Summary: Yugi knew when he gave Rebecca the Ties of Friendship card that it was special. But he didn't know that in seven years, it would bring the two of them together in a whole new way. [Yugi(22)/Rebecca(19)]
Disclaimer: ::cries:: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. If I did, I would build a "Kaiba-Land" and people could become professional duelists for a living!
Author's Notes: Rebecca's age is kind of iffy. I think that she says she's eight years old when she duels Yugi, but for this… no. For purposes of this story, I'm making her 12 when Yugi was 15, and forget reality! It's no fun anyway. ^_^ So at the time the story takes place, she's 19 and Yugi is 22. I think that's pretty reasonable.
I've heard Rebecca comes back into the show after her duel with Yugi for the Blue-Eyes, but unfortunately KidsWB hasn't aired that far. So bear in mind that some aspects of this might not be entirely accurate.
*~*~*
Rebecca held the cell phone patiently at her ear until her grandfather picked up. "Arthur Hawkins."
"Hi, Grandpa!"
"Rebecca! Where are you?"
"I'm at the airport."
"Still? You mean the plane hasn't left for Domino yet?"
"Actually, I'm at the airport in Domino. I caught an earlier flight than I intended."
"Oh! I'm glad to know that you're here safely, but I hadn't expected you so soon. I had plans for a luncheon with Solomon…"
"Don't change anything for me, Grandpa!" Rebecca assured him, switching her small knapsack from one shoulder to the other. "My bags didn't make it onto the plane with me; I have to come back here in 4 hours anyway. So I'll just head to your place after that."
"Okay…" her grandfather said hesitantly. "Well, I'll just leave a key for you under the doormat in case you don't want to go out for lunch."
"Thanks," she said agreeably. "I suppose I'll see you in about four hours, then, right Grandpa?"
"All right, Rebecca," the professor said fondly. "I'm so glad you're coming to stay with me. I'm very much enjoying my retirement here, you know. It's especially nice to have struck up my old friendship with Solomon Moto."
"Mmmm…" Rebecca agreed. "Friendships that last a long time are the best kind."
"Well, I must be off," Arthur continued. "Would you like to go out tonight to eat? Or would you rather stay in?"
"Actually," she said hesitantly, "I'd like to eat at home with you, if that's okay."
"Wonderful! I'll cook, just like I would when you were a child! Ah, the fond memories…"
Rebecca winced as she recalled some of the less 'fond' childhood memories. She'd been a very eccentric kid. "Right," she said with a giggle. "See you soon, Grandpa. Love you."
"I love you too, Rebecca," her grandfather said with warmth. "I'll see you shortly."
"Bye!" she said cheerfully as she hung up the cellular phone. She unbuckled her knapsack and shoved the phone in; and in doing so, her fingers brushed a soft, worn brown material. Yes, she still had her Teddy. What could she say; she'd formed an emotional attachment to her 'ferocious' bear. Her ferocious 'talking' bear.
She swung the pack up and headed for the exit. On her way out the sliding door, she nearly collided with a boy about her age. "Oh, I'm sorry!" she exclaimed.
"Oh, that's all right," the boy said, giving her an appreciative glance. "In a hurry?" He easily stepped back outside with her, and leaned against the wall, making it obvious that he didn't plan to go anywhere.
Rebecca silently groaned. Oh, the pains of having developed a large chest. When she'd been in Domino City before, she'd been in really dorky clothes, with a dorky hairstyle, and holding a dorky teddy bear (Sorry, Mr Teddy). Maybe she should try going with that now. She'd hit puberty, and had become a curvy young woman, and her hair let down made her look rather pretty. And her clothes now resembled most of the other girls around the city, which unfortunately made her the object of a lot of wolf-whistles.
She made a show of leaning over to check the clock on the wall. "Actually, I am in kind of a hurry," she said apologetically. "I'd better run quickly. Bye now!" Before the boy could protest, she sped off into town.
*~*~*
Things hadn't changed much, she observed with a sense of happiness. She was glad to be back, this had been an awfully pretty city.
She and her grandfather had traveled a lot, but about a month ago he'd retired here. He'd been trying to persuade her to move in with him, and for a while she'd resisted. There had been a large tournament in New York City at the time. But that was over, she'd won, and used part of the prize money to pay for her flight over to Domino City.
She debated ducking into a fast-food restaurant, but decided she wasn't hungry enough. She strolled casually down the streets, wondering how many duelists were in Domino.
It turned out that there were quite a lot. She had her dueling deck in a slot in her belt, but her disk was with her luggage, a fact she regretted as she noticed duelists looking for a challenge.
And then she turned the corner and saw it. How could she ever forget that hair? Despite the fact that Yugi was still short (she guessed he probably wasn't much more than an inch taller than she was), his vivid tri-colored hair made him stand out in a crowd like no one else.
She hesitated, wanting to go up to him but feeling strangely unsure of herself. She glanced around, and saw that his friends were with him- Joey, Tristan, Téa, and a white-haired boy she hadn't seen before.
She stalled a few more minutes, then gave herself a mental shake. Since when had she been afraid of anything? Moving purposefully, she stepped up to the five of them.
*~*~*
Joey shoved Tristan in the side, causing him to nearly drop the three hot-dogs balanced precariously in his hands. "Watch it, Wheeler!" Tristan said indignantly.
"You watch it!" Joey said, through a mouthful of hamburger. Téa looked at the two of them and sighed, wondering why they hadn't grown up after seven years of being friends. But she wouldn't trade them for the world…
"Yugi?"Joey looked up to see an extremely pretty blonde girl standing there, nervously looking at his friend. He groaned softly. Why did Yugi always get recognized? Just because he was the King of Games! Joey wasn't a bad duelist, either, but no chicks came up to him when he was cruising the streets!
"Oh- yes?" Yugi asked, blushing a little. This wasn't entirely unusual. Yugi never felt comfortable with all the praise he got, and usually hated signing autographs. Joey remembered how embarrassed his friend had been when that one girl asked him to write his name on her forehead. And Yugi always got flushed and stuttering around pretty girls (another reason why Joey thought they should come talk to him).
The girl smiled a little, but faint pink was tingeing her cheeks as well. "I guess you don't remember me," she said with a little laugh.
"Oh-" Téa said in surprise. "Oh, I think I do remember you."
"But from where?" Tristan added, narrowing his eyes at the girl as if he thought that squinting would help him identify her. Yugi stared at her as well, his face growing even redder. Joey cast a look at his friend… if he didn't know better, he would say that Yugi was acting even more embarrassed than usual. Hey, was it possible his friend finally had a crush? About time; that guy needed to get out more!
To answer Tristan's question, the girl reached into her belt and pulled out what looked like a Duel Monster card. Blushing again, she held it out to Yugi.
"The Ties of Friendship!" Joey exclaimed.
"Rebecca?" Yugi stuttered, his face officially reaching neon shades as he took the card.
*~*~*
Author's Notes: Whoops, is that a bad place to end it? Sorry! ::not-so-sorry laugh:: Anyway, I don't expect this to be too long, but it should be maybe three more chapters. Eh, or maybe I'll surprise myself.
I also don't think I'll get a lot of reviews, since this is such an unconventional pairing. But if you're reading this, please review? ::chibi eyes::