I had a hard time picking the genre for this story... I wanted to put it as humor, but I wasn't sure because, while there are funny parts, humor isn't the main point. I leave it for you all to decide. The POV in this story switches around between Yami and Yugi. I hope you enjoy it.

"Why did you reject Yugi's date offer?"

That was the very first thing Anzu demanded as soon as I opened the front door.

"Um, good morning?" I suggested. Ignoring me, she stormed into my house in an all caps rage, shoulder brushing mine. I had no choice but to allow her to sit at my dinning table, eyes blazing.

"Why, on this great, wide world, would you kiss him and then refuse to date him?" She continued, voice still a few decibels higher than usual. "Can you possibly explain to me why there was a frazzled man sitting on my porch at two in the morning, sobbing about how he had been rejected before, but never 'like this'?" Slamming her latte down on the table, she used her fingers to punctuate her quotation. "The way I see it, you have a lot of explaining to do."

I cringed as I hesitantly took a seat across from the angry woman. I could practically feel the fire coming off her in waves. But I wasn't too worried about her wrath...I had incited it plenty of times before. Now, I was just focused on Yugi. I had turned down one of the kindest, cutest single guys around - one who was very clearly interested in me, too. I settled my head in my hands, studying the wood grains of the table. Yugi had even cried because of me. I never meant to hurt him like that, but it seemed I had too good a knack for being blunt. Anzu was completely in her rights to be mad...kissing him was wrong of me. I gave him hope and then threw it away.

"Anzu, I just...I'm sorry."

"I told you to explain, not offer me a half-assed apology." She shot back, eye twitching in annoyance. "If you want to beg for forgiveness, you're talking to the wrong person." She took a long sip of her coffee, and I knew she was still intent on waiting for a better answer. I sighed, giving her the same reason that I'd been telling myself all night:

"I don't deserve him."

Anzu stared at me, looking puzzled, then amused - but then returning to her previous intensity.
"Oh, my God. You're being serious." She rolled her eyes. "What a heap of crap."

"He can do so much better. He can get someone who's really outgoing and more patient."

"Come on, Yami—"

"He could get someone who would be able to give him what he wants, when he wanted it." I continued, fingers now gripping the roots of my hair. "Someone who can truly make him happy. Not someone who worries like I do, or is distant sometimes, or—"

"Oh - God. Shut up." She interjected, and I looked up to see her rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Do you even hear yourself right now? I've heard you spout bullshit before, but this is ridiculous. Why can't you give yourself a break?" She started ticking off her fingers. "You're funny. You're intelligent. You're hot. If he wanted someone like him, he'd date himself. But he wants you. The way you are is enough for him, so why isn't it enough for you?" She pursed her lips. "Everyone has baggage - it's what makes us human. He's aware of it all, as you know, and he doesn't care. It was a date, Yami. He never asked you to marry him."

For once, my sharp tongue left me silent. I closed my eyes, thanking whatever higher power might be out there that I had a level-headed friend like Anzu who knew when to use logic on me.

"Strike up the bells and let the chorus sing!" She said, sounding smug. "Yami is speechless for the first time in his life!"

I gave her a rueful smile.
"Yeah, yeah." I sighed. "You're right."

"I'm sorry? What was that?" She asked, cupping her hand to her ear. "I hear better without the disdain."

"I let myself overthink and made a huge deal out of something so easy." I admitted. "But I still think he could do better."

"Silenced and apologetic...all in one day." She smiled. "Wow. Good deal." She got to her feet. "Now you can go to the shop and ask him out."

"I can't just go over there and ask him out after I have already turned him down!" I said, throwing my hands up. "He's probably still upset or angry - he wouldn't want to see me so soon!" Anzu held her coffee in both hands as if it would steady her, took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. She was obviously trying to stop herself from punching me. When she finally spoke, it was as if I were a toddler.

"You are interested in him. He is interested in you. When two people are interested in each other, they make it work. When those two people go somewhere alone, it is called a date. Go find him and ask him on one. If you don't enjoy it, you don't have to go on another." She shook her head. "Honestly, what's the worst that could happen?"

My answer was immediate: "I could fall in love with him. He could realize that he'll never feel the same way. We could have a terrible, messy break up. Then I wouldn't just be single, but heartbroken as well."

"Well, I can't say you're going into this without thinking." She muttered. "I'll tell you what; you need to decide what's more important to you. Stay here, alone and unhappy - but safe. Or, you can take a risk and be so stupidly happy, you'll make everyone around you want to vomit. It's totally up to you." She patted my head and swept from the room, leaving me with my thoughts.

Well, shit. Anzu really had a gift for putting things in simplest terms, didn't she?