I'm going to warn you now: from this point forward, the parts with Jack will be violent. This story is rated M for a reason, and I ask for you to acknowledge that.
Also, I'm going to go ahead and apologize for my inability to name chapters. I have no problem with the Title for the story, but I just don't have the talent of naming chapters.
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Yugi walked into his new home quietly. He had just come back from his lunch with Joey. It hadn't been easy to tell his best friend about the black eye, but he was glad that he was able to make Joey understand. It was just a one-time thing. Jack was never going to hurt him again. As he walked down the hall, he could hear the sound of a TV, coming from inside the bedroom. Despite his sureness that Jack wouldn't ever hurt him again, Yugi still felt some fear about opening the door.
Swallowing a lump in his throat, Yugi pushed open the door. He saw Jack laying on the bed, watching the sports channel. Jack turned his head at the sound, and spotted Yugi. He jumped and scrambled towards Yugi.
"Yugi!" He screamed, running towards his significant other. He stood in front of Yugi and saw the black, bulging eye. He felt a pain of guilt swell up inside him. He had done that to his little partner…
"Yugi, I'm so sorry. I don't know what to say, baby. I don't know how to make it up to you."
"It's fine, Jack." Yugi said, giving a small smile. He thought it was sweet how bad Jack felt about a drunk mistake. "It was just an accident."
"I know, but I can't help but feel terrible. I should've had more self-control. This wouldn't have happened."
"Jack, just let it go. I know that it was an accident. Joey understood that it was an accident—"
"Wait." Jack interrupted. "You told Joey?" He felt anger flood inside him. He didn't want that little snot-nosed kid shoving his nose inside his and Yugi's business. He would more than likely call the cops.
"I met Joey for lunch today. I couldn't exactly hide it." Yugi said, pointing to his swollen eye.
"Well, baby. I don't think we should be discussing our business with him. It's none of his concern, and I don't want him gossiping with everyone about what happens behind our doors."
"Joey's not a gossip." Yugi said, scrunching his eyebrows, but still keeping a smile on his face. "He's already promised that he's not going to call the cops. He knows that it was an accident, he trusts me. I know you would never hurt me on purpose, and Joey trusts that too."
"I don't know Yugi…" Deep down, Jack was boiling mad. He wanted to strangle the little brat that was standing in front of him! What right did he have to go around, telling everybody, 'my boyfriend beat me in a drunken rage'? Did he want him to get arrested? Jack fought hard to mask his anger. A moment ago, he was truly sorry for hitting Yugi. Now that he knew the kid was talking about it openly with his friends, he just wanted to beat the living shit out of him.
"Jack, just relax. Joey's not going to tell. Now I think I'll make dinner. Is spaghetti okay?"
"Yeah, that's fine." Jack said, grinding his teeth. He watched as Yugi turned around and headed into the kitchen. He closed the door in front of him and began to shove his fingernails into the flesh of his palm. He could hear the clanging of pots in the kitchen. Yugi thought he was never going to hurt him again. He was sure of it. Jack smirked. He was going to use that idiotic trust to his advantage.
"Looks like that little brat needs a beating." Jack said quietly. Yugi deserved it for talking about the incident last night with his stupid friend. He needed to learn not to speak about what happened inside this apartment. All Jack needed to do was beat him for a few hours. With a simple threat of another beating, the little asshole would learn what was considered private information.
Smiling, Jack dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He stared at the two pictures inside it, both young girls. He remembered them both wonderfully. One girl had long, dark hair, down to her waist. Her eyes were like crystals and they shone brightly. She had been a nice girl, and it almost pained Jack to have to get rid of her.
Almost.
The other girl was the complete opposite. She had short, blonde hair and dark brown eyes. She was smart, but also had a sassy, sarcastic side that got annoy fast. Jack felt little to no remorse for what he had done to her. But, she did have some sentimental value to Jack. She had been his first. She was what made him love doing this.
Jack smirked. It was only a matter of time before a third picture got added to his wallet. All he would have to do was wait until the time was perfect. When Yugi's turn came, he would know it, just as he knew with the two girls.
Time was ticking.
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"You got arrested?" Seto's shrill voice came over the phone and Yami flinched at the intensity of it. He could imagine his cousin slamming his hand down on the old oak desk, standing up, grinding his teeth. He had seen Seto do that before whenever he got a phone call he didn't like. Yami began to wonder if he made a bad choice using his one phone call on his cousin. "On what charges?"
Yami twisted the black phone cord around his finger. "Harassment and assault of a minor." He said dully, focusing his attention on the cement floor beneath him. The police added the assault charge as they booked him in, saying that by not letting Yugi go, he had been hurting the teen. Yami's eyes looked around, spotting the other inmates. Many were much taller than him. Some were all muscle, while some were as skinny as twigs. Most had tattoos of their gang signs. Yami was uncomfortable being locked in a small room with these men.
"Yami, are you a fucking idiot?" Seto screamed over the phone. Yami had to pull the receiver away from his ear some, afraid his cousin would break his ear drums. "Why the hell would you have those charges?"
"Because I've been bugging this kid I like," Yami whispered slowly, "and I grabbed his arm to get his attention."
There was an angry sigh from the other end of the line. Yami imagine Seto sitting back down now, holding his head with his hands. "I give you nearly three weeks of vacation, and you spend it by getting arrested within the first two days."
"Believe me," Yami said angrily. "This was not how I imagined I spend my time off."
"So…what am I supposed to do?"
Yami felt his face flush and sweat form at his brow. He hated having to resort to begging, but he couldn't spend the night in jail. And he certainly didn't have the money right now to pay his own bail.
"I need you to bail me out." Yami muttered, embarrassed at having to ask Seto for help.
There was silence from the other end, maybe for the faint, subtle sound of fingers tapping along Seto's oak desk. "I can't." Came the eventual reply.
Yami felt his heart drop into his stomach and he took a deep breath and began to chew on his lip. He knew that answer wasn't out of the realm of possibility. In fact he more than expected to receive that answer. But it was one thing to imagine it; it was another to hear it in real life.
"I can't just leave work, moron." Seto continued. "I have to finish organizing that damn tournament."
Yami felt anger pulse through his veins as Seto continued to talk. He was amazed at his cousin's selfishness. It wasn't about him getting arrested…it was about Seto and his damn work! "You can't take one hour out of your busy day to bail your cousin out? Damn it, Seto! I'm family!"
"The only family I have is Mokuba."
Yami had to resist throwing the phone in anger. He could feel the guard's eyes staring him down from behind and Yami could only imagine that everyone could hear his shouts of anger and frustration. "So I'm nothing more than an employee?" Yami seethed, talking through his teeth.
"A soon to be ex-employee if you don't end this call and leave me alone."
"Seto—"
Yami was interrupted by the low buzz of the dial tone. Yami felt the phone slip through his hand the cord, unwinding itself around his fingers. He couldn't believe it! That asshole hung up on him! Yami clenched his fists and resisted every urge to punch a hole into the wall in front of him. He knew Seto was a bastard, but Yami couldn't believe that he had the balls to say they weren't family. He couldn't believe Seto would say that Yami was only an employee to him.
Yami heard footsteps approaching. He knew it was the guard who had been supervising the call. Yami felt the larger man put a rough hand on his shoulder.
"Is someone coming for you?" He asked as he began to escort Yami into his jail cell.
Yami shook his head, still unable to comprehend the conversation he just had with Seto. "No." Yami looked at his feet as he walked into the cell. There was only a twin bed pushed up against the wall, a toilet, and a sink in the entire room. Yami turned to face the guard who handed Yami an orange bundle with a pair of white sneakers on top.
"Change into this." The guard commanded. "We'll lock up the rest of your belongings for you until your release." The guard pulled on the door and the metal bars slid out in front of Yami, making a loud, clanging noise as it shut tight and locked. The guard walked away, giving Yami some minute privacy.
Sighing, Yami stripped out of his casual clothes and reluctantly put on the orange jump suit. There was no mirror in his cell, so he had no idea how he looked with it on, but he couldn't imagine he looked spectacular. He couldn't believe the mess he had gotten himself into. Arrested? It was one word he never imagined for himself.
Yami felt tired and he turned and spotted the small bed. It didn't look particularly comfortable but it was better than nothing. He climbed onto the metal bed and laid flat on his back, staring at the blank ceiling. He sighed, and imagined seeing Yugi sitting next to him.
Why couldn't he get the kid out of head?
He barely knew the kid, but for some reason Yami felt he'd known him his whole life. He wanted to know Yugi better. He wanted to be friends with him, and maybe, eventually, something more. But his friends proved to be a problem. He didn't take Joey's words the other day to heart. The blonde told him to stay away from Yugi, but Yami didn't believe they would do anything to stop the two from seeing each other.
Boy had he been wrong. They hated him, and he barely knew their names. They barely knew his. They hated him so much they had him arrested! Yami sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. He didn't know what to make of the situation. He wanted to hang out with Yugi, he wanted to get to know the person behind those sad, sad eyes.
Yami wanted to know why Yugi's eyes were like that. And why did he freak out when all Yami did was hold his wrist? It seemed to be an irrational way to respond to an everyday touch. But replaying that memory over in head, he saw the look of fear in Yugi's eyes. He couldn't help but wonder why. There was no reason for the younger teen to have reacted in such a way. And there was defiantly no reason for Anzu to have called the cops.
Yami bit his lip, feeling anger grow towards the brunette. She had been the one to have him arrested. She was just like Joey; making decisions for Yugi, and keeping Yugi sheltered like a small baby. She had been way out of line in the way she confronted Yami.
In fact, Yami began to think, he could have her arrested. She had threatened him with a knife! Yami reached up and felt the same space of skin where the blade had touched. He burrowed his brows. That had to be considered attempted murder, it just had too!
But, Yami realized, it would be his word against hers. And he just knew a court would be more likely to believe a young girl over him. Yami let out a small groan of anger and frustration and flipped over onto his stomach, pressing his face into the one pillow.
He wanted to scream so desperately. But he managed to keep it in and empty his mind. It would do him no good to worry about things he couldn't control. All he could hope for now as that Seto would take his head out his ass long enough to bail him out of jail.
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Yami hadn't realized he had fallen asleep until he was awoken by a guard's voice. Groaning, Yami forced himself into an upright position and rubbed his eyes. He could hear the clamor of the entire jail, the loud voices of the other criminals were easily carried throughout the entire building.
It brought a chill down Yami's spine to think of who he was locked up with. Rapists, murderers, thieves. And all he had was an assault and harassment charge.
Yami got out of bed and stretched. A guard came up to the cell door and took out a key. He unlocked the door and motioned for Yami to follow.
"Congratulations, Sennen." The guard said not too enthusiastically. "You're being released."
Yami almost stopped walking, surprised. Had Seto finally come to bail him out? Yami doubted it because of how serious the CEO had sounded yesterday. How else was he being released?
They walked up to the entrance of the jail, where the counter was. Yami found Yugi waiting silently by the desk. Yami felt his heart fly up when he saw his little love. But, what was he doing here?
"Mister Motou here has requested that the charges against you be dropped." The guard said, looking over at Yami. "And because the two officers yesterday admitted to using unnecessary force, you're arrest is being filed as a mistake."
"Really?" Yami couldn't believe it. Yugi had been the one to get him out. He stood shyly by the door, wearing a gray sweater that was too large for him. He stood with his arms crossed against his chest, and when his eyes locked with Yami's, they were dull and sad.
A man behind the counter pointed a pen towards Yugi. "Just sign these papers and he's all yours."
"Thank you." Yugi said softly, scribbling his signature onto the small sheet of paper. When he was done, the man at the counter looked at it for a moment, studying it. Then, he shook Yugi's hand.
"Alright. Mister Sennen is free to go." Turning his head towards Yami, he said, "You can find your belongings in the backroom."
Yami looked over at Yugi again and their eyes locked. For a moment it seemed there was only silence lingering in the air. Feeling the awkward tension rising, Yami turned his head and followed the guard to collect his clothing.
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Several minutes later, he was following Yugi out of the police station. The younger boy did his best to avoid eye contact, keeping his violet irises onto the stone pavement rather than up at Yami's.
They walked together in silence for a few minutes. Yami had no idea what to say. He was grateful for the teenager bailing him out, but he didn't want to scare him off. That was how he got arrested in the first place.
Yugi stopped walking and sighed. He pulled his head up and looked at Yami. He shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "What happened yesterday?"
Yami mentally froze. Did Yugi have another memory lapse? What was he supposed to tell him?
"I remember that you got arrested." Yugi continued. "I remember seeing the assault charges on the papers I signed. But I don't remember how you got arrested. And Joey and Anzu aren't telling me anything."
Yami felt his fist clench. Once again, Yugi's 'friends' were treating him like a little kid. They were withholding information, and were trying to keep the two separated. All Yami wanted to do was to get to know Yugi, to see if they even were capable of having a lasting relationship. Yami couldn't describe the feeling he felt towards Yugi. It felt like love, but he knew nothing about the boy. He wanted to learn about the boy's hobbies, his likes and dislikes, his life. Why was that such a problem with his two friends?
"Please," Yugi began talking again, "I need to know. I need to fill in the missing space in my head, and you're the only one who can help."
"I…" Yami trailed off. He found himself uncomfortable. How was he supposed to tell Yugi what happened yesterday. It wasn't like he could just come out and say 'You're friend called the police because I touched your wrist.' It sounded stupid even to him. He wanted to give Yugi answers, but he had no idea how to vocalize them.
"Well," Yami said, "what do you remember?"
Yugi shook his head. "All I remember is watching you being place into the police car."
Yami began to chew on the inside of his lip. Yugi didn't remember any of the events leading up to his arrest. He saw the pleadingly look in Yugi's eyes. He could feel how desperately Yugi wanted to know.
Yami couldn't imagine how it would be to have blanks in his memory. He couldn't imagine how Yugi felt right now.
"Look," Yami sighed, "your friend called the police. She felt I was harassing you. I reached for your hand and they said it was assault."
"Is that all?"
Yami wasn't comfortable telling the teen anymore. He didn't want to tell Yugi about how scared he look when all Yami did was grab his hand. He didn't want Yugi to fear him. He wanted to be friends with Yugi, and maybe something more. He didn't want to scare off the teen. "That's all." Yami said.
Yugi sighed and a small smile came to his face. "Thank you." He said quietly. "Thank you for being the first person to ever treat me like an adult."
So Yugi noticed the boundaries his friends placed around him? Why didn't he do anything about it, to stop it? Why didn't he ever speak up for himself?
"I want to help you." Yami said, before he could really stop himself.
Yugi let out a small scoff and shook his head. "Thank you, but I have enough people trying to help me." He cocked his head to the right some. "Come on. Let's go."
Yami raised an eyebrow. "Go where?"
"Well, I still owe you a date, don't I?"
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Well, it took five chapters, but Yugi and Yami finally get their date! Sorry I didn't update last week, but as I was reading over this chapter, I noticed some things in there, big things, that I realized I didn't want. So, I had to re-write practically half of the chapter.
Thanks for reading, and please review!