Chapter Fourteen

The first time that Jou fell asleep at the Kaiba mansion was a total accident. It was mid-May, and spring had arrived full force, bringing with it the promise of summer as the city dragged itself out from its winter coma. It had been after dinner, and he'd been laying on the couch, waiting to start his duel with the kid, who had run up to his room to send a quick email, but conking out somewhere in the first five seconds he'd decided to close his eyes.

It wasn't until a few hours later that he startled awake.

He glanced around the room, confused as hell, as he tried to piece together where he was. The den was dark other than a floor lamp in the corner. It was one of the smaller rooms in the mansion, sandwiched at the end of the house, but one of the most cluttered, walls lined with bookshelves packed with enough books to keep someone occupied for three lifetimes over.

Dragging his legs over the side of the couch, he propped himself upright, putting his hands over his face and breathing deep as he tried to wake up. Someone had put a blanket over him, probably the kid, and he folded it to the side, forcing himself to his feet, stretching towards the ceiling before grabbing his phone from the table, checking the time – 4:32 am.

Great. Bus pick-up didn't start up by the Kaiba's until six.

He glanced back at the sofa, half tempted to just go back to sleep, but half ready to piss himself if he didn't get to the bathroom. The hallway was silent as he stepped outside, running a hand through his hair as he made his way down the hall. He slowed when he spotted the light from Kaiba's office running across the floor. There's no way…He stopped, listening to the tell-tale clack of keys. Son of a bitch.

Poking his head in, Kaiba was dressed in the same clothes he'd been in at dinner, eyes trained on the screen in front of him. He didn't look any worse for wear, but when he raised his eyes a moment later, he could spot the tell-tale shadows of an all-nighter even from the doorway.

"What?" Kaiba said, though the snap lacked its usual bite.

Jou stepped into the light of the office. "I fell asleep on the couch," he said, leaning against the door frame. "What the hell are you doing up?"

Kaiba sat back in his chair.

Well, that's new. Despite months of dinners together, he could count on one hand the number of times he'd gotten Kaiba's full attention.

"What?" Jou said.

"I'm debating the fastest way to get you out of my house," Kaiba said.

Jou rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he said. "You'd be fucking lost without me at this point."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "Excuse me?"

"Mokuba has been acing every subject since I started hanging with him," Jou said. "He stopped smoking and sneaking out, and he's going to those fancy ass college classes this summer."

"If you want a medal, I suggest you try Mutou. I'm sure he and Mazaki will be happy to make up a cheer for you," Kaiba said.

Jou shook his head. He shifted, stepping into the office and leaning back against the doorframe. "You know, the world's not going to stop spinning if you were actually not an asshole for five seconds." He closed his eyes. Fuck it; he just wanted to go back to sleep. "I'm just saying."

"I don't do civil," Kaiba said.

Jou stifled a yawn. "Please."

"Please, what?"

"You're nice to Mokuba," Jou said. "And, I'm pretty sure you can't be a total dick to everyone you gotta do business with."

Kaiba was frowning at him across his desk.

"What?" Jou said, yawning as he met Kaiba's glare. "Don't tell me I hurt your feelings?

"I'm debating if calling the cops to escort you off my property will be worth the media circus on my front lawn tomorrow morning," Kaiba said.

"Hate to break it to you," Jou said, "but it already is morning." He pointed to the clock on the wall – ten of five. "You always work this late?"

Kaiba looked at him.

Jou rolled his eyes, clearly he'd exceeded his two minutes of allotted conversation time. "Forget it."

Shifting forward in his chair, Kaiba dropped his eyes, fingers flying across the keys once more.

Once an asshole, always an asshole. Jou straightened from the wall, taking a step back into the darkness of the hallway, pausing as he heard the quiet exhale of Kaiba's breath. He looked up at him, meeting Kaiba's eyes over the computer screen.

They stayed like that for a breath maybe two, and for a second, Jou thought he would actually get his answer, but Kaiba dropped his eyes back to his computer, the clacking of the computer keys resuming as he turned on his heel and down the hallway.

The smell of barbecue stopped Jou at the front door of the Kaiba mansion. He squinted, turning back towards the driveway, the sky streaked with the beginnings of sunset. It was early-June, and the weather had warmed, bringing with it the heat of the summer sun, a crap ton of new projects at work, and an AC bill up the fucking wazoo. He shoved his hands in his pockets, taking a deep breath, stomach growling as he caught another whiff of someone grilling close by.

He walked down the steps, cutting across the lawn and to the path leading around the side of the house. The grounds of the mansion were flawless, trees and flowerbeds running the length of the pathway and dripping from a recent watering.

It was quiet as he made his way towards the backyard, the silence punctuated only by the hiss of the grill as he reached the back of the house. The Kaiba's chef, a full-figured redhead with a Southern accent, was standing at the grill, a spatula in hand.

Jou stepped onto the back patio, a stone monstrosity that stretched well beyond the back of the mansion before splitting around the pool with a pathway branching off to the maid's house. The Kaiba's were nowhere to be seen as he mounted the steps of the deck, crossing into the kitchen and scaring the shit out of one of the maids as he said hello and poked his head into the dining room.

Mokuba was sitting at the dining room table, chin propped on his fist as he stared down at his phone.

"What are you doing?" Jou said.

The kid jumped, frowning as he looked up. "You scared me. Did you come in through the front door?"

Jou stepped through. "I came around back. I smelled dinner," he said. "Why are you inside?"

Mokuba raised an eyebrow, giving him a look so reminiscent of Kaiba that Jou actually felt his stomach turn.

"Where's your brother?" Jou said.

"He's at work," Mokuba said.

Jou shrugged. Kaiba has been AWOL for the week, tied up with some project at his office. "Well, let's go," he said.

The kid frowned. "Go where? Dinner should be done in a few minutes."

"Outside," Jou said. "Get your plate."

"My plate?" Mokuba said. He looked down at the china in front of him as if it might hold the answer to their conversation.

"Yeah," Jou said. He crossed the room, rolling his silverware and stashing his plate under his arm. "Come on. It's way too nice to be cooped up in here."

The kid looked at him. "You want to eat outside?"

"People do it all the time, kid," Jou said. He reached over, plucking the kid's plate from the table. "Grab your silverware."

A few minutes later, and after another confused conversation with the maids, who took twice as long as the kid to grasp the idea of actually using the table out on the deck, they were sitting outside, burgers, corn on the cob, and iced tea in front of them.

"I can't believe you guys don't eat out here," Jou said. He wiped his hands on his napkin, taking a long gulp of tea. "Why have a table out here if you're not going to use it?"

Mokuba shrugged. "I don't know," he said, between bites of burger. "We just always eat inside." He wiped the burger juice from his chin. "Seto would never eat out here."

"Why's that?" Jou said.

"To suburban for him," Mokuba said.

"Suburban?"

The kid downed the rest of his tea. "Mom cutting up watermelon, dad on the grill, the family dog running around," he said, setting down his glass. "He hates that stuff."

"Doesn't sound so bad to me," Jou said, raising an eyebrow.

Mokuba looked down at his corn. "Seems overrated."

"Maybe," Jou said, "but I sure as hell wished I had that kind of life when I was your age."

The kid looked up. "Really?"

"Come on," Jou said. "Everyone wants a family."

"You grew up with your dad though," Mokuba said. "And you have your mom and Shizuka."

Jou snorted. "Kid, my parents ain't exactly the prime picture of a family."

"Doesn't change it though," Mokuba said.

"Change what?"

The kid sat back in his chair, crossing his arms over your chest. "That you have them." He was silent for a moment, and Jou watched him, waiting for him to finish. "I can't even remember my parents."

"That sucks," Jou said. Though sometimes he'd wished for anything to help him forget the ten years he'd spent living along with his father.

Mokuba reached forward, rolling his corn across his plate. "It's not a big deal."

"It is a big deal," Jou said.

The kid looked up at him.

Jou frowned. "Just cause your brother acts like he doesn't give a shit about anything doesn't mean that you have to be that way."

Mokuba shrugged.

"You know, I tried being that way when I was your age, bottling all that shit up instead of dealing with it," he said. "My dad is a pretty shitty guy, and my mom took Shizuka and ran when we were kids, and instead of dealing with it and feeling it, I just got more and more pissed off. I'd probably still be that way if it weren't for Yug."

"But talking through shit," Jou continued, "even the shit you think doesn't matter – I don't know – it helps."

Mokuba picked up his corn. "I guess." But he seemed less than convinced.

"I'm just saying," Jou said. "If you want to talk, then do it."

The silence stretched between them, and the kid turned his corn between his fingers, considering the kernels before setting it back on his plate.

"Seto doesn't like to talk about them," Mokuba said.

"You're not your brother," Jou said.

"He says it's a waste of time," Mokuba said.

"Well," Jou said, holding up his arms and gesturing around the empty deck, "lucky for us, Kaiba's not here."

Mokuba wiped his hands on his napkin, wringing it in his hands. "I can't really remember very much anyway."

"You'd be surprised," Jou said. Even though his mom had split with Shizuka when he was a kid, he could still remember bits and pieces – the sound of her singing as she cooked dinner, sharing space with the shoes in her closet when he and Shizuka played hide and seek – snapshots of the life they used to share.

The kid shrugged, looking more nervous than anything.

"You don't gotta if you don't want to," Jou said. "I'm just saying, if you want to…"

Mokuba let out a quiet breath.

"I'm here," Jou finished.

"I'll think about it," Mokuba said, and as he picked up his corn, Jou wondered how much different the Kaiba's might have turned out with two parents looking after them.