Seto yawned as he awoke, opening his eyes. The dream he'd been comfortably immersed in swiftly fled, leaving his mind depressingly empty. He promptly groaned and tried to bury his face in his pillow. What was with his subconscious mind and waking him up in the middle of the night for its sick amusement? However, as soon as he thought it, the word 'sick' made him pause to check how he was feeling. He was still wary of the events from the night before. When he noted that he wasn't nauseous at all, the brunette sighed. He glanced down to see Joey fast asleep, tucked right under the covers with him and he smiled slightly, stroking the soft fur on the dog's head.

Joey had been taken on a walk to the park earlier that day. Both Seto and Mokuba took turns holding the leash, struggling to keep the puppy in check. He bounded about in big strides, excited to run around and explore the park. Seto knew Joey would always come when called, but he was hesitant about letting the pup off the leash. However, the park was one that was friendly to dogs, so he relinquished control after a while and unclipped the leash.

Joey had been off like a rocket, exploring, sniffing everything, trying to chase joggers, and so on. By the end of their walk, Seto had had to apologize to two joggers for Joey getting under their feet and tripping them, not to mention drag the dog away from at least four of the gardens in the park, as Joey tried to tear them apart for the sake of digging. The puppy caused so much trouble, they almost got kicked out a few times, and another young man, whether trying to be helpful or funny, handed the brunette a pamphlet on a dog training school. Even though Seto shot a small glare at the man, he pocketed the pamphlet to look at later. Some discipline might be useful at some point.

Now, though, it seemed like the long walk had tuckered the pup out. His paw twitched in his sleep and Seto slowly ceased the petting. He didn't want to wake Joey this late. It might be impossible to get him to go to sleep again. He was about to cuddle back down under his blankets when a timid knock came at the door, startling him. He glanced at his clock, noting that it was 11:49. He slowly pulled back the duvet again and rose from his warm bed, albeit hesitantly. When he was halfway to the door, a small voice spoke out.

"Seto…?" As Seto recognized his brother's voice, he hurried forward to the door, pulling it open quietly and peeking out.

"Mokuba, what's the matter?" He asked, tilting his head. "You should be in bed." His brother simply shrugged, clutching at his arms and staring at the ground and his bare feet. He looked very unhappy, as if he'd been crying.

"… I had a bad dream." He said quietly. "Could you come tuck me in again?" he glanced up with pleading eyes, and Seto smiled slightly, ruffling his brother's hair. He knew that his younger sibling was slowly reaching the age where he'd have to be able to deal with these things on his own, but for now he would indulge him, knowing the needs for comfort that arose with nightmares.

"Alright." He replied, gently patting Mokuba's shoulder. "Let's go get you back into bed, then." The younger boy nodded and yawned, but stayed very close to his brother the whole time they were walking. After only a few minutes of walking, they reached the boy's room. Mokuba yawned again, stepping inside and climbing into bed. Seto followed closely behind, and once Mokuba was settled, he pulled the blankets up to the boy's chin.

"Seto?" Mokuba asked suddenly. His brother glanced up and blinked.

"Yes, Mokuba?" he replied. What was hiding behind the tone that Mokuba was using? His younger brother shifted slightly before looking up again.

"What were Mom and Dad like?" he asked suddenly, catching the brunette sorely off guard. Seto blinked a few more times and sighed, smoothing out the blankets on Mokuba's bed.

"I don't really remember." He replied truthfully. "Mother died a long time ago, only a couple months after you were born. I was still very small then. We were put up for adoption when Father couldn't support us anymore. However, I do remember that they both loved us very much and would have preferred to keep us if they could have." he spoke softly, and Mokuba nodded slowly, smiling.

"Do you think they would have liked me?" he asked quietly, making Seto smile softly and ruffle the boy's hair again.

"They would have, and did, love you very much. That's something I'm sure of" he replied, and Mokuba nodded.

"Promise?" he asked, looking up at his brother with a small, tired smile. Seto chuckled, leaning down to place a small kiss on Mokuba's forehead.

"Of course. I promise. Now, go to sleep, alright?" he pulled the blankets up a little further and his younger brother nodded and snuggled under his quilt.

"Goodnight, Seto." He said softly, with a small, sleepy smile. "I love you." Seto smiled as he left.

"I love you too, Mokuba. Sweet dreams."

The brunette sighed as he walked at a leisurely pace back down the halls toward his own room. Mokuba was at the age that he was starting to get unbelievably curious about their past and their parents. It frustrated Seto to no end that he couldn't answer the boy's questions when they were asked.

His own memory failed when it came to their past, although he was the older of the two. He remembered his father very vaguely. The man had loved them both and been a good man. That he still knew. However, when their mother passed away, god he wished he could remember her face, he had grown too weak in spirit to be able to support a family and had been forced to put the boys up for adoption in an orphanage. However, Seto didn't blame the man. After all, he'd done all he could.

That was what Seto was doing for Mokuba now. All he could. The boy would never be without something he needed, and would often have all he wanted, without being spoiled. The brunette wanted his younger brother to always be happy, and so, although he installed parental schedules and rules, he always gave the boy a little bit of leeway in everything as well. It worked, too, and generally, Mokuba was a happy person, compassionate and able to smile through a myriad of unpleasant things.

It prompted the brunette to smile as he thought of his brothers bright, innocent smile. Finally, he reached his room, and yawned, turning the doorknob and stepping inside. However, he got only about two steps into his room before freezing, eyes wide. Contrary to what he could ever possibly convince himself to believe, an odd scene indeed sat before him.

Joey had disappeared, no longer asleep comfortably on the bed, and in his place, tucked comfortably under the covers, laid a young, blonde man, his back turned to Seto. The brunette blinked a few times, not sure whether to leave and go get help, in case this man was dangerous, or go confront him. He eventually took the second option, stepping forward and grabbing the blankets, yanking them down enough to wake the other.

"Hey! What the fuck are you doing in my bedroom?" He snarled at the stranger, who was startled, and sat up. Seto went to drag the other off, but the young man, who he saw now was close to his age, blinked and held up his hands.

"S-Seto! Wait!" He exclaimed, stepping back and off the bed. His knees immediately buckled underneath him and he hit the floor, wincing. The brunette was even more unsettled that this blonde knew his name.

"Who the hell are you?" He asked coldly as he dropped on one knee to look the other straight in the startled brown eyes. The young man shrank away, obviously afraid of Seto's anger and confusion.

"Seto, it's me. Look!" The blonde lifted his head and pointed to a collar fastened around his neck. The brunette frowned slightly as he tried to see what it said. However, as he read the tag on the collar, his eyes widened considerably.

The tag on the collar said "Joey."