Authors note:Here is the second chapter for the winning Version of 10 years.
The winner is...Version 1 with 6 out of 10 votes and the poll and also 4 of the 7 reviews preferred Version one while one was undecided. So we have a clear winner. And for those who preferred Version two, this chapter nearly fits for that one two apart from two little parts so I hope you'll still enjoy it as much as the others.
A huge thanks to everyone who voted in the poll and read, faved or put the story on alert. Also a big thank to dancing elf for beta reading this chapter. I also would like to thank James Birdsong, dancing elf, Nagareboshi-Lover, YukitoNO1, Angel Dove1, sherabo and Violet-Eclipse for the reviews.
Chapter 2 for Version 1
Seto walked up the few steps towards the therapy room. A nurse had told him that Joey was still there and Seto decided to go pick him up from there. Joey had been moved to this rehabilitation clinic about a week after waking up, and he had been here for nearly a year. Joey had been conscious again for exactly one year, and if that wasn't enough of a reason to celebrate with Joey, then today he could leave this clinic and go home.
Joey still insisted on having some therapy, but he was nearly the same old Joey that he had been 11 years ago. Joey was walking and talking as if the 10 years in a coma had never happened. Much to Seto's relief, there was absolutely no sign of any brain damage from the accident. Joey joked and laughed with his friends whenever they visited, and since that was more often than Seto visited, it irked him greatly.
Only one thing made it apparent that Joey had been in a coma: he became out of breath quickly when he overdid it, which happened at least 10 times a day.
Joey could never exercise enough and was never satisfied with his own progress, no matter how often the therapists told him that he did much better than could be expected. Still, he ran around trying to pretend those 10 years had never happened, and he got angry with himself whenever his stamina failed him.
Seto reached the last door between himself and his beloved little puppy. Not that he could call Joey that to his face, since Joey would 'rip him a new one' like he always threatened whenever Seto called him puppy to his adorable little face. But since Seto loved it when he looked all pissed and red with anger, he still called him that occasionally.
"Joey, please," Seto heard the therapist chide the blond; "I want to test your stamina one last time before I let you go home, not your speed, so slow down."
"Why should I?" Joey complained, already slightly out of breath. "I used to run like that to school every day, since I always tended to be late, ya know."
"I know," she said, still in the same chiding voice. "You tell me that every time I try to slow you down, but Joey that was 11 years ago. You're neither as young, nor as well trained, as you were been back then, so please get that through your stubborn head."
"He'll never stop being stubborn," Seto said while opening the door, getting a death glare from Joey, who didn't stop his run. Seto watched his face and knew why he received the death glare. Joey had arranged to be picked up by Yugi, but Seto just delayed the release of his newest duel disk by one day to ensure that Yugi would be too busy to pick Joey up. Yugi had been expecting the duel disk system to be delivered to his store yesterday, but a non-existent malfunction in a test run, which Joey didn't need to know about, changed their plans. Seto had kindly jumped in and offered to pick up Joey so Yugi could accept the delivery and store it away. Yugi had been very grateful, but Seto knew from the beginning that Joey wouldn't be.
"What the hell are ya doin' here?" Joey asked, clearly upset and, of course, still slightly out of breath.
"Aren't you supposed to be focused on running instead of wasting your breath to chide me?" Seto asked in a joking tone. He knew that nothing could shut Joey up. Even while kissing, Joey mumbled things that came into his head. Seto would never forget their first kiss. In the middle of their kiss, Joey complained about how bad Seto looked and that he needed more sleep. Ever since that kissing discussion, Seto was prohibited to visit Joey more than twice a week, and never for longer than two hours. Of course Seto never really listened to Joey's ridiculous rule. He just showed up a little less than before to stop Joey from worrying too much about him. But he was still there every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday for a little over three hours each time, leading to an argument about the duration of each visit.
Seto couldn't help but smile at the thought of those little arguments. He loved how feisty Joey was again. The same old Joey he had fallen in love with was back, and Joey was the only one who ever really dared to defy him as boldly as he did.
"I don't need to focus for runnin'," Joey pointed out and Seto fought a comment on how dogs never needed to do that, "and I still want an answer. What the hell are ya doin' here? You've been here twice this week already. Hell, you were just here yesterday."
"True enough," Seto answered since it was Friday, meaning that he really did see him for the third day this week. He knew he'd be seeing Joey a lot more anyway, since Joey was reluctantly moving in with him. Much to Seto's disappointment, that was just because Joey didn't have much of a choice. His father didn't have a spare room for him since he lost the apartment they had shared and he now lived in an even smaller one. Another reason he didn't want Joey to move in with him again was paying for a bigger apartment and buying food for his son. His mother had also found the perfect excuse, saying that she lived too far away and Joey wouldn't be able to see his friends very much, which admittedly was a really good excuse for her. Joey's other friends, like Yugi, Tristan and Téa, didn't have much room and could only offer him a couch temporarily. "Yugi was busy, so I offered to pick you up instead," Seto explained to Joey before he could get upset about not getting an answer.
"What did ya do to Yug to make him busy?" Joey asked and Seto grinned. Joey knew him too well.
"Not much," Seto admitted honestly, knowing that Joey would see right through him if he tried to play innocent. "The release of my new duel disks was delayed by one day, causing the delivery to run a little late, so it arrived today instead of yesterday. But don't worry; the other shops couldn't get it any sooner either, so Yugi's business won't suffer from its tardiness. I thought it might anger you if it did."
"Jerk," Joey muttered certain that the delay was deliberate; nothing Seto could say could possibly make him believe otherwise. Joey tried to focus a bit more on his run, he could feel the pull of his muscles, and even though it started to hurt a little, he loved the feeling of it. The only thing missing was the wind on his face, the way he used to feel it when he ran to school, or to catch up with his friends when he was a little late.
The sweat was running down his face and his upper body, which was completely bare. He had gotten sweaty and slightly warm during the previous exercises, and Seto was very happy that he had managed to keep Yugi occupied. Joey looked way too delicious to let anyone else see him like that. Even the therapist shouldn't be treated to such a sight, but Seto knew that he would just piss Joey off further if he complained about it now.
Not that it would be too bad to piss him off a little; they could still make out later, since it was normal for them to fight-not much had changed there. Now when they fought they didn't try to beat each other up, instead they kissed and made out a little while fighting. In fact, the make out sessions during some of their fights had gotten so intense that Seto had to remind Joey several times that his room in the clinic couldn't be locked. And Seto would never forget his response, "Who cares if someone walks in on us? We'll give them something to see that they'll never forget." Needless to say, after Seto's shocked look, Joey added, "Man, you're way too uptight. Ya need to loosen up a little."
Seto grinned at the thought, waiting until Joey slowed down considerably in his run, until he finally stopped. Joey had managed to keep the speed up for much longer than Seto had expected. He had made so much progress, but still seemed to be upset with himself, mumbling, "Man, that wouldn't have even been half way to school."
"Give it another year and you'll be running twice as long as you did before the accident," Seto reassured him, adding "if you keep on pushing yourself this much." Seto walked over to him while Joey sat down on the treadmill he had been running on, breathing heavily. Once Seto stood next to him, Joey leaned against Seto, who started to move a hand through his smooth, blond hair. It was soft and had the same cut it did back in school. Seto had paid for a hair stylist to come to the hospital before Joey was moved into the rehabilitation clinic. Seto felt Joey relax and thought that he looked like a dog sitting next to his master, but he stopped the matching comment from leaving his mouth. "By the way," Joey murmured, still a little out of breath, "One word about dogs out of ya mouth and ya will be singing a couple of notes higher."
Seto couldn't help but grin and replied, "Firstly, I don't sing, no matter what notes, and secondly, what gave you the impression I might say something about dogs at all?"
"I know ya, jerk," Joey said and looked up towards him for a moment, then blushed after seeing the caring smile on Seto's face. This smile hardly ever appears on the face of the cold CEO of Kaiba Corp.
"Am I at least forgiven for coming to pick you up?" Seto asked.
"Nope," Joey mumbled, still leaning against him. "But if ya get me some grub on the way home, then ya will be. I haven't had anything but slimy hospital food for over 11 years-well actually for just one year-the other 10 years I had nothing to eat at all, just a damned IV. I'd kill for a good pizza or a burger."
"You should have told me about the food sooner," Seto chided in a friendly voice, the one he had used for Mokuba when he had made a silly little mistake as a youngster, over something he needed to learn to do right, but wasn't expected to do perfectly-not at his young age anyway. "I could have organized a five star chef just for you."
"I don't want stars for food, I want a burger. Oh, and before I forget, if ya drive me home the same way ya drove to the hospital after I woke up, I'm gonna kill ya," Joey said in a teasing voice, grinning up for a moment. He had heard from Mokuba about the scariest drive of his entire life multiple times by now. After that Joey looked over to his therapist and asked, "Can I finally get out of here now?"
"On one condition," the therapist said. "You let him find you a good therapist, and only do as much as that person tells you to…just stop pushing yourself so much."
"I can promise ya, if ya really want me to," Joey said, grinning his wicked little street-kid grin before he added, "but I ain't gonna keep that promise."
"I'll put him on a leash," Seto promised the therapist.
"You really do have a doggy fetish, don't ya?" Joey asked him with a glare. "But if ya have to use one, let me warn ya-I'll chew through every leash ya got."
"Then I'll use a chain," Seto mused with a grin.
"I'll still break it," Joey said, grinning wider while he stood up and gave Seto a short kiss, only to nibble a little on his lip. "And that's for the dog comments," Joey said, after drawing a tiny bit of blood. He knew that Seto really hated it when everyone in his company could see that he had made out with Joey. Of course the other way around was a completely different matter. Seto absolutely loved it when everyone around Joey could see that he belonged to him.
Still, Seto just grinned at him and gave him a hug, "You really are just a little mutt."
"And you are a jerk," Joey said with a loving smile, cuddling a little against his jerk boyfriend.
The therapist watched them for a moment with a little smile herself. She knew that it was rare that someone woke up after so many years, and it was even more of a miracle how fast and well Joey had recovered, but the thing that surprised her most was the affection he received from his boyfriend-especially after she found out that they hadn't been together before the accident. Most relationships ended quickly after a year or two when one of them was in a coma. "Just get out of here," the therapist said, smiling towards the two. "I got other patients waiting for me and I'm sure that you'll be fine Joey."
"Finally," Joey nearly shouted before he grabbed Seto's hand to pull him towards his room, where his bags were already packed. "I can't wait to get out of here."
"Neither can I," Seto agreed with a smile. He couldn't wait for Joey to move in with him, even though Joey had insisted on a room for himself, as he probably needed a bit of private space in case they got into a fight. Seto couldn't care less, as long as Joey was close to him and finally healthy again.
"Oh, and before I forget," Joey said with a wicked grin, "I bet Yugi didn't mention that I'll start working with him tomorrow."
"Why would you do that?" Seto asked, outraged. Even though he already knew the answer, that stubborn mutt probably just wanted to annoy him.
"What sort of stupid question is that?" Joey asked, "I need to make a living somehow."
"You've got me," Seto replied quickly, but sighed deeply. He already knew what the glare from Joey meant. The mutt just refused to depend on anyone.
"I want to have my own money," Joey said. "I mean, Yugi can't pay me enough for me to afford a place of my own, but I want to at least be able to buy some stuff for myself, like birthday presents for a certain jerk."
Seto gave another sigh and offered, "I could put some money in a bank account for you and get you a credit card."
"That would still be your money, stupid," Joey replied. "Just give it up. I'm a workin' man and not some gold diggin' bitch."
"I know," Seto replied and moved an arm around Joey's waist. "Fine, go and work…but I swear, if you're at work when I'm not, I'll come and drag you out of there."
"Yeah, right," Joey said grinning. "Like ya could."
"I can and I will," Seto threatened, then gave him a short kiss, happy that Joey didn't seem to mind at all.
"You're a jerk, ya know." Joey said with a grin and walked so close to him that he could rest his head against Seto's shoulder. "I really don't get why I'm in love with such a jerk."
"I don't care why," Seto said. "At least, just as long as you are."
It was quiet for a moment while they walked close to each other into Joey's room. After that Seto watched quietly while Joey said good-bye to the nurses that were there. He had been there for so long that some of them had formed a friendship with him. It wasn't surprising, as Joey had always been very affectionate and happy go lucky, and he still was, even after everything he had been through. Of course there had been days where he had been a little down. After all, he had lost 10 years of his life, and no one could be expected to go on like nothing had changed. He was older now, just like everyone around him was; his father didn't seem to care much that he was awake; and Joey's mother had only been there once. At least all of his friends were behind him, and specially Seto, of course. He paid for all his expenses and the best therapy available.
Once Joey had said his goodbyes, they quietly walked towards the limousine Seto had arrived in. Seto tried to insist that he would carry all of Joey's bags, worried that Joey might overdo it. After all, he just had therapy, and they had worked on his stamina, so he still looked a little exhausted. But Joey wouldn't have any of it. He insisted on at least carrying a few of his own bags, so Seto watched his every move intently, worried that he might fall or faint.
"Quit watchin' me like I'm about to break down," Joey said after a while. "I'm no freakin' damsel in distress." Seto simply sighed again, happy once Joey was inside of his limousine. "Ya look tired again," Joey stated, sounding a little worried. Seto knew that his own nightly visits had caused Joey to try and keep Seto away. The rehabilitation clinic was farther away and Seto had to drive 2 hours to get there and another 2 hours to get back home. But it had excellent reviews and a lot of success stories, especially for people who had to rest a long time after an accident or operation. The clinic had helped a few others who had been in a coma for a year or more. There weren't many who woke up after so many years as Joey had done, but most of those had stayed there, and within a year, the staff had managed to help them to at least learn to walk a little and to live on their own with the added help of a wheelchair. And with further therapy, they all had recovered enough to set aside their wheelchairs. But Joey had surpassed their expectations, learning to walk in no time at all, then running around like the average person his age could. He wasn't as strong as he used to be, nor did he have the same stamina that he once had, but he would definitely continue to improve with time.
"I'm fine," Seto said in a quiet voice, and pulled him closer. But in truth, trying to visit Joey every day in the beginning had taken its toll. Even seeing him just three days a week and running his company hadn't been easy.
"Ya should have let Yugi pick me up," Joey insisted. "There's no point in ya comin' all the way out here just to pick me up, I'll be staying with ya anyway."
"I know," Seto replied still holding him close. "But I wanted to be the one to bring you home."
"Fool." Joey murmured, still blushing a little as he cuddled even closer to Seto. "But…I'm still happy to see ya, even though you're a jerk."
Seto smiled and held him close. He would probably never understand why Joey was with him, or why Joey loved him. They had never really talked about it since Joey had told Seto that he liked him too. They never had talked about their relationship. But like Seto had said, it didn't really matter why Joey managed to love an over protective, possessive, jerk like him-all that mattered was that he did. Seto knew that he was all that, and probably had a lot of other flaws, too. But he had decided not to question it, and was just happy that Joey managed to love him anyway. And he really hoped that it would stay that way.
"And I'm happy to finally have the one little puppy I always wanted," Seto replied in a teasing voice, earning himself a kick against his leg from Joey.
"Shut up already, would ya? I know that I'm just a street dog to ya," Joey mumbled as he looked away with a little blush while Seto held him tighter to ensure that Joey couldn't move away. "And I'll look for a second job soon so I can feed myself once ya get bored of me."
"Are you stupid?" Seto asked surprised. "I would never get bored of you."
"Just shut up about it," Joey commanded, and was quiet for so long that Seto started to feel a little uneasy until Joey grinned at him. "What about my grub now? Ya still have to make up for picking me up instead of letting Yugi do that."
Seto watched him for a moment, thinking about the sudden mood swing of Joey's. Should he pretend nothing had happened? Joey seemed fine now, but he didn't want him to be downcast again. Then again, Joey might just try to overplay his own insecurities. He clearly had some of those as well, since he just made it clear with that comment. But it meant that he had to talk about their relationship, and part of him was afraid that it would just make matters worse. Seto wasn't exactly practiced in such matters.
"I'll get you some in the next city we pass," Seto answered. "But for now I think I need to remind you of something. You're the good-hearted, friendly street dog whose smile is so contagious that everyone around him just adores him to pieces. You're the one who could steel my heart so completely that I watched over your sleep every night for 10 whole years, waiting and hoping for you to finally open your eyes. I am the overprotective, jealous and possessive jerk that manipulates everyone around me to get what I want, so why are you the one worrying about getting dumped? How stupid are you to assume that I'll let you earn enough money to stand on you own two feet again and leave me behind? You better get it into your incredibly stubborn head that you're stuck with me for life. I'll never let my adorable little puppy run off on me again."
"I'm not a puppy, ya jerk," was all Joey said, but his happy smile and the way he cuddled closer to Seto, holding a fold of his shirt in one hand, was enough to show Seto that, at least in this very moment, Joey was truly happy, and Seto would do everything in his power to keep it that way. If Joey wanted to help out at Yugi's shop to earn a little pocket money while spending some time with his best friend, he could let him do that. He'd probably even let Joey go, if he truly wanted it. Seeing Joey happy from afar was much better than seeing him miserable in his own grasp. But for now, Seto didn't even want to consider that.
"Ya know, if ya were a little less of a jerk, we could have been together years ago," Joey pointed out after a moment, looking up into Seto's blue eyes with a blush on his face. "I just mean, if ya had shown me, at least a little bit, that ya could be nice to me I would have been nicer, too, and…well, I did already like ya when ya transferred to our school."
"You did?" Seto asked, surprised. "But you didn't even know me then."
"I know, but ya looked so lonely," Joey replied, "And when the teach said that ya had a private tutor and had not been in a school since ya got adopted, then I felt sorry for ya at first. I mean, to have lessons and no play time with friends in between had to suck big time. And then to have lost ya parents and all, and still ya stood there glaring at everyone like ya wanted to say, 'who gives a shit about being lonely? I don't need any of ya.' I just thought that was really cool. Ya had to be really strong, and I sort of wanted to be like that too."
"You are," Seto told him with a smile. "And anyway, how was I supposed to know that you liked me, too?"
"I hope ya know that ya aren't really as smart as ya think ya are," Joey pointed out with a smile on his lovely face. "Otherwise, ya would have figured out that I only tried to beat ya all the time to get some attention, and to show ya that I'm worth somethin'."
"You're worth more than you think, silly." Seto pointed out, still holding him. "And I could hardly figure it out, when it was just as likely that you simply hated me for all the dog comments."
"Oh, I hate ya for those," Joey pointed out. "But I still love ya, jerk."
"Well," Seto answered, "You'll get used to those, you have plenty of time for that after all, because I won't ever let you get away from me."
"And thanks," Joey mumbled again, "for telling me that ya loved me that night ya were in the hospital…ya know…before I woke up."
"I didn't think you'd hear it, to be honest," Seto replied. He would never forget how embarrassed he had felt after finding out that Joey must have heard him. At least he had gotten the reply he had never dared to hope for.
"It was the first thing I remember," Joey answered. "And when I opened my eyes I saw ya walk out o' the room. I wanted to call ya and stop ya, but ya didn't even turn to look at me. I thought I'd never see ya again after your goodbye."
"My apologies," Seto said, and held him even closer, happy that he could hold him and smell the scent of his blond hair. "I didn't think you would wake up just then. Trust me, I would have been back the next night; I was already angry with myself that I'd missed one night with my adorable, sleeping puppy and I couldn't have survived another night without seeing your face. And now that you are awake, I really will never let you get away from me again."
"Do what ya want," Joey said with a slightly embarrassed smile, "but first ya gotta get me my grub."
"Will you ever think of anything other than food?" Seto asked, laughing as he ordered the driver to stop at the next burger joint or pizza place he would pass so Joey could get whatever he wanted.
After that, they started to cuddle and kiss each other, and soon Joey's hand started to explore Seto's body like so many times before. And it didn't take long for Joey to end up on Seto's lap, kissing him senseless.
It was beyond Seto why Joey wanted a room for himself, when he clearly showed much less self-restraint during their make out as Seto did. "Seto?" Joey whispered into Seto's ear, after he was stopped from opening Seto's tight fitting pants again. "There is no one who can walk in here right? And the ride should still take about an hour."
"Yeah," Seto managed to mumble between Joey's hungry kisses "But the driver might hear us, or notice the movements of the car if you get too wild. And knowing you, you'll get very wild."
"Who cares?" Joey asked, not surprising Seto at all.
"I care," Seto stated, "and we'll be home soon anyway, and you can join me in my big bed after I lock the door tonight. We'll have so much more space there, anyway."
"Fine," Joey mumbled, still kissing Seto intensely, and then added, "But I won't let you get away then, got it? And don't believe for a second that I'll wait till tonight."
"We'll see," Seto whispered, grinning at Joey's surprise, and kissed him again before he could ask anything else.
They made out for the entire hour they rode in the limo, and by the time they reached the mansion Seto regretted giving into Mokuba's suggestion. Because, once Joey dragged Seto inside, after a maid had opened the door, all of Joey's friends stood there and screamed, "Surprise!"
Above their heads was a 'Welcome Home' sign and Joey turned to look at Seto and whispered, "Usually I'd thank ya, but honestly, did it have to be today that ya do the first nice thing for me?"
"Don't worry too much," Seto murmured, moving his arms around Joey. "I was worried that you might be exhausted after the long drive and the excitement of getting out of that place, so I told them all that whoever isn't gone within one hour after you arrive here, would never be allowed back inside to visit you. That should give us plenty of alone time soon."
"That better work," Joey replied in a hushed voice, adding, "but trust me, I am so not going to rest then. I've got much better plans."
