Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Behind Blue Eyes ❯ Day Five: Stolen ( Chapter 16 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: kiokukaiba 
An innocent day of shopping has a terrible and unexpected ending.
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 07.02.2007 | Pages: 6 | Words: 8.1K | Visits: 557 | Status: Work In Progress
An innocent day of shopping has a terrible and unexpected ending.
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 07.02.2007 | Pages: 6 | Words: 8.1K | Visits: 557 | Status: Work In Progress
Behind Blue Eyes
- - -
Recap:
His breath tickled my ear, “I love you.” He whispered. . .
. . . and my breath hitched. Yes, he truly was Heaven on Earth.
- - -
Normally I would say that our dinner out was uneventful, but that would be degrading to a wonderful event such as that. My ears were still tingling from the treasured words Seto had honored them with. There was also a perpetual feeling of weightlessness throughout my body as though I were on some kind of drug. Seto was a drug to me; an addiction that I had no intention of ever breaking.
It was awkward, though, more awkward than even our first night together. He still wriggled in my bed with me, and he still refused to face me as he slept, but when I put my arm around his tiny waist, he didn’t so much as budge. He may have been asleep, but if he woke with my arm around him, he didn’t mind it being there.
I couldn’t remember if I had dreamed that night, but even the most beautiful of dreams wouldn’t have the potency to pull my attention away from reality. How many people in the world could honestly say that they loved reality more than their dreams? Me, me, me! Damn, acting like a love-struck teenage girl never felt better! I wonder if Seto felt the same way. . .
Or would he think over this whole thing and then decide against it? Would Seto take back everything he said and treat me like shit again? Was this all one big joke? No, no. . . it wasn’t a joke.
For the first time in a long time, I woke up minutes before my alarm sounded, saving me of the near heart attack I had every morning from the blaring noise. Seto, to my surprise, was still there, snuggled under the covers like a child. A child. . . I would have to remember to ask him for a picture of himself as a little boy. He probably had big, curious blue eyes and wild brown hair that fell into his face when he ran around in play with Mokuba. Yes, I wanted to see the Seto of long ago.
I sat up slowly, trying not to shake my creaky bed, and slid the covers away with ease. I couldn’t help but squeak the mattress a bit as I crawled over my sleeping beauty, and he grumbled slightly as I did so, curling up his legs and pulling the sheets closer to his face. So cute. I thought about kissing him on the forehead, like a parent might do to their child; then I changed my mind. We weren’t parent and child or predator and prey anymore.
Finally off the bed, I moved silently through my apartment, not noticing its small size or its unkempt appearance for once. In fact, I didn’t really think much about my surroundings. I didn’t smell, I didn’t see, I didn’t think. . . I only felt. I felt my heart beating strangely as though to music I couldn’t hear. I felt the air beneath my feet as I walked, as though I were walking on nothing at all. I felt the smile that came to my lips, though there was nothing wonderful or happy to be seen. No, there was nothing around me at that moment that could make me feel as blissful as I did at that moment. To an outsider, I was a fool, smiling at my own misfortunes; but to me, I was the richest man on the Earth, with the greatest treasure to be had.
I had Kaiba Seto.
Apparently I really couldn’t see, for I soon found myself smack into the wall separating the kitchen and the living room. Shaking away the ‘stars’, so to speak, I glanced at the clock on my oven. Seven in the morning. I should make breakfast in a hurry in order for us to actually arrive at school on time. . . unlike the day before. Eggs it would be!
I went about the simple task, retrieving eggs from my refrigerator. It was almost like a completely different way of living with Seto around. I mean, according to the project, we were supposed to live in each others’ environment to see how they lived, but with Seto in my house, things weren’t in their usual order. . . or lack thereof. There was food in the house. That wasn’t such a common thing. The house was clean. There weren’t beer bottles strewn about the floor (I was still amazed at myself for getting the beer stains out of the carpet). Dad wasn’t sitting on the couch smoking a joint or passed out drunk.
That was a big part of the difference. The absence of my father was a very wonderful thing. I wonder what he would think of Seto. Would he treat Seto the way he treated me? Would he like Seto and get along with him (hahaha, yeah, and cats will fly out of my ass.)? My father liked pretty things, so would he. . . best not to think about something so disgusting. My biological butthead wouldn’t be laying a finger on my brunet.
As I cracked the eggshells on the side of the pan and poured out the yolk, I wondered how Seto liked his eggs cooked; scrambled, or sunny-side up? Not wanting to assume something and then be wrong, I left the spatula on the counter and the two eggs still sizzling in the skillet.
I was quickly back at my bedside, in awe once again over Seto’s sleeping face. “Seto,” I whispered, nudging his arm gently, “You need to wake up. We have to eat breakfast and go to school, Seto.”
He mumbled and his blue eyes slid open very slowly, “No.” Came his simple reply.
“Seto, we have to go. I thought you were ‘Mr. Punctuality’.” I sat down next to where he lay, and I could feel his arm touching my back. I loved the light contact.
“Fuck punctuality.” He spat, looking up at me with those fatigued orbs, “I’m not going to school today. I don’t feel like it.”
I grinned. Did that mean he wanted to stay with me all day? “Well in that case, rich boy, I won’t go to school either.” I ventured to run my right hand through his hair. His only reaction was to let his eyes slide shut. I slid my hand down along his cheek, tracing his chin. . . and he jerked away suddenly. I was crestfallen.
His face scrunched up in a strange manner, “Do you smell that?”
“Wasn’t me!” I yelled, in good humor, of course.
He rolled his eyes and sat up, “That’s not what I mean. It smells like something is burning.”
I jolted up to a standing position, fleeing down the hall and towards the kitchen. Seto was back in my room yelling “Jounouchi?” But I didn’t bother to explain. The first thing on my list was to take the remnants of my eggs off the stove. I yanked the skillet away a little too fast, accidentally slinging it onto the floor, jumping as a little black blob popped away from the metal. Well. . . the bright side was that nothing caught on fire! Haha. . . yeah. . .
Seto came running in, his pajamas hanging from him and the shirt unbuttoned. . . yeah, completely unbuttoned, be jealous. . . his hair still disheveled from my crappy pillow, “What the hell?” His right eyebrow disappeared above his bangs as he glanced first at me and then at the smoldering black mass on my kitchen floor. “What in the hell? You weren’t planning on eating that, were you? Or worse, you weren’t planning on trying to feed that to me were you?” I could tell that he was trying not to laugh at his own joke.
“Not unless you really want it.” I joked back, smiling at him. I tried to pick up the former eggs, finding them far too hot to the touch. “Damn.” I hissed, putting my fingers in my mouth to cool them by instinct.
“Taste good?” Seto asked, still the smartass he had always been.
I smirked, pulling the tips from my mouth, “Yeah. Wanna taste?”
He visibly shook with disgust, “You’re one sick puppy, Jounouchi.”
“Jou-nou-chi?” I asked, sticking out my bottom lip like a child.
The sapphire-eyed God swaggered over to me. “Ka-tsu-ya.” With each syllable, he poked my nose with the index finger of his left hand, the other hand placed on his right hip.
“Nice shirt.” I commented, smiling as he pulled his hand away from my face and then used it to pulled his shirt closed. “No, no, no.” I insisted, “Leave it the way it was. I like it that way.”
Without a word, he sat down at the kitchen table, leaning on his hand. I sat across from him. “Something wrong, Seto?”
“It’s weird.”
“What’s weird?”
“You and I. . . it’s weird.”
I didn’t like where the conversation was going. Was he going to change his mind like I feared? Quick, a change of topics! Umm. . .
“Seto?”
“Yes, Jou-er-Katsuya?”
“How do you get in your pants?”
He started in his seat, laying his palms flat on the table, “What?” He was yelling, the look on his face priceless. “Why in the hell would you want to know how to get in my pants, you fucking pervert?!”
My eyes shot open, “Woah, woah, woah! I didn’t mean it like that, I swear!” I threw my hands up in my defense, “I meant that they’re so tight, I don’t understand how you put them on!” I shrunk back in my seat, making sure that I was out of arms length.
Seto settled down immediately. “Ha, I knew that. I was just. . . joking. . .” He twitched his nose a bit like a kitten and then sighed loudly, “I just kinda slide into them.”
“Slide?” I asked. Now he had my attention. “And how, dare I ask, do you slide into them?”
“Well they’re leather.” He pointed out, his cheeks tinting pink, “My legs are smooth enough to slide. I use a lot of lotion. Have you felt them?” His hand came up to clutch at his mouth and stop himself, but the words had already escaped.
I leaned forward in my chair, stretching across the table so that he could hear me whisper, “No, but I would love to.” As I sat back I could see his cheeks darken further.
“You’re a trip, puppy.” He shook his head, seeming to rid of the ruby stain.
“So then, Mr. Genius, what are we doing on this wonderful day off of ours?” I put my hands up behind my head and propped the chair up on its two back legs. My goal was to appear casual while hoping for an answer like ‘we’re going to fuck’ or ‘we’re going to make out all day’. You know, something that anyone with any sort of sex drive would want to hear Seto say.
Don’t get me wrong, now. I love Seto very much and I don’t want to do anything that would hurt him or upset him. . . but with a hot piece of ass just walking around my house like that, sleeping in my bed, smirking at me, how could I possibly not want to screw it? Yeah, alright, that sounds a bit harsh. . . but hey, I’m a harsh guy sometimes.
“Katsuuuuuuuuuuuuyaaaaaaaaa.” Seto’s tenor voice chimed as he flicked me right between the eyes. “Honestly, mutt, I’m sick of repeating everything I say just because you like to get lost in your own head.” He folded his arms and huffed like a frustrated wife. A wife. . . yeah, he’d make a nice wife.
“Sorry.” I apologized, “What did you say, honey?” I grinned and jumped from my chair, knocking it to the floor, as he reached across the table in an attempt to slap me. “Too slow!” I yelled, fleeing the room and racing towards the couch. I stood by the coffee table, waiting for him to come bounding in. . . but he didn’t. After a few moments, though it seemed longer than that, I moseyed back into the kitchen to find him still sitting at the table. “Why didn’t you come after me?” I asked.
“Why chase after you when I know you will eventually come back to me?” He smiled.
What? Was he being romantic? He must be! My mind reeled at the thought that Seto knew we would be together for all eternity. He knew that I would never leave him. Did that mean he trusted me? What a wonderful improvement! I began to sway a bit in the doorway.
“Are you alright, Jounouchi?”
“Oh, sorry. . . it’s just that I’m touched.”
He arched a brow, “Touched? By what?”
“What you said.” Suddenly I wasn’t so sure that we were hearing the same words anymore.
“What is so touching about it? It’s fact. If I sit there long enough, you’ll eventually give up and come back in here.” His eyes lit up and he chuckled a bit. “Did you think I was going all poetic on you?” He laughed a little louder, “Come on now! Sure, I’m acting strange. . . I’m just going to blame the medication switch. . . but I’m not going to start spouting off love songs or pouring my heart out in long, pathetic speeches.”
The floor was very interesting right about then, and so I occupied myself with staring at it. There was only silence for what seemed like years, and then the screeching of Seto’s chair against the linoleum flooring.
“Let’s go out to breakfast.” He put his hands on my shoulders, “We’ll go wherever you want. My treat.” When I glanced up at his face, I found myself gazing into hypnotic blue oceans. It was peaceful there. . . there in his eyes. His eyes that were normally so cold and emotionless. They were narrow, which was something I always admired about them. I wondered if they were larger when he was little. I had almost forgotten what Ms. Asuka had told me about Seto’s childhood!
“There are some things that I would like to discuss while we eat breakfast.” I announced, “Project things.”
The CEO pursed his lips and averted his eyes, “I’ll do my best to answer what questions you may have.”
“Alright then!” I cooed, shoving an arm into the air for extra effect. “Get on your most casual slacks and shirts, boys and girls, ‘cause we’re going to McDonalds! Yay!” I clapped my hands and dashed down the hallway to my bedroom. Seto was at least following me, for I could hear the soft noise of his bare feet against my coarse carpet.
- - -
I was clad in blue jeans and a brown t-shirt, while Seto out-dressed me in his black shirt and black (leather of course) pants. Damn he looked good in all black. He looked good in anything he wore, and would certainly look best in absolutely nothing. Was I repeating myself? Who cares, it’s all worth the repetition. I wasn’t alone in my thoughts; everyone we passed, young and old alike. . . even kids that were too young to understand sex appeal. . . were staring at my Seto. Mine, mine, mine! I gave everyone a glare or two. Occasionally a smirk as though to say ‘Yeah bitches, his ass is mine.’
Beauty took time though. Seto took so long to get ready that McDonalds was already serving lunch. So much for the sausage biscuit that I was looking forward to.
We sat in a booth by the window. He seemed to really like windows. I loved to watch him just stare out in that dazed manner of his. I always wondered what he was thinking about while he was lost in his own little world. Did he ponder over things to be done? Did he reflect on previous actions?
“Are you going to get us some food or are we going to just sit here like dumbasses?” His blue eyes flashed in the sunlight that filtered in through the yellow arches on the window.
“Uh, sure.” I answered, standing to follow his orders without much of a thought. “What do you want?”
“I don’t know. Get me a salad or something.” He replied as he turned his head towards the window. He must really like glass or something.
“A Big Mac?” I questioned, pretending not to have heard him. “Alright then.”
“If you get me one of those nasty grease cakes I’ll shove it down your throat.” Finally he looked at me! He was glaring though. . .
“You’ll shove your what down my throat, Seto?” I asked, loud enough for half the dining area to hear, causing quite a few heads to turn in our general direction, eyes wide in disbelief and hands moving to cover the ears of the innocent.
Seto’s eyes were equal in size to that of Yami no Yuugi, “Shut up!” He hissed, “Just get me a salad.”
“A Big Mac.” I countered, leaning on the table with my face just inches from his own.
“Big Mac’s and salads are very different.” He moved his face even closer to mine, so that our breath mixed.
“Not really. Both have lettuce, tomato, onion, and thousand island dressing.”
“What?” He asked, raising his brows.
“The ‘secret mac sauce’ is just thousand island dressing.” I shrugged, surprised at his lack of fast food knowledge. Then again, it’s really not all that surprising.
He sighed, defeated, “Fine, get me whatever.”
“You must really like that kind of dressing, eh?” I joked, moving toward the food line as he swung a fist at me in frustration.
I ordered both of us the same thing. A loaded Big Mac and a large fry. A combo meal of course. I had to run back to the table to fetch some money from Seto. . . did I just use a canine term to describe my own actions? . . . but other than that, things went quick and smooth and I was back at the table with a food-laden tray in no time at all. Of course, you wouldn’t know that I was speedy when you saw Seto. He looked impatient as always, glancing down at his fancy wrist-watch just as I approached to make sure I saw him looking.
“Here ya go, Mr. Bitchy. Eat up.” I slapped the tray down on the table, catching one of the drinks before it fell, but accidentally failing to catch the other. It tipped, knocking off the cheap plastic lid and releasing soda over half the table. I laughed my ass off as I watched Seto slide across the faux-leather booth seat and away from the liquid.
“You idiot!” He screamed, pointing at me to make sure everyone knew who he was condemning.
“Sorry.” I laughed, picking up the tray and moving to the booth just behind us. I sat the tray down carefully this time. Seto didn’t sit until he was sure it was safe. “Oh darn!” I exclaimed in an obviously-fake tone, “Now we have to share a drink.” I grinned at him and the blood rushed quickly into his face.
“You son of a fucking bitch.” He tried to sound angry, but I could tell that he was amused by my little tricks. “I’m going to buy a water for myself.”
I grabbed his wrist to keep him from leaving, “Trust me, dude, you really don’t want to drink water with fries and a loaded burger.”
“Why the hell not?”
“It will taste like you’re drinking piss.” I moved my mouth into various positions to keep from laughing.
Seto shook his head. “You really are a freak, you know that?” His cell phone rang and I released his arm so that he could answer. “Hello?” He sounded so different, “Hello Mokuba, what’s wrong?” He leaned back against the seat, “Oh yeah. I really meant to call you last night Mokuba.” A pause, “I know, I’m sorry. I forgot all about it. You know how my memory is sometimes.” Another pause, and a sigh from Seto, “I was busy.” A loud ‘doing what?’ from Mokuba, “Uh. . .” Seto blushed a bit, looking at me for an answer, “Helping the dumbass dog with his homework and answering e-mails for work. Updating the website and calling clients.” Another pause, and then a start from Seto, “What? What in the hell gave you that idea?” Seto’s blush deepened further, “Listen Mokuba, I’m in the middle of lunch right now and-” A pause, “McDonalds. What? Katsuya wanted to come here.” He covered his face with his left hand, “I said Jounouchi. No, I definitely said Jounouchi. Wait a second. Shouldn’t you be in school?” Laughter from Mokuba. “You little shit! Get your ass to school right now!” He stood up, realized he was doing it, and sat back down. “I’ll call you tonight, I promise. Love you too, Mokuba. Bye.” He hung it up and put it back wherever he had magically pulled it from.
“Sorry about that.” He whispered, taking a sandwich and box of fries from the tray and shrinking back a bit from the smell.
“Nah, it’s alright. I wish I had a kid brother.” I smiled at him, biting off a large chunk of my “grease cake” as Seto had so humorously called it.
“Yeah, he’s wonderful.” Seto smiled just a little bit. . . then he unwrapped his sandwich and frowned deeper than I had previously though possible, “This is fucking gross.”
I laughed, holding my hand over my mouth to keep from spitting chewed up burger onto the table. “Jush ee ert.” I mumbled through the burger.
“I don’t want to eat it.” He stared at it like it were poison and then sighed. Lifting it from its greasy wrapper, Seto opened his mouth very wide. . . wide enough for certain other things, hehe. . . and chomped down, chewing mechanically. Were those tears in his eyes.
“Very good!” I chimed, continuing to devour mine.
For someone that hated fattening foods, he sure ate the shit quickly. Well, he ate about half of the fries and burger before he declared himself about to pop. I remembered that he had a small stomach from a lack of eating. Oh yeah! I wanted a picture of chibi Seto.
“Hey Seto? Do you have a picture of you as a child?”
Seto seemed a bit startled at my random question. He took a sip from our drink, “Uh, not on me. Mokuba has one around his neck.” He appeared a little unsure about telling me that.
“You mean in that card locket?”
“Yeah. I have one too.”
“Back in Duelist Kingdom, he kept looking at that thing. He really loves you, Seto.”
“Really? He shouldn’t.” He stood up, rather depressed now, and threw his trash away. “Let’s go shopping now. I want to change your wardrobe into something a bit more acceptable in public.” He tried to smile, but gave up, leaving the building with me following closely at his heels.
- - -
We took a cab out to the mall again. In fact, we had the same driver as the other day. I could tell that he recognized us, but he didn’t dare to say so. Seto had that ‘fuck with me and I’ll kill you’ look on his face.
“Really? He shouldn’t.”
Yet another quote from Seto that I couldn’t get out of my head. Why did he say that Mokuba shouldn’t love him so much? As much as Seto was an asshole to his employees, classmates, and everyone else around him, he seemed to have a big heart for Mokuba. There were a couple times where Seto yelled at the little raven-haired boy, but anyone with eyes could see that he didn’t really want to yell. Mokuba was Seto’s only family. It was. . . sad.
There was less traffic today than the other day. It was likely due to the fact that most people were in school or work (it was only a little after one in the afternoon) rather than on the roads. The mall was nearly just as empty.
There were housewives and senior citizens as well as the occasional high school dropout or college flunkie. I watched each of them as we passed or they passed, all the while having a strange sensation that someone was watching me or following me. I glanced over my shoulder ever now and then, until Seto picked up on it, in which case I quit being so paranoid.
“So where exactly are we going?” I inquired, folding my hands together behind my head.
We were passing by most of the clothing stores. I knew that he wanted to shop for some nice club clothes, but I wasn’t really sure what he had in mind. Kaiba Seto was known for his classy sense of fashion. He was into leather pants, loose shirts, and long-ass trench coats. I would probably look a little funny in all of the above. I wasn’t built as pretty as Seto was.
I looked him over. Long, powerful legs with pants that melted to every single curve. A thin torso. . . too thin. He was much too thin, but not thin enough to make him ugly. I had seen him without a shirt a couple times in the last few days. It were almost as if he were wasting away without anyone noticing. He ate, but not very much. It was nice that he was lithe, but I just hopped that he wouldn’t lose any more weight than he already had. I didn’t want him to be fat or anything, but it would be nice if he were more than skin and bones.
“Blah, blah, blah. . .” What on Earth? Was he really saying that? Yes, yes he was.
“Are you alright, Seto? I think you’re losing it.”
“Well,” He began, still looking toward whatever our destination was, “I started to answer your question, but it was obvious that you weren’t listening to me. So I just decided to say ‘blah’ instead.” His face scrunched into a strange position, likely due to the fact that he realized how stupid he sounded. Haha, Kaiba Seto finally said something stupid.
“That’s weird, Seto.” I admitted, laughing a little bit as he shrugged. “But really, what was your answer? I was too busy admiring your body to hear you.”
“I said that we’re going to a new shop that they just. . . you were what?!” He stopped walking, but I sped up, laughing all the way. He was so easy to pick on, and that made it so much more fun!
I looked back at him, watching him jog slightly to catch up with me. I bumped into some black-haired guy by mistake, and he muttered curses at me to which I simply replied, “It was an accident, geez! Excuse the hell outta me!” The guy never turned around to counter my remark. “What an ass.” I said out loud, causing Seto to view who I was discussing. My brunet watched the back of the man’s head disappear into a store before turning to follow me again. He looked a bit lost in his own head.
“You alright, my little muffin?” I asked, holding my hands in front of my face to deflect a well-aimed slap.
“Don’t call me that, you dipshit.” He shook his head and tried not to smile. “For a second there, I just thought that that guy was. . .” The blue-eyed dragon tamer turned to gaze at the store for awhile longer before shaking his head again. “It’s nothing.” He concluded. “The place we’re going to just opened. I looked it up on my laptop yesterday after dinner.”
“I thought that you went to bed at the same time I did.” I scratched at my head, positive that I remembered, and then let my arms fall back to my sides.
“I did, but I couldn’t get to sleep. When you started snoring, it became an even harder task.” He shot me a smirk.
“Heh, sorry.” I grinned in mock apology.
- - -
I couldn’t believe my eyes when we arrived. Loud music blared from the wide doorway of this new store Seto was talking about. Neon lights adorned the walls and clothing displays and the store itself wasn’t brightly lit. It was like Hot Topic. . . but not goth. Does that make any sense at all? The name? Club 160. Yeah, it was cheesy. In fact, Seto and I probably stood outside the door for five minutes just making fun of the damn thing. In fact, the CEO took the time to make a face at some slut that gave us a strange look for our laughing. He was acting like. . . like a teenager.
“I definitely didn’t expect something like this from you.” I told him.
“Like what?” He was serious!
“All of this! This shop, the face you made at that girl. . . you’ve been acting like a normal teenage guy ever since you came to live with me.”
Seto looked thoughtful for a moment, “I guess it’s something about you, Katsuya. Does it bother you that I’m acting this way?”
“No! Not at all!” I wanted him to stay this way forever. I liked the playful Seto, and would give anything to keep him from going back to his stuck-up asshole self.
“Then quit your bitchin’.” He grinned at me and then approached the clothing racks. I noticed that he purposely went passed all of the sale racks. I joked to myself that he didn’t want to ‘stoop so low’ as to buy from the filthy sale section. Haha!
I joined him in the search, though I really had no idea what it was that I was supposed to be searching for. At least by pretending to look, I didn’t feel like a moron. I wondered to myself what Seto had in mind. He wasn’t going to try to make me dress like him, was he? I knew that I couldn’t get away with his attire. Wait. . . maybe he was trying to find something that matched my body type. Which would mean that he has looked me over, and more than once! Not only that, but he would have paid attention to the details of my shape and form. Yes! I was checking me out!
Without thinking, as usual, I reached over and gave Seto a little slap on that tight ass of his. He yelped a bit and froze, only turning his head to look down at me as though I were some sort of alien. There was a moment of awkward silence before I began searching fervently through the various articles of clothing. He did the same after a little longer.
Note to self: Don’t randomly slap Seto’s ass. . . unless at home so that I can hear him yelp again, hehe.
I caught my pale companion stealing glances at me every now and then. He was probably trying to decide if something would look good on me. There were also a few occasions where he would pull a shirt, hanger and all, off the rack and hold it up to me, tilting his head and narrowing his eyes in speculation. Apparently he would decide that it just didn’t look right and would then return the piece back where it came from, huffing a sigh of frustration. . . or disappointment, I couldn’t tell.
About fifteen minutes into our escapade, his eyes lit up, “This is definitely you.” He grinned, holding up a long-sleeved satin shirt. It was mostly black, with a forest-green collar and sleeve cuffs. A wild flame-like design crept down the front, following the buttons in the same color as the collar and cuffs.
“Woah.” Was my only reaction.
He frowned and held the shirt against his chest. “You don’t like it?” He looked it over again as though searching for whatever flaw he thought I saw.
“No, that’s not it at all!” I snatched it away from him. “It’s just that I’ve never worn something like this. You really think I could pull it off?” I held it up to my torso.
“Absolutely.” He smirked and went over to the pants section.
“What kind of pants are you looking to get me?” I feared that the answer may be ‘leather’.
“Do you really have to ask?” He questioned, shoving some black-leather bottoms into my arms.
“These might not be the right size.” I said, trying to stall.
“Oh, they’re right. I checked your trouser size last night when I couldn’t sleep.” He seemed proud as he folded his arms across his chest.
My eyes were wide in shock, “What else did you do while I was sleeping?” He was a mischievous little guy. . .
“Hurry up and try it on!” He demanded, shoving me in the direction of the dressing room.
“Alright, but pick out a new outfit for yourself too!” I called back as I entered the dressing room. It smelled very new, unlike most places, which smell like urine for some strange reason. I didn’t really want to know why, and hoped to never find out.
Seto was right, the pants were the perfect size. Although. . . they were quite a bit tighter in the legs than I was used to. It’s going to sound a bit self-centered of me, but I have a rather nice ass when I wear leather. . . I would have to look into getting some more. The shirt was loose, just as expected. Green was a good color for me, which I didn’t understand. I mean, I have brown eyes and blond hair. Blue was Seto’s color, so shouldn’t mine be brown? Nope, green. I didn’t mind it. I’ve always liked the color green ever since I was little.
I did a little turn in front of the mirror to look myself over before stepping barefoot out into the main store to show Seto.
“You’re right, it looks pretty g-” I stopped myself when I realized I was talking to no one. Even the store clerk was too busy listening to music and reading a magazine to pay me any attention. “Seto?” I asked out loud, thinking that he was bending down or something. “Seto!” I called out even louder. There was still no answer. I returned to the dressing stalls. “Are you in here Seto?” Still nothing but my own voice echoing slightly back to me. I ran back into the store. “This isn’t funny, Seto! Where are you?” I was panting now, my heart beating a mile a minute with worry. Where was he?!
I changed back into my original attire with lightning speed, not bothering to put the club-wear back, and ran to the sales desk. I slammed my fists down on the counter to get the woman’s attention. She quickly shut off her ipod and put the magazine down. “Yes sir?” She asked, still a bit startled.
“Did you see a tall guy with brown hair walk out of here?”
“Um. . . I think just a minute ago.” She rubbed at her chin for a second, finding the ceiling interesting, “He was with a friend or something.”
My heart may as well have stopped functioning as my mind flashed back to the black-haired man from earlier. . .
“For a second there, I just thought that that guy was. . . It’s nothing.”
“Saki.”
“Excuse me, sir?”
“Did the guy he was with have black hair?” It took everything within my power to keep from shaking the woman.
“Um. . . yes sir, I believe so, why? Is something wro-”
“Dammit! Damn it all to fucking Hell!” I sped out, knocking over a display or two and nearly tripping at least three times. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. Nothing but Seto. Seto was with Saki. Why did he go with him? Why didn’t I hear him say anything? Did Seto not yell out for help or for me? Was he not able to yell? What had Saki done to him?!
Shoppers were parting like the Red Sea as I dashed down the walkway, peeking down every hall and into every store I passed. A security guard grabbed me by the arm.
“Why the rush, young man?” His grip was rough. He was a burly man, standing probably only around six feet tall. There was no way I’d be getting away from him.
“I-It’s m-m-my friend-d.” I sounded like a blubbering fool. Blubbering? I reached my free hand up to my face, surprised to find the wet streams trailing down my face. When had I begun to cry.
“What’s the matter, son?” His brown eyes were gentle. As he gazed into mine. An older man, probably in his forties. He was probably a father. . . a protective, caring father, unlike mine. “Can you answer me? I may be able to help you.”
“Someone kidnaped my friend.”
“Kidnaped?” His brows knitted, “How old is he?”
“Eighteen.” Yeah, that sounded ridiculous.
“Eighteen?” The officer looked to the floor tiling in thought, “Is he a little guy?”
I growled, we were wasting time! “No! He’s probably 6'5, skinny, brown hair, blue eyes. For Gods sake, it’s Kaiba Seto! Some sick fuck has been stalking him for the past few days, and he just kidnaped him while I was in a dressing room!”
“Now, now, calm down. How do you know that your friend didn’t just have to use the bathroom?”
“Because the store clerk saw them leave together! You’re wasting my fucking time! Get out of my way, dammit!” He released my arm, much to my appreciation, and I sped toward the nearest entrance. In the parking lot, I screamed out Seto’s name again and again, even going so far as to ask a few passers by if they had seen a black haired man with a brunet. The answers were all the same; ‘no’.
My heart pounded against my chest and the entire world began spinning in wild circles all around me. I closed my eyes, trying to drown out the noise that I thought I heard, but only images of Seto in that demon’s arms were there to greet me. Opening my eyes again, I found myself on the ground in the parking lot. On my knees which hurt from falling. Seto, Seto, Seto. . .
“SETO!!!” I cried into the air, hoping for the Gods to hear. Where was he? Again I searched the parking lot. No one, nothing. How would I ever find them? How the fuck should I know where Saki lived?
Wait a second. . .
“We stopped speaking when I had just turned 16. . . His name was Saki.”
Didn’t he say that they dated for a couple years? Somehow I remember him saying that, and yet they stopped dating when he was sixteen? So then he would have been about fourteen. Holy shit. . . how old was Saki? Apparently old enough to be out of school, but he sure didn’t seem like a teenager. Would Mokuba know anything about Saki’s address? If Seto was fourteen, Mokuba would have been 9. Surely he must know something! At any rate, he was my only hope. . . but I had no money, no cell phone, and no form of quick transportation.
“Fuck it!” I screamed. A woman walking by shook her head at me and glared. I only glared in return. Perhaps someone at customer service would let me borrow their phone!
I turned and ran back inside, looking for the nearest customer service center. I could call Honda and have him pick me up on his motorcycle! Then, we could. . . no. Honda was at school right now, and so was Mokuba. . . wait!
“You little shit! Get your ass to school right now!”
Mokuba didn’t go to school today! I didn’t know the number to the Kaiba mansion, though. Damn! One mess after another! Okay, I have to calm down and think things through. Getting all flustered wasn’t going to help Seto. Seto. . . please, God, don’t let anything happen to Seto. I love him way too much.
The woman at customer service jumped a little as I all but ran into the desk. “I need to use a phone, it’s an emergency!”
“Yes sir! Right away!” She shoved a phone at me, eyes wide in a panic that she clearly didn’t understand, and moved away as though I might bite her or something.
I called the operator and asked for Kaiba Seto, but they were unable to give me the number. It was because of his celebrity status, I suppose. They were, however, able to give me the telephone number for Kaiba Corporation, and that was better than nothing.
The phone rang about four times before the bimbo I had seen at the main desk answered it.
“Kaiba Corporation.” Her fake official voice did nothing for me. I could hear the irritating smacking of bubble gum against her bleached teeth.
“I need the number to Kaiba mansion! It’s an emergency!” I tried to sound as urgent as the situation truly was without screaming loud enough for the entire shopping center to hear.
“Sir, I can’t give you that information.” She sounded slightly surprised. I’m sure that it was a rare occasion when someone called and yelled into the phone at her. She needed that kind of treatment more often. . . slutty little bitch.
“Dammit!” I shouldn’t have been angry. Naturally they wouldn’t be allowed to give out Seto’s home phone number. There just had to be someone that could come pick me up and take me to Seto’s house! Who did I know that could get me to Seto?
“Hello? He-llooooooooo?” Her voice was so fucking irritating!
“Geez, shut the hell up!” And she did, thank the gods, “Get Isono on the phone for me. You know, one of Seto’s croonies.” Ah yes, Isono. He was at the Battle City tournament. Surely in an event that went as horribly wrong as that one, he would remember a certain blond that got hospitalized in a whacked out card game. . . right? Either way, it looked as though the ditzy side kick would be my only hope at this point.
She didn’t even tell me to hold. The only way that I knew I would eventually be transferred to the timid employee was the ridiculous elevator-style music that keyed up over the receiver. The woman behind the mall customer service desk stole a couple of side glances at me, but pretended to be busy otherwise.
“Uh, h-hello? Isono speaking, how may I-”
“Isono!” I all but barked, cutting him off completely, “This is Katsuya Jounouchi, the ‘dumb blond’ from Battle City! Do you remember me?”
“I, uh, y-yes, I believe I-”
“Good! It’s an emergency with Seto! I need you to come to the Domino mall downtown and pick me up at the North entrance ASAP! Do you understand?” My heart was pounding as I reminded myself that Seto was with that, that sick fuck!
“Y-YES SIR!” There was a click. What a good fellow.
I slammed the black phone down on the receiver, cringing when I though I heard it crack. I thanked the frightened woman with a simple wave and bolted for the North entrance. My mind was now focused on Seto. Saki wouldn’t physically harm him, would he? As far as I knew, Saki was never abusive toward Seto. In fact, judging by how Seto spoke about him sometimes, I would say that Saki was some sort of savior or protector towards a younger, more vulnerable Seto. Yes, I believe that was what he told me once. But Seto didn’t want to have sex with him, and so Saki raped him, right? Saki. . . wanted sex.
I blew through the main doors, even as heavy as they were, and sped outside. As tempting as the benches were, I couldn’t bring myself to sit down. I occupied my legs with pacing back and forth, causing many shoppers to either go to another entrance or walk at least ten feet around me to go inside. Did I look crazy? Haha! I was crazy! Crazy with worry! Some sick, perverted, fuck had kidnaped my Seto, and was probably fucking molesting him!
I began pulling at my hair. Seconds crawled by, and at one point I wondered if my watch battery had gone dead.
I nearly pissed myself with joy when a long black limousine flew into the parking lot and came to a screeching halt not far from me. The passenger door swung open, giving view to Isono at the steering wheel.
“Come in, Mr. Jounouchi, and please explain to me what is going on!”
I jumped in, not worried about buckling the seatbelt. Seto was the only thing that mattered to me at that very instant. Surely Mokuba would know something about Saki’s whereabouts. If not, I would turn the whole mansion upside down in search of clues.
I couldn’t lose Seto to Saki so easily.
I wouldn’t.
- - -
- - -
Recap:
His breath tickled my ear, “I love you.” He whispered. . .
. . . and my breath hitched. Yes, he truly was Heaven on Earth.
- - -
Normally I would say that our dinner out was uneventful, but that would be degrading to a wonderful event such as that. My ears were still tingling from the treasured words Seto had honored them with. There was also a perpetual feeling of weightlessness throughout my body as though I were on some kind of drug. Seto was a drug to me; an addiction that I had no intention of ever breaking.
It was awkward, though, more awkward than even our first night together. He still wriggled in my bed with me, and he still refused to face me as he slept, but when I put my arm around his tiny waist, he didn’t so much as budge. He may have been asleep, but if he woke with my arm around him, he didn’t mind it being there.
I couldn’t remember if I had dreamed that night, but even the most beautiful of dreams wouldn’t have the potency to pull my attention away from reality. How many people in the world could honestly say that they loved reality more than their dreams? Me, me, me! Damn, acting like a love-struck teenage girl never felt better! I wonder if Seto felt the same way. . .
Or would he think over this whole thing and then decide against it? Would Seto take back everything he said and treat me like shit again? Was this all one big joke? No, no. . . it wasn’t a joke.
For the first time in a long time, I woke up minutes before my alarm sounded, saving me of the near heart attack I had every morning from the blaring noise. Seto, to my surprise, was still there, snuggled under the covers like a child. A child. . . I would have to remember to ask him for a picture of himself as a little boy. He probably had big, curious blue eyes and wild brown hair that fell into his face when he ran around in play with Mokuba. Yes, I wanted to see the Seto of long ago.
I sat up slowly, trying not to shake my creaky bed, and slid the covers away with ease. I couldn’t help but squeak the mattress a bit as I crawled over my sleeping beauty, and he grumbled slightly as I did so, curling up his legs and pulling the sheets closer to his face. So cute. I thought about kissing him on the forehead, like a parent might do to their child; then I changed my mind. We weren’t parent and child or predator and prey anymore.
Finally off the bed, I moved silently through my apartment, not noticing its small size or its unkempt appearance for once. In fact, I didn’t really think much about my surroundings. I didn’t smell, I didn’t see, I didn’t think. . . I only felt. I felt my heart beating strangely as though to music I couldn’t hear. I felt the air beneath my feet as I walked, as though I were walking on nothing at all. I felt the smile that came to my lips, though there was nothing wonderful or happy to be seen. No, there was nothing around me at that moment that could make me feel as blissful as I did at that moment. To an outsider, I was a fool, smiling at my own misfortunes; but to me, I was the richest man on the Earth, with the greatest treasure to be had.
I had Kaiba Seto.
Apparently I really couldn’t see, for I soon found myself smack into the wall separating the kitchen and the living room. Shaking away the ‘stars’, so to speak, I glanced at the clock on my oven. Seven in the morning. I should make breakfast in a hurry in order for us to actually arrive at school on time. . . unlike the day before. Eggs it would be!
I went about the simple task, retrieving eggs from my refrigerator. It was almost like a completely different way of living with Seto around. I mean, according to the project, we were supposed to live in each others’ environment to see how they lived, but with Seto in my house, things weren’t in their usual order. . . or lack thereof. There was food in the house. That wasn’t such a common thing. The house was clean. There weren’t beer bottles strewn about the floor (I was still amazed at myself for getting the beer stains out of the carpet). Dad wasn’t sitting on the couch smoking a joint or passed out drunk.
That was a big part of the difference. The absence of my father was a very wonderful thing. I wonder what he would think of Seto. Would he treat Seto the way he treated me? Would he like Seto and get along with him (hahaha, yeah, and cats will fly out of my ass.)? My father liked pretty things, so would he. . . best not to think about something so disgusting. My biological butthead wouldn’t be laying a finger on my brunet.
As I cracked the eggshells on the side of the pan and poured out the yolk, I wondered how Seto liked his eggs cooked; scrambled, or sunny-side up? Not wanting to assume something and then be wrong, I left the spatula on the counter and the two eggs still sizzling in the skillet.
I was quickly back at my bedside, in awe once again over Seto’s sleeping face. “Seto,” I whispered, nudging his arm gently, “You need to wake up. We have to eat breakfast and go to school, Seto.”
He mumbled and his blue eyes slid open very slowly, “No.” Came his simple reply.
“Seto, we have to go. I thought you were ‘Mr. Punctuality’.” I sat down next to where he lay, and I could feel his arm touching my back. I loved the light contact.
“Fuck punctuality.” He spat, looking up at me with those fatigued orbs, “I’m not going to school today. I don’t feel like it.”
I grinned. Did that mean he wanted to stay with me all day? “Well in that case, rich boy, I won’t go to school either.” I ventured to run my right hand through his hair. His only reaction was to let his eyes slide shut. I slid my hand down along his cheek, tracing his chin. . . and he jerked away suddenly. I was crestfallen.
His face scrunched up in a strange manner, “Do you smell that?”
“Wasn’t me!” I yelled, in good humor, of course.
He rolled his eyes and sat up, “That’s not what I mean. It smells like something is burning.”
I jolted up to a standing position, fleeing down the hall and towards the kitchen. Seto was back in my room yelling “Jounouchi?” But I didn’t bother to explain. The first thing on my list was to take the remnants of my eggs off the stove. I yanked the skillet away a little too fast, accidentally slinging it onto the floor, jumping as a little black blob popped away from the metal. Well. . . the bright side was that nothing caught on fire! Haha. . . yeah. . .
Seto came running in, his pajamas hanging from him and the shirt unbuttoned. . . yeah, completely unbuttoned, be jealous. . . his hair still disheveled from my crappy pillow, “What the hell?” His right eyebrow disappeared above his bangs as he glanced first at me and then at the smoldering black mass on my kitchen floor. “What in the hell? You weren’t planning on eating that, were you? Or worse, you weren’t planning on trying to feed that to me were you?” I could tell that he was trying not to laugh at his own joke.
“Not unless you really want it.” I joked back, smiling at him. I tried to pick up the former eggs, finding them far too hot to the touch. “Damn.” I hissed, putting my fingers in my mouth to cool them by instinct.
“Taste good?” Seto asked, still the smartass he had always been.
I smirked, pulling the tips from my mouth, “Yeah. Wanna taste?”
He visibly shook with disgust, “You’re one sick puppy, Jounouchi.”
“Jou-nou-chi?” I asked, sticking out my bottom lip like a child.
The sapphire-eyed God swaggered over to me. “Ka-tsu-ya.” With each syllable, he poked my nose with the index finger of his left hand, the other hand placed on his right hip.
“Nice shirt.” I commented, smiling as he pulled his hand away from my face and then used it to pulled his shirt closed. “No, no, no.” I insisted, “Leave it the way it was. I like it that way.”
Without a word, he sat down at the kitchen table, leaning on his hand. I sat across from him. “Something wrong, Seto?”
“It’s weird.”
“What’s weird?”
“You and I. . . it’s weird.”
I didn’t like where the conversation was going. Was he going to change his mind like I feared? Quick, a change of topics! Umm. . .
“Seto?”
“Yes, Jou-er-Katsuya?”
“How do you get in your pants?”
He started in his seat, laying his palms flat on the table, “What?” He was yelling, the look on his face priceless. “Why in the hell would you want to know how to get in my pants, you fucking pervert?!”
My eyes shot open, “Woah, woah, woah! I didn’t mean it like that, I swear!” I threw my hands up in my defense, “I meant that they’re so tight, I don’t understand how you put them on!” I shrunk back in my seat, making sure that I was out of arms length.
Seto settled down immediately. “Ha, I knew that. I was just. . . joking. . .” He twitched his nose a bit like a kitten and then sighed loudly, “I just kinda slide into them.”
“Slide?” I asked. Now he had my attention. “And how, dare I ask, do you slide into them?”
“Well they’re leather.” He pointed out, his cheeks tinting pink, “My legs are smooth enough to slide. I use a lot of lotion. Have you felt them?” His hand came up to clutch at his mouth and stop himself, but the words had already escaped.
I leaned forward in my chair, stretching across the table so that he could hear me whisper, “No, but I would love to.” As I sat back I could see his cheeks darken further.
“You’re a trip, puppy.” He shook his head, seeming to rid of the ruby stain.
“So then, Mr. Genius, what are we doing on this wonderful day off of ours?” I put my hands up behind my head and propped the chair up on its two back legs. My goal was to appear casual while hoping for an answer like ‘we’re going to fuck’ or ‘we’re going to make out all day’. You know, something that anyone with any sort of sex drive would want to hear Seto say.
Don’t get me wrong, now. I love Seto very much and I don’t want to do anything that would hurt him or upset him. . . but with a hot piece of ass just walking around my house like that, sleeping in my bed, smirking at me, how could I possibly not want to screw it? Yeah, alright, that sounds a bit harsh. . . but hey, I’m a harsh guy sometimes.
“Katsuuuuuuuuuuuuyaaaaaaaaa.” Seto’s tenor voice chimed as he flicked me right between the eyes. “Honestly, mutt, I’m sick of repeating everything I say just because you like to get lost in your own head.” He folded his arms and huffed like a frustrated wife. A wife. . . yeah, he’d make a nice wife.
“Sorry.” I apologized, “What did you say, honey?” I grinned and jumped from my chair, knocking it to the floor, as he reached across the table in an attempt to slap me. “Too slow!” I yelled, fleeing the room and racing towards the couch. I stood by the coffee table, waiting for him to come bounding in. . . but he didn’t. After a few moments, though it seemed longer than that, I moseyed back into the kitchen to find him still sitting at the table. “Why didn’t you come after me?” I asked.
“Why chase after you when I know you will eventually come back to me?” He smiled.
What? Was he being romantic? He must be! My mind reeled at the thought that Seto knew we would be together for all eternity. He knew that I would never leave him. Did that mean he trusted me? What a wonderful improvement! I began to sway a bit in the doorway.
“Are you alright, Jounouchi?”
“Oh, sorry. . . it’s just that I’m touched.”
He arched a brow, “Touched? By what?”
“What you said.” Suddenly I wasn’t so sure that we were hearing the same words anymore.
“What is so touching about it? It’s fact. If I sit there long enough, you’ll eventually give up and come back in here.” His eyes lit up and he chuckled a bit. “Did you think I was going all poetic on you?” He laughed a little louder, “Come on now! Sure, I’m acting strange. . . I’m just going to blame the medication switch. . . but I’m not going to start spouting off love songs or pouring my heart out in long, pathetic speeches.”
The floor was very interesting right about then, and so I occupied myself with staring at it. There was only silence for what seemed like years, and then the screeching of Seto’s chair against the linoleum flooring.
“Let’s go out to breakfast.” He put his hands on my shoulders, “We’ll go wherever you want. My treat.” When I glanced up at his face, I found myself gazing into hypnotic blue oceans. It was peaceful there. . . there in his eyes. His eyes that were normally so cold and emotionless. They were narrow, which was something I always admired about them. I wondered if they were larger when he was little. I had almost forgotten what Ms. Asuka had told me about Seto’s childhood!
“There are some things that I would like to discuss while we eat breakfast.” I announced, “Project things.”
The CEO pursed his lips and averted his eyes, “I’ll do my best to answer what questions you may have.”
“Alright then!” I cooed, shoving an arm into the air for extra effect. “Get on your most casual slacks and shirts, boys and girls, ‘cause we’re going to McDonalds! Yay!” I clapped my hands and dashed down the hallway to my bedroom. Seto was at least following me, for I could hear the soft noise of his bare feet against my coarse carpet.
- - -
I was clad in blue jeans and a brown t-shirt, while Seto out-dressed me in his black shirt and black (leather of course) pants. Damn he looked good in all black. He looked good in anything he wore, and would certainly look best in absolutely nothing. Was I repeating myself? Who cares, it’s all worth the repetition. I wasn’t alone in my thoughts; everyone we passed, young and old alike. . . even kids that were too young to understand sex appeal. . . were staring at my Seto. Mine, mine, mine! I gave everyone a glare or two. Occasionally a smirk as though to say ‘Yeah bitches, his ass is mine.’
Beauty took time though. Seto took so long to get ready that McDonalds was already serving lunch. So much for the sausage biscuit that I was looking forward to.
We sat in a booth by the window. He seemed to really like windows. I loved to watch him just stare out in that dazed manner of his. I always wondered what he was thinking about while he was lost in his own little world. Did he ponder over things to be done? Did he reflect on previous actions?
“Are you going to get us some food or are we going to just sit here like dumbasses?” His blue eyes flashed in the sunlight that filtered in through the yellow arches on the window.
“Uh, sure.” I answered, standing to follow his orders without much of a thought. “What do you want?”
“I don’t know. Get me a salad or something.” He replied as he turned his head towards the window. He must really like glass or something.
“A Big Mac?” I questioned, pretending not to have heard him. “Alright then.”
“If you get me one of those nasty grease cakes I’ll shove it down your throat.” Finally he looked at me! He was glaring though. . .
“You’ll shove your what down my throat, Seto?” I asked, loud enough for half the dining area to hear, causing quite a few heads to turn in our general direction, eyes wide in disbelief and hands moving to cover the ears of the innocent.
Seto’s eyes were equal in size to that of Yami no Yuugi, “Shut up!” He hissed, “Just get me a salad.”
“A Big Mac.” I countered, leaning on the table with my face just inches from his own.
“Big Mac’s and salads are very different.” He moved his face even closer to mine, so that our breath mixed.
“Not really. Both have lettuce, tomato, onion, and thousand island dressing.”
“What?” He asked, raising his brows.
“The ‘secret mac sauce’ is just thousand island dressing.” I shrugged, surprised at his lack of fast food knowledge. Then again, it’s really not all that surprising.
He sighed, defeated, “Fine, get me whatever.”
“You must really like that kind of dressing, eh?” I joked, moving toward the food line as he swung a fist at me in frustration.
I ordered both of us the same thing. A loaded Big Mac and a large fry. A combo meal of course. I had to run back to the table to fetch some money from Seto. . . did I just use a canine term to describe my own actions? . . . but other than that, things went quick and smooth and I was back at the table with a food-laden tray in no time at all. Of course, you wouldn’t know that I was speedy when you saw Seto. He looked impatient as always, glancing down at his fancy wrist-watch just as I approached to make sure I saw him looking.
“Here ya go, Mr. Bitchy. Eat up.” I slapped the tray down on the table, catching one of the drinks before it fell, but accidentally failing to catch the other. It tipped, knocking off the cheap plastic lid and releasing soda over half the table. I laughed my ass off as I watched Seto slide across the faux-leather booth seat and away from the liquid.
“You idiot!” He screamed, pointing at me to make sure everyone knew who he was condemning.
“Sorry.” I laughed, picking up the tray and moving to the booth just behind us. I sat the tray down carefully this time. Seto didn’t sit until he was sure it was safe. “Oh darn!” I exclaimed in an obviously-fake tone, “Now we have to share a drink.” I grinned at him and the blood rushed quickly into his face.
“You son of a fucking bitch.” He tried to sound angry, but I could tell that he was amused by my little tricks. “I’m going to buy a water for myself.”
I grabbed his wrist to keep him from leaving, “Trust me, dude, you really don’t want to drink water with fries and a loaded burger.”
“Why the hell not?”
“It will taste like you’re drinking piss.” I moved my mouth into various positions to keep from laughing.
Seto shook his head. “You really are a freak, you know that?” His cell phone rang and I released his arm so that he could answer. “Hello?” He sounded so different, “Hello Mokuba, what’s wrong?” He leaned back against the seat, “Oh yeah. I really meant to call you last night Mokuba.” A pause, “I know, I’m sorry. I forgot all about it. You know how my memory is sometimes.” Another pause, and a sigh from Seto, “I was busy.” A loud ‘doing what?’ from Mokuba, “Uh. . .” Seto blushed a bit, looking at me for an answer, “Helping the dumbass dog with his homework and answering e-mails for work. Updating the website and calling clients.” Another pause, and then a start from Seto, “What? What in the hell gave you that idea?” Seto’s blush deepened further, “Listen Mokuba, I’m in the middle of lunch right now and-” A pause, “McDonalds. What? Katsuya wanted to come here.” He covered his face with his left hand, “I said Jounouchi. No, I definitely said Jounouchi. Wait a second. Shouldn’t you be in school?” Laughter from Mokuba. “You little shit! Get your ass to school right now!” He stood up, realized he was doing it, and sat back down. “I’ll call you tonight, I promise. Love you too, Mokuba. Bye.” He hung it up and put it back wherever he had magically pulled it from.
“Sorry about that.” He whispered, taking a sandwich and box of fries from the tray and shrinking back a bit from the smell.
“Nah, it’s alright. I wish I had a kid brother.” I smiled at him, biting off a large chunk of my “grease cake” as Seto had so humorously called it.
“Yeah, he’s wonderful.” Seto smiled just a little bit. . . then he unwrapped his sandwich and frowned deeper than I had previously though possible, “This is fucking gross.”
I laughed, holding my hand over my mouth to keep from spitting chewed up burger onto the table. “Jush ee ert.” I mumbled through the burger.
“I don’t want to eat it.” He stared at it like it were poison and then sighed. Lifting it from its greasy wrapper, Seto opened his mouth very wide. . . wide enough for certain other things, hehe. . . and chomped down, chewing mechanically. Were those tears in his eyes.
“Very good!” I chimed, continuing to devour mine.
For someone that hated fattening foods, he sure ate the shit quickly. Well, he ate about half of the fries and burger before he declared himself about to pop. I remembered that he had a small stomach from a lack of eating. Oh yeah! I wanted a picture of chibi Seto.
“Hey Seto? Do you have a picture of you as a child?”
Seto seemed a bit startled at my random question. He took a sip from our drink, “Uh, not on me. Mokuba has one around his neck.” He appeared a little unsure about telling me that.
“You mean in that card locket?”
“Yeah. I have one too.”
“Back in Duelist Kingdom, he kept looking at that thing. He really loves you, Seto.”
“Really? He shouldn’t.” He stood up, rather depressed now, and threw his trash away. “Let’s go shopping now. I want to change your wardrobe into something a bit more acceptable in public.” He tried to smile, but gave up, leaving the building with me following closely at his heels.
- - -
We took a cab out to the mall again. In fact, we had the same driver as the other day. I could tell that he recognized us, but he didn’t dare to say so. Seto had that ‘fuck with me and I’ll kill you’ look on his face.
“Really? He shouldn’t.”
Yet another quote from Seto that I couldn’t get out of my head. Why did he say that Mokuba shouldn’t love him so much? As much as Seto was an asshole to his employees, classmates, and everyone else around him, he seemed to have a big heart for Mokuba. There were a couple times where Seto yelled at the little raven-haired boy, but anyone with eyes could see that he didn’t really want to yell. Mokuba was Seto’s only family. It was. . . sad.
There was less traffic today than the other day. It was likely due to the fact that most people were in school or work (it was only a little after one in the afternoon) rather than on the roads. The mall was nearly just as empty.
There were housewives and senior citizens as well as the occasional high school dropout or college flunkie. I watched each of them as we passed or they passed, all the while having a strange sensation that someone was watching me or following me. I glanced over my shoulder ever now and then, until Seto picked up on it, in which case I quit being so paranoid.
“So where exactly are we going?” I inquired, folding my hands together behind my head.
We were passing by most of the clothing stores. I knew that he wanted to shop for some nice club clothes, but I wasn’t really sure what he had in mind. Kaiba Seto was known for his classy sense of fashion. He was into leather pants, loose shirts, and long-ass trench coats. I would probably look a little funny in all of the above. I wasn’t built as pretty as Seto was.
I looked him over. Long, powerful legs with pants that melted to every single curve. A thin torso. . . too thin. He was much too thin, but not thin enough to make him ugly. I had seen him without a shirt a couple times in the last few days. It were almost as if he were wasting away without anyone noticing. He ate, but not very much. It was nice that he was lithe, but I just hopped that he wouldn’t lose any more weight than he already had. I didn’t want him to be fat or anything, but it would be nice if he were more than skin and bones.
“Blah, blah, blah. . .” What on Earth? Was he really saying that? Yes, yes he was.
“Are you alright, Seto? I think you’re losing it.”
“Well,” He began, still looking toward whatever our destination was, “I started to answer your question, but it was obvious that you weren’t listening to me. So I just decided to say ‘blah’ instead.” His face scrunched into a strange position, likely due to the fact that he realized how stupid he sounded. Haha, Kaiba Seto finally said something stupid.
“That’s weird, Seto.” I admitted, laughing a little bit as he shrugged. “But really, what was your answer? I was too busy admiring your body to hear you.”
“I said that we’re going to a new shop that they just. . . you were what?!” He stopped walking, but I sped up, laughing all the way. He was so easy to pick on, and that made it so much more fun!
I looked back at him, watching him jog slightly to catch up with me. I bumped into some black-haired guy by mistake, and he muttered curses at me to which I simply replied, “It was an accident, geez! Excuse the hell outta me!” The guy never turned around to counter my remark. “What an ass.” I said out loud, causing Seto to view who I was discussing. My brunet watched the back of the man’s head disappear into a store before turning to follow me again. He looked a bit lost in his own head.
“You alright, my little muffin?” I asked, holding my hands in front of my face to deflect a well-aimed slap.
“Don’t call me that, you dipshit.” He shook his head and tried not to smile. “For a second there, I just thought that that guy was. . .” The blue-eyed dragon tamer turned to gaze at the store for awhile longer before shaking his head again. “It’s nothing.” He concluded. “The place we’re going to just opened. I looked it up on my laptop yesterday after dinner.”
“I thought that you went to bed at the same time I did.” I scratched at my head, positive that I remembered, and then let my arms fall back to my sides.
“I did, but I couldn’t get to sleep. When you started snoring, it became an even harder task.” He shot me a smirk.
“Heh, sorry.” I grinned in mock apology.
- - -
I couldn’t believe my eyes when we arrived. Loud music blared from the wide doorway of this new store Seto was talking about. Neon lights adorned the walls and clothing displays and the store itself wasn’t brightly lit. It was like Hot Topic. . . but not goth. Does that make any sense at all? The name? Club 160. Yeah, it was cheesy. In fact, Seto and I probably stood outside the door for five minutes just making fun of the damn thing. In fact, the CEO took the time to make a face at some slut that gave us a strange look for our laughing. He was acting like. . . like a teenager.
“I definitely didn’t expect something like this from you.” I told him.
“Like what?” He was serious!
“All of this! This shop, the face you made at that girl. . . you’ve been acting like a normal teenage guy ever since you came to live with me.”
Seto looked thoughtful for a moment, “I guess it’s something about you, Katsuya. Does it bother you that I’m acting this way?”
“No! Not at all!” I wanted him to stay this way forever. I liked the playful Seto, and would give anything to keep him from going back to his stuck-up asshole self.
“Then quit your bitchin’.” He grinned at me and then approached the clothing racks. I noticed that he purposely went passed all of the sale racks. I joked to myself that he didn’t want to ‘stoop so low’ as to buy from the filthy sale section. Haha!
I joined him in the search, though I really had no idea what it was that I was supposed to be searching for. At least by pretending to look, I didn’t feel like a moron. I wondered to myself what Seto had in mind. He wasn’t going to try to make me dress like him, was he? I knew that I couldn’t get away with his attire. Wait. . . maybe he was trying to find something that matched my body type. Which would mean that he has looked me over, and more than once! Not only that, but he would have paid attention to the details of my shape and form. Yes! I was checking me out!
Without thinking, as usual, I reached over and gave Seto a little slap on that tight ass of his. He yelped a bit and froze, only turning his head to look down at me as though I were some sort of alien. There was a moment of awkward silence before I began searching fervently through the various articles of clothing. He did the same after a little longer.
Note to self: Don’t randomly slap Seto’s ass. . . unless at home so that I can hear him yelp again, hehe.
I caught my pale companion stealing glances at me every now and then. He was probably trying to decide if something would look good on me. There were also a few occasions where he would pull a shirt, hanger and all, off the rack and hold it up to me, tilting his head and narrowing his eyes in speculation. Apparently he would decide that it just didn’t look right and would then return the piece back where it came from, huffing a sigh of frustration. . . or disappointment, I couldn’t tell.
About fifteen minutes into our escapade, his eyes lit up, “This is definitely you.” He grinned, holding up a long-sleeved satin shirt. It was mostly black, with a forest-green collar and sleeve cuffs. A wild flame-like design crept down the front, following the buttons in the same color as the collar and cuffs.
“Woah.” Was my only reaction.
He frowned and held the shirt against his chest. “You don’t like it?” He looked it over again as though searching for whatever flaw he thought I saw.
“No, that’s not it at all!” I snatched it away from him. “It’s just that I’ve never worn something like this. You really think I could pull it off?” I held it up to my torso.
“Absolutely.” He smirked and went over to the pants section.
“What kind of pants are you looking to get me?” I feared that the answer may be ‘leather’.
“Do you really have to ask?” He questioned, shoving some black-leather bottoms into my arms.
“These might not be the right size.” I said, trying to stall.
“Oh, they’re right. I checked your trouser size last night when I couldn’t sleep.” He seemed proud as he folded his arms across his chest.
My eyes were wide in shock, “What else did you do while I was sleeping?” He was a mischievous little guy. . .
“Hurry up and try it on!” He demanded, shoving me in the direction of the dressing room.
“Alright, but pick out a new outfit for yourself too!” I called back as I entered the dressing room. It smelled very new, unlike most places, which smell like urine for some strange reason. I didn’t really want to know why, and hoped to never find out.
Seto was right, the pants were the perfect size. Although. . . they were quite a bit tighter in the legs than I was used to. It’s going to sound a bit self-centered of me, but I have a rather nice ass when I wear leather. . . I would have to look into getting some more. The shirt was loose, just as expected. Green was a good color for me, which I didn’t understand. I mean, I have brown eyes and blond hair. Blue was Seto’s color, so shouldn’t mine be brown? Nope, green. I didn’t mind it. I’ve always liked the color green ever since I was little.
I did a little turn in front of the mirror to look myself over before stepping barefoot out into the main store to show Seto.
“You’re right, it looks pretty g-” I stopped myself when I realized I was talking to no one. Even the store clerk was too busy listening to music and reading a magazine to pay me any attention. “Seto?” I asked out loud, thinking that he was bending down or something. “Seto!” I called out even louder. There was still no answer. I returned to the dressing stalls. “Are you in here Seto?” Still nothing but my own voice echoing slightly back to me. I ran back into the store. “This isn’t funny, Seto! Where are you?” I was panting now, my heart beating a mile a minute with worry. Where was he?!
I changed back into my original attire with lightning speed, not bothering to put the club-wear back, and ran to the sales desk. I slammed my fists down on the counter to get the woman’s attention. She quickly shut off her ipod and put the magazine down. “Yes sir?” She asked, still a bit startled.
“Did you see a tall guy with brown hair walk out of here?”
“Um. . . I think just a minute ago.” She rubbed at her chin for a second, finding the ceiling interesting, “He was with a friend or something.”
My heart may as well have stopped functioning as my mind flashed back to the black-haired man from earlier. . .
“For a second there, I just thought that that guy was. . . It’s nothing.”
“Saki.”
“Excuse me, sir?”
“Did the guy he was with have black hair?” It took everything within my power to keep from shaking the woman.
“Um. . . yes sir, I believe so, why? Is something wro-”
“Dammit! Damn it all to fucking Hell!” I sped out, knocking over a display or two and nearly tripping at least three times. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. Nothing but Seto. Seto was with Saki. Why did he go with him? Why didn’t I hear him say anything? Did Seto not yell out for help or for me? Was he not able to yell? What had Saki done to him?!
Shoppers were parting like the Red Sea as I dashed down the walkway, peeking down every hall and into every store I passed. A security guard grabbed me by the arm.
“Why the rush, young man?” His grip was rough. He was a burly man, standing probably only around six feet tall. There was no way I’d be getting away from him.
“I-It’s m-m-my friend-d.” I sounded like a blubbering fool. Blubbering? I reached my free hand up to my face, surprised to find the wet streams trailing down my face. When had I begun to cry.
“What’s the matter, son?” His brown eyes were gentle. As he gazed into mine. An older man, probably in his forties. He was probably a father. . . a protective, caring father, unlike mine. “Can you answer me? I may be able to help you.”
“Someone kidnaped my friend.”
“Kidnaped?” His brows knitted, “How old is he?”
“Eighteen.” Yeah, that sounded ridiculous.
“Eighteen?” The officer looked to the floor tiling in thought, “Is he a little guy?”
I growled, we were wasting time! “No! He’s probably 6'5, skinny, brown hair, blue eyes. For Gods sake, it’s Kaiba Seto! Some sick fuck has been stalking him for the past few days, and he just kidnaped him while I was in a dressing room!”
“Now, now, calm down. How do you know that your friend didn’t just have to use the bathroom?”
“Because the store clerk saw them leave together! You’re wasting my fucking time! Get out of my way, dammit!” He released my arm, much to my appreciation, and I sped toward the nearest entrance. In the parking lot, I screamed out Seto’s name again and again, even going so far as to ask a few passers by if they had seen a black haired man with a brunet. The answers were all the same; ‘no’.
My heart pounded against my chest and the entire world began spinning in wild circles all around me. I closed my eyes, trying to drown out the noise that I thought I heard, but only images of Seto in that demon’s arms were there to greet me. Opening my eyes again, I found myself on the ground in the parking lot. On my knees which hurt from falling. Seto, Seto, Seto. . .
“SETO!!!” I cried into the air, hoping for the Gods to hear. Where was he? Again I searched the parking lot. No one, nothing. How would I ever find them? How the fuck should I know where Saki lived?
Wait a second. . .
“We stopped speaking when I had just turned 16. . . His name was Saki.”
Didn’t he say that they dated for a couple years? Somehow I remember him saying that, and yet they stopped dating when he was sixteen? So then he would have been about fourteen. Holy shit. . . how old was Saki? Apparently old enough to be out of school, but he sure didn’t seem like a teenager. Would Mokuba know anything about Saki’s address? If Seto was fourteen, Mokuba would have been 9. Surely he must know something! At any rate, he was my only hope. . . but I had no money, no cell phone, and no form of quick transportation.
“Fuck it!” I screamed. A woman walking by shook her head at me and glared. I only glared in return. Perhaps someone at customer service would let me borrow their phone!
I turned and ran back inside, looking for the nearest customer service center. I could call Honda and have him pick me up on his motorcycle! Then, we could. . . no. Honda was at school right now, and so was Mokuba. . . wait!
“You little shit! Get your ass to school right now!”
Mokuba didn’t go to school today! I didn’t know the number to the Kaiba mansion, though. Damn! One mess after another! Okay, I have to calm down and think things through. Getting all flustered wasn’t going to help Seto. Seto. . . please, God, don’t let anything happen to Seto. I love him way too much.
The woman at customer service jumped a little as I all but ran into the desk. “I need to use a phone, it’s an emergency!”
“Yes sir! Right away!” She shoved a phone at me, eyes wide in a panic that she clearly didn’t understand, and moved away as though I might bite her or something.
I called the operator and asked for Kaiba Seto, but they were unable to give me the number. It was because of his celebrity status, I suppose. They were, however, able to give me the telephone number for Kaiba Corporation, and that was better than nothing.
The phone rang about four times before the bimbo I had seen at the main desk answered it.
“Kaiba Corporation.” Her fake official voice did nothing for me. I could hear the irritating smacking of bubble gum against her bleached teeth.
“I need the number to Kaiba mansion! It’s an emergency!” I tried to sound as urgent as the situation truly was without screaming loud enough for the entire shopping center to hear.
“Sir, I can’t give you that information.” She sounded slightly surprised. I’m sure that it was a rare occasion when someone called and yelled into the phone at her. She needed that kind of treatment more often. . . slutty little bitch.
“Dammit!” I shouldn’t have been angry. Naturally they wouldn’t be allowed to give out Seto’s home phone number. There just had to be someone that could come pick me up and take me to Seto’s house! Who did I know that could get me to Seto?
“Hello? He-llooooooooo?” Her voice was so fucking irritating!
“Geez, shut the hell up!” And she did, thank the gods, “Get Isono on the phone for me. You know, one of Seto’s croonies.” Ah yes, Isono. He was at the Battle City tournament. Surely in an event that went as horribly wrong as that one, he would remember a certain blond that got hospitalized in a whacked out card game. . . right? Either way, it looked as though the ditzy side kick would be my only hope at this point.
She didn’t even tell me to hold. The only way that I knew I would eventually be transferred to the timid employee was the ridiculous elevator-style music that keyed up over the receiver. The woman behind the mall customer service desk stole a couple of side glances at me, but pretended to be busy otherwise.
“Uh, h-hello? Isono speaking, how may I-”
“Isono!” I all but barked, cutting him off completely, “This is Katsuya Jounouchi, the ‘dumb blond’ from Battle City! Do you remember me?”
“I, uh, y-yes, I believe I-”
“Good! It’s an emergency with Seto! I need you to come to the Domino mall downtown and pick me up at the North entrance ASAP! Do you understand?” My heart was pounding as I reminded myself that Seto was with that, that sick fuck!
“Y-YES SIR!” There was a click. What a good fellow.
I slammed the black phone down on the receiver, cringing when I though I heard it crack. I thanked the frightened woman with a simple wave and bolted for the North entrance. My mind was now focused on Seto. Saki wouldn’t physically harm him, would he? As far as I knew, Saki was never abusive toward Seto. In fact, judging by how Seto spoke about him sometimes, I would say that Saki was some sort of savior or protector towards a younger, more vulnerable Seto. Yes, I believe that was what he told me once. But Seto didn’t want to have sex with him, and so Saki raped him, right? Saki. . . wanted sex.
I blew through the main doors, even as heavy as they were, and sped outside. As tempting as the benches were, I couldn’t bring myself to sit down. I occupied my legs with pacing back and forth, causing many shoppers to either go to another entrance or walk at least ten feet around me to go inside. Did I look crazy? Haha! I was crazy! Crazy with worry! Some sick, perverted, fuck had kidnaped my Seto, and was probably fucking molesting him!
I began pulling at my hair. Seconds crawled by, and at one point I wondered if my watch battery had gone dead.
I nearly pissed myself with joy when a long black limousine flew into the parking lot and came to a screeching halt not far from me. The passenger door swung open, giving view to Isono at the steering wheel.
“Come in, Mr. Jounouchi, and please explain to me what is going on!”
I jumped in, not worried about buckling the seatbelt. Seto was the only thing that mattered to me at that very instant. Surely Mokuba would know something about Saki’s whereabouts. If not, I would turn the whole mansion upside down in search of clues.
I couldn’t lose Seto to Saki so easily.
I wouldn’t.
- - -