Virtually Yours

Chapter 3: Bytes and Pieces of a Shattered Heart

Joey's last week of freedom passed far too quickly. He would spend the mornings holed up in his room, reading until Andiron came online. The two players would go on quests and slay monsters and just talk. An outside observer would have been bored to tears, but Joey was having the time of his life. Yet all good things must eventually end.

And so it was that he and Andiron found themselves back at the Brighton Inn playing a chess mini-game. "I'll still be on, y'know, Professor. Just not as much."

Andiron sighed as he moved a piece. "I know. But I'm still going to miss you all the same. Check."

Joey frowned at Andiron's knight, and then moved his king out of the way. He'd yet to beat Andiron at this game, but it was fun trying. "I'll miss you too, man, but... I've got to work and save if I'm ever going to get away."

"Merry, if the job doesn't work out, call me. I've got plenty of room at my place, and I'd like it if you came to stay with me." Andiron paused, and in the silence, Joey could hear his nervous ragged breathing. "I'm a private person, Merry. I don't share my feelings easily, but... I like you. I like you and I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

Joey stared at the computer screen and sighed. "I've got to tell you something, Professor. If you don't freak out, then yeah... I'll call you if something happens with the job. Promise." Joey took a deep breath. It was Moment of Truth time. "Y'see, Professor, in real life, I... I'm a guy."

The minutes stretched out as Andiron and Joey concentrated on the chess match. The only words that Andiron spared were "check" and, at last, "checkmate." Finally Joey couldn't take it anymore. "Professor? Did you hear me?"

Finally Andiron flashed Joey a smile. "I heard. This is me not freaking out. It's a shock. I won't lie about that, but... I like you for who you are, Merry, not - if I may be so crass - what lies between your legs. And...I do want to help you out. I know what it's like to be abused. I've been in your shoes, Merry."

Joey's vision blurred up and he quickly wiped the tears from his eyes. "Y'know, Professor, the world would be a better place if more people were like you."

Andiron smiled again, and Joey wished the game allowed for more expressiveness. "There aren't many who would agree with you, Merry. But thank you. Now go get some sleep. We can't have you yawning on your first day-"

"Night," Joey corrected. "I'll be working night shifts. But I see what you're getting at. You be sure to rest, too. You sound as tired as I feel." The players wished each other sweet dreams before logging off.

Joey shut down his computer and hid it back under his bed before laying down for the night. Tomorrow was the big day - he'd begin working at Kaiba Corp as part of the janitorial staff. The work would be far from glamorous and exciting, but it would pay better than fast food places.

When he'd first gone to apply, Joey had been worried that he'd have to meet with Seto. But he'd merely been directed to the human resources department where he'd filled out his application. The head of the janitorial staff called a couple of days later, and after a short interview, it was decided that Joey would join the ranks of the employed.

Joey smiled to himself in the darkness. Even better than having a job, though, was knowing that the Professor would be there if something happened. But things would work out. And when he had a place of his own, Joey would call the Professor and invite him over for lunch, and the two would finally meet face-to-face.

Sleepily, Joey began murmuring the Professor's cell phone number to himself - a tactic he found worked better than counting sheep. With each repetition, Joey thrilled to the knowledge that he and the Professor shared a zip code. The Professor was somewhere out there... Somewhere close...

Joey had honestly meant to sleep in. Spending all day and a good chunk of the night with the Professor had left him sorely in need of rest. Yet before the sun had even risen, his bedroom doorknob began rattling violently. "Boy! Boy! Get your lazy good-for-nothing ass out of bed!"

A shudder of fear shook Joey's shoulders as he sat up. His dad was here, awake, and probably not sober. Joey threw himself out of bed, and grabbed his clothes. An escape was necessary, but he couldn't leave the apartment in just his boxers. So instead he set a record in speed-dressing.

The rattling at the door was getting louder. Joey figured it wouldn't be long until his father began trying to kick the door in. He needed to be gone by then. Joey grabbed his computer and some books, shoving them into his backpack. Then he jerked his window open and climbed out. Briefly he took in the alley that his room overlooked, and, more importantly, the dumpster below his window – his tried and true escape route.

Joey jumped.

As he fell, Joey tucked his body around his backpack, not wanting its contents to be damaged. "Oof!" he gasped, as he landed amongst the garbage bags. Luckily the garbage pick-up hadn't come yet, so his crash-landing was relatively soft, if somewhat smelly. At least he was safe for the moment. Disaster averted.

Humming to himself, Joey climbed out of the dumpster and began walking. He didn't have any set destination in mind. After an hour of aimless wandering, he wound up outside of the cafe where he spent all of his time playing Age of Heroes with the Professor. They were just opening the doors when he arrived.

Joey went inside and settled at his usual booth. He ordered a coffee and set up his computer. Andiron wasn't online. Might as well level up a little.

After half an hour of game play, Joey laid his head down on the table. He was out of the way; no one would care if he got a little bit of rest, and his game character was in a fairly safe spot. He'd just shut his eyes for a few minutes.

"Merry? Merry? Merry, are you there? Talk to me, dammit!" a worried voice sounded in Joey's ear.

Joey yawned hugely. What was it with people shouting at him every time he dozed off? First his dad, and now Andiron. Had sleeping suddenly become a crime or something? Wait... Andiron? Joey raised his head to the screen and saw that he was still logged into the game, and he'd set his Friend List to automatically accept voice messaging from Andiron.

"M'here, Prof," Joey mumbled, yawning again. He stretched and then took a sip of the nearly forgotten coffee, grimacing at the taste of the long-cold drink. Joey studied the screen a moment, trying to remember where "here" would be in the game. "At those seed-spitting bushes at the foot of Granite Mountain."

Joey watched the plants spit a seed back and forth as he listened to the Professor shift into "mother hen" mode. "Do you have any idea how worried I was? I've been calling your name for the past five minutes! And you should be sleeping! You've got a long night ahead of you!"

Joey considered seeing how long the knight would rant and rave, but only briefly. "I was sleeping, Prof. Well, trying to anyway. First my old man was pounding at my door, then you were shouting at me. Makes it kind of tough to get some shut-eye."

"Your father...," Andiron hissed in disgust, his tone inviting Joey to relate what happened. So Joey shared his daring escape out the window. As he talked, he set his character to work trying to catch that over-sized seed, figuring it would come in handy eventually. "So, wait," Andiron interrupted. "If you went out the window, then your door is still locked. How will you get back in your room? Do you pick locks in real life?"

"Nope," Joey laughed. "I don't have a clue how to do anything like that. I just get the screwdriver and take the doorknob apart." He went quiet as he watched the seed. Back and forth, back and forth – if he timed it just right... Joey clicked on the seed as it went flying by. "Ha! I got you, you little bastard!"

"What?" Andiron sputtered as he finally made it to Joey's screen.

Laughing, Joey made his character wave to the knight. "I caught their seed. Don't know what I'll do with it, but I've got it!"

Joey could picture the Professor sitting at his computer, shaking his head, a smile playing about his lips as he said, "You are something else, Merry. I'm not sure what yet, but you're definitely something. Now let's see if we can't figure out what to do with your seed."

Joey never knew what made him open his mouth next. Maybe it was a momentary bout of insanity. Or perhaps he was just tired of all of the borderline flirting. Though he wouldn't put it past the lack of sleep either. Whatever the reason, his words left even himself flabbergasted. "You can do whatever you want to with my seed."

Joey clapped his hands over his mouth. He couldn't have said what he thought he said, could he? He could feel his cheeks burning with embarrassment, and he was glad that at least his game character would keep a poker face. Oh, geez! The Professor was going to think Joey was just some horny kid. He was going to... Laugh?

"Like I said before, Merry," Andiron chuckled. "You are something else. Now let's go."

As he usually did, the knight began walking away, leaving Joey to follow or not. Joey didn't mind; he'd come to realize that this was just the Professor's way. Joey knew that it was a matter of trust that he would stay by the Professor's side. That was what being a team was about.

Two hours later, neither player was any closer to knowing the purpose of the seed, though they did come across some rumors of a dryad. And they probably would've sought out the tree spirit, except that Joey couldn't stop yawning. "Go home," Andiron ordered after the fifth yawn in as many minutes. "Go take your doorknob apart and get some sleep. Just don't oversleep and miss work tonight."

Joey started to protest, until he ended up interrupting himself with another yawn. So, instead, he said his farewells, packed up, and headed for home. After a shower and a nap, he felt like a new man.

Much refreshed, Joey arrived at the Kaiba Corp building half an hour before his shift was due to start. That had been one of the Professor's suggestions. According to the Professor, showing up early would show his superiors that he was full of initiative and eager to work. Joey figured it wouldn't hurt to try, and the head of the janitorial staff certainly seemed happy to see him.

Over the next few weeks, Joey's life fell into a new pattern as he juggled sleep, work, and game time, all while avoiding his father. Joey would wake up early and go to the cafe where he and the Professor would chat and play. Then he would go home and nap. After that it would be off to work, and then back to the cafe for a sandwich and a little more game time before going home.

At work, Joey tried to be the best of the best, even though he was only a janitor. His toilets sparkled, his floors glistened, and no waste basket went unemptied. Sometimes Joey would take a breather and just stare at a phone. The temptation was there to call the Professor and say, "Surprise! I know you live close by! Want to meet up for coffee when I get off work?" But then Joey would realize how grubby he was, and he would shy away. No, when he met the Professor, he wanted things to be perfect.

"Hey! Earth to Merry! Don't tell me you're sleeping again!"

Joey broke off from his daydreams and smiled at the computer screen. "Nah, I'm awake, Prof. Just thinking a bit. That's all. So, where are you? I'll come to you this time around."

"Lilyvale Inn," came the response. In the background, Joey thought he could hear someone saying, "Please, please, please, please, please!" The voice sounded like Andiron's, which clued Joey in to the fact that his partner was using one of the game's voice mods as well. "Just a minute," Andiron sighed, and Joey suspected he was talking to the pleading "please" person. "Hey, Merry, I had to bring my kid brother to work with me today. And he's set on being a complete brat until I let him talk to you." Despite the roughness of the Professor's words, Joey picked up on the loving teasing in the tone.

"That's cool, Prof. Put the squirt on."

There was a moment of silence, followed by a distant, "Don't embarrass me," presumably from the Professor. And then, "So you're the guy my brother's in love with!"

"You BRAT!" the Professor roared in the background.

Joey was left howling with laughter while the Professer presumably scuffled with his little brother to get the headpiece back. "I am so sorry about that, Merry!" the Professor blurted when he returned. "I had no idea he was going to... It's not funny!"

"No, it is because my little sister would've done the exact same thing!" Joey managed to gasp out by way of explanation. "The exact same damn thing!"

The rest of the morning gaming passed without incident. And eventually the Professor shooed Joey off to get his midday nap. In his dreams, he could still hear the Professor's brother's words. "So you're the guy my brother's in love with."

The smile those words stirred stayed with Joey until the walkie-talkie on his cart crackled to life. "Wheeler! The big boss's little brother just tossed his cookies. Go upstairs and clean it up." Joey's blood ran cold at the thought of entering Kaiba's office while the CEO was still in the building. But he didn't have any choice.

When he opened the door to Kaiba's office, Joey heard a startled gasp. Then a small form launched itself from the desk. "Joey!" Mokuba squealed. "What are you doing here?"

Joey jerked his thumb towards his cart. "I'm the clean-up crew," he announced, feeling a little more at ease because he didn't see the elder Kaiba brother around. Joey ruffled Mokuba's hair fondly. Unlike his brother, Mokuba was actually a pretty cool little kid. Joey wasn't sure how two brothers could be so vastly different.

Sheepishly, Mokuba pointed Joey out to the mess. There wasn't much to it - nothing a quick wipe up and mopping couldn't fix. "I had some bad sushi last night," the kid confessed. "But I'm almost over it!"

Joey just grinned and set to work. He wiped up the mess, sealing up the used paper towels in a baggy. Just as he finished mopping, the door opened. Joey froze as he saw Kaiba sneering at him from the doorway. "Kaiba Corp has a strict no pets policy, Wheeler."

Swallowing, Joey straightened to face Kaiba. "Yeah, well, lucky for me I'm not a pet, jerk-face!" Joey knew what was coming up, so he figured he might as well get his digs in while he could.

"Get out of my building, you damn dog!" Kaiba snarled. "And don't ever come back!"

There it was; just what Joey had been expecting. His job was finished. Kaput. But he'd be damned if he'd give Kaiba the satisfaction of seeing him upset. Instead, Joey grabbed the baggy of puke towels and thrust it into Seto's hands as he walked out the door. "Be sure to take care of that, Moneybags," Joey smirked. "I'd do it, but I don't seem to be employed here anymore." The look of outrage on Kaiba's face almost made getting fired worth it. Almost.

It wasn't until he was out of the building that Joey allowed his shoulders to hunch up in defeat. Damn Kaiba anyway! At least Joey could still count on his friends, and he had a promise to keep. He made his way to the nearest pay phone, digging in his pocket for some change. His hands shook as he dropped the money in the slot and began to dial. This was it. He was finally going to arrange to meet the Professor, even though it wasn't the way he wanted to. One ring... Two...

"Hello?"

Joey frowned a little. There was something familiar about that voice. "Hey, I'm sorry to bother you, but is this-"

"Wheeler!" the voice at the other end of the line roared, and Joey stared at the phone in horror. Now he knew where he'd heard that voice, especially since it had just fired him. "How the hell did you get this number, you mangy fucking mutt?"

Joey's only response was to hang up. Of all the people in the world, how could his Professor possibly have been Seto Kaiba, King of the Assholes? With no clue what else to do, Joey began walking home, for once not even caring whether or not his old man would be in. Somewhere, Joey just knew the fates were laughing it up at his expense.