Chapter 3 Leaving

As soon as Seto realised that he was the one screaming, he stopped and looked around the familiar room. White curtains and the walls were white with ice blue dragon prints, along a line about 1 and a half meters above the ice blue carpet, the big desk exactly like the one in his office, standing towards one of the big windows, overlooking part of the garden, he could see the lake from his bed, just from a slightly different angle than where he stood the night before. The swan was nowhere to be seen, maybe it was still asleep, somewhere safe. He heard a sound from the door, it was opened from the outside and in it stood Mokuba, no surprise there, none of his maids would have dared to open it without knocking first.

Hemusthaveheardmescream Seto thought.

Mokuba just stood there, watching his brother on his white king sized bed with the ice blue pillows. He saw the sweat on his forehead that was still there from the fear Seto felt in his dream.

"You're okay, big bro?" he asked timidly. He had never seen his big brother looking so lost and vulnerable, it just wasn't like him, he had always been the strong one, the protective one! Mokuba didn't know how but he had to help Seto this time around, he just had to find a way!

"I'm fine," was all Seto said!

Mokuba went to him, sat on the bed and hugged him.

"You don't really look fine, please Seto, tell me what's wrong, maybe I can help! I know I'm still little and not as strong or smart as you are, but I want to try. I can see that something is bothering you! I know you better than anyone, please let me help you for once!"

Seto looked at his little brother. He was still in his pyjamas with a worried look in his eyes. Seto wanted to make him feel better but didn't know how to do that, he obviously didn't believe his "I'm fine" and Seto knew that saying it again wouldn't make it any more believable. Maybe if he told him the truth and played it down a little he could make his brother feel better. He could show him that he trusted him and didn't think that he's just a little kid.

Seto sighed and said: "It really is nothing. I just have a little bit of a crush and there was a bit of a misunderstanding that might ruin it all but it's nothing I can't deal with, little brother." He tried to smile a little for his brother´s sake.

But boy still looked worried and said: "What did you do to Joey this time? And don't even try to play it down, like I said, I know you, big brother!"

Seto stared at him dumbstruck. "How?"

"How I know it's Joey? Well, you always pick on him! Especially when his attention was with his friends and not with you for a while. And you have never been good with showing what you feel, so you probably tried to get his attention that way, not the smartest way while we're at it, and you call him mutt, and do I need to point out that I know that you always loved puppies? I remember that you always wanted one, so I guess the fact that you always look sort of like you enjoy picking a fight with him, which you definitely don't do, when you really dislike someone and want to really ruin them, was a huge giveaway, too."

Seto smiled a little for real this time and said: "I can't hide anything from you, can I?"

"Nope you can't, and now tell me, what did you do to him this time?" Mokuba asked with a smile and happy that it wasn't anything bigger. He wasn't sure if Joey returned his brother´s feelings but Joey too seemed to enjoy the bickering much more than he should.

Seto blushed, he could hardly tell him the details, at least not about what stood in the letter, but he could explain the rest. "It's a long story but the short version is, that Joey gave me a loveletter and placed it in my school locker and wanted to meet me at the graduation party. But since Roland emptied it for me and I didn't look at the stuff till after the graduation party, I missed it."

"Honestly Seto, you must be the only one that gets a love letter from the love of his life and even messes THAT up! But where is the problem? Just go to him and talk to him! Tell him what happened and then everything will be fine!"

"Well, my smart little love expert, can you tell me how to do that, too? I don't know how to find him, his friends won't tell me anything!"

"Sure I can! Give me your phone, they might not think too much of you but everyone loves me!" Mokuba said. A big smile spread on Seto's face, he had thought of that but because he didn't want to tell Mokuba about his problems, to keep him from having to worry, he couldn't ask the boy. Now he passed his phone to him and Mokuba phoned Yugi to pump him for some information on Joey.

"Hi Yugi, it's me. Mokuba." Mokuba said cheerfully and was happy that for once he could help his older brother and maybe repay him a little for everything he did for him. "How are you?"

"Hi, I'm fine, why are you phoning?" Yugi asked.

"Oh it's nothing special, Seto is just so busy with work and I got bored, can I come over and play with you? Maybe Joey and the rest could come too, do you know if they have time?" He grinned at Seto, who had hope in his eyes again.

"Joey is going to visit his mum and sister in America for 3 weeks and I wanted to talk to him about something but since he wasn't here yet, we are all going to the airport and say goodbye. But if you'll make it in time, you could come along."

"What time is he leaving?" Mokuba asked a little alarmed, a lot could happen in 3 weeks. Mokuba just hoped that Joey wouldn't get over his big bro that fast. Seto too looked alarmed at the talk of someone leaving. He wondered who was leaving and for how long? Is Joey really leaving me? Is he going to find someone else, like in my dream?, that thought terrified him, the dream was too fresh and still on his mind and Seto could only hope that he wasn't too late yet.

"He said at around 3, so we all want to be there at half two. We will leave here at about one, so if you want to come along, you would have to be here in about one hour!"

"Well, I might meet you guys there. If I can get Seto's driver to bring me there, I might meet you there. It would be the easiest way, so see ya!" and he flipped the phone shut and said to Seto, to calm his brother again, even though he still was a little worried himself. "Relax, he is just planning a holiday with his mum and sister in America! Just for 3 weeks and his flight is around 3, so you have plenty of time to get there!"

"Around? When exactly and where does she live? Where is the flight headed to?" Seto asked, already walking towards his desk and booting up his laptop to find out the exact time. Maybe he could even book a flight for himself, if there was still hope to be with Joey.

"I don't know where his mum lives, other than that it's somewhere in America, can't you phone the airport? Maybe they will tell you, they'll be more likely to tell you than me."

He handed the phone back and Seto dialled the number. As soon as he had someone on the other end of the line, he said: "This is Seto Kaiba. I NEED to know which plane Joseph Wheeler is going to board today? Where it is going to and what time it is leaving? And I NEED to know NOW!"

"That's, how do I put it, well confidential, we're not allowed to tell you, Sir." A voice said.

"Fuck your confidential shit and tell me what I need to know, NOW! It's a life or death situation, so tell me or I'm going to sue you for all that you're worth! Did you get that?" Seto threatened.

"Are you sure it's ok with Mr. Wheeler?" The voice asked.

"Of course I'm sure, you dim witted useless piece of shit and now tell me, before I get REALLY pissed!" Seto said, hoping that his cool and threatening way would scare the other and convince her that he knew exactly what he did and that Joey wouldn't mind.

"Of course Mr. Kaiba, Sir, he is booked for the one o'clock flight to Los Angeles! And he's already checked in!" The voice said and Kaiba felt his face pale.

"He is already what?" Seto asked shocked. This definitely wasn't around 3 o'clock.

"He's checked in, Sir! Would you like us to give him a message before he boards the plane?" The voice asked.

"NO just, forget it." Seto said and thought about what he could do next. Even he could not stop the plane without a reason and to warn Joey that he is on his way might only make matters worse, he had to hurry. Less than one hour before the plane took off and the airport was 40 minutes from his place, maybe he could make it before Joey would board the plane and if not, if he could not find him in time, he could at least board the plane himself.

He quickly booked a flight for that plane and said that he might be 5 minutes late but on his way and not let the plane leave until he was on board.

Then he jumped out of bed and said: "Hurry up, his flight is at one and he is checked in already, get dressed or stay behind." Mokuba didn't need to be told twice, after all who was going to help Seto fix this if not him? Seto would definitely just mess it up again if he was left on his own!

Kaiba grabbed the first things he got and ended up in his usual black outfit and white coat! Both Kaiba brothers sat in the limo about 5 minutes later, it would be close, much closer than Seto liked but at least there was a chance to make it.

While in the limo, Mokuba couldn't help but ask: "So, this is a life or death situation and you could have sued the poor man from the airport?"

"I needed to get the information somehow, and actually Joey could sue him now for telling me, we'll see if Joey forgives me. If not I'll help the airport guy, after all that way I will see Joey and might get another chance!"

"Are you learning anything? Like that bickering and fighting is not such a smart idea and helping someone that gets sued by Joey, would only put you up against each other again." Mokuba pointed out.

"Well that bickering and fighting made him send me that love letter, so who knows? Maybe he gets a kick out of fighting me at court too, and it's still better than nothing!" Seto said in his defence and meant every word.

Mokuba rolled his eyes, his big bro definitely would need him at the airport if he ever wanted to get a boyfriend.

"Why don't you just try to be nice to him? Even if he doesn't give you another chance right from the start, that way you could show him that you really like him." Mokuba said to help his brother and hoped he would listen to him, since he was sure that bickering couldn't be the right thing to do. "You could send him presents. They don't have to be expensive but thoughtful, like a... why are we stopping? We can't be there yet, can we?" Mokuba interrupted himself when the limousine had stopped and the driver even turned off the engine much too soon to be at the airport.

"No, we can't." Seto looked like he was about to kill someone and opened a window to the driver. "Why are you stopping and where are we?"

"I'm very sorry Mr. Kaiba, we're just on the highway and there was an accident ahead of us. The whole street is blocked, I'm afraid we're stuck for the moment!" The driver answered.

Kaiba got furious. "The hell I'm stuck here, I have a plane to catch, so get me to the airport right away. I don't care how, just get me there! Get a helicopter if needed but get me to the airport! I don't have much time left and can't afford to miss that plane!"

"I'll see what I can do, I'll talk to some people over there, maybe it will only take a few minutes until they'll let us through!" The driver offered and was gone.

In the meantime Seto got his phone out, to phone the airport once again. "How long can you keep the plane waiting?"

"15 minutes at the most. But there is another one to Los Angeles 15 minutes after that, so we could book you for that one!"

"That won't do, I need to get on the same one as Joey is! Just keep that stupid plane down!" He could not believe it, he had no time to waste and was stuck in this stupid traffic jam, but what should he do?

It took 5 minutes until the driver was back. "Sorry but they can't let anyone trough and there is no space for a helicopter but we can change to the other lane and go back to use another route."

"How much longer will it take us?" Seto asked, fearing the answer.

"About 10 till 15 minutes, it depends on the traffic." The driver said.

"Then you better make sure that it's less than that, if I miss my plane, you can kiss your job goodbye!" Seto said, knowing that it wouldn't be the man´s fault at all but he hoped that he would drive faster now. The diver gulped at that and he drove as fast as he could.

Mokuba watched his big brother and knew there was hardly any chance that they would make it at this point. "What are you going to do if you miss him?"

"I honestly don't know, I'll probably have to wait until he is back? Find out which plane he will be on and wait for him at the airport. There isn't much else I can do, is there?" Seto said. already feelining a little better since he had a back up plan and it wasn't likely that Joey's feelings would change in that short amount of time, unless it really had been a prank or a dare that had guided his hand to write that letter.

"You know, I thought that he might like you for a while now and I don't think it's just a crush for him either. I think he loves you very much and I don't think that could change in just 3 weeks." Mokuba said, trying to get his brother´s hopes up again a little.

Seto just stared ahead, unsure of what to say, he had to think of the dream, the words he heard without being able to see his puppy, after Joey had run off into the dark "Too late, Seto. You're too late. I don't want you anymore. I have a new dragon. I don't need you! I don't want you!"

What if it would become real, Joey was running from him. He ran all the way to America, to Los Angeles. A big city, where Seto would be just as blind if he tried to find him, as he was in his dream since he had no idea where to look for him there. After all Seto didn't even know if he lived in Los Angeles or some dumb little place outside of it. There were many other small towns where he could be hiding, that didn't have their own airport and were closest to the one in Los Angeles. And just like in his dream, Seto was running after him as fast as he could, but would he make it or was he doomed to be too late again? Would it be like in his dream and would Joey come back with someone else?

At the same time Joey was at the airport, just about to board the plane, thinking what Kaiba might be doing and whether he should call him one last time. He was looking for him after all.

What am I thinking? He is probably at work and doesn't care anymore. Joey was still deep in thoughts as he went on board of the plane.

He got out a book, hoping to distract himself. But it wouldn't work. He could not focus on it.

When he looked at the time again it was 5 past 1, what was taking so long? The plane seemed to be full, no one was coming in any more. So why did they not take off, he wanted to be gone, he looked out of the window as he heard a voice over the machine "We are very sorry for the delay but we are still waiting for one more passenger, but we will leave within the next 10 minutes, we are very grateful for your patience." Of course we're patient. It's not like we're having a choice in that matter. Must be some stupid rich guy that keeps everyone else waiting, that's so typical! Why should someone rich care for the feelings of the lower class? With that Joey looked back into his book to distract himself and to fight the tears that were about to start again! He still could only think of Seto. Why did it have to be him that he fell for?

"Finally" Sato said as they arrived at the airport, it was so close, was he still there or was he already too late? He wasn't sure, it was 16 minutes past one, would he be too late by one little minute? One stupid minute? He ran to the information desk and said: "Did the plane leave? The one o'clock flight to Los Angeles? Did it leave or can I still get onboard? I NEED to get on board! I NEED to! Do you hear me?"

The guy behind the desk quickly checked on the computer he had and looked afraid. Seto already knew the answer from the look on his face. "I'm sorry, Mr. Kaiba, the plane just took off!" The man said, confirming Seto's fear.

"NO. IT CAN'T BE. GET THE STUPID PLANE BACK DOWN! GET IT DOWN! DO YOU HEAR ME?" Seto said and already knew that it was hopeless.

Mokuba arrived at the desk at that moment, he wasn't as fast as his brother and had lost sight of Seto on his run to the desk.

"I'm truly sorry Mr. Kaiba but I can't! There is another one in just a moment, the boarding has already started. I can get you on that one, it still has some places left!" The man offered.

"But that's too late. I need... I need to..." Seto said still angry and thought about what he could do. Maybe he should just take that other flight and try to get a message to Joey. Maybe he would wait at the airport for him, if he went through the trouble of following all the way. He wished he could force that stupid plane back down right away.

"Seto, please calm down big brother, it will work out, I'm sure. Joey will be back in 3 weeks, that's not too long." Mokuba said and then turned to the man behind the desk. "Please check when exactly Joseph Wheeler will be returning, my brother needs to talk to him urgently!"

"The man once more checked his computer, too afraid by Seto Kaiba's anger to even start about confidentiality "In three weeks, on Saturday. His plane is scheduled to arrive at 3 o'clock! Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No, thank you!" Mokuba said and pulled Seto out of there. Seto still mumbled about good for nothing airport staff and that he should get them all fired somehow and sue them for all they had, just for making him miss his puppy.

Puppy. Mokuba thought in surprise, he had never heard his brother call Joey puppy but found the new name adorable and wondered, if Joey would ever let Seto use it.

Authors note: Thanks to LovelyRose5001, Sasu-Sama' Sarukiji-Sempai, oddsoul, Fangirl4ver, Nagareboshi-Lover and dancing elf for the reviews.

Now who wants to know what went on in Joey's head and what will happen to him while he's in America? Well those of you who read the original Too Late know more or less what will happen to him but there is something no one knows yet, that is of course no one but ME!