"Hey, Yug!" Joey called, his characteristic Brooklyn accent carrying all the way across the room. "Come 'ere!"

Yugi turned to Yami, tray in hand, waiting for him to exit the lunch line. As the yami sauntered to his side, he nodded, and the hikari smiled slightly as he started for the table in the far corner of the cafeteria. There Joey and Tea sat, their trays of food messy and half-eaten as Yugi and Yami pulled out chairs across from them.

"Hi, Yugi!" Tea breathed cheerily, pinching a chicken tender between her thumb and forefinger and popping it into her mouth. "How's your day been?"

Yami wanted to chatize her for asking such an oblivious, stupid question because, of course, Yugi wasn't having a good day; he had just been raped a day prior! But then, he remembered that he promised his aibou that he wouldn't tell anyone about it, that Tea couldn't possibly know Yugi was so amiss.

So he didn't say anything. He saw the hikari shift uncomfortably, then turn towards him, then glance back to Tea. Joey stayed silent, a scowl on his face, his spork rooted in his mouth, as if he was trying to bite a comment back.

"...It was fine, I guess...," the boy replied hesitantly. The girl showed him a perplexed look as he fiddled with his utensil and played with his macaroni and cheese. The light's head snapped up as he continued,"How's your day going, Tea?"

She narrowed her eyes at his frantic tone, but quickly replied,"It's been alright. I've had so many tests and quizzes, though."

There was a tense silence then, and all anyone at the table heard was the chatter of the students around them and the smacking of people's mouths as they chewed. Yami glanced, slightly concerned, at his aibou, but the boy's amethyst eyes were downcast and his gaze was boring into the wooden lunch table. He kept silently picking at his, almost full, plate of food as Joe shifted restlessly in his seat, Tea glimpsed Yami out of the corner of her eye, and the pharaoh started to observe the lunchroom.

"Yugi? Do you mind if I ask you a question?" the teenager girl asked abruptly, and Yami could see the way Yugi's shoulders tensed almost immediately at her words.

"That was a question right there," the light said defensively, pushing away slightly from the table. His knuckles were white as he wet his lips and shifted uncomfortably.

"Yeah, but can I ask you a serious question?" she continued, undeterred in her mission. Joe glanced at her with a disapproving look, but she didn't seem to notice much as she leaned forward. Yami bit back a growl, instead deciding to bite his top lip; if Yugi didn't want to answer, Tea couldn't force him to answer. That's what he kept telling himself.

"L-like?" Yugi responded, almost whimpered, as he tried so hard to remain seated, to not just bolt out of the room and run away from Tea's incessant questioning.

"How'd you get the black eye?"

Yugi flinched, and Yami finally let out a growl as Joey gasped.

"That's not somethin' you get ta ask! If Yug wanted ya ta know, he'd tell ya!" the blonde shouted, drawing the looks of multiple teenagers around them. Tea glanced at Joe to see a deeply ingrained scowl, then canted her head to face the pharaoh.

Yami wanted to yell so many profanities, get close in her face and undermine her, tell her how imbecilic and inconsiderate she was for asking his light such a personal question. But he knew Yugi wouldn't want that; he wouldn't want Tea hurt, physically or emotionally.

Sometimes, the darkness thought Yugi's kindness was his downfall. It was like his greatest attribute, but his finest imperfection.

"...Don't you dare ask my aibou such a question ever again...," he growled, and Tea winced at the grating tone of his voice, the way it sounded oddly like a hiss. Yami slowly inched his hand up Yugi's back, then clasped his shoulder, expecting a flinch, but receiving none.

The girl looked faintly dazed as she leaned slightly away, a pink blush crawling up her cheeks at the way everyone stopped to glance at their table, the whole cafeteria silent. Gradually, as Yami rubbed soothing circles into Yugi's tense back, the crowd turned back to their recent activities, the sarcastic banter and inane small talk resuming, filling the air.

Slowly, the pharaoh felt the hikari relax against his hand, and he heard a sigh escape the boy's open lips. Joey's deep scowl, bit-by-bit, morphed into an apologetic look as Tea quickly scrambled to pick up her scattered books. She squeaked out a meek goodbye as she gathered her tray in one hand, bookbag slung over her shoulder, and raced away to empty her food into the trash bin by the exit.

Joey shifted out of his chair and rushed to Yugi and Yami, sitting in the chair beside them as he smiled sadly.

"Sorry 'bout that, Yug. I doubt she meant anythin' by it," Joe said, reaching out a hand to place on the smaller teen's shoulder, but then rethinking his decision. Yami was grateful; Yugi needed some consideration, as of late.

"...It-It's alright, J-Joe...," Yugi stuttered, even though it was obvious to all three of them that it was definitely not alright, that Yugi definitely wasn't alright.

They sat in an almost comfortable silence for a few moments before the pharaoh softly questioned,"...Would you like to go home, aibou?"

He didn't hear an answer until a minute later. "Yes, please...," came the soft reply, and Yami looked into Yugi's eyes to see the evident fear, anxiety, uncomfortablity, distrust mixed into that painstakingly beautiful purple. Joey saw it too as he exchanged a look with the yami, and he frowned thinnly, but nodded his head in a way of saying,'Get him out of here. He needs to get away.'

The darkness nodded back, hearing the light sniffles coming from the hikari as he slowly pulled him up from the chair. The blonde leaned away, his chocolate brown eyes gazing affectionately at the petite boy as Yami managed to lift completely up from his seat.

"Are you ready to leave, Yugi?"

He felt him shiver, the action raising the skin along his arms.

"Yes."

The pharaoh didn't need any other word. He was already out the door.

Yugi slowly ambled beside him, his fair skin cool against the pharaoh as he leaned into him. His amethyst eyes stayed glued to the cement as they sauntered towards Solomon's game shop, but the boy seemed at ease. At least, more at ease then he previously was in the cafeteria.

Yami continued forward, the hikari's hand wrapped loosely around his arm and their Millennium Puzzles occasionally clanging together. The pair's shadows walked beside them, cast in the afternoon light, and the pharaoh sighed sadly as he glanced down at his light's tired, solemn face.

"Almost there, aibou," he mumbled as the game shop could be seen in the distance. The pharaoh felt more than saw Yugi's response as his head nodded against his chest.

Yugi's long locks of multicolored hair tickled Yami's nose as they neared the game shop door, the pharaoh pulling out his key. Shoving the key into the slot, he cracked the door open, and Yugi practically stumbled in as Yami moved to close the door.

"Whoa, aibou," he chided, holding his light steady.

Then, next thing he knew, his arms were full of hikari and he was pinned to the door with tears soaking into his leather shirt. Yet, he didn't mind, and he merely softly shushed the boy, petting his hair and smoothing his hand over the small of his back.

"Don't let go, Yami...please, Mou Hitori no Boku..."

"I won't, Yugi..."

That was a promise.

A/N: I'm back! (Please, don't kill me...)