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For the first time in years, Domino was having a very white Christmas. It had already snowed the week leading up to Christmas, unseasonably low temperatures causing the first snowfall to freeze into a delightful layer of almost ice all over the city. Now, as Christmas Eve is setting to transition into Christmas morning, Jounouchi stands at the edge of the railing in the park, the overhang looking over most of Domino, watching his wristwatch tick down the seconds until it was officially Christmas.
He wonders if Shizuka is going to be sharing Christmas cake with her friends this year, picturing the way Yuugi and Anzu had been so excited the whole day about a white cake she had bought, decorated gaily with bright strawberries. It would have been nice to see how excited his sister would be to share the same sort of holiday comraderie.
Sighing as his watch finally hits 12:01AM, he shoves his hands deep in his jean pockets, reteating to one of the nicer park benches. Due to a hefty donation, the park had been able to renovate, and had nice pretty benches all around, instead of the old wooden ones that rotted over the winter. Settling down onto it after brushing away the light dusting of snow, he pulls his knees up to his chest to conserve body heat and watches the snow fall in thick, fluffy clumps from the sky.
The chill seems to settle deep into his bones, and the flimsy protection of his t-shirt and jeans is far from satisfying, but the gently drifting of the snow drives away any anger he could have mustered over the situation.
And with the cold lingering, drowsiness sets in.
Movement. Pressure on his shoulders, and loud sharp noises filter through the haze of sleep. He had only meant to rest his eyes a moment, had he really fallen asleep so easily? The shaking continues, and Katsuya grunts quietly in disapproval, but the noise is the most jarring part.
“You idiot! What were you thinking?! You could have gotten hypothermia and died out here! Why don’t you even have a jacket?”
Kaiba?
No, it can’t be Kaiba, he decides. Kaiba would be yelling at him, true, after all the other teen seems to enjoy calling him names, but the Kaiba he knows wouldn’t be caught dead sounding so worried.
“Cold.” He mumbles dazedly, and suddenly his torso is being lifted. The CEO sits on the bench, tugging Katsuya into his lap and brushing the dusting of snow off that had accumulated while the boy slept.
“Come on, I need you to stay awake for me, got that?” The commanding tone wavers with badly concealed anxiety, and Katsuya registers the sudden influx of warmth around him as Kaiba continues to talk, “Here, slide your arms inside my coat, we need to get your hands warm— no, keep them there, I know it stings, but it’ll be okay soon.”
Fingers press gently at his neck, searchingly, then stay firmly in place and Katsuya can feel his own heartbeat thudding weakly against Kaiba’s fingertips.
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep you warm, idiot.”
In the morning, Katsuya wakes up wrapped in blankets in front of a dying fireplace, wearing a shirt he knows isn’t his own (as he is relatively certain he doesn’t own a single business shirt) and being held by Seto Kaiba.
Watching the steady rise and fall of the man’s chest, he stays silent a long while, wondering if he should leave before the man wakes and he incurrs his inevitable anger for being in such a position at all.
No, Katsuya muses,
He’d rather stay warm right here.