Ashes doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Chapter Two

It hadn't been his proudest moment, and while Kaiba had been far from admitting defeat, he had to calm down before coming up with a solution to his troubles – preferably in the most inebriated way he could manage.

Tragedy's End sounded like the appropriate place to go after that first conversation with Seiji. It sounded as defeated as he felt, and seedy enough that he didn't expect to be recognized. Even the famous needed a regular place to recoil to.

At the time Jounouchi had been at a booth in the back, nursing a half-full bottle of beer and a black eye. Kaiba's intent hadn't been to find Jounouchi; he stood just inside the entrance, staring. He knew he was better off walking away and leaving Jounouchi to whatever despair he was trying to drown. Despite that, he found himself traveling further into the lion's den and sitting across from the silent teen, waiting for… something. Maybe they could exchange sob stories, get along for the night, and forget about it with the hangovers the next morning. Their brief understandings in the past has always ended that way; Kaiba had at least enjoyed that Jounouchi understood that above all, you did not show that you had sympathy for the enemy.

"Great," Jounouchi sighed before Kaiba was even completely at the table, his words distinctly bitter. "Like I didn't have enough problems, I have you here to rub it in. Do you have an asshole radar or something?"

Shrugging, Kaiba flagged down a passing waitress and ordered his drink. After she walked away, he turned to Jounouchi and said, "I won't tell if you won't."

Jounouchi sighed, settling back against the wall and sitting sideways on his booth seat, propping his legs out in front of him. "Fine by me; this is the only place I've managed to keep a secret, and I'd rather not lose it."

"Not much of a secret," Kaiba muttered, nodding his thanks as the waitress brought back his drink. "With the neon sign and all."

"Unassuming enough for me," Jounouchi replied, taking a swig of his beer. "So, what brings a man like yourself to Tragedy's End?" Jounouchi swung an arm out as though to display the décor of the place; Kaiba didn't bother to look right away, instead reading the label of his drink.

My wit's end, Kaiba thought, but his retort was, "I needed somewhere unassuming to regroup my thoughts," twisting open his drink and settling back, finally taking the time to analyze his surroundings. It smelled of greasy beef and flowers, probably an air freshener in a feeble attempt of making the place seem homey over the reek of cheap beer and the occasional unwashed patron. The walls were white – or at least had been at one point, fading to more of a faint off-white, and there were framed newspaper clippings and old black and white pictures. It had all the look of what might have once been a friendly little bar – just off the port, probably for people who did more sailing than anyone did nowadays. Looking at the people it kept now, it had turned more into a refuge to the down-and-out of society. Kaiba had to wonder if the owner had gone before the change took place. Maybe he'd soon know how it felt to have his vision ripped out from underneath him like a tablecloth under a fancy dinner.

"You awake there, Kaiba? I've never seen a lightweight get glassy from just the fumes." Jounouchi was watching him with a superior sort of smirk, as though he was thinking, Oh yeah, who's the better drinker?

Under normal circumstances, Kaiba would've found the situation odd to the point of hilarity, but his day – and at the rate it was going, his life – was far from its normal circumstances, abnormal as they were to start with. If he was about to head into domestic hell, he might as well make the most of a few casual drinks with the enemy. Ignoring the mild insult, he asked, "What brought you here?"

"About the same, actually." Jounouchi laughed bitterly, closing his eyes and facing the ceiling. "After all, what else can you do when you're down and out except waste the last of your spare change on booze? Not that you'd know anything about lacking spare change, eh, Kaiba?"

"I might know a thing or two."

"Doubtful," Jounouchi spat, raising Kaiba's hackles in an instant; his hand clenched around the neck of his drink, watching as Jounouchi continued, "I'd take your life in a fucking heartbeat; it doesn't look like it's done you too badly. Mine? Man, it's fucking dull, and not like, 'Oh, I have the same fun every weekend,' dull. No, I go to a shit job every day, I come home to a liquored up ass – I come home, and I get trashed. The end." Another bitter laugh, another swig of his drink, and Jounouchi sighed, his tone turning wistful. "Two years ago we were fresh out of school, world-known duelists... Our lives were stretched out in front of us! With all the names we could've dropped, I bet every single one of us could have gone on to something amazing. Now... I always imagined twenty was going to be a milestone, not a grave. Something needs to give, something big, because I've got nothing left to lose."

Kaiba couldn't say that he didn't relate, but complaining wasn't something he did. He endured. That had always been the difference between himself and Jounouchi; when the blond was making sure everyone know how angry he was, Kaiba had always taken the hits quietly. He'd plotted, while the other had rushed straight to action. "Uh-huh," he intoned, swirling the contents of his drink lazily. He was on the verge of another silent endurance trial… It shouldn't have been a surprise; once he was the CEO of Kaiba Corporation he'd tried to lead the facade of a normal lifestyle, and as a natural part of life, he should have seen the relationship complication coming like a train at the end of the tunnel. His only consolation was that it would be something that was going to catch eyes – if his honor was going to take a hit then, damn it, it was going to go down in flames. He had to pick someone that was going to keep people talking…

Without realizing it, he'd been assessing Jounouchi while he thought, taking in the blond's posture, considering the risks… He didn't necessarily want to take the blond on as a personal publicity stunt; it was just that Jounouchi would be the perfect way to win this battle. Skewing the concept was sure to put Seiji's balls in a vice as well, and that was enough to make Kaiba smile, taking another sip of his drink. There was no way his tight-fisted advisor would let him take a male lover, not when he was attempting to play to the families. Japanese families did not want their young boys idolizing the creations of a gay CEO, and they would all realize that if Kaiba brought Jounouchi to the chopping block that had become his business.

Maybe he could come out on top after all.

If he failed, Kaiba would go by his old standby: endure. People would certainly have something to say about Jounouchi at his side – for as famous as his rivalry with Yuugi was, his dislike of the blond was almost equally known. Either way, it was going to be a setup worth remembering. "Let me get you another," Kaiba said, tapping the table with his index finger to make sure he had Jounouchi's attention; the blond looked as though he was a million miles away.

"Huh?" Jounouchi's head fell lazily to the side as he made eye contact with Kaiba. "Am I hearin' things already?"

"No," Kaiba said firmly, flagging down a waitress. "If you'll stay to drink with me, I'm buying; it'll save you the last of that spare change you're so worried about."

Worrying his lower lip between his teeth, Jounouchi looked from the oncoming waitress to Kaiba before shrugging. "Who'd have thought you came built with goodwill?"

"Rumor has it I don't," Kaiba said simply, ten steps ahead and plotting carefully while Jounouchi ordered.

Watching Jounouchi get progressively drunker was probably one of the most interesting things Kaiba had watched. He'd drank with business associates, but that was different, more controlled and sophisticated; the light buzz those men left with simply made them big smilers and looser with their checkbooks. Jounouchi was just drinking for the sake of being drunk; after another bottle, a shot or two at the bar when the bartender changed for the night, he stopped noticing that Kaiba wasn't drinking, smiled a bit more and a lot wider, stopped talking about whatever the hell was wrong with him... He looked at Kaiba just a little bit differently. It was the sort of drunk Kaiba rarely saw first-hand; he was glad he'd stocked the whole plan on it, because it worked like a charm. If he was really lucky, he could drop Jounouchi off tonight, and tomorrow the blond would barely remember him.

"You're nice, Kaiba," Jounouchi lilted, folding his arms on the table and tucking his chin over them. "Yeah. I like you when you're not bein' all snotty and rich and... you. Yeah. I like you a lot when you're not you." The blond nodded stupidly, smiling and closing his eyes. "But I s'pose if I fall asleep now, I'll be wastin' a good time, right? This is a one-time-deal. It's always like then when you're not an asshole – it's over in the blink of an eye. I guess bein' drunk makes it harder to blink." Jounouchi laughed, and Kaiba silently thanked him for leaving the sort of opening that he'd been waiting for.

"Depends on how interested you are in keeping it." Kaiba's stomach churned as he forced a smile, and Jounouchi raised an eyebrow. He looked more interested than Kaiba had expected – Kaiba had half expected an outright refusal. Instead, Jounouchi looked willing before he'd even heard the stakes. "You've got nothing to lose?"

"Absolutely nothing," Jounouchi said resolutely.

"And I need a partner – a business associate of sorts. It'll make you some money, and you won't lose anything. Maybe you'll even have something to gain." If Jounouchi was so interested then maybe... Yes, a shift in his eyes, a raise of his eyebrows; it got Jounouchi sitting up in his seat, fully alert and quite curious-looking – for all his inebriation, he sure did catch on subtlety. "Interested?"

Jounouchi put on an unaffected face – or tried, anyway. "Well, maybe – depends on the terms, of course," he said in a pseudo-intelligent tone, just a little wobbly.

"Follow me, then," Kaiba said, standing – he went to the bar long enough to pay for their drinks, Jounouchi staggering just a little bit behind him – he almost fell on his face out the door. Biting his tongue, Kaiba held up him by the waist. Jounouchi grinned sheepishly as he shoved Kaiba off.

"I'm a little drunk."

"It's okay – we can still do business." Kaiba had to admit he was fascinated with the way Jounouchi pressed against him – either from utter incapability to stand, or because he wanted to, Kaiba couldn't tell. His willingness, his stupid smile, how he went from desolate to acting like he was on top of the world…

Kaiba reminded himself that taking advantage of your enemies weaknesses was just part of the game... but with Jounouchi playing along so well, it made him feel less like he was playing fair. It made him feel deceitful.

---

Kaiba smirked at Seiji, leaning back in his desk chair and pushing the papers back towards his enraged associate. "You told me to find a lover – I did. All I need is you to witness his signing, to sign it along with him, and our other two witnesses – I called them about half an hour ago, so they should be here soon. After that it'll all be set. Of course, if you'd rather not, we can drop the whole ordeal…"

With a growl Seiji looked at the drunken blond, who was blinking rapidly, like his brain was trying to catch up with the conversation. "Wait, you're going to pay me to pretend to we're fucking?"

"That's exactly what he's proposing," Seiji said, turning red; if Kaiba was seeing right, he was pretty sure his eye was twitching. And as if clockwork, fuel to his fire made it's way to the room – Nori and Seiji's pet entered together, both as bewildered and out-of-it as Jounouchi seemed to be.

"And our other two witnesses – any one have anything left to say?" It gave Seiji every chance to stop the whole charade; they were playing chicken for Kaiba's reputation, and for the first time in a while Kaiba didn't go into the game one-hundred-percent certain about the outcome. Seiji glared at Kaiba, eyed the other two, who looked around – Kaiba was sure they had no idea what they'd walked in to.

"Wait, isn't this prostitution?" Jounouchi piped up; all eyes turned toward him, but Kaiba was the only one to answer.

"Not necessarily. I'm not paying you for sex, I'm giving you an allowance as my significant other."

"But there is sex involved?" Jounouchi actually sounded something shy of hopeful, for being the enemy. Luckily for him, all pretenses were off.

"That's not what we're discussing now. Are you in?"

"Shit – easiest money I ever made," Jounouchi said, scooting his chair closer to the desk. "Where's a pen?"

"Wait, him?" the youngest advisor burst, finally catching on. "A move like this is professional suicide. You would be throwing away your – "

Seiji held a hand up in interruption. "It's not suicide," he said carefully, eying Jounouchi – Kaiba felt his stomach coil. "On the contrary, it'll be fascinating. Two well know duelists with a recognized rivalry suddenly end up as mates? The press wouldn't ask for a better scoop. Not to mention a whole new dimension of people intrigued by the nature of the relationship…" Seiji leaned forward, plucking of the ballpoint pens off the contract and signing above his name on all three copies. "Have it your way, Seto-sama."

"This is insanity," the youngest said, but he signed right beside Seiji's named, followed closely by Nori, who could only smile at Kaiba as she leaned down.

"I bet you thought you had that won," she whispered, bowing her eyes to look over the contract. "But well-played; a little honesty could do the company good."

"Honesty…?" Jounouchi blinked, followed loudly with, "Kaiba, are you really gay?"

Seiji huffed and plucked the contract off of the desk, laying both copies side by side on the coffee table in front of Jounouchi, holding out a pen. "Take it in your own hands, Jounouchi. It's your fate you're signing over." As the blond signed – without even a second thought – Seiji turned to Kaiba and added, "If you can survive this, you'll have my commends."

When all was said and done, there were three copies of the contract with five signatures – Kaiba's, Jounouchi's, and the three witnesses. Afterwards, when Kaiba was left alone with his 'significant other,' the gravity of it suddenly kicked when he found himself looking at the mess he'd been given – a drunken blond who was staring at his hands in a rather diminished manner. He didn't like it.

To put it plainly, he'd lost.

"So, what sort of things do I have to do?" Jounouchi asked, yawning loudly. Faced with what he had done, and looking at what he was going to have to work with, Kaiba felt the alarm bells going off in his head. He hadn't been playing to lose; Seiji wasn't supposed to call his bluff.

"Act like a lover," Kaiba said slowly, leaving his surprise for later; right now he had to debrief Jounouchi onto what to expect, and expect the worst. "We'll have to spend time together, make appearances for the press. It'll be a good idea for you to stay overnight once in a while, for appearances. I'll have a guest room set up for you."

"Think we can start now?" Jounouchi smiled sheepishly, adding, "It's just that I'm tired, and I don't feel up to walking home from here."

"I can arrange for a ride."

With the air of a child caught in a lie, Jounouchi shifted uncomfortably and added, "No time like the present to get this contract in action. Some employee can slip up and let out that I joined you after a late night out."

Kaiba found the experience of being bested by a drunken moron dumbfounding; he sincerely hoped he didn't have to get used to it. "Fine; we'll go to your place long enough to get your things."

They'd gone to the car in silence, sat out the length of the ride in silence – Jounouchi presumably thinking and Kaiba fascinated as he watched the quality of the neighborhoods deteriorate around him. Even from behind the orphanage walls things hadn't looked this bad. It was his first time with an image to go with the acknowledgment that Jounouchi really was from the wrong end of Domino City.

The apartment complex they stopped in front of struck Kaiba as surprisingly well-kept among its much dilapidated neighbors. "I'll be back in a few," Jounouchi said, slamming the car door as he left. In under ten minutes he returned with a faded grass-green pillow and blanket and a backpack slung over one shoulder. Jounouchi was also carrying a half-emptied bottle of some sort, slamming back a swig as he fell into the limo; his belongings fell haphazardly to their feet and between them. "Let's roll."

After the car was moving Kaiba said, "When we arrive I'll have a room arranged for you – in the morning we can discuss everything more thoroughly."

Jounouchi nodded, taking another drink and settling back. "Just so we're clear, you're paying me act like we're together and happy AND you're giving me somewhere warm to sleep once in a while."

"Maybe I'll even buy you dinner," Kaiba added dryly; Jounouchi didn't look amused so much as boggled. "Yes, Jounouchi, because every now and then someone has to take the reigns and pull attention back to Kaiba Corporation. Like I said, we'll discuss it in the morning when you're sober."

"I'm not drunk," Jounouchi protested with a scowl, sinking back into his seat. "Lil' tipsy, maybe." He started looking out the window and frowning as though he was looking for something, trying to work something out. "I remember this... a little. Your brother brought us here. It was a trick then. What's the trick now, Kaiba?"

"There's no trick; everything was up front and honest."

A grumble was his only response, and the rest of the drive went without word from Jounouchi – it gave Kaiba a chance to call up the overnight maid and have fresh linens set out on the bed in the vacant room at the end of the hall, and to have it as aired out as possible in ten minutes. Not that Jounouchi was likely to know if it was a bit dusty.

At the top of the stairs Kaiba parted ways with Jounouchi, letting the maid take Jounouchi to the room prepared for him while Kaiba went the opposite way, to his own room. It was nearing midnight, and he'd had enough of one day, and only a little time to sleep before the next one started. He was asleep before he hit the pillow.

Sometime just before daybreak he'd woken to Jounouchi standing in his doorway, holding the molding tightly and hoarsely whispering, "Kaiba!"

"What?" Kaiba snapped, sitting straight up in his bed and glaring at Jounouchi in case he was still under the impression that they were friendly.

"If you don't tell me where a bathroom is right now you're going to have some very pissed off housekeepers." That was when Kaiba noticed how pale Jounouchi was, and how tight his grip on the door was. Nodding, Kaiba pointed to the closest one – the door on the left end of the bedroom. Jounouchi made a run for it, and even had the politeness to close the door behind him.

Kaiba tried to sleep through the blond's retching, but it was completely unavoidable; he couldn't escape the niggling feeling that it was his fault Jounouchi was so sick. He'd been the one pushing the drinks. Not that he'd protested. It didn't help.

After a few minutes the toilet flushed, and the door opened, leaving Jounouchi sagging against the door frame, eyes closed. "I'm fucking tired," he rasped, gulping breaths. It seemed only polite to offer Jounouchi a space in the bed, vacating it as the blond took the offer without protest. It was about time to get started for the day anyway.

Jounouchi was snoring when Kaiba got out of the shower, sprawled out against white sheets and half buried under the pillow. For all the irritation, the brawls and the battles, he fit nicely in the middle of the bed, wrapped in the posh comforter.

Kaiba would have to make sure he didn't get to like the image.

-end chapter two-

notes
I meant to get this out a little sooner, but first there was going to Lawrence for the weekend, then the boytoy had a couple days off work, then there was Steak & a BJ Day, and tests, and eventually I got sick.

But, anyway, here it is -- where we clear up nasty things like how old the characters are (whoops!) and what the deal with the contract is. Hopefully it comes across marginally believable. And there are two chunks of it that got fixed after purkle got the story back to me, and if I'm lucky they're not obvious. ;;;