Runaway Train

NOTE: I don’t own “Runaway Train” by Soul Asylum or Yugioh

Runaway Train

The tightly clenched fist collided with Joey’s jaw once again, sending the teen into the coffee table.
Joey’s back ached with the pain of the broken wood underneath him. He opened his eyes slowly as the room went in and out of focus. His mouth filled with a coppery liquid.
His father hovered over him, alcohol bitter on his breath. “You little punk! How dare you spend your money in that lousy arcade! You should be giving that money to me!”
Joey coughed. “I work hard for that money, dad,” the teen protested between clenched teeth.
The man gave a swift kick to his son’s stomach. “You live under my roof! I don’t charge your scrawny ass rent! You had better think long and hard about this, you little bastard! You have to pitch in if you’re going to live under my roof! So you better straighten up or your little ass will be out there so fast, you won’t know what hit you!”
Joey watched his father hobble away in a drunken stupor. The blond slowly sat up, feeling the blood trickling from the corners of his mouth.
It was the same thing every night. His father would drink and beat the living snot out of him.
When would it change?
When would life go back to the way it used to be?
Joey wiped his chin, realizing that he would never have the family that he always wanted.
This cloud had no silver lining.
Joey staggered to his feet and towards the door. He looked back at his father in the kitchen.
‘This is no life….I’m outta here.’
*******************************
Marik growled at his hikari and backhanded him once again. “You sniveling little mortal! You call that a dinner? I wouldn’t even feed this to a swine!”
Malik ducked quickly as the plate of food was hurled at his head.
“Why do I keep you around for other than the fact that you are a good little toy in bed?! You can fuck, but you can’t cook!”
Malik trembled at his yami’s ferocity. “I….I’m sorry, yami! I’ll do better the next time!”
Marik laughed. “If you can’t get things right the first time, what makes you think you’ll ever get them right at all? If I was mortal, I’d rather starve than eat your filth that you call a meal!”
Malik lowered his head. “I apologize, yami.”
“Don’t apologize. Just shut up and get out of my sight.”
Malik left the kitchen quickly and sat on the living room couch. He sniffled and buried his face in his hands. ‘I try so hard to please him,’ Malik thought. ‘Why won’t he leave me in peace?’
The phone beside him rang. He picked it up.

Call you up in the middle of the night
Like a firefly without a light

“Hello?”
[Malik?] the voice cried over the phone.
“Joey? Joey, where are you?”
[At the Pump-N-Go.]
“Is something wrong?”
[It happened again, Malik.]
Malik gripped the phone. After Battle City, he and Malik had become close friends. They had lived with the same abuse and had offered support to each other throughout the rough times.
Eventually, that friendship had blossomed into something more between the two boys. It was mutual affection and desire for the other.
“Joey, please tell me you’re okay!”
[Malik….I really need you here.]
“Okay, Joey. I’ll be right there. Stay where you are.”
[Okay.] the voice sobbed.
Malik replaced the phone on the receiver and grabbed his wallet. “Yami, I’ll be back in a little bit. I…I have to go get something else for dinner.”
“Don’t be too long, hikari! I know every move you make!”

You were there like a slow torch burning

Malik looked back into the house. Something inside him told him to run, to flee. There was no reason to put up with the constant threats and abuse from his other half.
He was tired of it.
Why should he live in complete servitude to someone who abused him on a constant basis?
There was a time to stop.
There was a time to escape the neglect.
The time was right.
The time was now.
Malik bit his lip nervously. “Okay.”
Malik closed the door to the house behind him….vowing never to return.

I was a key that could use a little turning

Joey sat on the front curb of the gas station waiting for his friend. He wrapped his legs, trying to keep himself warm.
Malik drove the car into the parking lot and parked by Joey.
He opened the door and ran to Joey sitting on the curb. A bruise and a blood-encrusted lip attested to the nightly ‘dance with daddy’.
Malik traced Joey’s lip with his thumb. “Poor Joey.”
Joey looked up at his friend with large brown eyes full of tears. It wasn’t easy for anyone to see him like this….and it wasn’t easy for him to look so vulnerable.
“Malik…help.”

So tired that I couldn't even sleep

Joey’s eyes looked bloodshot. His body sagged as if it had not had a moment’s rest.
It wasn’t hard to tell that Joey was under a considerable amount of stress.
Sleep was a luxury Joey couldn’t afford.
Joey never knew when he would be beaten up, even if he was asleep. His father had no inhibitions on pulling him out of bed and beating the crap out of him.
Joey reached up for Malik’s arms and gripped onto him tightly. “Please….help me.”

So many secrets I couldn't keep

“What did he do to you, Joey?”
Joey lowered his head and sobbed. Malik sat beside his friend and put his arm around him.
“Joey, what happened? I can’t help you if I don’t know what he said or did to you.”
Joey wrapped his arms around Malik. “He…He wanted me to give him my money so he could buy booze.”
Malik ran his fingers through Joey’s blond hair. “Aww…sorry, Joey. Did you give him any money?”
Joey sniffled. “He took it last night. I fought with him. I tried not to give up the money I had worked so hard for! I refused to take it out of my pants pocket.”
Malik held Joey’s hand. “Did he get it?”
“He….He pulled my pants off to get to the money…..and…..”
The blond’s sentence trailed off.
“Joey, what did he do to you?”
The blond lowered his head, his blond hair hiding his face. ‘
“It wouldn’t have been the first time he took more than my money, Malik.”
“Oh, Joey,” Malik said hugging his friend.
The owner of the Pump-N-Go stepped out of the station. “You two ruffians move along! This isn’t a place to make out! Move along!”

Promised myself I wouldn't weep

Malik and Joey sat in the car. Joey kept his head lowered, his blond locks falling in front of his eyes.
His bottom lip trembled and he sniffled. Joey was trying to hold back what he was feeling.
“Joey, don’t hold back. If you need to let it out, go ahead. I won’t love you any less.”

One more promise I couldn't keep

Joey buried his face in his hands and wept. “I hate my father! I hate him! How could he do this to me? I’m his own son! He used me as if I was nothing but something for his own pleasure and profit! I’m a human being! I shouldn’t be used for profit!”
Malik put his hand on Joey’s shoulder. “Joey, I don’t want you to go back there.”
“I have no where else to go, Malik! I can’t leave Domino!”
Malik thought about his yami throwing the plate at him, the times where he suffered physical assault at his hands.
“I promised myself I wouldn’t cry! I promised myself I would never tell anyone!”
Malik turned Joey’s face towards him. “Joey, I love you. Why would you keep something like that from me?”
Joey shrugged. “Because I didn’t know if that would change what you feel towards me.”
“That’s never going to happen, Joey.”
Malik took a deep breath and leaned over to kiss Joey’s cheek.

It seems no one can help me now

Malik’s POV
Joey turned to me and gave me a slight smile. I could tell he forced it. It wasn’t too difficult to see that he was trying to pull himself together.
I wanted to help Joey, but what could I say to him?
What could I say to help him?

Joey’s POV
No one can help us. Nobody can save us from the tyranny that Malik and I live under.
We’re alone.
Alone in a world of no redemption.

I'm in too deep

Malik’s POV
I want to be with Joey, but Marik won’t allow it. He keeps me as his personal sex toy. He uses me for his own twisted pleasure.
Joey’s father is an abusive asshole. Joey can’t even take a breath without his father yelling at him or beating him.
What are you supposed to do when you are a helpless puppet of someone in power?
How do you break free?
What do you do?

There's no way out

How do you free yourself from the tyranny of another?
When you leave them, how long does it take the memories to fade?
Do the memories ever fade?
There’s no way I can leave Marik. Not only is he my yami, he’ll end up finding me and taking me away.
Back to Hell.
Back to Torture.
He’ll eventually find me.
Joey’s dad won’t let him go either.
We’re trapped in our own personal hell.
Can you tell me a way out?
Can you please help us?

This time I have really led myself astray

Joey’s POV
I tried to placate dad. I tried to give him what he wanted.
When he asked me to say what he wanted to hear, I would call myself worthless.
That was my undoing.
That only made things worse.
I needed to save my money this time so I could buy Malik a birthday present.
Nobody gets him anything. He has hardly any friends at all. Yugi talks to him, but Yami Yugi keeps his distance because of Marik.
I wanted to get Malik a gold chain that I saw. This time I stood up to dad, trying to keep my money.
I failed.
Now I only made matters worse for when I go back home.
When he finds out that I left the house without his permission, he’s going to kill me.
If he can think of something worse to do to me, he will do it.

Runaway train never going back

Normal POV
Joey sniffled and looked over at his boyfriend. “Malik….I…I can’t go back.”
Malik lowered his head and sighed. “Where else can we go, Joey? Who will understand?”
“Ryou would….but he has enough problems with Bakura.”
Malik nodded. “True. Besides, your father will end up going to all of your friends’ house looking for us.”
“No, we have to leave Domino. I can’t live in this town anymore. I don’t want my father to find me and bring me back home.”
Malik held Joey’s hand. “I don’t want to be with Marik anymore. Joey, if we stick together….There’s nothing we can’t do.”

Wrong way on a one way track

Joey turned to Malik. “If I stay with my father anymore, I don’t think that I could survive much longer. He’s getting out of hand.”
Malik bit his lip. “Marik’s not getting any better. This road will only lead us to destruction, Joey. I hate to say it, but I think you’re right. We cannot stay here anymore if we want to keep going.”

Seems like I should be getting somewhere

“Malik, you’re going to leave with me, aren’t you? Will you come with me? We can make a better life for us….better than we have now…probably better than we could have ever imagined.” Joey smiled weakly. “What do you say?”

Somehow I'm neither here no there

Malik sighed sadly. ‘No matter where I go, my yami could track me down. But even if get away from him for a little while, I don’t care what he does to me.
All I want is a taste of freedom. That is all I want….even if it is just for a little while.
Even if he kills me, as long as I know what it feels like to be free.

Can you help me remember how to smile?

Malik raised his head. ‘I have Joey. Joey and I will be together and we can kiss the rest of the world goodbye. We don’t need anyone else. Just each other. Maybe with him I’ll be able to know about happiness…..true happiness. Even if it comes and goes just as fast as it arrived.

Make it somehow all seem worthwhile

Joey reached up and stroked Malik’s face lightly over the bruise on the cheek. Even with a light touch, it stung.
“What do you say, buddy?” Joey asked again. “Do you want a better life than we have here? Do you want to get away from it all? Escape the abuse and neglect? We can do it….if we stick together.”

How on earth did I get so jaded?

Malik reached over and put his head on Joey’s shoulder. ‘We’re both so tired of the way we live. It’s not easy. I’m tired of being Marik’s punching bag. Joey’s tired of it all, too. I can’t tell you how many countless times we have helped each other with bruises and broken bones.’

Life's mystery seems so faded

Malik’s POV
I rested my head against Joey’s shoulder. I don’t know where my life now is going to take me. All I know is that Marik’s going to be the death of me if I don’t leave him.
He’s going to kill me if I don’t get away from him.

I can go where no one else can go

I looked up at Joey and smiled at him. “Let’s go, Joey. Together we can run away and escape. We can go anywhere we like. The farther the better.”

I know what no one else knows

“We’ll just disappear….you and I, Joey. People may wonder why we left, but let them wonder. We only need each other to be happy.”
Joey smiled and leaned into me. He pressed his lips to mine. I allowed his tongue to slip between my lips.
His hands cupped my face and touched my cheeks gently.

Here I am just drownin' in the rain

Tears fell down my eyes at the beautiful sensation of a slow, sensual kiss.
It wasn’t our first one, but there was always the risk of it being our last.
Joey’s dad caught us together before and he exploded with rage.
Marik never caught us together. If he ever found Joey with his hands on me, Joey would suffer forever in the Shadow Realm.

With a ticket for a runaway train

We pulled back from our kiss. “Let’s go, Joey.”

Everything is cut and dry
Day and night, earth and sky
Somehow I just don't believe it

Normal POV
“Where are we going to go?” Joey asked.
Malik sat behind the wheel of his car. “I don’t know. Let’s just drive and see where the road takes us. What do you think of that?”
Joey held his side. “I need a place to sleep. My side is killing me.”
“Do you have any money on you?”
Joey reached deep into his pocket. “I’ve got about one hundred dollars on me. I was going upstairs when my father pounced on me like a lion. I’m lucky I managed to escape with that.”
Malik grinned. “Well, we can get a hotel for the night. But let’s make sure we get away far enough so this way your dad and Marik will have to travel a long distance. We’ll be safe.”

Bought a ticket for a runaway train
Like a madman laughin' at the rain

Malik started the car and they made their way to the Highway. Beside him, Joey wrapped his arms around his side, his body in pain from his father’s beating.
The Egyptian periodically looked over at his friend.
“Hold on, Joey. We’ll get you somewhere you can rest.”

Little out of touch, little insane

Malik drove the car wondering how long he and Joey could survive with such limited funds. This wasn’t going to be easy.
Sacrifices had to be made.

Just easier than dealing with the pain

Any amount of sacrifice was worth a taste of freedom….even if it is short-lived.
He’d do anything to be free of the pain that Marik had given him.
Something had to be done about their lives.
This was the only way.

Runaway train never comin' back

Marik pat Joey on the arm. They would never go back.
They were free.

Runaway train tearin' up the track

“We’re not going to look behind us, Joey,” Malik said.
Joey leaned over and rested his head on Malik’s shoulder. “Finally…..”

Runaway train burnin' in my veins

“We should have done this a long time ago, Joey,”

Runaway but it always seems the same

Joey looked out the window at the passing trees. They were now free of the tyranny of those who abused them.
They were free of neglect.
Now was the time to heal their physical wounds.
With each other’s help and support, they would be able to heal their emotional wounds as well.
With one uncertain life behind them, Joey looked ahead in the dark. The future looked even more uncertain than the past.
“You’re right, Malik. We’re finally free. The sky’s the limit.”

Note: Do you guys want me to continue? Malik x Joey lemon if I do continue it.