Heva: this chapter is the longest so far and I think it's my favourite of all the chapters I've written.
Coel: fair enough. I liked the chapter when they were at the shopping mall.
Heva: I have to thank melodyz07 again as she is still helping me to finish this story and the last section of this chapter was due to her comment about there needing to be something more at the end.
--
Saturday – 25th October
--
Seto was awoken by Mokuba landing on his bed.
"Go away," Seto complained as he put his hands over his head to try and block out his energetic sibling.
"Happy birthday, Seto!" Mokuba yelled happily as he bounced next to Seto. "I got you a present."
"I thought I told you I wanted a lie in as a present, so go away," Seto complained.
"You can have a lie in after you open my present," Mokuba promised as he continued bouncing.
"I'll open it later, let me try and go back to sleep."
"Not until you open my present."
"Fine," Seto said irritably as he sat up in bed. Mokuba handed him a small package, poorly wrapped in sparkly blue paper. Seto opened the present carefully, making sure he didn't tear the paper.
"Open it, just tear the paper, Seto," Mokuba complained as he continued bouncing. He knew Seto took forever just to annoy him, he did it at christmas as well. Seto eventually had the paper off to reveal two objects; a recipe book, Seto didn't miss the hint that the book was about cooking with chocolate, and a picture frame that was poorly carved with dragons. Mokuba had already put a picture of him and Seto from their summer holiday in the frame.
"Thank you very much Mokuba. I shall have to try some of these recipes out tomorrow, or maybe next week."
"Do you like the picture frame? Georgie's mum taught me how to carve stuff so I decided to make it for you."
"It's wonderful, Mokie. Right now though, I'm going back to sleep." Seto put the presents on his bedside table and snuggled back down into the covers. He felt the duvet get moved and Mokuba slid into the bed beside him.
"Sleep well, Seto," Mokuba said quietly.
"You too, Mokie," Seto replied.
--
Joey woke feeling refreshed and alert. The headache he'd had for the past week was finally gone and he no longer felt the lethargy from the flu. He sat up quickly and was washed and dressed in minutes. Walking into the kitchen he poured himself some cereal and wished Seto was there to make him breakfast again.
"You're up early," his dad said as he walked into the kitchen.
"I didn't feel like sleeping. Do you mind if I disappear off to Tristan's this morning?"
"That's fine, do what you want. Are you coming back here to get dressed to go out tonight?"
"Nah, Seto said he didn't expect me to be smart," Joey informed his dad as he sat down to eat his cornflakes.
"That doesn't mean you can't surprise him."
"I don't think he'll be smart so I'm not bothering."
"Fine, suit yourself. What else are you planning to do today?"
"I'm going to the arcade with Yuugi and the others. Before you ask no Seto isn't coming as well because he already has plans with his little brother today." Joey frowned as he remembered the page in the book he'd found in Seto's desk. He still didn't know what was special about today, or what the surprise Seto had planned was.
"I haven't made any comments this morning so I don't know why you're frowning at me."
"It's just something I'm not sure about. I know that there's something special about today, but I don't know what it is."
"I would assume that the special thing is you going out with your boyfriend."
"No. Seto had this date highlighted in his diary before we were going out."
"If he hasn't told you it won't be anything very important," Joey's dad reassured him. "Why don't you just stop worrying about it and enjoy today?"
"I suppose that's all I can do," Joey said in fake reluctance. He jumped up from the table and put his empty bowl in the sink to be washed up. "Have a good day, dad," Joey said as he hurried out of the room to get ready to go round Tristan's house.
--
"Tristan! Joey's here," Mrs Taylor yelled upstairs as Joey stood at the front door. "He hasn't even got up yet, but you can go and drag him out of bed if you want," she apologised to Joey before letting him step past the front door.
"Thanks," Joey replied before racing upstairs to find his friend. "Good morning," he said as he pushed open the door to find Tristan holding a pillow over his head to try and block out his mum's yelling.
"What are you doing here this early in the morning?" Tristan complained as he sat up.
"Am I not allowed to pop round to see my best friend?" Joey had a look of fake hurt on his face, which turned into a smile almost instantly as Tristan started laughing.
"Of course you're allowed, Joey. I just know you like to sleep in late whenever you can. What's with the being up before ten o clock? Did something happen?"
"After last week getting up at eight feels like a lie in and yes something did happen," Joey had sat on the end of the bed and looked like he was trying to resist bouncing on it in excitement. Tristan frowned at him, Joey was always excitable but what had happened to make him this happy?
"What?" Tristan asked as he watched Joey.
"I've got a date tonight with the most handsome CEO I've ever met, and he's taking me out to a restaurant this evening."
"Please tell me you aren't talking about Kaiba," Tristan said quietly.
"What's wrong?" Joey asked, noticing the change in Tristan's attitude. Yuugi had been so happy when he found out, but here was Joey's best friend looking as if Joey had just told him someone had died.
"You hate Kaiba! He's the most irritating, cold, manipulative bastard I've ever met!" Tristan said loudly, almost yelling it, as he looked at Joey like he'd gone mad.
"I know that's how he acts most of the time. If you'd seen him last week, like I'd have, you'd know the real him. The one that gets nervous when he's trying to make a good impression. The one that can actually make a joke, not a good one but he still tried. The one that cares about Mokuba and tries his hardest to look after him. The one that cares about his employees. The one that just likes to have someone there to hold him." Joey fell silent as he saw the way Tristan was looking at him.
"You really like him, don't you?" Tristan asked quietly. Joey nodded.
"Yeah, I don't know why really, he is seriously irritating but it's only through spending last week around people who really know him that I realised how little I know him. Did you know he was colour blind?"
"No, that must be what he was talking to Dr Rose about though." Joey frowned, not remembering this. "Kaiba ended up chatting with Dr Rose about something a couple of weeks back, when we were doing all those experiments to identify different compounds. I ended up working with him and I was so happy to leave that room once we were finished."
"I hadn't thought about how hard that must be for him," Joey said quietly.
"Oh well, you can be his partner in Chemistry now. Let's go out somewhere this morning before we meet the others at the arcade."
"That sounds great. Are you going to get dressed or go out like that?" Joey asked jokingly. Tristan threw a pillow at him before hurrying out the room to get ready in the bathroom complaining that Joey shouldn't be looking at other guys if he already had a boyfriend.
--
Yuugi looked up in surprise as he saw who'd just entered the shop.
"Hi, Yuug," Joey greeted.
"Hi. I'm meant to be watching the shop but I haven't had a customer all morning," Yuugi complained.
"It's probably the rain, most people are staying indoors today," Tristan said, meaningfully glaring at Joey. "Have you got somewhere I can put my umbrella?"
"Sure, just lean it against the wall next to the door to let it dry out. Do you two want some hot chocolate?"
"That would be great," Tristan replied as he put the umbrella down.
"Thanks, Yuug. One thing first though."
"Yes?"
"Who have you told?" Joey asked as he folded his arms to try and look a bit more threatening.
"I only told Tea and Serenity, but Serenity asked me if I knew how you and Kaiba were getting on."
"Serenity's coming today?" Tristan asked hopefully.
"She's dating Duke and she's my sister," Joey said in annoyance. "Why do you insist on hitting on her every time you can?"
"Because I like her," Tristan replied. "I'm not complaining about you and Kaiba." Joey paused before answering.
"What's your problem with Seto? Just because he's not got any social skills and possibly one or two connections missing in his head you don't seem able to give him a chance!" Joey was nearly yelling in frustration.
"Look, Joey, I just don't trust the guy. He's never really given us any reason to trust him in the past and he's always out to get what he can for himself. It's been a week and suddenly you're acting like he's the most amazing guy you've ever met."
"Tristan, leave Joey alone. He's right about us not giving Kaiba a chance. None of us have really spent much time trying to get to know him," Yuugi pointed out from where he was leaning on the counter watching the two with interest. He didn't want them to fall out over this but he was used to their arguments, it was how they solved problems between themselves. Unfortunately sometimes he needed to step in and break them up before someone got hurt.
Joey and Tristan refused to look at each other, Tristan feeling uncomfortable about his best friend and Kaiba dating, while Joey was annoyed that his best friend wasn't supporting his decision.
"Can one of you turn the sign round and we'll watch a movie in the living room?" Yuugi suggested, hoping that they would sort this out soon. He didn't like it when Tristan and Joey were angry or upset with each other.
--
Seto leant back in the seat, balancing a tray with his lunch on it on his lap. Mokuba was sat next to him with a similar arrangement. They had ordered takeout from the local Italian, and now had spaghetti and pizza to eat.
The films they were watching had been a gift from Georgie, with a note attached explaining that they were full of 'British humour', and the two staring Simon Pegg would probably appeal to Mokuba, whereas Seto would enjoy Love Actually. Seto had let Mokuba decide which film they would watch first, and had already made a mental note to thank Georgie for something that could keep Mokuba entertained for an hour and a half so easily. He was finding the storyline of Shaun of the Dead rather dull and was struggling to work out what was funny about London being taken over by zombies. As the film ended Mokuba was already out of his seat holding the DVD case ready.
"That was great," Mokuba said happily as he took the DVD out of the DVD player.
"It was different," Seto consented.
"Can we watch Hot Fuzz now, please?" Mokuba asked excitedly as he waved the second DVD case. Seto groaned, knowing that he wasn't really being given a choice.
"I suppose so."
--
Joey glanced around the room as the group chatted amongst themselves. Tristan was sat on the opposite side of the room, refusing to talk to Joey after all the revelations of the morning. The voice of Tea, as she explained to Yuugi how cute the person she had been working with was, assaulted Joey's ears. He listened briefly before deciding that she was more irritating than his own thoughts about how he had lost Tristan. A weight next to him alerted him to another's presence and he lifted his gaze to look at them.
"What do you want, Duke?"
"To know why you are acting more like your worse half than yourself," Duke replied with a shrug as he watched Tristan listen to the small albino detailing his opinions on veterinary science.
"It's none of your business."
"Look I know we don't always see eye to eye, mutt, but I actually want to help you out. When you and Tristan are mad at each other it makes everyone upset, and, although I hate to admit it, I've grown kind of fond of you."
"Well me and Tristan aren't going to be just making friends again. He can't deal with me and Seto being together, and if he's going to be unable to cope with that I don't see how we can continue being friends. I can't just stop liking Seto."
"He'll come around eventually. It's a bit of a shock to suddenly find out that your best friend is gay and likes a guy they've claimed to hate for the last few years. You'll"
"Shall we get going?" Yuugi asked, interrupting Duke and Ryou. A round of nods and 'yeah's were his reply as people began to stand up.
--
Seto turned in a full circle as Mokuba had instructed him to. The youngest Kaiba put on a critical expression as he looked over Seto's outfit.
"What do you think?" Seto asked.
"Honestly? I have no more opinion on this outfit than I did on the last two. Just wear something you feel comfortable with and you think looks nice. I'm sure Joey hasn't put anywhere near as much thought into his outfit as you've put into yours."
"Well I want to look good."
"For some reason I got that impression. You look perfectly fine, Seto," Mokuba reassured as he hoped Seto would just settle with this outfit instead of continuing to ask his opinion.
"Thanks," Seto replied with a slight smile.
"One thing though. Are you sure about the eyeliner?"
--
Mokuba was bouncing in the front seat, having already been banned from touching the radio. Seto had decided that he preferred Mokuba's inane chatter about the film he was going to watch with Kari to the sound of static as Mokuba attempted to retune the radio. It was surprisingly empty in town for a Saturday, which Seto guessed was due to the earlier rain. The weather had only improved a couple of hours ago as a strong breeze had moved the clouds to the North.
"So what are you and Joey going to be doing before you go to the restaurant?" Mokuba asked after explaining the film's plot to his satisfaction.
"Nothing much."
"Really? So you were checking the local weather reports continuously for the last three hours for 'nothing much'?" Mokuba asked as he moved forwards in his seat. Seto noticed the twitching of his hands as he controlled the urge to switch the radio back on.
"I was going to drag Joey back to Kaiba Corp to watch the sunset from the roof," Seto replied quietly.
"You're a real romantic, Seto," Mokuba told him with a grin as the car stopped. The car door was open in a flash as Mokuba jumped out before Seto had switched off the engine. They were parked down the street next to the arcade that was surprisingly empty, like the rest of town had been. Seto opened his door and stepped out into the road before locking the car. He had no doubt that it would be at least fifteen minutes before he would return with Joey.
--
Joey was surprised as he heard the voice behind him.
"Hello, Joey." He spun around to see Kari standing behind him with her red hair down around her shoulders causing him to not recognise her for a few seconds.
"Kari. Hi, what are you doing here?"
"Mokie's taking me out to the cinema and we agreed to meet here," she told him with a wide grin. Joey noticed the way that she was wearing make up and a rather decorative outfit, she was obviously trying to look nice for her boyfriend. It made Joey feel a bit awkward that he hadn't made an effort to look nice for Seto, but it couldn't be changed now.
"Who's your friend?" Yuugi asked as he walked over to the two of them.
"This is Kari, Mokuba's girlfriend." Kari blushed and hid behind Joey. "Kari, this is Yuugi."
"Hello, Kari. It's nice to meet you," Yuugi said as Kari continued to hide. They all turned as they heard a pair of familiar voices talking about how annoying the other was. Both brothers turned the corner into the aisle Joey, Yuugi and Kari were standing in.
"Joey he is all yours. I can't put up with him any longer before I go insane," Mokuba complained.
"I have such a caring little brother," Seto commented as he walked over to the group.
"Well, I care about you," Joey responded as Seto stopped in front of him. It wasn't close enough for Joey to brush his hand over Seto's cheek, but Joey didn't make any moves to get closer. They were in a very public place, with Yuugi, Kari and Mokuba standing with them.
"Where's the rest of your group?" Seto asked Yuugi as he turned to the shorter duelist.
"They're around the arcade. I can go and find them all if you want to say hello," Yuugi replied happily.
"Not particularly, I was assuming that the pup would want to say goodbye to everyone before I dragged him away."
"That's a good idea. I'll go and find them, wait here." Yuugi rushed off to find the group as Joey wondered what he was going to do about Seto and Tristan. There was no chance this could go well. 'What am I going to do?'
"Go on," Mokuba was saying to Kari as Joey continued to wonder about his predicament.
"Joyeux anniversaire," the small girl said to Seto. Joey frowned not recognising the language at all and wondering what had been said.
"Merci beaucoup," Seto replied to her with a wide smile. Kari frowned and looked to Mokuba, Seto also glanced at Mokuba realising that he must have only taught her one phrase. "Thank you very much," he translated for Kari.
"It's ok. Mokuba came up with the idea." Joey was still lost in the conversation but didn't get a chance to ask as Yuugi came back with the others.
"Have fun, both of you," Duke said with a suggestive grin. Joey managed to notice the slight blush on Seto cheeks at the comment but grinned back at Duke.
"I really don't want to listen to this, so we're going to get going. Bye everyone," Mokuba said, quickly gaining Seto's attention.
"Remember, back by ten," Seto reminded him.
"Like you're going to be back home at ten to check," Mokuba retorted.
"I have my ways." Seto glanced behind Mokuba at Kari, causing Mokuba to turn to look at her.
"You two are ganging up on me, that's not fair. From now on you two aren't spending any time together," Mokuba informed them loudly.
"Whatever you say, Mokie. Go and have fun," Seto replied as they began walking away again.
"Bye, Seto. Bye, Joey," Kari said as she followed Mokuba.
"Bye," both Joey and Seto responded before turning back to the group.
"Both Kaiba brothers out on dates tonight," Yuugi said with a grin.
"Mokuba and Kari are so sweet," Tea told them all.
"Where are you two going tonight?" Ryou asked.
"To a restaurant and I'm not telling you lot which one or you'll end up not leaving us alone," Joey replied, taking a few steps so that he could pull Seto into a hug. He'd noticed Tristan's glare at the CEO and felt slightly protective over Seto, even if it was from his former best friend. Seto didn't fight, instead opting to slouch enough to lean his head on Joey's shoulder. This elicited an 'aw' from Tea and Ryou. Duke and Yuugi both grinned at them both, but Tristan continued to glare. Joey decided he wasn't going to care what Tristan thought, he had the most gorgeous guy he knew leant against his shoulder and the majority of his friends, both old and new, were supporting his decision. If Tristan was unable to deal with the relationship then so be it.
"We ought to get going, Joey," Seto informed him.
"Ok, sorry guys but we've got to go."
"Phone me tomorrow, Joey," Yuugi told him excitedly.
"Fine. Bye for now," Joey told them all as he let go of Seto so that they could walk.
Shouts of 'Bye, Joey, bye, Kaiba,' followed them out of the building from everyone except Tristan.
--
Joey laughed as Seto tossed the Sat Nav into the back seat as it automatically switched itself on with the car's engine.
"I take it you don't like being told what to do," he said when he got his laughter under control.
"I'm willing to make exceptions in special cases," Seto replied as he pulled out into the road.
"Am I a special case?" Joey asked, grinning.
"Maybe. It depends if you make a good suggestion." Joey glanced around the car, trying to expel those thoughts from his mind. Knowing Seto was sat next to him wasn't helping, especially in those tight clothes under his long coat. Joey shifted in his seat as he thought about how little would be left to the imagination with just that coat gone. In an effort to take his mind off it he decided to find out where they were going and what this surprise was.
"So what are we doing before we go to the restaurant?" Joey asked.
"That's a surprise," Seto replied with a grin.
Joey decided that continuing to pester Seto about what this surprise was wouldn't work. If the CEO wanted to not tell him something, there was no way Joey could persuade him to tell him. Joey doubted that Seto would even give in under torture. He sighed and turned back to the window to watch the road go by. It wasn't long before he spotted the towering building of Kaiba Corp.
"I've finished work experience, Seto," Joey complained as he realised that was where they were headed.
"I know, pup, but there's something I want to show you," Seto replied as he pulled into the car park. Joey had the door open as soon as Seto switched off the engine and jumped out of the seat to look at the now familiar sight of the entrance to the lobby.
"What can you possibly have planned here except boredom?" Joey asked.
"You'll see." Joey followed Seto into the lobby and across to the lift. As they passed the reception desk the receptionist held up a handful of envelopes.
"These arrived for you, Mr Kaiba," she said as Seto turned to glance at her.
"I'll deal with them on Monday. Can you have them put on my desk?"
"Of course, Mr Kaiba." They entered the lift and Joey wondered what all the envelopes were about. Maybe they were from Seto's numerous admirers, and he had dismissed them all until Monday. The lift doors shut behind them and Joey was reminded of last Monday when he'd nearly kissed Seto for the first time. Well today he wasn't going to get nervous.
Seto felt Joey grab the collar of his coat and force their lips together. They took a few steps until Seto was trapped between the wall of the lift and Joey. Joey parted their lips to take a few much needed deep breaths.
"So, now you've got me trapped, what are you going to do?" Seto asked, watching Joey with his crystal blue eyes.
"I'm not sure. There are so many options." Joey looked thoughtful as he ran a hand across Seto's cheek. A grin spread across his face as Seto shifted his head to increase the pressure on his cheek from Joey's hand. This movement had exposed the pale skin of his neck, which Joey took immediate advantage of. Seto groaned as he felt Joey gently nip at his pulse point before running his tongue to sooth the slight sting. Joey continued his assault on Seto's neck as he felt the lift stop. The doors opened and Joey looked up as he felt the cold air enter the lift.
"We're here," Seto told him as he tried to push Joey off of him. Joey stepped back to allow Seto to move and they exited the lift.
The view was impressive.
"You can see the whole of town from up here," Joey said in awe as he turned a full circle to try and see it all.
"I thought you might appreciate it," Seto replied, smiling at Joey's wonder.
"It's just … wow," the blond turned to look at where the redness of the sunlight disappearing over the horizon was illuminating the clouds. "I think I prefer looking at you though."
Seto smiled slightly at the compliment but shivered as he pulled his coat around himself.
"Are you cold?" Joey asked, realising after he said it how stupid he must sound. Seto's look showed that the CEO thought it was a pointless question as well but Joey ignored it.
"Do you want my jacket or a hug?" Joey asked, wondering how long it would be before he got hypothermia if Seto took the jacket. The heat was disappearing quickly from the roof after the sun set so he could tell that it wouldn't be long before he was going to start shivering just like Seto, with or without his jacket.
"I'll go with the second option, but we need to leave soon for the restaurant." Joey wasted no time in pulling Seto into a hug, feeling the heat from Seto's body against himself. Seto wrapped his arms loosely around Joey's waist, under his jacket, and leaned his head against his shoulder.
"I always thought that your coats would be good enough to stop you getting cold, Seto."
"This coat's new and doesn't seem to be as good as you are at keeping me warm," Seto replied.
"It's nice to know you need me for something," Joey commented as he pulled Seto as close to himself as possible without suffocating Seto. They stood like that for only a few moments, happy with each other's presence, before Seto sighed.
"We need to get going or we're going to be late at the restaurant."
--
Joey took another mouthful of food as he watched Seto across the table. Seto was sipping his drink, eating his food a lot slower than Joey was. They had gone to a Chinese restaurant and Joey hadn't been very surprised that the waiters knew Seto and hurried to show them to one of the private rooms. It seemed fairly obvious to Joey that Seto frequented this restaurant with business clients and Mokuba. He found it entertaining that the waiters didn't know how to act towards him, whether to treat him with respect and not try to make conversation or whether to chat happily with him.
"I'm assuming you like the food," Seto said with a smile as he put down his glass. Joey grinned back as he noticed the red wine Seto was drinking had left a few drops at the corner of his lips, making Seto look rather like a vampire.
"It's wonderful, Seto," Joey replied as he swallowed his mouthful.
"I'm glad you like it."
"Do you come here a lot?"
"At least once a month, it's a good place to bring clients or, as I did last week, Mokuba and his friends."
"I'm sure that was fun." Joey watched as Seto licked his fork clean before answering.
"Tremendous fun, my white coat is still at the dry cleaners as they can't get the red wine stain out."
"I would hate to be the person who spilt wine on your coat," Joey said with a laugh at the mental image of Seto's reaction to having his coat ruined. They ate in silence for a few more minutes, Joey watching Seto as he lifted the fork to his mouth and the movement of the various muscles under that pale skin as Seto chewed then swallowed.
"I thought you were better and weren't passing out on me anymore," Seto commented, bringing Joey out of his trance.
"I think you're hypnotising me," Joey complained, realising that he had stopped moving with his fork halfway to his mouth. "I reckon that you keep trying to hypnotise me so that you can take advantage of me." Seto started laughing as Joey finished explaining his theory. The sound was strange to hear from Seto, but it sounded so honest and happy. Joey wasn't sure he'd ever heard Seto laugh before, the disturbed cackle he'd heard but the true honest laughter was new. It was a sound he was definitely going to try and hear again from the CEO.
"Joey I don't think I would need to hypnotise you," Seto said with a smile as he stopped laughing.
"Probably not," Joey replied, "but that's only because you've hypnotised me into thinking you are amazingly attractive with a great personality."
"Of course it is," Seto said in a patronising voice as if he was humouring a small child. Joey remembered that voice, but somehow it wasn't as offensive now as it had seemed in the past.
"Are you going to finish that?" Joey asked, pointing his fork at Seto's plate of food. Seto still had half of his meal left whereas Joey had just finished his plateful.
"Probably not, I'm assuming that you're offering to help me finish it though."
"What are boyfriends for?" Joey asked with a laugh as Seto offered his forkful of food to Joey across the table. There was no hesitation from the pup as he allowed Seto to feed him. Seto smiled as Joey accepted the food, it was odd feeding Joey across the table but at the same time it was strangely pleasing to feel the slight tug on the fork as Joey used his teeth and tongue to pull the food from the metal implement. The plate was slowly cleared as Seto alternated between feeding himself and Joey with the same fork.
"I think we're going to have to go to more restaurants together," Joey said as Seto finished up the last remains of his meal.
"Is that so you can eat my food?"
"Of course. Do we get pudding?" Joey asked with a grin and licking his lips.
"If you want pup, but I'm not going to have any." The waiters had probably been hovering outside the room as two of them walked through the door to clear away the plates and cutlery, passing Joey a dessert menu as well. Joey glanced down the options on the menu, wondering what he should get that he could offer to Seto. The main waiter reappeared after only a few minutes to ask if Joey had made a decision and offer Seto a coffee. Seto accepted and Joey decided that he would be childish and go for a sundae. As Joey ordered he noticed the slight smile from Seto at his choice.
"What's so amusing about me liking ice cream, chocolate and sprinkles?" Joey asked as Seto continued to grin.
"It's just that's what Mokie always orders," Seto replied. It wasn't long before the waiters returned with Seto's coffee and Joey's sundae. Joey smiled as he picked up his spoon to start devouring the food, forgetting about how he was going to offer it to Seto. From across the table Seto couldn't help but smile as he watched Joey demolish the ice cream, he sipped his coffee and considered unwrapping the small chocolate liqueurs that had been put on the saucer next to his coffee cup. He'd never seen the sense of this trait in restaurants as the chocolates always melted as they were put next to the hot coffee. Seto continued to watch the sundae disappear and resisted the urge to laugh as he noticed that Joey had managed to get ice cream on his nose. As Joey realised that Seto was watching him over the top of his coffee he paused.
"Do you want some?" Joey asked as he took another spoonful from his bowl.
"I'll try some," Seto replied as he put his coffee cup back down next to the liqueurs. They both leaned across the table, Joey offering the spoon to Seto which was ignored. Seto licked the ice cream from the tip of Joey's nose and cheeks, causing a blush to colour Joey's face. Joey just remained still as Seto leant back and picked up his coffee again.
"I think I may have to get you more ice cream," Seto said with a grin as he sipped his coffee.
"I won't object," Joey replied as he leant back and continued to eat the sundae in a slight daze. The feeling of that tongue on his skin, lapping at his cheeks, caused him to feel slightly tingly and his blush remained. Joey managed to finish off the sundae before Seto was even halfway through his coffee, meaning that Joey ended up watching Seto sip the liquid. He was reminded of last Saturday when they were sat in the café, watching those muscles move in his throat.
"You seem to have a strange obsession with watching me, pup," Seto commented.
"I wouldn't call it strange," Joey replied with a grin as Seto put down the cup. The blue eyed CEO then picked up the first of his chocolates and slowly pulled off the wrapper, smiling as he noticed it was fairly melted. The tips of his fingers became coated in the substance as he brought the sweet to his lips, watching Joey watch him across the table. Seto licked the chocolate before taking it into his mouth, sucking the sticky goo from a couple of his fingers at the same time.
"Now you're just being mean," Joey groaned as he shifted in his seat.
"I'm just eating my chocolates," Seto replied as he licked the melted chocolate from his fingertips. His tongue danced over the soft skin making Joey fidget in his seat.
"Do I have to sit here watching you eat all you're chocolates or are you going to share?"
"You can't still be hungry, Joey, but you can have the rest of the chocolates if you want." Seto picked up his coffee again to wash away the taste of the liqueur, he'd never been very fond of chocolate liqueurs but it was worth putting up with the taste to tease Joey. The pup looked a little lost with the idea of eating the other three chocolates, especially after Seto's display, but he wasn't going to refuse food.
"I don't want to deprive you of them so two each sounds fair to me," Joey said as he picked up one of the neatly wrapped sweets. He pulled off the wrapper and managed to smear the melting chocolate across both his hands. Seto fought the smile of amusement that was trying to make its way onto his face at Joey's attempt to copy him. Joey had managed to spread the chocolate across most of his fingers before the chocolate made it out of its wrapper, meaning Joey was now licking the chocolate from across both hands. Seto allowed a small smile at how Joey's tongue flickered out from between his rosy lips; it was enticing in its own way. The uncontrolled, sloppiness of Joey's attempt was more attractive to Seto than his own decisive actions.
"So I have to eat another chocolate?" Seto asked as Joey finished cleaning his hands.
"Of course," Joey replied with a grin as he picked up his own second chocolate. He hurried in unwrapping it to try and avoid the goo spreading over his already sticky hands. This chocolate was popped into his mouth rather unceremoniously as Joey focused on watching Seto begin his display for the second time. Seto considered disappointing his pup but decided he wouldn't survive the evening of complaining he would have to endure if he did.
--
Joey shifted in the front seat of the car as Seto slid into the driver's seat. He looked at the clock on the dash board to see it was only nine o clock, far earlier than he expected after the way they had managed to drag out the meal at the restaurant. Seto fumbled with the keys as he tried to start up the engine, looking nervously across at Joey.
"Do you want to come back to my house for a hot chocolate?" he asked as he managed to get the keys to work. Joey wondered if this was a normal line for Seto to use to ask people back in the past and felt his mouth go dry in expectation. Did he really want to rush things this fast?
"Sure," he replied, wondering why he felt so nervous. He wanted this didn't he? He wanted to sleep with Seto. It was what he had been dreaming about for months so why did he feel so nervous about the prospect?
They were silent for the entire drive until they reached the gates at the front of the Kaiba estate. Joey looked up at them in awe as Seto fumbled with the key ring. The gates swung open automatically as he operated something attached to the key ring.
"That's impressive, Seto. I haven't been to your house in years."
"You've only visited once, and that was when Gozaburo was in charge. It's changed a bit since then."
"I'm going to get lost," Joey complained as he watched out the window as they neared the mansion.
"I'll make sure you don't," Seto replied, glancing over at Joey. The nervousness was still clear in his eyes, but he was hiding it well. Joey wondered if agreeing to come back to Seto's house was really a good idea or a terrible mistake that they were both going to regret.
Seto pulled the car to a stop outside the front door and switched off the engine. Joey glanced at Seto, noticing the slight fear in his eyes. Was Seto worried about what might happen tonight? Did Seto not want to let Joey have control?
Seto pushed open his car door and stood up. He looked back at Joey, who had yet to move.
"Are you going to sit there all night?"
"Of course not," Joey replied as he undid his seat belt and hurriedly got out of the car. They remained silent as Seto opened the front door and led the way through the myriad of corridors. Joey decided that he didn't want to loose sight of Seto as there was no way he would be able to find his way back out of the house alone. After walking what Joey thought must be at least a mile, they reached a kitchen. Unlike most of the other rooms they had passed this one looked used, with a notice board near the door covered in pictures, both childish pictures with Mokuba's name scribbled on the bottom and more professional looking ones that were unsigned, interspersed with what looked like school letters. Joey began reading one as Seto filled the kettle with water and found mugs in one of the cupboards.
'Dear Mr Kaiba
'Your presence is requested at the school parents' evening on Wednesday 5th November to discuss Mokuba's progress. Please fill in and return the attendance slip to Mokuba's tutor who will allocate suitable time slots to talk to each subject teacher.'
The bottom of the letter had been torn off and, Joey assumed, returned to Mokuba's tutor. A second letter had been pinned up next to it with times and subjects written in. Next to the board was a calendar with various things written on the days. Joey noticed that something had been scrawled on it for today and he leant forward trying to read it.
"Do you want any sugar in your hot chocolate?" Seto asked, causing Joey to jump.
"Who has sugar in hot chocolate?" Joey asked, wondering how anyone could like something that sweet.
"Mokuba," Seto replied with a smile as he put a mug down on the table with a packet of marshmallows. When Seto turned back around to fetch the second mug Joey looked at the calendar again. The scribbled words weren't clear but it was obvious what they said.
'Seto 18th birthday'
Joey blinked, everything made sense now. Seto taking the day off work to spend most of the day with Mokuba. The date being circled in Seto's diary. The note in Seto's diary about Mokuba having plans for the day. Kari speaking to Seto earlier about something, she was probably wishing him happy birthday. The collection of cards Seto's receptionist had collected on her desk for him. It had been obvious all along.
"What is so interesting to you, pup?"
"It's your birthday," Joey said quietly.
"Is that a problem, Joey?" Seto asked, his voice was fairly flat but Joey was sure he heard a slight hint of the nervousness like he had seen in Seto's eyes earlier.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't think it was important."
"It's your eighteenth birthday, Seto, most people go out to celebrate their eighteenth with a group of their friends and get completely drunk."
"That doesn't appeal to me in the slightest. I think I would rather spend my eighteenth birthday with my brother and my boyfriend," Seto replied with a smile.
"Even if your boyfriend didn't know it was your birthday?"
"That would be even better because it would stop him insisting on doing something special." Seto sipped his mug of hot chocolate as he continued to smile at Joey.
--
The hot chocolate was gone in less than ten minutes and the tension caused by nerves seemed to have dissipated.
"For my eighteenth I want a party with all my friends and a huge cake, maybe a stripper as well." Seto crossed his arms and mock glared at Joey as the pup continued to explain what he wanted to do for his eighteenth birthday. "Then everyone will stay for the whole night and we'll all get drunk on the atmosphere and alcohol. Of course if your there I plan on getting lucky that night."
"It would be fair if I had the same option on my eighteenth then, wouldn't it?" Seto wished he could take back those words, but it had been said. What they were both so nervous about had been suggested, and he had suggested it.
Joey remained silent, completely speechless. What should he do? Did Seto expect him to do something now? If he was expecting something from Joey why did he look so worried about it? That nervousness was plainly seen on his face, written in those blue orbs for the entire world to see.
Neither wanted to make the first move so just sat staring at each other across the wooden table top. Seto felt like he should say something, anything, to take back the suggestion. Joey moved before he could speak.
The blond wasn't sure what he was doing, all he knew was that he was going to try his hardest to please Seto. He pulled Seto up off his chair and into a kiss, slowly backing the brunette into the kitchen wall as Joey ran his tongue around Seto's mouth. As he felt a need for air he pulled back and began attacking the buttons of Seto's shirt with his fingers. Seto's hands were at the hem of his t-shirt, trying to pull it upwards. Joey paused in his task of undoing the shirt to help Seto lift the clothing over his head. The t-shirt dropped to the floor, closely followed by Seto's shirt.
Joey began kissing Seto's neck, quickly finding his pulse point again where a bruise had appeared from his previous attack. Seto moaned and let his head fall back against the wall, giving Joey more room to nip and suck at his neck. Joey pushed closer to Seto, feeling a slight hardness against his hip. It was an odd thought that he was going to be able to, no, was expected to feel the burning flesh under his hand. He'd been dreaming about doing this to Seto for ages, but now that he was finally able to he felt unsure. This was all too fast. He had to stop this. He had to say no.
The sound of someone clearing their throat brought both Joey and Seto out of their partially coherent thoughts. Seto looked fairly dazed and Joey couldn't help but feel proud that he'd achieved that look from the usually emotionless CEO.
"If you two are going to do stuff like that can you please not leave the door open?" Mokuba asked from the doorway.
"Of course," Seto replied, still trapped between Joey and the wall. "How did your date go?"
"Fine, I'll tell you in the morning as you look a bit busy right now," Mokuba said, looking eager to run away from the kitchen.
"Ok, sleep well," Seto said as Mokuba turned to flee from the room, looking relieved that he could leave.
"Good night," Joey said to Mokuba as he disappeared from sight, still mystified that Seto could act normally when caught by his younger brother in a very compromising position.
"Joey?" Seto asked quietly, the nervousness back in his voice.
"What?" Joey asked as he tried to lift Seto's chin so that he could look into Seto's face.
"I want to take things slower. I … I don't want to rush things like I did with the others. … I want this relationship to be special." Joey breathed a sigh of relief as he heard Seto's words. He wrapped his arms around Seto to pull him into a hug as best as he could without having to step backwards.
"I understand completely, Seto, I don't want to rush this either," Joey told him whilst peppering Seto's cheek with kisses in an attempt to make Seto turn his head to face him. "There's one problem though."
"What?" Seto asked, finally turning to look at Joey with worry clear in his eyes.
"It's a bit late for me to go home now and I haven't brought my pyjamas." Joey felt the smile return to his face as Seto started laughing in relief.
--
Joey smiled to himself as he leaned back onto the bed in the spare room he had been offered by Seto. The room was large, decorated a rich colour combination of reds and oranges that were matched by the deep red silken sheets on the bed. It was almost overwhelming to Joey's senses as he felt the sheets cool against his back as he stared at the ceiling with its artistic swirls of colour.
He shifted in an attempt to feel more comfortable but only succeeded in making his borrowed pyjama trousers slide down his hips. Pushing himself up he decided that the best option would be to make his way along the corridor to the room he knew was Seto's so that he could say goodnight to the brunette. Maybe he would be able to stay and chat for a while.
The carpet felt cold on his bare feet as he stood up from the bed and walked to the door. Along the corridor between the two rooms Joey managed to pull up the trousers but they did almost nothing against the slight chill in the air.
"I came to say good night, but it's freezing out here, Seto," Joey complained as he stood in the open doorway. Seto looked up from where he had been sat reading a book, curled up in the sheets on his bed. The brunette sighed and pulled down the covers next to him in a silent invitation. Joey took it without word, snuggling up to Seto and causing him to drop his reading book and loose his page.
"You are frozen, Joey," Seto complained as Joey used him as a hot water bottle.
"Well you'll have to help me get warm again," Joey replied with a mischievous grin as he hugged Seto's body closer to himself.
"Fine, but only if you let me get some sleep and this is just because it's cold tonight. Don't think you can just sleep in my bed whenever you want," Seto muttered in a rather unconvincing voice making Joey grin.
"Deal, I'll let my hot water bottle go to sleep as long as I can cuddle him all night," Joey said childishly as he held Seto trapped against himself.
"You'll have to let me breath, Joey," Seto muttered as he tried to wriggle into a more comfortable position.
"Ok," Joey replied and loosened his grip enough to let Seto get comfortable against him.
"Are you going to switch off the lamp?" Seto asked as he finished shifting position. Joey wordlessly reached across to the bedside table and plunged them both into darkness curled up together under the covers.
--
Heva: Aw that's a cute image at the end I think. Well what do people think of it?
Coel: She almost didn't upload this today and you would have all had to wait until Sunday then as she has to sort out everything for her relatives arriving tomorrow.
Heva: Don't remind me Coel. I've got too much to do tonight and it's pantomime rehearsal in half an hour so I'm going to be unable to tidy up the house until after ten o clock tonight. Nocturnal cleaning is not good.
Anyway I hope you guys all enjoy the chapter and feel like reviewing. The next chapter should be up next Friday for all of you to take a look at. Have a great week.
Date: 17/10/08
