Family outings are meant to be fun, and usually, they are. Yet when Kaiba Seto happens to be considered family, there is no fun to be had when in public.

Odd as this may sound, it is always true. Whether the day be destroyed by business or his many fans, or something equally as annoying, these outings are always brought to their ruin.

Yet even with all of this, we tried. We would always try. With such a small, misshapen family, we would hold on until our last breath, unwilling to lose any more of our kin, even if said kin weren't family by blood.

As of now, the four of us, Kaibas Seto and Mokuba and Andos Isono and Phthonos, sat in silence at an outdoor cafe. The air which sat around around us was nothing short of awkward, stiff. If not for my father's relation to the Kaiba family, the four of us would never get along, we would hardly look at one another. At this table, not one of us had a thing in common with any of the other three. None played Duel Monsters as Kaiba did, none cared much for whatever things plagued the now teenaged Mokuba's mind, none cared for flowers as I did, and my father had no life outside of his job, he had nothing that any of us could relate to. Time wore on. Kaiba scratched at the table, Mokuba tapped at her phone, my father surveyed the area, and I only stared on in this silence, the weight beginning to drag me down. This was a waiting game now. Whoever would speak first had the responsibility to carry the conversation, no matter how difficult the others would make it. This usually fell on Kaiba or myself, as both Mokuba and my father were far too distracted at any time to notice the way this silence suffocated.

Yet this time, it would be neither of us to break the silence, we had waited long enough for a server to come out to us, longer than usual, or had the service been quicker?

The man who approached wore a familiar face, one I recognised from years past, not someone I had ever spoken to myself, yet someone who had quite a bit to do with the past of both Kaiba siblings.

"Looks like I'll be your server today, anything I can getcha?"

He acted more casual than his job should allow, but surely that was for the fact that he knew at least half of who he was dealing with.

Here, I found myself reminded of bit and pieces of the past, of the words Kaiba had said about this person, all the insults he had called him while he believed his only audience was Mokuba. How Kaiba had absolutely hated him, hated how this person had the guts to stand up to him when they were younger.

I remembered how through these rants and ravings, back in this time while I had hated Kaiba and everything he was, I remembered how I had fostered feelings for someone who had been able to do what it was I couldn't. How Jounouchi had stood up to this bully when I only sat in fear of what he may do. How I had admired him, aspired to be even a a fraction as brave as he had been then. I remembered how this had led to ruin, and then that to salvation, and that to what this was now.

It was when Kaiba spoke that I was broken from these thoughts.

"You can start by being more professional."

Laughter from his end, warmer than I had thought possible when directed at Kaiba. Was it nostalgia? How long had it been since they had last interacted? At the least, a year now.

"You know, I could, but then, what would be the fun in that?"

I found myself at a loss with this. I knew I was staring now. I had never met Jounouchi myself, I had never heard his voice in person, I had never seen that smile unless it had been on television. Here, I found my hands shaking. This was something I had hoped to happen for years, yet that was in the past. I no longer held any affections for him, now all I felt was an aftershock, a reminder of all I had felt for him years ago. It was unsettling.

He was looking at me now, then to Kaiba, to Mokuba, to my father, then back to Kaiba, and to me once more.

"So. . you finally come out?"

This was directed at Kaiba, everything he said had been, why would he change now?

"Whatever it is you're getting at, you can be assured, you're wrong."

Mokuba was paying attention now, she hadn't set her phone down, but she had looked up to the surrounding world.

"C'mon Kaiba, we're pals, don't gotta hide that shit from me. . and I mean, you could do worse."

Throughout all of this, Kaiba's expression remained the same, unamused and dead inside.

"He's my brother."

Without missing a beat, Mokuba stepped in.

"When did you decide that? I thought you two just got over hating each other."

Even with this comment, my father looked ecstatic, he'd surely wish for the two of us to be friends now, and it would be better to be brothers. Yet I knew such was entirely impossible, especially after all the shit I put everyone through. I had been shitty when I was younger, tainted with jealousy and a violent admiration. I had wished to end Kaiba, as in my young mind, he had been the reason I had grown up without my father, the reason I had been stuck to watch my late grandmother wither away as she struggled to raise me. Yet I had not taken in to account that my father had not abandoned me for another child, but that he had done so in order to provide for the only family he had. He may have found more people to add to this small circle, but he hadn't pushed me away.

Kaiba rolled his eyes.

"If Isono means to act as some father figure in our lives would it not make sense that his son would be like a brother?"

I found myself hopeful now, as while I had hated him for years, I now found that he was nothing short of someone to admire. If he truly did consider me to be like a younger brother of sorts, I found that I had no issue in that. It would be preferable. It would please my father and give me the peace of mind I desired.

Jounouchi seemed only to ignore the statements given by the two Kaiba siblings, he seemed to be waiting now. Most likely for the conversation to die down so that he may get to his job, understandably so.

After a bit of bickering between the two, the table would eventually grow silent.

"Now, you guys ready to order?"

He seemed to forget that he had been the one to start the problem between the two of them.

After moments more, we would all have our orders placed.

Jounouchi left.

I would watch as he walked away.

I couldn't quite pin down what it was about him that had made my heart flutter in the past, but there had been something, it now seemed to be gone.

Good riddance.

I didn't need to allow such emotions to weaken me once more, I didn't need to allow anything to weaken me, I wasn't strong by any means, not mentally at least. Physically, I could carry Kaiba up a flight of stairs if I could fit him in my arms, then, he was thin as a twig.

When I turned to look back at my family, I'd find that Kaiba's eyes had been on me.

I rose a brow.

"You're too obvious, Ando, if you're going to stare at him, be more discreet."

I rolled my eyes now, acted as though I didn't know what he had been talking about, despite the fact that I was more than aware that I had given little regard to secrecy as I watched Jounouchi.

What was I meant to do? Being around him now, after all this time, after losing the feelings that once bound me, it was odd. I was left with this hollow tingling in my chest. I wasn't certain what it meant, but surely, it was nothing. Just the hole that had been left behind once I had ripped these affections from my chest.