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Joey	By : AlectoPerdita Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 2971 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh and characters are the intellectual property of Takahashi Kazuki, and is being used in this fanfiction for fan purposes only. No money is made from this fan effort.

Chapter List
- 8
- 9
- 10
Joey
By Alecto Perdita
Track 8 - Gone to California
Rating: PG-13
Posted: July 1, 2010
Warning(s): Shonen-ai, cheesy melodrama, & Kaijou
Email: alecto . perdita (at) gmail . com
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh is the intellectual property of Takahashi Kazuki, and is being used in this fanfiction for fan purposes only. All situations, opinions and characters not belonging to Takahashi Kazuki are the intellectual property of Alecto Perdita.
Goin' to California, yes
To resurrect my soul
The sun is always shinin', shinin'
Or at least that's what I'm told
I'm goin' to California
There's a better life for me, yes
Goin' to California
I'll write and tell you what I see
I'm goin' to California
Somebody say a prayer for me
- "Gone to California" by P!nk
The ride back to Domino City to Alcatraz Island had been both excruciating and slow. Within an hour after the final duel of my Battle City tournament, I was already dealing with the collateral damage, for lack of any better term. For once I cursed my own ego, the live broadcast of the finals had perhaps not been my brightest idea. I had just been so eager to show the world my triumphant return and my long-deserved victory against Mutou Yugi. But now people were concerned about the safety of my Duel Disk system. The television broadcast had been cut immediately after the accident with Jounouchi, but the feed continued live on the web and the rest of the world had continued to watch.
Some even had the nerve to say that the entire final had been staged.
My head throbbed in anticipation of an oncoming migraine as I cursed every single other person on my Battle Ship. The original plan for our return to Domino had been the closing ceremony and the party Mokuba had insisted upon afterward to celebrate all the duelists that had participated. The press would still be there when they landed, just armed with an entirely different arsenal of questions. Instead I had to arrange for paramedics to meet us at the landing site to whisk us all away to the hospital for extensive testing. I would then toss the results in the press' face, proving once and for all there was nothing wrong with my Duel Disks.
In a world where I was in complete control like I had felt I deserved to be, none of this would have happened.
But my world wasn't perfect, not while it was still filled with the likes of Yugi, Jounouchi, and Malik forever ruining my best laid plans.
Dinner that night aboard my Battle Ship was a quiet and maybe even somber affair. I may not have liked most of the other duelists, but I would fulfill my duty as the tournament host. It'd be a cold day in hell before I allowed my company's reputation to suffer further after that day's fiasco. From my seat at the head of the long table, I studied the tired features of the other teenagers and their guests. Mokuba was seated to my right, a place of honor reserved for him alone as my brother and the commissioner of the tournament. Yugi, the champion, was seated to my immediate left and the others had filled in the rest of the seats accordingly. For two sides that were on the verge of supposedly killing each other just hours ago, Yugi and his cheerleaders were getting on well with the Ishtars despite the palpable tension in the air. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, Yugi had always been far too forgiving for his own good- a fact that has not changed one bit in the years since Battle City.
I did my best to ignore the ancient Egypt nonsense that was being discussed at the table. But as it became quickly apparent that it was not a conversation that Shizuka, Kujaku Mai, or Bakura Ryou could readily participate in, talk turned in the direction of people's plans after the tournament. All three of the Ishtar family were returning to Egypt with promises from Malik that the Ghoul organization would be disbanded.
"What about you, Mai-san?" Anzu asked.
Kujaku paused in the middle of her banter with Jounouchi, chasing a stray pea across her plate. Tossing her hair back, she smiled at the occupants of the table. "I'm going to hit the road again. There are still so many other duelists out there to challenge."
"Good riddance." I muttered lowly.
Jounouchi's apparent disappointment wasn't helping my mood either. "You're not staying a while longer?"
I was fortunately spared any further sentimentality when Mokuba made his own announcement. My little brother had been bouncing with excitement since we first made the decision hours ago. I wasn't surprised he could no longer keep it to just himself. "Nii-sama and I are going to America!"
A hush fell over the table and all eyes were on me. I felt a flash of pride after seeing that news of my departure imparted far more emotional weight overall than Kujaku's. It was petty, but I would take all my victories- no matter how big or small. I found my gaze moving down the length of the table to focus on Jounouchi's face. Catching glimpses of both panic and fear, I quickly returned my attention to my beaming brother instead. I wouldn't allow myself any false hope that night.
Yugi broke the silence first. "How long will you be gone for, Kaiba-kun?"
"A year at most." I answered after a few seconds of consideration. There would be no harm in telling them.
Shizuka's attention volleyed back and forth between her brother and me. "That's a long time..."
"Nii-sama and I are going to make our dream a reality. We're going to open KaibaLands all over the world, starting with America." Mokuba's smile beamed with the force of three suns.
I allowed myself a rare and soft smile, one directed solely at the boy despite the presence of others in the room. I would fulfill my promises to Mokuba. I owed him at least that much after how he had stood by me all those years, almost never questioning me or wavering in his faith of me. Truthfully, I wanted to get away after the events of the past few days. I needed the time to regroup and re-evaluate. I had come to realize and accept the truth Yami gave to me: that there was no future in the hatred I had clung so dearly to over the years. Perhaps it was something I had known and denied for a long time; the Red Lady had gifted it to me first, Yami had reminded me, Mokuba had drilled it in, and Jounouchi...
No, I would try and leave that all behind with the ashes of Gozaburo and the destruction of Duel Tower to make the future Mokuba and I had originally set forth to accomplish.
The rest of dinner progressed without any further disruptions or surprises. But when I looked down at the plate before me, I would often feel the weight of what I was sure was Jounouchi's gaze on me. The other boy was always looking anywhere but at me when I did look up. Instead I attributed the phenomenon as the product of my sleep-deprived mind. The group quickly disbanded after dinner with everyone mostly headed back to their rooms to get some rest before landing in another hour. Mokuba abandoned me in favor of the control room in order to start completing the paperwork and other tasks we would need to do before going to America.
The halls of the Battle Ship was as quiet as a graveyard with only the sound of my own footsteps to accompany my passage. When I passed some doors, I could almost hear the voices of the occupants within if I strained hard enough. Soon, I heard a separate set of footfall- erratic and fast-paced- closing in behind me.
"Kaiba, wait a second."
I turned slowly to face Jounouchi, unsure of what the universe was going to throw at me next. The blond's chest heaved up and down, struggling to catch a breath after his stint down the halls.
"What do you want, Jounouchi?" I only allowed myself to speak his name in private like this- away from the prying eyes of his friends. To this day, I still wonder how much Yugi and the others knew about my situation with Jounouchi back then.
"How soon before you leave?"
"As soon as all the paperwork is in order and we finish tying together loose ends at Kaiba Corp."
His gaze hardened with determination. "Duel me, Kaiba. We still have to determine third and fourth place."
I smirked. "I hardly think that'd be contest between you and me." It wasn't a refusal though.
"Then you have nothing to lose." He returned the cocky grin, brandishing his Duel Disk like a warrior would his sword.
In that instant, I realized that the road that now laid before me was the one Jounouchi was traveling down. Both of our "fathers" have left their indelible marks on our lives and psyche to be overcome but never to be erased. I, too, would need to learn to walk that road with his determination for Mokuba's and my own sake. He could have taught me how, but I needed to learn on my own.
...
Jounouchi wasn't surprised to find Sophie already waiting for him when he emerged from his second morning shower the day after the party. He was just grateful she didn't start yelling at him immediately and had just handed him a glass of water and a handful of vitamins to chase away his hangover.
"So here to give me hell about last night?" He asked.
Had it not been for the alcohol last night, he would have been up all night replaying the scene over and over in his head. Thankfully, he was a light-weight drinker and had fallen asleep in the cab halfway back to the hotel. But a headache and the vague memories of hands, tongue, lips, and another body's heat were still there and waiting for him when he rose with the sun that morning, feeling parched and horny. It was the most uncomfortable feeling in the world. He only hoped Kaiba was having a million times harder time dealing with last night's event.
Stupid Kaiba. Stupid Kaiba and his sexy good looks. Stupid Kaiba and his open-bar parties. So deep in his thoughts, he almost didn't hear Sophie's evetual reply.
"Katsuya, last night can never happen again."
Jounouchi nearly dropped the glass. Unsure of how to respond to her demand, he just gaped at her instead. As much as he loved his friends and family, the one person he thought he could always count on to have his back was Sophie. And the way she had spoken, in a tone he had never heard from her before... It was not a warning or a request; it was a command. Jounouchi Katsuya took commands from no one, short of a mystical brain washing.
A short bark of bitter laughter escaped him. "Isn't this what you wanted? You were always pushing me in his direction. Don't you dare tell me how to live my life-"
"I can and I will." She snapped. "I'm your manager and that's exactly what I do: manage your life! And if only you would calm down and stop thinking with that little head down there, you would also see that last night could have been the biggest mistake of your life!"
Jounouchi couldn't think of a time where he had felt this enraged before, and certainly not at Sophie. He couldn't understand why she had turned on him. Not to mention, her timing was absolute crap. As much as it pained him to admit it and he had admitted it, Jounouchi wanted Kaiba Seto. Had this been about any other person, he might have stopped long enough for contemplate the reasons behind her words. Sophie always did things for his sole benefit- her methods of execution not withstanding. But when it came to Kaiba Seto, Jounouchi was more than willing to throw reason out the door first.
"You have no right, Sophie. Now get out of my room before I fire you!" He roared as the frustration of the last weeks came pouring out.
She took a step back as fear briefly flashed over her face. "Listen to me, what do you think would have happened this morning if you two had slept together? Do you think he would make you breakfast in bed or something? No, he would have felt used!"
Jounouchi reeled back. The truth in her words might have been a slap in the face. His blood ran cold with the mere thought of Kaiba's rejection. Sophie's warm hands cupped his chin and forced him to meet her gaze.
"Katsuya, please believe me when I say that a drunken one-night stand is not the stable foundation to a lasting relationship. I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Kaiba last night, I am more than willing to stand with you, but you have to be sure that this is what you really want wholeheartedly and this needs to be a decision you both make while sober. There is a right way and a wrong way to go about this." Her words were firm as if willing them to sink in.
"Excuse me?"
"You have to remember, the two of you aren't people that no one will take notice of if you come together. You're somebody and Kaiba's somebody. If we mishandle this, this isn't just going to blow up in your faces. There are people that rely on each of you, Kaiba has his company and his employees to worry about, and your actions can affect your co-stars and the movie premiere."
Jounouchi sank down onto the bed, numb with the realization at how completely he could have screwed things up. Sophie was right. If they had been caught last night, he could have been dealing with far worse than a hangover this morning. But he hadn't screwed up completely just yet, at least no more than what he had done years ago. When he looked up at the woman, she echoed out loud what he was thinking in his head.
"You still have a chance. We'll work it out." She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.
...
As Kaiba descended the staircase to eat breakfast, he made a mental note to send Malik a memo that open bars were banned from Kaiba Corporation functions until further notice. His head throbbed with each step he took, mocking him for every poor decision and moment of weakness from the previous night.
Upon entering the smaller dining room attached to the kitchen, he looked up at the clock hanging on the wall. The time read a quarter before nine. The conversation between his brother and Rebecca at the dining table came to a sudden halt with his entrance. Both of them stared at him as if he had grown a second head or a Blue Eyes White Dragon had followed him into the room.
"You just woke up!" Mokuba's wide eyes bounced between Kaiba and the clock. "But it's nearly 9 in the morning!"
Apparently all he needed to do to get his brother talking to him after coming out of the closet was wake up two hours later than usual.
"That must have been some party yesterday." Rebecca glanced over the glass of orange juice raised to her lips.
As he sat down at the table, he looked his brother straight in the eye for the first time in weeks. Mokuba quickly broke their shared gaze to look back down at his plate of eggs and bacon, finally remembering he was supposed to be ignoring his older brother. Kaiba snorted. He was determined not to feel sorry for himself, especially if Mokuba was going to insist on acting like a brat. A maid appeared at his elbow asking if he wanted a Japanese or Western-style breakfast.
"Go with Western. Kobayashi-san made these delicious strawberry-stuffed french toast." She raised the piece of french toast drenched in syrup for his examination. The sight alone made his teeth ache.
He wrinkled his nose before turning to the maid. "Japanese."
"Killjoy." She mumbled.
Mokuba remained quiet as he finished his breakfast, but at least he didn't leave the room as he often did in the recent past. Kaiba took the morning as an encouraging sign of things to come.
...
Kaiba heard a chime from his computer, indicating the arrival of a new email. He glanced briefly at the little toolbox hovering over his taskbar. It was from Malik and the subject simply titled: Turn to channel 21 now.
"Television, channel 21, volume 20." He barked and the screen on the wall opposite his desk came to life.
But he nearly fell out of his chair when the close-up of Jounouchi's grinning face popped up. The camera eventually panned out to show the blond sitting on a brightly pastel-colored set with another man and woman, who must be the hosts of the show. For a brief moment, Kaiba considered turning the show off, but his curiosity got the better of him. He had neither seen nor heard from the blond man since the charity ball three days ago. The increasing workload as opening day of the KaibaLand USA East Coast park approached kept him too busy to be offended or concerned with the lack of contact- until now. He pulled up a new window to begin composing a scathing email to his PR department.
"And we're back with our first guest of the hour, our hometown heartthrob- Joey Katsuya." The female host squealed and her excitement was quickly echoed by the audience members off-screen.
The camera quickly focused on the blond man who winked at the audience, eliciting further screams of ecstasy. Kaiba's fingers paused over his keyboard, taking in Jounouchi's relaxed pose and cocky grin. This was the unreasonably self-assured third-rate duelist he had known in his youth grown up into a devastatingly handsome man that could make even Kaiba insecure with rare moments of weakness. The Jounouchi on screen crossed his legs clad in a pair tight-fitting black slacks, while one hand smoothed out an invisible wrinkle in the burgundy shirt under his leather jacket. Kaiba smiled in spite of himself, feeling smug for having noticed the nervousness betrayed by Jounouchi's unconscious gesture.
"I'm really happy to be here today, Miho-chan, Hiiro-kun."
The lavender-haired woman leaned forward in her seat at the sound of her name. "You've been in the news a lot lately, not the least of all being the revelation about your birth name. I imagine there's a lot of people out there wondering why you decided to abandon your old name upon entering show business. Is that a story you would be willing to share with us today?"
"It's a pretty straight-forward reason." Jounouchi gave another cocky grin. "Americans had a hard time pronouncing my full name."
A low laughter rumbled through the studio.
The blond entertainer continued. "And I wanted to make it on my own merit and not because of any baggage that may be attached to the name Jounouchi Katsuya."
The male host, Hiiro, jumped in at this point. "You are, of course, referring to your dueling career in the competitive Duel Monsters circuit. You were the in the top four for Duelist Kingdom, Battle City, and in the top eight for the KC Grand Prix tournament. Not to mention, you had managed to do that without coming up through any of the local tournament plays. You could have easily leveraged the fame from that to get a jumpstart in the entertainment business."
"Exactly, and I needed to make sure it was all me." The blond's smile appeared less genuine at the mention of Duel Monsters.
"Do you still duel, Joey-san?"
"Nah, although coming home has reminded me about all the things I missed about Domino City. I wouldn't be surprised if I did break out my old deck soon, but the kids these days would probably run circles around me."
Miho giggled. "I don't know about that. In a recent interview, Pegasus J. Crawford named you as the third greatest duelist in Duel Monsters history."
Jounouchi's laugh was a rich and uplifting sound. "Really? I didn't think he'd still remember me, and I'm guessing Mutou Yugi and Kaiba Seto are first and second?"
Unable to help himself, he glared at the blond on screen for naming him as second to Yugi, even if it was the truth.
"Bingo!" Hiiro chimed. "We have a little game prepared today if you wouldn't mind playing along, Joey-san. For all the Duel Monsters fans out there, consider this a history lesson on the heyday of the game." A piece of the set behind them moved back to reveal a large LCD screen displaying three face-down cards.
"No problem." Jounouchi replied in English and gave a thumbs-up.
"We're going to show you three cards from the decks of some of the world's top duelists from 13 years ago. Based on those cards, name the duelist that would have played them and during which tournament. The first set should be easy." Hiiro explained.
"Oh, this should be fun." Jounouchi began laughing again as the first card was virtually flipped over to reveal "Baby Dragon," then followed by "Time Wizard." "Oh, that's my deck from Duelist Kingdom."
"Correct!" Miho cheered and the audience shrieked in approval.
Three more face-down cards replaced the previous set on the screen. By the second card, the "Magician of Black Chaos," Jounouchi had his answer: "Oh, Yugi's deck, also from Duelist Kingdom."
"Correct again! You have a pretty good memory for this, Joey-san."
"Dueling used to be a big part of my life." Jounouchi smiled ruefully.
Kaiba had long abandoned his email in favor of the television show instead. He too had been caught up in this little game the hosts had prepared, though to his dismay, he wasn't doing anywhere as good as the blond on screen. The third set, supposedly belonging to one Espa Roba, stirred no recollection in Kaiba. The fourth set, belonging to Siegfried von Schroider, caused both Jounouchi and him to scowl in unison. Neither did he recognize the fifth set of cards, which included "Amazoness Archers," "Dramatic Rescue," and "Elegant Egotist." Jounouchi was staring at the cards though and Kaiba could see the recognition on the other man's face.
Kaiba's day immediately took a turn for the worse when the words "Kujaku Mai" fell from Jounouchi's lips.
"Is there any truth to the rumors about you and Mai-san? Because that would break a lot of women's hearts out there."
Kaiba wanted to shoot the purple-haired woman for bringing up the subject on television. Jounouchi on-screen hesitated for barely a second before plastering on a fake yet charming smile. "Mai and I are just friends. It was nice to see her again after all these years."
Perhaps sensing they weren't going to get any further information out of the actor, the two hosts moved onto the next set of cards instead. The first card, "Vorse Raider," caused Jounouchi's smile to briefly falter but Kaiba knew what he saw. The second card was "Shrink" and Kaiba realized he was leaning forward in his seat in anticipation. The third card was revealed to be the "Crush Card Virus" trap card and Jounouchi shook his head.
"That would be Kaiba Seto's deck from Battle City."
At the sound of his own name, all the tension drained from his body, but the ache in his heart returned in full-force. Tried as he did to convince himself otherwise, he missed Jounouchi terribly and he was getting tired of waiting for the blond to respond. As the show went to commercials, Kaiba muttered, "Television off." If he wanted to watch the rest of the interview, he could easily ask Malik to obtain it for him. He sat back, allowing the silence of the office to settle around him like an oppressive cloak. After trying so hard not to think about the blond actor or their last encounter over the last three days, Kaiba couldn't stop now.
Sighing, he pulled up his internet browser and typed "Joey Katsuya" into the Google search bar. He spent the rest of the morning browsing through the results the search engine retrieved for him.
Around 12:30 PM, Kaiba's office door swung open and close without any greeting. Only three people dared to walk into his office without announcing themselves- one of whom he wasn't currently on speaking terms with. On second thought, there were a number of people in his life who probably wouldn't do him the courtesy, especially when given the right circumstance. If only his life was as easy to clean house as his company.
"Hard at work as always, President." A cup of coffee appeared in his line of vision. "I figured you could use some coffee, just the way you like it. Extra cream and extra sugar."
The aroma of the drink called to him, beckoning him with tendrils of steam. His penchant for all-nighters was not doing him any favors nowadays. The bone aching lethargy on the following days just reminded him he was no longer as young as he used to be. He took the mug, almost sighing as the warmth brought feeling back into his cold fingers. He even felt human again after the first couple of sips.
"Shouldn't you be having lunch with Mokuba?" He looked up at his brother's girlfriend.
"I'm supposed to, but his meeting's running over. I thought I'd come see how you were doing."
"How is he?" When she sat down on the corner of his desk, he tried glaring at her to no avail.
"Same as usual. I think he's starting to feel guilty though, for all the things he said to you. He even spoke to you at breakfast the other day. It would help a little if you- I don't know-didn't enable him by taking part in this passive-aggressive behavior?"
Kaiba simply grunted in reply.
"You Kaibas always have to make things so bloody complicated. You're nothing like my Darling, he's always easy to understand," she sighed. "So noble and brave..."
"You talk like that and wonder why I first disapproved of your relationship with my brother." He muttered.
She shot him a glare. "Hey, just because Yugi never felt that way about me doesn't change the fact he was my first love. For most human beings, that's something worth remembering. Besides, you never stopped us. You never stood in my or Mokuba's way."
"My initial disapproval not withstanding, it was Mokuba's choice to make, and yours. I just wanted to make sure he thought those choices through."
She sighed, twirling a springy lock of blond hair around her finger. "Now if only your brother would think like that. I invited Jounouchi to the baby shower by the way."
"That doesn't mean he's going to go." Kaiba's scowl deepened as he read the same line on his computer screen for the fourth time. None of the words could penetrate the thick fog that developed around his mind whenever Jounouchi became a topic of conversation. He glanced over at his second monitor where the browser was open to a fansite dedicated to Jounouchi. He moved his mouse cursor to the second desktop and closed the window. He had already wasted enough of the workday on the blond.
"I contacted his manager directly and she promised he would be there, besides it's Yugi and Anzu's baby shower. And if I know anything about Jounouchi, nothing short of the apocalypse would stop him."
He bit his tongue to keep from retorting. True the blond man would do anything for Yugi, but so would he for Shizuka, Anzu, Honda, Kujaku, and the list went on and on. Jounouchi always needed to play the hero...
She swung around and leaned over his desk until they were face to face. "And you're still going right?"
In retrospect, he realized his first objections to her shouldn't have been her past history with Yugi. No, the problem with Rebecca Hopkins was she was one of those rare people that were completely unafraid of him. She didn't need money, so there was no bribing her either. Short of doing actual harm to her (and he didn't really have reason or want to), he held no power over her. And that always proved difficult when in direct confrontation with her- like now.
Kaiba glanced over at the large box containing the gift he had ordered from America instead. Mokuba had been the one to pick out the gift in the first place. It was originally meant to be from the two brothers to Yugi's first child. It was large and stupidly expensive for a baby, and he was going to feel like an idiot giving it to the expecting couple. "You'd never let me hear the end of it otherwise."
She nodded, as if assured he would keep his word. Then she frowned. "Shizuka invited that Mai person though. I couldn't think of any good reason to exclude her."
"And why would you do that?"
"I never really liked her as a kid, she seemed kinda like a bitch. And I'm obviously rooting for you. If only there was some way to make her miss the baby shower..."
Though he would never say it aloud nor did he need it, it was nice having someone believe in him. He really was growing sentimental with his age...
Rebecca clapped her hands together suddenly. "I know! Maybe we can have one of your bodyguards lock her in a closet for a few hours or something."
In the past two years, Kaiba had also learned that Rebecca had some truly absurd notions of what constituted acceptable boundaries. It must be a result of having been an entitled child genius, much like Mokuba or himself even.
She was oblivious to his thoughts as she continued brainstorming. "Or maybe someone can slash all her ties? No, then she just be late, wouldn't miss the party. Oh, maybe I can program her store security to go into lock-down." Her blue eyes were gleaming with mischief.
"And if she's not in the store?" He pointed out.
"I don't see you coming up with better ideas." She pouted. "In case you haven't noticed, she's winning. The entire world thinks you and Jounouchi are fighting over her. She's even kissed him already!"
"You were a lonely only child, weren't you?" Kaiba snorted. It was the only reason she liked to meddle so much.
"Well, yeah. That's besides the point. You're not going to let her beat you, are you Kaiba-shachou?"
Hearing her words, Kaiba felt a familiar ire rising from the pit of his gut. It was the very same feeling when Kujaku had confronted him at the store opening.
"The only way to win the game is to play it." She smirked, knowing full well that her words had hit a chord.
Of course, she was right...
...
"Kaiba Mokuba," Rebecca placed her hands on her hips and glared at him. "We are all taking the same car to the baby shower, end of story!"
Mokuba tried his best to return his girlfriend's glare, but failed miserably. Here he thought having lived so many years with his brother, some of that potent death glaring would have rubbed off on him. Right, his brother was the reason for their current stand-off.
She continued. "Do you have any idea what it's been like here in the mansion with you two? As soon as one of you sees the other, you just turn right back around and head in the other direction. What are we? Kindergartners? Kindergartners are more mature than this passive-aggressive stuff! If you two don't work this out like adults soon, I'm taking the first flight back to Cambridge!"
The thought of her returning to Britain sent him into a panic. It had taken so much work to convince her to spend some time this summer in Japan. It was already hard enough tearing her away from her research. "Becky, sweetie, please don't do that." He pleaded.
Her expression softened a bit. "Then please don't make such a big deal about being in the same car as your brother. You can't avoid him forever. You live and work with him for god's sake."
Mokuba didn't need her to remind him that. Over the last three weeks since his initial outburst at his brother, he spent more than half of his waking hours just avoiding the man. He had rearranged his entire workday and meeting schedule to avoid running into Seto. He took Rebecca out on the town every moment he was able to take her away from her research. They hadn't spent a quiet evening at home in many, many days.
"And people around the company are starting to talk. Are you really ready to throw away everything you and your brother have worked so hard for?" She poked a sharp fingertip against his chest.
His conversation with Jounouchi at the party weighed heavily on his mind. As much as he tried to tell himself, he was still mad at his brother. But with each passing day, he realized he was only trying to lie and deceive himself. The original argument they had fallen out over no longer mattered. Jounouchi was a good man and if his brother wanted... No, he didn't know how to close the distance he had imposed and didn't know if he could take back the words both said and unsaid. He couldn't remember the last time he had been this scared. For his entire childhood and most of his teenage years, Seto had been the biggest part of large yet limited world. He had been a willful child and his brother had given him everything he wanted. As it turned out, he was still equally willful as an adult.
"How do you apologize for hurting someone who was your whole world?" His voice cracked toward the end of his sentence.
And what if Seto didn't forgive him?
Her expression softened just a tiny bit. "Do what the rest of us mere mortals do, say 'I'm sorry'."
...
Jounouchi's cell phone trilled, announcing the arrival of a text message.
I've been dodging reporters all day. How about you? I'll see you at the shower. -Mai
He didn't know how Mai got his phone number. He might have suspected it was his manager's fault, but he already knew whom she favored in the so-called "race for his heart."
"Kujaku Mai again, huh?" Sophie asked, flexing her fingers over the steering wheel.
They had stopped at a red light. He tore his gaze away from the woman to stare at the streets beyond the tinted windows. Sophie had to rent the car today to throw off the scent for the reporters that were now pursuing them with renewed fervor after the article in Domino Times. The tabloid reporters had been particularly persistent so far; trying to pass themselves off as hotel staff to do everything from breaking into his room (not successfully so far, but two attempts had been made) to going through his trash and dirty linen after housekeeping had come through.
"Do you have a problem with that?" Feeling unusually rebellious, he chose to ignore her question.
She peeked at him out of the corner of her eyes. "Of course not, I like Kujaku Mai well enough. The important question is what about you?"
"We're..." He paused, not sure of how to characterize their current relationship. "Just catching up."
"I just noticed she's been texting you a lot lately. And well, it's of interest to me both professionally and personally. You'll let me know if I should be preparing some sort of statement for the press right?"
Jounouchi just nodded. After passing another three blocks in silence, they pulled up in front of an expensive looking highrise. He double-checked the email he got from Rebecca earlier. This was the address she had sent and it looked like the party was somewhere at the top of the building. Sophie was watching him quietly again- something she was doing more and more often these days.
"Are you sure you don't want to come up?" He asked. The invitation had been extended to the Chinese woman as well.
"No, I'd be out of place. A baby shower's for close friends and family." She smiled softly, reaching out to tousle his hair.
He ducked under her hand and slid out the passenger-side door with his gift in hand. "You'll be back to pick me up?"
Her smile became tight and forced again. "Just make sure you don't go anywhere without me." Her tone was firm.
"Jounouchi, you made it!"
In that instant he turned to see who had called him, Sophie was already halfway down the block and on her way to God knows where. He just hoped she would be more careful about her driving.
Rebecca waved as she jumped out of the the car. Jounouchi took the chance to admire the sleek body of the black car instead. It was an Aston Martin, which was a rare enough sight as it was, but how the hell did Rebecca make enough to afford one? It was at that point that Mokuba emerged from the driver's side of the car.
"Mokuba." Jounouchi called, smiling awkwardly as he recalled their last conversation.
Mokuba gave him a strangely blank look, but at least it wasn't hostile. He immediately looked at Rebecca instead and said, "Becky, could you get the doorman to help me with the gift? I'll come up after I park the car in the garage."
The blond woman nodded and grabbed his arm instead, pulling him inside the building. Mokuba was staring at the pavement when he looked back.
The doorman jumped to attention as soon as he saw Rebecca. "Is there something I can do for you, miss?"
"Mokuba needs you to bring a package up to apartment 3004."
Without pause, she continued to guide him through the lobby and into the elevator. Rebecca pressed the button labeled "30" and they watched in silence as the numbers counted up. Around floor 14, the silence, something he had never dealt too well with, became too much.
"So where's Kaiba?"
"He has work. He's going to be late."
He almost laughed at the sight of her pout. It almost made her look 13 again.
"What have you been up to all these years?"
She tossed her hair over her shoulder. "I'm a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Cambridge for my second PhD."
"One wasn't enough?" If he had been drinking water, he would have done a spit take there.
"Seto says I'm wasting time, that I would be making much more in industry. He's been trying to recruit me into Kaiba Corporation ever since I completed my undergrad. I'm still trying to convince him to this day that it's not all about the money."
"Are you planning to teach?"
They were more than halfway to their destination.
"If anyone would hire me..." She sounded bitter.
"But you have two PhDs!"
"At my age now, most professors were still on the first year of their doctoral study. You don't get very far in the selection process when you're about the same age as most of their students."
He supposed she had a point there.
The elevator chimed, announcing their ascent to the 30th floor. He followed her down the hallway. She didn't bother knocking, instead turning the doorknob and opening the door to reveal a beautifully furnished condo that rivaled any number of the lofts Jounouchi had seen in LA. There were already a number of people in the apartment, mostly women.
"Rebecca! Onii-chan!" Shizuka appeared suddenly and latched onto the other woman's arm. "There's a problem with the cake."
"Sorry, Jounouchi, you're going to have to entertain yourself in the meanwhile!" Rebecca waved as she was dragged into the kitchen.
With the departure of his escort, several of the women immediately descended upon him.
"Oh my god, aren't you Joey Katsuya?"
"What are you doing here?"
"Can I have your autograph?"
He looked desperately to the living room where he could see Yugi and Anzu sitting with Bakura and Malik. His four so-called "friends" caught his gaze and just started laughing instead. He shook a fist at the group and swore to get them back later.
The novelty of his attendance wore off quickly though. A number of the women at the party were Anzu's coworker from the dance studio and dancers from the local Domino ballet company. While a few asked for his autograph, all of them understood he was there was a friend of Yugi and Anzu and were more than willing to treat him so. Rebecca and Shizuka were both busy with last minute arrangements of the party with Honda ever close at hand and always offering to help. Jounouchi took it as a sign in the right direction that the two were even willing to be in the same room again. He didn't think his sister could stay mad at Honda forever. Mai was nowhere to be seen though.
And every time he would look to the front door when he heard new arrivals, he had to remind himself he was not looking for Kaiba either...
...
As soon as Kaiba entered the apartment, Mokuba grabbed his arm and said, "Can we talk?"
Kaiba tried to let neither his surprise or his suspicion show. His brother shifted nervously from one foot to the other, but his body language was open. He quickly scanned the apartment in search of a specific blond man. Jounouchi was engage in conversation with Bakura and Malik, and seemed completely unaware of Kaiba's arrival.
"Let's talk out on the patio then."
The patio deck was more of a glorified balcony, but a party of ten could have fit comfortably there. There was no one but them with only the sound of the wind blowing through the surrounding buildings to accompany them. Mokuba slid the door close behind them, muffling the sound coming from the party in the apartment.
"Thank you for letting Rebecca use the flat, it means a lot to her to do this for Yugi and Anzu." His brother blurted out immediately.
Kaiba nodded silently. He leaned against the railing of the deck, gripping the steel tightly. A slight breeze rustled through his hair as he contemplated where this conversation was headed. He wasn't going to lie, he was ecstatic that Mokuba was willingly speaking to him again, but there was no denying the nervousness that racked his body. His muscles tensed in that familiar anticipation of fight or flight.
"Is that all?" The tone of his words came out harsher than he had meant.
He sensed the other man tensed in response, but Mokuba didn't move away.
"I'm sorry."
The apology lifted a weight from Kaiba's shoulder that he hadn't even noticed was there before. He turned to face his brother, heart melting at the sight of the tears welling in Mokuba's eyes. He recognized the emotion in Mokuba's eyes- a fear of rejection.
The words came pouring out of his brother's mouth. "I'm sorry I said all those things. I was angry at the time but that's still no excuse. I don't care if you're gay or bi or whatever. And I'm sorry I gave you the silent treatment for weeks. I do want you to be happy, Nii-sama, even if it's with Jounouchi. I'm so sorry. It was stupid and immature of it, but I think I was afraid of losing you somehow, that I didn't want to share you with anyone."
Kaiba gave the boy a faint smile. Mokuba really was his little brother. Though it may seem petty to some, Kaiba had similar feelings regarding Mokuba and other people; first with Mokuba running around with Yugi's crowd and more recently his brother's relationship with Rebecca. Kaibas didn't like sharing- an unfortunate quirk they had both picked up from Kaiba Gozaburo. In retrospect, it was a quality he should have worked to correct in Mokuba as a child. One overbearing and overly possessive Kaiba was already more than the world can handle. But there was many things he should have done for Mokuba when he raised the boy.
Placing a hand on his brother's head, he gave an affection rub and said, "Mokuba, you'll always be my baby brother no matter what."
It wasn't all Mokuba's fault. As Rebecca had pointed out, he had enabled his brother's behavior in his own selfish way. Kaiba Seto didn't know how to say sorry. He had Malik and an entire department to do that for him. But if he was going to learn for anyone, it would be for his little brother.
...
Jounouchi got up and excused himself. It was an hour into the party and Mai had yet to make her appearance. He told himself he was being ridiculous, but he could help but worry that something had happened. He decided to send her a text: Where are you?
Within a minute, he received a reply: I'm not coming. Something happened at the store. A scowling emoji stared up at him at the end of the message.
What happened?
Ask Kaiba yourself.
Jounouchi just stared at the screen of his cellphone for a few moments, wondering what in the hell Kaiba Seto could have done to Mai. His stomach twisted uncomfortably; it was a feeling he hadn't felt in years. He looked up to search the apartment to see if Kaiba had arrived yet.
For better or for worse, he spotted Kaiba huddled over the food table with Rebecca. They appeared to be deep in conversation and judging from the scowl on his face, he was not happy about what was being discussed. Jounouchi watched as Rebecca elbowed the man to direct attention to Jounouchi.
His traitorous mind and body immediately recalled the hazy events of the charity ball. Under Kaiba's unwavering gaze, his cock twitched with a spike of arousal. With a few deep breaths, he managed to will the inappropriate reaction away. He squared his shoulders and made his way across the room to the pair. He was not going to start being afraid of Kaiba Seto now.
"What'd you do to Mai?" He demanded.
At the sound of his voice, Kaiba turned around to lean back against the island in the middle of the large and modern kitchen. From his dress, it was obvious Kaiba had come to the party straight from the office. The CEO just raised an eyebrow in response to the question- perhaps this was his attempt to look innocent."I just sent her a little gift wishing her the best in her business endeavors."
Jounouchi blinked, taking a few moments to process the actual words. He had been too busy admiring the tailored cut of the other man's suit jacket. "What exactly did you send her?"
Kaiba smirked and Jounouchi swore he saw a hint of playfulness to it. "A parliament of owls (1)."
He stared at the other man as if he had grown a second head. Rebecca was busy trying to smother her own laughter behind the counter. "Excuse me, owls?"
"Those little birds that go hoot hoot in the night, Jounouchi. I can send you some pictures for reference if you like." Kaiba pushed himself off the counter to loom over Jounouchi.
Jounouchi quickly diverted his gaze from the brunet's lips to those deep blue eyes instead. "But why the hell would you do that?" His jaw dropped in shock. He didn't know if he should be more concerned with absurdity or the intention of the "gift."
The smirk on Kaiba's face became more and more like a smile, stunning Jounouchi into silence and making his heart flutter with anticipation. "Why? Because I didn't want her here with you."
...To Be Continued...
You can push me out the window
I'll just get back up
You can run over me with your 18 wheeler truck
And I won't give a fuck
You can hang me like a slave
I'll go underground
You can run over me with your 18 wheeler but
You can't keep me down, down, down, down
- "18 Wheeler" by P!nk
(1) Owls are considered symbols of good luck in Japan. Owl symbols are usually given to Japanese couples for their marriage. A collective group/flock of owls is called a "parliament."
A quick note on baby showers. Baby showers are not common practice in Japan. Like a number of other cultures, some people believe that to give gifts to an unborn child can invite bad luck. That is not to say baby showers never happen, but gifts (usually money) are usually given after childbirth. Being that this story takes place sometime in our immediate future, however, it is possible that baby showers as we have here in the US may find a wider reception in Japan. Most importantly of all, the baby shower was mostly planned by Rebecca, who is American.
Wow, another chapter down. At the rate this is going, I think we're looking at about another four chapters minimum to conclude this story. I still have other little drabbles and such set in this timeline biting at me though. I really do adore writing with future!Jounouchi and Kaiba.
I noticed that a lot of scenes take place at party-type environments. That's kind of the sucky part of being an adult once you have a job and approach that time where you begin building a family. It's more difficult getting together with a group of friends without some larger reason to come together. But this is the last party-type scene I have planned and a lot more one on one interaction, especially between Jounouchi and Kaiba, are coming up.
If there are any particular characters anyone would like to see more of, please don't hesitate to ask. I would love to work in other characters more if someone actually wants to read it. I really do enjoy working with the entire cast of YGO characters, even if Jounouchi and Kaiba are my favorites.
Next chapter should be out next week, in which Jounouchi and Kaiba dance around each other some more and try to figure out how to play the game now that the rules have changed. And Shizuka gets an unexpected visitor...
I always adore feedback, so please drop a line if you can spare a moment. I would never hold chapters hostage, but feedback does help to encourage me to write more often!
Special thanks to Blue Lagoon Loon and Kanberry for reviewing last chapter!
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