Disclaimers: I do NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh, any of these characters or the song 'All I want for Christmas is you' by Mariah Carey, this is just fanmade!

Chapter eleven: Christmas

Yami:

"All I want for Christmas is youuuuu, baby," Tea sang while dancing through the kitchen holding some plates. She was wearing a jeans and a sweater, her apron and some parts of her clothes covered in flour and sauce.

A little chuckle came out of my mouth and she put the plate down to walk over to me, placing a kiss on my lips, wrapping her arms around my neck. The kiss deepened soon and her right foot popped up in the air when she tried to stand on her tip toes and was trying not to touch me with her filthy clothes. She seemed happy today, a lot happier than she had been the lost couple of weeks. The holidays did her good indeed.

"I won't ask for much this Christmas, I don't even wish for snow. I'm just gonna keep on waiting underneath the mistletoe," she sang while pointing to the ceiling. Her mother had probably placed a mistletoe everywhere she could hang one, because I had already seen four hanging in the house, even in front of the toilet door! The other one hung above the front door and one above the couch in the living room, which caused my grandpa to give Tea's mother a little kiss, on her cheek of course.

Although everyone seemed happy there was a dark side to this day too, Tea's father wasn't able to come over for Christmas this year but she had waved it away and told me her father had an important job, he would come back as soon as he could.

"I thought you invited Joey too?" I asked her when she went back to the oven, looking at the meat. A little frown appeared on her face and she turned down the heat a little.

"I did but he had to celebrate Christmas with Mai and her parents. Serenity is coming though, their parents are on a holiday for their second honeymoon or something like that. They got married at Christmas about twenty years ago."

"And does Joey know you invited Tristan too?" I asked her.

She turned around with a smirk on her face. "No."

We both laughed and I offered her my help in the kitchen. She was babbling about all kinds of things and I just listened while making some drinks. She seemed so alive and full of spirit, it was one of the things I loved about her.

"I'll take these to the living room," I said when taking the tray into my arms. She nodded and went to make some snacks to keep everyone satisfied until dinner began.

"Hey Tea, your mom told me you guys were here," Tristan said when he popped up in front of me, in the door opening.

Tea turned around and started to laugh uncontrollably. "You guys have to kiss," she said, pointing to the ceiling.

"What? I'm not going to kiss a guy!" Tristan shouted.

"Tea, I can't kiss Tristan," I protested.

"Hey you guys, I finally made it!" our savior shouted.

A red-brown haired girl appeared behind Tristan and I saw my chances to run away, hearing Tea say that Serenity needed to give Tristan a kiss. I knew exactly what she was doing, she would get those two together, no matter what.

"Yami, I hope you didn't use too much alcohol in those," my grandpa said while pointing towards the drinks.

"Of course not," I said. He laughed and took a glass of juice for Yugi who was playing with Blanchet (A/N: Tristan's dog) and a drink for himself. Soon my tray was empty and I went back to the kitchen to make four glasses for me, Tristan, Tea and Serenity.

"And Joey was almost trembling when Mai picked him up, I think he's scared of her dad," Serenity said when I entered the kitchen. She and Tea were leaning against a cabinet and Tristan just looked at the two girls, babbling about Joey.

"Yeah, he probably is." Tea shook her head and smiled a little. "So when does your brother come back home?"

A little blush appeared on Serenity's face. "I don't think he's coming home tonight," she whispered.

"I see," Tea said. "You can always sleep here if you want to, since there's no one at your home."

"Really?" Serenity almost shouted in excitement. "I'll text Joey to tell him I'm sleeping here, do you have some spare pajamas for me?" The two kept on talking when Tristan suddenly whispered something.

"So, did you and Tea already?"

I shook my head. "It's not like that."

"Yeah, I guess not everyone's like Joey and Mai." He rolled his eyes and took some glasses out of the cabinet beneath us. "But you and Tea sure seem different, I've never seen you guys kiss or even hold hands in public."

I shrugged my shoulders. "It just feels good that way, there's more to love than kissing or holding hands you know."

"That's true," he laughed and he gave a quick glance at Serenity.

"So, when are you going to tell her?" I whispered nonchalantly while making some other drinks.

"I don't know," Tristan answered. "Everyone seems to notice except she… I wish I had the courage to tell her. But then again, Joey would probably kill me…"

"It'll be alright Tristan, just have some faith in yourself and Joey isn't going to be mad, not for long at least. He's your best friend and he knows you'll take care of his little sister."

He smiled a little at me and I nodded to give him some more support.

"Well, I'll go and change now since there isn't really anything else I can do," Tea said while taking of her apron. She laid it upon the cabinet behind her and left the room in a hurry. She was a bit of a caretaker, she didn't want her guests to be alone for long.

"So, Serenity how did your exams go?" I asked, trying to keep up a conversation since Tristan was just staring at her and I wondered if he was going to drool.

She was nice to look at, I wouldn't deny that. She was a little bit shorter than Tea and she had the same deep brown eyes Joey had. She wore a black dress and black heels, nothing too fancy but to Tristan she looked different. She probably looked to him what Tea looked like to me, beautiful.

"They went well, I had an A+ for math so my parents were very pleased. I only had a C for Spanish but that was because I had to go the hospital the day I needed to study for it."

I nodded once. Tea had once told me Serenity was born with a problem at her eyesight. A few years ago she had an operation which healed her sight but she had to go to the hospital twice a year to see if everything was still okay.

"What about you, Tristan?" I asked, suddenly realizing I hadn't asked him before although we were sitting in the same class.

Before he could respond Serenity spoke again. "He had an A on everything of course, he's such a smarty!" she giggled.

A little blush appeared on Tristan's face when he got the compliment and so did Serenity. I had a feeling it wouldn't be too long until those two came together. I turned around and continued making our drinks.

"Yami, are you ready with those drinks so we can go to the living room?"

I looked over at the young woman and I was dazzled. Her hair was in a dot with the help of some bobby pins and she wore a beautiful white dress with some blue details that matched her eyes. I couldn't speak at first but quickly regained my thoughts.

"Yeah, I'll take them with me."

She smiled at me and turned around, followed by Tristan and Serenity.

Tea:

It was already eleven o'clock when suddenly the doorbell rang. My mother stood up to open it when I heard her scream.

I left my seat, telling Yami not to wory, and took a look in the hallway, seeing my father hugging my mother. He still wore his black business suit with a blue tie I once gave him for his birthday and was holding his suitcase, his face a bit wet because of the snow that was melting now he was inside.

"Daddy!" I shouted and I ran over to him, almost hugging my parents to death.

"Tea, I've missed you," he said before placing a kiss onto my forehead.

"I've missed you too. I thought you weren't able to come today?" I asked with a curious tone.

"I almost wasn't able to make it but I took another plain so I could," he said, still hugging us.

"You can still eat dessert, daddy. Or do you want me to warm something of the leftovers?" I kept on babbling, too excited because my father was finally back.

"Tea honey, calm down a bit," my mother said. "Let's go back to the living room, the rest must be wondering what's taking us so long."

We walked back to the living room, me following my parents and as soon as my father opened the door he shouted "Merry Christmas everyone!" I looked a bit like my father, at work he was a serious business man but at home with friends and family he was Mr. Sunshine.

"Ah, Mr. Solomon and little Yugi," he said before walking towards them and shaking their hands. "How's your deck coming along?"

"Pretty good, sir," the little boy answered.

My father laid down his suitcase on my mother's empty chair and took out a card. "It's the Obnoxious Celtic Guard, I thought you would like it," he said.

"Thanks Mr. Gardner!" the little boy wrapped his arms around my father's neck to give him a hug.

"Tristan," he nodded. "Everything okay in school?"

"Yes sir, as always." He smiled a bit and I could see the proud look on his face but he had the right to be so, he had always been the smartest one.

My dad turned over to the girl next to the brown haired boy and he gave her a questioning look. "Serenity, is that you?" he asked, a bit unsure.

"Yes Mr. Gardner," she answered and she stood up to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"You've all grown up. Where's your brother and where's Mai?" he asked, looking around the room.

"Joey and Mai are an item now, they're at her home celebrating," she said.

"Mai Valentine and Joseph Wheeler are an item?" my father asked. "I didn't see that one coming."

He turned around and spotted Yami. He gave him a questioning look and looked over to Yugi, back to Yami.

"Yami Muto?" he asked, a bit dumbfounded. I hadn't told my father we were an item and apparently neither did my mother.

"Mr. Gardner." He stood up to shake my father's hand and nodded once before sitting down again.

"Tea?" my father asked. "Is he a friend of yours?"

"Yami is my boyfriend daddy, I thought mom told you," I said, waiting for his approval. At first he didn't say a thing but after about ten seconds which seemed like an eternity he finally smiled.

"I see, well I wish you both good luck. Talking about that," he turned back to face Tristan. "How's everything going with you and Serenity, you two must be together for quite some time now, no?"

Tristan started blushing immediately and put his hands up in the air. "It's not like that Mr. Gardner, we're just friends."

"Really? I always thought you had a crush on her…"

I could see that Serenity and Tristan were both blushing but my father caught my attention when he spoke to me.

"Where is that dessert I was promised?"

Yami:

I stood outside in the cold winter air, looking at my surroundings. There weren't any clouds at the sky and the moon made the snow on the ground and trees seem so much more beautiful, almost magical.

"Yami?" I turned around and saw Tea's father, holding a glass of red wine in his hand.

"Yes Mr. Gardner?" I asked, watching at him as he approached me.

"I would like to talk with you about something." He had a serious tone and suddenly I realized who Tea got her character from. She could be happy and babble around like her father but she could also be serious if she needed to be.

"About Tea?" I asked.

He nodded. "About you and Tea."

I know he was going to give me the 'overprotective father talk' but I didn't mind. If he wanted to do this to lighten up his spirits then I would let him continue.

"Yes?"

He took a nip of his wine, probably trying to get warmer. "I don't know you Yami but I do know you are the Duel King," he said.

"And?"

"You're rich and famous, you can get any girl, why pick my Tea?" He put his coat tighter around him and so did I when a little breeze caressed my face.

"I don't want someone who picks me because I'm rich or because I'm famous. I want someone who cares about me and who understands me. Who can laugh with me and feel sad with me if I need them too. Someone who is my best friend and my lover at the same time. Someone who I can make happy by just being around and can protect, I need your daughter, Mr. Gardner. She makes me feel alive." I had never told this to anyone before, not even to Tea. I had never explained her how I truly felt about her.

"I see." He smiled a little before he continued. "I used almost the exact same words when I told Tea's grandfather how I felt about his daughter. I guess she's safe with you." He laid his hand upon my shoulder and went back to the warmth inside.

I wanted to follow him but before I was able to turn around I could feel two arms around my waist.

"That was the sweetest thing someone ever said about me," she whispered. I turned around and wrapped my arms around her.

"You know it's true."

She nodded and caressed my cheek with her hand while enjoying the warmth of my body next to hers. I hugged her more tight so she wouldn't get cold and we stood there for about ten minutes, just looking into each other's eyes, she caressing my cheek. No words were needed, they almost never were and I wondered why that was. When I looked at Joey and Mai, they would kiss almost all the time, they just couldn't keep their hands of each other. Tea and I on the other hand were a different story. When we were alone we would fool around like friends did, tease each other like a brother and a sister did or just be silent and look into each other's soul like only lovers could. Something about her changed me, for the better of course. She really made me feel alive again. I acted around her like I acted when I was with my family, more open than I normally was. After all those years of dueling I had learned that you needed to be serious in life to accomplish things but with her I could be another part of myself. Silently looking at each other, observing every move she made, enjoying the simple warmth of her breath on my face, all those little things were more important to me. Just looking at her face brightened up my day. (A/N: Cheesy or does this have another meaning?... I'm not going to tell you, yet :p)

Suddenly the sound of music caught my ear and I put out my hand. "Would you like to dance, Miss Gardner?" I asked.

She nodded and took my hand. We didn't really dance, we just held each other tight, moving in little circles to the rhythm of the music. After a few minutes the song stopped and we both smiled at each other before walking inside again.

"Yami, I guess we should go home, it's already one o'clock and your brother has fallen asleep," my grandfather said as soon as we were in the living room.

I looked down at his curled up body on the couch and took him in my arms.

"Yami, what's happening?" he murmured.

"We're going home," I answered back. He looked around the room and put his hand in the air to wave at everybody, getting a warm smile from Miss Gardner, Serenity and Tea. He really was a heartbreaker, my little brother.

Grandpa walked towards the car and so did I before an arm grabbed me in the doorway.

"Mistletoe!" Tea said while pointing above our heads and I quickly gave her a kiss. Her lips were still cold of being outside so long and so were mine.

"Goodnight bro," she said when she gave Yugi a kiss on his forehead. He smiled a little, half asleep and opened one eye to look at her.

"Goodnight Tea," he yawned.

(A/N:So, what did you think? Liked my Christmas chapter. I have the habit to listen to music when I'm writing and I should tell you, listening to Christmas songs in the middle of summer is just plain strange! But it helped to keep me in the mood to write this chapter ^^'

Sweet, warm summer kisses to my readers! X – hehe, it's like 4.03 am here, so I'm being a bit excited, yes, sometimes I get excited when I'm tired xD, I'm just a bit weird sometimes -)