A/N: Long chap...I don't mean to keep making long chaps...they just happen...

6.

There was physical torment written all over Kaiba's face when Jou returned to pick him up. Within the hour he had gone from being content to looking as though he was ready to burst into a thousand pieces.

"Ya all right Kaib'?"

The CEO tried to relax himself against the back of the seat, but pain was flaring up and down his side. "I'm perfectly fine," but his hand was gripping at his hip. "Just get me home."

Jou was reluctant to start driving, but knew that saying nothing was his best option. He assumed that the pain was secondary to Kaiba's leg and that there was nothing that he could do about it. They sat in the car in silence, and Kaiba only seemed to worsen as they got closer to the manor. That was when the idea struck him. He would have to wait when they were stopped, and know that being in the safety of the manor was the best idea. So Jou held his anxiety until they pulled up to the gated estate, his eyes occasionally flicking over to the CEO.

"Could you drive any slower?" Kaiba asked, his sarcasm hardly reaching its peak. He put his other hand against his forehead, rubbing his temples.

"I don't think you'd want me gettin' ya in another wreck," Jou paused, "not that I caused the first once, but ya know what I mean," Kaiba closed his eyes and clamped his hand against his hip. "What's hurtin' ya? Yer hip or your leg?"

Kaiba exhaled painfully, his hands moving to his lap. "L-leave it alone puppy."

Once they arrived on the grounds of the Kaiba estate, Jou placed the car in park and leaned over to Kaiba, gripping his chin and bringing him in perfect view for Jou to mash his mouth against Kaiba's. The brunette had wide eyes, and at first he tried to push away. He indulged for several seconds, Jou's tongue gently slipping between Kaiba's teeth. The CEO then pushed his nurse away and stared at Jou indignantly.

"What the hell was that?"

"A kiss; it's the only pain killer I got right now. Figured it'd take your mind offa everythin' right now," Jou crossed his arms. Kaiba kept staring at his, his brows furrowed between confusion and hatred.

"What do you even think gives you the right to do that to me?" he asked, reaching back for his crutches. "I gave you something, that doesn't give you the right to return the favor." Jou grit his teeth, but at the same time he was disappointed. He opened the driver's side and went around helping Kaiba out. The CEO pushed him away. "Don't you dare touch me after that you filthy mutt."

Despite being rejected, Jou kept a reasonable distance from Kaiba as they came up to the manor. Mokuba was poking out of the front door, fully opening it as Kaiba got closer. "Is something the matter nii-sama?" he asked, taking note of his brother's pain expression.

Kaiba brushed beside his little brother, leaving the boy to look at Jou as he also approached. "What's the matter with Seto?"

"His hip's botherin' him. It hasn't been since morning that he had a pain pill," Jou said. "What's up Moki? Something the matter with you?"

"Nothing really, no," he said, closing the door behind him and Jou. "Guess you better go get that pill for nii-sama, huh?"

"If ya need ta talk to yer bro, go talk to him. He can withstand the pain a few more minutes," Jou said and wondered if the more he was in pain, the more he would draw into ecstasy. Mokuba nodded.

"I won't take too long," Mokuba said and ran off in the direction that his brother was tottering. Jou stood back, his arms crossed tightly, and he couldn't help but wonder why he had went out on a limb and expected that kissing Kaiba would work. He defended it in his mind that he was doing it for the CEO's good. Logically it made sense; if he could give Kaiba a pleasured feeling, then endorphins would release and Kaiba would feel better, at least temporarily. Beyond the medical aspect, however, he knew that Kaiba seemed hot for nurse but refused to show it. The only question was why he was so hot about the advance.

Jou stood in the threshold between the main foyer and the living room. Kaiba was sitting, speaking to his brother in a slightly brash tone of voice. His hand was still tightly at his hip, like it would fall out of place if he removed it. Mokuba hugged his brother, murmured something, and then pulled towards Jou. The blonde straightened out and hung his arms at his sides. Kaiba was staring at him, but his face was anything but angered. There was maybe a little bit of contempt; most of it seemed to plea for something that Kaiba's pride wouldn't let out. His throat had gone to jelly and only produced sounds that were guttural and agonizing to listen to. His shriek dulled mildly, and his eyes closed to try and stop the moisture welling at the base.

Jou knelt down at Kaiba's side and tried to coax his hand from his hip. "Kaib', if you don't tell me what the hell's wrong, I can't help you. You coaxed me into this damn mess. Let me do my job and help you."

"I don't know what's wrong! I just know I hurt like fuck..!"

The blonde managed to maneuver Kaiba's hands away from his hip. There were only a few things that Jou could deduce, nothing that he could diagnose, and he didn't feel like trying to strip Kaiba to see his hip. He had a feeling it was just a giant bruise, much like the rest of his leg, and it would give him no hint other than rubbing the pant leg against Kaiba's hip would hurt him more. "We to get him to a doctor," Jou said. "It could just be the nerve but it hasn't hurt before, has it?"

Kaiba shook his head vehemently. In turn, Jou put his arms beneath Kaiba's shoulders and lifted him up gently. "Moki, can you get someone to get the wheelchair. Him walkin' proly ain't the smartest idea," Jou said. Mokuba nodded and started off into the innards of the manor. Kaiba, relying on Jou for his entire support, took very careful hops of his good foot, hardly getting off the ground and instead skidding across the floor. Jou grasped him a little tighter.

"Y-you're very lucky," Kaiba muttered. There seemed to be a mix of partial incoherence in the man. His head lulled over to Jou's shoulder. The pain had become so intense that it was nearly knocking him out. "Very lucky."

For some reason, Jou didn't want to know what he was talking about.

The blonde paced around the small room that they'd been placed in. Shortly after he brought Kaiba to the ER, he was placed into the private room and the doctor was paged. That was nearly thirty minutes before, and Jou looked out the door every so often. Despite Kaiba's reliance on him, Jou still felt the need to keep his distance, simply monitoring Kaiba from where he stood.

Shortly before they left, Jou grabbed the hydrocodone and gave one to Kaiba, and he wondered how much of a dent it put in the CEO. By the slow reaction over time, it had helped as it should have, but Kaiba still pressed his hand to his hip and grit his teeth.

The doctor came in, and Jou backing out of the way. The doctor looked at Jou first, and then to Kaiba who had tried to pull himself out of the position of writhing. "What seems to be the trouble?"

"He won't tell me," Jou said. The doctor looked at him strangely, and he clarified: "I'm his nurse," the doctor nodded. "His hip's been botherin' him I think, but he won't say anything to me."

"When did this start?"

"About an hour ago," Jou said.

"This morning…" Kaiba muttered. "I thought it would go away."

"It's possible it's just pain from the wounds you already have," the doctor stated. "It's possible that you might have overexerted yourself in some way."

Both Kaiba and Jou let their minds wander back. It hadn't occurred to Jou since the symptoms didn't start immediately, but he supposed that was why Kaiba was so reluctant to eat that morning. He bit his lip. Of course it was his fault. He couldn't deny this one. It was partially Kaiba's fault too, he added to himself, but there was no reason for him to have done it with Kaiba in the first place.

Despite his pain stricken mind, Kaiba also wandered to the same thoughts. There was so much ecstasy that flowed through him that he must not have felt the dull pain at first. He looked over to Jou again, his face washed with contempt even though he knew he was the seducer. He didn't even know why he had coerced Jou into his bed or into his body for that matter. There was some primeval urge that he couldn't stop from inside him. There was still half of him that was willing to wrap his hands around Jou's throat and just throttle him. The wreck was the mutt's fault, and this was as well.

Neither verbalized these thoughts to the doctor.

"Maybe…"Jou tried to think of an excuse, but his mind kept only flashing back to the sex. "He's been…hobblin' around on the crutches. Could the weight of his leg cause it?" he suggested. He tried to make the images go away. The doctor took a moment before nodding.

"We can take x-rays of course," he said, gently prodding Kaiba's hip. The CEO winced. "I'm not sure we'll find anything. It's unlikely that this is a fracture. It's possible that he's strained something."

Jou nodded, concurring. As long as the episode ended, he could get the images out of his mind. But it wasn't just the images. It was the feeling of Kaiba's fingers crawling down his side and touching every crevice of his body. It had been a long time since Jou had been satisfied simply by touch. He shivered, his eyes focused on the doctor who was speaking to Kaiba quietly. Somehow Jou had drifted out of the audible world and was in some sort of half reverie where he wasn't entirely experiencing it, but at the same time had the feelings all bottled up inside him.

Why was Kaiba riling him up so badly?

Jou tempted to walk closer to the CEO. At first he wasn't sure why that he had this urge, but when he was nearly on top of Kaiba, he could almost sense what his nurses' instinct was telling him. Kaiba's face was red, and it wasn't just from him scrunching his face and wailing. He was slick with sweat and his breath was a little uneven. There was something essence of control that Kaiba had which nearly made it impossible for Jou to notice at first. He pressed the backside of his hand against Kaiba's cheek.

"Hey, doc?" Jou looked over his shoulder to make sure that the doctor hadn't left the room just yet. The man glided over. "Feel him would ya?" the doctor copied the motion. Kaiba was wincing away, but not out of pain. His teeth were grit and he looked nervous. "Warm ain't he?"

"He is a little feverish," the doctor muttered. "This might be more than a case of stress Kaiba-san." The brunette looked at the doctor with questioning eyes. "I'm going to get a nurse to take his temperature, and if it is as I think it is, we might want to think of admitting him as a precaution."

"Precaution to what?" the CEO said between grit teeth. His hand was rubbing against his cheek.

"You may have gotten an infection. We'll have to get a better look at it to make sure."

The doctor didn't notice, and the blonde hardly noticed, but he could see in the partially shaky eyes of the CEO that there was something there more than contempt, pain, and especially more than his usual suave. Fear.

Jou sat beside the brunette as he rested in a hazy and feverish state. Though they had given him something to bring down the temperature, it had seemed to finally get to him. Even though it was struggled, Jou had to laugh at how it quieted the brunette. All the same, he was a little bit shaken. There were silences that Kaiba made for effect because the stiff air was intimidating. There were silences were he seemed in thought and everyone was waiting for the great idea that was about to fall from his lips. This silence was tense and unnerving, even to Jou. He wanted to wrap his hand around Kaiba's and make the CEO comfortable. Something told him not to do that.

The last thing that Kaiba said to Jou, or the room rather, was how much he disliked hospitals. It didn't seem that Kaiba was the type to be in them much, but he could gather by this one experience alone that Kaiba would be particularly taken.

He had been admitted, dressed in the gown, and plopped in bed waiting further probing. Jou kept looking at his leg, wondering what it was that was causing this state. He could think of several things, the types of infections. It was a quick onset. Or at least, Kaiba had been hiding it long enough that it finally hit a little too hard.

The door opened, and Jou turned, unsurprised to see Mokuba. The boy brushed by the nurse and went to his older brother where he sat on the bed. Jou nodded to himself and stood. Mokuba would be enough company for Kaiba for a few hours. Just as he was about to leave, Kaiba said:

"Jou…you leave me hanging here, I won't have a second thought to bringing up the suit again…" his hollow voice was still intimidating, and when Jou turned and saw the swaying finger, he was smiling.

"Ya don't have to be such a jerk about it," Jou said quietly, knowing that he didn't want to sound intimidating back. "I'm just going back to your place and grabbing a few things. Don't know how long it'll take them to look at it and get a biopsy and stuff…so…I'll be back."

Kaiba gave a curt nod and turned his attention back to Mokuba who was stroking his older brother's hand in the way that Jou wanted so desperately wanted to.

Jou did as he said he would and returned to the Kaiba estate to pick up several of Kaiba's personal items. He wasn't sure what possessed him to do this. He hadn't really done anything wrong except try and show affection towards the elder Kaiba. Was it affection? Hadn't he convinced himself earlier that it was so that Kaiba would feel better? Wasn't it medically related? Jou shook his head. He couldn't even remember what convoluted reasoning he had used, all he knew was that he didn't want Kaiba to be upset at him for something that was, ultimately, trivial.

Before he went back to the hospital, Jou forced himself to stop at the Kame Game Shop. There was no reasoning behind his visit other than he felt that he needed to be near people whose affection towards him was genuine, consistent, and understandable.

There was confidence in him when he saw Sugoroku out front sweeping the walkway. He got out and waved to the old man, a smile wide on his face. "Why, Katsuya! Long time, no see."

"Hey Gramps," Jou nodded to the old man and stood beside him for a moment. "Yugi and Yami in?"

"Should be," Sugoroku looked over his shoulder. "They haven't slipped by me since I've been out here."

"Thanks a lot," Jou went inside and crossed his arms. He knew that the two had to be inside somewhere. "Yami! Yugi!"

Immediately there were footsteps coming from the upstairs. Yugi poked out first, a grin crossing his face. "Jou!" Yami was shortly behind, and he peeked around the corner of the stairs with a pleased look on his face. Yugi took no time to approach Jou and hug him. "I haven't heard from you. How are things going?"

"Eh…they could be better," Jou collapsed on the couch.

"Kaiba's got you running rampant then?" Yugi asked. He sat across from Jou, and Yami, with a quiet coolness, sat down beside Jou and nearly scared the blond.

"Not exactly. It's getting a little complicated," Jou didn't want to look Yugi in the eye, afraid that he might give away the events that were surrounding the entire predicament. "See, I'm actually on my way back to the hospital."

"I thought that Kaiba was out of the hospital," Yugi said. Jou shrugged and sighed.

"He is…or was," Jou bit his lip, and there was a steady feeling rising in him that he wasn't entirely sure he understood. In the back of his mind a little voice was arising, and even though he was trying his damndest to ignore it, it became so prominent that he couldn't deny that it was there. "They're thinkin' he might have some kind of infection and I…I don't know what to think about it."

"Infection? That doesn't sound too good…"Yugi murmured.

"Trouble is the both of us. I shoulda noticed if there was somethin' up and he shoulda said somethin' if he wasn't feeling all right. But were both dumb like that," Jou hung his head a little. He knew what that little voice in the back of his head was; he just wasn't willing to admit it. Guilt. It was hard for him to admit he felt guilty, especially since it was Kaiba that he would be admitting it to, but it was probably about the same as how Kaiba was feeling fearful at the present moment. Neither could entirely cope with the feeling because they had just a little too much pride to admit that they felt that way.

"I suspect you're thinking that worst, Jou?" a calm voice broke in. Jou looked out of the corner of his eye to Yami.

"Yeah, I guess. I can imagine bad things happening. If he waited too long in telling me or if I wasn't paying well enough attention…"Jou put his face in his hands. "Damn it. I was hoping I could come here and not talk about this…"

"I'm sorry, Jou. We can talk about something else. I didn't mean to bring it up," Yugi apologized. Yami only a raised a brow and his smaller counterpart.

"Jou," Yami leaned forward hoping to get a better look at Jou's face. "It's good that you're feeling this way. Your mind seems to clearly understand what's going on."

"What do you mean?" Jou raised his head and looked to Yami quizzically.

"Well, you may not be facing that moment when you were in the crosswalk, but obviously your subconscious understands what happened. You're guilty of something; you think it's all your fault."

"I don't know if it's my fault! I don't remember if I had a free to walk sign or if Kaiba had a green light or what! I don't know! I just know that the son of a bitch is good at a guilt trip, all right?"

"Jou, is there something you're not telling us?" Yugi asked.

The blond looked between the doppelgangers, and all he could think about was pressing his mouth against Kaiba's. He could feel the fingers gingerly run up his spine and make him shiver. "No, nothing. I just don't know what to think. If the infection's bad enough, if we didn't catch it in time, Kaiba could lose his leg and I don't feel like him forever thinkin' that I'm the one that made him a cripple."

"Jou, I'm sure that everything will be all right. I don't think anything that drastic would have happened, I mean…"Yugi was trying to find something positive about the whole ordeal, but it was obvious that he couldn't come up with the right words.

"Look, I better not be gone too long. It's okay Yug', I guess you're right, it'll be okay," Jou stood up and started toward the door. Yami was up and after to him, much to Yugi's surprise.

"Jou," Yami pressed a hand on Jou's shoulder. "Whether or not it was your fault, you've invested too many feelings in this whole thing to make it as horrible as you think it's going to be. Something tells me that your feelings are reciprocated, so don't be so worrisome about it."

Jou clenched his fist, and his stomach turned. Yami could see right through him. After a moment of fear and anger, he simmered down and nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Nothin' major's showed up till now. I guess it'll all be all right. At least, I hope it will be." Yami nodded to him and smiled. "Sorry to come and go so soon. I won't wait as long next time. I…I need to go and see if Kaib' is all right, right?"

"Yeah, sure Jou," Yugi was up and following Jou at the door. Once he left, Yugi was left to look at Yami with a curious glance. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Depends. Does he look a little lovesick to you?"

"Just a little."

Yami nodded. "Well, then I hope I didn't lie to him."

When Jou entered the hospital room, it wasn't just Kaiba and Mokuba. There was a doctor as well as two nurses that were hovering around. Kaiba's leg was propped up into a position that they could reach. The bandages were being unraveled, and they were nearly finished when Jou had entered and closed the door. Jou bit his lip. Kaiba was looking in his direction, but after a particularly hard tug, his eyes squeezed closed and he tugged at his gown. One of the nurses murmured apologies, but Kaiba wasn't listening.

The blond walked up beside Mokuba and slung his arm around the younger Kaiba's shoulders. Mokuba took the gesture kindly and nearly buried his head in Jou's chest.

Once everything was peeled away, the only thing that was left was partially swollen leg. There was a wash of mottled bruising all over, and lines of what Jou supposed were going to be scars from the surgery. He rubbed Mokuba's arm and broke away from the boy to get a little closer to Kaiba. It wasn't hard to see inflammation in the thigh.

"There's the infection. Looks like it's got a little pus, too," the doctor muttered. "By his pain it's very likely that there's a bone infection, too. We'll have to do a biopsy to make sure, but…signs point in that direction."

Jou placed his hand on the bed and leaned over to get a better look. "Does it look like its real bad doc?" Jou asked.

"Can't say for sure. Hopefully it hasn't sat for too long. We'll have to see. I'll have a biopsy scheduled, we'll also need an x-ray to see if we can see anything," and he turned to one of the nurses who nodded and walked out of the room. "If this is what I think it is Kaiba-san," the doctor said, addressing the brunette. Kaiba hardly seemed capable of even keeping eye contact. He was trying his hardest to stay impassive, but attention was a whole other level. "If it's been caught in time, which if looks as though it has, we'll have to do a surgery that essentially cleans the bone, and then you'll be put an antibiotic regiment."

There were questions in Kaiba's eyes, but he was struggling in bringing them out of his throat. Jou could tell that Kaiba had nothing to say even if he did have questions. The doctor touched his hand warmly, but Kaiba immediately drew his hand away. "Don't touch me."

Jou wondered if Kaiba was simply being his usual boorish self, exemplified by pain, or if there was something more. It was that moment with the doctor that brought it to his attention most. Kaiba was staring at his hand as though he had been touched by poison, and he began rubbing against his chest unconsciously.

The doctor left with a few words. The second nurse was left with them, and she began to split up his calf and wind the bandages around it. Jou was still pressed against the bed, his hand bracing against an open space that was next to the brunette. Once the nurse finished, she gave a curt nod and left the room. Jou had almost lifted up when Kaiba clutched for it. Jou looked down, astonished, and he looked to the CEO as he let a tough breath of air from his chest. His face remained mostly impassive, but there was still that little twitch of fear lingering.

Mokuba came up beside Jou and saw how hard that Kaiba was holding Jou's hand. "Don't break it Kaib'," Jou muttered. "You'll be okay," I hope.

"Moki?" Kaiba asked.

"Yeah nii-sama?"

"Could you get me something to drink?" but it was obvious that he wanted Mokuba to leave for a few moments. The younger brother said nothing about it. He left. Once the door was firmly closed, Kaiba yanked Jou down near him and looked at him with his eyes flashing as though there was lightning in them. Jou didn't see his other hand until it was clutch on the back of his neck and his mouth was awkwardly mashed against Kaiba's. Once they released, Kaiba exhaled another heavy breath and kept staring at Jou.

"Only me," Kaiba said. "Only I am allowed to do that, and only you," he clutched Jou's hand even tighter if it was possible, "only you are allowed to do that. Understand?"

"I...I think so," but Jou understood more than he thought he did.

"Good," Kaiba let go of Jou's hand. The blond noticed the shift as Kaiba tried to make himself comfortable. He sat down and brought up the bag of things he'd gathered. Mokuba entered the room. Nothing had changed, yet everything had changed.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed. Till next time, KenSan out!