day 27 - on one of their birthdays

Mary was woken up by a kiss on her forehead, which had never happened before, so she was taken by surprise. Her eyes blinked open almost immediately, and she glanced up to see Seto leaning over her. He grinned.

"G'morning!" he said, his voice cheerful. She squinted up at him. "What do you want for breakfast?"

She sat up, still confused. "Shouldn't you be at work by now?"

Seto laughed in a way that was almost guilty, scratching the back of his head. "They somehow gave me today off, so nope! Come on, we should get up." Without really waiting for an answer, he looped an arm around her back and the other under her knees and lifted her easily. Taken by surprise, she wrapped her arms around his neck for balance.

"Sorry, too quick?" he asked as he carried her towards the kitchen. She shook her head, wondering what had gotten into him. He was always cheerful, but this was above and beyond the norm.

When she was set down lightly on a chair at the table, she was baffled to find that there was already breakfast on the table, and Kido was hard at work at the stove making more if anyone wanted seconds. Seto claimed the chair next to hers.

"It looks like there are strawberries today too," he said, poking at the cut fruit on his plate. "Do you want mine? I know they're your favorite."

The offer wiped any suspicion from her mind. "Yes please!" Seto speared the strawberry with his fork and held it out to her, and she leaned over to eat it.

Somehow she expected Kano to make a sly comment, but he didn't seem to notice, smiling down at his own food and not paying any attention at all to the two of them.

They finished breakfast, Kido sitting down to eat with them too, and then they divided up to do their own things. Seto beamed down at Mary, apparently having decided this was the best way to spend a day off. "What should we do today?" he asked, and she had to admit there was an anime she'd taped that she'd been meaning to catch up on.

He picked her up again, though she protested she could walk, thank you very much, and cuddled against his chest all the same. He plunked her down on the couch and set up the tv for her show, then joined her, bouncing a bit on the cushions. Mary had no idea what was going on, but she decided she liked it.

As the morning went on and the episodes played, she found herself getting tired. Yawning, she curled up against his shoulder and he put an arm around her as her eyelids drifted shut. In minutes, she was asleep.

Sometime later, Kano wandered by. He leaned over the back of the couch to grin down at them. Seto opened one eye.

"She's asleep?" Kano laughed, "guess you must have really tired her out."

Seto chuckled, not offended by what he knew the other boy was implying. He tucked away a lock of hair that had fallen across her face. "She didn't even notice. I'm glad."

Kano snorted. "At some point someone's gonna mention you're eighteen. She'll figure it out."

He knew he was right, but he didn't want to deal with it until then. "It was a big favor for you and Kido to agree to go along with this."

The blond boy pushed off the back of the couch and wandered away down the hall, replying, "it was instead of a birthday present, remember? I'm just practical."

"Thanks anyway," Seto said to his retreating back, and Kano waved his hand, not looking back.

Seto watched until he turned the corner, and then snuggled down into the cushions, pulled Mary to lie comfortably in his lap, and shut his eyes to stave off the future for just a little bit longer.