Sometimes you just gotta come up with headcanons that fuck with preconceptions.

That's how you figure out who a character really is.

We fall into a lot of patterns, but not everything is predictable.

.

"Wait. Hold on. You've never been on a plane? You?"

Now frowned, looking suddenly, thunderously serious. "Is this so surprising to you?"

"I just." Ryo rubbed at his chin, seeming to come to a new realization about something. "I suppose I just thought . . . I mean, with your father being such a momentous figure in multinational operations, he can't have had all his contacts come to him."

"Oh, Chichiue was on a plane every third or fourth day," Noa said, rather dismissively. "I think one of the main reasons I had an easier time with him than Aniki or Mokuba was because he spent the majority of his time away from the house. I spent most of my time around Hahaue and the house staff."

"I suppose I just assumed he would have taken you with him. At least sometimes."

Noa shook his head. "Hahaue insisted that I was not to be involved in Kaiba-Corp business until I was older. I don't know how old she meant for me to be before I stepped into my role. Whatever role she envisioned for me. But she seemed to believe that a preteen, at least, had no place in the business of arms."

Ryo shrugged. "I mean, I think she probably has a good point. She's probably right."

"Aniki, by contrast," Noa went on, "conducts most of his business remotely." Noa cleared his throat. "He's much more invested in the raising of Mokuba than Chichiue ever was in the raising of me." Ryo's face fell, but he didn't say anything. "I don't suppose I'd have a problem with taking a flight somewhere. Getting on a plane. As of right now, though, I find little purpose in it. Traveling is a part of life, or so I hear, but . . . given that I've had to piece together what life even is as of late, I don't know if I've reached that point just yet."

". . . I've traveled a fair amount," Ryo murmured, into the silence. "On planes, I mean. With my father. I don't know if I've ever properly understood the appeal, myself. If we're just using my experiences as a basis, then traveling mostly seems to be sitting in smoky hotel rooms, watching old soap operas or Sesame Street, and panicking one's way through the airport."

"At what point do you eat at a diner?" Noa asked. "I've always wondered about that part."

"Usually very early in the morning," Ryo said, "either because you have an early flight or because you missed a late one."

Noa considered this. "Is it good?" he asked, after a while.

"Quality?" Ryo asked. "No, absolutely not." He shook his head. "Is it worth it? Yes. Nothing you eat at 3AM is ever a good idea, but it's rare indeed that any other meal will ever be more satisfying." Something sparked in his eyes. "I know a place that runs 24 hours. I'll take you sometime. We don't even have to bother with a plane."

Noa's eyebrows raised. "Yeah?"

Ryo nodded. "You will come to a new understanding about the universe and your place in it. I promise."

"All right," Noa said. "It's a date."

Ryo stiffened. His face went a deep, deep red.

He very pointedly did not correct Noa.