A/N: Thanks to bibiana27 for following this little story of mine... please enjoy

Joey opened his eyes slowly, rolling over to check the time on his phone. Today was his last day at the resturant, and all he was really doing was helping with a final inventory and cleaning before the auction over the weekend. He had originally planned on being out several weeks ago, but his boss had reminded him of his contract when several of his peers had stopped showing up.

Luckily, Kaiba had been flexible with Joey's start date, his reasoning that it would give him enough time to come up with an announcement for their next project.

Speaking of which... Joey looked over his shoulder to see the brunet was gone. The sound of water running confirmed where the older man was and Joey settled back down in bed, crossing his arms behind his head and enjoying the luxiourious feel of expensive sheets. This would be one of his last times here, and he intended to enjoy it.

Starting Monday he would be an employee of Kaiba Corp, and that meant his whatever it was with Kaiba would be ending. That meant going back to his real life, an empty apartment that his sister had vacated shortly after their fight.

Once Joey had seen that all of her stuff was gone, he had called her, intending to smooth things over. That had changed when Tristan answered the phone, blustering and threatening the blond. The two friends had exchanged words, quick and threatening until Tristan had informed Joey that Serenity would be staying with him and Duke and would contact him when she was ready.

The phone clicked off in his ear, and Joey sat there a minute, not knowing what to do. Not wanting to stay by himself he had shown back up at the mansion, convincing Kaiba to let him occupy the other side of the bed for a few weeks.

The brunet had given in with little fight, which Joey was glad about. They quickly fell into a habit, unknown to anyone but Kaiba's little brother. Mokuba had left for college after the first 2 weeks, not commenting on the blond who had quickly taken over the mansion. Or the fact his brother would be home by the time Joey got out of work, his face twitching into an almost smile once Joey would plop down next to him on the couch.

The three would watch the news together, Joey often falling asleep curled around the taller man. Kaiba would sit there, gently rubbing the blond's back while talking to his brother. Then they would go to bed, Kaiba carrying his sleeping temporary lover.

Mokuba would watch them disappear into his brother's bedroom, questions still on the tip of his tongue but choosing not to ask them, lest he ruin whatever happiness his brother had found even if it was a little weird.

The night he left he had caught Joey in the hallway and quietly expressed his concerns which were quickly brushed off by the blond. The two boys had parted in annoyance, both thinking the other was crossing the line. By an unspoken agreement they did not mention their talk to Kaiba, who was completely oblivious that their last dinner together was almost completely silent.

Mokuba had left after dinner, claiming he wanted to beat traffic back. Joey watched him before convincing Kaiba to go to bed early. The next week flew by, and before they knew it, it was time for their last weekend together.

For now though... Joey snuggled back under the sheets and closed his eyes. He might as well get a few more minutes in before Kaiba got out of the shower.

Soon enough, Joey felt the bed dipped and he peaked out to see Kaiba staring at him.

"Morning."

"Morning Kaib' aren't you going to be late for work?"

Joey asked, looking over at the desk clock. Kaiba nodded before standing, his long white coat covering him like a suit of armor.

"I just wanted to see what your plans are for this weekend. Will you be coming back here tonight or not?"

Joey cocked his head at the question, thinking for a minute.

"I was planning on staying here until Sunday afternoon. I have to do some grocery shopping before work on Monday, unless that's going to be a problem with you?"

"That will be fine. I'll see you later than, enjoy your last day of work."

Kaiba swiftly walked out of the room, coat billowing behind him as he left. Joey sighed and picked up his phone, checking his email and messages before getting up to great the day himself.

Hours later and Joey was ready to leave. The restaurant was almost cleaned out, and he was getting tired of lugging boxes of cooking oil and random spices all over the place. On the other hand, the kitchen looked spotless, the kind of clean one could only achieve by getting rid of everything. The boss had nodded his approval, shaking Joey's hand and wishing him the best of luck.

Ten more minutes and work would be done, and Joey would be officially unemployed for the first time since he was 12 and had joined a gang to survive. He plopped down on a barstool and stared into space, wondering what he was going to do for the rest of the day when a presence made itself known to him.

"Joey?"

"Serenity? What are you doing here?"

"I heard you guys were closing so I decided to come down and talk to you. You're never home

anymore where have you been?"

Joey didn't know how to answer that, instead choosing to look at his little sister closely. If he didn't know better, he would have never even known that she was pregnant. Without thinking his hand shot out and gently touched her belly, feeling for something to happen. Serenity giggled, shaking her head at her brother.

"It's going to be a few more weeks before the kicking starts Joey. I do have something for you though. I hope it helps."

Serenity reached into her purse and handed Joey an ultrasound picture. Joey stared at it in amazement, feeling the same outpouring of affection that he had had with his niece. That was until he saw the writing up top.

"Ren? How come there is three names listed up at the top?"

He pointed at the wording, which clearly had Serenity, Tristan and Duke's names listed. Serenity sighed before hugging her brother and whispering in his ear.

"I love you big brother. I love that you're always there for me and you are amazing person but this is my life. I have chosen to carry this baby for our friends and nothing you say is going to change it. Learn to deal."

She pulled back after that, still smiling. Joey stroke her sisters face, kissing her on the cheek.

"You win Ren. I'm just an idiot who needs to understand that you've grown up and can handle yourself just fine. I don't even know why you are talking to me honestly."

"Tristan's been an insufferable jerk since you two got into a fight, if you don't apologize and make things right with him I might just beat him senseless."

Serenity admitted sheepishly.

"Plus, I heard that you're starting at Kaiba Corp on Monday, I wouldn't want to miss those fireworks. Maybe we should take bets on how long it'll be before you and Kaiba knock each other out."

Joey laughed, standing up and stretching.

"I'll be done in a few, how about you waddle down the street and meet me at Burger World? Maybe bring my niece so I can stuff her full of french fries?" Serenity shook her head at Joey, sighing. "First of all, she's at daycare right now. Second, I told you she can't eat that stuff. Third, I Don't WADDLE!" "Give it time sis, give it time."

Joey waved at her before hurrying of to finish his last task before the place closed for good.

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Lunch had been slightly tense, once the siblings had caught up on the last few weeks there was little to talk about. Joey of course didn't mention a word about where he had been staying, which only helped to aggrevate the situation.

Once the two parted, Joey had jumped in his car for a ride, ending up at the shop that Tristan worked at. He had stayed outside for a bit before summoning up his courage and going in. The yelling had lasted for a good 15 minutes, Tristan obviously had been warned by Serenity that Joey might be showing up. Luckily, there were no customers in the shop, although Tristan had to stop his ranting several times to pick up the phone and answer inquiries.

By the third interruption, he had stopped yelling, unsure of what else to say. Joey took that opportunity to express his feelings, which started Tristan yelling again. The two boys ended up on the floor, throwing punches and yelling in each others faces.

Then it stopped, Tristan looking down at Joey who was glaring at him covered in grease and dirt on the floor. He quickly got up, pulling up the blond and allowing him a second to recup. Tristan's split lip stung, but not as badly as Joey's nose which was dripping blood on the floor.

The sight made the brunet cringe, after all the fights the two had had none of them ended this bad. He handed Joey a stained but clean towel and offered the blond a place to sit. He then went back to work, typing up the last few orders before the shop closed for the night.

Joey watched him warily, not wanting to start yet another fight between them. Unable to stand the silence, Joey lowered his towel, paying no mind to the blood dripping on his shirt.

"Tris?"

The brunet froze, allowing Joey the chance to finish. All the years of friendship hung between them, and Joey broke first, wrapping his buddy in a fierce hug. Tristan responded, sighing gently in relief that they were going to be ok.

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Joey appeared at the mansion at almost 7, whistling to himself. Kaiba had messaged him that he would be home by 8 with take out, which gave Joey plenty of time to clean himself up some more. He had spent the past two hours hashing out everything with Tristan, their friendship on the fragile road to recovery.

The only person left was Duke, and that would be taken care of on Sunday during the dinner that Tristan had invited him too. Speaking of which... there was a strong smell coming from the dining room. He pushed open the door, wincing as he saw Kaiba sitting at the table, arms folded as he waited, one eyebrow raised as he took in Joey's appearance.