Author's Note: I am so sorry I didn't get this up sooner! Some things came up but here it is! Enjoy!
Run Away Puppy 3: The Final WarChapter Nine: Jouneth's First Word
He stood at the island in his kitchen just staring into his morning tea. It was as if he was in another world. It wasn't until he yawned that he came out of his trance. Blue-eyes blinked a couple times and the young CEO sighed, "I hate Mondays." A nimble hand picked up the mug and he finished off his morning drink. He glanced at his watch quickly then took up his brief case and headed for the garage door. Kaiba Corp. beckoned him.
8:29 am
"Good morning Sir." Kimia greeted her boss as he approached. The brunette nodded and acknowledged her the same way before entering his office and getting settled in. The woman outside happened to be having an inner battle with something that she knew. She wasn't sure if she should tell the brunette herself or let him find out on his own. After a few more moments of contemplating…
"So, how is everyone at home?" Seto's head shot up at the unexpected visit. He nodded, "Good I guess. Jouneth will be seven-months-old in a few days."
"Really! Wow, that little guy is growing up fast isn't he?"
"Mrs. Narumi, is there something that you want to tell me?" Seto asked with a neutral tone. The woman lightly gasped, there really was no fooling her boss. "Umm…well…what I have to say isn't going to make you very happy"
"All the more reason to tell me." The teen said while logging into his computer. Kimia bowed her head, "Right. Well Sir…it seems that…someone…is buying out all of Kaiba Corp.'s stocks."
…
"Set, please. Don't be like this." Katsuya pleaded while sitting next to his stressed out lover. Seto sat with his head in his hands and muttering under his breath to himself. "Seto please!" Nothing. The brunette felt the weight on the couch leave and hoped that he was alone. It was then that two skillful hands placed themselves on his shoulders and began to rub. The brunette groaned, "Ngh, puppy, what are you doing?"
"Tryin to help you relax." The blonde said while massaging a little harder. The shorter teen listened as his lover hissed momentarily and smirked. "You like?"
"You have no idea Katsuya." The blue-eyed boy slightly moaned as he rested back against the support of the couch. "God Seto, you really need to loosen up. Your muscles are freakin knotted like pretzel."
"Easier said than done when someone is after my company…again."
"Again? Seto?" Katsuya asked while tilting his head. "Industrial Illusions." The blonde jerked back, "NO WAY! Pegasus isn't like that anymore! He even saved all of us from that duel dome of yours that came tumbling down after you went all loopy and Anubis came back to take revenge on Yugi. He even bought the baby some gifts."
"That just tells you that he was tryin to get my guard down…and…it worked, son of a bitch did it work!" The stressed out teen raised his voice. "Seto, please, just calm down. Everything will be fine." The puppy flinched when his fiancé stood up from the couch while holding his head in one hand, "I need to go to bed." The amber-eyed teen was gifted a peck on the cheek before his lover retreated. He sighed and flopped down on the couch, this was going to be a rough river to cross.
…
December 1, 2006
A happy squeal and a splash of water echoed out of the bathroom and Katsuya decided to stick his head in to investigate what the commotion was all about. There he watched as his fiancé gently and carefully rinsed baby shampoo from their son's soft hair. After Seto had been sure to get all the shampoo out, he proceeded to play and talk to the now seven-month-old Kaiba. Jouneth splashed around happily and babbled, telling his young father a story. Quietly, the blonde snuck up behind his lover and waved at his son. The child waved back and this made the brunette turn to see his puppy. The amber-eyed teen smiled.
"Are you boys havin fun?" Seto stood up in one fluid motion and kissed the blonde. They pulled away after a second and turned their full attention on the child. The brunette took his place on his knees at the side of the bathtub while Katsuya seated himself on the toilet and looked on as his lover and child bonded. Jouneth looked his father straight in the eye and cooed to him. Seto nodded, "Is that right? Then what happened?" The Kaiba baby answered with a splash that sprayed all over the blue-eyed teen. Katsuya chuckled. "You're getting Daddy all wet." Kaiba said with a tender voice. The next moment would be a moment that neither parent would ever forget. With his wide smile and glittering blue-eyes, Jouneth gazed up at his father and spoke, for the very first time, "Dada."
Were his ears deceiving him? Did his son just speak? Unsure of what had just happened, Seto looked up to Katsuya, whose eyes were filled with joy. "Set…his first word…"
"He just said dada." The CEO finished. Jouneth squealed, "DADA!"
…
"I can't believe he spoke!" The young father said, very astounded with his son's development. The blonde just couldn't get over how cute Seto looked, he adored these moments when his lover was this ecstatic. It was even that more special because his lover has been upset about Kaiba Corp.'s current situation. "I think it's cute that his first word was dada." Katsuya spoke while changing into his nightclothes. The brunette watched intently as he sat on the edge of the bed while his lover stripped in front of him. Before putting on his shirt the shorter teen glanced over at his audience and smirked. "Like what you see?" Seto sat back so that the back of his knees were up against the edge of the bed and beckoned the blonde over to him with a gesture of his head. Katsuya sauntered over to his awaiting lover and straddled the brunette's lap.
"What is it?" The puppy asked while resting his arms on his lover's shoulders. Seto caressed the soft skin of the amber-eyed teen's face and smiled softly before kissing him hard. The brunette nipped at his fiancé's bottom lip and gained the entrance he so desired. "You…" Was the last coherent thought to escape either of their lips before the brunette threw his lover onto his back and had his dirty little way with him.
…
The sound of insistent rummaging coming from above him woke the brunette. He opened his bleary eyes and listened. The moving from above was coming from the attic. He cocked his head to the side and tried to figure out why anyone was up there. He looked over to his left to see Katsuya still sleeping soundly. In one smooth motion, Kaiba sat up from bed and yawned before putting on a new pair of boxers and his discarded pajama pants. It was still fairly early, but he decided to check on the baby.
Seto walked over to the crib inconspicuously, not wanting to rouse the boy. He smiled softly when he saw Jouneth lying sprawled out comfortably. He reached in and pulled the child's blanket back over his tiny body before getting back to investigating the attic. As he got closer to said destination he could hear the happy humming of familiar Christmas songs and smiled to himself.
"Okay, now I need the ornaments." Mokuba whispered to himself as he looked over the various shelves of the attic.
"Mokuba?" The sudden sound of another person scared him and he jumped about five feet before turning to see his brother. "Nii-sama! You scared me!" The raven-haired boy blurted out while clutching his chest. Seto smirked, "I see that. What are you doing up here? Shouldn't you still be sleeping?"
"Big brother, do you have any idea what month it is?" The boy asked while putting his hands on his hips. The older of the two nodded, "Yeah, the twelfth month. You're point?" Violet eyes rolled and Mokuba shook his head. "Seto, the Christmas tree goes up today! Though it shoulda been up right after thanksgiving."
"Alright, alright, we'll set up the tree today…" yawn, "…now will you just go back to bed? The attic is right above my bedroom, so when you move around I can hear it."
The raven-haired Kaiba snickered, "Well my room is right down the hall from yours and when you romance Katsuya at all hours of the night I can hear it." Seto's jaw slackened and it felt like his eyes were about ready to fall out of his skull. He watched as his little brother shrugged, "So it's not my fault you were up all night."
"You've grown up too fast…STOP IT!" Seto demanded. The pre-teen beamed, "So did you nii-sama."
…
"Okay, so where do you think we should put it?" Mokuba inquired while scanning the front room. "Where we had it last year, in front of the bay window." Seto stated while reentering the front room with their 7-foot tall fake tree. "We hafta use the fake tree? Why can't we get a real one like we did last year?"
"Mokuba, use your head. The last things I want Jouneth to shove into his mouth are pine needles." The raven-haired boy nodded, "Duly noted." With that he began to help his older sibling put the tree together. He was in the zone when suddenly he stopped, "We can't decorate without Katsuya and Jouneth though. This is a family affair." The brunette chuckled and nodded, "I'm hungry anyway so after this gets up I'll make some breakfast."
…
The blonde shifted in his sleep and was awoken by a soft coo that emitted from the baby monitor. He yawned before forcing himself to sit up. Stretching, he stood from the bed and went and took care of some early morning business before tending to his son. Katsuya walked into the nursery to find his child standing up and drooling all over the wooden bars of his crib. "Couldn't find something better hu?" Jouneth's eyes immediately darted to where his mother stood and he squealed happily. The blonde smiled softly and went about getting the boy settled into a fresh diaper.
"So, what do you want for Christmas this year Mokie?" The young CEO asked while putting the last of the top branches on the tree. The violet-eyed boy had to stop and think critically about this one. This time of the year sucks when you've got everything you could possibly imagine. "Hmm…ya know nii-sama, I really don't know." Seto chuckled, "Hard to think of what you want when you have everything hu?" A head full of raven hair nodded in agreement.
"Whoa! What happened to my living room?" Katsuya inquired while looking about curiously. Seto looked over to his fiancé and grinned, "Good morning puppy." Jouneth had become rather observant as his mother carried him over to the new object standing in the living room. "We're putting up Christmas decorations today!" Mokuba announced happily. Katsuya couldn't help but smile at the boy's enthusiasm.
"Well now that the tree is up, how about I make us some breakfast?" The russet hair colored teen asked before kissing his lover and taking his son into his arms. Mokuba shot up from his spot on the floor and ran into the kitchen wanting to help. Katsuya and Seto smiled at each other before following the boy.
"Mmm…" The raven-haired boy stuffed another fork full of his brother's creations in his mouth. "You always were a good cook big brother. But I think you've gotten even better." The boy's nephew giggled and proceeded to pick up a tiny piece of scrambled egg out of his little bowl and shove it in his mouth. "Thank you Mokuba, oh and Katsuya, before I forget, Kaiba Corp. is having its annual Christmas party next weekend and I need a date." The blonde looked up to the young CEO with a smile, "Of course I'll go with you."
"OOO! What about me nii-sama?"
"Well since you are part of the Kaiba Corporation you're entitled to go." Kaiba watched as his little brother celebrated in his chair.
"We'll hafta ask Yugi or someone if they can watch the baby." Katsuya stated before taking a drink of his milk. "Why? You don't want to take him?" The pup looked up to the brunette and shot him a look of confusion, "You mean this party is a family event?"
"Of course it's not, these parties are for the employees, but who is to say that I can' t bring my son? It's my business and the building has my last name on it, said last name that my son and I share and the very same last name that we are about to share pup." The young father explained with a smile. Katsuya returned the gesture.
"One question though Set, why does your company always have this particular party at the beginning of the month and not closer to the holiday like normal?" The brunette shrugged, "Why should Kaiba Corp. be like any other company when we're not."
…
December 9, 2006
7:46 pm
"We are so late." Seto said while rushing around to get himself situated and ready to go. Everything had gone according to plan until about forty minutes ago when Jouneth decided he was going to throw up all over himself. What was worse was that he was already dressed and cleaned up by the time he'd done that. So Katsuya had to give him another bath and was now dressing him again in a new set of clothes.
'I'm never late to anything!' The frustrated teen spoke to himself. Seto was already thinking about just leaving and having the pup meet him at Kaiba Corp. later. But he decided better against that because he new that the blonde already felt bad for holding him up.
"Almost ready?" He asked softly while joining his fiancé in the nursery. Katsuya nodded his head solemnly and Kaiba winced to himself, he shouldn't be this worried about some stupid party. "Hey, Katsuya…" Seto's voice was soft, "…don't beat yourself up about this. It wasn't your fault that he got sick. Cheer up okay? Things like this happen." And with that he kissed his lover softly. The shorter of the two smiled. "Go on, go finish getting ready and I'll finish up here." The blonde nodded and decided to be quick about it.
…
8:18 pm
"Mr. Kaiba! It's nice to see you here." An employee greeted his boss. The young brunette worked up a half smile and shook the man's hand. They exchanged a few words then Seto, followed by the rest of his family, made his way over to the Christmas tree. Jouneth leant forward out of Katsuya's arms and reached out for the alluring object. The blonde kissed the side of his head and told the boy that he could not have that particular tree.
"Good evening Sir." A familiar female voice spoke. Seto spun around to see Kimia standing behind him with a man he'd never met. "Good evening to you too Kimia." The woman bowed her head respectfully. "Mr. Kaiba, this is my husband Yasuo." The teen shook the man's hand and greeted him politely.
Jouneth cooed loudly and caught the attention of the people his father was currently speaking with. Kimia peeked over the brunette's shoulder to see her boss's fiancé with their child. "Oh my goodness. How adorable are you!" The woman said while approaching the infant. Katsuya turned and greeted her. "You've gotten so big little one." Kimia stated while gently touching the boy's face. Jouneth was staring at her adorably and she looked up to his mother. "How old is he now?"
"Seven months." The amber-eyed teen answered smoothly. The blonde noticed that his fiancé's secretary looked as if she had fallen in love with their baby. "He's so beautiful." With a truly appeased grin the teen nodded, "Thank you." Kimia gave the infant one last look before bowing her head again to her boss and his family before excusing herself. It wasn't long before a small group of women employees made their way over to the family and cooed over just how precious their boss's son was. Kaiba had gotten a little tired of the prattle, though he was very proud of Jouneth.
…
As long as he was here at the building, why not make sure that all was well on the home front? Actually, Kaiba just wanted to see if Kaiba Corp. was in any more danger than it was already. Besides, Mokuba was enjoying himself and Katsuya and the infant were the highlight of the party. So it wouldn't hurt anyone to sneak away for a bit. His blue-eyes scanned the numerous charts and graphs to see if he could find anything out of the ordinary, well, more than it already was. Everything seemed okay but something felt out of place.
"Kaiba-boy! What are you doing here in your office during such an excellent party?" The unexpected and very familiar voice made the young CEO's heart nearly stop. He tore his gaze away from the screen to see his business rival, Maximillion Pegasus, standing in the doorframe of his office. Seto narrowed his eyes and growled; he couldn't believe the nerve of this guy "Pegasus, what in the name of hell are you doing here?"
"Well, Merry Christmas to you too Kaiba-boy!" The brunette was not impressed and snorted. "Answer my question, what are you doing here? You're not part of this company." The man standing in the doorway made his way over to the front of the brunette's desk and crossed his arms. "Not yet anyway. I am here to make a business proposition with you. Care to listen?"
"I will do everything in my power to keep your sweaty little paws off my company. I've done it before and I can do it again." Seto sneered dangerously. Pegasus waved his hand dismissively, "No, no, no. You have me all wrong my young friend. I am not here to high jack your company, besides, you need it." The silver-haired man stated while glancing at a framed photo of the Kaiba infant that stood proudly on the desk. "Damn straight, but what I don't need is you."
"You haven't even heard what I came here to talk to you about and you're already jumping to conclusions." The elder CEO growled, frustrated with stubborn teen. The blue-eyed boy crossed his arms, "Fine, I'll humor you." Just as Pegasus was about to start proposing his idea, the puppy interrupted.
"Set, what are you doing in here?" Said person merely shrugged his shoulders. "I was just getting ready to humor an old man." The blonde frowned at his lover and stood beside him, wanting to listen to what the creator of Duel Monsters had to say for himself, especially with what he has put his lover through. The silver-haired man cleared his throat.
"Seeing now that you're quite the family man, Kaiba-boy, has inspired me to create a new way to play duel monsters. It shouldn't be just for the older teens, no indeed. But it should also be away for families to bond. I want to make a family friendly Duel Monsters game and with that must come Kaiba Corp. technologies. But not only do I want to distribute such things as Duel Monsters but I want to look beyond that and distribute other games and objects that families need and yearn for. I want to combine the success of Industrial Illusions and the reign of Kaiba Corp into one company. A company focused on families. We can discuss more in depth details later but I wanted you to hear this Kaiba-boy. So, what do you think?"
"I can't believe the fucking nerve of you Pegasus! That's what I think! You stroll on in here with intentions of taking my company out of my hands when you're already halfway there! This is quite the charade!" Roared the brunette.
"Kaiba, I was merely trying to make a deal with you, not steal your company! Why don't you believe me?" The former millennium eye holder begged. Seto sneered, "Oh don't play it off like you don't fucking know! You've been buying out my stocks for the last week! Then you have the balls to come to MY Company's party!" The elder CEO just stood bemused as he blankly stared at the teen. "Kaiba, I have no clue about what you are talking about! My company has no reason to touch your own. I have no Kaiba Corp. stocks in my possession! Honest! I swear on my Catherine's grave!"
"Spare me!"
Katsuya rounded on his lover and looked him in the eye. "Seto, I think he's telling the truth." Azure-eyes widened in anger, "Wha…Are you FUCKING STUPID KATSUYA? The database is showing that his fucking company is buying out my stocks!"
"Well, do you think maybe there's a glitch or something? There's been nothing on the news about…"
"Katsuya, I didn't fucking ask you for your opinion! There doesn't have to be anything on the news when he wants to take this company out from underneath me!" The blonde was looking and feeling really hurt about now. "Seto, why don't you trust me on this?"
"Because I don't need your worthless fucking input when it comes to MY COMPANY!" Seto yelled while pointing to himself. Katsuya grabbed his wrist, "Don't talk down to…"
"Don't fucking touch me!" And before Kaiba had any control of himself he backhanded the amber-eyed teen. The room had gone eerily quiet, except for the young CEO's hard breathing. The blonde boy slowly looked up to Kaiba while holding his face. "What the hell is your PROBLEM!" Seto himself couldn't believe what he had just done…but his pride wouldn't allow him to break down. "You deserved it you worthless mutt." The amber-eyed boy reared back. He hadn't been hit by someone he'd cared for since his father; this was hard to deal with. Katsuya held his tears back long enough to turn and bolt out the office door. Pegasus, who had become silent and still through the couple's heated argument, found himself face to face with a wild beast. "Thank you very fucking much for this!"
The elder CEO composed himself and made his way to the door but turned before leaving, "I didn't cause this Kaiba, you've done it yourself. I'm really not after you, and I think you'll realize that in time. You'll be sorry you ever hit the mother of your child."
…
A hurried knocking came upon his door and he looked over at his wife. "Were you expecting someone Nessa?" The woman shook her head. Juro shrugged and went to answer the persistent knocking. "Katsuya! What the hell happened!" The man asked while noticing the growing black eye his son was sporting and pulling him inside. The blonde held his baby close and broke down, "Seto hit me."
…
"Here honey, put this on your eye." Vanessa soothed while handing Katsuya a bag of ice. Juro shook his head in disbelief, "I can't believe he hit you." The teen sniffled, "Heh, you think you're surprised…how do you think I feel?" The dark haired man approached his son and took the ice, "Here let me see." He examined the boy's right eye. "He hit you hard kid." Katsuya nodded his head solemnly.
"So, how did this happen?" Vanessa asked while glancing sadly at the broken teen that was now her stepson. "It was a dispute over his company. He didn't want my input and before I knew it I had a black eye. I mean, he's been stressed out because someone is buying out all his stocks…but…"
"That doesn't justify his hitting you. I know from experience, I've been there." Katsuya's father explained. Said boy just sat silently, with his head hung, holding his cup of hot chocolate.
"Dad…why didn't you tell me you were getting married?" The blonde's shaky voice emitted. Juro sighed, "Well, Vanessa and I really wanted to get married, we just, didn't want to overshadow your engagement to Seto or your impending wedding." Silent tears raced down Katsuya's face, he was touched that his father had done that for him…but felt guilty that it was all in vein.
"Oh, that's too bad. This impeding wedding isn't anymore."
Juro winced, he hated the thought of his grandson having to live the same life his son did. But there wasn't a thing he could do. If this relationship was going to be saved, Seto would have to get to fixing what he'd broken. The elder Jounouchi watched as his son slipped his engagement ring off.
"Oooo-mmmmamah." Katsuya looked up to see his beautiful baby boy reaching out for him. Jouneth then took matters into his own hands and grabbed the end of a couch cushion and pulled himself up to a standing position and then reached out to his mother with a tiny hand. "Oh, Jouneth." The blonde whispered while sweeping his infant off his feet and holding him close. He kissed the child's forehead and huggled him.
"You do realize if this is the end for the two of you, that there is going to be an all out war for that little boy." Juro spoke bluntly. "From what I gather about the company issue, Kaiba is the type of man that won't go down without a fight. And a custody battle is the last thing the two of you need." The teen parent broke down. He knew what his father meant, Seto loved his little boy to death and there was a 90 percent chance that he would end up with Jouneth. Katsuya just held onto his son. "I won't let him take my baby from me."
Author's Note: So, what did ya think? Well, I'm off to start chapter ten! Leave me a review would ya? Thanks so much for reading! Love you all!