Early January turned to early February without any drama, and Kaiba's life was just like it had always been - work, home, work, home... With one minor addition, a particular blond one that always seemed to stick around a little longer than necessary. At that moment the blond was sprawled out on the couch, reading a book. By all logic he should've left nearly half an hour ago - when he had finished his work. Of course, neither Joey nor Kaiba had made that observation; they just let the situation slide.
"Hey, I'm not going to be at work tomorrow," Joey said suddenly, looking up from his book.
Kaiba glared over the top of his laptop. "Excuse me?"
"Tomorrow's Serenity's wedding," Joey said as thought that explained everything.
"I thought it was in the afternoon."
"It is, but she's gonna need me around; it's a big deal for her."
"And if I say you can't skip work?"
Joey shrugged. "I'll quit; Serenity is more important than work. Besides, I don't think it'll be that drastic - I'm sure we could arrange something."
Kaiba shook his head. "Your pocketbook probably can't handle either option." The next thing he knew Joey had thrown his wallet over into his lap. He stared down at it. "Nice aim."
"I was going for your head," Joey admitted. "Anyway, it's not empty."
"You had to use it as a projectile to prove that?"
"Well... oh, fuck it, just throw it back."
With a smirk Kaiba shook his head and slipped the wallet into his back pocket. "Nope." Come and get it. The subtle flirtation didn't surprise either of them. After all, they had been doing it ever since that day in Joey's apartment.
Kaiba found the whole process masochistically fascinating. It had started as a simple game, just like so many other things in Kaiba's life. Just like so many mistakes.
At first he was driven by simple outrage over that imagined tingling in his forearms; he had been out to prove that he could be just as bothersome as Joey. He had said it before, and he would say it again: he could do anything Joey could do. Better. But Joey flirted back, and though he didn't show it, Kaiba was surprised. A little surprise never stopped him; he continued the game as though it had been expected.
It never got out of hand, but it seemed intense, at least to Kaiba - some people might not have recognized that they were flirting at all, subtle as it often was. Somehow his anger over the tingle incident faded, and he came to a shocking and somewhat disturbing conclusion: he had grown to enjoy Joey's advances. He liked the idea that someone had the guts to try despite his demeanor - it seemed to indicate that Joey cared. It probably wasn't about Joey at all; maybe he just wanted to be cared about. Plus it was amusing to watch Joey flounder when Kaiba said or did something just a little more suggestive than usual.
So Kaiba changed the game, just enough to suit his needs; it became less about being tantalizingly unattainable and more about driving Joey into making the first move. Kaiba didn't approach anyone - he never had in the past, and he didn't intend to start. All he had to do was wait for Joey to make a move - and then he would win.
Kaiba just wished that the idea of winning didn't make him so damn nervous.
"Hey! Give that back!" Joey protested from his perch; he hadn't moved. "Just because you're my boss doesn't mean I won't kick your ass."
"Hmph. Whatever." Kaiba resisted the urge to cringe; he was practically begging Joey to touch him, even if just to steal back a stupid wallet. Still, Joey took the bait; Kaiba barely had the chance to move his laptop to safety before Joey tackled him, intent on wrestling Kaiba into giving back the wallet.
"C'mon, you ass," Joey grunted, trying to get hold of Kaiba's wrists long enough to pin them behind his back. "Don't make me reach for it."
That sent a shiver down Kaiba's spine, but instead he shoved Joey away - almost playfully, but hard enough to send Joey reeling off the loveseat. "You'd have to get me down first."
Joey nodded solemnly, standing and making a show of brushing off his shirt... and then he launched himself towards Kaiba again, grinning like an idiot. Kaiba barely scooted to the side, and Joey's shoulder connected with the back of the loveseat at full speed; the whole thing tipped back, depositing the two men to the ground in a blur of movement and laughter - Joey's laughter, to be exact - all ending with a loud thump. Joey was sprawled awkwardly on the floor, laughing breathlessly as though he'd just gotten off some ride. Kaiba sat up on his knees, rubbing his head.
"You idiot," he groaned. Before he could come up with something better to say, he felt a hand dip into his back pocket; he caught Joey's wrist, and the blond's eyes widened when he caught on to what Kaiba had realized immediately. "Wrong pocket."
And there they were, staring at each other, Joey just one-step short of groping him.
"Uh..." Joey was rapidly turning red, and Kaiba released his hand. Joey stood, moving to right the loveseat. Kaiba just sat on the floor, watching the blond curiously; it was interesting how easily the blond seemed to have forgotten about his wallet. "So," Joey continued once he had the furniture righted; he turned to Kaiba and leaned back against it. "I'd better get out of here; Bakura's probably itchin' to get home. Are we cool about tomorrow?"
Joey was probably serious about quitting, and Kaiba would rather give him the day off than see him leave. "Fine, but only if you come by after the wedding to catch up on anything you might have missed."
"Thanks!" Joey said brightly; the embarrassment he had been exuding seemed to be forgotten. "It's a deal. Hell, I'll even bring you a piece of cake."
"Are Tristan and Bakura making it?"
"That's wrong!" Joey crinkled his nose. "I hadn't thought of that. Great, now every time I look at the cake I'm gonna see them goin' at it."
With a smirk Kaiba muttered just loud enough so Joey would hear, "Consider it a learning experience." He knew by Joey's dumbfounded expression that the blond had caught on, and he knew that Joey wouldn't reply - when it came to some asides, he always seemed to be at a lack for words. Kaiba took out the wallet, holding out. Joey snatched it back, shoving it protectively in his own pocket.
"I..." Joey smiled nervously. "I'll see you later." He left in a hurry, and Kaiba returned to his laptop.
As it turned out, Joey didn't really miss anything. Kaiba could have cancelled the whole work session, but the way he saw it, he could get in some good hits while Joey was half-asleep and sappy from the wedding.
It was around almost eleven that night when a yell sounded through the hallway. "Alex, hush! It's late," Joey's scolding followed. "No, right here! Alex!" Footsteps rushed by his den door, and Kaiba shook his head in both amusement and frustration. Joey was never flirty around Alex and wasn't particularly receptive to it either. After a few minutes the footsteps returned, and Joey entered with a squirming toddler tucked under one arm and a small saran-wrapped paper plate in his free hand.
"Isn't it past his bedtime?" Kaiba asked, printing the document he intended to have Joey look over.
"Yeah, well, he's had a lot of sugar; he'll calm down here in a bit, and nature'll take its course," Joey replied testily.
"Hi," Alex greeted, waving from under his father's arm. Without waiting for a response, he kicked his legs, laughing wildly. "Put me down!"
"Fine," Joey said, plopping the kid down on a couch against the far wall. "Now, Daddy's gotta work, so it's time to lay down and be quiet."
"No," Alex responded smugly, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Yes," Joey commanded. "You are going to lay down until I'm done, understand?"
"N-"
"Don't," Joey interrupted sternly, pressing a few fingers over Alex's mouth. Kaiba raised an eyebrow, intrigued by the display - it was the strictest he had ever seen Joey act as a father. He grabbed a couch pillow and set it near Alex, and his tone was no-nonsense as he continued, "Lay down." Surprisingly the boy obeyed, pouting as Joey took off his jacket and laid it over him as a blanket.
It was almost a Kodak moment as Joey kissed Alex's forehead and said, "G'night."
"Night," Alex mumbled dejectedly.
Joey stood and took his usual place across from Kaiba, scowling. "I'm exhausted, cranky, and I want to get this over with as soon as possible," he explained shortly. Kaiba frowned and pointed to the printer. Joey nodded and handed over the paper plate - a piece of cake, complete with a little plastic fork. Nice gesture, but Joey wasn't even the least bit playful - how disappointing. Kaiba shook his head and returned to his work.
What the hell was he thinking, being disappointed? He shouldn't have expected anything; expectations led to failures, and relationships had always failed in Kaiba's world. He looked at the cake. Actually, it didn't look half bad; he had a soft spot for sugar. He unwrapped the cake and took a bite. He let the fork hang loosely from his mouth as he typed; even he couldn't eat and type at the same time. He paused after a minute and took another bite...
He caught Joey looking out of the corner of his eye. Maybe there was hope after all. Kaiba went back to typing, tongue idly playing with the fork. He didn't know exactly what to do; he didn't eat much, let alone suggestively. Luckily whatever he had done was enough; Joey shifted uncomfortably in his seat and stared at the papers as though nothing else existed.
But when Kaiba took another bite, he caught Joey glancing up again. Just as the fork descended towards the cake again, Joey stood. "I need to use the bathroom; I'll be right back," he said hurriedly. By the time he returned, Kaiba had finished eating, and they returned to their work. After half an hour Joey said triumphantly, "Done." He dropped the papers onto the desk. "Flawless as usual. Ass - I could have been sleeping."
"Then go sleep."
Joey stood, and uttered, "Oh shit. Where'd he go?" Kaiba looked over, and saw that Alex wasn't on the couch. He must have been a sneaky kid if he'd been able to leave without either of them noticing. But where Kaiba was mildly amused, Joey looked like he was vacillating between panic and annoyance. "Did you see him leave?"
"No."
"Well, can you help me look for him?"
"Why would I?"
"Because if you don't it's going to take me all night to find him; your house is too damn big," Joey growled.
With a sigh Kaiba stood. "Fine - let's go find him."
The search was insane - they spent as much time hurling insults and blame at each other as they did seeking out potential hiding places. They weren't even halfway through the house when Kaiba hit the breaking point. "Enough. To hell with this; your kid, you find him."
"Oh, you're going to leave me unsupervised in your house?" Joey was all but yelling.
"I'll know who to press charged against if there are any problems," Kaiba retorted, turning on his heel, prepared to walk down the hall to his room.
"Fuck you! Where do you think you're going?"
Kaiba finally resorted to shouting. "Bed!" Joey ought to have been honored - Kaiba didn't shout very often; he usually didn't bother wasting the energy. Maybe it was game-over: no winner, no loser. That would be the best outcome for all involved. After all, Kaiba had probably imagined the idea that Joey cared, just like he had imagined that damned tingling...
But Joey was following him to the bedroom. Pity; had they been playing, Kaiba could have gotten some major points there - if there had been any formal point system. "Go look for your son," Kaiba ordered as he opened his bedroom door. He stopped in his tracks. Alex was curled at the end of his bed, using the robe that one of the housekeepers had laid out as a blanket.
What were the chances of that?
"Not until you-" Joey ran into Kaiba, apparently not noticing that the brunet had stopped. "What are you - oh. There he is." Immediately Joey seemed to have calmed. Kaiba rolled his eyes; parents had the strangest emotional reactions. Even he hadn't been quite that irrational. "Damn... sorry..." Joey pushed past Kaiba, headed towards the bed.
Kaiba ignored the shiver the momentary contact had sent down his spine. "Leave him." Joey stopped and looked at him curiously. Kaiba entered the room, crossing to the closet to find a blanket.
"I can't; he's never stayed anywhere but Yug's place, and if he wakes up all alone - "
"I never said he'd wake up alone."
"What?"
Kaiba's back was to Joey, and he smirked, a smirk that was gone when he turned. "You said you wanted to sleep; lie down."
Joey turned the most interesting shade of pink, then white; the color change was probably one of the most amusing things Kaiba had seen. "Oh. Are you sure?"
"I never doubt myself." Joey just stood there, staring at him as though he were speaking a foreign language. "Oh, stop staring and just get into bed."
Kaiba retreated to his bathroom. He showered before he returned, and was pleased to find Joey sleeping; the lights were off, and Joey was lying on his stomach. Actually, he looked asleep, but his breathing wasn't right; he was still awake.
Kaiba smiled. Perfect. He took his place at the opposite side of the bed - as far from Joey as humanly possible.
"W-what?" Joey gasped, and Kaiba turned his back to the blond.
"I have no intention of giving up my bed - it's big enough. Just stay there," Kaiba explained casually, closing his eyes. He smiled to himself - he definitely had the upper hand, and all he had to do was stay in bed; he didn't even have to move. Joey fidgeted for a minute.
"Fine," he finally said, and he sounded calmer. Damn. "Whatever."
Sometime during the night Kaiba woke up with a swift kick to the back of his leg serving as an alarm. He rolled over, fully prepared to shout at Joey for waking him - even half-asleep his first instinct was to take the offensive. Considering that he didn't sleep often, he didn't appreciate having that rare time interrupted. At all.
But Joey was snoring softly, sprawled out comfortably. Whereas he had started near the edge of the bed, he was now much closer to the middle - much closer to Kaiba.
Kaiba leaned in to examine the sleeping man's features, but it was too hard to see in the dark. Maybe it was because he was half-asleep, or maybe it was just because he was curious, but he wondered what he would see. He reached over to the nightstand and turned on the lamp. Joey's features crunched against the invasion of light, but soon smoothed over - and Kaiba just looked.
Considering Joey smiled so much while awake, his sleeping frown seemed out of place. His hair fell messily around his face, over his forehead and eyes. He was on his stomach, face half-buried in the pillow that he grasped with his left hand.
Kaiba stared, brow furrowed in thought. It wasn't a bad sight to see upon waking. In fact, when Joey wasn't talking... he looked nice. Attractive even. Kaiba had liked the idea of Joey caring, even liked Joey's hands (strange as that sometimes seemed), but he had never looked at Joey as wholly attractive. It was a new idea to mull over...
He shook his head, looking over to his clock. It was a little after six. The sun would be rising soon. He looked back to Joey.
The frown didn't look unhappy when Kaiba thought about it. It looked more... perplexed. Unsure.
He turned out the light, but found himself still looking at where he knew Joey was resting. Kaiba was still watching him sleep when the sun rose. The moment was more or less ruined when Joey shifted in his sleep, moving precariously closer to Kaiba; one foot mingled with his own, invading the warm space that he had created in the blankets. Kaiba hissed and kicked the offending foot away - Joey had cold feet!
Kaiba swore softly as Joey's eyes fluttered open. The blond yawned and looked at Kaiba blearily, blinking rapidly. "Mornin'." He yawned again, and then his eyes focused, widening as he looked at Kaiba. "Oh."
They were within arm's reach.
"You toss and turn more than anyone I've ever shared a bed with," Kaiba told him seriously. He paused, and then added for emphasis, "Any one." Just to make sure he made his point.
Joey smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."
"Whatever; go back to sleep."
"Why?"
Because I was watching. Kaiba grunted. "It's early."
"Nah, I'm awake now," Joey answered, stretching and yawning again. One arm nearly hit Kaiba upside the head, and he caught Joey's wrist for the sake of saving himself a headache.
Joey stared at the hand gripping his wrist, eyes wide - as though it somehow bothered him. Maybe it did.
Kaiba's free hand touched Joey's cheek, coaxed the blond to look at him. Brown eyes met his and widened further; Kaiba felt the skin under his hand warm with a blush. For a moment Joey was the perfect image of a deer in headlights. Kaiba smiled cockily.
He wouldn't know what hit him.
"Daddy," came a low whine, stopping Kaiba before he had moved to do anything. He released Joey's wrist and took back his hand at once; Joey sat up quickly.
"Yeah?"
Alex looked up at Joey, rubbing his eyes. "I gotta go potty." Joey looked to Kaiba, and Kaiba pointed towards his bathroom door.
Damn.
Kaiba found himself wondering where his resolve to win had gone. If he had kissed Joey, then - by his own rules - he would have lost. And if he had lost... would the outcome really be any different? If his goal was affection, did it matter who won or lost? What was his goal? And how exactly had he managed to lose himself in a game that he designed the rules of, a game that was really all his? Unless the game had never been his to start with...
He did the most child-like thing he had done in a long time; he buried his face in his pillow and just sighed. He was ready to go back to sleep and pretend it was all a dream. There was a reason there weren't many relationships in his past.
"Kaiba..." He looked up from his pillow - glared, really - to see Joey standing by the bed, looking down at him curiously. "I'm gonna head home," he said. He sounded confused. A little lost. Hesitantly he reached down, and Kaiba resisted the instinct to flinch away as Joey brushed some hair away from his eyes; fingertips trailed along the side of his face, and Joey watched him intently.
Get down here so I can kiss you.
For a second Kaiba wondered if he had spoken aloud; Joey leaned in a just a bit...
The toilet flushed in the other room, and Joey backed away. "See you," he said quickly, turning away.
Kaiba turned back to his pillow, smiling sneakily as he listened to Joey move around the room, heard him talk to Alex, and he heard the door close as they left.
He understood. He'd be right the night before; they had reached a game-over, but not because of any maliciousness. Another game was starting; a more complicated game, a riskier game, and both players knew the change - the way Joey had been acting convinced Kaiba of that.
His smirk widened.
He intended to be prepared for anything.
- notes -
No doubt you noticed that it probably took me longest to updating this chapter, and it wasn't even particularly extraordinary. Well, if you're like me, you want someone to blaim.
First and formost, it was Hotmail's fault -- this probably could have come up sooner had Hotmail not gobbled it up the first time I tried to send it to Sarasusa for beta'ing.
Then, it's all me; it took me a few days to stick it in intensive care and fix it up.
So... sorry! *meek*
Thankies to Sarasusa for beta'ing this -- it was a lot of help! *thumbs up*
I tend to see the analogy of relationships & games with Kaiba & Yami, but Kaiba might view any sort of relationship as a game. But originally Kaiba JUST realized that he liked the flirting in this chapter... but I guess he didn't like that, because it quickly changed. Hopefully it isn't too abrupt -- then again, some things are abrupt, lol. *cop out* No, actually, I like the way the chapter led into itself, and explained it. So, uhm, like it with me?
So at this point I sort of realized that I thought of Joey as less of a father-figure and more of a bachelor with a three-year-old roommate. Which he is, but I figured he'd be a litle more responsible than that. So he decided to show his more paternal side here.
This was very odd, but the scene with Kaiba & Joey ending up in the same bed because of the kid was in my head forever. Sort of ironic that the kid interrupts them later. ^^ I have mixed feelings about how it worked out, but ultimately I liked it (obviously, or you wouldn't be reading it, lol).
I think that cold feet is an interesting phenomena of sleep that no one ever talks about, lol.
I was rereading the earlier chapters of this story and was amused that Joey was almost painfully calm until things started getting more tense. XD
Lol, I seem to note people like Alex. ^^ That makes me happy; I was worried he was going to be too obstrusive for people to like him much. *insert sigh of relief*
Random Story-Related-Story: so I have a friend who was bored, and I whored this out to him, lol, and then LAUGHED my ass off and how many little errors he kept finding. I suck at this proofing thing. Definite thanks to the beta's of the world -- y'all rock my socks with your hard work. XD
..::review responses::..
shadow-demon18b, johnny_depp_luv, ranma higurashi, girl of grace, kaneda-shotaro and Yami Tetsuo, lightning sage, coleycarrisa: arigato!
tanya maxwell: yay, cookies! I can't bake to save my life. -_-;; Super Mario was the greatest; I still love to play it over some of the other games that have come out.
tadashi: ^^ I *heart* kids. As far as stories... *whistles innocently* ^_~ Lol, sorry to have disturbed you with the icing thing; I rather liked it. Made me want some frosting, which is amusing because I actually don't like it too much. *thumbs up*
darkmus: haha, hopefully I didn't try your patience too much with this one, then. Your fangirl-face made me laugh my ass off. ^^
Trandy Green: I finally updated! XD Sorry it took so long. Thanks -- I didnt know there was anyone at my site, lmao. ^^
Chronicles Bailey: Yes, yes, that thanksgiving thing is very true; 'tis why I'm cheating and telling things from the dub perspective -- since the show seems to presume that it's in the states, I figured I could sneak the holidays by. ^^;;; Shh, yer not supposed to catch me on that. But thank you. *thumbs up*
Angel-Belle: Lol, yea, Kaiba sounds like a D personality.
Fire Dragon of Darkness: *does the snow day dance* lol. Thanks.
Reana1: aww, don't cry. *pet* It's not supposed to be ENTIRELY sad, but it does have it's sad point. It's kinda weird trying to write them grown up, but I've been having fun. ^^
Rhocke: Thanks. So I don't know exactly where the Yami's ARE, but I have come to the conclusion that wherever they are, it isn't with Yuugi/Ryou where they belong -- quite sadly. My theory is that they've moved on, but in the instance of this story, I don't actually know. ^^;;; But no, you didn't miss anything -- we've been cleverly avoiding the topic. It gets BARELY mentioned later on, though.
nenya85: lol, I like that words go over Kaiba's head. ^^ You know, somewhere in my head I still think of Mokuba as "the little guy". I can't help it, really; when it comes to him and Kaiba, what else can he be imagined as, you know? Thanks! :)
who ever: haha! I didn't even catch the frosting/sugar-coated thing. Funny, and jokes sneak in there behind my back. ^_~ Thanks.
gyrrlgenius: okay, so this update was slow. ^^ Yes, we're picking up! *bounce* Actually, another one of my favorite chapters is coming up, so this is getting to be quite a bit for me, lol.
Sorrow/Dark Star Goddess: yay, cookies! XD This shall be my new mantra. lol, s'all good on the reviewing -- it happens. *thumbs up* thankies thankies. :)