AN: First off, apparently a large percent of this fandom is for shippers
I am NOT one.
This story will not have any non-canon shipping if any at all.
Second, this is a small prequel to a larger story I have been working on, thought it works as a small, cute, stand-alone with no larger plot to offer as well if you want to read it as such.

Hopeless

…

"Don't pretend to comfort me, my friend. I might also pretend to not let you down."
― Toba Beta

…

Mokuba tried to sneak into the office as quietly as possible. It wasn't often that Seto fell asleep sitting up in the chair. Sometimes he'd lean on his hand while he was looking at his computer screen and it would seem like he was only resting, an excuse the executive used often when he was found in such a state.

To see his brother openly sleeping with no excuse other than he was tired was funny. All he had to do now was sneak past him and get to the other room where his own little workstation was. For some reason Seto had made it so that anyone wanting to see him had to go through his older brother's office first. Mokuba had a few guesses why but he hadn't brought them up. He had no leg to stand on, so to speak, if he wanted to object.

He only wished Seto weren't such a light sleeper.

"Mokuba, what are you doing up this early?"

Mokuba stood from where he was crouching and smiled, folding his hands behind his back. "Nothing Seto, I promise… Wait." He tilted his head to the side. "Early? It's like five or six in the afternoon. I had a study session with my tutors all afternoon." Mokuba would have liked to go to school, even if he knew most of the curriculum already, but Seto had said it was too dangerous. His brother hadn't gone to school himself in almost a year, probably for the same reason.

It seemed to surprise both of them that Seto didn't even have a guess at what time it was. He went as far as to reach into his pocket to look at his phone and check the time. "Hmm."

Oh oh. That wasn't good. When Seto stopped speaking in actual words it meant he was pretty ticked off. It looked like it was aimed inward – which wasn't much better. It meant that he'd be brooding around for a while with no one to take out his frustration on.

"You were up late, weren't you? When did you go to sleep?"

Seto thought on that for a few seconds. "I lost track of time around three."

"This morning?"

Seto didn't answer and Mokuba was pretty sure that meant no, it was this afternoon. A three-hour nap, if that, was not going to be enough. He knew his brother would take off early to make up for the lack of sleep but he wanted to know what had been keeping him up so late into the night. It wasn't the first time he hadn't gone home, so that hadn't worried him. Mokuba wasn't used to seeing Seto there for more than the occasional breakfast a few times a week if he was busy.

"Something important?"

"Not really." Seto pulled his computer towards him from where it had been pushed to the side earlier. After being woken before, he'd accidentally knocked his cup onto the keyboard and messed up the motherboard on his old one. Since then he noticed his brother never kept it too close to him when he was starting to nod off.

Mokuba, tired of the schoolwork and wanting to know what kept him up so long, snuck over at cat-like as possible to get a look at Seto's screen. His brother folded the screen down part way so he couldn't see it.

"Aw, come on. What is it?"

Seto didn't seem like he was going to answer so Mokuba moved his hand to lift the screen, only for him to close it all the way and hold it down.

"Come on, it's not like I'm going to tell anyone."

His brother sighed. "It's a surprise. When I have more worked out I promise you'll see it."

Mokuba looked disappointed but nodded. "Okay."

Seto put a hand to his head and stood up slowly. "I had a meeting today. Why didn't she wake me?"

"If you were sleeping like I just found you, I would have left you too. I don't know how you can always tell when I'm here." Sya-san was also fairly new. Naoki-san had had to take a personal leave because her husband was sick, and Sya-san was far too uneasy in her new temporary position to do anything that might upset Seto.

"I can usually tell when anyone is here. It's the door that's too far and harder to hear."

Mokuba rolled his eyes with a smile. His brother would only be happy if he somehow had a built-in link to his head every time his door opened. To be fair, maybe he'd accomplish that in the near future. "Okay, so if you missed the meeting, why are you getting up?"

Seto smirked, one of those self-satisfied ones that held no malice. Sure there was a whole ton of self-gratification in it, but Mokuba liked when he smiled like that. He wasn't dueling so that meant that he had something pretty cool up his sleeve. "I can't show you what's on my computer just yet, but I can show you something else."

He had no idea what he was up to but he already liked it. His brother never showed him anything that was less than spectacular. And he wasn't saying that just because he was his brother. It was the truth. Mokuba had made a few things on his own, of course, but they didn't compare by far. "Cool!" He ran to the door to be the first out of it but then turned back when Seto stayed a few moments longer at his desk, a hand on it and looking at his computer. "Something wrong?"

"No." His brother stuck his hands in his pockets and followed along after him. "I was just thinking. Let's go. You can't get in there without me, so don't go running off," he barely got out as Mokuba already dashed several dozen feet ahead of him.

"Aw, why not?"

Seto shook his head and didn't answer but Mokuba knew that, as of the last few months, Seto had been more and more withdrawn with his projects. He couldn't blame him. The board members had shown they had been traitorous before. That didn't make it any less sad. This was a company and Seto shouldn't have to be doing things on his own.

He led at a more sedate pace. Mokuba didn't need to fall back since Seto had said he'd needed to be with him. Only the wing in the basement floor needed his authorization, so it wasn't like it was hard to figure out. He still wanted to know what his brother was keeping from him though.

The elevator didn't take long to get to but being on the thirtieth floor, and not even the highest floor, meant that there were people coming in and out of it with them, tensing up when they noticed that their boss was sharing the trip with them. He wished people would stop looking at his brother like that. Seto had never done anything wrong and everyone seemed afraid of him.

Going from the main floor to the basement, after two male workers quickly scurried off, Mokuba brought up that line of conversation. "You should let them know why you fired the others. I think they're all afraid that you'll let them go at a second's notice."

"I shouldn't need to explain my actions to them. They are here of their own free will."

Mokuba sighed and shut his eyes a moment turning to his brother… who had his eyes closed and really looked like he needed sleep. He'd have to make sure Sya-san got a little bonus for not waking him. He wondered how Seto would have ever gotten through the board meeting.

The elevator shifted slightly as the door opened and Mokuba watched Seto catch himself before meeting his eye and walking out, standing outside the elevator. "Are you planning on going all the way down to the hologram station?"

Mokuba shook his head. If Seto wanted to pretend he didn't see that, he'd go along with it. "So, what do you want to show me?"

"I've only gotten a few built. I may expand more when I have the time." They walked down the hall, his brother not giving him any more information until they reached a large metal door. Seto flashed his badge, something that everyone here had that determined authorization into different areas, and a green light blinked on before a woman's animated voice asked him to state his name, which he did, and the door opened.

There was a slight billowing of smoke, not unlike in the movies. In this case it was because most of the machines in this room, like the computers, did better in cooler temperatures than for the effect, though Mokuba was sure Seto liked the dramatic entrance as much as he did. The basement at home was colder too but it never misted the air like this one did.

Mokuba took the first step in, even if Seto had been in front of him. He was good at dodging around his long legs and the machine in the center of the room that hadn't been there the last time he'd been allowed in was easy enough to zero in on.

"Wow, you're making the pods again?" Mokuba looked around what he was hoping was another gaming pod like the ones Seto had had before. This one though had no lid and there didn't seem to be any other features that he could see that made it anything other than a large, comfortable reclining chair – Aside from the fact that this one was in the shape of a dragon and the decorative wings cast slight shadows with multiple overhead lights. He wasn't surprised that it was based off of a Blue-eyes. Most of Seto's beginning creations were.

"There is a monitor that needs to be hooked up as well." Seto came up to the pod, touching one of the interior sides so it popped out, revealing a Velcro wristband. "It will monitor someone's heart rate. That way, if something is physically wrong with the person, the game will not keep them under when they need medical attention. Shock and other stimuli are still built into the chair to back up my new method of game immersion. I don't think any of us were too fond of not being able to wake up last time."

"That's so cool." The glass had helped a lot before with noise cancellation and climate control. If Seto had come up with a better way, it would cut out on some of the cost. It felt less like a personalized environment, but at least anyone could interrupt the gaming session at a moment's notice if they had to. "You said you had a few?"

When he wasn't answered Mokuba turned to his brother to see Seto shading his eyes with his hand while the other rested against one of the wings of the blue-eyes that flared out at the side.

"Seto?"

His name was apparently enough to snap him out of it and he let his hand drop. "Did you say something?"

"Is something wrong?"

"No, not really."

Mokuba was sure under any other circumstance the straightening up and fixing of his clothes would assure anyone watching that he was, indeed, okay. That was, if he didn't then lean against the neck and head of the dragon that was the taller part of the pod, a foot or so above where someone's head would rest.

"You really should get some rest, big brother. You look like you could go to sleep right here."

"Mmm." He didn't even care to defend himself this time, simply leaned more against the hard plastic with his eyes shut. Mokuba sighed and went around the other side, tugging on Seto's hand and startling his brother into awareness once more.

"Come on, let's go back. I'm taking you home. You already missed the meeting anyway."

Seto, as he took a step forward, had to reach out for a moment and touch the exposed wing once more, using it as a buffer as he fell to the floor. He avoided hitting Mokuba by inches, having used the wing to shift his momentum at the last moment so that he would be safe.

"Seto!" Mokuba, still holding his hand, let it go and went over near his brother's head, pulling a bit on the sleeveless trench coat to try and rouse him. "Seto! This is so not funny! Wake up!"

Besides a grunt and his eyelids tightening once, Mokuba received no acknowledgement for his shouts. He slowly let go of the clothing when shaking him didn't seem to be having any further effect.

"What's the matter with you?"

Mokuba, seeing his brother's breath mist lightly in front of him, noticed that he was pale, more so that usual. He didn't get much sun, being locked away in his workroom, office, or some other place hidden away from the world, but even so the pallor didn't look right. Putting a hand to his forehead, Mokuba drew his hand back slowly. "Hey… you're burning up!"

And a cold room was no place to be with a fever.

He looked around and let his eyes rest a few moments on the door. Unlike most locks, this one worked from both sides. He'd never understood why Seto had made it function that way, since who would want to break out of the room, but the questions he'd shot his way had never been answered.

It wasn't like the workroom had a blanket. There was a mess of super computers off to one side, more of what Mokuba was guessing were pods similar to the one Seto had just showed him underneath a tarp, and a workroom off to the far side that had everything his brother could need if he wanted to make a prototype.

None of it was helpful, though Mokuba did look back at the pod. He wasn't sure if Seto had built in a temperature control system, but he was sure the cushioned chair would feel a lot better than the hard, metallic floor.

"Come on." Mokuba pulled up on him but, even without the five years difference, Mokuba was still shorter than Seto by more than a foot. While his classmates when he'd been going to a traditional school had all been his own height or shorter, it didn't help any when Seto was equally tall for his age. The differences hadn't bothered him before but they sure weren't making it easy now.

Mokuba let out a breath and gave up, looking around again. He pulled out his phone but it wasn't like he could call anyone unless he wanted them to break the door down. Seto wouldn't be too happy about that when he got better but he didn't have any say in it now.

Sighing, he put the phone back in his pocket and took off his smaller vest. It wasn't much but it was something as he put it around Seto's shoulders and chest as much as he could. He held his arms around himself, the cold more prominent now that he'd lost a small part of shielding against it.

Was there a temperature control somewhere in the room?

There should be, but then, it would mess with the computers too.

Mokuba let out a breath that fogged in front of his face. "What the heck am I supposed to do?" There were a bunch of options but none that both Kaibas would like.

Eventually, Mokuba gave up and put his hand back on Seto's head. He was really burning up. "Fine," he said to his unconscious brother. "If you don't wake up soon though, I'm going to have security ruin the door."

Shifting so that he could lay down on his stomach and they could keep each other warm, Mokuba grabbed Seto's hands in his own and rested his head on them. As long as he could keep him warm, hopefully his temperature would go down and he would wake up.

Watching someone sleep wasn't nearly as entertaining as it might seem though, and Mokuba soon found himself closing his eyes as well, hoping the added weight wouldn't bother his brother. Don't worry, Seto, I'll watch over you.

…

Seto shifted when something unpleasant made itself known. His head hurt. Normally that wouldn't have him getting out of bed, but even after closing his eyes and trying to ignore it, the pain didn't seem to fade.

He blinked his eyes open, wondering where he was when the room wasn't as dark as he was expecting and he had to blink the light out of his eyes a few times.

Mokuba was there and that made him half sit up, immediately regretting the action that forced a hand to the side of his head. Who hit him with a shovel while he was out? In fact… what happened?

While he was trying to process what went on the last time he was awake, Mokuba had slid down to his legs because of his early movement and was staring up at him with large, puppy-dog eyes. He noticed his vest had fallen partly on him and his brother had picked it up and slipped it back on as he sat up.

"Seto, are you okay?"

Was he? "What happened?"

Mokuba shrugged and shook his head. "I don't know. You had a fever though and I know you didn't get any sleep last night. Is it gone?"

Seto moved his hand from the side of his head to the front. It did feel like he had a fever. That would explain the grogginess and possibly the headache. He looked around to see that they were, indeed, still in his workroom. He remembered coming down here, just a little, as if it had been a dream he'd had. "How long was I out?"

Mokuba, instead of answering, had to take out his phone and look at the time. "Ah… four hours and some. It's after nine."

Four hours and some they'd been down here and Mokuba had, what, been sleeping on him? "Why didn't you wake me up?" Mokuba wasn't able to open the door, he'd never let someone use his brother against him again, and this was an easy way to make sure that no one wanting to get a peek at his work would try something, but that meant that he hadn't been able to get out on his own either.

"I tried." And Mokuba sounded like he was telling the truth. "I didn't know you were sick. You should have said something. I would have told you it could wait and we could have gone home."

"Mmm." Seto hadn't remembered feeling that badly. The world was just tilting at odd angles now and then. It was likely the fever that had dulled his senses. "I didn't think it was that bad." He looked down at his worried little brother and put a hand on his head, smiling slightly. "Come on. Let's get out of here."

Mokuba smiled back and nodded, getting up off the floor. Seto was a bit slower, making sure he'd be okay, and was able to get up on his own with a little help from the Blue-eyes next to him. He had to wait a moment and stretch some, making a mental note to himself that the ground was a very uncomfortable place to fall asleep.

He could have sworn he heard Mokuba laugh to himself and looked down at his brother to see why but Mokuba just walked ahead of him to stand by the door. He let him go and followed, flashing his badge and stating his name to the security system.

The door opened and both of them were more than happy to get out of there. He made sure the door closed before making his way to the elevator and back up to the main entrance. Kaiba Land closed at nine and most of the workers, after cleaning up the place and closing up themselves, wouldn't be leaving until ten, so there shouldn't be many people to deal with.

"Mokuba."

"Hm?" His brother looked up at him as they made it to the front door and Seto got out his keys to unlock it for them.

"Sorry about all that." He hadn't meant to fall asleep or take the day away from his brother. He was sure that Mokuba had better things to do, work assignments even that he'd missed out on. He at least owed him an apology.

He held the door open for him, catching a mischievous expression as his little brother ran out the door and Seto turned back, closing it and locking it behind him.

"Maybe you can show me what you were working on tomorrow then?"

Seto let out a breath, not unhappy with Mokuba. He was more manipulative than he knew. "Maybe tomorrow."