So this is my first Yu-Gi-Oh! story. It's, obviously, Wishshipping, but I think Jou and Yuugi are really a cute couple and there aren't enough stories dedicated to them. I'm giving it a cautious T rating for Jou's impure thoughts, but it might reach an M if I can bring myself to write a lemon without burning up with blush.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!. If I did, there would be some major differences and the show probably wouldn't be shown on children's networks.

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Jou loved Yuugi in the summer when they only saw each other on the weekend because they both worked during the week. Those were the times Jou basked in the presence of his friend and crush. Sometimes they would go to Honda's and swim in his pool, and Jou would try so hard not to ogle Yuugi in his swim trunks.

"Let's play Chicken!" Anzu suggested one Saturday afternoon as the four of them jumped into the pool. "Yuugi and I will ride on Jou and Honda's shoulders."

"Sounds good," Honda nodded. "Come on, Anzu, let's show them what we can do."

"Uh," was the only thing Jou could come up with in rebuttal.

"Scared?" Honda cocked an eyebrow and that was all Jou needed to hear to get his blood boiling.

"In your dreams," Jou rolled his eyes.

Yuugi and Anzu climbed out of the pool and sat on the edge waiting for the other boys to come over so they could get on their shoulders. Jou swallowed as he allowed Yuugi to settle his knees on the sides of Jou's neck, and Jou made sure to hold tightly to Yuugi's calves. Anzu took a little more time obtaining balance on Honda's shoulder's because there was more of her upwards than there was of Yuugi. Eventually, though, she stopped swaying and Honda and Jou made their way to the deepest part of the pool where they could still stand.

Anzu grabbed Yuugi's arms and they began to wrestle. Jou kept his arms tightly wrapped around Yuugi's legs, knowing that there was no way Yuugi was going to tumble from Jou's shoulders if he had any say in the matter. He had never thought of being between Yuugi's legs in this fashion and he promptly pushed that thought out of his head along with the one that remarked at how soft Yuugi's legs were. Above his internal war, a battle was being waged, and Anzu was putting up a fair fight, but Yuugi (who had probably gained some upper body strength from lifting boxes every day for half the summer) had the upper hand. Yuugi gave a final push and the girl tumbled from Honda's shoulders into the water.

"What's wrong with you?" Honda demanded of Anzu when she had resurfaced. "We should've kicked their butts."

"He's getting strong!" Anzu defended, looking up at Yuugi.

Jou wondered why she was looking up at his short friend when he realized Yuugi was still sitting atop his shoulders.

Yuugi lightly tapped Jou on the head. "I think I'm ready to come down now."

"You do?" Jou figured it was best to laugh off this awkward situation. "I'm really not sure you are."

"Jou," Yuugi said warningly.

"Yuug'," Jou mimicked Yuugi's tone and abruptly let go of him, sending his friend toppling, with a shout, from his shoulders into the water.

Yuugi emerged, spluttering with his arms crossed over his chest. He glared at his friends who were laughing at him, but finally had to join in the laughter because he knew just how he looked when drenched. Jou had memorized every second of Yuugi's actions—from his rising out of the water, hair cascading down his shoulders, to the pout that graced his features for a mere moment before glaring at his three companions, to way he finally threw his head back and had a good laugh with them. It was official: Jou was hooked.

The four teens swam in Honda's pool for a couple of hours until his parents came home and said it was time for dinner. Anzu said she had to go anyway for a dance class and said goodbye to each of the boys after getting dressed. Jou and Yuugi stayed just long enough to dry off and change before heading off to Yuugi's place, rushing to catch their bus. They disembarked and meandered down the street to the Kame Game Shop.

"You're going to come for dinner, right?" Yuugi looked up at Jou.

"Well," Jou began with the full intention of declining the offer.

"You could even stay the night. It's Sunday tomorrow so you don't have to worry about getting to work," Yuugi persisted.

"Great idea," Jou's resolve crumbled under Yuugi's amethyst orbs. "Is it okay with your grandpa? I wouldn't want to impose."

"It's not an imposition, you know Grandpa likes having you around," Yuugi waved his hand.

"If you say so," Jou rolled his eyes.

"Katsuya, so nice to see you," Sugoroku greeted the blonde when he and his grandson entered the living quarters by the game store.

"Hey, Gramps," Jou grinned at the older man.

"Grandpa, is it okay if Jou stays for dinner?" Yuugi requested.

"Of course," Sugoroku beamed at his grandson.

The three males ate dinner and Jou kept them entertained with stories about his job working as a busboy at one of the most expensive restaurants in Domino. After dinner, Yuugi and Jou raced to the sitting room to play board games. Yuugi had just bought the new version of the Game of Life and Jou could not have cared less what they played as long as Yuugi was happy. Jou lost spectacularly, as usual, but Yuugi tried to make him feel better by not revealing his final score.

"You know, Katsuya," Sugoroku mused, "if you were a young lady spending this much time with my grandson, I'd have to wonder about your intentions for him."

Jou had no verbal response for this remark and hoped his blush was not too visible in the dimly lit room. Yuugi came to Jou's rescue and shouted at his grandfather. "Grandpa! You can't just say something like that!"

"I was just kidding," Sugoroku chortled.

"Well, it's weird to joke about that," Yuugi shook his head. "We're going to set up the sleeping bag in my room now. Come on, Jou."

"Night, Gramps," Jou mumbled, unable to look him in the eye.

"Good night, boys," Sugoroku watched the two march upstairs.

"Sorry about Grandpa," Yuugi shook his head and unrolled the sleeping bag on the floor. "He can be so strange sometimes."

"It's no big deal, Yuug'," Jou shrugged. "Maybe he has a point."

"Like what? Like I need to get a girlfriend?" Yuugi wondered, flopping back on his bed.

"More like I need to get a girlfriend and stop hanging around you so much," Jou teased, but he waited, holding his breath, to see how Yuugi would react.

"It's bound to happen one of these days," Yuugi sighed. "You're going to get a girlfriend and you'll be too busy to spend any time with me."

"Ah, come on, Yuug', you know that'll never happen," Jou was not sure how to interpret Yuugi's response, but at least he had not gone on and on about girls he liked. "I'll always have time for you."

"You'll never let a girl come between us?" Yuugi looked sceptical.

"A girl come between us? I'd like to see her try. Maybe in a skimpy bikini…" Jou trailed off and waggled his eyebrows.

"You're hopeless," Yuugi hit him in the head with a pillow.

"I'm serious, Yuug', no girl could get my attention away from you," Jou paled at the words as they came out of his mouth.

"Okay," Yuugi gave him another disbelieving look and Jou just hoped Yuugi had not picked up on the strange wording of Jou's last comment.

Jou wanted to insist, to convince Yuugi of the truth of his statement, but that would have been weird and possibly jeopardized Jou's deeply hidden secret. Yuugi was getting together his pyjamas and Jou realized he had none of his possessions there and would have to sleep fully dressed or in his boxers. At home, Jou slept in just pyjama pants, and, really, how different were boxers from those? Only, at home, he was not sleeping near the person he desired to know on a much more carnal level. The only thing for it was to sleep in the clothes he had been wearing all day.

When Yuugi returned from the bathroom wearing his pyjamas, he gave Jou an odd look. "You're going to sleep in your jeans?"

"Yeah, well," Jou fumbled around in his mind for an explanation. "I don't have anything else to wear."

"You're going to be warm," Yuugi predicted. "That sleeping bad is a portable sauna."

"I'm fine," Jou waved off his friend's concern.

"If you say so," Yuugi gave another look of consternation and climbed into his bed. "So, what's the best part of your job?"

"The food. Not that I eat it much, but with a fifty percent discount, I get myself a nice meal on payday," Jou thought it might be nice to take Yuugi to the restaurant one night.

"And you're happy working there?" Yuugi looked interested.

"I'm not saying it wouldn't be nice to not have to work so hard, but it's not a bad job," Jou shrugged. "The staff is pretty nice. Except for the manager—he's snooty."

"Hmm," Yuugi frowned.

"Hey, it's not so bad. Everyone else is great. No one treats me like a punk kid," Jou said, looking on the bright side.

"That's good," Yuugi nodded.

"How 'bout you? You still like working for Gramps? I'm sure I could get you a job at the restaurant if you needed a change of pace," Jou offered, joking.

"The game shop is a great place to work. It's not like I have a choice, but Grandpa does give me breaks when I need them. We tag team throughout the day," Yuugi explained.

"Bet it helps the shop's reputation that the King of Games works there," Jou observed.

"Oh probably," Yuugi agreed. "But I'm sure that thought only briefly crossed Grandpa's mind when I turned sixteen and was old enough to be put to work."

"Wish I had some title to draw people to the restaurant. Maybe they'd give me a raise," Jou chuckled.

"Do you need some extra hours, Jou? I'm sure Grandpa wouldn't mind having you come over and do inventory or something," Yuugi looked concerned.

"Nah, Yuug', I was just joking. I'm doing fine," Joe hurried to reassure his friend.

"If you're sure," Yuugi continued to appear worried.

"Relax, I get by," Jou grinned at Yuugi who smiled in return. "Now, I'm going to turn off the lights. If I die trying to get back to my sleeping bag in the pitch dark, know that…I'll haunt Honda and Ryuji from the grave if they try anything with Shizuka."

"Got it," Yuugi laughed.

Jou turned off the light as he promised and waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, it was helped by the moonlight that trickled through the slats in the blinds. It made the room dappled and Jou looked around at the strange sight, eyes landing on Yuugi whose cream-coloured skin fairly glowed in the light. The breath caught in Jou's throat as he looked at Yuugi who tilted his head in an adorable fashion and asked a question Jou did not catch.

"Jonouchi?" Yuugi said his friend's name.

"Sorry. The room just looked weird and I was taking in all of it," Jou explained hastily.

"Oh," dark brows came together and then moved apart. "I guess it does give an eerie quality to everything."

"Yeah," Jou, glad Yuugi had fallen for his excuse, hurried to get into his sleeping bag. "Have a good sleep, Yuug'."

"You, too, Jou," Yuugi nodded and nestled into his pillow.

Jonouchi laid awake for thirty minutes becoming warmer by the second. Yuugi had been right—the sleeping bad was a little hot box. Wriggling out of the sleeping bag, Jou removed his socks, jeans, and even his t-shirt before wriggling back into it. He made himself comfortable and fell asleep at a very nice temperature. In the morning, Jou awoke, stood, stretching his arms wide, and turned to face Yuugi's bed where the other still slept.

"He looks so peaceful," Jou thought to himself and sat on the edge of the bed, gently moving a stray chunk of blonde hair out of his friend's face.

"What's going on?" Yuugi mumbled and Jou nearly fell off the bed. "Jou? Why are you on my bed?"

"Looking for my socks," Jou came up with that one quickly enough. "Better view-point from up here."

"Oh," Yuugi's sleepy brain did not hesitate to accept the reason and Jou grabbed one of his socks. "Glad you found them."

"Yeah," Jou nodded and proceeded to dress. "So, Yuug', what's on the agenda for today?"

"No idea," Yuugi yawned and pulled clothes out of his dresser. "Get breakfast into me and maybe you'll get a coherent thought out of me."

"You get dressed, I'll go down and forage," Jou decided after Yuugi had removed his pyjama top, flashing Jou a perfect view of his chest.

"Sounds good. Are you okay?" Yuugi looked at Jou as he ran into the side of the bedroom door. Yuugi hastened over to see if Jou needed medical attention.

"I'm fine. Had something in my eye," Jou muttered, feeling Yuugi's body pressing against his shoulder while Yuugi ran his hands gently over Jou's face.

"I don't think anything's broken, but what do I know? As long as you're not bleeding, I guess there's nothing we can do," Yuugi shrugged.

"Great, yeah, I'm going to go down and get something started for breakfast," Jou bolted from the room.

Jou reached the bottom of the stairs and mentally beat himself up over how he was behaving—like a little girl around her idol. He needed to collect himself and keep calm, but it was so hard when Yuugi was running around without a shirt on and touching him. Heading to the kitchen, Jou was surprised to not see Sugoroku there, but he set to work whipping up some eggs and bacon he found in the fridge; Jou may not have been a brain surgeon, however he could make a mean Sunday morning breakfast.

"Wow, Jou, you're really good at this," Yuugi remarked when they were both seated at the table. "You should sleep over more often."

"Like I could handle it," Jou said to himself. To Yuugi he just said, "I think my old man might have some problems with that."

"Right," Yuugi looked pensive.

"Smells great in here. Yuugi, you all of a sudden learn to cook?" Sugoroku laughed to himself as he entered the kitchen.

"No, Grandpa, it was Jou," Yuugi pouted at his grandfather's teasing. It was another image Jou saved in his memory bank.

"Well, well, Katsuya, they do say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. You may yet win Yuugi's affections," Sugoroku's latest comment had Jou choking on his bacon.

"Grandpa! I thought I told you last night that those jokes aren't funny!" Yuugi thumped Jou on the back. "You've upset Jou."

"I'm fine," Jou said for the second time that morning.

"Have some of my orange juice, it'll help wash down the bacon," Yuugi offered up his own glass, noting Jou's was empty.

"Thanks," Jou's voice was hoarse and he gratefully sipped at the juice.

"It's going to be another hot day, boys," Sugoroku seemed oblivious to the commotion he had caused. "Hot and sunny. You two should spend it outside."

"Sure, Grandpa," Yuugi agreed, still looking upset over what his grandfather had said.

The teenagers finished their breakfasts before the older man and headed outside into the sunshine and hot weather. Jou felt kind of grubby in his clothes from the day before and wondered if it was worth risking meeting his father at their home to change. Yuugi, however, seemed fine in his customary leather ensemble and was chatting about some additions he had made to his Duel Monsters deck.

"You know, Yuug', you should let me take you to dinner at the restaurant tonight. They paid me Friday and I do get that discount," Jou reminded.

"Sure. We'll tell Anzu and Honda about it and make it a group outing," Yuugi suggested.

"Actually, I can only afford to take one of you guys," Jou knew it was sort of a lie, but at least, this way, he could delude himself into thinking they were on a date.

"And you want to take me?" Yuugi gave Jou a look the blonde could not interpret. Jou nodded and Yuugi's face broke into a smile. "Cool!"

"Why don't we call it a day for now (I'm going to go home and change) and meet up at the restaurant at seven?" Jou proposed.

"Yeah," Yuugi consented. "I'll see you later."

"Seven sharp. I'll make reservations," Jou called as Yuugi walked back toward the Kame Game Shop, Yuugi just waved his agreement.

It was six fifty seven that night and Jou was waiting outside his place of employment for Yuugi to join him so they could walk in together. Jou was nervous. He kept glancing at his watch and jiggling his leg, wishing Yuugi would hurry up and get there. This was, potentially, the stupidest thing Jou had ever done in his life and it felt like the second hand on his watch was ticking down his impending doom.

Finally, Yuugi came walking up and Jou had to pretend to crack his jaw to keep it from hanging down to his chest. Yuugi looked different from how Jou had ever seen him. Gone was the leather—he was dressed in a black suit with a striped tie and his trademark hairstyle was nowhere to be seen as he had tied his flamboyant locks down in low ponytail. It was not that Jou disliked the leather…he probably liked it too much…he just was surprised at how soft Yuugi looked in the suit.

"Don't stare," Yuugi whined. "When I told Grandpa where I was going, he told me I had to dress up to eat here."

"Gramps is out to get me," Jou groaned inwardly. Outwardly, he grinned. "Hey, I'm practically dressed for shift. If we go in there and they try to put me to work, save me. Okay?"

"Okay," Yuugi nodded.

"Good. Now, let's go stuff ourselves," Jou opened the door for Yuugi and they approached the maître d', Jou smiling broadly at the man. "Hello, Stefan."

"Katsuya, I didn't think you worked on the weekends," Stefan looked at him quizzically.

"I have reservations for me and a friend," Jou indicated Yuugi.

"How nice," Stefan led them to a table. "Enjoy your meals."

"Okay, Yuug', order whatever you want. Remember, it's only half what it says on the menu and it's my treat," Jou instructed.

"Right," Yuugi pursed his lips as he perused the menu and Jou had to wrench his gaze away to look at his own menu.

"Good evening, gentlemen," a young woman, Chika, came over to place water in front of them and take their orders. "Katsuya, you don't often eat here. Special occasion?"

"Just out for dinner with a friend," Jou shrugged and silently begged her not to probe any further. "Are you going to stand there or take our orders?" He teased.

"Geez, I was just trying to take an interest in your life," she smiled and put her hands up in surrender. "What can I get you and your friend, Katsuya?"

"Yuug'?" Jou looked at him.

"Well, I was thinking I'd have the salmon," Yuugi began.

"No appetizer?" Jou frowned at him.

"I'd, um, rather have dessert?" Yuugi seemed to ask instead of say the last part.

"You can have all three," Jou rolled his eyes. "I told you, have whatever you want."

"All right," Yuugi looked a little nervous. "Then I'll have the spinach and artichoke dip and the grilled salmon."

"That's better," Jou said, satisfied. "I'll have the chicken spring rolls and the sirloin steak."

"I'll be back," Chika took their menus and hurried off to the kitchen.

"So, what do you think of the place?" Jou asked Yuugi.

"It's really fancy," Yuugi tugged awkwardly at a button on his jacket. "And everyone calls you Katsuya. What's that about?"

"That's what you do at a fancy place. Can't have them calling me Jou, too informal," Jou explained. "It's kind of weird, at first I barely realized they were talking to me, but I'm used to it."

"Shall I start calling you Katsuya now as well?" Yuugi put on a snooty-sounding voice.

"You can call me whatever you like as long as you're moaning it," Jou flushed at that thought and shook his head. "Nah, Jou'll do."

"All right," Yuugi laughed.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, Yuugi sipped on his water and Jou tried not to watch Yuugi sipping on his water. Chika arrived a few minutes later with their appetizers and told them to enjoy their meals. Yuugi picked up the pita that came with his spinach and artichoke dip, carefully scooped up some, and nibbled at it.

"So, how is it?" Jou wondered. "I've never had it before."

"It's really good," Yuugi passed the plate and bowl over to Jou. "Try it."

"Okay," Jou could not have said no if he had tried. "That is good. Thanks."

"No problem," Yuugi beamed. "How are your spring rolls?"

"Uh uh," Jou joked, "you're not getting your hands on my food."

"That's not what I meant," Yuugi blushed. "I was just wondering if they were good."

"I know," Jou chuckled. "You can have some if you want."

"No, thanks. If I'm having a three-course meal, I need to pace myself," Yuugi shook his head.

"Like one bite of a spring roll is going to hurt you," Jou cut off a piece of a spring roll and speared it on his fork. "Come on."

"Okay," Yuugi leaned over the table and ate the bite of spring roll off the fork. "It's good."

"Glad you like it. I always get these when I eat here," Jou wiped his fork with a napkin.

"Scared I have cooties?" Yuugi raised an eyebrow.

"Frankly, yes," Jou teased. "Never know what kind of antics you get up to when I'm not around. Whose saliva you've sampled."

"That's gross," Yuugi wrinkled his nose. "Don't put it like that."

"Well, who have you locked lips with?" Jou was unsure why he was putting himself through this torture, but the question slipped out of his mouth and could not be retracted.

"You know well enough I haven't kissed anyone," Yuugi grumbled. "And now you're going to go on and on about how far you got with Mai or any girl from our grade."

"Nah, Yuug', I won't do that," Jou told him honestly.

The fact was, Jou and Mai had shared some kisses and he had fooled around with some of the girls in their grade, but none of that mattered. Those feelings he had had for Mai or the attractions he had had for girls in various classes were drops in the bucket compared to what he felt for Yuugi. Yuugi could melt Jou's heart with a smile and reduce Jou to nothing with an unhappy expression, so Jou would not rub his friend's face in his experience.

"Thanks, Jou," Yuugi gave him a small unhappy smile that managed to melt Jou's heart and reduce him to nothing at the same time.

"Hey, man, it's no big deal. Kisses and junk don't mean anything unless they have some feeling behind them. You don't want to go kissing everyone around and muddy the waters," Jou advised.

"Yeah," Yuugi did not seem convinced, but Jou felt the topic had run its course.

Luckily, Chika came along to save the moment and gave them their entrées. "Here you go, boys."

"Thank you," Yuugi smiled at her.

"I'm going to go wash my hands," Jou declared and headed for the washroom.

"Katsuya," Chika pulled him aside when he left the men's room.

"What's up, Chika?" Jou wondered, not wanting to leave Yuugi alone for too long.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Chika asked, obviously trying not to giggle.

"Boyfriend? What? Why?" Jou could not even come up with a snappy retort.

"You two are so cute together. You were feeding him!" She squealed.

"No, Yuugi is my best friend," Jou tried to keep the bitterness in his voice to a bare minimum.

"Shame," she shook her head.

"Anyway, I'm going to go back to my friend. See you later, Chika," Jou went back to his table and sat down across from Yuugi who had obviously waited for him before starting to eat.

"Took you long enough. I was about to send out a search party," Yuugi laughed.

"Sorry, the manager wanted to talk to me about my shift tomorrow. It doesn't matter. You should start eating," Jou urged.

"I wanted to wait for you. I thought it was polite," Yuugi began cutting into his salmon.

"Thanks, Yuug'," Jou smiled and attacked his steak with his fork and knife.

After that night at the restaurant there were more sleepovers and more days in Honda's pool, but no more sneaky dates. Yes, Jou loved Yuugi in the summer even though they did not see each other as much as they would have liked. Jou loved Yuugi all year long.

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Okay, this has been checked and double-checked for spelling and grammar errors, but if you see any, please let me know. This is my first time using their Japanese names so please forgive me if I've accidentally used their dub names. I hope you liked it. I would appreciate constructive criticism as flames will just be used for roasting marshmallows for my sister. Please, R&R!