And like the previous time that Joey fought for Mai, here Pharaoh ends up taking up Mai’s battle for Joey after she falls. The image of the harpy feather on Hermos really kills me. ;___;
I wanted to write something, and for some reason my mind was on the complex and hardly touched on relationship between Mai and Joey. I didn’t know where this story was going and it turned out to be quite sad. Anyways, here’s a random chunk of a fanfiction~~~
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Christmas in New York City has always been Mai’s favorite setting, no matter how much she vocally detests the looping of Christmas music and the hoards of mindless consuming sheep; the fresh fallen snow and holly wrapped street lights always struck a nostalgic chord with her. Strolling through the wealthy streets, her footsteps perpendicular with luxury cars and three story stone homes; the atmosphere was a lot more serene than the neighborhood she originally grew up in. The windows glowed warm and gold and the Christmas tree lights winked at her as she walked past; the street was silent as snow flakes drifted lazily under the street lamps. The only sound that could be heard was the clicking of her tall high heeled boots and the sudden buzzing of her cell phone in her leather jacket pocket.
“Hey” was the single text that glowed at her, sent from a nameless number. She quickly stuffed it back into her pocket, ignoring the area code as she approached her home; absent of Christmas lights or warm glowing windows. The insides were dark and void of any pictures and any holiday decor. Even though the home was a warm welcome on her chilled skin, it was cold and empty.
Mai shut the door behind her and flipped on the lights, revealing her bare beige walls and carpet. The firplace was dark and the house was dead silent besides the hum of the heater. Her phone buzzed again as she began taking off her gloves and untying the laces of her boots. She sighed and dug it out again, hesitant to open the message.
“Please talk to me Mai”
No. She thought numbly, shrugging off her coat and hanging it on the old fashioned coat rack. The phone buzzed once more. NO. She yelled in her mind, throwing her cellphone onto the davenport couch, where it bounced off the velvet cushions and landed on the carpet. She quickly went into the kitchen, lighting it up to find a bottle of cold unopened moscato in the fridge. She didn’t bother with a glass and chugged it straight, feeling as empty as her house as she heard the distant buzzing from the living room.
“Please stop..” She whispered, walking sock footed back to her phone.
It buzzed again, and again. A call was coming through, lighting her screen a bright blue with a string of white numbers staring at her from the floor. Maybe it was the nostalgia from the holiday season making her miss a somewhat normal life, or the long cold aimless walk where she thought about nothing but her past, or the few bottles of white wine she had earlier in the afternoon in front of the unlit fireplace that made her feel vulnerable and alone; but she answered on the last ring.
She couldn’t bring herself to speak, immediately regretting her decisions to answer him.
“Mai?” He asked, the worry in his voice immediately caused her to break inside. She could see his big brown eyes looking at her and her eyes began to water.
“Mai are you there?”
There was a pause as she fought back the tears shes been holding in for so long.
“You don’t have to talk Mai, you don’t have to say anything.I can talk enough for the both of us, you know me. You know how I love to talk…” He began to ramble and she felt her heart swell with emotion. He was the only one who truly understood her, who didn’t try to force her to do anything.
“…I was just thinking about you and wanted to make sure you were okay, that’s all. You’re my friend and it being the holidays I wanted to make sure I wished you a Merry Christmas! It’s been awhile since we actually spoke, I know you’re going through a lot and have been going through a lot after..everything that happened…” He sensed himself getting into a topic he didn’t want to mention. The one way conversation became awkward and a little forced as he swiveled the conversation to himself.
“I’m just chilling here. Im at home. I’m looking at apartments right now, looking forward to moving out soon. Tristan and I want to be room mates. But his mom is freaking out over it, she doesn’t want her baby boy to move out. Especially, with someone she thought was bad news.” He let out a genuine laugh and continued, as she found a seat on the couch; wine bottle still in hand. “But Tristan is going to take over his father’s factory so he’s set for life, I’m just trying to figure out what I want to do. I’ve never been the school type, so I’m thinking of just really following my heart and pursuing Dual Monsters and…”
“Joey..” His name slipped out without her having anything to say. Her conversation well had dried a long time ago. Talking didn’t come natural to her anymore since she became a recluse.
He immediately stopped talking, desperately waiting for her to say anything to him at this point. She didn’t know what to say but she forced out the first thing that came to her mind.
“I..I’m fine. I’m still…” She didn’t know what to say after that. She was still what? Hurting? She has kept everything she ever felt packed tightly inside of her until it drove her mad, that mixed with her personal traumas; she hasn’t felt alright in a long time.
“I understand.” Joey said to fill in the seconds of silence. “You don’t have to talk about it.”
“I never talk about it.” Mai replied so harshly and quickly, she even surprised herself. Joey was caught off guard and became the silent one; and everything she was feeling began to fill up behind her lips the more the silence progressed.
“It’s..okay…”
“No. It’s not. You’re the one person I treated the worse and you’re the only person that ever gave a shit. ”
“Mai…”
“You scared me so I pushed you away, but I never wanted us to grow apart. I never wanted us to end…” Tears began to sneak their way into the corner of her eyes and her voice started to shake, but she couldn’t stop. It felt so good to let it out, to let it all out.
“I couldn’t process what had happened to me at Battle City…” She continued. “I still have nightmares, vivid..horrific…I still hear Malik laughing and I can feel him hovering over me as I sleep….” The tears made their way down her face, leaving her cheeks warm and sticky. Her breathing quickened as she tried to hold back sobs.
“I used you…you were so young and I took advantage of your kindness and your innocence. I dont deserve you and I never will.”
“I dont care Mai, it’s all in the past. I only care about us being friends again.”
“Just friends?” Her anxiety heightened, wishing she could take back what she just asked. “I’m sorry…” She quickly added, not sure of how to take back her words. Did she want to take them back? Did she really want to know if somehow Joey could still ever want to pursue her after how she treated him? Before she could process what she wanted, he let out a shaky breath.
“If thats what you want.” Joey cautiously replied, making sure to put emphasis on “you”. "I…“ She heard him lick his lips and sigh, obviously wrestling his feelings just like her.
"Just tell me what you’re feeling Joey…” She begged, clutching the neck of the wine bottle tighter. "I know you’re afraid to after…everything. I’m afraid too…“
Joey became the silent once now. He was just as cautious as she was, just as afraid, just as broken. Mai felt the heaviness of actually being alone. If she lost her one chance to be with Joey….if she couldnt make it right…if he didn’t love her anymore….
The realization that she loved Joey hit her hard, causing her to drop the bottle of wine in the midst of him struggling to find his words and explain himself. He fumbled over everything he said before she interrupted him.
"I remember when I kissed you for the first time…” She started; he lapsed back into silence. “I was just so proud of you I thought…he deserves this. I expected you to be the same dopey kid, that would blush and babble after. I didn’t expect you to kiss me back. That you would cup my face and put your fingers in my hair. To push me against the wall and leave me breathless. Thats when I realized that you weren’t some teenager with a crush, that I wasn’t doing you a favor. ”
Joey let out a breathy laugh, low and bass into Mai’s ear. It sent a line of shivers across her back. “I remember wanting to kiss you more. I never wanted to stop. And I’ll never want to stop.”
“Joey..” She whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut; allowing the tears to stream freely down her face.
“Mai..” He breathed, letting her cry.
ifoundkylo