Author: xskyisclosed
Rating: M (eventual NC-17)
Summary: Kaiba is flipping through his old yearbooks and comes across Joey's phone number. Can five years time and a certain Mutt melt the ice in one CEO's heart.

Author's Note: The idea for this fic came from "Best Wishes" by Vapidbreath. I read it and was slightly dissapointed by the way things were turning out so I decided to go and write my own with the same premise.

Because you know, if you want it done right, you might as well do it yourself. :)

Please please please review. It would mean so much. I love feedback. It makes it so much easier to write when I know people actually like it.

Thanks sooo much.


Chapter One: As The Silence Breaks

The sky is closed today.
So here I sit, waiting.
For a word that is hidden in clouds.
To take me back from here.
I'm hoping that this fever breaks when this smile spites my face.


It was Friday night and Seto Kaiba had been working late again. He was hoping to see Mokuba for the first time in a couple days, but instead he found the house just as he had left it, empty. It seemed as if Mokuba was never home anymore.

He's seventeen now, Seto thought, almost eighteen, old enough to have his own friends and his own life.

Seto put his briefcase on the coffee table and pulled out his laptop. At least he could take advantage of the quiet and finish up going over reports. But he knew perfectly well that the house was always quiet nowadays. Mokuba was either out with his friends or shut up in his room with other friends. Part of Seto was glad that Mokuba hadn't turned out like himself was back when he was seventeen, but the other half missed seeing his brother's huge smile whenever he entered the room.

Seto cast his mind back the latest fight that had broken out between him and his brother.

"Come on Mokuba, don't you think you should start your homework, it is 11:30"

"Get off my back…"

"I am responsible for you, and I want you to get good grades. It's late, and if you don't do it now you will tired in the morning"

"Jeez, since when did you turn into Gozabura."

There is no way I could be like Gozabura, Seto contemplated, Mokuba was just angry that I made him do his homework.

That had been Wednesday. Seto hadn't seen Mokuba since their fight. Partly because he was working so much, but more so that Mokuba had started to loathe being in his presence and was constantly away.

His mind reverted back to the impending work, and he started to type away on his laptop, only looking up to occasionally check the clock.

When the words on the screen finally began to blur with each other, Seto finally decided to call it a night. Even though it was 12:45am, he was exhausted from his long day at work. He turned off his laptop and closed the screen, replacing it into his briefcase. Sleepily he trudged along the hallway and into the library where he would put his work things for the morning.

He set his briefcase down onto his desk, and just as he was about to turn his back to leave, he saw a couple of books lying on the floor near a shelf. Sighing and mumbling about Mokuba's disregard for his things, Seto bent down to pick them up and put them away.

As he was reaching down he caught a look at what the books actually were. They were his old high school yearbooks.

What on earth was Mokuba doing looking at these old things. He picked up the yearbook from his senior year and a dusty picture fell out. It was his senior photograph taken when he was eighteen.

I guess I haven't changed that much, Seto thought, eyeing the photo's stern expression. It seems so long ago, when really it had only been five years.

But a lot can change in five years. Seto shook his head, where did I go wrong? Mokuba no longer looks up to me and I am not the most important thing in his life, in fact I probably mean nothing to him.

Seto's gaze fell down to the locket of Mokuba hanging around his neck. He flicked it open and stared at the picture inside. Back when we cared only for each other, he thought wistfully.

He could vividly remember the day the housekeeper handed him Mokuba's locket with Seto's picture inside. I found it shoved in the back of his sock drawer, she had said. Seto had been upset, but never questioned Mokuba about it, not wanting to cause another fight.

But enough about the past, he told himself snapping the locket closed. He took his senior picture and opened the yearbook to the middle, and slipped it inside. As he was closing the yearbook, a cluster of signatures popped out at him, causing him to hastily find the page again.

On a blank page in the center four names with short messages were signed. I forgot all about that day, Seto remembered back, and he read what was written.

You're a great duelist, Kaiba. I'm glad we got a chance to play against one another more than once.

-Yugi Motou

Memories from his past came back to him. Duelist Kingdom…Battle City and everything else. We've been through a lot together, Yugi and I. Seto looked at the next signature and had to laugh.

Hey Kaiba, Fuck you!

-Tristan Taylor

Never really did like me too much, did he? Oh well. It's not like I liked him.

HI KAIBA!

It was nice being in your class this year. Good luck with your business. I'm going to America!

-Tea Gardner 33

Ugh, he shuddered, and good riddance. And finally, the last on the page had to be Wheeler's.

Best wishes.

-Joey Wheeler

062654118

Seto was stunned, he never realized that Joey Wheeler had left him his phone number. It made him laugh that out of the four, only he left his number, the one that Seto himself had ridiculed incessantly all throughout highschool.

I wonder how the mutt is doing, he thought, bemused. It's been awhile.

Seto suddenly remembered what time it was and shut the yearbook, put it on his desk, and left the library.

As he settled in for bed, Seto's thoughts turned once more back to his highschool years.

"I guess I'll have to teach you to behave, Wheeler, just like the dog you are."

He laughed inwardly to himself. It was so funny to hear him growl after anyone would insult him. Maybe I should call him just to see how everyone is doing. I bet they all went off to college.

In the midst of that thought, another crossed his mind. Why in the world would I call Joey Wheeler, of all people?

But Seto was feeling lonely ever since Mokuba stopped acknowledging him, and he figured desperate times called for desperate measures. Not that I am desperate of course. He resolved that he would call Wheeler in the morning, just to catch up.

Just as sleep was about to overtake him, Seto let his mind wander back into the memory of the last day of school.

It was a hot day and the only thought on his mind was changing out of his school uniform for the last time in his life. It was the last day of school and in only a few more steps he would be out of the school forever.

He saw his limo waiting for him outside of the school and made a straight line for it.

Seto opened the door and was about to set his briefcase down and climb in when he noticed Yugi Motou and his three stooges walking towards him.

"Hey Kaiba, wait!" he heard Yugi yell out.

Seto sighed and refrained from rolling his eyes, "What do you all want?"

"We want to sign your yearbook, Kaiba," Yugi answered and Joey, Tea, and Tristan nodded their heads in the background.

Oh well, I'll indulge the dweebs, he thought to himself.

He handed his yearbook to Yugi and watched while he thought to himself for a moment and penned a few lines. After Yugi was finished he passed it to Tristan who scribbled a line or two and handed it over to Tea who signed it with her scented pink glitter pen. Finally it was given to Joey to write down his final words.

Seto raised an eyebrow, and said with a smirk, "I didn't know dogs could write."

Joey muttered under his breath and finished writing. Seto looked at his watch and realized he had to be in a business meeting in a few minutes time.

"Well, see you later Kaiba," Yugi said.

"What he said," Tristan added. Tea gave a short wave and Joey nodded his head.

"Goodbye," Seto answered coldly. And with that, he shut the door.