Buenos Dias, Duckies!
Title: Once Upon a Time
Pairing: Joey Wheeler/Seto Kaiba. Minor: Malik/Ryou, Noa/Mokuba
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: Mainly, I'm focusing on cuteness in this chapter. But, Joey and Seto will take a definite turn from enemies to something more. Eh, who knows, maybe they will relieve some sexual tension or something. But not all of it! Christina, don't worry, I'll save that for you! Steaminess is a ways to go, yet. Anyway, if I haven't managed to confuse the shit out of everyone, read on!
::To get up and walk away would be too easy.
So stay and stand your ground, just watch your mouth with me.
On the back of every right, there's a wrong looming.
So here you and I should tread as soft as these razor blades for boots will
Let be
Have you ever tried to step in my shoes?!
Have you ever tried to balance that beam?!
And if you ever try to fit in my shoes,
They'll never be quite as soft as they seemed.
Thought!
Unabashed honesty would be ideal,
But a prophet did once say that honesty is a lonely word.
So where do we go from here? Abandon ship now!
My problem is you make me melt and I don't want to be frozen anymore
Have you ever tried to step in my shoes?!
Have you ever tried to balance that beam?!
And if you ever try to fit in my shoes,
They'll never be quite as soft as they seemed.
Ooh oooh no oh no
Have you ever, have you ever tried to?
I have never, I have never tried to!
Have you ever tried to step in my shoes?!
Have you ever tried to balance that beam?!
And if you ever try to fit in my shoes,
They'll never be quite as soft as they seemed.
Ooh oooh no oh no
::
--Have you Ever by Incubus
Chapter Seven:
***Have You Ever***
Maids fluttered around like butterflies, speaking to no one, looking at no one. The marble floor shined so brilliantly, the maids reflections beamed up into the room. A perfect carbon copy, dancing in the sea of floor. Fan-fucking-tastic.
Noa watched all of this, from his spot by the front door. No one had answered, after six rings of the doorbell, and nearly twenty-two knocks on the large door. Naturally, he had let himself in. Seto had mentioned something about his step-dad hosting a dinner party that night. Of course, he had invited Noa, since Mokuba's attendance was mandatory. Pfft. Like Noa wanted to sit at a table for fifty listening to talks of stocks and business mergers.
Holding his boyfriends hand under the table was the only reason he was actually going to go.
Having come from the estate next door, Noa didn't really see any reason to call before coming over. He sincerely doubted anyone would have answered the phone anyway.
None of the hired help noticed the blue-haired boy standing by the staircase. Nor did they notice when he began to climb the stairs. Noa would have climbed the second staircase to the third floor to look for his boyfriend, but the sound of singing caught his attention. Three rooms down the hall was Mokuba's bedroom.
Music was blaring inside the room, and the sound of a hairdryer, which meant Mokuba was getting ready for the party. Figured. Mokuba was like a total girl when it came to getting ready. The boy could preen for hours, and still no be ready.
And just what the hell did he need a hair-dryer for? He had practically no hair anymore. Silly boy.
Noa knocked first, out of politeness. There was no answer, so he walked right in.
The dark-haired boy was standing in front of his dresser mirror, blow-drying his hair and singing along with the music playing. One hand was holding the dryer, and the other was holding up the towel wrapped loosely around his waist. His hips were swaying gently, which Noa noticed first—well, the first thing he really noticed was that Mokuba wore nothing but a towel.
A blush covered his cheeks. Not wanting to seem like a pervert, he yelled, "Hey, Mokie!"
The younger boy must have heard something, because he turned around, a quizzical look on his face. When he spotted Noa, he shrieked, and dropped his hair-dryer.
And his towel.
To say Noa and Mokuba had never seen each other naked would be a complete lie. Still, that had been back when they were little, and not dating, when Mokuba wasn't so...
The small patch of curly hair just above his penis was a definite surprise. That, and the fact that said private part had...grown. Nothing like a porn star, but it sure as hell didn't look like that when they were six. And it made Noa feel all tingly inside to know it would be growing a lot as they got older.
Noa only got a small peek before Mokuba was screaming. In the world of chain reactions, it was completely necessary for Noa to start screaming too.
Noa recovered first, and he did his best to run over to the other side of the room to turn off the radio. He was embarrassed to find it was hard to walk, much less run. The dazed Mokuba didn't seem to notice, though.
When the older boy turned to return to his boyfriend, he got an eye-full of the other side of Mokuba. Oh, man. Noa wondered if enjoying the sight of a younger boys bottom made him a pedophile.
He walked over softly and wrapped the towel back around Mokuba's waist. If he wasn't so traumatized as well, he would have been amused to know Mokuba's blush covered his whole body.
"Hey, Mokie, it's okay!"
Mokuba sniffled. "No, it's not...I'm so embarrassed," he wailed.
Noa wrapped his arms around Mokuba tightly. "Don't be embarrassed. There's nothing embarrassing about your body, I promise!"
"You weren't supposed to see...you know," he gestured downwards. "it until I'm older and it's...grown." Oh god, he was humiliated to have even said that! He could feel tears falling down his cheeks. Just perfect, he thought miserably.
Noa kissed him gently, to show him he didn't think any differently of Mokuba. For a moment, they stood there, kissing softly. At some point, Mokuba's arms wrapped around Noa's waist, bringing their bodies closer together.
Suddenly, he pulled back. "Noa..." he began in a hesitant tone. Noa could hear the repressed giggles in Mokuba's voice. "What's that pressing against my stomach?"
Noa began choking on air, which was when Seto decided to appear. "I heard screaming!" What greeted him was the sight of Noa and Mokuba pressed together. And Mokuba wasn't wearing anything. Oh.
Five minutes later, Seto was sandwiched between the boys in the hallway, resting his back against the wall. Noa was still a deep shade of red, and Mokuba had put on some clothes.
"Just...in small words, tell me your side of the story," Seto murmured to his traumatized sibling. He found it amusing, to be honest. Well, he also found it slightly disturbing. He didn't like the thought of Noa seeing his little brother naked. His thirteen-year-old little brother!
Mokuba sniffled softly. "I...can I just be alone with Noa?"
Seto sat for a moment, trying to decide on whether or not he wanted them to be alone. A tiny elbow began jabbing in his side, telling him silently to hurry up and leave. "Alright, alright," he muttered, "keep your pants on!"
A shoe hit him in the back of the head on his way down the hall, but it didn't stop his laughter.
******
Drums were entertaining for a while. Only until Joey realized that without Malik and Mai there, he couldn't play properly. Well, not to rag on Mai, but it more of a needing Malik's silky voice sort of thing. Mai certainly would have made it more entertaining with her killer bass solos.
Instead, Joey was a one-man band with an audience of an empty apartment. He practiced their routine songs for a while, but all of the rhythms blended together after a whole hour of playing. The gig is tomorrow night, he told himself, and we're more than ready.
And that was that.
Spending a Friday night alone totally and completely sucked. His dad was who knew where, and Isis and Malik were out on their Friday night dinner with a friend of the family. The lovely miss Valentine was on a date, as per usual on weekends. To Joey's ultimate irritation, his best friend was out with a wannabe gangster named Rex.
Rex and Joey had a bad history involving ice cream and sandboxes. Eh, Joey was one to hold grudges. So was Rex, apparently.
Enough thinking about that waste of human life. Joey had absolutely nothing to do. When he actually took the time to think about it, maybe it wasn't so great only having a handful of friends. Okay, okay...it downright sucked.
As he dropped his drumsticks to the floor, he wondered what Kaiba was up to. Sure, he was a prep, but maybe Joey could get some special weekend tutoring. Anything to get rid of the awful boredom!
Come to think of it, he was hungry. He grabbed a wad of cash from the Tupperware container he kept under his bed and stuffed it in his pocket.
Before leaving, he grabbed a piece of paper off of the counter and stuffed that in his pocket, too.
*****
Boring. So boring.
"She accuses me of cheating, but I think she's having an affair with the credit card!"
"Ah, yes, my wife likes to say I'm monogamy-challenged, but she spends most of her time out shopping!"
"Darling! I never said that!"
"My wife says my best relationship is with the stock market!"
"I'll drink to that!"
"So, Seto, are you in a relationship right now?"
Huh? Seto sat up straighter as nearly fifty pairs of eyes turned to stare at him. He had been so obsessed with his soup; he hadn't even been listening to what the men were talking about. Most of them brought their wives, who were laughing daintily and gossiping amongst themselves. Their jewelry was nearly blinding, and Seto was even more distracted. He had no idea what he was supposed to say.
So he used the answer that worked with any question. "Nothing solid."
There was another round of hearty laughter, started by his stepfather, who sat at the opposite head of the table.
To Seto's left was Mokuba, and on his brother's left was their blue-haired neighbor. Somewhere at the table say Noa's parents. Oddly enough, they were both redheads.
Weird.
Across from Noa's parents sat Ryou Bakura and his father. Mr. Bakura was one of the top archeologists in the world, which was the reason he was at the dinner party. Upon arrival, Ryou and Seto had chatted idly, and afterwards, politely ignored one another.
"That's my boy," his stepfather said. "Balancing out business and pleasure."
Yeah, Seto thought bitterly, your boy. Whatever.
Mokuba was snickering into his spoon of greenish soup.
And were those men ever going to stop laughing and actually eat?
For a moment, he thought of pulling a Billy Madison and slurping his soup. Then he realized he had self-control, and wasn't about to make a fool of himself just to make a fool of the bastard across the table from him. Damn his sense of pride.
As the chef sent out the third course, a light salad, Seto went back to what he had been doing all night; thinking of Wheeler. The blond hadn't been mouthing off at their lessons, surprisingly. Most of the time was spent actually teaching Joey, which Joey had finally seemed to accept.
It was kind of...nice, too. Spending time with the mutt was fun, in a way. Too bad they were required to spend time together. It wasn't like they would give each other the time of day otherwise.
Well, Seto thought fondly, Joey would probably steal his watch when Seto wouldn't offer the time.
"Big brother?" Mokuba spoke in a normal tone, meaning the other guests were involved with each other.
"Hmm..." he slammed his fork into the lettuce and brought it to his mouth.
"What's so funny?" Noa asked. "You're smiling, and—"
"And you hate salad!" Mokuba finished.
Oh, how cute. They finished each other's sentences. "I am not smiling."
Mokuba frowned and protested around his mouthful of lettuce, "You are foo!"
"I am foo? What the hell does that mean?"
Sapphire eyes rolled. "You know what I mean, big brother!"
Noa nodded fervently. "Yeah, so tell us what's got you looking all happy?"
"Is it Joey?"
Seto coughed. "What? No! Why would I be thinking of him?"
"Duh, Seto, because you like him!"
In a very childish manner, Seto cried, "Do not!"
Noa and Mokuba looked at one another and in unison said, "He likes him!"
That was preposterous! Seto wouldn't like someone like Joey. Maybe he could consider him as a friend, but not as a boyfriend! "I do not!"
Mokuba tsk-ed. "It's okay, Seto, he likes you too."
"He does?"
Noa beamed. "So you do like him!"
Well, that was awful tricky. First a shoe to the head, then an unwilling confession. "That's not the important issue," he said calmly, "just why would you think the mutt likes me?"
"The way he looks at you," Noa answered, at the same time Mokuba gushed, "The way he smiles at you!"
That made no sense. "That makes no sense. You two have only met him once, and the first time was as a punishment to Wheeler. He didn't smile at me once!"
"It was definitely the second time. When you dropped him off, he watched you drive away."
"And he had a, um," Noa looked over at Mokuba.
"Wistful?" Mokuba supplied.
"Yes! Wistful! He had a wistful look on his face."
"Ah. And I missed this because I was driving?"
Mokuba leveled a look at his older brother. "Come on, you had to notice." At Seto's blank stare, Mokuba turned to Noa, who shrugged helplessly. Mokuba huffed. "He smiled the whole time he talked. Like you, I don't think he noticed he was even doing it. I promise he likes you."
"Mokuba, I think I'd know if he—"
"Excuse me, Mr. Seto."
Seto looked up, startled. The butler stood in the doorway, looking completely indifferent about interrupting their dinner. Well, he was paid to be indifferent. At least, Seto was sure that was what he was paid for. The man didn't do much else.
A silence had fallen over the table, as Seto address the butler.
"Yes?"
"There is a caller at the door for you."
The man turned and left, leaving Seto scowling in confusion. Who would be visiting him at, he glanced at his watch, seven p.m.?
The guests were all staring at him again, waiting to see what he was going to do. He quickly took his leave, excusing himself quietly. Right outside the doorway, the butler stood. The man led him to the front door, as if Seto didn't know the way. He dismissed the man halfway to the foyer, telling him to go shine all of his stepfather's shoes. Hey, it was something to do.
Seto was caught between relief and a heart attack when he saw Joey Wheeler standing on the doorstep. It appeared the other boy had given an honest attempt at timing his wild golden hair, although it still hung waywardly in front of his eyes. And...was he wearing eyeliner? Seto decided to ignore that.
Joey had changed sometime after school, now wearing a tight black t-shirt with a red tie around his neck and a pair of tight pants. As usual, he finished off the outfit with a studded belt. It was sexy and cute and horribly punk rock. Mainly sexy, though.
A pink tongue slivered out to wet Joey's lips. Yeah, definitely sexy.
"Hi."
"Hello."
An awkward silence fell over them. Seto stepped to the side and waved his hand in a welcoming motion. Joey fidgeted a moment, but didn't move forward.
Seto cleared his throat. "I suppose I should ask what you're doing here?"
"Yeah, I suppose you should," Joey teased. It was comfortable, he realized, flirting with Kaiba. It was like they weren't on different ends of the social food chain at school. Joey shifted, his arms hidden behind his back, but still not moving forward. Hopefully, Seto would take the hint.
Joey was hiding something behind his back, Seto realized. "So, what are you doing here?" He gazed pointedly at Joey's arms.
Two steaming boxes of pizza appeared suddenly. Seto hoped he wasn't drooling.
"You order a pizza?" Joey grinned, before he noticed Seto's tuxedo. His lips dropped slightly into a pout. "Uh, what's with the tux?"
The brunette grabbed the box greedily. Pizza beat Duck Confit any day. "Oh, I just like to remind myself how rich I am sometimes," he quipped. "Actually, we are in the middle of an important business dinner party."
Joey had finally followed him into the house, and he led them forward.
He heard Joey stop behind him. "Uh...damn. I guess I shouldn't have come."
"No!" Seto said it so quickly he put a hand over his mouth, embarrassed. Regaining his composition, he said, "I'm glad you came. Wait right here. Oh. Hold the pizza, too. I'll go get Mokuba and Noa."
Halfway to the dining room, Seto stopped. "You know, Noa threw a shoe at me today. I think they deserve to go through that hell."
Joey laughed. "A shoe, huh? What did you do to deserve that?"
"Pizza first. Story later."
"Okay. Uh, where are we gonna eat?"
Seto pointed to the stairs. "Hang on, I'll go get us some drinks. Any preferences?" Just because he was shocked didn't mean he wasn't a good host.
"Coke, I guess."
They went upstairs to the art studio ("Shit, man, you know there are three floors, right?" "Yes, I can count."), where no one could catch the scent of pizza.
The whole third floor smelt like turpentine and acrylic paints.
"Wow. Mokuba did these?"
Joey marveled at the paintings covering the wall. He busted out laughing when he saw the muscled body similar to one of Michelangelo's (hey, he knew some stuff) topped with Seto's head.
Joey nodded his head to the painting. "Wow, is that what you're hiding under all those expensive clothes?"
"I'm surprised you've taken the time to wonder what my naked body looks like," Seto stated dryly.
"Yeah," Joey said sarcastically, "You sound really surprised."
Seto looked at the painting critically. "Well, I am surprised you brought pizza. Shall we eat it?"
In a snobbish voice, Joey replied, "I believe we shall."
On the canvas-covered floor, they set the first box between them. The second was set aside. It probably wouldn't take long to get to the second, as Joey inhaled his first piece of pizza.
"Tho," his muffled voice came from around the pizza, "tell me about the fwew."
Seto tapped his chin. "The fwew. Hmm. I don't remember the fwew incident. Perhaps the shoe incident will suffice?"
As far as Seto could see, talking with a full mouth was a bad habit. His habit of mocking people who did just that was a good habit. To his delight—which he hid well—Joey just laughed and nodded.
Seto proceeded to tell the story.
"...So then Mokuba sees him and drops the towel."
In between his fits of laughter, Joey managed to ask, "And the shoe?"
Seto took a bite of his pepperoni pizza. "He was in a hurry to get me away, so I told him to keep his pants on." He smiled at Joey's laughter. "I guess deep down I do have a sense of humor."
"Yeah, I guess so. Too bad you never let it show."
"Oh, I like to stay spontaneous."
Joey grinned. "You know, I guess you're sarcasm goes to show you have a sense of humor. Just a really dry one."
"What can I say? You bring out my sarcastic side."
"Good to know."
Joey, without even taking a breath first, inhaled three slices of pizza on the spot. Soon, they had moved onto the second box.
"So, what gave you the idea to have a pizza party at my house?"
Joey licked some stray sauce off of his fingers. His eyes met Seto's, and he began licking slower. When Seto's lips parted, he answered with a smug grin, "Well, I was really just going to wallow in self-pity with some pizzas, but when I walked out of the pizza place, I saw your castle looming ahead in the distance."
If, two weeks before, someone had told him he would be eating alone with Seto Kaiba, he would have shoved a spike bracelet up his or her ass. Or...he would have threatened to shove something up there...he didn't have the stomach to actually do that.
Still, he was actually enjoying himself with Kaiba. If he looked past the fact that Seto was rich and wearing a tuxedo, and they were on the third floor of a mansion, Seto was sort of a regular guy.
And he wasn't so much of an asshole. To Joey, at least. He was still an asshole to most people. One day, though, Seto had actually suggested Serenity join them for a tutoring session. That was the day Joey realized that buried inside the iceman himself was a person trying to get out.
At the moment, Seto was staring at him like there was something all over his face. "What, I got something on my face?"
Seto didn't move his eyes from the tiny smudge of sauce by Joey's lips. He nodded. The blond pulled a hand across his mouth, somehow missing the spot completely. "I get it?"
"No," Seto said softly. Was it just his imagination, or was Joey leaning forward?
"Get it off for me?" Joey felt his eyes closing against his will as he brought his face closer to Seto's.
Warm breath fanned over Seto's lips, and he leaned forward as well. Their lips were an inch apart...
"Seto, where have you...oh. Oh!"
Their bodies jerked away from one another. Joey's face turned a pleasant shade of red at Mokuba's laughter. "Oh, that's just rich!"
"Yeah, it is, huh?" Joey asked quietly. In a much louder voice, he said, "Well, I'd best be off. You sir, have a dinner party to attend." He tapped Seto's nose.
Joey was on his feet and ready to bolt, but Seto was on his faster. Before the blond could bolt, he grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him into a searing kiss. Joey's mouth opened automatically against his, groaning as their tongues met. Seto led Joey's tongue into his mouth, massaging it gently. Joey had no problem familiarizing himself with the inside of Kaiba's mouth, and he made sure Kaiba knew it by sucking on Kaiba's bottom lip.
From the doorway, Mokuba whistled. "That looks like one hell of a kiss! Kind of complicated too."
Joey pulled away, breathing harshly. He pushed his forehead against Seto's, and looked into his sapphire eyes. There was something there, but it wasn't like Joey could read eye-language. Soft pants were coming from Seto as well.
After a moment, Seto finally murmured, "So, I'll see you Monday."
"No..." Joey knew he was whining, but he didn't really care. He pulled a wrinkled piece of paper out of his pocket. "The real reason I came," he whispered. "Be there."
He boldly dropped one more kiss on Seto's lips before bolting out of the room. Seto stared at the spot where he had been in a daze.
Mokuba leered. Well, leered as well as any teenager could leer. "So, what'd he give you, an invitation to a dance under the sheets?"
"Oh, come now Mokuba," Seto scolded, "We haven't even seen each other naked."
"S-shut-up! It's time for dessert. I just came to tell you." When he spotted the pizza's, in a scandalized voice he cried, "You had pizza, and you didn't tell me and Noa!" He glared. "Traitor."
"Says the boy who's boyfriend threw a shoe at my head."
Mokuba gave up glaring and let curiosity take over. "So what did he really give you?"
Seto didn't say anything. When Mokuba peered at the paper, his eyes widened in shock.
TIN CAN PRESENTS: BLONDS ARE BETTER THIS SATURDAY NIGHT FROM 10-MIDNIGHT.
Below the words was a picture of the band mentioned; the drummer was the first person Seto noticed. Joey was captured mid-swing, his lips fixed in a huge grin. The picture was in black and white, but it was still obvious the three people in the picture were blonds. On bass was Mai Valentine, a girl Seto recognized from science class, and Malik Ishtar with his mouth pressed against the microphone and a guitar in his hands.
Mokuba squealed excitedly. "Wow, are you going to go?"
Seto folded the paper neatly and stuck it in his breast pocket before fixing his suit. He turned stiffly, his dinner party face on. "Don't be stupid, Mokuba." Gently, Seto ruffled his brother's hair. "Of course I'm going."
*****
Joey leaned against his apartment door, breathing harshly. Like the first time, he had run all the way home, but this time he hadn't wanted to leave. Back to being all alone, Joey committed himself to finding an outfit for the gig at the tin can.
The Tin Can was the local club for any sexuality and any age, and sold alcohol to anyone with a real ID. It was one of those anything goes clubs, obviously. The bartender, Keith, had an eye for fake ID's and got insulted every time someone tried to use one. Unless, of course, it was his little nineteen-year-old Goth boyfriend who called himself Bonz. It was a pretty good name, since the kid looked like a walking skeleton.
Which was so unfair. Joey had partied at the Tin Can plenty of times, but never played there. As far as he was concerned, it was an honor. Not many bands got fliers, especially all for themselves.
To say Joey was proud that Blonds are Better got their own flier was a massive understatement.
He touched his lips, which were still tingling. Tomorrow night, Seto was going to see Joey being good at something. And maybe after the show, he'd get another kiss. Yeah, that would be cool.
He still had to find something to wear, though.
*****
Well, they kissed. Is everyone happy? Because THEY KISSED!
I'm happy, in case anyone is wondering. It feels so good to finally have them kiss. I hope they liked it, too.
Oh man, if I said Keith was the janitor in one of the earlier chapters, let it be a different Keith. He and Bonz just kind of go together, methinks. I promised myself I wouldn't go with all-guy couples, but I just can't help it.
Jasper-Sable: I will try to get Mai and Isis together next chapter.
I'M GOING FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER TO BE THE LAST! RAWR!
It's going to be an all-out club-fest with Malik singing up the room. Oh, and Joey might help Yugi out of a jam, so they could become friends...or something. *Shrug*
Leave me some love, and I'll write you some love. Fair is fair, after all.