Chapter 1:

"There's no way."

Jou sighed heavily in defeat as Mokuba burst out laughing. His laughter echoed down the hallway they were in, blending with the sounds of others' footsteps and the contraptions being sold in the stores they passed. The two were walking down the corridor of a large, indoor shopping mall, which was surprisingly packed despite it being the middle of the week. Jou noticed a large number of kids roaming about and remembered that school had let out for summer vacation. Meaning his own vacation was coming up soon.

His vacation with the Kaiba brothers.

"I told you he would totally buy my story," Mokuba proudly proclaimed, sipping at a lemonade as they walked past a group of kids playing mobile games.

"He just accepted th' fact that he's lettin' me go on this trip?" Jou asked, his eyes wide as he stared down in both awe and horror at Mokuba. He couldn't believe it and knew he owed Tristan quite a bit of yen for a lost bet.

Mokuba nodded. "I told him I asked him during a busy day at work."

"And he didn't question it?"

Mokuba shrugged. "Next time, I need written proof."

Jou scoffed. "Man, Kaiba's gotta be gettin' soft if he's not fightin' it."

"Nii-sama definitely needs a vacation," Mokuba agreed. The two crossed an intersection underneath a mosaic glass ceiling, which sparkled light down to passersby. "I think he has a new project going on. He's been in meetings practically every day since finals finished, and whenever he is home, he's in his office coding or writing up proposals."

"Which makes him acceptin' takin' me along even weirder," Jou observed.

Mokuba smirked as he looked up. "Come on, you know you're excited to go along."

Jou's eyes widened as he waved his hands in the air. "Ah, no way, man. Don't take it like that. Of course I'm excited ta be goin' with you guys! I haven't been to da beach in years!"

"Then what's your worry?" Mokuba asked, his smirk never wavering.

Jou returned the smirk with a glare. "Ya know exactly what my worry is, ya jerk."

Mokuba laughed heartily once again, and he quickly rushed over and tossed his empty cup in a recycling can. Returning to Jou, he softened his gaze and said, "Look, Seto has no idea, else he definitely wouldn't agree to bring you along."

"That's not...really the point, Mokuba."

"Are you having second thoughts?"

"Nah, man. I just...feel weird, is all."

"Well, hopefully getting a swimsuit will cheer you up!" Waving Jou forward, Mokuba began walking and called back, "There's a place right up here, on the right! They have a ton of swimwear!"

Jou sighed and placed his hands in his pockets, trailing behind the excitable young Kaiba. He knew Mokuba meant incredibly well, and Jounouchi was truly happy about the upcoming vacation. But Mokuba was still a young teen and just didn't get how certain things could get awkward.

For bein' so observant, he sure can be naive, Jou thought as they entered the shop. Kinda like Shizuka, now that I think about it. Maybe it's just their age? I was probably pretty dumb, too, then. A clerk at a sleek glass counter bowed to them, and Mokuba began to ask a few questions about their selection. Jou stood a step or two back, letting Mokuba do all the talking, staring down at the raven-haired boy. Either the kid is settin' me up, or he means too well for his own good.

It all began during Battle City, when the contestants were partying on the blimp before the official duels were to begin. Jounouchi had been having a contest with Tristan over who could eat more food in one go, but after two rounds of burgers, the blonde bowed out early, feigning the excuse that he didn't want a stomach ache during his duel with Marik. Taking a seat next to a window, he stared outside...or pretended to.

In the reflection was Kaiba. That fucking prick, Kaiba. That fucking good-looking prick, Kaiba. In flashy trenchcoat and all, arms crossed and a scowl daring anyone to bother him.

Jounouchi had always thought of Kaiba as good-looking. He, and the millions of fan girls the rich bastard seemed to have around every corner, so it wasn't necessarily a shocker. But Jounouchi knew even in high school that the two could never work out. We're from totally opposite backgrounds, Jounouchi had rationalized, And he may look hot as hell, but the man's a fucking bastard. Even before learning the full extent of Kaiba's arrogance, Jounouchi had heard of him in school as a cold-hearted individual. The early fights Kaiba picked with Yuugi and his total disregard for his friends told Jounouchi everything he needed to know about the man. On top of that, Jounouchi had been with a few guys during high school, though he never told Yuugi, the gang, or his father, and he knew he needed someone with the same high energy level he had. Sure, those relationships didn't work out, but dating Kaiba would be like dating a laptop. A laptop that had nasty pop-up screens criticizing your every move.

Still, that didn't keep Kaiba from being just straight eye candy. And unfortunately, on the blimp before the competition in all places, he let his gaze stray for too long.

And it caught the eye of Mokuba Kaiba.

"You hear that, Jou?" Mokuba's voice grabbed Jou's attention, and he blushed slightly as he tuned back into the conversation. Not sensing Jou's embarrassment, Mokuba continued, "So maybe if you get two pairs of swimming trunks, I can get a third one for free. I don't need more than one, anyways. Plus we will need some sunscreen. Nii-sama is sooo freakin' pale."

"I only have enough money for the swimming trunks, Mokuba," Jou pointed out. "I don't have-"

Mokuba waved his hand, silencing Jounouchi. "I got this."

"No way, kiddo. If Kaiba knew how much you were spendin' ta bring me along in the first place, he'd-"

"Ergo, he doesn't need to know. It's my own account, Jounouchi. I'm allowed to spend the money how I want. And I'd rather spend it on having a friend comfortably go on vacation with me than on other things right now."

Jou slowly put his wallet back in his pocket. "I owe you for this," he whispered, though Mokuba didn't seem to hear him. There was no way Jounouchi could afford to take a full week off of work, so Mokuba had agreed early on to compensate Jou for his time, much to the blonde's frustration. Mokuba waved it off then, just as he waved off buying swim trunks now, leaving Jou to wonder, How someone so nice could be the younger brother of such an asshole, I'll never know.

The two soon made their way towards the back of the store, past the bikini tops and bottoms to the men's swimwear. Mokuba immediately began picking out some new trunks, and Jounouchi himself looked at a few pairs to see what he wanted. Wondering what kind of swim trunks Kaiba would be wearing made Jounouchi's cheeks turn pink for a brief second, but he quickly shook the thoughts away.

Get used to it, he thought as he finally picked out a pair of black trunks with bright orange and yellow stripes down the sides. Not like he'll be in the water a whole lot, anyways. I mean, let's be honest, dude'll probably hole himself up in his room the whole damn time.

"Those look cool!" Mokuba exclaimed, approaching Jounouchi. "What other pair you getting?"

"I thought you were getting the second pair."

"It's buy two, get one free," repeated Mokuba, rolling his eyes at Jou. "I already have a few pairs at home and just wanted something new for the occasion. You get the second."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

Jounouchi sighed and continued looking, avoiding gazing at the price tags as best he could. He knew these were nice pairs of swim trunks, meaning they would cost a pretty yen. Picking out a second pair, this one bright yellow with green stripes at the cuffs, he nodded and held them out to Mokuba. "Look good?"

"Heck yeah. Let's try them on first, then we can decide."

"A'ight." Finding a single changing room in the back, Jounouchi nodded for Mokuba to go first and plopped down in a nearby seat, sighing heavily.

Wearin' dis in front of Kaiba is gonna be super odd… Grumbling, Jounouchi thought, And Mokuba knows it, too.

Mokuba had approached Jounouchi on the blimp with his naive smile, asking why he was staring at Kaiba so hard in the window. Jounouchi blew it off, stating he was looking outside, but Mokuba's smirk indicated he knew better. It wasn't until after Kaiba's duel with Ishizu Ishtar that Mokuba was able to grab him for a minute, since while Mokuba was young, he certainly wasn't dumb. Apparently Jou let his gaze last a few seconds too long watching that duel, too.

Jounouchi thought that would be the end when Mokuba called him out on his having a crush on Kaiba, in private of course. He had hidden his sexual orientation from the gang all that time, and now, his crush's younger brother was not only aware of his orientation but knew of his secret crush, his crush happening to be an asshole who treated him like shit every step he took. He thought it was over, that he would be the laughingstock of the trip. And he couldn't even fathom what Kaiba's reaction would be.

It shouldn't have been a shock, given Mokuba's kind-hearted nature, but instead of blabbing his secret to the world, Mokuba had sworn himself to secrecy. He had asked simple questions, like why Jou didn't ask Kaiba out, but Jou made it clear he knew it would never work between the two. He just thought Kaiba was really good-looking. That was it. Mokuba had nodded, pinky-swore his secret, and promised to keep quiet. Jounouchi waited for the news to accidentally pop out, but it never happened. Even two and a half years later, Mokuba had yet to break his promise. Yuugi and the gang still didn't know, and Jou's father was none the wiser. Kaiba himself never made any comments, indicating his ignorance of the situation. It made Jounouchi respect the kid. More than respect. Admire. Mokuba proved to be a great friend to have.

So inviting him to this beach vacation, where he knew his crush would be in swim wear? Not what Jounouchi had quite expected from the younger Kaiba.

Mokuba burst through the doors and smiled over at Jounouchi. "These fit!" he exclaimed. "Your turn. I'll grab sunscreen in the meantime."

"A'ight," he repeated, standing from his seat. Entering the single room, Jounouchi quickly changed out of his shirt and jeans and into the swim trunks. He had to admit, he himself looked pretty good. Jounouchi biked to work each day, avoiding the daily transit fees, and his legs and stomach were pretty well toned from it. Sure, his arms still looked a bit lanky, but hey, he didn't look terrible. No bruises from school fights certainly help, too, he reflected.

Trying on both pairs and finding that they fit, Jounouchi exited the room and found Mokuba grabbing three bottles of sunscreen, all of varying SPF. Mokuba glanced up upon sensing him and smiled. "They good?"

"They good," Jounouchi answered.

"Awesome. Then let's get some sunscreen and get out of here."

"When are we headin' out for the beach?" asked Jounouchi as they approached the counter.

Mokuba placed all the items on the counter, including Jounouchi's trunks. "Next Tuesday. We're leaving 8am sharp, per Nii-sama. He's driving us there. We'll get to the hotel by 11:00, check in and unload stuff, then grab some lunch." He turned to look up at Jounouchi. "I'll give you the address to our house, or I can arrange for a taxi to pick you up."

"Taxi will work," Jounouchi responded, not liking the idea of biking with two bags' worth of gear.

Mokuba nodded, and Jounouchi couldn't help but feel a bit guilty as the price showed up on the register. Without hesitation, Mokuba pulled a card from his own wallet, a Duel Monsters wallet with the Blue Eyes White Dragon on it, and handed it to the clerk. Grabbing the bag and his card once the payment went through, Mokuba bounced out of the store, with Jounouchi following close behind.

Once they exited, Mokuba turned and smiled. "You are excited to go, right?" he asked. "I know I keep asking, but I also know it's a little awkward for you."

"No worries, Mokuba, I'll be fine," Jounouchi answered. "So long as your brother doesn't pick any fights, I won't either."

Mokuba nodded. "And I do mean what I said when I first invited you. Seto really likes his private time. And I know that's good for him, but it leaves me soooo bored in the hotel. We're gonna have so much fun on the boardwalk just hangin' out. I highly doubt you two will be interacting a whole lot."

"We can go and do our own thing," Jounouchi agreed as they started walking once more. "Like ride some roller coasters or somethin'."

Mokuba immediately shook his head no, his eyes widening. "Oh no. No no no. No roller coasters for me. That's all Big Brother there."

Jounouchi recoiled ever so slightly. "But don't ya fly around in that dragon jet with yer brother?"

"Yeah, 'cuz he's driving. Plus I try not to ever look down."

"And Kaiba likes roller coasters?"

"Why do you think we have so many of them at KaibaLand?"

Looking forward with wide eyes, Jounouchi blinked twice and thought, Well shit. Maybe this'll be more interestin' than I thought it would be.