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Jounouchi
"Hey, are you all here?" I asked Mokuba, poking him in the shoulder. He shook his head affirmatively and smiled up at me - that was what I had wanted to see. I liked his smile more than anything; I guess it made sense that Kaiba would go to extremes to make him happy…
Ten minutes with Mokuba, and already I was thinking about Kaiba? Absolutely fucking terrific. It was like a bad omen.
I hated to say it, but I understood Kaiba. After all, he had the same leverage over me that I had over him: he was perfectly aware that Mokuba would be pissed off if he ever found out what was going on, and I knew that Shizuka would be just as angry if I did anything to injure Kaiba… That was the only thing saving his hide. I liked that my sister was happy, that she liked him; I seemed to be the only one who didn't.
"Hey," Mokuba protested brightly, "now you look zoned out!" Before I could apologize, he looked away and perked up, announcing, "Look, its Shizuka!" With that he was gone; I had to visually follow his beeline to find her - sitting at a bench in front of some vendor. It was cute, how he was by her side in an instant; they were smiles and laughs, gesturing excitedly to this game and that. He seemed a lot more there with Shizuka than he had been with me. And it wasn't just then, either - sometimes he seemed so distracted that his kisses came off as a half-hearted, or at least a lot less enthusiastic than when we first started dating. It was probably because I had been so hot and cold with him. Hell, maybe it was all part of Kaiba's fucked-up planning, because if something didn't give real soon, I had the impression Mokuba would be more than happy to call the whole relationship off.
Guiltily, that didn't bother me as much as it probably should have. Maybe I was just a little bit hurt - I'd miss his constant company and how weirdly close we'd gotten from a nonsexual standpoint; I was worried about losing that, but stressful relationships never did work well for me.
"Hey there, Oniichan," Shizuka said, wrapping an arm around my shoulder, squeezing me tight and kissing my cheek. "How have you been this week?"
"Great," I replied, smiling down at her. "Where have you been? Every time I call, Mom says you're out."
"Well, I've been out with Seto," she said as if I should have known. "We had dinner at his place on Tuesday…" She trailed off and giggled, covering her mouth. I don't want to know, I don't want to know, I don't -
"What?" I asked suspiciously. "What are you laughing about?"
"Well…" She giggled again, looking away. I had to force myself to keep breathing - if she was about to declare that she was now 'a woman'… "What was it like the first time you fooled around with someone?"
I felt the blood drain from my face, and I know that the only thing keeping me on the feet was the sheer force of will not to make an ass of myself right there. Fooling around, fucking like rabbits, it didn't matter what she meant - they were equally bad, and I absolutely refused to acknowledge that my baby sister had implied that she and Kaiba had…
"Oh, uh, it was nice, why?" My mouth felt dry - there had to be a vending machine somewhere. I could stop by it, tip it until it crushed me to death… Oh! There was one; if nothing else, I could at least get a soda. I started tugging her towards it gently. She followed, but kept talking.
"Well, of course its nice," she said impatiently, one hand on her hip while I gripped the other.
Ew! I didn't need to think about that. We reached the vending machine, and I let her go to dig my yen from my pocket. I jammed my thumb against the coin slot as I put the money in, but the pain that shot up my finger was NOTHING compared to the conversation with Shizuka. If it got me out of THAT, I'd jam my thumb until I broke the damn thing.
"But… You like boys, Oniichan."
"Just pick up on that?" I teased, and she hit me in the arm.
"No, but if there's anything you'd suggest to… uh… Oniichan, are you okay? You look a little pale."
Of course I wasn't okay! What kind of brother would be okay when his little sister asks for pointers like that? I took my coke from the machine and said calmly, "Kick him in the crotch and run like hell."
"I'm being serious," she laughed. "It's not like I'm a baby anymore."
"You're a baby until I'm dead and gone," I recited, popping open my soda and taking a sip.
She leaned back against the vending machine and retorted, "This from the guy trying steal a thirteen-year-old's virginity."
And there went my nice cold sip of coke; I coughed, hunching over as though I'd been hit. In a way, I kind of had. "I am not!" I protested, looking her dead in the eye like I would at Kaiba. From him, I'd expect that sort of shit, but from my own sister… I took a step back when I realized that she was giving me the same look.
"Then what were you expecting to get from hooking up with him? His company?"
"I… uh…" Shit. She had a good point. At the time, my motivation had been largely physical, but I did enjoy his company. A lot.
"Well?" she prompted. "Looks, devotion, optimism, kindness, or - "
"Okay, okay, I don't know! Goddamn, when did you start keeping track of his good points, anyway?" I replied, kicking my toe against the cement, then turning to go somewhere else - she followed. Speaking of Mokuba, where the hell had he gone? "But even so, that doesn't mean I'm gonna molest him and brag about it, okay? Did you pick this stuff up from - "
"You're hopeless," she sighed, not letting me finish. Damn, I had some good insults to describe Kaiba too. "Forget I said anything." She waved at someone behind me, and I turned to see Kaiba and Mokuba not far behind us. "Lets go!" In ten seconds flat, she was back to being my normal, smiling sister, glares and insults forgotten - instead she had me by the wrist and was yanking me towards the last person on earth I wanted to see.
I don't get chicks, not even the ones I share blood with.
Kaiba was smiling, and I hated it. Fucking faker. My only consolation was that instead of fawning over him like she usually did, Shizuka kissed his cheek and grabbed Mokuba by the hand; they ran off towards the Ferris wheel. It was just understood that we were supposed to follow, and I almost did, until I realized that Kaiba and I were left alone; Mokuba and Shizuka got into a cage with two girls about their age. Well, fuck that; I turned to hightail it out of there, as did Kaiba. At least there was one thing in the universe we agreed on: we didn't want to be alone together.
"Guys!" Mokuba and Shizuka yelled together, and we both turned. "At least pretend to be civil and wait for us!" Shizuka added - Mokuba was just glaring from behind the metal mesh of the cage. To our credit, Kaiba and I did our brotherly/boyfriend duty and walked to a bench that was nearby. I sat down, and Kaiba stood by a tree, glaring off into the distance. I couldn't stop looking up at him - if I could just imagine the look on his face if I could beat this stupid idea right out of his head… I closed my eyes, seeking to distract myself from realizing that we were alone. It didn't work. I'd wanted to talk to Kaiba about his stupid plan anyway. "Does it hurt?" I asked.
"What?"
"All that smiling - must be a lot of work. Maybe you should call it quits before you sprain something."
Kaiba rolled his eyes, shifting against the tree. "Original."
Okay, the ice was broken; I had to just go for the kill. "Look, Kaiba, you've had your fun." I swallowed. I didn't want to say it, but if stroking his ego a little would help… Just for Shizuka… "I'll admit, you're winning this one, so can we drop it? Just ease my sister out gently."
"You know the stipulations," Kaiba said. His tone… it couldn't have been any more insulting if he'd yawned.
"To hell with your stipulations! Do you realize how into you Shizuka is?"
"And what about Mokuba?" he snapped. "What makes you think he's any less involved in you? Don't try to make yourself sound innocent."
I closed my eyes. If I had to look at him, I WOULD punch him - not the best negotiation tactic, even when dealing with assholes. Not to mention I'd have two angry kids on my back for it. "I'm not, but Shizuka is! At least I care, right? Do you even have any idea of what its like to care about someone?"
"Ask your sister," he said.
The certainty of his voice, cocky as hell… "Fuck you!" He was lucky that I didn't kick his ass. Lucky that Shizuka liked him - lucky that much as I hated him, I wanted her happy more.
"What was that?" he taunted. "Can't you face your enemies with your eyes open?"
My eyes flew open, and I looked at him dead on - like hell I'd let him think he could get away with calling me a coward. "Can't you hear right, Kaiba?" I ground out through gritted teeth. " I said: Fuck. You."
"As often as you say that, I'd think you were jealous of Shizuka," He replied. I practically jumped up - I really was going to hit him, but I caught sight of the Ferris Wheel, still slowly climbing. Shizuka and Mokuba were maybe a third of the way up. I sighed and thumped back against the bench, letting my head fall back over the edge.
Like I said. Kaiba was fucking lucky.
Shizuka
"Food," Mokuba said the second we stepped off the Ferris Wheel - and I wasn't even completely off; I only had one foot on the ground. "Lets get some ice cream before we go anywhere near Niisama & Jou."
I laughed. "Okay - lead the way." He grabbed my hand, running off and dragging me with him. What was it with boys and taking my hand; it wasn't like I wasn't capable of doing things myself. Then again, Mokuba and Oniichan were two completely different people.
For instance, I didn't let go of Mokuba's hand when he ordered the ice cream - I'd even admit that I had willingly grabbed my own order just to keep his hand where it was. And I'm pretty sure he knew - I mean, it was really obvious. Of course, I didn't mean it as anything big, I assured myself; I just… liked holding his hand. It seemed like a perfectly normal thing to do; we were kind of close, after all. I don't know what Mokuba thought of it, but he looked like he was blushing as we made our way back to our brothers.
Boyfriends. Boyfriends that we - well, at least I held hands with on a somewhat regular basis. It was just one of those unspoken stipulations of dating. That… well, it sort of made my 'just friends' handholding excuse feel a little ridiculous. I dropped Mokuba's hand, biting my lip and brushing some hair back from my face. He cleared his throat, and for the first time in a while, I was worried about what he might have to say.
"After this is over, do you think we'll keep hanging out?" I looked down to find that he looked as serious as he sounded - like it was something important, instead of just some random friendship issue. "It's just that… I'd miss having you around. I don't hang out with a lot of kids my age."
I smiled and leaned down to kiss the top of his head - what a perfect little brother he'd be, or even a big one. He probably wasn't a bad boyfriend either. I blushed, the heat racing straight up to my cheeks, and I shot upright. "Of course," I lilted, giving him a wide smile. "You don't just drop friends because of their brothers, right?"
All I really wanted to say was that it was it damn shame I never met cute guys like him first. The ones who didn't look at me and lie, the ones who didn't goof off to get a rise out of each other, the ones who -
"There you guys are!" Oniichan said, smiling as Mokuba and I approached where he and Seto were waiting. Oniichan was sitting on a bench, his arms stretched out over the back and his legs crossed at his ankles out in front of him. Seto was simply leaning against a tree, scowling a little. He looked more genuine then than I had imagined he'd been in weeks. Mokuba was the first to approach them - if approach was the right word. It was more like he nearly ran up to them, leaning down and catching Oniichan in a hug around the shoulders. I didn't quite catch how it went from that little hug to kissing; I'd turned long enough to say hello to Seto - he probably noticed the transition, though, because he barely replied. I turned back to see them kissing in public like it was nothing.
Of course I was interested; it was the first time I'd seen two boys like that! If not for the sudden pit that formed in my stomach - and it weren't Oniichan - I might not have turned away so soon. And if I hadn't turned away, I wouldn't have had caught Seto smirking at me - it was almost feral, a little scary… and a little exciting; it definitely made my breath catch. "Quite the mess you have there." I followed his eyes to my hand, or more precisely, the ice cream that was beginning to melt down over my fingers.
"Damn," I breathed, biting my lip. I hadn't even noticed. "I'll be right back; I've got to go clean - "
"Allow me," Seto interrupted, taking my wrist. I accidentally dropped my cone in surprise, but it landed on the ground, forgotten as Seto guided my hand to his lips. My brain shut down completely as he took one of my fingers into his mouth, sucking away melted ice cream… and damn it, he was good at it. A pleasant tingle rushed up my arm and nearly made my knees give out as his tongue ran over the pad of my index finger, and I had to look away; it seemed almost obscene to watch him. I was vaguely aware of Oniichan standing and leaving, of Mokuba following him, but I didn't actually care for the small eternity that Seto's full attention seemed to be on my hand.
I was surprised I was still upright when he finished. "I-I…" I took a deep breath, trying to keep my voice steady. Damn it! Why couldn't he be like a normal lying boy and make my life easy? It was hard to remind myself that he was just trying to get a rise out of Oniichan when he was so ardent in making it appear otherwise. "People are watching," I finally managed somewhat lamely. It only served to make his smirk widen.
"I know," he replied. He looked like he was going to lean in to kiss me, and I did the only thing I was sure I could do, if I intended to make it out of this fair without wanting to change my mind about the whole boyfriend situation; I turned my face away from him, feigning confusion.
"Where did Oniichan and Mokuba go off to? I'm going to go look for them; you wait here, okay?" He sighed, but nodded - and that was enough for me to feel free enough to almost run to the nearest building - the civic center - and make a beeline for the bathroom. There were at least a dozen other women there, but the only one I gave a damn about was the one I was looking at in the mirror. The one I was fervently reminding that I really was dating a liar as I washed my hands. The one I was reminding that I needed to be less touchy with Mokuba.
The one who didn't want to listen to a word I was trying to tell her.
notes
:nailbiting: That ice cream thing has been one of the few things to survive at this point in the story from the original concept, and I'm still nervous about it - it does look horribly OOC. xo My theory at this standing was that Kaiba has this weird habit for being really extravagent sometimes, like hanging out of a helicopter to announce a tournament, so I figure that's a trait that might bleed into winning over his girlfriend.
Ahem. Justification ended.
Anyway. Yeah, that's about all I have here. There's all sorts of rewrites for the last five chapters right now; the end went and changed on me, so I have to accomidate that, haha. Hope you enjoyed!