Pairing: Seto/Jou, Yami+Yugi
Beta: Jennie B.
Disclaimer: They don't belong to me, damn it!
Notes: Wrote for the LOLA Challenge at 'A dragon's lair' group.
Take away my pain - Chapter one
Three years. It had been three fucking years. And yet, the pain was still the same. The days still felt grey and overcast, the tears had long since dried up. Only one thing had changed.
His relationship with Seto Kaiba.Jounouchi could remember that fateful day like it was yesterday. It was one day after their graduation. Everyone would soon be heading off to follow their chosen paths, go their separate ways. The blonde was happy for his friends, but in at the same time, he was also incredibly sad, because this would be their last time together as a group for a very long time. Needless to say, he was very surprised when he found none other but than Seto hanging out with the gang, casually dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt. As he looked at him, he couldn't help but tease, "Did you hit your head, moneybags?"
"With your lost bone, mutt," replied the brunette without missing a beat.
Mokuba just sighed and exclaimed, "You promised, onii-san."
Seto rolled his azure eyes. "So I did." He stared at Jou and said in a very nice tone, "Good to see you too…Jou." To say that the blonde was stunned was an understatement. He blinked once, twice, and then replied in a very confused tone, "You…really hit your head, right?"
Seto smirked and answered, "Mokuba…asked me 'nicely' to come to this…gathering."
Jou laughed. "The 'little brother' trick, ne?"
For the first time ever, the blonde saw the
other boy smile. A real one.
"Yeah…that old trick."
It was on that same day that the whole tragedy happened. And it turned out that their first nice talk would transform into a bond between the two teens. They were united. In tragedy.
"Took you long enough."
The blonde turned around and stared at the brunette. He smirked, but was a pale shadow compared to his old smiles. "I was distracted today. Shall we go?"
"Sure, get in."
Jou climbed into the limo and they traveled in silence. It was only a few minutes later that they arrived at the grey gates of the Domino Cemetery. It may as well have been hours; they didn't care. Together, they crossed the rows of graves until they reached the ones they were looking for.
"Mokuba Kaiba. Beloved brother and friend."
"Shizuka Jounouchi, Beloved sister and friend."
"It'll be three years at the end of the holiday."
"Yeah…time seems to pass faster for the living ones."
"Indeed."
Since that day, the two of them would come together to visit their siblings' graves. The whole gang had left the town to pursue their own lives after that day and in turn, Seto and Jounouchi had approached each other, for company. In their solitude and sadness they had grown closer.
The blonde smiled wistfully for a second, remembering that when he was a high school student, he would have given anything to be close to the brunette like this. But now…now he really didn't care. They were simply companions, nothing more, nothing less.
Seto put new flowers on Mokuba's and Shizuka's graves, just like he did every time they came to this place, and then he entwined his hand with the blonde's in a gesture of comfort. He knew that Jou appreciated the touch, just like he would were it anybody else. But, a part of him liked to think that the blonde especially appreciated it because it was his touch.
They walked in silence back to the limo, each one immersed in his own thoughts. Once they were seated in the car, Seto's cell phone rang, echoing loudly in the heavy silence. He sighed and answered. "Kaiba."
"It's been a long time, ne?"
"Yugi?!"
Jou immediately looked at the brunette. Yugi was calling Seto? He had Seto's number? He listened to the one-sided conversation with curious eyes, barely able to contain himself. As soon as the CEO hung up, he asked, "What did Yugi want?"
Kaiba arched on elegant eyebrow and smiled lightly at the amber eyes that were glowing with curiosity…so much like a puppy's. It was funny; he really hadn't thought of the blonde in that way for some time now. "He's coming to Domino on holiday…and I invited him to stay at my house."
"Since when are you and Yugi good friends?"
"We've been…on good terms for some time now," the brunette half answered.
Jou sighed in frustration and balled one of his hands into a fist.
Before Seto could stop himself, he heard himself saying, "You can come too, you know. I mean…you can spend the holiday at my house. It's not like you have anything else to do…"
The blonde stared at him in disbelief, but in his eyes, there was also a little bit of shocked surprise. "Sure…why not?"
Neither one knew just what that little conversation would eventually lead to.
The violet eyes looked around interestedly at the town they had known for most of his life. It had only been three years, but it looked like he had been gone for a whole lot longer. He sighed when he remembered the day before he left, and the whole tragedy.
"You're sighing a lot today, Aibou."
Yugi turned his eyes to Yami and he smiled. Yami was his companion, his lover, his darkness. The little one approached the former Pharaoh and rested his head on his shoulder. "Being back here, I can't help but remember what happened to Mokuba and Shizuka. We should have stayed, to offer our support to Jou-kun and Seto-kun…"
"No, we couldn't have. Besides…they have each other now."
Yugi arched one eyebrow and turned his head up, looking at the other. "What is it you know that I don't know, Yami?"
"You told me that they have been supporting each other for these past three years, right? But, they are slowly sinking into depression. Why do you think that I suggested this trip?"
"To see…them?" Yugi said, his expression curious.
"That too. But also, to help them. They have each other, but they still don't see that they have each other."
"What do you….oh." The little one smiled lovingly. "You mean…we're gonna play cupid?"
Yami laughed softly. "Kind of. We just have to make them see that both Mokuba and Shizuka wanted them to be happy."
"That won't be easy."
"I've always loved a challenge. And you?"
Yugi just smiled and kissed him.
Jounouchi Katsuya was apprehensive. As he drove to Kaiba's mansion, he kept asking himself the same question: why had he accepted the invitation? Even though they were comrades now, he had never once visited Seto's house; it had never seemed…necessary. But, they were real friends. And that thought really scared the blonde. He approached the imposing iron gates and stopped the motorcycle, pressing the button on the intercom.
"Can I help you?"
"It's Jounouchi Katsuya. Seto asked me to come."
"Just a minute sir."
As soon as Jou entered the huge mansion, a small blur flew out of nowhere and jumped on him, causing the blonde to fall on his butt. "What the…Yugi!"
"Jou, it's been so long! How are you?
"I'm…" He stopped mid-sentence when he saw Seto and Yami entering the room. The brunette looked...stunning.
"I'm glad to see that you came, Jou," the former pharaoh said.
"Come, I'll show you to your room," the CEO said as they walked to the stairs, neither one seeing the pair of eyes smiling at them.
"I think this will be easy," whispered Yugi.
"Yeah…I am beginning to think the same thing," answered Yami, as he hugged his hikari and then headed to the living room. -----
"So…if there's anything you wish, you can ask me or one of the employees," said Seto, letting the blonde through the door of one of the rooms.
"Sure thing," answered the shorter youth.
Silence fell between them. Azure eyes slowly stared at the other's face, only to catch on the amber ones.
Jou couldn't stop staring into that incredible blue. Sure, he had always noticed how gorgeous Seto's eyes were, but until recently, that fact hadn't mattered to him. Why was it happening again?
Soon – far too soon for Jou's liking – Seto looked away and said, "Dinner will be ready soon. I'll be waiting for you downstairs."
"O…kay." Jou entered the room and leaned on against the closed door, sighing softly. What was going on? He closed his eyes and fisted his hands tightly. He could not revive those feelings again. He had promised himself that he wouldn't.
TBC