Ciao, Duckies!

Title: Once Upon a Time

Pairing: Joey Wheeler/Seto Kaiba.  Minor: Malik/Ryou, Mokuba/Noa

Rating: R, eventually

Summary: Joey is a punk with sticky fingers and a horrible report card. Seto Kaiba is the smartest kid in school, and the biggest prep. Once Joey is arrested one time too many, Kaiba is assigned to be his tutor. If Joey can't get his grades up, it's off the state juvenile penitentiary.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Seriously.

Author's Notes: Okay, serious randomosity here. Not really, though. Joey and Kaiba might talk a little, and Mokuba and Noa will chat at bit, maybe kiss a bit. I have no fucking clue what will happen in this chapter. Just read it, I hope it's worth it!

::The air was all dust and not so untamed

The ground opened up and swallowed all of the rain

And it swallowed you too into distance unknown

As they sat down for dinner they waited for you to get home

Yeah, they set a place for you

So don't believe in everything you read in that diary of yours

And this nervousness, it isn't all your fault

It's just these shaking hands won't do what I want...them to

And I've tried to guess what it is that you thought about

That act of contrition that rolled off your tongues as you left

What are you crying for?

Just dust my heart and you will find

There are no fingers printed there

Just the untouched place that lies inside

Of every lonely boy tonight

And all of this open air has cause me to choke

Of your new found hope for me::

--Act of Contrition, by Bright Eyes

Chapter six:

***Act of Contrition***

By some law of nature, it turned out the earlier Joey got to the library, the less Kaiba bitched about it. It wasn't like Joey looked forward to their lessons, or anything. Deep down, Tuesday was his favorite though—if he had to pick a favorite—since it was English day, in which Kaiba regularly recited poetry.

A multitude of excited teenagers ran out of school when the bell rang. It was really depressing to not be one of them. Instead of escaping the hellhole of learning, Joey was sitting alone in the library.

Either Joey was really early, or Kaiba was late.

Late was probably the only word Joey knew that Kaiba didn't. Sadly enough, Joey felt like gloating. Currently he was too busy wondering where his tutor was, though. After a few seconds of wondering just where the other boy could be, he appeared.

"Speak of the devil," he muttered.

Kaiba ignored him completely as he sat down. His attention was focused solely on his shirt; his fingers wouldn't move away from the one spot near his waist. Frankly, the lack of attention was pissing Joey off. He didn't like being ignored by anyone.

Even if that someone happened to be Seto Kaiba. In his most girlish voice possible, Joey cried, "Like, oh my god, did you break a nail?"

There was a pause, before, "Hn. I lost a button." At the blank look Joey gave him, he felt the need to explain. "This is my favorite shirt."

Oh, wasn't that sad? Joey coughed to cover his laugh. "Don't worry," he told Kaiba, "I'm sure for eighty dollars you can get a new favorite shirt."

With no real reason to respond, he didn't. For the rest of the mandatory time together, Kaiba read out poetry, and Joey analyzed it. Well, Joey tried to analyze it. For the first time in two weeks, they didn't argue once during the lesson.

After the lesson was a completely different story. As Joey packed up his things, he turned and realized the leaving thing was completely one-sided. Kaiba still sat, fingering the tiny hole that broke the line of buttons. The blond rolled his eyes.

"Never you fear, Joey is here!"

Sapphire eyes snapped to Joey, and he felt his knees buckle. Seto didn't seem to notice his wobbly stance, though. "Oh, so you can fix this? You steal and you sew?"

Nervous laughter bubbled out of Joey. "What can I say, I like things that start with 'S.'"

And that so didn't come out right. On a scale of one to ten on the wrong-shit-to-say-o-meter, that was a definite six. Joey busied himself with digging through his book bag to hide the blush covering his cheeks. He felt a tiny object in his hand and cried, "aha!"

Now, Seto couldn't really see himself objecting to having Joey Wheeler on his knees before him. To be honest, he'd never really thought of what he would do in a situation like the one he was currently in.

Joey was kneeling there, his nimble fingers working at Seto's shirt. 'Just breath, Seto.'  It was increasingly hard, though. NO! Not hard, not hard at all! Joey wasn't fairing much better, either. To be honest, he had finished fixing Kaiba's shirt a while before, and was just fiddling with the expensive material absentmindedly. The blue silk material felt so good, and when he moved it just right, he caught a glimpse of the pale belly beneath.

Seriously, he scolded himself, getting all hot and bothered by a hint of stomach. He wasn't some blushing virgin! But he was blushing, and he was a virgin, last time he checked. The weirdest things always happened when he got drunk. Remembering where he was, Joey stood quickly.

Equipped with an infuriating smirk, Seto said, "A safety pin?" He touched it briefly; blushing when he realized the normally cold metal was still warm from Joey's hands. To cover for it, he said, "Oh, that is so punk rock."

"Like you'd know."

Seto laughed, but it wasn't a happy, smiley laugh. It was a sadistic, in-your-face sort of laugh. "Wheeler, for a guy who likes to mock stereotypes, you just sauntered into one."

"Since when are safety pins a stereotype?"

"No punk rocker is without at least one safety." Seto smirked and began counting off things on his fingers. "There are so many useful things to do with them: pierce your body in odd places, decorate book bags, hold clothes together, just be shiny in general..."

Joey groaned. "Okay, okay, I get your point. It ain't no stereotype, though, a lot of people have safety pins. It's got nothing to do with who you hang out with!"

"Oh, come on, Wheeler, I read an article in one of my horribly expensive magazines! I heard punk rock is the cool thing nowadays." He stroked his chin. "Come to think of it, there was a two page article on safety pins. Thanks to the people of Cool-World magazine, I now know what's cool and what's not."

"You wouldn't know cool if it bit you in ass."

"Want to find out?"

In retrospect, Kaiba still couldn't find an excuse for saying that. Normally, he would ignore any comments thrown at him. There was something about the blond punk that just made him want to respond. It wasn't just those pretty brown eyes, either.

Joey laughed nervously again, reminding Kaiba he had been waiting for a response. "It's, uh..." he looked around for a while, before his gaze settled on the entrance to the school just beyond the large windows of the library. And just outside the school...

"It's raining! Shit! I hope Ryou's still around!"

What the hell could the British boy's Mercedes convertible do that Kaiba's mustang couldn't? "I'll give you a ride."

"You're hitting on me." The statement was uttered quietly. Both boys took the time to wonder where everyone had gone; at the beginning of their session, the librarian had been watching them warily, and a few students ("Nerds!") had even come in to read.

Five p.m. and the school was already empty?

"I wish you wouldn't think so lowly of me. I am in no way attracted to you, mutt. Now, my car is outside." With that said, Kaiba walked briskly past Joey.

Attracted to you. Nothing about being attracted to other boys. With that in mind, Joey followed the pretty prep. For some reason, he felt like a puppy following its master. A sadly hopeful puppy.

Across town, rain poured on the street; something the weatherman hadn't predicted that morning on the news. Two figures were huddled under an umbrella, shivering slightly in the cold air.

"This is your fault, you know," the smaller figure accused.

Sarcasm laced the other's voice. "Really? Because I thought you were the one who locked the keys in the car."

"You shouldn't have let me drive!"

There was brief scuffle for control of the umbrella. "Yeah, well, it was your idea to take a joy-ride!"

Mokuba growled up at Noa, "Yeah, well, excuse me for having a sense of adventure!"

"I have a sense of adventure!" He was momentarily shoved from underneath the umbrella. Back underneath, he shook his wet hair all over Mokuba.

"You brought a cell phone," Mokuba accused harshly. "The whole point was to be spontaneous and adventurous!"

The taller boy slapped his friend on the back of his head. "Yeah, in case we spontaneously got in a car wreck!"

Mokuba scowled.

"You planned ahead, which makes you unspontaneous. Which obviously means you're no fun to be with."

Noa scowled back.

For nearly two weeks, tension had been mounting between the two. Nothing had really been said about the "dinner incident" before. Both boys were waiting for the other to talk about it first.

As far as Mokuba was concerned, it was Noa who had some explaining to do. "You...why aren't you saying anything?"

They were stopped in front of a grocery store. "I guess we need to talk."

Heat filled Mokuba's cheeks. "About what?" A hand covered his cheek, and he fought the urge to giggle. He looked up through lowered lashes at his best friend.

Teal eyes stared back at him calmly. "I think you have really pretty blue eyes." It felt really good to say. Like a huge weight had been lifted from his chest.

"I think you have pretty eyes, too." Mokuba turned away shyly. "And you are fun to be with."

"And you're sense of adventure is really cute."

 When Mokuba felt he could look back and not blush, he saw that Noa was holding back laughter. He huffed. So much for heartfelt confessions of love! "What's so funny?"

Noa burst into laughter. "That was so much easier than I imagined!"

"I..." Mokuba brightened suddenly, and laughed along. "It really was!" So caught up in the moment, he didn't give a second thought to throwing his arms around Noa's shoulders and kissing him. It only lasted a second, just two pairs of lips touching softly, until Mokuba pulled away. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!"

"For pulling away?" Noa held the younger boys' face in his hands—he was glad Mokuba had claimed the umbrella—and pushed their noses together. "I forgive you," he whispered. Then, he initiated their second kiss, a more intimate kiss. When Noa's tongue came out to play, Mokuba's hands went slack, and neither boy noticed the umbrella dropping to the ground.

Mokuba's now-empty hands snaked around Noa's waist, and he smiled brightly into the kiss. When Noa pulled back, Mokuba whispered, "Does that make you my boyfriend?"

"Hmm." Noa grinned and whispered back, "One kiss for yes, and two kisses for yes."

Mokuba blinked. "How many kisses for no?"

"No kisses for no."

Lips met once more, the rain making them slick. They both grinned into the kisses; yet another thing the weatherman hadn't predicted that morning.

They stayed that way for a few moments, neither noticing when a car pulled up beside them.

Gray clouds hiding the sun, mixed with the darkly tinted windows, made it impossible to see who was inside the car until the window rolled down. Whistles and catcalls were the first thing to greet the boys (they broke apart in shock, Mokuba blushing madly, and Noa smiling like he'd won the lottery), before a brown-eyed blond came into view.

"Wait to go Noa!"

In the drivers seat, Seto sighed. "Can you shut your mouth for five minutes?"

"No." Joey stuck out his tongue.

Seto focused on his little brother and Noa. "I saw a car that looked curiously like one of mine," The brunette stated dryly.

"It was him!" the two boys cried in unison, pointing at each other.

Mokuba giggled and kissed Noa on the cheek before hopping in the car. Noa pouted in indignation, while Joey howled in the front seat.

"Okay, driver man, take me home!"

******

"Ow," lilac eyes narrowed at Joey. "You didn't have to hit me! Isis, arrest this man!"

He covered his eyes and mocked cried, leaving a nice view of his bare chest. All the Egyptian boy wore were a pair of silky lavender pajama pants.

Lavender pajama pants Joey had lifted for Isis, not her little brother.

Isis wasn't listening to Malik's complaints, though. She was unbuttoning her navy blue shirt and pulling it off. Had Joey been into girls, he would have loved Isis and her nice breasts. Her nice, supple, tan breasts. Hey, just because he was gay didn't mean he couldn't appreciate the view!

Of course, the 23-year-old policewoman knew Joey was gay, so she had no problem with undressing in front of him. It was really nice getting out of those pants, too. The belt was chafing her slim waist all afternoon. Damn police uniform, with its damn tight belt.

Isis and Joey had run into each other at the front of the building, Isis getting off of her morning shift, and Seto driving slowly. Knowing his dad wouldn't be home, Joey went home with her. He didn't like being alone during thunderstorms anyway.

With a relieved sigh, Isis dropped her uniform onto the floor.

"Ah," Malik screamed and dove forward, lifting her clothes off of the floor. "I just cleaned twenty minutes ago," he whined, waving the feather duster in Isis' face.

In a movement that proved why she was a cop, Isis yanked the silky pants down her brother's legs. He squawked in embarrassment, although he was wearing boxers underneath. "Thanks for keeping them warm, little brother."

Malik glared at her. "They match my eyes better," he snapped.

Joey laughed and walked into the kitchen, welcoming himself to the familiar sight of food. The only downside of staying with the Ishtar's was their vegetarianism. Not that Joey didn't respect them for not eating animals, because he did. He was a bottomless pit, though, and loved all kinds of food. Especially meat.

His flat belly made a lot of people think he didn't eat well, and all of the black shirts he wore only made him appear thinner. Joey didn't do much to argue their suspicions; most of the time, he complained that he was starving. Like that moment.

"Gah, I'm starving."

"Shock me, shock me!"

Joey threw a tofu-dog at Malik's head, regretting it simply because he could have eaten it. "Shaddup."

He started munching on some celery. It was better than nothing, after all. He jumped up on the counter beside the fridge and began swinging his legs back and forth. For some reason, in Malik's home, he always felt five instead of sixteen. His tan friend joined him, leaning his head on Joey's shoulder.

"So, tell me about Ryou. We haven't really talked in a while. With the tutoring and Mai, I guess we just...So, tell me about Ryou?"

Malik laughed, sending a pleasant vibration through Joey's shoulder. "He's a good kisser. He's like some kind of British prince or something. So goddamn polite, always asking me before kissing me, and..." he began laughing harder.

"What?" Joey smiled. He'd missed the sound of his best friends laughter.

"It's just so...cliché. You won't believe this."

"Try me."

Malik took a deep breath, trying in vain to quell his laughter. "He...oh shit...he set his fucking jacket over a puddle for me!"

"No shit," Joey howled, his body shaking from the hilarity of it.

The sudden darkness was enough to sober both of them quickly. All was silent for a moment, until Malik started screaming like a banshee in labor. At sixteen, he still hadn't grown out of his fear of the dark. 

"HOLD ME!"

Joey wanted to slap Malik. The other boy, in his delusional state of fear, had hopped off of the counter. How in the hell was Joey supposed to see him? Honestly!

"Malik," he said calmly, "I can't see you. Walk back to the counter." Malik did as he was told, his body hitting Joey's legs with an audible thump. Joey guided the other boy onto the counter, and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. He jumped when someone began knocking at the door, but Isis called out, "I think that's the neighbors!"

Malik whimpered softly. Joey fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Okay, buddy. Calm down." His friend quieted, but still shook softly. "Mm, Seto read me this story about how a girl closed her eyes and thought about her boyfriend when she got trapped in a dark attic! So, uh, talk about Ryou. Think about him, and tell me about him."

Malik's voice echoed in the darkness. "He's so...clichéd as it is...beautiful. Whenever we're alone, it's like he's a whole different person than he is in theatre class. Like, he's all tense and nervous in class, and so open with me. It makes me feel so good that he can be himself with me. And we never do anything more than kiss. Sometimes, I think we both want more, but we're not ready for it, you know?"

"I know," Joey murmured.

"And the night after he stayed here, after Mai...when I woke up, and saw his face, his big brown eyes, and his hair all messy, I was so in love. It probably sounds bad, that I fell in love from looking at him, but that's not it! I just, I thought of how it felt when he was holding me, when he shared a part of his life with me." He sighed. "Is it bad to be in love at sixteen? So many things could go wrong, and I'm no where near as perfect as him. That, and we haven't even been together more than a week. But I know its love."

Joey snorted at the 'perfect comment', and hit the air blindly, pleased with the "ow" he got when his hand connected with Malik's bare back.

The smack was nowhere near as big a surprise as the flashlight beam that shone on them. Isis stood in the kitchen doorway, flashlight in hand, and beside her, a familiar figure held a lantern nervously.

Ryou Bakura. With tears in his eyes.

Several blinks, and Malik was officially sure he wasn't hallucinating. It was a conflicting emotions type of thing—he didn't know whether he should be relieved, or mortified.

No one said anything. Joey thought about making a joke to break the tension, when the sound of footsteps took care of it. In the small beam of light, Ryou discarded his lantern and ran forward into the arms of his boyfriend.

It seemed like their lips met before their bodies. Ryou leapt into Malik's arms, wrapping his legs securely around the blonde's waist.

"Well," Joey said loudly, "I'm just going to go have sex with Isis...okay, or if you're not listening, I'll be in the living room bonding with Isis. There will be lots of talking, and there could very well be a pillow fight in the dark. It will be dangerous, and fun, and you both are invited."

Not surprisingly, Ryou and Malik weren't listening. They were still kissing, with less force, but no less passion. To Joey, it looked like the most heart wrenching kiss ever. Even more so than Noa and Mokuba's—and Joey realized he had seen two pairs of boys kissing in one day.

"Isis, is it gay day?"

She led them through the living room with her flashlight. They sat on the couch; more of Isis sitting, and Joey resting his head in her silky purple lap. He was so glad he stole those pajama pants for her.

"Not that I know of."

"You should be a lesbian."

The dim light shone on one side of her bronzed face as she looked down at Joey. "Oh? And just who would I lesbianize?" She began running her fingers through his hair, trying to work through the snags and tangles.

Mothers did that sort of thing, Joey realized. There was a pang of something in his chest. No time for that, though. Isis had asked him a question. "I don't know. How about Mai? She thinks you're hot!"

"I...she does?" Their eyes met, and Isis began to laugh. "Joe-Joe, you're trying to turn us into the Queer as Folk cast."

"Nah...Well, maybe. You and Mai don't have to have a baby, though."

Concern laced Isis's voice when she asked, "How is Mai?"

Hmm. How was Mai Valentine? At school, she acted like her usual sensual self, uncaring of the opinions of others. No one really knew about her week of absence, and whenever someone asked, Mai would say she went on vacation in a place where everyone she saw wore white. On the outside, she looked the same. On the inside, she was hopelessly wishing she wasn't alive. For some reason, she thought she had nothing to live for. Joey was insulted; he would think he would be enough to want to keep someone around.

"She's great. Just needs someone to love. Guy or girl."

"Hmm..."

"This is when you're supposed to remember some old Egyptian proverb your parents taught you, and give it to me so that I will be all wise and shit."

Isis laughed. "Okay. Umm, those who are narrow minded may only see one side of the pyramid."

"Ooh. Good proverb. I like."

A few minutes later, Ryou and Malik joined them, smiling gently and talking softly. They sat on the floor, and the four of them stayed up in the darkness talking about everything they could think of.

The only thing they didn't talk about was Joey's mother, whom he thought of the whole time, as Isis gently combed his hair with her fingers.

******* 

OKAY!

Wooo…sorry this chapter is so short, but come on, Noa and Mokuba got together, FINALLY and Ryou found out that after one week of dating Malik is in love with him,

Joey doesn't make much progress, except that he got to get on his knees in front of Kaiba.

So, next chapter, embarrassment for Mokuba and Noa, and Joey makes a mistake concerning Kaiba. Somehow, though, I foresee a cute argument between them. It should all turn out well. So, next chapter is when things take a turn, and Joey and Seto finally start making some romantic progress!

Yay for romantic progress.

Thanks again for all of the reviews. I love the reviews. *Hugs the reviews*

Turns out I'm not getting into fanfiction heaven unless I acquire more review's.