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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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Two Weeks Later

The best time to work always came at night. Kaiba Seto knew this, and that was why he always reserved a portion of the middle of the night to work alone, shutting his brother out by midnight and going until two in the morning. It wasn't like he didn't enjoy his younger brother's company, but it was much easier doing things without the distraction. Mokuba wasn't able to keep himself busy with the finer details like he could, and usually he lost interest trying to work after a few hours shadowing Kaiba.
This was fine. Kaiba needed the quiet.
He managed to get invited to a rival company's tech show convention, and the after party that followed it at the Kaiba Hotel. Naturally, he wasn't very comfortable about his own hotel holding a function for a competitor he did not get along with, but since the plans were already made, he would be there in attendance if only because he saw no reason in being impolite. It might turn into a solid opportunity to sabotage.
Not like the times he had before, but Kaiba knew his technology was better. The company just hadn't revealed what they had in store yet, and as soon as their show was underway, it would blast their competitor out of the water. He just had to keep calm and look unmoved by the whole dog and pony show until Fall arrived.
Then his chance would come.
Kaiba's shows were always the best, and he wasn't worried about winning the market's favor. He just didn't like being patient about it while everyone else around him liked being boastful about what they had in development. Kaiba knew better than to take the bait. He kept his mouth shut, and he always made his annual shows a surprise.
No one would know what he had in store for them.
It was just a game of cat and mouse now. Let the mouse squeak and make a show of itself; Kaiba knew his chance would come soon enough to silence it, maybe even for good. Their new concept duel disks, despite being far more lightweight and economical, were lesser quality and did not have the capabilities to make the monsters feel real. They lacked that extra touch offered by the Solid Illusion hardware Kaiba modified into his new inventions. Technology that created the feel of a real creature from the smell and heat down to just the simple mechanics of their movement. No one else could copy that, and even though many had tried, everyone lacked the capabilities to reverse-engineer his invention.
It was just too complex.
Kaiba just had to pick up his suit in the morning. He wasn't going to go to the function with a date, everyone knew he wasn't in a relationship and trying to save face would not win him supporters. Far too confident and proud for that, he'd go alone. His own brother said he wouldn't be there for the actual show, but would probably come late to the dinner with a friend.
No matter.
The next day he picked up his black Gucci suit with the pinstripes and got it on an hour before he was due to arrive so to make sure the alterations were still good. If not, he'd wear something else, but Kaiba preferred to make an entrance. Try to steal some of the limelight away. But even after putting on the cool blue dress shirt and his Rolex watch, he still didn't feel that excited about the show.
People would be everywhere. Maybe even some of his fans. That was always a mild annoyance, since he no longer dueled and some television newscaster was going to ask that inevitable question: "When are you planning on getting back into the dueling scene?" And he'd have to answer with a never, and skip off before anything else could be said.
It wasn't like he even showed interest in playing after high school. He gave it up, for good. Putting on his sun glasses and getting into the backseat of his Bentley, he frustratedly wished that he could make that fact clear, but no one was going to believe him until he stopped producing Duel tech.
Mokuba promised to be at the dinner on time. The show at the convention center was nothing to write home about. The "new" products being shown had all been predictable, and Kaiba could feel himself falling asleep in his VIP seating, unable to keep himself awake while the self-important CEO went on and on over his inspiration. It just looked like another thing Apple was going to sue them over, in Kaiba's opinion, and tuning out completely after the first half, he'd actually wished Mokuba was there to keep him from blanking out.
The woman next to him certainly didn't, she'd seemed almost offended each time Kaiba sighed and closed his eyes. He'd wanted to snap at her and tell her to mind her own damn business, but thankfully the show had ended before he could. Everyone was quick to leave their seats, and he got to his limo rather briskly before shutting the door and waiting to be sent to the hotel.
From there, he could stay in the executive suite until tomorrow. He didn't allow his "guest" that luxury, not his own private penthouse home away from home. Grinning over that fact, he felt a bit better about having to deal with him. There were very few businessmen he got along with, and Europeans were clearly the worst. They had a way of rendering his time completely wasted with their self-importance, and it was incredulous to him that they had the nerve to insult his fellow Japanese and even the Americans...
At least the Americans were enthusiastic over working with him. They did whatever they could to accommodate him and even went so far to treat his brother and spoil him. Sure, it was ass kissing and Kaiba was well-aware that they were just trying to win his favor through gestures of kindness, but it worked a little.
The Japanese just were good at meeting deadlines and didn't waste his time with bullshit. They spoke his language, after all, and even if they did backhanded crap sometimes, well, Kaiba couldn't lie and say he didn't use the same tactics. It was a familiar world for him.
But damn, the Europeans...
Getting out of the limo, he was glad to still have his sunglasses on as cameras started flashing in his face. He didn't even try posing for them, just readjusting the frames and walking down to the main entrance, looking back briefly to catch Isono walking after him. The trusty bodyguard went nearly everywhere with him when he left the house or office, and once they were shoulder to shoulder, he allowed himself to be ushered into the ballroom.
That was when he finally took off his glasses, and he was surprised to find Mokuba already there with a familiar face. He couldn't lie and say he wasn't annoyed to see the stray dog following after him. He didn't quite understand why the Germans would invite him either, but... It didn't matter. As long as the bumbling idiot left him alone, his cool could remain and he'd mingle for the good two hours he was required to stay in attendance before disappearing into his room...
Jonouchi was about as impressed with the social gathering as Kaiba was, if that. He was beginning to wonder what had made Mokuba invite him. Maybe he'd wanted a reprieve from the sea of stuck-up businessmen and passive-aggressive competitors. Not that the kid wasn't smart enough to deal with it, but Jonouchi imagined that having a friendly face around was nice.
That said, he was annoyed by how hard Mokuba seemed to be trying to keep him out of traffic. He ended up seated on a bench that was shoved up against the wall in a corner. It was probably intended for more private conversations or resting if one was too drunk to function any longer. Which was entirely possible, since everyone in the place was ingesting alcohol like there was no tomorrow. Probably to make things more interesting.
Jonouchi leaned against the convenient but extremely uncomfortable arm of the bench. He was bored. That might not be such a problem if he could get away with drinking, but he'd had to provide ID walking in. That probably wouldn't stop him if not for the sunglass-covered eyes of Kaiba's men in black stationed all around the room. He couldn't see their gazes, but Jonouchi had encountered enough police and security to know that they were always on the lookout. Always attentive to misdemeanors.
So he sat on the bench like a well-behaved child that had been dragged to a grown-up party with their parents. Or, in this case, Mokuba. Where was he, anyway? And his brother? Neither of them seemed to be around, but it was possible that Jonouchi just couldn't see them through the crowd.
Tch. What was he saying? Kaiba was so tall, he was impossible to miss. There weren't enough German businessmen in the place to hide him, and there was maybe one other Japanese man in the room who was about his height.
He tapped his heel against the floor impatiently. He wanted to get up and go find Mokuba instead of waiting there for whenever the kid felt like taking a break from the party. He had the vindictive idea to just leave, but something stopped him. He'd probably feel bad for it later if he did. He'd just have to wait for Mokuba to return and talk to him about ditching him in a corner.
When Mokuba did finally appear in Jonouchi's vision, it was all he could do not to hop up and approach him. He managed to contain himself and just wait until they inevitably made eye contact. When they did, Mokuba smiled at him and walked over.
"Sorry, I got called away by some associates."
"Associates?" Jonouchi snorted. Funny word for a fourteen-year-old to use for a bunch of stuck-up and half-drunk adults he barely knew. It was like business sense came to the Kaiba brothers inherently.
"I've been here waiting for you, ya little jerk. It's boring over here," Jonouchi sighed, making an expression of faux tragedy.
"I'd get you something to drink, but I'm pretty sure my brother would bust my ass if I tried," said Mokuba, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, "He doesn't think it's okay for me to try to get away with stuff like that, even if I can..."
Certainly not at the Kaiba Hotel, where the staff all knew who he was and would have their jobs on the line if Kaiba found out his brother was served alcohol illegally. It was unfortunate for Jonouchi, who was just under the age limit, and had to sit out on the fun because of it.
"If you want, I'll have more food sent over."
"You mean those little olives stabbed with toothpicks?" Jonouchi laughed. "That's not really 'food', kid. If anything, it just makes me hungrier. No wonder rich people are so damn skinny. You guys wouldn't know party snacks if someone force-fed them to you."
Couldn't they have just ordered some pizzas? Most people liked pizza. But he supposed it wasn't "refined", or whatever bullshit these people liked to call everything they did. Jonouchi felt distinctly out of his element. Maybe he was thus far unnoticed for the most part, but he knew he stuck out like a sore thumb. Probably the only reason no one had accosted him yet was because they thought he was someone's servant.
"There is a huge sushi platter near the bar, you monkey," snorted Mokuba, "And Japanese pizza tastes like shit compared to what these people are used to, so it was probably a good thing they didn't do that. Normal, traditional small bites are fine, it just means you can't stuff your face full like usual."
"Man..." Jonouchi sighed, but he stood to go to the sushi bar anyway. Some rolled seaweed with rice and fish would at least fill him a little better than other alternatives. And he could sneak it into the corner so no one would notice his lower-class eating habits.
"Where's Kaiba, anyway?" Jonouchi asked, realizing that he still hadn't caught sight of him. He craned his neck and looked around the room. "Is he ditching his own party?"
He started grabbing sushi to put on a plate. There wasn't that much at the bar. Probably enough for people to graze, but it definitely wasn't a meal's worth. Jonouchi had been half-hoping that he could mooch enough food at the party not to need dinner. It would save money and supplies.
"Nii-sama is probably hiding somewhere drinking away his mood," laughed Mokuba, picking up a sushi roll for himself before stuffing the entire thing into his mouth shamelessly, "I wouldn't go poking at him here if I were you, he's always more testy at social gatherings...
And don't worry about dinner, I got you a hotel room here so you wouldn't have to go home late, and you can order room service if you want."
"I don't want to "poke at him"," Jonouchi grimaced, leading the way back to his little corner, "But thanks for the offer. I'm not gonna complain about free room and board for a night."
Especially if that meant free food and avoiding the gangs in his neighborhood. The "consort" who lived next door to him had warned him that there was some other gang that had been getting under Rintama's skin, and there might be a fight that night. He didn't know how high the chances of that were, but he didn't want to be caught in between the new local gang and some assholes from the next city over trying to fuck someone's shit up.
He gazed around the room, watching people socialize now that he had some food and company. Everyone was dressed so well that it was making him embarrassed. The black slacks and button-up that Mokuba had provided for him was probably the nicest thing he'd ever worn, but he was hardly dressed to the nines. The people at this party looked like something out of a movie, and it was even worse when he recognized a couple of them.
Sigfried Schroeder, for starters. That guy was like a less successful and even more self-entitled version of Kaiba. Of course, Kaiba probably would have turned out just as rotten if it wasn't for the little dose of tragedy in his past. Schroeder had always had things easy, despite some family pressure.
At least he'd dumped that pink pinstripe suit. Hopefully in the trash. Instead, he was wearing a dark navy suit that better complemented his light strawberry blond hair. It was styled less strangely than it had been during the Grand Prix, but it was still long as hell. He looked like someone out of a German metal band had put on a suit and tried to pass as a professional.
Jonouchi observed with interest as Schroeder started meandering his way across the room. Mokuba was watching too, probably for lack of anything better to do, and the both of them kept rapt attention. Especially when they discovered that Schroeder's destination was the opposite corner of the room, where Kaiba had apparently squirrelled himself away. As if he could hide. Everyone in that room was probably just waiting for a chance to kiss his ass.
Things got interesting when Kaiba's chestnut hair appeared above the heads of those in attendance. He and Sigfried were exactly the same height, and Jonouchi couldn't see Sigfried's face, but judging by the pointed glare and expression of disgust Kaiba directed at him, he probably looked pretty offended. He saw Kaiba's mouth moving rapidly but in strange shapes. He must be speaking German. Sigfried's posture got increasingly more tense and a little timid by the time Kaiba brought his glass of expensive sake to his lips and sat back down, still glaring as if he'd been personally offended.
Well, what had Schroeder expected? It wasn't as if their first meeting had been pleasant.
"I almost feel bad for that guy," Jonouchi smirked in an entirely unsympathetic way as he chomped on his sushi. Mokuba snickered beside him. "He should know that Kaiba's never gonna forgive him for what he did. He's lucky he agreed to let him associate with him at all..."
From what he'd heard people saying in the room, Sigfried was trying to become a distributor for Kaiba Corporation. Jonouchi could only assume that meant he wanted to sell Duel Disks, but he doubted that would happen. Kaiba jealously guarded the license to build and sell those things, regardless of expense, but Jonouchi supposed that made sense. If another company had the authority to build them, they could figure out how to make some knock-off, right?
Jonouchi shook his head, chuckling quietly. It was fun watching Kaiba wipe the floor with people who weren't him. He returned to scanning the room for other familiar faces. He thought, but wasn't quite sure, that he'd caught sight of that guy from the other day. The one that Kaiba had kicked out. Jonouchi really didn't want to deal with that creep right now, and was hopeful that the corner Mokuba had hidden him in would keep him safe.
"You look pale, are you all right?" Asked Mokuba, "Did Nii-sama spot you here?"
He was laughing, because his brother was drinking himself stupid in silence, as he usually did in social gatherings, and would soon disappear to sleep alone and wake up to a terrible hangover. Kaiba was a terrible drinker, and Mokuba knew this but said nothing about it. No one was watching how much sake the man was consuming by himself.
"N-no," Jonouchi found that his voice was overly breathy, and he shook himself. He wasn't going to turn into some puddle just because there was a creep across the room. If he had to talk to the guy, he didn't have to be friendly. "It's that guy your brother kicked out of his office before. The one who was saying weird shit to me, remember?"
Ugh. Not that he hadn't been hit on by older men before, but he hadn't really noticed until recently, and even then they at least had good manners. Subtlety. Class. They didn't just throw some blatant expressions and lewd suggestions at him. Most people were too decent to do things like that with strangers anyway. Then again, Kitamura seemed to be at least part American. The texture of his hair, the shape of his face, and the broadness of his torso spoke of foreign blood. If he'd lived in America, that explained his terrible game...
Jonouchi kept his eyes on Kitamura, hoping he wouldn't be noticed. Then again, if the man did happen to notice him, making eye contact would probably be bad. Jonouchi had learned that by chance at a couple of raves he'd been to in the past.
So he averted his gaze, looking at Mokuba instead of the crowd. He'd originally been searching around for familiar faces, since it seemed like every other person he knew was either rich or famous, but it wasn't worth risking a confrontation.
"Do you think Otogi is here?" He asked. That businessman claimed to represent him, after all. Perhaps Otogi had actually attended himself this time around.
"I think so. He was looking around for nii-same earlier, if that was him with the ponytail. I don't know, I haven't really been paying attention to people, since I've been getting flocked until I ran off to see you again."
If Otogi was anyone of importance in the gaming technology world, he'd be there. Somewhere. There was a lot of people, all dressed in blacks, greys, and blues, so maybe he was caught in the swarm. While Kaiba, anti-social as ever, enjoyed being swallowed up and forgotten, most did not.
"And if that loser tries talking to you again, well," continued Mokuba, flipping his hair with slight arrogance not unlike his older sibling, "Just blow him off and say you're here with me."
Jonouchi raised an eyebrow, smiling at Mokuba in amusement. It was very obvious during their last encounter that the aforementioned "loser" had no regard or respect for Mokuba, but maybe if the kid tried he could pull something. He knew Mokuba could be something of a dark boy, especially if he was feeling angry or protective. That said, Jonouchi had only rarely seen him pushed to that point.
"Thanks for being my wingman, Mokuba," Jonouchi snickered, "I should bring you places to protect me more often."
There was a distinct gap in the influence that Mokuba and Kaiba could hold over people. Mokuba, the notoriously bratty but no less intelligent one, had probably just as many strings to pull as his brother, but had less reputation due to his far higher reluctance to pull them. Conversely, if Kaiba told someone to back off, then they'd probably trip all over themselves trying to get out of his way while they apologized for inconveniencing him with their existence. Most people did, anyway. The representative of Otogi's hadn't been affected that way at all. And Jonouchi usually wasn't, but he knew Kaiba as more than a celebrity CEO and card game champion.
As haughty as it sounded, he'd known Kaiba before he was cool.
"What's up with that guy, anyway?" Jonouchi asked, looking back at Mokuba. "I've never seen anyone stupid enough to disrespect Kaiba like that."
"He's American, for one," snorted Mokuba, rolling his eyes, "And he thinks he deserves a contract with Kaiba Corporation without having done anything to get it. I don't know. Nii-sama had security kick him out three times after what happened last time you were around, and now they've blacklisted him from the building. If he wasn't on the guest list, he wouldn't be here..."
"Who put him on the guest list? I thought Kaiba would probably pick off anyone he didn't want to be bothered with," Jonouchi snorted, "I wonder whose head is gonna roll because of that."
Assuming Kaiba wasn't too drunk to remember. Jonouchi caught glimpses of him once in a while, sitting in his corner and drinking. Where he was getting a refill, Jonouchi didn't know. He watched where he knew he'd be able to see Kaiba when there was a break in the crowd. The man was looking out at those in attendance with an expression somewhere between being irate and distressed on his face. Jonouchi stared at him for a few seconds curiously, but then their eyes met, Kaiba glared, and someone stepped in the way of his view.
"Well, you got in here too, Jonouchi..."
"But I have a special ability to get places Kaiba doesn't want me," Jonouchi grinned before scarfing the last of his sushi. He hadn't been invited to Battle City, either, had he? And yet, there he'd been.
Watching the crowd, his hesitation about the businessman lurking within now dissipated. He did catch sight of Otogi, who was wearing a beige suit. Probably to stick out. He'd always been a little annoying about keeping up an image that could make an impression. He was always a little annoying in general, really. At first meeting, he'd had Kaiba's arrogance without the track record to back him up.
Otogi stopped to confer with his representative. God, he was short. Jonouchi knew he was a little tall, so actually Otogi was probably about average. Next to his American friend, however, he looked even smaller. Smaller in build as well as stature. That, and even next to Otogi, the other guy had such an overpowering presence that it was incredible.
They seemed to argue briefly about something before returning to regular conversation, and Jonouchi couldn't help but feel nosy about it. Unfortunately, the two of them were some distance away, and the likelihood that he would ever find out what they'd said was low. Still, it was funny to see that the two of them couldn't tolerate each other civilly for more than a few seconds at a time. Otogi had an irritating personality, and the other one...well, he was a creep. A giant creep with a creepy way of looking at people and a creepy smirk to go with it. And since he seemed to be into men, it made Jonouchi wonder if he ever made Otogi uncomfortable.
"You said you got me a room," Jonouchi blinked, removing himself from theorizing about other peoples' lives, "Do I need a key, or what?"
"If you go to the front desk, they'll have your key. It's a suite, usually I stay there if Nii-sama isn't around, but since he is, I'm gonna just take over his room," smirked Mokuba, glancing at his brother before shaking his head, "I think he'll need it after tonight."
"Tch. Gonna help him drag his drunk ass to bed?" Jonouchi muttered, remembering unpleasantly that he'd had to do the same on plenty of occasions for his father. "With how concerned he's been about his public image before now, I'm surprised he'd risk making a scene by getting drunk."
"No one in this country cares," snickered Mokuba, rolling his eyes for the second time that night, "And he doesn't even talk to anyone when he does. He'll just apologize when I come to collect him and sleep it off like he always does. He hardly makes a scene, not like everyone else will in a few hours."
"Hmm," Jonouchi stretched. His legs felt cramped from sitting still too long, and he was getting an overabundance of energy. He might take the stairs up to his room just for the exercise. He wished that he could drink. Maybe he'd try going out to buy something before he went to his hotel room...but no, that wouldn't work. It wasn't the 90's anymore, and this was uptown. Anywhere around that sold alcohol would require ID, and fakes were identifiable enough that he couldn't use one.
"I don't know how you stand these things," he sighed, "How long do these usually last?"
"Depends," answered back Mokuba, "Until the drunks get too tired and need to sleep it off. So usually around 2am it ends, but I'm sure the hotel will be kicking people around by midnight and the party will move on to nearby clubs. Usually there's some special after party somewhere else, you know?"
"Oh man," Jonouchi groaned, "Do you plan to sit down here for that long?"
He didn't know if he had the patience. Watching everyone socialize and daydreaming about their lives and conversations was only so much entertainment. Eventually, he wouldn't be able to preoccupy himself. And considering how often he caught sight of Otogi's friend, it was probably just a matter of time before the opposite happened.
Jonouchi wasn't afraid of the guy, per se, but the last time they'd interacted, it hadn't been overly pleasant. Sure, he was probably early thirties at the oldest, and wasn't bad looking, but he was disrespectful and had a way of looking at him that he didn't like. Jonouchi was starting to understand how Anzu felt when he used to scheme ways to get a glimpse of her panties. Except he was pretty sure panties were more of a roadblock than a goal, in this case.
Wow, bad thought. Jonouchi wasn't quite secure enough with himself to examine that too much. Looking at other men was something he was still getting his head wrapped around. Not that he had to actively try to do it. More like he had to actively try not to stop himself from noticing. And yes, men got his attention. Particularly one or two that he knew personally, but in cases like that he refused to acknowledge physical attraction. He could appreciate how someone looked without actually wanting to sleep with them, right? Kaiba, for instance. He wasn't going to try to trick himself into thinking he wasn't attractive, but for fuck's sake. He'd die before he even admitted wanting to have sex with him.
Jonouchi stared at things around the room. He stared at the artificial plant that was shoved into the corner beside him, and once its value was depleted, he moved on to the wall-mounted lights in the room, the TV on the wall that was playing reruns of some tennis match, and then he stared at the expensive-as-fuck chandelier on the ceiling. Part of him hoped it would fall so there would be a little excitement.
He sighed and returned his attention to the people in the room. Everyone was a little more drunk than they had been twenty minutes ago. Not super drunk, since they were drinking some bullshit lite beer and what looked like white wine (and from tiny glasses to boot). Still, people were getting tipsy. Smiling, laughing, trying to communicate with each other even though half of the people there didn't understand the other half's language.
Everyone seemed a little more chipper (aside from Kaiba, who was still sulking in a corner and looked like he was watching life on a very boring TV show). Jonouchi wondered if he'd be able to get away with wandering around the room fucking with people, but no one was quite drunk enough.
Except. Maybe. Maybe Kaiba was drunk enough.
"Hey, I'll be back," Jonouchi grinned, leaving his seat to approach the opposite side of the room. He had to find out what Kaiba was like drunk. Even if he was still a mean son of a bitch.
When he found his way through the crowd and stood before Kaiba, he grinned, trying to be as friendly-looking as possible. It was more out of habit than anything, since he knew no amount of friendliness would improve Kaiba's mood. Might make it worse, even.
"What are you hiding over here for?" Jonouchi asked, sobering a little when Kaiba's only response to him was a frown. A slightly less hateful one than usual, even. Maybe he was just too drunk to hate. Ha, as if that would happen. He was probably just drunk enough to hate less.
"I dislike people. Clearly."
"That doesn't make much sense to me," Jonouchi mused. Kaiba was off. His voice was more slurred than usual, and he spoke very slowly compared to his normal speed. It didn't seem like he was doing it out of drunkenness. It was more like he just didn't care enough to make the effort. "It makes sense for a guy like me to hide in a corner at a party like this, but you shouldn't have to."
So Kaiba disliked people. It hadn't stopped him from trying to network in the past. Maybe he just didn't think there was anything he could get from the people at this particular party.
"It's not my party," Kaiba replied, rolling his eyes and swirling his drink, "I shouldn't have to entertain anyone. What do you want?"
Jonouchi stared at Kaiba for a few seconds, meeting his eyes stubbornly.
"What have I ever wanted from you, Kaiba?" He muttered. "If you haven't figured out that much, then you're either too pig-headed to function or not as smart as you think."
That didn't make him any less goddamn attractive. Even being drunk beyond reason wasn't enough to change that. His face was more relaxed than usual, his lips a little darker from the stinging alcohol and pouting as he continued to glare pointedly.
"I just wanted to talk. I'll stop wasting my time," Jonouchi sniffed, turning and weaving his way back through the crowd before he could hear Kaiba get a word in edgewise. Part of him wanted to stay and keep trying, but that had always been futile with Kaiba. Either he felt like spending breath on someone, or he didn't. Usually, he felt like it at either the best or worst times possible.
It seemed like everyone was drunk now, or at least pretty damn tipsy. There was a lot more laughter happening than seemed right for the stuffy people he'd been surrounded by just minutes ago. Jonouchi was trying to get ahold of Mokuba again so he could hopefully get out of there, and was almost back in his corner when he physically collided with someone.
Well, that figured. He supposed it was only a matter of time. Jonouchi knew his luck was strange, in that he was harmed half the time and cursed the rest of the time. In this instance, he was apparently cursed, because otherwise he shouldn't have run across that creep in such a way. He would have blamed his own clumsiness if it weren't for the fact that he was the one who'd been on the receiving end of the collision.
Once they'd recovered from the impact, Jonouchi faced him with a horror-struck expression on his face. He didn't speak, hoping he wouldn't be recognized, but he could see in his eyes that such was not the case.
"Fancy meeting you here," the businessman smiled, and the expression surprisingly reached his eyes. Unlike before, when it had seemed more cold than anything.
"Uh-" Jonouchi started to stammer, but was cut off.
"I never did get your name, the last time we talked," he stated, looking almost apologetic. Jonouchi was a little taken aback. Was he being nicer because he was tipsy?
"Well, I don't remember yours," Jonouchi admitted, glancing around the room briefly. Dammit, where was Mokuba?
"That's fair enough, I suppose," laughed the other man. Jonouchi had expected him to be offended, in all honesty. "Allow me to re-introduce myself. Kitamura Noeru."
"Jonouchi," he replied, nodding with the introduction. Considering "Kitamura's" social status, he probably should have bowed, but he didn't care. "Nice meeting you again and everything, but I need to go..."
His eyes drifted to Kaiba's corner, and he caught a glimpse of two sharp blue eyes glaring at him. Kaiba had the most disapproving look he'd ever seen. Especially since he usually didn't care enough about anything to disapprove. Only brazenly hate.
"Where to?" Kitamura raised an eyebrow, looking interested. "It's a little early to look for clubs, isn't it?"
"I'm not going clubbing," Jonouchi started actually paying attention to the conversation. He could still catch sight of Kaiba here and there, staring at him. So now he was worth the attention? Whatever. If it pissed Kaiba off, it was worth fucking around with Kitamura for a moment or two before he escaped to his room. "I have a room here for the night, actually."
"Oh? How did you swing that?"
"What?"
"I mean, how did you get a room?" Kitamura corrected his strange application of slang. Jonouchi shrugged, deciding not to mention that Mokuba had hooked him up. That was his own business anyway.
"It was good luck, I guess. But yeah, I don't really want to stay here any longer. If I can't get drunk like everyone else, then I'm going upstairs."
Jonouchi's face fell a little when he saw wheels turning in Kitamura's head. He'd probably said too much. His own fault for not focusing enough, trying to find Mokuba. Where the hell did that kid have to go that was interesting, anyway? He couldn't be having that much conversation with a bunch of drunken adults.
"I think we could both have a decent evening if we combine our resources," Kitamura offered, a small smile crossing his face. Jonouchi observed him suspiciously. "You want alcohol, and I want somewhere to spend a few hours while I sober up."
"So, what are you saying?" Jonouchi intentionally skirted the subject. He knew what was coming, and he still wasn't quite comfortable with it. Kitamura wasn't directly hitting on him right now, but he had been just recently. And with a much less friendly expression on his face, to boot.
"I'm saying," Kitamura laughed. He didn't have a bad laugh. It wasn't as condescending as Jonouchi might have expected, and he had a fairly deep voice. "I'm saying that I'd like to spend some time in your hotel room, if that's all right. In return, I'll bring you some alcohol, since you seem sore about not getting any."
"Well-" Jonouchi couldn't believe he was actually thinking it over. He should have just said no. This was like every stupid thing he'd ever heard about people doing. Like every stupid thing he'd sometimes helped along, back when he ran with the Rintama gang.
His eyes wandered past Kitamura's right shoulder, and Jonouchi was surprised to see Otogi standing not too far back. He looked more than disapproving. He looked like he was in disbelief, or even disgusted. Like he had any right to be. He'd never been shy about the fact that he went both ways. Jonouchi felt a little insulted, really. Otogi and Kaiba both, staring at him like they couldn't believe what he was doing. So what if he let some rich queer pick him up? It was his decision, wasn't it? And it wasn't like he was an unattractive man himself, it made sense that some businessman would want to perv on him.
Kitamura wasn't even bad-looking. And to be fair, he hadn't been anything but amiable so far tonight. If things kept up like that, Jonouchi wouldn't mind having him in his hotel room.
"-Sure. When is a good time for you?" He replied, turning back to Kitamura. Part of his mind was screaming at him, asking him what the hell he was doing. He was getting picked up. He was being subtly asked for a night in. And here he was, accepting like it was nothing.
Jonouchi mentally shook off his conflict and tried to look more confident than he felt.
"If you're going upstairs anyway, then...I can be ready with something in about twenty minutes," Kitamura replied, grinning. The corners of his mouth made his cheeks wrinkle up a little bit when he smiled.
"That's fine. I'll see you then, I guess," Jonouchi smiled and turned, heading toward the lobby. His head snapped back when his wrist was grabbed.
"Wait," Kitamura demanded, looking urgent, "I don't know what your room number is."
Jonouchi didn't know either. Shit, this was embarrassing.
"Um...I don't remember. I'll have to get my key at the front desk," he admitted, grinning so that his humiliation would be less evident. So much for trying to be confident. Fortunately, Kitamura didn't seem deterred in the slightest. They made their way out of the room where the party was taking place and approached the front desk. Jonouchi asked for his key after giving his name, and gave his room number to Kitamura.
"Isn't that Kaiba Mokuba's suite?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Jonouchi wasn't sure what to say in reply, but he didn't have to speak. "No matter. I'll meet you in twenty, if you think that's enough time to shower and whatnot."
Jonouchi resisted twitching. Who did he think he was, telling him to shower? Or at least, assuming he was going to...
Then again, Jonouchi had pretty much accepted Kitamura's very clear intentions already. Looked like he was going to be disappointed. But he'd probably be so drunk by the end of the evening that it wouldn't matter to him.
Jonouchi watched Kitamura return to the party, and he'd almost crossed the lobby to the elevator when he heard someone call his name. He turned and saw Otogi approaching, looking as agitated as he knew how.
"What is it?" Jonouchi asked before Otogi was upon him.
"You know perfectly well!" He hissed, his green eyes narrowed. "What do you think you're doing? I don't know what came over you, Jonouchi, but you need to call this off."
Jonouchi felt more insulted than anything. Otogi was probably only telling him partly for his own good, and mostly for his personal reasons. Why was everyone so okay with being in his business?
"Otogi, I appreciate you looking out for me, but I know what I'm doing," he lied, his own mind refuting him even as he spoke, "So butt out."
Otogi looked surprised. Jonouchi couldn't really blame him. He was probably getting a lot of shockers tossed at him tonight. That someone he'd known for years turned out to be into men, and furthermore was probably on his way to having a tryst with his business associate...
Well, not if Jonouchi had anything to say about it. But he knew how it looked. He'd intended it to, hadn't he?
Jonouchi heard the elevator ding behind him, and looked back just as the doors were opening. He stepped inside, disregarding Otogi for the sake of avoiding further reprimand, and pressed the floor number that should be his suite.
"Jonouchi."
He looked up, meeting his friend's eyes. Look at that. Otogi seemed genuinely concerned.
"Be careful," was all he said before turning around, though he looked like he wanted to say a lot more. He probably had a lot of questions, too, but he of all people should know not to dig that much.
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Ambivalence