Serious Business

He'd been feeling Kaiba's eyes on him all night.

The two holes in his back made him feel protected somehow. If he could withstand the CEO's harsh judgment, then perhaps he stood a chance in the real world; in this one, with Mokuba. He wasn't a business party kind of guy, but he would need the experience anyway. He would never be able to run his own business otherwise. Mokuba had also been excited about his being there—Jou had pretty much been guaranteed sex either that night or the next morning. Freaking Sweet.

A sea of faces swept across the room, and the two Kaibas were the only two he could locate without any effort. There were countless names and companies—but Jounouchi Katsuya was going to make it work. When there were pockets of moments between introductions Mokuba would pull him to the side, eager for conversation of the non-business variety. This time when the two met, the blond asked the younger Kaiba to wait a moment while he scrawled a few notes.

"…Jou what are you doing?"

"Trick I learned. Writing down hair and eye color on the business cards—helps me remember." He suddenly felt a bit vulnerable; Mokuba didn't need a dirty trick like that. He genuinely remembered the names, the faces—but Kaiba's eyes were still there and Jou couldn't let his shoulders feel burdened by the disappointment. He wasn't going to lose. Not this night.

"That's really smart, Jou," Mokuba said, peering over his shoulders as Jou finished up the last few cards. "I'll have to use that sometime." Mokuba's voice sounded proud, and in two sentences Jou's courage was restored, his doubt washed away and replaced with the warmth of accomplishment. Such was the magic of Mokuba Kaiba. "Hey Jou," the familiar voice whispered. Jou felt a puff of breath on his ear, and he resisted the urge to shiver. "…wanna slip away for a minute?" Jou knew was sure that it would be more than a single minute.

The blond tucked yet another four business cards into one of his pockets, and gave Mokuba what he hoped was a discouraging look. "…right now? What about the party?"

Mokuba made a face, wrinkling his nose. "Sheesh, I didn't know that you were enjoying it so much." The brunette turned around, departing in a bit of a huff. Jou decided it would be best to keep himself quiet—until he noticed that Mokuba was heading over to Kaiba. There were only a few things that could mean, considering that Mokuba knew how much Jounouchi hated his older brother. The CEO was easily a head taller than most in the room, and it wasn't hard to swim amongst the people to join him. Depsite being in the room full of people, Seto Kaiba always appeared solitary in some way. It irked him. Jou checked his watch: almost eight. Dinner would be served soon, accompanied by a brief message of gratitude to members of future partnerships for KaibaCorp for attending the event. Then they would dismiss, which Mokuba explained really meant mingling again until everyone went home. There was no way that he could get through all of that without the Mokuba—so Jou swallowed his pride and went after him.

He'd been avoiding Kaiba all night; and for good reason—the very moment their eyes met, the spark of a challenge flew. Jou wordlessly steered himself in their direction, and when he broke eye contact with the older Kaiba, it seemed the younger was giving him the cold shoulder as well. His arms were crossed as he spoke to his brother.

"Enjoying the festivities…?" Kaiba's droll voice was struggling to leave off the word 'mutt'. Jou heard the blank spot where it was supposed to have been.

Jounouchi very pointedly ignored him, turning to Mokuba instead. "Hey, you alright?" It was a preliminary probe; he'd rather not discuss it with Kaiba there if that was possible.

"I'm fine," Mokuba said, but his eyes didn't and neither did those crossed arms.

Kaiba seemed to notice this for the first time, and the smirk on his face was s sharp jab to Jounouchi. But he wasn't losing anything tonight. Not Mokuba, either. "Come on," Jou said. "We'll go get something nice from the bar." Mokuba seemed to hesitate, unsure of whether or not he wanted to risk being convinced to forgive him. "Some fresh air would do you good anyway," Jou added, a very subtle hint that he hoped Kaiba wouldn't pick up and that Mokuba would.

The younger Kaiba uncrossed his arms, but still looked unconvinced. "I don't think I want anything alcoholic." A poor defense; Jou knew that he was going to cave.

And then the taller brother stepped in—he'd been paying attention. "Dinner's about to start. You shouldn't go too far. You're sitting with me, remember?"

Mokuba's lips twitched, forming a smirk that was eerily like his brother's. But Jounouchi couldn't help his own smile—he loved having such a bright partner. Regardless of how upset Mokuba was at him, neither of them wanted to sit with Kaiba that evening. "It'll only take a minute, Seto," he said. As though someone had just played a Change of Heart card, Mokuba took Jou's hand into his own and led them both to the bar.

Mokuba ordered some sort of juice for the both of them. "I hate it when I'm in the middle," he said with a bit of pout. He didn't look at Jou.

Jounouchi frowned. "…I just wanted to impress you." And Kaiba. "I don't belong here with you." And Kaiba. "So I was trying to prove that I could do it." To Kaiba.

Mokuba heard all of those unspoken words—he always did. "Jou, I'm already proud of you, and nii-sama's opinion of you isn't that important to me. I know you want to fit in here, and you do." The bartender offered them their beverages, and Mokuba paused for a moment to sip his apple juice.

That familiar warmth spread through Jounouchi again, and he downed his juice in two gulps. "…let's go home," he said.

"What?"

"Home? Let's dip."

"Jou, you know that I can't—" but the blond's hand was on his thigh, and he was sure that Mokuba would change his mind. His cheeks flushed as Jou's fingers crept a little higher, and their eyes met. "You're serious."

Jou nodded his head to the door. Mokuba seemed to think for a moment before deciding. "Okay. Let's do it." He finished off his drink, before adding, "I have to get my coat."

And his coat was at the table with Kaiba, where it had been since they'd gotten there and been assigned seats. As though to cue them, there was a telecom message asking everyone to take their seats in the dining and presentation hall. "We have to hurry," Jounouchi whispered.

Kaiba was sitting at their table already, and everyone was beginning to take their places. They needed to get out before they were the only ones standing. "You're later than you should have been," Kaiba said to Mokuba. Another jab to Jounouchi—now he was a distraction.

"Actually, nii-sama," Mokuba sniffed as he grabbed his jacket. "I'm not feeling all that well. I'm going home to rest."

Kaiba's expression didn't seem to change, but Jou caught his feeling of alarm all the same. "Excuse me?"

"We're leaving, Seto," Mokuba declared, his coat now on his arm. "It was nice seeing you."

"Bullshit." Kaiba calling them out wasn't something Jounouchi had expected. He felt like a third wheel, standing there while the two Kaibas clashed.

"It is," Jounouchi interjected. He wanted to prove himself useful in at least one way. "but we're not in the mood to stay. We're going home."

Kaiba seemed even more outraged that he'd been spoken to directly by Jounouchi, and he responded instead to his brother, "You're going to let the mutt talk you out of your responsibilities?"

Mokuba seemed to falter a little, but there wasn't any time for that; the last few people were beginning to sit down. "Yes, he is," Jounouchi answered. "Let's go." He tugged at Mokuba's arm, giving it a small squeeze. Mokuba turned to follow him, but he hadn't completely made up his mind. Too late for that now.

Once they made it out of the large hall, Jounouchi remembered that he could breathe. Plus one point Jou—Kaiba: whatever number he'd gotten so far that Jou refused to recall or admit. Mokuba, on the other hand, was thoroughly surprised when the blond picked him up and twirled him around a bit before rewarding himself with a victory kiss.

Small Edit: 10/27/11.

Original notes: So, this was my piece for the prompt on my drabble table, #60 - Enemies. It ended up being Jou x Mokuba, and I'm not sure if it takes placein the universe as my other Jou x Mokuba stuff - I'm sure that if it does, it happens way, way in the future.

Tootle-loo~!

"I will return, for I am the darkness..."