Well shit. It couldn’t have been nearly any other problem, now could it? Seto, of course, had virtually no idea what to say to this. He’d never had to deal with paying rent. He was already regretting this. But there had been no one else around and Seto did owe his former classmate. “I… see.” he said after a long span of silence had passed, just affirm that he had actually heard the statement. And possibly to stall for time, because he had no idea what to say next. Seto knew him saying anything on the matter would likely piss Wheeler off, just because of his status.
“I’m not going to pretend I know anything about what that’s like. You’d just take a swing at me if I tried.” He poked at the floating vegetables in his bowl. This was only getting more and more awkward. “But I do know it’s rough out there. And landlords aren’t exactly known for being… fair. There wouldn’t be millions of people in similar situations if everything worked the way it was supposed to.”
If Joey was paying for everything himself–which it sounded like he was– when he had clearly been struggling before, Kaiba could only figure there was no one else willing to offer him help in whatever the home situation was. Definitely not good. “Did your landlord even give you due warning? Is there any way they’re breaking a small legal thing that could give you more time?”
Joey snorted, considering making fun of Kaiba for being out of his depth for half a second before remembering that he was just as uncomfortable and unfamiliar with the situation as he was. So uncomfortable, in fact, that he squirmed just a bit where he sat.
“She’s... not as bad as that, usually. She’s... warned me before. I don’t think she’s doing it because she wants to, she doesn’t really have much of a choice anymore...”
There’s about a million things that Joey doesn’t add to that statement because it’s something that’s impossible to ask help for. At least, from where he’s sitting it is. What, precisely, was he supposed to say? That he’s covering for his dad who had accumulated years of debt thanks to borrowing from thugs and turning and running to spend it at the pachinko parlors? That he’s trying to keep them from beating the shit out of him or his dad? The same man who’d spent most of Joey’s life sneering at him because he was a reminder of a failed marriage and using him as a sounding board and punching bag.
It didn’t make sense to Joey why he did it. How in the hell was he supposed to explain that reasoning to someone else? It was just... complicated, and his frustration showed on his face as he tried to find words why he couldn’t take something like this to the police if he wanted to. Besides, knowing Kaiba, Joey sincerely doubted that he’d have any sort of sympathy for his dad. Joey really shouldn’t have, either, but life wasn’t always black and white and he was still trying to sort those feelings on top of everything.
“I don’t know, Kaiba.” Joey sighed, drumming his fingers on the tabletop nervously. “You know I’m not smart. Even if there was some kind of legal thing I could use to get myself out of it I’d fuck up trying to use it anyway. Besides it’s not like I’m an angel, exactly. The police know who I am. Or did you forget I used to be in a gang?”
