Disclaimer – Sadly Yu-Gi-Oh is not mine

* Rating is T

A-Note: Hello my lovely fans :) So this fic really was a surprise :P It ended up being one of my favorite fics that I have ever created…largely because of Mattie :D The response to this fic was so surprisingly positive and it means the whole to me :) So for all of you I am editing this fic to work out some of its small issues :) Hope you like how much easier it is to read :D Thanks for all of the support :D Please R&R.

Summary: I had a plan and it was perfect. I was going to finish high school, then university, get a job, and finally adopt. Then my family died and I was left with my nephew. Now my new plan is to just make it through the day. I just have to deal with my new partnership with Kaiba, new job, rising a child, and old feelings that just will not stay buried. Will I ever have the life I always dreamed of? Puppyshipping and Fluff

Chapter One: The Opportunity

Joey's P.O.V.
As the secretary lead me to the waiting area, I kept going over it in my head. How did it come to this? I had a plan, sure it was the plan that every high school teen has. But, mine had a special twist. When I finished school and got settled in to the working world, I wanted to adopt.

Yes, I realize that it is an odd thing for someone that is only sixteen to think about. But, I have always dreamed of raising my own child, I just wanted to be as prepared as I can be. When I finally held my kid in my arms, I wanted to know I can give them the best possible chance. Just like my parents did for me….

I grew up in a happy home, my parents had been happily married for twenty years after meeting in college. My mother discovered she was pregnant with my sister a week after graduating, so they were married four months later. Then four years later, they welcomed me into the world. We were your average family. The preteen years were normal, nothing really major ever happened, the only non-average thing was that me and my sister were very close. However, when we both entered our teen years everything changed.

Serenity was first, when she hit fourteen she began to hang out with the wrong people. She fell victim to everything that comes with that. I on the other hand, was beginning to notice guys more than girls at fifteen, which is when I came out to my parents. I was scared at first, worried that I had let them down in some way, but all they did was pull me into their arms and tell me they would always love me.

After my parents had been informed about my sexuality, it was time to talk with my sister. Our relationship had been stronger when we were younger, but we still talked. As I opened her room door, I looked back receiving encouraging looks from my parents, my dad gave me a thumbs up and my mom mouthed "You can do it!"

As I walked in I took a deep breath. "Sis can we talk?" I asked walking into the room. When she looked up at me with tear stained cheeks I did not think twice about pulling her into my arms.

So that is how it happened, I opened up to her and she opened up to me. I held her had tightly as she told mom and dad about the baby. They were speechless at first, but with time, they grew to accept it. Before long, mom and dad were making up the guestroom for their grandchild. Everything was great again but, it did not last long….

I was in school when it happened, it was a week before her dude date when I got the call. I rushed to the office, I expected it to be dad telling me Serenity was in labor, but instead I got the hospital. Some sweet women told me there had been an accident, my family was gone, all but my nephew…well my son.

"Joey Wheeler!" I was awakened from my thoughts when my name was called.

I just kept thinking "for your son" over and over in my head. I was waiting for my interview with Seto Kaiba. Kaiba had been a classmate and my academic rival during school, before my son was born. We did not get alone at all, he loved to point out how my scores were always below his by just a few points…Seto, his eyes were always so blue whenever we fought. My head snapped up after I realized what I was thinking, I startled the secretary as she led me to Seto's office.

I was here because I was one of the best architects around. Set-Kaiba was looking for the right one to help him with a project. I was surprized when I got the call, I had only graduated a week ago. But, according to the secretary on the phone. "Mr. Kaiba was impressed with your work. Additionally, you come highly recommended from all of your teachers and the few people you have worked with."

This seemed really odd to me, I mean there had to be better people right? She had answered my question before I had a chance to answer it. "Mr. Kaiba also informed me that your placing third at the Industrial Illusions Championship a few years ago, assisted in you being chosen."

This information naturally confused me. "How will my experience dueling help in building something?"

She talked to someone for a moment before responding. "I am sorry Mr. Wheeler, but I am not at liberty to discuss details of the project. You are to meet with Mr. Kaiba in his office Friday at 1pm."

I could not help but think about how Kaiba has not changed a bit. He always enjoyed telling people to do things instead of asking. "Okay I will be there, thank you." I said and with that she hung up.

That is how I entered this situation. "Please wait in here sir, Mr. Kaiba will be with you in a few moments." The secretary said as she shoved me through the door and ran down the hall.

The office was big enough to be a master suite. The room was Blue-Eyes White Dragon themed, obviously. His desk is set in front of a wall of glass, and the other walls were filled with pictures of Kaiba shaking hands with, what I guess were important people. There were a few of him cutting ribbons at grand openings of a few places he must have built.

I walked towards the window to check out to amazing view, then the two pictures on his desk caught my eye. The first is of Seto when he was little with his two parents, he was hugging into his mother's stomach. While the other was of Seto when he graduated high school he was kneeled down with his arm around Mokuba. In both pictures Seto had the most beautiful smile on his face. I could not stop part of myself from hoping to have that smile directed at me one day.

"I guess it is true what they say, even pups find their way back to their master." I looked up from the photos and stared in horror, the years had been way too good to him.

"Kaiba it has not been long enough." I said trying not to stare at him for too long. Kaiba walked over to me and I did not move, I wanted to keep my eyes on him. I was terrified to see what he was up to.

"I am sorry." I looked at him shocked, I have never hearing those words leave his mouth before.

"For what Kaiba?" I asked not trying to sound awe struck.

"You lost your family all those years ago, I never got to say it…I know what it is like." Now I am truly scared, who the hell is this and what did they do to Seto Kaiba? I glanced back down at the photos again, I guess I hit a soft spot for him.

"Well, thank you." I said quickly as I ran to the chair in the front of his desk. I hoped he did not see me blush.

After we were both seated in in our chairs, he started explaining the project to me. "Well I want to start up a dueling school. A place where children who want to peruse being a duelist as a career can come and improve their skills, but, they also learn the basic school stuff if going pro does not work out."

I could tell by the way he was describing it; he was very passionate about the project. "I am up for the job, but I still do not see how my dueling skills will help me design it?" He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"In order for me to get school boards to approve this and parents to let their children go, there had to be conditions." He looked vulnerable, like the future of his project rested on me.

"I am listening." I told him hesitantly, he sighed again and began.

"The school boards insisted that I have so kind of acceptance system, so that only serious students could get in. I disagreed with this completely, but we managed to work something out. The children will have to duel a machine and win in front of the teachers. Depending how well they do, they will be sorted into groups. The school will have three classifications Obelisk Blue, Ra Yellow, and Slifer Red. The strongest duelists go into blue, average to yellow, and ones who barely won the duel, will go into red. Now, the parents. I explained this to a focus group, and they insisted that if they were sending their child to his school, they expected them to be taught by 'well-known' duelists."

After a moment I managed to piece it all together. "You want me to be a teacher!"

He pinched his nose again. "Well Yami said he would do it as long as Yugi could stay there with him. He will be teaching the blues and I am teaching the yellows…."

I cut him off with my laughing. "That must have killed you." He gave me his famous glare and rolled my eyes.

"Anyway, I wanted you to teach the reds." I thought about it for a moment. I kept coming to the conclusion that this was a great opportunity for me, but I just cannot think of me….

"Kaiba, where are you building this place anyway?" He started doing something on his laptop and showed me a picture of an island.

"The only way to get there is by plane or helicopter." After thinking a bit more, I came to a conclusion.

"You did not read my file did you?" He got offended by that.

"Of course I did! I am not going to begin a partnership with someone without doing a background check. What is the issue? It is not like you are in a relationship; you have not had one that lasted more than a week." He blushed at this and my heart fluttered. To prove his point, he opened a drawer and slapped my file on his desk. I grabbed it a started flipping through it, there were pages on my relationships, a lot of pages. However, when I got almost to the end, I saw what I was looking for.

"You only read up to the part on my relationships I am guessing?" he sighed.

"Yes, I knew you from high school. I did not need to know everything." I gave him a smirk and slapped the file down in front of him.

"This was important." The important page I slapped in front of Seto had a picture of a boy on it. He had blonde hair and green eyes like his mamma.

"Who is that?" Seto asked curiously.

"Matthew, my son." I said with pride filling my voice.

I just sat there silently, letting Seto read the document. When he popped up again, he looked like he had a million questions. I sighed and thought what the hell? "Okay so he is biologically my nephew, but to me he is my son."

He smiled at this. "So that is why you left school for three years, you raised him." I smiled again, thinking of Mattie always made me smile.

"Yup, best decision I ever made. So what else you got?" He thought for a moment.

"When was he born?" Damn, I should have guessed I would have to talk about this. "He was…cut from her…in time." That was the first time I saw concern in his eyes.

"I am so sorry Wheeler, who is the father?" I gave him a sad smile.

"Some guy in a gang Serenity slept with, she got really drunk…. He died before the accident, I am all Mattie's has." He smiled at me…he actually smiled!

"Your amazing…. I mean, what you did was amazing. But, I still do not see the problem? Matt is twelve, he can come to the school." I looked at him like he was an idiot.

"We have not built it yet." He gave me his famous smirk.

"Actually it is, well it may need some minor work, that I hope you will do." I thought about it for a moment.

"Fine, now here are my conditions: I will only come if Mattie wants to. If Mattie wants to come too, he will duel the robot, after I watch you set it up. If he wins, by himself, you get us both. That is how it works, you do not get one without the other, deal?"

I held out my hand and he took it. "Deal."

As I ran out of the office, I swore I heard "I cannot wait to get you both." But, it must have been my brain playing tricks on me. Seto only says that stuff in my dreams…from high school.

I just got to Mattie's school when the bell rang. I waited in my normal spot until I saw his blonde hair running my way. "Daddy! How did the job thingy go?" He said as he pulled me in for a hug.

"Well, Mattie we have a lot to talk about." He looked worried, but I gave him a reassuring smile and we headed home. Once he put his stuff into his room, we sat down at the kitchen table. I gave him some hot chocolate and told him about the school.

"So, Mattie would you like to go to dueling school?" He thought about it for a moment.

"Yeah it sounds fun. I cannot wait to duel that robot, but I have a question." I gave him a smile.

"What is it son?" He smiled back to me.

"When are you going to make Mr. Kaiba my Papa? He looks fun." I sighed.

"You know it is scary how well you know me." I smiled at him and he gave me a hug.

"You know you love me." He said as I ruffled his hair and kissed his head.

"Shut it, you know I always will. Now come on finish your hot chocolate, we are going to uncle Yugi and Yami's. You are going to need some new cards to help you tomorrow." He lit right up at that.

"Yay! Did they get any of my favorite cards in?" I rolled my eyes at him.

"Yes they did." Now he was really happy.

"Did you tell Mr. Kaiba what kind of deck I used?" I gave him a smirk.

"No, I will let that be a surprise." I started to giggle.

"Daddy! How many times do I have to tell you? Fairy monsters are amazing! I beat you a few times with them." I rolled my eyes at him.

"That is only because Aunt Tea gave you her deck with stupid Waboku, and I had to give you that annoying W-" Mattie gave me a punch.

"No insulting her. You know you just hate that she has a higher attack then Red-Eyes does. She is my favorite card!" I gave him another hug.

"Fine, but only because I love you. Now, ready to go?" I said standing up.

"Yup." Mattie said with a grin. As we were heading to Yugi's, I could not stop thinking about Seto as Mattie's Papa.

A-Note: So what did everyone think? I tried really hard to keep everyone in character during this fic. I think I did okay but some people are very different. I also wanted to say that this fic is AU I borrowed some stuff from the show but unless I mention it then it happened differently. But for some clarification, Duelist Kingdom was just a tournament in this fic and Yami has always had his own body. Hope that helps :D Thanks for reading the fic :D Also, in case you guys were wondering or need some clarification on the time frame, here is everyone's ages :)

Seto: 28
Joey: 28
Matthew/Mattie/Matt: 12
Mokuba: 16