Disclaimer: I still don't own anything. -sniffles- It's so...wrong!

Author's Notes: -cough-

Joe-Joe-kun: Look who finally decided to show up!

-waves nervously- H-hey guys...

Kai-Kai-san: Do you have a reason you weren't here?

Yes, I do. I moved, and I had bad writers block, and I've started three other stories. Oh, and I started my Seto serial killer fic. It's called 'Eye of the Devil', but it's rated R, so just warning you now...heh.

Joe-Joe-kun: Don't forget to tell them about the Joe-Joe's a werewolf fic.

Kai-Kai-san: Are you aware you just referred to yourself as Joe-Joe?

Joe-Joe-kun: Err...

Yeah, I've stared my Joey-goes-werewolf ficlet to, since ever good Joey freak needs one. I don't have a name for it yet. As soon as I get a few chapters written, and I get a name, I might post it. Suggestion for a title are more than welcome. And now that that's over with, onto the fic!

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Chapter Six: Free At Last

Joey blinked, not fully comprehending the statement the boy on the other side of the door had just made. "WHAT?!" he screamed loudly, throwing himself against the wooden door.

Craig sighed a little, and the two teens in the closet -heh...in the closet- could practically hear the boy shifting nervously. "I said that I would be happy to help you, Joey, but I can not, and will not help Kaiba. I'm sorry."

Azure and golden eyes stared into each other, each swimming with confusion. What did that mean? Kaiba shrugged his shoulders, unsure of why exactly this boy would have any type of grudge against him. It wasn't as if he was some cold, arrogant, cruel person who ignored everyone else's feelings to help himself.

Err...wait a sec...

"I really do wish I could help you Joey, but I just can't," Craig told them again, his voice sounding near tears. "I must be leaving now..."

"What? No, you can't leave!" the blond shouted desperately. "Why can't you let Kaiba out? I mean, sure, he's a bastard, and he's mean, and cruel, and cold, and..."

"Feel free to stop anytime, mutt," the CEO ground out from behind him.

Joy tossed a glance over his shoulder, glaring at the harsh nickname. He then turned his attention back to the door, once again beginning to speak. "He may be all of dose tings, but just cause he is, don't mean you can just leave 'im here!"

"I'm sorry...but he's just...you don't know what he did to me!" Craig cried out, voice trembling, a few muffled sobs coming from him. "You don't know how much he took away from me!"

Kaiba merely rolled his eyes. Great. Probably another weak Duelist who is convinced I ruined their life just because I beat them, he thought dryly. He couldn't say he was angry, just more annoyed than anything, since he still wasn't particularly sure if he wanted to come out of the closet.

That sounded wrong.

He meant the literal closet. Not the...other kind of closet. Not that he had a closet to come out of, or anything. He frowned to himself. At least, he didn't think he did. It was true, he didn't like women, but he didn't much care for men, either.

He had a thing for puppies.

That sounded even more wrong.

Maybe he was just like...a Wheeler-sexual, or something. He blinked, wondering how someone as ingenuis as himself could come up with such an idiotic reference to ones sexuality.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of crying -which was coming from outside of the door- and the sound of Joey attempting to sooth the sobbing boy.

"Listen Craig, just tell me what he did. Whateva it was, it can't be dat bad. And 'ya know what, I'm sure he didn't even mean to do it. You know, he pretends like he doesn't care, but he's not as big of a bastard as he likes us all 'ta think," Joey spoke softly, unaware of the blue eyes that were on him as he had, once again, momentarily forgotten the other boy's presence it an attempt to be released from the closet. "Just don't tell 'im I told 'ya dat, or I'll hafta kill 'ya."

Kaiba blinked. Was he...was Joey defending him? And even complinting him?

Now, obviously, the only reason the blond was saying anything remotely kind about the CEO was because he was desperate to get out of his presence. Still, it was nice hearing the words from his...err...the mutts mouth.

So Wheeler-sexual it is, then.

"Why are you defending him? Hasn't he been just as cruel to you as everyone else?" Craig questioned through his tears.

Joey paused, unsure of how to answer the question. He couldn't lie, after all; Kaiba had been cruel to him. He frowned slightly to himself. Well, Kaiba was cruel to everyone, so he couldn't really take it all that personally, as much as he did hate being called a mutt.

And, all right, even he had to admit, Kaiba wasn't all bad. Mostly, yes, but not all. There were moments when he could be more than the cold hearted CEO they had all been so quick to label him as. There were times when he could be pleasesent, funny, kind, and even a wee bit...nice. Of course, that side of Seto Kaiba was only shown when he was with Mokuba, but it was still nice to see. And in a way, Joey could almost relate to him. He used to be like him. Pretending that he was something he wasn't just so he woulnd't get hurt. He found himself smiling slightly. Maybe Kaiba really wasn't such a bad guy.

Of course he was basing all this on the fact that Kaiba kissed like a freaking God, but hey...

The blond blinked, realizing that he had still yet to answer Craig's question. He sighed a little, shifting and allowing his head to rest against the wall. "Why don't 'ya want ta let 'im out?" he inquried.

Sniffling, the young boy paused, obviously noting that Joey had not answered his question. He must have decided to let it go, since he began speaking. "A f-f-few years ago...see I had this...her name was Shelia."

Looking back, Joey raised a questioning eyebrow at the brunette. Kaiba merely shrugged his shoulders. With a heavy sigh the fair haried teen turned back. "Uh-huh," he said. "Go on."

"I loved her with all my heart. She was beautiful, and sturdy, and had the greatest body. I would ride her everyday."

At this, both teens blinked in confusion. A blush graced the blonds lightly tanned cheeks, while Kaiba merely tilted his head to the side.

"She could go for miles and miles. And for so long. She was fast, too. I could ride for hours all the way at 60 miles per hour!"

Blushing even more, the blond raised a hand to his nose. He wondered if Kaiba had some type of tissue, since he felt a definite nosebleed coming on. The CEO noticed Joey's look, and had to bite his lip to keep from smirking. Of course, thinking over Craig's words...

Nosebleeds all around.

"I loved her more than anything. I loved to just touch her, and be with her, to just be on top of her."

All of the blood then rushed to Joey's head.

And that sounded really, really, really wrong.

Joey's face was red as a tomato -fruit anology; nice, safe, fruit anology- as he stared, his mouth hanging open as he blinked in confusion. When he had first heard this kid, he'd assumed he was just a young teen; almost like Yugi, or Ryou perhaps. But now...listening to him go on and on about Shelia...this guy was a total hentai!

"And that...that monster killed her!" Craig finished, sobbing unctonrolably. His body fell against the door as he did this, hands going up to beat against the door. "How could you so something like that? How could you be so damn cold? You're nothing, Seto Kaiba! Nothing but a killer who deserves to rot!"

A few moments passed, allowing a thick silence to pass over them. Gulping, Joey turned towards the brunette, staring at him with wide eyes golden eyes which shone with fear and disbelife.

"K-kaiba?" he questioned, swallowing slighlty as he began to push himself agains the door. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, anything, but found that the words were stuck in his throat. "No," he said, more to himself than anyone. He then turned around, slamming his fist against the door angrily. "Hell no! Kaiba ain't no killer."

Outside the door, Craig bristeled. "No? You don't think so? You obviously don't know as much about him as you think you do. He killed her, and he didn't do a damn thing to save her! He's a cold hearted killer!"

"I don't believe you!" Joey screamed, anger rushing through his veins. What was this kid playing at? So maybe he didn't know Kaiba all that well; hell, he could admit that the most time he'd ever spent alone with him had been in the very closet which he was trying so desperatly to get out of. But he did know that Kaiba wasn't completely evil. He stopped screaming momentairly, a small realization dawning in his mind.

I trust Kaiba.

The realization nearly floored him, but it was true none-the-less. Somewhere along the line, he'd come to put some type of trust in Kaiba. Maybe it was at Duelist Kingdom. Granted, he had cheated to win and get into the castle to duel Pegasus, but he had been willing to do anything for his younger brother. It seemed sort of ironic, considering Joey had been there to do exactly the same thing.

Kaiba is a true, honest to goodness, somewhat decent human being. And I don't care if I don't know him all that well; I ain't just gonna let some kid go around and accuse him of bein' a killer!

"Look, I'm sorry to hear about this Shelia...you sound like you loved her a lot. But I can tell 'ya, without a doubt, dat Kaiba had nuttin to do wit her death!"

"There you go defending him again! What are you, his friend? His lover?"

"What 'da hell...it doesn't matter what I am ta him. 'Ya can't just go around claimin tings dat ain't true. Now open this door so I can get outta here and beat da hell outta you!"

The CEO blinked. He'd been witness to Joey's outburts several times in the past, many times, having those outbursts directed at himself. He knew the blond was very protective over his friends, and would often get into verbal -as well as psychial- fights when it came to defended them.

But he'd never even...imagined that he would witness the blond behaving in such a way when it came to him.

Though his face remained schooled into unshakeable features, he could feel something inside of him stirring. This mutt...this boy was sticking up for him. After all of tha taunts, insults, arguements, fights, words and punches that had been thrown between the both of them, Joey was defending him.

For the first time in a long time, Seto Kaiba smiled.

He walked up to the boy, placing a hand on his back. "Wheeler," he spoke softly but smoothly, applying a bit of pressure to get the boy to turn his attention towards him. The blond haired Duelist looked up, meeting Kaiba's eyes. Instead of anger or hate there, it seemed to be a different sort of emotion swimming through the ice cold gaze.

Kaiba couldn't shake a small feeling of guilt as he looked into Joey's face. There was an almost desperate look on his face, as if his features were mirroring whatever inner turmoil Craig's accusation had brought with him. His golden eyes were brimming with tears; tears which he guessed stemmed from frustration, anger, and perhaps even a bit of sadness or pain.

Unsure of what else to do, he slid the arm which hung loosely around the blonds lower back around in tighter grip, pulling the younger teen against him. He wrapped his other arm around the boy, holding him in what he hoped was a comforting and reassuring embrace. He mentally cursed himself when the teen in his arms went completely ridgid, and was about to realease him when he felt a twin pair of arms snake around his own torso, holding him loosely.

Another light smile played across Kaiba's lips and he placed a soft kiss on the blond locks. (a/n: kawaii!) His face hardened then as he looked back to the door, eyes narrowed in a firey gaze. If looks could kill, little Craigy would be nothing more than a pile of ashes.

"Listen here kid," Kaiba hissed angrily. "I don't know what the hell your damage is, nor do I really care. I suggest you open that door right now, and shut up with your accusations."

"Or what?" Craig yelled, his own voice still shaky with tears.

"Or I'll make you regret the day you were ever born," he replied, his voice deathly calm but still speaking volumes of the pain he could inflict. No one, and he meant no one, made his puppy cry.

Well...except for him...but he hadn't really meant to do that.

"You killed Shelia!" he said, kicking the door. "You deserve to stay in there and rot until you're nothing more than a pile of bones!"

Growling under his breath, Kaiba replied, "That may be true, but does Joey? You said yourself you respected him. Now open the damn door!"

"I don't have to listen to you, you murderer!"

Unconciously, the CEO's grip tightened on the blond, his perfectly manicured nails digging slighlty into the boy's sides. Joey stiffened, but did nothing else except for squeeze his own arms a bit tighter, rubbing his hand along Kaiba's back in an attempt to get him to calm. It worked, a bit anyway, and he sighed as the lung-crushing grip was realeased slightly. He nuzzeled his head against the chest, sniffling a bit. (a/n: kawaii...er!) For some reason, he just couldn't seem to keep the tears from flowing. Why had what that boy said affected him like that? Had he really come to put so much trust in the teen -without even realizing it, no less- that even a simple accusation cut him so deeply?

Kaiba was the one thing in his life, the one contestant thing he could count on. He could always count on the insult, the cold stare, the way the CEO could somehow make him hurt so much more than anyone else; even an accusation from someone he didn't even know shook that constent too much for his liking. He needed Kaiba to be who he always thought he was. He needed Kaiba to be the cold-hearted, cruel, somewhat forgiving, kind of nice, wonderfully kissing -granted he'd not known about that little talent until a little while ago- person that he had grown accustomed too. He didn't think his heart could take it if he turned out to be something other than that. Something, like what this Craig was accusing him of being.

"I am not a murderer. I have never once taken a human life, so I do believe your sadly mistaken in your little story, boy."

He'd never murdered anyone!

No one important anyway...(1)

Joey stiffened again at the harshness in the other teens voice. Sighing, Kaiba looked away from the door, down to the teen whom was currently pressed against him. He slid one hand up his back, smirking when he felt the shiver that ran down the blond, and brought his hand up to Joey's face, letting his fingers glide through the soft hair before allowing them to graze against his cheek. The blond took the hint, lifting his head up to meet the azure gaze. Kaiba's hand stayed against his cheek for a moment before he brushed away a few tears. Unconciously he craned his head down, brushing his lips lightly over a glistening tear which fell just above Joey's cheek bone. A light blush spread across the blonds face, but he found himself smiling lighlty anyway. Pushing himself up with his tip toes -Kaiba was a good five or six inches taller than him- he pressed his lips to the brunettes.

The CEO blinked once or twice. He hadn't really thought that Joey would kiss him again, not that he was complaining or anything. He pushed back, gently at first, before pulling the boy closer to him to deepen the kiss. His tongue slid out, lightly running across the other's lips. Joey opened his mouth, happy to allow him entrace, and allowed his hand to glide...

"A human life? The hell? Shelia was my motorcycle."

Joey's hand stopped abrubtly, as did Kaiba's curious tongue.

Wait...motorcycle?!

Golden and azure eyes slid open, meeting each other's gaze. They stared at each other for a few moments, lips and bodies still pressed tightly together as Craig's words began to sink in.

"Hey guys? You still in there?" Craig questioned.

As if going in extreme slow motion, both teens parted from the kiss, necks turning in complete unison to stare at the door incrediously.

"Hello? Anybody home?"

Licking his lips slowly, Kaiba stood up even straighter -arms still wrapped around Joey- and hardened his facial features. "You mean you refuse to let me out of this closet because I...killed your motorcycle?" he questioned, clenching the back of his teeth together to keep from screaming.

Craig sniffled. "I had her for seven years before you, Mr. Kaiba, destoryed her! I was going to Burger King and I had to leave her outside. Fate was cruel, though, and your limo just happened to be around the corner. You drove...you crushed her. I watched her die! And then you just drove off after you got your Big Mac and coke! Did it feel good, did it? Leaving her to die like that? Did it, you bastard?!"

"Err..." Joey said -his arms were still around Kaiba as well- and trailed off. He looked up at Kaiba questiongly, his gaze curious. Lowering his voice to a conspiriatl whisper -which, considering this is Joey, wasn't very low- he asked, "Does he know dat a motorcycle is an inantimate object?"

"I heard that!"

Kaiba looked down at him, finding himself strangely proud that Joey even knew the word inantimate. Growling under his breath, the CEO pushed the blond slighlty, leading him over to a palce a good two feet away from the door. With a determined expression in his icy eyes, he turned his back, marching up to the door. Taing a deep, calming breath, the teen let his eyes drift closed, centering himself.

"Hya!" he growled, his leg springing out and connecting with the flimsy wood. Joey stared, golden eyes wide eyed, as the door practically crumbeled underneath the pressure.

He just...he kicked the door down! Blinking, one other thought occured to him. Could he have done dat da whole time? Of course, Joey would like to think that the hours or so of himself throwing his body against the door, but for some reason, he didn't think that had anything to do with it; even if his ego did insistet it.

Outside of the door -or, what used to be the door- stood a young boy, around 16, who looked abou 5'4, and weighed around 100 points. A mop of messy red hair rested atop his head, a few strands falling in front of his glass covered eyes. Dark freckels covered his pale cheeks, and the skin of his arms. He wore a button down white t-shirt, complete with a pocket protector and 'She Bangs' button. He wore small pink shorts, along with flip flops.

This was the motorcycle riding tough guy Kaiba had thought he was going to face? This kid looked a Japanese version of Urkle!

With a feral smirk, Kaiba stalkd forward, his entire body tense. Craig gulped and decided that now would probably be a good time to run away screaming for his mommy. He turned to begin said running, but was stopped when the collar of his shirt was grabbed from behind. The red haired boy still tried to move forward, succeeding only in nearly strangling himself. Kaiba jerked the boy back quickly, then dragged him towards the other side of the hall, slamming his small frame against the wall. He bent down, his eyes radiating the anger he felt.

"Are you aware," he asked slowly, desliberatly, voice dangeroulsy low. "that not only could I snap you like a twig with my bare hands, I could have very well done the same thing to your precious Shelia?"

Craig tremebeled. The CEO sneered at him, then quickly released his hold, allowing the boy to fall to the floor. He looked down on him, traces of disgust in his gaze. "Get out of my sight," he hissed.

"Eep!" the boy yelped. He scrambled up and began racing down the hall way, pushing the doors open. "Mommy! Mommy! The mean man touched me!" he cried.

Kaiba rolled his eyes, turning to allow his body to rest against the door. His eye lids fluttered closed momentairly, then slid back open, his gaze meeting the incredious look of the blond teen. Joey moved towards him slowly, mouth hanging slighlty open.

"Y-y...you...you..." he stuttered.

"Yep," Kaiba answered.

"The who-whole ti..."

"Yep."

"And you let me...you didn't..."

"Nope."

Joey blinked a few times. "Kaiba," he ground out.

"Yes Wheeler?"

"You have a lot of explaining to do!"

---

(1) You guys do you know Kai-Kai really did kill Gozaburo, right? I don't think he did in the anime, but I know he did in the manga.

That was fluffy.

Joe-Joe-kun: FLUFFY!

All: Right...

I think I rushed this chapter. I made them all kissy and stuff. -sweat drops- I was trying to make this at least somewhat realistic, but it didn't turn out that way, did it? And I made Kaiba out of character...and Joey out of character...and I made Joey like him too fast...and I...

Kai-Kai-san: -reading over chapter- Wheeler-sexual? The hell?

-sweat drop- Well, it's obvious you only like him, therefore you're Wheeler-sexual. I think Joey is a Seto-sexual.

Joe-Joe-kun: -blinks- You know I'm straight in the series right?

-stares- Really? Are you sure?

Joe-Joe-kun: Yeah!

Hm...never noticed that. -shrugs- Please review. I probably could have done better, but I'm ridiculously happy with this chapter. So yeah...please review!