He woke slowly to the sunlight streaming through the curtains. The air was cold against his bare skin. He moaned softly as Jack's leg rubbed against his stomach. He opened his eyes and smiled. Jack was still asleep. He lifted a hand and stroked his cheek, his soft hair. He smiled mischievously, leaned in and kissed the other boy. Jack sighed against his cheek and his lavender eyes fluttered open. A gentle smile graced his lips.

"Good morning." Jack laughed and turned away from him, hugging himself tightly.

"Why won't you let me work?" He signed, not wanting to get into this argument again. He returned his attention to the intake.

"You don't need to." He already knew how Jack looked, backlit by the sunlight.

"Shut up! That isn't an answer and you know it!" Jack was crying again. "I'm going to leave you."

He didn't look up. "If you do, I'll chase you."

"I'll go where you can never follow me."

"Ah...damn kid, you're really somethin'." He blinked against the glare of the dying sun. So it was over then. "So worth the price you charge." He stood up and distracted himself with putting on his pants. "Here. Show this card and he'll get you that software. Sorry about the scratches on your hip, I guess I held on too tight."

"Demon's Kiss."

"Apt ain't it?" The other man laughed harshly and slapped his ass. "Well sweetcheeks, I gotta be going. Good luck with that bike."

"Yeah." He turned away from the other man and ducked into the tatami-covered alcove for the rest of his cloths. The man was long gone when he emerged.

"Hey Yuusei!" Nerve let another curtain fall back into place, cutting off the light. He frowned and flipped a switch. The lights flickered to life. "I saw Jun leaving. Did he have anything for you?"

"Yeah." He pulled on his gloves and sat down in front of his bike.

"Yuusei..." Nerve crouched down beside him. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah."

Nerve frowned and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Jack had an interview today. He's looking better."

"Good."

"You miss him."

"He's my friend."

"You're going after him."

"Of course."

"You had sex with Jun."

"Yeah."

"Yuusei," Nerve stood up. "You have to stop this. Stardust, Jack...they aren't worth what you're doing to yourself."

"They are to me."

"Yuusei." Nerve moved behind him and opened the small cooler nestled against the wall. "Be realistic about this. You can find other cards...and Jack has a better life." Nerve took a seat next to him and handed him a drink. He took a sip and leaned back.

"I'm going to get our dream back."

"...whatever helps you sleep at night, man." Nerve drank deeply.

"Jack's not safe where he is."

"And you think here is any better?" He watched his friend closely. Nerve was drinking fast. He was uncomfortable.

"Of course not."

"You should be in his place."

"No one should be in that place."

"Do you want us all to live and die here?"

"I want us to be together."

"Dreams should be realistic. There should be some kind of truth behind them." Nerve produced a beaten pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He watched his friend go through the ritual of selecting and lighting one - declining the offered indulgence in the process.

"Hope isn't realistic. We should live better than this." Nerve sat back against the worn couch. His face was dirty and his cloths were torn, but he was smiling.

"You want things to go back the way they were before the Darkness."

"I don't remember anything before the Darkness." Nerve frowned and took another drag on his cigarette.

"Sometimes I forget how young you are." He crushed the cigarette into the concrete beside him. "Jack's younger then you. Do you think he remembers the Darkness?" He leaned against his bike, deep in thought.

"I asked him once. He remembered an empty street and his father trying to protect him. He said it felt like his arm was burning, that birthmark of his..." Nerve nodded, leaning forward. "He was crying and clinging to his father. He said he saw himself and then a woman appeared to comfort him. She touched his arm and the pain stopped. Then the old Kaiba Corporation building exploded."

"Yeah, I remember that..." he nodded in agreement."Sure you don't remember anything?" He shook his head.

"Nothing before the Darkness." Nerve lit another cigarette.

"You really miss Jack."

"I can't leave him to that kind of life."

"Maybe you should." He turned to his bike in a huff, staring at the intake in a false display of work. "Yuusei, you barely let him do anything by himself. You were always fighting with him. You know Jack's different. He doesn't belong here."

"He belongs with me."

"You seem so convinced."

"There's something wrong with him."

"I've been telling you that for years." He stripped off his gloves and dashed them to the floor. He ran a hand through his hair and massaged his temple with the other. "Yuusei?"

"That wasn't my bike."

"Jack's king. He's probably got a couple of bikes now..."

He shook his head and turned back to Nerve. "He's never dueled with my bike."

"How do you know that?"

"He can't take care of himself. He's become king too quickly...someone is supporting him."

"You're jealous." He glared at the other boy and sat back against his bike with a sigh.

"He's being used. I told him not to talk to that man."

"What are you talking about?" He held out his hand and Nerve handed him a cigarette and lighter. He took his time lighting and enjoying the cigarette and waited until his nerves settled to speak.

"This man appeared one day when we were out at the docks. He had tri-color hair and wore one of those old school uniforms from the 1990s. He knew our names, greeted us like old friends. He started talking about Duel Monsters and pulled out his deck. Silent deck, lots of old monsters like Gandora and Marshmellon."

"This is Satellite. There are crazies around every corner." He nodded absently, thinking back to that time.

"He and Jack got to talking. I didn't give it much thought at the time. I was so focused on my bike. After that, Jack started calling himself 'king' and..."

"And he left," Nerve finished. He nodded, curling his hand into such a tight fist that his nails bit into his skin.

"It's my fault he left."

"It's not, Yuusei. Jack's always been different; he's always wanted to leave Satellite."

"Don't say that."

"Why not? It's true. He took advantage of you."

"Jack won our duel without deception."

"Yuusei," Nerve stood up. "Just be careful. No matter what you do, Jack may never come back."

"I have to try."

"I know." Nerve sighed, "I just worry about you. You know Jack's not entirely rational. I want you to put yourself first and not worry about protecting him."

"Okay."

Nerve lit another cigarette. "You've got barely any food. Give me your card and I'll see what I can scrounge up. Assholes have been real stingy with rations lately." He removed a red ID card from an inner pocket of his jacket and handed it to his friend. "Ugh. I hate these things; might as well carve into our skin that we're Satellite-born. You got any money on this?"

"A little."

"Tch. Yuusei, you haven't had a decent meal since Jack left. This is on me." Nerve returned the card and finished his cigarette. "Get some rest. I'll wake you up when I come back." He nodded, secretly grateful for the permission to relax. He stripped off his jacket and Nerve clapped his shoulder before turning on his heel and disappearing through the curtain.

He sighed and stood up, suddenly very tired. He made his way to the tatami-covered alcove. He tossed his jacket in the corner and looked around. Nearly six years he'd shared this space with Jack, sleeping together curled up on that worn futon mattress. So many of their friends left or were lost over that time. Maybe he had been a little more protective of Jack then was strictly necessary, although not without his reasons. He extinguished the electric lights and closed the curtain to block out any errant sunlight and seated himself on the mattress with a sigh.

His friends were right of course...Jack was different from the rest of them. He was standoffish, quick to anger and never hesitated to openly insult anyone who somehow crossed him. He lay spread-eagle on the mattress, staring into the darkness. Then there were the times when Jack would refuse to speak to anyone, and Jack would cling to him as he worked. He rolled onto his side. Jack was such a...torrid person, enraged or bereaved at the drop of a hat. He had never believed Jack when the other boy professed to love him and when Jack called himself king, he'd actually laughed. To do that to Jack...he bit down on his lip until the taste of copper flooded his mouth. The challenge to duel on that day had come as a complete surprise. He never believed Jack would leave. Now he was out there in the city somewhere, lasciviously watched by strangers, being puppeted by that man he should have protected Jack from. He kicked the wall in anger. Jack was his and his alone. Nothing mattered more than bringing Jack home.

So much stood between Satellite and Jack; Security was confiscating decks where they could and his bike was certainly illegal. At least the bike he intended to build. Even after several months of work, it was still little more than a frame with an engine attached. He rolled onto his belly and tucked his hands under his chin, staring at the edge of the mattress. There was no way Jack could have used his bike in a duel. He'd never finished the bike. He hadn't finished programming the dual mode, hadn't ever uploaded more than a basic protocol into the computer to bring forth Stardust.

Jack had gone through the pipeline. He'd never tested the bike to withstand those conditions.

The sudden pain that shot though his arm sharpened his thoughts. He glared at the bloodstained wall. The night Jack left was fresh in his mind; Jack's calm presentation of his terms. The bond they shared for six years, broken. All because Jack called himself king, because of that man. Jack left without knowing the bike was unfinished, untested. Jack had never ridden the bike before and he just stood there the night Jack left, silent and betrayed. He rolled onto his side, his chest tight and his throat burning. He grimaced when the tears came - more of anger then of remorse. He touched the ring adorning his left hand, the polished metal cool to the touch. Jack had broken his promise just as he had broken his promise by allowing Jack's irrational actions.

I'm going to leave you. Jack's voice, his haughty expression and tears shining in his eyes were all clear as day in his mind.

"If you...do, I'll chase you." He spoke to no one, his voice strained by the tightness in his throat. He stared into the darkness and he could almost see Jack looking back at him with that helplessly determined look he got sometimes.

I'll go where you can never follow me. It was an old routine, almost comedic in their seamless, dramaturgical performance. It was a familiar exchange that was tossed off usually when he was hard at work on his bike and things got too quiet. It became increasingly common after he stopped Jack from going to work. He wiped his face with the back of his hand. Jack had always been so difficult - talking too much, getting into fights. He smiled bitterly; he had always taken it upon himself to defend Jack. No matter what happened, he'd always step in and face down whoever Jack had antagonized. Jack had spent time studying their meager collection of salvaged cards. In all the times they'd played for fun, Jack had never shown any real aptitude for the game. He never expected Jack to challenge him, let alone win. Now he was out there in the city, winning duels every week. He clenched his injured hand, something wasn't right.

He sat up with a gasp, suddenly it all made sense. He got to his feet and ripped back the curtain, suddenly too awake to rest. Jack never had any real intention of leaving but that man must have said something...threatened him. That was it. Jack had been threatened, maybe he had been threatened and Jack left to protect him, protect their friends. He paced the length of his workroom. Jack was cursed by that birthmark of his. The birthmark caused him pain and Jack was so self-conscious of it...keeping it covered even from him.

"Jack..." He collapsed onto the couch and covered his eyes. He took a few deep breaths and groaned as the tension in his chest slowly ebbed away. With a deep sigh, he relaxed into the old couch. He closed his eyes and turned on his side, his thoughts filled with Jack as he drifted off to sleep.

"Yuusei!" Strong hands shook him roughly and he groaned as the light blinded him. "Yuusei, c'mon! Papa's gonna be here any minute!" He waved the other boy away and sat up in his bed. A shirt landed on his head and he glared at the other boy. "Hurry up and get dressed, Yuusei!" He pulled on his shirt, still glaring at the other boy. Even though he was excited, he was nonetheless annoyed at being woken so abruptly.

The sound of the door lock made them both turn and the door opened to a tall man in a long white coat. The overhead light glinted off his glasses as he smiled. He crouched low to the ground and held out his arms, laughing as the three of them embraced amid delighted cries. He sighed, sinking into the familiar warmth of the man's embrace.

"I want to see Jack!" He demanded, craning his neck to look the taller man in the eyes. Another smile, the white tile hallways sped past in sterile perfection and then there were more people in white coats. So many different people milled around the large room, but to them only papa or mama. Then there were his brothers: Kiryu, blind since birth, and Jack. Soft music threaded through the air as he stared into the large glass tube. Jack hung limply, suspended in cloudy liquid. Jack's eyes were closed and he was still, his long white-blond hair draped about his small body like some beautiful robe. The red Mark on his arm shone against his pale white skin. He watched in awe as his brother learned and grew like he and Kiryu had, waiting for the day they would first embrace and he would feel Jack's warmth in his arms.

"Yuusei?" A gentle shake to his shoulder.

"Jack...?" He opened his eyes and Nerve was kneeling next to the couch, a sad smile on his face.

"Not the last time I checked. Here," he held out a bowl of hot soup and a slice of fresh bread.

"...you didn't have to cook for me."

"Yeah I did. You're exhausted; you'd probably burn your hand or something. C'mon, let's go get warm by the fire." He followed Nerve into an open area of the encampment, where a moderate-sized fire burned in a firepit dug into the concrete floor. He sat down near it with a sigh.

"I had that dream again."

"Which one?"

"The one with the white walls; the long white coats; Jack and Kiryu."

"Was it any different?"

"Jack was somewhere where I couldn't reach him," Nerve nodded.

"You're really going to do this, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"Yuusei...whatever happens out there, whatever he says. Don't forget about us, okay?"

He smiled the expression warm and inviting, "I'd never forget you guys." Nerve smiled back and they laughed at nothing. His words were a lie; this brotherly closeness was a lie. Even as they joked, his thoughts were overcome by Jack. He replayed the dream and others like it over in his mind; but as he reached for the memories, they dissolved. His chest was filled with a strange pressure and he laid a hand over his heart.

"Yuusei? Hey, Yuusei. You okay?"

"Yeah." He lied, his expression blank as he stared into the fire. RDD rose from the flames and suddenly he was back in that night, running East and sure Jack was dead in the raging fire only to literally run into him as he casually strolled toward the setting sun.

I'll go where you can never follow me.

"Jack...wait for me."