After looking back on this I realized I didn't like how rushed it felt in certain areas, so I went back and edited it a bit. I'm liking it better now

To all of you who are still out there and reading this story, I know it's been nearly a year and I am so sorry. I told myself I'd never be one of those author's that make people wait but here I am. I'm going to do my best to get the last few chapters done and finish this story.

It's been a horrible year altogether… During the end of last spring, my Uncle unexpectedly died without any warning. He'd been in the hospital for health issues and everything seemed ok and suddenly I'm getting a call from my Mom saying that he passed away. I struggled with that for a long time because it just hit like a car wreck… To make it even worse, a week later another family member unexpectedly died and at the end of this summer, we lost our beloved little dog. We had him for 11 years and he died far too soon… Add to that two stressful semesters at college, a shitty month and now my Mom is suffering health concerns, I've been seriously depressed for a while…

I'm glad now that Christmas break is here, I'll be able to post on here more and hopefully get it done before I go back to campus!

I do not own YuGiOh or any of its characters. If I did, I would be playing video games with Mokuba and enjoying a cup of hot chocolate.

Warnings: fluff and other wonderful things

"Speaking"

'Thinking'

Flashbacks/ Singing

Eventually they fell back onto the bed, both having wide grins on their flushed faces. Raising himself onto his elbow, Seto gazed down at the younger teen and pressed a tender kiss to his rosy lips.

When they finally fell asleep, it was tangled together under the sheets with Joey resting his head on Seto's chest and the brunet's arms wrapped around his precious pup. They could worry about everything else later but for tonight… tonight it was filled with peaceful smiles, sweet dreams, warm embraces- and that was all that mattered.

Three weeks later.

He stared at the piece of paper in front of him with a scowl. Maybe if he continued to glare at it, the thing would burst into flames. Any minute now…

No such luck.

Unfortunately for the poor blond, he hasn't yet learned the ability that his boyfriend has mastered. His glare isn't at a lethal level and thus… his homework remains.

"Joey, if you're struggling that much then you can just ask for help!"

Lifting his eyes up he was met with exasperated brown and blue pairs from Tristan and Tea. "No guys! I gotta do dis mahself!"

"I still don't really understand what the point of this is…" Tea shook her head from her spot seated next to him. "Remind me of what your scatter-brained plan is?"

A blush spread across his face as he was reminded of what happened. It had started a few days ago when they'd gotten their last test scores back… 30, 37 and 42. He'd been mortified that he'd failed all three after all the hours he'd spent studying with Seto. His science grade had risen to a solid C which had surprised ALL of his friends- something that pissed him off when Tristan, Duke, Marik and Bakura teased him for the whole day after finding out. Math on the other hand had been much harder to fix and was barely at a D- now.

It probably didn't help that the night before the big test he'd stayed up late having some fun with Seto instead of studying…

"Listen, I already take up 'nuff of Seto's time wit mah stupidness. He tried so hard ta help 'n I just wasted it. So now I gotta do it mahself. I can't let him know dat I failed!"

"…That's literally the dumbest plan I've ever heard."

"Shaddup!"

Tristan shook his head. "No man, she's right. Why make it harder on that brain of yours when you literally have a genius prodigy living under the same roof as you. It's not like he'll be mad or anything!"

Groaning in irritation he tugged at his hair. "Don't care! Just lemme punish mahself!"

His friends eventually left him alone to suffer in the library and went about their own business. It was a relief to have peace and quiet and did his best to focus on the task at hand. Time seemed to drag on and after an eternity of struggling with it, even the numbers started blurring together. '1.04c(x+54.2y-c)=… what da hell language is dis?'

DOOOOON'T SAY IF I WERE YOU! OR TELL ME WHAT TO DO! HOW THINGS WOULD BE IF YOU WERE IN MY SHOES! CAUSE YOU'RE NOT ME!-

Joey jumped as his phone began blaring loudly next to him on the table, the sound echoing through the silent room and earning him a dark scowl from the librarian. Huh, maybe she could set his paper on fire? Putting his focus back on the task he recognized the ringtone belonged to Seto and answered quickly. "Hey, wassup?"

"Hello Puppy, where are you? It's nearly time for dinner."

Brown eyes flew wide as he glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was 5:30?! "Aw shit! Sorry Set', lost track of time! Be home soon!"

A chuckle sounded on the other end of the line. "I figured as much. There's usually nothing that distracts that stomach of yours from food."

"Oh ha ha ha. Very funny ya jerk," Joey rolled his eyes but couldn't help but smile at the jab. It was nice to see the usually stiff brunet have a fun side.

"Thank you, I do try. Now what time shall we expect you to be home by?" Seto asked curiously. "Mokuba's hounding me to get you back soon. It's one of your favorites though so I'm not getting it ready until you get your butt here."

As much as he wanted to keep studying, even he knew that it was a lost cause at the rate his brain was melting. Not to mention his stomach was crying for food! How did he not notice?

He packed up his books and papers into his bag chaotically and booked it out of the library while throwing an apology to the indignant librarian who was scolding him for his rudeness. It was followed by more laughing from his phone (which he chose to ignore the brunet's mocking for now in favor of fleeing from the angry old woman). Yikes, for a woman who demands everyone to be quiet and behave, she's sure doing her best to kill him!

Once safely out of the building and down the stairs he puts the phone back to his ear in time to breathlessly growl. "Ya havin' fun wit dis, ain't ya?"

"Very much so, my mischievous Pup."

"What eva, I'll see ya at home Rich boy."

Deciding that Seto needed to be punished as well, the first person he greeted upon arrival was Mokuba. He could see the sulk coming from the brunet as he was ignored by the other teen and all his attention went towards the food instead. He'd most likely pay for that later but oh well. For now, he was going to enjoy his meal- hey, don't you dare move that plate Seto Kaiba!

1:48 a.m.

It was the eighteenth time that he'd checked the clock since he'd started his homework and it caused him to groan in despair when he saw how late it was getting. He had told the brothers that he was going to head for bed early and get some much-needed sleep but once in his room, he'd sat at the desk and began his assignments. That had been nearly five hours ago and there were still some problems to solve.

It was taking longer than usual to finish because he just couldn't keep his eyes open! Every time he'd stare at an equation and try to solve it, his mind would drift into that fuzzy state and he'd feel his eyelids slowly grow heavier… and heavier… and heavi- he jerked his head up with a start when he realized he was doing it again.

"Come on… just a few mo'r…." He mumbled to himself, scrubbing at his face in the hope of waking up a bit before leaning his head against his hand, elbow bent and resting on the desk. "Ya got dis Joey…"

Doing a halfhearted check on the papers he'd already completed he realized he had about half a page on this last one. With any luck he'd be back in his bed before 2:30… just gotta focus… concentrate…

He was asleep before he even finished sinking the rest of the way to the desk.

(Seto's POV)

Cerulean eyes stared up at the ceiling for what felt like the hundredth time. He'd been trying to sleep for a few hours now but for some reason found it difficult. After Joey had left for bed first and he'd sent Mokuba shortly after, he'd gotten a couple hours of work done in his office before making his way towards his room at around 11. However, after checking the time, he saw with great annoyance that he'd been laying here for nearly three hours and barely a wink of slumber was accomplished.

It had been such a peaceful week, with no complications at work or in school. It was such a rare event that it figured something would happen to ruin the good luck he'd been having.

Wait.

He'd gotten so used to having amazing sleep lately because he'd been sleeping next to Joey! Before that he'd barely get an average 4-5 hours but ever since the blond moved in, he'd been getting better. Granted they didn't always share the same bed (usually when he had work to do, business trips or Joey was at a sleep over) but now that he thought about it, those times were like now. Tossing and turning and unable to get comfortable.

Pulling the blankets away he rose to his feet and silently made his way out of his room and to the blonds.

It had been decorated for a while now since their shopping trip and he'd made sure that the room was furnished with things his Puppy would like. It had a nice cozy atmosphere to it that reminded him of his brother's room and opposite of his barer simple room.

The room was the epitome of Joey- Pictures of his friends and family, posters and random bits decorated the walls in random order, clothes spilled out of the closet, a backpack tossed in the middle of the floor with its contents threatening to escape, several Red Eyes Black Dragon (and one Blue Eyes, curtesy of his boyfriend) plushies spread across his bed-

His EMPTY bed.

Confused, he looked around the room until his gaze landed on the slumped figure sitting at his desk. A smile slowly grew on his face when he heard the quiet snores coming from his Pup. Making sure to step lightly he quietly walked over to him.

Joey was fast asleep with his arm cushioned under his head as a pillow and other arm resting on the desk, a pencil limp in his hand. Spread in front of him were a pile of papers in disarray. It was several make up assignments and homework given in the last day or so. Under those were three tests that made him wince when he saw the scores.

Seto knew how hard the poor blond had been trying lately in his schoolwork. Unlike what most people assumed Joey was NOT stupid. After tutoring him himself he finally concluded that Joey's previous grades were due to not understanding the teaching methods being shown to him and never having the time to study while in the environment he'd been living in. After living in the Kaiba home he'd improved greatly and had taken pride in his work.

Reaching forward he carded his long fingers through the mess of blond hair, brushing it back and gazing tenderly at his exhausted Puppy. He knew that Joey pushed himself too hard. Not that he was any better though. 'This boy is too much for his own good…' Seto leaned down and kissed the now bare forehead.

"Nnn… wha?" The younger teen stirred a little bit in the seat.

"Shh it's alright, it's only me. What are you doing working so late?"

A pair of groggy brown eyes fluttered open partially before slipping shut again. "Need ta… ta make it up ta S'to… fer failin'…" Joey slurred, barely conscious.

Shaking his head at the words he slipped his hands under the other and after a few seconds of rearranging managed to lift him up and carry him back to his bed. The blond snuffled around but soon settled into Seto's arms.

"Now you listen here," Seto murmured to the barely aware teen. "You did NOT fail me. You have never and you will never fail me. You're already pushing yourself so much to get better. With your health, with your friends, with your fears, with your schooling… what you need now is to rest and get some much-needed sleep."

A faint mumble was all he got in return as Seto slid under the blankets with him. He was already out like a light the moment he hit the pillow. 'I'll take that as agreement,' Seto thought in amusement. Now that he had his Puppy in his arm's he found himself joining him in sleep in a matter of minutes…

Across the street from the Kaiba mansion sat a black car parked on the sidewalk. The driver watched the house with a cruel grin on his face as he pictured getting his hands on the occupants inside. "Run an' hide while ya can, rats… ya gonna be caught soon an' when ya do, I'll get back what belongs to me…"

And there's chapter 26! It's a bit short but longer than the last one. I hope to be getting the next one out soon- hopefully before Christmas. Thank you, guys, for having read my story. It means a lot to me to know this story was so loved. Also if anyone was wondering about the song, it was in the first YuGiOh movie when Seto was flying in his jet and it was one of my favorites as a kid XD Please review everyone.