Timeless Serenity

By: Saikyou Kirei262

Category: Angst/Romance

Rating: PG-13!

Summary: One more chapter to go...

Meh: o-o Yeah sorry for that long long long vacation I happeningly took. Anyway! On with the story!

Side Note: Can anyone guess the band who wrote the song "Forever Memories", title of the last chapter? X3 If so, I give you cookie! To give you a hint: A Japanese boyband; none play instruements...they just dance around/sing/and look good.

/ Chapter 9

You and Me /

It seemed like an eternity, an eternity between Seto asking him to basically live with him, and him actually registering what he said. Each word took him minutes to acknowledge, to understand and become coherent. Finally, as the words made sense in his slow working brain, he felt the urge to cry. In the end though, despite the fact Joey stuttered, unsure of what to say, he, in all honesty, wanted to stay with Seto, always. Kaiba Seto was not as bad as he seemed, to him, it seemed more like a cover...a cover Joey managed to squirm past. That was, however, not what mattered right now though. What mattered was thinking...

If only...everything wasn't going so fuzzy... Joey thought quietly, his eyes falling closed. The softness of the pillow cushioning his head felt so nice...and the bed itself was of the highest quality. However, it was not weariness that made him feel light-headed; it was the stress and trauma he had undergone today. Usually Joey could endure this kind of torture and drama, but remembering his father hovering over him, the smell of alcohol thick on his breath horrified him.

"I see, you are tired, Joey...Sleep. I will awake you when dinner is finished." Joey nodded silently, amused that Seto easily had read his mind. It seemed the two were becoming a bit closer, bit by bit. With a quiet chuckle, Joey sighed in content as Seto leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. Blissfully he closed his eyes and sunk back into the warm embrace of sleep.

(Mokuba)-

All his life, Mokuba had been protected by his big brother, by Seto, but now that Seto had confided in Mokuba the feelings towards Joey, it left the boy feeling at unease. Now that Seto wanted to protect someone, to love them with his heart as much as him, would that mean less time for him? Well, it did, but Mokuba was used to Seto coming to his rescue or helping him at any given time. With Joey now, Seto would be coming to the person he loved, Joey. He could...always go to Yugi, but in all honesty, Mokuba wanted his brother to come save him; ever so valiant and calm about it.

Curling his fists subconsciously, Mokuba slammed his fists on the dinner table. Immediately, Chira walked over, having been in the kitchen next door, looking at Mokuba with sad eyes. This was one of the things Mokuba disliked, was people feeling pity or sympathy for him. It just acknowledged that something was wrong...that it wasn't right or normal.

"Master Mokuba, something troubles you...If you need someone to talk to...I'm always available." The blonde now stood firmly a few feet from Mokuba, but the soft blue eyes that stared back, lessened the anger inside. Her eyes...they reminded Mokuba of Seto. Wincing, Mokuba drew his attention to his hands promptly. It wasn't right for him to throw a temper tantrum over this. If Joey caused the ice to melt from Seto's heart; to love more than he did now; it was worth it. Still, the quelling feeling of sadness and despair lingered in Mokuba's heart.

"The thought is generous, but I can handle this myself." Mokuba sighed and pushed his chair out. Not glancing once more at Chira, Mokuba got off the chair and walked hastily down the hall, up the stairs, and down another hall, the one that lead to Joey's room.

"-dinner is finished." Promptly Mokuba stopped, eyeing the door now officially, or at least soon to be, Joey's. Sighing, Mokuba stepped back, watching the silver knob turn and Seto slipping out of the room. Immediately, Seto's eyes had fallen upon the younger Kaiba. Just like Chira, he was able to read the look of worry and trouble on his young brother's face, much to Mokuba's dismay.

"Is everything alright, Mokuba? I can tell something is bothering you. May I take a guess?" Seto looked at Mokuba, awaiting for an answer. Rather then speaking, Mokuba just nodded hesitantly, obviously unsure of whether to allow his brother the knowledge of knowing his troubles.

"Mokuba, you don't have to worry," At that, Mokuba cocked his head in confusion. Seto just laughed quietly, dropping down to his knees so that he was at Mokuba's level. "Mokuba, I'll always protect, and I'll always be there for you. Me loving someone will never keep me from you." In honesty, the words made his heart skip a beat; but the feeling of jealousy he had felt for Joey kept the smile from his lips. Seto said him loving another would never keep him from him, and Mokuba had assumed differently.

"I'm sorry big brother, I never meant to get jealous. I just, thought you'd stop protecting me...How stupid of me to worry about that..." Mokuba sniffled, averting his gaze from his brother. Gently Seto reached out and embraced his little brother, holding him tightly. Shock overtook Mokuba, but quickly he regained his sense and returned the embrace. How stupid of him...

Gently Seto pulled away, ruffling the raven locks of hair. "We've stuck together through thick and thin...and nothing can change that. Now, it looks like someone needs a bath!" Seto exclaimed enthusiastically, much unlike himself. Seto must've realized the out of character way he just acted and blinked silently. At his brother's reaction, Mokuba laughed, reaching out to poke the elder Kaiba on his side.

"Looks like Joey's rubbing off on you." Mokuba said teasingly. Seto laughed softly and scratched the back of his head.

"It appears so, I only hope he doesn't rub off on me some more. I'd hate to act like the mutt," Seto teased. Mokuba gasped dramatically and pushed Seto so that he fell onto his butt.

"How dare you say something about my brother in law! Now I'm not going to take a bath willingly with you!" At that, Mokuba turned on the heels of his feet and dashed down the hall, laughing the whole way.

(Seto)-

Seto had recovered with poise at Mokuba's shove. Gracefully running down the length of the hallway, Seto followed after Mokuba for about two minutes until he was able to simply reach out and hoist the smaller one over his shoulder like a rice bag. Whining and pouting, Mokuba squirmed with all his might to release himself from his brother's clutches but it ended up futile. Seto was older, faster, and stronger than he was; there was nothing he could do about it. As such, Mokuba demanded a bath with Seto before dinner and Seto granted the request casually. Seto and Mokuba always bathed together, he was still a boy and there was no problem with two brothers taking a bath together...right? Well, it didn't matter.

"Traditional! Ofuro! Boku wa ofuro iriyou o!" Mokuba whined quietly, requesting in Japanese the traditional Japanese bathtub instead of the "American" one. However, rather than acknowledging to the request, Seto was reluctant. The ofuro was basically a mini hotspring to say the least. It was usually decorated and often not used to do more than just 'wet' yourself and Seto liked it that way. It was just something to look at nothing more.

"Are you sure?" Seto asked curiously.

"Positive." Mokuba replied sternly. Sighing heavily, Seto nodded slightly in acknolwedgement and lowered his brother onto the ground.

"Then let us go to the Ofuro." Seto announced, saluting. A few giggles erupted from Mokuba's lips and a smile graced Seto's lips. Just the reaction he wanted...

"We have to hurry though, dinner shall be finished soon." At that, Seto and Mokuba set off on the quest of taking a bath.

(End of the chapter...Mwahaha!)

Kirei: Originally this chapter was intended to end the fanfic but with my absurdly long absence of a year; I've decided otherwise. This story shall go on. I will not end it here...not at all. Mwahaha! Still, I needed to write a short chapter just to get myself back in the mood of writing fanfics. ' My style of writing has changed a lot over the year, so hopefully I can make this fanfic better than it is.