Author's Note: Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay in posting this. I want to say first that I'm not going to abandon this story. I have a ton of it planned out and several future chapters prewritten. So the story isn't going anywhere, it's just going to take a bit more time than anticipated. Long story short, things got hectic at work, and I can only handle a few projects at a time. Work and learning Spanish are unfortunately taking priority, but I will try to update the story at semi-regular intervals.

Thank you for all the support messages and responses!

Chapter 12:

Jou remembered a time in high school when Tristan and he went out for pizza. It was the fourth time that week, and now, years later, Jou couldn't remember exactly what the occasion was to constitute for so much pizza. But Tristan had made an off-hand comment about the blonde spending too much money, and that if he wasn't careful about it, he would end up like his father someday.

Jounouchi hadn't spoken to him for a week.

It took a long night, two full pizzas, and a discussion involving Anzu and Yuugi as mediators to calm Jounouchi down. And even then, he held a grudge against Tristan longer than he cared to admit. Tristan repeatedly said he was sorry, that he should've been more careful with his words, and Jounouchi knew at the end of the day that Tristan hadn't really meant what he said. Despite this, Jounouchi couldn't fully let it go and it had changed the group. All throughout high school, he remembered his friends avoiding the topic of his father, as they knew how grated and irritated it would make him.

As Jounouchi washed his hands in the bathroom, he reflected on how easily Kaiba's logic had disarmed his anger as compared to his friends' compassion. An odd revelation, especially when before, even with his crush, the brunette's stoicism would drive him absolutely mad. Sure, there were other factors that made it easier to temper his emotions. Jounouchi was older now. He had a job. There were steps being taken to get away from Pops. But even just a few months ago, he remembered Yuugi avoiding a conversation that would have led to a discussion of Jou's dad. Kaiba had walked right in, settled on Jou's private turf, then logically disarmed him. And...it had worked. No apologies required.

He looked at himself in the mirror. Tanning from the sun, dressed in his usual clothes, and his blonde hair somewhat dampened from sweating outside. Someone whose friends couldn't convince him to secretly forgive someone for over a month, but who could be talked down from an argument with a series of facts by a longtime crush.

Either Jounouchi wasn't being his usual self, or Kaiba was much more persuasive than he cared to admit. Or, more probably, a combination of the two.

He sighed and began running the hot water again. Smiling at the memory of the coffee shop that morning and of Kaiba's words, he wiped his face down, hoping he wasn't blushing. His rival and crush observed that he was doing his best to get away from his home situation. That in and of itself was enough to make the whole vacation worthwhile, and Jou still had four days to go. It was what made him decide that morning, after finishing his iced coffee, that he was going to make the best of this situation.

The reason Jou had never really attempted going after Kaiba all these years was simple. Their economic backgrounds were too wide, and Kaiba was a straight-up prick with no heart. But in less than three days on the beach, both of those reasons had been flipped. Kaiba was acting differently here. Almost kindly. Kaiba wasn't so heartless, that much at least was clear. And Jou's lack of money wasn't stopping him from participating in things with the Kaiba brothers.

Maybe Jou had a chance to impress the CEO. And maybe, just maybe, even if they didn't end up together, Jou could at least consider the brunette a good friend by the end of this trip. Something worthwhile that meant he was closer to Kaiba than he ever thought would be possible. So wiping his face down and looking himself over once more, he smirked and thought, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna go after Seto freakin' Kaiba.

It was a stupid plan. It would probably fail. But by doing what he was already doing, he had managed to have a heart-to-heart with the ice cold bastard. In three more days… Who knew where they would be.

Jounouchi wouldn't do anything odd or out of the ordinary. Certainly making overt moves wasn't an option. He would just keep doing what he was doing. But his mentality would change. Because despite all our differences, Kaiba's only making me like him more on this trip. So why the fuck not? You only live once, right?

Wiping his hands on a paper towel, Jou quickly exited the bathroom.

"So...Nii-sama?"

"Yes?" Kaiba took another bite of the slice of pizza, a slice that was easily larger than his entire face, before wiping his hands on his second napkin and returning his attention to his little brother. The slice of pizza looked absurd in Mokuba's hands, but the teenager was devouring it with no signs of slowing down. Jounouchi had excused himself to use the restroom after destroying his own slice, though Kaiba anticipated the blonde was planning to order a second slice upon his return.

"What did you mean this morning when we left the hotel?" asked Mokuba. When Kaiba frowned in confusion, he continued, "About Jou asking you about what you wanted to do?"

Kaiba shrugged his shoulders. "That was just him prying yesterday. No need to worry yourself about it."

"When did this happen?"

"At the beach. While you were spending all your time looking at the weather report…" Kaiba made sure his expression indicated his disbelief at the notion before continuing, "He kept pestering me, asking me what I wanted to do while on vacation."

Mokuba giggled and chewed another bite of his slice. "And...what did you say?"

Kaiba again shrugged. "That I was happy with the idea of you making our schedule, and that if something came up that I was seriously invested in doing, I would simply do it. Simply what you and I went over multiple times before planning this trip."

Mokuba smiled and took another bite of his pizza before sipping at a cup of soda. "You know he was just doing it to be nice, right?"

"I understand he meant well," Kaiba answered. "But it was more than a bit annoying."

"Is there anything you want to do, Nii-sama? Like, specifically?"

"Ride that new roller coaster they installed," Kaiba stated, chuckling as his younger brother shivered in his seat. "Don't worry. If the mutt doesn't want to tag along, I'll ride it myself." Kaiba recoiled slightly in shock as Mokuba's eyes widened at the statement. "What?"

"You...were gonna ask Jou to go on the rides with you?" Rather than annoyed, Mokuba seemed perplexed by the notion.

"We'll all be there together," Kaiba noted, confused by the awe that was evident in Mokuba's expression. "And yes, I presumed he would spend the majority of his time with you, but I wasn't going to purposely leave you two alone and just meander about by myself." Taking a sip of his own drink, he frowned at Mokuba's remaining shocked expression. "What?"

"I'm just...surprised!" Mokuba exclaimed. "I mean, I'm happy you're thinking of including Jou in our plans!"

"Have I not been doing that since we arrived?"

"No, I mean, well, I guess you have been. But most of it has just been going to the beach or the arcades."

"And that's different from asking if he wants to ride roller coasters how?"

Mokuba chuckled, a wide grin crossing his lips. "I guess it isn't so different. After all, Jou followed you around most of the time this morning, didn't he?"

Kaiba scoffed, taking another bite of pizza to avoid blushing at his brother's outburst of laughter. "I don't know...what that blonde's problem is…" Kaiba remarked, sipping at his drink to properly digest his food. "But I thought he came along to play games with you?"

Mokuba raised his hands in an innocent gesture. "I didn't tell him to do anything!"

"Uh huh. Sure."

"Seriously, Nii-sama! I didn't!"

Kaiba frowned, reading Mokuba's honesty in his facial expression. It was true, though. Jounouchi had followed Kaiba practically everywhere around the arcade. At first, it was just dumb luck. Kaiba wanted to play the same shooting game Jounouchi did, and it was 2 player, just like last time. Then Kaiba wanted to do a motorbike racing game...and Jou did, too. By the fourth game, Jounouchi was picking video games out for them to play, Kaiba having conceded that he wasn't getting rid of the blonde without absolutely crushing him in a game. Unfortunately for the CEO, Jounouchi wasn't half bad at arcade games. Mokuba had trailed for a bit to intercede and dragged Kaiba off for a few rounds of air hockey [which Jounouchi had watched with rapt fascination], but rather than spending time with Mokuba, Jou had chosen to spend the majority of the time in the arcade losing to Kaiba.

Kaiba thought it was a prank pulled by Mokuba. Mokuba's hand gesture and stunned expression told him otherwise.

"Uh oh, what's goin' on?" Turning in the booth, Kaiba watched Jou slide into the seat next to Mokuba. Jou pointed at Mokuba's raised hands, then smirked over at Kaiba. "What'd I miss?"

"Nii-sama's blamin' me for you picking all his video games," Mokuba explained, slowly lowering his hands as he did so. "You can vouch for me, right? I didn't tell you to follow him around."

Jounouchi laughed at the accusation, though the blush spreading across his face caught Kaiba's attention all the same. Shaking his head, Jou turned and pointed at Kaiba. "Nah, Mokuba didn't ask me to do anythin'. I didn't mean ta tag along the whole time, though."

"Then why did you?"

"What, did it bug ya? Seriously, you just have good taste in arcade games. You kept pickin' all the games I wanted! And besides, you let me pick the games near the end."

"Because you wouldn't stop following me around." Taking another sip of his drink, Kaiba asked, "So that's really what happened?"

"That's really what happened."

Finishing his slice of pizza, Kaiba slowly sipped the remainder of his drink, watching as Mokuba and Jou began discussing where they were going next. They had agreed to forgo the racing karts on the second floor of the arcade for another time, and it was clear from their conversation that Mokuba wanted to get in a few rounds of mini-golf. Kaiba set his cup down and grabbed their trays, tossing the trash out and meeting the two at the entrance to the restaurant [with Jou relenting that he'd wait to get his second slice after a round of golf]. He quickly put on his sunglasses and took advantage of the dark lens to look directly at Jounouchi.

If it wasn't a prank, then I just spent an entire morning playing arcade games with you, he thought to himself. And...I can't even say I hated it. The trio began making their way down the wooden planks of the boardwalk, but Kaiba kept his gaze focused on Jou's general direction.

Either he was trying to tell me through actions he appreciated the talk this morning...or he sincerely wanted to spend time with me. And which one is better, I wonder… Kaiba mentally sighed. One mystery solved, only for a new one to appear. How could such a dumb blonde be so much trouble?