Options, Choices and Obsessions – CHAPTER 10:
A Not So Perfect Fit
The first sensation flitting through Honda's consciousness was warmth. Something was bundled in his arms and he hugged it, vaguely aware that it was soft and comfortable and was merged against his own body. It shifted against him and Honda remembered he wasn't alone in the bed…
Funny, whoever it was seemed to fit perfectly against him.
It felt nice…
Was it… Kaiba? Did Kaiba really feel like this?
Honda squeezed his arms a little tighter around the object, feeling it squash beneath his fingers… Kaiba felt… Kaiba wasn't this squashy, was he?
That wasn't right…
Honda opened his eyes as he heard a muted mumble, and he stared at the object in his arms – one large, fluffy pillow.
He groaned. No wonder it fit against his body so nicely. In embarrassment, he punched it away from himself and rolled over in the other direction.
"Oi!"
"Huh?" Honda rolled back over to check out the source of the large noise, and was just in time to be smacked back in the face with the pillow. "Hey!"
"You did it first!" Kaiba growled, propped up on one elbow and staring at Honda as though he was the source of all the world's problems.
Honda sweatdropped and stretched his arms above his head, looking sleepily at Kaiba. "Sorry about that…" He eyed Kaiba's hair and chuckled. "Did you have a good sleep?"
Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "Obviously not. You stole my pillow."
"But you have it back now, don't you?" Honda replied, still looking at Kaiba' hair which was sticking up in different directions and was generally looking a mess.
Kaiba rolled his eyes and raised his pillow to whack Honda again, when Honda sat up and grabbed his own. "Hey! It's my turn now!"
Kaiba growled and launched himself at Honda, who struggled backwards, taken by surprise at Kaiba's sudden movement.
"Who-"
Pillows collided with a loud thwacking sound…
"Said-"
Kaiba was advancing more quickly than Honda had anticipated.
"We're-"
The blue-eyed boy managed the first direct hit – to the top of Honda's head no less. And, despite appearances, pillows hurt when they hit with such force and speed at seven AM in the morning.
"Taking-"
Kaiba swung his pillow again, and this time Honda dodged the hit. He tossed his pillow away and lunged at Kaiba.
"Turns?"
Honda grabbed Kaiba's pillow and pulled it from his grasp, throwing it across to join the other on the floor, leaving the blue-eyed boy to blink as he found himself pinned against the mattress.
"I win." Honda grinned triumphantly.
Kaiba took a moment to catch his breath and scowled, looking rather indignant. "So I can see."
Honda leaned down so that their noses were almost touching and smiled; his eyes twinkling mischievously. "You know…"
Kaiba stared into Honda's eyes, seeing his own reflection in the dark, black pupils there. Honda was incredibly close. His upper body was pressing against Kaiba's as the blue-eyed boy lay sprawled on the floor. "Y-yes?"
Honda breathed in, his nose now touching Kaiba's.
Kaiba's heart was racing again. Again… This warm feeling; this burst of happiness and anticipation and fear and everything, all rolled into one and permeating every cell of his body until he thought he would burst.
"You…" Honda paused, a flicker of a frown on his face. Before he could change his mind though, he'd blurted it out, a cheeky grin on his face.
"You have no idea how cute you are in those PJs."
Kaiba stared disbelievingly. "Cu-ute?"
Honda laughed and scrambled to get off the boy as his look of confusion quickly turned into one of annoyance.
The bathroom proved to be a lucky escape as he ran for it and slammed the door after himself. He quickly flicked the lock and grinned as he heard the huge bang on the door. Then he whistled and pulled off his shirt.
Honda was the first to the shower for once.
Not even the sound of Kaiba yelling at the door could wipe the smile off his face. Though it was a little mean to have pulled that on the boy, especially with the look on his face…
Honda hooked his thumbs under the elastic of his shorts and shrugged. Kaiba would get over it sooner or later. And anyway – he wasn't the only one who hadn't been expecting that to have come out of Honda's mouth.
-(S)-
Kaiba glared at the screen of his laptop as he opened up his email. Another two hundred or so emails awaited his reply… Another hundred people who couldn't fix their problems on their own… Another fifty phone calls he'd have to answer during the day… And another day would have passed by before he would have sorted everything out.
He hit the keys on his laptop in irritation, and waited for Honda to emerge from the bathroom. Why he was taking so long was completely beyond Kaiba… What exactly was Honda doing in there?
-(S)-
"Wait…"
Honda had been a few steps ahead of Kaiba, and about to open the door from the stairwell to the hotel lobby. He turned around, seeing a thoughtful look on Kaiba's face.
"About this morning…" Kaiba started, hesitating and looking into Honda's eyes. "I just wanted to…"
Honda let go of the handle on the door and stepped towards Kaiba. "Are you okay?"
Kaiba shrugged. "I just wanted to say…"
"Say what?"
"It's pretty stupid really…" Kaiba lowered his voice, and Honda stepped forward so they were inches apart again for the second time that morning.
Honda wondered if maybe he had stepped over the line… Kaiba hadn't taken rejection too well the last time… And he wasn't exactly a people person either. Honda put his hand on the boy's shoulder, squeezing it gently. "Hey, che-"
Honda was cut off as Kaiba suddenly had him caught in a headlock and was roughing up his hair with a hand. "Oi! Kaiba! Cut it out!"
Kaiba let Honda go, smirked triumphantly and pulled open the door, darting out before Honda could catch him.
Honda stared. Then he chuckled ruefully, watching the door slam shut again. He ran a hand through his hair and tried to calm his breathing. He probably deserved that…
Still… It didn't feel quite so funny when you were on the receiving end of a joke like that.
Kaiba walked up to the large group standing in the lobby and stood at the fringe of the crowd. He watched the door to the stairway and snickered. Revenge was sweet…
"Morning Kaiba," Anzu greeted cheerfully, a cup of hot coffee in her hand.
"Morning," Kaiba said, still too busy smirking to notice what had just come out of his mouth.
Anzu stared. "Ne, Kaiba-kun… Where's Honda?"
"Morning Kaiba!" Yuugi greeted, a smile plastered from ear to ear.
"Good morning Kaiba!" Bakura echoed, his arm linked with Yuugi's.
"Where is Honda?" Yuugi repeated Anzu's question.
Otogi raised an eyebrow at Kaiba, looking suspiciously at his flushed cheeks. "You look like you've had a morning workout…"
Kaiba shifted uncomfortably, blushing even redder as he recalled how Honda had pinned him to the mattress only an hour ago. He was saved from further interrogation as the boy in question approached the group.
"Morni-" Honda was cut off rapidly.
"What did you do to your hair?" Otogi gaped.
Honda rolled his eyes, raising a hand to feel his hair self-consciously. "Shut up." He avoided Kaiba's eyes and when Otogi reached out a hand and further mutilated Honda's hair, he hardly protested at all. Instead, he plastered a smile on his face and finished off his morning greetings to his friends.
Kaiba left the group and walked over to the coffee machine, slipping forty cents into the slot.
"Bad news…" he heard Anzu saying as he picked up watched the foam cup filling up with steaming black liquid. "We're not going snowboarding after all… Not today anyway…"
Kaiba turned around just in time to see the smile fall off Honda's face completely.
-(S)-
Otogi nudged Honda. "Hey…" he began quietly. "You can stop looking so down…"
Honda winced. "I'm not."
Otogi rolled his eyes. "You're such a bad liar."
"So…"
"So stop lying."
Honda turned his head to stare Otogi in the eyes. They were sitting next to each other, and despite Otogi's slim frame, the boy was still pressed up against Honda in the undersized public bus seats.
"I'm just…" Honda frowned. "I don't know what I'm doing," he admitted, giving a lopsided grin. Up close, Otogi's green eyes were piercing. He was watching Honda intensely. Honda gulped and turned away to look out the window.
"Guys?" Anzu checked the map once more. "I think we just missed the museum."
"Is that important?" Otogi commented dryly.
Anzu hurriedly pressed the stop button. "What do you think?" she huffed, placing her hand on her hip.
Otogi scowled. "Well we don't have to go to another damn museum! It's not like they're interesting!"
Anzu rolled her eyes. "So what will we do for the rest of the day, huh?"
Otogi tilted his head to the side. "The bus loops around and around. If we sit on here long enough, we'll get back to the museum again."
Anzu didn't agree with Otogi's suggestion however, and the group found themselves being forced off the bus at the next stop. Yuugi and Bakura were pushed off first. Kaiba stepped off easily since Anzu wasn't quite game to physically push him, and Honda jumped off, stretching his legs.
"Your turn," Anzu pointed out to Otogi who huffed and crossed his arms.
"Hey, if I sit on this bus and go around in a circle again, I'll probably get there before you do."
"But what's the point? Your legs work perfectly so why can't you use them?" Anzu irritably snapped, pushing him a little and jumping off the bus after him. She was always watching their backs lately and it was just starting to annoy her… Just a little though…
Otogi wasn't expecting the shove and stumbled forward, tripping on his own feet and flying straight at the group.
Honda caught him instinctively and chuckled. "Never seen you do that before, Otogi…" He trailed off as Otogi quickly glanced at him and looked away over his shoulder, a pink blush rising in his cheeks. The green-eyed boy could see Kaiba watching him carefully and a feeling of jealousy quickly wound its way to his chest.
Kaiba was probably watching that Otogi didn't touch his personal property or something.
For a moment, it was as though there were just the two of them… Kaiba was watching Otogi watching him… and Otogi was watching Kaiba watching him…
And it hurt. It hurt because at that moment, Otogi realised what he'd known from the beginning. That faint feeling of jealousy seemed to grow into a painful, constricting emotion that seemed to twist like a knot inside of him as he watched Kaiba's eyes dart from him to Honda.
That's all there was to it – it was just one look.
Those piercing blue eyes just saw through him as though he was another object, but when Kaiba looked towards Honda, he looked almost calm; serene even.
Honda…
Otogi suddenly realised how he was still slumped in the other boy's arms.
"Hey! You can let me go now!" he snapped quickly, pushing Honda away from him and stumbling to find his own feet again.
Honda let Otogi go, bemusedly glancing over his shoulder at Kaiba. He studied Otogi's face for a moment and Otogi looked towards him guiltily, suddenly sorry for reacting so harshly. What was wrong with the boy? He was acting so strangely lately… It was as though he'd become a different person in a matter of days.
Honda was about to turn away when everything suddenly fell into place…
God he must have been blind…
"Otogi?"
Otogi turned, embarrassment and anguish on his face.
Honda stared. He couldn't help it. Otogi was…
Otogi was in love with him… Honda.
He would have fallen straight over in shock if Kaiba hadn't suddenly caught his attention as he smirked and turned away.
"Hn…"
The small noise caught Honda's attention and he breathed in sharply, turning quickly and trying to catch the expression on Kaiba's face. Did he know too? It wasn't only his imagination anymore; he was sure of it.
Anzu flipped out the map and Yuugi quickly pointed out their location. "Guys, the museum's back this way."
But neither Kaiba, Otogi nor Honda was listening.
-(S)-
Otogi…
Honda pulled out a deck of cards, flipping over the top card. It was the queen of hearts. The next was the ace of spades, then the ace of diamonds and the two of clubs…
In boredom, he flipped over each card; one after the other.
King of spades, jack of hearts, five of hearts, two of spades, nine of diamonds, six of hearts…
"What are you doing?" Kaiba asked, not bothering to look up from his laptop.
Honda shrugged and fell backwards onto his pillow. "I'm bored."
"Only boring people get bored."
Honda sat up quickly and threw his pillow to hit the back of Kaiba's head. "Who told you that?"
Kaiba pursed his lips and was silent. He reached his hand into the box of Pocky next to him and pulled out a stick, biting it in half. "Then… What has four legs and one foot?"
"Huh?"
"I said… what has four legs and one foot?"
Honda sweatdropped. "Um…"
"Come on…" Kaiba looked over his shoulder. "A kid could do this one."
"Are you insulting my intelligence?"
Kaiba shrugged.
"Can I have the answer?"
"Nope…"
Honda scowled and glanced at the clock. It was already half past nine. "Fine, I'm taking a shower then…"
Kaiba stood up, stretching a little. "Then I'm taking the room key and I'll be back in half an hour. I'm going to grab something to eat."
Honda rolled his eyes. Kaiba made it sound so easy… Grab a bite to eat? Here, it tended to take Honda ten minutes just to understand the menus, another ten to order and hours upon end until he got his food… by which time he'd usually have lost his appetite anyway…
He walked into the bathroom and carefully locked the door behind himself, then he frowned and rubbed the back of his neck. What a stupid riddle. Stupid Kaiba… Of course the answer was probably staring him in the face anyway.
Four legs and only one foot?
-(S)-
Kaiba walked back into the room to see the bathroom door still shut. If he didn't know better, he'd think that Honda was trying to drain the river entirely. He'd been in there for an hour already… Maybe he wasn't feeling well? Maybe something happened to him…
Images of Honda unconscious in the shower flashed through his mind… What if he'd slipped over? Fainted?
Kaiba fidgeted on the spot, beginning to feel as though he was going paranoid.
Almost another ten minutes passed before he finally heard the water turn off and he walked over to the bathroom door slowly. He was still debating whether to knock on the door or not when suddenly it opened.
"Kaiba!" Honda looked shocked, dropping his grip on the towel he was holding. He scrambled to grab it quickly and pulled it tight against his body again.
"I didn't see anything," Kaiba mumbled, blushing a deep shade of red and staring at the wall.
Honda flushed pink. Kaiba just had to say it that way. "Do you mind?"
"Mind what?" Kaiba politely averted his eyes as Honda finished tucking his towel around his waist.
Honda rolled his eyes. "Scaring me like that."
"But I was just standing here."
"That's what's so scary…" Honda grumbled, trying to avoid looking the other boy in the eyes. He stared past Kaiba's shoulder and stared intently at his bag. He'd been going to grab his PJs… He'd been lazy that morning so they were still sitting at the foot of the bed.
"Um… Kaiba…"
Kaiba tilted his head questioningly. "Yes?" He was so busy not staring at Honda that he'd hardly noticed he was blocking the doorway.
Honda nervously put his hand to the back of his neck. "Do you want something?"
"Huh?" Kaiba stepped aside hurriedly looking away. "No… I was just checking."
"Checking on me?" Honda laughed. "What for?"
Kaiba grabbed his PJs and quickly walked back towards the bathroom. "Hmph." How embarrassing. He was honestly worried about Honda and all he could do was laugh about it.
"Wait…" Honda stepped in front of Kaiba again and peered in close. Then he rapped his knuckles against Kaiba's temple quickly.
Kaiba bristled. "What are you doing?"
Honda shrugged. "Checking."
"What the hell for?" Kaiba growled loudly, rubbing his head.
"Just in case…" Honda grinned and walked over to the bed.
"Checking, my arse…" Kaiba muttered under his breath, about to shut the bathroom door when Honda yelled back.
"You really should stop saying that Kaiba…"
-(S)-
Fifteen minutes later Kaiba opened the bathroom door to find Honda waiting for him.
Honda raised his eyebrow. "It's a bed, isn't it?"
Kaiba smirked.
"Smart arse," Honda grumbled, walking back to the bed and dropping into it tiredly.
"Dumb arse," Kaiba said flippantly as he turned off the light switch and tentatively navigated his way to the mattress in the dark. He dropped his pile of clothes onto the floor and slipped into the sheets.
The room descended into silence, broken only by the rustle of sheets and blankets.
"I guess we're even now…" Honda muttered, trying to stifle a yawn.
Kaiba stared at the ceiling. "Honda?"
"Hm?"
"I wasn't counting…"
Honda adjusted his pillow and turned on his side to face Kaiba. "What are you thinking then?"
Kaiba hardly blinked. "Now? I'm thinking about what I'm going to do when I get up tomorrow morning…" He stared up at the ceiling and ignored Honda's stare.
"What's that?"
"Check my email, make some phone calls, coffee, shower…"
"That's all?" Honda prompted, adjusting his pillow under his head.
Kaiba turned to face Honda so they were now face to face. He uncomfortably noted how close they were in the bed. "You mean… is that all I'm doing in the morning?"
Honda made a slight movement with his head, rubbing his hair against his pillow. "Is that all you're thinking?"
Kaiba stared back, watching the movement of Honda's lips. "Well…" He licked his lips, trying to keep the blush from his face. Honda looked calm; waiting for something. "I was… thinking about…"
"About?"
Kaiba blinked. Was it just his imagination or was Honda getting closer? Honda's breath was on his face; warm and smelling of mint toothpaste. His lips were parted slightly, like he had stopped talking mid-sentence and a smile was beginning to show. He looked utterly kissable…
Kaiba felt his face turning pink and he hurriedly blurted out the first logical word that came to mind, at the same time wriggling slightly backwards. "Tax."
Honda smiled uneasily and rubbed his eye with his hand. "Right… Tax…"
"And…" Kaiba mentally chided himself. "And… your knee is sticking into my leg."
Honda shot him a deadpanned look before rolling over the other way.
Jerk.
Kaiba stared at the back of Honda's head for a moment before he too rolled onto his other side and glared. Of all the things he could have said…
Tax?
The room was silent again. Yet it was hard to think properly when the object of your thoughts was lying right next to you.
Honda sighed and shut his eyes, tugging his pillow under his head until it butted against his shoulder and created a soft support for his head and neck. The last thing he wanted was a sore neck when he woke up. Otogi was in Anzu's room again, and it left him and Kaiba alone. Too bad the bed was cold.
After a moment, Kaiba's muted voice broke his train of thought. "Actually… it was you."
Honda startled. "Huh?"
Kaiba rolled his eyes, irritably repeating himself. "I said: it was you."
"What about me?" Honda smirked, imagining Kaiba's eyebrow twitching.
Kaiba grit his teeth. "Dum-" He swallowed the insult and rolled his eyes again for emphasis. "How could I have been thinking about tax? This isn't even June!"
Honda was silent. Kaiba couldn't see the boy's face but he imagined that Honda was probably amused at his expense.
"I mean," Kaiba embarrassedly changed his tone again. He curled his fingers tightly around the hem of his pyjama top, rubbing the soft material between them.
Honda smirked.
"You know what I mean," Kaiba snapped irritably, blushing.
Honda smiled to himself and rolled back over.
Kaiba heard the movement and felt the sheets and blankets shifting heavily against his body. A moment later, he felt an arm slip over his torso and pull him backwards so he was leaning against Honda. He tensed, his cheeks blushing redder and warmer than before as his body quickly reacted to the touch. Kaiba squirmed a little against the arm, but found Honda had shifted his other arm too so he was now being held in place.
He opened his mouth to protest; his brow furrowed as he fought off the wave of embarrassment and the feeling of indignation. What did Honda think he was? What would Otogi think if he walked in now? What if someone else found out? "Oi," he hissed, trying to turn his neck towards Honda.
"Stop stressing," his captor grumbled, as though reading his thoughts.
Kaiba felt Honda's fingers slowly entwining with his and he gave in, finding a comfortable spot on the pillow and wriggling until he was satisfied. Honda was laying close enough that Kaiba could feel the heat of his body. It felt nice to know that someone else was there even though it wasn't what he was used to… But Honda was gentle and his body warm, and he fit perfectly.
And for the moment, that was all that mattered.
- MM -
Author Notes: It's a shorter chapter so I decided to have short notes today! Kaiba's two inches taller than Honda… I was trying to figure out how Honda was supposed to be hugging Kaiba like that without difficulty… They're probably the same height if you can count Honda's hair though!
Thank you to Lily Bob, lily22, Mutou Yasu, lost-beliefs, Rice Kracker, kimerakeepdr, Bishopluver, Mokuba's Official Glomper, Phox VS Frawg and Raven Scorne!