23. Stop hitting yourself Stop hitting yourself Stop hitting yourself

"Am I forgiven?" Master B. knelt by Joey's bed.

Joey sighed. "Kaiba… you toyed with my head again. You know I hate that."

"Yes, but I already told you why I had to do it. And you know it was the only way."

"…What's that you said about not being my master no more?"

"Tell me whether I'm forgiven or not and I'll tell you."

Joey turned his back to him. "…Fine."

B. had to grab the sheets to stop himself from jumping him right then. "Alright. The thing is… I thought about it, and decided to change things around here a little. I won't have anyone working for me against their will anymore. And the reward for defeating me will be prize money, I haven't decided how much yet. I have a brother to take care of now, and I can't risk losing everything again. And… about you… I wanted to… look at me." He did. "I want to form a partnership with you. I want us to be equals."

"Wha… are you serious?"

"I've never been more serious in my life. And I hope you can tell I'm not lying. That little thingy-wingy you broke would have been useful right now, you know." Joey just flicked him on the forehead.

"Why… why would you do that?"

B. rested his crossed arms on the bed with a sweet smile. "Well, duh. Did you forget that I love you already?" Joey blushed. "By the way… I'm really curious to know how you managed to be Master for almost a year without really spending anything…"

"Oh, that… umm… the thing is, back when I was, y'know, your whore…"

B. wrinkled his nose. "Don't say it like that."

"Nah, I don't mind no more. Well, I noticed my father was taking the money I was sending my sister and gambling with it. I was real pissed, until I found out that the son of a bitch was a fucking great Poker player. So I decided to sponsor him. I did take some money from your accounts at first so I could set things up, but he won that back in the first month. I did have to pay less to everyone, but I guess I managed to keep things running."

B. was so astounded he didn't know what to say. "…Wow, you're… you're… wow!"

"And since we're coming clean… I kinda lied to you about what I wanted money for. It was because of my sister, but for hospital things. She needed lots of operations and treatment, and that's basically how the whole thing started."

"Is she okay now?"

"Never better. The way she keeps nagging at me to go back home, it's like she never been sick."

"I'm glad to hear that. So, um… you lied to me…"

"Once!"

B. couldn't take it anymore and climbed the bed to hug him. "I'm teasing you, Puppy. I'm sure you had your reasons. But if you had told me the truth back then, I would have helped you right away, you know."

Joey sighed tiredly. "Doesn't matter now. I'm just glad she's okay."

"I am glad too. So, how come I never heard of Mr. Wheeler winning any championships?"

"Well, actually… he only plays on underground tournaments, so you wouldn't have heard of him." While speaking, he hugged B. back. "It was his choice, and I let him. Seems he has something to settle with an old friend of his. I don't know the full story."

"I see." B. extended his hand to Joey. "So, do you accept this hand in partnership, or do I have to get back on my knees?"

"On your knees, huh? Doesn't sound half bad, but I know of a better way to close a deal." He took B.'s hand and pulled him on top of him for a kiss.

"Oh, I'm happy to oblige, so long as you don't ever close deals like this with anyone else." He started unbuttoning Joey's shirt. "Love your new outfit, but it's got to go."

"How about you stop coming on to every single person you see? Think I didn't notice how 'close' you were to those two?"

"Excuse me? How about you and Devlin? If things are to work out, I want him out of here first thing tomorrow."

"What the heck are you talking about? Duke doesn't go for guys. He hits on my sister every single time he has the chance."

"What? But… you seemed so intimate, calling him to your room all the time…"

"I don't know when you saw this, but Duke is my financial advisor. Whenever he shows up it's to bring news about my father. He don't work here, we never even played."

"Oh! Uh… er… your access code was my name!"

"Ack! So you figured it out! That's because I was so pissed at you at the time!"

"That doesn't even make any sense. Want me to relieve you of your pants? It seems like they're on fire."

"I ain't lyin— actually, never mind." Joey kissed B. again, while attacking his pants. "You stop flirting with the whole damn world and I… what is it you want from me?"

B. rubbed his naked body on him. "Nothing much. I just want you to be by my side forever."

Joey smiled, satisfied and oh-so-very turned on. "I think I can do that."

oOo

The other day, B. explained his new decisions to everyone, and to his surprise, none of his employees quit, and they were more than happy to welcome him back as their boss.

Well, with only two exceptions.

They sat around the table as lunch was served. Both Joeys couldn't stop staring at Mokuba, whose hair fell around his head in black and rainbow.

"Maybe I really should have taken my hairspray."

B. smiled enchanted. "Now that's a cute little brother.

Kaiba interrupted, before they would start bickering again. "You don't need us here, right? We're going back."

"Yes, you have to go back, huh. I thank you for helping me when I needed." B. winked at him, but Kaiba noticed it wasn't really flirty anymore, just playful.

After lunch, Kaiba got B. to distract his Joey while he talked privately to Mokuba. Back in their room, Joey handed him the dimension machine. "If you get me stuck here, I'll bite your nose off."

"Please don't start acting like a dog. Seriously." He turned to Mokuba. "I said I would prove it to you, didn't I?"

"What—"

Before he could understand what was going on, Kaiba held his arm, and a second later they were back in his world.

"—the hell?"

"Mokuba! Are you home?" The dimension machine heated up violently in his hands.

B.'s Mokuba looked at him as if he were crazy. "I'm standing right here!"

"Seto! Big brother, where are you?"

Mokuba widened his eyes. "That… that's my voice!"

Kaiba said nothing, he just opened the door and stepped in the hallway.

"Big br— what the hell happened to your hair?"

Kaiba smiled at his brother. "It's just a wig. Oh, and this is you from a different dimension." He held him briefly before he could see their guest.

Both Mokubas faced each other.

"No—"

"— way!"

Kaiba was amused. "I should have filmed this…" He left them to squabble with each other and went to his lab.

oOo

"Why are you taller than me?"

"I don't know. Why are you punkier than me?"

"I don't know. Why are you bitchier than me?"

"I don't know. Why—"

"Enough, you two! Come, punk Mokuba. I have to take you back."

"Seto! Are you going… wherever you were again? Where were you anyway? What's going on?"

"I'll tell you later. I'll just take him back and bring Wheeler."

Mokuba gaped in disbelief. "Joey? You were out adventuring with Joey? Are pigs flying now or something?"

Kaiba just smiled at him. "I'll see you soon, Mokuba."

They stepped back in the room and disappeared in a succinct flash.

"...What the hell?"

oOo

When they got back, along with heating up, the machine started to smoke. It seemed to be on its last legs. He really hoped it could handle one last trip.

oOo

"Ready to go?" Kaiba fixed up his wig, probably for the last time.

"Let's say goodbye first!"

"I know I said that yesterday, but I'm not very good with goodbyes. How about you say it and I just stand in the background looking grim?"

"Oh, please. Like B. would ever let you get away with that."

To be concluded

So I wanted to explain why Joey's father played underground games; it was supposed to be a deal with Yugi's grandpa's loan sharks mentioned in Cat's Cradle. Because they were good friends, Joey's dad tried to help him out. And before that, they never had any food because he'd gamble the food money in order to save money for Serenity. Aww, so he wasn't a douche bag for once. But… it got too boring, so I deleted the whole thing. That's how it went though.

And… well, it's our time to say goodbye too. Tune in next time for the final chapter!