Friday – Last day of work experience

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Coel: So you stuck to updating on Fridays then?

Heva: Yep, it's a good system that I ain't planning on breaking.

Coel: -shrugs- fair enough. So are you in a good mood?

Heva: I am in an amazingly good mood considering everything that keeps going wrong. I had a terrible Wednesday but when I got up on Thursday I found out that loads of people who I didn't expect to even remember my existence had sent me letters/emails/comments saying happy birthday which made me feel so much better and I've been in a good mood since. Even my doctor putting me on medication again didn't dampen my mood so here is the next chapter for all of you wonderful people who are following this story. I hope you enjoy it.

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Friday – Last day of work experience

--

Seto woke when his alarm clock went off. He quickly switched it off so that he wouldn't disturb Mokuba and Kari. The time was five o clock, too early even for Seto to get up. He groaned and managed to persuade himself to move out from under the warmth of the covers. Getting dressed as fast as his body would allow when he was still asleep he hurried to get downstairs to make himself a cup of coffee. It was too early for him to really eat breakfast so he decided to go back upstairs to leave Mokuba a note telling him to enjoy himself today and that he would be back later in the day.

After writing the note Seto opened Mokuba's bedroom door as quietly as he could and slipped inside the room. The light from the hallway illuminated enough of the room for him to creep over to Mokuba's bedside table and place it on top of the alarm clock. As Seto turned to leave he heard a sleepy sigh and glanced over at the bed. He peered through the gloom and noticed the red hair. Seto crossed his arms, wondering whether to wake them up and ask what they thought they were doing. He concluded it wasn't worth it as it would just result in Mokuba getting annoyed with him again. Turning back towards the doorway Seto decided that he'd just have a word with Mokuba about this later on.

Wandering back downstairs Seto decided that he ought to leave so that he could wake up Joey. There was no doubt in his mind that the pup would sleep through his alarm and Seto would need to wake him up.

--

Joey was sleeping peacefully when the knocking on the door woke him up. It was loud and insistent. Groaning Joey tried to ignore it and the knocking stopped, replaced by muffled voices which also vanished after less than a minute. This was surprising as whoever it was had seemed determined to be let in. The click and sound of the door opening made all thoughts of sleep leave his mind. Someone had just broken into the apartment. He decided that pretending to still be asleep was his safest option, for all he knew they might be armed and he didn't particularly want to die. Lying back down and closing his eyes, as he heard footsteps walking into the apartment, Joey hoped that the robber would realise that there was nothing of value and leave. The footsteps stopped outside his room and Joey was certain that the person was standing in his doorway.

"I'm sorry about giving you a scare, but I wasn't getting any reply from you. I had one of your neighbours yell at me though."

"How'd you get in?" Joey asked, opening his eyes as he recognised Seto's voice.

"Your lock isn't that hard to pick," Seto said with a shrug. Joey sat up to try and convince himself that this wasn't some strange dream he was having. The cold air that greeted his now exposed arms was real enough.

"You know how to pick a lock?" Joey asked, feeling his doubts that getting involved with Seto when he hardly knew him wasn't a good idea come back from last night.

"I learnt how when I was younger. I do like your pyjamas."

"What's the time?"

"Just before six." Joey just stared at him in shock.

"I'm going back to sleep," Joey told him as he lay down again and dragged the covers back around himself. Seto smiled.

"I thought you might say that. Could I get something to eat and I'll wake you up again in half an hour?"

"If you get yourself something to eat, get me something as well and you can come and eat in here. I'm not having you wander around the apartment getting bored."

"That's fine. What do you want?"

"Whatever you choose. The cereals are in the cupboard over the sink."

--

Joey was sure he should go and check on what Seto was up to, but he didn't want to get out of bed and have to take responsibility for whatever mess Seto had made of the kitchen. He'd remembered, after Seto left the room, that he still hadn't cleaned up the cereal and milk that he spilt yesterday. An aroma reached Joey's nose as he finally decided that checking on Seto was important enough to make him move.

'He's cooking?' Joey thought. 'Maybe I will wait here and have breakfast in bed.' A smile spread across his face as he snuggled back into his duvet. It wasn't long before Seto came back in carrying two plates of food.

"I hope you like scrambled egg on toast. I would have done bacon as well but I couldn't find any in your kitchen." Seto handed a plate over to Joey and placed the second on Joey's desk. "I'll just go and grab some knives and forks to eat with." Seto returned a moment later carrying two mugs of brown liquids and some cutlery for them both.

"I didn't know you could cook."

"Not many people do know. I used to help out in the kitchens at the orphanage so I learnt the basics there."

"Seto?"

"Yes, Joey?"

"I was thinking last night that I really don't know much about you."

"Well, what do you want to know?" Joey looked over at Seto, who'd sat at the end of his bed with the plate balanced on his lap. He had no idea where to start with what he wanted to ask.

"Um, what do you usually do on halloween?" Joey couldn't think what else to ask right then. Halloween was next Friday and Yuugi was planning a costume party that Joey still needed to get an outfit for, maybe Seto could help him choose one. Maybe he could persuade Seto to get a nice costume as well, one that would show off some of that gorgeous pale skin that Joey just knew would be as soft as Seto's cheek.

"For the last few years Mokuba has had his friends round for a sleep over and we put decorations up over part of the house. I usually hide in my office and avoid them. What do you usually do?"

"Go out to a party. Yuugi's having one next Friday, I'm sure you can come if you want to."

"Unless you really want me there I think I'll give it a miss," Seto replied with a slight smile. He moved his plate slightly so that it was on his knees and Joey grinned as he noticed why. That had to be because of him, but Joey wanted to finish his breakfast before he did anything about it. Seto was definitely a good cook.

"Who was your first kiss?" Joey asked, loving the way he saw Seto's cheeks darkened with a blush.

"A girl named Clarissa, who I truly hate. Who was yours?"

"Miho, I was trying to annoy Tristan and I knew he had a crush on her so I decided to flirt with her. If you hate this girl, why did you kiss her?"

"I never said I kissed her. She kissed me, and I've just lost my appetite. Do you want to finish this for me?"

"I never refuse food," Joey said with a grin as he took Seto's plate.

"Clarissa is the daughter of one of the people Gozaburo was doing business with, and me and Clarissa were forced to spend time together. It was more or less an arranged relationship and she did what her daddy told her so things progressed. I hope I don't have to spell it out for you, pup."

"Is it the same for all the other people you've slept with?" Joey asked as he finished his own plate and started on Seto's left over food.

"That Gozaburo arranged it? No. That there was an ulterior motive?" Seto went silent and looked away from Joey. "Yes," he said quietly. Joey wasn't really sure what to make of the answer, Seto sounded ashamed but Joey didn't know whether that was put on as he had some ulterior motive with Joey. He couldn't cope with this feeling at goodness knows what time in the morning. 'What if he's not being honest with me and is making stuff up to try and make it sound like I'm special to him?'

"Even Tau?"

"I needed someone to help me after I finally managed to get control of Kaiba Corp. Tau realised he could get a foothold in the company so we used each other. Both of us have changed a lot since then, Tau's even engaged to Sara now." Seto still wasn't looking at Joey. He had turned his head to look at the floor and Joey could see the side of his face if he shifted slightly.

"Am I …?" Joey didn't know how to finish the sentence. 'Am I just another one to you? Am I just the next conquest? Am I to do with some kind of messed up business deal? Am I … special?'

"You're the first," Joey heard whispered. It was so quiet that he nearly missed it, and it sounded honest. He wasn't sure what to make of this turn of events. Yesterday he was certain that Seto had people fawning over him and that Seto said 'yes' to dating some of then. Now he was convinced that Seto had said 'no' to everyone he couldn't gain something from … until Joey. He thought Joey was special in some way. There was nothing obvious that Seto could gain from him. Joey didn't have connections, money or power. The only thing Seto could gain was a foothold in Joey's friendship group which Seto could get anyway by being a bit nicer to everyone.

Joey put both plates on his bedside table and leaned over to kiss Seto's cheek. It was still as soft as Joey remembered it being yesterday. He wasn't sure why he didn't keep his mouth shut, but it made Seto laugh.

"Do you shave?" Joey asked making Seto turn his head to look at Joey and try to stifle a rather feminine giggle.

"Yes, unlike what you seem to do, pup."

"Well, dogs don't shave, Seto."

"That much is obvious, but they do have cute pyjamas apparently." Seto pulled the duvet down so that he could give Joey a good look over.

"As much as like being stared at by you, it's really cold so give me back my duvet or come over here and be a hot water bottle," Joey complained. Seto smiled and moved so that he was sat next to Joey on the bed. Joey immediately grabbed him and pulled Seto into his lap so that he could pull him as close as possible. Seto was a surprisingly good hot water bottle, even though he wriggled in Joey's grip.

"As nice as this is, Joey, you need to get ready so we can leave soon."

"Stupid work experience, forcing me to get up early," Joey muttered as he held Seto a bit tighter to stop him getting up.

"Time to get up, Joey."

"In a minute."

"No, now," Seto replied, managing to wriggle enough to loosen Joey's hold on him. Much to Joey's annoyance this allowed Seto to stand up. The look Seto gave him reminded Joey of how his mum used to look at him when he refused to get up and ready for school. Joey couldn't help it, he started laughing. Seto's look changed to one of confusion as Joey fought to get his laughter under control.

"You act like someone's mother, Seto," Joey managed to say eventually.

"Mokuba's always saying that. He started calling me his soccer mum last year." Joey looked puzzled, not understanding the phrase. "It doesn't translate that well to Japanese. It's basically used to describe a single, working mother who somehow manages to balance her job and looking after her kid by taking him to clubs, such as soccer practice."

"Seems to describe you pretty well, then," Joey said with a grin as he stood up and began sorting through his clothes.

"I was hoping that I wasn't single anymore." Joey turned to look at Seto and grinned. He closed the distance between them and pressed there lips together. Poking Seto's lips with his tongue caused Seto to part them and allow Joey entrance. The coffee taste wasn't as bad as he'd been expecting it to be. Seto moved his own tongue against Joey's, but it was still obvious that he wasn't trying to take control. They eventually parted, both breathing heavily.

"I think that's a good enough answer for you," Joey panted as he leaned his forehead against Seto's.

"It'll do," Seto replied with a grin. Joey smiled back before moving back to his previous task of finding his clothes for today.

"Do these go together?" he asked, holding up a shirt and trousers.

"As far as I can tell."

"I thought you were a soccer mum, therefore with that female mind of yours you should be able to tell what clothes go with what."

"It's nice to know that you have so much faith in my ability to pick out clothes but I'm absolutely useless at it."

"Oh well, you can't be good at everything. I'm going to go and have a shower. The TV's in the living room."

--

Seto wasn't surprised to find out that Joey only had the basic handful of channels on his TV, and made a mental note to get Mokuba to show Joey their TV in the games room. It had been Seto's gift to Mokuba for his birthday last year and since then barely a day had gone by without Mokuba watching the screen for at least ten minutes. Putting on a news channel Seto leant back into the sofa. It was only a few minutes before he got bored with it after seeing the same lady interviewer who had been hitting on him. He pulled a face at the memory of her hand on his knee before she tried to lean over and kiss him.

The sound of the shower being switched on made Seto's head turn slightly. He wouldn't be a pervert and try to get a look at Joey, however tempting it was. Looking around after switching off the TV he noticed a pile of duel monsters magazines. Picking up the top one he decided that he might as well read them whilst he was waiting. He recognised this edition as the one with his interview about the new duel disk in it.

The phone started ringing and Joey yelled for Seto to get it as he'd be out in a minute. 'Who rings at just after seven in the morning?' Seto thought as he stood up and went to the hallway where the ringing sound was coming from. He picked up the handset, noticing it was a corded phone so Joey would have to leave the bathroom to come and speak to whoever it was.

"Hello?"

"Hi, it's Yuugi, is Joey there?"

"I'll just go and see if he's available." Seto held the phone away from his ear as he called to Joey. "It's Yuugi for you."

"Ask him what he's ringing about, but be polite," Joey called back as he tried to find a towel to wrap around his waist that would allow him to push Seto around without worrying about it falling off.

"He's just coming," Seto told Yuugi as he brought the receiver back to his ear. "What do you want to talk to him about?"

"I was ringing to ask him how his work experience is going and see if he wants to come to the arcade tomorrow." Yuugi sounded quite cheerful and Seto wondered if Yuugi knew who he was talking to. It was quite possible that he'd recognised Seto's voice, but there was no indication. At that moment Joey left the bathroom, a large, fluffy, light green towel around his waist. He took the phone out of Seto's hand when he offered it and brought it up to his ear, making sure to hold the towel in place with his free hand.

"Hi Yuugi. How've you been?"

"Fine. How's your work experience been? I hope you and Kaiba haven't killed each other."

"Nah. It's in my contract not to kill him," Joey said with a grin at Seto. Seto was leaning back against the wall opposite Joey, not bothering to hide the fact that he was checking Joey out.

"That's a disappointment. Do you want to come to the arcade tomorrow?" Joey paused, he'd been planning to ask Seto to go out for lunch or to see a movie with him tomorrow.

"Can you hang on a moment, Yuugi?"

"Sure."

"Seto?" Joey asked, turning to fully face the CEO. Seto nodded to show he was listening. "I was wondering if you wanted to catch a movie with me or something tomorrow? Maybe go out for lunch together?"

"I'm having lunch with Mokuba tomorrow and I promised to spend the afternoon with him as well, but I can take you out for dinner if you want."

"Sounds great," Joey said with a grin. He brought the phone back up to his ear. "What time were you planning to go to the arcade?"

"About one o clock, after lunch."

"I'll meet you there, but I may have to leave early."

"Why?" Yuugi asked, it was unusual for Joey to have plans on a Saturday that didn't involve his friends.

"I've got a date," Joey replied with a grin.

"Anyone I know?" Yuugi asked, excited by the news. He always loved hearing about his friends' lives, although he'd never admit to liking gossip.

"Yes, do you want me to put him back on the phone?" Joey asked, laughing at the glare he received from Seto at the suggestion.

"I didn't recognise the voice," Yuugi admitted, Joey was surprised by the lack of reaction to him just admitting it was a guy he was dating. 'Yuugi must have already realised I was gay,' he thought. It wouldn't be that surprising, both Yuugi and Tristan knew him well enough to have probably worked it out by now.

"He does sound different on the phone, I suppose," Joey admitted. "Do you want to tell him who you are, or shall I?" he asked Seto.

"Someone tell me," Yuugi decided to add loudly. He received a yell to be quieter from his grandpa who was still trying to sleep.

Seto leaned forward so that his voice would be picked up by the phone.

"You tell him, pup."

"It's Kaiba!" Yuugi yelled, sounding really happy by this, despite the yells to be quiet from upstairs. 'He definitely knew,' Joey thought. "Can I tell the others when I ring them to ask if they want to meet up tomorrow?"

"I'd rather tell them myself," Joey replied. Yuugi would probably let it slip anyway, but Joey hoped he'd get a chance to tell Tristan himself. His best friend deserved to be told instead of having to hear it from an excitable Yuugi.

"Ok, I'll try and keep it quiet. Congratulations to you both! Bye," Yuugi said happily.

"Bye, Yuugi." Joey replaced the phone on the table as he turned to look at Seto who was still shamelessly looking him over. "Enjoying what you see?"

"Yes. Your towel's slipping." Joey's hands flew to the top of the towel to pull it back up and try to tighten it around his waist.

"This is incredibly unfair. I've been standing here in a towel with you getting to marvel at my gorgeous body. Whilst I haven't even seen you without a shirt."

"That's life," Seto replied with a grin.

"Loose the shirt, Seto," Joey said, hoping Seto would but doubting that there was any chance he would.

"Only if you loose the towel."

"Although I do like that very nice smart shirt, the pale purple really suits you, I think you would look a lot better without."

"The same goes for that fluffy, pink towel," Seto replied, folding his arms. Joey frowned, the towel was clearly green not pink.

"You're colour blind, aren't you, Seto?"

"I can't tell the difference between red and green, so I'm assuming that the towel is green then." Seto's voice had lost its usual confidence as he spoke, his gaze falling to the ground.

"Yeah, do you want to wait in the living room while I get dressed?"

"Ok."

'Well that's something I never expected,' Joey thought as he went back into the bathroom. 'The world must look so strange to him. I wonder how many other people know about this. He probably thinks it's a weakness so he wouldn't tell many people. I must be special to him if he's willing to let me know about his colour blindness, and willing to let Yuugi know about us getting together. He knows that if Yuugi gets told then he'll let it slip somehow and the press will find out about us. I don't think I want the press to know, but if Seto doesn't mind the press finding out he must care about me.'

--

Joey liked the private jet. Seto decided he didn't like having Joey in the jet because he fiddled with everything. It was like having a little child that was high on sugar with him. Joey couldn't sit still.

"Just leave it alone," Seto hissed as Joey found out how to lean his seat back. Seto had his laptop out on his lap and was looking through the electronic version of the contract, but his attention was mostly focused on the blond sat next to him.

"You're no fun, Seto," Joey whined, loud enough for everyone else to hear. Seto was certain he heard Tau sniggering and this suspicion was backed up by Sara elbowing Tau in the ribs. Sara had a slight grin on her face as well, making Seto realise that they both probably knew about him and Joey. The other employees who were sitting with them had managed to keep straight faces despite the blond's constant attempts to make Seto get fed up with him.

"Have you got any games on your laptop?" Joey asked as he leaned across to peer at the screen.

"No."

"Not even solitaire? I thought laptops came with that built in?"

"It's my work laptop, Joey, I deleted the games," Seto said calmly, attempting to ignore the way Joey had put a hand on his upper thigh to try and prevent himself from falling over.

"That's so boring," Joey complained sitting back upright looking bored.

"I think I've still got Mokuba's PSP in my briefcase if you want to play with that," Seto said as he reached for the briefcase that was sat at his feet.

"Thanks, Seto," Joey said with a grin as he took the offered toy. He leaned across again and gave Seto a kiss on the cheek, causing a blush to stain the CEO's face. 'This is going to be spread around the entire office by the end of today,' Seto thought. 'I'm going to have Raquel yelling at me again about what I think I'm doing by not telling her in advance so that she can prepare what to tell the journalists.'

--

"That meeting was so deathly boring," Joey complained as they sat in Seto's car.

"I think everyone knew you found it boring," Seto replied as he had to stop at the traffic lights. It had been a long day, made longer by having the pup with him. Joey had fallen asleep in the meeting and Seto had ended up poking him to try and keep him awake from then on. This had worked until Joey had decided to poke him back. Seto had been listening rather intently to what was being said when Joey poked him, causing him to jump in surprise. He'd been glad that no one, apart from a snickering Joey, noticed. This had been followed by kicking each other under the table. Pegasus put a stop to that by making a comment about how Kaiba-boy and his rival seemed to be tolerating each other's company ever so well.

"Sorry about that," Joey muttered, glancing out the car window as they drove past various lit up shops. It was raining and people were running around with either raincoats pulled tightly around themselves or umbrellas. A group of people were currently crossing the road ahead wearing bright red raincoats. Joey was reminded of the discovery he'd made this morning about Seto.

"Is it red or green that you can't see?" Joey asked, watching the group finish crossing the road and Seto moved the car forwards again.

"I don't know, why?"

"Just curious. It seems weird to think that you can't tell the difference between red and green. I mean to you grass is red which is just wrong."

"It seems normal to me."

"What causes colour blindness?" Joey asked as he turned his head to look at Seto. The shop lights illuminated his face a variety of colours as hey passed them.

"I'm not sure how to explain it really. There's two types of sensors in your eyes; one for night vision which is just in black and white, and one for colour vision. I think colour blindness is caused by a malfunction in the colour sensors, certain cells in my eyes don't work or are missing. I've never really bothered to find out about it."

"Sounds complicated," Joey muttered as he turned to look out the windscreen again. He frowned as he saw someone up ahead thumbing for a lift. 'I recognise that face, but I can't remember where from,' Joey thought as they approached the figure. He was surprised as he heard Seto put the indicator on to pull over by the hitchhiker.

"Can you undo the window, Joey?" Seto asked as they pulled to a standstill. Joey pressed the switch to roll down the window as the hitchhiker leant down to see who had offered them the lift.

"SKF?" the figure asked in surprise.

"Hi, Toboe. Where are you wanting a lift to?" Seto asked as another car passed them, illuminating the car and Toboe's face. 'Please don't let him recognise me,' Joey thought as he realised where he recognised the pizza delivery boy from.

"I'm trying to get back to our apartment. You wouldn't happen to be going anywhere near there would you?"

"Actually I am. Jump in," Seto said with a smile. Toboe grinned back at him and pulled open the back door so he could slide into the seat behind Joey.

"Thanks so much for this, Seto."

"Don't mention it. What have you been up to since I last saw you, Tsume said you were working as a delivery boy?" Seto asked as he pulled out into the road again. Joey remained silent, hoping that Toboe either wouldn't recognise him or would have forgotten about it.

"Yeah, I'm working for a local pizza company. I got let off early tonight so I decided to go into town for a while. Then it started raining and I realised that I'd be home quicker if I hitchhiked."

"You already look drenched so I guess you've been out there for a while," Seto commented glancing over at Joey. 'He's being extremely quiet. I wonder what's wrong,' Seto thought.

"Nah, not that long." The car fell silent as Toboe watched the lights of the shop fronts go past the windows. Seto's worry about the blond increased. 'He never likes silence, so why's he being so quiet?'

"Sorry I didn't introduce you two. Joey, this is Toboe. He's Tsume's younger brother. Toboe, this is Joey, my boyfriend."

"Hi Joey, it's nice to meet you," Toboe said as he leaned forwards to get a look at Joey's face.

"It's nice to meet you too," Joey replied as he turned to face Toboe. There was a look of recognition that passed across Toboe's face, before a smirk spread across his features.

"You've got good taste, Seto. He's cute," Toboe said before mouthing to Joey, 'I won't say anything.' Joey smiled back, glad Toboe wouldn't tell Seto.

"Thanks," Seto replied as they turned off the main road towards the apartment block.

--

"I'm sorry about making you put up with Toboe. I didn't think it would make you uncomfortable," Seto apologised as they stood outside Joey's apartment.

"Don't worry about it, Seto. I just feel like I hardly know you sometimes, and when you stopped to pick him up …" Joey wasn't sure what else to say. He hoped that Seto would come to his own conclusion. It was a true admission that he felt he hardly knew Seto but it had been the fact that he recognised Toboe that had made him uncomfortable in the car.

"Well you can interrogate me as much as you want tomorrow night," Seto replied with a smile.

"Thanks. Do you want to come in for a coffee?" Joey asked. He almost cursed as he realised how much it sounded like a line from a soppy romance novel.

"I never say no to coffee," Seto replied with a grin. Joey smiled back before turning to unlock the door. As the door swung open Joey noticed his dad's shoes beside the mat. He stepped inside and heard Seto enter behind him.

"Dad, are you home?" he called as he walked further into the apartment. He heard Seto pause by the front door. Joey turned to look at him, noticing the uncertainty in Seto's stance.

"I'm in the kitchen. You won't believe the week I've had, I'm thinking of quitting. Did you keep your promise?" came his dad's voice from the kitchen.

"Yes, I did, so be nice." Joey took a step towards Seto, fully prepared to drag him through to the kitchen if necessary. "It's just my dad, he's harmless," Joey reassured, noticing the slight adjustment Seto immediately made to his composure as he realised Joey had spotted his unease. Seto didn't say anything as he followed Joey into the kitchen, where Joey's dad sat at the table, eating toast as he read a news paper. He made it look as if it should be breakfast time instead of past seven at night.

"Dad, this is Seto. Seto, this is my dad," Joey introduced them as Seto stepped in through the doorway.

"Hello, Seto," Joey's dad said as he stood up from the table and shook Seto's hand.

"Hello," Seto replied. Joey was quite amazed to watch the exchange. Seto was always so confident around business people, at school and in tournaments in front of millions of people; but in this small kitchen when he was being introduced to Joey's dad Seto looked like he wanted to run and hide.

"I was going to make some coffee and some hot chocolate, is there anything you want dad?" Joey asked as he moved over to the sink to fill the kettle with water.

"I'll have a coffee." Joey glanced over to see Seto still stood at the doorway looking uncomfortable.

"Sit down, Seto," Joey said firmly. He wasn't sure how to treat this new, more vulnerable side of Seto. It was nice to feel as though Seto needed someone around to defend him, and Joey had been given the chance to do that, but Joey didn't want Seto to feel uncomfortable around his dad.

"I understand that you're a very successful businessman," Joey's dad said, attempting to start a conversation with Seto.

"I run a company, what do you do?" Seto asked; that was a subject he could probably talk about comfortably.

"I'm working with a military contractor. We supply defence weaponry to various military organisations."

"Oh, sounds unusual," Seto replied. 'How do I change the subject?' he thought desperately, 'I really don't want to think about this again now.'

"It's not very interesting, really. How was your work experience, Joey? I hope he wasn't too distracting for you?"

"It was really great," Joey told his dad as he handed Seto his coffee. Seto was glad for the mug to hold to prevent himself showing his unease at the situation. Joey's warmth as he sat down next to him was relaxing and comforting which helped the tension dissolve.

"I don't think he caused too much chaos in my company," Seto commented, his voice returning to its usual tone. Joey smiled to himself as he sipped his hot chocolate, feeling glad that he was responsible for Seto's confidence.

"I'm sure you found ways to keep him occupied," Joey's dad said with a suggestive smirk. Seto's cheeks went red with embarrassment as Joey put an arm across Seto's shoulders to pull him closer.

"Stop being mean, dad," Joey told him. "What me and Seto choose to do together is none of your business."

"I'm sorry for embarrassing you both. I'll leave you two alone and go and unpack. Have fun." Joey and Seto watched him leave.

"Sorry about my dad, he's always like that," Joey apologised as he rubbed Seto's arm.

"It's ok. I know I'm difficult to talk to anyway."

"That's true. What I want to know is what's upset you?"

"Nerves," Seto said quietly, almost as if he was ashamed. Joey frowned, not understanding what Seto meant. "Nervousness. I'm never sure how to act around people I want to like me."

"Just be the real you," Joey replied, putting his mug down on the table top next to Seto's.

"I ought to go, Mokuba will be wondering where I am," Seto said as he stood up. Joey stood up too and pulled Seto into a hug. The brunette hadn't been expecting it and stumbled making Joey grin as he held Seto against himself.

"You don't need to be nervous, Seto, I like you."

"Thank you, Joey."

"Don't mention it. What time and where do you want to meet tomorrow?"

"I'll pick you up from the arcade about five thirty, there's something I want to show you before we go to the restaurant."

"What?" Joey asked as he opened the front door for Seto.

"It's a surprise," Seto replied with a grin.

"I'm not sure I trust you and surprises."

"It's a good surprise. Oh and don't worry about looking scruffy tomorrow, I know you won't want to be dressed smartly at the arcade."

"I hadn't even considered being smart."

"That doesn't surprise me, pup," Seto replied.

"We're back to the dog names again," Joey said in fake annoyance as he pushed Seto into the wall by the front door.

"Well, they do suit you," Seto commented as Joey held him still before leaning over to capture his lips. Seto held still, not that Joey left him much choice, as they kissed. Joey managed to encourage Seto's tongue into his own mouth, having realised Seto wasn't certain about doing so. It was still quite incredible to Joey how submissive Seto was. The kiss ended and Joey smiled happily as he continued to hold Seto prisoner between himself and the wall.

"Being restrained suits you," Joey said with his smile turning into a suggestive smirk, "and that blush really suits you as well."

"I still need to get going, however much I want to stay here," Seto replied. Joey sighed and stepped back to let Seto stand up straight again.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Seto," Joey told him as he watched Seto turn to walk back to his car.

"Bye for now, pup." Joey smiled at the name, it felt nice to have a pet name. He turned and walked back inside the apartment to find his dad.

--

"How was your day?" Seto asked Mokuba as he sat on the sofa next to his younger brother in the games room.

"It was so much fun. We split into four teams and," Seto listened as his younger sibling described the obliteration of various parts of the garden by multicoloured paintballs. At least it sounded like Mokuba enjoyed himself, and the plants would grow again … eventually. The fish may not be so lucky but they hadn't been replaced from last time Mokuba and his friends were let loose on the garden. "How was your day with your boyfriend?"

"Joey is a nightmare. He's worse than you for playing around with stuff when he's bored. I ended up giving him your PSP to play with in the jet to try and keep him occupied."

"You love him really Seto," Mokuba said with a grin.

"I care about him, Mokuba, but he's hard work to entertain. I'm taking him out for diner tomorrow and I hope I can keep him amused for that long."

"Does he know?" Mokuba asked, noticing Seto wasn't sure what he was asking about he reworded the question. "Does he know why tomorrow's special?"

"I don't think so. You are going to let me have a lie in this year, aren't you?"

"Of course. I got given some stuff to give to you tomorrow from Georgie and I hope you don't mind dropping me off in town to meet Kari later on tomorrow."

"What time and where?"

"The cinema at six. We're watching a film together."

"Can you change that to the arcade at five thirty?" Seto asked.

"Sure," Mokuba stood up from the sofa and walked over to the door so he could go and find a phone to ring Kari. "Anything for my brother on his birthday."

--

"He seemed very nice," Joey's dad commented as they sat in the living room on the sofa.

"He is very nice. We're going to a restaurant tomorrow night, I don't know what time I'll be back."

"I won't wait up. Don't worry about being quiet if you bring him back home, I'll listen to some music."

"You promised you wouldn't make those kind of comments if I asked him out this week, and as you can tell we are dating now so stop making those comments."

"Ok, I'll stop it."

"I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

"Sleep well, I hope your bed doesn't seem too lonely with just you in it."

--

--

Heva: that's a surprisingly long chapter. By the way when I was re-reading it I realised that the bit with Joey's dad in the kitchen wasn't very clear. Seto is nervous because he associates Joey's dad with Gozaburo, and when he says that his work involves the military that's an even greater link making Seto very uncomfortable in the situation.

Coel: I think you underestimate your reader's ability to work things out, heva.

Heva: I was just explaining as I didn't think it was very obvious and people might think it was completely OOC for Seto to get nervous.

Coel: Fine. Please review and tell heva what you think of the story so far.

Heva: The next chapter should be up next Friday so have a great week.

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Date: 10/10/08