Thanks, as always, for the follows, favs, and especially, reviews! Here we goooooo!
"There's Joey's truck," Yugi sighed as Mokuba pulled into the small parking lot of Solomon's game shop. "I guess it's now or never, huh?"
"I'm starting to think we should just go with 'never,'" Mokuba replied, putting his Porsche in park. "Serenity and my brother had a good streak going - nearly two months in, and Joey still has no idea. I know he'll start asking questions sooner or later, but can't we just tell him she got fat?"
Yugi chuckled, but the sound was humorless.
"I know this won't be pleasant, but he deserves to know what's going on, too. As much as anyone does."
"I know, I know."
Though it was nearly April and spring was fast approaching, Domino still got cool once the sun went down. Yugi found himself pulling his jacket more tightly around his shoulders as they made the trek up the wooden stairs that would take them directly to his attic bedroom. Fumbling with the keys, he finally managed to find the right one and get the door open.
A blast of warmer air greeted them as he pulled the door open and they made their way in. Flopping down on Yugi's bed, Mokuba sighed with relief.
"I'm in the mood for a nap," he confessed, kicking off his shoes.
"Oh no you don't," Yugi said. "You're here to stick up for your brother, remember? Let's go, before we lose our nerve."
Sighing again, Mokuba got to his feet and shook out his arms and legs.
"Alright… time to bite the bullet."
As they left Yugi's room and made their way to the indoor stairs, the sounds of a first-person shooter being played on an Xbox drifted up to where they stood.
"Well… at least he'll have a way to vent his frustration," Mokuba suggested.
Yugi smiled weakly.
"Can't hurt, I guess."
As soon as they started their descent, Joey heard the footsteps and glanced up from where he sat on the floor surrounded by empty cans and chip bags. His expression immediately brightened.
"Mokuba! Yug! Get down here, I'm almost done with this round. We can do multiplayer for the next one. I gotta warn you though, I'm getting pretty good!"
Mokuba glanced over his shoulder and locked eyes with Yugi, who was looking increasingly anxious. It seemed like something about seeing his best friend in front of him in the flesh - so calm, so easygoing, so unaware that the biggest bomb of his life was about to be dropped on him - caused the reality of what he was about to do to sink in like it hadn't before.
"Actually… Joey, there's something Mokuba and I wanted to talk to you about," he said.
As they got to the bottom of the stairs, it seemed as though Joey was registering what his best friend had just said. He paused the game and put the controller down, giving them a look of concern.
"Is everybody okay?" he asked. "I noticed your grandpa wasn't here when I got in. I used the spare key under the flowerpot. I hope that's okay - I put it back and all. It seemed strange that he wasn't here, but I figured he might just be out doing his weekly grocery run so I didn't get too worked up."
"Well, uh, Grandpa actually is in the hospital," Yugi admitted. "But it's just a minor kidney infection and a little bit of dehydration. He's already responding to the antibiotics and fluids and they're discharging him tomorrow morning. It's nothing big."
"Yug, you should have called me!" Joey scolded. "I feel like a real jerk just sitting here playing games. Did Mokuba pick you up from the hospital, then?"
Mokuba and Yugi shared another look, the former nodding as though to confirm that the time had finally come.
"Actually, that brings us to the other part that we needed to tell you," Yugi said. "And I don't mean to be dramatic or anything, but you might want to sit down for this part. I mean sit for real - like, in a chair."
Joey, whose expression was slowly evolving from concern to panic, gave Mokuba a look that seemed to be begging for help or at least clarification. Seeing the younger man nod solemnly, Joey got to his feet and walked over to one of Solomon's worn green couches. As soon as he was settled, he resumed looking back and forth anxiously between Yugi and Mokuba.
"Something's really wrong," he said. "I can tell from the way you're acting."
"Well, let's get one thing out of the way first," Yugi replied. "Everybody's okay. I mean, like, nobody's life is in danger or anything."
Joey immediately looked as though he felt a little bit of relief, but it was also clear that his confusion had only intensified.
"That said, you do need to know that Serenity's in the hospital," Yugi finished.
Just like that, all the color drained from Joey's face. Any momentarily relief he had felt was already long forgotten.
"Why didn't she call me?" he demanded, his voice going up an octave. "What's the matter? Is it her eyes again? Is there an infection?"
"Joey... she's pregnant," Mokuba said.
Serenity's older brother and one-time best friend didn't respond immediately, but his hands began to tremble where they sat, folded, on his knees.
"She's… what?"
"She's pregnant, Joey," Yugi said softly. "She has been for about two months."
Joey's shaking hands slowly moved up to his messy blonde hair, where he clutched handfuls of it - whether with the intention of pulling it out in anguish or just anchoring his hands (which were trembling ever more violently), it was hard to tell.
"That's impossible," Joey said quietly. "This is a joke. I've lived with her for two years. She would have told me. As soon as she knew, she would have told me. She's not like that, she doesn't keep secrets."
"I know," Mokuba said sadly.
"There's just no way," Joey insisted. "You're… you're lying."
"We're not," Yugi replied. "Joey, you're my best friend. I would never lie to you about something like this. She had some complications, but she's going to be okay. She's just staying at the hospital so the doctors can keep an eye on her."
Though Joey still looked as though there were ten thousand thoughts racing through his mind, his expression was dominated by a combination of sadness, bewilderment, and hurt.
"Why didn't she tell me any of this?" he demanded, his voice catching. "We've always been there for each other. We've never kept a secret from each other in our lives."
"She would have, Joey," Mokuba said. "I know she would have. She was just afraid of what your reaction would be… when you found out who the baby's father was."
Joey looked up, his eyes wide. It was almost as though he had begun to accept the fact that his little sister might actually be pregnant, but he hadn't followed that line of reasoning far enough to realize that at some point along the way, there would have to have been some man who played a role in making her that way.
His sadness transformed instantly into anger. It was clear that Joey - ironically much like Kaiba - was someone who was much more at home being aggressive than being sad or frightened. The transition had been easy, and in its own way, it seemed as though it had been a source of comfort.
"Who is that slimy son-of-a-bitch?" Joey demanded, turning back to Yugi and Mokuba. "Who did this to her? I don't care what she says, I'll kick his ass. I'll kill him."
"And this is what she was afraid of," Mokuba sighed.
Turning on him, Joey grabbed his shoulders.
"What's this got to do with you?" he demanded. "How come you know so much? It's not you, is it?"
Yugi quickly put a hand on Joey's arm.
"Joey, take a deep breath," he cautioned.
Joey jerked away.
"I thought I liked you, kid," he shouted at Mokuba, "no matter who your brother is. But I know how you are, taking girls out in that fancy car and getting into clubs and buying them all those drinks. If I find it was you that did this to my baby sister - "
"It wasn't me!" Mokuba exclaimed, swatting away the finger that Joey pointed in his face. "It was my brother!"
The silence that fell between the three of them was instant. It was also as heavy and electric as the hot, windless air before a tornado appears. Joey's hands dropped as though he had received a real physical shock. Yugi gave Mokuba an accusatory look, as though blaming him for conveying such serious information so flippantly out of anger. Mokuba almost looked a little bit guilty for a moment, but by that point, Yugi had already leapt into action.
There was nothing else to do except damage control.
"Now, Joey - " he started, holding up both his hands.
"Just tell me one thing," Joey said, seemingly abandoning Mokuba to face Yugi. "Is this brat telling the truth? Did Kaiba get my sister pregnant?"
Yugi paused.
"Before you overreact, you've got to -"
The hesitation, combined with the warning, were enough of a confirmation for Joey.
"I'm leaving," he growled under his breath. "Don't follow me."
Yugi and Mokuba looked at each other. They didn't even exchange words, because they both knew exactly what had to be done: stop Joey at any cost, before he did something that got him arrested or someone else dead - or both.
Mokuba lunged forward, and his height advantage allowed him to grab Joey around the waist as he headed for the door.
"I said don't follow me!" Joey shouted, trying to shake Mokuba loose. The latter, however, held on impressively, even when he came close to catching an elbow in the eye.
"You've got to listen to what we have to say before you go off getting into trouble!" he insisted. "It's not what you think! You don't know everything there is to know about my brother."
"I know plenty."
With that, Joey grabbed hold of Mokuba's upper arms and physically shoved him away. Though he had struggled valiantly, Mokuba was lanky, and his height was no match for Joey's raw strength. He stumbled in defeat, landing on his knees on the floor of the game shop.
Yugi rushed forward, one arm extended.
"Joey, don't -"
But his voice trailed off, because Joey was already reaching for the doorknob.
