This'll have to do for the entire fic : I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! But I do own this story. I hopes yalls enjoy it.

To admit :

1. To permit to enter

2. To make acknowledgment

or

2. To afford possibility

Chapter 1

It was the middle of Tuesday's lunch period at Domino High, and Kaiba and Yugi and his friends were in the classroom alone, as usual. Kaiba had long since eaten his own small lunch. The annoying ones, however, were all still shovelling food into their mouths and talking loudly, bursts of laughter interrupting his concentration.

It had been like this all of last week too, and Kaiba had concluded that their animated conversation was due more to nostalgia than anything else. It was, after all, the last week they would ever be attending Domino High, which was bound to inspire reminiscence. Well, at least in the sentimental kind. Kaiba couldn't care less. He didn't like that he'd have to establish a new schedule, but that was hardly admitting he'd miss the place. It was clear that the others would, though. After a particularly raucous outburst from the back of the classroom, Kaiba hastily packed up his laptop, knowing that he'd never get any work done if he stayed.

He navigated the maze of desks, passing by the cheerful group as he neared the door.

"Join us, Kaiba!" called out Yugi.

"Yeah, come on, Kaiba!" echoed Anzu.

Jou mumbled something to Honda through a mouthful of food, and they both snickered.

Suddenly, Kaiba wanted nothing more than to be far away from them, from their friendship and food, their snickers and smiles.

"I've got work to do," he shot none too kindly over his shoulder as he strode out of the classroom quickly. He kept walking, his steady footsteps echoing loudly in the mostly empty corridor. He suddenly had the urge to lose himself in his work, and forget all about school and Yugi and his laughing friends, and snickering dogs especially. He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't realise there were other footsteps now, and that they were following him; and he didn't hear the voice calling out for to him to stop. He turned into an empty classroom and headed toward one of the desks in the front row.

Kaiba snapped back to reality when he felt a hand grip tightly around his arm. He spun around, quickly knocking it away with the briefcase he had firmly clasped in his own free hand.

"Shit!"

The owner of the offending arm hopped about a little, alternately cradling and slightly shaking out said arm.

"What do you want, mutt?" Kaiba asked impatiently. He was supposed to be forgetting all about him and everything else; and his briefcase felt heavy with all the work he had yet to do. He took a good look at the blond who was still rubbing his arm, his face screwed up.

"Jeez, I come out here to talk to you and you smack me around? What the hell is that thing made of? Lead?"

Kaiba stared at Jou, waiting for him to make a point.

"I mean, what if I was someone else? You woulda clocked Yugi in the head if it was him." Jou smiled a little, but quickly stopped when he saw Kaiba's humourless face.

"I haven't insulted you all day and you come here looking for a fight? You're dumber than I give you credit for," Kaiba smirked, setting down his briefcase on the nearest desk.

"I'm not dumb, and I'm not looking for a fight," Jou responded quickly, but without his usual fire. "Just wanted to talk a little." He turned back to the door, pulling it almost closed.

Kaiba blinked, sure that he'd heard wrong. "Talk? About what? We've got nothing to talk about."

Facing Kaiba again, Jou opened his mouth and then shut it again quickly. He looked very much like he was about to say something he didn't want to, but then his expression changed, some unknown emotion taking over his features.

"About Yugi," Jou said.

"Yugi?" Kaiba questioned. He raised an eyebrow and folded his arms. "You ran out here, following me like a puppy looking for food to talk about Yugi?"

Jou frowned at what had to be the millionth dog remark Kaiba had ever made, but nodded.

"Well, what about Yugi? Good old World Champion, King of Games," Kaiba paused, tasting the words on his tongue. They were acidic. "What the hell does he want?"

"Gods, you can cut the sour grapes shit. That's getting old, Kaiba. And he doesn't want anything from you. Except your friendship," Jou said. He moved to lean against the nearby teacher's desk.

"My friendship?" The blond nodded. Kaiba scoffed at that, a mirthless chuckle spilling out of his lips. "Well, I don't want his. I don't want it, and I don't need it. You can go back to your little friends now."

Kaiba turned away from Jou to slip into the desk his briefcase was resting on, but he again found his arm in Jou's hand. Kaiba stilled, and then turned around to face Jou slowly. He yanked his arm from Jou's grasp, wondering if he should pound the dog into a pulp now or later. He had quickly moved past annoyed into angry.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Touch me again and you'll regret it." Jou met Kaiba's even tone with an equally even glare.

"Then at least hear me out. Just now, in class, Yugi asked you to eat with us. And you just walked out on him. Like he doesn't even matter, like he's nothing. He's done a lot of shit for you in the past, would it hurt you to be nicer to the guy? He keeps reaching out, hoping you'll take his hand one day, but you keep slapping it away. I dunno why he keeps trying, gods know I wouldn't, but the least you can do is give him your hand too. At least once." Jou's intense stare faltered, and he stopped talking.

"Are you done?" Kaiba enquired dryly.

Jou rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I guess."

"Good. Look, mutt, I don't know where all this came from, but I know where you can shove it. This is the last week we'll ever have to see each other, there's no need for this friendship thing now. Come Friday, we'll all be nothing but bitter memories. The little midget has enough friends anyway. He doesn't need me, just like I don't need him."

"You can never have enough friends. And that's my point. We're most likely never gonna see each other again, why not take the chance? If not now, when?"

"How about never? Is never good enough for you?" Kaiba almost laughed at the mix of disbelief and anger on Jou's face. Jou shook his head and snorted mirthlessly, drawing himself up to look Kaiba in the eye, despite the inch or two the dark haired boy had over him. They were so close Kaiba could feel the other boy's breath against his cheek. Jou was suddenly very serious, and he spoke softly and steadily.

"If you can't even be nice to Yugi, there's no hope for the rest of us, is there?" Soft brown eyes bored into Kaiba's icy blue depths, and he was now very confused.

"You didn't come here to talk about Yugi," Kaiba said slowly, in realisation. He trained his calculating eyes on Jou. "What were you going to say before?"

Jou smiled sadly. "Nothing. Nothing at all. Enjoy your life, Kaiba." He turned around to walk to the door, but this time he was stopped by Kaiba's hand on his arm. Jou turned around to face him, but made no move to pull away. Kaiba's grip had them standing closer then ever, and to his bewilderment, Kaiba was in no hurry to pull away either.

"Touch me again and you'll regret it," Jou intoned softly, but entirely without malice.

Something in Kaiba's head told him that he should let Jou go, that he should step back, and that he should let the blond leave. He did let go, and he did step back, but he couldn't let him leave, not yet. Whatever change had come over the other boy was affecting him too somehow, and he wouldn't let Jou leave until he got to the bottom of whatever was going on.

"What were you going to say before?" Kaiba asked again, now desperately curious, but hiding it well. Was it something important? Was it something he needed to know? He had an inexplicable feeling that it was both, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what the mutt would have to say to him that could be so urgent.

Jou didn't answer, and he repeated his question, noticing that Jou was now beginning to look like a trapped animal, all shifty eyes and nervous movements.

"I wanted to know if you were going to Otogi's party this Saturday. I know you got an invitation. We'll all be there…last hurrah kind of thing." Jou couldn't meet Kaiba's eyes as he said this.

This quiet and edgy Jou was new to Kaiba, and now he positively knew that the mutt was lying. The same voice that had told him to back away earlier was now telling him to give it up, that if Jou wanted to keep it a secret then so be it. It told him that he didn't really care, and that whatever it was would probably irritate him anyway. But he hushed the voice, an irrational need to hear whatever Jou was trying to keep from him building up inside. Or maybe it was an irrational need to beat Jou at every game, physical or mental. He'd never lost before, and he wouldn't now.

This irrationality, however, annoyed him, and, mad at himself and at Jou, he snarled, "Bullshit. What the fuck were you going to say?"

"You don't wanna know!" said Jou, just as heatedly.

"Like hell I don't. I've been asking for the past few minutes, and I'm getting impatient. You either tell me now, or you'll tell me later, in a great deal of pain." Kaiba moved closer to Jou, who kept backing up. He soon hit the teacher's desk, with nowhere else to go. "I don't know how much longer we can pretend to be civil to each other, puppy. We've gone ages without a fight, and I think we're due. So, just tell me. I'll try not to bite." He tried his utmost to be menacing, smiling his best villainous smile down at Jou, who was slumped against the teacher's desk, wide eyes on Kaiba's.

"I'm trying to save you trouble, here, Kaiba. You'll regret asking, and I'll regret telling you anything. I'm warning you…Let's just drop it. I gotta get back to the others." He sounded tired, like he was about to drop a heavy burden at any minute.

Kaiba knew the sound of defeat well, and he heard it ringing clear in Jou's voice. Let it never be said that he didn't have people skills, he smirked inwardly. One more push, and he'd win, yet again. Jou had gotten to his feet and made to sidle past Kaiba. The dark haired boy, however, had different ideas, and his hand flew out to smack into the middle of Jou's chest, holding him back. He felt Jou's muscles tense under his hand; he was ready to snap.

"Fine!" Jou ground out angrily. "You wanna know? Fucking find out, then!"

Kaiba barely had time for a celebratory smirk before Jou had lunged toward him, their lips colliding. And then, either Kaiba had gasped in shock, or Jou had fought his way in, but now he could feel the blond in his mouth, prodding and teasing his own stilled tongue. He felt Jou's hand quickly moving to the back of his head, pulling them closer. He felt his hand, still on Jou's chest, trapped between them. He felt both their hearts beat, strong and erratic. He heard the blood rushing in his ears, felt it racing through him. Maybe he was getting light-headed, and that was why he leaned into Jou a little. Eyes still wide open, he saw Jou's eyes closed, his brow furrowed. He couldn't form a single thought, save for these physical things.

Then in a split second he came to, realising just what was going on, and roughly pushed Jou off of him. The teacher's desk scraped backwards with Jou's weight.

"What the fuck was that?" he sputtered, his trademark cold calm evaporated by the heat of confusion and outrage.

"That was a kiss, Kaiba. Now we both regret it, and now I can leave." He sounded exasperated, as if Kaiba was a child who wouldn't stop asking for a cookie, and then dropped it as soon as they got one. He made to brush by Kaiba, but stopped.

"I – I don't suppose that meant anything to you. I mean, you didn't – didn't feel anything, right?" Jou looked at him searchingly, hope clearly shining in his face.

This was a terribly awkward situation, Kaiba thought to himself. One he was wholly unfamiliar with. He looked at Jou, who was silently begging him to say yes, and he was not entirely sure that he could say no. He'd never really had the feelings he'd had just now before from just a kiss; the feeling that his brain was swimming, and that his gut was twisting, nothing else on his mind but the other's lips and tongue and hands and an insane fluttering deep inside. Were those the feelings Jou was talking about? He took a breath through parted lips, now ten times more confused than he was a few minutes ago.

And just what the hell was that kiss anyway? Did that mean that the little street punk had other feelings for him besides complete hatred? Did Jou really like him? Or was he playing with him? That was a funny kind of game, if the latter was true. But Kaiba had a feeling that it wasn't a game at all; that that kiss was the most serious thing the blond had ever done. That blond was looking at him now, with an intensity that rivalled the glares they'd trade when they fought. When they fought…Well, were they ever really fights, then? What were they?

And hadn't he thought about it too, what Jou had just done, what it would be like? No, this was ridiculous. He'd never have done it. Did that make Jou brave, or foolish? Why did he do it? Why?

Kaiba blinked rapidly, trying to clear his mind. He was thinking too much, and he was sure he wasn't thinking the right things. He wasn't doing the right things either. Right now, he should be shouting at the dumb dog, how dare he touch me - how dare he kiss me? Who the hell does he think he is? Who the hell does he think I am?

Collecting himself, he opened his mouth resolutely, to tell the mutt off, but he couldn't say the words. Jou was clearly more than a little baffled at his inability to respond.

"Kaiba, look, forget it. It was just a kiss, I – I –" His words trailed off, and he looked concernedly at Kaiba. "Say something."

Kaiba looked back at him, not sure how much of his confusion his face was betraying. Then he let the indignation and fury well up inside him, and released them, in way he hadn't done in a long time. The sudden uncertainty and anger, and the frustration and chaos raging inside him all spilled out.

"You want me to say something? Fuck you! What the fuck are you playing at? On the one hand, if that joke of a kiss was meant to be serious, you're more pathetic than I thought. What did you think one kiss could change? What were you hoping for? That I'd put my arms around you and take you home with me? That I'd tell you I love you, and we'd be together forever? On the other hand you're up to something – which I'm much more inclined to believe. Are you trying to humiliate me, to trick me? Or is it something else? Do you want my money, Jounouchi? Do you want to be rich?" He paused for a breath. He knew he was red in the face, but he wasn't done. "Why would you do that? Why?"

"Are you freaking paranoid? I don't want your damned money, I don't want anything!" Jou looked nervously at the open door, trying to keep his voice down, but failing.

"Don't want anything? Just my friendship, right?" Kaiba scoffed. "Please. You'll have to do a little better than that."

"I'd settle for friendship. But I want more than that. I – I wanna be with you…I can't explain it. Don't ask me to. Just – I swear, I just wanna be with you." Jou's face was painfully honest, but Kaiba couldn't help it.

"So, you want to be with me, but you can't explain, and I can't ask questions, and I'm supposed to trust that you're not after my money or playing some vindictive little trick on me?" Kaiba's accusing voice was biting.

"Trick? I'm not tricking – look! I'm not tricking anyone! This was a fucking mistake. I was being honest. I wish for once you could cut the shit and be honest with yourself too." Jou stopped and gave Kaiba the kind of searching look that he was accustomed to giving others. "You haven't said no yet," Jou said plainly.

"What?"

"Did you feel anything?"

"Doesn't matter. Whatever you're looking for, you won't find it here." Kaiba's words were cold, and he knew they cut Jou deep.

"You didn't say no."

"Fuck off. How's that?"

"You still haven't said no. I know you felt something. You won't even give me a chance?" His voice trembled with unsung emotion. And there it was again. That hope, showing through in Jou's face.

"A chance for what? You kissed me once, and you're lucky I haven't torn you limb from limb!" He was feeling more like himself with each passing moment, his coolness returning to him, and he twisted his face into a mask of contempt. He felt malicious, wanting to stomp Jou into the ground and make him suffer for making him lose his cool, his famous self-control.

"I can't believe you thought – whatever sad little thoughts you were having. That kiss was a mistake. I'd never be with a lousy, second-rate, dumb mutt like you - never. You got that? We've got no chance. We never did, we never will. Do you understand me now?"

He was smug, and feeling very superior. He waited, fully expecting to see Jou's face crumple, but it never did. Instead, he saw a sort of righteous fire burning in Jou's eyes, and try as he might, he couldn't look away.

"No, it wasn't a mistake. At least now I don't have any misconceptions about anything. I thought if I was honest with you, if I bared my soul, then maybe you could do the same. It took a lot for me to come here, to let you know. I had to swallow my pride and all that, and I hoped that if I backed down first, you'd give me a chance." He shook his head slightly.

"I thought there was something inside you, under all that ice and –" he seemed to flounder for the right word. "- and arrogance. Something good. But I was wrong. You've got nothing inside but more ice and a black heart. You couldn't even let me down easy." Jou shook his head slightly again, a bitter smile twisting his lips. The bell rang, and he looked at the open door.

"You know what the best thing is, though?" he continued, turning back to Kaiba. "That you want me. You just don't wanna believe it. I've seen the way you look at me sometimes, when you think no one else is looking. Hell, maybe you don't even know you're doing it. But I know. Don't worry, though, you'll realise it soon enough. Then it'll eat you alive how much you want me, and then you'll have to swallow your pride." Jou leaned in close to Kaiba, who stared him down all the way. "Goodbye Kaiba. Have a nice life."

And with that, Jou strode out of the classroom, hands in his pockets. He kicked the door open, leaving Kaiba staring after him, a bundle of emotions so tight inside him that he couldn't separate one from the other. He was tempted to shout something rude after the boy just to make sure he understood that he was so far beneath him that the mere thought of them together was a joke, but he was honestly a little tongue tied. He didn't really know what to make of Jou's last words, far less the last few minutes.

He picked up his briefcase from the desk behind him and made his way to the front gates of Domino High. He called his driver, and in five minutes he was on his way to KaibaCorp. School be damned. He really did have work to do.