I'm back with Chapter 2! Sorry about not updating sooner, but thanks to one of my reviewers (Doom), I got off my lazy ass and made it. Everyone who reviewed: thanks for all the input and suggestions. I appreciate it.

BTW: instead of Italics (used for emphasis on a word) I'm going to do the stars. *word* That's just because my computer can only do .doc formatting and I can't upload html. Or maybe I'm just a dumbass. Either way...

Chapter 2: Seto-Thoughts

Jou whistled absent-mindedly as he strolled down the sidewalk, hands burrowed deep in his pockets. That morning he had woken up to the sound of his father vomiting violently in the toilet, and had been wandering the streets ever since. The sky overhead was dull with a vast blanket of gray clouds, and he struggled to fight off the dark mood of it from dampening his spirits. He checked his watch again for the fourth time that day, and the digital clock displayed the time of 8:43 A.M. Heels and Deals opened at nine, so he'd have to hurry to unlock the doors.

As he continued down the road, he noticed a diner across the street where one Mokuba Kaiba was exiting. Surely, his elder brother wasn't too far off, and the thought made Jou's breath hitch for a moment; a reaction that he would later identify as a result from the loathing he felt towards Seto. He quickened his pace through the streets of domino, avoiding Mokuba's gaze, lest the boy call him over. For some reason, he felt as though he'd turn into a bubbling mess in Seto's presence today, and there was no way in hell he was willing to provoke more insults from the ever-bastardized millionaire.

Within ten minutes, Jou found himself flipping the "closed" sign on the entrance of the shoe store to "open." The one other girl that was supposed to be working called in sick for the day, seeing as how business was usually slow on Sundays, so he was left to his own silence. He settled himself at the register, trying to busy himself by counting the week's income, but soon found his thoughts wandering back to his earlier Kaiba siting.

Why on earth was Seto Kaiba, successful president and CEO of a huge corporation, going to a mediocre and, frankly, a very unsanitary diner for breakfast? Perhaps the outing was a glimpse into his more humane-side—a clue into his elegant yet icy demeanor. Was it possible that even rich jerks enjoyed going out to eat at places that were less than luxurious? Suddenly, Jou wondered what it would be like to have Seto take *him* out to eat, and maybe even have a nice conversation with him!

Though he was all alone, Jou's face blazed a brilliant shade of ruby, and he murmured a barely audible "I hate you" through clenched teeth before redirecting his thoughts to some form of store maintenance. He remembered that he needed to rearrange some shoes, so he set off from his station at the checkout counter to do so.

Jou was so engaged in blocking out any mental musings about Kaiba and restocking an entire hoard of black leather boots that he didn't notice the arrival of a new customer. It wasn't until he mumbled his typical "you're an asshole" to shield himself from the onslaught of Seto- thoughts and received a response that he became aware of another presence in the store with him.

"I know you're an asshole, but could I get some service here, puppy?"

Jou leapt up at least three feet in the air before turning around to gape at Seto Kaiba. His eyes were wide with surprise, but before long an expression of annoyance settled on his tanned face.

"Kaiba! What the hell are you doing here?!"

Obviously, that wasn't the most intelligent of accusatory questions, seeing as how they were standing in the middle of a store that was accessible by anyone, but Jou, unfortunately, had not caught the sentence before it sounded off his tongue.

Seto chuckled lowly, a sinister smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth while a mischievous glint shone in his deep, penetrating orbs. "Coming to visit you, of course. It wouldn't do for a master to let his dog wander all around without any supervision, now, would it?"

Holy shit! Was Kaiba being playful? No, he must have been messing with his head. Jou could not help the primitive growl that escaped his throat, and spat out a quick "fuck you"; venom laced into every syllable.

Kaiba shed his uncharacteristic childishness to roll his eyes, and Jou found himself almost missing it. "I'm here to get shoes for Mokuba. I didn't know you worked here."

"Tell anyone and you die. And don't you dare try to laugh at me for it." Jou added another desperate and somewhat whiny "it's not funny!" when Seto started to snicker a bit.

"I'd like to see you try, mutt." It was more of a dare than anything else, but Kaiba immediately erased any possibility of a physical confrontation when he started talking again. "I won't tell anyone, anyway. But I hardly see why you'd want to keep it a secret. At least your working for what you're getting, now."

Jou was somewhat stunned, but also strangely elated, at the string of words that slightly resembled a compliment that had just been thrown his way. A dusting of pink appeared on his cheeks for what seemed to be for no apparent reason, and he struggled to steer the conversation elsewhere. "So, where is the little squirt, anyway?"

"Mokuba? He's staying home sick. I brought him out for breakfast this morning and he ate too many pancakes. Little kid doesn't know when to stop." Seto had obviously been unaffected by the reference to his little brother as a 'squirt', but the thing that most shocked Jou was that he was actually having a civilized discussion with his supposed enemy. He tried, and failed miserably, at stopping his mind from spitting out random comments on how nice Seto looked or how cool he was when he wasn't being a jerk.

Naturally, Jou couldn't help the mantra that had become the surest symptom of denial from pouring past his lips, and mumbled "you're an asshole," once again.

It was evident that Seto found this comment to be extremely random and uncalled-for, but he recovered after a moment and spoke. "Well, gee, thanks, puppy. Nice to know I'm appreciated. Anyway, I need to get him some shoes so could you help me out? Otherwise I'll have to talk to your manager."

"I was planning on helping you, dick-face, but just so you know: I *am* the manager until Wednesday, so there's really nothing you can do if I don't help you."

"Who in hell let you be manager? Do they know who you are?"

"Of course they do! I'm responsible. You don't see anyone else here, do you? I'm running the store all by myself!" Jou sounded as if he'd never been so insulted in his life. He felt this foreign feeling of rejection and indignation, something he did not recognize as anything he should have been experiencing given the situation.

Seto gained that mischievous sparkle to his normally icy eyes, but remained silent as Jou led him over to the Children's Shoes Department.

"So, what does Mokuba want? Anything in particular?"

"I think he said something about 'high-top converse', but I honestly don't think he cares too much. He usually doesn't, otherwise I think he would have come here himself."

"Alright then, what's his size?"

"I don't know."

"What? Why would you come to a shoe-store and not know the size of the person you're buying for. That's ridiculous."

"I'm just kidding. Calm down. He's a five and a half."

"Okay, how about these, then?" Jou pulled out a narrow box from a shelf in front of where he was kneeling down, and produced two black converse sneakers from within.

Seto knelt down beside him to take a closer look at them, and instantly Jou caught the scent of vanilla from his deep, mahogany locks. It made his stomach do a flip and he gulped dramatically at their close proximity. The other boy chanced a glance at the blonde, and smirked a bit. "What's the matter, puppy?"

"Nothing. Do you want the shoes or not?"

"I guess they're fine. I'm sure Mokuba will like them. How much?"

"Can't you read a price tag, dumb-ass?" Jou reached over to the shoe and read "sixty-five dollars" from the tag that hung limply from it, but Seto seemed to only stare at him the whole time, rather than at the footwear.

"Come on up to the register," said Jou, (apparently not noticing at all), as he got up and headed over to the counter.

Seto followed, shoe box in tow, and set it down on the linoleum surface of the check out desk. He reached deep into his pocket, but paused for a moment, looking deep into Jou's amber eyes. Jou squirmed under the intense gaze. "What is it?"

"I think I left my money at home. I'll have to come back later. Are you going to be here all day?"

"Yeah, until the store closes at 7 P.M."

"Could you hold these for me until I come back?"

"Sure," said Jou uncomfortably, but not really sure why.

"Thanks, puppy. Later." He removed his hand from his pocket, and Jou swore he saw a bit of greenish paper peeking out from inside, with the number '100' etched on the corners. Seto flashed a smirk at him before casually walking out of the store, leaving him by himself to contemplate the recent events. Why would Seto lie about not having money? Could it be that he wanted to come back? And why the hell was he carrying around such big bills?

Jou sighed and slumped down onto the floor, whispering out into the emptiness.

"Okay, so maybe you're not an asshole."

A/N: Okay, I know I said it would be longer, and it's not THAT much longer, but it is! By like, 200 words. Sorry! I just thought that this would be a cool way to end this chapter. Next one should be up by next week, maybe sooner if you please me with reviews and candy! Uhh... yeah about the whole money thing. I don't know how to convert yen and I didn't wanna make a huge ass of myself so instead I just put American money. I'm an ignorant citizen of the USA, what can you expect? And I'm not good with shoe sizes, so just pretend that they're accurate. I don't think anyone really cares though.

R&R! PLEASE!