"So," said Joey, taking a series of graceless gulps, "tell me. What are you doing here?"
When he had returned to the table, Joey had carefully placed the glass on the neatly angled coaster and dropped the bottle of tonic next to it. Kaiba had thanked him and poured the tonic as Joey edged himself into the booth with a grunt and a sigh. In his hand was a tall pint of beer, condensation glittering on the glass.
In the confines of the warm, intimate space between them, Kaiba could no longer very well avoid the question. He traced the edge of his glass idly with a long slim finger, formulating the best response. "I came here on business," he said. There was a hesitation at the end of his sentence and Joey snatched at it like a cat at a loose thread.
"But?" he prompted.
"But that finished two days ago."
"So… what?" said Joey. "Long detour on the way to the airport?" He raised his glass to his lips again, watching Kaiba stare into his drink. There was a very long silence. All of a sudden, Kaiba was looking up and his blue eyes were piercing.
"Something like that."
Joey swallowed funny and almost choked, but managed to supress it. Wiping his eyes in what he hoped was a nonchalant way, he cleared his throat and said,
"Did you… uh… did you come looking for something?"
"For someone."
Joey put down his glass. "For… me?"
All around came the sound of bellowish laughter and the clinking of glasses, the scraping of chairs. In their quiet corner was the subtle squeak of Kaiba's finger on the glass's rim.
"In a way," Kaiba said eventually, and he finally took a sip.
Joey tried very hard not to squirm and took a swig of his beer. He moved his jaw around, searching for a response. All he managed was,
"Um. Why?"
"Things at home are…" Kaiba began, twisting his head to look out the window. The rain had ebbed away since the afternoon but was still making an effort to trickle gently down the glass. He counted the drips with his eyes, thinking. "It's different. The market is still strong but we need an effort to push the Duel Disks overseas. Without you and Yugi advancing sales… not that it's really made a difference of course, Kaiba Corp won't ever fall behind… but you and Yugi created something."
"We all did," remarked Joey.
"And now that you've gone, things are… different. Not as… clear."
"Clear as a whistle," said Joey into his almost empty glass and Kaiba snorted with laughter.
"Idiot."
"That makes sense," Joey said, looking thoughtful. "But I still don't get why you came to find me. Or how you even found me."
Kaiba's face suddenly turned mischievous and he raised his eyebrows, smirking. "That was easy."
"How?"
"I spoke to Tristan."
"What?" Joey spluttered. "When? How?"
"Relax, I just found his number in a directory and called it." Kaiba finished his drink and pushed it to the side. "We spent some time together – some brief time, I'm not impervious to idiocy – and he told me where to find you."
"So you tricked him, you dirty bastard?" Joey growled. "He thinks you're friends now?"
"Hardly," Kaiba snorted. "I paid him."
"Are you serious?" Joey was mortified. "That rat sold me out. I'll kill him."
"He wanted the money for charity efforts," Kaiba said. Joey stared. "He and your sister are starting some awareness campaign for the blind. I agreed to fund him if he helped me. It was a business transaction."
"Wow." Joey sat back, staring at nothing. How did he know so little about his friends? Where had the time gone? "So you helped fund – waitaminute!" He leaned forward, pointing a finger at Kaiba's blank face. "He and my who now?"
"Your… sister?"
"That bastard." Joey sat back.
Kaiba snorted, moving to stand. "My turn for drinks. Same again?"
"Sure." Joey waved a hand, preoccupied in his thoughts and digging for his phone. "I'm gonna give that guy a piece of my mind."
Later that night, Joey and Kaiba were making their way unsteadily to Joey's flat, Joey's laughter bouncing about the deserted street. His fierce anger at Tristan had dissipated soon after he found he had forgotten to top up the credit on his phone and a glance from Kaiba had been enough to tell him that there was no way he could borrow his sleek smartphone just to yell at his best friend. With no means to vent his anger, he had let it go, returning his attention to his drinks.
"When we get in, I am making crumpets," Joey declared with a slur, swaying so badly he almost tripped on the curb. Kaiba grabbed him by the forearm, swinging him back to upright. "With bacon."
"Is Téa home?" Kaiba asked, grabbing Joey again as he made a lunge for a lamppost.
"Probably," Joey yawned, then came to a sudden stop. "Shit…" he said, patting his pockets, "do I have my wallet?"
"Here," Kaiba replied, waving it in front of him. "I picked it up off the floor when we left. Be more aware of what you're doing."
"I usually am," Joey snapped, snatching the wallet back and tucking it into his trousers. "But you just showed up and got me all confused. What are you doing here anyway?"
"I don't know," said Kaiba, frustrated. "Stop asking me that."
"Then give me a proper answer," said Joey in a sing-song trill, leaning on Kaiba's shoulder obnoxiously.
Joey's big brown eyes swam unfocused over Kaiba's face. A big, sloppy grin was plastered on his jaw and the edge of one wonky tooth could be seen in the untidy gap. He had a strong jaw, and strong, broad shoulders that were slumped against Kaiba, heavy and dense. Thankfully, Kaiba was strong too and could support the weight. He gripped Joey's shoulder firmly to steady him, searching his eyes.
"We're here," was all he said.
Joey swung his head around. The building swam uncomfortably before him. He forced himself to his feet and teetered to the entrance, but Kaiba hesitated, one hand moving towards his car. Joey glanced back.
"I can't let you drive like that, dude," he said. "Come on, it's not that bad in here."
Kaiba threw one last look at the street before following Joey inside.
