"You're doing it wrong."
"…Shut up! I'm trying to get it to fit!"
"It's not going in right."
"Well obviously, genius! Why isn't it working?!"
"Why are you asking me? Are you pushing hard enough?"
Jou threw a glare at Seto, before throwing the piece of gingerbread away. "It doesn't fit! It's not going to fit!"
Rolling his eyes, Seto managed to save the piece of gingerbread before it crumbled. "Patience, puppy. Besides, you were the one that wanted to do this ridiculous activity."
Huffing, Jou crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. "It is not a ridiculous activity! This is tradition, Seto!"
"Not for us."
"Well it's going to be!"
"Just hush and keep decorating."
Muttering darkly, Jou snatched the bag of gumdrops and begin to push them into place aggressively. "Damn smartass…" Being careful after a few minutes to not destroy the house too badly with his slight annoyance, he tried not to take too much of his anger out on the innocent gumdrops.
Seto leaned back and observed his puppy for a few moments. Jou had barged into the study early this morning, waving around a packet of something and a bag filled to the brim with convenience store candies, rambling on about some kind of tradition. It was about a week into December, and his puppy had been on him almost every day about some kind of winter tradition or the other…
"I just don't see why we're wasting time doing this when you don't even have the patience to finish." Seto murmured, reaching out to adjust one of the gumdrops that were starting to slide down. "I've got work to do and this isn't really something I'd ever see myself doing."
Jou seemed to freeze for a second, his shoulders drooping slightly. His voice was soft, his tone laced with underlying silence. "Sorry Seto…It's just, I've never really gotten to experience this before with my family. My mom and Serenity were never with us, and you know how my dad is." He shrugged, twisting the bag of gumdrops he was holding nervously. "Yugi and the others always tell me about the things they do, so I wanted us to do something like this-together, as a family."
His heart twisting with guilt, Seto gently placed his hand on Jou's and kissed it. He always felt ashamed and guilty when he remembered how Jou's life was before they got together and Jou moved in with him and Mokuba. Sure, he and Mokuba didn't have their parents around either, but at least he had a little brother to love and spend time with. Jou had been alone most of the life, forced to grow up too fast and take care of his constantly alcoholic and abusive father. "I'm sorry puppy, I didn't realize it meant so much to me. I'm honored that you want to share your first time doing these traditions with me, really."
"It's okay Seto, I know that running a company is hard work. I don't blame you if you need to get back to work or anything." Picking up an icing bag, Jou meticulously twisted and began to decorate the sides of the house, drawing random swirls and shapes. He was a lot quieter now, focusing his work on the gingerbread house instead of the tears that were threatening to spill over.
He jumped slightly when he felt Seto's hands covering his own, guiding the bag of icing over the wall over the house. "I have an idea, why don't we make some drawings of ourselves?" While they were drawing, Seto placed his mouth by Jou's ear and murmured softly, "I do have a company to run, but my first job and priority is making you happy. That's the most important thing to me, you know." Smiling, Jou turned around and gave Seto a kiss.
Patiently, Seto and Jou fitted in the last piece of gingerbread and began to draw little chibi-like versions of themselves and Mokuba, giggling and smiling all the way.
When Mokuba returned home from school, he smiled at the little gingerbread house sitting on the pedestal near the staircase. Gently touching the little pictures of himself, Jou, and Seto, he laughed and went to find his brother and Jou.
They spent the rest of the night in the kitchen, making more gingerbread houses and laughing the entire night away.