Joey lay his head on Seto's shoulder as they watched the virtual sun sink behind a mountain range in a vivid show of color. They were on one of their rare virtual dates, and Joey loved how being here always seemed to soothe Seto, no matter what they were doing.

"What's this program for, Seto?" Joey asked drowsily. "It's not like any of the other VR games you've released."

"This is something we've been developing on the side now for a while. We haven't announced it yet, but this is a program we created for children who are terminally ill with cancer or otherwise irrevocably disabled. Since there are things that they can't do and will never be able to do in the real world, we created a safe, benign Virtual World where they can experience those things, if only for a short while. Once it's finished, we're going to start bringing it to hospitals where they can use it for free. At least, the charity organization we're working with will start doing that; they will supply the overseers and we'll provide the technology."

"That's so cool," Joey replied, impressed. "I'm really proud of you for doing that." He lifted his head and kissed Seto's cheek as Seto moved his arm from Joey's shoulders to his waist, pulling him close as Seto turned his head to initiate a full kiss. It was slow and sensual, Seto taking advantage of every moment they had here so that he could feel normal for just a while.

He was starting to become afraid, though. He saw a danger in his use of this program. What if he became even less sensitive in reality because it was such less stimulation in contrast to the Virtual World? What if he came to a point where he never wanted to leave? It was the same danger that the alcoholic and drug addict faced: abandoning reality for an eternal dream.

Seto would be lying if he said that he'd never been tempted by the idea of drugs, but he was glad he'd never indulged such a foolish notion. They simply weren't worth the price he'd be paying, not just monetarily, but in his personal life, at his job. His reputation would never recover if he were to do drugs and the media got a hold of it. Besides, he would never forgive himself for how that would affect his little brother.

No, he'd chosen a different addiction for himself: first it had been self-harm, then it had become Joey. He still struggled, still had days when his numb nerves drove him nuts. There were still days when he would run until he couldn't walk, hit the punching bag until his knuckles bled. There were still days when Joey would find him curled into a ball on the floor of his closet, seizing reality with both hands as he fought the urges to cut and to cry. Those days mostly occurred when there was something to remind him about his past, especially Gozaburo. Sometimes these reminders were unavoidable.

He still struggled, but he was so much better than he had been five months ago. Besides that, it comforted him to know that Joey was much better off than he used to be. Joey's anorexia was far behind him, his thin frame no longer as it once was, and definitely no longer underweight. He was as open and warm as he was before things had gotten so bad with his father. He was the light of Seto's life, right next to Mokuba.

"Damn," he muttered, breaking the kiss to check his watch. "I promised Mokuba we'd be home before eight." Joey groaned as well and bonked his forehead with his hand.

"I completely forgot, I'm sorry. Come on, let's hurry. We don't want to disappoint him, after all."

Seto had promised to watch a movie with Mokuba that night, and he didn't want to be late for it again.

When the movie was over and Mokuba had been put to bed, Seto and Joey retired to their room hand in hand. When they got there, Seto had an intangible surprise for him. That night, he'd tried to initiate something with Joey far gentler than their usual activities. He'd been practicing control over his fine motor skills, and, filled with a sense of guilt that he couldn't so much as make love without hurting his partner somehow, he was taking this night to be as tender with Joey as he'd always wanted to be. It was a token of gratitude, a gift of appreciation for everything that Joey had done for him.

Joey understood fairly quickly what was happening not long after Seto had ensnared him in a surprisingly gentle kiss. He understood that Seto was foregoing much of his own pleasure to give Joey something special, and he found it incredibly touching. Of course, he refused to let Seto get away with such a stunt, but he didn't stop him from doing what must have been difficult for him.

"You know, Seto, you didn't have to do that," he murmured as he stroked Seto's hair at the end of it all.

"I know, but you deserved it," he answered sleepily, kissing Joey's forehead. "You deserve someone better than me…"

"There's nobody better for me than you," Joey insisted, kissing Seto briefly in the hope that Seto might actually believe him this time. Why did he have to be so hard on himself? At least days like this were becoming less frequent. More and more often, Seto was able to accept Joey's love and love him in return without questions or comments concerning what either one of them deserved. It was taking some time, but the tortured soul of the corporation executive was finally starting to find some peace.

They awoke the next morning in a naked tangle of long limbs, and since it was Saturday, Seto didn't have to wake up as early as he usually did. That meant that Joey had a chance to be the one to wake Seto. It was a pity that Seto didn't feel ticklish anywhere; Joey would have loved to see the CEO sent into a fit of laughter from being tickled. He made a mental note to try that the next time they were in the Virtual World as he set about waking his lover.