Author's Note: I know that Christmas is seen as more of a romantic holiday in Japan, more between lovers and without family and presents and trees. But this idea was scratching at my brain for far too long. JAPAN I'M SORRY I'M RUINING YOUR CULTURE WITH MY STORY! D:

Also I took the nose-nod thing from "T'was the Night Before Christmas" and I think it works really well. And terrible story title is terrible. If there are typos, I'll fix them when I get home, so just ignore them for now! ;p

Family Clauses

Seto physically cringed when he heard the buzz and crackle that meant his secretary was trying to page him. He thought about ignoring it and imagined for one blissful moment of ripping the wires out, putting his head down on his desk, and sleeping. Then, he sighed and answered her. "Yes, Midori?"

"Sir, your appointment for three is here. Shall I send him in?"

The brunet seriously contemplated saying no. It was his company's biggest selling season and he hadn't had a decent night's sleep since the beginning of October. He was tired—exhausted, really—and he would have been well within his rights to say no, but…

…His grandfather would be disappointed. He was so old, he didn't want to do that.

"…Send him in," he sighed, running a hand through his hair. He couldn't wait until after the new year. He might be able to get a full eight hours of sleep.

The man that strode through the door was tall, with black hair tied back at the nape of his neck. His eyes were sharp and a shade of bright blue. He walked right up to the desk and snapped his hand out for him to shake. "Seto."

"Nooo," Seto stated, brows twitching together in annoyance. "I refuse."

The man frowned. "Seto, what can I do to make this up to you?"

"I've already told you: nothing. Stop offering your hand to me. I'm not going to take it." He sighed and rubbed his eyes. They ached and soon they'd begin to throb with exhaustion. He'd catch a nap after his next meeting. "Just spit out what you what it is you want and get out. I've already sent Grandfather the duel disks and videogames I promised for him this year, and he knows that if he has any more requests, it's too late to make them."

"That's just it," the raven-haired man replied. "I'm here at his request."

The brunet scowled. "Is he dying?"

"Well, no, but—"

"Will he be dying any time soon?"

"No, Seto, but—"

"Then he can come and talk to me about it himself."

The man huffed, eyebrow twitching as he tried to rein in his temper. "I knew you wanted nothing to do with us, but this blatant disrespect for your elders—"

"I have no problem respecting my elders!" Seto snapped, standing up. "If Grandfather was here in your place, I would have discussed whatever matter it was with him! It's you I have a problem with, you bastard, just letting us stay in that stupid orphanage after our parents died! There's nothing to say to you as far as I'm concerned, so GET OUT."

"You selfish little brat—"

"GET OUT BEFORE I CALL SECURITY TO MAKE YOU GET OUT!" the younger man roared.

The man snarled back at him before turning and storming out of the office.

Seto followed him to the door and glared at him as he strode into the elevator. "AND DON'T EVER COME BACK HERE!"

"Don't worry, because I won't, you selfish little shit!" the man spat back at him, just before the elevator doors slid closed.

Seto stood in the doorway, panting. Seeing that man always filled him with rage. He always tried to control it, but it never worked. When was he going to learn?!

"…That was much better than last time, sir!" Midori informed him, smiling. "And it seems like your uncle is starting to get used to it! He lasted a whole seven seconds longer this year!"

Hanita stared at him. "Sir, would you like a bottle of water? Perhaps a sandwich? …You look like you're going to faint."

"UGH. No, I'm fine."

"I'll have a sandwich on your desk within fifteen minutes," she continued.

Seto threw his hands up in frustration (and defeat, because his secretaries were better at keeping track of his health than he was at this point of the year) and turned to walk back into his office. "Fine, whatever!" He slammed the door shut angrily.

Midori looked at her coworker in concern. "I usually forget he's a child until mid-November. Then his childishness comes out in waves."

"Poor kid. He really needs to take on an assistant," Hanita sighed, frowning, and leaned her head in her hand. "I'm almost tempted to just put an ad in the paper for one, interview people myself, and just have the person waiting when he comes in the next day."

The other woman giggled. "Can you imagine? He'd walk into his office and a stranger would be there. 'What are you doing in my office?' 'I'm your new assistant, sir.'"

Hanita smiled a little as well. "And Kaiba would say, 'When the hell did I hire you? Hell, it doesn't matter. Coffee. Bring it to me.'"

Seto opened the door to glare at them. "I can still hear you and I would too notice if some random people showed up and claimed they were my assistants now get back to work!" He slammed the door shut again.

Midori and Hanita stared at each other for a few moments, stunned, then erupted with laughter.

Seto leaned against the door and sighed, but he couldn't help his lips twitching into a small smile as well. His secretaries really did have his best interest at heart—they'd been with him almost as long as he'd been in control of the company—and he did appreciate them. He especially appreciated that they tried to take care of him by scheduling his meetings with long enough breaks that he could catch a nap and sending him food and checking to make sure he ate it. He knew he was a terrible person to work for at the end of the year because of all the stress, but they stayed regardless of how often he blew up at them.

Now, that could be because he always gave them quite a large bonus at the end of the month, but they showed they cared too often in the littlest of ways for him to believe that.

As he walked back to his desk, he saw a shimmer of snowflakes and perhaps a candy cane or two in the chair in front of it. He sighed and slowly sank down into his chair, wondering if he should skip his chiropractor appointment and sleep—and whether Midori and Hanita would let him. "Grandpa, I have more comfortable chairs."

The old man laughed. "Oh, Seto, any chair I sit in his comfortable!"

Seto leaned his head in his hand and looked up at him tiredly but still smiled as best he could. "'s that so?"

"Of course it's so!" He laughed again, a loud, sincere, and mirthful 'hohohoho.' "I see you sent your uncle off in a tizzy! I sort of expected that. Lasted a little longer this time, though!"

"Grandpa, why are you here?" the brunet asked. He was so tired. He wanted to offer coffee or something to show he was trying to be polite with him, but he'd depleted his own pot and his secretaries' and Mokuba had actually run out for a few more bags of coffee for everyone.

The old man frowned and stroked his white beard. "Well, I'd come to ask you a favor, but… Seto, are you feeling alright?" he asked in concern. "You look like you're about to faint."

"I'm. Just. Tired," Seto repeated for what felt like the thousandth time that day.

"I see. Sounds like you need a pixie shot."

"I would die."

Shuffling through his pockets, the elderly man pulled out a tiny red- and white-striped bottle. "Just take it."

"I don't want to."

"Humor your grandfather."

The brunet rolled his eyes and sighed loudly but reached out to grab the small bottle. "Fine." He twisted the cap and was immediately bombarded with the scents of peppermint and eggnog and gingerbread and fruitcake and hot cocoa. He nearly reeled back in his chair, because that was a terrible combination if he'd ever thought of one, then took a deep breath before downing it in one gulp.

He gagged. "OH GOD WHO MAKES THIS SHIT."

"The elves. They're quite rundown this time of year as well."

Seto shot him a look half-crazed and half-pissed. "That was vile."

The old man smiled. "But you're awake!"

He wanted to throw a tantrum, he was so awake, but he didn't, because he was an adult and had much more control of himself than that— "WHY COULDN'T YOU JUST GIVE ME SOMETHING TO MAKE ME SLEEP?!"

…He was not and he did not.

Seto took a few minutes to gather himself into some semblance of sanity and sighed, forcing himself to relax even though he was now so high-strung he could probably jump out a window and fly. "…What did you need help with, Grandpa?"

The old man cleared his throat. "Well. You know that since I'm too old to do deliveries—it's your uncle's job to do that part now—but I'm still in charge of the Naughty and Nice list. Now, I admit that I haven't been giving my full attention to the list since I had to retire from delivery, but I hadn't realized how bad it was. There are some kids that haven't gotten presents for years!"

The brunet sighed. "Aren't there elves that are supposed to triple and quadruple check the list after you've finished checking it once and twice?"

"That's just the thing… I've sort of let them get away with slacking off too."

"I don't have time to go through the list no matter how many pixie shots you pour down my throat."

He huffed. "I wasn't asking you to. I was just… hoping… that you could perhaps give the elves a little pep talk."

Seto sent him a deadpan stare.

The old man hurriedly added, "I see how efficiently your company is run and how, even if employees are unhappy, morale is usually still decent. I was hoping to perhaps convince you to put my elves straight. My eyes aren't as good as they used to, so a majority of the work is going to the elves anyway, and I want them to know how much I'm depending on them."

The brunet sighed and covered his face, rubbing his eyes quite hard with his palms to try and block the request out. But he did like children. And the fact that some of them hadn't gotten gifts in years pissed him off.

"…I need to see the list to see how long and badly they've been slacking—" His eyebrow twitched when his grandfather set a large scroll on his desk. "You were going to get me to say yes any way you could, weren't you, even after seeing me at my worst?"

The old man smiled awkwardly. "Well… yes."

"And you people wonder why I keep the fuck to myself and have nothing to do with you," Seto muttered, grabbing the scroll, and waved his hand angrily. "Get out. I'm done with you. I hope this fills my yearly quota of family interaction."

He flinched as the old man clapped a hand on his shoulder, growling low in his throat as he laughed his hearty 'hohoho' again. "Thanks, Seto! And thank you for the duel disks and games! I'm sure we're going to have some very happy children this year!"

His anger faded a little at that. He liked making children happy. It was why he'd paid for all of the materials and such for his little donation to the family business. "…Whatever…"

His grandfather smiled and placed a finger to the side of his nose, nodding. As he began to disappear in another shimmer of snowflakes, he added, "I'll send over a case of pixie shots for you!"

Seto muttered some choice words under his breath, but as he opened the scroll and looked at the names on it, he knew he'd really need them.

.-.-.-.-.-.

Seto paced his office but kept himself from grumbling too much; he was at home now, and while he did check his laptop every once in a while, he kept the majority of his attention on the list in his hands, sparing only short glances at the steno pad and pen floating along beside him. He didn't like using magic (he detested it because it was a reminder of his family and because he hadn't been able to use it to save his parents), but sometimes the situation called for it. Like now. Because he couldn't pace and read and write at the same time.

That didn't mean he wouldn't furiously deny magic's existence, because he really, really detested it and only used it on special occasions like now.

He glanced at the box of pixie shots his grandfather had sent over and grimaced. He was actually starting to… like them.

NO, HE WAS JUST TIRED AND EVERYTHING WAS STARTING TO TASTE GOOD. Where was he on this list, he must be almost finished, his steno pad was clearly nearly used up, he only had a few pages of it left—

Ah, good. He was on the W's. There weren't entirely that many W's. There was just the incredibly common surname of Watanabe. Once he went through those, the rest should be a cake walk—until he got to the Y's, with all of the Yamadas and Yamamotos and Yamaguchis. He wasn't looking forward to that. He rested easy knowing that the elves and his grandfather had only seemed to slack off in the middle; they were actually better at the beginning and the end, when they were excited to do it and lost interest, and then when they got excited to finish.

He pitied the middle of the alphabet for that.

Seto paused as he took notice of a name under Watanabe. Wheeler. He knew that guy, and he seemed much too old to be—

"Oh. His birthday is in January, so he's not eighteen yet," he murmured, then smirked. He was still a child to Christmas even at seventeen.

He was finding that fact quite amusing until he saw he'd been marked Naughty. After he'd helped save the world. Multiple times. And had helped an ancient spirit find his resting place. And had cleaned up his act from gangs. He knew the blond could be a jerk sometimes because of his upbringing but this was ridiculous! He'd helped save the world!

Seto scowled and used a flare of magic to expand on his name, growling angrily when he saw the simple note of gang activity—10 and then nothing else. He knew it was difficult to get out of gangs, but elves were supposed to embody nothing but hope, and they were supposed to check on him each year to make sure he was still in the gangs, and even then, gang members were supposed to get a little something like a candy cane or a box of fudge to make them see some hope to get out and, and—

…Joey Wheeler hadn't gotten a Santa gift in seven years.

And that hurt him, because when Joey smiled, he could still see the child inside of him that hadn't ever gotten to be, because he'd had to grow up much too quickly. To know that Joey sat home, alone, never getting a Christmas present on one of the happiest nights of the year, and probably never expecting one, that broke his heart. And it broke his heart for all the other children who had probably been neglected and had reached their eighteenth birthdays and would never be getting Santa gifts again.

Seto sat down where he stood, suddenly exhausted down to his bones, and he knew no amount of pixie shots would help him. Wheeler was a nice kid, despite what he'd been and what he'd done. He worked hard for everything he had and he hadn't been rewarded for it in seven years, and he probably represented a large fraction of kids that hadn't gotten gifts.

He felt tears filling his eyes but couldn't bring himself to stop them from rolling down his cheeks. How many children had been left out each year, who had been good and nice and kind, and hadn't gotten a special gift from Santa because of it? How many had reached the age of eighteen, and how many years had they gone without the presents? How many had watched Christmas come and go and became bitter to it? He hated the work he had to do during Christmas, but he loved the Christmas season because everyone was always smiling. To think that someone's smile had been stolen, because they'd been overlooked…

And he knew that it did make people bitter, because he always noticed that Joey didn't smile as much during these holidays, and never as sincerely as any other time of the year.

And he didn't want people to be bitter during one of the happiest times of the year.

.-.-.-.-.-.

Seto stormed through the red double doors labeling the room 'Naughty & Nice' and roared. "YOU ALL MAKE ME SICK!"

The elves froze, terrified, because he was much bigger than they were and seemed angry enough to hit them, and they would definitely be damaged beyond repair if he did something.

His grandfather stood, frowning. "Seto, how many pixie shots have you had? Sit down. They're making you hysterical."

He admitted he probably should have taken a shower or at least washed his face after he'd had his meltdown, but he was just too angry—especially after he'd finished his own list, checked it a second time, and had found other children that had been neglected for more than a couple of years.

And he might have been a little hysterical. He loved kids, and his family was supposed to make them happy, and they hadn't been doing it.

"DON'T TELL ME TO SIT DOWN WHEN THIS IS MOSTLY YOUR FAULT!" Seto snarled back at him, making the old man who suddenly looked much older and feebler take a step back. "If you couldn't handle this job, you should have put someone else in charge! Look at this! This kid hasn't gotten a gift in four years! Four!He's turning fifteen soon! Can you imagine how many kids have turned eighteen and haven't had gifts in four years?!

"There's a kid in here who hasn't gotten a gift in seven years and probably wouldn't have gotten one this year, either, which would have made it eight, and he turns eighteen in January! Is this the kind of example we want to be sending kids?! If you're marked Naughty once, you never get presents again because we're too lazy to check on you?! No. No, this is not the message we want to send!"

Seto threw both the scroll on the ground and the list he'd made himself. "I am so fucking tired of this family! You are lazy and it seems like you don't care! Don't you care that kids aren't getting gifts?! Don't you care that they don't believe anymore, because they don't want to be disappointed again and again? And you've done that. You are the cause of that! All one little girl wants is a bicycle and she can't have it because you haven't checked if she's been nicer. All one boy wants is his own Capsule Monster set to play with other kids, and he can't, because you marked him Naughty two years ago and haven't remarked him as Nice since."

The brunet sighed, feeling rundown and sad and exhausted and worse, disappointed, because he remembered how excited his dad always got to help with the Christmas lists. It seemed like the lists had been neglected since he'd died, and he was sorry for that, but thousands of children shouldn't have had to suffer for it. "…They just want something to look forward to. And because you're not doing your jobs correctly… they can't. So they can't believe."

He looked down at his feet, sighing again, then turned to leave. "And I can't believe you all made me do your work for you when there's just one of me, with a company to run and a brother to look after, and it's solely your job to check the lists. If I could make time to do it properly, why couldn't you?"

Seto waited a moment, just to see if they'd say anything, but he could sense the shame and regret permeating the air behind him, so he didn't want to stay. He ran a hand through his hair, heaved one last sigh, then disappeared in a shimmer of snowflakes.

.-.-.-.-.-.

Joey heard a knock on his door and sighed, tilting his head. He thought he'd paid all of the debt collectors this month—and they were usually a little more lenient this time of year, too. One had even given him a candy cane when he'd paid him. It couldn't be one of his friends—he'd told them point blank never to come to his apartment; he would go to them. He couldn't promise that his father wouldn't come after them with a bottle, because the bars were usually more lenient this time of year as well, and his father loved to imbibe on eggnog, heavy on the rum.

The knock came again. Another debt collector. He'd dip into his school money then. The school knew about his… money problems, and the secretary usually chipped in whatever was missing on his payment and he just paid her back. He just hoped she could cover whatever amount he was going to have to give to this debt collector, and hoped it wasn't more than a couple hundred.

He wondered what sort of debt collector came and collected money on Christmas Eve. That seemed like the shittiest time to collect. Way to kick someone when they were down, probably trying to celebrate what meager Christmas they could afford, and then swooping in to take what little money they had.

Opening his door, Joey began pulling some money out of his pocket. "How much do I—AGH." He couldn't help but spring back in surprise when he saw Seto Kaiba standing in front of him with a large red sack in his hand. "Kaiba what are ya doin' here how do ya even know where I live your creepiness has reached new levels even for you!"

Seto blinked at him. "…May I come in?"

"No you may not-!" the blond began angrily, because he was in no mood to try to explain away his shitty apartment and he was also in no mood to have the brunet sneer at him for his poorness. He blinked as he heard off-key singing in the hall and grabbed the older boy's shirt to shove him backward without knocking him over as he leaned outside the door. He hissed a curse. "Damn. Old man's come back. Come on in Kaiba."

Seto didn't have much of a choice, because the younger boy used the grip on his shirt to bodily heave him into the apartment and began shoving him toward his room, which appeared to be the only sanitary place in the tiny apartment. He watched the blond close and lock the door to his room and wait with baited breath. He decided not to say anything.

Joey waited until he heard his father enter the apartment, stiffening a little when he heard him stomping toward his door. It seemed his father thought better of it, though, and weaved back to the living room, where he collapsed on the couch and continued singing the carol he'd been singing on his way up.

The blond let out a sigh of relief and turned toward the older boy to begin yelling at him. He jumped when he found a gift held out to him. "AGH."

"Open it."

Joey took the gift and stared at it for a moment, then looked up at the brunet, narrowing his eyes. "It ain't a bomb, is it?"

"Why would I give you a bomb in such close proximity to you?" Seto asked with clear annoyance.

He had to admit the brunet had a point. Joey stared at him skeptically for a few more minutes, then huffed and sat down on the floor, carefully pulling the ribbon open. He slid his finger under the tape so he could unfold the paper rather than rip it; he could use it to wrap his friends' presents instead of having to buy paper of his own.

Seeing that the blond was going to be careful about it, Seto sat down as well, trying not to grimace at the fact that he was sitting on a floor and not in a chair. His chiropractor would have a field day.

Joey blinked as he pushed the paper back to find a book, eyes glistening a little when he realized it was a book about dragons. He remembered begging his parents for it for Christmas when he was nine. He hadn't gotten it that year but planned to ask for it again. Then his mother had taken Serenity and run, leaving him with his father. He'd asked his father for it once, but had been backhanded so hard he'd been knocked senseless, so he'd written a letter to Santa instead, right before he'd started hanging around a gang because he wanted to feel needed again and his father wasn't taking care of him.

He hadn't gotten the book that Christmas. He hadn't gotten anything except a hot meal from the gang he'd become part of on his next birthday.

Joey looked up at the brunet sharply, but he knew it was probably just a lucky guess. They both loved their dragon cards. He sniffed. "What's this for, Kaiba?"

Seto merely smiled and pulled another gift from the sack. "Open this."

The blond glared at him. "Why?"

"…If you don't want it, I suppose I can take it—OW!" The older boy grabbed his nose and glared at him, appalled. "What the hell! I give you presents and you punch me in the nose?!"

"I didn't punch ya. I bopped ya," the younger teen muttered, carefully opening the gift.

"What's the difference?!"

"Because if I'd punched ya in the nose, it'd be broken and bloody."

Seto opened his mouth, but had no argument, because it was true. So he pursed his lips and glared at him.

Joey blinked as he opened a package of underwear, blushing when he realized it was the spaghetti and meatball pair he'd asked for as a joke, because he wasn't expecting to get them. Under it was a pair of Red-Eyes Black Dragon pair, probably less of a joke.

He looked up at the brunet with narrowed eyes again. "Why do you know what size underwear I get?"

"You're built like a stick. It wasn't difficult."

He supposed that was probably true. "Why—"

"Open this."

Joey's eye twitched. He didn't like this. Still, he sighed and opened the third gift, this time in a festive bag. He pulled out the tissue paper and blinked when he saw a box, wondering why that one couldn't have been wrapped, too. He pulled out the box and gasped when he saw the picture of the knife on it. It was a high quality pocket knife. He'd wanted a good one for years, especially when he was in the gang.

Seto blinked as he watched the blond's pupils dilate. 'He must really like that knife.' He grimaced and hurriedly reached into the sack to pull out another gift. He didn't want Joey to get his hands on the actual knife until he was gone. "Open this." 'And not the knife until I leave oh God please.'

Joey blinked but took the next gift with less hostility. Nothing bad had happened yet. And he wouldn't give him a bomb. …Probably, anyway. At least not while he was there. If he threw the last present at him and ran, then it was probably a bomb.

He blinked again when he saw a laptop. He'd wanted one of his own so that he could play games and email his sister and mom when he was fourteen, but he'd given up on that because he knew he'd never be able to afford one, and he knew that no one else would be able to afford getting him one, either.

He gasped and looked up, ready to shove the laptop back at the brunet. "Kaiba, this too expensive—"

"It was either give it to you or throw it in the trash. It's just one of my old ones. It should be perfect for what you'd like to use it for." Seto paused, then added, "I lost the original instructions for set-up, so I wrote them down for you."

Joey blushed and bit his bottom lip. "Oh, well… Thanks, I guess…"

The brunet tilted his head, then smiled and reached into his sack again. "Open this."

"Oh God, Kaiba, ya got me more?" But he opened it, because he was excited to see what was in it.

He blushed a little more when he found a black dragon plush, its big ruby red button eyes gleaming up at him cheerily. He'd just been getting into Duel Monsters then. He looked up at the brunet and opened his mouth only to find him holding out another gift. He looked at it for a moment before looking up at the older boy again. "…Ya want me t' open that one, too?"

"Please," Seto replied.

Joey took the box from his hands and blinked slowly, then turned and carefully opened the paper, even though he really wanted to just rip it open. He gasped when he saw it was the gaming console he'd wanted to be able to play one of Kaiba Corp.'s newest games. He looked up at the brunet again, tears filling his eyes. "Kaiba—"

"Before you talk about how expensive it is… I own the company," Seto deadpanned. He smiled a little when the blond hiccupped but smiled as well. "It was defective and going to be thrown out. I found it and fixed it. If it glitches, give me a call and I'll come fix it for you."

"That seems like a whole lotta trouble for ya, Kaib—"

"Open this. Don't worry; it's the last one."

Joey tilted his head, still disgruntled, but took it. It was another bag. He pulled out the tissue paper and gasped when he saw it was the game he'd been wanting to play. He looked up at the brunet, agape. "Kaiba, I—"

Seto stood and dusted himself off. "Well. That's that." He grabbed the sack. "Are you going to walk me to the door?"

Joey nodded, mostly because he was too dazed and confused to think up a proper response. He followed the brunet to the door and opened it for him, then turned to look up at him. "…Kaiba, I—" He froze when he saw something at the top of the doorway and looked up in surprise.

Seto hummed. "Mistletoe, hmm? Trying to get a kiss from everyone that comes by?"

The blond blushed brightly. "I didn't put that up there!"

"Alright, deny it all you like," the older boy replied, smirking. He raised an eyebrow when the blond continued to stare at him, then asked, "Well?"

"Well, what?!" Joey exclaimed in embarrassment, flushing darker.

Seto rolled his eyes. "Aren't you going to kiss me?"

"Why should I you're just gonna make fun of me and I've never really done the mistletoe thing anyway—Oh, bend down a little, asshole. I can't reach your mouth when you're smirkin' at me from up there."

The brunet chuckled and cupped his cheek. "But you look so cute when you look up at me like that."

"Asshole," Joey muttered, looking up at him balefully, but went up on his toes to reach the rest of the way up to kiss him gently on the mouth. He mewed when the brunet's hand fell from his cheek and instead slid around his waist and pulled up against him. "Mm!"

He felt the older boy's other hand sliding around the back of his thigh and was about to head-butt him in disgruntlement for being so handsy, but then he was tilted back swiftly. He squeaked in terror for a moment, gasping, then scowled when he felt the brunet's tongue slip into his mouth. 'Oh you sneaky bastard.'

Squeaking again as he was yanked back up, he bit his bottom lip as the brunet pulled away from him. He glared up at him. "…Asshole. Even after you've given me awesome stuff, you're still in it for you. You put that up there didn't ya?"

"…Maybe," Seto replied, still smirking.

"Why are you doin' this?" Joey asked, narrowing his eyes skeptically. "You're bein' so nice t' me."

The brunet paused, then lifted a hand to scratch his cheek. "…Do you know what my last name was before Gozaburo adopted my brother and me?"

"No. Ya never tell anyone anything from before," the younger boy mumbled, frowning.

Seto placed a finger to the side of his nose. "Before it was Kaiba… it was Claus." He smiled, nodded at him, and disappeared in a shimmer of snowflakes.

Joey blinked, staring at the place where the brunet had been. This had to be a dream. He couldn't believe it. Seto Kaiba, with magic? It was just too much to believe.

He jumped as something fell on his head and looked up. The mistletoe was gone. He lifted his hand to run it through his hair, frowning when he felt something cold and wet. He brought his hand down.

It was snow.

Joey watched the ice melt in his hand, then drip down off of his wrist onto the floor. It almost sounded as if it was talking to him.

Drip—What—drip—do—drip—you—drip—want—drip—for—drip—Christmas—drip—this—drip—year—drip

Joey gripped his hand into a fist and watched the rest of the water course down his hand onto the floor. "…I want this to not be a dream." He blushed a little. "…And maybe… if it was possible… I'd like a chance to kiss him back." He blushed a little. It had been a pretty good kiss.

"BOY!"

Joey jumped and turned, then sighed and rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Coming, Pop."

.-.-.-.-.-.

Joey sighed and hugged his black dragon plush to his chest, the other arm wrapped around his pillow. He felt his blanket being pulled up over his shoulder and smiled. After a moment, he gasped and sat up, staring at the plush toy in shock. He'd expected to wake up and have it gone. He turned and looked at the other gifts still stacked neatly in the corner of his room and stared, surprised that they were still there, too.

He remembered that someone had pulled his blanket up over him and turned sharply. "Gah!"

"Don't act so surprised," Seto drawled, placing his hand on the blond's chest and shoving him back down onto his back. "This was what you wanted for Christmas this year, wasn't it? It's not a dream."

Joey scowled as the brunet leaned over him. "This is called breakin' and enterin', and it's illegal."

"You would know, wouldn't you, having been convicted of it?" the older boy retorted swiftly. He smirked when the blond tried to punch him and caught his wrist. "I didn't break in. I came in the same way I left."

"…In snowflakes?" Joey drawled skeptically. He gasped when the brunet's hand slid up his side and bit his bottom lip. "Kaiba-!"

Seto raised an eyebrow. "So are you going to kiss me or what?"

"Why the hell would I wanna kiss ya?!" the blond exclaimed, blushing, and glared at him.

"Because that was what you wanted for Christmas," the older boy replied, as if it was obvious. "You wanted to know this wasn't a dream and you would like the chance to kiss me back. I'm waiting."

Joey glared at him harder. "You smarmy bastard!"

Seto purred and whispered, "Make it quick. I'd like to be there when Mokuba opens his presents."

"Oh, so ya just want a quickie!? Well, that's too bad, 'cause I'm not interested!" the blond snapped, smacking his hand away.

The older boy frowned. "That is not what I meant at all. I'll come back after Mokuba opens his presents."

Joey looked up at him and sighed, brows furrowed together. "Get. Out."

"…Not until you get your gift."

"Listen, Seto Claus—fuckin' stupid name, who does that—you're Seto Kaiba now, and you're an asshole t' me, and I don't wanna be some sucker. So get out and leave me alone."

"…My parents decided on Japanese names because my mother was Japanese and he wanted to respect her heritage. Our uncle and cousins teased us about it terribly. I only talk to my family long enough to give them duel disks and games for Christmas. I know I'm Seto Kaiba now. I never particularly liked being a Claus." Seto paused, chewing his bottom lip thoughtfully, then continued, "But I like children. I like seeing them smile. And when I checked the list, it said you hadn't had a Santa gift in seven years. It wasn't fair. I just wanted to see you smile."

Joey blushed even as he tried to continue glaring at him. "Why?"

"Because you don't smile that often when you're not with your friends," the brunet answered quietly. "And I thought, maybe I could make you smile, knowing that you hadn't been forgotten."

The younger boy stared up at him silently for a few minutes, frowning, then hugged the dragon toy to his chest and turned his head away. "…Kaiba, ya better go, or else your brother's gonna tear open all his presents without ya there."

"You wanted to kiss me," Seto reminded him. "And I will not leave until you've done it."

"What sort of floozy kisses someone because they're told to?! I'm not kissin' ya until we go on a few dates, ya presumptuous asshole!" Joey snarled, blushing again. "I don't just jump in the sack with anyone anymore and I haven't since I left the gang! I got standards now! So if ya want that fuckin' kiss ya better take me out t' dinner a few times!"

The older boy blinked at him slowly, stunned, before his lips curved into a smirk. "Are you blackmailing me into dating you?"

The blond glared at him. "Go suck a dick, asshole."

"If you're offering—"

"DINNER FIRST, BASTARD."

Seto couldn't help but laugh as he ruffled the younger boy's hair. "Yes, alright. Be ready at six."

Joey blinked. "What?"

"I said, be ready at six. So I can take you on a date." The brunet chuckled when he was glared at again. "Make sure to wear something nice. I know this place that makes great spaghetti and meatballs, and it's open on Christmas."

The blond frowned. "Sounds way too romantic for a first date."

"I figured you liked spaghetti and meatballs, because, you know… the underwear."

"OH FOR THE LOVE OF—GET. OUT."

Seto laughed as the blond promptly began beating him with his dragon plush and grabbed his hands. "Alright, alright. I'm leaving."

"And don't get any snow in my bed!" Joey added, managing one last slap on the brunet's arm. "It's warm and snow's cold!"

"Okay, fine." Seto stood, tucking the blankets back around the blond playfully and chuckling again when he tried to smack him again. "Okay, I'm leaving. Six o'clock, remember."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the younger boy muttered sourly. He watched the brunet disappear in a shimmer of snow and bit his bottom lip, then fell back onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

After a moment, he smiled. Dinner at six in a nice restaurant, spaghetti and meatballs with Seto Kaiba… sounded nice.

He might even kiss him at the end of the night.