Chapter Three: Girlfriends

Jou walked fairly quickly to keep up with Mokuba. Of course, Mokuba had the habit of walking fast to keep up with his brother. The two boys had made it just as the sun had fully set. Jou watched the stars as Mokuba received access to the Kaiba Estate. Jou had never seen the mansion before; or any mansion for that matter.

Mokuba, who had been silent the entire walk, said quickly, "Thanks Jou. You didn't have to do this."

Jou shrugged, "its cool. I'm just looking out for my friend."

The younger boy smiled, "You want to come inside? I can ask Seto to give you a ride home."

"Nah, I don-"

"Mokuba!" Kaiba swung open the door. He saw the blonde that accompanied his brother and scowled, "Mokuba, get in the house." he said in a dangerously low tone.

Mokuba's eyes went wide in fear. He squeaked, "B-but Seto!"

"Now!" Mokuba scampered away, the door to the front of the house slamming behind him.

Kaiba stood tall and intimidating on the front porch with the moonlight reflecting in his eyes. Jou swallowed hard, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking down at the ground. He was not expecting this reaction at all.

"So," Kaiba's voice was still soft but filled with disdain, "I should have known you were responsible." his glared hard at Jou.

"What?" Jou gasped, "You think I did it? I bumped into Mokuba, that's all!"

"Oh sure!" Kaiba snapped with sarcasm, "A punk like you? Give me a reason to believe you. You, whose always in the headmaster's office and has custodial community service, why wouldn't I think you were dragging my little brother into your messes?"

Jou had nothing to say to that. Kaiba had made him sound like there was nothing good about him to say. How was he going to get out of this one? He thought about a million things to say, but he couldn't get his tongue around anything. All that came out was, "You just have to trust me."

Kaiba eyed Jou, watching his discomfort with a blank expression. He sighed and stepped off the porch and headed towards the mansion's humongous garage. He looked over his shoulder at Jou, "Come with me. I'll drive you home."

Jou blinked, "Eh? H-hold on a second!" he said, "You were just pissed at me!"

"You want to walk across town in the dark?" Kaiba continued to walk confidently, but slower than usual.

The blonde scampered off the porch and caught up with Kaiba. He hadn't thanked him. His mind was still on the argument they had just moments before.

Kaiba didn't let Jou into the garage. He drove his jet black sports car into the long driveway and opened the door for him. He was immediately greeted by loud metal music and black leather interior. He sat down and stared openly at Kaiba, "What?" the executive asked, fixing his rear view mirror.

Jou shook his head, "Nothing..." he was surprised that this was Seto Kaiba. Loud angry music and badass leather inside his car didn't seem like a typical businessman. Then again, Kaiba wasn't an ordinary businessman.

Kaiba shifted the car and wheeled down the driveway to the main road, "Where are we going?"

"South block." Jou informed Kaiba of his neighborhood's name with embarrassment. Compared to where Kaiba lived, Jou's apartment looked like a joke.

Turning the music up, Kaiba warned, "Buckle your seat belt." he turned right and zoomed down the road. His tires squealed from the force and Jou was pushed back in his seat. He had to be going at least ten miles over the speed limit.

Kaiba drove fast, but he was still under control. Jou noticed that Kaiba only kept one hand on the steering wheel at all times. It's almost like an action movie. Jou thought, slightly admiring Kaiba's talent. He saw that Kaiba's face was soft, almost as if his mind was somewhere else, but his eyes were still as hard as steel. Feeling awkward, he looked out of his window, the scenery of Domino flashing by.

They stopped at a stop light and Kaiba turned down his music. He didn't let his eyes linger on Jou; only looking at him for a moment, "How much longer until you're done being a custodian?"

Jou rolled down the car window, feeling as if the car was getting too stuffy. He looked out at the sidewalk cluttered with people. Pretending to focus on a little girl who had fallen on the side of the street, he answered, "Another week or two. I don't know."

"You don't sound like you care. Doesn't being punished bother you?"

"I have nothing better to do." Jou shrugged, feeling the car lurch again. The night air blew in his face and his hair started to brush against his cheek. He saw a familiar store and said, "Take the next left."

Kaiba did so, noting the lack of streetlights, but not mentioning it to Jou. He had never been to this part of town before, but he wasn't naive when it came to what it must be like.

Jou was not as embarrassed as he thought he'd be. There was a numbing apathy that seemed to spread through his body. He didn't know why he wasn't freaking out. He didn't understand why he and Kaiba hadn't broken out in an all out war inside the car. There was a peace between the two that Jou thinks Kaiba hadn't felt in a long time.

"It's almost like having a girlfriend." Jou said quietly, "Take a right here."

Kaiba glanced over at Jou, "Hm?"

"Take a right."

"I heard that." Kaiba said as he turned the car, "What was before it?"

"Oh." Jou ran his fingers though his hair, "I was just saying that this feels like having a girlfriend."

Kaiba gave a nasty look at a man that watched them from the side of the shady road, "What do you mean?"

Jou shook his head and rolled up the window. He could never explain himself well, especially to Seto Kaiba. "Never mind." he said and pointed out a dull gray building, "That's the place."

Kaiba settled the car into a space and put it into park. He shut the engine off and opened his door. "What are you doing?" Jou asked, getting out of the car as well, "You're not staying."

Kaiba smirked, "Walking you to the door. That's what a boyfriend does."

"Say what?" Jou scowled, annoying that Kaiba had gone that entire ride and was just now picking a fight.

Kaiba did not sound as if he was getting a rise out of it. He walked closer to the building, "So, which one is yours?"

"Why does it matter? You gave me a ride, and I appreciated it. Now get lost!" Jou felt his ears turn pink with embarrassment. He regrets letting Kaiba bring him here at all.

"You wouldn't have brought me to your actual house if you didn't want me to see. You're not entirely stupid." Kaiba put his hands in his jacket pockets, "You would have found a place for me to drop you off."

How could Kaiba read his mind so easily? Jou became angry that he was read like a book with no effort. He stomped over to an apartment on the ground floor and shuffled through his pockets for his key. He couldn't find it and yelled in irritation, his forehead resting on the locked door. He recalled putting his keys on the coffee table and not taking them when he left. He had his sister on his mind and that caused all of his common sense to leave him.

Kaiba laughed quietly, "Lose your keys?"

"Take me to Yugi's, okay?" Jou said it with defeat in his voice. He hated to depend on Yugi again. The last thing he wanted to do was show up on his doorstep in the middle of the night in a depression. He was sick of worrying his friend.

The CEO rolled his eyes, "Move."

Jou blinked, "...alright." he moved away and waited apprehensively. It took him a minute to realize that he just let Kaiba boss him around, "Hey, I don't have to listen to you!" he stepped in front of his door with his brows knit together in determination.

"You want to get into your house?"

"I can do it myself!" Jou bit his lip, wondering how much more of his foot he could shove into his mouth. He turned and stood there for a minute. His stared hard at the locked door that had seen better days. He slowly looked over his shoulder and saw Kaiba there, twirling a cigarette between his fingers; scouting the neighborhood for any trouble. Jou was a little surprised. He didn't know that Kaiba smoked.

He sighed again and looked back down at the rusty door handle. He said quietly, "Hey, Richie Rich. Can you gimme a hand?"

Kaiba was halfway through lighting his cigarette; "Hm?" he asked and then realized what was going on. He finished and buried the lighter into his pocket. He held the cigarette between his lips and wiggled the door handle. He took a step back and nodded at Jou to take a step away. He swung his leg around and kicked the door open. Jou heard the lock break, wincing at the crash. He mumbled, "Nice job waking up the neighborhood."

"I doubt the neighborhood worries about a little crash when they have more important things to lose their composure over." Kaiba said as he exhaled smoke, "Are you going inside or what?"

Jou mumbled, "Thanks." and stepped inside. He nodded at Kaiba and said, "See you later."

Kaiba spit out his not even half done smoke and walked inside as well. He looked around the shabby apartment and shrugged, reminding himself that he expected no less. He slipped off his jacket, throwing it over the back of a worn armchair.

Jou was horrified, "H-Hey!" he exclaimed, "What the hell are you doing?"

"I thought you wanted me to." Kaiba said shortly. He walked farther in, noting that the floor did not have anything on it but dirt and stains. There wasn't really anything at all. Other than the armchair, couch, coffee table, and television, there was nothing in there, "It's fairly clean."

Jou removed his shoes and coat, "I try." he decided that it was a losing battle to get Kaiba to leave. He walked out of the room and into the kitchen. He was going to keep Kaiba only in the living room. He did not want him to see the tower of dirty dishes and spilt food littering the floor. He opened the fridge and asked in the direction of the living room, "Do you want something to drink?" he didn't receive an answer so he grabbed a soda and returned into the other room.

Kaiba was there, sitting on the ratty couch like a king on a velvet throne. At least, he would be if he hadn't dozed off, resting his head in his hand.

Jou watched him for a while, sitting on the couch beside him slowly so he wouldn't wake him. He watched Kaiba's chest life and fall from his breathing. It made Jou smile to notice Kaiba's face was soft. It almost seemed angelic now that his chilling eyes were unable to be seen.

Jou turned on the television on and put his feet up on the coffee table. He had no intention of ruining Kaiba's slumber. The boy had driven Jou home and it would be impolite and unappreciative to disturb him. He did, however, take a picture with the disposable camera that was nearby. He decided that, if need be, he'd blackmail Kaiba with it in the future.

A love/hate friendship was forming as Jou saw the clock tick to eleven. A buzzing noise could be heard faintly in the living room. Jou, who had been falling asleep, was startled, wondering what it could be. He looked over at Seto and saw the inside breast pocket of his shirt quiver. It was his cell phone.

Should I answer it? Jou wondered. It could be some kind of emergency from KaibaCorp or maybe it was a foreign businessman calling about a new contract. Jou didn't know what to do. What if Kaiba woke up and got angry? It wasn't like Jou had ever seen the CEO really angry before. He was always pretty calm when they bickered. That was when Jou recalled Mokuba and how much Kaiba rose his voice. Was he always like that when it came to Mokuba's problems? Jou couldn't remember the last time he yelled at Shizuka. How could Kaiba feel good about doing something like that?

Kaiba's eyelashes fluttered. With his eyes still closed, his reached for his phone. Holding it up to his ear, he said in a gruff tone, "Kaiba." He sat there in silence, listening to the person on the other end, "Mokuba? No, I'm not still angry with you." He peered out of one eyes to see Jou sitting there, flipping through channels on the T.V. He groaned and said to his brother on the phone, "I'll be home in the morning. I'm sure you'll be fine." He hung up the phone without a "goodbye" and stuffed it back into his pocket. He ran his fingers though his hair, "What time is it?"

"Past eleven." Jou said, still staring at the television, "You're not leaving?" he glanced over.

"I trust Mokuba will be fine at the estate." Kaiba's eyes were so sharp, Jou felt as if he just got slapped in the face. There was a challenge in those eyes. Jou didn't know if he should rise to it. Instead, he shut off the television and said, "Well, I don't have an extra futon or anything so you'll have to sleep on the couch."

Kaiba's eyebrow arched, "Excuse me? Seto Kaiba doesn't sleep on a couch."

Jou stood up, his fists on his hips, "Yea well Jounouchi Katsuya is going to sleep in his bed."

Kaiba huffed, "No he's not."

"Yes he is!"

Approximately five minutes later, the two boys squirmed under the thin blankets of Jou's bed. They found themselves lying on their sides, facing away from each other.

"If you steal the blankets, I'll push you off." Jou threatened as he grabbed a good helping of the sheets.

"If you snore, I'll suffocate you with a sock." Kaiba shot back, his voice laced with sleep.

"Fine." They both answered together, rolling their eyes in unison.

As the minutes ticked away, Jou felt the movement of Kaiba's breathing against his back. Jou closed his eyes and felt comfortable. Without even thinking, he flipped over and curled up next to Kaiba's strong back, enjoying the feeling. If he didn't watch out, he could get used to this.