Title: Naked Truth 2?

Author: Rroselavy

Rating: R

Pairing (s): Seto x Jounouchi

Beta: Akuchan

Spoilers: End of series

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from Yu-gi-oh!

Summary: After being left behind by the rest of his friends as they go off to college all over the world, Jounouchi Katsuya finds that forging a friendship with Kaiba Seto isn't such an impossible task. But as their friendship deepens and both teens realize an attraction for each other, will they be pulled apart by someone who wants the blond teen all for himself?

Late summer faded into fall, and as the weeks went by, Jounouchi and Mokuba fell into a pattern of hanging out almost every day. After Sugoroku returned from Egypt and Jounouchi no longer had use of the car, Mokuba would come by and his driver would take them both back to the Kaiba estate and then return Jounouchi to his apartment at the end of the evening.

In the beginning Jounouchi felt funny going over to Kaiba's house on such a regular basis, he expected that the tall brunet would not be too happy seeing him so often; in the past, Kaiba had made no attempt hide his annoyance whenever Mokuba had invited the gang over. But that was not the case. At first, Jounouchi barely saw his ex-classmate as he and Mokuba raided the fridge with impunity between battling it out on the plasma TV screen and vegging out while surfing the 500+ channels that were available to them. And though much to his dismay, Jounouchi had found out early on that Kaiba had a parental control on all of the adult channels, he and Mokuba still managed to waste a dizzying amount of time watching brain-rot material.

If he'd been more self-conscious, Jounouchi may have been a bit unsettled by all the time the younger teen devoted to spending with him, but in the blond's mind, it only seemed a natural progression; they'd hung out in a group for years, and Mokuba was far more poised and mature than the average fourteen-year-old, yet, amazingly, they shared in the same juvenile sense of humor. Both teens could be brought to tears by their own improvised voiceovers, and spent hours watching TV with the sound turned low, running their own commentaries on the action.

Truth be told, Jounouchi was happy for the distraction that took him away from his father and the run-down apartment that they shared. The less time he spent there, the better off it was for him. The elder Jounouchi's drinking had steadily gotten worse through the blond's high school education, and if he hadn't been so ready to blame his current situation on his own misspent youth, Jounouchi might have realized that working odd jobs to keep the bill collectors at bay had also impacted negatively on his grades and his ability to pay attention. Many times he'd fallen asleep in class, not because he'd been bored by the subject matter or because he was undisciplined, but rather simply because he'd been exhausted both physically and emotionally from shouldering the burden that his father's disease placed on him. His father's alcoholism was a blemish on Jounouchi's entire memory, but he counted himself fortunate that the older man's sickness had only been responsible for negligence when it came to raising his son. All things considered, Jounouchi's home life had never been unbearably awful, but he found it disturbing and sad to watch his father's life whittled away to the point where there was only room in it for the current load he was putting on.

Jounouchi had been reasonably successful in hiding his home situation from his friends. Honda had some limited knowledge of the elder Jounouchi's drinking problem, but Anzu and Yuugi had been blissfully ignorant. Though Mokuba quickly found out exactly what was going on one day in early October, when Jounouchi had been absent from work for several days, and the younger teen had decided to check up on his friend. The raven-haired boy had been stunned when the door to Jounouchi's apartment had been flung open and he was face to face with a very drunk, older version of his friend.

"Whadda hell do you want?" The man slurred, his bloodshot eyes glaring at the young teen menacingly.

"I-Is Katsuya home?" Mokuba asked.

"'Suya!" The man had hollered over his shoulder. "Get your ass out here!" Upon hearing no reply, the man had stumbled out of Mokuba's view, and the young teen stepped into the apartment, closing the door behind him. He'd been appalled by the squalor. Nothing about the Jounouchi he knew could be resolved to the environment that his friend lived in; one bereft of any warmth, where every surface the eye could see was covered in a film of grime. He heard a loud banging, and spied the older man swaying outside a closed door. "Suya, open up! Ya boyfriend's here! I guess he's checking up on ya!" The man turned his ashen face to Mokuba and he leered. "Ain't ya a bit young ta be datin' my son?"

His eyes the size of saucers, Mokuba answered politely, "We're not dating, sir. We're just friends."

The older man snorted. "Yeah right-just like that kid Yu-"

The door swung open then, and Jounouchi poked his head out. "Dad what's the matter?" The blond was clad only in his boxers, and had draped his blanket over his shoulders. Mokuba could see that he was shivering and his complexion was unhealthily flushed.

"I-I'm sorry Jounouchi," Mokuba squeaked, backing away towards the front entrance.

"Mokie?" Jounouchi trained his eyes on his young friend, and Mokuba could see that he was terribly embarrassed.

Feeling awful for dropping in unannounced, he babbled, "I was worried when you didn't show up at work ... I'm sorry, I'll go."

"Aw-"

"Dad, can it." Jounouchi hissed, and then turned back to the young teen. "Well ... " He said in a defeated tone. "You came all the way over here, why don't you come on in for a coupla minutes." He stepped back in his room and Mokuba followed, pressing against the wall to avoid the older man.

Once they were safely inside the older teen's bedroom, Mokuba glanced around, relieved to find that it was a direct contrast to the rest of the apartment. Though sparsely decorated, the room was immaculate. "I'm sorry, Jou. I-I didn't know," he offered lamely.

Jounouchi merely shrugged and crawled back onto his narrow bed. He was deep in the grips of a fever, and at that point, he really could care less that the younger Kaiba sibling had managed to find out in minutes what he'd carefully hidden from his friends for years. He decided he'd leave being embarrassed over it for later, when he didn't feel like death warmed over.

"Don't be," he said, shivering. "It's not like it's your fault. But now that ya know one of my deep-dark secrets, you'll have ta spill one of yours ta me." He smiled wanly at the other boy.

Mokuba looked at the blond with a stricken expression, before he closed his eyes and blurted, "I'm gay." He opened them and glanced at Jounouchi, who met his stare wide-eyed and mouth agape. Immediately Mokuba felt a blush stain his cheeks.

"Erm." The blond said finally. "I-I was only kidding?" He added, raising his voice in an uncomfortable questioning tone.

"Shit!" Mokuba cried out, realizing he'd outted himself unnecessarily. "You must think I'm some kind of deviant!" He turned the doorknob to escape, only to be held by Jounouchi's voice.

"Mokie, wait! I-I I'm gay too."

Mokuba looked at the blond incredulously. "You aren't just saying that-"

"No," he shook his head. "I wouldn't joke about something like that. Does your brother know?"

Mokuba shook his head slowly. "No, but I know that he's gay too."

"Shit, Mokie. I don't think he wants ya ta be spreading that around."

"It's only fair," the younger teen said. "You told me two secrets ... but you can't tell anyone! Swear to me you won't!" Jounouchi nodded his head, unable to speak, as his body was wracked with a fit of sneezing.

"Are you okay, Jou? Is there anything you need?"

"No I'm fine, just gotta sweat it out." Jounouchi said between chattering teeth, after wiping his nose with a tissue. "So anyway, what brought you over here?"

"You." Mokuba said, sitting on the edge of the bed. He studied the floor beneath his feet intently. "I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Aw, that's really sweet, Mokie." Jounouchi was moved that the younger teen had been concerned about his well-being. "I just have to kick this fever an' I'll be as right as rain."

"Have you seen a physician?"

"I don't need a doctor to tell me I have a bad cold. I just need some bed rest. I'll be back to work in a couple of days. Thursday at the latest. You should go home, though. You don't want to catch this."

"Okay. I hope you feel better soon." Mokuba said, reluctantly getting up to leave. He stopped as he opened the door, and looked back at the blond. "Jou? I'm glad you're okay."

"Thanks, and Mokie? Your secret is safe with me." Jounouchi replied.

The next day a get-well gift basket arrived. Jounouchi thought it was slightly odd, but very sweet of the young Kaiba brother. Overall, he appreciated the sentiment, especially the delicious soup and Kaiba Corp beta releases that had been included in the care package.

Much to Jounouchi's relief, Mokuba never brought up what he'd seen or they'd discussed at the blond's apartment, and they quickly fell back into their pattern of spending time together. But for the blond, Mokuba's confession about his brother resonated in him, and suddenly he found that he could no longer think about the brunet without considering the angular thrust to his hips when he paced about while engaged in conversation, or how the cut of his form-fitting suits accented his athletic body, or the way the color of the fabrics accentuated the blue in his eyes. Slowly, Jounouchi found that the time he spent at the Kaiba mansion was becoming less about engaging Mokuba in diversions and more about waiting to catch a glimpse or have a word with the elusive CEO. Mentally, he cursed his young friend good-naturedly for sharing that secret.

Towards the end of October, Mokuba announced that for Seto's birthday, he was taking his older brother out to dinner, alone. Jounouchi thought it was odd that Mokuba would tell him about an event he was not to be part of, but he shrugged it off. He could understand the brothers having traditions in which he had no place. But as the date grew closer, the blond felt that he should do something to acknowledge the brunet's birthday, after all, they were getting along better. Though in his heart he knew he was lying to himself, he wanted to get Kaiba something for his birthday because he liked him. For the life of him though, Jounouchi could not think of anything in particular that he could buy the handsome brunet that he could not get for himself, and the day of Kaiba's birthday arrived with Jounouchi still empty-handed.

The blond was apprehensive all day-he'd managed to worm out of Mokuba where they would be dining-but as he trudged about Domino City with his hands in his pockets, slowly being drawn to the restaurant, he was inconsolable that he could not think of one thing to get the object of his affections. As he wandered aimlessly about, he was struck with an idea for the perfect gift, a single red rose. He knew the blatant romantic connotations of the flower would not be lost on the brunet, but he hoped that he would be able to feign nonchalance, and slough it off by simply attributing it to not wanting to come to the restaurant empty-handed. At the same time he would absolve Mokuba of any collusion; he didn't want the elder Kaiba pissed off at his brother for allowing Jounouchi to horn in on their evening alone.

He walked by the restaurant three times before getting up the nerve to walk in, and when he finally did so, he had the distinct impression that he would soon be attending his own funeral.

To his surprise, Kaiba seemed genuinely happy to see him. "I thought that Mokuba would have invited you. You two seem joined at the hip."

"Seto, this is our time," Mokuba said petulantly. "But now that you're here, Jounouchi, I suppose you can stay," he added unconvincingly.

"Nah, I just wanted to drop by, and give you this. Happy birthday, Kaiba." Jounouchi offered the brunet the single, long-stemmed rose. "I didn't know what to get you-"

Kaiba took the delicate bloom, and Jounouchi noticed that his cheeks had pinked slightly. "No one's ever given me a flower," Kaiba gazed up at the blond, a puzzled expression on his face.

"Don't think too much about it," Jounouchi said hurriedly. "As I said, I didn't know what else ta get ya." He turned away, and caught a malevolent look on Mokuba's unguarded face. "Anyhow, I should be going. This is your time to spend-"

"I'd like it if you stayed." Kaiba said quietly, but Jounouchi also heard a sharp intake of breath from Mokuba. He felt bad then, and selfish. He shouldn't have intruded on Mokuba's alone time with his brother. "No really, I need to help Gramps close up tonight." He lied. "Happy birthday, Kaiba. See you tomorrow, Mokuba?"

"Yeah, Jou! I'll come by after school." Mokuba replied. He smiled brightly at the blond.

"Thanks, Jounouchi. And ... you can call me Seto." The brunet said, casually.

"S-Seto it is." The blond tested, a little thrill running down his spine from hearing the brunet's name roll off of his lips. "If you like, you can call me Katsuya, or Jou-"

"Okay, Katsuya. We'll see you tomorrow."

"Seto, aren't you still working on the press releases?" Mokuba asked.

Kaiba turned to his brother. "Yes. But I should be home earlier from here on in."

On the bus ride back to his neighborhood, Jounouchi thought about how his name had sounded being uttered by the other's lips. He'd never liked his given name, but when Kaiba had said it, his body had responded by becoming aroused. While he'd been alarmed at Mokuba's reaction, he chalked it up to the fact that the younger teen hardly spent any time alone with his brother, and Jounouchi felt slightly guilty for intruding. But now he couldn't wait to get back to the confines of his bedroom where he could jack off imagining how good it would feel if it were Seto's hand ministering to his needful erection, whispering his name over and over again.

As the Christmas shopping season neared, Kaiba suddenly became more available, and he began to join the two teens more often in the evenings. Mokuba, since becoming fully in the know about Jounouchi's home situation, had taken to inviting the blond over for late dinners after his shift ended at the Game Shop, and weekend brunches before the blond went into work. On Jounouchi's rare days off, he would meet the younger Kaiba sibling at the arcade after school. It got so that the blond went home only to sleep, check in on his father, and pay bills, and Kaiba remarked idly one night that perhaps a spare bedroom should be set up for Jounouchi.

"That would be so cool!" Mokuba beamed.

Jounouchi was taken aback. "Erm ... I-I'm not sure my old man would be cool with that ... but thanks for the offer," he blushed profusely.

Kaiba snickered. "I was just kidding."

"I knew that!" Jounouchi snorted, his blush deepening. He realized suddenly that Kaiba's words lacked the venom that he would have expected from the brunet. He locked gazes with the older teen and was briefly treated to a flicker of amusement gracing Kaiba's features.

Slowly the two older teens began to spend more time together. At first Jounouchi would hang around for a few minutes after Mokuba had gone to bed just talking shop with the other teen, or on rare occasion, Kaiba would drive Jounouchi home himself. One night Kaiba asked the blond if he wanted to hang out and watch a movie. Jounouchi felt vaguely guilty, after all he was Mokuba's friend, but he found the chance to just be alone with Kaiba for an extended period of time an irresistible temptation. When nothing happened between them except some banter during some of the film's slow moments, Jounouchi felt slightly disappointed. But pretty soon thereafter, he found that he was spending almost as much time alone with Kaiba as he was with Mokuba.

At the outset, Mokuba had seemed unperturbed by this new situation, and for a while Jounouchi happily split his time between the two brothers. He was amazed at how easy it was to get along with Kaiba, as the brunet had always been somewhat of a prick toward the blond and his friends. But as Christmas grew near, Mokuba became reluctant to bring Jounouchi back to the Kaiba mansion, claiming that once again his brother was swamped with work, and choosing instead to hang out at the arcade or the Game Shop. Jounouchi was taken by surprise one afternoon when Seto showed up.

The store was packed with holiday shoppers, and Jounouchi was barely keeping ahead of the crush. By the time he realized that Kaiba was in the shop, the brunet had been able to observe the blond patiently waiting on customer after customer for the better part of a half hour. Despite the frantic behavior of the shoppers, Jounouchi maintained a calm and friendly demeanor, working with each customer at first as if they were his only responsibility, but then gently nudging them along in their decision. Jounouchi was shocked to see the older teen there, but his face lit up in a brilliant smile when he recognized the brunet.

"K-Seto, what brings you here?"

"I was just checking our product placement. I wanted to make sure you weren't giving an unfair advantage to Industrial Illusions," he deadpanned.

"N-no, Gramps would never do that!"

"I know that, Katsuya. I was only joking. Do you get any time for lunch?" Jounouchi looked at the clock on the register. "Yeah, Gramps should be back any minute."

"Good, I'll buy you lunch today."

"Hey, thanks! I only get a half an hour, though. I usually just eat upstairs, it saves me money too."

"No problem, I'll be back in a few." Kaiba said. Before Jounouchi could respond, the brunet had left the store.

He returned within an hour toting a shopping bag, and Sugoroku deftly took over the register.

"Good afternoon Seto," the older man greeted.

"Sugoroku," Kaiba nodded. "I'm going to feed your employee for you today.

"Good thing you are rich," the older man chuckled. "I've needed to take a second mortgage since Jounouchi's been eating his lunch here. Take a little extra time today," he said to the blond with a wink.

"Thanks, Gramps ... I'll make up the time tonight."

Jounouchi led the brunet up the stairs and into Mutou's apartment. He guided Kaiba to the kitchen, and the brunet unpacked two bento boxes. "I hope you don't mind tempura."

"No, that's fine! I'm really glad you came by today."

"Really? I thought I did something to piss you off. I haven't seen you in a while."

Jounouchi shrugged. "Mokie's been acting ... I dunno. He just hasn't wanted to hang out at home, and when I asked him about it, he said that you got busy again and didn't want to get in your hair. He mentioned something about some kind of secret development."

Kaiba nodded as he handed Jounouchi a pair of disposable chopsticks. He opened his meal and picked at it for a bit before continuing. "That's true, but ... I didn't mean for him to keep you away. I was thinking that you might like to test it out with me one night."

"I would love to! You always put out the coolest shit!"

Kaiba smiled. "Yes, we do. But this isn't a new game, and it won't be available until next year if at all. It's still in the early stages." He went on to outline the new gaming system that they were prototyping that would allow gamers to play any game from any platform. If it worked it would revolutionize the industry. There were certain copyright issues though, that might make it impossible to market in some parts of the world, namely the US, but the worldwide market showed promise.

"What about the different zones?" Jounouchi asked.

"The zones were set up for marketing purposes, so overriding them won't infringe on anyone's copyright. We've developed a chip that can read all encodings, even if the gaming system doesn't clear all the copyright hurdles, the chip will be quite lucrative."

"That's so cool. And I would love to come over sometime to check it out." He glanced at the kitchen clock, and sighed. "But now I've got to get back to the Shop."

"Yes, and I've got to get back to the office. This was nice ..." the brunet said blandly.

"It was." Jounouchi agreed, at a loss as to what else to say.

"I'd like to do it again, sometime soon, if that's okay with you?"

"I'd like that." Jounouchi said, clearing the remains of their meals. "Seto?" he asked softly. "It's been nice when we've hung out together. I never expected we'd be able to hang out in the same room together, but I like that we're almost ... friends."

"Almost?" Kaiba looked puzzled. "What more do I have to do to become your friend Katsuya?"

"That was stupid of me! I ... I just never thought you'd be my friend. I thought you were being nice to me because I was hanging out with Mokuba."

Kaiba snorted. "I thought you knew me better than that. I don't do anything that I don't want to."

"You're right," Jounouchi capitulated, feeling suddenly embarrassed.

Kaiba smiled. "You really do suffer from foot-in-mouth-syndrome. So perhaps then, I'll see you tonight?" He said, changing the subject, as they made their way back to the store.

"Yeah, if you can convince your brother that it's alright." They were descending the stairs, and Kaiba stopped short causing Jounouchi to run into him. Momentarily off-balance, the blond found himself righted by the brunet's strong arms, but pressed together in such close quarters, he couldn't help but notice how nice it felt to be in the other's arms. Embarrassed by his reaction, Jounouchi blurted, "Um, Seto, you can let go now."

The brunet held on for a few moments more before releasing him, and then he grinned down at the blond, "I'll speak to Mokuba, and set things straight."

TBC