"Are you alright, Seto?"
Jou watched the other man concernedly from across the limo. He'd barely spoken all morning, and his expression had been a consistent blank from the moment Jou had said good morning. Jou had assumed that finally seeing his brother after months and months of separation would be something to look forward to, but it was clear that the brunette wasn't quite as optimistic.
"Yes."
The short, monotone answer convinced the blonde of Seto's anxiety. The brunette was staring absently out of the car window, not really paying attention to anything around him. Jou wanted to say something to calm him, but he knew that the brunette's pride would deny him from accepting it. At least on the outside.
"It'll be alright, you know?" Jou tried.
The brunette turned to face him, but didn't really look at him, it was as if he was in a daze. Nevertheless, his nod at least acknowledged him.
The limo drew to a halt outside the huge, silver building, and Larsson opened the driver division, leaning over to address them.
"We're here, sirs."
"Right, I'll give Jared a call, let him know we're coming up." He said this to Seto, but the brunette didn't seem to hear. Larsson closed the division again, clearly in case Jou and Seto needed to speak between themselves.
Dialling in the number, he kept his eyes on the man in front of him.
"Jou, is that you?"
"It is, we're here. Anything we should know before we come up?"
"Not really. He's going to be in the back room, so I guess just send Mister Kaiba in when you're up here."
"Alright, cool. Thanks again, by the way, J."
"I-it's no problem sir. I kinda want it for Mokie too."
Seto smiled a little, which Jou couldn't help but notice. Jared hung up, and Jou shut the mobile. He didn't get out of the car immediately, though. He couldn't help but feel that Seto wasn't quite ready for this.
"You sure you're okay?"
"Yes. Sort of." The brunette's tone wavered slightly. Checking Larsson couldn't see, Jou leaned over, placing his hands on Seto's shoulders, making sure he was facing him.
"You know what you did wrong. If you can admit that, that's all he wants. Promise."
Seto watched him, a strained expression on his face. He then, tentatively, wrapped his arms around the brunette's waist and embraced him. Jou returned it all too willingly, the feel of Seto's arms around him was far too good an experience to miss. And, he felt strangely flattered that Seto was now willing to make this sort of contact with him. He seemed to trust him.
Detaching themselves from the hug, Jou opened the limo door and got out of the car, shielding his eyes from the light. Seto followed suite, and they nodded to Larsson before making their way into the building.
The secretary at the desk seemed to have a small seizure as she saw the two of them approaching.
"M-mister Jounouchi, Mister Kaiba, to what do we owe this pleasure?"
Jou could sense the brunette wasn't in the mood to deal with fan girls, so he flashed her a smile and stepped forward.
"Just here to see the Mutou's again, hope that's not a problem."
"N-not at all! I'll buzz you right through!"
"Thank you very much."
Jou winked at her, and laughed inwardly as she seemed to swoon over the counter. Seto didn't seem amused, however, so he quickly beckoned the brunette towards the lifts and away from the desk before he verbally slaughtered her.
The ride up was quiet; Seto seemed to be in his own little world. Jounouchi knew he was trying to calm himself, qualm his temper before it interfered and ruined any potential friendship between the two brothers. He placed a hand on Seto's arm, and the brunette seemed to relax slightly. Before Jou could offer any comforting words, the doors slid open to reveal the corridor in front of them.
He heard the brunette take in a deep breath, before he followed Jou to the door of the condo. Jou gave his hand a quick squeeze as he pressed the buzzer. Yugi's voice appeared immediately.
"Hey, guys! One sec, I'll get Yami to let you in!"
Jou smiled, even at the most anxious moments, Yugi still sounded as if he was on top of the world.
The door opened, and the pharaoh beckoned them in, a slightly more serious expression on his face than when Jou had seen him before.
"Welcome, Jou, Seto. Good to see you."
"Seto! How have you been?"
Yugi rushed towards them, giving both Jou and Seto a hug separately. Seto seemed somewhat taken aback, but accepted the greeting and inclined his head towards the younger man.
"I've been better."
"No doubt! Right, well, I don't know how quickly you want to do this, but basically Mokie is in the sitting room through that door over there."
He pointed to the door in question, which seemed suddenly all the more ominous.
"He said he'd rather you didn't take anyone in with you, y'know, for privacy's sake."
"Makes sense. Thanks. I'll do it now."
Jou sent Seto a quick smile before the brunette began to walk towards the door. He stopped outside it, tensed, and then quickly moved inside, shutting the door behind him.
"Now, I know they want the utmost privacy whilst they're doing this," Yami ventured. "But the walls aren't really all that thick."
Jared, who'd appeared from the sofa, suddenly went an intense shade of red.
Yugi saw his expression and giggled.
"Don't worry, Jared, nothing we haven't heard before."
The young man looked ready to throw himself out of the window, when Jou approached him, deciding to change the subject before he exploded from embarrassment.
"How was he? Mokie, I mean, did he say anything?"
"Well, he certainly doesn't have a lot of faith in his brother, if that's what you mean." Jared replied, tentatively. "He seems convinced that he's going to drag him home at any cost, and ignore anything he tries to say."
"Well, assuming Seto keeps to what we discussed, that shouldn't be a problem." Jou said, flashing an apprehensive glance towards the door. Would the brunette keep his cool? Jou's heartbeat fluttered in his chest. But then, if Seto's behaviour was anything to go by, his younger brother might be even more difficult to control.
As if on cue, Mokuba's voice could be heard through the thin walls.
"DON'T COME NEAR ME!"
All four men's heads whipped around to face the wall.
"That doesn't sou-"
"Shhh!" Jou listened, seeing if Seto's temper would crack.
His voice was low, as the reply came:
"I'm not going to force you into anything you don't want, Mokuba."
"LIKE FUCK YOU AREN'T!"
Jou flinched at the anger in the boy's voice. His gaze flicked to the left of him, where Jared was almost shaking with anxiety. It couldn't be easy listening to Mokuba raise his voice like that.
"Liste-"
"YOU'RE GONNA FUCKING DRAG ME BACK, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT SUITS YOU, RIGHT?"
"Mokuba."
" YOU NEVER GAVE A FUCKING DAMN ABOUT MY FEELINGS OR WHAT I WANTED TO DO! HUH?"
"Mokuba. I KNOW." Seto's voice rose, slightly. Jou hoped to God that he wouldn't be provoked into anything harsher.
"What?" The boy's voice seemed to waver, uncertainly. "What do you mean?"
The four men couldn't seem to drag their eyes or ears away from the conversation. Jared shot Jou a worried glance and Jou squeezed the younger man's shoulder.
"I didn't give a damn about your feelings, you're right, Mokuba. And for that, I apologise."
There was a deathly silence. Jou could only hear his heartbeat sounding loudly in his ears. He willed Seto to go on.
"I didn't want you to leave, because-"
The brunette's voice broke, slightly. Jou felt the overwhelming urge to go in and embrace him, but he knew that there was no way that would be appropriate.
"Because you were growing up."
"What's THAT supposed to mean?" The younger Kaiba's anger was clearly still present, although dissipating.
"You were leaving."
Mokuba didn't reply.
"The reason I went to the lengths I did, which I know that I shouldn't have, was because I didn't want-"
Jou took a step forward, his heart wrenching in his chest. Yami put a cautionary hand on his shoulder.
"-w-want to be alone."
Those words were barely a whisper, but Jou heard them. Mokuba still didn't reply. Jou wanted the younger Kaiba to say something. He listened earnestly, trying to catch any shred of conversation.
"Jou, I think we better stop eavesdropping." Yugi said, pulling on his sleeve, manoeuvring him towards the kitchen. "If they make up, they make up. If they don't, they don't. We can't change anything by invading their privacy."
Whilst he desperately wanted to continue listening, he supposed the smaller man was right. Besides, the brothers' conversation had lessened in volume and he couldn't hear all the words that were being said. That was probably a good thing, anyway. Joining the other three around the kitchen table, he sat down, wearily.
"Jou?"
"Yes, Yug'?" he replied, staring at his fingers.
"Are you and Seto, well, friends?"
He looked up to face the smaller man. Jared and Yami were watching him intently too. What was that about? Surely they couldn't possibly know about Seto and him?
"Y-yes. Of course. We've grown up, I guess. Or maybe he just needed a familiar face, and i was the best thing." He laughed, nervously. Yugi's stare was relentless.
"Right. Are you sure there isn't, well, something a little deeper going on?"
They were all waiting on his reaction. Were they really that obvious?
"I-I don't know." He wasn't sure how to react. He didn't really know what was going on between Seto and him either.
"I guess we've become closer, yes." He said, trying to avoid the question.
Yugi didn't look satisfied, but Yami sent him a warning look, and he let off.
"Oh, okay, I just thought it was interesting considering how you two USED to be!" the smaller man grinned, twirling a finger around the edge of his teacup absentmindedly. Yami was still watching him, a calculating look on his face, but he didn't say anything. Jou knew they hadn't believed him.
Jou breathed a sigh of relief inwardly, and nodded.
"Yeah, well, I think everyone's changed a bit. For the better."
It was a couple of hours later when the two Kaibas emerged from the sitting room. Jou, Jared, and the couple had settled down to watch some TV, but none of them had really been paying any attention; all four had had their peripheral vision set on the door across the room.
The minute the door opened, Jared shot to his feet. He'd been nervous to the point of trembling for the entire time they'd been inside the room. The others got to their feet as well, Jou following their lead.
Both Kaibas were bleary-eyed, the confrontation had clearly been emotional for both of them. Jou let out a long breath, as he saw Seto's arm sitting protectively around the younger man's shoulder. To Jou's elation, both men were smiling.
"I hope we didn't keep you waiting too long, guys." Mokuba said, his voice spirited, happy and ten times calmer than it had been earlier. He crossed the room and embraced Jared, happily. Jared seemed relieved, but went a bright red as he saw Jou watching them. Clearly he wasn't all that comfortable with public displays of affection.
"It's not a problem." Yugi chirped, grinning.
"Basically," Mokuba said, addressing all four of them. "I'm moving back in with Seto."
The four men exclaimed simultaneously.
"That's great, guys. Really great!" Jou said, not able to keep the smile from creeping onto his face.
"I'll also be paying for all of Mokuba's university fees, on the condition that he helps us with the architecture designs for Kaiba-Corp."
Seto's smile said it all, and Jou couldn't help his heart from leaping in his chest. Suddenly, without warning, the brunette strode towards him, determinedly. He wove his arms forcefully around the blonde's waist, and before Jou could protest he was being thoroughly and deeply kissed. It was as if Seto was trying to pour all of his gratitude into this one act. Seto's tongue wove its way quickly between Jou's lips, making the blonde's knees quiver and his body relax slightly. Jou couldn't return it though, he was still far too shocked to respond. As the brunette pulled away, Jou's gaze flicked immediately to the other men in the room. Jared and Mokuba's jaws had fallen to the floor, Yami had raised an eyebrow, and Yugi's hand had shot to his mouth, a smile forming rapidly behind it.
Looking back to Seto, Jou's eyes were wide. Was this serious now? Was this an actual relationship? Seto was so secretive, and now he'd just gone and kissed him in broad daylight, in front of others no less? Hell had surely just frozen over.
Yugi cleared his voice, and Jou stared at his feet, a blush spreading violently across his features. Would the others judge him for this? What about Mokuba? Wasn't this weird? He couldn't look at them, his heart was pounding wildly in his chest.
"Get a room, guys. You were doing so well about being subtle before!" Yami chuckled. Both Jou and Seto looked up, wide-eyed. Before they could even form the question, Yugi answered it for them.
"Of course we know, idiots. Jared kept telling us about how much time you were spending together. The way you walked in earlier was confirmation enough." Jou shot Jared a look, and the boy looked down at his feet, trying to conceal a smirk.
"Wait, wait, I didn't know!" Mokuba blurted, indignantly. "So does that mean you guys'll be having loud sex down the hall? Because seriously, if that's true I'm moving further down. I don't want to hear that."
Both Jou and Seto's faces burst into a fresh shade of red, and Yugi and Yami began to laugh simultaneously.
"Seriously, we were betting that Jou would be the one to make it public, apparently we were wrong."
Seto began to frown angrily, and Jou placed a hand on his tensed arm.
"Well, we didn't know it was that obvious..." Jou trailed off, his heartbeat beginning to calm down now that the tension was over. He felt Seto's fingers move tentatively to connect with his, interlocking their hands. As if they were a couple.
"Well, it's all settled now anyway." Yami concluded, trying to move to conversation onwards and shooting Yugi and Jared a look, as they were both still giggling. "Yugi and I have some papers we need to go through for a press conference later in the week. Any chance we could please have some alone time? No offence to you, Mokie, it's just been a while." Yugi nodded in agreement.
Wanting very much to get back to the mansion himself, Jou nodded, beckoning to the others. He gave Yami and Yugi a quick hug. Yugi's whisper of "congratulations!" made his heart jump slightly in his chest. He still couldn't believe what had just happened, even by the time they were back in the limo. Was he in a relationship now? Was he Seto Kaiba's boyfriend? God, that sounded weird. This was the guy who a few weeks ago he'd hated with every inch of his being. And now? He glanced at the brunette beside him, their hands still interlocked.
Well, now, it was entirely different. Instead of feeling a twinge of hate at the sight of him, Jou felt a little skip in his chest, and happiness pooling at the bottom of his stomach, as well as something else which probably wasn't appropriate to think about with the young couple and the driver sitting across from him. He hadn't said a word to him yet, but judging by the brunette's smile, it seemed that he was pleased with this as well. He definitely hadn't let go of Jou's hand yet.
Jou resisted the urge to shuffle closer to him, still aware that Jared and Mokuba were sitting across from them. They hadn't quite had the same idea, as Mokuba's arm was protectively around the young man's waist, Jared's head against his shoulder and Mokuba's chin resting on the top of his head. They really were adorable. Jared noticed him watching and reddened slightly, looking away a bit, but Jou flashed him a wink and turned to look out of the window, saving the young couple any more awkwardness.
A squeeze of his hand made him turn to face the brunette. Seto leaned toward him, moving to whisper into his ear.
"Is this alright, Katsuya?"
"Is what alright?" Jou whispered back, reddening slightly, glancing at the young couple in front of them, but they were too engrossed in each other to notice.
"This." Seto whispered, gesturing to their interlocked hands. "Us."
Jou watched him, Seto's eyes were almost pleading with him.
Was the brunette seriously in doubt of how Jou felt? Surely he knew by now.
"Of course it is. Why wouldn't it be? Idiot." Jou grinned at him, trying to alleviate the awkwardness, but Seto didn't echo his grin.
"I mean us. As a couple. That's what I was intending."
Jou's expression turned serious and he stared the brunette straight in the eye.
"I was intending it too. The only reason I got embarrassed back there is because i was surprised. And pleased."
The brunette's expression softened somewhat, and he leaned in to press a slow kiss against Jou's lips. This one was far more sensual than before, and Jou felt himself leaning against the brunette's chest, enjoying the freedom to touch and embrace him without the uncertainty of before.
"God. Can't you wait until we get to the mansion guys, we at least didn't PDA that much!"
Mokuba's mocking voice broke the moment, and both Seto and Jou rolled their eyes, smirking. They'd probably have to wait until they were alone for anything of that nature to continue .Trying not to think too hard about what he hoped was going to come that evening, Jou leaned into the brunette, closing his eyes and savouring the other man's warmth. This couldn't have turned out better.
A/N: So sorry about the wait, yay for exams getting in the way. I hope you enjoy this chapter, let me know what you think!