Name: Our Secret
Prompt: #4: Secrets
Character(s): Katsuya Jounouchi x Seto Kaiba
Disclaimer: I don't own Yuugioh (though it'd make an awesome birthday gift), and all characters, and mentioned locations belong to Kazuki Takahashi.
When he found him, he was a mess. Lying against the wall of a worn down bar, Jounouchi looked like complete, utter shit. His shirt was dirty and wrinkled to the point of no salvation. His shoes were scuffed and oddly broken near the large toe on the left. Blonde hair was dirty to the point of looking clean again, and sticking out in wild directions from when he had stumbled out into the pouring rain earlier that, well, morning.
He looked at his watch: 6:07 AM.
Looks like he wasn't going to work today.
--
"Big brother, why is Jounouchi currently residing in our guest room?"
"Let him sleep."
"Yes, I will, but why is he here?"
"Eat something before you're late. Maybe some toast – you don't have time for a proper breakfast."
"Okay, big brother, but why is he here?"
The younger one sighed heavily as his brother just sipped at his coffee, and read the newspaper in complete silence, ignoring him. Or, since his hand was clenched a little too tightly on the cup, turning his knuckles white, maybe thinking about why the blonde lay unconscious and drunken in the guest room, much like his younger brother was. In the foresight, the younger one saw, there was no definite answer as to why the older had brought home a very inebriated blonde.
Suddenly, the black haired boy realized something.
"Big brother…"
A grunt confirming he heard him.
"Why are you here?"
--
The air was thick, heavy, disgusting and smelled like cigarettes of all kinds and caliber, cheap beer, fine whiskey, and stale sex. He didn't know where the last smell filtered from, and, currently, he didn't care. Pressing his stomach against the side of the bar, and leaning his elbows on the tabletop, he could almost hear his mother scold him, poking him firmly with her chopstick, saying, "don't lean on the table with your elbows, it's rude!"
All he got was a rough, "whaddya want? I'm busy tonight," from the bartender and a barely cool beer shoved under his nose.
The beer tasted foreign and revolting on his tongue. It swirled like an animal in his stomach, clawing its way through him, prevailing to make him numb from the future, maybe the present and definitely the past. It was repulsive and he hated it.
He wondered why he ordered that second, third, fourth, fifth, tenth beer after that…
--
Looking out the window was much more calming than staring blankly at the ceiling and Jounouchi had been doing it for the past…
Turning his head, he looked, bleary-eyed, at the side table digital clock.
…ten minutes. The day was sunny and bright, full of birds chirping and children playing in schoolyards, something he didn't need with the headache reigning in his head. He just wished the children and the birds would frolic and be all gay and Disney-like a little quieter, and the sun to dim out just a bit. But, (luck is not a lady but a cold, hard bitch, he thought bitterly) today was not his day, and all the sounds were elevated to the loudest level they could be in his mind.
A pendulum called his brain rocked back and fourth, back and fourth, back…and…
Running to the bathroom, Jounouchi made quick friends with the toilet and the cold bathroom floor.
As he was retched the last of his stomach into the depths of modern plumbing, he felt a cold hand press itself against the nape of his neck, and two pills appear before his eyes, suspended on the palm of a hand. Blinking, he looked up to meet – emerald? No wrong, colour…ruby? No, that was red, forget it, he's too hung over for this poetic shit – ice blue eyes, and locked onto the message they held, cold and distant much like the person.
Drink it and don't ask questions.
Nodding, he slipped the pills into his mouth, swallowed dry, sigh, and said, voice hoarse and condescending, "Shit."
--
"Does anyone know I'm here?"
"Except the maids, no."
He didn't look anywhere but the cup in front of him, staring thoughtfully into the dark pools of ground coffee beans. Running a hand through freshly washed hair, he tried to ignore the nice, soft feeling of the other's sweater on his ribs. Sighing, he grabbed a piece of toast from the plate in the middle of the table and began to nibble on it to appease his upset stomach.
"What about the kid?"
"Him, too, but he could hardly believe it. No need to worry about him."
Nodding, he finally looked up to see the other man looking at him, eyes hard and waiting for him to initiate the answer to the question why. Like Hell.
"Whaddya starin' at me for, huh?"
"You know why. Now, tell me, why did I find you?"
"You should ask why you took me in."
"I can't leave a dog in the streets – especially my dog. How horrible of a master would I be?"
Using all of his energy (which wasn't much to begin with) to glare, Jounouchi bit purposefully into the piece of toast he held, wishing he was biting off the other's head.
"Shuddap."
"Why?"
Looking back out the window, he heard the same birds from earlier chirping, and he could see the cherry blossom leaves beginning to fall to the ground. The sweater was rising up against his back, and every part of him felt like ants were crawling beneath his skin. Fidgeting, he said, "I can' tell you. Not now, at least."
Turning to face Kaiba, Jounouchi locked eyes with him, and said, sternly, "Let this be our secret. Please?"
Not one to be secretive or to be left out in the dark, Kaiba hesitated. But he knew better than to think hard about Jounouchi – all it served was a headache and insanity. Oh yes, he knew better. So, with a grunt that acknowledged he heard what the blonde said, he muttered, "a secret."
Standing up, Kaiba passed by Jounouchi, but stopped when the other boy grasped his hand. Once again looking into Kaiba's eyes, he locked their pinkies together and recited, "Cross my heart, and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye."
Smiling, Jounouchi let go of his finger, and said, "Our secret."
"How many secrets do we have now, mutt?"