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I Don't Know Why The Caged Bird Sings	By : yllimilly Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 5322 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh nor its characters. This was written for fun, not for profit.

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I (don't) know why the caged bird sings

chapter two

He made it to the hospital a few minutes before 'his' shift was scheduled to end.
'You better thank Gianni. He's the one who got you covered.'
Next time he might not be so lucky, Joey knew. The supervisor was an old friend of old man Wheeler and felt a duty to take care of his son - in his stead, almost. But he only had so much power. With today, Joey had accumulated two warnings this month alone.
Kaiba almost got him fired, yet he couldn't blame him for it.
Some of his change must've fallen from his pockets and into the cracks of Kaiba's couch because there wasn't enough to take the bus to school. Consequently, Joey had to run the entire way. Got to his first period a few minutes before it was scheduled to end, so he wandered around in the hallways until the next period would start.
English.
English Literature, to be precise.
The class for which he had to work with Kaiba on the stupid assignment.
'In teams, compare and contrast your understanding of the book that you were assigned. Write your conclusions in a five page paper.'
His stomach gurgled, distracting him from his thoughts. He'd have to count on Yugi and Tristan's generosity during lunch (it wouldn't be the first time), because he knew he could not hold out until he got home.
In the men's bathroom, he splashed his face with water, rubbed his teeth and gums with his calloused fingers, then filled up on water until his stomach felt lightly bloated. That old trick usually helped put off the hunger a little.
When the bell rang and students rushed into the bathroom, giving him looks, Joey headed out to his classroom, no books or stationery whatsoever in hand. The teacher, dismayed, offered to lend him a pencil and a stack of sheets. When Joey walked away, she beckoned him to come back. He simply turned, and she motioned with her head for him to come even closer. Joey straightened up a little, put his hands in his pockets.
"If there's anything you need..." She began in a strategically low voice, weighting her words. "Don't hesitate."
"I'm good," he said flatly before spinning on his heel. He didn't need no help or anything.
"Joey!" She called out, a little louder this time. He retreated. "Could you please come see me after class?" The concern in her voice was evident. Painfully so, even.
Joey kept a straight face not to hurt her feelings. He certainly... 'disliked' being treated like a charity case. "Yeah." He walked out to the furthest row in the back and sat in his usual spot, where he knew he could doze off relatively unnoticed.
Except that today, he was impossibly awake. Managed to jolt down some notes he guessed might be of importance. Things about literary analysis, drawing on examples from the different works the teacher had assigned to the different teams in the class. Too bad Joey hadn't opened the book yet. He didn't even own it. Had too many books overdue at the library to go and check if it was there for free.
He wished he'd sat by one of the windows. He could have stared outside. He could've doodled, but felt he should make good use of the sheets the teacher had given to him. Least he could do.
Kaiba's sunken silhouette caught his attention. He was located four desks away from him, in one of the central rows.
How did he react when he saw Joey had vanished from his couch? From his bedroom? Did he react at all? Maybe he was void of feelings. Maybe he had forgotten about Joey's presence in his bedroom altogether before setting off to his own bed.
Joey found himself wishing Kaiba would just look back so that he could give him the cold shoulder.
But no, studious as ever, Kaiba was paying attention. Taking notes.
The lecture ended and the class drained out until just a few students were left. Kaiba remained seated at his desk, like a statue. So was Joey, not really knowing what he was waiting for.
Two students were lining up to speak with the teacher. There was no use leaving his seat yet. Joey's muscles started to ache from his intense run. And his stomach started growling again. He checked his notes idly and couldn't even reread his own handwriting. Useless. This class had pretty much been a waste of his time.
He saw Kaiba gather his things in a pile, methodically, calmly. His hands didn't seem to be shaking. Or maybe he was just hiding it well. Maybe they were shaking and Joey just wasn't close enough to notice. He'd been pretty unusually close to Kaiba yesterday evening. Normally, when they got this close to one another, it was to exchange blows, and fingers don't tend to shake when they are curled up, and fisted.
Suddenly Kaiba stood up and walked to the teacher's desk. Joey watched the conversation stop and the teacher ask the students to stand back for a minute. She stood up to accommodate Kaiba's height, or maybe only her own neck. Joey remembered she had stayed seated the whole time she was probing him earlier before class. People seemed to do special things for Kaiba on accounts that he was rich.
From the glances the teacher was giving in his direction, Joey judged they were talking about him. A few moments later, Kaiba stalked to Joey's desk.
It seemed as if though his heart beat faster every step the brunet was taking toward him.
"Meet at my place this Thursday at ten thirty. Not a minute before," Kaiba announced.
Joey regarded him for a moment.
"Let's just call it off." Yeah. Simpler that way.
Kaiba's eyes flickered away. An rare occurrence.
"It's up to you."
Before he let Joey a chance to speak, he was walking away.
The class was now empty. The teacher closed the door behind Kaiba to prevent the inflow of new students to enter the classroom. She went straight for Joey's desk, sitting on a nearby chair.
She offered him a smile before starting what would surely be a full length interview on his father's health and his financial situation. Joey had it before; he was tired of it. He could manage just fine. He spoke first, hoping to prevent or at least delay the dreaded conversation.
"Thanks for the pen."
"Thank you. You can have it, actually." She pushed it towards him. "Joey," she started carefully, "about what I said earlier..."
"I know. There are 'resources' 'available'." He parroted the school social worker just to indicate she wasn't the only young youth-involved professional struck with savior syndrome.
"Okay," she acknowledged. "I won't ask anymore."
She paused, in case he'd change his mind and want to open up. Joey knew all too well. So he took the initiative.
"Actually... I'd like to do the assignment on my own. I don't think it's going to work with Kaiba."
"You could, but that wouldn't be a very good idea."
Joey blinked.
In a non-threatening way, she laid a hand on his forearm. Squeezed it a bit, maternal-like.
"It's not that I doubt your capacities, Joseph. I think you're a smart young man with great potential. Everyone sees it. But I think you'd get more out of the book if you discussed it with someone else."
"I can come to whatever conclusions on my own. I don't need to be working with Kaiba." Assuming he ever read the book.
"Speaking of which... I was actually going to thank you for doing that."
Joey blinked. Doing what exactly?
She smiled a bit bashfully. "I know... That things haven't always been 'harmonious' between the two of you..."
He knit his brows in confusion. This was no news, but why bring it up now?
"I just wanted to say that..." She paused, searching for the right words, as a lot of adults did around him, as if the wrong words were to break him. "It's good that... you and Seto - " she said his name like it was a butterfly wing - "do this together. Again, Joseph, I want you to know that I do not mean to say he's smarter than you are - because he's not. There are a lot of things he doesn't know yet about life."
She fell silent as if she had overdone herself, breached the invisible line between what's appropriate or not, what belongs to the realm of youth or that, more treacherous, of adulthood.
"I don't understand."
She started over, at a faster and more confident pace.
"We just think it's good that you work together on this project. Especially Catcher in the Rye - it's a good book to read at your age, I think. Actually I chose it thinking of you, Joseph," she added, that weird contrite smile tugging at her lips. "And of Seto, too."
He still didn't get it. No... It's not that he didn't understand. It's just that he didn't want to dig in the meaning behind her words. So he let it be.
"Okay."
The door opened, causing the bustle of the ongoing recess to pour freely into the classroom.
She raised her index at the probing student. "Just a minute." The door closed back on itself. She turned to Joey.
"What you're doing now is more important than you think. Even if you can't see it yet." She gave his arm one last, gentle squeeze. Put on a hopeful smile. "It'll stay with you all your life."

Joey raided the fridge as soon as he got back.
He was off tonight, so he hung out at the game shop with Yugi and Tristan as late as he could.
In the end his father wasn't home. Meaning Joey could've come back earlier.
Milk was still fresh, and there was plenty of cereal. He poured himself a bowl and sat down in front of the TV, just to have something to do watch while he ate. Didn't feel like opening his math textbook. He needed to unwind first. There was still time to do his homework.
Their old couch was nothing like Kaiba's. It had springs popping out in the wrong places and Joey always ended up with a sore ass cheek when he stayed in the same spot for too long.
He stood up to pour himself a second bowl and sat back at a different spot. TV was particularly boring on weeknights after prime time, yet he found himself absorbing whatever was on without paying attention. He stayed put even after he'd finished eating and even though he'd only opened the TV only to liven up his lonely meal.
Didn't feel like doing his homework. At all.
One commercial break later Joey thought he'd heard footsteps outside the door. He turned off the TV immediately.
There was no sound. False alarm. His heart still drummed like mad in his ears.
Then he heard the clatter of a set of keys.
He sprang up and dashed for the bathroom, locked himself in and was able to start the shower before the apartment door was opened.
Joey leaned against the door, willing his heart to calm down.

He woke up uncharacteristically early the next morning, because he'd gone to bed uncharacteristically early the night before. Kaiba had unwillingly messed up his sleep schedule. He lazed around in bed until the sun rose because his body kept telling his brain it needed the rest. The soreness in his muscles, especially his thighs and lower back. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't fall back asleep.
Images of Kaiba kept coming back at him.
Kaiba's bony arms. Kaiba sprawled on a bed too big for him. Kaiba's skin, as pale as his immaculate white sheets.
He'd always imagined Kaiba would be more tanned, more muscled. From their brawling sessions he'd had many occasions to, well, assess Kaiba's physique and he knew he was well built. Maybe it was the perspective that did that and had him see shadow in the wrong places. Or the cold light of dawn, dulled by the grey walls of the room around them.
Or maybe Joey simply had silly, preconceived ideas on how wealthy people should look like.
Come to think of it, they'd both spent a whole night - that's nearly half a day when you think about it - in the same room. And no fight took place. How weird was that?
When his alarm clock rang Joey didn't snooze. Got up right away.
His father had passed out on the couch.
The empty bowl and spoon from yesterday still laid on the living room floor, untouched.
Joey laid the dirty dish on the counter carefully so that the ringing sound of the spoon against the porcelain didn't wake his father. Not that the man was a light sleeper.
This time, Joey made sure he brought every school supply he needed. He took off twenty minutes before his usual. Hopefully he'd have time to hang out with Yugi a bit, ask him to copy his math homework before class started. He should've tried to work on it when he had the chance just an hour ago. But his brain wouldn't let him.

Damned be Kaiba.

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AN Thank you for reading. I hope this chapter was to your liking and hope you will enjoy those to come. Special thanks to angel_dove - your kinds words have touched me and brightened my day. Till next time! -Milly
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I Don't Know Why The Caged Bird Sings