Four hours isn't a very long time. Like, when you're having fun, four hours is nothing. It's gone in an instant. When you're sleeping, four hours is a heartbeat. But when you're waiting for something you'd give your life for to come out successful, four hours is an eternity of eternities.. It had been four hours that Joey had been in surgery, now, and Seto's hands were wringing nervously in his lap. His eyes had long since dried out the mysterious well of tears even he hadn't known existed, and now his sapphire orbs darted around the room nervously.

Mokuba was asleep in one of the big armchairs in the corner of the waiting room, exhausted from crying with his brother and worrying about the sweet pup that was being operated on in the next room.

A few hours back, probably only two, actually, the doctor had come out to tell them the extent of the damage done when Joey had been shot. He'd been shot near the spine, but not to the point of doing permanent damage. However, he'd also been trampled by the scared crowd, and the injuries from that were complicating the gun wound. He had two broken paws, his tail was injured, he had a couple broken ribs, and some very major bruises.

It was a simple case of either he'd pull through and come out just fine after the operation, or he wouldn't make it. There was no in between for Joey.

Sleepily, but much too scared and worried and tormented to rest, Seto glanced up at the clock. 10:12 on Christmas eve. Suddenly, the brunette felt like a jerk for not really considering that it was the biggest family day of the year earlier that day. As Joey had playfully insisted, he could have refused to come, and spent the day safe and happy with his family.

He mentally slapped himself when he realized he was beating himself up for things that weren't his fault. They weren't his fault, Joey's fault, Mokuba's fault, or anybody's. Seto couldn't place the blame on anyone. At least, not anyone he loved. He sighed heavily and closed his eyes, feeling that sleepy ache setting in behind them.

Just a moment to rest them, and then he'd be back on the alert, waiting intently for news about his wonderful, beautiful, suffering puppy. As the thoughts drifted in on sleep-covered clouds, another tear snaked its way uncharacteristically down Seto's cheek.

"Mr. Kaiba?" Seto awoke with a start and looked up. The doctor was standing quietly in the doorway, speaking softly so as not to wake Mokuba. A nurse had obviously happened by, because the younger Kaiba brother was wrapped snugly in a blanket, and Seto had one around his shoulders. The brunette was on his feet immediately, however, sending the blanket to the ground.

"How is he? Are you finished? May I see him?" Seto asked softly, and with concern. The doctor nodded.

"We've done all we can. He does not need any life support units or anything, and we've bandaged his wounds and removed the bullet. We feel it would be a good idea for you to take him home." he said softly, "To spend his time somewhere he knows and feels safe… Just in case."

Seto's eyes threatened to fill with tears again and he bit his lip. He stepped forward and passed the doctor, nodding.

"I understand." He said softly. "We'll make sure he's comfortable and happy." He stared at the floor until he was in the room. Slowly, he leveled his gaze to the table and bit down even harder on his lip to keep from making a noise.

Joey was lying very still in the soft blanket that had been laid under him. His eyes were closed and there were bandages around his back right leg, his chest, and his left front leg. His tail had a splint on it, and all Seto could imagine when he saw it was the puppy he loved so much, growling playfully as he wagged that tail with insane determination.

As Seto approached, a few nurses came in and helped to lift the pup onto a small, rolling dog bed of sorts, which they then brought out to the waiting room. Seto stared at the ground as he scooped the still dead to the world Mokuba up into his arms and carried him outside to the limo before seeing that the nurses got his dog settled in safely as well.

The drive home was much longer than it seemed, and Seto had to fight back the tears every moment of it, until just looking at the street lights burned them and he wanted to just sleep. He couldn't though, and as soon as they reached home, he thanked his chauffeur, asked a butler to take Mokuba up to bed, slipped Joey off the seat and cradled him in his arms, taking him inside.

The puppy was still unconscious, and probably would remain as such, Seto thought as he ascended the stairs carefully so as not to jar the tender injured creature in his arms.

A moment of worry came when he realized it was only a few minutes to midnight, and Joey would change soon. Would the bandages fall off? Would they adjust to his change in size? Would his wounds reopen, or change to become more human wounds? He hurried up the stairs and into his room, gently placing the unconscious puppy on his bed.

11:58. Seto looked away from the clock and stroked Joey's furry cheek softly, tears springing to his eyes again. To see the puppy hurt like this on the bed that they used to play cat and mouse on every night before snuggling up together to go to sleep. Now, he wasn't even sure they'd ever be able to play their bedtime games again. The tears fell freely now and Seto sobbed softly, something he wasn't even sure he could still do.

11:59. He'd discovered Joey's secret on this bed. It had been the first time he'd seen Joey as a human. Seto realized he'd never feared Joey, but had been alarmed at the sight of a man in his bed. Now, he thought about just how handsome he thought the other was, and their playful nuzzles after his transformation. Joey would hold him in his arms. Now, what would he do if the blonde could never hold him again?

12:00. And there was the change. It wasn't like some mystical spell change. It wasn't really that he even changed at all. Seto thought of it as something akin to the heat waves over a road on a hot day. One moment, you saw him as a dog, and the next, the dog was no longer there, and a human remained. It was just like seeing him differently.

Even human, however, Joey looked pallid and weak. He had great bags under his eyes, and his skin was pale. He had a slight frown set upon his unconscious features, as if he were still trapped in the exact moment he'd passed out in, so many hours ago, out on the street. His hands were clenched tightly, even in his sleep, and he looked like he might let out with a whimper at any moment.

Laying his head down on the uninjured part of Joey's chest, Seto snuggled up to the blonde and began to cry again. He cried for everything in his life. He cried for Joey, for his 'father' adopting him, for his own family's untimely departure from his life. He cried for his brother, and his family, the people he loved, and the people he sometimes couldn't stand. For once in his life, Seto Kaiba cried for himself. And it cleansed him.

When the brunette lifted his head next, the clock said 12:52 and he realized with a start that he'd been crying for fifty minutes, curled up to Joey's unconscious body like somehow, his tears might revive the other and the blonde would wrap his arms around him and hold him tightly. For a few moments, it didn't happen and he felt very alone.

Then, suddenly, he heard a grumbling noise next to him and jumped. Joey was whimpering as his eyes fluttered open, and then closed again, and his brows were twitching, as if trying to adjust to the sudden pain. Seto was hovering over him in an instant, and as Joey's eyes opened, he smiled softly through his tears.

"… Seto." The recognition made the tears fall again, and Seto bit his lip and shook his head.

"Shush. We're home. You're safe… Th-The vet. They fixed you. You just need time to heal. That's all. Rest now." He knew that wasn't really the truth and could feel himself babbling, not even completely sure what he was talking about, but his mind caught up with his mouth at "… all my fault. I should've just stayed home and spent the day with you." The brunette paused to take a breath and simply looked at Joey, tears still in his eyes, threatening to fall at the slightest urge.

"S-Seto… He was gonna… kill you. Assassination." Joey said softly, trying to lift his left arm to touch the brunette. He whimpered, however, when he felt it jar sharply. Was it broken? Seto's concern sent him checking the blonde's arm thoroughly to make sure nothing had messed up the bandages. He wouldn't cry. He'd be strong. Then, Joey said something stupid again.

"I'll always be your dog, right?" he asked, his voice lined with fear at the unspoken thought that he might die. Seto froze, those tears leaking from his ducts and streaming down his face. He wrapped his arms around Joey, pulling the injured blonde as close as he could without aggravating his wounds.

"So much more, Joey. So much more." Seto replied softly, nuzzling the soft blonde hair. "I love you, Joey. I love you so much, and I always will. Don't you leave me, you understand?" The tears were sliding off his cheeks and his nose to rest in Joey's hair, dampening the spot where Seto was resting his head.

Suddenly, the brunette felt the blonde shaking in his arms and he lifted his head to find Joey's eyes sparkling with tears as well.

"I love you too, Seto. More than a pet can love its owner, so… I love you. Jono. Joey. With every part of me, animal and human." The words sent shivers through Seto's spine and he smiled softly, leaning down as softly as he could to capture the blonde's lips in a chaste kiss.

The shivers increased, and Seto moaned as he realized Joey was growing warm in his arms. The blonde's good arm came up to carress the back of his head softly, running his fingers through his hair.

Suddenly, Seto pulled back, exclaiming as he raised his fingers to his lips, as if he'd been burned. His lips tingled strangely and he looked at Joey, noticing the same amount of confusion, and likely, the same tingling feeling rested upon the other's mouth as well. Then, as if on cue, they both heard the bleep of Seto's electric alarm clock changing minutes and looked over at it.

1:01 in the morning, on Christmas eve… and Joey was still a human.