ENJOY! This is third in a series. First is All it Takes, second is Just Before Dawn and now this one!

Standard Disclaimers apply

Slowly But Surely

"JOEY!" Turning around on the couch, Joey Wheeler looked at his father who was waggling the phone at him. "Phone for you!"

"Fanks," Joey spoke around the handful of chips in his mouth. Taking the portable from his dad, Joey swallowed his food and greeted the person on the other end.

"Hey," a hesitant voice spoke and the blonde smiled softly.

"Sup, Seto? You know, it isn't a crime to call me." Joey smiled as he propped his feet on the table in front of him and muted the T.V.

"I know, it's just weird," Kaiba muttered into the phone.

"IS YOUR HOMEWORK DONE!" Flinching Joey slid down the on the sofa trying to avoid his father and responsibility.

"Um…" Joey covered his eyes as he waited for his father to come and ream him out.

"You haven't done your homework yet?" Seto demanded and Joey rolled his eyes behind his hand.

"No mother," he growled.

"I'M NOT YOUR MOTHER!" Mr. Wheeler bellowed as he whapped his son on the head with a dishtowel.

"I know Dad! I was talking to Seto!" Joey told him exasperation lacing his voice.

"You're failing as it is, you really do need to do your homework," Kaiba reminded him. "Unless you want to repeat this grade."

"You better hurry up, dinner will be ready soon and you still have homework," Mr. Wheeler told his son before walking out of the room.

"You do know what tomorrow is, right?" Seto questioned.

"Uh huh, it's Friday." Joey rifled through the stack of homework he had piled next to him looking for his planner. "And it's your radiation treatment."

"Yeah, about that…"

"You're not getting cold feet are you?" Joey extracted his planner and flipped open to that Friday.

"No, the treatment is set in stone." Seto paused for a second and Joey waited for him to continue. "It's at one o-clock and I was wondering…if you could come? I mean, Mokuba's going to be there and it would be nice if he had someone to be with him and…"

"And…?" Joey gave him a verbal nudge to tell him he was listening.

"I would like you to be there, it would be a great help."

"Sure, lemme ask my dad." Joey covered the receiver of the phone with his hand to muffle what he was about to say. "HEY DAD!"

"WHAT?" Mr. Wheeler yelled back.

"CAN I GO TO THE HOSPITAL TOMORROW?" There was a long pause as Joey's father thought about it then walked into the room.

"What are you planning to get hit by a car tomorrow or something?" He asked giving his son a look that said he was seriously wondering what was wrong with him.

"No." Joey sighed. "My friend has to go to the hospital and he wants me to be there with him. It's during school so if I want to go I need an excuse from school."

"It's not that pansy-boy kid is it?" Mr. Wheeler queried a note of concern showing through.

"No Dad, it's not Yugi." Joey hung his head in defeat; he was never going to get Wheeler Sr. to call his friends' by their real names. "It's Seto."

"Ok, yeah fine, you can go." Mr. Wheeler headed back to the kitchen. "Hurry up, dinner's ready."

"Pansy-boy?" Kaiba snickered.

"My dad doesn't like to remember names so he comes up with not-so-flattering nicknames," Joey explained. "So which hospital you gonna be at?"

"Domino General Hospital," Seto informed him.

"That's the same one Serenity was at, they have very nice staff. I'll be there!" Joey assured him.

"Ok, thank you Joey."

"No prob, see you tomorrow!"

The Next Day

Sprawled out across his desk Joey's eyes were glued to the clock, he had only five more minutes left before he could leave. Once he was released he could run to the hospital and get there right on time. Pulling the note out of his pocket he flattened it out and then folded it up again. Behind him Yugi was watching him worriedly because he was sure that Joey was going to get in trouble for not paying attention.

"Mr. Wheeler, did you do your homework?" The teacher demanded and Joey looked at her a moment before responding.

"Yeah I did my homework." He pulled it out of his folder and handed it to her. Skeptically she scanned through it, the assignment had been to write a three page essay on whatever you wanted and from the looks of it Joey had far surpassed that.

"I am impressed Mr. Wheeler," she quipped, looking at him over her glasses. There was a questioning gleam in her eyes. "Usually you only do the bare minimum, if that at all."

"Yeah well, I don't wanna repeat this grade." Joey shrugged and his gaze slid back to the clock. "Um, I have to go now." He handed her his note and waited while she scrutinized it carefully.

"Well then, you are excused." Quickly Joey shot up and hurried out the door, there was no way he was going to be late. Not bothering to get the rest of his stuff he dashed out the door of the school and headed off to the hospital. On his way over there he got a few weird stares but nothing much. When he reached the door of the hospital he was gasping for breath and barely standing.

"Joey? What are you doing here?" Mokuba Kaiba blinked up at the wheezing teen who was grasping the wall, trying to keep upright.

"Seto…cough, wheeze…said he…gasp…wanted me…deep breath…to be…cough…here." Joey managed to force out. "Had to run."

"Ok," Mokuba accepted his explanation. "Let's go, Seto's on the sixth floor." Nodding mutely (except for his labored breathing) Joey followed the small Kaiba up to where Seto was. He was sitting in a chair next to a window when the two walked in; he was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and a black hoodie. He lifted his head when they walked in and gave them a weak smile that betrayed his nerves.

"They said it won't take long," he said quietly.

"Damn, so that means I actually have to go back to school?" Joey asked, grinning widely at the brunette. "Don't worry, you'll be fine, and I'll even be able to follow you home and plump your pillows for you."

"You do and I'll kill you," Seto calmly replied.

"Mr. Kaiba?" A nurse walked in. "They're ready for you now."

"Good luck Seto," Mokuba said as he gave his older brother a big hug. "I love you."

"We'll be right here waiting for you when you're done," Joey assured him as he exited the room. As Kaiba walked out, Joey realized just exactly what he was wearing as the Blue Eyes White Dragon disappeared from sight.

"Joey, how come Seto doesn't want anyone to know about his tumor?" Mokuba asked after a few moments of silence.

"Well, if you think about it Mokuba, he's used to taking care of everything and not letting others help him. I think that he's scared to let anyone help him; he doesn't want people to think that he's incapable of handling the situation. Pride is a big thing for your brother, and right now it's about all he thinks he has." Joey tried to explain to the best of his ability.

"Yeah, I guess," Mokuba said and Joey ruffled his hair fondly.

"Enough about your brother, how are you holding up?" the blond asked.

"I'm ok," Mokuba told him, but Joey would have none of that.

"Are you sure? Cuz I know that when Serenity was in the hospital I was going bonkers with worry. I don't know how you can be so calm." Wheeler slouched down in his chair, not looking at the other occupant of the room. "I was afraid that something would go wrong, but I never kept it bottled up because I always had someone to talk to; that's what kept me sane."

"I-I'm really scared that Seto'll die, I don't know what I'd do if he died," Mokuba whispered, and Joey looked at him out of the corner of his eye. The young boy was fighting back tears, and his hands were fisted into the bottom of his shirt.

"I know that it looks pretty bleak, but do you think that your brother will let go without a fight? He's got way too much to lose! He's got a wonderful little brother to look after, friends to make and he has yet to fall in love!" Joey laid a hand on the younger one's shoulder. "Kaiba's a fighter, and fighters don't go out until they're good and ready."

"Yeah," Mokuba agreed as he swiped his tears away. "You're right Joey."

"Course I am," Joey scoffed. "I'm always right!"

One week later

"And that is why," the teacher announced to her class. About one third of them were listening attentively, the other third had glazed over two minutes into the explanation and the last bunch was inconspicuously doing whatever they thought was more important. Yugi, Yami and Ryou belonged to the first group; Tristan, Joey and Duke belonged to the second and Kaiba, Malik, Bakura and Marik belonged to the third.

Joey was just about to doze off when Kaiba hurried to the front of the room, catching the blonde's undivided attention. The young CEO was a pasty shade of white, and he spoke to the teacher in a low and urgent tone. The teacher responded with a curt nod and handed him a bathroom pass. Curiosity and worry pricked, Joey turned his attention back to his worksheet, but found he couldn't concentrate. He shifted in his chair, tapped his pencil on the desk and watched the clock. Chewing on his lip, he began to tap his foot and tear the corners of his paper off.

"Is something wrong Mr. Wheeler?" the teacher demanded after this continued for a while.

"Wha?" Joey's head snapped to the teacher, but his eyes traveled slowly back to the clock.

"Is something wrong?" the teacher repeated irritably.

"Yeah, I really gotta go, but Money Bag's in the bathroom," Joey lied, adding an extra squirm for good effect.

"Well if you have to go so bad, then go!" the teacher growled and Joey nodded before dashing out the door. The snickers and giggles from the rest of the class didn't bother him at all; he was used to being the school joke. He sprinted to the nearest bathroom, and skidded in. Kaiba was no where in sight.

"Kaiba?" he called softly.

"Joey?" a weak voice questioned and Joey followed it to the last stall, which he found open to reveal his peer slumped against the wall. His clothes were disheveled, and lines of strain bracketed his lips that were tightened into a thin line.

"Are you ok?" Joey asked as he sank down next to the other. "You don't look so good."

"I look like shit, don't try and sugarcoat it," Seto snapped at him waspishly. "I feel like it too. This whole radiation treatment is hell."

"Tell me about it?" Joey offered as he closed the stall door and moved so that he was across from his newfound friend.

"Why?" Kaiba growled. "What's the point in going over the whole sad story all over again? It's obvious isn't it? I'm dying and there is nothing I can do about it! There's no point to this treatment! I should have just blown my brains out!"

"Stop it Seto!" Joey ordered him. "If you say that again I'll hit you, I don't care if you're sick or not. That's no way to talk, and you know it. And you haven't answered my question; you're just pussyfooting about it like a girl. If something's wrong you have to tell me. I'm not some all knowing god who just understands what's going on. You of all people know how bad it is to bottle shit up inside so spit it out!"

Kaiba merely glowered at him in return, but his stubbornness was interrupted as he dived for the toilet. His whole body was wracked with the dry heaves that tore at his body, forcing him to cling to the utility as he fought to bring up anything, but there was nothing. Joey rubbed Seto's back in soothing circles and scraped hair away from his sweat soaked face. The heaves seemed to last forever for both of them.

When they finally ceased, Joey had to prop the eldest Kaiba up against the wall again so he wouldn't collapse completely. As he sat there panting, Joey hurried to the sink, washed his hands thoroughly, dried them and then cupped them under the still running faucet. Once they were brimming with water he carefully returned to Seto and made him drink it. He did this two more times before he was convinced that Seto was ok.

"Jesus, that the radiation working its miracle?" Joey questioned as he combed thin, damp hair out of Seto's way.

"That's not the only thing," he muttered weakly as Joey finally stopped trying to fix his hair and stared at horror at his hands. Stuck to the still wet fingers were clumps of hair.

"Seto...your hair..." Joey whispered, looking into his deep blue eyes. "I...I thought that only happened with chemo."

"And with radiation if...if it's to the head or neck area," Kaiba told him, his voice cracking halfway through. "I'm losing everything Joey, everything!"

Tears were welling in his eyes and Joey was shocked. Seto was crying, Joey had never seen or heard Seto cry. Not when he had been thinking of killing himself, not any of the times Mokuba had nearly been lost to him and not even when Mokuba had isolated himself from his older brother.

"Oh Seto," Joey murmured, reaching out to touch the brunette's shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

"I don't know what to do! Where to turn! Everything is upside down and I don't know to find my way out! Christ, I'm crying! I never cry!" Seto forced out hoarsely. "I don't feel like myself anymore, it's as though this whole radiation thing has killed who I am. I get so tired all the time, and I'm never hungry, but I always feel nauseous."

"Have you talked to your doctor?" Joey asked.

"He said it's normal, that I should take time off. How can I take time off? If I do that they'll know! They'll find out and I don't want their pity. I know I can handle this, but at the same time all I want to do is throw myself off the nearest bridge. All these drugs are throwing me out of whack, and here I am vomiting in a public bathroom. I can't even begin to imagine the number of diseases that are in this one stall alone."

"Hey, hey," Joey soothed. The only experience that he had with these sorts of situations was with Serenity who got weepy during certain times of the month. All she always wanted was for someone to hold her and tell her that it was going to be ok. He didn't know if that was something that he wanted to do or not; guys were iffy when it came to these kinds of things.

"I just want it to stop," he choked out. It was exactly what Serenity always said and Joey just had to hug him. Wrapping his arms around the trembling shoulders of his old nemesis, Joey couldn't help but note how thin he was. He seemed so frail, so much in need of protection; this young man who could take on men twice his size without another thought. The young genius, all he needed was a shoulder to cry on, but in the sea of supposed allies he had he couldn't find one, except for this ex-gang member.

"It's going to be ok," Joey crooned. It was a careful litany of words that he had used to calm his baby sister with time after time. "It seems hard now, but it's going to be just fine. I'm here for you, just let it all out."

The blond gently rocked his friend back and forth, ignoring the tears that seeped through his clothing. Joey held the lost child in his arms as he clung to him, like a sole survivor of a shipwreck does to that single board of floating wood. Long artistic fingers clenched in wrinkled and stained clothing as rough calloused fingers stroked silky hair. Worries spilled from long silent lips in broken and garbled bursts while soothing balm was spread with warm words from the other.

Time passed without notice for the two young men. They were much too busy, one with tearing himself open to heal and the other acting as the quiet confident. How many people passed through that bathroom and heard the harsh sobs is unknown, but what is known is the amount of poison released from a tortured soul. For the first time in what seemed like forever, a repressed loner cried for all he had lost. This time it was not by himself in a dark and scary room, his body aching from a beating he had convinced himself he deserved, but with an angel of light who surrounded him in comfort.

X-X-X-X-X

"Welcome my young man to the fashion show of the century!" Joey Wheeler bellowed at the black haired youth who was sitting on his living room couch a bowl of popcorn in his lap. His blue eyes were sparkling with merriment that seemed to be scarce these days.

"I have graced you with the position of judge over the things that shall be modeled here today!" Joey continued on. "You have a set of index cards with the numbers one through ten on them, I need you to rate the pieces that are showcased tonight based on that scale. One meaning that you think it should never be worn again and ten meaning that it should be worn all the time! Got it?"

The younger Kaiba nodded solemnly.

"Now I give you the Mexican style!" Joey waved his arms dramatically and bounced to one side. The doorway that led to the dining room was covered with a brightly colored length of fabric. On the other side was the "changing room" and there was no movement from it.

"I now give you the Mexican style!" Joey growled loudly at the door.

"I'm not coming out wearing this ridiculous thing," Seto hissed from behind the makeshift curtain.

"Seto," Joey sighed. "You have to come out because if you don't then I'll just have to give Mokuba the go ahead to have the incriminating photos delivered to Yugi's house."

"What photos?" came the suspicious reply.

"The ones of you doing the chicken dance in your boxers," Mokuba spoke up and there was a moment of silence.

"I hate you." The curtain was shoved aside and in walked the aforementioned brunette in a pair of loose swimming trunks, a pair of flip-flops on, a frosted drink in one hand and a huge sombrero on his head.

"Notice the physical prowess that this exhibits in the wearer!" Joey cried as Mokuba snickered and Seto glowered at the cheekily smiling blond. "Our rating is?"

Mokuba held up an index card with a negative two scrawled on it in relaxed handwriting.

"That's not one of the numbers you have been given to grade with!" Joey scolded the younger one who shrugged and stuck his tongue out at the "commentator."

"Now we have the cowboy look!" The brunette walked out wearing a pair of blue jeans, an open button up shirt and a cowboy hat. This one rated a four. The next one, the bandanna, which was accompanied by a bohemian look, was verbally booed out of the room with a negative infinity.

The baseball cap with jeans and a sweater was given a seven, while the same outfit with the hat on backwards was given a zero. The umbrella hat and raincoat was laughed out of the room, while the bucket hat was seriously considered and rated with an eight. The straw hat, overalls and pitchfork were thrown out, along with the black top hat and tuxedo.

They were down to the last one when Kaiba walked out in a pair of black jeans, a black wife-beater and a black leather do-rag on. It was like a bandanna, but it closely covered his head and tied nice and neat in the back to hide the absence of hair. Mokuba rated it with an overall high of nine and it was decided that it, the baseball cap and bucket hat were what would be worn to school the next week.

"See, I told you everything was going to be ok," Joey told Seto smugly as he got out of the limo at his apartment. "A little slow maybe, but sure. It's going to be just fine."

"Goodnight Joey," Kaiba replied as the door closed. "Thank you."

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