Synopsis: I guess that means we match. –Faithshipping, Yusei/Aki.
Notes: Apparently I owed at least three different people some faithshipping, and hey, I won't say no to writing Yusei/Aki, so here it is. It's a bit of an expansion on a spur-of-the-moment drabble I did the other day and I tried to make it as true to the characters as I could, but… Yusei's hard. So is Aki. Critique would be very much appreciated.
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's is property of Kazuki Takahashi; I do not claim any rights.
hello, how are you
"Hey," the wind whispers in a voice he recognizes, and Yusei falls into the trap and looks back, even though no one's there, even though no one has been for years. It's night time, nearly midnight he'd wager, and the stars blink down at him with a frightening, lovely intensity that he knows he can't see anywhere else except for the Satellite – and that's why he's here. He's here, back home, back where it all began, because he knows this place and he knows those stars, and from the lowest rooftop that he can climb, watching the sky is one of his favorite things to do. Maybe he'll see his friends there; he hasn't seen them in a while, but he knows they're up to great, insurmountable things while he's here doing the same and watching them from a distance with a smile and a wave.
Yusei shakes himself – he's getting introspective, and there's no one at the ladder behind him, why would there be? He rests his head again, watches the clouds pass by. He tries to settle back into the comfortable position he was in before he'd moved, but he can't find it; he's out of ease now that's he's heard that voice, the one that he can't get out of his head for days after he's heard it speak for a few seconds.
He remembers the first and last time he heard that voice and laughs, not caring who hears him. Damn, he thinks, because things like this are uncharacteristic of him, or so he hears, and the wind and the weather are cooperating against him, to interrupt his thoughts and play with his nominal melancholia.
"Hey," the wind whispers again, clearer and closer this time.
Yusei closes his eyes, smiles at a shadow behind his eyelids, starts speaking to things he doesn't know are real. "Hi."
A moment of silence save for his breathing; there's faint traffic somewhere, the displaced noises of the city in the empty Satellite sky. There're voices, too; faint shadows of a voice and a smiling face that makes his own smile a little wider, softer, and then there's a quiet thump as someone else lies on the roof beside him. His eyes snap open, look to his side, and blink again, because—
"Aki?" he says, and it's a question, because how, why, when—?
He can't make out her features, it's too dark for that; but he knows it's her, knows that she's the only one that could greet him in gleeful silence with a name and those shining eyes.
"Izayoi-sensei," she corrects him, and she's probably grinning; he sure is, because that's amazing. She did it after all, accomplished the goal she set out for so long ago and he's amazed by her, her ability to care for people and all the changes she's been through, from yesterday when the world didn't care about her to today, when she cares about the world. He's proud of her, so proud, and hey, he can't help but think, I guess that means we match.
"Fudo-hakase," he says, and there's a beat before they both sit up and start laughing, because this is insane, isn't it? Doctors, scientists, professional duelists – positions so high and so powerful and where has the time gone? Wasn't it yesterday when it was almost the end, when they were young and confused and didn't know where to go? And now here they are, years later under the same shining stars with the same, stronger bonds, but they're older, and everything is just – it's just… wow.
"That's a fine title," says Aki warmly, and he nods, says, "No kidding."
Calmness settles into the air, warm and gentle except that Yusei's heart can't decide if it wants to go fast or slow or at a decent pace. He realizes he doesn't have much to say to her right now, not much in the way of words or looks or anything, but her presence—there's someone there, someone beside him and damn, he missed her, didn't even know how much until now—is enough for him.
"Yusei," she says abruptly after some time passes, and he wonders if she knows he's been watching her while she was watching the sky. She turns to him, props up her head with her elbow on the ground and her face in her palm, and pauses for a moment. Finally, she settles on, "How have you been?"
He looks at her quizzically, because the question is inane and he's not sure if she's even being serious. He hesitates for a moment, shakes himself once more, decides, hey, why not, it's been too long, anyway, and—
A smile—
A breath—
"Good," he says, and to Aki's surprise Yusei pulls her closer, so she's with him, not beside him, and he asks quietly, "What about you?"