Serenity stands next to Joey Wheeler in the bathroom in the small apartment they share. "Joey are you sure you don't want to brush your hair out of your eyes?" Serenity asks fingering the brush, she'd asked if she could do his hair, and he'd refused. Telling her that he'd let her dress him up like a doll, but his hair was special and nobody but him got to touch it.
Serenity stares nervously at the clock in the kitchen, "Come on Joey, you've got to hurry up! Your ride is going to be here any minute."
"Yea', yea', I'm coming…" Joey comes out of his room wearing faded jeans, a black button up shirt, with the sleeve rolled to his elbows, and black dress shoes. Serenity had had to beg him to wear the shoes, telling him it made him look more gentlemanly. He didn't buy it but felt that since his sister was nice enough to get him a date, that he would oblige.
"Oh! You look very handsome Joey." Serenity claps her hands together walking around him to give him a good look over. "He's not going to be able to resist you now." She says nodding her approval.
"Who?" Joey asks batting her hand away from trying to fix his hair.
"You'll find out, you better get outside, your ride should be here now. Please give this a chance and remember that I did this because I love you." Serenity gives him a quick squeeze, before shoving him out the door. "Don't be home before 8 o'clock!" Serenity warns closing the door behind him. He hears the lock click into place. Sighing he makes his way out to the front side walk.
"Mr. Wheeler?" Roland asks as Joey descends the steps from his apartment building.
"Yea'?" Joey asks looking at the larger man who wears dark sunglasses and a neatly ironed suit. Roland holds open the door to the limo, Joey gives him a somewhat skeptical look but enters the limo. Joey sits back into the plush seat, trying to place the man who had helped him into the limo. He'd seen him before, but wasn't sure where. Joey shrugs to himself, figuring it doesn't really matter where he'd seen the man before.
-x-x-x-
Mokuba sits from Kaiba's swivel office chair, watching Kaiba get ready for his big date.
"So who are you torturing me with for an hour?" Kaiba asks buttoning up his black shirt. He wears black slacks, neatly creased, with black dress shoes, neatly shinned, with a new purchased white trench coat.
"Oh you'll see." Mokuba grabs his brother's arm dragging him to the elevator.
-x-x-x-x-
Joey looks out the tinted windows to see where the limo had stopped. Roland opens his door, giving Joey a better look at the immense building that houses Kaiba Corp.
"No ya' gotta be kiddin' me." Joey scoots back in his seat shaking his head at Roland. Roland sighs, grabbing hold of Joey's arm he drags him from the limo.
"I'm sorry sir, but Master Mokuba gave me strict orders to get you to the roof by 6 o'clock, and it's just about that."
He gently pulls Joey into the front hall of the large glass building, once in the elevator he presses one of the many buttons, giving Joey a rather apologetic look. Joey glares at him from where he stands, he'd pressed himself into the corner of the elevator farthest away from Roland.
"This is kidnappin', tha's what this is!" Joey grumbles watching the numbers change from floor to floor.
"You got in the car willingly Mr. Wheeler." Roland points out, turning ever so slightly to glance at Joey.
The elevator dings quietly announcing the arrival to the roof. Roland pulls out a key card and opens the elevator doors. With a quick shove he pushes Joey out into the open, the doors closing behind him. Joey shivers at the sudden cold, he pounds on the doors, wishing they would open.
"Should'a never come on a stupid date…" Joey mutters fiercely, he turns around to be faced by Seto Kaiba in all his glory. He sits calmly at a circular table with candles lining the balcony counter. His arms and legs crossed his cobalt blue eyes burn holes into Joey.
"Wha' ya' lookin' at you freak?" Joey demand shaking a fist at him.
"What makes you think I was looking at you mutt?" Kaiba raises a sliver glass to his lips, taking a small sip.
Joey gulps shaking his head, "You're kiddin' right? I ain't havin' dinner with you…"
"No one said you had to eat anything." Kaiba glances at the clock placed above the elevator doors, "It's 6 o'clock."
"Yea' who gives a flyin' fuck?" He stomps over to the table, he straddles the chair his arms resting on the back, he glowers at Kaiba. Picking his tall silver glass, he takes a quick gulp. Kaiba watches with mild interest as Joey, rushes over to the balcony, he spits whatever was in his mouth over the roofs edge.
"Wha' t' hell was tha'? You tryin' to kill me you fuckin' bastard?" He wipes his mouth on his sleeve, taking the neatly folded napkin on the table he wipes his tongue on it, trying to get the foul taste off.
"Never had champagne mutt? I suppose they don't serve things like that to zoo animals."
6:05P.M
Kaiba and Joey sit across from each other both eating steak, with a side of potatoes and gravy, collared greens, and a fancy French roll. Kaiba sits with his napkin in his lap, cutting his steak into small pieces and chewing thoughtfully, while taking small sips of champagne now and again. Joey watches him with interest, watching the way his arms flex ever-so-slightly when he cuts his food, the way he runs his tongue over his lips lightly after taking a bite…
"Do you find something amusing monkey boy?" Kaiba looks over his glass at Joey.
"Huh?" Joey coughs almost choking on his food, "Nah you're to damn borin' to find anythin' interestin'." He mutters glowering at his plate.
6:47P.M
"Times almost up mutt." Kaiba nods toward the clock. Joey nods letting another leaf fall from the balcony to the people below, he'd just about destroyed the plant Mokuba had placed on the middle of the table as a center piece.
"Bet'cha tha' makes you happy. Can get back to your fuckin' job." Joey mutters, he thinks about the letter in his pocket, the one that he wanted to give Kaiba, the one that he'd never have the courage to give.
Kaiba sighs, Joey had been extra quiet the whole dinner and hadn't said anything to Kaiba afterward, just kept picking at the plant.
6:55P.M
Joey watches the clock turn from 6:54 to 6:55, he had five minutes to get the courage to tell Kaiba. This was his chance, he turns to face Kaiba, surprised to see him watching him with his blue eyes. "Moneybags…" Joey is caught off guard by how small his voice seems, he clears his throat, "Moneybags…" His voice cracks he pauses trying to gather his thoughts.
"You're wasting my time mutt." Kaiba stands walking over to the elevator he leans against the wall, crossing his arms, he looks at the clock, 6:58P.M.
"Will ya' stop bein' a jerk for one minute?" Joey crosses his arms, he wishes that he could shrink into the ground and never come up again.
Kaiba scoffs shaking his head, "I don't need to do anything for you, mutt." He turns to the elevator doors opening. "Time to go mutt."
Joey blinks back tears that are on the verge of falling from his hazel eyes.
Kaiba watches Joey struggle with himself, wondering if he was the cause of his unhappiness. He scolds himself for caring, he's just a third rate duelist, who cares how he's feeling? Kaiba presses level 37 and "L" for Joey.
As the elevator doors open for Kaiba, Joey grabs his arm roughly. Kaiba looks down at Joey's hand with mild disgust, "What is it mutt, our times up."
"Jus' take this." Joey pulls a neatly folded paper from his back pocket of his jeans, letting go of Kaiba's arm the elevator doors close on a rather puzzled Seto Kaiba.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Joey decides to walk home, even though Roland offered to drive him back to his apartment. Needing time to think he takes the long route home, through the park. He wipes at the tears streaming down his face angrily. "Shoulda just said somethin'." He mutters, but after some thought, he wonders what he would have said. Joey pulls his Sidekick out of his pocket and dials Serenity's phone number, feeling the need to think out loud.
"Hello, Serenity speaking." Serenity's little pixie voice answers after three rings.
"'Ren it's Joey…" Joey sniffs, he sits down on a park bench, being only a few blocks from home, he could have talked to her in person, but he hates crying in front of people, so decides to stay in the park for a while.
"Big brother what's wrong?" Serenity's voice conveys her worry for her older brother. Hoping that his unhappiness has nothing to do with his date with Kaiba, she waves Mokuba over to listen to their conversation.
"My date was wit' Kaiba! Why'd you do tha' 'Ren?"
"Joey I thought that it would be a good time for you two to talk, I thought it was a good idea. You know? Give you a chance to talk to him about how you feel." Serenity looks at Mokuba who looks put out by the fact that his brother hadn't returned Joey's feelings.
"He kept lookin' at the clock, all he wanted to do was leave!" Joey wails.
"Oh Joey… I'm so sorry. I had no idea that he'd do that. He has a bit of a problem with socializing with people, maybe next time he'll be better?" Mokuba shakes his head at Serenity, "There might not be a next time, knowing Seto he's going to ground me for life, and I doubt he's going to be taking dating advice from me ever again. Maybe Joey should go to his office and talk to him?" Mokuba suggests. Serenity nods, "Joey, go talk to him."
"'Ren didn't ya' hear me? He doesn't wan' to talk to me! He told me he don't want nothin' from me. There ain't goin' to be another time! " Joey pushes his bangs out of his eyes leaning back on the bench he heaves a sigh.
"I know but maybe you didn't show enough emotion, you do that Joey. You sometime say things and they don't come out right because you're afraid of looking to weak. Come to think of it, Kaiba's a lot like that too." Serenity sighs looking at Mokuba for help, he shrugs unsure of what to do next.
Joey's phone beeps, pulling the phone from his ear he looks to see who is calling him. "Unknown", blinks on the screen.
"'Ren I gotta go, someone's callin' me." Joey says his goodbye and hangs up. Pressing the connect button on his phone, he presses it lightly to his ear, "'Ello?"
"Mutt."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Kaiba looks down at the piece of paper on his desk, rereading the neat script.
"Dear Seto,
I think you're sort of crazy and you wear some of the stupidest clothes, but I love you. I don't know why, or when it happened, I just do. Please love me back.
Much Love,
The Mutt."
Kaiba dials Joey's number, which he'd obtained from Mokuba's phone book. After five rings Joey picks up.
"'Ello?"
"Mutt." Kaiba runs his fingers over the piece of paper delicately.
"Kaiba?" Joey asks completely taken aback, he considers hanging up, but decides to hear what Kaiba has to say.
"We need to talk, come to my office." Kaiba taps his pen against his clean blotter.
"Why t' heck would I come to your office, moneybags?"
"I'd like to discuss your letter. My office, you've got 15 minutes." Kaiba hangs up. He rubs his temples, beginning to feel a migraine headache pulsing behind his eyeballs.
-&-&-&-
Authors Note:
Hm… That wasn't how I was expecting it to go to be quite honest. But I rather like the out come, I hope you do to. I didn't want Kaiba to suddenly fall in love with Joey, that's not Kaiba, and I personally hate stories that move to fast. I'm beginning to think this story is going to be about 15 chapters long, but that's all right. Hopefully you don't mind reading endlessly long stories, although anymore than 15 might be to much. Either way, tell me what you think. I hope I haven't ruined Kaiba for you, I'm trying my best to keep him like he is in the series. Thank you all so much who have posted comments, that's very kind of you. Next chapter coming soon, I hope.
