Rock Bottom: Season One

Think

Joey drove them from the hospital to his house, letting Mokuba and Serenity loose on the backyard with a soccer ball while Seto tiredly dragged himself into the living room, trying not to look envious.

"How are you holding up?" Joey asked with a note of pity in his voice.

The car ride had taken more out of Seto than he wanted to admit.

"They said the anesthetics could still be in my system for another few hours, and that if I feel the effects, it might be best to sleep them off. I think I'd actually prefer to do that."

He sat on the couch which looked much cleaner than their own couch at home had even been in its entire existence.

"You don't have to sleep on the couch, you know. You could sleep in my room. It's actually clean right now."

Joey smirked playfully, and Seto hesitated only briefly before accepting the offer. He doubted Mokuba and Serenity would be quiet while they played. Seto took Seth's advice and napped, visiting him in their soul room to help him with his painting.

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Seto's eyes flew open as he was startled into wakefulness. What had woken him, though?

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

That was Joey's voice, and Seto sat up so that he could look at Joey over his shoulder. The blond was standing in the doorway. He'd come in just to see how Seto was doing with no intention of rousing him from the rest he needed.

"I forgot how light a sleeper you are."

"It's fine," the brunette assured, turning and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed.

"How's your head?"

"Fine. A lot better than it was last night."

Joey snorted.

"I should hope so. Otherwise, I'd have to take you back to the doctor." Joey's smile dimmed a little. "Will you need help with the hospital bills?"

"Probably." Seto couldn't resist the urge to press his fingers to the wound and feel how the scalp had been altered by the broken glass. He found the stitches and ran his fingertips over the surgical thread. "But if they let me pay them bit by bit over a few months, I should be alright."

"Oh, yeah, here's your wallet." Joey reached into his pocket and pulled it out, tossing it to Seto. "It was on the floor when I got there."

"Thanks." Seto opened it and scowled. "He didn't leave so much as a penny in here, did he?"

There was only one "he" that he could be referring to, and Joey knew that.

"Nope." Joey leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms. "But he left behind your fake ID."

The brunette narrowed his eyes at his friend. "It's not what you think."

"It's none of my business."

Seto hesitated, then looked back down at the falsified card. "I don't want you to have the wrong idea. I couldn't get a bank account that was solely mine unless I was at least 18, and I've been running out of places to hide my savings because he keeps finding them." He looked back up at Joey. "He's robbed me of thousands of dollars, Joe. If he weren't wasting my money on beer, cigarettes, and lottery tickets, Mokuba and I could have moved out long ago."

"Like I said, it's none of my business," Joey repeated, approaching his bed and sitting on the edge beside Seto. "And if anyone asks, I don't know anything about it."