Chapter Twelve: Friendly with the Demons
Honda enjoyed delivering for Seto personally. The first half of January was pleasant and Honda was able to indulge in his habit of watching the other boy work. He decided that if he had to spend the rest of his life just watching Seto work, he would be the happiest man alive.
Though, as much fun as it was to spend the majority of his time on the upper levels of the building, there were certain things that kept him a bit distracted. Things such as the way Seto sat in his chair. Half of the time, the teenager sat with his head propped up with his hand. He would work in a blasé sort of fashion. Skimming his computer monitor and shifting throw papers made him look bored and annoyed. Seto would bit on the ends of his glasses when he wasn't wearing them and his left eyebrow twitched slightly when he wasn't getting his way. Honda was starting to pick up on the tiniest of details. He had never been some amused.
"I'm sorry, but this isn't mine. This is on the other floor." A voice broke Honda's daydream.
The boy looked down and saw that indeed, the employee was right. Honda blushed in embarrassment, "I'm sorry. My mistake." He bowed his head and headed for the elevator. As soon as the doors shut, he let out a breath. He was constantly off in La La Land; unable to keep his head in the game. How could he was Seto's personal mail boy?
His obsession was growing larger. He would come home and pace his room, checking the time every so often. Only fifteen more hours until I have to get to work. He would think. When it was time, he would arrive early, bouncing with an energy that seemed inhuman.
Even the billionaire himself noticed Honda's constant state of cheer, "Was it really that bad working downstairs?" he asked with a small smirk one afternoon.
Honda's ears were tipped with pink, "No. Not at all. I uh…just enjoy up here better." And that was that.
He had even begun eating properly again. Little by little, he was finishing his first serving at dinner and grabbing a bagel for breakfast. It was somewhere near the end of January. Everyone couldn't help but voice how odd it was that no snow had yet to fall. "This summer's going to be unbearable." Someone said.
Yugi had been listening to the other students as he nibbled on a cookie, "It's true. Usually there's a good couple feet of snow melting by now."
"Don't worry about it, Yuge." Jou said as he took a drink from his soda, "I think it's kinda neat."
Honda nodded, "I'll say. Snow's overrated." He smiled and took a large bite of his sandwich.
Yugi beamed, "I see you're eating lunch again, Honda."
The other boy hadn't noticed the return of his appetite, "I wasn't eating before?"
"Well… no to be honest. You would always skip lunch." Yugi shrugged, "All well. I'm just glad to see you're doing okay."
"Don't worry about me, Yugi." Honda assured, "I'm perfectly fine."
"Seto!" Honda heard Jou say and, immediately, Honda looked over. The blonde had gotten up from his seat and was walking towards the door. The taller boy had just walked in.
"Seto, you're back early. Lunch doesn't end for another ten minutes." Jou pointed out, pulling on Seto's sleeve to show his affection, "Did you finish all of that work already?"
Seto pet Jou's head, "Naturally."
Jou smiled and lifted himself up to the tips of his toes to plant a kiss on the lips of his lover, "I'm glad. That means you can spend time with Mokuba and me after school!"
Yugi sighed in happiness, "Everyone's in such a wonderful mood lately." He continued to nibble on his cookie.
Honda had forgotten. He had stupidly forgotten why he and Seto weren't together in the first place. The office was where Honda could ever pretend there was something between him and his gorgeous prince. He didn't remember that there was someone else. Of all the people to forget; his best friend.
He put down his sandwich and opened up his history book. With luck he could hide from the perfect couple. He glanced at the sandwich again and shoved it into the paper bag it had come from. He put the bag into the garbage and returned to his seat. Something had made his appetite leave him again.
x-x-x
Work was Honda's paradise. He never had to worry about anything. There was no Jou, no romance, and no drama. Only his job. It was like clockwork when he had finished all of his deliveries for the day and was journeying back upstairs. He had to make his last trip to Seto's office; just like he always did.
He waved at Hotaru as he passed by. Something about that little gesture always made her smile and blush a tad. It occurred to Honda that she had grown a little fond of him. He would laugh at himself afterwards, telling himself that just because he had been asked a lot, does not mean that everyone wanted to be with him. He was just being arrogant.
He knocked on the office door and pushed it open. It was only habit that he knocked. He knew full well that he should assume that Seto was in there. Waiting only caused the CEO to get annoyed and snap at him to hurry up and enter inside.
"Mister Kaiba," Honda said with his usual politeness, "Is there anything else you want me to do today?" he bowed his head.
Seto was sliding his jacket off. It gathered behind him and hung over the edges of the chair. He sighed and shook his head, "Not today, thank you." He never even looked at Honda.
The boy frowned a little, "Sir, do you want me to hang up your jacket for you? It will wrinkle if you do that."
"It's fine." He snapped.
Something wasn't right. Sure, Seto was generally snappy and vexed at work, but he never took such a tone with Honda; especially when he had done nothing wrong.
The phone rang and Seto jumped in his seat. Honda's eyes went wide. Something was definitely not right. He watched as Seto picked up his phone, "Kaiba." His expression softened to the point where it almost looked distressed, "Jou, you know that's not it. No- damnit! Jou, let me finish speaking!" there was silence and Seto's jaw dropped. He slammed the phone down and sighed in anger. He ran his hands over his face and spotted Honda standing where he had for the past ten minutes, "What are you still doing here?"
Honda jumped, forgetting he was supposed to be on his way home, "I'm sorry." He bowed his head, "Um…Mister Kaiba, are you in a fight with Jou?" he was more curious than he thought he was. Though, a spirit soared in his heart. Maybe this was his chance to show Seto that he was better than Jou.
Seto ran his fingers through his hair, "…I blew Mokuba off today." He easily confessed as he stared down at his desk, "As though I don't feel guilty enough already about it, Jou gets pissed off and bitches at me about it. He says that I'm here too much and that I should be working on keeping the ones I care about happy; not working on software." He glanced up at Honda, "But I'm sure you'll agree with him, right? He is your friend."
Honda shook his head, "That isn't necessarily true." He stood in front of the desk and reached over, placing a hand on Seto's head, "Jou's just being Jou. He's big when it comes to the importance of family."
"I know and I am too." Was his reply, slowly pushing Honda's hand off of his head, "The only reason I do this is for Mokuba."
Honda was a little upset when Seto had pushed his hand away. However, he kept himself strong. He bit his lip and said back, "Then maybe you should tell Jou that?" he was screaming inside. Why are you helping him get back together with Jou? He sighed, ...Right. Jou's your best friend. Duh.
Seto nodded, "That's not bad advice." He laughed a little, "If only Jou would let me talk."
"Jou's loud…" Honda agreed, "but he'll shut up if you tell him to. Erm…" he added, "politely."
"I think it's time for you to go home, Honda." Seto said, looking at the boy through the corner of his eye, "I'll see you tomorrow."
Honda blushed and bowed his head, "Yes, Mister Kaiba." He turned and walked quickly out of the office. Though, he couldn't help but hear Seto say, "Jou? I'm sorry."
How stupid he was. Honda shook his head as he rushed by Hotaru and into the elevator. There, he shoved the button and waited. He wanted nothing more than to get out of the building and into his bed. He was so ridiculous. No matter where I am…Jou will always be there. He buried his face in his hands, Because he's your best friend.
x-x-x
It was back to where it started. That want and desire burned the inside of Honda's body. Or maybe that was the acid burning through his stomach. He hadn't been able to stomach a lot of food lately. His body was beginning to feel it. He began to vomit more often and his head felt very heavy yet light at the same time. He would shake it off and pretend nothing was happening. He had dug through his old clothes, looking for ones that wouldn't be as baggy as his current ones were. He tried to hide his slim frame from everyone. Nobody was going to know of this. He didn't need anybody's pity. He didn't need anybody's help either.
Though, as he straightened his tie, he couldn't remember the last time he ever did need anyone's help. He was always a very independent person. Sure, he had his friends to always back him up, but he never needed them. He doubted this would be any different.
He walked past Hotaru's desk as he did every morning and noticed that something wasn't in its usual spot. Hotaru was the answer. She was not in his desk. Was she sick? He shrugged and didn't let himself dwell on it. He decided to continue on and opened the door of Seto's Kaiba office. What he saw had to be the most ghastly sight his eyes could have ever laid upon.
Jou's head was facing upside down at Honda. His eyes were clenched shut and a moan was escaping his throat. Beads of sweat slid down his body as his hands clawed at shoulders. Shoulders that belonged to Seto Kaiba himself.
Honda stood in the doorway; completely shocked. What was there to do? He looked up at Seto. He was just as unclothed as Jou and was breathing just as shallow. Only, his eyes were open and staring straight into Honda's.
It was those eyes. Those disgustingly beautiful eyes had done it. Honda bolted, slamming the office door behind him. He shoved open the door to the staircase beside the elevator. He had no desire to wait for it to arrive and take him out of this hell. He ran down the stairs and out into the pouring rain. He didn't even bother to register the cold soaking through his thin shirt. He had completely forgotten his jacket, but it was in hell now. Honda promised he would never go into that forsaken place again.
He splashed past people on the sidewalks and continued to sprint. He didn't care that he couldn't breathe. He didn't care that he couldn't see through the tears that burned like fire down his cheeks. He just wanted to leave; escape from his life that he called his own. He didn't know where else to find his freedom. If work could not do it for him, than what? What was going to be his savior. Honda decided that he needed help, but he didn't know who else would understand. Who else was going to be able to realize that Honda was in pain?
Otogi opened the door to his apartment. Someone knocked, but Otogi looked straight in front of him and didn't see a soul. It wasn't until he looked down that he saw Honda passed out on his welcome mat.
x-x-x
Cliffhanger! I KNOW! I'm so sorry, but hey, I'm on a roll. Who knows if I'll post another double chapter, huh? Well, maybe not today, but we'll see. By the way, I know Seto was a little OCC in this chapter. To be honest, I think I did well. We all know how touchy he gets when it comes to family crap. He WAS pissed off first, remember? XP
Review me good or bad news! Love you all! -Rain
