A/N: Just to let you know guys, towards the end of this chapter we move into something a bit more intimate, so if you're not a fan of the manxman, then best skip that part. Either way, hope you're enjoying! Review if you can!

For the next few days, Jou found himself more and more in Kaiba's company. The CEO had seemed to have had a complete emotional transformation since the events of that afternoon, his motivation had returned, and he was often out, during the day, taking meetings or phone calls, and tapping away on his laptop, returning to normalcy. Instead of isolating himself when at home, he now took it upon himself to spend more time in the studio with Jou, sometimes making conversation, giving suggestions, or simply just watching the blonde at work.

And oddly, Jou didn't find himself averse to it. Sure, Kaiba's newly-found confidence meant more dog comments, but there was a sort of mutual understanding between the two of them that he had never deemed possible before. They weren't necessarily friends, but they were no longer sworn enemies. Neither had brought up Seto's break down, but then again, Jou felt as if there was no need to. The confessions were already out.

Despite this, he still hadn't told Kaiba of Mokuba's whereabouts. He could tell the other man was becoming more and more agitated about it, but due to their unspoken agreement he had somehow managed to stop himself from asking thus far.

Jou still wasn't sure how to handle the situation, though. He'd promised Kaiba he'd help, but hadn't thought it through. It was conceivably possible, he just had to get the two in the room, and get Seto to keep his temper for ten minutes whilst he explained himself to Mokuba. How to get Mokuba to agree to it was a different matter entirely. He'd contemplated just shoving the boy in a room, and sending Kaiba in, but that would probably make the already stubborn 18-year-old even more angry.

Milling around in the studio, Jou turned his attention the trench coat. With Seto's input, the coat had transformed, and now was just over half way complete. Seto's party was just under a month away, so it was good time, but there was no room for slacking. Jared had been in and out of the studio occasionally, but not for very long. He either disappeared round Yugi's for the rest of the day, or avoided Jou in case he brought the matter up again. Jou noticed that the boy seemed far more spirited, tending to worry less than he always seemed to before.

Said intern appeared brightly into the room, after having made a phone call. Presumably to Mokuba, Jou couldn't imagine who else.

"Uhm, Jou?"

"Yeah, J?" Jou looked up from his sketchpad.

"I was wondering whether or not you, well, needed me tonight?"

"Not really, only if something crops up in America. And it's been four whole days without anything happening, so you're probably okay. Going to see Mokie?"

Jared's infamous blush appeared, and he nodded.

"You can go, although," Jou paused, thinking. "Jared, answer me truthfully. Are you and Mokuba an item?"

Jared's eyes widened slightly, and the blush intensified. He didn't really have to answer.

"I, well, that is to say, it's only been a few days..." The boy tried to sidestep the question, but Jou wasn't having any of it.

"Jared, honestly, it doesn't bother me at all, I just want to know, since it might be quite useful."

Jared frowned, confused.

"Useful?"

"Answer me truthfully and I'll explain."

"Well, the reason I was going to ask to stay round Mokuba's tonight was that, well, we wanted to go on a proper date. Since, well, we've basically just stayed indoors for the past few days." Jared's blush intensified, and Jou smiled.

"First, congratulations. Second, J. Another question." The boy blanched, clearly uncomfortable. "Would you say that you and Mokie are, well, emotionally tied, as opposed to it being something purely physical?"

"Of course!" Jared retorted, looking horrified. "I would never, well, I just wouldn't...I'm not a slut, or anything."

"No, no! I wasn't suggesting you were. What I was wondering is whether Mokuba will listen to you? If, for example, you had to convince him to do something, would he listen to you over anyone else?"

Jared eyed him, his expression an odd combination of confusion and curiosity.

"I-I don't know. I wouldn't want to make him do anything against his will. But, maybe. I think it's too early to really tell. It's only been a few days."

Jou nodded, understandingly.

"That's alright, Jared. I was just going to ask you to suggest something to Mokuba, which is pretty important."

"What is it, Jou?" The boy watched him, warily. "It better not be anything illegal, else I won't do it."

"No, it's quite simple, actually." Jou replied. "Basically, I need to arrange a meeting between Seto and Mokuba. And I need Mokuba to agree to it."

Jared's face fell. "Jou, you saw him the last time that came up! I wouldn't want to suggest it, not this early. It could ruin everything!"

Jou nodded, thoughtfully.

"What if we gave you a bit more time? You know, to get to a place where you'd feel comfortable discussing it? It would only have to be a suggestion, and you can say that I told you to say it, so none of the blame is on you."

Jared looked slightly happier with that suggestion, but still seemed reluctant.

"You really like him, don't you, J?"

The boy nodded, smiling.

"I don't know what it is about him. I guess it's 'cause he can be a complete enigma, and then all of a sudden just tell you everything. It's so weird. But I like it."

As a small smile spread over the boy's features, Jou couldn't help but envy him.

"What do you mean it'll take time?" Seto questioned agitatedly, pacing up and down the studio like a madman.

"Seto, I promise, I'm doing all I can. You know how difficult it will be to convince him!" Jou protested, running some fabric through the sewing machine, to muffle the brunette's loud footsteps on the wooden floor.

The brunette stopped pacing, and sighed.

"I suppose, mutt, but if I have to wait too long so help me I will FORCE his location out of you."

"Duly noted."

"Anyway, what's that?" The CEO gestured towards the material Jou held in his hands.

"This'll be your collar, when I'm finished with it. Which," he said, finishing off the last hem, "Is right about now. Let me pin it up on the manikin so you can see." He did so, and Seto walked over, his interest sparked.

"Wait, hang on, let me check something."

Jou approached Seto and held the blue material up against the brunette's face. Perfect.

"Great. Awesome."

"What?" Seto looked nonplussed.

"Brings out your eyes, I picked out the blue specially. I wanted the collar, cuffs and buttons to do that, but it's not too overwhelming as the white coat will tone it down somewhat." Jou said, matter-of-factly, pinning the collar to the edge of the coat.

"Didn't know you'd paid that much attention."

"Well I have to, don't I? You're paying me royalties. Anyway, I'm about to pack up, are you coming to dinner?"

He turned to Kaiba, who he found watching him, with an odd expression on his face. It wasn't a glare, and it wasn't a smile. Jou blinked, not thinking much of it. Seto seemed to realise he hadn't answered, and straightened up.

"Yes, I am. I wondered whether you could help me with something afterwards?"

"Oh?" Jou said, shoving scrap paper into the bin and moving the manikin to one side.

"I need to pick the designs for the new Duel Monster-themed chain of restaurants we plan to open up over Japan. I'm no good with architecture, or art, it's not my area. So I'll probably need some...guidance."

"Sure thing, I haven't done architecture before, really, but I'll give you an opinion."

"Thanks, Katsuya."

"No problem."

"No, really. For what you're doing."

That made Jou stop his cleaning, and turn around. Kaiba looked a bit embarrassed, but he'd said it sincerely. A breakthrough for someone who rarely showed gratitude for anyone. It made Jou feel weird. Some new emotion, which he couldn't really pinpoint.

"It's fine, Seto."

The brunette watched him for a second in a sort of daze, then, seemed to notice he was staring and awkwardly cleared his voice, glancing at his watch.

"Right, well, Dinner in 5 minutes."

And with that, he swept promptly out of the room. Jou glanced after him. He still didn't quite get Kaiba, but then he doubted if that were actually possible.

"So, what are these restaurants going to be called, then? Kaiba-Cook? Kaiba-Carp? Kaiba's wonderful moneygrabbing food emporium?" Jou asked, following Kaiba down the corridor to his room.

"Oh, shut up, mutt, they're not my idea. One of my executive's expansion plans. I just need to be the image. As ever." Kaiba muttered, opening one of the doors. "And they haven't told me. Although probably some horrific pun."

Jou snorted, moving into the suite. This was the first time he'd been in here since, well, since that evening. It still surprised him just how palace-like the room was. Like a condo within a mansion. He'd always had the money, but it had never really occurred to him to spend it. It was like he was saving it for something, but he didn't know what. But then again, Seto never really seemed to use the room much. He wondered whether it had been furnished by someone else.

"Right, well Takashi should have sent the designs through by now. Take a seat, I'll find them on the laptop."

Jou did so, settling onto the sofa. He looked around, and a picture frame on the coffee table caught his eye. Glancing to see if Seto was looking, which he wasn't, Jou picked the frame up.

It was a picture of the two Kaiba brothers, Seto looked barely 15, if that. He had his arm protectively around the smaller boy, and, to Jou's surprise, he was smiling. He looked genuinely happy, nothing like the man that sat a few metres away from him. What had happened to him? Noticing the area behind the two boys had been blacked out, he realised that it must have been a picture with Gozaburo. Perhaps this had been taken just after being adopted?

"Found them." Jou put the frame hurriedly back on the table, and turned towards the brunette, who'd picked up the laptop and was approaching him. Thankfully he hadn't noticed. Placing the laptop on the table, Seto moved onto the sofa next to Jou, finding the right folder and maximising the images. Jou leaned forwards.

"This one is the first. A designer from Britain, he's recently built some other buildings in Japan. He's computer-generated this image of what it should look like." Seto zoomed in, and leant back. Jou took that as an invitation and peered at the image.

He became acutely aware of Seto's gaze on the back of his head, and tried to concentrate on the image. The design was impressive, a silver structure, modern, with the Kaiba Corp logo spread imposingly over the front. Would that attract customers though? It didn't look particularly friendly, more like a block of offices than a restaurant.

"I'm not sure, Seto. It's well designed, but if you're looking to attract, well, a range of customers, then its not really, well, family or teenager friendly. Fair enough if you only want old business executives eating there, though." Seto leaned forward, and Jou found himself almost shoulder to shoulder with the other man as he eyed the design.

"Yeah, I think he was a bit over-the-top with this one. Hang on, here's the other one."

Another popped up onto the screen, and colour flooded Jou's view.

"Jesus, that's bright."

"Mm."

As Jou's eyes adjusted to the image, he found it to be actually pretty good. With a clear duel monsters theme, there were small duel monster statues lining the front, and bright colours decorating the outside. It wasn't as tall as the other one, the roof curved upwards into a dome, the Kaiba Corps logo a lot smaller on the spire. It seemed much more enticing.

"This one's way better. In my opinion, that is. Who's the designer?"

"He's a local, designed it a couple of years ago. Although, a lot of it wasn't his idea. He had an aide." Suddenly, Seto's gaze grew melancholy.

"Who was it?"

"My brother."

Jou felt his stomach drop. He'd been trying to avoid that topic as much as possible, as it always ruined the mood of any conversation.

"Well, the kid's got talent, then." He said, watching Seto carefully, a vague attempt to cheer him up. The brunette's gaze was downcast.

Jou sighed, and put his hand out to rest on the CEO's arm. Seto flinched, his gaze flitting upwards to meet Jou's. Jou immediately regretted doing that, retreating further away on the sofa.

"Sorry."

"No, I just, well." The brunette paused. "I don't usually allow anyone but...Mokuba...to make physical contact."

A strained silence followed, as Seto's eyes moved downwards again, his expression darkening. Jou wasn't sure what to say, and he felt the strange urge to reach out and hug the other man, but that definitely would NOT be a good idea. If only Mokuba touched him, how long had it been since he'd had any source of human comfort? A year? More, if they'd been having fights.

"Anyway. Those are the current choices. I've been thinking about getting some others commissioned so we have a wider range. You can go now. Or there's a television in here, if you want to use it. I'll just be working." The brunette got up, picking up the laptop, and moving away.

Jou looked after him. Had Kaiba just asked him to stay? The man was so useless at human communication it was probably a yes.

"Are you sure it won't disturb you?"

"No, it's just some e-mails, it doesn't require too much concentration."

"Shouldn't you be taking a break? It's seven o clock in the evening, you've been at work since six thirty."

He watched as the brunette leant back, rubbing at his neck. He'd obviously been sitting at a desk all day.

"No offence, pup, but I think running a multinational corporation takes a bit more effort than drawing pretty pictures and sewing fabric together."

The comment struck a nerve. Did he have any idea about how much effort his trench coat was taking? Hours and hours of obsessing over minute details were insignificant, then. Had he been sympathising with the ungrateful bastard a second ago? Christ.

"Well, tell you what, I won't bother you with my inferior presence, Kaiba. I think I'll go doodle on a dishcloth."

Fuming, he turned towards the door, willing himself not to resort to violence.

Suddenly, a hand wrapped around his arm, stopping him in his tracks.

"Katsuya, I didn't mean that." He turned around to face the CEO, shocked. Seto was apologizing?

"Your line of work is probably just as strenuous, if not more so. And you make the money to prove it. It's just been, well, a tough day."

Seto looked genuinely ashamed of himself. Jou's temper calmed instantly and he realised that the CEO hadn't let go of his arm. Just the fact that Kaiba was willing to make physical contact with him was a breakthrough.

"It's alright, Seto. Tell you what, send a couple of e-mails but then take a break. I'll shove a film on or something."

The hand was still there. It was almost like Seto was making sure he wouldn't leave. Had it really been that long since he'd had any company? Jou patted the brunette awkwardly on the back, before moving towards the television.

He heard the other move back towards the computer, and it wasn't long before a consistent tapping could be heard from the other side of the room. Switching on the flatscreen, and flicking through the movie choices, Jou found the one he'd been looking for. Pulp Fiction. It was his favourite film, but watching it with Seto might be awkward, he didn't know whether he'd get it. He couldn't see anything else worth watching. Shrugging off his doubt, he highlighted the film, and selected it. Besides, it wasn't the worst film to watch, at least it wasn't soppy, or filled with sex scenes. That would certainly be uncomfortable.

Suddenly, he had a realisation. Would Kaiba actually know what was going on in sex scenes? Since he'd admitted that he only ever made contact with Mokuba...that meant...he'd never...

Jou wanted to burst out laughing, but he knew that was insensitive. Come to think of it, he'd never seen Kaiba show any interest in women, and as far as he knew he'd never had a girlfriend. So that meant he was a virgin?

The urge to laugh stopped. It made sense, really, if he had such serious trust issues that he'd only ever trusted his brother, and considering how useless he was at conversation, how could he ever have thought about approaching someone in that way? And he was, what, 23 now? God, 23 years without getting laid? No wonder he was so uptight.

As the film began, Jounouchi couldn't pay attention; his mind was still on Seto. Knowing him, he'd probably continue in that way until he died. And what about when Mokuba grew up, left? He was already dating Jared, what if that became more serious? They couldn't live with Seto the whole time, especially not if they were getting up to what Jou thought they were getting up to. And didn't Seto ever think about sex? Probably had no drive whatsoever, considering how often he was cooped up. Jou blushed, why was he at all interested?

Glancing in the other man's direction, he frowned. Maybe that was why Seto had been so reluctant to let Mokuba go? He wouldn't trust anybody else. He would be completely and utterly alone.

"What's this?"

Jou jumped, as he realised the other man had stopped tapping and was approaching the sofa.

"O-oh. Pulp Fiction. It's a classic."

"Tarantino?"

Jou raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"I met him once. Insane, but apparently he's talented. I remembered the name."

Jou's eyes widened. "You've MET him? Lucky bastard. He's amazing!"

Seto didn't reply, but took a seat next to Jou, their legs brushing slightly.

"I promise I won't fall asleep this time."

Jou snorted, and saw a glint of humour in the CEO's eye.

The film continued, and Jou's mind began to drift again. He could feel the brunette's presence uncomfortably close to him, and, although the CEO had his eyes trained on the screen, for some reason Jou felt like he was being watched. Suddenly, he became aware of Seto's scent. Memories of the other night came flooding back, his arms, his warmth, his breath, his hands...

Jou snapped out of it quickly, that had NOT been enjoyable. No, he was definitely not thinking about cuddling with Seto. He almost burst out laughing again, that was absurd.

Through some sort of subconscious motion, his knee brushed slightly against Seto's leg. He tensed, but found that Seto didn't flinch like before. The brunette seemed unconscious to the contact, continuing to stare blankly at the screen. Did that mean that Seto...no. He probably just hadn't felt it.

Wanting to test the CEO's limits, Jou noticed the remote sitting on the sofa next to the brunette. Swallowing, he reached over the brunette, hand brushing the other's chest, anticipating a flinch. None came. Jou withdrew, and made the excuse of wanting to turn up the volume slightly. Seto was comfortable around him? He had no idea what he'd done to earn that title, but he wasn't averse to it. It made him feel pretty important, being the only other person that Seto didn't mind making contact with, besides the younger Kaiba.

The film progressed, and Jou caught himself growing sleepy. His body relaxed, and somehow, during the course of the past half an hour, he'd managed to lean on the other man. Seto's body was warm, inviting, and as his head began to loll, he was overwhelmed once again with the brunette's scent. Slowly, his eyes fluttered, and he closed his eyes. Just for a little while...

When he woke up, the ending credits were beginning to play. He found his head resting on something. Or someone. Realising who it was, he froze.

"Morning."

The brunette's mocking tone made him blanche. Had Kaiba been watching him the whole time?

He rubbed his eyes, and sat up slightly, facing the other man. He then realised just how close his face was to Kaiba's. Seto was watching him, very closely, not blinking.

"S-sorry, Seto. I didn't sleep fantastically last night."

Jou wanted to move away, but Seto's stare ground him where he was. Their faces were close, uncomfortably close. Why couldn't he move? The other man looked just as confused. He wasn't moving away either.

"I- Um. Did you enjoy the film?"

"Yes. Shame I hadn't seen it before."

Still so close. Jou could almost feel Kaiba's breath hitting his forehead. His heart was rocketing in his chest. He wanted to reach out and touch the other man so badly. But why? Seto continued to stare at him, a strange expression on his features. It looked like he was intensely confused by something.

"Katsuya?"

"Y-yes?"

Had Seto just moved closer?

"This may appear somewhat...unorthodox...but, could I, well..." To Jou's alarm, a blush had spread over the other man's face. What was he asking?

Suddenly, Kaiba embraced him, and Jou almost gasped. The brunette's arms wrapped around his shoulders, and he pulled the blonde against him. Jou's hands were trapped against the other's chest, and could hear the brunette's heartbeat through the thin shirt. Slowly, Jou began to relax into the other's hold, as his body began to react to the embrace. He was overwhelmed by the warmth, the musky scent emanating from the other man. What was this? Sure, he'd thought about doing it before, but now that it was happening he had no idea how to react. Cautiously, he moved his hands around the other's back, and felt Seto relax.

"A-are you alright?" He managed, willing his body not to continue to overreact to the contact.

"Yes. It's just, well, it's been a while. You know, since he left. Is this uncomfortable for you?" The brunette began to withdraw but Jou stopped him, his body already missing the warmth.

"N-no, we can continue. If you want to."

Jou wanted to die from embarrassment, but Seto seemed to appreciate it, and moved back into the embrace.

After a while, Seto's hands began to move in small circles over the blonde's back, and Jou had to bite his lip. Suddenly, this wasn't as comfortable as before. He tried to ignore it, but as the brunette's hands continued to move, slowly, heat began to pool in a place where it definitely shouldn't have been. He needed to move away. Now. This was just his body overreacting. He was NOT considering what he thought he was considering.

And yet, as he tried to move his head away, he just ended up with his face incredibly close to the brunette's neck. The scent became stronger, and Jou's heart rate heightened. His breathing became slightly more ragged, and it inadvertently hit the other's neck. Seto tensed, Jou swore he heard the CEO's breath hitch. The circles continued, perhaps even faster, and Jou's body began to ache for more contact.

God, if he just...if maybe...those hands...

"Are you alright, Katsuya?"

Jou jumped, as the voice came horrifically close to his ear. Seto's warm breath was hitting his lobe, sending heat straight to his groin. Oh, god, what had he gotten himself into? The brunette probably had no idea what he was doing to him.

"I...yeah, just, erm. T-tired." He stuttered, resisting the urge to groan as he imagined that warm breath, mouth, moving over his neck, his chest, stomach...

...lower...

NO. He jumped away from the brunette, heart beating rapidly.

What the fuck was that? What was he thinking? This was KAIBA.

"U-uh, tell you what, I'm f-feeling pretty sleepy. And don't want to fall asleep on you again, might just go to bed, y'know." He stood up, trembling slightly.

Seto looked a little confused, but obviously didn't question him.

"Yes. Well, thanks, Katsuya. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable...if-"

"N-no! I completely understand, I just felt like I was falling asleep, and, well, bed calls. Need to get a start on the trench coat early tomorrow morning, and all." He rambled, moving towards the door, needing very much to get as far away as possible.

"Goodnight, Katsuya." The CEO still looked bemused.

Jou nodded uncertainly, and then left the room, pushing the door shut behind him. He paused outside, leaning against the wood panelling. What the fuck had that been? He had never felt that...stimulated...by a hug before. Or really at all, as a matter of fact. And it hadn't stopped yet. He'd assumed those horrific feelings would have left the minute he broke contact, but no, he could feel the images, fantasies, pressing at the back of his mind, telling him to go back in, to do something terrible. He bit his lip again, quelling the feelings as best he could.

No, he'd go straight to sleep, that would be best. The faster he was unconscious the better.

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