Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ I'll Be Home for Christmas ❯ Two Turtle Doves ( Chapter 2 )

JG-chan: Wow! Already getting reviews?! This is great! Thanks so much you guys, it's really encouraging ^_^ Onto the reviewer responses!

F_D_C2003: Heya girl! Thanks sooo much for the review! I knew you'd like it! Yeah, there aren't enough Jou x Ryou stories out there, huh? I muchly agree with you! Anyways, here's a version of mine, so I hope you enjoy it!

Black-Butterfly: Hehe, yeah, what's a Christmas fic without a little bit of humour thrown in? You loathe Amy Lee? HOW CAN YOU?!! *is a die-hard fan* I LOVE her! ^_^ Anyway, as you requested, here is the next update =^-^= mew!

Two Turtle Doves

Jou's father - Taro Jounouchi - was already home from work when Jou walked in the door. He was even sober, sitting up at the dining table doing some paperwork. Jou vaguely acknowledged his existence as he lingered past him on the way to his bedroom.

"Katsuya,"

Jou stopped midway down the hall and turned around. "What?"

Deep-set ocher eyes looked up, reflecting his son's. "Christmas is coming soon. You going to your mother's this year?"

"I don't know." Jou said shrugging his shoulders. "I don't want to, if that's what you're asking."

"You should at least go for Christmas Day. I'm sending Shizuka a present this year." Taro replied.

Jou walked back down the hall a little and leant on the doorframe. "Ma will throw it out before she gets it." He said. "She did that with the last one you sent."

Taro rolled his eyes. "Well then, I'll give it to you to give it to her. How's that?"

Although the current conversation was about what was going to happen at Christmas, it completely sickened Jou that his father was acting like nothing at all had happened last night. Either that or he didn't remember it. That was more likely the reason.

"Sure." Jou replied numbly, heading back to his room.

"…Katsuya?"

"What?" Jou asked in an irritated manner, walking into his room.

"How'd your head get like that?" Taro asked, following his flaxen-haired son to his bedroom.

Jou - facing away from his father - rolled his eyes. "Just football. It's nothing."

Taro gave him a skeptical look. "If you say so." He said. "I have to go out tonight. You'll be alright, won't you?"

"I'm not five anymore, Pop." Jou replied.

"Don't get smart to me boy," Taro said sternly. "There's some dinner in the fridge for you when you get hungry." With that said, the broad-shouldered man left his bedroom, closed the door, got his car keys and exited the apartment.

Jou waited until he knew his father had gone. He stared at the door, knowing it was hard and could hurt him more than he could hurt it. It was as hard as his father's heartless voice, even. Still, he summoned his energy and launched himself at the door, punching it with all his might.

*~***~*

It was a week later. A week closer to Christmas. A week closer to hell. It was pelting down with penny-sized raindrops when Jou arrived at work that Friday afternoon. People in the mall were going crazy buying Christmas gifts for their loved ones, leaving Jou and Malik going flat-out selling people CDs, DVDs, tapes, posters and a lot of other things that the store sold.

It didn't really take much talent to work at a music store. All you had to be in the know about was the latest artists and bands, and know how to work a till. Jounouchi got paid 660Y* per hour, and had saved up nearly enough to find a place of his own; at least for a little while anyway. Anything to get out of that rut of a place with his idiot father. Going to live with his mother was not an option. Nobody could talk him into something that ridiculous.

"Hey, uh, Jou?"

Malik's thick Arabic accent caught Jou's attention. "Yeah?"

"Would you like to come to Ryou's with me after work?"

Jou nodded, smiling inwardly at Malik's change of heart. Since the Battle City Tournament had been over and done with and Malik had seen the light, things had changed for the better. Everyone thought the lavender-eyed youth was more so embarrassed than anything else about his behaviour during the tournament. He had settled down considerably since his defeat to Yuugi and Yami, and had made friends with most of the others. Still, his darkness remained. He was summoned back from the shadows for reasons unknown.

"Sure. What's happening at Ryou's?" Jounouchi asked.

Malik shrugged. "We're just having some drinks I think. I bought the new Need for Speed Underground 2 the other day … we were gonna check it out at Ryou's since he's got a Playstation."

This caught Jou's attention. He had always taken interest in cars. "Sure, sounds good."

*~***~*

The streets of Domino were decorated with Christmas cheer. Giant decorations of reindeer, St. Nicholas, holly wreaths and bells were hanging from the lamp-posts and were attached to the front of buildings. Jou noticed that even KaibaCorp had been decorated. Who ever thought that Kaiba had a heart for Christmas? `I bet Mokuba made him do it', the blond thought.

Malik sat quietly in the passenger's side of the car, looking completely spaced out. Jounouchi figured he was having a conversation with his other. Either that or he was stoned, although he couldn't figure out when he would have had the chance to do that seeming as they had just left work. Jou dismissed his mental rambling and concentrated on driving.

Ryou's place was warm when they walked in. He and Malik hugged each other affectionately before Malik made a beeline toward the PS2 with his new game. Ryou caught Jou's eyes and smiled at him, walking toward him. He noticed Jou's teeth were still chattering due to the rain-drenched clothes he was wearing.

"Nice of you to join us, Jou-kun." He said. "Although you look freezing. Here, let me take your coat and dry it by the heater."

Startled at the proposal that had seemingly come out of nowhere, Jou removed his jacket and handed it to Ryou. The smaller-framed boy went and hung it up by the heater, shaking the excessive rainwater off of it. Jou took a seat on the couch next to Malik, who was already engrossed in a fantasy world of illegal street-racing.

An hour had passed when the phone rang; surprising the boys out of their trance, staring into the void before them that was the television. Ryou got up to answer it, moving off to the kitchen. Within the hour, Bakura had emerged from wherever he was to come and check out the so-called `video game'. He watched with fascination at the lifelike graphics on the TV, marveling that one was be able to do whatever they wanted via the controller. Malik had told him about the game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and he immediately wanted it. Maybe he could bribe or blackmail Ryou into buying him it for Christmas.

Ryou returned from his conversation on the phone and slumped himself on the couch next to his yami, looking blue. Jou wondered what was up with him, and so moved over to talk to him. Bakura immediately took Jou's place next to Malik without taking his eyes from the screen. Jou looked questioningly at Ryou, who was fidgeting and looking downward. He didn't even have to speak when Ryou began:

"That was my father calling from England." He said.

"Oh yeah?" Jou asked. "What was he calling about?"

"I won't be able to go home for Christmas this year." Ryou mumbled. "That bastard!" He suddenly yelled, catching all three boys by surprise. Malik paused his game. "Always putting work before me! It's Christmas! Christmas is always a special time for us… Japan doesn't celebrate it in the same way that England does… "

All was silent for a moment, and nobody really knew what to say. Malik went to speak, but decided against it. He was going to go to Egypt this year with Isis and Rishid as they usually did, and talking about that wouldn't really put Ryou's mind at ease.

"Oh well, I can cause havoc here instead!" Bakura smirked, only receiving a murderous glare from his lighter half in return. Being the insensitive brute he is, he merely rolled his eyes and went back to watching Malik on the PS2.

Jou put a hand on Ryou's shoulder. "Hey, don't worry about it, Ryou. You've got us to spend Christmas with if you can't go back to England."

Ryou sighed and gave him a half-hearted smile. "Thanks… But it just isn't the same. I don't know, maybe I'm just being… fussy…"

"You're not being fussy, Ry," Malik reassured. "I'd be the same if I didn't go back to Egypt at this time of the year."

Ryou wanted to burst into tears, but held it in. He'd never spent a Christmas in Japan before, and didn't know what it would be like spending it alone. Well, not that he was alone as such… he'd still have Bakura. But it wouldn't the same without a Christmas turkey and cranberry sauce and all the rest… He sighed inwardly and guessed that this year he'll just have to make do.

*~***~*

+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+ ~TBC

*= Yeah, that is in Japanese Yen by the way… their currency is whack! Anyway 660Y is about $9.00 in my (New Zealand Dollar) currency ^_^ My boyfriend was looking for a car to import for Japan and it came up with a price of something like 1,256,889Y and we were like o___O;;; until we converted it XD