All The Small Things [puppyshipping]

2. Joey

Joey warmed his hands around the cup of hot coffee. His body groaned, sore as he leaned back in the booth. The dress shoes felt strange on his feet. He tugged on the cuffs of his suit jacket.

He caught himself listening for the ding of the Cafe bell again. Joey forcefully directed his eyes away from the door and to the menu.

Items in the cafe were displayed on a board in cheerful chalk. He gave up staring at the squirming letters and glanced at the workers instead. The barista had arranged her hair in an artful up due that had it cascading down in waves of grey. She was chatting idly with a coworker about upcoming finals and he sighed over his mug of coffee. Menu, barista or door? It was a toss-up on where to divide his attention.

School hadn't been easy for him and he'd decided not to continue into college. All that sitting still made him anxious. Joey preferred to be in motion, even now his leg was bouncing to the beat of the music in the cafe.

The school had been a relatively safe place to catch up on some sleep before his night jobs. He'd put in several hours at whatever night shift he could manage and pass out in the morning at his desk. When you were young you took whatever they'd give you. The fewer questions the better.

Serenity was the scholar and Joey had done everything he could to help her get the education she deserved. After the Duelist Kingdom, he'd expected perhaps foolishly for his life to take some great upturn. It didn't, the money went to Serenity's operation. Not that he regretted helping Serenity regain her sight, he didn't.

However, all this meant Joey was still scrambling to put food on the table. That's where being good with numbers came in, math was one of the few subjects he surprisingly excelled at. Numbers had a certain set of symbols. Words could be tricky and liked to switch around on him.

Joey often had difficulty reading and comprehending things on paper but he wasn't stupid. Math was a necessity when you needed to put clothes on your back, and feed your little sister. This meant Joey spent more time at the library then expected trying to get them back on their feet. A kind Librarian had directed them to their budgeting classes and other self-help books. He found it helpful to give things a picture once Joey associated something with his environment it made concepts easier. Serenity and he had learned together. Despite Kaiba's taunts and others doubts, he'd managed to graduate just fine.

He'd never forgotten the street though, and these days he spent more time than ever pounding the pavement and keeping his ear to the ground. That's why he was considering this job in the first place. Considering, ha. He snorted. Admittedly he didn't have much of a choice University fee's were only going up. He'd gotten the application notice and figured better the devil you know.

The hair on the back of his neck stood and he found a tall brunette walking purposefully across the cafe. Joey had heard the bell ding but his breath still caught when he sighted Seto Kaiba for the first time since graduation. The devil he mused looked good.

He forced himself to exhale and clamped down on the adrenaline that had come soaring through his system. He needed this job but not so badly he couldn't walk away. Kaiba's eyes were an arctic ocean and could freeze a man with a glance. Joey was reminded of the harbor in the middle of winter and how beautiful the view of the frigid water was in the early blue morning.

The urge to choose fight or flight warred within him. Kaiba's lips quirked and he gave him a self-satisfied downright taunting look over. Joey clenched his jaw against the urge to snap at the other man for staring. Blood roared in his ears, and his heart beat faster the feeling echoed the sound his fingers made when they nervously drummed down on the table. He stilled his hand. This was Seto Kaiba he had no reason to be itching for a knife in his hand, let alone the reassuring weight of a gun. All his sense screamed trouble was coming.