Alright guys, time for the next chapter! So, I am SO sorry that it's been so long since I updated. I know I said that I had more time to write, but of course when I finally have time to write, shitty stuff has to happen so I've been dealing with some unfortunate circumstances for the last couple months or so. I know, I know, it's a shitty excuse, but the situations kept me from writing. But, things seem to be better now, knock on wood, so hopefully I'll actually be able to write more. Anyhoo, enough of my rambling and lame excuses. Enjoy the chapter!


Two days later, Alissa hummed happily to the music playing from the stereo as she mixed the contents of a large mixing bowl.

"You will get a sentimental feelin' when you hear. Voices singing let's be jolly, deck the halls with boughs of holly," she sang along.

"Is there a reason you're playing music as if you're at a concert?" a voice asked from the entrance of the kitchen.

Alissa let out a small squeak and jumped in surprise.

"Seto, you scared the shit out of me!"

"If your loud music wasn't giving you tinnitus you would have noticed me standing here sooner." He entered the kitchen and came to stand beside her at the counter. "Now, is there a reason for you blasting music this loudly? You know I have work to finish if you expect me to be able to take the next week off."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, I guess I didn't realize it was that loud. I can turn it down." She reached for the speaker's remote and turned the volume down.

"What are you baking?" he asked, eyeing the several bowls in front of her.

"Some cookies. I'm making chocolate chip, sugar, snicker doodles, and gingerbread."

He caught sight of the yellowish brown mush in one of the bowls and his lip curled.

"Which one is that?"

"That one's the gingerbread."

"Is there a reason it looks like the results of the stomach flu?"

"Pft, Ass," she snapped, picking up some chocolate chip cookie dough and placing it on a cookie sheet. "Since you can't have cinnamon I had to change the recipe a bit. Here, try some and let me know if it needs anything else." She scooped a small amount of the gingerbread cookie dough onto a spoon and handed it to the brunet.

He took the spoon from her and shoved it into his mouth. He hummed quietly and tossed the licked spoon into the sink.

"Hn, it's adequate."

"Hm, charming. Look, if you're going to be in here while I'm baking you're either going to need to stay out of the way or help, cause you just standing there is going to be distracting."

"Am I that good looking?" he asked with a cocky smirk.

"Oh my God, get out! You're so annoying!" she replied with a small smile of her own.

"Tch, you know you enjoy my company."

"I thought you had work to finish." She turned her attention back to placing dough so he wouldn't see her smile. A few moments of silence passed before the doorbell rang.

"Can you get that?" she asked without even lifting her gaze from placing the cookies in front of her. "My hands are covered in dough."

"It's your apartment. I'd consider it in extremely poor taste if I were to open the door."

"You live here too."

"My name isn't the one on the lease."

"Oh my God, you're so annoying!" she whined, rolling her eyes. She quickly rinsed off her hands and pushed her way past him to answer the door.

"Fine, you can take over in here," she replied, leaving him without a chance to respond. She heard him mutter a small 'whatever' in reply as she made her way to the door. She was happily surprised when she found the younger Kaiba standing outside her door.

"Mokuba!" she exclaimed excitedly, dragging the younger Kaiba into a tight hug. "Seto, get your ass out here! Mokuba's here!"

"Hey, Alissa," Mokuba laughed, returning her hug.

"I've missed you!"

"I've missed you too, Alissa."

"Mokuba?" Seto replied questioningly as he approached the door after washing his hands free of dough.

"Hey, Seto!" Mokuba greeted, briefly hugging his elder brother.

"What are you doing here, Mokuba?"

"Roland called me and told me what happened. I wanted to make sure you guys were okay."

"While I appreciate your concern, Mokuba, you shouldn't have come out here. KaibaCorp needs you in Domino in order for the release of the new game to be on schedule.

"The game is finished."

A brief look of surprise passed over the CEO's usually stoic features.

"The game is finished?" Seto repeated. "When I spoke to the Head of Productions earlier this week he told me the production was two weeks behind."

"You made me Vice President for a reason, Seto," Mokuba answered with a small chuckle. "What kind of Vice President would I be if I couldn't do some damage control?"

"Hn, you're right. Sometimes I forget that you aren't twelve years old anymore."

"I'm surprised you remember how old I am at all," Mokuba teased.

"Mokuba, stop being a little shit and come help me in the kitchen. Your brother has work to finish so he can take the next week off."

"You agreed to take the next week off?" Mokuba asked his brother in surprise.

"Hn, Alissa didn't really give me much of a choice."

"Damn right I didn't. Now get back to work Rich Boy cause once that's done you're mine for the whole week."

"Tch, whatever. Just keep it down in the kitchen."

"Aye, Aye, Captain." She paused to turn to the younger Kaiba. "Come on, Little Kaiba, we've got cookies to finish."

xxx

That night, Alissa sat cross-legged on her and Seto's bed with a wedding planning folder next to her, her laptop in front of her, and a spiral notebook in her lap.

"Rebecca and her grandfather? Yay or nay?" Alissa asked, bringing her gaze up from her notebook to look at Seto.

"Hn, whatever you want," he responded, continuing to loosen his tie without even looking at her.

"That doesn't answer my question. If you hate them I won't invite them."

"Tch, I hate everyone. Besides, I doubt my opinion of someone would stop you from inviting them. You're inviting Wheeler."

"You know that you consider him a friend. Stop being a dick."

"Whatever."

"Alright I'll put down Rebecca and her grandfather on the list then." She paused to look up at him again and pat the spot next to her. "Come sit and help me make the guest list."

"I doubt you'd want my help constructing the guest list. If I had it my way, only your mother, Mokuba, and Roland would be there."

"Oh stop being a wet blanket. Hurry up and finish getting ready for bed so you can help me."

"Tch, whatever." After changing into a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt, the brunet disappeared into the bathroom to finish getting ready for bed.

While she was waiting for him to finish preparing for bed, she pulled her laptop into her lap and opened it. She reopened the wedding planning tab she had been looking at earlier and continued to read it. The father of the bride customarily is the one to pay for the wedding. Too bad I don't have a dad anymore, she thought negatively. She continued to scroll through the page trying to ignore the feeling of dejection that started to settle over her. She always missed her father and younger brother, especially at this time of year. However, with her recent engagement, her loss stung much more painfully. She missed Ben, of course, but she especially missed her father. When she was younger, he used to bring up the day he'd have to give her away and the thought that he wasn't there to give her away when the time finally came made her feel sick. She jumped when she heard the bathroom door open again and quickly slammed her laptop shut. She wiped under her eyes to get rid of the tears that had started to fall suddenly and plastered on a smile.

"What's going on?" Seto asked suspiciously, having seen her slam her laptop shut upon his return to their bedroom.

"Oh, nothing. I was just looking up some stuff. Come on, help me plan out the guest list."

Although that wasn't the answer he wanted, he let the subject drop and climbed into their bed next to her. He peered over her shoulder so he could get a look at the people she had put down so far. He frowned when he caught sight of a very familiar name.

"Why is Zigfried on the guest list?"

"Because I wanted to invite Leon."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"I can't just invite Leon and not-"

"Yes you can and that's exactly what's going to happen."

"So, what I'm supposed to invite Leon and tell him that his brother isn't allowed to come?"

"Precisely."

"Seto come on-."

"I don't want that hack there."

"But that would be rude."

"It's rude? And him trying to destroy my company wasn't? Come to think of it, Leon was also part of his plan to destroy my company."

"Seto, that was years ago."

"I don't care. I don't trust that snake."

"But, Seto-."

"You wanted my help making the guest list and I'm telling you that I don't want that scum there."

"Seto, I know you don't like Zigfreak. I'm not very fond of him either, but I really like Leon and if he comes, so does his brother."

"Well, then I guess neither of them will be coming."

"That isn't fair."

"Life isn't fair."

"Seto, come on-."

"No. I'm allowing you to invite your nerdy group of friends, I am not dealing with that snake on top of those dorks."

"You don't have to be such an ass about it."

"Were you even going to run inviting him by me before you did it?"

"Of course I was going to tell you-."

"I'm sure you were."

"So, now you're accusing me of lying?"

"You made no move to tell me, that leads me to believe you had no intentions to."

"I was waiting to tell you because I knew that you'd act like this!"

"And when exactly were you planning on telling me? Once he'd arrived at the wedding?"

"Ugh! You're such a fucking asshole sometimes!"

"I'm the asshole? He's the one who tried to ruin my reputation and my company!"

"I know that, Seto, but that happened years ago! Why can't you just forget and move on?"

"Forgetting and forgiving are two different things. I don't make it a habit to forgive those that wronged me because as soon as you forgive them, they wrong you again."

"You forgave me."

"Tch, that's different."

"How? I literally tried to steal your soul once!"

"Yes, and you were under the control of Dartz at the time."

"You know what, fine." She paused to roll over onto her side so her back was facing him. "Consider them not invited then."

"Don't brood just because you didn't get your way."

"Whatever, Seto."

He let out a low sigh and rolled his eyes. Why did she want to invite them so badly? They weren't that much of a joy to be around. He clenched his fists tightly in frustration. He hated going to sleep with conflicts unresolved, and she knew that and was using it against him.

"Fine," he finally replied.

"What?" she asked, turning over slightly.

"Invite them."

"No, you're obviously against it so-."

"Just invite them, Alissa."

"Are you sure?"

"Why do you always ask that stupid question? I wouldn't be telling you to do it if I wasn't sure."

"Okay." She paused to roll back over completely and sit up. "Thanks, Seto."

He rolled his eyes before responding.

"If he steps one toe out of line I'm having him kicked out."

"I'll be sure to tell Leon to make sure Zigfreak behaves himself."

"I'm serious. If he so much as breathes in my direction, he's out."

"I know, I'll tell Leon to have him on his best behavior." She paused to grab hold of one of his hands. "Thank you for letting me invite them, Seto. It really means a lot to me that Leon is there."

"Hn, whatever."

"No really, thank you. It means a lot. I'm sorry I was so bitchy about it. I know I'm quite the handful-."

"Well then I suppose it's fortunate that I like a challenge."

"Thank you."

"We should get to bed. It's rather late."

"Yeah, you're probably right. We can finish planning the guest list later." She stacked her laptop, notebook, and folder neatly on the nightstand before snuggling herself up to his chest. He put one arm around her waist and moved the other above her head so his fingers could idly play with her hair.

"Do you think having six months to plan a wedding is a bit ambitious?" she asked after several seconds of silence, pulling away from him slightly and propping herself up on an elbow. "Maybe we shouldn't have scheduled it for so soon."

"Hn, you seem to forget who we are quite often. We'll be able to plan everything without a problem. We aren't incompetent. Have you forgotten that we've already reserved the venue? It would be in incredible poor taste if we retracted our reservation."

"I know, but I was online earlier and most people take over a year to plan a wedding."

"Well then I suppose it's a good thing that we aren't most people."

"I guess."

He heard the uncertainty in his voice and sat up to get a good look at her.

"What's going on?"

"What? What do you mean?"

"Don't play me for a fool. Now tell me what has you troubled."

"Nothing's wrong. No, um you're right, we'll be fine. I'm just being stupid."

"Alissa, I'm not a moron. I know that isn't what's bothering you. Now are you going to tell me what the issue is or are we going to continue playing this stupid guessing game?"

"It's nothing. It doesn't matter."

He cast his glance to the laptop that she had slammed shut several minutes ago upon his return from the bathroom. I wonder if something from on there is what's bothering her. She was obviously affected by something she was reading earlier.

"What were you looking at on your laptop? Is that what has you obviously upset?"

She released a low sigh. She should have known that he'd catch on to her mood eventually.

"I've just been thinking about my dad and Ben a lot lately. It was around Christmas when they died and especially with our engagement, I've just started thinking about how I won't have my dad there to give me away."

"I didn't realize you lost them this time of year," he said, looking at her with a concerned frown.

"I don't really like to talk about it," she replied with a shrug of her shoulders. "I just miss him a lot. Ben too, but especially my dad."

Unsure of what to say, he put his arm around her and pulled her close enough for her to rest her head on his shoulder. He gently squeezed her shoulder, letting her know that if she wanted to continue, he'd be willing to listen. He never really knew what to say in situations like these, but he often found that he didn't really need to say anything because after saying what was on her mind, her mood seemed to brighten a little.

"I just wish I had something of my dad's to remember him by but we lost all his things in the fire that killed him and Ben. I have a few things to remember Ben by, mostly drawings, but that's only because he had a habit of leaving things in the car. But with my dad, I have nothing."

"Your mother doesn't have anything?"

"Not that I know of." She paused to release a sigh and run her fingers through her hair. "Sorry that I'm being such a downer. Weddings are a happy occasion and I'm really excited that we're going to get married, I just wish my dad and Ben could be there to see it."

"Don't be stupid, they will see it. As absurdly clichéd as it sounds, they are watching."

"You're right. I'm sorry, I'm just being a downer-."

"I believe the situation permits you to be a downer."

"I guess so. I just wish that I could've do-nnm." She was cut off when he held her chin and pressed their mouths together in a kiss. After several seconds of heated kissing, the two separated.

"Don't dwell on the past, Alissa. There's no point dwelling on something you had no control over."

"I guess you're right-."

"Of course I'm right. I'm no fool."

She smiled at him before pressing her mouth to his in a deep kiss. He responded immediately by rolling over so he was hovering above her, his lips still crushed tightly against hers. She mewled in approval when he bit down on her bottom lip and pushed his tongue into her mouth. He pulled away to trail several kisses down her jaw. Her hands moved into his hair as his kisses finally reached her neck. He bit and sucked roughly on the junction between her neck and shoulder until he left a red and blue sucker mark.

She moved her hands from his hair to his cheeks so she could pull his gaze up to meet her own.

"I love you, Seto."

He chose not to respond, instead attacking her lips with another heated and loving kiss.

xxx

When Alissa woke the next morning, she found herself covered with several hickies. That dick! He knew I had work today! There's no way I'll be able to cover all these! She quickly sorted through her closet to try and find a shirt with a high enough neck to cover the largest hickey that Seto left on her neck. After several minutes of trying different shirts on, she finally found one. The neck wasn't high enough to cover the hickey completely, but it covered it enough that no one would really be able to notice.

Once she finished getting ready, she exited her bedroom and headed towards the kitchen. When she entered, she found Mokuba sitting at the island with a plate of waffles and eggs in front of him.

"Morning, Mokuba."

"Morning, Alissa."

"Where's Seto?" she asked, noticing the CEO's absence.

"He noticed you guys were out of coffee so he's stopping by the café down the street to get some."

"Ah, okay. Is there any waffle batter left?"

"Yeah, I put it in the fridge."

"Thanks." She headed to the fridge and grabbed the waffle batter from the middle shelf. She plugged in the waffle iron that sat in front of Mokuba and waited for it to heat up.

"So, how'd you sleep? Is the bed in the guest room comfortable?"

"Yeah, I slept great. Thanks, Alissa." He paused to look up at her and his grin instantly dropped when he caught sight of the reddish blue bruise that was slightly covered by her shirt.

"Is that a hickey?"

"Fuck! You can still see it?"

"Uh, yeah. It's huge." Little Shit, she thought, detecting the large amount of sarcasm in his voice.

"Eh, not really. Some of the other ones are bigger."

"Ew," he replied, lip curling in disgust.

She smiled at the younger Kaiba's reaction to her words. Well, if he's going to be a little shit about it, why not tease him a little?

"The ones I gave your brother are even bigger."

"Ew! Stop!" he moaned, slapping his palms over his ear.

"We also have definitely had sex on that table."

"Oh my God you're the worst!"

Her laughing was short lived when Seto entered the kitchen with a tray holding three coffee cups and a frown. He had obviously overheard everything. She had been having such a good laugh teasing Mokuba, that she didn't even hear the brunet reenter the apartment.

"Alissa, stop being so crude. You're going to scar Mokuba. Mokuba, ignore her, she thinks she's funny."

"That's because I am funny," she said with a snort of laughter. She paused to glance at Seto's neck and caught sight of the purple bruise that even his turtleneck couldn't hide completely. You can't cover yours up either, can you? Haha serves you right sucker!

"Told you the hickies I gave your brother were bigger."

"I'm leaving!" Mokuba exclaimed, horrorstricken. "I am eating on the couch!" He gathered up his plate and headed towards the living room.

"We've also totally done it on that couch!" she called after him. She laughed at the younger Kaiba's horrified shriek from the next room. Her laughing stopped when she caught sight of Seto's glare on her.

"What?"

"Stop scarring my brother."

"I'm only teasing him."

"Well, stop. It isn't funny."

"Okay, fine, I'll stop." She turned her attention back to the waffle iron, and satisfied that it was warm enough, poured some of the batter in. "Are one of those for me?"

"No, all three of these cups are for me," he responded monotonously. "Don't be stupid, of course one of them is for you."

"Well thanks," she replied, taking a long sip after he had handed it to her.

"Hn, whatever. How late are you working today?"

"Uh, not too late. Only till three or so." She paused to removed the waffle from the iron and place it on a plate to eat. "Honestly, I don't even know why we're going in today, Alister didn't tell me. We've finished everything we need for this year so I'm not sure what we'll even be working on."

"Then why are you going in?"

"Because Alister said he wanted me to come in."

"Hmph, he better not be thinking of trying anything."

"Oh, stop. He isn't going to try anything."

"Tch, whatever. If you aren't back by three thirty I-."

"Oh my God, Seto, stop. He's my friend, not a serial killer." She paused to take a few more bites of her waffle before glancing at the clock on the far wall. "I should go. I'll be back soon." She kissed him lightly on the lips and left.

A few seconds after she left the apartment, Mokuba reentered the kitchen with his now empty plate.

"I'm getting her coal for Christmas."

"Just ignore her, Mokuba. She thinks she's funny."

"I'm still getting her coal. Speaking of, I was going to head to the mall today to get the last of my Christmas shopping done. Do you want to come?"

"That won't be necessary, Mokuba." I already have plans to make Alissa's Christmas meaningful.

"Alright, Seto, if you say so. I'm going to head out now before the mall gets too crowded." The younger Kaiba quickly rinsed his plate of any crumbs before sticking the plate in the dishwasher. He grabbed his wallet from the counter top and headed towards the door.

"Be careful, Mokuba," Seto called after his brother.

"I'm not twelve!" Mokuba called back.

Seto smirked at his younger brother's response. Once Mokuba had left, Seto pulled out his cellphone and dialed a number. The person answered after the fourth ring.

"Hello, Kaiba."

"Hello, Abigail. I have something to discuss with you."

"Of course, Kaiba. Is everything alright? Is Alissa alright?"

"Yes, she's fine. I just have something I'd like to ask of you. This may be a strange question, but do you have anything that used to belong to your husband? Alissa has been talking about him a lot recently and in light of our recent engagement, I'd like Alissa's gift this year to be meaningful."

"It's funny that you mention that, Kaiba. There is something of my husband's that I have been planning to give Alissa for a while now. It would mean a lot if it came from you."

"Are you certain that you wouldn't rather be the one to give her that gift?"

"I'm certain."

"I appreciate it. Thank you. Have it sent to the KaibaCorp office in New York City, I'll take care of the postage."

"I'll send it right away. Thank you for taking care of my daughter, Kaiba."

The two exchanged a quick goodbye before the call ended. Perfect, he thought. This Christmas will be perfect.

xxx

The next few days passed quickly and soon it was Christmas Eve. When Alissa had gone into work a few days before, she discovered that it was in preparation for a Christmas Eve concert in Central Park that Alister had organized. Alissa was currently on the collapsible stage, almost completely through her set. Seto and Mokuba stood in the center of the sea of people watching and cheering Alissa on.

"I hope you've all been enjoying yourself despite how cold it is out here tonight." Alissa paused for a reaction from the audience. "This will be the last song for tonight." She nodded her head in the direction of the band. When the music started, she began to sing.

"I don't want a lot for Christmas

There is just one thing I need

I don't care about the presents

Underneath the Christmas tree

I just want you for my own

More than you could ever know

Make my wish come true

All I want for Christmas is you, yeah.

I don't want a lot for Christmas

There is just one thing I need

And I don't care about the presents

Underneath the Christmas tree

I don't need to hang my stocking

There upon the fireplace

Santa Claus won't make me happy

With a toy on Christmas Day

I just want you for my own

More than you could ever know

Make my wish come true

All I want for Christmas is you

You, baby

Oh, I won't ask for much this Christmas

I won't even wish for snow

And I'm just gonna keep on waiting

Underneath the mistletoe

I won't make a list and send it

To the North Pole for Saint Nick

I won't even stay awake to

Hear those magic reindeer click

'Cause I just want you here tonight

Holding on to me so tight

What more can I do?

Baby, all I want for Christmas is you

You, baby

Oh, all the lights are shining

So brightly everywhere

And the sound of children's

Laughter fills the air

And everyone is singing

I hear those sleigh bells ringing

Santa, won't you bring me the one I really need?

Won't you please bring my baby to me?

Oh, I don't want a lot for Christmas

This is all I'm asking for

I just want to see my baby

Standing right outside my door

Oh, I just want you for my own

More than you could ever know

Make my wish come true

Baby, all I want for Christmas is you

You, baby

All I want for Christmas is you, baby

All I want for Christmas is you, baby

All I want for Christmas is you, baby

All I want for Christmas is you, baby."

At the final chord, the crowd cheered loudly. Alissa waved at the audience before exiting behind the stage. After greeting audience members for several minutes, she met Seto and Mokuba at the entrance to Central Park.

"You were great, Alissa!"

"Thanks, Mokuba."

"We'd better get back to the apartment. It looks like a storm is coming."

"You're right, Seto. Come on, Mokuba, let's go."

As the trio headed home, they failed to notice the pair of narrowed blue eyes watching them.

xxx

The next morning, Alissa, Seto, and Mokuba sat in the living room of their apartment. All the gifts had been exchanged except for one.

"Alissa, this is the last one," Seto replied, pushing a large box in her direction. "This one is from me."

"Jesus, Seto. I hope you didn't get me something too big because then that's going to make the Blue Eyes sculpture I got you look like shit."

"Just open your gift and stop being stupid."

She rolled her eyes, but began unwrapping her present anyway. Does he always have to show off? Now I feel bad that I didn't get him something bigger. Once the box was unwrapped and opened, she smiled.

"A new guitar-."

"Not exactly."

"What do you me-." She paused when she lifted the guitar out of the box and caught sight of the engraved initials on the side of the neck. "Seto, is this-?"

"Your father's guitar, yes."

"Seto? How? How did you get this?"

"Your mother had it."

"But, how? Everything was lost in the fire."

"I suppose it's fortunate that the guitar wasn't in the fire then."

He nearly fell over when she placed the guitar down and threw herself into his arms.

"Thank you, Seto. Thank you."

He slowly hugged her back, rubbing her back soothingly as her body shook with happy sobs.

"You're welcome, Alissa."

xxx

Later that evening, Mokuba walked the streets of New York with several bags filled with sushi. Seto, Alissa, and Mokuba had decided that they rather have sushi on Christmas night as opposed to the usual Christmas feast. The streets were completely deserted and dark aside from the streetlamps lighting the way. It's freezing out here, he thought as he picked up his pace. He was focusing so hard on getting home quickly to get out of the cold that he failed to notice the footsteps follow him. He felt something hard collide with the back of his head and everything went black.


Well, there you have it. The next chapter is done. Mokuba getting kidnapped wasn't my original plan, but it's been a while since something bad happened to him (I think the last time was when he got hit by a car in TACOM) so I decided it's time to be sadistic towards Little Kaiba. I know, I'm an awful person, but what can I say, torturing characters is fun. I'm not completely happy with this chapter so I'll probably go back and edit it later, but it is finally done. Anyway, I apologize for how long it's taken to update, but the semester will be wrapping up soon and then I'll have five weeks off. I just have finals and then I am done with the first half of my junior year…scary. Also, there's a new poll on my profile regarding whether or not I should make a fourth installment of TACOM focusing on Selissa as parents and their children and what not. Anyhoo, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Let me know what ya'll thought and I'll talk to you guys next update.