How Do You Like Me Now?

Part Eight


“Mr. Joey Wheeler?”
Joey looked up from the wooden desk he had been studying intently
until
then loo looked toward the door where an impossibly thin receptionist
stood. The other men in the room, Perry included, also looked to her.

“Yeah?”

“A call from Mr. Mokuba Kaiba. He says to come to the hospital
immediately.”

“Thanks,” Joey replied, getting up from his seat. “Per, you
handle this, kay? Catch up with ya later.” He raced outside and into
his waiting limo. God, what happened?
So many thoughts were racing through his mind. The ten minute car ride
felt like an eternity and he dashed into the hospital building and to
the third floor, arriving at last in Seto Kaiba’s room.

Mokuba looked up at Joey’s entrance with tears in his eyes.

Oh fuck, what happened? “Mokuba?” His voice shook and his
stomach was turning over and over.

“Joey,” the raven-haired man responded. “He woke up.”

Joey’s eyes widened. “He did?”

Mokuba nodded. “He was awake for a little while. Long enough for
the doctor to look at him. He’s sleeping now, but he’s gonna be okay.”

Joey almost fainted with relief on the spot. “Thank God,” he said,
his voice small and meek. “Didja get to talk to him?”

“Not really,” he replied. “I said his name and he recognized me
and then the doctor took over. By the time the doctor was done, he was
asleep.”

Joey walked over and laid a hand on Kaiba’s forehead. The color
had come back into his face and the swelling of his body had resided.
He gazed at the handsome face for several moments, losing himself in
the cream-colored skin.

“You still love him, don’t you?”

Joey barely heard the question. Once his brain had registered it, he
looked, shocked, at the younger inquisitor.

“Mokuba,” the blonde said. “How did you…?”

The other smiled. “Seto can’t hide anything from me,” he said.
“I figured it out the first week you guys started going out. And I knew
when you guys broke up.”

Joey lowered his eyes. “Yeah, I should’ve guessed.”

“He still loves you, too.”

The blonde looked up at him. “Sure, Kid. Whatever you say.”

“He does!” Mokuba insisted. “He missed you so much for so long.
After you guys broke up he got depressed and fell behind in work and in
school. He barely had a chance to recover before you and Tristan left
for Tokyo and started touring. That’s when he decided you were gone
forever and forced himself to move on. But he was still always thinking
about you. He talks in his sleep. And sometimes, I’ve heard him crying
at night.”

Joey swallowed. Kaiba had cried over him? “I-- I had no idea…”

“And you still love him?”

“Of course I do,” the blonde replied, a bit harsher than he had
meant to. “I’ve always loved him. I’ll always love him.” He closed his
eyes for a moment, his eyelids trembling as he struggled to keep from
crying. “I’ll always love him.”

“I just want to warn you,” Mokuba began. “He’s not gonna act
too happy when he sees you. He’ll act upset, mad, pissed off, and a
mess of other things. But he will be happy to see you. Deep down he’ll
thank God that you’re here with him. The last thing he’ll do is let you
know that. But I know him better than even he knows himself and I know
he’ll be glad to see you. So don’t let him fool you.”

Joey smiled at the younger man. “Thanks, Kid.”

Mokuba smiled back, then turned his attention back to his elder
sibling, still sleeping peacefully.


****
It was dark when he opened his eyes. Pale moonlight poured in from
the window to his left, illuminating the room with an eerie glow. He
cold not see much yet and his eyes were heavy, his vision blurred. But
he could see clearly enough the sleeping figure to his right. The
figure was leaned back in an uncomfortable-looking chair, blonde hair
draped lazily over his shoulders, his mouth parted as he snored
lightly. Kaiba almost smiled at the sight, memories of their time
together coming back to him. But then he remembered his condition, his
life and wondered why this ghost of the past had returned to mock him.
And why was he here? Where was Mokuba? And what exactly had happened to
land him in the hospital? He groaned tiredly, painfully, and closed his
eyes again, wishing for sleep to take him once more.

“Kaib?”

He clenched his teeth and squeezed his eyes more tightly as if that
would somehow allow him to disappear.

“You awake, Kaib?”

He said nothing. He just wanted the ghost to leave him, to go
away and never return. He did not want him there with him, even though
his presence had a comforting, warm effect on the injured, former CEO.

There was a pause and Kaiba hoped the blonde had settled back down
to sleep. But he was wrong as Joey continued,

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Mokuba said you’d be like this.”

His curiosity took over. “Like what?”

“Actin’ mad at me. Pissed off at me. Actin’ like you don’t wanna see
me.”

“I don’t. Now leave.”

“But he said you do. Deep down inside you do wanna see me. Just like
I wanna see you.”

Kaiba scoffed. “Get a life, mutt.”

“I got one, thanks,” Joey responded. “A good one, too. Maybe you
should look into getting your own.”

Kaiba fell silent. The truth in the words was what hurt the most,
not the coldness of Joey’s voice.

“What happened to you, Kaib?” he went on. “You used to be so
proud, so confident. You never let anything get you down. Something got
in your way, you knocked it over. Nobody ever thought about pissin’ you
off. But now…” He paused, searching the smooth, handsome features of
the brunette’s face, wishing he would open his eyes and look at him.
“What happened to you?”

A heavy silence filled the room. Joey continued studying the
handsome face, the chestnut locks draped over the forehead, as Kaiba
remained still, his eyes closed tightly, his brow furrowed as he ran
Joey’s words over and over again in his mind, hearing them silently
mocking him, criticizing him, laughing at him. When he could take no
more of it, he replied, “You.”

“What?” Joey could barely hear the soft voice, but he was still
pretty certain as to what he had heard.

“You happened to me,” Kaiba snarled, finally opening his eyes
again and glaring at the blonde with cold, gray eyes. “You did this to
me, Wheeler. You.”

Joey swallowed nervously, looking into the faded eyes he had
remembered to be a beautiful cerulean. “Seto… I don’t understand.”

“Don’t call me that,” he snarled. “You have no right to call me
that.”

Joey felt the back of his eyes burning. He did not even respect
him enough to allow him to call him by his first name? “Kaib… Why do
you hate me so much? What’d I do?”

“Do you even have to ask?” Kaiba responded, closing his eyes again.
“Don’t mock me by asking that.”

“I ain’t mockin’ you Kaib. I really don’t understand what I did.
Please, tell me. Please.” He inhaled sharply. It would not be long
before the withheld tears fell. His body was trembling slightly, and
his heart ached with desire. The desire to hold Seto again, to hold him
in his arms, feeling his warm body against his own, feeling him breathe
and move against him. To feel his lips against his own, his breath
passing over him, their tongues intertwining with one another. Mokuba
was right: He still loved Seto Kaiba. And to prove it, to himself and
to the brunette, he did not await an answer. Instead, he dropped from
his chair, leaning over Kaiba’s battered body and placed a heated kiss
on the brunette’s soft lips. Kaiba made a startled noise of surprise as
his eyes flew open, staring in disbelief at the long-haired blonde.
Joey moved his lips over Kaiba’s, relishing in the taste of his former
lover, his mind flooding with memories of the past. In turn, the
memories flooded to Kaiba’s mind, the memories of holding Joey in his
arms, the blonde nuzzling into his chest, all the nights they had spent
together, sleeping, cuddling, making love. It overwhelmed him and all
too soon he found that he was moving his lips in time with Joey’s,
relishing in the taste of his former lover. For indeed, he still loved
Joey Wheeler.