Ray of Sunlight – Chapter Six

Disclaimer:  I don't own YuGiOh!

            Kaiba sat against the big oak tree where he often spent his lunch hour when there was no work to be done.  He couldn't stop thinking about the dreams he'd been having all weekend starring a certain blond friend of his.  It wasn't that he was freaked out about these dreams; in fact, he'd had many dreams similar to these when he'd first met Joey and the others.  But they had faded with time as it became clearer that his dreams would never become a reality.

            Yes, Kaiba was admitting to himself that at one time he'd felt something other than the loathing he'd shown.  But although that was some time ago it seemed like those feelings were resurfacing with their newly kindled friendship.  But Kaiba greatly enjoyed having Joey and the others around, so he would try to overlook his raging emotions and continue being "just friends" with the object of his secret affection.  After all, he'd never had friends, so perhaps this was a totally normal feeling to have for someone who treated you so kindly.

            Glancing up he spotted Joey heading towards him with a candy bar in hand.  Heaving himself next to Kaiba with a heavy sigh, Joey offered the candy to Kaiba before taking a bite of it himself.

            The two sat in silence for a few moments before Joey finally swallowed his chocolate and spoke up.  "So why are you sitting out here by yourself?  You ashamed for anyone to know you've actually been hanging around with us losers?"

            "I could care less what anyone thinks about us losers," Kaiba said, wondering if Joey caught that he'd included himself in that insult.

            Joey wadded up his wrapper and held it in his fist, trying to think of something to talk about with Kaiba.  "Hey, look at that kid," he said, deciding that Kaiba made fun of people a lot and might enjoy doing so now.  "If he stared at that girl's ass any harder I think his eyes would fall out."

            Kaiba smirked at this.  "Hey, isn't that your girlfriend's ass he's staring at?" he asked, recognizing the pretty girl from class as the one Joey had claimed to be with this morning.

            "Oh, that," Joey said, turning a light shade of pink.  "I don't really like her like that.  She's not really my type, she just lives next door to me, and offered me a ride to school today."

            Confused, Kaiba turned to look at Joey.  "Then what was with all the winking this morning?"

            "Yugi gets kind of worried about me if I don't talk about girls now and then.  He expects everyone to be as big a girl-crazy pervert as he it."  Joey rolled his eyes.

            "Yugi's a pervert?" Kaiba said, surprise hardly disguised in his voice.  This conversation was getting weirder and weirder.  Joey nodded and the discussion died off once again.

            "So what is your type, then?" Kaiba asked, immediately regretting the way he sounded as he did so.

            Joey didn't seem to think the question was strange, but paused in thought for several moments before replying.  "Would tall, dark and handsome sound too cliché?"

            "Not really, but I don't think you'll find your future wife in the next issue of Playboy," Kaiba said as the bell sounded, signaling the end of lunch.

            Laughing, Joey stood up and brushed the dirt from his jeans.  Extending a hand down to Kaiba to help him to his feet, he smiled warmly.  Kaiba felt the fluttering in his stomach as he grasped Joey's hand and allowed himself to be pulled to a standing position. 

            "And whoever said I read Playboy, Kaiba?" Joey said in a low voice with a smirk playing on his features as he wheeled around and walked into the school.

            Kaiba stood rooted to the ground in shock.  Had Joey just admitted he was gay?  Or was that just his hopeful mind making something of nothing?  That had to be it; just because Joey didn't read Playboy didn't mean he preferred men over women.  But that comment was enough to send the flutter in Kaiba's stomach into a full on blaze that consumed his entire being with a tiny sense of hope.

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Author's Note:  Sorry this chapter was so short; this just seemed like such a perfect place to end this one.