Here ya'll go!

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For the first time in years, Jou woke up feeling completely safe and, ironically enough, that put him on edge. Why on earth was he feeling so secure? As awareness of things around him came into his sleep-fogged brain, so did the answers to his current dilemma. The secure feeling was coming from the two arms tightly wrapped around his waist, holding him flush against another person's chest. He could clearly hear another heartbeat, steadily pumping. The rhythmic sound managed to put Jou's mind at ease.

Currently, it didn't matter that Kaiba was under the impression that it was Mokuba he was holding, to keep him safe from his nightmares, or that the two of them were sworn enemies, or even that if Kaiba were to wake up now, Jou would get the ass kicking of his life. Not to Jou. Not when he could imagine away all those facts and pretend Kaiba was holding him because he wanted too, because he felt the same way. Jou sighed happily and snuggled closer to the warmth in front of him.

He didn't realize he had fallen asleep again until he woke up. Although he was still in Kaiba's arms, he didn't feel nearly as safe as he had the first time he'd woken up. He hazarded a glance at the brunettes face and was met with a pair of blue eyes full of sleepy confusion.

"M-morning Kaiba." Jou said meekly to break the silent staring contest.

"You're not Mokuba." Kaiba replied after a moment, in a voice that matched his eyes.

As if on cue, and to the great relief of Jou, the cell phone on the bedside table rang. As Kaiba answered with a groggy "hello?" Jou's mind went into overdrive. How on earth was he going to explain this? Would he survive the morning? Would Kaiba even believe him? Was Kaiba's arm really still around his waist?

After about five minutes of listening to a muffled voice and Kaiba's various responses, the cell phone was hung up. Jou was unknowingly holding his breath, waiting for something to happen. The awkwardness was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Finally, Kaiba broke the silence.

"So, Mokuba put you up to this. What's in it for you? Come to laugh at me when I'm vulnerable. I bet you and your little friends will talk about this for months. 'Hey guys, you'll never guess what moneybags said in his sleep last night' Ha ha ha. Well, have your laughs, but know that if this goes public, I can and will destroy you."

Normally Jou would have laughed after a threat like that, but the coldness in Kaiba's voice and eyes sent a chill down his spine. Kaiba seemed to notice this because he, with a slightly shocked expression, instantly moved his hand from around Jou's waist.

"Nah, you got it all wrong. Mokuba asked for a favor and seeing as I'm such a nice guy I said I'd do it for him, and this just happened to be the favor. I didn't do it to make fun of you. Besides, Yugi wouldn't let us make fun of you for having nightmares anyway. He'd say something like 'Everyone gets scared now and then' or 'that's not very nice you guys…'" Jou trailed off when he saw the stony glare he was receiving. Another awkward silence followed. "I wouldn't tell them though," Jou said in almost a whisper.

Kaiba sighed at looked down at Jou. "I know, you're not the type to betray someone's trust like that. It's just… it's hard for me to trust people." For a brief second, Jou could have sworn he saw sadness cross the CEO's face, but then it was gone, just as quickly as it had come.

"Well, since Mokuba has convinced me to allow you stay here for the duration of his trip, I suppose you should get your own room and some food." Kaiba almost sounded like he was gritting his teeth in anger at the very thought of having to spend any amount of time with Jou. "Come along mu-Jounouchi you can get some food while I get your room ready." Kaiba stood and briskly walked towards the bedroom door, with Jou on his heels.

When they reached the kitchen, Jou was shocked. For such a huge house, he was sure there would be a spectacularly huge, stainless steel kitchen. Instead he was lead into a kitchen only slightly bigger then the one in his apartment, although it was true that there was a lot of stainless steel. "You should be able to find something to eat in here. Mokuba and I use it on the cook's day off, which happens to be today. I advise you never to touch anything in the main kitchen. Our cook is very particular about where her things belong. I'll come get you when your room is ready." And with that, Jou was left alone in the mini kitchen feeling slightly bemused. Was it just him or was Kaiba being vaguely polite. It must have been something Mokuba said.

Speaking of Mokuba, Jou was sure he had a fairly large part in stocking the cupboards. Although the fridge was full of things like fresh vegetables, juice and raw meat for actual meals, the cupboards were full of cookies, chips, cereals, candy and all other types of snack food. Jou knew, deep down, that he should be eating something vaguely healthy, but the brightly wrapped sweets were calling out to him. When Kaiba arrived back in the kitchen he found Jou had a plate cookies, a tall glass of chocolate milk and a bag of skittles. Kaiba sighed. "Couldn't you at least take a piece of fruit as well?"

"Skittles are almost a fruit." Jou said around the bag held between his teeth. Kaiba just rolled his eyes, grabbed an apple and headed out in the direction he had come. "Bring your snack, you can enjoy it in your room." He called over his shoulder.

When they reached his temporary bedroom, the skittles hit the floor. Jou was speechless and his mouth hung open in shock. This bedroom was half the size of his apartment, and it had an adjoining bathroom.

"This is where you'll be staying for the next few days. You should be comfortable. There's no TV or computer, but Mokuba has instructed me to tell you that you can use his if you need anything. I have to go out now, but I should be back for lunch. You can explore if you want to, but remember, locked doors are locked for a reason." And with that Kaiba was gone and Jou had the giant house to himself.

"Back for lunch?" He thought "How far off can that be?' It was then that he noticed it was only 6:30 in the morning. "KAIBA!" He cursed the absent boy for making him be awake that early on a Saturday morning.

Seto sped away from his house at top speed. He needed to be alone and able to think. He drove for an hour to get out of the city and away from all the distractions his life presented. Pulling up next to a small forest, he got out of his car and ventured to a clearing he knew was in the middle.

He had found this thinking spot about two years before and it had been a savior to him. When he couldn't figure something out at work he step away to somewhere more secluded where no one would disturb him while he thought thing through.

Now, however, he did not need to clear his head to think about work. He had much more pressing things on mind.

Taking out his duel monsters deck, he began to mindlessly sort and re-sort them, over and over, as a calming technique. With none of his major worries tying him down, he was able to focus.

Jounouchi. That's what he needed to think about. To say he had been shocked when he'd woken up with the blonde in his arms would have been the understatement of the century. Seto had never planned for anyone, ever, to know he suffered from nightmares. He tried to hide the fact from Mokuba, and it worked for a few years, but as Mokuba had gotten older, his bedtime had gotten later, and it was only a matter of time before Seto started making noises while his brother was still awake. He had intended on taking that bit about himself to his grave. At least no one knew the content of his nightmares.

Now that he was thinking about it, not letting his vast anger of the fact that someone knew his secret get in the way, he couldn't think of a better person to figure it out. One of the many things Seto knew first hand was that being mad about something that had already happened was a waste of time and energy.

Seto began thinking of all the reasons it wasn't a complete disaster that Jou knew more about him. He was loyal enough that he wouldn't tell anyone, he didn't ask a whole bunch of questions, and he seemed to know how to calm Seto down. He could deal with this.

Now that that problem was out of his way, he went on to thinking about how to punish Mokuba for getting him into this situation in the first place.

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Another stretch of time, another chapter. Please review, cause authors live for it.