Whooo yay, I'm still alive!
Or finally dug out my muse for this fandom again, at least. |D
Anyway, this was actually written last December/January for the most part; I just found it last night again and thought that would be a shame to leave it unfinished. It's kind of a missing scene from the Crash Town arc, and as I think totally needed to happen since Aki really doesn't get enough spotlight these days. *sob*
It's been a while since I've written anything for 5D's though or seen anything but the most recent episodes; I hope I haven't lost my touch yet. ^^;;;
Please enjoy!
Prompt: #86 Fool
Warnings: None for a change; unless you count slight spoilers of Crash Town Arc?
Summary: One Shot – All of sudden on her way home, lost in her thoughts and worries, she felt it: the relieve of the once stretched bond, the return of a faint presence in the back of her mind, the feeling of being whole again.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.
- Home -
It had been over one week. Heck, it was already bordering two now.
Over one week since anyone had last heard something from Yusei. And considering the recent trouble from not even one month before, Aki couldn't help but be worried a bit about that. Jack's and Crow's dismissive attitudes, their utter believe that Yusei could watch himself, that surely everything would be alright, didn't help that any either. Bruno too had been worried, but in the end he had agreed with the other two.
The only thing that had kept her from chewing them out and demanding to know just where he had gone to (despite her slight suspicion that the other three where just as much in the dark about that as she was) was, ironically enough, the birthmark. Because the last time, when Yusei had truly been kidnapped, her birthmark had itched, had throbbed just enough to make her edgy, to make her suspect that Isomething/I was wrong, that there was trouble ahead. But this time that feeling had been absent, all she felt was this strange feeling of a muted connection, as if their bond (as Yusei would call it) was being stretched.
Of course, that didn't do the least to reassure her, yet on the other hand… there wasn't much she could do; Yusei hadn't thought it necessary to tell them where he had gone after all.
So she kept quiet, went to school, practiced with her D-Wheel (trying not to think about the situation that had led her to pick it up, the person that she had wanted to come closer to through it) and didn't raise her concerns again, ignoring the slightly worried looks both Ruka and Rua kept sending her. But why wouldn't she worry, it Ihad/I been almost two weeks after all.
Yet all of sudden on her way home, lost in her thoughts and worries, she felt it: the relieve of the once stretched bond, the return of a faint presence in the back of her mind, the feeling of being Iwhole/I again. And in what seemed like seconds latter, she was in front of their house, standing before the entrance to their garage, torn between being overjoyed because of his return or being angry with him for disappearing without a word.
Hesitating a bit at first, she opened the door, entering the barely illuminated room. It didn't quite surprise her to find it empty, Bruno, who had taken over Yusei's repair business for the time of his absents, was both at work and she wasn't actually quite sure what Jack and Crow were up to, but their D-Wheels presence indicated that they couldn't be too far either. However she smiled when she saw the unmistakably crimson coloured D-Wheel that belonged to Yusei. And frowned worriedly when she walked up to it and saw in just what condition it was in. Long scratches were disfiguring the paint and she could tell, the dents it had suffered surely were from no ordinary crash. Just what had he been doing to land it in such a bad state (and if his bike already looked like this, then what kind of wounds would he be carrying)?
A sudden noise made her flinch and turn, only to find Yusei coming out of his room. He looked a bit stunned; apparently he hadn't expected her coming. He didn't look quite as bad as she had feared, though Aki couldn't help but notice the bandages that peered out from beneath his shirt.
"Aki…" he said in greeting, nodding at her before closing the door silently and sitting down on the couch, a slight sigh. She crossed the room, feeling curious – just where had he been; just what had he been doing?
She sat down beside him, watching silently, taking note of the exhaustion written over his face, of the not large bruise on his neck that the bandages hadn't quite managed to cover. She opened her mouth to call him a fool; most likely he had put himself on line again to help someone who didn't actually want his help (but needed it anyway – just like she had), but she hesitated because no matter who foolish and idiotic he surely had been on his quest; whatever he had done, the tiny smile that the edges of his exhausted expression had formed (so similar to the one he had given her in the hospital, when everything had been over, when she had decided to start over anew) told her that he had succeeded.
So instead of calling him for the idiot he was, she carefully reached to settle her hand over his, slightly squeezing it and smiling when he turned to look at her, cobalt eyes meeting hers again for the first time in so long, and saying the only words that made sense.
"Welcome home."
- FIN -
Please, review.
