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Ambivalence	By : PupshitDesu Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 4882 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
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Chapter List
- 9
- 10
- 11
He didn't hear the door opening that morning, and it wasn't until Mokuba jumped on top of him, nearly knocking his head with an elbow, did Kaiba wake up. He groaned, trying to push the kid off of him, but Mokuba wasn't to be evaded, he moved to sitting at the corner of the bed while Kaiba got up, sitting against the headboard before trying to fix his hair.
"Nii-sama, you have today off and I was thinking we should do something together," Mokuba announced, bouncing excitedly on the bed, "I got you breakfast."
Kaiba raised his head and looked over at a tray sitting on the bedside table. There was an array of food, western breakfast, and he couldn't imagine eating all of it. That was a lot of food. Hopefully Mokuba would steal some, because pancakes alone without everything else was really too filling and fattening for him.
"What exactly do you have planned then?" Asked Kaiba, picking up a peach to eat.
He wasn't interested in going to a theme park; he had enough of that for a while. Although he took that day off to enjoy it with Mokuba before he'd get too busy with things, there was still a limited time he had available for hanging out, not enough to leave town or really do something special that differed from every other day.
But still. He could figure out something.
"I want to see the fish market," explained Mokuba, his eyes lighting up, "We always used to see that place as kids, and now I can hardly remember it."
That was many years ago. The orphanage bused kids there as a field trip all the time, to watch the early morning markets. He could remember walking past stalls of fish, shellfish, and tanks of live animals that waited being served at the different grills set up under the pavilion. He found it almost disturbing, watching the lobsters and crabs and everything else being slaughtered out there in the open, but most of the kids loved it.
Then again, Kaiba had never had a stomach for death. Yet, his life was surrounded by it.
"And maybe we can buy something for dinner there," Mokuba continued, "I want to try cooking fish or something."
"Why? We have a chef," grumbled Kaiba, putting the pit of his peach down before grabbing a piece of bacon, "You don't need to know how to cook."
"Girls like guys who can cook."
Kaiba rolled his eyes, but couldn't argue against that. It was true, and it wasn't like they couldn't afford to buy some groceries. Fresh fish from the market was generally the best, and they'd get there early enough in the day, since it was only Tuesday and most people who went on work days were the chefs and commercial buyers who bought everything in bulk. They'd probably find some good prizes.
It didn't take too long to eat, shower, and get dress. Mokuba seemed to want to do everything in a rush, and they were quick to get downtown before the kid's eyes seemed to be glued to his phone.
"Jonouchi's asking what I'm doing," he said, still smiling, "Can he join us?"
What was Kaiba supposed to say? No? He couldn't keep the kid from seeing who he wanted, but he wasn't pleased over the question either. It made his face tense up, he didn't like the geek squad coming back into his life, even if it was just one member, and although he could handle him in small doses, Jonouchi seemed to be showing up a lot.
"If he can get his ass here himself," Kaiba answered back, rolling his eyes, "I don't care."
It wasn't the exact truth, but it was better than making a huge deal over it. Hopefully Jonouchi would just be following like last time, not causing a fuss and entertaining Mokuba without irritating him too much. Kaiba hoped that.
But when lunch came and the blond actually finally did manage to appear, his hope fell. While Mokuba and Kaiba sat at a small place eating seafood dishes together, Jonouchi immediately met them, taking a seat at their table and greeting Mokuba before making a face at Kaiba and looking at the menu.
Well, that was rude. How did he get off just greeting him like that?
No matter.
Jonouchi didn't want to be there while Kaiba was present, but it was probably for the best. The sooner he got his reminder, the better. He hadn't said anything to Kaiba thus far, which honestly probably just made him more pleased and less likely to argue. That was fine. Jonouchi wanted some time to eat before that happened, anyway. No need to put himself off food.
He could actually pay for himself, too. His apartment was more than paid up for the rest of the lease, and he had grocery money for...quite a while. Mokuba might offer to pay anyway, or maybe Kaiba would. Jonouchi might insist on paying for himself. If Kitamura was going to keep paying him, he may as well stop mooching off of Kaiba and Mokuba.
"What are you ordering?" He asked Mokuba. He hadn't eaten in this place before, and Mokuba had similar tastes.
"The tuna, it's one of my favorites. Nii-sama said to try it here because they get it early in the morning."
They always sold tuna at the market, the huge fish sitting on crates as people betted thousands on them. It was a delicacy that most people enjoyed and would spend hit loads of money to purchase, Japanese tuna being some of the best fish available in the world. Mokuba certainly liked it, despite his love of all foods junky, and Kaiba didn't mind the expense if it meant feeding his brother something that was actually healthy.
"The salmon is good too though, that's what Nii-sama is getting, but I eat salmon all the time. I want something different... We're also getting some samplers though too if you want to share."
Kaiba snorted at the offer, using his chopsticks to pick up one piece of salmon sushi before putting it into sauce and placing it into his mouth.
"Is Jonouchi even capable of sharing? We've both seen how he eats before."
"Kaiba, if you can manage generosity, I can manage sharing," Jonouchi grimaced, "Mokuba, I'd like to share if that's okay. I'm a little too indecisive to pick just one thing..."
Maybe he'd get a seafood dish as his meal and nibble at the samplers. Actually nibble, since he wasn't going to starve, and he did need to share. Jonouchi used to share dishes with his friends when they went out to eat, which was usually successful. Unless Jonouchi was really hungry and his friends decided to just let him eat more anyway. That had been when he was unreasonably poor, though.
"I think I'll get the salmon, too."
Kaiba raised a brow, but said nothing. He decided not to engage in conversation, to spare himself the ensuing arguments that were likely to come from it, and Mokuba would probably pick at him later over it too. Mokuba always blamed him for the squabbles, like Jonouchi was some poor victim who couldn't defend himself. Rolling his eyes as he ate, Kaiba crossed one leg over the other and looked off into a distance, ignoring whatever talk his companions were engaging in.
The server came back soon with a huge tray of seafood, from different cuts of fish to crab and lobster on rice, along with pickled vegetables, shellfish, and other specialities Kaiba usually didn't eat unless he was right next to the ocean. It was a bit of a splurge, but fish usually wasn't that unhealthy and Mokuba really wanted to try everything and he couldn't say no. Not after watching what was available from the glass counters near the front of the grills.
"Look at the size of the shrimp!" Gasped Mokuba, picking one sushi roll and dunking it into sauce, "I can't believe how big this thing is."
"The smaller ones have more flavor," interrupted his brother, "In my opinion."
"Pfft, they taste the same," Jonouchi muttered, "May as well pick the one with more substance."
Maybe the little shrimp held flavor better, but that was what sauce was was for. Jonouchi realized he was mostly being contrary, though. Kaiba wasn't wrong and hadn't meant anything by it. Still, Jonouchi remembered the night before vividly, and he blamed Kaiba for it. Some part of himself picked at him for blaming Kaiba. How exactly was it his fault? Damn Kaiba for being so sexy. And easy to get off on. That was rational...
The food was fantastic. Jonouchi hadn't expected so much to arrive. There was no danger of him eating more than his share now, especially. He tried not to scarf too fast, so he wouldn't look like a barbarian next to Mokuba and Kaiba. That, and he needed his mouth empty enough to talk with Mokuba here and there. Good thing the kid got just as engaged with eating as he did, unlike his older brother.
Kaiba was eating slowly, not even watching Mokuba or Jonouchi as he turned the chair away towards a window, watching people pass by. There was a lot on his mind still, with the convention coming up and everything he had to prepare for. Sure, Mokuba was taking the majority of the hosting responsibilities, but Kaiba had to manage everything else. Like keeping the contractors in line and ensuring everything actually got done on time.
He couldn't have anything going wrong. Not when he was unveiling something new to the public, something that would probably blow everyone's minds and make him millions.
A video game converter that turned the graphics into 3D. It worked on all popular gaming systems, and he was rather proud of the achievement, something that most people would probably get into as soon as they tried the demos. People had talked about doing it, but hadn't ever managed to make it concrete, not while having it available for Xbox, Playstation, Wii, and everything else people bought. Kaiba didn't think it was all that hard to make, not like the damn duel disk technology, but most people weren't so savvy.
The graphics would be amazing too. Now it was just a matter of time before he could create something that would allow people to play within the game, but he was still figuring out how to make that work. His old virtual world technology would be good enough for the job, but he needed to find a better security system for it and it wouldn't be affordable for most people to purchase.
There had to be something else he could figure out. Maybe some sort of helmet device that tricked the user into believing they were in the game. Other people had made it work, and Kaiba knew he could do it better.
He was daydreaming, no longer paying Jonouchi or Mokuba any mind when they started trying to get his attention. "Nii-sama" didn't register, and it wasn't until he heard Jonouchi yell "Kaiba!" from across the table, did he tune back in.
"What?"
"What are you thinking about?" Jonouchi asked, wondering what had been so enrapturing that it removed Kaiba's attention completely from the present. Usually he was very attentive, and Jonouchi didn't know him to daydream. "Mokuba's been trying to get through to you and you just keep staring at your plate. And you talk about me being dense..."
"I'm not stupid," Kaiba spat, "I have a lot on my mind, something you wouldn't understand since no one counts on you for anything. What is it, Mokuba?"
"Oh," his brother said, laughing a little at how huffy his brother was at getting his feathers ruffled, "I just wanted to know if you wanted to go walk by the ocean later and see the fisherman on the docks. We hadn't done that in a long time."
"Sure, fine."
He was no longer in a good mood. Jonouchi ruined it, his presence becoming something of a nuisance, and Kaiba wanted him gone. He didn't want to sit there next to him, eating his food and acting like he belonged with them. No, he wanted Jonouchi to take a hike and remember where he belonged.
Which was outside of Kaiba's personal life.
Jonouchi tried not to smirk while he continued eating. Looked like Kaiba didn't like him so much now. He was only really tolerating him in the first place for Mokuba's sake, and now that Jonouchi had picked at him, he was looking all pissy again.
"What's the matter with you?" Jonouchi asked, trying not to grin. Yeah, he was trying to get under Kaiba's skin a little, but he didn't have to be too awful about it.
"Jonouchi, don't be a dick," muttered Mokuba, giving him a side glance, "It's not polite."
"Sorry, sorry," Jonouchi relented, "I'll back off..."
He felt a little bad now. Mokuba didn't need to have his lunch ruined because Jonouchi and Kaiba couldn't get along like adults. Although, the whole reason Jonouchi was being more obnoxious than usual was because of his dream about "getting along like adults". Why did he have to have Kaiba plaguing his mind? It wasn't as if he did the same to him, so it didn't seem justified at all.
It was completely unfair, actually. Having to be obsessed with the guy when he only barely tolerated him. Kaiba was a dick more of the time than not, but somehow Jonouchi couldn't get over the little bits of decency that he displayed once in a while. Well, that, and the fact that his looks were killer...
Kaiba went back to sulking, sitting back against his chair and picking at his food halfheartedly as everyone else ate silently. He no longer felt like speaking. If he did, nothing that came out of his mouth would probably be pleasant. If anything, he felt suffocated at the table, knowing full well that Jonouchi did not belong there. But he couldn't just kick him out, not if Mokuba wanted him around.
So he tried tolerating his presence. As long as he didn't keep talking to him directly, he could manage to keep to himself and just fall back into his own thoughts. It was better that way, instead of potentially blowing up and acting a fool in front of his brother.
And he thought he was managing not to start a fight for once. That maybe he could get over the idiot's insistence at being around and find some equilibrium. Not that he enjoyed Jonouchi's company, when it was pressed on him, but sometimes he wasn't so awful. Just a tad annoying.
Jonouchi didn't speak to Kaiba again. He was half-compelled to apologize for upsetting him, but he wasn't sure how well that would go over. They were still in front of Mokuba, so Kaiba might find it embarrassing. If he was going to have troll's remorse, he should at least wait until Mokuba wasn't around...
There was no certainty whether or not that would happen, though. When they'd finished eating and headed out to walk by the ocean, the three of them were still relatively stuck together. However, right in the middle of a conversation, Mokuba fell silent and dashed off. As Jonouchi watched with a scandalized gape, Mokuba found a few cute girls near the water and proceeded to dazzle them.
Jonouchi frowned. No wonder the kid hadn't been that upset about Jonouchi ditching him for sex.
"No wonder you're never after anyone," he muttered, standing next to Kaiba, "I think Mokuba's got it covered for the both of you."
"If I was ever after anyone," Kaiba replied rather dryly, finding a place to sit, "You of all people wouldn't know about it."
He didn't feel like joking with him, or even being civil at this point. Like hell if Jonouchi was going to suck him into conversation because he was bored and Mokuba decided to chase after tits. That wasn't his problem, and he wasn't compelled to entertain anyone, not even his brother's friends.
"See, the fact that you said "if" pretty much confirms it," Jonouchi smirked, "But whatever, Kaiba, I'm not judging. Considering what I see of you most of the time, I doubt you want to use your off-days chasing chicks like Mokuba does."
"Why are you even discussing my sex life?"
"Why not? You seem pretty comfortable discussing mine," Jonouchi raised an eyebrow at Kaiba's obvious hostility. It really wasn't hard to put him in a bad mood, was it? Jonouchi thought about maybe apologizing to him. But he wasn't sure he wanted to, or if it would even be helpful.
"Only because you're too shameless to keep it private."
"Uh...what's your point?" Jonouchi blinked. Most people were too "shameless" to keep their sex lives private. Kaiba just had a stick up his ass more than the average person. Usually, if someone was private about their sex life, it meant they were old or hiding something juicy. "Look, I don't mean to press. If you don't want to talk about it, we don't have to."
He hadn't even been trying to get information. He was only teasing. It seemed Kaiba wasn't in a mood to put up with it. All that, after being jokingly called dense? Not even dumb or stupid, or even slow.
"I don't want to talk to you period," retorted Kaiba, sticking up his nose a little, "So how about you try silence for once?"
"I dunno, I've tried it before, and I tend to be bad at it," Jonouchi shrugged, "Why don't you want to talk to me? Did I tick you off that much? I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to get your back up so much. It's not like I actually think you're dense."
Kaiba was anything but, and everyone knew it. It was just fun to pick on him. Jonouchi had thought that an insult so far from the truth wouldn't get under his skin so much, but apparently it had taken root in his equilibrium and effectively destroyed it.
"I was only teasing you a little. I've never seen you that lost in thought before."
Except maybe during a couple of duels, but that had been more...in shock, he supposed, than lost in thought.
"That's not the point. We're not friends; I don't like you, and just because you insist on hanging out with my little brother, doesn't mean we need to be all buddy buddy with each other. I'm not interested," sneered Kaiba, moving away from where Jonouchi was standing, crossing his arms and watching his brother from a ways, "As I've said countless times before."
"Well, yeah, but you always say stuff like that when you're pissy," Jonouchi tried not to let Kaiba's remarks get to him. He knew by now that Kaiba was full of it, but he was so hateful when he said things like that, it was hard not to wonder. Or get stung. "And you don't always mind talking to me. I'm sorry I pissed you off today. I shouldn't have picked at you."
Kaiba reminded him a little of the kids he'd known in school who would draw in their notebooks during study hall. The artists. The ones who used all their class time doodling instead of taking notes, and were grateful for some free time between classes to just draw. Of course, in Jonouchi's early days of school, they'd just been targets for him. Not because they were quiet and liked to draw, but because they were dicks if he interrupted their oh-so-important process.
Kaiba was like that. Just another frustrated, self-absorbed hipster who got pissy when his art was interrupted. Jonouchi used to smack people like that across the face for their insolence.
"Sometimes you're fine with teasing, so I didn't expect you to get this upset."
"Oh? Well, I'm not in the mood to entertain you, Jonouchi, so how about you get a clue and back off for once?"
Kaiba felt like he was being trapped into a corner. He had been fine the last couple of months being alone and dealing with his life without the interruption of the friendship brigade, but then Mokuba had to bump into Jonouchi and make a mess of things. He understood that his brother was lonely, and he wanted him to have a friend, but why did it have to be someone who pissed him off so much?
And did it on purpose, too. It wouldn't have irked him so much if Jonouchi hadn't began messing with him without reason, and after he tried to be civil before, well. He felt like he was being spat in the face. Like he was some fun game for Jonouchi to play, whenever he wanted, and he was sick of being cooperative for his brother's sake.
Screw that, he'd return to being himself if Jonouchi was just going to be that way.
"Man," Jonouchi muttered, feeling more rejected than anything, "You really are just like my mother..."
He turned away from Kaiba and stared at the water dejectedly. It seemed he'd managed to really put Kaiba off, and it appeared different than normal. Usually, if Kaiba was sick of him, he'd get mean and try to be really scathing. Right now, he was acting like he was on PMS and trying to get Jonouchi out of his hair so he'd stop picking on him.
"I still don't get why you're so upset," Jonouchi frowned, "It's not like I killed your dog or something. You're hard to understand..."
He was tempted to mention the PMS, but decided against it. Kaiba was obviously not responding well to being teased today. And yet, it wasn't having the effect for which Jonouchi had hoped. He'd figured that Kaiba being a jerk would put him off, but it was only making him more desperate to please. He felt guilty. Perhaps he had been manipulating Kaiba in a way, pushing his buttons with the knowledge that he'd bite back because of it. But they did that all the time and it never mattered. What made Kaiba so pissy about it today?
Maybe he was hurt. Maybe he was lashing out because Jonouchi had actually hurt him somehow. Not so much with the facetious "insult", but by picking on him in the first place. So now Kaiba was throwing a hissy fit like Shizuka used to do when she was five and wasn't getting what she wanted.
"I'm sorry for being an asshole," Jonouchi apologized quietly, "I shouldn't have."
"Yeah well, I'm not going to sit here and cry over it."
Mokuba was taking his sweet time talking to those girls. There had to be like four of them, and Kaiba didn't think he knew them from before. How did he get so confident, just approaching people like that? Even he didn't have the balls to do that, it seemed kind of intrusive to him, but maybe Mokuba's general friendliness put people at ease.
They were laughing. Flipping their hair and smiling like they liked him, and Kaiba just stared, watching them, ignoring Jonouchi who seemed very put out by their argument. He didn't want to talk to him anymore, or have anything to do with him. He was irritating.
Jonouchi sighed. Kaiba was being a drama queen as usual, and there was nothing to be done about it. Maybe he didn't seem affected by Jonouchi's apologies, but at least they'd been made. It was annoying, though. A regular guy would have accepted the surrender. Jonouchi was humble when he apologized, and that would end the argument with someone like Honda or Yugi.
But no, Kaiba had to just stay mad like a damn woman until Jonouchi brought him a present or something. It made him wonder. Well, he'd wondered before, but now he had reasonable cause to wonder. Was Kaiba so pissy because he was just that damaged, or was it a sign of something else?
Like his preferences. Certainly, Kaiba wasn't feminine, per se; he'd always projected a figure of almost perfect masculinity. And yet, he had little feminine quirks that showed in little ways, in everything he did. The way he used his fingers when he gestured, his responses (especially when he was pissed) tended to be confusing, and more reminiscent of Anzu than one of Jonouchi's male companions.
And that wasn't even counting the way he preened and dressed.
Jonouchi felt a little perked up, all of a sudden. So, Kaiba's little bits of "meaningless flirting" weren't just him being some sick-in-the-head straight guy. In all probability, he was at least a little gay. How much, Jonouchi wasn't exactly able to guess. He wished he could deduce a way to find out. It wasn't like Kaiba was going to sleep with him, or even just get a little frisky, so that wasn't the way to tell.
Much as Jonouchi wished he could pull it off. Making out with Kaiba sounded like a great idea, actually. But it probably wouldn't end well.
Jonouchi looked at Kaiba, who was still glaring toward his brother and deliberately ignoring him.
"Hey Kaiba," he sidled a bit closer. He'd put distance between them when they argued, knowing how Kaiba was about his personal space, but now he didn't care. Kaiba wasn't shy about getting right up on Jonouchi when he flirted-even going so far as to put hands on him. He couldn't get all pissy about being touched if he was going to do shit like that.
"If it makes you feel any better, I think you look really good today," Jonouchi purred, smiling and gazing up at Kaiba, who was giving him the most intense side-eye he'd ever seen. At least he was paying a little attention now. "Leather suits you well."
Kaiba just stared at him, dumbfounded. Where did Jonouchi get off on saying that? Why was he messing with him? It wasn't nice or fair, and all it did was make him feel suspicious, like Jonouchi was trying to figure him out or something. And he didn't like that, his prying hazel eyes playing games with him and gazing up like he was some open book.
No, it pissed him off. Closing his blue eyes, Kaiba looked elsewhere before shrugging off the meaningless flirting.
"I look the same as ever."
It was like Jonouchi was trying to figure him out. Not that it was any of his damn business, and Kaiba immediately regretted ever messing with him during the festival. It was a bad idea to begin with; even though it didn't occur to him that Jonouchi would ever get the balls to do it back. Well, he knew he was gay, but he didn't think he was so confident enough to try messing with him.
Not like that. Not so obviously attracted to him.
"Is that supposed to be discouraging?" Jonouchi laughed, amused by Kaiba's reaction. He looked so shocked. "You always look good, so looking "the same as ever" is hardly an insult in your case."
He almost felt bad for flirting with Kaiba. Not because he was flirting, but because Kaiba looked so surprised and uncomfortable. He was just lucky that Jonouchi wasn't as rude as he was, otherwise he'd probably be all up on him right now. It wasn't like Kaiba hadn't done the same to him.
"Why are you so surprised? I'm sure you knew. You fix yourself to look nice every morning, don't you?"
"Not any more than most people do."
"Yeah, sure," Jonouchi grinned, "Either you don't know what most guys do to get ready in the morning, or you're being modest. You're funny."
"I'm not trying to be funny," snapped Kaiba, getting more irritated by the moment, "Just knock it off and leave me alone."
"Why?" Jonouchi tilted his head, his expression questioning. "I'm not insulting you. Why are you so upset?"
"I'm not interested in you, obviously," he said, rolling his eyes and turning more away from Jonouchi's general direction, "So how about you stop trying already?"
He wasn't even sure honestly why it bothered him so much, people were always saying he looked attractive and he usually didn't think too much of it. But maybe it was because Jonouchi was someone he knew personally, not just a mere acquaintance. That changed things, if only a little, and he knew Jonouchi wasn't just saying something that completely queer for shits and giggles. Obviously he meant what he was saying.
And that made Kaiba very uncomfortable.
"Okay, okay," Jonouchi backed off. No need to sexually harass Kaiba. "I just couldn't be sure after that day at the festival."
Served Kaiba right for fucking with him like that. He shouldn't have been up on him, pretending to flirt...
"Figured it was worth making sure. It's hard to tell for sure, with the way you act sometimes."
"What are you even talking about?"
"Oh, just you. The way you act around me. You send mixed signals," Jonouchi snickered. Kaiba was making himself easy to mess with, and it took effort not to pick on him. Still, Jonouchi refrained. He didn't want to piss Kaiba off, just tease a little.
"Being queer doesn't automatically mean you want to sleep with every man you interact with," sneered Kaiba, now cross is leg and frowning, "I'm sure you'd understand that. Although then again, look at who you're fucking around with..."
"I don't assume you want to sleep with everyone," Jonouchi ignored Kaiba's comment regarding Kitamura for the moment, "But I'm not going to apologize for wondering after you get right on top of me and flirt. Not to mention, you act weird with me for no reason.
I don't assume you want to sleep with everyone, Kaiba. Just me."
So Kaiba had admitted he was queer. That was a small victory on Jonouchi's part, even if he'd had to flirt shamelessly to get it. He was glad that Kitamura was out of town. Otherwise he probably would have been too nervous about being caught to try that shit. He didn't plan to do anything with Kaiba (even if he kind of wanted to), but it certainly looked like he did, at this point...
"No, I don't," muttered Kaiba, feeling himself getting more uncomfortable by the second, "And I don't even understand where you get by thinking that. I flirted with you once, to make a point. That doesn't mean I'm after your dick, you idiot."
He really wanted to just get up and leave that this point, but he knew better than to. That would be like admitting defeat, and Kaiba wasn't going to shame himself into doing that. Even if it meant being uncomfortable for a while. He could deal with that, until Mokuba decided to come back, and he was positive Jonouchi wasn't so trashy that he'd keep it up with his little brother around.
Not that Mokuba was ignorant about him, but he didn't need to see that shit for himself.
"And I don't treat you any differently than anyone else."
"Lies," Jonouchi accused flatly, "But whatever. I was just wondering what was up with you and figured there was no harm in making sure. I've been wanting an excuse to mention you in leather, anyway."
He was joking about that, but it was true that Kaiba in leather was on his mind quite a bit. How could it not be? He looked spectacular in it.
"Maybe you should be more careful about making a point in the future. No need to give people the wrong impression."
"Or maybe you shouldn't be hopeful about things that will never happen. You really think I'd be interested in Jap trash like you?"
Now he turned towards Jonouchi, moving closer and peering at him pointedly. He wanted to intimidate him, if only a little, but it didn't look like it was working. If anything, Jonouchi was getting even more attentive to what was going on, moving closer himself. And Kaiba wasn't going to just back off because his plan wasn't working as well as he hoped it would.
"You're a damn joke, Jonouchi. A fucking joke. If you weren't good to Mokuba, I'd make your damn life miserable just because I can... I mean look at yourself, you're only getting by because of prostitution, am I right? And who knows how long that will last before Kitamura gets sick of you.
I'm not interested. And I sure as hell don't sleep with other people's leftovers."
Jonouchi managed to keep himself from recoiling at this sudden slew of insults. Kaiba was angry because he was losing, and Jonouchi knew that, but it still stung. A lot, actually. But he didn't let it show. He smiled instead, knowing that it would keep whatever bothered him at bay at least for a little while.
So Kaiba thought he was a prostitute. It wasn't his fucking business what his relationship with Kitamura was like. They were actually dating now, weren't they? But Kitamura kept giving him money, and Jonouchi wasn't going to argue about it. He'd rather have a place to live and food to eat than not. Kaiba didn't know shit about homelessness, so he could shut his face.
"Then get ready to stay a virgin, Kaiba, because everyone is someone's leftovers. Except you, because you're such garbage that no one wants to touch you. It's really sad that I got someone before you did."
Jonouchi made eye contact throughout his response, his teeth still bared. He was angry. But that was all right. If he was angry with Kaiba, he couldn't feel for him. He couldn't feel bad about being an ass to him, or feel like he wanted him.
"Even you can't ignore me. If you could, you wouldn't be so upset right now. You're just like a little girl who doesn't know what to do with a crush, Kaiba, and it's so obvious it hurts."
Jonouchi moved away. He felt actively repulsed by Kaiba's personal space now, and part of him was grateful for it. Shit was getting too close for comfort. Kaiba had thought he'd back out, for whatever reason, and of course he chickened out by being a giant cock about everything.
"If it makes you feel better believing that load of crap, then keep on thinking that. I don't even care at this point."
Jonouchi was very wrong about him, and that was the only thing keeping him from getting too angry over the situation. Kaiba knew when he was lying to himself, he wasn't very good at it, and he wasn't interested in Jonouchi. Not in a personal sense. It wasn't like the idiot was bad looking, he was actually pretty decent, but that didn't mean much to Kaiba. Most people weren't that ugly, the types who approached him.
"Sure you don't. You aren't even a good liar, you know that?"
Jonouchi snorted and looked away from Kaiba, toward the water, and waited for Mokuba to come back. He was starting to wish the kid hadn't run off. If he'd stayed, then Kaiba would have been irritated, and that would have been the end of it. Jonouchi wouldn't have seized the opportunity to try being nice, and it wouldn't have spiraled into...whatever the fuck just happened.
Fucking Kaiba. Hell, Jonouchi hadn't even thought he was that serious (maybe a little interested, but not especially so), but what fun was it to say that when he was trying to pick on him? And of course Kaiba couldn't handle any form of discomfort, so he got pissy about it. Did he always have to be such a giant bitch about everything?
Instead of sitting there silently waiting for Mokuba to return, Kaiba got up and left. Mokuba had his number on speed dial, and he could manage just fine in Domino without being babysat. He could find him later, Kaiba was sick of waiting by the bench with the dog, and briskly walking back towards the fish market, he decided to go and find something for dinner. At least until Mokuba called him asking where they were, and they could leave Jonouchi behind to do something else.
God, he was so sick of him. His mistaken self-assurance that he liked him, where the hell did he get off on thinking that? He was so mistaken, Kaiba could almost laugh. Like anyone could actually find his personality attractive. Not even his own mother liked him, from what he remembered.
Stalking off, he found what he was looking for, premium cuts of salmon and tuna, and he bought them and had them packaged before returning with the food. They would need to be refrigerated, so he interrupted Mokuba, tapping him on the shoulder before the kid could finish his sentence.
"We need to go."
Thankfully, Mokuba didn't argue about it. He waved the girls behind before following behind to find their car. Jonouchi liked their house, so he didn't have any problem returning home, he could show him a ton of stuff there while Nii-sama worked.
"Where's Jonouchi?"
"Hell if I know. Or care."
Jonouchi was watching as Mokuba followed his brother, probably back toward his car. Well, that was a dick move. Kaiba was essentially pulling the "going home and taking his ball with him" tantrum, collecting Mokuba and whisking him away as he stalked off in a huff. Jonouchi frowned, but didn't approach the two. That would probably just lead to more trouble. He could send Mokuba a text later on and tell him the two of them had gotten into a fight. It was better than getting into a little car with Kaiba at the moment.
He sighed and started walking the other way, toward the nearest metro station. Since he was being ditched, he may as well use the remainder of his free time that afternoon doing something useful. He still needed to find a second job, and since he was in central, he could start immediately. He was dressed okay. Not great-he didn't have any good clothes, really, and couldn't afford to put them through the wash all the time, so they were all wrinkled up. But he'd hand washed his shirt and jeans in the sink that morning to make sure there weren't any stains or smells, and that was about as good as it was going to get.
Looks at the time of application didn't really matter at his income level, anyway. No one needed to wear a suit to an interview for food service. They just had to seem friendly, polite, and obedient. Jonouchi was good at pretending he was all those things, at least as long as the hiring manager wasn't a giant asshole.
He could look at other businesses, too. Clothing outlets might hire him. Or not, since he hardly looked like he understood fashion. He could try some hotels uptown...
Jonouchi grumbled to himself, scratching the back of his head as he got on the train. He could already tell it was going to be a shitty afternoon.

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Ambivalence