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A Christmas to Remember	By : DarkTemptations Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 2834 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh!, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Title: A Christmas to Remember 7/9

Author: Dark Temptations

Beta: Vash is my Angel

Rating: NC17 *angelic smile*

Summary: Seto Kaiba awakes the morning after his Christmas party to find himself somewhere... a little odd. He remembers the events that led up to his current predicament.

Author's Notes: The scene with the dancing elves is a special Christmas gift for my wonderful beta, Vash is my Angel. It is a thank you for the wonderful job she does on all of my fics.

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Dark Temptations Presents

A Christmas to Remember

Chapter 7

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The first thing Kaiba did on entering the festively decorated ballroom was check for mistletoe on the ceiling. The second thing he did was scan the room for his little brother. Although finding Mokuba in a room full of people was normally a difficult task, due to his height, it was made easier because of the Santa hat the boy had insisted on wearing. He was the only one in the room wearing one and it stood out like Rudolph's nose in a blizzard.

Kaiba approached his brother with careful planning; making sure to come up on him from behind so the boy didn't see him in time to get away. He placed his hand heavily on Mokuba's shoulder and muttered in his ear, "I want a word with you regarding a certain sprig of mistletoe." He noted the sudden tension in his brother's body with great satisfaction.

Mokuba looked at him and smiled weakly. "Uh... Hello, big brother." His smile turned to a stunned look as he spotted the kitten Kaiba was carrying. "Um... Seto... Why are you carrying that kitten and why is it blue?"

The brunette sighed. "He is a Christmas gift from Malik, Marik, Isis and Odion." Anyone who knew Malik and Marik would have realised that answered both questions. "Now about that mistletoe..."

The boy smiled and started petting the kitten's head, ignoring his brother. "He's really cute! You should name him something good, like Fang or Furball or how about Claws? Like in Santa Claws, since he's for Christmas and all." He grinned up at his brother.

"His name is Dragon." He wasn't sure why he said it. For some reason the name just popped into his head and emerged from his mouth without any conscious thought. But after he said it, he realised that he rather liked it. "Dragon." He petted the kitten as he said it firmly, naming him.

Mokuba groaned. "I should have guessed you'd name it that. You really are obsessed, big brother."

Kaiba raised an eyebrow and looked at the younger boy. "While you are very good at changing the topic." Mokuba tried to look innocent but Kaiba didn't believe it for a moment. "I want an explanation, Mokuba, and I want it now."

Mokuba sighed. "All right. But before I do... Did you notice the mistletoe or did someone point it out to you?"

The brunette arched an eyebrow. "Does it matter? The point is that I am not happy about this, Mokuba. Why did you do it?"

The boy bit his lip, then sighed again. "All right, I'll tell you. I made a bet with Tristan over whether you would notice it or not. He said you wouldn't and I said you would. I'm really sorry, Seto." He looked up at his brother, his eyes taking on a pleading expression. "Now will you tell me if you noticed it or not? Please!"

On the one hand, Kaiba was not pleased that his brother had done something so childish. On the other hand though... Mokuba was a child and it was not often that he acted his age. It was almost a relief to Kaiba to know that the boy had not yet grown out of such mischief. Of course, he would never admit that to anyone, especially not his little brother. Mokuba would get far too smug if he knew.

"You know I disapprove of gambling." Kaiba kept his voice stern, even though Mokuba's large eyes were starting to get to him.

"But it isn't for money! Really! If I win, Tristan has to be my servant for a week. If Tristan wins then I have to be his servant for a week. After school and all day Sunday. That was the deal. You always tell me that 'a man never backs down from a deal', right big brother?" Mokuba's eyes were now so big that it was a wonder he wasn't hurting himself.

"I see. He bet that I would not notice it, is that right?" Kaiba forced himself to ignore the look for just a little longer.

Mokuba nodded. "Yes. But I knew you would! I knew you'd either see it there or you'd figure it out when you started getting kisses. I was right, wasn't I?"

Kaiba took a deep breath. "I expect you to honour the deal in full and do everything that Taylor tells you. However, you are to be home by six each evening, for dinner, unless Taylor has made alternate arrangements with me." He risked a glance at his brother and was relieved to see that his eyes were back to normal again, just very sad.

"You didn't notice it? Seto! How could you?" Mokuba pouted. "I had all sorts of things I was going to get Tristan to do, too." He eyed his brother suspiciously. "You're not just saying I lost to punish me or something, are you? Because that really wouldn't be fair."

A slight smile curved Kaiba's lips. "Oh no, Mokuba. Your punishment will be something much worse than being Taylor's servant for a week. That is just a bonus." His wish for revenge for the mistletoe was very nearly satisfied by the worried look his brother gave him. Almost, but not quite.

"Um... Seto... Big brother... How are you going to... punish me?" Mokuba looked a little pale.

Kaiba smiled. It was the same smile he wore whenever he was about to close a deal or take over a company or do something so ruthless that other businessmen would be talking about it in hushed tones for at least a month.

Mokuba went a shade or two paler.

"Ryou gave us a box of gingerbread-men as a thank-you for inviting he and Bakura tonight. Your punishment is that you are not going to be allowed to have even one of them. I am going to enjoy them all by myself." Kaiba was quite pleased with the idea. It solved all his problems at one time. Mokuba would be punished, lightly although he would no doubt see it differently. He would also not be exposed, literally and figuratively, to the anatomically correct cookies. Last, but by no means least, Kaiba would not have to give up a single one of those delicious treats.

Yes, all in all, it was the perfect punishment.

Mokuba's eyes went wide again and then he pouted. "Seto! That's not fair! You know how much I love Ryou's cookies. I'm sure his gingerbread is incredible!"

Kaiba looked away, forcing himself not to react to those huge eyes. "It is perfectly fair. Besides, you told me two days ago that you hate gingerbread."

His brother sighed as he was neatly caught in a trap of his own making. "Maybe 'hate' was a bit harsh." He sighed again when his brother glanced at him and silently arched an eyebrow. "All right, big brother. I won't have any of the gingerbread men that Ryou made." He was still pouting.

Kaiba smiled a little. "Good. Come."

The boy frowned. "Where are we going?"

"To find Taylor and inform him of the outcome of your wager."

Mokuba groaned.

@-->-->----

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, what had started off as a simple conversation was rapidly becoming a heated argument.

"I tell ya, it is so possible for Santa Claus to climb down a chimney!" Joey glared at Bakura who glared back at him with red-tinged eyes, a sure sign that he was getting annoyed.

"Impossible! He is supposed to be some fat guy in a fur suit, right? Chimneys are nowhere near wide enough! He would never fit down one!" Bakura crossed his arms and looked smug as he prepared to make what he apparently considered to be the decisive statement. "Besides, how would he get back up again? Gravity only helps when you are going down."

Joey shook his head. "He uses magic. I thought everyone knew that?"

Bakura snorted in derision. "Magic? Ha! As if! There is virtually no magic in this world anymore. There has not been for centuries. The only magic still remaining lies in the Millennium Items." His hand rose to the gleaming gold ring hanging around his neck and he stroked it lovingly.

Joey took a step back and eyed the white-haired boy warily. "You know Bakura, seeing you caress it like that is really creepy."

A small smile curved Bakura's lips. "Why thank you. But flattery will not make me forget our discussion. It is impossible for Santa Claus to fit in a chimney."

Joey glared at him. "It is possible and I'll prove it! Come with me!" He stormed off into the crowd.

Bakura arched an eyebrow and smirked. "Well, this should be mildly amusing." He followed the blonde teen around the room to the massive fireplace. Although the weather was easily cold enough for the fire to be lit, Kaiba had central heating in his mansion so the fireplace remained cold and empty.

Joey smirked at Bakura. "I'll show you that someone can fit in a chimney. No problem! Just watch!" He leaned down and moved to stand in the fireplace, then carefully stood up, so his head and shoulders were inside the chimney. Even though he was slender, it was still a fairly tight fit for him. "See?"

Bakura frowned. "What is that supposed to prove? That you are an idiot? I already knew that."

"What? I can't hear you!" Joey's voice was very muffled.

"I said that you are an idiot!" Bakura's voice rose slightly above the noise of the party, causing more than a few heads to turn in his direction. Quite a few people chuckled over seeing him talking to a chimney.

"No I'm not!" Joey started to move. Then he paused for a second before moving more urgently. Then he stopped again. "I'm stuck."

Bakura burst out laughing.

As soon as he heard the laughter, Kaiba knew something had happened. He knew Bakura's laugh all too well and he knew that it never boded well for anyone. Leaving Dragon with Mokuba, Kaiba quickly scanned the party for signs of trouble and headed over to where a large group had gathered by the fireplace.

He heard Joey before he saw him.

"Hey! Bakura! Quit laughin' and help me out of here!"

Bakura ignored him and leaned against the wall as he continued to laugh.

Kaiba frowned as he looked around, unable to see Joey. Then he noticed that everyone was looking at the fireplace. No, not at it... in it. Pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to ward off the headache he felt building, the teen pushed his way through the crowd and glared at the boy standing inside his fireplace. "Wheeler! Get out of there!"

"Kaiba? Is that you? I would if I could. I'm stuck."

"Of course you are." Somehow, Kaiba wasn't even surprised by that information. He studied the situation for a second and then suddenly whirled around, frowning at the gathered crowd. "Well? Have none of you ever seen a boy stuck in a chimney before?" Within seconds the crowd had dispersed and Kaiba was able to get to the task of removing Joey from his fireplace.

Kaiba moved in closer to the blonde teen, stooping slightly so as not to hit his head. He put his hands on Joey's arms just beneath where the chimney started. "You need to come down, bend your legs."

Joey tried but his shoulders were well and truly stuck. He made a pained sound.

"Try again. On three. One. Two. Three!" Kaiba pulled firmly as Joey wriggled. The blonde teen suddenly popped out of the chimney with all the force of a cracker snapping in half. The momentum propelled him into the other teen and they landed on the floor, Joey lying on top of Kaiba.

As they lay there stunned, Bakura doubled over in laughter again.

"Joey! Seto! Are you two all right?" Mokuba ran up to him, the pompom on the end of his Santa hat swinging and Dragon the blue kitten purring contentedly as he lay in the boy's arms.

Kaiba nodded. "I believe so. I would be better though if this clumsy oaf would get off me." He really didn't mean it. He didn't think Joey was clumsy, or an oaf and he certainly didn't want him to move. Quite the contrary. Kaiba would have been quite content to have Joey lying there all night. But there were other people around so he had no choice. "Get off me, Wheeler."

"Give me... a minute..." Joey panted, his voice muffled due to the fact that his face was buried against Kaiba's chest.

The brunette teen frowned as he studied Joey, one hand rising to rest lightly on his upper back before he could stop himself. "Wheeler? Are you all right?" His voice was unusually quiet.

"Yeah. It was just a bit... hard to breathe in there." Joey's body shook as he coughed, then he lay still for a second before struggling to sit up. "I'm fine."

Kaiba eyed him, frowning. "No, you are not." He made a decision. "Mokuba, take care of our guests while I show Joey to somewhere he can lie down for a while." He ignored Joey's attempts at refusal.

Mokuba nodded. "Don't worry, Seto. I'll look after things. Have a good rest, Joey."

Joey made the mistake of looking up into Mokuba's overly large eyes. He groaned as his resistance drained away. "Maybe for a few minutes. Thanks," he added to Kaiba as the brunette helped him to his feet.

Kaiba looked away, forcing himself to ignore the feel of Joey's body against his as he pulled him up. A pained groan from nearby served as a perfect distraction. He looked over at the source, noting that although Bakura was still doubled over clutching his stomach, he was no longer laughing. "What is wrong with you, Bakura?"

"Stitch." Bakura groaned again, in considerable pain from all his laughing.

"What a shame." Kaiba was unable to dredge up any sympathy for him, but Joey managed to.

"Take a few deep breaths. That usually helps me when I get that."

As Kaiba helped Joey through the crowd, he wondered if the blonde teen would be as willing to forgive and forget everything that had happened between them as he had been with Bakura.

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By the time Kaiba helped Joey to the guestroom, he was walking a little more steadily. Still, Kaiba hesitated before he suggested that he take a shower. The adventure in the chimney had left him covered in soot, so he really needed a bath, but Kaiba was concerned that Joey might get dizzy or something.

The blonde boy waved off the worry with a grin. "I'm fine, Kaiba. A bath would be great though, if you don't mind?" He grimaced at the soot on his shirt.

"Not at all. I will also send a maid in here for your shirt. She will have it cleaned for you by the time you have rested." Kaiba started towards the door, knowing that he could not keep this politeness up for much longer. His heart was racing and he could feel the words straining to escape him. Sarcastic words about how ridiculous Joey had looked or how if he wanted to find his place he should aim for somewhere lower than the inside of a Kaiba mansion chimney. Words that Kaiba did not mean, but which he used as a shield to hide how he really felt and what he really thought.

He had shielded himself for so long that the words were instinctive now. Even when he did not want them to be.

Joey's voice stopped him just as he was stepping through the doorway. "Hey Kaiba. Thanks. I mean it." The brunette looked over his shoulder and was rather surprised to see Joey looking very serious. "I was really stuck in there. I appreciate your gettin' me out."

Kaiba nodded once and left without a word. There was so much he wanted to say, but he knew that if he opened his mouth all that would come out of it would be insults and probably a lecture. Instead, he focused on what he had to do at that moment, which was go to his room and get naked.

Being so close to Joey had resulted in his clothes getting almost as sooty as Joey's.

On the way to his bedroom, he thought about how it might be if he ever managed to tell Joey the truth. If only he could bring himself to tell him that all of the insults and sarcastic comments he had ever made to him were merely his way of disguising a fact that he was as yet unready to face.

He loved Joey Wheeler.

Even as the thought flickered into his mind, Kaiba sternly pushed it out again. No. That was the one thing that he could not admit to the blonde. Not now. Perhaps never.

Once he had changed into clean clothes, Kaiba paused to take a calming breath, trying to slow down his heart, still racing from his time with Joey. A little more in charge of his emotions, the brunette returned to the party.

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By the time Kaiba returned, Christmas music had been put on and the dancing had started. Not only in the middle of the room, but over on the table where he and Mokuba had set the three elves they had found in the department store. Judging by the number of guests gathered around the table, they appeared to be a success. Kaiba couldn't resist going to see them in action for himself.

He reached the table just as Duke and Tristan were moving away from it. Duke grinned at him. "Nice elves, Kaiba. The short-haired blonde and the long-haired brunette are really enthusiastic dancers. I think you might need new batteries for the short-haired brunette though. He's half-hearted at best."

Kaiba shook his head. "He is always like that."

"A faulty elf? Ouch." Duke winced.

Tristan grinned. "His expression is odd, too. He's scowling. Aren't elves supposed to be happy?"

Kaiba shook his head. "I do not believe he is faulty. I believe he is supposed to be that way. It stated on the box that there were a few 'special elves' who required 'extra incentive' to dance. However, exactly what that incentive is, was not mentioned." He had spent several hours over the past week studying the grumpy elf and he was very frustrated at his lack of progress with it.

"Maybe he needs new clothes. The crop-top and pants are all right, I like an elf who's not afraid to bare his belly, but that Santa hat is a worry." Duke's snicker was cut off by an ice-cold voice that came from behind him.

"What is wrong with wearing a Santa hat?"

Kaiba barely restrained a snicker at the shocked look on Duke's face as he turned to find a very irritated Mokuba standing behind him, complete with Santa hat and a purring blue kitten asleep on his shoulder. "Nothing is wrong with it, Mokuba. On either you or that dancing elf."

Duke quickly nodded. "Yeah. Sorry, Mokuba. I didn't mean anything by it. I was just teasing Kaiba about the elf, that's all. Really!"

Mokuba frowned at Duke warily, then smiled a little. "All right. But you shouldn't laugh at him. The box said he's very special. We just need to work out how to make him dance properly."

"Speaking of..." Tristan grinned and nudged his boyfriend. "Weren't we going to go dance?"

Duke nodded and waved his hand airily at Kaiba as he slipped his other arm around Tristan's waist. "The elves are good but if you want to see what real dancing is, just watch me and my partner!" He laughed as Tristan pulled him onto the dance floor.

Kaiba stood still, Duke's words running through his mind. "Partner... I wonder..."

He strode to the table where the elves were dancing and winced at the sight of the short-haired brunette who was barely moving. It looked as if the grumpy elf did not want to be there and was dancing under protest. Kaiba turned him off, then picked him up and studied him for a second before doing the same to the other two. He smiled a little and rearranged them, switching the blonde one with the short-haired brunette.

"But Seto, I thought we agreed that they looked best with the blonde one in the middle?" Mokuba frowned. "They look all uneven now."

"Perhaps. Or perhaps that was why he was not dancing properly. Try them now."

Looking skeptical, Mokuba turned the blonde one back on, then the long-haired brunette. Sighing, he humoured his brother and turned the short-haired brunette one back on as well. "It's hardly worth it to have him on, really. He's barely..." Mokuba's voice trailed off as he stared at the elves.

The grumpy elf was dancing.

He was moving his hips and arms just as energetically as the other two. Not only that, but his Santa hat was now moving as well. It rose up at the front, revealing a little white kitten that peeked out for a second before the hat lowered and hid it from sight again.

Kaiba smiled a little at the sight and turned to go. Mokuba grabbed his arm. "Wait a minute, Seto! You can't just fix him and go without telling me what you did!"

The teen chuckled softly. "Very well, Mokuba. It was what Duke said about partners that gave me the idea. When I was looking at them earlier, I noticed a small hole on one side of both the brunette elves' stands, but none on the blonde's. It occurred to me that perhaps those holes were infra-red detectors. I merely lined up the two brunettes so the holes in their stands were opposite each other. Apparently both brunettes are required in order to make the short-haired one dance."

Mokuba smiled happily. "Then it's a really good thing that you got them both, big brother."

It took Kaiba a minute to realise what Mokuba meant, but then he remembered. When he had seen them in the store, it had been the blonde that he had chosen first. He had added the other two to his basket on a whim, something he very rarely did.

Now, looking at the three happily dancing elves, Kaiba was very glad that he had done so.

@-->-->----

With the mystery of the grumpy elf solved, Kaiba turned his attention to enjoying the party. As much as he tried to though, he simply couldn't get his mind off the blonde teen in his guestroom. He kept catching himself looking over at the door, waiting for him to return. By the time Joey finally walked through the doorway, Kaiba was so relieved to see him that he could have gone over and hugged him. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, sanity prevailed and the brunette remained on the other side of the room as their other friends clustered around the sheepish blonde, making sure that he really was all right.

Mokuba's voice came from somewhere near Kaiba's elbow, surprising him. "Aren't you going to go talk to him, Seto?"

Kaiba tensed. Had there been something more in his brother's voice than simple curiosity? Could Mokuba have guessed how he felt about the blonde? No, there was no way he could know. He had been so careful to hide his feelings. "He seems to have enough attention at the moment."

"Uh huh. Yeah. Everyone's with him. Except the one he wants to be there the most."

That time, Kaiba was sure he heard a 'I know a secret' tone in Mokuba's voice. He frowned. "Mokuba? What do you mean?" He looked down at his little brother. The boy's deceptively innocent eyes looked back at him.

"I mean that Joey has had a crush on you for ages, big brother. I thought for sure you would have guessed it. Haven't you ever wondered why he keeps talking to you, even though you keep insulting him and saying mean stuff?" Mokuba sighed and shook his head. As he started to walk away, he had one last parting shot. "You know big brother, for a genius, you aren't very smart about people sometimes."

Kaiba stared at his little brother's retreating back, completely stunned by what the boy had just told him. Wheeler... the blonde teen he had fallen in love with against all rational and logical thought... had a crush on him. What did Mokuba mean by that, exactly? Maybe Wheeler loved him. Maybe he was curious about him and wanted to get to know him better. Maybe Wheeler wanted to get him into bed and do naughty things to his body until they both screamed out each other's name in a shared moment of ecstasy.

Maybe Kaiba had drunk a little too much eggnog that night.

Before his face could heat too much from the images filling his mind, Kaiba went off to distract himself with some serious conversation with one of the businessmen he had invited.

His distraction worked until the guests began to leave, and from then on he was too busy seeing them off at the door to think about anything else. When the last guest left though, Kaiba realised that he had run out of both distractions and excuses. Taking a calming breath to steady his suddenly shaky nerves, Kaiba returned to the ballroom where only those rare few who counted themselves among his friends remained.

It was time to hand out his and Mokuba's Christmas presents. Which meant that he would have to see and speak to Wheeler. Whether he was ready to or not.

tbc
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A Christmas to Remember