Chapter 11

"Right, Yuge," Jounouchi said into his cell phone and stifled a yawn. Jounouchi was sitting in the middle of the sleigh bed, Indian style. He was wearing the black pajamas that Seto had given him, buttoning up the last two buttons with one hand. "Yeah, I know what ya mean," Jou said, listening to Yugi's voice and letting his eyes drift around the room. Then, he saw the small, silver clock on the nightstand. It said 10:10 PM.

Seto was brushing his teeth and casually leaning against the doorframe of the master bath. He was curious but was also trying to hide it behind his usual mask of indifference.

"Yeah, well, I knew about all of those fake cards floating around Domino."

Seto blinked back. Namiko mentioned cards. What if…?

"So, what did your grandpa say? I see… Okay, well, it might take another day or two for him to look into it. That's reasonable." Jounouchi stretched in the bed and switched—putting the phone to his left ear and biting on a hangnail on his right hand.

He bites his nails. Ugh! That's revolting. Where does he think the dirt under his nails goes when he bites them? Seto grimaced and brushed his teeth a little harder. Come to think of it, I kiss that mouth… He brushed a little longer.

"Well, at least your grandpa will be at that convention. So, he can ask around about the card that you found. Cool, huh?" A toothy grin followed.

Jounouchi seems happy enough… Maybe, he's too happy? Is there something…wrong?

Seto watched his puppy's face. Blond hair brushed against his eyes and he pulled some of it behind his ear as he listened to Yugi's voice. He leaned back into the bed, chin up, and laughed at an inside joke. For a second, Seto felt a slight stab at Yugi. Jounouchi and Yugi—the two of them—were close. Very close. Seto knew he never really felt that connection with anybody else—not that he never had the chance at school or work. He just never thought it was important. No, that wasn't entirely true. It wasn't as simple as that. People sucked up to him all the time: bowed to him, demanded his attention, and hung on his every word in meetings just to get favors. School was no different, really. And his fangirls were so transparent. Jou was different, though. And his friendship with Yugi was real—rare.

"Eh? What'd you say? Where am I now?" Jounouchi sat up in the bed suddenly, wide eyed. "You worry about me too much, you know. Where, huh? Ummm…well… You know, it's like this…" There was a nervous laugh.

Seto raised an amused eyebrow. He brushed his teeth a little more slowly this time—even though they were totally clean. Can you even answer that question? Hmmm… Watching Jou squirm was fun sometimes. You are such a puppy.

"I'm going to stay over here tonight…"

Seto's face looked mildly impressed.

"…with Seto…"

Seto blinked back. He said it.

"Yes, I said 'Seto'. That was his name the last time I checked." Jounouchi looked over to his chestnut haired companion with the toothbrush dangling in his mouth in surprise. Jounouchi saw and smirked to himself before continuing. "Though, don't quote me on it. I haven't seen his birth certificate. We're close, but we're not that close…yet." He laughed in that boyish way that he always did with Yugi. "Yeah, I know I tell bad jokes. So, I'll see ya at school tomorrow, Yugi. Bye."

Seto had disappeared from the doorway. Jounouchi stretched out on the bed again and watched the ceiling with an arm folded behind his head.

"Are you coming to bed or not?" Jounouchi called.

Seto felt his heart jump at the question. He wasn't used to someone actually waiting on him to come to bed.

"Did ya like me scrubbing your back in the bath?" Jou called to him, fishing for a complement. His voice had a dark, sexy tone to it, too.

"Yes, it was adequate."

"What? Adequate? I did a good job—very thorough." He smiled at the thought. Kaiba Seto was definitely a tall, well built guy in all the right places. Tight skin, firm muscles…and, yes, he took a peek down there, too. Very nice. Scrubbing Seto's back, alone, was a major turn on. Jou was glad that he was behind Seto the whole time with the soap because the blush on his face was dark red. He could feel it. And being a good boy was hard…very hard.

Jounouchi's thoughts drifted away when his eyes caught his blue school uniform on the chair. He frowned at it. Later…much later… Tonight, I'm going to be happy.

Seto laughed a little with an echo. "You will have to do it a few more times before I can make a firm decision on that."

"I see…well… You could have asked me to join you," Jou hinted. "It's a big bath, ya know."

There was an awkward silence for Seto. In blue pajamas, he walked out of the bathroom, flicking off the bathroom light as he left, and crawled in next to Jou. But, instead of cuddling him, as Jou had hoped, his bed partner stared up at the ceiling, too.

"There's something else I need to tell you…a couple of things, actually." He sighed impatiently.

"About Namiko?" Jounouchi asked with a stern tone. He felt like someone had splashed him with cold water.

"Yes," he said back, hoping this would not start an argument right before falling asleep.

Jounouchi shook his head "no." "Maybe, later. I really don't want to talk about her. In fact, I really don't want to talk about anything…"

Seto shifted his body in the bed and gave Jou a sharp, sidelong glance. Without even needing to look, Jou could feel the stare burning into him.

"So, if something's bothering me, I can't talk about it with you? Fine, then." Oh, that will get him, Seto smirked inwardly. He went back to staring at the ceiling.

"Hell," Jou pushed his face into the feather down pillow and sighed impatiently to himself. "I just want to forget her for one night. Can't we just turn out the light and deal with everything in the morning?" Jou's voice was muffled by the pillow. Seto forced back a smirk. Such a puppy… Then, Jou rolled over and looked at Seto with a sincere expression. He leaned his body against him and traced the curve of his face with one finger.

"Actually, I had something else in mind for tonight anyway," he said, leaning in for a kiss.

Puppy, I had guessed that when you were washing my back.

Calm blue eyes stared at hazel. Their lips almost touched when Seto said, "That's what Namiko told me to do with you."

"Eh?" Jounouchi said, sitting up in the bed. "You have got to be kidding me!"

"No, it's true," Seto said, rolling over on his side and watching the blond's face turn colors. "She told me to have sex with you one last time—a kind of farewell to you, I guess—before she had a turn at you."

"She really knows how to kill the mood. And, honestly, there can't be a last time if there hasn't been a first time," Jou complained, putting a fist into his pillow in frustration. He had really intended it to be more of a "fluff" than a "fist." But the fist part felt right.

"Technically, a first can also be a last," Seto murmured and got an annoyed look from his bed partner. Seto kept watching Jou's profile and some part of him laughed inwardly at it. As worried as he was about Jou's safety, this reaction to the situation was cute. He just couldn't deny it. And it stroked his ego.

"Aw, is my little puppy frustrated?" Seto joked.

"That's not funny," he fumed back.

"But is it true, Pup?" He leaned in close to Jounouchi—feeling soft, blond hair slipping through his fingers. Seto wondered just how far he could take this. He traced the outline of Jou's lips with an index finger. It felt like a shimmer.

"You really know how to make me mad with the dog jokes," Jou said, reaching up to touch Seto's face in return. But, Seto caught his puppy's wrist and gently lowered it.

Mad? You don't seem mad, he thought to himself. "You didn't answer me." Seto let go of the wrist and laced fingers with the hand.

"I know," Jou sighed. "But I also don't want to do… something…just because…Namiko wants me to. Does that make any sense?"

"It does," Seto said, pulling Jounouchi closer to him. The blond slid across the satin sheets easily.

Seto leaned across Jounouchi's chest. His arms were folded on top and he rested his chin down on them. Jou could see blue eyes staring into him. "But, you never answered my question," he whispered. "Are you frustrated?"

"You forgot the 'pup' part," Jounouchi smirked back. "I remember when you used to call me 'dog' when we dueled. Is it that you don't want the dishonor of sleeping with a dog, so I'm a 'puppy' now?"

That hurt Seto because Namiko had said almost the same thing. It just wasn't so. And, suddenly, he didn't feel playful with Jounouchi. While it was true that he did, in the past, call Jou names, he preferred to think of Jounouchi in softer ways now. And "dishonor" was really too harsh of a word to use.

"Is that what you believe?" Anger was etching into his voice.

Oh, hell. We're going to get into another argument. Let's avoid this one, he thought. "No," Jou said quietly, "but my family isn't exactly wealthy and that's the life I come from. I dunno… Maybe 'Mutt' really does fit me after all." I can't believe I just said that. The things I'll do to avoid a fight…Ugh! Jou's eyes caught the blue school uniform. No, honestly, it's not just him. I'm getting into a dark mood. I'll try to fight it, though.

Blue eyes narrowed. "There's no part of you that likes being called 'Mutt' and you know it. How many times have you told me?"

Jou looked thoughtful and traced the curve of Seto's ear with his finger and toyed with chestnut hair. "I guess, names don't really matter to me anyway. I'll be your 'Jounouchi,' or 'Jou,' or 'Mutt,' or "Pup,'---if that makes you happy. I'll accept it and…you."

Jounouchi kissed his index finger and pressed it to Seto's lips. He kissed it back. "As long as it's kind, I think my heart would answer to any name you give me." Jounouchi used a very humble form of Japanese when he said it, and Seto found his heart softening a little at that. "I think you forgot 'Katsuya,' you know," Seto added. He smiled a little when he felt Jou's arms wrapping around him and resting on his back.

"To be honest, I never really liked that name very much. It's what my father calls me." He was a little ashamed at himself for sounding so serious a minute ago, and stroked Seto's cheek with his thumb. "Call me that if you want to. But, I'll just feel like I'm at work, serving coffee." Jou smiled a little at the thought. "You know, for some reason, when I first met Yuna-chan while waiting for my job interview, she started calling me 'Katsuya-kun.' Before I knew it, I had the job and everyone over there started calling me that, too."

"Once you got the job, why didn't you tell her not to?" Seto said with a curious tone. "You're not exactly the shy type."

Jounouchi shrugged a little. "I guess…I never knew my name could sound so…I dunno…good…when she said it."

Seto felt another pang of jealousy but hid it inside. The feeling melted away when Jou stroked his cheek again.

"I don't miss my sister so much when Yuna-chan says my name," Jou said and felt tears coming. He blinked them away. "Every single day, you have Mokuba. And, maybe, I'm a bit jealous of that, too."

There was a soft blush on Jou's face now.

Seto let his head fall a little on Jounouchi's chest. He'd been a fool to be jealous of Yuna as well as Yugi.

"Well, you can borrow Mokuba whenever you like," Seto said quietly. "Just a warning, though… He can be a real pain."

"Just like you," Jounouchi joked. "And, ummm…Seto…?"

"Yes?"

"I really am frustrated," he laughed, his face turning pinkish at the confession.

Seto leaned forward, placed his lips on Jou's, and kissed him softly. There wasn't an ounce of passion in it, only comfort.

"Do you want to know a secret?" Seto asked.

"Sure." It came as almost a sigh.

"I am, as well," Seto said, wrapped the blond in his arms, and closed his eyes. "But having you in our bed tonight is enough for me."

"Yeah, I love you, too—Seto."