Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! of The 12 Pains of Christmas by Bob Rivers

*Rated T for Teen

Sending Christmas Cards

The fourth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me is sending Christmas cards.

Joey had finally found a use for his 'video clip blackmail.' And boy, was Seto fuming.

After some persuasion, Joey had convinced Seto to get into the Christmas spirit by sending Christmas cards to all of his employees and their families. Seto didn't quite understand the reason, and when Joey had continued, saying that he should give them Christmas bonuses as well, he'd nearly blown a fuse.

But after seeing 'his performance' one last time, he figured it would be best to send Christmas cards with bonuses to his employees rather than a graphic e-card sent by his Puppy. There was no way he could win this one.

He'd tried destroying the phone. And he'd succeeded, too. But his Puppy had made numerous copies that he hadn't been able to find.

So now here he was, stuck in this never-ending loop of Christmas card hell.

Seto, Joey, Kai, Jovi, and Mokuba sat around the dining room table.

Kai would pass Seto a Christmas card; Seto would sign it and pass it to Jovi; Jovi would place the Christmas bonus inside the card and pass it to Joey; Joey would write the name of the employee on the envelope, put the card inside, and pass it to Mokuba; Mokuba would then have to lick the envelope, seal it, and place it on the nice stack developing right next to him.

Mokuba groaned after licking his fiftieth envelope. "Can we switch places or something?" he whined. He was tired of licking envelopes. They tasted nasty.

"Absolutely not," Joey quipped. "It's your own fault, anyway."

"How is it my fault?" exclaimed Mokuba.

Joey turned on him with a glare. "Ya ate all five packs of candy canes! That was for everyone! Now since ya liked lickin' the damn candy canes so much, these envelopes shouldn't be too hard for ya!"

Mokuba fumed. It wasn't his fault he had such a sweet tooth. "Seto—"

"Listen to your mother, Mokuba," Seto interrupted with a smirk. Maybe, if he could make his Puppy mad enough, all of them could get out of this stupid thing.

Joey sputtered indignantly. "Mother! Do I look like a mother to ya?"

Seto gave him a once over and said, "No, but you sure as hell act like you're PMS-ing."

"That's it!" Joey screamed. Seto inwardly smirked in triumph. "Mokuba! Switch places with your brother!"

Seto's face paled slightly. That wasn't how his plan was supposed to work. "What do you mean by switch places?"

Joey's glare became deadly. "Ya know exactly what I mean. Now switch places or no sweets for a month."

Seto grumbled as he got up from his seat and switched with Mokuba. He knew what sweets meant, and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to get any for a month. He'd die.

As soon as Mokuba sat down, however, Seto realized something. "Wait. They'll know it's not my signature if Mokuba signs."

Joey smirked and Mokuba gulped. "I happen to know for a fact that Mokuba can forge your signature quite well. Isn't that right, Mokuba?"

Mokuba tried very hard to avoid his brother's heated gaze. "Joey? Can't you just ground me instead?" he asked quietly.

"Nope," Joey replied. "Now start signin'. Perhaps you'll think twice about forgin' your brother's signature after you've signed it about two-hundred more times."

Mokuba groaned again. This was going to be a long day. From now on, he'd stay on Joey's good side. He'd definitely have to after today. Joey was probably the only one who could protect him after Seto found out what he'd used his signature for.

"Mokuba," growled Seto.

"Not now, Seto. Later," said Joey, writing another name on an envelope.

About half an hour later, Seto was the one groaning. "I don't even know half these people."

"Stop complainin' and do somethin' charitable for once. If it weren't for these people, ya wouldn't have a very successful company, now, would ya?"

Seto had to admit that Joey had a point. And letting his employees know that he appreciated them might give them some incentive to work even harder the upcoming year.

But he still wanted to know what Mokuba had done. What did Joey know that he didn't?

Two hours later, they were finally done. Joey had taken Kai and Jovi, given them some hot cocoa, and sent them to bed. He came back to the dining room just in time to see Seto and Mokuba face off.

"What did you do?" Seto ground out.

"Um…I…kinda used your signature to get something…that I normally couldn't get otherwise," Mokuba answered sheepishly.

"And what would that be?" urged Seto.

Mokuba remained silent.

Joey sighed, seeing as how this was getting nowhere fast. "Mokuba, would ya just tell him about the Playgirl magazines under your bed already?"

Mokuba stared at Joey openmouthed, looking aghast. "They're not Playgirl! They're Playb—" Mokuba almost forgot Seto was there, "—boy, look at the time! Is it that late already? I better get to bed!"

Mokuba practically flew out of the room, leaving a dumbfounded Seto in his wake.

"MOKUBA!" roared Seto as he started running after him.

"AAAHHHHH!" Joey heard Mokuba scream.

Joey couldn't help but be slightly amused. It was amazing what a simple act such as sending Christmas cards could do. But this wasn't how he wanted their holiday to be. It should be fun, filled with laughter and joy…from everyone…and he wasn't doing too good a job at doing that.

How could he make everyone happy this holiday season? Joey sat down, placed his elbows on the table, and rested his chin in his hands, looking utterly depressed.

End Drabble