Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! of The 12 Pains of Christmas by Bob Rivers

*Rated T for Teen

Batteries Not Included

The tenth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me is 'batteries not included.'

There! He'd finished wrapping all the damn gifts!

"I'm done!" Seto called out to his Puppy.

Joey stopped what he was doing in the kitchen to come see. He spotted Seto in his office, wrapped gifts littering his floor and desk. The blond smiled.

"They look great, Seto! Can ya give me all the batteries so that when the kids open their gifts I can put them in?"

The brunet just stared at him blankly.

"Seto?"

"What batteries?" he asked, confusion lacing his deep voice.

Joey had to stop himself from pouncing on Seto to strangle the life out of him. It was hard. Really hard.

"Seto." Joey's voice said trouble. "Batteries aren't included with most of their toys."

The brunet looked down at the wrapped gifts for a moment and then looked back up at his Puppy. "They aren't?"

Joey was about ready to scream! "What? Did ya take stupid pills this mornin' or somethin'!"

The blond winced when he saw a hurt expression cross Seto's face. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't insulted him like that for a very long time. And it did come out of the blue.

"I'm sorry," Joey whispered. "I didn't mean it. It's just—"

"Shh," Seto replied consolingly, putting a finger to Joey's lips, silencing him. He wrapped his arms around his Puppy and just held him, resting his chin atop his head.

"Seto, I didn't—"

"It's okay. I know you didn't mean it. What I don't know is why you're so stressed out. You've been rather uptight the last few days. What's wrong?"

Joey's hands gripped Seto's shirt. "I'm afraid this won't last," he answered finally.

"What won't last?" Seto asked, growing concerned.

"Us…our family…everythin'. Life's not a fairytale. There aren't happy endin's. Sure, ya can be happy for a time, but then somethin' comes along that rips it all away. I want this to be a happy Christmas. But I've never really had one before and I'm a little worried. I think I'm afraid of bein' completely happy because I know somethin' bad could happen that takes it all away."

Joey's amber eyes searched Seto's blue ones for a response, any kind of response that would ease his fears.

"You're missing out on life if you think that way all the time. You'll make yourself miserable. Puppy, you need to treasure each and every day, living life to the fullest. You need to believe in a better tomorrow and that things may actually turn out all right. Stop worrying yourself so much. If you ever need reassurance of how good your life is, take a look around. You have a family who loves you very much, and I would do anything to keep you happy. And I know you'd do the same for me. I love you."

"How do ya always end up sayin' what I need to hear? I always feel better after talkin' to ya." Joey sighed. "I love ya, too."

"You'd better," Seto smirked, "or I may just have to remind you how much I love you."

Joey yelped and tried to pry himself away from Seto's trailing hands. "Seto," he whined. "Not now! We still have a lot to do! Save that for Christmas!"

Seto smiled as he released his blushing Puppy.

Clearing his throat, Joey walked over to the wrapped gifts. "We're gonna have to unwrap them all and see what kinds of batteries they need. Then you'll go out and buy the batteries and we'll wrap the gifts back up."

Seto's face paled. "Are you serious?"

"Yep!"

"You better give me one hell of a good Christmas present this year," Seto said as he gave Joey a firm smack on the ass.

"Oh! Can't ya keep your perverted hands off me for one minute?"

Seto paused as if thinking. "No."

Joey huffed cutely as he stomped over to a gift and began unwrapping. "Stupid pervert."

There! They'd unwrapped all the gifts, found out what batteries they'd needed, Seto had bought all the batteries, and they'd rewrapped all the gifts.

Not bad for 7:00 pm on Christmas Eve. The kids were even in bed!

"We're finally done," Joey announced happily, stretching as he stood. He was soon intercepted by Seto.

"Then what do you say we find a nice sprig of mistletoe to make-out under?" Seto suggested.

Joey gasped. "How many times do I have to tell ya that you're not supposed to make-out under the damn mistletoe! It's for kissin' only!"

"Kissing, huh? I guess there's no rule on how intense the kissing can get. Let's go find some mistletoe, Puppy."

Seto grabbed his hand and pulled him along to find some mistletoe.

"Why? Why do ya have to be so fuckin' horny?" Joey exclaimed, trying to struggle out of Seto's grasp.

"Don't worry, Puppy. We'll get to the fucking part after the mistletoe, okay?"

"That is not what I meant and ya know it! Seto!"

End Drabble