As the title says, this chapter contains two short versions of Estelle celebrating Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve in the YGO 5D's dimension. Plus there will be some StarParticleShipping moments, so look forward to that. ;)

I've drawn an outfit to Estelle for the Christmas part, but she'll resume wearing her winter outfit in the other half. You can find both outfits on my DeviantArt account.

I'm adding some OCs that belongs to my online friends. You might recognize them, but I'll credit their owners at the bottom of the chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own any Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's characters! I only own my OCs!

Chapter 46: Christmas and New Year

I quickly learned the winter months in Japan were not as cold as the winter in Sweden. It was slightly warmer in Japan, but it could be cold enough for snow to cover the streets and buildings of New Domino City.

December was mostly calm and quiet, but I was busy planning a Christmas party in the Goodwin mansion. I wanted to invite the people I came to know during my stay in this dimension, and I got permission from Goodwin, and share some of my experience of Christmas Eve traditions in Scandinavia. I made Christmas-themed postcards as invitation letters and even personalized them a bit, depending on the receiver. I wrote down the menu for dishes and sweets and baked lots of delicious treats.

For the sweets, I mainly got help from Leo, Luna, and some of their classmates; Dexter, Bob, Patty, and a young girl named Inoue Miyuki after school. Miyuki had long cherry blossom hair, magenta eyes, and fair skin. I quickly learned she was on the shy side, but she always stood close to me whenever we were cutting out different shapes of gingerbread biscuits and decorating them with colored frosting. Sometimes, Aki, Mei, Sakura, and even Ran came over to help me bake lots of gingerbread biscuits, boil caramels, and one of my most favorite treats; saffron buns with raisins. Personally, I didn't like raisins, but I could always remove them from the bun while eating.

There were tons of people I was inviting, so I had to make sure I bought enough food for everyone. The party was going to be in the evening, so I wanted to prepare warm dishes for people to eat if they wanted to have dinner, like the traditional Christmas ham covered in a sauce made of mustard and dried breadcrumbs; a recipe my father taught me in my early teenage years.

For the decorations, I had the staff in the mansion to help me with it. Goodwin and I went together to choose the perfect Christmas tree to bring back home and decorate it. I even made some own ornaments out of paper, but the usual delicate Christmas orbs dominated on the tree with lights and glitter bands.

I came up with different kinds of games that we could play, including a mini-tournament of Duel Monsters, and a round of quiz walk with twenty-four questions related to Christmas Eve. I wanted this to be memorizing for the guests. You could say I wanted to leave something behind after I would return to my world.

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I got both happy and surprised that 99% of the guests I had invited actually came to the party. Those were the Signers, Carly, Trudge, Mina, Nervin, Rally, Tank, Blitz, Martha and the orphans, Blister, Yanagi, Tanner, Sakura, Mei, Haruka, Ran, Dexter, Bob, Patty, Miyuki, Caius, Aeon, Misty, and Kalin who was visiting the Satellite Trio while being on holiday leave from the Police Academy.

It was nice to see how everyone enjoyed the party. I had some Christmas songs playing in the background, even some traditional Swedish Christmas songs. The children were munching on the sweet treats and drinking hot chocolate by the sweets table, the most popular sweet being the chocolate chip cookies. I had made signs by each plate of food and thermos of drinks that said what the dishes' names were in English, Swedish, and Japanese. The Japanese was the toughest part for me to write because I was still learning how to write and read kanji. My job at Sector Security wasn't so hard, since I had to write all my reports in English.

I was dressed in a red turtleneck dress that reached to my knees, black tights, gray flats and a red headband with a fake mistletoe. I was first thinking of wearing a female Santa Claus dress, but I quickly dropped the idea.

I listened to the current playing song and got a small grin as I remembered the playlist. The next two songs were coming and I wanted to do something very traditional.

"Alright, everyone!" I called as I clapped my hands, getting everyone's attention. "It's time for the traditional dance around the Christmas tree! Those who want to dance with me, join me by the tree for the next few songs."

The orphans, Leo, Luna, and their friends ran to me as we gathered around the tree. "Wait for me, kids!" Yanagi called from the couch. "I want to show off my dancing skills!"

"Easy there, grandpa!" Tanner laughed as he helped the elderly up from the couch. "I don't think Estelle's talkin' about rumba or tango."

"Correct", I nodded. "We'll hold each other's hands and dance around the tree while singing the next few Christmas songs in Swedish."

"That won't be easy", Crow commented. "I know no Swedish-gimisch!"

The orphans laughed at their foster brother's joke. "You're so bad, Crow!" Ginga laughed.

I heard the first notes of the next song playing. "Come on, the song's playing. Grab the hands and let's dance."

Taiga pushed himself through the orphans and grabbed my left hand with a big grin. Miyuki took my right hand as we formed a ring around the Christmas tree.

"Hey, I wanna join too!" Rally called as he bounced over to us.

"Hurry, before the train takes off!" Leo grinned.

Yanagi, Tanner, Aki, Sakura, Crow, and Carly joined us while the others decided to watch the show. I took the first step and moved to the left, commencing the dance as I began singing along with the song.

(Insert "Nu är det jul igen" and "Räven raskar över isen")

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I got a bit thirsty after the dance around the Christmas tree, so I poured a small cup of hot mulled wine. I stood by the threshold to the living room and watched the Duel Monsters mini-tournament going on between Blitz and Crow. They were playing on the coffee table in the living room with game mats projecting holograms of the card game.

Misty and Kalin were sitting on another couch, talking to each other and having a nice time. I could tell something was going on between them. They weren't the only ones flirting around a bit. Caius stood next to Aki and seemed to be in a deep conversation with the psychic Duelist. Aki giggled a couple of times as the white-haired man told her a joke or something else hilarious while Aeon was secretly recording the interaction with his smartphone.

A few of the guests got hungry, so some of them had walked to the dining room where the hot dishes were served. Martha and the orphans were some of them, and also Leo after he complained he ate too much sweet and he needed to wash the taste down with salty food.

I sipped my mulled wine as a big figure stood next to me. "Are you enjoying yourself, Estelle?" Goodwin asked.

I nodded, "I am. Thank you for allowing me to have the party."

"Please, there's no need to thank me", Goodwin smiled softly. "I, myself, have been enjoying this evening. I just wished Ish Kiq was here too."

After my surprise birthday gift to Goodwin at his party, he and Ish Kiq spent a few days together to reminisce the old times and hanging out as friends. They even went to visit Roman's grave together, due to Ish Kiq's request.

I grew close to Ish Kiq during those days, so I got sad when she had to return to Nazca. She did promise she would visit again sometime after New Year, so I was looking forward to that. I was pretty sure Goodwin was waiting for her too.

"It can't be helped", I shook my head softly. "She's a singer and dancer, so she must have a full schedule. It was hard for her to suddenly change the schedule to get free days when I asked her to come and perform on your birthday."

"I know", Goodwin nodded as he gently squeezed my right shoulder. "And I'm eternally grateful you found and reached out to her. She's a precious friend."

I couldn't help but smile as I put my left hand on top of Goodwin's hand. We smiled to each other before he removed the hand and walked over to Trudge and Mina. I had a feeling they were going to talk about work.

I then noticed in the corner of my eye how Yusei walked up and stood next to me. I blushed a bit, but kept my compose and tried to keep me distracted by sipping my mulled wine.

"You seem to like organizing parties", Yusei suddenly commented.

I cast a glance at him before smiling softly and turning my eyes at the other guests. "I want everyone to have a good time and enjoy themselves. That and I want to share the western traditions around Christmas Eve with you all."

Because I was certain there wouldn't be a second time for me to celebrate Christmas Eve in this world I had now considered my second home.

"I think you outdid yourself", Yusei continued. "It must've taken lots of time to come up with all the details, like the multiple-language labels for each dish and drink, and the personalized Christmas postcards."

I blushed softly with a quiet chuckle. "I couldn't help it. I like to make things and I can get so into it that I lose track of time. A habit since my childhood, but back then I had really bad fantasy and imagination, so my mother helped me to expand my thoughts and think outside of the box."

"Is it tough for people with autism to think outside of the box?" Yusei asked, sounding sincerely curious.

"Yes", I nodded. "People with autism prefer perfect structure like a schedule, because it gives them some sort of comfort and make them feel safe. It's like their brains are programmed to follow the rules they've been coded with, like a robot."

"Oh…", Yusei mumbled, probably a bit surprised by my honest description.

"But if you work a lot and help the child to mature by coming up with ways to expand their way of thinking and explore the real world around them, they can reveal so much talent and potential that could very useful in the future", I added. "One of my old classmates in the special needs class studied biochemistry and even flew to Germany to study further. Sadly, we lost contact, but I'm sure he's either a doctor or scientist now."

"Was he…", Yusei began, but stopped before he could say the question.

"Hm?" I hummed as I turned to him.

"No, it's nothing", he shook his head and turned away.

I raised an eyebrow at his sudden change of behavior, but shrugged it off.

"Look, everyone!" Patty called, getting our attention. "Yusei and Estelle are standing under the mistletoe!"

I looked up at the doorframe and flinched back so violently that I almost spilled the remaining mulled wine in my cup. I had completely forgotten where I had hung up the mistletoe. Even Yusei moved back in shock when he spotted the mistletoe.

Aeon grinned viciously as he held up his smartphone. "C'mon, you two! You know the tradition; the couple standing underneath the mistletoe must kiss!"

Crow made loud faking kisses, making a fool out of himself. "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

Slowly, one by one began chanting the word. I blushed hard as I shyly glanced at Yusei. He looked embarrassed and seemed conflicted. The chanting grew louder for each second and my embarrassment grew bigger until I gave in.

"Okay, okay!" I yelled.

It was a good thing Yusei and I were around the same height, so I didn't have to push myself up on my toes. I grabbed Yusei's chin, like a man would do to a woman, but I did that to make sure he wouldn't turn his head around. When I had him secured, I quickly pressed a very light kiss on his left cheek, right on his marker, and moved back while letting go of his chin.

"Happy?" I asked the crowd before walking away with very red cheeks to put my empty cup on the dirty dish tray.

I couldn't believe myself! Did I really just do that?! I took the initiative and kissed Yusei on his cheek! When did I become so bold?!

"Hey! I didn't get the perfect photo of the kiss!" Aeon whined in the background. "Come back and have a redo!"

"Aeon, leave them alone", Caius sighed. "I don't think neither of them wants a redo."

"And I think Estelle broke Yusei", Nervin spoke up.

I raised an eyebrow confusedly at that. I turned around to see what Nervin was talking about. Yusei hadn't moved from the threshold and had a hand on the cheek that had been kissed with a hazy look in his eyes. I inwardly flinched at that. I had never once seen him act like that before, not even in the anime.

Kalin stepped forward and began snapping his fingers in front of Yusei's face. At the fifth snap, the Signer shook his head as the hazy look vanished from his eyes. "What…?" he mumbled confusedly.

"Welcome back, Yusei", Kalin chuckled softly.

"What's going on here?" Martha asked calmly as she and the orphans returned from the dining room.

"Estelle and Yusei stood underneath the mistletoe and they kissed!" Bob explained.

"What?!" Taiga exclaimed in disbelief.

"Um… It was more like Estelle kissed Yusei on his cheek", Miyuki corrected her classmate.

Taiga sighed in relief, but I had no idea why. I took a few deep breathes to collect myself. The party had been going on for more than two hours and Martha and the children were soon going to leave, so I had to move on to the main event.

"Okay, let's move on!" I called as I clapped my hands, getting everyone's attention once again. "It's time for the main event; the Christmas Quiz Walk!"

"Quiz walk? What's that?" Leo questioned.

"You've never played it before?" I asked, surprised.

"Nope", the male twin shook his head.

"Well, I'll explain then", I turned to the crowd. "There are twenty-four sheets of papers spread around inside the mansion with questions related to Christmas. There are three answers below the question, but only one of them is correct. You have to guess which answer is the right one and write it down on a sheet you'll all get. The one with most correct answers wins and receives a secret Christmas present. Everyone will get a small bag of goodies when they return with their sheets, so none of you will go home emptyhanded. But to make sure none of you are cheating, you'll have to leave behind devices that are connected to the Internet. You can help each other a bit, but the rest is up to you. Make sure to write your names on the sheets, so I know the winner's name."

The rest of the party went smoothly. Everyone participated and took off to search for the questions. While they were doing the quiz walk, I prepared the bags of goodies for them by the leftover sweets.

Slowly and surely, one by one returned with their sheets. I corrected them quickly, and announced the winners. Yes, there were actually two who got the same amount of correct answers, but no one managed to get the full twenty-four points. Those were Misty and Ran. They decided to share the Christmas present after they opened it to reveal five Duel Monsters booster packs of a very rare collection. They kept two each and opened the fifth to check the cards and came to an agreement of which cards they wanted to keep.

To summarize the Christmas Eve party, it was a success.

XXXXXXXXXX

I had invited Zora to the Christmas party, but she said no. Instead, she asked me and the Signers to celebrate the New Year's Eve with her. I accepted the invitation after Goodwin and I came to an agreement to spend the next day together as a family and take a family photo outside of the mansion.

I got surprised when I saw how much space Zora's living room had. I imagined at first that the front part of the house was small because of the other part with the garage and the Satellite Trio's apartment, but it was big enough for one individual. I expected Kalin to join us, but Yusei said he got invited by Misty to spend the New Year's. Now, all three members of the former Enforcers were certain something was going on between their big brother-figure and New Domino City's most celebrated model.

While we were waiting for the midnight, we played card and board games to spend the time. There was no Duel Monsters, due to Zora's request, but we had a nice time. I won a couple of times in the games I was familiar with, like UNO. That was a classic card game in my dimension.

"We got ten minutes left for the countdown!" Crow called as he snatched a cookie from the tray resting on the coffee table.

The television was on and showed us images live from the big square of New Domino City where thousands of citizens had gathered by a stage to ring in the New Year. There were lightshows, concerts, and very loud music. I was relieved to stay away from that. I hated such big crowds with all the sounds and lights.

"Settle down, kids", Zora called with a soft laughing voice, looking very happy compared to the other times she would lash out her anger on Jack and Crow. "I'll go get the champagne and sparkling soda."

"I'll help you", I offered as I followed her to the kitchen.

"Thank you, dear", Zora smiled as she opened a cupboard to grab several plastic champagne glasses. "Grab the bottles from the fridge, please."

I walked over to the refrigerator and opened it to find two bottles. One of them said "champagne" and the other said "apple sparkling soda". I checked the label of the champagne bottle to see what kind of drink it was. The only type of champagne I could drink was the sweet kind. Besides champagne, I didn't drink.

"Is this sweet champagne, Zora?" I asked.

"Yes, it should be", the landlady replied as she placed the plastic glasses on another tray. "I spent quite some time in the liquid store to get the best champagne for the youngsters. But I won't allow the underage kids to drink champagne."

"I completely agree", I nodded. "I've never drunk any alcohol when I was a minor, besides a bit of champagne on New Year's with my biological parents…"

I trailed off when I stopped myself. My parents…

My heart stung when I thought about Mom and Dad. I had been thinking extra of them during the time I was preparing for the Christmas party. Did they have a lament Christmas Eve? Had they been crying over me, wondering where I was and if I were alive?

I bit my lower lip to stop myself from sobbing. Tears accumulated in my eyes as I thought deeper about my worried and scared parents. I didn't notice Zora had taken the bottles from my hands and pulled me into a hug. She wrapped her arms around me and gently patted my back. I swallowed back the sobs in my throat and embraced Zora in return, bending my knees a bit so I could properly hug her and rest my head against her shoulder.

"There, there…", Zora whispered smoothly. "I know you miss them. But I'm sure your parents know you are safe."

Zora knew I was adopted by Goodwin and I came from another country after I got kidnapped and shipped to the Satellite (made-up story to fool the public), but not that I was from another dimension. The fewer people who knew the truth, the better.

"Thank you, Zora…", I nodded before we let go of each other, so I could wipe my unshed tears.

Zora gave me a warm motherly smile as she patted my upper arms. "I've always wished to have a daughter like you. I love my son, but he can be a bit too much for me to handle."

"Like Yusei, Jack, and Crow?" I asked with a chuckle, feeling a bit better.

"Only Jack and Crow", Zora frowned playfully. "Yusei is the best son anyone could wish for."

After collecting myself and washing my face real quick, we walked back to the living room where the others were waiting. Crow and Yusei helped us open the bottles before Zora poured the sparkling soda for the Signers and champagne for me and herself. I was twenty-two years old, so I was old enough to drink.

"Five minutes left!" Leo called, looking a bit red on his cheeks. "The New Year is soon here!"

"Leo, calm down!" Luna scolded her twin brother.

"It was a mistake to give Leo carbonated drinks", Jack commented.

Aki giggled softly. "He just can't sit still, can he?"

"C'mon, folks!" Crow called as he settled down on the couch. "Let's ring in the New Year!"

The couch was small and had very little space, so I chose to stand behind it. Jack, Crow, Aki, and Zora sat on the couch while Leo and Luna settled down on the floor to watch the television. Yusei stood next to me as he held his plastic glass of sparkling soda.

"It feels so surreal…", I mumbled softly.

"What feels surreal?" Yusei asked.

I looked down at my plastic glass in my hand and gently swirled the champagne around. "That I've been here for more than six months. A lot happened in such a short amount of time."

"Yeah", Yusei agreed. "Our first encounter, making it to New Domino City, the Fortune Cup, the battle with the Dark Signers, the Daedalus Bridge, our new adventures in the city… So much has changed and I hope it will continue for the future."

I didn't really know how to reply on that. The battle with Iliaster was soon going to move on to the second phase with the Meklord Emperors and the Three Pure Nobles.

But now that Goodwin was still alive, what was going to happen to the Three Pure Nobles? They couldn't become the new Directors of Sector Security like in the anime, unless they would use Infinity to alter the history. How much of the original story was going to change due to my interference?

Whatever the changes, I was going to face Illiaster head on with the Signers.

"Countdown!" Leo cheered.

I turned my eyes at the television as we began counting down for the New Year.

"5!"

"4!"

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

"Happy New Year!"

"Gott nytt år! (Happy New Year!)" I cheered in Swedish, raising my glass in the air.

My body froze when I suddenly felt a pair of lips on my right cheek. The only one who was standing next to me was Yusei, but he wouldn't do such thing all of the sudden, right?

I turned my head at the Signer as soon as he pulled back. I slowly reached my hand up to touch the spot where he had kissed me, staring at him in disbelief while I could feel my cheeks growing hot.

"That's for the kiss under the mistletoe", Yusei said with a very small smirk on his lips and a hint of pink on his tanned cheeks before he looked away.

I looked away as well, feeling shy and embarrassed at the same time. "Fair enough…"

"Hey, look at those fireworks!" Crow called as he looked over his shoulder, his gleeful expression turning into confusion by my and Yusei's behavior. "You guys okay?"

"Yes!" Yusei and I replied simultaneously.

We looked at each other in disbelief of how we responded at the exact same time. We then laughed softly and continued to watch the fireworks on the television, celebrating the New Year.

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Inoue Miyuki belongs to Springflowerangel.

Caius Yamigetsu and Aeon Utopa belong to darkworldprince.