Set after 'You Win Some, You Lose Some'. So Kaiba has kissed Joey, but they are not together, as Joey thinks the kiss was just Kaiba's way of winning the argument. Joey does have a crush on Seto now because of what happened, but has said nothing of this to Kaiba... please R&R and tell me whether you think I should continue past this first chapter.

On a winter's Friday night, Joey Wheeler was bleeding.

A steady drip, drip on the threadbare carpet beat in time with his heart as he stood in front of his father, who sneered at him with a drunken gaze that Joey was well used to.

"What, Joey? Won't even put up a fight against your old man? You are pathetic."

The blonde didn't answer, and the lack of response infuriated the man. He gave another punch to the stomach, which Joey was not quick enough to avoid. And no, he wouldn't fight back. His father's sneer grew as he watched his son double up in pain on the floor, clutching his stomach and breathing heavily from being winded.

"I... I won't fight back, father. I'm not like you."

The elder man's eyes widened in shock and then anger, and his face, already reddened from drink, looked almost demonic as he stood over the boy.

"Get out," he whispered. "Don't ever come back, you hear? There is no place for weaklings in this house!"

He emphasised the point with a sharp kick in Joey's chest, but the blonde refused to give his father the satisfaction of seeing him hurt. Instead, he stood up without a sound, grabbed a jacket from his room, and left without another look back. He could faintly hear the sound of a smashing bottle as he walked down the stairs and out into the night.

Don't come back... well, he wasn't going to, no way. He would rather die than go back there; freeze to death on the street before going back to that house, with his father... or perhaps ex-father now being the more appropriate word, in his perpetually drunken state.

Won't even put up a fight against your old man... damn straight he wouldn't. Once, long ago, Joey had been going down that road; the road of violence and hate. Luckily, with the help of his friends, he had been able to see that the road was not worth taking, and he had refused to raise a hand in anger against anyone ever again. He would not turn out like his father. And now that he was gone, gone from the dreadful place that he had none-the-less called home for many years, the only emotion left for his father was pity. Pity, not anger, for a drunken old man who had only violence left in his being.

So despite the biting, numbing cold, despite the bruises and quite possibly broken ribs stinging almost unbearably on his body, despite the blood he knew was dripping down his paling form, Joey would not go back, and would never regret his decision to leave.

The only problem was... he had nowhere else to go.

Joey ran through a mental list of the people in his mind.

His sister, Serenity. Now in America as an exchange student. His mother. He knew that she would take him in if he asked, but they never did get along, and he just could not imagine ever living with her. Yugi. Away on holiday for a month with Yami and his grandfather in Egypt. Ryou. With Bakura also in Egypt. Tea. At a Dancing School in England. Tristan. Joey snorted at the thought of him also going to Amercia with Serenity... and then grinned at the thought of Duke packing his bags a mere three days after the pair had left, claiming that Tristan would likely get both himself and Serenity lost, and that he was duty-bound to go and look after both of them... but especially Serenity. Yeah, right.

So who did that leave? No-one. There was no-one, absolutely no-one, who could help him now. Joey's good mood abruptly vanished; the prospect of being on the streets in the winter with no money and nothing but the clothes he wore was not a good one. There was also the fact that he was getting very tired, very sore, and very, very hungry right about now.

And even more cold than any of these, if that was possible. The wind seemed to blow right through his jacket as though he wore none, and it made his injuries sting more... ouch, yes, they were really incredibly sore now...

Joey leaned against a post, breathing heavily – just walking seemed to drain his energy, but he couldn't stay here all night... so cold...

"Wheeler."

The single word bit threw the night with a tone colder than the wind, and Joey whipped around to see a tall figure leaning beside a dark car, arms crossed and all-too-familiar trenchcoat flapping behind him.

"Well hello to you too... Kaiba."