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The Wrong Dragon	By : DarkTemptations Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > General Views: 1546 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh!, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Title: The Wrong Dragon 4/4

Author: Dark Temptations

Beta: Vash is my Angel

Rating: R *smiles sweetly*

Summary: Annoyed at his life, envious of another's, Joey Wheeler makes a wish. But when it is granted, will his new life have everything he needs or will there be something missing from it?

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh. If I did own Yugioh... well let's just say that the only timeslot it would be suitable for would be after midnight *winks*.

Author's Notes: This was my original bunny for a writing challenge. I ended up going with 'Compensation' for the challenge, but this bunny kept nibbling on my ankles until I gave in and wrote it.

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Dark Temptations Presents

The Wrong Dragon

Chapter 4

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A wave of memories threatened to overwhelm Joey as he ran up the stairs to the apartment he had lived in, a lifetime before. He took the stairs two at a time, trying to push the dark images to the back of his mind. The last thing he needed right now was a distraction. Maybe later he'd allow himself to remember, but right now there was only room in his mind for one thought - getting to Seto and making sure he was all right.

He was panting softly as he reached the floor the apartment was on, but he didn't run forward. Despite the urge he felt to hurry, Joey approached the door cautiously. There was always the possibility that the man he had once called 'dad' was home.

Joey stopped at the door and put his ear to it, closing his eyes to cut out all visual distractions so he could focus all his attention on what he was hearing. Not for the first time, he mentally thanked the fact that he had the memories of his old life as well as those of his new one. Because of them, he knew the telltale sounds he needed to listen for.

No sounds of the television. No chink of bottles. No loud snoring. No growled or muttered or mumbled complaints against cheaters or lazy, good-for-nothing sons. The coast was clear.

Joey knocked softly on the door, still listening intently. He distinctly heard a soft gasp and his heart soared. Seto was inside. He knocked again.

"W...who is it?"

Mentally cursing the softness and wariness in the other teen's voice, Joey replied. "It's me, Joey."

"What are you doing here? Go away!" The voice was a little stronger and Joey grinned in admiration. The brunette always had been able to rally best when he was irritated at someone.

"No chance. You weren't at school today. I thought you might be ill so I came to see you." He leaned against the door.

"Well I don't want to see you. Go away. Leave me alone."

There was something in the voice that wiped the grin off Joey's face. Seto sounded... worn out? Yeah, that was it. "Like I said, no chance. Open the door."

There was no answer, but Joey was sure he heard what sounded suspiciously like a soft sob. He waited a minute but his repeated requests for the other boy to open the door went ignored.

So Joey went on to plan B.

The fire escape was just as Joey remembered it. Unfortunately. He gritted his teeth against the fear that filled him as he climbed the rickety staircase and moved carefully, testing each step before he put his weight on it. The metal was rusting and starting to corrode and the whole thing trembled with every step he took. But just like the other countless times he'd climbed it - on all the nights when he'd missed curfew by only a few minutes and his dad had refused to let him in the house - he refused to give up and kept on climbing.

At one point, there was a loud creak of rusted metal and the staircase jolted as if something had broken free somewhere. Joey's stomach lurched up into his throat. He forced himself to remain calm and paused, taking a few deep breaths as he listened carefully. When the sound wasn't repeated and the staircase stopped shaking, he went on.

After a harrowing ten minute climb that seemed to take several hours, Joey reached the window he knew opened up into the room he had once called his own. Silently praying that the window lock was as broken now as it had been when he had lived there, he gave the window an experimental heave. He almost cheered out loud when it slid smoothly up. Joey knew how the smell of stale alcohol could become unbearable, so he'd counted on the fact that Seto would have done the same thing he'd once done and kept the window well oiled - so he could get fresh air without disturbing his dad with the sound of squeaky windows.

If there was one thing the man hated, it was the sound of squeaky doors or windows. It tended to make him yell.

Joey pushed the window all the way up, then slipped through the narrow opening. He was proud he could still fit through. Apparently his fear that he was putting on weight - due to all the hours spent sitting at his desk in his Kaiba Corp. office - was unfounded.

Once inside, Joey started to head for the door that led into the living room but paused when he noticed something white out of the corner of his eye. He stared in shock at the poster of the Blue Eyes White Dragon that was up on the wall - his mind superimposing it with another poster that had once hung there. Once... but not now. Joey bowed his head for a moment as emotion washed over him. He hadn't even thought about his prized possession until then. In the back of his mind, he'd been sure that it would still be right here. Now he realised how foolish that thought had been. Even though they had traded lives, he and Seto were still the same people they had been before the switch.

Remembering that, Joey also remembered that he had a mission to accomplish and standing around thinking of what he'd lost was not going to help him do it. So his poster wasn't hanging on the wall. Maybe it was still where he'd bought it. He'd have a look the next time he was there but right now... there was something far more important that he needed to do.

Taking a deep breath to calm his suddenly shaking nerves, Joey pushed all other thoughts from his mind and headed for the door.

He opened it carefully, not wanting to alarm Seto at all. His heart thudded almost painfully in his ears and time seemed to freeze as he caught sight of the other teen on the far side of the room. For a minute, Joey could not move. He could only stand in the doorway of the brunette's bedroom, looking on in shock as he saw the last thing he had ever expected to see, in either of his lives.

Seto was crying.

He was huddled in a ball by the door - one arm around his knees and the other around his stomach as if it hurt him. His head rested on his arm as he sobbed as if he simply didn't know what else to do at that moment.

Seto was wearing shorts and a singlet top and Joey silently cursed when he saw the large bruises on both of his arms. From the way he was holding his stomach, the blonde knew the bruising wasn't the full extent of the brunette's injuries. Seto had obviously taken quite a beating the night before, when his father had come home after his usual monthly binge night of drinking and poker with the boys.

Joey knew to avoid his father on those nights. The few times he hadn't been able to sleep over at a friend's house, he'd almost ended up in the same state as Seto. The only thing that had saved him had been his own fighting skills - learned from the gang he had once run with. He'd originally joined them to learn to fight - to be able to protect himself when his father got violent.

Apparently the other boy hadn't done the same thing.

His feet carried him forward before Joey had consciously decided what to do. Hearing him, the brunette tensed and then lifted his head.

As Joey looked into Seto's wide, shocked eyes, he suddenly knew what he needed to do. What he had wished time and time again someone would do for him while he'd been living that life.

He held out his hand.

The brunette looked at it and then looked at Joey as if he couldn't believe he was really there. As if he didn't dare believe.

"You need help. I know. I've been there. Please Seto... let me help you." Joey kept his voice soft and stood very still - as if he was dealing with a wounded, cornered animal.

He knew all too well that wasn't far off the truth.

Seto hesitated, then nodded once and reached up, taking Joey's hand.

@-->-->----

Later that afternoon, Joey entered his home office and walked slowly across the room to his comfortable leather chair. He fell into it and leaned his head back, letting out a soft sigh. It had been a long day - and it wasn't over yet.

He'd brought Seto home with him and had called his own doctor in to look the brunette over and make sure that he'd be all right. Joey hadn't been surprised to learn that Seto's ribs had been badly bruised, or that there were signs of older bruises in the same area. What had surprised him had been the teen's agreement with the doctor's suggestion to call in the police.

Joey sighed again. It was a reminder that - even though their positions in life had been switched - he and Seto were still the same as they had been in many ways.

Seto had wanted to see the man who had hurt him punished and had been willing to overcome his own personal feelings to do so.

A lifetime earlier, Joey remembered dreaming about the same thing. He had dreamed of someone taking him away from his father and pressing charges of abuse against him. But that was all he'd ever done - dream of it... and feel guilty for dreaming it. The man had been his father and - despite everything - Joey had loved him.

Even though there were no longer ties of blood between them, Joey still remembered that love. Because of it, he had talked Seto out of involving the police. Instead, he planned to have his lawyers contact the man with a certain... agreement.

He would allow Seto to live with Joey, without making any fuss over it. He would also not attempt to contact his son. Any further contact between them would be Seto's choice.

The boy had agreed to the plan, although he hadn't been happy about it. Joey had a feeling the brunette's reluctance was a mix of wishing to see his father punished for what he'd done and wariness about the sudden offer. If he knew Seto as well as he thought he did, he was probably looking for him to discuss the matter - right around...

The office door opened.

Now... Joey opened his eyes and grinned at his visitor. "Let me guess. You want to know why I want you to live here with me and Mokuba, right?"

Seto's blue eyes were wary as he slowly entered the room and closed the door behind him. He leaned back against it and eyed Joey as if he couldn't decide if he was something interesting that needed closer study or something disgusting he had just found on the bottom of his shoe. He nodded in answer to the question. "That... and I want to make something clear."

He glared at Joey. "I refuse to be your sex toy!"

Joey blinked. He arched an eyebrow and looked at Seto, not sure if he'd heard that right. "Um... Okay. Mind filling me in on whatever prompted you to say that?"

The angry brunette continued to glare at Joey. "Oh come on! I'm not an idiot. I know you're lusting after me."

The blonde's eyebrows vanished into his hair. "I am?" It was news to him. He wasn't sure whether to blush or laugh.

"How else do you explain why you've been paying so much attention to me at school lately?" Seto was just getting warmed up. "Then this whole situation. Taking advantage of me while I was hurt to get me here. It was just what you wanted the whole time, wasn't it? You planned it this way from the start. All that talk of being my friend... it was just to get me to trust you so I would come here, wasn't it? Then this... it was just a shortcut for you to get what you want from me. You wanted to get me here so you could... so you could..." Seto finally ran out of steam.

"So I could have my wicked, perverted way with you?" Joey supplied helpfully. He grinned at the glare the other teen gave him. "Relax Seto. I'm not going to pounce you. No, really. You can stop pressing into the door now. You might dent it." His grin widened as Seto's glare intensified even as the brunette eased away from the door a little.

"Don't try to fool me, Joey Kaiba. I know you want something from me. What I want to know is... why are you doing this? What is it you want? What do you expect from me in return?"

There was a faint quiver in Seto's voice that wiped the grin off Joey's face faster than he could eat a submarine sandwich. He nodded. "That's a good question." He sighed softly and thought for a minute before replying, his voice so soft the other boy had to move a little closer to hear him.

"Seto, I'll take whatever you're willing to give me, as long as you're prepared to accept everything I'll give you in return." Joey smiled at the stunned brunette. "Whatever happens, it won't be a one-way street. As long as you're a part of my life. That's all that matters. As for why I'm doing this..." Joey shook his head - knowing he could never explain - and his voice became soft and serious. "Let's just say that, once upon a time, I was in a similar situation. I know what I wanted then and if I can give that to you now, then I will."

"What..." Seto hesitated for a second, then continued. "What was it you wanted?"

Joey let the memories of his other life wash over him as he answered. "Someone to set me free so I could live my life without worrying about what sort of mood my father was in, every time I woke up in the morning." Seto seemed content with that answer so Joey didn't say the other things he'd wanted.

Someone to help him. Someone to love him. Someone he could love in return.

He'd been thinking of those things when he'd made that fateful wish on that last night of his other life. Although the wish had granted what he'd said... he wondered if perhaps it had also granted the wishes of his heart.

Shaking off the thought for the time being, Joey grinned at Seto. "So... How about you stay here for tonight and think about my offer. You can give me your answer in the morning."

Seto nodded. "All right." He hesitated, then started to turn away. "I'll... leave you to... whatever you were doing."

Joey shook his head. "I was just thinking over the situation. If you're feeling up to it, maybe we could do something fun? I don't know... a game maybe?"

"A game?" Seto looked at Joey, frowning. "What sort of game?"

"Not the sort you're thinking of, going by that look you're giving me. Man, and you think I'm perverted? You're the one with the naughty thoughts." Joey laughed at the glare Seto gave him. Considering that the other teen's cheeks had developed a distinctly rosy hue, it wasn't a very convincing glare. "I have video games or..." He paused as a thought popped into his head. "Say... I don't suppose... Do you duel?" He was almost afraid to hear the answer.

Seto nodded. "Yeah. I do. Although... I'm not very good." He shrugged at Joey's curious look. "I've never been able to get my deck to work for me like it should. It's a good deck. The best I could put together. But it relies heavily on luck and I've never been that lucky when dueling with it." He shrugged again.

The blonde teen tried to quell the rising excitement within him as he grinned. "Really? Maybe you'd do better with another deck then." He stood up and walked over to Seto, pulling his own deck out of his pocket. He'd put it there that morning, out of habit, and hadn't had the heart to take it out again when he'd realised what he'd done. Now he was glad of that. He held the deck out to Seto. "Like this one. How about it?" He smiled.

Seto looked at him, his eyes wide as he stood frozen in shock. "But... but isn't that..." He looked at the deck and started to reach for it, but stopped himself. "I... Your deck... I've heard about it. It's supposed to be one of the most powerful decks in the dueling world. Why... Why would you want to... give it away?"

Joey shrugged, still smiling. "Honestly, this deck just doesn't do it for me anymore. Sure it's powerful, but it doesn't suit me. I've been using it for too long. All my duels have become... predictable." It was true. He remembered every one of them and they were all the same. He always knew that he would win from the draw of the first card. "I like to take a few risks and your deck sounds like it might be a pretty good challenge. Why don't we swap?"

"For how long?" Seto didn't take his eyes off the deck in Joey's hand.

"How does forever sound?" Joey smiled as Seto's eyes snapped up to meet his. "No joke and no catches. A simple trade. Call it a hunch if you like but... I have a feeling our decks don't suit either of us for a reason."

A small smile curved Seto's lips as he nodded. "Maybe you're right." He took his deck out of his pocket and held it out, his other hand reaching for Joey's deck at the same time.

The moment the exchange was complete and they held each other's decks, both teens relaxed. Joey knew why he felt so at ease. It was the same reason why he felt so happy. "So... want to try out your new deck? Who knows, maybe you'll even beat me with it."

Seto started to shake his head, but then stopped himself. He smiled tentatively back. "Maybe I will."

@-->-->----

Seto had not only won the duel, but the first card he had drawn had been the Blue Eyes White Dragon.

As he got himself ready for bed late that night, Joey could still see the look of stunned amazement and delight on the other boy's face at the sight of the card. He grinned to himself as he emerged from the bathroom and crossed to his bed. It had been an impulsive decision but Joey's hunch had been right and he had never been happier.

He didn't know what would happen between him and Seto but he'd meant what he'd said. Whatever their relationship ended up being, Joey knew he'd be happy as long as Seto was in his life. He also knew he wasn't the only one who felt that way. Mokuba had taken to the brunette straight away and was already treating him as another big brother. It was only a matter of time before he started calling Seto 'big brother' as well.

Joey was looking forward to that day very much. Just as he was looking forward to finding out about Serenity and making sure she was all right. But in the meantime... he had something else he was looking forward to even more.

He slipped between his lemon-scented sheets and moved so he was sitting propped up against his pillows, then he smiled at the deck sitting on the bedside table. His deck. Joey picked it up and began to slowly go through it - card by card. As the familiar cards were revealed, his heart filled with joy. When he reached the last card though, he put the others aside and took a deep breath, then turned the card over.

Joey smiled. "Hey partner. Welcome back. I've missed you. Oh sure, I know the other deck was powerful and all but to me... it just had the wrong dragon in it."

The Red Eyes Black Dragon seemed to smile back at him.

end
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The Wrong Dragon