Hello! I'm new to this website, I've only ever published things on AO3, so I'm a little out of my element! This is a slice of life fic that is heavily inspired by Side Deck by Alecto, which if you haven't read - you need to! Please let me know what you think, I'll be publishing as often as I can. :)
The beginning of October was particularly stressful for students involved in event-planning this year - not only did they have to throw together a haunted house, there had been a vote and an American style "Sadie Hawkins" dance was going to be held this year, for the very first time.
On the first Wednesday of the month, four of the girls from the committee took the floor during the morning announcements.
"Good morning, everyone! We are so excited to announce our first ever 'Sadie Hawkins' dance!"
Her smile didn't falter when she was met with a chorus of groans from the boys in the class.
"This morning we've decided to pass out what will be considered your official invitations! This dance is different than other American style dances - girls will be required to ask boys with these special invites only. Please remember there are only two and a half weeks before the dance, so make sure to ask someone soon!"
The class didn't groan this time, instead beginning to chatter excitedly about who might end up asking who. All four committee members passed out their special golden invites to the girls, finishing up quickly and leaving to move on to the next homeroom.
"Sorry to disappoint you Anzu, but I'm hoping for someone else to ask me," Jounouchi teased, ducking out of the way as she swung at him. She turned around in her seat and waved her invitation in his face.
"Get a good look - you're never seeing another one of these again."
Jounouchi stuck his tongue out at her and sunk back in his chair, lazily spreading his legs across the aisle next to them.
Their group had gotten particularly lucky with the homeroom seating arrangement this semester. Jounouchi sat one row up from the back in the right corner, with Anzu in front of him and Honda in front of her. Yuugi sat to the left of Anzu, and Otogi in front of him. That left Bakura, who was seated one to the left and behind Jounouchi in the back row - right next to Kaiba, who had somehow scored the best seat of all in the far right corner.
Despite their close proximity, there weren't as many fights between Jounouchi and Kaiba these days, especially with Bakura so close by, always ready to diffuse any potential arguments. At lunch, all he had to do was switch seats with the girl in front of him (Sakura, they were pretty sure her name was) and their group could easily scoot their desks together to eat.
Kaiba usually wasn't present for lunch. Seeing as it was a full 45 minute break, listening to the mindless conversations of his classmates didn't seem like a very good use of time. Usually he'd duck outside and get some work done on his laptop in the peace and quiet of the library; every once in a while Isono would bring him a nice, freshly cooked meal that he'd eat in the comfort of a limousine before returning to class.
After their first four teachers had finished their lessons on this particular Wednesday, though, Kaiba stayed put, pulling out his laptop right at his desk to send a few emails.
Yuugi and the rest scooted their desks together, as usual, chatting about homework and the events up ahead. Kaiba did his best to tune them out until they all quieted down suddenly, forcing him to glance up out of curiosity.
"Um, Jounouchi-chan?"
His mouth full of noodles, Jounouchi looked up from his ramen to find a girl from the front row of their class standing next to their desk island.
"Hm?" he grunted, shooting a glare at Honda and Anzu who couldn't help but giggle at his ridiculous ramen-stuffed face.
"I was just wondering if you'd like to go to the dance with me," she squeaked, her cheeks becoming more red by the second. Kaiba rolled his eyes. Of all people to be embarrassed in front of, Jounouchi was most certainly not the most deserving.
She held the invitation out in front of her, glancing back and forth between it and Jounouchi impatiently. After swallowing his massive wad of noodles, he grinned and stood up from his desk to give her a hug.
"Course I'll go with you! Thanks, Aiko."
Her cheeks flushed even darker and she laughed nervously as she accepted his hug. Still giggling, she danced back to the group of girls she'd come from, who were all swiveled around in their desks, watching.
"Look at you, lady-killer," Honda punched Jounouchi's shoulder lightly, and Kaiba glanced up again, just catching the toothy grin that spread across Jounouchi's face.
"What was that you saying earlier, Anzu?" he teased, holding a hand up to his ear.
"Shut up, Jou. You got lucky."
Kaiba couldn't help but snort behind them, and Jounouchi whipped around, scowling in his direction.
"Somethin' funny?"
"Not at all, bonkotsu," Kaiba mumbled, but his smirk didn't fade as he went back to answering emails.
"I don't see any invites on your desk."
Kaiba only glanced up at him one last time, his smirk still in full force. It took everything in Jounouchi not to smack him.
"Fuckin' dick," he mumbled, turning back around to face his friends.
Later that afternoon, class ended a few minutes early, giving their homeroom a head start out the door. Yuugi and Jounouchi hardly ever kept anything in their lockers, so they stood at the end of the hall chatting as they waited for their friends to gather their things.
Kaiba stood at the other end of the hall, entering his combination quickly to avoid sticking around any longer than was absolutely necessary. As he opened his locker, though, four golden, heart shaped pieces of paper floated onto the floor in front of him.
Yuugi happened to notice this, and after alerting Jounouchi, they both tried their hardest not to stare, instead turning to each other with wide eyes.
"How many even was that?" Jounouchi was incredulous. The entire time he'd known Kaiba, he'd never seen him even come close to a girl at school, let alone talk to one. And somehow, there were four separate girls who wanted him as a date?
"You can't deny Kaiba's a handsome guy," Honda shrugged, stepping in between them. "Are we going to Yuugi's today?"
"Yes!" Yuugi squeaked, and launched into a summary of the new cards he and his Grandpa had just received. Jounouchi was still caught up in Kaiba until they left, though - he'd thrown all four golden invitations in the wastebasket next to his locker.
The rest of the week went by uneventfully, until Friday when their teacher had a special announcement in their final period.
"Next week we will be starting a new unit, which means there will be a group project coming up!"
Their teacher was met with silence, and the quiet shuffling of some students trying to pack up their things.
"This group project will be a 15 page report, neatly typed and presented. Groups of four, please. I'm telling you this now, so that on Monday there are no surprises! Feel free to choose your groups."
The bell rang, and everyone scrambled to both collect their things and form their groups. Kaiba stayed back, packing up his briefcase much slower than usual.
"Kaiba, do you have a group?"
He lifted his head and found Yuugi perched on his desk.
"I'll get it taken care of," he muttered with a wave of his hand. Midterms and final exams were the only things Kaiba ever fully completed and turned in. Everyday assignments were a complete waste of time, and he had more than enough money and influence to get them waived.
"Instead of doing that, why don't you join our group?" Yuugi chirped. Kaiba sighed under his breath. The endless attempts at friendship were exhausting, but he had to admit, joining their group would probably be easier than going the always annoying route of being excused.
"Fine," he grunted, snapping the locks on his briefcase.
Clearly not expecting this response, Yuugi grinned. "Wow, excellent! We're with Jou and Honda, and this -"
"I'm not coming to any group meetings," Kaiba cut him off. "I will provide anything you need, including research materials or a place to work. But I'm not wasting any time on this."
Yuugi's face fell, but he remained optimistic - something Kaiba both admired and despised about him. "When we're done, you're doing the whole bibliography. Deal?"
Kaiba glared at him, but begrudgingly agreed before turning on his heel and marching out of the classroom.
A week and a half later, the Sadie Hawkins dance was two days away, and their reports were due tomorrow. Honda, Jounouchi, and Yuugi sat around their final draft on the floor of Yuugi's room.
"I can't believe you let that asshole join our group," Jounouchi grumbled, reading through his third of the report for what must have been the fortieth time. They'd been at Yuugi's since school had ended, and it was almost 8:00.
"We finished the report with no problems, Jou," Yuugi dismissed him. "Complaining at this point does nothing."
After a few more final proof-reads, Yuugi printed the final paper before carefully placing it in a clear folder and handing it to Jounouchi.
"What are you givin' it to me for?"
"You get to go to Kaiba's and retrieve the bibliography he should have written and printed out by now," Yuugi explained."It won't take long, Jou, he's only a twenty minute walk away."
Jounouchi made a face. "Why me? Can't he just bring it tomorrow?"
"I just think you need to learn to cut Kaiba some slack, Jou," Yuugi calmly explained, fixing a few uneven edges in the folder Jounouchi held. "I don't try to include him in things solely for our benefit - although being friends would certainly make some things easier…"
"Then why?" Honda piped up from across the carpet as he flicked through the TV guide.
Yuugi sighed. "Kaiba…" he trailed off, trying to figure out how to properly explain. "He likes to make you think he chooses not to have friends. But I know better. He doesn't have friends because he doesn't know how to make any, so he sits alone in his little fortress of solitude, hoping and wishing that someday some friends will break down the door." He chirped a small laugh at his own explanation.
Jounouchi rolled his eyes, but admittedly, Yuugi's explanation did make sense. It had honestly never occurred to him that Kaiba could actually be aware of how socially inept he was, and maybe even be self conscious about it.
Lacking the energy to argue any further, he sighed and headed downstairs to put on his coat, ducking into the bathroom for a quick check on his injury.
The previous weekend had been a rough one in the Jounouchi household. His father had come home after a particularly difficult work week to find Jou playing video games in the living room.
"Katsuya, are you fuckin' kiddin' me right now? This place looks like shit, and you're playin' some bullshit game?"
They'd argued for almost an hour, things only escalating with every insult thrown. Things finally ended when his father started throwing empty bottles at the wall, the last one breaking so close to Jounouchi's head that he'd gotten a rather deep cut near his hairline. The sight of blood on his hands had made him woozy, but he'd managed to get in his bedroom and jam a chair underneath the knob before his father could continue their fight.
Several hours later, he'd crept outside to find his father passed out on the couch, a half empty bottle sitting on the coffee table in front of him.
He'd still slept with a chair underneath the knob every night since.
In Yuugi's bathroom, he pulled back his bangs to reveal the small gash, wincing when he brushed it with his knuckles.
"Fuckin' bastard," he muttered, wetting a wad of toilet paper with cold water and dabbing it a few times. Making sure to flush the evidence for good measure, he smoothed his bangs back into place and left into the chilly night air.
He made it to Kaiba's mansion in record time, just under fifteen minutes. The buzzer on the gate was covered with a sheer coat of frost, and Jounouchi shivered as he booped it with his hand.
After a few seconds, the gate opened, and he slipped through the middle before running up to the front door and pounding on the wood. Mokuba opened it only a moment later, grinning up at him.
"Jounouchi! Why are you here?"
Too cold to worry about etiquette, Jounouchi squeezed past him to get inside and stretched his arms. "I'm here to get some bibli-somethin' from your brother. Where is he?"
"I have it right here."
Kaiba floated in through a door on their right, holding a very fancy clear folder with an even fancier looking bibliography inside, printed on what looked like very thick paper. Jounouchi tried not to roll his eyes - even his homework was pretentious.
"Thanks," Jounouchi mumbled. "Mind if I sit here for a few minutes? It's super cold outside."
Kaiba shrugged and disappeared back through the doorway, only this time, Jounouchi followed. They both stepped into what must have been the main kitchen, and Jounouchi took a seat on a stool in front of a vast, marble counter.
They were alone in the kitchen, Mokuba having left as soon as he could tell there was nothing exciting going on. It was clear Jounouchi had walked in on Kaiba brewing a cup of tea, as he was steeping a bag in what must have been a very expensive tea cup.
"What kinda tea you drinkin'?"
Kaiba hesitated before answering. He hadn't thought Jounouchi to be a tea drinker - but stranger things had happened. "Chai. Would you like some?"
"Sure."
Jounouchi certainly hadn't been expecting his offer, but being so chilly, the choice was obvious. He watched as Kaiba stretched to a top shelf and grabbed an identical tea cup, pouring still boiling water into it from the kettle and dropping in a tea bag.
Steam rose from the cup as he placed it gingerly in front of Jounouchi, and he sat down on a stool opposite of him, where a laptop was already set up. For a few minutes, they sat in silence, only disturbed by the click of Kaiba's mouse every so often.
Harsh slurping brought Kaiba out of his peaceful work, and he furrowed his brow as he shut the laptop.
"Must you make that noise?"
"S'hot," Jounouchi mumbled, setting his cup down rather roughly and shifting around on his stool. He flicked his hair out of his eyes suddenly, and Kaiba caught a glimpse of what looked like fresh blood beneath his bangs.
"Are you bleeding?"
Jounouchi's face flushed, and he straightened up in his seat before grunting, "No."
"I have bandages, you know, it's not that big of -"
"It's fine, Kaiba."
Hei said it with such a finality that Kaiba backed off. He couldn't help but wonder, though, what must have happened. Fresh blood meant that it was either recent, or deep, both of which weren't good to ignore. After a minute or two of deliberating and listening to Jounouchi's slurping, he pried further.
"Are you alright?"
Jounouchi glared at him over his tea cup. "My dad's just a fuckin' asshole. Don't you already know that shit?" He got up abruptly and slid his cup across the counter. "Thanks for the tea and the bib… the thing. See you."
He was out the front door before Kaiba had really processed what he'd said. Jounouchi's father actually physically abused him? Not only that, he abused him to the point that he was bleeding from his forehead. The thought unsettled him, and he couldn't help but recall the abuse he'd suffered under his own stepfather in the past.
Even that man, as horrible as he was, had never made him bleed. Kaiba swirled his tea in his cup and sat back in his stool. He certainly hadn't been expecting this.
At school the next day, Kaiba stared at the back of Jounouchi's head all day as usual, but it felt different. Knowing what he must be going through at home, how was he able to stay so upbeat and positive at school? Kaiba had never meant anything with his insults, but now that he knew what Jounouchi had been dealing with, he couldn't help but feel guilty for piling even more shit on top of him.
During their lunch break, he stayed at his desk again, quietly pulling out his laptop as he eavesdropped on Yuugi and Jounouchi.
"Are you still going tomorrow, Jou?"
"Yeah, I'm just gonna stay the night at Honda's so the old man doesn't know what's goin' on. I'll be fine," he reassured Yuugi, patting him on the shoulder as he pulled out what looked like a very old container of rice.
They ate in relative silence, only chattering about the dance every once in a while. Kaiba had even brought a lunch, a nice bento box that he'd found in the fridge on his way out the door this morning. Not that he'd planned on eavesdropping.
"Kaiba, who are you going with?"
He lifted his head to find Anzu twisted around in her chair, looking at him expectantly. The others continued eating behind her, but were clearly listening.
"No one." He fiddled with a clump of rice.
Anzu cocked her head. "But you got so many invitations! Why aren't you going?"
Kaiba's eyebrows furrowed. How would they know how many invites he received? He'd thrown them in the trash as soon as he found them, and as far as he'd known, they'd already left the building at that point.
"How do you know that?"
Anzu's eyes widened for only a moment before she relaxed and turned back to her food. "I just assumed. Either way, sorry you're not going."
Kaiba glared at her, but went back to eating. He pulled out his phone to check for any new emails when Yuugi suddenly started whispering, and he had to focus all his effort just to hear part of what he was saying.
"...you know we should, Jounouchi," he hissed. "We… tomorrow."
Cursing under his breath at his inability to hear everything, Kaiba put his phone away and hastily finished the rest of his rice, stuffing the container back into his briefcase.
The next night, they'd decided to gather at Yuugi's house before heading to the dance. The living room was more full than Jounouchi had ever seen it - everyone had a date, and he watched as they all tried to figure out their corsages.
There was Anzu and Yuugi, Honda had been asked by Sakura, the girl who sat next to Jounouchi, Otogi had been forced to make the difficult decision of choosing between three girls, and Bakura was asked by a girl from a different homeroom. Jounouchi's date, Aiko, stood next to him, messing with the flowers on her wrist.
"These are so stupid," she muttered, attempting to adjust it into a more flattering position.
"Jounouchi, we're still stopping by Kaiba's, aren't we?" Yuugi beamed up at him, his arm threaded through Anzu's.
He sighed. After hearing about Kaiba's planned absence from the dance, Yuugi for some reason found it necessary to invite him one last time to come with their group. After all, it wasn't strictly required that he had a date - it wasn't like they could turn anyone away at the door. Especially if they were in a group.
But after Kaiba seeing the cut on his forehead, and him blurting out that shit about his dad, bringing him along only sounded embarrassing. Yuugi was stubborn, though, and Jounouchi knew it would be easier to just go with it. Kaiba wouldn't come anyway.
After confirming this idea with the rest of the group, they piled into their rented limousine (split between four boys, an hour only cost $25 each) and headed for the Kaiba mansion.
They pulled up outside and Yuugi got out, dragging Jounouchi with him. After buzzing the gate, it opened slightly and they jogged up to the front door. Mokuba opened it, as usual, and upon seeing them dressed in suits, he squealed.
"Where are you guys going?"
"To a high school dance," Yuugi explained. "Where's your brother?"
"Nii-sama is upstairs. I'll get him!"
Jounouchi and Yuugi exchanged an amused look before stepping through the doorway and shutting the door behind them, politely waiting in the entryway. As Kaiba slowly came down the steps, being tugged by Mokuba, he stopped at the sight of them and sighed before putting his hands in his pockets.
"I'm not going to your dance."
"Come on, nii-sama, you have nothing to do! You were upstairs doing the sudoku just now!"
Kaiba's face flushed, and while Jounouchi usually would have laughed, now he just felt a pang of sadness. He'd been thinking about what Yuugi had said all night - being alone sucked. For once, he felt like he could relate to Kaiba.
"No, Mokuba."
"You have a fresh pressed suit hanging in the closet," Mokuba whined. "You never go out. Go. Right now!"
"C'mon, Kaiba," Jounouchi blurted. "We want you to come."
Kaiba stared back at him, but it seemed different than usual, and Jounouchi felt his own cheeks flush. After a few seconds of everyone standing in silence and Mokuba bouncing up and down in anticipation, Kaiba sighed again.
"I'm not staying all night."
Mokuba squealed and bolted up the stairs, coming back with a suit covered in plastic and a very shiny pair of shoes. He held them out to Kaiba, who took them both, muttering to himself as he went in the other room to change.
"Nii-sama never goes out with anyone, so thanks for inviting him," Mokuba babbled. "I know he's always grumpy, but he really does like you guys. I know it."
They smiled down at him, genuinely charmed by his tiny words of wisdom. Kaiba couldn't be all bad, Jounouchi thought. He raised his little brother, who was so kind and sweet.
The dance was horrible.
And this thought didn't belong to Kaiba alone - the majority of boys in the room were thinking the same thing. The entire auditorium had been decorated in pink and silver, with tinsel and streamers covering almost every surface.
He sat at one of the flimsy tables, in a ridiculous heart-shaped chair, sipping what was basically sugar water out of a filthy plastic cup. A soiree, this was not.
Yuugi and his friends danced in front of him, blissfully unaware of how bored he was. He watched Yuugi twirl Anzu multiple times underneath his arm, taking note of how surprisingly graceful they were together. Next to them, though, were Otogi and Honda, who were having what looked like a very difficult time with their dates, bumping into them constantly.
He scanned the crowd for Jounouchi, easily picking his golden fluffy head out near the refreshments table. His date was pouring herself a cup of punch, and Jounouchi was leaned against the wall next to her, looking - well, he looked bored, if Kaiba was being honest. It wasn't like his date was particularly pretty, but knowing most teenage boys, he'd been expecting Jounouchi to be all over her. The fact that he wasn't seemed odd. Why else had he come to the dance?
His ears heated up suddenly as he thought about this, but he put it down to being dehydrated and in a room full of sweaty teenagers.
Suddenly, Jounouchi was jogging over to his table, and Kaiba straightened up in his seat, hoping he hadn't been caught staring in his direction.
"Hey, you bored?" Jounouchi asked, sitting down in a chair opposite him.
Kaiba only looked at him. Such a stupid question didn't deserve an answer.
"Ah," Jounouchi mumbled, reaching into the lining of his jacket and pulling out a small silver square. "I got some booze." He waggled his eyebrows at Kaiba, glancing around quickly before sliding the flask across the table.
Kaiba snorted, but took it quickly to avoid attracting attention. "Alcohol? Really?"
"What?" Jounouchi scoffed. Like he'd never drank at a shitty social event. "Do you want some or not?"
He had him there. Kaiba shrugged and took a quick drink, grimacing at the taste of cheap whiskey before sliding it back. The alcohol warmed his throat, and he could feel his chest relax. He'd hardly eaten all day, so it wasn't going to take much to get him buzzed.
As Jounouchi took another swig, Otogi scampered up to their table with wide eyes.
"Jou, Honda found -"
"Guess who found three a'these?" Honda interrupted, jumping in front of him and fanning out three cigarettes in his hand.
Kaiba snorted again. It obviously didn't take much to impress poor people.
"Hell yeah," Jounouchi pumped his fist and turned to face Kaiba, sliding the flask across the table again. "You wanna smoke with us?"
Still unsure as to why he was being treated like this, Kaiba shrugged and took a second drink from the flask before standing up and joining them on their journey outside.
Once they were out the back door and a good thirty feet away from the building, they concealed themselves behind a dumpster and Honda pulled out a lighter, distributing the cigarettes between them. Kaiba handed Jou the flask, not at all offended by his lack of a cigarette - they probably thought he'd turn it down anyway.
Both Otogi and Jounouchi leaned in with their cigarettes in their mouth so Honda could light them. Kaiba found himself watching Jounouchi the whole way - his brows wrinkled in concentration as he took his first few puffs, and his jaw tensed.
After they'd all been lit, Honda pocketed the lighter and they stood in silence, puffing and clearing their throats. A few drags later, Jounouchi had an internal debate about whether or not to offer any to Kaiba. When he pulled his cigarette out of his mouth and glanced over, he was startled to meet Kaiba's gaze. Since when did Kaiba stare at him?
But what unsettled him even more than Kaiba's staring was how flattered he'd felt for a split second.
"Do you want a hit?" he prompted, suddenly flustered.
Kaiba continued staring at him for a few seconds, but took the cigarette out of his hand and hit it twice before passing it back without a word. Otogi and Honda exchanged a glance, but said nothing.
On their walk back to the building, Kaiba shuffled alongside Jounouchi, suddenly very aware of how tipsy he actually was. He didn't drink very often, and his body fat percentage was quite low, so his tolerance was practically nothing. Jounouchi fumbled along beside him, both boys hyper aware of the other beside them. Every time their arms bumped together, Kaiba's ears burned even hotter for reasons he couldn't even understand.
As soon as they got through the door, they were ambushed by Anzu and Yuugi.
"Kaiba, come dance with us!" Anzu shouted, grinning up at him, and before he could protest, he was being dragged by both wrists to the middle of the crowded dance floor.
For the next half hour, he allowed them to dance around him as he stood still, tapping his foot and only slightly swaying to the beat. Even he couldn't help but smile when both Anzu and Yuugi bumped hips with him in an attempt to loosen him up, giggling the entire time.
The air outside was freezing, but after being cooped up in an auditorium with a bunch of sweaty people for two hours, it was a welcome change.
Both Jounouchi and Honda held their suit coats in one hand, play-fighting in the street as they took the short walk to Yugi's house. Having had a few more swigs from Jounouchi's flask, Kaiba felt rather relaxed, almost comfortable. He lingered behind everyone, where he could observe Jounouchi without fear of being noticed, and watched as Honda got him in a headlock, pulling his bangs back and exposing his forehead for a few seconds.
The cut below his hairline was no longer bleeding, however it was clear that it was much deeper than a standard scratch. Kaiba found himself wondering how Jounouchi would look with his hair pulled back, but after a few seconds, shook himself from the thought. Where the fuck did that come from?
After arriving at Yuugi's house, everyone piled into the living room and collapsed onto the floor and futon, still buzzing from the dance. Honda and Otogi immediately lunged for the stereo, and pop music filled the room only a moment later. Kaiba sat down in a chair by the door and pulled out his phone, preparing to call Isono to come pick him up.
"Hey, are you leaving?"
Yuugi peered over his shoulder at Isono's contact page, looking far too concerned for what was actually happening.
"I stayed for the entire event, which was far longer than I'd been informed of, by the way."
"But we're all staying the night here, and you're part of the group!" Yuugi pouted. Suddenly he smiled, his voice dropping to a whisper. "There's a guest bedroom upstairs that's got a really nice bed. You can sleep up there, just don't tell anyone! Please?"
Kaiba glanced over at the still chattering group, noticing Jounouchi on the couch, his date's legs thrown over his lap. For some reason, he stiffened, looking back at Yuugi to avoid thinking about his reaction.
"Alright."
Yuugi grinned and turned to the group, yelling that he'd be right back before taking Kaiba by the arm and dragging him upstairs into what was, admittedly, a very cozy little bedroom.
"There's some pajamas in here," Yuugi mumbled, pulling out a drawer that contained several pairs of t-shirts and sweats. "You can go to bed or come down and hang out. Either way, thanks so much for coming, Kaiba! We had a great time with you."
He beamed up at Kaiba, who offered a weak smile in return, and with that he closed the door and scampered back down the stairs.
Kaiba sighed. If he'd called Isono, he'd be home with a hot cup of tea and the rest of the mystery he'd been reading in his lap. He'd never been one to worry about a social life, but that damn flask of Jounouchi's had made him tipsy enough (weak enough, really) to give in to Yuugi's charms. Speaking of, he hoped he wouldn't feel like complete shit in the morning. His chest still felt warm, his head still foggy.
The sweats Yuugi had offered him were hilariously short, but fit him around the waist. He pulled up the pant legs to just below his knee, and laughed quietly to himself at how ridiculous he looked. The t-shirts fit him fine, though, and he picked one with a cereal logo on it before throwing it on and sitting on the edge of the bed.
His nightly routine was completely ruined at this point, but he pulled out his phone to check for any final emails as he usually did before crawling into bed. He was interrupted by a faint tap at the door, only managing to look up before Jounouchi cautiously entered the room.
"You need anything?"
Kaiba fidgeted on the edge of the bed, nervously pulling his legs up into a criss cross in an attempt to hide his naked calves. Jounouchi definitely noticed, but made no indication.
"I'm fine, thank you."
But instead of leaving, Jounouchi swung the door closed behind him and walked further into the room, sitting next to him on the edge of the bed.
"I just wanted to say thanks for comin', everyone had a super good time includin' me," Jounouchi mumbled. "An' I know you did too, even if you won't say it."
They sat in silence for a few very long seconds, Jounouchi sort of waiting for a response but sort of not. As Jounouchi turned to face him more directly, their knees pressed together, but neither of them moved away.
Kaiba's brain was nowhere near as clear as it usually was - not only was the alcohol from earlier still affecting him, the sensation of Jounouchi's knee against his was completely scrambling his thoughts. Alarm bells screamed in the back of his head.
It felt like an out of body experience. It was like he was watching through someone else's eyes - he didn't feel his arm move, but he watched it happen. He raised a hand to Jounouchi's face and lightly brushed his bangs to the side, taking note of the still-bad wound above his eye.
Jounouchi held his breath, any words he could have said were now stuck in his throat. Kaiba examined his cut for a few seconds in silence, looking down and making eye contact for only a split second before Jounouchi got up rather abruptly and fled the room, clumsily shutting the door behind him.
He squatted down on the floor outside Yuugi's guest room, putting a hand on his chest in an attempt to will his heart to stop beating so fast.
Why had he reached out and touched him? Why was he still looking at the cut on his forehead? Was it a mocking gesture? Jounouchi knew it wasn't. He'd noticed Kaiba looking at him throughout the night, but it was in different than usual. His eyes weren't so icy, there was no malice behind them - they were looks of honest observation, of curiosity. And just now, in the guest room, his face had looked so much more… genuine, than usual.
Kaiba sat on the edge of the bed not five feet away, separated by the bedroom door. His heart was racing just as fast.