Chapter Eleven: Christmas Wish

Yami happily hummed a Christmas carol as he warmed up the leftovers he had gotten from Chi-Chi on Thanksgiving. He was warming them up from Christmas, which was tomorrow. A knock at the door made him turn around. Yami glanced at the clock; six o'clock. He went into the living room and answered it. It was Joey. "Hey buddy!" the blonde greeted. Yami chuckled and let him in.

"Christmas is tomorrow Joey," Yami said.

"I know," Joey answered. "But I wanted to get an early start on it." Yami chuckled again. "So, is Yugi excited?" Joey asked. Yami shrugged.

"Last Christmas wasn't the best…" Yami trailed off for a second with a frown. "So I'm hoping this one will be better." Joey put a hand on Yami's shoulder. Yami smiled. There was another knock at the door. Yami blinked then answered it. It was the Kaiba brothers.

"Ha!" Joey said, pointing at Seto. "I got here first!" Yami let them in as he gave Joey a dull look.

"Whatever," Seto said as he and Mokuba sat on the sofa.

"Hi Yami," Mokuba said. Yami smiled and nodded. Just as Yami was about to close the door, it slammed back open hitting him in the nose as it did so.

"Hi ya Yami!" Seigyoku said. Everyone looked at Yami as he held his face in pain. "Oh my God," Seigyoku said. "I'm so sorry!" Yami managed to smile.

"It's okay," he slowly moved his hands. He was happy to see it wasn't bleeding, but his nose was slightly red. "Anyways," he said giving his head a shake. "What brings you all here?"

"We wanted to start Christmas early!" Joey said, smiling.

"You all planned this didn't you?" Yami crossed his arms.

"We have no idea what you're talking about…" Seto said smiling. Yami rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Okay," he said. "Thanks guys…" Yami thought, remembering how depressing the first Christmas without Anzu was.

"Are you cooking my mom's leftovers?" Seigyoku asked, smelling the food's aroma. Yami blushed.

"Yes…" he admitted.

"Too busy this year?" Seto asked.

"No," Yami said. "Yugi said my cooking tasted funny." Everyone, except Yami, burst into laughter. Yami glared at them. "I tried, damn it!" he said. Seigyoku hugged him.

"It's okay," she said. "We're just joking." Yami smiled and sat down. They all began to talk. After a while of conversation, they heard Yugi's footsteps as he came downstairs. He walked through the living room and into the kitchen without a 'hello' to anyone.

"Hey Yugi," Joey said, trying to get Yugi to talk. Yugi glanced at him. He opened the refrigerator and grabbed a small bottle of water. Joey tried again. "Uh…are you excited about tomorrow?" Yugi still said nothing. Joey was now totally confused. He looked back at Yami, who shrugged confused as well. "Are you okay, Yugi?" Joey asked now serious.

"I'm fine," Yugi said quickly as he headed up the stairs. Joey turned and faced everyone. They were all silent. Yami started to get up, but Seto offered. Yami was reluctant, but sat down. They all watched Seto go upstairs.

Yugi was sitting on the windowsill. It was starting in snow again. Yugi put his fingers gently on the window's glass. As expected, it was cold. He sighed. As his door started to open, he turned to see who it was. Kaiba smiled at him. Yugi turned back around. Seto walked over to Yugi. "Hey kiddo," he said as he sat down on the windowsill with Yugi. He picked Yugi put and sat him in his lap. "You okay?" he asked. Yugi said nothing. Seto held him closer. "You can talk to me," he said reassuringly.

"I don't feel good," Yugi said.

"Are you sick again?" Seto asked as he gently put his hand on Yugi's forehead.

"No," Yugi said, turning his head away. Seto frowned, but forced himself to smile.

"Do you miss your mom?" Seto asked softly. Yugi glared at his feet. "It's okay," Seto said, hugging Yugi. "You're dad isn't going to be mad if you do." Yugi looked up at him, surprised that he knew how he felt. Seto smiled. "Moki and I lost our mom too," he said. "And our dad at your age." Yugi fell silent. He couldn't imagine losing his dad too.

"Mr. Kaiba," Yugi said softly. Seto looked at him. "What happens to you when you die?" Seto's throat tightened.

"Think fast, Seto!" Kaiba thought. Yugi blinked, wondering why Mr. Kaiba wasn't answering. "I'll show you," Seto finally said. He moved Yugi's curtain and the night sky shined beautifully at them. Yugi blinked, not understanding. Seto smiled. "Your soul turns into a star."

"Really?" Yugi asked. Seto nodded. Yugi looked up at the stars. "Which one's mom?" Yugi asked. Seto hesitated.

"You never know," he said, trying to make this up as he went. "But, I do promise you that she is watching you right now." Yugi looked up at the stairs again. Seto smiled at him. "Just think about it." Seto said. He gave Yugi a quick hug, set him down, and left the room.

Yami looked up at Seto as he came downstairs. "How'd it go?" he asked. Seto smiled.

"It went okay." he said. Yami let out a sigh of relief.

"You gave him the 'Star' lecture, right?" Mokuba asked, giving his brother a sly look. Seto glared at him.

"It's better than the truth." Seto said through gritted teeth.

"What's he talking about?" Joey asked.

"Seto said that when you die, you soul turns into a star." Mokuba explain.

"Oh," Seigyoku said. "That's cute!"

"But the truth is you rot in the ground!" Mokuba said laughing. Seto glared at him.

"If you tell Yugi that—!" Seto threatened.

"I'm not!" Mokuba said. Seto sat next to Mokuba on the sofa again and they all started to chat again.

Once it become ten o'clock, Yami said "Are we gonna have a sleep over?"

"Maybe…" Joy said. Yami smiled.

"If any of you wish to stay, you know where the guest rooms are." Yami went to the kitchen and saved the leftovers for tomorrow. Yami then went up stairs to Yugi's room to check on him. Yugi turned as his door started to open. Yami blinked when he saw Yugi sitting on the windowsill in his pajamas. "You're still up?" Yugi nodded. "I told you I wanted you in bed by nine." Yami scolded lightly as he walked over to Yugi. Yugi said nothing. He just sighed as he looked out the window again. Yami frowned and crossed his arms. "Yugi," he said.

"I'm not tired," Yugi said, not turning around. Yami sighed as he sat next to Yugi.

"Waiting for someone?" Yami asked smiling. Yugi gave him a weird look.

"If you mean 'Santa Claus'," Yugi started. "He's not real."

Yami blinked. "How do you know?" he asked slyly.

"Because," Yugi explained. "It's impossible for a reindeer to fly, for nine reindeer to carry a five-hundred-pound guy, and for a five-hundred-pound fat ass to actually squeeze himself down a one-foot wide chimney." Yami's jaw dropped.

"Where did you hear that language!" Yami demanded.

"From you, Joey, and Kaiba." Yugi said. (A/N: Ouch…that hurt.) He continued to look out the window.

Yami was silent for a second, then said "Look, I don't ever want to hear you saying words like that again." Yugi said nothing, but Yami knew he got the message. "Yugi," he continued. "I want you to go to bed." Yugi sighed and reluctantly got off the windowsill and crawled into bed. Yami sat on the edge of the bed. "What's gotten into you?" he asked as he caressed Yugi's face.

"I can't tell you!" Yugi said, jerking away.

"Yes you can," Yami said gently.

"No!" Yugi said. "You'll just get mad!"

"I'll get mad if you don't tell me!" Yami said sternly, glaring at Yugi. Yugi fell silent. Yami was about to scold him again, when he noticed that Yugi was crying. "Yu—?"

"I want everything to go back to way it was!" Yugi said forcefully. "I want everything to be normal again! I want mom to come back!" Yugi hugged his knees and began to cry. Yami frowned sympathetically and tried to pull Yugi into a hug, but Yugi jerked away. Yami's frown deepened. He sighed, told Yugi goodnight, turned the lights off and shut the door as he left. He went to his own room and sat on his bed. Truth was, he still missed Anzu too…but ever since he had met Seigyoku, his longing for her was quickly fading. He knew that pretty soon, he would be able to talk about her without a second thought. He sighed and closed his eyes.

"You okay?" he heard someone say. Yami opened his eyes and saw Joey standing in the doorway. Yami smiled.

"How do you always know when I feel like crap?" Yami asked.

"We're all psychic!" Seto said as he walked in the room behind Joey. Yami chuckled as his friends sat next to him on each side.

"So," Joey started. "What happened?" Yami explained everything that happened. He sighed when he finished.

"I don't know what to do anymore!" he said covering his face with his hands. Joey and Seto fell silent.

"Spending time with Seigyoku did work?" Seto asked.

"Let's not go back to that…" Joey said, remembering what had happened. Seto blinked and Yami sighed.

"You think he'll feel better tomorrow?" Yami asked. Joey and Seto looked at each other…reading each other's mind.

"Oh yeah!" Joey said.

"Most definitely!" Seto said. They both smiled and Yami did the same. They said goodnight to each other and went to their rooms.

The next morning, Yugi was still depressed and didn't want to come downstairs. Yami didn't make a big commotion about it; he just figured Yugi would feel better later. However, when six o'clock p.m. chimed on the living room clock, Yami was starting to worry. "Okay," Joey said. "Now what?"

"How about you shut up?" Seto said. Joey glared at him.

"How about you two get along like the good friends you are and actually try to make this holiday, seem like a holiday!" Seigyoku shouted. All the men looked at her with wide eyes. "Well you should!" she added.

"That was cool," Mokuba said. Seto glared at him. "Well it was," he added.

"May I go talk to Yugi?" Seigyoku asked. Yami was reluctant, but nodded. Seigyoku got up and went to Yugi's room; bringing a semi-small box with her. After the boys heard the door close, they rushed upstairs and peered through the small crack in the door.

Yugi looked up as Seigyoku walked in. He glared at her. "Uhm, hi?" she said. Yugi's glare deepened. Seigyoku sighed. "Look, I'm just gonna come out and say it; your dad's worried about you." She continued. "Well, it's not just him; it's Joey and Kaiba and Mokuba." Yugi fell silent and his glare softened. "I'm new to this lifestyle too. You and your dad got this family-type-thing going with the Kaibas and Joey and then here I come not knowing how things are done…so yeah, I'm confused." By now, Yugi's glare had disappeared and he was now looking at his feet guiltily. Seigyoku frowned. "Wonder if I can make his laugh…" she thought. "That's all," she said. "I've just about spilled my guts." Yugi looked up at her. "Anything else you need?" she asked. "Heart? Lungs? Kidneys? I got two to those!" Yugi started to laugh. Seigyoku smiled. She grabbed the box she had bought with her. "Here," she said. Yugi blinked and cocked his head slightly. "It's a gift. Merry Christmas?" Yugi took the box and slowly unwrapped it. He pulled out some light blue pajamas with crescent moons, stars, and suns on it. "I wore them when I was your age," Seigyoku said. "But boys can wear them too, don't get me wrong!" Yugi nodded as he neatly folded the pajamas back in the box and put it on his nightstand. Seigyoku put a hand on Yugi's shoulder. He looked up at her. "I'm not here to replace your mother," she said. "I could never do that; all I want to do is make you and your dad happy." Yugi smiled and Seigyoku did the same. "Wanna go downstairs now?" she asked gently. Yugi hesitated, but then slowly nodded. Seigyoku stood up and Yugi raised up his arms. She blinked, confused. "Uh," she said. "What am I suppose to do?" Yugi giggled.

"You're suppose to pick me up!" He giggled again.

"Oh!" She said. She picked him up and gave him a firm hug. Yugi wrapped his arms around her neck. She smiled to herself. "Let's go." She headed for the door.

All the men rushed back downstairs, taking their normal seats. Seigyoku came downstairs with Yugi in her arms. Yugi jumped down from her hold and ran to his dad, smiling. Yami smiled at him and ruffled his hair. Yugi climbed onto the chair and hugged his father. "Love you daddy," he said.

Yami smiled, wrapped his arms around his son, and said "I love you too…"

Joey smiled and walked over to Yugi. "Ready to start?" he asked. Yugi nodded excitedly. Yami smiled as Yugi walked towards his gifts with Joey. Yami got up and walked over to Seigyoku. "He took to you?" Yami asked, trying to sound unknowing.

"Yep," she said, smiling. Yami wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug.

"Thank you," he whispered into her ear. She smiled and wrapped her arms around him as well. Yami kissed her softly; Seigyoku was caught off guard, but ended up going on with it. They each sighed gently as the pulled apart. Someone cleared their throat, making both of them look. Joey and Seto stood there with smug smiles on their faces. Yami and Seigyoku blushed.

The holiday then continued. Everyone exchanged gifts and they all enjoyed a Christmas dinner. The normal tradition had returned…When the dinner was over and the dished had been cleaned and put away, they all moved back to the living room to chat. As the adults were talking, Yugi fell asleep in Yami's arms. "He fell asleep?" Seigyoku asked surprised.

"He tires out easily." Yami explained. Seigyoku smiled as the peaceful sleeping Yugi. Yami smiled and gently put Yugi in her arms. Seigyoku blinked.

"What am I—?" Seigyoku started to say.

"You're supposed to go tuck him into bed." Joey said, chuckling lightly.

"Oh," Seigyoku said. She got up and headed for the stairs.

"Do you have no experience as a 'mom' whatsoever?" Seto asked as she was going up the stairs.

"I didn't baby-sit much as a teenager," she said. "I only had one little brother." She continued up the stairs and to Yugi's room. Once inside, she put Yugi in his bed and pulled the covers to his shoulders. As she turned to leave, the window burst open and a cold, demonic wind came through. Seigyoku rushed to it and closed it before Yugi woke up. She turned around again to leave, without a second thought. She gently closed the door and smiled to herself as she walked downstairs.

Yugi yawned in the middle of the night. A small light caught his sight in the corner of his eye. He turned around. "Mommy?"