Sorry for the wait there, my friends!

Yes! Everyone is enjoying the plot twist! That was my #1 concern…

Woohoo! Me happy now!

This chapter may contain some brotherly Yami/Joey moments…but don't panic! Just because they're my favorite pairing doesn't mean I'll go all yaio on you…

Kings Are Blind

Yugi and Joey sat on a bench, facing the horizon and the beautiful ocean current. Yugi sat slumped down with his arms crossed, evil thoughts of Yami passing through his brain.

Joey, on the other hand was happily licking the dripping vanilla ice cream from the ice cream cone he had to practically beg Yugi for.

"Hey, Yuge," Joey said between licks "Are you sure you don't want a bite?"

Yugi remained stiff, his expression faced towards the beach. "No. Keep you're stupid ice cream all to yourself."

Joey quickly covered the cone with his hand. "Hey, hey, hey! Don't say that so loudly. It might hear you…" He whispered.

Yugi rolled his eyes.

Yami had been missing for about a half an hour now, after storming off in his own direction. Joey, in the back of his mind, was still mildly concerned, while Yugi was wishing he'd go fall in a giant hole somewhere.

"Uhh, Yuge?"

"What."

Joey ate the rest of his cone and licked his sticky fingers. "Maybe we should look for Yami. It ain't exactly safe for a high-maintenance king to be stuck all alone in the city somewhere…"

Yugi shifted a bit in his seat. "Pfft. He probably went crying home to grandpa and told him I was mean to him…"

Joey placed both hands on his knees, looking around slightly through the silence. "Well," He said "As long as we're here…"

XXX

"YES! I WIN AGAIN!" Joey shouted, snatching a giant stuffed turtle from the man behind the water-shooting game. The other contestants didn't stand a chance because of Joey's immense 'skill', and the fact that Yugi wasn't even trying.

Joey hugged his giant turtle and set it on the ground next to his other assortment of animals.

Yugi was still frowning, even though everyone else was laughing and having fun.

Joey then felt his manly instincts kick in, and quickly scooped up all of his animals and handed them to Yugi.

"Could you hold on to these and wait on that bench over there so I can use the potty?" He said.

Yugi rolled his eyes. "Sure…"

XXX

Joey strolled down the beach, happy to be free from an angry Yugi. The sand seemed deserted, except for a strange sniffling sound Joey could hear over top of the waves.

He stopped for a second, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand and squinting.

There, off in the distance, was Yami, sitting on the beach hugging his knees, drawing little circles in the sand. The tide brushed against his bare feet as he continued to sniffle.

Joey instantly became relieved to see that he was okay, but concerned at the same time due to the sniffling.

He strolled over to Yami, sitting down next to him in the sand. The pharaoh didn't even look up at him.

"Hi," Joey said, deciding it would be a good start.

"Hi," Yami replied quietly, quickly bringing a hand up to wipe his face.

"Everything alright?" Joey asked.

Yami didn't answer him right away. He stretched his legs out and folded his arms, still looking down towards his stomach.

"No," He said eventually.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Yes,"

Joey waited for the king to talk. "I can't hear you unless you speak up!"

Yami sighed. "Yugi hates me. Where am I going to go now? I can't go back with his grandfather. He'll tell me what a jerk I am for upsetting Yugi. But…but no one understands why I had to do this to Yugi. This wasn't supposed to happen. Yugi wasn't supposed to ever see me again. That's the way I wanted it."

Joey turned to face him. "How come?"

"Because after I left for the afterlife, something happened. I don't know what, but it's like the Gods were giving me a second chance. A second chance at life. I was back in Egypt, and I was so happy to be there. But…then I remembered Yugi. And I knew the only way to not feel horrible about leaving Yugi would be to completely wipe him out of my life. So I did. Then he came back…and I panicked. So, I figured if I pretended to have no memory, then I would get to spend more time with Yugi. Time that I really treasure."

Yami paused. "You understand, don't you Joey?"

Joey nodded. "You know what, I do. You not wanting to hurt Yugi is a good reason. But I don't think it's me you should be telling that story to."

"I know," Yami said. "But…Yugi hates me. He doesn't want to see me ever again."

"Yeah…he is pretty pissed." Joey said. "He won't even talk to me."

"I'm sorry."

Joey placed a hand on his back. "No, don't worry about it."

"At least you're still the same Joey I remember…" Yami said, turning to him and smiling.

Joey smiled back. "And you're certainly the same Yami I remember…"

The two laughed.

Joey then frowned. "Hey…uh…I forgot that I ran away from Yugi. He's probably wondering where I am."

Yami nodded slightly. "Right. Of course."

"No, no, listen." Joey said. "I'm gonna go tell him that it's getting late and I need to get home. Then I'll come back and get you. You don't have to go back with Yugi if you don't want to."

Yami looked up at him. "Won't you're parents be angry?"

Joey grunted. "Parents? What parents? My dad's never home. He's on a business trip to California right now. Trust me, it's okay."

"Alright,"

Joey ran off to find Yugi.

XXX

Joey twisted his key in the lock and pushed the door to the apartment open, setting his keys on the hook.

He motioned for Yami to take off his jacket, then took it from the king and hung it in the closet.

Yami looked around the room. The walls were a perky yellow, while the furniture was a deep red. The kitchen was just a normal kitchen. He could see the bathroom, a closed door, (probably his dad's room), and an open door, Joey's room.

"Ya hungry?" Joey asked.

Yami nodded. "Yes, I am, actually."

"I'll see what I can make us."

Joey rummaged through the fridge, realizing that it was only filled with beverages. He checked the freezer, finding, of course, ice cream.

"Damn," He said "I think I might have to get dad to send some money so I can go grocery shopping."

Yami chuckled. "There's nothing to eat?"

"Not unless you want ice cream for dinner."

Yami smiled.

Joey smiled back. "Why don't I just order a pizza or something?"

"Okay," Yami said.

Joey quickly stepped over to the phone, while Yami just stood around looking uncomfortable.

Joey laughed at him. "You can sit down, you know. This isn't one of those houses where you can't sit on the furniture."

Yami smiled and sat down on the couch, Joey sitting down next to him.

"Would you like me to split the bill with you?" Yami asked.

Joey looked at him. "No, way! You're the guest. The guest doesn't pay."

XXX

The two boys sat on the couch, munching happily on pizza while watching silly movies and laughing about every little thing.

The two were currently in the middle of Napoleon Dynamite, one of Joey's favorites.

Yami kept smiling at every little thing. He felt so comfortable around Joey. The blonde was so open.

Joey popped the disk out of the DVD player and looked at the clock. It read 11 PM.

"Damn, time flies, huh?" Joey said, laughing.

Yami chuckled. "I'm really tired."

Joey led Yami back into his room, pulling out some old clothes of his that Yami could wear to bed.

"Where am I going to sleep?" Yami couldn't help but ask.

Joey yanked his sleeping bag out of the closet and tossed it onto the floor.

"You are going to sleep in my bed. I am going to sleep on the floor."

Yami frowned. "Well, that's not very fair for me to take your bed."

Joey paused. "Well, last time you slept on the floor it hurt your back. You're a king, and you need to be treated like one."

Yami smiled. He liked Joey even more!

Joey waited for Yami to change in the bathroom before pulling back the covers on his bed, then laying out his sleeping bag.

Yami felt bad about taking Joey's bed, then watched as the blonde nuzzled comfortably onto the floor.

"'Night, Yami." He said, smiling.

"Goodnight, Joey."

XXX

At the shop, Yugi walked past Yami's empty room to his bedroom. He was worried sick about the king. He had no idea of his whereabouts. He really couldn't wait to apologize…

Yay!

Okay, sorry for the wait! Hope you like the sweetness!

R&R!

GK09