Author's Notes

This story is a sequel to Satisfaction. For more about this, see Author's notes.

This story is based on the Japanese anime.

It is yaoi.

The usual disclaimers apply.

1. Homecoming

Jack and Yusei had repacked their few belongings in just a few minutes. Yusei scanned their room carefully in case they had missed anything.

Missed anything …

He hadn't missed anything, not yet, but he was going to. The entire room smelled like Jack … like the two of them together … like their time together. The trip back from Nazca had almost been like some kind of romantic getaway cruise. And he was about to set that aside for awhile.

He sighed. Neo Domino City was just minutes away now. As he headed toward the door, Jack pulled Yusei into a lingering kiss, wrapping his arms tightly around his new lover. When he finally pulled away, he asked, "Are you absolutely sure that you want to wait to tell people about this?"

"Yes … at least … at least until Yliaster is …"

"Yusei … You know that … I might have my own plans for … after."

Still.

"I know."

You wouldn't tell me about them, either, would you, Jack?

Even now.

Yusei sighed again, then went on. "You know why I want to wait."

"Crow." Jack frowned. "Crow's a big boy … so to speak. Even if he does feel the way you say—and I doubt it—he can handle it."

I love Jack too.

The look on Crow's face … springing this on him … now, with all the additional stress. It would be unforgivable. How could he throw his own happiness into the face of Crow's pain?

"But Crow … We each have a new ace. We have … each other. He doesn't. With the WRGP, Yliaster …" Yusei tried to put himself into Crow's shoes, think how he would feel if it were he, watching Jack and Crow together, if it were Crow who had the advantage of Accel Synchro. "I … I just don't see how I can do it."

"And I don't want to live a lie … I did it before and I never … never … want to do it again." He put his gloved hand behind Yusei's head to ensure that cobalt blue met violet. "You don't know what you're asking."

"I'm not asking you to lie. I'm asking you to wait. For Crow."

But the pain in Jack's face clearly said he didn't see it that way.

"Fine. Don't complain when you need something you're not getting."

Jack grabbed his bag, turned on his heel, and strutted out.

Man, he looks fine from behind, Yusei thought, admiring the view for a lingering moment before he shouldered his own bag and followed.

The man had a point.

With Aki and the kids at school, the welcoming committee was much smaller than the farewell party had been. Stephanie couldn't get off work, but Carly, Mikage, Crow, Bruno, Sherry, and Kazama all showed. After much welcoming, Crow asked eagerly, "Well? Was the trip worth it?"

Yusei said, "Jack, what would you say?"

"Oh …" he pulled out his extra deck, fanned it, and pulled out a card. "Does this answer your question?"

Crow let out a low whistle. "Scar Red Nova Dragon? What is that?"

Jack smiled proudly. "It's a symbol of my new way of fighting. An evolution!"

The others crowded around to see it, especially Sherry and Kazama. Carly couldn't take her eyes off of Jack.

"How in the … how did you get it?" asked Crow.

"You should have seen him. He was—" Yusei began, but Jack looked at him sharply.

"I dueled for it, that's all," he said simply.

It was weird that a man who liked to brag as much as Jack didn't want to expound on such an exploit, Yusei thought, but … was it because this one cut so deeply? The others, distracted by the card, didn't even seem to notice how out of character it was for Jack.

Not for the first time, Yusei was glad that he had been there. Even if Jack would let him relate the details, it couldn't compare with being there. Someday, perhaps, he'd spill it to Crow in secret. He didn't know if he wanted to relate what Bommer had told him about the legendary Signer, though. Right now, jealously, there were parts of Jack that he just wanted to keep to himself. He glanced at Carly, who looked like she was dying to know. He couldn't help but feel for her.

She might have had him, too, had things turned out differently. He shivered.

"You all right?" Carly asked.

"Yeah, fine," he said. He wondered how Carly managed to spare him any attention with Jack here after such a long absence. A guilty tremor shot through his body. How was she going to feel when she found out? How was Aki going to feel? Somehow he was going to have to ease Aki down. But he'd made his decision. It wasn't as though Aki hadn't suspected that things were changing even before this all happened, anyway.

Yusei, Jack, Crow, and Bruno pulled into Poppo Time at last. Yusei looked around, marveling at how strange the place looked after a couple of weeks. He sighed and said, "I'm going to want to give our D-wheels a thorough tune-up, Jack … and check yours over too, Crow. We want to be ready for this."

"Sounds good," said Jack, slinging his dufflebag over his shoulder.

He and Jack headed up the stairs.

Yusei felt very strange heading to a different room than Jack and a weird awkwardness seemed to settle in between them. Yusei was a little glad that neither Crow nor Bruno had decided to come up with them just then.

"Well, then," Jack said.

"Yeah."

"I guess … I guess it'll … until …"

"Until we can."

"Until then."

Jack went into his room and closed the door.

Yusei did likewise, tossing his dufflebag on a chair and himself on the bed. He didn't feel like unpacking and he didn't want to talk to Crow or Bruno … or even Jack right now. He didn't even want to work. Not yet.

His idling thoughts wandered back to Jack. Is he thinking about me? What is he doing? Is he unpacking? Or is he …?

Was he so bad off that he was already thinking like this? He was obsessed with Jack before, but now … He couldn't even unpack without wanting to mess up the promise he made to himself about Crow.

But just the knowledge that he was going to be deprived of physical closeness with Jack—even though it was his own decision—made him want it all the more. He sighed. It looked like he had a lot of sexual frustration to look forward to.

Author's notes:

11/11/12: Revised to remove notes about this story being on hold now that it's actively posting again; added info to aid in locating Satisfaction.

This is the sequel to Satisfaction (at fanfiction, link /s/7586624/1/Satisfaction or check my profile). You're welcome to read this story without reading Satisfaction first, but I think the experience would be better if you have the background (even this first chapter alludes to it). Satisfaction tells a story close to canon but with a between-the-lines addition of how love might develop between Jack and Yusei. As you might guess, this story picks up shortly after they finally get together on the trip to Nazca.

As of November 2012, this story is now actively posting again! Research for this story has been completed.

And he was about to set that aside for awhile: I know what you're thinking! How could I? But the fact is, they aren't exactly cohabiting in canon, and this allows the relative fun of working in stolen kisses.

I love Jack too ... The look on Crow's face: In Satisfaction, the look on Crow's face when Yusei said "I love Jack too." Yusei suspects that Crow has a crush on Jack.

Preview of chapter 2:

Good question. I'm still working out the order of chapters, so I'm not sure quite yet what exactly will be in chapter 2.