Carved in Stone

Cherry Soda

            Seto watched Joey lean over the smooth, red felt covered custom made pool table and
line up his shot. Joey eyeballed the position of the cue ball and than aligned the angle of his shot
at the shiny, black & white 8-ball. He glanced up at Seto and called his shot.

“5-rail in the corner pocket.”

Seto was standing a few feet off to Joey’s right. He crossed his arms in front of himself and
flashed a condescending grin.

“You’ll never make that shot.” he shot back.

Joey rolled his eyes.

“Wanna make a bet, rich boy?”he bantered on.

“What are the stakes?” Seto laughed.

“How about you take me on vacation in Mexico for two weeks if I make the shot. If I don’t make
it, which isn’t what’s going to happen, I’ll, uh....wash every window in this building. Sound
good?”

 “You’ll wash ALL the windows Wheeler? Interesting. I hope you’re not afraid of heights,
because you have yourself a bet, Mutt.” Seto scoffed.

Joey looked back at his shot and chuckled as he drew back his black graphite pool stick and
forced it forward in one solid movement. The white cue ball smacked into the 8-ball, sending it
bouncing off the rails of the pool table.

“1, 2, 3, 4, 5...YES!!” Joey counted as the ball made it’s way around the table and into the
pocket he’d called. “HA! Take that Kaiba! You’re taking me on vacation!”

Seto tossed his pool stick on top the table and shook his head in disbelief.

“I guess I am. Any ideas where you want to go?”

Joey unscrewed his pool stick at the middle and broke it down into two separate halves.

“Acapulco, Cozumel, Puerto Vallarta, Playa Del Carmen.......They all sound good to me.” Joey
grinned as he carefully put his stick into a red velvet lined, black leather case.

Seto shook his head.

“I have a company to run here, Wheeler. How about you just pick one.”

“Acapulco” Joey responded quickly.

“Acapulco it is than. You make all the arrangements.”

“Kick ass!” Joey exclaimed as he threw his arms around the CEO. Seto gently pried Joey off of
him and looked at him sternly.

“No longer than two weeks though, okay?”

Joey smiled brightly and nodded his head.

“That works for me.”

            Seto bit down on his bottom lip as he gazed down into Joey’s big brown eyes. The two of
them hadn’t had any time alone with only each other in months. Seto spent most of his time
burying himself in his work, and didn’t take any time out for much else. He realized the only
attention he’d paid to Joey was when he’d kick him at night for snoring. That was only if Seto
came to bed though, which wasnR oft often. He usually fell asleep at his desk. Joey had tried to talk
Seto into fooling around a couple times, but Seto consistently shunned him. The CEO felt a little
guilty for ignoring the needs of his partner. Joey had taken the back-burner to Seto’s
preoccupations with running Kaiba Corps and Mokuba.

            Joey stared back at Seto. The CEO seemed to be struggling with something in his mind.
Joey sighed lightly as he recalled the events that had occurred earlier that day with his former
lover. Joey could almost feel the warmth of Yugi’s body under his again. Yugi’s tender kisses,
Yugi’s soft touch. Joey swallowed hard as he reflected on what he’d done. He’d almost cheated
on Seto. Even though Seto and he hadn’t had a very sexual relationship for quite some time,
Joey knew it still didn’t give him permission to fool around. He and Seto had made a
commitment to each other, and Joey had already broken that commitment just by kissing Yugi.
Joey’s heart grew heavy as the guilt overwhelmed him. Honesty had always been an important
thing to Joey, and now he found himself right smack dab in the middle of a big fat lie. Tears
began to pool up in his chocolate eyes as he gazed up into Seto’s ambiguous sapphire orbs.

“Joey? What’s wrong?” Seto ask softly as he wiped a fallen tear off Joey’s cheek with his thumb.

Joey stepped back and hung his head.

“We need to talk.”

Seto made a sour face.

“That didn’t sound good.” he responded nervously.

Joey took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He walked over to a white wicker chair and sat
down. He buried his face in his hands.

“You might want to have a seat.” he said somberly.

Seto sat down in a chair next to Joey’s and looked over at his distraught companion.

“Did I say something wrong?”

Joey continued staring at the floor and shook his head.

“No, it’s not you at all. It’s me. What I’m about to tell you will probably piss you off.”

Seto didn’t care for the sound of that one bit. Was Joey thinking of breaking their relationship
off? Seto gripped the arms of the chair and braced himself for whatever Joey was about to say.

Joey looked up at Seto with tear filled eyes.

“I did something really stupid, ” he began.

“I’m not surprised.” Seto smirked.

Joey bit his lip. He wasn’t in the mood for trash talking.

“I’m trying to be serious here, okay? I need to tell you what happened between Yugi and I this
morning.”

Seto cringed at the thought of Yugi. After what he had done to Mokuba, Seto had held a strong
grudge against the little duelist. Just hearing Yugi’s name nauseated Seto.

Joey ran his fingers back through his hair and let out a frustrated growl.

“I can’t be dishonest Kaiba, I fucking kissed him, I kissed Yugi. I really loused up, and could
kick myself in the ass for it too.”

Seto’s face went white and he ran out of the room holding his mouth, leaving Joey very
confused. Was Seto mad or what?

Joey had to know where he stood with Seto, so he bolted out of the room after him calling the
CEO’s first name.

“Hey Kaiba, wait up! Come on man, talk to me!”

Joey heard nasty noises coming from the bathroom, so he banged his fists against the closed
door.

“Kaiba? You okay?”

“Yes...please go though Joey. I’m not feeling very well. I need some time alone.”

Tears streamed down Joey’s cheeks. He wanted to hold Seto so badly, but he feared that his
chances of ever doing that again were zero to none.

He leaned his head against the solid oak door and slowly sank down to his knees.

“I’m sorry Kaiba.......I’m so sorry.” he sniffled.

***************************************************

            Noa got up to get himself a soda as Mokuba impersonated the voice of a very old
woman. He was on the phone with making another prank call to Duke Devlin.

Noa chuckled to himself as he listened to Mokuba harass Duke until no end.

“So what are you wearing, sonny? Ooh, that sounds absolutely scintillating! I love the color red,
it make me so hot.... go on....”

Noa walked into the kitchen and reached into the refrigerator. He searched around for his
favorite cherry soda, which he couldn’t find. He slammed the refrigerator door shut and stomped
out of the kitchen, almost knocking Serenity over as she came down the hall.

“What’s the matter, Noa?” she ask nervously.

Noa glared sharply at the brunette.

“Why don’t we have an cherry soda left? I remember telling you to pick more up last night,
what’s the deal, you dumb bimbo?”

Serenity bit down on her bottom lip and cringed.

“I-I’m sorry, Noa.....I was busy alphabetizing your cd collect like you had ask, and I didn’t get
time to-” 

Noa raised his hand and slapped Serenity across the face as hard as he could, sending her flying
back into the wall.

 Serenity gasp as her body hit the hard wall with a resounding thud. She barely had time to react
before Noa grabbed the collar of her shirt and pinned her to the cold laminate flooring. A small
trace of fresh blood trickled from the corner of Serenity’s mouth.

“Stupid bitch! You’re useless!” he growled as he slapped her again. Serenity burst into tears.

“I’m sorry Noa, I’m so sorry! Please don’t hit me again!” she begged.

Noa grabbed a fist full of her long brown hair and pulled her face to face with him.

“You live under my roof, I pay your way. Nobody rides for free, sweetheart. You’ll either get
your act together or I’ll..oooh, you don’t even want to know what I’ll do to you!”

Serenity nodded her head and whimpered as Noa backed off.

Noa rolled his eyes and got to his feet. He kicked the sobbing brunette in the stomach and
sighed.

“Just get the fuck out of my face and go buy me some cherry sobitcbitch.”

Serenity got up as quickly as possible and hurried toward the front door.

“And buy more grape soda too, for Mokuba!” Noa called back to her as he walked back into the
livingroom.

Mokuba was still on the phone.

“My goodness sonny, it’s that big? I don’t know if my old bones could handle that! You would
break this old lady in two! Ooooh!”

Noa snickered as he sat back down on the sofakubakuba smiled at Noa as he ended the call.

“Oh my my my, Look at the time! I need to get my beauty sleep! Good night, sonny!”

Mokuba hung of the phone and started to laugh.

“That was fun. Duke thought I was some horny old lady named Hagatha.”

Noa nodded his head and chuckled.

“I’m glad you moved in Mokie, you’re a riot.”

***********************************************************

Joey slowly rose to his feet. He could hear Seto throwing up beyond the locked bathroom

door. The blond wiped the tears out of his eyes and started walking away. It was useless to try to
talk to Seto at the moment.

As JAs Joey walked down the hall, he heard the bathroom door open behind him.

“Joey, please.....wait.” Seto ask in almost a whisper.

Joey turned around and faced Seto. He swallowed hard when their eyes locked.

“Yeah?” he ask timidly,

Seto leaned back against the wall and groaned.

“I understand why you kissed him.”

Joey was visibly surprised by Seto’s comment. He took a few steps closer to the disheveled
CEO.

“I’m sorry it happened, really I am.” Joey said adamantly.

Seto held out his hand to Joey.

Ret&#et’s go for a walk.”

Joey reached for Seto’s hand and laced their fingers together.

“It’s my fault you kissed the runt. I should be paying more attention to you than I have been. I’m
sorry, Wheeler.”

Joey took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as they walked into the foyer and toward the
elevator.

“No, it’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have don’t what I did. I don’t know what I was thinking.
You’re lips are the only ones I should be kissing.”

Seto shook his head as they stepped into the elevator.

“You said you got beat up last night, if I had been acting like a good boyfriend, you wouldn’t
have gotten the crap beat out of you in the first place. I should have listened to you last night, but
I didn’t. I should have been there for you, Wheeler, but I wasn’t. I was too wrapped up in myself.
I deserve it if you leave me.”

Seto and Joey stepped out of the elevator and headed out the front doors of the building. They
walked across the street to a small park and sat down on a bench together. Joey squeezed Seto’s
hand.

“I don’t want to leave you, Kaiba. I know you’re not as bad of a guy as people like to think. I’ve
seen the real you. I’ve looked over your faults because you mean a lot to me. Sure we haven’t
always gotten along, but that’s no reason for me to dump you.”

Seto squeezed Joey’s hand and smiled.

“I forgive you for kissing the little puke if you forgive me for being an ass.”

Joey nodded his head and smiled brightly.

“Sounds like a deal.”

Seto let go of Joey’s hand and pulled the blond into a hug.

“I love you, Wheeler, even if I don’t always know how to show it.”

Joey held Seto close and sighed. The familiar scent of Seto’s expensive cologne made Joey’s
nose tingle.

“I love you too, with all my heart.”

Joey could feel Seto’s heart beating rapidly against his chest. Joey knew his heart was racing just
as fast, if not faster. He loved being in Seto’s strong arms. He always felt safe and happy when
he was with him. Seto’s touch was so different than Yugi’s. The size difference between Seto
and Yugi automatically came to Joey’s mind. Yugi was small and child-like, while Seto was
very tall and 100% man. There were numerous reasons why Joey stayed with Seto, but the
biggest one was the way Seto made Joey feel safe and secure. When he was with Yugi, Joey
always felt like he had to play the role of the tough guy. But with Seto, Joey was able to let his
guard down and play the other role. Even though Seto acted like a jerk, he always was there
when Joey needed him most-except for last night.

Seto suddenly pulled away from thembrambrace and pointed toward the busy street nearby.

“Isn’t that your sister?” he ask curiously.

Joey looked up and zeroed in on where Seto was pointing.

“Sure as shit that’s my sister! What the hell is she doing carrying all those cases of soda?”

Seto patted Joey’s shoulder and stood up.

“Let’s go help her out, she looks a bit overwhelmed.”

Joey and Seto quickly hurried to Serenity&#;s s;s side.

“Hey sis, need a ride or something?” Joey ask in a bewildered voice. He seemed a bit surprised
to see his petite sister toting around three cases of cy soy soda and one of grape all by herself.

Serenity stopped in her tracks and turned around.

“Joey!” She shrieked excitedly. Tears instantly came to her eyes as she set the four cases of soda

down and threw her arms around her older brother.

“Wow sis, long time no see! You okay?” Joey ask curiously as Serenity clung tightly to him.
Something didn’t feel right to Joey. Serenity always got excited when she saw him, but never
q lik like this.

“Do you need a ride anywhere?” Seto ask politely.

Serenity swallowed back her tears and smiled timidly at the CEO.

“A ride would be nice, but I don’t want to impose on you Mr. Kaiba.”

Joey snickered and messed up Serenity’s hair.

“What’s this ‘Mr. Kaiba’ crap, sis? I don’t think Rich-boy minds if you call him by his first
name, we’re all kinda like family now.”

“May I?” Serenity ask Seto politely.

Seto chuckled as he picked up two cases of the cherry soda.

“Of course, I don’t mind. Besides, you’re my half brother’s girlfriend, it just seems a little weird
if you call me ‘Mr. Kaiba.’ So where are you headed, Serenity?”

“Back to Noa. He and Mokuba ran out of soda and sent me to get them some more.”

Joey tipped his younger sister’s chin up with his thumb and looked at her face suspiciously.

“You got a black eye, sis?” he ask curiously as he looked her face over.

Serenity laughed nervously and shook her head.

“It’s nothing, Joey. Noa and I were fooling around the other night and I fell off the bed.”

Joey reluctantly accepted her excuse. He’d noticed her cheek and lower lip were also a little
swollen. It was possible she she’d fallen off the bed, but something just seemed wrong.

“I’ll go get the car, you two wait here.” Seto said quickly after noticing the suspicious look on
Joey’s face.

“Sounds good” Joey nodded as he brushed Serenity’s bangs out of her eyes.

After Seto was out of hearing range, Joey reached out and took his sister’s hand.

“Sis, I need you to be honest with me, is Noa hitting you?”

Serenity rolled her eyes.

“I told you Joey, everything is fine. We just like to get a little crazy in bed, okay?”

Joey covered his ears with his hands and made a face.

“Come on, sis! That’s more than I need to know!”

Serenity covered her mouth and giggled as Joey tried to shake the thought of his sweet little
sister having crazy sex.

Minutes later Seto returned with his Lexus. He waved for Joey and Serenity to get into the car.

Joey opened the passenger door for Serenity and helped her into the front seat. He motioned
backwards with his thumb and looked at Seto.

“Pop the trunk.”

Seto pressed a button on his key chain and the trunk popped open. Joey loaded the soda into the
trunk and got in the backseat. Seto drove them a few blocks and pulled in through the first gate
of the grandeur Kaiba estates. He slid a keycard through a machine and the first gate opened up.

He repeated the same procedure at the second gate, along with passing an optical and voice scan.
Security was tight at the estate, along with every other property in the Kaiba name. It was a bit of
a pain, but well worth the hassle.

Seto parked his car in front of the mansion and popped the trunk open. He got out of the car and
opened Serenity’s door while Joey got out and picked up two cases of soda out of the trunk. Seto
grabbed the remaining two cases and they both escorted Serenity up to the front doors.

Seto chuckled lightly as he rang the door bell.

“Mokuba is going to think I’m spying on him, I love it. I wish I’d brought a camera.”

Joey ran his finger over his still slightly swollen eye and groaned.

“I’m glad you didn’t. I don’t want the evidence of the ass kicking I got last night of film.”

“All the better” Seto laughed.

“Who kicked your butt, Joey?” Serenity ask.

Joey clenched a fist and punched his other hand. He lowered his eyes and made an angry face.

“Somebody who’s going to get a taste of the business end of my fist when I see them again.”

A butler dressed is a black suit opened the french entrance doors. He smiled when he saw them
all.

“Hello Mr. Kaiba, Mr. Wheeler, Miss Wheeler, come inside.”

“Thank you, Jeffery.” Serenity smiled sweetly back at him as she followed behind Seto and Joey.

Noa was quick to meet them in the foyer. He was visibly surprised to see Joey and Seto along
with Serenity.

“Oh, um.....hello Seto, Joey. To what do I owe this unexpected visit?”

Joey watched Noa carefully. He also paid close attention to the way his sister was acting. She
stayed very close to Joey’s side, and was staring at the floor. Noa seemed to be keeping a eye on
her. Joey could almost taste the tension in the air.

“We found Serenity walking home carrying all this soda and gave her a ride. Is Mokuba
around?” Seto ask curiously as he set down the two cases of soda.

“He’s upstairs, do you want me to get him for you, Seto?” Noa replied.

Seto nodded his head.

“Yes, I’d appreciate that. By the way, where do you want Joey and I to put all this soda? Do you
and Mokuba actually drink this much?”

Noa chuckled as he turned around and started walking up the red carpeted stairs.

“Would you rather we were drinking shots of vodka, Seto? Serenity can show you where it goes.
I’ll be right back with our brother.”

            After putting the soda away, Seto eagerly rushed back to the foyer to see Mokuba. He
couldn’t wait to see his younger brother’s reaction to him being there. Seto wouldn’t admit it,
but he already missed Mokuba, and it had only been a couple hours since he’d moved out!

“Seto!” Mokuba laughed as he ran up to his older brother. “Are you here to check on me or
something?”

Seto smiled at his brother and chuckled.

“No, if I wanted to spy on you I would be much more discreet. I just wanted to see you. I-“

“Miss me?” Mokuba giggled as he hugged Seto.

“No, I was going to say I need you to sign some papers regarding the Holographic Duel
Transmogrifier you and Joey came up with. Kaiba Corp has already had over 150,000 inquiries
about when it will be released for retail sale, and we haven’t even finish the preliminary tests on
it.”

Mokuba looked at Joey and held up his hand.

“Put ‘er there Joey! We rule!”

Joey slapped the youngest Kaiba brother a high five and laughed.

“Damn right we rule.”

“And I miss you” Seto added at the last second.

Mokuba burst out laughing and kissed Seto on the cheek.

“I miss you too, big bro. I’m glad you stopped by.”

Seto’s face suddenly grew serious.

“Oh, that’s right, before I forget. I need you and Noa to run Kaiba Corps while I’m away for the
next two weeks.”

Mokuba and Noa both stood still staring at Seto in disbelief.

“Say that again, bro?” Mokuba ask.

“I need you and Noa to run Kaiba Corps while I’m away.” Seto reiterated.

“Where are you going for two weeks?” Noa ask out of curiosity.

Seto wrapped his arm around Joey and smiled proudly.

“The mutt and I are taking a vacation to Acapulco. Are the two of you up for the challenge?”

*************************************************************