No pain, no gain

Title: No pain, no gain.
Author: Drachenaugen
Rating: NC - 17
Pairing (s): J/S
Beta:Daisey (a.k.a. Puppyuke)
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: Neither YGO nor its characters belong to me.

Summary: In the process of helping your loved ones, sometimes, it may cause them pain. But, in the end, such pain will only show that you truly care.


~Author’s Note~
This happens to be my very first lemon ever so I hope you enjoy it ;3


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Cold and lonely. Those were the words that best described how Jounouchi felt in the bed he was currently lying in.

‘Don’t forget, stupid, you brought this on yourself, added a bothersome, know-it-all voice in his head.

Fine, he wouldn’t deny it, He felt stupid, too. The blonde sighed as he turned in one of the many guest room beds that could be found in Kaiba’s mansion, where Jou had been living for the past year. He still remembered how happy he had felt the summer prior; he’d just graduated high school when he had moved in. He also had fond memories of his last day of class. Before the graduation ceremony, he had approached Seto, his long time crush, and had told him how he really felt, figuring that rejection would be better than the regret he would have felt if he never told the brunette the truth. Overcoming the pain of not seeing the other boy again would at least be easier if he didn’t feel like a coward who had never spoken his mind. To Jounouchi’s delight, the CEO had stopped him when, after enduring the other’s silence and thinking it was hopeless, Jounouchi had turned to leave. Kaiba had lost no time in admonishing him not only for being a mutt, but for having the worst timing. Before he could retort, the brunette had already pulled out one of his business cards and was quickly writing his cell phone number on its back. Handing it to Jounouchi, he informed him that he’d be out of the country on business for the next couple of weeks, but that if he was still interested when he got back, he could call him at night after work. The rest was history, and even though everything had happened so fast, the blond duelist had never regretted it.

Coming back to reality and looking around the classy but Seto-less room, Jou couldn’t say he didn’t regret the past twenty-four hours. At first, he thought that his boyfriend was overreacting; after all, it had only been a well intentioned comment to cheer him up. But later, after thinking it over for more than five minutes, Jou realized how it could have affected Seto so much.

The whole matter had started some weeks back when Seto, after much convincing from both Jounouchi and Mokuba, had agreed to join them and the ‘geek-squad’ on a weekend trip to the beach. At first the blond had figured that such reluctance on his boyfriend’s part was born of his desire to avoid Yugi and the others, with whom, even to that day, he still didn’t get along well with. But on the second day there, when he and Seto had gone for a walk on the shore, the blond had accidentally stumbled upon the real reason. Jounouchi had suggested they go for a swim, insisting that the brunette hadn’t even gone into the water once since they’d arrived, and arguing that it was pointless to go to the beach if you didn’t at least go swimming one time. Seto had at once refused, and when Jou had insisted, going as far as to try and pull the other into the water by pulling at his arm, he had found himself on his ass, dumbly looking up at a very angry blue-eyed lover. Seto had shouted a few choice words about how bothersome the blond was being and had told him in no uncertain terms to ‘fuck off’ before hastily turning around and leaving a dumbfounded Jounouchi gaping at his back. Jou would have, on any other given occasion, run up to Seto and given him a piece of his mind, but the fact that his boyfriend had actually sworn at him - something that was usually considered undignified by the CEO - had caught him off guard. Yet the most surprising thing, and what had kept him rooted to the spot for several minutes, had been that glimpse, that second in time before the patented Kaiba glare had appeared, when he could have sworn he’d seen those blue eyes wild with what could only be described as fear.

When he’d returned to the hotel that night and confronted Seto about it, he’d managed, after lots of reassurance and patience, to get the brunette to explain his actions. As it turned out, when Seto had been a small child and Mokuba still hadn’t been born, his parents had taken him on a trip to the beach. As luck may have it, when he’d been splashing in the water, he hadn’t realized that he was going deeper into the sea, and an unexpected change in the current under his feet had pulled him under water. Being so small, the waves on top had retained him there, not allowing Seto to come out to breathe. His father had quickly rushed to him and pulled him out, but the harm had already been done. His first experience with deep water had scared him so much that he had refused to go back into anything more than a bathtub. His parents had wanted to get him to seek professional help, but soon after that, the incident lost all urgency, for his brother had been born and his mother had lost her life soon after giving birth.

Seto had told him to forget about it, that it wasn’t important, but Jounouchi’s mind had refused. For once, a situation where he truly could help his virtually ‘perfect’ boyfriend had appeared, and he wasn’t about to let it go. No matter what he’d tried, he hadn’t been able to convince the hard-headed CEO to go to a professional to help him beat his fear of water. The other had argued that the media would find out and have a field day with any weakness they could pin on him and, realizing that he was right, Jounouchi decided to take matters into his own hands. He began thoroughly investigating different fear management therapies through the Internet, making sure the sources were reliable as he didn’t want to scar Seto any more than he already was. With Mokuba’s help, he had managed to get Seto to agree to at least try it, as long as nobody else, least of all the ‘geek-squad’, found out. He had to give the brunette credit; if there was one thing Seto wasn’t, it was a coward. No matter what the situation, the boy wasn’t willing to let fear control him.

Their training had started in Kaiba’s own pool. As ironic as it was, the younger sibling happened to love swimming, and Seto had had a pool house built for him in the back yard, even though he had never even set foot in the room after it was finished. They had started off easy. Jou had read that the first and most important thing was trying to get the person to relax in the water by interacting with it slowly. The first couple of days they only sat by the pool with their legs dangling into the water. Slowly, they had started advancing down the steps on the shallow end, trying to make Seto stay in the water as long as he could tolerate it, which usually wasn’t more than 15 minutes on a good day. After weeks of this, the blond had finally managed to get the brunette in as far as his waistline, even if the other looked like a deer caught in the headlights. And, after soothingly coaxing him, Seto had even managed to dip his face into the water, just as they’d been practicing previously in the bathtub.

Even if they were taking baby steps with their progress, Jounouchi was happy with what they had accomplished so far, as well as extremely proud of his boyfriend. The truth was, as he guiltily admitted to only himself, that the blond was enjoying this experience very much. Being able to witness his usually overconfident, strong lover in such a vulnerable state strangely warmed Jounouchi’s heart; he was seeing something that nobody else had the privilege of seeing - not even Mokuba. Knowing that Seto trusted him to such a degree made him incredibly happy.

But then it had all went to hell in their last session, when he had tried to get the brunette to submerge his head completely under water. At first it seemed like he had managed it, but then he’d realized it had proven to be too much for Seto when the boy had shot out of the water sputtering and flailing wildly, making his escape from the pool as hastily as he could. Jou had chased after him, trying to calm the other down, and in a desperate attempt to distract him, he had made the stupid decision of trying to inject a little humor into his speech.

‘No, you didn’t look stupid, honestly. If anything, I’d compare you to a cute kitten jumping out of the water.’

He should have remembered that when feeling cornered, Seto lashed out with a vengeance. Thinking that Jou was ridiculing him, he’d blindly exaggerated the comment, accusing the blond of calling him a ‘scaredy cat’, and accompanying the strange burst of hysteria with colorful insults.

And thus, there he was, kicked out their room after almost losing his nose to a furiously shut door, sleeping in a guest room in nothing but a bathrobe as the brunet had refused to even let him in to get a change of clothes for the night. But damn it, he wasn’t ready to give up yet. He just couldn’t allow the first stone on the road to stop them; he wouldn’t let Seto be beaten by this, even if the brunette hated him for it. No matter what, he’d help his lover through.

Still, Jounouchi knew there was nothing he could do at that moment to help the situation or to calm the other’s wrath. With than in mind, and his hopes high, he turned off the light on the nightstand and went to sleep.

When morning came, Jou made his way to the bedroom he shared with Seto, only to find the door open and the room empty. He took the chance to go in and change before heading down to breakfast. When he finally walked into the kitchen, he found Seto reading the newspaper and having his usual coffee. Of course, the CEO paid no attention to him, completely ignoring him as he took a sip from the steaming mug.

Jounouchi sighed; he was going to need a lot of patience today. Walking up to the brunette, he tentatively put his arms around his shoulders. “G-morning, Dragon,” he said as he leaned down to peck the closest creamy white cheek. Seto turned his head the opposite way, avoiding the kiss. Not ready to pull away yet, the blond changed tactics.

“Hey now, don’ be like that. Come on, at least look at me. Listen, I’m really sorry; you know I didn’t mean to tease you. I was only trying to cheer you up”. He only received silence and a scowl. It seemed like he was going to have to beg this time. “Please, I’m really, -really- sorry. Don’t give me the silent treatment; you know it hurts me when you do that.”

“Maybe you should have thought of that when you ridiculed me.”

Well, at least that was better than silence. Jou was relieved. He pulled away slightly and searched his lover’s eyes. “You know I’d never do that. I already told you, I was trying to cheer you up. And yes,” he added the moment he saw the glare on the other’s face, “I know I didn’t use the best choice of words”.

Seto pulled away as he stood up, taking his now empty mug to the sink “Whatever. I’m not doing it anymore”.

Jounouchi wasn’t pleased to hear that at all. “What? Why?”

“Because it’s useless. It makes no difference if I can do it or not; it’s just a waste of my time.”

“And a hit to your ego, right? And you can glare at me until I’m six feet under, but that isn’t going to change that fact,” The blond retorted as he stepped in front of the door Seto was trying to make his way to, effectively cutting off his escape route. “You’re going to give up, just like that? Just because you had one little scare you’re going to run away from the problem?”

“It -isn’t- a problem. You’re the only one that thinks it is”. Seto pushed the blond to the side, only to have his arm caught by Jounouchi, stopping him yet again from leaving.

“Stop lying to yourself, Seto.”

“Enough! I’m tired of all this. Let go of my arm, Jounouchi!” But the blond didn’t.

“No, I won’t. Seto, please, don’t give up on all the progress you’ve made so far,” Jounouchi tried to reason desperately, “I can’t believe that you’d want to throw that away! It’s not like you!”

“What progress? I’m not any closer to swimming than I was before, you saw that yesterday! What more proof do you want? Do you want me to drown so you can understand that?!”

“God damn it, Seto! I wouldn’t let you drown! What kind of accusation is that?!” Exasperated now, the blond could see that the discussion was starting to get ugly. The last thing he wanted was to start fighting with Seto, especially with such a delicate subject. “Ok, fine. Let’s make a deal and give it one last try. If you feel that you really can’t do it anymore, we’ll stop, and I’ll never talk about it again.” Jou saw a glint of interest appear in those blue eyes. “-But- the deal hinges on the condition that you do everything I tell you to do… no refusing, no excuses, no getting out of the pool before I say so. Otherwise, I’ll keep insisting on this, Seto, I swear it.”

The taller male frowned, deep in thought, considering the blonde’s words and balancing his options. At last, he sighed and gave a small nod. “Fine, it’s a deal.”

Relief washed over the blond, and he told the other that they would get started in an hour, after his breakfast had settled. This displeased the brunette immensely, seeing as he hadn’t expected to be forced into the water so soon after the last incident. But Jounouchi insisted that the longer he waited, the worse it would be, as he’d only accumulate more stress. Annoyed, Seto had no choice but to agree to that as well, and with a grunt, he left for his home office, saying he’d be working until then, and warning Jou not to bother him in the meantime.

A little over an hour later, both teens stood beside the private pool. Jounouchi went in first, calmly advancing until he was in over his waist. He turned around and waited for his lover to follow him. After waiting futilely for a few moments he decided to try and coax the blue-eyed male.

“Come on in, Seto. You don’t have to hurry.” He extended his arms in Seto’s direction.“ Just try to make your way to where I am.”

The other grunted with annoyance.“ Stop talking to me like I’m a child already! I’m going in; I just need a minute, so stop hurrying me.” With a wary look in his eyes, Seto took a step forward. Dipping his foot into the water, he started to slowly descend the pool steps, and then made his way deeper in. After what seemed like an eternity to the brunet, Seto finally found himself standing in front of Jounouchi.

“Ok, you’re doing great so far! Now try to relax a little; start by stretching out you’re arms like we did before.” Stiffly, the brunette did as he was told, extending his arms forward and shakily opening his hands. “Good, now just move you arms a bit. Enjoy the feel of the water running through your fingers ”. As the other did this, Jou felt his heart clench; his lover’s breath was faster than usual, his muscles were visibly tense, and his fear was almost palpable. He knew he had to stay strong and push the other on, but it hurt him so badly to see his usually calm koi suffering like that, that he really wasn’t sure he’d be able to stand it for much longer. If he didn’t see some change in the other’s behavior soon, he’d just forget about it and call it quits.

“Alright, now slowly, start to move. Try turning around on the spot. Don’t worry, I’m hear to catch you. I won’t let you go under,” he assured the other when he received a worried glance. Again, Seto followed Jounouchi’s instructions obediently, intent on cooperating long enough to be able to finish the training session so that he’d never have to set a foot in water again. But, while he was finishing his first turn, he suddenly heard something crash behind him. Neither of them knew what had caused the sudden noise, but Seto, as tense as he was, gave a slight jump, losing his footing in the process. Desperate to not fall, he wildly stretched his arms out and managed to catch hold of Jou, tightly circling his arms around the other’s neck. The blond, shocked by both the noise and Seto’s unexpected reaction, couldn’t help but be caught in the momentum of the brunette’s movements; he was forced to take some steps backwards in order to regain his own balance, inevitably bringing his boyfriend and himself deeper into the pool.

“Stop! Don’t go in deeper!”, Jou tried to stop but he couldn’t help it, especially with the brunet cutting his air supply with the death grip around his neck. And to make matters worse, in a last, desperate attempt to feel safer, the brunette pulled his legs around his lover’s waist. Somehow Jou finally managed to regain his footing and stand still on the pool’s floor, the water now covering most of his chest. “Stop it! I don’t want to go any deeper!” The brunette, his face now hiding on Jou’s shoulder, repeated over and over again.

“Shhh, I’m not moving anymore. Calm down, Seto. Baby, it’s ok, ” Jou said in what he hoped was a calming tone while trying to soothe the other with circling motions on his back. Inwardly the blond cursed. He certainly hadn’t expected his last try at helping Seto overcome his fear to end up like this. His lover was shaking with fear, his arms choking his windpipe, his legs circling his waist, his wet body perfectly flush against his own, his groin rubbing just below his navel, his perfectly delectable, fine ass lined up with his…DAMN IT! That train of thoughts was –really- out of place right now! He needed to…

“Take me,… take me out of the water, Jou, please,” came the almost begging request just beside his ear.

Hot damn! Jou swallowed thickly, trying to think of ways to prevent the upcoming hard-on he’d be sporting soon. He was ashamed and angry with himself; he needed to calm the other down. How exactly was fucking Seto senseless, as tempting as the idea was, going to help his blue-eyed lover relax? Honey brown eyes widened, staring blindly, while their owner’s last thought repeated over and over again in his head. That -was- it!

“Jou!” The blond snapped out of his stupor. It was probably one of the craziest ideas he’d has ever come up with, not to mention somewhat stupid and considerably daring; If it didn’t work, Seto would never forgive him for it, but this was his last try, the last chance he’d get, and he had to give it his all, no matter the consequences.

“It’s ok, Seto. I’ll make it all better, I promise.” Turning sideways, he started walking to the closest edge of the pool. When Seto finally felt his back bump against the solid wall, relief washed over him, and he immediately tried to turn around in order to gain better leverage and climb out of that water filled nightmare. However, the firm grip of his puppy’s hands kept him in place. “Jou, let go!I can’t climb out like this.”

Not only did the blond not let go, but he lightly pressed his body forward, effectively pinning the taller male against the wall. “You don’t have to be scared anymore, Seto. You’re on safe ground, just give yourself a minute to calm down.”

“What?! I’ll do that when I’m out of this accursed pool, now let g…” Whatever his next words were, they got caught in his throat as he felt an all too familiar hardness poking him. Looking the other in the eye, Seto found that his shocked expression was countered with a calm and somewhat lustful one. Surprise quickly turned to anger. “You can not be serious! Are you out of your fucking mind?!”

“No, but ‘fucking’ is definitely –on- my mind.” The blond closed in on Seto’s lips, only to have the other avoid him and double his attempts to climb out of the dreaded pool. Not letting that stop him, Jou settled for attacking the pale neck now presented to him.

“You bastard!”

“Hmm, that’s not what you called me the other night…”

The brunette tried to push him away. “Stop that! Let go already! Why are you doing this?” the anger in his voice slowly started to mix with panic. Noting this, Jou took Seto’s face in one hand and gently turned it to look at him. “I’m doing it ‘cause I promised you I’d make it better, and that’s what I plan to do. Seto, you have to calm down. Please trust me; let me help you through this.”

“But I don’t want to be here, please. I can’t…I…” The brunette desperately tried to reason.

“Shhh, Dragon, it’s all right. Listen to me, have I ever let you down before?”

“No, but…”

“Well I won’t now, either.” The blond assured. “Please, let me do this… I swear I’ll make it better real soon, please.”

Shutting his eyes tightly, Seto was at a loss. He did trust Jou, and deep inside, under all that damned fear, he knew the blond honestly wanted to help, but like -that-? It didn’t matter if his body surrendered to his lover’s skilled touch on any other given occasion, but there, in that damned water hell he didn’t think it would work even if he tried. However, that fact didn’t seem to trouble his lover in the slightest he realized, as an enquiring tongue lightly skimmed over his bottom lip. Instinctively he granted the other access, but as the blond tried to coax him into a soft kiss, for the life in him, he couldn’t respond, not even when Jounouchi started rubbing his back and sides with light caresses. After a few moments of this, Seto felt Jounouchi pull back. Feeling slightly relieved at the prospect of finally leaving that pool forever, he opened his eyes, but what he saw instantly made his heart clench. Sad and disappointed honey brown eyes looked back at him, yet knowing Jounouchi, that disappointment probably wasn’t directed at the CEO. All along the blond had done everything in his power to help him overcome his fear of deep water, and now he probably felt defeated by his reaction. Making his mind up, Seto decided that if he couldn’t do it for himself, then he had to at least do it for all the effort his puppy had put into this. He wouldn’t have Jounouchi doubt himself anymore, especially not because of the brunette’s own actions. If there was anyone who could help Seto though this ‘problem’, he finally admitted, it was the male in front of him, and no one else.

Jou couldn’t help the sigh that escaped his lips as he averted his eyes, feeling as if he’d let his lover down. “I’m sorry, Seto, forg…” That was all he was able to say before a pair of hands grasped his cheeks and soft lips covered his mouth in what was a forceful if somewhat stiff kiss.

Shocked, the blond couldn’t help but stare at his lover. After a moment, he was able to pull away slightly. “Seto, wha…”

“You said you’d make it better, didn’t you? Then what are you waiting for?”

“Set, you’re trembling.” And that he was. Even if it was barely perceptible, the stress the blue eyed teen was under didn’t go unnoticed by Jounouchi. “You don’t have to put yourself through this anymore.”

“It doesn’t matter. Help me like you promised, Katsuya, because if it’s not you who does it, I won’t trust anyone else with this task.”

Jounouchi didn’t know what had brought this sudden change of heart, but he wasn’t about to question it further, not with the faith and determination that Seto’s tone carried. The blond could feel his heart soar again, and with his hopes renewed, his lust returned as well. Now he’d finish what he had started.

“Thanks, Set’. I swear, you won’t regret it.” With nothing more to add, Jou locked their lips into a loving, passionate kiss and continued where he had left off.

Closing his eyes, Seto concentrated all his attention on Jounouchi’s actions. Instead of the pressure of the water surrounding him, he focused on the firm body that was pinning him to the wall. The threatening noise of splashes was drowned by the throaty moans of his lover and the sweet nothings whispered against his lips. A warm tongue, the fiery touch of deft fingers, the heat grinding suggestively against his crotch, all widely surpassed the coldness of the.

Slowly yet surely, the brunette began to loose himself in the raw, tender passion that was Jounouchi Katsuya. Timidly at first, but with growing enthusiasm, every caress, kiss and moan was responded to, and when a wandering hand slipped into his swimsuit and found purchase on his cock, Seto could only let his head fall back helplessly, with an appreciative grunt of the blonde’s name.

Unabashed honey-brown eyes enjoyed the show before them. Watching Seto lose his reserve and leave layer after layer of self control behind was always a turn on, but there, with that glistening, wet, pale body, and those usually perfectly combed chocolate strands in disarray and sticking to the other’s skin, the scene could only be described as sinfully erotic. It took every ounce of control left in his body for Jou not to rip off those interfering clothes and take Seto right then and there.

Attacking the neck offered to him with teasing nips and sloppy, wet kisses, the blond released the hot member he had been fondling, earning a strained whimper from his koi. Instead, he let his hand travel to and across firm, round cheeks, giving one a squeeze before ending the journey in Seto’s cleft . Sucking along the delicate collarbone, Jou then descended further, raining butterfly kisses down the soft chest until he reached a dusky nipple. Teasingly, he started drawing circles around the rugged circle with his tongue, while his finger mimicked the same motion around the puckered entrance.

“Oh God, Jou!” Instinctively tightening his hold on the other’s broad shoulders, Seto snapped his head forward and rested it against the blond tresses in front of him. Not minding the extra pressure, Jounouchi kept working on the task at hand, suckling and nibbling the dark, pebbled peaks as a lone finger made its way inside the tight heat it knew so well. It didn’t take long before another two joined the first, and both nipples were equally harassed, their owner a fidgeting, mewling mass on the verge of insanity. Frustrated fingers pulled at the blonde’s hair, and Jounouchi suddenly found himself faced with a pair of desperate, lust glazed, blue gems.

“Stop teasing, already!”

Only too eager to comply, the blond made quick work of ridding them both of their swimsuits and grabbing Seto’s long legs, securing them around his waist. He then gifted the brunette with a cocky smirk.

“Someone’s eager, huh? You want this?” He emphasized his words with a teasing caress of his manhood against Seto’s opening. In return, the proud CEO only growled at him and tried to take matters into his own hands, attempting to move down onto the other’s shaft. However, the torso pinning him and the steady hands holding his hips in place prevented him from making his mark.

“Katsuya,” he warned.

Twirling his hips again, Jounouchi only insisted. “You gotta tell me how much you want it, Baby.”

Holding back a growl, the brunette cursed mentally. Pride be damned; Seto knew defeat on the rare occasions that he saw it. He really couldn’t be bothered with power games today. He would much rather get screwed senseless.

“God, I need it so damned bad, Jou. Give it to me -now-!” That sultry demand was all Jou needed, the blond himself unwilling to wait any longer, either. Spreading both butt cheeks, he swiftly drove home, making Seto give a loud cry as a reward. Without hesitating, he angled his hips to find the well-known bundle of nerves and set a steady, fast pace.

Round nails dug desperately into his back, but the pain didn’t matter. Seto could tear his skin into a bloody pulp and he still wouldn’t care. All that Jounouchi could think of was the warm heaven surrounding him so tightly. When he was sure that the brunette had his legs perfectly secure around him, he shifted one of his hands to between their bodies and started pumping his koi’s neglected member again.

Every ‘harder’, ‘faster’, ‘yes’, and ‘Jou’, became the chorus of a melody that echoed against the tall glass ceiling of the pool house and bounced right back into the blonde’s welcoming ears, while the throaty moans, mewls and gasps turned into the rhythm Jounouchi’s hips danced to. Before long, his movements became more erratic, bringing them closer to the edge with each passing second. Finally, one particularly well aimed thrust to the brunet’s prostate brought Seto to his climax, and he muffled his scream of release against Jounouchi’s shoulder. In turn, the increased friction provided by his lover’s passage clamping around his dick did it for the blond, and only a few moments later, he emptied himself into his lover with an animalistic growl.

Gasping wildly in an attempt to get some much needed air into his lungs, Seto rested his chin against his love’s shoulder, enjoying the nuzzling his neck received in return. Damn, he couldn’t think of anything better than this post coital high; it really was relaxing. Jou had truly ‘delivered’, as the other often liked to say. Smiling a little at that, he focused his gaze on the expanse of water that filled the pool. It didn’t look as threatening now as it had before, though it certainly didn’t seem friendly either. But with Jou’s help, maybe he would be able to leave that fear behind after all. It was one of the few things he hadn’t thought possible, he admitted, but now it didn’t seem like such an unreachable goal.

“Jou?” The aforementioned mumbled something unintelligible in acknowledgement. “I’m not giving up on this anymore.”

At that, Jounouchi pulled back to look him in the eyes, “For real? Set’, that’s great!” He hugged the other tight and gave him a soft kiss. “I know you can do it; you just have to keep at it,” he said with excitement.

“Alright, alright… But right now I’ve had my share of deep water for the day, and my skin is wrinkling. Help me out already, and then go fetch my swimsuit. Who knows where you left it.”

Smiling, Jou helped the brunette out of the pool and left him sitting on the edge. If Seto was being his old bossy self again, Jou thought as he spotted their suits, then he really had managed to make a change in him.

Seto watched as the blond dove into the pool to get the clothes that had sunk to the bottom, and then turned cautiously to see that nobody decided to come looking for them whilst he was just sitting there naked. As he did this, he spotted one of the loungers that had tipped onto its side, and he realized that that must have caused the noise which had startled him earlier. It must have closed in on itself, and it was a good thing it had, he reflected. Jou really was a lucky mutt; things had played out in his favor only by chance. But in the end, it had worked out for the best for both of them. Yet, Seto reflected, he couldn’t help but think that he was the luckier one- not for finding a possible solution to his long lived fear, but for having been paired with a partner that truly cared for him, and would do anything for him.

“Seto?”

“Huh?” The brunette turned to see his pup looking at him quizzically, with his swimsuit in his hand.

“I was calling you, but you weren’t answering. You ok?”

Grabbing the trunks and pulling them on, the CEO stood up. “Of course. I was just thinking.” He stretched out his hand and helped the blond out of the pool. “Now come on, we both need a shower. I’ll wash your hair just like you like it.”

“Is that a reward?” the blond teased.

“Of course. Good puppies deserve treats.”

With that, they made their way to the door, but before they could walk out Seto grabbed the blonde’s hand, stopping him. “Jou?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for caring so much.”

“Any time, Love, any time”

-~ THE END ~