Kaiba was on his way to work when the following Monday when his cell phone rang. He had to dig through his jacket pocket to find it; he hated getting phone calls in the car. "Kaiba," he answered briskly, keeping his eye on traffic.
"I'm sick," Joey announced. "I won't be in today." Kaiba raised an eyebrow to himself. Joey sounded glum, but not sick. Avoidance? He hadn't been by since Friday – then again, Kaiba hadn't called either.
Called? Jesus Christ, his internal monologue was starting to sound like a soap opera! He cringed and said the first thing that came to mind: "Bullshit."
Without missing a beat Joey amended, "Fine then: the kid is sick, and it's only a matter of time before I get it. I wouldn't want to spread it; it'd reduce productivity."
Kaiba retorted sarcastically, "Somehow I don't believe you."
"It's true."
Liar. "Oh well, we'll have to deal. Have your sister watch him and get your ass to work. You skipped work Friday, and we're not going to let this become a habit."
"Serenity's still on her honeymoon."
"Yugi then." There had always been someone willing to watch Joey's imp in the past, so Kaiba wasn't going to buy some bullshit excuse now.
"He's..."
The silence stretched on too long, and Kaiba stopped at a red light. "Hello?" he barked, increasingly irritated with each passing second.
"Never mind," Joey snapped. "I'll be in." The conversation was obviously over, and Kaiba was left to stare at his own phone in confusion.
The light turned green, and Kaiba began to drive, tossing the phone onto the passenger seat.
Joey definitely had some explaining to do.
Traffic was terrible that morning; it took Kaiba nearly half an hour to make it to work – as if the conversation with Joey hadn't pissed him off enough. He stormed up to his office, stopping long enough to address his secretary. "Send Joey in as soon as he gets here."
She looked at him curiously; after a second she turned back to what she had been doing. "Understood."
Kaiba hadn't even started his computer when Joey entered; he didn't look any happier than Kaiba felt. "Marianne said you wanted to see me." The blond's voice was entirely too even, especially considering the way he had been acting over the phone.
"You don't look sick."
"You found me out," Joey shot back, quickly losing any façade of composure. "I'm not. That all?"
"Any reason for lying?"
Joey was quick to answer: "It's none of your business."
"Given that you work for me, I think it is." Here were two things Kaiba hated: dishonor and lying, and thus far, Joey wasn't doing well on either count.
"I'm just having a very bad day," Joey explained, his voice painstakingly flat.
Kaiba was relentless. "It's not even nine."
"Goddamn, can I just go to work? I'm here, I'll work, just..." Joey sighed. "Just forget it."
Kaiba studied his lawyer carefully; the situation was getting too personal, and that wasn't how he ran business. He had better things to do than deal with what appeared to be an emotional train wreck. "Go."
Joey didn't need to be told twice; he left the office as though he couldn't stand to be there another second.
There's something very wrong with you! If it hadn't seemed so sophomoric, Kaiba would have yelled it after Joey the door closed.
But the whole situation raised one question: what was wrong with Joey? Kaiba sulked, fingers pounding down on the keyboard harder than necessary as he typed. Plain and simple, it looked like a change of heart. Maybe last Friday things had gone too far, and Joey wanted to back out; maybe he couldn't handle the pressure. Kaiba smirked humorlessly. Joey probably snapped like a twig under stress, and there was no greater stress known to man than Kaiba.
Of course, what bothered Kaiba was that he usually he wasn't stupid enough to actually get into it himself without being sure the other's intentions, and yet... He was somewhat disappointed.
Stop moping.
Kaiba nodded to himself. He was Seto Kaiba; if he was that starved for affection, he could find much more worthy sources than Joey.
Right. He grinned smugly, digging through the papers on his desk, looking for some graphs he needed... His secretary must not have brought them yet. He pressed the button to call her.
No answer.
He made a face and tried again. After a moment he stood and sighed, going to out to address her personally. Only she wasn't at her desk. He peered into a nearby office. "Have you seen..." he gestured towards her desk, "...Marianne?"
The woman in the office nodded. "She took some stuff to the lawyer for me." Kaiba went to Joey's office. When he arrived the door was slightly open, and Marianne's voice flowed out to him.
"...and I can understand that it's all very confusing, but trust this old woman: I'm sure everything will work for the best."
"I hope so," Joey replied mournfully. Kaiba stood and listened, not bothering to hide it – his company, his rules. He figured he had every right to listen in. "It's just... I can't stand to see him go. I mean, he's one of the most important people to me; we've been together for so long! I... I didn't think we'd ever be apart."
"It happens," Marianne replied sadly. "I need to get back to work or big bad boss-man'll be angry."
Big bad... Kaiba scowled, despite his pride in instilling fear in his employees.
"I don't even want to get started on the topic of Kaiba," Joey muttered. "But thanks, Marianne."
"Anytime."
Kaiba backed away from the door; Marianne didn't seem to see him right away. "Big bad boss-man?" he asked incredulously, crossing his arms over his chest.
She looked up at him in surprise but smiled. "I didn't coin that; you've been called that since you were seventeen."
"Hmph. Mind giving me some insight into what that was all about?" He began to walk towards his office, and she followed, heels clicking lightly on the floor with every step.
"I thought you didn't like gossip."
"I don't, but if it's cutting into productivity, it must be worth knowing," he retorted sardonically. It didn't seem to faze her at all.
"He's just a little bummed out."
"Why?" Kaiba asked, trying to sound more aloof than curious.
"His friend's leaving, patching up some family issues; he's headed to Seattle on Friday." Marianne shook her head. "Poor kid just found out."
Kaiba almost stopped in his tracks, but managed to check his surprise and keep walking. He made it to his office and entered – without even remembering why he had pursued Marianne to start with.
Seattle. So Téa had run all the way to Seattle, and Yugi intended to follow. But Joey...
Kaiba's frown deepened. Joey was going to be miserable to work with if the morning had been any indication. The last thing Kaiba needed was a moping lawyer – it would be counterproductive.
Seattle... He could arrange something. He pressed that damn button for the third time that afternoon, and finally got the desired response; Marianne entered promptly. "Yes?"
"Send Joey." His tone barred any argument her pity for Joey could have thought up.
She nodded. "Yes, sir." She was gone as quickly as she had entered.
Kaiba sat at his desk, looked over his files, all the associates and allies he had made over the years. He could definitely arrange something in Seattle – all he would have to do was say his name. It was sort of a shame... He had just started getting used to things with Joey.
The door opened, and Joey looked in at him, eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You wanted to see me... again?"
"Close the door and sit down," Kaiba ordered evenly. Amazing; he almost sounded bored. Joey complied, taking a seat opposite to Kaiba. "Yugi leaves Friday, right?"
"How...!" Joey sighed, slumped a bit in his seat. All fight was gone from his voice as he answered, "Four in the afternoon."
Kaiba looked at his computer, knowing that his expression was as dull and bored as his tone. "I have some connections in Seattle; I could get you a job there."
There were at least two full minutes of silence before Joey croaked, "What?"
"You can pack up and follow Yugi in two weeks. Just say the word." Kaiba didn't look at Joey, didn't need to; he knew the answer before the words even passed Joey's lips.
"No."
Or maybe he didn't. "And why not?" he demanded. It wasn't often he made such offers; he didn't like using his name for anything, and he didn't appreciate being turned down.
"I don't need anyone doin' me favors, and I ain't quittin' a good job. If that's all, I'll be getting back to work," Joey proclaimed heatedly.
"Dismissed," Kaiba snapped. Fine. Let the damn–
"Besides," Joey added softly, standing and turning to leave. Kaiba saw him take a breath before he finished, "I got a couple good things to stick around here for."
Kaiba was stunned to silence as Joey left, the admission ringing in his ears. What exactly was that supposed to mean? Surely Joey couldn't be referring to Kaiba Corp; he bitched about that as often as he possibly could. What did that leave? Domino, other friends...
...me?
Kaiba shook his head. Ridiculous idea. It was one thing to hit on each other, but the concept of Joey passing up an opportunity to be with his best friend... Kaiba couldn't fathom that. He automatically began to work – he always thought best while he was working.
Kaiba didn't warn Joey that he was going to visit; he just showed up at ten. Joey looked like he had been sleeping when he answered the door; his hair was tousled, and he was clad in plaid pajama pants and a black t-shirt which looked like someone had taken a few stabs at it. "Were you sleeping?" Kaiba immediately kicked himself – it sounded entirely too... sensitive. No one ever got information by being sensitive.
"Tossing and turning. Something wrong?"
"What in Domino is worth staying for?" Kaiba asked.
Joey blinked. "Well... Why do you care?"
"I made an offer I expected to be taken up on. I don't do favors often."
Joey paused, gaze flitting between the dimly lit interior of the apartment and Kaiba. "Come in." They took their usual seats, but Kaiba sat straight, and Joey stretched out on his loveseat and yawned. "So Téa finally admitted that she missed Yugi as much as he missed her. Their anniversary is coming up in March, so I guess that added some tension to the mix. It's a good thing – I don't think they've ever been apart this long. It turns out that she crashed with some cousin in Seattle, then later got a job, got her own place. Yugi always said he'd leave in a heartbeat for her..."
"And so he is."
"Yeah. He's trying to find new management for the game shop."
"Is he selling it?" Kaiba sounded a little more eager than he meant to.
"Never; his Grandpa would come up from the grave and kick his ass. He's going to keep control from Seattle... He hopes they'll come back. I don't think they will," Joey added dejectedly.
"Then why not follow?" Back on topic.
"I got a kid to think about – I don't want to uproot him on a whim and drag him half-way across the country; this is his home... and it's my home, whether I like it or not. And I like my job–"
"You always complain about it."
"It has its perks." Was Joey blushing? "And... I can't follow Yugi forever." He hesitated before he continued. "I always kinda trailed after him in school. It may not have looked like it–"
"It did."
"–but..." Joey frowned at Kaiba's interruption. "Plus this is their marriage on the line. I have no place in it, no matter how much I worry about them. As much as I want to back them up, they need to do it alone."
"I thought part of your whole 'friendship' thing was always being there for each other." Kaiba almost smiled; for the first time in a long time he sounded like himself from so many years ago: disbelieving; almost bitter.
"We will be. No matter how much space is between us, Yugi and I will always be close. Besides, we're... You and me, we're sort of friends, right?"
Kaiba blinked and eyed Joey warily before he admitted, "Sort of, but that's hardly a reason to stay."
Joey smiled – really smiled. "I'm an optimist," he said cheekily.
Optimism isn't a virtue. "Get some sleep," Kaiba commanded, standing. "I don't want any more lame excuses from you in the morning."
"G'bye."
Kaiba didn't say good-bye; he was a little too shell-shocked. He didn't do much of anything short of simple daily functions – drove home, took a shower, and sat at his computer.
Sort of friends.
Exactly what the hell was that?
Kaiba would probably kick himself for making assumptions later, but 'sort of friends' didn't seem like the sort of vague opportunity that a person would choose over their best friend. Maybe Joey had some hopes for their 'sort of' friendship after all... Kaiba was sure that Joey would regret it later.
There were two obvious options that Kaiba could see: either he could leave Joey to his self-pity or he could... Hell, he could give Joey a reason NOT to regret it. After all, a man takes charge of his own fate, and Kaiba's fate was looking awfully dull if there was nothing but teasing in his future. Maybe it was time to take things up a notch. No, there was no maybe about it; Kaiba had to do something.
And he had the perfect plan.
- notes -
"Hey!" you might be loudly demanding. "What's the plan?"
And I'm just grinning, because I know it and you don't.
And more thanks to Sarasusa for beta'ing. *thumbs up* She rocks. ^^
I was hesitant about how the chapter started, but I think it evened out pretty good. That was another idea that I had pretty early on in the writing of the story too -- Joey's line in Kaiba's office. I love it.
Whoa; I just noticed that Kaiba has a naughty habit of interrupting people mid-sentence. A lot. How wude of him. ^^
Okay, so I'm really excited for the next chapter -- it was so much fun to write! But, I had to remind myself to curb my excitement and make sure I did this chapter justice, so hopefully I did. ^^;;;
Other than that... I don't think I have any particularly deep thoughts on this chapter. o.O lol.
..::reviewer responses from the previous chapter::..
Trandy Green: Oh, that's good -- I might need these kneecaps later. XD
darkmus: lol, I don't; I tend to get very antsy about stories being updated, so I think it's quite the kick in the ass to wait from chapter to chapter. ^^;;
Tadashi: XD I could be a form of flirting; I used to do it all the time. Actually, our favorite form of flirting was wrestling -- not better way to be close and make it look innocent. Annnyywwaayy, lol, glad it made you happy.
Yami) White Rain: I can't tell you that -- it might be important later. ^_~ But thanks. :)
Lighning Sage: Lol, it is horribly unbearable. They just can't cut a break, can they?
marikzgal4eva, Vegeta2J, yuna82, Tanya Maxwell: ^^ Thankies.
Moi!: Okay, technically you reviewed 'Imitations', but I got the impression you were reading this too? lol, yup, we updated. *thumbs up*
Nenya85: I guess Joey just doesn't lend himself to maturity, lol, and Kaiba just exudes it to an extreme. ^^ I'm happy it came off well.
Fire Dragon of Darkness: Yeah, that kid has WAY too much fun popping up at just the wrong moment. Probably because all the wee one's I've known LOVE to do that. ^^;;;
gyrrlgenius: I couldn't drop it. Actually, at this point, it'd be completely illogical; the rough draft is done, lol. Did I imply there were more OCs coming? I don't think anymore are coming -- just Alex & Marianne. But thanks anyway; that made me glad. XD