Mmm… I could get used to this… What this was took a moment to realize. When Seto eventually figured out it was the smell of eggs and bacon coming from the kitchen, he sat up in confusion, looking around the living room. The remnants of the nights activities still lay around the room in a confused pattern, and Mokuba was sound asleep on the loveseat. The only thing missing was their house guest.
He stood, glad he'd been talked into wearing pyjamas by both Mokuba and Jou, and walked to the kitchen, noticing that faint humming and a radio joined the sounds of cooking food as he approached.
Inside, Jou was managing a pan of eggs, another of bacon, while watching some toast on the other side of the room and mixing some kind of dough in a bowl on the counter next to him. It was like a domestic scene of Hell's Kitchen. He looked up as Seto coughed in the entrance, grinning ear to ear.
"G'mornin, Kaib'! Hope you like yer eggs scrambl'd, cause you don't have any more now. Why's the house so bare o' food?" Seto walked further inside, glancing around. A few cabinets stood open, their sparse contents proclaimed to the world.
"I am not the greatest of cooks, so we tend to eat out or order in for meals when the cook isn't around. I gave everyone the week off for the holidays, but didn't think to ask for her to prepare some meals in advance." Jou chuckled absently, beginning to serve up the eggs.
"Well, ain't tha' nice o' yeh. And fer letting' me come here fer Christmas. I can make somethin' fer dinner, if we can get some food." He finished with the eggs, moving on to check the bacon, then the toast, which he pulled out and put on a large plate, pushing it towards Seto.
"Here, butter this, will ya? And hurry, 'fore it gets cold." Seto looked at the plate of toast, then the butter, before shrugging and doing what he was told. Who knew, maybe the blond could teach him to prepare things besides instant pasta and rice.
"What's all this for, anyway? You didn't need to make breakfast for everyone. When did you even get up?" Seto glanced at Jou as he spoke, noticing, not for the first time, how little weight he had. Whatever was there was muscle, evidence of a hard life and a hard worker.
"I always get up early! It's the best time to get things done, and it means you can goof off for the rest of the day without a worry. Besides, I like cookin', reminds me of when my family was still together…" He trailed off. Seto wondered at the lack of accent.
"Do you always talk like that?" Jou blinked, looking at him before turning back to the food in front of him, flipping the bacon over.
"Like what?" Seto finished the toast, and set aside the knife he'd been using.
"That accent. I believe most of it is where you live, but it often sounds like you're forcing it out." Jou chuckled again.
"Oh, that. I do put it on, sometimes. Ma raised me t' talk well, so when she took Ren an' left, I did jus' the opposite, to spite 'er. Now its more habit than 'nythin' else, or else its from bein' in th' gangs." He served the bacon onto another plate, setting it aside to continue stirring the bowl of dough.
"What is that?" Seto decided to ignore the train of thought that had just entered his mind. Which consisted of Jou speaking in perfect syntax, and how oddly arousing the thought was. Not that his accent wasn't, too… Argh!
See, this is why he was ignoring that train. It was weird.
"Cookie dough. I wanted to make some fer later. Barely had nuff to put together, though." He held it up for inspection.
"… Why are you mixing it by hand?"
"Cause then I could watch the food!" He grinned at him, before beginning to make up three plates of food, carrying these and the others with the rest to the kitchen table that was rarely used. Seto had the vague idea that the cook and other workers ate their lunch there.
He picked up the rest of the dishes and carried them to the table.
"By the way, why ain't Mokuba bouncing' around like a hyperactive squirrel, wantin' t' open gifts?" Seto chuckled, sitting down. Jou rose again, walking around to the other side of the kitchen where a pot of coffee had been brewing, apparently. How he had missed that, he didn't know.
"He undoubtedly woke up, almost did exactly that, before realizing he had no gift for you and, feeling terrible that you would have nothing to open, is trying to find something." Jou eyed him as he set a two mugs down, before sitting across from him and beginning to eat.
"Tha's silly; I don't need nuthin'. An' you're letting' me stay here, instead o' at home by meself." But he looked a bit eager, and Seto believed that the idea someone cared enough to give him something extra was probably making him as excited as he was to not be alone.
"Regardless, he is either surfing for something with delivery services offered for today, or that he can talk me into picking up later, when it appears we'll be getting groceries." Jou laughed a bit, before gesturing towards the food.
"Eat. It's gonna go t' waste sittin' there. It's not like I poisoned it 'r something'. See? I'm eatin'!" He took another bite for emphasis. Seto sipped pensively at the coffee, inwardly smirking.
"Perhaps you did, and are hoping to lure me into a false sense of security by pretending to eat it yourself." Jou rubbed his nose, and for a moment Seto wondered if he had gone too far already, and one of their rather famous fights was about to break out.
"No! He 'as discovered my plot! I am ruined! Now I shall ne'er have the final scene in which I explain my entire plan to the hero before his dramatic death! All because Kib' didn't die here!" He paused. "Oh wait," then mined pulling out a gun and shooting him in the heart.
"Problem solved. 'Sides, what good would killin' ya do? I need ya alive t' sign yer company over t' me!" He went back to eating. Seto finally took a bite, and tasted only a few spices, no poison.
"Why would I do that?" Jou shrugged.
"A gambling' game o' some kind? Internet seems t' think it'll happen. There're tons o' theories as to what mayhem I'd cause as CEO," he grinned, seeming to think about what he'd apparently read on the internet.
"I lik'd the one where th' world spontaneously exploded, meself." Seto paused, looking at him.
"Why would that be your favorite? I'd assume you'd like the idea of succeeding." Jou grinned at him.
"Cause it's proof most people think th' idea is stupid. 'Sides, whoever it was draws really good explosions, and I gotta commend tha'." Seto snorted, just as Mokuba walked in, looking around.
"Seto! Um… can I talk to you really quick? Please?" Seto gave Jou a victorious look, before nodding and rising to leave.
"Yes?" They stood a few paces away from the kitchen door, hoping Jou wouldn't hear them.
"Um… well, Jou doesn't have any gifts under the tree, so I was wondering…"
"If we could go get something for him?" A nod. "Are you willing to wait until we can leave to open your own gifts?" More nods.
"Yes, of course we can. I'm not Scrooge, you know." Mokuba giggled, before quickly walking past him into the kitchen.
"You made breakfast!"
~{}~
Thankfully, Mokuba seemed to know what he needed. He'd even thought to have it placed aside so he could go right in and pick it up, avoiding the ridiculous amount of crowds the shopping center had. Seto sent him off with instructions to get the thing he'd managed to call in for as well, and he and Jou went off to get food.
"So, what're you two hungry fer tonight? Or do you want me t' jus' stock yer cupboards fer the next week, t' be safe?" Seto glared at a few shoppers who were staring at them, before responding.
"It's not like we'll know what to do with anything you get, so just something for dinner. As to what… I don't know, do you have a favorite?" Jou shrugged, tossing a few things that Seto couldn't identify into the bag.
"Food is food, I can't afford t' be picky. Usually am about how ripe it is, but tha's another story. Fish, maybe?" He looked at the selection, before holding up a salmon that was, apparently, from Alaska.
"I don't care, so if you want, sure. Is there anything you'll need with that?" He shook his head, so they went to the checkout.
"Hi, find everything… Jounouchi? Is that you?" They both looked up at the checkout girl, who was staring at him in surprise. Jou tilted his head.
"Mira…?" She clapped, beaming.
"It is you! Oh, what luck! I haven't seen you in years! How've you been?" She, thankfully, began to scan their items as she talked.
"Good, good. Heard you got outta the neighborhood, glad to see you're doin' well. Didja manage t' quit cursin, 'r we jus' that lucky?" She grinned at him. Seto looked her over. Besides the couple of marks on her face that appeared to be piercing holes slightly covered with makeup, he couldn't see much interesting about her. Wait… there was a tattoo under her sleeve.
Did Jou have a tattoo? What would it be, if he did? Seto lost himself in this line of thought, only coming out when Jou waved a hand in front of his face.
"Kaib'. Wake up, you gotta pay. Or run, if ya want." The cashier glared playfully as Seto handed over his card.
"You're hangin' out with some big lugs now, ain't ya? Kaiba Seto, big-time CEO and strategy master." That was oddly worded…
"Strategy mastah? That's different?" Jou seemed to agree, as he bagged up their things.
"Well, he was in chess first, didn't ya know? Read it somewhere or other. Figure that if he's good at that and Duel Monsters, he's gotta be a strategist." She scribbled down something on a scrap of paper, and handed it over with Seto's card and their receipt.
"Give me a ring later, ya hear? Merry Christmas!" She turned to the next person in line, and they wlaked out.
"Who was that?" They clambored into his car. Well, Jou clambered, Seto practically glided into his seat. Clambering was for those with less dignity… or inhibitions, one or the other.
"An old friend from afore I moved. We were fairly close, but she stayed in tha gangs when I left. Never knew wha' happened. S'pose I'll find out now." He held up the slip of paper.
"You realize she was flirting with you, don't you?" Jou blinked. Seto began driving towards the shopping center, hoping Mokuba was done.
"Er… wha'? No she wasn't! Girl doesn't flirt at all!" He gestured a bit as he said this, and sounded like he was quoting someone. Perhaps he was.
"Maybe she didn't, but she does now, and that was it. If you're looking for a date, you've got an opportunity there." Granted, that very thought filled him with dread, but Seto was quickly realizing via Mokuba that keeping secrets like that would jus get him into trouble later.
"Um… well, I guess I could call her, or… er…" Jou looked flustered, fis face turning a bit red.
"Relax. She didn't ask you out, she asked to catch up. I doubt she's going to expect a date from it. I'm just stating she's interested." He paused a moment, but curiosity pressed him on.
"Are you interested in her?" Jou turned to look at him, but he focused on the road.
"Erm… no, not really. Maybe eventually, but no. I got one crush right now, I don't need another!" With great difficulty, Seto kept himself from asking about who that was. This was torture enough without specifics.
Mokuba had the two bags under his coat when they picked him up from the front door. Jou glared out the window at a group of kids as they stopped. They all quickly shuffled into the building, stomping out cigarettes as they went.
"What was that about?" Mokuba was panting as he hopped into the back seat, having run to the car to escape the bitter cold.
"They were eyin' Mokuba an' the other shoppers. Tryin' to act all tough with their cigs, even. So I scared 'em off." Mokuba seemed to recover his breath from the backseat.
"With a glare? Are you that scary?" He sounded doubtful. Seto was less so, but it still seemed a bit odd. He would be less willing to believe it had he not seen it a moment ago.
"I got a really bad reputation, both in th' gangs an' after, but I doubt that was it. They prolly were new at this, got scared off at th' first sign o' trouble." Both Kaiba's were silent at that.
~{}~
All three went their separate ways as soon as they arrived at the house. Jou to the kitchen to begin cooking, Mokuba to wrap gifts, and Seto…
Well, Seto was looking into Jou's history. Curiosity was getting the better of him.
He quickly typed in the address he'd almost dropped him off at, looking into their history. Not the greatest of buildings, though it did fairly well and had decent conditions considering the area it was in. Jou had been living there for several months, apparently alone, and working several jobs. Seto did remember that Jou was one of the only ones at school allowed to have a job besides himself.
He looked deeper, noting in the back of his mind that most people would feel guilty about this. Oh well, it was technically public knowledge. And Jou would probably tell him if he asked. He just liked to seem all-knowing.
Jou had several jobs, as he'd thought, all at random points in the city. They included Yugi's shop some weekends, a bakery every Saturday morning, two different grocery stores, weekday afternoons, a dojo on Sunday mornings and Wednesday afternoons, and what appeared to be an old-fashioned weapons shop whenever they appeared to need help. Some other shifts here and there as well, usually for a few hours in the 'ghetto' area of town.
Probably helping out old neighbors. Still, how is he still standing? That's a lot of work for one person still in school… On a hunch, he looked into financials. Most of the money had been paid to some anonymous sources, probably gangs again, though he noted that the payments had tapered off, and money was building steadily in Jou's accounts. Hopefully he would quit a few of those jobs and relax.
He closed everything, aware that Jou would be pissed beyond belief if he knew what Seto was doing, and instead did a quick check of his stocks and email, before heading back downstairs.
Mokuba was just placing the last boxes under the tree, staring at a few in confusion.
"Those weren't there before, were they, Seto?" He gestured towards two sitting together apart from the others. He glanced at the tags.
To: Kaiba
From: Jounouchi (scratched out) Katsuya
To: Mokuba
From: Jou
"Oh, I see how it is! You get 'Katsuya,' but I still only get Jou!" Mokuba giggled, looking at the tags as well. "But when did he manage that? I thought you two stayed together while you were shopping!"
"We did…" Seto was at a loss. Had he already had things prepared? Made something just now? What the heck?
"Oh, there you are! I was wonderin' what you two were sneakin' off ta do! Come on, we can bake cookies, eat some early dinner, then open those, mmkay?" Jou steered them into the kitchen as he spoke, so by the time either of them had answers prepared, they were already seated with cookie cutters in hand.
"Now, cut those out, an' put 'em on the pan, while I take care of dinner."
"Aren't you the little housewife." Jou's head shot around, glaring at Seto. HE held his hands up, shaking his head.
"My hands are clean in this," he glanced at the flour covering them, "Well, my mouth anyway." Mokuba grinned, but it faded as Jou's glare rounded on him. Abruptly, scaring off a gang of teenagers seemed really easy with that glare.
"Oh, I'm sorry, does me being able to cook change my gender? Am I not allowed to be 'manly,' he used actual air quotes here, "if I can fend for myself? Well, Mr., if you think that, you can go without dinner." He paused, eyes traveling towards the rolling pin lying innocently on the counter nearby. Mokuba's eyes followed, and he gulped.
"I'm sorry, I was just kidding! Don't kill me, it's Christmas!" Jou glared a moment longer, before he burst out laughing.
"You shoulda seen yer face!" He managed to wheeze out between breaths. Mokuba pouted in his seat, while Seto chuckled quietly, cutting out little candy canes in the dough in front of him.
Absently, he wondered whether Jou could use a rolling pin as an effective weapon, before abandoning that train of thought as terrifying.
Nothing of particular consequence happened between then and the eventual unwrapping of gifts, discluding a minor explosion of flour, two burnt fingers, a scarily determined paparazzi, and Seto discovering that Jou really could use that rolling pin well. And as a projectile.
He wondered if he was liable for injuries to the guy, before deciding he really didn't care.
Mokuba had decided that, instead of going in any sort of order, he would just decide who opened what and when. So, he opened Seto's gifts first. Mostly games, though a book was thrown into the mix as well. He looked at it oddly, peering at the cover.
"What's it about?" Seto smirked a bit before answering.
"A history of multi-player fantasy video games. Complete with illustrations and cheat codes. Oh, and it's up to date for your newest ones." Jou quickly covered his ears, just in time for the screech of joy Mokuba let out.
"I didn't even know this existed, how did you find one?" Seto rolled his eyes, deciding to open his own gift.
"It didn't, I had it made using the games we already had as a reference point for what brands to look into. You made it easy by only buying from two places." Mokuba grinned at him, before burying his nose inside.
"Bask in that image. You'll never see him so interested in a book again," Seto drawled out sarcastically as he examined the new wallet in his own gift. Mokuba didn't even react, causing Jou to giggle.
"Well, at least he's happy," Jou said as he picked up the boxes with his name on them, looking in confusion before opening Mokuba's up, revealing a Time Wizard watch.
"Aww, sweet! I've been needin' a new watch! Thanks!" He chuckled as he placed it on his wrist.
"What is it?" Seto glanced up from Jou's gift to him, frowning.
"Nuthin.' Just realizing' how many Duel Monster themed gifts we give every year. You'n Pegasus must make a fortun' offa Yug' an' I alone." He grinned again, before gesturing towards the object in Seto's hands.
"Well, hurry up, I ain't got all day!" He tore the paper apart, and pried the box open to reveal a wooden carving of two knights fighting back to back, swords out and helmets off, showing their faces.
"It's me and Mokuba," he murmured, peering closer to see the details.
"What, really? Lemme see!" Mokuba appeared next to him, leaning in to look. It was very well done- but how had he finished it in time? They both looked at him in blatant curiosity. He grinned, scratching the back of his head.
"It was nearly finished, so I brought it along, and finished this morning! Same with yours, Mokuba," he added, gesturing towards it. Mokuba dove for the box, tearing it open as fast and careful as he could.
"Oh!" It was of the same theme, each of them as knights. This one, though, had Seto apparently knighting Mokuba.
"This is so cool! Where'd you learn to make things like this, Jou?" He grinned at them both, pleased with their reactions. Seto picked his up and walked to the mantle, setting it carefully in the center.
"My old neighbor said if I was gonna be carryin' knives all o'er the place, he'd teach me to do somethin' productive with 'em. I do that when I've got a spare moment and can't stay still."
"So, are you ever going to open Seto's gift?" Mokuba leaned forward, curious as to what could be in the box. Apparently he'd resisted the urge to see what it was when he'd picked it up.
"Mm… Yeah, I suppose." He handled the box carefully, opening it up to look inside.
"A set of… chess pieces?" He peered closer, attempting to see what they were, before giving up and opening the case entirely.
"Duel Monster chess pieces…" he stared in awe, fingers absently trailing over the frosted glass of each piece, dragons and magicians shining under his hand. He looked up then, a tear or two in his eyes, grinning sheepishly.
"I'm not that good at chess, ya know." Mokuba glanced at the two of them, before slowly slipping out of the room.
"I'll teach you, if you want." Jou smiled unsurely.
"I'm not sure I have time for that. I have work-" Seto cut him off, carefully putting the pieces away and setting the set (complete with game-themed chess board) to the side.
"I know you do. I'm not entirely sure how you have time to breathe, let alone go to school and pass. Somewhat," he added, and Jou stuck out his tongue.
"My da had debts ta pay, and he wasn't workin, just gambling' off tha money an' drinkin what was left. So I started payin' em off, an' moved away. Finished a while ago, but I don't wanna quit in case them gangs da was borrowin' from start comin' ta me fer his payments again." He shrugged, settling a bit more into the couch.
"I s'pose they won't, since they haven't yet, but I don't like not bein' sure, and I really don't like bein' idle. Tha's part o' tha reason I do so bad at school; I just wanna move, build, do somethin' instead o' sitttin' there."
Seto considered this, and all the times Jou had gotten detention for not sitting still or paying attention.
"Why not tell the teachers?" Jou snorted.
"They'll just pump me fulla pills, if they even bother with that. I'll survive. Prolly won't go t' college anyway, so I just gotta survive a few more years o' this."
"Not going to bother? Why not?" Seto had no plans to do so either, but that was because he was already set and it would only be a waste of money. Mokuba would go, probably.
"Cause I'm not good enough to make a scholarship, an' I'd prefer somethin' basic, really. Success is nice n' all, but I really don't care to be rich. That's yer area." He grinned at him, but Seto was in a bit of a blind shock.
"You don't want to bother, because you would prefer staying in the middle class?" How could anyone not want to move up in life? It was mind boggling.
"Well, yeah. I'll live a nice life, leave somethin' to mah sister or kids or whatever, and move on. I'm not gonna spend half my life fightin' fer the top, and th' other half ta keep it. Seems like a waste ta me, and I already did tha before, with my fists. It was a pain then, and I can't see that changin'." He paused awkwardly, before standing and stretching a bit.
"I should probably go… unless I'm stayin' tha night?" He looked hopeful, and Seto nodded just to make him smile again.
"Cool! I'll just kip in here then, I guess…" he began walking to where Seto assumed his bag had ended up.
"No, you won't," Jou looked up, confused. "I live in a mansion, and you think you're sleeping on a couch? Come on, there's guest rooms upstairs. I'm not sure where Mokuba went, but we probably won't see him for the rest of the night." Seto led him upstairs to a guest room, a few doors away from his own.
"Here you go. You mentioned working tomorrow?" Jou nodded.
"Yeah, but not until the afternoon." Seto smiled, just a bit, before opening the door and stepping back.
"Well, good night then." Jou paused, before turning to him and kissing him on the cheek.
"Merry Christmas, Kaib'." He walked inside, quickly shutting the door. Seto stared, before slowly walking towards his room, muttering 'merry Christmas' under his breath, and thinking that tomorrow couldn't come fast enough.