(A/N: Sorry, I know this is late because I promised you one for Christmas. I'M SORRY. I couldn't find the time to sit down and write this. Also, I'm leaving for Disneyland in like, an hour, and I'm not coming back until... tomorrow. Technically, because it's past midnight and I'm coming back on the 28th at around... three in the morning. Four? Somewhere in between. I'll try to get the New Year's one up as soon as I can, okay? I mean, I haven't written it yet, but I'll try to get it done ASAP and upload it ASAP, 'kay? Also, I GOT A NEW COMPUTER. WHOO HOO.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh! All characters (except for their parents, because I'm pretty sure those are mine) belong to Kazuki Takahashi.)

Chapter 21

The first time they spend Christmas together looks more like a family reunion than any family reunion Yugi could have ever imagined.

Two weeks before Christmas Eve, he's allowed to take off his eye patch, but he still keeps his eye closed for fear of what he'll find once he opens it. Yami is in front of him, standing next to the doctor who will see if Yugi's eye is working just fine or if something went wrong with the surgery.

"Yugi, I need you to open your eye," the doctor says. Yugi bites his lip, and he turns to Yami with a worried look on his good eye.

"You can do it," Yami says. "It'll be okay."

Yugi lets out a heavy breath, and then he slowly opens his eye.

It's good as new.

He can't watch television or be in front of a computer for long, at least not yet, but that's the least of his worries. He's got his sight back, and he's incredibly thankful simply because of that.

Unlike Yami, Yugi doesn't do his Christmas shopping early. Since he doesn't want to be shopping for gifts a week away from Christmas Eve, he asks Yami if he would accompany him to get gifts for his parents. He knows exactly what he's going to get for them; at least, he knows what to get his father. His mother, on the other hand…

Yugi would like to get Yami a present, too. He hopes he can find something for him while Yami's distracted. If he can't, he'll just have to find time to shop for a gift for him on his own. Although they're on winter break, Yugi has to catch up on some things from school for the time he was resting after the surgery; maybe he can use that as an excuse if Yami asks him to hang out or something. Though Yami would probably offer to help him… He'll have to think of a better excuse once he gets to that bridge.

"What are you getting your parents, exactly?" Yami asks him.

"My dad needs some materials to make a new toy," Yugi says, looking around the toy shop they stopped by first. "He hasn't been able to find them in any store in the entire city, but I called a few days ago and this store had just received them. I asked them to save some for me to buy."

"What about your mom?"

"Her, I'm not so sure." He walks to the front register, where a girl seems to be reading some book with a boy with a sword and a tall figure with a bull's head on the cover. "Um, excuse me?" The girl looks up from her book, closing it with a small bookmark.

"May I help you?" she asks him. Her nametag reads Koko.

"My name is Yugi Mutou," Yugi says. "I called a few days ago about some materials—"

"Oh, yes!" Koko says with a smile. "I'll be right back with your materials, okay? It'll just be a moment!" She disappears behind a curtain set behind the register.

Yami steps next to Yugi, leaning back against the register. "These are some really cool toys," he says, a tiny small forming on his lips. "It reminds me of when Becky and I were little and we would play all day long with our toys. We used to share them. Well, some of them. Some were only hers and some were only mine."

"Really?" Yugi turns on his side to look at Yami. It always makes him happy that Yami's comfortable enough to talk about his sister with him. There are times in which he gets this sad, woeful look in his eyes, but he doesn't let that get to him anymore. Yugi's proud of him.

"Yeah. We were kind of weird, to be perfectly honest."

Yugi smiles. "It's not weird. You know, my parents didn't get me many toys, but that was because my dad used to make most of them. He would give me one to try it out, and if I liked it, I could keep it. My favorite one was a carrousel. I used to play with it all the time."

Koko comes back with a plastic back tied with a knot at the top. "Here you go, sweetie," she tells Yugi, handing it to him. Yugi thanks her, and he and Yami walk out of the store to look for a present for his mother.

"What does a lawyer need? I mean, I could get her a purse or a coat or something, but she's seriously passionate about her work. I think she would mostly appreciate something related to it."

"Maybe you could make something for her?" Yami suggests. "I mean, I got my mom some earrings she really liked, but I also composed a tune for her."

Yugi scratches his cheek. "I don't know. I'm not sure. Maybe I'll find something in another mall."

So they go to another mall. And then to another one. And then to another one. And they would have gone to another one if not for the fact that it's already dark.

Luckily for everyone, Yugi thinks, he has everyone's presents wrapped up in pretty paper and shiny bows by the time Christmas Eve rolls around. He decided on getting his mother a new suit: her favorite one was a tiny bit old, and she had mumbled numerous times that she would have to get another one. Yugi saw one at the mall where he went to look for Yami's present, and he realized it was perfect for Amelia.

For Yami, he got a moleskin music notebook. Yami has never had one, which has resulted in him carrying around music sheets and having to put them in a folder. Yugi just hopes his boyfriend likes it.

Christmas Eve arrives, and the Mutou household waits for the Atemu family to arrive. Yugi's dad is a single child, and his mom isn't very much liked by her siblings or parents because she left her hometown to go to college, where she met Aristos. Yami's parents both have siblings, but they can't make it for some reason. So both families decided to spend this Christmas together, since the two boys were so attached to each other.

Yami, Chiyoko, and Mamoru get to Yugi's place just in time for dinner. They leave the presents under the tree the boys decorated and sit down to eat. After they've finished dinner, they go to the living room to wait until the clock strikes midnight to open their gifts. They share silly stories, they play games of questions, they laugh together. It's incredible. Suddenly, Yami goes to look out the window.

"Hey," he says. "Look! It's snowing."

He's right. It has barely started to snow, but the sky still looks beautiful, and Yugi watches as the snow begins to cover the street and buildings outside, absolutely mesmerized. "No wonder it got a little bit colder," he says, shivering a bit, running his hands up and down his arms. Without his noticing, Yami takes off his own coat and is about to put it on Yugi's shoulders, but Yugi pushes it away with a laugh. "Put that back on, mister, or you're going to catch a cold!"

Then the clock strikes midnight.

For the next couple of seconds, Yugi only hears "Merry Christmas!" from everybody around him as he's wrapped up in hugs. Yami's the last one to hug him, and when he pulls away, he cries out that he wants his presents to be opened first. While everyone agrees, their parents suggest that the boys open their gifts at the end. Neither puts up any arguments. Yami gives a present to his mother, one to his father, and one to Yugi. Mamoru receives a book of poems he had wanted for a long time. Chiyoko receives the earrings and a CD with the tune Yami composed for her.

It's Yugi's turn. He hands his father and his mother their respective presents, and he loves the expression on both of them. They thank him and hug him and kiss him with gratitude. Mamoru and Chiyoko give a present to Yami, as well as one to each other. Yugi's parents do the same.

"Open our presents first," Amelia says with a smile. "Then you can open the ones you got for each other."

Yami's parents get him a CD with a collection of some of his favorite piano tracks by his favorite pianists. Yugi's parents give him a beautiful carrousel with his name on it like the toy his father made for him once, except that this one is made out of blown glass. He also sees that Yami's name is written on the bottom, which makes him blush, so he keeps it to himself.

They open each other's gifts afterwards. Yami goes first, and he is fascinated with the music notebook. It's pocket-sized, so he can carry it around everywhere and not miss writing any idea that might come to mind. He leans in to kiss Yugi on the lips before remembering that their parents are present. He kisses Yugi's cheek instead and whispers, "Thank you. I love it."

Yugi opens his present, and he's met by a beautiful sketchbook. "Oh, god," he says. He knows it doesn't seem like a big deal, but sketchbooks for him are like diamonds for most women. They're treasure to him, and he hadn't had one since he had run out of pages on his old one. "It's the same one we saw at the Arts and Crafts store once! You remembered!"

"Of course I did," Yami says. "I, um… actually went back to buy it after you went home."

Yugi absolutely forgets about his parents. He doesn't care, really. He simply launches himself at his boyfriend, his arms around Yami's neck as Yugi kisses him quickly, right on his mouth.

"Thank you," he mumbles. "I love it."

This day has been perfect so far. Usually Christmases are spent with only his parents since his aunts and uncles don't want anything to do with his mom. But now he feels like his family just grew bigger, like Yami and Mr. and Mrs. Atemu are part of his family, and that he's part of theirs.

"Merry Christmas, Yami," he says.

Yami smiles at him and holds him close. "Merry Christmas, Yugi."

This is the best Christmas ever.

(A/N: MERRY (late) CHRISTMAS!)