Sometimes I write because I have a specific question or scenario I want to address. Sometimes I just want to play with toys in my sandbox, so to speak. Other times, I draw from real life.
This is one of the second times.
As I write this, I have a dentist appointment in about 13 hours. And while I've reached a point in my life where I no longer fear dentistry, that doesn't mean I like it. All this is to say, I'm venting right now, using the chief avenue for such activities that I've always used.
My bestest boys.
1.
"Okay, how about this: I'll take over for Kaiba-Con this year. The whole thing. You won't have to sign off on a damn thing, I'll handle everything."
Seto chuckled. "Tempting," he said, "but no."
"What if I give my salary to charity?"
"You already do that."
Mokuba slumped in his seat and grumbled as he stared out the window and watched the city go by. "That's what I get for being philanthropic. See if I do nice things for the city anymore."
"Even if you didn't already give your salary to charity," Seto said, "doing it this time wouldn't help you."
"You don't know that. We don't live in a world where I haven't given my salary to charity. Maybe in that world you'd be reasonable."
"I have my doubts."
"I'll invent a machine that will let us visit other worlds. Then we can find a control group and test your little theory. How 'bout that?"
"I appreciate your ambition, but no."
Mokuba crossed his arms over his chest and pouted.
"You know," Seto said, "half of the problem you're having is that, with each attempt to convince me to turn around, you're amplifying your own anxiety. What can a dentist do to you that you haven't already faced and triumphed over?"
"Putting needles in my gums, Niisama! That's a torture technique!"
"You're just going in for a cleaning, kid. There's no guarantee you'll need any kind of injection. Even if you do, it won't happen today. You'll get set up with a new appointment for that."
"That's worse! That just means I'll have to wait longer for some 'doctor' to torture me!"
"If waiting longer is worse than getting it over with now, why have you been trying to convince me to take you home? Do you think you'll never have to see a dentist if you just get good enough at bribing me?"
". . . Maybe."
Seto rolled his eyes. "You're a Kaiba. Your skills at bribery are at a much higher level than they should be. The problem is, you're dealing with me. It's quite literally my job and my calling to make sure you do this. I'm legally and ethically required to take care of your teeth."
"Ethics," Mokuba muttered. "That's just a fancy word for guilt."
"That it may be," said Seto, "but you still need to do this. It's an integral element of your health, and so long as you're living under my custodianship, I'm going to ensure that you see to it. Once you're an adult, I won't have any enforceable means of making you take care of your teeth. But for now, I do."
"Enforceable," Mokuba repeated. "It sounds like you have other ideas."
Seto smirked as he pulled into a parking spot. "I always have other ideas."
2.
Mokuba came stomping into the house looking like he fully intended to eat the next person who spoke to him. He whirled around and pointed dramatically at Seto as the eldest Kaiba walked through the door, and Noa—who happened to be reading in the front parlor—didn't think he'd ever seen Mokuba glaring such sharp daggers at his beloved brother before.
He certainly hadn't ever seen Seto look so cavalier about it in response.
"You lied!"
"I did no such thing. I said you would need a new appointment if you required an injection. You didn't require an injection, so you weren't given a new appointment."
"You said I was gonna get a cleaning!"
"You did."
"You know what I mean!"
"What happened?" Noa dared to ask.
Seto smirked. "Mokuba had a couple of small cavities, so they were filled before his cleaning. There wasn't any need for numbing. It seems I am to be condemned for this. I have led him into believing something false. I am a trickster demon sent to inject chaos into this world."
Mokuba stuck out his tongue and left the room.
Seto and Noa heard him going through the refrigerator and cabinets in the kitchen. Seto called out: "Remember! Nothing hot for four hours!"
Mokuba made a sound that may or may not have contained words.
"He really doesn't like going to the dentist, does he?" Noa murmured.
"Not in the slightest," Seto said. "Thankfully, we won't have another event like this until next year. Hopefully." Seto raised an eyebrow at Noa. "What's your take on the science of luxury bones?"
Noa snickered. "When I was little, I actually tried that trick where you tie a string to your loose tooth and then tie the other end to the door and slam it really hard? It, um. It didn't go very well. After that surgery, I don't think anything a dentist could do would ever scare me."
Seto grimaced. "You continue to surprise me."
"Yeah. I get that." Noa rubbed at his chin. "Chichiue got me some really strong painkillers after that. I don't think they were legal. I'm not sure that was the right idea." He frowned. "Does that really count as a memory? I mean, this body didn't go through any of that, did it? The real Noa Kaiba is, like. In the ground. Isn't he? Am I like his twin brother or something? Even though I should technically be a lot older, if I was?"
Seto blinked. "I am ill-equipped to answer any of those questions. But I can say with confidence that any painkillers given to you by your father were most certainly illegal."
Noa nodded. "Yeah. That makes sense."
"Anyway, don't bother Mokuba until he wakes up from the nap he is no doubt taking right now. I'll be in my study. We're having chili tonight."
"Gotcha."
