Warnings: another of mysupposed-to-be-humour fics - again, no guarantee, more or less OOCness (as much as you need to do a happy Christmas fic) and please, kiddies, don't try the recipe yourself if you want to survive Christmas, it's randomly made up!!!
Disclaimer: I don't own any chocolate cookies yet...but that will change shortly before Christmas, I think. I don't own an overly enthusiastic Yami, nor a grumpy CEO on Christmas Blues nor Yugi and Jiichan, nor their kitchenware, nor Mokuba and his made-up girlfriend....wait! His girlfriend is made up! That means she belongs to me after all! Wheee!
Dedication:
Christmas Present to (order is random)
- my wonderful co-authoress Dragon
- my fantastic cheerleader mic who wants to draw me pics!
- the one and only Nenya
- Vegeta, whom I miss much
- Psyche, con muchas gracias
- Seto's Darkness, who is lovely by the way
- Lomelindi, whose fics I really need to read in my Christmas holidays
- All my reviewers on FFNet – sorry for not being able to write down all your names now, I love you all for encouraging me
- All the people I got to know in the Palace and will hopefully get to know when I spend more time there
Loving Chocolate
During the last weeks before Christmas, Seto Kaiba definitely hated his neighbours. Well, it wasn't that he particularly liked them the rest of the year, but they usually kept quiet enough so he could just ignore them. However, when the first snowflakes were sailing down from a december sky that was heavy with dark clouds, all of them seemed to go completely crazy, running around like maniacs and putting lights literally everywhere.
No matter how much he tried, Kaiba couldn't ignore that amount of lights. He thought sooner or later he'd go crazy with all the blinking reds and greens everywhere.
And he couldn't help but wistfully think back to last year when he himself attached red and green lights to the mansion, to please Mokuba.
Now, of course, Mokuba would spend Christmas with his girlfriend. Mokuba's first Christmas with his girlfriend. Seto couldn't quite believe it himself. His little brother!
He was really glad for Mokuba, really, really glad. But at the same time he felt like holing up somewhere with his laptop and working so furiously that all that Christmas shit would pass him by before he even got the chance to think about a lonely Christmas Eve.
Unfortunately, after three days of doing just that, his stomach made it quite obvious to him that a man could well spend Christmastime without colourful lights but not without food. So on december the 22nd the CEO of Kaiba Corp. had to get groceries for three reasons:
First: The refrigerator was an empty wasteland of three-months-old yoghurt, wrinkled salad and greenish cheese.
Second: Mokuba had dismissed all the servants since he insisted on them having at least a one-week holiday for Christmas.
And third: Seto Kaiba certainly wasn't about to lower himself to order pizza or something for Christmas. Now wouldn't that look pathetic.
Shopping proved more difficult than he had imagined. Apart from not finding a place to park his silver Mercedes (his winter car, after all he'd freeze to death in his convertible in december...), the shops were practically crammed with people. And Kaiba was surprised to notice that for the first time in his life he didn't get stared on wherever he went. Stressed out shop assistants were leading annoying customers around, showing them this or that. It seemed that the fate of the world suddenly dependet on getting food and presents for Christmas.
Kaiba did feel a tiny bit sorry for the servants he had sent to get the Christmas groceries over the last years. (Of course, he always ordered Mokuba's presents himself.)
Carefully, he squeezed past the unnerving people to get the few things he needed. It would all have gone quite well and he would have been out of that Christmas hell in no time hadn't there suddenly been a shout behind his back and something bumping right into him, making him land on his butt with the cause of his downfall sitting right across his hips, crimson eyes wide with shock.
There was silence around them for almost five seconds, most people only now recognizing the CEO, while in the background there was playing an awfully cheery "Jingle Bells".
By that time Kaiba's mind had processed what exactly was going on.
"Yugi!!!", he bellowed.
"Eeeek!", the other shrieked and jumped off him, staring at him with an expression that clearly stated, 'Ooooops, that certainly shouldn't have happened'
Kaiba heartily agreed.
"What do you think you are doing?!", he demanded, enraged.
"Those people were pushing me around!", the other argued, "Besides I'm not Yugi. Yugi is just over there."
Kaiba glanced in the direction the other pointed into and noticed Yugi and his grandfather standing there, waving shyly but clearly waiting for his anger to dissolve before they dared come nearer.
"Ah, well, I forgot. Anyway. Be more careful next time! You can't blame those people for overlooking you, considering your height..."
With that he turned to leave.
"Wait!", the other Yugi suddenly called, picking up his groceries and despite the insult smiling at Kaiba, who only raised an eyebrow. "I think I have to make it up to you. Show me where your car is, I'll help you carry these."
"I can do this on my own", Kaiba growled.
The other duelist smiled sweetly, "But this is my Christmas good deed, so kindly open the door now, Kaiba, and show me where to carry this stuff to."
Grudgingly, Kaiba complied.
"So, what were you doing here in the first place?", the other Yugi asked, walking next to him.
"Getting groceries", Kaiba answered curtly.
"Well," the other went on, "Yugi and Jiichan wanted to bake some cookies and had to get the ingredients and I went with them. But I'm just getting in the way, because I don't know how to help them. I have never done this before. But they want to show me how to make those cookies afterwards. What about you? Did you make some?"
"No", Kaiba said.
"Oh, ok. Did you decorate anything?"
"No"
"So. Did you get a Christmas tree?"
"No!"
"You didn't even get a Christmas tree? What about Mokuba? Doesn't he want to have one?"
Now Kaiba's patience was wearing out.
"Mokuba doesn't spend Christmas with me but with his girlfriend so there is no point in getting cookies or decorations or trees. Grow up, Yugi-look-alike, Christmas is just another boring winter day."
"Yami", the other corrected indignantly.
"Whatever", Kaiba mumbled.
"You are forgetting my name on purpose. Besides Christmas is a beautiful festivity and I think you shouldn't spend it alone without cookies or decorations or trees."
"Hn", Kaiba said, tired of this argument. Mokuba wasn't there, how could he ever be able to celebrate?
They were standing in front of the car, Kaiba opening the back door and motioning for Yami to put the food inside. When he came up again they stared at each other. Suddenly, Yami flashed him a smile.
"No, I won't let you spend Christmas in front of your PC working for your Corporation. Expect me tomorrow after lunch, around one o'clock I think. I'll bring the ingredients. Be sure your kitchen is ready for baking chocolate cookies!"
And with that he was gone.
At half past twelve the next day Seto Kaiba tried to convince himself he wasn't awaiting the other Yugi. The truth was that the mansion was terribly lonely without Mokuba, even for him, and that he would have liked some company.
He couldn't deny though that he had cleaned the kitchen that morning and that it looked really nice now.
Precisely at one o'clock the doorbell rang. Kaiba forced himself not to run to get it but to tell himself there was absolutely no reason to look forward to his visitor.
Yami greeted him with a smile, his breath turning into white puffs due to the cold temperatures, a crimson scarf slung around his neck. He was wrapped in a warm black coat suiting his slim stature very well. Of course, that wasn't what Kaiba noticed first. After all, why would he think something like that?
"So let's start now, shall we?", Yami grinned enthusiastically, carrying two large bags inside, handing them to Kaiba in order to take his coat and boots off. "Where should I put my boots?"
"Just leave them here", Kaiba mumbled distractedly, then led Yami into the kitchen.
"Wow, your kitchen is beautiful!", Yami praised. "There is so much space here. That's wonderful, so we won't fall over each other."
Kaiba noticed the other was scarily motivated. Seemed to be the Christmas spirit. Of course, the real Yugi must radiate so much of that creepy happiness that even his darker half was affected by it.
"Alright then".
Yami rubbed his hands together, before opening the first bag and taking out a white apron. Kaiba stared while Yami put that thing on and in addition to that tied his spiky hair up with a red kitchen towel.
Yami caught him staring and demanded unnerved,
"What? The others wear this too while making cookies."
"Of course", Kaiba simply answered, trying not to laugh. Still, he didn't have the heart to tell Yami the combination of white apron, black leather pants, punk collar and red kitchen towel looked absolutely hilarious.
Meanwhile Yami had started to happily unpack the second bag, his eyes sparkling as if the contents were Christmas presents themselves. They were not though, Kaiba realized as he quickly scanned what Yami had brought: flour, sugar, vanillia sugar, eggs, milk, grated nuts, baking powder, butter and even salt.
Kaiba huffed. "You needn't have brought salt, you know. We have that at home"
Yami just smirked at him, "Oh you never know. You more than once surprised me, Kaiba." Then he turned back to the bag. "Well, and now the most important thing" He pulled out an immense chocolate bar.
Kaiba cocked his eyebrow, but stole sideways glances at the chocolate. Now, he was the coldest CEO on earth, but he so liked chocolate. "Isn't the most important thing the recipe?"
Yami's eyebrows drew together at that and he stared off into space as if trying to remember something.
"Don't tell me you forgot the recipe!!" Kaiba almost laughed, it was so riddiculously typical.
"Well....", Yami said, while Kaiba shook his head.
Then Yami's face lit up. "Oh, I think, after all I did bring that too!"
And out of his pocket he produced a wrinkled sheet with chocolate drops splattered all over it.
"Oh dear", Kaiba said, his eyes bulging when he looked at it.
"You wrote this in damn hieroglyphics?!?!"
"How else would I write it?", Yami asked, "Yugi was buzzing around in the kitchen, telling me to watch him closely and write down what he did. I can write a lot faster in hieroglyphics. And I make nasty mistakes in your language. I never had to write more than Yugi's name as a spirit."
Kaiba studied the paper, then pressed his fingers to his temples and rubbed them softly.
"You really did watch him closely, didn't you? Just to quote this, 'Going to the stove, opening the stove door, putting on gloves, putting the baking tray inside...' Really now, have you ever seen a recipe before?"
"Not really", Yami smiled. "So I hope I didn't ruin it already?"
"Don't worry," Kaiba muttered. "Hopefully you remember it all as well as you observed it."
The former spirit nodded enthusiastically. "Of course. First you have to...."
"Don't bother, I can read," Kaiba muttered again, then tried to filter the actual recipe out of Yami's confused notes.
"So first heat the stove," he instructed then.
"You mean turn that little knob here?", Yami questioned, just to make sure.
"Exactly. Now you get the ingredients and a bowl from the shelf over there. Then you take the electronic balance from that same shelf, weigh those and put into the bowl accurately how much I tell you to put in there, ok?"
"Understood. Now let's get started"
"Ok, six spoon full of sugar, one packet of vanillia sugar."
"Uhm, how do I weigh a spoonfull?"
"You don't", Kaiba sighed, "You take a spoon and fill it. Same goes for cups by the way, because next thing is two cups of flour. Honestly, don't you have scales at home? Does Yugi measure everything in cups? He doesn't even know my cups, I could have giant cups for all he knows. And why does he start with the sugar? No one else would ever start with the sugar."
"Do I have to answer those questions or can we get on with it?", Yami complained uncharacteristically, having finished Kaiba's instructions in record time.
Kaiba was still staring at the recipe. "Damn it, that's all in cups and spoons!"
"Perhaps that's the way it is done here, Kaiba", Yami mused.
"No wonder people drown in cookies if they can't even get straight how much flour they need to do those," Kaiba muttered. "Alright now, take back the balance, we don't need it. Then get the cup and put the butter in it until it's full. That should be enough. Next thing is a cup of grated nuts. And then a cup of milk, a spoonfull of baking powder and half a spoonfull of salt. I'll better do the eggs myself"
He waited until Yami had carried out the other tasks, watching him. Damn, but if he didn't know better he'd almost think that apron was pretty sexy. Good thing he knew better and didn't think about it.
When the other was done, Kaiba grabbed two eggs, opened them and put the contents into the bowl. Then he looked at the recipe and snickered.
"Hey, pharaoh, what's the 'big white thing with the whirling teeth'?"
Yami blushed. "Don't make fun of it," he scolded, "let's see what kind of cooking tools you know after being locked away for three thousand years."
Kaiba grinned and went to one of the shelves, taking out a hand mixer.
"Something like that perhaps?"
"Yeah, that's it," Yami mumbled and glared at the innocent kitchenware.
After they had mixed it all up there was a thick brownish paste in the bowl.
"Did it look like this when Yugi made it?", Kaiba demanded.
"Well...slightly," Yami stated, tilting his head to the side, inspecting it more closely.
"Alright", Kaiba sighed, "So let's form the cookies, right?"
Yami nodded, while the other started to butter the tray, then both of them took little clumps out of the bowl, rolling them and forming more or less circular cookies in silence.
When the tray was full they put it into the heated stove.
"Well, now it's time for the chocolate glaze, don't you think?", Yami suggested happily.
"Fine" Kaiba went to the recipe again, instructing once more.
"You take half a cup of butter and....Yami, how much exactly is 'plenty of chocolate'?"
Yami smiled dreamily. "Oh, that's a lot."
"Yami!", the exasperated Kaiba growled, "I said 'exactly'!"
"Oh, come on, Kaiba, as much as we want, as long as it's enough for all the cookies."
"Hn", Kaiba grunted and started breaking the bar of chocolate into smaller pieces. "Put the butter into the small green pot. Then put water into the big blue pot and put the green pot into the blue pot. Don't ask any questions, we'll just burn the chocolate if we put it directly on the hotplate." Then he threw the chocolate pieces into the pot.
They heated the plate and sat down to wait for the chocolate to melt. Strangely, after a while they were talking about duel monsters (like comparing strategies of other duelists). Kaiba would never have thought he would once have conversations like this with his ultimate rival, but he couldn't deny that he enjoyed the conversation, if only because it gave him a chance to look into the other's eyes. Not that it gave him strange feelings, though.
The chocolate was ready pretty soon and the cookies had turned a golden brown as well, so they took them out and the chocolate off the plate.
"Now just dip them in there to cover them in chocolate", Yami told him.
"No, I was just planning to pour the chocolate away", Kaiba stated sarcastically, then took one of the cookies.
Unfortunately, dipping the cookies into the chocolate included dipping his fingers in there, which came out covered in chocolate as well. As a side effect, Yami's hand brushed against his accidentally qite a few times. Not that he cared, though.
When all the cookies were glistening in a dark, delicious chocolate brown, Kaiba swiped his hand across his brow, facing Yami, who giggled slightly.
"What?", Kaiba wanted to know.
"Nothing," Yami grinned. "Ok, now we only have to wait until the chocolate solidifies."
"And what do we do with the rest of the chocolate?"
"Hm, eat it of course", Yami grinned, then just stuck his fingers into the chocolate and licked them greedily. Kaiba swallowed softly.
"Come on, get some yourself!", the other duelist invited him.
"No, I will get sticky and have chocolate all over my face"
"You already have", Yami giggled again, "You wiped your brow with your hand, remember?"
He had a point there. Now, Seto Kaiba was still the coldest CEO on earth, but, damn it, the melted chocolate looked just so good....
He followed Yami's invitation and stuck his hand into the pot.
Happily they emptied the small green pot. Kaiba would never have thought that he would once stand in his kitchen with Yugi's Yami, licking chocolate off his fingers. Oddly, the thought made him grin.
Yami had finished and grinning back at him.
"Well, now you really have chocolate all over your face."
He grunted, but Yami just continued, a strange light in his eyes.
"Hmm, I'd really like to have some more. I....dare you to hold still why I get the rest of the chocolate, ok?"
"Uh?" Kaiba asked stupidly, but Yami was already standing in front of him, grabbing his face in chocolate covered hands and tilting it down to slide his tongue over his cheek, where there obviously was still chocolate left.
Kaiba stood rooted to the ground, not knowing what to do. This was a challenge, a challenge of the King of Games, and he couldn't lose again. Still, oh god, Yami was licking his face!!!
And it felt damn....
Gods, those licks were so soft, so insistant, so.....
Wide-eyed he stared at Yami, who kept his own eyes closed, humming softly. And although he kept perfectly still he couldn't stop the sensations rushing down to his groin and effectively causing some stirring there....
But exactly at that moment Yami pulled back, opening his eyes to look him up and down, from his toes to his flushed face.
"Hey!", he said, surprised, "You actually won! You didn't move one bit!"
'If only you knew...', Kaiba thought but decided not to say anything.
Before the situation could become awkward, Yami turned to the stove, grabbing one of the cookies.
"Well, they're not solid yet. Seems we have to wait some more. Now perhaps we should wash the last bits of chocolate off."
After Yami's ministrations Kaiba couldn't believe there was a lot of chocolate left, still he led Yami into the bathroom, both washing their faces and hands. The water helped to cool him down at least. Perhaps Yami was just addicted to chocolate, he tried to tell himself.
When they returned to the kitchen there was a wonderful smell in the air. They stood in the middle of the room, sniffing contentedly.
"Hmmmm", Kaiba smiled, leaning closer to Yami, "You smell of chocolate"
"What a miracle!", Yami mocked playfully, half turning to look up at Kaiba.
They froze like this, none wanting to pull away first. The smell of chocolate coming from Yami was intoxicating. Kaiba closed his eyes, bringing his face even closer to Yami's. Hell, maybe he was addicted to chocolate...
His lips touched soft skin. Without thinking he opened them a little more, brushing them along a firm cheekbone, then down the ridge of the other's nose, then finally found the lips, pressing against them briefly. But when he wanted to pull back, there was an arm looped around his shoulders, holding him in place and Yami's mouth repeated the action much more passionately.
Kaiba could feel the corners of Yami's mouth pull into as smile as it covered his own.
All reasonable thought had left the young CEO, as his fingers undid the strings of the apron to allow his hands to slip under Yami's shirt, caressing his back. Yami moaned, grabbing strands of Kaiba's hair to steady himself as he ground his hips into Kaiba's. Now they both moaned, moving their hips against each other, while Yami's lips travelled to Kaiba's neck, sucking and licking at a pace that was driving Kaiba crazy. Growling he pushed Yami against the nearest kitchen wall and rocked his hips into him harder. Yami's hands encircled his slim waist while the crimson eyed duelist gave a breathless gasp, then pulled Kaiba against his lithe body again.
They rubbed their groins against each other, panting, hands moving all over each other's bodies, touching and stroking. Kaiba realized he couldn't stop now, although he felt something approach that he knew he would have a hard time to deal with later. But Yami's body felt so good, so perfect, so completely, achingly wonderful.
With a loud moan he braced his hands against the wall, kissing Yami deeply.
The other slid his hands to his lower back, pulling the CEO against him for a last time before he shuddered, a small cry muffled by Kaiba's lips.
Kaiba felt Yami's shudder and gasped as Yami's lips released his when he brought them close to Kaiba's ear, between soft, unbelievably erotic pants whispering,
"Come on....Kaiba"
That was all the CEO needed to follow him over the edge, groaning loudly, clutching Yami's shoulders.
They stood in silence, panting, trousers sticky, waiting for lightning to stike. When nothing happened, Yami smiled and nuzzled his cheek against Kaiba's.
Kaiba pulled away, although his hands were still on Yami's shoulders.
The crimson-eyed boy smiled a genuine, contented and by the way damn sexy smile.
Kaiba's thoughts were tumbling around in his brain. What to say, what to do? He almost panicked, but suddenly Yami pulled away, strode over to the kitchen table and put all the cookies into a small box where Kaiba had previously kept walnuts, which Yami just poured out onto the table. He closed the box and threw it into one of his bags, the rest of the ingredients following.
Kaiba watched him incredulously, his mind refusing to come up with a reasonable explanation for Yami's behaviour.
Suddenly said boy was standing in front of him again, smiling at him.
"Well, I kidnapped the cookies. If you want to see them again, come to Yugi's on Christmas Eve, around eight o'clock. This is an official invitation, so don't you dare refuse. I'm waiting.
And, standing on his tiptoes, he pressed a last small kiss to Kaiba's lips and was gone.
Kaiba stood in the deserted kitchen, staring straight ahead and wondering how insane he had gone now, thinking about spending Christmas Eve at Yugi's.
Then he noticed a last cookie, lying on the kitchen counter, either forgotten by the kidnapper or left on purpose to increase his desire for the others.
He grabbed it and took a bite. It tasted great.
Seto Kaiba shook his head in defeat.
Damn, but he loved chocolate.