Waking up at ten the next morning made Aki feel disoriented. She hadn't been able to get used to the timezone in one night, and still operated on Germany's timezone.
It also didn't help that she'd been woken up in the middle of the night by her nightmares. She tried her hardest to blot out what she'd dreamt, but it came to her regardless.
He can't hurt you anymore. Stop giving him the time of day already. As she lay there and stared at the roof, the smell of breakfast wafting in from the kitchen and refused to let her sleep any longer. Groggily sitting up, Aki stumbled from bedroom and down the stairs, looking over at Carly cooking.
"Morning sleepyhead," Carly said with a smile. "Sleep well?"
"I don't know," Aki replied as she rubbed at her eyes. "I guess." She opted to ignore mentioning her dreams. Carly just snorted at this.
"Jet lag will do that to you," she said, "I remember when I travelled to Paris to cover the European Duel Open and back in three days. God, I was disorientated for days after that."
"That was just a few months ago," Aki noted, "Jack won, right?"
"Uh huh!" Carly said, sounding prideful. "He even beat Crow to get there." Aki remembered, she'd watched the duel live. Crow had played his heart out but, in typical Jack fashion, he hadn't given an inch and beat his younger friend.
"Sounds like Jack," Aki said, "How is he? You spoken to him recently?" Carly blushed at this.
"We spent time together at the European Open," she said, squirming in place. "You could say he's doing great." Aki just smirked at her friend as she sat down at the table.
"I'll take it you had a good time," she said teasingly, making Carly's blush deepen.
"I did," Carly agreed sheepishly. "I-I don't get to see him all that often, so I took advantage of the opportunity..." Carly drifted off into dream land as she said this, only barely paying attention to the omelette she was cooking. Aki could only presume what Carly was talking about, but it made her happy all the same. The poor reporter had been pining after Jack for so long, and he was relatively frigid in return. Granted, that was just the way Jack was. Aki only knew how the guy really felt when he was duelling or yelling about his cup ramen. She watched as Carly shovelled off some of the omelette in front of her, and saved the rest for herself.
"So what's the plan?" Carly asked as she sat down across from her.
"Well, I have to go unpack my stuff," Aki replied as she ate her eggs, "which is gonna be a pain in my ass. But hey, at least you and Yusei volunteered."
"I couldn't let you do it alone," Carly replied, her smile growing sly. "Or let you and Yusei do it alone." Aki just stared at her friend quietly.
"And what does that mean?" She asked, making Carly shrug innocently.
"I'm just saying you and Yusei might unpack your bedroom stuff and stop at that," she replied. Aki didn't reply, which just made Carly laugh. "Oh come on Aki, you're not as slick as you think you are. Everyone knows." Aki just stared at the reporter before looking down at her eggs.
"Everyone?" She asked weakly, her confidence feeling a bit weakened.
"Well, Jack does," Carly said. "Every time you guys did your yearly meet up he'd complain that all you did was making lovey-eyes at Yusei all day."
"I'll have to remember that next time I talk to him," Aki muttered under her breath. Carly just giggled.
"Don't be so serious, Aki!" She said, "I'm just teasing. If it's any consolation, you and Yusei make literally the cutest couple I've ever seen!"
"Y-You think?" Aki asked, embarrassed. Carly nodded.
"Totally. The whole 'saved me from the dark path I was on' thing is so romantic." Well, they agreed on that. Aki also thought it was cheesy, but it was her reality all the same. "Besides, I have it on good authority he likes you too."
"Really?" Aki asked, Carly nodding smugly. "How do you know that?"
"Being one of his only old friends still in the city makes it easy to get that from him," Carly replied, "Not that he told me, exactly. He just makes it obvious. Whenever we talk about you, he gets this longing look on his face. Different from the others. He misses you, but differently than the others."Aki wanted to believe her, but there was a small part of her that refused too. She knew Carly wouldn't lie about something like this, but it was still nerve wracking to think about.
"Huh," was all she managed as she focused on her omelette. Carly snorted.
"I can make up an excuse to not go and help you unpack if you want," she said with a smirk, making Aki blush.
"I'd rather put you to work," Aki said flatly, making Carly laugh. Despite how much she was being teased, she had to admit that being able to have breakfast with Carly was nice. She was already feeling like she was home.
Maybe she wasn't going to miss Germany as much as she thought.
After finishing their breakfast, the girls got dressed and headed to Aki's new place. It was only a ten minute drive from Carly's place, which meant they were close by. After getting her key from the woman behind the counter, the pair headed up to the tenth floor of the building and walked until they found the 99th apartment. Putting her key in the lock, Aki opened the door and the pair walked in together.
The first thing she saw were boxes of her things, understandably, seeing as the movers had just left it in here for her. Everything else looked normal for an empty apartment. Other than that, the place looked pretty much identical to Carly's. Not surprising, it was just an apartment after all.
"I'm kind of surprised you don't have more things," Carly said as she looked around at the boxes. Aki shrugged, doing a count of the boxes mentally.
"I guess I had less things than I though," she said. "Text Yusei, tell him he can come over now." Carly nodded and whipped out her phone, doing as instructed. After putting it away, she immediately dug into the nearest box.
"Looks like I'm putting putting together living room furniture," she said with a sigh, "maybe I should have escaped when I had the chance..."
It only took Yusei about ten minutes to arrive at Aki's apartment building, and he got a text from her saying what floor and room she was in when he got there. Following her instructions, Yusei took the elevator up to the tenth floor, walking for a bit until he came across her place. He tapped his index fingers knuckle against the door, hearing Aki's muffled voice inside. After a few seconds the door opened, and Yusei was caught completely off guard.
It was Aki who answered the door, but what surprised him was her attire. It was nothing special, just sweat pants and a tight red t-shirt. So why was it driving him crazy? This woman would be the end of him.
"Yusei!" Aki greeted, smiling up at him, "glad you're here."
"...Hope I didn't miss the unpacking," he said, getting a hold of himself before he did something embarrassing. Aki smiled brilliantly at him.
"Nope, still a lot of that to do," she said as she turned around. Yusei found his eyes glued to her hips, which swayed so perfectly as she walked inside the apartment. Not to mention how nice she looked in such casual clothes. He was so used to her old attire that catching her like this was almost weird. Walking inside a bit, he saw Carly working on putting together a coffee table, and seemed irritated by it.
"How nice of you to join us, Yusei!" She said, "get over here and help me!"
"In a minute," Yusei replied as he turned to Aki. "Can I borrow you for a second, Aki?"
"What for?" She asked as she took a sip of water out of a bottle. Yusei tried not to stare.
"I've got your surprise," he replied. Making a suspicious face, Aki agreed and followed him out of the apartment and towards the elevator. once inside, Yusei hit the button for the parking garage.
"Must be a big surprise," Aki noted as the elevator moved downwards. Yusei just smiled to himself.
"It is," he said. Once the elevator began to slow down, Yusei stepped in front of the redhead and smirked down at her. "Close your eyes," he instructed. Aki rolled her eyes and huffed, but did as he instructed and closed her eyes. Taking her hand, Yusei gently led her into the garage and towards the surprise he had for her. After a few seconds they reached it, and Yusei let go of her hand to stand back.
"Alright, you can open you eyes," he said. Aki did as he asked, opening her eyes.
And she gasped.
"Yusei," she said as she slowly walked towards it," is this my old-"
"D-Wheel?" Yusei asked as he crossed his arms. "It is, I've been working on it for the past month."
Before them stood Aki's old D-Wheel, The Bloody Kiss. Aki hadn't used it for a long time, having long since tired of having it hauled between Japan and Germany. Ever since, Yusei had kept it safe for her. But when he heard she was coming home, he had decided to upgrade it for her.
As it stood, the new and improved Bloody Kiss had specs that easily rivalled his own and Jack's D-Wheel's. Other than that, Yusei had put in the work to overhaul it's appearance. Gone was the bright red that made it resemble his, replaced with a shiny black coat. That wasn't all, though. He had intricately painted rose vines and petals across the bikes chassis, painted in the closest colour to Aki's hair he could find. All in all it was a complete upgrade, in his eyes anyway. What mattered was her opinion.
"What do you think?" He asked as he walked up it," complete internal and external upgrade, but I kept the core design the same so it didn't feel completely new to you. As it stands, this thing can probably outmatch me or Jack in a race." Aki's eyes were wide in bewilderment, tracing a finger across the bike's soft edges.
"Yusei..." She started quietly, "Y-You didn't need to do this for me."
"It's a welcome home gift," Yusei said as he dug in his pocket, took out the keys and tossed them to her. She caught them in her hands, locking down at them quietly. "From me to you. Welcome home, Aki." She looked up at him again, meeting his gaze. It didn't take long for tears to form in her eyes, and her lower lip to tremble.
"How long did you...?" She asked weakly as her eyes returned to the motorcycle, "How much did you spend on...?"
"Both irrelevant questions," Yusei answered, "as long as you like it, it was worth it. Do you like it?"
"Do I like it?" Aki asked in bewilderment. "Do I like it? Yusei, it's beautiful!" He just chuckled at this.
"I'm glad you like it," he said. Before he could say more, Aki rushed from the D-Wheel over to him, wrapping him in a hug. It was one that caught him off guard, but he accepted it regardless. Aki was clearly overwhelmed, seeing as she didn't let go of him for some time. She continually hugged him tighter when the pressure lessened, clearly not wanting to let go. Again, Yusei noted, they were extending the timer appropriate for hugs between close friends. Even so, Yusei didn't want to let her go.
"Want to take it for a test run?" He finally asked. Aki pushed away from him a bit, resting her hands on his chest to look at him. Yusei became acutely aware his hands had fallen to her hips.
"Think I can handle it?" She asked with a small laugh as she wiped at her eyes. "I haven't ridden it in forever."
"It's just like riding a bike," Yusei said, "if you know what I mean." Aki laughed.
"That was horrible," she said pointedly. Yusei nodded.
"I know," he replied.
They hadn't let go of each other yet. Yusei almost got lost staring into her eyes when he heard the elevator ping, signalling someone was coming down. The two moved apart to see who it was, watching Carly come out.
"Hey guys," she said scratching the back of her neck awkwardly, "I've gotta go, apparently."
"Job call?" Yusei asked, Carly nodding.
"Yes," Carly replied with a frown. "Apparently we have a tipster who will only speak to me, so my producers want me to get down there now. If I have time, I'll come back and help you unpack more, okay Aki?" Aki stared at her suspiciously.
"You wouldn't be trying to escape, would you Carly?" She asked in a falsely innocent tone. Carly shook her head quickly.
"N-No! I really have to go! I promise!" Aki didn't seem convinced, but she shrugged all the same.
"It's no big deal," she said, "Go and do your job." Nodding in appreciation, Carly moved to her car and got inside, taking off for the studio. The pair watched her go quietly before Yusei turned back to Aki.
"Come on," he said, "test drive."
Aki felt like she was in heaven, and that was for a few reasons.
One, Yusei's upgrades to her D-Wheel had made in run like a brand new machine. It no longer sputtered a little when starting up, it no longer quit sometimes mid-acceleration, and it didn't make her shift under her, making her fear it was falling apart. All of those were symptoms of it being a repurposed bike, but Yusei had made it run like one fresh off the show floor. Not only that, but she was in love with the new paint job he'd done. The black and red was obviously symbolic to her old nickname, but it wasn't meant to be hurtful or tease her. It was supposed to represent her, and Yusei had nailed it.
The other reason she felt heavenly was because Yusei's arms were wrapped around her midsection as they drove down the street, his body pressed right up against hers for lack of space on the seat. She tried not to focus on the feeling of him pressed against her and instead on the road, but it was harder than she wanted to admit. God, she was in deep with him and it wasn't even funny.
Seeing a sharp turn up ahead, Aki put faith in her rusty skills and speed up. The Bloody Kiss responded to her will, speeding up and taking the turn hard. Aki, reflexes as sharp as ever, tilted her body weight to the side with Yusei to help them take it, and together the two came out unscathed. Pulling off to the side, Aki let out an exhilarated laugh as she took her helmet off and let her hair fall free.
"It's runs so smoothly," she said to Yusei as the man also took off his helmet. The compliment made him smile.
"Only the best for you, Aki," he said, making her heart skip a beat. "Besides, I felt bad about how repurposed it was back when we built it. So, most of it's innards are high end parts now." Aki frowned at him.
"I'm annoyed you won't tell me how much you spent on this," she said. Yusei rolled his eyes, his smile going nowhere.
"And I told you I'm not telling," he said. "The number is irrelevant. All that matters is you like it. And you do, right?"
"Of course I do!" Aki replied in exasperation. "Yusei, you may as well have bought me a brand-new D-Wheel! It's incredible!" Yusei just laughed.
"Glad you like it," he said, "Now, we should probably get back to your place and finish unpacking, lest we spend another day doing it."
"Right, right," Aki said as she turned back around. Revving the engine and listening to it purr, Aki took off and aimed for her apartment mentally.
Things felt so right.
Carly mumbled to herself angrily as she walked into the news studio, people bowing to her as she walked. She gave them at best a smile, too irritated by her producers need for her on her day off to say anything. She had taken today off to help Aki move in, so why was she being called in? It better have been something important, or else someone was going to hear from her.
She really was turning into her old boss, wasn't she?
Walking into the meeting room she had been pointed to, Carly was met by one of her producers.
"Well?" She demanded, "what is it?" The man bowed to her awkwardly, gesturing to the phone.
"The thing is, Ms. Carmine," he said, "the man called in earlier, demanding to speak to you."
"Who is he?" Carly asked.
"We don't know, he won't say," the producer replied. "But he insisted on speaking with you, and you alone." Making a face, Carly waved him away, Bowing to her, the producer left the room. Carly hit a button on the phone in the center of the room, taking the man off hold and putting him on speaker in the room.
"Carly Carmine," she said, "Neo Domino News. Who is this?"
There was no reply, which made Carly frown. The man had waited on the line the whole time, she could see that. Why wasn't he saying anything?
"..Carly," he said, "I remember you."
"Do you?" Carly asked, raising an eyebrow. The mans voice was recognisable, but she couldn't place it. "And who are you?"
"You'll know soon enough," the man replied. "I just wanted to call you let you know there'll be a big story to cover soon. One you've been close to in the past."
A big story?
"Give me your name," Carly said, fear and irritation rising in her. "Who is this?"
"I'm not so dumb as to name myself, nor will you be able to trace this call. But there is one thing you should know, Carly; be careful around high rises. you might fall out the window."
The call ended.
Carly stared down at the phone, dread setting on her as she heard the line go dead. Who had that been? What the hell was he talking about?
"Who was it, boss?" One of her assistants asked, peaking inside. Carly stared down at the phone for a few seconds, not saying anything, before she looked up.
"...Some prankster," she replied, "who has a poor taste in jokes."
It had taken Aki and Yusei another several hours to unpack all of her things, but once they were done she finally felt at home. Looking around and seeing so many of her things from Europe really made it seem all the more real was here.
"That took a while, huh?" She asked Yusei, who was seated across the couch from her. He nodded and stretched his back, several cracks being heard.
"It was," he said, "Would've taken longer if I hadn't been here."
"Or if Carly hadn't skimped out on us," Aki replied. Yusei laughed.
"Can't blame her," he said, "it was a lot of work."
"It was," Aki agreed. Silence came over them now, but it wasn't uncomfortable in anyway. Aki stole a glance at Yusei, and saw he was just staring at the roof while he cracked his knuckles. He'd ditched the blue jacket he wore over to help, now just in a black sleeveless shirt that showed off his toned arms. She quickly looked away to stop herself from staring.
"Now I owe you one," she said, "for helping me and for fixing up my D-Wheel."
"I don't need anything for helping," he said as he turned to look at her. "I was happy to help." Aki pouted at him.
"You're so selfless it's annoying," she said, making him laugh.
"Sorry, force of habit," he replied. Aki frowned at this, wracking her brain to come up with anything she could do for him. She soon found it, and her heart thumped in excitement.
"I know!" She said, turning to him. "Are you free for dinner the day after tomorrow?" Yusei looked taken aback by her request.
"On Thursday?" He asked, Aki nodding. "Uh, I think so. Why?"
"Cause that's what I'll do for you," Aki proclaimed, trying to play down the blush as it's fought it's way to her cheeks. "If you want, I can make you dinner on Thursday. Maybe even some German food I learned to cook while I was over there. Huh? How about it?" Aki really hoped she didn't look desperate to him, but she really wanted him to accept. Yusei looked a bit bashful, scratching the back of his neck.
"T-That sounds great," he said, unable to look her in the eye. "If you want to, that is."
"I do!" Aki agreed excitedly, "do you have an preferences for what to eat? I can come up with something?" Yusei shrugged, looking back at her. God, he was cute when he was embarrassed.
"I don't have any preference," he replied, "if you make it, I'm sure it'll be good."
"Don't overestimate me," she said to hide her glee at this. "I just might make you sick."
"I'd tell you it's good anyway," Yusei said with a smirk. Aki rolled her eyes.
"I think I'd rather you tell me I made you sick," she said, "then lie to me." Yusei seemed to take pleasure from her irritation before he leaned back on the couch to crack his back again.
"I guess it's a date, then," he said. Aki watched him quietly, happiness nearly exploding out of her chest. She, too, leaned back and smiled.
"I guess it is a date," she said.
