It Means I Love You
Written by: Rain (Gutterangel)
Rated: M
Genre: Romance/Drama
Pairing: Seto x Jou
Warnings: Yaoi, citrus, language.
Notes: Other than a few itty bitty one shots that I did, I never wrote a Seto x Jou fic. Trust me, this isn't the cliche "Puppy love" thing we normally see. This is how I do Seto x Jou, so prepare yourself. XP
Summary: Sometimes, life doesn't go right for Jou. Getting into fights and smiling when it's right are the only ways he knows how to speak his mind. However, when he can't find the right way to express how he feels about Kaiba, things get a little crazy.
Disclaimer: I Don't Yu-gi-oh.
x-x-x
Chapter One: Attitude
The school bell rang in the distance. Jounouchi Katsuya glared out the window as he heard the footsteps of his fellow peers trample down the hall. He lifted a finger to touch the stinging pain on his bottom lip. He pulled his finger back to see a bright red blob had gathered on the tip. He ran his tongue over the spot, trying to clean up the cut. This wasn't the first time he had tasted his own blood.
The school's headmaster was one of the most "stick up the butt" people Jou had ever met. He was tall, stern, and had no hair. Jou hated him the second he laid eyes on him. As the hallway became less rowdy, the door to the headmaster's office swung open and the man walked in with his glasses tight against his nose. Jou wondered if the reason he breathed so heavily was because his glasses was cutting off his air supply.
"Mr. Jounouchi." the headmaster greeted the blonde the same way every single time. Jou rolled his eyes, reciting every line the older man would say in his mind, "It seems as though we just can't stay out of trouble lately, hm?" he took a seat in the chair and picked up a stray pen on his desk. He began to tap the tip against a piece of paper that already had numerous blue dots on it. "So, would you like to inform me about what you think happened?"
Nothing peeved Jou more than to hear that. "What you think." The guy had no trust in Jou's opinion. It seemed as if every filthy scumbag Jou had gotten in a brawl with turned out to be a pansy and never fessed up to being more of an asswipe than Jou. It was always Jou who turned out being the attacker and his fighter was the poor, innocent, prey. The next time Jou saw them, he'd show the punk what a real predator looked like.
"Well, it's like this, Sir." Jou always kept his manners, "That guy was asking for it. He's always picking on my friend and I had enough. I was just defending my buddy."
"Which buddy was this, Mr. Jounouchi?" the headmaster always humored Jou's explanations.
"Yugi Motou, Sir."
The man removed his glasses and began to clean them with a cloth from his pocket as he spoke, "Mr. Jounouchi, surely you think that if Mr. Motou had a problem with the other students, he'd stand up for himself or at least go to a supervisor about the situation?" This was the part Jou always hated; when the headmaster became a smartass. "For you to interfere seems a little hasty, don't you agree?" he slid the frames back up his nose and smiled venomously, "Next time, try to judge yourself before you react." he opened his desk and pulled out a slip of gold paper; a paper Jou had grown to loathe, "It's obvious that the punishments I've been giving you just don't seem to be working. Why don't we try something different?" he scribbled on the paper a sentence in sloppy handwriting, "A week as a ground keeper should be effecient."
"What!" Jou lept out of his seat, "You have got to be shitting me!"
"Watch your mouth or it will be two, Mr. Jounouchi." The headmaster said sternly, "You will show some decorum while you are in my office." he handed Jou the paper, "Hand this in to the secretary on your way out. You are to head to the custodial office after school tomorrow. Let's hope we don't see each other too soon."
Jounouchi grumbled, "Yea yea." as he snatched the paper out of his hand. He bowed at the older man although it was the last thing he wanted to do and left the office. The door slamming startled the secretary behind the desk. The woman had to be at least three times older than Jou, but his bloody scowl and his tossled hair caused to her take the paper from him with a shaky hand.
Furious beyond belief, Jou stormed down the hallway towards his class punching walls and kicking at the doors of other classrooms. He did this all the way upstairs and to his class. He slid the door open with rage and stomped in. The teacher looked up from the blackboard and nodded, "Good afternoon, Mr. Jounouchi."
Jou bowed, "I'm sorry, Teacher." he said politely, "I was in the office." he grid his teeth.
The teacher had heard this before, "Take your seat."
He did as told and plopped into his seat. Honda Hiroto leaned over in his seat and handed Jou a tissue from his pocket. He whispered, "Clean yourself up, Dude." and returned to writing the notes on the board. Jou took the tissue and remembered the blood that had now dried on his lip. He whispered, "Thanks." Honda was always looking out for him. He was a good kid. Jou could talk to him about everything and anything. He wiped the blood away and nudged Honda. Honda nodded in satisfaction and Jou pocketed the tissue. He didn't feel like getting up to throw it out.
He sighed and crossed his arms on his desk. Resting his chin on them, his mind began to wander. What was he even doing here? He hated school and never learned a damn thing. It was lucky for him to even get a D on anything. He used to try, but he's given up all hope. It wasn't as if he had money for a tutor either and he wasn't the type of person to say he needed help in the first place. He stared at the writing on the board. He just wanted to go home.
x-x-x
"I'm sorry, Jou!" Yugi pouted, "I didn't mean to get you in my mess." The boy was always apologizing for something. He frowned at his friend, "I promise I'll make it up to you."
Jou shook his head, "Nah." he smiled, ruffling Yugi's hair, "Don't worry about it. I'd rather do the time knowing I did it to help you out." he continued to walk towards the front gates of the school yard with his friends. It was the last day in a week he'd be able to.
"Jou, look out!" Anzu said too late. The blonde had crashed into someone. He took a couple steps back, saying quickly, "Sorry, Man."
"You'd better be." a cool voice spoke from above Jou's head. He looked up to find the one person he never wanted to see; Seto Kaiba.
Tall, dark, and called handsome by at least every girl on the planet (and many guys as well), was Seto Kaiba. The boy that owned the multi-billion gaming company took pride in knowing that it was hard to compare him to anybody. In his own quiet way, he flaunted his earnings and talents. Nothing made him feel intimidated. He was his own God.
Jou's luck could not be any worse. He openly scowled at Kaiba, "I take my apology back, you inconsiderate prick."
Kaiba laughed short, "Well, if you're going to be that way about it..." he walked past Jou, shoving hard into his shoulder and causing the blonde to hit the dirt. Kaiba kept walking in his confident stride, not looking back. Jou saw red.
"YEA?" he yelled, "WELL, COME BACK HERE AND WE'LL SEE WHAT ELSE YOU GOT, SELFISH PIG!" he got up off the ground and spit at the ground, "I hate him."
Honda sighed, "You can't let him get to you, Man. He isn't worth it and you know it."
Jou rubbed his shoulder, "Yea yea. I know." he shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down at the ground, "Let's go, Guys." he led the ground off the school grounds and down the street. He looked over his shoulder and saw the gates getting smaller and smaller as he went. If he had it his way, he'd never see them again.
x-x-x
Shizuka seemed to visit Jou at the best times. He awoke the next morning to see her above his bed with a tray covered in breakfast food, "Good morning, Big brother."
Wide awake, Jou sat up in his bed, "Shizuka!" he beamed, "How did you get here?" he accepted the food in a heartbeat and began to chow down.
The girl was pleased to see her brother's appetite had not been lost, "I took the early morning train. I wanted to make you breakfast. You never have time to eat it when you wake yourself up."
"This is great." Jou said as he swallowed some of his orange juice, "You're the greatest, Sis." he took another bite, "Mom let you come? It's a school day."
Shizuka's eyes wandered to the window, "It's going to be a cool day today. You should wear a long shirt underneath your uniform." she shifted through the clothes spread along the floor and picked up a shirt she knew was clean, "I'll do your laundry while you're at school."
Jounouchi nodded silently. He never understood what went on at his mother's house. All he knew was he was the lucky one. Sure, he didn't get a lot of parental guidance, but everytime Shizuka showed up at his house, she never seemed to want to talk about her life. Still, she smiled and did all of the housework Jou and his father neglected to do. She was always excited to spend time in Domino and make sure that the house was spotless when her brother came home. It was her own little hideaway and Jou didn't feel like ruining it for her with a million questions. She was a Jounouchi too and that meant that whatever she wanted to say, she never could anyways. Talking just isn't in their blood.
She handed him his uniform and whisked away the tray, "Hurry up and take a shower. You'll be late if you sit in bed any longer."
Jou crawled out from under the blankets and kissed his sister's cheek, "Thanks, Shizuka." and with that, he traveled to the bathroom. Closing the door behind him, he glanced at himself in the mirror. He seemed fairly himself. He stopped being surprised when he woke up to find a new bruise on his cheek. He swore he beat himself up in his sleep. He turned the hot water on and climbed into the shower. It was the last minute of bliss he got before he had to go back to school.
x-x-x
School was a blur, but Jou wasn't excited to leave because when the bell rang, Jou had to say good-bye to his friends and head across the school grounds to the back of the building. He knocked on the door and waited. A dumpy but kind looking man opened the door. He smiled and held out a calloused hand with dirt covered the underside of his fingernails, "You must be Jounouchi. The name's Aoe." he handed Jou a rake and a pile of trash bags, "You'll be raking the left side of the front wall until the gates and putting the leaves in bags. Then, you can wheelbarrow the bags out to the garbage dumps and drop them off there. You have any questions, let me know. You can leave when you're done."
Jou nodded, "Thank you, Sir." he bowed and slumped his way to the wall he was directed to. He saw the myriad of leaves that were scattered on the ground and sighed. It would be dark by the time he finished.
It didn't go as horribly as Jou had imagined. He had his headphones on and listened to is music. The leaves weren't that big of a deal. By sunset, he was almost done raking his last bag of leaves when he saw a figure walking out of the main enterance of the building and down the walk towards the gates. Jou kept his head down and waited until the person passed. He didn't hear anymore footsteps and thought it would be safe to look up. His honey eyes had locked onto the pale blue of Kaiba's.
It was awkward, really. Kaiba had a tight grip on his breifcase while Jou's knuckles turned white from holding the rake. He felt a blister that had formed from his raking open up and although it pained him, he did nothing about it. He just stared. What was there to say? He was too embarrased to speak, but his gaze would not tear away.
Kaiba just kept looking, not saying anything either and as the sun became lower in the sky, the wind picked up and all of the leaves that Jou had just raked began to scattered around them and found homes on the school's lawn.
x-x-x
A/N: Not really a cliffhanger, but in a way it is. What a weird first chapter, huh? I was surprised. To be honest, I don't even know where this is going. I'll be greatly happy to hear some feedback. See you soon!