Mother's Day

This takes place in one of my alternate worlds. Wishful thinking maybe or perhaps something that should have happened long ago. I'm a complicated person it doesn't have to make since to anyone but me. :P

It was a Sunday morning in the month of May. The weather was clear, not a cloud in the sky so the springtime sun shone brightly on the colorful flowers. This was the kind of day a lot of people and duelists alike had the day off so they could rest up and plan their strategies for the new week ahead.

This morning there were two little boys who weren't going to stay asleep for very long. As soon as the sun shone in the windows to their rooms in this mansion they were up and ready to play. They were twin boys to be exact and everything about them was different aside from the amethyst shade of their eyes which they had gotten from both parents who had the same color. One of the boys was taller with golden blonde hair like his father but very straight like his mother's. The other boy was a little shorter than his brother with red hair like his mother but the same style as his father's. They hurried out of bed and down the hall to their father's room and climbed on his king size bed.

"Daddy! Daddy!" The blonde haired boy said.

"Wake up daddy!" The red haired boy got on top of his father.

The duelist known as daddy happened to be one of the greatest duelists of his time. He had been a champion that could devastate his opponents with his fierce deck. He obtained all sorts of riches and fame living in this huge mansion with people to do anything he asks. He was indeed quite a stud, of course that's how the girl he tried to impress would have said it and eventually became his wife. The name of this duelist in question? Jack Atlas.

"Daddy isn't moving." The red haired boy looked to his brother.

"Let's jump on daddy!" The blonde boy happily joined his brother on top of their father.

"No jumping on daddy. It's Sunday and you should still be in bed." Jack said not moving an inch from his bed.

"But we wanna play!"

"Yeah we wanna play!"

It was times like these Jack would have turned to his wife and said the phrase, "Your sons are awake." She never minded taking care of their children in fact it is something she always wanted.

"Alright Phoenix," You can guess who came up with that name. "Vector." A little sophistication perhaps. Jack sat up resting his back against the headboard looking down at two wide eyes boys staring back at him expectantly. "What do you want to play?"

"We want to help make breakfast!" Vector said happily.

"Yeah it would be fun and we'll try not to make a big mess. Mommy use to let us help!" Phoenix said.

Making breakfast in the kitchen with two young boys and a grown man who couldn't even cook his own food other than a cup of noodles? Sounds delightful. But how could Jack say no to them? Phoenix and Vector had a way of being absolutely adorable enough to get anything they wanted which would probably explain how they got to be so spoiled.

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The over eager little boys were already standing in the kitchen waiting to get their hands on anything the moment Jack opened the refrigerator. Honestly Jack should have been more enthusiastic but he'll get there.

'This is why we have servants they get paid to do this sort of thing on a daily basis.' Jack thought.

It was Sunday after all and a holiday so everyone had the day off to spend with their own families.

"What are we going to have?" Jack opened the refrigerator.

Which of course is what Phoenix and Vector wanted him to do. They practically climbed inside grabbing for all sorts of things. Nothing was off limits eggs, milk, sausage you name it and four little hands were reaching for it. Jack looked in the freezer he had to find something he would be able to do and something that wouldn't make a huge mess.

"You know I can't cook." Jack said picking up Vector and removing him from the bottom shelf from inside the fridge.

Phoenix laughed. "Daddy would you burn it?"

"Burn to a crisp!" Vector added. "Just like your opponents hu daddy?"

Jack should be ashamed of his lack of cooking skills. "How about waffles? I think I can manage that without burning anything."

"Yay waffles!" Vector cheered.

Phoenix grabbed a waffle from the box Jack had in his hand and bit it. Jack looked down to see what Phoenix was doing.

"Give me that." He grabbed the other end of the waffle. "They are still frozen."

"Make them like mommy does!" Phoenix insisted.

Jack didn't know how their mother made waffles for them. For all he knew it was some complicated process which required using real ingredients and a mixing bowl. For now he placed frozen waffles in the toaster and waited.

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Once the boys were situated at the table Jack served the now warm and toasty waffles on plates with syrup. Instead of eating the waffles Phoenix and Vector just looked at them.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked.

"We want you to do them like mommy does." Vector said.

"Mommy cuts them into shapes and tells us what animals they are." Phoenix said.

Since Jack wasn't usually around during breakfast and off someplace having an expensive cup of coffee or preparing for that day's duels he had no idea how to do this.

"Aww come on daddy!" Vector and Phoenix looked up at Jack with big sad eyes.

"Alright, alright."

Jack took a knife and fork then began cutting up the waffles for the boys.

"What animal is that one daddy?' Phoenix asked.

"It's a giraffe." Jack replied.

"What's this one daddy?" Vector asked excited.

"This is a hippopotamus." Jack continued.

Vector giggled happily watching Jack cut the waffles and name off different zoo animals. Even Phoenix was laughing when Jack started naming off duel monsters like the Red Dragon Archfiend. It was close enough to what the boys were accustomed to every time they had been served waffles.

xxxxxxXxxxxxx

After breakfast Vector went in the living room and climbed onto the couch to watch one of his favorite shows. He went for the remote and found a stack of duel cards sitting beside it so he grabbed those instead. While looking through the cards that weren't his, Vector sneezed and was cute when doing so.

"You aren't getting sick are you?" Phoenix asked.

"No! These cards are just dusty." Vector said.

Jack joined his two boys on the couch and wrapped an arm around both of them. He looked thoughtful for a moment.

"I remember when you were sick once." He said. "You were just a baby."

"I was not a baby. I was three." Vector wrinkled his nose.

"You were a baby because mommy had to hold you all the time." Phoenix pointed out.

"I remember. It was a few years ago and you had caught a cold. You were sneezing, sniffling and running a fever. But your mother was here to watch over you." Jack nodded. "She made sure you took medicine and watched over you all night until you were better."

"I remember that. Mommy would hold me in the rocking chair she'd sing to me while rocking until I fell asleep." Vector said.

That was a cute image. Vector would walk up to his mother carrying one of his blankets and she'd pick the little boy up and hold him. She didn't get much sleep that week watching over her little one but his mother didn't mind she would sing sweetly to Vector rocking him to sleep in her favorite chair every night while he had that cold.

In fact it had become a habit with Vector to want to be held and rocked by his mother. Especially on nights he wanted the company or perhaps there might be a storm coming through keeping him awake.

"I also remember someone being a little jealous." Jack said looking at Phoenix.

"What? I wasn't jealous." Phoenix folded his arms.

"You were jealous of Vector. I know I'd catch you in your mother's arms sleeping soundly some nights." Jack smiled.

Phoenix was guilty of being held as well sometimes by himself and sometimes he'd be in his mother's arms along with Vector being rocked to sleep.

Having his mother there to watch over him while sick with a cold happened to be Vector's fondest memory of his mother. It was a memory he'd never forget.

xxxxxxXxxxxxx

After the show was over Phoenix and Vector went outside to play while Jack was standing guard over his children. The boys went for their bicycles Phoenix's bicycle was shining white while Vector had a flashy red one.

"I'll race you to the end of the driveway and back." Phoenix challenged.

"You're on!" Vector accepted.

"Be careful not to go too fast and get hurt." Jack cautioned them.

Phoenix looked up at his father that brought back a memory of when he first got his bicycle.

"I remember falling off my bicycle once. I scraped my knee and it really hurt." Phoenix made a slight face at that.

"I heard you were trying to be like me and go very fast." Jack said.

"Yeah! I want to drive a duel runner just like you! I want to go really fast, duel opponents and become the next big duel champion." Phoenix said happily.

"That takes a lot of practice and patience." Jack patted the boy's head.

"And ice cream." Phoenix added.

Jack laughed at this. "Maybe so. You must remember what happened."

Phoenix nodded. "I just got my new bicycle and I pretended I was driving a duel runner just like you, daddy. Then I fell and hurt my knee but mommy was here to pick me up and wash it off. She put a band aid on the scratch and then we went out for ice cream!" To Phoenix that was the best part.

"Where was I while you were getting ice cream?" Vector asked.

"You were with me that day." Jack answered.

Phoenix wanted a white bicycle because to him it looked just like his father's duel runner the Phoenix Whirlwind. Phoenix loved pretending he was a champion duelist riding around on his duel runner but on that day he was pedaling a little too fast when the wheel hit a rock on the driveway and he crashed. Aside from a slightly bruised ego Phoenix had a scrape on one of his knees. His mother rushed over to his side picking the little boy up and bringing him inside to clean the wound. Phoenix hadn't been fond of this and not being able to go back outside to ride his bicycle again because his mother was afraid he might get hurt again. A trip to get an ice cream cone made him forget all about that.

This was Phoenix's fondest memory of his mother. It was a memory he'd never forget.

xxxxxxXxxxxxx

Later that day the boys had been talking and came up with an idea they really wanted to do. Phoenix and Vector brought their construction paper, glue, crayons, markers and all of their crafting supplies to the table and began working hard on projects.

"What are you two up to?" Jack asked watching them make a mess on the kitchen table.

"We're making Mother's Day cards!" Vector replied excitedly.

"That way mommy can have them when she comes back." Phoenix added with a smile.

"That is a good idea." Jack complimented.

He stayed off to the side keeping an eye on Phoenix and Vector as they continued to work for the next couple of hours perfecting their hand made Mother's Day cards. Jack smiled seeing how much they had become perfectionists just like their mother.

When the cards were finished the boys held their works of art up proudly for their father to see.

"What do you think daddy?" Phoenix asked.

"Are they beautiful?" Vector asked.

Jack nodded looking at the cards in their small hands. "Absolutely beautiful. Why I couldn't have done better myself."

To that the boys laughed.

"Okay now it's time for bed. Tomorrow is a school day." Jack said.

Phoenix whined a little. "What about our cards?"

"Don't you worry. I will put the cards up in a safe place."

That response satisfied the two boys and they hurried upstairs to start getting ready for bed with Jack following close behind.

xxxxxxXxxxxxx

"Goodnight Vector, I'll see you in the morning." Jack said tucking the red haired boy in. Then it was off to see Phoenix. "Goodnight Phoenix, I'll see you tomorrow." Jack tucked the blonde boy in.

Jack turned off the lights and pulled the doors leaving them open a bit just in case either boy should have to come out for anything.

Then it was time for Jack to get ready for bed he had a busy day tomorrow, work as usual. Not that he didn't love a good challenge.

He sat on the side of his bed with the two Mother's Day cards in his hand looking at them a moment before setting them both down on the bedside table in front of a framed picture. Jack picked up the frame looking at the picture inside. The picture was of Jack and his wife the first time they had met. He smiled remembering that day it was a while back and this girl came by to see him dueling for the very first time in person. She was invited there by a friend and when Jack came over to introduce himself she practically fainted. Soon after that first meeting they went out on their first date Jack still remembered that purple dress she wore and the flowers he bought for her. Those were his fondest memories of her.

"They really miss you. I miss you."

Jack carefully set the framed picture back on the bedside table. He opened the drawer and placed the two Mother's Day cards inside then closed the drawer. The cards would be safe inside here.

"Goodnight my queen."

Jack got under the covers and turned off the lamp.