Chapter 14:

When Yugi had placed his small bandaged hand on top of Joey's, Joey had slightly jumped with a start. He was unused to this…this tactile approach to comfort. Growing up in a split household with an abusive alcoholic for a father had taught him a few things.

Don't be a wuss.

Softness is weakness. Emotions can only lead to pain. No one ever stuck around anyway. They always left. Always. But as he looked down at the large eyes of Yugi, he saw no malice, no signs of likely abandonment—only compassion and kindness. Despite everything Joey had (unwillingly) put the kid through, he still found room in his heart for sympathy towards his tormentor. How was such a thing even possible?

Always put yourself first.

Relying on other people led to nothing but a broken heart. Joey had once trusted in his mother for everything a young boy should in the first woman in his life. He had depended on her for unconditional love and protection from the world. He had received neither. She had left him with a drunk that beat him until he was old enough to fight back, and she had taken his sister with her. Joey couldn't take anymore disappointment. After all, if his own mother couldn't even be there for him, why should he ever think anyone else could do the same? Nonetheless, he could not help the real smile that appeared on his face at Yugi's gesture. He seemed genuine, perhaps more genuine than anyone he had ever met. No wonder Yami was so protective of him…

Joey shook his head, ridding himself of the thought as the smile suddenly disappeared. No, he couldn't think that way. These self-imposed by-laws had kept him from being hurt—mentally and physically—for the past few years, and he would continue to live by them. He was just trying to get his life back from a psychopath, and to hell with whoever suffered in the process. Besides, he wouldn't forget the biggest and most important rule of them all:

No one can be trusted.

Exactly. Trust no one, Joseph, Marik hissed like a serpent within Joey's mind.

Even you? Joey thought back, starting to get a grip on this whole mind link thing. The trick was trying to control his facial expressions simultaneously. He heard Marik's deep chuckle of amusement.

Especially, me.

Joey involuntarily shivered at the honesty behind his words.

If you want me to get Yugi to trust me, then lemme do it my way, Marik. Back off, he commanded. He dared to believe Marik wouldn't punish him for his bold tongue in front of Yugi, so he didn't mind being a bit braver. He felt Marik's hesitance as if he wanted to respond, but then he quickly pulled back from his mind and gave Joey full control. With a shaky breath, he only hoped he wouldn't suffer for his big mouth later.

"Ahem, so how is your hand feelin', Yug'?" Joey asked, his face turning serious once more as he pulled his own hand back to sheepishly scratch the back of his head. Yugi was disappointed to see him almost immediately revert backwards, but he wouldn't forget the small sliver of what he hoped was the real Joey that he had seen in his smile. It was obvious Joey was hiding behind some wall, and even though he had seemed to ruin his life, Yugi wanted to help him. Maybe by helping Joey, he could help himself.

Yugi twisted his battered hand around experimentally, humming a slight approval. The ointment was starting to numb the pain even more, so Yugi knew at this point his biggest concern was going to be trying to hide the wounds from his grandfather. That was a problem for later, he decided.

"Well, since you're here, maybe we could come to some kinda…truce?" Yugi turned his attention immediately back to Joey who was looking down at his lap. That was the last thing Yugi had expected to hear from him. "I mean, we are partners."

Yugi blinked. "A truce?"

Joey snorted, his signature smirk appearing once more. "I mean, it ain't no secret that your boyfriend don't like me, but we gotta project to finish."

At the mention of Yami, Yugi felt his heart plummet. Tears sprung to his eyes and he forcefully shut them before they could fall, covering his face with his hands. In all of this chaos, he had forgotten about the biggest problem of them all. How would he ever get his other half to hear him out? Joey seemed to notice the change in Yugi's demeanor instantly.

"I'm sorry, Yug'."

"I don't understand you, Joey," Yugi said, his voice shaky as the tears finally escaped and rolled down his cheeks. "You have no idea what you've really done. How am I supposed to get Yami to talk to me ever again? He thinks I betrayed him, when in reality you…you…I don't know what you do to me. I look at you sometimes, and it's like I fall under this spell." He stood up from the bed, beginning to pace back and forth. "And now, you're so different, like a normal person. You're being nice and caring and I can look at you and see that you need help, Joey, you do." Yugi turned his eyes onto Joey's, and was surprised to see the startled grimace upon his face. "Who are you? Who are you really? Why have you done the things you've done?"

Joey seemed at a loss for words for once. Multiple emotions flashed past those darkened honey eyes—shock, confusion, a touch of anger, then grief, regret, and finally resignation. He crossed his arms and eyed Yugi sadly.

"Like I said earlier, it's complicated. It's just hard…to explain. I literally can't. Believe me, I want to, alright? I don't…I don't…"

"You don't what, Joey?"

Joey stood mechanically from the bed, heaving a heavy sigh towards the ceiling. "I don't want to hurt you, okay?" Yugi cocked his head to the side, narrowing his eyes.

"Then don't."

"It's not that easy, Yugi," he replied cooly. "You wouldn't understand." A small hand suddenly found its way to Joey's shoulder.

"Then let me help you."

Joey felt one of his defenses fall like a wall crumbling to dust. Yugi was offering to help him? He had just admitted that there was something within him that wanted to hurt him, yet here he was trying to comfort him? There was literally a demon inside of himself who seemed to want his boyfriend's head on a silver platter and didn't care what Yugi endured to get it. But he was here still trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. Joey brought his own hand to cover Yugi's and squeezed it gently.

"I don't want to hurt you, Yugi. This is a bad idea." He felt Marik return to the forefront of his mind with a vengeance. Obviously this wasn't a part of his plan.

"I can help you, Joey…if you let me."

The following day was Saturday, and Yugi had agreed to meet with Joey to work on their biology project at the game shop around noon. He had tried to call Yami multiple times the previous night to no avail. The elder continued to avoid him like the plague. Disheartened, Yugi gave up, at least for the time being. He would throw himself into helping Joey until Yami came around—at the very least to distract himself from the heartache and loneliness that Yami's disappearance from his life caused. There was nothing he could do to find an Immortal who didn't want to be found; Yugi lacked the skill and time. He would simply wait for Yami to reach out to him…if he ever did, that is.

Around 11:45, Yugi was surprised to hear a knock on the front door. Joey was early, not that he minded. Joey just didn't seem like the type to be early for, well…anything. Yugi headed downstairs to let him in, but his grandfather beat him to it. Yugi did not have to see the surprise on his face to know it was there when he found Joey standing there. He couldn't blame the old man; the last time he had seen Joey, he and Yugi were caught in a rather compromising predicament. It had taken much effort to explain himself to his grandfather without giving away too much information, but Yugi had to try. Solomon's opinion of Yugi was very important to him. Yugi had seen the disappointment in his tired purple eyes that morning. He was still trying to reverse the damage. His grandfather cared a great deal about Yami, more than even Yugi had previously thought. He didn't want to see him hurt any more than he wanted to see Yugi hurt.

"Ahh, hello, sir, I'm actually here for Yugi—er, well, not for him, just to see him," Joey started timidly. "But not to see him, I mean, just—"

"I know why you're here, young man," the old man replied bluntly as he stepped aside to let Joey in. Joey closed the door behind him as Solomon turned and headed back up towards his bedroom. As he passed Yugi, who was still standing awkwardly at the base of the stairs, he paused and glanced at him carefully. "I'll be in my room reading if you need me." With that, he disappeared from sight. Yugi sighed. Not only was his Yami ignoring him, his grandfather was treating him with suspicion and mistrust. How in the world would he ever fix this mess? After he heard the bedroom door close and lock, Yugi turned his attention back to Joey and offered him an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, Joey. He's not your biggest fan right now…."

"I can see dat," Joey said, straightening his backpack straps. He looked towards the empty game shop. "No business today?"

"Grandpa closes the shop every third Saturday of the month. That's when we get new shipments," Yugi explained. "C'mon, my room's up here." He led Joey to his small bedroom and closed the door behind them. Joey shimmied his backpack off his shoulders and unzipped it, pulling out his textbook and a spiral notebook.

"So I gotta admit, I don't really know where to start, Yug'. Dis is the first time I ever actually considered doin' the work. Usually when I have a partner, they kinda end up doin' it all." Yugi chuckled.

"Well, prepare for a new experience then," he said, sitting down at his desk.

For the next hour, the two worked together and made a decent amount of progress on their assignment. Yugi had to offer more instruction than he would have liked, but he remained patient. Joey was trying—what more could he ask for? He could see that just by being there, the blonde had stepped out of his comfort zone. He was used to bullying his way through school, intimidating his previous partners into doing the work for him or just doing enough work to get by. Now he was acting like a true partner.

Yugi sat as his desk, taking a few important notes from his biology book as Joey did some research of his own behind him on his bed. He was so engrossed in his work, he didn't notice Joey lean over him onto the desk, his hands resting on the either side of him. Yugi jumped, tilting his head upwards straight into maple brown eyes.

"Joey? What's up?"

"We've been at it for hours, Yug'. I think we deserve a break, don'tcha?"

Yugi rolled his eyes, swiveling his desk chair around and stretching the kinks out of his back. "It's barely even been an hour, Joey," he said with a laugh, "but you're right. Let's take a break." He stood and stretched again. "We made some good progress. How bout we grab a snack?" At this, Joey responded with a giant grin.

"Awwww yeah, that's what I'm talking about! What did ya' have in mind?" Yugi smiled again; it seemed the way to Joey's heart was through his stomach. He grabbed his jacket and slipped it on.

"How about we go get some burgers, my treat?" Joey enthusiastically agreed and the two set off downtown.

The burger joint was stuffy and smelled of grease and grilled onions, but neither seemed to mind as they finally were able to snag a table during the crowded lunch rush. A waitress with short, golden hair took their orders and soon after returned with their food. Joey immediately dived in, devouring every inch of his double bacon cheeseburger and chili cheese fries without leaving a scrap or crumb. Yugi watched with a mixed sense of amusement and awe. Joey was like a black hole.

After finishing his own meal, Yugi suppressed a burp and leaned back in the cushioned booth seat, fully satisfied. "Boy, was that good."

"I'll say," Joey agreed. He gazed at Yugi oddly, then picked up a napkin and leaned forward on the table. He reached over carefully and dabbed the corner of Yugi's mouth gently, eyes half-lidden. "Had a little ketchup there, Yug'."

Yugi hesitated at the contact, clearly uncomfortable. It was an innocent enough gesture, but Yugi couldn't help but think that it meant more to Joey than it should have. Yugi looked down at his hands and then back up to Joey and back down again, wringing his hands stiffly. Joey noticed and dropped his own hands.

"Sorry…"

"Look Joey, I want to help you, and I want to be your friend if you'll let me," Yugi began, "but I need you to understand that neither of those things can happen if you keep acting like this. My only interest is in Yami."

Joey leaned back in the booth and sighed. "Yeah, well, Yug', you talk a lot about Yami, but I ain't seen him in days. Why is dat? Before, I never saw you apart from each other."

Yugi frowned, feeling suddenly angry and protective of both Yami and his relationship. "That's because of you, and you know it."

"But I thought he loved you?" Joey prodded, though his eyes seemed sad rather than taunting. "I'm not tryin' to be mean, pal, honest, but I'm here…and he's not."

Yugi's brow furrowed. "What are you saying?"

"I've never met anyone like you, Yugi." Joey leaned back over and took Yugi's bandaged hand in his. Yugi glanced down and back at Joey. "Even after all I put you through, you've been nothin' but nice to me. I know I have been actin' weird, and I would like to explain to you why, but I also want you to gimme a chance."

Yugi couldn't help the scoff that tumbled out of his lips. "There's only, Yami, Joey. I'm sorry."

"Then where is he, huh? Where is Yami?" For once, Yugi had no reply, and he flinched at Joey's accusatory tone. He never doubted Yami, but this was the longest he had ever been without his other, and it was beginning to take a toll on his confidence. He was feeling abandoned and neglected and vulnerable; so, while his heart rejected any of Joey's advances…his mind was thoroughly flustered. Yugi moved to pull his hand out of Joey's grasp, but Joey tightened his grip.

"Give me a chance, Yugi," Joey urged, "and let me show you that I can treat you better than Yami."