Love Lies

*Deus Ex Machina

*Originally, a theatrical device in the ancient Greek theater where a god would appear above the
scenery at the end of the play and resolve all the conflicts.

* Now, any event happening late in the show that, somewhat miraculously, resolves everybody's
problems

Ryou slammed his car door shut and glared at the graffiti painted on it.

“That’s the last time I agree to host a party” he huffed as he walked to the front door.

He noticed Malik had the door left wide open, and a fan placed in front of the screen door
blowing the hot air out. The sounds of an old Iron Maiden CD seemed to float through the air on
heat waves as Ryou stepped inside. He was surprised to find the entire house spotless.

“Malik?” Ryou called out as he tossed his keys on the diningroom table.

“IN HERE” Malik yelled from down the hallway over the loud music.

Ryou followed the sound of Malik’s voice into the spare bedroom. He found Malik tying a clear
plastic garbage filled with aluminum cans.

“Did you clean all this?” Ryou ask with astonishment. He never expected to come home to a
perfectly neat house. In fact, he was dreading coming home all day because he knew there was a
major mess waiting for him-or so he thought.

Malik left his bag of cans and walked up to Ryou.

“Yeah, I needed something to do. I didn’t think you’d like seeing your entire house swarming
with those damn fruit flies.”

Ryou was still shocked that Malik had cleaned up the house. He was so shocked that he totally
forgot what he wanted to say to Malik. He stood there for a minute with his jaw dropped before
he said a single thing.

“Wow Malik......I can’t thank you enough for what you did.”

Malik coyly reached out and took Ryou’s hand. He started down at the floor as he started to
speak.

“Ryou? I’ve been thinking about you all day, well, most of the day. I want to apologize for being
an ass last night. I hope you’re not too mad at me.”

Yugi’s words echoed through Ryou’s head.

“You don’t know what you got till it’s gone. You should never let go of somebody you truly love
because you’ll only hate yourself.”

Ryou didn’t have to think twice.

“I’m not mad anymore. I was feeling hurt, but it doesn’t matter. I love you Malik, no ifs ands or
buts about it, and I don’t want to lose you.”

Malik threw his arms around Ryou.

“Thank you. I promise I’ll try harder to be a better boyfriend.”

Ryou held Malik tight and enjoyed just being in his arms. Malik wasn’t as bad as everybody
liked to think. Ryou knew how it felt to be the outsider, in fact, that’s how he’d spent his entire
life. The two of them fit perfect together.

Malik released his hold on Ryou and held the white-haired hikari out at arms length. He grinned
mischievously as he ran his finger tips down Ryou’s chest.

“Wanna go for a ride on my motorcycle?”

Ryou nodded his head eagerly.

“Sure, anything you want.”

Malik wagged his eyebrows and grinned.

“Anything?”

Ryou rolled his eyes and snickered.

“Maybe.”

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

Seto and Joey finished their dinner quickly. Since they had given Ryou his car back, Seto made
arrangements for one of his limo drivers to pick them up.

Joey was finishing the last of his chocolate pie when Seto’s cell phone began to ring.

“Kaiba here” Seto answered calmly.

Joey watched as Seto’s eyes got big and worry spread over his face. He wondered who it was on
the other end. Whoever it was, they weren’t sharing anything good.

“Thank you for calling me Dr. Granger. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Seto quickly got up and pulled out his wallet. He tossed a very generous tip in the middle of the
table and looked at Joey.

“We have to get back to the hospital.”

Joey could tell Seto was trying his best to stay calm, but it was obvious that whatever the doctor
had told him had upset him.

Joey stuffed the last bite of his pie into his mouth and nodded his head.

“Rokay, rets ro” he nodded with his mouth full.

Seto smirked as he linked his arm with Joey’s.

“Are you sure you don’t want a *doggie bag* to take those extra fries home in, pup?”

Joey swallowed down his food and rolled his eyes.

“Ha-Ha. Very funny, Kaiba. Bite me, will ya?”

Seto wagged his eyebrows and chuckled.

“Bite you? That depends, Wheeler. You’ve had your distemper shots, right?”

Joey playfully punched Seto’s arm as they walked out to the waiting limo in front of the
restaurant.

“Shut up or I’ll duct tape your mouth.” he joked back.

Seto slid over the leather seat and smiled as Joey took a seat next to him.

“Promise?”

Seemingly out of nowhere, Joey lunged forward and pinned Seto against the door. He quickly
captured the CEO’s unsuspecting lips in a heated kiss.

“You fuckin-A I promise” Joey moaned as he let his hands explore Seto’s body.

Seto returned Joey’s kiss with equal enthusiasm. Next thing they knew they were already at the
hospital. Joey pulled away from Seto and ran his fingers through his tousled blonde locks.

“Jeez, that went fast.”

Seto raised his eyebrow and looked Joey over.

“It was a pleasant distraction. Thank you.......Joey.”

The driver opened the door for Joey and Seto, leaving in a rush of warm, muggy air.

“Jeez, it’s still hot as hell out here!” Joey groaned as he stepped out.

Seto looked up at the sky as he sided up to Joey.

“It feels like bad weather is moving in.”

Joey looked up and nodded.

“Yeah, it does.”

Joey was so focused on looking up at the sky that he didn’t see Duke Devlin standing in front of
the hospital smoking a cigarette. He walked right into him.

“Oh shit, Duke, sorry ‘bout that. I didn’t see you standing there. How’s Isis?”

Duke shrugged his shoulders as he took a final drag of his cigarette.

“She’s hanging in there. The doctors managed to stop her labor, but they want to keep her here
over night.”

Joey nodded his head.

“Yeah? That’s cool.”

Seto looked back at Joey as he opened the glass door.

“Are you coming?”

A wide, impish grin spread across Joey’s face.

Seto rolled his eyes.

“Get your mind out of the gutter, Wheeler. This isn’t the place.”

Joey chuckled as he looked back at Duke.

“I’ll be right up Seto, I wanna talk to Dice-boy for a bit.”

Seto nodded his head.

“Suit yourself.”

Duke cocked his head and smiled at Joey as he lit up another cigarette.

“So you and Kaiba are an item now, eh? What does Yugi think of that?”

Joey shrugged his shoulders. He still had feelings for Yugi, but Seto was starting to mean more
to him. He’d been through a lot with Yugi, but the time they’d spent together as a couple was
slowly starting fade from Joey’s mind. Joey was surprised to find that he no longer felt the
stabbing pain in his heart when talking about Yugi. He was growing closer to Seto, which help
his broken heart heal.

“Who cares what Yugi thinks?” Joey smirked.

Duke took a long drag of his cigarette and exhaled it slowly.

“So things are totally over between you and him?”

Joey crossed his arms and nodded sharply.

“Hell yeah. You think I’d go back to nothing when Kaiba’s everything I need?”

Duke smiled and began to laugh.

“I never thought I’d see the day when you and Kaiba would be on good terms, much less lovers.
You have to admit, Joey, it’s a little weird. You two never got along from day one.”

Joey shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

“People change I guess. Once you get to know Kaiba, he’s not all that bad. I’m really happy
again for the first time in ages.”

Duke casually took another puff of his cigarette and sighed.

“I wish I could say the same thing.”

Joey sensed something was bothering Duke. He felt compelled to find out the dice master’s
situation.

“Dice not rolling right for you, Devlin?” he ask curiously.

Duke leaned back against the red brick building behind him and shook his head.

“It just seems like when everything is going great, something totally unexpected has to happen.
It’s like playing roulette. The gun can only click five times before BANG!”

Duke punched his fist into his other palm to accentuate his last word.

Joey sighed as he sided up to Duke against the building.

“Yeah, I know what you mean. I thought life was great until Yugi went and dumped my ass.
That had me pissed off for a while. Than I caught Kaiba sleeping with Pegasus, and that just
made everything worse. But things get better, Duke. You have to take the good with the bad. If
life was easy we’d never learn nothing, you know?”

Duke deeply inhaled the last drag of his cigarette and nodded.

“You have a good point. Life can be such a bitch though. I found out Isis’s baby is actually mine
and not Tristan’s.”

Joey’s eyes got huge.

“Say what, man? Isis was cheating on Tristan? I can’t believe it! I thought she was too prim and
proper to do something like that! When did you sleep with her?”

Duke sighed as he stomped out his cigarette.

“Honestly? I don’t even remember. I must have been drunk or stoned out of my mind, because
I’m not the kind of guy that would purposely sleep with another guys’ woman. I like Tristan.....in
fact, I like him a lot. I had hopes that he and I could take things further than just friendship, but
now I don’t know. I feel horrible about the whole situation, Joey. What should I do?”

Joey closed his eyes and thought for as few moments.

“Well, I’m not the best at giving advice, but if I was in your shoes I’d probably talk to Tristan
and see how he feels. I know him and Isis have been on the rocks for a while, so maybe he’s
cool.”

Duke crossed his arms and stared down at his shoes.

“I hope he is.”

Joey stretched his arms and let out a long, exaggerated sigh.

“Awe fuck it’s hot out here! I’m going in, Duke. I hope everything works out for you.”

Duke held out his hand as a gesture of good will. Joey reached out and slapped him a high five.

“Thanks for the little chat, Joey. You’re right. I need to go find Tristan and talk to him.”

Joey looked back at Duke and smiled as he stepped through the glass doors.

“No prob, man. Smell ya later.”

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

Seto sat in a chair next to Mokuba’s bed stroking his brother’s long, black hair. Mokuba had
regained consciousness while Seto and Joey were out, but he woke up screaming. The doctors
had given him a light sedative, so he was more relaxed now. Seto was very worried. He loved his
brother very much, and had sworn to always protect him. But he’d failed. Seto hated himself for
not watching over Mokuba more closely.

“Seto?” Mokuba croaked as he turned to his side.

Seto instantly focused on his brother’s face.

“Yes. Mokuba?”

Mokuba very slowly reached out for Seto’s hand.

“Thank you.”

Seto took Mokuba’s hand. He cocked his head and gently squeezed his younger brother’s hand.

“For what? I haven’t done anything to deserve your thanks.”

“You’re here, arn’t you?” Mokuba replied with a thankful smile.

Seto sighed as he forced himself to smile back.

“Yes, but this shouldn’t have happened to you. It’s my fault you’re in here. It’s my fault you
were assaulted. If I was a good brother nothing bad would have happened to you.”

Mokuba was starting to fall back to sleep, but before he did, he squeezed Seto’s hand.

“Not your fault-shit happens. I love you.......Se.....*yawn*...to.”

Seconds later Mokuba was fast asleep.

Joey had slipped into the room without Seto noticing. He stayed to the back of the room while
the brothers conversed. Once Mokuba had fallen back to sleep, he stepped forward and put his
hand on Seto’s shoulder.

“You’re a great brother to Mokuba, even if you don’t think so.”

Seto reached up and put his hand over Joey’s. He looked up at the blonde and shook his head.

“I wish I could believe you, Wheeler.”

Joey leaned over a placed a small kiss on Seto’s cheek.

“Mokuba will be fine, I just know it. He’s a tough kid. You raised him that way, Kaiba. He’s
diligent and smart, just like you.”

Seto looked back at his sleeping brother and bit his lip.

“I just feel so awful. Mokuba is the only family I have, and it pains me to see him going through
this.”

Joey kneeled down next to Seto and smiled.

“He’ll be fine Seto, I mean it. I’ve never known him to chicken out or let something hold him
back. He’s got you as his example, Kaiba.”

Seto reached his arms around Joey and pulled the blond closer to him.

“And now he has you too, Joey. Thank you for being here with us.”

Joey’s cheeked flushed red as he reciprocated Seto’s embrace.

“And we’ll help him through this together.”

“Damn right” Seto replied with a smile.

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

Duke walked back into the hospital and took the elevator up to see Isis. She was quietly reading
a book when he entered her rom.

“Hey Isis” he said with a nervous edge in his voice.

Isis looked up from her book and nodded.

“Hello Duke.”

Duke took a seat next to her bed and stared at the floor.

“So the baby is mine?”

Isis took a deep breath and looked back at her book.

“M’hm”

Duke covered his face with his hands and sighed.

“So are things between you and Tristan over for good?”

Isis continued staring at the pages of her book. She didn’t seem very talkative.

“M’hm.”

Duke looked up at her and realized this was going nowhere.

“Okay, well, I’ll see ya later. I’m gonna go get something to eat.”

Isis nodded her head.

“M’k”

Duke left her room quickly and headed toward the elevator. He caught by surprise when Yugi
practically ran him over as the elevator door opened.

“Whoa, Yugi! Relax!” he laughed as he walked in.

“Hey Duke, sorry, can’t talk, see ya!”

The doors closed and separated Duke from Yugi before he could respond.

//Hmm......that was odd.// Duke thought to himself as the elevator descended.

Instead of going to find something to eat, Duke went over Tristan’s house. The sky was
beginning to grow dark, and rumbles of thunder could be heard faintly in the distance. Duke
wiped the sweat out his eyes as he parked his motorcycle in the driveway. He slowly walked up
to the door and knocked.

Tristan quickly came to the door wearing a pair of red boxer shorts and holding a beer in his
hand. He had a baseball cap on backwards and he looked a bit drunk.

“What” he stated flatly.

Duke nervously twirled his hair around his finger. He stared at the welcome mat beneath his feet
to avoid Tristan’s eyes.

“I’m sorry Tristan. Can I come in?”

“I guess” Tristan replied gruffly as he stepped back and allowed Duke entrance to the house.

Tristan turned his back and staggered over to the couch and sat down. There were empty beer
cans stacked up on the coffee table. Pieces of ripped up photographs were strewn randomly
amongst the mess. Duke could see that Tristan was taking the situation hard.

“Tris? I’m sorry, okay? I don’t even remember banging you’re old lady. When she said the kid
was mine, I was just as shocked as you. Please Tristan, don’t be angry with me.”

Tristan guzzled down the last of his beer and tossed the can on the table.

“I’m pissed at Isis, not you.”

Duke looked up at Tristan with bewilderment.

“So you’re really not angry with me?”

Tristan cracked open another beer and shrugged.

“Nope. Why should I be mad at you? Even if the kid is yours, it’s still Isis’s fault we’re all in this
mess. She’s the one who’s willing to spread ‘em for anybody....including Mai.”

Duke nodded his head and grunted.

“Yeah, no shit. That was a shocker to find the two of them making out in Ryou’s basement.”

“I know” Tristan agreed.

Duke twirled his hair and took a seat on the couch next to Tristan. They bother stayed silent for a
few minutes. Finally, Duke reached out and took Tristan’s hand.

“Tris, I’m going to be blunt with you. I’ve had a thing for you ever since I first met you. I’ll
understand if you don’t want anything to do with me, but.......uh.....is there a chance in hell that
we can leave all the bullshit behind us and...uh.......have a closer relationship?”

Tristan set down his beer and laughed.

“As long as we can avoid Isis and Mai, HELL YEAH.”

Duke was visibly surprised by Tristan’s response, but definitely not disappointed. He threw his
arms around Tristan and held him close.

“Awesome.......you’re the best.”

Tristan grabbed another beer out of a small blue cooler next to the couch and handed it to Duke.

“Say we celebrate?”

Duke took the beer and cracked it open. He gently tapped it against Tristan’s and nodded.

“Hell yeah.”

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