Disclaimer: Unless Tristan/Ryou(aka, Protectshipping) becomes canon, and Seto Kaiba gets the hots for Tristan, then I'd probably be the owner, but seeing as they aren't and he doesn't(yet, heh), then that means, YGO! and its characters aren't mine.
Warnings: OOC-ness, if the concept bugs you, I apologize... It's Kaiba, he's hung-over, so there's some mild language too... and Shounen-ai! It's all good! Well, not the writing anyways, but whatever(shrugs). Stubbornshipping, and Shrimpshipping, sorry, heh.
(salutes) I made a deal, this time with Star-chan. And there were a few that enjoyed this, and asked for me to finish it properly... so yep yep, here it is, more or less... and I also say thanks to the reviewers. Soo, thanks much, mucho gracias, arigatou gozaimasu, spasee'bah, and shukran... yep, and all that jazz... oh yeah, and I apologize, and say thanks, for tolerating this final chapter (bows then flees)
Seto swallowed thickly, feeling nausea swirling in his stomach. And his head was killing him. No way in hell were his mirgraines this painful. He soon realized he was in the familiar territory of his bedroom, since he recognized the bed's level of softness; and he silently thanked the interior decorator who gave him heavy dark drapes, since they were keeping the sun's rays out. He was certain opening his eyes would spell certain doom...
... Well, maybe not so much doom, but Seto was feeling like hell, so he could think what he wanted.
Then the sound of the door opening then closing, as someone walked in. There was a soft rattling, which prodded Seto's curiousity a bit. "You don't strike me as the type to sleep the day away..." the person said quietly, standing beside the bed.
Oh no, the last thing he wanted was a lecture... Seto groaned, pulling a pillow over his head, "I don't... but I have the right this time..." His words died in his throat, the voice's familiarity seeping through his fuzzy, pain-addled brain. "Are you who I think you are?"
"Are you hung-over?"
"... Nnnnnh... Yes... Gods, shoot me! There's a gun downstairs in the den," Seto griped, forgetting his earlier question. "Top drawer on the right."
To the redhead's amazement, he heard him chuckle in amusement. "I don't think I need to go that far... Mokuba's a little worried, so maybe you should make a quick appearance."
"Light's bad."
"Light's good."
"Light kills..."
The person almost laughed, but quickly cleared his throat. "Kaiba, seriously... you'll feel a little better if you eat something, and take some aspirin. I'm guessing you didn't eat anything yesterday, seeing as you got wasted so fast."
Seto held up his index finger, in triumph. "Shows what you know...!" he said, his voice muffled by the pillow. "I ate lunch yesterday... oww..." he groaned again, pushing the pillow down against his head. "Shoot me..!" he was just plain whining now. Not that he cared.
"... You're completely different in the privacy of your room, you know that?"
"It's my room... who's going to see me?" mumbled Seto.
"I'm seeing you."
"Tristan..?" Seto decided it was time to confirm.
"Yeah."
Seto reluctantly pushed the pillow up a bit, opening one eye slightly, finding it was indeed Tristan. His head was tilted, and he was smiling wryly. And in his hand was a glass of water, and a bottle of aspirin held between his index and middle fingers, leaving his other hand free. Seto swallowed hard again, "you stayed."
"Can't exactly leave with someone clinging to you like you're a lifeline..." said Tristan, with a small shrug.
"... Did you want to leave?"
Tristan rubbed the back of his neck, looking thoughtful, "I don't... well, not..."
Seto flinched very, very slightly, as he released a shaky breath, and burrowed back under the pillow; well, that showed him what he would get if he laid all his cards on the table in one setting. "Whatever, who cares... leave now if you want... I could care less..!" he spat, his voice still muffled.
Tristan blinked in confusion. Well, most would be confused if all they heard was, "whaaffefff, moofares... miffmowff oowawnt... mwyedoodnarewess." He sighed, and couldn't help smiling slightly. Seto's guise of the cold and distant CEO had shattered for him since last night. The redhead was acting like a sulky teenager... Tristan sat down on the bed, but said nothing, and waited, tapping the glass of water lightly which rattled the aspirin a bit.
"... dohmway!"
"... Kaiba, get out from under there, I can't understand a word you're saying."
Seto lifted the pillow a bit, turning his head. "I said, 'go away'!"
"No."
"The hell? Tristan, when I say..!" Seto started to bellow, as he flipped over and sat up quickly. Only to yelp, actually yelp, as he quickly clutched at his head, clearly in pain. "Goddamnit," he whimpered, grabbing and placing a pillow on top of his literally throbbing cranium, and pulling it down over his ears, since they were ringing.
"A maid brought you some fruit salad earlier," Tristan spoke quietly, careful with his movements, as he grabbed the bowl of fruit with his free hand. The last thing the first-timer needed was unnecessary motions to make him feel worse. "It's not much, but it'll be easier on your stomach if you eat something before taking these," he said, holding up the aspirin.
"Not hungry," Seto mumbled.
"... At least this doesn't smell bad," Tristan smiled slightly. "You'd feel even worse if you had to eat eggs or something, trust me. You need liquids, too... you're probably dehydrated."
Seto slowly looked up, despite his head thrumming in protest of the simple action. "How the hell..?"
"I'm practically a certified 'baby-sitter' of drunk people, and a 'nurse' for hung-over people... just eat some pieces of canteloupe or something." Tristan blinked, then rolled his eyes, as Seto scowled defiantly. Really, even his nephew wasn't this bad when it came to eating.
Seto blinked in confusion as Tristan sat the glass of water and aspirin on his nightstand; the brunette then turned, kneeling on one knee beside him, plucking a piece of canteloupe from the bowl.
"Open up..."
"Wh-what?" Seto sweatdropped.
"If you're going to be childish, I'll treat you like a child... now open up."
"You can't be... nrmph..." Seto had a piece of the juicy melon shoved into his mouth in mid-sentence. He scowled, ready to spit it out to prove who was in charge... until Tristan calmly clamped his hand over his mouth.
"Chew it, then swallow," he commanded. Luckily, he also knew how weak and shaky people with hang-overs were. Joey being a key example.
Seto clenched his teeth together in irritation, squishing the offensive piece of fruit between his molars. But made no further move to chew it, as he glared at Tristan. And it took some effort to ignore the warmth and strength of Tristan's hand; he would gladly swat the hand away, but then that would cost him his precious pillow which guarded his head from pain... well, it seemed to, anyways.
Tristan had to bite back a smile. Seto didn't know it, but he was actually pretty cute when he was sulking, especially while using both hands to hold a pillow over his head. But it was clear Seto was trying to put up a fight, not eating just to prove his point of not taking anyone's orders. 'His hang-over won't go away at this rate...' thought Tristan, with a slight frown.
Canteloupe juice ran down Seto's throat, forcing him to swallow. But no chewing and eating, no way. Sure, he remembered confessing his feelings to Tristan, but that didn't mean he would do whatever the brunette told him to do; even if he did seem to know best. It was the principle of the thing. Seto Kaiba did not take orders. Ever!
... When did Tristan's mouth replace Tristan's hand?
Seto's eyes widened in surprise, as his mouth was suddenly being kissed. Before Seto could fully react, Tristan pulled away. Well, this was the type of situation where you just had to ask, "what the hell was that?"
Wait... something was preventing him from speaking... oh, right, canteloupe. Seto chewed it once, twice, three times, then swallowed. Then he opened his mouth and started to ask, "what the hell...?"
Which Tristan took as an opportunity to shove a strawberry into his mouth.
Seto sweatdropped, as Tristan leaned in, kissing his mouth again. The redhead would be lying if he said he didn't want to respond; he pulled away, chewed and swallowed, then moved back in, to try and continue where he left off just a second ago... only he had honeydew placed in his mouth.
Tristan smiled at the sour glare aimed at him. But as it was mentioned before, Seto had a pillow over his head, and he didn't appear at all threatening. Tristan snickered, and kissed his lips briefly. "Eat first, then take something," he said, affectionately. "Most don't like doing 'anything' with a headache after all..."
Seto blinked cluelessly. Innuendo was really not his area. Perhaps Tristan could teach him a few things...
oooXXXooo
After some time, and several chaste kisses, Seto finally finished his pseudo-meal. And he did feel a little better, the swirling feeling in his stomach had lessened, but his head still pounded. Tristan handed him 2 aspirin, and the glass of water, with lemon floating in it. Seto didn't bother to question him.
Letting his pillow go, he drank the water quickly, easily washing down the pills. Seto lowered the empty glass, brow furrowing. So he was dehydrated...
A second later, Seto found himself laying back in his pillows, Tristan was leaning over him, gently nipping at his lower lip. Seto's heart was pounding hard, as he wrapped his arms around Tristan's neck, kissing back eagerly, their mouths slipping over each other's almost desperately.
Damn lungs, always greedy for air...
They parted, breathing hard. Seto couldn't help but wince as his head still pounded slightly at the temples. Tristan smiled wryly, brushing Seto's bangs out of his eyes. "So... you like me..." he said, softly.
"... Yes."
Closing his eyes, Tristan lowered his head, kissing Seto again gently. "For how long?" he asked.
Seto swallowed hard, "don't know... I don't keep track."
The brunette smiled, "liar... you're a businessman, you types pay attention to every detail... so when did you start seeing me differently?"
"... About a year ago."
"Then Ryou's right... I am slow on the uptake," Tristan rolled his eyes at himself. How sad, someone unbelievably hot had a crush on him, and he had no idea. But, Tristan couldn't feel too down, considering Seto wasn't exactly 'Johnny Sunshine', regardless of Joey's statement.
"Does it bother you?" Seto asked, turning away, his bangs slipping back down, over his eyes to hide his expression. His hair really helped in emotional situations.
"No... it's... cute... sweet of you," Tristan shrugged.
Seto laughed, without sounding amused. "That's not something I'm called often," he mumbled.
"How many people have you 'liked'?" countered Tristan, with a small smile.
"... Only you."
Tristan nodded, as he leaned down, kissing Seto firmly. "You proved my point," he said against his mouth, sounding satisfied. "Still have a headache?"
"... Yeah," Seto scowled, as he reached up, massaging his temple.
"Alright," Tristan sat back up, and grinned. "I guess it can wait... until you feel better," he stood up, grabbing the empty dishes. "Take it easy, and... I have a phonecall to make."
Seto furrowed his brow, "Tristan." He stopped just before the door, glancing over his shoulder at him.
"Yeah?"
"... Official? Or... are you just screwing with me?"
Tristan smiled, "you need to choose your words carefully, Kaiba... Seto... and yeah... official boyfriend, lover, koibito, whatever term you use." With that, he turned, and wandered out, closing the door softly.
Seto blinked a few times in confusion. Choose his words carefully?
oooXXXooo
Meanwhile at the Underwood residence, Rex sighed, as he walked back up the stairs, answering the ringing cordless phone. "Hello?" he asked, wearily.
"Rex, hey... he doing any better?"
"Tristan... uhh, yeah, he's not bad... bad headache, and he just finished throwing up... kinda vile, but whatever."
"Did you make him drink something..? Not good if he's throwing up on an empty stomach."
"Orange juice."
"Yeah, that should do... uh, maybe you can put Weevil on... I have to deal with something."
"You hooked up with Kaiba, last night... did the nasty?" Rex grinned slightly.
"No... put Weevil on..."
"No you didn't hook up, or no you didn't do the nasty?"
"Rex, I swear I'll punch you in the mouth if you don't put Weevil on." Tristan spoke, in a disturbingly sweet way, like speaking to a stray puppy that'd been kicked too many times.
"... I'll tell him."
"Huh?"
Rex leaned against Weevil's bedroom doorframe, where the Bugboy was laying perfectly still on his bed, clutching at his head. "You put up with him enough... I can handle the minor details... but don't consider it a favor, I'm just tired of Weevil acting like his life revolves around Kaiba, and..."
"Is that Lovebug?" Weevil shot up from bed, and was suddenly standing by Rex, clinging to the doorframe, eyes wide with hope, as he tried to ignore the evil drum solo playing inside his skull. He lunged forward, trying to grab the phone.
"Idiot, if it were Kaiba, would I say his name..?" Rex snapped. "Get back in bed! You're in no shape to be prancing around like a lovesick fool!"
"Gimme! Who is it?" Weevil demanded, lunging for the phone again.
Rex turned away, using his hand to grab Weevil's shirt, and hold him off, while speaking into the phone. "What? What'd you say? I have the idiot up and around now..."
"Yeah, sounds like it... uh, I said if he has any qualms about it, he can come to me, and we'll talk it over... alright?" Tristan's voice said, loudly.
"Yeah, yeah... bye..." Rex pushed the 'end' button, hanging up. He was leaning back heavily against the wall using his other arm to hold off Weevil's eager hands which were struggling to reach the phone, as the younger boy was leaning heavily against him.
Weevil froze, his eyes widening. "What? What happened? What's going on? What was that?" he asked.
Rex sweatdropped, "... What do you expect? You were rubbing against me, and..!" he barked, red-faced.
Despite the wrongness of the statement, Weevil ignored it, as he straightened up, and lowered his head. "So... Taylor won, huh?" he said, quietly.
Rex blinked, and realized Weevil never noticed what he thought he noticed. He stood up fully as well, his brows lowering slightly. "Yeah... they hooked up last night..."
Weevil said nothing, as he only nodded numbly, and walked back into his room, sitting on his bed
Rex sighed quietly, turning and following Weevil, only he leaned against the wall across from the bed. "So, nice day so far, huh?" he asked, almost drolly.
"... Shut up." Weevil gripped the blankets, his eyes still downcast.
Rex scowled, folding his arms. "I don't know what your problem is, but it's kinda annoying... so you lost something, big deal..."
"I didn't lose 'something', you dense neanderthal," Weevil said, tonelessly. "I lost Seto Kaiba... to someone who can't love him nearly as much as I do..."
"You never had him in the first place," Rex said, sourly. "How can you lose something you've never had? And how do you know you even loved the guy, huh?"
"I knew! A moron like you could never understand something like love..."
Rex's eye began to twitch. "That's a hell of a thing to say to me, idiot!" he snarled. "I know plenty..! You just liked Kaiba's pretty face, that's all! You barely knew the guy! That 'love' you felt is what little kids call a 'crush'!"
"Shut up!"
"No! You shut up and listen for once! It wasn't exactly pleasant for me to see my best friend going around, chasing after some jerk who held absolutely no interest in him, but I did it anyways! Wanna know why? Because it was what you wanted! I always did that for you! I always tried to let you have what you want! I knew the guy would hurt you, but you wanted to try to go after him anyways!"
Weevil's eyes widened, as he stared at he floor. The edges of his vision began to blur; damn to hell the neanderthal if he made him cry..!
Rex sighed deeply, as he tried to settle his temper. "It had to be said... you're an idiot, and idiots need things to be spelled out for them... especially when it's something they don't understand... love for one..."
"Like you understand 'love'," Weevil scoffed, as he tried to blink back his tears.
"I was taught love is wanting your love to be happy... to try and let him have whatever he wanted," Rex said bitterly, looking away. "I tried to do that for you... as much as it bugged me, I tried to."
Weevil blinked, then he swallowed thickly. He looked up slowly, seeing Rex was blushing.
"... I'm gonna go. I don't need to see you sulk about losing someone else, when you still have me," the taller boy muttered, as he turned, and walked out of the room.
Weevil blinked several times. "Still have him..?" he murmured, softly. He dropped his head, brow furrowing in thought; Rex was such a prick: he was too damn blunt, he never tried to soften anything he said. And they constantly argued, usually about something stupid like where and what to eat. And sometimes the not-so stupid, like telling each other not to do something reckless. How many times had they said..:
"You duel that guy, his gang's gonna put you in the hospital!"
"I have a reputation to protect..!"
"Fine, you thick-headed moron! See if I visit you in the hospital!"
Weevil pursed his lips, brow furrowing. And he would always visit Rex the next day, and vice versa. They were like that, they were the pair that had the weirdest form of friendship. But Rex did constantly looked out for him, Weevil had to admit.
And there was a reason behind all of it, maybe. Rex liked him. As more than a friend.
Weevil had no idea what to think. Rex wasn't anything like Kaiba, well, except for the bluntness, but Kaiba's was cool, well-mannered. Rex was downright rude, and hot-headed, saying what he pleased without thinking. While with Kaiba, Weevil felt giddy, excited, and maybe nervous; but with Rex, he felt calm, level-headed(since Rex was anything but), intelligent... comfortable. Life without his best friend, Rex Raptor... Weevil swallowed again. Well, it'd be way quieter and duller, in all honesty. Rex liked him, he proved it in his own way. Maybe it was time to return the favor.
Weevil quickly got up, ignoring his headache, as he ran out the door, and down the stairs, jumping into his shoes. "Rex!" he yelled, racing out the frontdoor. "Rex!" he shouted at the familiar boy walking away, actually looking dejected, rather than stomping in his aggrevated manner.
Rex stopped, looking over his shoulder. He scowled, "you idiot! You should be resting, not running around!"
"Shut up!" Weevil snapped, waving his arms angerly. His headache was long forgotten, as he jammed his finger against Rex's chest. "You stupid, dumb, bone-headed, moronic, dense excuse of a neanderthal!"
"What the hell?" snapped Rex.
"Why didn't you tell me you liked me, you moron!"
Rex's eye began to twitch again. "Why should I tell you that! You're my best friend, but I'm not gonna tell you everything just to make you feel better!"
"Argh!" Weevil smacked Rex's arm. "If I knew you liked me, I wouldn't have went after Kaiba in the first place!"
"You liar," Rex snorted. "Anyways, I had to let you see for yourself that he wasn't right for you... besides, it was what you wanted, and it isn't my place to try and keep you from what you want."
"Moron, you did try!"
"I could have used more effort, Idiot!"
They both stopped, and watched each other for a moment. Then they smiled. Now that felt familiar, and so very right.
Rex frowned thoughtfully. "So, what now? You know I like you... so, what happens?"
"How should I know... I never said I liked you back, y' know," Weevil sniffed, looking away huffily.
"Yeah, you didn't... what's that about, huh?"
"It's none of your business..."
"It should be! You know I like you!"
"That doesn't mean anything!"
"It should! If you like someone, you should let them know!"
"Who said I liked you?"
"Damnit, Weevil, you're impossible, you know that!"
"Just shut up, you pre-evolved ape, and kiss me already!"
Rex paused, and blinked a few times. Then he grinned, and quickly stepped up to Weevil, gathering him in a tight hug, kissing him hard on the mouth. His heart skipped, as Weevil hugged his neck, kissing back with just as much vigor.
oooXXXooo
Ryou yawned, as he walked out of his apartment. It was a little embarrassing to be walked to his own apartment with the super, but he had no real complaints. Mr. Olap was very understanding; "boys will be boys... as long as it doesn't affect their rent," he had joked.
"Hey, Ryou."
Ryou blinked, turning to see Tristan and Seto. He smiled brightly, "hi, guys," he greeted cheerfully.
"Konnichiwa," Seto greeted calmly, "daijoubu ka?"
"Hai, daijoubu," Ryou nodded. Then he blinked, "umm... why the use of nihongo all of a sudden?" he asked, in confusion.
"You said quite a few things in Japanese last night," Tristan explained, looking amused. "At least now I know how to tell if you're sober or not."
"Oh... well, that's nice of you, but last night was a one-time thing," Ryou replied, tucking his hair behind his ear, then he grinned at Seto. "How was your morning... nice and eventful, ne?"
Seto blushed hard, "wh-what? What sort of question is that?"
Ryou blinked, "something I said?" he asked Tristan, slowly.
Tristan laughed, "he's, uh... he's just learning a few things," he answered. "About me, anyways."
"Damnit, why did I even ask..? Everything I hear sounds perverted now, because I can follow his form of thinking," Seto muttered, folding his arms. "Ecchi," he griped. "I had to like someone perverted."
Over Now
A/N: I was snickering like a lunatic, so I dunno what it means... I think I'm a dork... whee, to M&Ms, and Pepsi(I don't own the names, but I do own this bag of M&Ms and this bottle of Pepsi)! Whoo-hoo, good shtuff, yep. Nyaah, sorry, ahem... yep, part of my deal with Star... Annnd, well, here it is... (salutes) Alrighty, Star-chan, I did, yepyep... sorry for the weirdness, but I'm in a slump... heh, my bad. I'll try to write better, next time... gomen (flees and hides)