NOTE TO READERS: In case you're confused, Chapters 1-5 are reposted because the fic was deleted by at the end of September(2004). The reason was I needed to up my rating from PG13 to R because of language (lots of cursing/profanity...). Author notes are the original ones before the deletion.

(A/N) Hi minna-san! So, I've decided to try my hand at Yu-gi-oh fanfiction. It's not my first fanfiction, but the first in this fandom. I've seen many of the epsiodes, so hopefully I haven't mucked up too badly on the characters ;, then again... it is AU, so there's bound to be some ooc. Just an idea that's been stuck in my head. Though I'm not sure how original it is, I've tried my best to make it interesting at least. As you'll notice, I use the Japanese names, as opposed to the american dubbed names, because I just prefer them. Anyway, it's quite a long chapter and just the beginning, but I hope you enjoy it. I would love your comments and/or constructive criticism.

Warnings: future shounen-ai (boys kissing boys, you know...); semi-frequent cussing/swearing, mentions of abuse; AU

Pairings: Future Seto/Jou; maybe Honda/Otogi; haven't decided on any others yet.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-gi-oh, or any of its characters and ideas (honestly!).

-.-.-.-.-.-

Inescapable You

Chapter 1: Indian Summer (or Hook, Line and Sinker)

"There, that's the last of it," Ishtar Malik grunted as he heaved a full garbage bag onto the curb for the garbage truck to pick up later. The exotic Egyptian gave the bag one last disgusted grimace before sauntering over to his white-haired companion sitting on the shaded grass nearby, leaning against the trunk of an old tree.

Yami Bakura shifted a bit as the blonde approached, making enough room in the shade for both of them. The two were hot, tired and more than a bit frustrated by their wasted day. The tomb robber glared hatefully at the house in front of them, "That bitch had no right to order us around like that! We've been working on that collection for months. Does she know how hard it is to find good road kill in the middle of a fucking city?!"

"Yeah, well… That's my sister for you," Malik sighed wearily, wiping a bit of sweat from his forehead, "Always ready to ruin our fun. I don't know why she freaked out like that though, it's not like she ever used that freezer before anyway."

"Whatever."

They remained silent for a while after that, feeling worn out and bored. It had taken almost half the day to clean out the freezer in the basement to Isis' satisfaction, and now there didn't seem to be anything interesting to look forward to for the rest of the long afternoon. Finally though, unable to take the boredom any longer, Bakura growled and stood up, "Well?! What're we going to do now?"

Malik smirked up at him, folding his arms behind his head, "Something evil?"

The spirit was not amused. He glared, "Really. You think?"

"We could go to your house and – "

"No way," Bakura shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest as a sign of his irritation, "Last time we did something there, Ryou refused to acknowledge my presence for an entire week… after he threw a screaming fit, of course. Think of something else."

Summoning up his own aggravated glare, the blond Egyptian got to his feet to face the tomb robber eye to eye, "Why the hell do I always have to decide? You think of something."

"No."

"Yes."

"Fuck you."

"Hah! You wish."

Noses almost touching, they each tried to stare the other down, stubbornly refusing to back off on their own. They bared their teeth, hands curling into treacherous fists as though they were getting to ready for an outright brawl in the middle of Isis' yard. Suddenly Malik grinned in a dangerously pleased manner, "I've got an idea."

Without a hint of surprise, Bakura leaned in a little closer, "Really."

"And a new toy."

Appearing to be most fascinated by this newly imparted information, his eyes lighting up with an almost maniacal glee, Bakura finally let his own dark grin show, "And that would be…?"

Malik laughed, shoving the tomb robber away from him before turning gracefully towards the house, "You'll just have to wait and see. But it's good, I promise you that."

"And it will make another's life more miserable than it already is, I hope?"

"Oh, most definitely. Two people's lives, actually. Especially if used on the right two."

Unable to resist such a guarantee, the white-haired spirit eagerly followed the conniving teen into the house, hoping that whatever it was they were about to get into would be evil enough to keep him from getting bored any time soon. Or at least would give him a good laugh at someone else's expense. It was times like these that he was thankful to have such a like-minded, if a bit psychotic, partner in crime.

-.-.-.-.-.-

T-minus one minute and counting.

Honey-brown eyes narrowed in concentration, focused entirely on the ticking second hand of the wall clock as though willing it to speed up.

Thirty seconds…

A pink tongue darted out, licking dried lips as the suspense became almost unbearable. It was almost time… almost…

Three…

Two…

One…

An irritating, and yet anticipated shrill buzzing filled the classroom. The sound of freedom! Jounouchi Katsuya jumped up from his seat with a loud, joyful whoop as he heard the dismissal bell, ignoring the disapproving look that the teacher shot at him. He shoved his books and papers into his school bag with no regard to order or neatness before bouncing over to the desk beside his own, "Yug', c'mon! Hurry it up! Let's get outta this hell hole."

The tricolor-haired boy just laughed, shaking his head and, much to Katsuya's annoyance, continued to neatly stack his notes, carefully putting everything away into his own organized backpack. The blond impatiently jumped up and down on the balls of his feet, taking a look around for his best friend before spotting the brunette coming towards him from the other side of the classroom. Katsuya grinned happily as Hiroto joined them and Yugi finally stood up, ready to go.

Unable to stand still any longer, the blond duelist grabbed his friends and dragged them out of the classroom, "Let's get moving, already! Sheesh, you two are slow."

"Calm down, Jou-kun," Yugi giggled, trying to keep up with his taller friend's fast pace, "The weekend's not going anywhere. I have to stop at my locker to pick up some books. Ryou said he'd meet us there."

Despite Katsuya's grievances about wasting more of the wonderful afternoon in the school, they managed to shove through the crowded hallway and find their smiling, white-hair friend standing exactly where he promised he'd be. The British teen's face lit up further as he spotted his friends, "Hi guys! How are you?"

"I'd be better if some people would hurry up and let me get outside," Katsuya pouted as he tried not to get swept back into the crowd that was hurrying past them.

Hiroto punched him lightly in the shoulder, grinning at the glare that was suddenly aimed his way, "Stop whining, you big baby. What's the rush anyway?"

"I ain't no baby, you jerk," the blond growled, shoving his friend back, "I just don't like bein' in this stupid building any longer than I hafta be."

"Hey, no fighting in the school, you two, or I'll sic Yami on you," Yugi warned the bickering teens as he rummaged through his locker, searching for the homework he needed that weekend.

Katsuya scoffed as he ceased struggling from where the brunette had him in a loose headlock, "Like that big ol' softie could lay a finger on us." How did Hiroto always manage to get the better of him like this? It wasn't fair… stupid headlock move. "Ack! Stop it, Honda, you jerk!" the blond suddenly started fighting as his attacker gave him a fierce noogie before letting him go.

Sulkily rubbing his head, Katsuya glared at his friend until Yugi spoke up again, shutting his locker door, "Yami says he'll show you who's the softie as soon as we get outside."

The two older teens nervously looked at each other before slowly backing away. Hiroto cleared his throat, "Uh… well, as much as I'd love that, me and Jou are going to go drop our stuff off at home and meet you at the park later, okay?"

"Sure," Yugi agreed, his wide eyes shining mirthfully, "We'll see you in an hour then. C'mon Ryou, let's go find Anzu and Otogi and ask if they want to join us!"

"Aw man, Dice-boy is gonna be there?" Katsuya complained as he and Hiroto stepped out into the bright, warm sun. Both of them breathed in the fresh air appreciatively, glad to be out of the stuffy, hot school. The two teens wasted no time in shedding their uniform coats and rolling up their sleeves as they strolled at a leisurely pace down the sidewalk.

Hiroto shrugged, slinging his coat over his shoulder as he glanced at his friend, smiling a little, "He's not so bad now. You two have been getting along better, you can't deny that."

"Yeah well, I don't hafta like it," was the grumbled response. They walked in comfortable silence for a while, enjoying the bright day and looking forward to the weekend ahead of them. It wasn't until they were a block away from Hiroto's apartment building that Katsuya spoke in a slightly nervous tone, "You… ah… don't mind if I stay over tonight?"

He hated imposing himself on others, knowing that he could be a pain to deal with sometimes. Hiroto didn't give it a second thought, however, "You know I don't mind. And you're staying for the rest of the weekend, as well."

"Thanks, man," Katsuya sighed, relieved that he wouldn't have to go home and face either an empty, filthy apartment or his equally filthy father if he happened to come home sometime between bar hops. Weekends were the worse at his house, but only Hiroto knew just exactly how bad it was. Katsuya would never dream of worrying his other friends with that kind of thing. They would ask too many questions, unintentionally make him feel guilty, and try too hard to fix things they had no hope of even understanding. But Hiroto… he could trust him. They had been best buds ages before they'd even heard of little Motou. They watched out for each other and had come to trust one another beyond any shadow of doubt. But that didn't mean that Katsuya didn't always feel at least a little guilty for intruding upon the Honda family so often.

He was pulled from his thoughts as they reached Hiroto's front door and let themselves in. The brunette led the way to his room, calling out to his parents but receiving no answer, "Mom probably went shopping or something," he commented, chucking his bag in a corner and flopping down on his bed.

Katsuya's school bag joined his friend's unceremoniously and he sat down backwards on the desk chair, resting his arms on the back of it and placing his chin on them. He sighed quietly, glad for the week to be over, then caught Hiroto watching him, "What's up?"

The spiky-haired boy frowned slightly, sitting up on the bed to face the other teen, "You… You're okay, right? I mean…"

"Yeah," Katsuya smiled warmly to show the truth in his words, not surprised by his friend's concern but still glad for it, "I'm fine. I'd let ya know if I wasn't."

"Good," with a relieved grin, Hiroto stood up and stretched, groaning slightly as he popped his joints. He went over to the closet, "I think you left some clothes here last time; we should change into something more comfortable before heading out."

Katusya agreed, grabbing the dark green tank-top and jeans that were tossed to him. They quickly changed and went back down to the kitchen for a snack. Half an hour later they left the apartment and walked towards the park to meet the others.

"What's happening at the park?" Katsuya asked, still munching on an apple that he'd brought with him.

Hiroto shrugged, "I think we're just hanging out, nothing special. Unless the yami's are let loose, of course, then there'll either be dueling or a fight to keep us entertained."

Laughing, Katsuya nodded and flung his apple core away. They chatted amiably until a few minutes later when they spotted the hard-to-miss black and red spikes of Yami no Yugi and the true Yugi, along with the rest of the group. The two boys broke into a run until they caught up with the others, breathless, and cheerfully greeted everybody.

When everyone had settled down slightly, Yami came forward with a dangerous gleam in his ruby-red eyes, "So, Jounouchi, am I correct in recalling something said about me growing soft in my old age?"

Katsuya 'eeped' and quickly turned tail to flee. The spirit was close behind him, laughing as he chased the blond across the grass. "Aaah… Yaami! I didn't mean it!" the teen screeched as he felt the other closing in, desperate not to get caught even though he knew the spirit would never hurt him. He kept yelling, much to the others' amusement, dodging determinedly around a few trees before looking over his shoulder to see how far ahead of the other he was. He noticed, crankily, that none of the others were even trying to help him against the crazy dead Pharaoh about to kill him.

Yami's grin widened as he started catching up to the blond, but then his eyes suddenly widened in surprise as he caught a glimpse of something ahead. Katsuya didn't have time to look forward again before his feet caught on something and he went flying to the ground, hard enough to wind him. There was a loud curse, which came from neither the fallen teen nor the astonished spirit.

"What the hell do you think you are doing, you stupid dog," Katsuya groaned, unable to do anything but clutch his side and stomach as he gasped for air that refused to fill his lungs. It didn't take a genius to figure out who he was unlucky enough to trip over. What a way to ruin a perfectly good afternoon. "Get off of my legs, now."

He wanted to get off of his rival's legs, he really did, but at the moment, breathing was a slightly higher priority. Yami chose that moment to reach them, looking concerned at the cursing, breathless blond still lying across those cursed legs. Eyes narrowed, Yami growled threateningly, "Kaiba, what are you doing here?"

The multi-millionaire CEO of Kaiba Corp. raised icy eyes to glare straight back at his rival duelist, "I wasn't aware you owned this park. Now get this useless mutt off of me before he does more damage to my laptop."

'Figures he'd bring that stupid thing to the park,' Katsuya thought angrily as he finally found his breath and managed to roll off of Seto's legs, '…and think more about it's safety than mine.' He laid on his back, closing his eyes as he breathed deeply. His chest hurt from the lack of oxygen and he was sure he was going to get a bruise on his side from hitting the ground so hard. Stupid Kaiba always had to ruin his fun.

The ex-Pharaoh kept glaring at the CEO, hands on his hips as though daring Seto to try insulting him again. Katsuya groaned, feeling the tension in the air, and finally sat up, "I hate ya, Moneybags."

"The feeling is mutual, I assure you, Chihuahua," Seto glared back, ignoring Yami to irritate him further.

The blond growled at the insult, clenching his fists, "Shut up, you jerk!"

By this time Yugi, Hiroto, Ryou, Yami Bakura and the others had caught up to them, along with Malik, much to Katsuya's surprise. He hadn't seen the psychotic teen with the rest of the group earlier. Yugi, slightly winded from his hurry to reach them, noticed Seto right away, "Kaiba! What are you doing here?"

"Oh for…" Seto scowled, standing up to get away from the looming group, "Can I not come to the park for some peace and quiet without you people hassling me? You are like pests, I swear, everywhere I go…" He turned from them, ready to storm away with a dramatic billowing of his trench coat, when he felt someone grab his arm.

"I'm not finished wit'ya, you bastard," Katsuya growled, curling his other hand into a fist as the CEO whirled around to face him with a cold look. He hated it when Seto thought he could just ignore him like that, as though he were some insignificant bug.

Katsuya couldn't help but shiver at Seto's dangerously freezing glare. Nobody dared to interrupt their staring contest, but were ready to defend their friend if the need arose. Hot brown eyes clashed hatefully with cold blue. Seto smirked, "What's the matter, make inu? Scared? I always knew you were just a frightened little puppy dog who – "

"Shut up! Just shut the fuck up, Kaiba!" Katsuya yelled, about to attack the insulting bastard when he felt someone grab his wrist and shake his concentration. Face reddened in anger and frustration, he cursed and tried to tug away from Malik before realizing that the dangerous Egyptian had a hold on both his and Seto's arms. Confused, he turned to face Malik. "Wha…?"

Malik grinned, trying to look friendly but only succeeding in making everybody even more nervous of his intentions, "Now, now, you two. You shouldn't be fighting on such a wonderful day. You're frightening the children."

"What are you doing, Malik," Yami asked suspiciously, stepping forward to prevent the holder of the Millennium Rod from doing anyone any harm.

Undaunted, Malik's grin only widened as he languidly slipped his arms around their necks, forcing them close to him and one another. Seto snarled, trying to tear away from the surprisingly strong hold, "Let go of me, now, you psychotic freak."

From the other side of them, they heard Bakura laugh, causing Katsuya to shiver again at the frighteningly dark sound, knowing that every time that crazy laugh sounded, something bad was sure to follow, "Aw, is the great Seto Kaiba scared? How pitiful…"

"That's enough, you two," Yami warned them, reaching up to touch his Millennium Puzzle as though to remind them of the danger of his wrath, "Let them go."

Malik laughed lightly, winking at Yugi's yami before releasing slipping his arms from around their shoulders, sensually running his fingers across the back of their necks, much to their disgust, and holding up his hands unthreateningly, "Don't worry your precious head, Pharaoh. No harm done."

Katsuya frowned suspiciously, looking at his wrist where the other had first been holding him, then rubbing his neck. Something felt wrong, but he could quite figure out why. He looked up at Seto, wondering if the other felt it too, but only met with another fierce glare, "Enjoy your playtime, mutt."

Under everyone's watchful glares, Seto smirked and turned quickly away, eager to be rid of the annoying idiots. His escape was once again thwarted, however, has he felt a harsh tug on his neck and choked slightly as he felt something crash into his back with a startled yelp. "What the…?"

"Ow…" Katsuya groaned into the trench coat covered back, his coughing roughly, his neck feeling sore and bruised from the sudden force, "What was that for, you big jerk?"

Seto looked over his shoulder, confused and annoyed, "I didn't do anything, mutt. Now do you mind?"

"Yeah… like I meant to do that," the irritated blond grumbled, trying to back away, but finding the strange tug from around his neck was back. He lifted a hand to his throat in frustration and noticed Seto doing the same to his own. Slowly they met each other's eyes with similar frowns.

"What did you do, make inu?" Seto asked, backing away experimentally and watching as Katsuya unwillingly followed him.

"I… uh… dunno," was the only intelligent reply Katsuya was able to come up with.

Suddenly there was a burst of laughter and they swung around, awkwardly because of their apparent attachment, to watch as Bakura and Malik clung to each other in uncontained hilarity. There was no doubt on either of their minds that those two were responsible for this mess.

Apparently the others had come to the same conclusion. Ryou crossed his arms, watching his yami with a mix of bewilderment and anger, "Bakura! What did you do? Explain, right now!"

It took a few moments for the tomb robber to calm down enough to answer, still wiping away tears of mirth, "Ah, the expressions on their faces when… Priceless. It was all Malik's idea, really, 'though I take certain pride in helping out."

"Malik…" Yami frowned, tearing his gaze from Katsuya and Seto as they continued to try to separate themselves, "Undo whatever it is you just did. Wait… are those collars?!"

"Really? Where, Yami? I don't see any!" Yugi stared harder at his friends' necks, as though willing a pair of collars to appear between them.

Malik just laughed again, taking great joy in their puzzlement. Bakura, seeing his friend was unable to get anything coherent out, grinned and explained, "I doubt any mortal could see them. They're quite ingenious, actually. Especially the leash that binds them together."

"I don't give a rat's ass how ingenious they are, just get them off!" Katsuya yelled at the white-haired yami, tugging away harder only to have Seto growl at him in discomfort as he was pulled closer to the panicking blond.

"Stop that, you stupid mutt," the brunette huffed, crossing his arms in annoyance. He glared icily at the amused duo standing close by, "If you don't fix this, this second, you will regret it. I will not be attached to this fleabag any longer, do you understand?"

Bakura shrugged, chuckling as he shook his head, "I don't think so, Kaiba. You, of all people, do not scare me. And besides, I don't think I would remove them, even if we could."

Both victims paled slightly as they digested this information. Katsuya whined slightly, "No, no, no! Get it off! Now! Get away from me, Kaiba." He scratched useless at his neck, not feeling anything with his fingers even though he knew it was there.

Hiroto came over to them, resting an arm comfortingly on his friend's shoulder and glared at the CEO as Seto snorted, "Really, pup, are you that dense? Does it look like I can walk away from you? Believe me, I would if I could."

"You're not helping, Kaiba," Hiroto warned as he noticed just how close to truly panicking his friend was, "It's alright, Jou, we'll fix this." He gently pulled Katsuya's hands away from his neck before any more damage could be done.

"Doubtful," Malik commented helpfully, having regained his composure. Despite the glares he received, he continued, "There's no key. No way of opening them. And that leash is unbreakable, as far as I know. Especially since they can't even see it, much less touch it."

"So they're stuck like this forever?!" Anzu screeched, looking horrified at the thought of what the two would do to each other after being forced to be together for any amount of time. "Can't you do something about this, Yami?"

Yami, seeming a little lost for once, shook his head, "I've never heard of such a thing."

"Well, I'll cut off his head if I have to," Seto threatened, glaring balefully down at the mutt who was standing much to close to him for his own comfort.

Katsuya's eyes widened, almost sure that it hadn't been a joke, "Hey! Wait a minute, here…"

With a delighted giggle, Malik watched their distress with great fascination, "Well, unfortunately, I don't think it's an eternal sort of thing. The toy has a time limit or something. I'm not exactly sure how it works though."

"You… you…" Katsuya gaped, horrified at the thought of such an untested 'toy' being used on him.

"I think what the puppy is trying to say is," Seto broke in smoothly, ignoring Hiroto's attempts at calming the mutt down, "what the hell were you thinking? Do you have any idea how inconvenient it is going to be to have a dog hanging off of me all day?"

"Fuck you, Moneybags. You're not the only one being inconvenienced by this," Katsuya muttered, scowling at him, greatly irked at the feeling of being forced so close to his rival.

Bakura tilted his head in amusement at this, "You don't say? I think you just answered your own question, Kaiba."

"And just what did you hope to gain by this?" Hiroto asked, trying to understand the point of leashing the rivals together. Then he realized what a stupid question that was.

"Gain?" Malik laughed, "Why it was purely for our amusement, I assure you. No plot to steal any more items or to take over the world. Simply put, we were bored."

It was at this point that they suddenly realized Malik and Bakura had been discreetly backing away from the group. As Yami stepped towards them, ready to give them a good scolding and maybe a punishing trip to the Shadow Realm to think about what they had done, they suddenly turned and ran towards the street, laughing the entire way.

Ryou sighed, fingering his Millennium Ring as he shook his head sadly, "I knew I should have been keeping a closer eye on Bakura."

"It's not your fault," Yugi assured him, glaring at the retreating figures, "They just can't seem to stay out of trouble for more than a day."

Meanwhile, Katsuya had once again resorted to fiercely wrenching his rapidly bruising neck away from his rival's, despite the being choked enough that his face was turning blue, determined to break the invisible leash. Seto snorted in disgust, bringing a hand up as though to pull the collar from around his neck, and narrowing his eyes at the pathetic attempts to free them, "Would you just stop that, inu? You are going to choke me to death if you keep it up."

"You're the one going to cut off my head!" Katsuya retorted angrily, frantically digging his feet into the ground and pulling despite the vicious pain it brought. He was not going to be tied to that cold-hearted bastard for any amount of time, no way in hell!

With a grimace, Seto grabbed the blonde's arm and sharply pulled him close, relieving the pressure on his neck. Caught by surprise, Katsuya fell against the other's chest, gasping for air after his anxious attempts at escaping the inevitable. Then, quickly coming to his senses, he pushed away, blushing slightly as he glared down at the ground. He stopped pulling though, remaining close to the other victim of the stupid prank.

He felt Hiroto's hand rest on his back, "Jou?"

"M'fine," he mumbled, refusing to look up for even a moment, horribly embarrassed and angered by the situation.

Yugi and Ryou were examining the their locked necks and the empty space between with great interest as Yami stared thoughtfully at what the others could not see. Ryuuji and Anzu could do nothing but make comforting remarks, which did nothing to help Katsuya feel better about anything. He wanted to kill Malik and Bakura for doing this to him.

"Wow, Kaiba, looks like you finally leashed the mutt, huh?" The dice master grinned, despite the scathing looks he received.

Seto sneered, "The only problem being that I'm in a similar way leashed to him, idiot."

Ryuuji shrugged with a grin, "Yeah well, at least you can't make him sleep out in the dog house this way." Katsuya cheered up considerably at this news.

Yami sighed regretfully at their questioning gazes, "I think they were telling the truth, for once in their miserable lives. There does not seem to be any sort of unlocking device on them. I could try a bit of shadow magic on them, but I'm not sure what the result would be."

"You are not doing any sort of magic on my neck without knowing the consequences first," Seto snarled, closing his hand into a fist and jerking away. Katsuya yelped again as he was painfully jerked towards the brunette.

"Ow! Don't do that!"

Seto ignored the blond's spluttering, choked curses to glare at the group as he reached down to pick up his briefcase, "Despite the… situation, I do have to get home. Figure out how to fix this, Yami, without blowing up my head in the process."

Katsuya froze completely as his brain processed what Kaiba had just said. It was finally occurring to him that being attached to Kaiba would mean being forced to follow the demanding jerk wherever he went. "W-wait a minute. I… I have to go home with you?"

Seto regarded the stray attached to him with a sneer, "Honestly, mutt, what did you expect? That I follow you to your dumpy little shack?"

"Watch it, Kaiba," Hiroto warned, stepping nearer menacingly as Katsuya paled with the thought of bringing the millionaire to his own home. No… Seto was right, that just wouldn't do.

"But… but whatta 'bout school and… and…"

The CEO sighed and muttered something under his breath before glaring, "We'll figure that out later. Right now, I am going home. Obviously I am not going to get any more work done here."

"Oh…" Katsuya still sounded as though it hadn't all sunk in yet. He threw a pleading glance towards his best friend, willing him to come up with the solution to this problem.

Hiroto shrugged helplessly, "I… I don't know, Jou. Don't worry though, we'll figure out something. I'll bring you your stuff from my house tonight. If this bastard hurts you in any way though, you tell me, got it?"

Seto snorted impatiently at this, but Katsuya sighed and nodded, "Fine. Nothin' I can do, I guess. See you tonight, if I'm still alive by then."

"Kaiba, we'll be checking up on you two. If anything happens to Jounouchi…"

"Give it a rest already, Yami," Seto snapped, turning away carefully so as not to choke himself again, "Heel, mutt."

Determined not let the insufferable CEO start ordering him around just because he had the advantage in strength and power, Katsuya dug in his heels and glared, "Say that again, Moneybags, and we'll just see who loses their head tonight."

There was a moment of seething, tense silence between the two strong-willed rivals. They fought the urge to punch the other's lights out, knowing that if one went down the other would inevitably follow right behind. Finally, Seto sneered, "Fine. Are you coming or not, then? Shall we just stand out here all night?"

Taking a few minutes to say a mournful goodbye to his friends and accept their condolences for having to follow the 'rich pig' home, Katsuya eventually allowed Seto to lead him to the limousine waiting for them on the street. He could not believe this was happening. What a way to begin the weekend. And it had started out so nice, too.

He let out an aggrieved sigh, noticing how the other teen was completely ignoring him, as though he were just some temporary, annoying stray following him home. This was going to be a long night. "I hate you, Kaiba," he muttered as they awkwardly managed to get into the back seat of the limo without brusing their windpipes further.

"You said that already, mutt."

"Yeah well, I mean it," he sulked, crossing his arms over his chest and miserably slouching down. He glared angrily at the seat across from him, hating how Seto was sitting only inches from him in order to put as little strain as possible on their necks. Their shoulders brushed and he flinched away, muttering curses under his breath as Seto continued to ignore him.

On the bright side of it all, he was riding in a limousine and would get to stay in the Kaiba mansion, something very few people could boast of. Free food, great entertainment system, Mokuba to keep Seto in line… maybe it wouldn't be as bad as he thought. Maybe. Then he remembered that he would be forced to sleep there. With Kaiba Seto. Obviously in the same bed. Damn it.

Katsuya groaned, letting his head fall back against the headrest in dismay. He ignored Seto's inquiring glare and raised eyebrow, opting instead to close his eyes and try to completely forget who he was leashed to for what could very well be the rest of his life. Suddenly the day seemed a lot colder.

-.-.-.-.-.-

To Be Continued...?

Indian Summer: A period of unusually warm weather in the fall, often following a seasonable cold spell.

Questions? Comments? I'd love to hear 'em!