This is based on a random bunny from two years ago that Maggie helped me flesh out. Though it was originally supposed to be a light PWP, it took a sudden turn into WTF-ery with a bit of angsty drama and…um…yeah…. There MAY be a sequel, but, honestly, I kinda like leaving this quagmire behind. ^_^
Title: Pearls Before Swine
Author: Mishiko Shinsei
Rating: M
Pairing: Jou/Seto
Beta: SerenaJ and KelD
Spoilers: Nada
Disclaimer: I only own the words on the page. The characters and their nosebleed- causing images belong to someone much more talented than I.
Summary: AU. It was only supposed to be a quiet birthday dinner.
Pearls Before Swine
Seto knows absolutely that their relationship will not work out when he sees the wait staff gathering around their table. Beside him, Mokuba's eyes widen at the knowledge of what is about to happen. Nervously, he glances at his big brother, noting the tell-tale narrowing of his eyes that usually signal an impending blow up. He sighs at Krista's stupidity.
'Oh well, I almost had a mom,' Mokuba muses as the gathered waiters and waitresses finish singing a joyful chorus of "Happy Birthday to you!"
As the paid revelers back away from Kaiba's patented glare, a young blonde waiter leaning against the pillar near their cozy booth snickers lightly.
"Man, yer chick's stupid," he elaborates at the brunet's gaze swiveling to him. "Even I know ya'd hate THAT."
"What do you know?" the woman sitting across from Kaiba huffs. "He loved it! He's just shy about showing such emotions to strangers!"
The blonde starts in disbelief before throwing back his head and laughing loudly, drawing the attention of the other patrons around them.
"Man! Yer even dumber'n I thought if ya think anything about him is shy! 'Sides, if ya can't even figger out that he's too private a guy ta want a public airing of his birthday, yer really clueless. I could tell that jus' by lookin' at him."
"You…!" she sputters indignantly.
"I know why ya did it. It's 'cause yer tryin' hard ta keep his interest in ya. It ain't gonna work no way 'cause ya don' have the right parts," the blonde continues, undeterred.
"How dare you!" the woman screeches.
"Who...?" Kaiba begins, intrigued by the blonde's brashness.
His vague inquiry is cut off by a loud, "Jounouchi!" from the approaching restaurant manager.
The aggressive blonde sighs in disgust and resignation.
"Wha'? Ahm jus' havin' a p'lite convashsashin wit' dese fokes," he affects in a sullen drawl.
"That's not true!" the irritated redhead snips, sitting up straighter to bear her ample bosom for the suddenly ogling manager. "He was insulting me and my boyfriend!"
"Jounouchi," the manager grumbles threateningly, turning back to the redhead's bosom and offering his apologies for the disruption.
"He called me an idiot and said that my soon-to-be-fiancé, Seto Kaiba, was gay!" The woman's shrill retort tramples over the manager's intentions. "I want him fired this instant!"
"Man, yer a dumb broad," Jounouchi shakes his head in disbelief. "I can't believe ya yelled out his name like dat. Didn't ya jus' hear me say he's a private person?"
"Jounouchi!" his boss bellows! "That's enough! Go and get your things, you're fired!"
The redhead smirks as the blond huffs. Just outside of their periphery, a crowd of celebrity seekers begins to form.
"Whatevah," the blonde waves dismissively as his former boss tries to ingratiate himself to the important man. Turning back to the woman seated beside the world famous CEO, the blonde snarls, "By the way, yer still an idiot an' yer boyfriend is still gay."
At the woman's affronted gasp, he leers openly at the now staring brunet. Lightly licking his lips, the blonde offers a wicked grin before sauntering away.
For his part, Kaiba is frozen with surprise and more than a little arousal. It's not that he hasn't had male lovers before; it's not even that the aggressive blonde oozed sex... Whatever it is, Kaiba finds himself swallowing hard at the thought of that slim form dominating his own; a position he's never even considered before.
Behind the eyelids that he doesn't realize he's closed, the brunet pictures it clearly:
The blonde Adonis backing him into a corner…
The other's large hands groping and stroking him all over through his pristine business suit before ripping the suddenly flimsy material from his body…
The blonde's tongue thrusting into his mouth and dominating him completely…
The feel of slick, powerful fingers barely stretching and preparing him before…
Mokuba's shout of alarm pulls the CEO from his daydream with a start. He opens his eyes to see the quickly gathered crowd overtaking his brother seated across from him and Krista.
"Get the fuck off of him!" the brunet yells, causing all around to jump away in fear; including the manager.
Six of Kaiba's body guards push through the surrounding throng and muscle the Kaiba brothers toward the front door. At a subtle signal from the elder Kaiba, they also block the redhead's attempt to follow.
Pulling his little brother close, Seto storms out of the restaurant.
"Seto! Seto, wait for me!" his would-be consort calls feebly, as she tries to fight her way through the crowd she herself caused.
With a cool look and turn of his head, he ignores her calls, dismissing her completely. As he hustles his little brother into the swiftly appearing limousine, he hears a light chuckle behind him.
"Man, that broad's even dumber'n I thought she was, yellin' ya proper name in public like that. How the hell did a prime gay guy like you hook up wit' a loser tuna like that?" the blonde poses, leaning near his former place of employment.
Crazily, Seto finds himself turning to respond to the man., but changes his course of action when he spots the redhead heading his way. Against all forms of sanity, and his better judgment, he quickly slips a business card from the breast pocket of his suit and jots his private cell on the back of it. Stuffing the card into his primary bodyguard's hand, he nods toward the blonde and slips into the car.
The redhead, unfazed by Kaiba's recent actions, casually follows the crowd outside and toward where she expects the limo will be waiting. Lightly chatting with her best friend on her cell, she tells her about what happened in the restaurant.
"I'm used to his temperamental moods," she laughs. Spotting the ring of 20 bodyguards easily keeping the crowd from the restaurant at bay, she heads in that direction.
As she sees one of her boyfriend's bodyguards step from the throng and walk toward the nasty little blonde she'd just gotten fired, she grins in satisfaction.
"Seto's sent Kuro to put a beat down on that faggot I was telling you about," she sneers into the phone. "I told you everything would work out. He's just…"
Abruptly, she stops talking as, to her surprise, not only does Kuro not touch the asshole, he hands him one of Kaiba's business cards. He then nods in her boyfriend's direction as if explaining that Kaiba had been the reason behind the blonde receiving it. Fury lights the woman and she snaps her cell closed sharply. Shoving her way through the crowd she fights to reach the limo, only to be stopped by the barrier of bodyguards.
Having carried out his boss' instructions, Kuro returns to the waiting limo. As soon as he's safely inside, the sleek automobile speeds away, leaving behind a seething redhead and a grinning blonde.
Whistling jauntily, Jou shoots the idiot woman a smug look and strolls away, hips swaying with a distinctive swagger.
"What a fiasco that was," Mokuba sighs.
"Hn. Yes it was," Seto acknowledges.
There's a significant pause before Mokuba offers his next thought.
"So, I guess Krista's not going with us for the rest of our trip," he notes quietly.
"Of course not!" Seto scoffs. "I'll have Kuro arrange for a cab to pick her up from the restaurant and a commercial flight back to Japan for her."
'Wow! A cab! And a commercial flight! Seto must be really pissed,' the younger brother muses.
Thinking back over the last 30 minutes or so annoys the CEO all over again. Normally, he would have had at least two bodyguards nearby, but he'd allowed his desire to find a mother for Mokuba to cloud his better judgment.
"C'mon, Seto!" she'd wheedled. "It's dinner in a family restaurant in a country that's barely heard of you in a city well off the beaten path. Can't we just do without them for an hour or so?"
The blonde, Jounouchi, had been right; she was an idiot. And Seto was an even bigger idiot to have listened to her. His company produces six of the most played games in Japan and three of the most played games in America; of course he'd be recognized.
Though probably less so if that idiot hadn't shouted out his name like she did. After all, they'd just spent the last two days at Cedar Point Park riding the myriad roller coasters and observing their operating procedures without anyone knowing who they were. The rest of these next two weeks had been planned as reconnaissance missions to area amusement parks. In fact, their entire reason for going to the States had been as preparation for his and Mokuba's creation of Kaibaland near Kyoto next year.
He and Mokuba had been having a great time romping around the country. Even this trip to Sandusky, Ohio had started off pretty well.
'Before that crazy woman decided that I needed to celebrate my birthday in public,' he grumbles to himself.
"No, Mokuba. That crazy woman is no longer a part of our life," he re-iterates.
"Oh," Mokuba intones.
Turning to look out the window at the passing scenery, he feels a little sad about Krista's dismissal. It's not that he didn't know she was a money-grubbing, nasty bitch who'd do anything to become Krista Kaiba. And he knew that she would probably have tried to ship him off to boarding school as soon as she could. But she was kinda fun and could play all of his video games well enough to challenge him and Seto. He'd miss that. But she'd definitely shown true idiocy by getting Seto a birthday song.
Even then, Seto may have ignored that and dealt with the situation later if she hadn't shouted out his name. Maybe that blonde guy really bothered her.
Speaking of that guy…
Mokuba glances in his brother's direction with concern. He's never seen Seto react to anyone like that before; not even Yami. That guy really got under Seto's skin. And it looked like his brother was kind of excited about it!
It's not like Mokuba hasn't known for years that his brother plays for both teams; he's just never seen him have such a strong attraction to anyone before. He sighs lightly to himself. It's too bad though, since they'll be returning to Japan in a week or so and Seto will never see the guy again.
The ring of Seto's personal phone startles them both; especially since the only person who ever calls it is Mokuba.
"Kaiba!" Seto barks into the receiver.
"Heh! I thought ya gave me a bogus number, Kaiba. But it's good that it's really you. Ya gotta problem here, so ya better come back."
"Wha-who…" Seto trails off.
"It's Jounouchi. From Friday's. Ya gave me ya card. Listen,' ya really need ta get back here quick, 'cause…Hey! Leave her alone, ya fuckers!"
Kaiba hears what sounds like a scuffle on the other end and then a loud clatter before the line goes dead.
Frowning, Seto hits the intercom and orders the driver back to the restaurant as fast as possible.
"Seto, what's going on?" Mokuba demands. "Who was that on the phone?"
"I don't know what's going on, Mokuba. Jounouchi just said that I needed to get back to the restaurant. He shouted something about 'Leave her alone,' and then the line went dead. It sounded like he dropped the phone."
"Jounouchi? You mean the guy from Fridays? You gave him your personal cell? Seto, are you crazy?"
"That doesn't matter now, Mokuba," Seto dismisses with a wave. "We'll talk about it after I find out what's happened to him."
Mokuba frowns worriedly at his brother. It's one thing for Seto to be attracted to the guy; it's quite another for him to be so obsessed that he's not thinking clearly.
As their limo and support cars pull up in front of the restaurant, the occupants can see a crowd gathered around Jounouchi and a few bystanders, who are fighting several very rough looking guys dressed as bodyguards.
"Take care of it," Seto orders into his ever-present lapel pin.
At his command, his 20 body guards subdue the 8 men dressed as bodyguards within a matter of moments. Once the area is secure, Seto orders that the blonde be brought to him, despite the attempts by the newly arrived police to stop them.
"Hey!" Jounouchi breathes heavily as he flops onto the seat across from the brunet.
"Hey? That's all you have to say to me?" Seto shouts incredulously. "What the hell were you doing? And why the hell would you involve me in some random street brawl?"
"Heh! I thought ya were more observant than that," he pants. "Them wasn't no street thugs. An' I called ya 'cause they was harrasin' yer idiot girlfriend.' "
"I don't have a …wait, do you mean Krista? She's not my..."
"Where is she?" Mokuba interjects. "Is she hurt?"
"I dunno," the blonde shrugs. "After they smashed mah phone they took off wit' her."
"What? Why would anyone take Krista?" Seto glowers.
"It doesn't matter!" Mokuba yells. "We have to get her back."
"Kid's right," Jounouchi winces as he shifts into a more comfortable position. "Ya gotta get her back. An' I think I can help. I got their plates. An' I think I heard where they're takin' her."
"You're hurt," Seto grimaces. "You need to be checked out."
"Kaiba, if I get outta this car, the cops're gonna be all ovah me."
"But you were…"
"Trus' me, they won't wanna hear it," he looks away, dismayed. "I've had more'n my share a' run-ins with cops, if ya know what I mean. Jus' my name will get me at least 30 days."
Seto nods in understanding as Mokuba scowls at his brother's decision to trust this admitted criminal.
"We'll save Krista first, and then I'll have my personal physician fully look you over at the hotel," Seto decides. "Tell me what you know."
Jounouchi pulls out Kaiba's crushed business card and shows him the scrawled plate number, complete with state, and a short description of the car.
I was jus' chattin' wit' a few a' mah buds from Friday's. Jus' after ya left, a dark blue limo pulled up, This smarmy white guy gets out and starts tryin' ta talk ta yer girl…" the blonde relates.
"I told you, she's not…" Seto interrupts.
"Seto!" Mokuba admonishes.
"Whatevah," Jounouchi dismisses. "Anyway, that chick wasn' havin' it, she jus' thumbed her nose at him an' walked away. That's when it got wrong. He had two a his goons try'n talk ta her, but ya know that chick's kinda crazy. She tol' 'em where they could stick it and how far up and then tried ta scratch out the eyes o' the one who was grabbin' her arm."
"Seto, the only white guy who might know we're here is…"
"I know, Mokuba. Let's here the rest, Jounouchi."
"So then I figgered that you needed ta know what was goin' on and called you. They started gettin' rough wit' her, so I jumped in. They took exception ta that and broke mah phone. I really loved that phone, so I started ta adjust some attitudes. An' ya know what happened next."
"Did they say anything when they took her?"
"They mentioned some place called 'Sengoku's' and dat it's 'near tha waterfront'," the blonde replies grimly. "Thing is, we ain't got no waterfront since we ain't near no water."
Seto opens the privacy screen long enough to relay the blonde's information about Krista's abduction to his primary body guard sitting up front with his driver, handing him the crumpled business card as he speaks. He then uses his lapel mike to instruct 5 of the body guards to remain at the scene as witnesses and the other 15 to follow him in case their services are needed. Finally, he uses the limo's intercom to order his driver to leave the scene, completely ignoring the police officers knocking insistently on the windows of his limo.
"Seto…" Mokuba presses.
"Save it, Mokuba. We'll talk after we've saved Krista," Seto replies to his brother's concerned voice.
Pulling a bottle of water, some napkins and a small first aid kit from various storage spaces, Kaiba slides onto the seat next to Jounouchi and begins cleaning and dressing the surface wounds on his face, arms and hands.
"Yer pretty good at that," the blonde praises quietly, his slightly raspy voice sending the brunet's heart racing.
"I wasn't always a CEO," he replies evenly. "And I practically raised Mokuba by myself."
"Sounds like me an' mah sis, Shizuka," Jounouchi smiles lightly. "'Cept I ain't seen her for 'bout five years, since mah folks split up."
Seto looks up as the other's voice trails away sadly.
"Does she live far away?" Mokuba surprises himself by asking. He supposes he feels sympathy for the man since he's also a younger sibling.
"Nah," Jounouchi shifts to allow Seto to clean his bruised cheek. "Mah dad's jus' bein' a prick ta me. He won't let me see her 'cause he thinks since I look like mah mom, I'll act like her too. See mah mom likes ta drink. A lot. An' she used ta beat Shizu up 'cause she was jealous a how nice mah dad treated her."
Mokuba gasps in shock at Jounouchi's reply.
"That's unfortunate," Seto intones, shifting to take care of a cut over the blonde's eye. "Perhaps you'll be able to re-connect with her again someday."
"Yeah. That'd be nice," Jounouchi exhales.
A sudden swerve of the limo sends Seto nearly sprawling. Only Jounouchi's quick reflexes save the CEO from slamming head first into the door.
"What the hell just happened? Mokuba yells, slamming open the privacy screen.
"Sorry, Sir," the bodyguard apologizes. "A sports car cut us off."
Mokuba turns to relay the information to his brother and is stopped short by the sight before him; Seto is straddling Jounouchi's lap as the blonde holds firmly to his brother's waist.
For his part, Seto is seated most comfortably on the other's lap, his hands itching to leave the strong shoulders and run through the thick, blonde hair before him.
"You okay?" Jounouchi rasps; more than a little surprised by his body's instant reaction.
It's not that he doesn't honestly find the CEO attractive, but he really was just harmlessly flirting with him before.
That and he wanted to piss off that stupid, stuck up, loser tuna…
But every since he got into the car and had his senses assaulted by the perfection that was Seto Kaiba…
"I'm fine," that smooth baritone replies. "Thank you for catching me."
"Well, it seemed the right thing ta do; not lettin' yer brains get splattered all ovah the car door. Bet that woulda been a bitch ta clean up," he grins.
"Indeed," Seto smirks in reply.
"Umm…" Mokuba trails off, unsure what to say about the scene before him. As they spoke, the two men seemed to get even closer together and the younger Kaiba wasn't sure if he should tear them apart or just leave them be; after all, it wasn't often that his brother noticed anyone like this.
"Actually, he's NEVER noticed anyone like this," Mokuba mumbles to himself.
Just as Mokuba decides to break them up after all, they both seem to realize their position and swiftly pull away from each other.
Seto kneels on the seat beside the blonde and resumes cleaning the smallish cut over his right eye. Jounouchi closes his eyes and lets the brunet work on him, vainly trying not to think about how much he'd rather have the other back in his lap.
"Well, I've done all I can for now," Seto concludes, packing up the first aid kit. "Once we've rescued Krista, we'll go back to the hotel and have you taken care of properly."
"How ya gonna get ya girl when ya don' even know where ta look?" Jounouchi prods, sitting up straight on the seat.
Seto bites back his instant response to correct the blonde about Krista being 'his girl.' He knows that his insistence that Krista was no longer his girlfriend would only serve to upset Mokuba.
"Hn," Seto smirks at him. "With all of the information you gave us, I wouldn't be surprised if we arrived at the proper place within the hour."
"All what information?" Jounouchi frowns. "All I had was a plate an' the name o' some place."
"That's more than enough," the brunet assures.
"But…"
"Don't worry, Jounouchi," Mokuba chimes in. "My brother's staff are great at everything or they don't work for my brother!"
"Great at ev'ry thing, huh? So what was up wit' that attempted face plant o' their boss?" he grins mischievously
"That wasn't the driver's fault!" Mokuba defends. "A car cut us off."
Jounouchi grins wider; amused by the younger Kaiba's seriousness. Realizing that he's just been 'played,' Mokuba turns away, grumbling under his breath about 'idiot blondes.'
"Don't tease him. He takes my welfare very seriously," Seto admonishes lightly.
"Sorry. Jus' tryin' ta keep things light," Jounouchi admits, running his hand nervously through his hair.
Seto follows the slim fingers along their path, wishing it were his fingers traveling there.
Just then, Seto's lead bodyguard's voice drifts smoothly over the intercom, "We're here, Mr. Kaiba."
"Excellent," the CEO nods. "Proceed with the operation."
"Yes, Sir," the bodyguard acknowledges.
"Uh…What jus' happened?" Jounouchi looks between the brothers.
"Seto's personal guards are rescuing Krista," Mokuba smiles. "They'll bring her here when they're done."
"Don'cha need tha police?"
"They'd just get in my way," Seto dismisses.
Suddenly, there is a loud explosion nearby, knocking the limo several feet away and tossing all inside about mercilessly.
"What th' fuck?" Jounouchi exclaims. Quickly pulling himself together, he exits the impacted car from the side farthest from the damage.
As the blonde former street punk helps Seto and Mokuba from the now burning wreckage, he surveys the scene with a survivor's instinct.
Before him burns the remnants of what he thinks must have been a pretty fancy restaurant; its two storied glamour fully engulfed in roaring flames. On the ground in front of the limo is part of a marquee that reads ' ngoku.'
On one side of the building, he sees the back of one of Kaiba's security cars half-buried beneath a brick wall; also on fire. Only his sordid childhood experiences and strong will keep him from being sick at the sight of several limbs and body parts on fire near the front door.
Deciding that his first order of business is to get Kaiba and his brother somewhere safe, he turns away from the chaotic scene before him and analyzes the surrounding area.
Spotting a large dumpster next to a building across the resturant's parking lot and small landscaped plot nearby, he swiftly drags his two completely shocked charges in that direction.
Kaiba's snarl of outrage is completely snuffed out by the top of the dumpster closing over his and Mokuba's heads.
"Jus' stay in there 'til I come an' get'cha!" he orders, before loping back toward the limo to check on the driver and bodyguard.
At the sound of gunfire, Jounouchi drops flat to the ground. Peering carefully over the bush he'd landed behind, he sees the bodyguard and the driver shooting at several unknown assailants as they run right toward him.
The bullet riddled body of the driver drops in front of him as the bodyguard leaps behind the dubious safety of the bush and right on top of Jounouchi. He stifles his scream of pain as the nearly 200 lb man lands upon his already heavily bruised 150 lb frame. Focusing past the pain, the blonde reaches for the driver's gun. The half-loaded Glock 21 had fallen just outside of the bush, but well within the blonde's reach.
Snatching up the powerful handgun, Jounouchi catches one of the would-be assassins in the chest with one round and his trailing assistant in the belly with another two. Beside him, the bodyguard shoots two more of the unidentified men before yelling a command of, "Ignite!" into his collar.
At his words, a high whistle heralds the arrival of an anti-personnel grenade. The resulting blast and screams of pain from their attackers is swiftly followed by a barrage of flash-bangs toward the front of the heavily burning and now collapsing structure.
Inside the dumpster, Mokuba is holding onto his brother for dear life, eyes wide in fright. Beside him, the elder Kaiba is trying his best to calm his little brother, all the while trying not to lose his own shaky composure. His efforts are completely shot to hell with a startled yelp when Jounouchi opens the dumpster several minutes after the last of the flash-bangs have exploded.
"C'mon, Kaiba!" he orders. "We gotta get you an' Mokuba someplace safe."
As effortlessly as he'd placed them in there, Jounouchi pulls the brothers out of the refuse, placing them gently on the ground. Once outside of their temporary refuge, the Kaiba siblings and Jounouchi are whisked into one of Kaiba's private helicopters and carried far from the carnage and destruction.
"Are ya sure it's okay that we skipped outta there?" Jounouchi prods, slouching down onto the fine leather couch and propping his feet on top of the fancy table in front of him. He'd watched the other from the doorway for a few minutes before inviting himself into the CEO's home office.
"I mean, it was like a war zone!" he continues. "An' what's the deal wit' ya girlfrien'? And where's the, kid? I ain't seen him since the 'copter ride? An' how come yer so calm now when I know ya was scared shitless back there? An' how come ya had me locked down las' night? An' what's happenin' wit that explosion an' shit? That shit's fucked up an' ya prob'ly shoulda stuck aroun' long enough ta let the cops know what was goin' on. Well, maybe not stuck aroun', but ya know what I mean."
Having said his piece, Jounouchi waits for Seto to respond. In his mind, he's held that piece more than long enough.
He'd been silent the entire helicopter ride to the nearest Kaiba Corp. headquarters building; a skyscraper over an hour away in New York, NY.
He'd offered no resistance as he'd been ushered into the extensive medical facility attached to the impressive 110-story structure.
He'd held his tongue through a thorough physical examination, followed by a -partially- forced shower and an even more comprehensive physical examination.
He'd eaten, and heartily enjoyed, the excellent meal prepared for him in the spacious penthouse apartment on the 106th floor of the Kaiba Corp. skyscraper. (That he was totally impressed about the penthouse taking up the entirety of the last four floors of the building, he'd also kept to himself.)
He'd slept like the dead in the sumptuous king-sized bed of the guest room in which he'd found himself locked. Apparently, it had happened just after the food had been delivered and he'd decided not to press the issue at that time.
He'd remained uncharacteristically quiet earlier that morning when confronted with a maid, several sets of clothes in his size, and the maids declaration of, 'Breakfast will be served in the Atrium in 30 minutes. I will escort you there, Master Jounouchi.'
And he'd stilled the inner voice wanting to demand answers from the eerily calm CEO as they'd quietly eaten a breakfast almost as scrumptious as the dinner he'd had the night before.
But morning had slid past a thoroughly satisfying lunch, which he'd inhaled by himself in the fairly lavish dining room, into a peaceful afternoon. But the brunet had still barely acknowledged him, let alone explained anything. At that point, he'd decided that he'd been patient enough, which led to his seeking the other out and this current confrontation.
"Well?" the blonde presses, finding himself a little frantic at the brunet's lack of response. "I gotta right ta know what's goin' on! I mean, mah ass is on the line too since I killed at least one o' them guys!"
Kaiba's head snaps up at the mention of Jounouchi's act of self-defense.
"What did you say?" he narrows his eyes at the blonde.
"I said a lot 'o shit," the blonde smirks, folding his arms behind his head and leaning back. "Not that ya was listenin' anyway."
The brunet pauses before replying.
"I was listening," the CEO admits. "I've been listening to you the whole time, even when you weren't using words; when your eyes stared at me in inquiry or cut to me with accusation."
"So ya jus' decided that I wasn' worth talkin' ta?" Jounouchi sneers.
"I wasn't sure what to say to you," Kaiba counters.
"The truth woulda worked," the blonde retorts. "It'll still work. Or are ya sayin' yer not gonna tell me the truth?"
"I would if I knew what the truth was," Kaiba sighs.
"Ya don' know wha' the fuck is goin' on either, do ya'?"
"No," the CEO admits sadly.
"Okay, then how 'bout ya tell me what ya do know," the other muses grimly.
"As soon as you answer a question for me," Kaiba rejoins.
"Sure! Wha'dya wanna know?"
"You weren't serious, were you? About killing someone, I mean?" he prompts, his chin on his clasped hands.
Jounouchi takes his feet down from the table and leans forward, elbows on his knees.
"Once they test the prints on that gun, I'm gonna be up fer capital murder," he replies seriously.
"Shit," Kaiba murmurs.
"Yeah, tell me 'bout it," the blonde laughs humorlessly. "It's not like I had a choice though. I mean, the firs' guy was 'bout ta shoot me in the head. An' his friend looked like he was 'bout ta off yer bodyguard, so…"
Seto nods in acceptance and understanding, leaning back in his chair. Taking a deep breath, he prepares to tell the blonde everything he knows.
"Krista's dead," he begins. "As is the man I thought was behind her kidnapping, an American named Alan Payne, the former CEO of ToyBiz. He's been after me for years to invest in Duel Monsters action figures, but I just kept blowing him off. He's crazy; certified years ago, and a stalker,which is why I wanted nothing to do with him."
"Well, fuck! How's Mokuba takin' the news?"
"Mokuba…" he falters. "Mokuba's been under heavy sedation since we arrived last night."
"Shit…so he doesn't know…" the blonde trails off.
"You accused me of being calm," Kaiba continues, a thousand yard stare in his eyes. "I don't have any choice but to be calm. My brother is traumatized and hysterical, needing to be strapped down and put to sleep like some mental patient.
"My recent ex and 12 of my personal bodyguards were blown up; men and women who've taken care of me for over five years. A former business rival and well-known thorn in my company's side was blown up with them.
"My personal driver, who's been with me since I first arrived at the Kaiba estate fifteen years ago was gunned down, his body left on foreign soil to be identified by strangers as his family in Japan awaits his safe return.
"All the while I have to maintain the façade to my company executives and employees that my 'fact gathering mission-slash-checking up on the status of Kaiba Corp. USA trip' is going well, when all I want to do find some way to bleed off this helpless rage that I'm feeling."
"Kaiba…" Jounouchi wants to offer some form of support and sympathy, but he isn't sure how.
After about a minute of charged silence and Kaiba's continued stare at nothing, the blonde steps over to the CEO's desk and leans against it. Moments later, intense blue eyes lock onto golden brown.
"And then there's you," the brunet intones, soberly.
"An' then there's me," the blonde echoes, running a hand through the silky chestnut locks that he's wanted to touch since yesterday.
"I've never been the reckless sort in any of my dealings with people," the brunet sighs, leaning against the hand that has made it's way through his hair and is now lightly caressing his face. "But with you, I felt like I could lose myself."
"Lose yerself, huh?" the blonde grins.
"I feel like I want to lose myself," Kaiba admits, a shudder passing through him as the blonde's fingers lightly brush his lips.
"Kaiba…" Jounouchi moans; about to lose control over his body's desire to claim the CEO's soft lips.
"And anything else I can claim,' he affirms in his mind.
Through half-lidded eyes, said CEO watches Jounouchi's face intently as he sucks one and then two of the blonde's fingers into his mouth.
"Ohhh, fuck, Kaiba!" Jounouchi exclaims before replacing his fingers with his lips and tongue.
A groping, mad scramble later finds them in Jounouchi's guest room, half-ripped clothes flying off in a frenzy.
The blonde pushes Kaiba down on the bed, almost immediately engulfing the brunet's impressive erection.
"Shit! Yer hung like a horse," the blonde gasps as he savors his delicious treat. "But as much as I wanna see if I can take this telephone pole yer packin,' right now I really wanna fuck ya raw!"
"Do it!" Kaiba exclaims as the busy blonde ends his declaration with an enthusiastic rim-job.
The CEO is still reeling from the sensation of Jounouchi's tongue in a place he hasn't felt one in a really long time when the blonde disappears.
"Jounouchi," Kaiba groans in frustration.
"I'm right here," the blonde grins dropping a bottle of hand lotion on the bed beside him and warming some of it in his hands. "Ya really ain't got no patience do ya?"
"Stop talking so much…ahhhh!" Kaiba cries out as two coated fingers lightly tease his oversensitive entrance.
"Jounouchi…" Kaiba breathes as the blonde smugly continues his torture, "I've never…It's only ever been touching and rimming, nothing else…"
The blonde's breath leaves him in a rush with the knowledge that he is about to take Kaiba's virginity.
"I guess then I'll have ta be gentle wit' ya," he grins, teasing the other's entrance playfully.
"I don't know if I can wait that long," the brunet admits, spreading his legs wide, a lustful gleam in his eyes.
"Fuck, Kaiba! Talk like that'll make me hurt ya," he groans, slipping one finger into the surprisingly relaxed body in front of him.
"Mmmm," the CEO squirms wantonly.
Ignoring the other man's provocation, Jounouchi slides his mouth back down over Kaiba's cock and begins scissoring his fingers inside the virgin opening.
Before he loses his mind with desire from hearing the amorous pants, gasps and whimpers of pleasure from writhing brunet, his slips his fingers out of the virgin aperture and lines his liberally coated, nicely endowed erection up at the CEO's opening.
"Sorry that I don' have any condoms," he pants heavily. "You'll jus' have ta take my word that I'm clean."
Lost in a pleasure he's never known, Seto nods his head dumbly, completely oblivious to the blonde's words.
As he begins his slow slide into the tight body beneath him, Jounouchi allows his mind to drift a bit, not wanting to blow his load early.
"Fuck!" Jounouchi groans once he's fully seated inside Kaiba's tight passage. "Yer so hot an' tight! I don' know how long I'm gonna las.'"
It takes him a few tries, but once Jounouchi hits Kaiba's sweet spot, the already wanton brunet throws his head back with a loud groan and begins to enjoy the ride of his life.
"Oh, yes! Yes!" Kaiba cries out. He wraps his arms around the strong back and tries with his body to urge the blonde to go harder and faster. Suddenly remembering the cue that used to always get him going, he lifts his feet up off the bed and wraps his legs around the blonde.
The feel of a pair of strong legs wrapping around his waist further weakens Jounouchi's resolve to go slow and he is soon slamming in and out of the sweat covered CEO.
"Ahhhh!" Kaiba yells out a few minutes later, the hot pulse of his cum splashing against the blonde's stomach.
It doesn't take long for Jounouchi to follow Kaiba's journey into bliss, which he punctuates with a heavy groan and a grip on the brunet's hips that is sure to leave bruises.
They lie panting together for a long time before Jounouchi silently carries the exhausted CEO into the bathroom for a shared shower.
"So, I guess I'm goin' back ta Japan wit' ya?" Jounouchi questions quietly, his arms wrapped around Kaiba's slim form as they lay together in the brunet's huge bed.
"If you have anyone to say good-bye to, you'd better do it soon. We're leaving first thing in the morning," Kaiba affirms against the blonde's chest.