Chapter Six: Apology Accepted

An hour or so after the dragon and his puppy had fallen into a deep and peaceful slumber, they were awakened by the sound of someone pounding on the front door. They opened their eyes so that they looked like tiny, narrow slits and groggily moved into a sitting position; their hair was an absolute mess, but they didn't care. The only thing that they were interested in was finding out just who was so eager to see them…if it was them they truly wanted…

"I'll get it," Seto stated before getting up off of the couch, wishing that he didn't have to move a single muscle to do so. Wishful thinking Seto…

"Tell them to go away," Joey grumbled as he fell back onto the couch and resisted the urge to go back to sleep.

"Oh I'll tell them more than that." That was definitely not a good sign; I feel sorry for whoever is on the other side of that door…

When the brunette managed to make his way down to the entrance hall, the sound echoed even louder than before.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," he muttered more to himself than to the being on the other side of the white oak door. As soon as he thrust it open, he was shocked, appalled and slightly annoyed to see just who was standing before him.

"Great, it's the geek squad again. What do you dweebs want now?" he demanded of the trio that was standing before him.

Tea was the first one to speak up, seeing as how the others didn't want to say anything that might offend the great Seto Kaiba. The female brunette merely rolled her eyes and sighed, knowing that if she wanted to get anything done, she would have to do it herself. "We wanted to come see Joey and…apologize to him…"

Seto cocked one eyebrow. "You want to apologize?"

"Yes, isn't that what I just said?" Tea inquired, playing with the question of whether or not the CEO had heard her correctly.

"I don't know, you tell me."

"Okay, this is getting really annoying. Can we speak to Joey or not?" Tea now seemed to be getting just as forceful as Seto Kaiba himself, which was definitely saying something. Even though she didn't look the part, she could be very intimidating when she wanted to.

Seto rolled his eyes into what seemed like the back of his head. "You can visit with him for fifteen minutes and no more, understand?" Each of the three teens nodded their heads in agreement as Seto motioned for them to come in and take their shoes off. Once that task was out of the way, the male brunette pointed them in the direction of the living room where Joey currently resided. He only hoped that the blonde was not asleep…

When the trio made their way to where Joey was curled up into a tiny little ball on the couch, they all sighed happily in unison. It was the cutest sight any of them had ever seen; Tea even mentioned the fact that she wished she had a camera. It was definitely a picture perfect moment…

"Joey…" Tea whispered slowly into his ear. The blonde could here her voice ring through his mind but to him it sounded as though she was speaking in syllables; to him, it sounded more like Jo-e.

"Joey…" the girl repeated, this time a little faster so that he could comprehend just what she was actually saying. Everyone's eyes were now focused on the blonde, hoping that he would awaken from his slumber at any minute. Fortunately, they eventually got their wish…

The blonde's eyelids began to gently flutter open as he let a tired groan escape his lips. When looked up at his surroundings, he was almost taken aback in shock.

"Wh-what going's on? What are you guys all doing here?" he asked as his minor stuttering almost got the best of him.

Tea, as usual, was the first one to answer his question. "We're here to…apologize for what happened last night…"

"What are you…" Joey paused in mid-sentence as he got thinking about the incident at the club. He started to remember how his friends kept pestering him to tell them about his and Seto's relationship; now he knew why they were here. The only decision he needed to make now was…could he forgive them, and most importantly, could he tell them the truth?

"You guys really came over here just to apologize? But why?"

"Well, we thought about it and figured that if there is something that you don't want to tell us, we shouldn't try and pry it out of you…"

"What are you talking about Tea? You were the one who…" Tristan's words were cut short when Tea stepped down hard on his foot. "OW! What did you do that for?" he exclaimed while jumping up and down on his uninjured foot, holding the other one in his grasp.

A wide smirk made its way onto the brunette's slightly tanned face. "Anyway, I just wanted to say, on behalf of all of three of us, we're sorry." At the sound of the last two words, Seto merely grunted and Joey smiled for what seemed like the first time since he had got back from the club. Sure he enjoyed spending quality time with his lover, just lazing around the house, sleeping soundly together, but there was more to it than that. Ever since they had got home late the previous night, nothing could take his mind off of the encounter he had had with his friends. Now that they had apologized to him, he was surprised at how quickly the problem was getting resolved. However, no matter how hard he thought about it, he kept thinking that he was forgetting something; he just couldn't put his finger on it…

"So is that all you have to say, Gardener?" Seto asked in a voice that sounded almost polite. It was hard for the CEO to act in a kind manner while around the so-called geek squad. He had disliked them all from day one and wasn't planning on making friends with them anytime soon. Yugi was an exception, seeing as how he had grown very close to Joey over the years that they had known each other. So if the two teens were going to be dating, Seto would have to accept the spiky-haired male as his own personal friend.

"Yes," Tea replied curtly before turning to take her leave.

"Wait," a small voice choked out. When the brunette turned back around, she saw her friend looking at her with saddened eyes.

"Huh? What is it Joey?" she inquired, her expression looking almost identical to that of the blonde's.

"I…I'm sorry too…" he managed to reply; it was a great relief to finally get those words off of his chest. Now if only he could tell them what was really going on in his life instead of pretending that everything is just as it once was.

"You're sorry? For what?" Tea questioned further, wondering just what he was going to say next, if anything at all.

"Back at the club," he stated matter-of-factly. "I shouldn't have reacted the way that I did and for that I'm sorry. I should have known that you guys were only curious and concerned for me."

"That's what friends are for," Tea chirped happily, a large smile now plastered across her very features; Joey returned the emotional gesture, as did Tristan and Ryou. Seto merely folded his arms across his chest as usual and muttered a few inaudible words under his breath. Eventually, not quite a minute later, Seto decided to interrupt their little happy moment.

"Okay, now that everything is back to normal, I suggest you three get going. I have a lot of work to do today and I don't wish to be interrupted. So if you don't mind…" The CEO then motioned with his hands for the trio to escort themselves into the entrance hall and eventually out the front door. As soon as they had vanished from sight and the sound of door closing was heard, Seto turned to his lover and smiled lovingly, which was rare for one such as him.

"Now that they're gone…" The brunette than moved in closer until both their lips were touching. Joey deepened the kiss as he felt Seto slide his tongue gently into his mouth, intensifying the kiss even more so. After a brief moment of two, they pulled apart from one another and gazed deep into each other's bright, glistening orbs. They wanted to stay that way forever, but knew that it was next to impossible.

Joey then decided to break the silence, as much as he wanted to keep the scene as it was. "Well…" He couldn't think of how to finish his sentence. He had no idea what they both could do now that they were alone once more. Could they just sit and watch TV or a movie together? It was simple, yet relaxing nonetheless. "Do you…want to watch TV for a little while?" he finally suggested. Seto merely nodded his head in agreement as they sat down on the couch and curled up next to one another, just like they had done earlier. Seto turned on the television set and began flipping through the channels, hoping that there would be something worth watching. At long last, they stopped on channel 47 where Everybody Loves Raymond was playing. They leaned back and snuggled even further into each other's warmth. It was the perfect moment…and they were the perfect couple…

However, what they weren't aware of was that two curious pairs of eyes were watching them. Mokuba and Yugi were surveying them from the stairs, no doubt on Mokuba's insistence and couldn't help but smile at the sight before their very eyes. Love was definitely in the air for the unlikeliest pair…