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The Christmas season was always Joey's favourite time of year, but it wasn't because of the presents or the lights. The snow could go fuck itself, too. No, it was the influx of new blood in Domino City. Not the same sad faces he saw pass through every day, hemming and hawing their way through their workday; they still existed, sure, but at least the season made them cheery and bright. They tasted better that way. Dejected souls, he thought, tasted as good as rotten meat: edible, but not preferable. Hirutani thought he was crazy. "Blood is blood," he would say. "No reason to be picky."
"Then why ya like the tourists so much?" He made the mistake of asking. Hirutani grabbed him by the jaw, almost crushing it beneath his grip, replying:
"Because someone fucked up when they made you Wheeler; you like people too damn much. You'd rather make friends with them and leave us all to starve."
It had been a painful fight, Joey recalled. Hirutani packed a hell of a punch, and all the speed in the world didn't matter once he got hit into into February 30th. It took both of them three days to recover from that bout, at which point he just picked the easiest excuse for prey and took as little as possible to survive. If he obeyed every one of Hirutani's orders, there wouldn't be any humans left in Domino City. Probably what he wanted, but their little group of Lost Boys wasn't going to overtake such a big city.
From then on, Joey kept a safe distance, complying as thinly to Hirutani's orders as possible most of the year while he kept to his one corner of the city. But Christmastime was different. It was a free for all, a smorgasbord. Happy people everywhere, with night falling as early as five in the afternoon. The group running into each other was nearly impossible. They'd see each other from rooftops, in alleys, walking calmly amongst the masses while they stalked.
That Joey ran into Hirutani while crossing the rooftops of the financial district was no surprise. He attempted to turn and jump away from his burly boss, take to the streets to find someone, but he had already been heard. "Been a while, Wheeler."
"Yeah."
"Thought maybe you were dead or somethin'."
Joey rolled his eyes. "Joey Wheeler dead? Who the hell's gonna kill me? You?"
"I could, ya know."
"Tch. No ya couldn't. Couldn't get anyone good if ya didn't have me, either," Joey said, glancing down at the throngs of people sliding by one another, rushing from shop to shop. Finding someone amongst them would be difficult. Luring them usually took more charm than a brute like Hirutani possessed. "I'm your number two for a reason."
"Aren't you fuckin' cocky? I haven't you in months and this is how you greet me?" Joey was thrown against a chimney before he could react, the bricks crackling beneath him. "Where the hell have you been?"
"Around."
Hirutani's hands tightened around his jacket collar, pressing it into his throat. "No fuckin' shit. I've seen you bumming around with that little twerp and his friends. Question is, why are you being so fuckin' stupid?"
Joey grabbed Hirutani's wrists to try and pull him away, but he only pressed harder. "Not everyone's a target..."
"No, but everyone's a liability. And someone like you would expose everything."
"I'm careful."
"Fucking hell you are!" Hirutani pressed so hard that the crackling brick caved beneath Joey's back. "I have to clean up after your stupid all the time. That prick in the tower already suspects us."
"...Kaiba...?" Joey struggled. It didn't hurt that much. The muscles in his back and neck were trying to spasm, but he could still breathe. All he had to do was hold off long enough to make sure that Hirutani didn't see him flinch. That was how this always went—Hirutani throwing his weight around and Joey waiting for the best opening. Sometimes it happened, sometimes it didn't. "The fuck's he care about us...?"
"Who cares? People listen to him; people believe him. He tells everyone we're real, then guess what? Kiss your ass goodbye."
"Yeah, what are you gonna do about it? Kill the biggest face in Domino?" Joey sneered. A ravenous smile grew on Hirutani's face; the eyes of a monster revealed, barely stretched behind the façade of a man who was maybe human. Joey didn't know anymore.
"No. You are."
"The hell I will." Joey kicked Hirutani's shin hard, staggering him. He was shoved harder, the chimney breaking against the pressure and raining stone and soot over their heads. Joey rolled out of the way, landing on his knees, searching for Hirutani through the plumes of smoke.
"Kill him by dawn, Wheeler. Or I kill you, instead."
Joey followed the voice, swinging wildly through the smoke. "Ya can't get near the bastard. It's impossible."
"I'm sure you can think of something," the voice said from behind. Joey pivoted around, winding up his swing. He stumbled through. "Use that charm of yours."
The smoke thinned. He stood alone on the rooftop, Hirutani's shadow disappearing into the velvet dark sky in the distance. He kicked a chunk of brick and leapt over to the next building, out and away from the curious people who were investigating the ruckus on the roof.
—
A few lights dotted the KaibaCorp. headquarters; a shimmering beacon in the centre of wealth and prosperity in Domino City's financial district. It's windows so well shined that moonlight made them look like platinum, braced in cobalt blue. Minimalistic, efficient, effortless. An architectural beauty from the moment foundations were laid and the scaffolding was built. It was plain ugly to Joey, but what did he know about architecture? The only thing that mattered to him was where the executive level was—at the very top of the building, where the lights were brightest.
Getting up to the top floor was going to be a challenge. It wasn't like he could scale the ledges and smash through the window. Well, he could, but that wasn't the best way to do this. Seto Kaiba wasn't just some random person plucked from the street. He was Domino City; his face was everywhere all the time, provocatively captured for promotional stills for KC products. Joey sometimes felt like he, along with most of the female population, must have had an intimate relationship with a billboard. Particularly the one on 32nd street, where he always perched. It had a very good view of the metropolitan area.
And now he had to kill this man behind the face. Two days before Christmas. Awesome.
He strolled into the lobby with a smile on his face. A pretty girl with long brown hair manned the front desk. "I'm sorry, we're closing for the evening, sir," she said without looking at him.
Joey leaned on the counter. "Yeah, well, I was told I was s'pose to talk t' Mr. Kaiba around this time."
"I doubt that."
"I know, I thought it was weird, too," Joey said, nonchalant. 'Charm', as Hirutani put it, was his speciality. For what he lacked in strength, he made up with his ability to have humans trust him so easily. He imagined it somehow carried over from his own human years; he'd been a friendly guy. A little bit of a schmoozer when he got enough alcohol in him. Nothing like a ladies' man, but that was then. Now, it was more like an innate ability. As long as someone looked him in the eye, he could usually figure something out. "I don't question the orders, I just follow them."
"Mmhmm. Name?"
"Joe Smith." Her head drew up, and she scoffed as she looked him over. As soon as her eyes hit his, the ready look like she was about to laugh out of the building melted away. "I know. Stupid ain't it? My parents were pretty borin' people..."
"No, no. It's not that, I just don't have any appointments."
"Damn. Check again?"
She clocked away at the keyboard before shaking her head. "It doesn't appear so."
"Tch. Figures my boss would send me all the way here an' not have anythin' set up," Joey said. He lifted away from the counter, going to leave. The receptionist followed his every move. "I'm sorry for wastin' your time, beautiful. I hope Mr. Kaiba don't get too mad at ya for—,"
"Hold on."
Hook, line, sinker. "Yeah?"
"I can...get you upstairs."
Joey smiled. "Yeah?"
"Yes. I can make you a temporary keycard." A blush appeared across the receptionist's cheeks as she typed away. Something chugged out of the printer beside her. She tore it out, punching a hole in it. "But you have to do something for me."
He was already back at the counter. "What's that?"
"Your number?"
"Of course!" He beamed, rattling off the numbers for her, making sure to remember them when she read them back wrong, correcting her. She smiled more. "Me an' you'll go to that Italian joint on Carlisle. Sound good?"
"Absolutely. I'll be waiting."
The keycard was slid to him. He bolted away from her and into the elevator before his little spell on her broke. He probably wouldn't make it to Kaiba's office before that happened, giving him ten minutes alone with Kaiba. Maybe five. Depended on security.
The floor was bright but quiet. No secretary behind the desk or upper level associates milling around. There were a few cameras, but he wasn't worried about those so much. For such a high tech building, he suspected more high tech security. Well, the prick did have a keycard for his office, so that was something.
He slid it, and the doors clicked open, drifting inwards.
"I would invite you in, but I'm not as stupid as my receptionist."
Joey toed the threshold, glancing around the pristine room full of floor to ceiling windows. It's view of Domino was better than Kaiba's billboard, but then, Kaiba stood in front of his desk with his arms crossed. The living, breathing man. Not just pixels.
"Ya know, that only works with homes, right?" Joey stepped through casually. He flicked the keycard at Kaiba's feet. It's corner dug into the carpet. "But I guess ya know why I'm here."
"Perhaps."
"Guess there's a reason you’re the smartest man in Domino."
"Flattery won't get you anywhere."
Joey's gaze never left Kaiba's. Imperious and calculating; shockingly blue. Much bluer than his billboard. Enough that Joey wanted to get much closer to him to see how much else was different. Even without being airbrushed or photoshopped, the man was handsome. The curl in his lip and the dip of his nose. He even cocked his hips about, hitched up like some runway model.
Damn.
"It was worth a shot," Joey said, taking another step closer. "Thought it might make killin' ya a little easier."
"You actually think you can kill me?"
"I'd say I've got a the upper hand, yeah." He would as soon as Kaiba caved. Not that he wanted to see this man on his knees. It wouldn’t do his smug face any justice to just give up. Kaiba must have been all willpower if he wasn’t conceding already. Just like a high-powered CEO would be.
Kaiba said nothing, but unfolded his arms as Joey came within inches of him, forcing him to hug the desk.
His musk was enchanting. Spiced and warm, with something a little earthy beneath it. It wasn't too strong, just enough that he could catch it wafting from Kaiba's collar once they were so close. His hand braced Kaiba's chest, nails plucking the buttons of his shirt as he slid down. This was that damn billboard's fault. He'd spent one too many hours playing with himself while gazing that he was having trouble now. His trousers were tenting, and he angled himself to keep his eyes locked on Kaiba. Paralyse him in the way his billboards paralysed others.
"Kills excite you that much, vampire?" A palm lightly cupped against Joey's erection, flinching him backwards. "Or is it something else?"
"N-no."
"Maybe you want something like this?" He asked, leaning in and kissing Joey gently. Saying he wasn't into it would be a lie. This was how all of his fantasies started out, anyways. Tasting Kaiba, nibbling at his lip. The kisses were almost bruises, but Joey never stopped, not even to take a breath. Neither did Kaiba, who's hand was a little more welcomed to stroke the erection, sending shivers up Joey's spine. This was a time waster before the final act, if it even had to happen. Points for charm, he supposed. Maybe he could do something else to keep Kaiba quiet. Yeah! This could go another way instead. Everyone would end up happy.
Before he knew it, Kaiba dragged him down to the desk, his hands still cupping Joey's erection, though it was much more forceful. Enough that his grip hurt. "Hey, watch it down there. I like it rough as the next person but—,"
The cold nozzle of a gun pressed against his forehead. Kaiba pulled back the hammer. "Shut up, Wheeler."
"How'd you—?"
"I know everything about my kind," he sneered. "The fact that you and I share any kind of similarity makes me want to vomit."
Joey's brows knit in confusion. He broke his gaze to peer at the gun. An old six-shooter. Probably a Colt special, fully loaded with silver ammunition. But that wasn't the worrisome part. He'd had plenty of hunters put a gun to his head and he come out on the other side. Kaiba, however, was making a completely different claim.
"You're a vampire?"
"You seem surprised; didn't you feel me take hold of you?" Kaiba asked. His thumb roughly stroked down the ridge of Joey's trousers. "Unless you're really stupid enough to think you seduced me into fucking you. Even if I was human, your will is so weak I wouldn't have looked twice at you."
"You motherfu—!"
Kaiba fired the gun beside Joey's head. A small hole smouldered by his ear, the warm muzzle returned to his forehead. "Listen, Wheeler, and listen closely. You're on the wrong side of a war right now. Your boss just sent you blindly into my territory thinking you could actually do something. I should kill you; show him just how stupid and inconsequential ants like him and you actually are, but..." he paused, sliding his hand up to Joey's hip. "You could be of use to me. So I'll give you two options: die right here, right now for your pitiful loyalty or pledge your allegiance to become my tool in this war."
This was all news to Joey. The only other vampires he'd found were Hirutani's gang, and they promised easy feeding after his rough transition. But then, there had to be others. Someone else had turned him. And Hirutani was fiercely territorial, telling them where they could and couldn't go. Anywhere near KaibaCorp. was worth harsh punishment...this was probably meant as punishment, too. He knew Kaiba was one of them and was going to let the CEO handle Joey. That had to be it. Hirutani had always been too weak to wrangle Joey for more than a few days worth of recovering.
Kaiba's hand brushed along Joey's midriff, making his stomach roll. God, his touch was exciting. Especially as his hand dipped into the waist of Joey's trousers. Curious, that his hands still wondered. Maybe, just maybe, he had some effect on Kaiba. Because this was exactly how his fantasy went, minus the gun.
"What do I gotta do?"
"Pledge first, Wheeler."
The decision wasn't hard; he and Hirutani didn't get along very well. Now, it was only worrying about Kaiba blowing his brains out as soon as he agreed. This was, possibly, the only option that left him alive. Serving Kaiba couldn't have been any worse than Hirutani—and he was better to look at, too.
"Yeah, fine."
"Fine what?" Joey's jaw clenched as Kaiba popped the button of his pants and gripped his cock. "Fine what, Wheeler?"
"I...ahh...pledge my allegiance to...ngh...you."
The gun dropped away from his temple, and Joey shuddered out a breath caught between ecstasy and reprieve, closing his eyes to savour Kaiba's touch. It didn't last long. The invigorating touch of Kaiba's hand left him mid-way. It forced him to sit upright, his heart pounding furiously, his cock twitching between his legs. "What the hell, man?"
Kaiba sighed. "You really are an idiot."
"But you were just—!"
"Giving you a taste of reward. Maybe. If you can actually accomplish anything." The gun was poised, stock first, towards Joey. "Take this as proof that you 'killed' me. Your boss is naïve enough to believe it. Take care of him, and if you report back to me...we'll see."
Joey inspected the gun with rigour. The intricate little markings that were carved down the sides and along the barrel. Generations old, likely. Maybe stolen from an actual hunter.
"A'right, I will. But first," he hopped up from the desk, clearing the distance instantly. He kissed Kaiba again, until he was pushed away and met with an angered sneer. "Motivation."
"Get out!"
And Joey ran out, buttoning his pants and glancing over his shoulder before the doors slammed closed. Yep. Motivation indeed. He would be back as fast as he was able.