those who walked passed him, he knocked on her door, "Mai, it's Joey, you gonna let me in now? I'm gettin strange looks out here!"

She answered him immediately; she was leaning against the other side of the door listening to him.

"How do I know that it's you?" she asked, sounding like she had done when she'd been trapped during her duel on top of Kiaba's blimp.

"Urrr, because you called me last night and I've been tryin to find ya ever since…. I know that your favourite card is your harpy lady and dat… ahhh, how exactly am I supposed to prove I'm me Mai?" Some part of her brain told her that only Joey could be that clueless, but the other was more sceptical.

"I don't know… I don't understand anything… I can't…" she whispered, but he caught every word, now stood with his ear against the door.

'Mai you have ta let me in, please, I'm here to help… Mai?" panic seemed to grip him and visions of her falling onto the deck of the blimp, of her lying there in that medical room.

"Alright… you at least sound like him." He was about to ask her what she meant by sound like him but the door opened and he stepped inside before she had a chance to close it.

The door closed behind him automatically and surprised at her not being at the door, Joey walked down the small hallway to the dimly lit bedroom he could make out at the end of it, all of the other doors were closed - except for the kitchen.

"Mai?" he called as softly as he could when he approached the doorway to her bedroom. The walls were a lilac colour and the room was lit only by a small lamp on her bedside table and any light that managed to escape from the sides of the curtains over the large windows.

She sat on the corner of the bed, huddled between the elaborate bed frame and the wall and she looked… different, but it wasn't in her appearance, apart from the fact that her pyjama's made her look as though she'd just gotten out of bed. It was in her eyes. They looked as vacant and as scared as they did when she'd fallen under Meriks control.

He walked towards her, wary of the lavender eyes watching his every move.

"Whatcha mean by I sound like him?" he asked, standing just in front of the bed. "Do ya not know who I am Mai?" it was the only thing he could really think of to ask and it was really starting to bother him, she'd never carried on like this before… but then again she'd never called him in the middle of the night either.

"Does it matter?" she answered bleakly, "Just because I can see you doesn't mean you're really there… you never have been before."

"Huh?" he really was at a loss as to what was actually going on, he had some idea, but Joey wasn't exactly the best at reading people, he needed her to give him some sort of clue.

"You're just some dream or illusion and he'll come and take you away again… or make me disappear… I just hope that he hurry's up and gets on with it." She explained sadly and slowly he started to figure it out.

"Yer mean Merik." He said, remembering their duel… and the event's that followed, he felt more than a little dense for not realising it sooner, but it seemed as soon as the thought had entered his mind it all made perfect sense, her behaviour, her fears, everything.

Mai gave a gentle nod and hid herself away again, squeezing her eyes shut and just waiting, waiting for something that didn't seem to be happening.

"I'm still here Mai." He told her gently, wanting to reach over to her… but not quite able to.

"No, No… you're not real! You can't be!" she cried, shaking her head in order to remove what she believed to be the delusion in front of her.

"Would a imaginary delusion be able ta do dis?" Joey asked her, having summoned the courage to reach over to her huddled form and taking her into his arms he lifted her, being careful not to drop her, and carried her over to the large mirror on the adjoining wall.

"I'm here Mai, dis isn't some trick of yer mind – dis is real – I'm real, and I'm here te help you." He turned her gently so that she faced the mirror and held her shoulders with a gentle pressure. She had no choice but to look at their reflections.

"But it's… I don't…" she whispered, confused and unable to choose between the comfort his arms brought her and what she had come to accept as her reality – pain and loneliness. She'd been there so long that his touch and the feeling they invoked had become alien to her.

"Mai look, I don't know what's happened to ye dees past few months… and I'm sorry that I didn't keep in touch, but I didn't even know dat you were backing Domino till I got yer phone call." And again he couldn't help the sadness that it brought to his words, but he honestly hadn't known that she was there or that anything was wrong.

"Joey?" her voice was so quiet and uncertain that he couldn't tell if she was questioning the fact that he might actually be there or what he was telling her. He hoped that it was the latter, other wise it just meant that he was going round in circles.

"Look, what I'm trying te say is dat I'm sorry I wasn't der for ye Mai, but I am now… and I ain't goin anywhere till I know dat you're safe."

"Joey." Mai was studying their reflections in the mirror, her fingers tracing Joey's cheekbone as a tear rolled from her eye. Her heart ached, she daren't turn around in case he wasn't really there and even the pressure on her shoulders wasn't enough to convince her. Mai longed for him to hold her, really hold her but her mind told her that if she were to step back into him that he'd simply disappear, like he had done do many times before.

"I'm right here." He told her, taking his hand from her shoulder and playing it over hers, still tracing his image in the mirror.

Mai flinched at his touch, waiting until she was sure that it was actually there before relaxing her hand underneath his and taking a chance she leaned backwards. Only to find herself, moments later, in his arms. She still faced the mirror, but he held her with his arms crossed over her shoulders and his head resting against her neck. Within his hand he still held her's with their fingers now intertwined.

"I ain't leavin yer Mai, I promise." His breath on the side of her neck left a sensation that made her tingle all over and it was almost like she could feel him speaking to her. No one had ever done that before. He had never done that before.

"I don't…. how?" Mai stuttered, but then not caring if it was all a dream to ease her mind, she closed her eyes and turned herself around in his embrace, holding onto him tightly and allowing her tears to flow freely.


"Yeah hi, um I'd like te order a pizza."

"Nah, just da regular one will do thank's… yeah the address is….."

"Ah yeah, dat'll be ok, thank's."

Mai only caught pieces of the conversation that the tall blonde across the room was having over the phone. Ordering food in had seemed to be the only option. She hadn't wanted to go outside and he'd refused to leave her – plus there was the fact that there was hardly anything edible left in her kitchen and she couldn't recall the last time she'd eaten something that classed as an actual meal.

"Dey said dat it'll be about an hour and it's on me so der's no need for you to worry bout it." He told her walking casually over to where she sat on the corner of her bed.

Apart from the fact that she was no longer huddled against the wall she was sat in much the same way, holding her knees up to her chest with her long blonde hair falling around her shoulders in slightly messed up curls.

"Joey, you don't have to…" she trailed off as he came to sit next to her, looking concerned with his head down and his hands joined together between his legs as he sat.

"Why didn't cha tell someone what was goin on? I mean dat if I'd know – if any of us had actually know what was going on them – we – I'd have come to see ye sooner." She couldn't ignore the regret in his words or the way his shoulders slumped when he spoke, she could even see his knuckles tightening out of the corner of her eye.

He was taking this so harshly, as if it was all his fault. It wasn't, somewhere she knew that he'd have been there the moment that she asked him to be… but she couldn't find the words to tell him, or a real explanation as to why she hadn't.

"I mean if I'd a just know dat you were here den I wouldda called you or something, I thought dat we were your friends Mai." He didn't sound angry, only sad that he wasn't able to save her like he had done the last time she had needed someone.

"Joey…" she whispered, but she didn't think she'd be able to explain what exactly had driven her to do what she had – or why everything had turned out this way.

"You couldda at least told me yer name on da phone, I wouldda been here last night. I was so damn worried and I thought dat…" she looked at him then. Her eyes wide with shock, unsure what he was actually getting at.

"I just couldn't speak…. I tried, but all I could hear was his voice and calling you was the only way I could think of to make him go away." Mai spoke quietly but with determination, she wasn't going to let the voice in her mind control her while Joey was beside her. 'If he's really there'– STOP IT!!! She screamed at herself.

But Joey noticed her scrunch up her nose and shake her head.

"Mai?" he asked, sliding over the rich cotton covers to be at her side.

"I don't know why I stayed here – I meant to just get back on the road like I always have done before and travel around for a while." She paused and looked at him out of the corner of her eye and turned her head slightly. "But I couldn't, I just thought that if I stayed close enough to you guys then I'd be alright and the dreams would stop." She sounded as though she was about to cry again and he wondered if the reason she'd kept her being there a secret was so that no one would see her in the state that she was in now. She always seemed to come off so confident.

There had to be some way to show her that it was all right to be afraid.

"You keep dreamin dat you're back in da shadow realm don't cha, it's over now Mai, you'll never have to go back." But despite his gentle words and soothing voice, Mai still shook her head and looked him straight in the eye.

"It's NEVER over Joey, it's always 'here' and every time I close my eyes I can see the hour glass – or I live through the illusions 'he' creates in my mind… for all I know this could still be one of them – " Her words were cut off by a pair of strong arms that suddenly in circled her, refusing to let go.

"Dis is NO illusion… I don't know how I'm supposed to prove it to ya, but I'm goin te try." The more he understood what she had been going through the more his heart seemed to... break? Is dat the right word? He was running out of options and he just needed her to have a little faith. "Mai would I be talking to ye like dis if I was an illusion?" he asked, still holding on. "And would I be doin dis?"

Seemingly sheltered from her other fears whilst he held her, Mai allowed herself to think about it. Throughout everything that she'd seen in her mind Joey had always ignored her, or disappeared within a few seconds of being there. But here he was, arms wrapped around her, with his head once again against the side of her neck, his gentle breathing sending wave after wave of a sweet tingling sensation across her skin. She could feel herself relaxing into him, of her mind starting to break free of the hold it had been in… it was a feeling she wasn't used to and Mai wondered how he was able to make her feel that way. Did he really care about her that much?

"... Be here when I wake up." She whispered softly and he knew then that she'd fallen asleep because he was supporting her completely.

So, gently he moved across the bed and laid her down amongst the soft cushions, he couldn't help but watch her sleep though, her gentle breathing and the way she half smiled to herself. Joey considered lying down next to her and taking her into his arms once again, but unsure if that was the right thing to do or not he simply stayed there, next to her thankful that at last she had gotten some sleep.

It was the shrill ring of the doorbell that brought Mai from her peaceful oblivion, but as soon as her mind had started to return to consciousness, the darkness returned. There was something different though, it stayed away and seemed to be subsiding ever so slowly. But her mind wasn't aware of why… at least not yet.


"Mai, de pizza's here, I'm gonna go get it." And then it came back to her.

"Ummm…" she acknowledged and shifted over on top of the bed, her eye lids flickered open every now and again but she was content to stay in the warm feeling that had taken over her for as long as possible. And as long as he was there that didn't seem to be a problem.

That thought in it's self stirred up another feeling entirely different, and it turned out to be the one that had saved her. He was the only one she could think about the last night when she'd picked up the phone and part of her knew why. The part that had always know she would end up feeling the way she did about him… it was the same part of her that had made her stay so close to him and the rest of his friends.

The only problem was that it seemed to be impossible to express and every time she got any where near to it she backed out, scared that he would run from her, scared that he'd only ever see her as his friend and not who she wanted to be to him.

"Thank's dat's great, bye." She heard the door slam as he said it and slowly the smell of the pizza drifted her way. Mai finally opened her eyes and moved to sit up amongst the pillows and cushions pilled on her bed.

Joey walked over to her with a serene smile on his face, one that she recognised but couldn't quite read. Nevertheless she liked it when he looked at her that way, it kept the shadows away and gave her a warm feeling in her heart. If only she could tell him.

"Pizza?" he asked, taking the seat she offered him at the other end of her bed, he laid the box down in between them and sat cross legged across from her. He proceeded to open the bow and offer her the first slice. "Come on Mai, dis is only pizza… might not be what yer used to but I swear it tastes good." He told her when she hesitated, with her fingers above the box.

She didn't know why, but she couldn't tell him that it was because she though her fingers would slip right through. It was going to take her mind along time to get used to reality again and she didn't want him to know all of her insecurities… she needed him to act like nothing was wrong so she could adjust.

"It's fine Joey, it's just been a while." Was what she said instead, finally picking up the cheese and tomato covered slice and trying to regain some sense of dignity as she ate it. But her mind was really somewhere else. She still couldn't get over the fact that he had come to save her, that he had figured out where she was, granted with some help, but he had come to her and was still there.

"Yeah, I've been thinking bout that, how long have yer been here Mai?" he asked her, after finishing his second slice and leaning back against the rails and cushions on his end.

She didn't answer right away, pretending to finish chewing and swallowing before she answered him. "I never actually left." Then she sighed. "I stopped at the border of Domino, reversed my car and arrived here." She didn't look at him, slightly uncomfortable that he now knew how long these fears had been plaguing her.

"You really shudda said somethin, why did ya pretend that everything was ok and dat you wanted to be on your own again?" he knew that he might have been a little out of line just blurting that out… but he felt frustrated that she'd been hurting for that long and that he hadn't been there to help her, to care for her, to l….

He was actually happy when she spoke to him, glad that he didn't have to follow that particular line of thought any further.

"I… how am I supposed to know Joey? I guess I needed to see if I could handle being on my own again… I needed to stop being afraid and that I could get by without…" but she deliberately didn't finish the sentence, choosing to look at him so he could see that she hadn't meant it to sound so harsh.

But she couldn't read the look in his eyes, she didn't know whether he was angry or hurt and that scared her even more. She couldn't even remember why it had been something she had been determined to do, but she hadn't exactly known what she was doing. Until that morning she wasn't really sure what was real in the world and what was part of the illusion she had been living in.

She shook her head and gave in, closing her eyes to stop the tears that once again threatened to fall – all she seemed to be doing was crying in front of him. She didn't want him to see her this weak, she didn't want to come across as fragile.

"It's ok Mai." Joey soothed, removing the box and it's content from the bed so he could move closer to her. He'd been frozen moments earlier; his thoughts and the look on her face making him hurt more than her words did. He desperately wanted to get it across to her that she wasn't alone anymore.

But she just sat there shaking her head; so much for pretending everything was going to be fine.

"It's going to be ok Mai, I swear to ya." And he pulled her gently into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head. He felt her attempt to shake her head again and without even thinking, he pressed a kiss into her soft blonde hair.

Mai noticed the contact and froze, not sure how she was supposed to react, only that she wished he'd do that again. His one simple action that had silenced her fears completely – if only for a second.

"Joey…" she whispered, knowing that she had to do something. It occurred to her that he might have come to her apartment for the same reason that she had called him in the first place… and if that was true she had to take a chance.

Looking up at him she could see the apprehension in his eyes that she was feeling, he seemed frozen with his arms still frozen around here; the only movement from him was the slow rise and fall of his chest.

"I… I…" but it seemed that he couldn't actually 'say' anything else, he couldn't help but think that he had stepped over some boundary – one he was never supposed to cross.

"Shhh." Mai whispered as she placed one slender finger across his lips, she was smiling slightly lopsidedly and despite the tears that continued to fall; she had a peaceful look in her eyes.

He didn't know what he was supposed to do or think, the gentle pressure she was applying seemed to be all that he could think about, he knew how he felt – or rather he'd finally accepted it… but what was he supposed to do now? He'd gone there to try and help her, because he cared about her. Not to risk their friendship and take advantage of her current state of mind. The way she was looking at him though said something else all together.

Deciding to follow her instincts and the feelings that she'd been pushing aside since the darkness in her mind had started to take over, Mai traced her finger across his lips, and then gradually tracing his cheekbone up to his eyes.

Joey finally managed to move and slowly took one of his arms from around her and brushed his fingers through her hair. "I… Mai, I… I don't wanna take advantage of you like this." He said, finally and he put his hand down at his side, not quite ready to remove the arm he still had around her.

"You're not." She told him honestly.

"But… I… doin this now? Are ya sure it's a good idea?" all he wanted her to do was say yes, he needed to know it was ok for him to be doing this….

"Joey, we should have done this month's ago." And she sounded almost sad, sad that her pride and 'principles' had gotten the best of her after battle city. Would it have been so damn hard to tell him how I felt back then?

She realised that if she had then she could have escaped this all together… the thought bringing a renewed wave of tears to her eyes.

Seeing this, Joey pulled her towards him once more, "Come here." He told her, and she moved closer in his embrace, her head came to rest on his shoulder this time as she toyed with the hair around his neck.

Mai closed her eyes briefly, only opening them again when she felt his lips brush past her own. Responding to him she closed the small gap between them and returned the motion, slowly looping her arms around his neck as the kiss continued and deepened. Joey moved pulled her as close to him as he could, moving her round slightly so that her head was no longer on his shoulder. But there wasn't so much urgency in their kiss as there was a need for a connection with the other.

With each passing second Mai could feel the darkness leave her mind, no longer just suppressed – actually fading away in the wake of the feeling's he was invoking in her that fused with her own for him.

Eventually though, it was Joey who moved away, leaving just enough distance so that he could see her face, still keeping her close to him in his arms.

She was smiling at him again, although this time she looked more dreamy than anything else.

"Thank you." She said, her voice quiet and wistful as she hugged him and once again nuzzled her head against his neck.

"For what?" he managed to ask, not quite sure whether she was referring to the kiss or coming to her rescue.

"For not giving up on me, for saving me… and… for…" and Joey, because she knew she wouldn't finish that sentence, decided to finish it for her.

"Loving you." He whispered into her ear and she nodded, momentarily squeezing him tighter, afraid to let go… it would take a while for the darkness to leave completely, she knew she still needed to be close to him, she always had done.


Positive feedback and constructive criticism welcome, I've been working on this story for a long time and I would like to know what people think of it. I'd also like to thank Sakurazukamori for checking this over for me and encouraging me to post this story.