Fixation

Chapter 5


Seto threw himself into his tournament, and into duel monsters, with a new enthusiasm. He had been told—by more than one psychologist, six secretaries, and his brother—that he had something of a manic and obsessive personality. Since he refused to let himself think about the Mutt as anything other than a duelist, he had to find something else to focus on.

So, he went back to focusing on defeating Yugi. Despite all of the odd things that kept popping up, he stayed focused on defeating Yugi. That was a difficult task, but he explained all of the odd phenomenon on a unique combination of holographic malfunctions, mass hysteria, food poisoning, and some serious untreated mental health issues among other duelists. It figured that the only other teenagers who still played duel monsters would be complete psychopaths with violent dissociative personalities. Seto had played along at the time, since the only way to continue to duel and defeat Yugi was to indulge in the fantasy. Afterwards, though, Seto was grateful that he didn’t have any major issues.

The first time he seen the Mutt again was at his Battle City tournament. It was awkward, but at least there were enough people around that they could safely ignore each other. When Seto felt uncomfortable, he tended to lash out, and despite his promise to Roland, he ended up insulting the Mutt more than ever. From dog comments to insults about Jou’s economic status, insults about his sister, that Valentine woman, and even a few quiet remarks about being gay, Kaiba didn’t manage to hold his tongue once. He felt his heart race when he finally managed to provoke Jou into lunging at him, but his ever helpful friends held the other boy back.

After the tournament, Seto spent the summer relaxing with his brother and watching the sales of his duel disk system skyrocket. He tried to arrange his classes for his Senior year so he didn’t have to put up with Jou. He managed it in everything except home room and English, which Jou seemed to excel at despite his obvious mental handicaps. Seto breathed easier after Jou had traded insults with him, taken his seat, and ignored him for the rest of the day. It was a relief to know that things were normal between them.

Things weren’t normal, though. No matter how much Seto tried to pretend, that moment in the alley had changed everything between him and Jou. Jou’s insults became a bit more hard hitting, his glares a bit fiercer, and this year every time their fights became physical, it was also the Mutt who escalated things. This year, Jou’s punches landed every time. What had been sloppy strikes and haphazard blocks the previous year had become precise, efficient, and painful. It was as if the blonde had been holding back before and now he was serious about hurting Seto. Sick as it was, Seto didn’t mind Jou winning. He would take what he could get.

As Spring came and the days began to get warmer, Seto noticed that there was something seriously wrong with the Mutt. Normally a sunny day was all it took to put a smile on the Mutt’s face. For three years, Seto had watched Jou stare out the classroom window with longing in his eyes on every sunny day. The Mutt was always the first out the door, as if the sunlight was the blonde’s drug of choice and he was desperate for another fix. As their last Spring at Domino High School bloomed, Jou became depressed and withdrawn, pouring over books and papers during class rather than sleeping or staring out the window.

Seto was appalled by how long it took the Mutt’s friends to notice. Honda tried to cheer Jou up by introducing him to girls. Seto allowed himself a real smile when he saw the Mutt roll his eyes as Honda hurried up to him with two girls from the Junior class in tow. Honda wasn’t easily discouraged, though. “Come on Jou, it’s the hottest club in town! It’s all my treat, you’ll have a great time!”

“For the last time,” Jou muttered, “It ain’t gonna happen. I’ve got work tonight and I’ve got to get to the library. I’ve got research I’ve gotta do, and if I don’t finish my homework, my boss’s wife will make me sit at her kitchen table until it’s done.”

So that was why the Mutt’s grades had turned around this year, Seto realized happily. He knew, from innocently searching through school records when he was testing the school district’s network security, that the blonde had struggled to maintain a high C average throughout his first three years of school. Seto had wondered why he didn’t just quit and look into vocational training, but this year Jou was holding down an A in every single class. If the Mutt managed perfect scores for the year, he would graduate with a B average.

“Man, you’re always in the library or at work! You know, if you would just tell us what this big research project is, we could help you get it done in no time! Come out with us, a break will do you good!”

“Honda, this is important,” said Jou seriously, “And it’s something I’ve got to do on my own.”

“Fine. If you change your mind about hanging out this weekend, give me a call, okay?”

“Yeah, I will.”

“You’re going to be a Yugi’s for movies on Saturday, right?”

“Ah, not this time. I already told Yug’ I wouldn’t be able to make it this week. I’ve gotta go, Honda.”

Seto watched as Jou slung his backpack over his shoulder and hurried off through the halls, heading for the school library. He really should have left. He should be heading to Kaiba Corp. The blue prints for Kaiba Land were supposed to be done, and he was eager to get a feel for how the new dueling platforms would look in the Kaiba Dome. He had been thinking of ways to make the holograms more realistic and he wanted to start incorporating some environmental controls into the platforms. But, instead, he found his feet guiding him towards the school library.

He slipped inside quietly and scanned the tables near the door for Jou. The blonde was standing at the counter, talking with the librarian. Seto hurried down the isle of shelves near the desk, stopping when he was close enough to hear the Mutt’s voice.

“No, I really do appreciate it. I know it costs a lot to print them all out for me.”

“Oh, it’s alright. Honestly, I had never even used to the program before, so it was nice to learn about the different resources available. I’m afraid I felt a bit behind the times when I had to call the Tokyo University help desk, so this has been a great chance for us both to learn something.”

“Well, thank you. With any luck, this should be the last of it.”

“If you’re going to read them here, you can pay me back by watching the desk. I’ve got to go supervise detention until four.”

“I’ll be here till closing,” Jou promised, taking the stack of papers to a table near the main desk.

“Great! You’re a life saver, Jou.”

The old librarian grabbed a stack of papers and left the otherwise empty library. Seto watched Jou skim the articles, then watched as the Mutt started taking notes from them. He stood behind the shelves watching the blonde for nearly half an hour. The Jou set the article down and stretched, just as he always did, with his arms high over his head and his chest and abs straining over his arching back. The sight always made Seto’s breath catch in his throat.

A younger boy wandered in aimlessly. He slowly made his way to the desk, looking from side to side in hopes that the librarian might notice him.

“What’s up?” Jou asked, jumping up from the table.

“Ah… Is the librarian around? I’ve got some stuff that’s overdue….”

Jou vaulted over the desk and typed a few commands on the computer. “I’ll check them in for you.” The boy handed Jou the books and watched as Jou scanned them, magnetized them, and put them on a cart. After a few more key strokes, Jou glanced up at the boy, “You’ve still got one more overdue. You don’t have any fines yet, but you will if it’s not back by Tuesday.”

“Hu? What book?”

Seto watched as Jou turned the computer monitor so the boy could see the title.

“But I returned that one! I know I did. I wanted to check it out again last week, but the lady wouldn’t let me until I brought these back!”

“Hu… Was it on the shelf?”

“Yeah, I’ll show you!”

Jou followed the younger boy towards the back corner of the library.

Seto couldn’t believe his luck. He hurried out of his hiding spot between the shelves and walked towards Jou’s table, making as little noise as possible on the thin carpet.

He grabbed the stack of articles and skimmed the top page quickly. Jou was reading an article from a medical journal on liver damage and alcoholism. Seto flipped through the pages and found another article on alcoholism and blood clotting disorders. Jou’s open notebook contained pages of detailed descriptions of symptoms associated with liver failure, and a note about the few treatment options that existed beyond a liver transplant. At the bottom of the page was a note, written in someone else’s handwriting, that said that jaundice was a symptom of advanced liver failure, and was often followed by rapidly by confusion, coma, and death.

“No, no,” Jou’s voice came from the shelves, “It’s not even late enough for a fine yet, but they would waive the fine if it were.” Jou emerged from the shelves carrying a slim volume in his right hand. The boy was right behind him. Jou spotted Seto and froze. The flash of rage that burned in the Mutt’s eyes was almost frightening. “Do you want to check it out again?” Jou asked, heading to the desk.

“No, but thank you. I’m just glad we found it. My mom would kill me if I had to ask her for money to replace it.”

“Sure.” Jou returned to the desk, checked the book back in, and added it to the cart with the others. Jou stayed behind the desk and watched the boy walk out. When the door shut behind him, Jou vaulted over the desk, ripped the article out of Seto’s hand, and shoved him away from the table. “Get your hands off my stuff, asshole!”

“As if I’d believe this is yours! There are no pictures, so I’m afraid this might be a bit advanced for you.”

Jou glared at him and quickly began to shove his books and papers back into his back pack.

“Yeah, figures that you wouldn’t be able to come up with something. Now you’re just going to run away and whine about your second grade reading level like the stupid little coward you’ve always been!”

“Don’t push me right now, Kaiba!”

“Or what? You going to growl and bare your teeth? That’s why they don’t allow dogs inside public facilities, you know…”

Seto was expecting a punch. He was ready for a punch. He brought his hands up to block what should have been a punch. When Jou dropped his back pack and lunged at him, Seto found himself flying towards the floor. The only thing he could do was grab on to Jou’s wrists and pull the other boy down with him.

He scrambled for leverage, but Jou’s legs held his own locked into place. He had a hold of Jou’s wrists, but Jou’s fingers were wrapped his neck, cutting off his air flow and shaking his head up and down, moving with a fury that Seto hadn’t seen in him before. Seto forced down his panic when he couldn’t draw in a breath. He let go of Jou’s wrists and brought his hands up under Jou’s arms. He shoved one finger into the jugular notch in Jou’s neck and waited. As soon as the pain from the deep pressure point forced Jou to loosen his grip, Seto grabbed his arms and flipped Jou over, pinning him down with the efficiency of years of martial arts training. Before he could lock Jou’s legs beneath him, Jou used their momentum to flip Seto back onto the floor. Seto tried to get control of the situation, but Jou was perfectly balanced on top of him.

Seto stopped struggling for a moment, hoping that if he calmed down, Jou might see reason. He looked up to find Jou’s cinnamon colored eyes staring down at him, but the rage that had been in his eyes a moment before was gone. The Mutt crushed his lips against Seto’s, kissing him with just as much energy as he’d used to try and strangle him. Seto stopped fighting for a moment and relished the feel and taste of the other boy’s lips. As he felt Jou shift to get a better angle, Seto moved.

He grabbed Jou’s wrists again and rolled over so he was on top of Jou. He didn’t pull away from the other boy until he was sure he had Jou pinned. “You shouldn’t get your hopes up, Mutt!”

Seto stared down at the enraged blonde for a moment. He was planning on shoving himself off the mongrel and storming out of the library. He really was. But Jou’s lips were right there in front of him. He kissed the Mutt, forcing the other boy’s mouth open so he could delve inside. Jou’s tongue battled with his, as though Jou were torn between trying to push Seto’s tongue out and trying to swallow Seto whole. He didn’t dare relax his grip in case Jou decided to end their kiss, so he moved Jou’s arms over his head so he could hold them both in place with one hand. He ran his other hand down Jou’s side, over his hips, and over his bulging erection. He stroked Jou firmly, then wiggled his hand beneath the other boy to squeeze the ass he’d been drooling over for the last year and a half.

Jou’s wiggled, grinding his hips into Seto’s. At the same time, he wrenched one of his arms free. Seto felt Jou’s hand slip down, trailing over the buttons of his shirt until strong fingers slipped inside his waistband. The tips of Jou’s fingers stroked the head of Seto’s own rigid cock, making his whole body shutter and spasm.

The latch of the library door sounded like an alarm clock in Seto’s brain. He rolled off Jou and glanced up in time to see the librarian, staring down at the stack of papers in her hand, stroll through the door.

“You hit me after that and I’m going to fucking kill you, rich boy,” Jou whispered, adjusting the waist band of his own pants so his erection was less obvious.

“Jounouchi?” The librarian glanced up towards Jou’s table, concerned.

It was time to sound as annoyed as possible. “It’s right here…” Seto adjusted his clothing, unclasped his own titanium watch discretely and climbed to his feet. “I told you that it just got knocked on the floor.” He tossed the watch at Jounouchi, who caught it despite the stunned and flushed looked on his face. “You really need to take better care of your things.” Seto strode out, not even glancing at the librarian on his way by.

He hurried out of the library, buttoning his suit jacket as he went. He hurried towards the main hall way, stepped to the side, and waited for Jou. The Mutt wasn’t far behind him. Jou came jogging passed, holding Seto’s watch in one hand and his backpack in the other. Seto grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop when Jou nearly ran passed him.

“We need to talk,” said Seto gently, dragging the Mutt into the bathroom across the hall. Seto tossed Jou inside the bathroom, pushed the door shut and spun the Mutt around, pinning him against the door. “This never happened,” he insisted.

“Don’t you mean that never—“

Seto made a mental note to let Jou finish talking next time. For now, though, he was determined to make the most of his chance to actually kiss the blonde. Kiss, lick, bite, squeeze, and nibble on the blonde, anyway. He wrapped his tongue around Jou’s then licked his lips, kissed his way along Jou’s jaw until he reached his ear, then began working his way down Jou’s neck. He held Jou close, touching every inch of the blonde.

“Got it, this…” Jou moaned as Seto ground his hips against Jou’s. “If this isn’t happening, maybe it should not happen somewhere else?”

Seto growled and bit a salty section of skin above Jou’s collar bone. The moan that escape from Jou’s throat nearly made Seto come in his pants.

“And you call me a dog,” Jou chuckled.

Seto chuckled silently. He unbuttoned Jou’s pants and pushed them down over Jou’s hips. “Well, you did practically start humping my leg back there…”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Jou grabbed his pants. “Slow down there.”

Seto stared at Jou for a moment, first at his eyes, then at the way his cock strained against his briefs. “You can’t tell me you don’t want to…”

“I really do, but not like this.”

The pained look on Jou’s face was the sobering influence that Seto needed. “Fuck. Look Mutt, this… This can’t turn into anything. You’re so hot that it hurts to look at you, but if this happens, it has to be a one-time thing. We’re from different worlds and you know it, and if this got around, it would ruin us both.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Jou leaned his head back against the door and looked at the ceiling. He was avoiding Seto’s eyes. “I just don’t want… Just not like this…”

“Oh, I think you do,” said Seto, dropping his voice as low as he could manage without sounding stupid. He placed both of his hands on Jou’s hips, dipped his fingers beneath the elastic of Jou’s briefs, and slipped them down, freeing Jou’s erection.

“I do not want my first time to be with a heartless asshole who’s only going to use it to torture me after, and not in the damn school bathroom!”

Jou’s first time. Something inside Seto tried to force his stoic mask aside so he could smile and cheer. He managed to turn it into a sneer. “I will not use it to…” Then Seto honestly thought about it. “Alright, so that first point has some merit. But what do you expect? You don’t strike me as the type who’d go in for a dozen roses and a candle lit dinner. Do you think I’d be interested in you if I wanted some whinny girl?”

Seeing the look on Jou’s face, Seto knew he had to act quickly otherwise the other really would say no. He dropped to his knees and took swallowed Jou’s erection without warning. He sucked the tip of Jou’s cock into his throat, sucked for a moment, then withdrew and worked his tongue around the tip. The strangled gasps he coaxed out of the Mutt were enough to convince him that he could do this all day. It didn’t take long for Jou’s entire body to tense and for the gasps to turn into desperate whimpers. Seto pulled away and finished Jou with two quick, firm strokes, letting Jou cum in his hand.

“Oh damn, Kaiba, ‘dat was… Damn.”

Seto rubbed the head of Jou’s cock again, trying to memorize the way the Mutt’s whole body shuddered with each gentle brush of Seto’s thumb. Seto rocked himself to his feet and claimed Jou’s lips again, pressing him back against the door and forcing his way inside Jou’s delicious mouth. He trailed his slick hand down the length of Jou’s cock, stroked his sac lightly, then reached back more. Jou’s limp body tensed and arched as Seto reached a single finger inside the blonde’s body. Muscles clenched around his finger. Seto couldn’t help panting as he imagined how tight the blonde would feel once Seto’s cock was buried inside of him.

“Shh, it’s alright,” Seto whispered. “Just relax. Take a deep breath and relax. I swear you’ll enjoy it.”

“And afterwards you’ll be gone and tomorrow you’ll still be an asshole…”

Seto withdrew his finger and stepped away. He managed to turn the Mutt on, but the Mutt didn’t want this. He wasn’t very good at resisting, but he was resisting. The world felt like it was crumbling around him. “You’re right.”

Jou shut his eyes and swallowed hard. “The fact that we….”

“Want to fuck each other raw?” Seto suggested, when the Mutt seemed to be at a loss for words.

“Gods, you are such an asshole!”

Seto tried to smirk, but at the moment he couldn’t seem to hide anything, including how much he enjoyed winding the blonde up. The grin on his face had to look stupid. It seemed to catch Jou off guard. Jou stared at him for a moment, his head tilted as if trying to analyze Seto’s expression, then he laughed. Seto found himself laughing, too. He didn’t even mind when Jou pulled him close and leaned his forehead against Seto’s shoulder, holding him as they both laughed.

“It doesn’t change the fact that we’re still going to hate each tomorrow. Hell, we might hate each other ten minutes from now. And we’re in the middle of the friggin’ bathroom.”

Seto didn’t realize how much he deflated until Jou had to lift up his chin to get his attention. “I…” Jou swallowed audibly. “I don’t mind… You know… I wouldn’t mind, well, returning the favor, sort of thing…”

Seto didn’t fight when Jou grabbed his jacket and spun them around, pushing him against the door to the bathroom. Jou fumbled with Seto’s zipper for a moment then pulled his quickly returning erection into the cool bathroom air. Jou sank down, hesitated for a moment, then licked Seto from the base of his cock to the head, twirling his tongue around the sensitive tip before taking Seto’s entire cock into his mouth. Seto couldn’t take his eyes off of Jou as his lips moved up and down Seto’s length, his eyes almost shut. Seto wanted to memorize the scene before him, wanted to engrave it in his mind so that he would be able to recall it every time he looked at the blonde. Hesitantly, Seto ran his fingers through Jou’s golden hair, massaging the Mutt’s scalp and holding him still while Seto gently thrust into his mouth. When Jou relaxed his throat and swallowed him completely, Seto couldn’t stand it anymore.

He felt the tension starting in his stomach and only had a moment to pull away before he exploded into Jou’s mouth. To his surprise, Jou grabbed his hips and pulled him deeper, increasing the suction in a maddening rhythm just as Seto came. Jou sucked down every drop of Seto’s cum, his tongue lapping at the sensitive tip over and over again. Seto almost let out the scream that roared through him, but he managed to keep his mouth shut as he rode out the last tremors of his orgasm, still encased in Jou’s mouth. When his panting slowed down, Jou gave him one last lick and then stood up, a satisfied smile on his face.

Through the happy daze, Seto couldn’t think of anything horrible to say. He zipped up his pants, grabbed Jou’s collar and pulled him close, crushing the smaller boy’s body against him and holding him in place with an iron grip. He sunk down against the door, pulling Jou down into his lap and wrapping both arms tightly around the Mutt to make sure he didn’t get away. Jou squirmed a bit, but finally settled and laid his head against Seto’s chest. Seto couldn’t help but notice that the Mutt fit in his arms perfectly.

After a moment, Jou tried to pull away from him. Seto tightened his grip.

“Kaiba,” Jou sighed, “I really do need to get ta work.”

Seto smiled down at the Mutt. “You just stole my normal escape route, you know. That desperate to get away from me?”

Jou smiled. “Oddly, no. But I have a project I’ve been working on for most of the year, and my boss is having some supplies and hardware delivered today.”

“I think we need to talk first,” said Seto, still holding Jou tight. “We’re agreed about this thing, right? It was a one-time thing. You still hate me, I still hate you, you tell the press and I get to hunt you down and flay you alive.”

Jou laughed. “You know, with that smile on your face all of the comments that normally make you sound like an asshole are kind of funny. Well, look at that….” Jou pulled away slightly and turned to face Seto head on. “You’re blushing! After all that, you blush when I say that you’re funny? What the hell?”

“I was being completely serious,” Seto insisted.

“You’re still smiling…” Jou looked like he was about to gloat, but he shook his head. “Look, I know what something like this getting out would do. Your reputation might never recover. Your sales would drop, your stock would fall, and DFS would probably take your brother away from you—or try to, I suppose.” Seto felt his smile fading as Jou spoke. “I wouldn’t put you through something like ‘dat. But it’s a two way street. You’ve got more to lose than me, but if this were to get out, odds are some old fuck down my street would try to pimp me out, or the assholes I left behind in the gang would finally have an excuse to slit my throat.” Seto’s arms tightened around Jou at the thought of someone forcing him to walk the streets or hurting him because they had been together.

“So, yeah,” Jou peeled himself out of Seto’s arms and held out his hand to help Seto up. Reluctantly, Seto took it. “You still hate me. I still hate you. You’re still going to be an asshole and I’m still going to kick your ass for it. This can never happen again.”

“Agreed,” said Seto, dusting himself off. He reached for the door, but just for the hell of it grabbed Jou by the back of the neck and pulled him in for one last, lingering kiss. “That was just a slip,” he muttered, when the blonde was panting heavily again. “Never again.”

“Would you get the hell out of here before I jump you!”

“You mean if I stay you will jump me? I really want to be on top, but I’ll take what I can get.”

“Go! Wait! Really?”

“No, this was a one-time thing. You’re not the brightest Mutt in the world, you know.” Seto left, strolling out of the school building and being very, very careful not to look back. Even after six hours of burying himself in blue prints, though, Seto couldn’t manage to force his smile to stay away for long.