(Jounouchi)
There's something about the eve of a crime that radiates energy; no matter what you do, you can feel it in everyone around you – just like I was right then. Malik was working on my car, swearing under his breath and asking me about the last time I had it looked at. Bakura was sitting on his porch, bullshitting with Ryou. Yuugi was somewhere inside with Yami, and Seto… well, he was sitting midway down the stairs that led up to his apartment, and even though he wasn't talking, and my back was too him, I knew that he was just staring.
We'd originally been inside, going through some last minute plans, but eventually… it just died off, and no matter what anyone tried, the conversation didn't start up again – not even the suggestion of ordering pizza helped. I knew that we were all wondering how are we going to make this work, and the only reason we wondered it was because we knew that Seto was wondering it, the bastard; we were insecure because HE was insecure. I swear, the more time I spent with him, the more I regretted agreeing when Ryou asked me if I was interested in helping his tenant.
"I'll be right back," I said, tapping Malik on the spine as I walked by. I avoided Seto as much as I could – which wasn't exactly easy – but I wanted to talk to him personally before I got myself into any trouble on his behalf. Sure, it was a little late for that, but it was all I had. "So, excited?" I asked, sitting two steps down from him.
"No."
I sighed. "You should be – a lot's going down tomorrow, and – "
"I'm well aware of what tomorrow is," he snapped. "But thank you for the reminder. Now if you don't mind…"
"I do mind," I retorted. "Would you quit with the bullshit attitude for ten minutes, because it's not exactly reassuring when a leader has no faith in the people helpin' him. What do you have against us, anyway?"
He looked down at me; for a minute I thought he wasn't ever going to answer, but finally he said flatly, "You're human." Just like that, as though it was the perfect reason.
"So are you."
"But I have reason to put my all into this – I'd never risk messing this up. You – "
"Wouldn't either," I said. "Look, I told you once that I've got a kid sister. I'd do anything for her too, even break the law. I may not know this kid of yours, but I wouldn't want to screw your chances with him either. So could you at least have a little faith?"
"I can't afford faith." He shifted, leaning back against the railing and propping his feet up on the stair. He stared straight ahead, barely blinking; he seemed to be in a different world. "What about your sister?"
"What about her?"
"What's she like?"
I looked off to the sky, smiling at the clouds. I guess I couldn't avoid talking about her, even if I had wanted to. Not like he hadn't shared stuff like that with us – might as well return the favor. "She's the sweetest girl ever, but I haven't seen her in forever – she lives with my mom. I guess I'm kind of afraid to now."
Seto was naturally quiet, and I wasn't surprised when he didn't say anything. In truth, I wasn't too eager for him to reply – so of course, he did. Talk about a double shock. "Why?"
I looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. "Since when did you give a damn about other people?"
He just shrugged, frowning. You'd think the guy had never heard someone talk about his sister before, with the look on his face – like he was digesting information, analyzing it…
"I forgot – you were raised in that orphanage too, huh?" He nodded, and I sighed. For a second, I felt bad… "I made a lot of promises to her when she was little – like we'd see the beach again sometime – and I can't really come through."
"Some brother you are," he snorted, finally looking over at me, his eyes coming into focus – not that I appreciated that. In all the comparatively civil conversation, I must have forgotten that sympathy wasn't his strong suit.
"She's blind," I retorted sharply. "C'mon, now, this isn't something I tell everyone, so try to be a little gracious about the fuckin' thing."
He just shrugged again. "Fine. So she's blind – is that your fault?"
"No, but… I mean, I don't know what to do for her now. I don't know if you get the sentiment, but I know what it feels like to stare at your ceiling in the morning and realize that you've failed at the only job that's really important."
"Job?" he said with a slight hitch of his eyebrow – confusion. If not for the fact that he'd have kicked my ass, I would've laughed – not because he was confused, but because he had never shown me anything but scorn. Confusion was a pretty good leap up.
"Yeah, job – I'd think that of anyone, you could understand that being a big brother takes work."
He scoffed, "I always found it more of a pleasure."
And I was quick to counter, "A labor of love, then, but still a kick in the ass. All I'm tryin' to say is that if I can help… I would rather not have you wake up a failure if your brother's options are your success or spendin' the rest of his teenage years in an orphanage."
He paused, staring down at the step, and for one split second, I almost thought that he appreciated my effort – that after dealing with his shit for so long, he finally realized what was going on.
Then his head snapped up, and I almost jumped right down the stairs at the look on his face – if I had to judge by the glare he was giving me, I'd think I had insulted his dead grandmother or something. "You're an imbecile," he ground out. "If you wake up feeling like a failure, it's because you are – don't assume that everyone is as weak." He was up in a flash, storming up the stairs. I stared after him for a second, then jumped to my feet, clutching the railing to keep my balance. A million indignant responses and insults ran through my head, but only one made it out my mouth.
"Go to hell, Seto."
And it didn't make me feel any better – I doubted he even heard it over the slamming of his door.
(Malik)
Everyone looked up as Jounouchi stomped down Seto's steps, but no one was surprised. If the worst that was going to happen was a little stomping, then it had been a glowing success in my opinion. But before I could ask Jounouchi what had happened, he burst, "We're gonna do great tomorrow – the whole fucking thing is gonna go without a hitch."
"What got you so determined?" Bakura asked, the corners of his mouth turning upward just slightly.
"Because if we fail, that bastard is going to be livin' right there," Jounouchi pointed towards Seto's apartment, "until the kid is old enough to leave the orphanage, and I REFUSE to put up with him for a second longer than I have to." With that he stormed into the house, slamming the door much like Seto had. I looked around, finally settling on Ryou – usually he had something to say in these situations.
"Whatever keeps him motivated," he shrugged, going back to talking to Bakura. I shrugged in response, turning back to Jounouchi's car… but that lasted all of ten minutes before I found myself looking up to Seto's apartment. No one had gone to talk to him – I knew that no one wanted to, not right at THAT moment, but it had to be done. I couldn't just leave a guy to stew about his last chance with his brother.
With a sigh I closed the hood of the car, heading over. When I made it to the door I knocked gently, waiting for some violent response.
Nothing.
I pushed the door open just a little, and got exactly what I expected: he snapped, "If this is another damn pep talk, I'm not interested!"
"Oh shut up," I said, opening the door just enough to lean against the edge, clutching the doorknob behind my back. Seto was sitting in a chair – staring at the ceiling. "What are you so up in arms about?"
"You people THINK I need to be cheered up and helped out and guided through this – I don't. I just need you to do what I asked, and do it well. Beyond that, you owe me nothing. Stop pretending you do."
Not what I had expected him to say – I hadn't prepared myself for anything more than a casual 'fuck off', and I got a tirade in response. I understood; to have an entire group coddling him (as coddling seemed to be a second-nature to some of them) must have been strange. It would've driven me insane. "Did you ever stop long enough to consider that they actually like you?"
He laughed, but he didn't sound amused. Finally he turned away from the ceiling and looked at me. "Did they ever stop to consider that it isn't welcome?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
He shrugged and turned back to his ceiling. "I'm trying to do this my way, and…" He grunted, eyes narrowing at some imaginary foe on the ceiling. "Never mind – I just want tomorrow to go without flaw."
That was devotion – Seto could've been rude, snappy, even downright mean to any one of us, but when it was all stripped back, he was just a devoted guy. If he hadn't been, we wouldn't have known him at all. Not that it gave me a damn clue to exactly what was going on in his head – though I wasn't so sure I'd get it, even if I knew. I'd always been the little brother. "I have a sister," I said – it sounded more like an admission of guilt than a fact. I only mentioned her because for a minute, I wondered if somewhere, she was as torn up about me as Seto was over his brother. But I couldn't tell him that; what sort of kidnapper got soft around the edges?
At first Seto didn't move; I figured it meant that he didn't care. "What, you too?" he finally grumbled. "Are you going to tell me all about how big brothers fail all the time too? How'd you mess her life up?"
I shook my head. "She's older, actually. But I just left. She didn't want me too, but the same night that I promised to stay, I left, and haven't talked to her since."
To my surprise, Seto sounded amused – cynical, maybe even a touch nervous, but amused. "My kidnappers come from hopeless families – that doesn't bode well for me, does it?"
I laughed and shrugged. "We're going to be the best kidnappers ever, so shut up, relax, and be on your game tomorrow, okay?"
He nodded; it was the last movement I saw as I left, closing the door in my wake. "Likewise."
All I really wanted to do was tell him that he had the luckiest little brother alive.
Many thanks to purkledragon for her beta'ing goodness. v
I'm irked by this chapter. Yes, irked. Because I REALLY like it, but I'm afraid it doesn't do so much except transition. Ugh, transition, you mock me! But I really liked Malik's POV, and Jounouchi's was fun, but that might be because i love it when Kaiba & Jou fight. And... Yeah. So hopefully it'll all work out okay. ;;
EDIT: Many thanks to Shaylo, who pointed out a name error! ::sheepish:: I'm so used to Kaiba that I didn't even catch it. Thanks!!