I wrote this theme out so many times, and my in-box has been full of Christmas fics that had just been mostly smut, not that I'm complaining. I wanted to go with something different, sweet and OMG the fluffiness, enjoy.

Fanfic100 Claim
Fandom: Yugioh
Characters: Yami Bakura/Malik Ishtar
Prompt: # 92: Christmas

Word Count: 2,208
Rating: T.

Chapters: 21/100

Summary: What a better way to spend Christmas with an Elf, a Christmas Angel and possibly the Grinch.

Warning(s): No spoilers here.

Chapter 21: Christmas.

Malik grinned like a fool as he trudged through the knee-high snow in his new shoes. Well, they weren't new in the terms of buying them from a store and opening them from a box. They were new to Malik, despite the hole in his right shoe; they were very nice in deed and so much better than his old ones.

Malik neared the centre of town, and already he could see the place was decorated with tinsel and lights, "Merry Christmas!" people called out as they greeted each other or when they were leaving a store with arms full of pretty wrapped gifts. He wondered briefly what it would be like to receive such a gift. Sure, the orphanage handed out one gift to every boy and girl, but it wasn't wrapped, and usually it was a second-hand item of clothing. Malik got the very coat he was wearing now, and the year before that he got gloves and a scarf, this year it was the shoes.

Malik stopped at the fork in the road and dug about his pocket for a moment and pulled out a bit of paper. He read the address on it and then glanced at the signs. He glanced about worriedly and tried to recall what Ms. Valentine had said. 'Take a right on Park Lane,' He had done that, but was he meant to take a right or a left? Malik sighed as he clutched at the parcel. 'Remember to harry back it'll get dark soon,' Ms. Valentine said as she wrapped the scarf about his neck.

"Oh," Malik shifted on his feet biting his lip, glancing from sign to sign. His stomach twisted up painfully from hunger, and his feet and hands were going numb. Snow started falling, and the sky was darkening. He didn't want to miss the evening meal; he had already missed two days of eating due to a punishment and reprimanded on how bad of a child he was. Not wanting to further anger anyone, he took his chances and went right.

It wasn't before long that Malik noticed that he had ended up in the wrong side of town. He hugged the parcel tightly to his chest as the people became scary looking and stared at him for too long. "Are you lost boy?" A gruff looking man asked his face covered with scars and stubble; one white eye and one black peered at him.

"No," Malik gasped shaking his head and moved on. The man started to follow him. Malik quickened his pace hoping to find his way back to the centre of town. Malik panicked and ended up running through an endless maze of alleyways, trying to avoid being grabbed by people and somewhere in his haste; he dropped his parcel.

The sun was setting, and the longer Malik ran the darker it seemed to get and he could barely see where he was going. He ran blindly in the dark, tripping over every now and then and landing harshly on the ground. His gloves torn as well as his pants, and he had lost one of his shoes and ran himself into a dead-end.

Malik backed himself into a corner and slid down the wall. He was truly lost, and he didn't want to venture out there again and ask those scary people for help. Malik started to cry. He'd miss the Christmas Eve meal that everyone worked so hard on all day and no doubt at all that he would be punished for losing the parcel and being late.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Bakura hissed anger boiling and raging. He'd killed the bastard who broke into his locker and stole his clothes. "Great, just fucking great!"

"At least you fit the part," A woman muttered, already changed out of her Elf costume. Perhaps, Bakura would start his murderous rampage with her, "merry Christmas." She said walking out the door and vanished.

Bakura heaved a sigh and glanced at himself in the mirror. He looked ridiculous. Green pointed shoes, red and white knee-high socks, green shorts and vest, black-belt, pointed ears and a red long hat complete with white ball on the end. "Get a job, it'll be good for you," He mocked his refection in a sarcastic tone. Having his normal clothes stolen wasn't the worst part of his day, getting his ass pitched by woman and men alike and offers he had to refuse, and kids had thought it funny to kick him in the shin.

Bakura tired and defeated walked through the store, flicking off lights and locking doors on his way out. "It's freezing!" Bakura growled once he was outside and wrapped his arms about himself, the sobbing nearby ceased all movements.

There between a huge dumpster and a brick wall a kid was crying. Bakura glanced about to see where the parents might be and saw no one, "Oi, kid." His tone came out harsher than he thought. The boy gasped and looked up to see a tall shadow standing over him. "You lost or something kid?" Bakura really didn't want anyone seeing him dressed like this. What struck Bakura as odd was this part of town wasn't the safest whether it was day or night and the kid's parents had to be insane to let something so young walk about on its own. "Hey!" Bakura moved fast and grabbed the kid under his arms and lifted him up off his feet. "Easy kid. I'm not going to hurt you." He placed the kid down on his feet and turned it about. "There are all kinds of weirdos walking about this part of town." The clouds parted and the moonlight lit up everything, and the boy gasped wide eye.

"You're Santa's helper?" The child looked at him owlishly. Bakura was use to it. Two weeks dressed like this, and he was use to anything. "I have a wish, could I tell you my wish, and you could tell Santa?" How did one explain that there was no such thing as a Santa and that a shop had hired him to dress like this as a greedy gimmick to get families into the store? The kid burst out into sobs, "I'm going to miss Santa's special visit, and he won't get my Christmas wish, and it will never come true now."

"Shit," Bakura hissed, "clam down kid."

"Elves don't swear," Malik cried harder.

"I'm not..." Bakura growled and picked the kid up again by the back of his jacket and held him at eye level. "Look, if I listen to your wish will ya stop crying?" He sighed as he lowered the kid to his feet and knelt and wiped the tears away from red round chubby cheeks. "You'll get icicles on your face if you keep crying like that. You're freezing. Well, what's your wish?" Bakura tried to keep the note of impatience out of his voice, but he was freezing his ass off out here.

"I don't want toys, books, bikes or even puppies or kittens." The kid hiccupped standing still and allowing his face to be wiped dry.

"What kind of twisted wish is this?" Bakura raised an eyebrow, "aren't those on every kid's list to Santa?" True Bakura heard it all damn day.

The kid shook his head and his expression so sad that it almost broke Bakura's heart. "I want a family who'll love me. I'm not a bad boy. I'm good. I just get into trouble lots. But, if I had a family that loved me, I would be extra good."

"You're from the orphanage?" Bakura picked at the child's shabby clothing like he was picking off lint or dirt, why hadn't he noticed before? Well, it saved him asking where the kid's parents were.

"I got lost and scared, and I lost a parcel that I had to take to old grumpy Mr. Mutou." The boy was shivering now, "My wish, can you make it come true?" Bakura was silent, "They don't have to call me by my name... they can call me whatever they like."

"What is your name?"

"Malik," The boy looked at him owlishly when his stomach growled in hunger.

"Bakura," he stood holding out his hand. "Come on, before I die of the cold and you of starvation."

"Strange name for an Elf," Malik took the offered hand.

"You'll see that I'm no Elf," Bakura muttered. He led Malik out of the dead-end and soon out of the wrong side of town, and into a part of town that Malik had never seen before.

Malik gasped and ran ahead; each house was brightly lit up with Christmas lights and all kinds of decorations. He watched wide-eyed as kids his age and older ran about the street from house to house, people handed out candy.

Malik followed Bakura to a house that was just as decorated as the rest of the houses in the street only. Malik frowned, the aroma of cooking surrounded this house and his stomach again twisted and growled in pain.

Bakura opened the front door and Malik's skin burned by the warm air. "Where have you..." the oldest stopped on the stairs and burst out laughing, so hard, in fact, that he fell and tumbled down the stairs. "You look ridiculous, and you walked home looking like that!"

"Yeah, it's a real hoot," Bakura rolled his eyes; the other soon stopped laughing and got to his feet.

"What the hell is that?" Malik gasped and ducked behind Bakura clutching at his legs. The other looked just like Bakura, only with shorter white wild hair, tanned skin and a scar over his right eye.

"It's a child." Bakura took off his jacket and knelt down, dusting snow off Malik's head and helped removed his jacket, gloves and scruff.

Akefia crossed his arms over his chest. "Don't tell me, you found the poor thing out in the snow, lost, cold and starving. That is so cliché. Sure you don't have a puppy or a kitten tucked away?"

Bakura straightened up, "This is Malik. Malik this is my older brother Akefia, ignore him. He's a prick even at the best of times."

Akefia flipped him off turning on his heels and walked towards the kitchen adding over his shoulder, "Ryou's going to be pissy about this!"

The smell got stronger as they headed to the kitchen, "Ryou, do we have extra?" Malik gasped as he was picked up and placed down on a stool at the kitchen counter. The one called Ryou had long hair like Bakura's, only it looked softer and his eyes were big and brown. He looked just like the angels that sat atop the Christmas trees. Malik always favoured the Christmas angel over the star.

"Are you a Christmas Angel?" Malik asked, Ryou glanced at Bakura with a raised eyebrow.

"The kid thinks I'm an Elf," Bakura shrugged sitting down beside Malik.

"Undoubtedly," Ryou smirked adding, "have you seen what you look like, you look ridiculous."

"My," Ryou lent on the counter studying the boy, "he's cute," he ruffled Malik's hair, "how old are you?"

"Five," Malik held out his hand all his fingers spread wide for all to see.

"Hey, Malik, tell Ryou your wish." Bakura whispered in the child's ear, but everyone in the room heard it.

Malik looked hesitant for a moment, "I want a family." Ryou looked shocked for a second and then shot Akefia a sad look. One thing Bakura learned over the years was that if any decision making were to happen within the Hikari family, it was Ryou, who had the final say.

"I hope you're hungry," Ryou turned away and said over his shoulder, "Bakura, Akefia. I'll expect the guest room to be fitting for Malik's stay."

Malik couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the table covered with food. H was picked up by Bakura and placed at the table. The one named Akefia walked in with a huge turkey and sat it upon the table, carved it up, and they were all eating.

The discussion got too complicated for Malik to follow even though it was about him. The pleasant feeling of his full belly and the warmth was making him sleepy, and he nodded off at the table.

Malik awoke when he was lowered down onto a soft bed and covered with a nice thick warm blankets. "Am I going to be part of your family?" Malik yawned widely, how splendid it would be and the envy of the children at the orphanage that he would be taken in by an Elf, a Christmas Angel and possibly the Grinch.

"We'll see," Bakura tucked him in and left the room flicking out the light.

Malik snuggled down in the warmth his head filled with sweet dreams.

Bakura changed from his Elf costume into tighter clothing, snatched up a back-pack and headed for the front door, "where are you going?" Ryou asked, Akefia at his side, "It's Christmas Eve."

"Out," Bakura glanced over his shoulder as he adjusted his gloves and double checked for his lock-picks. "The kid needs something to open Christmas morning." Bakura vanished into the night.

Not quite how I wanted it to turn out, but I enjoyed the fluffiness more than anything else. Merry Christmas all and a Happy New Year (cookies, cakes and Love)