Hellooooo friends!

Yep, I've started yet another one. I think I have a problem! Stop me! Or, if you enjoy reading half as much as I enjoy writing, then don't stop me, and instead feel free to comment/review instead!

This story follows on from Not Always Smooth Sailing, and sits after Dark Thoughts on my 'universe' timeline. Same ships, same characters- but, of course NONE OF THEM BELONG TO ME AS YU-GI-OH DOES NOT BELONG TO ME.

Right. Obligatory statements over. I hope you enjoy. *sends kisses*

~Jehbel

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It was a glorious Saturday morning. The weather was clear and mild, barely a cloud in the sky. It was the start of summer vacation, and everything was perfect.

Unless of course, you were Joey, who was at that moment being awoken to the rude smack of Kaiba's elbow colliding with his cheek.

Cursing and spitting like a cat, Joey reeled to the side in response, his hands coming up defensively, reflexively. "OW ow ow Seto what the hell?!" He shouted, his eyes bewildered and still slurred with the aftermath of sleep, his head swivelling around with confusion.

"Sorry, Joey! Sorry! It's me! It's Mokuba! You wouldn't wake up!" Blearily, the blonde looked across to the source of the sound, to see the younger Kaiba brother standing by his bed, wringing his hands anxiously. Joey brought a hand up to rub at his cheek ruefully, taking in the young teen with a cross expression.

"What gives, Moki? You scared me half to death there! I thought you were moneybags- Uh…I mean, Seto… hittin' me again. He does that if snore, sometimes." At the mention of his boyfriend, Joey looked across the bed, which he was now lying in the middle of, confirming that the brunette was not there. In fact, Kaiba's side of the bed looked hardly touched, and the blonde teen felt with sudden certainty that Seto again hadn't come home that night.

It was not what he'd wanted to wake up to, that was for sure.

Mokuba looked distressed, his large grey eyes full of entreaty. "I'm so sorry Joey, I didn't mean to hit you so hard, I promise! But you made me promise to wake you up at 9am at the latest, and it's now 9:15, and I'm sorry!" He looked close to tears, a ruse that Joey knew was completely fake, but ultimately completely effective.

Huffing with an odd combination of amusement and sleepy displeasure, Joey propped himself up on elbow, rubbing the grit of sleep from his eyes. "No harm done Moki, it's fine, so stop with the puppydog eyes, aight?" Mokuba's expression immediately cleared, a grin splitting across his face. "Where's yer brother? Did he come home at all?"

Mokuba shook his head in affected solemnity; he knew how much Joey hated it when Seto didn't return home, but he himself was so used to it that it barely had an impact anymore. "No. He must have slept at work again. He's really busy at the moment, you know?" Joey nodded vaguely in reply and yawned long and loud, bringing a giggle from his boyfriend's younger brother.

"Right. Thanks for wakin' me, Mokuba. I promised Yugi and Yami I'd meet them at the arcade at 10. I guess I should get a wriggle on, eh?" Mokuba shrugged, his interest in the conversation suddenly entirely gone, and stood up to leave. He was taller now, no longer a little runt, and Joey marvelled at how similar he was to his brother at times. With the fading of the baby face and puppy fat, Mokuba was becoming a fine young man, although thankfully he had not begun to act with the same stern harshness that his brother regularly did. His hair was almost scandalously long for a brother of the CEO of Kaiba Corp., and he had taken on a studiously relaxed posture that was vaguely reminiscent of Joey's own slouching mannerisms. Oops.

Joey grinned at the retreating teen and stretched properly, letting loose another drawn-out yawn. He was in a superb mood; after all, it was summer vacation, and a Saturday to boot, and he was going to spend the entire day with his best friends. Life was pretty darn good!

Except- He looked across again at the other side of the bed, his spirits dimming slightly.

He knew that Seto was a busy man, and he admired his boyfriend's drive and passion for his company. With their final year of school coming to a slow but steady close, Kaiba had become busier and busier as he prepared to take over the company on a full-time basis. That, coupled with the launch of some new software, meant that more often than not the brunette spent the night in his office for convenience.

I know all of that, but I still miss him. He invites me round, but then leaves me all on my own! What gives! Joey thought crankily. He hadn't even seen Seto since he arrived the previous afternoon, even though the CEO had asked him to come and sleep over.

And it wasn't even that. Joey felt sure that Kaiba had been withdrawn recently. Beyond just the increased work and study schedules they had, he had slowly come to realise that the brunette had drawn away from him; they were less intimate, for starters, and Kaiba was calling and texting Joey less and less. It was this behaviour that was alarming the blonde the most; had he done something wrong? Was Kaiba getting sick of him? He visited about three of four nights a week, and would stay at the Kaiba mansion 24/7 if he could, but they were yet to take that step of living together. When he thought about it, it vaguely irritated Joey. We've been sleeping together for over a year and a half; I spend all my free time round here seein' him, and even Mokuba sees me as part of the family- so why hasn't he asked me to move in yet? 's not like Moneybags doesn't have enough rooms in this joint.

Shaking his head, Joey realised that he would probably never understand what went through Kaiba's mind, and it was probably not worth trying to find out. I'm probably bein' silly. He's just busy. And if something is up, just ask him. He won't snap my head off. Shrugging, Joey looked across at the alarm clock on the bedside table and yelped as he realised the time. "Dammit Mokuba! No way it was 9:15 when you woke me! You forgot to add an extra twenty minutes on when you said that!" He hollered, as he scrambled out of bed and began to scoop up his clothes. Sniffing them briefly, he decided that they were fine to wear again, and hopped around on one foot as he yanked up his jeans. Downstairs, he heard Mokuba give a bark of laughter and call something back cheekily, but he couldn't make out the words. "Yeh, yeh, whatever, Moki. I'll get ya later!" he yelled, the sound muffled as he pulled his shirt over his face.

"Who are you getting later?" The smooth voice startled Joey, and as his head popped free of his shirt, his amber eyes unerringly sought out the figure of Seto Kaiba, leaning casually against the door frame, his arms crossed over his chest and a small smile playing about his lips.

He looked great. He had grown his hair out slightly, and it was now shaggy and hung about his face in choppy lengths. He was dressed down for the weekend, in dark grey jeans and a deep blue collared shirt. Seto had had a growth spurt, however that was even possible, and had shot up another half a foot since Joey had started dating him. He had lost weight and looked almost too thin.

Only his eyes remained the same, as clear and arresting as perfectly cut sapphires. Right now they were warm with humour at Joey's frazzled state, but circled by deep rings of exhaustion; he had been working himself almost to breaking point, Joey realised.

Blushing a little at Kaiba's intense staring, Joey scooped up his worn out old green jacket and swallowed down mixed feelings of attraction and anger at his boyfriend. "Ahhh… Mokuba woke me up late, the usual. In fact, I gotta go, Kaibs, I'm officially running late to see Yugi, sorry!" Giving the brunette a slightly awkward flapping wave goodbye, Joey moved to pass through the doorway, stopping as a long lean arm snapped across to bar his way. He glanced at Kaiba, confused.

Kaiba's eyebrows drew together slightly and his eyes took on his more usual grim expression, shuttered and unreadable. CEO Kaiba. "You're going now? But I haven't even seen you yet! Stay."

Joey scowled; when Seto was in CEO mode he still managed to get Joey's hackles up. "Well, whose fault is that? I've been here since yesterday afternoon; you're the one who stayed out all night."

Kaiba blinked. "I was not out all night. I was in the office, working. You know that. But I'm here now, so can't you stay a bit longer?"

Joey shook his head with irritation. "No, I can't stay a bit longer, because I promised the guys I'd meet them at 10, and I keep my promises. So, I guess I'll see you later, hn?" He stared pointedly at Kaiba's extended arm, until with great reluctance, the brunette withdrew it, allowing him passage to leave. Kaiba's expression was frustrated, angry, confused; Joey desperately wanted to stay and patch things up, but he had a point to make, and, after all, Yugi and Yami were waiting for him. He'd call Kaiba later. It'd be ok. This wasn't his fault.

As he hurried down the hall, Joey glanced back over his shoulder at the desolate image of Kaiba standing by the bedroom, his large blue eyes watching the blonde retreat. Slowing to a halt, Joey turned, and, allowing a little hurt to enter his voice, he called back, "Y'know, Seto, if you'd have asked me to live with you, this wouldn't be an issue, 'cuz we'd see each other every day." He cocked his head slightly, giving the brunette a chance to respond, but the taller teen remained silent. However, briefly but clearly, a flicker of unease crossed his features and he shifted uncomfortably under the blonde's stare.

At that expression, Joey's stomach dropped. Right. Guess that says all I need to know, huh? Shrugging to hide the hurt that he felt, Joey flapped a hand casually over his shoulder in farewell and continued on his way. "I'll see ya round, Kaibs."

Unseen by the blonde, a long slender hand rose, as though it could reach out and pluck at his sleeve. It hovered slightly, before slowly lowering back down beside his leg, the fingers curling up into a fist.

"Joey."