• 1-Prologue
• 2-Chapter 1
• 3-Chapter 2
• 4-Chapter 3
• 5-Chapter 4
• 6-Chapter 5
• 7-Chapter 6

Title: Wish (2/9)



Author: WhosJeebus



Rating: NC-17



Pairing(s): Joey/Seto, scads of others, & even a few surprises



Beta: Jennie B.



Spoilers: None



Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!, but if someone wants to give it to me as a Christmas gift, I certainly won't argue about it...



Summary: Seto won't be home for the holidays, but can Joey's friends and family manage to show him a holly jolly time, anyway? Sometimes, Christmas miracles can happen in the most unexpected of ways...

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Chapter 2:

(7 days 'til Christmas)

Joey had been banging around in the kitchen for well over an hour when Mokuba finally came down the stairs that morning, and he greeted the eighteen year-old's puzzled look with a cheerful smile. "G'mornin', Sunshine! How 'bout some breakfast?" Mokuba raised one questioning eyebrow, and Joey's grin quickly morphed into a petulant frown. "Aw, c'mon... I made it myself!"

"That's what I'm afraid of." Mokuba peered over Joey's shoulder, closely examining what appeared to be a casserole dish full of... something. It may or may not have had eggs in it. "You want me to eat ~that~?"

"Just give it a try, will you? I'm sure it tastes better than it looks."

"I'm more concerned with the way it smells. I'm thinking about throwing up on it to make it more appetizing."

Heaving a loud, put-upon sigh, Joey dumped his breakfast creation down the garbage disposal and then poured Mokuba a glass of orange juice. Handing it off to the grinning teen, he seated himself at the counter and continued poring over the massive stack of cookbooks he had accumulated there. He mumbled to himself constantly, pausing in his reading every now and then to jot down a few hastily scribbled notes.

Mokuba sipped his juice and observed these proceedings with interest, eventually discerning that Joey was attempting to put together some type of traditional holiday menu. "I don't know how many times I've said this to you since you moved in, but you ~do~ realize that we have people to do that for us, right?"

Joey looked up from his studies, just now noticing that Mokuba had decided on green streaks in his ebony locks today, probably in honour of the holiday season. He actually missed the purple, just a little bit. " I know, but I'm a do-it-yourself kind of guy, and there's a certain satisfaction in eatin' a meal prepared by your own two hands," he shrugged. "Or so I've been told. Besides, it seems kinda Scrooge-y to ask the kitchen staff to come in on Christmas day just because you and your brother are a couple of hopeless bachelors."

Mokuba took a playful swipe at Joey's arm and asked, "Today's breakfast disaster aside, can you actually cook?"

"I dunno. Guess we'll find out."

Laughing, Mokuba dumped his empty glass in the sink and hefted himself up to perch on the edge of the counter. "I just hope you do a better job than Seto did the one year he tried to make Christmas dinner."

Joey's head shot up again, his mouth agape. "Hold the phone! You're tellin' me that Seto ~Kaiba~ -- ~our~ Seto... tried to cook?"

Mokuba nodded smugly. "Yep. It was about three years or so ago, I think. Remember the Christmas when you competed in that charity exhibition tourney in Prague? You were having a rematch with Zigfried, and out of nowhere, all the tabloid shows started reporting that you and Ziggy were an item. Seto flew into this huge, fucking rage when he heard about it, and he threw every employee in the mansion out on their ear and told them not to come back until after New Year's. He was storming around the place and breaking shit for ~hours~. I even hid in a closet for a while."

"Me and Baron Von Pink Hair?" Joey shuddered. "No thanks, he's not my type."

Mokuba grinned cheekily. "Ziggy's not anybody's type. Guy totally broke my gaydar the first time I met him."

"Heh. Him and Pegasus need to duke it out for the title of 'Queen of the Duel'. All I did was meet the guy for dinner and agree to let bygones be bygones." Joey thought back for a moment. "Come to think of it, I bet that prick was actually tryin' to hit on me a couple of times..."

"Well, even ~I~ could tell you wouldn't have touched that skank with a ten meter cattle prod, but you know how Seto can be when he lets his temper get away from him." Joey nodded in silent agreement. "I came out of hiding when he'd finally worked off his hissy fit, and suggested that maybe we should try to find someplace that would still be open for dinner. I mean, it was Christmas, and neither of us had eaten anything all day long. But the stubborn ass insisted on doing it himself, bitching about how the cook had already taken care of all the preparations and that it couldn't be ~that~ hard to do. For a genius, he can be pretty fucking dense sometimes." Mokuba rolled his eyes fondly. "He seemed to think it would be quicker, and more efficient, to ~broil~ the damn turkey, and he wouldn’t listen to a word I had to say on the matter.” Mokuba leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, “If you look closely at the southeast corner of the main kitchen, you can still see the scorch marks."

Joey laughed uproariously at Mokuba's tale, gasping for breath and making several futile attempts to bring his mirth under control. When he'd finally managed to get hold of himself, his brain rebelled by picturing the expression on Seto's face when confronted with a flaming turkey, and he went off into gales of laughter once again.



Mokuba had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from joining him. Seto was going to ~kill~ him when he found out that he'd let ~that~ particular cat out of the bag. "We managed to put out the fire by ourselves, and Seto even had the balls to scoop the remains out onto a platter and try to serve it. That poor bird was all black and crumbly, and for a minute there, I was afraid he was going to make me eat it anyway. Thank God he's not ~that~ stubborn."

"Seto will go a long way to prove a point, but I don't think he wanted to have to eat that turkey any more than you did." Joey blinked, as an idea had suddenly occurred to him out of the blue. "Hey, Mokie... you took home economics last year, so why don't ~you~ help me make Christmas dinner?"

"Not a chance. You're on your own."

“I’d offer to pay you, but it’s not like fifty measly bucks is gonna make an impression on your spoiled ass, is it?”

Mokuba merely winked at him and hopped off the kitchen counter to rummage around in the refrigerator for something edible. As he leaned over to take a good look at the bottom shelf, Joey caught a glimpse of something black and shiny underneath Mokuba's uniform jacket. Narrowing his eyes, he leaned back in his chair and asked casually, "Uh, Mokuba? You wanna tell me what you're wearin' under your school uniform there?"

Mokuba tensed his shoulders and then turned around to face Joey. For a moment, it looked like he wanted to start an argument, but then he simply sighed and unbuttoned his jacket to reveal a skin-tight, black vinyl halter top, complete with zip front.

Joey shook his head. "I know I'm not your mother; hell, I'm not even your brother, but I feel obligated to mention that you know damn well they'll send you home from school if they catch you in that. Just like they did when you tried to wear those pink leather hot pants in gym class, remember?" He reached over to place a comforting hand on Mokuba's shoulder, only to have the younger boy shrug out from under his touch and fix Joey with a malevolent glare. The blond swallowed nervously and tried again. "Look. You know that ~I~ don't have a problem with you bein' so open about your sexuality, but Seto's already taken away your drivin' privileges for the next month, and he's gonna flip his lid if he gets another phone call from your principal."

Mokuba slammed the refrigerator door hard enough to rattle the glassware in the cabinets above. "So? I'm eighteen years old, and he has no right to try to tell me what to do anymore! If I had access to my trust fund, I'd go buy my own fucking car! Besides, I'm sick and fucking tired of trying to hide who I am just so it doesn't make other people uncomfortable! Let the homophobic bastards go ahead and suspend me for all I care! They can't stop me from being proud of who I am!" Despite all the bluster, Mokuba's face crumpled and tears began welling up in his storm grey eyes. "It's just not fair..."

Joey had been taken aback by Mokuba's outburst at first, especially during the brief moment when all that fury had been directed toward ~him~. However misplaced it may have been, the younger Kaiba's ire was no laughing matter. At eighteen, Mokuba had exceeded even Seto's height by a few inches, and when angered, he was a force to be reckoned with. Joey had played peacekeeper and referee between the two brothers often enough to learn that fact first hand. This, however... this was a different situation altogether. Joey had the distinct impression that the hurt he saw reflected in Mokuba's eyes ran far deeper than your average, everyday teenage rebellion.

He stood up from his seat and pulled the sniffling teenager down into a firm embrace. "Hey, take it easy, kid. I'm not tryin' to give you a hard time about anything, y'know? You're an adult now, and I trust you to make your own decisions about stuff like this. I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were settin' yourself up for. I got no intention of rattin' you out to Seto, so just calm down and talk to me, OK?"

Mokuba swiped one hand angrily across his eyes, and then pulled back from Joey's arms, hiding his face in shame. "I'm sorry, Joey. I didn't mean to blow up at you over something so stupid. Forgive me?" Mokuba felt horrible for lashing out like that in anger. Seto had emailed him from Hong Kong just last night, asking him to be extra considerate of Joey during the holidays, and here he'd already gone and broken his word the very next morning.

"Nothin' to forgive. Now pull yourself together and tell me what this meltdown is ~really~ about. All this fuss wouldn't happen to be over Seto's not comin' home this week, would it?"

"This isn't the first Christmas he's missed, and it certainly won't be the last. I'm used to that by now. It's just..." Mokuba trailed off, averting his eyes. "Joey... I've been seeing someone for the past four months. Like, ~seriously~ seeing him, and now I'm not sure what I should do."

Joey was confused. "Do? Are you wantin' to break it off?"

"No! I -- I really think I'm in love with him, but I've been a stubborn idiot about some things, and I'm worried that he may be ready to give up on me by now."

Joey grabbed Mokuba by the hand and dragged him into the nearest parlor, shoving the teenager down onto a plush leather couch. "Sit. Spill."

"But... I have to get to school --"

"Screw that. It's just a half day anyway, and if Seto wants to give me shit over it, then he knows where to find me. There's more to life than perfect attendance." Joey plopped down on the ottoman in front of where Mokuba sat. "Now talk. And for the record, any guy who gives up on a sweet catch like you has ~got~ to be retarded."

Mokuba suppressed a wide grin behind his hand. He was actually starting to feel better already. Joey probably didn't even realize it, but he usually had that type of effect on people. "Want me to start at the beginning?"

"Start at 'when dinosaurs roamed the earth' for all I care; just get to the good part fast."

Shifting around a bit to get comfortable, Mokuba launched into his tale. "When I was fourteen, I told Seto that I thought I was gay. You know some of this already, I'm sure, but other than giving me the big 'sex talk' that day, he also warned me to be circumspect about my 'preferences', as he phrased it. He told me that he didn't want anything to happen that might tarnish the Kaiba name, or find out that something I did could be used against us by the media." Tears threatened again as Mokuba's voice rose an octave, trembling slightly. "My own ~brother~ asked me not to make him ashamed of me, and I listened to him! For Christ's sake, I actually thought he was ~straight~!" Mokuba barked out a harsh laugh, leaning his back against the leather cushions wearily. "Then, he got together with you, and even though I'm happy for you both, ever since the day he told me you two were dating, part of me has wanted to spit in his face and call him a fucking hypocrite."

Joey rose up onto his knees and crawled onto the sofa to take Mokuba in his arms once more. "Mokuba... I don't know what to say. I have about a zillion questions..." He squeezed the younger boy tight. "Why did you keep how you felt bottled up all this time? Why haven't you told us about this mystery man before now? Did you think that we would disapprove or something?"

Mokuba rested his head on Joey's shoulder and took a deep breath. "I guess I've just felt more like punishing Seto with my behaviour than trying to fix things between me and... the guy. He's been begging me to be more open about our relationship, and I keep putting him off with lame excuses. We had this ~huge~ fight about it yesterday, and we both said some awful things to each other. I know it sounds completely stupid, but I think I've just been waiting for Seto to find out somehow and confront ~me~ about it. Maybe give out to him a little bit for making me feel ashamed of myself for so long." He chuckled darkly and pushed back from Joey's embrace. "Deep down, I probably just wanted to be the one preaching from the moral high ground for once, but in doing that, I think I may have ruined the first meaningful relationship I've ever had. I've been blaming Seto for everything, instead of taking responsibility for my own actions."

"Mokuba, I'm not gonna lie to you. Your big brother can be one hell of a self righteous jerkwad when he wants to be, and even though what he said sounded ~awful~, I don't think that's how he meant it."

"I don't understand."

Joey hopped up from the couch and began to pace back and forth across the marble floor in agitation. "Seto's very protective of you. Like, to the 'rabid dog' extreme, if you know what I mean. He went about it the wrong way, but those things he said to you when you were fourteen... he was just trying to shield you from some of the ugliness that's out there." Joey stopped shuffling around the room and turned to look Mokuba in the eye. "When he finally came out publicly about his relationship with me, it was only after we'd ~both~ discussed it for a good, long while. He even told me that he hoped the media would focus on us and leave you the hell alone. More than anything, he just wants you to be able to live your life in peace. If there's one clear thing I've learned about Seto over the past year, it's that he's always thinkin' of the ones he loves first and foremost, no matter how harsh his methods may seem to be. I finally figured that out for myself, but I've only been in your lives for a fraction of the time that the two of you have been on your own. Maybe you're too close to see it, but he's never been ashamed of you, and he'd never intentionally hurt you like that unless he was tryin' to shelter you from something that he thought would be even worse." Joey sat down and blinked at Mokuba expectantly, wondering if his words had sunk in, or if the other boy would merely resent him for meddling in 'family' business.

"Jesus. Parenting 101; who knew Seto had it in him? Are you sure you're not my mother, Joey? Because you sure act like it sometimes."

Grabbing Mokuba in a headlock, Joey growled fiercely and proceeded to treat him to the noogie of a lifetime. "You little smartass! I get enough of that crap from your brother!"

When smacking Joey in the head with a couch cushion seemed to have no effect, Mokuba thrashed around uselessly for a bit before raising his hands in surrender. "I give! Cut it out!" Panting, they both collapsed back onto the sofa, grinning maniacally at each other. "Thanks for cheering me up, Joey. I think I might need to have a long talk with Seto when he gets back; maybe clear the air a little."

Joey's eyebrows climbed his forehead in surprise. He'd certainly never listened this well to anyone when ~he'd~ been a rowdy teenager. "I think that's a good idea, but don't you think you should have a chat with this fella of yours too?"

"Definitely. Now that school's out for the holidays, I'll get to spend more time with him, anyway." Hearing his own words out loud, Mokuba chewed nervously on his bottom lip, worried that he may have hurt Joey's feelings. "I mean... I'll be around here plenty, too. I don't want you to be on your own for Christmas or anything..."

"Don't concern yourself with me, kiddo. Who am I to get in the way of young love?" Joey clutched his heart and fluttered his eyelashes outrageously. "I've just come up with the perfect idea, though. Why don't you bring your boyfriend by for Christmas dinner? That way, I can decide whether or not I approve of him before Seto gets back and puts him through the third degree. Plus, the two of you can be my guinea pigs. Uh, I mean the two of you will get to sample my delicious culinary advances."

"Joey, I love him. I don't want him dead."

"Har Har." Joey reached up and tugged at a lock of unruly black hair. "Just for that, I'm gonna tell some of the most embarrassing ‘widdle Mokie’ stories I can think of. Maybe even whip out an old photo album or two."

Mokuba just grinned broadly. "You're sorely mistaken if you think that's gonna drive my guy away. He's seen it ~all~."

"I don't really like the sound of that..."

"Trust me, you'll love him." Mokuba bounced up from the couch and straightened his rumpled clothes. "Since I get to play hooky today, I'm gonna head to the mall and finish up some last minute Christmas shopping. Can I borrow your keys? Seto didn't say I couldn't drive ~your~ car, after all." He gave the blond his most engaging smile.

Grumbling, Joey fished around in his pocket until he came up with his key ring. Placing it gently in Mokuba's open palm, he groused, "I hope to God you become a lawyer someday, 'cause I've never seen anyone who could work a loophole quite like you Kaiba boys."

Mokuba tossed a wave over his shoulder as he headed for the garage. "Thanks, Mom!"

Stamping his foot in irritation, Joey didn't really help his case by shouting, "You drive careful out there, do you hear me? The snow plows haven't gotten to all the secondary roads yet!" Falling bonelessly onto the nearest piece of furniture, he reflected on the absurdity of playing the mother figure to a boy only four years his junior. "Kid's probably smarter than me anyhow, " he mumbled to himself, stretching. He was surprised at how much listening to Mokuba's problems had distracted him from his own, and he felt a tiny bit of holiday cheer creep back into his heart when he realized that the younger Kaiba trusted him enough to introduce him to his boyfriend. No family was perfect, he mused, but together, they would make the most of what they had; dysfunctional or not.

Joey propped his feet up on the ottoman and closed his eyes. He was certain that preparing the perfect holiday feast must be a daunting chore, one that would likely require several days of advance food preparation, not to mention plenty of meticulous planning and rest. Yawning, Joey settled back on the comfy divan for a quick nap. Best to get started on that right away.

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tbc

Author's note:

Items used in this chapter:

* (1) A flaming (accidentally on fire) main course of turkey, ham, or fish, or lamb, or (insert well seasoned animal part here) during a dinner or lunch.

Word Count:

3459 this chapter / 6795 total thus far