Nothing Compares
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Yu-Gi-Oh › Yaoi - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
1
Views:
1,330
Reviews:
4
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Yu-Gi-Oh › Yaoi - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
1
Views:
1,330
Reviews:
4
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own YuGiOh!, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Nothing Compares
Title: Nothing Compares (1/1)
Author: Mishiko Shinsei
Rating: NC - 17
Pairing(s): Various, Jou/Seto
Beta: Kayreena (my bff)
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.
Summary: I could put my arms round every boy I see but they'd only remind me of you. Slight AU. Written for A Dragon's Lair's Shocktober Scary Story Challenge. YGO take on the "Last Kiss" urban legend.
URL: http://www.snopes.com/horrors/techno/lastkiss.asp
February 5th
Can’t figure out why you make me beg
It had become somewhat routine for Honda, Anzu, Yami and Yugi to meet Jounouchi for dinner several times a week since Miho left. Most of the time, they get a secluded booth in the small fusion restaurant down the street from the game shop. Their conversations tend to range from the weather, to the latest Duel Monsters cards, to the latest fashions and dances. Always, they avoid the subject of Miho and the state of Jounouchi’s marriage.
At least they have until tonight.
Tonight, Jounouchi has spent the better part of the evening telling his friends about his grand plan to make sure Miho stayed with him once she cam back. Despite his friend’s misgivings, he refuses to even entertain the idea that Miho would leave him permanently.
“She’ll come back, Hon,” he insists to his best friend. “I just want her to know how much I love and cherish her when she does. That’s all.”
“Jou, we know how much you love her,” Anzu interjects. “And I’m sure she does too. But maybe you shouldn’t go so overboard with this.”
“Just in case things don’t work out as you expect,” Yugi adds.
“It’s just a few little gifts! I don’t see what the fuss is about!” Jounouchi snaps.
“A 500,000 yen diamond tennis bracelet, a 1,000,000 yen diamond ring, a 2,000,000 yen painting and 800,000 yen platinum and amethyst earrings aren’t ‘little’ gifts, Jou,” Yami notes somberly.
“What the fuck ever, Yami!” Jounouchi yells, standing abruptly. “Maybe you’re jealous because you can’t afford to do the same for the one you love!”
“Neither can you,” Yami scoffs with narrowed eyes. “Or did you forget that you had to get a loan to pay for the ring and that painting?”
“Fuck you!” Jounouchi snarls.
“Calm down!” Honda commands, pulling Jounouchi back down into his seat. “You’re acting like an idiot and making a scene.”
“She’ll be back! And then you’ll all eat your words!” Jounouchi growls.
“Maybe you’re right, Jou,” Anzu soothes, carefully placing a hand on his shoulder. “We’re just worried about you.”
“I’m fine,” he asserts, pulling away and crossing his arms angrily.
He can’t understand why his friends don’t want his marriage to work. Maybe they were all just lashing out at him because he married Miho in the first place.
‘Maybe they’re still angry about what I did to Honda,’ he muses, glancing at his best friend out of the corner of his eye.
Jounouchi hadn’t meant to hurt Honda when he and Miho eloped, but he truly loved Miho and couldn’t wait to make her his wife. True, he knew that Honda had been in love with Miho for the last two years of high school…
“I swear I didn’t mean to hurt you, Hiroto,” he mumbles, looking down at the table.
Honda frowns at the use of his first name, wondering what prompted the blonde to use it and what he means about hurting him.
“Hurt me? What are you talking about, Jou?” Honda prods.
“I mean when me and Miho ran off and got married. I swear I didn’t plan to hurt you by falling in love with her.”
Silence settles around the table for long moments.
This is the first time Jounouchi has mentioned his betrayal since he and Miho came back from the States two years ago. At that time, Jounouchi and Honda had settled their differences with a fight that put them both in the hospital, each nursing a different broken limb. They’d healed and gone back to being the best of friends and it was never spoken of again.
“Jou,” Honda begins quietly, “we’re not telling you to be careful because we’re mad about what happened back then. We’re telling you to be careful because we’re you’re friends and we worry about you.”
Jou looks up to worried and caring faces not seeing a hint of malice.
“Thanks guys,” he sighs in relief. “You’re the best.”
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March 3rd
Did he put your million-dollar check in someone else’s box?
“Jounouchi.”
“Jounouchi!”
“Jounouchi!!”
At the third repetition of his name, he lifts his preoccupied gaze from his blank computer screen to his boss, Mr. Nakamura, standing in his office doorway. It’s been almost two months since his promotion to Assistant General Manager Textile Technology and Development Operations, but he hasn’t gotten much work done lately.
Mainly because it’s been a little less than three weeks since Miho had the divorce papers sent to his office. They say that your life passes before your eyes before you die. No one ever talks about the same thing happening when you feel like dying.
Like Katsuya Jounouchi does right now. Even though he isn’t really the one at fault.
In early December, he had taken off early from work to surprise Miho with a night out on the town for an early birthday present, since he knew that he’d be away on business for her actual birthday that following week. His four-day trip with his boss to the manufacturing plant in Okinawa had been the basis for almost every fight they’d had for weeks. They’d even argued about it over breakfast that morning!
“M-Miho?” he had stuttered when he’d walked into his bedroom and found his wife straddling another man.
And not just any man, Bandit Keith of all people!
After a few moments of shock at the sight before him, anger had set in.
“W-What the hell is this?” he had screamed as his wife pulled the sheet over her naked form and slid off of the man beneath her to the other side of the bed.
“I know it’s been a long time, Jounouchi,” Bandit Keith had smirked knowingly, while Miho had guiltily looked away, “but I’m sure you know what two people having sex looks like.”
A white-hot rage had enveloped Jounouchi as he’d quickly pieced together why Miho had been turning down all of his intimate advances for the prior three months. He’d dove at Bandit Keith, intent on taking out all of his frustrations on the other man’s smug face. However, despite Jounouchi being a tough street fighter, the larger blonde had quickly proceeded to beat the crap out of him.
Miho had lovingly nursed him while he healed from the black-eye, sprained wrist, cracked rib and mild concussion, the latter of which had kept him from making that trip with his boss which had eventually led to the fight with Keith.
His wife had moved out ‘needing some space’ not long after.
“Yeah, boss,” Jounouchi acknowledges blankly, ripping himself away from his painful memories.
“What’s with you, Jounouchi?” Mr. Nakamura frowns. “I pulled you up with me when I got promoted to General Manager because I knew that you’d be great for the job and so I could have someone I trusted in the position. You were great for the first few weeks, but now…”
“Sorry, boss,” he looks away, still preoccupied.
“I need you to get it together, Jounouchi,” his boss admonishes sternly. “I’m working on several deals with new clients and I’ll need you at your best.”
“Yes, sir,” he promises quietly, eyes trained on a random spot on the floor.
Mr. Nakamura shakes his head and leaves the room, closing the door behind him.
Jounouchi drops his head to his arms; silent sobs wracking his body for the third time that week.
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May 10th
Why can’t I fly away in a special sky?
“She wasn’t like that before; sleeping around I mean. Before she lost the baby and we found out that…that…” Jounouchi trails off.
“Found out what,” Seto slurs, feeling some concern, but faking even more.
He doesn’t want to hear anymore about Jounouchi’s ‘darling Miho’. Frankly, he hopes that ‘darling Miho’ would die a slow, painful death for all that she’s put Jounouchi through.
He’d run into the blonde at tonight’s charity auction for the Domino City orphanage. Apparently, Jounouchi had donated several items that he’d purchased for his ex-wife in the hopes that she’d come back to him, some of them quite exquisite. He’d actually been fairly impressed by Jounouchi’s eye for beautiful treasures. Then again, nothing his secret love has done over the years has really surprised him, since the blonde’s history of unpredictability stretches back to their first year of high school.
Or nothing had until he’d run off with that adulterous bitch.
Beside him, Jounouchi sighs into his hands, bringing his mind back to the present and more of the blonde’s drunken prattle.
“When she was a child, she was in a car accident,” Jounouchi begins in a slurred mumble. “We found out that the accident badly scarred one of her ovaries and slightly damaged the other one. Her parents hadn’t mentioned it to her then because she was only seven at the time and over the years they just forgot about it. But that wasn’t too bad, because she could still get pregnant…” He trails off again.
“What happened, Katsuya?” Seto prods, the alcohol having loosened him up enough to give in to his desire to call Jounouchi by his first name.
He watches in concern as the blonde flops back heavily on the entertainment room's couch, running a shaky hand through his hair.
“I guess there’s no easy way to say this,” Jounouchi turns distraught eyes to Seto’s inquisitive face. “Basically, I’m shootin’ blanks, Seto. Her first pregnancy with me had been a long shot, given both of our reproductive handicaps. The docs said that it would most likely never happen again,” he sighs dejectedly, reaching for another shot to dull his pain more.
Further giving in to his desires, Seto wraps an arm around Jounouchi’s shoulders and pulls him close. He knows how much family means to the blonde and to be told that he can’t have kids would have been devastating. When Jounouchi begins clutching at his shirt and sobbing into his shoulder, Seto pulls the slim form into his lap and cradles him close.
“It will be alright, Katsuya,” he soothes, running a hand through soft blonde locks.
More than fifteen minutes pass before Jounouchi pulls away to the bathroom to wipe his face and relieve himself. Seto take the opportunity to head up to his room and change from his drenched shirt and rumpled suit, opting for a pair of pajama bottoms and a t-shirt instead.
“Sorry,” Jounouchi’s voice startles him as he’s pulling a t-shirt over his head. He turns swiftly to the blonde’s averted eyes, trying to remember when he’d shown the other his room before dismissing the thought with a shrug.
“That’s fine,” Seto sways a little, still feeling the effects of a bit too much alcohol.
He hadn’t meant to overdo it, but the more Jounouchi talked about his ex-wife, the more he needed to numb himself. Carefully making his way to his dresser, he pulls out a pair of pajama bottoms and a t-shirt and tosses them at the blonde.
“What’s this for,” Jounouchi murmurs drunkenly. Folding his arms across his chest, Seto raises an eyebrow authoritatively.
“It’s 2 am, my driver’s off for the night and neither of us is in any condition to get behind the wheel of a car. I live in a mansion practically by myself. I guarantee that there’s a guest room available.”
“Yeah. I guess you’re right,” Jounouchi chuckles lightly.
He heads into Seto’s bathroom to change. A few moments later, Seto hears muffled cursing followed by a startled yelp and a thud.
“Ow! Fuck!” Jounouchi swears loudly.
“Need help finding the arm holes in the shirt, Mutt?” Seto teases.
“Fuck you, Kaiba,” Jounouchi slurs vehemently.
Discarding his initial response, Seto laughs lightly.
“Seriously, Jou, are you okay?”
“M’fine,” Jounouchi mumbles. “I got my hair caught in my shirt buttons and then I bumped into the sink and tripped on my pants.”
Seto’s inebriated state allows him to laugh heartily at the mental picture the blonde’s description presents.
“Hey, it’s not that fuckin’ funny!” he yells through the door.
“Yes it is,” Seto snickers.
“Fuck, my ass hurts,” Jounouchi grumbles, stumbling out of the bathroom after changing into the borrowed sleepwear.
Discarding his first response yet again, Seto replies with, “Well a soft bed will help with that.”
Jounouchi pins him with an odd stare before looking away.
“I-I really don’t want to go to bed right now,” he confesses. “I guess I’m still too sober to forget that…Gods, it really fuckin’ hurts, Seto. I don’t know what I’m gonna do now. I mean I wanted to be with Miho so much that I didn’t care that it would really hurt Honda because he was in love with her. I didn’t care about not seeing or speaking to any of my friends, not even Yugi, for two years. That’s how much I love her.”
The brunet frowns at the blonde’s use of the present tense for explaining his feelings for Miho. Deciding that he can’t take talking about that woman in his bedroom, he suggests they go back down to the entertainment room.
After haphazardly cleaning up the various bottles of liquor, which in this case means dropping pretty much everything into the kitchen sink, both men settle back down on separate ends of the comfortable couch.
“So?” Seto prods after a tense few minutes.
“So…” Jounouchi replies quietly, but says nothing else.
Seto waits a few more minutes before grumbling, “Listen, Mutt, I’ve been up almost 24 hours, so if you don’t have anything to say…”
“Are you mad at me?” Jounouchi interrupts.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Seto runs a hand through his hair in frustration.
“You are mad at me,” he slurs, frowning. “You’re yelling.”
“I’m yelling because you’re pissing me off!”
“And you sat way over there,” the blonde mumbles in response.
Seto looks at the forlorn drunk incredulously before moving to sit practically on top of him.
“Better?” he grumbles, crossing his arms.
“I’m sorry,” Jounouchi whispers. “I know you didn’t plan to be nursemaid to a weepy drunk tonight.”
“Jou…”
“Maybe I should just go to bed,” he sighs sadly. “I’ve imposed on you enough.”
Hearing the honest pain in the smaller man’s voice proves too much for what remains of Seto’s shredded emotional control. Sliding his arms around Jounouchi’s trim waist, he arranges the blonde to sit straddling his longer legs.
“S-Seto…” Jounouchi stutters in shock.
“Shhh,” Seto commands quietly before placing a light kiss on Jounouchi’s lips.
“Seto…” he whispers, surprised by his unexpected attraction to the brunet.
In moments, hesitant pecks have grown into passionate tongue kisses as both men give in to their unchecked desire. Seto revels in the expanse of smooth skin beneath the blonde’s borrowed t-shirt and the silk of the smaller man’s hair as he clutches it in his hand. Jounouchi feels himself melt against the brunet’s broad chest, stunned by the depth of his feelings from being practically devoured by the usually reserved CEO.
“Katsuya…” Seto moans, crushing the blonde against him, rubbing his own need against Jounouchi’s prominent arousal.
Jounouchi gasps and shudders as if hit with an electric shock, tossing his head back and clutching tighter at Seto’s shoulders. The entire encounter is completely new to him and he’s overwhelmed with the sensations he’s experiencing. There on Seto’s couch is the first time he’s ever felt attracted to a man, his first kiss with a man and, if Seto keeps up what he’s doing between their legs, his first orgasm with a man.
To his delight and immense satisfaction, Seto continues to grind against him while nipping lightly at his neck, bringing them both to powerful climaxes a few minutes later.
Jounouchi’s next clear memory is waking up naked in Seto’s bed, wrapped in a protective embrace. A little reluctantly he slips away to the bathroom for relief and a shower. He’s just finished rinsing off when Seto calls to him through the bathroom door, informing him that he’s put on a pot of coffee, that the cook will have breakfast ready in about 10 minutes and that he’s laid something of Mokuba’s out for him to wear since the slightly shorter Kaiba and he are of similar builds.
After drying off and dressing in a borrowed pair of Seto’s underwear, a comfortable pair of Mokuba’s jeans and a loose t-shirt, Jounouchi heads down to the kitchen to see what the cook has made for Sunday morning breakfast. A freshly showered Seto greets him with a smile from a dark blue robe and dark blue lounging pants. Jounouchi fumbles to supply either a smile or a greeting in return.
In the harsh light of sobriety, the blonde finds himself sad and confused.
After all, he’s still reeling from Miho leaving and then divorcing him and he has no idea what to make of what happened between him and Seto last night. Though they didn’t actually do more than heavy petting, Jounouchi doesn’t understand how things even got that far, considering how upset he is about the break-up of his marriage.
And having Seto continue to gaze fondly at him is unnerving to say the least.
“Jou?” Seto’s inquiring voice cuts into his musings, “Are you alright?”
He’s not sure if it’s the honest concern in Seto’s voice which he’s missed from Miho since before the beginning of the year or if it’s just that he’s still a little freaked out about what happened last night, but all of a sudden the blonde finds himself sobbing into his coffee. A few moments later he and Seto are back on the couch in the entertainment room, Jounouchi cuddled in Seto’s lap again as he calms down.
Returning from the bathroom after having gone to wipe his face, Jounouchi allows himself to be cradled in the CEO’s lap, the brunet’s strong arms encircling his waist. A light kiss to Jounouchi’s forehead is followed by a starling admission.
“I love you,” Seto whispers shakily, knowing that he could be ruining everything, but unwilling to keep silent any longer. “I’ve loved you since before you ran off with that bitch.”
His only reply is Jounouchi’s open mouth and wide-eyed stare.
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May 25th
Wheels get locked in place
He’s avoided Seto for weeks, every since the brunet’s unexpected confession.
“I love you. I’ve loved you since before you ran off with that bitch.”
Jounouchi shakes his head, unsuccessfully trying to make the words and the feelings they invoke go away. Again.
He’s never thought of Seto like that. Hell, until Mokuba started going out with Shizuka last year, they hadn’t spoken since graduation! And even then it had been strained!
To find out how the brunet’s really felt all these years…
And those newly discovered feelings of Seto’s are affecting him stronger than he could have imagined.
He’d called his sister when he got home that afternoon following his and Seto’s impromptu make-out session and blabbed about everything that happened, too shell-shocked to exercise any censorship over his words. The 17 year-old princess of his heart had shocked him even further with her reply.
“So, are you two going out now?” she’d asked casually, as if it didn’t matter that her supposedly straight brother had been this close to drunkenly fucking her boyfriend’s parental figure.
Surprisingly, he’d been unable to say, “No,” which is what lead to his avoiding Seto altogether.
“I can’t run forever,” he sighs, hopping in his car after changing from work and heading to the mansion.
Seto is quite relived to see him and doesn’t bother to hide that from his face when the blonde enters his study after the butler escorts him in.
“I thought I’d scared you off,” he confesses from behind his desk, blue eyes carefully studying the wary blonde.
“Well…” Jounouchi looks away sheepishly.
“So, what now?” Seto crosses his arms and leans back, not giving away his nervousness at the precarious situation.
The blonde mumbles something unintelligible.
“What?” Seto prompts.
“You wanna go out with me?” he repeats quietly.
An unexpectedly huge smile splits the CEO’s face.
“I’d love to, Jou,” he replies evenly.
Jounouchi responds with a matching smile of his own.
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September 17th
I got a sugarcane that I want to lose in you
“Fuck, Seto!” Jounouchi screams, clutching messy chestnut locks at the increase in suction on his cock and the slick questing finger in his entrance. Seconds later he erupts down his boyfriend’s throat with a strangled gasp of pleasure. Hot, wet lips slowly make their way up his torso, to engulf him in a ravishing kiss.
“Katsuya…” the still quite aroused brunet moans into his love’s neck.
Jounouchi knows what he wants, but he’s still not ready for intercourse yet. It’s not that he hasn’t thoroughly enjoyed their mutual hand jobs and sucking each other off, but the thought of Seto sticking his fairly impressive cock inside his virgin opening still scares the hell out of him.
Flipping the brunet on his back, he slides down the pale torso to claim his delicious prize.
After a quick nap following their romp, they share an equally erotic shower. Jounouchi lets Seto satisfy his need by thrusting between the blonde’s ass cheeks to completion as his smooth hand rapidly strokes Jounouchi to his own creamy end.
“I’m sorry,” Jounouchi initiates as they cuddle on the entertainment room couch, soft music in the background.
Frequently, they pass lazy Sunday afternoons in the same manor, occasionally joined by their younger siblings. Since their relationship is still unknown to the rest of the world, including Jounouchi’s friends, they avoid being seen in public together. Especially since Jounouchi is too much of a tactile individual to keep his hands to himself.
“Sorry for what, Jou?” Seto queries, lightly kissing behind the blonde’s ear.
“I know how much you want to actually screw me, but I’m still kinda scared.”
“First off, I don’t want to “screw” you, I want to make love to you. And it’s okay if you’re not ready. I know this all new to you, Jou.”
“Yeah, you could say that again,” he snickers.
Just six months ago, the thought of being with anyone but Miho would have never entered his mind. And he definitely wouldn’t have expected to be in a relationship with a man, and especially not with Seto Kaiba of all people! It still makes his head spin a little with how fast everything has happened, which isn’t helping his nerves about taking that final step with Seto.
“Katsuya,” Seto begins after another few minutes of comfortable silence, “would you be more comfortable taking me instead?”
Jou turns to look at him incredulously. Seto looks away briefly before clearing his throat to finish his confession.
“The truth is, I prefer being on the bottom,” he asserts to Jounouchi’s shocked face.
The brunet’s admission makes Jounouchi inexplicably happy. He’d admitted to himself some weeks ago that he’d feel better being on top, but couldn’t picture suggesting that to the patently dominant brunet.
But now, with Seto’s confession…
“Seriously?” he turns fully to straddle Seto’s legs. “You’re not just saying that are you?”
“No, Katsuya, I’m not. I honestly want to feel you inside me,” Seto admits readily.
Jounouchi smiles brightly and nuzzles his face into his boyfriend’s neck.
“Okay,” he breathes against pale skin. “Next Saturday.”
Seto wraps Jounouchi tightly in his arms.
Unfortunately, reality intrudes on their best-laid plans. First in the form of Mokuba breaking his arm on Saturday afternoon in a friendly soccer game, and then with Jounouchi’s emergency meeting with his boss at the new Kochi manufacturing plant the following Thursday night. Various and sundry other incidents and events impact as well like Honda’s birthday party and the game shop’s busted water pipe until four weeks have flown by before Jounouchi and Seto see each other again.
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October 13th
The castle started spinning
Frenzied removal of the last of their clothing precedes their descent onto Seto’s firm, yet comfortable mattress, the trail of their business suits beginning in the front foyer. Seto breathily talks Jounouchi through prepping him, wanting and needing to be filled by his love.
“Gods, Set,” Jounouchi moans as he slowly slides into the tight sheath of Seto’s passage. “This feels so…you are so fuckin’ tight!”
“It’s been a while,” the brunet gasps, wrapping his legs tightly around the blonde’s waist and clutching desperately at his shoulders.
Jounouchi’s careful and slow pace soon has his boyfriend screaming and begging for him to increase both the power of his thrusts and their speed. Seto reaches his pinnacle first, a loud yell punctuating his release. Jounouchi follows not long after, gasping and panting as he rides out the waves of what he’s sure is his most intense orgasm ever. Several minutes pass before either of them can speak.
“Wow,” Seto gasps eventually, his voice gravelly from screaming.
“I’ll say,” Jounouchi chuckles, carefully slipping from his lover’s body. “Didn’t know you were a screamer, Set,” he teases.
“Neither did I,” the brunet mumbles, ignoring his love’s chuckle as they curl together.
“I can’t wait to make you scream again, Set,” the blonde yawns loudly. “But right now I’m a little beat. It’s been a long month.”
“Mmm, yes it has,” Seto mumbles against Jounouchi’s chest.
“We’ll shower after a nap,” the blonde murmurs sleepily.
“M’kay. I love you,” Seto whispers as he drifts into a thoroughly satisfied slumber.
Jounouchi nuzzles into his lover’s hair, wondering why it’s so hard to admit that he feels the same.
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October 14th
Be your fire when you’re cold
“The FREX Rapier Loom features outstanding versatility, leading to a new age of rapier weaving. It realizes excellent weaving performance at super-high speeds, with minimal vibration and noise, owing to the solid frame structure, simple rapier driving mechanism by universal crank system, enforced beating mechanism, forcible lubricant circulation system, and a brand-new weft color selector,” Jounouchi describes to the small group in front of him.
Honda, Yami, Yugi, Anzu and Otogi are following their friend around because they’d agreed to be his test customers for his first sales presentation, which he’s expected to give in the showroom on Monday morning. Jounouchi is doing his best to be as professional possible this Sunday afternoon while the showroom is closed so that he’ll be perfect for the real thing.
“The basic abilities of the ZW405 water jet loom is further advanced with outstanding high speed, energy savings, and wide versatility,” the blonde continues after having explained about the other types of water jet looms and the air jet looms.
Yami and Anzu ask Jounouchi several pertinent and potentially disruptive questions. He responds to them all smoothly, and then thanks his friends for taking the time to research enough to try and rattle his chain. Overall, the tour is going swimmingly as they approach the last piece of equipment that he’ll be presenting for real tomorrow morning.
“The CLOS-II on-loom cloth doffing system automatically collects woven cloth. At a signal from the loom, it quickly doffs woven cloth without stopping the loom. The fabric data from the loom can be marked onto the final product and, it is simultaneously transferred to the cloth stocker for easy product management,” Jounouchi explains, raising his voice a bit over the device’s reverberation around the empty showroom.
An angry yell startles them all and they look up to see a slim, middle-aged man stalking toward them.
“Hiachi?” Jounouchi frowns at his presence. As the supervisor of the repair pool where Hiachi is employed the blonde wonders why his employee is in on a day when his assigned department is closed.
A split second later, Hiachi accuses Jounouchi of stealing his job and shoves him hard into the doffing system.
Anzu screams in horror as they all watch Jounouchi’s left arm and leg get caught up in the spinning cylinders, which stop abruptly with the crunch of his bones. Yami passes out at the sight, while Yugi has the wherewithal to completely turn off the machine. Honda tackles Hiachi onto the floor and Otogi runs to push the emergency button they passed by earlier.
Nearly thirty minutes later, rescue workers have arrived and paramedics have hooked a semi-conscious Jounouchi up to an IV and shot him full of pain medication. The paramedics also treat Yami and Anzu for shock, giving them oxygen masks and wrapping them in blankets. Hiachi is taken into police custody for attempted murder.
After three hours of studying the machine, consulting with all manor of experts and continuously checking Jounouchi’s vital signs, it’s determined that he cannot be extracted from the machine and live.
Yami faints again at the news while Yugi shakes so hard it’s like he’s going to fly apart. Honda, Anzu and Otogi are equally distraught, Anzu needing the oxygen again to calm her breathing, Otogi clinging to his wife’s side. Honda holds Yugi close as the paramedics revive Yami.
“W-we have to call Shizuka,” Anzu chokes between sobbing and gulping oxygen.
“I’ll do it,” Yugi states calmly, forcing himself not to start screaming.
“Don’t tell her how bad it really is,” Honda suggests as he helps his revived boyfriend onto a chair provided by the rescue squad. “We don’t want her to crash on her way here.”
Yugi nods sadly as he pulls out his cell phone.
Two hours later, as they wait for Mokuba and Shizuka to drive the three hours from her mother’s house, Yami feels Jounouchi’s spirit starting to leave his body; he’s dying. Jumping up from the cocoon of Honda’s arms, he steps up to his friend who’s propped up awkwardly on a gurney.
“Hang on, Jou,” he whispers, kneeling in front of the blonde’s glassy-eyed stare. “Shizuka’s on her way.”
“C-can’t…so…tired…h-hurts,” Jounouchi manages. The paramedics nearby look away, upset that they can’t ease the blonde’s suffering and that he probably won’t live to see his sister.
“Then I’ll help you,” Yami whispers so that only Jounouchi can hear him.
Subtlety he begins to use his shadow magic to ease Jounouchi’s pain and to keep his spirit inside his body. He knows that it won’t strain him too much since he only has to keep his friend alive for another hour or so. He could do this for Jounouchi.
“Hiroto, could you bring me a chair?” he calls to his lover.
“Yami, what’s going on?” Honda whispers as he sits beside Yami in his own chair after bring one for his beloved.
“He’s dying,” Yami sighs, leaning on Honda’s shoulder. “He won’t make it until Shizuka gets here without my help.”
“A-are you sure that’s safe?” the brunette whispers frantically. “I-I can’t lose you too!”
“I’m fine,” he assures, placing Honda’s hand between his own. “It’ll only be for a little while anyway. Just until Shizuka gets here.”
“M-maybe we should call Miho,” Yugi suggests timidly. He didn’t really want to bring it up, but he and the others are certain that Jounouchi still loves her.
“No,” Anzu answers vehemently. “Keep that bitch away from him. She’s caused enough misery in his life. She shouldn’t be allowed to smear her poison upon his death.”
“But Baby, she’s his wife,” Otogi reasons.
“Ex-wife!” Anzu sneers in a fashion reminiscent of Seto Kaiba. Briefly, Otogi thinks about calling Kaiba since he and Jou recently seemed to at least tolerate each other, but he quickly discards that idea when Anzu starts gulping oxygen again to keep from hyperventilating.
Time slows to a crawl in the room that has become Jounouchi’s tomb, an eerie silence punctuated by the steady beeping of a heart monitor and an occasional whispered conversation, until Yugi’s cell phone shatters it with shrilly urgency. As he pulls it out to answer, he realizes that more than three hours have passed, Mokuba and Shizuka should have been here long ago.
“H-hello,” he speaks shakily into the phone, knowing it can’t be good news once he recognizes Mokuba’s cell number.
“There was an accident,” Mokuba exclaims loudly on the other end. “We’re not hurt, but it took us a while to get around the pile up and find a cell signal. We should be there within the hour.”
“O-okay,” Yugi stutters before hanging up the phone and relaying the message.
Their arrival thirty minutes later generates a group sob around Jounouchi, Yami being the only one staying out in order to maintain his concentration and keep the weary blonde alive. Though not quite at his limit, he knows that it won’t be long before he’ll have to let go of his friend or risk harm to himself. Now that Shizuka’s here…he shakes his head sadly, not liking where that thought is going.
The paramedics back away from the distressing scene, deciding to give the blonde’s loved ones space in their final moments with him.
“’Zuka,” Honda inserts quietly after he calms down, “We need to say good-bye to Jou soon. He’s only still alive because of Yami’s shadow magic.”
Eyes wide in fear, Shizuka screams out, “No! Not yet! Not until Seto gets here!”
“I don’t mean to be cold, ‘Zuka,” Honda grinds out, “but why would Kaiba care? He barely tolerates Jou!”
The rest of Jounouchi’s friends nod their heads in agreement.
“They’ve been secretly seeing each other since May,” Mokuba quietly informs them.
“What?” The others shout collectively.
“W-we thought he was still in love with Miho,” Yugi stutters, relived to know that they were wrong, but now even more devastated because of what Jounouchi and Seto would be losing.
“I assume that you called Kaiba after we called you,” Otogi begins, seething that the brunet was apparently taking his time to get to his supposed boyfriend’s side. “So where is he?”
“He left this afternoon on a three day trip to Hong Kong. He’s flying back now. I expect his Learjet to land in about four hours,” Mokuba explains, trying to remain calm as he cradles the helplessly weeping Shizuka in his lap.
“Yami?” Honda inquires solemnly.
“I can do this for Jou. I will do this for Jou,” Yami vows.
Honda slides into the chair beside his love lightly kissing his temple.
“S-Shizu,” Jounouchi croaks into the silence that follows.
“Y-yes, Katsu, I’m here,” she chokes, lightly grasping his hand in hers.
“S-Set…”
“He’s on his way, Jou,” Mokuba interjects. “Just hold on.”
As the hours pass, Yami is forced to put more magic into keeping his friend alive, though he hides the strain from his friends because he doesn’t want them to worry about him. Jounouchi is their top priority now.
Seto arrives nearly six hours later. His plane had gotten him back to Domino an hour before, but he’d needed to go back to the house for something very important, something that could save his beloved.
Stepping into the showroom and seeing the mangled form of his lover, Seto stumbles in shock, finally relying on support from Mokuba and Shizuka to get him into the chair in front of Jounouchi.
“Katsuya,” he breathes shakily, lightly touching the blonde’s painfully contorted face. “I’m here love. I’m here.”
Unbeknownst to his friends, Yami begins pouring more magic into his task, draining his reserves in order to give Seto and Jounouchi time to say good-bye.
“They deserve this last bit of time together,” the former spirit whispers to himself.
Reaching for his own reserves of strength and unknowingly pulling harder on Yami’s, Jounouchi strives to confess his true feelings to Seto before they’re lost to each other forever.
“S-Set…” he gasps, clutching desperately at the brunet’s shoulder, knowing that he doesn’t have much time left. “I n-need to tell you…” a strangled gasp of agony interrupts him and he nearly succumbs to the pain that the drugs can’t control any longer and that Yami is now helpless to shield him from.
“Shhh,” Seto soothes, lightly stroking a sweat-dampened lock of hair from the blonde’s eyes before sliding an arm around his waist. “I’ve got you.”
“I-I don’t wanna die,” Jounouchi sobs lightly, tears streaming from distraught and defeated amber.
The sight of his best friend finally giving up is too much for Yugi to handle and he runs from the room. Yami longs to follow and support his soul-twin, but knows that he must stay with Jounouchi.
“I’ll take care of him,” Honda offers, needing to distance himself from the scene as well. He’ll calm Yugi down quickly and then bring him back so that they can all say good-by to the person who’s been the light of all of their souls.
‘Even Kaiba’s’, he muses, noting the tender way the CEO gazes at their friend.
“Okay,” Yami sighs, strain evident in his voice. It worries Honda enough to run after Yugi. Jou’s end may be nearer than he thought. Yami’s exhausted!
“Of course he is,” he acknowledges as he runs around the plant, desperately searching for Yugi. “He’s been keeping Jou’s life force here with us by sheer force of will for nearly ten hours!”
An anguished wail in the distance steers him to Yugi’s pale form huddled in a corner. The devastated man is crying so hard that he can barely breathe.
“C’mon, Yugi,” Honda encourages, standing the other up and wrapping him in his arms. “We’ve got to get back. Jou won’t last much longer. We have to go say good-bye.”
“No!” Yugi screams, tearfully. “I won’t! I can’t! It’s too much!!”
“Yugi!” Honda shakes him roughly. “I don’t want to either, but Jou is our best friend! We owe it to him to be there when he…when he…”
“It’s too much, Honda,” Yugi chokes. “I-I can’t do this.”
“Yugi, we’ve got to get back now. Yami is exhausted,” Honda confesses. “I don’t know how much longer he can hold on.”
Sheer panic grips Yugi’s features as he grabs Honda’s hand and heads back to the showroom.
They step up to the group huddled around Jounouchi’s obviously fading form.
Honda gathers a nearly passed-out Yami into his arms and joins the kneeling vigil.
“’S-Shizu…” Jounouchi gasps, eyes drooping. “L-love you.”
“I-I love you too, Katsu,” she sobs, clinging to Mokuba.
“S-Set…” he whispers, brokenly, tears streaming down his face. “I’m s-sorry, Set. Sorry I never said…” his breath hitches as he gathers the last of his borrowed strength, forcing Yami unconscious.
“I love you, Set. Always,” he breathes.
“I love you too, Katsuya. Always.” Seto whispers, capturing his love’s lips in a final kiss, the Millennium Rod at his hip glowing softly beneath his coat.
Author: Mishiko Shinsei
Rating: NC - 17
Pairing(s): Various, Jou/Seto
Beta: Kayreena (my bff)
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.
Summary: I could put my arms round every boy I see but they'd only remind me of you. Slight AU. Written for A Dragon's Lair's Shocktober Scary Story Challenge. YGO take on the "Last Kiss" urban legend.
URL: http://www.snopes.com/horrors/techno/lastkiss.asp
February 5th
Can’t figure out why you make me beg
It had become somewhat routine for Honda, Anzu, Yami and Yugi to meet Jounouchi for dinner several times a week since Miho left. Most of the time, they get a secluded booth in the small fusion restaurant down the street from the game shop. Their conversations tend to range from the weather, to the latest Duel Monsters cards, to the latest fashions and dances. Always, they avoid the subject of Miho and the state of Jounouchi’s marriage.
At least they have until tonight.
Tonight, Jounouchi has spent the better part of the evening telling his friends about his grand plan to make sure Miho stayed with him once she cam back. Despite his friend’s misgivings, he refuses to even entertain the idea that Miho would leave him permanently.
“She’ll come back, Hon,” he insists to his best friend. “I just want her to know how much I love and cherish her when she does. That’s all.”
“Jou, we know how much you love her,” Anzu interjects. “And I’m sure she does too. But maybe you shouldn’t go so overboard with this.”
“Just in case things don’t work out as you expect,” Yugi adds.
“It’s just a few little gifts! I don’t see what the fuss is about!” Jounouchi snaps.
“A 500,000 yen diamond tennis bracelet, a 1,000,000 yen diamond ring, a 2,000,000 yen painting and 800,000 yen platinum and amethyst earrings aren’t ‘little’ gifts, Jou,” Yami notes somberly.
“What the fuck ever, Yami!” Jounouchi yells, standing abruptly. “Maybe you’re jealous because you can’t afford to do the same for the one you love!”
“Neither can you,” Yami scoffs with narrowed eyes. “Or did you forget that you had to get a loan to pay for the ring and that painting?”
“Fuck you!” Jounouchi snarls.
“Calm down!” Honda commands, pulling Jounouchi back down into his seat. “You’re acting like an idiot and making a scene.”
“She’ll be back! And then you’ll all eat your words!” Jounouchi growls.
“Maybe you’re right, Jou,” Anzu soothes, carefully placing a hand on his shoulder. “We’re just worried about you.”
“I’m fine,” he asserts, pulling away and crossing his arms angrily.
He can’t understand why his friends don’t want his marriage to work. Maybe they were all just lashing out at him because he married Miho in the first place.
‘Maybe they’re still angry about what I did to Honda,’ he muses, glancing at his best friend out of the corner of his eye.
Jounouchi hadn’t meant to hurt Honda when he and Miho eloped, but he truly loved Miho and couldn’t wait to make her his wife. True, he knew that Honda had been in love with Miho for the last two years of high school…
“I swear I didn’t mean to hurt you, Hiroto,” he mumbles, looking down at the table.
Honda frowns at the use of his first name, wondering what prompted the blonde to use it and what he means about hurting him.
“Hurt me? What are you talking about, Jou?” Honda prods.
“I mean when me and Miho ran off and got married. I swear I didn’t plan to hurt you by falling in love with her.”
Silence settles around the table for long moments.
This is the first time Jounouchi has mentioned his betrayal since he and Miho came back from the States two years ago. At that time, Jounouchi and Honda had settled their differences with a fight that put them both in the hospital, each nursing a different broken limb. They’d healed and gone back to being the best of friends and it was never spoken of again.
“Jou,” Honda begins quietly, “we’re not telling you to be careful because we’re mad about what happened back then. We’re telling you to be careful because we’re you’re friends and we worry about you.”
Jou looks up to worried and caring faces not seeing a hint of malice.
“Thanks guys,” he sighs in relief. “You’re the best.”
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March 3rd
Did he put your million-dollar check in someone else’s box?
“Jounouchi.”
“Jounouchi!”
“Jounouchi!!”
At the third repetition of his name, he lifts his preoccupied gaze from his blank computer screen to his boss, Mr. Nakamura, standing in his office doorway. It’s been almost two months since his promotion to Assistant General Manager Textile Technology and Development Operations, but he hasn’t gotten much work done lately.
Mainly because it’s been a little less than three weeks since Miho had the divorce papers sent to his office. They say that your life passes before your eyes before you die. No one ever talks about the same thing happening when you feel like dying.
Like Katsuya Jounouchi does right now. Even though he isn’t really the one at fault.
In early December, he had taken off early from work to surprise Miho with a night out on the town for an early birthday present, since he knew that he’d be away on business for her actual birthday that following week. His four-day trip with his boss to the manufacturing plant in Okinawa had been the basis for almost every fight they’d had for weeks. They’d even argued about it over breakfast that morning!
“M-Miho?” he had stuttered when he’d walked into his bedroom and found his wife straddling another man.
And not just any man, Bandit Keith of all people!
After a few moments of shock at the sight before him, anger had set in.
“W-What the hell is this?” he had screamed as his wife pulled the sheet over her naked form and slid off of the man beneath her to the other side of the bed.
“I know it’s been a long time, Jounouchi,” Bandit Keith had smirked knowingly, while Miho had guiltily looked away, “but I’m sure you know what two people having sex looks like.”
A white-hot rage had enveloped Jounouchi as he’d quickly pieced together why Miho had been turning down all of his intimate advances for the prior three months. He’d dove at Bandit Keith, intent on taking out all of his frustrations on the other man’s smug face. However, despite Jounouchi being a tough street fighter, the larger blonde had quickly proceeded to beat the crap out of him.
Miho had lovingly nursed him while he healed from the black-eye, sprained wrist, cracked rib and mild concussion, the latter of which had kept him from making that trip with his boss which had eventually led to the fight with Keith.
His wife had moved out ‘needing some space’ not long after.
“Yeah, boss,” Jounouchi acknowledges blankly, ripping himself away from his painful memories.
“What’s with you, Jounouchi?” Mr. Nakamura frowns. “I pulled you up with me when I got promoted to General Manager because I knew that you’d be great for the job and so I could have someone I trusted in the position. You were great for the first few weeks, but now…”
“Sorry, boss,” he looks away, still preoccupied.
“I need you to get it together, Jounouchi,” his boss admonishes sternly. “I’m working on several deals with new clients and I’ll need you at your best.”
“Yes, sir,” he promises quietly, eyes trained on a random spot on the floor.
Mr. Nakamura shakes his head and leaves the room, closing the door behind him.
Jounouchi drops his head to his arms; silent sobs wracking his body for the third time that week.
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May 10th
Why can’t I fly away in a special sky?
“She wasn’t like that before; sleeping around I mean. Before she lost the baby and we found out that…that…” Jounouchi trails off.
“Found out what,” Seto slurs, feeling some concern, but faking even more.
He doesn’t want to hear anymore about Jounouchi’s ‘darling Miho’. Frankly, he hopes that ‘darling Miho’ would die a slow, painful death for all that she’s put Jounouchi through.
He’d run into the blonde at tonight’s charity auction for the Domino City orphanage. Apparently, Jounouchi had donated several items that he’d purchased for his ex-wife in the hopes that she’d come back to him, some of them quite exquisite. He’d actually been fairly impressed by Jounouchi’s eye for beautiful treasures. Then again, nothing his secret love has done over the years has really surprised him, since the blonde’s history of unpredictability stretches back to their first year of high school.
Or nothing had until he’d run off with that adulterous bitch.
Beside him, Jounouchi sighs into his hands, bringing his mind back to the present and more of the blonde’s drunken prattle.
“When she was a child, she was in a car accident,” Jounouchi begins in a slurred mumble. “We found out that the accident badly scarred one of her ovaries and slightly damaged the other one. Her parents hadn’t mentioned it to her then because she was only seven at the time and over the years they just forgot about it. But that wasn’t too bad, because she could still get pregnant…” He trails off again.
“What happened, Katsuya?” Seto prods, the alcohol having loosened him up enough to give in to his desire to call Jounouchi by his first name.
He watches in concern as the blonde flops back heavily on the entertainment room's couch, running a shaky hand through his hair.
“I guess there’s no easy way to say this,” Jounouchi turns distraught eyes to Seto’s inquisitive face. “Basically, I’m shootin’ blanks, Seto. Her first pregnancy with me had been a long shot, given both of our reproductive handicaps. The docs said that it would most likely never happen again,” he sighs dejectedly, reaching for another shot to dull his pain more.
Further giving in to his desires, Seto wraps an arm around Jounouchi’s shoulders and pulls him close. He knows how much family means to the blonde and to be told that he can’t have kids would have been devastating. When Jounouchi begins clutching at his shirt and sobbing into his shoulder, Seto pulls the slim form into his lap and cradles him close.
“It will be alright, Katsuya,” he soothes, running a hand through soft blonde locks.
More than fifteen minutes pass before Jounouchi pulls away to the bathroom to wipe his face and relieve himself. Seto take the opportunity to head up to his room and change from his drenched shirt and rumpled suit, opting for a pair of pajama bottoms and a t-shirt instead.
“Sorry,” Jounouchi’s voice startles him as he’s pulling a t-shirt over his head. He turns swiftly to the blonde’s averted eyes, trying to remember when he’d shown the other his room before dismissing the thought with a shrug.
“That’s fine,” Seto sways a little, still feeling the effects of a bit too much alcohol.
He hadn’t meant to overdo it, but the more Jounouchi talked about his ex-wife, the more he needed to numb himself. Carefully making his way to his dresser, he pulls out a pair of pajama bottoms and a t-shirt and tosses them at the blonde.
“What’s this for,” Jounouchi murmurs drunkenly. Folding his arms across his chest, Seto raises an eyebrow authoritatively.
“It’s 2 am, my driver’s off for the night and neither of us is in any condition to get behind the wheel of a car. I live in a mansion practically by myself. I guarantee that there’s a guest room available.”
“Yeah. I guess you’re right,” Jounouchi chuckles lightly.
He heads into Seto’s bathroom to change. A few moments later, Seto hears muffled cursing followed by a startled yelp and a thud.
“Ow! Fuck!” Jounouchi swears loudly.
“Need help finding the arm holes in the shirt, Mutt?” Seto teases.
“Fuck you, Kaiba,” Jounouchi slurs vehemently.
Discarding his initial response, Seto laughs lightly.
“Seriously, Jou, are you okay?”
“M’fine,” Jounouchi mumbles. “I got my hair caught in my shirt buttons and then I bumped into the sink and tripped on my pants.”
Seto’s inebriated state allows him to laugh heartily at the mental picture the blonde’s description presents.
“Hey, it’s not that fuckin’ funny!” he yells through the door.
“Yes it is,” Seto snickers.
“Fuck, my ass hurts,” Jounouchi grumbles, stumbling out of the bathroom after changing into the borrowed sleepwear.
Discarding his first response yet again, Seto replies with, “Well a soft bed will help with that.”
Jounouchi pins him with an odd stare before looking away.
“I-I really don’t want to go to bed right now,” he confesses. “I guess I’m still too sober to forget that…Gods, it really fuckin’ hurts, Seto. I don’t know what I’m gonna do now. I mean I wanted to be with Miho so much that I didn’t care that it would really hurt Honda because he was in love with her. I didn’t care about not seeing or speaking to any of my friends, not even Yugi, for two years. That’s how much I love her.”
The brunet frowns at the blonde’s use of the present tense for explaining his feelings for Miho. Deciding that he can’t take talking about that woman in his bedroom, he suggests they go back down to the entertainment room.
After haphazardly cleaning up the various bottles of liquor, which in this case means dropping pretty much everything into the kitchen sink, both men settle back down on separate ends of the comfortable couch.
“So?” Seto prods after a tense few minutes.
“So…” Jounouchi replies quietly, but says nothing else.
Seto waits a few more minutes before grumbling, “Listen, Mutt, I’ve been up almost 24 hours, so if you don’t have anything to say…”
“Are you mad at me?” Jounouchi interrupts.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Seto runs a hand through his hair in frustration.
“You are mad at me,” he slurs, frowning. “You’re yelling.”
“I’m yelling because you’re pissing me off!”
“And you sat way over there,” the blonde mumbles in response.
Seto looks at the forlorn drunk incredulously before moving to sit practically on top of him.
“Better?” he grumbles, crossing his arms.
“I’m sorry,” Jounouchi whispers. “I know you didn’t plan to be nursemaid to a weepy drunk tonight.”
“Jou…”
“Maybe I should just go to bed,” he sighs sadly. “I’ve imposed on you enough.”
Hearing the honest pain in the smaller man’s voice proves too much for what remains of Seto’s shredded emotional control. Sliding his arms around Jounouchi’s trim waist, he arranges the blonde to sit straddling his longer legs.
“S-Seto…” Jounouchi stutters in shock.
“Shhh,” Seto commands quietly before placing a light kiss on Jounouchi’s lips.
“Seto…” he whispers, surprised by his unexpected attraction to the brunet.
In moments, hesitant pecks have grown into passionate tongue kisses as both men give in to their unchecked desire. Seto revels in the expanse of smooth skin beneath the blonde’s borrowed t-shirt and the silk of the smaller man’s hair as he clutches it in his hand. Jounouchi feels himself melt against the brunet’s broad chest, stunned by the depth of his feelings from being practically devoured by the usually reserved CEO.
“Katsuya…” Seto moans, crushing the blonde against him, rubbing his own need against Jounouchi’s prominent arousal.
Jounouchi gasps and shudders as if hit with an electric shock, tossing his head back and clutching tighter at Seto’s shoulders. The entire encounter is completely new to him and he’s overwhelmed with the sensations he’s experiencing. There on Seto’s couch is the first time he’s ever felt attracted to a man, his first kiss with a man and, if Seto keeps up what he’s doing between their legs, his first orgasm with a man.
To his delight and immense satisfaction, Seto continues to grind against him while nipping lightly at his neck, bringing them both to powerful climaxes a few minutes later.
Jounouchi’s next clear memory is waking up naked in Seto’s bed, wrapped in a protective embrace. A little reluctantly he slips away to the bathroom for relief and a shower. He’s just finished rinsing off when Seto calls to him through the bathroom door, informing him that he’s put on a pot of coffee, that the cook will have breakfast ready in about 10 minutes and that he’s laid something of Mokuba’s out for him to wear since the slightly shorter Kaiba and he are of similar builds.
After drying off and dressing in a borrowed pair of Seto’s underwear, a comfortable pair of Mokuba’s jeans and a loose t-shirt, Jounouchi heads down to the kitchen to see what the cook has made for Sunday morning breakfast. A freshly showered Seto greets him with a smile from a dark blue robe and dark blue lounging pants. Jounouchi fumbles to supply either a smile or a greeting in return.
In the harsh light of sobriety, the blonde finds himself sad and confused.
After all, he’s still reeling from Miho leaving and then divorcing him and he has no idea what to make of what happened between him and Seto last night. Though they didn’t actually do more than heavy petting, Jounouchi doesn’t understand how things even got that far, considering how upset he is about the break-up of his marriage.
And having Seto continue to gaze fondly at him is unnerving to say the least.
“Jou?” Seto’s inquiring voice cuts into his musings, “Are you alright?”
He’s not sure if it’s the honest concern in Seto’s voice which he’s missed from Miho since before the beginning of the year or if it’s just that he’s still a little freaked out about what happened last night, but all of a sudden the blonde finds himself sobbing into his coffee. A few moments later he and Seto are back on the couch in the entertainment room, Jounouchi cuddled in Seto’s lap again as he calms down.
Returning from the bathroom after having gone to wipe his face, Jounouchi allows himself to be cradled in the CEO’s lap, the brunet’s strong arms encircling his waist. A light kiss to Jounouchi’s forehead is followed by a starling admission.
“I love you,” Seto whispers shakily, knowing that he could be ruining everything, but unwilling to keep silent any longer. “I’ve loved you since before you ran off with that bitch.”
His only reply is Jounouchi’s open mouth and wide-eyed stare.
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May 25th
Wheels get locked in place
He’s avoided Seto for weeks, every since the brunet’s unexpected confession.
“I love you. I’ve loved you since before you ran off with that bitch.”
Jounouchi shakes his head, unsuccessfully trying to make the words and the feelings they invoke go away. Again.
He’s never thought of Seto like that. Hell, until Mokuba started going out with Shizuka last year, they hadn’t spoken since graduation! And even then it had been strained!
To find out how the brunet’s really felt all these years…
And those newly discovered feelings of Seto’s are affecting him stronger than he could have imagined.
He’d called his sister when he got home that afternoon following his and Seto’s impromptu make-out session and blabbed about everything that happened, too shell-shocked to exercise any censorship over his words. The 17 year-old princess of his heart had shocked him even further with her reply.
“So, are you two going out now?” she’d asked casually, as if it didn’t matter that her supposedly straight brother had been this close to drunkenly fucking her boyfriend’s parental figure.
Surprisingly, he’d been unable to say, “No,” which is what lead to his avoiding Seto altogether.
“I can’t run forever,” he sighs, hopping in his car after changing from work and heading to the mansion.
Seto is quite relived to see him and doesn’t bother to hide that from his face when the blonde enters his study after the butler escorts him in.
“I thought I’d scared you off,” he confesses from behind his desk, blue eyes carefully studying the wary blonde.
“Well…” Jounouchi looks away sheepishly.
“So, what now?” Seto crosses his arms and leans back, not giving away his nervousness at the precarious situation.
The blonde mumbles something unintelligible.
“What?” Seto prompts.
“You wanna go out with me?” he repeats quietly.
An unexpectedly huge smile splits the CEO’s face.
“I’d love to, Jou,” he replies evenly.
Jounouchi responds with a matching smile of his own.
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September 17th
I got a sugarcane that I want to lose in you
“Fuck, Seto!” Jounouchi screams, clutching messy chestnut locks at the increase in suction on his cock and the slick questing finger in his entrance. Seconds later he erupts down his boyfriend’s throat with a strangled gasp of pleasure. Hot, wet lips slowly make their way up his torso, to engulf him in a ravishing kiss.
“Katsuya…” the still quite aroused brunet moans into his love’s neck.
Jounouchi knows what he wants, but he’s still not ready for intercourse yet. It’s not that he hasn’t thoroughly enjoyed their mutual hand jobs and sucking each other off, but the thought of Seto sticking his fairly impressive cock inside his virgin opening still scares the hell out of him.
Flipping the brunet on his back, he slides down the pale torso to claim his delicious prize.
After a quick nap following their romp, they share an equally erotic shower. Jounouchi lets Seto satisfy his need by thrusting between the blonde’s ass cheeks to completion as his smooth hand rapidly strokes Jounouchi to his own creamy end.
“I’m sorry,” Jounouchi initiates as they cuddle on the entertainment room couch, soft music in the background.
Frequently, they pass lazy Sunday afternoons in the same manor, occasionally joined by their younger siblings. Since their relationship is still unknown to the rest of the world, including Jounouchi’s friends, they avoid being seen in public together. Especially since Jounouchi is too much of a tactile individual to keep his hands to himself.
“Sorry for what, Jou?” Seto queries, lightly kissing behind the blonde’s ear.
“I know how much you want to actually screw me, but I’m still kinda scared.”
“First off, I don’t want to “screw” you, I want to make love to you. And it’s okay if you’re not ready. I know this all new to you, Jou.”
“Yeah, you could say that again,” he snickers.
Just six months ago, the thought of being with anyone but Miho would have never entered his mind. And he definitely wouldn’t have expected to be in a relationship with a man, and especially not with Seto Kaiba of all people! It still makes his head spin a little with how fast everything has happened, which isn’t helping his nerves about taking that final step with Seto.
“Katsuya,” Seto begins after another few minutes of comfortable silence, “would you be more comfortable taking me instead?”
Jou turns to look at him incredulously. Seto looks away briefly before clearing his throat to finish his confession.
“The truth is, I prefer being on the bottom,” he asserts to Jounouchi’s shocked face.
The brunet’s admission makes Jounouchi inexplicably happy. He’d admitted to himself some weeks ago that he’d feel better being on top, but couldn’t picture suggesting that to the patently dominant brunet.
But now, with Seto’s confession…
“Seriously?” he turns fully to straddle Seto’s legs. “You’re not just saying that are you?”
“No, Katsuya, I’m not. I honestly want to feel you inside me,” Seto admits readily.
Jounouchi smiles brightly and nuzzles his face into his boyfriend’s neck.
“Okay,” he breathes against pale skin. “Next Saturday.”
Seto wraps Jounouchi tightly in his arms.
Unfortunately, reality intrudes on their best-laid plans. First in the form of Mokuba breaking his arm on Saturday afternoon in a friendly soccer game, and then with Jounouchi’s emergency meeting with his boss at the new Kochi manufacturing plant the following Thursday night. Various and sundry other incidents and events impact as well like Honda’s birthday party and the game shop’s busted water pipe until four weeks have flown by before Jounouchi and Seto see each other again.
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October 13th
The castle started spinning
Frenzied removal of the last of their clothing precedes their descent onto Seto’s firm, yet comfortable mattress, the trail of their business suits beginning in the front foyer. Seto breathily talks Jounouchi through prepping him, wanting and needing to be filled by his love.
“Gods, Set,” Jounouchi moans as he slowly slides into the tight sheath of Seto’s passage. “This feels so…you are so fuckin’ tight!”
“It’s been a while,” the brunet gasps, wrapping his legs tightly around the blonde’s waist and clutching desperately at his shoulders.
Jounouchi’s careful and slow pace soon has his boyfriend screaming and begging for him to increase both the power of his thrusts and their speed. Seto reaches his pinnacle first, a loud yell punctuating his release. Jounouchi follows not long after, gasping and panting as he rides out the waves of what he’s sure is his most intense orgasm ever. Several minutes pass before either of them can speak.
“Wow,” Seto gasps eventually, his voice gravelly from screaming.
“I’ll say,” Jounouchi chuckles, carefully slipping from his lover’s body. “Didn’t know you were a screamer, Set,” he teases.
“Neither did I,” the brunet mumbles, ignoring his love’s chuckle as they curl together.
“I can’t wait to make you scream again, Set,” the blonde yawns loudly. “But right now I’m a little beat. It’s been a long month.”
“Mmm, yes it has,” Seto mumbles against Jounouchi’s chest.
“We’ll shower after a nap,” the blonde murmurs sleepily.
“M’kay. I love you,” Seto whispers as he drifts into a thoroughly satisfied slumber.
Jounouchi nuzzles into his lover’s hair, wondering why it’s so hard to admit that he feels the same.
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October 14th
Be your fire when you’re cold
“The FREX Rapier Loom features outstanding versatility, leading to a new age of rapier weaving. It realizes excellent weaving performance at super-high speeds, with minimal vibration and noise, owing to the solid frame structure, simple rapier driving mechanism by universal crank system, enforced beating mechanism, forcible lubricant circulation system, and a brand-new weft color selector,” Jounouchi describes to the small group in front of him.
Honda, Yami, Yugi, Anzu and Otogi are following their friend around because they’d agreed to be his test customers for his first sales presentation, which he’s expected to give in the showroom on Monday morning. Jounouchi is doing his best to be as professional possible this Sunday afternoon while the showroom is closed so that he’ll be perfect for the real thing.
“The basic abilities of the ZW405 water jet loom is further advanced with outstanding high speed, energy savings, and wide versatility,” the blonde continues after having explained about the other types of water jet looms and the air jet looms.
Yami and Anzu ask Jounouchi several pertinent and potentially disruptive questions. He responds to them all smoothly, and then thanks his friends for taking the time to research enough to try and rattle his chain. Overall, the tour is going swimmingly as they approach the last piece of equipment that he’ll be presenting for real tomorrow morning.
“The CLOS-II on-loom cloth doffing system automatically collects woven cloth. At a signal from the loom, it quickly doffs woven cloth without stopping the loom. The fabric data from the loom can be marked onto the final product and, it is simultaneously transferred to the cloth stocker for easy product management,” Jounouchi explains, raising his voice a bit over the device’s reverberation around the empty showroom.
An angry yell startles them all and they look up to see a slim, middle-aged man stalking toward them.
“Hiachi?” Jounouchi frowns at his presence. As the supervisor of the repair pool where Hiachi is employed the blonde wonders why his employee is in on a day when his assigned department is closed.
A split second later, Hiachi accuses Jounouchi of stealing his job and shoves him hard into the doffing system.
Anzu screams in horror as they all watch Jounouchi’s left arm and leg get caught up in the spinning cylinders, which stop abruptly with the crunch of his bones. Yami passes out at the sight, while Yugi has the wherewithal to completely turn off the machine. Honda tackles Hiachi onto the floor and Otogi runs to push the emergency button they passed by earlier.
Nearly thirty minutes later, rescue workers have arrived and paramedics have hooked a semi-conscious Jounouchi up to an IV and shot him full of pain medication. The paramedics also treat Yami and Anzu for shock, giving them oxygen masks and wrapping them in blankets. Hiachi is taken into police custody for attempted murder.
After three hours of studying the machine, consulting with all manor of experts and continuously checking Jounouchi’s vital signs, it’s determined that he cannot be extracted from the machine and live.
Yami faints again at the news while Yugi shakes so hard it’s like he’s going to fly apart. Honda, Anzu and Otogi are equally distraught, Anzu needing the oxygen again to calm her breathing, Otogi clinging to his wife’s side. Honda holds Yugi close as the paramedics revive Yami.
“W-we have to call Shizuka,” Anzu chokes between sobbing and gulping oxygen.
“I’ll do it,” Yugi states calmly, forcing himself not to start screaming.
“Don’t tell her how bad it really is,” Honda suggests as he helps his revived boyfriend onto a chair provided by the rescue squad. “We don’t want her to crash on her way here.”
Yugi nods sadly as he pulls out his cell phone.
Two hours later, as they wait for Mokuba and Shizuka to drive the three hours from her mother’s house, Yami feels Jounouchi’s spirit starting to leave his body; he’s dying. Jumping up from the cocoon of Honda’s arms, he steps up to his friend who’s propped up awkwardly on a gurney.
“Hang on, Jou,” he whispers, kneeling in front of the blonde’s glassy-eyed stare. “Shizuka’s on her way.”
“C-can’t…so…tired…h-hurts,” Jounouchi manages. The paramedics nearby look away, upset that they can’t ease the blonde’s suffering and that he probably won’t live to see his sister.
“Then I’ll help you,” Yami whispers so that only Jounouchi can hear him.
Subtlety he begins to use his shadow magic to ease Jounouchi’s pain and to keep his spirit inside his body. He knows that it won’t strain him too much since he only has to keep his friend alive for another hour or so. He could do this for Jounouchi.
“Hiroto, could you bring me a chair?” he calls to his lover.
“Yami, what’s going on?” Honda whispers as he sits beside Yami in his own chair after bring one for his beloved.
“He’s dying,” Yami sighs, leaning on Honda’s shoulder. “He won’t make it until Shizuka gets here without my help.”
“A-are you sure that’s safe?” the brunette whispers frantically. “I-I can’t lose you too!”
“I’m fine,” he assures, placing Honda’s hand between his own. “It’ll only be for a little while anyway. Just until Shizuka gets here.”
“M-maybe we should call Miho,” Yugi suggests timidly. He didn’t really want to bring it up, but he and the others are certain that Jounouchi still loves her.
“No,” Anzu answers vehemently. “Keep that bitch away from him. She’s caused enough misery in his life. She shouldn’t be allowed to smear her poison upon his death.”
“But Baby, she’s his wife,” Otogi reasons.
“Ex-wife!” Anzu sneers in a fashion reminiscent of Seto Kaiba. Briefly, Otogi thinks about calling Kaiba since he and Jou recently seemed to at least tolerate each other, but he quickly discards that idea when Anzu starts gulping oxygen again to keep from hyperventilating.
Time slows to a crawl in the room that has become Jounouchi’s tomb, an eerie silence punctuated by the steady beeping of a heart monitor and an occasional whispered conversation, until Yugi’s cell phone shatters it with shrilly urgency. As he pulls it out to answer, he realizes that more than three hours have passed, Mokuba and Shizuka should have been here long ago.
“H-hello,” he speaks shakily into the phone, knowing it can’t be good news once he recognizes Mokuba’s cell number.
“There was an accident,” Mokuba exclaims loudly on the other end. “We’re not hurt, but it took us a while to get around the pile up and find a cell signal. We should be there within the hour.”
“O-okay,” Yugi stutters before hanging up the phone and relaying the message.
Their arrival thirty minutes later generates a group sob around Jounouchi, Yami being the only one staying out in order to maintain his concentration and keep the weary blonde alive. Though not quite at his limit, he knows that it won’t be long before he’ll have to let go of his friend or risk harm to himself. Now that Shizuka’s here…he shakes his head sadly, not liking where that thought is going.
The paramedics back away from the distressing scene, deciding to give the blonde’s loved ones space in their final moments with him.
“’Zuka,” Honda inserts quietly after he calms down, “We need to say good-bye to Jou soon. He’s only still alive because of Yami’s shadow magic.”
Eyes wide in fear, Shizuka screams out, “No! Not yet! Not until Seto gets here!”
“I don’t mean to be cold, ‘Zuka,” Honda grinds out, “but why would Kaiba care? He barely tolerates Jou!”
The rest of Jounouchi’s friends nod their heads in agreement.
“They’ve been secretly seeing each other since May,” Mokuba quietly informs them.
“What?” The others shout collectively.
“W-we thought he was still in love with Miho,” Yugi stutters, relived to know that they were wrong, but now even more devastated because of what Jounouchi and Seto would be losing.
“I assume that you called Kaiba after we called you,” Otogi begins, seething that the brunet was apparently taking his time to get to his supposed boyfriend’s side. “So where is he?”
“He left this afternoon on a three day trip to Hong Kong. He’s flying back now. I expect his Learjet to land in about four hours,” Mokuba explains, trying to remain calm as he cradles the helplessly weeping Shizuka in his lap.
“Yami?” Honda inquires solemnly.
“I can do this for Jou. I will do this for Jou,” Yami vows.
Honda slides into the chair beside his love lightly kissing his temple.
“S-Shizu,” Jounouchi croaks into the silence that follows.
“Y-yes, Katsu, I’m here,” she chokes, lightly grasping his hand in hers.
“S-Set…”
“He’s on his way, Jou,” Mokuba interjects. “Just hold on.”
As the hours pass, Yami is forced to put more magic into keeping his friend alive, though he hides the strain from his friends because he doesn’t want them to worry about him. Jounouchi is their top priority now.
Seto arrives nearly six hours later. His plane had gotten him back to Domino an hour before, but he’d needed to go back to the house for something very important, something that could save his beloved.
Stepping into the showroom and seeing the mangled form of his lover, Seto stumbles in shock, finally relying on support from Mokuba and Shizuka to get him into the chair in front of Jounouchi.
“Katsuya,” he breathes shakily, lightly touching the blonde’s painfully contorted face. “I’m here love. I’m here.”
Unbeknownst to his friends, Yami begins pouring more magic into his task, draining his reserves in order to give Seto and Jounouchi time to say good-bye.
“They deserve this last bit of time together,” the former spirit whispers to himself.
Reaching for his own reserves of strength and unknowingly pulling harder on Yami’s, Jounouchi strives to confess his true feelings to Seto before they’re lost to each other forever.
“S-Set…” he gasps, clutching desperately at the brunet’s shoulder, knowing that he doesn’t have much time left. “I n-need to tell you…” a strangled gasp of agony interrupts him and he nearly succumbs to the pain that the drugs can’t control any longer and that Yami is now helpless to shield him from.
“Shhh,” Seto soothes, lightly stroking a sweat-dampened lock of hair from the blonde’s eyes before sliding an arm around his waist. “I’ve got you.”
“I-I don’t wanna die,” Jounouchi sobs lightly, tears streaming from distraught and defeated amber.
The sight of his best friend finally giving up is too much for Yugi to handle and he runs from the room. Yami longs to follow and support his soul-twin, but knows that he must stay with Jounouchi.
“I’ll take care of him,” Honda offers, needing to distance himself from the scene as well. He’ll calm Yugi down quickly and then bring him back so that they can all say good-by to the person who’s been the light of all of their souls.
‘Even Kaiba’s’, he muses, noting the tender way the CEO gazes at their friend.
“Okay,” Yami sighs, strain evident in his voice. It worries Honda enough to run after Yugi. Jou’s end may be nearer than he thought. Yami’s exhausted!
“Of course he is,” he acknowledges as he runs around the plant, desperately searching for Yugi. “He’s been keeping Jou’s life force here with us by sheer force of will for nearly ten hours!”
An anguished wail in the distance steers him to Yugi’s pale form huddled in a corner. The devastated man is crying so hard that he can barely breathe.
“C’mon, Yugi,” Honda encourages, standing the other up and wrapping him in his arms. “We’ve got to get back. Jou won’t last much longer. We have to go say good-bye.”
“No!” Yugi screams, tearfully. “I won’t! I can’t! It’s too much!!”
“Yugi!” Honda shakes him roughly. “I don’t want to either, but Jou is our best friend! We owe it to him to be there when he…when he…”
“It’s too much, Honda,” Yugi chokes. “I-I can’t do this.”
“Yugi, we’ve got to get back now. Yami is exhausted,” Honda confesses. “I don’t know how much longer he can hold on.”
Sheer panic grips Yugi’s features as he grabs Honda’s hand and heads back to the showroom.
They step up to the group huddled around Jounouchi’s obviously fading form.
Honda gathers a nearly passed-out Yami into his arms and joins the kneeling vigil.
“’S-Shizu…” Jounouchi gasps, eyes drooping. “L-love you.”
“I-I love you too, Katsu,” she sobs, clinging to Mokuba.
“S-Set…” he whispers, brokenly, tears streaming down his face. “I’m s-sorry, Set. Sorry I never said…” his breath hitches as he gathers the last of his borrowed strength, forcing Yami unconscious.
“I love you, Set. Always,” he breathes.
“I love you too, Katsuya. Always.” Seto whispers, capturing his love’s lips in a final kiss, the Millennium Rod at his hip glowing softly beneath his coat.