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There is a difference, Joey quickly realizes, between Seto and Kaiba.
Seto is the orphaned boy who was shunned by his relatives and left to the wolves. Seto was the one who was trying so hard to keep everything together when everything was falling apart.
Seto's had a tough life.
Joey finds him in quiet, rare moments when Seto looks at him when he thinks no one is looking, with a look that Joey can't quite place until they've been together for a couple months. It's a look of affection, one that Seto's really only given his brother up until Joey came along.
He sees him other times too, like when Seto is woken up from nightmares of his past - a past Joey can hardly imagine, but knows all too well.
Kaiba on the other hand, is the arrogant bastard who keeps getting on his nerves with his dog comments and thinks he's the shit (when he isn't really; or, at least not always, especially when it comes to card games).
Funnily enough, it's Kaiba who kisses him first - rough and demanding, his hands pinning Joey's arms to a wall with crushing force.
Kaiba is the guy who makes his blood boil. At first it's in anger, but later it's in something else entirely.
Kaiba is the guy who never lets him have his way, except in bed, when the compromises aren't so bad because in the end it all feels so good.
Kaiba is the workaholic Joey shouts at from his side of the heavy oak desk in Kaiba's office because he hasn't had enough sleep or hasn't stopped working long enough to have a decent meal.
Kaiba's the one who got him into this mess of a relationship in the first place.
With Joey, Kaiba's become less of a jerk and is somehow tolerable. With Joey, Seto comes out more often. With Joey, Seto is living. With Joey, Seto doesn't know how he survived this long without him.
As Joey strokes Kaiba's hair as he sleeps (for once), he can't help but wish for the day when all the bad parts of Kaiba are gone.