Seto could barely believe what was going on before him as Joey smiled slightly and shrugged, sitting on the bed and pulling the blanket over his lap to modestly hide his nakedness. He took a deep breath and looked up at the brunette with apologetic brown eyes.
"Seto… Obviously, you can tell that I-I'm not an ordinary dog." The blonde said quietly, looking at the floor. The brunette could only nod, incredulously as he stared at his once-puppy, now-man. Joey sighed. "Well, I suppose a bit of explaining is in order." He received only another nod and he chuckled quietly.
"Yes. I would love an explanation as to why my dog just became a… a…" Seto's voice failed him, and he fell silent, waiting for Joey to speak again. The blonde paused to make sure Seto was present and listening to him before nodding calmly and beginning his story.
"My name, many, many years ago, was once Jono." He said, staring off into the distance. "I have lived for thousands of years, under a furred exterior. Once, even, I was a friend of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh. He was a wonderful man, always kind and compassionate. He was just, and he believed in the good in everyone. I trusted him with my life." Seto's brow furrowed slightly, as he wondered if he should believe this young man. However, his curiosity got the best of him and he sat, listening intently. Joey continued after a moment. "The high priest of the kingdom didn't like the fact that the pharaoh associated himself with me, as I was just a workman. A serf, as they called it in later years, and I believe the term then became a lower-class citizen."
"So, if this is true." Seto interjected suddenly, frowning slightly. "Then, why are you sitting here, on my bed? Ancient Egypt existed thousands of years ago. To have survived that long, you'd have to be immortal." Joey smiled slightly.
"I was getting to that part." He replied calmly, "Now, there were a number of mythical artifacts kept in the deepest royal chambers called the Millennium Items. The high priest eventually grew angered by my friendship with the pharaoh and used one to halt our affiliation." Joey stared at the ground at this point, glaring at the carpet savagely. "He said I did not belong in the palace, as I was nothing more than a mutt of the streets… And then he turned me into a one." Seto frowned slightly and interjected again.
"Then why are you a human now?" he asked impatiently, arms crossed. This blonde male was getting on his nerves, and his story was getting more and more farfetched. Joey sighed and chuckled.
"My curse lives for twenty-three of the twenty-four hours in a day. You see a Millennium Item cannot turn something into something else. However, some of them can control minds, hold spirits, and even create illusion. That is what the high priest did." He glanced down again, as if the thought of said priest made him both sad and angry at the same time.
"So, you mean… you can't be a dog all day, or you'd have become something else entirely, which those… items can't do? Instead, they create the illusion that you're a dog, by making you into one for the better part of the day?" Seto asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow. Joey nodded, smiling brightly.
"Exactly!" he exclaimed, grinning. "I am to live an eternity as a dog, only to be reminded of what it is to be human in the dead hour of the day." He said, sighing. "My curse will die when someone decides that I am worth caring about, whether I am a peasant, a serf, a… a lower-class citizen, a dog, or not." He glanced away with a small heave of a sigh. "I must get someone to fall in love with me as a human, and as a dog."
Seto shook his head, trying to process what he'd just learned. He then looked up at Joey, seriously. Joey stared back, unsure whether to be intimidated by the other's stare or not. However, the truthful look in the blonde's eyes was unbelievably clear.
"Joey." The brunette said quietly, and the blonde perked up slightly, staring at Seto a bit more intently. "You are still my dog, right?" he said softly, confused. Joey simply smiled.
"I would never want to be anyone else's. Of any of my owners, you are the kindest, and most wonderful person I've ever lived with." He replied without hesitation. Seto nodded mutely, thinking to himself.
"… Last night… Was that you?" he asked suddenly, looking up as he remembered his bout of illness the night before and the person who'd carried him back to bed. The blonde was surprised, and it took a moment for the question to register, before he answered Seto with only a smile and a nod. Seto paused to look at the other. "Joey, this is all the truth, isn't it?" he asked, as reality began to close in on him. The blonde nodded.
"Afraid so." He replied, nodding. "I am all that you see here, and all you've seen of me before." He paused to place a hand on Seto's shoulder. The brunette almost went to flinch away, but paused and then calmed down, simply looking at Joey. "But I am your dog. That's what I'm happy being… Okay?" Seto nodded slowly.
"Of course." He replied, unsure of what else he could possibly say. Joey nodded and yawned. "Well, then. I suppose… it's back to bed."
"Yeah." Was the blonde's immediate reply, as he found the edge of the covers and dove under them head first, worming his way back up to the pillows, afterward. Seto smiled slightly, suddenly noting that this mysterious blonde male was certainly a lot like a dog, even when in his human body. Perhaps all those thousands of years had changed him slightly. He slid under the covers as well, yawning and lying flat on his back
"Joey?" he asked softly. The blonde shifted to look at him with slight curiosity in his eyes. Seto simply smiled again. "You're… a good dog." He said, reaching out. Joey grinned and inched closer to the brunette, snuggling against his side.
"You're a good master." He replied comfortably and yawned, closing his eyes. Seto noted that the blonde was extremely talented at falling asleep quickly, as he was out within a few minutes of the comment.
"Hm… That's good to know." The brunette said, more to himself, than the sleeping teen in his arms. He closed his eyes slowly, yawning slightly.
When the brunette awoke the next morning, he realized where his strange dream the other night had been from, and sat up suddenly. Upon glancing down, he saw a familiar sight, though now, it seemed to strange to see Joey curled up in the small nest of blankets, paw and tail twitching as his furry chest rose and fell to the timing of his breathing.