Title: Connect

By: Metamorcy

Rating: T

Pairing: Seto/Joey

Disclaimer: stop asking, me never will

Summary: When Seto gets into a near hit-and-run, he gets saved by the most unlikely person, but perhaps that's a good thing. SetoXJoey

N/A: Requested by Woopy1

Also, I'm calling Jounouchi Joey in this one.

If there was one thing Seto Kaiba hated the most, it was the fans. It was the annoying people that would stalk him around, during school and out and sometimes into his own house. By then, he had gotten a security system and some bodyguards positioned around the building to ensure that no one would be getting in without his or Mokaba's permission. That had helped somewhat in response, most of the reporters and fans had backed off and remained outside of the walls, but there were always some that had to go the distance and beyond. It was frustrating in the least and he wouldn't hesitate in getting those people shot but he'd rather not deal with all the lawsuits and lawyers that would come after his ass in return. And he'd rather not let his face get on the news either to draw more attention to himself, after all, what easier way to get himself harassed than to appear on TV where everyone in the country of Japan could see. Such an easy way to get himself alone…

Note the sarcasm.

But in the end, there was really nothing he could do about it. The only safe places were his house, his office, and school, depending on the day. Anywhere else was just a hassle he'd rather forget and not go to. But at school, it was also a headache too though he didn't have a choice but to go. Whenever he went to his locker or seat, there was a ton of candy, chocolate, love letters, and stuff on top and inside them. His first response was the stare with hated, probably strong enough to melt or burn the gifts, and then soon after shoved them aside into a trash can, not bothering at looking at one of them. This deflated the girls slightly and sometimes boys too, who seemed to finally coming out of the closet themselves much to Seto's annoyance. But this place was better compared to the outside in the open where there was no telling in what could happen. He occasionally had to curse his life for being so famous.

"Hey, Kaiba!"

Seto looked up as he saw the tri-color-haired teen run towards him with an overly bright smile while waving his hand. It was his arch-rival, Yugi Motou. He kept a scold on his face, trying to keep his normal attitude in check. However, the kid had somehow, over time, forced him to talk normally to him. Sometimes he had to think that Yugi was a devil behind all that innocent acts and looks, the duelist just knew how to push his buttons. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not while he was in his now slightly talkative manner though, however, it will always be known that Yugi was nothing more than a rival. He gave a nod in the younger teen's direction. "Motou…"

"Man, you sure are popular. The entire trash can is full again today." Yugi glanced at the said object that was at the side. He blinked his overly-large eyes and leaned over with a smile. His friend, Tristan, came by, muttering something along 'Lucky bastard' under his breath. The brunet ignored him. "Don't you ever bother at looking at those gifts? I mean, some of them could be from some nice people."

"Well, when I get them every god-damn fucking day, sometimes bigger in piles, I really don't give a flying-flip on any of their nonsense anymore. It's just people proclaiming their stupid and absurd crush to me or hoping that they could land big." Seto snapped, growling, kicking the can further away. Some of the items slipped out onto the floor, cracking apart. He didn't spare it a second glace. Yugi sighed at the stubbornness and wandered off, saying hello to his other friends in the room.

"Hey, Yug!"

Seto sighed, he recognized that accented voice anywhere. Joey Wheeler, another person that annoyed him, but it wasn't as bad then those fans. He's rather deal with Wheeler any day than the girls, though he had to honest, the guy was fun to tease. It was amusing at least, the way the teen would get all ruffled up at his insults and nicknames. He noticed that the blond gave him a glance and for a second their eyes connected but it didn't last long as Joey turned his attention to his best friend.

After a while, Seto pulled out his laptop, turned it on, and began working on his next company project, completely ignoring the teacher who walked in, announcing a greeting to the class.

Seto grumbled, tapping his foot impatiently.

His driver was late. Extremely late.

Usually his limo ride would be outside waiting for him to hop in but today the car hadn't even shown up. He tried calling the guy but all he would get was the voice mail. He left a few insults, basically, and in short, saying that if he didn't get his ass over here, he'd be fired. But still the man didn't come and it was starting to wear Seto out. School was out for the day and everyone was leaving the building, saying goodbyes to their friends before heading out to the streets. A few of his fans were watching him, hiding themselves behind trees and whatnot. Yugi and his set of friends even waved to him but he couldn't help but notice that the blonde of the group, Joey, wasn't with them. He raised an eyebrow at the missing person but didn't say anything and made a grunt in return. He continued to dial the number again but this time, he had no response, not even a ring. Seto growled angrily, frustrated to no end. Grumbling, he stepped out to the sidewalk, right next to the street, wondering if he could catch a taxi to get back to work. As he walked out, he noticed a car with tinted windows pulling out from the cub. At first, he thought it was one of the student's rides, but that changed when he saw the car picking up speed, screeching against the concrete.

Seto had little time to react before the car came up onto the sidewalk, chasing him down. He ran as fast as he could but he couldn't compete with a car. Screams followed, students running all over the place, some almost getting run down themselves by the speeding vehicle. Seto ran around the corner to hide behind a different car, using the narrow passage between two of them to get away. He grunted as he felt his expensive white coat getting ripped at the jagged edges and growled in anger. His sharp blue eyes glared at the vehicle but he couldn't see through the windows for the offenders. The car came around, spinning uncontrollably, zooming back again, this time scrapping others along the way, making hot sparks fly. Seto dodged again, barely keeping his life and fell to the ground. He winced slightly as his hands scrapped against the rough concrete but had to ignore it as the car stopped abruptly, this time going in reverse. The brunet quickly stood up but staggered slightly from his previous landing and watched as the car came towards him.

"Kaiba!"

Before he realized it, he was shoved to the side with a heavy weight landing on top of him. The two crashed onto the sidewalk, away from the street and passing another set of cars as their shoulders hit first on the hard ground. The brunet grunted in pain and opened his eyes to stare at the other, they widened at the sight.

"Wheeler?"

Joey had his arms wrapped around the other's waist protectively, holding him still, their bodies squished together in some sort of shielding embrace. Screams and cries came around them and people continued to scamper around in fright. The two were lost in the confusion of the crowd and were in a safe area where they wouldn't be trampled over. Joey nodded to his name and stood up, taking Seto with him, and glared at the car as it screeched to stop. It spun around in a quick turn, looking menacing to their eyes. The blond grumbled, grabbing Seto by the arm and yanked him away, running down a pathway to escape the following car. For the first time, the brunet didn't know what to do and just allowed Joey to pull and drag him along without any complaints in return. He observed as they slipped behind corners and buildings alike, shoving through people and crossing roads. His blue eyes couldn't stop watching the other in front wondering where he was being led to. They had gone to so many places that he eventually lost track as to where they were at.

Suddenly, Joey stopped, opening a side door to a building and shoved Seto and himself inside, locking it behind him. It was dark and cool within and Seto could hear the other's heavy breathing as well as some fumbling. The lights turned on, Joey dropping to the ground to lean against the door with his eyes closed shut, his face up towards the ceiling. Sweat dripped down his cheeks, staining his school jacket and shirt. Seto followed Joey's example and sat down, his legs tired after all that running.

"I think…" Joey muttered between breaths. "We lost them."

Seto didn't reply at first, studying the other carefully before moving his lips. "Why did you help me?"

This made the blond pause in his breathing. "Why not? As much as we dislike each other, I don't want to see you get hurt or worse killed. It's not right."

He couldn't help but smirk at that. "Is that so? How kind of you."

"So…do you know who they were?" Joey asked once he calmed down, standing up to search the room for something. Seto continued to remain on the floor, not bothering in getting up. His hands were still throbbing in pain and he was sure that his leg had gotten twist in his fall. How he managed to make it here was beyond him.

"Most likely. They're probably some hired men from a rival business trying to get me out of the way or to threaten me." Seto shrugged, speaking without an inch of care in his tone of voice. "It's nothing new. Comes with the territory."

There was no reply to that and Joey continued to shuffle around the small room which looked like a storage to Seto's view.

"Where are we?"

"My workplace, it's a bakery named Crystal Pastries. Don't tell anyone that I work here, okay? You'll be safe here until you can get someone to pick you up. I don't think my boss will mind, I just need to tell her that I'm here." Joey grabbed something out of the bins and opened the other door in front, letting some light come in, apparently sunlight. There was voices coming in through that open area and Seto could hear Joey talking to someone. He watched in mild interest as the blond came back with an older woman behind and pointed to him. "He's going to hide here for a little while. I'll come out once I'm done or when my shift starts, is that okay?"

The woman glanced at him but didn't recognize his face due to the shadows he was hiding within. She gave a kind smile and nodded, closing the door behind them. Joey grinned, heading towards the other with a box.

"Alright, now show me your hands?"

Seto raised an eyebrow.

Joey didn't find it amusing. "I know you scraped your hands. I saw you. Now give it to me."

"…Why are you helping me?"

"I just answered that a few seconds ago, Moneybags. Now give it!" Joey grumbled, grabbing the arm himself and examined the wound. He could see pieces of dirt and pebbles mixed in the cut with a little bit of blood dripping out. He pulled out the alcohol and smeared it across the cut, making sure it got into every inch of it. Seto bit down on his bottom lip to keep in his hiss and winced slightly at the sensation. He thought for a moment that it felt like his hand was burning but watched silently as Joey cleaned it with a cloth, wiping off everything. The pain went away and he could see his ripped skin all red and puffy. The blond searched through the white case with the obvious red cross on it and pulled out some bandages, wrapping the material around his hand. It was tight but not enough to cut off his circulation. He flexed it, testing the hold. "There we go! Now your other one."

Seto didn't resist this time and just outstretched his hand, watching as Joey did the same thing. It was quiet between them and he blinked at the other's strange attitude. He was never this quiet around him, always fussing about something or another, but this intruded him somewhat. "Never thought the mutt could be quiet."

The blond snapped. "Shut up, Moneybags! I'm trying to help you, you asshole! And here I am being nice and you have to insult me! Maybe you should have been run over."

Seto chuckled, shaking his head and took his hand back seeing as the other was finished. "Maybe I should have…" He stood up, straightening his white coat and glanced down at the red-faced teen. He folded his arms before thinking better of it and reached into his pocket for his phone. Quickly dialing a number, he placed the handheld device against his ear and leaned over, outstretching a hand out towards the other. "Here" There was a smirk on his face, an arrogant one, and Joey growled at it but took the offered hand, feeling himself getting pulled up.

Joey grumbled to himself, packing everything away, listening to the one-side conversation of the CEO from where he was at. He placed the box on one of the shelves, putting it into sight just in case it needed to be used again. When he heard the phone flip closed, he turned to the other with a frown. "Well?"

"The driver should be here shortly. He happens knows this address."

"What happened to the one at school?"

"Apparently, he's gotten into an accident but he'll be fine…" Seto grumbled, knowing that the men that had attacked him earlier had something to do with it but it wasn't as if he could do anything now. He just needed to get home and fast. There was so much work to do and he needed to clean up this little mess he had gotten into. He stepped forward, getting closer to the other.

"What?" Joey growled, not liking how close Seto was getting and stepped back. The brunet didn't say anything, not even an offensive remark which made the blond cautious.

"Thanks for helping me." Seto nodded to the other before stalking off, exiting out the door to the front of the bakery. The smell of sugar and warm bread reached his nose and he found it quite pleasant and alluring. Glancing back for a moment, he caught the sight of a shocked Joey and smirked in victory. He didn't get far though before a hand grabbed his shoulder, turning him around. Luckily, there was no one in the area at the moment, not even the boss, who was in the back baking some kind of food. The workers were there as well, putting everything together before the evening rush. There weren't many cars or people walking around outside so it left them alone in the room. Seto stared at the other, his head tilted slightly down (he's taller). "What?"

"Did I just hear you thank me, no insult, nothing to contract that?" Joey was flabbergast, his eyes wide.

"Yeah, what of it, Mutt?"

The blond blinked in surprise. "I'm…just a little shocked. You've never said anything nice to me before. It's always been 'Mutt this' and 'Mutt that' and any other kind of insult you could throw at me."

'I know I'm mean…but am I this mean?' Seto thought to himself for a moment but tossed it off. "Well, don't get used to it. You saved my life, I had to thank you. I'm not that coldhearted."

Suddenly, he heard a chuckled from the blond. This made him raise an eyebrow at the reaction. "You know, you're not such a bad person now that you're not insulting me every few seconds. Man, never thought I'd ever hear myself say that." He grinned, eyes closed, and leaned forward. "Well, looks like your ride is here. Better get going, Moneybags!"

The brunet turned to see his car outside from the windows, waiting for him to come out. He sighed quietly and started walking towards the glass door before he paused, glancing back at the teen. He gave a sudden amusing smile that seemed to startle the other for a moment. "Well, I'll see you later…Puppy."

Joey blinked at the new nickname. "Puppy?!" He fumed for a moment, not sure which one he'd rather be called as. Puppy or mutt, both seemed degrading to his mind.

Seto chuckled at the expression and leaned over. His lips brushed against Joey's left ear, his warm breath rubbing over the center. A dark tint of blush spread across the other's face but it was unseen. "I think Puppy is much cuter than Mutt. Don't you think so?" He pulled away, putting his hand on Joey's cheek, rubbing the soft tender flesh. His eyes went over the blush and couldn't help but think that it looked nice on the teen before exiting out of the building, entering his car, sliding his body inside. However, as he closed the door, Joey came running out, his face darker in color, eyes burning.

"Kaiba, you bastard!" He shook a fist in rage but perhaps in embarrassment as well. Seto laughed, closing the door, cutting himself off and signaled the man to drive off. He rolled down the window just a bit.

"See you in school, Puppy."

Joey couldn't stop the blush that seemed to grow and watched as the car drove off. He grumbled under his breath before turning back to the shop to see what time it was. "Shit! I'm late for my shift!"

Well, this is my first attempt at this pairing. Its light yaoi but that's as far as I could get.

Was it alright?