Hey, everyone! As you all know, this is a gift to Jade546, and I'm so glad to hear that you enjoy it! Thank you to everyone who follows/faves/reviews my fics, I love hearing back from the readers!

Jade546: I'm so glad you like it!

K2-Black-Panther: There will be many scenes coming up ;)

yusei x akiza fan: Thank you for your support! This is one of my absolute fave shippings and my number one shipping for 5Ds!

I don't own rights to Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds, but I do own this fanfiction!

At the Crossroads:

Purring Like a Kitten

Crow emerged from the washroom yawning widely as he shuffled his way back to his bedroom. His footsteps stalled as his ears were filled with a rough purring sound that seemed to be coming from Akiza's room. He straightened as the sound came again but it was followed by a low murmur. Ever so quietly, he tip-toed towards her bedroom door and pressed his ear against it. What exactly could be making that sound? Red slowly creeped into his cheeks as an image of her splayed across black velvet sheets crossed his mind. "C'mon, you're imagining things. She's not that-" His words broke off as the faintest of giggles came from within. Spinning on his heel, he hurriedly made his way back into the bedroom while holding his nose.

"Crow, you are a piece of work," he cursed himself while wiping away the blood before it dripped onto his shirt. His eyes widened as the purring sound came again and they shifted to the left wall; the one connecting his room with hers. "You've gotta be kidding me." His body stiffened as a little light appeared in the hallway, fearing that she had heard him and was coming to confront him.

The light rose and rested on his chest before it moved to the floor. "I'm guessing you heard it too."

"Damnit, Yusei," Crow sighed, running a hand through his hair as Yusei stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. "You nearly scared me to death." The scientist turned on the desk light while peering into his face for a few seconds. When he stated that there was dried blood near his nose, the Blackwing duelist turned away and used a clean tissue to wipe away whatever he had missed the first time. "What do you think made that noise?"

"If I didn't know any better, I would say that it was a small appliance," Yusei shrugged, glancing at the wall as the sound came again. "What could she possibly be doing at this hour? It's almost five in the morning."

"Maybe that's when she gets up in the morning?"

"She doesn't like to get out of bed until at least eight," Yusei shook his head, unable to hide a cringe. "You've never see Akiza in the morning, right? Let's just say that she reverts back into Black Witch mode when she isn't fully awake." Crow raised an eyebrow, asking the silent question of when that had happened. "It was during the whole Dark Signers thing. Remember when Sayer popped up and had her duel Misty? It was the day after that."

"For some reason, I always thought she was a sleep 'til noon girl then spend two hours in the bathroom."

"I wouldn't say that, it was more like one hour to get ready."

Crow chuckled, nudging Yusei in the ribs. "You confessing that doesn't help your argument that you don't see her as more than a friend." He paused, brightening as a possible truth occurred to him while the other man's cheeks tinted pink. Maybe he was right and Yusei was beginning to come to terms with his true feelings for their friend. The happiness that he felt for his friend was bittersweet though, as he himself have hidden his own feelings from the psychic duelist.

"The sound seems to have stopped," Yusei's observation pulled the officer from his thoughts. Sure enough, the air was silent and still. "It's still early, but I doubt that we'll get anymore sleep. Why don't' we head downstairs?"

Crow smiled, following his friend down the staircase. Last night was a bust, but this was his chance to redeem his culinary pride! Yusei raised an eyebrow at his friend as he declined the offer of channel surfing and instead headed for the kitchen. "If I remember correctly, she liked crepes with strawberries and chocolate drizzles…" he mumbled to herself as he slipped into the kitchen and causing the lights to turn on automatically. It was close to eight when he heard movement at the bar and turned to find Akiza sitting on the countertop. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun and she was dressed in a simple A-line white sundress that reached her knees. He whistled softly she poured herself a cup of coffee and added two packs of sugar as well as some vanilla coffee creamer. "Go~od morning, beautiful!"

Pink tinted her cheeks at his words, but smiled shyly. "Good morning to you too, Crow. I thought I smelled something delicious, but I didn't know that you were behind it." When he gave her a questioning look due to her hushed whispers, she pointed behind herself towards the couch where Yusei was sprawled out and partially covered with a beige blanket.

Nodding in understanding, Crow turned off the stove and divided the scrambled eggs amongst the four plates he had laid out next to him. "Breakfast is served," he smiled, holding out a plate for her. He blinked as she took it then pointed to the door. She wanted to eat outside? With a curious smile, he grabbed his own plate and followed her out the door. "Where are we going?"

"To the backyard," she smiled, opening the gate next to the garage and revealing a whole new world. "I like to come out here in the morning before the animals and plants have a chance to fully wake up."

His jaw dropped as he followed her towards a gazebo that was at the end of the short stone path. There were monstrous trees with trunks thicker than any he had ever seen and spotted a small river winding its way through the roots. It flowed into a little pond that was lined with rose bushes similar to those on the driveway as well as decorated with various other plants. "Is that a raspberry bush?" he asked as he sat back in one of the wooden lawn chairs.

"Sure is," she smiled. "Good eye!" Her eyes twinkled as she brought a bite of crepe to her mouth. Crow's attention shifted from the calming scenery to Akiza as she hummed her approval, causing a faint blush to enter his cheeks. "My compliments to the chef! This is amazing!"

"Then maybe the chef deserves a kiss," he teased, winking. Panic rose in him as her expression blanched. He flinched as her expression hardened, reminding him of when she had been the Black Rose. "Wait, I didn't mean it! I was only kidding!"

"Joking or not, what's been said can't be taken back." The plate clinked as she put it on the glass-top table while standing and taking slow deliberate steps towards him. Her caramel eyes had darkened and a breeze was slowly picking up, playing with her hair and dress. His eyes closed once she came to a stop in front of him and tensed, expecting to be hit by a way of her psychic energy or her fist. Instead, something soft pressed against the marker on his forehead. "I went easy on you this time, but you better watch your mouth in the future or else it will get you into even more trouble." His eyes shot open in time to see her retreat back to her chair and resume eating.

He jumped as something brushed against his leg and blinked in surprise. "Hey there, furball. Where'd you come from?" The orange tabby cat seemed to wink before it made its way to Akiza, who eagerly picked it up and placed it in her lap. "You know that thing?"

Her eyes narrowed. "His name is Bullet and this is his home."

Crow's eyes bugged. "You have a cat?!"

"Two of them, in fact: Bullet here and Star who should be inside. Is there a problem?" Her expression tensed. "None of you have a cat allergy, right?"

He held up his hands, explaining that they didn't, but confessed that she had never been a pet person. "Then again, we've never seen you react to cats or dogs."

"I happen to love cats," she retorted, sighing. "It seems that you have yet to notice the similarities that you two have." True to her word, Bullet looked a lot like an animal version of Crow! The cat's golden patterns were nearly identical to Crow's marks and even had almost black colored wing-shaped markings on his back. "I thought that you would have noticed him by now, since he was sleeping in your room last night."

Crow's eyes bogged as the rough purring sound from before filled the air. "That was HIM?!" his finger pointed to the cat in her lap as it began to nuzzle her chin. She began to ask what he thought it was, then froze, her eyes slowly locking on his own. "Hey, come on, now. What else was I supposed to think that was?! Anyone would have thought it was that! Ask Yusei!"

"What about me?" the champion appeared in the gazebo doorway, a plate in one hand and a black cat sitting atop of his head.

Akiza smiled, but it held a wicked tinge. "You knew it was a cat's purr, right?"

Blue eyes met Crow's hazel before meeting her own. "Well, I originally thought it was a small motor but then I found this little guy sleeping on my chest this morning. I'm not sure what Crow imagined, but I thought it was a game system or perhaps a disc player."

"That's what it was, a disk player. I like to have a nature soundtrack play while I sleep. Then what were you imagining?" she asked, turning a confused expression towards Crow. Realization came across her features as his cheeks turned pink. Seeing where this was going, Yusei quickly grabbed their empty plates and coaxed Bullet through the doorway in time to close the door before she exploded.

"Glad I'm not in his shoes," he chuckled, scratching Bullet behind the ear as Star hoped down from his head. The black cat with gold tipped paws and ears purred loudly as Yusei scratched behind his ear, spotting a single pure white star on the cat's throat. "Two cats resembling us as well as having our nicknames. If I didn't know any better, I would say that she missed us more than we know." He turned his attention to the gazebo as the door opened, expecting for the storm to be over, then blushed furiously at the feeling of something soft press against the marking near his eye.

"Good morning, by the way." Akiza smiled before disappearing back into the gazebo.

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