Sunday – the morning after
Heva: Well this is the penultimate chapter. Gosh I'm going to miss this story and I really need to finish writing that last chapter.
Coel: If you plan on uploading it next Friday you ought to hurry up.
Heva: I suppose so. I'll go and work on it when I get home as I'm not writing a lemon scene whilst in my school IT rooms.
Coel: Why not? I'm sure the group of other students around you at the moment would find it entertaining…especially if a teacher catches you.
Heva: Anyway enjoy the chapter while I try to ignore the group of people who have just started singing songs from High School Musical. I wonder if I'll get expelled for murder to shut them up.
--
Sunday – the morning after
--
Joey blinked as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. He frowned at the light blue sheets. A slight sigh next to him caused his body to tense as he tried to get his sleep clouded mind to work. The weight in the bed curled up next to him shifted slightly, messy brown hair coming into view as he glanced down. Joey's mind still couldn't make sense of what he was doing waking up in a strange bed with someone cuddling him but decided he wouldn't move from the warmth and comfort.
His mind finally gave in and Joey remembered last night. Pushing Seto into a wall and taking away the brunette's breath, before being led upstairs and leant some pyjamas. He'd curled up with Seto in the CEO's bed and fallen asleep with Seto in his arms. Joey grinned to himself as he pulled Seto's body closer to his and the brunette mumbled something in his sleep about not wanting to wake up. The blankets were covering Seto almost completely apart from the few locks of brown hair that Joey had spotted earlier. Joey pushed down the covers to try and get a look at Seto's tranquil expression but as soon as he tried Seto reached for the blankets to try and pull them back up. It turned out that Seto didn't have as much will power when he was asleep as when he was awake and gave up fairly quickly allowing Joey to pull the blankets down a bit. The cold air caused Seto to snuggle up closer and Joey ran his hand through Seto's brown locks. He shifted his head a little as Seto rather ungraciously tried to bury his face in his neck.
The curtains hadn't been closed last night so the morning light was illuminating the room a fiery orange and Joey blinked as he turned his head to look at the scene outside. The sun must have only just risen meaning it was far too early to be awake. He glanced down at the still slumbering Seto and snuggled back into the warm covers with him.
It was barely a minute before a ringing sound started and he felt Seto stir. The ringing continued as Seto stretched, pushing away from Joey at the same time. Joey watched as sleep clouded blue eyes blinked open as Seto turned over to find his phone from the bedside table. It was quite strange to watch a half asleep Seto acting what seemed automatically to answer his mobile phone.
The blue eyed CEO glanced at the display on the phone and groaned in what Joey assumed was annoyance before answering it.
"Why are you calling this early in the morning?" Seto asked the caller in a sleep filled voice that still managed to sound menacing, although the yawn at the end of the sentence spoiled the effect.
"What I do in my life is of no concern to them… no … I'm not dignifying that question with a response … yes," Seto pulled the phone away from his ear and glanced over groggily at Joey. "Are you awake?"
"Yes," Joey replied and took the phone when Seto offered it wordlessly to him. He lifted the phone to his ear as Seto snuggled back under the covers and curled up next to him.
"And another thing, young master Kaiba, is a complete lack of caring for those of us that are trying to do our jobs talking to the press to try and keep them on your side. We do our best to make sure they don't print unwanted details about your social life and questionable company affairs, then you don't have the courtesy to tell us that you are dating a boy from your school so that we can prepare a press statement." Joey glanced down at the now sleeping brunette against his chest and wondered how he coped with this woman who was on the phone. He assumed that she was Seto's press agent, or whatever they were called, and Seto had passed the phone to him as he didn't want to put up with her this morning. She was still talking when Joey dropped the phone onto the bed covers and snuggled up to Seto again.
"Have you gone back to sleep, Seto?" Joey asked quietly as he ran his now free hand through Seto's hair. It was a complete mess but still nice to touch which wasn't something that surprised Joey as he had seen Seto's bathroom last night when he put on his borrowed pyjama bottoms and used his borrowed toothbrush. The number of cosmetic products cluttering Seto's bathroom would lead anyone to believe it belonged to a fashionable teenage girl and Joey decided he ought to ask Seto about some of it, especially the large amount of brown hair dye. It was fairly obvious that brown was not Seto's natural hair colour, well not anymore at least.
As Seto hadn't replied that he was awake Joey decided to go back to sleep as well. It was warm, comfortable and far too early to be getting up.
--
Joey blinked as he felt himself being shaken awake.
"Wake up, Joey," a voice was saying that definitely wasn't Seto's. The voice was higher pitched and far too excitable.
"Go away. I want to sleep," Joey complained turning over and pulling the covers over his head like he did when his dad tried to get him up in the morning.
"No chance," the voice replied defiantly as Joey felt someone begin to bounce on the bed. "Get up! Get up! Get up!" was being yelled with the bouncing and Joey realised who it must be. Only two people would possibly bounce on Seto's bed and Seto really didn't seem to be the kind of person who would voluntarily jump on a bed, whereas Mokuba probably wouldn't think twice about it.
"Why do I have to get up, Mokuba?" Joey asked as he pulled the sheets tighter in a symbol of defiance.
"Because Seto's cooking breakfast and he said I can't have any of it until you're downstairs." Mokuba continued bouncing as he spoke making it hard to understand what he was saying but Joey heard the words 'Seto's cooking breakfast' and pushed the covers off himself so that he could get out of bed. "Seto said that you could borrow his spare dressing gown if you wanted. It's on the back of his door," Mokuba told Joey as he jumped off the bed and dashed over to the door to fetch said dressing gown. Joey couldn't help but notice the light blue colour that matched Seto so well as Mokuba handed him the clothing.
The smell of pancakes was delicious as they made their way downstairs to the kitchen and Joey felt his mouth watering at the scent. They entered the kitchen together as Joey had made sure to stay with Mokuba the entire trip to make sure he didn't get lost in the myriad of corridors. The sight that greeted them Joey tried to commit to memory.
There was a mixing bowl on the side, which was nearly empty of batter, with a ladle lying next to it. Next to this there was an open box of cooking lard which had been used to grease the frying pan that was sitting on the cooker. The frying pan was spluttering as Seto put some more lard in it to melt before he put the next lot of batter into it. On the table were four plates, one already piled high with pancakes, and a variety of things to put on the pancakes; such as syrup, chocolate chips, marshmallows, sugar, lemon juice and a variety of other treats that Joey was unsure of the identity of. The main centre of his attention focused on the lone figure of Seto stood next to the frying pan holding a spatula in one hand as he poured the next pancake into the frying pan. He was wearing an apron which was looking a little over used and in need of replacing. It was probably white originally but had turned a slight grey with age and Joey could see the tag that said it was property of the orphanage Seto and Mokuba had been in. The flour used to make the batter had obviously been spilt at some point that morning as Joey could see the white powder spread across the flour and work surface, also dusting across Seto's face and hands making him look even paler than usual. It was a homely scene Joey decided, and he was now part of it. He smiled as Seto turned round to see the two of them in the doorway.
"I see Mokie managed to wake you," Seto said happily as he picked up a mug of coffee from the table and took a sip.
"He's got quite a talent for waking people," Joey replied with a smile as Mokuba picked up one of the plates from the table and transferred one of the warm pancakes to it before covering it in sugar, chocolate chips and syrup. Seto shook his head as Mokuba glanced over to his older brother for permission as he picked up the packet of marshmallows.
"You're going to rot your teeth, Mokie," Seto told him as Mokuba sat down to eat his breakfast.
"I'll get some dentures then," the youngster replied as he used a fork and spoon to start devouring the sickly sweet mess on his plate. Seto sighed at his brother's comment and turned to face Joey again.
"Feel free to put what you want on your pancakes, you don't have to follow Mokuba's example." Mokuba grinned as Joey poured the syrup onto his own pancake as well as some chocolate chips. "You two are as bad as each other," Seto complained as he turned back to the cooker to flip the pancake over.
"I'm not sure whether that's meant to be an insult or a compliment," Joey replied as he began to follow Mokuba's example of eating with a spoon and fork to try and stop as much syrup escaping across the table and floor as possible.
"It's an insult because Seto doesn't like sweet things," Mokuba informed him.
"That's a shame," Joey replied, "because I like sweet things a lot." The smirk on Joey's face caused Seto to blush bright red and hit him with the spatula.
"No comments like that at the table or with Mokuba present," Seto reprimanded him as he washed the spatula in the sink before putting the next pancake onto the spare plate. He sprinkled a small amount of sugar and lemon juice on it before sitting next to Joey to eat his breakfast.
"Don't worry about me, I've seen enough of a display last night to be in therapy for years," Mokuba reminded them. Seto's blush returned as he refused to look at either of them, while Joey just grinned.
"I'm sure your brother can afford the best shrinks in the world for you, as well as your false teeth," Joey replied as he continued to smile as he reached for a second pancake.
"He might spend it all on gifts for you though, leaving me only able to afford the second best psychiatrist in the world," Mokuba pointed out.
"I'm sure I can persuade your brother that your mental health is more important than buying highly suggestive outfits for my appreciation." Joey started laughing as Seto playfully hit him, while Mokuba tried to keep a straight face. He could tell Joey was just winding Seto up and succeeding, although his comments were about things he really didn't want to know it was still funny to watch the two of them.
The rest of breakfast went by uneventfully as Seto made Joey promise to stop making suggestive comments in front of Mokuba however innocent he thought they sounded. Mokuba had started laughing at how Joey had tried to defend himself by saying that he was being perfectly innocent and Seto must have a dirty mind to think he was hinting at anything. Mokuba had left the room shortly afterwards having finished eating his pancakes. Joey had finished as well but stayed to help Seto clean up the kitchen, well just spend time with him actually but that sounded like a soppy thing to say.
Joey watched Seto finish the last piece of pancake left on his plate and found himself mesmerised by the muscles in his throat again. It was an odd fascination with the way Seto moved he concluded as he saw the muscles contract and relax as he swallowed his mouthful, the bruise he had made yesterday shifting with the movement.
"You're going to make me paranoid if you keep staring like that," Seto commented as he drank the rest of his coffee.
"What if I want to stare at you?" Joey asked as he shifted his gaze to meet Seto's eyes.
"You'll make me paranoid like I said," Seto replied.
"Well you and Mokuba can both go and see the same psychiatrist then," Joey told him with a grin. Seto sighed but Joey could see the slight turn up of his lips that showed he was amused with the answer. "So what are we doing today?"
"Georgie leaves this afternoon but I haven't got anything planned for today so what would you like to do?"
"What have you got to amuse yourself in this house?" Joey asked and wondered why Seto's smirk appeared on his face almost immediately.
--
Mokuba grinned at them both as Seto pushed open the door to the games room. Joey felt his mouth drop open in amazement at the sight of the room. The first thing he realised was that this room was Mokuba's more than Seto's as it was a mess with pop corn on the floor. There were shelves and shelves covering the far wall, all full of DVDs, games and a few videos with a huge flat screen TV in the middle with a collection of games consoles below it. Mokuba had set up a game on the system that was loading when they entered.
"I thought you had tidied up after your friends came over?" Seto questioned as he walked over to his younger brother.
"I was going to, but then I saw how messy it actually was and decided to leave it for later in the week," Mokuba replied honestly as the game finished loading. "Are you two wanting to play a game?"
"Do you want to play a game, Joey?" Seto asked, turning to the still awe struck Joey.
"What are the options?" Joey asked.
"Well, we have those DR mats still but Seto gets embarrassed," Mokuba said as he got up and began looking through the games on the shelves. "We've got Wii bowling that we could all do together. It's always a good laugh," Mokuba informed them as he held up a disk.
"I don't mind," Joey replied with a shrug, "although dancing is quite hard in dressing gowns."
"In Mokie's mind that just means it's more entertaining," Seto informed him, glancing at his brother as the youngster put the disk into the right console before picking up the two Wii remotes they owned.
"I just find it entertaining how good you are at it, big brother."
"I think this is something I am going to have to watch at some point," Joey said with a laugh as he watched the loading screen appear on the TV. "So how do you play this game?"
Mokuba explained how the remotes worked and selected the required options on screen to begin a game. The youngest member of the group went first, the swing of his arm greatly exaggerated by the way his dressing gown moved with his arm which made both Joey and Seto smile. Seto was more entertaining as he got his arm caught on the cord of his dressing gown causing the computer generated bowling ball to loose momentum on the screen giving Seto a score of zero for his first shot. His second one showed his expertise at the game and he got a half strike making Mokuba lean back to whisper something to Joey.
"I swear he cheats somehow because he can pick up any game and master it in only a few tries."
"I thought you were better at video games than he was?" Joey asked, remembering the reputation the younger Kaiba had obtained as a pre-teen.
"Only just, but I spend more time playing them," Mokuba replied as Joey stood up and took the remote from Seto. He got a good swing and managed to knock down most of the pins over his two goes but was still in last place compared to the two more experienced brothers. The game continued in a similar pattern with Seto winning by a clear margin whilst Mokuba and Joey stayed fairly level a few points behind him. That was until Mokuba decided to use the distraction tactic by making Seto jump as he tried to bowl by knocking over an unstable stack of DVDs. Joey started laughing as Seto scored another zero for his first shot and was put off enough to only knock down a couple of pins on his second shot.
"Do you want me to try and help you a bit?" Seto asked Joey as Mokuba looked annoyed.
"You're trying to make me loose because I put you off now, aren't you Seto?" he complained as Joey wondered if he wanted to be caught in the middle of a brotherly competition between the two.
"Of course," Seto replied as he stood behind Joey and gently placed a hand on the wrist holding the Wii remote. Joey lent back slightly, liking the feeling of Seto's warmth through the thick dressing gown. Seto guided his arm through the swing and Seto told him when to let go of the button earning Joey a strike which put him in second place, only four points behind Seto's lead.
The game came to a predictable finish with their positions unchanged although the points were very close after Seto took to 'tutoring' Joey each turn. Mokuba seemed to have ignored the way that Seto and Joey were standing next to each other when Joey took his turn, which both of them were glad of.
"Do you want to watch a film?" Seto asked once the game was over and Mokuba began setting up another game for him to play alone without 'scheming brothers'.
"What do you suggest?" Joey asked, wary of Seto's choice as he knew that their film tastes differed a lot.
"I don't mind. What good horror films have we got, Mokie?"
"Resident Evil is good. Lot's of blood and guts zombie killing like Shaun of the Dead, except not a comedy."
"What's Shaun of the Dead?" Joey asked. He'd heard of Resident Evil before and had nearly watched it with Tristan when it was in the cinema, but he had never heard of Shaun of the Dead.
"It's a romzomcom," Mokuba said happily as his game finished loading.
"It's an english film that Georgie gave me for my birthday that is a romantic comedy with zombies."
"Seto just didn't understand the funny side of London being taken over by zombies," Mokuba informed Joey.
"I think Seto just struggles with humour sometimes," Joey replied with a smile as he received a slight glare from Seto. "Where's Resident Evil?" he asked as he realised that leaving the room soon would prevent Seto from getting wound up by his brother. Mokuba glanced around the floor and obediently held up a DVD case with Resident Evil written on the cover. Seto took it and led the way out of the room.
--
The film turned out to be just like Mokuba's description had said, apart from the good part, in Seto's mind. Joey, however, seemed to be enjoying it and had stopped trying to snuggle up to Seto after only twenty minutes. He still had his arms draped across Seto's shoulders, holding the brunette against himself, but he wasn't pulling Seto closer as he had done at the very beginning of the film. It was irritating Seto a little that Joey was more interested in the film than he was in curling up on the sofa with his new boyfriend, especially when the film was this full of violence with a pathetic excuse for a storyline. Seto decided not to complain and just be content with being held loosely by Joey.
Eventually the film ended and Joey stretched to relieve the cramp from his muscles having been sat still for so long. He glanced down at Seto to find that the CEO had fallen asleep curled up next to him. His chest rose and fell gently with the soft sighs leaving his slightly parted lips as is eyelids fluttered in his sleep. The sight was such a stark contrast of peace and tranquillity compared to the usual stressful appearance when Seto was awake. Joey grinned to himself as he watched, it was still giving him a slight buzz to feel part of Seto's life. Mokuba seemed to have accepted him this morning, especially with the wake up call he got, which made him feel like a member of the family. He hadn't had that feeling in a long time, since his parents divorced in fact, as his dad's alcoholism and following recovery had prevented that family connection ever being returned. His dad and him still had a good relationship, but it was more on the close friends and carers level than parent and child.
Seto stirred, waking from his short nap and blinked his eyes open.
"Has the film finished?" he asked blearily as he brought a hand up to rub the sleep from his eyes.
"Yes, did you actually watch any of it?" Joey replied as he watched Seto stretch to relieve the tension in his muscles. It caused his pyjama top to ride up slightly revealing the pale flesh of his stomach which Joey found very enticing.
"I watched some of it, up until they found the dogs I think," Seto said sleepily.
"What time do we have to be at the airport?" Joey asked to change the subject away from the film.
"Two o clock, why?"
"I was just wondering. By the way it's midday now so we probably ought to get dressed and have lunch soon. Are you cooking again?" Joey licked his lips in anticipation of food.
"Unless you or Mokie volunteer to cook I think I'll have to," Seto replied as he stood up and stretched again with his back to Joey so that his dressing gown was in the way. "I can have a look through my clothes to see if I've got anything that will fit you if you want a change of clothes?"
"Thanks," Joey said as he stood up so that he could follow Seto back upstairs.
--
The jeans were tight fitting and the t-shirt was a bit too small for him but Joey would rather have the new change than wear yesterday's clothes, especially now that Seto had chucked them into the washing machine with his and Mokuba's dirty washing. Seto had found him a whole selection of different outfits which he had left on the spare room bed whilst Joey was having his shower. Joey had been told to use the en-suite bathroom in the room next to Seto's for his shower and that Seto would leave some clothes on the bed for him. That had been half an hour ago and Joey had finished deciding on what to wear even though it was tight fitting in every aspect and he was starting to wonder how any guy could wear such tight trousers. He was finding a new respect for Yami's dedication to those skin tight leather trousers as they must have been highly uncomfortable. Seto's choice in trousers was close fitting too which Joey wasn't going to complain about as they gave him a good view.
Deciding that he would go and find out whether Seto was still getting ready he stood up and went into the corridor. As he approached Seto's bed room door he could hear something from inside the room. He pushed open the door slightly so that he could peer into the room and saw that it was empty apart from an outfit laid out on the bed. The bathroom door was closed and Joey quickly realised that the bathroom was the source of the noise. He could hear a song being played with someone, who he assumed was Seto, singing along to it. Although the singing was muffled by a door and the sound of the shower it was still quite good. It wasn't amazing but still impressive and Joey decided to sit on the bed and listen to it whilst he waited for Seto to finish his shower. The track changed and the singing didn't join in this time until the chorus was reached. It seemed fairly obvious that Seto didn't know the words to this song quite as well.
Joey glanced around the room to try and find something to amuse himself with as he waited for Seto's shower to end. There was a notice board, similar to the one downstairs in the kitchen, next to the window which Joey decided to look at. There were a variety of pencil drawings on it, all unsigned, of Seto and various other people, mostly him and Mokuba together. The first one to attract Joey's attention was a picture showing Seto, Mokuba and Georgie in the park by the lake. Mokuba was throwing bread to the ducks in the foreground of the picture whilst stood to the side of him watching his little brother. Georgie was sat on a bench behind the two brothers with a sketch pad out on her knees and Joey assumed that this meant Georgie was the one to draw the pictures.
The track changed again and Seto started singing as soon as the words came in. Joey smiled to himself as he heard the words, it wasn't a song he recognised but it seemed to be very familiar to Seto. It was a song from one brother to another about how he had made a bad decision in the past that had affected both of their lives. (Heva: The song is Brothers from Fullmetal Alchemist and I've always thought it would suit Seto. I considered having him sing It's my Life by Bon Jovi or You're Not Me from the Yu-gi-oh soundtrack but they've been over used with Seto in AMVs.)
"Beautiful Mother, soft and sweet, once you were gone we were not complete. Back through the years we reached for you. Alas, twas not meant to be," Seto's voice came through the bath room door. As the song continued he looked at the other pictures on the notice board and saw that there were a couple showing Seto and people from Kaiba Corp that he now recognised. Tau and Sara were in both of the pictures next to Seto, the first at what was probably a work diner and the second in the Kaiba Corp canteen with Mokuba sat at the table with them finishing up Seto's food. The drawings had managed to capture the moments very well with all the attention to small details; such as the way Seto's pudding was being devoured by Mokuba, and Tau and Sara were holding hands under the table.
"So, where do we go from here? And how to forget and forgive? What's gone is forever lost. Now, all we can do is live," Seto sang and Joey suspected the song had ended as he heard the singing finish and Seto switch off the shower. The music was shut off as another song started and it was only a few moments before the bathroom door was opened to let Seto enter the bedroom.
"You look good in just a towel," Joey said with a grin as he turned to look at Seto.
"How long have you been in here?" Seto asked as he tightened the towel around his waist to prevent it slipping down. He was blushing slightly having realised that Joey must have heard his singing.
"Long enough to hear a highly talented person singing, although I think you should probably stick with your current job, Seto. Singing isn't one of your best talents," Joey said honestly as he obviously checked Seto out. Seto managed to pull on his boxers without removing the towel, making Joey look slightly upset at the way Seto was ruining his fun but it had been entertaining watching the CEO struggle with the task.
"Do the clothes fit ok?" Seto asked as he pulled on a pair of tight fitting jeans.
"They're a bit small, especially the trousers, but it's fine. I wouldn't want to wear anything this tight for too long and it's hard to put them on, but it isn't too bad." Joey shrugged as he watched Seto do up his own jeans without having any problems at all.
"You'll have to remember to leave some clothes here in the future if you want to stay over night again, or you'll end up wearing them again," Seto replied as he pulled on a t-shirt and stood up from where he had sat on the edge of his bed. "Shall we go and find something for lunch?"
"I never refuse food, Seto, you should know that by now," Joey told him as he followed Seto out of the room and downstairs.
--
Joey came to the conclusion that Seto and Mokuba had a set of rules they followed when in a car together. Mokuba had immediately opened the door to jump into the back seat and put his seatbelt on as Seto opened his car door. Joey sat in the front seat and watched as Seto started up the engine and Mokuba leaned through from the back seat to switch on the radio and tune it into a local station. The way Seto glanced over at Mokuba whilst he was tuning the radio suggested that Mokuba had been the one to de-tune the radio as well which Seto wasn't happy about.
As Seto was pulling out of the driveway Mokuba held something up in the backseat.
"Is this your Sat Nav, big brother?" he asked as he looked at the piece of technology.
"Yes, and it's back there because it is very irritating."
"I think it's funny when you argue with it," Mokuba informed him as he put the Sat Nav back on the floor of the car. The radio droned on about a competition they were doing at the moment that would award the winner with tickets to a rock concert next weekend. They gave the qualifying question and Mokuba muttered that he knew the answer but was too young to enter and there was no way Seto would be nice enough to enter for him. Joey started laughing as Mokuba continued whining about how his brother wasn't cool enough to want to win tickets to a rock concert anyway.
"Can I have a car sweet, Seto?" Mokuba asked at the end of his rant. (Heva: I'm not sure if anybody else does this but it's something I've grown up with. My dad has a packet of wine gums that he always keeps in his car which we call car sweets and we eat them on long journeys, like when we drive to visit relatives.)
"Of course," Seto replied leaning down to find his packet of mint imperials to hand it to Mokuba. As he passed it over his shoulder to his younger sibling Joey caught the end of the radio presenter's sentence.
"I'm not sure what to make of the rumours either but the tabloids seem to have all accepted them as the truth," the female presenter replied.
"Well it is quite persuasive considering the photographs that were taken yesterday. It would be quite a shock to the profits of Kaiba Corp with the launch of their new product later this year," the male presenter informed the listeners.
"I think they're talking about you two," Mokuba said quietly as he pulled a few mint imperials from the packet.
"Just be quiet while we listen to it, Mokie," Seto told him as he turned up the volume a bit. They were stuck in traffic in the middle of town at the moment making Seto feel irritated anyway.
"I should expect the profits to increase as this will boost publicity for the company whether the rumours turn out true or false. It would be nice to think that such a charming young man finally found himself someone, even if it is another guy," the female presenter said happily.
"The news has dashed your hopes of ever being with him though, especially as he's gay. For anyone who has just tuned in we are talking today about the startling revelation that has come to light this morning about the CEO of Kaiba Corp, Seto Kaiba, and his once rival, Joey Wheeler, being secretly together."
"I think I need to ring Raquel later today," Seto muttered.
"Who's Raquel?" Joey asked as the radio broadcasters announced the name of the next song.
"She's the woman who's in charge of dealing with the press. Her and Seto don't get on very well," Mokuba said around his mouthful of mint imperials that muffled his words but the meaning still remained clear. He was currently attempting to see how many he could fit in his mouth and had reached twelve whilst still being able to talk around them.
"Is she the person who rang this morning?" Joey asked.
"Yes, and she must have got fed up with me ignoring her and let the newspapers run the story. I hope you don't mind people knowing about us because whatever happens now everyone knows."
"Are we going to get followed by reporters or something now?" Joey asked nervously.
"I have made it very clear in the past that I don't like reporters and won't say anything to them unless it is on my terms so I severely doubt it," Seto said with a reassuring smile. "I've already got a press conference organised in a couple of weeks time about the new duel disks so I think they can probably wait for that to get their answers about us." Joey nodded and glanced out of the window, wondering whether Seto was right about the reporters leaving them alone. It didn't seem likely to him that they would, but Seto dealt with the press a lot more than he did so he probably knew what to expect a lot more than Joey did.
--
The airport was full of people trying to get booked in for their flights that they were taking to go away for the week, especially families with children who had the week off school. Joey tried not to loose sight of Seto as he cut a path through the queues of people towards a less crowded section of the airport check-in area. Mokuba managed to keep up with Joey and they made it to the patch of free space while Seto spoke to one of the airport security team. The guy nodded and led them through a door into a much less crowded hallway before leaving them to follow the corridor on their own.
Joey glanced into each waiting area they passed, noticing the comfortable chairs and lounge areas that were available to the VIP passengers. A few of the rooms they passed had a few occupants awaiting their private jets to be made ready for their flights. Seto eventually led them to a room with a group of people already there wishing Georgie good bye.
"I'm really going to miss you guys," Georgie was telling the two people she was hugging at that moment.
"Don't worry, George," one of the guys reassured her.
"We will email you all the time," the other guy told her. Joey noticed that they were twins from the nerdy group of people that he had seen Seto and Georgie with. There were a collection of going away gifts on the sofa next to Georgie which Joey spotted and he wondered if he was supposed to have got her something. He had seen the package Mokuba was still clutching in his hands with a card stuck to the top of it and felt slightly guilty that he was intruding on something which only Georgie's close friends should be there for.
The twins were saying goodbye and leaving the room as the three of them walked towards Georgie and her parents.
"We brought you this to say thank you for looking after me all the time," Mokuba said as he handed the present to Georgie's mum. "It's for all of you really but it was you who gave me the idea," Mokuba told her loudly.
"Thank you very much," Georgie's mum said looking at first Mokuba and then Seto.
"I haven't got you all a present, I assumed that I could get away with just helping with the packing and arranging your flight. Mokuba is the one who made the present," Seto said with a smile. Joey looked around the group hoping that nothing would be said to him about presents.
"This is very talented, Mokuba," Georgie's mum told Mokuba as she unwrapped the picture frame with poorly carved dogs around the edge. There wasn't a picture in it yet but Joey was sure that there would be one soon, probably one of Georgie's drawings.
"Thank you," Mokuba said with a broad smile at the compliment.
"Have any of you seen the papers this morning?" asked a familiarly irritating voice from the corridor.
"Kay, you came," Georgie said happily as she went over to greet her friend who was holding a couple of news papers.
"Of course I did. I wasn't going to let you go without saying good bye, and I thought I might be able to tease Seto about the news this morning. Everyone is talking about it, even daddy mentioned it when he saw the paper at breakfast," Kay informed them all. "Apparently he doesn't approve of me mixing with such misguided individuals. He's basically unhappy because he got it into his mind that I could chat you up," Kay said to Seto with a shrug of indifference.
"I'm not under any threat of you trying to steal him away, am I?" Joey asked as Kay began unfolding the news papers to show them the reports.
"None what so ever. He's all yours, pup," Kay replied as she found the right page in the first news paper she had brought and handed it to Seto to read. "Georgie whilst these two are busy reading about themselves and Mokuba's chatting to your parents can I have a chat with you alone please?"
"Of course, Kay," Georgie replied with slight hesitation. Joey noticed Seto look up and make eye contact with Georgie. It was a strange gesture to see from Seto, almost a brotherly reassurance of 'I'm still here for you whatever she says'. The two girls turned and left the room to go to the corridor, leaving Joey and Seto to read the journalist's opinion of their relationship.
"I'm not sure what to say about all this really, Georgie. I've never been in this situation before," Kay said as she considered they were out of earshot of the others.
"You must have said goodbye to friends before," Georgie replied with a slight but nervous smile.
"Neither of us are idiots, Georgie, you and I both know what I am talking about."
"How long have you known, Kay?"
"Most of the time. I'm sorry about this but I just think of you as a friend, a very good friend who could possibly even be called a sister, but not a girlfriend."
"I understand, Kay, I was expecting more of a yelling and disgusted reaction from you about this all. I faced the fact that this couldn't happen already, but I assumed that the whole thing would make you feel weird talking to me. I've been so scared of loosing you the entire time I've been here that I couldn't say anything to you about it. If I had thought you would be ok with it all I would have said something to you." Georgie paused to allow herself to take a much needed breath and let Kay reply.
"Well it doesn't make me feel weird talking to you, a little strange hanging out at the mall to pick up guys and try on new outfits but that's only to be expected," Kay smiled at Georgie's slightly depressed expression. "Come on, cheer up. You get to go home, and I get to visit you for halloween next week."
"Thank you, Kay, you're a real friend," Georgie thanked her, managing a weak smile despite the situation.
"Come on, let's go see what those guys are up to then," Kay said as she put a hand on Georgie's shoulder to guide her back into the airport lounge. Mokuba was playing with Millie over some of the sofas, while Georgie's parents chatted in English about something and Seto and Joey both read the articles in all the papers that Kay had brought with her.
"Now Mokuba, as you have been so helpful with looking after the dogs, making such a great present and putting up with me and your brother, me and mum have decided that you should have a present too," Georgie informed the youngest Kaiba. Mokuba bounced to his feet from where he had sat on the sofa with Millie jumping up next to him and knocking the sofa cushions to the floor. Georgie smiled at his enthusiasm and picked up a collar and lead from the sofa nearest her.
"Why are you giving me these?" Mokuba asked as he took the two items. Seto, Joey and Kay also looked confused at the gift.
"They're to go with your new dog. I didn't want to have to put Millie through all the quarantine and import laws when we get to England so I immediately thought of you. I'm sure she'll be happy and have a wonderful time with you as her new owner. Besides now you and your brother both have your own pups," Georgie told him with a grin as Mokuba hugged her.
"I would have been grateful for some warning that you were planning to bring a dog into my house, Georgie," Seto told her with slight edge of annoyance in his voice. Georgie just smiled at him and ignored the complaint.
--
Joey leant back on the sofa with a sigh. It had been a long day for him, after they said good bye to Georgie they had returned to Seto and Mokuba's house where he had been dragged into the task of puppy proofing everything along with Kay, Seto and Mokuba. Millie turned out to be very destructive and chewed through quite a number things, including some mystery wires that Seto seemed very annoyed about although when questioned he didn't seem able to explain what they were for.
"So how was your night?" his dad asked with a suggestive hint in his voice.
"I slept very well," Joey replied as he shut his eyes, fully intending to fall asleep right there.
"Did you hear the news today?" he asked when he realised that Joey wasn't going to talk about how the previous night went.
"I heard on the radio and saw some of the papers that were printed today."
"I was quite surprised that no reporters showed up to try and talk to us after I saw the news."
"The press are being dealt with by Seto. Today was the first day of our relationship being common knowledge and I think it's all going to be fine." Joey smiled to himself as he finished speaking. Seto had said he would deal with reporters and it looked like he had been right about them not bothering Joey or his dad. Everything really was going to be ok.
--
Seto smiled to himself as he leant back in bed, exhausted after trying to deal with the new addition to the household. Kay had been surprisingly helpful and had helped Mokuba walk Millie around the garden looking for any gaps in the fences that Millie could escape through. That tour had resulted in Seto ringing a carpenter who would come tomorrow and put in a new fence.
He had put off talking to Raquel about the press problems until tomorrow but that wasn't going to keep him away from his much needed sleep. Things with Joey were going well even with everyone now knowing what was happening.
Seto had arranged visiting Georgie and her family over the winter holiday which had stopped Mokuba's crying fit as the family boarded the plane.
Everything really was going to be ok.
--
Heva: I am seriously going to kill one of these kids soon if they don't shut up. It's my fault for deciding to sort this chapter out in school instead of like I usually do at home. Thank Mike for lending me his ipod although I think I've permanently damaged my ear drums by turning it up so loud.
Coel: Probably, but you haven't committed murder which is the important thing.
Heva: Well what did you guys think of the chapter? Please review and tell me. Only one chapter left to go now which makes me sad as I've had so much fun writing this story and listening to your comments. Also remember to say thanks to melodyz07 as she has been so wonderful in helping me out with this story.
Date: 24/10/08
