Disclaimer: me no own you no sue got it?

Chapter 3

Yugi got to Jou's apartment and hammered on the door. He was sure that Keith was right behind him ready to pull him back and teach him obedience. He didn't want to go. He knew deep within himself that he couldn't live like that anymore. The door eventually opened in answer to his frantic hammering and Jou was there.

"Yug? Man are you…?" But he faltered as Yugi collapsed into his best friend's arms sobbing uncontrollably.

Jou pulled him in and shut the door.

"Lock it." Yugi said through his sobs. "He's coming for me I know it."

"What? Who?" Jou said confused. Yugi broke free and locked the door his hands shaking as he did so.

"Yug, what's going on?" Jou said after he had helped Yugi to a chair and poured him a drink.

"Keith he…" Yugi started to sob again unable to bring himself to tell Jou what had happened.

"Yugi what did he do to you?"

Yugi said nothing but lifted his head up to reveal his neck. Jou gasped in horror at the angry red marks that now adorned the pale skin. Without a word Yugi stood and took his top off showing many bruises some old some fresh.

"Oh my god." Jou said as he took in the extent of the injuries. "Yugi how long has this been going on for?"

"A few months, but I needed it, he said I was out of control and needed to be brought into line. He did it for my own good Jou; please don't be angry with him. Tonight though I thought he was going to kill me." Yugi confessed the tears starting again.

"I love him but I just don't think I can take anymore."

"Stay here with me." Jou said wishing he could kill Keith for making Yugi suffer like that. He had noticed that over time, his friend had become quiet and withdrawn at work but he couldn't quite put his finger on it now he knew and his blood boiled in anger.

"I don't know." Yugi said uncertainly. "Keith will be so angry if I don't go back, I…I'm scared Jou, I want to go back, want things to be as they were in the beginning but I'm so scared of what he'll do. I don't want to leave him though he loves me and would be devastated if I didn't go back."

"Yugi, no one in love makes bruises on the one they love. It's not right. Relationships are about giving and receiving but not so that it causes pain! He had no right to hurt you like that."

"But I deserved it, I should have done as I was told and then he wouldn't have needed to punish me." Yugi protested. "He loves me I know he does."

"No Yugi, he doesn't love you he loves the power he has over you do you understand? I bet he called you names too right?"

Slowly Yugi nodded.

"But I deserved them." He said adamant in his own mind that he really had deserved everything that Keith had done to him.

"I should go back to him." He said quietly.

"No Yugi please don't go back there, he will hurt you I know it."

"But I can't leave him Jou, he will be gutted."

"Then let me go with you." Jou said thinking that at least he would see what was going on.

Yugi thought about it and decided that at least if Jou could see for himself, then he would be satisfied and everything would be okay. Keith would be angry but he would take his punishment and then things would be okay again.

"Okay." He said quietly. "But you gotta promise to leave as soon as you check it's all okay. Keith doesn't like other people around."

Jou clenched his fists but just nodded.

They returned to the apartment to find it in darkness.

"He must be out or in bed." Yugi said in a low voice. "Promise you'll leave when you have seen inside?"

"Okay." Jou said

Yugi approached the front door and went to put his key into it. As he put pressure on the door though it swung open. Feeling puzzled he pushed the door wide and went inside with Jou following close behind.

Yugi flicked the hall light on and gasped. There was mess everywhere. As they went through into the living room they saw that everything was broken, smashed or torn to pieces. Yugi looked round at the things that he and Keith had brought between them and saw that nothing was left.

He collapsed into a heap on the floor realizing the awful truth that Keith must have destroyed everything in a rage after he had left. He saw him then for the person that he really was and he knew then that there would be no future for them.

"Come on Yug, let's go." Jou said gently taking Yugi's arm and helping him out. The ride back to Jou's passed in a blue and the next thing Yugi knew, he was sitting on Jou's settee sipping from a hot chocolate with marshmallows in it.

"Hey I'm sorry about what happened man." Jou said trying to break the silence and get Yugi to open up to him, but Yugi said nothing just stared into the steaming mug of brown liquid.

"Yug?" Jou said concern showing in his tone.

"I'm sorry Jou I don't really want to talk about it right now, is it okay if I get some sleep?"

"Yeah sure man that's fine. There's a settee in the spare room. I'll get you some blankets."

"Thanks Jou, I appreciate it." Yugi said getting up slowly and cradling his mug. Jou went to find blankets and when he returned, Yugi was already laying down with his back to the door and his eyes shut tight. Jou looked over and saw tears seeping out and running down his cheeks but he said nothing. Covering Yugi with the blankets he left the room and turned off the lights.

Jou was woken up a couple of hours later by crying and whimpering coming from the spare room. He got out of bed and ran through to see Yugi thrashing on the settee.

"No please Keith don't hurt me." He cried. Jou was by his side in an instant shaking him to bring him out of his nightmare.

"Yugi! Yugi! Wake up, you're having a bad dream." Jou said shaking him a little harder as he was still thrashing.

Yugi woke with a start. He was gasping and sweating. His eyes darted round the room and finally came to rest on Jou.

"Jou is that you?" he said fearfully. "I saw Keith, he was coming to get me but his face was so…evil." Yugi said his eyes still flicking round the room nervously.

Jou put his arms round him and held him close.

"It's all right." He soothed rubbing small circles on Yugi's back until he felt him calm down somewhat. "He's not going to come here, you're safe."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Okay, Jou?"

"Yeah Yug?"

"Would you stay with me?" Yugi's amethyst eyes fixed on Jou with a pleading that Jou couldn't resist.

"Yes of course I will." Jou said and lying down he spooned round Yugi's small lithe body and held him close. Yugi held onto Jou's arm that was round him as though it was his link to reality and safety from Keith.

"I'll look after you Yug." Jou murmured as they drifted off to sleep.

With Jou's careful encouragement and support, Yugi gradually realized just how bad things had been with Keith and he started to smile and enjoy life again. He came to realize that Keith had been nothing more than a power hungry bully and that he could find someone to love like Jou who had recently started seeing a great guy.

Some nights he still had nightmares but they became less and less as the weeks went on and Jou would always come and hold him and soothe him before lying down to hold him in his arms for the rest of the night.

One evening he persuaded Yugi to come out to a club with him. Yugi wasn't sure. He hadn't been out since he had been with Keith but Jou was persuasive and Yugi eventually caved in and agreed to go.

He had a good time in the end and even found himself being chatted up by a gorgeous guy with long black hair tied back in a ponytail and startling green eyes. Yugi liked him a lot and by the end of the night they had swapped numbers and agreed to see each other again.

Jou was happy to see Yugi going out and having fun again but after a few weeks Yugi knew it wouldn't work and broke off the relationship.

"It wasn't going to work out." He told Jou when he got home after breaking it off. "He just didn't like the same things I do."

"I thought you two were pretty close." Jou said surprised as Yugi hadn't said anything about splitting up with him.

"Well we were but it just didn't feel right, he did feel the same way, he just didn't want to hurt my feelings."

"Fair enough." Jou said shrugging and thinking that him and Seto (A.N. come on who else would it be?) were different but it worked for them. He would be there for him no matter what.

TBC…

The guy who Yugi met in this chapter was of course Otogi but you guys knew that anyway didn't you? heh