Out of the dark.

Germany.

Joey POV

I woke up alone, not a surprise. There was a note from Seto.

Joseph,

Ill call you later. 💙

Seto.

"Well that's nice, Fuzz, Daddy left me a note." I stretched and got out of bed. I went to the bathroom to pee and noticed a bruise. "Hmm, where did that come from?" I poked the purple spot on my torso. Shrugging it off, I got dressed.

I started my day with a cup of coffee and kept replaying last night. I kept replaying our conversation mostly. I needed to stop drinking. I didn't like who I was turning into. Looking at my counter I saw my liquor bottles. I grimaced. "Fuck." I grabbed two and poured them into my sink. The smell was nauseating but I knew I had to do this.

After I cleaned up, I took Fuzz for a little walk, I decided to go to the game shop. Grandpa greeted me warmly.

"Joey! How are you? Who is this adorable little pup?"

"Exhausted. Ha. Might fall asleep on your couch. This is Fuzz. And he sure ain't little ha. Is Yugi around?"

"He's upstairs, go on ahead. Remind him it's almost his turn to watch the shop." Grandpa bent down and rubbed Fuzz's ears.

"Sure thing Gramps," I smiled and ran up the stairs. "Yugi, Yami, ya in here?" I almost ran into Yami at the top of the stairs.

"Hello Joey. How are you?"

"Tired. How are my favorite crazy haired friends?"

"I'm fine. Yugi is making some ramen before we go down to watch the store, want some?"

"Sure man, you mind if I hang out here for a few hours? Gotta get outta my own head."

"That's fine. Yugi?" Yami called.

"Yeah?" I heard my friend call.

"Joeys here, and Fuzz! Make extra ramen!"

"Okay!" Came his reply.

"So, how are you two doing?" Yami asked me.

"Better." I smiled. "A lot better."

"What does that mean?" Yami smirked.

"Well," I blushed then smirked, "he spent the night with me."

"Wow." Yugi teased me as he walked into the rom upstairs. "A married couple? Spending the night together? Gasp."

"Shut up Yug'! Don't make me throw your puzzle out the window."

"Go ahead and try!" Yugi played back. "Yami will Stop you."

"Nope. Not getting involved with this mess," Yami waved his hands and walked a few feet away.

Yugi scoffed. "So much for my boyfriend sticking up for me! Here's your ramen, Joey."

"Oh, Gramps says it's almost your turn to watch the store." I said in between bites. Yugi nodded and we headed down to the store.

My phone started ringing, Seto. "I gotta answer this." I walked a couple feet from where we were. "Hellooo?"

"Where are you?"

"Uh, I'm at the game shop. Why?" I scrunched my eyebrows.

"I have to take a short notice meeting."

"Oh.. okay?" This was upsetting but I'd get over it.

"It's only two nights but you can come if you'd like."

"Wait. Ya gotta leave, like leave leave? I dunno about travelin with Fuzz. I don't want him havin to be drugged or whatever they do to pets."

"We would be flying private, remember."

"I'll think about it, I don't really wanna go through jet lag again."

"I understand. If you change your mind, be at KaibaCorp by 6:30." Seto paused, "if you want to see me, you can come hang out."

"Where ya gotta go?" I turned around as looked at Yugi who gave me a sympathetic smile.

"Germany."

"Germany?! Uhg. Why?"

"Business partners who refuse to fly," I could hear the eye roll in Setos voice.

"Well, let me get things sorted and I'll see."

"Okay, I'll talk to you later."

Ending the call. I groaned. "Looks like I'm takin a flight to Germany." I slipped my phone back into my pocket.

"We wouldn't mind watching Fuzz for you." Yami offered.

"Really guys? Oh that'd be great! If ya don't mind, I'm gonna run home and pack. Want me to drop him off or ya wanna pick him up? Or, stay at my place for the time? I got that extra bedroom."

"We can figure it out later, Joey. Why don't you get packed and call one of us later?" Yugi offered.

"Yeah, that sounds like the best thing to do. Oh here," I handed Yugi one of my extra key cards. "New codes and stuff even though it didn't really stop bein my place." I hung out for about a half hour helping at the Game shop before heading out. Once home, I stared at my closet.

"Do I really wanna go to Germany?" I rubbed my eyes. I texted Seto.

Joey: but whyyyyy? Germany? Come on.

Seto: I know. I'm sure it'll be boring for you. I'd love it if you came though.

Joey: I did that last night ;)

Seto: You're a nasty pervert.

I laughed. "Fuzzy? Do ya wanna see Yami and Yugi again?"

Fuzz just made a groan noise in response. "Ha. I never knew these dogs could be so lethargic."

I paced around my penthouse for god knows how long before I gave in. It was only 3pm. I walked into my kitchen and looked at the shadow box from Mai. I sighed, looking at the deck she got me, I couldn't take it. I grabbed my phone and hovered my thumb over her icon. Taking a deep breath I hit FaceTime. I dropped my phone and scrambled to hang up. Luckily she didn't answer and probably thought it was an accident. "God damn it. Why am I like this?" I groaned. "Fuck!" My phone was ringing. Mai. I shouldn't ignore it but I did. I sat with Fuzz on the couch and pet his head. Looking around I realized it was kind of messy. Beer cans, some of my clothes, dog toys and so much dog hair.

I grabbed my broom from my kitchen closet and turned on my little cleaning robot. Laughing, I thought back to the memory about it. Serenity kept telling me that I needed to get one. The sticky note from my sister was still taped to the top of it.

'Make sure you clean the dirt tray.'

I smiled and texted Serenity.

Joey: Hey so I'm gonna go with Seto on a really quick business trip.

Joey: I was cleaning the apartment and found your note on the Roomba.

Serenity: Clean the dirt tray.

Joey: cLeAn ThE dIrT tRaY. Duh.

Serenity: wow.

Joey: I might need to hire a maid. There is SO MUCH DOG HAIR. SOOO MUCH.

Serenity: More like a fleet of Roombas.

I set my phone on the charger in the kitchen and tapped the on button with my foot. Looking at the shadow box from Mai, I sat down at my counter. Taking an hour, I organized my deck in the shadow box. Next, I looked around for a place to hang it. Undecided, I left a note for Yugi telling him they could decide where to hang it.

Petting Fuzz goodbye, I grabbed my backpack and called for a ride to KC.