Title: Pet Names

Author: Satanic Mechanic

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: Seto/Jou

Spoilers: None

Beta: Jennie

Summary: Jou complains about his lover's annoying pet name, and Seto contemplates what it means to be human.

"For the last time, I am not a dog!" Jou growled as he rolled over, effectively giving his lover the cold shoulder.

"You sound like one…" a deep voice drawled out from behind him as its owner snaked a hand underneath the bed sheets and trailed over the curve of the boy's hipbone. Jou bit his lip; he was not going to give in to his lover's careful touches. It really wasn't fair how easily the brunette had memorized his body inside and out; he knew just where to touch, what was too soft and what was too hard. Why did he have to be so damned good at everything?

"Get off, Seto…I'm mad at you." Jou wiggled a little bit so he was farther away from his tormentor, pulling the bed sheets up to his shoulders nice and tight, creating a pathetic cotton barrier. He heard Seto sigh over his shoulder, the breath just ghosting by his neck.

"Why does that bother you so much?"

"Because!" Jou whirled around to face the brunette, staring defiantly up into those blue eyes that were once such a puzzle to him. He was just beginning to figure them out, but he hadn't gotten it down to exact science yet the way Seto had done with his body. "I'm a human being! If your going to be fucking me you should at least treat me that way!"

"A human being?"

"Yes!" Jou shouted in exasperation while Seto merely chuckled softly -- low and almost slightly bittersweet.

"Humanity is a funny thing to try and define…" Seto mused as he rolled over onto his back, staring up at the ceiling in thought. Jou knew that there was some completely complicated thought process going on inside his lover's head at that moment, something that he would never understand; there almost always was. "A race that that kills not only itself, but virtually every other from of life on the planet."

"Seto…"

"The lust for riches, and power, not caring who you have to destroy to get there; is that what truly makes us human?"

"Well…I guess I never thought about that kind of stuff before."

"Is it so wrong that maybe I consider you something better than that?"

"A dog?" Jou asked doubtfully.

"I guess you could say that…well, figuratively speaking." Seto smiled slightly as he noticed Jou's defenses were down and he was very close to being in his arms. "Or…maybe I just really like that pet name."

"Freak."

"Want to cuddle now?"

"I didn't know you liked to cuddle after sex so much."

"I don't, really. But I know that you do." Jou growled in slight irritation before snuggling into the offered embrace. It really was annoying how he was always right.

"If it makes you feel any better," Jou yawned into Seto's chest as he looked up to meet his gaze. "I think you're better than human, too." The blonde smiled and closed his eyes, ready to drift off.

"I'm probably the most human person I know…" Seto sighed into soft blonde hair, allowing the irony of the statement sink in before he, too, let his eyes fall shut, allowing sleep to take him.