Hi, guys!
I wanted to draw a Christmas Eve art for the holiday, but then I decided I would make a fanfic instead. It's kinda easier for me to write than to draw.
A few notes before we begin with the one-shot;
1.) This one-shot has no connections to my "The Crimson Star Priestess" fanfic.
2.) A couple of my OCs from said fanfic will appear, mainly Estelle and Beatrix, and minor Gina.
3.) In this one-shot Estelle is adopted by Rex Goodwin, but she keeps her last name.
4.) Estelle is only two years older than Yusei, since in my other fanfic she's four years older than him.
And last; Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone!
P.S. This fanfic will also be posted on my DeviantArt account.
Disclaimer: I do not own any Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's characters! I only own my OCs!
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The snow had fallen over New Domino City, the modern city of light. But now the city was decorated with Christmas ornaments to celebrate the incoming holiday, so the city was brighter than usual.
People were hurrying to buy the last things they needed for the holiday; presents, food, ornaments, the list could go on.
It was also the last day in Duel Academy before the winter vacation began. A 12th grade female student with long chestnut-brown hair, blue eyes with a pair of glasses, and white skin walked past the other students in the corridor, heading to her locker.
Estelle Malmström was a tall girl for her age, but she was proud of it. She wasn't exactly a social-person, but she had many good sides that the other students respected, like her wisdom.
While heading to her locker, Estelle couldn't help but remember the old times, especially when she had arrived to New Domino City. But that was a pretty sad story.
*FLASHBACK*
A ten year old Estelle sat on her seat in a plane with her mother sitting on her left side and her father on the right side. She was already wearing glasses at the young age. She was playing Duel Monsters with herself, and came up with different combos to knock out her invisible opponent.
Her parents couldn't help but smile at the sight, seeing their daughter being so engrossed with the card game. The Duel Monsters were literally Estelle's only friends ever since she began attending school. The old school she went to had been a nightmare for her. Because of Estelle's autistic behavior and disability to understand certain situations, she had been the target for many bullies. Estelle used to cry a lot, but she fought back and went to school every day like any other children. She wanted to learn more things and that made her a very good student. The only problem was the bullies. No matter how many times the teachers and parents told them to stop, they would go on.
So now, when Estelle's father got transferred due to his job, it had been a huge relief for Estelle to finally stop fighting mentally against the bullies each day.
"And now, Trident Dragion attacks Dark Magician!" Estelle declared, moving the Synchro dragon's card as if it was attacking something. "And I win!"
Estelle's parents chuckled at their daughter's enthusiasm. She loved dragons very much, since she claimed they were mysterious creatures and they had captured her attention ever since she saw a Blue-Eyes White Dragon on the TV during a Duel with Seto Kaiba's grandchild.
Estelle's mother cast a glance at her husband who caught the glance and nodded. It was time for a surprise for Estelle.
"Estelle", her father said.
Estelle looked up from her cards while bringing them back into a Deck. "Yes, Dad?"
"Your mother and I have something for you that we wanted to save until we get to New Domino City, but…", Estelle's father pulled out a card from the pocket of his pants. "We think it's best if you get it now."
Estelle got a smile as she put down her Deck to accept the face-down card. "Thank you, Dad." She turned it up and let out a gasp. "T-This is…"
"This is a card I inherited from my mother", Estelle's mother said, gaining her daughter's attention. "She said she wanted you to have it before she passed on. She knew you loved dragons since you were small. So take good care of Star Eater."
Estelle nodded and hugged her mother as good as she could since she had the seatbelt on. "Thank you, Mom! I'll keep Star Eater forever!" She then turned to her father and hugged him. "Thank you, Dad!"
Her parents smiled at their happy daughter, but the moment grew short.
Estelle put Star Eater in her Deck and put it away in her handbag when the speakers turned on.
"This is captain speaking. We are soon landing in New Domino City Airport. Please return to your seats and put on the seatbelts."
Estelle started feeling a bit nervous. She had been taught by her parents to know the new language, and that was the reason why they had been speaking English instead for Swedish. But at the same time, she was excited to begin a new life. Her only wish was to have a better life in her new school without any bullying. She had learned some stuff during the time in her old school.
The passengers could feel how the airplane began lowering itself towards the ground when there were minor rumbles that turned into major. People began screaming in panic as alarms went off.
"This is captain speaking! Dear passengers, we have a malfunction in the engine…!"
Estelle's ears grew deaf to the loud speakers. She hugged her handbag close to her chest as she tried curling into a ball. Was this going to be her end with her parents?
*No… No!* Estelle cried, tears running down her cheeks. *Save us someone, please!*
That was her last wish before the crash came and she lost consciousness.
XXXXXXXXXX
Estelle groaned lightly, feeling her senses coming back. She slowly opened her eyes to see she had a very blurry sight. Her glasses weren't on, but she could make out a clear sky with red-blue flashes from the corners.
The girl felt herself lying on something soft. The noise of sirens and alarms reached her ears just like terror screams and commands were being delivered. The smell of something burning and chemicals filled her lungs along with fresh air.
Estelle felt her arms being around her body, holding something. She glanced down and saw the familiar shape of her handbag. It was safe and hopefully her Deck too.
She let out a huge sigh of relief before two people came into her eyesight. It was two paramedics and shouted words Estelle wasn't familiar with, but she suddenly felt herself move. She saw she was lying on a trolley as it was getting loaded into an ambulance.
Estelle sat up slowly when the trolley was in the ambulance and strained her eyes to see what was going on.
In the middle of the airport was a huge fire and black smoke from said fire raised up like a pillar to the sky. Estelle's eyes widened when she remembered her parents.
"Mom! Dad!" she tried, trying to get down off the trolley.
But the paramedics held her back, trying to tell her to stay. But Estelle struggled against their grip as the doors to the ambulance closed in front of her before the vehicle drove off.
*END OF FLASHBACK*
Estelle lost her parents during the incident, and she was one of the few survivors. She couldn't understand how she had been able to survive, but she got to learn the truth later.
When Estelle woke up in the hospital, she had been visited by her father's new boss Rex Goodwin who told her how she lost her parents. Estelle had broken down and cried so hard, not knowing what she should do. But Rex Goodwin told her he would take her in as his foster daughter. Estelle had agreed on it, and it had been a wise decision.
Estelle had grown up into a young adult, soon ready to face the world. She had been practicing to become better with some difficulties she had due to her autistic behavior, and now she was almost like a normal young woman.
Estelle reached her locker and opened it, putting in the books she had been holding before she grabbed her school bag and closed the locker. She adjusted her coat that covered her school uniform before she put the strap of her bag on her right shoulder.
"Estelle!" a girl's voice called.
Estelle turned around and saw a girl with burgundy hair, brown eyes and fair skin run up to her. She couldn't help but let a small smile appear on her lips. Akiza Izinski was one of her few friends she had at school.
When Estelle attended Duel Academy, a couple of weeks after the incident, she was ignored by the students, but they never bullied her, so she was always alone and in peace. She had no problem with that, but she had still been insecure to trust children after her old school.
It was after one Duel at school when Estelle got to learn she had powers to make Duel Monsters and effects real when people actually started to notice her. The majority called her witch for having the ability to materialize Duel Monsters and cause real damage, but the rest wasn't scared of her. And those happened to be slightly outsiders in Duel Academy.
Akiza was four years younger than Estelle, but she approached Estelle because she had the same ability as the brunette. Slowly and surely, those two became good friends. And soon, Estelle's world began expanding.
"Hi, Akiza", nowadays Estelle greeted her friend.
Akiza stood in front of her, looking excited. "So, the Christmas party is still on?"
Estelle let out a soft chuckle. "Of course, Aki. Goodwin said it was okay with a party, as long as we behave."
Akiza laughed, "I know. But our parties aren't like the ones with alcohol and other ridiculous stuff."
"Yeah, and I'm glad to be different", Estelle nodded.
The two girls walked out from the school building to greet the falling snow. The air was cold, but fresh.
They walked towards the Duel Runner parking lot where they met their other friends; Jack Atlas, Crow Hogan, Luna and Leo Crier, Sherry LeBlanc, Carly Carmine, and Yusei Fudo.
Among these people, only Carly was from the same grade as Estelle. The rest were in lower grades.
Estelle couldn't help but feel her heart beat a bit faster when she saw Yusei smiling lightly at her. She had a crush on this two years younger boy for three years. He had been the first boy to approach her and Akiza. He wasn't afraid of their powers, and thanks to his courage and approach the rest of the group joined them and they became a loyal group.
"Yo, Estelle!" Crow greeted. "Is everything ready for the party?"
"Almost", Estelle replied.
"I can't wait for all the good food…", Leo drooled lightly as he held his Duel Board.
Luna sighed at her twin brother. "Leo…"
"But you have a present for the present exchange, right?" Sherry wondered.
Estelle nodded, "I've been done with that since a long time ago."
"But it's a present that fits for both boys and girls?" Jack asked.
"Definitely", Estelle said.
Carly couldn't help bit giggle lightly. "Jack's still a bit upset for last year's Christmas present exchange since he got a girly hair accessory from Crow."
Crow blushed lightly. "Hey! That accessory was meant to be for Trixie!"
"Come on, guys", Yusei said. "That was last year's Christmas. I'm sure you learned how to get a neutral present for the exchange."
"Well… Yeah, true", Crow nodded.
"So Beatrix is coming?" Akiza asked.
"Yep!" Crow nodded. "Sure is! She can't wait to see us all again! Last time was during Halloween, and that time was so short!" He cried crocodile tears.
"He sure loves his long-distance girlfriend, doesn't he?" Sherry commented.
"It's still hard for me to believe that he would be the first one to have a girlfriend", Jack snorted.
"Hey!" Crow exclaimed. "I love her, alright?! And she loves me! As soon as both of us graduate from school, we can live together!"
"You mean you two have already plans after graduation, Crow?" Carly asked, her eyes a bit widen in disbelief.
"Yep!" Crow nodded.
"Ehh… Can we talk about this somewhere where it's warm?" Luna interrupted. "It's getting a bit cold…"
"I agree with Luna", Leo said.
Estelle looked up, seeing the sky was getting darker by each second. "It seems a storm is coming. We better go home before it arrives."
The group nodded and they all got on their Duel Runners, except the twins who had Duel Boards. They turned on their transports and drove off.
XXXXXXXXXX
It was now the evening before Christmas Eve. The decorations were ready in the living room. The food was planned and ready to get cooked. And the present was ready for the present exchange.
Estelle sat on her bed with her smartphone, having a multi-conversation with Beatrix, Akiza, Sherry and Carly about a certain matter.
"You should confess to Yusei tomorrow!" Akiza told the brunette.
"That's easier said than done, Aki", Estelle replied. "I'm scared that he only sees me as a friend. I don't want to make things awkward between us."
"I used to feel the same about Crow", Beatrix confessed.
"Estelle, mon ami, if you don't make the first move, then someone else will and she will snatch Yusei from you", Sherry said.
"Sherry's right!" Carly nodded. "You love him, right? Then what makes you hold back?"
Estelle let out a soft sigh as she rubbed her forehead. "I… I want Yusei to be happy. I want to see him happy with someone else by his side."
"Estelle, sometimes you are too good for your own", Akiza shook her head.
"Very noble and selfless", Beatrix nodded.
"But be selfish at least once for your life, Estelle!" Carly said. "He won't be there for you forever if you don't confess!"
"If you lose your chance to tell him now, then it could be…", Sherry began.
"Game over", Beatrix finished.
Estelle leant back against the bed frame and stared up at the ceiling. Her friends were right. If she wanted to be closer to Yusei, she had to stop being selfless and take the next step. But the reason why she was holding back was she didn't want to feel the same broken feelings as the day when she lost her parents. She was afraid Yusei would stop being her friend if he rejected her feelings.
But… It was worth the risk. If Yusei didn't return her feelings, then she would at least move on slowly, knowing Yusei would find his happiness in the future.
Estelle turned her attention back to her smartphone. "Okay." She heard the girls exclaim in joy and victoriously. "I will confess to Yusei…tomorrow."
XXXXXXXXXX
Estelle had to make a quick visit in a grocery store in the morning of Christmas Eve. She had forgotten to buy sugar to make sweets, so she had to drive to the nearby grocery store with her Duel Runner.
The girl stepped outside into the cold air as she held a small plastic bag with a packet of sugar. She needed to get home fast and help the maids do the cooking before the maids and butlers could go home to their own families to celebrate the holiday.
Estelle walked to her Duel Runner that stood in a nearby parking lot when she spotted a familiar person. She looked up and saw Yusei walking in the opposite direction. Her heart skipped a beat for seeing her crush.
If she ran now, she could catch up with Yusei and just say hi before the Christmas party in the afternoon.
Estelle jogged after Yusei and was about to call out his name when someone else called Yusei's name. The brunette stopped jogging just as Yusei looked up and saw Gina run up to him.
Gina Franklin was the most popular girl in Duel Academy with both boys and girls. The boys wanted to date her while the girls wanted to be just like her. Gina was very slim, a bit taller than Akiza, had caramel skin, long strawberry blonde hair and green eyes. Her make-up was usually very little at Duel Academy, but now she looked more like a clown with her slightly exposed outfit even if it was winter. Gina was also in Yusei's class and she had been chasing for him for a long time.
"What do you want, Gina?" Yusei asked, a bit annoyed by his "stalker".
Gina looked over Yusei's shoulder and spotted Estelle. Gina viewed the two years older girl as her rival in love since she was obvious to the brunette's feelings for Yusei.
The caramel-skinned girl cast her eyes back at Yusei. "I'm holding a Christmas party tonight and I was wondering if you want to come."
Yusei shook his head. "Sorry, but I'll go to another party."
Gina growled in her mind, but she hid it with a smug smile. "Well, maybe I can change your mind…"
Yusei arched an eyebrow. "What do you-"
He couldn't finish his sentence when Gina grabbed the collar of his jacket and pulled him down so she could force her lips onto Yusei's.
Estelle's eyes widened in shock when she saw Gina kiss Yusei. She felt her heart suddenly being stabbed by several knives in every direction for seeing her crush being kissed by someone else… Or, was he kissing her too? It was hard for Estelle to tell since Yusei went all frozen by the action.
Gina still held onto Yusei and cast an evil glance at Estelle as if telling "I won, loser!". Estelle felt herself slowly shaking by the horrible feelings growing inside her. She turned around and ran away, back to the parking lot where her Duel Runner was waiting.
It was sad that she left so soon. If she didn't do it, then she could have seen and heard everything after Yusei had pushed Gina off him.
Yusei spat out the saliva from his mouth as he rubbed off the lipstick from his lips after Gina's kiss with the sleeve of his jacket. "Why'd you do that for, Gina?!" To say he was furious was a statement.
"To give you some charm of a real woman, Yusei!" Gina replied, feeling a bit angry for seeing Yusei acting in the way he did. "I love you, Yusei! I want you to be my boyfriend!"
"Gina, how many times do I have to tell you I don't like you?!" Yusei retorted.
He was usually a calm boy, but this went through the limit.
"I like someone else!" Yusei told her.
Gina's lips turned into a mischievous smirk. "Is it perhaps Estelle?"
Yusei felt his eyes widen lightly in surprise. "W-What makes you say that?"
Gina curled a small part of her hair nonchalantely. "Maybe because she had just seen everything." To prove her point, she held up her smartphone and showed Yusei how Estelle had been standing behind him and how upset she looked before she turned around ran off.
Gina smirked, enjoying seeing Yusei's shocked face. "Try to make up with her now, Yusei-Bear." She turned around, leaving behind the boy. "Ta-ta~!"
Yusei got over his shock and turned around, trying to find Estelle, but she wasn't there on the street. He cursed through his teeth, feeling a bit devastated to know how his crush must have misunderstood the situation due to her difficulties by the autistic behavior. If he would face her now, she would surely try to act as normal as she could and wish him happiness with his girlfriend.
Yusei wasn't a fool. He had seen Estelle looking upset in the past, but she always covered it up with a mask to hide her true emotions and not be selfish when it came to something she really wanted but didn't get it.
The boy let out a sigh. What was he going to do to convince Estelle that he wasn't together with Gina and tell her that the one he loved was actually the brunette?
XXXXXXXXXX
Beatrix had arrived before Estelle returned at home and she noticed how upset the brunette looked, so she called Akiza over to help out. Akiza was considered as Estelle's closest friend due to their long friendship since they were young.
The girls were in Estelle's room as the brunette sat on the bed and shed a few tears before she calmed down. Akiza and Beatrix sat next to Estelle on each side.
Akiza rubbed Estelle's back to help her calm down. "Feeling better now?"
Estelle nodded as she removed her glasses and polished them with the hem of her shirt. "Yes…"
"What happened?" Beatrix asked.
Estelle let out a soft sigh before she inhaled deeply to relax her throat. "I saw Yusei in the city…"
"And?" Akiza asked, getting a bad feeling.
"Gina showed up and they…", Estelle's voice shook lightly. "They…kissed…"
Akiza and Beatrix's eyes widened in shock at the news.
"Wait, they what?!" Akiza exclaimed.
"Are you sure?" Beatrix asked the glasses girl.
Estelle nodded, putting back her glasses on her face. "Yes…"
Akiza stood up from the bed and walked around in the room, like a caged animal, and poured out a wave of curse words. "That stuck-up bitch from hell!"
Estelle was surprised to see Akiza swearing. It was very rarely when Akiza went all furious like now.
"Did Yusei really kiss back?" Beatrix wondered, ignoring the rambling girl.
"I… I don't know…", Estelle shook her head. "He just…stood there when Gina pulled him to her and kissed him."
Akiza stopped walking around and turned to the brunette. "Wait… Gina pulled Yusei to her?" Estelle nodded. "So it wasn't Yusei who leant down and kissed her?" Estelle shook her head.
"Gina forced Yusei on her", Beatrix said with a state-of-fact voice.
"Then there's still a chance for you, Estelle!" Akiza said. "You must have misunderstood the situation."
"But what if Yusei actually likes her?" Estelle said lowly. "I…just can't barge in between them if they are together now…"
Akiza and Beatrix exchanged a glance. They knew Estelle's difficulties to sometimes not truly understand and read a situation properly, and how she was inexperienced with love. Beatrix was together with Crow, Akiza had a thing for Sherry and Carly was together with Jack. They had experience for love, but they learned you had to find out about love yourself without any help, and Estelle had taken that advice to her heart.
But now, her heart was crumbling down, maybe because of a misunderstood situation.
Estelle let out a deep sigh and stood up, grabbing the two other girls' attention. "I'll let go of him now." She put on a small smile. "It's…the best for him. Do you want to help out in the kitchen?"
"Yes", Beatrix nodded.
"Sure…", Akiza said.
They were worried about Estelle's statement. Was she not going to fight and search for the truth instead?
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"Gina did what?!" Crow exclaimed in shock.
Yusei had called him and Jack over to his family home, so they were right now in Yusei's room, talking about a certain situation that happened only thirty minutes ago.
Yusei sighed, "Gina kissed me and Estelle saw everything. Gina had somehow managed to record Estelle when she forced me down on her."
"That bitch!" Crow cursed. "Why can't she just leave you alone, Yusei?!"
Jack had his arms crossed, but his right eyebrow arched in anger. "Because she's obsessed with him, Crow. That's why."
Yusei sat on his bed and looked down on the floor. "What should I do now, guys?" Jack and Crow looked at him with confused expressions. "I planned on confessing to Estelle today, but after this… I'm afraid she misunderstood everything since she ran off before I even noticed she was there seeing it all."
The truth was Yusei had a crush on Estelle for two years now. After he had witnessed how Estelle matured and became the girl she was today, and how kind-hearted and protective she was, he fell in love with her. He was fully aware of her autistic behaviors, but he accepted that. It was part of her that he loved.
Jack and Crow looked at each other, trying to figure out something to help Yusei.
"I think you should go head on", Crow said.
Yusei looked up from the floor, looking a bit confused. "Go head on?"
"Tell Estelle about your feelings for her straight out and tell her how you don't love that daughter of Satan's!" Jack added. "That's what Crow did when he confessed to Trixie."
"Hey!" Crow blushed in embarrassment. "That was because Trixie wouldn't take me seriously! You know how blunt she can be, even when she's a very smart girl!"
"Only with the homework, Crow", Jack retorted a bit teasingly.
Yusei turned his eyes at the desk, seeing two small wrapped presents he had prepared. One of them was for the present exchange, but the other one was especially for Estelle.
"Maybe you're right", Yusei spoke up, getting his friends' attention. "I'll tell her the truth and confess to her."
Crow pumped his fist in the air. "Oh, yeah!"
"I've been waiting to say this…", Jack began. "You've finally grown some balls to confess, Yusei."
Yusei chuckled at the sentence. "Wasn't it the same for you when you confessed to Carly, Jack?"
Now it was the blonde man's turn to blush while Crow laughed at him. "T-That's…not your business!"
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Everyone arrived to the mansion where Estelle lived with her foster father. (AN: Imagine the characters wearing their usual outfits from the show, except Carly.) The maids had finished making the food, just like the girls, and the servants had gone home to celebrate the holiday.
Carly was dressed in a sexy Santa Claus outfit which made Jack extra protective of her and made sure to keep her close to him.
Speaking of Carly, both she and Sherry got to hear about the turbulent a few hours ago, so they were aware why Estelle avoided Yusei as much as she could.
The only ones who weren't aware of the situation at all were the twins. But they did notice real quickly that something was wrong with the atmosphere.
"Is it just me…or have we missed something, sis?" Leo asked his sister.
"Yeah, I get the same feeling too, Leo", Luna nodded. "Estelle seems a bit down and Yusei is looking troubled…"
Estelle was wearing a crimson dress that reached to her ankles and had long sleeves. She stood by a doorway, looking down on the floor while having a slight depressed facial expression. The girls watched her from the table with treats, all of them worried.
Yusei understood why Estelle stood a bit aside from the party, but that wasn't going to make him back down. He felt the present for Estelle in the pocket of his jacket, assuring it was still there before he walked over to his crush.
Estelle looked up to see who had walked to her, and her eyes widened slightly when she saw it was Yusei. She couldn't get a word out since his eyes were so serious.
"Estelle…", Yusei began. "I-"
"Look, everyone! We have the first couple under the mistletoe!" Crow shouted.
Everyone turned their attention at the "couple" by the doorway, seeing the plant hanging there. Estelle and Yusei looked up and both of them jumped lightly away when they spotted the mistletoe. Estelle cursed herself for forgetting there she had put the mistletoe.
Crow grinned mischievously. "Welp, you guys know the rules! A couple plus mistletoe equals kiss!"
Estelle and Yusei looked away from each other, both of them blushing hard.
Akiza decided to join in. "If you guys don't know how to kiss, I'll show you." She walked over to Sherry and placed a kiss on the blonde's cheek.
Sherry blushed by the affections from the girl she had secretly liked for a couple of years now. "Akiza…" She touched the cheek that had received the kiss, feeling warm inside.
Akiza blushed as well while her eyes shone with love for the girl in front of her.
But the show made Yusei and Estelle even more shy. Jack didn't like how slow they were and decided to help out as well. He walked up to the duo and pulled their heads so that they faced each other.
"Go on and kiss, goddammit!" Jack told them. "Is it so hard for you two, huh?!"
Estelle and Yusei felt nervous for facing each other. The irony was how their blush matched. But the moment broke when Estelle exploded.
"NO!"
She smacked away Jack's hand and ran out from the living room, leaving behind her friends.
Yusei grew concerned and rushed after her. "Estelle, wait!"
Jack had a smirk on his face, but he was actually happy with the result. Now those two could have a talk privately without anyone interrupting them.
"Well, I guess we did a nice job here, guys", Crow said as he had his arm around Beatrix's waist.
"Yes", Beatrix nodded.
"What? What's going on?" Leo asked, not getting the whole thing.
Luna sighed, "Leo, you can be so dense."
"I can't wait to see the second new couple to come back!" Carly said with an excited voice.
"Second new couple?" Leo blinked confusedly.
"Duh!" Crow pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "These two."
Everyone looked at the direction where Crow pointed at and saw Sherry and Akiza making out. Leo made a gag noise while Luna sighed at him. But the older teenagers were a bit embarrassed about the girls' make out.
XXXXXXXXXX
Yusei followed Estelle to her room and saw she was standing on the balcony connected to the room. She stood by the railing, her back facing him as she rested her elbows on the railing. He could tell she was still upset as her figure was shivering a bit. He stepped inside Estelle's room and closed the door behind him.
Estelle felt so ashamed for the scene she just did. She lost control of her body and made her act like an idiot for running away from simple teasing. But she couldn't face Yusei after she had seen him kissing Gina. The stab-feeling returned and she shook lightly by the pain.
*No… Stop…*, Estelle begged. *Make this pain go away…*
She didn't expect someone to place their hands on her shoulders from behind and talk to her, especially not Yusei.
"Hey…", Yusei said with a gentle voice while Estelle turned around to look at him. "It's okay, Estelle. Being so close to someone so suddenly must have freaked you out. It was the same for me."
Estelle couldn't believe how Yusei was still talking normally to her, and how he was close to her again and even touching her when he had Gina.
The girl shrugged off Yusei's hands from her shoulders. "I appreciate your concern, Yusei, but I'm fine now." She turned her head to look at the view in front of her. "You know…"
"Hm?" Yusei hummed.
"You didn't have to come if you were already invited by Gina to go to her party", Estelle told him.
"What…?" Yusei arched an eyebrow.
"You should spend your time with Gina since she's your girlfriend, right?" Estelle continued, trying to sound as emotionless as possible to not show she was upset. "If you want, you can leave-"
"Stop it!" Yusei exclaimed and grabbed Estelle's shoulders to turn her around quite harshly. "Gina and I are not together! I know you saw me and Gina kissing today, but she's the one who forced herself on me!"
Estelle's eyes widened a bit in surprise. "What…?"
Yusei let out a deep sigh. "Gina pulled me to her and she somehow managed to record you while she kissed me. I don't hold any special feelings for her. She's just obsessed with me."
Estelle let Yusei's words work through her brain before it clicked for her. "So you two are not a couple?"
Yusei nodded, "What's what I'm saying."
Estelle couldn't help to relax her shoulders and feel a huge relief in her heart. Yusei wasn't together with Gina or anyone else. Maybe she still had a chance to confess to Yusei.
The brunette was a bit startled when she felt something cold rest on her exposed collarbones. She turned her eyes down and spotted a silver feather-shaped pendant resting on the collarbones. "What's this?"
Yusei chuckled lightly. "It's my Christmas present for you."
Estelle looked up at the boy in front of her. "For me? But… Why?"
The brunette blushed when she saw Yusei coming closer to her face. He also had a hint of blush on his cheeks.
"Because…", Yusei began a bit nervously. "The girl I love…is standing right in front of me."
Estelle's eyes widened before they softened. "Yusei…"
Yusei grabbed her chin gently and tilted her head up before he placed his lips on her. They both closed their eyes as they moved their lips softly but full with passion and happiness for finally being together.
They soon broke the kiss to catch their breath, but their eyes shone with love for one another.
"Do you really mean it, Yusei…?" Estelle whispered to not break the tender moment.
"I do…", Yusei replied with a soft voice. "I've loved you for a long time now, and I…" He hesitated for a second. "I want you to be my girlfriend."
Estelle smiled gently at the boy who had just confessed. "I'd love to because…I love you too."
Yusei smiled at Estelle's confession and brought her into his arms. Estelle rested her head against his left shoulder as she had her arms wrapped around Yusei's waist. She couldn't help but let out some tears of joy for finally being in the arms of the boy she loved.
The new couple remained on the balcony as the cold winds blew by, but Estelle and Yusei never felt cold once because they both felt warm in the embrace they shared in the Christmas night.
But the warmth was also caused by the Duel Spirit of Star Eater, the very same Duel Monster who had protected Estelle from losing her life so many years ago.
Star Eater growled in happiness for seeing his mistress being happy with the man she loved before he disappeared and left the couple alone.