-peeks out from behind a barricade- Hello people! I am really sorry that I haven't posted this is a really long time. I honestly had it written up for a long time, but when I went to first post it, something was wrong with the website and kept messing up the chapter, and I got so frustrated, that I just didn't load it. Because I'm horrible and lame like that. I'm really sorry. Plus school has been monopolizing most of my time and preventing me from doing anything. And lots of other excuses that no one really cares about.

Anyways, I wanted to say thank you to anyone who reads this, gets a chuckle or two out of this, and especially to those of you who commented on it or fav'ed it, or alerted it. It means so much to me to get those emails alerting me to all those of you out there! So, THANKS!

One Long Week

Chapter 2- Day 2

Seto sat at the kitchen table, fully clothed in jeans and a crisp white dress shirt - as opposed to the skimpy boxers he had been caught in the night before - angrily flicking through the morning paper. Flicking, however, might be an understatement, as the movement caused the page he was trying to read to rip in half.

So maybe he was taking his anger out on an inanimate object. He felt it was well justified. Besides, he figured Mokuba wouldn't approve very much of the blonde's slow and painful murder. So too bad for the newspaper.

He hadn't gotten much sleep after "The Incident," as he decided to call it – he refused to call it "The Night Where Joey Caught Me About To Masturbate To A Dream About Him" because, seriously. Totally not true - from the night before. So he sat there, glaring at the innocent newspaper with angry eyes, willing it to combust from the sheer intensity of his displeasure with the world in general at the moment.

It did no such thing, of course.

He had tried to hide under the bed covers when he first awoke that morning – and even contemplated buying a flight to Canada for the rest of his week's vacation. Hell, maybe even the rest of his life. - refusing to think of the inevitable encounter with Joey that would soon be coming. It had worked for a short while, until he got bored from sitting there doing nothing. One can only be entertained by staring at the ceiling for so long.

When realizing that he had wasted an entire hour of just lying there - it was then five in the morning, which proved that Kaiba was, in fact, a robot because who wakes up at such an ungody hour such as that? - he decided that he couldn't take the suspense any longer and crept downstairs James Bond style to get breakfast, making sure that if he did run into the mutt on the way, he would take him out secret agent style.

Of course, no one else was awake. Ungodly hour, remember? Although, he was caught on security cameras – Kaiba had them installed a while back to help with his paranoia - as Mokuba was pleased to find later. Supremely pleased, in fact, as the little boy would use the ruthless business finesse he inherited from his elder brother to ensure that his allowance was increased by 300, lest the footage happen to make its way onto the internet.

Which, as the raven-haired kid would happily point out, would shatter the brunette's reputation beyond any hope of any recovery.

Kaiba would then increase his allowance by a thousand times over.

And so the surly CEO sat at the table, sullenly sipping his coffee, mentally blaming Joey for his precious hour of wasted time that could have been spent doing his evil bidding. As one of the most powerful people in the world, he had a lot of evilness that needed bidding. Or whatever.

Suddenly, Kaiba's back stiffened and every muscle in his body tightened and he grasped the newspaper so hard his knuckles turned white. The newspaper itself also finally burst into flames. Kaiba then released said burning ball of fire.

He could hear the troublesome puppy slinking down the stairs, no doubt trying to sneak up on the brunette. Why the blonde apparently had a death wish, he was not sure.

Kaiba had to admit though, it was a pretty good attempt to sneak up on him. For the blonde, at any rate. One must consider the source. Though, Kaiba would probably need to review the definition of 'sneaking quietly' with the blonde, as he obviously had it mixed up with 'trapiezing down the stairs so loudly it would wake up people fifty miles away.'

Kaiba heard the blonde continue down the staircase – and was that the Mission Impossible theme song he was humming? - until the clumsy mutt missed a step and toppled down and crashed into the coffee table, knocking down an expensive glass vase full of flowers and dirty plant water, all over his head.

Honestly, how had the klutz managed to not kill himself for the past eighteen years? He was a hazard to anyone within a ten mile radius of his person.

Seto's usual arrogant smirk found its way back onto his face as he heard the blonde approaching, darkly muttering something along the lines of 'evil flowers of doom.' Kaiba found himself suddenly glad he had decided to buy those man-eating Venus Flytraps. Best things ever.

Joey could be heard approaching closer, starting to add expletives to his constant muttering. Apparently, the blonde was not a morning person. And that little fact made Kaiba slightly happier with the world.

Looking up, he was graced with an image of what appeared to be a soggy mutt. He hardly appeared human, what with his shaggy hair clinging to his skin and covering those eyes he knew were burning in irritation. Kaiba scowled deeply as he found himself watching a drop of water make its way down the curve of Joey's cheek.

The pajamas, though, were probably not helping Joey convince Kaiba of his non-canine heritage. The fabric had been printed with little puppies that could only be described as cute, a fatal blow to any boy's masculinity.

The pajamas were, of course, courtesy of one Seto Kaiba, who was all too happy to let the blonde borrow them. In fact, he had actually sent the butler to go out and buy those specific pajamas for him. Out of the kindness of his own heart.

Kindness. Right.

Joey walked right next to Kaiba who, finally managing to tear his eyes away from that drop of water that was now hanging precariously from the blonde's chin, only shook his head and muttered, "Typical mutt."

The blonde turned around with every intention to yell about him being a stuck up asshole, only to find cerulean eyes sparkling in mischief. Any insult the blonde might have had died on his tongue immediately. He froze, and tilted his head slightly as he studied the brunette confusedly.

Kaiba actually looked like he was enjoying himself.

Holy shit. A sure sign that the end was nigh, if there ever was one.

Joey stopped in his tracks and just stared flatly at him. He was finding it very hard not to get lost in those eyes. Funny how he had never noticed that before. He was surprised they were an attractive shade of blue when they weren't narrowed in anger, or thinking of evil plots, or sneering at the blonde, or doing anything that was remotely related to Kaiba.

He violently shook his head to get rid of any kind of thoughts that would raise some questions he wouldn't want to know the answer to. The movement resulted in a certain brunette being splattered with said dirty plant water. Surprisingly, Kaiba was not very happy about that.

Glaring ocular fire at the blonde - who did apologize, though the shit-eating grin on his face gave away the lie – Kaiba stomped over to a cupboard in the kitchen to grab a towel to mop his face with. Joey's grin grew wider as Kaiba turned back around to scream about his nice, expensive clothes being ruined. In fact, as Kaiba was kind enough to list the exact dollar amount that he had spent on said ruined clothes, Joey's face lit up like a kid who has been told that Christmas was coming early this year.

Kaiba's eyebrow twitched violently.

Murder is bad, murder is bad. People won't want to buy video game products from a company that kills people. Kaiba had to remind himself, to ensure the blonde's safety. Otherwise, Joey would not be in a state where he was not so much breathing.

Finally, Seto finished griping about his loss of clothing – Joey had almost sentenced himself to death when he asked if the CEO would like some cheese with his whine - and Joey pointed out that he probably had his own mini-mall located somewhere in the mansion where he could get more clothes from. Which, not surprisingly, Kaiba agreed too.

Joey made a mental note to swipe Kaiba's credit card and go on a shopping spree later.

With a huff that said he felt very much put upon by the other's presence, Kaiba flopped back into his seat at the kitchen table. After a moment's hesitation if it would be safe to join him, Joey sat down as well. He turned his eyes onto the slender teen before him, and studied him carefully.

Kaiba dutifully ignored him.

After a few moments of silence, Joey said, "You know, now I owe Tea twenty bucks." Kaiba finally turned to grace Joey with a deadpan glare, and waited for clarification. It didn't come.

Kaiba raised his left eyebrow at the seemingly random piece of information. "Oookay, and that matters to me because…?" his voice trailed off into a question, as if Joey's ramblings were too insignificant to deem an entire sentence.

"It's all your fault, too." Joey glanced at him from the corner of his eye surreptitiously, the corner of his mouth quirking upwards slightly. "Because you proved me wrong."

Seto just blankly stared at Joey, waiting for the blonde to elaborate. One minute grew into two, with turned into ten. By this point, Joey had effectively killed any sort of suspenseful tension he might have been aiming for.

When Joey didn't continue, Kaiba raised his left eyebrow elegantly. "And what, exactly, were you wrong about?"

Joey took a deep breath, and Kaiba cringed as he realized a long-winded rant was coming.

"Well, you see, I bet Tea that you weren't really human, and were actually a robot in disguise with artificial intelligence - which is why you're so freakishly smart – that came from another planet, and were really planning to take over the world, and that's why you don't actually talk to any of us, because whoever designed you didn't think that you needed social skills, because you obviously have none whatsoever."

Joey took another deep breath.

Seto just stared. And stared. And stared some more, just for good measure.

After an eternity, Kaiba finally blinked. "Well, that was stupid."

And Joey laughed. Hard. He wasn't sure why it was so funny. Perhaps it was the absurdity of having the conversation with Seto Kaiba. Maybe the rarity of having a civil conversation with him was too much for his poor mind. All he knew was that something about the situation was just too comical. He missed the slight blush on the brunette's face as Kaiba realized he slightly enjoyed listening to the breathless laughs.

After Joey's laugh quieted into soft chuckles, he was able to catch his breath. "Yeah, I know, but at the time it seemed pretty logical to me."

Kaiba was about to point out that absolutely no part of that could ever be deemed logical, but then he paused. This was Joey, after all.

Once again, Kaiba raised the eyebrow. "Let me guess. At the time you had probably consumed about five boxes of pocky, and the following sugar rush impeded the flow of what few remaining cells you have to your brain."

Joey's eyes grew huge. "How'd you know?" he whispered conspiratorially. "That's exactly how many boxes of pocky I had!" He lowered his voice even more, and leaned in conspiratorially. "Are you spying on me, Kaiba?"

Kaiba turned a pretty shade of pink, and spluttered an indignant denial. Joey wasn't buying it. He was on to that sneaky bastard and his little spying cameras.

"Anyways," he said, changing the subject with a slightly flustered cough, "just what made you realize I am indeed human?"

"Well," Joey drawled, looking thoughtful. He glanced at the brunette from the corner of his eye, and smirked. "First of all, there's the fact that you were teasing me about ten minutes ago. Not being mean, or calling me names, but actually having some fun." He paused, and frowned slightly. "You do know the meaning of fun, right?"

Joey quickly dodged the dictionary thrown his way. Where Kaiba pulled it from, he would never be able to guess.

Kaiba's left eyebrow spasmed viciously. He tried hard to keep the growl out of his voice. "Of course I know what it means, you twit. I'm not as heartless as you seem to think," he said curtly. He dutifully ignored the respondent snort from the blonde.

Joey just smiled and leaned back in his chair. He gave a large, dreamy sigh. "Miracles never cease to exist, do they?" He grinned cheekily at the brunette.

Joey never did make a full recovery after not being able to dodge the full set of A through Z encyclopedias that came flying through the air. Seriously, where was Kaiba getting these?

Feeling slightly satisfied with his aim, Kaiba decided to continue their conversation. He waved his hand in dismissal, as if Joey's brain injuries were inconsequential. "Fine, fine. What was your second reason?"

Joey blinked, having completely lost track of what was happening, and replied intelligently, "Whuzzah?"

Kaiba resisted the urge to throw more things. The blonde's ignorance was really trying. He wrenched his mind away from trying to figure out if he could somehow use the entire bookshelf as a projectile.

"Earlier, you said 'First of all…' About why you came to the sudden conclusion that I am not something from a second-rate sci-fi movie. What's your 'Second of all...?'" Kaiba massaged his temples gently, and chanted a silent mantra in his head.

I will not kill Joey. I will not kill Joey. It is against my morals to kill anyone with the IQ of a rock. I will not kill Joey.

Kaiba could almost picture the light bulb over Joey's head as he gasped. "Oh! Right!" He nodded excitedly, "Yeah! I remember now!"

A rock indeed. More like the IQ of a moldy piece of swiss cheese. Kaiba rolled his eyes, waiting for the answer.

Joey's eyes shifted from left to right, as if to spot an eavesdropper lurking out of sight. He then leaned in to make the gap between the two virtually nonexistent. He brought his mouth down to whisper into the shell of the brunette's ear. Kaiba barely caught himself before he moaned as Joey's breath ghosting over his ear sent a shiver down his spine, and he could almost feel those lips brushing over his skin in a feather-like caress. He growled internally at the direction his thoughts were turning.

The blonde's voice lowered into what Joey thought was a conspiratorial tone, though Kaiba found it to be more along the lines of sultry. "Well, I figured that a robot wouldn't have such," the blonde paused, trying to find the right word, "explicit dreams like the ones you were obviously having last night."

Kaiba's face turned a deep magenta, knowing full well what the blonde was referring to, as Joey ran back up the stairs cackling like a deranged witch.

Kaiba's hand spasmed – it was not trembling, okay? – as he reached for his cup of coffee. He forced himself to breath deeply, as he suddenly realized that he hadn't been breathing at all previously.

He slowly took another sip of coffee. He willed himself not to think about the blonde's words, or the way his breath made his skin tingle and his body shiver.

Nope. Not going to think about it. Not one bit. Even if the tingling feeling had yet to go away. Definitely not thinking about it.

The brunette's leg convulsed. His poor nerves.

Sighing resignedly, he turned around to go back to bed.

It was too damn early to be up.

Several hours later, Kaiba's mood had yet to improve. In fact, if anything else, it had probably worsened as the seconds ticked sluggishly on. He resisted the urge to groan, wondering when this day would ever end. He checked his watch, and was horrified to realize it was still only early afternoon. He looked frantically around to see if he could spot something that he could use to end his misery. Something sharp preferably, though even blunt would be fine. He wasn't going to be picky.

Why, one must wonder, is the great Seto Kaiba contemplating suicide by bludgeoning himself with the closest available object?

Well. I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count.

"Please?" Joey tried not to whine, unsuccessfully. He turned his big doe eyes onto the taller teen. Surely no one could say no to that face!

"No." Kaiba didn't even blink. Though, he did appear to glare more intensely at his computer screen where he was diligently trying to work.

Joey growled. Heartless bastard. "Pretty please?" he batted his eyelashes in an extra effort. Only a man with nothing but a cold, black void in place of a heart could deny him now!

"Do you have hearing problems? I said no." Well, now the blonde could see a vein throbbing in one of Kaiba's temples with the sheer magnitude of his glare at the helpless computer. At least it was a response.

Joey narrowed his eyes. Time to bring out the big guns.

He threw himself to his knees and flat out begged. "Pretty please with chocolate fudge syrup, cherries, whipped cream, sprinkles, and caramel on top?" He smiled sweetly, batting his doe eyes furiously. The ending result was Joey looking like he had a horrible tic in both eyes.

Kaiba paused. Turn around to give the blonde, who was looking suddenly hopeful, the king of all deadpan glares. A reaction, yes! Now he was getting somewhere. "You're a pig."

Joey visibly deflated momentarily. Right back to square one. He muttered sulkily, "At least I'm not a rich pig."

Kaiba raised an eyebrow delicately. "And how is that worse than being an ordinary pig?" He temporarily forgot that he was trying to ignore the blonde boy.

"Eh…" Joey paused in thought for a moment. He couldn't come up with a reason. Well, the perfect defense was a good offense. He pointed his finger dramatically at the unimpressed older teen.

"It doesn't matter why! Now give in! I want you to show me around! I know you have some kind of secret lab where you're doing horrible human experiments or something like that." He looked around him shiftily, as if expecting a human experiment-gone-wrong to come out of some obscured shadow.

Kaiba sat his desk, staring forlornly at the half-typed sentence on his computer screen, realizing it was now a lost cause. He growled at the blonde. He was trying to be patient, he really was. But this had been going on for a few hours already, and the blonde was really beginning to grate on his nerves.

Kaiba thought about that. No, that wasn't entirely true. He had been grating on his nerves for the last eight hours and thirty-seven minutes.

The point was, Kaiba was not happy. And an unhappy Kaiba was a dangerous Kaiba. To say he was running on a short fuse would be an understatement.

Reminding himself that throttling people was not good for his PR, he willed himself to be calm. "What kind of person do you take me for? Do I look like a Frankenstein scientist to you?" The blonde vigorously nodded his head.

Looking back, throwing his expensive glass paper weight at the blonde's head probably wasn't the best idea. He stared mournfully at the pitiful remains of the ornate statue that had once adorned his desk, ignoring Joey as he muttered mutinously, rubbing the spot on his head that broke said statue.

Then a thought hit the CEO, and he bit his lip nervously. A very un-Kaiba like habit. Mokuba had threatened him earlier that if he wasn't nice to the mutt, the little brat, though he loved him dearly, would start showing embarrassing home videos of him to the obnoxious blonde. Starting with the security tapes from earlier that morning in his James Bond Mode, sneaking around an empty house. But Mokuba wouldn't really do that.

Would he?

Giving a low growl, Kaiba pinched the bridge of his nose. "What part of no do you not understand, mutt?"

Giving the irritated brunette a blank look, he replied, "The part where you don't do what I say." Joey rolled his eyes. Obviously.

"Why don't you go bother the butler? He's a nice guy." Kaiba ignored Joey's snort of disbelief, and continued. "I'm sure he'll be glad to give you a tour."

"A nice guy? Right. Never mind the fact that he's at least ten feet tall-" it was Kaiba's turn to snort "-built like a linebacker, and could easily break me in half and eat me for breakfast!" Kaiba looked unimpressed, as usual.

"Besides, I tried that already!" Joey cried, exasperated. "He said that there wasn't a secret lab, but I know better! I'm on to you. I know you have him sworn to secrecy. You can't fool me!" By this time the blonde was waving a finger at Kaiba and laughing manically.

The brunette leapt over the desk in one quick motion, grabbing Joey by the throat and strangling him until he couldn't speak. Finally, he would never have to listen to the unbearable blonde again.

Oh wait, never mind. That was just his imagination. His hand twitched slightly as if about to act on that fantasy.

He blushed suddenly as that thought lead him to recall an earlier fantasy about the blonde he'd had just the night before. It wasn't exactly the violent sort, either…

A hand waved in front of his face. "Hello!" the blonde called out. "Listen to me! I don't like being ignored! Hey! Pay attention! Are you…" Kaiba decided this would be a good time to tune out.

Seto sighed, resting his head on a hand. He pinched the bridge of nose once again to stop an oncoming headache, realizing that nothing would get done.

As if sensing victory, Joey immediately began to cheer – Kaiba winced at the loud holler - and prance around the room. Seto could only give another sigh, and silently wonder how the hell he would survive the week when he couldn't even seem to make it through the first two days, and why on earth he had agreed in the first place.

Oh yeah. He'd been tricked, he thought savagely. Damn Mokuba and those puppy eyes of his. Damn him.

He stood up, retrieving his jacket, and took out a mysterious object from inside his desk drawer, effectively hiding it behind his back. Well, if he was going to have to endure the Week From Hell, he might as well get some fun out of it. He smirked evilly. He motioned to for the blonde to follow him as he began to walk out of the office and into the hallway. "Come on. We're going outside."

Oblivious to Kaiba's plans, he did perk up as he tried to figure out what the brunette was hiding. "Hey! What's that?" Joey asked curiously, trying to peer over the taller teen's shoulder to get a better look as they began their walk. Kaiba found himself fighting a blush as the proximity. He would not blush, because that was something a little girl would do. Not a cold, ruthless bastard like himself. He would not blush.

Kaiba could feel his face turn a pretty princess pink at the blonde hairs tickling his face, and quickly shoved him further away. He couldn't help the smirk creeping onto his face as the blonde began to pout. He really looked like cute puppy like that.

Cerulean eyes instantly widened, as he jolted to a stop in his tracks. The hell was that? What was he thinking? This was Joey, for Chrissake! And why the hell was he blushing at just thought of him?

Concerned amber eyes appeared before his vision, just inches away. "Hey, are you alright? You've been kinda spacey lately. You look a little feverish, too." Joey placed a hand on the brunette's forehead.

Kaiba blinked, still for a split second. Then Kaiba jumped back a foot or two, realizing just how close the two were, mentally berating himself for showing any reaction at all.

What was going on with him today? What was this feeling of uneasiness – or nervousness? Restlessness? – in the pit of his stomach? Maybe this was what it felt like to have butterflies in your stomach? But that was silly. Why would some ignorant street punk make him feel like that?

Ignoring the blonde's question, he studied the blonde for a moment.

He wondered what was drawing his attention towards him. Even if it was negative attention, Joey was the only person he enjoyed taunting. There wasn't anything special about the mutt. He wasn't overly intelligent, ambitious, or had any power to his name. He was completely average. So why couldn't he pull his eyes away?

Joey shifted uncomfortably as Kaiba stared at him with an unreadable expression on his face. He wasn't sure what he was searching for with those piercing eyes, but he found himself standing straighter, cheeks reddening, and for some reason he didn't want to dwell on, was sort of hoping that the brunette found whatever he was looking for. He bashfully watched the floor, unable to bring his gaze to those mysterious cerulean eyes.

After a few moments that seemed to last an hour, Kaiba shook his head a little, chuckling softly to himself – which alone almost gave Joey a heart attack - and continued to walk down the hall. Realizing that he was being left behind, Joey gave a little shout of indignation and hurried to catch up to the quick brunette.

Joey shielded his eyes from the bright sunlight as the two stepped outside into the largest backyard he had ever seen. Next to the wall of the mansion there was a perfect garden full of blossoming flowers to the right of the cobblestone path he now stood on. To the left, there was a lush green field that probably could have three football fields in it. Squinting in the direction of the sun, he could make out Mokuba running towards them in the distance. He waited patiently for the boy, grinning and waving wildly.

The raven haired youth stopped in front of the duo, eyes bright and face flushed from running. He looked up at the two older teens, panting with a large grin plastered to his face. "Hey, Big Brother. Hey Joey. What are you two doing out here?"

Kaiba smirked. Reaching into his pocket, the brunette pulled out the secret item he had taken from his desk earlier. It was a rubber tennis ball. Ignoring Joey's growls as he started to catch on, he smirked, handing the toy to Mokuba.

"Now that you have a pet, you have to walk him daily and give him plenty of exercise. Especially since this mutt eats so much. You're gonna have to burn off some of those calories so he doesn't become fat. I hear dogs like to play fetch. Right, pup?" He turned his taunting grin towards Joey.

As expected, the blonde blew up. Mokuba rushed to hold the fuming teen back from strangling his older brother. He dug his heels into the ground, gritting his teeth with the force he put into restraining Joey. It was much harder than he would have thought.

Joey didn't even notice the younger Kaiba. He brandished his fist, and thrashed wildly as he attempted to free himself. "You jerk! I can't believe you! Can't you be nice to me for a friggin' day?!"

Seto pretended to ponder that for a moment. He tapped his finger to his chin, as though he were deep in thought. Scratched his head, as though he might consider it. Scrunched his eyes in concentration, as if he were weighing the pros and cons.

And then laughed at the complete absurdity of such a request.

Kaiba leered at the fuming Joey. "No, don't think I can. Life wouldn't be as much fun." Kaiba then narrowed his cold blue eyes at the blonde. "Now play nice." And if Joey was any good at reading Kaiba's glares, he definitely meant that if he failed to play nice, he would be strung up by his ankles and be forced to watch as Kaiba would gladly remove all of his entrails to use them as a noose to hang him by. All while performing the Chinese Water Torture.

And then the bastard would probably castrate him, just for good measure. Ouch.

Joey whimpered.

Kaiba deftly tossed the ball to Joey, who caught it reflexively. Then the blue-eyed brunette walked back inside without another word. Though he did pause to shoot another warning glare at the blonde, who immediately crossed his legs as though in pain.

A few hours later, Kaiba smiled to himself, as he finally finished the report that he had been working on. He stretched a bit, arching his spine, hearing a nice pop in his lower back. Glancing at the clock, he realized with a start that it was nearing 5, and that the blonde hasn't bothered him in quite some time.

This, of course, could only mean one thing.

Joey was up to no good.

He quietly - but quickly, as his brain was all too happy to supply a multitude of scenarios of all sorts of trouble and destruction the mischievous blonde could have gotten himself into - walked back to the garden area outside, fully expecting to find his beautiful backyard in a post-Armageddon state.

What he did find, however, was highly amusing. Kaiba quickly stomped down on the smirk that was fighting its way onto his face.

"Like I said before, pup. You are a pig," he chuckled.

Joey and Mokuba had watered down an empty section of the garden, turning everything to mud. The hose was still on, squirming around on the ground like a live snake, spraying water everywhere. The two boys were both laughing and throwing mudballs at each other. Joey couldn't even bring himself to get angry at the brunette's comment. Instead, he donned a large, lopsided grin.

Don't get mad, get even, right?

Seto blinked as a particularly large mudball landed on his face. He had a sudden sense of deja vu as the brown goop dripped off his face. Better than chewed up dog food, he thought vaguely. Another drop of mud slipped off his nose, and he decided that no, actually, it was not better.

Seto took a menacing step towards the grinning idiot, and was about to wipe that stupid smile off his laughing face when he lost his footing in the slippery mud and fell in face first.

Kaiba laid there for a moment, stunned, trying to think of how he had ended up on the ground. He was pretty sure that he was about to do something important. Like, murder. At least he had landed on something soft…

A strained voice came from below him, and Kaiba remembered. Yeah, that's what he was doing. About to kill an obnoxious blonde who didn't know what was coming to him.

"You're heavy." Joey sounded like he was very much put upon.

Seto glared deep into honey eyes. "You're filthy."

Joey grinned suddenly, very pleased with himself. "So are you." No dry cleaner in the world would ever be able to get the muck out of those clothes.

It was then, as the brunette looked down to assess the damages of his wardrobe, that Seto realized that he was fully sprawled out on top of the other teen, in what could be a very compromising situation. His eyes widened as he realized that nothing but a scant inch of air was separating him from the blonde. The thought instantly turned his face red. Not good. This would be a good time to get out of here.

Kaiba hastily attempted to get up, scrambling for a foothold in the mudpit that was slowly turning into a pond with all the water from the hose, which was still going. Getting up took more than a couple of tries. Joey was quickly out of breath because the brunette kept slipping and falling back on top of him. Kaiba may have been a skinny little prick, but he still had quite a bit of weight to him.

Finally, around attempt 15, the two were able to stand back up again, Joey looking the worse for wear. Seto looked over the blonde, not knowing whether to be mad – the whole mud incident was his fault, after all - or amused. The blonde was covered from head to toe in mud, which was a funny sight to behold. Seto frowned slightly. However, the once unstained white t-shirt and jeans that Joey had been wearing belonged to Kaiba. The brunette sighed lightly.

"Time to give the dog a bath, I suppose," he chuckled. He looked at the blonde, who was pouting once again. This time he gave a real laugh. Not a small smirk, or sinister snicker. He laughed out loud, eyes crinkling with the force of it. It sounded, for the smallest of moments, like he was just a normal, carefree teenager.

Joey was been about to retaliate in response to the dog insult but froze at the foreign sound coming from Kaiba's mouth. Anything he might have said died on his tongue, and kept quiet, finding he'd rather listen to the brunette laugh. His eyes widened with the realization.

It was only because it was such a rarity, after all. That's what he kept telling himself. It was not because he enjoyed the sound.

Joey didn't even realize it as his mouth curved upwards into a soft smile. No, it wasn't that at all.

Later that evening, Joey stood in the warm bathroom, drying off his hair. If there was anything good about having to stay at the Kaiba mansion, it was that this was the best damn shower he ever had. Whistling a tune to himself, he thought back to earlier on in the day. He had been acting really strange around Kaiba suddenly. He couldn't understand why he got butterflies in his stomach when Seto laughed. Or why he couldn't even look at the brunette during their dinner earlier without turning red around the ears. Or, an even bigger mystery, why the brunette hadn't commented on his strange behavior, or called him any names during their meal.

Of course, the blonde thought darkly, rubbing the towel furiously through his damp locks of hair, the latter was only a matter of time. Kaiba would die before giving up the fucking dog names.

Mokuba hadn't helped much with his predicament from the afternoon either. He asked why Kaiba had been lying on top of Joey in the mud. Then he asked oh-so-innocently why both had turned so red. If they were maybe feverish, the boy piped up, they should have bed rest. Together. Needless to say, both Kaiba and Joey turned a deeper shade of red.

Kaiba decided that Mokuba had been watching too much cable, and banned him from anymore television until further notice.

So, during dinner, Mokuba continued to look from a blushing blonde, to a blushing brunette, then snickering to himself. Losing cable privileges was totally worth it.

Joey didn't get what was so funny. Being the big lug he is, he wouldn't know a sexual tension if it bit him on the face. Kaiba, however, continued to glare daggers at his not-so-innocent brother. Mokuba just smiled sweetly back. The CEO clutched tightly to his knife and fork, calculating the exact speed and angle of lift needed to use his butter knife as a dagger to take the blonde out. Then all his problems would be gone.

To break the tension in the air, and oblivious to any future projectiles that would be coming his way, Joey had announced that he would go wash up before bed. He didn't want Kaiba's glare to burn a hole in the kid's head. Mokuba was much too valuable, because he was the one who had all the blackmail on Kaiba. And even better - he wasn't afraid to use it.

Joey could have just kissed the kid when Mokuba told him that he would be happy to share anything embarrassing he had on the brunette. For a small fee, of course.

Returning to the present, the blonde chuckled to himself as he wrapped a towel around his waist, recalling the bet the blonde had made with the kid. If Joey could get Seto to laugh again before the week was out – not an evil or sinister cackle, but a real stomach-cramping, pee-your-pants laugh - then Mokuba would gladly hand over the key to his vault of blackmail material.

If he lost, he would have to do Mokuba's homework for a month.

Why the kid would even consider trusting the blonde with such a task was beyond him. He couldn't even seem to bring himself to do his own homework. Oh well. Joey didn't intend on losing.

Shaking the last droplets of water from his hair, Joey opened the door from the bathroom and walked into the adjacent room. Still thinking about Mokuba and all the opportunities Joey could use to blackmail Kaiba, Joey wandered over to the dresser to find a pair of pajama pants to wear.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he realized something was amiss. The dresser wasn't on this side of the room before. He opened the top drawer. That shirt wasn't his. Neither were those pants. What the hell?

"Hey, wait a second! I don't recognize any of these clothes!" the blonde exclaimed to himself. He nervously held up a pair of black silky boxers with the Blue Eyes White Dragon printed on it. "Now that is definitely not mine." He began to have a horrible sense impending doom.

"Is there something I can help you find, mutt?" a familiar cold voice drawled from behind. "Or do you just enjoy looking at other people's underwear?"

Joey spun around at mach speed 10 to find the blue-eyed brunette lounging across the bed, reading a book that he couldn't see the title of. Kaiba lazily flicked another page, though he wasn't looking at the book. No, his eyes seemed to be permanently locked onto Joey's own honey-hued eyes.

Joey also belatedly noticed that Kaiba was also wearing a new pair of black pants. And nothing else. He willed himself not to look down further than Kaiba's neck. And failed.

The blonde took a gulp, and felt a blush coming up. Judging by the six pack on his abs, Seto was definitely fit.

Kaiba merely watched Joey staring at him blankly. Kaiba raised his eyebrow. The pup tilted his head to the side, looking absolutely adorable. "What are you doing on my bed?" he asked, clueless.

The brunette gave a sigh, wondering if there was a limit to the idiocy of the teen before him. He shut his book, deciding that he would never be able to focus on it with Joey standing there, with that adorable confused look on his face. Kaiba smirked. No, it would be much more fun to tease his mutt. He languorously got up from the bed and leisurely walked over to where the blonde was standing.

Joey looked to be in a trance, and couldn't seem to pry his chocolate eyes away from the piercing blue orbs in front of him. Unless they were wandering down to Kaiba's bare torso. Or even a little bit lower…

Joey's eyes widened until he was sure they would pop out of his skull, and his skin turned red until he quite accurately resembled a tomato with a sunburn. He couldn't believe it! He had been checking out Kaiba, for Chrissake! He made a mental note to wash his eyes out with bleach later.

"Since when is this bed yours?" a warm breath whispered seductively in his ear. The proximity of the other teen caused Joey to squeak – in a very manly fashion, of course - and jump back a foot or two. Kaiba gave that sexy smirk of his. "Did you really think I'd let you sleep with me?"

Joey took a second look at the bed. Something did seem different. He gave the blue bed sheets a blank stare. Odd, I thought my sheets were maroon…

Realization finally dawned on the blonde. He had used the wrong door from the bathroom, and was now in Kaiba's room. Well, that would definitely explain the BEWD boxers. Then the brunette's words sunk in. Sleep with him!

His blush deepened, until his whole face felt like it was on fire. He frantically waved his arms around. "That-that's not what I meant!" Joey spluttered.

His jerky movements, however, caused his towel to loosen, and fall precariously low on his hips. Joey managed to grab it just in time and secure it around his waist before he revealed far too much of himself to the brunette.

Though Seto was denied the full picture, he still found himself staring at the shapely hips and toned skin that could be seen peeking from behind the towel.

An embarrassed cough caused the brunette to redirect his attention a little higher up on the blonde. Of course, his traitorous eyes allowed themselves a couple extra seconds for his gaze to linger on Joey's very nice stomach and chest.

Finally looking up at Joey's face, Kaiba was faintly amused to find it a definite shade of pink. He looked decidedly uncomfortable in nothing but his scanty washcloth that could barely pass as a towel. In fact, Joey was clutching the cloth to himself covetously, as though afraid the brunette might try to snatch it away at any second.

Kaiba smirked. Tempting.

Kaiba walked over to his closet, fully aware of the amber eyes following his every move. For some reason he wasn't sure of, the thought brought a small smile to the corners of his mouth.

He turned back to the blonde, but now holding a fluffy green robe. Joey eyed it greedily. Kaiba smirked to himself. He knew he had a nice blue robe too, but somehow he just thought that green looked better on the shorter teen. He didn't even want to think about why he was wondering what colors might look good on the blonde.

Seto slowly walked back to Joey, and draped the warm material over his shoulders. He stared deep into Joey's eyes, never breaking contact, as he continued to help the blonde into the robe. His hands brushed along Joey's sides in a feather light caress as he helped to wrap it around his lithe body.

Joey was suddenly very grateful for the towel covering his lower regions, which had suddenly seemed to be wrapped a bit tighter. He could hear his blood pumping through his ears and his heart beating wildly in his chest, but couldn't bring himself to break the gaze he held with the brunette. He didn't even dare to blink.

A few seconds later, as Joey's eyes began to water, he decided to retract that previous statement, and that blinking could be a good thing.

The blush on his face grew more pronounced as the brunette leaned in, lips brushing against skin, and whispered in his ear a good night. His ear tingled where he could feel the hot breath brushing over it. Joey looked dazedly up at the brunette.

"Whuddumah?" Joey seemed to have lost all form of human language.

With a helpful push (read: shove) from Kaiba, the blonde somehow managed to stumble a few steps back toward the adjoining door, stuttering a good bye while suddenly feeling very lightheaded.

Then the stupid bastard had to go ruin the mood by telling Joey to have nice dreams about bones and chasing rubber tennis balls. Joey was instantly snapped out of any warm-and-fuzzy-feelings trance that he had previously been experiencing. Being quite fed up with Kaiba, Joey promptly slammed the bathroom door in his face. Kaiba winced slightly as he heard the other bathroom door slam shut as well.

Joey huffed angrily. His only regret was that he hadn't slammed the door on his face.

Kaiba stared at the shut door, an amused smile twitching on his lips. Joey was certainly…different. And fun to bait. He now found himself looking forward to the week, despite the agonizing day, just to see how much he could antagonize the mutt.

Kaiba thought about the way Joey's eyes blazed with a passionate fire when he was angry with the brunette. The way he turned red when trying to think of a better comeback. The way he became breathless after shouting at the CEO…

Then Kaiba gave a large groan, knowing that he was about to have another fitful night full of dreams of puppy dogs and amber eyes.

Yay! So there's Day 2 of Joey's week from hell. Hope you all liked it. I'll hopefully get the next chapter up soon, but summer school starts in a few days, and it will not be pleasant. So please bear with me, I really do apologize. In the mean time, send me reviews of how you liked the story! I absolutely LOVE it when people let me know if I got them to smile or giggle just even a little bit! Oh, and the next chapter, I really need ideas for what the bet was that got Joey locked in there in the first place. I swear, I am having such a hard time coming up with anything. I'll give full kudos to anyone who can give me some creative juices!!

Love,

The Mamberz