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Twelfth Night... Or Not	By : thelostogg Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 4240 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters, and I do not make any money from these ramblings. No one technically owns this plot anymore, although it's been done to death by others both more and less talented than me.

Chapter List
- 2
- 3
- 4
A/N:� As always, thank you for reviews!!!!!!!� I know I don�t post that nearly enough, but
they make me happy!
A/N2:� �For
those of you who�ve never read the play that this is based on, I feel I should
warn you that music is a big theme in the story, as is the whole �liberty to be
oneself while in disguise� thing, and so I�ve gone to great lengths to try and
incorporate both of those themes.� Unfortunately,
this means that I might have shredded and saut�d any semblance
of a plot just for the sake of keeping music in the story.� Also, in case anyone is curious, the song Jou sings at the end of this chapter is not significant in
any way�I just like Godsmack.� It could just as easily have been Johnny
Cash, or maybe even that gay cowboy song by Willie Nelson.� And now I�ve got to go find a Jou as a cowboy fic or some fan
art of him in chaps so I can get that out
of my head and get back to work on Graffiti.�
�

Chapter 3

�I really don�t
think we�re going to be able to find much in your size,� the all-too astute
salesman said with his arms folded tightly across his chest.� He stood in front of a display of ornate,
delicate shoes, as though guarding them from even Jou�s wandering eyes.� All of the shoes were open-toes pumps
balanced on three to four inches of heel that ended in sharp, painful looking
spikes.� Aside from them, the store was
completely empty.
�Don�t be
silly,� Kaiba set his briefcase down beside a chair, spread his trench coat
with a flourish, and sat down.� He
casually unfolded a newspaper.� �You work
on commission, no doubt, so I can assure you that it is worth your while to go
to whatever lengths are necessary to fit my friend.� And if your commission is insufficient,
you�ll find that my generosity more than makes up the deficit.�� With that, Seto flipped the newspaper up and
relaxed.�
�I am sorry, Mr.
?�
Kaiba slowly
lowered the newspaper.� �You�re kidding?�
�No sir.� We really don�t have anything appropriate��
�Kaiba,� Kaiba
said with a smirk.� �Kaiba Seto.�
�We may have one
or two items in back,� the man said without missing a beat.� �Right this way, Miss.��
Jou was escorted to a chair a short ways away from Seto,
where his pantyhose covered feet were unceremoniously measured.� The salesman shut his eyes and let out an
exasperated sigh, before he straightened and offered Jou
a bright smile.� �Are you looking for
something for casual wear, a formal occasion, or something from the current
Fall lines?�
�Ah, something
comfortable,� Jou whispered.�
�Yes, I see
you�ve been trying to wear something a bit small.�� The man clapped his hands once and two young
sales girls appeared by his side instantly.�
�Eleven and a half, wide.�
�What style,
sir?� one of the girl�s asked.
The man
shrugged.� �We�re undecided.� Everything.�
�Eh�� Everything?�
�Yes.�
The women
disappeared for a moment and returned with as many shoe boxes as they could
carry.� Some of the boxes were tiny, but
others were impossibly large.�
�Boots first, I
think,� the salesman smiled.� He took
four of the large boxes and opened the top one.�
Inside was a pair of black leather boots nearly three feet high with
nearly a quarter of the length being made up of high heel.�
�Those are
boots?�
�Oh yes.� They�re quite the thing this season.��
After twenty
minutes of fighting to get the boot upper passed his knee without grunting or
swearing, Jou gave up.�
�Such a shame,�
the salesman said with an exaggerated pout.�
�A classic bootie perhaps.�� He
grabbed another box and produced a high heeled suede boot that, unlike the
three solid feet of black leather, didn�t even rise passed Jou�s ankle.� �Perfect,� the salesman announced.� �And it goes with your dress, so you�ll have
something to wear out.�
�Ah, okay, I
guess,� whispered Jou, not really concerned about
slipping into his normal accent around this particular gentleman.�
�Now pumps,� the
man announced.�
�No, I, I�� I just need a pair of shoes to replace a pair
that Kaiba-sama threw in the garbage, that�s
all.� I really can�t afford all that
much��
�Mr. Kaiba,
sir?� the man said aloud, but didn�t look back at the seat where Kaiba was
still reading his paper.� Kaiba didn�t
look up from his paper, but waved his hand in a general gesture of consent.�
�Very well,�
said the salesman confidently.� �Pumps.�
That took much
longer.� Jou
tried on nearly a hundred pair of short and high heels, finally arguing with
the salesman until the man agreed to see him a simple pair of black one-inch
heels with little buckles on them.� Then
sandals had to happen.� Jou drew the line at ballet flats, though, and the sound of
him and the salesman arguing finally brought Seto out of his newspaper.�
�Did you find
something you like, Kawai-san?� Seto asked, strolling towards Jou�s chair.�
�I suppose so,� Jou said meekly.�
�We simply have
to accessorize, though,� the salesman insisted.�
�The right necklace, you�ll find, can make or break the look you�re going for.��
�Well, if it�s
necessary.� I�ll just check my email,�
said Seto, returning to his chair.�
Jou stared at the salesman for a moment, swallowed
nervously, then nodded.� Jou was shoved in front of a floor length mirror while the
salesman cycled through a half-dozen different large decorative necklaces.�
�Is this really
necessary?� Jou asked, turning over one of the large
bobbles and examining it.�
�It is.� Unless you expect the press and the rest of
the world to be as oblivious to the fact that you have an adam�s
apple as Mr. Kaiba appears to be.�
�Ah.� The brown one, then.�
�I couldn�t
agree more.� The blue clashes with your
hair, makes you look deathly pale.� You
should consider tanning.�
Jou snorted.� �I
don�t think it�s necessary to pay for skin cancer,� Jou
insisted.�
�I am sure you�d
know best,� the salesman put a long strand of pearls around Jou�s neck.� �Another word of advice, though.� Invest in a thong.� Briefs tend to make a rather unattractive panty-line in even the nicest of dresses��
�I will keep
that in mind,� said Jou, shifted his hips every so slightly forward in hopes that Shizuka�s
dress would cling a bit less to his aforementioned briefs.�
When they were
finally done, Jou had three new pairs of shoes, six
new necklaces, and a brown leather purse.�
He also nearly had a heart attack when he saw the total illuminated on
the cash register display.� The salesman
didn�t read the total aloud, and Kaiba didn�t seem bothered enough by the
potential cost to glance at the credit receipt he was signing.�
Jou slipped on the booties, which he had to admit were much
more comfortable than Shizuka�s pumps, and hurried
after Kaiba, who was carrying three large bags filled with Jou�s things.�
�Kaiba-sama, do you realize how much money you just spent?� The shoes I had couldn�t have been worth more
than a few hundred yen! �
�So?�
�So you just
spent ten thousand euros on three pairs of shoes and
a few necklaces!� There�s no way I can
accept all this!� I�m grateful for you
being so considerate, but there�s no way I could ever afford to pay you back!�
�So think of it
as a payment for helping me,� said Kaiba, holding open the passenger door to
his BMW.�� When Kaiba closed the door
after Jou then climbed into the driver�s seat, he
continued.� �I take care of people who go
out of their way to help me,� he said simply.�
�And I�m not asking you to do anything unethical, just�� Just help me talk to him.� He wont even see
me��
Jou studied the way Kaiba�s
features softened and fell as he sat behind the wheel.� He looked so depressed that Jou wanted to reach out and ruffle his hair, just to
distract him.�
�What�s happened
with you two, so far?� It�ll help if I
know as much about what�s going on as possible.�
Kaiba leaned
back and shut his eyes.� �I suppose it
began when we were in high school��
Jou listened as Kaiba told him the story of how he had
first discovered he was bisexual, and how ashamed he had been that the men he
was attracted to as a teenager were all quite definitely straight.� The only ones he hadn�t been terrified to
tell were the two people he knew who were openly bi or gay, Otogi
Ryuji and Motou Yugi.�
Yugi, he explained, had looked so much like a twelve year old boy at the
time that Kaiba felt a bit like a pediphile for even
trying to think about the smaller boy romantically.� Otogi, on the other
hand, had been delighted to help Kaiba explore his emerging sexuality.
What followed
had been a strange arrangement in which Kaiba and Otogi
occasionally fooled around, but both wavered between wanting more and wanting
to see other people, and neither of them ever seemed to be in the mood to make
something more of their relationship at the same time.� After a few years, they had drifted apart and
Otogi left Domino to help put Industrial Illusions
back together and launch his own game.� Otogi had recently returned to Domino, but he had wanted
nothing to do with Kaiba.� Kaiba, in the
mean time, had come out of the closet and wanted Otogi
to move in with him.� Otogi
wouldn�t even see him, much more tell him why he was so insistent that they not
get back together.� So, Kaiba had done
the unthinkable.� He had spent several
miserable nights sitting in Yugi�s club listening to love songs set to Yugi�s driving
guitar rhythms and finally, desperately, asked the shorter man for advice.� Yugi had told Kaiba to try being romantic, to
try wooing Otogi.�
He had also been the one to inform Kaiba that Kawai Shizuka
had just opened her own flower shop, and that she could be counted on to be
discrete.�
Nothing Kaiba
tried seemed to be working, though.� He
sent flowers, gifts, poems, when he could write one that didn�t sound pathetic,
and even had Yugi write a song for Otogi.� The other man spurned every one of Kaiba�s efforts.�
�I just don�t
know what to do anymore,� Kaiba admitted, as he pulled to a stop in front of a
crowded sidewalk.� He climbed out of the
car quickly, which Jou found the passanger
door opened by a skinny looking man wearing half of a shredded tuxedo.� Jou climbed out,
still a bit wobbly on high heels, and searched the crowd for blonde hair.� There crowd was filled with teenagers and
young adults with a thousand different hair colors.� But none of them were curly yellow
blondes.�
Kaiba grabbed Jou�s
hand without any kind of ceremony and tossed the keys to his BMW to the man in
the half-a-tux.� Jou
tried to keep up with Kaiba as he shoved his way through the line, and through
the bouncer working the door, but he found that it was harder to move as a girl
than as a guy, not just because of the high heels.� As Jounouchi Katsuya,
people in a crowd moved aside for him.�
But in a dress, girls and guys a like seemed to look straight through
him.� A few times he felt roaming fingers
on his ass and had to resist the urge to punch somebody.�
Kaiba led Jou around the dance floor, passed the small stage where
Yugi, Marik, and Bakura
were warming up, and to a small table near the stage door that had a reserved
sign sitting on it.� Kaiba motioned to a
waiter as he sat down, and two glasses of brandy were on the table before Jou even got settled into his seat.�
That was not
fair.� Jou had
sat at Yugi�s table over a hundred times, and he always had to go fight the
crowd at the bar when he wanted a drink.�
The only time the waiters even bothered coming near him was when he was
coaxed into getting up on stage and singing with the band.� Jou hadn�t been
forced into that embarrassment in over six months now, thankfully.� He hated singing, even though he was actually
pretty good at it.� It was one of those
things that made people stop and notice him, and it made him so uncomfortable
that he almost always threw up afterwards.�
Jou stared up the stage, trying to catch his best friend�s
gaze.� Yugi saw him, grinned gigantically,
and waved.� He smacked Bakura in the arm, and Bakura
turned his critical eyes away from his guitar and towards Jou.� Then he laughed.� He laughed and pointed.� He had to bend down to catch his breath, but
he kept laughing.� He threw a pick at Marik, who was biting through the plastic on a brand new
set of drum sticks, and pointed at Jou.� Marik rolled his
eyes and continued trying to tear into the package of drum sticks with his
teeth.�
Jou tried to decipher the look in Marik�s
eyes, trying to figure out if the other man had recognized Jou
earlier at the Black Clown.� The only
thing Jou could ever read in Marik�s
eyes was a quiet insanity, as though the other man was seeing a delusional
version of the entire world that was constantly falling to pieces, and he
thought it was terribly funny.�
Bakura, on the other hand, couldn�t seem to stop
laughing.� Yugi tried to get Bakura to calm down, to get him to focus on tuning his
guitar and getting the sound check done since the club was in the process of opening,
but the white haired thief would not hear of calming down. Bakura
dropped his own guitar and took a long pull from a bottle of scotch, then
stumbled down the stairs to Kaiiba and Jou�s table.
�Well, well,
well� �� Bakura
swayed slightly and hiccupped.� �Ah�� Oh, yeah, well.�� He hiccupped again, seeming to catch himself
by surprise.� �Bleh.� I think they need to replace the mixed niuts at the bar.��
He looked up again and seemed to notice Jou
once again.� He started laughing
again.�
�Bakura, it�s not even six thirty,� Kaiba said dryly.� �Isn�t it a bit early to be totally shit
faced?�
Bakura drew himself up to his full height and stared down
at Kaiba.� �Kaiba, just because you and Otogi�s idea of a party involves a four pack of wine
coolers doesn�t mean the rest of us are light weights.�
�Were you this
drunk when you ran off with the cuff links I sent to Otogi
this afternoon?�
�I am not
drunk,� Bakura insisted, swaying slightly.� �If you take an upper when you drink, it
counter acts the effect of the alcohol, everybody knows that.� And you mean this earrings?� That was funny.� I didn�t think Otogi
could turn quite that red.�
�Do you still
have them, or did he finally accept?�
Bakura hiccupped again.�
�Yeah.� Earrings.� I figured you wouldn�t care, and I was
broke.� I really needed a drink.� Since Marik started
working there, all day long all I hear about is how much Otogi
misses his father, how it�s his duty to make his game launch successful, how he
can�t get that stick out of his ass because you wedged it in there too
tight�� I hawked �em.� But here�s what�s left.�� Bakura tossed a
small wod of crumpled up cash on the table.�
Kaiba stared at
the money, trying not to laugh.� �How
much did you get for those cufflinks?�
�Cufflinks?� What the fuck is a cufflink?�
Kaiba
meticulously unfolded the money and counted it.�
�There�s only eight thousand yen here, Bakura.�
�Yeah, cheap
bastard.� I figured you�d have splurged
for something real.�
Kaiba�s smile was so big that Jou
pushed his seat back a few inches, worried that it meant he was about to
explode.� Oddly, he didn�t.� �Oh, they were real.� You got ripped off.�
Bakura shrugged.� �Were
not.� The fake white gold was hard as a
rock.�
�Platinum.� That fake white gold was solid platinum.�
�Oh.� Well, if you�ll be so kind as to loan me a
few thousand yen, I�ll buy you a drink to make up for it.�
�Don�t you have
a show?� Jou asked quietly.�
�Hu�� Bakura looked back up at the stage where Yuig stood with his hands on his hips.� �You know, Shizuka-chan, Yugi wanted me to
tell you that your brother has graciously agreed to perform tonight.� He should be back in the green room changing
right now.�
�Bakura, you moron, this is Jounouchi�s
cousin.� She looks a lot like Kawai Shizuka, but it isn�t her.�
�I�m not that
drunk, asshole. �I know exactly what I�m
saying, thank you very much.�
�Please don�t
mind him, Kawai-san, he is always like this�when he�s not actually
homicidal.�� Kaiba took a sip of his
brandy without so much as a grimace at the burning flavor.� �I suppose, though, if Jounouchi were going
to perform, that would explain why Yugi wanted me to bring you here instead of
just giving you a ride home.�
Jou thought about Yugi�s warning.� If Mai really was camped out outside of Shizuka�s flower shop, he couldn�t possibly go back there
without compromising his disguise.� Of
course, putting up with Mai might be worth it, if it meant that he could give
in and punch Bakura.�
He had no idea why Yugi found those two psychos so amusing, and it
seemed as though even Kaiba tolerated them with a friendly attitude.� Had so much changed since Jou
had graduated from high school?� He
hadn�t been that out of touch, just busy working like everybody else.
With a shake of
his head, Jou grabbed the brandy the waiter had
placed in front of him and drained the entire glass.� He slammed the glass down on the table before
he caught Bakura�s smirking expression.�
�Well, well,
well��
�The club closes
at midnight,� Kaiba said conversationally, �We really don�t have time for you
to ramble while you try and form a coherent sentence, thief.�
�I was just
going to say that Shizuka-chan s starting to seem
more like my kind of girl by the minute.�
How many drinks would it take to get you to ride me home tonight?��
�Get lost, Bakura,� Kaiba hissed.�
�Unless you want Jounouchi to kick your ass when he shows up.� He doesn�t have enough patience to put up
with you.�
Bakura leered and licked his lips.� �My plans for the evening might very well
involve Jounouchi and my ass, if Shizuka-chan isn�t
interested.�
Jou felt himself grow pale.�
�Please, even if
you were Jounouchi�s type, nothing is likely to turn
his head away from that Valentine woman.�
There was even an engagement announcement in the paper a while back.��
Jou�s head shot
up quickly.� �What?�
�Your cousin and
Mai Valentine.� They were sixteen when
they first got together, so it�s not like the announcement was unexpected.��
�They are most
certainly not engaged!�
Kaiba shrugged
and took a large drink.�
�My cousin can�t
stand Mai.� They�ve never been together.� She keeps chasing him, but he�s�� well, if you must know, he�s still got his
heart set on his first crush�� Some boy he went to high school with.�
Kaiba�s eyes widened slightly.�
�So,� Bakura leaned on the table, so close to Jou
that Jou could smell the liquor on his breath.� �So��
So�� Do you know if Jounouchi prefers to be on top or
bottom?�
�Yugi, come get
some control over this leech!� Kaiba called up to the stage.�
Yugi glanced
back stage, desperately searching for help.�
Finding no one, Yugi set his guitar down carefully, and jumped off of
the stage. Jou saw�s Yugi�s eyes dark between him and
Kaiba.� ��Kawai-san!�
Seto, thank you so much for making sure that Kawai-san made it here
safely!� I�d feel so bad if Jou�s cousin got
lost during her first few days in town. �But you�ve got to be tired after working all
day.� Why don�t you come back to the
green room with me, that way you can relax until after the show.�
�I can show her
the way to the green room,� Bakura said, somehow
finishing the entire bottle of liquor he�d started on just minutes before.�
Yugi�s hand
darted out quickly, smacking Bakura in the back of
the head.�
�Is the Mutt
really performing tonight?� Kaiba asked, staring at Yugi intently.�
�Jounouchi?� Performing?�
�No he�s not,� Jousaid quietly.� �He
told me he had to work.�
�If he�s not
going to be here, I can take her home,� Seto insisted.� �I don�t mind.�
�No!� Yugi
yelped.� �Home is not a good idea!� Ah, Jounouchi�s
mother is visiting, and things get, ah, volatile.� Yeah, volatile.� Too many red heads in one place, you know how
it is.�
Bakura, Kaiba, and Jou all stared
at Yugi.� �Too many red heads?� Bakura echoed, making it very clear that he, at least, did
not know how it was.� �You can have too
many red heads?�
Yugi rolled his
eyes.� �It�s a figure of speech.� Just one of those things people say.� You know, like:� There�s
nothing a man with a big enough meat grinder wont try
to stuff into a sausage.�
Jou smirked as Kaiba nearly choked on a sip of his
brandy.�
�I know people
don�t say that,� Bakura insisted.� �I would remember, if people said that.�
�It�s true,
though.� Come on Kawai-san,� Yugi held
out his hand like a gentleman.� �Oh, by
the way, Bakura, I saw Marik
doing something with your guitar strings and some of the wires from the right
subwoofer��
Bakura scrambled back on to the stage with remarkable
agility.�
�Thank you,� Jou whispered, taking Yugi�s hand and letting the smaller
man pull him to his feet.�
�Kawai-san,�
Kaiba stood up, his posture rigid.� �What
time will you be by tomorrow?� You will
try again, wont you?�
�I�ll try,� Jou promised.� �But,
if he�s so abandoned to his career as he says, it wont
make any difference.�
Kaiba�s sad eyes dropped miserably.� �I know.�
But try anyway.� Please?�
Jou nodded as Yugi dragged him away.
On the stage, Marik and Bakura had gone from
arguing, to punching each other, to making out and tearing at each other�s
clothes.� The few people admitted to the
club before it officially opened at seven were laughing and gawking at
them.� Yugi was tugging him towards the
stage door before he got a chance to say anything else.�
Yugi shoved the
stage door closed behind them and unceremoniously pushed Jou
through the dark, crowded, backstage world.�
Yugi tugged him along through a dark, hardly visible walkway, then
through an unmarked door to the main dressing room.� The dressing room was empty.� Yugi shut the door behind them and
immediately began fussing with Jou�s hair.�
�Sorry, I know I
shouldn�t have said anything to him, but it was that or let him make jokes
about Kaiba finally getting a girlfriend.�
Fabulous shoes, by the way.�
�They hurt.� And don�t worry about Bakura,
I guess I should be grateful that he�s not trying to kill anybody.� What the hell�s up with Kaiba, Yugi?� Since when are Kaiba and Bakura
all friendly?� Kaiba not only tolerated
him but he laughed at him?� When did the
ice prick mellow out?�
Yugi
shrugged.� �He was never that bad, Jou.� You just always
brought out the worst in him in high school.�
Me too, come to that.�
�He didn�t even
seem human in high school.� Never said a
word to anybody unless it was an insult.�
Just glared all the time.� Every
time I�ve seen him since he�s been exactly the same.� He just glares like he�s got a permanent
stick up his ass.�
�He�s just
Kaiba,� Yugi insisted, using his fingers as a comb and pulling Jou�s hair back
into a tight pony tail.� �Sit.��
�What are you
doing, Yugi?��
�Making you look
like a guy again, what else?�
�But you said
Mai is camped out outside Shizuka�s place!� I can�t go back there looking like a guy,
she�ll eat me alive!�
�Well, you can�t
hang out here looking like Shizuka.� I already called Shizuka,
she knows you�re staying at my place tonight, and there�s no way I could get
away with taking Shizuka back to the Kame Game shop
for the night.� Honda would kill me.�
�Honda?� What the hell does Honda have to do with my
sister?�
Yugi snorted and
wrapped a black and white bandana around Jou�s red hair.� �Absolutely nothing.� You�re too easy sometimes, Jou.�� As soon as
Jou�s hair was covered and he was makeup free, Yugi began to unbutton Jou�s
dress and slid it down over Jou�s hips.�
�Briefs?� Really, Jou, you�ve got to get into the spirit of the thing if
you�re going to pull this off.� Although,
from what Marik said, Otogi
didn�t seem to notice one way or the other.�
I would have paid money to see that!��
Yugi pulled a
pair of black leather pants out from somewhere and tossed them to Jou.� �You�re lucky
you�re about Bakura�s size.� You have to go commando with these,
though.� Hurry up and get dressed.� If I know those two, they�re not going to be
ready to go on in five minutes even if I could pull them off of each other, but
that doesn�t mean I can hang out back here all night.��
�The club can�t
open in five minutes!� They were
practically screwing each other on stage!��
�Yeah, I know.� Should definitely get a rise out of the
crowd.�� Yugi stood back with his arms
folded, staring at Jou expectantly.� �What?� Yugi asked, after Jou
just stared at him for a moment.�
�Do you realize
what you�re saying!�
�Oh, please!� It�s a gay bar.� No one will complain unless one of them grows
breasts.� Get dressed.�
�Privacy?� asked
Jou, awkwardly avoiding pulling his briefs down.�
�Jou, I watched you change hundreds of times in gym and you
never cared then.�
�I didn�t know
you were gay then.�
�I could say the
same about you.�
�I�m not gay,� Jou insisted.
Yugi nodded
slowly.� �You�d be down on all fours
barking if Kaiba promised he�d fuck you for doing it.� You know you would.�
Jou set his jaw, trying not to blush.� �It don�t matter.� Even if he does go for guys, I�m not his
type.� He wants Otogi.� Hell, he wont admit
it, but he�s in love with Otogi.� He told me about it, you know.� How they�ve danced around a real relationship
for so many years.� You wouldn�t believe
the look in his eyes when he talks about Otogi�� Pathetic or not, I probably would bark like a
dog if it would ever get him to look at me like that.�
�Jou�� You know, maybe
you should just keep an eye on the flower shop tomorrow, let Shizuka run Kaiba�s errands.� It�s nearly masochistic, putting yourself
through this just to avoid Mai.�
�Are you
kidding?� Jou slipped out of the dress and underwear
and tried to squeeze into Bakura�s pants.� �This is the best thing that could have
happened to me!� I should be thanking Mai
for making me this desperate!� Kaiba
actually talks to me like this!� He
actually listens, too!� I can�t not show
up tomorrow!�
�But you said it
yourself, he wants Otogi.��
�I�� I know.�
And if Otogi is who he wants, well, maybe I
can help him.� Otogi�s
turned away everyone else who�s even tried to deliver one of Kaiba�s notes.� If I
can help�� Well, maybe Kaiba wouldn�t be
quite such an asshole if he actually has somebody in his life he cares about��
�Jou��
�I know�� At least I might be able to make him see me
as a human being, though.� Hell, maybe
even as a friend.�
�Fine.� But when this blows up in your face, I�m
going to rub it in.�
�Fair
enough.� Do you need any extra help
tonight?�
Yugi shrugged.� �Nah.�
Everybody on the schedule showed up, and Bakura�s
never been so drunk that he can�t play.�
The key to the game shop is in the same place it always it, if you just
want to head there.�
�Yeah, I might
do that.� I don�t suppose you�ve got any
shoes I can borrow, do you?�
�You�ve got
Prada heels and you�re asking me to borrow shoes?�
�Real shoes,
Yugi.�
�Nope, sorry.�
�Damn.�� Jou dug through a
pile of Yugi�s clothes and found a black fishnet top.� He forced the material down over his head and
tried to pull the hem down to his naval.�
�I don�t suppose Bakura�s got anything?�
�No, I don�t
think so.� But hey, they�ll make your ass
look great in those pants.� You should go
keep Kaiba company during the show, see if you can�t persuade him to forget
about Otogi.��
Jou swallowed hard.� �That
wouldn�t be right, Yug�.� He�s serious about Otogi
and he�s always hated me.� I�ll just head
back to the game shop.�
�Why not just
give it a try,� Yugi urged.� �You never
know.�
Jou stared at his reflection in the green room mirror.� He took a deep breath and met his own eyes.� Even though he�d spent the entire day talking
with Kaiba, the thought of seeing him again without his disguise was
terrifying.� Jou
shut his eyes and remembered the soft, sad smile that he�d seen adorn Kaiba�s face.� Kaiba
wouldn�t be persuaded to forget about Otogi.� Kaiba wasn�t looking for a one night stand or
someone to party with for the night.�
And, dressed in Bakura�s leather and Yugi�s
fishnet, that was the only thing Jou could imagine
Kaiba thinking Jou might be interested in.� Jou could only
imagine the insults Kaiba would come up with, seeing him like this.�
�I don�t suppose
you need a backup singer tonight?� Jou asked, hoping
the fluttering terror of stage fright might make the emptiness inside of him
feel a bit less all-consuming.�
Yugi leaned Jou�s
shoulder and smiled at their reflection.�
�Definitely.�
Jou followed Yugi towards the stage.� To his surprise, he saw that Bakura and Marik had either
finished what they were doing or gotten themselves under control and were
belting out a few random chords.� Marik greeted Yugi with a wave and handed Yugi his
guitar.� Both men stopped goofing off and
leered at Jou appreciatively as he followed Yugi on
stage.�
�Damn,� Bakura hissed, not even trying to disguise the fact that he
was staring at Jou�s ass.� �Aren�t those
mine?�
Jou shrugged and smiled brightly.� Yugi saved him from an explanation when he
began to play.� Marik
picked up the beat, and Bakura quickly followed
suit.� Yugi played a slow, driving rhythm
and bobbed his head to the beat.� Jou recognized the introductory chords of Godsmack�s Good
Times, Bad Times and stepped up to the microphone.�
Jou saw Kaiba sitting alone at the table near the stage,
watching him with silent rage in his eyes.�
Jou smiled at him, and began to dance.� When Yugi hit the vocal cue, Jou kept his eyes on Kaiba�s ice
cold glare and began to sing.�
The thing Jou didn�t like to admit, but that all of his friends knew,
was that he could actually sing.� It wasn�t
that he could sing well enough for Christmas carols that didn�t make people cringe
around the holidays, he could really
sing.� Unfortunately, he could only occasionally
sing in front of other people without getting so nervous that he threw up.� Alcohol tended to help with the nervousness,
but it also raised the odds of him throwing up considerably.� This time, though, he kept his eyes on
Kaiba.� He kept his eyes riveted to that
blue glare, imagining the insults that were probably running through Kaiba�s head.� He
managed to keep himself just angry enough at Kaiba that the rest of the crowd
seemed to fade into non-existence.� Yugi
kept playing songs Jou knew and nodding to urge him
on, so Jou kept singing.��
By the time Jou finally stopped, out of breath and covered in sweat,
the night had worn away.� Yugi handed
things over to a DJ and bounced off of the stage, dragging Jou
behind him.� Random hands from the audience
groped him as he squeezed passed the crowd around the stage and slipped out the
door behind the bar.� Yugi didn�t let go
of him until Bakura and Marik
followed them out and the door was shut tight behind them.� Then Yugi released Jou�s hand and bent double
to catch his own breath.�
�How�� Yugi
panted, �Can you not love this?�
Jou threw himself against the cool brick wall of the alley
and tried to catch his own breath.� He
shook his head, trying to clear his head, to focus on ice blue instead of the
glint of light reflecting off of hundreds of anonymous eyes all watching him. �It didn�t work if Kaiba wasn�t actually
there.� He managed to bend forward far
enough that the regurgitated brandy didn�t splash on his shoes, at least.�
��One drink?� Bakura
chuckled somewhere in the dark alley.� �You
really are a fucking girl.�
�Come on, Jou,� Yugi rubbed his back in slow circles.� �Let�s get you home.�
Jou tried to warn Yugi to wait, but all he could manage was
to turn away as his stomach erupted again.�
�Least you
managed to get Kaiba�s attention,� Yugi said
softly.� �And you didn�t throw up in
front of him, too.�
�I�ll call the
evening a success then, shall I?� Jou gasped.�
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Twelfth Night... Or Not