After emerging from the sitting room, the men found that Mokuba had shut himself away in the guest room, and dared not ask him to come out. Jou was about to invite Yami and Yugi out for lunch, when his mobile began to vibrate loudly. He frowned; the only people who had his number were Jared, his marketing advisor, and his sister. Jared, being in the room next to him, his advisor abroad on holiday, and Serenity was at university, it couldn't be any of them. Flipping open the small screen, he found that the number was marked as 'Unknown'.
"One sec, guys."
The others nodded, and he moved away towards the sofas, clicking the green button hesitantly.
"Hello? Who is this?"
"Katsuya."
His breath caught in his throat. How had that bastard found out his number?
"Kaiba?"
"Yes, Kaiba. Your employer." The other man replied, sounding distinctly angry.
"Whatever, Kaiba, what do you want? I'm busy at the moment."
He didn't need Kaiba's mockery right now, he had five whole years to catch up on.
"Busy?" came the reply, darkly "Whatever can you be busy with, that doesn't involve your commission?"
Jou's frown deepened.
"I think you need to understand, Kaiba, that it's my time you're paying for, and I can choose when I want to take some off."
"I don't think you understand the terms of this commission, pup." replied the monotone voice through the receiver. Jou bristled at the nickname. "That studio, and your accommodation, exists only if you make efficient use of them, that is, until the commission is finished."
Jou began to fume. "Kaiba, I didn't ASK to stay with you and I didn't ASK for that studio. I could have just as easily taken up residence in a hotel and bought materials for myself. I can STILL do that now."
"But then, I'll retract the commission. And you will have no choice to return to your beloved America, won't you? You're a busy man, apparently."
Jou growled inwardly. What was Kaiba playing at? Why would he retract the commission if Jou refused to stay with him? That made no sense whatsoever.
"Fine. Whatever. I'll be back after lunch."
"No, you'll be back now. I presumed you'd be with Mutou so I already sent Larsson with the car."
"WHAT?!" Jou strode to the window and peered down onto the street. Sure enough, the Kaiba corps limo was parked imposingly in the driveway.
"That is where you are, correct?"
Jou tried to stop himself from gritting his teeth too hard. If he lied, Kaiba would find out, retract the offer, and he'd have to return back to his American commissions, and away from Japan. If he said yes, he'd have to go back to the bastard and spend what would probably feel like eternity under his irritating smirk.
But, he sighed, staying would probably be better than going.
"Yes." He could feel Kaiba's smirk through the phone.
"Well then, don't keep Larsson waiting. I'll see you soon, puppy."
And with a conclusive click, Kaiba hung up.
Jou resisted the temptation to throw the phone at the wall, and turned to face the others, who had clearly been eavesdropping.
"Guys, I've got to go back. Kaiba's making me, apparently it's under the deal of the commission or something, but I've no idea where he's got this stupid rules from. Bastard."
"Jou, maybe you should be a little more sympathetic."
Jou frowned at Yugi, confused. Why wasn't he agreeing with him?
"What do you mean?"
"He's probably pretty lonely right now. He might mock you, but perhaps it's a form of company for him."
Jou stared incredulously at the smaller man.
"You're telling me to stay with him?"
"Look, remember how the two brothers were before you left. Don't you think separating would have had serious effects on him?"
Jou sighed. Perhaps Yugi was right. It'd be easier to help the bastard if he didn't keep on making Jou want to strangle him.
"Yeah. I guess. Sorry Yug', you know how short my temper is. Especially around him."
Yugi smiled, moving forwards to pat Jou on the arm.
"See whether you can do anything. We'll do our best at this end. Maybe we can get the two of them to reconcile, then it won't be a problem for you anymore."
Jou nodded, reluctantly. Yugi had always had an inexplicable ability to calm him.
"Right, well we better get going, then. Great to see you guys. I'll try and steal some free time to visit you when I've gotten somewhere with the commission." Jou pulled the two quickly into a hug, and then beckoned to Jared.
To Jou's surprise, the door at the far end of the room swung open, and Mokuba half ran towards them.
"Wait! Jou, I just wanted to say sorry before you left. Y'know, it was pretty stupid of me to assume things. I hope you'll come visit again." The boy fiddled with his hair, nervously. He clearly felt uncomfortable about his earlier outburst.
Jou smiled, pulling the boy into a hug.
"It's alright, Mokuba. No hard feelings. He doesn't, and won't know you're here."
The boy smiled, and then, even more surprisingly, beckoned Jared to one side. Resisting the temptation to eavesdrop, Jou said his goodbyes to the couple, and moved outside. A few seconds later, Jared appeared, looking confused and flustered.
"You alright, Jared?"
"Yeah, no, I'm fine."
"What did Mokie say to you? Anything about Kaiba?"
"N-no. He apologised for, well, earlier. And said I should come again." Jared pulled a scrap of paper from his pocket and showed Jou. A phone number had been scribbled hastily on it.
"Is that his?"
"Yeah." Jared looked genuinely confused.
"I'm sure he's just bored stiff in there, probably wants someone around who's his own age. Besides, it'd be good for you. I promise he's not as sensitive as that usually, just on that particular subject."
Jared nodded, and Jou noticed a small smile creep onto the boy's face before slipping the paper back into his jacket.
Jou stepped back into the mansion, feeling very much like a child who had just been grounded.
Thankfully, Kaiba was nowhere to be seen, so Jou made his way hastily towards the studio before his so-called employer decided to greet him. Jared followed obediently, and Jou was glad of his company. Having to work and deal with Kaiba's unforgiving mockery alone just seemed unbearable.
"So, have you thought much about the design yet, Jou?" Jared asked, taking a seat at one of the tables as Jou began to pace in front of the wall of material, looking for a source of inspiration.
"Not really, I was more excited about seeing the old gang. But now that that's not an option, this seems to be the only thing I'm going to be able to have fun with."
Jared nodded, watching as Jou continued to pace.
"I'm just so irritated right now, it's so difficult to even THINK about being inspired." Jou said, slumping in a chair and pulling out a pencil and paper reluctantly. Jared gave him a consoling pat on the shoulder, and stood up.
"I'll be back in a minute, Jou, I just want to go and get something from my room. Good luck."
Jou nodded moodily, and turned his attention to the blank paper. So what did he have to make? A trench coat? Or did Kaiba want the whole outfit? Christ. Designing anything for him was going to be difficult if all he could think about was instigating his death.
"Welcome back, pup."
Speak of the devil.
Jou's fist clenched around the pencil, almost breaking it in half. He didn't dignify Kaiba with a response. He shouldn't have promised Yugi anything, there was no way he'd ever be able to sympathise with the bastard. Not when every word made him grit his teeth harder.
"I'm glad you turned up. Would hate to have had to send you back to the USA, as civilised as it is."
Jou didn't reply, but began to sketch, hoping Kaiba would get bored with his mockery and leave.
"Dog got your tongue?"
That was it. Jou took a deep breath and stared the brunette in the eyes. To his surprise, there was no smirk plastered across his features, and despite the usual mocking tone of voice, he didn't seem to be enjoying himself as much as Jou remembered he had in the past. He even seemed hurt.
"No, Kaiba, I'm just making a start."
"I don't see how that's possible."
Jou frowned. What did he mean?
Suddenly, Kaiba moved towards him, and took out a small black box from behind his back. He placed it on the table in front of Jou and then promptly left the room. Jou looked after him, confusedly, and then turned to the box in front of him. He opened it tentatively, it was lined with velvet, and whatever was inside was clearly quite precious.
Pushing the lid backwards, he was shocked to find the Blue Eyes White Dragon sitting innocently inside, looking as pristine as if it had just been printed. Jou couldn't believe his eyes. Kaiba had never trusted this card with anyone, and now he was just going to lend it to Jou for inspiration? If hell hadn't frozen over before, it certainly had now.
"Woah! Is that what I think it is?!" Jared appeared behind Jou's shoulder, making the blonde jump.
"Y-yeah. Kaiba just gave it to me, for inspiration I think." Jou replied, taking the card out and examining the image closely.
"Aren't there, like, only 3 of those in the entire world?" Jared breathed, his eyes not leaving the card for one moment.
"I think so, I'm not sure." Jou said, placing it slowly back into its container.
"Anyway, Jou, I got you the pictures of the last trench coat you made, just in case you want to use a similar pattern or anything else."
"Thanks, Jared, that's really helpful." Said Jou, not really paying attention.
Perhaps Kaiba had grown up a little. Whether that meant he'd ever be civil again, that was debatable.
Studying the image on the card, he began to pick out the details of the dragon, the sharp pointed scales, the metallic body, the tiny white eyes. Inspiration seemed to hit him like a hurricane, and he quickly began mapping out basic shapes on the paper, flicking his pencil quickly over the page. He tried to begin to draw a body on which to shape the coat, and then realised something, putting the pencil down. His face fell.
"What is it, Jou?"
"Jared, I'm going to kill myself for this, but I need to go and see Kaiba about something. It might take a while. Do you have something to do?"
The boy looked uncertain, but nodded anyway. Jou realised how boring all this waiting would be for him. Then he had a brainwave.
"Tell you what, why don't you call Mokuba? Go back round to Yugi and Yami's and play video games or something? I'm the one who's grounded, after all, not you. And waiting around for me, or watching me draw, is going to be very dull."
The boy looked confused, and made to protest, but Jou stopped him.
"Look, honestly, I can deal with Kaiba. And i'm sure Mokuba could use some company as well."
"Are you sure?"
"Completely."
Jared smiled, gave him a quick hug for good luck, and then moved away to dial the number.
Jou took a deep breath, grabbed the sketchpad and pencil and began to move towards the door. He couldn't believe he'd forgotten one of the most important steps of the commission process.
Approaching Kaiba's suite, he stopped outside and mentally prepared himself. This was a business transaction, this was a commission, this was a garment he was earning a lot of money for, and would probably gain lots of popularity in Japan for. That's what it was. It wasn't his arch-enemy sitting on the other side of the door. It was a commissioner.
He braced himself, and knocked twice. There was a pause, and then the brunette's voice drawled tiredly from within.
"Larson, it better be important."
Jou opened the door and stepped inside. It was like walking into a palace, with royal blue carpets, gold and silver furniture, a huge embroidered tapestry hanging on the opposite wall and doors leading into three other rooms. Looking around for Kaiba, he found him not at a desk as he had imagined, but lying on a sofa, with an ice pack over his forehead. His fingers were pressed to his temples, and his eyes were closed. He just seemed to emanate stress, and looked positively miserable.
"What is it, Larson?"
He removed his hands from his forehead and opened his eyes. Seeing Jou, he immediately sprung up to a sitting position, throwing the ice pack to the floor. He frowned.
"Katsuya?"
"Hey, Kaiba." Jou moved slightly further into the room.
"What is it, pup? Come to beg for treats?" Kaiba had managed to recover from his moment of weakness spectacularly quickly. Jou didn't find himself feeling angry, though. The insult seemed like more of a defence mechanism than anything else.
"Look, Kaiba, I forgot to ask you earlier. Basically," he paused, keeping his eyes to the floor. "In order for your design, well, to suit you, I need to do some sketches. Of you."
The brunette didn't reply, so Jou continued.
"I need to work out your body shape, and colouring, so the garment is not only the right shape, but, well, flatters you." Jou cringed inwardly. It was true, but it didn't make saying it any easier. He braced himself for the inevitable mockery, but it didn't come.
"That's fine. Where do you want me to stand?"
Jou's eyes shot open and he stared at the other. Where were the insults?
"I'm the one who has to walk around in it. Makes sense that it works to my best assets, if I have any worth highlighting."
Jou frowned, it certainly wasn't like Kaiba to be at all self-deprecating.
"Well, for example, you have broad shoulders and a small waist, which, as it's triangular, is supposed to be the most attractive shape for a guy. So I'll make sure the coat doesn't hide that."
Jou wanted to slap himself. Had he just COMPLIMENTED Kaiba? Kaiba looked almost as incredulous as Jou himself, but quickly schooled his expression back to a blank. He seemed to have brightened up slightly from his miserable state a few minutes ago, however. Jou quickly changed the subject.
"You can just sit. It doesn't matter, watch television or something. I'll be quick."
Kaiba watched him for a second, and then relaxed against the sofa. He didn't, however, turn on the television.
"Aren't you going to read or something?"
"I don't see any point, besides, as you will no doubt have noticed, I have a headache and don't want to agitate it anymore."
"Okay."
Jou took out the sketch pad, and pulled a seat from a nearby table, placing it near the sofa, but not too close. He noticed Kaiba had closed his eyes, and decided not to question it, and just get the humiliating process over with. He realised Kaiba was wearing a jacket over his shirt, and took a deep breath.
"Do you mind taking your jacket off? I need to get a better sense of your...shape. To model the coat around."
He felt himself blushing. This was so unbelievably awkward. To his surprise, Kaiba did so without a word, gracefully, folding it on the chair arm and moving back to his previous position, closing his eyes once more. Why wasn't he retorting? This was prime mockery material.
Beginning to map out the brunette's shape, Jou started with his shoulders, defining them, and then began to outline the brunette's torso. Examining the shapes carefully, he realised just how skinny the man was. His collarbones were prominent through the thin material of his shirt, and, whilst his stomach was flat, and toned, the bones of his hips seemed a little too obvious to be healthy. Moving onto the details of the brunette's face, he noticed just how gaunt he looked. His eyes were dark, and his cheekbones stuck out far more than they had ever done before. None of this was unattractive, however. Even at his worst, Kaiba still managed to look like something off the first page of a modelling catalogue.
That had always annoyed Jou. The fact that Kaiba had always been attractive, and known it, and as a result had never had a dent in his confidence. Yet, this Kaiba, the one in front of him seemed to be different. Apart from appearing more bedraggled than usual, the confidence seemed to have almost completely left him. Yes, he still mocked Jou, but not with the same brute force as before. It was as if it was a mask he felt he needed to put on, to maintain whatever of his old self was left.
Jou realised he had been staring, and not sketching, as Kaiba opened his eyes, presumably because he'd heard the lack of pencil on paper.
"Is it finished?" Kaiba's voice sounded oddly weak.
"Almost, I just need to make a few labels. You know, work out the right colours and such."
Jou marked down the brunette's colouring, ash brown hair, flawless fair skin, and, as he looked up, he noticed just how piercing the blue of Kaiba's eyes was. He'd definitely have to try and accentuate those. He frowned, stopping his train of thought. He was clearly going crazy.
"Can I see?" Jou stopped writing, and looked up. Kaiba was actually interested?
"Uh, yeah, sure."
He was never this nervous around any other commissioner he'd had, why now?
Passing the sketch to Kaiba, he sat back and waited for the verdict. Was he going to try to pull up the mask again?
Kaiba looked over it, slowly, his expression not seeming to change drastically.
"You're good at this, pup."
A compliment? Seriously? Jou ignored the nickname, too shocked to care.
"Well, I like to think i'm earning all this money for a reason."
Kaiba nodded, returning the sketch back, and looked him straight in the eye. For some reason, Jou felt uneasy under his gaze. Not angry, but uneasy.
"Is there anything else you need?"
Jou thought about it.
"Only if you have any specific requests. Oh, and I was thinking about making a simple outfit to go underneath, probably in black. If you have clothes you want to wear underneath the coat anyway then it doesn't matter. I'll just need to see them so I know what i'm working with."
This felt a lot more comfortable than he'd anticipated.
"No, that sounds fine. Although there is one thing."
Kaiba beckoned Jou over, and pointed to the Kaiba Corps crest on his shirt.
"Since it's an official event, I'll need to have this on the coat somewhere. It doesn't have to be huge, but it has to be this colour, as its the company logo."
Jou sat down on the sofa and leaned forward, examining the logo closely. It was white with a silver outline, the two initials of the corporation overlapping slightly. Considering he intended to have the coat a mixture of the same colours, it would merge in quite well. Suddenly, he realised that he'd completely forgotten himself, and just how close he was to Kaiba. He looked up, and found that their faces were inches away. Kaiba had a strange expression on his face, somewhere between confusion and shock. Jou blushed intensely and shot back off the sofa, almost falling over in his attempt to get away. Standing up, he cleared his voice awkwardly, moving towards the door.
"Right. Yep. I'll remember that. I'll get back to work now."
"Katsuya."
Jou stopped where he was, dreading whatever was about to come out of the brunette's mouth.
"I look forward to seeing it, pup." He said, unpredictably, sounding genuinely sincere.
Jou looked over his shoulder, and found that Kaiba had risen too, and was watching him again. Why did he look so miserable?
"I'll do my best."
And with that he left the room, determined to get away from one of the oddest moments he'd ever experienced.
A/N: Yay! I finally get to write about Jou and Kaiba a bit. I hope Kaiba isn't too OOC in this chapter, I tried to make it seem natural. Please review!