So, before I publish anything I of course run it by my friends. This is an exchange we had over a chat.

Me: So it's worth waiting nearly a month for the next chapter?

Friend: FOOL! TIME IS A NEBULOUS CONCEPT TO AN ARTIST!

Me: What about due dates and deadlines?

Friend: POPPYCOCK!

So there ya have it. Time is an illusion n' stuff. Anyways, on with the chapter!

I-I-I-I-I

Being the only one left, Seto walked down the hallway to Joey's room. He had to restrain himself from bursting into the room to hug his fiance. Stopping just outside, he looked down at himself and made sure his red shirt was hidden and that he had the correct ring on. He could probably make up some story about an engagement or how he wore it to get hopeless women desperate for his money off of his back.

He felt a surge of adrenaline course down his arms as he turned the handle to the door and walked inside.

And there he was. The man Seto had, perhaps foolishly, fallen in love with. For the first time in months, his eyes were open, and he was sitting upright in his bed. He felt a heat in his eyes, but quickly blinked away any tears that tried to gather.

"And here I thought it was cats that had nine lives instead of dogs." Seto said to announce himself.

Joey looked at him, then rolled his eyes. "Oh, perfect. Mr. Moneybags himself finally comes to see the dog that got run over by a big bad car, huh? Look, if all you're gonna do is hurl insults at me, Kaiba, I've got more important things to worry about." He crossed his arms and almost pouted as he looked at the wall directly across his bed.

Seto just stared at Joey for a moment. The way he spoke, the way he held himself, even the words he used...it really was the same Joey Wheeler that he knew from two years ago after Battle City.

"Not a very polite way to address your employer, Wheeler." Seto said.

Joey groaned. "Ugh. Don't remind me. So now you gonna come and tell me that I'm fired or that I gotta do something horrible to make up for being in a coma? That just sounds like something you'd do."

"Actually - -"

"And don't expect me to come to work for a while; I can barely use my arms right, not to mention I haven't even tried getting out of bed yet. So yeah, not really gonna be too useful at testing your fancy toys unless you're makin something for handicapped people." Joey continued.

"Wheeler - - "

"God, I can't remember two whole fuckin' years of my life, my dad is in prison, and now here you are to probably give me some other shit to deal with - -"

"Joseph Wheeler!" Seto exclaimed in a firm voice.

That finally shut the rambling man up. His head snapped to the side to look at Seto with his eyes wide.

Seto took a breath, and then looked back at Joey. "Now that you're awake, it's best that you know that your position is still open to you whenever you're capable of performing your duties again." Seto said in a firm, businessman voice.

"Wha - - really?" Joey asked.

Seto merely nodded. "You'll also be staying in our home after you're released." Seto didn't even realized that he'd automatically said 'our home,' referring to himself and Joey, of course.

Thankfully for him, Joey thought he'd meant Seto and Mokuba. "Okay, did you get a personality transplant or something in the two years I can't remember? You're acting way too generous."

Seto rolled his eyes, an irritated sneer on his lips. "You don't really have anywhere else to live at the moment. More importantly, you're going to require not only physical therapy and rehabilitation to train your body, but you'll also likely need the care of those qualified to look after people who have atrophied muscles and nerve damage, like you. None of your...friends," He said the word like it tasted bad, "can provide any of that for you."

"So, wait, I'm gonna have, like, nurses coming to take care of me in your mansion?" Joey asked.

"Neither Mokuba or myself are qualified to look after you. I likely won't have the time." Seto said. It wasn't a lie, but that wasn't the only reason he was relegating most of the work of caring for Joey to nurses. Seto was perfectly willing to help his fiance do anything he needed. However, keeping in mind his relationship with the mutt two years ago, he realized that if he were to assist Joey with everything he'd need, Joey would likely get suspicious and start to believe something was amiss.

"Damn. I'm gonna be living like a king." Joey said with a small smirk.

"It's all to facilitate your rehabilitation." Seto said. "I need you back at work."

Joey scoffed. "Cracking the whip and I'm not even a day into recovery, huh?"

"The imbeciles I keep having to put in your old position are lucky I haven't fired them. As much as it pains me to say," Seto said in a very hesitant voice, "there is something to be lost in not having you help oversee the quality assurance division."

Joey raised an eyebrow. "You're still being way too nice. What happened to the evil CEO that's done everything and more just to win a card game against my best friend?"

Seto looked away for a moment. "I thought that 'Owner of Kaiba Corporation Takes In Homeless Rescue Dog' might make a good story for the press. Or claiming it as a charitable deduction when tax season begins."

Joey smirked at Kaiba and, unable to flip him off, instead put his hand under his chin and flicked it quickly at him instead. "Fuck you, Moneybags." he said without any real malice behind it.

Seto didn't respond, and instead continued with what he needed to say. "All of your things have been moved to a room in the mansion. I had to make sure that there weren't any fleas on your clothes."

"I ain't got fleas, ya prick!" Joey exclaimed out of reflex.

"I would certainly hope not, considering you've been in one of the best hospitals money can buy for three months." Seto said. "And I was being sincere when I said that; apparently one of the residents of your apartment complex is in possession of a great many cats."

Joey blinked. "Ohhhh yeah. The crazy cat lady two doors down. Almost forgot about her."

Seto nodded. "Not quite an infestation, but enough to warrant a very thorough washing."

"I'd say that was nice," Joey said with a smirk, "but I know you probably just didn't wanna deal with an infestation in your mansion. The damn place is so huge it'd probably take months to clear out."

After a very quiet chuckle under his breath, Seto didn't say anything more, just standing in the hospital room. He was honestly just happy to be able to see Joey's eyes and hear his voice again. As much as he'd berate Joey for his annoying, hyperactive behaviour even to this day, Seto had missed talking to him.

"So...you know any really good lawyers?" Joey asked, looking away from Kaiba.

Seto looked back at Joey. "The man who ran you over is already in police custody."

"Not that." Joey shook his head. "Though, that is good to know. I wanna see if I can get my dad out of prison."

Seto's eyes widened a mere fraction, and his grip on his folded arms tightened, his lips pursing into a thin line. He had the very powerful urge to yell at his fiance about what Joey's dad had done to him, and how after all of the pain and suffering he'd gone through, how in the world he could possibly still want to have anything to do with that man.

The rant, the yelling, it was all on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed hard to try and quench the words.

"I might know some people." Seto said in a very low voice that almost sounded like a growl. "But I think it would be best if you saw your father in person first."

Joey visibly flinched when Seto said that, making the older man's eyes narrow. This was yet more evidence that the man didn't need to be anywhere near his puppy. The damage he'd already done was severe.

"He probably hates me..." Joey said in a low voice. "Ryou told me that I was the one who put him there. That's why I have to get him out."

Unable to say anything on the matter that wouldn't involve Joey becoming extremely pissed off with him, Seto instead finally started to walk out of the room. "Either way, you can't do anything for him while you're in that bed. You had better take your physical therapy seriously, mutt. Now that you're awake, I'm not paying this hospital for you to sit around."

Joey scoffed. "Yeah, I think I've done more than enough of that for the past few months." As he watched the tail of Kaibal's jacket flow around him, he finally asked, "Hey, uh, Moneybags?"

"Hn?" Seto looked over his shoulder.

"Since when did you start wearing all black? You start goin through a goth phase or something?" Joey asked.

"I was told to come to your hospital room because something wonderful happened." Seto said with the edges of his lips twitching upward in what Mokuba would call a smile. "I assumed you'd finally passed on, so I decided to dress for the occasion."

Joey actually let out a bark of laughter. "Yeah, great to see you haven't really changed all that much, ya giant prick."

'Oh, I've changed. More than you could possibly realize, and it was all thanks to you, Joey.' Seto felt himself wanting to say to the other man, but he held it in as he left the room.