Ashes doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh!
Epilogue
It was cold outside. Jounouchi took a his drag off his cigarette, leaning so far out the window that the sill dug painfully into his stomach. Stupid Kaiba Corporation and their non-smoking policy. Snow stuck to his hair as he took another quick drag, and debating flicking the rest down thirty stories. Knowing his luck, someone would somehow die. Like he needed that.
It had happened again. There had been a good three years of peace -- for varying definitions of good, anyway -- but eventually the press found out. The headline still burned in his mind if he closed his eyes.
"Kaiba Seto & Gay Lover Together Again!"
Years of fighting, of redefining emotional boundaries, of pushing each other to unknown limits -- all to be lumped together as "gay lover." Of course Jounouchi had bought the tabloid, read the article, and called Kaiba. The promise had always been that if it turned into a media circus again it was over. Kaiba had called him into the main office, and then made him wait while they had The Meeting.
Two hours. Half a pack of cigarettes. All he really wanted a good stiff drink -- rum and coke, nothing fancy.
The door finally opened -- Jounouchi glanced back to see board members streaming out, pointedly not looking at him. Jounouchi missed Seiji; at least he'd had the manners to glare at Jounouchi whenever possible. He had always known where he stood.
Kaiba was the last person out; he looked at Jounouchi with absolute neutrality. "We've come to the best conclusions for the company."
The company. The company was back on two feet, powerful as ever with new games and a hand-held system on the way. The company was priority, and Jounouchi recognized that; he watched in silence as Kaiba took a lobby seat, giving no hint as to what was going to happen. After a moment he smashed his cigarette against the side of the building with the other half-dozen burn marks, drawing himself back into the building and closing the window. As he went to take his seat he dropped the butt in the trashcan.
"When Mokuba finishes school he'll come back to Domino and take over as CEO. I'll resign to a lower position, probably in research or design."
Their eyes were locked, and Jounouchi licked his lips. "And the media?"
"Mokuba will be back soon enough. I can ride it out until then."
With a blink, then two, Jounouchi asked incredulously, "You'll ride it out?"
Kaiba nodded. "We'll ride it out."
-end playing tragic-
notes
Ever the lover of happy endings, I always intended this story to have some kind of silver lining -- that given what they had gone through and how much they had changed, they could somehow come together and make it work. The big question is, do I think I pulled it off?
... Well, we'll see what you think. I think my execution was off, and I probably could have handled this story much better. But hey, it's all a learning experience for the next one, lol.
So thank you to purkledragon, who is a phenomenal beta and worked hard to make this story presentable, and to you for enjoying it, even when it was mediocre. I appreciate every kind word and every criticism I got, and I hope you enjoy the next story I write. D