Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-gi-oh.

Summary: Jonouchi expects Kaiba's return to spice up his dull summer a little. What he doesn't expect are weird phone-calls, and Kaiba's behaviour getting gradually stranger every day.

Warnings: Violence, grievous bodily harm (not very explicit, but it's there in later chapters)

Notes: I am not sure whether to use suffixes like -kun or not. I kept them in, but if they bother you, please let me know.

Jounouchi loved many things about his new job at the ice cream booth. First, he got to spend a big part of his summer in one of the most beautiful parks in Domino. Second, he could enjoy the hot weather without ever getting too hot (although having cold hands wasn't exactly comfortable either). Third, many children considered him their hero and liked to hear about his experiences in various tournaments, which was why his job was rarely actually boring.

Except on days like today.

With a sigh, he raised his head and looked up to the grey sky. It wasn't really cold (otherwise he would have gotten the day off), but it was definitely too gloomy for hoards of children to be surrounding his booth. Not to mention that it had already rained in the morning, and wet grass did not attract many picnickers.

Usually, in case of boredom, he called one of his friends over, bribing them with free ice-cream, but unfortunately, none of them was free today. Yugi had promised to come after work at five, but he still had to find something to do until then.

The chances of selling anything got even worse when it suddenly started to rain again. Not heavily, but enough for the few potential costumers to leave and seek shelter.

I'm sure it will be over soon, Jounouchi thought hopefully. Barely a minute later, the rhythm of raindrops against the big parasol above him quickened.

Great.

Frustrated, Jounouchi took out his phone and looked for the time. Less than four hours to go. Maybe he should call his boss and ask whether he should just close down the place. It didn't appear as though that it would clear up any time soon.

"What a nice day for business, isn't it?"

"Hmpf," Jounouchi made. And then he froze.

Slowly, he raised his head, and indeed, none other than Kaiba was standing there right next to him, not even looking at him, arrogant prick that he was, but rather facing the same direction as he did.

Jounouchi gritted his teeth and tried his best to remind himself that they had parted on friendly terms. More or less.

"Long time, no see?" he said a bit awkwardly. That wasn't entirely true in his case, as he'd seen Kaiba often on TV, but he had to admit, he'd changed a little bit in the past few months he'd spent in America. Or maybe it was just the absence of his enormous coat; he wasn't used to seeing Kaiba in a simple dark suit.

"Right" was the simple answer.

They stood and watched the rain.

"So... you want to buy some ice cream?" Jounouchi asked, because he didn't quite like the silence, and because he was an opportunist. "Or are you here to talk about the good old times?"

Finally, Seto turned his head in his direction, and after some seconds he replied drily, "I think it's quite obvious why I am here." He made a lazy gesture towards the sky.

"Well, but I'm selling ice-cream here. You can't just stand here under my umbrella without buying anything." Jounouchi tried again. Not that he would actually force him to leave; he wasn't that much of an asshole.

Kaiba grunted, and for a second, Jounouchi was sure that he would just leave, probably using his briefcase that looked kind of heavy (but maybe that was just because it was large and made of steel) as a shield from the rain, out of sheer stubbornness.

"Fine," he finally said. "I'll buy one."

"What flavour?" Jounouchi asked in a cheerfully professional manner, trying to ignore Kaiba's dark expression.

"Strawberry."

oooo

In the few weeks he'd been selling ice cream, Jounouchi had never seen anyone eating their ice cream in such a stiff manner. Children often smeared the cream all over their faces; most adults looked relaxed while eating ice cream.

Clearly, Kaiba wasn't one of them. He gripped the cone hard enough to make it crack a little, and his face remained impassive the whole time. On the other hand, though, it wasn't that big a surprise that didn't quite enjoy it; he looked really tired, with his face pale, and dark shadows beneath his eyes.

"When did you come back?" Jounouchi asked in another attempt at disrupting the silence. Kaiba wasn't the most fun company, but he was company, and Jounouchi wouldn't just waste it while it lasted.

"This morning."

"'This morning'," Jounouchi repeated incredulously. "Shit, Kaiba! You should go and get some sleep!"

"My company never sleeps," he said darkly. "Besides, it's none of your business."

Jounouchi knew that he should probably find a creative retort, but instead he started grinning. "Man, for a second I thought someone had brain-washed you into some nice and quiet guy. Good to see that you're still yourself."

"You would have liked that, huh? Is that why you stared at me for ten minutes straight?"

Jounouchi's ears turned red. "Why, you arrogant-"

Kaiba raised his hand in a placatory gesture. "I think I should go now. It stopped raining."

Jounouchi merely acknowledged it with a grunt, but then he reminded himself that he was supposed to be a bit more mature, now that he was in his final year.

"Hey, Kaiba!"

The CEO didn't turn around, but at least he stopped.

"Don't be a stranger, okay? I'm sure that Yugi... and the others will be happy that you and Mokuba are back."

He bit his lip, waiting for a disdainful remark, but Kaiba didn't say anything. In fact, he didn't even show any reaction. Which... was good? Jounouchi decided to be optimistic.

oooo

"And then I told him that we could meet up some time," Jounouchi said, before taking another bite of his burger.

Yugi and Anzu, who had just finished her shift at the burger joint, but still not changed out of her uniform, just stared at him.

"Bwat?" Jounouchi brought out, then swallowed hurriedly. "What?" he repeated, slightly defensively. It had made him feel mature, and he wanted validation

"Nothing," Anzu said quickly, waving her hand apologetically. "I'm just surprised that Kaiba-kun didn't say no."

"Well, he didn't really say yes either." Jounouchi shrugged, but Yugi just smiled.

"He has changed a lot since we first met him, right?"

Jounouchi nodded absently. To be quite honest, he didn't think Kaiba had changed all that much. Surely, he had become a bit more normal, but not exactly much nicer. Not towards him, at least. But then he reminded himself that Yugi definitely thought of Kaiba as a friend, and if he was honest with himself, he did so too. Not a good friend, though. A fire-forged friend, with emphasis on fire. He didn't really like him that much, but he couldn't say he didn't care at all. And somewhere, deep down, Kaiba probably felt the same way. At least Jounouchi hoped he did, because everything else would just be a proof of him being every bit as much of a jerk as he liked to pretend to be.

"What do you think, Jounouchi?"

"Huh?"

Anzu sighed. "He asked whether we should call him."

"I don't know," he said and leant back. "He looked kinda tired. I guess he has a lot of work to do."

"Still, I think it would be a good idea," Yugi insisted. "He'll always be busy."

"I'm sure that Mokuba-kun would also be happy about a reunion. How about next Saturday?"

Jounouchi's face fell. They had already made plans for Saturday – a movie night, just for them; him, Yugi, Honda, Anzu and Bakura. Juggling school and various jobs, they rarely had time to meet in their spare time. Of course he wasn't opposed to having Mokuba over, he was fun, but Kaiba?

And then Jounouchi felt like slapping himself in the face, because he knew that he really felt like an asshole for thinking that way.

"That's a great idea," he chimed in, a little more enthusiastically than intended. "I'm going to call him." Why the hell did I say that?

Yugi looked at him with slight doubt in his eyes, but then he nodded. "If he doesn't say yes, we could try asking Mokuba. He'll probably persuade him."

oooo

After walking Anzu to the dance studio, Yugi and Jounouchi got on the bus. They sat in silence, until Yugi tried to suppress a rather loud yawn.

"You okay, Yugi? It's not even seven o'clock."

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, rubbing his eyes. "We just had a lot of customers today, you know. A new game that is quite big in Europe has arrived. We're almost sold out. Grandpa promised to keep a copy though, so that we can play on Saturday.

While explaining the details of the game, Yugi considerably lightened up. He almost missed his stop.

Jounouchi gave him a small wave when the bus drove off. These days, he was a bit worried about his best friend. He seemed to cope well enough with the absence of the spirit, but he also appeared to feel the need to distract himself all the time. Maybe, it wasn't such a bad thing that Kaiba was back. Things certainly could become more exciting when he was around.

Not only for Yugi, he had to admit.