Story: Puppies and Dragons Don't Mix
Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh.
Warning: Yaoi (boyxboy). May contain lime and/or lemon.
Pairings: Jou/Kaiba Possibly: Yami/Yugi Ryou/Bakura Otogi/Honda
Summary: Jou finds out that Kaiba is slowly destroying himself and desperately needs help. But why should he care? He's his worst enemy...right?
Symbols: "Talking" 'Thinking' -Scene Change- Chapter Start & End
Chapter 19: Attitude adjustment
In the beginning, Kaiba didn't pay much attention to the change in Jou's behavior.
School, work, and that damned project kept him busy enough to successfully distract him from his surroundings. He was never the most sensitive person when it came to noticing others' feelings. He usually couldn't afford to waste time noticing.
But one night, that all changed.
He was working on a long overdue project in his office, one that his colleagues had successfully screwed up on, and felt himself getting drowsy.
'Must be getting late.'
Yawning, Kaiba glanced up at the wall clock and blinked in surprise.
It was already one in the morning.
'No wonder I feel tired. I haven't worked this late ever since that damn mutt moved in.'
Whenever Kaiba attempted to pull an all-nighter, Jonouchi always made sure to harass him over the phone so he would come home in time for dinner.
The phone, however, had remained silent all evening.
Kaiba frowned.
'Wonder what the mutt is up to. He never misses out on a chance to make my life hell. Like last time…'
Kaiba's frown deepened. When exactly was the last time Jou had called him to come home from work? It must have been over a week ago.
'Really now, it couldn't have been that long ago.'
Kaiba thought back and realized it certainly was that long ago. In fact, it had been over a week since Jou had done anything to harass him. No insults, no playful jokes…
'He hasn't even been at dinner lately. The only contact I've had with him is when we're doing the project, and even during that he hardly talks.'
Kaiba scowled and began packing up his things. What did he care if Jou suddenly decided to change his attitude? It certainly made things easier for him. He could actually get a decent amount of work done without the blonde pestering him.
But the thought of Jou didn't leave his mind, even during the drive home, and Kaiba found himself growing more and more irritated.
'When did this start? It had to be after the photography project. He was his usual annoying self during that. After that then? What happened after?'
Kaiba recalled the time Jou had skipped school. That was when he first noticed that the mutt was acting a little odd.
For the life of him though, he couldn't think of any reasons for Jou's sudden change of heart.
'I wonder if he's gotten bored with our relationship.'
Kaiba grimaced. Relationship? That didn't come off right.
'Our rivalry then. Maybe he's found someone else to bother.'
That put a sinking feeling in Kaiba's gut. He enjoyed his confrontations with Jonouchi. The mutt never failed to amuse him with his foolish antics.
'I actually enjoy having him around. Wait…I take that back. I don't. I don't like having him around at all. I've got to stop thinking about this.'
Shaking his head, Kaiba decided to confront Jou in the morning and force him to admit to what was wrong. Then maybe Kaiba could go back to ignoring the unnecessary feelings he was having for Jou.
-At home-
The house was dark and quiet when Kaiba finally arrived.
Kaiba made his way up the stairs painstakingly slow as to not wake Mokuba up, but halfway to the top, he noticed a faint flickering coming from the living room.
'Someone must have left the TV on.'
Sighing, Kaiba made his way back down and walked over to the room, not willing to waste precious electricity.
He certainly did not expect anyone to be in there. And he certainly didn't expect to find Jou in there, sitting with his knees pulled to his chest, looking the most vulnerable Kaiba had ever seen him.
"Jonouchi?" Kaiba said, startled by the boy's presence.
Jou jumped in surprise. Obviously Kaiba wasn't the only one who was startled.
Jou recovered quickly however. Sitting up, he turned to face Kaiba.
"Kaiba. Back from work finally? Or did you forget something again?"
After a week without so much as a teasing remark from Jou, Kaiba was puzzled by the acidic tone of Jou's words.
'What exactly is going on?'
"No, no. I'm home. I didn't realize it had gotten so late."
Jou stood up and crossed the room in a few short strides.
"Yeah, well, I'm surprised you came home at all. Goodnight Kaiba, see you in the morning."
Jou made to brush pass him but Kaiba caught his arm before he could escape.
"Hey, wait. Listen. What exactly is the matter with you?"
There was a short pause as Jou turned to look back at him, anger written all over his face. "Nothing is the matter with me. Now if you'll excuse me-" Jou tried to jerk his arm away, but Kaiba wouldn't relent.
"Liar. You've been avoiding me ever since the photography project. You haven't said two words to me for a week and now you suddenly start biting my head off? What's wrong with you, mutt?"
In the faint glow the TV gave off, Kaiba saw Jou clench his jaw.
"Nothing is the matter, Kaiba. Let go-"
"No, not until you quit acting like a drama queen and tell me what has gotten into you."
Jou tried to wrench his arm away again, the volume of his voice rising a few notches. "What do you care? I thought you might enjoy the extra time away from me since you hate me so much."
"Jonouchi-"
"Shut up. And let me go." Jou turned and pushed Kaiba away roughly, successfully breaking free.
Kaiba should have done the smart thing and let him go. After all, it was clear that Jou wasn't going to tell him anything. It would have been logical just to let the mutt go…
But instead, Kaiba caught Jou by the arm again, yanking him closer.
"No! Tell me what is wrong, dammit! I'm tired of being-"
The punch hit him in the side of his face. Kaiba swore he heard something crack and pain exploded in front of his eyes. He felt himself falling back.
Kaiba tightened his grip on Jou though and brought the both of them crashing to the floor. Jonouchi made an attempt to escape again, landing another punch in Kaiba's side, but Kaiba wrestled him back down, successfully pinning him to the ground.
"Fuck! Kaiba! Get the fuck off me!" Jou raged and thrashed violently beneath Kaiba. "Get the fuck away from me!"
"Jonouchi! Jonouchi, stop!" Kaiba tried to reason with Jou. It took all of his strength to keep him pinned and he couldn't keep it up for much longer. All he wanted to do was talk.
But Jou continued to fight back, his eyes wild with anger and fear. "Fuckin' piece of shit, let me go! I hate- I HATE YOU!"
The last words came out as a strangled cry and Jou suddenly stilled, gasping and shuddering as sobs began to wrack his body.
Kaiba felt his stomach twist in dread. What had he done?
Releasing his grip, Kaiba sat up, looking down at the crying teen before him. "Jonouchi…"
"J…just shut up." Jonouchi stuttered between sobs. "I know, I…I'm pathetic, right? Just get the f…fuckin' hell away."
Kaiba remained silent but didn't rise from his position. Instead, he brushed Jou's hair away from his face.
Jou jerked at the touch.
"W…what-? What are you-?"
But before Jonouchi could finish his sentence, Kaiba leaned down, and kissed him.
End of Chapter 19
Author's notes: Finally! Some action! I hate writing fight scenes, mostly because they come out lame no matter what I do. But I love angry confrontations right before an angry/angsty kiss. So I had to try my hand at it. xD
And look, two updates in less than two days! I don't want to jinx it, but I think I'm getting back into the habit of writing. Hopefully, if all goes well, there will be more updates to come in the next few weeks. :D So drop me a review and encourage me to finish this damned fanfiction, 'kay?