Jounouchi was feeding egg yolk (which had been boiled, then mashed with milk) to Fubuki. Unfortunately most of the food landed on the floor, rather than inside Fubuki's little tummy, and Fubuki waved his spoon delightedly as another glob of egg yolk fell to the floor with a splat.

"Fubuki! You won't grow big and strong if you don't be a good boy and eat all of your food!" Jounouchi scolded, wiping Fubuki's mouth with the napkin he held in his free hand.

"A… buu! Puuu!" Fubuki replied, grinning widely. More egg dribbled down his chin and landed on the floor. The excited baby waved his chubby arms with surprising ferocity, with the result of the spoon in his hand going flying across the room and directly landing on top of his father's head.

Kaiba was smartly dressed for work, not a wrinkle out of place in his expensive designer suit. He quietly stood as egg yolk on the spoon oozed down his soft coffee-colored hair while Jounouchi stared in horror. Then Kaiba picked the spoon out of his hair and purposely strode towards his son. Jounouchi defensively stood in front of the baby, wondering if Kaiba was insane enough to attack an infant and if he did, would he have to defend the child with his own life?

Kaiba nudged Jounouchi out of the way and put the spoon in Fubuki's hand again. Fubuki happily banged the spoon against his chair while Kaiba did his best to wipe the egg out of his hair with a napkin. Jounouchi had frozen with shock, but now he hurried to help his husband. Could it be that Kaiba finally had semblance to a normal father? Only few weeks ago, Kaiba had challenged Fubuki to a duel and was jumping around like a maniac when he forgot to burp him after feeding him his milk and Fubuki cheerfully threw up all over his shirt. Jounouchi finally had to hit him to shut him up. (Kaiba, of course, not Fubuki.)

"Kaiba, you okay?" Jounouchi asked. "You have enough time for a shower?"

Kaiba shook his head. So far Kaiba had not spoken a word, and Jounouchi was starting to get worried. He stood on his tiptoes and rested his forehead against Kaiba's, comparing their body temperature together.

"Eh—You don't seem to have any fever, Kaiba… Do you feel sick somewhere?"

Kaiba suddenly turned his head away. Jounouchi thought he caught a glimpse of Kaiba's cheeks that have dyed into a dark pink, but it must've been his imagination. After all, they've had sex plenty of times. It wasn't like this was the first time Jounouchi's body touched Kaiba's, and after siring a son by him it didn't make sense that Kaiba would suddenly be shy around him.

"D- dog!"

"I told you not to call me that!" Jounouchi immediately snapped. Kaiba visibly flinched, and Jounouchi was really starting to wonder if this man in front of him was Kaiba. Perhaps it was a clone like Noa, except this one had gone horribly wrong.

"Don't… go anywhere today! Stay home, and I'll come home early!"

"…Uh, okay. ;;"

As a side information, Jounouchi had never been outside by himself since he had given birth to Fubuki.

"Th-then I'll be right back!"

Kaiba suddenly pulled Jounouchi into his arms and gave him a light kiss, then practically ran out of the room. Jounouchi stared at his retreating back, dumbfounded, before he returned to the task of feeding his baby with a sigh. He stroked the baby's soft cheek and muttered, "I think the poor bastard finally lost it, Fubuki."

"Kyaaa!" Fubuki happily responded, flinging his spoon across the room again.

Sasuga Seto-sama 5

Kaiba x Jounouchi Family Novel

Jounouchi wasn't sure what was going on in Kaiba's head. Of course half the time Jounouchi didn't want to know what Kaiba was thinking, but the way Kaiba uncharacteristically hesitated and almost pleadingly asked him to stay home made him a bit anxious for Kaiba's arrival.

"Ma…ma," Fubuki said, raising his chubby little arms into the air. Jounouchi picked his son up and held him against his chest. Fubuki squirmed a little before he found a position he liked, and he settled against his mother, sucking on his thumb. Jounouchi gently pulled the thumb away from Fubuki's mouth. Fubuki was starting to grow out of his pacifier, but he still had his nightly bottles, and Jounouchi was worried that his teeth would be ruined if he allowed Fubuki to keep sucking on something, especially at night. His child who looked so similar to Kaiba looked up at him with eyes that were his own, and Jounouchi kissed the baby's soft cheek.

"Shall we go for a walk, Buki-chan?"

"Sha…po!" Fubuki excitedly agreed. Jounouchi smiled and brought out the stroller and startled to bundle the baby up warmly. Even though the weather wasn't very chilly yet, Fubuki was still a baby, and he didn't want to risk him catching a cold. He held the baby's tiny pink toes in his fingers and squeezed them, and Fubuki waved his feet in delight. Jounouchi put his socks on and pulled small, dog-shaped hat over his head. Fubuki frowned and pulled the hat off of his head.

"Buki-chan, you'll catch a cold."

"No… no…" Fubuki argued, shaking his head as Jounouchi pulled the hat on his head again. Isono lingered near the doorway anxiously, and Jounouchi turned to smile at him.

"We're just going to walk for few minutes at the park near here, so you don't have to follow us, Isono-san."

"Ah, but mistress…"

Jounouchi felt the corner of his lips twitch. No matter how many times he had asked the employees of the Kaiba mansion to simply call him 'Jounouchi-kun,' before he married Kaiba they insisted on calling him 'lady' and now they insisted on calling him 'mistress.' Jounouchi, who had been a healthy male before becoming Kaiba Katsuya, still did not feel comfortable with the title but he didn't bother to argue that point. Kaiba's employees paid as much attention to his sensible words as their employer himself.

"We won't be gone for long," Jounouchi said, pulling on his coat. He waved to Isono and to the maids gathered near the entrance hall to see the young mistress and master off, then started off for the park.

Finding an empty bench, Jounouchi sat down and parked the stroller next to him. When the stroller didn't move anymore, Fubuki looked up at his mother with confusion clearly written on his face. Softly laughing, Jounouchi pulled out a graham cracker and gave it to Fubuki, and Fubuki soon became too engaged in his snack to wonder why his mother wasn't pushing him around any longer. Jounouchi looked up at the sky that loomed high above his head. There were soft, fluffy clouds dotted here and there, and one of the clouds had a gray streak running through its lower half.

It had been a year. The day that Jounouchi decided to become Kaiba's 'family' by conceiving his child had been today, and even though it was done for only money and his own child at the time, Jounouchi was now glad that the child's father was Kaiba. He had always thought Kaiba was obnoxious, self-centered and stubborn, but Kaiba was actually very sweet once he got to know him. He was a good father (most of the time) and he was kind and gentle with Jounouchi. Even though he had asked Jounouchi to get rid of the baby when he first learned of Jounouchi's pregnancy, there was seldom a day that Kaiba did not return home with a little present for his tiny son.

When they were making love, Kaiba often whispered that he loved Jounouchi. Jounouchi had never answered him back, and Kaiba did not demand an answer. But as time passed and slowly but surely his debt towards Kaiba was paid back (Kaiba had forced Jounouchi to work at his company at an outrageous pay, and even though Jounouchi had protested that Kaiba was paying him too much, it helped to quickly pay the debt back), Jounouchi started to seriously think about his relationship with Kaiba. How did he feel about Kaiba? Did he really want a divorce with Kaiba when his debts were paid back?

Jounouchi wasn't surprised when the answer was a no. Kaiba was a good father for Fubuki, and he was also a good husband. Aside from his financial status being great, Kaiba was also considerate and gentle (even though sometimes he did act rather like a madman, especially if Blue-eyes White Dragon was concerned.;;). But was that enough of a reason to stay with Kaiba for rest of his life? Did he have feelings for Kaiba at all?

"Puuu! Mama!" Fubuki said, waving his empty hands for more crackers. Broken out of his thoughts, Jounouchi gave him another cracker and stood up to return home. His head still felt crowded with riddles that he did not find answers to.

When Jounouchi returned all the employees seemed generally relieved, which made Jounouchi feel even more curious, to the point of being nervous. Now he felt almost certain that Kaiba was up to another one of his maniac;; deeds. Usually he was able to tell when Kaiba was up to no good—the nervousness, the frightened whispers, the guilty looks that the employees gave him were all a very good indication as to Kaiba planning something diabolical(?). The atmosphere was similar to this the last time Kaiba had elected a giant statue of Jounouchi in front of his office because "he was as lovely as Blue-eyes" (of course Jounouchi made him pull it down) and last Christmas when Kaiba bought a car for him (which Jounouchi made him return because he didn't even have a driver's license;;). Usually, after Kaiba did something, he would jut his head back and tilt his waist at precisely 120 degrees as he laughed his head off while proudly showing Jounouchi what he has done, and after Jounouchi had finished yelling at him, he would sulk and retreat like a dog that did something bad on the carpet.

Jounouchi mentally prepared himself. As long as it was not another statue of himself or something like that, he felt that he could stomach pretty much anything Kaiba might throw his way.

"I came back."

All the employees (who had gathered at the entrance to the kitchen and were peeking out, defending themselves behind a wall like they were preparing for war) and Jounouchi momentarily froze, and then there were choruses of 'welcome back, Seto-sama!' followed by the maids busying themselves scurrying around Kaiba, helping him remove his coat and taking his suitcase away. Jounouchi walked towards Kaiba, and Kaiba took Fubuki from Jounouchi and kissed him, then kissed Jounouchi.

"Welcome back, Kaiba."

"I came back, Jounouchi, Fubuki."

"You said you'd come early, but you really are early! I think this is the earliest you've ever came home ever since we got married," Jounouchi jokingly said, laughing as he took the baby back. Kaiba opened his mouth, but not realizing this, Jounouchi turned away and walked towards the kitchen. "Let's eat, let's eat! The chef prepared the beef poa… thing… that you like so much, since you said you'd be early! Mr. Cook makes really delicious meals, so today's meals would be really tasty, too, right?"

Kaiba closed his mouth again and slightly smiled as he followed his wife. Jounouchi settled Fubuki on his lap and fed him bits of cooked carrot and broccoli, while Kaiba slowly ate next to him. The kitchen was strangely silent, and it was a while before Jounouchi realized that they were all alone in the kitchen. Usually there would be at least one maid or two around, serving the food, and Mokuba and Noa would also be eating with them.

"Ah, Kaiba, if you're back home early, why isn't Mokuba-chan and Noa-san back yet?" Jounouchi asked, taking a huge bite of the food. Kaiba choked. As Kaiba was coughing and kneeling over, Jounouchi pounded Kaiba's back nervously, and Fubuki also started to beat his father up(;;) with his tiny fits gleefully.

"Pa…pa! Kyaaa—"

"Kaiba, you okay?" Jounouchi asked, worriedly. Kaiba swallowed water and finally seemed to calm down. He glanced at Jounouchi, and then suddenly his entire face became a bright pink. The pink started from his cheeks and then rapidly spread throughout his face, until even his ears became red. Jounouchi was starting to get really worried. Didn't they said when it was almost time for a man to die, he would act abnormally? "Kaiba?"

"Jounouchi."

"Yes? You need more water?"

"Forget about the water."

Kaiba hesitated, then fiddled with the celery on his plate, rolling the vegetable between his fork to and fro before he stabbed it. Then he took a deep breath and said, "I love you, Katsuya."

"Ah… Eh… Right. Thank you," Jounouchi said, blushing. Kaiba's sapphire-colored eyes met Jounouchi's amber-colored ones, and Kaiba narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Won't you… answer me today?"

"Ah…"

"I was afraid of the answer, so I didn't press you for it, but… It has been a year since you've came back to me."

"Came back…?"

"Since high school, I had a crush on you, you know. I wanted you to pay attention to me, so I teased you, and made fun of you, and made me mad… It annoyed me how you'd always smile and laugh with Yuugi and others, but you'd always frown and yell when you see me. We were both males, so I shoved my feelings to the bottom of my heart and labeled it 'abnormality caused by hormones,' and I did my best to forget about you. But one year ago, when you showed up in my life again, I knew I still had feelings for you, and I love you even now."

"…"

"But how about you? I forced you into the marriage and while I'm happy with you and our child, sometimes you look very lost and unhappy."

Jounouchi started to shake his head, but Kaiba cut in. "It's because you didn't make up your mind yet. You can't maintain married life with someone you can't love, I think. So… If you want, I'm proposing to let you go."

Jounouchi looked at Kaiba, shocked expression clear on his face. Kaiba rested his hand on Jounouchi's. "I know you only approached me for the money. You can keep Fubuki, even though I want to meet him from time to time, and I want to live with him for at least three months out of a year. I will continue to give you child support money, and you don't have to pay back the debt that your father left behind."

"Kaiba…"

"I don't want you to stay if you're not happy. So… will you answer me today? For you, for me, for Fubuki… I don't think we can be happy if you are not happy with our marriage. I gave you one year trial of how our life can be when we're married. Now it's up to you to decide."

Jounouchi slowly shook his head and looked down on his plate. He was holding Fubuki so tightly that it was hurting him and Fubuki started to fuss and squirm. Kaiba took the baby into his own arms and looked at Jounouchi.

They looked so similar! The same high cheekbones, the same sharp, angular nose, the same stubbornly shut, thin lips. The only feature of Fubuki that Jounouchi could claim as his own was his own warm, friendly, amber-colored eyes and the soft curve of his chin. Ever since his child had been born, Jounouchi had poured all the love he can muster into the child that looked exactly like Kaiba. But wasn't that only because he didn't have the courage to look at Kaiba himself and express that love towards him? Because, after all, about Kaiba, he—

"Kaiba."

"Yes, Jounouchi."

"Kaiba… Seto."

"Yes."

"Seto… I love you, too."

And then his world was filled with sapphire and coffee-colored brown hair and scent of cigarettes and strong masculine perfume and muscular arms that tightly held him against hard yet unbelievably warm chest, and Jounouchi was finally able to smile from the bottom of his heart.

"Wa-hahaha! Wahahahaha!"

"Kaiba… Shut up," Jounouchi whined, exasperated. He didn't even bother trying to struggle out of Kaiba's arms this time, and Kaiba swung him around few times before he tightly held Jounouchi against him, their cheeks touching. Jounouchi was able to hear Kaiba's rapidly beating heartbeats. Even though Kaiba was acting stupid, this somehow comforted him, so Jounouchi snuggled against the warmth that the man holding him could provide.

"Four months! I'm wonderful after all! And a daughter this time! Wa-hahaha! Wait for Daddy, princess, Daddy will buy you the best that money could afford! Daddy will educate you in all things you need to learn to be the empress of our kingdom! You will truly be the queen of Dueling World!"

"Kaiba…" Jounouchi's head was starting to hurt. "She might not even want to duel, you know."

Kaiba looked thunder-stricken for few seconds—but only for few seconds; after all, he was the Kaiba Seto—and then started to jut his head back and started to laugh again.

"Nonsense! With me being her father, how could she not! Wa-hahaha!"

Jounouchi felt very glad that Fubuki was at home with nanny and did not have to see his father acting more maniac by the second. It seemed that the news of Jounouchi's second pregnancy hit him rather hard, and that he was so high-tensioned that it was impossible for him to keep still. Jounouchi wrapped his arms around Kaiba's shoulders as Kaiba triumphantly carried him to the car and pressed his forehead against Kaiba's.

"Kaiba. Are you happy that we're going to have another baby?"

"But of course, Jounouchi! And it's going to be a princess! Can you believe it? We're going to have a daughter! Wa-hahaha!"

Jounouchi helplessly laughed and continued, "Are you happy that we're married?"

"Don't be silly, of course I am! Fubuki's going to have a sister! Can we name her Asuka after my mother?"

"Yes, yes. Kaiba—"

"Yes, Jounouchi!"

Kaiba paused in opening the door to their car. Jounouchi narrowed his eyes playfully.

"Do you love me?"

Ah. That made Kaiba blush and shut up. "…Yes."

Jounouchi laughed and tightly held Kaiba. "That's good, because I do, too!"

- END -