Disclaimer: I DO NOT own the YU-GI-OH! charecters. Nor the song "Fade" by Stained.

This is a Seto and Joey fic, so it will contain yaoi.

This chapter is about and concentrates mainly on Joey's thoughts, actions and emotions. The chain of events that Joey experiences in this chapter, start to happen when Mokuba goes into Seto's room, during the last chapter and while Seto is packing and saying his goodbye to Mokuba

Chapter Three: Hate Without Your Love.

Normal P.O.V


Joey awoke with a violent jump, he was covered in sweat and breathing heavily. Nightmares, oh God, the nightmares. Not a whole dream, but broken shards of a terrifying nightmare. Crystal clear, random but brief flashes, involving his father, Yugi, all his other friends, his mother, Serenity, Mokuba, Gozuburo, Seto and.....death. Lot's of death.

Joey shook his head to clear the mental images, that still clung to his mind, he couldn't breathe, he felt like he was suffocating. He got up slowly, wincing at the pain in his body. It hurt all over.

Despite his sweat drenched hair, he was shivering. Tip-toeing across the room, he pressed his ear against the door, listening for any sounds comming from the other side. All was quiet. That meant that he was alone. His father was still out, probably drinking somewhere.

Joey's P.O.V

Good, he's not here. Im safe, for now at least. I need a shower and a coupla pain killers. I cautiously opened the door and walked towards the bathroom. After locking the bathroom door behind me, I strip off my bloodstained clothes and step into the shower. The hot water felt good on my aching body, but my cuts burned like Hell. I ignored the burning pain of the cuts I had, and tried to wash out the dried blood from my hair with shampoo.

(I try to breathe, memories over taking me, I try to face them but the thought is too much to conceive)

Shit, Im crying again, I can hardly breath, instead Im choking on my sobs. But something's changed, something's different now....along with my sadness and heartache, I can feel anger burning inside of me. I close my eyes tightly, trying to will away the images and memories that have now engulfed my mind. Memories of happier times....and not just with Dad, no, happier times when we were altogether....as a family. Thinking about the past will only make me unhappier, things will never go back to the way they once were. I just have to deal with that and move on.

(I only know that I can change, everything else just stays the same, so now I step out of the darkness that my life became, cause.....)

I know that I wasn't always the best son, I kept getting into trouble and everything....but I swear, I tried to change, especially after Mom left, because I know how hard it must have been for you. It wasn't my fault that things were so bad, I was trying to make it work, I really was.

It wasn't my fault that you got fired from your job because you were drunk. You blamed me for everything. I tried helping you any way that I could, but you still saw me as a problem. You took all your frustrations out on me, you treated me as your human punching bag and like a good little son, I lay there and took all of your beatings.

Well not any more. I refuse to let you treat me, the way you have been treating me all these years. I refuse to lie there and do nothing. I refuse to waste my tears on you anymore. I will step out of all this darkness, that you have put up around me, and I will fight back. If not for my sake, then for Seto's.

(I just needed someone to talk to, you were just too busy with yourself, you were never there for me to, express how I felt)

Sometimes I would just wish, that you were like other Dads out there. Even with Mom and Serenity gone, we still could have had a good healthy relantionship. But no, you chose alcohol instead of me. You started drinking like Hell and you just ignored me. You were never there for me, never. I was an emotional wreak inside, but you didn't care. You didn't want to know me.

And that's when I started taking comfort in Seto. He may have been my enemy but....he cared, even though he didn't show it. He cared a Hell of a lot more then you ever did. It all happened when Seto and I were paired up togeather, for a silly school project. We argued alot at first. Seto then saw the bruises on my arms, the bruises that you, Dad, gave to me. He started asking questions, and I always told him to go away, and leave me alone....but he wouldn't. He seemed concerned. Genuinely concerned. I broke down in front of him, and told him everything. He didn't say anything, he just held me in his arms....and for the first time in absolute ages, I had actually felt safe.

That same day, he invited me over to his house, to spend the night, explaining that this way we could spend the whole night working on our project, thus completing it, in a matter of hours. And it was that night, that very night, it was then that Seto confessed his true feelings for me.

I was shocked at first, but deep down I knew, that I felt the same way for Seto. I was sitting up in bed, in one of the many guest bedrooms at the Kaibe Mansion, when Seto had told me that he Loved me. He was sitting oppisite me, on the duvet, holding my hand.

After emptying his heart out, and filling my once empty one with his Love, he leaned over and kissed me gently on my lips. I will never, ever forget that feeling. That feeling I had, when he pressed his lips to mine, for the very first time. And I knew that it was then, on that very night, I knew in my heart that my life had changed forever.

(I just stuffed it down, now Im older I feel like I can let, some of this anger fade)

I had kept all these emotions inside, I never talked to anybody about them. I couldn't, I was confused. Yugi noticed that there was something bothering me, he kept asking me what was wrong, but I couldn't tell him. If he ever found out that you, Dad, had been beating the crap out of me, every single night then, I don't know, I guess that Yugi would have had a heart attack or something. He's full of such pure innocence. I don't think that any kind of pain, has ever touched him, in any way, during his life. Lucky guy. I didn't want to be a burden, not on him....or on any of my other friends.

I could talk to Seto, though. He always understood, maybe because he was going through similar experiences. And Ra knows, how much my heart ached for him and Im sure that his heart ached for me.

All the mixed emotions I had before, have now faded away, all I have now are just two emotions, Love for Seto and hate, complete and utter hate, for you, Dad.

(But it seems the surface I am scratching, is the bed that I have made)

Was this all my fault? Did I bring all this pain on myself? Maybe if I had been a better person, then Mom and Serenity might not have left. No, I did everything I could to help, it's not my fault, it's your fault Dad. Well, not just your's.... Mom....she never once called me, did she? She left me and never once looked back. She left me in this Hell Hole.

(So where were you, when all this I was going through, you never took the time to ask me, just what you could do)

Why didn't you take me with you, Mom? We could have been happy together, just you, Serenity and I. What did I do that was so bad?

I wasn't upset anymore, I was mad. Why me? I slammed my fist into the shower wall, ignoring the pain that was shooting up my arm. The water had turned cold now, and I was freezing. I turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around my waist.

Once I was in my bedroom, I quickly changed into a pair of jeans and an old

T-shirt. I had decided to see Seto - no matter what. I'd go to the Kaiba Mansion and....and what? What could I possibly do? I'd try and get Mokuba's attention or something! I didn't have a solid plan, but I thought that I could make it up as I go. I was just pulling on my jacket, when I heard the front door slam.

Oh shit, he's back.

Normal P.O.V

Joey quietly crept into the main living room. His Father stood there, facing the window, with his back to Joey. The blonde thought that if his Father was really drunk, then he could quickly and quietly sneak out, without really being noticed. No such luck.

CRASH!!!

In his haste, Joey had stupidly knocked over a vase. His eyes had been on his father, and he hadn't really been paying attention to where he was going, and to what was in front of him.

Joey's Father turned around at once. "And where the Hell, do ya think you're going?"

Joey was suprised. There was no slurring in his Father's sentence, yet he could still smell the alcohol. Maybe his Father wasn't THAT drunk.

"Uh...a f-f-friend's house?" Joey stuttered.

His Father closed the distance between them. "And which friend would that be?" He sneered. "Surley not that gay rich boy, that you've been screwing? He's nothing but a mere slu- "

SMACK!!!

Joey's Father staggered back, from the force of his son's punch, but unfortunately, he didn't fall over.

Joey was absolutley fuming. "You can say what you want about me, but don't you ever call Seto a - "

SMACK!!!

This time it had been Joey's Father, who had lashed out. The force of his Father's punch had knocked poor Joey to the ground.

SMASH!!!

The sound of glass breaking could clearly be heard. Joey's Father had just smashed an empty beer bottle on the table. He then straddled his son, forcing the blonde to keep still. Holding the broken bottle in his right hand, he waved it near Joey's face. The jagged edge of the bottle looked sharp and leathel, ready to cause deep damage to whatever got in it's way.

"Now, if you disrespect me one more time, just one more time, then I will ruin that pretty little face of yours, once and for all!" Joey's Father growled. "Ya know it's true, boy. There's no way that you could be with that rich punk, he's just using ya, can't you see? You're nothing but a worthless slut to him. Say it!"

Joey gluped. He could feel the tears behind his eyes, but he refused to cry.

"I said, SAY IT"! His Father pressed the sharp edge onto Joey's face, not too hard, but hard enough to make a thin cut on Joey's cheek. Joey gasped as he felt the blood seep out of his wound.

"I....Im nothing but a....worthless....slut....to him" Joey mumbled.

No No No! That's not true! Joey thought silently, Seto loves me. I know it! A simple sentence isn't going to change that.

"And he's nothing but a worthless whore" Joey's Father almost snarled the sentence out. "Say it!"

Joey's heart was pounding in his chest, he felt as if he was about to pass out. There is no way that Im saying that, he thought. No way.

Seeing that he wasn't going to get an answer out of his son, the older man raised his free hand and slapped Joey hard across the face. Joey gasped at the pain, his cheek was stinging, and his head was hurting like Hell.

"I won't say it! I will never say it!" Joey screamed.

Joey's Father struck the blonde in the face, with the broken beer bottle, this time the cut was deep and blood was gushing down joey's face. Joey screamed out in complete agony. And this time, he couldn't stop his tears, they fell freely from his eyes, mixing in with his blood, stinging the cut on his cheek, even more.

"Drop the rich punk, I can get you a coupla nice girls.Whaddaya say?" Joey's Father laughed harshly "Or maybe you're just after the faggot's money, huh?"

In a blind rage of fury, Joey pushed both his hands up to his Father's chest, knocking the man off balance. He fell to the ground, the beer bottle rolling away from his hand. In a flash, Joey was on top of his Father.

And it was that very moment, when Seto walked in, to get Joey. Seto stared at the scence in front of him, but he didn't move. He stood there, shocked at the events taking place, before his very eyes.

"I Love him, you bastard! Why is that so hard for you to understand?" Joey screamed.

There on the floor, lay a forty-something year old man, with a blonde sitting on top of him, beating the man's face with both his fists. The blonde, Seto's own Puppy, was in a rage, screaming abuse and insults to the man below him. Seto would have laughed at the scence, if it hadn't been for his Puppy's face. Joey was bleeding like Hell.

Striding over to the struggling pair, Seto bent down and wrapped his arms around Joey's waist, pulling him away from the man below. Joey panicked at the new contact and immeadiatly began struggling and kicking, until Seto whispered in his ear, "It's okay Puppy, it's just me".

Joey turned around at once "Seto!" he said, half crying, half laughing. He fell into his Lover's arms.

Seto hugged him tightly. "We're getting outta here" he whispered, kissing the top of Joey's head.

Seto looked over Joey's shoulder, the man on the floor was still lying there, trying to catch his breath. His face was a bloody mess. "Im so proud of you, Pup" Seto murmered, picking Joey up.

Seto carried the blonde downstairs, to the car. "I'll be right back." Seto whispered as he lay Joey down gently, onto the back seat.

Walking back to the apartment, Seto grabbed a few of Joey's things. Before walking out, he walked over to Joey's Father, who was still laying down on the floor.

"You bastard, I could kill you right now" Seto said, his voice low and dangerous. He gave the man on the floor a swift kick to the stomach. "Beating your own son, you should be ashamed of yourself. At least Gozuburo's not my real father, that's comforting I guess....in some strange way".

Another kick. The man on the floor grunted in pain. Another kick. "If you ever touch Joey again, If you ever touch MY PUPPY again, then I will kill you, I will honestly fucking kill you, you son of a bitch! You got that?"

The man on the floor, gave the tall brunette a weak nod. Seto smiled coldly "Good". He aimed another kick at the man, and then turned on his heels and walked out of the apartment, to his awaiting Lover.

Freedom, at last. Seto thought.

End of Chapter Three.

Author's Note: Uh-huh, just click for the next chappie!