Chapter 12:
Only That We Must
Kaiba stood to his feet and eased his breathing, let his eyes close and took deep breaths in and out to steady his pulsing heart and trembling body. His eyes opened and took in the room around him, his eyes searched finding the clock loyally beside his bed flashing the time. 'Eleven forty-two… I've overslept.' The acknowledgment was so dull and the realization that he was late for work did not bother him as any other time it would.
He sauntered to the bathroom to wake his body properly. Staring into the mirror with the man in need of better sleep and more to eat, he turned the faucet and listened to the hot water stream. His eyes slowly peeled away from his dismal reflection and he applied toothpaste to his toothbrush and went to his routine. But his mind was thinking to his late awakening. 'Where is Jyonouchi?' The simple question bothered him greatly.
Indeed, the blond he called nuisance, had not wakened him like he normally and routinely did every morning except weekends; believing Kaiba should've waste them working away like a slave.
Kaiba never remembered approving of his decision to move in but not once, even now, had he refused or denied it. It was heartbreakingly painful hearing noise but knowing it wasn't Mokuba running down the halls just to interrupt his work, but it was something other than the silence he would otherwise be left with. It was bothersome having him so bright and strong, pulling him from bed and dragging him down to eat breakfast, which wasn't something Kaiba ever did in the morning – actually he usually was gone by daybreak and returning by nightfall. But it was different now. Jyonouchi made sure he slept until seven o clock, ate something, went to work and would call and pest the hell out of him by five to get him home by six evening. Everything was changed except his business sense, it was the only thing that he had to maintain normalcy.
Kaiba dried the water from his face and stepped back into his dark room. The curtains weren't drawn, the lights were still off, and there was no trace of Jyonouchi's presence anywhere. The brunet had several times mumbled his disliking of the other's intruding but he'd grown accustomed to it nonetheless and without realizing until now, how much he expected it. He walked over to his wardrobe and searched its contents for something to wear.
Jyonouchi took a deep breath and tapped his foot against the tile floor. "I can't believe I keep burning them. Let's try this again." He said with a pout. He tossed the pancake in the air and it landed perfectly on its backside. "Well you look a lot better than your predecessors." He praised before flipping it again. "But all of you hafta come out good otherwise…" 'Kaiba's gonna notice I sent the staff home for the day.' He smiled proudly as he flipped it onto a nearby plate. "Beautiful, simply beautiful. Now we're getting the hang of this." 'He's going to enjoy these.' He thought to himself and them frowned with a raise of his brows, 'And he'll eat them even if I hafta stuff them down his throat.'
Kaiba stepped out of his room and descended the stairs down to the main hall. There were two things that had already raised suspicion to him. 'I don't see anyone around at all and I know Jyonouchi is up and about because I can smell that cologne he's always wearing.' Indeed, it was a strong but sweet scent that Kaiba didn't dislike, but he doused himself in it all the time.
He looked around and still not a single soul abound. With a sigh, he entered the breakfast room and heard movement beyond the door that led to the kitchen. With an unreadable scowl on his face he pushed through and entered into a room of mixed aromas. His eyes widened slightly with surprise and rested upon the form digging through the beverage cooler. "Jyonouchi." He called calmly and quietly.
The other froze and turned around with a warm smile on his face. "Hey sleepyhead. Darn I was hopin' you'd still be asleep." He shut the door and held a half-gallon of orange juice in his hands. He placed it on the counter and slowly walked up to the other. "You look tired, did you not sleep well?" He asked with concern.
"What are you doing? Where are the cooks at?" He asked not really paying his question any mind.
Jyonouchi sighed and shrugged. "I sent them home and everyone else too." He replied. Kaiba opened his mouth to speak but Jyonouchi simply turned away. "I know what you're gonna ask but let's not waste time arguing especially before breakfast." He stated calmly.
'He has the nerve to scold me and walk away from me?' Kaiba always act slightly shocked and offended but it was something that happened a lot. "Breakfast? It's about to be lunch time."
"It's breakfast running a little late." Jyonouchi corrected and placed some covered dishes on a large round tray. He leaned his back against the door and opened it slowly. "Grab the O.J. and that roll of napkins."
Kaiba forgot momentarily his words and confusion and did as he was softly instructed. He followed the other out into the breakfast room and helped him set the table for the two of them. "Let's see. Oh yeah, the glasses duh. Go ahead and sit down, I'll be right back." He pointed to the same chair that the brunet sat at every time. And Kaiba once more obediently sat on the right of the rather modest sized round table. A few seconds later and Jyonouchi reentered with glasses and a small wooden basket of croissants.
As he sat in his seat across from the other he couldn't take the smile off his face. Seeing the other so happy always irked him and he knew that the other did it on purpose though it was a claim repeatedly denied. "So do you mind explaining your decision to give the help a day off?" He asked.
"How many blueberry pancakes do you want?"
"Jyonouchi don't ignore me."
The blond sighed deeply. "I'm not. I sent them because you don't need them around today because I'm gonna cook your meals and attend to your desires myself." He answered with confidence. "Now how many pancakes?"
"And what did I do to earn such an offer from you?" He asked and Jyonouchi gave him a tired and bored look. He rolled his eyes. "One." He answered.
Jyonouchi narrowed his eyes and put three on his plate instead of the aforementioned denomination. "And eat it all." He lightly demanded handing him the plate and a fork and knife. Kaiba sighed and accepted the plate. "It's something I've been wanting to do for you for a while now that's all."
Kaiba began cutting his food up. "Why didn't you make me up? I should be at work right now."
Jyonouchi shook his head. "I gave you an extended weekend. You need to sleep and relax a little more. I figured you could sleep and take it easy."
"Haven't I been doing that for the past eleven months since Mokuba died? It isn't your place to shorten my work habits or decide when I can skip it entirely." He scolded angrily.
Jyonouchi put his fork down and straightened. "No. You haven't been relaxing otherwise you wouldn't look the way you do now."
Kaiba frowned and dropped his silverware. Standing, "And how do I look?"
He stood as well. "You look miserable, depressed, pained."
"Wow aren't you so good at stating the obvious?" Kaiba was about to say something more, erupt into an argument like occasionally he would do but he hesitated at the sad weak glare the other was giving him. There was no real anger apparent there at all. "I'm finished eating. Thanks for the breakfast, I'm heading back to my room." He quickly calmed no longer facing Jyonouchi and he rushed out of the breakfast room.
Jyonouchi took a deep breath and shook his head. He put the dishes together and took them back to the kitchen. He threw them onto the counter and let his emotions get the better of him. "I bust my ass of cooking for him and this is how he thanks me." He mumbled but quickly interjected himself, "But he didn't mean it. He's just upset." He relaxed a bit and nodded, recalling what the other had said. "Eleven months… That's right. A little more than that, there's only about two weeks before the anniversary of Mokuba's death." He frowned.
He washed the dishes and set them in the dishwasher. Taking a deep breath he walked out to the main hallway and started up the stairs only to see his destination coming down the stairs. Jyonouchi's body weakened noticing his attire. 'His work suit. He's going to work.' A deep pain settled into his heart.
Kaiba's steps slowed as he approached Jyonouchi's wordless expression. He passed by and grabbed his gray trenchcoat from its hanger by the front doors. "I'm going to work. I have to get some things done."
"Okay." Jyonouchi acknowledged, turning slightly as the door opened. "Kaiba." He called halting the other's motion. "Don't stay too late." He said but more like begged.
Kaiba felt his heart overwhelm and fill him with such a dreadful pain; Guilt for going despite the blonde's wishes. He swallowed down and nodded. "I won't." Was all that he could muster before shutting the door behind him. Jyonouchi sat on the stairs and repeated to himself that it was all right.
It was four-thirty now and Jyonouchi couldn't get anything off his mind except the agony of watching Kaiba walk away. It was so strange, the emotions he felt inside. 'I know I shouldn't but it hurts so much. Like a betrayal, I mean a real betrayal. I told him he wasn't going to work but he went. He went know I didn't want him to go.' He sat up from his bed and sighed. "What am I thinking? I'm not his mother or his… girlfriend- I can't control his life. I shouldn't order him to stay home like that." He settled on being wrong on this one and decided to get dinner ready for whenever the other would show up. 'He probably will be late anyway.' The pain was still there even though he ignored it.
He didn't feel like cooking though as he stared at the clean and spotless kitchen with a personality and mood not so charming. "Pizza. We'll have pizza." His spirits started to brighten. "I'm so smart. I don't remember the last time I had a nice delicious plate of pizza!" He chimed.
It was nearing five 'o' clock and Kaiba had been lost in his computer programs until something around him pulled his attention away. There wasn't any noise, no disturbances. He pondered for a moment and tried to focus on his work but something wasn't allowing him. 'What is wrong? What is it?' He pondered and then he settled on his cell phone sitting silently on his desk. His eyes shifted to the clock, five minutes after five. 'He hasn't called.' He mentally noted, at five on the dot, Jyonouchi should've called like every other time before. But then again this was the first time in the ten months the blonde's lived with him that he ever went against his advice and command. "He didn't want me here." He frowned feeling the guilt he had shaken off earlier return. A few more minutes ensued before he couldn't take it anymore. "I can't believe I'm doing this for some pathetic mutt." The comment caught him off guard; it'd been a long time since he even referred the other to a dog. A small hope of a smile fluttered by but diminished beforehand.
Kaiba rushed down the very tall and powerful Kaiba Corporation building to his parked car. He took a deep breath and started it up. As he pulled out and drove along the road, which was oddly pretty empty and clear of traffic, he started to think of the 'argument' they had earlier. 'I should apologize maybe.' He thought to himself. He didn't realize it but that was the first time he ever truly considered apologizing for his actions.
He approached the front gates and pressed the remote button in his car to unlock and have them open. But before he entered he noticed another car pulling behind him and his first reaction was atrocious. The car was a beat up old Honda accord, perhaps looking nice but its beauty scarred with dents and mud. Kaiba pulled the key from the ignition and noticed the pizza banner along the side, also covered in dirt and dried mud. He crossed his arms across his chest and stayed still as the man from this pizza delivery truck stepped out with two large pizza boxes and a smaller one on top. "Good evening sir."
The young man said and Kaiba nodded. "Good evening."
"Your total comes to thirty-three dollars and fifty-four cents." He stated kindly and with an upbeat attitude.
Kaiba said nothing and pulled a fifty from his wallet. "Here." He mumbled and took the boxes from the other. He turned and stepped back into his car and started into his estate – before the other could even render out his change. And the gates closed behind him.
He parked in the designated spot in the garage and carried the food to the front door. He knocked and rang the doorbell. A few minutes passed by before the door was swung open. Jyonouchi stared in surprise and slight shock. "Kaiba. You're here." He stated simply.
"Aren't you so good at stating the obvious." Kaiba replied lightly. "I deliver pizza too." He added and extended the hot boxes to the other.
Jyonouchi smiled and they both headed to the dining area. "I wasn't really sure if you'd actually get here early or not. It's not even six yet. But anyway, I wanted to apologize to you for earlier. I guess I got so used to you listening to me that I tried to run your life. I dunno what's wrong with me. I didn't mean to act like a housewife or crazy control-freak girlfriend." He started putting the pizza onto the table.
Kaiba grimaced at the greasy material of the box being put onto his lovely stain-free table but decided against remarking. "Jyonouchi it's okay." He replied and grabbed a plate from the dish cabinet. "I don't want to talk about it." He insisted turning back to him and sitting beside him at the table. "All right?" His voice was unrestrained and soft.
It was a tone up until now Jyonouchi found sad and discomforting, as if he was lost and confused about the world around him. "Okay."
Dinner was good – a little early but delicious all the same. Kaiba went to doing a little more computer work and Jyonouchi headed to his room. It was late in the night now, nearing one in the morning and Kaiba had retired to his bedroom an hour previous. But Jyonouchi couldn't sleep at all. He really wanted to discuss their situation a little more. 'I told him that I would stay until he got over his blame and guilt over Mokuba's death but he seems to be doing a lot better than he was. He even said his name without breaking into a broken depression like times before. But I don't want to leave – I don't want to leave him. I like it here a lot – cooking breakfast, eating and dining with him, watching over him, making sure he gets sleep and eats his food. I'm so glad he ate the pizza without me having to order him to do so…' Jyonouchi caught his words and swallowed the lump in his throat. "I like being here doing things for him and with him. It's nice and…" He smiled softly and even sort of blushed before shaking himself and turning out his light.
His alarm buzzed loudly as six 'o'clock flashed across his clock. He sat up and groaned before hitting the snooze button; with a yawn and tired mumble he stretched and stepped out of bed. He brushed his teeth and washed his face and headed out to Kaiba's room. 'I guess I better get him up early to make up for yesterday.' He rolled his eyes and opened the door quietly, but what he heard inside was not so quiet and peaceful.
"Kaiba." He hissed and ran to his bed. Kaiba was panting and mumbling in his sleep, tossing slightly as he did so. "Kaiba." Jyonouchi began to shake him first softly and then harshly as it proved useless. "Kaiba." After a few long seconds, he finally stopped and opened his eyes to the world around him. He sat up quickly and tried to control his breathing, trying desperately to catch his breath.
'The same thing again. Mokuba, I'm so sorry…' He took deep breaths and place his hand across his chest to relax himself but as his eyes focused and cleared he fell into two worried brown eyes through the dark room. His own eyes widened to fright and uncertainty. "Jyonouchi… You weren't supposed to see me…" He muttered still trembling.
Jyonouchi gasped in slight hurt but understanding of his tone and his words. 'Supposed to see him. This has happened before. It was Mokuba… He whispered Mokuba.' He leaned in and held the other against him and let tears fall from his strong brown eyes. "Kaiba you never should've kept this from me." He muttered holding on tightly. Kaiba was stunned by the others reply but said nothing as he was enveloped in the warmth.