Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!
Title: Broken Wings
Author: Yugi's Tenshi
Beta: Leeann Shadowdancer
Rating: R
Warning: Shonen-Ai (maybe Yaoi in later chapters), bad language
Pairing: Kaiba Seto / Jounouchi Katsuya
Summary: One day Katsuya becomes so upset in one of his fights with Kaiba that he tells him
his deepest and most zealously kept secret: Jou likes Kaiba! Seto turns on the spot
and leaves Jou in the middle of the street. What might Fate have up her sleeve for
the both of them?
-.- Chapter Three -.-
The door opened slowly, revealing an aged man in a perfectly tailored suit. His stout figure moved through the brightly lit room until he stopped in front of a desk. Mountains of books were strewn over it, almost hiding the delicate, young boy hunched over the tabletop, head resting on his small arms, fast asleep. His silky bangs gently stroked his face caressing the closed eyelids as his chest rose and fell with his soft and steady breathing.
A wicked smirk crossed the old man's face. With one swift motion he threw a heap of books to the ground and slammed his clenched fists hard on the desk starteling the boy into awareness. The child sat upright in his chair, eyes wide with shock and confusion, his little heart racing wildly. He looked up into raging eyes, his filling with fear.
"You lazy little piece of shit! What do you think I buy these books for! For you to fall asleep over them!"
The boy averted his gaze, training his eyes to the expensively carpeted floor. By now, he was shaking with terror and his words were barely audible. "N-no, sir," he forced out of quivering lips. "I'm s-sorry, f-father."
"Sorry?" The man snorted. "Sorry!" He leaned over the top of the desk, looming over the terrified child, and swung a fist at the boy's face, sending his little frame crashing into one of the large bookshelves behind him. The small form sunk to the ground, tears gathering in the corners of beautiful but now vacant eyes. But before they even had the chance to fall, the boy was picked up by the collar of his shirt and slammed into the shelve again, books falling to the ground and hitting his body in their way.
"I should have known better than to let you into my house! You are a pathetic, little weakling, you' re good for nothing! YOU ARE NOTHING!" With that the old man let the boy fall to the floor. In a low, yet amused voice he added, "Now, face your punishment, filthy little whore."
"N-no! Please don't do that!" The boy screamed in terror. "Please! I won't fall asleep again! Don't do that!"
The last thing Seto heard was a deep, throaty chuckle before his cloths were ripped from his small body.
"NOOOOOO!"
-.-.-.-.-.-
"NOOOOOO!"
Katsuya jumped at the soul-rattling scream, stopping in the middle of knocking at the door. His brown eyes had widened with confusion as the sound, only mildly muffled by the thick wood, reached his ears.
'What was that? Why would he yell like that?' He wondered.
"No! Please … stop! … Please!"
Katsuya bit his lower lip in thought, internally battling with himself whether to enter the office without permission or not. The decision, however, was taken out of reason's hands when another shocking scream reverberated through the closed door. Without further hesitation, much like a few hours earlier, he bolted through the barrier separating him from the other room. He ran across the huge study, stopping dead in his tracks at the sight presenting itself in front of him: Kaiba Seto trembled violently, his face constricting in what seemed like fear and pain. He was bathed in sweat and his breath came in ragged gasps.
Katsuya's heart stopped. Never had he seen or imagined to see Seto in such a vulnerable and fragile state. And he never wanted to experience that again. Taking a deep breath, he rushed around the table and tried to wake the other teen through lightly shaking him. No reaction. Katsuya attempted again, this time shaking a bit harder, but again nothing happened.
"C'mon, wake up! Hey!" Katsuya tried again, but was rewarded with only another scowl on Seto's pale face.
"Please stop it! I … No!"
Katsuya scrambled away a few steps, startled at the sudden shriek, "He has to wake up," he told himself, true concern in his expression. In a desperate effort, he tried to shake Seto awake one more time, but gave up when he realized this was definitely not going to help. Frantically looking around him, the only idea that struck him at the moment was to wake Seto with a loud noise. Not finding anything remotely looking like a pot – a typical Jounouchi Katsuya thought – he settled for clapping his hands. Moving in to stand directly beside Seto, he lifted both of his hands right beside the brunette's ear, clapping them repeatedly. When Seto began to stir out of his dream – 'Haunting nightmare,' Katsuya thought – said boy slammed his hands down on the tabletop beside the other, startling him wide awake. Seto sat upright in his chair, gaze clouded over and panic-stricken. He jumped to his feet, backing away from Katsuya until he hit a wall.
"Please, please don't hit me," he whispered, sliding down the wall and cowering into a protective ball. "Please."
To say Katsuya was shocked to the core would be a clear understatement. His eyes wide with confusion and concern, he stood rooted to the spot trying to comprehend what just happened. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and took a deep breath. How often he had done it that day, he had lost count. With as much calm as he could muster at the moment, he took a few hesitant steps towards Seto.
"I'm not going to hit you, I promise. I would never do that," he said in a soothing voice. Crouching down in front of the trembling CEO, he reached out to gently pry the other's hands away from the protective barrier they formed in front of his face. The soft touch caused an immediate reaction: Seto slung his arms around Katsuya's neck, holding on for dear life. He sobbed uncontrollably, tears running down his pale cheeks like waterfalls. Katsuya slowly closed his arms around the other's form, resting his head over Seto's. Slowly, his own tears started to fall, whether they were tears of confusion, relieve or sympathy, he didn't know or care.
After a while, Seto seemed to calm down, his breathing evening out and death-grip slightly loosening. Reason came back to him and in an instant he was on his feet, pushing a startled Katsuya away from him.
"What the hell are you doing here!" He demanded in a harsh tone.
Katsuya slowly stood, looking at him in disbelieve. He ignored the question all together, asking straight forward, "What just happened here?"
Seto closed his eyes, jaw clenching. He walked over to his desk sitting down in his chair and motioning for Katsuya to take one of the chairs in front of him. Like Katsuya before, he ignored the question and repeated his own, this time calmer, "What are you doing here?"
Katsuya sighed, 'He isn't going to tell me, then,' he thought. "I wanted to apologize. You know, for jumping in front of your car and everything." He fidgeted a bit, idly playing with his hands. "But I also wanted to tell you that I meant what I said back then. I am worried about you. And I really like you, even if you don't like me back. I didn't expect you to in the first place." He sighed again, averting his gaze to his lap, his voice becoming small and quiet with his next words. "Still, there is something I wanted to ask you, to tell you. I'm really tired of fighting with you all the time. I know you don't think so highly of me, but couldn't you just be a bit nicer and stop insulting me all the time?"
When he looked up, Katsuya expected to find icy, blue eyes gazing into his. The unaccustomed softness there startled him, making him blink for a moment. But when he looked again, the coldness had returned and left him to wonder if he had just imagined the gentle gaze.
"I believe you should leave now," Seto said, standing and motioning for the door.
At that moment, something in Katsuya broke. What, he didn't know, but it hurt. He forced a small, pained smile before he turned around and rushed towards the door. Without a word, he closed it behind himself.
However, what he didn't know was that Seto felt much the same. As soon as the door clicked, the boy closed his eyes, falling back into his chair as new tears streamed down his face.
"I really like you. You are a smart child, Seto," Gozabouru patted the child's shoulder as he took him to the private library for the first time.
-.- tbc -.-