One Long Week
Chapter 9 - Day 4
Seto sat at his desk, methodically typing on his laptop, azure eyes tiredly scanning lines and lines of data. He blinked wearily as the electronic words and numbers blurred into an incomprehensible smudge against his vision. A smudge that looked oddly like Mokuba scolding Kaiba for working too much. He had to admit, he felt so exhausted, and had no idea how long he had been working thus far, couldn't even remember when he had began.
He paused for a moment, trying to give himself the tiniest break. He rubbed at his eyes, trying to relieve some of the strain. He pushed his head to the side until it gave an audible pop, breaking the stuffy silence in his office.
He finally glanced down resolutely to resume his work, but froze once again as he heard soft footsteps pad discreetly over to his doorway.
He looked up in time to see Joey step into his office unannounced, coming to a rest inside the door frame, one arm resting on the wood above his head, the other hanging loosely to his side with one thumb tucked underneath the waistband of his pants. Kaiba tried not to look at the digit jealously. He tore his eyes away from glaring at the lucky appendage, and forced himself to concentrate back on the rest of the lanky boy who seemed to be looking at him smolderingly through half-lidded eyes. Though that could have been Kaiba's imagination, as Joey wouldn't know how to be seductive if a giant flapping book labeled Seduction for Dummies slammed itself shut on his nose.
All the same, he couldn't deny that Joey was looking rather provocative at the moment.
As Kaiba became rather lightheaded, he took a moment to restore his breathing down to normal levels. He would rather die before passing out from hyperventilation in front of the blonde teen.
After a few more seconds, he had to force his breathing to start once again as the edges of his vision began to turn dark and fuzzy. He realized that passing out from asphyxiation would be just as mortifying.
Completely unaware of Kaiba's inner battle for a healthy amount of oxygen, Joey continued to stare at the blue-eyed CEO with that same heavy-lidded stare. Kaiba resumed his own staring right back.
Joey wore baggy jeans that seemed to hug low on his waist – Kaiba had to slap himself as he struggled not to drool at the pelvic crease that could be seen peeking out of its fabric cage, although he did continue to stare at it obsessively. That's right, Mr. Pelvic Crease, you come on out to play – that also sported a few strategically placed tears in the denim that showed off the flawless skin of his thighs, and a blue plaid shirt that lazily draped his thin, though still muscular, frame, unbuttoned and partially tucked in on one side.
Kaiba was fully aware his gaze seemed to glue itself on the glorious, magnificent strip of toned chest that could be seen from between the two sides of the cotton fabric.
(Kaiba's hand had raised a few inches forward in an unconscious desire to run its fingers down those nicely shaped abs – oh so very nice abs - but when Kaiba noticed it, he slapped it harshly back down onto the unforgiving wood of his desk, and threatened the limb with amputation. It lay limp, trembling in compliant fear.)
Golden hair reflected in the sunlight shining in slanted rays between the blinds in the office window, but was shaggier than ever before. In fact, his hair had reached an all new standard of unruliness that would make an inanimate bird's nest weep with envy. All in all, he had a rugged demeanor that was, well, sexy.
And Kaiba was afraid. Very, very afraid.
He gulped rather audibly, and forced his attention back down to the computer screen. He tried to ignore the feeling that he was acting like some juvenile grade school girl who couldn't make eye contact with her crush. Because, seriously? Totally not true.
Kaiba glared daggers, but seeing as he was still currently refusing to look Joey in the eye, it was rather lost somewhere in the carpet. The dust mites under the rug quivered in fear, but Kaiba didn't care about them.
He growled. "I'm busy, mutt, can't you bother me some other time?" Like when you have on five or more layers of clothing, he mentally added. A soft chuckle emanated from somewhere in front of him, and Kaiba cursed it for being the single most sexiest thing to have graced his eardrums.
He heard the blonde moving, and was momentarily relieved that Joey had finally decided to leave him be to his own devices – which probably would consist of picturing the drool-worthy blonde in his mind, and then mentally undressing him - until he saw Joey's old, beat up red sneakers coming closer in his peripheral vision.
And Kaiba groaned in sexual frustration, and began to furiously punch in random words on his laptop in an attempt to pretend that he was not hyper-aware of Joey's every move.
"Seto…" the silkiest voice he had ever heard purred his own name, dripping with seduction and promises of future pleasurable things. The brunette's hands faltered in their typing, blood rushed to his face, and his heart began to hammer a conga beat in his chest at a tempo that should not be possible to humans. He saw the blonde place his hand firmly on his desk, and was most likely leaning in toward him. He would not look up. He would not look up. He would not—
He looked up.
Smoldering amber eyes burned inches in front of him with an emotion he couldn't quite place, but succeeded in making him both nervous and excited. A strange fluttering sensation – one that he figured would feel if thousands of tiny little tribal men were doing ritual dances along the lining of his spleen - found its way into the pit of his stomach. And he knew, as mortifying as it was, that he was blushing like a sissy little girl.
"Seto…" came the soft voice again, in a tone that made it both a question and a command. The tribal men in his spleen gave up on their gentle ritual dances, and began to furiously do an odd combination of stomping tap dancing and an Irish river dance. And the blood in his face did a u-turn and rushed south.
Seto knew his jaw was hanging open precariously, but couldn't seem to regain the motor functions in his facial muscles. All he could do was openly stare at this new side of Joey.
The blonde slowly stalked his prey, smirking in what could only be described in a predatory manner. A lion toying with his soon-to-be breakfast mouse. He circled to the same side of the desk as the brunette. As Joey approached, Seto found his legs involuntarily standing up as well. He was appalled to find his knees just the slightest bit weak. (He decided to blame it on the fact that work had turned him into an old man, and just needed a knee cap replacement surgery. It had nothing to do with Joey at all. Not at all.)
Joey stood directly in front of Kaiba, so close that Seto could smell his cool, minty breath – he was slightly surprised at the lack of any food on his breath, as anything slightly or possibly edible had a way of constantly being shoved into his mouth - and see the different shades of amber, honey, and gold mixed in his eyes. He had never noticed the different tones of the multifaceted eyes before.
Seto snapped out of his reverie as a warm hand came up to caress his cheek with a feather-light touch, and a thumb ran gently across his lower lip.
It was at this point that Seto stopped breathing.
He raised a questioning glance to the blonde – and if he hadn't suddenly developed some sort of strange virus that stole away his ability to make any sound, he would have put the mutt in his place. But said rare, and probably exotic, disease was currently keeping him from talking. Or breathing. He definitely was not holding his breath in anticipation - just as a pair of firm, strong lips crushed against his own.
Seto's eyes widened in shock, but as the blonde's hands wrapped around his neck to nestle into his hair, his lids slid closed and he began to respond into the kiss. He wrapped his arms around Joey's waist, grabbing a hold of the blonde's hips to pull him impossibly closer.
He could feel Joey smirk against him, and then the blonde nipped his lower lip that made Kaiba gasp in a most embarrassing manner. Joey took full advantage of this opening to deepen the kiss. Seto was surprised at how dominant the blonde was being – or, at least, he would have been, if his brain still had the ability to string together any sort of coherent thought. But currently, his brain could only provide synonyms for "Whuddamah?" - as he was suddenly pressed up against a wall.
The pair broke for air, panting slightly. Kaiba, primary head finally having caught up with secondary head, prepared to bolt and make the getaway of his life, while simultaneously calculating the cost of living in a third world country and what he would change his name to so that he would never have to deal with this embarrassment again.
Unfortunately for the CEO, Joey prevented any plans of escape by planting a hand on the wall on either side of Kaiba's head, effectively trapping him. Seto's breath hitched as Joey leaned down to the brunette's neck with a feral gleam in his eye, and licked the slightly salty skin up to his ear lobe. Kaiba's breath sped up, his mind went blank, and a nerve twitched near the pit of his stomach as the blonde nipped the sensitive skin of the ear.
He felt Joey's hand travel from the nape of his neck slowly down to his chest. Joey let his fingertips tip-toe across the expanse of Kaiba's torso. The brunette looked down, surprised, at the contact of flesh against flesh. Where had his shirt gone?
He looked back to the blonde, only to find he was missing his shirt as well. Seto gulped again. The blonde smirked, and moved impossibly closer to grind their hips together, breathing that one word, "Seto…."
Kaiba screwed his eyes shut against the onslaught of foreign emotions inside of him – nervousness, confusion, excitement, and lust? - and he felt the strong hand move up toward his face again….
And felt hard knuckles rap smartly against the side of his temple in what was the furthest thing from a seductive manner. In fact, it was slightly painful, and quite a mood-killer.
Kaiba's eyes snapped open angrily, to find the same amber eyes in front of him, though the only emotion in them now was curiosity, concern, and an expression that clearly showed he was questioning the mental stability of the brunette underneath him.
Somewhere in the back of Kaiba's mind that was not fully caught up in the outrage that Joey was not still furiously kissing him, and had the audacity to hit him in the side of his head, he vaguely registered the thought, Just when did Joey get on top of me? We were standing up two seconds ago…
As the rest of Kaiba's brain slowly caught up with this thought, the brunette frantically looked around him, to find himself not in his office, but in bed. The silky bed sheets were tangled up around his legs, making it completely impossible to move. Although, that may also be due to the large, blonde body currently sitting on his stomach, disregarding the fact that the CEO's lungs were slowly being crushed.
"Um, Kaiba, you alright? You look kinda freaked or something," the same voice from earlier asked, though it didn't hold its seductive tone anymore.
And Kaiba almost asked Joey to continue to talk sexily to him, but fortunately managed to catch himself in time. Had he spoke without thinking, he would have fully succeeded in convincing Joey that he had lost his marbles, and would be committed into the nearest loony bin. So it is a very good thing that Kaiba held his tongue.
Kaiba continued to look frantically around, trying to comprehend what, exactly, was going on. Had he just kissed—
No, it couldn't be. It wasn't possible. Should Joey and Seto have really kissed, it would not have been Joey making the moves. If anyone were to be the domineering one, it would surely be him. Seto Kaiba was nobody's sex toy.
Kaiba's eyes widened as he realized what he had just thought. Maybe he really had lost his marbles. He shook his head, trying to erase the horrifying thought from his memory. It wouldn't happen at all, he firmly corrected himself.
Kaiba returned to the present, and assessed the situation in a calm, cool, calculating manner.
Kaiba would like it to be known that who ever is starting those rumors that he looked up at Joey with an adorably cute pout on his face, and asked what the fuck just happened, will be hunted down and killed in a slow, brutal manner. Because it was a lie. Really.
And in a small, pocket dimension far away from Kaiba's grasp, one authoress laughs in her computer's face.
Back to Kaiba's calm, cool, calculating assessment, that did not involve Joey wondering what Kaiba meant by what the fuck just happened, because he had just only woken up and nothing had yet happened that day.
Kaiba was lying in bed, in the blue pajamas he had managed to wrench back from the blonde – though it had taken a good deal of effort and bribery and cunning on Kaiba's part. (At least, this is what he wants you to think. What really happened was that he snuck into Joey's room after he fell asleep secret agent style – which he was getting really good at – and stole them back. Like candy from a baby.) - who was sitting on his bed, fully dressed in faded jeans with a worn out knee and a hunter green t-shirt.
Kaiba thought morosely that he missed the unbuttoned shirt tucked partially in. Or, more accurately, he just missed those abs.
Though, the sneakers were the same from earlier. But they hadn't been as seductive as the rest of his attire.
Seto Kaiba came to the conclusion that he must have had yet another dream, though this one was by far the most realistic one he had had so far. He could still taste the blonde in his mouth, and could still smell the shampoo of his hair. Though the latter might have been from real life, since said blonde was still rather close to him, still crushing precious oxygen out of his lungs. Kaiba took a moment to choke out for the mutt to get off him before he died of suffocation.
Speaking of which, how the hell did he get in here?
Kaiba was sure he had locked his door, not wanting another late night encounter with the living form of the star player in his dreams, both innocent and, uh, not-so-innocent. Only two people had the key to his room, and Joey was most certainly not one of them. In fact, the only two people were himself and his adorable, baby brother, who would never ever do something as devious and manipulative as letting Joey in there.
Kaiba glanced toward the door leading to the hallway, and sure enough, a smug looking Mokuba stood there, winking at him and giving him the thumbs up while sending not-so-discreet glances at Joey and then back to Kaiba. And Kaiba decided that Mokuba would only be allowed to watch television shows that were suitable for infants less than six months old. Because, obviously cable had rotted Mokuba's brain and turned him into a demonic little brat with delusions of playing Cupid with his dearest older brother.
Which, really, would totally never happen. Especially not with Joey. Like, ever.
And reader's everywhere will fold their arms and nod their heads in a superior manner, as they recognize the symptoms of Kaiba suffering from one of the oldest tricks in the book for romantic stories: Denial.
Kaiba growled at Joey like the entire situation was his fault. Which, it kind of was, though Joey was just unaware how much effect his dream-self could have on the brunette.
"What did I tell you yesterday about coming into my room? Do you really want out of here so badly you'd consider death? Because I swear to all things good and holy that I will murder you if you do not leave this room in less than three seconds."
Joey stuck his lower lip out in a pout that could rival Mokuba's. Kaiba tried not to stare at it directly, because it had special powers. Like causing the cold, dark void in his chest to sprout a heart. Kaiba watched Joey warily from the corner of his squinted eyes.
"But Kaiba! You promised yesterday! Don't you remember? Today is my day, where you have to do everything I say." Joey chirped in what he thought was a sing-song voice, but Kaiba could only think of it as a voice of temptation.
Joey's statement caused Kaiba's mind to come up with several images, all of which paralleled that of his dream, and can not be described to readers under the age of 18, unless they have adult supervision with a written consent form and at least three forms of identification.
Kaiba's blue eyes widened again in horror as he felt himself start to become aroused. Desperate to get the other two away from him –Mokuba, because of his innocence, and Joey because, well, like hell he was going to explain this to him - he hurriedly told them to meet him downstairs so he could shower and get ready. You know, the quicker he got ready, the quicker they could leave, right? He didn't even think to remember the cruel and unusual punishment that Joey had thought up for him as their entire day. If he had, he would have hung himself with the shower curtain and saved himself a whole lot of trouble.
He breathed a quick sigh of relief as the two left without a word of protest –in fact, they ran out as fast as their little legs could carry them (though Joey managed somehow to trip on thin air and land flat on his face, before scrambling up again to dash out the door and slam it shut behind him) so they could leave all the sooner - mentally patting himself on the back for getting out of a potentially sticky situation without the two catching onto his 'problem.'
As soon as his door closed, however, he could hear the two burst into demonic fits of laughter. Kaiba's face burned red, vowing not to get Mokuba anything for Christmas and to kill Joey as soon as possible, as he glared at the closed door. Apparently his thoughts of the clumsy mutt, or more specifically, his reaction to said M-rated thoughts, weren't as discreet as he had hoped.
Kaiba flopped back down on to the bed and pressed his pillow on top of his face. He wondered how long it would take him to put himself out of his misery and suffocate.
But then Joey knocked on the bedroom door and yelled for Kaiba to hurry up and take his cold shower to take care of his business – and it was here that Kaiba groaned in degrading shame - so that they could hurry up and leave.
Walking to the bathroom to take said cold shower, he hung his head in humiliation. Ever since that damn mutt came into his personal life, he was rapidly losing every shred of dignity he owned.
To think, the great, powerful Kaiba empire, destroyed by one clumsy blonde mutt with great abs. And Kaiba groaned again and turned the water on to full icy blast.
One quick shower, sixty-seven taunts and jeers, and one torturous hour long drive later found the great Seto Kaiba staring in open horror at what, in his opinion, could only be an awful nightmare. He tried to stop his mouth from hanging open in slack-jawed fear, but to no avail. This was just a horrible dream that he would wake up from at any second, right? Right?
He pinched himself in a hopeful manner, but flinched as his skin cells yelled in abused agony. Well, so much for his dream theory.
This couldn't be happening. Not to him. He was the owner of a multi-billion dollar company, damn it. He could create fear in the hearts of the biggest testosterone-filled body builder just by executing a perfect, fully patented Kaiba Glare. He could make drug lord crime bosses run away screaming for their mommies – though Kaiba had never quite had the opportunity to test this one out, but he figured that would be what would happen should he ever one day have such a chance – just by raising one perfect, elegant eyebrow.
But this…this was out of his league. The brunette gulped in worry, thinking the unthinkable: Seto Kaiba could not handle this.
He spun around on his heel to stalk away in a dignified, determined manner that would never be able to be described as running away in cowardly fear, but Joey wrapped an arm around the taller teen's neck, dragging him back to the boundary line that divided the safe haven of the parking lot from the premises of what he could only describe to be hell on earth.
The bright, blinking lights overhead winked cheerfully at him in a sporadic manner. He glared back. The lights kept winking all-too-happily. Kaiba intensified his glare tenfold, and the poor bulb burst into a thousand shattered pieces in a shower of sparks.
Kaiba tried to console himself by telling him he had at least won a blinking contest with a light bulb. The little feat of glory, however, was not enough to overshadow his future fate. A quick shake of the head brought him back to the present.
"You're kidding me," Kaiba deadpanned. "Of all the places you could have gone, you pick one of the dirtiest, disease-ridden places on earth." He paused a moment, then sneered over at Joey. "Although, I do suppose I can see why a mutt like you would like it."
And Kaiba's heart despaired for the loss of Mokuba's dignity as the young boy chose that exact moment to holler in excitement at the prospect of riding all the germ-infested attractions, and ran ahead. Had Kaiba taught the boy nothing? This all happened in the span of about 0.37 seconds, and the mop of raven hair was gone before Kaiba could grab him back and have him disinfected for all the cooties he could have gotten just by looking at the fair.
Joey looked back at Kaiba in surprise. "What are you talking about? Haven't you ever been to a fair before?" Kaiba stared blankly at Joey. "They're lots of fun!" he cried, defending the fair's honor. Kaiba hmph'ed and turned to face ahead instead of at the blonde.
Judging by the Glare of Death Kaiba was currently giving the poor ticket seller in her closet of a ticket booth – who, rightfully so, was looking like she wished she worked anywhere else but there as she tried to blend in with the rotted wood that made up her confinement - Kaiba had never been to a fair before.
Joey grinned.
Sure, it was kind of an evil grin that promised numerable laughs at Kaiba's future expense, but it was still a smile. Well, that just made this experience all the more enjoyable.
An eager – and hyper, Kaiba noted with a sigh, and decided to forbid Joey from even looking at Mokuba's sugary cereal - blonde grabbed Kaiba's hand and pulled him through the entrance, completely unaware of the slight tinge of pink splashed across the brunette's face.
The duo walked through the fairgrounds, Joey shining and bubbling and bouncing with anticipation, dragging a revolted, sulking, and pouting Seto, and hoping that Mokuba didn't get himself into too much trouble.
Kaiba glared darkly at his surroundings. This place was not sanitary. It was going to give Mokuba unspeakable diseases. He would need at least a hundred thousand vaccine shots. He would have to emergency rush him to the doctor as soon as this horrible escapade was finished. But by then it would be too late, and he would be dead because there were no cures for the diseases here.
Not watching where he was going, he felt a body nudge into his. He was about to yell at the person who dared to touched him, but found his vocal chords shriveling up in disgust and fear as he looked at who had invaded his personal space.
His blue eyes widened in horror as a wrinkly lady with too much makeup eyed him up and down hungrily. Just looking at her made Kaiba feel like he had been molested. She looked like she hadn't bathed in at least a week, and Kaiba was sure he could spot something green, furry, and – holy shit! - sentient in between two of her teeth. She smiled at Kaiba in a predatory manner, but all he could think about was the parasitic thing that was taking over her mouth.
"Hey there, cutie."
Oh fuck, it talked. Kaiba squeaked.
The lady licked her lips in a hungry manner that made Kaiba feel a need to scrub down his entire body with a wire brush until his skin was so raw it bled.
She winked. Kaiba scooted closer to Joey for protection.
Or, if need be, use him as his human meat shield and throw him to the proverbial lions as he ran away wailing about contagious cooties.
The blonde, who was completely unaware as Kaiba was close to being kidnapped and raped by a talking hippo with green alien amebas in her mouth, blushed slightly as Kaiba was suddenly pressed up against him. Being the lovable, dense idiot he is, Joey could only explain his suddenly hot face on the sun only needing five minutes to burn his skin to a crisp. Or give him skin cancer.
The shorter teen's heart beat just a little faster, and Joey gave a slight cough. Kaiba blinked and, as if suddenly realizing who he was so close to, quickly jumped away.
There was a terse silence between the two boys, and each silently agreed to forget the moment had ever happened.
It would have been an awkward walk through the fair, if Mokuba hadn't immediately popped out of nowhere. Kaiba frowned pensively as he eyed the massive armfuls of sweets that Mokuba was hugging to himself covetously.
Seeing Kaiba about to launch into a lecture about cavities and the necessity to floss one's teeth – which Mokuba wasn't buying for one second, as he never had any cavities and, unbeknownst to Kaiba, the little rug rat had his own underground candy smuggling ring, with Joey as his main supplier. All in exchange for blackmail material, of course - quickly suggested that they ride the Ferris Wheel. To get Kaiba used to the rides, he added with a solemn nod, as if he had only the best intentions for his brother. They couldn't have his first ride be a 100 foot tall rollercoaster with 18 loops and a nearly 90 degree drop. Baby steps, you know.
Joey asked why not, completely ignoring as Kaiba's face turned puce green at the thought of such a ride. After all, Joey would be perfectly fine with riding that particular roller coaster all day long.
Joey looked at Kaiba, in hopes of maybe a nod of agreement. Joey tilted his head to the side at the look of the taller teen's face, and asked Kaiba if maybe he was having a heat stroke, because he looked a little ill. Then he suggested riding said roller coaster, to help get him some air in his face.
Kaiba's color worsened.
Joey donned an evil grin in realization, and made a mental note to force Kaiba onto it.
After standing in line for about 45 seconds – though Kaiba was sure it was eternity. He didn't know if he could bear the blonde's incessant jabbering for another second - it was their turn to go onto the ferris wheel. Judging by the fact that they were one of three couples to get onto the ride, it obviously it was not the most popular attraction in the fair.
Joey stared at the little cart. And blinked. It was tiny—obviously made for couples who didn't mind having their hips mashed together. Three was definitely going to be a crowd on this one. He mentally shrugged. He'd just catch the next one. It wasn't like he would enjoy mashing his hips with Kaiba anyway.
It was at this exact moment that Mokuba decided that the 19.3 sodas he had already consumed were interfering with his bodily functions.
"I really need to pee, Seto," Mokuba whined loudly while tugging on his brother's shirt sleeve. This, of course, grabbed the attention of every person within a twenty foot radius.
"All right, Mokuba. Let's go," Seto smiled at the smaller Kaiba, grabbing his hand to escort him to the restroom safely, away from any prying hands of nearby lurking pedophiles.
"Oh no, Big Brother, that's ok. I don't want to ruin your fair experience." Kaiba raised an eyebrow, as if to say, Are you kidding me? I'll do anything to get out of this torture. "You two go on ahead without me." The raven haired kid grinned impishly at the brunette, who was beginning to eye him rather suspiciously. Mokuba made an extra effort to make his smile seem more innocent.
If Kaiba didn't know better, he would think Mokuba was up to something. And readers everywhere will sigh in exasperation as we all know that Mokuba is always up to something.
Kaiba looked at the small cart - which would cause the two teens to sit hip-to-hip in a very cramped fashion, unless one volunteered to sit on the other's lap which would be even more uncomfortable, though in a different fashion - then back at Mokuba. "I think I'd rather walk you there," he said hurriedly, and rather pointedly, while his voice squeaked ever so slightly, much to his chagrin.
But Mokuba would have none of it. He pushed his brother and Joey up to the cart, with much more force than would be expected of a twelve year old and more akin to a bulldozer. And though the CEO put up a decent fight – of which many tourists would get pictures of and sell to the nearest tabloid. Later, Kaiba would choke on his morning coffee as he spotted a picture of himself attempting to push the younger Kaiba off of him, with a big bold headline of "Child Abuse?" over the picture. Even later after that, Kaiba would issue a lawsuit and add a few more millions to his wealth - after a good few minutes, Joey and Kaiba were sitting snugly together in a tiny Ferris Wheel cart, riding up to the top like a young couple in love.
Except for the couple in love part, of course.
The two teens were staring out of their respective windows, sitting together in comfortable, companionable silence. The two did not fight, bicker, or make any death threats to each other for the duration of the whole ride.
Now, please stop to imagine this scenario. Think about how life would be if something like that should happen. Then snort and laugh, for it is an impossible lie that none of you should have believed at all.
"Will you stop squirming, mutt? I don't want your flea infested hide within at least two inches of my person," Kaiba hissed.
Joey hissed right back. "Well, if you didn't have such large child-rearing hips, I wouldn't be forced to be squished between them and this stupid metal railing." He used his bony hip bone to push against the brunette as if to emphasize his point.
"Child-rearing hips?!"
"That's right, Moneybags. Now stop hogging all the space and move over."
And Mokuba, safely on the ground watching the spectacle, sighed, embarrassed as the entire fair could hear their antics.
As they got to the top, Kaiba and Joey were both sulking in their temporary truce. Kaiba looked over the side of the cart and thought vaguely to himself that it was a shame he couldn't see his house from here – he also made a mental note to remedy that by making it even bigger - but he'd rather be safe on the ground.
Then the cart gave a violent lurch forward. Kaiba instantly flexed his arms and legs, bracing himself against the small, insubstantial walls around him. If he had any claws, they would have been deployed in an effort to help secure himself to the small little cage that inspectors seemed to have deemed safe. It wasn't very safe.
Kaiba make a note to himself to make sure any inspectors were all fired.
"Hey, look at this Kaiba!" Joey's insanely thrilled voice called out to him, as the cart tipped again. Kaiba, who was holding onto the side wall as if his precious life depended on it, slowly, jerkily, turned his head toward the blonde, in time to see the idiot teen rock the cart another time for good measure.
Joey whooped out a cheer. "This makes the ride so much better!" Kaiba stared blankly at him. No, Joey couldn't be that stupid. He just couldn't. Could he?
Joey rocked the cart again.
He could.
"Stop moving!" Kaiba ground out, molars a fine powder by now. "This cart isn't made for your idiotic antics. So stop it right now or I will cut you."
Joey stopped for a few moments. Gee, Kaiba sounded pretty tense right there. He looked a little bit tense too, what with the clutching to the wall with his arms – and how did Kaiba manage to wrap his leg around it like that? Wow, talk about flexibility – and the vein throbbing angrily out of his forehead. And looking like he was going to strangle the poor blonde at any second. What did he do now? Joey tried to think about his actions thus far, and couldn't come up with anything wrong.
An idea came to the blonde. He tried to hide the twitching of his lips that gave away the fact he was trying not to smile at the thought. "You're not scared of heights, are you, Kaiba?" Joey tilted his head to the side, giving Seto's cheek a slight poke.
Kaiba began to twitch violently, as he always did when the blonde was particularly annoying. "Of course not, you dolt! I just don't enjoy the thought of falling fifty feet to my impending doom. Now, stop rocking the cart!"
Joey took a moment to wipe his face clean of the bits of gunk that had flown from Kaiba's mouth during his screaming tirade.
Now there were five veins sticking out in Kaiba's forehead. Joey felt a strong urge to poke them, but resisted as the look on Kaiba's face clearly said if-you-so-much-as-move-another-inch-I-will-gladly-skin-you-alive-then-flay-you-to-an-inch-of-your-life-and-then-I-will-beat-you-past-that-inch-and-then-I-will-throw-your-pathetic-skinless-corpse-out-of-this-stupid-cart-myself.
That, or Kaiba had some pretty bad indigestion. But since he had made that bet about Kaiba being a robot – and Joey knew his bets were never wrong - he was pretty sure that it was impossible for Kaiba to get indigestion.
So, Joey stopped rocking the cart. Which really ruined the experience, if you asked him.
"Come on, Kaiba, it wasn't that bad." Joey hurried after Kaiba to catch up with the teen who seemed quite intent on stalking away as fast as possible to get away from the blonde.
"You almost got us kicked out of the fair," Kaiba growled, shooting ocular fire over his shoulder, hoping it would slow Joey down just a bit.
Joey was unfazed. "Aw, he was just kidding about that." He chuckled to himself and scratched his head sheepishly.
Kaiba finally stopped in his tracks, ignoring how Joey came to a crashing halt into his back. "He was a security guard, he was holding you by the collar of your shirt, he was in the process of hauling your ass to the parking lot. How is that joking?" Kaiba folded his arms crossly, and stared a challenge at Joey to refute his point.
Joey just continued to grin cheerily. "Not everybody has as little sense of humor as you."
Kaiba rolled his eyes, turning around to stalk away some more. "You're just lucky I paid him off. I'm a hundred dollars poorer. We're sticking to the games now."
"'S not like you need the money anyway," Joey grumbled to himself, dutifully following the brunette. Seto closed his eyes and slowly counted to ten.
Mokuba walked beside the bickering duo, snickering lightly, and chewing happily on his fifth cotton candy. Okay, so the Ferris Wheel ride hadn't turned out to be as romantic as he had planned.
In fact, when the attendants had seen Joey up there rocking, they instantly freaked out and cut the ride short, bringing them back down. Along with calling the Security Guards to escort them off of the premises. Joey had seemed quite put out.
Kaiba was secretly relieved. He was not fond of heights and was eager for any opportunity to leave the God forsaken fair.
So why had he paid off the rent-a-cop to let them stay? Well, Kaiba wasn't too sure of that himself, but he had an annoying feeling that it had something to do with blonde puppies and their adorable little pouts.
Now that they were allowed back within the park, the brunette had insisted that they play games for a while, mentally wishing that he wouldn't have to endure anymore rides for the rest of eternity and beyond.
They walked around for a while, trying to enjoy the sight seeing. Although, it was a little harder for Kaiba as he kept spotting the lady with too much makeup and green teeth following them.
But, overall, Kaiba had to admit that it wasn't too bad so far. He had yet to catch leprosy or some other such communicable disease, and Joey had even talked him into eating half of his caramel apple. Kaiba had tried not to blush at the thought of sharing Joey-germs, only to fail, and was surprised at how delicious the treat was. He looked over at Joey who was now happily slurping away at an ice cream cone, and Kaiba smiled softly to himself. No, the fair was not too bad at all.
They walked by a particular booth that had fluffy teddy bears of all colors and sizes staring at them. Joey stopped in his tracks and eyed a particular one that had extra fluffy brown fur, with a bright blue bow on it with shiny blue glass beads for eyes. He wasn't quite sure why, but it just stood out to him. He liked it.
Joey chased after the CEO who had not noticed Joey stop for the few moments.
"Hey, Kaiba," Joey tugged on the brunette's shirt sleeve, not unlike how Mokuba had done earlier. When Kaiba tried to ignore him, he forcibly dragged him by his collar back to the gaming booth, ignoring all squawks of indignation.
He pointed out the bear that he wanted, and asked to borrow a few dollars to play the game. Kaiba followed Joey's finger to look at the bear that he was pointing to, before setting a slightly weirded out look on the blonde. That bear…reminded him a lot of himself. And Joey wanted it? The thought brought a weird fluttering sensation to his stomach.
Misreading Kaiba's look, and thinking he was just being his usual cheap bastard self, Joey instantly turned on the puppy-dog eyes to full blast. He threw himself down at Kaiba's feet, ignoring all the disgusting, questionable substances littering the ground, and begged. "Please, please, please, please! I'll pay you back, I swear!" he lied. He really wanted that bear, dammit!
Kaiba merely rolled his eyes and forked over a twenty. That ought to keep Joey occupied for a little while. Kaiba, still smirking, wandered off to spend his newfound irritation-less time in peaceful solitude.
Twenty minutes and forty dollars later – Joey had to come crawling back to Kaiba to ask for yet another twenty. Once again seeing Joey on his knees in front of him, Kaiba hastily handed it over just to get Joey out of that position that left him feeling quite compromised - Joey was pissed.
He still hadn't won that bear, because he hadn't managed to throw his ball into any of the stupid little floating cups. If he managed to hit the right one, the bear would be his. Joey cursed the rigged games. If he had just thrown that ball at just the right angle, he would be holding onto his highly coveted prize right about now. He had briefly considered asking Kaiba for some more money, but felt guilty. That bear wasn't really worth all the money he had blown trying to get it.
After losing for what must have been the hundredth time, Joey ducked his head and walked dejectedly away. Kaiba stared after him, surprised. (He felt slightly disconcerted as he ended up spending his precious solitude not five feet away from the blonde watching him play his silly games.) He had decided not to try his luck, as the blonde was rapidly blowing all of his money.
But seeing Joey walk away like a puppy with his tail between his legs…Kaiba sighed, and fingered through his wallet. He pulled out five more dollars and walked up to the booth. He was really becoming a softie. And it was all his pup's fault.
Joey walked away to the nearest food vendor, kicking vindictively at innocent stray pieces of trash. He wasn't sure why he wanted the stuffed bear so much. It just really appealed to him.
He mentally kicked himself for acting like such a little kid in front of Kaiba. Way to be uncool. Mokuba followed him to a picnic bench. Joey looked over his shoulder, and was surprised not to see the CEO behind him. Kaiba hadn't come after him. What a jerk. He flopped himself dejectedly onto a picnic bench. Mokuba smiled at Joey, and decided to console the pouting blonde with a triple scoop of chocolate ice cream.
By the time he and Mokuba had each finished their ice cream (courtesy of Kaiba's money that Mokuba had discreetly snatched off him) Joey felt his mood rise considerably. He looked around and noticed that the brunette asswipe still hadn't come back. Joey made a mental note to shave off his eyebrows in his sleep in retaliation. It had been almost half an hour since he had stormed off.
Just where did the brunette have to go that was more important than right here with Joey?
And Mokuba, he added hastily, as his previous thought sounded way too intimate than he was comfortable with.
Just as he decided to get up and look for Kaiba so that he could extract his vengeance, he felt said jerk plop next to him on the bench. He turned around to yell at Kaiba for being a heartless bastard who didn't even have to decency to buy him a consolatory ice cream himself, but didn't have a chance. He was suddenly presented with a fluffy thing shoved into his face.
"Here," came the decidedly uncomfortable voice of the one and only Seto Kaiba from next to him.
Joey accepted the furry gift, pulling it back so that it was no longer obstructing his airway, and looked at it. Then his jaw dropped as he stared at it in astonishment. The bear smiled cutely back, blue bow and glass eyes and all. He slowly turned to gape at Seto with every intention of asking if he had murdered the poor booth attendant just to get the bear – Joey wouldn't have been surprised – but stopped when he saw that Kaiba was undeniably red in the face. How cute.
Kaiba quickly looked away, uncomfortable. He wasn't good at things like this. He cleared his throat in an attempt to dislodge the gigantic boulder that somehow had founds its way into his trachea. "Well, you know, if you wanted it that badly, all you had to do was ask me, and I would have used my obviously superior gaming skills to win it." He folded his arms in a defensive gesture, and glared in the opposite direction.
Joey wasn't sure whether to strangle him, or give him a bear hug. Seeing that Kaiba was already looking like he would rather melt into the bench than make eye contact, he decided to just smile and murmur a quiet "Thanks."
Kaiba chanced a quick glance at Joey, whose smile was so bright yet unsure of what to do. He felt the small tribal men return and rampage at full force in his stomach, but couldn't help a small smile from forming on his face. The small blush on Joey's face at seeing his own smile, he decided, made dying from awful fair-diseases worth it. And, with any luck, he had a strong enough immunity system to protect him from at least half of the nameless horrors.
As the three walked back to the car in the darkening twilight, Kaiba smiled slightly to himself as he and Joey walked closely together, their shoulders bumping into each other every now and again.
And he couldn't help a small feeling of hope, and something else he wasn't ready to name, in his chest as he watched Joey tightly hugging the bear to his chest the entire ride home.
God, he was becoming such a sap.