Love Lies

The Heat is On

            Joey wiped the sweat from his hairline as he trudged through the tall, fragrant grass. His
damp navy blue t-shirt hugged his body like a glove. Strands of dripping wet blonde hair clund
around his cheeks and forehead. Though it was barely 7am, the day had already grown warm and
very muggy. Half drunk and wired on energy pills, Joey had to stop and catch his breath. He sat
down in the tall grass and wiped the sweat dripping from the tips of his bangs down into his
eyes.

“Fuck, it sure got hot out quick today.” he groaned and he flopped back into the cool grass.

            Seto slowed down and came to a stop a few paces from Joey. After finishing his
conversation on his cellphone, he kneeled in the grass and rested his hands on his thighs. Seto
looked just as worn out as Joey. Both of them had dark circles under their eyes and their cheeks
were flushed red.

Seto pulled the piece of paper that Serenity had found in the grass in front of Ryou’s house out
of his pocket and stared at it.

“I still can’t believe Mokuba’s kidnappers were stupid enough to leave directions to the shed
they had him held up in.”

Joey slipped his shirt over his head and used it to wipe his forehead. The sun relentlessly beat

down on the tops of their heads, giving them no relief. Joey stretched his arms and legs out and
groaned.

“Yeah, amateurs....”

Joey licked his lips as he sat up.

“I could really go for a popsicle right now. My mouth feels like cotton.”

Seto snickered as he got to his feet.

“That tends to happen after you spend a good portion of your night playing insane drinking
games.”

Joey made a sour face as he got to his feet and tucked one end of his t-shirt into his jeans.

“Yeah, yeah......let’s get out of here. I can’t wait to get back home and take a nice long nap.”

Seto’s hesitated for a moment as his eyes fixed on Joey’s well-defined chest. The sun reflected
off the small beads of sweat, giving his skin a glistening shine. Joey wasn’t very muscular, but
what muscle he did have he wore very well.

Seto bit down on his bottom lip. He knew he shouldn’t be thinking about sex at a time like this,
but he couldn’t control his body’s reaction.

“Wheeler....please put your shirt back on.”

Joey made a face at Seto and shook his head.

“No way man, It’s way to hot. C’mon now. Let’s get movin’. We still gotta stop and see how
Mokuba’s doin’.”

Seto clenched his eyes and tried to block out the autoerotic thoughts.

“Last one to the car is a is rotten Ryu-Ran!” Joey laughed as he ran toward the car parked on the
side of the road.

Seto took a deep breath and collected his thoughts before he jogged over and joined his partner.

“We’d better call the gang and let them know Mokuba was found.” Joey suggested as he got in
the driver’s side.

Seto flipped open his cellphone and nodded as he entered the passenger side.

“Good idea. Who should we call first?”

An impish grin spread across Joey’s face as he started up the car and began to drive.

“Let’s call Tea. If we tell her first we can be sure everybody will have the news in no time flat.”

Seto chuckled as he handed the phone to Joey.

“Yes, she certainly is quite the blabbermouth. Why do you guys hang out with her anyway?”

Joey shrugged his shoulders and he dialed Tea’s number.

“I don’t know, she annoys the hell out of me to be honest.”

Seto flipped down the visor to shield his eyes from the bright sun and rolled his eyes.

“You’re too much, Wheeler.”

A couple of items that had been stashed up in the visor fell into Seto’s lap. As he went to put
them back, he noticed a strange duel monsters card. He waited for Joey to get off thonehone
before he showed it to him.

//Yeah, that’s right Tea, Kaiba’s goons walked right in and got the little shit out without any
trouble. We’re on our way to the hospital to see him right now..... Okay, we’ll drop it off after
we see Mokuba. Smell ya later, Tea.//

Joey closed Seto’s phone and handed it back to him.

“Thank god that’s over with. She was still at Ryou’s house. He said he needs his car back.” he
groaned as he turned up the radio.

 Seto handed Joey the strange card and squinted his eyes.

“What do you make of this, Wheeler?”

Joey took the card and looked it over.

“Eeek! That’s one ugly monster! Where did you get it?”

Seto took the card back from Joey and looked it over again.

“It fell out of the visor. I don’t remember Ryou having the Ultimate Obedient Fiend in his deck
though...this card is pretty powerful.”

Joey shrugged his shoulders.

“I wouldn’t worry about it.”

***************************************************************

“WHAT! You can’t be serious!” Ryou gasp into the phone.

//Yes, she did....she went into labor not long after she left the party.//

“Wow.......I don’t know what to say.” Ryou responded.

//I know, we’re all on pins and needles. The doctors are doing what they can to stop it. Can you
tell Malik?//

“Sure thing Mai. As soon as I see him I’ll let him know.”

Ryou hung up the phone and turned to Yugi, who was busy picking up beer cans and stuffing
them into a paper bag.

“Isis is in labor.”

Yugi dropped his bag of cans and gasp.

“For real? We better go down to the hospital! She’s not due for over a month yet! Does Malik
know?”

Ryou looked around the house and sighed. He didn’t feel like talking to Malik after what he’d
seen the previous night. It bothered him that Malik would be messing around on him behind his
back.

“Yes, I know. Mai wants me to tell Malik......but...”

Yugi cocked his head curiously. Ryou’s reaction was not what he expected.

“But what, Ryou?”

Ryou bit his lip. Tears suddenly began to pool in his eyes.

“I don’t much feel like talking with him right now, that’s all."

Sensing something was wrong, Yugi instinctively reached up and wrapped his arms around
Ryou.

“We’ll leave him a note, okay?”

Ryou nodded his head and swallowed hard.

“We’ll have to take your car to the hospital. I borrowed mine to Joey and Kaiba so they could go
look for Mokuba.”

Yugi smiled brightly as he pulled out of their embrace.

“That’s fine.”

Suddenly, the phone rang. Ryou quickly ran into the kitchen answered it.

“Hello? Oh, Tea, I’m glad you called back. Any word on Mokuba?........ They did?
Fantastic!.....He is? Alright, we’ll see you there, Cheerio!”

Yugi walked into the kitchen just as Ryou hung up the phone.

“That was Tea, she said they found Mokuba. Kaiba and Joey are on their way to the hospital
with my car. Let’s write that note for Malik and get the hell over there.”

Yugi smiled brightly as he grabbed a pen and jotted a few words onto a piece of paper.

Ryou took the note and stuck it on the refrigerator using a magnet. He chuckled as he read what
Yugi had written.

Dear Malik, Marik or whoever you are today,

Where did you go?

Your sister is in labor, so get your butt down to the hospital if you read this.

Love,

Yugi and Ryou

“Great, let’s go.” Ryou snickered as he put his arm around Yugi and lead him out the door.

**************************************************************

            Malik woke up feeling very hot and extremely sick. His body ached from head to toe. He
felt like dead and bloated roadkill. He remembered giving his darker half control of their body,
so there was no doubt in his mind that Marik took advantage of his control time Hangovers were
nothing new to Malik. He even knew of a way to cure them.

He slowly picked himself up off the damp earth below him and got to his feet. He blinked a few
times until his vision began to clear up.

“Huh? What am I doing here?” he mused to himself as he became aware of his surroundings.

**************************************************************

“Mokuba? Are you awake?” Seto ask quietly as he entered the quiet hospital room. The doctor’s
had informed Seto that his brother may be unresponsive because he had to be heavily sedated
upon his arrival. When Seto ask why his brother needed to be sedated, the doctors told him that
Mokuba wouldn’t stop kicking and screaming.

Mokuba shifted around slightly in his hospital bed and slowly opened his eyes.

“Seto? Is that you?” he whimpered quietly.

Seto rushed to his little brother’s side and nodded.

“Yes, it’s me......Are you.....alright?”

Mokuba closed his eyes and sighed.

“Why am I here?”

Seto looked down at his brother and ran his fingers over his little brother’s bruised cheek.
Mokuba looked at though he’d just ben hit by a train. His left eye was black and blue, and his
bottom lip was swelled up to twice it’s normal size.

“Mokuba......what’s the last thing you remember?” he ask his brother softly.

Mokuba reached up for Seto’s hand. His eyes shot open as he began to tremble.

“I-I....don’t.......”

Seto cut Mokuba off mid sentence and very gently tapped his finger against Mokuba’s lip. Seto’s
touch was extra gentle; he didn’t want to cause his brother further pain.

“Shhh.....rest Mokuba. We can talk about it when you’re ready. I’m just glad you’re back with
me.”

Mokuba tried to smile, but his face hurt too badly.

Seto got up and ran his fingers through his little brother’s hair.

“I promise you Mokuba.....when I find whoever it was that did this to you......I’ll gut ‘em like
pig. Nobody hurts my brother and gets away with it.”

Mokuba sniffled as he relaxed under Seto’s touch. Even though he and Seto didn’t always see
eye to eye, knowing his older brother would always be there for him eased the pain he was
feeling inside. Mokuba opened his eyes and looked up at Seto.

“I love you, brother.” he said in almost a whisper.

Seto smiled as he brushed fin fingers lightly over Mokuba’s eyelids and closed them.

“I love you too. Now get some rest.”

After hft Mft Mokuba’s room, Seto walked out into the hall and was met by the doctor in charge
of Mokuba’s care.

“Mr. Kaiba? I’d like to talk to you in my office if you have a minute.”

Seto followed the doctor into a small office decorated with a plethora of awards.

“Please, have a seat.” The doctor instructed Seto as he sat down in the big leather chair behind
his desk. Seto sat in a much smaller chair in from to the doctor’s desk. His eyes were filled with
worry.

The doctor extended his hand in a friendly gesture.

“I’m Dr. Allan Granger. I’m in charge of your brother’s care. I’d like to talk to you about what
happened to him.”

Seto reached out and shook the doctor’s hand as he shifted nervously in the small chair. The
doctor pulled out a clipboard and began looking over his notes.

“What I’m about to tell you may be very disturbing, are you prepared to hear this?”

Seto nodded sharply.

“Yes, tell me everything. My brother means everything to me, and I need to know what
happened to him so I can help him any way I can.”

The doctor took a deep breath and looked directly at Seto. His facial expression was enough to
lead Seto into realizing that something very traumatic happened to his younger brother.

***************************************************************

Next update: Tomorrow or Thursday........depends on how fast I can clean my house. LOL

There’s more to this chapter, so the next update will be part two.