Valkyria : Okay, what can I say about this chapter other than it is incredibly short? It's just short and to the point and I'm afraid that most Otogi/Honda chapters will be like this until I figure out how to dish out more than this *points down* I have to apologize for giving you this after two, three weeks, I believe? I promise to do better with the Seto/Jou chapters, yeah? Anyways, enjoy the chapter and everyone have a good weekend.

Disclaimer : I claim no rights to the anime/manga Yu-gi-oh!

Current Song : Release Me.


"There are certain people that bring excitement to your life while others can make it peaceful and sweet. After spending so much time with him, I'm beginning to see why he enjoys the brighter, more vibrant side of life." - Honda Hiroto.

Chapter Twenty-Nine : Night Lights.

Honda was used to seeing beautiful things. From the breathtaking skyline of Paris, France to all three of his family's vineyards. His mother and father had made sure that he knew the beauty of his French and Japanese heritage as he was growing up into the man he was today. Which was fine, but to Honda, there were many different types of beauty. And one of those types was showing someone your heritage and watching as their face lit up as they got something right and watching it fall when they got it wrong. He didn't enjoy watching them struggle, but struggling was apart of the learning process and couldn't be avoided.

But, at this moment, he wasn't sure that the obvious failure Otogi was displaying was on purpose or he was just that bad. Sure, he knew that learning another language was difficult, but never in all of his twenty-three years did he see someone struggle so horribly. Honda would never say it out loud, but he wondered if teaching Otogi French was a mistake. A dreadful mistake.

In the beginning, he had been excited when the game designer came to him one day and asked if he could teach him French so that he could woo the ladies. And of course Honda was offended that the man would brazenly use something as precious as his French language to get women into bed, but another part of him, that carnal part, wanted to see and hear how Otogi would sound speaking those words he was so often teased about when he was a child.

"Honda? Am I getting it right?" Otogi said, interrupting his teacher's trail of thoughts. "Honda?"

"Oh," Honda flushed in mortification as he found himself staring into a pair of curious emerald green eyes. "I'm sorry, Otogi, what were you saying?"

"I asked if I was getting this right?" Otogi repeated. "Arrêtez de rêver et écoutez-moi!"

"Stop daydreaming and pay attention?" Honda translated softly before it clicked and he once again blushed heavily. "Yes, yes, that's very good!"

"You're a bad teacher if you don't pay attention to the student, yeah?"

"I'm sorry, I just have a lot on my mind." Honda glanced down at the small translation book sitting between them and grinned. "On the bright side, You're doing very good now."

"Thanks." Otogi grinned and scooted closer to him on the green sectional couch he had in his living room. Otogi had taken them to his home in the west district of Domino City. And while he was disappointed about Honda not being impressed at the size of his manor, he was happy about the man being here; He did want to learn the language, but that wasn't the only reason why he wanted Honda over here. He wanted to seduce Honda as they progressed through the lessons, but it seemed that his teacher had no interest in returning his flirtations and seemed dead set on just teaching him French.

Damn.

"Just who, exactly, are you trying to woo with this?" Honda questioned, tilting his head to the side in curiosity. "I'm pretty sure that not every woman enjoys being spoken to in a different language. It's not a constant turn-on."

"Of course it is!" Otogi looked appalled at the very thought of his idea not working. "The ladies are going to love this, I know they will."

Honda rolled his eyes and shook his head with fond exasperation. "I hope they will for your sake, or all of this is going to be one giant waste of time."

"Je vais aimer chuchoter dans leurs oreilles comme je leur fais l'amour." Otogi purred, roaring with laughter as Honda blushed a deep, endearing red. "Splendide."

"Shut the hell up you pervert! You're very depraved!" Honda hissed, reaching over and slapping Otogi on the back of the head with the translation book. The nerve of this man being perverted while he was trying to teach him something. Otogi was a playboy through and through.

"Don't act like such a prude, Honda." Otogi drawled playfully, laying a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Besides, I know that you probably used French to woo a couple of women yourself."

"Never."

"Never?" Otogi repeated, frowning when he saw that Honda had gotten quiet. "surely some man or woman enjoyed it. Do you know how beautiful it is to hear you speak in French? I don't understand why anyone wouldn't want to hear it."

"That's very kind of you, my friend." Honda smiled sadly. "But not everyone would agree with you."

"What do you mean?"

"I wasn't the most popular kid in school and speaking French or slipping into an accented Japanese got me in trouble with my peers." Honda sighed, not bothering to see the sympathetic look Otogi was wearing. He already knew it was there. It wouldn't be the first time he told this story nor would it be the last.

"I apologize, I didn't know."

"Of course you didn't and don't apologize for those assholes, yeah?"

"Yeah," Otogi murmured, grabbing the translation book and flipping through it idly. "You shouldn't be sad about them, you know? Those brats didn't understand how special you are."

"Thanks,"

"Tell me something," Otogi requested, smiling at the inquisitive look Honda gave him. "What was it like growing up in France? In the vineyards?"

"I can not describe it using words alone, my friend." Honda smiled, beautiful and nostalgic. "I wish that I could show you what it was like-"

"Why don't we go then? Get away for a bit?" Otogi grinned playfully. "Just you and me."

"You are not going to try and woo any girls over there are you?" Honda questioned dryly. "I do not want my precious vineyards tainted with the smell of, how should I say, sin?"

"Ouch."

Honda chuckled. "I wish I could take you to the vineyards in France, but I do not have the time to spare for such adventures-"

"You don't have any vacation time saved up?"

"Well, yes, I do, but-"

"Then you can use it." Otogi rose from the couch and patted Honda on the shoulder just a little bit too roughly for the wine taster's pleasure. "C'mon what do you say? You, me, France? Hot chicks?"

"Otogi, I-"

"Please," Otogi clasped hands together and pouted which Honda could only slump his shoulders to. Great. The last thing he needed to see was Otogi pouting like a petulant child.

"Fine, fine, we will go to my family's vineyards, but you must promise to behave, do you understand?"

"Yeah, yeah-"

"That means no flirting, no having sex, no getting drunk and for goodness sake, don't prance around the vineyards like some kid at the fair-"

"Geez Honda!" Otogi interrupted, exasperated with all of the rules. "You're acting like I'm stepping on holy ground or something."

"It may not be holy, but it is very precious to my family." Honda informed him solemnly. "It has been in my family for generations and it might as well be considered holy ground. The land has blessed us with fertile grapes and leaves for decades."

"I'm not so sure about this trip now."

"Of course you are sure." Honda pushed Otogi playfully as he rose from his own seat. "You have gotten me very excited about this."

"Yay."


"You and Ryuuji-san in France?" Rebecca crossed her legs and swirled the wine in her glass idly. "You never invited me to France."

"That is not true!" Honda denied. "I took you on your birthday last year. It is not my fault you did not enjoy it."

"It was kind of hard to with my phone constantly ringing." she pointed the glass in his direction maliciously. "You need to train someone for your position before you go-"

"You will be taking over while I am away."

"Excuse moi?" Rebecca spluttered. "I don't know anything about wine, Honda. Do you want to get fired?"

"Which is the very reason why I don't go on vacation, but I did promise Otogi that I was going to take him to the vineyards and you will do fine as the head of the department."

"If you say so and taking Otogi to France should be a pleasant experience," Rebecca giggled with a vicious smirk. "your parents are going to love him very much."

"I'm sure that they-" Honda stopped and slapped his forehead. In all his excitement at the thought of going back home, he had forgotten just how traditional his parents were, there was no way that his parents were going to get along with his friend. They would see Otogi as a whore who was drenched in sin that not even the strongest wine could purify his soul.

Good God.

"Ah, I can see it now," Rebecca took a sip of her wine, licking her lips to savor the taste. "Otogi meeting your parents and him being cast away into the fields to work for his trip."

"My parents are not so cruel-"

"Are we talking about the same set of folks?" Rebecca deadpanned. "Or do you not remember what they made me do once they realized I specialized in computer science?"

Oh no, he had not forgotten.

Thinking that his parents would love Rebecca, he had introduced them to her, which is something he had done with all of his good, close friends. But, it was to his horror that his mother had looked at Rebecca's sense of style and the way she held herself in distaste. Of course, she respected Rebecca's independence, but that respect had flown out of the window once they saw Rebecca paying more attention to her laptop and cell phone than to the things around her.

His parents were, to put it simply, one with nature. They did not rely on technology as much as everyone else did. They only used it when it was absolutely necessary. If you wanted to see them then you hopped a plane to France and if it was absolutely urgent then they would take a call, but other than that, they were in the vineyards or in the homemade office taking care of paperwork.

And so Rebecca had ended up working in the vineyards with his mother in order to become in-tuned with nature and the results were not as hopeful as his mother would hope them to be. Rebecca had, to put it simply, ruined a good number of grapes and his mother had no choice put to use them in other ways. She wasn't a wasteful woman and it was that mistake that caused Rebecca and his parents to fall out.

It was three years later and they still hadn't made up.

"My mother and father are getting along in their years, Rebecca and I am sure that they would be happy to see you."

"Liar," Rebecca snorted, placing the now empty wine glass on the desk before she slid off and straightened her shirt and skirt the best she could. "a word of the wise, if you go to France with Otogi, make sure that he's at least respectful towards the vineyards. Because if he isn't then something bad is going to happen."

"Yes, madam, I will make sure that Otogi is the most perfect gentlemen that France has ever seen."

"Good," Rebecca said, giving him a suspicious look. "I sincerely hope that it turns out that way," she gathered her things, placed her warm hand against his cheek. "Have a good vacation, okay?"

"Okay,"

Honda watched, impassively, as Rebecca left him in his office. He would have to figure out some way to smooth things over with his parents and Otogi. For if he didn't, then the whole trip would be a big disaster in the making. And that was something he had no desire to see.


A/N : Honda and Otogi are heading to France and poor Rebecca is left behind. Stay tuned for the next chapter to see what happens.

French Translations:

Je vais aimer chuchoter dans leurs oreilles comme je leur fais l'amour." (I'm going to love whispering into their ears as I make love to them.)

"Splendide." (Gorgeous!)