Ramen Goddess: Happy Thanksgiving all! Here's a chapter that will hopefully add more delight to your already joyous holiday!

Chapter Fourteen: Now and Forever

As Tea paced the floors of her apartment, the only thoughts that occupied her mind were those of the previous day. She still could not believe that her best friend and his supposed archrival were actually committing themselves to a long-term relationship. Of course, she did not have a problem with the two males involving themselves with one another, it was just that it all seemed so new to her.

Just then, as if to snap her out of her own little world, the phone rang. She quickly scrambled to get it and managed to pick it up on the second ring.

"Hello?" she answered in her most cheerful voice, even though that was the opposite of how she really felt.

"Hey Tea, it's Yugi." That voice was enough to lift her dampened spirit. She literally almost felt like she was on cloud nine.

"Hi Yugi. What's up?"

"Nothing much. I just got back from the market with my grandpa. What about you?"

Holding her speech for a moment's time, Tea began thinking mentally inside her head.

'What should I say? I can't tell him that I've been thinking about Joey and Seto all day. What would he think of me then?' Eventually she was able to work up the courage to answer Yugi's question somewhat truthfully.

"Well, I was just thinking about how Joey's doing. I mean, that ordeal with his father must have taken a huge toll on him," she explained, her tone of voice becoming softer with every word spoken.

"Yah, I know what you mean…"

It was then that Tea's eyes widened in surprise. "You do?"

"Yes. Ever since I left the mansion yesterday, all I could think about was whether or not Joey was holding up all right. I know that he's tough and can usually handle himself, but sometimes situations get way out of hand and not even the bravest souls can handle it." Tea had to agree with him on that one. She had never seen the blonde look so broken before then he did on that day.

Tea simply nodded her head in response before adding, "Well, Joey is the bravest soul I know. When it comes right down to it, I know that he can handle anything that stands in his way."

Yugi merely smiled. "You're right, Tea. I guess we're worried about nothing." The brunette giggled a little as a simple way of telling the spiky-haired teen that she agreed with him.

"Well, I suppose I should let you go. You probably have a lot of things to do, what with today being Saturday and all." Every single one of Yugi's friends knew that Saturdays were both his grandpa's and his busy days. It had been a 'Motou tradition' for Ra only knows how long.

"Yah, you're right. I'll talk to you later?" Yugi asked before saying goodbye.

"Yep, bye!" Tea replied enthusiastically.

"Bye!" and with that, the two teens hung up the phone at the exact same time. As soon as it was confirmed that the conversation had officially ended, Tea continued to pace back and forth. No matter how she observed the situation, she wasn't able to comprehend the whole thing in her mind. Seto and Joey…going steady? She never thought to expect that…never in a million years. The only thing that helped her cope was the old saying, 'opposites attract'. Maybe it really was true for the male lovers. Only they would know for sure…and apparently they did…

Meanwhile, Tristan was taking a different approach at looking at the situation between his best friend and sworn enemy. After all the years that he had stuck by the blonde's side, he would have never guessed that he would choose to live such a path. To him, Joey never seemed like the type of guy to let love rule his life. Sure, he had had his share of dates and relationships, but none this serious. He honestly did not know what to think about this. It had all happened so fast and because they were best friends, it was even harder on the pointy-haired brunette. Although, he had been learning to cope very well with such a difficult and new experience. He only wished that he could have learned about Joey's decision from Joey himself rather than having to find out on his own. However, Joey was going through a difficult time in his life and the last thing he would have wanted to do was to admit an embarrassing (or so he thought) fact to his friends. Even though the whole gang was really close to one another, he probably felt rather awkward telling them something so 'unnatural'. He fortunately discovered that, with Tristan's help, his friends would always be there for him, no matter what. In the end, isn't that what friends are really for?

Ryou, on the other hand, was handling the situation very differently. With Bakura taking control of his body and mind every now and then, he began to develop conflicting emotions. One minute he would feel depressed and the next he would almost feel as if nothing was weighing him down. It was all too confusing to handle alone.

"What are you thinking about hikari?" Then again, he was never really alone. Although, there had been times when he wished he were.

"Nothing. I'm just thinking about stuff…" Ryou, unfortunately, was never good at lying so almost anyone could tell when he was not telling the whole truth.

"Tell the truth…" Bakura spoke through what sounded like clenched teeth while still remaining within the depths of his soul room. The former thief often preferred to talk with his hikari telepathically and without being seen. No one knew why and no one dared to ask either. If there was one thing people were warned not to do, it was to never question the spirit of the Millennium Ring. Extraordinary things often happened when people dared to speak a single word out of line to the tomb robber. That is the main reason why people often feared Ryou before they got to know him. They tended to judge by what they knew and ignored what they did not. That is why human beings are sometimes considered to be close-minded creatures; they don't often see the 'whole picture'. Fortunately, when Ryou first made friends with Yugi and the others, he began to see a whole new side of things, especially with Joey and Seto's latest announcement. He was able to cope rather well with such an interesting turn of events. He would have never imagined that the unlikeliest of people, males to be even more shocking, would actually be able to set aside their differences and become one with one another. Now, if everyone in the world could be like that, we'd be living in a place where everything seems too perfect. It is definitely a lose-lose situation; you cannot win no matter which way you turn. But that's life and we all have to deal with it in our own little way…

At the Kaiba Estate, things were running as they usually do without any interference from anyone or anything. Mokuba was playing video games in his room, Brianna was out with Gabriel and Seto and Joey were in the living room discussing anything that popped into their minds. Even if they never said a single world to each other, they were just glad to be in the company of the one that meant the most to them. After all, isn't that the meaning of the phrase, 'true love'?

"Joey?" Seto spoke in a tone much unlike his usual one. As he gently wrapped his right arm around the blonde's shoulders, he leaned in close to Joey's face and planted a simple yet sweet kiss on his cheek. That gesture immediately caused Joey's whole face to become flushed with embarrassment. If you didn't look close enough, you could possibly mistake him for a human tomato.

"Joey?" the brunette repeated, wondering whether or not his lover had heard him.

"Yes?" came the blonde's shy reply.

"There's something I…want to tell you, but I don't know if I can…"

Joey pulled away from his lover's warm embrace, yet still kept his body huddled close to the brunette's. "Seto, you know you can tell me anything. I won't laugh, I promise. Just please, let me know what's on your mind," the blonde spoke, keeping his eyes locked on his hands nestled firmly in his lap.

"Well…I…" It wasn't in Seto's nature to stutter, let alone be nervous, but at this particular time, he couldn't help it. Suddenly, as if to surprise both teens, Mokuba came bounding happily down the stairs. When he saw Joey and Seto sitting next to one another on the couch, he couldn't help but shock the teens with his sudden appearance. He had always been a mischief-maker, even when he was younger. He loved to play jokes and sneak up on people; it always made him laugh and, in the end, everyone else would laugh too.

Creeping, creeping, slowly, slowly…and then…

"BOO!" the raven-haired child shouted, causing both males to jump at least as couple of inches off their seat. (Yes, even Seto!)

"What was…" Before Joey could finish his sentence, he looked behind him and found Mokuba snickering to himself.

"Heh, I got you guys good!" he gloated.

"Yes, I admit that kiddo, but what you really need to do is go into the kitchen. Brianna made some treats for you before she left so you better eat them before Joey and I get to them." Not even two seconds had gone by before Mokuba was gone from the living room. A minute later he came back with his arms full of goodies and headed back upstairs to his room.

'You better tell him, Seto,' he thought mentally to himself. 'The only reason I'm leaving you two alone is so that you can finally express your hidden feelings. You better not chicken out…' It was then that a sneaky sort of smile made its way onto the pre-teen's façade. He couldn't help but think of all the possibilities that could occur once his brother 'let it all out'. It would definitely be something to remember for the rest of your natural-born life…

Meanwhile, after both Seto and Joey realized that they were finally alone again, Seto decided to work up the courage and tell Joey what it was that he kept bottled up inside.

"So, what was it that you wanted to tell me before we got interrupted?" That was most definitely unexpected as seen through Seto's eyes. He did not expect Joey to ask the same question that related most to the thoughts bouncing around inside his head. Nonetheless, he managed to say, with little to no difficulty, how he truly felt about their relationship with each other.

"Well…" It was definitely harder than he thought. But, after doing some constant reasoning with himself, he managed to finally say what he wanted to and needed to say. "Well…the thing is…I love you…"

Joey simply smiled and laughed a little. "I know that! If you didn't love me, would I really be sitting here talking to you?"

Seto shook his head. "That's not all I wanted to tell you…" The blonde-haired puppy had absolutely no idea what was going to come out of his dragon's mouth next. What could there possibly be more to say than, 'I love you'?

"I…I love you more than you can ever imagine. I wish that I could show you just how much I really care for you, but unfortunately there isn't enough time in our lives to do that. I've been in other relationships before, but none as powerful as this one. You're everything to me Joey; you made me who I am today and for that I thank you. I don't know what I would've done if you had never been there for me…" It seemed awkward at first to listen to someone like Seto Kaiba express his feelings in such a loving manner, especially to someone like Joey. But then again, as some people have said, love can often make us do crazy things. This just happened to be one of those times…

"I love you too Seto…forever and always…" Joey replied as he leaned in closer and rested his head on the brunette's shoulder. Seto smiled warmly as he wrapped his arm around the blonde's shoulders comfortingly and rested his own head on top of his lover's.

"Forever and always…" Seto spoke lightly into the blonde's ear so as to not wake him from his slumber. However, soon enough the brunette began to drift slowly off to dreamland, his mind filled with nothing but thoughts of the one he truly loved. As both teens slept peacefully, they knew that, in the end, they would always be together, no matter what…

OWARI

Ramen Goddess: Well, how was that for an ending? I thought it was really sweet. I love romantic scenes between Seto and Joey. They're just so kawaii! But anyway, now that this story has come to an end, I need to ask you all whether or not you want another sequel. I must warn you, however, that I may not get around to writing it for a while, what with work and school weighing me down. But whenever I have free time, I will sit down and write. I have two ideas in my head, but the problem is deciding which one to use. That's where you guys come in. If you wish for me to write a sequel, let me know in your reviews. Here are the ideas to choose from:

1) It has been a couple of years since Seto and Joey began dating and now they're headed off the college! Lots of new and exciting opportunities await them wherever they go! The problem? They've both been accepted into different colleges…in different cities! How will they manage to cope with a long-distance relationship? Will it work out or will they slowly start to drift apart?

2) Kaiba Corporation is going bankrupt! Seto is trying his hardest to save his company by continually working late hours and even on the weekends, which puts a lot of strain on his and Joey's relationship. However, it appears that it is not enough to bring the corporation back up to where it once was. Joey is upset over seeing Seto so stressed out and decides to take some action. He decides that he is going to take on a part-time job (or two) to help finance the company. The twist? He's doing all this in secrecy! What will happen when (or if) Seto finds out? Will a heat-filled argument arise or will all be well?

So there are your choices; whichever one you choose, that will be the basis for the next story. So please, let your opinions be heard! Until then, luv ya'll! Ja ne!

P.S. Thank you SO much for sticking with me throughout The Dragon's Puppy and this story! I appreciate all of your positive comments! They always inspired to keep writing, even in the midst of the 'oh-so-horrible' writer's block. Arigatou!

Much love from,

Ramen Goddess