Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Seto's First Christmas ❯ Bakura Got Ran Over By a Reindeer or Lethal Mistletoe ( Chapter 4 )

Title: Seto's First Chrsitmas 4/6
Author: Kris Ice
Beta: Katbcoll
Rating: PG-13
Pairing(s): SetoxJou
Spoilers: none
Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh or anything associated with it.
Summary: Seto has never liked Christmas, but this year is going to be a bit different.

On the 23rd, Seto didn't bother trying to stay out of the preparations. He knew that sooner or later, Ms. Aisu or Mokuba would drag him into them. As soon as they arrived at the center, Seto hung his trench coat on a hook by the door and asked Mokuba where he could be of the most help. The younger Kaiba had stared at him in surprise for a long moment before grinning and pulling him toward the stage. In the next few hours, Seto discovered he had an artistic flair with more than computers and machines. Under his brush, scenes seem to come to life. In the end, almost all of the painting was left to the tall brunette while the other's concentrated on getting the rest of the props ready. Every now and then, Seto looked out over the seating area where others were putting cushions and festive covers over the metal folding chairs. He raised an eyebrow when he saw that Bakura had joined the group of volunteers. It wasn't the fact that the pale boy was volunteering that surprised him. It was the fact that it had taken him so long to.

Seto was painstakingly working his way through a wall for the manger scene when a loud pop followed by a hissing noise caused him to drop and roll to the side. He caught a glimpse of a brown blur that sailed over his head. He jerked up just in time to see Bakura flattened by a large inflatable reindeer. The CEO winced when the silver haired young man reacted by rolling over and grabbing at his attacker. The sudden change in his hair and the manic gleam in his eyes showed that the darker half had snatched control. Teeth sank into rubber a moment before he realized that it was a balloon. The kids who had been setting up the reindeer under the careful eye of an older girl squealed and raced off the stage to save their poor balloon pet.

Bakura grinned at the kids before cackling. "Looks like I'm have deer for dinner tonight!"

Over the shouted protests, Bakura laughed before taking off running. The former tomb robber dodged around Tristan just as the brunette came into the room carrying a box of ornaments that had been found in a back room.

A small smile appeared on Seto's face as he watched other kids join in the chase, laughing as they tried to capture the elusive thief. They almost caught Bakura near the refreshment table, but he climbed up on the table and jumped off the other side, somehow managing not to knock anything over. The tall brunette couldn't help laughing as Bakura finally climbed a ladder to avoid his pack of pursuers.

Yugi walked over to the ladder, stifling his giggles. "It looks like they treed you, Bakura. What are you going to do now?"

The Spirit of the Ring grinned down at him. "Well, I could jump off, but I might break something. So I guess here is where I should try negotiating for my freedom. I toss down..." He glanced at the nametag on the painted on collar. "Donner here and you little monsters let me down."

The tricolor haired boy laughed before addressing the kids. "Well? Do you accept?"

The kids huddled up and talked in whispers for several long moments before a young black-haired girl stepped closer to the ladder. "Ok, we'll let you down as long as you drop Donner and help us fix him."

Bakura pretended to think about it for a moment before grinning. "Deal." He dropped the reindeer and the kids cheered. The balloon was grabbed and they hurried off toward the stage area while Bakura climbed down. When he reached the bottom, Yugi smiled at him. Noticing the look, Bakura snorted. "Don't think I'm getting all soft, Pharaoh-chan. Ryou'd be pissed if I hurt one of them."

Yugi's smile widened. "I was just going to say that you're good with kids."

Bakura snorted again, but turned to look to where the kids were gathered around the balloon Donner, trying to see how badly he was damaged. Fierce dark amber softened. "They deserve to have some fun."

Yugi nodded. "They've had so few good things in their lives."

The pair stood in surprisingly companionable silence before one of the kids called. "Come on, Ryou! You agreed that if we let you down you'd help us fix him!"

Bakura slipped away, letting Ryou take control. The lighter half smiled and jogged over to them. "So I did. Now, let's see what we can do."

As soon as the manger scene was finished, Seto again found himself at a loss. He wandered back stage to see where Mokuba had gone off to and found his brother in an argument with some other kids.

"Look, it's nine pipers piping and ten lords a' leaping," Mokuba repeated, sounding frustrated.

The dark-haired boy shook his head. "No, it's nine lords a' leaping, ten pipers piping, and eleven ... um..."

"The Twelve Days of Christmas is a partridge in a pear tree, two turtle doves, three French hens, four calling birds, five golden rings, six geese a-laying, seven swans a-swimming, eight maids a-milking, nine ladies dancing, ten lords a-leaping, eleven pipers piping, and twelve drummers drumming."

The two boys blinked up at the older one in the doorway. Mokuba grinned. "Thanks, nii-sama!" he cried before hugging his big brother. Soon, two dark heads were bent over a piece of paper while they wrote down which order each thing came in.

"I'm surprised you remembered all that."

Seto turned around to find Ms. Aisu standing behind him. He shrugged. "Mokuba used to sing it every Christmas and got frustrated when he couldn't remember all of them so I memorized it so I could help him out."

The woman smiled. "That's sweet of you."

Seto blinked, unsure how to take that comment, but before he could respond, Ms. Aisu swept past him. "Ok, kids. Everyone grab your gear. The stage is set and I want to go through at least one dress rehearsal for each play before tomorrow."

In light of the party the next night, Ms. Aisu encouraged everyone to leave early and get a good night's rest. Seto grabbed his trench coat and turned to call to Mokuba when he saw Tea heading over to Tristan with a branch of mistletoe. While he watched in amusement, Tristan ducked out of the way and tried to run, but found him self pinned between the tree and some of the Christmas decorations. The young CEO heard Tea laugh before she held the branch out to Tristan. After the brunette tentatively took it, Tea explained what she wanted him to do with it, using gestures to clarify her point. Since the young woman had her back to him, Seto wasn't sure what was up, but he did see Tristan relax and nod.

Tristan sighed in relief before chuckling. "You really scared me there for a moment."

Tea laughed again. "Why Tristan, I didn't know a big tough guy like you could be scared of a little ol' thing like me."

Tristan blushed with a sheepish grin. "Yeah well, mistletoe is a holiday lethal weapon."

Tea snickered again. "Oh, come on. It wouldn't have killed you." Looking up at her friend's face, Tea couldn't help laughing again. "I'm not going to, Tristan. You know I respect your preferences."

Tristan smiled. "Thanks. I mean, I care about you and all, but it would be like kissing my sister."

Tea reached up and hugged the taller brunette. "Well, in that case, big brother, I'll settle for a hug instead."

"I can live with that." Tristan gave her a hug before walking over to move the ladder over to the arched doorway that led to the hall with the bathrooms.

Tea grinned as Tristan hung the mistletoe branch in the center of the doorway. She had decided on that doorway since people would be going through it less than any of the others. That way, the tradition of hanging a sprig of mistletoe someplace could be honored without forcing people who didn't want to into kissing.

Seto chuckled and glanced around for his brother. Almost as if summoned, Mokuba darted over from the kitchen, a cookie in his had.

"Ms. Aisu said I can have one now since I helped make them." He looked up at his brother with pleading eyes, clearly wanting to devour the treat, but waiting to be sure it was ok.

Seto nodded, smirking as his brother grinned before biting off the gingerbread man's head. After a quick round of goodbyes, the group hurried out through the snow and ice to their cars and headed home. On the drive, Seto absently hummed along with the radio while Mokuba slowly ate his treat. It was silent so long, the older Kaiba thought his brother had fallen asleep, but a quick glance showed a pair of bright, blue-gray eyes watching him.

"Are you ok, nii-sama?"

Seto blinked in surprise at the question. "Why do you ask?"

Mokuba chewed on his bottom lip, trying to decide how to word his explanation. "I know you don't like Christmas, and I don't want you to make yourself pretend to like it for me." He looked up at the next red light and found his brother watching him closely. "I just want to be sure that you're ok with all this and that you are enjoying yourself."

Seto turned his attention back to the road as the light changed and drove in silence for a moment. "I am enjoying myself, Mokuba. I'm...glad you dragged me to the Center. It has been fun helping those who need it so much."

Mokuba smiled, not his usual "I-don't-have-a-care-in-the-world" smile. It was a genuine "Everything-is-right-in-my-world" smile. "Good, you need to have fun once in a while."

They finished the rest of the drive in silence. After a light supper, Seto tucked a half-asleep Mokuba into bed. He brushed his fingers through dark bangs and dropped a kiss on his forehead before pulling away. "Sweet dreams, ototo."