Note: I just realized, I always make Joey like a freakin' angst-bag. O.o I find that sad. Joey's usually so cheerful, and then I come along and he suddenly goes ANGST. For serious, I should ease back on this. But he's just so fun to torture. :D At least I always have happy endings for him!
Of Cats and Flying Rats
"Absolutely not."
"But Seto! Come on, it'll be fun!" Mokuba exclaimed, clasping his hands together and readying his Pout o' Doom. "There'll be candy, and punch, and music, and dancing, and—"
The brunet rolled his eyes and sighed, placing his hands on his hips. "You have just given me every reason to not do it. Not only do I not enjoy punch or candy, but I hate music and dancing. Please, Mokuba, your arguments are going downhill lately. What's wrong? Are you sick?"
The smaller Kaiba scowled and crossed his arms. "I'm not sick! …Hey, Seto, just think of all the fun you'll have when you see Yugi, Ryou, and Malik's yamis! Huh? They're going to be dressing them up!"
Seto frowned. That did sound amusing. Almost amusing enough for him to cave to his brother's wishes, but… "I could just get pictures and taunt them later."
"But it would be more satisfying if you taunted them while they were wearing the costumes!" Mokuba pointed out gleefully. He could tell he was getting his brother to start caving. "And think of what Joey will wear!"
The brunet's eyes widened at the order and—against his wishes—his imagination came up with some very… interesting costumes. Like a golden-haired puppy wearing leather and chains, or a scantily clad belly dancer—
Oh wait, he'd seen the blond as a belly dancer before. He'd lost a bet of some kind and had to do it in front of the game shop. …Seto had just been lucky enough to be passing by to see it.
…Of course, he had no objections to seeing it again, especially if he got his own private show.
"I mean, I can even get Serenity's help to make sure he gets into something sexy!"
Seto bit his bottom lip, then turned. "Whatever. Do what you want. I'm taking a shower."
"A cold one?" Mokuba asked innocently, only to receive a glare in return for his remark. He grinned as soon as his brother was out of sight and ran for the phone.
"Hello?"
"Serenity! I got him to let me have the party!"
The girl's voice on the other end of the line giggled. "I'll just have to make sure Joey wears something super sexy, huh?"
-x-x-x-
"Aw, come on, Joey! You lost the bet! Now you have to dress in whatever your sister tells you!" Yugi exclaimed, frowning. He didn't understand why his best friend was making such a big deal out of this. "It'll be fun!"
"I hate Halloween," Joey snarled, crossing his arms and sinking down in his seat on the couch. "Little brats coming up to my door and ringing the bell even though I have a sign up saying 'do not disturb; we don't celebrate Halloween,' stupid and humiliating costumes, haunted houses, screaming into the early morning, cats hissing and spitting at you because they know it's a holiday where some people hurt them, and then there's bats. I hate bats."
The smaller teen frowned. "…Why?"
"Because one of those flying rats got stuck in my hair when I was a kid!" the blond exclaimed, reaching up and yanking on his long locks. "I was screaming and the bat was screaming and you know what everyone did?! They laughed. I was being traumatized and they were laughing. Damn them all!"
"…What was that part about cats?" Yami asked, frowning. He was Egyptian after all, and in being so he adored cats.
The blond narrowed his eyes. "Some people like to torture cats on Halloween just because they can, since cats were once considered a witch's familiar. Black cats get it the worst. It's cruel and the last time I found someone torturing a cat even near my apartment, I boxed his ears."
Yami paled, then rushed over to his sweet little Muffin and gathered the black and orange tabby into his arms. "Don't worry, Muffin, Daddy will protect you!"
"Uh, Yami, I'm just going to put Muffin in our room on Halloween," Yugi stated, frowning. "You don't have to protect her."
"They will never have my baby!"
Both Joey and Yugi glanced at each other and sighed, and they really regretted pitching in together to get him that cat. Ever since Yami had gotten it, he'd become overprotective and… mother-like. Now the cat wasn't even a cute little muffin anymore; it was more of a… pie, or a cake.
"Yami, your cat's getting fat," Joey stated bluntly, which only earned him a sharp glare. He knew he was in danger of having his mind blown to bits, but he had a plan. …If he just ignored the horrified and fearful expression on Yugi's face. "You're not doing her any favors by babying her and carrying her everywhere. Cats need exercise. At the rate you're going, she's going to get kitty diabetes or her organs are going to shut down because she's so obese. What you are doing is not in your cat's best interest."
Yami looked horrified at the mere thought. "No! Muffin can't die!"
"Cats can get diabetes?" Yugi asked, tilting his head.
"Cats can get asthma, too," the blond explained, nodding. He turned his gaze back on the dismayed pharaoh. "You're going to have to let her start walking places on her own, put her on diet food, otherwise she's not going to live as long as she potentially could."
Yami nodded quickly and rubbed cheeks with the tiny cat, which 'mewed' and began batting at his blond bangs. "Don't worry, Muffin, Daddy won't let you die!"
Joey sighed and stood up, dusting off his pants even though there was nothing there; it was more of a habit now than anything else. "Well, I guess I better go. Serenity's gonna be bouncing off the walls at the mall waiting for me. …She knew I'd lose. She's mean. Whatever, I'm leaving."
"'Bye Joey," Yugi replied, then turned toward his yami. "Yami, could you please put Muffin down now?"
-x-x-x-
"…This is a sex shop," Joey stated, frowning, then turned a sharp glare on his sister. "Why are we in a sex shop, Serenity? …Why are you in a sex shop, Serenity!"
The smaller teen frowned and placed her hands on his hips. "This is the best place to find sexy outfits, Joey! And you want to make Kaiba notice you, right?"
The blond let out a whine. "But why do I have to do that to get him to look at me? With all of the leather, and the buckles and chains, and—I'll look like a fucking hooker!"
"…And what better way to get his attention than to make him jealous?" Serenity asked, smiling. "He won't be the only one looking at you, big brother."
"I don't want anyone looking at me!" he shrieked, blushing.
"Ah… This must be your first time coming here for a Halloween costume," the employee behind the counter stated, smiling. "And from what I heard, you're doing it to grab a certain someone's attention?"
Joey opened his mouth to negate the accusation, but his sister jumped in ahead of him. "Yes! Can you help as pick out a costume for him? He wants to get the attention of a guy who's usually teasing him, so we don't want to give him anything to tease him about!"
The man shrugged. "I'll do my best. Alright, blondie, turn around," he sighed, stepping out from behind the counter. When the blond did so in resignation, he nodded to himself. "Alright, so we're going to go with flaunting the ass and legs. Is there any particular look we're going for?"
Joey opened his mouth again, but was once again cut off. "How about something sexy, slimming, and… slightly animalistic?"
"Animalistic?" the blond echoed softly, brows furrowing together.
The man snapped his fingers, smiling. "Why don't we go with a kinky, sluttish dog?"
"Sluttish?!"
"That's perfect!" Serenity exclaimed, then looked up at her brother, smiling. "If we're lucky, Kaiba will only want you to be his slut!"
"That doesn't sound good at all!" Joey exclaimed, looking horrified. "What am I, a sex machine or something? Insert a quarter and you get a fuck?!"
The man scowled. "Do you want him or not? 'Cause this outfit is gonna get you somethin'."
The blond whimpered as he looked at the leather outfit being shown to him, then looked at his sister pleadingly. "Don't make me do this…!"
"I can't stand you and Kaiba fighting anymore! Just fuck each other and be done with it!" she exclaimed in frustration, thrusting the outfit at him. "We're going to the Halloween party at the Kaiba mansion and we're going to have fun!"
"Someone's gonna be having fun," the man mumbled, going back behind the counter so he could ring up the outfit.
-x-x-x-
Seto raised an eyebrow at the outfit he found on his bed, frowning, and continued to rub his hair with a towel. After a moment, he called out, "Mokuba, come here!"
Only seconds later, the raven-haired teen's head poked around the door. "Yeah?"
"What is this?"
Mokuba blinked at him, then raised an eyebrow. "Uh, it's your costume. Doi."
"And what, pray tell, am I going to be?" the brunet asked, picking up the leather pants and looking them over curiously.
"A vampire. Got you caps for your eyeteeth and everything." The younger teen shrugged. "I figured that a vampire would want to dominate his puppy."
Seto blushed and turned toward him, scowling. "Mokuba!"
"I have been informed that Joey will be dressing as a… what was it?" He tapped his chin in mock thought, smirking as his brother stiffened and gripped the leather pants in his hands tighter. "Oh, yeah! He's coming to the party dressed as a kinky, sluttish dog."
The brunet growled to himself and stood up straight, glaring at everything and nothing at the same time. "He better be dressing up as my slut."
"Nah, I think he's just coming and hoping to get laid," the raven-haired boy stated, shrugging nonchalantly. He grinned when he saw his brother's face darken and turned to leave. "Better hurry up and get ready, big brother! People are going to start arriving soon!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Seto mumbled, throwing the pants back onto his bed angrily.
The thought of his puppy dressing up to get laid by just anybody really pissed him off. Joey was his puppy, and therefore he was the only one who got to fuck him until his brain turned into a syrupy goo and the cries coming out of his mouth were screams of his name. If he saw his puppy flirting with anyone, he was going to give him a spanking.
-x-x-x-
Joey rolled the chain attached to his collar between his fingers nervously. This was it. He was at the party. If Seto still made fun of him even in this outfit, he knew he'd never have a chance with him. He doubted he had a chance with him even now; the CEO could probably find someone much better than he was without looking around too hard.
So far, he hadn't seen the brunet, and doubted he ever would in the crowd. The flashing lights and loud, booming music didn't help much either. He sighed and looked down at his shoes in defeat, ready to just go home, but knowing that Serenity would kill him if he left before ten o'clock.
"Well, well, well… Look at the sexy little puppy…"
The blond blushed and turned quickly, eyes wide in surprise. "Huh?"
Duke smiled and reached up to play with a piece of his hair. "If I knew you'd make such a cute little slave dog, I'd have dressed you up in this outfit and just screwed your brains out. I wasted a good opportunity with that stupid dog suit."
Joey scowled, blush darkening a little bit more as he slapped the other boy's hand away from his head. "Yeah, right! You jerk! I would never sleep with you!"
"Hmm… Are you sure I couldn't convince you otherwise?" the raven-haired teen asked, smirking, and wrapped his fingers around the chain leash that the blond had been toying with not only a minute before. He gave the leash a yank, forcing the blond to come closer with a yelp. "I'd make it good for you."
"Ah-! No! I don't want—" Joey began, the feeling of panic beginning to eat at the edges of his mind. "Duke, no—"
-x-x-x-
Seto sighed and glanced around casually, not really worried about anything in particular. He knew his puppy was loyal, and it was most likely he wouldn't sleep with just anyone. Considering all of their mutual friends (he grimaced at the "friends" part) had a significant other, it was safe to say that his puppy would not be getting laid tonight unless it was from him.
Distracted by a sudden flurry of motion, he turned, frowning, only to find the blond puppy he was sure wouldn't betray him being manhandled by a certain creator of a certain dice game that had once before forced him into a certain dog suit (that, Seto had noticed at the time, did nothing to show off his puppy's curves). Duke had caught hold of the chain leash the blond was wearing and dragged him close enough that he could molest him quite well, his hands already sliding up the puppy's chest.
Seto growled low in his throat, bowing his head slightly to glare at the raven-haired man who had dared touch his puppy. Stalking over to them, his growl grew louder, causing the blond to stiffen and look up at him, but doing nothing to deter the other teen that was so intent on leaving a hickey on the blond's collarbone. He let out a snarl and shoved Duke away from him, catching his puppy's leash and drawing him away.
Joey let out a squawk and stumbled after him as he strode swiftly through the dancing crowd (that had never even noticed he was being mauled). "H-hey! Moneybags, wait a minute!" Unlike the icy CEO, the sea of people did not part for him.
The brunet turned and tilted his head, then slid his arm around his puppy's waist and slung him over his shoulder, like one would a sack of potatoes. This not only got him through the crowd to the gardens faster, but also gave him an excuse to run his hand up and down the blond's thigh, as long as he did it subtly and cautiously.
Joey blushed and bit his bottom lip, clenching the brunet's black silk shirt in his hands tightly as he was carried out of the loud, dark room. "K-Kaiba, what are you doing?! Put me down! I—" He yelped as he was suddenly thrown to the ground, then growled, rubbing the sore spot on the small of his back from landing on a rock. "What the hell was that for, you—" he began, only to cut himself off as he finally caught sight of the rest of the CEO's outfit.
Seto was wearing his usual black boots, inside of which he had tucked the legs of his tight leather pants. His black silk shirt was a button-up, and the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. Around his neck was a silver necklace with a Catholic cross hanging from it. He'd darkened the edges of his eyes with black eyeliner, making his eyes appear deep and almost sinister, and his hair—instead of being clean and precise—was mussed up, as if he'd just gotten up from certain nightly activities.
Joey whimpered softly.
Seto raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, frowning. "What, puppy? Cat got your tongue?"
The blond scowled, then stood up and brushed the dirt off of his pants. "Never mind! You wouldn't care anyway! Thanks for getting Duke off me, but I'm not stickin' around to let you treat me like crap!"
"Keep barking like that and the werewolves might come and get you," the brunet replied, turning to watch him storm away. He let his eyes trail over his puppy's figure and frowned again.
Joey's pants clung to him like a second skin with chains hanging from the belt loops, which could be used conveniently to keep a certain puppy in one position. The back of his pants came up only far enough to cup his rear, bearing about three inches of skin before it was once again covered by a small, black leather vest. And oh, God, a long, golden tail was clipped onto his backmost belt loop, swinging with every step he took. His ears were also covered by gold-yellow pieces of felt, making it appear as if he had canine ears instead of human ones.
His pants were beginning to feel uncomfortable, he decided, and he looked out on the garden to take his mind off of spanking bad puppies.
-x-x-x-
Joey crossed his arms and scowled, leaning against the wall of the large room to watch the still dancing mass of people. He was using anger to cover up the hurt, and he didn't care whether the anger was justified or not. He was angry at Serenity for making the stupid bet; he was angry at Yugi for making him honor it (even if he was going to anyway); he was angry at Serenity again for choosing his stupid outfit; he was angry at Mokuba for inviting them; he was angry at Duke for molesting him. But mostly, he was angry at himself for putting himself through the pain.
It was stupid of him to believe that Seto Kaiba would ever be interested in him. Seto was rich, intelligent, and handsome; he was poor, stupid, and plain-looking. As if the teen CEO would ever want him. He probably wasn't even gay, and even if he was, he'd probably find someone higher in social standing than just some… stupid mutt.
He sniffed softly and turned his gaze on his boots in frustration, trying to keep his tears at bay. It wasn't fair. All of his friends had a special someone; his sister had two guys fighting over her (not that he'd let Duke near her now). Why didn't anyone like him? Was he so undesirable that no one wanted him? He'd be alone forever? He would be the lonely man with a house full of cats?
'Well,' he mused bitterly, a tear rolling down his cheek. 'At least I like cats.'
The attempt at humor only made him feel just a little bit emptier inside. He let a sob rack his body and closed his eyes tightly.
-x-x-x-
Seto sighed and glanced around the room casually. He knew he should wait at least a little while to bug his puppy again. After all, the blond had a short temper, and had been known to get physical on occasion, and he didn't feel like getting a black eye right now. That didn't mean he couldn't ogle him, though. And protect him; he needed to make sure no one else molested his puppy.
He let out a grunt as someone suddenly bashed into him, then growled and looked down quickly, ready to curse whoever it was out for distracting him from "puppy watching." His words died in his throat as his eyes landed on the blond in front of him. His puppy's eyes were on the ground, and he was trembling from the intensity of his tears.
But why would he be crying?
"Excuse me," Joey muttered, pushing past him to get to the front doors. He'd wait outside for his sister instead of having to watch everyone else being happy when he himself was miserable.
Seto watched him go, frowning. What had happened to make his puppy cry? Had someone attacked him again? Had he hurt himself? Why would he be crying at a place that most people had fun at?
He hesitated before beginning to walk after him. Perhaps he could watch and observe what might be bothering his puppy.
-x-x-x-
Joey took a deep breath and looked around, making sure that no one could see him, then kicked the ground as hard as he could. "God! I hate my life! Nothing ever goes right for me!" He stomped a few times, then turned and punched a nearby tree, hissing in pain as he quickly pulled his hand back and sucked on his bleeding knuckles. "Shit!"
He sucked only a few more moments before he sat down on the steps and hugged his knees to his chest, sniffling. "God, I dress in this stupid outfit to look good for him and all he does is make fun of me-! But then it was stupid of me to think he'd do anything else. I deserve this. I deserve all of this. I deserve the mutt comments, and the insults to my intelligence and dueling skills—Jesus fucking Christ, what the hell could he ever be able to see in me anyway?" He buried his face in his arms. "I am just a stupid mutt!"
He tried to choke back his sobs so no one would hear him (not that they could over the booming, pulsing music), causing his body to tremble. His life was so unfair.
-x-x-x-
Seto frowned, taking a step closer to his quaking puppy. Had he really hurt Joey's feelings that much? …Had the blond really dressed up for him? Why would he care so much what the brunet thought of him? …Unless… he really liked him… then he'd probably really hurt his feelings.
Joey gasped softly as someone grasped the wrist of his wounded hand and looked up quickly, sobbing. "What the hell—" He cut himself off in horror as he found himself staring into familiar blue eyes, then tried to yank away from him, whimpering as his bruised knuckles were flexed uncomfortably. "Let me go-!"
The brunet pulled him closer, lifting the smaller teen's bruised and bleeding hand to his face, and brought his gaze up to meet with the teary golden brown eyes staring at him in confusion. After only a few seconds of thought, he dipped his head to press his lips on one of the blond's wounded knuckles.
The blond gasped softly, eyes widening in surprise. "…K-Kaiba…?" He blushed as the larger teen's tongue flicked out, running over his cuts softly, then tried to pull his hand away again. "Let me go, you jerk!" Seto reached out and grabbed the smaller teen's hair, dragging him closer as he continued to lick away the little rivulets of blood running down his fingers. The blond hissed softly in pain. "Ah-! Kaiba!"
"Hmm…" The brunet let his eyes drift closed as his tongue traveled down the smaller teen's fingers before he drew them into his mouth, sucking softly. He smirked as he heard the blond's breath hitch and released his hair, instead sliding his arm around the other boy's slim waist.
Joey let out a shuddering sigh and leaned his head against the brunet's shoulder, his legs trembling as the older teen continued to suck at his fingers. "Kai…ba…"
Seto let the blond pull his fingers away but then immediately moved his lips to the younger boy's cheekbone and down to his jaw. "Puppy…" He slid his now free hand down to the blond's rear and gave the cheek under his hand a small, affectionate squeeze, listening to the boy whimper softly as he stroked it slowly, before giving him a sharp spank.
"Yai!" Joey jerked his hips forward in surprise, eyes widening, as he let out a yelp. "Kaiba! What the hell?! I—"
"You've been a very naughty puppy," the brunet stated, scowling sternly. "You let another person touch you that wasn't your master, and then you pushed your master away when he rescued you. You need to be punished."
The blond jerked away quickly. "Punished?! Hey, I didn't want Duke molesting me, if that's what you're thinkin'! I—"
Seto caught the chain leash attached to the thick collar around the blond's neck and smirked, quickly yanking him back. "You could have fought much harder, puppy. We both know that."
"Well maybe I didn't want 'im goin' after my sister, you—" He gasped as the brunet yanked him so hard that he collided with his chest. "Ow! Hey, Kaiba—"
"You pushed me away after I saved your virginity." The brunet pulled upward on the chain. "I think I should punish you. And I think I should do that by spanking you." He paused momentarily before his lips twisted into a smirk. "Because you are dressed up as my slut. …Aren't you?"
Joey blushed and looked up at him quickly, eyes widening again. "H-hey, Kaiba, wait a minute—I mean, sure, maybe I dressed up so you'd notice me, but—Wah!" He yelped as he found himself flung over the brunet's shoulder like he'd been earlier. "Kaiba! Wait, wait!" He yelped again as he received another slap on the rear. "Ow! Kaiba! Hey!"
Seto smirked and carried him around the side of the mansion until he reached the garden. There, he sat on a stone bench and drew the smaller teen over his knees. "Stay still, puppy."
"Aaaah! I did nothing to deserve this, you jerk!" The blond squirmed frantically, blushing. "Kaiba, please, I—Yipe!" He winced as the older teen's hand came down on his butt and bit his bottom lip. It was obvious that there was no way for him to get out of this now. "You better—ah!—better give me a big—ooh!—big reward for this, Kai-ba!" He gasped as he felt the brunet's fingers trace down the seam of his pants between his two cheeks. "Kaiba, don't—ow! Hey, you can't just—ow!" He let out a soft whine of frustration. "You stupid jerk…!"
"Hmm… You know you like it," the brunet whispered, biting the shell of the smaller boy's ear. "You like me taking advantage of you and controlling you."
Joey blushed again and shook his head quickly, squirming a little. "K-Kaiba! I-I need to go back inside! I—"
"And why do that?"
"I need to get inside so Serenity knows I haven't been kidnapped and raped-!" he exclaimed quickly, gasping in relief as the brunet finally stopped. He stood up quickly, blushing darker when the older teen refused to let go of his leash. "Ah… And maybe…" He looked down at his feet and frowned. "…Maybe we could dance together a little?"
The brunet snorted and shook his head. "I don't think so, puppy."
The blond looked up at him quickly, hurt, then turned his gaze back on his feet, trying to hold back tears. "Oh. …Okay…"
"Because if we dance to the music currently playing, we're going to grind against each other, I'm going to dance you right over to a wall, and I'm going to take you. In front of everyone." Seto smirked and leaned down, tracing the blond's bottom lip with his thumb. "However, I believe you can still hear the music from the party in my bedroom. If you'd like to dance up there…"
Joey blushed and looked away from him quickly, bringing his hand up to bite on one of his fingernails. "…I… I guess," he agreed softly, fully aware of how badly this could turn out. "B-but if I ask you to stop, you have to stop!" he added quickly, not liking the way the brunet's sinister eyes were looking.
"Of course, puppy."
-x-x-x-
"…So…" Mokuba frowned and rubbed the back of his head. "…Do you wanna open the door?"
Serenity snorted and crossed her arms. "Yeah, right! Like I wanna see what they've been doing in there since last night!" After a few minutes of silence, she sighed and hesitantly reached out for the doorknob. She let out a squeak as she heard a low moan from inside. "Oh God! Don't tell me they're going at it again-!"
Apparently, that's exactly what the two teens inside were doing, as they heard a frantic voice cry out, "Wait a minute! Holy Jesus, dragon! How can you keep getting that stupid thing up?!"
The two younger siblings paled at the response the voice was given. "I told you I was going to fuck you day and night for the next week, puppy. Part of your punishment, remember?"
"Well… yeah, but…"
"Spread your legs for me, puppy."
"But I really don't—oh!"
At the cry of delight—or surprise, they couldn't tell and didn't want to—both Serenity and Mokuba let out screams and ran away from the room.
There was a moment of silence before the brunet's bedroom door creaked open. Joey, covered by only a thin white sheet, stuck his head out and watched with a grin as the two younger teens ran down the hall and took a sharp right. Moments later, he heard the front door slam.
"Hmm. You'd think they'd try and get used to that," Seto commented, walking up behind him and resting his hands on the blond's hips. "They're going to be hearing it quite often now. …At least, until I get my room soundproofed."
The blond giggled softly and turned his head, leaning upward to place a kiss on the taller boy's cheek. "You couldn't get it up more than three times last night, and I had to ride you the last."
"Mm." The brunet shrugged and slipped his arms around the other's slim waist, leaning his face into the mop of golden hair. "Mmmm… You smell like vanilla sex."
"Ah… I should take a shower," Joey stated timidly, and blushed as the older boy chuckled darkly.
"Only if I get to take one with you, puppy."
"…Sex machine."
"You know it. Put in a quarter and I'll give you a fuck."
The blond couldn't help a small laugh as he turned in the other's arms and nuzzled his chest. "This is the best Halloween I've ever had."
"Mm. I can imagine." Seto started a trail of soft, damp kisses down the blond's bare shoulder, then slid one arm behind his knees and lifted him easily. "Come on, puppy. Time for a shower."
"Hey, Seto, if I do a trick will you give me a treat?"
The brunet froze in his tracks, eyes widening, before he growled and began toward the bathroom with new purpose. "To hell with this. We're having a bath and I'm going to take you."
Joey giggled again and threw his arms around the brunet's neck. "Trick or treat!"
"I want a trick. The one you do with your tongue in my ear."
"Mm! And then you'll give me a treat?"
"Of course, puppy." The brunet smirked, exposing that he'd put the sharp caps on his teeth to look like he had fangs again. "Of course."
The blond shuddered pleasantly and snuggled closer to him. "I can't wait."