Rent to Own

Author's Note: Hi again! Thanks to everyone who enjoyed the first part. I had a little trouble deciding on pacing, but now that that's out of the way here's the first of 2 new chapters! Hope you like them!

---

 

So, this was it.

He was a whore now.  Not just a punk, or a slacker, or a mutt...he was literally a whore.



Joey stared at the bed canopy above him, absentmindedly sliding a finger back and forth under the collar, trying to un-stick the sweaty leather from his neck.  



How did he get here?  His half-asleep mind drifted back, remembering the events of just last week.



~~~~

He had just come home from hanging out with Yugi and the others at the game shop after school, with some new DM cards in his deck and a smile on his face.  He hadn't gotten in any trouble at school, there was no homework due tomorrow, and he had found enough change under a vending machine to actually buy a lunch.  (It don't get any better than this!) he had honestly thought to himself as he headed up the steps to his home.



That was when he heard the old, familiar CRASH of a broken beer bottle hitting the wall.  Joey froze, the smile slowly trickling down his face into a more solemn expression.  (Guess I should've figured a day this good couldn't last,) he thought bitterly as he tentatively reached for the door.  "Dad, I'm ho-"



"-MO! YOU FUCKIN HOMO!" his greeting was interrupted by a furious barrage of slurs.  Joey's blood ran cold when he saw the look on his father's face.  "Wha-what are you talking about, dad?" He put up his palms in a defensive gesture as he slowly entered the apartment and headed towards his room, keeping his body facing his father at all times.



"You know fuckin' well what I'm talking about, you little queer," Mr. Wheeler spat, blocking his way.  "I was in your shithole of a room, lookin to see if you were holdin' out on me again, hiding money from your own father, when I found THIS filth under your mattress!" the older man slammed a small stack of wrinkled magazines onto the floor in front of his son.  The titles varied, but the contents were obviously gay porn.  It was Joey's secret stash that he had managed to keep hidden for quite some time, now suddenly Exhibit A for the prosecution.



The blonde boy swallowed nervously, frantically trying to think of a believable excuse.  "I ain't gay, dad," he protested.  "those were a stupid gag gift that Tristan gave me the other day, I was too embarrassed to throw em out,"  he glanced up at his dad, praying that he found the explanation acceptable.



----



After sleeping on a park bench that night, he had timidly headed back home, where he was informed that if he was going to be a "disgusting pervert," as his father said, he would have to "make himself useful."



Next thing he knew, he was being forced to take nude photos of himself and his dad was on the phone with one of his sleazy gambling buddies to set things up.



And now.... he was a whore.  Honestly, he didn't even know if he was a cheap whore or an expensive one.  His father hadn't bothered to tell him how much he charged for his only son's virginity.  Could've been 5 bucks, could've been 500.  (He'd probably trade me for a case of Heineken if he could,) he thought sadly.



But he guessed he couldn't have been THAT cheap.  His first 'customer' was Seto Kaiba, after all.  Even if the rate had been $500, for someone of Kaiba's wealth that was probably equivalent to buying a pack of gum.  No wonder he felt chewed up and spat out. He sighed, curling into a fetal position, the collar tag wedging between his knees.



Seto Kaiba.  Why, in the name of every God, Buddha, and kami out there, did it have to be KAIBA?



He should've known when his dad tossed him the dog collar.  How could that not have tipped him off!?  But... Kaiba had looked just as shocked as Joey had felt when they saw each other's faces.... could it have been just a coincidence?  Joey frowned, deep in thought.  It was hard to believe that Kaiba would leave ANYTHING to coincidence, but then it was also hard to believe that his rival was a closeted homosexual who spent insane amounts of money on male prostitutes, for that matter.



Stalemate, Kaiba had called it.  Neither of them could out the other without the risk of a simple "how do YOU know?" exposing their own shame.



Shame... he wondered if Kaiba felt ashamed for fucking a scruffy mutt like him.



("You like that, mutt?  You like my dick ramming deep inside you like that?")



At that moment, the brunette had sounded so sexy that Joey thought he was going to explode right there.  He was overwhelmed with sensations he had never felt before, emotions he couldn't find names for that were eating him alive, wriggling under his skin...



( "I thought so.  That's it, just let go and enjoy it like the whore you are.")



Like the whore you are.



The whore I am.



("Oh fuck, god, yes, please Kaiba fuck me harder; fuck me haaardeeeeer..." )



He'd never had an orgasm that intense before. Hell, he was getting hard again just thinking about it.



And that scared the shit out of him.



Joey didn't consider himself all that good at sorting things out, but the way he figured, there were 3 explanations for how he had reacted:



1: It was because it was his first time having sex, nothing more complicated than that.

2: It was because he really was a dirty, slutty whore who loved getting fucked by other men.

3: It was because he really was a dirty, slutty whore who loved getting fucked by Seto Kaiba.



He really wanted to believe it was number 1, but he had his doubts; and he really wasn't sure which of the other 2 was worse..



Just then he heard a knock at the door.  "Boy, you decent in there?" It was his dad.



"Just a sec," Joey called back, quickly grabbing one of the hotel bathrobes and wrapping it around himself.  "Ok, all clear," he called, as he heard the door unlock and open.



He wasn't quite sure what to expect, but he definitely hadn't expected his dad to be grinning like that.  "Boy, I don't know what the hell you did to that Kaiba fruit, and frankly I don't WANT to know.  But you better keep it up, you hear me??" he punctuated the demand with an authoritative hand gesture.... and a fistful of cash.



Joey's eyes widened.  "Holy shit dad," he murmured.  "Where did all that come from?"  He wasn't sure how much money was there, but even at his most vain, he couldn't imagine one night with him being worth THAT much.



"Looks like you got yourself a regular customer, boy!" Mr. Wheeler laughed, kissing the wad of bills with more affection than he had ever shown any member of his family.



As the door to the suite closed again, Joey fell to his knees, shaking.



Regular....customer?!



------------



That Monday, Kaiba was in his usual seat in homeroom, reading yet another difficult-looking novel, when Joey arrived.  Leaving a path of confused, ignored friends in his wake, the blonde made a beeline straight for the brunette, slamming his palms down on his desk.  "WHY?" was his simple, growled demand.



"Because I got bored reading 'Atlas Shrugged' and this was the next book on my to-read list," came the calm reply as Kaiba turned another page of 'The Stranger' by Albert Camus.



"That's not what I meant!" Joey gritted his teeth.



Piercing blue eyes looked up at him quizzically.  "You don't seriously want to have a discussion about that HERE, do you, mutt?" The blonde's embarrassed expression made him smirk.  "I thought not.  If you manage to make it through the day without getting detention, meet me after school.  My limo will be here to pick me up at 3:45 at the west gate," Then, without even waiting for a response, Seto returned his attentions to his novel.



Joey stormed back to his seat, flopping into it dramatically.  "Fuckin' Kaiba..."



A small hand patted his forearm.  "Joey, are you okay?"  Yugi looked at him, eyes full of worry.



"Yeah, you've been acting weird for the last week, but this is getting REALLY weird,"  Tristan added, half-teasing, half genuinely concerned.



"Did something happen with Kaiba again?"  Tea piped up from the seat in front of him, shooting a quick glare at the disinterested CEO.  "Why can't he just leave you alone?"



"It ain't important," Joey shook his head as he slumped further into his seat.  HIs friends glanced at each other, clearly not buying his act for one second, but unsure how to press the issue any further.  Their eyes turned uneasily towards the target of Joey's outburst.



Kaiba frowned.  There was a small crease on page 57.  This was unacceptable.



---------



"Hey Joey, we're heading over to my grandpa's shop, you in?" Yugi flashed his best adorable smile as the bell signalled the end of the school day.  "Grandpa says he got some more rare cards in..."



"Nah, not today, Yug.  I already got plans.  Thanks, though." Joey gave him a weak smile as he stuffed his schoolbooks into his bag, hoisted it over his shoulder and headed off.



"Well, if you finish early, feel free to stop by!" the small boy called out after him, sighing as he just got a half-hearted wave in return.



"Sooooo.... we ARE following him, right?"  Yugi turned to see Tristan grinning expectantly.  Tea was right behind him, with both her and Yugi's bags in her arms.  The spikey-haired boy grinned back and nodded.