Mokuba could always tell what kind of mood Mana was in by the way she hugged him. It might seem weird, but it really wasn't that difficult.
When she was really happy, she would hug him really tight and swing him around a little. This one was easy, obviously. Unfortunately, Mokuba often found himself gasping for breath between his laughter and the fact that she was squeezing him so hard. But when she was happy, he found it hard not to be happy as well.
When she was tired, she would wobble over to him and throw her arms around him and sque-e-eze him gently. This mostly happened to her after a long night alone in the dark, which was the one thing that scared her the most. If her nightlight went out, it was nearly impossible for her to even try to sleep. Although he couldn't help but find it amusing when she was in this state (the fact that she giggled randomly and was more clumsy than usual didn't help), he always ended up lecturing her about how she really ought to know how to change a light bulb.
When she was angry, she wouldn't even hug him, so this didn't really count. She would just cross her arms and pout. She could get angry over such tiny things though, and sometimes they were just so silly, Mokuba couldn't help but laugh, and soon she would be laughing, too.
And when she was sad, she tried her best to put on a small smile, but her arms felt weak around his shoulders, and she often just stood there doing nothing. This happened much less often than anything else, but when it did, he found the best thing to do was to put on a smile and gently stroke her back. Sometimes she'd cry, but that was okay, too. Mokuba would never do anything to make her feel worse.
But over time, they began to drift apart slowly. They just got older. Mokuba had been so busy with his work and his life, they saw each other less and less. Sometimes Mana would come up to him and hug him, and he could tell there wasn't the same comfort that he used to feel when they were together. And one day, he told her that maybe it was better for both of them if they broke up. She didn't understand, of course, but after he slowly (and rather painfully) explained to her, she seemed to get it. Nodding, eyes filled with tears, Mana slowly turned and walked away, leaving him standing there. And after standing there, watching after her for what seemed like an eternity, he forced himself to go home.
For a while after that, Mokuba felt tired and empty. Kaiba began to get worried about him, and told him so. Of course he didn't want to disappoint his brother, so Mokuba decided that the best thing to do was to just try to grin and bear it. And it worked, for a while.
He had started dating Rebecca, and she was really nice. She always had good advice, she was quick and smart, and really bright. But her hugs were quick and empty, and when she started hinting that they should be taking their relationship "further," Mokuba would change the subject. She was great, of course. His brother seemed to think so, too. Kaiba approved of Rebecca, and would often say things like how well they worked together, like a team. Mokuba knew that his protective big bro would be much happier if Mokuba didn't date anyone, but it was still nice of him to say so.
But it didn't take a genius to see that Mokuba wasn't really happy, not as much as he used to be, anyway. He'd hug and kiss Rebecca, work on his projects diligently, laugh and smile with Seto, but he was almost constantly aware that something wasn't right. And he knew what it was, too, no matter how much he denied it. And it was going to keep bothering him and bothering him until he set things straight. So he did.
Breaking up with Becca was much easier than he had expected. She cried a little, then wiped her eyes and smiled shakily at him. Said it was "about time." He couldn't help but smile, too. They both knew that he never felt the same way about her as she did for him, and he never could. It didn't need to be said, though. But he pulled her into a tight hug anyway. For it was true that although he didn't love her, she helped him in more ways than he could ever explain.
He stopped taking on large projects at work. Someone else could do them, it wasn't a big deal. At first Kaiba was concerned with this change, but after they talked, it seemed to him he was doing fine. Better than he'd seen him in a while, even. And to Mokuba, it seemed like everything had gone back to normal.
Well, almost everything.
He had been up late one night cleaning up his desk, when he found something he nearly thought he had forgotten. It was a picture of him and Mana. He remembered when it was taken, too; three years ago, in the Domino City Park. He remembered she had wanted to go to the tallest hill, where a giant tree loomed on top. So of course he took her there, and once they had reached the top, they turned around and looked at the city that seemed so far beneath them.
He smiled thinking about the memory. Then he looked around, and felt a familiar emptiness inside him. Deciding he had done enough cleaning for one day, he went to bed.
The next day, he decided to go for a walk. It was his day off, which he rarely celebrated. He was usually too busy working to take the day off. He hadn't been outside in ages. Oddly enough, he found himself walking toward the Game Shop, where Mana and Yuugi resided. It felt so natural to pass by the trees and buildings that he had seen so many times before, and he began to remember the times he had been with Mana, and they had laughed and cried and it was all okay because they had been together, and that was the important thing. And he began to run and he didn't realize it, tears began to spill down his cheeks, and he needed to wipe his face with his sleeve but he kept running because he wanted to be near her, he needed to tell her so many things, and he was desperate just to see her. And he ran and ran even though he was sure he had stopped breathing by the time he reached the door. Jerking it open, he threw himself inside the small store, feverishly trying to catch his breath.
There she was, sitting at the counter reading a comic. She looked up with a start as he burst in, and sat in stunned silence as he panted heavily. The corners of his mouth turned up in a small smile. She hadn't changed at all, at least that's what it seemed like. He had never been so relieved to see anyone. After a long pause, she seemed to regain her composure and stood up quickly, nearly knocking her seat over.
"What are you-" she began, but he cut her off.
"Is Yuugi here?" he asked, barely getting his breath back. She blinked, a look of confusion on her face.
"N-No, he and Anzu went out on a date..." She stammered, and slowly took a step towards him. He laughed, nearly wasting the breath he had worked so hard to collect. The sound shook her, but she smiled.
"That's still going on, huh?" he said, shaking his head after regaining strength once again.
"Yeah... Oh! But they're really happy together. I mean they get along really well and they help each other out and stuff... I mean obviously they do, right? Er, well maybe it's not so obvious!" She rambled, and was cut short by him laughing again. It felt so nice to hear her voice again. It sounded so beautiful, like a song you hear once when you were a child and listen to it again years later. Finally, he straightened up and looked at her, really looking, for the first time in a long time. His smile faded, and he found it hard to speak.
"I'm... Really sorry." He managed to choke out, feeling tears fighting their way to his eyes. Her eyes widened. He forced a small smile and took a short step towards her. "I thought I knew what I was doing," he continued, and she took a half step towards him cautiously. "But it turns out I was just being stupid." He laughed, and as he did one tear popped up in the corner of his eye, which he quickly scratched away. "It's okay if you're mad, I just... Needed to tell you. I guess." She reached him now, peering up into his face.
"I don't think you were being stupid," she mumbled softly. He felt his face going red, and somewhere he realized that over the years he had gotten a little taller than her. "And I was never mad at you! I mean I knew I was never as smart as you and that I'm annoying and stuff, that's okay though!" She insisted, and smiled her soft, happy grin at him. He shook his head roughly.
"You're not annoying, and that wasn't the reason why! I was just... I don't know..." He searched his brain for the right word but couldn't find it. He shook his head. "It doesn't matter... It's okay. It's okay now." She looked a little surprised, and he realized she was blushing too.
"Yeah... You're right. It's okay now. You're fine, right?" She smiled. How could she be so calm? And kind? After just leaving her like that? Even now, she still cared if he was okay? It was all too much, and suddenly, tears started to fall from his eyes. He threw his arms around her and began to sob. How could he have been such an idiot? He thought he was even being an idiot now, until her arms slid around his torso and returned his embrace.
"I missed you," he choked, stroking her hair gently.
"I missed you, too." she murmured, and by the sound of her voice, he could tell she was crying, too.
How many times had he been able to identify her mood by her hugs?
As they stood there now, holding each other, with the soft, familiar, warm scent of her drifting around in his head, he tried to decipher this one. It wasn't happiness, or relief. Sadness could be ruled out, he though. And he didn't think it was even comfort.
It was love.