Author's Introduction:
I'm here! Honest! I'm here!
And it snowed tonight! It's snowing right now!
Unfortunately...the snow prevented me from going out and seeing my friends.
So instead, I decided to stay in—with Seto. I had promised him I would post this come winter, and then the world fell apart. But now I'm picking up the pieces, and I try never to break my promises. As I said in my Livejournal, there are broken promises all over the state, I'll be damned if any of them are going to be mine.
So here's Kaiba's winter story! This was actually entered in a long-ago Chibizoo fanfiction contest. And now here it is. Enjoy. Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, don't own Kaiba, got no cash, got no guy, got the world in the palm of my hand...*^_^*
**
In the Snow
**
"Please?" he begs, his eyes shining. "Please, big brother?"
"I've got a lot of work to do," I tell him, wheeling my desk chair over to the computer as a sign that the discussion is closed.
His puffy winter coat is almost too big on him and his lucky hat is pulled down over his ears so only his eyes and nose are peeking out. He looks like an Oompa-Loompa standing there, his head barely coming up over my desk. An unhappy Oompa-Loompa.
"It's snowing, Seto. And it's sticking!" He tells me this as if I should call up the three local television stations immediately and tell each one that the other two are running the story. I can feel one corner of my mouth twitch into a bit of a smile. I remember when sticking snow was the most pressing event of one's life. But the smile fades as I glace over the papers scattered across my desk. There are only two things that breed more paperwork than my job—new patients at a doctor's office, or a homicide.
"I really can't come outside with you, kiddo. I'm drowning in this stuff." I shuffle some papers for emphasis. Mokuba's eyebrows meet under the brim of his lucky hat.
"Seto," he complains. "You're always working. Why can't you take a break?"
I sigh. This argument is an old one. Normally I have a very short, kerosene-soaked fuse, but when it comes to my baby brother, my patience is endless. "We've been over this, Mokuba. I'm the big boss, and when you're the big boss, you don't get a break. I've got to work hard to make a go of it for us. Okay?"
He looks crestfallen, and it's a look I've seen before, but he doesn't complain any further, doesn't whine that I never have time for him. Instead, he summons up a smile for me. "You work so hard. You're my hero, Seto."
No, you're my hero, kid, I think absently. I wish I were half as brave as you, to smile in the face of constant disappointment.
"If you're going to the park, wear your mittens," is all I say.
He waves at me with his small hands, displaying that they're already encased in bright red mittens, and toddles out of my office. "See you later, big brother."
"Mm." That time I don't even form a word. I'm already back at my computer. I wasn't lying when I said I had a lot of work to do...
I lean back in my chair, twirling a pencil between my fingers absently, and try to remember how many times I've said "I have a lot of work to do" in my life. I'm sure it's a number that would make me cringe with embarrassment and guilt.
The snow's still falling outside the window. The flakes all look the same to me, all blank white, all without a purpose. The sky that's shaking them down is slate grey, and no one will see the sun set tonight. That's all right. There will be other sunsets.
I wonder how many sunsets I've missed in my life, how many hours I've spent in this chair, in front of the dim glow of the UV-filtered computer screen. My own voice echoes through my thoughts. "I have a lot of work to do." That's almost all I ever say to Mokuba, and if it isn't that, it's something just as cold and dismissive. "Shut the door", "Wear your mittens", "Sit still"; that's all I ever say to him.
Meanwhile, Mokuba's busy telling me I'm his hero. What an unfair trade I've given him.
Shaking my head to try and clear these thoughts, I turn back to my work, but now I can't concentrate. My mind keeps going back to that dark cell on Pegasus' island, and the way my kid brother's eyes flashed with hope through the shadows, the strength with which he'd hugged me when we were both free. That strong grip surprised me almost as much as his height did—he's getting so big. Soon he'll be thinking about girls and heading off to high school, and someday, if we're lucky, he'll be in this chair, running the company...
I frown at the thought. Some hero I am. I'm not winning duels and riding to the rescue now. I'm closeted up in my dark office like a common troll, fighting against an evil patent infringement.
I snap my computer off and wrap my scarf around my neck. Screw it. I'm going out to play in the snow with my kid brother.
**
The air is still thick with snowflakes, their individuality invisible to the naked eye. They melt into my coat faster than it takes to forget them.
The cold has tiny kitten teeth, not enough to make me really uncomfortable, just enough to remind me that my ears are naked to the wind. I shove my gloved hands in my pockets, watching my footsteps indent the snow as I walk down the streets, searching for a certain splash of color.
It's easy to spot Mokuba's red coat in the park, bright as blood against the white. He's making...something...out of the snow, but to me it just looks like a misshapen wall. I kneel and scoop some snow into my hands, feeling the chill soak through my gloves. Making a snowball, I toss it lightly so it hits the back of his coat. "Heads up."
Mokuba whirls and his eyes widen when he sees me. "Big brother! You're here!"
I smile and walk towards him. "Hey there."
"I thought you had work to do!" he accuses with a grin.
"I do," I say matter-of-factly, packing more snow onto Mokuba's half-finished wall. "I have to help you finish your snow fort, because you're going to need a lot of protection once I start making snowballs."
He grins up at me. "Don't be so sure, Seto. You may be champion at cards, but when it comes to snowballs, I rule the duel!"
I smirk slightly, stuffing snow into the back of his jacket. "Oh yeah? You think so?"
He squeals as the cold snow slides down his back, then lunges for me, small mittened hands jabbing at my ribs to tickle me. "I'm gonna get you for that, Seto!"
We roll over and over in the snow, tussling, and I think briefly about my expensive coat and my unprotected ears, but the thoughts are chased away by the chill of the snow Mokuba's trying to get down my collar, by his laughter. I growl playfully and pull his hat down over his eyes.
"Cheater!" Mokuba chuckles, sitting down in the snow, his breath curling visibly from his mouth in white puffs, as if he were a tiny dragon. I flop onto my back, feeling cold surround me. The sky is still the color of wet cement, the snow a cool kiss on my face. Before I realize what I'm doing, my arms are moving, sweeping over the snow to form wings. It's a familiar movement, one I haven't visited in a while, and when I sit up, Mokuba's watching me, his arms propped on his knees.
"Seto? You okay?"
I smile at him. "Yeah. I'm okay. Come on, you ready for battle yet?"
"I'm more ready than you." He sticks out his tongue at me. "You haven't even built your fort yet!"
"I don't need a fort." I smirk, standing up and offering my hands to help him up. "All I need is some ammo to wipe you out, but if it'll make you feel better..."
Mokuba walks over to help me construct my snow fort. As he comes closer, I see that he carefully avoids stepping on the shape of the angel's wings that I've carved into the snow.
**
In twenty minutes, we have two snow forts a comfortable distance apart. A pile of snowballs is next to me as I flatten myself against the snow, ready for an attack. "Say your prayers, Mokuba," I call, cupping my gloved hands around my mouth to form a megaphone.
My brother snorts. "Okay, I'll pray you don't suffer too much, Seto."
"I'm shaking," I laugh, but a noise startles me, the crunch of footsteps on snow. "Hold on. Civilian coming through."
Just my luck—who should walk into our battlefield but Yugi Motou? His spiky hair is glistening with snowflakes and he's wearing a puffy coat and mittens like Mokuba. Leave it to my archnemesis to find me playing in the snow like a little kid. I glance over at my brother, who's still grinning, and suddenly I don't care how I look. I do care that Yugi's there, though, and don't waste any time letting him know. "Do you mind?" I ask.
Yugi whips his head around, searching for my voice. "Kaiba?" he asks, as if he doesn't believe it's me.
"Down here," I mutter, and he looks down, surprised to see me. "I said, do you mind?"
"What are you doing down there?" he asks. "Mind what?"
I motion for him to get out of the way. "You're standing in Fort Kaiba, and I'm about to launch an attack."
"Attack?" Yugi looks so confused as Mokuba yells, "Do your worst, big brother! I've got a hundred snowballs in here!"
"Not for long, you don't," I retort. "I'll use Yugi as a human shield to block your attack!"
"Hey!!" Yugi cries, finally realizing what's going on. He dives out of the way, rolling over in the snow as Mokuba lets me have it from his side of the field. I return fire, chuckling and shaking snow from my hair. It's too bad the snowballs missed Yugi, but seeing him jump out of the way was almost as funny.
"Freezing snow attack!" Mokuba roars, in a voice that's too big to be coming out of such a small kid. He jumps on top of his snow fort, arms raised in a "v". "I'm the king of the world!"
I unravel my scarf from around my neck and wave it above my head like a flag of truce. "Surrender! I surrender!"
"Looks like someone's finally beaten the great Seto Kaiba," someone chuckles from the side. Mokuba and I both turn to look at Yugi, who's getting to his feet and brushing snow off his jeans.
I do the same, walking towards Mokuba. "Well, dueling him's more fun than dueling you," I retort to Yugi, and Mokuba laughs.
Yugi smiles at us. "I think that's the first time I've ever seen you risk foolishness."
"Yeah, well, don't tell anybody," is my answer. I put a hand on Mokuba's shoulder.
"Promise," Yugi swears. "Even if you do look silly with snow in your hair."
I'm about to snarl at him when he's blindsided by a snowball that almost knocks him off his feet. He stumbles, an exclamation escaping his mouth, then looks around wildly for his attacker. Mokuba and I both raise our hands to show that we're unarmed. The field is deserted except for the three of us.
However, when we get to the path, I see Tea Gardner walking by with her hands jammed into the pockets of her pink coat. I'd bet my Blue-Eyes that her gloves have snow on them.
**
Author's Notes:
Ahh, Kaiba, my love.
Like I said, just a little one-shot for the winter *^_^* Reviews make me happy...hint hint.