Notes: For the Flufftober prompt - "I hate you." "I love you too."
Five times Joey claimed to love, or be loved by, Seto Kaiba - to his face - and one time (the first time, anyway) that Seto said it for himself.
Fine Lines Between Love and Hate
The first time.
It's a joke. Mostly, anyway.
Kaiba's growing on Joey like a fungus that might or might not be deathly poisonous, but Yugi's got a soft spot for the jackass so Joey figures that deep down - deep, deep down... deep, deep, deeeeeeep down... well, you get the picture - there was something worthwhile in Seto Kaiba.
Besides, if nothing else Kaiba clearly adored his brother and would move the whole universe six feet to the left if that was what Mokuba wanted. So Joey had to give him props for being a good big brother too.
But after the... second or third time they've all dueled their way into saving the world from evil magic with good magic, Joey'd think the guy would pull his head out of the ground and stop pretending magic wasn't real. It was obnoxious. And made Kaiba - a certified genius - look like an idiot.
So when Joey gets hit with the umpteenth, "you're an idiot, Wheeler" for supporting the 'a wizard did it' explanation Yugi gave, from Mr. In Denial himself, well.
"At least I don't ignore evidence of reality dancing right in front of my face. You've got a front row seat to," Joey hesitated, he needed the right word for this and the one he needed started off like 'quaint'... oh, he had it. "To be quantifying the Ancient Magic of Atlantis and Egypt and discovering entirely new scientific concepts that explain them in modern terms and you're wasting your time doing an ostrich impression."
"Wheeler," Kaiba started to growl.
"I dunno, big bro. I mean we've seen some pretty impossible things. Maybe instead of ignoring them we should be figuring out how to explain it all. Besides, we could totally name stuff after ourselves," Mokuba chirped. He just grinned even bigger when his brother glowered at him with an air of betrayal.
"Whatever." Kaiba turned his scowl back towards Joey, Yugi, Tea, and Tristan. "Losers. I really hate you people."
"Yeah, yeah," Joey drawled. And then smirked. "Love ya too, Kaiba."
Then, while Kaiba was the one spluttering indignantly for a change and Mokuba was giggling, Joey beat a fast retreat.
Totally worth it.
The second time.
It's... not exactly a joke anymore. Kaiba just got injured. Protecting Joey. And that's... that's big.
Admittedly, Joey had just put himself in harms way to protect Mokuba. So arguably Kaiba was returning the favor. But... that's not how Seto Kaiba worked.
He might, through clenched teeth, thank Joey for rescuing Mokuba, but... jumping in the way of a Duel Monster's attack just to save the last of Joey's life points in a three on two duel that they'd all been forced into?
That's...
"Not a word, Wheeler," Kaiba choked out, seeing the stunned expression on Joey's face as Seto's life points dropped five hundred points. Points he could afford, but Joey couldn't. "I still hate you."
The words slip out automatically in response. "Uh-huh. Love ya too, ya jerk."
Mokuba giggled.
When they win the duel, Kaiba won't even look at Joey, but... there's something there, maybe. That wasn't before.
The third time.
It's starting to turn into a habit now.
Joey's hanging out with Serenity, which attracted Tristan and Duke like flies - one day those two are going to realize they're more interested in arguing with each other than in Serenity herself and Joey is trying not to think about what that means about his own ongoing snipe-fest with Kaiba - when Mokuba seemingly pops up out of nowhere and offers to buy Serenity ice cream.
Serenity is tall for her age and while she's older than Mokuba, it's not as big an age gap as it looks. Joey's actually better with the idea of her dating Mokuba than the odd squad who are glaring at each other now. The animosity would be more believable if Joey couldn't tell Duke was staring at Tristan's lips now and Tristan had been watching Duke's butt when they'd first walked up.
Of course... where there's one Kaiba brother, there is often a second.
Joey beamed at the sight of Seto Kaiba, looking awkward and out of place in the park.
"Wheeler. Devlin. And... who were you again?"
"Tristan Taylor! You've known me longer than Duke! How could you know his name but forget mine?" Tristan railed.
"Oh, right. I thought you were a monkey," Kaiba drawled and... Joey shouldn't have snickered. Really.
But Tristan's outrage was hilarious.
And Joey's starting to learn how to recognize the signs of teasing mirth on Kaiba's face.
"Mokuba drag you out of the office or is this a willing detour from your corporate desk?" Joey asked curiously.
"I may have been about to throttle a particularly incompetent employee when Mokuba suggested we take a walk," Kaiba replied, tone almost politely conversational.
"So an average Tuesday," Joey surmised.
"Wheeler... it's Saturday."
"And that's clearly not a joke you're familiar with." Joey shrugged. "Pop culture really ain't your thing, huh?"
"I don't have time for whatever it is your referencing," Kaiba finally said. Maybe pouting a bit.
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I bet Mokuba watches it," Joey guessed.
"Uh, what do I watch?" Mokuba asked, returning with Serenity - each with a cone of half vanilla/half chocolate soft serve ice cream in their hands.
"Some vampire show," Seto grumbled. Definitely pouting.
"Buffy or Angel. I watch both," Mokuba replied, beaming.
Kaiba huffed in irritation. "Are you done? I need to get back to the office."
"If you don't mind, Mokuba could just hang out here with us while you go back," Joey offered. "He's safe with us, ya know."
There was a long moment of silence and then Seto shrugged. "If Mokuba wants to stay, it's his choice. Wouldn't hurt for you to stick around outside for a while longer," Seto added, directly to his brother. "I've got a meeting I can't miss, but that doesn't mean you should waste the rest of your Saturday."
"Thanks, Seto. And you too, Joey," Mokuba chirped and then turned to Serenity with a wide, sunny smile.
Serenity blushed.
Joey reminded himself that Mokuba was a good kid. An acceptable choice for his sister. Totally did not need to activate protective big bro mode over this.
"I can't believe I'm trusting my brother's safety to you, Wheeler," Kaiba grumbled softly, for Joey's ears only.
"I'll make sure he gets back to you safe and sound," Joey promised. Then, pushing his luck he added, "besides, you know you love me."
"Make that hate and you'd actually get something right for a change." Kaiba swept off.
Joey laughed in amusement and then spent the rest of the afternoon avoiding Duke's rather pointed questions about when he became so buddy buddy with Seto Kaiba anyway. Because they hadn't, obviously, but Duke wasn't taking that for an answer.
The fourth time.
Joey's starting to realize maybe there's more to this now.
His heart's in his throat seeing Seto nearly thrown off the dueling field. The other teen barely gets back to his feet to finish the duel and win. But his does. And then nearly collapses afterwards.
Nearly, because Joey's on his feet and supporting Kaiba before he can think it through.
He manages to get Seto to the medics waiting - injuries during a card game tournament having slowly become accepted as the norm and Joey's suddenly not thrilled about this aspect of the ancient shadow games bleeding through the holographic systems. And after what Marik did to Joey during Battle City, he can feel the hints of ancient power lurking in the modern day systems even if no one's drawing out the true potential of it. Yet, anyway.
"Thanks," Seto muttered, sitting down heavily on the medical cot and trying to wave off the nurse who - thankfully - waves off Kaiba's hands in return and starts taking his vitals. But it's Joey Seto's talking to. "Don't think this means I like you," he added.
"Whatever, man, I know you love me." Joey played it up, big wink and a hand over his heart. Treated it like a joke but...
Maybe Joey was starting to feel something rather like love for Seto.
No. Love was too big a word right now. Affection, though.
There was definitely affection.
The fifth time...
Maybe love isn't a big enough word.
They're in a duel for the fate of the world - or maybe reality itself? That part wasn't totally clear. Honestly, this is like a tri-monthly thing at this point. Joey's given up on keeping track of every numbskull who thinks ultimate power and world wide chaos and/or destruction is a good idea.
But here he is, walking into trouble side by side with Yugi and Seto again, ready to save the world. And it occurs to Joey that he loves both these men. Yugi's his best friend. If Joey could chose his family, he'd pick Yugi as his brother right after latching on to Serenity. (He'd claim Gramps over his parents too.) But Seto Kaiba...
That kind of love is the sort that makes Joey ache, just a little, to hear Seto say the words that Joey knew now he'd meant in truth for a while. But there's no way Seto Kaiba would ever love Joey Wheeler.
So as they march into the fray once more, Seto makes his customary "I hate you people" speech. And Joey fires back with a "love ya too, man" and there's something in Seto's eyes that...
It's wishful thinking. That's all.
The first time Seto says, "I love you, you idiot," it's when Joey wakes up after nearly dying - again - and the world hadn't ended because they'd saved it from doom. Again.
Yugi looks amused. "Just pretend I'm not here," he offers.
So Joey does. "I love you too, Seto," he offered, testing the waters a bit to be sure that, well... that Seto was okay with Joey calling him by his name like that.
He's pretty sure the kiss means it's fine. Once his brain turns back on anyway, because while Seto's lips are on his, all Joey can think about is getting that kiss to go on for forever.