Dilemma (A Yu-Gi-Oh! fanfic)

Rated: T

Pairing: Puppyshipping (Joey x Seto)

Summary: Puppyshippy. Takara is an orphan waiting to find the perfect family. When two people want to adopt her, she'll have to choose between them.

A/N: This idea just popped into my head a few minutes ago. Usually I'm not this hasty, but I was able to write it pretty fast, so I figured "why not?" After today it will be updated on Wednesdays along with all my other stories :) Please review and tell me what you think!

Chapter 1 - Double Booked (Posted 28 June 2011)

Seto barged through the doors of the Murasaki Orphanage and saw the desk clerk widen her eyes in fear. "Mr. Kaiba, sir..." she said meekly. "We've been trying to get in touch with you. I'm very sorry, but a small complication has arisen and..."

"A complication?" Seto sneered. "What could be so complicated about an interview? Are you people really so incompetent..."

Just then, a gust of wind whirled through the office as another person ran through the doors. Huffing and bending over with his hands on his thighs, the new presence panted, "I'm sorry... I'm late... car... broke down... had to run..." When the man stood straight and brushed his tousled blond hair out of his face before wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Kaiba?"

"Wheeler." Seto frowned deeply.

"You two... know each other?" the desk clerk asked, trying to dispel some of the tension that had formed.

"Unfortunately." Kaiba said and turned back to the woman. "But my business doesn't concern him. Just take me to my interview."

"Um... you see..." the woman leaned away from Seto's intimidating glare. "We didn't realize that the time you requested had already been booked by Mr. Wheeler here. We tried to get ahold of both of you, but we always missed you..."

At this, a flash of red-hot anger tore across Joey's face. "You gave my interview time to this wind bag?"

"Be quiet, you inbred mutt. This is my interview and I won't give it up to the likes of you."

Joey shook his fist. "Why you lousy-"

"Excuse me!" the woman behind the desk interjected forcefully before returning to her shy voice. "We've come up with a solution if you two would be willing to compromise. A few of our staff members have suggested that you share the interview. The time limit is an hour but families usually only take a few minutes before coming to a decision so it would be more than enough time for you both to interview her."

Joey growled. "I guess that works for me. But I bet Rich Boy here won't accept it."

The girl coughed softly. "I was instructed that should one of you not agree to the compromise, I was to give the interview slot to the other. So Mr. Kaiba will either have to accept or remove himself from the property."

Seto's scowl was so intense, Joey was sure it was going to stay that way forever. Not that it ever changed much anyway. "Fine."

"Wonderful." the woman smiled. "If you'll just follow me. Takara is waiting for you." She led them down a dimly-lit hall and through a door which was slightly propped open. Inside there was a large table behind which sat a little black-haired girl in a yellow dress. Her head popped up when she heard them enter. "Takara, this is Mr. Kaiba and Mr. Wheeler. They're here to talk to you for a little while, ok?"

"Ok." Takara smiled widely. Some of her teeth were missing and she had a few freckles on her cheeks, making for a precious smile.

"You boys go right inside." the woman pushed them in. "You have an hour to work things out." She walked away and shut the door behind them, leaving Joey and Kaiba standing awkwardly under the piercing stare of Takara.

"Who are you?" the girl asked innocently, her big, sparkling eyes wide with wonderment.

Joey smiled and waved to her. And out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Kaiba's expression soften minutely. "I'm Joey. And this is-"

"I can introduce myself." Kiaba said, his scowl returning. He walked forward and sat in one of the chairs across from where Takara sat behind the table. "My name is Seto."

Joey sneered at Seto and sat down in the chair next to him.

"My name is Takara." the girl beamed.

"We know." Seto half-smiled, leaning in towards her. "So, Takara, how old are you?"

"Six!" Takara said happily.

"Wow!" Joey said. "You're tall for a six-year-old. I see you've lost a few teeth there." he pointed to her mouth.

Takara giggled. "Yeah. I lost two of my baby teeth! And the tooth fairy came and gave me this!" She pulled something out of the square pocket on the front of her dress and showed it to them.

Joey and Seto were both surprised when they saw her holding a Duel Monsters card between her tiny fingers. "Light And Darkness Dragon?" they asked together, the shock evident in both their voices.

"Yeah!" she bounced excitedly. "I never played the game, but some of the other kids here have the cards and I wanted one so bad, so I left a note for the tooth fairy asking for one and the next morning this was under my pillow!"

"You like Duel Monsters?" Joey asked.

"I love the cards." Takara answered, admiring her card. "They're really pretty. And I like to watch my friends play."

"You know," Kaiba said with a glimmer in his eyes, "I'm a former Duel Monsters champion."

"Finally admitting it, eh?" Joey mumbled, earning a quick frown from Kaiba.

"Really!" Takara squealed.

"Really." Kaiba chuckled.

"I've been a finalist in my share of tournaments too!" Joey was showing off just a little bit.

"Wow! Two great duelist in the same room as me!" Takara gleamed.

Joey laughed. And even Seto gave a tiny snicker, drawing a confused look from Joey. They talked a little more, getting to know Takara. Her favorite foods, her favorite color, what games she likes to play.

When suddenly she asked, "Are you two here to adopt me?"

The two men were a little startled by her question.

"One of us is." Seto said confidently.

The little girl blinked in confusion. "Oh? Which one?"

"That depends." Joey said softly, trying to be as nice as possible. "Which one of us would you want?"

"I have to choose?" she asked sadly. After seeing the men nod, she slouched back into her seat. "I don't want to choose. I like both of you a lot."

"You do?" they asked simultaneously.

"Yeah. I'm always so lonely here... when people interview me, I can tell they don't want me. I can see on their faces that they don't like me. And then you guys come in here and you're so cool and I think 'wow I've two people who are gonna adopt me!' but... I gotta choose?"

Both boys were about to answer when there was a knock at the door before it creaked open. It was the secretary from before. "Mr. Wheeler, Mr. Kaiba, your time is up."

"But..." Joey sputtered. "We spent the whole time talking to her. We didn't even have time to work out our... issue."

"Well I'm afraid you're going to have to decide something soon. We've got another interview scheduled in just a few minutes."

For the first time since they ran into each other that day, Joey and Seto actually looked at each other. There was no malice o hatred on their faces, just pure confusion and desperation.

"Um... if I could offer a suggestion?" the woman spoke up again. They looked at her, expecting her to continue. "Usually, when a family has decided to adopt one of our children and are approved for the process, we give them a month trial period so they can see if they really fit together. I was thinking that perhaps Takara could spend time with both of you during this trial period, and you could reach a decision that way."

"I'd be ok with that." Takara spoke for the first time since the secretary entered.

The woman smiled gently before looking at Joey and Seto. "Well, what about you boys? Wanna give it a go? We've run all the background checks and everything, you both qualify to adopt this wonderful little girl, so you'll have a month to decide who will actually become her guardian."

"I'm in." Joey said. "I don't got anything to worry about, I'm gonna be a way cooler dad that this stuffed shirt. She'll choose me for sure."

"Watch it, Wheeler." Kaiba grunted. "Ok, let's do it. And when Takara chooses me to be her father, I'm going to demand a formal apology from you."

"Whatever."

"Wonderful." the woman clasped her hands together. "Just follow me and we'll have the paperwork processed. You can come back for her on Sunday to start your trial period."

"Wait." Takara spoke again. "Are you guys gonna come back?"

"We sure are." Joey gave her a thumbs up and a wide grin.

"Yay!" she jumped in her seat and clapped.

Seto looked at her and did his best to put on a warm smile. "We'll see you soon, Takara."