Chapter Two
Authoress: Keishi
BIG FAT WARNING:
Contains m/m relationships
ONLY read if you are of age and open-minded!!!
Disclaimer
And blind my eyes.
I'll steal your breath, and throw away,
What I despise.
-second verse, "My Lover's Box," Garbage
Katsuya Jounouchi walked slowly along the indistinguishable road in the blinding snow. He cradled his right side gingerly, the pain there lancing through him if he took too
deep a breath. Clad only in his green jacket, white t-shirt, ragged jeans, and an old pair of tennis shoes, he was positively freezing.
He coughed, and doubled over in the immediate pain that one motion caused. He felt something wet seep into his mouth and spit it out. Bright red spattered the snowy ground below him, and Jou's eyes widened. 'Maybe my injuries are worse than I originally figured,' he thought to himself.
He had planned to try and make it to Honda's place, or perhaps Yugi's grandad's shop, but the pain kept shooting through him, stopping his brain from functioning correctly.
And so he just walked on, blindly, hoping someone would be out on the road to help him. The swirling snow and shoddy visibility, however, seemed to have other things planned
for the golden-haired boy.
Unable to feel hardly any part of his body, Jounouchi slumped against the high brick wall lining the narrow road, feet dragging slowly, fingertips brushing roughly across the hard
texture. Head falling forward, Katsuya could barely see the world in front of him through his blond bangs. He leaned heavily against the brick fencing, letting it guide his weary
and injured body forward, left hand slightly in front to feel his way along. 'I'm going to die,' he thought deliriously, 'but this time, I don't care.' He was able to walk along for a few moments, when suddenly, his hand went through empty air, and he fell forward, body swinging around in an automatic gesture to shield him from the worst of the fall. His head banged against something metal, and for a handful of minutes, Jounouchi's vision went black.
--
Seto's head snapped at the sound of something clanging against the gated entrance to his home. He stalked forward, a rush of adrenaline warming his cold limbs, bringing life
back to them. A body was slumped in a heap at the bottom of the large gate, blond hair framing pale, battered cheek. Seto knew, in the darker recesses of his heart, who that
halo of golden strands belonged to, but his head refused to believe him. He noted the dark bruise that nearly swallowed Jou's face, beginning at temple and spreading across
and down his cheek, to end under his jawline. He wondered what other injuries the blond had mysteriously sustained.
He pried open the overlarge iron gate slowly, groaning a bit under it's weight; despite it's antique appearance, this gate wasn't used to being opened manually. Kaiba scooped up the nearly frozen boy in his capable arms, a soft moan issuing from the mostly-unconscious Jounouchi. Muttering something under his breath about stupid dogs out in this god-forsaken weather, he turned and began trudging through the snow toward the mansion; getting them both warmed up was the only thought in his frozen mind. He stopped when he heard the prone body in his arms mumble softly. He leaned down to hear the boy more clearly.
"...I hate you."
Seto blinked, his usual scowl gracing his aristocratic features. "What?" He dumped Jounouchi back onto the ground unceremoniously.
Katsuya growled when he hit the tundra again, small wisps of snow lifting up at impact, swirling above him. Shifting slightly and wincing in obvious pain, Jou curled up in the
fetal position. "I hate you, Kaiba."
"You don't even know me that well."
"I still hate you."
Seto let out an exasperated breath. "Fine, you want to be that juvenile? Then I hate you, too," he deadpanned.
Eyes shut tightly, tears of agony frozen on pale lashes, hair askew, Seto thought Katsuya a study of pained beauty. He shook that thought out of his head when Jou muttered, "I'm not being juvenile, I'm just stating fact. I'd rather die than have you help me."
"Really." Kaiba's voice positively dripped sarcasm and condescension. He folded his arms and looked down at the freezing, injured boy at his feet, struggling to not reach out and brush his golden hair back from his pale face. 'Wait, pale? Wasn't Jou's skin usually darker, more tanned? He must be worse off than I first surmised,' Kaiba thought silently.
Jou was shivering madly, and he hurt more now than ever before, but he would be damned if he'd be pitied by Kaiba, of all people. He looked up at the chocolate-haired boy, and cursed his luck. This was truly the worst day of his life, and he figured dying would be more preferable to owing Seto Kaiba anything, worst of all his life. He rolled over and coughed blood into the snow. "Just let me die."
Kaiba shook his head. "Sorry, can't do that."
"Why won't you just let me die?!" The words came out forced, loud, ragged.
Seto sighed, bending down to the paler man's level. "Because explaining to the police why I have a dead Jou-cicle on my front lawn was just not in my itinerary." He lifted Jounouchi a second time, easily hugging the slim body to him, and began his trek yet again across the snowy yard. His legs were nearly numb, his fingertips blue, and his nose felt like it would never thaw, but Seto diligently carried the hurt boy to the mansion, making sure that he was not aggravating Jou's injuries further.
He tried not to take notice when one of Jounouchi's hands moved up to grasp his button-down shirt in a child-like gesture, fingertips running along the buttons softly. One frozen thumb slipped between the material, brushing the skin of Seto's chest. That single icy touch elicited feelings of warmth that Seto had never experienced previously, and the CEO suddenly realized why: no one had ever touched him before, not recently anyway. He remained so aloof and distant from people, that no one was allowed to get close, save for his little brother. Even Mokuba had never touched him physically like that, and the thoughts and emotions brought on by the tiniest of touches on his bare chest sent Kaiba's mind into a tailspin. Reaching the door, he flung it open and entered with his new burden, strange emotions chasing behind him in the white, white snow.
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