Disclaimer: All Yu-Gi-Oh! characters and references belong to Kazuki Takahashi. Story elements © Hideki LaShae. No money was gained in the writing of this story.
Lace
By
Hideki LaShae
Chapter Ten
Jounouchi's eyes widen as his head snaps back to the entrance to the costume shop. "You? I… remember you. You're Kaiba's friend, aren't you?"
"For my part," says Yugi wrapping his arm around the white haired girl, "It's a pleasure to see you again. This is my girlfriend, Bakura Reila. Reila, this is Suya Kat. She's Kaiba's girlfriend."
"Nice to meet you," says the girl batting her eyelashes just slightly, which only causes Jounouchi's attention to draw to her chocolate brown eyes.
"Yes. Nice to meet you also, Reila. This is my little sister, Mari," says Jounouchi.
"Hello," says Reila with a small wave.
"Hi," says Yugi, "Are you two getting costumes for Kaiba's party?"
Jounouchi hangs his head and shakes it vigorously. "I wish."
"Oh, I just thought…"
"Big sister… we should sit down and eat our ice cream," says Mokuba.
"Yeah, right. Do you two want to join us for a few minutes?" asks Jounouchi, "I got vanilla milkshakes."
"Thank you," says Reila, "We'd love to join you. I was getting tired of all this standing around anyway."
Yugi and Reila start towards the food court with Mokuba and Jounouchi a step behind.
"Why did you invite them to join us?" whispers Mokuba.
"Yugi is supposed to be dating Ryou," whispers Jounouchi, "and I was hoping we could get it out of him why he's here with Reila."
Mokuba rolls his eyes.
The four teens sit down at a table and Jounouchi passes out the milkshakes and ice cream cones.
"Why won't you be at the party?" asks Yugi, "What could be more important than being by your boyfriend's side at his birthday bash?"
"Our brother," says Jounouchi in between licks of his ice cream cone, "He lives with our mom, so we hardly ever get to see him, but she agreed to let us come out to her place next weekend. I know it means missing the party, but Kaiba understands how much my family means to me. I'll just have to make it up to him on his actual birthday. I'm planning him a surprise dinner!"
"Oh," says Reila sipping her milkshake, "Then why were you shopping for costumes?"
"Kat's taking me trick-or-treating on Halloween," says Mokuba, "So I needed a costume."
"What a good big sister!" exclaims Reila.
Jounouchi blushes. "What about you? Are you going to the party then?"
"Yes, we are," says Yugi, "I'm going as an Egyptian Pharaoh, and Reila's decided to be one of my concubines!"
"One? You're going to have more than one concubine present at the party? A little greedy, aren't you?" asks Jounouchi.
Yugi chuckles. "That's not what I meant!"
Reila blushes. "Have you gotten Kaiba a present yet? That's what we really came here today for! We're picking up a few costume accessories we forgot, and a present from the both of us."
"We're here to get his present too," says Jounouchi, "I have a few ideas, but…"
"Kat can't make up her mind to save herself!" exclaims Mokuba finishing his ice cream cone and wiping her mouth with her napkin. She opens her purse to pull out her lipstick, and she uses the purse's built in mirror to refresh the color.
"Hey!" Jounouchi blushes.
"We could go shopping together," suggests Reila.
Mokuba looks to Jounouchi.
"Thank you, but no," says Jounouchi, "We really don't have much time. We agreed to join Mokuba and Jounouchi for a snack before they have to go to the business party tonight. We're playing hairdressers for the evening! We'll see you around, I'm sure. Have a nice time at the party, and do wish Kaiba a happy birthday for me."
"We ready, big sister?" asks Mokuba standing up.
"Yes," says Jounouchi taking the last bite of ice cream and dabbing his mouth delicately with the napkin, "Do I have any ice cream on my face?"
"No, you're good," says Yugi, "Enjoy your shopping. If you're ever in the area, my family owns the Kame Game Shop. I'm usually there. You can stop by any time."
"Thank you," says Jounouchi nodding and standing, "Good luck gift shopping, and don't worry about whether or not Seto already has whatever you buy. If he does, I can always steal it from him or break it, depending on what it is."
Mokuba grabs Jounouchi's hand and pulls him away with a quick, "Bye!"
"Bye!" exclaims Yugi and Reila waving.
"Bye," says Jounouchi giggling. He hurries away with Mokuba. "Let's get the shopping done and get out of here!"
"Do you think Reila looks like Ryou?" asks Mokuba.
"I noticed a similarity or two," says Jounouchi, "Why?"
Mokuba sighs. "You are clueless. What does Seto see in you?"
"You're too young to be told that information," says Jounouchi.
Mokuba blushes. "Where do you learn these perverted things?"
Jounouchi blushes. "From your brother!"
"I'll have to have words with him," says Mokuba pulling Jounouchi into a darkened specialty coffee and teashop, "I'll grab the tea. You go to that wall and find a tea set you like."
Jounouchi walks over to the wall where various tea services in different worldly styles rest on display. A particular Japanese style with a pink cherry blossom design on it catches his eye, and he gingerly lifts the pot.
"Oh, pretty!" exclaims Mokuba stepping up beside Jounouchi with a bag of loose, crushed tealeaves and herbs, "Do you like that one?"
"I sort of feel like I'm registering for our wedding dishes," whispers Jounouchi.
Mokuba rolls his eyes.
"I want this one," whispers Jounouchi, "and I want to have tea with him using this set."
Mokuba passes his bag to Jounouchi before bending over and looking through the boxes to pull up the one with the cherry blossom design. "Okay, let's go pay for it."
Jounouchi and Mokuba walk up to the counter together and place the items next to the register.
Jounouchi opens his purse and waits for the clerk to ring up the sale before he pulls out a few bills and hands them over. He receives his change with a smile from the young man, and he blushes when he feels his lower body stirring. He takes the bag with his items and ushers Mokuba out of the shop. "He was kind of cute."
"Yeah, Seto thinks so too," says Mokuba, "but he's not blond."
"Okay, now you need to get your brother a present," says Jounouchi, "Where to?"
"Book shop," says Mokuba leading Jounouchi towards the largest bookstore in the mall.
"Are we looking for something specific there?" asks Jounouchi.
Mokuba smirks. "Yaoi manga. Preferably the ones that are wrapped in plastic because they show details of intimate body parts! You'll have to pay for it too though because I'm technically too young!"
"You're paying me back though," says Jounouchi.
"I'm lending you money, remember?"
"Oh, right."
Mokuba pulls Jounouchi into the bookstore and over to the section on manga.
"Hey, how do we tell which ones are yaoi and which ones aren't?" whispers Jounouchi.
"First, look for the ones with pictures of two guys on the front," whispers Mokuba grabbing a copy of a common manga, "Like this one. Then look at the spine. See this little symbol in the bottom corner than says Y-A-O-I?"
"Right. Got it," whispers Jounouchi, "Why don't we just grab one of those and be done with it?"
Mokuba puts the manga away. "Already has the complete collection."
"Dammit," says Jounouchi.
"Can I help you two ladies find something today?" asks a salesclerk.
Jounouchi turns bright red and shakes his head.
"We'll just look for a bit," says Mokuba, "We don't really have anything particular in mind. Thanks though."
"Okay, just let me know if you change your mind," says the woman winking at Jounouchi before turning to go help someone else.
"Was she just flirting with me?" whispers Jounouchi.
Mokuba giggles.
"How about I just look for things wrapped in plastic and then we go from there?" asks Jounouchi.
"Okay," says Mokuba.
Both boys start looking through the various manga.
Jounouchi lifts a manga wrapped in plastic with two boys on the front. He looks at the spine to see the familiar word. Then he flips it over and reads the back. "I didn't know it was legal to write this stuff…"
Mokuba snatches the manga from Jounouchi and he reads the back of it. "This one is number two. Is there a number one in there?"
"Yeah, right here. Three as well," says Jounouchi pulling the other two books out. He starts to read the back of number one while Mokuba grabs three from him. In a moment, they switch and read the backs of the others.
"These will do," says Mokuba, "We'll take all three."
Jounouchi simply nods, and he carries them up to the counter with Mokuba trailing behind. He pays for the books while Mokuba looks through a spinning rack of bookmarkers.
The clerk bags up the manga and passes the bag to Jounouchi with the receipt.
"Thanks," says Jounouchi before heading out with Mokuba, "Do we have anything else to do while we're out?"
"Let's see. We don't have your costume yet, but Shalara will make sure its there in time," says Mokuba, "I have my costume. We both have a gift to give Seto at the party, and I'll give him one manga, maybe two on his actual birthday. We've bought us some more clothes, and we've gotten your ears pierced. Genuine diamonds by the way."
"Really?" asks Jounouchi missing a step and almost falling, but he catches himself.
"Course. That's what you get when you go to that woman," says Mokuba, "Seto got his ears done there. That's how I knew about it. He tells me if I really want mine done, I have to wait until I'm sixteen. That's a full year earlier than he got his done."
"How old will he be?" asks Jounouchi.
"This is his eighteenth birthday," says Mokuba.
"Oh…" Jounouchi nibbles on his lower lip while he walks down the hallway carrying the two bags of their main purchases.
"Did I say something wrong?" asks Mokuba, "You're thinking awfully hard now, Kat-chan."
"I'm seventeen. He'll be eighteen," whispers Jounouchi, "Our relationship would be illegal if we tried to…"
"If you try to take it to the highest level," whispers Mokuba, "Your eighteenth birthday is in January though, right?"
"Yeah. What am I thinking? We might never even get to that level," whispers Jounouchi, "Let's just go home and unpack all our new clothes."
"Okay!" exclaims Mokuba smiling, "And then we can figure out what we're doing with our hair for the party tonight!"
"Seto has some sort of hair gel or mousse or something, right?" asks Jounouchi.
Mokuba nods. "I don't think he would mind it you use some of it."
"I was going to try to just slick mine back so that it's neat and tidy, and I was thinking you'd look good in a ponytail. Something more sophisticated than leaving it loose like you normally do," says Jounouchi.
"You'll have to show me what you have in mind," says Mokuba, "Race you out?"
"Be careful," says Jounouchi before Mokuba has the chance to take off on him.
Mokuba starts speed walking towards the exit with Jounouchi just a step behind as they weave and dodge the other mall patrons. They walk out of the mall and make a mad dash towards the end of the parking lot where the limo resides.
The limo meets Mokuba and Jounouchi halfway down the lane, and the two boys climb into the back quickly and breathe heavily as they try to catch their breath.
"Home!" exclaims Jounouchi into the intercom as soon as he catches enough air to speak.
Mokuba pushes the button. "Mansion!"
"Right… mansion," says Jounouchi, "Where would he have taken us on my command?"
"Your house," says Mokuba, "You said home, and you don't technically live with Seto and I, although neither one of us would mind if you wanted to move in permanently. I would love to have you around more. Seto would too. I'm sure he'd come home earlier if he knew you were there waiting for him."
"He did happen to mention the concept. He said I was welcome to live with you two as long as I wanted," says Jounouchi, "I can't take you up on the offer though. Not until I'm eighteen at least, but probably not even then. I don't know how long this relationship between me and your brother will last."
"Forever if you don't do anything stupid," says Mokuba.
"Or until your brother tires of me," says Jounouchi, "and we both know he will eventually."
"How about after you graduate you move in with us, even if you're not dating Seto?" asks Mokuba, "You're my friend, and I'm sure Seto would still pay you to be my babysitter."
"We'll see…"
"Good enough."
* * *
Jounouchi sits at the desk in Seto's bedroom talking to someone on the phone. "Listen, I'm not exactly trying to move this stuff from one location to another. I'm trying to hire you to move it out of my house and take it to the dump. I don't have the time to do it all myself. Can you help me or not?"
Jounouchi listens to the person on the other end of the line for a moment. "Okay, I'll say this one more time. I am the personal assistant of Kaiba Seto, CEO of Kaiba Corp. There are some items in my boss's home that were left there by a previous inhabitant in a locked room. We recently located the key to said room, and now we need the contents to be disposed of. You will be paid handsomely for the service."
After a very short moment of silence, Jounouchi says, "I'll open the gates of the Kaiba mansion for you at seven tomorrow morning. Be here with your trucks. There will be penalties if you're not done by five p.m. Good night."
Jounouchi hangs up and flips a few more pages in the phone book in front of him. He dials a new number and waits for someone to pick up. "Hello. I am the personal assistant of Kaiba Seto, CEO of Kaiba Corp. I would like to have a crew of your painters come to my boss's home tomorrow afternoon to repaint a room for him. You will be paid handsomely for the service."
The person on the other end talks for a moment.
"I understand that you don't work on Sundays normally," says Jounouchi, "but this is a surprise for his birthday, and it has to be done while he's away. I'll pay you twice your normal fee… three times."
One quick sentence later, Jounouchi continues, "I want it painted a calming blue. You pick the exact shade. Just make it blue. How many people do you have on a crew and how long do you think it would take them to paint a room that's say twenty by forty feet? I don't know the exact measurements, but I think it's smaller than that."
Jounouchi listens to the response. "Okay," he says, "I think I can have the room ready enough for you to start by two in the afternoon. I have another crew coming in to remove all the items within the room, but you don't need to worry about laying out tarps to collect paint. Everything in the room is being replaced, including the carpeting and flooring beneath. Will you be able to do that? You'll have to be done and out by seven o'clock sharp."
Jounouchi hangs up the phone. He looks up to see Mokuba standing in the doorway towel drying his hair.
"Was that about Seto's surprise gift that I'm paying for?" asks Mokuba.
"Yes."
"You're going to repaint a room for him? I don't understand," says Mokuba, "Which room? Those dimensions you gave them are small compared to his bedroom."
"Please don't ask questions. I don't know what all you know, and I can't talk to you about it. Where's the alarm clock in here? I need to set it to wake me up before seven," says Jounouchi.
Mokuba walks over to the side of the bed and pushes a button on the alarm clock. "Is six-thirty okay to wake up?"
"Yeah. I'll be able to throw on some clothes in that amount of time," says Jounouchi.
Mokuba slides the switch to turn the alarm clock on. "In the morning, press this blue button. That will reset the alarm clock to wake Seto on Monday."
"Thank you," says Jounouchi, "I'm going to change into my suit now. You do the same, and then we'll fix our hair."
"Where is this room that's getting repainted?" asks Mokuba, "Just tell me the floor and I'll probably know what room it is."
"Ground floor," says Jounouchi with a sigh.
"The locked room off the library? It's the only room on the ground floor that's sort of small," says Mokuba, "Seto's never allowed me near that room. Is that the one?"
"Yes, and that's all I can say. There's a reason the room is always locked, and even if it remains that way after my gift to Seto is complete, at least it will be better than it is now," says Jounouchi standing up and walking past Mokuba, "Forget about that room, Mokuba. This is something between me, your brother, and the family skeleton in the library closet."
"That room has been forbidden to me, for a good reason which I've never learned. Whatever you're doing must be good. Just make my brother happy," says Mokuba. He turns and heads into his room.
Jounouchi leaves Seto's bedroom and enters his own. He strips off his clothes and remembering Seto's words dons a thong before climbing into his Armani suit and making himself more presentable. He heads out of his bedroom and returns to Seto's room to locate the hair styling products in the bathroom.
"Hey, Jounouchi! Are you finding everything?" asks Mokuba stepping into the doorway.
"Yep. Got it!" exclaims Jounouchi smiling as he shows Mokuba the gel and mousse he found.
"Now, do mine first," says Mokuba.
Jounouchi pumps some of the gel out onto his hands, and he runs his fingers through the black locks.
Mokuba's eyes slide closed, and a small smile graces his face. His lips part for a mere second as he whispers, "Daddy…"
Jounouchi freezes. "What?"
"Huh?" asks Mokuba opening his eyes.
"What did you just say?" asks Jounouchi.
"I didn't say anything."
"No! No, you said… You called me Daddy," says Jounouchi quietly.
Mokuba's eyes widen, and he backs away from Jounouchi quickly. "I… I… I didn't mean it! I'm sorry!"
"It's okay. I'm not upset, but why did you do it?"
"My hair has always been long, and my dad, my real dad, used to help me brush it. At night he would brush it and braid it. He'd brush it in the morning, too, and then he would spray a hair de-tangler into it. He would rub it in just like you just did," says Mokuba, "I guess just a moment ago, I thought you were him. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it," says Jounouchi waving Mokuba closer, "Now let me finish your hair."
Mokuba walks back to Jounouchi and keeps his eyes open this time as the blond runs his hands through the dark locks again.
Jounouchi pulls Mokuba's hair back gently, and he wraps a small black hair rubber around them at the juncture of the boy's neck and his head. Then he grabs a black ribbon, which is almost a perfect shade match to the suit jacket and pants they both wear. He wraps the ribbon around Mokuba's ponytail and ties it in a small bow similar to ones he's seen in paintings of European aristocrats. "Okay, all done. What do you think?"
Mokuba looks in the mirror. "It looks nice, but don't you think the ribbon makes me look like a girl?"
"I was going more for an aristocratic approach," says Jounouchi slumping his shoulders and pouting like a puppy, "but if you don't like it, I can take it off."
"Well, if anyone comments on it, we'll take it out then," says Mokuba, "I don't have problems looking like a girl, you know."
"Great!" exclaims Jounouchi turning towards the mirror himself and putting some gel into his hands again. He starts to run his hands through his hair slicking it back.
"No," says Mokuba, "Not right for you. Let me try."
Jounouchi lowers his hands and sits down on the stool near the bathtub.
Mokuba puts some gel into his own hands before running his fingers through Jounouchi's hair, parting the hair down the center of the head and laying it to either side in gel twisted clumps. He stops when he has all the gel worked into the hair, and he examines it for a moment before untwisting the majority of the locks and smoothing them together. Then he untwists the two locks that he left in the front of Jounouchi's face and lets them hang unbidden before the honey-amber eyes. He nibbles on his lower lip for a moment before nodding. "Yes, I think you look just neat enough to fit in, but just messy enough to be sexy and rebellious."
"Sexy and rebellious?" asks Jounouchi standing up to look in the mirror.
"Yes. I'll need to get a picture of you so we can show Seto when he gets back," says Mokuba.
"Okay," says Jounouchi looking at his over all appearance in the mirror. The white shirt and vest he rather likes, but the black jacket and pants he could do without. The pants ride a bit too high, and the jacket hugs him a little too close for comfort. And the hair… the hair he loves. "Maybe a picture of the two of us together. I'd like a copy of that for my collection."
Mokuba smiles. "Sure!"
Jounouchi turns to look at Mokuba. He smiles back at the younger boy who wears a bit more of a formal tuxedo in the classic black and white than Jounouchi himself does, but the outfit fits the young Kaiba heir well. "Let's go find that camera!"
Mokuba leads Jounouchi out of Seto's bathroom and up to the desk. He opens one of the drawers on the right, and he pulls out the camera.
"Should we have Yukia take the picture?" asks Jounouchi.
"Yeah," says Mokuba.
Jounouchi leads the way down to the kitchen where Yukia fusses making a list of things she needs to buy on her next shopping trip. "Hey, Yukia!"
"Hi!" exclaims Mokuba.
"Oh, hello dears," says Yukia smiling, "Don't tell me you're hungry! You're about to go to a fancy dinner party!"
"Well, I am a bit hungry," says Jounouchi blushing, "but I can wait until the party, I hope. We actually have a favor to ask."
"Really? What?" asks Yukia.
"Can you take our picture?" asks Mokuba, "We want to show it to Seto when he gets back!"
"And with the way you two look, I understand," says Yukia taking the camera from Mokuba, "Should we go out to the entrance? I think the doorway might be a good backdrop for the picture."
Everyone walks out to the entrance.
"Young Kaiba-sama first," says Yukia readying the camera.
Mokuba steps up in front of the door, and he smiles. He turns his small body slightly so that his hairstyle should be clearly visible.
Yukia snaps the picture, and another one when Mokuba starts to turn to completely face her. "All right, now, young man… join Young Kaiba-sama at the door."
Jounouchi walks up to the door and stands beside Mokuba. He sets his hand on Mokuba's shoulder and smiles at Yukia as if Seto held the camera.
Yukia snaps a few pictures, asking the boys to shift positions a little each time. "Now, come away, Young Kaiba-sama."
Mokuba walks away from the door.
"Now, please," says Yukia, "Tilt your head down a little and look at the camera through your hair."
Jounouchi tilts his head as indicated and looks through his falling bangs as he flashes the camera a sultry smile.
Yukia snaps a few pictures of Jounouchi, instructing him to move into various other slightly sexy poses. "Well, is that enough?"
"Yeah, great. Thanks," says Jounouchi still blushing from his last pose, "We should get going now anyway."
"Yeah," says Mokuba looking at his watch, "If we don't leave now, we'll be late!"
"Don't forget your coats. It might be chilly out there," says Yukia.
Mokuba moves to the coat closet and opens the sliding door.
Jounouchi freezes in his tracks. "Um… Mokuba?"
"What is it, Jounouchi?" asks Mokuba pulling out his coat.
"I don't have a coat that will work with this outfit," says Jounouchi, "The one I bought was a bit more feminine."
"Oh, right," says Mokuba blushing, "Will you hold mine for a moment, Yukia?" He passes the coat to Yukia before looking through the closet again. He turns to look at Jounouchi for a brief moment before nodding and pulling out a black trench coat. "Here, Jounouchi. You can borrow this one of Seto's. With the way you look tonight, he won't mind as long as Yukia doesn't mind taking another picture of you wearing it. You will, won't you, Yukia?"
"Of course," says Yukia.
Jounouchi takes the coat and slips it on, finding it to be supple leather with a warm lining. The coat appears a bit big on him, but it flares in all the right places to give him the appearance of a dragon in flight.
Mokuba takes his coat back from Yukia and steps behind her to put it on while Yukia snaps a couple of pictures of Jounouchi. He steps up to the blond for one last picture. "Will you place the camera on Seto's desk, Yukia?"
Yukia nods.
"Let's go," says Mokuba opening the door.
Jounouchi and Mokuba head out to the already waiting limo, and they climb in back.
* * *
"Now tell me again," says Jounouchi brushing Mokuba's freshly washed hair, "Was that fun or not?"
"That's a typical business dinner party," says Mokuba, "Although I'm sure if Seto took Kat-chan, there would be less business discussed and more dance propositions."
"I got propositioned just fine tonight," says Jounouchi pouting as he carefully works on a tangle.
"Yes, by all the wives who were just as bored with the party as you were," says Mokuba, "and you only danced with a few of them."
"They didn't interest me," says Jounouchi slowly.
"Yes, but if Kat-chan went, she'd be getting invites from all the men, and Seto would have to spend the whole night dancing with you to keep everyone's filthy hands off you."
Jounouchi blushes. "As if his hands would be any better."
"His hands are clean and well groomed anyway," says Mokuba.
"But his hands would be all over my ass!" exclaims Jounouchi indignantly.
Mokuba giggles.
Jounouchi finishes brushing Mokuba's hair and braids it as neatly as he can.
"Thanks, Jounouchi," says Mokuba smiling as he feels his hair, "Would you like me to brush yours?"
"No thanks," says Jounouchi, "I believe that's a boyfriend's privilege."
"Oh, so you'll let Seto brush your hair," says Mokuba.
Jounouchi blushes. "He has his cell phone with him, doesn't he?"
"That phone goes with him everywhere," says Mokuba, "Of course he has it with him."
"I might call him tonight. Do you want to talk to him?" asks Jounouchi.
"Tell him I miss him," says Mokuba, "and have a good night. I'm going to sleep."
"Good night," says Jounouchi giving Mokuba a quick kiss on the forehead.
"Aren't you supposed to do that with Seto?" asks Mokuba smirking.
"Yes, well… brother's prerogative," says Jounouchi standing up from his seat on the bed behind Mokuba.
"Sleep well," says Mokuba crawling beneath his blankets and lying down.
Jounouchi puts the hairbrush away before walking to the door and turning the light off so that only the faint glow of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon nightlight prevents them from being plunged into complete darkness. He steps out and closes the door tightly before he heads into Seto's bedroom and sheds his bathrobe to climb into Seto's bed completely nude. He grabs the bedside phone and dials the number he's come to recognize as well as his own.
"Kaiba."
"Hi, Kaiba. It's Jounouchi."
"Do you know how late it is, puppy?"
"Yeah, actually I do. It's one in the morning."
"But you still called me. Is something wrong? Is Mokuba okay?"
"There's nothing wrong. Mokuba's fine. He misses you though. He just went to bed."
"He just now went to bed?"
"Yeah. He took a bath after we got home from the party," says Jounouchi relaxing in the middle of the bed, "And I brushed and braided his hair for him. Then he went to bed."
"How was the party?"
"It was rather boring. A lot of talk about business, and I danced with a few of the wives. The best part of the night though was when Mokuba and I had Yukia take pictures of us with your camera so we can show you how nice we looked!"
"Mmm… I can't wait to see those pictures. A sexy puppy in an Armani suit. Delicious."
Jounouchi blushes. "You're trying to make me blush, aren't you?"
"Is it working?"
"Yes."
"Good. You're cute when you blush."
"Kaiba. Quit picking on me! I'm your boyfriend. It's not nice!"
"I apologize."
"Okay. I'll forgive you this once. How's your business meeting going?"
"It's frustrating me. It's not going at all like I hoped it would. I would rather not talk about it. Can we go back to talking about you?"
"Oh, fine. I suppose so."
"Did you have movie night at the mansion?"
"We did. I begged and pleaded with Honda's sister to require a babysitter for her son, so Honda couldn't come. We brought Otogi instead."
"Otogi? The idiot with the game shop who invented Dungeon Dice?"
"Yes."
"The one who dressed you in a dog suit?"
"Uh-huh."
"The one who tried to force Yugi out of Duel Monsters forever?"
"The very same."
"And you wanted to spend time with him?"
"He's our friend now. Honestly, you've called me all sorts of names and insults, and I'm sure you've even thought about putting me in a dog suit before."
"Is there a point to this tirade?"
"I still want to spend time with you." Jounouchi blushes.
"…"
"Kaiba?"
"I'm still here. Thank you."
"I really miss you."
"I miss you, Jounouchi. Talk to me. Tell me what you and Mokuba have been doing while I've been gone."
"Well, movie night was a blast, and the entire gang stayed overnight in the guest rooms. Oh, you'll never guess what happened!"
"Really? What happened?"
"Otogi wanted to share a room with me!"
"Is that so? I'll have to have words with him about that. I'm assuming that he asked you that because he wanted you naked and in his arms, correct?"
"He didn't say that, but that was the impression I got when he asked me to share rooms. I think I set him straight."
"Oh, if only, but unfortunately, he's as gay as they come!"
"Oh my god! You just told a joke!" Jounouchi listens to Kaiba chuckle on the other end of the line. "We went out today to get costumes for your party."
"Did you find something you like?"
"I hope so. We went by Shalara's, and she's special making costumes for you and me. You didn't tell me that you set up a credit account for me there."
"I was afraid to bring it up. I thought…"
"You thought that if I knew I could get all the clothes in the entire shop that I would make you penniless. I did buy a few things, but I didn't buy all that much. Or at least, I don't think I did. I didn't see prices on any of the tags, but Mokuba got some stuff too. I didn't have a coat, so I really needed that."
"I trust you didn't spend that much. Did Mokuba get a costume?"
"Yes. We went by the mall and got him a costume as well as a few presents for you. I hope you like the presents I've gotten you."
"You… got presents for me?"
"Of course I did! It's your birthday!"
"You didn't have to get me anything. I wasn't expecting you to."
"You're my boyfriend, Seto. I wanted to get you a present," whispers Jounouchi, "But if you don't want it…"
"I want it! I want it!"
"Good."
"What did you get me?"
"I'm not telling."
"Is that all you did? Go shopping for costumes and presents?"
"After that we came back home to get ready for the party. We both took a bath before we got dressed."
"What? If you took a bath before you left, why did Mokuba need a bath when you returned?"
"Please don't be upset, but we used some of your hair gel to style our hair for the party. We had to wash it out afterwards or else we'd wake up with weird spikes or something equally stupid and funny looking, and neither one of us really wanted to go that route."
"I'm sure you didn't."
"Are you getting ready for bed now?"
"Actually, I'm already in bed. I was asleep until the phone rang."
"I'm sorry."
"No. It's okay. I would much rather talk to you than sleep anyway. I wanted to call you so many times, but I didn't want to interrupt your movie night or your beauty sleep. And then I was in non-stop meetings this morning, so I couldn't have called you. And you went to the party, so I couldn't reach you. I tried calling home once, but you weren't home, and I told Yukia not to mention me calling. I didn't want to worry you."
"You couldn't worry me just by calling, but if it were the cops calling here looking for me… then I would worry."
"Nothing's going to happen to me. I intend to live forever."
"That's nice. Can I live forever with you?"
"Yes."
"So, you're alone in a fancy hotel room all naked and in bed? You are alone, right?"
"Of course I'm alone! Who would I sleep with besides you?"
"How would I know? How many blonds are at those meetings?"
"Not a single one, and I wouldn't be tempted even if there were a million of them here. I have the blond I want waiting for me at home. I won't risk that for any one time fling."
"That's right! You have me naked in your bed right here! You don't need anyone else."
"You're naked? In my bed?"
"Makes you wish you were home, doesn't it?"
"Yes."
"You finally manage to get me unclothed in your bed, and you can't even enjoy me!"
"I miss you, Jounouchi."
"I know. I miss you, Kaiba. We've had fun together these last couple of weeks."
"We have had fun, but our relationship isn't over yet, so we'll have more time to have fun together."
"So have you been touching yourself while we've been talking?"
"What the hell? Why would you ask me something like that?"
"I'll take that as a yes."
"I did not say I was touching myself!"
"I think you are. I think you're talking to me on speakerphone so that you have both hands free, and I think your left hand is gently massaging your balls while your right hand strokes your penis. Are you close to coming?"
"I am not masturbating while talking to you on the phone!"
Jounouchi laughs. "So have I made you want to do it?"
"You horny little vixen! You said all that just to provoke me!"
"Yeah, I did, but I couldn't help it."
"So are you horny? Have you been masturbating while talking to me?"
"Yes, and no."
"Yes, you're horny, but no, you aren't touching yourself. Should we? Together?"
"Should we what?"
"Touch ourselves of course. We could masturbate together while talking to each other. We could pretend that we're lying in the same bed, in between the satin sheets! With my hands caressing your body, stroking your hard, dripping cock closer and closer to your release. And you, touching me in all the right places, teasing my cock with your shy, innocent hands."
"I'm sorry. Not tonight. It's getting late. We should get some sleep. I'm sorry."
"Yes. I know. We should sleep. I have another meeting in the morning bright and early. I was just hoping for a little reason to sleep in and miss it."
"Oh, I can just picture that now, Seto. So sorry I was late, but I stayed up all night having phone sex with my boyfriend."
"Not exactly the way I would want to start the meeting, I'm afraid."
"I'm going to let you go now. Goodnight, Kaiba."
"Good night, Jounouchi. Sleep well, and have pleasant dreams."
"You too. Come home soon." Jounouchi waits a moment before hanging up the phone. He tries to ignore his erection and fall asleep, but after a moment, he realizes that he can't sleep in his current state. He heads into the bathroom to quickly relieve himself before returning to the bed to sleep.