Hi. I'm back... Maybe.

I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh.

Now to the story...

*knock. knock. knock. knock. knock. kno-*

"Jonouchi-sama?"

"Hey Suzuki, would you mind if I came in for a bit?" Although confused, Suzuki nodded and grabbed Joey's backpack, leading him into the living room once he closed the front door. As Suzuki stood there half asleep, Joey rubbed his sore eyes and yawned. Sitting down on the sofa nearest him, Suzuki gestured his hand towards the love seat Joey was standing next to. Joey graciously accepted, sinking into the plush cushions with a sigh. After a moment of rest, he sat up straight watching Suzuki with tired eyes.

"I'm sure you knew about him even before today. I am glad that your discretion stretches even to subjects like this. I did not come here as your boss, but as a friend. I just need a place to stay for tonight that is unexpected, tomorrow morning I'll be outta your hair." Waving his hands dismissively, Suzuki smiled.

"Nonsense Jonouchi-sama, it's no trouble. Suzi and Takara will be glad to see you after so long. And it will be at least a week before Takara will let you leave." Leaning back into his seat, Joey whispered his thanks with half closed eyes.

"Please Suzuki, just call me Joey. Or even just Jonouchi if you're not ready for that yet." Nodding, Suzuki stood up grabbing Joey's backpack on the way. Softly urging Joey to stand, they both made their way towards the staircase.

"Come now Jonouchi-sama, it's far too late to be up and about." Frowning at the larger man next to him, Joey corrected.

"Suzuki."

"Right, sorry about that... Jonouchi." Shaking his head lightly, Joey chuckled.

When they made it to the top of the stairs, Suzuki led him to the guest room, next to Takara's. The door of the toddler's room was left a tiny bit open, and the soft snores of said infant could be heard in the hallway. The room wasn't too large and had a homey feel to it, something Joey had missed in these past months. It was a pale yellow almost beige and was minimally decorated, but Joey loved it.

Suzuki set the backpack on the dresser next to the door, telling Joey that there were extra towels in the closet and the bathroom was his to use only. Sending Suzuki off with a surprise hug, that was unsurprisingly not returned and a quiet goodnight, Joey picked up his bag to grab the clothes he would wear to sleep. Walking into the bathroom, Joey ignored his reflection in the glass, knowing that what he would see wasn't himself.

He rubbed his eyes, accidentally grazing his cheek in the process. He hissed and ran his fingers across it, and frowning when he felt that it was still swollen. He sighed, trying to clear his head of the memories of what happened earlier that night. He ran his fingers through his hair, lightly tugging in frustration when the sound of the door slamming was ringing in his ears. Shaking his hair out, he went on with getting ready for the night.

Brushing his teeth and splashing his face with a bit of water, he changed and dove under the covers of the bed. He laid there for a moment, already feeling sleep take over as his eyes were getting fuzzy around the edges. But not before a tear slipped past his eyelids, leaving a trail across his cheek and landing on the pillow with an inaudible plop.

Joey woke up the next morning with something unbelievably warm on his chest. A wild mop of brown hair was also making it's home up his nose, and he resisted the urge to sneeze. Chubby little fingers gripped the t-shirt his was wearing, while the owner of said fingers shifted on his chest, and large brown eyes stared into his own. A grin took over the child's face and Joey could feel the boy giggling in his arms.

"Good morning to you too, Takara." Bringing Takara closer to his face, Joey planting slobbery kisses all over his face. And Takara was helpless, he could only squeal and try to block Joey with his tiny, uncoordinated hands. His only saviour was his mother, calling out for them to eat breakfast.

"Good morning Uncle Joey." Takara left a kiss on Joey's cheek when he had stopped his attack. Takara scrambled to get off the bed, as he stood next to the door he looked at Joey.

"You should brush your teeth Uncle Joey, you're breath smells bad." As fast as his little legs could take him Takara ran out of there, leaving a trail of laughter in his wake. Joey laughed, already plotting how to get back at Takara. Following Takara's advice Joey brushed his teeth and changed into a simple t-shirt and black shorts and made his way to the kitchen. Upon his arrival Suzi dropped the whisk she was holding and ran towards Joey immediately enveloping him into a hug.

"Joey! I was so excited when Suzuki told me you were here! I made pancakes for breakfast, I hope you don't mind. There not as good as Tanaka's but that man could make rocks taste good. If you want I could make something else." Still being practically strangled, Joey couldn't reply as Suzi rambled on. Thankfully Suzuki had walked into the room with Takara trailing behind him. Suzuki and Takara sat down at the table in the middle of the room, waiting for breakfast. Suzuki sat Takara down in his chair, fastening a bib around his neck and ruffling his hair.

"Suzi, he's turning blue." Hearing this, Suzi gasped and quickly let go. She slightly patted Joey's back as he was bent over coughing. Finally regaining his ability to breathe properly, he chuckled and replied.

"Yeah. I hope that's okay with you. I don't really know how long I am gonna be mooching off you guys." Suzi smiled and ushered Joey to sit down. She walked back towards the stove and grabbed the plate of various stacks of blueberry, chocolate and plain pancakes.

"Don't even worry about it. You can stay here as long as you like." She forked a thick stack of plain pancakes onto Suzuki's plate, one blueberry for Takara, and gave herself and Joey two chocolate pancakes each. Once she sat down she urged everyone to eat.

"Okay everyone dig in! I didn't wake up before nine o'clock for no one to eat." Joey chuckled, while Suzuki smiled softly at his wife, and Takara was already covered in syrup before they could even blink.

"Where are you going? It's too early to be awake." Seto sat on the edge of the bed, running his fingers through his hair.

"I've got to head in early to the office and fix some stuff." He stood up buttoning up the shirt he wore last night; straightening out the arms and rolling them up. The woman on the bed sat up, pulling the blanket off her legs.

"Wait up, we can go in together." She stretched to look into the mirror of her vanity, fixing her hair. She stood from the bed pulling on one of Seto's leftover shirts.

"I have to stop by my house, grab some new clothes." She came to stand behind him wrapping her arms around him.

"I can go with you? Then I can finally see your house." Seto stopped for a moment, then shook his head, continuing to pull on his pants. Her shrugged her arms off him and turned to look at her, holding her at arms length.

"I don't think that is a good idea." She pouted, but when she realized he wasn't really paying attention she stopped and agreed.

"Okay I guess I'll see you at work then." Seto gave her a nod and patted her arm, grabbing his tie and jacket from the end of the bed. He shoved his feet into his shoes and practically ran out of the room.

"I love you." The sentiment fell on deaf ears.