Warning: This is a Shounen-Ai/Yaoi (meaning boy love) story. If you are offended by this, please leave now. I will accept no flames regarding this. Flame my spelling. Flame my grammar. You can even flame my logic (or lack thereof). But if you don't like Shounen-Ai/Yaoi and continue to read, you are the only one that should get roasted!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, nor do I make any profit from this story. I only borrow the characters because I love them and like to play with them and because they give my very mundane life meaning. How sad is that?

Previously…

Taking one last really deep breath, the frazzled blond locked the memory away, gathered his courage and reached up to knock on the double-doors but was interrupted before he could do so by the CEO's smooth, baritone voice. "Quit stalling, Wheeler and wasting my time. Get in here." Inwardly, the brown-eyed teen groaned.

It was just his luck. Not only was the brunet super-smart, super-good looking and super-sexy…the bastard had x-ray vision, too.

Chapter Two: "Are You For Real?"

Seto had watched the image on his computer screen dance in circles for several minutes with a mixture of great amusement and moderate surprise before he had called out. His amusement stemmed from the blonds unusually hesitant nature and his surprise from just how good his classmate looked in a business suit. The very dark, greenish-black colored suit (he believed it would be called 'Evergreen') made the other boys blond hair and tan skin stand out even more sharply. From this distance, he looked…

…Absolutely delicious. The restless teenager sighed. That was a thought best avoided. After all, he had no time to indulge in ridiculous, hormone-driven fantasies, especially when it involved someone he had once held in such disregard. He acknowledged that theirs was a tenuous relationship, at best; an oil-and-water, acid-filled, volcanic 'scream-fest' at the worst, but the smirking CEO allowed himself a quick, mental 'pat-on-the-back' that he had never lowered himself enough to take the fight to a physical level, no matter how much he might have wanted (at certain times) to pound some sense into the others thick skull. If he had consciously studied those times (which he hadn't) he would have been shocked (to say the least) to find out that they usually occurred right after the blond had done something that had put himself in 'harm's way'. As it was, that fact had been stored very neatly and tidily in the back of Seto's brain by his subconscious, and was lying about, just waiting to bite him in the ass when he least expected it.

He was brought back to boring reality by the timid movement of his office door; if one could call it that. Molasses moved faster. Irritated, the brunet arose from his chair; crossing the room in but a few long-legged strides, he grabbed the doorknob and wrenched the door wide open, coming face-to-face with a brightly blushing blond who 'eeped' loudly and then proceeded to lose his balance, tripping over his own two feet (it was the shoes, damn it!) and into the CEO causing them both to fall heavily onto the (thankfully) carpeted floor.

"Wheeler…" Count to ten. Remember your promise to Mokuba. On second thought, count to twenty.

Unmoving, said blond boy blinked, and then answered, slowly. "Yeah, Kaiba?"

"Get. Off. Me. - NOW!"

The aggravated brunet's roar would've put his favorite Blue Eyes to shame; as it was, it had Joey scrambling away like a crab that had landed on a bed of hot coals, red-faced and shaking and with a rock the size of Texas (that was a state somewhere in America – he'd read things from there came bigger) in the pit of his stomach, and the horrible feeling that he had just blown whatever slim chance that he might have had in securing the teen billionaire's help. Aw, damn!

Huffing, and glaring daggers, said billionaire picked himself up off of the floor with as much dignity as he could muster; smoothing the rumples out of his soft-grey business suit as he made his way back to his desk, he sat down heavily in his chair, his brilliant blue eyes locking on the other boy who remained, head down and stock-still, where he had landed.

He looks miserable. Sighing, the lanky teen shook his head and did something he rarely did. Damn you, Mokuba! I hope I don't regret this! "It's all right, Wheeler. It was an accident. No harm done."

Joey's head shot up, his amber eyes wide and his mouth open. "Really…? You sure, Kaiba…?" The brunet couldn't help but smirk at the almost childlike amazement on the other's face.

"I'm sure. But if you continue to waste my time, I may change my mind." He pointed to one of the armchairs positioned across from his desk. "Sit."

The blonds' eyes narrowed. "Dat's not funny, Kaiba."

The smirk widened.

~~~~~~~~oOo~~~~~~~~

Yugi Mutou shook his head, wild hair flying and chubby cheeks deflating as he blew out another frustrated breath. Wide amethyst eyes raked for what seemed like the thousandth time over the disheveled mess that his grandfather was determined to call a 'storeroom' – gaah! Even as small as I am, I can barely get inside the door, for Ra's sake! – But he still couldn't locate the special set of Duel Monsters cards that Solomon Mutou had sent him to find. He was just about to give up, when something flashed in the dull light, catching his attention. That's when he remembered; the new cards came in a fancy box done with holographic paper. The only problem; he discovered as he looked up that said box was setting in the furthest corner on the very top shelf, impossible for him to reach – and there was no room for a stepladder. Gods! I hate being so short! If only Yami were here…

Shoulders slumping, the small boy sighed dishearteningly. It had been a almost a whole year and the hurt and feeling of loss still remained as fresh and as enveloping as if the Pharaoh's departure had happened only moments before. Sure, he tried to put on a good act for everyone, but if the truth were to be told, there were many sleepless nights and untold tears and an ache in his chest that never seemed to give him any respite. I miss you so much, mou hitori no boku!

It was at this moment that the teen heard the bell over the shop door jangle, announcing the arrival of a potential customer. But before he could pick his way out of the cramped closet, the sound of his grandfather's voice and another's answering laughter rang out from the front. Hearing it, he couldn't help but smile.

Sometimes Tristan's timing was impeccable.

~~~~~~~~oOo~~~~~~~~

There was silence; complete and utter silence.

It had been nearly five whole minutes since Joey had finished explaining why he had showed up on Kaiba's proverbial 'doorstep'— while he had been speaking, the other had merely stared at him, taking it all in with a poker-face and not even making one attempt to interrupt – that had given the blond the 'willies' enough. Now, sitting there, waiting for a reaction, any reaction at all, the already nervous teen felt the suddenly too-stuffy room closing in on him.

That was why, when the laughter erupted, the fair-haired boy nearly jumped out of his skin, his golden eyes wide and disbelieving. "What's so funny?"

"You have got to be kidding me, Wheeler! You came to see me because of a dream you've been having? What? Do you expect me to take you back to Egypt now? Let you make sandcastles in Cairo? Or Pyramids in Giza, perhaps?" This is ridiculous!

"NO! I mean…YES…I mean…I just wanted to help…Yugi…and…"

"And what?" The brunet snapped, his already thin patience getting thinner by the second.

"And I can't do it on my own!" Dere! I said it! I hope you're happy, Moneybags!

Silence…Again.

Then, there came a question in a decidedly calmer voice. "What about your so-called 'friends'?"

Joey shrugged. "They don't know anything about dis. You're the only person dat I've told."

The brunet's eyes widened slightly at that revelation. The only person he's told? Me? Why?

"Why? He verbalized the question echoing in his mind. "Why would I be the only one you would tell?"

The blond looked at him as if he had grown another head, but answered anyway. "Even if I'm right, I couldn't tell Yugi; dere's no reason for him to know…yet. It would only hurt him worse getting his hopes up like dat if nothing comes of it. And the other guys…well…someone could accidentally let something slip and…"

"Yugi would find out." The brunet finished for him. It made sense. It was logical. 'This' was coming from the 'Chihuahua'? Will wonders never cease? "And me?" He prodded.

The other shrugged again. "You're never around Yugi, unless you're dueling." He looked him straight in the eyes. "Truth is you never talk to any of us unless you absolutely have to…do you?" It sounded strangely like an accusation, and the accompanying flicker of emotion in the amber orbs made the normally unflappable CEO suddenly feel uncomfortable, though he had no idea why.

"I have no reason to, Wheeler. You, your friends and I, live in two different 'worlds' entirely." He was only stating a fact – he hadn't meant to sound harsh, but the visible blanch that crossed the other's face told him that the other boy had taken it that way. I suck at this, Mokuba. Can't I just call him, "Mutt" and send him on his way? "I'll think about it."

"Huh?"

The blonds' stunned expression almost made him want to chuckle. "I said, I'll think about it. No promises, Wheeler."

"Oh…Okay! Thanks, Kaiba!" The other boy's face was lit up as bright as a neon sign in Las Vegas (the under-age billionaire had never been there, but he had seen pictures) and Seto could only groan inwardly.

I'm so screwed.

Author's Note: Hmmm…now where do you suppose we go from here, huh? [Grins]