This is my first attempt at writing fanfiction. I originally posted this story on Tumblr a while back, but I figured I should post it on actual fanfiction sites. I hope you like it!

It had been only yesterday when Jounouchi had called Anzu to tell her that the Game Shop had burned down.

"Is Yuugi okay?" was the first thing she had asked.

"Yeah, he's fine. Shaken up, obviously, but he's not hurt or anything. He got out okay. He would have called you himself, but he's been busy dealing with the firefighters and police."

After she had hung up, she immediately started looking for plane tickets back home. There was no way she wasn't going to go help her best friend when he needed it, even if she had to miss a week of classes. She luckily found some tickets for an overnight flight that evening, and quickly e-mailed her teachers. Hopefully they would be understanding, even if she was skipping classes in her final year.

She hadn't gotten much sleep on that flight, too worried about how the loss of the only home he had ever had was affecting Yuugi. Despite her sleep deprivation, she was determined that the first thing she would do when she got back to Domino would be to find him. So she had caught a taxi to where the Game Shop had once stood.

It wasn't completely rubble. Some of the structure still stood, charred and broken, but somewhat intact. The upper floor was completely gone. And rummaging in the rubble and ruins of the lower floors were her friends. Bakura was standing in the partially intact kitchen, inspecting the remaining cabinets, Jounouchi appeared to be fighting with Honda over something where the front of the shop used to be, and Otogi was carrying some soot-covered items to a group of boxes placed some distance from the house. Yuugi must be here somewhere too, she thought. She stepped out of the taxi, pulling her suitcase along behind her. She wasn't sure where she could put it, but she hadn't given herself time to drop it off at her parents.

Loud music was blasting from a portable stereo that she thought might belong to Otogi, making it impossible to greet her friends from the curb. So she walked up to Jounouchi and Honda. Spotting her, the two boys stopped their fight and stared at her with mouths open. Apparently they hadn't anticipated her to fly all the way from New York overnight.

"ANZU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? I THOUGHT YOU WERE IN AMERICA!" Honda shouted over the music.

"I was, but you didn't think I wouldn't come and help Yuugi out, did you?" Anzu replied.

"WHAT?" Evidently he could not hear her over the blasting music.

"I SAID, I'M HERE TO HELP OUT YUUGI!"

"HE'S IN THE BACK, OVER THERE" Jounouchi yelled, waving behind his back towards the remains of the house. Anzu was about to thank him, as Shizuka walked out, carrying something covered in soot, which Honda immediately offered to help her with, causing Jounouchi to put him in a headlock again. So that's what they were arguing about earlier. Jounouchi doesn't want Honda hitting on Shizuka. She rolled her eyes. Poor Honda didn't know how to take a hint.

Anzu carefully stepped through the ruined structure of the shop and made her way past a partly-collapsed wall, trying not to cause any more damage to the frail remains – or to herself. The house didn't look very safe, and she was surprised that anyone had been allowed to scavenge for surviving belongings. Behind the wall, she found Yuugi shifting through some rubble. She wondered if it had come from his room. She slipped up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around, startled.

"ANZU!"

"Hey, Yuugi," she said. The music was still loud, but less so over here, so she was able to talk without shouting, although she did still have to raise her voice more than she would have liked.

"You didn't have to come all the way back here! Don't you have school?" Yuugi asked, clearly very surprised that Anzu had flown all the way back to Japan for him.

"Of course I did! We're friends, aren't we?" she said. "Hey, how about we go somewhere quieter to talk?" she grimaced at the loud music.

"I don't know, I should probably keep working. We don't know how much stuff can still be saved…"

"Come on, Yuugi, you can take a break for once!" Without giving him time to protest, she pulled him to his feet and towards the front of the house.

"HEY GUYS, I'M TAKING YUUGI ON A WALK SO HE GETS A BREAK FROM THIS MESS!" she yelled to the others. Jounouchi turned and gave her a thumbs up and a smile. Otogi and Honda nodded. Bakura waved with a smile.

Only when they were a good distance from the ruined shop and the loud music had faded entirely from their hearing did Anzu strike up conversation again.

"So, are you okay?" she asked. Yuugi shrugged, but looked sad.

"I just…I can't believe the shop is gone. I hope we can get the mess cleaned up entirely before Grandpa gets back from his trip. It would break his heart to see the shop reduced to a pile of rubble and some broken walls…" he trailed off. Of course he would be more worried about his grandpa than himself. Anzu thought. She hesitated, then reached over and took his hand in her own, and gave it a comforting squeeze. Yuugi blushed slightly, but kept his hand in hers as they kept walking.

"We've managed to find some stuff still intact under the rubble, and I was able to get my cards and some important documents out when the fire started, but all the merchandise was completely destroyed," he continued. Anzu listened as Yuugi began talking about insurance and the possible reimbursement that he could get, although since she hadn't grown up running a business like he had, she understood little of it. By now, they were tiring of walking, and they found a bench in the park that they could sit on while they continued their conversation.

"Where are you going to stay while the Game Shop is being rebuilt?" Anzu eventually asked. Yuugi shrugged again.

"I don't know. Bakura let me stay in his apartment last night. But I don't want to be a burden on him. I'll be homeless for a while, I can't just camp out in his apartment for months."

"You could come live with me."

"Eh?! With you? In America? But you have school…"

"I'm graduating this year, you know."

"…But what about Grandpa? He wouldn't want me to be so far away from him, and where would he stay…?"

"Your Grandpa loves to travel, Yuugi, you know that. He has plenty of old friends that would take him in for a few months, as well. I don't think he'd mind at all." Anzu looked over at Yuugi. He still looked hesitant. "What's wrong?"

"It's just…" Yuugi began turning red and his speech grew nervous, "I…it's…a guy and a girl living together when they aren't d…date…or something…you know…it wouldn't…"

"Oh." So that's what he was worried about. "It's okay if you don't want to, Yuugi." Anzu offered him a reassuring smile. He said nothing, but stared down at his feet instead. "Hey." She poked his shoulder. "Tell me about your last tournament. I wish I could have seen it." She hated awkward silences. Yuugi perked up at the change of subject and began a lengthy and detailed account of his experiences at the most recent Duel Monsters tournament he had competed in. Anzu was only half-listening, though. She instead focused on Yuugi's smile, his exaggerated demonstrations of fans swarming him for an autograph or a duel, the way he laughed. She realized just how much she had missed him while she was away at school. Looking at him, sitting next to him now, it felt right to her. It confirmed her thoughts that she had had while away – not that she had really doubted them. She had planned, after graduation, to come back here and…but there was no reason not to do it now, while she was here…

She laughed as Yuugi finished up his story of fleeing from the hordes of over-enthusiastic fans after his victory in the final match.

"You scaled a building?!" she asked in disbelief, gasping from laughter.

"I know, I never thought I was capable of it either! It wasn't a large building, but I don't think I could ever do it again. It must have been a survival instinct kicking in. I swear I must have looked like I was running from a pack of hungry lions or something!" Yuugi was laughing too, almost doubled over. "My arms were so sore the next day, though. I don't think I've ever been so sore before in my whole life." His laughter slowly died off, and he leaned back on the bench. It's nice to see him relax, Anzu thought, with the game shop and all…

But she couldn't relax. She was sweating, and her heart pounding. Why was she so nervous? She was certain this was what she should do, even if it was earlier than she had intended. But if she didn't do it now, would she ever…?

"Yuugi." Anzu's throat felt constricted, and she was starting to feel nauseous. Relax! she scolded herself. Don't be so awkward about this, you want this to be memorable, don't you? "…I…I have something that I should give you, while I'm around." Breathe. It'll be fine…

"Something to give me…?" Yuugi looked confused. Anzu had sent him presents for his birthday and New Year's every year, she hadn't missed a single one, so he had no clue what she had to give him.

Anzu hesitantly, awkwardly leaned forward…and kissed Yuugi on the lips. She could feel his face heat up in a blush – or was it hers? She pulled away after a moment, to see a surprised and blushing Yuugi staring at her. She was certain she had an identical blush on her own face.

"…Can…can we do that again?" Yuugi asked shyly. Anzu said nothing, but her confidence was returning. She pulled Yuugi closer and kissed him again. He cautiously put his arms around her back as he returned her kiss. They pulled apart after another moment. And then, after a few more…

"We should probably head back now," Yuugi said quietly. Anzu agreed and stood up, pulling Yuugi to his feet as well.

"Anzu…" said Yuugi, hesitant. "…are we d…are we dating?"

"I think so, don't you?" Anzu replied. "So do you want to come live with me now that we're dating?" she said teasingly. Yuugi blushed even deeper.

"I'll think about it."

They intertwined their hands again, as they started back on the path to the former Game Shop.