I hope you are all looking forward to Christmas. I always find that I am just so busy in the run up, but I have managed to find the time to come up with a festive story which I hope you will enjoy.

Apologies for any typing errors. I have looked it over quickly, but have been so busy I have not had the time to go through it too thoroughly.

In this story Atem and Mana have their own bodies and are modern people. Atem is 20, Mana just 19. Yugi, Anzu and Jonouchi 18, Kaiba 19.

There is some content of a slightly sexual nature, but nothing graphic. More romance than anything. The odd swear word and the drinking of alcohol.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or any of its characters.

Christmas in New York.

It was so cold in New York at this time of year, far colder than it was back home in Domino.

Light snow flakes were starting to fall as the lithe figure of Anzu Mazaki dodged her way through the throng of Christmas shoppers, wrapped up in her warm charcoal grey coat complete with fake fur collar, which she snuggled down into. Upon her head she wore a knitted purple hat with a large fluffy bobble and a pair of matching gloves.

She couldn't be late. Ballet rehearsals had overrun and if she didn't hurry she wouldn't be home in time. Yugi would have to leave for college at eight o'clock and she would miss their planned conversation on skype. It was now five forty in New York and it would probably take another five minutes to get back to the apartment she shared with her new best friend, Mana, whom she had met on her first day at The Juiliard School of Dance and Drama nearly four months ago. The pair of them had immediately hit it off, and having made a friend had meant that they could afford to rent a reasonable apartment and share the bills.

In Domino, Yugi was waiting impatiently at the dining table with his lap top open in front of him.

"Yugi Mutou," his mother scolded, "how many times have I asked you to get that computer off the dining table?"

"Aw.. mum, please cut me some slack? Anzu was meant to call at seven thirty, its almost eight and I have to leave in ten minutes," he grumbled in response.

"Doh.. my little brother is all love sick." Yami, Yugi's older brother by fifteen months, ruffled his hair and pouted as he spoke in a silly voice.

"Piss off Yami," Yugi snapped, knocking his brothers arm away, in a rare show of irritation.

Sugoroku lowered his newspaper, and gave his two Grandsons a stern look. "Hey! We will have none of that language at the dining table."

"Sorry Grandpa, but Yami is annoying me," Yugi appealed.

"You are both old enough to know better. If the pair of you don't hurry you will be late." Sugoroku glanced at the kitchen clock.

"I don't have any classes until ten," Yami grinned.

Yugi sighed in disappointment and was just about to shut off his lap top when it beeped and Anzu appeared on the screen. His face lit up.

"Hey, Anzu. I had almost given up on you." He gazed lovingly at his girlfriend as they talked.

Yami leaned over Yugi's shoulder and pulled a weird face, making her laugh. "Hi Anzu. How's New York?"

"Cold, but I'm loving it. How are you keeping Yami?"

"Yeah I'm cool. You coming home for New Year? My little brother here is missing you like crazy."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about Yugi. I know I promised to come home for the December break, but I have got my first paying role in a pantomime. It's just a small part, but it means I have to stay in New York."

Yugi was upset, but tried to be upbeat about it. "Wow! Your first dancing role, that's fantastic. B.. but when will I see you?"

"You could always come to New York for the holidays? It's not like Japan in December, they celebrate Christmas and even though it's cold, everything is sparkly and festive. They have Christmas trees and decorations in all the shops. We could have our first Christmas together?" She said hopefully.

"I don't know. Grandpa was kinda hoping I would help him with the shop over the holiday." He looked at Sugoroku in the hope that he was say that it was okay for him to go.

"Can I come too?" Yami chipped in.

"Grandpa?" Yugi was hoping that he would say yes.

"It's an opportunity the boys shouldn't miss dad. I am sure we can manage the shop without them for a week or so." Their mother came to the rescue.

It was agreed. Both Yugi and Yami would be going to New York for the festive season. They would fly out on the 22nd December and fly home on the 29th.

::::::::::::

The two girls snuggled up on the sofa with a take out Chinese meal.

"So, what's he like again?" Mana was intrigued when Anzu had told her that Yugi was bringing his brother.

"His name is Atem, but everyone calls him Yami. He is really nice, like Yugi but with more confidence. Some people think he comes across as a bit too confident, but that's just an act, he is quite sensitive really. I think you two will hit it off." Anzu giggled and nudged Mana.

::::::::::::

Once they had cleared immigration, Yugi and Yami hurried to baggage reclaim, grabbed their bags and dashed out of the airport looking for Anzu.

Watching the endless stream of passengers exit the terminal, Anzu could feel her heart pounding with excitement. It had been almost four months since they had kissed goodbye when she had left for New York and they had been keeping their love alive by texting and video calling at every opportunity. She had missed him so much.

At last she spotted them, they were easy to spot with their almost identical trademark, tri coloured, spiky hair.

As soon as Yugi saw Anzu, he ran over, dropped his bag and scooped her up in a big hug, lifting her off her feet. Spinning her around, he placed her down and captured her lips in a passionate kiss, not caring about the glances being cast in their direction.

After a couple of minutes they ran out of air and pulled apart to see Yami standing looking skyward, with his arms folded and tapping his foot waiting for them to finish.

"Hi Yami," Anzu laughed at his display and when he broke into a huge grin, she gave him a hug. "C'mon guys, Mana is waiting outside in the car."

The first thing the two young men noticed when they got outside was how cold it was, far colder than Domino at this time of year. Neither of them had a hat or gloves.

They found Mana fairly quickly, she had managed to avoid paying for parking by driving the car around the block.

"Mana, meet my boyfriend Yugi, she announced proudly. And this is Yugi's brother Atem, although everyone calls him Yami. Yami meet Mana." Anzu beamed and gave Yugi a sideways glance with a sparkle in her eye. The pair of them had secretly discussed setting Mana and Yami up.

On the drive back the conversation turned to their friends, Anzu was keen to catch up on any news that she might have missed back home, while Yugi and Yami were keen to know all about New York.

Anzu told Yugi and Yami that Mai had paid them a visit and that she had asked a lot of questions about Jonouchi. She wondered if Mai had been in touch with him. They didn't know because Jonouchi had been working away for the last six weeks and they hadn't seen him.

The apartment Anzu and Mana rented was not large, but it was adequate. Each girl had her own bedroom. There was a small lounge, bathroom and a kitchen/dining room. Yugi would of course, be sharing Anzu's room and Yami would sleep in the lounge on the sofa, which folded out into a bed.

It was getting too late in the day to go out and Yugi and Atem were both a bit exhausted from the travelling. Yugi and Anzu had also been deprived of one another for almost four months and wanted to spend some quiet time together.

After the two boys had showered and changed, they ate a tasty bowl of pasta, cooked by Mana, and chatted for a while.

"We thought that tomorrow, if you guys are up to it? We could go ice skating and then to our favourite pizza restaurant, Denino's." Anzu suggested.

"Yeah, sounds great!" Yugi said cheerfully, although he wasn't too sure about the ice skating. But if that was what the girls wanted to do, he would go along with it.

"Yeah. I'm up for that too," Yami nodded. Like Yugi, ice skating was not his forte.

"Well, I'm going to get ready for bed," Yugi winked at Anzu.

She knew exactly what he meant. "Yes a good night sleep will do us all good." They both disappeared into Anzu's room and didn't come back out.

"Would you like me to help you make up your bed Yami?" Mana offered.

"Yes thank you Mana that would be great," he smiled.

The sound of giggling followed by a moan could be heard coming from Anzu's room and Mana felt her face flush when her and Yami accidentally looked at one another.

"Hm.. Quiet ones are always the worst." Atem sniggered.

"Perhaps I should put some music on. What do you like?"

"I don't mind, you choose." He decided against telling her that he preferred heavy metal.

Mana deciding that it was probably best not to put on her favourite Metallica or Marylin Manson disc, opted for one of Anzu's favourite Japanese bands, Arashi, instead.

"So, what do you do Yami? For a living I mean," Mana asked as they tucked the sheet in over the sofa bed.

"I go to university. I'm studying computer graphics and game design. I play football and I am duel monsters world champion."

"Wow, really. I play a bit of duel monsters, but I'm pretty useless. I'm good at football though. We call it soccer in the states. You must be, like awesome!"

"Yeah, not bad. Although Yugi beat me in the Japanese nationals recently. I can go through your deck sometime if you like? Maybe give you some tips?"

"Cool, I would like that."

They sat and chatted, while Yami looked over her cards and gave her some advice before they both called it a night and went to their beds.

Around 2am Yami woke up feeling hungry. He tried in vain to get back to sleep. It would be around 6pm back home, which was probably why he felt hungry. He decided to get up to use the bathroom and then go and see if he could find something to snack on. Tiptoeing as quietly as he could, he made his way to the bathroom. Just as he was passing Mana's room her door opened and she stepped into the hallway. His eyes immediately fell to her bare shoulders. She was wearing a little lacy vest top and a tiny, silky pair of shorts. His eyes automatically travelled to her cleavage and then down to her thighs. Liking what he saw, he was unable to stop himself becoming aroused and mentally cursed himself and looked away quickly. He then remembered he was only wearing a pair of cotton shorts. Oh no! He cringed, she will think I'm a pervert! Squirming he clasped his hands in front of himself, hoping she wouldn't notice his arousal. "Erm, sorry," he flustered. "I was just about to go to..." He nodded at the bathroom door. "Ladies first," he blushed.

Oh wow! The first thing Mana noticed was his lean, lightly muscled but very well toned body and golden bronzed skin. Ahhh perfection. She almost let out a sigh of admiration. He was gorgeous without his clothes on, she wanted to run her hands over his chest. Oh! and those shorts left nothing to the imagination! She blushed at her naughty thoughts, and then blushed even more when she noticed what he was trying to hide from her gaze. She felt a tingling sensation in her lower abdomen which was nice but made her want to run away from him.

"N no.. you go first?!" She quickly dove back into her room and grabbed her dressing gown and waited behind her bedroom door blushing. When she heard him go back to the sitting room, she made her dash for the bathroom.

When she came back out Mana noticed the kitchen light was on. Peering in she noticed that he was now wearing a pair of pyjamas and was pouring himself a glass of milk.

"Hey," he said looking up. "Sorry about just now."

"It's okay," she shrugged and couldn't help smiling. He was so cute. "Pour me a glass please?"

He grinned, relaxing a little and poured her a glass of milk. Mana went to the biscuit tin and took out a packet of Oreo cookies and placed them on the counter.

"Thanks," he said taking one. "I'm starving. We would normally be having our evening meal about now."

They sat in relative silence dunking their cookies and just enjoying each others company. Despite their embarrassing encounter, they felt at ease in each others company. Yami didn't know why, but he had a feeling that Mana was going to become an important fixture in his life. Unbeknown to him Mana was having similar thoughts. She was already wondering what their children would look like!

::::::::::::

It was nearing ten in the morning by the time everyone was up and dressed. After a late breakfast they decided to take a bus into the city centre. Anzu was starting to get used to the festive atmosphere, but Yugi and Atem were in awe when they saw all the sparkling decorations in the shop windows.

By mid afternoon they were ready to head over to the ice rink.

"I'm not sure about this ice skating lark," Yami whispered to Yugi as they laced up their boots.

"Yeah, hopefully they won't want to stay too long," Yugi whispered back. "Urgh these boots are uncomfortable." Grimacing, he stood up and wobbled about in an ungainly fashion. Taking Anzu's hand in his, they made their way onto the ice. Yugi immediately tensed and almost pulled her over.

"It's okay Yugi. I will look after you until you get used to it." Yugi preferred to cling onto the advertising boarding around the edge of the rink. He had not been ice skating for about two years and he had not been very good at it then.

Meanwhile Yami was also shuffling his way onto the ice. He, like Yugi had only ever skated once and he had been even worse at it than Yugi. He clung to the railing, muttering a string of expletives to himself when his feet slid out from underneath him

Mana tried very hard not to laugh. "Take my hand Yami? I will help you. I'm sure you will soon get the hang of it."

He did as Mana suggested and took her hand. And with one hand gripping the boarding and one hand gripping Mana's he shuffled slowly round the ice. "I will be okay Mana," he said after a little while. "You go and skate, I will make my own way round."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." He watched Mana glide effortlessly away as he continued to shuffle his way around. By the time he was halfway around, he was starting to get used to it. He noticed he wasn't the only man clinging to the side, while presumably, their girlfriend or wife was dancing around the ice.

Yugi suddenly went whizzing by. "Hey look at me Yami?" He shouted. "I've got it! Woo hoo." In Yami's opinion he was getting a little overconfident. Sure enough, when Yugi tried to do a 180 degree turn and skate backwards, he lost his balance, tripped himself up and ended up in a heap on the ice. Yami laughed so hard that he stopped concentrating, lost his balance and ended up landing painfully on his butt. Anzu and Mana skated over, laughing at the sight of them pouting and rubbing their bruised egos.

For his second lap, Yami started to enjoy it a bit more and managed to let go of the side. Anzu, Mana and Yugi joined him and they all skated round together.

"How about we get some refreshments? They are selling hot mulled wine over at the kiosk," Anzu suggested. It sounded like a good idea so they all left the ice and went to a little kiosk next to the rink that sold hot dogs, burgers and hot and cold drinks. They ordered their drinks, found a free table and sat down on the plastic chairs next to a patio heater.

"Wow, this is spicy!" Yugi sipped on his hot wine. They all agreed that it was an interesting taste. None of them had ever had hot mulled wine before. The warmth given off by the patio heater and the smell of spices in the wine gave them all a warm glow of happiness and contentment. Anzu wondered if this was what people meant when they talked about Christmas spirit. Feeling a wave of love wash over her, she cuddled up closer to Yugi and kissed his glowing pink cheek. He responded by placing his arm around her shoulders and leaned in to capture her lips in a quick kiss. She giggled, noticing that they both had cold noses when they brushed together.

Yugi laughed as well and rubbed his nose with hers. "Eskimo kiss," he smiled.

"Anyone want to go back on the ice?" Mana was keen to stay a bit longer.

When they all stood up they were surprised to see the tall, lean frame of a familiar figure gliding effortlessly around the ice.

"Seto Kaiba! What's he doing here?" Yami couldn't believe it, of all the places he could be, he just had to be here.

"Yugi! Atem!" They turned to see the smiling face of Mokuba teetering on his skates as he headed towards the ice. Mokuba, now fifteen, was getting tall, not quite as tall as his brother but still tall enough to tower over the four of them.

"Oh no!" Yugi hissed, when he saw who was coming up behind Mokuba.

"Oooh, my Yugi poo." Yugi cringed as he heard Rebecca squeal in delight when she spotted him. Anzu instinctively snuggled closer too him and wrapped her arms around him. Yami sniggered at Yugi's unease, as the small blonde, who had harboured a crush on his brother for several years now, leaped forward and threw her arms around him, completely ignoring Anzu.

After having several long awaited growth spurts, Yugi was now quite a bit taller than Rebecca so he patted her on the head, hoping that she would get the message that he was too old for her. "Hey Rebecca. How is you Grandfather keeping," he said politely. Yami let out a loud snigger at their body language. It could not be more obvious that Yugi was just not interested.

Rebecca released Yugi and threw Yami a dirty look. "Hello Atem. I hear my Yugi beat you in the Japanese nationals?" She said sarcastically. Before Yami had chance to answer that yes, Yugi had beaten him and that he had no problem with it. Rebecca added. "Anyway, you can relax Yugi. I'm just winding you up. I have my Moki Woki now." She latched onto Mokuba's arm as Mokuba grinned sheepishly. Yugi let out a sigh of relief. Perhaps she would leave him alone now?

"Urgh, who does she think she is?" Mana whispered to Yami.

Suddenly noticing Mana, Rebecca continued being annoying. "Are you going to introduce your girlfriend Atem?"

Atem felt his face flush slightly when Mana linked her arm through his. "I'm Mana, nice to meet you Rebecca," she said politely, holding out her hand. Rebecca beamed, she liked Mana, she had a friendly face, so she shook her hand.

"I hope you treat her better than you treated your last girlfriend," Rebecca stated sarcastically, making Yami snarl. For the sake of keeping the peace, he bit his tongue. That girl!

When they all got onto the ice, Kaiba spotted them and came gliding over, stopping skilfully and abruptly, showering them with ice particles. "Fancy seeing you dweebs here!"

A beautiful, slender woman in a pale blue ski jacket, came up beside him and laced her arm around his. Although she was wearing a pale blue, knitted hat with little white stars woven into the design, they could still see her silky white blonde hair, cascading over her shoulders from under the hat.

"Hello Kaiba, fancy seeing you here?" Yami said icily.

"Hey Kaiba! What are you doing here?" Yugi's tone was more friendly.

"I'm here on business. This lot here, thought it would be a good idea to inflict some Christmas spirit on me."

Anzu laughed. "Are you going to introduce us?" She leaned towards Kaiba's lady friend. "Hello, my name is Anzu." She offered her hand politely.

The woman with Kaiba smiled, a lovely kind gentle smile. "I'm Sarah." She took Anzu'z gloved hand in her pale blue mitten clad ones. Anzu noticed how light and gentle her touch was.

Kaiba reluctantly made introductions. "These two almost identical morons are Atem and Yugi Mutou. You can't see that they both have ridiculous hair because they are wearing hats. And I don't know who the girl is."

"I'm Mana. It's lovely to meet you."

Yugi and Yami ignored Kaiba's sarcasm, they were used to it by now.

"Most people call me by my nickname, Yami." He bowed in a gentlemanly fashion as he took Sarahs hand and spoke in his most alluring baritone, knowing it would wind Kaiba up.

Kaiba's jaw clenched in response and Yami laughed inwardly at how predictable Kaiba always was. It was just like their battles in duel monsters.

When they all finally stepped off the ice they were ready for something to eat. Anzu and Mana had really hit it off with Sarah, and Anzu even found Rebecca was being quite friendly.

"Why don't you all join us?" Mana suggested. "We were planning to go to Denino's for pizza."

Kaiba was just about to say they had their own plans when Sarah replied. "Yes we would love to, wouldn't we Seto?" With an enthusiasm that he surely couldn't refuse. Mokuba and Rebecca were equally as keen to go for pizza.

Seto shrugged and signed. "Okay, okay. If that's what you want. Let me ring ahead to ensure we get the best table first." He knew that at the mention of his name, any restaurant that valued its reputation would go out of their way to accommodate him.

Anzu rolled her eyes at his obvious show of superiority, but none of them attempted to stop him. Secretly they were all looking forward to receiving special service.

::::::::::::

Christmas Eve.

When Yami woke up, no one else was up yet, so he got out of bed and went over to the window. Noting that it was a little after nine in the morning, he opened the curtains. His eyes widened in wonder when he noticed that there was a light dusting of snow. It was still snowing, not heavily, just a few wispy flakes, but it was more than they usually got in the part of Japan where they lived.

Since no one else was up yet, he decided to go and put the kettle on to make some tea.

Yugi was the first to join him in the kitchen. "Morning Yami," he stretched his arms above his head and yawned.

"Tea or coffee?" Yami enquired.

"Yeah, tea thanks." Yugi took the mug of tea and sat down at the table.

"Is Anzu up yet?"

"She is just taking a shower. She will have tea. I will take it too her in a minute."

They were quiet for a moment, while Yami sat down at the table with his own mug of tea. Yugi was the first to speak. "So... you and Mana seem to be getting along okay?" He grinned.

"Yeah, she's hot. I really like her," he admitted. "I'm looking forward to seeing the girls dance in their show later."

"I can't wait," Yugi added. "Anzu is really nervous. She's worried she will mess things up, especially with you and me watching. Even if she fell over I would still think she was amazing though."

Just then Mana came in. "Ooh do I smell coffee?" Atem leapt up and offered her his chair.

"One cinnamon latte, coming right up." He had memorised her choice of coffee from yesterday and hoped that he had made it to her taste.

"Mmmm. You make perfect coffee Yami," She smiled, closing her eyes as she sipped her drink.

Yugi winked at Yami and gave him the thumbs up. Yami grinned at him and leant back against the counter with his arms folded. He looked calm and a bit smug, but inside he could feel butterflies dancing in his abdomen.

At around ten o'clock there was a knock at the door. "I wonder who that is?" Mana was in the bathroom so Anzu rushed to answer it. Yugi and Yami followed behind her.

"Surprise!" Jonouchi burst in through the door with a huge grin and threw his arms around Anzu.

Mai stepped in behind him.

"You guys are together?!" Anzu squealed in delight.

"About time!" Yami added.

"How did you know we would be here?" Yugi hugged his friend.

"Your Gramps told us. Mai already knew Anzu was appearing in panto. So we got tickets to see the show tonight and thought we could all spend Christmas together." Jonouchi was full of excitement.

"I don't know where you will all sleep! Yami is on the sofa bed." Anzu was worried how they would all squeeze in.

"Aw don't worry about it hon, we'll manage." Mai brushed it off as a minor problem.

"Yeah, don't worry about it Anzu. We are all together that's the main thing," Yugi added.

"I'll make some more coffee," Yami offered. "Anzu and Mana have to leave about at around one for the matinee performance. Yugi and I are going to hit the shops to get some gifts before we meet them for the evening show."

"Sounds cool. I gotta try them famous New York pizza's I been hearin about." Jonouchi was thinking about his stomach as usual.

Anzu was worrying that they would not have enough food to eat, especially with Jonouchi staying, so before she and Mana left for the theatre, she gave Yugi a list of extra groceries to get that afternoon.

::::::::::::

"What do you think I should get Mana," Yami sighed. He wanted to get her something really nice and was at a loss.

Yugi tried to think. "Well Anzu said she is into sport. Apparently she ran the New York marathon in 3hours 18 minutes. That's really awesome. You could get her some running socks or something?"

"Socks! Socks! Aw c'mon Yugi. Fastest way to put a girl off is to buy her socks." Yami wasn't amused.

"Well at least I'm trying to help. And it's the second fastest way to put her off. The first is to buy her kinky underwear, that'd really do it." Yugi sniggered and ducked when Yami threw a semi playful punch at him. "I tell you what? I will ring Anzu."

Luckily Anzu was backstage and answered her phone. She told Yugi that Mana wanted a new GPS watch, but that it was over 200usd, which would be way too much for Yami to spend.

"That's it, that's what I will get her!"

Yugi was shocked. He must really like her. He had never known Yami spend that much on a girl before. He didn't need to, girls always threw themselves at him.

The lady in the store gift wrapped the watch for him and when they got back to the apartment Yami placed it proudly under the Christmas tree.