Angel: *headdesk* I'm not even gonna bother with an excuse this time x.x But as promised, here's an extra long chapter! This is dedicated to my Onee-Chan! Who I think gave up on me ever updating again…..DX! *headdesk times 2000* ¬¬ Fucking took me long enough! DAMN ME HAVING A LIFE!

Disclaimer: I don't own GX! But Johan owns Judai. *nods*

Chapter 4: Mending Wounds

Judai had no idea where he was running to, all he really cared about was getting away from Johan. He held his eyes closed as tightly as he could get them, but the tears still seemed to leak out of those brown eyes of his. Trees and bushes kept popping up, scratching his bare skin, and tearing at his clothes. None of this seemed to matter to the heart broken teen.

Not only had he seen Johan on top of Jim, he had cried in front of the bluenette and also made it very clear that he loved him. Of all the people to follow after him, why did it have to be Johan? He had at least expected Sho or Kenzan to follow him, maybe even Jim. But Johan? That didn't make any sense to the Hane Kuriboh user at all. Spending all this time having avoided him, only to follow him when he ran off to be alone? That left more questions then answers for Judai. But he doubted he would ever get those answers to these new found questions, at the very least not easily. The only questions that he wanted answered right away were mainly the ones that revolved around Johan and his relationship.

Would they still be able to be friends after this? Even if Johan was with Jim instead of him? Would Judai ever be able to get over his love for Johan? Would Jim get mad at Judai for loving his Johan?

That last question caused a quiet sob to escape from Judai's lips, joining in the tears that were already streaming down his face. His heart throbbed with a quick shot of pain as the thought lingered in his mind. Johan… he belonged to Jim now, and would never be his. That one thought alone nearly destroyed his already crushed heart. That there was no room for him in Johan's heart, if he would still make room for the brunette. Judai was sure that Johan truly hated him now for what he had said to him.

I mean… who wouldn't?

The thought of someone loving you, when you didn't even want anything to do with them anymore, still wanting to be your friend? That just sounded ridiculous, even to one such as Judai. He had absolutely no idea what he would say about it to Johan the next time he saw him, however. But, he wasn't thinking of such a thing just yet. He couldn't think of things right at the moment. All he wanted to think about right now was getting some alone time, and crying his little heart and sorrows out. The brunette just needed some place where no one would be able to find him, even if they went looking all over the place for him.

As if his luck was finally turning in his favor, in some twisted and messed up way, Judai's foot caught on a tree root, causing him to trip and fall into a nearby hole. Judai let out a yelp of surprise as he stumbled downward into the hole, his previous thoughts now forgotten. Once he finally reached the bottom, he let out a slight "Oof!" as he landed on his back. He let out a groan as he slowly sat up, rubbing his lower back and butt. Judai let out a sigh. Least he found his place to cry, that was a plus. The Osiris student began to stand up, only to let out a cry of pain and fall back on his butt.

"Kuri?" Kuriboh asked as he appeared next to his partner. Judai let out a wince as he turned and smiled weakly at the little fuzz ball.

"Don't worry, Aibou." He said in a tired and half-cracking voice. "Its just a sprain. Nothing to bad. I'll be fine." He gently rubbed his ankle, wincing again at the contact. Another high pitched noise flew into Judai's ears and he sighed. "I said I would be fine, no need to scold me."

"Kuri?" Kuriboh tilted his whole body to the side in confusion. Judai blinked at his partner.

"You mean that wasn't you talking Aibou?" Judai asked. Kuirboh shook himself from side to side in a "no" fashion. "Then who said that…?" Judai blinked again and looked around his surrounds. He narrowed his eyes in concentration as something caught his eyes. Kuriboh flew over to said object and bent down to get a better look. As soon as Kuriboh was over the item, a loud bark was heard and a light brown dogs head appeared out of nowhere. "Huh?" Judai tilted his head to the side. "Whats a dog doing here?" The dog let out a bark and ran over to the fallen Judai. Upon closer inspection, the brunette noticed that the dog was transparent. After a moment, it hit him. "Oh! You're a duel monster, aren't you? Um…Outstanding Dog Marron, right?" The dog nodded, letting out another happy bark as it wagged its tail.

"Kuri." Kuriboh smiled as he flew around the dog, another bark escaping the duel sprits mouth as he ran around Judai. After running around Judai a few more times, the duel spirit stopped in front of him, frowning as it sat back down, nuzzling his fuzzy head on Judai's knee.

"Something wrong, buddy?" Judai asked, tilting his head to the side. A whine was the only sound the dog made as it moved its head towards Judai's hurt ankle, sniffing at it a little before lying down with its head right above it, licking at the sprain with a transparent tongue. This causes a sad smile to appear on Judai's lips, remembering his sadness that he momentarily forgot. "…Oh…That…" he shook his head, that sad smile turning sadder. "Its nothing…" Judai looked down at the ground, his bangs covering his tear stained face once more. His shoulders slumped as he leaned against the stone wall, ignoring the dog for the moment. "…It doesn't matter anymore…" this time his statement was just above a whisper, Dog Marron having to use his dog hearing to fully understand.

"Kuri…Kuri?" Kuriboh asked, frowning alone with the spirit dog. Judai just shook his head, not daring use his voice as more tears fell down his cheeks. His red clad shoulders began to shake with sobs as he brought his hands up to his eyes, going back to just trying to ignore the world while he cried out his sorrows.

Despite his attempts at not speaking, a few words make their way out of the Orisis students lips. "Whats wrong with me…? I go to find a quiet place to just cry… and I find myself in the Well of Forgotten Cards (1)" Judai said through a sob, continuing to ignore the worried glances of the dog and his abiou. "…Oh well… At least Johan's not here to see me like this…" However, as they say, Speak of the Devil, and so shall he appear.

"Judai! Where are you bud?!" Johan's voice rang out all through the well, as well as the near by forest. Judai's head shot up, fear and pain written all over his tear covered face.

'…No! H-he… Can't find me…! Not yet! …Not like this…' Judai thought, keeping his sobs as quiet as he could, not wanting to be found by the object of his affections.

"Come on Judai! I just wanna talk! You got the wrong idea, bud!" Johan's voice echoed once more. Why was he even hear? Wasn't he supposed to be with Jim right about now?

Judai bit his lip, hard, as he had the sudden urge to call out to Johan, to let the other comfort him, hold him in his arms and tell him that everything was okay. But Judai doubted that would happen. He wanted to just talk about useless things, he guessed, and then have nothing to do with Judai. This thought caused more tears to run down Judai's face, as his hands came up and covered his vision once more as the tears kept spilling out.

While Judai continued to cry, a card near by glowed, another spirit leaving the safety of its card to see what all the noise was about. The spirit looked like a phoenix, a green helmet with a feather on top on its head, silver and orange armor covering both of its wings. The phoenix let out a quiet caw as it looked upon Judai with sadness in its eyes.

"Judai!" Johan called out once more, growing fainter as he moved farther and farther away from where Judai was. The phoenix looked up, a sudden flash of determination in its blue eyes. The spirit spread its wings as it began to fly into the air, all of this being missed by the depressed teen.

The phoenix reached the top of the hole in a matter of seconds, looking around for Johan. Seeing him farther off then the spirit would have liked, it began to fly at high speeds, trying to reach Johan as fast as it could.

No one that was able to see spirits, deserved to cry such tears, the phoenix deduced.

--

"Judai!" Johan called out again, starting to become exhausted from running around after Judai. So far, he had no luck in finding the red clad boy. How was he able to get so far, so fast? Johan was baffled as he stopped for a moment to run a hand through his blue hair, feeling just flat out horrible about this whole situation.

The Gem Beast wielder had just unknowingly passed the Well of Forgotten Cards a few minutes ago, missing where the brunette had fallen. If Johan had thought of it, he would have gone straight to the well, figuring Judai would have gone there for comfort from the many spirits down there. But of course, Johan thought Judai would be somewhere else, the thought not even crossing his mind.

Luckily for him, he hadn't needed think of it. Just moments before he was about to call out for Judai once more, he heard a loud caw coming from the way he had just come. Turing around on his heel, Johan was met with the sight of a duel spirit, and a phoenix one at that.

"Oh! A spirit!" Johan said to himself. Once the spirit got closer to him, the Gem Beast holder was able to tell what kind of monster this spirit was. "You're Rallis the Star Bird, aren't you?" He asked the spirit. The phoenix gave a light nod as it flapped its wings to keep itself in the air. "Do you need something? Or are you looking for someone, like me?" Johan said, turning his head to the side. Rallis turned around and began to fly back towards the well, motioning with its head for Johan to follow. Figuring it was something important, Johan began to follow the spirit, albeit a bit reluctantly.

After a few minutes of walking they reached the well. Rallis landed on the ground, looking straight into the well before looking back up a Johan, who was now kneeling by the edge of the hole.

"What are you trying to show me, Rallis?" Johan asked quietly. The duel spirit just nodded its head towards the hole, not offering anymore information. Johan was about to question the duel spirit once more, when he heard a faint sob from the bottom of the Well. Blue eyes widened as he leaned down more to see if he was only hearing things. He wasn't. Another sob echoed throughout the hole.

'Judai!' Johan instantly thought. The Gem Beast wielder was about to jump in, when the phoenix held up a wing. Johan was about to yell at the spirit, when the duel monster once again nodded its head in a certain direction. Johan's eyes followed where the spirit nodded, and his blue orbs quickly fell onto a nearby rope later, probably used by Manjoume when he first got the Ojama brothers. Johan quickly stood up and went straight for the ladder. 'Perfect!' The Obelisk student turned back to the well, about to thank the duel spirit, only to find the phoenix gone. 'Where did she go?' He asked himself, tilting his head to the side. He quickly shook his blue covered head as he made his way back to the well. 'I can worry about that later! First, Judai!' and with that thought, Johan made sure to secure the later to something before he through the rest of it down the well.

"Now or never…" Johan mumbled to himself as he began to make his way down the well. He just hopped he could fix things before this situation got any worse.

--

Back down at the bottom of the well, Judai was still leaning up against the stone wall, his hands still at his face. Hane Kuriboh was perched on his shoulder, while the dog duel spirit was still by his ankle, trying to think of any way to help. Soon, however, when a rope ladder fell from the top of the well, the duel spirits attention went straight to it, wondering where it had come from.

Not even a minute after the ladder was thrown down, Johan came climbing down, looking a little out of breath. Kuriboh let out a rather loud Kuri, which finally got Judai's attention. The heartbroken boy looked at his partner in confusion, before following his gaze, his brown eyes finally reached relief filled blue ones. All the color from Judai's face drained all the way to the floor as he curled into himself, trying to look as small as possible.

'Please let me be seeing things! Please!' he thought as he pushed himself even further into the stone wall.

A frown made its way onto Johan's lips as he quietly and quickly strode over to Judai. Out of the corner of his eyes, Johan saw another duel spirit, this time it was a dog instead of a phoenix. His frown seemed to deepen as he noticed how swollen the others ankle was compared to the other one. Once he reached Judai, Johan kneeled down in front of the ankle and ever so gently pulled it out from under the Orisis student.

A gasp escaped Judai as a sudden burning pain flared up from his ankle. He whimpered as he felt strong but gentle hands caressing his ankle, closing his eyes tightly in pain. "...J-Johan…! S-stop…!" he whimpered out, not daring pull his ankle back in fear that it would hurt more if he did. "…It hurts…!" At hearing this, the already gentle touch seemed to get even gentler, the owner of the hands not wanting to hurt Judai even further. Naturally, however, Johan was to stubborn to let go of Judai's ankle.

"Not a chance, Ju-Chan." Johan started to say, not noticing what he called Judai. "Your ankle looks pretty bad. And I doubt you can climb out of here all by yourself. So lets get out-"

"I don't want to leave!" Judai called out, balling his hands up into fists. Johan instantly stopped talking as he looked at Judai in pure confusion. "I…I can down here for a reason…! And I'll leave when I'm good and ready…!" He looked away from Johan, already able to feel hot fresh tears wanting to fall out of his eyes. The bluenette stared at Judai a few more moments before huffing and fully sitting on the ground in front of Judai, being careful to not drop the others hurt ankle. Judai quickly cast a glance at Johan, wondering what he was doing.

"Well until you're ready to go, I'm not leaving!" Johan said, a slight grin coming onto his lips. "You're gonna need help outta here, and I'm not making that trip twice. So I'm staying until you're satisfied." Judai's gaze quickly went back to Johan's face, his own laced with disbelief. If Johan was here, that defeated the whole purpose of coming down here, well more like trying to run away, since falling in the well was an accident, to cry alone. Judai wanted to yell at Johan. Tell him to leave him alone and get out of his life. But, Judai being Judai, none of those words even made it to his throat, let alone out of his mouth. He didn't want to yell at Johan, not when he was just trying to help. And he was right… Judai would need help getting out of the well. So after a few moments, a sigh escaped Judai's lips as he looked down at the ground, not wanting Johan to see his eyes.

"…I'm ready…Lets just go…" Judai said just above a whisper. Johan let out a sigh of his own as a weak smile came onto his lips. He got up from his sitting position and kneeled in front of Judai, his back to the other. "…What are you doing…?" he asked slowly as he looked at the other.

"Waiting for you to get on my back, duh." Johan said like it was the clearest thing in the world. "You climbing out yourself would defeat the purpose of me coming down here, and I can't carry you bridal style and climb out myself." The second part caused a slight pink tint to come onto Judai's cheeks at the mere thought of being carried like that by Johan. "So, I'm giving you a piggy back! So hop on!" the Gem Beast wielder grinned slightly, enjoying this a little more then he should. After a few more moments of hesitation, Judai nodded to himself and, using the wall for support, slowly stood up enough to get onto Johan's back. As soon as Judai was on the others back, Johan wrapped his arms around his waist and grabbed Judai's near end, causing Judai to blush once more. Johan was basically groping him! Judai buried his face in the others back, trying to hide his bright red face.

This action caused Johan to blink and look over his shoulder at Judai, confusion clear on his face. "You alright Judai? I didn't hurt you, did I?" he asked. Judai shook his head back and forth, his face still jammed in the others back. The bluenette just chuckled and shook his head back and forth, beginning to make his way towards the ladder. Once he reached it, he stopped and once again turned as best he could to talk to Judai. "Alright, Ju-Chan. I'm going to need both hands to get out, so you gotta hold on tight, okay?" The only answer that the Gem Beast wielder got was for the others legs to tighten around his waist, and for his arms that were around Johan's neck to tighten slightly. A small smile made its way onto Johan's lips as he started to climb. "Tell me if you feel yourself letting go, or if I'm going to fast, alright?" once again, the only answer Johan got was for Judai to nod against his back.

Slowly but steady, Johan made his way up the ladder, going at a pace that wasn't rushing them, but wasn't taking them at a snails pace either. Johan would constantly be telling Judai that they were "almost there…" or asking "You doing alright?". Luckily, there were able to make it out of the well in one piece. As soon as they reached the top, Johan kneeled on the ground for a few moments, before standing up straight and began walking back towards the school, Judai still on his back.

After walking out in the clear afternoon air for a few minutes, Johan heard a faint noise come from Judai. "Hm?" He asked, turning his head slightly, not falling out of step while he continued to walk.

"…I said… Why…?" Judai asked, rather timidly, his face still buried in Johan's back.

"Why…what, Judai?" Johan asked.

"…Why did you follow me…? Why did you…help me…?" the brunette questioned, sounding like he was on the verge of crying again. The questions caused Johan's eyebrows to furrow as he slowed down slightly, concentrating more on talking to Judai then walking by this point.

"What do you mean 'why' Judai? Why wouldn't I come out and help my best friend?"

"…I thought you would…You know… Be off with Jim right now…" Judai said so quietly that Johan had to strain to hear it. But once he was sure of what Judai said, Johan said as he looked up at the trees, trying to see the afternoon sky as he walked.

"You see? This is why I tried to talk to you earlier, but you ran off before I could tell you." Johan said in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Tell me…What…?" Judai asked, his head finally rising off of the others back and onto Johan's shoulder, making it easier for them to talk. Much to Judai's surprise, Johan smiled a wide smile.

"What you saw was me making an ass out of myself. I fell on top of Jim. The stupid idiot said something that embarrassed me, so I took a step the wrong way, lost my balance and ended up falling on top of him." As he continued speaking, Johan's smile turned into a nervous toothy grin. "So there's nothing going on between me and Jim outside of friendship! You totally misunderstood!"

"So…Wait…" Judai said, blinking his big brown eyes as he looked at the side of Johan's face, realization slowly hitting him. "…So if you don't love Jim… I said those things for nothing…And totally made a fool of myself for no reason…? Great!" Judai said, half headbutting Johan's back, all thoughts of depression now gone. "I'm the biggest idiot ever!" at that comment, Johan couldn't let out a hearty laugh. "Wait…" Judai said just above a whisper, more to himself than to Johan. "If you don't love Jim…then…" Judai's eyes once again widened as a thought occurred to him. If Johan didn't love Jim, then Judai still had a chance? Judai was so happy he could have jumped up and down.

"Wait what, Ju-Chan?" Johan asked, the nickname still going unnoticed by both teens. Well at least for now, anyways. Judai flushed, not realizing he had said that part out loud. He quickly scrambled his brain for a reply to that, not wanting to admit to what he had just discovered.

"…Um…Er… Wait! You said that Jim said something that embarrassed you earlier! What was it?" Judai said rather loudly, huffing slightly at the thought of Jim being mean to his Johan. This time, it was Johan's turn to blush. But despite the redness, Johan smiled a warm and kind smile.

"He said… That from where he was standing…It was kind of obvious…" Johan said fondly, that smile staying on his lips. Judai's head tilted to the side as he looked at Johan in confusion.

"How…What was obvious, Johan…?" Judai asked slowly.

"How obvious it was how I felt about you, Judai." Johan said, not hesitating in the slightest. Judai blushed once more as he stared at Johan in disbelief, hope filling his expression.

Before he could question the bluenette anymore, however, cries were heard as Judai finally noticed that him and Johan were fully out of the forest.

"ANIKI!!" Sho cried as he raced over to the two duelists. "We were so worried! Are you okay?! Are you hurt anywhere?!" Sho asked, getting a little frantic.

"He's alright, Sho." Johan said with a chuckle as he continued walking toward the main building, the others slowly coming into sight as he did. "I found him before anything really bad could happen. He just hurt his ankle, is all. Nothing Ayukawa-Sensai can't fix with some pain killers and some wrapping!" he said, giving the other an assuring smile. The smile and words seemed to work as all of the panic in Sho drained right out of him.

"Well that's good!" Sho said, looking back from Johan to Judai, who still looked a little dumfounded from what Johan had said. "You were both gone so long we were getting worried!" Judai shook his head from side to side, giving Sho a wide smile himself.

"No worries, Sho! I'm totally fine! I'll be better once I get some painkillers in me!" Judai side, giving the other a thumbs up.

"Oh no you don't, Judai!" Johan said with a huff. "You're staying in bed for at least a day! You're not walking at all!"

"Johan!" Judai said, half whining as he poked at Johan's head. "I hate lying in bed all day!"

"Well then you shouldn't have fallen down a hole! If you had just listened to me, none of this would have happened!"

"Ya well… I got nothing." Judai physically deflated as they reached the rest of the GX group, a pout forming on his lips as he crossed his arms over his chest. Johan and the others laughed rang out as they made their way to the infirmary, Judai still pouting all they way.

--

By the time lunch time came around the next day, Judai was still in the infirmary, having been instructed by Ayukawa as well as all of his friends that he was to stay in there for a little while longer, just until the swelling in his ankle went down. To Judai's dismay, that meant that he couldn't even walk around to use the bathroom on his own, let alone go to classes or duel. Judai hated sitting still.

So as a result for having to stay in the nurses office all day, Judai let out what was probably his millionth sigh that day. He was just so BORED. He would rather have been in Chrono's class then be in this white room.

"Why me!" Judai whined to the air. "I get why I have to be stuck in this stupid bed all day… but to be stuck in it and be alone? Why!"

"Because everyone else has class, silly!" came the musical voice of Johan from the door. Judai quickly pouted as he looked away from his best friend, not wanting to admit that he was right.

"Well at least one of you could have skipped some class to keep me company!" Judai said with a huff. Johan laughed as he made his way over to Judai's bedside, sitting down carefully near the others injured ankle.

"That's what I'm doing now, Judai." Johan smiled as he gently took the others foot, lightly rubbing the swollen area.

"Ya well—Wait… What?" Judai asked, tilting his head to the side as he blinked his bright brown eyes. "You're skipping something now?"

"Well… Technically I have lunch right now. But I only have two classes after that, and I'd rather be here with you then go there. So that's exactly what I'm doing." The bluenette smiled one of his brightest and widest smiles at Judai, causing the others heart to flutter and Judai's stomach to do back flips. Judai couldn't help but return that same dazzling smile, his own having less shine then Johan's, in his opinion.

"My hero." Judai said through a laugh. Judai then shifted slightly closer to the wall, patting the spot on the bed next to him, signaling for Johan to come up and sit with him. Johan complied and set the others foot down gently, sitting down next to Judai. The funny and good natured air that had been around the pair moments before was slowly covered by a tense air, neither boy looking at the other for those few moments. Judai bit his lip and took a deep breath, deciding he might as well ask. "…So… About what you were saying before Sho showed up yesterday…" Judai said much quieter then he would have liked.

Johan blinked a few times as the words processed in his mind. As soon as the scene replied in his mind and he remembered what was said, a low and warm chuckle arose from his chest as one of his arms wrapped around Judai's shoulders in a comforting and warm embrace. After only a moments hesitation, Judai relaxed into said embrace, a sigh of content leaving his lips. "I stand by what I said. I'm not taking anything back, no matter what you said, Ju-Chan." Another blush made its way onto Judai's lips as he snuggles further into Johan, his arms making their way around the others waist.

"…Well… How do you feel… exactly…?" the Kuriboh user asked, just wanting to hear the words leave Johan's mouth before he came to any true conclusions, despite the fact that is was clearly obvious, even to Judai, by this point. Johan did nothing but chuckle at the question before he pecked the top of Judai's, resting his blue head on top of Judai's just after the light kiss.

"I love you, Judai. I thought that you would have realized this by now." He said through another chuckle. Judai pouted as he lightly whacked Johan's leg.

"I just wanted to hear you say it!" Judai said, completely flustered. Judai looked up as best he could, trying to get a better view of Johan. "…I'm sorry for the way I acted yesterday…Forgive me?" he asked, looking absolutely adorable in Johan's eyes. Johan smiled as he gave the other a chastise kiss on the forehead, smiling down lovingly at Judai as he did.

"Already forgiven, Judai." He said in a light whisper.

"Good!" Judai said, a slight huff once again coming from his lips. "And just so you know…" Judai shifted slightly, quickly capturing Johan's lips with a warm and long kiss before pulling away, blushing slightly in embarrassment while Johan just blinked at Judai, not expecting him to do that. "…I love you too…" Johan blinked a few more times before he grinned a wide grin and hugged Judai tightly.

"You're too cute, Judai! Do you know that? You're too adorable for words!" The Gem Beast wielder buried his face in the others hair, taking in every last scent of the brunette. "…And that's one of the things I love about you the most…" Judai blushed once more as he snuggled closer into Johan's chest, wrapping his arms around the others back, not wanting to let go ever again.

"…And I love you too…Johan." Judai smiled as he hugged Johan, happier then he had been a long while.

--

*HEADDESK* MOTHER OF FUCK. I wanted this done on Sunday for Valentines Day! And look how tell that turned out! T__T Oh well. I've been busier on my winter break then I thought I would be. Oh well! I've been staying up till like...*looks at clock* 3 to get this chapter DONE. I meant to get this up last night…But my friends slept over after a day out and ya....*sweatdrop* Long story short the only thing I did was pass out at 5 and get tackled into waking up at 1. *sweatdrop* ANYWAYS. I hate how this chapter ended -.- I couldn't think of a good way to end it and I wanna sleep. And at least its an extra long chapter! :D

AND I KNOW I PROMISED A LEMON. DON'T YELL AT ME FOR "FORGETTING". The ending turned out much fluffier then I thought it would. So the lemon would just seem forced and random if I put it in here. And that's why I'm making one more chapter! :O All for a lemon~ Hurry? XD And don't worry! That one won't take a year to get out! Promise! I'm gonna make people force me to write and get it out! We'll see how that goes XD

Sorry for any grammar issues or spelling. Like I said, most of this was written late at night when I'm half asleep. But I think I got most, if not all of em.

Review if you're still out there? ;__; I'll love you forever!

~Angel~