Work Text:
The day after they got back from Duelist Kingdom, Mokuba called out of school. More accurately, he had Isono call him out - the last thing he cared about was finding an excuse more believable than "I was kidnapped and had my soul stolen, but don't worry, I'm fine now." If that meant his teachers ended up thinking he had cancer, well, at least he'd be covered next time something came up with KaibaCorp.
This decision felt cool and rebellious for approximately thirty seconds. That's when he made the mistake of looking at the day stretching out before him, vast and empty and shadowed at the edges.
He turned on a video game, only to shut it off when he loaded into a dungeon level. He flipped through several dozen channels. He read the same chapter of his favorite manga three times in a row without retaining a word. He still couldn't bring himself to look at his Capsule Monsters.
By the time noon rolled around, he'd resorted to hanging upside down off the end of his bed, focusing very hard on nothing at all. He was focusing so hard, in fact, that the knock on his door nearly sent him off the edge.
Against all odds, he made it to the door intact. "Yes?"
It was Isono, again, looking uncharacteristically nervous. "Master Seto has requested your presence in his office, sir."
"Oh. Okay." Mokuba wasn't worried, obviously. Why would he be? He was just going to talk to his big brother, the one who had flown to some crazy American's private island to save him. Sure, Seto had sent Isono instead of just talking to Mokuba like a normal person, but that could mean nothing. Maybe he was just tired after, again, crazy Americans and private islands.
Mokuba kept reminding himself of these facts right up until he reached Seto's office, where his train of thought was utterly derailed. Because Seto was there, as promised, but rather than looming behind his desk, he was on the couch. Even weirder, he was holding a bag from Burger World.
Mokuba blinked. The scene did not disappear, no matter how much Seto's expression implied that he wanted to.
"Come in," Seto suggested. His tone implied that he'd barely managed to keep it from being an order.
It had the same effect either way; how could Mokuba refuse him? He padded closer.
Seto pulled out a hamburger and offered it to Mokuba. "I got your favorite."
He had. He'd even remembered to get pickles but then pick them off, because Mokuba liked the way they flavored the burger but hated the texture. It was all Mokuba could do not to burst into tears.
But Seto was doing a terrible job of pretending he wasn't staring, posture way too stiff for what Mokuba knew for a fact was a comfortably plush couch, so Mokuba figured he should put his impending breakdown on hold and eat the freaking hamburger.
...He was most definitely going to eat it. This was Seto's attempt at an apology, roundabout as it was, and there was no universe where Mokuba rejected it. Even if, hypothetically, he had been poisoned by a hamburger six months ago and the thought of ever eating one again made him feel sick.
Which was stupid, and Mokuba knew it. He'd been the one who put the poison in that hamburger to begin with. Not only that, he'd had the antidote right there, so it wasn't like he was even really in danger. Just a little cramping, and a minute or so of being unable to breathe. He'd had worse in gym class.
He nodded to himself. It was all very straightforward and logical, and so there was no reason he couldn't act like a normal person and eat his freaking hamburger. Any minute now.
"It's fine," Seto said, voice heavy with defeat. "You don't have to force yourself. You can go."
That was enough to break through Mokuba's paralysis. No matter what his own hangups were, he refused to let things end like this. He shoved the burger into his mouth before his dumb brain could stop him.
It tasted great, for the single second before panic turned it to clay on his tongue. Mokuba inhaled through his nose. See? He could still breathe. He was fine.
He managed, through great force of will, to chew and swallow. He even attempted a smile. "Delicious."
"Please tell me you aren't dying," Seto said, right beside Mokuba's ear. When had he gotten up? His hand hovered by Mokuba's shoulder, like he couldn't quite bring himself to close the distance. Story of their lives, really.
"I'm fine," Mokuba insisted. He'd just been stuck in soul prison. Dealing with a stupid self-inflicted bad memory was nothing in comparison.
Seto looked dubious, but he didn't push it. He just watched Mokuba for another second and then collapsed back onto the couch. "I've failed you, haven't I."
"No!" None of this was Seto's fault. More importantly, Mokuba couldn't bear to imagine that this might be the final straw, that now Seto would decide their relationship was broken beyond repair. Seto had already gone this far to apologize; Mokuba would do whatever it took to make it stick. "I'm just not hungry right now, I promise. It's nothing you did."
Seto didn't move, but some of the tension left his shoulders. Mokuba fought the urge to cheer. "Okay." He took a deep breath and straightened. "Right. Sorry for wasting your time."
It was clear that he was about to leave. This was a problem for several reasons, not least of which that this was Seto's office, and Mokuba felt weird being in it without him.
Thinking quickly, Mokuba deployed one of the oldest tactics in the little brother playbook and stretched his arms across the doorway. "Wait!" He wracked his brain for a different excuse to spend time together. His first thought would have been playing a game, but given the... everything, really, it was probably best to stay away from those for now. "We can always... watch a movie?"
Seto blinked. "I mean," he said, and stopped. "Sure. What did you have in mind?"
Mokuba hadn't thought that far ahead. "Um."
Seto shook his head. "Incredible."
Mokuba opened his mouth to retort, then stopped. It was so small he'd almost missed it, but his brother was smiling. It was all he could do not to burst into tears. Maybe Yugi hadn't been lying after all. Maybe they could still be okay.
(The same could not be said for the movie: they'd chosen some new blockbuster, which turned out to be the worst kind of pseudoscience fiction. On the other hand, Mokuba thought, it was nice for the two of them to have a common enemy again.
Nicer still was the fact that, when he worked up the courage to lean against Seto's side, Seto didn't move away.)