Random Stranger

Summary: In a desperate attempt to get Tristan and Duke to back off, Serenity grabs the arm of a random stranger and says that he's her boyfriend. Unfortunately for her, the random stranger she picked isn't as random as she'd like him to be. Silentshipping.

Disclaimer: My elaborate scheme of becoming a lawyer to obtain the rights to Yu-Gi-Oh! had just been set in motion. For now, however, I don't own anything.

Author's note: Holy crap on a cracker, I still live! =O Well, it's been a year and a half, and I don't know how many people are actually still reading this (I wouldn't blame anyone who's given up on this story), but I would like to use this author's note to sincerely apologize for my absence. The thing is, the last half of 2012 has been the worst six months of my life. When it rains, it pours, and I've been soaked thoroughly. It's brought me a lot of sadness, and as I often write according to my mood, I had a lot of trouble with this fluffy, happy story. And even when things began looking up again, I had already been working on this chapter for so long nothing seemed quite right, and I hardly got any further with it at all. This chapter has changed a lot during the time I've been working on it, but I am finally at a point were I'm happy enough with it. This is thanks to my amazing beta-reader and good friend Hug-The-Antihero, without whom this chapter would not be what it is now. It is also thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter 11, because getting a new review in my mailbox even after a year or re-reading some of the old ones really gave me the inspiration to push through with this chapter. Thank you all, and I hope you will enjoy this overdue update of 'Random Stranger'!

Chapter 12: Santa Claus

November was soon forced to make way for his younger brother December, who brought with him low temperatures, freezing rains and icy winds. The streets of Domino gradually became deserted, its citizens preferring to remain within the safety of their warm homes.

Still, the brutal weather did not lower people's spirits, for December also brought something exceptionally wonderful: Christmas.

Nearly everyone enjoyed the thought of Christmas, and Serenity Wheeler was no exception. Christmas was her favorite holiday of the year; it had been ever since she was a little girl. She loved the decorations, the food, the presents and the forgiving atmosphere of it, but mostly she adored the emphasis on spending time with the people she loved.

Like last year, she and Joey had been invited to spend Christmas Eve at the Game Shop with Yugi and his grandfather. Tea and Bakura were staying with their families for the occasion, but Mai, Tristan and Duke would also be celebrating the holiday with them, and Yugi had somehow even convinced the two Kaiba's to join them for the joyous event. Serenity still didn't know how he had managed to persuade the elder Kaiba, but she was very happy to spend Christmas with two additional friends.

She hadn't seen too much of Kaiba at all lately. Besides a few calls to keep their families from getting suspicious about their fake relationship, the two of them hadn't spoken since Serenity's birthday over a month ago.

In their defense, though, they had both been very busy recently. Serenity had finished her midterms only a week ago, just before the Christmas holidays had started, and she had spent so much time studying for them she hadn't even seen Joey on some days. Kaiba had released his newest product only a few days after Serenity's birthday, and he was currently overseeing the sales and distribution of the already hugely popular piece of technology. From what Serenity had understood of the commercial she had seen on the television a couple of times, Kaiba's latest product was called the Kaiba Corporation Patented Portable Duel Field, or just the PDF for short, and it was a modernized version of the old Duel Mats the game used to be played on. It could recognize even the rarest of cards, create state-of-the-art miniature holograms and calculate life points in a fraction of a second. It was perfect for playing high-tech Duel Monsters indoors, and since it was so cold outside, the Duel Fields had been selling like hotcakes.

Of course, the commercial for the latest piece of Duel Monsters technology had not eluded Joey either. He hadn't been able to talk about anything else for weeks, and he was constantly trying to get his little sister to woo Kaiba into letting him have one.

Serenity had to snicker at the thought. When it came to 'wooing' Kaiba, Joey himself had about the same chances as she did.

Nevertheless, because she loved her brother, she had asked Kaiba if he could arrange a Duel Field for Joey when they last spoke over the phone. She wasn't expecting him to just give Joey one, but she hoped Kaiba might have a lightly damaged one laying around; one which couldn't be sold, but was still working alright.

She sighed as she ran a brush through her soft hair. Whatever Kaiba had gotten Joey for tonight, she hoped it was something her brother could appreciate. She really didn't want Joey to throw a fit on Christmas Eve.

When she had untangled her hair, she swiftly braided it down, knowing the wind and the snow would not be merciful on her if she left it loose.

There was a knock on the bathroom door. "Hey sis, I got all the gifts into the car. You ready to go?"

"Just a second, Joey," she called back to her brother as she tied off the end of her braid. She quickly checked her appearance in the mirror, and decided she was quite happy with the way her new green sweater (bought from her meager Christmas bonus) looked on her.

Putting away her brush, she went to meet her brother in the hallway, ready to have a wonderful Christmas Eve.

When the two Wheelers arrived at the Game Shop, they were welcomed by Yugi, Tristan, Mai, Mokuba and the most delicious smell imaginable. The last immediately lured Joey into the kitchen, but he was quickly chased out again by Yugi's grandfather and his ladle.

Joey was left to sit on the couch, quietly stroking the hand on which Solomon had hit him when he had attempted to reach for one of the many pots and pans on the stove. He was soon joined by Tristan, who had an identical mark on his hand from earlier, and the two of them started a game of 'I spy' to keep their minds of the wonderful food cooking in the other room.

Mai and Yugi were playing a heated game of Duel Monsters in the corner, with Mokuba cheering the both of them on excitedly. Serenity went over to see who was winning.

As expected, it was Yugi who was winning, although just by a hair. He had his Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl on his side of the field, but they were having a hard time against Mai's three powered-up Harpie Ladies. Serenity watched, amazed, as the duel played out. She had never cared much for the game, only pretending to so she wouldn't upset her brother, but because of that lesson she'd gotten from Kaiba a while ago, she was actually able to follow this entire duel. It was so much more fun to watch now that she understood the basics of the game.

By the time Yugi claimed his narrow victory over Mai, Duke had also arrived, and Solomon announced that dinner was almost ready to be served. Naturally, Joey and Tristan raced to the dinner table, quickly seating themselves and grabbing their silverware in anticipation.

Laughing at their eagerness, Serenity and the others followed them to the table and sat themselves down. Serenity ended up at the far right of the table, next to Joey and across from Mokuba. At the head of the table next to her was an empty seat, reserved for the only one who hadn't arrived yet.

Yugi, who was sitting at the other end of the table, had noticed the remaining seat as well. "Say, Mokuba, your brother will be coming tonight, right?"

Mokuba nodded. "Yeah, he'll be here. I'm not sure what time, though. He's got a meeting with some fancy European guy right now."

"A meeting on Christmas Eve?" Mai scoffed. "Not very festive."

"Well, it was either tonight or sometime in April," Mokuba explained with a shrug. He was used to his brother having meetings at odd times, but he also knew his brother never broke a promise, and he had promised he would be at the Game Shop to celebrate Christmas tonight.

The subject of Kaiba's absence was dropped when Solomon emerged from the kitchen. "Alright, dinner's ready. You two boys," he said, pointing at Joey at Tristan, "come help me carry everything."

'Helping' Solomon carry everything came down to Joey and Tristan having to carry everything on their own while the old man used his ladle to direct the flow of plates and bowls. Soon the Muto's small dining table was moaning under the weight of a dozen sweet-smelling dishes.

"Well, I think that's all," Solomon announced when Tristan placed the last dish on the table. "Dig in, everyone!"

He didn't have to say that twice. Joey and Tristan immediately dove for the turkey and were soon in a fight over who would get the legs. Serenity had to chuckle at their squabble. She had never cared much for turkey meat, so she went instead for the roast beef close to her elbow, topping it off with a bit of salad and a fair serving of mashed potatoes. She only needed a few bites to determine the food tasted as amazing as it smelled, if not even better.

During dinner, Serenity couldn't help but keep her ears strained for the sound of the doorbell. While she was most certainly enjoying herself with the people already there, she couldn't help but wish Kaiba was sitting next to her, if only so she could have an intelligent conversation. With Joey to her right and Mokuba across from her, there was very little room for communication, as Joey's mouth was continuously occupied by food, and Mokuba was no light eater either. Serenity would have talked to Mai, who sat diagonally across from her, but the blonde was currently having a heated discussion with Yugi's grandfather about the proper use of a Harpie Lady card.

Nevertheless, dinner seemed to fly by, and soon it was just Joey who was still trying to fit more food into his stomach. When he too laid down his fork, there was barely a crumb left on the table.

"Whew, I'm stuffed!" Joey exclaimed, laying a hand on his protruding belly. "You make one hell of a turkey, gramps."

"Why thank you Joey, that's very kind of you," Solomon smiled at the compliment. He then turned to regard the rest of the table. "I hope that sentiment is shared by all of you."

He was instantly graced with a waterfall of praise. "Yes, of course!" "Best roast beef I've ever had!" and "I gained at least five pounds from just that delicious chocolate fudge!" were only a few of the reactions he received.

"Wonderful!" Solomon exclaimed, clapping his hands together as he stood up. "Then I'm sure you won't mind clearing the table and doing the dishes while I retreat to my chair."

Everyone groaned at Solomon's cheerfulness, but they agreed nonetheless. After all, it was only fair that he got to rest after spending so much time preparing their meal.

The seven of them struggled to get up, but once they were on their feet everything was quickly taken care of. Yugi, Serenity and Mokuba went into the kitchen. Serenity did the dishes, Mokuba dried them off and Yugi put everything back in their rightful place. Joey, Tristan and Duke supplied them with the dirty plates, glasses and gravy boats, while Mai stayed on the side to protect her expensive manicure from getting harmed.

Thanks to their teamwork, it took the gang barely twenty minutes to clean, dry and put away the enormous load of dishes. When their job was done, they gladly retreated into the living room.

"Ah," Joey sighed contently as he plopped down on the couch, propping his feet up on the coffee table. He wasn't content for long, however, as Solomon almost immediately knocked his feet away.

"Feet off the table!" he scolded sternly.

"Aw gramps, come on!" Joey whined.

Solomon wouldn't have it, and Joey soon gave up, leaning back into the cushions with a huff.

Their little quarrel had only just ended when the shrill sound of the doorbell being rang downstairs filled the apartment, causing Yugi to jump up almost immediately. "That must be Kaiba!" he exclaimed happily, racing off to get the door before anyone else could react.

When Yugi returned about thirty seconds later, there was indeed a tall, blue-eyed young man in his wake, but something about him seemed a bit off. Kaiba looked slightly crumpled, his hair sticking out in odd places and covered with white specks that looked like…

"Snow!" Mokuba yelled at the sight of his brother's hair, running to the window at once to look at the white flakes slowly falling down onto the already white streets. "It's snowing!"

"More like storming," Kaiba grunted in disdain as he tried to shake to melting snow out of his chestnut locks. "I stood outside for barely a minute and I look like a damn Christmas ornament."

Solomon laughed good-heartedly at Kaiba's comment. "You'll fit right in then, boy! Please, have a seat."

"Thank you," Kaiba returned politely, albeit still a bit gruffly, before he sat down next to Serenity on one of the chairs which had been taken from the kitchen table in order to accommodate everyone in the living room.

Serenity smiled tentatively at him when he had taken his seat beside her. "Are you alright?" she asked sweetly, having noticed the stiff posture and harsh tone of voice that usually went with his bad moods.

"Fine," Kaiba all but spat back at her, crossing his arms defensively.

Needless to say, Serenity was not convinced. "What happened?"

"Well, I was supposed to meet with the CEO of France's most prestigious gaming company," Kaiba growled, obviously quite keen on ranting to someone "but I had to do with his assistant, who wanted me to sell their company the distributing rights for the Kaiba Corporation Patented Duel Field in France for a price the homeless wouldn't have accepted, because their pathetic corporation had no more money at their disposal due to a few poor investments."

Kaiba snorted disdainfully. "He wanted me to lower my price 'in the spirit of the holidays'. That's why the bloodsucker wanted to meet on Christmas Eve. Pathetic."

"I understand why you're upset," Serenity said gently when he'd finished his rant. "It was awful of him to abuse the spirit of the holidays like that. But you shouldn't let that meeting ruin your whole evening. You're here now. There's nothing that can stop you from celebrating Christmas with us."

"I don't celebrate Christmas," Kaiba told her, intent on being cranky. "I'm an atheist."

"And I'm agnostic," Serenity replied patiently, "but that doesn't mean I can't celebrate Christmas. And I'm not talking about the birth of Christ," she said quickly when she saw Kaiba raise an eyebrow. "I'm talking about the time we get to spend with the ones we love. For me, that's the true spirit of the holidays."

Kaiba eyed her for a moment, then let his gaze fall on Mokuba, who was happily talking to Yugi about having a snowball fight. He sighed heavily. "Alright, fine, you win. I'll celebrate Christmas tonight. But the minute one of you starts a Christmas carol, I'm out."

No sooner had he said this when Mokuba suddenly called: "Is it time for presents yet?"

"I don't know… It's still early," Yugi replied, checking his watch. When Mokuba's face fell, he smiled, trying to think of a way to cheer the younger Kaiba up. "How about we sing a Christmas carol first?"

"Presents it is!" Serenity exclaimed hastily. She swiftly made her way over to the Christmas tree, followed closely by Mokuba, Joey, Tristan and Kaiba, the latter wearing an amused grin. Obviously outvoted, Yugi had no choice but to join his friends.

Because he had been such a good host, Solomon was allowed to open the first present. Graciously accepting the honor, the old man lazily approached the heap of gifts and plucked one bearing his name from the top of the pile. It was a tiny package, barely the size of an envelope, but it was wrapped beautifully with sparkling silver paper and decorated with a perfectly tied red bow.

Solomon swiftly tore open the present and let the contents fall into his hand. A single Duel Monsters card emerged from the package. With interest, Solomon studied the picture on the card for a brief second before he suddenly clutched at his chest, his face drained of all color. Staggering backwards, Solomon had to sit down on the couch to keep him from collapsing. All the while, his eyes never left the card.

"What is it, gramps?" Joey asked worriedly as the entire group edged closer to the old man in concern. Too shocked to speak, Solomon flipped the card so they could see the picture. They all gasped simultaneously. The card was none other than the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

Immediately, everyone turned to look at Kaiba, who faced his shoes uncomfortably. "I had it restored," he told Solomon quietly. "The rip shouldn't be visible in the least anymore."

Solomon's jaw dropped. "You mean to say this is my…? But how?"

"I took it from your box last week, grandpa," said Yugi hesitantly, though he was having a hard time hiding his growing smile. "I hope you don't mind."

"Mind? How could I mind?" Solomon asked disbelievingly. There were tears clouding his vision as he set his violet eyes on Kaiba. "Dear boy, this is the most wonderful present I have received in my life. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart."

"…Sure," Kaiba nodded, a ghost of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Just don't pass it on to your grandson, alright? He's hard enough to beat without that card in his deck."

"Will do!" Solomon laughed good-heartedly as he carefully tucking away the card in the front pocket of his overall.

"Alright, now it's my turn!" Mokuba exclaimed excitedly after a brief silence. Before anyone could stop him, he had dived into the pile of presents, turning everything upside down in his search for the biggest gift with his name on it.

Glad his little brother had pulled the attention away from him, Kaiba leaned against the wall in relief. He had wanted to apologize to Solomon for destroying his most prized possession for some time now, but he hadn't had a clue on how to go about it. The idea came to him just the week before Christmas, and he had only yesterday received the restored version of the card. Solomon reaction, though, had convinced Kaiba that the dislike of having to ask Yugi for help and paying the extra money to get the restoration done in time had definitely been worth the trouble.

Kaiba's gifts turned out to be popular with everyone that evening, especially with Joey and Yugi, who had both received a brand-new Kaiba Corporation Patented Portable Duel Field from the CEO. Once he had unwrapped it, Joey could hardly wait for the remainder of the presents to be opened, as he really wanted to take his Duel Field for a test run. When Duke finally tore the paper of the last present that had been underneath the Christmas tree, Joey seized his chance. "Alright, who wants to have a duel with me? Anyone? Yug?"

"Sorry Joey, but I'm having a rematch with Mai," Yugi smiled apologetically.

"How about you then, Kaiba?" Joey challenged, a fiery look of determination in his eyes. "You want to be the first person to get beat by me on this Duel Field?"

Kaiba smirked, about to reach for the beloved deck he always carried with him, when he suddenly thought of something. "As much as I would enjoy being the first person to crush you on that Duel Field, I think I'll pass. Though I'm sure your sister wouldn't mind kicking your sorry behind in my place."

He gave Serenity a meaningful glance, and she felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment. She had become a much better duelist since Kaiba had taught her some of the basics, but she wasn't good enough by a long shot to defeat Joey. After all, he was the third best duelist in the world! She was about to decline, but when Joey turned to her enthusiastically, excited that his little sister had finally taken an interest in Duel Monsters, she knew she had no choice.

"Well… just one duel couldn't hurt," Serenity caved, causing Joey to cheer happily. She retrieved her deck from her purse as Joey tried to get his Duel Field up and running, which he eventually managed with some help from its creator. Both Wheeler sibling settled themselves on the floor, inserted their decks into the Duel Field and drew their first hand of cards. It was time to duel.

Joey was an excellent duelist. Serenity had known this from watching him, but being his opponent really made her realize what a great strategist her goofy brother had become. It took him just fifteen minutes to get her down to two hundred Life Points, while she had barely been able to make a dent in his.

Serenity had nearly resigned to defeat when she drew the card that would turn the duel around for her: a trap card called Solemn Wishes. In combination with the monster she already held in her hand, Fire Princess, and the Mirror Force card she could use to protect this monster, things suddenly looked a lot better for her.

She summoned her Fire Princess, placed both Solemn Wishes and Mirror Force face-down on the field and ended her turn, hoping her brother wouldn't notice she was up to something. Luckily, he didn't. Joey was already so convinced of his victory he never even considered his inexperienced little sister laying a trap for him. He walked right into it.

The duel was over four turns later, when Fire Princess' special effect claimed the last of Joey's Life Points. Stunned, Serenity stared at her brother, who managed to produce a huge grin in the face of defeat. "You won, sis! Congrats!"

Serenity laughed uneasily, still not quite believing what she had just done. "Thanks, Joey."

"Where did you learn all that, though?" he asked in awe. "I mean, no offense sis, but you weren't that great a duelist before…"

"Actually, Seto taught me some tricks a while back," she admitted shyly. "I would've asked you to teach me, but I figured surprising you would make a good Christmas present."

She was lying, of course, as Kaiba hadn't left her much of a choice when it came to learning how to duel, but Joey didn't have to know that. He would be devastated if he knew she had never gone to him for lessons in dueling because she thought he was a bad teacher.

Joey beamed at her. "Well, you were amazing, sis. Thanks for the great duel, it was a really awesome Christmas present."

"For you and me both," Kaiba, who had watched the duel, interjected smugly. Seeing his pupil defeat her first opponent was very satisfying indeed.

Joey glared menacingly at Kaiba, and for a moment, Serenity was sure her brother was going to punch him in the face – but then he laughed merrily and slapped Kaiba on the shoulder. "I'd like to see you take her on, Kaiba," he chuckled. "Let's see if the student has indeed surpassed the master."

Kaiba snorted. "Yeah, right. I don't need to duel her to know the outcome of that match. You know as well as anyone that a man simply can't win against his girlfriend."

Joey glanced at Mai, who was still dueling Yugi, and shuddered. "I hear you, man. I hear you."

So, the three of them joined the others to watch the thrilling conclusion of the duel between Yugi and Mai, in which Yugi and his Dark Magician managed to escape Mai's Harpie Ladies once again. After their duel had finished, Joey wasted no time in taking his girlfriend's place as Yugi's opponent, while Mai and Solomon borrowed Joey's duel field and started a duel of their own.

Serenity removed herself from the others once the two duels were on their way, settling herself on one of the window-sills to watch the snow falling outside. While she definitely enjoyed Duel Monsters a lot more since Kaiba's lesson, she still didn't care for it as much as her friends seemed to. Playing a game was alright, but that was where the fun ended for her. She'd much rather watch the snow than either of the two duels going on right now.

She wasn't sure how long she'd sat there, but a sudden scream from Mai pulled her roughly out of her thoughts. She jumped from the window sill and whipped around to see Tristan and Duke rolling around on the floor, both of them trying to get back on their feet while keeping the other one down, resulting in a disturbing and thoroughly stupid sight. Everyone jumped back as they nearly trampled Yugi's Duel Field, and in the commotion, Kaiba ended up bumping into her.

"Alright, alright, that's enough!" Solomon's booming voice pulled the boys apart. "What is the matter with you two?!"

Tristan and Duke looked at each other, then at Kaiba, who now stood next to Serenity, and groaned simultaneously.

"It's nothing," Duke muttered after an uncomfortable silence.

"Yeah, just a little… misunderstanding," Tristan agreed.

Solomon opened his mouth to tell them off some more, but a giggle from Mokuba made him swallow his words. Everyone turned to the younger Kaiba, not understanding what was so funny about the situation. In response to their dumbstruck stares, Mokuba pointed at the window where Kaiba and Serenity were standing, above which a single, perfect branch of mistletoe was dangling merrily.

Realization dawned on them all as they looked from the mistletoe to Tristan and Duke, who were both guiltily facing their shoes. For a while, nobody moved, until –

"I want to have a word with you downstairs."

Everyone gasped in surprise at the tone of Serenity's voice. Granted, she had sounded a bit harsher than she meant to, but this had been the last straw for her. The two of them chasing after her was one thing, but to do it when for all they knew she was dating someone else was unacceptable. She had to draw the line somewhere.

Joey looked venomously at Tristan and Duke as they shuffled towards the door leading to the stairs, Serenity on their heels. "Do you want me to come with you, sis?"

"No, Joey," she declined, again sounding harsher than she meant to, "I can handle this myself."

Tristan and Duke disappeared through the door, and she was about to go after them when Mokuba's quiet voice made her stop.

"What about your kiss?"

Serenity glanced at Kaiba, who was still standing underneath the mistletoe. He raised a playful eyebrow at her, and despite her anger at Tristan and Duke, she couldn't help but smile. "That'll just have to wait."

And she followed her two admirers down the stairs.

The Kame Game Shop was eerie at night. It was as though the eyes of the clown doll in the corner followed Tristan with his eyes, and the Black Luster Soldier on that poster seemed ready to come to life and cut him in half with its shining blade. Despite himself, he shuddered.

"W-what do you think Serenity wants to talk to us about?" he shakily asked Duke, who was leaning against the counter, apparently unnerved by the spooky scene.

"What do you think, Pinhead?" Duke shot back, looking annoyed. "We were fighting over which one of us would get to kiss her in front of both her and her boyfriend."

He spat out the last word as if it were a curse, and Tristan grinned sheepishly. "Oh, right. That's probably it."

Duke scowled. "It would've gone perfectly fine if you had just let me go to her instead of jumping me like a barbarian."

"I did not jump you!" Tristan retorted angrily. "And why should I have let you go to Serenity? I saw the mistletoe first!"

"Did not."

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Guys!"

Serenity had joined them downstairs. She flicked on the lights, looking at the two of them in astonishment. "Are you still at this?"

"Well, yes, but only because he – "

"I didn't do anything! You were the one who – "

"Guys!"

They fell silent, their eyes aimed at the floor. "We're sorry," Tristan whispered, at the exact same time Duke muttered: "He started it."

Serenity sighed. "Tristan, Duke… You need to stop doing this. I'm with Seto now, and you can't just keep chasing after me. It's not right."

Duke scowled, not saying a word, but Tristan stepped forward, an apologetic look on his face. "Look, Serenity, we're sorry. We know you're taken now, but it's just… Well, we've been trying to ask you out for forever, and we never managed, while Kaiba just waltzed right in and took you for himself. You never really gave us a chance."

Serenity glanced at Duke. "Do you feel that way too?"

"Yes," Duke said sulkily. "I never understood why you would want Kaiba over me. I mean, we're both rich and handsome, so what's he got that I don't?"

Tristan snickered. "You think Kaiba is handsome?"

Duke glared at him. "That's not the point!"

"No, but… do you?"

"Well, I suppose, from the right angle, when he's not glowering…" Duke spluttered, his face beet red, "but that's still not the point!"

Tristan stifled another chuckle. "Right… what was the point again?"

Duke smacked Tristan on the back of his head. "Serenity never giving either of us a fair chance and choosing Kaiba over us. That's the point, stupid!"

"Oh, right," Tristan nodded sheepishly. He turned to face Serenity, his face now completely serious. "So… why did you choose Kaiba over us?"

Biting her lip, Serenity looked from one boy to the other. "Because," she nearly whispered, unable to look either of them in the eye as she spoke, "you were always fighting over me, and I felt as though you wanted to be with me because you wanted to outshine each other, not because you actually liked me. And despite not having much time for anything besides his job, Seto never gives me anything but his full attention when we're together, and he really makes me feel like I matter, and…"

Her voice died down when she dared to look up and saw the horrorstruck faces of her two admirers. For a while, an awkward silence fell upon the three, until Tristan finally found his voice again.

"We were really that bad, huh?" he sighed, a bad attempt at a smile on his face.

"I'm sorry, guys. You're my friends, and I never said anything because I didn't want to hurt your feelings," Serenity admitted, only now realizing she had done exactly the opposite by not telling them how she felt about their behavior before.

"I guess we did get a bit carried away," Duke said remorsefully. "We never really stopped to think about how you felt at all."

"We're sorry, Serenity," Tristan said timidly. "We promise we won't try to be anything but your friends from now on. Can you ever forgive us?"

Serenity felt tears well up in her eyes. "Of course," she choked out, giving the both of them a heartfelt hug.

When she released them, Tristan turned to Duke. "Hey, Duke?"

"Yeah?"

"Look, there's this really pretty girl who works at the library," he started rather awkwardly.

"Oh, you mean the one who always wears that yellow ribbon in her hair?"

"Miho," Tristan nodded, a faint blush visible on his cheeks. "Since Serenity started dating Kaiba, I've been thinking about asking her out…"

He didn't elaborate, but Duke got the message. "It's okay, I'll stay out of your way this time."

"Thanks, man," Tristan smiled, clasping Duke's shoulder. "I really appreciate it."

Duke grinned. "Yeah, well, we both know you wouldn't stand a chance if I went after her too, so I'm throwing you a bone this time."

Tristan's hand was off Duke's shoulder in a split second. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"It means that I'm way better looking than you are!"

"You are not!" Tristan spluttered.

"Am too!"

"Are not!"

"Am too!"

"Ehm… guys?"

The two of them fell silent at once, both looking rather embarrassed.

"Yeah… I think this would be a good time to head back to the others," Duke suggested, scratching the back of his head.

"Good plan," Tristan quickly agreed, and before Serenity could blink, the two of them had hurried up the stairs already, leaving her to chuckle at their antics before following them back upstairs.

When they entered the living room, they were met with an uncomfortable silence. Solomon had taken to handing out cups of eggnog, but it hadn't been much of a distraction, as it seemed everyone had been anxiously waiting for Tristan, Duke and Serenity to return.

Noticing all of them staring, Serenity smiled reassuringly. "Everything's fine. We talked things out downstairs and we've come to an understanding about our friendship." She made sure to emphasize the word 'friendship'.

Joey didn't seem entirely convinced. "You sure, sis?"

"Yes, Joey," she said pointedly. "It's alright. Tristan and Duke won't try to win me over anymore, so you can stop plotting their murders now."

Joey eyed his sister's former admirers for a while. "Alright, then. I'll let it slide. This time. But if either of you tries anything like that again," he said menacingly, waving his index finger at Tristan and Duke, "I will not be held responsible for my own actions."

Tristan and Duke shifted uncomfortably on the spot, but luckily they were saved by Solomon, who went around for another round of eggnog. Gratefully, the two of them took a cup and quietly took the seats furthest away from Joey.

Serenity accepted a cup of eggnog too, despite Joey's spluttering objections, and was about to take a seat herself when Mai suddenly flung an arm around her shoulders, nearly causing her to spill her eggnog. "So…" the blonde drawled loudly, a mischievous look in her eyes. "Everything's all peachy then?"

"Eh… yes?" Serenity said hesitantly, not sure what point Mai was trying to make. "Why?"

"Well," Mai started, putting a finger to her chin in mock thought, "before all the drama started, if I remember correctly, a certain someone and a certain someone else found themselves together underneath a mistletoe somewhere around here. Isn't that right?"

Almost instantly, the room fell completely silent, and Serenity felt her cheeks heat up as she noticed everyone's eyes on her. How could she ever have forgotten her obligatory kiss with Kaiba underneath the mistletoe? Did Mai really expect them to make out right in front of everyone?

Joey seemed to have the same thought. "Come on, Mai, no one wants to see them getting it on in here. It's indecent!"

"Indecent!" Mai scoffed angrily. "You never think it's indecent when we make out in public!"

"Yeah… well… I… that's…" Joey spluttered, his face as red as a tomato. "That's just different!"

Mai raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh really? Different how?"

"Because…" Joey mused, obviously trying to come with something. "Because we never do things like that when there are kids watching!" he said triumphantly as he pointed at Mokuba.

The younger Kaiba jumped to his feet immediately. "Hey! I'm not a kid!"

"You ain't no adult either, squirt," Joey shot back, "so no show for you."

"Oh, stop being so melodramatic, Joey," Mai interjected with a sigh. "You make it sound like they're about to have sex on the kitchen table."

"Don't you go giving them any ideas!"

"I was being sarcastic!"

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Kaiba's annoyed voice cut across the two blondes, causing the room to fall silent once more. He crossed the room with three strides, pulled Serenity close to him and crashed his lips against hers.

Her cup of eggnog fell to ground silently, slowly creating an ugly stain on the Muto's carpet, but Serenity took no notice of it. All that mattered right now was her companion; his soft lips on hers, his silky hair running through her fingers, his toned body pressed against her. And then there was his tongue, easily slipping past her teeth, dancing with her own. He tasted of coffee again, but she didn't mind this time; at that moment, there was no flavor better than coffee in all the world, and she would be perfectly content if it was the only thing she'd taste for the rest of her life.

"Alright you two, that's quite enough," Solomon's voice ultimately broke them apart. Panting slightly, her cheeks burning, Serenity looked up into Kaiba's eyes to see her own satisfaction and shock mirrored in them perfectly.

To suppress his strong desire to kiss the younger Wheeler again, Kaiba turned his attention from Serenity to Mai. "There. Are you happy now?"

"Actually," Mai said mischievously, "no, I'm not."

"What?!" came several surprised voices at ones.

Mai shrugged in a would-be casual way if it weren't for the big grin on her face. "You need to actually kiss underneath the mistletoe for it to count."

"You have got to be kidding me!" Joey shouted, and within seconds, another heated discussion had flared up.

Kaiba rolled his eyes at them and made his way over to the window on his own accord. Serenity followed him, despite her logical mind protesting, knowing another kiss would only make things a lot more complicated than they were supposed to be.

She could hardly wait to taste coffee again.

And that's the result of a year and a half's hard labor! A lot happened in this chapter I wanted to let happen since I started this story, including Kaiba restoring the Blue-Eyes for Solomon, Tristan and Duke redeeming themselves somewhat, and, of course, Seto and Serenity sharing a fireworks kiss! =D I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter, and I will try my hardest to get chapter 13 out a bit sooner than chapter 12, though in all honesty, I can't make any promises. I just started law school and I'm starting my new job in October, so I'm going to be very, very busy. Nevertheless, I'm very excited to start chapter 13, and I hope I can share it with you very soon! :) Until that time, I'll also be working on another Silentshipping story, 'Pas de Deux', so if you're a fan of Silentshipping and ballet, go and read that story too! And with that, I will leave you alone. If you have the time, please leave me a review so I can improve my writing. Until next time!