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Yusei and Carly had been in the kitchen of Poppo Time working together to get everything ready for when Crow came back. Lua was shouting about the matches that Crow had won, jumping all over the place as he tried to find someone willing to listen to the whole commentary. Luka, in comparison, was trying to tell Lua to settle down and complaining to Jack about how exuberant Lua could be. Aki was absent, as she had gone to the airport to pick Crow and Sherry up and bring them back to Poppo Time.
Overall, this had been exactly what Yusei had been hoping to get out of the holiday. Martha had come over with a batch of baked apples for everyone, and the entire place smelt of cinnamon, sugar, and vanilla. The pot of ramen was cooking, adding an extra savory layer to the scents. Lua had gotten caught three times trying to sneak a cookie before dinner, and Martha had warned him to not spoil his dinner twice. Yusei grinned over this, and slipped Lua two chocolate chip cookies. "Don't forget to give one to Luka," he muttered under his breath, grinning at Martha. "What? It's Christmas."
Martha sighed, shaking her head. "You're going to spoil those kids, Yusei," she said with a roll of her eyes. "When will I get to see Crow and Aki? I feel like I never see any of you kids anymore."
Jack spluttered indignity. "I saw you just yesterday," Jack immediately argued, sounding outraged. "Carly and I brought you gifts!"
"I remember Carly being there," Martha hummed as she stirred the ramen. "I don't seem to recall you being there, Jack."
Carly, for her part, looked utterly pleased by this. "Why thank you, Martha," she said as she glanced over at Jack. "It was nice to be able to meet you properly."
The sound of three Duel Runners arriving cut off any further complaints from Jack, and Yusei perked up. It seemed that Crow, Sherry, and Aki had arrived at the party. Yusei immediately left the kitchen to go see Aki walk in with Sherry and Crow. He went up to her to pull her into a tight hug, spinning her around. Aki immediately laughed, swatting him. "Yusei, you act like I was gone for days," she said. "Put me down! Go say hi to Crow and Sherry!"
"Yeah, are you gonna treat me like chopped liver after we went out of our way to be here for the holidays," Crow asked as Yusei set Aki down. He turned to him, giving Crow their usual fist bump. "Come on, man. Don't you know that Sherry and I could've totally not come here? Be grateful."
"I would never keep you away from your friends," Sherry immediately said, sounding outraged. She lightly whacked his shoulder, but the slight smirk on her face suggested it was a game to them. "Don't go using me as a shield to avoid hanging out with your friends!"
Sherry and Crow walked off to greet everyone else, and Yusei glanced over at Aki. "So... is this exactly what you wanted for Christmas?"
Aki was fiddling with the necklace he'd gotten her, and she glanced down at the necklace before looking at him with a soft smile and a nod. It seemed that this holiday season could be considered a success.