Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature

Chapter 10 – Wednesday

Joey stood at the front door, his and Seto's bags at his feet, feeling anxious about leaving his family behind because he had to go on a business trip. Hell, he didn't even know where the fuck they were going. But he hoped it wouldn't be long.

"I gave ya a list of emergency contacts, so call if anythin' happens. Remember to eat and go to bed on time. Don't stay up too late. And make sure that Jaden and Blair get their naps in, too," the blond rambled.

"We'll be fine," assured Serenity. "And I'll make sure to do the cooking. You taught me what to do."

"Okay…it's just—"

"Everything's going to be okay. Seto's gone on business trips before and had to leave me behind," said Mokuba. "I know what to do if anything goes wrong." That said, Seto finally made it to the front door.

"As soon as we get there, we'll try to contact you, okay?" added Seto, ruffling his brother's hair.

"Are ya gonna come back?" Jaden asked quietly.

"Of course we're comin' back," gasped Joey, kneeling down in front of the small boy. "We have to go on a little trip because of work, but Uncle Mokie and Autnie Ren will be lookin' after ya while we're gone." He stroked Jaden's face affectionately.

The small boy nodded and took Blair's hand. Although the kids would never say it, they didn't want them to go.

"I love ya all," whispered the blond, kissing and hugging all of them as he fought back tears. "We'll be back as soon as we can." After Seto gave a similar goodbye, he waited for Joey to finish round two of hugs and kisses before they finally made it out the door and into the waiting limo. The image of the four of them watching them go burned into their minds.

Seto reached out and held Joey's hand in his as a means to comfort him. This was not a situation the blond was familiar with, and he knew how his Puppy felt about leaving them behind.

"I'm gonna miss them."

The brunet smiled sadly at Joey's confession. "I'm going to miss them, too."

"Does it ever get any easier?"

Seto looked out the window, contemplating his answer. "No. It was hard before…leaving Mokuba by himself. And now that I have you, and our family has grown…it's just gotten harder. We're going to have to figure out what we're going to do. I don't like the fact that both of us need to leave for a business trip."

"Then it looks like we have a big talk ahead of us."

They didn't know what to do. The mansion didn't feel like a home without Seto and Joey. It was quiet…and big…and empty.

"Let's go somewhere," Mokuba announced suddenly. He knew enough about Seto's business trips to know that staying home alone was like being kept in a prison. And he wanted to keep the others away from that feeling as long as possible.

"Okay," Serenity replied slowly, "but where should we go?"

"We can go to the mall. Maybe do some shopping, get something to eat, and pick up a couple things that we can do at home to distract us—um…I mean, to kill some time before bed."

"That sounds good to me. What do you two think? Wanna go to the mall?" Serenity asked them. Jaden and Blair looked up at them with tear-filled eyes, but nodded nonetheless.

"To the mall it is," said Mokuba.

"We have to take a copter?" Joey exclaimed, gawking at the helicopter he was being led to.

"Yes. It's the quickest way there," answered Seto.

"There? Where is there? Ya haven't even told me where the fuck we're goin'!"

The brunet sighed. "We're headed for the island Duel Academy will be built on. After we land, we'll be set up in a trailer that will serve as our living quarters for the duration of our stay. Once we get settled, we'll take a tour of the island. Tomorrow, we'll go over the plans and make any other alterations that need to be made before construction can begin. We'll sign off on the papers if we don't encounter any problems, and then we'll get to come home."

Nodding slightly, the blond eyed the copter warily. Why did they have to go on a helicopter?

"You okay, Pup?"

"Yeah." His voice came out strangled. "I just don't like the idea of ridin' in somethin' like that. So if ya suddenly find me attached to your arm and holdin' on for dear life, just let me."

"I will," Seto chuckled as he placed his arm around Joey's shoulders.

"So, what should we do first?" asked Serenity once they entered the mall.

"Let's get somethin' for Daddy and Papa," Jaden suggested, tugging on Mokuba's hand.

"That's a great idea! How about we go get some things and make something for them for when they come back?" said Mokuba.

"Like what?" started Blair, who was currently sucking on her thumb.

"We can go to the art shop and get some paints, paper, and all kinds of other stuff. Then we can draw them lots of pictures," Serenity answered.

The two smaller children seemed to like the idea, so the four of them ventured through the mall in search of arts and crafts products. When they finally reached the art shop, they hurriedly busied themselves with grabbing as much art supplies as they could possibly carry. And before they knew it, they were leaving the shop loaded up with more than enough stuff to make a huge mess.

They had finally landed on the fucking island and Joey wasn't looking too hot. About a half an hour into the flight, not only had the blond gripped onto Seto for dear life, but he'd also gotten quite airsick.

"Can you show us where we're staying?" the brunet inquired sternly. He wanted to see to his Puppy to make sure he was feeling better before venturing off into the unknown of this so-called island.

"This way, sir," said one of his employees, leading him down a dirt pathway. "Unfortunately, the trailer that was promised you didn't actually make it, so we have to make do with something else."

"And what would be that something else?" There was no way he was staying in some fucking tent. Camping was not on his to-do list.

"An RV?" Joey announced suddenly.

"Yes," stuttered the employee upon reaching their destination. "It was the best we could do—"

"Is it at least hooked up to electricity and water?" Seto demanded.

"Yes, sir."

"Then I see no problems. Leave us and we'll be ready to head out in an hour or two." The employee didn't have to hear that twice, for he scampered away like a startled field mouse. "Let's go."

Seto opened the rickety screen-door thing—he was actually surprised it didn't fall off its hinges—and stepped inside, Joey trailing behind him. There was a small kitchenette that had a stove, sink, and microwave as well as a few cabinets, some drawers that could possibly hold their belongings, a wobbly dining table, a tiny bathroom that had nothing but a toilet, sink, and pitiful shower, and a couch…that pulled out into a bed.

"This place is a dump," the brunet mumbled under his breath.

"It's better than nothin'," said Joey, setting down his bags. "I would have killed for somethin' like this while I'd been livin' with my dad."

Seto suddenly felt guilty for making such a comment. He knew the blond had lived a tough home life, barely having enough to survive. But it somehow amazed him, also, how when Joey would say something like that, it would…humble him in a way.

Joey wandered over to the cabinets and looked through them. "They're stocked with food, but not really great stuff. I can't believe there's no fridge. Don't these things normally have fridges?"

"Is that what that is?" asked the brunet, pointing at something that looked like a cabinet, only larger. He watched as Joey opened it, cool air blowing out as he did so.

"What do ya know? A mini fridge," the blond didn't sound too happy. "So we have…half a gallon of milk and six eggs. Joy. Looks like I'm gonna have to get creative with the meals."

"Well, the less time we spend here, the less you'll have to try and get creative," replied Seto, tossing his bags onto the couch. It made a weird creaking sound when he did so.

Joey shut the fridge and sighed as he wandered back over to his bags. Picking one up, he set it on the dining table and…a leg popped off. "Shit," he grumbled, trying to stick the damn thing back on. When he finally succeeded, he unzipped his bag and reached in to pull out a change of clothes. But something else grazed his fingers. What was it?

Opening the bag even further so he could see, tears immediately stung his eyes at the sight before him. Apparently, Jaden and Blair had thought it appropriate to give them a pair of stowaways. Pulling out the two teddy bears, he hugged them and sniffed.

Confused by Joey's sudden sniffling, Seto turned from his own bag and spotted the blond rocking from side to side as if he were cradling something. "Is everything all right, Puppy?" His only response was a bit of shaky nodding. Sighing, the brunet walked up to his lover and wrapped his arms around his waist from behind while resting his chin on the blond's shoulder. "You miss them."

"I-I thought I c-could hold it t-together, b-but then I found these," stammered Joey. "I d-don't like bein' away f-from them, Seto."

"I know," replied the brunet, feeling tears come to his own eyes. He'd never felt this way before; he missed them so much. He was stronger than this…wasn't he? "I don't like it either."

"I think we should get them something to eat. They're getting cranky," Mokuba observed.

"Yeah. Maybe you should take them on a bathroom break and I'll go get us some food," stated Serenity. But before Mokuba could protest, she was already gone. How dare she leave him alone in the mall with two small kids?

"Okay, guys. We're gonna take a bathroom break." The young boy picked up Blair and took Jaden by the hand and wandered over to the bathrooms…then panicked. Which one was he supposed to use?

Blair was a girl! So she should be going into the women's restroom. But then Jaden was a boy! So he should go into the men's. But then he himself was a boy! So he couldn't take Blair into the women's or the men's!

Fidgeting in front of the doors for about a minute, he decided on one: the women's restroom. He cringed as he entered, awaiting screams or being hit with stuff. But when nothing happened, he peeked and found a couple older women staring at him.

"I'm sorry!" he sputtered. "My friend left me alone with them and I didn't know which bathroom to take them into and—"

"It's all right, dear," said one of the older ladies. "It's not a problem."

"Do you need any help?" offered the other one.

Mokuba sighed in relief. "That's okay. I think I got it," he said, and the older women continued to fix themselves up in the mirror.

Taking them into the biggest stall, he helped Blair use the toilet by holding her up some. When she was finished, he flushed the toilet, and set to straightening out her clothes until—

Splash!

"Help! I fell in!" Jaden cried as he struggled to get out of the toilet he'd fallen into. All Mokuba saw was a head and a pair of legs. Panicking once more, the young boy raced over to the smaller one and pulled him out.

"Are you okay?" Mokuba asked worriedly.

Jaden giggled. "That was fun!"

Not knowing whether he wanted to just pass out from the stress or run away, Mokuba set to drying Jaden off, also making sure the two small children looked impeccable before leaving the stall. How did Joey do this?

"Let's wash your hands now." He picked them up one at a time so they could wash their hands while the older women watched with smiles on their faces.

As the women got ready to leave, they turned to Mokuba and said, "You're such a sweet young girl."

"I agree. You don't see such nice young ladies anymore," commented the other one.

Mokuba just gaped at them. They thought he was a girl?

"Are we gonna go now, Uncle Mokie?" questioned Jaden.

"Y-Yeah. Let's go." By the time they returned from the bathroom, Serenity was already there, waiting for them with a bunch of food in her hands.

"What took you guys so long?" she asked.

Mokuba opened his mouth to speak, but then shut it. Ah, hell. He was just going to ask. "Serenity, do I seem like a girl?"

Seto and Joey trudged back into the RV lethargically after their long day of wandering the island. Not only had they discovered that there was a volcano, but they'd also found a group of monkeys that had chased them for nearly half a mile because some stupid brunet—who would not be named—had decided to try and scare them off the trail they'd been taking. Boy, had that backfired. Who knew bananas could hurt so badly?

"Do…you want to take a shower, Puppy?" Seto asked slowly.

"No, I don't want to take a shower. I'm hot and I'm tired and I just wanna go to bed," the blond replied in a frustrated manner.

"Okay," said the brunet, placing his hands gently on his lover's shoulder to guide him out of the way so he could convert the couch into a bed. He yanked on it a few times before it actually budged, and when it locked in place, he pulled down the blankets. "Did you want to change?"

Joey didn't answer. He just snatched a change of clothes and locked himself in the bathroom. Seto watched him go then changed into his own set of clothes. Sighing, he sat on the bed. His Puppy was upset, but he didn't know if it was at him or not. It wasn't his fault that they didn't have a strong enough signal out here to call home and make sure everyone was okay. And it sure as hell wasn't his fault that there was no way of contacting anyone from this island. The copter would be back tomorrow afternoon to check if they'd be going home. Seto really hoped they'd be able to, because he wasn't sure if Joey could handle being away from their family much longer.

Suddenly, the blond opened the door and walked over to the dining table. He grabbed the two teddy bears and held them to his chest protectively. Seto rose and pulled Joey into his arms and kissed him with all the passion he could.

"I'm sorry how today went, Puppy. I know you're not comfortable with this situation, but I'm impressed by how you're handling it. I really am."

"What about ya?" the blond asked quietly.

"If I didn't have you with me right now, I think I might have actually broken down. You've done something to me, Puppy. You opened my heart to loving someone other than Mokuba. And I know what it's like to almost lose the ones you love. I don't like our situation anymore than you do. I'd give anything to be back home," he replied honestly.

Joey sighed and melted into Seto's warm embrace. "I love ya."

"I love you, too. Are you ready for bed now?"

His Puppy nodded mutely. Leading them to the bed, Seto got in first, Joey following. The blond pressed his back up against his lover's chest while hugging the teddy bears, content washing over him as the brunet pulled the blankets over them. Seto wrapped his arms around him again, breathing deeply as he kissed the blond's cheek. It was going to be a long night.

By the time they got home, it was pushing bedtime…for all of them. They dropped all of their bags from shopping out in the foyer and slowly plodded up of the stairs. After everyone had cleaned up and changed into their pajamas, the four of them stood out in the hallway, looking lost.

There was no one to tuck them in, no one to say goodnight to them and tell them they were loved, and no one to give them their final hug and kiss before they drifted off to sleep. It was so…lonely without—

"I want Daddy and Papa," Blair whined, echoing everyone else's thoughts.

"When are they comin' home?" Jaden asked in a similar tone.

"They might be back tomorrow night or the day after," answered Mokuba. But in all honesty, he wasn't sure. They hadn't even received a call from them.

"What do you usually do at night when Seto's away?" questioned Serenity.

The younger boy smiled halfheartedly and opened the door to Joey and Seto's bedroom. "I normally sleep in his room when he's away. Seto doesn't know that, though."

"Then we'll sleep here tonight," Serenity said finally.

Everyone bounded into the room, shutting the door behind them as they pulled down the blankets and crawled into the bed. Mokuba and Serenity lay on the outside while Jaden and Blair lay between them. Pulling the blankets over themselves, they inhaled the scent of their 'parents,' using that as a means of comfort so that they could fall into a dreamless sleep.

End Chapter