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Silent Tears	By : AnonymousTigress Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 7536 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh. I gain no profit or benefits from writing this fan fic.

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A/N: FINALLY! I know I haven’t updated in forever, but my muses have been all over. They can’t make up their mind whether to inspire for Harry Potter, Yu-Gi-Oh, or Supernatural. They’ve been sticking around Supernatural a lot more recently so it’s been hard to catch them while dodging demons. Hope y’all enjoy the new chapter!

CHAPTER ELEVEN

[November 13, Friday]

That night, both Joey and Seto slept soundly. Joey didn’t move around as much and Seto kept him from irritating the belt marks. Although he would never admit it, Seto had a very pleasant dream that night. It was a meaningless but pleasant dream.

He lay on his back in a field. His buttoned-up shirt was open and the sleeves rolled up to his elbow. A shirtless Joey lay on his side with his head resting on Seto’s stomach. His back faced Seto; a back that was bare of all scars and bruises. Joey was sleeping peacefully with a smile on his face. Seto occasionally ran a hand over the smooth back or weaved his hand into soft hair, combing out tangles. He didn’t think about work, life, or even his brother; he was simply at peace.

Seto woke slowly with the fluttering of his eyelashes. He jerked up into a sitting position when he didn’t feel the familiar weight on his chest. He heard a buzzing sound and his hand automatically snatched up his cell phone.

Good morning. He’s in the kitchen.

It was scary sometimes how Roland seemed to know what he was thinking. Seto rolled out of bed with a yawn. His mind couldn’t help, but go to his dream. He tried to shake it, despite the warmth surrounding his heart. Disappearing into the bathroom, Seto wasn’t surprised to find a change of his own clothes sitting on the bathroom counter. He made a mental note to thank Roland later.

Seto washed his face and changed his clothes. He took the dirty clothes to the laundry room nearby and dropped them in the To Clean pile. He walked down the hall, through the foyer, and into the kitchen. As he neared the kitchen, he could hear his younger brother chattering along happily. When he walked in, he found his brother sitting at the island watching Joey cook.

Joey had his back to him and seemed to be working on a few things at a time. Joey seemed to sense when he came into the room when he called out a greeting to him.

“Morning, Seto.”

Seto smiled. “Good morning, Joey.”

Mokuba stared at both of them with wide eyes. His mouth dropped open when he heard his brother call Joey by his name and he was smiling. Seto walked over to sit beside him at the island. Mokuba shook himself out of shock and a big smile broke across his face. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but who was he to protest? Especially if it meant his brother and Joey were getting along better.

“Morning, big brother,” Mokuba greeted.

Seto reached out to ruffle his hair.

“Morning, Mokuba. What are you doing up so early? It’s a school holiday,” Seto asked.

As Joey finished up cooking breakfast, he moved over to the coffee maker. He pulled down a mug and poured a reasonable amount of coffee in it. He made it like he knew Seto liked his coffee.

“I’m going on the camping trip today, remember?” Mokuba asked.

Seto had actually forgotten about it. Mokuba was scheduled to go on an overnight camping trip. He would be back on Sunday. That worked out fine for him. That meant him and Joey could spend more time building on their new friendship. Joey walked over and carefully slid the coffee mug to him.

“Thank you,” Seto murmured.

“Welcome,” Joey murmured back.

He turned back to the food where he dished out food onto two plates. He laid the two plates down in front of each Kaiba before turning around to take care of himself. Mokuba got a trio of pancakes with fresh strawberries and strawberry syrup. On the side he had a small bowl of fresh fruit and some scrambled eggs. Seto was pleasantly surprised by what he found on his plate. A small omelet with a small pile of breakfast potatoes was there.

When he sliced into the omelet, he found that it had everything in it that he loved. He looked up at a smiling Joey who sat down on his other side. Seto was beginning to realize he knew less about the blonde teen than previously thought. Joey ate through his breakfast fairly quickly and stood up to put his plate away.

“Joey?”

Joey turned at Seto calling his name. The CEO gently pushed his near empty coffee cup towards the blonde.

“While you’re up?” Seto asked.

Joey cracked a big grin before nodding. He snatched up the coffee mug to go refill it. Meanwhile, Mokuba had a bunch of theories running through his head. The conclusion he came to was his brother and Joey were playing some sort of twisted version of house. After Joey put his plate away, he brought the filled mug back. Mokuba chewed his breakfast quietly while the two older males had a whispered conversation.

“I’m gonna go take a shower,” Joey whispered.

“Do you need help washing your back?” Seto whispered back.

Joey thought about that for a moment. He had a good range of motion now with his ribs feeling better. He shook his head.

“Nah. I’ll be fine,” Joey replied.

Seto nodded.

“When you get out, leave your shirt off. I’ll come help you with the cream, all right?”

Joey returned the nod before leaving the kitchen. Seto turned back around to find his brother leaning forward with a questioning look on his face. Seto frowned.

“What?”

“Is there something you’d like to tell me, Seto?” Mokuba asked with a blinding smile on his face.

Seto pretended to think for a moment before breaking into a grin and nodding.

“As a matter of fact, yes. I had to go out late last night, ‘kuba,” Seto explained.

Mokuba tilted his head with an inquisitive look on his face.

“Why?” he asked.

“To bring Joey back.”

“Huh?”

Seto told his brother what had happened yesterday, including what led up to Joey leaving. Mokuba’s face fell. He couldn’t believe how he had aided in Joey’s confusion from yesterday. Seto only made him promise, in the future, to make sure he was clear when speaking.

“I’m taking Joey to Trinity today,” Seto said, out of the blue.

Mokuba’s eyes sparked. “Trinity…to see…?”

Seto nodded.

/……/

After Joey finished showering, Seto came in and helped him with his back. Joey waited until it had dried to pull his shirt on. Seto told Joey it would be about a two hour drive and he was welcome to bring something to do in the car. Joey met him downstairs with a small book and a pencil. Seto chuckled silently when he noticed it was a crosswords puzzle book.

After buckling up, they hit the road and then quickly returned when Joey realized he had forgotten his hearing aid. Once back on the road and hearing aid in place, Joey opened the book to the puzzle he was currently working on. He skimmed through the easy clues before tackling the harder ones. They were only fifteen minutes out when Joey spoke up.

“What’s the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet?” Joey asked.

“Zeta,” Seto answered automatically.

Joey penciled it in and continued on working silently. Until he reached another clue he didn’t have a clue about.

“Do you know who the first woman was to sit in the British House of Commons?” Joey asked.

Seto had to think the clue over carefully. He recalled reading about it one time before.

“Lady…Nancy Astor.”

Joey scribbled it in and smiled. He nodded as it filled in perfectly. When a red light caused him to force to a stop, Seto glanced over at the book. He reached over and tapped at one of the clues.

“Astroturf.”

Joey frowned as he wrote it.

“It’s a u, not an e,” Seto said, reaching across to point at the letter.

Joey erased his mistake and replaced it with the correct letter. Seto turned his attention back to the road as the light flashed green. They traveled in this manner for the whole trip; Joey working quietly on the crosswords and occasionally asking Seto about a clue. It was a nice peace that Seto found himself liking.

Seto turned up a long drive and pulled off on one side of the road. Joey closed the book and climbed out of the car. It wasn’t until he was standing that he got a good look around him. He turned to look at Seto as the brunette came around the front of the car to his side.

“Is this the right place?” Joey asked, a little unsure of himself.

Seto nodded.

“Welcome to Trinity, Joey,” Seto said.

Locking the car, Seto set off across the grass. Joey fell into step beside him as he followed the teen CEO. They weaved around a few trees and some flowers before reaching their destination. Joey stared with wide eyes.

“Is this…?” Joey’s voice drifted off.

Seto nodded again

“Joey, I’d like you to meet my parents.”

The granite headstone stared up at him quietly; Joey felt like the spirits were seeing straight through to his soul. The headstone was obviously well cared for and a fresh collection of flowers were resting in front of it on the ground.

“My parents passed away in a car accident. They were on their way to my school after I fought with a classmate. They were struck by a drunk driver.”

Joey remained quiet, listening patiently to the brunette’s sad story.

“After Mokuba and I came to the orphanage, I was in a very dark place. I blamed myself for the accident. Staying that way prevented us from being adopted before Gozaburo came on the scene. Budget cuts left the orphanage less than to be desired so I suppose Gozaburo was the lesser of the two evils.”

Joey knew what Seto was saying, even if he himself did not realize it. The two stood in silence. No one else was around. There may have been a groundskeeper around somewhere, but neither male gave that any thought. After a while, Joey spoke softly.

“Tell me about them?” Joey asked.

Seto smiled.

“They were perfect. Father was a Computer Programmer. He loved working with computers. It fascinated me how smart he was and yet how much he enjoyed a simple life. On his days off, he liked to work out in the garden.”

Closing his eyes, Joey envisioned a man similar to Seto in appearance – perhaps with glasses and shades of gray in his hair – working out in a garden. He imagined a young Seto rolling up his sleeves and carrying a heavy, rolled up hose out to his father.

“Mother was wonderful. Mokuba bares a good resemblance to her. Mother worked in Interior Design. She took an extended leave of absence from her work after Mokuba was born. She consulted with co-workers on projects, but she wanted to wait until Mokuba was older to return full-time. She was a disaster in the kitchen, but God rest her soul, she didn’t let that deter her.”

Joey could detect a small break in the brunette’s voice. He knew it must be hard for the older male to open up about something so personal. With a silent prayer for avoiding rejection, Joey quietly slipped his hand into Seto’s. It was a huge relief when his hand was gently squeezed. After a while, Seto released it. They walked back to the car and drove out the exit, passing under an arch reading as Trinity Peace Cemetery.

They stopped off at a diner for lunch before making their way back to the city. They were halfway there when Joey broke the silence in the car.

“What did Gozaburo do to you?”

Seto frowned.

“What makes you think he did anything?”

Smile. “It takes a survivor to know a survivor.”

Seto reluctantly returned the smile. Joey had already shared so much with him, whether it was voluntarily or not. It might do him some good to reveal this heavy weight he had been shouldering for so long. He knew Joey wouldn’t tell a soul.

For the remainder of the car ride home, Seto told Joey everything. Joey sat listening attentively. Seto’s words resonated similarities to Joey’s abuse; denied access to younger sibling, verbally abused on a daily basis, and forced to work under a lack of sleep. Joey discovered that Seto’s drive to be successful came from all the academics Gozaburo had pushed on him. He had to be intelligent, had to be the best.

Sometime during the conversation, Joey had slipped his hand over to Seto who had unknowingly latched onto it. The hands rested down on Seto’s knee while he drove with the free hand. Throughout the conversation, Seto would occasionally squeeze Joey’s hand. To Joey, it was almost as if he was reminding himself that Joey was there or reminding himself he wasn’t back with Gozaburo.

For the last half hour of the car ride, Joey dozed with his head resting on Seto’s shoulder. Seto found that he didn’t mind nearly as much as he thought he would. They arrived back to the manor early afternoon. They had an early dinner and spent the evening playing games. They played a few simple duels where Seto gave Joey some tips in between turns. They ended the night with a long game of Monopoly in which Joey won. Seto swore he let the blonde win since he lived Monopoly.

/……/

[Saturday]

Itching to return to volunteering, Joey had asked the next morning if the two of them could go to the library. After being there for only a few minutes, Seto realized that the Joey Wheeler he saw at school all these years was only one part of him. He assisted Joey in stacking books, but sat back as an observer for story time. A fairly large group of children ranging in age from four to nine sat on a carpet with all eyes glued to Joey.

A big surprise was Officer McCallahan and his daughter. The little girl sat front and center with her father standing in the back with Seto and some of the other parents. Seto quickly realized why Joey was so popular with the children.

Joey sat down in a low, kiddie chair with a big smile on his face. He chose a book titled “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.” The story was cute and starred a little mouse. The children giggled as Joey became The Storyteller. Whenever he repeated a certain line, the students would say it with him.

“If you give a mouse a cookie…”

Joey’s face lit up while he read. He was back to his happy, upbeat personality. Joey seemed to leave his problems at the door and focus on nothing, but the children. When the book reading was done, the children begged for a new story. With a quiet chuckle, Joey selected another story from the same series. He ended up reading two more books before calling it an end.

Then the children got to work on activity coloring sheets from the first storybook. Little Jessica McCallahan latched onto Joey with a cheerful cry of “Joey!” Just as happy to see her, Joey gently shushed her, but still pulled her up into his arms. Seto was certain holding the child must hurt, however, Joey showed no signs of it.

The little girl hugged her arms loose around the blonde’s neck. Seto suspected the officer had reminded his daughter of Joey’s recent hospital visit, hence her gentle behavior. McCallahan knelt down and took a few photos of the two together.

“I like the mouse book, Joey!” Jessica whispered.

Joey grinned.

“Would you like to check out some books like the mouse book?” Joey asked her.

She nodded her head excitedly with her pigtails flying about. Officer McCallahan took out his daughter’s library card and handed it off to Joey. Joey pocketed it and carried Jessica over to the children’s section where the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie series was.

“How is he doing? Really?” Officer McCallahan asked.

“He’s…getting better. We’re taking it one day at a time,” Seto answered.

Officer McCallahan nodded. He noticed the youth moved slower than usual, but he knew it would take time.

“Can you let Joey know the next court date is in three weeks instead of two? It’ll be late afternoon on the fourth,” the officer told him.

Seto agreed to tell Joey the news later. It wasn’t long before Seto felt something tug on the bottom of his jacket. When he glanced down, he found Jessica smiling up at him. She raised her arms up in a telltale sign of wanting to be picked up. Seto smiled softly before reaching down to lift her up. He sat her on his side while she grasped his jacket to help balance her.

“Where’s my friend, little one?” Seto asked, the ‘f’ word feeling foreign on his tongue.

She giggled.

“Joey’s in line. He told me to come find Papa,” she answered.

Officer McCallahan chuckled.

“I’m over here, sweetie,” he told her.

She covered more giggles with her hands while slightly leaning back. Seto kept a hand on her lower back to prevent her from falling backwards out of his arms.

“I know, Papa. I wanteded to meet the Dragon Man,” Jessica told him.

Seto wasn’t surprised the little girl associated him with dragons. With all the dueling competitions and media presence, he was shown many times dueling with his dragons. He was surprised when the little girl pointed to her shirt which had the image of a Blue Eyes on it.

“That’s right. I am the Dragon Man. Have you seen my dragons on TV?” Seto asked her with a small grin.

She leaned her forehead against his while gently nodding her head.

“Uh huh. Your dragons and Joey’s dragon. Are you really Joey’s friend?” Jessica whispered.

Seto did a side glance around her. He could just see Joey at the front of the line checking out a small stack of books. Seto returned his gaze to hers as he gently pressed his forehead against hers.

“He is my friend, sweet girl.”

The most surprising thing about that was he believed every word he said.

After Joey finished checking out the books, the four of them left for lunch. Not taking no for an answer, Officer McCallahan had the two young men follow him to a small café. It was a favorite spot of Jessica’s because of the small sand castle sculpture displayed in the front window. It was also a favorite spot of law enforcement.

While they were sitting at lunch, several officers stopped by greet Officer McCallahan. Many of them said a few quiet words to Joey. Although he sat coloring with Jessica, Seto overheard many of the officers from his spot next to Joey.

“We’re all with you, son.”

“The whole force is behind you. Don’t you worry.”

“I’m sorry we didn’t believe you.”

“Get better soon, Wheeler.”

The lunch was relatively quiet with only the quiet chatter of the young child. After a nice lunch, the two groups parted ways with Joey promising to visit Jessica again soon. After arriving back at the manor, Seto promised to do something with Joey later after he completed some work for the company. An emotionally drained Joey dozed on the couch in Seto’s study while Seto worked on his computer.

During the hour Joey slept, Seto found himself looking up from his desk several times. One time, he stood up and walked over to Joey to pull a blanket over him as he shivered on the couch.

After Joey woke up, the blonde disappeared off to do some school work. Joey was able to breeze through his homework quickly. He didn’t have a lot of homework to begin with, but what little he did have took a short amount of time to complete. Personally, he loved that no one knew about his academics. He felt a twinge of guilt at not sharing with Seto about his hidden academics.

Maybe once I’m more used to this weird friendship, I might share it with him, Joey thought.

Joey grinned. He enjoyed a secret smile every time grades were posted on the boards. Despite student numbers being the only thing listed, everyone knew Kaiba’s number; it was always listed as number one. What they didn’t know was number two in academics, a 0210012, was Joey Wheeler.

Joey chuckled to himself.

I got a few teachers who would be checking the expiration on their coffee if they found out I’ve been in second for years, Joey thought.

When he was done with his homework, Joey went for a walk out on the grounds. He still walked slowly, but things were getting easier. As he found a place to sit on a stone bench, Joey found himself thinking about his new friendship with Seto Kaiba.

Seto Kaiba was an enigma. He thought he knew Kaiba well and yet this weekend he was seeing a whole different Kaiba. He knew Kaiba had a sweet spot for his little brother, but apparently that extended to other children. Kaiba had opened up to Jessica, even going so far as to color a page with her at lunch.

Thinking about the new friendship made Joey think of his other friendships which led his thoughts back to Teá. Joey’s hands tightened into fists on his knees. It stung to think that she wouldn’t take him at his word; that she would believe he had returned to the gang before believing his father abused him.

He was sitting silently seething when someone sat down beside him.

“She’s not worth it.”

That snapped Joey out of his rage. He snapped his head to the side with a surprised murmur of “What?” Seto turned his gaze to meet his.

“Gardner isn’t worth your time. She dared to call you a liar with the evidence right in front of her. It’s her loss. You are better than her. You are stronger.”

Joey closed his eyes and released all of his tension in one big sigh of relief.

“Thanks, Kaiba.”

“Anytime, Wheeler.”

/……/

“…this doesn’t feel right.”

Silence.

“…I don’t feel comfortable here.”

Quiet growl.

“…I’ll shut up now.”

Silence.

“…”

“…this doesn’t feel right.”

Growl. “Go to sleep or I’ll knock you out cold myself.”

Joey sighed. Unlike every other night he had been at the manor, Seto hadn’t gone with him to his room to retire for the night. To Joey’s shock, Seto had led him upstairs and brought him inside his room. Joey had felt a bit intimidated being in the older male’s private bedroom; he had been afraid to piss in the toilet, let alone lay down on the bed.

Joey listened to Seto swear in Italian. The blonde almost gave himself away that he understood, but bit his bottom lip instead. A familiar hand dug into his hair, squeezing roughly at the base of his neck.

“The bed in that guest room is small, lumpy, and it irritates me,” Seto growled.

Joey rolled his eyes.

“Then let me go back down and sleep,” Joey mumbled.

Seto snorted, his chest raising Joey’s head up slightly with the movement.

“You might roll over and screw up your back more. I don’t need Dr. Connors all over my ass because you can’t follow a simple command.”

Before his eyes even popped open, Seto knew he had put his foot in his mouth and said the absolute worst thing he possibly could. Joey was clear across the bed with his back facing him in the blink of an eye. Seto stared up at the ceiling, wondering how such a good day could deteriorate in such a short amount of time.

“Wheeler–”

“Leave me alone.”

Seto released a small sigh.

Worthless mutt! Can’t follow a simple command to save your fucking life!

Joey squeezed his eyes shut, forcing himself to fall asleep.

/……/

[Sunday]

Having woken up early, Joey wanted to be left alone and Seto respected that space. Seto tried to sit at his desk to complete more work, but he found himself dwelling on last night. It seemed like they had taken three steps forward, but ten steps backward. They had been working towards great efforts to get to know each other with Seto even telling Joey stuff he had never told anyone. The feeling of guilt weighed heavy on his stomach.

Seto had to make it up to Joey somehow. Suddenly, he was hit with a burst of inspiration. He snapped up his phone.

“Roland? I need you to pick up something for me.”

It was around ten when Seto sought Joey out. He found the younger male watching a documentary in the living room.

“Joey?”

Visibly tensing, Joey put the television on mute. Joey may be mad, but he was still respectful enough to give him the attention he sought.

“I apologize for what was said last night. I hope this will make up for it,” Seto told him.

Joey frowned. When Seto turned and looked at the open doorway behind him, Joey turned around on the couch. His voice caught in his throat when he saw Serenity standing there. With tears in her eyes, Serenity had the biggest grin on her face.

“Hi, Big Brother.”

Seto wasn’t sure how, but in the blink of an eye, Joey was gone from the couch. When he glanced back at Serenity, he found the two siblings locked in a tight embrace. Seto left the living room, quietly moving around the siblings.

“Seto?”

He paused in the doorway and turned his head. He locked gazes with Joey. The blonde mouthed a silent ‘Thank You.’ Seto nodded his head before leaving to allow the siblings their alone time.

END OF CHAPTER ELEVEN

A/N: Sorry if the ending seems like it’s cut short, but it is what it is. I’m hoping to have new chapters for everyone when I come back from my trip. I’m going to be out of town for a few weeks, but we’ll see if that trip brings the muses back together.
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Silent Tears