DGG: Hey! I know I post these at nearly the last possible second, but Merry Christmas Eve! Haha. Here's the penultimate one shot! A little polarshipping for you tonight. Enjoy, everyone!


Mai Valentine was a very well traveled woman. She had money, jewelry, a sexy wardrobe, and a killer body. What she didn't have was somewhere she was truly attached to, no actual home. But that was all right. That was how she liked it. She chose the nomadic lifestyle when she was seventeen and never looked back. She worked on a cruise ship for a while until she polished up her dueling skills enough so that she could rely solely on her dueling prowess to win tournaments and prize money. And thus dueling became her means of an income, and life was wonderful for her.

Until she lost to Marik in the Battle City Tournament…

After that, people stopped taking her seriously as a duelist even though she kept winning. Everyone thought of her as a joke, and she went through a serious identity crisis. She fell on the wrong tracks for a while until a certain blonde-haired gentleman by the name of Joey Wheeler fought his hardest to save her.

After that, she set off on her own again as she attempted to continue to do her soul searching. She refused to take part in any major tournaments again until after she found what she was searching for within herself. She wasn't entirely sure what she was missing, however, but she was searching nonetheless.

The months passed by, and Mai hadn't made any great strides in obtaining the secret thing she was searching for. She hadn't dueled at all for a while now. It just wasn't as fulfilling at the moment for whatever reason. For now she took to driving in an attempt to find somewhere to go. She didn't know where she was driving, deciding to go whichever direction the road took her, and surprisingly enough she found herself in Domino City.

She didn't really expect to find herself here again. Domino was the site of the Battle City Tournament that helped ruin her reputation, after all. It was filled with painful memories, and yet here she was in this quaint little town. She parked her car and began walking around the streets, noting that most places were closed already or just starting to close down for the evening. She sighed as she passed the many shops where some last minute Christmas shopping was being done.

The female sighed as she watched everyone hurry home to their families and loved ones. They all had someone or somewhere to be tonight. She stopped on the sidewalk, suddenly remembering back to when she was a little girl. Her family was never around for her. They were always too busy, and she remembered feeling so empty and alone. Much like she did now…

"Mai?" a voice broke her from her thoughts.

She looked up, a gasp escaping her as shock coursing through her body at the sight of him.

"Joey…" Mai spoke.

"Mai!" a wide grin encompassed his whole face as he rushed toward her. "Mai! How are you? What brings you here?"

"I…don't really know, actually," she cast her eyes away sheepishly. "I just sort of…ended up here."

"Yeah," Joey suddenly spoke in realization. "You're not from Domino. You don't have family here, do you?"

"No. I don't really have family anywhere. It's just me. It's been that way for a long time..." Mai trailed off.

"Mai," he frowned sympathetically.

"It's all right, Joey. I'm used to it."

"That doesn't make it any better, though," he pointed out.

Mai shrugged, keeping her gaze anywhere by on the blonde male before her.

"So…that probably means you're not doing anything for Christmas, then?"

"No…"

"Well, that isn't right. No one should be alone on Christmas. Or…Christmas Eve as the case may be. How about you spend time with me, then?" Joey offered.

The suggestion completely took the female off-guard.

"What? Really, Joey?" she blinked a few times. "But…what about you? I'm sure you already had plans…"

"And now I have new ones," he smiled warmly.

"But Joey, I can't ask you to do that for me," Mai shook her head.

"I'd do anything for you, Mai," the male spoke before he could stop himself. "Oh…well. That was sorta…straightforward…" he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

The female smiled at the goofy male in front of her, recalling everything he'd ever done for her.

"No, I…I know you would, Joey. You risked so much for me during the Battle City Tournament, both during and after my duel. You risked everything to try and save my life, and…and that's something I'll just never be able to repay," a few tears welled up in her eyes as she bowed her head.

Joey took a step forward, lifting the female's chin gently so that she could look him in the eyes.

"I don't want you to repay me for that."

He spoke with a seriousness that Mai rarely saw in him. It seemed so out of place for him, actually, and yet she knew just how much meaning was in that one sentence and she nearly broke down into tears at the prospect.

"Thank-you," she whispered gratefully.

"Anytime, Mai. So what do you say? Wanna hang with me?"

The female's heart skipped a beat at the prospect. Someone was actually offering to spend time with her. She'd been alone so long; maybe this was what she was searching for. Maybe this was why she wound up in Domino City tonight. Maybe she was subconsciously searching for the one person who had ever truly fought for her.

"Well," she started, "I am in town, and if you really want to spend Christmas Eve with me…"

"I sure do, Mai," he beamed again causing her heart to melt.

"Well…I've never really had any Christmas traditions. So what should we do?"

"Anything you want, Mai."

She thought about it for a moment.

"Can we walk?"

Joey smiled.

"Sure. I can show you all the lights. Domino City sure is beautiful decked out in Christmas lights."

"I'd like that, Joey. I'd like that very much."

"Well, Ms. Valentine," Joey offered his arm to her, "you are my guest tonight."

Mai gratefully linked her arm with his and allowed him to lead her all over his hometown. She had to admit that it was rather nice spending time with Joey again. He had become quite the gentleman over the years, not to mention he had always been a good friend to her before that. A smile suddenly graced her lips as the emptiness within her suddenly disappeared.

Perhaps being alone wasn't the answer for her anymore. Joey and his friends and filled a hole in her heart before that she hadn't even realized was there in the first place, so why did she think that being alone to find what she needed was the answer now?

Maybe it was a Christmas miracle. Maybe it was fate. Maybe it was something else, but for the first time in her life she finally felt like she was right where she needed to be. She finally felt at ease. And for the first time in a long time, she felt like she was going to have a merry Christmas.