Back again! ^_^ Anyhow, for those who want to know, "sui juris" is a latin
term, meaning that a minor (anyone under 18) was emancipated in court, and
legally given the status of an adult. So yes, this is perfectly legal, fan
fiction or not. ~_^ And yes, technically it IS incest now.... But in two
years, or whenever the dad gets well again (whichever comes first), Seto'll
be able to disown him, since he'll be a legal adult, and everything'll be
peachy keen jellybean!
~*~*~*~
He was furious. Furious at Joey for being there, for being stuck in such a situation, furious at the world of adults for thinking they knew what was best for someone who could plainly tell them otherwise, had they a chance, furious at himself for getting carried away, and not stopping himself.
Gods, he was tired. Why did everything have to be this way?
It was all his fault, he knew. If he'd only pressured Joey to get that phone number and price estimate to him the day they'd spoken, this entire mess wouldn't have happened. If he had been able to just give the damned doctor his cash, Joey's old man would be recovering right now, and there wouldn't have been any trouble. If he'd known....
If, if, if.... Everything was if.... Absolutely everything. You couldn't change the past. He knew that better than anyone; if you could, he would've been first in line.
He hadn't been able to help himself. Knowing where Joey was--once he'd found out-- had gnawed at him inside, a feeling which refused to be ignored. To be forsaken by your relatives.... To be condemned by the world, because of an event you had no control over.... To be torn away from all that was known and loved, just to be thrust into a hostile, desolate alien environment....
One of the few reasons he disliked the family name he'd possessed before Kaiba; all the relatives were heartless miscreants.
He'd tried to resist, for all the good that had done. Tried to go back to work, like a good CEO, to drown his problems under the rustle of papers, scratch of a pen, beeping of a computer. When that hadn't worked, he'd spent some time with Mokuba. Heaven knew that he needed to; he'd been busier than usual, as of late. While playing video games, munching on cookies, and goofing around in general had been fun, he felt bad for being able to enjoy it.
There was someone out there, someone he knew-- and arguably, liked--, who was suffering excommunication from the world at large. Memories troubled him, "What if"s haunted him, and he had finally given in to the guilt.
And now, he was acting out one of the "What if"s he had fantasized about when he was younger. What if someone had come to rescue him, someone who cared? This was what would happen; all he had to do to know was wait and see. He'd just keep Joey out of trouble until the dad recovered, then hand him back, safe and sound. Everybody won. Except for the adults that had landed them in the situation in the first place, but frankly, he didn't give a damn.
The limo pulled up in front of Joey's house, and the blond opened the door. "Thanks a lot, Kaiba. I really mean it; if you ever need a favor or anything...."
"Where do you keep your boxes?"
"Mostly the gara-- wait, why?" Joey raised an eyebrow, confused by the strange question.
"Well, unless you can carry your stuff without them...." Seto intoned, waiting for Joey to see the logic of his statement.
"Wait a minute...." He frowned. "You aren't implying that...."
"You certainly can't stay here, can you?" Seto asked pointedly, attempting to lead Joey along the path of reasoning so he could come to the same conclusion that Seto had. "Not unless you enjoy having adults at your throat for being a minor living alone, without legal permission."
Joey stared. "So you're saying that if I stayed with you.... the same thing wouldn't happen?"
"I'm legally an adult." Seto rolled his eyes. "So I don't see why they would harass you if you were staying with me. They'd have no grounds for it. Think about it; you'd have a roof over your head, food in your mouth, and a way to fend off meddling adults. Once your father is healthy again, I'll disown you, you go home, and everything is back to normal."
"Yeah...." Joey nodded slowly, turning over the idea in his mind. "No catch?"
Seto could have slammed his head against the limo's window in pure frustration. As it was, he just scowled tiredly, raking his long fingers through his chocolate brown hair. "Dog, if I've done this much to save your fleabitten hide without asking anything in return, do you REALLY think I'd start giving you stipulations NOW?"
"Eh-heh....no?" Joey sweatdropped nervously. "Um... maybe I should go pack now."
Seto sighed heavily, then nodded. "You'll have a fully furnished guest room; just take any personal items that you want or need." He let the blond head off to his room, and went to the garage, picking up a few flattened boxes to use.
Meanwhile, Joey sorted through his things, wondering what he should take. Clothes, definitely. And all the regular hygiene items that you'd take on a trip. But still, he didn't want whatever his new room was to be totally bare... He shut the suitcase he'd used for the first two categories mentioned, which was now quite full. Seto had arrived with the boxes, so he started to put things in those. "Hey, could you help take down the posters?"
"You're taking _these_?" Seto asked, tone somewhere between disbelief and amusement as he looked at particularly ridiculous poster. A cow stood on it's hindlegs and held a sign, on which was scribbled "Eet mor chikin."
"Of course!" Joey sounded both shocked and affronted. "I collect posters. They're cool. Don't you do anything like that?"
"I have a small collection of fine art." Seto told him, and peeled off a James Bond movie poster. "Not that I would consider these to be art in any sense of the word. More like rubbish, if you ask me."
"Geez!" Joey shook his head. "You're even stranger than I thought. Most people have _some_ sort of collection or hobby that seems totally stupid or pointless. You don't even act like a human. Should I check your basement to see if I can find a UFO?"
"I wouldn't recommend it; you'd be wasting your time." Seto shrugged. "I'm not very interested in astronomy, anyway. And if something is a waste of time, then why do it?"
"He-llo? Because you _like_ it, maybe?" Joey suggested. "Because it's fun, and gives you something to do when you're bored, and something to talk to your friends about? Not that you would know about THAT, since you don't have any friends."
Seto narrowed his eyes at that comment. "I don't need any; I have Mokuba. Moreover, I don't have time for any, either."
"Well sor-RY, Mr. High-and-Mighty." Joey rolled his eyes. "And what am I, then? Chopped liver?"
"As I happen to be your benefactor right now, you're a liability." Seto retorted crisply. "And I would certainly hope you're not chopped liver; I don't do cannibalism."
"Eeeeww...." Joey wrinkled his nose at the thought. "That's sick."
"You're the one who brought it up." Seto shrugged. He pulled off a poster that had a picture of Joey and Yugi standing next to each other, posing with trophies at Duelist Kingdom. "Your claim to fame, hmm?" He snickered.
"Hey, I didn't see YOU with a trophy then, Kaiba. Besides, everybody deserves their 15 minutes in the spotlight."
"I wasn't working towards anything so trivial as a trophy." Seto shook his head. "Nor were you, I know."
"It's a nice perk, though, don'tcha think?" Joey said, shutting the box he'd been working on.
"If you say so." Seto really didn't care. He looked at the bare walls, then at Joey. "Are we finished here?"
"Yeah." Joey nodded. They had his suitcase, a couple boxes... oh yeah, and his backpack. Too bad he couldn't just forget about school.
"Let's go, then." Seto stacked the boxes, and lifted them easily, leaving Joey with the suitcase and backpack. These were all stuck into the spacious trunk for the short ride back to the mansion.
~*~*~*~
They put the things on the porch, and unlocked the door. Mokuba had apparently been expecting them, and came out as soon as the door was unlocked, in a flying tackle. "Big brother!"
Seto knelt, catching him before he could knock them both over, and hugging the smaller boy tightly. "I'm glad to see you too, Mokuba."
"You were out longer than you said!" Mokuba accused, wrapping his arms around Seto's neck tightly and snuggling in his hold.
"Sorry." Seto ruffled his hair, letting him go. "I had some unfinished business to do."
"You should tell me first." Mokuba said sternly, though he was grinning from ear to ear.
"Yes, Mr. Mokuba, sir." Seto gave him a mock salute, standing up.
"Hey, how come Joey's here? And what's with all the stuff?" Mokuba attempted to open one of the boxes.
Seto's eyes sparkled with mischief. "You know how I told you that you could have a pet someday?" He winked. "Well, guess who's back?"
"Rusty!" Mokuba exclaimed, giggling. He bounced over to hug Joey's leg.
"Ack!" Not this again! He was NOT a pet! Joey smiled in spite of himself at Mokuba's enthusiasm. "How ya doing, super squirt?"
"I'm not a squirt!"
"Of course you aren't; you're a super squirt! They're new and improved, you know." He grinned.
"If I'm a squirt, then you're a puppy." Mokuba stuck his tongue out, having obviously learned some of the nicknames that his older brother referred to Joey by.
"Am not." Joey shook his head.
"Then I'm not a squirt." Mokuba insisted.
"You are so a squirt."
"Then you're a puppy!" Mokuba grinned.
"Nu-uh." Joey gently pried Mokuba off of his leg. "I'm just gonna stay with you guys for a while."
"How come?" He went back to stand beside Seto.
"Long story, kiddo." Joey shook his head. "I'll tell you later."
"Okay." Mokuba agreed, and picked up the box with posters in it, one of the lighter ones. "But you ARE gonna tell me later, 'cause you said so. Should we get these inside?"
Seto nodded, and picked up the rest of the boxes. "Let's. While I'm fixing dinner, you can get me that phone number and cash estimate that you promised."
Joey made a pronounced gagging sound. "Gee, I can't wait...."
"You know, stray dogs eat out of dumpsters..." Seto threatened.
"Um... I think I'll try out your cooking." Joey said hastily. He didn't doubt that Seto would carry out the threat, if he felt so inclined.
"I figured as much." Seto smirked a little, and waited for the other two to go ahead of him before he went, shutting the door behind him.
~*~*~*~
"Yes, sir. I'm calling about the Wheeler case." Seto spoke into his phone, sitting behind his desk with a planner in hand.
"Of course it's authorized. I'm his legal guardian." He rolled his eyes a little. "I can bring you the verification papers once we meet."
"Irrelevant." He combed his fingers through his thick brown hair, wishing the man would just cut to the chase. "I can afford to pay for the full treatment, for as long as necessary. I also have medical insurance." Which would help take the sting off whatever monstrous sum this would all add up to. He didn't mind; he HAD made a promise, after all, but the doctor sounded like he was blowing things out of proportions. He _hated_ it when people exaggerated prices.... Just give an accurate, precise quote, and be done with it!
"Very well." He jotted down a few notes on a piece of scratch paper. "And when are you available for an appointment?" Even with one hand, Seto quickly thumbed through to the current date, and started looking ahead. "Say tomorrow, at 3:30 PM?"
"No? Alright, are you free....." He looked for another appropriate time. "Next Monday, at 5:00 PM?"
"Excellent." He jotted down the appointment. "I look forward to it. Have a good night." He hung up the phone, and resisted the urge to bang his head against the desk. He didn't want to ruin the thing, after all, and he didn't know how difficult it was to get bloodstains off of wood. But REALLY, those sorts of professionals frustrated him to no end. Pompous, technical windbags, with exaggerated ideas of their own self-importance and worth, and inflated egos revolving around any work they'd contributed to their field.
Seto picked up a small, dagger-shaped letter opener, admiring the gleam of metal off the flat surfaces and dull edges. He'd just love to burst one of their bubbles.... But enough about them; he wouldn't have to deal with their sort-- hopefully-- until next Monday. A 3 day reprieve. Good enough for him.
The CEO set aside his planner, and instead took up some paperwork to look over, glancing at the clock. About time to go to sleep. It was Friday though, so maybe he could fit in a little work before then. Then again, if he hadn't been mistaken, Mokuba had been wearing his "sneaky" grin, as Seto thought of it, for the entire evening. That meant he was definitely up to something.
....Which meant that Seto would need to get to bed and get a little sleep, if he knew what was good for him, before whatever Mokuba's scheme was had been put into action.
~*~*~*~
He was furious. Furious at Joey for being there, for being stuck in such a situation, furious at the world of adults for thinking they knew what was best for someone who could plainly tell them otherwise, had they a chance, furious at himself for getting carried away, and not stopping himself.
Gods, he was tired. Why did everything have to be this way?
It was all his fault, he knew. If he'd only pressured Joey to get that phone number and price estimate to him the day they'd spoken, this entire mess wouldn't have happened. If he had been able to just give the damned doctor his cash, Joey's old man would be recovering right now, and there wouldn't have been any trouble. If he'd known....
If, if, if.... Everything was if.... Absolutely everything. You couldn't change the past. He knew that better than anyone; if you could, he would've been first in line.
He hadn't been able to help himself. Knowing where Joey was--once he'd found out-- had gnawed at him inside, a feeling which refused to be ignored. To be forsaken by your relatives.... To be condemned by the world, because of an event you had no control over.... To be torn away from all that was known and loved, just to be thrust into a hostile, desolate alien environment....
One of the few reasons he disliked the family name he'd possessed before Kaiba; all the relatives were heartless miscreants.
He'd tried to resist, for all the good that had done. Tried to go back to work, like a good CEO, to drown his problems under the rustle of papers, scratch of a pen, beeping of a computer. When that hadn't worked, he'd spent some time with Mokuba. Heaven knew that he needed to; he'd been busier than usual, as of late. While playing video games, munching on cookies, and goofing around in general had been fun, he felt bad for being able to enjoy it.
There was someone out there, someone he knew-- and arguably, liked--, who was suffering excommunication from the world at large. Memories troubled him, "What if"s haunted him, and he had finally given in to the guilt.
And now, he was acting out one of the "What if"s he had fantasized about when he was younger. What if someone had come to rescue him, someone who cared? This was what would happen; all he had to do to know was wait and see. He'd just keep Joey out of trouble until the dad recovered, then hand him back, safe and sound. Everybody won. Except for the adults that had landed them in the situation in the first place, but frankly, he didn't give a damn.
The limo pulled up in front of Joey's house, and the blond opened the door. "Thanks a lot, Kaiba. I really mean it; if you ever need a favor or anything...."
"Where do you keep your boxes?"
"Mostly the gara-- wait, why?" Joey raised an eyebrow, confused by the strange question.
"Well, unless you can carry your stuff without them...." Seto intoned, waiting for Joey to see the logic of his statement.
"Wait a minute...." He frowned. "You aren't implying that...."
"You certainly can't stay here, can you?" Seto asked pointedly, attempting to lead Joey along the path of reasoning so he could come to the same conclusion that Seto had. "Not unless you enjoy having adults at your throat for being a minor living alone, without legal permission."
Joey stared. "So you're saying that if I stayed with you.... the same thing wouldn't happen?"
"I'm legally an adult." Seto rolled his eyes. "So I don't see why they would harass you if you were staying with me. They'd have no grounds for it. Think about it; you'd have a roof over your head, food in your mouth, and a way to fend off meddling adults. Once your father is healthy again, I'll disown you, you go home, and everything is back to normal."
"Yeah...." Joey nodded slowly, turning over the idea in his mind. "No catch?"
Seto could have slammed his head against the limo's window in pure frustration. As it was, he just scowled tiredly, raking his long fingers through his chocolate brown hair. "Dog, if I've done this much to save your fleabitten hide without asking anything in return, do you REALLY think I'd start giving you stipulations NOW?"
"Eh-heh....no?" Joey sweatdropped nervously. "Um... maybe I should go pack now."
Seto sighed heavily, then nodded. "You'll have a fully furnished guest room; just take any personal items that you want or need." He let the blond head off to his room, and went to the garage, picking up a few flattened boxes to use.
Meanwhile, Joey sorted through his things, wondering what he should take. Clothes, definitely. And all the regular hygiene items that you'd take on a trip. But still, he didn't want whatever his new room was to be totally bare... He shut the suitcase he'd used for the first two categories mentioned, which was now quite full. Seto had arrived with the boxes, so he started to put things in those. "Hey, could you help take down the posters?"
"You're taking _these_?" Seto asked, tone somewhere between disbelief and amusement as he looked at particularly ridiculous poster. A cow stood on it's hindlegs and held a sign, on which was scribbled "Eet mor chikin."
"Of course!" Joey sounded both shocked and affronted. "I collect posters. They're cool. Don't you do anything like that?"
"I have a small collection of fine art." Seto told him, and peeled off a James Bond movie poster. "Not that I would consider these to be art in any sense of the word. More like rubbish, if you ask me."
"Geez!" Joey shook his head. "You're even stranger than I thought. Most people have _some_ sort of collection or hobby that seems totally stupid or pointless. You don't even act like a human. Should I check your basement to see if I can find a UFO?"
"I wouldn't recommend it; you'd be wasting your time." Seto shrugged. "I'm not very interested in astronomy, anyway. And if something is a waste of time, then why do it?"
"He-llo? Because you _like_ it, maybe?" Joey suggested. "Because it's fun, and gives you something to do when you're bored, and something to talk to your friends about? Not that you would know about THAT, since you don't have any friends."
Seto narrowed his eyes at that comment. "I don't need any; I have Mokuba. Moreover, I don't have time for any, either."
"Well sor-RY, Mr. High-and-Mighty." Joey rolled his eyes. "And what am I, then? Chopped liver?"
"As I happen to be your benefactor right now, you're a liability." Seto retorted crisply. "And I would certainly hope you're not chopped liver; I don't do cannibalism."
"Eeeeww...." Joey wrinkled his nose at the thought. "That's sick."
"You're the one who brought it up." Seto shrugged. He pulled off a poster that had a picture of Joey and Yugi standing next to each other, posing with trophies at Duelist Kingdom. "Your claim to fame, hmm?" He snickered.
"Hey, I didn't see YOU with a trophy then, Kaiba. Besides, everybody deserves their 15 minutes in the spotlight."
"I wasn't working towards anything so trivial as a trophy." Seto shook his head. "Nor were you, I know."
"It's a nice perk, though, don'tcha think?" Joey said, shutting the box he'd been working on.
"If you say so." Seto really didn't care. He looked at the bare walls, then at Joey. "Are we finished here?"
"Yeah." Joey nodded. They had his suitcase, a couple boxes... oh yeah, and his backpack. Too bad he couldn't just forget about school.
"Let's go, then." Seto stacked the boxes, and lifted them easily, leaving Joey with the suitcase and backpack. These were all stuck into the spacious trunk for the short ride back to the mansion.
~*~*~*~
They put the things on the porch, and unlocked the door. Mokuba had apparently been expecting them, and came out as soon as the door was unlocked, in a flying tackle. "Big brother!"
Seto knelt, catching him before he could knock them both over, and hugging the smaller boy tightly. "I'm glad to see you too, Mokuba."
"You were out longer than you said!" Mokuba accused, wrapping his arms around Seto's neck tightly and snuggling in his hold.
"Sorry." Seto ruffled his hair, letting him go. "I had some unfinished business to do."
"You should tell me first." Mokuba said sternly, though he was grinning from ear to ear.
"Yes, Mr. Mokuba, sir." Seto gave him a mock salute, standing up.
"Hey, how come Joey's here? And what's with all the stuff?" Mokuba attempted to open one of the boxes.
Seto's eyes sparkled with mischief. "You know how I told you that you could have a pet someday?" He winked. "Well, guess who's back?"
"Rusty!" Mokuba exclaimed, giggling. He bounced over to hug Joey's leg.
"Ack!" Not this again! He was NOT a pet! Joey smiled in spite of himself at Mokuba's enthusiasm. "How ya doing, super squirt?"
"I'm not a squirt!"
"Of course you aren't; you're a super squirt! They're new and improved, you know." He grinned.
"If I'm a squirt, then you're a puppy." Mokuba stuck his tongue out, having obviously learned some of the nicknames that his older brother referred to Joey by.
"Am not." Joey shook his head.
"Then I'm not a squirt." Mokuba insisted.
"You are so a squirt."
"Then you're a puppy!" Mokuba grinned.
"Nu-uh." Joey gently pried Mokuba off of his leg. "I'm just gonna stay with you guys for a while."
"How come?" He went back to stand beside Seto.
"Long story, kiddo." Joey shook his head. "I'll tell you later."
"Okay." Mokuba agreed, and picked up the box with posters in it, one of the lighter ones. "But you ARE gonna tell me later, 'cause you said so. Should we get these inside?"
Seto nodded, and picked up the rest of the boxes. "Let's. While I'm fixing dinner, you can get me that phone number and cash estimate that you promised."
Joey made a pronounced gagging sound. "Gee, I can't wait...."
"You know, stray dogs eat out of dumpsters..." Seto threatened.
"Um... I think I'll try out your cooking." Joey said hastily. He didn't doubt that Seto would carry out the threat, if he felt so inclined.
"I figured as much." Seto smirked a little, and waited for the other two to go ahead of him before he went, shutting the door behind him.
~*~*~*~
"Yes, sir. I'm calling about the Wheeler case." Seto spoke into his phone, sitting behind his desk with a planner in hand.
"Of course it's authorized. I'm his legal guardian." He rolled his eyes a little. "I can bring you the verification papers once we meet."
"Irrelevant." He combed his fingers through his thick brown hair, wishing the man would just cut to the chase. "I can afford to pay for the full treatment, for as long as necessary. I also have medical insurance." Which would help take the sting off whatever monstrous sum this would all add up to. He didn't mind; he HAD made a promise, after all, but the doctor sounded like he was blowing things out of proportions. He _hated_ it when people exaggerated prices.... Just give an accurate, precise quote, and be done with it!
"Very well." He jotted down a few notes on a piece of scratch paper. "And when are you available for an appointment?" Even with one hand, Seto quickly thumbed through to the current date, and started looking ahead. "Say tomorrow, at 3:30 PM?"
"No? Alright, are you free....." He looked for another appropriate time. "Next Monday, at 5:00 PM?"
"Excellent." He jotted down the appointment. "I look forward to it. Have a good night." He hung up the phone, and resisted the urge to bang his head against the desk. He didn't want to ruin the thing, after all, and he didn't know how difficult it was to get bloodstains off of wood. But REALLY, those sorts of professionals frustrated him to no end. Pompous, technical windbags, with exaggerated ideas of their own self-importance and worth, and inflated egos revolving around any work they'd contributed to their field.
Seto picked up a small, dagger-shaped letter opener, admiring the gleam of metal off the flat surfaces and dull edges. He'd just love to burst one of their bubbles.... But enough about them; he wouldn't have to deal with their sort-- hopefully-- until next Monday. A 3 day reprieve. Good enough for him.
The CEO set aside his planner, and instead took up some paperwork to look over, glancing at the clock. About time to go to sleep. It was Friday though, so maybe he could fit in a little work before then. Then again, if he hadn't been mistaken, Mokuba had been wearing his "sneaky" grin, as Seto thought of it, for the entire evening. That meant he was definitely up to something.
....Which meant that Seto would need to get to bed and get a little sleep, if he knew what was good for him, before whatever Mokuba's scheme was had been put into action.