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[ It's not like things have been chaotic since he left.

Yuugi slipped out in the night and things got even duller. He gave up on school - there wasn't any chance that he would graduate or go anywhere, anyway, and got a part-time job. He tried to keep his nose out of trouble, just in case Yuugi came back. He spent some more time with Shizuka. He tried to keep up with what was going on at the school with everyone through Honda, who was scraping by. He had more drive about academics than Jou did, after all.

Otherwise, he tried to just keep out of the house, only checking in for sleep and the mail. His dad didn't dare find out he left school. He didn't want to see how that fight would go, if he cared at all. He's sure it'd end up with a neighbor calling the police again.

He tried not to start fights, to get his hands dirty with stealing too much or being places he shouldn't be. He tried to keep to the better parts of town... but there's only so much he can do to avoid things the stink of a street punk attracted to him.

Fights still happened. Sometimes, he still stole, when he had to. Sometimes, he got a mouth on him and told off the wrong people. He couldn't help what came naturally to him and he couldn't help his need to lash out when he felt all alone now.

It sucks that he's ended up here, on the steps in front of Seto Kaiba's home, of all places, but where else could he go after a fight like that? He can take on a lot of guys, but not when he's caught off-guard. He won in the loosest sense, but getting away became top priority once the other guys were down. They'd get up again in no time and hunt him down.

So he climbed the fence, one shoe missing, jacket gone and hands stiff from throwing punches. He ended up on the other side and ambled his way to the steps that lead up to the door.

He wonders how long he can stay out here, just perched in the dying light outside of one Seto Kaiba's house, dribbling blood from his lips and nose onto his pristine stairs and filling the perfect air with tobacco smoke as he tries to figure out what the hell to do, or where the hell to go.

His answer comes in a hand hauling him up by the scruff of his shirt and dragging him inside, a voice berating him with who's and why's and cursing. He barely recognizes the voice, but he's sure it's one of Seto's henchman, dragging him in for a brief interrogation before preparing to boot him out.

Nice safe spot while it lasted. ]

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[ Jou makes a face, surprised when he's noticed. Damn, he tried to be so quiet, too. He nearly just shuts the door again, but he frowns instead and concedes to opening his mouth about it.

If he gets too hungry, he knows he'll become a true pain in the ass. ]

Uh... you... have dinner yet?

[ there's a loaded pause in which he debates whether or not to tell the truth, and then whether or not to answer at all. ugh. but if he gets caught in his lie, then he'll be forced to own up to the fact that he chose not to deny him outright. and why isn't he just telling him to shove off?

whatever. who does he have to explain himself to? ]

... No.

[ but that doesn't mean he won't make him ask for it. ]

[ He huffs. Is he really that hungry?

His stomach growls loudly.

Yes... he is that hungry. He looks down at his own navel, angry at his organ's betrayal, before sulking in the doorway. ]

I -- uh...

[ No, he can't do it. Staying here is already enough of a blow to his pride. He'll owe him even more if he asks. ]

Nevermind.

[ why can't he just ask? although he's the last person who can speak about prioritizing pride over basic needs, the irony is lost on him. well, if he doesn't want to eat, then that's his choice. jonouchi isn't here to be looked after, he's here so his reputation continues to be unsullied.

seto eyes him a moment longer, and then turns his back to his face. ]

Fine. It doesn't make any difference to me if you go hungry.

[ when he walks away, he doesn't look back. ]

[ Luckily, that sounds enough like a challenge for Jou to step out of the room and forward after Kaiba. He doesn't need an invitation, just a poke at the buttons. He follows behind him, not saying anything.

He knows they'll just argue, at this rate. His stomach's growling is as loud as he'd normally be, anyway. ]

[ seto doesn't bother to look back. he knows that jonouchi is going to follow him downstairs, knows that something about what he said, or the way he said it, was enough to kick him into gear. for a moment he entertains the thought of telling him to go back to his room and wait, or forcing him to ask before he starts walking around the estate uninvited, but he saves it for later. he had hoped they wouldn't have to deal with each other for the rest of the night, and now that that plan has been dashed... ]

I see your stomach is giving your brain the directions now.

[ he never really got the hang of small-talk. ]

[ Jounouchi flusters, curling his fists and stepping loudly behind him on purpose to show his annoyance with his statement. Everything that comes out of him always sounds insulting, no matter what it is.

He huffs and crosses his arms across his chest, puffing it out. ]

Some of us work up appetites after running around all day. Not everyone has the luxury of sitting on their ass all day.

[ it's so easy, he doesn't even have to try. maybe it's just because it's coming from his mouth that it's so offensive, but he doesn't rise to the bait that jonouchi sets out for him, at least not right away. he has a job, doesn't he? he can't remember what it was, something he could get away with doing while still attending school...

they're almost to the kitchen by the time he speaks again. ]

I do as much work in a day as you do in a week, Jonouchi.

[ past the dining room, seto pushes open the door into the kitchen. it's too late for the cook to be on duty. he could call her in, but... faster to just get it himself. ]

[ Jounouchi puffs out his cheeks for a moment. Just how did he know? It's not like Jou is keeping up with the Kaibas when it came to his personal state of being. He'd been working a lot more, lately, to try and get out of his dad's debt hole. Not being in school helped but... even if his hours weren't the same, he was still physically doing more, right? ]

Yeah, sure. I believe that.

You couldn't even touch my job.

[ technically, he does quite a few, but ceo is his official title. of course, jonouchi knows all that. he even knows the circumstances by which he came into this role. it still rankles after all this time that his entire past was put on display for yuugi and his friends to see, along the whole sordid deal with noah as it was revealed to him. if he could remove the information from their minds, he would. if he could remove it from his own mind... well, he can't say he's better off knowing about the dead adoptive sibling who tried to kill him and his brother both.

the double-doored fridge opens with a crack, cool air pouring out into white mist around his ankles before quickly disappearing. it's stocked full of wrapped left-over dinners and elaborate-looking desserts, the latter owing to mokuba. seto picks up an untouched plate of steak and vegetables. ]

And I doubt you could handle mine. Ya ever think about how hard the people below you must work? It's not playing around just because people on my level aren't managing people and whatever. Someone's gotta be out there, working their hands down to nothing, or nothin' would ever get done. You know that, don't you?

[ Seto let him in, is letting him stay, so he's trying super hard to bite his tongue and not be ungrateful. He knows Seto has been at the bottom... but it's been a long time since he's worn holes in his shoes and couldn't buy a new pair. He's had a full fridge for years.

He sits at the table, because it's not like he can just waltz in there. He doesn't know what he can and can't grab. He huffs and rests his chin on his palm. ]

Are you lecturing me? Because it isn't cute. I'm not talking generalizations, I'm talking about you.

[ what, does jonouchi honestly think he doesn't know these things? the same rules still apply, no matter where you are on the ladder of wealth — the strong eat the weak. maybe there's some room for exceptions, and cooperation certainly has its advantages (if jonouchi's predicament tonight is any indication, it does) but he isn't about to admit that here. perhaps if it were yuugi...

but yuugi is gone.

seto turns back to give jonouchi an icy glance and shuts the refrigerator door. ]

Come get your food, I'm not picking for you.

[ he leaves his own plate on the counter while he finds himself a fork and knife, sets them out, and then goes about unwrapping his meal and setting the time on the microwave. his unspoken intention is that jonouchi follow his lead, because there's no way in hell that he's preparing his food for him. if he's so good with his hands, then he can serve himself. ]

I could say something really raw right now, but I'm trying to be thankful you're not kicking my ass out on the street. You keep flapping your lips, I won't hold back.

[ He spits this out through grit teeth, looking Kaiba dead in the eyes. He's not afraid to match him word for word. It helps, knowing Kaiba's background. After all, Jou can remind him he would have been in the same shoes, if not for a stroke of luck. If not for being given one flash in the pan opportunity, he'd be just as destitute and knuckle-dragging as him.

He'd have a home to hide from, still, and a social responsibility to sink with his father the way Jou is sinking with his.

His hands smack the table when he's ordered to go pick through the daunting refrigeration unit. He pushes himself up and out of his chair, crossing the room and grabbing the first plate he sees. Some kind of meat and veg, he won't question it. Food is food for him. He sets it on the table and makes a point to be patient so he doesn't physically cross his path. ]

[ seto watches jonouchi carefully while the microwave hums, giving himself time before making the decision between forcing his hand or accepting his begrudging thanks. does it really matter? what could he possibly say to him, anyway? it's not like he actually cares what a loser like him thinks. ]

No, you go ahead and say what you want. Just don't think it's going to make any difference to me.

[ Jou whips around in his seat to stare Kaiba down, fist curled on his knee as he takes a deep breath, trying not to get irate.

He appreciates this, he does. Most people wouldn't give him a bed and food for the night, but goddamn it, he won't be stepped on in exchange. ]

Fine, you wanna know the truth? You're only where you are 'cause you got lucky! Hard work or no, you'd be in the same shit I am if you hadn't caught the eye of some crazy rich guy by chance. Trust me, I know kids from orphanages, they're the kinda guys that did this to my nose now. They didn't get lucky breaks.

You can talk shit on me all you want, but in the end, you only got away from this life by luck. You don't know a damn thing about what the hell I've been doing out there! I bet I've been working just as long as you, but guess what?

You never had to make ends meet! You got to go straight to the top! So I won't keep having some asshole like you look down on me just because you don't have some shithead at home who's been dragging you down from the moment you were brought into this godforsaken world and I'm definitely not gonna put up with you acting like I'm some bum asshole who does nothing with his life! I can't even finish school in this shitty situation, but I'm trying.

But sure, keep acting like you're busting your ass more than I am. But remember, you could nap for a fuckin' month and Mokuba'd be financially fine and bound for studying abroad. I sit on my ass, Shizuka doesn't get to go to university. Ever. So shut your goddamn mouth, eat your food, and stop getting on my case before I take my chances with the punks trying to bash my brains in out there, got it, Kaiba-sama?!

[ it's almost funny, he thinks, as he stands and watches jonouchi spit out his tirade — if he had said something like this to him just a few months ago, or the year before, he would have kicked him out onto the street without a word. actually, he never would have invited him in, if that were the case. his reputation could have suffered for all he would have cared — or maybe it was just that his pride was more important to him then. has he been humbled to some minuscule degree? honestly, he doesn't know.

his nose wrinkles at the word luck, but he still manages to let him finish. it never pays to interrupt people, anyway. better to let them run out of steam, so you can be sure they're listening. the microwave dings, but seto ignores it. ]

See, was that so hard?

[ it sounds a lot less jeering than he means it to, but then, jonouchi seems less upset at him than he is at his situation. it's not the personal attack it could have been. he was expecting a complete character assassination, going by the look on his face. ]

I'll admit that you have problems of your own, but don't sit there and tell me I'm here because I'm lucky. I don't care if it was chance, or fate, or any of that other garbage that was responsible for Gozaburo and I meeting — I took my future into my own hands to get where I am now, and you know exactly what would have happened if I hadn't.

Besides, I never said you were a bum. Don't put words in my mouth.

[ he was trying to say that he was a loser, but he doesn't want to hear him go for a second round, so he keeps his mouth shut for once. instead, he turns his back and gets his food out of the microwave. warm enough. ]

Edited 2016-01-23 02:49 (UTC)

[ Jounouchi feels patronized by the first words he speaks. He knew he should have just cussed him out and left it at that. Being honest with a guy like Seto Kaiba, who can't respect any other human being on earth, is a waste of energy. He just thought he owed him an honest answer if he was pushing for it. Obviously, it was an answer that meant less than dirt to him.

This really is all convenience. This is all him just minding his own self, not Jou. No, he doesn't give a shit about him. He doesn't want him to, probably. What's it worth, to have someone like this mind his feelings at all?

He'll repay his debt later, then bail out in the morning. He'll make sure to never come back here. There's really no where to go for him in this world anymore, is there? His safe haven already flew off in the night. ]

Yeah, I do, but there you sit, on your high horse. Just shut up already....

[ He shuts up himself, looking down at his plate, gripping his fists and grinding his teeth.

He hates today. He hates going back to this life. He hasn't been this angry since before he befriended Yuugi. He feels like he's slid backwards. ]

[ usually "shut up" is what gets told to him after he's said something particularly close-cutting. now? perhaps it's just the truth finally getting to jonouchi. he was strong enough to rise above his circumstances, even if it took crawling hand-over-hand and using cruel, dirty tricks to outwit his adoptive father. jonouchi doesn't have the same strength. and perhaps it's not even his fault that he's been crushed into the dirt, but the world doesn't care whose fault it is; the world doesn't care about the circumstances you've been given.

kaiba frowns to himself and walks over with his food, biting the inside of his cheek when he stops beside jonouchi's chair. it's some kind of self-flagellation for what he does next — picking up jonouchi's plate and replacing it with his own, knife and fork deposited beside it. he unsinks his teeth to speak, just to be sure he doesn't think he's taken that command seriously. ]

Take it.

[ it's all his food, anyway. he returns to the microwave, claiming jonouchi's plate for himself. ]

Edited 2016-01-23 03:42 (UTC)

[ Jounouchi stews for the long moment he's left alone in quiet, waiting for Kaiba to take his food out of the microwave and sit down so he can get through the same.

It doesn't come. Instead, Kaiba gives him his hot plate of food and leaves Jou looking baffled at it. He furrows his brow, but says nothing at first.

Some kind of peace offering, letting him eat first? He can't make any sense of this man. He never has.

He ends up muttering a thanks and watches him return to the microwave before digging into his food.

He's never had steak. This is pretty new. ]

[ after seto's heated his food and grabbed another knife and fork, he sits at the head of the table to eat in silence. jonouchi's grievances aside, they don't have anything to say to one another, do they? after tomorrow, it won't matter what they do or don't have to say, because this strange truce will have ended. as long as jonouchi is a guest in his home, the only choice they have is to keep to some modicum of civility.

after that, they won't have to worry about these things anymore. personally, he looks forward to it.

his meal — the same as jonouchi's, even he has a favorite food — is gone soon enough, and then he's standing again to put the dishes in the sink with a clatter. as he walks past the table, he stops and speaks. ]

I'm going to bed. If you need something, ask the staff.

[ Jou watches him from the corner of his eye as he speaks and leaves the room. Of course he'd say that. Jou's not about to ask him for any favors, anyway. He'll find it himself or he'll ask one of the less menacing looking staff members.

He washes the dishes in the sink by force of habit before he leaves. He doesn't leave a mess after himself if he can help it. It's not out of courtesy to Kaiba, but instead, maybe, to the staff that are on the same level at himself.

He almost gets lost going back to his 'room' for the night, but he makes it, falling on the bed and covering his eyes, trying to calm back down. His nose and cheeks ache from bruising. This gums feel like they're throbbing. Maybe he should have just taken a piece of cake and called it a day, but Kaiba would have teased him and when would he have something like steak again?

Still... food, a roof, protection... all coupled with Kaiba's attitude - he could not let this hang. He couldn't let him have a favor on him, should they ever cross again. It wasn't in his nature, but he didn't have anything to give him. There's nothing Kaiba could want for in this world, was there? Not when he had what seemed like half the Japanese economy at his damn fingertips.

He runs his hand down his chest and rests his splayed palm across his belly. ]

Not like he's gonna think any better of me any time soon...

[ Not that he wanted him to, but he's got one thing to give over as some kind of payment and at the very least, it'd keep Kaiba hushed up until morning. If his 'reputation' is so vital, he won't let this kind of thing slip out, either.

He waits, not wanting to risk causing little Mokuba any stress, before he sighs and slips out of the guest room. He has to wander around for a while to find Kaiba's bedroom, eventually asking a maid on her way to her quarters, and only manages to get there by sheer luck.

He doesn't bother to knock. He'd just get the door slammed in his face. Instead, quietly, he opens the door part way. ]

Hey...

[ after he leaves, seto goes to mokuba's room to make sure he's eaten (he has, a burger with fries and a slice of chocolate cake) and to tell him goodnight. then he returns to his own room — not the office from before, but his bedroom — and dresses down for the evening, exchanging his dark sweater and slacks for cotton pajamas. he spares a few minuets to watch the world outside his room, feeling the strange sense of deja-vu he always does when he thinks too long on that year he was trapped inside his own body, inside his own head, left to sit for long hours in front of these very windows.

it hasn't quite been two years since he woke up, has it?

when he gets into bed, he doesn't immediately lie down to sleep. it's not just that he's feeling restless, but sleep never comes to him all that easily. it never has, not since they were sent away from their family.

he's dozing, not quite thinking about anything, when he hears the sound of the door opening. the gauzy veil of sleep is immediately lifted from over his head, but he's still too shocked by his presence to remember to be rude. seto squints toward the silver of light bisecting his room. ]

Jonouchi?

Edited 2016-01-23 05:53 (UTC)

[ When Jou hears his voice, he slides his way inside. A part of him feels a little sick at himself, that he's sunk so low that this means nothing to him. Where'd his pride go?

He might have been kicking and screaming at him before, but as much as it was annoyance at him, it was annoyance at everything else. Everything in his life that had sunk him down so low, brought him up, and then dropped him again. He swallows and shuts the door behind him, locking it as a courtesy. He keeps his voice low. ]

Listen. I don't plan to owe you for... any of this. So I'm gonna do something for you. You don't... have to do a thing. I'll do it all just-- bare with me and enjoy it. If you don't, I'll stop, you just tell me... so... y'know, you can just stay there, alright?

[ His voice tapers off, a lot smaller than its ever been around Seto Kaiba, but it takes a lot of his gumption to just be here, ready to do this. He walks across the room and sits on the edge of the bed, not looking at him. ]

[ there's an urge in him to interrupt and tell jonouchi to get out of his room if it isn't urgent, but seto's never heard quite that tone of voice directed at him before. whether it's curiosity or something else that stops him, he couldn't name it, he only knows it's enough to let jonouchi get through his fumbling explanation. what could jonouchi possibly do for him? honestly, he can't think of a single thing he could offer. there certainly isn't anything he would ask for. he's about to say so, before he comes over and sits on the bed.

the way his weight makes the mattress dip gives him a ridiculous thought. which he quickly comes to realize might not be so ridiculous after all, by the set of jonouchi's shoulders, and the way his back is turned. ]

You...

[ all he can do is stare at the back of his neck, the silver of skin above the collar of his shirt. what else would he have to give him? no is really the only answer, but the word won't materialize on his tongue. he shouldn't do this, but he can't say that either. he's seto kaiba, he can do whatever he wants. if this is just... a transaction, then...

it would be something he could hold over on him. wouldn't it? that's the thought that lets him open his mouth again, even if the rest of him is perfectly aware that it works both ways. ]

... All right. Fine.

[ He feels the hairs on his neck bristle at the simple agreement. It's so fluid and straightforward... just like him, to tell the true.

He hears himself sigh before he shifts on the bed. ]

Keep the lights off. Heh, you can just shut your eyes and think of someone else, right?

[ It's not like Seto could see him, and as far as he can tell, the kitchen was the last time he'd ever see his face again. They have no reason to cross paths in the future. The worst case scenario, the next time he lays eyes on him, it'll be in a police report or maybe an obituary. It's hard to tell, with the way his life has gone.

He reaches up to grab the edge of the blankets and pull them down. He aims to grab his knees and push them apart so he can prop himself up between them, but the blankets need to get away first.

Silk, of course. He'll never experience ones like these again. He almost laughs as places his palms against his legs and tries to ease them apart to make space. ]

Just cooperate, for once.