A Night at The Park
"C'mon Mokuba, if you want to go to the park you need to get up," Seto whispers to his little brother. The dark head turns towards him and his lashes flutter. Eyes blinking open, the boy's gaze shifts to Seto's shadowed figure.
"Big brother?" he murmurs.
Seto nods. "Yeah, kiddo, get up," he urges.
Mokuba frowns. "But big brother it's nighttime."
Seto shrugs, and impatiently tugs his brother out of his bed. "So? You want me to take you to the park, this is the only time I can," Seto explains, leaving Mokuba yawning beside his bed to gather his brothers day-clothes from the closet.
Mokuba looks to the carpet guiltily. "You don't have to…" he warbles.
Seto spins around, giving him an astounded look. "I want to Mokuba. You're my little brother and I know you've been wanting to go to the park with me for a while," he says. Seto smirks weakly at the younger boy. "I know you'd probably enjoy it more with sunlight, but think of it this way, we get the whole park to ourselves!"
Mokuba manages to grin at this. After all, getting a park all to themselves did sound rather cool. "Yeah! Let's go big brother!" Mokuba exclaims and Seto's eyes brighten as he hands Mokuba a set of clothes to wear.
"Alright, hurry up now," he tells his younger brother. Without anymore prompting, Mokuba tears off his pajamas and replaces them with his day clothes.
"I'm ready, brother!" he chirps, grabbing Seto's hand and waiting for his lead. Squeezing Mokuba's hand once, Seto took them down the winding hallways and to a door leading outside in the servants' quarters. Turning the handle, Seto sends his brother an anxious look.
"Remember, be ready to run. We don't want the cameras catching us." Mokuba nodded silently. "Okay! Let's go!" Seto whispers, dragging him along as they dart across the expansive lawn and out a small hole in the fence hidden by the tall flora. Relinquishing his grip on his brother's hand, Mokuba smiles up at the brunet.
"Can we play on the swings, big brother? And the monkey bars?" he asks.
Seto's now free hand reached out, ruffling his long hair. "Whatever you want, kiddo," he says, lips hinting in a smile. Mokuba gives a quiet cheer at this and snatches back the hand he'd been holding only minutes before. They spend the rest of the trek to the park in silence, only the grip on his older brother's hand assuring Mokuba of Seto's presence.
When they reach the small park, Mokuba is surprised to see a blond boy, possibly his brother's age, sitting on one of the swings head bent down. "Big brother…" Mokuba murmurs.
Seto only clutches his hand tighter. "He won't bother us," he tells him, eyeing the blond critically.
"How do you know big brother?" Mokuba asks, wondering if there is a trick, or if possibly age allows you to know certain things about a person at first glance.
Seto sighs. "I just know," he answers, voice low and soft.
Mokuba pouts for a moment, before conceding to the fact he will not receive a better answer tonight, if ever. "Okay, big brother," Mokuba says. Then lifting a finger to a free swing two away from the blond, he questions, "Can we still swing?"
"Of course," Seto replies leading them over to the free swing. Clambering onto the rubber seat Mokuba situations himself.
"You'll push me, won't you, brother?" he asks.
"If you want," Seto mumble,s slipping behind Mokuba and giving him a firm push. Mokuba grins, a soft laugh leaving him. He misses being able to play with his brother all the time, like they did at the orphanage. While he and Seto continue to play on the swing, he hears the one where the blond boy sits squeak. Glancing over, he sees dark eyes staring at them. Grinning widely, Mokuba hums a polite hello. The boy blinks seemingly surprised. "What's your name?" Mokuba questions.
"Mokuba!" Seto hisses, abruptly ending the push he was going to give him.
The younger boy ignores him. "Are you hear 'cause your dad won't let you play during the day too?" he asks.
The boy who is gaping, now chokes, "I wish."
Mokuba cocks his head to the side. "What's that mean? If you can play during the day then why are you here?"
Seto's hand comes to rest on his shoulder. "Little brother, that is not an appropriate question," he scolds lightly, tugging Mokuna even closer to him.
Mokuba peers up at him. "Why not? He knows why we're here, why can't we know about him?"
Seto ignores him and instead speaks to the blond. "I'm sorry for my brother's questions. He is still naïve," he explains. Mokuba squawks in protest to this, but the older boys only ignore him.
The blond snorts, stepping into one of the street lights, allowing them a better look of his face. It is discolored and dark circles rest under both eyes. "I don't need pity," he says.
Seto's grip became stronger. "Who said I was offering any, you worthless mutt."
"Big brother!" Mokuba gasps, lifting his head to stare at Seto with large, dark eyes.
The blond bristles at this. "Just 'cause you got money doesn't mean your daddy doesn't do the same!"
Seto's hand leaves Mokuba's shoulder, but quickly comes to rest over one ear while his other hand covers the other. Even with the hands muffling his hearing, it does nothing to hide his older brother's next words. "I suggest you not speak of such things in front of my little brother, unless you want a black eye, mutt."
The boy scoffs at this. "He'll start on him too, ya know. That's why my ma left with my lil'sis, she didn't want him laying in on her." What did the boy mean? Was their adoptive father going to do something to him?
Fearfully, Mokuba whimpers, "Seto…"
"Shh," Seto hushes him, but he's tense and the pressure he is putting on Mokuba's ears is now painful. "You're wrong, I made him promise he can do whatever he likes with me as long as he won't lay a hand on my brother."
The blond gave him a nonchalant shrug. "What reason does he have to keep his promise? What would you do? You're just a kid," he says.
Seto's voice becomes dangerous. "I'll get me revenge, even if I have to wait for years. I'm patient and I have no qualms with playing dirty."
The boy whistles at this. "I'll remember never to get on your bad side," he mutters under his breath.
Mokuba can feel Seto nod in satisfaction.
And, then, his brother releases his grip on him and snags Mokuna's hand. "Mokuba, I think we need to go home now," Seto says.
Glancing between his brother and the blond, Mokuba gives the blond a quick smile. "It was nice to meet you," he tells him, before allowing his brother to pull him back home.
-v-v-v-
As they come within sight of home, Seto speaks for the first time since the park. "I'm sorry, Mokuba. I'll take you a different park some time," he says.
Mokuba grins up at his brother. "It wasn't so bad, we still got play on the swings for a while!" He laughs and Seto manages to crack a bit of a smirk, causing Mokuba's grin to become even more blinding. Mokuba's glad Seto's still willing to take him to the park, but part of him wants it to be the park with blond boy. He isn't sure why, maybe it's something in their eyes, but Mokuba thinks the boy and his brother could be friends.
Thoughts?
Thank you guys for reading and please review!