Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds.

The sweet, yet bitter, smell of coffee wafted through the air, steaming from the cup in a certain, tall blond's gloved hand. He tipped it upward and sipped, closing his eyes as the addictive drink swam on his tongue, stimulating his taste buds, before pouring down into his throat.

"Here's your bill." Stephanie, the waitress, placed a crisp, white sheet in front of him, her eyes darting at his face adoringly to absorb his features eagerly, before bowing slightly and walking back into the cafe. Reluctance was in her step; she very much wanted to stay by his side, but her boss has already scolded her, very loudly if she may add, for bothering the well-known Turbo Duelist.

The golden haired man fingered the bill, but he made no move to even as glance at it. He already knew the price, $30.00, including the $1.50 tax. His friends always yelled at him for his ridiculous money spending, but Jack Atlas deserved the best of the best, coffee wise and everything else. And if it meant spending a heft load of money, so be it.

He slammed some dollars and coins onto the table, the exact amount the bill asked for, and stood up from the cafe stair, suddenly towering over many passing citizens. Leaving the now empty coffee cup behind him on the table, he slid into his runner, the Phoenix Whirlwind, and sped off.

However, he did not return the garage. Crow was most likely off at his part-time job, delivering not nearly crispy enough fried chicken, and Yusei promised to help Akiza with her Turbo Racing. She had trouble learning how to swerve many sharp turns in a row -a task Jack quickly learned. It was quite a feat. Luna and Leo were probably with their friends, scampering around town like the pesky middle schoolers they were.

No, instead, he headed towards the center of Neo Domino Park.

He swiftly parked his runner besides a fountain, a structure that crystal blue water flowed out of in small waterfalls, as the top tunnel spurted out diamond drops. Taking off his helmet, he sat on the broad rim of the fountain, elbows propped on his knees as his helmet remained stuck between his two palms. Though he just arrived, he impatiently looked up at the clock sitting the top of a nearby iron pole; it was 9:27am. Carly had three minutes to get here, or else she would get a verbal whipping for being late.

The dorky reporter was invited by Misty to visit Paris for one of Misty's photo shootings. Strangely, after becoming dark signers, they became very close, perhaps best friends even. Carly had ecstatically agreed, and after a brief good bye, was off in a plane to Europe. Now, after a whole month, thirty-one whole days, she was to return. Her flight should have arrived not to long ago; and since New Domino City had an airport, it shouldn't take her much time to arrive to their destined spot.

However, she was indeed late. Jack glared at the clock, as though it was the reason the reporter was late. 9:35, she was five minutes late. Where was she?!

"Jack!" a voice called from behind him. Finally. Grumpily, Jack stood up, a list of insults already running through his head. No one kept Jack Atlas waiting, unless they had a good reason. A life-or-death reason.

Whipping around, he opened his mouth to let the river of harsh words to pour out, only for them to clog in his throat.

The girl before him wasn't Carly. At least, he didn't think so. The woman in front of him had flawless skin, perfectly clear and smooth. She was not clad in an ugly orange vest, old jeans, or matching franny-pack. Instead, she wore an elegant lavender sundress that flowed out majestically near the bottom, exposing long legs that Jack never noticed before. Her hair was silkier, each light raven strand reflecting the sun's beams. It cloaked around her, resembling Misty's hair, only shorter. The once pointed bangs, the ones that resembled the tip of a diamond, were now trimmed evenly to a straight line, completing the gorgeous hair-style. But what caught his attention the most were her eyes; they were no longer covered in thick, comical glasses. The stunning, ash-colored irises were no longer hidden, and were twinkling with excitement. Rosy lips pulled back to a smile, revealing pearly white teeth, as she said excitedly, "It's been so long! How are you?"

Her voice confirmed it, the beauty in front of him was indeed Carly. Jack couldn't didn't find the energy to reply, and slowly, the smile slipped off her face. "U-Um, is something wrong?"

"You changed," was all he could manage to change.

A small smile reappeared, "Yup! The people Misty were working with were big on beauty, so they gave me an extreme, one-month-makeover! I was reluctant at first, but now I'm glad they did."

Jack continued to stare down dumbly at her. Not once had it crossed his mind that Carly was beautiful, but now he saw that she was. Her legs, arms, and waist were all slim, seeming as though they would snap like twigs under pressure. A breath-taking smile that had always gone unnoticed now shined brighter than a sun, and under those cheap, plain clothes she once wore, there were indeed curves fit for a woman.

But Jack Atlas didn't like this new Carly.

"Change back."

Carly was shocked, and took half a step back. Did he not like the way she looked? Misty reassured her on the flight that she look gorgeous, and that he would fall head-over-heels for her. But if that was true, why did he tell her to go back the way she was before?

"Why?"

"Because you look ridiculous."

That was a lie, and he knew it. But no matter what he thought, or repeatedly chanted to himself, he disliked the way Carly was now. Those impetuous fools wandering the streets shot her glances that contained little innocence, and one even dared to whistle. Even the unfaithful ones who had a lover besides them couldn't help but sneak a glance at her.

Carly fumed. Clenching one first on her side while the other suffocated her white designer bag's handle, she bristled, "How rude, Jack! It took me a long to time to achieve this look, you know!"

He rolled his eyes, "Oh yeah, a month is a big whoop."

Carly managed a stubborn, "Hmph!" before turning her head away from Jack, her pore-less nose pointed high in the air. Jack did the same, only the other direction, crossing the broad arms firmly across his hard chest. They stayed like this for a few stubborn, silent minutes. Finally, Jack shattered it with a question.

"Why aren't you wearing your glasses?

Carly glanced his way, fixating her stormy gaze on him, but continued to keep her nose in the air. "I got contacts."

"Well then where are your glasses?"

Carly reluctantly slipped a delicate hand into her bag. Few seconds later, she slid it back out, the familiar glasses pressed between two long, perfect fingers. "Right here."

Placing his helmet down on the fountain, Jack yanked them from her hand, causing a surprised squeak to escape her lips, and slammed the glasses onto her face. Behind the thick glasses, he saw her eyelashes bat in confusion. He placed a hand on his chin, his gloved fingers curling around its fine, sharp point, and placed the other firmly on his hip. "Much better."

Carly's face flushed red as yanked the glasses off her face and harshly threw them inside her bag. "I have contacts! I don't need glasses anymore!"

Jack scowled at her, "Put them back on."

Carly shot daggers back at him, "Never."

Usually, those on the receiving end of Jack's glare ended up cowering the shadows, crying for their mother. However, Carly stood her ground, eyes blazing in fury. Why couldn't he understand that she did this all for him? Was wanting the guy she loved to call her beautiful too much to ask for?

Finally, Jack grabbed his helmet and slid it back into his head, covering this golden, angled locks. "Whatever. Hope you had a good trip, Carly."

Carly flinched at the way he spat her name, and watched with a broken heart as he seated on his Duel Runner and sped off, not even as glancing back at her. Only one question resonated through her mind: Why didn't Jack like the she looked?

After taking out his anger by lapping around town a countless amount of times, Jack returned to the garage at sun fall. Akiza was seated at the table, her eyes lit up in delight as she declared her success at swerving many sharp turns in a row to Crow. Leo was excitedly chattering about a new card he bought earlier this evening as his sister sweat dropped at his enthusiasm, though a smile of affection was displayed on her face. Crow was seated comfortingly on one of the chairs, his arms stretched outward, propped up by the chair rims. He shouted at Yusei to hurry up with dinner, while Yusei snapped back irritatedly about how he should cook instead.

The moment he entered the garage, he slammed the door shut, abruptly silencing the chattering. Luna and Leo gazed up at him with fearful eyes, while Akiza simply looked annoyed that he interrupted his story. Yusei looked behind him, though the sound of food sizzling never ceased. "What's wrong, Jack?"

The tall British pulled out one of the seats, causing Luna to wince when it screeched against the wooden floor, and slumped down into it. "Carly is back."

"Oh, yeah!" Akiza looked excitedly at Yusei, "We saw her today, didn't we? She was beautiful; Paris really changed her."

"She looked silly," scowled Jack, his amethyst eyes blazing with anger, "Every guy on the street was staring at her. It was preposterous."

A smirk sudden cracked onto Crow's heavily marked face, and the atmosphere in the room suddenly lightened. "Aww. Is the great Jack Atlas jealous?"

"What?" Jack roared, "That's the most ridiculous idea I have ever heard! Jack Atlas doesn't get jealous of low-lives on the street."

Akiza rolled her eyes, "You're in denial."

Baring his teeth, Jack glared at her, piercing her with purple daggers. Her only reply was to stick out her tongue teasingly.

"Alright, you two," Yusei placed several dishes in front of them on the table, their mouth-watering aroma drifting in the air, "It's dinner time. Stop fighting and eat."

"Looks awesome, Yusei!" Leo raised his chopsticks high in the air, a warm bowl of rice in his other hand, and swooped down to attack the food. Before anyone could blink, a large pile of food was already mounted on his tiny, blue, rice bowl.

Luna rolled her eyes and the warm chattered resurfaced in the room. Jack was still in a sour mood, but fighting with Crow over who gets first pick out of a dish momentarily cleared him mind. He entangled his chopsticks with Crow's, forcing the wooden sticks away from the delicious dish with a tempting smell.

Unfortunately, Yusei stuck his chopsticks out and took the first pick. His sapphire eyes glinted in satisfaction when the fried fish crunched between his teeth.

Crow let out a moan of defeat.

Too soon for Jack's taste, the dishes were cleared, only crumbs and sauce remaining on the large, oval plates, and small grains of rice dotted the small bowls. The teal haired twins, Leo and Luna, stood up, heading towards the door, thanking them eagerly. "Well we gotta go home. Thanks for the food, Yusei!"

After they closed the door, Akiza brushed off the creases of her dress, before standing up as well. "Same here. Thanks for the dinner, you guys."

Yusei smiled back kindly at her, "You're welcome Akiza."

Though it could have been Jack and Crow's imagination, a pink dusting suddenly colored her pale cheeks. "D-Do you think we can hang out tomorrow too, Yusei?"

The black and gold haired man stood up, clearing away the dishes, causing repeated clings to resonate through the room as the plates bumped against each other. "I don't know, Akiza, I need to touch up my Duel Runner. After watching you ride today, I decided to get new wheels that will hug the curves tighter for a smoother swerve."

"Can I come? It might be good experience." She suggested. Yusei thought about it, before nodding in agreement, placing the dishes in the sink. "Sure."

"Thanks." She smiled happily, before opening the door and slipping out. "Well, see you tomorrow!"

The moment the door clicked shut, Crow let out a heave of air and slumped onto the table, his arms covering his face. "Man! I'm going to be the only single signer here!"

Jack let out a snort, "What do you mean?"

"Well," Crow propped his head up with his arms, "Yusei and Akiza are clearly going to get together, and so are you and Carly. And Luna... well... doesn't she have that Dexter kid?"

The blond British leaned back in his chair, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "Dexter is Leo's best friend Crow, not Luna's boytoy. And Carly and I are never getting together!" He declared the last sentence with a scowl.

Crow rolled his eyes as well, standing up and stretching his arms lazily. "Yeah, yeah. Well, I'm going to crash; chicken delivering really tires you out, ya know."

Without another word, he left the table and vanished up the stairs, leaving the arrogant blond behind him. At the sink, Yusei turned around, fixating a deep blue and confused gaze on the remaining person in the room, "What did he say about me and Akiza?"

"That you two were going to fall in love and live happily ever after," Jack responded lazily.

Yusei rolled his eyes in disbelief, "Yeah, sure. And where are you in that fairytale?"

"I was the king, of course, who ruled over the land on a golden throne in a large castle filled with gold and riches."

"Of course you are," replied Yusei sarcastically over the sound of rushing water as he washed the dishes.

Carly fell onto the luxurious sofa, frustrated enough to claw out every last strand of dusk colored hair. "I don't get it! Why didn't he say I was pretty like everyone else did?"

Misty sat across from her, her soul reading eyes closed as she sipped from a cup of steaming milk tea. She reopened them in satisfaction, and replied to the shorter girl, "Perhaps he didn't want you to change."

"I already knows he doesn't!" Carly flipped onto her back, crossing her legs to prevent any "flashing." Clutching a down-filled pillow to her chest, she asked in voice slightly strained with desperation, "But why?!"

"Maybe he wanted you to stay the way you were," Misty replied emotionlessly.

Carly huffed; she was starting to become annoyed with the majestic woman before her. As much as she loved Misty as a friend, she disliked how the model's focus was on her much needed tea, instead of her good friend. "Why? I was... average."

"He likes average, perhaps." Misty finally placed her delicate, china teacup onto the glass countertop, and Carly eagerly sat up, grateful that her attention was finally focused on her.

"Why would he? Jack doesn't exactly strike people as average. He is a 'go large or go home' type of guy."

"You sure are asking a lot of 'whys' today, Carly. Is this really bothering you that much?"

"Yes!" she cried out in frustration, "Isn't it natural for a girl to want the guy she likes to tell her she's beautiful?"

"Well," Misty entwined her fingers together, propping her elbows on her knees before gently placing her chin atop her awaiting fingers, "remember when you became a dark signer? He desperately wanted you to change back that time as well."

"Well that time I was evil! This is a completely different story!"

"Is it?" Misty calmly gazed at her with curiosity, "The man you love likes the way you are, Carly. He doesn't want you to change because he thinks you were perfect the way you were before."

Carly stopped fidgeting. Heck, she stopped breathing. Suddenly, her heart became a thunderous drum, threatening to break through her rips and shake her whole existence. "I ... He- Really?"

"Well," Misty picked up her teacup once again, "It's either that, or he was jealous other guys were looking at you."

Carly's face was redder and hotter than a flame.

Jack tapped his foot impatiently on the cold, stone ground at an astonishing rate. Carly left him a voicemail early in the morning, telling him to return to the fountain as soon as he woke up. He did as she wished, but stopped by the cafe first. At the devil's wish, they were closed, which means Jack Atlas won't get his daily dose of caffeine. Which means hell on Earth.

"If Carly doesn't have a good reason for me being here," he snarled in his mind, "I'm going to wring her little neck."

The sky was a dreary gray mixed with azure blue, and faint white clouds drifting lazily on its ocean-like surface, completely ignorant to those beneath it. The sun had barely peeked over the high city buildings; it was early, much too early for Jack's taste. After finding out that the cafe was closed, he had rushed home, only to find out out the damned coffee maker was broken. Yusei was out doing some early-morning deliveries, which meant he couldn't fix the machine. Only one person was left in the house.

Unfortunately, Crow had screamed at him to get the hell out of his room when Jack "accidentally" slammed two frying pans together, which were miraculously in front of the carrot-head's face. Crow was a very deep sleeper, so Jack found it surprising that he had woken up at all. However, he was not a morning person either, so when Jack kindly asked him to fix the coffee machine, Crow threw every nearby object towards his head, which included a heavy crowbar.

"Jack!" The familiar voice frustrated him, and a completely necessary list of insults was placed on his tongue, ready to strike out like a cobra. Carly was running towards him, stumbling once of twice because of her heels, and came to a panting stop in front of him. Her palms were placed on her knees as she gasped to regain her breath.

"What do you want?" His tone was sharp, dripping in annoyance, but his accent still caused his voice to sound heavenly sexy. Carly didn't reply, only continued to exhale and inhale deeply. Finally, she straightened her spine, and looked him in the eye.

But she didn't say anything. Instead, she reached into her bag, her ash gaze still locked with Jack's amethyst one, and pulled out a pair of glasses. The same pair of glasses that saved Jack and her when she became a Dark Signer. Jack raised a golden eyebrow as she slipped them on.

"I'm sorry," her voice was quiet, yet sincere, "I will not change back, because my friends in Paris spent a lot of time and effort with my new look, but I will continue to wear the glasses if you want."

The blond Turbo Duelist did not reply immediately. He only gazed at her in surprise, his eyes wide in confusion. Until finally, he slowly nodded his head in approval. "You look better with them anyways."

His need for caffeine was forgotten when Carly gave him a breath-taking smile.

"Where can I burn these..." Crow mumbled to himself as he clenched the handles of the two frying pans, the same frying pans that awoke him from his peaceful slumber, in his palms.

Unsuspecting, the door slammed open, causing him to hastily drop them in surprise. The loud clangs they created when they hit the stone ground caused him to flinch, as he whirled around in anger. Of course, there stood Jack Atlas, in all his goddamned glory. "What the hell, Jack?" he snarled.

However, shock silenced him. The blond's smirk wasn't the usual arrogant one that radiated the purple-eyed man's cockiness. Instead, it was a smirk of victory. "You were right, Crow."

The criminal-looking man raised an orange eyebrow. "About what? I'm right about a lot of things you know."

"You were right about Carly and I getting together."

Crow widened his eyes in disbelief; he didn't think what he said would actually come true. "I thought you said that she wasn't good enough for you though?"

Jack rolled his eyes, "Paris changes a woman, you know. And she was always good enough for me; Akiza was right, I was denial."

Crow's eyes nearly bulged out of his sockets as his jaw slammed onto the floor. After a long moment of silence, he finally gathered the energy to murmur,

"We should have taken away your coffee supply years ago."