Author's Note: REWROTE. THIS ENTIRE. CHAPTER. XC FUCK CRAPPING-OUT HARDDRIVES.

Chapter 8

Joey wrung his hands anxiously as his friend finally stepped out of the bedroom. "Is he gonna be okay? He was in pretty bad shape when I left him!"

Yugi sighed and crossed his arms. "Well, I covered the bases of his wings with a paste to make the flesh grow back faster, and I covered his back with it, too, but I don't really know how long it will take for them to heal. He'll need to sleep on his stomach." He paused, then glanced up at the blond hesitantly. "I know it's none of my business, but what happened that would make him want to punish himself that much?"

"He… he thought he raped me again," the taller dragon muttered, looking down at his feet. "…I think it traumatized him more than it traumatized me. He just kept whippin' his tail against his back… I thought he was tryin' to kill himself…"

"Seto has a way of… overreacting to his mistakes, especially if he thinks that mistake has hurt someone else. You see, he has so few relationships with other people that he clings to the ones he has. He probably had no idea he'd been hurting himself so badly; he just wanted to hurt himself as much as he thought he hurt you." Yugi sighed again. "He's got to stay off his back if he ever wants it to heal. Help him with that. Try to make sure he doesn't move too much. He can sit up, too, but keep him off his back." He paused, then smirked a little. "That's where you're supposed to be, after all."

Joey gasped and covered his blushing cheeks in embarrassment. "Yugi! After what I just told you!"

"Get him to understand that he's not hurting you," he continued seriously. "I don't care how. Get him to touch you. Get him to realize that it's okay if he wants to do sexual things to you. He's held back for so long that he doesn't know what he's allowed to do with you. He realizes mentally that you want him to do everything, but emotionally, he's unaware of what to do. He can only guess, and take in your reactions."

"…You want me t' teach him… how I want him t' touch me…?" the blond asked quietly, brows furrowing together.

"He won't know otherwise, and he obviously retained nothing from just before you had sex. He's a slow learner when it comes to understanding other people," Yugi confirmed, nodding. "I'm going to go home. Yami's probably going bonkers; he finally decides that he's going to come and apologize to Seto, and you come in screaming that Seto's tried to kill himself. You should have seen him. 'Aibou, today is the day I go apologize to my cousin!'" he added, placing his hands on his hips and deepening his voice in a mocking manner. "'I shall do my best to make him forgive me!' I can just imagine what he's going to say when I get home. 'Oh, aibou! Did he try to kill himself because I hadn't told him I'm sorry? How will I ever make this up to him?' Yeah, I'm sooo not looking forward to dealing with that at home."

"Oh. Good luck with that," Joey murmured, frowning. "…I guess… I better go in then…"

"You better. I like Seto, and I think you can help him," the smaller boy stated, nodding.

Joey nodded as well absently, slipping quietly into the bedroom. He frowned when he saw the brunet peering up at him through dark, tired eyes, then made his way toward the bed. "Seto?"

The older boy frowned. "Are you very mad?"

"No, I just—I can't believe ya did this t' yourself!" Joey sighed and leaned his face in his hand for a moment, thinking over what he'd just been told. His mate didn't know how to touch him, even after he'd showed him a little. That had caused all of this.

Tail wilting after a few minutes of the blond not looking at him, Seto whispered, "…I love you."

"…I love you, too," the younger boy replied after another moment. He kept his eyes on the ground for a while longer before moving to sit on the bed. "Seto, I know ya like t' touch me. Will you show me how you like t' touch me?"

The brunet frowned, and Joey couldn't help feeling guilty as he saw every muscle in his body tense at the subject. "…S-show you?"

"Touch me the way ya like touchin' me, and the way ya think I like t' be touched," the blond affirmed, nodding.

Seto frowned and turned his head away. "I don't know if I can… I want to, and I know you want it, but I just can't…" He closed his eyes as he felt a gentle hand on his cheek, then slowly allowed the blond to turn his head back to face him. Hesitantly opening his eyes, he sighed. "…I'm sorry…"

Joey frowned at him, then offered him an encouraging smile. "Start small. Remember my reactions to ya touchin' me, and go from there. Please. I just wanna see what you're comfortable with."

The brunet turned his head away again, shuddering a little, before he began trying to sit up. He whined in the back of his throat as he was helped into a sitting position, then hesitated. "…Where I think you like to be touched?"

"Yeah. Or… where ya think you're 'allowed' t' touch me." The blond gave him another smile of encouragement. "Please."

Seto reached his hands toward him, then hesitated, brows furrowing together as he looked up at the blond uncertainly. When he only got the same smile in response, he moved his hands to cup the blond's cheeks, brushing his thumbs over his cheekbones. "…You like being touched like this. I like it, too. Especially when I just brush…" He slid his hand down to gently run his thumb over the blond's plush bottom lip. "…Your lips like this…"

Joey moaned quietly and let his eyes drift closed. "Oh…"

"And… I know you like when I…" He trailed one of his hands down his neck to his collarbone and traced his fingertips over it lightly. "You always shiver, and get goosebumps…"

"Nn… S-Seto…" The blond shivered and bit his bottom lip. "Oh, Seto…!"

Seto slid both of his hands down further so his fingers caught the younger boy's nipples. "And I know you like to be touched here." He smiled a little. "Mm, they're so hard already. I like how you're always so sensitive to my touch…" The brunet paused, then leaned in and closed his lips over one of the hardened nubs.

Joey tossed his head back and gasped, lifting one of his hands to dig into the brunet's hair. "O-oh! Seto! Nn!"

The older boy growled quietly, tugging at it lightly with his teeth, before rolling his tongue around it slowly. "Mmf… And I like… Nn… having you… tremble… Mm… as you… mewl for more…"

"Ha… Seto…!" The blond moaned and unconsciously twitched his legs together in embarrassment at the way the older boy was growling at him.

"And you told me… that you like… having me touch you here…"

Joey gasped again shakily as he felt fingers digging into his skin where the scale of his tail met the skin of his back. "Oh Ra, Seto!"

"And I know you like being touched here."

The blond let out a yip as the older boy cupped his erection through his pants. "Seto!" He moaned as the brunet began rubbing it and dug his fingers further into his hair. "Ooooh, yes…! Seto! I really like! Uhn! Really like it!"

Seto purred quietly and pulled the hem of his pants down so the blond's shaft could spring free. "Mm, and it looks happy to see me…"

"Uh!" Joey threw his head back with a helpless moan, eyes rolling back, as the brunet grasped his erection and began stroking it. "Seto-!"

The brunet gripped the younger boy's shaft tightly as his purring grew louder, leaning up to brush his lips over his jaw. "And I know you like… when I kiss you…" he added in a whisper, before capturing the blond's lips with his own.

"Mm… Nm…" The blond mewled and slid his arms around the older boy's neck, spreading his legs as he continued to stroke and squeeze him. "Ahm… Ah…!"

Seto growled quietly and began moving his hand faster. "You like that, too, don't you?"

"Yes-!" Joey let his head loll against the brunet's shoulder and whimpered. "Like it a lot! Seto, I'm gonna-! Seto! I'm gonna c-cum—"

The older dragon purred again as he began rubbing his scales and gave the blond's shafts a few more hard jerks before the younger boy shrieked and stiffened. "Mm, you're so pretty when you cum…"

Joey sobbed weakly as he fell limp against him, body trembling with the aftershocks as the brunet pulled him close. "Oh… Oh, Ra… Seto… Nn… O-oh… Seto…"

Seto nuzzled his shoulder lovingly. "That's where I'm allowed to touch you."

"…Ah…" The blond turned his head to brush their lips together. "…No, there are more places. Ya missed 'em."

The older boy leaned back and blinked at him innocently. "…I'm sorry… I guess I don't know where…"

The blond smiled sweetly and grabbed his hand. "May I show you?"

"…I… Where else do you like me to touch you? I don't understand…" the brunet whispered, brows furrowing together in confusion.

"Let me show you." Joey guided his hands down to rest on his hips, peering up at him from beneath his bangs innocently as the brunet's fingers caught on the hem of his pants. "Help me get these off?"

Seto let out a confused rumble, but slid the soft fabric down the blond's hips as he lifted them helpfully, growling in arousal when he lifted his legs for him to pull his pants off the rest of the way. "Mm…"

"Hands please," the younger boy ordered, then, once he had the brunet's hands in his again, drew them toward his body. "I like when you touch me… here."

The brunet let out a startled squeak as he directed his fingers to his entrance and looked up at his face quickly. "I-?"

Joey purred quietly to show him it was okay and nudged his fingers closer gently. "You're allowed t' touch me here. In fact, I'd really like it if ya touched me here more often." When the brunet frowned at him uneasily, he mewed and spread his legs a little more. "Please?"

Seto gave him one last unsure look before he hesitantly pressed a finger inside of him, more timid than he'd been before. "I… I can't," he muttered, pulling his hand away immediately. When the blond looked as if he might complain, he jerked his head away with a distressed whine. "I don't want to do this. I can't. I don't want to—Please don't make me—"

Seeing how distressed the older boy was getting, he cupped the brunet's cheeks and cooed. "It's okay, Seto. It's okay. Ya don't hafta do it if ya don't want. Okay?"

"I don't want to do that again," the white dragon whined. "I don't want to—I can't handle touching you like that—Joey-!"

Joey drew his face down to kiss him gently. "Shh… It's okay, Seto." He brushed his lips over the brunet's chin and cooed. "It's okay if you're not comfortable yet. We'll just try again later. Okay?"

Seto whined again. "But it's winter and I need to keep you warm, and—"

"I'll be fine for the night," the blond assured, smiling gently, then turned to lay out on the bed. "Trust me, Seto. I'll be okay." He mewed as the older boy spread out beside him, then snuggled up to him. "Mm…" He frowned, then turned and patted his shoulder. "Seto, are ya on your back?"

Seto let out a rumble of frustration but allowed the blond to maneuver him onto his stomach. "I don't know how you and Yugi expect me to sleep like this."

The younger boy mewed again. "If I promise to make it worth your while later, will ya at least try?"

The brunet frowned, then sighed quietly. "Okay. …You… You're sure I didn't hurt you when I took you earlier?" He whined. "Because I didn't want to hurt you. Didn't it bother you?"

Joey sighed and reached over to cup his cheek. "Seto, it doesn't bother me when ya do that. I mean, I was a little nervous at first, but the further into winter we got, I just didn't care anymore. You have more of a problem with it than I do, Seto." He frowned and nuzzled the brunet's shoulder when he released an ashamed whine. "It's okay. We'll find a way t' get you used to it. I'll do my best t' help ya, okay? We're in this together. And eventually, we'll get ya used to… t' intercourse." He grimaced at the word. "Er… Get ya used t' sex. Not oral sex, but sex-sex. …Ya know what I mean!"

Seto couldn't help a little smile. "Yes, I know what you mean."

"…'nd… I was thinkin'…" The blond blushed and lifted a hand to cover his mouth. "…After ya get more comfortable…" He paused, then hesitantly suggested, "We could look through that Kama Sutra series ya have? Find somethin' ya might be comfortable with?"

"The what?" The older boy frowned in confusion for a few moments, but once the words had registered, he raised an eyebrow. "The Kama Sutra series? …Well, I guess just looking at it wouldn't be a bad idea…"

Joey smiled sweetly. "And if we find somethin' that doesn't bother ya so much, it would help."

"You're right." Seto sighed. "…I'm sorry I'm not—"

"It's not your fault. We started this relationship on the wrong foot and we just need t' learn what the other person's comfortable with. Looking through the books together should help us get more comfortable with each other, and then we can move on from there."

"Hmm. Maybe you're right." The brunet let his eyes flutter shut.

The younger dragon smiled and snuggled up to him to sleep. "Of course I am." He was glad it was winter; otherwise he'd probably be too embarrassed to discuss it so casually.

Unfortunately, a few minutes later, just as he was about to drift off completely, he heard a soft whine. "Joey…?"

He was so close to being asleep! Sighing, he opened his eyes and looked up at him. "Hmm?"

Seto whined again. "I can't sleep like this. Do you think I'm capable of going to get my book?"

Joey sat up and frowned, carefully examining his back, then shook his head. "No. I'll go get it for ya."

"You don't have to. I'll just lay here until I pass out or something," the brunet began, but was silenced by a deadpanned look. He ducked his gaze. "…I'm sorry…"

"It's fine. We just have a little more t' work out than I thought we did. Things will work out, Seto. I don't mind." The blond paused, then added, "Besides, you're really cute when you're unsure about things."

Seto blushed a little as his dame flashed him a smile before he left the room, then laid his cheek on his crossed arms, frowning. Joey was so tolerant. He'd have to do something especially nice for him to thank him for his patience with him…

"It's this one about the wizards, right-? …Seto?" Joey tilted his head in annoyance when he found his mate sleeping, but after a moment, he decided he couldn't be too mad, especially when he looked at the paste-covered back facing him. So, he sighed, placed the book on the bedside table, and snuggled up against his mate again. Sleep wasn't slow to capture him this time.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Seto wriggled helplessly and let out a quiet whine. "Can't get up-!"

Joey grumbled and sat up slowly, trying to blink away the sleep trying to recapture him, then turned toward him in confusion. "Wha-?"

"Can't get uuup!" the brunet repeated.

His body ached. His back itched and pulled awkwardly with each minute shift, and his wings burned at the bases. His arms felt like lead weights, and his legs just didn't even respond. …He felt like a lump of pain.

He was probably just as useful as a lump of pain, too.

"…I can't cook for you like this."

"I don't want ya t' cook for me," Joey mumbled, gently grasping his shoulders to help him up. "You're hurt. You're excused from sire duty until you're healed."

The brunet whined. "But… I need to make dinner for you. I hurt you yesterday—"

"Ya didn't hurt me, damn it!" the black dragon snarled, glaring at him. "Ra, Seto! Get it through your head! I'm not a delicate little flower and I liked makin' love with ya!"

Seto flinched backward at the angry tone, unable to help a cringe when it caused his back to ache—and then a little whine as his wings flexed with the instinctive urge to wrap around and guard him from any threat. "…I…"

The blond took a few deep breaths to calm himself down, then sighed, brows furrowing together in concern. "Seto. What do I hafta do t' make ya realize that ya didn't hurt me? I liked havin' ya inside me. I liked sharin' my body with ya, makin' love instead of just sex." The younger boy jerked his head away and scrubbed at his eyes, which stung with tears that he told himself were from dust. "I… I felt like we were one for a minute, like mates should be.

"But you didn't feel that way, didja? Ya just felt like you were usin' me. Ya didn't like it. I don't… I dunno what I did t' make ya think I didn't like it! I was so happy we were havin' sex, and you… I made ya think you were hurting meeee!" the blond wailed, then covered his face and began to cry.

Seto whined and reached out to brush his arm with his finger tips, afraid to move too much and aggravate his wounds. "Joey…" He squeaked as the blond lunged at him and threw his arms around his shoulders, then choked back a rumble of pain. "Ouch-!"

"I'm sorry, Seto! I'm so, so sorry!" Joey sobbed, crying into his chest. He felt the brunet's nails dig into his back and hiccupped quietly. "I don't know what I can do t' show ya that ya aren't hurtin' me when ya touch me! I'm sorry I can't do anything t' help ya see how good ya make me feel! I'm sorry, Seto!"

Whining again, the brunet nuzzled his throat. "It's not your fault, Joey. It's mine. I should be sorry. It's not your fault that I can't satisfy you." He held the blond tightly despite his throbbing back and continued to whisper apologies and assurances to him until his sobbing calmed into short hiccups and awkward huffs.

Joey sniffled and whimpered a few moments before leaning back and wiping his face. "Guh…" Turning his head as he heard a knock against the door, he swallowed thickly, then looked up at his mate and smiled awkwardly. "I should get that."

"You don't have to. We should talk more," Seto argued, frowning, and reached out to catch his hand as he tried to get up. "Wait."

The blond hesitated before quietly stating, "I was usin' the door as an excuse t' compose myself, Seto."

"…Oh."

The black dragon turned to flash him a watery smile. "I'm gonna come back. Don't worry. And then we can talk, okay? I'll have calmed down."

The brunet was hesitant, but eventually nodded. "Alright. Whoever's at the door can wait until another time. …Unless it's Yugi come to tell me that I can sleep on my back."

Joey couldn't help an awkward giggle as he stood and made his way out of the room. On his way to the door, he took a moment to wipe his eyes and calm his breathing before he approached the large wooden door. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the iron handle and pulled, dragging it backward until he had a gap large enough to peer out of.

He gasped when he saw his mate's little brother leaning on the other door, large purple bruises under his eyes from lack of sleep and eyes red from that and crying. He could see the younger boy's bones through his skin because of malnourishment, and his wings were wilted and cracked from being too dry and unused. His sister's rejection must have affected the other teen more than he'd thought—and he realized that the two brothers were terribly alike in that aspect.

He couldn't help just moving aside as the smaller dragon wandered in, watching him in concern as he looked around like he didn't recognize the place. Then, when he started to fall, he leapt forward to catch the smaller body and gasped when he felt how light it was. He reached down to grab his tail and lift it, horrified to feel how light it was.

Weight from the wings and tail were the last to go when dragons were starving, because the tail and the wings were necessary to hunt. Feeling how light his tail was, he must have been going without food for quite some time. He could only assume that the younger boy had come to his brother for comfort—even if he was confused as to where he was, his instinct would have driven him somewhere either he could be taken care of or where they were take care of his body if he died.

Joey squeaked at the thought and rushed the younger boy back up to their room. 'This is terrible! And the same thing could've happened t' Seto!' He only had a moment to see his mate's startled expression as he shoved his brother into his arms before he ran back out of the room. "Gettin' some beef broth!"

Seto stared after him, stunned, then looked down at his younger brother. Once he realized what terrible condition he was in, he hurriedly gathered the too-light body into his arms and hugged him tightly. "Mokuba-!"

"…Seto…" The younger boy mewed. "Seto…! 'm sorry…!"

"It's alright, Mokuba. I'm not mad at you." He nuzzled his little brother's hair and reached back to touch the base of one of his dry wings. "I'm going to take care of you, okay? Joey will help, too. We're going to help you get better and you'll have another chance with your Other. I promise. Okay? You'll be alright."

Mokuba whimpered, unable to grasp the fact that his brother wasn't angry with him even after he'd told him he'd hated him and had disowned him and hadn't even managed to get him a birthday present despite knowing that he was one of the reasons Seto was the way he was. "'m sorry… 'm sorry, Seto…"

"It's cold but it'll do t' get him started," Joey stated, sweeping into the room with a bowl of cool beef broth. "Prop him up." He frowned when he heard the younger boy still whimpering apologies, then scowled and grabbed his chin, shaking his head lightly until the glazed-over eyes managed to catch his own. "Shut up and open your mouth. Ya can tell us this shit later. Until then, follow my orders and don't aggravate your brother."

Seto scowled and opened his mouth to defend his brother. "Joey, he—"

"YOU SHUT UP!" the blond roared, irritated. "You're not in any better shape and fuck you both because you're SO STUPID!" He took a few deep breaths, then bared his teeth threateningly. "Ya have no room t' talk because your entire back is a scab. So shut up and let me take care of ya both until you're capable of movin' around and your brother is well enough t' hold his own fuckin' spoon."

The brunet frowned. He supposed his mate did have a point. So, sighing, he helped prop up his brother and stroked his hair as the blond eased spoonfuls of broth into his mouth. "…Thank you for helping me take care of him."

"What the hell were ya gonna do? Crawl around and hope ya didn't flex your back? …'sides, my sister's the reason he's like this anyway…" Joey mumbled, frowning. He brushed the younger boy's hair out of his face, then cupped his cheek. "…I didn't know she could be so hateful. I guess we'll just hafta take care of him until he gets better. We'll figure somethin' out after that."

Seto began to purr at that, happy that his mate was accepting his little brother despite how angry he'd been with him before. "That's a good idea."

"Of course it's a good idea. I'm perfectly intelligent when I wanna be."

The brunet paused, wondering how he should respond, then decided that saying anything about his intelligence would be the wrong answer. Instead, he quietly wondered how he was supposed to take care of his mate and brother when he was injured, not expecting a response and honestly surprised when he got one.

Joey sat back and sighed, frowning at him. "Seto, I dunno how often your father got sick, but where I come from, it's expected for the dame t' take care of his or her family when they're sick. It's okay for ya not t' take care of me when you're hurt. And it's okay that I take care of your brother while you're hurt, too, because he's family. It's okay. Stop worryin'."

Seto whined quietly. "What did I do to deserve you?"

"Uh…" The blond blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "I guess… Shut up. I'm gonna go make stew for when he wakes up." He turned to leave and squeaked when the older boy grabbed the end of his tail and gently dragged him back onto the bed and into his arms. "Seto-!"

The brunet nuzzled his throat and kissed his chin gently. "Thank you. I'll make this up to you, I promise."

Joey sighed and turned to look at him, frowning again. "Seto, ya don't need t' make it up t' me. I wanna do this for ya. And I like bein' able t' take care of ya," he explained. "Until we mated, I was takin' care of myself. I know ya like takin' care of me, but I wanna be able t' take care of ya, too." He leaned in to kiss the older boy lightly, then stood up. "I like takin' care of ya. Makes me feel useful. Gives me somethin' t' do." He reached out to stroke Mokuba's hair out of his face and smiled. "This is nice. Like practice for children of our own."

"Yeah." Seto took a moment to tuck his brother under the blankets, then paused. When he finally realized what he'd heard, however, he whipped around and gaped at his mate as he began out the door. "Children of our own?"

The blond paused to wink at him. "It could happen someday, right?"

"Guh-? You—and me—and babies!"

"Well, children are usually babies when they're born," Joey teased, then turned and began walking away. "Just a thought."

Seto gaped after him, still stunned by the suggestion. His mate wanted children? …Did he even like children? What if he didn't like his own children? Oh Ra. He was going to be a terrible father!