Milk and White Chocolate
Notes: I just realized my summery is kind of confusing. Honda and Jou send Otogi and Seto gifts, as we've already seen, but Otogi and Seto seem to be with one another. But when Honda and Jou start getting mysterious gifts everything kind of goes wonky. Okay! On to the story.
Warnings: It goes angst, more angst, more angst, and then general silliness as provided by Yugi's thoughts on Bakura and Marik's craziness.
Chapter Three
Figured You Out
Jou was in the boy's bathroom, pacing the floor. He couldn't believe how stupid he'd been. To think that he, for any amount of time, had actually thought Kaiba might see his gift and like it. He was such an idiot. He should have known Kaiba didn't have the time to open all of his presents.
He couldn't even be mad at the brunette for it. He probably got millions of things from all around the world on this day, how could he expect him to go through them all? And even if he did there was no way his stupid little homemade gift would have impressed him.
He sighed and, ignoring how unsanitary this place was, slumped onto the floor and proceeded to sulk rather intently. He just couldn't think he'd even had a chance.
He looked at his hands, eyes taking in the small cuts and pinpricks. They seemed to glare at him against the tan of his skin, mocking him because of the effort he'd put in his little plan to 'win Kaiba's love'. Shit, even if he'd opened his gift, been impressed, and wanted to find out who'd sent it (And undoubtedly Kaiba could find out if he wanted to. He was Kaiba after all. Besides, it was fairly obvious when you thought about it.) the moment he found out it was Jou he'd probably laugh himself sick.
And that was assuming he wasn't disgusted at the prospect of another guy having a super huge and utterly pathetic crush on him.
He hadn't had a chance in hell.
And yet, and this was probably a testament to how truly pathetic he really was, he didn't regret it. He was just…sad and a little embarrassed about how foolish he was. But no regrets.
Besides, it wasn't often a guy learned to sew, right? Not that he would ever share that little skill with anyone. Except his sister of course, since she'd overseen the whole project, and Anzu who'd hounded him like crazy because he hadn't bought anything and she thought he was backing out.
Girls were funny actually.
The image of Shizuka and Anzu sitting on the floor of the apartment he and his father shared, each one clutching one of the plushies he'd made, looking like they were about to burst into tears was forever engraved on his mind. He, of course, had been horrified. He thought they were near crying because it was a terrible gift or he'd royal fucked up or something like that.
Then he'd been on his ass, under a pile of weeping female proclaiming what a fantastic guy he was and how Kaiba would be an idiot for not wanting him. Apparently girls really went for that homemade stuff. Which had been worrisome, because Kaiba was certainly no girl.
He'd been panicked for a moment wondering if it was a dumb idea. The whole being gay thing was confusing sometimes, beyond the part where he thought other guys were hot. He knew what you did for girls, he'd had it drilled into his head since puberty that you treated girls a certain way and gave them certain things and all of that good stuff.
Sadly no one had ever thought to tell him how to treat the guy that you had a crush on and what gifts to buy him when you wanted him to notice you. It was a shame really, considering the alarming gay percentage in Domino.
Gay Sex Ed should be a mandatory class.
He giggled at the thought then put a hand over his mouth to hide the aforementioned giggle because how unmanly was it to be sitting on the bathroom floor giggling. There was a light gasp and he looked up to see a wide-eyed freshman staring at him. Before the boy 'epped' and ran away.
Actually, he reasoned while tilting his head off to the side, it was probably more scary and disturbing that unmanly.
Oh well. It was about time he headed back anyway. He'd been hiding out in the bathroom since first period and it was nearly lunchtime. Broken heart or not, Jounouchi Katsuya never passed up a perfectly good lunch.
It was unheard of.
It was lunch and all save Anzu and Otogi were sitting at their usual table. Anzu of course had gone off with Mai and Otogi was…well they weren't sure where he was actually. Jou had popped up just in time to eat and seemed to have brightened considerably once Honda informed him that Anzu had forced Kaiba to open up one of his gifts.
Why exactly that had put him into such a good mood was lost on the rest of his friends, but Yugi was nothing if not determined to find out what exactly was going on.
"Hey Jou, you never told up who you went shopping for." He said as innocently as he could manage. Which, when you considered things, was pretty damn innocent.
Which, of course, Yugi wasn't thanks to Yami. But no one needed to know that. Sure, they all knew but they didn't need to know. Or at least that's what Ryou had told him once. Not that Yugi really understood what that meant.
Jou literally choked on his burger and Honda had to clap him on the back to keep the blond from keeling over or something of the like. Once Yugi was sure Jou was okay he turned to Honda and regarded him with the same look.
"Neither did you. Are you going to share?"
"Uhh…" Honda coughed and scratched the back of his head nervously. "Well you see…I…umm…Jou?"
The blond just shrugged. "None of yer business."
Yugi blinked, momentarily moved to complete silence. Yami, who'd been arguing with Bakura, seemed to be effected as well. Actually…everyone was. Yami, Bakura, Ryou, Marik, and Malik all turned to look at the three of them. Jou flushed a deep red and looked down at his hands while sinking steadily lower into his seat.
"Sorry Yug. It's just…private, ya know?"
"Okay." Yugi said quietly. He wasn't really offended, just a little surprised. And he was kind of hoping the cute wounded puppy dog eyes would win Jou over. The blond just smiled at him weakly then looked back down at his tray.
Seeing Jou was a lost cause Yugi looked over at Honda, hoping to break the brunette. Honda had always been a bit of a softy when it came to refusing to tell him things. But after a few moments he found that he was having a very hard time catching Honda's eye. For a brief second he thought Honda was avoiding his gaze
The he realized Honda, and now Jou, were staring at something very intently. He arched an eyebrow then turned and couldn't help but let out a noise of surprise. Seto and Otogi were sitting at Seto's usual table and talking about something.
This wasn't odd, as they headed rival companies and frequently talked 'shop'. The odd thing was how close they were sitting and the way Otogi's body was turned towards Kaiba and his head tilted off to the side while he twirled a lock of hair around his finger. A small smile quirked his lips. Even more startling was the smile on Kaiba's lips. Not a smirk or a mocking grin like he normally wore, but a soft thoughtful smile.
Plus he didn't seem to notice that Otogi's knees were brushing his. Kaiba hated psychical contact and frequently bailed on gym to avoid being touched by others. But now…
Wow.
"I didn't know Otogi and Kaiba were dating." Marik said, looking genuinely put out. Ryou arched an eyebrow as if to ask 'And You care Why'. Marik pushed his imitation potatoes and gravy (which Jou swore was made from bark and squirrel) around on his tray. "If I had known I would have prepared a fittingly humiliating coming out for the Priest. Maybe sold some pictures to the Enquirer."
Malik frowned at his dark. "You ever think maybe that's why you didn't know about it?" Marik blinked, looking confused. The Egyptian sighed. "Never mind yami."
Yugi shrugged some while reaching for his sandwich. (He packed his lunch because there was something about school lunches that was just…sick and unnatural. That was probably why only the yamis and Jou were able to eat it six days a week and never fall ill.)
"I think it's nice. Kaiba could use someone other than Mokuba in his life. He's so stressed out all of the time and Otogi's a lot more relaxed." He paused to take a bite before continuing. "And they have a lot in common. I'm happy for-"
"Fuck!" Jou swore loudly and drew the attention of everyone in the cafeteria. Even Otogi and Kaiba turned and peered their way curiously. Jou seemed oblivious however and slammed his head down on the table. He was still for a moment then, as if he thought it had been a good idea the first time, preceded to slam his head on the table repeatedly.
Honda's lips curved into a smile that could only be called pitying. He took Jou by the shoulders and, pointedly ignoring everyone, hauled the blond to his feet.
"Com'n. We can hang out at my place."
Jou nodded and shoved his hands into his pockets. He grabbed his stuff and, with a slight nod towards them, slunk off, head down. Yugi blinked with wide eyes then looked up at Honda who was looking towards Seto and Otogi again. Yugi looked as well and watched as they watched Jou leave the cafeteria before turning back to each other and resuming their conversation.
"Honda-"
"We'll see you guys later. Have a nice holiday." Honda's smile just seemed sad now. He grabbed his stuff and followed after Jou, leaving his other friends to stare.
"I'm confused." Ryou said finally while running his fingers through his hair. "Why're Jou and Honda so upset?"
"Don't know. Jou's been weird all day though." Malik said with a shrug. "Maybe it rubbed off onto him."
"Perhaps they are each others…what do you call it: Valentines?" Yami suggested. Yugi considered that and thought maybe it had a little merit. It didn't really explain Jou's erratic behavior though: Storming out of class and cussing.
"Maybe only on is the other's Valentine." Ryou suggested. "I mean…Jou seems upset. Maybe he gave a gif to Honda but Honda gave one to someone else."
Yugi found himself chewing on his bottom lip. It was a nervous habit he'd banished years ago, about the time he'd first met Yami, but the prospect of Honda hurting Jou, even if it was accidental, was driving him to do it again. Yami's hand touched his back and he turned to see the former pharaoh smiling at him gently, silently telling him to calm down.
"I'm sure if that's the case he and Honda will be able to sort it out." Yami said more to his light than to the rest of the table.
"You people are such fools." Bakura muttered. He sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "It's obvious what's going on but none of you can see what's going on with two of you alleged best friends. I'm amazed you can even get dressed in the morning."
Yami's calm and soothing demeanor vanished the moment the thief opened his mouth and he looked an instant away from lunging and trying to throttle the albino.
Ryou intervened. "You see something we don't 'Kura?"
"Of course. I'm a thief; nothing gets past me. It's all about body language. Helps me figure out whose dumb enough to be pick pocketed, whose hiding something and just waiting to be blackmailed…that sort of thing."
Ryou's lips twitched disapprovingly but he didn't comment. Instead he put his hands on Bakura's arm and scooted his chair a little bit closer before pouting cutely and batting his eyes. Yugi swore he could see the hamster in Bakura's head pause, look, sigh, and climb off the wheel to take a nap.
Then again the idea of a hamster in Bakura's head was laughable since Bakura and Marik liked to torture small woodland creatures. Not that a hamster was a woodland creature but the basic idea still stood. Maybe it was an evil hamster trying to take over the world.
…He was beginning to sound like Marik and the evil squirrels trying to achieve world domination theory he used to defend his cruelty to animals.
"Could you share with us?"
Bakura swallowed. "Maybe. What do I get?"
Ryou tilted his head off to the side then his eyes glazed over in a manner that told Yugi that he was speaking to Bakura privately.
And he took back that earlier thing. Now the hamster had stopped, but only to kick the part of Bakura's brain that controlled his libido to life. Ryou would probably laugh at the idea of Bakura ever not being horny. Yugi would have to share that with him.
A wicked grin curved Bakura's lips before he nodded. "I'll make you a deal. One week. No one figures out what's eating at the mutt and biker-boy and I'll be happy to take you up on your offer."
Ryou looked at Yugi as if asking if that was acceptable. Before he could answer however Yami (and his clinically competitive nature) jumped in.
"You're got a deal Tomb-Robber. In one week's time I'll have figured out why Jou and Honda are acting so oddly."
Bakura smirked. "Whatever you say Pharaoh."
Yugi sighed and shook his head. Yami was so predictable. He didn't even know when Bakura was playing with him.
Jou leaned against Honda with a frown. The other boy gave no indication that he minded, or even knew Jou was there, as he continued to flip through the channels of the TV. Jou couldn't help but notice that he wasn't really watching the screen but rather was staring at some point on the wall.
This was depressing.
As if hearing his thoughts Honda shifted and a muscular arm came around his shoulders and pulled him closer to the brunette.
"Hey, we've always got each other."
Jou couldn't help but smile even though Honda couldn't see it. That was true. If nothing else he always had his best friend. Even when he'd been closer to Yugi than to Honda, back when their lives were rampant with mystical happenings and evil people trying to kill everyone, the brunette had always been around when he needed him.
And now that Yugi was with Yami and seemed to be growing closer to Malik and Ryou they were growing closer again, getting back to that place they'd been before the world had gone haywire around them. He knew that Honda would be around simply because he was Honda. He wasn't always the brightest bulb in the pack, not that Jou was exactly a genius either, but his heart was always in the right place.
"Yeah." A long pause and then he tilted his head back to smirk at his friend. "That's just a little bit sad isn't it?"
"No." Honda threw the remote on the floor with a frustrated sigh. "It's a lot pathetic. But we'll deal. It's what we do."
He nodded and then asked the question that'd been on his mind since lunch. "Do you think Yug was right? Do they make a good couple?"
"They're a lot a like. Stubborn. Need to be in control of everything. As Anzu would say, Seme To the Core." Honda shrugged slightly. Jou could almost see Anzu's bright smile in his mind. Honda had a point. "I can't see it. I think they'd kill each other before one could give over control enough for the other to be comfortable."
"You saying we're girly?"
Honda twitched. "No. I'm saying we aren't total and complete pig-headed assholes with no concept of compromise."
"Ah." Honda had a point there as well. Maybe he was severely underestimating his friend's intelligence. "That they are."
"Which makes us even more pathetic."
"Yep."
Rachi: I'm glad you get it. It's always nice when people get the 'vision'. And Seto's a bastard and refuses to tell what was in the box. The best we can do are Jou's little hints. Sorry.
Shadow of Light: Mai/Anzu is my favorite yuri pairing as well. And I know, Honda's gift made me go Oo and wonder why my boyfriend never got me anything so nice… eh. What Yami and Bakura got shall be revealed soon. Yugi's gift is a bit pervy, but Ryou's is 'innocent'. Kind of…
Jade: That is the question on everyone's mind.
Kupo: Maybe as a side story I'll do Mai and Anzu's date. It's something to consider…though, since I'm a guy…and gay…I'm not sure I could do a lesbian date justice. But I would try.
Thanks folks and don't forget to press the review button. I must forge ahead to chapter four!
