Adult-FanFiction.org : Yu-Gi-OH

The Mythology Set	By : ReizOokami Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 35548 -:- Recommendations : 6 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or its characters and I make no money from the writing or posting of this story.

Chapter List
- 58
- 59
- 60
Author's Note: Sometimes I wonder how I come up with these things. :3 I am so weird.

Woof

Seto looked at the orders in front of him, then scowled, looking up at his cousin with all the anger he could muster—which was quite a lot. "Absolutely not."

Atem frowned. "It's the only way we'll be able to infiltrate the camp. Honestly, if I had a choice, I wouldn't send you. But I don't. I need you to do this, Seto."

There was his name. Seto knew his cousin was desperate when he called him by his name rather than just saying 'cousin.'

And damn it all if Atem was desperate enough to call him by his name instead of the cheerful 'cousin' he was used to and pretended to be disgusted by, he had to cave, because it usually meant protecting Mokuba, too.

Seto threw his hands up. "And what do you mean for me to be!?"

The smaller man hesitated before slowly lifting up a picture for him to emulate.

The brunet stood, eyes narrowed in rage. "I REFUSE AND THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN GUILT ME. YOU ARE DISGUSTING AND INFURIATING AND I WILL NOT BE DEMEANED IN SUCH A WAY."

Atem was honestly afraid his cousin would kill him.

.-.-.-.-.-.

Joey smiled as Atem approached with a large, brown dragon-dog on a leash. He couldn't help a whistle as he unconsciously examined it from nose to tail, admiring the matching brown scales that went from its sharp claws up to its shoulders. More scales surrounded its delicate nose and ran up over its brows almost up to its ears. "Damn. That is one beautiful dog. Betcha even the Queen of Mosuoi would love him."

The Queen of Mosuoi was actually a rather cruel person, but she adored carrying around tiny dogs with her as a status symbol. Saying that she would have been impressed by a dog this large—okay, to be honest, the dog was huge—was actually quite a compliment.

The blond reached out to pet him, then yanked his hand back. "Uh. Whatcha doin' here, Atem?"

Atem glanced at the dog (and the dog glanced back up at him, also baffled by his reluctance to touch him, because he'd done nothing to threaten him as per Atem's orders), then sighed and held a scroll out to him. "If you'd be so kind—"

"Ya want me t' deliver that t' someone? Sure! Who?" Joey asked cheerfully.

"…No, Joey, it's for you," the smaller man corrected slowly, brows drawing together. He watched the blond pale a little and frowned in concern. "Joey?"

"Uh, just that no one writes anything for me, an' just—" The blond smiled awkwardly before opening it and staring at it. After a moment, he rolled it back up and smacked him on the shoulder with it with a smile, but his smile was clearly strained. "Hey, I got a job t' finish before I do anything for ya, so, I'll read this later, okay?"

"I'd prefer if you read it now—" Atem began, frowning, but then the blond shot him a glare and he was reminded of the blond's simple 'first come, first serve' rule that extended to him and made him feel more like a human and less like a king sometimes. Usually, he appreciated it. Now it just made him want to tear his hair out. "Well, okay. Don't take too long though; it's important."

Joey looked like he wanted to ask about what was so important, but then he looked at the scroll in his hand. "Yeah, sure."

"And the dog stays with you now. You said you wanted a working dog, right?"

"I said I wanted a—Close enough," the blond muttered, then squatted down and looked up at the dog as the other man walked away, taking the leash that had been carelessly dropped. "Hey. My name's Joey. What's yours?"

"What's it to you?"

Joey stared at the dog for a moment, then couldn't help a bark of laughter. "If you don't tell me yer name, I'm gonna call ya Fluffy."

The dog paused, then slowly answered, "They call me… Seth."

"Seth? That's a nice name," the blond replied kindly, as if talking to a child.

Seth had to keep himself from growling. He was not entirely successful.

"Not like that, huh?" Joey asked softly, frowning. "Be patient until I get used t' ya, okay? Some dogs need t' be talked to like that. You're not exactly friendly, so I have t' guess. I guess you're more intelligent than most dogs, huh?"

The dog turned his head away, lips curled down in a frown. "…I apologize," he muttered after a moment, because it seemed right and the blond looked so sincere. He was much nicer to dogs than he was to humans, he noticed with a hint of agitation.

"Well. Better get inside. Come on; my sister's makin' somethin' for lunch." Joey stood and brushed off his pants, then began walking into the house, the leash held lax in his hand.

Seth appreciated it. He knew there were laws that dogs not working be leashed, especially in cities, but he liked being able to walk like he wasn't being led around. He followed the blond inside, nodding slightly when he unlatched the chain and let him loose.

He was almost immediately accosted by a gray dog, larger than even he was. "AGH."

"Hi! I'm Gringle what's your name?! Joey's swell, isn't he?! He feeds us and lets us wander around when we're at the farm. We're not at the farm now. But we're going back! Yeah! You're gonna help us herd the unicorns to Spatler?! That would be great we could use the help!"

Seth's eye twitched. "Please get off." He watched the gray dog—Gringle, apparently—fall to the ground with an idle 'whumph,' tail still waving happily.

"You'll have to forgive him," a white dog murmured, stepping between them, his pale fur tinged sea-foam green while his scales were a darker forest green. "He was always a bit slow, but he was kicked by a unicorn last year and it's just seemed to make him slower. He's quite tolerable once you get used to him."

The brown dog suddenly realized why Joey had spoken to him like he was stupid. He remembered the silly gray dragon-dog that had shown up at the palace and that Atem had sent for Joey to see what it wanted. He'd explained the dog just needed a place to stay, and he'd take it, because he needed one to herd the unicorns.

Seth looked down at Gringle, frowning. "It's a… pleasure to meet you. Gringle."

"NICE TO MEET YOU TOO OH MY GOSH."

The brown dog took a step back, grimacing as best he could.

The green-tinted dragon-dog chuckled softly. "He's excitable. Please forgive him," he repeated, smiling. "My name is Pascal. You've neglected to mention yours."

"It's… Seth." The brown dog stared at him for a moment. Pascal seemed like he was rather weird in the head as well.

"Oh, look. A butterfly. Come, Gringle. Let's watch it."

Seth's eye twitched as the two dogs bounded toward the window and watched a moth flutter repeatedly into the glass. He jumped as a big, work-hardened hand lay on his head and looked up. "Geh?!"

Joey leaned down and whispered, "Pascal was a runt I saved drownin' in a river. He's an airhead, but he's a hard worker. Treat him with pity if you can't manage kindness, just don't be mean, please."

Seth stared up at him for several seconds before murmuring, "You take a lot of misfits in, don't you?"

"No one else will. And they're the hardest workers, I've found, because they want to prove they're not worthless." Joey smiled and patted his head gently, then sat at the table as his sister brought out a plate of sandwiches. "Ren, I got a scroll from Atem."

"Oh, okay. You go ahead and eat and I'll read it to you," she replied, opening the scroll.

Seth came up to sit beside the blond, frowning a little and wondering why the blond had lied and said he had something else to do and was having his sister read it to him instead.

"'To whom it may conc—' Oh for the love of—" She rolled her eyes. The letter was so formal that her brother wouldn't have been able to understand it anyway. "Joey, he wants you to take the dogs and sneak into a hunting camp by pretending you're just a hunter too. He wants you to steal back a—oh, what is this? A… A kai? I don't know what that is, but he wants you to go get it and bring it back to the palace before we go home."

"Aw, fuck," Joey snapped, then ran a hand through his hair with a snarl.

Seth yelped as he was pushed aside as Gringle and Pascal rushed to place their heads in the blond's lap, whining hurried words of comfort and love and adoration and we-love-you-please-don't-be-angry's. He was disgusted by their groveling, but then he saw the human relaxing, and he realized why Joey insisted on keeping his farm and raising unicorns when Atem had offered to make him the palace stable master.

He needed to be around animals. As an Animus, he could speak with the animals, and they kept him calm. Even as a stable master, he would not be surrounded by animals constantly like he was back on his farm.

Seth sat back and watched the other two dogs lick the blond's hands until he muttered something and batted them away. "What's wrong?"

"He only curses in front of his sister when he's really angry," Pascal replied, pawing at the blond one last time before returning to the window.

"…Joey, would you like me to teach you—" Serenity began softly.

Joey slammed his hands down on the table angrily. "You've already tried t' teach me how t' read and I just can't. Okay?! I just can't. Will you stop tryin'?! Mom and Dad didn't send me to that fuckin' fancy school because they knew I was stupid. 's why they sent you." He narrowed his eyes at the table, knowing he'd hurt his sister, but he didn't know any other way to make her stop offering to teach him.

It just made him feel stupid. He felt stupid enough already without her trying to help him get smarter, because he knew that wasn't possible.

"…Eat your sandwich, Joey," she sighed, taking a sip from her mug of tea.

Joey thought about apologizing, but instead he lifted his sandwich and began to eat.

Seth hesitated before walking over to place his head in the blond's lap as well.

"Ya beggin' fer food?"

"No. Just company."

Joey smiled a little and patted him on the head. "S'pose I could leave ya with Ren instead of Gringle." When the brown dog's lips curled up in a canine sneer, he chuckled. "Aw, I'm just kiddin'. Ren, I'm leavin' Gringle with ya when I go."

Serenity hadn't looked angry when he'd yelled at her, but she looked angry now. "What?! Why?! You think I can't take care of myself!? You think Gringle wouldn't take care of you?!"

The blond laughed a little. "Serenity, he gets so excited that he scares away all the deer! We'd make every other hunter angry within five miles."

She blushed a little. "…Oh. Well, if you're sure, then…"

"Just don't spoil 'im too much. I can't have 'im fat when we go home."

Serenity scowled and stood, drawing herself to her full height. "Do you really think I would spoil him like that?!"

"…Well Serenity, I wouldn't have said it if I didn't believe it," the blond pointed out, smiling.

The redhead sagged. "Oh. Yes, well, I'll at least keep myself from giving him cake."

"And cookies, and chicken bones, and chunks of roast beef—"

"Oh alright, fine!" she exclaimed, glaring at him. "I don't understand how they can be happy if they're never given anything good!"

"Well, it's probably because they know ya love 'em, Ren. Makes me happy even when I'm hungry!" Joey replied, smiling, and stood to smooth her hair out of her eyes. "Tell ya what. While I'm gone, you can invite a couple of your girlfriends over and do that thing where ya cover your faces in mud and put curlers in your hair."

"A SLUMBER PARTY WITH FACIALS AND CURLS REALLY?!" she squealed, then rushed over to latch a leash onto Gringle and dragged him away from the window. "Come on, Gringle! We'll put some mud on you too, so you'll be just like one of the girls!"

"Yay! I love mud!" he exclaimed, trotting out after her with his tongue lolling out of his mouth.

"Just make sure ya ask Téa or Mai too, so ya have someone t' watch ya!" Joey called out after her sternly, then couldn't help a smile."It's too bad we can't stay. Pascal likes the mud thing too. Maybe you woulda liked it."

Seth did not mention that it wasn't uncommon for dragon-dogs to enjoy facials because sometimes the scales on their faces dried out and a special blend of minerals could make them nice again. It actually did sound kind of fun.

He set his jaw and stiffened his tail. They had a job to do.

.-.-.-.-.-.

"Oh, look, a moth!" Pascal smiled vaguely.

Seth rolled his eyes so hard he thought they might pop out of his head. The pale green dragon-dog had somehow mixed up moths with butterflies, and not even Joey could change his addled mind, so he just had to put up with it. It was becoming increasingly difficult, but whenever he was about to lose his temper and snap at him, he always remembered what Joey had said—that Pascal had been a runt drowning in the river. Probably because someone had thrown him in it.

"Flick says we're gettin' close," Joey murmured, frowning, his hand cupped up by his ear. "Flicker, couldja please slow down a little? You're lisping."

Seth blinked. Somehow, it made sense that the hummingbird would lisp. Hummingbirds had quite long tongues, after all, and if it was trying to speak quickly, it would be even worse.

The blond nodded a few times, then pulled his hand away from his ear, allowing the muted hummingbird to jet away. "Says we're about two miles out." He knelt in front of the two dragon-dogs. "John is willin' t' let us chase him as long as we bungle up at the end and let him get away. If any other hunters go after him, we hafta bungle them up too so he can get home."

Seth blinked slowly but nodded, even though he knew he should have asked who John was and why they were bungling things up for him.

Pascal seemed to notice his confusion as Joey stood and walked away to go fetch John. "John is an elk. His mother died when he was just a baby, and Serenity begged to take care of him. Joey agreed because he didn't much like the idea of killing a baby that only cried for its mother, so he's more of a pet than an actual wild animal. He helps herd the unicorns sometimes because his horns are bigger than theirs. He used them to scoop up Gringle when he was kicked and held him aloft until Joey could get to him and take him home.

"Joey's picked up a lot of misfits over the years," he added, smiling. "I'm not the first. John will not be the last. Yes, I'm aware I'm not as intelligent as a lot of animals. I knew after I spoke with John some years ago. I know I'll never be as intelligent as you, and I know that I'm awful to deal with." He looked over at Joey fondly. "But Joey makes me feel whole, like I'm intelligent and worth his time. He's patient with Gringle and he takes care of everyone he can. He hasn't taken this job because the King asked him to, or because it's Atem and Atem's his friend. Akai is an animal and Akai needs help."

Seth ducked his head, feeling humbled. It appeared that he always misjudged everyone. "I see."

Pascal grinned at him. "I don't think you do. You're so smart it makes you dumb, and you miss things. I bet you didn't even realize that Flicker was female, or that Serenity was covering up her worry with anger. You're so busy being smart that you forget to look at things and see them as they are. Look at Joey. What do you see?"

Seth looked up at the blond as he wandered back to them with a large elk, frowning, as he observed him talking animatedly, gesturing wildly with his hands as he smiled and laughed and the elk nodded, its thick lips curving into a smile. "I see a blond man that talks with his hands and laughs at his own jokes." There was the underlying thought that Joey was full of himself because of the last part, but he was afraid of what Pascal would say next, and he didn't want to embarrass himself.

"He's putting John at ease. John is scared that something could go wrong and he'd be killed accidentally. Joey is taking his mind off of it, even going so far as making fun of himself. John and I both know that he would put himself between any bullet or arrow aimed at him if he had the chance. Joey is confident to the point of arrogance, but he's selfless." Pascal turned to look at him. "If Seto Kaiba asked him to talk a thousand bears into going to war for him, he would, even though he's afraid of bears because they don't care for humans at all, even the Animus ones."

Seth scowled. "Why would he do anything that—that Seto Kaiba would ask?!"

Pascal grimaced. "Joey releases so many pheromones when he's around Seto Kaiba that it's ridiculous. I sometimes wish that Seto Kaiba would just transform into an animal so he could smell them after Joey's been around him. It's quite irritating. I wish that Seto Kaiba would pup him so that he'd be satisfied."

The brown dog stared, jaw hanging open slightly, before he glommed on to the first thing possible and snarled, "YOU CAN'T PUP A MALE!"

"…You don't know much about Animus, do you…?" the green-tinted dragon-dog replied after a stunned pause.

"All Seto Kaiba does is go out of his way to humiliate him! Why would Joey want to have sex with him?!"

Pascal smiled again. "Because the animal in him knows that Seto Kaiba is a prime example of what a human should be and it wants those genes. Even if it was just for pleasure, he likes it rough and he knows that Seto Kaiba would have no qualms yanking his hair and fucking him until he's nothing but a puddle of goo on the—" He paused, nose flaring, then blinked in surprise when he smelled sexual arousal. "Does the idea of humans doing it turn you on? That's weird."

Seth's nose burned in embarrassment when he realized that he must have been giving off pheromones as well. "Well y—" …He was a dog. "NO, JUST THE IDEA OF SEX IN GENERAL. HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN SINCE YOU HUMPED SOMEONE?! DON'T YOU GET—"

"I'm… fixed," the white dog replied, brows drawing together in confusion. "My first family castrated me before they threw me in the river. You'd have to discuss these things with Gringle."

Seth did not howl that he didn't want to discuss anything with Gringle, especially something as personal as this. He was quite proud of himself for it.

"You guys ready?" Joey asked, smiling, as he squatted down in front of them.

Pascal smiled. "Yes." He raised his paw to bat Seth in the face. "We were just discussing how you'd like to be pupped."

Joey blushed brightly. "Aw come on, Pascal. Seth didn't need t' know that—"

"You said something about Seto Kaiba grabbing your hair and tying your legs above your—"

"PASCAL!" the blond roared, shoving him. "SETH DOESN'T CARE!"

"What? You never said anything about tying his legs anywhere!" Seth exclaimed in surprise.

"WHY DON'T ANIMALS UNDERSTAND THIS SHIT IS PRIVATE?!" Joey exclaimed, standing swiftly as his cheeks burned in embarrassment.

John took a step forward, frowning. "Joey wants to be mounted and impregnated? Surely he doesn't need to be tied up to do that."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH YOU GUYS ARE THE WOOOOORST!" the blond wailed. "Can we stop talkin' about my nonexistent sex life and just go get Akai?!"

The three animals paused awkwardly. Finally, though, Pascal bounced up, smiling brighter than ever. "I could probably convince one of the horses at the palace to bump Seto Kaiba so he goes sprawling, so you could climb on top of him and—"

"OH MY GOD PASCAL JUST LEAVE IT ALONE!" Joey slapped the elk's rump, making it bellow and jump before it began leaping away. Pascal fell in line behind him, tongue lolling out happily.

Seth looked up at the blond awkwardly. "…Um."

The blond sighed and grabbed his gun, beginning to jog after them and expecting the brown dog to follow. "He makes up for his lack of libido by discussing mine because he thinks that's normal."

Seth rolled his eyes again and began running faster to catch up with Pascal and John, to make it look like he was a hunting dog and not just a pet that Joey kept by his side.

.-.-.-.-.-.

The camp looked like any other hunter's camp. A few tents, a fire pit, tables with guns and bows laid out on it, and a few deer pelts hanging from a tree, the meat already cleaned from the skins.

John paused to stare at the pelts in horror, bellowed again, and took off in the opposite direction, nearly braining Joey as he leapt over him; it was only Joey diving onto the ground that saved him. The men that had been eating supper quietly began to rise, reaching for bows and guns as the elk startled by another hunting dog and bolted the other way.

Seth saw one of the men get a sight on the panicked animal and tried to think of a way to 'bungle' the shot like he'd been asked to. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the job was done for him when he felt something sharp clamp onto his back leg, breaking through the scales there to dig into his flesh.

The shriek he let out was half human and half animal as he instinctively tried to leap away from his attacker. It just dug its teeth in further, pulling at his flesh and ripping scales from their places. He shrieked again as its powerful jaws forced the sharp teeth deeper into his leg, leaping about wildly until Joey was there, by his side and gripping the fur on either side of his face to try to get him to calm down.

"SETH, QUIT MOVING."

The order rang in his ears, and he whimpered as he sagged to the ground, turning to view his attacker.

It was a bear trap. They were supposed to be illegal, he recognized in the back of his mind, but he was too hurt and tired to really care. He whined as one of the other hunters came over and pried the jaws apart, allowing Joey to pull his leg out gently without hurting him further.

Seth immediately began limping away, whining when Pascal got in front of him with a stern look that clearly conveyed he stop moving.

"Bring 'im over by the fire. Beautiful dog. Hate t' put it down."

Joey curled his arms beneath the brown dog and carried him over to the fire, muttering to himself about the illegal bear traps as he sat and pulled the injured leg up so he could examine it.

Pascal wandered over and sat down next to him, panting.

Seth narrowed his eyes at him. "How old are you, anyway?"

"WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" the white dog snarled.

The blond sighed and slapped the dog gently across the snout. "Pascal, quit it."

Seth took that to mean that Pascal was quite touchy about his age. Like a woman. "I was just wondering, because you seem so winded."

Pascal's hackles smoothed at that. "It is one thing to herd unicorns, and quite another to chase an elk for two and a half miles at full speed. I'm a herder, not a hunter." He glanced up at Joey, then turned and began snuffing around, exploring the camp.

"Nice traps ya got," Joey commented, drawing the brown dog's attentions back to him. "Got some glass-tipped ones myself. What was it you were usin'?"

One of the men laughed and slapped his thigh. "Knew it! Always recognize 'nother trapper! It's copper 'n' steel, alternatin'. If one set o' teeth don't git in, the other do!"

The blond whistled. "Damn. I never thought 'o that. Fuck, the sounds nice. Make 'em yourself, or 'd ya buy 'em?"

"Made some, bought some. C'n't buy t' many, ya know. King gits pissy 'bout it."

"Yeah." Joey stroked the brown dog's head thoughtfully, then smiled. "Well. Thanks fer the warm place t' sit. Better go. Si—Uh, wife's waitin' fer me."

One of the men guffawed. "Ya d'n't look old enough fer a wife!"

The blond simply shrugged, mild smile still in place as he hefted the wounded dog again. "What c'n I say? Pop-in-law held a gun t' my head if I didn't."

The men all roared with laughter, and Seth realized the blond had hinted at knocking someone up—a shotgun wedding. Somehow, that was funny?

"PAS. WE'RE LEAVIN'. Quit nosin' 'round, it's rude," Joey muttered sternly, then began walking away. He raised one hand to the men as a goodbye, then began walking faster. "Damn, damn, damn."

Seth was about to ask, but then John stepped out from some bushes and dipped his head. Joey laid him across the elk's antlers. He tried to find a comfortable position, but then John was off and running as the thunderous sound of a gunshot tore through the air violently.

He heard Joey let out a yelp and whined, wanting to go and help him, but the elk was already a mile away by the time he'd fought down the urge to vomit from pain and had actually positioned himself to leap from his antlers.

Pascal was only a few paces behind, a black lizard clinging to his sides with its claws and hanging beneath his belly, nearly hiding in his long fur. The only thing that gave it away was the blood dripping from where its claws had sunk into his flesh and the black claws visible above the fur.

"Where's Joey?!" he exclaimed worriedly.

Pascal faltered and nearly fell, but regained his balance quickly and continued running. "He'll come later. He always does."

.-.-.-.-.-.

John bent his head to let Seth roll off of his antlers into a spot of soft moss, so he didn't jar his injured leg landing. Then, he left, with only a snort and a muttered, "I'm returning home."

Pascal hunkered down beside him. He was only vague when he was safe, it seemed. "We'll wait for dark."

The lizard crawled onto Pascal's back, unfurling its tiny wings and blinking its big red eyes.

Seth leaned in to trail his nose over its back gently. "Hello, Akai."

Akai blinked one eye, then the other, and then hissed, tongue fluttering out slightly. "Saito."

Seth couldn't help a bark of laughter. Dragons didn't understand the concept of first and last names and often curled the two into one name. Kisara had called Joey 'Woely' in passing. And King Atem had been rolled into 'Akting,' which had really made him laugh.

He wasn't sure how those men had come across Akai while he'd been about the land, but they had, and had planned on holding him for ransom from Atem. He'd been looking up spells to debilitate the men when Atem had come up with the idea to send Joey, because Joey had always been good at retrieving things that even the great Seto Kaiba couldn't manage.

Seth leaned over to drag his broad, flat tongue over the dragon's face. The dragon squealed, but he was happy to see him, so he merely wiped the saliva unto Pascal's fur.

Dragons weren't much for talking, anyway, the brown dragon-dog mused, as he laid his head on his front paws and waited for night to fall.

.-.-.-.-.-.

Gringle opened the door for them when they finally padded up to the door in the early hours of the morning. He didn't look excited, and his scales were all covered with mud.

Seth leaned around him to observe the several female bodies curled up around the fire, all of them sleeping peacefully. He recognized a mop of black hair and couldn't help a chuckle. Apparently he'd underestimated his brother's affection for a certain red-haired Wheeler.

A few minutes later, the door creaked open again. The three dogs turned.

Joey stepped inside, looking ready to collapse where he stood. He turned to look at the group of girls and managed a small smile. "I said a couple friends, Ren, not a billion." He scratched the back of his head, then sighed, waving the dogs away as they began to crowd him. "No, no, I'm fine. 'm just gonna take a bath. Come on, Seth; we should clean your leg, too."

"That's not necessary," Seth replied, turning to allow the dragon onto his back. "I'm going home."

The blond blinked. "Home? Oh. Ya takin' Akai, too-?"

"That's where home is," the brown dog affirmed, flinching a little as the black dragon dug its claws into his back.

"Can't I at least wrap your leg up?"

"That's not necessary," the dog repeated. "I'll have it seen to."

Gringle frowned, tail wilting sadly. "So you're not gonna help us herd the unicorns, then."

Seth actually felt badly. "No, Gringle, I'm sorry. You'll have to do that without me. But I trust you'll handle it yourselves. You're very hard workers and I admire that."

The gray dragon-dog's head ducked bashfully, lips quirking up into a doggy grin. Pascal scratched at the floor with his blunt claws awkwardly, unsure of what to say.

Joey grinned at him from over their heads but didn't say anything. Instead, he simply opened the door for him to limp out. "Thanks, Seth. Be careful."

Seth turned for one last nod before beginning to trot away. Once out of sight, though he bent his front legs, groaning as he shifted back into a human form. It wasn't pleasant, but it didn't hurt because he often shifted bodies, just to keep in practice. He stood and lifted a hand to brush his hair out of his eyes, then turned as the dragon crawled up onto his shoulder.

"Well. Have you learned your lesson, flying around without an escort after you've been injured, or are you going to continue getting yourself and me into trouble?"

Akai trilled, scaly lips quirking into a smile. Seto couldn't understand him, but the dragon seemed to understand that and instead rubbed his face over his cheek.

Seto lifted his hand to ruffle his wings lightly. "You'll never guess what Pascal told me," he began, limping back toward the palace. He waited for the dragon to coo eagerly before continuing, "That smell that Joey gives off when he's around me is apparently pheromones."

Akai squealed in shock, as if yelping, 'no!'

"That's what Pascal said. He also told me that Joey wants me to pup him. Can Animus actually bear children? Because that's what Pascal hinted, but he's admittedly not all there. I'll look it up in the library when we get home. In any case, when Joey found out, he didn't deny it. Can you believe that?"

He knew that dragons turned him into a terrible gossip. However, on this subject, he was glad to continue chatting away, because that seemed like a great idea.

.-.-.-.-.-.

Joey looked up at the ceiling of the palace, worrying his bottom lip nervously. He didn't really want to be here, but Atem had mentioned something about a reward, and he'd said the black dragon would consider it very rude for him not to accept it. He wondered if he could reason with the dragon. He didn't really want anything. Maybe he could ask it for something for Serenity.

"Joey."

Joey yelped and jerked around, blushing a little as he came face-to-face with the palace mage. "GAH Kaiba!"

"…Yes, hello," Seto murmured, glancing him up and down. He smirked a little. "You'll never guess what a little dog told me."

"Oh enough with the dog jokes asshole it's not like they're funny t' anyone but you!" the blond snapped, glaring at him.

"Hmm." The older boy raised an eyebrow, then grinned—a rather scary expression on him, the blond thought, taking a step back. "So what was the job that Atem sent you on, hmmmm?"

"None of your business, ass—" Joey began angrily. He glanced down at his leg, pausing when he saw it wrapped tightly with bandages. "…Hole…?"

"Bear traps are supposed to be illegal," Seto replied, shrugging. He chuckled quietly as he watched the blond pale, reaching out to dig his fingers into his hair. "Akai decided that the best reward was to give you exactly what you want. I agreed." He leaned in and brushed his lips over the blond's burning ear, whispering, "So, did you really want me to pup you?"

Joey's face heated up so much he thought he might faint. "You… I… Wha—Oh my God."

"Not a no," the brunet decided, wrapping his free arm around his waist. "If you don't say no, I'm going to kiss you."

"…I'm gonna just… go now…" the younger boy muttered, pushing lightly at his chest.

"That was still not a no," Seto stated, and dipped his head to crush the blond's mouth with his own.

Joey mewled, shivering a little, then scowled and lifted his foot to lightly tap the brunet's bandaged calf with it.

Seto yelped and fell. "AH FUCK WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!"

The blond glared at him. "That wasn't romantic at all, ya prick!"

"Aaaagonyyyy," the brunet hissed when he tried to stand up.

Joey sighed and rolled his eyes, then reached out and wrapped his hands around the older boy's wrists. "Okay, that was probably a little mean." He yanked the brunet into a standing position, taking a moment to steady him as he flailed his arms trying to balance more on one leg. "I expect dinner before I kiss ya and if ya want more than that you're gonna hafta take me on tons of dinners, because I am not an animal."

Seto sighed, scowling a little. "How do you expect me to have you for dinner if you're going back to your farm?"

The blond smirked and patted his cheek a little harder than necessary. "Well, I'm sure Gringle and Pascal would be happy t' see ya, and Serenity loves makin' extra food!"

The older boy rolled his eyes in disgust. "Are you suggesting I come to that hovel you call a house?! It smells like horse shit!"

"…Well o' course it does, dumb ass," Joey exclaimed, glaring back at him. "Unicorns are just horses with magical horns and huge fetlocks!"

Seto snorted. "That's not true."

"It's mostly true."

The brunet paused. "…Well. You'd know better than I." He sighed, frowning. "I suppose I can make a trip out to your… home… every weekend. Every other weekend at the worst." He grimaced. "Even if it does smell bad and I don't look forward to seeing Gringle."

"Aw, Gringle adores ya, Seto! Probably even as a human!" Joey cooed, patting his chest. "Tell Akai I appreciate the thought, but—"

"I'm going to tell him that I kissed you thoroughly, because dragons do not just accept appreciation for their thoughts. He would bite me." Seto grimaced. "And I'm already wounded."

The blond blinked up at him, stunned, then smirked and went up on his toes to whisper into his ear. "Maybe if you're a good boy when ya come for dinner, I'll kiss it better."

"Oh. …Would you really?" the older boy asked after a moment.

Joey smiled and tapped his nose. "You'll just hafta see, won't ya?"

He liked that idea. He liked it very much. "I will most definitely be over to your hov—house on Friday."

"We'll try really hard to make sure the house smells clean then. You can bring Mokuba, too," Joey added, winking, before turning to walk away. "Serenity can keep him company while I kiss your booboos better!"

"Okay." Seto lifted his hand in a vague wave, even though all he could think about was perhaps being able to kiss Joey and perhaps the blond even seeing to his wound.

He'd planned to just use some spells and salves to heal his leg, because his limp was rather annoying, but he suddenly found himself quite willing to continue limping around for the mere possibility that the blond would kiss his booboo better. Hell, he didn't even care that he was using the word 'booboo' despite how demeaning it was because the idea of the blond taking care of him was so pleasing.
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The Mythology Set