Disclaimers: Nope, I still don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, although my birthday is coming up. Anyone want to give me the rights to it?
Notes: Yup, it's still chock full of shounen ai and all that good stuff. JoeyxSeto/SetoxJoey, I'm still not sure which X_x
~*Beauty and the Beast*~
Seto stared at himself long and hard in the mirror as he finally decided he wasn't going to get any cleaner, no matter how hard he tried. He couldn't believe himself…how he could have let a boy kiss him was completely beyond his comprehension. His cheeks were still faintly red, and Seto was surprised to see how absolutely helpless he appeared. He didn't like that feeling, not one bit. He hated the idea of being helpless, especially since this was all Joey's fault. How in the world could Joey have thought it would be ALL RIGHT for him to kiss him? No one was that stupid.
Taking another deep breath, Seto tried to figure this all out. However, his mind kept going back to Joey…kept on thinking about that damned kiss. What the hell…? Why couldn't he stop thinking about it? Joey was gone, out of his sight for good. It would never happen again, which was a good thing, but…
Why did he feel so helpless and alone all of a sudden?
Seto walked back into his room slowly, still feeling completely overwhelmed by all the things racing through his mind. He was lonely, he was confused. Scared, sad, angry, tired, he was all those things at once. He couldn't keep his mind off Joey for more than a few seconds, and that in itself was driving him crazy. Collapsing into his chair Seto buried his face into his hands, giving up on rationalizing his situation and trying instead to just calm himself down and sort out his emotions.
"Seto, someone called for you…what's wrong?" Mokuba asked, blinking as he noticed Seto wasn't being his normal, over-worked self. What in the world could have happened in the ten minutes he hadn't been around? Seto had seemed just fine when he'd picked him up, now he seemed like something was definitely bothering him.
"It's nothing, who called?" Seto asked in his normal business-like manner, folding his arms over his desk instead and trying to act as if nothing had happened. It was harder than he would have thought. That was unusual, too…this shouldn't have been that hard for him, he hid himself so well from the rest of the world, why couldn't he hide now? Why was this affecting him so much? There was something much more to it than just a kiss. The feelings behind it…that was what was freaking him out. How Joey could have felt strongly enough to KISS him…and how Seto hadn't felt the need to push him away until it was too late. That was what was messing with his mind so.
"I can't remember, but I wrote it down near the phone," Mokuba answered blankly, still not convinced Seto was all right. He knew his brother better than anyone else; he wasn't fooled as easily as the others. It didn't help that Seto wasn't doing a very good job of hiding himself today, and that was another hint to Mokuba that something was very wrong. Seto nodded and stood up slowly. He guessed he might as well call them back. It was something to get his mind off Joey, at the very least. "Tell me what's wrong, please?" Mokuba tried again, watching as his brother walked past him and out of the room without so much as a word.
"Maybe later, alright?" Seto answered, sounding tired. Mokuba nodded and followed after him quickly. He was getting sick of his video games, and figured while Seto was on the phone he might as well watch TV with Joey. Joey was always watching TV, and he could keep a better eye on Seto while he was down there. Watching TV with Joey was a lot more fun than playing boring old video games, anyway. He didn't like being alone, as used to it as he was. "Great, more work…" Mokuba barely heard Seto mutter under his breath as he walked into the living room. The TV was on, which meant Joey couldn't have been napping.
Mokuba blinked as he was met with the sight of an empty room. Maybe Joey wasn't in there, running some errand or something. For a moment he wondered if maybe Joey had run off to get something to eat, even though he normally didn't do anything without permission. Maybe Seto had given it to him. That would explain why the TV was on even though no one was watching it…right? Whatever the reason, Mokuba sat down on the couch and flipped through the channels absently, not amused with what was on TV. Joey could change it back later.
Mokuba could hear his brother talking with someone on the phone, and he turned the TV down even further, listening in on his conversation. It wasn't necessarily eavesdropping, since he wasn't really concerned with what Seto was saying, but he still felt rather bad for doing it. Seto definitely didn't sound well, though, and Mokuba was starting to worry that he was getting sick again. That wouldn't be much of a surprise; Seto had been working so hard recently. The tournament had really put him behind, and he was overworking himself trying to catch back up so quickly.
Seto set down the phone with a dull click and stood there for a while, wondering what he was going to do next. He had a ton of work to do, but he just couldn't seem to focus on much of anything. He wasn't doing a very good job of hiding it, either. Even Mokuba had noticed there was something wrong. Damn that Joey for messing with him like this. He should have kicked the boy out when his damn friend had come home. Things would have been so much easier that way, and he could have avoided this whole mess. That stupid part of Seto that constantly reminded him how lonely he was, he was to blame. If Seto had given up hope and sent Joey off this never would have happened.
Without a word Seto marched back to his room, determined to do something productive, if not only to prove to himself that Joey DIDN'T mean anything to him, after all.
It was around dinnertime when Mokuba finally realized something was very wrong, and he made it his business to find out. As soon as Seto informed him that dinner was ready he ran to Joey's room, wondering why Joey would be avoiding him today. Joey was almost always watching TV, so the only reason Mokuba could find for why he hadn't joined him in the living room was because of that very fact…Joey didn't want to spend time with him. The TV had been on, which meant that Joey wasn't out with his friends, either. He was just avoiding Mokuba…probably Seto, too.
However, Joey wasn't to be found in his room, either, and Mokuba grew even more curious as he walked back to the kitchen, still wondering over where Joey could had gone. He couldn't have left already; he seemed to like it here. Besides, he was sure that Joey and Seto had been making progress; Seto almost had a real friend! Why would Joey leave now, of all times? Why would someone leave when things were just starting to look up?
"Why do you look so upset?" Seto asked as he sat down a few minutes later, knowing damn well why Mokuba looked upset, but not wanting to think on that matter right now. He was actually getting some work done now, which was a miracle all in itself. Obviously Joey didn't mean as much to him as he had started to think…and that thought was rather relieving. He was sort of hoping Mokuba would dismiss it, at least lie and say it was something else. Something to do with school, friends, anything like that would have been fine. However, much to Seto's disappointment, Mokuba was just as honest as he always was with his brother.
"Seto…do you know where Joey is? I haven't seen him since I came home? Has it been a week already?" Mokuba asked quietly, starting to wonder about the time Joey had spent there. It couldn't have been a week, could it have? Time had seemed to move by so much faster since Joey had started staying there, maybe it really had been…
"No, it hasn't, and I don't know where he is. He isn't here, though." Mokuba blinked before standing up suddenly, staring at his brother incredulously from across the table. "What?" Seto asked after a while, growing tired of that look. It seemed like he was being targeted with that look more and more frequently these days, and it was starting to get on his nerves.
"Did you kick him out?" Seto refused to answer that, instead turned his attention to eating. It was none of Mokuba's business what he did with the annoying blonde anyway. He should be thankful the boy was gone, taking up space and being of no use to either of them. He was nothing more than a distraction…and a damn good one at that. Seto was still having troubles concentrating. "Seto, I can't believe you'd do that! Why do you have to push away everyone that wants to be your friend?" Mokuba demanded, looking like he was going to start crying at any minute now. He'd been so close…
"Please stop trying to find friends for me, I don't need nor want them," Seto offered nonchalantly, not once looking up at his brother. He was trying to convince himself more than Mokuba now. He didn't want to deal with this; he really didn't want to have this argument. Not now, and not with his brother. Anyone else he could have glared at and shut up, but not Mokuba. Why was Mokuba taking Joey's side anyway?
"You're lying! Seto…Joey actually liked you, why'd you have to go and be so mean to him?" Mokuba whined, slouching back into his chair with a sigh. "If only you weren't so stubborn…" he muttered under his breath, crossing his arms and pouting. Where would Joey go now, anyway? Didn't Seto care at all? What if he didn't have anywhere to stay?
"I have my reasons."
"Like what?" Mokuba demanded, still pouting in his seat. He couldn't believe anything Seto said would justify what he did. He was just being stubborn and cruel as always. What if Joey caught some sort of disease and died? It would be all Seto's fault.
"He kissed me, alright? Can we drop this now?" Mokuba's eyes grew wide immediately, and for a while he was silent. Seto took this as a sign that the argument was finally over and was glad, standing up slowly. Maybe now Mokuba would see that he wasn't just bring a jerk…that he'd had a good reason to do what he did. "I'll be working in my room..."
"You shouldn't have kicked him out," Mokuba whined again, cutting his brother off coldly. Mokuba sounded so determined and sure of himself, and Seto blinked a few times in confusion. Where had Mokuba gotten the ridiculous idea that HE was the one in the wrong here? "Well, you shouldn't have. Joey REALLY liked you, and all you can do is be mean to him?"
"Mokuba…"
"So what if he kissed you, at least that means he likes you for who you are and doesn't think you're a jerk, unlike everyone else! For once someone actually got to know you and like you, and you…" Seto stood staring at his brother for a moment, wondering where that had come from. Mokuba normally didn't dare argue with him like this. He just didn't understand the situation, did he…or was Seto the one that was looking at this all wrong? "I'm going to go find him," Mokuba stated, and he stood up as well, heading for the doorway.
A strong hand at his wrist stopped him, and he froze in place, staring straight ahead. He wasn't going to look at Seto, he knew he'd end up giving in. "Seto, please let me go," Mokuba whined, knowing he couldn't get away.
"You don't even know where to start looking, what makes you think you'll find him?" Seto asked in that cold manner of his, but inside he was giving in. He was starting to doubt what he'd done. Mokuba was silent, just turned his gaze to the floor and waited. "I'll see if he wants to come back tomorrow at school, alright? Just…drop it." Mokuba turned hopeful eyes on his brother, who in turn glanced down at the floor. "I'm not making any promises. He probably hates me, so don't get your hopes up," Seto answered in return to that look, letting go of Mokuba's wrist slowly. He'd finally admitted to himself the possibility that he'd overreacted, and now it was his problem to fix, not Mokuba's. It wasn't Mokuba's job to clean up his messes
"Thank you!" Mokuba cheered, hugging his brother tightly. Seto was actually going to try for once. He wasn't just going to give up, and that thought gave Mokuba more hope than anything else.
It was at this same moment, elsewhere in the city, that Joey looked up towards the huge building before him, wondering why he was there. He'd been wandering the streets for what had to be hours now, stopping here and there to just think. It wasn't doing him any good, however. He was well aware that he'd been wrong, and thinking about it wasn't changing the fact that it had happened. Seto probably considered him a freak by now, anyway. There wasn't anything he could do about it but try and apologize tomorrow during school…if Seto would even let him get within 20 feet of him, that was. He really couldn't think of anything else he could do but apologize and hope...
Taking a deep breath Joey walked inside, immediately surrounded by the sounds of eager customers and giggling schoolgirls who had no idea what the items on the shelf were even for…they were only there to check out the cute boys (of which there were few). Needless to say, they were all waiting on one boy in particular.
Turning towards the stairs Joey walked up them slowly, dreading each step. He was starting to regret coming here, even just a little bit. He didn't like dumping his problems on other people, but he felt like he had to talk to someone. This was the only comfort he had available to him, as strangely pathetic as that was.
With yet another deep breath he knocked on the doors he knew led to Duke's room. It wasn't like he was losing anything whether Duke was there or not, but for some reason he dreaded it, and felt like he was going to be sick. Maybe he was afraid that Duke was going to tell him what his mind was refusing to believe at the moment: he didn't have a chance with Seto Kaiba. He'd NEVER had a chance with Seto Kaiba.
His fingers had only barely touched the wood of the door when it was opened, and he found himself staring into the eyes of an all-too-cheery Duke. He had this sneaking suspicion that someone had been watching him earlier, as creepy as that was. He didn't understand why Duke was so cheery, though; there really wasn't much to be happy for today.
"You got yourself into trouble, didn't you? I didn't figure it would take long," Duke teased as he motioned Joey inside, closing the door behind him. It wasn't hard to tell that Joey was in a bad mood, and Duke had a pretty good guess as to why. A certain brunette asshole was bound to be involved in this story.
"Shut up," Joey snapped back, feeling unusually agitated with everything all of a sudden. Maybe this was how Seto felt all the time. It was a horrible feeling to have, but it explained Seto's problem with the world. There didn't seem to be anything backing it but a bad feeling and a short fuse. Was rejection what had triggered him into being such an asshole in the first place? Joey could remember something along those lines, but back then he'd thought it an absurd thought. But now, feeling the way he did after being faced with an actual, absolute hatred…he was sure after a while of dealing with it the feeling sank in and became permanent…or semi-permanent at least.
"Sorry. I'd ask how things have been but the answer's pretty obvious, so I'm fresh out of things to say." Joey sighed as Duke sat down, feeling rather awkward, seeing as he was still standing and glancing around the room pointlessly. He thought about sitting for a few seconds, before thinking better of it and just burying his hands into his pockets.
"Yeah. Kaiba kicked me out." Duke blinked a few times, obviously not comprehending the statement. That was to be expected, though. Joey hadn't been allowed to tell anyone he was staying with Seto, and he'd stuck by it…except for Tristan, but he was a sort of special case. Tristan would have made Joey stay with him if Joey hadn't told him where he was. "I was staying with Kaiba this week, but I made him angry." Angry was a bit of an understatement, but Joey wasn't going to come right out and say what an idiot he had been right after entering the room. That was no way to go about things, that was for sure.
"Really? I didn't think Kaiba was the sort of person to let someone like you stay with him. No offense, of course, but it seems like you two drive each other insane." Joey nodded slowly, taking another deep breath. "You can sit if you want to, you know. You don't have to, but you can." Joey nodded and decided he might as well sit, it didn't seem like he'd be leaving anytime soon, anyway. "Would you be mad if I asked how you upset Kaiba so much? I know it's not hard to piss him off, but still…it's sort of obvious he liked you at least a little, if he was nice enough to let you stay with him."
"I wouldn't get mad." Duke sat and waited patiently. He had things he was supposed to be doing, but if need be they could be pushed off until tomorrow. Joey had actually come to him for help, which was a miracle in itself. If the conversation hadn't been focused around Seto, he might have actually thought he had a chance. "I…I did something really stupid." Duke resisted the urge to remind Joey that him doing something stupid wasn't all too out of the ordinary. "I sorta…kissed him, and for a while he didn't seem to mind, but then he started screaming at me and kicked me out."
"No offense, but I don't blame him." Joey didn't even bother to glare at Duke, just stared at the floor, clenching his hands and waiting for the insults he knew were coming. He was well aware he'd been stupid, but people loved to point that fact out to him anyway. It pissed him off. He blinked as he felt a hand on his shoulder, looking up into Duke's eyes as he bent over to speak to him face-to-face. "I'm not going to scream at you, if that's what you think…I'm willing to bet Kaiba did enough of that already. I honestly don't know what you should do, though." Joey blushed slightly and nodded. He felt sort of weird being so close to Duke.
Duke sighed and sat down next to Joey, trying to think. A blonde head rested itself against his shoulder and he smiled slightly. Joey looked absolutely beat, which wasn't much of a surprise. It was obvious Joey'd been through all sorts of hell that day. Even so, he was still as sexy as ever, and it was rather difficult for Duke to concentrate like that (which was quite understandable), so with another sigh he shrugged Joey off. This was hardly the time for daydreams.
"Well, it's obvious you're going to need a place to stay," Duke stated after a long silence, wondering absently if Joey was asleep. It sure seemed like it. The boy hadn't opened his eyes in a while, and his head was tilted back against the couch. Duke couldn't remember seeing him move in a quite a while now.
"Yeah, guess so," Joey agreed emotionlessly, feeling very tired. Not so much physically as emotionally. He couldn't take all this stress, it was making his head feel heavy and thinking was starting to become a near impossible task. Too many emotions were running through his head at once. It was frustrating, which only added to his confusion. He wasn't going to be much help like this, he was sure.
"Well…do you have someplace to stay?" Duke asked after a while, growing slightly hopeful again. The sun was starting to set, which meant Joey was going to have to get going soon if he wanted to make it to his friend's before it got too dark.
"I could stay with Tristan, but he'd be so pissed off at Kaiba AND me that I'm sure I'd never hear the end of it," Joey explained in that same tired voice of his, and Duke nodded slowly, confused. Having Joey stay here with him would be like a dream come true, but on the other hand it would be a living nightmare. He couldn't be sure which.
"Well, if you want you could stay here…until you work things out with Kaiba, at least." There, he'd made the offer. Now all he had to do was see if Joey took him up on it or declined. He wouldn't be surprised either way. It didn't look like Joey had the energy to walk over to Tristan's house, but at the same time he was fairly sure Joey wouldn't want to stay at his house while figuring things out concerning Seto. It was all up to Joey now, and Duke was going crazy not knowing what was going to happen. He hated not knowing how things were going to turn out.
"Thanks," Joey muttered, sounding like he was already starting to fall asleep. He looked relieved all of a sudden; worry starting to fade from where it had once been so clearly written in his expression. Duke nodded firmly to himself once and stood up, deciding he'd grab a few blankets and let Joey sleep on the couch. That was the best way to go about things. He already seemed comfortable enough where he was. However, he stopped as he noticed a single eye watching him from beneath a half closed eyelid.
"Hm? What is it?" Duke asked after a while of their pointless little staring contest, sitting back down. He was starting to get sick of standing there looking like an idiot. After a while it got sort of boring.
It was a while before he got his answer. Joey just sat and stared at him for a while longer, before finally sighing and sitting back up. He wasn't sure exactly how he was going to go about this without sounding like a jerk, but he was sure he could manage somehow.
"Um…I was…well, I was sort of wondering since…you're not such a bad guy, really…and the only reason I didn't want to go out with you before was Kaiba, so…I was wondering if you'd still consider going out…with me. Please don't think you're my fallback, please! I don't mean it like that, it's just…I wanted to go out with you anyway, so…" Duke blinked a few times as Joey rambled on and on, eventually taking the liberty to cover Joey's mouth with his fingers gently.
"Don't give up so easily, it isn't like you. I'm sure things will work out, but you can't just give up until there's absolutely no hope left, all right? It isn't fair to any of us otherwise." Joey blinked as he watched Duke leave, utterly confused. Why was Duke turning him down? For some reason it hurt more than it should have, while at the same time making him feel so much more relieved. Without a sound Joey lay down on Duke's couch and felt like crying. As exhausted as he was he fought to keep himself from making a fool out of himself, tried to concentrate on falling asleep.
Duke sighed as he walked down the hallways quietly, hating himself for making the choice he had. It had been the right choice, there was no doubt in his mind about that, but he was well aware that at that moment he'd given up the only chance he'd ever had with Joey…if you could even call it that.
Meanwhile Seto stared at his ceiling blankly, trying to figure things out. He had no idea how he was going to do this. He certainly wasn't going to apologize to him, there was no need. True, he may have overreacted, but Joey had been the one who'd started this whole mess. Seto couldn't have overreacted if Joey hadn't done something wrong in the first place. Joey should damn well be the one to apologize.
Unconsciously Seto reached fingers up to touch his lips gently, his face showing clearly the aggravation he was feeling, allowing himself the tiny thought that maybe he'd enjoyed Joey's kiss a little too much. It was a tiny thought, but it lingered in the back of Seto's mind relentlessly. He tried to dismiss it as his imagination, something his brain was conjuring up because he was unbelievably tired, but he couldn't seem to forget the idea. Damn that Joey for messing him up like this!
Sitting up, Seto stared at the pile of work he still had to finish. He'd actually been fairly close to catching it all up when Joey had come along, and now he was farther behind than ever. All Joey's fault, of course. However, he was quite aware that it was partially his fault as well, for letting Joey distract him so...although he would never admit that to anyone. He would never admit that he often let his mind wander to blonde hair and brown eyes, topped with a wide grin and cheerful personality.
How could this have happened to him, anyway? Just a few days ago he and Joey had been bitter enemies, and would rather have swam with sharks than been in the same room with one another. Now Joey had just tried to kiss him, and he was considering that maybe the feelings behind it were returned…what the hell was going on here? Why weren't things making sense anymore?
Standing up slowly he walked over to his desk. It was quite apparent he wasn't going to be getting to sleep any time soon, so he might as well put this time to good use…right? It wasn't so much that he worked himself too hard, as that he had trouble sleeping. That was what was actually what was starting to wear on him. After so many sleepless nights your body starts to get tired, and even then Seto hadn't been able to sleep well. There was always something else on his mind. It was always either work or school or Joey…the last one especially, as of late. Even today Joey was keeping him from sleeping properly, and he wasn't even there.
Mokuba pushed opened the door to his brother's room slowly, trying not to make any sort of noise. It wasn't affective, however, as people are always the loudest when trying to be quiet. Seto's eyes focused on him the second the door was open, both of them looking rather like a deer in headlights. Seto was aware that he'd promised Mokuba he wouldn't work late anymore, but there really wasn't anything else for him to do other than lay in bed and stare at the ceiling.
"I couldn't sleep," Seto explained after a while of their silent stares, and Mokuba nodded, closing the door behind him and walking over to where Seto was working.
"Me either," he agreed, crossing his arms over Seto's desk and watching him work silently. He wasn't sure why, but he couldn't get to sleep tonight, and that thought was bugging him. He'd had a feeling Seto would still be up, and had gone up to see if he was right.
He had been afraid of waking Seto at first, but he should have known better. Seto hardly ever slept, Mokuba was well aware that Seto wasn't keeping his promise very well. As much as he wanted to stay awake and keep his brother company, it wasn't long before Mokuba fell asleep to the steady click of Seto's fingers on dark laptop keys, and Seto picked him up carefully, marching him over to the large bed Seto was supposed to be occupying.
He wasn't going to get to sleep that night.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sorry it's so much worse than the other chapters, but I started running out of ideas at about the time Joey went to bed. I just threw this last page or so in there so I could give a better view of how it's affecting everyone, not just Joey and Seto. This hurts Duke and Mokuba, too.
Now, it's time for
MANDATORY MOKUBA KIDNAPPING PART 7:
(Recap of last time: Mokuba got kidnapped by psycho fan(s) *what a surprise*)
Seto: . I'll get you back for this
Psycho gurl: *braiding Mokuba's hair* -_- all the more reason for us to give him back
Yugi: Since when have you been involved?
Psycho gurl: ^_^
Joey: I'm game if you're game.
Seto: . Shut up, stop smiling, and close your eyes.
Joey: ^_^
Joey and Seto: *kiss*
Seto: *blushes* . Now give me back my brother
Psycho gurl: What, no tongue?
Seto: . I hate you both.
Okay, there we go. Another chapter of Beauty and the Beast finished. Please be nice if/when you review.
Since people have been asking/wondering/bringing it up: The reason behind Mandatory Mokuba kidnapping:
When I first started watching Yu-Gi-Oh, I started to notice a rather odd pattern: almost everyone kidnapped Mokuba at one point or another. However, seeing as my fic is a romance fic, with no action and no bad guy, I have no one to kidnap Mokuba. This is a tragedy, as it was already proven by the bad guys in Yu-Gi-Oh that you MUST kidnap Mokuba in order for the story/plot-line to be complete
Therefore, I added 'Mandatory Mokuba kidnapping' to the end of my fic, so that I could fulfill all the requirements of writing something Yu-Gi-Oh.
AKA—I thought it would be amusing to poke fun at the fact that almost everyone kidnaps Mokuba at one point or another (as he himself notices in my section).