Disclaimer: If I owned Yugioh there would be A LOT less friendship speeches…
Warnings: Males loving other males, swearing, OOCness, slight AU.
AN: This is my first YGO fic, and it will probably right off the bat not feel like one. Which is okay I think? I don't know exactly what I'm aiming for, but I have a fair idea. Anyway, please let me know if this is worth some exploration!

Unintended
by Faery Goddyss

"Aw man is that the time?!" Jounouchi Katsuya asked as he glanced up from the card game to look at the clock on the side wall. Him, Honda, Yugi, and Anzu were in the middle of a hot card game in Yugi's living room. Granted it wasn't so hot for him seeing as how he was losing. "Guess I gotta call it quits right? Gotta get to work," he eased out, trying to fight his grin.

"At least finish your hand!" Honda protested, but his best friend was already throwing his cards down revealing their identities.

Yugi laughed as he looked over the suits, "what perfect timing Jou, seeing as how you were about to lose everything."

Honda snorted and tossed down as own hands. He had had a winning hand for sure. "Anyway, you want an escort?" He asked the blond, but said blond quickly shook his head.

"Nah, I'll be fine. The bus stops right around the corner."

"Are you sure Jounouchi because-"

"I'll be fine Anzu, no ones going to rape me on the way to work," he interrupted the girl as he stood and grabbed his messenger bag from where it rested near the table on the floor.

The only girl of the group scoffed, "with where you're going, we never know."

"Yeah, yeah. I know you guys worry, but in case you've all forgotten I still live in that area remember? Home sweet home and all that, anyway, I do have to get a move on if I'm gonna catch my bus. Yug, Honda, see you guys in class tomorrow. Later Anzu," he said and quickly darted out of the house, hearing the muffled goodbyes of his friends.

As he headed out of the game shop and made his way down the street he plopped his hands in his light jacket. It was a bit cold outside seeing how the day was slowly ending and the temperature was cooling off. When he got to his stop there was one other person there, an elderly woman who not so discreetly inched away from him. He scowled at her and made a point to do the same thing, hoping she noticed. With it getting cooler and cooler with each passing moment he realized his bus was late, which meant he would be late. Not that his boss would really hark him about it, but he still didn't like the thought so he sighed in relief when he saw the large bus rolling down the street.

As he stepped on, making a point to sit nice and far from the old hag, he took a seat in the front and leaned his head against the window as the bus started to depart from their stop. The night was just beginning really and he felt a little bummed at having to leave his friends while they were all in the middle of a hang out. But he had a job, bills to pay, and they didn't. It all came down to that.

"Oi! Katsuya, you're late!" Called out the low annoyed voice the moment he walked inside.

The blond teen in question cast his boss a sly apologetic look as he slunk into the drearily lit bar. It was just past seven at night and the bar was serving to its usual patrons of married business men, who weren't quite ready to go home and face their families just yet.

He'd been working at the bar for two years now and he still wasn't technically old enough to be doing so. He was only nineteen, but he had needed the job and his boss, after much reluctance, had hired him under strict terms. He had to go to college, and he had to keep his grades up. There would be no if, ands, or buts about it. If Haru, his boss, ever heard anything about him doing drugs, dealing drugs, any underage drinking, or if he heard of him being anywhere near the thugs that tended to hang around in the area he'd be out on his ass, fired.

He had readily agreed. He didn't do any of that stuff anyway, and his street smarts had taught him long ago who to avoid and who he could trust.

Two years ago he had wandered into the bar on impulse when he saw the 'Help Wanted' sign propped up on the inside ledge of the only window in the small building. It had been one of those hopeless days that should have been otherwise. The sun had been bright and cheery; there was a slight comfortable breeze. It should have started out as a good day. But he rolled out of bed on a bad note so he hadn't been too surprised that his day ended up as such.

He had woken up and dragged himself out of his room only to see his dad slouched over the side of a chair, practically swimming in his own vomit. He could still smell the putrid odor and even now his nose crinkled at the thought. To make matters worse their mail slot had been stuffed with very overdue bills and when he had roused his father from his still drunken stupor it was only to find out that the old man had lost yet another job. That in fact, he had lost it a month ago.

So what exactly was paying all their bills? He had asked his father, but the man had quickly wrenched his grip out of his sons and stumbled to his bedroom, locking himself inside.

That was when Jounouchi decided he had needed a better paying job, especially when he opened the bills and nearly swore at the numbers and all the interest from all the loans that were due. Everything was months late. They were fucked, and they needed money ASAP. But he had only been seventeen at the time and the only ways to get quick money were ways that were extremely unappealing, dangerous, and illegal.

He wanted to do things by the books. He wasn't a stereotypical street thug anymore. He had made that promise when he befriended Yugi and the others and he was sticking to that promise.

But where to get the money? He had quickly showered, changed, and went in search of jobs by foot. He grabbed a local paper and scoured the ads, but everyone wanted people with experience. They wanted adults, not kids, and they most certainly didn't want a kid that screamed street rat. For the jobs he had qualified for the pay was too little to be of much use.

The bar had been his last hope, and he didn't think he'd get the job. But when he stopped in front of the building it's name, aside from the hiring sign, caught his intention. It was probably made of wood, and probably by someone who had never made a sign before. Either way it spelled out The Unintended. It almost made him laugh. The Unintended? What sort of name was that for a bar?

But whatever, he had thought and went in after looking around for cops. The place wasn't anything special. It was located in the bad part of town, the same part he grew up in, and the bar had a somewhat…fruitless feel. The patrons were all huddled and separated from each other. Each man, for there were no women at the time, was looking down at their own drink of choice.

He felt a little nervous at the sound of his beaten sneakers as they walked across the cement flooring to the only man who made any eye contact with him. Said man looked to be in his mid-forties. He was a slightly muscled take-no-shit kinda of guy. His brown hair had speckles of gray and his green eyes held a lot of life experience. The man was cleaning a glass and eyeing him suspiciously as he walked over.

"You're too young to be in here," was the first thing Haru had ever said to him as Jounouchi had approached the bar.

He had ignored the comment and gestured his head toward the direction of the window. "It says you're looking for help?" He had asked.

"Yeah, but not from some punk kid. I don't have time for kids like you, and I don't want the cops on my ass for housing minors. Get out of here."

"I need the job, I need the money," he had said.

"I don't care. Go work at a convenience store, retail, but not my bar."

"Just let me have an interview or something, put me on probation, anything. I'll do anything. I need this, I've been everywhere else."

Haru had stopped cleaning his glass and rested it painfully on the bar table. He frowned at the boy. Normally kids his age weren't so persistent, and normally they were in his bar to try and scrap a drink or two. This kid didn't seem to want that. But still…housing a minor would mean his business license revoked as well as a heavy fine and maybe some jail time that he didn't need. But he could see the desperation in the blonds face…so he decided then that he'd give the guy a chance to impress him. To be honest he wasn't getting good applicants. Most were drug users, others didn't have the knowledge or the attitude to survive the life of being a bartender in such a harsh neighborhood. But the kids eyes…those amber eyes…

"Fine," he said finally. "Tell me your story, and we'll see if I hire you."

And Jonouchi had, and he'd work there ever since. Haru had been nice enough to pay the most overdue bills in his fathers name and he worked hard to make sure he not only paid his boss back, but to prove his worth.

"Sorry," Jounouchi said coming back to the present as he walked behind the bar before storing his school bag in the tiny little office to the side. "Bus ran a bit late."

"Excuses," Haru grunted. "And didn't you get a midterm back?" He questioned before he put the boy to work.

Jounouchi grinned, "I'll show you my shiny 89 percent whenever you'd like."

"89?" Haru raised an eyebrow. "Couldn't be bothered to get one more question right?"

"Next exam," Jounouchi promised and grabbed a towel from the older man. "Old man, I think it's time you took a break. Anything I should know about?" He asked as his eyes slid over the small, yet regular crowd.

"No, and call me old man again and I'll have you scrubbing the floors."

Jounouchi winced, but at the same time he was grinning and he knew Haru was fighting one too. As his boss retreating into the back to rest he took up the job of beginning to check the taps and washing a few glasses that lay deserted on the table where some customers must have left them earlier.

After he had done his usual duties, and served a few glasses he thought maybe he'd start on some homework. The night was turning out to be a bit on the slow side, and Haru said it was fine if he did his homework in the bar front as so long as there weren't too many people around.

Giving the bar one last check he ducked back inside the office, not bothering to say anything as Haru gave him a questionable look. The look was answered when he grabbed his bag and pulled out a thick business math volume. Haru nodded his head in approval and Jounouchi retreated back onto the floor. He propped up a stool and found the page he last left off on before he began reading.

It was hard, at times, to be the student Haru demanded he be. He hadn't paid nearly as much attention to his studies in his younger years as he did now, and he found that he was a little behind in certain subjects. Not that that was too surprising. He had decided when Haru told him he had to go college to work at The Unintended that he'd major in business.

Not that he thought he'd wind up being in some huge corporation, but he figured it'd be useful to Haru and secretly he hoped Haru would give him the bar when his days of bar keeping were long over. It was a long shot, and he had never mentioned it to his boss. In fact, he didn't even know if Haru had kids or not, an heir of some sort. He kept most of his personal life to himself. He knew Jounouchi's story. Knew all about his family, his friends, Duel Monsters, but Jounouchi knew next to nothing about the older man.

But if Haru didn't want to share, then he wasn't going to ask.

At around eight thirty the business men left for the evening. Some downing one last beer, others trudging home to late dinners. Around nine was when another sort of group rolled around. Pre-partiers, Jounouchi liked to call them. People who got good and drunk before they went out to a club. He didn't like their particular crowd. They were the loudest, the rudest, the most demanding and the worst tippers. When that lot came in, Haru always came out from the back to help deal with them as there was always so many, and Jounouchi always put away his textbooks.

When they would leave it'd be a sigh of relief and annoyance for the two. They'd have some major clean up to take care of before the last round of people came in. The late night drinkers. They were the people Jounouchi felt the most nervous around. The difference between them and the business drinkers were these guys didn't usually have families to go home to. Most were single men, some homeless, some rich. What they shared in common were their secrets and dark stories they'd occasionally divulge when intoxicated enough.

Haru stayed on the floor for them as well. But mostly because they felt more comfortable around Haru then they did Jounouchi. A lot of them knew Haru and had frequented his bar since they could legally drink. Jounouchi's boss was the one that served them, and occasionally talked to them, while he cleaned more glasses and did restocking.

The late night drinkers rolled in at about midnight and stayed until The Unintended closed at two in the morning.

This particular night things were going as they normally did, and the night was seemingly going to end without event. That is until one thirty hit and taller man, draped in a long trench walked in.

No one looked up but Haru glanced at him and asked him what he wanted. Jounouchi continued to stock napkins, but listened for the guys' response. They rarely got people coming into the bar so late in the evening, or early in the morning…depending how you looked at it.

"Small glass of scotch," said the voice and Haru got to pouring the drink before sliding it over the man who took a seat at the corner bar stool that hovered across from Jounouchi. He heard the distinct sounds of the man sitting down and adjusting himself, and the sound of him picking up his drink from the table, but he kept his eyes on his task.

"Of all the days in the world, is that you mutt?" Asked the same voice and Jounouchi tensed when he realized he knew who that voice belonged to. He plastered on a smug grin, he couldn't help it, and turned to face the guy he loathed throughout his entire high school career.

"Of all the people The Unintended has the ability to drag in, I didn't think I'd see your face Kaiba," he said back, keeping his tone neutral. But there was a slight grimace in the way he said the brunettes name and as their eyes met for the first time in a year Jounouchi wondered over this odd chance meeting.

As much as he loved his workplace and the freedom it gave him, The Unintended wasn't known to draw in the successful that didn't have a care in the world. It drew in the troubled souls, no matter how much the customers hid it with fake smiles, cheers, or any number of emotions. He didn't think the bar would bring in people like Kaiba. Not to mention again that the place wasn't in the good part of town. Kaiba shouldn't have had any reason to be anywhere near this area.

It made his curiosity increase tenfold, but before he could question the guy on it Haru cleared his throat loudly. Shit. He'd been staring a customer down and while Kaiba wasn't exactly someone he gave a flying lick about, Haru's general rule was to leave his customers be unless they engaged you. And the CEO looked more than happy to sip his drink in the quiet stillness of the soon to be closed bar.

So instead he turned away and resumed his duties to discreetly help clean up and close down the building for the night. Even as he did so he kept his ear out for Kaiba, for any biting remarks the teenaged wonder would throw his way. But none came. Kaiba drank his scotch, nodded his thanks at Haru, paid, and left at two a.m. on the dot with the other customers. He didn't even glance at Jounouchi's direction before he left.

As Haru locked the door behind the last customer he turned to look at his young bartender. "Boy, have I gone crazy or was that the Seto Kaiba, President of Kaiba Corps drinkin' a scotch in my bar?"

Jounouchi laughed as he abandoned the stocking to start flipping bar stools on the tables. "Not crazy yet, that was him alright. I'd recognize that profile a mile away. The guy likes to stand out."

"Not tonight he didn't," Haru pointed out. He stood with his arms folded looking out his small window. "Wonder how he found his way here."

The blond shrugged. He didn't know, and now that Kaiba was gone he realized it didn't matter. The guy was of no concern to him. Their lives were far apart now. Kaiba was still the president of a well known company, and now he was bartender in a somewhat seedy bar. They didn't have high school anymore, they had no reason to talk and he doubted he'd ever see the guy again save his mug plastered in the media.

But still, he couldn't wait to tell Honda about this one.