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

*Rated T for Teen

Months of Bills

The fifth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me is months of bills.

Seto glared at the credit card bill be held in his hand, mentally willing away the extra zeros he saw there. Had they really spent $5,000 on just Christmas decorations? And that was nothing compared to what they'd spent on presents and everything else.

He'd have to have a talk with his Puppy about this. He needed to vent, and Joey always seemed to make him feel better. He'd just say something like they'd be paying bills for months, his Puppy would be all cute and comfort him and say that he just did everything in the spirit of Christmas, and then he would feel better again.

Now all he had to do was find his Puppy.

Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Joey all morning. Was he still in bed? It was a little past noon already.

Growing concerned, Seto headed upstairs to their bedroom. Opening the door quietly, he stepped inside and found a large mass buried underneath the blankets.

Seto smiled to himself and crept over to the bed. He was about to pounce, when he suddenly heard Joey sniff. Listening closely, he noticed that his Puppy was crying. Approaching him hesitantly, Seto pulled back the covers and slipped into bed next to him.

When the brunet tried putting his arms around him, Joey moved away. "What's the matter, Puppy?" Seto asked worriedly. Had he done something to upset him?

"Nothin'," came the muffled reply.

"How can it be nothing when you're crying in our bed? It's already past noon. You've never been in bed this late."

"Past…noon?" Had he really been in bed that long?

"Yeah. Are you feeling okay?" Seto asked, reaching out to feel Joey's forehead. The blond pulled away again. "Will you stop doing that!" he snapped.

Joey whimpered and curled into a fetal position.

Seto sighed and tried to calm himself down. It looked like he had the role of comforter this time. But he needed to know what was wrong in order to help his Puppy.

"I'm sorry, Puppy. I didn't mean to bite. I just…get frustrated when you're upset and you don't tell me why. I want to help you, but I can't if you don't tell me what's wrong."

Joey laid there for a few more minutes before turning around to face Seto. He buried his face in his Dragon's chest, seeking comfort.

Seto reached out again, this time stroking Joey's back comfortingly. "Will you tell me now?"

The blond hesitated before speaking. "I ruined Christmas."

The brunet looked taken aback. "You didn't ruin Christmas."

"Yes, I did!" Joey insisted. "I want this Christmas to be the best ever. It's our first Christmas as a family and I'm screwin' it all up. I shouldn't have made ya put up the lights or do the Christmas cards. It's been nothin' but trouble."

"Puppy, that's not true. If anything, you're trying your hardest to make this work. None of us have ever had a real Christmas together as a family. You've been doing your best and I think I've been making things difficult for you. I'm not used to spending time together with a family doing all these little things. Before, cutting down a tree, putting up lights, even sending Christmas cards, seemed pointless to me. I'm just not used to doing these sorts of things. I've always had other people do them. But that was before. You wanted us to do these things together as a family so that we could share these special moments together. I'm sorry for being such a jerk. I'll make it up to you, though, all right?"

"Ya mean that?" Joey asked sincerely.

"Of course I do. I love you. And I want our family to be happy this holiday season…and always."

"Oh, Seto. I love ya, too," replied Joey, hugging him tightly. "Thank ya."

"You're welcome. Now, do you mind comforting me for a bit?"

"About what?" Joey asked, looking puzzled.

"Our credit card bill."

"What credit card bill?"

"This credit card bill," Seto answered, pulling out the bill and handing it over to Joey.

The blond's eyes widened dramatically. "What the hell did ya buy?"

"Presents, decorations, the usual. We'll be paying these bills for months."

"What do ya mean months? Ya own a billion dollar company! Ya could pay this off in a heartbeat!"

Seto huffed and lay on his back. It was then that Joey realized what Seto had been pining after.

"Oh, I get it now. Did somebody want some puppy-lovin' today? Ya know, ya don't have to find an excuse to get my attention. Ya could always ask, ya know."

Seto's expression suddenly took on a mischievous look. "I could always take what I want, too," he said as he pounced on Joey without warning.

They were in for a nice, long afternoon. Hopefully Mokuba would be able to keep Kai and Jovi occupied for a very long time.

End Drabble