Chapter Twelve


The first time Mokuba was late to dinner, Jou wanted to murder him. It was the beginning of April, and winter had begun to relinquish its grip on the city, offering a bearable temperature during the walk from the bus stop, up the Kaibas' driveway and inside. He was standing in the doorway of the dining room, curious as to why the kid's chair was empty as he crossed the threshold. Kaiba was sitting in his usual seat, tapping something out on his phone as he crossed the room, sliding into his chair.

"Hey," Jou said.

Kaiba's eyes slid up to meet his, dropping back to his phone a moment later.

"Where's Mokuba?" Jou said.

"Late," Kaiba said, not looking up.

"Late?" Jou said. "Doing what?"

"Something at school," Kaiba said.

"How late?" Jou said. It wasn't that cold; he'd wait outside if he could avoid sitting alone at the table with Kaiba.

"Twenty minutes," Kaiba said.

"Twenty?" Jou said. He shook his head. "You going to stare at that damn phone for the next twenty minutes?"

Kaiba looked up at him, eyes narrowed.

"I'm just asking," Jou said, "since the thing seems glued to your hand."

"The door is that way," Kaiba said, head tilting towards the front of the house.

Jou rolled his eyes, and the silence continued to tick between them as Kaiba's focus remained on his phone. Crossing his arms, Jou sent a glare his way. If he had to sit at the damn table with him, he wasn't going to spend the next twenty minutes being invisible.

"How is he doing at work?" Jou said.

"Fine," Kaiba said.

"Care to elaborate on that, princess?" Jou said.

Kaiba frowned. "He works. He goes home. He studies. What about that requires an explanation?"

"You know, talking to you is fucking impossible," Jou said, slumping back in his chair.

"Yes, because you're so articulate," Kaiba said.

"Really?" Jou said, shaking his head. "At least I try! You just give up on people from the start."

"Most people aren't worth the energy," Kaiba said.

"Yeah, well, that's a pretty shitty attitude," Jou said. "And it's even shittier because when you act like that, Mokuba thinks he should too."

"Mokuba is better off without the added distraction of excess relationships," Kaiba said.

Jou looked over at him. "You realize how freakin' ridiculous that is, right?"

Kaiba looked at him, working up a glare.

"The kid has no relationships," Jou said, incredulous, "let alone an 'excess' of them."

"Mokuba – "

"Needs some friends," Jou finished. "He's spent his whole life watching you act like relationships are meaningless, so he tries to act the same way. You may act like a damn glacier, but I call bullshit if you don't think the kid would be better off with some more people in his life."

Kaiba looked at him.

"You honestly think he's better off with no one except you?" Jou said.

Kaiba dropped his eyes back to his phone.

"You are such an asshole," Jou said. He sank back in his chair, shaking his head. "And I call bullshit. You know I'm right. You just will never admit it."

"Do you find yourself incapable of sitting in silence?" Kaiba said.

"Do you find yourself incapable of holding ten seconds of conversation?" Jou said, letting out a breath as Kaiba continued to ignore him. "I know they didn't teach 'how not to be an asshole' in school, but I'll give you a refresher course. I say something; you say something; repeat."

"What is it exactly that you want?" Kaiba said. He set down his phone. Now, he had his attention.

Jou held up his hands. "For you to drop the cyborg act and pretend to be a human for five seconds!"

"I'm not my brother," Kaiba said. "I don't have the patience to listen to you prattle on for hours on end."

"You know arguing with me about how pointless it is to be talking to me would've pretty much been saved if you could manage like five seconds of small talk," Jou said.

Kaiba's frown deepened. "Small talk."

"Yeah," Jou said. "Small talk. Not every conversation has to be about Kaiba Corp or how much you despise the rest of the world." He rolled his eyes. "Like, the weather today – it was nice, right?"

"It was cloudy," Kaiba said, voice flat.

"Yeah," Jou said, nodding. "It was. Better than the rain though." He held out his hands, gesturing between them. "See how that worked. You said something; I said something. Conversation happened." He rolled his eyes as Kaiba continued to watch him, face flat. "If you're wondering, now it's your turn to say something."

Kaiba's eyes narrowed. "I'm not – "

The front door opened, Mokuba's voice ringing through the foyer as he called out hello, and Jou let out a breath, sitting back in his seat. Thank god.

When the kid slid into his chair a few seconds later, he glanced between them, leaning forward on his elbows. "What are we talking about?"


By the time mid-April reared its head, Jou was wiped. He'd been working six days a week at Dell's for the past four months, and while his bank account was thankful, he'd started to forget what life outside of banging pipes and getting sewage dripped on him felt like. However, it wasn't until the second week of April that Dell, just as exhausted as him, decided to close down shop for the weekend. It would have been great if it hadn't been the same weekend of Kaiba's freakin' tournament.

"You have to come!" Mokuba said. He was halfway through his third slice of pizza, sitting across from him in a hole in the wall joint a few blocks from Shizuka's school. With Kaiba out of town for part of the week, he'd invited the kid to tag along with him and Shizuka for dinner. The place was bustling, the door opening and closing every few minutes, letting in a burst of cold air as people came to grab a slice or pick up their orders.

Jou frowned, taking a sip of his soda, feeling the weight of Shizuka's stare next to him. Inviting the kid had seemed like such a good idea until Shizuka had asked about his plans for the weekend.

The kid was frowning. "You said the only reason you couldn't come was because you had to work."

"Yeah," Jou said, setting down the can. "Things change."

"Shizuka can come too," Mokuba said. He sent a sly smile Shizuka's way, and Jou sent him a look.

"Dude, stop looking at my sister like that," Jou said.

"Stop making excuses," Mokuba said, turning his eyes back to him. "It's not like I'm asking you to duel. I just think it's dumb not to come to a tournament that I've only been talking about for the past six months and to see the coolest duel of the century."

"We've both already seen Yami and Yugi duel," Jou said.

Mokuba rolled his eyes. "That was forever ago," he said. "Plus, this will be the first time the public has seen them face each other."

Jou shrugged. The Yami/Yugi showdown had been a late-addition to the tournament schedule after the kid rejoined the planning team, and tickets had sold out less than an hour after the announcement.

"I'm confused." Shizuka said. "Yugi is dueling, and you don't want to go see him?" She was still in her school uniform, hair twisted back in a plait as she studied him. He hadn't exactly told her that he'd been invited to the tournament, wanting to avoid the inevitable questions that would come when he'd admitted he wasn't competing, and she raised an eyebrow, probably wondering what the deal was.

Sighing, Jou balled his napkin in his hand. "You know I'd do anything for Yug."

"So," Mokuba said, "what's the problem?"

"There isn't a problem," Jou said.

Mokuba picked up his pizza. "Then you'll be there?"

Jou let out a long breath. "Fine," he said. "Jeez. I'll be there."

Taking a bite of his pizza, Mokuba grinned, and Jou shook his head, turning back to his own slice. God dammit. He hadn't wanted to go to the stupid tournament from the get go, and on his first weekend off in months, it had taken all of two minutes to get suckered into showing up.

"Can I come?" Shizuka said.

Jou nudged her shoulder, glancing over at her. "I'm there; you're there."

"Well look who we have here."

Turning, Jou looked up at the woman standing in front of their table, hand cocked on her hip as she glanced between them. Fuck me. Mai was dressed in jeans, jacket open to reveal a tube top, cleavage on display as she flicked her hair over her shoulder, amethyst eyes wide and lined with a kohl. He could practically hear the kid drooling across the table.

"Ms. Kujaku?" Shizuka said, surprised. She lifted her eyebrows, sending a quick glance Jou's way. They hadn't even discussed Mai since their tiff at the school a month earlier. "How are you?"

"Just peachy," Mai said. She shook her head. "Told my boss I'd bring him a calzone for being late last night; and now, I'm going to be late waiting for the flippin' calzone."

"Would you like to sit with us?" Shizuka said.

Mai sent a look Jou's way, eyebrows raised. He shrugged, taking a bite of pizza as she shooed the kid further into the booth, sliding into the empty space.

"This your boyfriend?" Mai said, jerking her head towards Mokuba.

"No!" Shizuka said, face coloring as Mokuba frowned, "this is my brother's friend, Mokuba."

"No way," Mai said, turning to face the kid. "I knew you looked familiar. Mokuba Kaiba, right?"

Mokuba nodded, shrugging a shoulder.

"Who knew you were so well connected, Katsuya," Mai said, sending a wink Jou's way. "And here I thought you just liked spending your days bumming around the school's gym."

"Jeez, it was one time," Jou said. "You're making me sound like a freakin' creeper."

Mai shrugged, and she reached over, yanking a piece of pepperoni off of the slice sitting on Jou's plate.

"Oi!" Jou said. "You don't touch a man's food, lady."

"Yeah, yeah," Mai said. She swallowed the pepperoni, eyelashes fluttering as she turned to the kid. "You'd share with me, right?"

Mokuba looked down at his plate, pushing it Mai's way, and she smiled.

"See," Mai said, "here's a gentleman for you."

"Whatever," Jou said, rolling his eyes. Horny teenager more like it.

Shizuka nudged his arm, sending him a warning glance.

"I mean, you're right," Jou said. "He's more of a gentleman then I'll ever be." He picked up his pizza, devouring the rest of the slice as Mai rolled her eyes across the table.

Someone called Mai's name at the front of the shop, and she scooted free of the booth, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Gotta run," Mai said. "See you tomorrow, Shizuka." She offered a wink before turning to Jou. "You planning on stopping by the bar anytime soon there, garbage disposal?"

Jou shrugged, finishing the last of his slice. "You planning on learning some manners?" He winced as Shizuka dug her elbow into his side. "We'll see."

Mai shook her head, offering Mokuba another wink before turning on her heel, stalking to the front of the shop to pick up her order, and Jou let out a breath. Thank god. That woman had way more sass than he could handle.

It wasn't until later, after they'd dropped Shizuka at home, that Mokuba asked about her.

"Who was that woman at the restaurant?" the kid said. They were sitting in the back of the kid's car, the city rolling past them as the driver passed through a green light, changing lanes. After a month, he'd long given up arguing about Kaiba's drivers taking him anywhere. He hadn't taken the bus home from the mansion in weeks.

"She's Shizuka's gym teacher," Jou said.

"Are you dating her?" Mokuba said.

Jou turned, eyebrow raised. "Don't you think I would have said something about that?"

"Maybe," Mokuba said. "Unless it's a secret."

"It's not," Jou said. "And I'm not dating her."

Mokuba gave him a confused look. "But she's really hot."

"There's more to dating than looks," Jou said. "You know that."

"Not really," Mokuba said. "It's not like I have girls falling all over me."

Jou turned, meeting his eyes. "Do you talk to the girls at school?"

"Well, no," Mokuba said, shrugging. "Not really."

"You gotta talk to them if you got any chance of dating someone," Jou said. "It takes practice."

"Then why don't you have a girlfriend?" Mokuba said.

Jou shrugged. "It's not like I'm rolling in extra time."

"Hm," Mokuba said.

Sighing, Jou turned to the window. "'Hm,' what?"

"Nothing," Mokuba said. "Just thinking."

Jou frowned. "Well, cut it out."

A beat passed before Mokuba spoke again. "Do you like my brother?"

Jou whipped his head around so fast he'd probably wake up with whiplash. "You're kidding me."

"Sort of," Mokuba said. He glanced towards the window before dropping his eyes to his lap. "Unless I wasn't."

"I do not like you brother," Jou said. "Jeez. Where did you even come up with that?"

"I don't know," Mokuba said. He glanced over at him, shrugging a shoulder. "Usually people who hate each other ignore each other, but you guys fight, like all the time. I mean, you've done it for forever."

"Because we do hate each other," Jou said. "Just because we've managed to keep the screaming down the past few months doesn't change that."

"I'm not stupid," Mokuba said, eyebrows drawing together.

"I didn't say you were," Jou said. He let out a breath. "Your brother and I have our own issues – have for a long time."

Mokuba looked at him. "It's not like I care if you do," he said. "That's all I'm saying."

Jou shook his head. "All I'm saying is, there is no reason for you not to care."

The kid held up his hands. "Alright, jeez," he said. "What are you getting so mad about?"

I don't fucking know. "Sorry," Jou said. "I'm just tired, and Shizuka's been on my case for months about dating, and that Mai girl just really pisses me off."

"Well," Mokuba said, grinning, "if the gym teachers at my school looked like that – let's just say that skipping school last year wouldn't have been an issue."

Jou turned to look at him, shaking his head. He'd been so innocent as a kid.


A/N: I've read all of your reviews, and to clear up any confusion, I am not giving up on this story. Like I mentioned last chapter, real-life has become incredibly busy for me, but I am doing my best to find the time to write. Thanks for your continued support. I've actually had some time to work on chapters this weekend, so I hope that the next post will be sooner rather than later.