Forever, My Puppy

Seto watched Joey sleep for a long time before he dozed off himself. Almost instantly he was awakened by the sound of Joey's voice, very panicked and angry.


"No..Get off me!!....PLEASE! Stop!!" Joey began to thrash on the bed. Seto tried to touch him, but when he did, Joey would thrash and flail more. Kaiba wished he could see into Joey's dream, to help him calm down. There was a knock at the door then Yugi and Yami came into the room. Yugi's hair looked way tamer than normal, but was still wild.

"Is he having another nightmare?"

Seto looked at Yugi as if he'd lost his mind. He opened his mouth to say something very rude to the boy, then decided against it. Yami looked at Joey with deep concern on his face.

"I've noticed that his nightmares are worse a day or two after he's away from the situation. He bottles up his feelings and fears. If you've noticed, touching him during a nightmare will increase his fear and will do nothing to wake him"

"It worked earlier today, I just kinda stroked his face and talked soothingly to him. He woke right up. So there is nothing to do but wait it out?"

Yami shook his head. Yugi had his face buried in Yami's waist, crying silently. Then he looked up at Yami.

"Could we...?"

"I know what you are thinking, Yugi, and the answer is no. Right now, it could scar him worse."

A sharp scream filled the room as Joey began to fight against the covers over him. Yami and Seto began to rip the blankets and sheets off the bed and untangled them from Joey's body. After Joey was compleatly untangled from the covers, his breathing began to become more even, and his sleep calmer. Joey murmered in his sleep and rolled over against Seto's side. Seto stroked the blonde locks from Joey's face. The eyelids fluttered then Joey's brown eyes opened.

He looked around the room then collapsed against Seto, tears flowing from his eyes.

"Do you want to talk about it, Puppy?"

"I think it would help if I did. I need to get things off my chest."

"What was your nightmare about?"

"My birthday. I'd just gotten off the phone with Yug to go over to the game shop. Dad didn't even let me leave the house. I tried to fight him, but he's too strong when he's drunk. He threw me down on my bed and tried to go down on me."

"I dont mean to interrupt you, Love, but is that all he did? Because that's not really rape, I mean it sorta is, but I thought you ment he..."

"Had me like you did? NO, he never did that, he tried to, but I would get away. Of course he'd beat me afterward, but it was worth it."

Joey snuggled closer to Seto. He had too much inside that had to come out, and the storm was fiercely brewing, nearly ready to blast out without notice. He brushed away a tear then continued to talk.

"Dad beat me bad that night. He locked me in my room, saying that untill I learned to do what he told me to, I'd spend the rest of my life in there. After two or three days I remembered the cell phone that I'd gotten for my birthday. I called out the number that said who it was from." He looked up at Seto then kissed him. "Thank you. I just wish I'd thought to use it that night, and not days later."

"You probly dont know this, Pup, but all of us tried to call. Yugi called me after he and Tristian tried to call and your dad told them you weren't there. You were supposed to have gone home to get clothes to change into, and back over to Yugi's. I had to reschedule your party at Shougun's when I found out when you were gonna be out of the hospital."

"I appriciate it. You have changed so much over the past two years, I can't believe you are the same man who used to call me a worthless dog."

Seto winced at the words "worthless dog". "I'm sorry I ever called you that. I know that had to hurt you badly. I love you, I know I always did."

Seto leaned down and kissed Joey deeply. Yami and Yugi left the room, and Joey and Seto snuggled down into sleep. Joey lay awake for a while, thinking of the past, and realizing that Seto was right.


Okay before you torch me, please realize that there is a MAJOR flashback comming up in the next chapter. This will be the turning point of the story.