Control

The next morning, Seto woke first to shower. He would have to go through the complete routine—shower, shave, style his hair—before they left to make their public appearance. And it would be public. Seto's phone was filled with links Mokuba sent over where people had reported where they were honeymooning, which hotel they were staying at, where they had booked reservations for meals. They would be watched start to finish, and that alone was almost enough incentive to stay in the room and let people make their assumptions.

But it wasn't worth Pegasus's response. Seto and Joey were the face of the treaty, the part people were supposed to be focused on instead of the technicalities. And now that he thought about it, Seto had never learned what the other parts of the treaty involved.

When Joey came in while Seto shaved, Seto asked, "What is the whole treaty?"

Joey went to the toilet, still naked. "Boiler plate. Exchange of resources restored. Cease fire. Knowledge interchange. I'll get you a copy to read over."

"A boiler plate treaty that involves a marriage?"

"Can't comment. You've met my dad."

"Japan agreed to it."

Joey came over to wash his hands and bumped Seto aside with a hip. "That they did. You think we could get away with room service for breakfast?"

"We can get away with anything until we are caught."

Joey took his toothbrush from the counter and shoved it in dry to hide the smirk. "That's the sexiest thing you've said to me."

They were caught at lunch. Seto watched Joey take his father's call, holding the phone away from his ear while he received a lecture about the point of their marriage and traveling to a public location to be seen and not being seen.

"What do you think that looks like, Joseph?"

Joey had paused. "Like I'm on a honeymoon…with my husband."

Pegasus shot down the answer and Seto was hardly surprised. If they had to marry for publicity, then they had to be public.

But that meant Joey had to dress up, like the pictures Seto had seen of him on the flight from Japan. He styled his hair and kept his sleeves rolled down, although that wasn't without complaint. Seto dressed equally well so one of them wouldn't stand out from the other, aside from how Seto would already stand out.

Bakura and Mariku cleared the hallway of photographers before Seto and Joey left for lunch. It didn't stop their picture from being taken, but gave them room to walk without forcing their way through a crowd.

They ate at the restaurant in the hotel. Even though it was early, they both ordered a drink, and Seto contemplated asking if Joey still had his flask with him. They would need more than a beer to get through the day.

Lunch ended with another call from Pegasus telling them to stop drinking while being watched.

"Your father is more controlling than mine," Seto said.

"They're both ours now. Just what we need."

They walked to the falls with Mariku and Bakura behind them, and Duke and Tristan in front. Seto wouldn't have been surprised if some of the people wandering around them were undercover security. He wouldn't have been surprised if all of them were.

Part of the overlook had been cordoned off for them, and they went to the railing to lean against it.

"As nice looking as this is and all," Joey said with a gesture, "I'm not interested in three days a'this."

It wouldn't just be three days. This was going to be their life, at least for the foreseeable future. Once Joey took over in his father's place, maybe there would be less attention on the marriage itself, although that could have the opposite effect. Even forty years from now, people might still be wondering if it was wise to put Seto at Joey's right hand.

"There is certainly something else to do in this area."

"You'd think, but aside from some dinner reservations, we've got a free schedule and strict orders to be publicized." Joey then turned to Seto with a serious expression. "We're not doing that boat thing."

"Of course not."

They stood there a while longer without speaking, to each other, at least. Tristan took a spot beside Joey and they carried on a conversation Seto didn't care enough to listen to. If not for the cameras, he would have brought out his phone, but its presence would probably be received in a like manner to the drinks at lunch. It was simpler to stare after the waterfall.

And when that became tiresome, around ten minutes later, Seto stared into Canada. He wondered how hard it would be to slip away, to cross the border so close he could stare over it, and disappear. He couldn't go home, but even starting over in a new country had to be the better option. There would be little difficulty setting up a new identity, and he could work remotely. After a while, Mokuba could join him. Overseas schooling had always been something that interested him.

But Seto didn't know how he could get away easily. Simply being Japanese meant he stood out from the majority of people on this continent. Even if he made it to Canada, they were allies with the United States, and he doubted many Japanese people had stayed. He would stand out anywhere he went, anywhere easily accessed, at least.

"What, you meditating?"

Seto blinked back into his present situation. Getting away wasn't an actual option. He wouldn't run and risk lives because of it. Escape fantasies would have to stay just that.

"Would that be a problem?"

"Nah, I just thought you were supposed t'say 'ohmm' or something while you did it."

"I was not meditating."

"Wouldn't've bothered me if you were. Maybe it's some of your traditions."

Seto chuckled under his breath at the idea of Gozaburo keeping meditation as a tradition. It might have helped him if he had the patience for it.

"I would not keep any traditions so quiet," Seto said, then added, "Do we stand here all day?"

It was met with a shrug. "There's shopping a ways back. Museums, viewing tower—"

"If we do not enjoying watching it from here—"

"There's no point in the tower. I got you. We aren't dressed for a hike…oh, there's a casino. What d'you think, Trist? Think dad will pitch a fit over a casino?"

"It's likely," Tristan answered.

"We should do it then," Joey decided. He glanced to Seto. "With a face like that, I bet you're good at poker."

"What is my face like?"

Joey mimicked Seto's expression, raising his eyebrows and turning down his lips, nose lifted slightly while he glared. "Holier than thou."

Even though Seto had never heard the expression, he caught onto the derisive tone.

"A neutral expression is needed for poker, not any sort of arrogance."

"So you admit you're arrogant?"

"I am confident in my strengths," Seto said. "And have little regard for your opinions. Is that how you define arrogance?"

The mocking expression returned to normal. "You're pretty much my new definition."

There was little to do but accept the answer and forget about it after a day or so. Arguing would prove fruitless and futile; neither of which Seto was interested in acting upon. They had a long way to go, not just during the honeymoon, but the remainder of their marriage. Seto had to be sure to pick his battles for maximum effect.

"Believe as you will, your highness."

That one had slipped out.

"People'll be calling you that pretty soon," Joey said. "I can start snarking it back to you."

"As you will," Seto repeated.

Joey turned to Tristan. "You see? You see what I'm saying. An insult without an insult."

"Don't make yourself such an easy target," Bakura said, and Joey pointed a finger at him.

"No teaming up against me."

"As you will," Bakura said.

Mariku laughed.

"I've gotta get better guards," Joey mumbled, rubbing his head and mussing his hair. The wind had done most of the working breaking the way he styled it that morning, and Seto imagined his was in a similar state of condition.

"Let's walk," Joey said as he pushed himself back from the railing. "We'll stumble across something interesting, I'm sure."

It took effort not to question whether it was wise to stay opened to the world so much. Seto was an easy target for anyone interested in conflict, and four guards wouldn't be much defense, although he was becoming more and more convinced the people around were mixed with security. Pegasus knew too much of what was going on for him not to have people there, and it was easy for them to remain hidden and watch because everyone was staring.

They started out for the nearby shopping centers, Seto and Joey walking in the middle of the guards, Tristan and Duke in front, and Bakura and Mariku behind. It was a quiet walk aside from the frenzy around them, people pushing forward with phones raised to take pictures. By the end of the day, Mokuba would have linked Seto to most of them.

None of the shops appeared interesting enough to enter, so they walked down the sidewalk and window shopped the tourist t-shirts and stuffed animals wearing sunglasses. The sunglasses made Seto consider, "I should purchase sunglasses."

"They'd still recognize you."

"Perhaps it would cover some of my arrogance."

"Sunglasses it is."

They found a pair large enough to cover a good portion of Seto's face, and Joey grabbed a pair for himself. "Less face, less money for the pictures," Joey had explained. The explanation sat wrong with Seto. If people would sell the pictures regardless, why not let them get the most profit from them?

The foot traffic picked up in the afternoon, making it harder for Seto and Joey to work through the crowd with their escorts. It took just a glance for people to move away, but their preoccupation made that glance take longer to occur. Both Seto and Joey were ready to call it a day, particularly since they had three more to go.

"We'll hit the casino tonight," Joey said. "And tomorrow and the day after."

It sounded more interesting than wandering down the streets so cameras could see them.

Crying caught his attention. Seto frowned at first, then looked for the cause. It sounded like it was coming behind him, but he couldn't see the person.

"What are you lookin' at?"

"Someone is crying."

"And that's your issue?"

Seto turned to glare for a moment at Joey's attitude and took a step back in his search. The voice sounded young, like a child, too close to Mokuba's, and Seto couldn't think of any reason for a child to sound so terrified.

He found the boy, sitting on the sidewalk with his face in his hands. Seto searched in either direction and didn't see any parent or adult who seemed to be with him. And because of that, Seto sat down beside him.

"Where are your parents?"

"I c-can't-t f-fi—i-ind th-them," the young boy said. He wrapped his arms around his knees while the tears continued. Seto took off his sunglasses to let the boy see his face, even though it might have given away his identity or at least given the boy a reason to hate him.

"Do you know a phone number for them?"

People were stopping to watch the exchange. Bakura must have followed Seto when he broke away from Joey, because he was standing close beside, and his presence kept the crowd back. Cameras still came out though.

"I don't know where they went."

Seto nodded and looked back to the boy to give him complete attention. "We can find your family. Can you tell me anything you were planning to do? Were you going to see the waterfall? Go to a restaurant?"

"Mama wanted to eat."

"That is good start. I am Seto."

"I'm Espa."

"All right, Espa. I am going to sit with you for a while. Is that something you are okay with?"

"Yes, don't leave."

Seto settled and made himself comfortable on the sidewalk. "If I call the police for help, will you be okay with that too?" It had to happen, but if Espa wasn't comfortable with Seto calling, hopefully Bakura would take the hint to call.

"I lost my family."

Espa was probably seven or eight, and Seto couldn't fathom how his parents had left him behind. This was a busy street with a good deal of traffic, both automotive and pedestrian. Anyone could have come by, and Seto walking by was a perfect example of that.

"I am going to make the call," Seto said. He brought out his phone so Espa could see it. The first sight of the boy had Seto wondering if he had run away, but his fear proved he wanted to go back, regardless of how he ended up in the situation.

After dialing the number, Seto leaned over so Espa could listen in. Joey came up close as well, blocking Seto from on onlookers' sights. The cover only lasted for a few seconds since they just stepped around him, still with phones raised.

Seto guessed he would have to get used to that.

He relayed the message to the responder on the end of the line, getting the address from a street sign and the building number to let her know where to send someone. He considered a moment, walking around to try finding the family, but knew it would be better suited to the authorities. He would sit with this boy until help arrived, and then be on his way.

"How long have you been here?" Seto asked Espa. He got a little shrug out of him. "That is fine. They are sending someone to find your family now."

"I have four brothers."

Seto smiled at him. "I have two. My older brother, Noa, had hair like yours."

Espa reached a careful hand up to feel his hair. "Mama says it makes us special."

"I think your mother is right about that."

When Espa looked up at the people looking at them, he leaned in toward Seto. "Why are they angry?"

"They are not angry with you," Seto assured him. Seto could have gone on, They are likely angry I dared to speak to you, but didn't. This child had no issue with Seto, and Seto wouldn't be the one to teach him hate. "I am sure they are all ready for you to find your family."

And for me to get away from you.

It took ten minutes for the squad car to pull up to the curb, and when it did, the crowd broke apart. Seto helped Espa to his feet while the officers greeted Joey, then walked him over to them. It was Joey who did all of the explaining.

"He says he's lost from his parents and brothers. Been here maybe half an hour."

Seto almost smirked when both of the officers looked him by, then had a visible flash of horror when they remembered. They had to greet him as well, and with as much forced politeness as they could.

The treaty had been signed. Seto was now a part of their royal family, which put his status far above theirs.

"This is Espa," Seto said, so they could stop referring to him as "the boy" or simply "him." They had to see Espa clinging to Seto's arm as if letting go would make him drift away. He was lost, very likely in a strange town, and needed people to relate to him, not intimidate.

One of the two officers bent down to Espa's eye level. "Hello, Espa. I am going to help you find your parents, okay?" the officer said, managing to sound genuine. Or maybe he actually was. Seto probably needed to stop assuming the worst if he wanted to get through this more easily.

Espa nodded and the officer continued to talk to him, prompting for a response. The longer he spoke to him, the less Espa held onto Seto. It took discussion of sports, school, and games, but Espa finally let go of Seto. The officer took that as a sign he could stand back up straight and introduce Espa to his partner, and then thank Joey and Seto for their help.

"You'll find them soon," Seto told Espa in farewell.

Espa fell onto him in a hug. "Bye."

Seto returned the hug with a gentle hand, not letting it last too long. He missed Mokuba too badly in the moment.

When Seto and Joey were back on their way to nowhere, the crowd had left them entirely. There was little doubt the cameras were still out, just not noticeably. That was more tolerable than constantly having them in his face.

"So, you just jumped right at the chance t'see that kid," Joey said.

"He was crying and no one was helping."

"I didn't say it was a bad thing."

But his tone had.

"Are you trying to imply something here?" Seto asked. He adjusted his sunglasses and didn't look over to Joey, certain the turn of his lips would display his irritation.

"You're royalty now? Probably shouldn't be stopping to make nice with random children."

"You have a sister. Would you want someone to have left her alone and crying?"

Joey fumbled over his answer and Seto moved in, "I do not care what my title has been changed to."

"Keep in mind we only got so many guards. Until you get your own—"

"I will continue as I have been."

If royal guards couldn't handle a child, then they had no business bearing the name. But Joey's comment brought on a question and a change of subject. "When will I get my own guards?"

"Last I checked, they were interviewing people. Sounds like you'll get two."

"Why only two?"

"Because having eight people follow us around would be a bit much."

"It would only be four. We have four now."

Joey glanced back like he had forgotten that, laughed, and ran a hand through his hair. "By golly you're right. Still getting two."

"Do I get a say in who is chosen?"

"I'd think. You're going to be spending a lot of time with them. It'd suck not to get along."

It would indeed, but without knowing who was in charge of the interview process, Seto couldn't guess who the final choices would be.

"If possible, I would like at least one of them to be Japanese."

"Like from Japan Japanese?" Joey waited for Seto's nod. "I don't know if we'll have visas back up in time for that. It's a long process."

"Your father runs the country. Certainly he can make it happen."

They took a left turn back toward the hotel and Joey was quiet for a blissful moment while he considered it. "I mean, he could, but what's it going to say about how you think of us? That you don't trust us to protect you?"

"It would say more about you following through on the treaty."

Joey paused to reach over to Tristan, who took the gesture as a sign to offer a stick of gum. He pocketed the pack without taking one for himself.

"Maybe. We can ask dad when we get back."

Seto accepted the answer for now, although he wasn't planning to budge on his stance. He should have a Japanese guard, not as a sign of the treaty, but because he was alone in a country where he was still not welcomed. Having someone he could relate to would make things simpler. It did mean he needed to find someone who agreed to come over. Likely someone without much of a family, because it wouldn't be wise to bring children over just yet. And Seto had no intentions of kidnapping anyone as he had been.

"Want to nap before we waste our night in the casino?"

Seto agreed if only to have an excuse off the street. Their walk for pictures had to have been long enough, and there would probably be more taken in the casino. At least then they would have a distraction from them, and Seto was fairly certain Joey couldn't hold a poker face.

They would have to see.

"…the shirt takes the attention from my face," Joey finished, smoothing down the too bold orange shirt he had packed specifically for the occasion. "You'll never even think about my cards because I'm going to be glowing."

"Unless you are playing someone who knows what they are doing," Seto said just as the car stopped in front of the casino.

"If I play? You're playing too, Seto Kaiba. Put your money where your mouth is."

"Do I have money?" He hadn't considered it before, but Joey had been paying for everything. Seto had never gotten cash, but certainly his credit cards would do fine. Gozaburo wouldn't have drained his accounts so soon.

"What's mine is yours," Joey said with a grin. "So, put my money where your mouth is."

"Have I bragged about gambling?"

He took Seto's hand to pull him out of the backseat and into the waiting cameras. How they had gotten tipped off, he didn't know, but he thought he could make a fairly certain guess.

"You have about just about everything else."

"Not all of us rely on flashy displays to keep from showing our hand."

Joey paused halfway to the entrance to look back at Seto to grin. "Remember you said that."

Joey breezed them through the entrance, only briefly pausing to get chips for them to spilt—"An even number so we can see who comes out on top"—and led Seto past the slot machines and craps table to his real interest, poker.

"Same table or different?"

"What looks better for pictures?" Seto said. He didn't wait for the unnecessary answer before pulling out a chair and joining a game. Joey walked to the other end so they sat across from each other.

The attention Joey received wasn't for his shirt. It was clear the people around knew who he was, and if Tristan and Duke hovering behind him wasn't enough, Seto's presence had to have been. The shirt practically disappeared in light of Joey's identity. There was a drawn-out moment with everyone at the table when they had to decide whether to stay at the table and play with their prince or to scurry off.

"I've got to warn you guys," Joey said while stacking his chips, "I'm a mess at this game. So I swear I'm not going to judge if you win."

Everyone stayed.

When the dealer passed around their first hands, Joey exhaled heavily before grimacing. "Sorry. Ignore me."

Their table included a couple wearing Niagara Falls t-shirts, a man with sunglasses on who took himself much too seriously, and an older woman who kept counting her chips. Seto wasn't interested in them.

He thumbed up the edge of his cards, committed them to memory, and didn't touch them again. What they were didn't matter much. Poker rarely came down to what was in the actual hands.

Joey stared at his cards constantly, like he was worried he would forget them if he looked away for a moment. That much, at least, had to have been an act. Joey wasn't that stupid, and if he liked poker as much as he claimed, then he wouldn't be so flighty.

Seto bet on his hand and gave brief moments to observe the others. Sunglasses folded, but the others called. Seto didn't think too long on the others at the table, who likely were just calling because of the situation, not their cards, but watched Joey tap his finger on the back of his hand. It wasn't a nerve tick Seto had noticed from him before. Maybe fake.

Definitely fake.

So Joey spent too much time on faking tells and trying to draw attention to the wrong place. It didn't tell Seto anything other than Joey didn't trust in his own abilities to read people. But if that was the case, then he would be trying to read the others more than he was. He hardly looked away from his cards to read the table.

What was he doing?

Seto checked with the dealer before deciding his next play. Even if he lost this hand, he wasn't going to fold on the first round. It helped that it wasn't his money. Winning here was only a matter of pride.

Weren't all their exchanges a matter of pride?

The woman counting her chips and one of the Niagara Falls t-shirts folded before the reveal, and Seto won of the remaining three. His pair of jacks beat the pair of fives from the second t-shirt, and whatever Joey had. He discarded them face-down so Seto didn't get the chance to see.

"Don't get big-headed," Joey told him. "I'm coming for the next hand."

Seto didn't have anything worth betting on in the next hand, and didn't bother with the act. He folded to watch it all play out. Joey went to the end again with second t-shirt, and when it came time to flip the cards, showed them this time—a nine-high.

"Didn't think you'd go with me," Joey teased, lightly clasping the man on a shoulder. "I'll get the next one."

Seto had a pair of queens for the next hand. He would be playing to the end with that, even if sunglasses seemed confident in his hand. Joey's finger was tapping again, but Seto still didn't believe it meant anything. If Joey knew poker, he knew tells. He also must have known Seto wouldn't fall for it, but he was likely more concerned about the others at the table. The point was only to come out with more chips than Joey, not to win the table.

Seto bet and Joey bet, and the others at the table folded. Joey's finger was still tapping, which Seto found interesting, since he had assumed it was a tell for the rest of the table. Certainly Joey wasn't expecting Seto to buy into it.

"You think I'm bluffing," Joey said. His gaze only left the cards for a moment.

"I think I have a good hand."

"I think you do too," Joey said with a smirk. "I just think mine's better."

The confidence was new, and went counter to what Joey had proclaimed the shirt's purpose to be. The others at the table had honed in their attention on the exchange, and Seto felt their anticipation for the reveal. All bets were down for the first hand directly between Joey and Seto.

And Joey's cards were better.

Seto nodded and showed his own, queens losing to three fours. The loss didn't hurt as badly as it would have if Seto had folded to a poor hand, so he accepted it with a simple nod and watched Joey take his chips.

"Pair of ladies is pretty solid," Joey said while he restacked them.

"One might think."

The dealer dealt the new hands and Seto tried to adjust his read on Joey. Gone was the flash and tapping fingers, and he had moved on to a new strategy. Was that a strategy in and of itself? If he continued to change from one act to another, no one would be able to get a real read on him. Not unless Seto could find the common thread underneath.

He watched for anything that might have given Joey away, but nothing stood out as similar from each of the strategies Joey tossed out. The others at the table seemed to find it amusing, the guards too. Even the dealer started smirking when Joey went from confident to cowardly, confused to carefree.

Even though he lost several hands, his chip count kept rising. Joey stopped touching them other than to stack the new ones or toss a few into the middle of the table, which meant he didn't want the others noticing the increase, at least not as more than a general observation.

Joey knew exactly what he was doing each second of the game.

In one moment, too short but too loud at the same time, Seto saw Joey. He looked over the shirt and the teasing grin, over the messy hair and loud voice, over the callousness and blatant disregard for everyone around him, and Seto knew.

Joey hadn't just started playing him in the car.

Joey had been playing him since the start. Not just in poker, but in their entire, quickly patched together relationship. Joey was a fucking con-artist, and Seto didn't know who his husband was at all.

But he remembered the dragon.

He met Joey's gaze across the table and went all in on a full house, tired of the game, the games. Joey's eyes moved down, scanning Seto's face and hands, before coming back up.

"I'd love to call, but I think you've got me."

After the first hand, Joey hadn't actually lost to Seto when they both went to the end. And as much as Seto hated it admit it, Joey had gotten a clear read on him while Seto continued to scramble for a shred of truth under the guise.

"I do."

Joey laughed under his breath. "Second time in a week you've had to say that."

He put down his cards. "But I was bluffing."

His full house was slightly better than Seto's. He gestured with his gaze, down and back, for Seto to show his hand. "Let's see them."

Either he was cheating, or Joey could play circles around people. Seto didn't know which idea was more repulsive to him. But his cards weren't good enough, somehow, Joey won again.

"Sevens and twos," Seto said, putting them down. It got a smirk from Joey, who gathered up the chips before distributing them to everyone else at the table, giving a big stack to the dealer.

"I think that's it for us. Thanks for letting us invade your table for a while."

The rest of the table said goodbye and began stacking up the chips Joey had passed out, and Seto stood as well, glad to be leaving. There were too many eyes on them here, too many cameras, and Seto couldn't keep his face straight with this new information about Joey. At first it was annoying, but the more Seto thought about it, the more amused he became.

It was interesting. Seto hadn't thought Joey capable of it.

They were in the car before either of them spoke, and Joey went first. "We made our appearance. Back to the hotel?"

Seto nodded once and slid down in the back of the limo to make space for Tristan and Duke when they came up behind them. Joey followed to side against Seto's side, nudging him playfully a few times. "You suck at poker."

"You are not as much of an idiot as I thought."

Joey pushed Seto's arm with two fingers. "No one's that much of an idiot."

Thanks for reading!

I will be out of town next week, so you can expect an update on Sunday, April 23rd.