"You've seemed kind of down lately, Ryou," Kally commented to her classmate as she started packing up her books at the end of Latin class. "Is everything okay?"
"Oh, I'm fine," Ryou answered with a strained smile. "Just a bit... heartsick."
"You poor dear." Kally smiled pityingly. "Do you have any plans for tonight?"
"Um, no, I just planned on going home, doing homework, the usual stuff." That also included playing video games or watching Netflix, depending on his mood.
"You should come to swing club tonight. I'm sure that'll cheer you up."
"I don't know." Ryou blushed a little. "I don't really dance."
"You'll get to meet new people!"
"I'm awkward around strangers."
"You'll have so much fun that you won't be able to remember whoever it is you're hung up on."
"But what if I make a fool of myself?" Ryou could feel his mouth start to go dry as his anxiety kicked in. He hated the idea of going to a place filled with people he didn't know but would have to socialize with lest he end up sitting on the sidelines like the social outcast he was. He didn't feel comfortable at social events on campus, but now that he'd gone and fallen for Duke, he wasn't quite as comfortable at home as he would like to be. Going home alone, though, was a more daunting thing than he cared to deal with right now. While he appreciated solitude, being absolutely alone when he'd had a bad day always did him more harm than good.
"Come on, Ryou," Kally pleaded with a slight pout. "I need a new dance partner, and you know my boyfriend only approves of himself or other girls when it comes to my dance partners."
"Then why would he approve of me?"
"He won't be jealous of you, because I told him that you're gay."
Fair enough.
"Come on, please? For me? Just come for a half hour and if you don't like it, you can leave, okay?"
"Okay," Ryou said, yielding to his classmate's request. She was a nice girl, and he could survive a half hour.
When Duke showed up at the Kaiba mansion, his body was humming with electricity. He'd been in need for far too long, and Kaiba was quite an attractive man. He'd told Ryou that he was meeting a friend tonight and that he'd be out late, both of which were true statements. Ryou hadn't asked any further questions, so he'd left it at that.
Duke used the knocker on the grand front doors and waited. He didn't have long to wait before Kaiba himself opened the door and let him inside. He looked as if he hadn't done much to change out of his work clothes, only having removed his tie and suit jacket since coming home. His dark pine shirt was open at the neck and the wrists, the dark hue a delicious contrast to his fair skin. Duke couldn't help but note that he wasn't quite as pale as Ryou, though his skin tone declared that he favored the indoors.
After closing the door behind his guest without a word of formal greeting, Kaiba commented coolly, "This is strictly casual."
"Absolutely." Duke smiled, projecting every ounce of charm he possessed as he placed a hand on one delicate hip and sank into a pose that flattered his figure. "This is purely recreational sex between two objectively attractive human beings."
Kaiba smirked as if he were holding back a laugh. If he were anyone else, he probably would have chuckled. Duke was about to make the first move when Kaiba turned and instructed, "Come." Intrigued, Duke followed him to his room without a word. Kaiba opened the door, Duke followed him in. As Kaiba was locking it, though, Duke abandoned what remained of his self control.
As soon as the brunette started to turn, Duke shoved him back against the door and pulled him down into a rough, hungry kiss. For a moment, Kaiba was too surprised to respond, but only for a moment. Then it became a war, a battle for dominance, a contest to see who could stay fully clothed the longest before they broke and nearly shredded their clothes off like wild animals.
Duke would have enjoyed it more if Kaiba hadn't seemed so restrained, so aware of himself that he seemed to fear being caught on camera at any given moment. Duke was here for his own enjoyment, just like Kaiba, but Duke still tried to put the billionaire at ease. He didn't attempt anything invasive or exotic, and he kept his commentary to a minimum since speech seemed to make him uncomfortable once they began to undress.
Ryou rocked carefully from one side to the other, taking a small step each time so that that they weren't completely stationary.
"See? You're a natural." Kally grinned at him encouragingly.
"It feels weird not doing anything with my left arm." His left arm and her right were limp at their sides, their stomachs pressed together, their other arms around each others' waist, because apparently that's how you dance blues.
"You know, there's a story about blues." Her eyes sparkled with mischief. "Blues dancing was invented by Lindy Hoppers who'd go to swing exchanges and dance until three in the morning and get completely hammered. By three, they were all half-witted and couldn't do more than rock together with a drink in their hand: hence these hands being empty. Personally, I'd recommend trying it with a drink. It really changes the experience. Whattaya say?"
"Sure." Ryou didn't usually drink, since he'd never had the inclination to do so, but he was feeling open minded at the moment. Kally smirked and stalked away to the cooler at the edge of the room, only to return moments later with an open bottle of sake. They shared the drink evenly, but Ryou hadn't been prepared for how it'd rush to his head.
When the song ended, Kally returned to her boyfriend. Ryou was ready to sit on the sidelines and watch, but was pleasantly surprised when a bulky football player asked him to dance. Kally gave him two thumbs up and mouthed "good choice" as they walked out onto the floor together.
Dancing led to a little more drinking, which perpetuated the dancing until the dancing led to stairwell kisses in the shadows by the storage closet, as if they had something to hide. The taller one pushed Ryou inside, and the white-haired teen giggled.
"This is so high school," Ryou chuckled before broad hands found his waist and pulled him closer to a firm chest.
"But that makes it kinda fun, right?"
Ryou was caught up in another kiss before he could breathe, and as his body was pressed between the back of the door and the football player's body, something struck his mind and made him ache with an immediate sense of guilt. He wrenched his head away, though it was difficult, bringing the kiss to an abrupt end. The other male didn't seem bothered by it, so he let his lips fall to Ryou's neck.
"Wait," Ryou panted, pressing his hands to the other's shoulders, though the action was futile. The other didn't seem to have heard him. "Hey, stop!"
"Is something wrong?" the other asked lazily, and licked Ryou's neck with a long, slow stroke of his tongue.
"I-I just remembered that I have to be somewhere," Ryou stammered unconvincingly, still trying to push him away.
"Really?" the jock muttered dubiously, reaching for Ryou's ass and giving it a squeeze that made Ryou's pulse leap in panic. "I doubt that."
Damn. Why had Ryou been stupid enough to think that this was a good idea? He just wanted out, but he didn't know how to put an end to this. He wasn't strong enough to push him away or overpower him, and he wasn't assertive enough to make him stop by force of will. What did that leave him with?
"I-I only just remembered. I-It's really important." Ryou's face was flushed the deepest shade of red it had ever been. "I need to get going..."
"Are you sure?" the other leered in disbelief, still holding Ryou with an uncomfortable amount of force.
"I'm sure; let go of me!" Ryou felt that if he had to stay here much longer, he'd break into a fit of hysterics. Something about this—the way he was pushed and grabbed and licked—was scaring him. "I changed my mind, let go!" Although his pleas were insistent and his voice pitched up into a whine, his volume was still low. If someone outside overheard them, he'd be royally mortified. The other was more drunk than he, so he managed to shove him away and turn the doorknob behind him, allowing him a quick escape. He darted down the stairs, taking them two at a time until his feet tingled from absorbing the shock of each little leap. He went down two flights and ran down the long hallway in the basement that connected this building to the other, wanting to put as much space between him and his would-be one-night-stand-partner. It wasn't until he'd gone upstairs and taken refuge in the restroom to cool himself down did Ryou start to realize why he'd gotten so bothered so suddenly.
Bakura had once touched him like that.
Ryou braced himself against the edge of the sink, breathing heavily as he lifted his eyes to his reflection.
"Why won't you leave me alone?" he demanded of the glass image, glaring. "Why won't you just leave me alone? When will you get the hell out of my life?" He didn't receive an answer, but he didn't expect one.
Bakura never answered him back then either.
When Duke got home, the apartment was dark and quiet and cold. It didn't look any different than it had been when he left it that morning, which was strange, because usually at least one thing had been changed by Ryou's lounging. As he slipped off his shoes by the door, Duke concluded that Ryou'd spent the evening elsewhere and was still out.
As he walked towards his room, he pulled out his cell phone and started scrolling through his contacts so that he could text or call him—he hadn't decided which yet—when he heard the sound of crying. Duke stood in the place, and it only took a few moments to determine that the sound was coming from Ryou's room.
Duke approached the door and lay his hand on the doorknob, testing it gently. It was locked. There was an unspoken agreement that they respected locked doors, but Duke was still tempted to knock so he could speak to Ryou and see what was wrong. Duke stood at the door, hand on the knob, forehead pressed against the wood, for an indefinite length of time. He stood and listened, trying to decide what to do. He began to wonder if he shouldn't have stayed home this evening; maybe he could have prevented Ryou's tears somehow? After a while, the sound of sobbing stopped, and Duke moved away from the door to finally go to bed. It was pointless trying to think of what might have been or what he could have changed. Better to just deal with things as they were than wonder or regret.
Author Notes: There was a version of this chapter where Ryou did have a one night stand and was drunk on the floor when Duke came home, but I already let them have one drunk kiss; they don't need another.