This Is The Ending Chapter.
Of course, there will be a EPILOGUE to tie up loose ends. But… Yes.
The song is the rejected title of this fic, 'If All Else Fails' by Matchbook Romance, even though it might have ultimately been better for this fic than the opposing title 'When All Else Fails' by John Farnham. But… Yes. I ultimately chose Johnny there because it speaks about Jou's unconscious search for someone that will listen and be there for him.
On with the story.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters of Yu-Gi-Oh! They all belong to Kazuki Takahashi! But I do own the plot X3.
WARNING: This contains alotta shounen-ai and alotta Yaoi . Meaning boyxboy shit. Fuck off if you find it offensive.
O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O- Indicates end of scene. Because, c'mon, you can tell which one's a dream and which one's real, right?
THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE REVIEWS! I will now not give personalized reviews, because this story has reached over 100 reviews, on this site and others! Plus, we aren't allowed to do it anymore! But thank you for supporting me despite the lack of updates!
When All Else Fails, Chapter 15
A subdued silence undisturbed by the sound of her breath.
So carefully, brush her hair back from her eyes
In steady sequence, one by one.
She slips away.
So close your eyes and sleep to dream.
I'm by your side.
No words to speak.
We'll set our course and make it through.
No matter how far I go my heart remains with you.
And I'm not sure what I'm looking for.
But it's clear to see the purpose of my existence Is laying here in front of me.
So close your eyes and sleep to dream.
I'm by your side.
No words to speak.
We'll set our course and make it through.
No matter how far I go
And if all else fails you can look up at the sky
Because it's the same one that shines above you and I.
And if all else fails you can close your eyes
And I'll be right beside you.
I'll be the one by your side.
So close your eyes and sleep to dream.
I'm by your side.
No words to speak.
We'll set our course and make it through.
No matter how far I go
No matter how much this hurts
I wanted you to know,
My heart remains with you.
- If All Else Fails, by Matchbook Romance
O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O
When he woke up, he woke up with a strangled scream and the thought that his left arm was chopped off because he couldn't fucking feel it.
The reason he had screamed was lost on him. He had never woke up screaming before. There was nothing to scream about either, besides his left arm being gone.
So, when he opened his eyes and met the much thankful sight of his left arm, though securely bandaged to his side and red in a couple of spots, it took a split second to comprehend what happened.
Immediately, a flood of thoughts broke through the haze that was his still asleep mind.
Dadgun9mmconfessionangerslowmovekickkickSHOOTSHOOTbangbangholyshitkillhimkillhim Kaiba.
His right arm came to clutch at his forehead as he gritted his teeth, a low, keening whine escaping his throat as he remembered the events that had happened in rapid succession.
All in… less than a day. How could your life change that drastically in such a short amount of time!
He felt a great sadness, regret, pity, something that twisted in his heart and made his stomach feel like it was being stabbed, wash over him and enveloping him in a uncomforting hold.
Another low, keening whine and he realized that he was breathing hard.
BleedingshoulderarmhandstraightthroughohnohitfallowwYugispeakingsmilingitsscaryand-
Rustling sheets at the end of the bed suddenly broke his thought process, and his eyes widened as he realized that he wasn't alone in the room, and that his left foot was brushing someone's hair.
He looked towards the source of much-needed distraction and sucked in a breathe, lungs almost bursting with all of the air he had trapped in himself.
The only thing he could see was brown hair, since the face was turned towards the foot of the bed, but he knew without a second thought that that was Kaiba sitting at the foot of his bed, hair brushing his foot, sleeping, there.
That's right. He was there, wasn't he?
Glad that his thought processes seemed to be working properly, not in run-on sentences that he couldn't understand well, he stared at the brunet sleeping at the foot of his bed.
The vague recollection of Kaiba's face floated in his mind, a mixture of surprise, confusion, and panic. He snorted to himself. Yeah. Kaiba, panicked? It was probably his imagination. Or the loss of blood.
He forced the unwanted images of last night - two, three nights? He didn't know. - out of his mind in fear of having a panic attack or something of the like. Right now, what was important was Kaiba, head resting on his arms at the foot of his bed.
… He really couldn't grasp the fact that was really Kaiba 'at the foot of his bed', could he?
Speaking of which, he was in a hospital bed. Which meant he was at the hospital.
… He was so not observant after being asleep. Or shot. He couldn't tell which one made him so dumb after waking up.
Speaking of which, again, he'd been shot 3 times, in the span of, what, two weeks?
… Alright. He needed to get going with his life.
The realization of the acknowledgement that his life was becoming dangerous stunned Jou, as well as the fact that he was stalling all actions towards Kaiba-at-the-foot-of-his-bed. Not purposely, of course!
Or maybe. What would you do in an awkward meeting with the guy who saved you from killing y-
Ok. Waking sleeping beauty over there was probably a better path to go down than the one he was about to go down.
Slowly and surely (only because his fucking shot wounds were already screaming. He needed drugs, or something that would put him to sleep), he kicked the blanket off and got on his knees, crawling one-handed over to the brunet, who was still currently sleeping.
He was about to shake the other awake (on his stomach, hand stretched out and everything. God, he felt sorry for people with only one arm), when his arm stalled of it's own accord and his eyes fell silently to the top of the head of the guy who he was in like with.
… He was coming to too much realizations today.
First, how (and when, for that matter!) had he started liking Kaiba?
A recollection of the past week flew by on his head like a bird on cocaine, and he choked as he realized that Kaiba had been pretty much flirting him.
Even faster than a bird on cocaine was the realization that he had been flirting right back.
Two, why would he like Kaiba?
He slapped a hand over his mouth to stifle a yawn as he thought. Ok, so, besides the hot body, the killer blue eyes, the way he looked on a motorbike, the fun he had had on that one 'date', the way he had let him explode on him from all the stress, the killer dueling skills, his passion for everything (though, a somewhat cold passion that didn't show much), the loving way he doted on his brother, the way he was so fucking responsible and everything about everything, and the fact that he was something Jou wanted to be when he grew out of being a kid?
… The blond decided that he had just answered his own question in one long run-on string of thoughts.
And, sure, he had established this before, but he wasn't in the right state of mind! It hadn't hit him like it was hitting him now! Goddamn fucking mind!
Moving on, he tried to word question number 3, which was just on the tip of his tongue.
He almost bit his tongue clear off when it finally showed itself, all flashy letters and big signs and a proclaiming haughtiness that declared he was the dumbest ass of the century.
Question number 3: Why shouldn't he like Kaiba?
His mind answered quickly so he wouldn't put a steel-blocked, barb-wired fortress around the apocalyptic question.
The guy was nice to him. He was a jack ass to him. He did things no one would ever do. He stayed away from things everyone else would do. He was full frontal with him. He showed in secret ways what he was thinking. He helped him. He made sure he helped himself. He made him feel happy. He made him hope he was making Kaiba happy.
And, once and for all, he hadn't been bugged (ok, maybe a little, but no more than usual when it came to the guy) about Kaiba popping up everywhere during the last few shit-faced weeks, while he had snapped on his best friends for coming close to him.
Which connected to the place in his brain that told him that the tall CEO had been there for him and had made him smile and forget and all those other things during the time he was feeling like complete and utter shit.
He stared at Kaiba's head and felt like he had just attained all the knowledge in the world.
Another yawn escaped him and the information he had just come to grasp now hit him like a full freight train.
God. Knowledge made you sleepy. He wondered what Kaiba felt like all the time, with all that smart stuffed in his brain.
He turned over and squinted at the still-unmoving head of hair that was Kaiba.
The guy was an asshole. Just busting in here and taking up all of Jou's sleeping space like he owned the place.
With a snicker and the thought that he had made a stupid rhyme and that he was really too sleepy to be even thinking like that, he dropped his head on his good arm and closed his eyes.
O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O
This time, he woke up to the sensation of someone staring at him and the feeling of an itchy blanket being pulled over him.
And he smelled coffee. Yum.
Squirming, Jou rolled over onto his back, taking the blanket with him and grunting out a 'fuck-off, Honda, give me 5'.
A snort and he squinted his eyes open, cursing the sun that decided to be extra super-duper-happy-bright to piss him off.
Fucking sun.
He decided to roll over again, so his back would be facing the wall and he'd be sleeping on his left arm (he hit people, specifically Honda, better with his right).
That decision was quickly banished as he twitched towards rolling over and his fucking arm was burning GOD DAMN IT ALL TO HELL.
A yelp and he shot up, regretting the decision as soon as his forehead made contact with something that was bone and not air.
"Stupid mother fucking cunt licking ass fucking Honda, you piece of shit asshole, don't lean over me like that!"
"That's a nice way to be referring to your friend, isn't it? Never mind that I'm not Honda."
The voice was dry and he groaned, all from the pain of his left arm and his now bruised forehead, as well as the comprehension of not being in his room, the window wasn't on that side of the wall anyway, and that the guy wasn't Honda.
Hospital. Sleeping. Kaiba. Riiiiiiight.
"Well, excuse me, I can wake up screaming out cusswords when my fucking arm feels like it's on fire and there's no water in a 50 mile radius, can't I?"
He squinted up at the passive brunet, who he glared openly at as he rubbed his red forehead.
Any potential of an awkward silence was quickly annihilated at Jou's haughty accusation.
"You shouldn't lean over people like that, you asshole."
…
Ok, that potential was full force and blooming right about now. Yep. Right about now.
Stupid fucking Kaiba. Who was just standing there. Staring at him. Doing nothing. Just star-
He was going to drive himself crazy.
Again, the silence was broken by the blond, who had quit rubbing his forehead and was leaning back on his one good arm and trying to avoid the reason why he couldn't use his left arm expertly.
"You-… You're making me nervous! Geez! Sit down or something."
… He was being awkward.
… He also had his shirt off.
With that, the blond made a sort of squeak and scrambled as far away from the brunet as possible, picking up the discarded blanket and throwing it over himself oh-so-gracefully.
Another silence as Jou struggled with the blanket and his embarrassment.
He was in front of the guy who he had realized he did have a big, fucking amazing crush on as-of-a-few-hours ago (or whenever he first woke up was). If the dreams hadn't been a big blinking arrow towards that, he snorted at himself as he fell on his back, than he was a dunce.
A sigh and he felt an arm on his, and the voice with it floating through the single sheet as easily as water. "Here, stop moving."
His body seemed to be working against him today, because it froze instantly at Kaiba's touch and voice, and the blanket slowly came off to wrap around his shoulders and reveal Kaiba's startling blue eyes and startling close face.
He stuffed the small 'Eep!' coming up from his throat and instead gulped, staring at the face of his as-of-now torturer.
Kaiba just coughed in amusement at his expression and simply said "I wouldn't like to wake up with you if you were like this in the morning."
He continued to stare at Kaiba after hearing what the blue-eyed teen had just said, who also realized what he had just said, and also turned around to stalk towards the only available chair, which was all of two feet away.
…
More awkward silence.
This wasn't driving him crazy. This was driving him fucking insane.
A quick observation that Kaiba's chin was red (Hah. Motherfucker. Served him right for standing over him and making him feel so weird).
Kaiba's stubborn blue gaze towards the machines that were monitoring his heart (and he had no clue how the IV he had in his good arm would stay in after all his moving around).
The clock ticking.
…
"Ok, yeah, Ummm…" His own outburst startled him and he blinked, knowing he was going to have to ask Kaiba something, if anything. Sure, he had a million questions, some of which weren't all that appropriate, like the never-caring, straight-to-your-face, question o-
"Why are you here, anyway?"
… The blew everything out of the water. Out of the pan, and into the fire. Or something like that.
Kaiba's stare turned on him and it almost made him hide under the carefully placed sheet.
A brunet was scary after you asked really rude questions.
"I'm here because the police asked me too wait for some questioning."
He stared uncertainly at the taller boy, who was staring unwaveringly back, as if daring him to question his answer.
He also stared like that that one time on the rooftop when they kissed.
Blinking, Jou realized he had thought that whole thing without stopping it halfway through because of embarrassment and not-wanting-to-think-about-it.
Which ended up embarrassing the blonde duelist enough to look away from the guy who he had kissed on a rooftop.
…If his arm wasn't holding him up, he would have hit himself. Physically. And very hard.
More silence.
…This was a fucking weird and uncomfortable day.
"Ummm…."
Again, his mouth was working against him. Before he even had his thoughts and question in a straight order. Stupid fucking piece of shit he called his brain!
"…Thanks, I guess?"
He mumbled the gratitude without even realizing what he was saying thanks for.
Dear God, please don't let Kaiba to have heard that.
"Pardon?"
…Well, fuck God, the almighty deity had always hated him, anyways!
His tone was defensive when he spoke, and he refused to look at the teen, instead deciding that the sun wasn't stupid and a good distraction from this possibly embarrassing moment. "I said thanks! Geez, deaf much?"
Not even a moment passed before Kaiba spoke. "For what?"
This time, he ignored the sun and any distraction and snapped his eyes to Kaiba, brown eyes smoldering. "Christ, you just want to know I actually thanked you! Fuck's sake."
Realizing he was taking out built-up frustration on the taken back brunet, he stared off to the side again, hand twisting in the bed sheets. "Umm, sorry for that. Pent up shit, and… yeah…"
He paused, scrambling for a reason for his gratitude, then spoke again. His voice was almost quiet enough so he, himself, couldn't hear it. "Thanks for saving me. From… shooting my dad and all. And for helping me in the last few weeks. And taking me out for lunch…"
He was on a roll, so why stop now?
"… And for going easy on me when they found me in your trash heap. And for being nice enough to not pester me or treat me a lot differently than you used to. And for not judging me. And for saving me, again, because that deserves double thanks, right?"
He let out a mirthless laugh, taking a moment to reflect on what he had said and gave thanks for. And than took the jump to suicide as he dished out his last thank-you-to-Kaiba of the day, because he might have been really fucking stupid for doing so, but at least he got it off his chest and could blame everything on stress and over-tiredness from the last few weeks.
"And for not asking about why I kissed you on the rooftop and why I kissed you in the elevator and all that other junk."
A split second pause would have probably made his head explode, so he kept on talking, unaware of the gaze Kaiba had set on him.
"And, ya gotta know Kaiba, since I seem to be confessing a lot and all. I blame it on the stuff they have in me. But, uh, thanks… for… being… helpful. You…"
Did he dare to take the jump into a suicide he wouldn't be able to get out of, ever?
Luckily, his mind agreed he was suicidal in the aspect and full-forced pushed him of the edge.
Of course, he stumbled a few steps on the way.
"… That is… Umm…. You're a really likeable guy when you… um, want to be? And… that… I don't know if you'll like this, or not, because, ya know, we're both guys and all… But… umm… In the past few weeks… I kinda started liking you… and… yeah. I like you. Big fucking confession number 2, hope you had a recorder, because I am not saying that. Ever. Again."
The silence he wouldn't let happen did happen, and he was sure his face was on fire. Not his arm, his face. His arm could be chopped off right now and he probably wouldn't notice, so focused on Kaiba's answer and the fact that the sun was too happy-super-fucking-duper shiny again.
Fucking sun.
…
Fucking silence.
And fuck Kaiba, too, if he didn't like what he had said! It was his feelings, Kaiba had no control over that! He had control over nothing of him! Ok, maybe a little part of him, but nothing else! So, fuck Kaiba, fuck him to every circle of hell that existed and back, because he was too silent and fucking stupid and close-minded!
… He shouldn't have said anything, either. Really, was he that fucking stupid!
"Jounouchi?"
The voice (which was either really loud or really close, and he did not just imagine the weight on the bed closer to him. No he did not.) interrupted his ranting of how the person who spoke could go fuck himself, and he turned towards it.
Then blinked as Kaiba's mouth came into contact with his and every little part of his body and mind shut down.
It was a slow kiss, a few seconds, just contact, like two other kisses before, and when Kaiba backed away and went so sit back in his seat, Jounouchi stared.
And stared.
And stared.
And then coughed lightly and grinned behind the hand that was covering his 'cough'.
"So… That means what?"
If all the knowledge in the world felt incredible, this was feeling fucking well Unbelievably Incredible. In capital letters.
"You're more of an idiot than I expected if you haven't figured it out."
The voice was, again, dry, but all tension that had been there before was suddenly gone. Disappeared. Poof. And Kaiba sounded good like that.
A few more 'coughs' and he lowered his hand, still not able to control the grin that had overtaken his face.
"I resent that, ya know."
Kaiba just smirked at him in response, crossing his arms over his stomach and visually relaxing.
He hadn't even noticed how much tension had been in the room before Kaiba had kissed him, really. And since Kaiba liked him and all…
Holy shit, Kaiba liked him. Back.
His mind was being so fucking slow on the uptake that it was a wonder he wasn't put under 'world's biggest moron' in the record book!
"Holy shit, you like me back!"
… Apparently, his mouth was much faster than his brain. World's biggest Moron and Fastest Motor-Mouth, Think-Before-Talking Guy was reserved for him in the record book.
The brunet stared at him as if he was stupid (which he was) and tensed almost visibly again, as if the blond had realized that the feelings he had were disgusting (never mind the fact that he had them first), and wanted to kick him square between the legs.
A silence. Another silence, actually.
Jou looked away and silently counted.
5 seconds… 10 seconds…
"Ah, I mean, you like me! Yeah, ummm…."
"Idiot."
"Huh!"
"Yes, Jounouchi. I like you, even though it must be a hard concept to grasp."
"…"
It was a bigger surprise when Kaiba actually said it aloud.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the brunet teen was paler than usual and had bags under his eyes. And his hair was really messy. And his clothes were wrinkly. And… A bunch of other things that wouldn't have been appropriate for any child, no matter what age and no matter if said child had heard it before, to hear.
"Why do ya look so messed, anyway?"
… He was… just going to stop acknowledging the fact that his mouth ran faster than his brain. Fuck, if his brain was in a race car and his mouth was walking, his mouth would still probably beat the stupid shit he called his brain.
Kaiba didn't seem to take this abrupt and rude question as offensive, but instead let his shoulders relax. Again. The guy was a freakin' tense-box, was what he was.
"You've been here for the last three days."
… Which didn't really explain why Kaiba looked so haggard (but still fuckable, his mind added mischievously. He forcefully shoved it down the toilet and flushed).
"Sooooooo?"
… Kaiba was staring at him like he was stupid again.
Nonetheless, the brunet patiently gave his answer, though his voice was a bit quieter than his usually loud and demanding voice.
"So, I've been here keeping you company."
…
He had the big urge to scream 'Aaaawwww!', tackle Kaiba to the floor, and smother him with kisses.
Instead, he grinned widely and snickered. "Aw, Seto has a soft spot!"
Kaiba stared at him.
He stared back, grinning, until Kaiba talked.
"Did you just call me 'Seto'?"
…
Why yes. Yes he did.
"Why, I think I did, Seto." He stayed grinning. "Do you have a problem with that, Seto?"
Kaiba (Or Seto, as he was calling him now) looked like he could have been aggravated and beat the shit out of him, but instead looked perplexed at the new turn of events.
Jou grinned at the confused brunet. Served him right for being a fu… Umm… Asshole?
Well… Kaiba had saved him. From abuncha things. So… Not an asshole… An… umm…
It was Jou's turn to look confused, trying to figure out what the hell he was supposed to think of Ka… Seto as, while the brunet had a tiny smirk on his face at his confused expression.
"Alright, Jou."
"Huh!"
"Jou. If you call me 'Seto', I get to call you 'Jou'."
…
"What if I call you Pookie instead?"
Seto (hah. Got it.) looked very, very surprised at that. As if he didn't expect that to come out of the blonde duelist's mouth.
Seems like the cobalt-eyed teen needed to learn a few things about him, after all. Stalker.
Hah! Got his new… name. The mean kinda name.
Jou grinned at his revelation and at Seto's face, which had slowly turned into a smirk-scowl. That looked way sexier on him than on anyone else he had ever known.
"You won't like the consequence of what happens if you ever call me that."
Jou took a second to look horrified, than let the expression melt into that of a smirk.
"Hmm, what kinda 'consequence' would this be? Suffocate me?"
… He did not like Kaiba's smirk right there. It looked kinda… Evil. Feral.
And he did need to get used to calling the guy Seto.
The brunet suddenly got up and leaned into his bed, centimeters away from where he was sitting and maybe an inch away from his face
"Suffocation doesn't sound like a bad idea."
It took a second for him to realize what Seto was doing.
Something that almost horrified him to no end, but turned him on incredibly at the same time.
Seto was making playfully romantic or sexual overtures.
Seto was flirting.
The tall teen seemed to take his silence as a rejection because he slowly started pulling back, face melting back into that of a cold, emotionless CEO.
Well, until Jou grabbed the front of his shirt with his free hand and smirked back.
"It does, doesn't it?"
Kaiba's… Seto's little smirk returned full force and they leaned in together, taking a second to breathe each other's air before kissing.
And, God, kissing felt good.
Their mouths moved simultaneously together, parting only briefly for short intakes of air before they pressed their lips together.
He was just about to open his mouth to Kaiba, who had been brushing his tongue against Jou's lip, when they both heard a cough from the door and jerked apart, both blushing horribly like bad school children caught doing something naughty.
Fuji grinned back at both of them.
"Mm, Jou? Your friends are here."
And, to Jou's horror, he saw Yugi, Anzu, Honda, and Shizuka all standing outside the door, looking shocked and a whole lot of 'what the shit!'.
Oh. Fuck.
O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O
After the initial shock of seeing the two 'enemies' making out on the blonde's bed, they both answered as many questions regarding their relationship as they could. Well, actually, Jou answered as much as he could (after putting a hospital gown on, handed to him by a snickering Fuji), while Kaiba made sure Jou didn't say too much and gave in little tidbits to help the story along.
According to Jou and Kaiba, Kaiba had been going to the roof of the school for the past few weeks, same as Jou. And since Jou started stealing Kaiba's food all the time, Kaiba and him just started eating together. And then they went out once together. And when Kaiba was going over to Jou's house for another one of those times, he had seen the blond and the old man unconscious. So he'd call the police and the ambulance. And that was what had happened.
The truth seemed believable, so no one questioned it (except Fuji, but that was to be expected. He was the nurse in charge of Jou and all his records, after all).
After the tale of how Kaiba had found him was over, there was mixed reactions about their new 'relationship'.
Yugi was happy and hugged him tenderly, glad that the rivalry and horrible events regarding Jou's father was over, and that they could all be friends again.
Shizuka was squealing about her big brother falling in love, and falling over in worry about her big brother's health.
Honda was happy and relieved for him, and told him straight away that he was ok with Jou being gay and all that. Both of them (meaning Jou and Kaiba) glared at him to shut up, and the other brunet seemed to get the message and shut up.
Anzu was squealing with Shizuka, since none of the boys were as excited as Shizuka was, and Anzu didn't want her to feel left out (never mind that she was happy too).
And Fuji?
Fuji was grinning wildly, eyes shifting over all of the occupants in the room.
Jou and Kaiba were dealing with it one minute at a time, Jou trying to quell the excited girls and Kaiba making sure that the blond wasn't straining himself.
After everyone quieted down, they chatted pleasantly until the injured teen started feeling sleepy from the medication they were still feeding to him through the IV.
That's when Fuji ushered them all out, Shizuka lingering by the door to have a last word with Jou before all the other's left.
Never mind that the only CEO in the room was staying firmly put in his chair by Jou's bed.
Once everyone was gone but Shizuka and Kaiba, Fuji standing by the door to usher them out in another minute, the brunet girl rushed over to her brother's bed.
It was only when she was close enough did he see tears in Shizuka's eyes.
Alarmed, Jou's arm went up and wrapped around Shizuka's shoulder as soon as she was close enough to him.
"Shizzy! What's wrong, huh!"
'Shizzy' sniffled into his shirt, hands clenching in the itchy fabric as she held back her tears. "Oh, Jou! I was so scared when I head that you were in the hospital! I haven't even heard of about Daddy's charges, and the last thing I heard was Honda calling me on a cell and saying that Kaiba was taking you to the hospital for blacking out at school…"
… Wait. Kaiba? Huh!
"Kaiba?"
They both looked up at him, wearing identical expressions of confusion on their faces (Seto's being much more subdued because… Well, he was Kaiba). Than Jou decided that changing the subject was appropriate, considering that…
"You haven't heard about Pop's arrest! At all!"
She shook her head sadly, eyes still misty and hands still clinging to his shirt. "Well, Jou, I live in another city, and I haven't read the paper in awhile because Mum has been reading it really fast lately and throwing it out right away… Than she always tells me to go do my homework while the news is on, and I know not to disobey her…"
Jou narrowed his eyes at this new information. So, mother dearest was trying to block her daughter from seeing what was happening to father?
… Well, yeah, it might have been a good idea if Jou didn't approve of keeping things from your children and all.
The few seconds of Jou's silence passed before he visibly relaxed and kissed Shizuka's forehead, hugging her as best he could with one arm.
"Ya know, it might have been a good thing if you didn't know, but it still doesn't make mum right."
Shizuka pouted. "I'm not a kid anymore, Jooou!"
Her brother grinned. "So says the kid with a pout on her face."
She huffed. He grinned.
It was a happy atmosphere until Fuji broke in, a small smile on his face. Even then, the atmosphere only dampened a little. "Sorry guys. Visiting time is over."
Shizuka slowly got off the bed, leaning in to give him a quick peck on the forehead. "You'd better get better soon, Jooou!"
The injured brown-eyed boy just laughed at her, making shooing motions with his good arm. "Ok, ok, Shizzy! Get home safe, ooook?"
The younger teen grinned, walking out backwards. "Will do! See you, brother!"
Fuji placed a hand on her shoulder as she turned around, stopping her in her tracks as he paused to laugh silently at the two.
"I'll give you two lovebirds a minute or so, ok? Then you gotta go!"
Shizuka giggled and Fuji grinned, leaning on her halfheartedly as they walked out together.
After they were gone, the blonde's grin fled off his face and he whirled on Seto, leaning in as much he could in his state. "You!"
Kaiba blinked. "Me?"
"You're the one that carried me to the hospital!"
… Kaiba was staring at him as if he was stupid.
That means that Jou had the legal right to call him an asshole.
Asshole.
"Yes, I was. Who else could it have been?"
… Jou took the time to get over his shock at such a blunt… well, it wasn't a confession. The blunt answer.
"Uuuuh, Honda?"
… Still staring.
Asshole. With Capital Letters.
"Who else has a voice like mine?"
"…"
"You lost consciousness right after I told everyone to get out of the way. Your pupils went dilated, you body went limp, and your breathing became regular."
Jou blinked at him.
Was the guy a freaking first aid book or something?
Kaiba stared back at him, face expressionless.
"… Uuuhhhh… Anything else ya wanna tell me now?"
Only thing he could say, and he didn't expect anything to come out of it, but since Kaiba was just full of surprises…
He looked embarrassed. Or as embarrassed as he could look. Which kinda looked cute.
He mentally slapped himself so he'd focus on Seto's opening mouth.
… Mmm. Yummy images.
He slapped himself mentally again.
Kaiba's face was less embarrassed after he pulled himself forcefully from his trip to the gutter and focused on him, and Kaiba's first words seemed to come out of nowhere and were a bit surprising, since Kaiba (Seto! SETO) seemed the type to not make random comments.
"You still have the $68, 000. I doubt you'll use that for your father anymore."
… So Kaiba knew he had that much.
He snorted at the brunet. "I know I can keep it. I'll probably move into some apartment, or something like that. I just need to get it from your recycling bin and all."
The blond frowned at that thought, worried that someone had taken it, but then grinned because he knew that Seto would track down the money if he asked nicely. Or did something 'nice' for him.
… Dragging one's self from the gutter was fucking easier said than done, that was for sure.
But back to Seto.
He blinked at the other teen then shrugged, reaching his hand to scratch the back of his neck as a new idea popped into his head, involving 'tracking down'.
"Ummm… Seeeeto?"
The taller boy looked at him, silently giving him a 'what?'.
"Can you… track down the guy that gave me the money, too? I wanna properly thank him an' all… Or, if he wants it, give the money back. Wouldn't be nice ta just… not do anything and take the money, now that I dun really need it, right? And…"
… And Seto was staring at him as if he was stupid. Or in serious need of a reality check.
Which was starting to piss him off. He was not a fucking idiot, damn it!
"Are you stupid or just mentally handicapped?"
"What! Why the Fu-"
"Igave you the money, idiot. You would have figured that out if you used what little brain power you have."
…. Holy shit, that was even more surprising than Kaiba saying something fucking random.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"… …"
Kaiba was probably getting pissed off at him with his fish expressions and lack of answers.
… So, he was an idiot after all.
"But… Uh! Holy shit! Why? I mean… What? You gave me the money? Why?"
The tall brunet looked like he didn't want to answer, if his expression gave anything off. But, regardless, Jou knew that Kaiba knew that he wouldn't give up until he got a stupid fucking answer.
"Plenty of reasons."
… Well, if that wasn't vague, he didn't know what was! He wanted a real fucking answer, damn it!
"Give me a real answer, you asshole!"
Tall brunet still not wanting to answer + a very confused and getting-angry blond ugly words and a very, very messed-up blond thought process.
And Brunet seemed to be getting the fact that Blond would hurt Blonde's self if Blond didn't get good answers.
Which was a big no-no for Brunet.
With a sigh, Kaiba started a probably-long explanation.
"I like you. I wanted to help you out. I know that you hold your family and friends in high regard. I have money. Therefore, I gave money to help you out so you could help your father, even if it was only for bail."
… Ok. Not so long.
It still worked a hell of a lot better than 'plenty of reasons'.
A split second and Jou was up and off the bed, getting onto his knees in front of a very startled Kaiba.
"What the hell are you doing, Jou!"
Jou looked up at him and then stooped his head, his one good hand in front of him as he bowed low to the ground.
"Thank you very much, Kaiba-san. I am indebted to your kindness."
When he looked up at the brunet, said brunet was staring at him oddly. As if he had sprouted 2 extra heads and was singing a song only a quartet could sing, and doing it well.
He was also probably a sight to behold, arm strapped to his side, ass in the air, greasy hair falling over his face, clad in only boxers and a hospital gown.
Damn, he must have been attractive at the moment.
He snickered to himself, still in the bowed position.
Ok, he could just pass this off as a joke, because he probably looked stupid and every bit of the idiot Seto dubbed him. The guy would probably take it as a joke, anyway. Even though he had planned to do this to the guy that had given him the money, the guy had turned out to be his boyf-
Ok. He wasn't ready to call Kaiba a… that yet.
A short chuckle came from above him and brown-eyes peeked up, surprised 'cuz Kaiba was laughing.
The short chuckle soon became a long chuckle, but it stopped there. It was a pleasant sound, as if it had come from hibernation and had been longing to come out.
Which it probably had been. But, shit, Seto sounded nice.
In between the nice sound of Seto being happy, a short sentence wormed it's way through the noise.
"No need."
… Ok. He didn't know if Seto had taken that as a joke, or as him being serious.
He grinned nonetheless and sat up, in a seiza position, and let his grin widen as he saw Kaiba staring back at him, a tiny smile chewing at the corners of his mouth.
A second of them staring at each other, grinning (while, on Jou's part, almost-smiling on Kaiba's), the blond shuffled forward on his knees and laid his good arm across the brunet's legs, shifting so he was sitting on his butt instead of his legs and was leaning most of his weight on Kaiba's legs.
The image could have been picture perfect if it wasn't for Jou's grumbling.
"Go get me a hotdog, 'kay? I'm hungry. Go get it from Ed's Hotdogs too. They have the best hotdogs. And I don't care if the hospital tries kicking you out."
The tall CEO raised an eyebrow at the odd and random request. If he was bothered by the shorter duelist's closeness and touchy-feely-ness, he didn't show it.
His voice was amused when he spoke. "Why can't I just go get a hotdog from the cafeteria? And should you be even making requests like that, in the position you're in?"
The blond shot him an offended look from where he was resting, almost snickering. "Ch, are you kidding? Those things are infested with bad stuff that other patients can't handle! They wouldn't sell them here."
A pause, than a slightly perkier voice. "And in the position I'm in, I think I get the right to make some high-quality demands here, Kaiba-boy."
A snort and a small, held-back laugh. "Pervert."
Jou got up from his position, sending an even more offended (if not fake and playful) glare at the smirking CEO. "Who said I even meant anything perverted by that, huh, Seto! Geez, whose the real pervert here!"
Kaiba just snorted, and Jou whapped his leg with his good hand and let his expression melt into a goofy grin. "Now, go get me my hotdog."
"Idiot."
"You like it."
The taller teen just held back any retort he had on the tip of his tongue and Jou scooted back to let the CEO get up.
A split second's hesitation before the brunet reached a hand out and ruffled the blond hair of his companion, who whacked his hand away and glared at him.
The CEO just smirked and strolled towards the door, giving a back-hand wave to the patient. "I'll be back soon."
Jou grinned. "Fine. Hurry up though!"
His demands chased the CEO out the door and down the hall, and once he was sure the brunet was gone, he slumped against the bed and threw a hand over his face.
… This was almost too much to take in.
A second more on the floor before he realized his ass was getting cold, and he lifted himself up (begrudgingly, because he was comfy, Goddamn it!) and sat on the hospital bed. A bit of shifting and he was laying down again, propped up by pillows and the blanket thrown over him and up to his waist.
Jou decided to review all that he had gone through, and he physically curled his hands into fists and ticked off the numbers as they came to him.
1) He had finally, full-frontal admitted to himself that he liked Kaiba.
2) He had confessed this to said guy.
3) Said guy kissed him and confessed back.
4) Friends and sibling walk in and see said guy kissing him.
5) Reunion before finding out that Shizuka didn't know anything.
6) Learning Kaiba had saved his life, not Honda.
7) Learning Kaiba had given him all that money, not some random guy.
… And that was about it, all summed up into a nice little list.
Jou exhaled a loud breathe and slumped down in the comforters, closing his eyes and resting his head against the many pillows.
That was a lot. And the only question that he really needed answered was if Kaiba was his gay-equivalent-of-a-girlfriend (he didn't wanna associate the word with Kaiba right now, because this all seemed like a dream, and with his luck, it probably was one of his many dreams about the boy. Fucking Gods), and what had happened to his dad.
But that could all be answered later. Meds were kicking in. Are whatever was in the IV bag. Or something. It was making him sleepy, and he bet $1000 of the $68,000 he had gotten from Seto that he had been running on pure adrenaline and emotion.
Sleep sounded good right now.
So, Jou closed his eyes and slipped into sleep.
When Kaiba came back, a doggie-bag full of three hotdogs in one hand and a soda in the other, he was encountered with the sight of Jou, burrowed in pillows and with the sheet almost all off, asleep with a half-smile.
His face was expressionless as he set the food down on the side table, grabbed the blanket to pull it up on the sleeping boy, and sat down in the only chair to wait for him to wake up.
-------------------------------Owari/End-----------------------------------
Oh. My. God.
My first, big-ass, half-comedic, half-angst, alotta-drama-inbetween-that, multi-chaptered, baby is finished! After 1 and a 1/2 years (or something like that), IT'S FINISHED.
I'm staring at it in awe. I really am. This story did so well, and… it's finished.
Not much -real-live action, but holy shit, I hope the dreams made up for it.
But, yes, of course, there is going to be a EPILOGUE (capital letters so you'll read this), tying up the loose ends and such. And my sequel, which is of yet unnamed, is just working itself out in my head. I got the general plot idea down, and a few scenes planned out, as well as how it's going to end. Just working out kinks and adding to it.
All in all, I'm satisfied with this story, even if there's a lotta things wrong with it, and the characters were slightly OOC, and the situations were sometimes unreal and repetitive, and… And…
Holy shit. I can't complain because I'm in too much awe right now.
But, yes, I'll just end it before I start getting giddy and fluffy around the edges and explode before I make the sequel.
So, kindly await the EPILOGUE, and please tell me what you think XP.