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Three taps against the skylight brought Kaiba back to reality.
He looked up at the large glass panel above the piano just as fat drops began to fall from the clouds.
Jounochi had been coming to his house twice a week for about two months now, since that day that Kaiba had found him in the music room of Domino High, soaked to the bone from rain- not unlike the rain falling now- playing piano. And Kaiba had been hooked. There was something so ethereal about this completely rambunctious brawler sitting down in front of the instrument and coaxing out beautiful and intricate melodies with his tanned and calloused fingers. On the days that Jounochi came by, it was under the pretense that he would be teaching Kaiba how to master this skill on his own, but when he came around, Music books and metronomes in tow, Kaiba never really could focus on the task at hand. For whatever reason, Kaiba just couldn't take his eyes off of Jounochi's face when he played. The way his head bobbed slightly in time to the music, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips, his dark eyebrows rising and disappearing under his messy blond bangs, all of it just stirred something in Kaiba's chest that he couldn't quite place. Or maybe he wasn't sure that it was something he wanted to place. Whenever he thought too long about it, he felt his palms begin to sweat, and his face grow hotter, and that was territory that he was a little too nervous about entering.
Kaiba cleared his throat and turned towards Jounochi, watching him as he stared out of the windows at the storm growing outside.
"I doubt you would enjoy walking home in this weather. Would you like for me to send for a car?"
Jounochi stretched and chuckled nervously. "If it's all the same to you, I'd rather wait it out… I mean, all I've got at home waiting for me is…" Jounochi trailed off, his eyebrows furrowing. He wiped his hands on his faded jeans and shrugged. "I can afford to waste a little time..."
Kaiba nodded and sat down on the piano bench, watching as Jounochi removed his shoes and made his way back over to the piano. He sat back down on the dark mahogany bench next to Kaiba, their thighs brushing against each other softly. Kaiba sucked in a breath.
The two remained silent for a moment, listening to the rain. Finally, Kaiba spoke.
"Why were you in the building that day?" He asked, curiosity making his voice come out softer than he intended.
Jounochi sighed and shoved a hand into his coat pocket. "I got in a fight with my old man."
Feeling brave, Kaiba inquired further. "What is your father like, Jounochi?"
Jounochi tensed visibly, as if trying to calculate exactly what is was he was trying to say. He cleared his throat, staring blankly at the strings on the inside of the vast instrument in front of him.
"He's an alright guy sometimes. You know, when he's not… when he's not hammered," Jounochi spat. He closed his eyes. "He usually hates me when he's drunk. Well, I'm sure he hates me when he's sober too. He's just better at hiding it then. Says I look too much like my ma."
Kaiba nodded slowly. "So… he's not like a father at all then," he replied.
Jounochi shrugged. "What the hell. I'm used to it now, and I don't care since it's just me an' him. It'd be a different story if Shizuka was here too." Jounochi sighed and poked middle C absently. "I don't care that he's drunk all the time honestly. What I don't want is people's fucking pity. I'm doing fine on my own. I work my ass off."
"I hope you weren't expecting any pity from me. As if I'd show pity to a rotten mutt like you," Kaiba retorted, crossing his arms.
A bout of laughter erupted from the blond, and Kaiba couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face.
"No," Jounochi replied between chuckles. "No, I knew I could count on you treat me just as bad as ever."
Kaiba smiled a lopsided smile, and shrugged. "Always."
Jounochi's smile faded just a little, and he swallowed thickly. He coughed and looked away quickly.
"Soooo, Kaiba, lemme ask you something…"
Kaiba shifted his gaze to the floor, unable to look at Jounochi, panic rising in his chest.
Jounochi sat, unspeaking, for what seemed like hours. Then:
"Do you… like me?"
Kaiba's head snapped up. Who the hell did that mutt think he was asking him something like that?
"W-why are you asking me that all of a sudden?" Kaiba spat, cursing inwardly for sounding so uncertain at the one time he needed to.
Jounochi shrugged. "I dunno, I just… I was talking to Pinot- San about you. I do that a lot, and she said that you sounded like you were 'fond' of me," Jounochi made air quotes as if to prove his point. He looked up at the ceiling, and his cheeks grew pink.
Kaiba exhaled and regained his composure. "I just think it's a crazy thing is all. You're sitting here, next to me, playing the piano, and we're talking about things, and we're laughing, and I'm asking you about your family and why am I doing that? I have never asked a single person about their family and you're just everywhere, and I can't even lie to myself and say that you're an asshole, and you just look so… so… perfect right there where you are, with your hands on the keys, and I just can't help-"
"Hey," Jounochi murmured, taking Kaiba's hand in his own. "Hey…"
Kaiba shook his head. "I'm sure it's just confusion is all, I mean we were enemies not too long ago, and now we… well, we're…"
"Kaiba, it's…" Jounochi leaned closer to Kaiba on the piano bench, giving the brunette's hand a squeeze. "I think that I like you, too."
Kaiba's eyes widened. Those were words that he did not expect to hear, and he certainly hadn't expected to feel happy about hearing them. His head was swimming and he couldn't think. He wasn't even sure that his heart was actually beating when Jounochi leaned in ever so slightly…
And kissed him.