anime/manga; Yu-gi-oh!
pairing; KaibaxJou [puppyshipping]

warnings; curses, underage smoking & hints of shonen-ai, which basically means boys lovin' boys
disclaimer; I do not own Yu-gi-oh! or any of the characters used
summary; Between Jou's hotheaded temperament and Kaiba's stubborn arrogance, can two rivals put meaningless fights with even less meaningful reasons aside to find something else - something that was perhaps always there, beneath the surface?

&&&

"You", Jounouchi exclaimed, finger pointed accusingly in the CEO's direction, "Disgust me."

Silence followed.

Yuugi stood frozen, violet eyes even wider than usual. Honda was obviously struggling to hold back laughter. Anzu had the whole deer-caught-in-headlights-look going on. Mokuba seemed horrified, mouth hanging agape and all.

And Kaiba?

Seto Kaiba, the friggin' chief executive officer of Kaiba Corperation (currently producing products that were ridiciulously popular among the children and a frequent subject on the market - or so all of the advertisement claimed), stood speechless.

And it lasted for a whole 3.4 blissful seconds.

"You", he calmly pressed out through tight lips, eyes closed in concentration (or maybe in anticipation - was he just collecting strength so that he could strike a second later and beat the living days out of Jou?), "Are an inbecil."

Dramatic Pause.

"And you are not even worthy of breathing the very same air as the people around you", Kaiba finished, finally looking up only to reveal the blazing anger radiating from behind his deep blue eyes, almost as if there were small flames threatening to shoot out from them.

Yuugi and Mokuba promptly got inbetween them, obviously predicting the direction that this whole scenario was heading to.

"Brother, come on, it's getting late and I'm hungry - how 'bout we call it a day, huh?" Mokuba nervously suggested, flashing a hopeful smile.

"Yeah, great idea! Jounouchi, we should head back too. You have that homework due to tomorrow, right? We were going to work on it tonight, weren't we?" Yuugi reminded the blonde with a pleading look.

Sparks seemed to fly between the two rivals who weren't really paying attention to neither of the anxious boys, glares only intensifying.

To think that it had started out innocently enough - Yuugi, being as friendly as he was, had invited the Kaiba brothers to a day at Domino's local amusement park since his own little gang had decided to go. Mokuba had been thrilled and he had been pestering his older brother all day, insisting that they accepted the offer and went along for some 'fun'.

"Mokuba", Seto had sighned, speaking in that reasonable tone reserved to those whom he was actually capable of being patient with, "I'll have the amusement park shut down so that you and some of your class mates can go by yourselves, without anyone bothering you, all right? We just can't go this time. Understood?"

And, needless to say, if Mokuba had understood and seen things from Seto's (self-proclaimed) logical side, they wouldn't have been in this situation. But they were. All thanks to the younger one's stubbornness and pleading puppy-eyes that he knew his brother couldn't deny.

Which basically leads us back to the fight between the two teenagers who had practically glued their mouths shut during the day so that the remarks just waiting to escape didn't slip.

Not that it mattered now - the damage had already been done.

"Mokuba, we're leaving", spat the CEO in response to Jounouchi's angry ranting, swiftly turning on his heel and walking away, his cape fluent behind him as the wind hit it. The dark-haired boy smiled apologetically and waved.

"See you around, guys! I had fun!"

"Yeah, take care, Moki", Yuugi replied, followed by some parting phrases from the rest of the gang as they watched the boy run to catch up with Kaiba. Jounouchi was practically shaking.

"Goddamn bastard!" He growled at last, releasing his frustration.

"Aw, c'mon, Jou. You didn't have to take things that far", Anzu chided, frowning.

"What? Are ya siding with that idiot?"

"I'm not", the girl huffed, "But I thought that you could put your usual hostility towards each other aside, at least for today. It was supposed to be fun, you know."

"It was fun", Yuugi pointed out helpfully.

"It was", Honda agreed. "Too bad that little argument at the end kinda ruined it.. well, he deserved it, anyway. I'm telling you, that Kaiba has a stick up his ass!"

"At least there's someone who agrees", Jounouchi muttered.

"Let's go home", Yuugi proposed, carefree as always. "Homework's waiting."

"Yeah, yeah", Jounouchi groaned. "But I'm not about ta' forget this."

And he mentally added another reason to hate Seto Kaiba in his mental Why-I-Hate-Seto-Kaiba-List. Shortly beneath reason number thirty-two which read 'Everybody adores him despite his arrogant and rude behaviour', he mentally wrote; Seto Kaiba has a stick up his ass.

And it was all facts, really.

&&&

There was only one single thing that was good about school, Jounouchi decided as he restlessly walked around in the empty hallways. Skipping class, of course.

Because, honestly, he simply couldn't take any more of Miss Tanemura's pointless rambling about dead emperors and whatnot. Sure, History could be interesting from time to time, but right now it caused an effect similar to sleeping pills.

The hot glares that seemed to be trying to burn holes through his back weren't really helping, either. Those were sent personally by Seto Kaiba who sat two seats behind the blonde.

So Jounouchi had basically left the classroom with some lame excuse (it wasn't like the teacher couldn't figure out that he wasn't returning to class by now, anyway) and was now mindlessly walking without a concrete destination, feeling as if he'd passed the same corner three times by now.

Well, he thought indifferently, might as well take a smoke. Actually, the thought was oddly calming and he welcomed the puff of smoke with a sharp inhale as soon as he stepped outside of the building.

Well, he knew that he'd promised Serenity that he would stop - and he would, really, but..

He let his hazel eyes travel across the school yard where some people were sitting on a bench. A bit farther away a group of girls stood in a circle, obviously discussing something. There were a couple of guys with skateboards under their arms, too.

The school bell rang and all of the teens took their sweet time in getting back to class. Jounouchi wasn't really in a hurry. His class had probably just ended, so he'd head to the cafeteria and grab a bite to eat.

Crushing the remains of the cigarette beneath his shoe, he turned and walked inside the building and up the numerous stairs that led to his locker. He'd need to get his money in order to-

And then there was a sharp, pointy something jabbing into his side as something firm and heavy landed on top of him, in the middle of the hallway, no less!

He tumbled to the ground; half-sitting, half-laying with the larger thing - he assumed it was another body - pressed against his own, and something that resembled a folder poking his side. Aha.

"Mutt", a rough voice acknowledged, "You make a better door than a window."

Jounouchi frowned. He'd recognize that dry undertone any day.

"Kaiba! Get the hell off of me!"

And the taller boy did, very graciously even, his books collected and held to his chest.

"You shouldn't be let loose among normal people", Kaiba said swiftly, "You really are a walking disaster just waiting to happen."

"Hey, it wasn't me who was too busy striding down the hallway to notice another person comin' at me!"

Kaiba smirked cruelly. "I believe it was."

"Why you-"

"No matter how.. charming this little meeting of ours was, I have more important things to attend."

And with that, the taller of the two continued past the stunned blonde.

Utterly pissed off Jounouchi stormed off, deciding that he'd get something to eat and then continue with his evil plotting that involved the stoic CEO and very sharp and uncomfortable-looking objects.

&&&

As soon as he entered the subway, he could sense that something was wrong.

Maybe it was something in the air; maybe he'd grown so used to the stuck-up brunet that he actually recognized his smell. Jounouchi decided not to muse over that, though, because he felt like it only proved Kaiba's constant claiming that the blonde's behaviour resembled a dog's.

Sure enough, the CEO was sitting on one of the seats further down the section Jounouchi had entered. And luckily he didn't seem to have discovered the blonde just yet.

Great, just great, he thought. Of course it's not enough that I've already bumped into him once today.

He stubbornly turned his head in some other direction (knowing full well that even if Kaiba did spot him he'd never in his whole life actually say hi or anything) and hoped that the CEO wouldn't catch sight of him so that he could continue with peacefully ignoring him.

Jounouchi was suddenly brought back to reality, though, as the train jerked once, twice and then came to a sudden halt, causing everyone to almost fall over. The lamps flickered several times before giving up, turning everything pitch black.

Mumbling and rustling followed as people questioned what was going on. And then the conductor came in, explaining that they had some electricity problems and that it would take a while to fix everything. He asked the passengers to be patient before moving on to the other sections.

Jounouchi felt a shudder roll down his back at the mere thought. Why in the hell did all of these things have to happen to him? God knows how long the reparation would take, and here he was, locked inside a friggin' subway train with his worst enemy (who, luckily, hadn't seen him yet) and-

"Mutt?"

Perfect, he mentally groaned.

"Bastard", the blonde replied, not sounding as convincing as usual. Kaiba arched an elegant eyebrow but said no more.

Huffing, Jounouchi moved over so that he could stand closer to the sitting teen.

"So, you're stuck in here too, huh?" he casually said, not really up for a fight with these many eye witnesses.

"It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out", the brunet answered, rolling his eyes in that usual irritated manner of his.

"Whatever, bastard! Ya don't have to get your panties in a twist just 'cause-"

A beeping sound interrupted him, and the taller smoothly managed to fish his cell phone up from the pocket of his coat.

"Hello?" his gruff voice answered. A pause. "Mokuba. Yes, I just finished working." Another pause. "I decided to take the subway today due to our driver's flu. I am currently stuck. The only time I decide to travel by anything other than a limo and-" He trailed off. A long pause. "I will be home in a while, don't worry. It's not that big of a deal", he said, but his tone hinted that he was actually greatly irritated. "Yes. I will. You too, Mokuba."

And then he hung up. Jou watched him, perplexed.

"What?" Kaiba finally asked, brows knitting together.

"Nothing really. Just the fact that the famous Seto Kaiba actually has a cell phone that he's been keeping hidden from the rest of the world-"

"For obvious reasons, I'd say, mutt."

"Well, sure. But still. You've always been sayin' that you don't have one."

"This line is private. It's meant for Mokuba only so that he can reach me if something were to happen."

"All right, all right. Never said it wasn't."

Silence.

Well, not really. The constant buzzing of the other passengers didn't cease, but the two of them ran out of topics.

Not that they normally used to conversate - especially not with each other. Jounouchi shuddered again; had the temperature dropped or something?

"..You cold, mutt?" came that familiar voice, rough as always but lower than usual.

Yeah, but it's not like I'd admit it to that bastard, Jou thought.

"No", he lied.

Kaiba narrowed his eyes, lips thinning visibly.

"Katsuya Jounouchi, are you lying to me?"

"No, I'm - Hey! How the hell do ya know my first name?" the blonde asked, sincerely surprised.

This seemed to aggravte the CEO's mood even more and he huffed impatiently, as if he was stuck explaining something to a small child.

"You know mine, don't you?" he snapped. Well, Jounouchi thought, that was true, but still..

"You're famous though", the blonde countered. "It would be impossible for me to not know your first name after seeing you on so many covers of random magazines!"

This caused the brunet to smirk coldly, obviously satisfied.

"So you keep track of the covers I've been on? I'm flattered, mutt, really."

"You idiot!" Jounouchi hissed, cheeks flushing in shame. "You know what I mean - I can't help but miss it, dumbass, since every shop sells.."

The smirk was still plastered in place.

"Aw, screw it", the blonde spat, crossing his arms and looking away. And then he shuddered. Again.

Kaiba stood, and with more force than necessary he grabbed hold of the blonde's arm and pushed him down onto his abandoned seat without cermony, not even giving the other an opportunity to react. He was now holding the rubber-handle dangling from the roof, not even looking at Jounouchi as he slipped out of his coat to reveal his simple white shirt and a bright red tie.

Jounouchi, though, was now face to face with the brunet's stomach, and his eyes were several sizes larger than usual.

"I.. You.. Why-"

"Shut up, mutt", the CEO grumbled with less venom in his voice than usual, draping the beige coat over the smaller boy's shoulders.

Once again, Jounouchi was at a loss for words until his tounge finally managed to form something that made sense. But the words of graditude he first thought of offering were replaced as his stubborn side beat his sensitive one down to a pulp.

"You know, you don't have to-"

"Shut up."

"I'm fine, really, so you can take-"

"Shut. Up."

"Stop interrupting me! I said, I don't need your jacket or your sea-"

"Jounouchi", Kaiba snapped, the finality in his voice and the merciless roughness clouding his eyes being enough to make anyone run away, screaming their lungs out. "Shut. The hell. Up."

And for once in his life, the hotheaded boy obeyed. But he'd sooner die before admitting that the warmth and scent of that jacket actually turned out to be more comforting that it should've been.

&&&

"Jou, you okay? Hey! Jou!"

He blinked the welcoming darkness away only to find Honda's face hovering above his own and the firm grip on his shoulder (familiar, somehow, and yet entirely different) that he guessed was the source of his awakening.

Wait. When had he fallen asleep?

"Honda?" he mumbled. "Where am I?"

"At my place", the boy explained calmly. "Kaiba brought you here."

"Oh, I'm at.. wait, what?"

He was suddenly wide awake and he bolted upwards into a sitting position.

"Take it easy, will ya? He explained the whole situation to me. The power cut at the subway and how you'd fallen asleep while sitting.. he figured that it would be best for you to come here since my house is like, a five minute walk from the station."

Jounouchi gaped. Eventually, he ground out, "Why the hell didn't he wake me up?"

"Dunno. He just held his little monolouge before dropping you on my bed and then he left, just like that. A real weird one, I tell you! But it was pretty nice of him to do that, don't you think?"

"I was-" And then he trailed off, silencing whatever argument he could imagine that somehow ended with '..and that is why Seto Kaiba is an asshole', because he noticed something.

Something warm and soft and beige and currently surrounding him.

"This is his coat", Jounouchi said, more to himself than to his friend, really, wrapping the material closer despite his inner self rambling on about why he shouldn't. Honda nodded.

"Yeah. It's your own fault for walking around in a simple t-shirt when it's March."

The blonde sat motionless for a while, his chocolate-colored eyes growing warm as he lowered his gaze and thought about all of the trouble Kaiba had gone through just to get him home. And he'd even offered his coat, and..

Hold on.

"That moron! Who the hell does he think he is, carrying me on a street where anybody can see! And why the hell did he think that I'd need his help, huh! That arrogant bastard, I'll show him!"

In the middle of his trashing around and screaming threats that fell upon deaf ears (Honda was half-asleep, really), he realized that a small piece of paper had fallen out of the coat's pocket.

Too curious to let it go by unnoticed he picked it up and inspected it. A line of numbers were visible and Jounouchi guessed that it was a cell phone number. Written underneath it, though, in a handwriting so neat and perfect that it couldn't belong to anyone but the stoic CEO was;

I just might pick up, mutt.

Jounouchi read the sentence over and over again, eyes huge - he couldn't belive it. That utter bastard, how dare he..!

Minutes went by and the blonde was biting his bottom lip. Shrugging, he nudged his dark-haired friend a little.

"Honda?" he prompted.

"Ngeh?"

"Can I borrow your phone?"

"Yea, sure.. 's on ma' drawer.." Honda drawled sleepily.

"Thanks", the teen replied, eventually finding it on the floor beneath a pile of dirty clothes. He rolled his eyes.

The blonde pressed his fingers to the numbers firmly (no sweaty hands or shaky fingers - he wasn't a girl after all), and when he pressed the phone to his ear, he found that his heart was beating if only a minimal amount of time faster.

What a girly thing to say; he even surprised himself sometimes.

Jounouchi was not surprised, however, to hear that grumbling voice on the other side of the line. And he smiled in spite of himself.

beware of the fluff! i have to admit, i like this pairing. i've always had a thing for rival!couples, i guess. makes me wanna write a darker story featuring this couple, teehee. soo.. ya like, ya hate?