A/N: I have not written a fanfic probably in five years or so, and this is my first foray back in. That said I hope to update as regularly as I can, bring that I can usually type this in down time at work!

I hope you enjoy!

Ch. 1

The dinner hadn't been Kaiba's idea. It was goaded on by Joey via his sister Serenity. And it had been suggested after a particularly bitter moment. It never matter how much Kaiba mentioned to Joey that work came before pleasure, they always ended up yelling at each other, throwing insults, and refusing to speak to one another until someone else mended their meltdown with logic. Which so happened to be Serenity this time. She sent a message to Isono, who passed it on to the CEO at what was likely deemed an appropriate time. And the stipulation Kaiba made was that he chose the restaurant.

When Kaiba was shown to the table and seated, the other three had already made it ahead of him. Joey Wheeler, with his sister, Serenity, beside him, and Duke Devlin elbow to elbow with the CEO. Much to his annoyance, shifting ever so slightly away from the man, just feigning the need for more room. He could feel Joey drilling a hole into his forehead across the table. As the man sat and tried to order wine, Joey was talking, and Kaiba wasn't even feigning to listening.

"You know I didn't hear you," Kaiba said, finally giving Joey the time of day. The blond's shoulders dropped and his mouth crooked from side to side.

"Said: you decided to show up late, huh?"

"Not late; I'm on time."

A snort from Joey as he crossed his arms. Kaiba wasn't about to compliment the suit he picked out. The steel grey actually did wonders for him, made his eyes stand out. "And if it were me, you'd be bustin' my balls for it."

"Because you are consistently late," said Kaiba. "It's a miracle that you weren't late today, Joseph."

A wave of the hand from Joey, leaning one arm back over the chair as he pushed it out. And suddenly the suit made him look like a tool. The ever back and forth of their (what some would classify) rocky relationship. But they were still sitting across from one another in a restaurant, which was more than could be said about the entirety of the rumours that circulated them. "So now you're gonna tell me if you were late it's 'fashionably late?" A sneer following the comment.

The glass of wine was delivered with haste, and Kaiba was more than happy to take to in the midst of the conversation.

"I thought this was supposed to be a date," said Serenity, touching her brother's hand to try and calm him with a smile.

Joey shrugged and sighed. His expression relaxed as he gazed across to Kaiba, finally ending a smile and taking his own drink. "It's a date, I'm just havin' fun doin' what he always does to me. Nice to have the tables turned once an' a while."

"Don't get used to it."

"Will you two just stop it!" Duke sighed, exasperated. "Please, for everyone's sanity."

Kaiba smirked, exchanging glances with Joey in their shared enjoyment. The blond leaned forward, back down to the menu in front of him and knocking his head side to side. "So...you uh, talk to Mokuba today?" Joey asked.

"Always. Everything's fine with him. He plans of coming back in a few weeks, he says."

Joey nodded. "You're not hoarding him. I want 'em, too."

The menu was glossed over, picked at, thought ultimately Kaiba knew what he wanted. He was a creature of habit, and this was the same place he always ended up suggesting. And Joey, in his hate for wearing a suit anywhere, sucked it up and went. He would never admit it, but Kaiba imagined it was more or less a constant spot for the pair, the way that Joey would always talk about the food. Which prompted Kaiba to buy him several suits. Some for the galas, some for the dinners, and just because it was nice to see him dressed well.

"I want to see you fight me over him," Kaiba quipped. "I guarantee you'd lose."

"Oh, you're on, Kaib'. You're so on."

And there was a smile from the CEO. Playful and coy, quickly vanishing before Serenity could catch it while she turned to squeeze Joey's hand again. It was their kind of banter that made them compatible enough. It was the same kind of banter that caused fights, too, but while others saw them as on-again, off-again, there was a certain nature to their biting affection that was like a gravitational pull.

And the four of them spoke hushed, Kaiba allowing for the others to keep up with a prior conversation, contributing only minimally, waiting for their dinner to arrive. There was more the enough discomfort in the double-date setting, with his words clipped and his mind wandering to more fruitful ventures, trying not to focus on the dull headache behind his eyes. There was always a distraction, even in the constant ping of conversations that echoed in the high ceiling room.

It was just hard to focus once dinner arrived, and it gave them all something to quiet over, though Serenity had taken up most of the conversation, going over wedding plans. Her occasional grip of Joey's shoulder or stroke of Duke's hand only aided what she said. And still Joey played the protective older brother, ready to threaten Duke at a moment's notice.

"So...?" Serenity asked, leaning her head against Joey's shoulder.

"Oh no...not talkin' about this..."and he suddenly became interested in the other side of the room. Even if Serenity was leaning along with him, biting her lip and clenching her fists against against her chest.

"You and Mokuba would be the first people know about anything of that sort." Kaiba finally responded, before Serenity pushed Joey out of his chair.

Though, as he spoke, the siblings stared at him with their faces drooped in shock. Joey stood up with a napkin clutched in his hand, trying to reach over before going around the table. "What? I can't have possibly offended you two somehow?"

"Are you okay?" Serenity asked, and Joey was by Kaiba's side with the napkin, a mother hovering over a child, trying to put it against his face.

It was then that Kaiba felt it. His hand reached up, smearing what he thought was a runny nose with the butt of his palm and looking down to the streak of red across it. Joey hovered, though the CEO pushed him away and made a barrier with his arm. "Your nose if bleedin'. I'm just tryin' to help, Kaib'..."

"You think I don't know that?" Kaiba retorted, sharp.

Grabbing his own napkin, the wine glass upended, cracking against a plate and spilling out just as Kaiba went to stand. The waiter was by in an instant, though Kaiba kept his head bowed and pushed his way past Joey to try and find some place of privacy.

Not that a men's room was really private.

It gave him time to look at himself as he washed off his hands, and the smear of blood that he had wiped across his cheek. Like some kind of cheap paint. And it didn't feel real, especially as It stopped as soon as it had started.

The door opened, and Kaiba splashed water on his face. "Seto?"

The sound of his name on Joey's lips made him body melt and freeze at the same time. His fists clenched on the sides of the sink, swinging his head side to side to make sure there wasn't anyone else in the room. "Seto? Are you okay?"

Another hand on his shoulder, bringing it up to Joey's just for the touch, and looking to the pair of them side by side in the mirror.

It was blurry.

One blink. Two. It didn't quite go away.

"You hear me? Are you okay?"

His fists clenched. "I don't know."

A/N: again, hope this is something to keep working on. Until next time, KenSan out!