Sorry for the lonnnnng hiatus. No matter what, this story is always on my mind. It's finished too, I just have so many chapters to edit and it feels overwhelming. Anyone who is still following this, please forgive me. I love you all and thanks for reading.
-AW
Chapter Thirty
When Jonouchi woke up the next morning, he somehow managed to take his surroundings very quickly despite still having his eyes half closed. He decided not to move, feeling too content to lie in bed as he was. There was no immediate reason to get up, and he preferred lying in a tangled heap with Kaiba anyway.
Sighing, he cleared his throat and swallowed a few times to get the sour taste of sleep out of his mouth before moving his neck a little. It was already stiff. He felt Kaiba stir beside him, and then heard him grumble before settling back lazily. Jonouchi would have laughed aloud if he wasn't feeling just as lazy. Kaiba wasn't a morning person, he knew that for some time-but that morning, he probably wasn't going to get out of bed anytime soon.
Opening his eyes fully, he was glad to see that the curtains were still drawn. The sun wasn't streaming too hard into the room yet. He watched Kaiba sleeping for a few seconds before he heard him sigh again. His pointy nose started nuzzling against Jonouchi's neck but that didn't bother him at all. Jonouchi didn't feel like going anywhere in that moment. He couldn't stop his stupid grin from growing on his face when he thought about the night before. Jonouchi hoped Kaiba wouldn't be embarrassed about it when he woke up.
"It's still too early," sighed Kaiba. He stretched his legs and popped his joints but afterwards settled back into just lying in the bed, not moving. Digging his face into Jonouchi's neck, he took a deep breath before opening his eyes.
"How did you sleep?"
"Like I was dead." Jonouchi looked up at him, surprised to see Kaiba looking pleased. That wasn't what he expected. It made it even more hard to resist smiling, Jonouchi still feeling self-conscious about his happiness coming off as too dramatic. Kaiba wouldn't care, would he? They both should be stupid happy the morning after sex.
"What about you?" Jonouchi asked shyly.
"I didn't wake up even once last night, so that was nice."
Kaiba rolled off his side, getting on his back before stretching out again and fixing his hair before closing his eyes again.
"But I am hungry now. I'll get us breakfast soon, if you want something. Western breakfast actually sounds tempting, maybe I'll even take you out for waffles..."
"Are you serious?" Jonouchi's eyes immediately brightened. If he wasn't awake before, the mention of food perked him up. Nothing was better than carb-laden waffles. Butter covered, syrup drenched waffles. He rolled over, leaning close to Kaiba and grinning down at him. "Sounds good to me. I'm not gonna turn down food, ever."
He was hungry. His stomach was beginning to clench to the point of almost being painful.
"That was more exhausting than I thought it would be," Jonouchi mused aloud, teasingly referring to his backside. He still felt a little sore. It would eventually go away. "But you were so good... maybe once you're awake... you know..."
"-I don't think I'm up for a repeat performance, you'll have to learn to be patient," Kaiba told him as he glanced up at Jonouchi's face. Jonouchi thought his eyes looked bright, and he was smiling for once, even though it wasn't a very big one. He felt Kaiba place his hands on his hips before pausing to speak.
"I have some work to do today and getting distracted by you again won't help me finish it on time."
"Work?" Jonouchi groaned. Was that all Kaiba ever had on his mind? "You can't just hold it off until tonight or tomorrow?"
He already knew the answer, of course, but he couldn't stop himself from asking just in case. Jonouchi hated feeling like he was competing for attention, but at least he wasn't getting kicked out or ditched. Best of all, Kaiba wasn't acting strange about the whole thing. It had nagged at him, the fear that Kaiba would wake up the next day and try to blow him off.
"I held it off already," Kaiba sighed, "You distracted me last night, remember?"
"Right," Jonouchi said as he tried to remember the night before beyond the intimacy. It was true that he'd stopped Kaiba from working to get more time with him. "Do you know when you'll be at least done tonight?"
He could find something else to do for a few hours. If Mokuba was in the house and wasn't doing something super important, maybe they could hang out. It had been a while since they'd spent time together one on one.
"Probably late evening if I get started around noon. I don't feel like starting any sooner than that," Kaiba explained. "I don't believe it will take me long to get done. I just don't want it to pile up over the weekend, it just makes things an even bigger headache on Monday to deal with...
"If you want, we can have a late dinner together afterwards."
"I guess I'll allow you to ditch me then," Jonouchi grinned, resting his hands behind his head and stretching his legs. He realized again when he moved that his ass felt funny. No getting around that. Hopefully it wouldn't be noticeable when he got up and moved. "Would Mokuba be home now? Maybe I'll harass him after you leave me for your work."
It felt like having to compete with an attractive past relationship that kept rearing its ugly head at bad times, although Jonouchi had never experienced that personally. He knew that Kaiba couldn't put off his work for long. Jonouchi understood that it was his livelihood and his baby, so he could hardly leave it alone on a whim. It was just going to suck getting used to not being able to steal his attention whenever he wanted it.
Rolling onto his side, Jonouchi propped his head up on his hand as he looked at Kaiba. His chest rose and fell slowly, his breathing rate still low due to just waking. Jonouchi traced his fingers up from his navel to the rising curve of his pectoral muscles. Just because he could. Long as they were still naked and in bed together, he didn't see any reason why not to exploit his privileges. It wasn't like he could just go feeling Kaiba up anytime. Well, he could try to, but most of the time it would probably just annoy Kaiba and make him complain.
"I'm sure Mokuba's around somewhere and would like to go out. Usually he's home by noon if he went to Kaiba Corp in the morning, and he doesn't do much on the weekends... He needs a friend here."
"I'll probably hit him up, then," Jonouchi stated before falling silent, just watching Kaiba lie still for a few seconds. Then he snorted and tried suppressing his giddy feelings like a moron because he was thinking about the previous night again. Jonouchi was glad Kaiba had either forgotten or simply decided not to mention his ridiculous crying afterwards. That was something Jonouchi wasn't quite sure he could live down.
"I'm thinking you should hit me up again too, after dinner," Jonouchi suggested, pressing his lips against Kaiba's neck as his fingers trailed down his chest, "After you're done with your work, you won't have an excuse not to spend time with me."
He rolled over, so he was lying partly on top of Kaiba and started teasing his earlobe with his mouth, his thumb rubbing against Kaiba's barely flat nipple. Maybe Kaiba was worn out, but he wasn't immune to receiving sexual attention. And in all honesty, Jonouchi was trying to be flirtatious. He wanted to get his point across.
"Please?" He asked, turning his hazel eyes on Kaiba, his tone almost begging.
"We'll see," answered Kaiba in an amused voice, "But really, you should be giving yourself a chance to recover. Sometimes, Jonouchi, you can just be a tad too eager for your own good."
"That is your opinion," Jonouchi argued while trying not to laugh, "I'll have you know that I'm very durable. You aren't going to hurt me, and I know my limits."
"I'd rather not test that out, for your own good…" Kaiba paused. "I'm glad you enjoyed last night though. It was nice."
Sighing, Jonouchi rolled his eyes dramatically. "Do you have to understate everything so much? Nice is when someone buys you dinner on a first date and then drives you home. Last night was... I don't even know. I don't think I could even begin to describe it."
Kaiba snorted. "You're being extremely dramatic."
"I'm being honest," Jonouchi replied, grinning, "I had a really good time with you. But whatever, I'll stop bothering you about it."
Jonouchi sat up, making a bit of a face at the soreness he felt become a bit more apparent. After stretching his arms, he got up and stood on the floor. He could feel semen where it was still crusted on his skin, and while it was probably good that it wasn't all over the sheets, he was still a bit grossed out and starting to get uncomfortable.
"I'm gonna use your shower," he spoke up to Kaiba, raising his arms and placing his hands on the back of his neck. "I don't want to ditch you or anything, but I feel gross right now."
"Go for it, the bathroom's yours."
Already feeling embarrassed, Jonouchi showered quickly. He didn't want to spend all day in there; he was more concerned with getting clean than anything else. Since Kaiba was sticking around for the morning, Jonouchi didn't waste any time trying to preen in the bathroom when he could be trying to get as much of Kaiba's undistracted attention as possible.
When Jonouchi finished showering, he grabbed the first towel he could find and scrubbed himself dry. Then he walked back into the bedroom, just as naked as he'd been when he'd left. His stolen boxer-briefs were discarded somewhere on the floor. Jonouchi intended to get them back but he didn't want to wear the same pair of underwear from the day before, if he could help it. He considered trying to steal another pair from Kaiba, but maybe he'd ask first this time. Just to be polite.
"Hey," he addressed as he approached the foot of the bed. He couldn't help grinning at the sight of Kaiba still lying down, his well-toned back partially exposed. He looked like he was either deeply satisfied or being lazy. Maybe it was both? Jonouchi couldn't say which. "I'm gonna steal more of your boxer briefs. I promise I'll give this one back after laundry day."
"I can buy more, you might as well just keep them," Kaiba grumbled in response.
Jonouchi smirked from the offer and wandered into Kaiba's closet. He couldn't help cursing under his breath when he saw how large the walk-in was. There were so many clothes... more than he'd probably ever have or even want in his lifetime. How much of this did Kaiba even use? All he wore was various forms of monochromatic outfits.
It took a minute for him to figure out where the underwear was, but once he found them, he slipped one on quickly. Even if he was enjoying a relaxed morning, he was still a morning person who liked to get out early. Lying around the place in a state of undress just didn't appeal that much. When he got back to the bedroom, he put his jeans on, deciding to leave his shirt off. After all, he knew he had a sexy upper body, if nothing else. There was also only him and Kaiba in the room for the moment.
"How long are you going to lay around in bed?" he asked Kaiba teasingly.
He didn't get much of a response beyond a grumble so Jonouchi touched Kaiba's hair gently because ruffling it up. It got the reaction he'd been looking for; Kaiba got up, appearing slightly annoyed with disheveled hair. Jonouchi liked how his eyes always lit up when he was being messed with. He also liked Kaiba's eyebrows when they got all expressive from irritation, even when annoyed, he always looked so good.
"I want to go out this morning," Jonouchi said, "Will you get going? It always takes you have a decade to get showered and ready. We could get something to eat together before you abandon me for work. I don't want to sit around this hotel all day."
Jonouchi knew Kaiba took a long time in the bathroom pretty much always. Kaiba was always so critical of his appearance, especially when he planned to go out.
"I'll try to be quick then," replied Kaiba, "I need coffee. There's always food here if you can't wait."
While Jonouchi thought about raiding the kitchen, Kaiba got up and disappeared into the bathroom. The tap turned on within minutes and Jonouchi sat on the bed to listen before falling on the mattress and closing his eyes.
He wondered fleetingly if he could convince Kaiba to have sex with him again that night. He told himself that he'd be able to handle it, and it wasn't like Kaiba was all that rough with him. In all honestly, Jonouchi thought he wasn't rough enough. At least, not until he was close to climax. Jonouchi couldn't stop himself from smirking when he thought about the night before, specifically the physical aspect; despite Kaiba's patience and control, even he had loosened up eventually. Jonouchi was still giddy about it. The final few seconds had been the best part.
Of course, Jonouchi didn't want Kaiba to avoid him because he was too enthusiastic. Or clingy. Both of those things would probably put him off quickly, and Jonouchi didn't want to lose him right after finally getting what he wanted.
He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling when a troubling thought occurred to him. Jonouchi didn't really know if he had Kaiba. Sure, they'd been acting like they were dating for... a while now. And they did have sex soon after Jonouchi asked about a relationship, but he knew from experience that it didn't necessarily mean they were in one.
Kaiba hadn't brought it up again after.
But Kaiba wouldn't play with his feelings like that, Jonouchi could be certain of that much. Kaiba wouldn't have done anything with him if he hadn't meant something serious by it, and it had all been too intimate to be just something that they were doing for fun as 'friends'.
Not wanting to go down that rabbit hole of worry, Jonouchi decided he didn't have to worry about it. The urge to ask started to flare up, his anxiety rising, but he forced himself to calm down. It wasn't like anything bad was happening. They were having a good morning, and Kaiba was going to get him some breakfast and spend time with him after he finished his work. Wasn't that what Jonouchi had always wanted? A real, happy relationship? Kaiba didn't need to declare himself a 'boyfriend' for it to be real between them, did he?
Everything seemed fine, and he didn't need to let his insecurities ruin a perfectly good morning. Turning his head when he heard the bathroom door open, he smiled when Kaiba emerged. All concerns aside, he was still ridiculously happy to see him.
"Finally," Jonouchi teased, "I thought you'd never get out of there."
"I took less than half an hour this time and you're still complaining..."
Kaiba waltzed out with a towel wrapped around his waist and went inside the closet, inspecting his clothes.
"Before you get dressed, are you sure you're not interested?" Jonouchi asked, pouting just a little for having to ask. Kaiba looked at him like he didn't quite understand what Jonouchi was asking before it finally sunk in and he rolled his eyes.
"We'll see what happens tonight..."
"Fine," Jonouchi agreed, only slightly satisfied by this answer and sitting up. "I'm not going to break from too much fun, you know."
"We should go out tonight," Kaiba said, apparently deciding to ignore Jonouchi's comment. "Mokuba would like that."
"I'd like that, too," Jonouchi hummed. "It's been a little while since the three of us went somewhere together. And you won't be a dick to me the entire time now, too. Because we're friends now, right?" Jonouchi grinned.
"Yes, of course."
"I want to find food vendors," Jonouchi continued, "I want some Yakisoba, and I know Mokuba likes that kind of thing as much as I do..."
"He likes stuffing his face with garbage."
"Yakisoba isn't garbage," Jonouchi snorted, amused at Kaiba's snobbery, "But whatever. Do you think Mokuba's free? Because if he can't hang out with me, I'll just head home now and meet you guys later."
He pulled his phone from his pocket, intending to text Mokuba. Quickly he saw that he'd missed some messages from Honda early that morning, asking if he'd gotten any or not. Jonouchi rolled his eyes. If only Honda knew. What had he been doing awake at six, anyway?
Ignoring Honda's messages for the time being, Jonouchi asked Mokuba if he was free to hang out. Maybe he had something better to do. Jonouchi wasn't too concerned either way, since he'd be seeing Mokuba for sure later. It wouldn't hurt him to unpack his shit, either.
Mokuba responded promptly, telling him that he had work to handle before the week started. That didn't sound familiar at all...
"Looks like Mokuba's too busy for me, too."
Jonouchi got to his feet and started looking for his shirt. Kaiba was almost dressed and looked ready to go. Still barefoot, Jonouchi went looking for his socks, too. "I'm gonna head back to Honda's place and get unpacked after breakfast. At least then, I'll have Thai around..."
"You'll have who?" Kaiba questioned.
"Oh," Jonouchi realized that Kaiba hadn't heard about Honda's pet. He didn't talk that much about Honda to Kaiba, since they seemed to dislike each other. Jonouchi could tell from their interactions years before. "Thai, he's Honda's stupid ass friendly Siamese cat. He's got big blue eyes like yours."
He grinned and poked at Kaiba's forehead. Kaiba crossed his eyes in reaction for the shortest fraction of a second before he shut them and jerked his head back, swatting Jonouchi's hand away. Jonouchi just snickered in response.
"I won't get lonely while I'm gone with that thing stalking me," he continued, pulling on his socks. He had his phone in his pocket, and aside from that, he had nothing else on him.
"I'll text you when I'm almost finished tonight," replied Kaiba, "We can meet at the market again, I think there's a festival going on tonight near the beach and Mokuba likes that sort of thing. I can get Isono to take you back home after breakfast if you want."
"Sure, that sounds great," Jonouchi smiled. He didn't mind public transportation, he'd grown up with it and used it extensively, had no complaints. But riding in the back of one of Kaiba's fancy limos, well, he liked the idea of that. Especially since Kaiba offered and he didn't even have to ask.
"One more thing before we go," Jonouchi grinned, placing his hand at the side of Kaiba's face so he wouldn't back away when Jonouchi bent down. Kaiba seemed surprised when their lips met. Why should he be? Jonouchi liked kissing him, and it seemed right to do while the good mood was surrounding them.
When Jonouchi pulled away, he couldn't stop himself from smiling like a moron again.
After breakfast, when he got back to Honda's apartment, Honda was on his computer as usual. He looked at Jonouchi when he walked in the door, as did Thai, who was draped over his shoulder. There was a takeout box near his mouse and plastic wrappers with crumbs on the desk. It looked like evidence of Chinese food, and Jonouchi was almost offended at having missed the party because he loved takeout like no other person alive. Free food was also the best food and Honda usually could be convinced to buy a bunch of things and pay for it all.
"So," Honda began, his voice uncharacteristically low. Jonouchi realized he must not have slept the night before. What had he been doing the whole time, waiting for him? Doubtful. He probably was playing stupid ass video games until dawn. "Did you get laid?"
"Damn right I did," Jonouchi grinned, walking to the kitchen for a glass of water, "If not, I would have come home last night."
"Or you would have stayed out, because I wasn't gonna let you in," Honda snorted, lifting Thai from his shoulder and holding him instead as he stood. "Come on, give me some details. Was she hot?"
"Obviously," Jonouchi lied after taking a drink, "Like the grin on my face couldn't have told you that."
"Stop being a smart ass," Honda rolled his eyes, trying to adjust the cat, who was fighting being held in his arms, "I was hoping you'd describe her or some shit. You seem really into her but you don't say too much about her."
Jonouchi didn't reply. Describing his 'girlfriend' didn't seem like the best idea. Honda wasn't a moron, and he didn't need to know Kaiba was the object of his affections. Not yet, anyway. He'd have to find out, eventually, but Jonouchi didn't want to ruin his day like that just yet. He had no idea how to even bring up the subject of his sexuality, let alone his sexual relationship with Kaiba.
"She's tall, athletic, and has really dark blue eyes, natural blue eyes too. And that's all I'm telling you."
"Seriously?" Honda gaped, finally letting go of Thai, who took off down the hallway for freedom. "Shit, how did you of all people manage that? Does she have a sister?"
"Ew," Jonouchi frowned, immediately thinking about Mokuba and just as quickly shaking the thought from his mind. "No. And don't get any ideas, either. She's mine, and I'm not looking to fuck this up anytime soon."
"This doesn't sound like you were just hooking up then," Honda leaned against the kitchen counter, watching Jonouchi curiously, "If you're that serious about her, maybe you should bring her over occasionally instead of crashing at her place. Let her meet your friends and see where you live."
"She's a little too classy for this apartment," Jonouchi replied, referring to the fact that their home looked like a shitty bachelor pad with the take-out boxes all over the place. Most of the furniture was second hand, too. What would Jonouchi even do here, if he brought someone over? He didn't really live there and barely owned anything. "There's nothing to actually do here except watch you fail at pc games all night. You don't even have a television because you do everything online."
"If you wanted, you could just hook up on roommate's bed," Honda suggested, rolling his eyes, "That's probably all you two do right now is fuck, anyway."
"That isn't true. We just had sex for the first-time last night."
Jonouchi could feel himself blushing over the admission, slightly embarrassed about revealing that for whatever reason. It wasn't like Honda knew the details...
"I'm going back for more tonight, actually," Jonouchi continued, "So don't miss me too much."
"What?" Honda stared at him as he walked to the couch and fell into the cushions. "How did you find a girl who wants you of all people that much?"
"Guess I'm just that good at it," Jonouchi grinned.
"Sure. What are you going to do until then?"
"Probably hang around here," Jonouchi shrugged and then closed his eyes as he rested against the couch pillow, "I'm still off work, and I'm kind of tired."
"Well, sex is the best workout you can get."
"Right," Jonouchi snickered. He hadn't even realized just how tired he was. Being around Kaiba had made him too hyped up to notice, he supposed. Now alone, he felt perfectly happy to lie around and relax, preoccupying himself with memories of the previous evening.
There were so many venues out, it was like a parade of food. Anything that was delicious was being offered, even some things that weren't from home. Mokuba seemed pleased about the opportunity to try new things.
Usually Jonouchi was chomping on the bit to get food but he was mostly too preoccupied with following Kaiba around wherever he went to get distracted by the piles of food on display. Mokuba appeared to be annoyed with him throughout the trip, purposely wedging himself between him and his brother but Jonouchi didn't mind. He was too happy to care. Mokuba seemed disgruntled by the change.
"Nii-sama, you said you wanted gyoza, right?"
"Yeah, gyoza sounds fine…" Kaiba had paused before speaking again, this time directing his attention away from Mokuba again. "Jonouchi, what about you?"
Jonouchi couldn't stop himself from smiling when Kaiba looked at him. He was probably acting dumb and silly but he didn't care. His heart felt so light. He didn't see a reason to stop.
"You know I'll eat pretty much anything. Lead the way."
It was taking Jonouchi a conscious effort not to accidentally run into Kaiba while they were walking together. He still managed to brush against him plenty of times, but it was barely noticeable. He had a feeling that Mokuba noticed but it wasn't like he didn't know already. Jonouchi was surprised he wasn't just laughing at him about it. Instead, he seemed kind of mad.
When they sat down at a booth to eat, Jonouchi sat in between the two brothers, leaning on the bar as the cook approached to take their orders. Mokuba kept glancing at Jonouchi, almost glaring. Jonouchi looked at him and was going to ask what his problem was but then he had to order food. He hadn't been paying enough attention to think about what he wanted.
"Um," Jonouchi blinked at the cook, "Just give me what he's having."
He gestured to Kaiba, who snorted in response. Jonouchi bumped him with his elbow. When he turned back to Mokuba, he was watching the scene unfold with a deeply disapproving expression. When had this started? He hadn't seemed to mind them before.
"What's up with you, kid?" asked Jonouchi. "You look like you've got something on your mind."
"Jonouchi, you're acting way too conspicuous. You could try acting a little less ridiculous for once."
Then lifting his nose in a snobby manner, Mokuba used his chopsticks to pick up some free edamame and eat it. He kept his eyes on the soybeans, appearing to ignore the dirty look Jonouchi was giving him. Then he'd ordered his dinner without missing a word once the waiter came upon him for his turn.
Jonouchi just gaped at him, bewildered by Mokuba's behavior. He would have been more upset if he wasn't so confused. He turned to Kaiba questioningly but when he noticed and returned his gaze, he didn't seem to know what Jonouchi was asking of him. Jonouchi rolled his eyes in frustration and gave up. He didn't know what was going on with Mokuba, and he couldn't sit there and ask Kaiba about it while Mokuba was in earshot. He returned his attention to Kaiba instead, figuring that if he was going to deal with Mokuba, it would have to be done later.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked, bumping against Kaiba again to get his attention.
"Eating dinner?" he answered back, raising an eyebrow before returning his attention back to the cook. "What are you thinking about?"
Jonouchi felt like he was about to burst from his happiness.
"You seem so giddy today."
"Of course, I am," Jonouchi answered, his face breaking into a grin. "I'm not thinking about anything in particular. Just you."
He punctuated this statement by nudging Kaiba again. It wasn't that cold out but Kaiba was wearing long clothes anyway. It was too bad that he kept his body so covered up. He never showed his arms, or legs, or much of anything else. Jonouchi knew Kaiba worked out, it seemed like a waste to not show off the results of his hard work.
"And last night, of course," he continued, leaning closer to Kaiba and lowering his voice. Kaiba looked slightly embarrassed. Jonouchi couldn't help but feel a little triumphant at that. Kaiba wasn't as immune to attention as he liked to pretend to be, apparently.
Mokuba was sulking. Kaiba leaned back in his seat, looking over at him before turning his gaze back towards Jonouchi.
"You should talk to him."
"He seems so mad at me," Jonouchi muttered quietly, trying to keep Mokuba from hearing, "Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"You've been ignoring him all night, so yes."
Jonouchi didn't think Mokuba was that sensitive. Then again, he usually gave Mokuba more attention than he did Kaiba on outings. He turned and faced Mokuba, who was still sulking beside him. He should probably make some sort of effort. Maybe he was being too focused on Kaiba, and Mokuba wasn't actually having fun with them anymore.
"Hey," he addressed quietly, trying to get his attention, "You don't have to be so quiet, you know."
"Yeah well, you don't need to be so... annoying."
Mokuba snatched the plate of food given to him once their meals were done, stuffing his face and not saying anything more. Jonouchi felt his eyes roll. It was like he'd resorted to being an irritable teen again, Mokuba's attitude was so sour. He was making angry eyes at Jonouchi and Kaiba both while they just stared at him.
"Oh man, how embarrassing of me," Jonouchi snickered, "But seriously kid, you know I'm your friend. You don't have to be mad at me to get my attention."
Jonouchi tried not to be bothered but he wasn't getting much from Mokuba. As opposed to Kaiba.
"What's up with you, anyway?" he asked, watching Mokuba determinedly inhale his food. He was surprised Kaiba hadn't said anything about it yet. Mokuba was gonna choke himself.
"I don't like being blown off, which is what you've been doing this whole time," whined Mokuba. His response was loud enough that Kaiba had probably heard it and Jonouchi saw him rolling his eyes as Mokuba continued dramatically, "I know you like him and all, but come on. I was your friend first. If you wanted a date, you didn't have to invite me along."
"I wasn't trying to alien you," Jonouchi replied, looking apologetic, "I'm sorry. But shit, can you blame me for being a little distracted? Kaiba's actually acting pleasant for once."
"You probably bribed him into good behavior or something..."
"What?" Jonouchi glanced at Kaiba momentarily. He was side-eyeing them, his mouth drawn into a thin line. He thought at first that Kaiba was mad but upon closer inspection, he saw that he looked more amused. "Well, I kind of did that."
Kaiba made a sharp look at Jonouchi.
"It's nothing," Jonouchi returned his attention to Mokuba when he caught a glimpse of Kaiba's expression, "I wasn't planning to ignore you forever, I just got preoccupied a little."
"That's fine, I'm over it."
The rest of the trip had gone on rather strained. Although Jonouchi was glad that Mokuba was once again speaking to him, his general attitude had only minutely improved.
Was this what it was like dealing with a teenager? Jonouchi wondered how Kaiba dealt with it. He knew he was being a little unfair for focusing so much on Kaiba, but he didn't think he was being rude about it. Or that Mokuba would care. The kid had abandoned him for chasing chicks before, how could he turn around and get angry at Jonouchi for literally doing the exact same thing?
Maybe it was because Jonouchi was attracted to his brother. And Kaiba, for once, seemed to enjoy the attention.
It would probably take him some time to readjust.
When they arrived at the mansion, Mokuba's mood seemed to have changed as he addressed Jonouchi directly in the foyer.
"You like cookies, right?"
"Yeah, of course," Jonouchi answered, his appetite returning as the mention of food ringed in his ears. "You got some?"
"I have a private stash of Oreo cookies," Mokuba offered. "And because I like you, I'll share."
When did the kid ever share anything, let alone snacks? Jonouchi wondered how Mokuba's mood had changed so quickly. Did he have a change of heart during the ride home?
"I haven't had any in a long time, actually…"
"Even better!" Mokuba seemed determined as he headed towards the kitchen. "I'll bring it up to your room!"
Jonouchi blinked. His room? Certainly, he meant Kaiba's room and not the old guest bedroom. He stewed at that thought. He felt comfortable in Kaiba's bedroom, most of the time. Although it was slightly creepy at night and the temperature always seemed far too low in there, he liked that it felt like a space he was invited into. The guest bedroom was completely impersonal and it smelled sterile.
When Jonouchi broke from his thoughts, Kaiba was already half way up the stairs. Hoping to catch up, Jonouchi ran up the stairs before hurrying down the hallway and heading to Kaiba's bedroom. Predictably, Kaiba was quickly focused on his laptop, lying on the bed with the lights on dim. Jonouchi saw his chance for romance begin to slip away as he tried to make some space for himself.
"I have to finish this before I can go to bed," Kaiba spoke up before Jonouchi could try to pester him, "Just give me a few minutes."
"Yeah sure."
Sighing, Jonouchi just laid on his back and watched Kaiba type away. The reports he was reading looked so boring. It was mostly just graphs and paragraphs upon paragraphs of data Jonouchi could not interpret. A few minutes of reading turned into ten which turned into fifteen…
He had a feeling Kaiba was in it for the long haul that night. When he'd finally finished, Mokuba had returned with a plate full of cookies, dropping it off at the foot of the bed while Kaiba had disappeared into the bathroom. Taking one, Jonouchi looked at it, kind of giving it a glance. It looked like a normal Oreo, except the sides appeared a little messy. Maybe the cream was melting or something.
But when he put it into his mouth, he realized in horror that the cream filling was actually mint toothpaste…
"Shit," Jonouchi cursed loudly, spitting out the cookie everywhere. Mokuba had outsmarted him. He couldn't believe it. He never expected a prank out of him and now he was gagging on toothpaste and bits of chocolate.
"What are you yelling about?" asked Kaiba. He stepped back into the bedroom, appearing in the middle of dressing down.
"You know I'm gonna kill that kid, right?" Jonouchi scowled. "I'm gonna smother him in his sleep."
"You'll do no such thing," Kaiba dumped his clothes before walking back into the bathroom. "Don't be a drama queen about it, it'll just encourage him to trick you again. Come in the bathroom and wash out your mouth."
"I'm not being a drama queen," Jonouchi frowned. He did what he was told though, spitting food out of his mouth repeatedly and rinsing with water. To his annoyance, Kaiba appeared kind of amused about the deal. He had a smirk on his face.
"He seemed to have gotten you good."
Jonouchi would've expected a payback plot from Kaiba, because he was a rather spiteful person when angry, but not Mokuba. The kid had seemed happy to have his company towards the end of the night and Jonouchi had completely fallen for it. It wasn't the prank itself that upset him so much as the fact that Mokuba was enough of a jerk to do it for little to no reason. What a brat.
Although to be honest, Jonouchi would have done something like that himself if he had thought of it and had a reason to try it. Especially when he was a younger teenager.
"I know it's not a big a deal. I just didn't expect Mokuba to be like that." Jonouchi took a toothbrush and started at his tongue for good measure. "Sometimes I forget he's related to you."
Kaiba snorted, rolling his eyes. "If you hadn't ignored him tonight, he wouldn't have gotten the idea."
"I didn't think he'd be that upset because I wasn't paying attention to him for fifteen minutes. I guess he cares more than I thought."
He sighed. Mokuba didn't seem that dependent on his attention, but it was possible that Jonouchi had misunderstood him. It was nice to think that he was a little hurt rather than just being an ass, but now Jonouchi felt kind of bad about ignoring him. Shit. He was the one who got pranked. That should make them even.
Kaiba left the bathroom for the closet to toss his clothes into the hamper. Then he turned off the lights in the bedroom, putting the laptop away out of sight. He left the curtains open, which Jonouchi was thankful for because the room might have turned pitch dark, and he didn't like being fully immersed in the dark. Especially when he was in Kaiba's master bedroom. It always left him feeling like someone or something was watching him.
He pulled back the covers, exposing his side of the bed before lying down and closing his eyes. The day wasn't all that bad, considering how Mokuba could have reacted if he really wanted to be a pain. Kaiba's brother was smart, and maybe Jonouchi really had under estimated him.
Over the course of the evening, it seemed to Jonouchi that Kaiba wasn't that upset about it. Just a little annoyed.
He laid on his back for a few seconds staring at the ceiling before he felt the mattress move. Kaiba was sitting by the side of it, doing something Jonouchi couldn't exactly see in the dark. Moving to his side, Jonouchi poked him lightly on the side before sitting his head back down on a pillow.
"You're just going to go to sleep now?"
"What else would you expect me to be doing?" Kaiba asked, looking down at Jonouchi with a pensive look on his face. As if he didn't already know the answer.
"Oh, I don't know," Jonouchi sighed in mock thoughtfulness, "Maybe trying to start something consenting adults like to do in the dark..."
"Yeah, I am," Kaiba laughed, "It's called sleeping."
Snorting loudly, Jonouchi rolled his eyes. He could deal with being rejected but he didn't like it. Kaiba didn't even seem that tired, he had worked that night, but he didn't seem that out of it. They'd gone out together too, and it was hardly that exhaustive just walking around the festival. Kaiba was one of the most athletic people Jonouchi knew; was he tired or just not in the mood suddenly?
Jonouchi could feel his self-esteem begin to erode inside of him.
"Come on," he begged, "I thought about this all day and night. You can't be that tired, you're an insomniac and today wasn't that strenuous."
"I get tired, Jonouchi," reasoned Kaiba, flashing his eyes open suddenly before scoffing, "I just can't fall asleep well. Besides, you didn't just go through all of those reports a few minutes ago, I want to shut my brain off for the next few hours. You'll live."
"You don't have to use your brain to have sex," Jonouchi complained, "You're not even a bit interested? I thought maybe you liked me better than that."
Maybe Kaiba was losing interest in him. It was possible. But so quickly? He was probably just acting overly sensitive and feeding into his fear of being abandoned. Jonouchi wanted to try putting those thoughts far away in the back of his mind.
"Kaiba, if you don't like me that much, you can tell me. It's not a big deal," Jonouchi lied.
He watched Kaiba's face intensively as he saw Kaiba just roll his eyes at him and sigh. He looked up at the ceiling before glancing at Jonouchi again, suddenly flicking Jonouchi in the nose hard with his fingers. It happened before Jonouchi could even react, and he grabbed his nose, feeling slightly scandalized as Kaiba shifted on his side of the bed.
"Stop being ridiculous. Not everyone has an insatiable appetite like you, Jonouchi," Kaiba reasoned, "I got a lot on my mind right now and none of it has to do with us. Work is just stressful sometimes. Try getting some sleep."
Kaiba seemed done speaking anymore about it. Jonouchi didn't feel any kind of tension between them but he still felt a little stung from Kaiba's disinterest. He knew running a corporation was a lot of responsibility, Jonouchi didn't even know where to begin with processing the kind of work involved, but Kaiba always seemed like a sort of superman. Like he could do anything, all the time, and Jonouchi rarely ever saw him as less than fully capable.
Maybe if he was more appealing, Kaiba wouldn't be too tired to fuck him.
Or maybe he was being flat out ridiculous. Jonouchi tried to quiet his looming concerns as he closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep.