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Rent to Own	By : Sparks Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 19912 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 12
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or its characters, or profit in any way from this story.

Chapter List
- 16
- 17
- 18
Author's Note: Hey guys! Moving forward with another PG chapter, mainly setting things up some more. Hopefully in a non-boring way. Sometimes I worry I meander too much, because it's just so fun playing around in Joey's brain. Speaking of which, there'll be more of that in the literal sense in the next chapter or two. Thanks again for all the support and commentary/advice! Depending on my workload this week, the next chapter should be in a few days or so. Enjoy!

Lunch was another historical one that day.

When the lunch ladies saw Joey walking up to them, they tensed up, dreading his approach. Joey with his wallet out usually meant counting out small change and bickering over just how many french fries were worth 87 cents.

So when actual PAPER money came out of the blonde's wallet, they were so shocked they didn't even hear his order at first.

It wasn't taco day, or even chicken fingers day, but Joey didn't care. He was buying his own lunch. With his own money.

...that he made by sucking dick. But dammit, all anyone needed to know was he EARNED that money. He EARNED this... what was this? Meat? Whatever. It was his, and that was all that mattered right now, he told himself as he set the tray down at his friends' table with a triumphant 'clack.' Their smiles matched the one on his own face, as Tristan, Tea and Yugi gave him a small round of applause.

Joey did his best to act 'normal' all day - joking around, having a good time, putting on the best "Nothing to see here, folks!" show that he could. When Yugi looked worried, he'd brush it off with smile, or maybe throw some spitballs at Tristan's head as a distraction.

The only thing that would really seem amiss to anyone was the lack of fighting between himself and Kaiba. It had normally been something their classmates could set their watches to, but the two of them hadn't interacted once since that morning.

Joey's friends probably figured he was holding back because of his new job. Their other classmates were probably taking bets on who got a restraining order on the other one (Joey figured Kaiba was in the lead there).

Luckily, no one had figured out that it was because since around 3rd period, every time Joey so much as looked at the brunette CEO, he could hear that.... weirdo in his head giving him ideas. He wasn't normally the most attentive student, but shooting down the "Other" him's suggestions got old real fast.

(No, creepy nipplering Joey-Thing, I would NOT like to crawl over to Kaiba's desk on my hands and knees and suck him off right now. Yes, I know I'm not even taking notes. I'm still not doing it. Yes, I KNOW I'm getting a boner, thank you so much for pointing that out. Still not gonna happen. Now shut up.) Joey wondered if Yami was ever this annoying.

"Mr. Wheeler, would you like to come up and solve this equation on the board?" The irritated voice of his chemistry teacher abruptly brought Joey back to the real world.

(...Thanks a lot, jerkass) The blonde sighed, trying desperately to think of the least sexy things he could as he strategically positioned his textbook over his lap.

----

Finally, at long last, school was over. As usual -- well, what used to be usual at least -- Joey headed over to the game shop with Yugi, Tristan, and Tea. They hung out for a while, looked at Solomon's new stock, and played a few rounds of Duel Monsters - the old-fashioned way, as Joey claimed he "forgot" his DuelDisk at home - until Tea headed home for dinner, and eventually Tristan got the hint to do likewise. After waving goodbye and watching their friend's back disappear around the corner, the remaining 2 boys headed up to Yugi's room.
There they were, sitting on the smaller boy's floor, leaning against Yugi's bed. Joey was fidgeting with a Watapon-shaped cushion when his friend spoke up. "So, you wanted to talk about something?" he said, an expectant look on his face.

(Shit, so we're really doing this) "Ok, so.....umm..." Joey wasn't sure where to begin. He had worked out that he NEEDED to talk about this, but not really the whole "what to say" part. After opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish a few times, his best friend was kind enough to start things off for him.

"Yami won't tell me anything, but he's been really worried about you since yesterday," he said, a concerned frown on his lips. "And when we saw you this morning, something freaked him out. Do you know what it could be?"

Joey's eyes widened. "He...sensed something?" he prodded, leaning closer. If that was true, that...thing must have gotten stronger since yesterday afternoon. His chest clenched with anxiety. "Like what?"

"I don't know," the smaller boy sighed. "He said you insisted on secrecy. Then he locked himself in his room and won't let me in now."

"Oh." The blonde felt a bit relieved to hear that the Pharaoh had kept his promise. "I uh....yeah. Um. ...yeah." He reached up and chewed at a frayed cuticle nervously, since his mouth was apparently useless at doing anything else at the moment.

"Are you just going to keep saying 'yeah?'" Yugi smiled as he teased his friend, but it couldn't reach his eyes.

The blonde lowered his hand. "Sorry. This is.. not exactly an easy conversation to start," Joey winced. "Yug...I ...um...." he took a deep breath. "I'mgayandIthinkmaybeI'mgettingoneofthosealternatepersonalitythingsandpleasehelpI'mtotallyfreakingout," he blurted, desperation in his eyes.

Yugi blinked a few times, trying to process the hurricane of gibberish that had been flung at him. "OK....I only caught the first few syllables, but.... you're gay?" He looked surprised, but not bothered.

Joey nodded. "Y...yeah. Been tryin to hide it, but you're my best friend, and if I come out to anybody, it should be you," he said, tensing up instinctively in preparation for any negative reactions. Years of living with his dad had conditioned him to think "bad news" equalled "smack upside the head."

Instead, he got a reassuring smile. "I'm glad you did. Did you really think I'd care if you like guys?" Those big, violet eyes looked at him increduously.

Joey blushed, feeling a little ashamed for being embarrassed in the first place. "I dunno, it was just.... Hell, I didn't really believe it for a long time." He shrugged. "But.... that's not the big part."

"Go on." Yugi urged, absentmindedly stroking his Millennium Puzzle.

"Um... I'm gonna cut to the chase, OK?" Joey rubbed the back of his neck. If he was lucky, he could cut out as much of the Kaiba-related bits of this story as possible. Like, ideally, all of them. "To make a long story short, last night when I was sleeping, I saw my Soul Room."

Yugi's breath hissed a bit as he took that comment in. "...Wow."

"Yeah. And...um.... there was...somebody else in there." Joey chewed his lower lip.

"Somebody else?! You mean, an intruder, like Shadi?" The thought that his friend's mind could be in danger had Yugi on edge almost immediately.

Joey shook his head. "Not exactly.... more like... umm... another me."

Yugi's eyes widened. "So that's why you wanted to talk to Yami," he murmured, finally understanding what happened the other day.

"Yeah. Well, kind of. I didn't actually SEE the guy until last night. Just heard a voice. Thought maybe this... thing I picked up had some kinda spirit stuck to it, like with you or Bakura, but it looks more like I'm... MAKING him somehow."

"...like Malik?" Now the DM champ was at full attention.

"Well, I don't think he's gonna go on a killin' spree or nothin... he's...umm.... " Joey blushed. "A lover, not a fighter, if you get my drift."

"I totally don't."

(Of course you don't,) The blonde sighed. "He... says he's my lust," he explained, his cheeks nearly as red as parts of Yugi's hair.

....which would have stood on end, had it not already naturally been that way. "....OH," the naive boy said, wide-eyed. "Wow. Umm.... " He paused, obviously searching for the right words. "Has.... he... taken over at all? Are you missing any time?"

"Nah, I don't think he's that strong yet. There were a few times I, uhh... maybe, kind of accidentally, let him out..... ish?" If Kaiba were here, he could only imagine the puppy remarks he'd get over the guilty look he was giving Yugi right now.

The look Yugi was giving HIM, however, was nearly cynical enough to give Kaiba himself a run for his money. "Ish?" he repeated, the way Joey's mother used to repeat his more off-the-wall explanations as a kid.

"I mean, it's not like I went all makeover-time like you and Bakura and Malik do. More like I just....zoned out?" Joey shrugged. "But last night he said he wasn't anyone 'yet,' and that kind of freaked me out."

Yugi was nodding softly as he listened, looking like he was trying to fit Joey's story together like yet another puzzle. "When did you let him out? What kind of situation?"

"Uh... um... there was... a, uh....." Joey wondered if a person could blush enough that the rest of their body ran out of blood. "I"m kind of.... having...umm... relations?... with..." (Don't say Kaiba oh god don't say Kaiba but then what do I say shitshitshit!!) He finally gave up, his shoulders slumping. "Yug, seriously. Please don't make me explain any more than 'I had sex' or I'm gonna have a coronary here," he begged. "This is hard enough to talk about without playing kiss and tell."

Joey wasn't sure if he should have felt guilty or insulted by the surprised expression that flashed across Yugi's face just then. "...ok," the smaller boy conceded, blushing a bit himself. "So, you said ...he... told you he wasn't anyone 'yet' - what other stuff did he say to you? Anything you remember, it could be important." As he spoke, Yugi fished through his schoolbag and pulled out a notebook and pen, jotting down a few notes.

"I dunno..." Joey closed his eyes and leaned back against the side of his friend's bed, trying to remember. "He showed me this big creepy closet, that he said I tried to hide my feelings in, and that it just made them grow big enough that I could hear and see him," He pulled in his legs, curling himself into a tight ball. "He... he said I wanted to be like him," he murmured into his knees, afraid to look into his best friend's eyes.

So he was a little surprised when he felt Yugi's small hand resting on his shoulder, squeezing it softly. "You're gonna be OK, Joey," he said. "I promise, me and Yami will help you figure it out. Even if we can't get rid of ....this person... we can at least help you get it under control. Ok?" the hand squeezed even tighter.

"Ok," Joey whispered, just managing to raise his head back up to look Yugi in the eye. "Thanks, Yug. Sorry I always keep dumpin stuff on ya."

"You never 'dump stuff' on me. We're best friends," Yugi smiled, and this time it did reach the boy's violet eyes.

"....yeah. Yeah, we are, ain't we?" Joey let himself smile back just a bit, one hand moving to squeeze his friend's back. "Thanks a lot, Yugi."

"No problem. Hey, do you wanna stay for dinner?"

"Y'know, normally I'd love to, but there's one other person I gotta talk to tonight," Joey said, clasping his hands apologetically. "I should probably do that soon. Uh... hey. Speaking of which... you don't happen to know Mai's number, do you?"

Yugi's expression went from confusion, to a quick 'OH!!' face of realization, to vaguely confused again. "Um... no, actually, come to think of it. Sorry."

"Eh, 'sokay," Joey said as he pulled himself to his feet with a grunt. "I can find it. Is it cool if I use your phone for a sec?"

"Yeah, sure..." Yugi nodded, still a little puzzled. "It's in the hall, you remember where, right?"

"Yup," Joey answered as he stepped into the hallway. Yugi, Tea, Tristan - he had their numbers memorized. All of them knew each other's contact info by heart. Hell, between talking to Mokuba and prank calling, Joey pretty much had Kaiba's home number memorized, too.

But Mai was a completely different story.

Maybe it was because she was 8 years older than the rest of them. Maybe it was because she wasn't the most amiable person in the world. But despite knowing her for almost as long as his other friends, Joey had no clue how to get a hold of the female duelist, and he was pretty sure no one else in their group knew, either. Usually they just ran into each other at DM tournaments, or out of sheer coincidence.

Joey sighed. He really should've asked when he stayed the night at her apartment. Not sure what else to do, he picked up the phone and dialed the first number that came to mind.

"Duel Monsters International Hotline, this is Ted speaking," came a monotone, sleepy voice.

"Uh, hi, this is Joey Wheeler - you know, ranked 3rd in the country Joey Wheeler? And I was hoping you could help me out."

"Uh huh."

Joey frowned. He was really hoping Ted would be a little more starstruck here. "You guys have files on all the big-time Duelists, right? I need the phone number for Mai Valentine," he explained. He was hoping that he'd get a "yes sir, Mister Wheeler sir!" and the information he needed.

Instead, he got an earful of obnoxious laughter. "Pfaahahahaha! Nice try, loser. Next time at least pretend to be Seto Kaiba or something." Click.

Ted had hung up on him. That bastard.

And he had said Kaiba was better than him. That bastard.

"You know," Yugi spoke up from behind him, making Joey nearly jump out of his skin. "It might be easier to just call the operator and ask?"

"...you might have a point there," Joey blushed as he pressed zero..
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