Chapter Ten – Halloween
Kaiba's 'nice' mood stretched during the next two days. He let Joey take it easy on the 29th, allowing him a lazy day in front of the television to recover. The 30th saw him forcing Joey to do no more than cook meals, and on the 31st – Halloween – he gave Joey the day off.
Needless to say, the blonde was shocked. "A-Are you sure?" He had spluttered. Standing in Kaiba's office, he had expected nothing less than bad news – his wages deducted, possibly a mountain of work to do – but the CEO seemed to be full of surprises this weather.
"Yes, now take it before I change my mind." He hadn't caught Joey's eyes, but he could have sworn he saw a faint tinge in his cheeks. Kaiba was obviously self-conscience after waking up next to Joey the day before, not to mention the blame he still had hovering over his head.
"T-Thank you, Kaiba," he managed to stutter, before giving him a respectable bow and leaving the office. As soon as he became out of earshot from the CEO, he pulled out his phone and dialled Yugi's number.
He answered on the second ring. "Joey! Hey, how're you doing?"
"Great Yugi. I was wondering if ya wanna meet up tonight. Kaiba gave me the day off, can you believe that?"
There was laughter at his friend's excitement at the other end of the line, then Yugi replied, "Well we're all meeting up ay Ryou's tonight…"
"Perfect!" Joey's happiness was evident by the tone of his voice. He hadn't seen his friends since he started working for the Kaiba's almost two months ago. They had texted him often during the first few weeks, but everyone was so busy that contact eventually ceased.
"Oh, and Joey? It's a fancy dress party, so surprise us." By the amusement in Yugi's voice, Joey suspected that there was going to be more than a surprise from him.
They said their goodbyes, and Joey hung up. Now, he had a dilemma on his hands – what to wear. He owned nothing but his own casual clothes, and he wasn't going to take a trip to the town centre to buy a costume. They were always generic ones anyway – Joey wanted something different.
He knew just who to ask.
xXx
"Oh, Kaiba?"
The CEO lifted his head from the book he was reading. He had a glazed look on his eyes that Joey knew all too well. It was the look someone had when they had been so deeply emerged in a place not of this world. Joey recognised it; he was one who used to wear it the entire time, to escape from his horrid father and impetuous mother fighting. He briefly wondered what Kaiba had been thinking of. "Yes?"
"Erm, do you still think you have that maid's outfit from when I first started. I never used it for cleaning and…"
Kaiba raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Why are asking?"
"Ehm, I'm going to a fancy dress party with Yugi, and I wanna dress up..." His cheeks turned red. He hadn't expected Kaiba to ask for forwardly. Then again, what he was asking was pretty strange.
It seemed that Kaiba was suddenly envisioning Joey in the backless apron. He looked almost disturbed as he spoke. "In the laundry room…"
"Thanks," Joey said, face still flushed as he closed the door. He caught one last look of Kaiba, who had tried to re-immerse himself in his book. As the door click, there was an audible sigh from inside.
Joey didn't think anything of it. Without further ado, he went to retrieve his maid's outfit, honestly not sure what to think of himself anymore. Where had his self respect gone? (Out the window and on the first plane to Australia…)
It was still in a paper bag on the highest shelf. As the blonde pulled it out of the bag, he suddenly remembered why he had kicked up a stink the first time he saw it - it really was awful. It looked like a rejected outfit from a yaoi manga. Joey stared at it in dismay – it was a lot more revealing than he remembered. And frilly.
And then an idea so great hit him that he almost kicked himself that he hadn't thought of it before. He would simply sew a piece of fabric onto the back, taking away the revealing side while still making him look completely ridiculous.
xXx
Several hours, one tantrum and many broken needles later, Mokuba Kaiba and Joey Wheeler sat in the former's bedroom, admiring their not-so-handiwork. The younger brother had found Joey searching for fabric earlier and offered to help. And while neither of them knew the first thing about sewing, they still managed to make the costume look somewhat decent.
Joey stood up and smoothed out the wrinkles. He still couldn't believe he had come this far – they had stitched a black piece of fabric to the back, it surprisingly blending in well with the front. Now Joey stood wearing not only the outfit, but a weird headband that Mokuba had assured would look good with the outfit.
Of course, the minute Joey stood up, Mokuba burst out laughing. And of course, his laughter and attracted the attention of Seto, who just happened to passing the room at that precise time.
"Mokuba, why are- Oh my god…" Kaiba's face was momentarily shocked as his eyes trailed down Joey's body. There was mixed surprise and horror painted on his face for a split second, then it was gone replaced with pure amusement. "Wow, you were serious."
Joey sniffed and looked away, hands planted on his hips. "Of course I was serious! It's fancy dress."
A small chuckle escaped Kaiba's lips. "I would have thought you'd dress up as a stray mongrel, but no, this is surprisingly more humiliating." Beside him, Mokuba was still giggling.
The blonde went to reply to that comment, but his eyes caught what time it was on the clock behind Seto's head and he cursed. It was almost six thirty – Ryou's party was starting in an hour. He had no other option but to walk to the white-haired teen's house from the Kaiba mansion, which was going to take forever.
"I gotta go…" He said, grabbing his phone, and an umbrella. "See ya later, Mokuba; I won't be back until tomorrow." He walked to the door, passing Kaiba and noting the annoyance on his face. Just before the door closed, Joey shouted back, "I will get you for that remark, moneybags!" Then he was gone, unaware to him that his little retort had Kaiba smirking for quiet a long time…
The air outside was cold, typical for late October in Domino. Joey began his walk to Ryou's, keeping his head down and avoiding eye contact. People would occasionally stop and give him strange looks as he passed, but luckily about two blocks away it started to rain. His face, hidden by the safety of his umbrella, saved him from the awkward eye contact with strangers. As one point, someone had wolf-whistled, causing him to turn pink.
By the time he reached Ryou's humble suburban house, it was approaching 8pm. The lights were on, and Joey could hear noises from inside – Tristan singing, in particular. He rolled his eyes. No doubt the pointy-haired man was already halfway through all the alcohol there.
He rang the doorbell, and waited. It was Yugi who eventually opened the door, a smile plastered on his face. "Joey!" He went to launch himself at Joey in a hug, but suddenly stopped, eyes wandering from Joey's feet to his head. "You're a… maid?"
"I prefer the term 'housekeeper'," the blonde replied, trying to keep a straight face, but failing.
The shorter teen burst out laughing. "Oh my god, Joey, you're crazy." He took Joey's wrist and pulled him inside. The buzz of conversation and smell of alcohol suddenly hit the blonde. "Joey's here!" Yugi called out loud, throwing his arms around the blonde in a hug. "Ah, it's been too long Joey!"
"That it has," Joey said, hugging him back. It was then that he suddenly noticed what the pint-sized teen was wearing – a pharaoh's outfit. He rolled his eyes at the irony; he should've known. "Nice costume, Yuuge," he said, stepping back.
Yugi blushed, but didn't get a chance to reply; one by one, Joey's old friends stared to appear at the door. Tristan first, wearing a suit that would give Joey nightmares for years to come – a large, purple dinosaur costume. He had a bottle in one hand, and upon seeing Joey burst out laughing.
Téa appeared next, her outfit being a petite dark magician girl; Joey saw Yugi shift uncomfortably beside him, and made a mental note to tease him about it later.
The biggest surprise of all was Ryou, dressed in a purple midriff-showing hoodie and leather pants. Beside him, dressed in Ryou's clothes, was Marik Ishtar. The blonde looked at ease, obviously putting behind him all that had happened before. Joey's eyes almost popped to see his hand resting on delicately on Ryou's hip.
"Joey, what the fuck has Kaiba done to you?" It was Tristan. "You look ridiculous!"
Joey gave him an incredulous look. "And that's coming from a purple dinosaur?"
Tristan raised his beer. "True, true."
Yugi guided them back into the living room, where they had been all sitting in a circle chatting before Joey interrupted. Joey took a seat beside Tristan, who immediately handed him drink, eyes shining with mischief. He took it and knocked back a sip.
Apparently Ryou had been in the middle of telling a story, so Joey sat back and listened. It was about some college prank he had pulled, which left a bunch of ignorant students in his year crying with humiliation. Joey listened, starting to feel more at ease in those short minutes than he had ever been. He sipped his beer, and let go of whatever stress he had built up inside disappear.
"So, what about you Joey?" Yugi asked. "How's working for the infamous Seto Kaiba?"
The blonde shrugged. "It's okay, I guess. He's still a prick, in case you're wondering. Mokuba's all right, though."
"Anything interesting happen?" Téa asked.
Define 'interesting', Joey thought bitterly, thinking of the many times Kaiba had snapped at him, or that he had lost his temper. "Nope, sadly."
Ryo frowned. "So… What do you do all day?"
"Um, clean, cook… That's all I have time for, really."
"No TV?" That was Tristan. The horror on his face was genuine.
Joey shook his head. "Nope."
"Books?"
"Ha, as if I'd have time to read!"
They were all staring incredulously at Joey, unable to comprehend that Joey Wheeler, the most energetic and spontaneous of their little group, was stuck in such a boring, monotonous job. Though, they were too nice to say it…
"Jeeze, how boring!"
Apart from Marik. He wasn't.
"It's not that bad!" Joey said defensively.
"Seems it!" The Egyptian snapped back. "Housekeeper for Seto Kaiba? I'm surprised he let you out of the attic for a few hours…"
"Marik!" Ryou gave him a sharp look, a strange thing for one so timid. "Stop it."
"Why is he here anyway?" Joey demanded, pointing at the blonde, while looking around for an explanation. Yugi was staring between the two men, half-scared of a fight breaking out. "He only tried to kill us a few months ago, in case you have all forgotten."
The other blonde put his arm around Ryou. "We're together, actually." As he said it, Ryou wiggled away from his grasp. The blonde's mouth opened. "Ryou?"
"Stop it!" He hissed at the Egyptian. "Stop making trouble!"
Marik lifted his hands defensively. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He crossed his arms as if to show that he wasn't going to do anything, and out of the corner of his eye, Joey saw Yugi relax.
The doorbell suddenly rang, and Tristan leaped up to get it. He returned several minutes later with Duke Devlin behind him, dressed as, well, himself. In those brief seconds when Tristan had left, there was an awkward silence in the room. Téa sipped on a glass of water, avoiding eye contact, while at the other side of the circle, Marik was desperately trying to catch Ryou's eye.
"Hey, Duke's here." Tristan announced, sitting down again beside Joey. The Dungeon Dice Monster's creator sat between them, hastily grabbing the drink before him.
"Sorry I was late," the raven haired man said, blissfully unaware of the tension in the room, "I had to stay behind and help my dad. It's the worst part about college – having to make up the time to your parents…."
Yugi rolled his eyes. "I know what you mean… Ever since I started college, I've had hardly anytime to help grandpa, so when I'm home…"
They launched into a discussion about their weekend jobs at the two game shops, and the atmosphere returned to normal. Ryou stopped ignoring Marik after a while, though he still wouldn't let him put his arm around him.
The time dragged on, but as hard as Joey tried, he couldn't relax. He had so little to say, while everyone else was bursting with funny stories and gossip. Most of it was college-related, so Joey started to feel left out. He knew it wasn't deliberate. Everyone had exciting stories of their lessons – the most he could talk about was which cleaning product worked best in the kitchen, and highly doubted they would care.
Nine pm, and Joey was halfway through his second bottle of beer. Yugi was hopelessly flirting with Téa while Ryou told of how he had almost blown up the science building at college.
Nine thirty pm, and Tristan was refused his fourth drink. He sulked, only to have Duke slip him another one when Yugi wasn't looking.
Ten pm, and conversation was dying, but someone had put on music.
Ten thirty pm, and Joey hadn't spoken in an hour. He had nothing to say.
Eleven pm, and he was clapped on the back by Tristan. "C'mon Joey, another drink."
He refused. "Nah, I better not. I gotta work tomorrow."
In his drunken state, Tristan frowned. "Please, Joey! Don't be so boring!"
Once again, Joey shook his head in refusal. "Tristan, I have to work tomorrow. I can't be hung-over – Kaiba would kill me!"
"Pfft, it's always about Kaiba, isn't it?" The brunet slurred, walking away from the blonde in favour of more interesting things.
Joey watched him go, pushing down the anger inside him. No one understood him anymore. They were all about college and themselves, whereas Joey… He hated to agree with Tristan but he was boring. Even Ryou was sounding more interesting than him.
The blonde found himself being pushed aside a little. He decided enough was enough. There was no point being there if he couldn't drink or if his friends didn't care enough to act interested in his monotonous lifestyle. They didn't even notice as he shrugged on his jacket and said goodbye. Before they knew it, Joey was outside the house and walking home, not a soul calling him back.
It was cold now. He passed very few people – the odd straggler who was still trick or treating, the occasional late-night drinker – and took a shortcut through the not-so-shabby estates of Domino to Kaiba's mansion. He knew the way well.
The lights were on in the living room as Joey shut the front door behind him. He suspected Kaiba to be working, but when he pushed the door open, the brunet was sitting on the couch, one arm resting on the back while the other was aimlessly flicking buttons on the remote. He was alone; Mokuba didn't seem to be around.
"Back so soon?" Kaiba commented, not bothering to turn around and greet the blonde. "As expected, a dog will always return home to its master."
If Kaiba was expecting a typical Joey-like rebuttal to that comment, he didn't get it. "Yah, yeah, good one."
Joey's walk home had left him in a mood, which even Kaiba's remarks couldn't rouse him from. The brunet noticed this and turned around. "Wheeler?" Dropped his arm from the back of the couch and patted the spot to the far left of him. "Sit down and stop moping."
Joey chose the place closest to Kaiba to annoy him. If the brunet was uncomfortable with this arrangement, he didn't show it. "Did the nerd herd kick you out?" The mockery was there in his voice, but Joey chose to ignore it.
"No, I left early." He gave a small tug to the end of the maid's outfit; the frills were beginning to annoy him. His hoodie was baggy, but it only came down to his hips, leaving the rest of his body cold, especially as the outfit reached his mid-thighs.
"You look fucking ridiculous." Kaiba commented as he followed Joey's gaze.
"I wasn't the one who had this hiding in my utility room…" Joey pointed out, shooting a smirk at Kaiba.
For once, the brunet looked like he had nothing to say. He opened his mouth, but shut it when no appropriate words would come out.
"Aw, cat got your tongue?"
At that remark, Kaiba did have something to say, "Would 'dog' be more suitable?" It was his turn to smirk, and he did, his cold blue eyes catching Joey's brown. He poured every once of his smugness into his glares, the blonde noted. It was quiet impressive, truth be told.
Several glare-filled seconds later, Kaiba asked, "Why did you leave early?" to which Joey shrugged. "Was it the costume? Because I think it was. Even Moto would be put off by it, and we all know what he's like."
"No, I just… I felt… out of place," Joey admitted, biting down hard on his lip.
Kaiba sighed and leaned back into the chair. "If you're looking to load your pitiful worries on me, Wheeler, I'm afraid you've come to the wrong guy."
A shock of anger went through Joey's eyes, but before he could reply, Kaiba added, "But, I will say that if were you – and thank Duel Monsters I'm not – I would seriously reconsider who my real friends are."
The blonde opened his mouth and stared. Seto Kaiba just gave him advice – crap advice – but none-the-less advice. He had no idea how to respond to it, but he tried. "You're probably right, moneybags…" A slight pause, before he added, "It's weird, hearing you say nice things."
"For that," Kaiba said, locking his jaw in a hard expression, "You're getting docked pay."
"What?" The blonde burst out angrily. "That's not fair! What the hell, Kaiba, you jerk!"
He held up his hands defensively. "I was kidding, Wheeler!" He gave a chuckle. "I knew you'd react like that. You're just a predictable, reliable mutt."
Annoyed, Joey crossed his arm. "Hmph." He said, staring directly ahead at the television. "Where's Mokuba?"
"At a friends' house." Kaiba replied. He glanced at his watch. "Well, might as well make the most of your last three minutes of your day off…"
Joey narrowed his eyes. "Um, why?"
"Because," Kaiba said, flicking back the sound onto the television. Some scary Halloween movie was on, Joey noted. "The job I have for you tomorrow will either make or break you. Probably your back, in case you're wondering."
Joey gave his second 'hmmph' that night and pushed Kaiba's mild attempts at foreshadowing aside. He focused his gaze on the television. "I've heard of this one!" He said, recognising the movie. "We watched it at Tristan's once. Well, he did. I was too, um, tired." His cheeks turned red at the memory. They had been eleven. Tristan's parents had gone out, leaving Joey and Tristan alone. They had watched the movie after hearing about how scary it was. Joey remembered how they had both been terrified for weeks.
"Is the mutt scared?" Kaiba teased, turning the volume up. Joey cursed his surround sound speakers. He could hear every single sound… The blood falling, the screams….
Of course, even if Joey was a tiny – a microscopic – bit scared, he wasn't going to admit it. His childhood fear may have ebbed, but it was still there. "Of course not!" He stood up. "I'm going to bed. Night, Kaiba."
Suddenly, Kaiba grabbed his arm and yanked him back onto the couch. "You're staying," the CEO grinned.
"What! No! C'mon Kaiba, ya jerk, lemma-" He pulled his hand away, only to fall back several feet away, flat on his ass.
Kaiba chuckled before pointing at the seat. "Sit."
"I'm not a-"
"Take a seat."
"…" The blonde sat down, arms crossed defiantly. He didn't want to watch this. He didn't want Kaiba to see him freak out.
Okay, keep calm. Joey said to himself, It's just a movie. That isn't real blood… Okay, that wasn't- Oh god!
Beside him, Joey heard Kaiba laugh. No doubt at him. He turned his head, but the brunet wasn't looking at him. His gaze was fixed on the television. He was laughing at the film.
Suddenly, he turned and frowned at Joey. "What?"
"You're seriously enjoying this?"
The CEO frowned. "No, I merely find the shameful quality of the production funny. It's such an amateur-ish film. Only an idiot would be sca- Oh. Of course." He gave the blonde a signature smirk. "You're terrified."
Joey's cheeks turned pink, so he turned his head sharply away. "Am not!"
Reaching out a hand, Kaiba placed it on Joey's shoulder suddenly. The blonde jumped. This amused Seto somewhat. "Ha! I knew it!"
"I'm not scared. I've just had, er, bad experiences regarding this film before…" This time, he stood up and quickly moved out of Kaiba's grasp. "I'm going to bed, for real this time." Unlike the last attempt to escape, Joey didn't bid Kaiba goodnight. He slipped out the door wordlessly, leaving Kaiba alone.
The room suddenly felt colder. Kaiba flicked off the television and lay back onto the couch, the palms of his hands pressed to his eye sockets. He couldn't describe exactly what was going on in that complex head of his, but he felt mildly surprised at himself. He thought he had been relatively civil to the blonde.
His epiphany had been that cause of all this. Two days ago, when Joey was unconscious in his bed and Seto had banished the doctor-on-call from the room, he had felt panic rise in his chest. Not the normal type of panic he felt from time to time when an employee was injured at work. No, that sort of panic was not legal-related panic. At that time, as he watched Joey, he was fearful for his housekeeper rather than himself.
The selflessness on his part had been hovering around Seto for several days now. When he tried to forget about it, it would return, hitting him in waves. When he closed his eyes, the same feeling that accompanied the panic from earlier returned.
Was it affection? No, hardly. He never felt affection for anything other than Mokuba.
He hadn't told his brother of the weird feeling. He would worry. Possibly call it a medical condition and force Seto to have a check up. Yes, it did come from inside him, but it was a lot more than something a doctor could diagnose. It started in Seto's stomach, fluttering and beating, rising in waves from there to his chest, where it would swirl around and around until it disappeared, suddenly.
Kaiba rolled onto his side. It was currently there. He pressed his fist to his chest, frowning in annoyance. If that stupid blonde hadn't decided to stop in after coming home, he never would be in this situation.
As usual, all things came back to the blonde. It was all his fault, damn housekeeper.
Clueless Kaiba is clueless. ¬_¬ Short chapter, I know, but I'll compensate the length of it in the next instalment. ;) Ugh, I hate the ending. I'll probably revise it at some point -_-" I had originally planned for there to be a hellah load of fluff & stuff in this chapter, but I JUST COULDN'T DO IT It's too soon for that (well, almost). I promise you, that wait shall be worth it! :3
No, Tristan isn't an alcoholic. He just seems to like his beer. XD But he is a purple dinosaurs (abridged watchers, did you see what I did there ;D)
And finally, I know, I know, Joey in a maid outfit may seem somewhat ridiculous, but if you've seen Yu-Gi-Oh season Zero (episode 19, if you're interested) then you'll know that Joey is no stranger to dressing like a woman. :P
Thanks to all the reviews, follows & favs!