Authoress: Alright, time for chapter 2! :D

Alexander:/rolls eyes/ Took you long enough.

Authoress: Quiet you! You know not the plight of those who suffer chronic writer's block!

Daisuke: Kaoru Tezuka owns nothing. Be grateful.

Authoress: Hey!

How Long 'Til You Break? Chapter 2

It had been two blissful years since then. Of course, the two would fight occasionally, but what couple doesn't. They loved each other more with each passing day, as cheesy as that may sound. In two months time, Judai was to be Johan's blushing... Bride... Groom... Thing... They were still trying to figure out what to call it. Judai had been able to follow his dreams of becoming a pro duelist shortly after high school, and Johan got a job at Kaiba Corp. testing new dueling technologies. He had a couple ideas, and hoped he could get a job as an inventor there once he finished college.

"Judai! I'm ho~ome!" Johan called into the small-yet-comfortable two-bedroom apartment. He noticed some light pouring in from the living room as he quietly slipped out of his shoes and jacket and put them in the closet. The first thing he noticed upon entering was Judai sleeping peacefully on the coach, basically dead to the world. Johan chuckled a bit as Judai muttered some nonsense about fried shrimp and dueling in his sleep. He put a blanket over his lover, and went into the kitchen to start making dinner. Of course, he felt two slender arms circle around him only a few minutes after the smell of food began to fill the apartment.

"Whatcha makin'?" came the groggy-yet-curious voice of Judai.

"Dinner."

"Whatcha makin' for dinner?"

"Shrimp stir-fry." he chuckled as he felt the arms leave his waist, knowing Judai was most likely doing a little fist-pumping happy dance.

"Can I help?" Judai asked, not wanting to be bored while his lover made dinner.

"Well, I've pretty much got everything I needed done done..." He noticed Judai's puppy-pout as he turned to face Judai while talking to him. He sighed and looked around for something for Judai to do.

"Here, you can make the fruit salad."

"Fruit salad with shrimp stir-fry?" Judai gave him a questioning look.

"Actually, the shrimp is for you. I, on the other hand, am craving some fruit salad."

"You're weird, Johan." Judai said while giggling slightly.

"Says the same kid who says it's good luck to have a shit-load of bad luck the day before a duel." Johan teased, putting a quarter into the swear jar.

"Hey! I win every time I have bad luck the day before! It's like getting all the bad luck out of the way beforehand to make sure there's nothing but good luck!" Judai said with a dopey grin on his face. After that, they fell into a peaceful silence while making dinner. Suddenly, Johan heard Judai curse harshly under his breath. He turned to see Judai holding his thumb while the knife he was using lay on the counter with a small bit of blood on it. He immediately ran over to make sure Judai was okay.

"Hey, ya'lright, Ju?" Johan asked, trying to pry Judai's thumb out of the iron grip he had it in.

"Yeah, I'm..." Judai suddenly froze as he looked down at the hand he'd been holding his thumb with. His thumb had bleed quite a bit, so his hand was now pretty much covered in it. He stared at it with a look of fear on his face, his eyes showing he was obviously somewhere else consciously. Johan tried to get him to answer as he washed out the wound and lead Judai to the bathroom to disinfect it and dress it.

"... It's all red again..." Judai muttered as he stared at his hand.

"What? Whaddaya mean, Ju? I already helped ya wash that hand." Johan said as he started wrapping some gauze around the wound on the opposite hand.

"It always ends up red again, I have no control." He said just as Johan finished. Johan looked up at him, confused as to what he meant.

"Ju, what're ya talkin' about?" he asked. Just then, the doorbell rang, effectively snapping Judai out of his trance.

"I'll get it!" Judai happily pranced towards the door as Johan stared after him worriedly. What no one knew was this was only the begining of something much bigger and ugglier than anyone ever knew.

Authoress: Wow, I actually got that done! :D

Alexander: Wow, impressive. I must say, I'm kinda proud of you for this.

Authoress: Thanks. :)

Authoress + Alexander: Reviews are extremely welcome, flames are not.