A/N: Hey everyone! I can't believe the feedback I've gotten from the first chapter. I sincerely hope I don't disappoint you guys. I responded to each review, except for the ones who belonged to people who don't have accounts. So I'll just tell them now that I appreciate your reviews and overall niceness!
There was another that I didn't respond to and that's because I wanted to personally respond here for everyone to see, just so you can see where I'm going with this story. So to Braincake and everyone else:
This story is AU. Obviously. : ) I do know that I kind of lay outside the line for Seto and I hope that it won't ruin the story. I have a hard time with rudeness as I strive to not be a rude person in general. My writing style is personal. Instead, I attempt to portray him as a hard, self-righteous, cunning, and mocking character who generally covers his true feelings with jeers. I do try to make him seem rude, especially with how he talks to people who should be superior to him. However, I do know I am not canonically portraying him right and I hope you and everyone else can forgive me for that. Thank you though, for helping me better understand him. I'll take your words into consideration while I write the rest of the story.
I am actually not using any of the plots from the series. ^_^ I've done a canon plot related story before and decided to go outside the box and create a whole different universe. The world my characters live in is odd. They have technology and such but they still prefer to ride horses most of the time. More of the richer people, like Kaiba, have cars. This probably doesn't make sense logically, but I'm still working out the basics. As for Joey automatically being gay, I thought it was a simple way of putting it. Perhaps I'll add a better reason in a future chapter.
Thank you all so much for your reviews! Please keep them coming so I can keep the story in good shape! : ) ...And hopefully next chapter won't have such a long Author's Note. Hehe!
Chapter 2: No Playa Boy Can Win My Love
Joey walked through the large marble doors, staring in awe at the delicate architecture that was the palace of Pious. It was nothing like Ghaffar, his home town. The place truly screamed of wealth and powerful people.
Wrinkling his nose up at the thought, Joey was introduced by an older man, Rolland, and then was led into an immaculate parlor room.
Seto Kaiba was sitting cross legged in a silver rimmed chair, reading a book with black square glasses perched on the edge of his nose. Joey stared at him for a moment, before quirking an eyebrow. Since when did Seto wear glasses?
"Well, I'm here," Joey announced loudly with annoyance high in his voice. "You gonna make me clean your floors or lick your boots? Because if you demand I do either you'll be looking for a new fiancé in a matter of seconds."
Seto had looked up at Joey during the blonde's ramble. Closing the book, he sat it aside and took his glasses off to place them in an inner pocket of his coat.
"You came here willingly, I see. I must ask you though Wheeler, did you really miss me that badly?" Seto taunted.
As expected, Joey puffed up with anger like a furious cat and grew red in the face. "As if, ya bastard!"
Rolland opened his mouth to scold Joey of his foul language towards his King, but Seto silenced him with a hand. "You may leave Rolland, I can take care of my fiancé."
Rolland seemed to be conflicted, but unwillingly made himself leave the room. Seto then gestured to the chair next to him. "Have a seat Wheeler."
Joey wanted to argue, but seeing as he'd been on a horse for five hours, his stiff body obeyed the command. He sunk into the soft cushion with a stifled sigh of relief.
"Good boy," Seto couldn't help but praise and Joey practically growled back at him, widening Seto's smirk. "All right well, let's get down to business. My event planners will be here tomorrow afternoon and will immediately begin planning our wedding" – Joey snorted at the word but Seto continued on as if he hadn't heard it – "Tonight however, we will be having a dinner so you can officially meet my younger brother. I strongly suggest you watch your mouth around him. He's only eleven."
Joey looked over at Seto curiously at the mention of a brother. He hadn't known that Seto had siblings. "Younger brother?"
Seto rolled his eyes at Joey's senselessness. "Yes, younger brother. As in, a male child born to my parents a few years after I was."
Joey scowled at his sarcasm. "I know what a younger brother is, ya jerk! I was just surprised you had one. You've never mentioned him before."
Seto leaned back in his chair, hands firmly gripping the arms. "Why should I when you are constantly barking at me every time I see you? I'm sorry, but I don't usually divulge personal information with people who are disruptive in my life."
Joey glared at him. "I'm disruptive? Every time I have seen you, you're in my country! If anyone has been disruptive, it's you."
Seto sighed and pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose, trying to keep his patience. "Look, can we get back to topic? I am trying to talk with you."
"Well I don't want to talk to you."
"It's mutual, but I have no choice."
"Then why are you marrying me? Why not just end it while we're ahead?"
"You know the answer to that, and besides, you look too hopeful. I wouldn't be doing my job as your rival if I made sure all your fantasies came true."
"You're an asshole," Joey scowled.
"You've told me that before."
"Well I'm telling you again, asshole."
"Are you done yet?"
"No."
"Well, be done. I have things to do."
"Like what?"
"King things."
"What kind of King things?"
"Things you'll learn when you're king. Now shut up," Seto was quickly losing all patience he was struggling to maintain with the blonde.
"Don't tell me to shut up!"
"I'll do what I want."
"Rolland!" Seto suddenly called loudly, making Joey jump in surprise.
Good, Joey thought. Seto was frustrated with him already.
The elder man appeared back into the room, peering around to see if anything had broken while he had been gone.
"Please escort Prince Wheeler throughout the palace and show him to his room."
Joey stood up in outrage, turning his furious eyes on the king. "I'm staying here?"
Seto beheld Joey with a strange expression. "Where else would you be staying?"
"Why can't I go back home?"
"Because it's a five-hour ride back. That's ten hours you'd be on horseback daily and it's unnecessary. You're needed here for the rest of the week. The press needs their information by Friday."
"A week?!" Joey couldn't believe this. The nerve of this pompous asshole!
"Yes. Now go, before I make you share a room with me."
"What?!"
Joey was then tugged from the room by Rolland and forced to tour the palace. In all honesty, the place was quite remarkable. It wasn't nearly as terrible as he had imagined it would be. A little too white, but nice.
Joey had made note of the kitchen, vowing to himself to eat as much as possible to spike Seto. The game room, however, was a sight to behold. Perhaps he'd take refuge there.
By the time he was directed into his bedroom, Joey stopped in the hallway and stared at the light blue colored door next to his.
"What does that go to? The bathroom?"
"It's King Seto's bedroom," he answered before opening Joey's bedroom door.
Joey gave a curious glance at the door next to his once more before entering his own, a sudden question on his mind.
"Why do you call him King Seto? Shouldn't he be King Kaiba?"
Rolland sighed at the never-ending questions. "King Kaiba was his father's name. They are completely different people and therefore shall be named for such alteration."
Joey thought over that for a few minutes before his eyes took in the room and lit up. The room was covered in red dressing and his heart sped up at the size of his own television. Of course, he had a wonderful television at his own palace, but this one took the cake! It was practically a movie theater screen. Leave it to Seto to make sure everything he had was better than Joey's.
Joey flopped himself onto the bed and grabbed the remote. "Awesome!" The resolution was amazing. It was as if he was in the movie!
Rolland seemed to feel content to leave the blond in his room so he cleared his throat, gaining Joey's attention for a second. "I'll be down stairs. Shall you need anything, please call the number on your telephone next to the bed. You will be accommodated."
"Thanks Rolland," Joey said sincerely before turning his attention back to the television.
Perhaps it wouldn't be that bad staying here. He didn't have to deal with his father controlling his daily life. Instead, he had an egotistical fiancé who was trying to control his life. For some reason, a large television and eating Seto's food made up for that fact.
oO0Oo
Later that night, Joey had fallen asleep watching a movie.
Rolland had been sent to retrieve him for dinner. After calling his name multiple times, the elder man had resulted in shaking him. Joey had almost attacked him, but they were somehow both were alive when they entered the dining room.
It was even larger than the parlor and the table was long enough to seat a hundred guests. Joey wasn't surprised by this, his own dining room was about the same size. His family often had people at their palace and often were among visitors than not.
At the very end, Seto sat at the head of the table with a small cheerful looking boy next to him. Joey assumed this was his younger brother and decided that toning his language down a little around him was in order. He wouldn't want some lunatic acting stupid in front of Serenity, so he could respect that.
Even if it was Seto.
"Glad you could join us," Seto began, his provoking voice echoing throughout the empty room as Joey approached them. "What took you both so long?"
Joey sheepishly smiled as he sat down across from the little boy, who had long black hair and stormy grey eyes which seemed to sparkle as he looked back at Joey.
Rolland decided to answer for him, sounding annoyed. "Prince Wheeler was asleep, I had to wake him by force."
Joey felt Seto's eyes burn into his head and he attempted to keep his smirk to himself.
"Never mind," Seto dismissed. "Let the cooks know we are ready for dinner, Rolland."
Rolland bowed in response and left the room.
"Hi! I'm Mokuba!"
Joey turned his attention to the boy sitting in front of him and transformed him face into a friendly smile.
"Nice to meet you, Mokuba. I'm sure you know who I am."
Seto straightened in his chair at the words exchanged between the two, obviously nervous about it.
"I do! I can't believe you two are getting married! Seto's been so lonely for so long and this is just perfect! And our countries combining! It's going to be great-"
Seto cleared his throat at his brother. Mokuba looked over at him, before calming himself.
Joey's eyes had gone wide from the ramble. He didn't want to hurt the boy's feelings by the response he wanted to reply with.
"Yeah well, we'll see how it goes," Joey answered with a scratch to the back of his neck, watching Mokuba perk back up with a smiling nod. He could feel Seto's eyes on him again.
Joey absolutely refused to look back at him and was relieved when the cooks entered the room with their meals in tow.
Joey was used to eating copiously at home, but for some reason it looked even better on Seto's pristine table. Perhaps it was because he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast that morning.
"Oh yum!" He began digging in as soon as it was laid out before them.
The Kaiba brothers then witnessed a hungry Joey Wheeler.
Seto was disgusted and Mokuba was horrified by how much Joey could stuff into his mouth at once. He almost had lost his appetite when Joey had crammed mashed potatoes and chocolate pudding together on a spoon and swallowed it.
Finally, and gratefully so, dinner was officially over and they were all brought hot tea (except for Mokuba who drank hot chocolate). Joey laid back in his chair to pat his stomach contently.
"Oh man, that was awesome. Your chefs are incredible." He held back a burp.
Seto wrinkled his nose at his fiancé. "Aren't you fed daily this way or do you have to cook yourself food like a commoner?"
Joey glared at Seto for the first time since that morning. "No! We have chefs. But I was just so hungry," he defended himself and gulped his tea.
Mokuba looked up from his hot chocolate with whipped cream on his nose and Seto fondly wiped it off with a napkin. Joey watched Seto with his brother for a second, surprised to see the expression Seto had on his face when he dealt with Mokuba.
"I'm glad you are here Joey. It can get lonely sometimes," Mokuba said to the blonde with a smile.
Joey felt a bit guilty that he was trying to sabotage the engagement when his little brother was so amped to have someone else around to hang out with even before he got to know him. He didn't want to hurt Mokuba by the end of it. Maybe he should speed things up before the boy got too attached.
Quickly changing the subject, Joey straightened in his chair. "I saw you have a gaming room. It's okay if I play in it yeah?"
Seto began to protest but Mokuba replied cheerfully. "YES! You can play with me! I have all the best games!"
"Um, yeah sure."
Seto peered over his tea cup at Joey then set his cup down. Clearing his throat, he looked at his brother. "Mokuba, it's time for bed."
Mokuba deflated and groaned. "But Seto! I want to stay up and play games with Joey!"
Joey's heart tightened at the confession. Oh boy.
"No Mokuba. You have tutoring tomorrow morning. You need your rest."
Mokuba whined a little more, trying to get Seto to see his way but his older brother had dealt with this many times and wasn't budging. Joey was sure that if Serenity acted that way still, he'd of let her stay up. Seto was one tough cookie.
Resigning, Mokuba stood dramatically. "Fine. Goodnight big brother," he said with a small glare that left Seto unaffected.
Mokuba then looked over at Joey with a small sad smile. "Goodnight Joey. We will play games tomorrow after I get done with school."
Joey wanted to make up an excuse to get out of it, thinking that getting anywhere close to the kid would only making leaving in the long run worse. Though he saw the look in Mokuba's eyes and fell victim to it.
"Okay kid. Goodnight," Joey said with a smile.
Mokuba's eyes lit up at the agreement before bouncing out of the dining room.
Joey hesitantly looked over at Seto, now that they were the only ones in the room. Should he take advantage of that fact or just go to bed himself? He'd had a long day himself and there was a whole morning to ruin their engagement that he needed to rest up for. Then again, who could deny being an adventurous? Joey sure couldn't.
"So…" Joey began, leaning his elbows on the table as Seto looked up at him. "About that planning tomorrow. Is it okay if I skip?"
Seto frowned with confusion. "And what, pray tell, would you do that takes precedence over the planning of our wedding?"
Joey shrugged nonchalantly. "Ya know, stuff."
Seto didn't believe Joey for a moment.
"Stuff…" Seto tried on for size. "Right. You are in a place you aren't familiar with and know nobody except for me, Mokuba, and Rolland. I highly doubt you have anything important to do."
Joey then crossed his arms stubbornly. "I do too. Like getting the hell out of dodge."
Seto narrowed his eyes at the blonde. "You're not leaving."
Joey glared back. "You can't make me stay."
Seto leaned forwards, brushing his cup out of his way as he tapered his gaze to the blond. "I can make you do a lot of things, Wheeler. Try me," he said dangerously in a low voice that should have made Joey involuntarily shudder.
However, Joey was oblivious to it.
"You can't make me do anything, Kaiba," Joey taunted, using the king's last name.
It hit the desired effect as Seto glared even darker at the blonde. Joey tried not to grin with triumph. "As a matter of fact, I'll be gone by morning. This engagement was a whole ploy to make you a better king. Well, ya know what Kaiba? I'm not going to be a pawn in your chess game," he stated before standing up to take his leave.
Fingers wrapped around his wrist and threw him backwards with strength Joey wasn't expecting. His back hit a wall hard and he blinked from the impact. Icy, blue eyes pierced his and he jumped at the furious face of Seto Kaiba.
"You're not going anywhere Wheeler. You're staying in this palace and participating in planning our wedding. You will be marrying me. You have no choice in the matter. So get over yourself and deal with it."
Joey's body shuddered at the sound of Seto's voice.
For some reason, he had a cold feeling that escaping Seto Kaiba would be harder than he had initially thought.
Thank you for reading!
