Jou woke up well-rested. It was the first time that had happened in a while and he suddenly remembered the reason. His heart sank as he looked at the clock and saw that it was 2 PM. How the hell did he oversleep? He set like a dozen alarms for every morning! The blonde looked around the room and saw that the digital clock he had on the nightstand the night before wasn't there anymore. He looked down at the blurred outlines of hands in his lap as his tears rolled off his cheeks and fell on them. This was it. Kaiba would fire him for sure. He was expecting as much anyway, keeping his still packed bag under the bed in case he was suddenly asked to leave. He used to do that at his father's apartment too. He remembered wondering if he would ever live in a place where he would never feel threatened and unwanted.

"I guess not," he whispered as more tears made their way into his lap. He sniffled, hating himself for how weak and pathetic he had become. But it wasn't his fault...really, it was what the world had reduced him to. Though the blurriness didn't dissipate yet, Jou kicked his legs to the side of the bed to grab his bag from under it, change, and leave the mansion forever. That's when he noticed the tray on a table next to the nightstand with a folded note. Biting his lip, the blonde grabbed the tray and brought it to his lap, then carefully opened the note, fearing what he would find inside.

Puppy,

I apologize if I scared you by taking away your digital clock. I instructed a maid to do so as subtly as possible. Please inform me if she hasn't and I'll see to it that she gets transferred. I am not docking your pay nor will I ever do such a thing. Although, for future reference, I'd prefer it if you'd call me out on my behavior in private. I wouldn't have fired Haruki, either. Rather, I was firing him from that division and transferring him to another. He is an arrogant brat who flirts with everyone and makes them uncomfortable. I thought he was doing that with you. I simply wasn't aware of your friendship with Mokuba and his part in this. You have the day off and you deserve it. There was a really important project design that I needed to complete last week and wouldn't have done so without your help. Thank you. Our work hours won't be as bad from now on. You have my word.

Seto Kaiba

Jou read over the letter three times, unable to comprehend what he was seeing and sure that he was going insane. Was he dreaming? There's no way that Kaiba would apologize AND say Thank you on any occasion, let alone say both and be so nice in a letter. Did Mokuba write this? Or did he demand that Seto give Jou the day off? That sounds about right.

It's not ideal.

But at least I am not getting fired today.

Jou carefully folded the note and put it in his bag. It was the only proof he had that his feelings for the brunette weren't completely unjustified. Spurred by Mokuba or not, Kaiba did a nice thing for him by giving him the day off and not taking away his salary for two months.

The blonde looked down at the tray and lifted the metal container that served to keep the food warm. His eyes widened. There were pancakes, eggs, and bacon on the plate. Placed at the corner was also a thermos that had coffee, another that had tea, and the third hot milk. Jou knew he needed to get to the doctor, but the clinic wasn't going anywhere and the blonde was starving. He instantly dug in, moaning at how good the food tasted. He wished he had a way of thanking Kaiba somehow and made a mental note to eventually put aside some money for a gift for Mokuba and one for Kaiba.

"The surgery may be covered by your insurance, Jounouchi, but the tests aren't. We need a new batch. The old test results are out-dated," the doctor said. Jou nodded quickly. That was fine. The tests don't cost that much.

"The usual 300,000, doc?" he asked optimistically. His smile dropped when the doctor shook his head.

"It's 500,000 now."

Okay.

Calm down, Jou.

That's not so bad.

"I could get that in exactly nine weeks. I got a steady job now, doc. I'm good for it."

The doctor smiled widely and booked a slot for Jou to have the tests run. He gave Jou some eye drops to help with the blurriness and the pain in the meantime.

"Straining your eyes so you could see something on a computer screen would make the pain worse, but it won't damage your vision more than it does to anyone else's," the doctor had said.

The blonde raced to the mansion, grinning like a maniac. It was the first time in forever that he felt so...free. He burst into Mokuba's room, which the boy had said Jou could enter at any time, and told him the news, that the University Jou wanted was still open for admissions and would be for two more months. Mokuba hugged the blonde tightly, congratulating him, and they proceeded to play duel monsters afterward.

Kaiba arrived home not knowing what to expect. Would the puppy still be miserable? Or did the day off lift his spirits? Did he forgive the brunette or was he still upset?

He better have appreciated that note.

It took me and Mokuba three hours to perfect it with both of us having to compromise vigorously on what should and shouldn't be included.

Kaiba could've especially used those three extra hours that day to make up for the fact that he had to cover Jou's work as well. As much as the brunette hated to admit it, Jou was damn good at his job. All his past secretaries paid too much attention to the details, careful to plan every outcome of every response to every message, call, or email. They reviewed their work constantly to make sure it was professional. They were also all terrified of Kaiba. Ironically, the fact that Jou doesn't give a single damn about Kaiba Corp was saving them both a lot of time and wasted effort. He was the best secretary Kaiba ever had.

As the CEO passed by Jou's room, he risked a quick peek inside and noticed that Jou wasn't in his room.

Is the puppy still out?

It's almost dawn.

The worry in Kaiba's chest disappeared as soon as reached Mokuba's room and found Jou and his brother asleep on the floor, clutching chess pieces with a board lying between them. He gently picked up his brother and tucked him into bed then shook Jou awake. The blonde's eyes shot open instantly and he looked panicked until he noticed it was Kaiba. The brunette didn't give much thought to his behavior, thinking he shook him too hard and place a finger on his own lips to let Jou know not to make a sound. The blonde nodded then left the room. Once Kaiba had exited as well and closed the door, Jou started stammering.

"I-I am sorry. I didn't mean t-to go against your r-rules or anything. Mokuba and I were just talking and-"

"It's fine," Kaiba said, interrupting him, "It was very nice of you to keep my brother company."

I wish I could do that more often.

As if reading Kaiba's thoughts, Jou's features instantly soften and he placed a hand on Kaiba's shoulder.

"I'll try to put in more work so you could come back here while he is still awake."

The brunette gave him a slight smile. He was also beyond relieved that Jou hadn't brought up the note. It was one thing for the brunette to partially pour his heart out to the blonde, but it was another thing entirely for them to actually talk about it. Kaiba didn't think he could handle that level of discomfort.

We'll never finish enough for me to come back here in time.

But it's sweet that the puppy cares about my relationship with Mokuba.

"Get some sleep. You're expected at Kaiba Corp at 10 AM tomorrow" the brunette said casually, then walked into his room and closed the door before Jou could respond. He glanced at Jou through the slightly open doorway to see the blonde's confused expression then his wide smile, which instantly made any irritation that Kaiba had disappear.