It was only about a week before Christmas Eve, when Seto relaxed in the living room with a mug of hot chocolate in his hands and a puppy in his lap. Mokuba was curled up in his big, comfy armchair, completely immersed in the new DS game the cook had given him as an early Christmas present. Something about solving puzzles. Seto approved, if it would force Mokuba to think things out and use his brain. The evening was quiet and cozy, until the crackling of the fireplace was interrupted by Seto's cell phone, vibrating officially on the table. He sighed and picked it up, flipping it open and pressing it hesitantly to his ear.
"Yes?" he asked, sounding as official as his phone. He was silent for a few moments, and then sighed. "You're sure it can't be done any other night? I do have family things I'd like to tend to." At the word 'family', Mokuba glanced up from his game, hitting the pause button to listen in. Seto was silent for a few more moments before sighing. "Alright, fine. It had better be over by seven, though. I'm not going to ruin the Christmas of the people I care about by working all night." He then closed the phone promptly, without even a goodbye.
"… Seto?" Mokuba spoke quietly, brow furrowed. The brunette glanced up quickly, and smiled, reaching out to scratch the relaxing Joey behind the ears. He shook his head dismissively.
"It's just an opening ceremony for a new Kaiba Corp. building I've got to attend." he replied. His brother, however, frowned slightly, not buying the nonchalance. "Alright." Seto sighed after a few moments, "It's on Christmas Eve." He immediately saw his brother's eyes widen and mouth begin to open in protest. "Please. Mokuba. I don't have to be there late. You know that I wouldn't dream of missing a family Christmas." His brother seemed calmed by that, and he nodded.
"Fine… But you'd better be home on time." he said softly, pouting. Seto smiled and stood, holding a napping Joey in one arm and ruffling his brother's hair affectionately with the other.
"I promise." He replied. "Now, I'm headed for bed. You don't stay up too late, alright?" Mokuba nodded and returned to his DS as Seto left the room and headed down the hall toward his bedroom.
By the time the brunette got into the hall, Joey was awake and squirming to be put down. As soon as the puppy's feet were on the floor, he ran ahead of Seto, completely aware by now of where his owner was going.
Their bedtime ritual was comfortably ingrained in both their minds now. Joey hopped up onto the bed, after having his paws checked for dirt, of course, and stole Seto's pillow while the brunette changed. Then, Seto would come over and push Joey off, pulling back the covers, under which the puppy would crawl. It became a small game of cat and mouse, until Seto caught Joey or the puppy fell off the bed, into his owner's waiting arms. They'd then tuck into bed and turn out the light, Joey sleeping on the brunette's chest when he slept on his back, or tucked in his arms when he slept on his side. Both dog and owner would be asleep within minutes.
It was rare, though, that Seto awoke in the night. He groaned and rolled over in his half-sleep, his eyelids fluttering. Finally, he awoke properly and immediately winced at the churning in his stomach. He glanced at the clock. 11:54… Great. Another violent churning sent his mind leaping into action, running a list of all he'd eaten that day. It continued doing so as he carefully moved Joey off his chest and headed for the bathroom adjoining to his room.
He quickly found out it was his dinner. Perhaps the seafood stew hadn't been cooked thoroughly enough, but the brunette made it to the bathroom just in time to throw the toilet lid and seat back and lean in to violently expel the contents of his stomach into the perfectly white porcelain bowl. He heaved for a good few minutes, finally just pushing up bile and stomach fluids before he groaned, wiped his mouth with a piece of toilet paper and flushed the toilet. Slowly, he lowered himself to the cool tile of the floor, intending to only rest a few minutes before he crawled back into bed. Nobody ever had to know he'd been sick.
However, he quickly found he couldn't find the strength to get up again. He'd begun to feel hot and sweat uncomfortably, the tile beneath his head becoming clammy and uncomfortable. A feverish stupor washed over him and his eyelids fluttered as he gave up trying to lift himself from the floor. His clothing was sticking to him uncomfortably as he sweated. Whatever had been in that stew had really disagreed with him, he thought as he panted and his eyes slowly closed. Perhaps a little bit of sleep here would help him and he could get back into bed in a few hours.
Seto wasn't sure how long he'd been on the floor, but it couldn't have been very long before he vaguely heard footsteps outside the bathroom. Suddenly, there was someone next to him, checking his forehead. The person's hand withdrew, as if startled, when it felt his outrageous fever. Then, strong arms gently slid under him and lifted him off the floor. The brunette found he was too tired to even open his eyes and mouth to thank whichever butler or maid that had obviously heard him getting sick and come to aid him, so he simply rested his head on the mystery person's chest, letting his senses drift away. He was vaguely aware of being deposited back in his bed, tucked into the blankets comfortably.
The next thing he was aware of was a cool cloth being placed over his eyes. Again, he went to say his thanks for the aid he was receiving, but he couldn't get anything out. His throat was strangely dry as well. He sighed and laid still, slowly drifting off to sleep again. His body, having expelled the offending food, was starting to calm down and he was feeling better. He later decided he must have been delusional from the fever, but as Seto began to fall asleep, he was almost sure somebody had slipped into the bed next to him and held him in their arms.
The next morning, Seto awoke with a long yawn. He groaned grumpily as he did every morning, but sat up anyways. As always, there was Joey, asleep on the duvet next to him. However, the strange thing was the cloth on the pillow. Seto stared at it for a few moments, frowning slightly before the memory of what had happened the night before came rushing back to him. That was right! His illness, and the person who'd helped him back into bed! The brunette looked around for anyone in his room, but could locate not a soul. Did the butler, (He decided it must have been a male. None of the female aids of the house could have carried him,) not want any kind of reward for coming to his aid? He sighed, but shook his head and stood. No new wave of nausea hit him as he stood and he smiled thankfully, stretching.
His rise from the bed awoke Joey, who was wide awake in an instant and sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at Seto intently, as if wanting to know he was all right. The brunette blinked and looked at the puppy, whose tail began to wag of its own nature as he noticed his master's stare.
"Ah. That's right. You probably heard my illness last night." he said softly, leaning to scratch the puppy behind the ears. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to worry you." Joey simply licked his fingers, happy that his owner was okay. Turning his attention to his closet, Seto sighed, rooting through his clothes for something to wear that day. "What do you think, Joey?" he asked the puppy as he pulled out two collared shirts, laying them on the bed. "Blue, or red?" The puppy promptly stood and stared at the clothes, before jumping on the red shirt and rolling all over it, shedding his blonde fur onto the colored fabric. Seto chuckled. "Alright, blue it is, then."