by Lethe
Chapter Five: Playing
Jonouchi sighed. Yugi, Anzu, and Honda had all stayed after school to make up some test or another, so he was walking home alone. Ah, yes, a lonely Wednesday it was. Oh well. He always had his dad to look forward to.
Like that makes me feel any better.
Jonouchi slowed his pace considerably. He had always liked fall the best. Domino was really colorful in preparation for Halloween and whatnot, not to mention the good smells -
…Like apple pie…
Aw, man, I'm hungry again.
"What?"
"C'mon, big brother, please?" piped Mokuba's voice through the cell phone.
Kaiba laughed quietly. "Fine. Just make sure all your homework is done first, all right?"
"Right!"
"See you soon, Mokuba."
Kaiba turned off the phone. It always gave him a good feeling when he could do something to make Mokuba happy. And that meant he had been in a good mood for quite a while, ever since the Thursday when he had put off work to play with the boy.
Of course, that wasn't the only reason he was in a good mood, but in his mind, it was the most important one.
And speaking of other reasons…
…Wasn't that Jonouchi right there?
"Driver. Stop," he said quickly.
"Yessir," obliged the uniform-clad man, pulling over.
Kaiba rolled down the window. "Jonouchi!"
"Jonouchi!"
Jonouchi turned to the source of the voice in surprise. "Oh! Hi, Kaiba!"
"Do you want a ride?" Kaiba gestured at the limo.
I can't let him see my place. What would he think? What if he saw Dad?
"No, thanks," replied Jonouchi.
"I insist," pressed Kaiba. "It really wouldn't be any trouble."
"No, thanks," said Jonouchi, just as stubbornly.
"All right. See you in school then."
"Yeah, see you."
The limousine rolled on slowly.
Kaiba thought for a moment.
To hell with it.
"Driver. Go back to the house. I'm getting out."
"Yessir," said the man in surprise, stopping the car.
"Tell Mokuba I'll be home soon."
"Yessir."
Kaiba stepped out, and the limo sped off.
"Fine then. If you don't want to ride, then I'll walk with you." said Kaiba from behind Jonouchi.
"Gwaaah!" said Jonouchi. "K-Kaiba! You scared me!"
Kaiba chuckled. "Well, that was my intention."
"Hmph," said Jonouchi, pretending to sulk.
"I figured you were lonely," continued Kaiba. "So, which way are we going?"
Looks like there's no way of avoiding him now. Ah well. I can just ask him not to come in or something, right? Jonouchi pointed. "The apartment's about ten minutes that way."
"All right."
There was a short silence.
"Um, so, how's school?" said Jonouchi awkwardly.
"Dull."
They were quiet again.
Then Kaiba laughed.
"What is it?" said Jonouchi in a slightly offended tone.
"I'm not laughing at you," said Kaiba. "I was just thinking… About now, we'd be arguing about something, wouldn't we?"
"Yeah," agreed Jonouchi. "I'd probably be mad at you for calling me a dog..."
"Of course, you really are a mutt," teased Seto.
But somehow… it's different from before, realized Jonouchi. Like there were no ill intentions behind Kaiba's words. I can tell now that he's just playing.
And it's all right.
It really is.
"Ah! Jonouchi!" said Kaiba in alarm. "That didn't actually hurt your feelings, did it?!"
Jonouchi blinked. "No! It's okay…" A gleam touched upon his eye. "…Kaiba-boy."
Kaiba stared at Jonouchi, then burst into laughter. "Is that the best you could think of?"
And the two walked to Jonouchi's apartment, trading insults and jokes all the way.
**
"I'm home, Mokuba. Sorry I'm late."
"It's okay, Seto."
"Is your homework done?"
"Yep!"
"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's play!"
"Yay! You're the best!"