RP Log: [Jounouchi and Mai]
Summary: Jou's gotta get to work, but Mai's looking for some fun to fill her night. She ends up calling Bakura for a night on the town, but when Jou loses his job and catches her partying just a bit too hard, Jou makes a decision for himself that leaves them both less than happy.
"Oh, shit!" Jounouchi cursed to himself. This afternoon, Jou was scheduled for a shift down at Roberto's and he was currently getting ready for it. Of course, he'd left the white dress shirt (the only one he OWNED) in a heap on the floor and it was now a wrinkled mess. This would most certainly be unacceptable to his boss! And Jou was always on thin ice as it was. He didn't need more ammunition to give his boss for firing him. Luckily, he had gotten his father to invest in an iron for just such an occasion, and he plugged it in. "C'mon, c'mon! Hurry up, you hunka junk!" Jou whispered impatiently, waiting for the thing to heat up.
As he paced a bit, the ring of the phone right behind him made him jump a bit. Once he regained his composure, he picked up the phone with a scowl and turned on the receiver. "Hullo?" he asked, his tone unintentionally annoyed sounding.
Kujaku Mai, who didn't have a job to prepare for, had been excruciatingly bored all day. She thought about getting a job herself to pass the hours, but was there any point? She had all the money she needed through heritage anyhow. She wanted to have fun, anyway. Jobs weren't all that fun, from what she had learned through many rants Jounouchi liked to express about Roberto's. With a sigh, she decided to call the guy. Maybe they could go do something that was entertaining in the slightest. Once Jou had answered, Mai could immediately tell he was annoyed with something or other. But what else was new?
"Jou-chan~" She drawled, adding the "chan" in hopes of getting what she wanted. "Want to take me out? There's this new bar downtown..."
Happy as he was to hear the voice of his girl on the other end of the phone, Jounouchi rolled his eyes. "Sorry, Mai, no can do," he told her absently. The iron had just gotten to the level of heat it needed to work, so he was adjusting his shirt on the board, balancing the phone against his ear with his shoulder. "Gotta work tonight....besides you know how I feel about those places," he said with a tinge of animosity. Any place that had alcohol as its main attraction was of no interest to Jounouchi.
Mai made a disappointed "hmph" sound. "Alright, I'll find someone else~" she sang, curling the phone cord with her finger. "And you really need to lighten up, if you don't mind my saying," she added with a smirk. "Call me later?"
"Yeah, okay," he sighed, then fumbled with the phone. "I'll 'lighten up' when I see some proof people can drink with some sense of responsibility, kay?" Jou told her with another irritated sigh. The damn shirt had folded under the iron, and there was a rather odd crease now. Jou wasn't too good at this. "I'll call you when I get off work, okay?"
"O~kay. See you later, Jou," Mai answered, hanging up the phone with another long, bored, and drawn out sigh. Who else could she call? The majority of the people she knew wouldn't find it all that fun to have a good time at a bar--but wait. That first time she had met Bakura, hadn't that been in a bar? And she still had some rather amusing footage from that meeting. Beaming, she looked up Ryou's number in the school's directory, hoping the meaner of the two to answer.
Bakura, who for once had the apartment to himself, was the first one to hear the phone ring. He glanced at the thing as it just... rang. And rang. With a groan, he realized there was no way to ignore it now. Taking a break from being lazy on the couch, Bakura picked up the phone with a rather menacing growl. "Call here one more time and I will eat all your children."
"Oh Bakura~ Hello. I didn't think you'd answer!" Mai answered quite energetically, not phased in the least. "Listen, are you doing anything at the moment? Or do you feel like taking me to that new bar downtown?"
Bakura... blinked. Mai was really the only person besides Malik or Diabound. But they didn't count. who asked him to do stuff. "Why?"
"Why not?" Mai inquired, already getting herself ready as he brushed through her hair. "It'll be fun~"
Bakura paused for a bit, glancing to the door to the kitchen, noting the obvious lack of alcohol. Ryou and his nazi tendencies. "Yeah, fine. Meet you there."
Mai smiled brightly. "Bye, Bakura!" Finally, she was getting out of the apartment. Quickly, she shuffled through her clothing, picking out a red halter top, and a short black skirt. She headed out soon after, winking to anyone who took a few minutes of their time to look her over.
Closing the door to his apartment, Jounouchi started to leap down the stairs to get to work on time. "ShitshitshitshitSHIT!" he chanted to himself, much to the dismay of a small family that he nearly ran into once he reached the sidewalk. Ignoring them, he took off down the street, starting to feel a small sense of remorse for letting Mai down. He even considered just ditching work to be with her. Yeah. He was more than willing to put his job in jeopardy for that girl. He smiled to himself as he thought about her, even as he literally jumped over fire hydrants and dogs. But he quickly pushed the thought back; he couldn't do that. He'd be fired, and he needed this money. Either way, he'd just make it up to her later.
Now, he just needed to get to work within the next 2 minutes. It took him 10 to get there. It was run-like-all-hell time for Jou, and he didn't have time to give Mai another thought.
Bakura clicked off the phone, removing himself from the couch with a lazy groan. He grabbed his trench coat, and headed outside. It wasn't really all that cold, but he put his trench coat around himself anyway for show. And despite the bar being downtown, it really wasn't far from where he lived. He glanced at the name for the place in lights, before walking inside the place. He took a table, and ordered his first drink, cringing when he heard someone trying to sing. Kareoke, too, huh? Oh well. At least the beer was good.
Mai came in soon after, causing many men to stop what they were doing. She made her way to Bakura as quickly as she good, all smiles. "I'm glad you decided to come," she told him, taking a seat. "You'd probably enjoy this more than my first choice," she said with a wink, ordering an interesting drink as a waiter came by.
Bakura rested an arm on the table, while his other arm was in charge of holding his drink. He didn't have much to say, considering when he did, he usually aimed to insult or scare people until they threw their drink at him or something. But it was different with Mai. Weird even. Because he didn't want to do all that stuff. She was okay in his book. "Hm."
When the waiter came with Mai's drink, she smiled brightly in thanks, before turning to Bakura again. "I didn't know this was a kareoke bar, did you?" she asked, reminded of the first time they met.
Bakura glanced up from taking a sip of his drink, flickering his gaze to the participant on stage, and then back to Mai. "No," he said dully.
Mai took a sip of her own drink, keeping her eyes on Bakura. "Maybe we should try it out~"
Bakura rose an eyebrow, scowling a bit afterwards in refusal. "I'll never be drunk enough."
Mai laughed, taking a large swig of her drink. "Oh, I beg to differ," she said, leaving it at that. There were a few moments of silence, before Mai spoke again. "How's--" she paused, trying to remember who Bakura hung out with these days, "--Diabound?" she asked, attempting to start conversation.
Bakura only shrugged, feeling the need to drink some more. Despite living with the guy, they hadn't really spoken after that night Honda... inconveniently walked in on them. He cringed at the memory. "Not sure. I don't really care."
It was Mai's turn to raise an eyebrow. "No? I thought you two were really... close?" she asked, starting to feel the alcohol take it's effect.
Bakura, who had wonderful resistance to alcohol--considering how much he drank on a daily basis--was still very sober. He shrugged once more, not answering. He ordered a few more drinks, before saying anything at all. "I don't really get close to anyone." In a perfect world, yes. As for now? Lies.
For some reason, Mai found that pretty funny. It must have been the constant drinks she was ordering. "Oh~ Right. Big bad Bakura doesn't need anyone~" Feeling spontaneous, Mai leapt from her chair, and grabbed Bakura's arm. "Let's sing some kareoke."
Bakura looked at her as though she just gained a thousand pounds. "I'll pass."
"Come on~"
"Let go."
"Please?"
"...No," He yanked his arm free, finally.
Mai pouted only a little, before shaking her head with a smirk. "Fine, but you're missing out."
"You're late. Again," was the warm greeting Jounouchi had gotten as he arrived at work that afternoon. He'd just started getting ready for his shift when he boss, the unnerving owner of the restaurant, has set his sights on Jou. The blonde smiled sheepishly, shrugging a bit.
"Yeah, sorry bout that!" he said apologetically. "Had some things to take care of this morning, but I swear this won't happen again!"
"You say that everytime, Jounouchi," Roberto said dully, though with a little compassion. "Look, you're a good waiter, kid. And I like having you around...but I can't have this constant lateness. I run a business."
Jounouchi blinked up at his boss. "I know! I'm really sorry!" he pleaded.
"I know you are," Roberto patted his shoulder. "You're a good kid, Jou. But..." he paused. "...I'm gonna write you a great letter of recommendation for when you apply for a new job, and I'm more than happy to be a reference-"
"New job?" Jou repeated, confused. "Why do I need to look for a....." Lightbulb. "....oh." Jou dejectedly looked down to the floor after his realization. "....So that's it huh?"
"I'm afraid so, Jounouchi," Roberto said, giving the teen a sympathetic look. "It's just that we're overstaffed, Jou. And I had to cut someone. You don't know how hard this was for me, kid."
"....So if it wasn't for my being late so much...would I have kept the job?" Jou asked apathetically. This job had meant a lot to him, and losing it was such a slap in the face, he needed something to hold on to.
Roberto looked at him for a long time, as though debating on whether or not to answer Jou's question. "It's been great having you here since the beginning, Jounouchi. We're all going to miss you," he said warmly, offering his hand for a shake as a friendly gesture.
"..." Jou paused, then feigned a smile as he took his former boss's hand. "Yeah. Thanks," he said. With that, Jou walked out of the restaurant without saying a word to anyone; Roberto would give them the news at the shift huddle. He started the walk back to his apartment, a newly unemployed man.
Back at the bar, Kujaku Mai had already found her way to the stage. She whispered to the DJ what song she wanted to sing, and grabbed for the mic.
Bakura begrudgingly turned around to watch the girl make a fool of herself. He didn't really care what she did, and apparently she was drunk enough not to either. He rolled his eyes, but kept his eye on her anyway.
Mai waved to Bakura enthusiastically, as the song started up. The crowd instantly became riled up, and catcalls were heard here and there. It wasn't until the intro when everyone started paying attention. "Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me? Don't you wish your girlfriend was a freak like me?"
Bakura knew if he didn't kill himself now, he'd kill himself later.
Shuffling down the sidewalk seemed to be all Jou could manage at this point. To be let go was something he never thought would happen....but it had, and Jou now had the lovely task of dealing with this new reality. He gave a heavy sigh, then noticed the strong bass of a song coming from karaoke bar he was passing. That seemed to be the only thing that broke him out of his daze, and he looked up into the large glass window. The place was dark except for the stage lights. Someone was up there singing some awful song...
........oh God.
Mai had no idea her boyfriend could see her now, and even if she did, she wouldn't care. "Don't you wish your girlfriend was wild like me? Don't you wish your girlfriend was fun like me?" She continued, beginning to dance along with the lyrics. Her voice actually fit the style of the song well, and a few dollar bills were being thrown her way.
Bakura just drank his beer, waiting for an excuse to tear some sleaze bag's eyes out. Literally.
Every sense Jou had was shut out as he saw Mai stumble around up on the stage, clearly out of a sober state. He didn’t feel the wind pick up and get cold, and he didn't hear the roaring engines of cars pass by behind him in the street. All he saw was his girlfriend; the one thing he loved most in the world; up on the stage being ogled by tons of drunken old perverts that even had the gall to throw money at her like a common stripper. His eyes widened as he stood on the sidewalk, watching in horror, unable to move.
Mai, completely unaware of her boyfriend's distress, continued to sing the last verse. Old drunken perverts were indeed ogling her, and some were even trying to get on the stage.
Bakura found his chance, and with an evil smirk, he strode to a random ogling man who was trying to reach to touch Mai. He whistled a small tune, his hands tucked in his pockets, before he grabbed the man's wrist, twisted it with morbid glee. The man shrieked, of course, but his screams were drowned out by the music. Bakura found in was worth coming out tonight. He hadn't caused people misery in quite some time.
Jou had finally noticed Bakura's presence by the time he found the strength to walk through the bar's doors. The guy was actually doing something good? If he weren't so shocked by Mai's behavior and the whole situation, he might have had a heart attack from that fact alone. But as it was, he was still stupefied by Mai on the stage, her slurred words grating against his nerves, and a sick feeling rising from his stomach.
Bakura quickly found his next victim, somewhat unaware he was doing anything good at all. He was merely having fun causing people pain. Anyhow, he kicked the man in such a way he was sure the guy wouldn't have feeling in his left nut for a few years.
When Mai finished the song, she struggled to get off the stage, as there were many trying to cop a feel. ...From which Bakura gladly decided to remove, but that was beside the point. Mai saw Jounouchi, finally, and with an air of obliviousness, waved. "Jou~ I though you had work~"
Yeah? I thought you were smarter than this, he thought, staring blankly for a moment. "...I got off early," Jou lied, his voice completely devoid of emotion. "You're here with...?" he halfway asked, clearly not wanting to admit the truth here.
Mai stared at him for a few seconds as her drunken mind took all he said in, before glancing back at Bakura. "Oh yes. Bakura gladly accepted my offer~" she sang, reaching for Bakura's arm once more. "He's so sweet."
Bakura rolled his eyes, glaring at some guy who escaped with only one broken arm.
"Oh yeah, real gentleman," Jou sneered, nodding defiantly at Bakura. This was all way too much. "Looks like you've been having fun, Mai..."
Bakura finally decided to pay attention to what was happening, instead of being bloodthirsty focusing solely on ripping bones out. "Got a problem with that, mutt?" He asked, baring his fangs teeth in a wide smirk.
Mai only found this humorous, and she leaned further into Bakura.
"......" Jounouchi simply arched a brow at Bakura. After what had happened and seeing Mai, he just wasn't feeling up to a fight with Bakura. "Oh, of course not," he told Bakura blandly, only slightly glaring. He looked down at Mai and let out a sigh. After glancing around, he saw the restroom sign and decided he needed a moment alone. "...I'll be right back," he said, walking around the two and through the crowd.
Once inside, he hovered over the sink and looked in the mirror. His face was a bit red from the cold wind, but it was starting to return to its normal shade, and his hair was mussed. And he looked tired; more than usual. He turned on the faucet and splashed his face. This night was turning into a living hell, and he as he dried off his face, he tried not to think about what could be next.
Bakura snickered, wondering if the guy was crying or something. That would be a great conclusion to his night. As he walked back to his table, (Mai attached) people made a clear path for them to walk through. He found a smirk on his lips again. He had missed the days when society scurried in fear of his very existence. Then again, had that really changed much? He sat down, blinking when he found Mai to sit down right with him, on his lap.
"I'm sorry Jou-chan is so grumpy, Bakura-kun~" she slurred a bit, as her arms came around his shoulders so she could rest her tired head on his shoulders. "Thank you for not beating him up, but he does need to be beat up sometimes..." And to appreciate her drunken thanks, she lifted her head to place a kiss on Bakura's cheek... but missed horribly. Yes, Kujaku Mai was currently kissing Yami no Bakura on the lips.
.....which of course, was the precise moment in time when Jou opened the door from the bathroom and looked up. WHOA. I DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING AT ALL. And for the second time that night, Jou was completely unable to move or hear anything around him. Mai was draped all over his biggest rival, kissing him with an enthusiasm Jou didn't know she possessed. Mai; his girlfriend...with Bakura. After everything. After telling her he wanted to marry her. He shared everything with her. Jou had thought he was depressed from losing his job. It was nothing compared to the pain of seeing the woman he loved kissing another man.
And that was when Jounouchi Katsuya snapped. Time seemed to stop around him as he approached the table, eyes glaring at the friendly pair. He reached out and grabbed Mai's arm, pulling her off of Bakura. "Oh, sorry, did I fucking interrupt?!" he sneered, gripping Mai harder than he probably should have, but control wasn't really an option.
Mai made a small noise of pain, glancing drunkenly at the angry blonde. "That's hurts, Jou~"
Bakura had yet to figure out the situation at all until Jounouchi had pulled Mai away. "...." Well that was weird. He stood up, yawning slightly. Whatever. "Wow, mutt. She must really feel... unsatisfied." It's so easy when you're evil.
But Bakura didn't get to be smug for long. Jou had released Mai right as the white-haired self-proclaimed badass took that shot at Jou. His amber eyes grew wide, but flared with anger. And before he could even think, Jounouchi had launched a full force right hook right into Bakura's face. Despite all the fights Jou had ever been in, he knew without a doubt this was the hardest, most powerful attack he has ever unleashed on anyone...ever. And Bakura was going to feel it; he was going to feel just how pissed Jou was.
Bakura had been expected a blow, but he had been expecting a blow he could block. Before he knew it, he was flying back into the table he had been previously sitting, causing it to break practically in two pieces. "Shit..!" Bakura cursed loudly, as he felt blood pour from his nose and mouth--enough to fill a few cartons of milk. When he felt his back slam into the counter of the main bar, he stumbled to his feet, gripping the area where he had been hit. "...that wasn't smart, bastard," he hissed, as his anger began to match Jounouchi's at this point.
Mai, despite the state of her lacking sober mind, quickly came to grab Jou's shoulder. She stumbled a bit on her feet, but found her balance against Jou. "Stop that!" She yelled, reaching for Jou's arm and squeezing tight.
"Fuck you, Bakura," was all Jou could manage to hiss in his present state. Though this resembled one of the typical fights Bakura and Jou had been involved in over the years, there was something In Jou's tone that had never been matched. Jou wasn't even going to attempt a witty insult for this guy. He just wanted to kick his ass and leave it at that. But he had something else to deal with now; Mai. "If you know what's good for you, you'll stay the fuck here," he said warningly, then started pulling Mai out of the bar, pushing back the couple of people that tried to stop him.
Bakura glared after both blondes, feeling himself stagger a bit, needing the support of the bar counter for a few seconds. Everyone in the bar had taken to staring at him. "WHAT?" He growled, kicking some random person in the face as he rushed to clean up in the bathroom. Fine. Jou would have his way. But Bakura was absolutely going to make the mutt pay next time.
Mai leaned against Jounouchi, trying to keep up with his quick pace. "Jounouchi~ Not so fast!" She winced, "You're hurting me!"
"Oh, I'M hurting YOU," Jounouchi huffed, stopping and standing in front of his drunken girlfriend. He glared down at her, trying to control his anger and voice, but finding it hard to do so. "I come out of the fucking bathroom and you're making out with that...that...that WHACKO and I'm the one hurting you?! Fuck you, Mai! What the hell are you thinking?!"
Mai wasn't sure how to react. First she needed to find her balance one Jou had let her go, now she was trying to cover her ears to block out the loud yelling. "Stop being so loud, Jou-chan!" She tried, hazily blinking up at him. "Why are you so angry?" Her drunken mind just couldn't comprehend what was going on. There was also something wrong about what Jou was saying. When had she meant to make out with Bakura?
"..." he paused, staring at her with utter disbelief. She didn't even know what was happening. Great. This was all just great. "Look, shut the hell up with that Jou-chan crap, okay?" he demanded. "I lost my god-damn job, then find you up there on a stage dancing like a STRIPPER and then you...you kissed Bakura?! Right in the middle of a god-damn bar? Exactly how drunk are you, Mai?!" he ranted, and then got a smirk on his face that didn't exactly scream amused. "Oh, drunk enough to destroy everything we've worked for! Drunk enough for me to be pissed off enough to yell at you like this! Do you even understand what I'm saying, Mai? Or do I have to translate into fucking drunkard? Because thanks to my old man I'm fluent." Yeah. Jou was a tad upset.
Mai gripped her head, as his yelling did begin to hurt it. "You're not making any sense! I didn't mean to kiss Bakura~" She said, gaping a bit as some of what Jou was saying finally did sink in. And, as true as Mai's words were, they were hardly convincing. She was about to say something else, but she felt herself swerve more than she had been. "Ung... I feel... sick.." she groaned, as her head began to feel very light.
"Yeah, you're not the only one," Jou snapped back, starting to pace a bit. "Jesus christ, Mai!" he exclaimed. There was no way this could all be happening, but he knew damn well it was. "Why would you do this? How could you just.....God dammit, I can't even look at you!" he said, turning away in an agitated sigh.
Mai tried to reach for Jou, because even though she was drunk as hell, she could feel something wasn't right. She walked a bit closer until she could feel Jounouchi's shoulder. "Then just turn around..."
As soon as she felt her touch him, he jerked away and glared back at her. "DON'T touch me," he said, almost disgusted. "...How could you do this?" he asked, forcing himself to calm down. "...Dammit, Mai, THIS is why I asked you not to go to places like this! This...this SHIT has done enough to me and my family, and I thought you understood that! But clearly, I was wrong!" he continued. Mai's feelings didn't even matter to him any longer. Sure, he knew she'd be upset, but...she wouldn't matter to him much longer.
Mai did back off, staggering on her heel with wide eyes, until she tripped on the curb, landing on the pavement. "..oof!" She said, uninjured, but surprised. She blinked a few times before she looked up at Jou, feeling a strange, a deep hurt she didn't understand. "I'm sorry!" she tried, feeling her eyes grow wet. "I l-love you.." She hiccupped, feeling that annoying lightheadedness again.
He didn't even offer her a hand up, though he fought the instinct to do so. "...It's hard to believe you when you look like that," Jou told her coldly. His heart wrenched in his chest as he saw the light reflect off the tears collecting in her violet eyes. "...drunks are like little kids," he said to himself.
Mai looked at him with a hurt expression, before it felt as though she couldn't see at all as the blood rushed away from her head. She found herself gripping her head once more, and she felt very tired. "...ung..sick..." she groaned, not even feeling when her body hit the pavement as she passed out.
"...." Jounouchi looked down at her for a moment before sighing heavily. Much as he may have wanted to, he couldn't leave her there. He scooped her up in his arms and begrudgingly headed up to Mai's apartment several blocks away. Once he reached it, he pulled out the key she'd given him and opened the place up. He dragged her back to her bedroom and put her under the covers and looked at her a moment. "...this is familiar," he said coldly. His heart was tearing at this point. All the anger he felt was still welled up, but it was smothered by his sense of betrayal and hurt. How could Mai do this to him? He'd made mistakes, but never anything that could have hurt Mai this much. And there was no way he could look at her and not think about this night. With a heavy sigh, he made up his mind and headed out of Mai's apartment. With his key, he locked up the apartment...then slipped the key under the door. He had no use for it anymore. With that, he started the walk back to his place, knowing that a similar situation was probably already waiting for him on the couch. His feet never felt this heavy.
~*~
The first thing she felt was her very... painful headache. Then she realized the sun pouring in from her window, which didn't help the ache much, as she groaned and forced her eyes away. Kujaku Mai barely felt like getting out of bed, as she glanced at the clock on her dresser. It was already three in the afternoon? And, realizing this, she struggled to sit up, as what seemed to be knives stabbed through her head over and over. She glanced down at herself, seeing the clothes she had worn the previous day, and some memory of what had occurred came to her. She had gone drinking with Bakura, because Jounouchi couldn't go and... that was all she could remember. She heard herself groan again, as she made her way to her bathroom. A view Advil would cure the ache, if only for a while. ...But when she saw herself in the mirror, she recoiled a bit, noting the running mascara, her frayed hair--she just looked a mess. "What happened last night?" she wondered aloud, quickly making preparations for a much needed shower. After she was through, she brushed her teeth, dressed, did her hair and make up, and stepped out of the bathroom, looking as though nothing had happened the previous night.
Mai walked out of her room, grabbing a water bottle from the kitchen and downing it, quickly filling it up again before walking into the living room. ...When she noticed something odd. There was a key on the floor by the door, and she walked over to pick it up. Odd, it was the same color of the key she had given Jounouchi. "...." Did he bring her home? Feeling the need to get this all clear, Mai rushed to the phone, punching in Jou's number quickly.
Jou was feeling equally miserable. Just as he thought, his father had come home, just as smashed as Mai and had made quite the mess in the apartment. And now that the old man had gone off to work, Jou was left to clean up. It was the normal routine, and Jounouchi thoughtlessly completed his tasks. He was picking bottles up in the living room when the phone rang, but he was in no hurry to answer. Finally, he picked up the phone and sighed. "Yeah?" he said dully.
"Uh, yeah. Jounouchi? Did you come by last night?" Mai asked, laughing a bit lightly. "I can't remember a thing, but you left your key here. I might have gone a little overboard last night." She smirked slightly. Whatever had happened, it must have been embarrassing.
"......" Jounouchi didn't know how to react. All his frustration resurfaced, but he choked it back, and spoke into the phone with no emotion at all. "Yeah, I was there," he told her stoically.
Mai blinked, noting he wasn't really giving any information at all. "You alright there, Jou?" She asked, and paused for only a second or so. "Listen, I gotta head out for groceries; I can drop off your key on the way. Sound good?"
The fact that she didn't remember anything just...upset him more. Clutching the phone tighter, he just sighed, "Don't bother," and hung up the phone.
"....." Mai just stared at the phone after the dial tone had met her ear. Don't bother? What was that all about? Jou had never hung up on her like this before... Blinking, Mai finally hung up the phone. Well, fine. She would just go over there. If not to return the key, then to find out what the hell was going on. Sighing, she used the key to unlock the door, and closed it behind her. For some reason, she felt kinda nervous after each step she took. Her heart was beating incredibly fast as she found herself in front of Jou's door. Swallowing, she rang the doorbell.
Without even thinking it could be Mai, Jou moved over to the door and slid it open...then instantly regretted it. "I told you to keep the key," he said, and closed the door again without locking it.
Mai blinked for a moment, shocked by Jou’s disregard for her. This wasn’t making any sense. “Jounouchi?! Jou, open this door right now or I swear I’ll--!” she screamed, then realized the door was unlocked. She let herself in, and shot her boyfriend a confused glare. “Alright, Jounouchi Katsuya tell me what the hell is going on right now! What happened?”
Jounouchi rolled his eyes a bit. Yeah, because telling her about what she had done, how she had ripped his heart out and stomped on it, was sure gonna be a lotta fun. "The fact you don't even remember is making this worse, Mai," he said, holding back his emotions. "Just take the damn key and leave me alone."
Mai flinched back a bit. She never thought she would be hearing something like this come from Jounouchi. "Leave you alone?" What did he mean by that? "Look, why don't you just tell me what you're talking about...?" She asked, trying to replace the shake in her voice with... some kind of confidence she wasn't feeling. "We can handle this, Jou."
"...There's nothing to handle," he told her coldly. "If you honestly don't remember....then here it is." Jou took a heavy sigh and turned to her. It was so hard to stick with his conviction from last night; he loved her so much, and she looked so beautiful now. But he forced himself to think of why he'd decided this. "...You did something last night....something I can't ever forgive. And it wasn't even when you kissed Bakura." Jou took a moment to calm himself, and to keep his voice from escalating. Also, he just wanted to let the kissing part sink in.
...well Mai wasn't expecting that. "I kissed--what?" She cringed, visibly. She was never going to drunk again. ...If she did shit like that. The thought alone sent shivers down her spine. It was like kissing a zombie or something. You just don't do it. She paled, looking directly at Jounouchi. "Well then. What was it?" She tried to keep her cool, but there was a foreboding feeling she just couldn't get rid of.
"You!" he had to stop himself again. "....You made me do something I've had to do more times than I can COUNT, Mai," Jou said, choking back as to not yell. "I had to take care of a drunk person that couldn't even stay conscious enough to walk. And you don't even remember," he said, throwing a hand up and walking away from Mai. "You knew damn well how I felt about the whole thing and just...did it anyway!"
Mai lifted a hand to her neck, rubbing slightly as her gaze finally broke from Jou. She felt a little shame, or quite a bit, but... "I--I'm sorry," she said in all seriousness. "I thought I'd have a good time--it was the first time I did anything like that and--" She closed her eyes. What had she been thinking? She did know how Jou felt about these things... But couldn't she make her own decisions? "--I guess it really wasn't all that fun."
"...Mai, I don't want to tell you what to do," he said calmly. "...But I made myself a promise. I was never-ever going to let that stuff fuck up my life or anyone's around me. Do you see what I live in?!" he asked, motioning around the apartment. The empty bottles and smashed cans more than proved his point. "....And I told myself that if I ever saw someone the way I always saw my father, I would cut off every connection with them......and....and," he stammered. It was getting harder to stand his ground now. He loved her; so very much. And it broke his heart to have to do this again. But he did. "....I can't. Mai, I can't have that in my life. So...This is..." he paused again. "....It. It's over."
Mai froze. She couldn't believe a word he was saying, but she knew he was telling the truth. She tried to breath, but found she couldn't "You--you mean..." She felt her fist clench by her side. The same fist with the promise ring Jou had... She shook her head. "God, Jounouchi. You can't mean--do you know how sorry I am? I really am! I'll never do anything like..." Her words trailed, as she realized how desperate and pathetic she was beginning to sound. "Isn't there--isn't there anything I can do?"
He felt his eyes burn, but he wouldn't dare cry in front of her. He couldn't believe what he was saying either, but his brain told him he had to. That this was the smart move; the one that would keep him away from all the things he'd hated for so long. If Mai wanted to go drink, she was free to do so...but she wouldn't have him. "...There is," he said solemnly, looking straight into her gorgeous eyes and tightening his jaw. "....Give me your hand," he softly ordered her, and held out one of his hands to take it.
Mai felt her fist unclench in hope she dared to have, and took a few steps closer to Jounouchi. "...okay," she said, holding her hand out to him.
He gently took it, and he wrapped both his hands around her small hand as he looked sternly into her eyes. Then, without looking at the hand, Jounouchi took hold of the ring and slid it off her finger, taking it into the palm of his hand. With one last squeeze, he released her hand, and without looking away told her, "...You don't need this anymore." His voice was tight as he tried to remain cold, but it had to be clear how heart-wrenching this was.
As though to hide it, he sat down on the couch and looked at the ground, letting his sandy blonde hair cover his eyes. ".....You should leave. Now," he whispered shakily.
Mai... couldn't believe it. She couldn't. She didn't want to. But she heard her own gasp crack with tears. This was happening, and she had to believe it. She had gone and made the biggest mistake in her life, and there was no way she could fix any of it. She reached an arm to Jou's back, but quickly recoiled before she could touch him. She glanced over at the key on the table, but refused to take it. She couldn't. "You really mean this..." She said, her voice shaking with obvious tears. She tried to wipe her face free of the liquid, but it was useless. More would come. Jou was right. She should leave now. She shouldn't stay and let Jounouchi hear her like this. "G-goodbye, Jou. I'm so sorry I did this to you," she said, heading back to the door. "I'll... always love you," she whispered, feeling another raid of tears descend to her cheeks, before closing the door behind her. The walk home felt longer than it ever had.
"....I love you, too, Mai," Jou said breathlessly once the door had closed, resting his hands against his forehead. He saw small drops of water fall off his face and hit the ground below, but it wasn't until he looked up and saw his reflection in a cracked mirror across the room that he realized he was crying.
The End.
"Oh, shit!" Jounouchi cursed to himself. This afternoon, Jou was scheduled for a shift down at Roberto's and he was currently getting ready for it. Of course, he'd left the white dress shirt (the only one he OWNED) in a heap on the floor and it was now a wrinkled mess. This would most certainly be unacceptable to his boss! And Jou was always on thin ice as it was. He didn't need more ammunition to give his boss for firing him. Luckily, he had gotten his father to invest in an iron for just such an occasion, and he plugged it in. "C'mon, c'mon! Hurry up, you hunka junk!" Jou whispered impatiently, waiting for the thing to heat up.
As he paced a bit, the ring of the phone right behind him made him jump a bit. Once he regained his composure, he picked up the phone with a scowl and turned on the receiver. "Hullo?" he asked, his tone unintentionally annoyed sounding.
Kujaku Mai, who didn't have a job to prepare for, had been excruciatingly bored all day. She thought about getting a job herself to pass the hours, but was there any point? She had all the money she needed through heritage anyhow. She wanted to have fun, anyway. Jobs weren't all that fun, from what she had learned through many rants Jounouchi liked to express about Roberto's. With a sigh, she decided to call the guy. Maybe they could go do something that was entertaining in the slightest. Once Jou had answered, Mai could immediately tell he was annoyed with something or other. But what else was new?
"Jou-chan~" She drawled, adding the "chan" in hopes of getting what she wanted. "Want to take me out? There's this new bar downtown..."
Happy as he was to hear the voice of his girl on the other end of the phone, Jounouchi rolled his eyes. "Sorry, Mai, no can do," he told her absently. The iron had just gotten to the level of heat it needed to work, so he was adjusting his shirt on the board, balancing the phone against his ear with his shoulder. "Gotta work tonight....besides you know how I feel about those places," he said with a tinge of animosity. Any place that had alcohol as its main attraction was of no interest to Jounouchi.
Mai made a disappointed "hmph" sound. "Alright, I'll find someone else~" she sang, curling the phone cord with her finger. "And you really need to lighten up, if you don't mind my saying," she added with a smirk. "Call me later?"
"Yeah, okay," he sighed, then fumbled with the phone. "I'll 'lighten up' when I see some proof people can drink with some sense of responsibility, kay?" Jou told her with another irritated sigh. The damn shirt had folded under the iron, and there was a rather odd crease now. Jou wasn't too good at this. "I'll call you when I get off work, okay?"
"O~kay. See you later, Jou," Mai answered, hanging up the phone with another long, bored, and drawn out sigh. Who else could she call? The majority of the people she knew wouldn't find it all that fun to have a good time at a bar--but wait. That first time she had met Bakura, hadn't that been in a bar? And she still had some rather amusing footage from that meeting. Beaming, she looked up Ryou's number in the school's directory, hoping the meaner of the two to answer.
Bakura, who for once had the apartment to himself, was the first one to hear the phone ring. He glanced at the thing as it just... rang. And rang. With a groan, he realized there was no way to ignore it now. Taking a break from being lazy on the couch, Bakura picked up the phone with a rather menacing growl. "Call here one more time and I will eat all your children."
"Oh Bakura~ Hello. I didn't think you'd answer!" Mai answered quite energetically, not phased in the least. "Listen, are you doing anything at the moment? Or do you feel like taking me to that new bar downtown?"
Bakura... blinked. Mai was really the only person besides Malik or Diabound. But they didn't count. who asked him to do stuff. "Why?"
"Why not?" Mai inquired, already getting herself ready as he brushed through her hair. "It'll be fun~"
Bakura paused for a bit, glancing to the door to the kitchen, noting the obvious lack of alcohol. Ryou and his nazi tendencies. "Yeah, fine. Meet you there."
Mai smiled brightly. "Bye, Bakura!" Finally, she was getting out of the apartment. Quickly, she shuffled through her clothing, picking out a red halter top, and a short black skirt. She headed out soon after, winking to anyone who took a few minutes of their time to look her over.
Closing the door to his apartment, Jounouchi started to leap down the stairs to get to work on time. "ShitshitshitshitSHIT!" he chanted to himself, much to the dismay of a small family that he nearly ran into once he reached the sidewalk. Ignoring them, he took off down the street, starting to feel a small sense of remorse for letting Mai down. He even considered just ditching work to be with her. Yeah. He was more than willing to put his job in jeopardy for that girl. He smiled to himself as he thought about her, even as he literally jumped over fire hydrants and dogs. But he quickly pushed the thought back; he couldn't do that. He'd be fired, and he needed this money. Either way, he'd just make it up to her later.
Now, he just needed to get to work within the next 2 minutes. It took him 10 to get there. It was run-like-all-hell time for Jou, and he didn't have time to give Mai another thought.
Bakura clicked off the phone, removing himself from the couch with a lazy groan. He grabbed his trench coat, and headed outside. It wasn't really all that cold, but he put his trench coat around himself anyway for show. And despite the bar being downtown, it really wasn't far from where he lived. He glanced at the name for the place in lights, before walking inside the place. He took a table, and ordered his first drink, cringing when he heard someone trying to sing. Kareoke, too, huh? Oh well. At least the beer was good.
Mai came in soon after, causing many men to stop what they were doing. She made her way to Bakura as quickly as she good, all smiles. "I'm glad you decided to come," she told him, taking a seat. "You'd probably enjoy this more than my first choice," she said with a wink, ordering an interesting drink as a waiter came by.
Bakura rested an arm on the table, while his other arm was in charge of holding his drink. He didn't have much to say, considering when he did, he usually aimed to insult or scare people until they threw their drink at him or something. But it was different with Mai. Weird even. Because he didn't want to do all that stuff. She was okay in his book. "Hm."
When the waiter came with Mai's drink, she smiled brightly in thanks, before turning to Bakura again. "I didn't know this was a kareoke bar, did you?" she asked, reminded of the first time they met.
Bakura glanced up from taking a sip of his drink, flickering his gaze to the participant on stage, and then back to Mai. "No," he said dully.
Mai took a sip of her own drink, keeping her eyes on Bakura. "Maybe we should try it out~"
Bakura rose an eyebrow, scowling a bit afterwards in refusal. "I'll never be drunk enough."
Mai laughed, taking a large swig of her drink. "Oh, I beg to differ," she said, leaving it at that. There were a few moments of silence, before Mai spoke again. "How's--" she paused, trying to remember who Bakura hung out with these days, "--Diabound?" she asked, attempting to start conversation.
Bakura only shrugged, feeling the need to drink some more. Despite living with the guy, they hadn't really spoken after that night Honda... inconveniently walked in on them. He cringed at the memory. "Not sure. I don't really care."
It was Mai's turn to raise an eyebrow. "No? I thought you two were really... close?" she asked, starting to feel the alcohol take it's effect.
Bakura, who had wonderful resistance to alcohol--considering how much he drank on a daily basis--was still very sober. He shrugged once more, not answering. He ordered a few more drinks, before saying anything at all. "I don't really get close to anyone." In a perfect world, yes. As for now? Lies.
For some reason, Mai found that pretty funny. It must have been the constant drinks she was ordering. "Oh~ Right. Big bad Bakura doesn't need anyone~" Feeling spontaneous, Mai leapt from her chair, and grabbed Bakura's arm. "Let's sing some kareoke."
Bakura looked at her as though she just gained a thousand pounds. "I'll pass."
"Come on~"
"Let go."
"Please?"
"...No," He yanked his arm free, finally.
Mai pouted only a little, before shaking her head with a smirk. "Fine, but you're missing out."
"You're late. Again," was the warm greeting Jounouchi had gotten as he arrived at work that afternoon. He'd just started getting ready for his shift when he boss, the unnerving owner of the restaurant, has set his sights on Jou. The blonde smiled sheepishly, shrugging a bit.
"Yeah, sorry bout that!" he said apologetically. "Had some things to take care of this morning, but I swear this won't happen again!"
"You say that everytime, Jounouchi," Roberto said dully, though with a little compassion. "Look, you're a good waiter, kid. And I like having you around...but I can't have this constant lateness. I run a business."
Jounouchi blinked up at his boss. "I know! I'm really sorry!" he pleaded.
"I know you are," Roberto patted his shoulder. "You're a good kid, Jou. But..." he paused. "...I'm gonna write you a great letter of recommendation for when you apply for a new job, and I'm more than happy to be a reference-"
"New job?" Jou repeated, confused. "Why do I need to look for a....." Lightbulb. "....oh." Jou dejectedly looked down to the floor after his realization. "....So that's it huh?"
"I'm afraid so, Jounouchi," Roberto said, giving the teen a sympathetic look. "It's just that we're overstaffed, Jou. And I had to cut someone. You don't know how hard this was for me, kid."
"....So if it wasn't for my being late so much...would I have kept the job?" Jou asked apathetically. This job had meant a lot to him, and losing it was such a slap in the face, he needed something to hold on to.
Roberto looked at him for a long time, as though debating on whether or not to answer Jou's question. "It's been great having you here since the beginning, Jounouchi. We're all going to miss you," he said warmly, offering his hand for a shake as a friendly gesture.
"..." Jou paused, then feigned a smile as he took his former boss's hand. "Yeah. Thanks," he said. With that, Jou walked out of the restaurant without saying a word to anyone; Roberto would give them the news at the shift huddle. He started the walk back to his apartment, a newly unemployed man.
Back at the bar, Kujaku Mai had already found her way to the stage. She whispered to the DJ what song she wanted to sing, and grabbed for the mic.
Bakura begrudgingly turned around to watch the girl make a fool of herself. He didn't really care what she did, and apparently she was drunk enough not to either. He rolled his eyes, but kept his eye on her anyway.
Mai waved to Bakura enthusiastically, as the song started up. The crowd instantly became riled up, and catcalls were heard here and there. It wasn't until the intro when everyone started paying attention. "Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me? Don't you wish your girlfriend was a freak like me?"
Bakura knew if he didn't kill himself now, he'd kill himself later.
Shuffling down the sidewalk seemed to be all Jou could manage at this point. To be let go was something he never thought would happen....but it had, and Jou now had the lovely task of dealing with this new reality. He gave a heavy sigh, then noticed the strong bass of a song coming from karaoke bar he was passing. That seemed to be the only thing that broke him out of his daze, and he looked up into the large glass window. The place was dark except for the stage lights. Someone was up there singing some awful song...
........oh God.
Mai had no idea her boyfriend could see her now, and even if she did, she wouldn't care. "Don't you wish your girlfriend was wild like me? Don't you wish your girlfriend was fun like me?" She continued, beginning to dance along with the lyrics. Her voice actually fit the style of the song well, and a few dollar bills were being thrown her way.
Bakura just drank his beer, waiting for an excuse to tear some sleaze bag's eyes out. Literally.
Every sense Jou had was shut out as he saw Mai stumble around up on the stage, clearly out of a sober state. He didn’t feel the wind pick up and get cold, and he didn't hear the roaring engines of cars pass by behind him in the street. All he saw was his girlfriend; the one thing he loved most in the world; up on the stage being ogled by tons of drunken old perverts that even had the gall to throw money at her like a common stripper. His eyes widened as he stood on the sidewalk, watching in horror, unable to move.
Mai, completely unaware of her boyfriend's distress, continued to sing the last verse. Old drunken perverts were indeed ogling her, and some were even trying to get on the stage.
Bakura found his chance, and with an evil smirk, he strode to a random ogling man who was trying to reach to touch Mai. He whistled a small tune, his hands tucked in his pockets, before he grabbed the man's wrist, twisted it with morbid glee. The man shrieked, of course, but his screams were drowned out by the music. Bakura found in was worth coming out tonight. He hadn't caused people misery in quite some time.
Jou had finally noticed Bakura's presence by the time he found the strength to walk through the bar's doors. The guy was actually doing something good? If he weren't so shocked by Mai's behavior and the whole situation, he might have had a heart attack from that fact alone. But as it was, he was still stupefied by Mai on the stage, her slurred words grating against his nerves, and a sick feeling rising from his stomach.
Bakura quickly found his next victim, somewhat unaware he was doing anything good at all. He was merely having fun causing people pain. Anyhow, he kicked the man in such a way he was sure the guy wouldn't have feeling in his left nut for a few years.
When Mai finished the song, she struggled to get off the stage, as there were many trying to cop a feel. ...From which Bakura gladly decided to remove, but that was beside the point. Mai saw Jounouchi, finally, and with an air of obliviousness, waved. "Jou~ I though you had work~"
Yeah? I thought you were smarter than this, he thought, staring blankly for a moment. "...I got off early," Jou lied, his voice completely devoid of emotion. "You're here with...?" he halfway asked, clearly not wanting to admit the truth here.
Mai stared at him for a few seconds as her drunken mind took all he said in, before glancing back at Bakura. "Oh yes. Bakura gladly accepted my offer~" she sang, reaching for Bakura's arm once more. "He's so sweet."
Bakura rolled his eyes, glaring at some guy who escaped with only one broken arm.
"Oh yeah, real gentleman," Jou sneered, nodding defiantly at Bakura. This was all way too much. "Looks like you've been having fun, Mai..."
Bakura finally decided to pay attention to what was happening, instead of being bloodthirsty focusing solely on ripping bones out. "Got a problem with that, mutt?" He asked, baring his fangs teeth in a wide smirk.
Mai only found this humorous, and she leaned further into Bakura.
"......" Jounouchi simply arched a brow at Bakura. After what had happened and seeing Mai, he just wasn't feeling up to a fight with Bakura. "Oh, of course not," he told Bakura blandly, only slightly glaring. He looked down at Mai and let out a sigh. After glancing around, he saw the restroom sign and decided he needed a moment alone. "...I'll be right back," he said, walking around the two and through the crowd.
Once inside, he hovered over the sink and looked in the mirror. His face was a bit red from the cold wind, but it was starting to return to its normal shade, and his hair was mussed. And he looked tired; more than usual. He turned on the faucet and splashed his face. This night was turning into a living hell, and he as he dried off his face, he tried not to think about what could be next.
Bakura snickered, wondering if the guy was crying or something. That would be a great conclusion to his night. As he walked back to his table, (Mai attached) people made a clear path for them to walk through. He found a smirk on his lips again. He had missed the days when society scurried in fear of his very existence. Then again, had that really changed much? He sat down, blinking when he found Mai to sit down right with him, on his lap.
"I'm sorry Jou-chan is so grumpy, Bakura-kun~" she slurred a bit, as her arms came around his shoulders so she could rest her tired head on his shoulders. "Thank you for not beating him up, but he does need to be beat up sometimes..." And to appreciate her drunken thanks, she lifted her head to place a kiss on Bakura's cheek... but missed horribly. Yes, Kujaku Mai was currently kissing Yami no Bakura on the lips.
.....which of course, was the precise moment in time when Jou opened the door from the bathroom and looked up. WHOA. I DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING AT ALL. And for the second time that night, Jou was completely unable to move or hear anything around him. Mai was draped all over his biggest rival, kissing him with an enthusiasm Jou didn't know she possessed. Mai; his girlfriend...with Bakura. After everything. After telling her he wanted to marry her. He shared everything with her. Jou had thought he was depressed from losing his job. It was nothing compared to the pain of seeing the woman he loved kissing another man.
And that was when Jounouchi Katsuya snapped. Time seemed to stop around him as he approached the table, eyes glaring at the friendly pair. He reached out and grabbed Mai's arm, pulling her off of Bakura. "Oh, sorry, did I fucking interrupt?!" he sneered, gripping Mai harder than he probably should have, but control wasn't really an option.
Mai made a small noise of pain, glancing drunkenly at the angry blonde. "That's hurts, Jou~"
Bakura had yet to figure out the situation at all until Jounouchi had pulled Mai away. "...." Well that was weird. He stood up, yawning slightly. Whatever. "Wow, mutt. She must really feel... unsatisfied." It's so easy when you're evil.
But Bakura didn't get to be smug for long. Jou had released Mai right as the white-haired self-proclaimed badass took that shot at Jou. His amber eyes grew wide, but flared with anger. And before he could even think, Jounouchi had launched a full force right hook right into Bakura's face. Despite all the fights Jou had ever been in, he knew without a doubt this was the hardest, most powerful attack he has ever unleashed on anyone...ever. And Bakura was going to feel it; he was going to feel just how pissed Jou was.
Bakura had been expected a blow, but he had been expecting a blow he could block. Before he knew it, he was flying back into the table he had been previously sitting, causing it to break practically in two pieces. "Shit..!" Bakura cursed loudly, as he felt blood pour from his nose and mouth--enough to fill a few cartons of milk. When he felt his back slam into the counter of the main bar, he stumbled to his feet, gripping the area where he had been hit. "...that wasn't smart, bastard," he hissed, as his anger began to match Jounouchi's at this point.
Mai, despite the state of her lacking sober mind, quickly came to grab Jou's shoulder. She stumbled a bit on her feet, but found her balance against Jou. "Stop that!" She yelled, reaching for Jou's arm and squeezing tight.
"Fuck you, Bakura," was all Jou could manage to hiss in his present state. Though this resembled one of the typical fights Bakura and Jou had been involved in over the years, there was something In Jou's tone that had never been matched. Jou wasn't even going to attempt a witty insult for this guy. He just wanted to kick his ass and leave it at that. But he had something else to deal with now; Mai. "If you know what's good for you, you'll stay the fuck here," he said warningly, then started pulling Mai out of the bar, pushing back the couple of people that tried to stop him.
Bakura glared after both blondes, feeling himself stagger a bit, needing the support of the bar counter for a few seconds. Everyone in the bar had taken to staring at him. "WHAT?" He growled, kicking some random person in the face as he rushed to clean up in the bathroom. Fine. Jou would have his way. But Bakura was absolutely going to make the mutt pay next time.
Mai leaned against Jounouchi, trying to keep up with his quick pace. "Jounouchi~ Not so fast!" She winced, "You're hurting me!"
"Oh, I'M hurting YOU," Jounouchi huffed, stopping and standing in front of his drunken girlfriend. He glared down at her, trying to control his anger and voice, but finding it hard to do so. "I come out of the fucking bathroom and you're making out with that...that...that WHACKO and I'm the one hurting you?! Fuck you, Mai! What the hell are you thinking?!"
Mai wasn't sure how to react. First she needed to find her balance one Jou had let her go, now she was trying to cover her ears to block out the loud yelling. "Stop being so loud, Jou-chan!" She tried, hazily blinking up at him. "Why are you so angry?" Her drunken mind just couldn't comprehend what was going on. There was also something wrong about what Jou was saying. When had she meant to make out with Bakura?
"..." he paused, staring at her with utter disbelief. She didn't even know what was happening. Great. This was all just great. "Look, shut the hell up with that Jou-chan crap, okay?" he demanded. "I lost my god-damn job, then find you up there on a stage dancing like a STRIPPER and then you...you kissed Bakura?! Right in the middle of a god-damn bar? Exactly how drunk are you, Mai?!" he ranted, and then got a smirk on his face that didn't exactly scream amused. "Oh, drunk enough to destroy everything we've worked for! Drunk enough for me to be pissed off enough to yell at you like this! Do you even understand what I'm saying, Mai? Or do I have to translate into fucking drunkard? Because thanks to my old man I'm fluent." Yeah. Jou was a tad upset.
Mai gripped her head, as his yelling did begin to hurt it. "You're not making any sense! I didn't mean to kiss Bakura~" She said, gaping a bit as some of what Jou was saying finally did sink in. And, as true as Mai's words were, they were hardly convincing. She was about to say something else, but she felt herself swerve more than she had been. "Ung... I feel... sick.." she groaned, as her head began to feel very light.
"Yeah, you're not the only one," Jou snapped back, starting to pace a bit. "Jesus christ, Mai!" he exclaimed. There was no way this could all be happening, but he knew damn well it was. "Why would you do this? How could you just.....God dammit, I can't even look at you!" he said, turning away in an agitated sigh.
Mai tried to reach for Jou, because even though she was drunk as hell, she could feel something wasn't right. She walked a bit closer until she could feel Jounouchi's shoulder. "Then just turn around..."
As soon as she felt her touch him, he jerked away and glared back at her. "DON'T touch me," he said, almost disgusted. "...How could you do this?" he asked, forcing himself to calm down. "...Dammit, Mai, THIS is why I asked you not to go to places like this! This...this SHIT has done enough to me and my family, and I thought you understood that! But clearly, I was wrong!" he continued. Mai's feelings didn't even matter to him any longer. Sure, he knew she'd be upset, but...she wouldn't matter to him much longer.
Mai did back off, staggering on her heel with wide eyes, until she tripped on the curb, landing on the pavement. "..oof!" She said, uninjured, but surprised. She blinked a few times before she looked up at Jou, feeling a strange, a deep hurt she didn't understand. "I'm sorry!" she tried, feeling her eyes grow wet. "I l-love you.." She hiccupped, feeling that annoying lightheadedness again.
He didn't even offer her a hand up, though he fought the instinct to do so. "...It's hard to believe you when you look like that," Jou told her coldly. His heart wrenched in his chest as he saw the light reflect off the tears collecting in her violet eyes. "...drunks are like little kids," he said to himself.
Mai looked at him with a hurt expression, before it felt as though she couldn't see at all as the blood rushed away from her head. She found herself gripping her head once more, and she felt very tired. "...ung..sick..." she groaned, not even feeling when her body hit the pavement as she passed out.
"...." Jounouchi looked down at her for a moment before sighing heavily. Much as he may have wanted to, he couldn't leave her there. He scooped her up in his arms and begrudgingly headed up to Mai's apartment several blocks away. Once he reached it, he pulled out the key she'd given him and opened the place up. He dragged her back to her bedroom and put her under the covers and looked at her a moment. "...this is familiar," he said coldly. His heart was tearing at this point. All the anger he felt was still welled up, but it was smothered by his sense of betrayal and hurt. How could Mai do this to him? He'd made mistakes, but never anything that could have hurt Mai this much. And there was no way he could look at her and not think about this night. With a heavy sigh, he made up his mind and headed out of Mai's apartment. With his key, he locked up the apartment...then slipped the key under the door. He had no use for it anymore. With that, he started the walk back to his place, knowing that a similar situation was probably already waiting for him on the couch. His feet never felt this heavy.
~*~
The first thing she felt was her very... painful headache. Then she realized the sun pouring in from her window, which didn't help the ache much, as she groaned and forced her eyes away. Kujaku Mai barely felt like getting out of bed, as she glanced at the clock on her dresser. It was already three in the afternoon? And, realizing this, she struggled to sit up, as what seemed to be knives stabbed through her head over and over. She glanced down at herself, seeing the clothes she had worn the previous day, and some memory of what had occurred came to her. She had gone drinking with Bakura, because Jounouchi couldn't go and... that was all she could remember. She heard herself groan again, as she made her way to her bathroom. A view Advil would cure the ache, if only for a while. ...But when she saw herself in the mirror, she recoiled a bit, noting the running mascara, her frayed hair--she just looked a mess. "What happened last night?" she wondered aloud, quickly making preparations for a much needed shower. After she was through, she brushed her teeth, dressed, did her hair and make up, and stepped out of the bathroom, looking as though nothing had happened the previous night.
Mai walked out of her room, grabbing a water bottle from the kitchen and downing it, quickly filling it up again before walking into the living room. ...When she noticed something odd. There was a key on the floor by the door, and she walked over to pick it up. Odd, it was the same color of the key she had given Jounouchi. "...." Did he bring her home? Feeling the need to get this all clear, Mai rushed to the phone, punching in Jou's number quickly.
Jou was feeling equally miserable. Just as he thought, his father had come home, just as smashed as Mai and had made quite the mess in the apartment. And now that the old man had gone off to work, Jou was left to clean up. It was the normal routine, and Jounouchi thoughtlessly completed his tasks. He was picking bottles up in the living room when the phone rang, but he was in no hurry to answer. Finally, he picked up the phone and sighed. "Yeah?" he said dully.
"Uh, yeah. Jounouchi? Did you come by last night?" Mai asked, laughing a bit lightly. "I can't remember a thing, but you left your key here. I might have gone a little overboard last night." She smirked slightly. Whatever had happened, it must have been embarrassing.
"......" Jounouchi didn't know how to react. All his frustration resurfaced, but he choked it back, and spoke into the phone with no emotion at all. "Yeah, I was there," he told her stoically.
Mai blinked, noting he wasn't really giving any information at all. "You alright there, Jou?" She asked, and paused for only a second or so. "Listen, I gotta head out for groceries; I can drop off your key on the way. Sound good?"
The fact that she didn't remember anything just...upset him more. Clutching the phone tighter, he just sighed, "Don't bother," and hung up the phone.
"....." Mai just stared at the phone after the dial tone had met her ear. Don't bother? What was that all about? Jou had never hung up on her like this before... Blinking, Mai finally hung up the phone. Well, fine. She would just go over there. If not to return the key, then to find out what the hell was going on. Sighing, she used the key to unlock the door, and closed it behind her. For some reason, she felt kinda nervous after each step she took. Her heart was beating incredibly fast as she found herself in front of Jou's door. Swallowing, she rang the doorbell.
Without even thinking it could be Mai, Jou moved over to the door and slid it open...then instantly regretted it. "I told you to keep the key," he said, and closed the door again without locking it.
Mai blinked for a moment, shocked by Jou’s disregard for her. This wasn’t making any sense. “Jounouchi?! Jou, open this door right now or I swear I’ll--!” she screamed, then realized the door was unlocked. She let herself in, and shot her boyfriend a confused glare. “Alright, Jounouchi Katsuya tell me what the hell is going on right now! What happened?”
Jounouchi rolled his eyes a bit. Yeah, because telling her about what she had done, how she had ripped his heart out and stomped on it, was sure gonna be a lotta fun. "The fact you don't even remember is making this worse, Mai," he said, holding back his emotions. "Just take the damn key and leave me alone."
Mai flinched back a bit. She never thought she would be hearing something like this come from Jounouchi. "Leave you alone?" What did he mean by that? "Look, why don't you just tell me what you're talking about...?" She asked, trying to replace the shake in her voice with... some kind of confidence she wasn't feeling. "We can handle this, Jou."
"...There's nothing to handle," he told her coldly. "If you honestly don't remember....then here it is." Jou took a heavy sigh and turned to her. It was so hard to stick with his conviction from last night; he loved her so much, and she looked so beautiful now. But he forced himself to think of why he'd decided this. "...You did something last night....something I can't ever forgive. And it wasn't even when you kissed Bakura." Jou took a moment to calm himself, and to keep his voice from escalating. Also, he just wanted to let the kissing part sink in.
...well Mai wasn't expecting that. "I kissed--what?" She cringed, visibly. She was never going to drunk again. ...If she did shit like that. The thought alone sent shivers down her spine. It was like kissing a zombie or something. You just don't do it. She paled, looking directly at Jounouchi. "Well then. What was it?" She tried to keep her cool, but there was a foreboding feeling she just couldn't get rid of.
"You!" he had to stop himself again. "....You made me do something I've had to do more times than I can COUNT, Mai," Jou said, choking back as to not yell. "I had to take care of a drunk person that couldn't even stay conscious enough to walk. And you don't even remember," he said, throwing a hand up and walking away from Mai. "You knew damn well how I felt about the whole thing and just...did it anyway!"
Mai lifted a hand to her neck, rubbing slightly as her gaze finally broke from Jou. She felt a little shame, or quite a bit, but... "I--I'm sorry," she said in all seriousness. "I thought I'd have a good time--it was the first time I did anything like that and--" She closed her eyes. What had she been thinking? She did know how Jou felt about these things... But couldn't she make her own decisions? "--I guess it really wasn't all that fun."
"...Mai, I don't want to tell you what to do," he said calmly. "...But I made myself a promise. I was never-ever going to let that stuff fuck up my life or anyone's around me. Do you see what I live in?!" he asked, motioning around the apartment. The empty bottles and smashed cans more than proved his point. "....And I told myself that if I ever saw someone the way I always saw my father, I would cut off every connection with them......and....and," he stammered. It was getting harder to stand his ground now. He loved her; so very much. And it broke his heart to have to do this again. But he did. "....I can't. Mai, I can't have that in my life. So...This is..." he paused again. "....It. It's over."
Mai froze. She couldn't believe a word he was saying, but she knew he was telling the truth. She tried to breath, but found she couldn't "You--you mean..." She felt her fist clench by her side. The same fist with the promise ring Jou had... She shook her head. "God, Jounouchi. You can't mean--do you know how sorry I am? I really am! I'll never do anything like..." Her words trailed, as she realized how desperate and pathetic she was beginning to sound. "Isn't there--isn't there anything I can do?"
He felt his eyes burn, but he wouldn't dare cry in front of her. He couldn't believe what he was saying either, but his brain told him he had to. That this was the smart move; the one that would keep him away from all the things he'd hated for so long. If Mai wanted to go drink, she was free to do so...but she wouldn't have him. "...There is," he said solemnly, looking straight into her gorgeous eyes and tightening his jaw. "....Give me your hand," he softly ordered her, and held out one of his hands to take it.
Mai felt her fist unclench in hope she dared to have, and took a few steps closer to Jounouchi. "...okay," she said, holding her hand out to him.
He gently took it, and he wrapped both his hands around her small hand as he looked sternly into her eyes. Then, without looking at the hand, Jounouchi took hold of the ring and slid it off her finger, taking it into the palm of his hand. With one last squeeze, he released her hand, and without looking away told her, "...You don't need this anymore." His voice was tight as he tried to remain cold, but it had to be clear how heart-wrenching this was.
As though to hide it, he sat down on the couch and looked at the ground, letting his sandy blonde hair cover his eyes. ".....You should leave. Now," he whispered shakily.
Mai... couldn't believe it. She couldn't. She didn't want to. But she heard her own gasp crack with tears. This was happening, and she had to believe it. She had gone and made the biggest mistake in her life, and there was no way she could fix any of it. She reached an arm to Jou's back, but quickly recoiled before she could touch him. She glanced over at the key on the table, but refused to take it. She couldn't. "You really mean this..." She said, her voice shaking with obvious tears. She tried to wipe her face free of the liquid, but it was useless. More would come. Jou was right. She should leave now. She shouldn't stay and let Jounouchi hear her like this. "G-goodbye, Jou. I'm so sorry I did this to you," she said, heading back to the door. "I'll... always love you," she whispered, feeling another raid of tears descend to her cheeks, before closing the door behind her. The walk home felt longer than it ever had.
"....I love you, too, Mai," Jou said breathlessly once the door had closed, resting his hands against his forehead. He saw small drops of water fall off his face and hit the ground below, but it wasn't until he looked up and saw his reflection in a cracked mirror across the room that he realized he was crying.
The End.