Take Me Away to Paradise.

A/N: Yay! Chapter seven! Painfully short, though. Oh well. I have an extremely important notice: - this chapter, heck, this whole story, is dedicated to Flame Swordswoman, a wonderful person and artist! She's created an absolutely beautiful piece of art for this story, and as soon as I get the link, I'll put it up here! I'd like everyone to commend her for it!

Disclaimer: Same old. I own nothing.

Reviewer Responses: You guys are beautiful! (sniff).

Flame Swordswoman: See that? This whole thing is dedicated to you! You have my eternal gratitude for the picture! It's so amazing! And it fits right in! You didn't exaggerate, it's just right! Anything I can do for you, I will! You only have to ask. Man, I am SO happy!

Thanks for the e-mail about IRC! I got it! So…many…thanks……

Don't worry, Jou won't die….in this fic anyway! Don't forget I have a whole series in which to torture him!

Once again, thank you so, so much! Hope you like this chapter!

Raelyn-Mage: YAY! The plushies! Thank you so much! (kisses them). Hooray! You liked it! Thanks for the review, and I hope you like this one!

astalder27: I'm glad you liked it! It was sweet when they kissed! I was grinning like an idiot when I wrote that! Hope you enjoy this one! Thanks for reviewing!

Okami Kaze: Oh, they were SO eavesdropping! Lol, I would love to kill Anzu off, but I don't care about her enough to make her death an issue! Although, there IS a whole series where this one came from, so maybe you'll get lucky!

Aw! It was cute, huh? I liked it while I was writing it! Thanks for your lovely review! Hope you like this one!

FireieGurl: Aw, thanks! I'm glad they're together too! Hope you like this chapter! Thanks for your sweet review!

Okay! Here's a very short chapter seven! The next one is long, I promise!

Chapter 7.

"So he'll be okay, nii-sama?"

Seto smiled at the concern in his little brother's voice. Mokuba had always liked Jou, and was always pressuring his big brother to make a move. Needless to say, Mokuba was ecstatic when Seto told him that he had kissed Jou!

"He should be fine, Mokuba. But I'm going to stay with him tonight. Is that alright?"

"Of course, Seto! When he gets better, he should stay with us!"

Seto grinned. "He should indeed, Mokuba."

He winced as his brother's excited squeals reached his ears. "Mokuba. MOKUBA! Can I trust that you'll be okay?"

"You sure can, nii-sama!"

"Thank you, Mokuba. Go to bed at a reasonable hour. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye Seto!"

Seto hung up the phone, the faint trace of a smile staying on his face. He made his way back to Jou's room, stopping briefly on the way to look out of the window. Snow was now falling heavily, and he felt shaky with relief that he had found Jou, and that his puppy wasn't still out there. He shuddered when he realised what would have happened to Jounouchi if he had not been rescued. He didn't think he'd be able to live without the blonde boy…not anymore. He had been lucky – this time. Who knew what horrors awaited them both in the future?

Brushing away these thoughts, he entered Jou's room. Looking at his golden puppy, he smiled. Jou was sitting up in bed with a sketchbook in his lap. His beautiful honey-coloured eyes darted back and forth, as his strong hand sketched a smooth line across the page. He had a half smile on his battered face, and looked peaceful and content.

Seto didn't want to disturb the injured teen, but he couldn't ignore him.

"What are you drawing, pup?"

Jou looked up, startled. He pushed the sketchbook out of sight. "Nothin'."

Seto laughed, His lover had an unmistakable pout on his gorgeous, albeit bruised, features. He moved closer. "Come on, let me see your drawings!"

The blonde shook his head frantically. "No!"
"Why?"

Jou looked down. "You'll laugh."

Seto felt a strong rush of love for the embarrassed boy opposite him. "I won't laugh."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Jounouchi reached under the blankets on his bed, and pulled out a beautiful red book. He handed it to Seto, and proceeded to hide his face. The brunette boy flicked through the pages. He didn't laugh. He had never felt less like laughing in his entire life.

The pictures were amazing. They mostly featured Seto, in fantastic detail, coloured perfectly. They were drawn after Battle City, which suggested Jou had realised his feelings at around the same time as Seto had. He gasped at the images he was seeing, never having seen such lifelike drawings.

"These are amazing, puppy."

Jou smiled shyly, and Seto continued to look through the book. He smiled softly at some pictures of himself and Jou, and grinned outright at other pictures of Jou goofing around with his friends. He particularly liked one that featured his puppy seemingly having just won a duel against Yami, who was looking decidedly annoyed.

He continued to flick through until he came to the second to last page. This one featured Jou sitting against a wall, hugging his knees to his chest. The look on the drawn Jou's face was one of utter despair, tears falling from his eyes. The picture was drawn in harsh charcoal, illustrating Jou's distaste for himself and his life. Evil looking shadows crept in from the sides, ready to devour the fragile teen. It was dated two days ago.

Seto felt like his heart had been ripped in two. The picture made him feel like his puppy was to be taken from this world, and thrust into a land of terror and pain. Which, he realised, was probably normal to Jounouchi.

"Oh Jou…." He whispered, tears trickling down his cheeks. Jou looked up worriedly, and placed a trembling hand on Seto's shoulder.

"It's not gonna be like that anymore," he said hurriedly, reassuring the brunette teen. "Turn over."

Seto obeyed, and felt relief fill his heart once again. This picture was similar, but done in soft shades of colour. The Jou in the picture still cried, but looked hopeful too. Instead of the creepy shadows, Seto saw himself enclosed in a heart, with Yugi and the rest of Jou's friends and his sister Shizuka surrounding him. The heading "This is what I live for" was on the top of the page, written in Jou's messy handwriting.

He smiled softly. "It's beautiful, Jou. Really."

He leant over to Jou, and kissed him lightly. Jou responded by leaning into Seto's embrace, but then winced in pain. Seto clutched him to prevent him falling.

"What is it?"

He helped Jou to lie down gently.

"It's just…..my ribs…I'll be okay."

Seto stared at him, concern evident in his clear cerulean eyes. "Are you sure, pup? Maybe you should go to sleep now."

Jou glanced at his lap. "I can't." he muttered, his voice sounding ashamed.

"Why not, Jou?"

Jou looked up, tears falling from his beautiful eyes. "When I sleep, I remember."

Not for the first time that night, Seto felt his heart break a little. He took his puppy's hands in his own. Jou looked up, hope evident in his face.

"I promise you, Jounouchi. I won't leave your side. I promise, puppy."

Jou collapsed into fresh tears, and rested his head on Seto's chest. He said something, his voice muffled by his tears, and Seto's clothes. He kept talking, and Seto could only make out one phrase.

"I love you, Seto…"

He could really get used to hearing that.