Chapter 29: Talking About It
The limo ride into Domino was even more frigid than Yami had feared and he did his best to moderate the awkward situation that Kaiba was exacerbating with his silence.
"So when are you doing to tell everyone?" Yuugi asked as he gestured at the pair.
"After I've talked with my brother about it first," Kaiba told Yuugi. "I believe that's fair."
Looking a little sheepish, Yuugi admitted, "I already told Anzu-chan, but I made her promise not to tell anyone else about it."
Kaiba scowled at the information as he wondered if she would be able to keep such a secret.
"When was this?" Yami asked, both surprised and not all at the same time.
"After you told me," Yuugi said. "I needed to talk to someone who could help me understand."
Kaiba made a scoffing noise that earned him a warning look from Yami that he ignored. In truth, Kaiba was extremely nervous about how his brother would take the news, but he knew he couldn't let that stop him. It was too important and he wouldn't let the Yuugi-tachi ruin it. That's why he had requested Mokuba stay home so they could do dinner alone together before joining up with the Yuugi-tachi later that night.
The Game Shop came into view and Kaiba informed then. "We'll come over after dinner."
"They'll all know by then," Yami warned so Kaiba would know what he was walking into when he came back to the Game Shop.
"I had assumed as much," Kaiba dryly responded as the two got out of the car. Kaiba was annoyed with himself for using it as an excuse to check out Yami's ass, but it was quickly forgotten about once the door was shut and Kaiba was on his way home.
After they had finished eating dinner, Kaiba hesitated about what to do next. He hadn't wanted to ruin dinner, but he knew he needed longer than the car trip to talk to his younger brother.
Mokuba had noticed the aloofness of Kaiba's behavior and it was finally enough to make him ask, "What's wrong, nii-sama?"
"Nothing's wrong," Kaiba immediately denied. "I just need to talk to you."
"About what?"
"Yami," Kaiba replied, figured being direct was the better way to handle the situation, even though it was more painful for him. Hedging was only going to cause problems.
It was an odd subject, so Mokuba wondered, "What about him?"
"We're dating," Kaiba forced himself to admit, finding it difficult and surreal to say the words out loud.
Mokuba wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but that definitely wasn't it. "What?" Mokuba asked in disbelief, uncertain as to how to react. "Since when?"
Kaiba couldn't gauge Mokuba's reaction at all and that bothered him. "Earlier this week," Kaiba answered. "I wanted to tell you in person."
"Yeah, that's really not the kind of thing you text about," Mokuba agreed with a chuckle. "But I thought you two had just become friends?"
"It was sort of a natural evolution in out process," Kaiba explained. "It just felt right."
Wrinkling his nose a little, Mokuba confessed, "I just can't picture the two of you kissing and stuff."
Forcing his mind not to think about what "stuff" meant, Kaiba reassured him, "Of course we wouldn't do that in front of you."
"I still know it happens," Mokuba pointed out with a frown that made Kaiba nervous. "Is that really what makes nii-sama happy?"
"Yes," Kaiba answered simply with a small smile that spoke volumes to Mokuba. "He's not trying to take me away from you or anything. It's—"
Holding up his hand to interrupt his older brother, Mokuba said, "I'm not worried about that. I know Yami would never do that to us."
"You still don't seem to approve, though," Kaiba stated, unable to shake the ill feeling that gave him.
Shrugging, Mokuba explained, "I never thought nii-sama would date a guy."
"Does that bother you?" Kaiba asked, trying to keep the worry about of his voice.
"I don't know, honestly," Mokuba answered. "I've never really thought about it. Although I guess I've never really thought about nii-sama dating anyone."
Trying a different angle, Kaiba questioned, "If Yami was a girl, would that make it better?"
Mokuba mulled it over for a few moments before finally saying, "Probably not, actually. Because then you could get married and then I'd never—"
"Do you really think I would just abandon you for some woman?" Kaiba asked in a horrified tone.
"No," Mokuba denied, "it's…I don't know. It's weird. I want nii-sama to be happy, but…"
Gesturing to his younger brother, Kaiba requested, "Come here, Mokuba."
Dutifully getting up and warily approaching Kaiba, Mokuba was pleasantly surprised when he was tightly embraced. "No matter what happens or who I'm with, I'll never abandon you, Mokuba," Kaiba promised. "And Yami understand that, but at the same time, you and I won't always be living in the same house. You'll go off to college, get your own place, and find your own person to make you happy in a way I'm incapable of doing. It doesn't mean I love you any less."
Returning the hug, Mokuba mumbled, "I know," against Kaiba's shoulder. "It's just so hard because nii-sama is so far away."
"I know, but I promise it's for your own good—and mine, too," Kaiba gently told him. "We need to learn how to be apart from each other. That's why I'm at Ouran. I'm not always going to be able to be there for you and you have to learn how to be strong on your own, just like I do. It's hard for me to be apart from you, too."
It helped to hear and Mokuba tightly hugged his older brother again before stepping back to look at him. "So nothing will change?" Mokuba asked with a hopeful look.
"Of course not," Kaiba reassured him. "I'll still call you the same and see you just as much as before. This is our time and my being with Yami doesn't change that. He understands that, too."
"But what about when we're all together at Yuugi's?" Mokuba wanted to know.
"We haven't talked about it, but I doubt it'll be any different," Kaiba said, hoping that Yami could keep his hands to himself. "It's only different when we're alone."
Eyes going wide in understanding, Mokuba could only say, "Oh," to that. It made Kaiba flush in embarrassment, but he couldn't deny it without lying. "Well, as long as nii-sama is happy, I guess it'll be okay."
Nodding in agreement, Kaiba suggested, "Why don't you go ahead and get Isono while I do the dishes? Then we can go to the Game Shop."
"Okay," Mokuba agreed, stealing one last hug before leaving.
Kaiba methodically began doing the dishes and felt relieved that Mokuba had taken it relatively well. Mokuba still seemed a little uncertain, but Kaiba was confident that time would change that. He could only hope that Yami would have similar luck.
A/N: Mokuba is such a good little brother.
NEXT CHAPTER:
Of all the reactions Yami had been expecting, he wasn't prepared for Jounouchi howling with laughter.
The next update is going to be nice and long with Jounouchi finally finding out about Yami dating Kaiba. You're not going to want to miss it! The next chapter will be posted on Sunday, July 26th, so please look forward to it!
