Disclaimer: Don't own. Don't sue.
A/N: Thanks to Jennie over at the 'Lair' for offering to beta. I think it made a great improvement.
Jou really shouldn't have been surprised. If there was anyone obsessed enough to get a tattoo of their favorite Duel Monsters card, it was Kaiba. The brunette had calmly explained that he wanted the likeness of the blue-eyes engraved on his back, while Jou listened and nodded politely. What really surprised him though, was the fact that this was not going to be a simple design. No, it was going to take up most of that slender back, definitely a long process.
"I'm sure you know the basic design already. I am leaving it to you to draw up a sketch, and tomorrow I will come see what you have done. Then I will decide whether or not it meets my standards," Seto explained in a tone that he probably used to carry out most of his business. Jou was grateful that at least he had the decency to address him professionally in his place of work. Considering their history, it was a welcome change.
"Understood. I'll get working on it right away!" Jou smiled and stood up just as Kaiba did, offering his hand for a good shake, which was promptly ignored.
"Tomorrow at noon then," Seto stated in a matter-of-fact tone before walking out of the office and out of the shop. It wasn't until Jou heard the bell at the top of the door ring as it opened and closed, that he lowered his hand and frowned. Normally, he would have been most offended if one of his customers had declined such an offer, and most likely would have told them to take their business elsewhere. But this was Kaiba, and that statement pretty much spoke for itself, sort of like a 'get out of jail free' card when it came to being an asshole.
Jou turned to his boss and sighed as he noticed the grin on his face. "You happy now?"
"Oh yes, I'm excited for the both of you. It's going to be a great learning experience." Jou quirked his eyebrow at the statement, not sure what it meant before the elder man continued. "Well, don't just stand there! Go home and get your ass in gear! That design needs to be perfect."
"Love to, but in case you forgot, I still have someone in back."
"I'll take care of that, you go home and get working." Jou didn't like the idea of someone else finishing his job, but followed orders nonetheless. It was getting late, and he did want to get some food in him before he began drawing out Kaiba's design to absolute perfection, under fear of certain death. He wasn't sure who he was more afraid to disappoint at this point: Kaiba, his boss, or himself. Yeah, it was stressing him out already.
Jou gripped his pencil tightly as he pressed it down hard into the sketch pad below. Aiming to make every sharp claw menacing, every curve of the elegant wing perfect. There were already several crumpled pieces of paper littering the room, all failed attempts. He seemed to find things wrong with all the previous designs; or at least, room for improvement. The piece he was working on now seemed promising, though. So, lost in his own little world, Jou practically jumped out of his damned skin when the phone on his bedstand rang. The blonde groaned when he realized his sudden movement had caused him to draw a crisp dark line across the width of the dragon. Just peachy.
Shifting slightly from his position, lying on his stomach with his book open on top of his pillows, Jou reached over and snatched the phone off of the receiver. "Hello?" Jou dropped the pencil and sat up in a more comfortable position. His neck and back were starting to feel strained.
"Hi Jou, I hope I'm not calling too late," a soft voice spoke and Jou smiled, instantly recognizing the voice and finding much needed comfort in it. Shizuka was one of the few people that mattered to him that was still relatively close by, considering it would be a few more years before she finished high school.
"No problem Shizuka, I wasn't sleeping or anything," he replied, glancing curiously over at the clock and reading 12:44. Had he really been working on this thing for that long? It had felt like nine o'clock just a few minutes ago.
"Shouldn't you be? You have work in the morning right?" she asked in a concerned manner.
"Yeah, but I have to finish up an important project."
"Oh really? What kind?"
"A big damned dragon tattoo...and guess who it's for?" Jou grinned as he clutched the receiver to his ear, eager to share the news with someone who would appreciate it, wondering why he hadn't gotten around to it before.
"Who?" came the curious voice.
"Seto freakin' Kaiba!"
"No way!" the girl gasped as he brother laughed on the other end of the line.
"Yeah way! I know, I wasn't expecting it either, trust me."
"Hmm, did he start calling you any dog names yet?" Shizuka giggled, remembering what an issue it had been during their high school years, and how much it had annoyed her brother.
"No, actually, but knock on wood, will ya?"
"I don't understand though...when he saw it was you, why didn't he just turn around and leave?"
Jou frowned at that, wondering why he hadn't already considered that himself. "I dunno, you bring up a good question."
"Maybe he's finally growing up."
"Yeah, maybe."
"I think you both are."
"Alright, well I should go, if I want to finish this thing anytime soon." The blonde sighed, not wanting to end his conversation so short, but knowing it was for the best if he didn't want to be a walking Jou zombie in the morning.
"Okay, good luck brother."
"Thanks Shizuka, good night." The blonde placed the phone back down and turned his attention towards the recent bane of his existence. The mark he had left earlier could probably be erased, but he'd be taking much of the design around the area with it. Sighing, Jou ripped out the page and threw it on the floor with its brothers. Back to the drawing board.
The man behind the counter looked up to see a bleary eyed blonde swaggering into the shop almost an hour late, but he wasn't going to bitch about that, at least not today. "You look like crap," the man replied as he flicked some ash from his cigarette into a glass tray, the other hand holding a tall cup of his usual morning coffee.
"Yeah, well I'm no doctor, but I'm guessing it might have something to do with the fact that I was up all night." Jou grumbled as he took a seat by the counter, eyeing the man's coffee as if it was an elixir of the gods.
"Hn, really now? Keeping some interesting company lately?" the man leered as Jou glared up at him from underneath disheveled bangs.
"Shut up you perv, you know what I was doing," the blonde huffed, but quickly changed his tone as he smiled up at the older man. "So Kudo, would you be kind enough to let me have some of that?" He gestured over to the steaming cup.
"Hmm, what's the magic word?" Kudo grinned, picking up the cup and holding it out, but not yet offering.
Jou groaned. "Please?" The blonde's tune changed as the man gave him the coffee, and he began eagerly drinking it down, just barely managing to utter a small sound of thanks.
"It is my duty not only to teach you the mechanics of tattooing, but also ethics for your everyday life, such as politeness." Kudo spoke in a very sensei like manner, before scowling a second later. "Leave some for me will you? Damn!" the man hissed as he pried the cup out of the blonde's hand, offering him a donut instead, watching as it disappeared down the black hole known as Jounouchi's mouth. The man sighed, making a note to keep hands and feet away from the blonde at all times, before poking him in the shoulder. "So, did you finish the design?"
"Of course." Jou swallowed. "Did you think I would even bother showing my face here if I didn't?" He pulled out his art book and flipped through some pages, finding what he was looking for and handing it to his boss.
"Hmm...not bad." The man spoke slowly as he surveyed the drawing. "Do you think he'll like it?"
"He'd better," Jou snorted. "I mean, he should, it's exactly what he asked for. Of course, when it comes to Kaiba, one never really knows."
It had been a few of the longest hours of Jou's life, at least that's what it felt like as he waited for Kaiba. He hadn't really been nervous before, but after all the crap Kudo had been drilling in his head since he walked through the door, he sure as hell was now. 'The more people you work on, and the better job you do, the more customers you will receive. Imagine someone as well known as Seto Kaiba being your walking advertisement, your very own living billboard? This could be huge for you.'
Seto Kaiba was an important person, but he was also a very private person, Jou knew this. He doubted that anyone on the face of the planet was going to see that tattoo besides the two of them. Well, with the exception of Mokuba, maybe. Jou smiled at that thought, wondering how the kid was doing. Jou heard the familiar sound of the door opening and closing and quick, precise footsteps coming his way. He glanced up at the clock on the wall, seeing that it read 12:00, nothing more nothing less.
"Good morning Mr. Kaiba," Kudo greeted from behind the counter, and Kaiba nodded in recognition.
"Jounouchi, do you have what I requested?"
The blonde nodded and reached for the book lying on the counter, noticing the way his hands were shaking slightly and cursing himself for it. That was not a good quality for a tattoo artist to have after all, and he was really hoping Kaiba wouldn't notice. "Here you go." Jou showed him to the right page and watched tensely as the man blinked down with his unreadable face. It was a view of the dragon from the back, wings spread out on either side, head tilted to the side and bearing sharp teeth, and a long twisting tail behind, almost as though he was in flight. "Uh..." Jou cleared his throat when Kaiba still didn't say anything. "You see, the design is mostly symmetrical," he began to explain, "The body of the dragon will center on your spine, while the wings will began at each shoulder blade, and the tail will end somewhere on your lower back."
"Hn," Kaiba nodded, staring for a few more moments before he turned to Jou and handed him back the book. "I am impressed with you, for once." Jou frowned, as the brunette just had to add in that last bit of snark. "When can we start?"
"Start?" Was that a yes? That had to be a yes. Yes? "Well...I guess right now is fine." Seto nodded as he let Jou lead him to one of the private rooms in the back. Jou took one last look behind him, seeing his boss give him the 'thumbs up', before he closed the door. Jou adjusted the chair, similar to the kind most dentists used, to a position that would be right for Kaiba to lie face down. He looked up to see Kaiba still standing at the doorway with his arms crossed, seemingly taking in his surroundings cautiously. "Kaiba? Why don't you get comfortable while I prepare?"
"Fine." Kaiba walked towards the chair and smirked slightly as he noticed a few stuffed animals near by.
"You should take it off."
"What?"
Jou chuckled slightly as he pulled out the approved design, slipping it into the machine that somewhat resembled a photocopier. "Your shirt."
"Of course, I'm no fool, I just couldn't hear you over that...machine." Kaiba replied, sounding like he had wanted to come off cold, but not exactly succeeding.
Jou smirked as he thought that perhaps he was nervous, being out of his element and in the hands of someone he once tortured. Now that he thought about it, he was beginning to wonder what was going on in the man's complex, mixed up mind.
"This will probably take a few days to complete. Today I will be doing the basic outline," Jou informed him as he pulled out the slick sheet from the stencilling machine that held the dragon about to be applied to Kaiba's skin.
"I understand," the brunette said as he pulled his shirt over his head, folding it neatly before walking over to the chair.
Jou turned to see the pale, lean back turned to him, a perfect blank canvas. He felt a sort of strange tingling sensation in the tips of his fingers, aching to grab the first needle he saw and get to work. Part of him, the vengeful part, was eager to cause the great Seto Kaiba some amount of pain, a bit of well-earned pay back. The other part, the dirty, sadistic part, couldn't wait to mar that perfect rich boy skin, putting the brunette completely at his mercy. "Just relax." Jou spoke as he watched Kaiba get settled in, lying on his stomach with his head resting on folded arms. "I promise it won't hurt too badly."
"I'm not afraid of the pain."