Disclaimer: I don't own the show, the characters or the animals in the zoo. Though I do own the movie Spiderman(at least one copy. Yay for me!).
Warning: Seto is freaked out, Jounouchi is weird, Honda is quiet, Mokuba is...Mokuba, OOC-tendencies are all over the place, bad writing, grammar errors, too long chapter, animals etc.Note: Whoa. This was a long chapter. I'm quite surprised myself. But I do hope you guys will enjoy it. I pity Seto in this chapter... Anyhow, don't want to give anything away.
Unheard Love
Chapter 14
by Growing Pain
"Jounouchi, Honda, what are you two doing here?" Mokuba asked, bewildered. Jounouchi grinned and slung an arm around Hondas neck.
"Well, Honda here wanted to go to the zoo, and who am I to deny his simple wish?" He spoke dramatically, as if he had made a sacrifice of sorts. The brunet under his arm struggled to get free, which he eventually did, and glared at the blond.
"Yeah, right…!" The spiky haired teen muttered quietly, folding his arms, and looked at the opposite direction of the blond. The said blond immediately hit his arm, glaring.
Seto watched the scene, standing behind Mokuba with a glare. This could not be happening. It was obvious Katsuyas' friend didn't want to be there, and that the blond had this planned. But why? Could it be, that he had found out about his feeling towards him, and wanted to expose him to the world? The CEO kept his collected appearance, but was panicking inside.
"So anyway -" Jounouchi started, his eyes now fixated on the blue eyed brunet. "I heard that you were talking about me."
"Well, he was about to." Mokuba said, slightly disappointed over not having his brother able to answer his question. The CEO was still quiet, staring at the blond with suspicion. "Seto was going to tell me how the two of you started to become friends, actually."
"Now that's something I want to hear!" Honda stated, grinning at his blond friend.
"What? You don't know either?" Mokuba asked the brunet curiously.
"Are you kidding? Jou here barely talks about it! And of course, Kaiba hasn't said anything either."
It was awkward for him, indeed, having everyone talk about him when he was right there, but being ignored all the same. Yet he did not wish to be a part of the discussion. So he kept his mouth closed, observing, and taking everything in.
"Awesome! Then they can tell it now, can't they?" Mokuba said with a satisfied smirk, taking after his older brother all to well. Seto wasn't sure if he should be proud or fear what the younger could find out.
"Yeah! Come on now man!" Honda said, giving the blond a friendly hit on the back.
"Uh… well, sure. I mean, if it's okay with you Kaiba." Jounouchi answered, looking into blue eyes. Seto nodded. He had to show absolutely no emotion at all. He was not going to be found out.
The Kaiba brothers started to walk once more, assuming the two others would follow them to the tigers, because it was unnecessary to simply stand still only to talk. That task could be achieved when walking as well.
"So, Jounouchi? Going to start anytime soon?" Mokuba asked, not looking at the blond but ahead of where he walked instead.
"Okay… well… one day we danced and -"
"Hang on!" Mokuba said, his eyes widened. "Dance! Why would my brother dance? And with you!" He asked, surprised and shocked.
"Hey, I'm perfect dancing material!" The blond defended, insulted. "Besides, it was PE, and we had to. And I wasn't so keen on it either!" He continued. The younger Kaiba looked up at his brother, who had successfully avoided the conversation so far.
"Seto? I thought you skipped PE when it's dance on the schedule…" The raven haired boy asked, surprised his brother had broken a pattern of his.
"It wasn't on the schedule. We were supposed to have sports. But they changed it, and by that time I had already changed clothes." He replied, not looking down at his brother. If he just stayed emotionless everything would be fine.
"So anyhow… We danced, and we talked, and then the lesson was over and -"
"Yeah right!" Honda said sarcastically, taking the younger Kaibas attention.
"What?" The raven haired asked, wondering what was missed out.
"Your beloved brother over there started a fight with Jou, and pinned him to the ground! Did you just forget that, Jou?" Honda asked, looking to his left where Jou was walking. Mokuba grinned, happy to know his brother didn't seem to have changed all that much.
"Well, we made up after that, so I don't really care. Anyhow -"
"Made up? When? How?" Mokuba asked.
"Uhh… I think it was an English class. And Kaiba sort of apologized." The blond said absentminded, trying to tell the story without being interrupted once more. Mokubas' eyes widened, but he said nothing this time. "So after that day we just started hanging out, I guess."
"Wow… that was boring." Honda declared, faking a yawn.
"Seto, I think you should tell the story! You're much better at that." Mokuba said, turning to his brother with a smile. The CEO cursed in his mind. Why did everything have to go downhill?
"I think Jounouchi cleared everything out."
"Seto! Come on! You promised!"
"No I didn't."
"Seto!"
"Fine…" The CEO said with a sigh, giving in. All three pair of eyes were focused on him, everyone walking on his right, Mokuba being the closest, then Jounouchi and finally Honda.
"Everything started when Jounouchi kept harassing me -" Kaiba began, his tone with no emotion at all.
"What!" The blond exclaimed, angered.
"And he never let me out of his sight."
"Excuse me!"
"Eventually he even stalked me during classes."
"What the fuck!"
"And on lunch hours."
"Kaiba you bastard!"
"And that's the story." The brunet finished, still looking ahead of him. Ah, they had arrived at the tigers. Finally. Now there was something else for everyone to focus on.
"That's not it at all!" Jounouchi bellowed, glaring. Slowly the brunet turned his head toward the other, staring with indifference.
"Uhm, I'm sure he's just joking, right Seto?" Mokuba said, trying to calm Jou down, while holding his brothers hand to get his attention. "Right, Seto?"
"Whatever." The elder Kaiba shrugged off, directing his gaze at the tigers. Brown eyes still glared furiously at him, fists clenched. The younger Kaiba noticed, and tried to talk to his brother once more.
"Seto? Perhaps you want to tell the story again."
"Why?"
"Well… Tell it with more depth."
"It was deep enough."
"Come on, brother."
"Fine. What do you want to hear?"
"The day you two became friends."
"Hmpf. Like that asshole even remembers." Katsuya muttered to himself and folded his arms, glaring at the tigers instead.
"Are you saying I have a bad memory?" Seto asked coldly, finally acknowledging the other with a look.
"Maybe I do."
"Hmpf. Idiot."
"Snob!"
"I'm not even sure these two are friends to begin with." Honda commented to Mokuba, staring disbelievingly at the two argue.
"For your information, I do remember." Seto declared to the blond, not paying any attention to the two onlookers.
"Like hell you do! Your head is probably full with your stupid game codes and other business work!"
"What do you care, if I remember or not!"
"Who said I do!"
"This is getting nowhere…" Mokuba said in a low tone, shaking his head disapprovingly. But the two arguing paid no attention, already having fallen back to an old cycle where they were comfortable, safe.
"Why else would you make a big deal about it!" The brunet asked.
"Aha! So you admit you forgot it!"
"I did no such thing!"
"Just tell us when it happened and end this madness!" Honda urged to Kaiba, who glared at him with icy blue eyes.
"Why should I?" That day had involved touching… On his chest. That was a secret he planned on taking to his grave.
"To get this over with!" Mokuba explained.
"Hn. Fine."
"Well, going to start anytime soon?" Katsuya asked, looking at the brunet, who looked back.
"You were upset. So you sat on a bench by yourself. I was late for school, and saw you. We talked. We went to class. We got kicked out. In the hall we talked once more. After that, it was official." Seto explained, making sure he left out any part hinting towards his feelings for the other. Katsuya smirked, appearing happy.
"Hey, you do remember!"
"Idiot…" Kaiba muttered and turned away from him.
"Well, now that we got that all cleared out, how about we go and watch the elephants?" Mokuba asked, trying to take the tension away. Katsuya started to chuckle.
"He he, elephants. And Kaibas ears."
"Shut up! They are normal sized I tell you!" Kaiba told the blond in a venomous voice. Honda and Mokuba watched the two of them, puzzled. Better if they didn't know what was going on, the brunet thought. And with a snort Kaiba started to walk to the direction of the said elephants, not caring if he was followed or not. As expected, his younger brother was right behind him, looking worriedly at the older one. Honda and Jounouchi stared a few seconds at each other, trying to figure out what the mood swing was about. But, seeing as how the Kaiba brothers had already gotten far away, they shrugged and jogged after them.
"Uh… Seto? Are you okay?" The raven haired teenager asked in a low voice, trying to keep the conversation private. But the blond obviously didn't get the hint.
"Hey, maybe he's just having his time of the month?" Katsuya said, trying to cheer the kid up. But this only made the Kaiba brothers glare at him, full force.
"Wha? What did I do now!" He complained, receiving a snort from Seto and a 'hmpf' from Mokuba.
"Good thinking you had there." Honda replied sarcastically, amused by the situation. His blond friend sighed.
"Just… shut up!"
This was not how it was supposed to be. He was meant to be kept in the background and not show off any emotions. Otherwise, who knew what might happen? No, he needed to go back to being quiet. After all, it was only going to be for a while. How long could they be accompanied by the two teenagers, anyway?
Thinking he finally had the situation under control, he smirked, and his brother relaxed. Confidently he turned his head to look at Jounouchi, who looked back with brown eyes, grinning at him. Setos' smirk was still there as he looked at the blond with amused eyes. He would not make it obvious. But, realizing what he was doing; that staring at the object of his affections was probably a bad way of sticking to the plan, he averted his gaze down to his brother instead. That was normal. If he kept to his brother, no one would suspect anything. He wouldn't have the chance to talk to Jounouchi or anything similar. If he just pretend he didn't hear anything when the blond was talking to him, everything would be fine…
He snorted mentally at himself. Is this what he had become? A coward? Afraid of a lowlife like Jounouchi? Ha! That would never be the case. He had simply let his mind rush a bit too much. No worries. No harm done… yet. And he would keep it that way as well.
"So…uh…done anything interesting lately, Jou?" Mokuba asked, trying to take away the painful silence in the group. Seto looked at the road and at his brother from time to time, desperate to make his feelings unseen.
"Well…I've just been hanging with my friends. Ditching school. You know, the usual." He answered in a short manner, his eyes fixated at the CEO.
"How about you, Honda?"
"The same…just not skipping school. I'm actually trying to be able to graduate!" He said jokingly, showing off a grin towards his blond comrade, who gave the same gesture back. "So how about you Mokuba?" Oh no, this was not awkward at all, Kaiba thought sarcastically. Couldn't there be a life and death situation when you really needed one? Surely, saving the world once more would be a lot easier than this! Deciding this was all useless, he tuned out, trying to solve his own petty problems.
"Oh…pretty much the same. And I don't skip classes either." Mokuba said, hoping his brother heard the last sentence and be proud. But the brunet was still in his own world, ignoring all around him.
"Good thing you don't take after your brother." Katsuya said encouragingly, giving a smile to the boy.
"What do you mean?" The raven haired boy asked while knitting his brow, not fully understanding.
"About the ditching school part."
"But Seto only does that when he has to attend business. And that's a valid reason." Mokuba corrected in a calm manner. The blond started to chuckle softly.
"Oh boy. He ain't a saint, kid. We've ditched classes plenty of times!"
"What?" Mokuba asked, surprised. Honda elbowed the blond, not liking the idea of revealing that piece of information.
"Uh…I meant…in…in…gym! Yes! In PE! He always ditched when there was dancing involved!" Katsuya said, trying to take back what he said. The brunet the conversation was about however, was walking a bit behind them, concentrated on his own thinking, thus clearing out their conversation.
"You're lying." Mokuba stated, narrowing his eyes at the blond. "Tell me the truth." He demanded, his seriousness much alike his older brothers'.
"Uh…Well…" Katsuya started off, not wanting to reveal things the CEO wished to keep a secret. Instead he lit up a with a smile and walked to the blue eyed man, trying to take the topic away.
"Hey there Kaiba! You've been out of it quite some time now. Want water?" He said, walking alongside the brunet. Seto, not liking the fact that the blond was directing his attention on him, merely glared before turning his eyes back on the road, continuing to walk. A few moments later he could hear his younger sibling speaking to him.
"Uh… Seto? We're at the elephants now." Mokuba said, walking up to his brother who had walked away from them.
"Yeah. You can stop walking now." Katsuya said, tilting his head at the odd behaviour. Understanding this must come out as extremely peculiar, Kaiba kept his cool.
"I know that. I just thought you were all finished."
"But we just got here." The blond said, his eyes narrowed, looking bewildered at the brunet.
"Like there's anything to look at to begin with." He replied with a snort, folding his arms as he rejoined the group with his brother beside him.
"Maybe he just doesn't like animals…?" Honda asked his friend quietly as the CEO passed the two of them. But that futile attempt to make the sentence unheard was not working. Though the brunet was quite pleased, hoping that is what the two would believe onwards. He simply didn't like animals. Yes. That could work.
The group was not quite comfortable with one another, each man having their own reasons. And this behaviour was kept for a while, seeing as nothing of real interest came up as a topic to break the ice. But, out of politeness, they stayed together, watching two more animal kinds inside cages. Yet, after the lions, the blond started to get a certain look in his eyes as he directed his gaze at the CEO. A knowing smile placed onto his lips, as he began to speak.
"So Kaiba. Where's that lovely girlfriend of yours? Arisu, right?" He asked smugly. The brunet was completely thrown of guard on that one, not expecting the blond to still have suspicions. He answered as he narrowed his eyes at the other.
"I told you, she's out camping." He told him dryly, with a look of arrogance as he turned his eyes back to the lions. Mokuba, knowing about the girlfriend operation and that it needed to be kept a secret, started to look worriedly at his older brother. But no comforting gaze was given back to him.
"Really? How long can that be? I mean, a little weird, ain't it? First you two are in every other tabloid, and then she just mysteriously disappears to go camping?"
"It was Setos' idea." Mokuba said, using his normal tone. His older brother looked at him with wide eyes. Was he going to tell…?
"Seto wanted her to take some time away from the world since all the media attention bugged her." Mokuba declared, appearing honest. But Seto knew that his brother lied. He lied, for him. His blue eyes grew soft, if even for a second, as he looked down at Mokuba, whom protected his lies.
"Well Mokuba. Sounds very considerate of your brother. But… have you actually met her?" The blond asked, confidence covering his aura. But the younger teenager kept his calm and seemingly earnest look.
"Of course." He lied once more. "Several times. She's a nice girl, you know." The raven haired male stated, having a small smirk on his face. "Why do you ask?" Katsuya narrowed his eyes, but resentment nor anything alike shone through. Instead he simply seemed displeased.
"Oh. No reason." He shrugged off, taking his hands in his pockets. Though the brunet knew better, and he observed the blond quietly with icy blue eyes.
"Are we done here yet? It's getting boring… Can't we see another animal now?" Katsuya complained to no one in particular.
"Sure. Why not." Mokuba agreed, and the group started moving again with no destination set. The awkwardness of it all…overwhelming. And it's all that damned Jounouchis fault!
"Hey Kaiba, why you looking so weird?" The blond asked with curiosity. The spiky haired brunet sighed.
"Jou, maybe he's just thinking on, oh I don't know, his girlfriend? You brought the subject up remember? Perhaps he's actually able to miss someone." The blond looked surprised at his friend, and turned to the CEO once more.
"Is that true?"
"Mind your own business." Kaiba said, his voice telling the other to keep his distance. But the blond never did pay attention to his subtle warnings.
"Jerk! I'm just trying to be nice here."
"Do us both a favour and do it somewhere else then."
"Kaiba you -"
"Oh hey guys look!" Mokuba interrupted, obviously trying to distract them both.
"What?" Both males asked while glaring at each other.
"It's a…a…a…"
"A hot dog stand!" Honda declared, helping the kid out. Seto snorted rudely.
"So?"
"What do you mean so? That means food is close!" Katsuya explained, having high thoughts of any edible substances it seemed. The brunet narrowed his eyes.
"You actually mean you're hungry? Again? Hmpf. You ate like a pig in school."
"That was hours ago!"
"You're going to get fat, you idiot. Which increases the risks of heart attacks."
"Hey I exercise you know!"
"With the amount of food shoved down your throat you need non-stop exercise."
"I eat how much I want! And I ain't fat! And I'm not going to be either!"
"Yes that plan sounds good." Mokuba said, trying to get them both to calm down without shouting at them. Meanwhile he gave his brother a look, telling him to behave.
"Hmpf." Seto said, not going to further insult the other as he picked up what his brother was trying to do.
"Seto? Do you mind getting me a hotdog?" His younger brother asked innocently. He could see he was planning something, but he didn't know what.
"Whatever." The brunet said as he turned around to leave the group.
"I'm going to get myself one, too." The blond declared, attempting to follow.
"No!" The raven haired boy said, earning the attention of the group members, including his older brother, who turned around to look suspiciously at his younger sibling.
"Seto can get one for you. How about you, Honda? You want one too?" The boy stated, having all eyes on him.
"Uh…sure."
"Good. Seto, that's three hotdogs now, okay?"
"Hn." What was he trying to do? Make him turn into a waiter? He should appreciate the fact that he did these things for him…
He walked to the hotdog stand, a little bit on the grumpy side, but he never was in a sunshine mood either, so it was nothing special. As he walked up to it, annoyed by all the people occupying the zoo, he heard jogging footsteps behind him. Soon, a shorter figure walked beside him.
"He suspects something." Mokuba said, his tone serious. Obviously he was referring to Jounouchi, and his behaviour concerning Arisu earlier.
"Yes." Seto stated, his tone gone to his business one. After all, this seemed to be just that. "He has ever since the beginning."
"And you haven't tried to stop it?" His brother asked, turning his head so he could see the brunets' face.
"No. No safety precaution of real value has been made." He admitted bitterly. Great. Now his own brother was going to think he was stupid.
"We have to do something. What if he figures out?" Mokuba asked, still serious, as his brother walked up to the hotdog seller and paid for three hotdogs. Quickly, they were handed to him, and the two started to walk back. Slowly this time, so the discussion could continue.
"It sounds like you have a suggestion…"
"Well. Maybe. Has he met her?"
"Briefly."
"Did Arisu and you appear to be in love with each other then?"
"You know I hate to show emotions. Especially if they're not real."
"I'll take that as a no…"
"Hn."
"You and Arisu should go on a date on Wednesday. That's the day she comes back. It said so in the file."
"Sounds reasonable enough. But I have a feeling you've got something else in mind."
"Yes. Bring Jounouchi with you." The CEO raised an eyebrow, thinking his brother had lost his mind.
"I don't see the purpose of it."
"That way you can prove you love her. At least, appear to love her."
"I don't like it."
"Seto, it's necessary. Think about the company. What if the secret goes out public?"
"What if he isn't fooled?" He asked in a cold voice.
"Then you're screwed."
"I don't like the odds."
"Seto, you can do it. You can do anything." Mokuba said, and his brother made a small sigh.
"Fine."
"Good. I'm glad you agreed."
"You'll make a fine business man one day, Mokuba."
"Hey, I learned from the best." The younger of the two said, smiling up proudly. Seto let his gaze fall on his brother and gave a hint of a smile back.
"Finally! The food has arrived!" Katsuya cheered, and snatched a hotdog from Kaibas' hands. "I'll give you back your money later." He said as he chewed, enjoying the taste.
"No need." The brunet said with an emotionless voice, as he gave one of the two remaining hotdogs to his brother and the final one to Honda, who still appeared uncomfortable with him around. Well, the feeling was mutual.
It didn't take long before the two teenagers had swallowed down the given food, and everyone seemed to wait for the raven haired teen to finish. While doing this Katsuya licked his thumb, who had gotten a large amount of ketchup over it. This activity did not go by unnoticed for the brunet, whilst the two others paid no attention to it at all.
"So Jou -" Mokuba started off after he saw that the blond had finished eating. "Arisu is coming back on Wednesday, you know."
"And?" Katsuya asked, hands in pockets since the ketchup had been sucked up, wondering why this piece of information was given to him.
"Seto is going on a date with her then." The younger teenager declared. In return the blond knitted his brow.
"So? Who cares."
"You could join them if you want." He said with a light shrug, eating the last bite of his 'food' while the elder Kaiba watched the two of them talk with folded arms and an uncaring face.
"Uh…why?"
"Well, you're friends now. And Seto thinks it's time you two meet."
"For real?" He asked, but this time to the brunet. Right. Remember to stick to the plan.
"Yes."
"So, you don't mind me coming along?"
"No." The CEO stated. Oh what a liar he was. Not only was he going to have that girl clinging onto him, no. Jounouchi would watch it all as well. Terrific. Why did he get himself into these kinds of situations to begin with?
"A-alright then…" The blond said, appearing unsure about the whole thing. Well, then they were at least two thinking the same thing. Hesitantly a small smile grew on Jounouchis' lips, but the CEO looked away.
Silence emitted between the four of them, no one really sure of what to say. And, in his boredom, Mokuba caught the sight of something interesting.
"Seto! Look!" He said excitedly as he pointed in the direction he wished his brother would look. The older Kaiba turned his head slowly as he observed. There was a sign saying something about people could go and pet the goats the zoo owned. Sceptically he turned his head back and locked eyes with his brother.
"Can I go? Please? I like animals, but you never let me have one. And I think it's only fair if I can go and see them. But just for a while. And I would -"
"Fine." He interrupted his brothers' rambling. Who cares. It's only going to be a couple of goats. What damage could they do? Besides, it was not he who was going to run around with them.
"Alright! I'll come with you kid. Want to come, Honda?" Katsuya asked, smiling.
"Um… No. Not today."
"Suit yourself." The blond said with a shrug as he and the younger teenager led the way to where the said goats would be publicly displayed.
"This is going to be interesting. I've never petted a goat before." Katsuya said to Mokuba, who nodded.
"Me neither. I wonder if they'll be like dogs or cats."
"Only one way to find out." The blond said, grinning, as he arrived at a fenced area, Seto and Honda right behind them.
It was nothing fancy. It was nothing clean, either. The owners had put up a fence, a cheap fence to say the least, around a half large area. Inside were a couple of goats, all of them small. Good. None of them seemed to have developed horns either. Outside the fence was a man, collecting money from those who stepped inside to play with the animals. Dutifully, Seto paid. Unconsciously for both of them, which the blond once again promised his money would be returned. Once again the brunet claimed it was not needed.
And then the raven haired boy and the blond were led to the entrance gate, a very cheap gate as well. Didn't look like it could hold anything up, to be quite honest. Why didn't anyone bother with quality anymore?
With smiles they entered the area, and the CEO and the other brunet watched. But, finding the smell nauseating, Seto walked away to the nearest bench located a few metres away. At least it still made him have full view so he could watch. Yes, he had a hard time relaxing. Finally sitting, he put one leg over the other and folded his arms, letting his eyes rest on his brother and his romantic interest. Well, they were in there together. Why couldn't he watch over him too?
God, he was pathetic…
Honda made small steps to the bench he was sitting on and sat down beside him. He seemed to want something. The CEO was very used to people wanting get things from him, he grown to be quite skilful at telling when that would happen. But he was not going to start the conversation. It was not he who wished for anything.
The brunet beside him adjusted himself. So he was nervous, was he? It was hard not to smirk. But he shouldn't. Shouldn't reveal he knew something was up. After a while a deep inhale was heard. Then Honda cleared his throat, perhaps to gain his attention. Ha. Idiot. He would have to work harder for it.
"Kaiba?" Well, that's more like it. Now what was it that the idiot wanted?
"Mhm." Seto replied, showing that he had heard. But his eyes were still on the two boys inside the goat cage.
"I know you're not as bad as you seem. But…you can also be very deceptive." The man beside him said, his voice was serious, but faltering a bit.
"Is that so?" Kaiba replied with an somewhat amused voice.
"I do believe that people can change. But you just did it so quickly."
"What are you implying?"
"Jou's a good guy. And if you're only pretending to be his friend to get something out of him…" Honda said in a protective voice, sounding almost threatening. "I will make you hurt." The brunet beside him promised, keeping his eyes on something in front of him. The CEOs' face was emotionless, as if no threat had been spoken to him. He still had his eyes on Mokuba and Jounouchi, in a observing manner. Inside he was rolling his eyes at the empty threat. What did the idiot plan to do? Fight him? Right… He could take him down easily.
He did not speak. Perhaps the man beside him wanted some sort of answer. After all, he can't just expect to threaten him and not get a reply.
"You do know it's illegal to threaten people. Especially someone of such high importance as myself." His voice was cold and matter-of-factly. It was business now. And not the friendly kind either.
"I just can't see it…" Honda started off, seeming to be lost in thought. Yet his voice remained serious. "The two of you hated each other. You put him down all the time. And now you're friends. Am I really supposed to believe that?" He asked mockingly. Well, the man did have a point. Too bad you can't decide who your heart gets attached to. Otherwise he would have never fallen for Jounouchi.
"Believe whatever you want."
"You treat him like dirt." The voice, so venomous. Yet it had no effect on him.
"I do what I please."
"Not with my friends!" Seto snorted, taunting the one beside him. But never did his eyes falter from the two.
"What are you going to do? Tell him to stop spending time with me? He's capable of his own decisions."
"He's blinded." The spiky haired brunet explained.
"So are you."
"I don't want him to get hurt."
"Despite his childish behaviour he's not a kid anymore." Seto said, tired of being accused.
"I don't even know what the hell he sees in you." Honda stated bitterly.
"Same goes for you." He replied, a calm voice used.
"I'll kick your ass if you're just using him."
"These assumptions are getting worn-out." Kaiba declared in a bored and annoyed tone. "I'd prefer it if you start being rational and leave me alone."
"Is this about Yuugi?" Honda asked, ignoring what the CEO had told him. The anger behind his words was still there. Though the blue eyed brunet did not understand what the midget had to do with anything, so he kept quiet.
"Is this your personal vendetta against him? Just because you can't win in that stupid game, you decide to play with people instead?" He asked once more, his voice going up a bit.
"So you just decided one morning to take Jounouchi away from him? Is that it? You want to break us all up?" Still angry, but not shouting. At least he wasn't making a scene, which was something, compared to the blond he was watching. Yes, Jounouchi seemed quite attached to a white goat in there, as well as Mokuba, who smiled brightly at the white creature. Perhaps they had cornered it, so it would be unable to escape.
But back to the present discussion… Which was growing quite irritating, to be frank.
"I'm afraid you've got it all wrong." He stated. No more would he get out. He would not declare that he liked Jounouchi, nor that he didn't wish to hurt him. Yet, that is. In the end the blond had to suffer for all these feelings he'd caused. But for now…no, he wouldn't harm him.
"I hope so." Honda said, his voice calmer now. Then no one spoke. For what was there to talk about, after what they had said?
The minutes passed, and Kaiba obsessively kept his gaze locked on Mokuba and Jounouchi. Like there was anything better to look at anyway. The man beside him did the contrary, and didn't really seem to pay the two any interest beside the occasional glance. No, he was playing with a stick he'd found on the ground. Honestly, couldn't he just go away? Sit somewhere else for crying out loud. Annoying idiot…
He didn't like this place. Too crowded. Of both humans and animals. Twice the pain in the ass. Mokuba should be grateful he put up with it. He sighed mentally at himself. Who was he kidding? His brother was grateful, and he'd go to this damned zoo everyday if Mokuba truly wanted him to.
The goat Mokuba and Jounouchi had smothered with love before finally seemed to have escaped, running away from them. He could not exactly hear what they said, but the blond seemed to yelling at it to come back. He smirked. As if a goat obeys a total stranger. Ha. What an idiot. The most interesting idiot he'd ever met, but still…
There were others in that fenced area too, but they both seemed very keen on having precisely that goat. So they both kept chasing it, running after it. Jounouchi did it without calculation, blindly running after it, trying to catch it. His own brother on the other hand seemed to try and figure out where it wanted to go, and ran there instead. Eventually, they had it cornered once more. Perhaps he should pity it. Those two can be quite a handful on their own. Who knows the impact they held together.
The blond forced it to lie down with both his hands, though the animal seemed to fight back. The raven haired teen caressed it to calm it down, which appeared to work. Eventually it lied peacefully on the ground, with the two boys petting it contently after a high five. Feh. It probably understood it was worthless to fight back, and that they would have to leave eventually. Poor, defenceless creature.
Calmly he arose from the bench, startling the brunet beside him. But he did not care about that. Instead he walked over to the cage, his eyes locked on the scene in front of him. Apparently Jounouchi took notice of his arrival, and smiled widely. As Seto came closer, since he wanted to go to the fence to tell them they should move on, Katsuya picked up the goat and got up. They stood in front on one another, on the opposite side of the fence. Not that it was a high fence. Barely reached up to his waist.
"Hi Kaiba!" The blond said enthusiastically. Mokuba joined the blond and walked up to the fence too, wearing a smile to greet his brother. "Look what we caught!" Katsuya said with a smile as he held the white creature in front of Setos' face.
"Yes…I see." Kaiba told the blond, telling him with his eyes to remove it.
"It's cute, ain't it?" He asked as he gave it to Mokuba instead, who held it tightly to his chest.
"It's ugly and filthy. I don't even want to think of all the germs it could be carrying."
"But it's still cute." Mokuba defended. So it seemed those two had found a common ground then. How joyful…
"I'm sure there must be other activities you wish to do here Mokuba. Let's leave."
"But Jounouchi and I were having such a blast!" The black haired boy complained, but put down the goat to the ground, obliging. Seto bent over the fence to pick his brother up, wearing a mask of indifference as he did so. It was just built in to his system. To not show care. The blond on the other hand simply jumped over the fence with a grin. Why did he always have to look so happy?
"Hi there Honda! You sure missed something!" Katsuya said as the approaching man came into view.
"Just feeling a bit too tired to roll in the dirt." He shrugged off, looking as if nothing had happened. Seto sent him a glare, but turned to Mokuba afterwards as he had started to speak.
"What should we do now?"
"Eat!" Jounouchi answered excitedly, rubbing his hands, while probably thinking of all the tasteful things he wished for.
"You just ate." Kaiba protested, receiving a knowing smile from the blond.
"Kaiba, Kaiba. That was only a small, puny hotdog! That's nothing!"
"Hmpf."
"I could surely eat once more." Honda uttered, rubbing his stomach.
"Yeah, running after that goat took out some energy." Mokuba voiced, looking at his brother.
"Could we go eat? I think they serve hamburgers not so far away…" The younger brother asked carefully.
"Whatever." Seto said.
"Yeah! Food! Here I come!" Katsuya cheered out, appearing full of energy. Mokuba chuckled.
"Calm down Jou, it's not a mission! It's just some food!" He said amused.
"To you maybe. But to me, it's my life." He said in a joking voice, making the kid chuckle some more.
Normally, he would have disliked this sort of scene. But, since this included his younger brother and Jounouchi, he was quite content. For a moment he actually forgot about the other brunet, who was overly protective. Though he did have reasons… He did plan to hurt Jounouchi as if to celebrate, once these feelings goes away.
A lively discussion about what sort of junk food was the best took place on the way to where they served burgers. Though the CEO did not join in on it, for several reasons. For one, he didn't even like junk food. Food was meant to be nutritious and healthy and to help your body. And he wasn't a person who enjoyed discussions to begin with. Especially not concerning food. Case closed.
Once everyone had gotten their respective hamburger, while he himself took a cup of coffee, they sat at two benches in front of each other with a table in between them. Gracefully, he drank his hot liquid, taking in its smell through his nostrils. It sure had a very nice scent. Mokuba ate his hamburger as he listened a conversation going on between Jounouchi and Honda, who in turn ate their food with enthusiasm. Talking and eating at the same time, of course. Disgusted, he looked away, sipping on his coffee.
"Kaiba?" Asked a friendly voice. The CEO turned his head towards the blond, raising an eyebrow.
"What?"
"What do you want to do?" Katsuya asked, looking at him with curious brown eyes.
"Nothing." He answered, not sure what the blond meant.
"Come on, you're bored as hell. Don't deny it."
"I'm not."
"Then what do you want to do?"
"I told you. Nothing."
"But we've only done stuff we wanted to do. It's only fair for you to decide next."
"Whatever Mokuba wants." He shrugged off, turning his head away to look at nothing in particular.
"Guess the decision is on you, kid." Jounouchi declared. "So, decide our fates now please." He joked while grinning.
"Let's see. We could always look at a few more animals, then I'll say what we will do." The younger boy promised with a smug smirk. Though no one seemed to pick it up, or simply ignored it.
After a bit more of discussing, eating, and simply boring activities the brunet would rather escape, they seemed to finally go, promenading to the crocodiles. In the front was Mokuba and Honda, as they talked about some sort of game. What he did not know. He hadn't bothered to listen carefully enough. And the blond…well, he seemed very keen on walking beside him. Not that minded. Much.
"It's a nice day, isn't it?" He asked softly as the wind gently swayed his blonde hair.
"Nice days bring out too many people." Kaiba stated, showing he was displeased with it.
"Well, it brought out you too, didn't it?" He asked with a grin, his eyes looking at him outmost perfection. If he was only allowed to stare. To touch. That would be nice…
"Hn."
"Come on. Don't be so grumpy." The blond urged.
"Why not?" He asked dully.
"I just don't want you to." He answered simply.
"Too bad for you."
"You'll never change, that's for sure." He said with a small smile. "But I can live with that."
"How unfortunate for me."
"Now, don't push it!" He warned, earning an amused smirk from the CEO. In turn the blond appeared confused at first, but smiled anyhow.
If he could just touch…only for a little while.
XxxX
"Whoa, that sure is one ugly crocodile!" Jounouchi said as they appeared to be at their destination. It was all behind glass windows, giving people a closer look as to how it was like. Close by were also snakes, the CEO noticed. Comfy little place, really…
Calmly he walked up to the glass where his brother and Honda stood as well, staring at the reptile and the environment. The group was currently standing in a sort of cave the zoo had built, leading to a dark setting with little light. It was also a bit humid in there.
"Look! It moved!" Mokuba stated, fascinated. The two older boys did as told and watched it intensely. The CEO himself stood a few metres behind them, looking at Jounouchi with interest instead. They had all their back turned towards him, so they couldn't see. Why must temptation always exist whenever that idiot is around!
Firmly he walked up to them, getting closer, until he stood right behind the blond. No one noticed, to his luck. His hand wished to be able to touch that golden hair that was so clear to him even in this dark setting. But it remained inside his pocket. He inched his face forward to the back of Jounouchis' head, his mouth dangerously close to the other ones' ear.
"Did I miss something?" He asked in a completely normal tone, as if it was nothing weird going on at all. The blond was clearly startled and jumped back a bit because of the scare. His shoulders pressed against Kaibas' chest, and he looked up and let out a sigh only to move back to his original position. This time facing the CEO.
"Shit! You scared the hell out of me!" He stated, taking deep inhales. The brunet smirked.
"Did I, now?" He asked, that smirk still on his face, and with a voice that for once wasn't emotionless.
"Hell yeah! And stop looking so damn full of yourself." He said with a short glare before turning around to look at the crocodile. The CEO kept smirking even after Katsuya had turned his back to look at the reptile instead. He directed his blue to his left where the two others stood. And he was met by Mokubas' eyes, looking at him. For a second his eyes widen. Had his brother seen that? That he was so close with Jounouchi?
Mokuba kept looking at him, bewildered. Slowly Seto stepped away from the blond to increase the distance. And to escape his brothers' looks he placed himself to the right side of Jounouchi, who was extremely captured by the creature behind the glass. Solemnly he stared straight ahead, cursing himself for even doing such a stupid act. What if his brother figured out? What would he do? What would he think? But it hadn't looked that wrong, had it? Perhaps he would only think of it as a friendly scare. Then…why did he stare at him like that? With that confused look?
"Hey…" The blond said in a low, soft voice. Caring brown eyes watching him. "Are you okay?" A hand was lightly placed on the CEOs' left shoulder in a reassuring way. His cold eyes kept looking in front of him.
"Yeah…" The blond took away his hand, letting it hang by his side once more. His eyes looked at him sceptically, but said nothing. Afterwards those eyes turned back to the reptile as he sighed.
Minutes went by, and everyone made a sound every time that reptile started to move. Which eventually got pretty tiring for the brunet. Nothing he could do about it though. Instead he focused on his problems. As always. But something disturbed his thinking as he felt a smaller hand hold his right one. Surprised, he looked down, and saw his brother smiling as usual to him.
"Are you ready to go?" He asked. Seto was still for a few seconds. Perhaps… Mokuba didn't know. Perhaps it had been his lucky day. Yes…
And silently he thanked whatever god that lived, for the fact that his brother seemed oblivious to this particular matter.
"Yes." He answered, his throat a bit dry.
"Good. Let's go then." He said, still smiling, as he started walking while holding his older brothers' hand firmly.
Once the group reached the outside they stopped, not knowing where to go.
"Well…the place is closing soon." Katsuya said weakly.
"Yeah." Honda said, looking absentminded. Mokuba started to smile once more.
"I think it's time to do what I wanted to do." He said, referring to the previous conversation during their lunch.
"Alright, then." The blond said.
"Though this require Setos' acceptance." Mokuba said, looking up at his brother. Blue eyes watched the boy beside him and narrowed, wondering what the boy was up to.
"You see, Seto promised me that today we would go to the zoo, and rent a movie later." He said, wearing a smug smile.
"And I thought that you could accompany us." He stated, looking confidently at the two teenagers.
"As in, inside your house?" Katsuya asked.
"Mansion." Kaiba corrected, with a small smirk.
"Cool!" The blond said, agreeing.
"You'll come too, right Honda?" Mokuba asked, looking hopeful.
"Uhm…Sure." He said, defeated.
"Alright!" Katsuya cheered, giving his friend a slap on the back.
"Seto hasn't agreed yet, Jou." Mokuba reminded. Instantly the blond calmed down and started to grin.
"Come on Kaiba. You wouldn't say no, would you?"
"Maybe I would." The brunet said with folded arms, showing off a smirk.
"So what would it take for you to say yes?" The blond asked, walking up to him. Still grinning. Did he have to do that so often? Sure, it suited him, but still.
"A lot more than you have to offer."
"You don't even know what I offer." Katsuya stated, folding his arms as well.
"Then tell me, what is it that you offer?"
"Whatever you want. Within reasonable ground."
"Define reasonable -" He started off with a smirk, but was rudely interrupted.
"Alright, alright! Seto, can they come or not?" Mokuba shot in. Perhaps his brother did not enjoy these games as much as the two teenager did.
"Whatever."
"Ha! Victory!" Jounouchi said as he high-fived Honda.
"Hmpf." The blue eyed brunet said, not liking the blonds' reaction.
"So what are we going to rent? Do you have snacks? Chips? Coke? Perhaps a -"
"Shut up." Kaiba said, getting annoyed. A glare was sent to him, which he paid no attention to. Swiftly he turned around, giving everyone the view of his back, as he walked off to get out of the zoo. Mokuba instinctively ran after, and after a rather loud growl, so did the blond who was accompanied by the spiky haired brunet.
XxxX
It took a few minutes before the black vehicle pulled up in front of the group, which was nothing out of the ordinary. The chauffeur had been rather quick this time, the CEO noted. Politely the said chauffeur stepped out of the limousine and greeted his employers before opening the door for the group.
"What? You can't open a door by yourself?" The blond asked mockingly while grinning.
"Just get in." The brunet replied in an irritated voice. Katsuya did as told and was followed by Honda and then Mokuba. At last the CEO stepped inside after telling the driver to take them to the nearest place where you could rent videos. To his discomfort it appeared that the spontaneous seating arrangements had allowed Mokuba and Honda on one side, and Katsuya on the other. Which meant he was supposed to sit with him. Which also meant it was going to be an awful ride. Why, might someone ask. Well, for one, they were closed inside a limited area. Secondly, the blond seemed to get bored whenever he sat down with the brunet, and lastly, what if he shows his feelings one way or another? There was no way he could walk out. Unless he wanted to get run over by traffic.
Curse the gods. May the devil burn them all.
Reluctantly he seated himself as far away as possible on the same side as Jounouchi after the minor hesitation he showed when he first discovered where he was going to be located. Then, as if it was a bad movie of sorts, the driver closed the door loudly. As if to assure him only doom awaited.
Seeing his beloved briefcase put on the floor, where he let it rest before going inside the zoo, he immediately picked it up and put it beside him. That way there were at least some restrictions to how close Jounouchi could come.
"Are you going to work?" Mokuba asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No." He replied in a cold voice, showing he didn't want the discussion to continue.
"Err…okay."
"So what exactly do you have in that thing?" Jounouchi asked, pointing at the briefcase.
"Nothing that concerns you." Seto replied, his voice cold. He kept his gaze locked on the outside world through the window, making sure he don't look at the other. After the crocodile-stunt he pulled he didn't want to risk anything with Mokubas' suspicions.
"Can I look in it?"
"No." He answered shortly.
"Why?" Katsuya asked curiously.
"Because I don't want you to."
"Why not?"
"Stop asking questions. Be quiet." Seto ordered.
"That's boring."
"Talk to someone else then."
"Maybe I don't want to." The blond said with a grin.
"Don't care. I want you to."
"You're such a control freak." Katsuya declared while rolling his eyes, still keeping the friendly atmosphere around him.
"…" But the CEO ignored him, hoping the driver would just hurry up so he could get out.
"…"
"…"
"So what's all these buttons for?" Jounouchi tried as a change of subject, pointing at the group of small buttons on his side of the car while looking at the CEO. But Seto kept on ignoring him.
"Radio, music, to bring out a small bar, you name it." Mokuba answered, since his older brother paid no attention to the blond.
"You have alcohol in this?" Honda asked, appearing surprised.
"No, we just have a lot of soda in there." The younger Kaiba stated. "Seto wouldn't let those things near me." He explained with a smile.
"Soda, eh? Well, which button brings it out then?"
"It's the big one."
"The big one it is." He said as he pushed the said button, looking
around to see where the reaction would show. From under the middle seat
between him and Seto a supposedly mini bar appeared to slowly come out.
Jounouchis' eyes widened slightly as he was surprised. Mokuba on the
other hand was used to this and casually bent over, reaching for a
random can of sweet, sugar filled liquid.
"If you guys want some you can take a few." He said as he sipped his
own soda. Hesitantly the two teenagers reached for a can of their own,
wondering if the elder Kaiba would have any objections. Luckily, the
brunet kept out of anything that could be considered conversation and
stared out the window.
XxxX
The trip to the video store had gone by rather smoothly. Aside from him, the group had chatted happily with each other. And he was content with not being bothered by them, aside from a few concerned looks from Mokuba that he briefly noticed in the window reflection. Arriving at the so called Video World, the group had decided on a movie called Spiderguy. Or was it Spiderman? Yes that did sound more right.
"Shit! It's huge!" Jounouchi exclaimed when the limousine pulled up to the mansion, leaving both Honda and Jou to gape in envy. Mokuba chuckled, but Seto immediately got out of the vehicle, not bothering to wait for the chauffeur to open the door. It had been a damned long ride. He could feel the stares piercing his back, but he didn't care. He had to get away.
"Hey Kaiba, what's -" Jounouchi bellowed after, attempting to walk after, a confused and concerned look on his face.
"Leave him." Mokuba told him firmly, and the blond stopped, watching the CEO open the door and disappearing into the massive house.
A grateful small smile appeared briefly on the brunets' lips as he heard his brother order the blond to not follow. But no one saw that. If they would, the smile wouldn't even have taken place to begin with.
In a rushed manner he guided himself to the kitchen. He craved coffee. Really bad. Yes, he had grown addicted. But what could one do? Besides, it's nothing dangerous. Or anything too dangerous at least. Quickly he set up the water and took out coffee.
Why doesn't the damned water boil faster!
An irritated sigh escaped through his lips and he ran a hand through his hair. What was wrong with him? Sure, Jounouchi was on his property now. And maybe he'd even gone inside the house already, unless Mokuba was giving them a guided tour on the outside. It was after all rather quiet. And it would be quite the opposite with that loud-mouthed blond inside.
Not a minute too soon had his beloved liquid been prepared. Firmly he took a full cup of it, bringing it with him as walked to the stairs, attempting to go to his room. Of course the briefcase was in his other hand. A man of his importance can't just lay around and do nothing. Free time should be spent working.
Noises were heard, and the front door opened, three familiar figures stepping inside and taking their shoes off. He stopped and looked at them, having three pair of eyes on him as well. After a few seconds he made a snort and walked up the stairs.
"Seto! Come back here! We're going to watch the movie now!" The black haired teenager said, a smile on his lips. Honda and Jounouchi walked around carefully in the large hall, looking at the stairs, walls, sofas and everything else.
"I don't -"
"You promised!" Mokuba reminded, and reluctantly the CEO walked down the stairs with a frown.
"Cheer up Kaiba. The movie is good." Jou comforted, a smile on his lips. Seto only glared back as a response, walking past him and to his brother.
"Fine. But I won't do anything else." He declared, having a serious look.
"Of course not." His younger brother said with a small smile.
"Good." Seto said, turning around to still find his two classmates looking around. "Stop drooling." He ordered in a annoyed tone. Then he exited the hall to another, larger, room they referred to as their living room. Once again, the two newcomers gaped.
"Holy shit Kaiba! I knew you were rich! But this is just… Whoa."
"How articulate of you." Seto said sarcastically, feeling slightly better after seeing how much Jounouchi seemed to like his home. Though he didn't even wish to know why that pleased him. Must be another of those side-affects for the feelings he so reluctantly held.
"Hey I need help to bring out all the snacks, could someone -" Mokuba started off, but was interrupted.
"I'm in!" The blond volunteered with a bright smile. The CEO snorted to himself. The mans' appetite never seemed to go away.
"Good! Alright, Honda you can wait here. Seto, start warming up the sofa!" The blue eyed brunet narrowed his eyes. If it wasn't for the fact that he was his younger brother and that Mokuba always seemed to enjoy taking control, he would have told him to…well, some sort of ill willed comeback that he didn't want to go in on at the current moment.
With a frown he watched the couch. Expensive. Rare. Leather. And now Jou was going to be in it. With food. If that idiot as much as get a drool stain on it, he's going to be thrown out. And pay for it. Same goes for Honda. Though he'd prefer to sue him instead. Drain him of money. Wonder how that would be like.
With no further thinking he sat down on the sofa, the arm rest to his right. That way only one person could sit next to him. And that would surely be Mokuba.
Honda slowly walked to the sofa as well, choosing to sit at the other end. Nothing was spoken between the two. Honda was probably feeling uneasy and out of place, while Kaiba thought too little of the other to bother to insult. Instead he sipped on his coffee to brace himself for the evening that was coming to life.
After a long and boring wait the two who had gone to the kitchen returned, carrying all sorts of snacks. He didn't even want to count them. Why did people even eat so much of the unhealthy substances to begin with? It's useless. It doesn't do any good. Too bad Mokuba was addicted as well.
"Here Honda, Jou said these are your favourite." Mokuba said, giving some sort of chocolate to the spiky haired brunet while seating himself to his right.
"Yeah. Thanks kid."
Wait. Mokuba. Not next to him? That could only mean…
"Hi Kaiba. Missed me?" The blond asked jokingly, sitting next to the CEO as it was the only option left.
Crap. Damn. And any other suitable profanity you can throw in. Why! Why didn't Mokuba sit next to him!
"Hmpf."
"Gah! Your brother is so humourless, Mokuba! I try and I try, but he never appreciates all the hard work I do!" Jou said in a complaining voice, making it obvious he was only joking around. Mokuba chuckled softly, while the CEO had an urge to hit the blonds' head.
"Can we start the movie?" Seto asked, making it sound more like a demand.
"Sure thing, big brother!" The younger of the two said, walking up to the television set in front of them and turned on the necessary equipment. Then he quickly rushed to the wall, turning off the lights. Immediately Seto widened his eyes.
"Mokuba! Turn the lights back on!" All pairs of eyes looked at him suspiciously, though Mokubas' showed concern as well.
"You afraid of the dark or something?" Jou asked, tilting his head.
"Of course not, you idiot." He simply didn't want to sit next to Jounouchi in the dark. What if this was a romance movie!
"Good! Because there's no need to fear, Jou is here!" The blond said with a comforting smile and did a thumbs up. In return everyone in the room, except the CEO, blinked at his bad pun. Seto himself merely looked at him like he was a moron, which he was. The fact that he had feelings for him shouldn't matter.
"Jou…that was the lamest thing I've ever heard." Honda said, rolling his eyes.
"I think I've heard worse…" Mokuba said with afterthought, stroking his chin.
"Yeah! Well… Leave me alone!" The blond said, appearing a bit angered, which only seemed to amuse Honda and Mokuba who both grinned at him. Seto was merely smirking as he looked at the blond. Brown eyes looked into blue ones and he sighed.
"Great! You too? You're all teaming up on me now!" He complained.
"Relax Jou. We're just messing with you." Mokuba assured.
"I know." He said with a shrug, reaching for the popcorn bowl and started to eat.
"Then…why -" Mokuba started, confused.
"It's fun to overreact sometimes." He said with a boyish grin.
"Okay… Well, back to the main topic. Seto, you really want me to turn on the lights again? It's no problem if you want it that way." The younger Kaiba asked, looking at his brother.
"What? No! Kaiba, there's not going to be any good atmosphere if we watch the movie with lights on! That's boring! Right Honda?"
"Yeah." The other teen agreed, though not with as much enthusiasm as the blond was having over the matter.
"See?" Brown eyes looked into his. So close. Too close. Yet not close enough. Everything was stirred, and he felt quite confused as to what he should think. Though one can't really control their thinking for too long of a time, can they?
"Fine…" He reluctantly agreed, folding his arms.
"Yes!" The blond said, appearing happy. A dangerous smirk grew on the CEOs' lips.
"But -" Seto started.
"Oh crap…" The blond said, knowing it couldn't be good. This only amused the CEO even more.
"No sweets for you." He said as he took his bawl of popcorn and placed it back on the table, away from Jounouchi. The facial expression of the other looked as if he had lost something he held dear, which was true to an extent. Deprived. That was the perfect word to describe it.
"You're mean." The blond said after Mokuba had returned to his seat and started the film. Though his brown eyes still stared at the bawl on the table in front of them, as if it would help him get it back.
"You got to have your 'atmosphere'. You can't have the cookie and eat it too." Kaiba explained while smirking. Jounouchi started to chuckle.
"Was that an attempt to make a joke or something?" He said as he turned to face the brunet. The CEO frowned.
"Hmpf."
"It was, wasn't it?" Jounouchi said, his smile growing wider.
"Watch the damn movie." Seto demanded in a irritated tone.
"Don't worry Kaiba. With practice you can almost get as funny as me."
"I don't need practice to be better than you. I already am."
"Apparently not." Katsuya stated with a playful smile, making the brunet glare.
"Sh!" Mokuba uttered, his index finger in front of his mouth, as he glared warningly at them. The two teenagers obliged, though giving each other one arrogant look before turning their gaze to the screen. His brother stared intensely at the movie, appearing to be quite interested. Honda sat and watched, only appearing to be slightly interested. Meanwhile the blond leaned back in the leather couch, giving out a content sigh as he seemed to make himself more comfortable. Seto smirked at the sight, finding it extremely compelling to simply take the other in his arms and never let go. To stroke the blond hair. He often wondered how it felt like. Would it be soft?
Apparently the blond must have felt his eyes on him, as he looked up at him. When he saw there was no menace in his blue eyes he smiled back innocently before turning back to the movie once more. This wasn't so bad after all, the CEO decided. Their bodies were close, their arms almost brushing against each other.
No. This wasn't bad at all.
XxxX
After fifteen minutes in the movie he was already bored. The spider guy had a boring persona with a pathetic crush. Would this movie be a romance? He had to find out. He did not want to watch anything like that.
In a bored manner he reached for the movie cover on the table, trying to find out which genre it was labelled as.
"What are you doing?" Jounouchi whispered, leaning closer to see the cover better, as if he would understand more of why it was so interesting to the CEO all of a sudden.
"Finding out which genre it is…" He muttered as he tried to read in the dark, the television screen being the only source of light. His initial reaction was to not respond to him at all, but he shoved it aside, just for now.
"It's action and adventure." Jounouchi whispered, and the CEO looked up from the cover.
"You sure?" Katsuya rolled his eyes at Setos' ignorance.
"Dude, I've seen this movie a million times. Of course I'm sure." Seto narrowed his eyes at this statement.
"Why did you rent it if you've seen it?" He asked in a low voice, trying not to disturb his brother. Fortunately he seemed to ignore the two.
"Mokuba hadn't seen it. And I said it was good." He continued to whisper.
"Hm." He said, putting the cover back on the table and crossing his leg, sitting straight and properly once more.
"Why did you want to know what kind of genre it is?" Jounouchi asked. So he wanted to have a conversation? Now? Inappropriate time. But…he might as well answer. It would probably be better than that boring movie.
"Didn't want it to be romance." He told the blond simply, continuing to speak in a low voice. The blond tried to silence a chuckle.
"Oh it got some romance, alright." He assured and the CEO groaned inwardly.
"Relax. It's not that much. You'd think I'd watch a cheesy love movie?" He asked with a reassuring grin. Seto smirked affectionately, not realising he was doing so.
"Yes, of course."
"Hey, I ain't a chic you know!" Katsuya defended, hitting Setos' arm playfully, but the CEO kept the smirk on his face.
"Sh!" Mokuba said once more, this time with an even bigger glare.
"Alright, alright! Calm down." The blond said, sighing afterwards. From the corner of his eye the brunet could see that Honda glared at him, though he didn't really care. He didn't matter to him.
He decided to watch the movie once more. It was supposed to be good, and he had promised his brother to watch it. But after another fifteen minutes he quickly got bored once more. Impatiently he tapped his finger on the arm rest, waiting for the movie to come to an end. All the others seemed to be quite in to the plot, their facial expressions matching the scene. But he was too detached from it to care if the spider guy was having troubles or not.
In a second did his dull eyes come alive, as he watched the bawl of popcorn. He smirked at himself, deciding to pester Jounouchi with the fact that he wasn't allowed to eat anything. Hell, he could have a few popcorns just to see the other react.
Arrogantly he reached over and took the bawl, surprising everyone present. But he wasn't interested in their reactions, only in Jounouchis'. And react he did. As he nonchalantly took a few popcorns and started to chew he felt the stare of the other. Confidently he met the brown eyes that glared at him. His facial expression appeared to be even more amused, and took a bit more of the bawls' content. It didn't taste any good, but Jounouchis' reaction was worth it.
"What's the matter? Craving snacks?" Seto asked nonchalantly. Katsuya frowned.
"Bastard." He took a few more, chewing contently.
"I'm starting to understand why you eat so much." He teased. Obviously it was a lie, it didn't taste any good and he would rather not eat it for the rest of his life. Katsuya growled, but turned his head so he faced the screen once more, trying to ignore the other. He brought up his knees to the couch and rested his chin on them, wrapping his arms around his legs. Seto continued to enjoy the moment of Jounouchis' mental torture, giving him credit for not attacking him so far. If this had happened before they became…this close, he surely would have.
"Really tasteful…" The brunet uttered in a low, husky voice, while leaning closer to the blonds' ear. Katsuya visibly stiffened, and he smirked even more at his ability to torment the other, even if just was something silly like food. He could see Mokuba rolling his eyes at him, but otherwise paying little attention to them. Honda on the other hand continued to glare. And that was growing quite annoying by now.
Feeling as if he had gotten the reaction he wanted, he leaned back in his seat, keeping the bawl on his lap, just to annoy the other a bit more. After awhile the blond placed his legs down again and leaned back as well, seeing as the CEO had stopped being a pain in the ass.
Once more, their arms were so close. But he couldn't lean in, he was not the type. It would be suspicious. His blue eyes looked at the bawl his hands held, and stared at it for a moment. Contemplating. Then, out of nowhere, did he push it forcefully to the blonds' stomach, who looked quite shocked to say the least.
"What are you -"
"I'm tired of it, and it disgusts me. And you're a human vacuum cleaner. Get rid of it." He ordered with indifference. Though that didn't keep the blond from smiling widely, like a boy on Christmas. Pathetic. Yet his heart thought otherwise, adoring the sight.
"It's mine?" He asked carefully, still smiling like the moron he was. The CEO kept the emotionless stance.
"I told you to get rid of it. Do what you're told." He said with a snort, and turned his head to face the television instead. Katsuyas' smile remained.
"Just this once." He said, referring to the doing what he was told part, and he greedily started to eat, taking a fist full of the content each time. Out of the corner of his eye did the brunet see his brother smile at him, probably happy he over the fact he was being 'nice'. But he ignored it. Once he had stopped looking he carefully glanced at the blond, seeing him devour the snack enthusiastically. Brown orbs quickly saw that the blue ones watched him, and he grinned and stopped eating. This surprised the other, raising an eyebrow in question. Katsuya gently started to adjust his seating, so he could reach a higher height. Slowly the blonds' face leaned closer to his own, aiming for his ear, and he started to quietly whisper, sending chills down his spine.
"You don't need to be mean to be kind…" The blond uttered, and withdrew his head so he could have eye contact with the other. Setos' heart pumped faster than it had ever done before, having the other so close, and with people watching. Or were they watching? He didn't know. All his eyes could focus on was the face in front of him that haunted him at all times. The blond smiled, looking happy. The brunet was in a trance, unable to move.
With one last glance Katsuya leaned back in his original seat and started to eat again, behaving as if nothing had happened. The brunet himself was still in a daze, staring dumbly at the screen while trying to think properly.
But the blonds' statement was wrong. You do have to be mean to be kind. Otherwise, how would you know the difference?
Unconsciously he started to press himself as much as he could to his right side. This action went by unnoticed of course. He could move in subtle ways. And the blond was getting to close again. Had he heard of personal space? The idiot should extend his vocabulary.
Since he could not resist, he looked at the other with suspicious eyes, and at the same time Jounouchi looked at him with knowing ones. Blue eyes narrowed, and brown ones appeared mischievous.
This was going to be a long evening…
To Be Continued...
Words: 12 115
Man, I've never written this much in a chapter before! It feels weird.
But I wanted it to end at the movie, so I just had to work up til there.
So, we have more of Honda in this chapter. He's always protective of Jou, and they've been friends the longest. He knows Jou the best I think.. And I also think he would react sort of like that, so that's why I wrote it. If you think he's OOC, then I apologise. Mokuba also had different sides showing in this chapter. Jealous, smart, loving, friendly. Hope you all noticed that. And that when the chapter started, Seto was hating the situation. Then, near the end, he thought better of it. Only to feel at uneasy because he likes Jounouchi too much. -.-' Someone hit him, please! And now, Seto has to go on a date with Arisu and have Jounouchi with him at the same time. I pity the bastard -laughs evilly-
Hehe, and now you know it wasn't the zoo itself that was the big event. It is what's going to happen at their mansion. Mwohahaha. That's why I could so easily say they were going to the zoo, because it didn't matter if you knew it or not. You would still not know what I had planned. (Otherwise I'm really secrative about these things). Don't worry, I have the whole plot planned out (not word for word, but the events and actions). I'm not making it up as it goes. Trust me! -sees everyone looking disbelievingly at me- Aw, come on! Give me a break! I'm being honest here! -sigh-