Disclaimer: All canon-based characters, situations, and plotlines are copyright to their original owners, creators, and designers. This is written for entertainment purposes only, not for profit.
Title: Fuel For The Family Fire
Main Characters: Seto, Mokuba
Word Count: 2,173
Genre: Family
Status: Complete
Rated: G
Summary: Every family has its own special rituals for the holiday season. The Kaibas are no exception.
Tiny flakes of white swirled down from the darkening sky, sinking down to the ground, piling on top of each other one by one. Mokuba shivered, then closed the door and turned to look at his brother.
"It's going to stick." The timing was more or less perfect, if you were the type who liked white Christmases. Mokuba could take them or leave them, so long as he had his brother with him.
Seto now simply shrugged. Anyone who was used to seeing him at the office or in a tournament might not have recognized him at the moment, as instead of one of his ubiquitous trench coats, he wore a simple pair of black slacks and a turquoise blue sweater. Both had been gifts from Mokuba, and seeing him wear them thrilled the younger Kaiba down to his core.
"Are we ready?" Seto asked, one elegantly made eyebrow raising. Mokuba nodded; he'd made certain that all of the preparations were done hours earlier.
"I'll check again, just to be sure, though." He didn't want to leave anything to chance. They were supposed to be alone in the mansion, but it wouldn't be the first time that someone had tried to hide themselves, attempting to spy on the brothers during their quiet holiday time.
Mokuba fought off a slight smile as Seto joined him on the way to the control room. It wasn't that his brother didn't trust him. He knew that. Christmas was simply the time for family. They were seldom that far apart this time of year. Or any other time of year, but this was their private time.
There were normally at least two attendants on watch in the control room, along with two guards, in case of any trouble. But now, it was just Mokuba and Seto. Mokuba settled down into the plush chair and started to switch through all of the video monitors, while Seto began to quickly scan over the records for anything or anyone that might have had the nerve to step onto Kaiba property, thinking that the holiday meant security wasn't as tight as it always was.
As if the Kaibas would ever let their guard down for so much as a moment.
"All clear." Seto reported after a careful check of everything. Mokuba's check had been just as thorough.
"Likewise." Mokuba was extraordinarily pleased. The first couple of years after they'd established their dominance over the household, a few annoying maids and nurses had thought that because they were young, they could be ruled by those older than they were. He wondered if they'd ever managed to find jobs again.
Oh, well. Not his problem.
Seto nodded slightly, restoring the sensors to automatic. If there was so much as a twitch that was out of place, they would both be alerted to it. Mokuba almost wished there would be. There were few better ways to spend the holidays than tormenting an idiot who broke onto their property.
"It's time." Mokuba hurried out of the room and down the hall towards the stairs. Seto was a step or two ahead of him, his longer legs giving him a greater stride. Mokuba did rather wish his growth spurt would hit. Unfortunately, genetics didn't listen to one's bank account.
Even though the mansion was extremely modern and thus had no actual need for fireplaces, both Seto and Mokuba enjoyed spending time by one, every now and then. Usually at least once a year. Tonight was that once a year. Mokuba stopped by the kitchen first and scooped up their traditional snacks for the evening: hot chocolate and several tasty cookies.
"Perfect." Mokuba declared upon sniffing the hot chocolate. The perfect temperature, and the cookies were still warm from the oven. Neither he nor his brother needed to cook, but they both knew how anyway. Kaibas believed in being prepared.
Not to mention that since even servants needed time off, there was no other way they were going to eat during the Christmas and New Year's holidays if they didn't know how to cook.
By the time he made it back to the den, Seto had stirred up the fire, and was seated before it, long arms stretched across the back, far more relaxed than anyone other than Mokuba had ever, or would ever, see him. Mokuba set the silver tray he'd carried the pitcher of hot chocolate and plate of cookies on carefully down on the table beside the sofa and joined his brother.
"Here you go." He poured out a cup of hot chocolate for himself and then one for Seto and handed it over, along with a couple of cookies. Both of them were in the mood to extend the festivities as long as they possibly could, so they didn't rush to the highlight of the evening just yet.
Seto sipped at it quietly. It wasn't too often that he permitted himself to relax with anyone, not even Mokuba. Running KaibaCorp took up a lot of his time and effort. Thankfully, since Mokuba did help out wherever he could, it wasn't as if they never saw each other. He made certain to have dinner with his brother every night, regardless of what else was going on at the office, and certain holidays were always spent together.
It might not have been evident to other people that Kaiba Seto loved his brother, but the opinions of other people didn't matter a single whit to him. He knew it and Mokuba knew it, and that was all that was required.
Though, he suspected on occasion that Yuugi and some of his friends knew it. As long as they didn't try and wave it in his face as some kind of a 'victory', he didn't care about that, either.
"This is good," he said, tilting the cup so Mokuba knew what he was talking about. They each had their specialties when it came to cooking, and one of Mokuba's was hot chocolate. Seto preferred tea or coffee for most activities, needing the caffeine boost. But for tonight, hot chocolate was most definitely most appropriate.
He glanced outside for a moment; the time to check the monitors and be assured of their solitude had consumed nearly an hour, and the snow was thickening. He wasn't worried; they had all of the supplies that they would ever need, along with a backup generator, in case the power went out. Kaibas were always prepared.
Mokuba sipped his own chocolate; it was pretty good, if he said so himself. Of course, the fact Seto liked it was all that was truly necessary.
"Maybe tomorrow, if the snow's stopped, we can go outside and throw a few snowballs?" Mokuba asked, gray eyes gleaming with anticipation. He didn't often get the chance to do that, since snowfall and days off seldom coincided.
Seto considered this thoughtfully, as he did virtually everything. Finally he nodded. "If it's cleared off enough." He didn't have to remind Mokuba that they would both have to bundle up, of course. They were Kaibas. They were intelligent.
Mokuba grinned; the chance to throw a couple of snowballs at his big brother! Granted, Seto could fling a snowball all but perfectly, as he did so much else, so Mokuba figured that he'd end up covered in snow more than he wouldn't. Not that it ultimately mattered. Having fun with Seto was always what made him happy.
The level of hot chocolate in the pitcher and the amount of cookies on the plate slowly diminished. Mokuba breathed a deep and quiet happy sigh. The best part of the evening was about to begin. All this time, on the table next to the tray, there had been a thick black envelope awaiting their attention. There was nothing written on it, but there was no need. They knew well the contents.
Mokuba leaned over and picked it up, holding it for a moment before he turned to his brother. Seto reached inside of the pocket of his slacks and pulled out his dueling deck. He turned the top card face up: Blue Eyes White Dragon. Then he sorted through the rest of it, until he had all three of them, which were then arranged so that the firelight shone on them clearly.
Once that was done, Seto took the envelope as Mokuba held it out to him and slowly broke the KaibaCorp seal on it. Into his upturned hand he spilled out a dozen or so Duel Monsters cards. At least, that was what they would look like to the untrained eye. But to his eyes, they were something else entirely.
To his eyes, to the eyes of the unquestioned master of the Blue Eyes white Dragon, these were nothing more than cheap imitations, copies of something that was too powerful, too unique, and too rare to be mocked.
Each of those was identical to the three that now had been placed on the back of the sofa, except in that one special respect. They were the true cards, the ones that were from his deck. These were copies that KaibaCorp agents had found all over the world, made by the remnants of the Ghouls and other counterfeiting organizations in a base attempt to glut the market with his beloved cards. They had one fate now.
"It's time." Seto declared, the firelight glinting off of his steel-blue eyes. Mokuba nodded, leaning forward to get a better look. Seto gripped the cards in his hand for a moment, then looked briefly up at the three genuine cards. He always felt as if they were watching when this happened: watching, and approving.
With a flick of his wrist, he tossed half of the cards into the fire. The other half he handed to Mokuba, who did the same.
Golden flames licked at the cards slowly, as if tasting them to see if they were worth the effort. Seto sipped again at a fresh cup of hot chocolate, watching the show. Slowly, the fires wrapped around the false cards, deciding they were indeed suitable fuel, and the edges began to crackle and blacken.
This was the fate of any card that attempted to copy one of his precious Blue Eyes White Dragons. There were only three: he had seen to that with his own two hands. But there would always be idiots who thought they could get away with copying the rarest of cards. Even Ishtar's defeat hadn't taught those of his organization any better.
Perhaps cooling their heels in jail for the next ten years would, however.
He reached for the poker and prodded at the burning logs, making certain that the cards all stayed well within the shimmering blaze. The fire wasn't needed for warmth, but he liked to keep it burning brightly no matter what. Especially tonight, when that most holy of rituals, the burning of the imposters, was being conducted.
"That one's trying to slide out," Mokuba said, gesturing towards one that had slid in between the logs and now lay flat on the fireplace floor. Seto used the poker deftly to nudge it back into the flames, and watched until that one caught fire and was well on its way towards ultimate destruction. There would be no survivors among these phonies. One and all, they would burn.
Both Kaibas watched as the cards dissolved away into ashes one by one. They knew exactly how many there had been, and a careful count was kept as each one perished.
"That's the last of them." Mokuba sighed. Come morning, he would scrape the ashes out of the fireplace, and they would be scattered into the wind. That was somehow the most mournful part for him, since it marked the ending of one of the best times he spent with his brother each year.
Seto yawned a little, covering his mouth with the back of his hand. "It's late anyway. They took their time this year." Watching them burn had been as fascinating as always. He looked forward to doing it again next year. He wondered if there would ever come a year when they had no false Blue Eyes to burn.
No. No, there would always be some fool who thought that they could claim power that was his and only his.
He put his real Blue Eyes trio back into his deck and slipped that back into his pocket. "Time to go to bed." The fire would die out of itself, with no one there to tend it. Together, the two brothers walked up the stairs towards their personal wing of the mansion. Morning would bring snow and snowball fights, laughter that only they would be there to hear, and the simple joys of being an older brother who provided everything that his younger one could ever possibly want.
Up to and including spending the holidays together, in their very own special way. This was worth everything that he'd ever sacrificed. And he knew that he'd do it all again, for Mokuba's sake.
The End