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In The Name Of Love	By : Rroselavy Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 15410 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh!, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 4
- 5
- 6
Title: In The Name Of Love
Author: Rroselavy
Rating: NC-17
Pairing(s): Jou/Ryou (briefly), Malik/Ryou, Kaiba/Jou, Mokuba/Shizuka, Yami/Yugi
Beta: Akuchan
Spoilers: None, AU
Disclaimer: I do not own or profit in any way from Yu-gi-oh!
Summary: For eight years he has scrupulously avoided the brunet, but now with the impending marriage of their siblings, Jounouchi Katsuya and Kaiba Seto are forced to come to terms with the feelings they've secreted away since adolescence.
CHAPTER 5
Jou let the water from the shower cascade over his back. He'd long ago finished shampooing and washing, but just standing under the flow of hot water felt good. He was exhausted both physically and emotionally, and what he wanted to do most in the world was crawl into his bed and sleep. But he'd promised both Mokuba and later his sister that he'd stop by the Palace and see them, so despite feeling otherwise, he was getting ready to go out.
He'd kept himself busy all day--put in a full day volunteering at the orphanage, but now once again the loneliness he had been keeping at bay was threatening to engulf him. His shifted his focus and allowed himself to feel angry for being so stupid and so willfully blind when it came to Ryou. He should have seen it coming from a mile away. The signs were all there--Ryou's distant behavior, how he seemed to be withdrawn from Jou for the past few weeks, the evasive answers he gave to innocuous questions-he only needed to have read them correctly. Instead he had accepted the excuses that Ryou made--that he found his final semester taxing, that he needed to study for his board exams. What a fool he'd been.
"Shoulda, coulda, woulda," he spat with disgust. Hindsight would get him nowhere. Sure, he needed to work through all the baggage from the remnants of his relationship that he was saddled with, but not now. He needed more distance, time to cool off and look at things with a clear head, one that wasn't fuzzy from a long day of counseling on top of last night's mix of too much alcohol and too little sleep.
He certainly hadn't expected that he would be asked to see patients when he had shown up at the orphanage. He'd thought he would spend some time there helping out with some of the household chores, and then pitch in on kitchen duty. The kids loved when he cooked for them-he always managed to make the most nutritious of vegetables deliciously kid-friendly. Little did it matter to them that he worked at one of the most popular restaurants in Domino City, and regularly prepared meals for tourists and anyone else willing to shell out a weeks' pay. But when he arrived, Aiko, a four-year-old girl that he'd been working with, latched onto him as soon as she saw him, and Jou's supervisor, Dr. Watanabe, had thought that it might be a good opportunity for a session.
Aiko had come to the orphanage several months before, after she was found with her mother's body, and no relatives would take her in. Her mother's boyfriend was being held on homicide charges, but if Aiko couldn't or wouldn't confirm his involvement in her mother's death, he would soon be freed.
When she had arrived, Aiko had been unresponsive to the point of being considered catatonic, and would have been institutionalized if it hadn't been for her immediate reaction to Jou. The first time he had tried to work with her, she climbed into his lap and hugged him as if he were a lifeline. And though it took him weeks of encouragement to get her to talk to him, the fact that she would follow him around the building whenever he was volunteering there was enough to keep her safely out of a mental hospital. But she still refused, or was unable to talk about the events leading up to her being found alongside her mother's battered body.
She was still painfully shy around the other children and staff, and since Jou had developed a good rapport with her, Dr. Watanabe had assigned him to conduct therapy sessions with the little girl under her supervision.
"Katsuya, I think you should try some more play therapy with Aiko, she seems to be responding to it," the older woman had advised. "The police are going to have to let her mother's boyfriend go if we can't get Aiko to tell us what happened. I'll slip in and observe after a few minutes."
Jou had invited Aiko to play with him in a playroom that doubled as his therapeutic office and asked her to bring her favorite doll. She frowned at his request, but obediently retrieved the little rag doll that she had been holding when she'd been left at the orphanage.
She carelessly tossed her doll on the floor and reached for a board book instead. Jou sat on the floor and Aiko settled next to him, flipping through the well-worn pages of "Guess How Much I Love You."
"Aiko, don't you want to play with Kaiya?" She shook her head furtively and continued to look at the pictures in the book.
"Would you like me to read to you?" Again the little girl shook her head.
"Why don't you want to play with Kaiya?" Jou asked softly. He heard the door click softly closed and glanced up to see that his supervisor had joined them.
The little girl ignored him, and he waited patiently, allowing the silence to stretch. He knew it was important not to press too much for a response; Aiko would talk when she was ready. He'd learned from experience, and Dr. Watanabe's tutelage, to allow for long silences and be comfortable with them, especially when working with children. Often they had a hard time verbalizing what they were feeling, and were easily intimidated by a barrage of questions or meaningless conversation.
He reached for some nearby blocks and started to stack them into a building, watching the little girl out of the corner of his eye.
"Kaiya was bad." Aiko picked up the rag doll and then threw her down forcefully.
"Oh, I see. How was she bad?"
"Bad girls get punished." Aiko stated. She picked up the doll again and wrapped her small hands around its neck. Jou watched, fascinated by her actions.
"Aiko, was Mommy bad?" Her big brown eyes stared out at him from under jet bangs.
"Mommy got punished." She said, picking up the board book again.
He felt the hair rise along the back of his neck and heard the furious scratching of Dr. Wantanabe's pencil on paper. They were finally getting somewhere.
"She did? Who punished Mommy?"
She picked up Kaiya and cradled her to her chest. "Taka," she whispered as a tear slid down her cheek.
She'd seen her mother's boyfriend do something to her. Jou stroked the little girl's hair gently. "It's okay Aiko," he soothed. It didn't feel okay to him at all though. He could only imagine the horrendous scene she'd witnessed. He'd seen the crime scene photos; they were nightmarish.
"How did Taka punish Mommy?" Jou probed gently.
Aiko seemed to ignore Jou's question and continued to cradle Kaiya. She started to rock slowly back and forth, which had a calming effect on the little girl.
After a while, Aiko looked over at the building he was working on, and with a glint in her eye, knocked it over. The sound the blocks made as they tumbled caused her to giggle in delight. Her laughter was infectious, and Jou grinned at her, marveling at the resilience she exhibited.
"Oh you think that's funny, huh?" He made an exaggerated sad face that elicited more peals of laughter from her. He crossed his arms and looked away.
"I sorry Dr. Jou," Aiko stood in front of him and reached for his face. "Don't be mad."
He smiled broadly at her. "I'm not mad at you. I can build a new one. Will you help me?"
She nodded and began to gather up the scattered blocks. They worked together in silence for a little while, before Aiko drifted off and again picked up Kaiya. Jou decided she might be ready to answer some more questions.
Trying a different tack, he asked "Aiko, can you show me how Taka punished Mommy?" She looked at him solemnly and nodded.
"Use Kaiya," he instructed softly.
"You stupid bitch!" she yelled suddenly, twisting the doll's head and body in two different directions. She began to slam the doll onto the floor, repeating the phrase over and over, her voice rising with emotion, tears streaking her face. She broke into great sobs.
Jou grabbed her to stop her. "It's okay Aiko, you can stop now. It's all right," he soothed as he hugged her close. He felt tears in his own eyes, felt emotions from his own childhood bubbling up from deep within. He was consumed with anger and hatred for the man whose crime Aiko had witnessed. But he had one more question to ask, and as he rocked her gently and calmed her down he whispered to her "Was that right before the police found you?"
She nodded her head against his chest and he looked up at Dr. Wantanabe. She mouthed to him silently 'good job.'
"Aiko, you are a very brave girl to tell me that. Thank you for sharing it with me." Jou said after she had stopped crying.
"I sleepy," she yawned.
"Yes, look at the time! Let's get you ready for your nap," Jou exclaimed, getting up and taking her by the hand.
Dr. Wantanabe caught up with him after he'd tucked Aiko into her bunk.
"You did a great job today Katsuya. I've spoken with the police captain, and he thinks he may be able to get a confession out of that bastard."
"So she wouldn't have to testify?"
"That's what they are hoping to avoid. She would be a compelling witness, but if she got up and then refused to speak on the stand, it could backfire." He nodded in agreement.
"Katsuya, are you okay?" Dr. Wantanabe was fully aware of Jou's past; that he had come out of a neglectful and abusive family life.
"Yeah, I'm just going through a rough time-I broke up with my boyfriend last night, and that session dredged up a lot of things that I went through when I was younger," he admitted.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not just yet, I need to work things out in my head a little better."
"Okay, you know my door is always open. By the way, I've been meaning to ask you something, have you ever considered fostering?"
Jou looked at his supervisor in shock. "Fostering-a kid?"
"Yes. You have such a way with Aiko, perhaps after you're done with your volunteer contract here, you might consider it--fostering her, that is"
"Ta be honest, I never even considered being a parent."
"Well, I think you should. You have many fine parenting qualities." She smiled warmly at him. "Well, I have some phone calls to return. You did well today, I don't think I could have handled it any better. You will make a fine psychologist," she said as she walked away.
* * *
Aware that it was getting late, he twisted the faucets to their off positions, stepped out of the tub and toweled himself dry. A glance in the mirror reflected his tired face, but no worse for the wear. He smiled weakly at his reflection--he cleaned up pretty well, broken-hearted, emotionally drained and all. He ran conditioner-slicked fingers through his hair that he still maintained as the boyish mop he'd had as an adolescent, though now it was slightly more shaped and manageable.
He looked in his armoire to find something appropriate to wear. It wouldn't do to walk into the Palace restaurant in jeans and a t-shirt, but he'd be damned before he put a suit on just to drop off his sister's present. He knew he wouldn't be there long anyway; he didn't need her or Mokuba's pity right now. He would just drop off the gift, say his congratulations and get lost. He settled on a pair of slim black trousers and a dark green turtleneck sweater. It was made of cashmere-soft cotton that he found immensely comfortable and comforting.
It would be hard to park his bike by the hotel, but driving would keep him from drinking, and he didn't want a repeat of last night. He had to be up early to teach a class, and had a full day after that, part of it would be spent in practicum and then putting some time in working on a draft of his dissertation.
His cell rang, interrupting his train of thought. He glanced at the caller ID and his heart skipped a beat as he recognized Ryou's number. Thoughts raced through his mind; maybe it was all a big mistake. He shook his head in annoyance, knowing that couldn't possibly be the reason for Ryou's call.
"Hello" Jou answered flatly.
"Hi Jou, it's Ryou. How are you?"
"I'm alright," Jou said. "Actually, I'm a little in a hurry, headin' out the door."
"Oh."
There was a pause and Jou suspected that Ryou was waiting for him to detail what his plans for the evening were. Fat chance of that, he snorted. Let him think he wasn't going to spend his nights pining away. He waited for his ex-lover to continue.
"Um, so I was wondering if it would be okay for me to drop by. I need to pick up a couple of my things, and bring you some things you left at my apartment."
So it really was over. Jou willed away the tears that threatened. "What time d'ya think you're gonna drop by?" He asked softly, hoping the quiver in his voice went unnoticed.
"Around 10," Ryou hesitated. "M-Malik said he would give me a lift on my dinner break."
Great, now he would need to find somewhere else to go after he saw his sister. There was no way he was going to watch Ryou gather up his possessions while Malik looked on and gloated over his prize.
"Fine." Jou said bitterly. "You can leave your keys on the counter. Just make sure the security gate locks when ya leave. Oh and one thing, Malik stays outside."
"Okay, Jou," Ryou answered softly.
"Ryou, I mean it." Jou persisted. "He. Stays. Outside"
"I understand."
"Good. Bye." He hung up without waiting for Ryou's response.
Dammit, now he was on edge. The apartment suddenly felt constricting and suffocating. He pulled on his pair of black boots and slipped on a black leather jacket, grabbed his helmet, Shizuka's present and left.
Camille: Wouldn't Yugi love having a kept man ~_^! I'm not sure if Yami will even be in this fic, if so it will be very minor. I would imagine he would make a living gaming ...
Kat: Thank you very much! I hope you continue to read.
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In The Name Of Love