Folks, this is a premiere: my first fic update from school! Yes, I have at least three full hours of lunch break -argl- It's frustrating, but I thought I'd use part of the time to do something... "creative". ;) So, hope the wait wasn't tooooo bad, and I apologize if it was for anyone. I was just so tired from all these new things that I had neither time nor energy to get back to this earlier. But now here's a new chapter for you. Mind you, what you're about to read doesn't necessarily mean a test for their "relationship", I just wrote this for the drama and to finally bring them together soon. But see for yourselves, and don't forget to review. :)
Lionessmon: Nice compliment, big thanks to you! Ooh, I'm glad you liked that, 'cause I'm always afraid it might be too cheesy or something...
YaoiFan87: -blushes- Love you too for your reviews and for reading my stuff. :))) Haha, when I read that in Calvin and Hobbes, I was laughing for quite a while! It's kind of a cool idea, though, don't you think? Aaah yes, the curtain part... man, it felt good to finally write something like that. I felt so free when I did that. ;) Yeah, Mokie probably would have been surprised - but also happy; after all, this is his brother's happiness we're talking about...
darkgryphonmage: Don't worry, I doubt you could ever be too ubber feminine to me. ;) Glad you liked it, BTW. Aw, don't worry, I won't kill any one of them - that'd break my heart (really!). But I might shake things up a little... -refers to note above-
Ryu Fanel: OMG thank you sooooooooooo much for the review! I've never gotten one this long before! I'm so flattered...! Man, I still can't believe that I actually wrote the characters well. I didn't really think too much about it, it just kinda... came. Yeah, I know what you mean, I've read some like that too, and I thought that was kinda weird... You know, I'm quite surprised how long I managed to "keep them apart" - I guess I've learned to restrain my desire for romance for a while (a heck of a lot of pages, in this case). I hope you'll like what I've done next, and you might even like it, considering that you're a hopeless romantic... ;) Oh yeah, one last thing: you can never write too much for me, but when it's positive, it's just super-duper! Thanks again for that lovely review!
kikioblack: The same goes for me, too. :)
Right then, one last notice before finally proceeding on to the chapter itself: chapter 10 is - in my opinion - one of the best I've written, but I hope you don't expect the following chapters to be just like that... I'm not a machine. I try to do my best, though...
Joey didn't awake before noon the next day. The first thought that entered his mind as he sleepily opened his eyes was:
'Thank God it's Sunday!'
As usual, he stretched thoroughly before lazing around for a couple minutes more. (1) Before he could truly get up, though, the door to his room opened, and in slipped Mokuba.
"Joey? Oh good, you're awake! Look!" he said happily and thrust something into the blond's hands.
"What…?" the teen started to ask, but dropped the question when he saw what his good friend had brought him: it was a picture, the picture from yesterday's party. Dimly, he was aware of Mokuba saying 'I've just downloaded it to the computer and thought I'd print out a copy for you to look at…'. A happy smile spread on his face as he regarded the photo:
On the far left side were Bakura and Ryou. The thief was flashing his usual crazy grin at the camera while he held his Hikari possessively; Ryou looked very happy with the situation. Next to them, Yugi stood in front of Tea and Yami and was holding hands with them. Tea looked a bit funny because her mummy disguise was almost completely unraveled, but the smile she always wore implied that she didn't mind that at all. (2)
On the far right side, Malik and Marik were standing close together. Malik was holding on to the chain of one of Marik's handcuffs, and the spirit had a rather cheeky look on his face as his eyes seemed to be fixated on his Hikari's face. Joey chuckled when he saw the two people next to them: Serenity and Tristan. He had learnt from her that she was actually dating his best friend, and he hadn't even remotely thought of protesting. Besides, they looked so happy together…
And in the middle of the picture, he saw himself along with Seto and Mokuba. The youngster was standing in front of them and had obviously tried to look a bit frightening, but all his face mirrored was pure joy. It made Joey's smile get even bigger. His pictured self was grinning broadly, as it was his trademark to do, and he had made the victory sign with one hand. His other arm was draped around Seto's shoulders. The brunet looked – how unsurprising – the stiffest of them all. His facial expression was also the most distant one, though his lips were quirked in a small Kaiba-fashion smile. The only other sign of true life in his face were his eyes, and for once, they mirrored his pleasure quite visibly. One of his hands was ruffling Mokuba's hair fondly, and the other was placed on Joey's arm as if in response to the blond's gesture. Seeing that made the teen sigh a bit.
"You like it?" Mokuba asked, closely watching his face.
"Hell yeah. Can I keep this?"
Mokuba laughed. "Sure! I'll send the others their copies too…"
"D'you have a frame or something?" Joey asked.
"You cherish it that much already?" Mokuba asked slyly, one eyebrow raised. Of course, he took immediate notice of the faint pink flush that showed on the other's cheeks.
"Um… yeah… I mean, it was a great party, right?"
"Totally," the kid answered with a grin, "I'll go see if we have one. Why don't you go show it to Seto?"
"I thought the study's off-limits," Joey contradicted pointedly.
"It is, but big brother isn't there. He's probably in the living room," Mokuba informed him before leaving the room.
Joey looked at the picture once more before getting out of bed for good. He ran his fingers through his hair in a vain attempt to sort his hairdo out just a little bit. Downstairs, he went to the living room – and sure enough, there was Seto.
The CEO was sitting on the couch, a cup of coffee on the table in front of him. His arms were crossed, as were his legs too in that somewhat feminine fashion, and his head was bowed as he was most probably contemplating something. His eyes were closed, and a few bangs hid them slightly. And as usual when he was in deep thought, a frown was plastered on his face.
Joey walked to the sofa and just watched him for a while before clearing his throat and carefully asking: "…Kaiba?"
For a second, nothing happened, but then the blue eyes snapped open, and for a moment Seto looked almost angry. But when he looked up to see who had come to disturb him, his expression reclaimed its usual neutrality.
"I see you've finally made it out of bed, Wheeler," he commented.
"Ya know, don't you think you could start calling me 'Joey' now? I think I've been around you long enough…" Joey sighed theatrically.
"Just a habit," Seto assured him, "Well, what do you want?"
"To say good morning. And to show you this," Joey answered as he sat down beside the brunet and held the photo right in front of his face. Wordlessly, Seto took the picture and regarded it. After a few moments of silence, a small smile crept onto his face. An amused chuckle he suddenly heard made him look at the other teen.
"What're you smiling about?" Joey asked curiously. Although he was by now more used to see Seto smile every now and then, he still always wanted to know what made that happen, hoping that he'd be able to use it to make him smile more – in his opinion, it suited him quite well.
Seto shrugged and replied: "If you really want to know… It just seems sort of odd to me – everything," he explained, seeing the look on Joey's face, "I mean, just a few months ago, we couldn't get within a few feet's distance of each other without getting into one big argument. And now look! Look what's happened… if anyone had told me that I'd be on a Halloween party picture standing right next to you, I would have declared that person insane." (A/N: I know, bloody complicated! Translation: Oh, the irony!)
Hearing this made Joey become thoughtful; something he definitely wasn't known for. The CEO had said all of that in a more or less emotionless voice, so it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or not about the changes Joey had brought into his life. The blond held back a sigh. He had done so many things he liked to do and had mostly just been who he was – and somehow, he had managed to coax Seto into joining him in certain activities. He wanted to tell him that his view of him had changed; for the better, undoubtedly. But something within him strained to keep him from doing so – a part of him that feared a certain reaction from Seto: rejection (in the general sense).
"Mokuba gave you this, I presume?" Seto interrupted his thoughts.
"Yeah. He said he'd go send it to the others now." After a pause, he commented randomly: "You know, we actually get along quite well now, don't you think?"
"Yes…" Seto muttered thoughtfully, staring at his coffee cup.
Joey sighed, though smiling again, and stood up. "I'll go get something to eat… that way I won't be annoying you anymore…"
Seto looked up, his brow furrowed a bit. "You're not annoying me, puppy." 'And there goes yet another thing I wouldn't have believed I'd ever say to him…!'
"I was only kidding," Joey said with a laugh, then left the living room.
Seto smiled to himself, then looked at the picture once more before he drained the rest of the coffee from his cup. 'I should ask Mokuba for a copy of my own,' he thought, once again feeling quite content.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
It was amazing what one Halloween party that had gone perfectly well could do, Joey thought when the next week ended. His friends still talked a lot about it, and it was obvious that that was something they would remember for many years to come. But that wasn't all; although Seto still didn't "hang out" with them, the atmosphere between him and the former "geek patrol" was more relaxed, and they could actually have decent conversations now and then.
Joey's friends had heard from Mokuba and Joey himself that the blond was getting along quite well with the CEO, but still, they were amazed at how well they got along. In the middle of the week, for instance, they overheard Seto telling him that Mokuba wanted to go to the mall, but that he needed to attend a meeting and therefore couldn't accompany his brother. Joey willingly agreed to go with the boy, and that was the first time that the others heard Seto explicitly say "thank you".
"Gee, Joey, it's kinda hard to believe that you and that guy were enemies a while ago…" Tristan commented when Joey had rejoined them again.
"If I were still at war with him, I wouldn't be at his place anymore," Joey replied with a shrug, "Besides, remember what I said: he really isn't that bad of a guy once you get to know him better."
"Yes, but you sometimes seem so close… as if you're part of his family or something," Tea said, looking up from an essay she was scanning for last mistakes. (A/N: or something...! -winkwink-)
Joey looked away, and because the brunette didn't refocus on her work right away, she caught sight of the pink tinge on his cheeks. Her eyes got big, and it took only one look between her and the others to know that they had seen it too.
"Did I say something…?" Tea wondered idly, though she had already answered the question for herself.
"What do you mean?" Joey asked, fidgeting.
"Dude! Why are you blushing?" Tristan asked flat-out.
Joey mumbled something nobody understood, and his blush darkened.
"I think you touched a nerve," Yugi said quietly.
"I'll be right back…" Joey's mutter interrupted them as he stood up and left, though deliberately not walking too hastily.
"Honestly, Tristan!" Ryou exclaimed once their friend had gone.
"What?" the brunet asked.
"You dolt! Couldn't go about it a bit more sensitively, could you?" Tea asked, shaking her head a bit.
"Well, come on! He was blushing like I haven't seen it before! And we're on the topic of Kaiba!" Tristan tried to reason.
"You must be blind, you fool!" Bakura's voice sounded out, and a moment later he was sitting very close next to Ryou. When Tristan raised an eyebrow, the thief had the courtesy to explain: "I believe that Blondie would like to have that guy literally 'breathing down his neck', as I told him once before. Remember?"
"You don't mean…" Tristan didn't finish the sentence.
"Well, maybe it's not what you think, but the tendency would be logical… I mean, think about it! When have we last heard Joey say something bad about Kaiba?" Yugi told him.
"But… they used to hate each other…"
"Wouldn't you be happy?" Ryou asked with a frown.
"No… I mean, yes, I guess I would be! But it's just… kinda weird," Tristan struggled to explain.
"Why? I'm with Ryou, Malik is with Marik…" Bakura started summing up.
"You guys are… this… Yami and Hikari thing! You weren't archenemies!"
"Like that makes a difference," the thief retorted.
"Tristan, just chill out for now. We shouldn't draw a conclusion too hastily, so there's no use in getting upset. Just… wait and see what happens," Yugi told his friend.
"And no matter what, you'd still be his friend, right?" Tea asked pointedly.
Tristan looked at her oddly. "What kind of question is that?"
Tea had already opened her mouth to give a lengthy answer when Joey returned and hence spared them all another lecture from the brunette.
"You okay, Joey?" Ryou asked casually.
"Yeah. Hey, shall we all go to the arcade this weekend?"
The others played right along and pretended that the previous conversation hadn't taken place.
"Saturday afternoon?" Yugi suggested.
"Deal," they all said.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
In the middle of November, there came a day that Seto thought was quite normal – that was, until he came home from work that evening. He opened the door to the sound of Mokuba sobbing, and a few seconds later, his brother was upon him.
"Mokuba! What's wrong?" Seto asked, startled by this sudden amount of tears.
"Seto… they came…!"
"Who came?" the brunet asked, his senses on red alert.
"They took him…!" Mokuba cried.
"Easy now, my brother. Come, let's sit down, and then you'll tell me everything, okay?"
Sniffling, Mokuba nodded and followed him to the living room. They sat on the couch beside each other. Seto couldn't get rid of the feeling that something was missing – but what? He tried to forget that as Mokuba launched into an explanation.
(flashback)
"So, what d'you want to do on your free afternoon, Joey?"
"Let's play something."
"Yay!"
They sauntered into the living room and had only just sat down when they heard the front door slam.
"Is that Kaiba?" Joey wondered, blinking.
"Impossible," Mokuba murmured, looking at the grandfather clock.
Suddenly, a horde of policemen burst into the room. Joey jumped up and was immediately caught by two of them.
"Hey, what the…?! Let go!" he yelled, trying to break free.
"What is the meaning of this?" Mokuba demanded, rising as well.
The leading officer appeared and spoke: "Joseph Wheeler, we're here to take you back to where you belong by orders of your father. And you," he said, turning to Mokuba, "you will be charged for keeping this young man away from his father without telling anyone. The county court will send word as soon as possible. Resistance is useless. Take him away, men," he said to the policemen.
"No! Don't make me go back!" Joey cried, straining even harder.
"Please, don't take him away!" Mokuba pleaded, but was stopped by two lieutenants.
"Mokuba…!"
The youngster broke free of his restraint and ran to the front door. Joey was being roughly pulled to a waiting police car.
"Joey! Don't worry, I'll help you!"
Time was running out, and the blond knew it, so he turned back as far as he could and yelled: "Tell Seto that I thank him for everything!"
Mokuba felt frozen. Joey had actually called his brother by his first name, a premiere. With eyes widened in horror, he watched how the policeman crammed Joey into the car, then it drove off, its sirens wailing and the blue lights flashing. He was gone.
(end flashback) (3)
When Mokuba stopped speaking, Seto felt as numb as his brother had not too long ago. They had taken Joey, taken him just like that, without any warning. So his father must have found out where his son was hiding… After two and a half months, he had found him.
"…What did he want you to tell me?" he asked faintly.
"He said: 'Tell Seto that I thank him for everything'," Mokuba replied, his eyes rapidly filling with tears again.
"Are you sure that's what he said?" Seto's voice still sounded distant.
"Yes, big brother. He used your first name."
Seto stared unblinkingly at the television. His former enemy, the one he had always tauntingly called "mutt" and all other sorts of insults, had used his first name, something that so few people did… Thinking about that made the pain come quite suddenly: the pain that he was gone. So that was what had been missing! Joey! Seto rested one elbow on his leg and shielded his eyes with his hand; he felt tears coming. That was crazy… but was it? No, it wasn't; he had actually come to appreciate – no, enjoy – the blond's company, and now that that had happened, the other was taken away! It wasn't fair!
"Seto?" he heard Mokuba whisper.
"Hmm?" he asked, lowering his hand.
Mokuba stared at him in silence for a short moment, then asked glumly: "You miss him too, don't you?"
Instead of answering verbally, Seto just put his arms around his brother and pulled him close. Mokuba started to weep again, and after a while, a tear escaped from Seto's eyes as well.
"Make him come back…!" Mokuba whined.
Seto's own voice shook as he replied: "I will, Mokuba. I'll do everything that I can."
"Are you saying that just because you want me to be happy? …Or are you saying that for yourself, too?"
Seto pulled back and smiled at his brother. "You were right, little brother. I admit it; I like him too."
"Like him?" Mokuba inquired with a broken grin before he watched a new tear run down his brother's face.
There it was again; another stab of pain. 'No,' Seto thought, 'Not like…'
"…Like." He knew the answer was way too delayed, but it just served the purpose of saying something.
Mokuba still had that sad, awful smile on his face as he hopped off the couch and said glumly: "I guess I'll go upstairs… maybe do homework or something…" He was strongly guessing that his brother hadn't quite told him the truth just before, but he was still fairly fazed from the afternoon's happenings and decided to calm down first and give his sibling some time before he'd bring up that particular subject again.
Seto sighed. When Mokuba was in distress, he indeed tended to do things he despised otherwise. He nodded, and once the raven-haired boy had left, he groaned a bit as he tried to calm himself down. He cursed Joey's father.
'Why? Why couldn't you let him be? You only hurt him, anyway… you shouldn't have the right to take him back…!'
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
The evening was a glum ordeal for the two brothers. Neither one spoke much, and they both had a very bad appetite. Mokuba tried to distract himself with video games and a bit of TV, but it was no use. A few hours after dinner, he went back downstairs instead of going to bed; he was planning to ask Seto if he'd read him a little story or something. Maybe that would help. When he arrived at the bottom of the stairs, he heard an agitated voice coming from the living room. Curious, he followed the voice. It was his brother's, and he didn't sound too happy…
"…What do you mean, I can't see him?! …Oh, really? Do you even know who you're talking to?! …Oh, but you should! …Why?! Because I am Seto Kaiba! I always get what I want, and I'll find a way around you, you moron!" the brunet yelled angrily, then roughly punched the button that terminated the connection. He was breathing heavily, and his eyes were blazing with rage.
"…Big brother?" Mokuba asked timidly from the doorway.
Seto looked up, and his brother knew that he was trying to look as he always did, but the anger was too fresh to subside so quickly. "Hello Mokuba," the CEO replied with a clenched voice, "Is there something wrong?"
"No, I was just about to ask a favor of you… but I guess it's a bad time. Why were you yelling like that?"
Seto took a deep breath to help him calm down faster. And miraculously, he did look calmer as he gestured to the spot beside him. "Come, Mokuba."
The boy obeyed and sat beside him, though still looking a bit shifty. Seto draped an arm around his shoulders and gave them a gentle pat as if in silent reassurance that everything was okay. Then he launched into an explanation as he answered Mokuba's question:
"I called the city prison, requesting to get in contact with Joey in some way. It was denied. Apparently there's no way of talking to him on the phone, let alone see him. I guess I just lost my patience with one of the wardens."
"So we won't be able to visit him?" Mokuba asked sadly.
Seto smiled slightly. "I'll find a way. You know I always do."
"I know," Mokuba replied and hugged his brother. "Why can't we go see Joey, anyway?" he asked after a while.
"I'm not sure," Seto replied as he gently ran his fingers through the kid's thick hair, "Maybe he was assigned a special treatment. I'm guessing that his father is behind all of this." He sighed, then rid his voice of his worry as he asked: "Now, what favor did you want to ask me of?"
"Oh! I was just wondering if you'd read me a story or something…"
"Then that is just what I'll do. Come, Mokuba." He stood up and guided his brother back to his room. He spent almost thirty minutes reading a story and was relieved to see that Mokuba really went to sleep; he had already feared that the youngster's worry for Joey would deny him any sleep. Seto wasn't so fortunate, however – he spent a long while laying awake in his bed, thinking about what had happened earlier in the afternoon and wishing he had been there…
(1) That's what I do, too (except when there's school)...
(2) BTW, I took a quiz on which Yu-Gi-Oh character I'd kill, and it said that I would kill Tea! It also told me my weapon of choice: a hammer. -lol- I laughed my ass off, pardon my French... ;)
(3) Sorry about that, but I had planned that before I wrote the bit about the picture and everything. Apologies if it's too sappy.