a/n: thank you for reviewing this fic! im glad ppl are enjoying it :)
Kaiba ended up being dragged around by Yugi for the rest of the day, his planner gone unnoticed in his briefcase. It was surreal to see Yugi again, and Kaiba decided to let himself indulge in the oddness of it all.
Yugi seemed to be dragging him around to places that he had no recollection of. Domino City was a large city, and he was always so busy. How was he supposed to know there was a park here, or a game shop there? How was he supposed to know that the ice cream parlor he had brought Yugi…no, Atem to before had been torn down? He had no time for such trivialities. He definitely didn't feel a pang of longing in his stomach, looking at the paved lot.
And yet, he stood with Yugi as the boy played at an arcade he didn't remember existing, and even found himself yearning to play along, but he felt like he was imposing. This seemed much more akin to something Yugi and Jounouchi would do.
Jounouchi. Kaiba scowled. "So the loser's getting married," he said, breaking Yugi's concentration on his game and causing him to lose.
Yugi groaned, but nodded, starting a new game almost immediately. "Yeah. This weekend."
Kaiba mulled over this news. "Who would marry him?"
"Lots of people, surprisingly," Yugi said, chuckling. Kaiba smiled himself, watching Yugi charge through the game as he spoke. "It's a girl he met around six years ago. They're really in love with each other. It's kind of gross, you know what I mean? But cute."
"I'm surprised a woman would want to put herself through a lifetime of him," Kaiba said dryly. "I could barely handle a few hours, let alone a few minutes." Yugi laughed along, unoffended by Kaiba's jabs. They were getting along, surprisingly, and the conversation flowed easily between them.
But the elephant in the room had not magically disappeared. Maybe it was his age, his stubbornness - but whenever Kaiba looked briefly at Yugi, he'd see someone different. Someone who was stuck in his youth and would never return. Kaiba would do anything to return to the past.
He wanted to ask if Yugi had ever looked into getting the Pharaoh back, but it felt forced. It felt too awkward - how would he react to a question like that? How would Kaiba react to the answer? Was that even possible? With modern technology, maybe, but… Perhaps it was best to leave it unsaid. It was still magical nonsense in the end.
He realized Yugi had been talking to him while he had been thinking. "Sorry?"
"I'd really like you to come to the wedding," Yugi said. "Jou would too."
Kaiba was positive he hadn't heard him correctly. "Me? Go to the wedding? I'm sorry, maybe you didn't hear me earlier, my schedule is packed, and I wasn't invited-"
"If you can take a day off to run around Domino City with me, you can take a day off to go to an old friend's wedding." Kaiba supposed Yugi had a point, but he was still reluctant. Jounouchi and the others had to have been perfectly aware of how Kaiba had yelled and blamed Yugi for Atem's departure. He highly doubted Jounouchi, or their other friends, would react entirely positively to seeing him. "Plus, you could be my plus one." Yugi's invitation did not swing Kaiba's opinion one way or the other.
But something told Kaiba that even if he said no, Yugi would be relentless. "I'll look into it," he said. Yugi won the game effortlessly, and put his initials into the high score board.
Kaiba stood in his bedroom, tumbler of scotch in hand, as he looked at his closet.
What did one wear to a wedding? He hadn't been to one in years - his colleagues were already married, or long divorced. He hadn't even considered marriage to be a popular thing anymore. People still got married?
Mokuba was lounging on Kaiba's bed, flipping through a magazine. He was out of school now, and was a young adult. Kaiba had invited him to help him choose a suit for the occasion, hoping that a younger man would be more knowledgeable on what was 'hip', but Mokuba seemed hopeless as well. He seemed more interested in Yugi than helping Kaiba.
"Yugi's really back?" Mokuba said excitedly. Kaiba looked over at him. His brother was giving him an expectant look, which creeped Kaiba out. "Did he say anything? Did he say he was going to duel again? I want to duel him!"
"Nothing of the sort," Kaiba muttered. "He just wanted to invite me to this stupid wedding."
"I want to go to the wedding!" Mokuba exclaimed. Kaiba scowled. "Why didn't they try to contact us? Send an invitation? It's been so long since I've seen them!"
"You can call them and ask," Kaiba said, taking a sip of his drink. Yugi had given Kaiba his number after they had parted ways, even though Kaiba had insisted against giving Yugi his. His fingers tightened around his glass. What was Yugi trying to achieve by inviting Kaiba to this wedding…was this all a trick to get revenge for how Kaiba treated him on that day?
No. Yugi wasn't the vengeful kind of person who would do that. Especially not after ten years. He took another sip of his drink.
Jounouchi might be, though.
He reached forward and grabbed out a simple gray suit. Snappy, yet understated. He threw it towards Mokuba, who fumbled to catch it. "Have that sent out to get pressed, Mokuba. I need it by Saturday."
"Sure thing."
The bedroom door closed behind his brother and Kaiba set his drink down. He would have to buy a gift, but he had no idea what would even be on the guy's registry…duel monsters cards? Surely not. He was an adult now. Without any idea of what to get Jounouchi, Kaiba felt unwilling to blow money (as meaningless as it was to him) on a pointless gift.
He looked over at the slip of paper on his desk. He lifted the phone up to his ear. The dial tone sounded, and then the voice of an…acquaintance.
"Hello?"
"Tell me what Jounouchi has on their registry."
