A/N: Thanks for sticking with the story for so long! Hope you like this chapter, even though it's more of a "what happened after?" chapter. Also, just as another heads up, keep an eye out for the sequel to this one! I don't know the name of it quite yet, but keep an eye out for it! Enjoy!

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Bonding

Seto x Joey

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The sun shone through the thin curtains, shining in Joey's face. With a small grumble, he turned over on his side and buried his face in the surface that awaited him. He sighed with contentment as he snuggled closer to the other body in bed. His eyes snapped open when he realized that there was another body next to him. His honey eyes drifted up a naked chest to a strong neck till he saw messy brown hair shielding closed eyes. His face heated up a great deal when he realized he was in bed next to a half-naked Kaiba. His sight drifted down the naked chest until he saw the man's naked stomach being concealed by the sheets.

And then he realized that it wasn't a dream. He had really gone there with Kaiba. And now, he didn't know what to do. He really loved him, that was for sure. But what if Kaiba was just reacting off of the drunkenness? What if that wasn't really him talking, but the alcohol? That thought sort of saddened Joey. He let his head rest peacefully on Kaiba's shoulder, feeling an arm pulling him closer. He looked up to see Kaiba's face completely relaxed as he laid a kiss to the top of the blonde's head.

A small smile crept onto Joey's features then. He certainly hoped it wasn't just the booze talking last night. He hoped Kaiba didn't think it a mistake to take him to bed. The blonde closed his eyes and sighed softly as he gently traced intricate symbols along the torso splayed out before him, earning a sigh from the body beneath him in return. "Do you have a hangover, mutt?" Kaiba asked, voice still groggy from sleep, but coherent enough to be considered awake.

"Nah. I don't get 'em, luckily," he said with a snicker. "You got one, moneybags?" he asked, still keeping with their normal name play.

Kaiba lazily shook his head as his eyes fluttered open, blinking a few times to bring him completely awake. When he managed to adjust to the sunlight flooding into the room, he glanced down at Joey to see him lost in thought. He had that far away look in his eyes, as if he were contemplating something. Did he regret last night? Sure, they both were a little tipsy, but Kaiba knew what he was doing. Did Joey? "Are you sober enough to repeat what you told me last night, mutt?" Kaiba teased with a small smirk.

Joey looked up at Kaiba to see him teasing him and couldn't help but blush. He knew what he was talking about. Seto expected him to say it when he wasn't drunk, just to make sure he felt the way he felt. He didn't blame the guy, but it wasn't really easy to say that to someone he'd considered his rival all this time. The same rival that had constantly picked on him and who he's picked on. What if this was just another way to pick on him? Did he really want to hear it, or did he just want to mess with him? Well, Kaiba had said it to him last night, too... so...

The blonde's cheeks burned as he averted his sight shyly. "I love you..." he said softly before he looked over at Seto.

The brunette gave him a small grin and pulled him closer so their lips touched. "I love you, pup," he said prior to kissing him affectionately. Joey melted into the kiss, sighing in pleasure. However, when their tongues touched, Joey flat out moaned into it, memories of last night flashing back and rushing through his body, lighting all of his nerves on fire. The CEO broke the kiss with a small smirk, kissing the pup's neck. "Keep that up and you'll end up with a repeat of last night."

Joey let out a soft exasperated chuckle. "That wouldn't be a bad thing," he said as he pulled himself atop Kaiba, straddling his hips. He leaned down and kissed the brunette's jaw line, then his neck and let out a snicker of his own. "Besides... feels like you're ready for me anyway," he teased as he ground his heat against the hardness between his legs. The CEO shuddered and humped up into Joey, making the pup sigh in pleasure.

Kaiba smirked as he sat up, forcing Joey up, too, and turned them so Joey was on his hands and knees. Seto then kissed from Joey's shoulder to his back, ending at the lower spine before sitting up and pressing his hardened member against the tight heat his body craved. Without warning, he shoved inside, earning a deep groan from Joey as the pain surged and took over his form. The elder paused momentarily as he reached in front of Joey and started to stroke his member. The pain slowly started to ebb as Joey took in the sensations to his weeping cock, soft mews of pleasure falling from his lips.

When Kaiba thought him ready, he pulled out and then shoved back in, hitting Joey's prostate dead on. A loud cry of pleasure sounded from Joey's lips as his back arched and pleasurable zings raced through his body. Kaiba continued to shove inside of him, loving the sounds of Joey's moans and pants and cries, as well as the sounds their bodies made together. He felt himself getting closer as he reached around and pulled Joey up against him so his back was pressed against his chest. Joey's head lolled back onto Kaiba's shoulder, his hand coming up to tangle in the brunette tresses and his free hand resting on Seto's thigh. His cheeks burned with pleasure as he rode the man behind him, moaning his name and letting out soft whimpers of need.

The brunette continued to stroke Joey, planting nips and bites along the exposed flesh of Joey's neck as he did so and moaning his own sounds that closely resembled growls. The more he did this, the more he felt the knot in his stomach getting tighter, tighter, and then finally, they both came with a cry of pleasure. Joey's essence spilled onto the sheets and Kaiba's spilled inside the blonde pup. They both stayed right there, Kaiba holding the blonde against him and Joey not minding in the least. Soft sighs came from them both as they started to come off of their high.

However, Joey wasn't so quick to move. His body slowly reminded him of the pain and trauma his delicate parts sustained last night and then again a few moments ago. He grunted quietly as his thighs quivered with the need to make him collapse even further than what he already was. Kaiba gave a little nip to Joey's shoulder and gently removed himself from the blonde's used hole. He felt himself being covered with the remnants of their time together, but couldn't find it in himself to care.

Instead, he repositioned them so they were both lying on their sides, as if their activities never took place. A small pleasured smile took over Joey's tanned features and a grin found its way onto Kaiba's lips. "When you're ready, get dressed, mutt."

"That won't be till tomorrow," he teased back.

Kaiba rolled his eyes at him and shook his head, a small smirk situated on his lips before stretching and pulling himself from bed. He walked over to his closet and opened a few drawers, grabbing some necessary items, setting them on the bed, and walking to the bathroom to take a shower. As he started the water, he stood there for a moment, contemplating the options laid out before him.

He and Joey had gone where they both wanted to go. But where do they go from here? Joey cared about what his friends thought and Kaiba cared about what Mokuba thought. Surely, Kaiba would do what he wanted to do, since he was old enough, but Joey… he cared heavily about what his friends thought. Or so the CEO thought. He supposed it wasn't really just up to him to not give a crap what others thought; it was up to Joey, too. If he didn't feel comfortable with going public, then Kaiba would support him the best he could.

Stepping into the shower, the young CEO sighed softly as the hot water came down on him and relaxed the tense muscles. He quickly bathed and got out, drying off with a fluffy white towel. He then hung the thing loosely around his hips, as per habit, and walked out to the bedroom. He saw Joey over at his desk looking at a picture of him and Joey that was randomly snapped by Tristan of all people. He didn't question why he received it in the mail, but it was the only picture he had of Joey. He'd held onto it and kept it in his room where not even Mokuba would be able to see it.

Walking over to the bed, he started to get dressed in silence, letting Joey look at whatever he pleased. By the time Joey actually said something, Kaiba had put on his underwear and black jeans and was reaching for his shirt. "Tristan sent you one, too?" Joey asked as he turned around, still holding the elegantly framed picture. At Kaiba's nod, Joey turned his attention back to the photo. "Why'd ya keep it? I thought you'd just throw it away 'r somethin'."

Kaiba shrugged. "I wanted to keep it."

"Why?"

The brunette looked at the pup's confused expression. Surely he knew now, right? He'd already said it twice since last night, so why was he prodding? Was he trying to figure out why Kaiba loved him? Probably. Joey was just that type of person. With a small smirk, the elder sighed and walked over to him, taking the frame from him. Though it was a simple photo, it was still just the two of them. They were both arguing over something, Joey having Kaiba by the shirt with his mouth open and screaming while Kaiba wore that same old smirk. The more he looked at it, the more he felt his lips curl into a small smile. "It's the only picture of you that I have. It was sent to me in the mail, but I didn't know who sent it. Even then, I still kept it. Every time I look at it... it seems to calm me."

Joey looked at the picture in Kaiba's hand with him and smirked. "But wasn't that taken a year ago?"

Kaiba nodded. "So then... how long've ya felt that way?" Joey asked as he averted his shy sight to out the window.

The brunette set the picture frame back down and walked back over to the bed to grab his shirt. "Long enough without saying something about it." He slipped the white button-up shirt on and started to button it from the bottom up, leaving two unbuttoned at the top.

"Always evadin' the question," Joey sighed before looking around. "Do ya at least have anything I can wear when I get outta the shower?"

"I'll look." Joey nodded and started to walk past Kaiba before the brunette grabbed his arm and pulled him against him, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and kissing his neck. Joey's back was against Kaiba's chest as he pouted and glared at the bathroom door. "Battle City," Kaiba said gently.

"What?"

"I've loved you since Battle City, but I failed to realize it until just about a year ago, shortly before I got the picture."

Joey turned his head slightly in Kaiba's hold to look up at him. "Why didn't ya say anything?"

Kaiba shrugged quietly. "I figured if you felt the same, you would be the first to say something with that reckless attitude of yours," he said with a grin.

The blonde blushed and looked away. "I didn't realize it till after Battle City... ya disappeared for a while and no one saw ya... it was then that I realized how I felt. I didn't say anything 'cause you would'a just laughed and called me stupid. I couldn't take rejection... not from you." He looked up at him from the corner of his eye, his cheeks heavy with a dark red blush. "But when ya stood up to Tristan yesterday... I thought I had a chance."

The brunette gave a small smirk and kissed his temple. "Where do you want to go from here?"

Joey held Kaiba's arms tightly and blushed quietly. "I wanna be with you..."

Kaiba chuckled softly, a sound foreign to Joey's ears, but not unwelcomed. "I mean with your friends and my brother. Do you want to tell them? Or do you want to keep it a secret?"

"Oh..." Joey replied softly as he sighed quietly. "I'm fine with everyone knowin'. It's not a secret to me. But what about you, moneybags? Ya have a reputation to uphold, right?"

The elder shrugged. "I'm fine being public." After all, who gave a damn about his reputation now? He already had all he wanted. He had Joey. He had Mokuba. He had an income. His business was flourishing. What more could he ask for? It's not like his personal preferences should affect the crowd of his products. And even if it did, he'd find a way to rope them back in. "Whatever you're more comfortable with."

The pup smirked and shrugged. "I guess we'll let the cat outta the bag. Don't be surprised when I jump ya in the middle of the street though," he teased, referring to wanting to jump his bones.

"That's going too far, I think. I don't want the public seeing what's mine," he said as he gave Joey a light squeeze against him and then released him. "All right. Go take a shower."

The two lovers walked down the street, hand in hand, towards Tristan's house. As soon as Joey had gotten out of the shower, he received a call from Tristan on his cell, asking him to come over. Kaiba received a text asking the same thing, except from Mokuba. They both knew it had something to do with last night, but they had decided that whatever it was, it wasn't too awful important to get bent out of shape over.

They made it to the neighborhood, getting closer to Joey's friend's house when Joey sighed. "Do ya think they'll try to apologize?"

"Probably. He was an ass last night."

Joey gave him a small smile and squeezed his hand briefly. "Yeah..."

"Are you nervous, mutt?" Kaiba asked with less of a patronizing sound and more of a concerned sound.

Nervous? Of course he was nervous! Tristan had tried to make them do everything under the sun together while they watched! And when Kaiba stood up to him last night, he was sure to say something about it today. The last thing he wanted was for his lover and his friend to fight. Though, that was sort of inevitable now that he thought about it, given Kaiba's demeanor and his friends' behaviors. "Nah," he said with a toothy grin up to his lover. "I got you now," he said as he rang the bell at Tristan's house and waited for an answer.

Atem answered the door and his eyes instantly zeroed in on the two's connected hands. He gave a proud smirk and nodded at the two of them, letting them in quietly. They were led to the living room where it all started and saw Tristan, Téa, Yugi and Mokuba sitting with each other. When they noticed them walk in, Joey and Tristan looked at each other. "Hey, Jo. Kaiba."

"Hey," he said shortly as he crossed his arms. Kaiba remained silent.

Tristan stood and walked over to the two. "I just wanted to tell you guys I'm sorry for last night. I was a jerk."

"You were," Kaiba readily agreed. Tristan glared at him. "Not to me; to him," he said as he nodded at Joey.

"To you, too, moneybags," Joey said as he glanced back at him. The brunette shrugged.

"I'm sorry to both of you. I shouldn't have acted that way and tried to make you guys into a spectacle. That was wrong of me," Tristan said with a heavy sigh. "Will you forgive me?"

"If ya answer one question first," Joey said. Tristan nodded. "Why'd ya do it?"

Tristan shrugged. "I was trying to help you guys see that you cared about each other..."

"We didn't need your help for that," Kaiba said as he wrapped an arm around Joey's shoulders.

"What?"

"Yeah... it's been a long time comin'," Joey snickered as he put a hand on Kaiba's arm.

Tristan and Téa's eyes widened exponentially when they saw how buddy-buddy the two were. It was Mokuba that got up and ran to Kaiba with a wide grin. "Does this mean you finally have a partner?" The elder Kaiba nodded and Mokuba laughed as he hugged the two.

Joey looked over at Yugi with a small grin, earning an affectionate smile from his best friend. "Congratulations, Joey."

"Thanks, Yug."

"So! Let's see a kiss!" Tristan said, earning him a swift punch in the jaw by Joey.

"Shut it, Tristan!"

A/N: And that's all! R&R and let me know what you think! :) Thanks for reading!