(My younger brother was the one who gave me this idea. He said that he heard some kind of rumor going around that Kaiba and Jonouchi used to be childhood friends. But with everything that happened to them with Jonouchi's parents getting a divorce and Kaiba having to move to the orphanage, the two just grew apart. I really thought that this would pose as a great setting for a fan-fiction, so of course, here it is. Lol. I hope you guys enjoy. 3 )

You Bite Back

Jonouchi was deep in thought. The room was quiet, which was something unusual. Under any normal circumstances, Jonouchi would have had his radio on, or the television turned to Comedy Central, but not tonight. Tonight, he took to dwelling on the past.

"Lookit the new game I got, Seto! My dad bought it for me. Let's go play it."

"Cool. I can't believe you actually got it. No one in class has been able to find that."

"Haha! I guess I'm just lucky. Now come on."

He sighed. Not even his best friend Honda knew about his childhood, save for his parent's divorce and being separated from his sister. It was just something he planned to keep secret for as long as he could. But that did not mean that he could just sit back and ignore it. Those were the times when everything was perfect. Hell, he had been best friends with Seto Kaiba, the current stuck up CEO of Kaiba Corporation. It was hard to believe that the Seto he knew now had once been this happy kid without a care in the world.

"You know, one day you're going to get in big trouble Katsuya and I'm going to pretend like I don't know you."

"Ha! You would not."

"And how do you know?"

"Because we're friends, and friends stick up for each other."

The Kaiba back then had smiled when Jonouchi had said that. Something that was rare now-a-days. The blonde knew that the cold CEO would never smile like that for anyone again.

"Katsuya. They said me and my brother have to leave."

"What?! Why?!"

"My parents…..they're….."

He had been able to cry back then as well. Jonouchi remembered how he tried to comfort his friend after the blow of both his parents being killed. Kaiba had done the same for him when his parents divorced and Jonouchi wanted to return that compassion. He could remember standing on the curb watching as his best friend and his little brother, Mokuba, were put into a car and driven away. It was a horrible feeling. The worst in the entire world.

"You promised we'd see each other again." Jonouchi mumbled. He held up a small locket. It looked very much like the one that Kaiba wore around his neck with the picture of Mokuba inside of it. Jonouchi didn't dare open it though. The picture of those two carefree boys inside was just a memory now. And one of them was not even recognizable anymore.

"…You just never said that you'd hate me…"

Kaiba sat at his desk in his office inside the Kaiba Corp. building. His fingers ran steadily across the keyboard as he typed up data onto his computer. Mokuba sat on the floor nearby watching television, used to the fierce clicking as he tried to watch his shows.

"Mokuba." Suddenly that collected voice was heard as the CEO stood. When he had gotten his brother's attention, he continued. "I have to run some errands. Watch things while I'm gone." He donned his white company trench coat and headed for the door.

Mokuba nodded. "Sure thing, big bro."

Outside it was cloudy and the air was beginning to feel damp. Kaiba walked out to a waiting limo and climbed in, not so much as nodding to the driver who held the door open for him. He was too preoccupied at the moment. There was so much that he needed to get done.

When the CEO got out at his first stop, a small building that was a separate branch of his company, he narrowed his eyes contemptuously. Jonouchi met him as he came up the pathway.

"Shouldn't you be off chasing your tail…or a cat, for that matter, puppy." The older duelist hissed.

Jonouchi knew this was coming. He smirked. "I just figured I'd come see if you'd finally installed some feelings into that unemotional head of yours, but I see you're still cold…as usual."

Kaiba stopped and stared Jonouchi down with a frigid glare. "What do you want, mutt? I'm busy."

The smirk became more serious. "Too busy for an old friend?"

Kaiba scoffed humorously. "You've been wearing your collar too tight, mangy mutt. I'm not your friend, nor was I ever or will I ever be. Now get out of my face before I call the pound." He pushed past the blonde, almost knocking him over in the process. This made Jonouchi furious.

"So, is that what you've been brainwashing yourself with for all these years, Kaiba?!" Growled Jonouchi. It had started to rain hard, but there was no doubt in Jonouchi's mind that Kaiba had heard him.

At this, the CEO stopped and whirled around. He faced his former friend with one of the dirtiest looks the blonde had ever seen. Everything was silent between them. Neither of them daring to move. Then, suddenly, Kaiba came forward. He strode over to Jonouchi so fast that the blonde was sure that, had he have blinked, he would not have seen Kaiba coming. And to add to it, the CEO grabbed Jonouchi by the wrist and dragged him into a nearby side alley, where he rammed the blonde up against the brick wall.

"You have no right, Jonouchi!" He hissed menacingly through clenched teeth. "You don't live my life, so stay out of it!"

Jonouchi gasped as he was pushed up against the wet bricks again. His nails dug painfully into Kaiba's arms, trying to keep himself upright. He opened his eyes and looked up at his attacker. Jonouchi had many times taken on more than one punk on the streets and had never once backed down, so he had no intention of giving up here.

"I'm tryin' to help you, bastard." The blonde growled back. "If you haven't figured it out by now, I don't give up on my friends."

Kaiba let loose a soft, but wicked chuckle. "And clearly that Mutou character has brainwashed you."

Jonouchi didn't back down. "And so what if he has, Kaiba? At least now I have people who like me and care about me. It's called: being compassionate. You should try it sometime."

"Don't preach to me."

"Then stop being so unbelievably dense!" Jonouchi couldn't beat around the bush anymore. He just wasn't getting through. "When you left that day, I cried my eyes out. Sure, you said we'd see other again, you said we'd hang out again, but still I had my doubts. Then all of a sudden you show up out of nowhere and start insulting me and shit like that! What kind of friend does that, huh?! …You really have changed, Seto…" He trailed off. The entwining feelings of hurt and disappointment flooded into his heart. Maybe he had said too much.

"Mangy mutt." Kaiba replied after what seemed like eternity. But his voice was calmer now, more relaxed. Just as Jonouchi moved to look up at the cold CEO, his former companion, Kaiba leaned close and pressed his lips against Jonouchi's own.

"I haven't forgotten." Kaiba nearly whispered as he slowly pulled away. "…I can't…"

Those words. That look. …That kiss… So, after all those years, Kaiba had not forgotten about his past. But why was he so determined to keep it locked away?

Jonouchi was overwhelmed with thoughts like these as he sat on the couch in the living quarters of the Kaiba Corp. building. It was all too weird. All of a sudden, after almost having the crap beaten out of him, Jonouchi had found himself hauled off to Kaiba's company and shown to his friend's living area on the top floor. Of course, he couldn't complain. It was nice to get away for a while. …And Kaiba was there.

"I haven't forgotten."

A slight tinge of red overtook Jonouchi's face. The way his friend had said those words… It had made him feel weak and his heart race. Kaiba had been his best friend all through childhood and he had loved him like a brother, but after all these years, when Jonouchi was forced to endure his friend's drastic changes and ridicules…..He hated the CEO for many things that he had done. The way he constantly undermined him…but there was something about this guy that Jonouchi just could not bring himself to ignore, no matter how hard he tried.

"I love you." Jonouchi muttered, closing his eyes as he lay across the couch, hands behind his head.

"What?" At the moment that Jonouchi had admitted his love for the older man, said person had walked in. He hadn't quite heard what it was that Jonouchi had said, so of course he was curious. For all Kaiba knew, the little punk could have been insulting him.

Jonouchi's eyes shot open. He looked up at the young CEO standing over him with a look of minor shock.

"K-Kaiba!" He exclaimed, pulling himself up into a sitting position. "I didn't hear you come in!"

Kaiba considered the younger with mild curiosity. "What were you saying just now?"

Jonouchi felt awkward. "Nothing." He squirmed. "I must have been talkin' in my sleep." He forced a laugh as he rubbed the back of his head. "I do that a lot."

"…" Those cobalt eyes did not abandon the blonde.

Feeling uncomfortable under Kaiba's gaze, Jonouchi made to stand. If he could stand up, he wouldn't feel like a dog being scolded for peeing on the carpet. He had to get up so he would not feel so inferior. But Kaiba had other plans. Just when Jonouchi made his move to hoist himself off the couch, Kaiba pounced. Jonouchi's eyes went wide as the CEO pinned him down and brought their faces close.

"Tell me what you said." He said collectively.

Jonouchi tried to fight against Kaiba, but the older duelist proved to be much stronger. "I don't know!" He instinctively yelled. "I told you I was talking in my sleep!"

"That's a lie and you know it."

It was a lie, and Jonouchi did know it. But he couldn't just come out and say I love you to the guy. So what if Kaiba was the first to have made some indication of feelings of more than "just friends" being there, it was still a completely random topic in the younger duelist's mind.

The CEO took Jonouchi's silence as his cue to go on. "Fine." He said simply. "If you won't tell me, I'll just have to force it out of you…mangy mutt."

It all began to happen so fast. Several things started going on all at once. The kisses, the touches,…the heat… Jonouchi had lost all sense of up and down, left to right. He moaned into a deep kiss that Kaiba had, once again, graced him with. It was rough, just like the others had been, but then, unlike the others before it, this one soon gave way to passion.

Kaiba pulled away gently and looked down at Jonouchi. The blonde panted heavily as he allowed his lungs to suck in sweet air again. The CEO laughed a little to himself as he, once again, leaned in and began licking a hot trail along the blonde's neck and collar bone. But this time, Kaiba had no intension of stopping there. He was sure that his partner was drunk to the gills with lust, so he knew that he'd have no problem taking the chance to remove both of their clothes. It took some time, but in the end Kaiba was successful and proceeded to lick his way down to Jonouchi's chest, his navel…..

Jonouchi gasped.

After a while, Kaiba came up and brushed his lips against Jonouchi's. "Will you tell me?" He whispered thoughtfully.

The blonde punk fought to understand the question. He couldn't remember what it was that Kaiba had wanted to hear from him.

"…I…" Jonouchi replied out of breath.

Again Kaiba's lips touched his. "Then a little more."

"Nn…Ahh…" Jonouchi was suddenly thrown into complete and utter bliss. At first though, the blonde would have never thought that the first onslaught of pure unadulterated pain would ever subside, but he was soon proved wrong. It was wonderful. Him and Kaiba. Jonouchi held onto the CEO for dear life, his throat burning from his moaning and yelling. But the high school punk could care less about things like the pain in his throat or his throbbing head.

It was a long time before that eternal ecstasy subsided. The young CEO finally pulled away from Jonouchi and sat back on the couch. A box of cigarettes was soon protruded from a drawer in the side coffee table and torn open. One of the cancer sticks found it's place between Kaiba's lips and was soon lit. A thin stream of smoke trailed up from it and Kaiba laid his head back and closed his eyes. Jonouchi watched his friend for a while, taking in the rather obscure scene displayed in front of him. It was the taste of tobacco that he had tasted in those sweet kisses. He would have never believed that the CEO smoked if he had not seen it for himself.

"Since when do you smoke?" The blonde said. His voice sounded scratchy and it hurt.

Kaiba didn't open his eyes. "Some time after I took over this company." He told him. "My foster father had some cigars that I was stupid enough to try and although I hated those things, I ended up getting into smoking these." He lazily exhaled a small cloud of smoke. Then, as an afterthought, added: "That piece of shit deserved what he got."

Jonouchi didn't know what Kaiba had meant by that last comment, but he wasn't going to ask. He didn't want to accidentally touch on something that might end up bringing back bad memories for the young successful CEO of Kaiba Corporation. If Kaiba wanted him to know, then he would tell him on his own time.

The blonde smiled up at Kaiba. "That thing that you wanted me to tell you…" Jonouchi began, sure now that this was something that had to be said.

Kaiba opened those cobalt eyes of his in acknowledgement. He waited silently for Jonouchi to continue.

"I didn't want to tell you before because I thought it'd be weird, but…" Jonouchi smiled up at his partner. A look of that unyielding confidence, that the blonde was so well known for, brightened his features. "I love you."

The young CEO then did something that Jonouchi never thought he'd see again in a million millennia. He smiled back. A kind smile that Jonouchi had remembered from childhood. As a feeling of understanding and a deep bond swept between them, Kaiba brought his hand up to the duel monster card locket that hung around his, now bare, neck. When he had gotten it open, he turned it so that Jonouchi could see its contents. There was the picture of his brother to one side…but what Jonouchi noticed was the picture stuck to the left side of the interior of the locket. It was Jonouchi. And not a photo from the past, when they were kids either, but a recent photograph.

"I managed to get this at Duelist Kingdom." Kaiba admitted modestly. "I would have put an older photo in here, but my foster father had a knack for destroying things. That was just one of the things that I lost." He bowed his head and leaned forward to snuff out the rest of his cigarette in the ashtray on the coffee table. "I was cruel to you, Katsuya. I'm sorry."

"Ah...Smell that fresh air." Jonouchi took a deep breath as he lead his 3 best friends down the streets of Domino City in the warm afternoon sun.

Honda, Anzu and Yugi had no idea what had happened 2 weeks ago when Jonouchi had had his secret meeting with Seto Kaiba. And since Jonouchi always seemed to have a smile on his face (whenever no one was on his bad side) they didn't think much of it. It was just another typical day.

As the four friends made their way down a wide boulevard, they ran into Kaiba. He had obviously just been dueling, because the other duelist was putting away his cards with a defeated look on his face and walking away. The CEO turned to face them.

"I see your still around." He said coldly to Yugi. "But then again, I'd rather it be me who defeats you than some petty wanna-be duelist."

Yugi nodded a little unsure. "Yeah…"

"And you."

Jonouchi raised an eyebrow and put on one of his most challenging facades. "Ya got something to say to me, Moneybags?"

The CEO shot him a cold look. His cobalt eyes considering the blonde for a moment before he gave a small snort. "Why should I waste my time? You're not even worth the dirt you stand on, mutt." And with that, Kaiba turned with a whip of his white company trench-coat and walked away.

The blonde rubbed his finger across the bottom of his nose in an act of silent victory. An act he put on for his friends. While in actuality, Jonouchi was well aware that Kaiba's insult towards him was nothing more than an act itself. It was a way of keeping their true feelings hidden from the public. A way of keeping their rep. for the time being and part of their life a secret from the press. Jonouchi was not going to betray that pact anytime soon and he trusted Kaiba would not either.

"What's with you man?" Honda asked as they took off on their way again. "You just stood there and took that crap from Kaiba."

Anzu nodded in agreement. "Are you sick Jonouchi?"

"Nah," Jonouchi replied, casually stuffing both his hands into the pockets of his green jacket and smiling. "Kaiba don't know what he's talkin' about."