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Joey knew something was wrong as soon as he opened the door.
Now, that wasn't quite true; he knew something was wrong before that. He knew something was wrong with Ryou ever since the duel against Diva that saw the return of the Pharaoh.
He didn't say anything, though. His experience with Diva's dimensional trap gave him a good idea of what Ryou probably went through.
Joey was still shaken up by it, even if he wouldn't admit it to anyone. Ryou probably felt the same way.
If Ryou wanted to share something with someone, then it would be with Yuugi, who was his closest friend. And even that was doubtful. Ryou had always been a private person, sometimes to a fault. And despite Joey's steady progress in getting closer to him in the past years, he didn't believe they were intimate enough yet for Ryou to share such a thing with him.
Hell, Ryou hadn’t even told him what he wanted to do now that they were done with high school. Sharing their mental torture experiences wasn't going to happen anytime soon.
But Joey had never been one to resign himself to the way things were. He had in fact planned to use one of their last game nights before Tea’s departure, on the following evening—which he was sure Ryou would attend—to ask him about it. And maybe talk some more, just the two of them. Joey had huge hopes for the evening.
And now, Ryou was standing in front of his door, a weak smile on his face, his fingers playing nervously with the handle of his school bag.
...Why did Ryou still carry that bag around? Their graduation ceremony was a week ago.
Joey let him in, grateful that his father wasn't home for the weekend.
"Ryou! Nice to see you. How are you doing? What brings you here?" he asked.
He turned to the kitchen as soon as Ryou was in in order to prepare some tea, knowing Ryou wouldn't answer immediately. He was there for a reason, but Joey expected to have to fight to know what it was.
He rummaged through the cupboards, looking for Ryou's favorite sweet tea, while trying to guess what he might want out of him. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear Ryou following him until he heard his soft voice say, "I'll just take coffee, please. No sugar."
"Huh?"
Ryou didn't say anything, just smiled, and Joey gave up on asking questions on that particular topic and made two hot cups of coffee. Out of the corner of his eye, he studied Ryou's face and noticed the shadows under his eyes.
Ryou wasn't getting enough rest. And yet, here he was, asking for coffee at eight in the evening. Without sugar.
Something was seriously wrong.
He handed Ryou a cup and sat down on the couch, smiling to himself when he saw Ryou doing the same, just inches away from him. Ryou had become more and more comfortable around him. Progress!
He decided to come straight to the point and save them both the trouble of pussyfooting around the issue. "So, what's the matter?"
Ryou's hands tightened on the cup, then he sighed and put it back on the coffee table. Without a word, he opened his bag, keeping it open with two fingers to show Joey what was inside.
Joey's blood ran cold at the sight. Ryou was carrying the Millenium Ring.
"I thought… I thought it was gone…"
"I thought so, too. When Diva was defeated, when we were all unconscious, it came back. I was holding it when I woke up," Ryou said and closed the bag again. He stared at his hands, crossing and uncrossing his fingers. "I can't feel the Spirit in it. But I—I have to put it back in the tomb. It can't be destroyed, but it has to be put away. Again."
Joey found himself nodding, his throat dry. He hated the resigned pain in Ryou's voice, but there was nothing he could do about it—
"And I'd like you to come with me."
Joey nearly dropped his cup. "You’d like me to do what?"
"To come with me. To Egypt."
He knew, as soon as Ryou's expectant gaze found his, that he had lost—that he'd agree to whatever Ryou asked.
Still, he tried to argue. "I—look, I want to help you, but I can't exactly pay for the trip—"
"I already got the tickets."
Joey paused. "...You got the tickets."
"Yes."
"Without knowing if I'd go."
Ryou's cheeks colored a bit, and he looked away for a second. "I thought you'd agree."
Damn. Did that mean he owed him money now? He hated the idea. He loathed owing money to anyone, but even more to Ryou, who would probably consider it of no concern, even though he wasn't doing much better financially than Joey was.
But more importantly, it meant that Ryou had guessed correctly that Joey would be willing to go with him. That he was confident enough to buy the tickets. To buy plane tickets to Egypt. Just how much of his behavior could Ryou anticipate? Did he know…
He had remained silent, trying to calm down and stop his thoughts from spiraling.
Seeing no answer coming, though, Ryou deflated, heavy white hair falling into his eyes as he looked down. "Sorry. I shouldn't have assumed," he said and stood up.
Joey's heart lurched and he grabbed Ryou's arm to stop him, startling him. "Wait, wait. I'm just trying to understand what's going on here."
Ryou nodded. He didn't try to move away, but didn’t look at him either.
"Why me?" Joey asked; not quite the question he wanted to ask, but it had been on his mind too, and with Ryou so close he couldn't help but ask. To his surprise, he felt Ryou's muscles tense up under his hand, just a second before Ryou snatched his arm back and brought it protectively to his chest.
Wow. Way to go, Joey, he thought bitterly. He had managed to bring Ryou back to a time when they barely knew each other and Ryou would get defensive when someone approached him. Real good going there.
At this point, Joey fully expected Ryou to leave. Instead, he saw him sit down on the other end of the couch, or more accurately, curl up.
Thanking his lucky stars for the unexpected second chance, Joey tried another approach. "Why not Yuugi instead?"
"He has enough to deal with already. With Kaiba."
Fair enough. Mokuba had called Yuugi earlier this week and told him something was wrong with his brother, and then he had taken Yuugi on a cross-Pacific flight to another one of Kaiba's super secret project islands. His phone messages were apparently monitored, because he didn't tell them what was going on, beyond the fact that he was fine and that he'd be back for the game night. And if he was free from Kaiba's grip then, Yuugi would still be preoccupied with Tea leaving.
It made sense that Ryou didn't want to wait. Even inactive, the presence of the Ring in the room was enough to make the hairs on Joey's arms stand up. For Ryou, who had gone through so much because of it, it was probably unbearable.
Ryou's next words were so quiet, Joey almost missed them. "And I wanted it to be you."
Joey was once again at a loss for words, but this time Ryou didn't stop. "I haven't bought the tickets. Two days after the tournament, they turned up in my mailbox. I don't know who sent them, but they gave them two tickets, not just one." He paused for a second, glancing at Joey before continuing. "You were understanding when I was dealing with the Ring, years ago. You didn't treat me any differently. You accepted me as a friend. Since then, I've grown to appreciate you. And I—", Ryou took a breath before he continued, "I heard you calling me when I was trapped. It helped."
Oh.
He had called out for Ryou, just like… Just like he had heard someone—Yuugi? The Pharaoh? call his name when he was about to be swallowed by Diva's trap. Someone who had saved him just in time.
He had called out for Ryou, but he hadn't saved Ryou.
That was the worst—the whole time Joey had been trapped, Ryou had been left at Diva's mercy, because he hadn't been able to protect him. And when Joey was finally able to return to reality, Ryou was gone. Out of reach, lost again in a place where Joey couldn't do anything for him.
But Ryou had heard him…
"It helped? You were in the empty city too?"
Ryou's eyes widened, then he shook his head. "No. I was in the desert. I was in the sands… again."
He didn't really need to elaborate on what he meant by that. He had shared little of what happened when the Spirit took over, but Joey knew what he meant by the sands.
Ryou, lost in the endless desert of the Ring's world, had heard him. Ryou, who didn't explain what he meant by “it helped”, but did he need to?
Ryou, huddled on Joey's couch, who wanted him to help put the Ring to rest once and for all.
"Okay," Joey heard himself say.
"Okay?" Ryou's eyes were on him again. Such honest, hopeful eyes.
"Okay, I'll go with you." As he said the words, he knew he didn't just mean to Egypt—wherever Ryou went, he would follow. He hoped Ryou would read through the lines.
He didn't need to worry. Ryou's answering smile could have lit up the whole city.