The sun was just setting when the melodic doorbell rang throughout Jou's modest apartment. The blonde reluctantly got up, expecting to see Honda or Yugi or even Anzu.

Jou was surprised to find Roland standing dutifully in front of his apartment. He peered around the hired driver, but only saw the limo he drove- with no obvious passengers. The confused teen jumped when he heard the visitor clearing his throat.

"Uh, hi, Roland. Is everythin' ok?"

The professional retainer gave a bow before answering. "Good evening, Master Jounouchi. Master Seto has requested that you join him for dinner this evening. He said that he would like to talk with you regarding a... personal matter."

The lanky blonde sighed. He'd been hoping for an evening alone to clear his thoughts, but apparently that wasn't going to happen. Regardless of what was happening between them, Jou wanted to give Kaiba a chance to at least say a few parting words. Even if he didn't remember the five months they spent together, Jou did.

And it'd meant something to him. Just what it'd meant, he wasn't exactly sure; but it was definitely too much to end with only a single, short 'good-bye.'

He reluctantly stepped inside the vehicle, and slumped forward as the limo sped up. To Jou's surprise, Roland turned the vehicle around as soon as he reached a wide enough space.

The infamous Kaiba mansion was in the other direction.

"Er, Roland? Aren't we goin' the wrong way?"

The driver merely shook his head. "Oh no, Master Jounouchi; your dinner won't be held at the mansion tonight."

Jou blinked. "O-kayyy..."

Roland was careful not to reveal an optimistic grin. He always enjoyed having the amber-eyed duelist around- and he knew his employer was happier when the lighthearted blonde was nearby.

The driver gradually accelerated, and the spotless limousine sped along the city streets.

There was no denying that Jounouchi and Seto were both rather strong-willed, and they (sometimes) brought out the worst in each other. But when they were in harmony, they shared a strong blend of mutual passions, and a trueness that gave them both great comfort.

"We've arrived, Master Jounouchi."

The Brooklyn native paused as the door was opened for him. He stepped out onto a large expanse of black pavement.

They were in a giant parking lot. A massive building towered over the dark surface- the Domino Mega-Plex. The largest movie theater in the city, the Domino Mega-Plex boasted over thirty screens, and was by far the most popular date destination for the city's younger generation.

Roland had to guide the bewildered teen inside. Jou was shocked. Kaiba had always sworn him to secrecy- and for good reason. The blonde knew what could happen if those disgusting, loaded bigots running the other companies found out that the youngest CEO in Japan's history was gay.

Jou was so busy looking at the surrounding ticket booths and concession stands that he almost didn't notice the other tall teen.

Seto cleared his throat and stepped forward towards the newcomers. He gave a rare smile. "I'm glad you came. I bought all the tickets for tonight. We have the place to ourselves."

Jou blinked, still bewildered. "But- what about the people in the other theaters? An' the staff?"

Seto chuckled- clearly enjoying the other's confusion. "I said I bought all the tickets for tonight. As in, every single ticket for every single show. And the staff are all my own."

Indeed, Jou recognized some of the mansion staff. He smiled at them before turning back to the dragon duelist.

"Seto... you really didn' have to do all a' this."

Words could not describe how elated the brunette felt to hear his puppy calling him by his first name again.

"No, I think I did. I spend all this time at the company trying to make money- but what's the point if I'm not going to spend it on something extraordinary?"

Jou began looking around more thoroughly. "Yeah, I gotta admit, rentin' a whole theater is pretty extraordinary."

A smirk grew on the other's face.

"Oh, I wasn't talking about the theater."

A servant suddenly ran up to his employer and handed the CEO something wrapped in a silk handkerchief. Seto carefully unrolled the handsome wrappings and handed the object to Jounouchi.

It was a single, red rose- no thorns or imperfections.

"Seto?" The blonde was a little bemused by the gesture.

But his beau gave him a determined look.

"Jou... will you be my boyfriend? Still?" Seto gently took the blonde's free hand in his own. "I want you by my side. I know nothing about serious relationships... but you are the only one I would be willing to try and learn for."

Jounouchi sighed and squeezed the larger hand holding his own. "Kaiba, I love you; and I know ya don't wanna hear this, but I don't think you can live keep living like this. You're tryin' to balance yer online classes, a mega-company, and raising your brother. One day you're gonna have a breakdown or a heart attack. You need to figure out a way to get some of that weight off yer shoulders. I mean, just look at them- they're too skinny to hold anything up!" Jou snickered playfully while the brunette rolled his eyes.

There was a moment's pause before the hickory-colored eyes turned solemn. "Bu' seriously- there's gotta be a way you can take away some of those obligations-" the younger teen began gesturing with his hands- "an' I think the most obvious is gettin' someone else to help you with your company. Ya need to find someone you can trust to split up some of your responsibilities- I mean, you're always talkin' about readin' those giant reports and stuff, right? Well, why not have someone else read them an' summarize them for you?"

"Those are the summaries I'm reading."

The other boy stared in amazement. "Oh. Well... still, there's gotta be some stuff that doesn't have to be done directly by you, right? Not so long as you've got someone you trained an' can trust."

The CEO frowned at the word 'trust.' "You're not thinking of Mokuba, are you?"

"What?! No!" Jou sounded distressed. Mokuba hadn't been actively involved in KaibaCorp for months. "Not on your life! I don't want him to have to worry about that stuff anymore! He should be worrying about school stuff, like homework and 'kick-me' signs."

"Shouldn't he worry more about 'kick-me' signs when he's at the mansion while you're there?" Seto remarked wryly.

"Hey! It was one time, sheesh! But, no- not Mokuba- I'm thinkin' someone already with the company, who knows the ropes."

Kaiba's face went blank. "You can't mean yourself."

Jou only laughed. "Nah, you need someone to make your work easier, not harder!"

"I've thought about hiring someone to help with some of the minor decisions," the business magnate admitted, "however, the only two people I would trust with that would be you and Mokuba."

Jou raised an eyebrow. "I thought you didn't trust me-?"

Two deep, blue eyes stared straight into the amber eyes following his own. "I trust you with my company." His voice was low and steady. "I trust you with my home, and my secrets. I trust you with nearly everything, Jou. But I'm not used to trusting someone with my heart. It's a lot more... difficult, than I expected. But I plan to try."

The fair-haired teen nodded. "Ya got a lot of really good employees, an' I'm sure some of them are very loyal. If you want, I'd be happy to point out who I think is loyal, an' then you can look into 'em further to see if they'd be a good aide." Jou grinned. "'Sides, it's not like they could make any mistakes as big as mine! Remember the copy machine an' the toner?"

The brunette just laughed a bit before wrapping his arm around the other's waist in a placating manner.

"Tell you what. Now that the 'toxic' crisis has been averted, and the company responsible has been caught, I should have a little more time to spend at home. Why don't I take off tomorrow and we can spend the day doing some of those 'date ideas' you thought up last month?"

"Really?!" The golden-brown eyes seemed to light up as Jou stared at him. Seto was certain if his puppy had a tail, it would be wagging like crazy.

"Mm-hmm."

"Wait, what about Mokuba?" Jou looked a little apprehensive.

"Mokuba's been asking to hang out with his friends more, so I'll instruct our second driver to take him wherever he likes after school."

There was nothing in the world quite like the feeling he got when his puppy gave him that smile.

"And Jou?"

"Yeah?"

"...I love you."

"..."

"Jou? Puppy?"

*THWUMP*

"Oh, crap."

Thankfully, the bump on Jou's head didn't stop them from enjoying their day off, but Seto promised that he wouldn't say those three words again unless they were sitting... or else, he suggested with a devilish smirk- unless they were both lying down.

Which earned him a teasing growl followed by a series of passionate puppy kisses.