Milk and White Chocolate
Notes: We're fast forwarding three weeks. Why? Because I was getting bored and a touch pressed for time. I want this done by the end of March, at least…
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Chapter Seven
Life Is Waiting For You
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Honda yawned and rolled out of bed, careful to avoid stepping on Jou who was sprawled out on the floor by his bed. It was around six in the morning, nearly time to wake up and go to school. The White Ball was tomorrow and Honda couldn't help but be…excited about it.
He wasn't sure what it was exactly but the past month had been…nice. Having someone pay attention to him and know things about him that no one except Jou could actually attest to was…different, but in a good way. A really good way. It made him feel special.
He climbed into the shower and turned it on, wincing at the icy spray. It slowly became warmer and he relaxed under it. The gifts had continued, one every day. They became less expensive and more small and sweet. A few even bordered on the amusing.
The Dummies Guide to Duel Monsters had gotten a laugh out of Jou to be sure and the 'I went to Duelist Kingdom and wasn't molested' bumper sticker had gone on his motorcycle the moment he'd pulled it from it's envelope.
The sweet gifts had included a pack of pencils with cartoon Harleys on them, a new tool kit (his was mismatched, collected from various places, and most were kind of old), a box of plain chocolate candy bars (as Honda didn't like to have his candy screwed around with) and a bag of those 'gourmet lollipops' the cheerleading squad kept tormenting him with. The damn things were five yen a piece, and probably cost a tenth of that to make, but he always ended up buying more than he could really afford during the squad fundraisers. They were just damn good.
He turned off the shower and groped around for a towel only to have one pushed into his hand. He peeked around the shower curtain and found a tired looking Jou standing there, rubbing one of his eyes with a fist and yawning. Honda was tempted to tell him how cute he looked but, in the interest of not being punched in the face, decided not to. He took the towel, wrapped it around his waist, and shuffled out.
His alarm must have gone off and woke the blond up.
Jou had been spending a lot of time at his place lately. He supposed it was because they were in that boat as far as this admirer thing went and it was kind of fun to sit around and compare gifts and speculate on who was sending them.
It was like old times, just sitting around, watching TV, eating junk and commenting on which actors were hot. …Well, that actors thing was new. They'd both talked about actresses before but Honda guessed it was because neither wanted the other to know he was gay. Only now that it was out he couldn't imagine why either had thought it'd be a problem.
They'd been friends forever after all. Honda loved Jou like he was the brother he'd always wanted…he couldn't believe he'd ever been scared of being rejected. Especially when you considered the gay to straight ratio of their little group.
Still he was worried. When White Day came and their admirers revealed themselves then what? He couldn't help but feel that he and Jou were closer now than they'd been before (and by before he meant the last couple years) and he wondered if this being over would mean things went back to the way they were before. No more nights at Jou's apartment, watching Mr. Jounouchi tease his son or late nights watching bad horror movies and ripping them apart or just…talking.
The really selfish part though was that most of all Honda was afraid of being alone again. After Jou had hit it off with Yugi and…well, replaced him he'd gotten used to be alone in his house most of the time, with only the creaking of the house and drone of the TV to keep him company. On the ultra-rare occasion his parents graced him with their presence the sounds of yelling replaced that of the creaking house.
He supposed they weren't bad people… They just didn't like each other. He had the strange feeling that if not for his being born when he was they would have given up on each other a long time ago. He was also pretty sure that they resented him. That whole stay together for the kids thing only made sense as long as you had kids living with you and as long as he was there, a reminder of how they were stuck together.
At least until he moved out.
Or maybe they resented him for never being what they wanted. They didn't take well with is interest in cars and motorcycles and mechanics in general, claiming it was a useless pursuit. They were on his case about his less than stellar grades (which weren't even that bad) and his scruffy friends (Jou) and how he'd never make anything of himself. They had very traditional ideas of what was right and what a man was supposed to amount to in his lifetime. He got a tedious blue-collar job, married an 'average' woman, and put food on the table for his family.
His father was that to an extent. He'd be the cookie cutter image if not for all of the traveling he did. His mother didn't work exactly. She was his father's secretary but Honda knew for a fact she couldn't type to save her life. She had a teaching degree but hadn't actually taught since she'd had her first child.
Woman needed to stay at their husbands' side, raise the children, smile prettily, and then shut up. More or less.
He wouldn't say his sister followed that example per se, but she was closer to it that Honda was to the one he was supposed to follow.
He knew if he came out to his parents they wouldn't approve, he knew it. He wasn't sure how far their disapproval would go but when they'd found out he'd only applied for Domino Community College he'd gotten a very angry phone message.
Finding out he was gay might actually prompt a trip home.
"Oh be still my beating heart." He muttered while pulling on his shoes in irritation.
"Are you talking to yourself?" Jou asked while walking into the room. He was mostly dressed, missing only his jacket, socks, and shoes. His hair clung to his skin wetly and he still looked only half-awake.
"Not that I'm telling you about." Honda said with a grin. "I was just thinking."
"Bout?" Jou flopped onto the heap of covers that passed for his bed lately. He reached for his bag and extracted some socks.
"Parents." Honda didn't miss the shadow that passed through his friend's eyes and smiled almost gratefully. He wasn't sure he was happy that Jou was harboring hatred for his parents on his behalf, but for some reason it made him feel a little bit better.
"Don't." Jou frowned at a hole in his sock intently. "They aren't worth the time it takes to stress yourself out over them, trust me."
"Easy for you to say." Honda sighed and slumped over. "Your dad loves you regardless. My parents can barely stand me as is."
"Because they're idiots, plain and simple." Jou pushed himself onto his knees and poked Honda in the leg. "It they were worth a damn they'd know what a great guy you are, period. And they don't, so they aren't. Simple."
"It's going to come out eventually. 'Especially if I end up snagging some rich boyfriend at the ball." He tried to make his tone teasing but to his ears it just sounded kind of whiney.
"So what. If they don't like it they can fuck themselves. You can always stay with me and dad. It's cramped and everything but…it works okay." He shrugged then stood up and held out a hand for Honda. "You know you're always welcome."
"Thanks man." He muttered, accepting the hand. Jou flashed him a thousand-watt smile and all of the tension kind of drained away. He shook his head, wanting to laugh at the idea of being worried about being alone. Jou was more loyal that most (and his friend would hate to hear this) dogs. Even if Honda wanted to be rid of him for some strange reason it wouldn't happen.
Jou smiled again. "So. What're you making for breakfast?"
"You're such a mooch." Honda muttered taking a playful swipe at Jou. The blond just smirked before following him in the general direction of the kitchen. He opened the cupboard and looked between a box of pancake mix and a box of coco puffs. He was sorely tempted to take down the cereal and leave it at that.
Then the doorbell chimed. Jou blinked then moved from his place at the kitchen table, presumably to find out who was there. Honda decided on the pancake mix and took it down. He was heating up the griddle and poking around for the syrup when Jou came back, a box in hand.
He arched an eyebrow.
The admirer strikes again. A six-thirty in the morning no less. He set the syrup on the table and picked up the bowl of batter.
"What's in the box?" He asked over the hiss of battering meeting hot pan.
"A kitten."
He almost dropped the bowl. "A what!"
"A kitten. You know a baby cat."
Honda finished what he was doing then walked over to his friend. The box was sitting on the table and, now that he was looking at it, he saw there were circular holes, about big enough for his finger to poke through, all around the top of the sides. He looked inside and met bright hazel eyes.
He pulled back and stared at Jou. "It's a kitten."
"Yep." Jou nodded. "There's a whole punch of other stuff at the door. Litter, scratching post, collar, toys, food, dish…you know, all of that good stuff."
"Jou." He said slowly. "It's a kitten. It's…alive."
"I've noticed."
"I…it's…I was never allowed to have pets." He finished lamely. "My parents never trusted me to take care of anything without them around to supervise."
They'd never had much faith in his ability to do much of anything now that he thought about it. Even Jou had gotten a goldfish when he was younger. (He wasn't allowed anything bigger than that in his apartment building unfortunately.) It had only lived around six months but it was the thought that counted and…well it was a goldfish. They weren't built to last.
"Because they're so good at taking care of things. Flip the pancakes."
"Wha…oh. Okay."
He flipped them over, managed to burn himself, and sighed. He was being stupid. It was just a cat. And it wasn't like he could keep it. His mother was allergic to dander (whatever the hell that was) which had just been another reason he couldn't keep a pet.
He finished the cooking and set a plate in front of Jou before sitting down with his own. A soft mewl came from inside of the box. He peeked in again. The cat was black in color, save a gray patch around his eye, covering his front left paw, and the tip of his tail. Hazel eyes peered back at him almost pitifully. It was small, very small. Maybe just big enough to have left its mother.
It was very…cute.
"I think it's hungry." Jou observed around a mouthful of food. "You should feed him."
"What makes you think it's a him?"
"Says so on his papers. He's had all of his shots, left its mother two weeks ago, likes the wind in his hair, gourmet lollipops, and long walks on the beach at sunrise." Honda looked up with a sharp glare. Jou just smirked. "Kidding. You should probably give him some milk. Bowl's in the hallway."
Honda nodded and stood up. True to Jou's word he found two new silver bowls sitting next to bag of kitten food. (It said it was made especially for kittens at least) and a bunch of other stuff. He grabbed the bowls and the food then headed back for the kitchen.
"What're you going to name it?"
"Name it?" Honda shook his head. "I can't keep it Jou. I'm not allowed to keep pets, for one, and my mother is allergic."
"So what? Your mother is never here and it's not like he'll be in your parent's bedroom or anything to shed or leave hair or…whatever it is. And…well, what your parents don't know won't hurt you."
"Oh come on." He placed the bowl with milk into the box. The kitten pounced on it, almost following into the bowl. Honda snorted. "I've never even taken care of anything before. What if I kill it? And what do I need a pet for anyway? I have you."
"Oh, real funny man." Jou rolled his eyes then offered an envelope towards him. "From your admirer I presume."
"Obviously." Honda accepted the envelope then flipped it open. There was the usual note inside. He took it out and let his eyes drift over the words almost warily. Why did this guy think he needed a pet? Did he strike him as the 'pet owning' sort of guy or something?
Maybe he didn't know him that well.
H,
I thought you might like a little company. Hopefully he'll keep you from ever being lonely.
Can't wait to see you,
S.A.
He blinked at the note. Read it twice. Then placed it on the table and raked a hand through his hair. He peeked into the house again in time to see the kitten yawn and lick its face and paws clean of the milk he'd gotten on them. Then it looked up at Honda.
He reached into the box carefully and the kitten bounded over. It sniffed his hand then bit down on his finger lightly. He winced lightly at the needle sharp teeth. The kitten then licked his finger and put its paws into his hand.
"I think he likes you." Honda swallowed then put his other hand in and lifted the small cat out. He set it in his lap and continued to stare at it. "What're you going to do with him?"
"I think I'll name him Ace."
He could picture Jou's confused blink in his mind. "I thought you weren't keeping him."
"Changed my mind." He said softly, running a finger over the kittens back. It yawned again then curled in his lap, tiny claws digging into his skin slightly, before closing its eyes.
He didn't like to think of himself as overly emotional or sentimental or easily moved or…any of those things but he didn't think he'd ever gotten something more…thoughtful than this in his entire life.
"…are you going to cry? Because that would be creepy."
He smiled at his friend and wiped at his eyes just in case. "No bud, I'm not. Finish eating so we can get going okay?"
"Uh. Sure." Jou still looked confused.
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Lunch rolled around and, for the fourth day in a row, Otogi and Seto were suspiciously absent. Honda was resolutely not thinking about it. He was still hoping that SA was Otogi but if he was…well, he wasn't going to be completely crushed.
Whoever this guy was Honda was starting to fall for him. Hard.
"Is he okay?" Yugi asked gesturing in his direction. Jou nodded.
"He's fine. SA sent him a kitten and he's been starry eyed ever since."
Bakura and Marik both perked up at the news. (It was funny how Yami was the only spirit enrolled at school but those two always seemed to be around at lunch time and during gym class.) Honda noticed the mildly sadistic gleam in their eyes and glared.
"If you so much as think about touching my cat I will make it so you're never able to use your dicks for anything except pissing. Are we clear?"
Being the sex obsessed little bastards that they were they exchanged wary looks and then nodded their agreement to his terms, as it were.
"We won't touch."
"Good." With that he returned back to his earlier activity of poking the brown jello-like mass that was his lunch with a fork.
"A kitten?" Anzu asked, grinning. "That's so cute."
Honda glared at her from the corner of his eye. Okay, so yes he'd called Ace cute but that was different because it had been in his head and it was his cat so he could do that. She, on the other hand, could not. People might hear her and he couldn't have people thinking he did 'cute'. Yugi and Ryou did cute; Malik sometimes did cute…but never him.
He was manly.
Usually.
