Tasselshipping (Kaiba x Esper Roba)

Kaiba felt like his head was going to explode. The constant sound of a string instrument being strummed alongside a group of violins and a flute in The First Noel made him want to scream – wasn't anyone else tired of this song yet? He managed to stay calm, however, and continued staring at the long aisle of toys.

He felt like a total idiot among all the plastic action figures and especially the fairy dresses, and he wondered what the tabloids would have to say if they caught him in here. He had taken precautions, of course: he wore a dark pair of sunglasses and a short black jacket with jeans. Much different from his usual long white or purple coat. No one would think twice to see a brown haired teenager in Walmart.

He chewed on his lip, staring at the Legos and wondering for the five hundredth time why he didn't know what Mokuba wanted for Christmas. He couldn't remember it ever being this difficult. Well…he hadn't actually gotten Mokuba anything for Christmas in years. What on Earth did that kid want? He didn't even believe in Santa Claus (thanks to his big brother, Kaiba though dryly) so Kaiba couldn't even use that as an excuse to get his wish list. Hm…maybe the alien Lego set…?

He became aware that someone was standing beside him, but decided to ignore it. And that's what he did until he realized that the figure had reached out and taken a small Lego set – the one Kaiba had been looking at a moment ago – and slipped it under his jacket.

Idiot. Why would he have stolen the thing right in front of someone?

Kaiba wasn't sure why he decided to get involved, but as the blue-haired boy turned away, Kaiba reached out and grabbed his shoulder.

"Hey," he said. "What exactly do you think you're doing?"

"Huh?" the boy said, looking back over his shoulder – the very picture of innocence. "I'm sorry, but what are you talking about."

"Just put the box back. Unless you expect me to believe that you're just carrying it there until you get to the check-out line."

The boy scowled up at him. Kaiba did not let go of the boy's shoulder until he reached sullenly into his jacket and put the Lego set back on the shelf.

"There, you happy?" the boy said.

"I'm never happy," Kaiba said. "Just go before I call someone."

He shoved the boy forward. But the boy didn't start walking. He shoved his hands in his pockets and continued to scowl.

"I hope you know that you're ruining Christmas for my family," he said.

"Is it that hard to buy the stupid thing?" Kaiba said, not looking at him. Hm…maybe Mokuba would like the cowboy set better…? Or did he even like Legos? Kaiba wasn't sure. Damn, this was hard.

"I can't afford it," the boy said sullenly. "Not after I've bought the other stuff for my brothers. I can't leave any of them out."

Kaiba paused, glancing at the boy now. He looked vaguely familiar, like maybe Kaiba had seen his picture somewhere before. Chin-length, light blue hair and narrow eyes, not much taller than Mokuba. Huh. He couldn't place him.

Kaiba just shrugged at him, taking down one of the sets to look at the back. Pirates, maybe?

"What's your name, anyway?"

"What's yours?" the boy shot back.

Kaiba decided it would be a better use of his time to just ignore the little shoplifter. Then, after a pause, the boy answered.

"Esper. Esper Roba. And what about you?"

Hm. Still didn't remember him.

"Kai – " Kaiba started, and then remembered that he wasn't supposed to be here. "Kai."

"That's a stupid name."

"Should I just call security and tell them you've been shoplifting?"

That shut the boy up. But it didn't take long for him to start talking again.

"Well, 'Kai,' you obviously have no idea what it's like to not have any money," the boy said scathingly. "And you've probably never felt obligated to buy a gift for a family member in your life! If you have a younger sibling, I bet that they're sad every single Christmas! I'm just trying to make things a little better for my brothers!"

And with that, he started to turn around. Kaiba paused, halfway to putting the Lego set back. When was the last time he had gotten Mokuba something for Christmas? He had never really thought that Mokuba minded – after all, Christmas was a really busy time at KaibaCorp. They had rarely taken a break during the holidays.

"I was ten," he muttered under his breath. "Seven years ago. That was the last time I got Mokuba a Christmas present."

It had been a small, egg-shaped capsule he had found on the ground. When he opened it, there was a little monster inside. At the time, he had had no idea what it was, but the monster looked kind of like a dragon. Mokuba liked dragons. At the orphanage, he hadn't even been able to wrap it. But Mokuba had looked so, so happy when Seto brought it out from behind his back.

"Hey. Roba," Kaiba said suddenly.

The boy paused, and glared back over his shoulder. His eyes widened with shock, and he turned around just in time to catch the Lego set that Kaiba tossed at him. They got even wider when he saw the ten dollar bill that Kaiba had shoved in the crack of the box.

"Get your brother his Christmas gift," he said.

And before Esper Roba could say anything else, Kaiba turned and walked out of the aisle.

Wonder where they sell the Capsule Monsters…

A/N: Aw, how sweet! Kaiba's acting like a big brother! X3 Hooray for Christmas, because it gives me ideas! Next is Tangleshipping (Ryouta/Mako Tsunami x Ryuzaki/Rex x Roba x Haga/Weevil).