Chapter 9: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

The doorbell rang and Jounouchi stood waiting, a slight look of irritability on his face. How could he have been so stupid? Oh, Kaiba was definitely in for it. He would give him a piece of his mind. Of course... this had to happen on the day he invited Malik and Bakura over.

...Perfect.

The doorbell rang again and Jounouchi walked over and opened it. As luck would have it, the chain was on, so when he prepared to open the door with all of the anger and force he could muster, he only ended up scaring himself when the door caught and he tripped, falling right into his plant that sat close by.

"Of all the things," he mumbled, standing up and resuming his sturdy posture. "Kaiba... how nice to see you again." He looked anything but pleased as he stared through the small crack.

"When people want to see people," Kaiba started, "They don't leave the chain on the door."

Jounouchi blinked. "Duh. I'm mad at you." So much for his planned speech. "What do you want?"

Kaiba gave him a look worse than death. "Have you somehow degraded into an even more stupid idiot since I've been gone? I honestly didn't think that was possible."

"Excuse me?" the blonde said in disbelief. "I thought we had agreed that you would quit with the mean comments."

"We never agreed on anything except the fact that I would come back tonight... and it looks like we didn't even agree on that." He turned as though it were nothing, "I'll just go."

God! As much as Jounouchi hated it, seeing Kaiba's retreating back made him feel awful! How did that work? Jounouchi wasn't the bad guy here... right?

"Kaiba, wait." Undoing the chain, Jounouchi pulled the door open the rest of the way. "Come in."

Kaiba let out a sigh and faced him. "Listen, I know your mind works slowly, but in the future, I hope you'll be more quick to make up your mind."

The blonde faked a smile as Kaiba passed him into the apartment and as soon as he wasn't looking, he stuck his tongue out at him.

"You know," the demon sat leisurely on the couch, "The tongue can be used for many things; talking, in particular...It'd be a shame for you to lose it."

Jounouchi gawked. "How dare you! Is that a threat?" How the hell did he know?

"Interpret it as you wish. Now, would you mind explaining why you've been eyeing me crossly ever since you opened the door?"

The funny thing was, Jounouchi had almost forgotten he was even mad at him at all.

"Right," he cleared his throat. "Thank you for coming, first of all."

Kaiba looked at him like he was slow... Slow of mind, that is. "Okay... And?"

"And you are a liar!"

"A liar," Kaiba repeated calmly. "How so?"

"I asked you where you lived and you told me "downstairs". Well, I decided to ask the landlord if there was anyone by the name "Kaiba" living here and he said no! So, I'll ask you this- Who are you really?" He picked up a baseball bat that he had ready, "And you'd better tell me the truth!"

Kaiba smirked, though it was small, and, in one suave motion, stood. Walking the few steps it took to reach Jounouchi, he was pleased to see the blonde falter and drop the bat. How funny. Even on earth people feared him. Though Jounouchi, well, Jounouchi didn't quite fear him. Yes, there was slight apprehension, but the rest was uncertainty on his own part. It was almost cute.

"Listen Jounouchi," his expression was grave, "I never lied to you. If there's one thing about me that's true, it's that I always tell the truth."

"Then that's a lie too!" Sure, Jounouchi appeared calm under Kaiba's intense cobalt stare, but he was anything but. Why had he dropped the bat? His one method of self-defense might as well have gone out the window! Maybe he could lean down and try to get it? Yeah, he could distract Kaiba and get it back!

"A lie? My god, you are hard to deal with." Turning, he crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything." Now was Jounouchi's chance! Slowly, he began to lean down.

"Be specific," he said, aggravated.

"Real name?"

"Kaiba."

"Family?"

"None."

"Home? And none of that downstairs stuff. I want the truth." He started to reach for the bat.

"The truth? You couldn't handle it."

"I could too! There's no place that you could tell me that would freak me out."

Kaiba arched a brow. "I highly doubt that."

"Okay, then..." If he could distract him with one more question, then the bat would be his! Then he'd like to see Kaiba try and threaten him again. "...Any relationships?"

Kaiba was suddenly still. "...Only one..."

He hadn't noticed it, but his voice came out as nothing more than a whisper. Jounouchi noticed it though, and suddenly, reaching for the baseball bat didn't seem all that important. In the short time he had known Kaiba, he hadn't seen him express any emotion, save for skepticism directed toward him, but just then... just when he had spoke... there was sadness.

"...Who-"

"No more questions," Kaiba cut him off.

Jounouchi stood back up. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't worry about it. The last thing I need is your pity."

Ouch, that almost hurt. Jounouchi had even slightly cringed. Why did Kaiba so enjoy putting him down. It really did make him feel bad. How ironic was it that the person who had saved him from ending his own life made him feel like shit?

"Don't take it so personally, Jounouchi," Kaiba looked at him finally. "I just don't want to talk about it. Ever."

Jounouchi avoided his gaze, partly because he felt upset, and partly because he felt so inferior. But, when Kaiba reached up touched his hair, he almost felt his heart skip, which was, in short, very odd. He really wanted to question the matter, but when he opened his mouth, all that came out was "Uh..."

Jounouchi had this strange feeling Kaiba might pet him, but that wasn't quite what happened. Was he playing with his hair? No, Kaiba wasn't that type. Wait, was he trying to show some type of apology maybe? Doubtful.

"Here," Kaiba pulled a leaf from his golden locks. "I assume you picked this up when you showed your graceful footwork at the door."

Jounouchi blushed and grabbed the leaf. "Gosh! Next time please make it clear what you're doing."

"What did you think I was going to do? Play with your hair? Please..."

"I thought you were apologizing," the blonde said sternly.

Kaiba scoffed. "If I were going to apologize, I definitely wouldn't treat your hair as an ecological vending machine."

"I bet you don't even know how to apologize."

"Anyone can."

"Show me."

"Show you?" Kaiba said unbelievingly. "Are you kidding?"

"No," he answered determinedly. "I want you to show me what you would do if you were to apologize properly."

At about this time, Kaiba was wondering why he had stopped Jounouchi from killing himself. He sure wouldn't have had to go through this nonsense.

"You want me... to show you how I would apologize?" he inquired.

"Yes."

"Very well." Kaiba sighed. "First, you'd have to be standing about here..." His hands rested on Jounouchi's waist as he pulled the blonde much closer to him, "Like this. Then, I'd tilt your face toward mine..." He held Jounouchi's chin in his hand and leaned his face up towards his own, "Like this." He paused slightly, "No, this won't work. Your hands have to rest on my shoulders."

Jounouchi swallowed hard as he raised his hands up and laid them gently on Kaiba's shoulders. Why was this so hard for him? That question really bothered him. Even the firm grip of Kaiba's hands on his waist...it was giving him butterflies. "...Like this?"

Kaiba nodded. "Perfect. Actually, I'd probably be holding you a little bit closer..." He pulled Jounouchi so he was practically flush against him. "Like this. I think that's everything..."

Funny. Right now the apology didn't seem so important. Kaiba almost felt like he wanted to... well, like he wanted to kiss Jounouchi. It was odd too. Watching the blonde grow up made him feel almost like a brother to him; he'd never felt anything more than ownership and responsibility for him. But now... Now he was willing to see what it would be like to kiss him. When had his feelings ever changed?

Leaning down, almost as if by some other force, it was only natural that their faces came closer and closer.

Jounouchi, on the other hand, was panicking! What exactly was happening? The crazy thing was, he wasn't panicking because Kaiba was about to kiss him, he was panicking because he couldn't bring himself to draw away. But those eyes, it was almost as if someone had plucked sapphires from the sky and gifted them to him. What a dangerous gift they were, though. Suddenly, Jounouchi actually felt like a girl about to be kissed for the first time.

One more second, and there would have been contact, but it just so happened that there was a knock at the door. All contact was terminated, and I mean all contact. Jounouchi took a sudden step back, his hands held behind him. Kaiba was more suave about it, simply running a hand through his hair and letting out a sigh.

"I should get that," Jounouchi mumbled. "The other guests have arrived."

"Other guests?" Kaiba questioned. "What other guests?" He had really fancied spending the evening alone...

"Oh, I forgot to mention it." He headed towards the door. "I'll have to introduce you."

Bakura and Malik waited outside the door; Malik was calm and collected, but Bakura was most impatient. Malik had noticed it lately, too. Bakura didn't like to wait for anything whether it was a person, an inanimate object- particularly a stove. He was always rushing.

"Typical human being," Malik muttered.

"What?" Bakura asked.

"Oh, nothing," he smiled. "I wonder what's taking Jounouchi?"

"Or who," he smirked.

"Don't be so crude!"

"Sorry hun'," he shrugged. "It's my nature."

While Bakura looked confident and prepared on the outside, he was anything but. How was he going to pull this off? Kaiba was in there at that exact moment and he was somehow going to have to get them through dinner without him seeing Malik? Was that even possible? He needed to buy more time, but no! The doorknob was turning.

"I'm sorry I took so long," Jounouchi smiled amicably when the door had opened.

Bakura raised a brow. "Preoccupied?"

"Heh, you could say that. Please come in. The food should be about ready." Stepping aside, he waited until Malik and Bakura were inside before closing the door. "Oh," he said looking around. "I guess he's not back yet."

"Who?" Malik inquired.

"Someone I want you both to meet. He's very... well, he's not the cheeriest fellow you'll ever meet, but he's amusing."

"He's definitely amusing, all right," Bakura said inaudibly. "Marik would die to be in my shoes right now."

"I'm so glad you finally met someone," Malik said, a smile on his face.

"Oh, we're... not together or anything."

Malik blinked. "Oh... it's just that you seemed so happy and all."

"Yes, well, I'm just so glad you two are here. Please have a seat the kitchen table."

Bakura was about to pull out a chair when he saw the doorknob begin to turn. "Actually, Malik really needs to freshen up a bit."

"I do?" Malik asked, very confused.

The door began to open and Bakura grabbed Malik by the wrist and dragged him into the nearest room.

Kaiba closed the door behind him. "I thought you said that the guests were here."

"They are," Jounouchi stated. "They're freshening up."

"Together?"

"Yes, together."

"...Okay then."

"Just take a seat at the table. I'll set it in the meantime."

"Well, I should help."

"No, I'm fine."

"No really," Kaiba insisted calmly. "It's the courteous thing to do."

Jounouchi almost wanted to laugh. "Since when are you courteous?"

"Since when can you do anything without screwing it up? Just let me help." He went to pick up the bowl of mashed potatoes.

"I can do it on my own." Jounouchi interceded and grabbed them.

Kaiba narrowed his gaze. "I honestly cannot believe you are being so immature about this. Just give me the potatoes."

Jounouchi held them closer. "No."

Kaiba latched onto the bowl as well. "Yes," he nearly growled.

"No!" he tried to pull them away.

Kaiba's grip was iron-hard. "Stop being such a child."

"Who's being the child?"

"Let go."

"You let go!"

Kaiba shrugged. "As you wish." Letting the bowl go suddenly didn't work out as either of them planned. Jounouchi had been gripping it so tightly that when Kaiba just let go, he pulled it right toward him and tripped, but in shock he too let go and the bowl went straight into the air. The mashed potatoes were practically catapulted straight out of the bowl as it began flipping in mid air, and of course, both Kaiba and Jounouchi were the first things they landed on.

The bowl did eventually land and Kaiba surprisingly caught it, but he was currently anything but pleased. The potatoes had somehow missed his clothes, but they were all over his face and hair.

Jounouchi wasn't any better. They were in his hair and face, and a little had even gotten on his clothes. How much worse could an evening get? "Well..." he wiped some of the potatoes from his eyes. "At least you saved the bowl..." He couldn't help but smile. "But, you look ridiculous."

"What, you mean this bowl?" Kaiba held the bowl out and let it all to the ground, smashing into tiny little pieces. Satisfied, he said, "Oops."

Jounouchi stopped laughing and looked at the remnants of the bowl, then back to Kaiba, and out of the blue... he started laughing. He found this all absolutely hysterical. "Aw don't take it personally, Kaiba," he said between laughs.

"I'm glad you find this funny," Kaiba said gravely. "Because I don't."

Jounouchi burst out into even more laughter at this. "You really need to lighten up! Laughter is food for the soul."

Kaiba thought this to be questionable. "Yeah, it's food for lunatics." But he was slightly displeased to see that Jounouchi only laughed harder. It was almost infectious. A part of Kaiba somewhere found some hilarity in the moment, but he couldn't bring himself to laugh. It looked so fun; to just be free and happy... but Kaiba had buried that part of him a long time ago.

Suddenly, Kaiba felt arms wrap around him and he saw that they were Jounouchi's. "What are you doing?"

"I'm giving you a hug."

"...Why?"

"You just look like you need one." He gave him a small smile. "Do I need a reason?"

"..." He had honestly wanted to say something, maybe "thank you", but the words wouldn't come out. Oh, what a wall he had built up. Not even he himself could break it down.

Malik abruptly came running into the room. "Is everything all right? We heard something shatter."

"Everything's fine," Jounouchi assured him. "We just had an accident out here."

Malik noticed then the potatoes that were everywhere. "I can see that. Are you both all right?"

"We're fine, just a little messy."

"Whoa, who decided to play dodgeball with dinner?" Bakura asked, entering the room.

"Actually, Bakura," said Jounouchi, "Would you mind setting the table while I clean up this mess?"

Bakura hated work, but said "Sure."

"And Malik, could you show Kaiba to the restroom and help him clean up?"

Malik was surprised at the name. He shared the same title as the Teller of Prophecies. What an odd coincidence. "Of course."

"Wait!" Bakura said suddenly. "Why don't I help Kaiba clean up?" This could turn out really bad.

"No," Malik waved it off. "I'll get a chance to know him better this way. I can hardly even tell what he looks like under all of those mashed potatoes." He placed a hand on Kaiba's arm. "This way."

And Bakura literally watched his life on earth walk away.

"Here we are..." Malik flipped the light switch on. Turning the sink knobs, he held a washcloth under the running water and held it to Kaiba. "Use this to clean off your face."

Kaiba took the small towel and cleaned his face off until no more of the food remained and he dropped it under the faucet to clean off.

"That's better," said Malik, "Now I can see your-" he suddenly paused, "-face..."

Kaiba remained composed. "I had a feeling it was you."

Malik was in shock. "You are the real Kaiba! The Teller of Prophecies!"

"Precisely. And you are Malik, and angel that should be in Heaven. Does anyone know you're here, little one?"

"I don't think that's important. Why are you here? Are you going to hurt Jounouchi?"

"I don't think that's very important either. Just know that your friend will remain unharmed... as long as you remain quiet about my being here, that is."

"Of course! But you in turn must do the same. Bakura doesn't know I'm an angel. Please don't tell him; I don't know how a human would take it. I'd have to go home right away for sure!"

"A human?" he said, somewhat confused. "You mean-" realization sunk in, "Bakura... Then you don't know..."

"Know what?"

"Never mind, it's not important. Your secret is safe with me."

"As is yours."

"Thank you so much!" Malik said, relieved, but Kaiba thought nothing of it. "When you're ready, come on out." Malik exited the lavatory and closed the door.

If anything, Kaiba was trying to save himself, not some blasted angel. Idiot Bakura didn't even know Malik's true identity, and vice versa. This was not good.

"Thanks for coming," Jounouchi said as he waved to Malik and Bakura, who were on their way out.

"Thanks for having us," added Malik. "We really appreciate it."

Bakura arched a brow, saying, "Speak for yourself," but only earned himself an elbow jab. In truth, he was curious... Kaiba hadn't seemed surprised at all when he saw that he was with Malik- a simple human. He hadn't said anything at all either. On the contrary, Kaiba acted as though it were normal, like it was an everyday routine. Why had he been like that? And more importantly... why exactly was he on earth?

Malik, of course, was wondering the same thing... But a more important question was on his mind...

Was it all right to leave Jounouchi alone with someone who had spilled the blood of countless demons? If Kaiba could kill his own kind, what would stop him from taking Jounouchi's life? And there was no telling what would set Kaiba off again.

Malik had this feeling that they might of just left Jounouchi with his own death...

oooTBCooo

Sorry this update was late. I was on a school retreat.

A more SxJ-centric chapter. The next one will be RxYM and possibly Yami and Yugi's first encounter. We'll see. Now that Spring Break has started, I hope to update again within the next week. Everyone, enjoy your break! (Mana, please leave your email in your review so I have it for next time.) Thanks!

AmethystRoze