Till Death Do Us Part

Chapter 4: Kaiba's Humanity

When Seto awoke, he did so without moving a muscle. Keeping his breathes slow and even, he reached out with his senses for any sign of danger, but found everything to be calm and quiet and, as far as he could tell, nothing was amiss – except for the fact that he seemed to be lying on uncomfortably hard, uneven asphalt. Seto eventually opened his eyes partway to get a better idea of his surroundings, but his view was unexpectedly blocked by a pair of golden-brown eyes that were overflowing with obvious concern. Startled, he choked on a gasp, which forced him to start coughing.

"Kaiba? It's about time ya woke up!" Jounouchi's familiar voice bashed through the remaining bit of fog in Seto's head. "You okay? Not hurt at all? I can't believe we survived that fall!"

Fall? Right. Something had attacked them up in his office and had sent them plunging to their deaths, but then...

Nothing. Except… "Mokuba!" He turned his head wildly at the remembrance of hearing his brother's voice, but the younger boy was nowhere in sight. It was the only thing he could recall before waking up here – Mokuba screaming his name.

"I thought I heard Yugi," Jounouchi admitted wistfully, his eyes flashing with pain at the memory. "Probably just another hallucination, though, huh? But I wish…" There was an open vulnerability in Jounouchi's expression that Seto had never seen before, and it caused an odd sensation in the pit of his stomach that he associated with comforting a crying Mokuba.

How strange. Am I sympathizing with Jounouchi?

"Have you never heard of personal space, mutt?" he snapped in a defensive attempt to conceal his thoughts.

Thankfully, Jounouchi quit looking like a kicked puppy, although the amused grin he now bore wasn't much better. "Well, I've been trying to give you some for the past five minutes or so," he said, "but you just wouldn't let go."

"Let go?" Abruptly, he became aware of how his arms were wrapped tightly around the other's torso. He even had the back of the other's T-shirt in a painfully tight grip. "Oh."

"Don't worry 'bout it." Jounouchi continued to grin teasingly. "You've been keepin' me warm."

Seto just grimaced and worked at unclenching his fingers, which were so stiff it actually took him a minute. Fortunately, Jounouchi had the good sense to keep his irritating comments to himself.

At last, Seto managed to push away and rise stiffly to his feet. He waited patiently until Jounouchi was up as well, before pulling back his fist and sending it flying. It hit its target with a satisfying smack and, having been caught by surprise, Jounouchi fell back on his rear. He stared up at Seto in shock.

"Wh-what the fuck was that for?" Jounouchi gasped, raising one hand to hold his cheek.

Seto folded his arms and glared harshly down at him. "That is merely a fraction of what I will do to you should you ever attempt to pull a stunt like that again," he replied coldly.

"Stunt? I was savin' your damn life!"

"I did not ask for you to—"

"Nobody said ya did!" Jounouchi interrupted loudly, scrambling to his feet. "But I wasn't about to let us both go splat if I could help it."

Seto sneered at that. As if he'd ever needed anyone's help to survive. "Next time, don't bother."

"Fine!" was the growled response. "Next time, I fuckin' won't!"

They stood glaring at each other, but, despite his outward expression of annoyance, there was a vague sense of contentment within Seto. It felt like old times – the two of them caught up in an intense face-off while their surroundings seemed to just melt away. Something about those moments had always been secretly thrilling. When other people attempted to challenge him, they were always after his status, money and power, but it was different with Jounouchi. Somehow, the rambunctious duelist didn't care about any of that when they battled, whether verbally or with cards. It was as though he never thought twice about what it meant to piss off an influential CEO and potentially dangerous enemy. There were, of course, a few dimwits in the world who would dare do such a thing, but for some reason Jounouchi was the only one Seto would allow to get away with it relatively unscathed.

Knowing it would serve to frustrate the other further, Seto smirked and, as though praising a dog who'd just rolled over on command, said, "Good boy."

But his satisfaction melted away as soon as he realized they were once again alone on the street without any idea of what was happening to them. Hallucinations of their loved ones in pain and dying; something unnameable trying to kill them; blacking out only to find they'd survived what should have been a certain death. It seemed they were not in the real world at all. It could be the Shadow Realm, of course, but somehow Seto felt that that wasn't the answer.

"Yo, jerk. I asked you a question!"

Pulled from his speculations, Seto looked over. "What is it now?"

"Which way to your place?" Jounouchi repeated as he looked up and down the empty street. "We should probably get going before that thing comes back, ya know."

He recalled the light they had seen from the top of Kaiba Corp. The next logical step was to investigate it, although it could very well turn out to be a trap.

"Well?" Jounouchi impatiently poked him.

Seto glared. "Do that again and you'll find yourself eating that finger for breakfast."

"Oh, I'm so scared."

"Mutt."

"Moneybags."

Seto rolled his eyes. He was not going to play childish name-calling games with Jounouchi when they had much more important matters to deal with. Turning away, he briefly scanned their surroundings to get his bearings. "This way," he said shortly, not bothering to wait for a reply as he strode off in the direction of the mansion.

"I hate this," Jounouchi muttered after he caught up, eyeing the abandoned buildings on either side of the street. "It feels like something's going to jump out at us." He shivered and drew closer to Seto's side.

Instead of shoving Jounouchi away, Seto tried for a distraction. "When did you first realize it?" he asked.

Jounouchi tilted his head and looked up at him. "Huh?"

"Gay. When did you first realize that you preferred the same sex?" It honestly pained him how slow Jounouchi could be at times.

"What do you care?"

Seto raised his eyebrows at the other's defensive tone. He supposed the suspicion wasn't unwarranted given their history, but a fight in the middle of a deserted city with who-knew-what lurking around was the last thing they needed. With a shrug, Seto replied coolly, "I really couldn't care less, actually."

Jounouchi made a low sound of disbelief and continued to stare expectantly, but Seto ignored him. Sometimes silence was more effective than words. It probably wouldn't take long for Jounouchi to give in and begin talking.

A distant rumble drew Seto's gaze to the sky that remained hidden behind the unchanging cover of clouds. The sun was nothing more than a pale white circle, barely visible behind the greyness. There was no sign of a storm to explain what might have been the sound of thunder, but for some reason it left Seto feeling unsettled. His gaze dropped and he glanced around for anything that might be considered a threat. The street was as empty as before; however, the shadows that danced at the edge of his vision seemed thicker. Perhaps he was just imagining it, though.

I hope it's my imagination. If that thing attacks us again, we're as defenceless as sitting ducks in a pond out here.

"In my freshman year of Junior High," Jounouchi admitted suddenly, snapping Seto's attention back to him. "When I got a crush on my English teacher. I also realized I had the hots for one of the guys in the gang I was in at the time. 'Course I kept mum 'bout it, otherwise I would've been dead meat."

It was a lot more than he'd expected to hear. If he had ever imagined Jounouchi having the "hots" for anyone, it would have been that blond woman with the low cut tops and short skirts, Kujaku. Seto had seen them together often during Duel Monsters competitions.

"You think it's disgusting, doncha. That I'm a fag." It was Jounouchi's self-degrading tone, not his words, that made the most impression.

Seto mentally winced at the f-word but he took care to maintain a condescending tone when he asked out of honest curiosity, "Does it matter what I think?"

"No, of course not!"

Seto smirked as he took a right at an intersection. The traffic lights overhead were stuck on blinking red as all the others had mysteriously been. They were closer to the mansion now, but he estimated that it would take at least another half hour of walking. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Jounouchi was still glaring at him, so he said rather callously, "Don't look at me like that. I'm way out of your league."

And yet you interest me like nobody else ever has.

"Fuck, like I'd ever be attracted to you! It wouldn't matter if you were the last guy on the planet, your personality sucks!" Jounouchi was shouting recklessly loud by the end of his tirade. Apparently a nerve had been hit.

They'd come to a stop and were standing face to face in the center of the wide street. Jounouchi's cheeks and ears were almost comically red with anger, while Seto maintained a passive expression and calmly folded his arms over his chest. It was obvious that they were going nowhere until Jounouchi was finished with his little tantrum. Seto opened his mouth to make some snarky comment but was abruptly cut off when a warped voice boomed at them, seeming to come from everywhere at once.

PERSONALITY SUCKS!

They both jumped, and Jounouchi began to curse, drawing Seto's bemused gaze back to him.

"Shit, it's The Echo!" Jounouchi yelped, peering around frantically.

-SONALITY SUCKS!

"Echo?" Seto repeated, becoming more unnerved by the second. "What are you talking about?"

"What? You didn't hear it earlier?"

'ONALITY SUCKS!

It wasn't like any echo he'd ever heard. They were supposed to slowly fade away, not become more deafening with each repetition. It was now at the volume where he could virtually feel the air around him vibrate with each thunderous word. Seto clenched his fists to keep from slapping them over his ears like a cowering weakling.

SUCKS! YOUR PERSONALITY! 'SONALITY SUCKS!

"What are you waiting for?" Seto shouted at Jounouchi over the noise. "Make it cease."

Jounouchi, wild-eyed and white as a sheet, met his gaze. "'The fuck're you expecting me to do?"

"What did you do previously when this happened?"

"I dunno! Nothing!"

"Well you obviously did something, otherwise your eardrums wouldn't still be intact!"

'LITY SUCKS! SUCKS! SUCKS!

This time they were both forced to cover their ears. Pain shot through Seto's skull and he wondered how much more his ears could take before they started to bleed. They had to stop this soon if they didn't want to risk permanent damage. He hated relying on Jounouchi to fix it, but without anything solid to attack, Seto couldn't do anything and there wasn't time to come up with another solution.

"Jounouchi!"

Jounouchi stared at him helplessly. Then, just as Seto was beginning to feel true anxiety rear up, Jounouchi closed his eyes and threw back his head, screaming, "Shut up! Shut the fuck up! You're not real, damn it!"

Seto gritted his teeth in disbelief. That was the best Jounouchi could come up with? The mutt was crazy if he thought that was going to help. They waited for the voice, or echo or whatever it was to ignore the useless command, but surprisingly it didn't. Still cautious, Seto slowly uncovered his ears and glanced at Jounouchi, who appear to be similarly wary. But all remained quiet despite their doubts. The silence was bliss. Seto exhaled a breath he only just realized he'd been holding and attempted to sort out what had just happened.

"Oh man," Jounouchi groaned out, falling to his knees on the pavement where he hunched over with his back to Seto.

Seto noticed that the other's shoulders were heaving. He studied Jounouchi's back and listened to the faint sounds of retching while contemplating if he should say anything or just turn away to give the other some privacy. Something in him, however, was reluctant to let Jounouchi out of his sight.

"What is wrong with you?" Seto asked crossly, because he wasn't worried about the other man at all. But when Jounouchi didn't reply or make a move to get up, Seto approached him. "Are you sick?"

"Jus' a bit n-nauseous," Jounouchi mumbled.

Seto nudged Jounouchi's back with the toe of his shoe. "Get up, then. We should keep moving."

"Fuck off."

Seto's eyebrows rose at that. He refrained from replying in kind, but took another step and crouched down in front of Jounouchi, meeting the other's startled gaze. "Oh. I thought you were crying."

"I'm not crying, y'ass. Crying's for sissies," Jounouchi insisted, dry eyed. "I'm just… this is all… I... Shit!" One of his fists smacked the ground in obvious frustration.

"Your eloquence astounds me."

"Shut up. I just don't understand what's going on. I wish I could make sense of it somehow." Jounouchi growled and roughly scrubbed a hand through his hair. "An' I wanna find Yug', if he's really still alive, and Honda and Shizuka and everyone. I'm so useless alone."

Seto opened his mouth, intending to say something reassuring, like how Jounouchi wasn't exactly alone right now. Instead, he simply said, "Whining isn't going to get us anywhere."

"I know that. Fuck, you're such a… a…"

"Jerk? Ass? Cold-hearted bastard?"

Jounouchi blinked a couple of times, then regarded Seto in amazement, his mouth agape. "Wow. I've never heard you talk like that before."

With a smirk, Seto said, "Don't get used to it. I try to set a good example for Mokuba."

"Uh, right. But it makes ya almost seem like a cool guy."

Seto just shook his head and stood up. He silently held out his hand to Jounouchi, who stared at it before raising his eyes to Seto's in an uncharacteristically scrutinizing manner. As the seconds stretched into a minute without any movement, Seto began to regret his offer and withdraw his hand. Before he could, however, Jounouchi reached up and caught hold of it. His fingers hesitantly curled around Seto's hand, as though expecting it to be suddenly jerked away like a cruel joke.

The warmth of Jounouchi's hand was a startling contrast to the nearly icy air around them. Tightening his own grip, Seto pulled Jounouchi to his feet in one smooth motion and was oddly reluctant to let go once they were standing face to face. Both men stared at their linked hands, neither attempting to pull away.

"Th-thanks," Jounouchi stuttered, clearly confused and embarrassed. There was a small blush adorning his cheeks which caused the corners of Seto's lips to twitch.

"Don't mention it. Now, if you're feeling better, we should…"

A sharp crack of thunder drowned out the rest of his sentence. Before they had time to react, the sky opened up and the world was all at once hidden from sight by a sheet of rain. It hit them hard and fast, like no downpour they had ever been in before. The big fat droplets stung where they hit the head and shoulders, and the roar of the rain against the street and shops was deafening.

It's just one thing after another!

Overcoming the shock that had momentarily paralysed him, Seto squeezed Jounouchi's hand harder to keep it from slipping away. It would be all too easy to get separated in this.

Tugging Jounouchi close, he said loudly into the other's ear, "There's a hotel just around the corner. Follow me."

Pulling Jounouchi along, Seto broke into a jog. He had to keep his head down to protect his face and it was only his good sense of direction that kept them heading the right way as it was impossible to see through the curtain of raindrops. The street was already flooding as the gutters overflowed. Seto came close to losing his footing twice in some of the deeper puddles that splashed freezing water against his legs.

They nearly ran right into the front of the building as it materialized out of the rain. Seto got a hold of the door handle and tried to turn it, his grip slippery from the water, but it refused to budge. He tried again and again, and then stood back as Jounouchi kicked at the wooden door painted a bright orange. It was a futile effort.

"It's locked!" Seto shouted, grabbing onto the other's wrist again and indicating towards the next building. Jounouchi nodded in understanding and they raced over to a large family restaurant next door. It turned out to be locked up tight as well. So did the gas station next to it, and the houses next to that. Every building they tried refused to let them enter. It was infuriating, especially considering how easily they had gotten into the café and Kaiba Corp earlier.

Jounouchi was testing a window in hopes that it would let them inside where the door hadn't, when Seto noticed the other man's shivering. If they stayed out in the open much longer, they would either end up drowning or catching hypothermia. Seto looked around and then motioned for Jounouchi to keep close as he led the way to the nearest building with an awning, which turned out to be a small flower shop. It would at least shelter them from the downpour, if not the cold. Jounouchi slid to the ground and leaned back against the wall, a small puddle already forming around his sodden body. Seto followed suit with more grace, but no less relief. The two men panted and rested without speaking for a while, just listening to the rain as it pattered loudly against the awning, which fortunately held firm.

Seto eventually roused himself enough to investigate the state of his clothing, noting that his trench coat had protected him a little. He was still soaked, however, and his hair felt plastered to his head while fat droplets rolled down his face. He brushed off and squeezed out the moisture as much as possible before turning to check on Jounouchi, who was busy wringing out his own shirt, which he'd stripped off to work at more thoroughly. Unconsciously drawn to the other's bare torso, Seto's gaze took in the lightly tanned skin stretched taught over well defined shoulders, chest and abs. The cold had caused goose bumps to rise along the otherwise smooth expanse of glistening flesh. It was hardly the first time for Seto to see Jounouchi with his shirt off – they had shared gym class one year, after all – but never had he appeared so…

"Kaiba?"

Seto tore his gaze away with a silent curse and glared down at his own wet boots.

He might be gay, but that does not mean I've any right to even consider that.

"I hope this lets up soon." Jounouchi was staring out at the falling rain, which rendered everything beyond the edge of the awning invisible. "I've never seen anything like it. Have you?"

"No," Seto answered, refusing to look at Jounouchi until he was sure the other had put his shirt back on. When he felt that it was safe again, Seto glanced over to find Jounouchi huddled up against the wall, his knees pulled up with his arms wrapped tightly around them. And he was still shivering. Seto's own body felt like ice, fingers and toes numb from the wet and cold, but he was better at hiding his discomfort.

After a while more, Jounouchi muttered, "You're sure we're not stuck in another VR world?"

I'm not sure of anything right now, Seto thought bitterly. He nodded sharply anyway and shifted to pull his trench coat tighter around himself. The thick leather material helped to keep in what little heat there was left.

"Oh…" Jounouchi sniffed and rubbed his nose on the sleeve of his T-shirt. "But, well, doesn't it feel like some kinda game?"

"Hm?"

Turning his head to rest his cheek on his knees and look at Seto, the huddled man said, "All this shit we've been experiencing, it ain't stuff that happens in real life. It just doesn't, an' I'd swear I was dreaming but it feels… well, ya know… If this was a video game I was playing, though, it'd be pretty sweet."

Seto glared. "Try speaking in Japanese. You're giving me a headache." He wasn't even going to mention how much the other's atrocious grammar and pronunciation got on his nerves.

"It's something like Silent Hill, only with less obvious monsters," Jounouchi went on as though he hadn't been interrupted. "Everyone's disappeared. Here we are, wandering from place to place in hopes of finding some clue, and bein' attacked by a… a thing and hallucinations and god knows what else. Not to mention this fuckin' unnatural rain…"

When the other trailed off, Seto looked away from where he'd been pointedly studying the obscured landscape. Jounouchi had closed his eyes, and Seto would almost have thought he'd fallen asleep except that the other's jaw was tightly clenched with barely controlled emotion.

"But ya know… you only get so many lives in a video game. I wonder how many we've used up so far. And I bet there's nothin' at your home anyway. Jus' more of this… this fucked up…" Jounouchi cursed and turned his face into his knees.

Seto frowned at the pathetic picture that Jounouchi made – huddled, wet and whimpering. It was the perfect moment for a stray dog comment, but he let it pass. With an inward sigh, Seto pushed himself to his feet. His muscles and joints had become stiff and he stretched them out before stepping across the short distance that separated him and Jounouchi. He stopped at the other's side and rapped the blond head sharply with his knuckles.

"Ow, what?" Jounouchi mumbled reproachfully without looking up.

"Slide forward," Seto commanded. He followed up with a shove to Jounouchi's shoulder.

Jounouchi did raise his head this time in order to stare in irritated bemusement. "What the fuck? Leave me alone, would ya? This is my spot."

"Just move forward, idiot, before I make you."

"Like you could," Jounouchi said with a snort, but grudgingly moved a few inches away from the wall. "There, happy? What the hell is this su—eep!"

Jounouchi stared over his shoulder at Seto, who had slid in between the wall and the other man's back to sit down. Before the other had time to protest, Seto pulled Jounouchi against him, shrugged out of his coat and arranged it over Jounouchi's body. It was all done before Jounouchi even had time to think about resisting.

"There. Now I won't have to deal with your frozen body later," Seto said. His back was pressed against the wall and he kept his arms at his sides, hands resting on the pavement. Jounouchi leaned lightly against his chest, his body as stiff as a board. They were both tense, neither daring to move or say anything more. Aside from Mokuba, Seto had never put up with anyone invading his personal space. Physical closeness made him uneasy at the best of times, and pissed off at the worst. That he had willingly moved into this position with Jounouchi was perplexing and he didn't know what to make of it.

He frowned and curled his hands into half-formed fists, fingernails scraping against the rock. It was for survival, he decided. Sharing body heat was the best way to keep warm in circumstances such as this, and it would be stupid to freeze to death or catch hypothermia merely because he was uncomfortable with a bit of human contact.

"This is… awkward?" Jounouchi muttered with a snigger.

"What's so amusing," Seto snapped, not seeing the humour in their situation.

"Nothin'. I'm just… not as horrified by this as I would've been before this whole mess started."

Seto looked down at the top of the other's head in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"I like this side of you," Jounouchi declared, relaxing and shifting until he was leaning more fully against Seto. "I honestly couldn't stand you in high school. You never cared 'bout anybody but yourself and your brother, and duelling seemed to be more of an obsession than a passion for ya. Plus it felt like you picked on me more than anyone. You really hated me, huh?"

Seto was stunned by the other's words. How one could be so honest and open about one's feelings was something he never understood as feelings were to be hidden away in a small, secret place that no one could see. Jounouchi was too naïve, too innocent to understand how emotions could be manipulated and used as a weapon against you.

Then again, maybe that's part of what has always attracted me to him.

It struck him that this was the closest he'd ever physically been to Jounouchi while not engaging him in a fight. With everything going on at the moment, it might also be the last time it would happen – a thought that somehow made him want to take a tight hold of the other man in an attempt to make it last as long as possible. He had no idea where the feeling came from, and had no experience with such a foreign emotion, but it was strong enough that, before he was consciously aware of it, he raised his hands from the ground.

"I never figured out why ya did, though. I didn't do nothin' but try to be your friend the first day. I know now you're not really into the whole friends thing, but…"

Hands steady, but fingers twitching ever so slightly, he held them close to the other's body, not touching. There, he hesitated.

"Guess I'm just too low class to understand, right? Must be a rich guy thing. Me, I could never live without people to hang out with, talk to, or back me up in a tight spot. It'd be too lonely, I think."

Lonely.

Seto flinched.

"You can't be as cold hearted as ya make out to be, yanno. You wouldn't give a rat's ass whether I died here, otherwise."

He closed his eyes as he let his hands rest feather-light on the other man's waist. It scared him that that was all it took to set his heart pounding like he had just run a mile at full speed. Jounouchi must have not felt it at first, as he continued to ramble on for another minute until he suddenly tensed. Surprisingly, he react, even to slap at the hands or pull away from the touch. When there was no resistance, Seto slid his hands further around until he embraced Jounouchi loosely in his arms.

The air, although still chilly, felt warmer than it had a minute ago, and the rain had lightened up to a lazy drizzle. Buildings and street signs shimmered back into view, reflected in the puddles that had formed on the pavement. Seto allowed the tension to seep from his body when nothing further presented itself as a threat. His head dropped forward, nose brushing a soft mop of untamed hair, and inhaled the soothing scent of apples with a hint of rich chocolate.

"We should continue on," Seto finally said, although he felt no real inclination to move.

"R-right, but… but it wouldn't hurt to rest a bit, would it?"

"Hn."

"Just a little longer," Jounouchi insisted, shifting until he managed to free one of his hands, which he then laid over one of Seto's. "I… I don't mind."

Both Jounouchi's hand and voice trembled, Seto noticed with some astonishment. There was no fight, no struggle to escape, no curses or shouts of outrage. But still… Jounouchi could not possibly be comfortable with this – not after all the times he'd been hurt by Seto in the past.

Frowning, Seto began to pull his arms away, ready to push the other man off of him and put some distance between them. Before he could, however, Jounouchi clenched his fingers around Seto's hand.

"If you really do hate me," Jounouchi whispered fiercely, "tell me now."

"What?"

Jounouchi bowed his head further. "I just keep wondering what ya really think of me. You… you're putting me down one minute and then doing something pretty nice the next. Are you just playing with me? Do you honestly consider me a low-class mutt that you can kick around whenever you get the urge? Or… or what? I don't get you, but… but I want to!"

Seto stared down at the back of Jounouchi's head, shocked by what he was hearing. "Jounouchi?"

"If… if you're only puttin' up with me right now out of pity or something stupid like that, then I wanna know and I'll get outta your hair. You can go on to the mansion alone and I'll… I'll go my own way."

"No." The voice sounded strange – rough with a touch of panic. Seto glanced around for the source before realizing that it had issued from his own throat. He looked down into Jounouchi's wide eyes.

"It's not… pity," he said while at the same time wondering why he wasn't just tossing Jounouchi off and taking the opportunity to escape.

Jounouchi's eyes narrowed. "Then what is it?"

"It doesn't matter."

"It does to me."

Seto froze.

What am I expected to say? That I don't mind your company all that much after all? That I don't want to be alone even if it's easier that way? Or that I'm inexplicably attracted to so much of you – your strength and perseverance in hopeless situations, the spark of fire in your eyes when you're angry, your laughter and natural ability to make friends with everyone, the way your hair turns to pure gold when the sun hits it?

"Kaiba?"

How did other people express such emotions towards others? Perhaps it just wasn't possible for someone as broken as himself.

His eyes flew open (when had they even closed?) as the weight on his torso suddenly lifted.

Jounouchi had stood up and was looking in the direction of the street, obviously avoiding Seto's eyes. He tossed the trench coat onto Seto's lap and said with an unreadable tone, "Look, never mind. Let's just go. I'll try to keep my big yap shut on the way so as not to get on your nerves any more than I usually do."

As the other turned away, Seto numbly pushed himself to his feet. He held his coat clenched in his hands and stood there watching Jounouchi's back. The other's shirt was only thin cotton and after getting soaked by the rain it stuck to his skin, showing every line and muscle.

I am a Kaiba. I've been running a multinational corporation from the time I was a high-school student. This is nothing compared to what I've been through since the death of my parents.

Then again, trusting Jounouchi and talking with him unguardedly was probably so difficult because he was a Kaiba. Seto took a deep, silent breath, steeled himself and walked over to stand beside the shorter man, shoulder to shoulder. They looked out onto the puddle-filled street and the ghostly storefronts.

"I don't hate you. I never did."

"Right. Tell me another one."

A drop of water dripped from the awning edge, landing on Seto's cheek. He brushed it away irritably with his hand. Damn Jounouchi for making this even harder than it already was. "If you don't believe me, that's your problem."

Jounouchi glared over at him, but Seto didn't back down, meeting it with his own frigid gaze. It was Jounouchi who looked away first, shaking his head angrily. "Fuck. Fine, whatever ya say. I guess I wasn't worth even that much."

"My, aren't you just full of self-pity today," Seto said with a sneer, which he managed to wipe away as soon as he realized it wasn't going to help matters. With another deep breath, he counted to ten in his head. When he was sure his temper was under control, he gathered his courage and stepped out in front of Jounouchi so that they were face to face. Forcing eye contact, he slipped his trench coat around the other's hunched shoulders, holding the lapels shut at Jounouchi's chest with one hand.

Jounouchi stared back, eyes narrow with distrust and uncertainty. Wrapped in the coat, which swept the ground because of his slightly shorter height, and his nose and cheeks red from the cold, he looked younger than his age. Like a child playing dress-up in his big brother's clothes. And yet, Seto could see a wariness and strain in Jounouchi's expression that proved he'd been through his share of hardships growing up.

"What're you doing?" Jounouchi asked, raising his chin and tensing as though preparing for a fight.

"Proving that I'm not the complete bastard you think I am and that I don't hold any feelings of hate or dislike for you." With that said, Seto slid his free hand along Jounouchi's cheek and rested it just below his ear, fingers curling into the hair at the back of his neck. "I suppose we are alike in that aspect. We don't trust blindly and don't believe words without something substantial to back them up."

Jounouchi flinched a little but otherwise didn't move.

Slowly, as though handling a wild animal that would bolt at any sudden movement, Seto took a short step to close the little space that remained between them. He guided Jounouchi's head to his shoulder and placed his other hand around the shorter man's waist to rest on his lower back. They were toe to toe, chest to chest. Jounouchi was not pushing away, but neither was he accepting it. His body was rigid and his arms remained at his sides.

Seto held Jounouchi lightly, hardly knowing what he was doing. He had hugged Mokuba plenty of times, but this was in every way different. He felt the rapid beats of Jounouchi's heart against him and realized that the other man was likely as scared and confused by Seto's action as he was. After a minute passed by with no response, something twisted painfully in Seto's chest – but honestly, what had he expected out of this? He took a breath and moved his lips next to Jounouchi's ear, afraid that if he spoke too loudly, he would shatter.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "I like you."

There. It was out and there was no way to take the words back now. He pulled away from the unresisting Jounouchi, avoiding eye contact and trying to ignore the knot in his chest that hadn't loosened one bit with the confession.

Taking a step back, Seto readjusted his coat on the other's shoulders to make certain it wouldn't slip off. "We should go now."

He turned away and then stumbled when a weight suddenly smacked against his back.

"Oof!"

A pair of arms wrapped around his middle and squeezed. Seto stood still, feeling the other man's warm body pressed up against his back and what must have been Jounouchi's forehead resting between his shoulder blades.

"An' you call me an idiot," Jounouchi complained. "You keep sendin' such mixed signals that I can't sort out what's the truth. I don't do subtle, I'm dense remember? So… so what ya just said…"

Seto lowered his head to stare at the hands interlocked over his stomach. He felt uncomfortable in the face of Jounouchi's direct honesty. Sometimes he forgot that Jounouchi didn't "do subtle" and that his words and actions were never layered in deceit as so many others' were.

"I meant it," Seto confirmed roughly.

Jounouchi's arms squeezed tighter for a moment. "Then… thanks. I'm glad."

Letting go, Jounouchi stepped around to face Seto, a wide smile displayed on his face and a sparkle in his eyes. He tapped Seto on the chest with one finger and said, "I like you, too. When you're not being an ass, that is."

Seto didn't know whether to glare or smile in return. The tightness inside of him loosened however, and he felt lighter than he had in awhile. "I'll attempt not to be such an ass to you, then," he finally said with a smirk.

"Yeah… Hey, Kaiba?" Jounouchi said as they walked out from under the awning. The strange rain had stopped as suddenly as it had begun, leaving only dirty brown water in the gutters and puddles here and there.

Seto stepped around one such puddle with a grimace. "Hm?"

"You really have changed since we first met in school. I never thought I'd ever be able to have a decent conversation with you, much less… this." When Seto looked over at Jounouchi, the other blushed a bit and turned his head away. "I'm glad, yanno. That you changed."

"I haven't changed," Seto said quietly after a moment. "If I were with anyone else, I wouldn't let them within five feet of my person and I certainly wouldn't be conversing with them in such a familiar way."

"Oh?"

The silence after that was too suspicious. Seto caught Jounouchi grinning at him and snapped, "What?"

The other's grin widened further. "So I'm special, huh?"

"Special?" Honestly speaking, he wasn't quite like all those other imbeciles in Domino, even if he was an idiot most of the time, so maybe Jounouchi was special in a way. Picking up his pace, Seto muttered coolly, "I didn't say that."

"Whatever, Kaiba!" Jounouchi's voice was still tinged with laughter. He caught up, walking faster to keep pace with Seto's long strides, and reached over to take Seto's hand in his. "Anyway, I'm jus' glad you're here so I don't hafta to do this alone."

Seto didn't reply verbally, but closed his fingers loosely around Jounouchi's hand.

They walked in silence after that, each lost in private thoughts about what lay ahead of them. The city was quiet now and their walk uneventful. If they had bothered to check behind them, however, they would have seen how the buildings and streets were being swallowed by a darkness that seemed to be following the two lost duelists. It crept steadily along the same path and all that came in contact with it was consumed.

(Dun dun dun!)To Be Continued...

A/N: You didn't forget about that 'SxJ' note in the summary did you? ;) The constant head-games are wearing them down and slowly bringing them together... but they've still a ways to go. They may have had a small break, but the worst has yet to come! As always, thanks for the reviews and comments!