They barely spoke to each other for two weeks. Kaiba hadn't meant to cause the silent treatment. He'd only wanted to comfort Jou after the security guards had taken his father away. Somehow, it ended up being an hour-long argument regarding why Jou had chosen to reestablish a relationship with his father without telling Kaiba the full truth about what the man had done to him.

Jou had eventually broken down in tears, telling Kaiba he couldn't even broach the topic with him, that he was afraid Kaiba would be disgusted by the truth and break up with him.

The book Kaiba had read had specified that under no circumstances should someone show anger toward a person in distress. Kaiba knew that, but at that moment he couldn't hold it in any longer. He let the fear of Jou getting hurt cloud his judgment, and he yelled at him, asking him how he could be so reckless and telling him that he was never allowed to communicate with that man ever again.

Jou hadn't yelled back, nodding along to Kaiba's demands then going to bed without another word. Kaiba had almost wished that Jou had yelled or done anything that would let Kaiba know what was on his mind. Seto apologized to him the next day, but it made no difference. He seemed like a ghost these days, going through the motions without thoughts and only speaking when Kaiba asked him a question. He even started going home whenever his shift ended even if Kaiba hadn't finished his work yet.

Seto extended every olive branch he could, but Jou hadn't opened up to him again after that first night. Kaiba wasn't even sure if they were still in a relationship at this point. He decided to give Jou all the space he needed.

Now, two weeks after the fight, he came home to a frightening sight. Jou's suitcase was right next to the entrance inside the living room.

"Jou, please listen to me. It's a very bad idea," came Mokuba's voice from the halls upstairs.

"Why? I was supposed to move forever ago. I was just staying because…I don't know why."

"But you do know why! You wanted to be closer to Seto, and you know if you leave like this Seto is gonna freak out."

Jou laughed bitterly. "He won't. I'll call him before I go, and it won't matter to him. He doesn't wanna be with me anymore."

Seto's heart sank. How could Jou even think that?

"There's no way he said that to you!"

"He didn't, but I can read in between the lines, kid. It's over between us."

"Jou, Seto knows you're hurting, and he's trying to give you space. He's being a good boyfriend to you, and if he has to come home to you gone, it'll end very badly just like the last time. If you walk out that door, it'll really be the end of your relationship. Just stay for a bit and talk to him about it. See what he has to say."

They must've moved back into Jou's bedroom after that, because Seto couldn't hear any more. He didn't need to anyway. Mokuba's guilt-tripping works on everyone. But Seto still needed to act fast if he wanted to make Jou feel better. He couldn't comfort him, that much was clear. As much as he loathed to admit it, he needed help from the most comforting person they all knew.

He went back into his car and dialed Yuugi's number.

"Hello?" came the younger boy's voice.

"How much do you know?" Seto asked. He didn't have time for chit chat. He just needed Yuugi to fix this.

"Kaiba? What are you talking about? Know what?"

Kaiba's left eye twitched. "Yes or no, did Jou tell you anything about what's been happening this past month?"

Kaiba prayed the answer would be yes. He couldn't betray Jou's trust by sharing the information with Yuugi, but he almost couldn't do nothing while his puppy fell apart.

"Ummm…last I heard you shattered a cup in your hand, and he had to take you to a doctor."

Kaiba grunted. Fuck.

"Did something happen?" Yugi asked, his voice quavering.

"Nothing that concerns you," Kaiba said before hanging up. He slumped in his seat, sighing. How the hell was he supposed to make Jou feel better if his boyfriend was determined to keep everyone at a distance? Would he just feel better on his own and come back? Or would it end in another letter?

Kaiba gulped. His thoughts were interrupted by his phone ringing. One glance at the screen told him it was Atem. He answered and put the phone on speaker.

"You better have a really good explanation for worrying Yugi then hanging up on him like that, Kaiba."

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "He's seventeen. He needs to start fighting his own battles. If he's so upset, why didn't he call me back himself."

"Because I know exactly what you were referring to, and it would break Yugi's heart if he found out what Jou's father had done to him. I couldn't let you tell him."

"I wasn't going to-wait, he told you?"

"Yes."

Kaiba clenched his jaw. What the everloving fuck? Why the hell would Jou tell Atem of all people? The pharaoh was just at bad as Kaiba when it came to emotions. How would it benefit Jou to reveal these things to him?

"He wanted to take my opinion on whether or not he should stay in the mansion, and he said I was the only one who wouldn't treat him as fragile after he told me."

"And you told him he should leave?"

"Yes. He clearly didn't want to be treated any differently because of what happened, and you're acting too weird. It's triggering him. It's better if he stays with Yugi and me."

"I'm not acting weird. I'm giving him space to process what happened. That's what the book said to do when someone is sexually abused."

"The…book?"

Seto could almost hear the suppressed laughter in Atem's voice. "Well, it's not like anything else I've done so faris working! And it's not like you've done any better."

"Kaiba…forget the book for a second. Forget everything about what you should and shouldn't say or do. What happened is making you uncomfortable, and he can see that you're uncomfortable. You're trying not to hurt Jou so much that you're pushing him away. What would you do if this was any other situation with any other person where they were sulking about something like this?"

Kaiba thought about it for a second, pressing his lips into a thin line. "Get your friends over to the game shop now, and Atem…you better be right about this."

He hung up then called Jou.

"Stop whatever it is you're doing and come out now," he said firmly. "We're going to Yugi's."

"What? Why?" came Jou's voice.

"Because I'm sick of you walking around like some sort of freaking ghost. So your father is a abusive maniac, so was mine! You don't see me ignoring my boyfriend all day or laying around feeling sorry for myself. The only fucking difference between us is that I had a kid to raise and you don't. I had responsibilities so I had to work a hundred times as hard as any twelve year old out there, and I had to isolate myself so I can have enough time to make it work. Guess what? When everything was stable and we finally had legs to stand on, I didn't have a single friend and I didn't have the skills to make one, either. It took me fucking forever to get up the courage to talk to you. He did that to me, and I had to put in so much effort to get Mokuba to be different, to have friends, but he's still struggling. You have all of that, and you're pushing us all away. When are you going to stop letting him win?"

"Seto, I-"

"Don't talk. Just come out here so we can leave before your loser friends fall asleep."

Jou paused for a few seconds, and Seto bit his lip to stop himself from apologizing. He'd started this, and he needed to see it through. Anything to snap his boyfriend out of the haze he's been in.

"Okay."

Seto let out a shaky breath. "Okay."

"Okay."

—

Kaiba glanced at Jou every five minutes, careful not to get caught. The grin on his boyfriend's face was enough to reassure him. His boyfriend was happy. Atem's advice had worked.

He remained silent during the gathering, happy to watch the others catching up and goofing off while he pretended to work on his laptop. He wasn't into small talk, and he'd missed too much work while worrying about his boyfriend's mental health. In his letter, Jou mentioned that he wanted to commit suicide because of his illness, but Kaiba was sure it went deeper than that. All that nonsense about not wanting to be a burden and not wanting to be controlled by others had come from Kenji, Kaiba was sure of it. He had to make sure Jou wouldn't start having the same feelings again.

He eventually got up and headed to the kitchen for a glass of water only to walk in on what looked to be a private moment. Atem had Yugi pressed against the counter, his tanned hand on the younger boy's cheek as he whispered something that made Yugi blush.

Kaiba cleared his throat to announce his presence, and the two of them pulled apart. Yugi stammered something incomprehensible then went back to his friends while Atem crossed his arms and smirked at Kaiba.

"I see you decided to take my advice."

Kaiba glowered at him. "I was going to thank you, but since you're being so smug about it, then forget it. I don't know what I was thinking coming to you for relationship advice. Who takes up with someone who looks exactly like them? That's a bit narcissistic, don't you think?"

Atem grinned. "You should've seen my previous lover. I think you did…remember my high priest?"

Kaiba's eyes widened. "No."

Atem didn't say a word.

"Please tell me you're joking. We didn't…I mean, you and him didn't…"

The pharaoh burst out laughing. "You should've seen your face!"

Kaiba sneered at him. "Oh, screw you. That wasn't funny. You almost scarred me for life."

Just as Seto was about to exit the kitchen, Atem said, "Kaiba, wait. Are you okay?"

Seto raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm not the one who's been through an ordeal."

Atem chuckled. "No, but I was once also the leader of an empire. I know how difficult it is to have things out of your control, for them not to go according to plan. I know how much it fucks with your head to concentrate on all those details all the time. Nothing could go wrong for you, yet somehow things always do."

Seto blinked twice at Atem. He'd never before had his messed up mind laid out in a way that made so much sense. "That's exactly how it is. So you already know how I feel. There's no need for us to rehash all the depressing details."

"Not necessarily. I know it couldn't have been easy for you to see Jou get hurt or to have to let his abuser go despite how much you want to protect him. I just don't know how much it's all affecting you, and call me crazy but the fact that you brought me back to life makes us friends in my book. Friends talk to each other when they're going through things like this."

Seto exhaled shakily. A friend. He needed one more than ever now, but having to talk about his feelings…that's a lot less desirable.

"It could be better."

Atem nodded, frowning. "I figured. Is there anything I can do?"

Kaiba glared at him. "If there was something that could be done, I would've done it already."

"I mean, is there anything I can do for you?"

Seto thought long and hard about it. "No. Just…keep an eye on him. And if you see his father anywhere, kill him."

"Oh, I don't kill people, not anymore. There are much more pain-inducing alternatives that I choose to do."

Atem smiled, and Kaiba mirrored the expression. This was why he'd brought the pharaoh back.