- Another chapter done! Finally getting back into the story! (: Shout out to Eriasa Sun for the encouragement! Chapter dedication to SailorDeathMoon ^^ Hope you feel better, friend.

Much love and happy reading

xoxo Megan xoxo

A slender hand reached across the circle where they stood and smacked Joey in the arm

"Darn. Darn right, Kid."

The brunette corrected and retracted his hand only when he got an angry enough face from the other to satisfy him.

"eh…whatever.."

The blonde muttered

"Heil Hitler!"

He said in a bad german accent and brought his arm straight out in front of him in mockery. This of course earned him another well placed slap. Mokuba and Joey split off from the circle and headed towards the gaming room Kaiba had designed for him; The younger rapidly talking about automatic machine guns and facist zombies, and Joey patiently listening. After they were out of hearing distance, the CEO sighed and walked towards the elegant bar that stretched across his kitchen. He retrieved a glass from one of the cabinets and set it atop the sleek, marble surface.

It was only after he had filled the glass halfway with a brownish liquid and set the glass bottle back in its proper place that he allowed himself to think of how alone he was. This was a topic that he purposely usually didn't dwell on, but situations like this made it painfully obvious.

"Money can't buy happiness"

He mused to himself, and then raised the glass up to his lips. If only it could. Seto Kaiba then strutted across his red, tile floor and took a seat at a round, glass table set for two. He opened up the briefcase resting against his chair leg and retrieved a copy of Hamlet. He had two chapters to read for his English class tomorrow, and had put it off due to other matters at work that demanded his attention. The CEO didn't even bother asking Joey if he needed to borrow his copy for the night, it was a miracle in itself if the boy stayed awake all 50 minutes of the class.

He opened to a particular part where Hamlet starts to feel the detrimental affects of his fathers death and begins his decent into madness. After several attempts to understand the shakspherian language and still retain some of the plot, Kaiba groaned and got back out of his chair. He headed towards his liquor cabinet

"I'm gonna need another drink"

"You lil' punk! Stop freakin' stealin' my zombie kills!"

Joey huffed and tightened his grip on the white controller, feeling it slip in his hands due to the sweat that had accumulated on his palms.

"You gotta thundergun and all I got is this stupid shotgun!"

He whined and threw the controller down after missing two shots had forced him to reload, causing mokuba to take the opportunity to clear half the zombie wave in one hit. The little one howled and then kept mashing the buttons on his controller, focused intently on the huge flat screen in front of him. Joey made a noise in the back of his throat to make sure the littler one knew his frustration, and then set off towards the kitchen in search of food.

When he arrived, he saw Kaiba holding a small book in one hand with his legs crossed, sipping on a glass of wine.

"FUCK"

The blonde exclaimed upon realizing what his nemesis was reading. Kaiba glanced up from the play uninterested and sighed, not bothering to slap him for his language this time.

"We gotta quiz tomorrow, don't we?"

Joey asked, already sure of the answer. The CEO continued staring at the boy in front of him, not answering his question. He was about to make a snide remark about Joeys poor school performance when he was put off by the genuine look of sadness that was on Joeys face.

"Aww man. I'm really blowin' it this semester. Crap at home has been really bad lately, and when my dad isn't yelling at me to do chores, He has the TV on so loud I can't focus. He always has that frickin' thing on, even late at night."

Kaiba felt a tinge of guilt when he realized he had assumed that Joey simply didn't care about school. He set the book down on his table and walked over to his bar. He grabbed a fancy wine glass from the cabinet and filled it about three quarters full with a deep, red liquid. The blonde watched with curiosity as the brunette set down the glass in front of him and then returned to his seat across the table.

"So. Hamlet"

Kaiba began

"He was the prince of Denmark. His dad, previously the king, had passed away earlier before the book takes place. The throne was taken over by Hamlet's uncle, Claudius, and he became the new ruler of the kingdom- also marrying Hamlets mom.

"You mean this dudes mom married her dead husbands brother?"

Joey interrupted and snorted with amusement

"What a whore!"

He laughed, causing Kaiba to almost laugh-though his outside appearance showed no change

"Yes. Well. Anyways. One day, his dad's ghost comes to him and tells him that his brother, who wanted the throne to himself, murdered him. Hamlet then becomes devastated, and starts to appear like he's going mad.

"So the dude went crazy, huh?"

Kaiba nodded, impressed that the blonde had been paying attention

"Yes. Well, one could say that. The thing is, no one really knows if he is actually crazy. He says he is, but he does things throughout the book that signify he is indeed sane. And it all comes down to your views on craziness. Would someone who is truly crazy admit it? Would they even believe they are?"

Joey sat and listened attentively as Kaiba explained the plot line and its themes, occasionally sipping his from his glass or asking questions. Since Kaiba had already read the book through while the other was slacking off, he decided to just summarize the entire thing. He was enjoying this. He prided himself on being smart, and didn't often pass up the opportunity to make it known to others. An hour went by, and he had caught Joey up completely and then some.

"Soo….this dude see's his dead dad, goes crazy, and….then everyone dies?"

Kaiba laughed for a brief moment and then nodded at the simplified version of the classic.

"Basically, It shows what happens when a philosopher tries to become powerful. See, he takes the entirety of the book plotting his revenge without doing anything, but never acts. So some question if he was ever fit for the throne in the first place."

Joey mouthed "oh" and brought the glass to his mouth, tipping it sharply upwards and finishing the remains of it. Kaiba looked at the oversized watch on his wrist and then stood up.

"Well, it's late. I'm going to bed. You should too. I'll show you to your room. "

The two boys headed up the spiral staircase to the left of the kitchen and Kaiba walked into his room quickly, coming out with a pair of pajama pants.

"Here. You can wear this."

Joey gratefully grabbed the black stretchy bottoms and noticed the CEO begin to walk away. He took a moment to register what was going on, and then cleared his throat

"Hey Kaiba?"

The blonde asked uncertainly, looking down awkwardly when Kaiba turned around to look at him with his cold stare

"eh…..thanks…"

Kaiba looked coldly at the other and then turned back around

"Whatever, mutt. Just don't tell anyone at school where you've staying. People don't need to know I've been hanging out with a loser like you."

Kaiba turned around so fast that he didn't see the hurt that flashed across Joeys face before it turned into anger at the use of the demeaning nickname.

"Well up yours, Moneybags!"

He spat, and then jabbed at the cursive "S.K" that were embroidered into the waistband of the silk pajama pants

"An what's with you rich pricks stamping your name on everything ya own? Quit masterbatin' over yourself, ya rich fuck!"

Since Kaiba was turned around, Joey wasn't able to see the CEO roll his blue eyes dramatically at the immature comment. He also wasn't able to see the small smile that graced his lips as he pushed open the double doors to the master bedroom.