KD: Hey peoples! At last school is out! HOORAY FOR SUMMER! Hopefully this means more people will review. Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Mandarino Sorobetti

Chapter song:

Inside of You- Hoobastank

After about two hours of hearing Seto talk to person after person about virtual reality games, theme park ideas, computer programming, and other business related topics, the two finally left the party. The night was still young, but Joey was tired from all the standing and listening. Joey leaned back in the car seat and momentarily closed his eyes.

"The night's not over yet, Wheeler," Seto said, noticing how exhausted the blond next to him looked.

"What now?" Joey asked, slight irritation in his voice.

"Since you were a good dog at the party, I'll take you out for dinner."

Joey's head immediately perked up when he heard the word dinner. Even though he ate at the party, he was still hungry. "Really?"

Joey was shocked. They had never gone on an official date in public before and he really didn't know what to expect. The car ride was not long and they pulled up to a high class Italian restaurant. As Joey stepped out of the car and headed to the door, there was a hostess there to welcome to two boys and open the door for them. Much to Joey's surprise the restaurant was silent. He looked around and noticed that he and Seto were the only people besides a few staff members that were working.

"Good evening, gentlemen," An older women said before guiding them to their table and handing them their menus. "May I offer you anything to drink? Wine? Scotch?"

Joey was dumbfounded. They were obviously not old enough to drink, but then again, nothing was ever normal with Seto.

"Two glasses of your finest red wine," Seto said without even bothering to looking at the beverage menu. The waitress quickly left to fetch the wine and Joey decided to look at the menu that was placed in front of him.

'Gah, I can't read any of this,' Joey thought, looking at the menu only to see that the entire thing was written in Italian. He saw Seto pull out his glasses looking over the menu with much thought and then closing it shut and placing it down. "Um, Kaiba," Joey started. "Do they have raviolis here? I can't read the menu." Joey started to nervously laugh while waiting to hear Kaiba's response.

"This isn't the capital of Chef BoyArdee, Wheeler," Seto replied pointedly before lowering Joey's menu and pointing to a dish. "Try the Maltese ravjul."

"Okay, I'll give it a shot," said Joey, trusting Seto with this.

The dinner was enjoyable, albeit silent for the most part. Joey got to have his first taste of red wine. When he told Seto what it tasted like to him, he received a very scathing look and made not another complaint about it. The most conversation Joey managed to get from Seto was when he asked Joey how the exams went. Joey told Seto he supposed he did alright, and then wished he hadn't said anything at all right afterwards.

The two boys ordered their food, once the waitress came back. Joey attempted to say Maltese ravjul as perfectly as Seto had said, but he completely butchered it. However, the waitress easily knew what dish the young blond was talking about, with all her years working at the restaurant. Seto ordered Zuppa di Cosse, which just looked like mussels in some sauce to Joey once the food arrived. After the waitress left, the room was once again engulfed in silence between the two boys.

"Come on Joey, say something. Anything. First thing that comes to mind." After a few moments of pondering what to say, the husky voice of the person across the table from him finally spoke up.

"How were exams?" Seto took a sip of his wine glass after asking his simple question. Yet, the irritation in his voice, made it perfectly clear, he was not truly that interested in know how they went, because he could already predict the answer.

"I did alright. I think. I kept messing up the date on Japanese History, and the derivative in math were hard, but I did write an answer down for every question." Joey said after thinking back on the exams, he so easily wanted to forget. Once again the two teens were in silence, since all Seto did was nod his head in approval to Joey at least trying to answer every question, but gave no affirming words. "Geez. Is it that hard for the guy to say something like 'you did you best and that's what matters.' Aw who am I kidding? If Kaiba did say something' like that I would fall over from a heart attack." The tension in the room was staring to feel think on Joey, and he knew this time he needed to instigate some form of conversation, or else they would be sitting in silence the entire night. With a sigh, Joey leaned hack in his chair.

"Look, Kaiba, while I appreciate all this, I really do… could ya do us both a favor and lighten up?" Joey asked him. "You're not exactly helping the mood. What's got you so up in a bind?" Kaiba usually wasn't THIS temperamental unless something warranted it. Was it because he had wandered off during the party?

"I'm perfectly fine," Seto declared, very much in denial.

"Ya wanna talk about it… you being fine?" Joey asked, trying to humor him.

"Are you my personal therapist now?" Seto asked.

"Look, I'm sorry if I embarrassed you at your little party, but I'm just not into standing around listening to people talk about stuff I don't even understand," Joey told Seto. Then he added, "Besides, you didn't even give me a choice in the matter."

"You would not have gone even if I had asked," Seto predicted.

"Well… I'll admit he's got me there," Joey thought. "Look, can we just forget everything else and focus on… well…" He blushed. "Us?"

"What's there to 'focus' on?" Seto asked after taking a sip of his wine, his expression relaxing just a bit.

Joey realized that he didn't know what to talk about either. "I don't know," Joey grumbled. Seto was never one for small talk, Joey knew that, but he didn't realize that it would be this hard. "How was your day?" Joey finally asked, the only question he could think of besides the yearning to know what had Seto annoyed more than usual.

"Are you seriously asking me how my day was?" Seto found it hard to believe that Joey actually asked him that question. Joey nodded, slightly embarrassed by his stereotypical question, but it was better than silence right now. Seto sighed but humored Joey in turn. "My day was no different than any other day, Wheeler, school and work." Seto kept it brief, which Joey expected; his boyfriend was not really a man of many words, unless it came to insults, firing someone, or stroking his own ego.

The waitress came back and took away their cleaned plates. "Would you gentlemen like any dessert or coffee this evening?"

"I will have a cup of Ristretto and we will share a mandarino sorobetti," Seto said closing the dessert menu, and handing it back to the waitress.

"What's mandarino sorobetti?" Joey asked butchering the Italian pronunciation once again. However as soon as he asked, the women came back with Seto's coffee and the mandarino sorobetti, and Joey had an idea what it was.

"Mandarin Orange Sherbet?" Joey asked grabbing one of the spoons and taking a small bit, unsure if he would like it. Seto watched as Joey eagerly ate the sorobetti with enthusiasm. Seto took a small scoop here and there, but Joey ate the most of it.

"Enjoy it, Wheeler?" Seto said leaning in closer across the table after Joey had finished the last bite. Joey nodded placed the spoon into the bowl. Seto then scooted his chair next to Joey's at the table. "I thought you would." Seto noticed that Joey still had a little of the sorobetti on his face, "No one is around and I paid the staff enough money to leave us alone the entire evening…" Seto thought as he progressively leaned his face in closer to Joey's. Seto's face was centimeters away from Joey's now, and he saw the glistening shine from the sorobetti even more clearly on the side of Joey's face. Seto licked the sorobetti, slowly, and almost seductively off of Joey. Seto saw Joey's face turning a light pink at this small act.

Seto's face was still close to Joey's, so Joey took this opportunity to take the mood one step further, leaning in to press Seto's lips lightly with his own. Joey wanted to take full advantage of this opportune moment that the two would be able to spend together. Joey went to kiss Seto again, but was stopped this time. Seto softly licked Joey's lips, once again tasting the mandarino, the one flavor they could always agree on, before granting Joey permission to one final kiss. It was sweet and short.

Joey reluctantly but decisively separated his lips from Seto's and suddenly stood up from his chair. The young president of Kaiba Corp. was perplexed by this and even more so when Joey grabbed hold of his hand and quite literally pulled him up out of hid chair and began dragging him to some destination unknown. Seto had no clue what was going through the blonde's head, but his cocoa brown eyes were intense, lit up with some inner fire. It didn't take long for Seto to surmise where they were headed as the men's restroom came into view and grew steadily nearer.

Seto had half a mind to stop Joey right then and there, but he was curious to see what his pup had planned. Joey threw open the swinging door with such force it nearly banged against the wall as he dragged Seto in with him. Of course there was no one there, and the employees had their own restroom. The bathroom was very clean and shiny, and smell strongly of popouri. The walls, sinks, mirrors, stalls, and urinals were spotless and unmarred. Neither really cared about that though, especially not Joey.

The moment the door shut behind them, he pushed Seto up against the sink counter, wrapping his arms around the taller man's neck, and drew him down for an intense kiss. Seto was slightly thrown by the blonde's boldness; usually he was too shy and embarrassed to initiate anything so intimate. He could tell Joey was trying to use Seto's surprise to take charge just by the way Joey's tongue slipped straight past his partner's lips and pressed against his, as if trying to steal the flavor of the desert they shared. He was establishing his dominance. Well, that just wouldn't do.

If Seto wanted, he could easily stop this and not think twice on it, it was early on enough. Since they were here, though, he might as well have some fun with his puppy. He wrapped his hands around Joey's waist, now fully engaged in the battle stirring between their mouths. Then in one fluid motion, he lifted Joey up, turned around, and placed the younger teen on the sink counter, turning the tables on him.

Joey was to lost in the taste of Seto to even care that the position of dominance was falling from his fingers. Seto broke the kiss to look into the chocolate eyes of his blond, his cool hands stroking flushed cheeks. Kaiba leaned back in, gently kissing Joey's cheek and moving down to the side of the neck. Seto thought he heard a soft moan of 'please' as he kissed a particular spot on the blond's neck. Intrigued, Seto continued to play with the spot on the side of his neck closest to the shoulder.

Joey tried to hold back the pleasure he was receiving, but the touch of Seto's lips and tongue were too much for his self-control to handle. It also didn't help that he was slightly intoxicated from the drinking he had done. He was not drunk, but light enough in the head to feel more adventuress that usual when it came to Kaiba. Joey could feel himself growing warmer in the presence of Seto. They were making out in the bathroom of a restaurant, even though it was close off exclusively for them, Joey felt like this was Seto stepping out of his comfort zone. Joey took off his jacket hoping that it would relieve the uncontrollable warmth he was feeling, but it didn't help much. He did have a six foot CEO towering over him, pleasing his body oh-so-easily with the simple kisses and light touches of his tongue and hands, and the alcohol was a definite factor in the warmth. However, to Joey the biggest reason he felt so warm was because of how turned on he was. The well-fit designer slacks were feeling tight to Joey, and he wanted them off. That was impossible for him to do, though, still sitting on the sink top, and he found himself too distracted to move. Joey really didn't know how it happened, but his tie was off and Seto had begun unbuttoning the blond's shirt. Seto's tongue felt cool against Joey's body that was feeling even warmer with every touch.

Joey, deciding to be bold, moved his hands close to Seto's pants. He was not sure if it was because the alcohol, but he wanted Seto that very moment. As soon as Joey attempted to unlatch Seto's belt, he heard his lover's voice low in his ears, "No, not here." This upset Joey, he was hard and needed to release it, and he wanted Seto to be the one to do it. Joey tried to continue, but Seto kissed him one last time as an attempt for a distraction. The last place Seto wanted to do it in was a bathroom, with his boyfriend obviously being persuaded by the wine more than his own thoughts. After the kiss was broken, Seto picked up Joey's clothing and handed it to him. He noticed that Joey was a bit annoyed by this, but he reluctantly put his shirt and jacket back on, and Seto placed the tie back on him. Joey leaned in for one last kiss from his boyfriend, but it was not returned.

"Don't get me wrong," Seto told him when once more the puppy ears and tail were drooping in dejection. "I'm not trying to lead you on. I want to wait for the appropriate time. Can you do that?"

Joey wasn't sure what Seto meant by 'appropriate time', but he didn't want to let his own sexual frustrations ruin the night for the both of them, so he simply nodded in agreement. They went back to their table and finished their drinks. After Seto paid for the meal, leaving a handsome tip, they left the restaurant. Seto, feeling the blonde had enough excitement for one night, had the car stop a couple blocks away from Joey's apartment.

"I'm going to be busy for the next week, possibly longer," Seto declared.

Joey blinked at him in confusion, wondering why he was mentioning this.

Seto continued, "If I don't answer your calls or texts, it just means I don't have the time."

Then it dawned on Joey as he remembered the two week period where he hadn't heard word from Seto. Was that why Seto had taken him out tonight, because it was the last time they would see each other for a while?

"Thanks for letting me know," Joey said, feeling truly grateful for the heads up. It was nice to hear it from Seto for once instead of Mokuba.

"Also, if you managed to do well on the exams, I'll be sure to give you a special treat," Seto said.

"What... like a gift?" Joey asked.

Seto smirked at him. "You'll just have to wait and see, pup." Joey growled to show his displeasure at the dog reference and Seto just chuckled before ruffling his hair. "Get to bed, Wheeler. You earned a good rest."

Joey was starting to feel tired, so he told Seto goodnight and got out of the car before walking the rest of the way to his house. His dad, surprisingly enough was still awake. When Joey came in he stared at his son with bloodshot eyes. Joey couldn't even remember what those eyes looked like when they were sober. Then again, he spent a lot of his time avoiding his dad altogether, having given up on forming any kind of fatherly-son bond.

"Yer home late again," his dad spoke in a slurring voice. "Yer always coming home late. Don't even know why ya bother coming home at all." He paused to release a gurgling hiccup.

Joey just stared at his father with a mixture of disgust and guilt. It seemed every time he saw his dad now he just wanted to scream and confront him with all the stupid, useless things he'd done and how pathetic he had become. However, Joey knew it would be just another fruitless effort. How many times had he begged his dad to stop gambling and drinking? How many nights alone did Joey spend making his own microwave dinners? How many jobs did he have to go through just so that he and his dad could continue living in their house? Nothing he said or did would make any difference.

Still, something made him try anyway. "Dad… can't we let bygones be bygones?" Joey asked his dad. "Just stop drinking and gambling, then maybe you and mom could get back together. We could be a family again." How many times had he used this plea with his dad?

"Why ya lookin at me like that?" his dad asked, deaf to his son's plea. He picked up one of the empty bottles sitting in his lap. "Don't you look down at me, boy!" he heaved the bottle.

He had surprising accuracy for a drunk man, but there wasn't any devastating force behind it, allowing Joey it easily catching it. "I'm going to bed." Joey told his dad, tossing the bottle into the trash. "Not that you care," he added in thought as tears stung his eyes. He didn't ever want Seto meeting his dad, because if he did, he didn't think he could live with the shame.

KD: Poor Joey. :( Will he ever be able to salvage a relationship with his dad? Only time will tell. So stay tuned!