Kaiba caught Joey's fist in the air as he took a swing at him.
"You-!" Joey was so angry he could not find the words.
"Now that's not how a sniveling puppy speaks to someone who is superior in every way." Kaiba smiled smugly.
"And just what makes you better than me?! Huh?!"
"Joey, where do I even begin?" Kaiba shrugged, still firmly gripping Joey.
"Yer such a friggin' prick."
Kaiba cackled. "Is that all you could think to say? Even a toddler has a wider vocabulary than you."
Joey's face turned beet red with an insufferable mix of embarrassment and anger. Joey struggled, only managing to sloppily swing his body to punch the arrogant Kaiba in the face using the other arm. The pompous twit not only took the hit with a swift move of his palm and faint tilt of the body but had the audacity to confidently turn to him with a taunting grin. Joey couldn't help but assume it was a grin of satisfaction.
"I guess you're not all bark," Kaiba could not withhold his cackle.
"Look pal!"
"Hey guys, what's going on?" Joey was interrupted by an all too familiar voice.
"Oh great!" Kaiba exclaimed.
Yugi asked inquisitively; Bokura then stepped out from behind him. They had both come for a small meal after a light conversation about cards.
Yugi's voice jolted him back into reality and made him remember he was standing in the middle of the bathroom at McDonald's, hardly a place to have it out with a prick like Kaiba.
"Oh, nothin' Yug's, this creep and I were just reenacting the last scene of a good movie," Joey slightly stuttered.
"Oh really? But we heard you arguing for the last 15 or 20 minutes from outside." Yugi spoke as he slightly tilted his head as if patiently waiting for a response.
Joey was caught off guard and instinctively answered with, "We weren't fighting for that long! If it wasn't for Kaiba's pompous a**-" The words practically spilled from his mouth.
"So you admit you were bickering?" Yugi immediately responded after Joey stopped mid-thought.
"Wait no, there was nothing really, honest! Me and Kaiba have gotten real chummy lately, we are even out to get Mokuba a burger! We were just—," Joey then paused upon noticing Yugi and Bakura grabbing their sides in a fit of laughter.
"It's fine Joey, you don't have to explain yourself!" Yugi laughed as placed his hand on Joey's back, making him look down shyly while scratching the back of his head.
Kaiba batted an eye, no matter how he trained Joey, he was never this obedient. Kaiba had been patient enough with this chance meeting. "So you wag that tail for anybody, but me," Kaiba whispered within earshot of Joey before storming out to take a business call.
Joey couldn't help but openly glare at his back as he left the bathroom.
Bokura turned to Joey with a lighthearted smile and asked, "So what's really going on between you two?"
Joey could not contain himself once again and responded with yet another outburst, " W-what are you talking about!? We're the same as usual, Kaiba's a dick, and I can't help but respond to everything he says." Joey then turned away as if he had done something wrong with a nervous tapping of the foot.
"You know what I mean, you've been acting a lot…. How should I say, subdued?" Bokura turned to Yugi for confirmation.
Joey could only stare back at them in disbelief. How could they say that after they just caught me arguin' with Kaiba?
"I think I know what you mean." Yugi placed his hand on his chin and pondered before looked up and pumping his fist into his other palm. "It's like that moment when you think your dog is cute because they snarl, but they don't do you any harm and do what you tell them in the end." Yugi laughed so light-heartedly it was hard to tell if he was serious.
"What!?" Just as Joey frantically scurried to cover their faces (mostly their mouths), with an abashed face. Kaiba strode back into the bathroom upon finishing his business call.
Kaiba was appalled, his face contorted with anger and disgust. His cool façade could no longer take the onslaught of advances on his property or its behavior.
Joey was too focused on Yugi and Bokura's roundabout way of saying he was cute as a dog. First Kaiba treats me like a stray dog on the side of the road and now Yugi says I'm like some sorta tamed house pet!?
Both Yugi and Bokura mumbled loudly as they desperately tapped on Joey's arm and tugged on his hand.
"Huh, oh sorry!" Joey quickly removed his hands from their faces.
Kaiba observed their interactions as if staring at a persistent stain.
Yugi and Bokura gasped for breath.
"Sorry Joey, I guess it's weird to call your friend cute like that. I don't really see you like a dog or anything. It was just the best way for me to understand what Bokura said." Yugi waved his hands as he tried to clear up the misunderstanding.
Bokura spoke up with his hand on his chest from catching his breath and smiled. "Sorry, Joey."
"What? Uh, no, sorry. I kinda had gotten lost in thought. I'm not really mad or nothin'." He laughed as he scratched his skin before something dawned on him. Wait a sec, cute? Why did he have to say it twice?! That wasn't even the part I was concerned about! Was that what they were tryin' to say? No wonder me and Mai never worked out, she probably just saw me as some cute kid in the end!
Joey could not look them in the eye from a newfound embarrassment. It was hardly anything you should say to another man. How could one even respond?
Just as Yugi turned to Bakura with a plea to help soothe the strange mood, Joey's phone rang.
"Hey Joey, where's my sandwich!" Mokuba's shriek was so loud everyone could not help but overhear. Joey almost beat himself for having forgotten the reason he came. Joey frantically ran out the bathroom.
Kaiba could not help but bat an eye at the fact that Mokuba, his only brother, did not call him. But he immediately shook the thought, paying no mind to the presence of Yugi and Bokura in fear they may raise his blood pressure further.
"So why are we all gathered in the bathroom anyway?" Yugi suddenly interjected while shifting his focus to Kaiba.
Kaiba was taken aback, how did I gotten caught in the flow of these dweebs again? I honestly feel the more time I spend with them, the more my rationality ceases to be. He furrowed his brow as he thought about just how ridiculous it was to have spent so much time in a low-class public restroom (which he would normally not dare step foot in).
Kaiba abruptly turned and strode out the bathroom without returning a response.
Yugi and Bokura looked to each other, then shrugged, they were all too used to Kaiba's "cold-shoulder." They then proceeded to follow him out of the room.
Almost as soon as Yugi had passed through the door, Joey was shoving the warm burgers into Kaiba's chest and swinging his arm around Yugi's shoulder.
"Yug's!" Joey shouted elated with joy. He so easily forgets about his surroundings that his voice carried as if Yugi were not within a few centimeters of him. But who could be mad once he shot such an innocent carefree smile?
Yugi was slightly taken by surprise and briefly suffocated from Joey's weight collapsing on him. After barely regaining his composure, he looked up at Joey with a curious laugh.
"You know that tactic you talked about last Thursday?! Well, I stayed up day and night, and I think I mastered it! If I keep learning like this, I could beat you in no time!" Joey rushed his speech with little trickles of wonder in his eyes.
As Yugi and Bokura seemed to stare at Joey with a look of endearment, Kaiba interrupted with an uncharacteristically loud laugh.
"You really think that with your pathetic skills reading of immaturity, and cheap cards you could ever hope to beat Yugi?" Kaiba raised his hands mockingly and shrugged his shoulders. "Why don't you get a reality check, Yugi's just too obnoxiously kind to tell you the truth." He then glanced at Yugi, "Or maybe it's a type of cruelty. Who knows." Although these were Kaiba's true thoughts, he hadn't said anything this cruel to Joey since they had started going out. They still fought, but they were only petty spats that would soon be forgotten thanks to Joey's air-headedness and his acclimation to his twisted personality, but Kaiba's pride will not allow him to just watch Joey getting chummy with someone else. Even if it were a friend, and even with no plans of being nice to Joey to earn his trust properly.
Joey fell silent.
"How could you say that to him?! We all have to start from somewhere, I wasn't just saying that because we were friends!" Yugi frantically tried to plead with Kaiba, knowing full well he was not the type to listen or take anything to heart. Bokura furiously shook his head in agreement.
"Yugi, if I lied to him as you do, he'd not only be a third-rate duelist but a fourth-rate idiot as well." Kaiba turned and crossed his arms.
"Kaiba's right Yugs," he said as he proudly lifted his fist as he looked up at Kaiba. Yugi is not the least bit intimidating, but Joey was moved that he would raise his voice on his behalf.
Joey then placed a hand on Bokura's and Yugi's shoulders and shook his head. He looked up, "It's true I still pretend to have a fighting chance despite not have the brains, experience, or discipline you guys have." He then lowered his head, "You know Yug's, you say you only need to put yer heart in the cards, but almost everything I have put my heart into has ended up breaking or leaving." He glanced back at the stone-faced Kaiba, "I may be a crappy duelist, but I will never become so cowardly that I would hide my heart away as you do. I will keep putting my heart into the things I care about." Joey peered into Kaiba's eyes with surprising calm, but Joey was still clearly hurt. Here he thought he and Kaiba were finally closed, but then he goes and says this sh*t.
Kaiba almost seemed to ponder at Joey's speech before grabbing Joey by the arm so that he couldn't walk away to mope by himself.
Joey was pissed, he glared back at Kaiba whilst clenching his teeth, his face visibly red. "What, does the genius have any more to say?" His voice shook as if trying to hold back a wail. But as quickly as he looked up, he turned away. He did not want to reveal a face that seemed almost ready to cry.
"Kaiba, I think you should let him go." Yugi tried to put on a strong front. He had only mere speculations of their relationship, but he felt no matter who he was to Joey, he had gone too far.
Kaiba gave Yugi a quick glance before returning his attention back to Joey. "Instead of worrying about everyone else, why don't you get a real hobby instead Yugi?" He tugged at Joey, only to be met with a struggle.
Joey tried to push Kaiba away, but the struggle only seemed to fuel his frustration and bring him closer to the brink of tears.
Kaiba responding by jerking Joey close and whispering, "I will kiss you right here, in front of everyone in this store if you do not comply."
"Ya wouldn't dare put yer reputation at risk!" Joey then blurted.
Kaiba responded with a confident smirk. "As much as you preach about me being a rich snob, you seem to forget, I have the money and power to make these people forget and crush those who don't. I am sure everyone saw all the commotion we have caused thus far." Kaiba's grin then disappeared, he simply looked at Joey with severity. Kaiba didn't even need to rehash his excellent hacking skills.
Joey hesitantly ceased his struggle, Yugi was like his idol, he did not want to embarrass himself any further in front of him. "Fine." He finally adhered to Kaiba's demand.
Kaiba glared in Yugi's direction as if he knew the true reason why Joey ceased his struggle. But he could not press any further, Joey was only allowed to cry in front of him, not in front of Yugi, his sworn rival.
Just as Joey started to follow Kaiba outside, his arm still held by Kaiba for reassurance, Yugi and Bokura frantically trailed after them. They grabbed Joey's arm simultaneously. "Wait! Kaiba, what are you going to do to him!?" Joey could not help but be moved as the usual kind timid Yugi had stood up to Kaiba on his behalf. He did not want to risk Kaiba being nasty to his best friend, so he lightly brushed Yugi's hands away.
"It's fine Yug's, really. We can figure this one out on our own like men." He then raised his free arm and flexed to prove his masculinity as he smiled.
Before Yugi could press further, Kaiba opened a door and practically threw Joey into his black limousine. As he got in, he shoved Joey who laid awkwardly in the seats further in as he sat next to him and turned to Yugi. "Ha, I hope you dweebs learn to make better use of your time. And Yugi, I hope you get real comfortable in your seat as number one, it will feel all the better when I defeat you!" He slammed the door behind him.
Joey shifted in his seat to desperately try to look out at Yugi only to see Yugi's desperate figure running behind them. "Wait, Yugi is—!" He accidentally kicked the door as his leg laid partially in Kaiba's lap.
Kaiba ignored Joey's plea and interrupted him with a kiss.
Joey was winded as he was caught off guard and slid further and further into Kaiba's black leather seats. His foot had left the ground as now both his legs laid across Kaiba's lap from the fall. Kaiba's hands forcefully wrapped around Joey's waist, pulling him in closer, and closer. He waited until Joey seemed to give in before parting his lips. Joey laid beneath him with ragged gasps, and a few of the tears he had withheld for a while began to trickle down his face as he turned to catch his breath and hide the shameful sight. He just wanted to move on, he wasn't expecting a "sorry," but that does not change the fact that his pride took a fatal blow. He partially hid his face with his hand. It was times like this he just wanted to punch something.
"The hell was that for pal!? If you had continued, I would have suffocated to death!" Joey said in an exaggerated, dramatic sort of manner as he continued to catch his breath. He wanted to avoid eye contact.
"You were focusing on the wrong person." Kaiba shrugged his shoulders. "I do not understand why you get so emotional over a card game when your better at being Yugi's little cheerleader. It's simply a matter of tactic; study your opponents and their resources, then counterattack accordingly for minimum loss and optimal gain." He said without budging from atop of Joey. He then provocatively licked a tear from Joey's cheek, shocking Joey into further silence from the sudden shift to sweetness. "Why couldn't you get mad and shout like you normally do?" He tossled a couple of strands of Joey's hair.
Joey glared up at Kaiba, no longer ready to cry. "Is this yer way of comforting people? Well it sucks." He put his hand to Kaiba's chest. "Now get offa me." He pushed his hand into Kaiba's chest and until they were sitting next to each other and plopped his feet onto the floor. He could not understand how Kaiba could make his situation out to be simpler than it really is. Joey felt he spoke bullsh*t straight from his a**. He tried to prop himself up but was shoved down once again, but this time with less vigor.
Kaiba stared down at Joey with one of his usual superior sneers. "Comfort?" Kaiba snorted, "Now that's funny. You ignore me, then kiss up to Yugi, and expect me to wag my tail and do a trick for you all whilst licking your wounds?" Kaiba could not help but scoff. "The only man you should be touching and focusing on is me." Kaiba then clutched both of Joey's hands and leaned in for another kiss, only to be met with a loud thunk to the head. The fool had head-butted him.
Kaiba was jarred back for only a second, then suddenly leaned back, lightly brushing back his bangs. He was stunned. He laughed for a minute, then sunk into his seat, finally allowing Joey some space, and a chance to sit upright.
This creeps finally lost it. He too was too surprised to even get angry. He just stared quietly as the maniac suddenly crossed his legs and regained his [snobby] composure. He knew Kaiba had to be in pain considering how his own head was still throbbing agonizingly.
Kaiba realized just how ridiculously childish he had been for throwing a fit just because Joey did not fawn over him as he would Yugi. He wants to completely monopolize Joey, as he does anything else he considers of value. He was only taught to acquire/possess, not cherish. This was the difference between his affection towards his brother and Joey. He did not expect to be coddled by Joey, but for the idiot to do it for another man, or woman, is out of the question. And despite his extreme moods, the blockhead still doesn't get it.
How he allowed such an idiot to finally land a blow on him was beyond him, the whole thing has just boiled down to a waste of time and effort. His pride was not going to allow him to admit he was jealous, and Joey was always going to be so… well, Joey. Joey turned me into an idiot; I have the upper hand intellectually, socially, and financially so why is it I never truly and utterly dismiss what Joey had to say anymore? This was proof that in a sense, Joey had a small win.
"Uh, Kaiba…? Did I maybe hit yer head too hard? Or maybe all that arrogance and hot air finally went to yer head an blew a fuse." Joey stared at him, feigning concern. "Guess I don't know my own strength." He then shrugged and looked away, also leaning into his seat. There was no reply, not even a snide remark. He quickly became bored of waiting for Kaiba to explain his creepy cackle.
Joey broke the silence again. "Ya' know Kaiba, we wouldn't have these crazy fights if you would just tell me what's on yer mind instead of snide observations. I know yer too much of a creep and workaholic to have friends, but we're both men here, we should be able to disclose some stuff." He never once looked back at Kaiba as he focused his eyes on the scenery outside his window.
This disturbingly sounds like a friendship speech, Kaiba thought. Only the weak gather in herds the way you dorks do, knowing full well the pretty words and flimsy, intangible "bonds" can't carry you to the top. No one can live your life, and that temporary happiness is just a fleeting illusion. I prefer things I can touch, clutch, and control with my own means. Joey will always stay as a no-name like his father because of these so-called "feelings" he allows to dictate his life. It was just like how he harbored an obsession with power like his own father. But even Kaiba knew he would be too much of an a**hole to drudge that up (for now).
Kaiba let out a quiet sigh, "Save your breath, Joey, I don't have many of these pathetic "feelings" you want to be disclosed so badly to form some "enduring manly bond"."
Kaiba almost puked at the fact that he lets Joey far enough into his space to make him even attempt to explain himself.
Sigh~ "I knew it. Whelp, I tried, lil' Young Master Kaiba is still too shy." He swung his arms behind his head and relaxed into a carefree smile. "While you brood in your darkness and your "I'm a lone-wolf" thing, or whatever, I'll be enjoyin' life." Joey playfully shifted in his seat to look at Kaiba. "You jealous?" He could not resist laughing at his own words as he turned to stare forward with a triumphant grin. He then threw his arms back behind his head.
"I'll have my secretary give you a call should I ever be so pathetic." Kaiba looked down, motioning for his cell.
"Suit yourself." Joey shrugged. "And where did ya learn that weird sh*t earlier?! Randomly lickin' my face and al – Oh wait! Sh*t! Mokuba's burger!" Joey lunged forwards out of his seat, nearly hitting his head on the ceiling of the vehicle. He searched in a panic, "Where is it!?"
Kaiba shrugged, not looking up from his phone. "I threw it away."
"What!?" Joey nearly fell out of his seat. He turned to Kaiba in complete bewilderment. "But why?!"
"They had gotten cold," Kaiba said unamused.
"Then… what are we supposed to do? What was the point?"
"Quit the theatrics." Without lowering his cell, Kaiba casually looked up at Joey, "Mokuba obviously did not need US to get him a burger, it was just a useless ploy to get us to work together to stop our useless bickering." He then snickered as if looking down on him with a face clearly saying, "how did you not know?", and turned back to his device.
Joey could only stare back in exasperation with a dumb look on his face, "…..Huh?"