Voids

Honda rushed home, hoping his parents would go easy on him for being late.

He ran through the door, and straight for the table were his mother already had dinner set.

"So he finally decides to join us?! Where the hell have you been?!" his father scolded.

"Sorry, I had a few things..."

"Yea, a few things to do here, remember? I told you to come home..."

"I know! I said I'm sorry!" he snapped. He started to rush through his meal until he noticed his parents just staring at him then realized he had made a big mistake. Back talking, I'm screwed!

"What's the rush for anyway, Hiroto? You act like you have somewhere to be." his mother said stiffly.

"I-I do... I mean... I did..." he choked.

"Well, I'd like to know what's so important you disobeyed and back talked us." all Honda needed was to have his father asking twenty questions about this "date".

Think Hiroto! Tell them it's a date, they'll ask with who! he had lost his appitite, pushed his plate aside, and slumped back into the chair.

"Hiroto? Do you feel ok?" his mother asked.

"No, I... I don't, but..."

"He will have plenty of time to rest it off, dear. He's not going anywhere for a while..."

"What?!" Honda jumped from his seat and ran to his father's side, falling to his knees. He must have looked pathetic, his father almost seemed sympathetic, "Please, I... this is important to me! I... I have a..."

"A what? Aside from a nervous break down..."

"A date." he had his face burried in his hands, affraid to look up. He waited for what seemed like eternity for one or both of his parents to say something, anything. He grew tired of waiting, and finally looked up.

They were smiling, a good sign, only problem:

"Really Hiroto?! That's wonderful!" his mother exclaimed as she took him in her arms, "No longer my little boy anymore..." The only other thing he was dreading more than this was the other problem:

"Who's the girl, kiddo?!"

Ah! Damn it!! I knew it!, "Is that really all that important? I mean, nothing may come of it, it's just a date!"

"I guess not..." his father started.

"Phew, than..."

"Unless it's some girl Katsuya may have..."

"Uh, no! I don't think he even knows her!", Shit! He's killing me here!, "I mean, how many girls does he know, honestly!"

"You mean aside from Anzu and that girl Mai, well, not even girl... she's not even in high school, is she Hiroto?" his mother asked.

"His sister..."

"Hiroto, your mother asked you a quest..."

"You forgot Shizuka is all..." Honda tried to avoid answering. As far as they were concerned, Mai just went to a different school.

"Hiroto, she's not in school, is she? She's at least in her early twenties..."

"Why does that matt..."

"What the hell would a girl that age be doing with a seventeen year old..."

"She goes to Rintanma! She just looks older and why would it matter anyway?!", Shit!! They're never going to let me go anywhere now! He waited again for what seemed like eternity for someone to say something, Come on! Even if you're going to ground me, say something!

"Rintanma? That explains it." was all his father could say and went back to his meal. His mother had finally calmed down as well.

"Well, I don't know... anyway, Hiroto's right, this isn't about Mai, who is a nice girl anyway, this is about my little..."

"Mom, please!"

"Ok, go!" she exclaimed, waving her hand at him.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you..." he started as he ran for the door.

"Hold up..." his father still had business with him.

This can't be good! Honda thought, trying to inch out the door.

"Eleven-thirty... and don't even think I am through with you yet!"

"Right! Yea! Thank you!", *Sweat Drop* Eleven-thirty?! Great! Still ganna let me go, but at the same time still ganna punish me!




"Nii-sama! What are you doing here..."

"I live here. Where's ojiisan?"

"What about that meet..." Mokuba was quickly taken aback when Seto grabbed his arm, then shook him enough to let him know he meant business, "Ow! Please! Nii-sa..."

"I asked you a ques..."

"Let go of him now, Seto! I'm right here!" Ojiisan was ready to snap. He didn't care how much in love Kaiba may be, it was no excuse for how he had been treating his little brother. To make matters worse, Kaiba wasn't letting go. Instead, he held tighter, stabbing Mokuba with his eyes. He seemed to be ignoring ojiisan completely.

"When I ask you a question, don't question me! Answer me!" a sudden, painful, sting across his cheek caused him to loosen his grip, allowing for Mokuba to escape. Ojiisan had clearly had enough.

"He is not one of your lackies to be pushed around, Kaiba Seto! He is your little brother! Need I remind you..."

"No! You needn't..." he snapped, only to be met with another quick slap.

"Enough! Are you that much in love you would try and push your only blood away?!"

...

Ojiisan could only guess from Kaiba's silence he either had no response for this, or was too stunned from having been struck.

"Listen to me boy, you obviously have a lot on your mind. You were looking for me, so please, are you at least going to talk to me? Bottling this up is not good! The way you have been treating Mokuba, and work, is one sign you are ready to burst! A bottle can only hold so much!" the old man watched the boy's eyes fill to bursting. Kaiba grabbed him and burried his face into his chest.

"I'm sorry, ojiisan! I'm sorry!" he cried.

"Now, now... I'm not the one you should be apologizing to, and you know it..."

"Ojiisan! A-a year! For a y-year, this has been haunt-haunting me! T-tourturing me even! Y-yes, you and Mo-kuba are right! I am in l-love! Very mu-much! And I fin-finally... I got what I have b-been longing for, and-and now that I have h-him..." Ojiisan pulled Kaiba from his chest, he wasn't sure he had heard right.

"Seto, I'm an old man. On top of your choking sobs, you were yelling into my chest! I don't think I heard you right. Please, would you mind..." Kaiba backed away and tried to gain back his composure. At the same time, ojiisan turned up his hearing-aid.

"I think you heard right. If you want to deny it, me even, I understand..."

"Don't be silly! I mean.. true, like I said, I'm an old man and somethings I will probably never understand..." he watched Kaiba's lip begin to twitch, and his eyes quickly welling up again. The old man took him back into his arms and allowed for his little Seto to cry it out some more, "Seto, you really love him, don't you?"

"Y-yes..."

"Does he love you?"

"I-I don-don't know... he's sup-supposed to come over to-tonight..."

"Well then. I'll see to it he knows where to find you..."

"Th-thank you, ojiisan..."

"Just one thing though..."

...

"Not your bedroom! Understand?"

"Sure thing! Oh, and please, ojiisan, I will apologize to Mokuba, I promise, but, please, don't say..."

"I won't tell him anything you don't want me to!"

"Thank you! I'll be out by the pool!" he darted for the back door, but ojiisan had one more jab up his sleeve.

"Wait, boy! One more thing, and I want you to think about this..."

"What?"

"I ever catch you treating Mokuba this way again, so help me... I've put you over my knee before, and damn it, I'll do it again! Understood?"

"Understood." he rolled his eyes and watched the old man slowly make his way toward the kitchen, Old man, you could barely lift me seven years ago, I'd love to see you try it now! he scoffed to himself. The last thing he needed was for ojiisan to hear him and prove he could do it.




Honda pulled up to the begining of the drive way and stopped dead. Cold feet? No. Affraid of blowing it? Not really. Affraid of Mokuba? Definatly!

There's no way he told Mokuba!

He quietly walked his bike to the front.

Big enough house. What are the odds Mokuba would answer the door?! Do they even answer their own door?! Shit! Without thinking, he reached for the bell, and thankfully, he was right; neither Mokuba or Seto answered. Instead, it was a kindly, older gentleman with a huge, rather out-of-place grin on his face.

"You must be Honda Hiroto-san?"

"Y-yea..."

"Seto has been expecting you, and no worries about Mokuba, I've sent him on an errand! Follow me!" Honda didn't want to be rude, and so said nothing, but this butler sent a Kaiba on an errand and calls Kaiba by his first name? Already this was too unreal.

The man led Honda down and back through the- what Honda incorrectly called a big house- mansion to the pool area where Kaiba was enjoying what must have been a freezing dip.

"Seto, the young man is here."

"Hiroto-chan! Care to join me?"

...!?

"I'll leave you two be... and Seto..."

"Yes, ojiisan?"

"Behave!" the old man shook his finger and smiled. Kaiba playfully- playfully?- splashed at him. He kicked back, bowed to Honda and took his leave.

"Ok, first off..." Honda began.

...?

"He's your ojiisan?!"

"Long story, for later maybe... second?"

"Second, Hiroto-chan?! In front of him?!"

"He's fine, Hiroto-chan! He knows! Is there a third?"

"Yea... you know he sent your brother on an errand? A Kaiba is sent out on the orders of..."

"Again, a story for later. Anymore?"

"Yea, one more; it can't be more than sixty degrees out here..." in response, Kaiba quickly jumped out enough to grab Honda's collar and pull him in. He splashed and kicked about, not amused.

"I'm fully clothed! And... and..."

"And?"

"It's like a bath in here!"

"This is more of a large jacuzzi than a pool. My foster father had a bad back you see..." he said as he slowly dipped under the water, quietly slithering toward Honda.

"That's not all that was bad about him..." Honda added under his breath, then noticed Kaiba had dissapeared, "Seto? Where'd you go?" he suddenly felt his feet slipping out from under him, with help, and down he went. The two boys jumped up and caught eachother around the waist.

"You're it!" Kaiba was like a little boy; playing tag? Splashing, laughing, having a ball. This was definatly a side of him Honda could have never imagined, and one no one would believe even if he wanted to tell.

"Hiroto-chan, we should go out later! What do you think?"

Out? Is he kidding... ok, he doesn't care who knows, well except Mokuba, but, I'm not so sure...

"Hiroto-chan? Are you alright?"

"Yea! I'm fine, but, I don't have a change of clothes..."

"You can borrow mine. We're about the same hight..."

Shit! One excuse down!, "Well, about earlier, I did get in trouble for not going home... my curfew was kicked back two hours... I have to be home at eleven-thirty..." Honda could tell this was all very foreign to his lover, having never had any real structure, he hadn't a clue.

"Ok, we don't have to go anywhere fancy. Just, out! Know of anywhere?"

"I do, but, well, you get the view everyday from your office, there would probably be no point in dragging you..."

"What kind of view? The only real view I get is my computer and desk! Take me? Please?"

"Ok, it's just from the mountian west of here..."

"You know, I've always wanted to go there..."

"Cut it out, Seto! You don't have to..."

"No, really! I've heard about it; I know most of the kids at school go there, and I have heard the view is spectacular! It should be pretty much deserted, being most everyone has gone to the country for the weekend, right? Take me?" Kaiba gave Honda puppy-dog eyes that about melted his heart. He really was just like a little kid. Honda figured it was most likely because he never really got to be one when he was one.

"Alright! Just... something dry to wear?"


tbc... Next: The DATE! YAY!