bitter judgement

It felt as if Xander ripped open an old wound. Joey could barely look at him in the frigid cold. Funny, it was so warm and inviting with Sid and his homemade cigarettes. Perhaps, it was a flashback of sorts.

Yes, Joey missed smoking weed.

"How could you!" It was more than a question from Xander's lips.

"Uh.."Joey shrugged. "We..were..just.."

"Don't you go there." Xander shook his head, no. "You know, how hard it was.. to, pull this all together ..for you. You and Dakota?" Xander didn't shiver in the cold as he grabbed on to the collar of Joey's thin denim coat. "If I could, I would have just taken Dakota and raised her on my own. But you're her father, and she has a right to know you. But is this all you want her to know? What kind of low-life, you really are."

Joey remained straight lipped, but he was in a pout. A part of him wanted to flee, but where would he go? There was Corina, to think about, too.

"Look, it wasn't like..I..I was just trying to be..." He didn't know what he was trying to be.

"What next? You and Corina with a baby?" Xander made it sound so easy. All these things he'd never try.

"NO." Joey bit back. "Its not like that. Not at all." He wanted Xander to know he never ever wanted to go through another pregnancy, again. Especially..if it meant..someone could die.

He knew Xander wanted to hit him, but he smashed his fist in the brick wall instead.

Joey shivered, thinking Xander wasn't all that much better than himself.

"Sh*t." Joey barely said as he grabbed Xander's fist and looked his bloody knuckles over.

He'd fix this. Somehow.

Maybe there was something between them. This might not have been his best idea yet, but Joey kissed him, anyway. He couldn't feel the cold now.