Yay, another chapter done (and over 200 pages in Word)! I think I really should stop writing after 1 am, I hear the church bell chime 3 o'clock way too often... -sigh-
Well, this first week sure wasn't much different than usual, except that I'm getting into arguments with my family almost every second night -is thoughtful- Oh well, screw that. What's new...? I guess I'm lucky in some way, 'cause I've found the king for the third time in a row on Three Kings Day (I don't wear that silly crown anymore, though). It was right in the first piece of bread, even... O.O
I sincerely hope that you like this chapter... The New York part is roughly based on my own experiences when I went there - minus the part with the Statue of Liberty (we would have had to wait forever for a ferry; still, it's a shame, I would've loved to go out there! I'm just kinda guessing how it would be like, mind you)... And just so nobody gets me wrong: I was only in Manhattan when we were walking around. And in case you're wondering: in my universe, 9/11 didn't happen. It's such a touchy subject, and the only topic I know of that can really make my Dad cry... :(
dragonlady222: -is very happy- Thank you! Hmm, I think the site's been down a couple of times during the last few weeks, but it's working fine now :D Hehe, well, let's see... ;)
bookworm3213: Thanks! New York rocks, totally... :))) Happy New Year to you too!
Solo's Orca: Heh, that's what I thought too - 20 chapters?! I wouldn't have guessed that I'd get this far with this fic, that you all would like it so much... Aah yes, skiing! I remember going to Saas Grund in 2003, and I had to go to ski school for a couple days; however, I soon was going down the hill way faster than the teacher, I didn't want to wait up for the others anymore! -lol- If I don't have school, I can afford to watch the races, they're always on in the early afternoon or evening... they're so fun to watch! Um, yeah, maybe those equations were a bit easy, but God knows that I'd screw it up for sure -sigh- I think I would've liked Chemistry much better if we'd have burned up more stuff and had less Math... -headshake-
petalpixie: Hope this chapter's worth looking forward to... ;)
finalfantasys-child: -lol- I remember that game from the collection of Mario games we had on the SNES. I've been dying to play it again and bought it for the Game Boy Advance just a while ago (got to World 8, but I'm majorly stuck there now). Yeah, that sun gave me a hell of a lot of problems too - once, it killed me right in front of that cube-thing you see at the end of the level (boy, was I ever mad!). Hehe, I'm doing my best ;)
Arisa Akita: Many thanks for the compliment :) Those adjectives you guys use for this story are really flattering, I'm glad you like it so much ;) Hehe, if I can manage to write down that stuff the way I dream it, it really should be fun :D
Sunday was an exceptionally busy day for Seto, Joey and all the others – after all, it was a killer to learn physics, biology and history… In the evening, Joey claimed that he was all used up and wouldn't be able to memorize one more formula or one more fact. And although Seto hadn't needed to study as much as him, he remembered how it had been with Gozaburo: the man had pushed him to his limits and beyond, regardless of whether he had a terrible headache or was practically falling asleep over whatever he was supposed to work on, so he knew what "being used up" felt like. To make sure that Joey wouldn't have the same problems as with the chemistry test (or at least, so he hoped), Seto insisted on using the same technique they had applied before the last two tests.
His hopes hadn't been in vain, as it turned out, for once more, Joey looked rather pleased with himself when the test was over by noon on Monday.
"4 down, 5 to go. This week will definitely be the toughest," Tristan said with a headshake while they waited outside the classroom for Ryou, who had been called back by the teacher.
"Did anything of this make any sense to you guys?" Tea asked.
"Sort of, yeah. Why?" Yugi asked.
"Because it sure didn't to me."
"It's just a bunch of facts based on which you should be able to solve the problems, Gardner," Seto drawled.
Tea gave a loud "Hmpf!" before answering sharply: "Well, you're a boy, and everyone knows that boys make more sense of physics than girls!"
"In that case, you must admit that your previous question was rather foolish," Seto smirked. Nobody else dared to say anything, for although most wouldn't guess so, Tea could have quite nasty outbursts.
"One can always hope for exceptions," she snorted.
Fortunately, Ryou returned at that moment to disrupt the bristling atmosphere. "Hey guys, I've got the handouts from Mr. Davidson!"
"Cool! Let's see!" Tristan said excitedly, grabbing his sample.
As they trudged out of the building, they looked over what their teacher had planned for them. He had summed up everything they could do there and had included a list of prices plus a description of the place as well as the date and time of departure. They would get there by bus. Furthermore, he asked of them to decide on their sport by Friday.
"Looks like your consideration time is cut short a bit, huh?" Joey said to Seto.
"So it seems. But it's not a problem."
"Wow, departure time is five in the morning!" Yugi remarked.
"But that's good! That way, we can even make use of the very first day!" Tea said brightly. The others agreed, though nobody was too fond of the idea of getting up so early.
"I'm gonna need two alarm clocks for this," Tristan groaned.
"I probably won't even need one," Ryou sighed with a pointed look at Bakura, "Please don't go wake me up with that music of yours…"
"But that's such an effective method!" Bakura protested.
"Bakura, no."
"Fine," the tomb robber grumbled, "I'll think of some other way…"
"Just remember that you want to wake me up and not the entire neighborhood, or else you'll be accused of disturbance of the peace."
"For everything there's gotta be rules, rules, rules…!" Bakura scoffed before sinking into deep thought about that waking-up ordeal. Marik tried to make him snap out of it by shaking his shoulder, but when that failed, he whispered something into the thief's ear. Whatever he said, it sure caught the other's attention. Ryou and Malik were too engrossed with talking to the others to notice anything. When they finally said goodbye, Yami tapped Ryou on the shoulder.
"I'd keep an eye on him if I were you."
The white-haired boy turned around – and sure enough, Bakura wasn't sulking anymore, but grinning insanely again.
"Dear Lord…" he sighed and decided that he might do well with going to bed a bit earlier, just in case.
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On Tuesday evening, Mokuba said during dinner: "Seto, I'm not so sure about this new history teacher."
"What makes you say that?" the elder asked.
"He's just… weird. He says that his favorite hobby is to build steam engines."
Joey started to laugh and almost choked on the food he was eating at that moment. Seto raised an eyebrow.
"That's all?"
"No. He spent almost all hour talking about himself, his life, his granddaughter and how different it had been when he was at school." (1)
"Hmm…" Seto hummed thoughtfully.
"That guy's gotta be old," Joey commented.
"He sure looks old. What's the retirement age, Seto?"
"That depends on when you were born."
Mokuba frowned. "I'd say he's gotta be at least sixty…"
"Perhaps you should just be a bit patient, Mokuba. That could simply be his way of introducing himself."
"Doesn't sound like a teacher I'd like to have," Joey muttered.
Seto gave a short laugh. "Does such a teacher even exist?"
"Very funny! No, seriously, Mr. Davidson is about as close as it gets."
"I wish we'd have that guy," Mokuba sighed.
After dinner, the youngster caught Joey alone before said teen would go upstairs to go through his biology notes one last time before going to bed.
"Joey, I really don't have a good feeling about this teacher…!"
"Hey, I've liked very few teachers I've had so far. And this guy you're talking about… He sounds like some geezer that isn't quite with the time or something."
"That's what worries me."
"They're not allowed to beat kids, and most of them treat you all fair, so perhaps it's just instant dislike you're feeling now. But if anything should ever happen, we're here for you, okay?"
"Yeah… thanks, Joey," Mokuba mumbled, hoping that the blond was right about this dread.
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After the biology test on Wednesday, Seto included math in the subject matter. Joey made it absolutely clear how much he hated that particular subject, yet he had a go at the problems that would help Seto determine where to put the most emphasis on.
"It sucks, I know…" Joey moaned as he watched Seto's eyes dart back and forth, checking his solutions.
"Based on what you've already told me about your bad relationship with this, I had thought it would be worse."
"Seriously?!"
"However, that doesn't mean that there won't be quite a bit we need to go through," Seto admitted.
"I didn't doubt that."
"With a little motivation and effort, you can do this," the brunet assured him.
"Yeah… if only it would be Tuesday already!" Joey sighed.
Seto found himself marveling at the immense distaste the other was showing; after all, to him, most subjects merely ranged from neutral to boring. He looked over the solutions once more before saying:
"Alright, this is how we'll do it: you revise all the theory we've had while I prepare the examples. Tomorrow you can still focus on history, but after that it will be math all the way. And on Saturday, you'll have 90 minutes to solve a certain number of problems."
"What?! On Saturday?!" Joey exclaimed.
"Better than Sunday, wouldn't you agree?" Seeing the distraught look on the blond's face, he explained: "Look, I'm sure that will help you. My stepfather used the same method on me, and it's actually thanks to that that I can fully concentrate on something for 90 minutes straight."
"I bet you can manage for even longer than that," Joey replied and looked at the paper as if it were his death sentence, "But I'll never be able to do that…!"
"You should if you want to reach your goal."
"Wanna know what my best math grade is?"
"Hmm?"
"A C. Don't ask me how I did it…" Joey shook his head. "I just wanna pass."
"You could make that C again if you want – or even better. As I've said before, pup: in the end, it all depends on you."
"Hooray for me," Joey said sarcastically, raising a fist a bit.
Seto motioned to him to stand up and gazed intently at him. "In my opinion, you've been plenty upset for one day. Allow me to distract you a bit now," he purred.
"Go ahead," Joey invited him, grateful for the suggestion.
Seto went ahead and kissed him. Of course, he could do it quick, hard and brimming with desire, but right now he made the kisses long, slow and yet still laced with passion. To enjoy it even more, they soon lay down on the couch; it was there that Mokuba found them when he came home, and he just laughed at their assurances that they had worked before.
"Even if that weren't so, don't mind me. Carry right on," he told them with a wink before going to his room.
The older teens hesitated a moment longer, but then continued with what had originally just had been considered an act of distraction.
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Despite all the things they had had to study for the history test, none of them thought that it had been a disaster or similarly bad. With that test, the second week of studying was over, and three more exams were all that stood between now and the school treat (and after that, the "winter week").
"Guys, we should go find Mr. Davidson so we can tell him what sport we've chosen," Yugi said when they left the room.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot –" Ryou began, but then Bakura suddenly stood beside him, his eyes alight with excitement.
"Let's not waste time, Hikari! C'mon!"
Ryou blanched and made it clear that he had forgotten something else – namely, how to explain Bakura to the teacher. Malik looked a bit startled too; only Yugi shrugged and said:
"We could always try explaining it truthfully to him."
"Oh, please!" Seto snorted exasperatedly. It had taken him a while to accept the fact that the Yamis could exist as individuals in the world, but he still vehemently refused to believe in magic and such, and of course he doubted that a rational grown-up would believe in such things.
"Let's do this already!" Bakura interrupted, grabbing Ryou's wrist and pulling the other teen behind him as he walked off. "Where is he, anyway?" the others heard him ask.
"I don't know, maybe if we turn right here… Bakura, stop!"
Ryou's protests were useless as he was yanked around the corner.
"Guys, wait up!" Malik yelled and ran after them.
"Poor Mr. Davidson," Tea sighed, then the gang hurried after them as well.
By the time they had found the right room, Marik had appeared as well. Mr. Davidson was sitting at the desk and stared open-mouthed at two boys who looked like twins, almost clones, of two of his students. When the rest of the gang entered the room, Bakura said eagerly:
"I'll go sledding!" When all he got was a stare, he rolled his eyes and turned to Ryou. "Do something."
"If you hadn't been so hasty…!"
"…Ryou, could you please explain?" Mr. Davidson finally asked.
"Oh, um… he's… well…"
"A close relative or something," Bakura finished in an annoyed tone of voice, "Who cares? Just sign me up already!"
Ryou fidgeted and said in a small voice: "Listen, Mr. Davidson, I'll take full responsibility for him." 'And please, let him come along! If you don't…' He didn't dare finish the thought, let alone voice it.
"I see…" the teacher replied slowly, but grabbed a pen. "What's your name?"
"Bakura." The thief was clearly getting impatient, and that was dangerous.
Mr. Davidson raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? But… that's Ryou's surname…"
The spirit's eyes glinted forebodingly, but Ryou saved the situation by urging the man: "It's alright, it's okay, just take that name… I'll go sledding too, by the way."
Once again, a stare was directed at Bakura, but then Mr. Davidson luckily decided to take Ryou's advice and noted down the new information. Then he looked at the two Egyptian boys, one of which looked just as excited as Bakura did.
"Malik…?"
"Um… what they said," he replied, pointing to the other two.
Mr. Davidson decided there and then that he wouldn't ask any further questions about this whole look-alike thing, not under any circumstances. "And what do you want to do?"
"We want to go sledding as well."
The teacher put that down too, then noticed the others – and he was about to breathe a sigh of relief to see a bunch of normal, all-familiar teenagers when he spotted Yami. The look on his face amused Bakura and Marik very much, but their lighter halves elbowed them to keep them from laughing.
"Let me guess… the same thing?"
Yugi realized that it would really be a bad idea to attempt to tell the truth, so he nodded. "Yeah."
"Fine with me, absolutely." A wry smile. "Alright, on to what you want to do…"
A couple of minutes later, they all had named their choices, and Tristan had a rather gleeful look on his face.
"Ooh, so Kaiba did go for skiing after all…!"
"Yes, but I'll think twice before deciding whether I will entrust myself to your tutoring, mark my words," Seto said with a meaningful glance.
Joey's friend just snickered before Mr. Davidson caught their attention again: "About the rooms: I've been told that it's five people per room. Perhaps you want to decide on that in advance so that we can avoid big arguments once we're there."
"I'd fancy the idea of being in the same room like you guys!" Bakura spoke, placing one hand each on Joey and Seto's shoulders.
"Don't worry, Kaiba, I'll see to it that you get your sleep," Ryou told the brunet, knowing exactly what that suspicious look meant.
"You had better," Seto replied with his eyes narrowed.
"I'll join you too, if you don't mind," Tristan chimed in.
"Marvelous," the CEO remarked with maximum sarcasm.
Tristan shrugged. "If you'd rather have some random guy or Tea in your party, you might as well say so."
This time, no reply came from Seto.
"I guess it's settled, then," Joey commented.
The others were crowded around Mr. Davidson, and there was no doubt that the main matter they were discussing was Tea. Finally everything was agreed on, and the weekend could begin.
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On Saturday, Joey had just finished brushing his teeth when a maid came and led him to a room he hadn't been in before. It was quite different from most rooms of the mansion, for it only contained two desks with a chair each. Seto was sitting in one of them.
"Good morning, puppy. Sit down; everything's ready for you," he said, gesturing to the other chair.
"Oh man…" Joey groaned when he found four sheets of paper full of mathematical problems. Algebra, trigonometry, fractions… it looked as if his worst nightmares had come together. Everything he needed in order to deal with those problems was there as well – a ruler, a pencil, a pen, blank sheets of paper and a calculator. The material stuff, however, was only half the deal…
"Imagine that you're really at school. 90 minutes, and not one second more," Seto instructed him, "Now then, good luck." A faint beep from his watch signaled that he was taking the time. Then he sat back and got a rigid look on his face. Joey looked at him a second longer, then averted his gaze and stared at the first problem.
When a bit more than half the time was gone, he looked up after double-underlining another solution. Seto was looking intently at a sheet of paper in front of him, tracing the lines with a pen in search of any eventual mistakes. Rules were rules…
"Seto?"
Wordlessly, the brunet looked up.
"Can I go to the bathroom?"
"If you can afford the time."
Joey nodded and made a run for it. He wished it wouldn't be necessary, but he knew that his chances were best when he made the most of the time he was given. By the time he headed back, he felt quite as if it were the real thing. It seemed as if he had just sat down again when Seto said:
"15 more minutes."
"Crap! Must hurry…!" Joey muttered to himself, and Seto could practically watch how the other's handwriting quickly became messy; yet he said nothing for the sake of keeping the situation realistic.
"Time's up, pup," he told him after the last while and stood up. Joey managed to double-underline the last solution he had come up with before Seto confiscated the papers.
"God, please spare me of any more math for a couple of hours!" Joey moaned, putting a hand to his forehead.
"Don't worry, you're free now. But I'd like to discuss this with you in the evening, okay?"
"Deal," Joey agreed instantly and was looking forward a lot to doing completely non-mathematical activities until then.
"Oh yes, speaking of discussing… We should plan where you want to go in New York."
"Yeah!" Joey's eyes lit up considerably upon hearing that name.
"Go enjoy yourself for a while; I've got a few things to do."
"Sure thing! Later, then!" Joey complied happily and hugged Seto tightly before dashing out of the room, presumably planning to go downstairs.
Seto, on the other hand, went to his study to do a couple of things for work and start correcting the test. He was looking very much forward to that daytrip, considering that his puppy's happiness was already so great…
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When Seto went back downstairs in the afternoon, he found Joey and Mokuba in the living room looking through a pamphlet – God knew where they had gotten it from.
"…that's a must-see!"
"Yeah, you're right…" Whatever they had just discussed received a "X" next to its name.
"So, you've already decided on something, haven't you?" Seto asked as he joined them on the couch.
"A couple of things, actually."
"Big brother, will you take me there someday too?" Mokuba asked excitedly.
The elder smiled. "Of course, Mokuba."
Joey held the pamphlet's map of New York City under his nose. "Alright, I'd like to go see the Empire State Building… Times Square would be cool too… Central Park, if there's enough time…"
As he listened to the other's plans, Seto observed the map and found that fortunately, the locations were quite close together – that was convenient, for they'd have to subtract quite a few hours of driving time to get there and back home again in the evening (and that would have to be at a reasonable time since they both had a test the next day).
"Wouldn't you want to go see the Statue of Liberty as well?" he asked.
"Oh, I hadn't gotten to the attractions outside of the city yet, but yeah, that'd be great! And if we still have time, we can improvise along the way!" He grinned. "And we'll be walking – it'd be a shame to be in a car all the time." (2)
Seto sighed. That called for some at least minor disguise, probably some sunglasses or something… "Fine. There's something I'd like to add too: brace yourself for an early get-up, New York's not just around the corner."
"I was afraid of that. But I bet it'll be worth it."
"You can have my camera, if you want," Mokuba offered.
"Gee, thanks, kiddo."
"I'll go make a call to reserve tickets – and then I'll be back with your test," Seto excused himself as he got up.
"You made Joey do a test?!" Mokuba looked a bit appalled.
"It's a useful way to test one's knowledge."
"Provided that you have that knowledge in the first place," Joey threw in.
"So far, it's looking quite good."
"What do you mean?" Mokuba and Joey asked in unison.
"You'll see," was all Seto said before leaving to finish the task.
As it turned out later that evening, a "C" had been scored on that test, much to Joey's delight and surprise. Seto and Mokuba congratulated him.
"You'll pass that test for sure!" Mokuba declared.
"Yeah… it could happen…" Joey muttered, looking at the red "C" Seto had made. It had been a little while since he had last seen such a grade in math – and the way things looked, he really could repeat that this time. Determined to do that, he paid extra attention when Seto explained his mistakes later on…
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Finally, it was Monday. Within a few hours, they would have written all the "hard" tests and would only need to bother with subjects like physical education, art etc.
Seto found that he would be very glad when that was the case, for then Joey wouldn't be so stressed anymore. Especially last evening, the blond had been unusually silent as he had gone over numerous aspects of the theory in his mind, motivated by the result of the practice test. This time, nothing had been able to keep him from being so restless that he found sleep later than he had wanted to, but hopefully that wouldn't turn out to be a problem.
The teenage CEO rolled over and nudged the boy sleeping beside him. All that happened was that Joey turned onto his back, mumbling something that nobody could understand.
"Wake up, Joey," Seto called softly and gently shook his shoulder.
The other's eyes barely opened. "Five more minutes…" he pleaded sleepily.
"It'd be better if you get up now," Seto replied as he sat up.
Joey looked confused for a moment, but then he groaned and covered his eyes. "Oh no… math…"
"It will be over soon, don't forget that. By the way: happy birthday, puppy," the brunet added in a whisper before kissing Joey.
"Mmh… thanks," Joey murmured and started to rub the sleep out of his eyes as he fitfully got out of bed. He had the slight impression that he was being even slower than he usually was in the morning (at least, until the moment when he'd realize that he was late). A bunch of stretching and yawning later, he had put on his school uniform. He was in the middle of fiddling with his hair when Seto came back from the bathroom.
"How can you wake up so quickly?" Joey wondered, giving up on his hair and just shaking his head a bit.
"Out of habit. Come on, I'll make you a coffee and then you'll be awake plenty long before school," Seto answered and led him downstairs by the hand.
"Maybe I should knock myself out next time so I'll have enough sleep…"
"I'd go for sleeping pills, but that's another way," was the sarcastic response.
"…Oh yeah…"
In the kitchen, Seto gently forced Joey to sit down before making coffee for both of them, though taking care to make the one for Joey a bit stronger than it usually was so he'd wake up faster.
About half an hour later, they were at school, wide awake and ready for the test (at least, Joey claimed that he was). Before any of those dreaded last-minute questions could come up, the rest of the gang arrived.
"Hi Joey, happy birthday!" Tea chirped.
"Yeah man, congratulations!" Tristan said and gave him a clap on the shoulder.
"You're quite a jinx – I mean, to have a test on the very same day…!" Bakura remarked.
"Rub it in…"
"Real nice, Bakura!" Yami huffed.
"Geez, isn't a guy allowed to make a comment around here?!"
"C'mon, guys, stop…" Joey began, but then the bell rang.
"Let's discuss this later!" Ryou urged them. Nobody said anything against that, or certainly not out loud, so they proceeded to hurry to the classroom – just on time.
Their maths teacher sported the usual look on his face, a look that said 'Great, now I'll be spending loads of time correcting a bunch of mistakes you make just because you don't get it'. Undoubtedly, that was the reason why he was the exact opposite of Mr. Davidson – nearly everyone hated him. The fact that their class wasn't very good at math didn't improve the student-teacher relationship. (3)
"Let's get on with it, then," he drawled when the last student had sat down.
"Let's not, and say we did," someone retorted smartly, and a few people laughed, one of them being Joey. He stopped short, however, when the teacher slammed his hand on his desk in an unceremonious way of handing out the tests. In a dangerous voice, the man said:
"The next one who gives me that kind of wise-guy-talk will fail this test, without exceptions." He glared at Joey, practically challenging him to be the one. The whole class knew of the clash between those two particular people, therefore they waited with apprehension for the blond's reaction.
Joey didn't say a word and looked the teacher straight in the eye until the man moved on to hand out the other tests. "Bastard…" he mouthed to himself as he gave the paper a hateful glare. 'I'll show him! I'm gonna pass this thing, no matter what!'
Seto was positively surprised when he saw how his boyfriend didn't waste a single second when the teacher told them to begin. 'Looks like he really wants to prove himself.' As he started to solve the problems as well, he hoped that the other's determination would pay off; perhaps the teacher wouldn't pick on him so much anymore.
One and a half hours later, it all was over, and relieved sighs filled the room as the students gladly handed in their papers. Most of them cheered loudly within earshot (much to the teacher's displeasure). Normally, Joey would have been one of them, but to make sure that he wouldn't mess up anything about this, he didn't say a word until he had left the classroom, smirking because the teacher had been surprised that he hadn't tried to get just a few seconds more in a desperate attempt to try and solve one more problem.
"This feels even better than I thought it would!" Tristan said happily as they left.
"It's definitely time to relax a bit… how about if we all go out for lunch?" Yugi suggested.
"Hey, good idea! I'm starving; I only had coffee this morning!" Joey exclaimed as if in sudden realization.
"Perhaps you'd join us, Kaiba?" Ryou offered politely.
Seto gave him the 'you're-not-being-serious-are-you' look, but Joey elbowed him and said: "Sure he's coming… right?" he asked pointedly.
"Better decide fast, Kaiba, I think your fan club is approaching," Yugi interjected.
Raising an eyebrow, Seto stole a glance to the school's front doors, and sure enough, a bunch of girls had appeared there. There really was no time to lose. Barely moving his lips, he muttered to the blond next to him: "Pretend that you're dragging me. Let's get the hell out of here."
"You said it! We're outta here!" Tristan agreed hastily, and the gang made their getaway with him in the lead. Like he had been advised to do, Joey grabbed Seto's arm and pretended to be making a great effort to drag the brunet along. And although they hadn't been asked to be a part of this, Tea and Ryou added to the effect as they lightly pushed Seto, doing a good job of faking their strain.
"Kaiba, wait!" one of the girls called, but of course he didn't wait.
"Why the heck is he hanging out with those losers?" another wondered.
"Yeah, the 'geek patrol', as he calls them…"
"Or the 'nerd herd'."
They got into a huge debate over which expression he used most frequently, making a bunch of other students that passed them sigh in exasperation. One girl said to her boyfriend as they passed them:
"Honestly, don't they have any other problems?"
"Eh, they're nutcases. Just let them be," he told her.
"You're right. As if he'd ever go out with one of them anyway…"
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Because they had agreed to be in New York by 10 am, Seto set the alarm clock for four-thirty in the morning. And for a change, he himself had to admit that he still was rather tired when the shrill beeping awoke them. While he groped for the device that so many people hated, Joey moaned and uttered an "It can't be…" before covering his ears with the pillow to blot out the noise.
Seto yawned and made a half-hearted attempt to remove the pillow. "It is, puppy. We can sleep in the car a bit longer, but we've got to get up now."
"…Fine… it's for New York," Joey sighed as he struggled to get up. Now he was really glad that Seto had reminded him to get the clothes he would want to wear ready before going to bed. While he got dressed as quickly as he could in his drowsy state, Seto went to check on Mokuba and got some coffee. Joey had a cup as well, though he almost put salt instead of sugar in it (Seto snatched the cup away one second before the disaster would have come to be). Finally, at five o'clock sharp, they got into the car that would take them to New York – it didn't look too fancy or flashy, yet Seto had made sure that it would be one with tinted windows. No sooner had they sat down when Joey leaned against him, eyes closed and almost asleep again.
"See ya there, Seto," he mumbled faintly.
"Will do…" A few moments later, the brunet was asleep as well.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
He was awoken because a certain someone who was filled with excitement was shaking his shoulder.
"Seto, wake up! We're almost there!"
He yawned and looked around in time to see Joey lean over to a window, his nose practically pressed against it. Just then, however, the car entered a tunnel, and he sat back disappointedly.
"Aw… I wanted to know if I could already see Liberty Island…"
"We'll be there soon enough. I hope you don't mind that I arranged for that to be our first destination since all the other places are further north…"
"Hell, I don't mind!" Joey beamed. When they left the tunnel, he went right back to the window. "Wow…" he marveled as he tried to look at everything at once. Suddenly, he remembered something. "Oh… shit! I forgot the camera!"
Seto smirked and gestured to his winter coat. "I half-suspected that that might happen, so I put it in my jacket yesterday evening and checked twice that I really have it before we left."
"Thank heavens!" Joey sighed, relieved.
Shortly thereafter, they arrived at Battery Park.
"Mr. Kaiba, Mr. Wheeler, we're here," the driver announced and stopped the car.
"Thank you. I'll call you later in the afternoon."
"We'll probably be at Times Square or Central Park," Joey added as he got out as well.
"Very well, sirs. Have a nice day."
"You too, man," Joey replied before the man left. When he turned around, he whistled. "Wow, you look spiffy in those – kinda like a Blues Brother!"
"Oh, please!" Seto remarked, rolling his eyes behind his dark sunglasses.
Joey laughed. "How many fingers do you see?" he asked teasingly, holding up two.
"Two. I'm not blind, you know." The small smile showed that he was taking it easy, though. "Let's go get the tickets."
"Okay." As they went to the ticket booth, Joey kept turning around to look back at the city, walking backwards every now and then. Seto kept an eye on him in case he would stumble. Of course, on the ferry, the blond was so enthralled with the sight of the city that he almost didn't want to turn away from it when they reached Liberty Island. But when they got off the ferry and looked upwards, his attention shifted immediately.
"Man… it's so tall…!"
"Very impressive indeed," Seto agreed.
"D'you think we could get all the way up to the crown?"
The CEO shrugged and walked towards the entrance to the statue. "Let's give it a shot."
They were in luck, and soon they were ascending the circular stairs inside. Many steps later, they had finally reached the crown, where a few people already were. The two teens sauntered over to a window where nobody was standing yet and looked outside.
"Wait a moment; where's the city?" Joey wondered.
Seto thought for a second, then answered: "The statue's facing the ocean. The city would be somewhere over there." He pointed. "Besides, you saw the skyline on the way out here."
"Still…" A pause. "Ah, what the heck! This is so awesome…"
"I'm glad that you like your present, puppy," Seto murmured as he wrapped his arms around the other's waist from behind.
"Are you kidding? That has got to be the greatest understatement of the century!"
"If you say so…"
They stayed there a little longer, admiring the view. Seto was glad that the sunglasses and his other coat were doing the trick; it looked as if he would be able to get around without anyone recognizing him. Good; how else was he supposed to enjoy this day as well…?
It was nearly 11 am when they left the statue again. When they were almost back to the mainland, Seto asked where they would go to next.
"Actually, I'm kinda hungry," Joey admitted sheepishly, "You know, no breakfast and all…"
After thinking about where his boyfriend had wanted to go, Seto had an idea. "In that case, Rockefeller Center would be a good guess. I've heard that there are lots of places to eat there, and a bunch of shops et cetera. However, we should call a taxi, or it'll take us far too long to walk all the way up there."
"Well, that shouldn't be too hard," Joey said with a shrug as he remembered how many pictures in the pamphlet had had taxis in them.
In the end, it took longer than they had expected, for many of the yellow taxis were already occupied. Normally, Joey would have been practically begging to just drop by the next place they'd see, but once more he was so occupied with looking out the window that he actually managed to forget his appetite.
"This your first time in New York?" the taxi driver asked, noticing the teen's excitement.
"Yeah. This place is awesome!"
"Oh yes, it is," the man replied rather thoughtfully before adding: "Just remember to keep a bit of an eye out while you're on the streets, okay?"
"Sure thing…"
The driver chuckled – it had been a while he had last had such an excited passenger – then he looked at the other boy. Although he was wearing sunglasses, he was most surely watching the blond. As they waited for quite a while at a busy crossing, he couldn't help but think that something about him was familiar, particularly that haircut – not a single hair out of place…
The brunet didn't fail to notice how often he was being looked at in the rear-view mirror and scowled. "What?" he asked irritably.
"Nothing," the driver hurried to say and was glad that the traffic light changed from red to green at that moment. "You look kinda familiar, though," he remarked.
"You must be mistaken," Seto replied firmly. 'If it weren't for the sunglasses, he'd probably recognize me…' He remained silent for the rest of the ride until they got out at Rockefeller Center. Joey cheerfully said goodbye as he handed over the money Seto gave to him, and when the car left and he turned back again, his face fell a bit.
"What's wrong?" he asked, noticing traces of the scowl from before.
"I want to stay incognito for today, and he almost recognized me…"
"You don't need to scowl, you know; just ask them not to look anymore."
"Be honest: would you stop looking, even if you would get asked to?"
Joey looked away and answered meekly: "…No, probably not…"
Seto put an arm around his shoulders and began marching him off towards an entrance to the Underground Concourse. "Forget about that, puppy. This is your special day, and I want to see you being nothing less than happy all the time."
"I think that 'our special day' sounds better," Joey grinned.
"Our day, then," Seto repeated and fleetingly kissed his cheek.
In the Concourse, Joey didn't waste much time finding a place where they could eat and went straight to what looked suspiciously like a fast food place and was yet again left to wonder why Seto strictly refused to eat anything else besides a salad. After lunch, they wandered around the long corridors with all sorts of shops and restaurants to their left and right. (4)
"You know, that reminds me of something: we could go get snowsuits."
"But –"
"Otherwise we'll be soaked when we fall down, which we surely will!" Joey didn't look unhappy at all about that; this made Seto shoot him an unbelieving look. "Let's see what they've got!" He grabbed the taller teen by the arm and dragged him along into a nearby clothes shop. Seto noticed that the blond still went for low-priced stuff, and when he tried to remind him that he wouldn't need to do that, he merely got the answer:
"Hey, you have your habits, and I have mine."
"And the quality?"
"I know what kind of stuff this store sells, and I've never been disappointed."
Fortunately enough, they even found a suit in Seto's size. The CEO didn't hide his surprise, for he had always believed that if the clothes for people his height and taller weren't custom-tailored, they could only be bought in special stores. Joey just laughed – oh yes, they could definitely learn from each other. About two corridors later, it was Seto's turn to remember something.
"By the way: what will you wear on Friday, pup? I daresay that you won't show up there in your school uniform…"
"Why, is there a dress code?"
"No, but I doubt that people will come in a school uniform."
"Oh… well…"
"That's all I need to know. Come on, I'll get you something nice," Seto said decidedly.
Several different tries later, Joey emerged from the changing room, wearing a pair of jeans he had picked and a rather fancy blue shirt with buttons. Seto looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, then smiled and walked up to him.
"I know that you have to decide whether you like it or not, but I think you look fabulous," he spoke.
"Really? Well, I like it too," Joey replied and looked at himself again.
"Joey?"
"What?"
"Will you be my… my date on Friday?"
Joey looked stunned for a moment, then laughed. "No, I'll go with a monkey," he answered sarcastically before smiling happily at the other teen, "Of course I'll be your date on Friday. Why do you ask?"
"So we can say that someone asked in the first place," Seto told him softly and made him retreat a few steps until he was in the changing room again, "I love you very much, my puppy…"
"I love you too. Now kiss me, I can tell that you want to," Joey said with a wink.
"You're absolutely right," the brunet confirmed and kissed him passionately. Quite soon, his hands started to fumble with the buttons of the blue shirt, and he was pleased to discover that they could be undone very easily. Perfect. It was almost a shame to end the highly delightful moment, but as Seto pointed out, there still were some more things they wanted to go see. Joey changed back into his normal clothes, and a payment later, they went back to where they had come from on their way to the Empire State Building.
Now that they were walking and could more or less take their time, Joey got a real chance to look around in peace. It was clear that he was very impressed to see so many high buildings at once.
"I feel like I'm in a canyon," he remarked as the buildings towered above them. (5)
Seto couldn't agree with him more; occasionally, he also could only marvel at how those constructions dwarfed them, yet it was the "little" people who had built them in the first place… As they picked their way through the dense crowds on the sidewalk, he held Joey's hand tightly to make absolutely sure that they wouldn't be separated – that was definitely one of the last things that should happen; in a big, busy city more so than most other places.
When they were almost there, they passed an old man sitting at a fence. A piece of cardboard was in his lap, and slightly messy writing stated: "The end is near."
"D'you think he really believes that?" Joey asked after they had passed, glancing back at the man.
"No idea. Maybe that's part of his religion or something, or he's just a nutcase…" Seto shook his head. "Actually, I don't really care. I for my part doubt that any end is near."
"Yeah… agreed."
When they reached the Empire State Building, Joey was slightly dismayed to see a long line of visitors that reached a long ways down the sidewalk.
"See? That's why I reserved tickets beforehand," Seto said matter-of-factly as he got them at the entrance, "What's more, now we can simply walk around most of this godforsaken line."
"Sweet!" Joey cheered as they really could pass most of the line. They joined the crowd at the elevator. The people piled in until they were literally like sardines in a can. Luckily, the ride up to the 86th story lasted barely half a minute, and sighs of relief were breathed as they all piled off again.
"I'm glad that I don't have to do this often," Seto remarked as they headed for the observatory deck.
"So am I; I mean, I don't mind elevators so much, but moments like those really make you wish that you wouldn't need to get in there."
"We could've walked," Seto joked.
"Ugh, no! It'd take us forever…"
Laughing a little, they both stepped out onto the deck. The sight they laid eyes upon was literally breathtaking. For a moment, they were absolutely silent as they admired the view. (6)
"…Now this is a sight worth seeing." Seto made the first remark for a change.
"Definitely," Joey agreed, not taking his eyes off the city, "This is so awesome… It's as if you're the king of the world, kinda…" Looking truly thrilled, he turned to the brunet. "You know, this is the perfect opportunity for some pictures!"
Seto smiled and handed him the camera. "You can go take them."
"Yay!" the blond cried, took the device and proceeded to take a bunch of pictures from all four sides of the deck. Seto stayed where he was and watched him amusedly when he was in sight. Even just watching his puppy's delight made this trip worthwhile… When Joey had completed the round, he seized the opportunity and took a picture of Seto. "Now you've got proof that you've really been up here!" he said triumphantly.
"I see. And what about you, puppy? Let's make it fair, and I get to take a picture of you."
"Sure!" he said and gave the camera back.
Seto was silent as he looked at the little screen on the back of the camera, but then he frowned a bit and looked up. "Joey, don't give me that goofy smile. A real smile, if you please."
"What?! I am smiling!" the other boy protested.
"Goofily, that is. Think of something that really makes you smile."
"Like you?" A grin.
"If you want." The CEO shrugged, but was satisfied with what he was now seeing. When the picture was taken, Joey addressed a random person nearby:
"Hey, could you take a picture of us?"
"Sure," the guy said and took the camera that Seto handed him.
"How about taking off your sunglasses for this one?" Joey suggested as they stood close together.
"You think so?" The look he got was all the answer he needed. "Oh, alright…" He took off the sunglasses, and while Joey hugged him, he gave their voluntary photographer a pointed look: 'Make it fast, and don't ask any questions.' He could tell by the way that the man's eyes widened that he had been recognized – 'It never fails.' – but luckily his unspoken advice was taken, and a second later, it was all over. "Let's go," he muttered to Joey as he took back the camera.
"Sir… aren't you…?" the man began, but Seto said firmly:
"Good day to you." Then he quickly left, holding Joey's hand once again and leaving the man to stare incredulously after them and to wonder whether his eyes had been deceived.
On the way down, Seto checked his watch. "Three pm. Are two hours enough time to go where we haven't been yet?" he asked the blond.
"I guess so – as far as I'm concerned, we've only got Times Square and Central Park left."
"We might have to cut that one short, depending on our time management."
His boyfriend shrugged. "Maybe, but we'll come back someday with Mokuba, and then we can take our time."
Seto nodded, then they headed north again. The crowd of pedestrians seemed to be even denser than before, and the streets were as busy as they always were. At one crossing, they seemed to be in luck as the light for the road traffic turned red while the flashing green man signaled that it was safe to go.
"All right, now that's lucky!" Joey said brightly and began to cross. (7)
Just then, it all happened very quickly: the sound of squealing wheels came from round one corner, and that startled Seto and made him react instinctively:
"Joey, wait!" He grabbed the other's arm and yanked him backwards. They collided and almost stumbled, but Seto didn't regret his actions for one single moment – a split second later, a car came round the corner at a breakneck speed. The situation was crystal clear: if it hadn't been for Seto…
"Damn… I could have been roadkill…" Joey stammered with his eyes as wide as could be. A few people yelled angrily after the disappearing car, and he started to shake. "I… I could've died…"
"It's alright, Joey," a comforting whisper sounded out right next to his ear as he was tightly embraced.
"Se-Seto…" He barely heard himself talk.
"Kid, are you alright?"
"Good heavens, that was a close call…!"
The people who were the closest started talking insistently to them, inquiring whether they were okay, if they needed help and so on… Seto gently helped Joey to stand up again and waved the questions aside. "It's okay… please, just leave him alone!" He guided the shaken teen to the nearest wall, where he hugged him again. Joey started to cry on his shoulder.
"Oh God… thank you so much, Seto… I-I can't thank you enough… e-ever…!"
"Ssh, puppy… you don't need to thank me…"
"Yes, I do! You saved my life, for crying out loud!"
Seto kissed the top of his head, not giving a damn about the stares some passer-bys were giving them. "I know. I love you, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat, I swear."
"Th-Thank you…" Joey whispered hoarsely.
They stood there for a few more moments before Seto hesitantly asked: "Are you still willing to go to Times Square or do you want to go home?"
Joey wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand. "Well… since I'm not dead, we might as well go there."
Seto put an arm around him as they approached the cross-walk again. "Don't joke about that, you hear?"
"Sorry."
"Forget it."
Their light soon turned green again, and this time they waited for a second before finally crossing the road, surrounded by the crowd. It was hard to tell whether Joey deliberately didn't leave Seto's side in the slightest or if the brunet wasn't letting him do so. Some people raised their eyebrows at Joey's tear-stained face, but he did his very best to flash reassuring smiles at them. Two cross-walks later, a very kind woman even offered him a tissue, which he gladly accepted. To Seto's relief, he brightened quite a bit when they arrived at Times Square.
"Whoa… look at that big screen!" he said in awe, pointing.
"Admittedly, that's the biggest screen I've ever seen so far. Listen, we should sit down for a moment and maybe have a coffee or something. It's your choice."
"Oh… in that case, let's go to the Hard Rock Café."
"You have strange ways of calming down," Seto remarked as they headed over to the place.
"I've been wondering for ages what it's like in there, so I'm not missing this chance."
"I'm not protesting."
"I know you aren't."
Inside, they chose to just sit in a corner at the bar.
"What'll it be?" a lady asked them, and she – like plenty others so far – noticed that Joey was still rather pale, and she could tell that he had been crying. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes…" Joey answered elusively.
"I'll have a coffee," Seto interrupted.
"Just ice tea," Joey sighed. The lady shot him a compassionate look, then went to get their drinks.
"Joey, I've got a favor to ask of you: don't tell Mokuba about what happened back there tonight, okay?"
"I wouldn't have done that anyway."
"Thank you," Seto said, knowing fully well that his little brother would be dreadfully upset to hear about that shocking event.
Meanwhile, their drinks were brought to them, and Joey drained half his glass right away. Then he took a deep breath. "What a day…"
"Definitely worth remembering," Seto commented, sipping his coffee.
"In more ways than one."
The CEO nodded gravely. After finishing their drinks, they spent a little while sauntering around, and Joey in particular took fairly large interest in examining the guitars and other things on display. When they left, he vowed to himself to pay the place another visit sometime. There wasn't too much more time left for Central Park, but it was enough to let them get a bit of an idea of the park's beauty. It surely would require close to half a day to fully be able to enjoy it and see everything. When it was almost five pm, Seto called their driver, and they headed over to the Trump International Hotel, where they would be picked up.
While they waited, Seto nudged Joey. "So, pup, did you like it?"
"I swear that this was one of the coolest days ever! Thanks a lot, Seto!"
"Don't mention it."
Luckily, the car came just then, so they didn't have to wait much longer to just let themselves go, as Joey did when he insisted on expressing his gratitude anyway – but this time without words. Seto returned each and every kiss with even more passion than usual, for although he tried not to, he kept thinking about how he had almost lost his boyfriend a few hours ago. Things could happen so quickly…
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Shortly after ten, they were home again and found Mokuba waiting for them.
"Hi guys! How was it?" he asked, eager to hear about it all.
"Great," Joey answered tiredly.
"I agree, but we'll tell you about it tomorrow, okay, little brother?" Seto asked.
"Oh… sure, that's okay," the youngster replied, seeing that both of them were quite tired.
"I gotta get some sleep," Joey yawned and stretched a bit.
"Goodnight, then," Mokuba told him cheerfully.
"See ya tomorrow," the blond muttered and hugged him. Mokuba looked a bit confused when he felt that something about this hug was different from other times, but he didn't say anything until Joey was up the stairs and out of sight, having headed for his own room.
"Are you sure that everything's okay?" he asked his elder brother suspiciously.
Seto sighed. "Yes. It's been a long day, and he's very tired."
"He hasn't hugged me like that before," the boy pointed out.
"He's fine, don't worry. I'll go check my emails, and then I'll go to bed too – as you should as well."
"I know. I just wanted to see you guys before doing just that." Some doubt still lingered within him, but he knew that he shouldn't push it. "Goodnight, Seto."
"Sleep well, Mokuba…"
The raven-haired boy went straight to bed after that but stayed awake a little longer, wondering whether his doubts were justified. 'Something happened, I'm quite sure about it… if only I knew what…' By the time his brother checked on him, though, he was asleep after accepting the fact that he would get answers tomorrow.
(1) Imagine that such a guy really exists... hmpf...
(2) True... although it's very tiring after a while, I'd recommend walking (though we took a sight-seeing bus in-between).
(3) You can say what you want, teachers rarely understand when you try to reason with them in such a case... at least, that's how it always seems to be. They all seem to be thinking: 'My subject is the most important one of all...' (feel free to disagree if you want...)
(4) I'm guessing a bit on that part as well - we only went to see the NBC studios...
(5) Anyone else got that impression? I think I had it double because I'm mostly just used to villages or small towns without a bunch of high buildings.
(6) That was one of the best things... so awesome... :)))
(7) What comes now truly comes from sudden inspiration (it was about 1.30 am)...
As usual, please notify me if something's totally screwed up... and otherwise, I'm looking forward to your feedback! ;)