🤧 – (reverse) comforting them when crying
Ryou doesn’t know how Jounouchi found him. He certainly doesn’t remember telling him where he was staying for the brief few weeks he was in town, though he does vaguely remember at least giving him the apartment address at some point within the last year after reuniting. Was this the first time Jounouchi had attempted to visit him, or had he tried before when Ryou hadn’t been home? Was it just luck that Ryou was home today?
He supposed Jounouchi had always had a lucky streak when he needed it, and today, as he took a minute to take in all the cuts and bruises littered across his body, the way the normally energetic man was sagging against the door frame, and the tears of pain gathering in the corners of his eyes, today was without a doubt the right time for him to roll high.
“Got jumped nearby,” Jounouchi said before Ryou could ask, and he attempted to give Ryou a toothy grin to offset the overall terrible sight he seemed to know he was. “By some old pals of mine. Smart fuckers knew they needed to bring at least a half dozen guys along. You should see the other guys.”
Instinctively, he spat on Ryou’s pristine ‘Welcome’ carpet, leaving spots of red, and wiped at his bruised lips almost apologetically. “… Sorry ‘bout that.”
Whatever. Ryou could replace that without a second thought. Rather than bothering to tell him to come in, Ryou silently pulled Jounouchi until most of his dead weight was on his shoulders. Was he limping? Oh - his ankle was twisted at an odd angle, too. Ryou’s first aid abilities were good, but not this good. He would need professional help.
“Glad you were here though,” Jounouchi half-laughed, half-hacked. “Dunno what I would’ve done otherwise.”
Neither did Ryou, and it made his heart jump anxiously. No matter - Jounouchi was here now, and he trusted Ryou to help him. That trust wouldn’t be misplaced.
“You make a pretty fine-looking lady,” joked Jounouchi.
The sweet smile he got in response was punctuated Ryou driving his thin heel into Jounouchi’s right foot.
“H-Hey! Those were expensive!” Jounouchi complained quietly. “I spent half of my Tokyo Championship prize money on this outfit!”
“I’ll cover the repair cost,” Ryou said, still keeping that same painted smile on his face, and he glanced around to see if they had drawn anyone’s attention. And… nothing. So far, so good. It was no wonder - Kaiba had just challenged Yuugi in the middle of the reception area to a rematch duel (he had lost the finals - again, surprise!), and there was a good crowd of onlookers forming around them.
“Y’know, if those guys you were talkin’ about don’t show up and you end up dressing up like this for nothing, you should at least have something to remember about tonight,” Jounouchi said casually, as if this ‘date’ of theirs was real, and ‘Kyouko’ really was his plus one and not his weirdo old classmate in drag for reasons he barely could wrap his head around. “You said you can’t really eat much tonight, right?”
Ryou’s lips twitched and Jounouchi snickered all the muscles in Ryou’s face seemed to work to keep him from pouting. “… It’ll ruin my makeup.”
Jounouchi grinned and gestured to the dance floor with a flourish. “Care to dance then, milady?”
His date groaned quietly. What were the pros and cons of saying yes? Pros - maintain cover. Depending on the style of dance, he could use their position and movement to cover the entire room visually. Cons - never hearing the end of it from Jounouchi. Also, the distinct possibility that he was all left feet - both of them, honestly.
As if reading his thoughts, Jounouchi immediately protested, “I can totally dance! C’mere!”
So ‘no’ wasn’t on the table anymore, huh. Oh well. Ryou let himself get dragged onto the slick wooden floor and may have turned lightly pink when Jounouchi settled his other hand on Ryou’s waist. It looked like he intended to take this seriously.
Taking a moment to appreciate the cute expression on Jounouchi’s face as his face screwed itself up in intense concentration as he attempted to lead Ryou in gentle, swaying circles while not trampling on his feet, he smiled and let himself be moved. His eyes remained sharp, and he watched for any signs of suspicious movement in the crowd around them. Maybe he could marry work and pleasure - just for tonight.
kianamaiart
origamiaround
dededos
stormborns
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