Part 4 of my Puppyshipping saga.

The aroma of freshly brewed coffee tickled Joey's nose as he sat back in his chair. He was sitting at a tiny table for two in this downtown cafe, but it was enough space for him to spread out his textbook and notes as he studied for his midterms. He chuckled to himself as he remembered the look on Yugi's face when Joey told him that he'd be sticking around to study. He set his chin in his hand and gazed out the window, remembering how he and Yugi had shared coffee at this very table that morning, talking about and their plans for the future. Life was good, and Joey didn't have any complaints.

March had barely begun, but snow was still around, piled at the edges of the road in dirty slush. The street-salt crunched underfoot on the de-iced sidewalks and the air was still brisk with the chill of winter. Hopefully spring was just around the corner. There wasn't enough snow left for it to be fun, but just enough left for it to be a nuisance.

Staring out at pedestrians passing in amiable chatter, Joey had the sudden urge to quit his studying, at least for now. He could come back. He wanted to be active right now, though. He wanted to take part in the bustling flow of humans through Domino City and feel its rhythm pulsing through the pavement.

As Joey started shoving his notes and textbooks into his backpack, he reflected on that impulse. He'd always been like that, restless for human interaction, wanting to take part in something bigger than himself. City life had suited him well. Its distance from the city was probably the only aspect he disliked about Seto's estate.

He slung his backpack onto his shoulder and draped his blue scarf around his neck. It was still bright with newness, like the shiny grey coat he wore. He pushed on the door to the cafe, hearing the bell ring behind him as he exited and started walking towards the park.

The cold really didn't bother him much. He liked it. And he didn't mind that it was a long walk to the park and that he'd have to make the long walk back in order to return to the car that Joey'd borrowed from his boyfriend.

He was in a good mood, and since he was feeling generous, when he passed a homeless man bundled in black and sitting between a trash can and a mailbox, hat held out for spare change, Joey passed and pulled out the cash in his pocket from his cafe purchase, he held it out to drop it into the man's hat, but froze when their eyes met. The blond blinked a few times to make sure that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him.

"Dad?"

"Stay. Stay. Stay." Kaiba took several slow steps backwards away from the three dogs who sat with their ears perked and their eyes glued to the tennis ball in their master's hand. He shifted his hold on the bright green sphere, able to feel the texture of the nylon fibers better than ever before. The brunette straightened up and pulled his arm back before throwing the ball as far out into the field as he could, which was actually quite far. The moment the ball left his hand, all three dogs took off, jostling each other as they each tried to be the first to reach the toy.

"They're so fast," Mokuba observed in awe as he watched them dashing through the mud and grass after their quarry.

"Shiloh's the fastest one." The dark, short-haired, German pointer was gaining a lead on his peers.

"Garnet's probably gonna steal it from him, though." As the German pointer snatched the ball out of the grass, skidding as it attempted to quickly reverse its direction, the red mutt caught up and tackled the more stately canine.

"You'll have to give them another bath when we go back in," Seto muttered, glancing down at his brother, who wasn't quite so short anymore. He'd had something of a growth spurt this winter, which pleased him very much. Seto felt like he should have been more pleased by it, but instead, it left a bittersweet taste in his mouth. He rested his hand on top of his little brother's head, noticing how his arm now had to bend so much more than it used to. Mokuba tipped his head back to look at his brother curiously.

"What's on your mind, Seto?" he asked. Even his voice was different. When had it started to change, and how had he missed that?

"Nothing important." The brunette put his hand back in his pocket and looked out at the playful hounds again. He was surprised when his brother chuckled.

"That's a first."

"What?"

"You used to never waste time thinking about unimportant things." Mokuba used his brother's words, but his tone was just as playful as his pets.

"People change."

"I know." Mokuba gently tugged Seto's hand out of his pocket and interlaced their fingers. Had his small hand gotten bigger? "Change is good though."

"Sometimes, and sometimes it's bad. Change is inevitable, though, so it doesn't do us any good to fight it."

"Sometimes," Mokuba replied cheekily. "And sometimes, we can influence change so that it's for the better."

Joey and his dad sat together at a table in the back of a pizza place. It wasn't very busy, but that was probably a good thing right now. Joey'd listened patiently as his father told him just what had happened to him in the ten months since he'd last seen his son. His addictions had gotten worse, his efforts to get a job, no matter how small or seasonal, had diminished, and eventually, his landlord had thrown him out for getting so behind on his rent; he'd been kind enough to wait for the wretched winter weather to pass, though, and had only just kicked him out a few days ago, on the first of March. He still owed him a ton, and he'd said that if Mr. Wheeler could pay the amount he owed, he could let him back in. On that day, his father said, he'd realized that he needed to get clean, or he'd be dead within the year. He hadn't drunk once since then, which was probably his longest sober-streak he'd ever had since becoming morbidly alcoholic. During his time sober and homeless, he'd had the time to think over his life: his failed marriage, his estranged daughter, his abused son. He'd had the time to recognize his own sins and regret everything he'd done.

As Joey ate the crust of his last piece of pizza, he contemplated his options. He could pay off his father's debt and get him back into the apartment they'd shared for years, but what then? He couldn't just leave him there on his own. What if the familiar setting made him slip back into his old habits? Joey didn't want to risk that, but he also couldn't let his old man stay on the streets, especially not when...

"I want you to come home with me."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course." Joey smiled at his father, something he hadn't done in years. "We have plenty of room for you."

"We?"

The lanky teen blushed a little as he shifted uncomfortably. His father didn't know what had become of him after he'd gone to school one day and never returned.

"You know who Seto Kaiba is, right?"

"The president of KaibaCorp? Yeah, I know him."

"And you remember that he was my classmate at one point, right?" Joey continued a bit awkwardly.

"Vaguely." His forehead wrinkled as he concentrated on dredging up those old memories.

"Well, we're together now." The moment the last word fell from his lips, he shoved the last bite of crust in his mouth, his eyes averted as he waited for his father's reaction. Mr. Wheeler had never known that his son was bi.

"How long?" was his only response, and Joey felt a little relieved.

"Pretty much ever since I left you," he answered. "A little less than that."

"So you've been living with him all this time?"

"Yep." Joey could feel his face grow hot, and he hoped that it didn't show. "So like I said, we have plenty of room."

"Will he be okay with that, though? With me, I mean?" He didn't remember much about the teenage CEO himself, but he could imagine that someone as rich as that would have quite an ego. He'd probably be insulted be Cliff's dirty presence inside his pristine home.

"Of course he will!" the blond enthused, grinning reassuringly. "Besides, he could never say no to me."

Author Notes: The first truly Joey-centered story for this saga. The next chapter will be posted once I have 5 reviews on this chapter, so if you want to see what happens next, please review! (And I'm totally not doing that because I don't have the whole story planned yet... ^-^')