"So what is it you wanted to meet me for anyway Kaiba?"

Joey asked, stirring his tea absentmindedly. It had been six years since their high school graduation, and the two duelists had only seen each other sporadically ever since. Kaiba had thrown himself into work, and Joey had managed to make it into college to become a chef.

"You act surprised Wheeler. You're still one of the top ranked duelist in the world, and you don't think I could use you in some of my business dealings? Even wanna-be's have a fan base."

Kaiba took a sip of his own tea, watching Joey carefully. The blond snorted, rolling his eyes.

"You have some nerve talking about my dueling skills Kaiba. I'll have you know I still get invites to Pegasus's tournaments, and I make it into the semi-finals without even having to do anything."

Joey glared at the taller brunet, taking in the slightly older man's appearance. The faint lines around his eyes, the tired look on his face, all signs that Kaiba was pushing himself way to hard.

"Your brother told me you don't come home anymore. He says he misses you."

"Mokuba does just fine by himself, he's in college now. He doesn't need me anymore."

Kaiba informed him stiffly, nodding at the waitress as she put dinner in front of them. Joey couldn't help but drool at the delicious smells coming from his plate. Even though he was a chef, he could still appreciate other's culinary adventures, which often gave him inspiration for a new meal.

He dug in, smiling and humming to himself as he ate. Kaiba watched him silently, sighing to himself. He pulled an envelope out of his coat and laid it on the table, pushing it casually towards the blond.

"Here is my proposal. Yugi is already working on our newest Duel Disk System. I'm looking for someone to be a test subject, someone who Yugi can take criticism from and who can take it from him. I want someone who can be part of the face of Duel Monsters, someone who can appeal to the average man on the street."

Joey traced the outline of the envelope, contemplating Kaiba's proposal.

"I'm not really interested in your new system Kaiba. All it does it take away money that I could be using to buy new cards, which is the whole point of playing the game. Plus, I'm not good with technology. I'm a chef, I create food not machines."

Kaiba nodded, pulling out a note pad to write something down.

"So what would you suggest then? Kaiba Corp hasn't come out with a new system in four years... our stocks are down, we need something to get people interested in dueling again or we might tank."

Joey shrugged, leaning back in his chair.

"The whole game has gotten too expensive, with not enough pay off for casual duelists. Maybe you need to think about finding a new niche to go in. Something different that will light a spark under people's butts and get them excited about the game again."

Kaiba hummed to himself, writing something else down before snapping the notebook shut. He stared intensely at Joey, watching as the blond squirmed.

"I appreciate the job offer Kaiba, but I don't think you and I working together is a great idea. We barely kept from killing each other in High School, and I don't think we are much better equipped to deal with emotions now."

Joey said, pushing the envelope back towards the CEO. Kaiba didn't even look at it, just shook his head.

"You haven't even considered my offer Joey, why don't you look at my proposal and think about it? Take a week, and I'll meet you back here and you can give me your decision."

"What's a week going to do Kaiba? I don't want to work with you, and that's final."

Kaiba held up a hand, shaking his head.

"You owe me for all the times I saved your butt mutt, all the times I helped you and your friends get out of whatever jam you were all in. The times you used my money and influence for personal reasons, and the fact that I have to put up with you at every tournament I throw."

Joey snatched the envelope, shoving it into his pocket.

"Fine Kaiba, I'll look over your proposal. If you'll excuse me I have to go throw up now."

Joey got up and left the table, aware that Kaiba's eyes were on him the whole walk to the bathroom.
The next day, Joey was woken up by his phone going off insistently. Groaning, he rolled over, knocking the phone off the table as he blindly tried to find it. Finally, he picked it up, blinking as he stared at the bright screen.

"3 messages from Mokuba? Why is he texted me so early in the morning?"

He muttered to himself, dropping the phone back on the end table. He groaned, stretching as he rolled over, cuddling with a pillow on the empty side of the bed. He doze off, only to be woken again by that annoying beeping noise.

"What do you want Mokuba?"

He growled to himself, reaching for the phone. Yugi's name flashed on the scene, making Joey frown. Messages from Yugi and Mokuba before the sun was even up? What was going on? Tiredly he dialed Yugi's number, figuring it was better than waiting for a message to get back to him.

"Hey Yug, what's wrong... Well I figured it was something if you were texting me so early... yea, we met last night for dinner, it didn't go too well... some Italian place that cost more for a plate of pasta than I make in a week..."

Joey's voice trailed off, listening as Yugi chatted away on the other end of the phone. Joey sighed, not really interested in letting his best friend talk him into taking this job.

"Yea I know Yug' it would be fun to work together but I have too much going on right now... besides I love my job I don't want to quit when I'm so close to getting a promotion."

Yugi yammered on for a few more minutes while Joey barely listened.

"Ok Yug' I'm going back to sleep, I've got to work the late shift tonight... Yes I promise I'll think about the job proposal... I'm off on Monday we can talk about it then... good night."

Joey hung up, deciding to ignore Mokuba in favor of getting a few hours of sleep.

The weekend passed quickly, and Monday found Joey outside the Game Shop sweeping the sidewalk for Grandpa as the older man stocked shelves. Joey hummed to himself, enjoying the sun on his face. Working the late night shift stunk, but it was necessary to gain the experience he needed to get a better job.

Unfortunately, it cut into what little free time the gang all had to see each other, but they all did the best they could. Right now though, all Joey wanted was to get his best friend and take off, hit the arcade and get a burger and just forget for a few hours that they were adults with real responsibilities. Finally, Grandpa came out, looking over Joey's work approvingly.

"Yugi will be out in a minute Joey. I think the two of you should get out of here before I find other work for him too do."

Joey cheered at that, thanking the older man profusely. Yugi bounced out of the house a few minutes later, waving at his Grandpa as he hopped on the back of Joey's bike, securing a helmet over his combed out hair.

The ride was quick, and soon they were at Burger World, still their favorite hang out even after all these years. They grabbed their favorite table and quickly put an order in, relaxing in the booth as the waitress left them. Joey checked his phone, grinning.

"Mokuba's on his way over, he's just leaving Kaiba Corp."

The blond stated, pushing his phone to the corner of the table. Yugi smiled, taking a drink out of the water the waitress had left.

"So, have you thought anymore about what Kaiba suggested? I think it would be so much fun to work together!"

Yugi said, bouncing in his booth seat.

"I already told you that I wasn't interested in the job Yug, lets not ruin our day together talking about this."

Joey stated sternly, folding his arms as if to drive his point home.

"Ok Joey, I won't bring it up again." "Thank you. Now have you heard from Tea lately?"

The two friends quickly brought each other up to speed with what they knew about their group of friends, pausing only to greet Mokuba as the younger boy join their table. Once they were done, Joey turned to him, a teasing grin on his face.

"So Mokuba, any lucky young ladies in the picture yet?"

Mokuba groaned, burying his face in his hands.

"I already get interrogated by Seto about my dating life, now I have to hear about it from you two? I swear, I'm not seeing or sleeping with anyone I don't have any time!"

He said, looking over at the two boys.

"I'm surprised the girls don't fall all over you, you're such a handsome young man."

Yugi chimed in, reaching over to affectionately ruffle the raven hair. Mokuba death glared the two men, who were too busy trying not to laugh to worry. Mokuba sighed, turning his attentions to Joey.

"Speaking of which, Seto wants you to join him for dinner again on Thursday. That's still your other day off right?"

"Yea, but I don't know why he wants to do dinner again I already told him how I felt about the job, it's a nice offer but still..."

Yugi smiled reassuringly.

"Maybe he thinks you'll find it harder to turn him down if it's face to face."

"Yea, because I've never been able to tell Kaiba off too his face before."

Joey stated dryly, causing the other two to laugh. The three boys began to tell stories from their miss-spent youth, pausing only to take huge mouthfuls of burgers from the plates their waitress had brought.

Thursday rolled around, and Joey was standing in front of the mirror checking his outfit. Once Mokuba had left to go back to work, Yugi had suggested that Joey buy some nicer looking clothes for his business dinner with Kaiba. When Joey had protested, Yugi had stood firm.

"I know you don't want this job, but you should treat it like any interview. Use it as practice when a job comes that you truly do want."

Joey had agreed reluctantly, and picked out several new shirts and pants. The red button-down shirt and black slacks fit perfectly, and Joey couldn't help but smiled. Dressing in red and black was his favorite thing to do, an homage to his loyal dragon that still protected him.

He glanced over at the wall clock, noting that he still had a few minutes before he had to meet with Kaiba. The brunet had offered to send a car, but Joey had insisted that wasn't necessary, wanting an out if the meal became awkward.

His phone buzzed, and he flipped it open to see a message from Yugi, wishing him luck on his 'interview.' Joey smiled at that, grabbing his keys and walking out the door.

"You do realize we've seen each other more in the past week than we have in a year right Kaiba?"

Joey stated dryly, watching as their waiter poured water into their wine goblets. Kaiba had offered something stronger, but Joey didn't drink much because of his father, which Kaiba had accepted.

"Sometimes sacrifices have to be made for the greater good."

Kaiba replied, sipping his water and nodding. Joey took a sip too, blinking in surprise at the taste. "What is this? It doesn't taste like any water I've ever tried before."

"That's because it's not. This place imports it's water from Denmark. It's called Iskilde, and it had a very high oxygen content which gives it those bubbles and changes the taste."

Joey frowned, tasting the water again experimentally.

"It's interesting I'll give you that Kaiba."

The CEO sat back, nodding to himself. Joey watched him carefully, wondering when the whole point of this dinner would come up. When Kaiba didn't say anything, Joey sighed again. He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out the envelope Kaiba had given him last week, setting it on the table.

"So when do I formally tell you I don't want this job? Now so we don't have to sit through dinner with each other, or after we are forced to make small talk?"

Kaiba leaned forward, placing a hand on the envelope.

"You never even opened this did you?"

He questioned, focusing his ice blue eyes on Joey's honey brown ones.

"I'm not interested in the job Kaiba. I didn't want to open this and have you offer me some ridiculous salary that made me second guess my decision."

Kaiba snorted at that, still staring at Joey.

"You should read it, I think you'd find it rather interesting."

Joey rolled his eyes, picking up the envelope and opening it. He skimmed over the first few lines before the meaning of what he was reading sunk in. He froze, re-reading over and over again. He looked up at Kaiba, a question in his eyes. Kaiba shook his head slightly, watching as Joey's eyes got bigger and bigger. The letter dropped on the table while Joey kept looking at Kaiba without blinking. "You... have feelings for me?"

A/N: Iskilde is a real water brand... I was reading an article about water tasting and thought it was interesting. I had plans to make this into a longer story but I decided to leave it where it is for now. Hope you enjoyed!