Chapter 2: Coming Down From the Ledge
Yami awoke to find that Joey had disappeared. He stretched and got up, dressing. As he finished, he found a note on his bedside table. As he read the note, his eyes widened. "No, Joey…" he murmured.
Dropping the note, he searched the room for clues. He finally found the window to the fire escape open, letting in cool air. He slipped through the window and climbed the fire escape.
Joey was sitting on the roof, his knees drawn to his chest, staring contemplatively at the city spread out before him. Yami settled on the roof beside him, letting his legs dangle over the edge. "If you want to talk, I'm here." He said quietly, not looking at him.
"How did you find me?" Joey asked quietly.
"The fire escape window was still open." Yami explained, shrugging. "What was your plan?"
Joey lifted a shoulder in a shrug. "Jump off, but I haven't gotten the courage yet. You going to try to talk me down?"
Yami shook his head. "I'm here just to talk. Only you can make the decision to end your life."
Joey seemed relieved. "Good. I don't want your pity."
"I'm not here to pity you." Yami shook his head again. "What makes you think you need to end it all?" he questioned.
"I don't want to talk about it." Joey looked away.
"That's fine." Yami nodded. "Let me ask you this: Are there any loved ones in your life?"
Joey managed a smile. "My younger sister, Serenity. She is a lighthouse in the middle of a storm. And my best friends Yugi and Tristan."
"Good." Yami nodded in approval. "How do you think they would feel if you killed yourself?"
"Oh God. I would hurt my sister so much. She would blame herself." Joey gave an unexpected choking noise, as if he was trying not to cry.
"And you protect your sister like I do my brother." Yami nodded.
Yami apparently said the wrong thing. Joey's face hardened. "Not always." He replied quietly.
"I'm sure she loves you. She would be devastated if you did this." Yami reasoned.
Joey sighed. "I know."
"When you're ready to tell me what is bothering you, I will listen." Yami promised.
Joey gave him a weak smile. "Thanks, Yami, for talking me off the literal edge."
"No problem. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did nothing." Yami returned the smile. "Do you think you're ready to come down?"
"Yeah." Joey carefully made his way to the fire escape and Yami followed. They returned to the dorm room. "I'm going to bed. Being suicidal takes its toll on you."
Yami went over to him and touched Joey's shoulder. "Don't scare me like that again. Was it because of what we did?"
Joey shook his head and smiled more genuinely. "Not at all. That was great. It's all me, promise."
Yami studied his face, searching for the truth. "All right." He nodded, satisfied.
Joey climbed into bed and was quickly asleep. Yami got in bed, but he couldn't sleep. He felt an almost uncontrollable urge to look over to make sure he could see Joey's sleeping form in the moonlight. He eventually fell asleep in the early hours, a fitful sleep.
Yami was awakened by Joey moving around the room. "What time is it?" he groaned.
"Seven thirty." Joey replied, checking his watch.
Yami sat up and noticed Joey's hair was wet and he was only wearing a towel wrapped around his waist. Seeing him dressed like this brought back memories from the night before, making his cheeks pink.
"I like when you blush." Joey commented, grinning. The depressed mood from the night before seemed to have disappeared. He went over to Yami and bent down, kissing him. "You know, we do have time for a little experiment." Joey murmured, his as lips moved to Yami's jaw.
Yami's eyes closed as his thoughts scattered. "What sort of experiment?" he managed to ask.
Joey's grin reminded Yami of a cat who ate the canary. "Let's see how much trouble we can get into."
Yami groaned Joey's lips moved slowly to his neck. The fun had just begun.
As it turned out, Yami and Joey were late for their first class. The teacher glared at them as they entered and apologized. But as they took their seats and looked at each other, they knew they were not apologetic at all.
After classes ended for the day, Yami and Joey returned to their dorm. "What are you doing this weekend?" Yami asked, as he settled in to do his homework.
Joey was so silent for so long Yami looked at him. "I have to return home for the weekend." He answered, his buoyant mood gone.
"Oh. Well, I'll see you Sunday night?" Yami tried lifting his spirits.
"Yeah. About that. Do you want to go to a movie or something when I get back?" Joey managed a small smile.
Yami smiled back. "It's a date then."
Joey "I'd like that." Joey kissed him.