Saturdays quickly started becoming Yusei's favorite day. He and Judai had made a habit of going out together and exploring Neo Domino, and Crow would even join them whenever he could.

"You're looking great, Yusei," Aki praised from the other side of the screen. "For awhile there, I thought I was going to have to order you to get out of the house."

Yusei smiled to her in amusement, "Well then, I'm glad it didn't come to that. There's no getting around your orders." He thought about the last time he challenged her, thinking she couldn't get to him from Germany. He was wrong. So, so wrong.

"You're right. So, remember to take care of yourself." She teased.

"You're just as bad as Martha," he sighed, tinkering with a broken desk clock on his bed. He had to take out his desk to make room for Judai's bed, so now he just worked there with a towel to protect his blankets.

Judai could hear Yusei talking upstairs when he and Martha returned from grocery shopping. He thought he might be talking to Crow, but, if he remembered correctly, Crow worked today and thus couldn't hang out or have time to call and chat. His curiosity was piqued when he heard Yusei laugh. It was such a rare sound that even seemed to get Martha's attention.

The brunette quickly helped put things away before sneaking down the hall as quietly as he could towards the happy chatter. Poking his head in, he saw Yusei sitting on his bed with his laptop in front of him and working on something. He heard a woman talking, and Yusei's eyes were bright.

"-the leg twitched and she screamed." It sounded like she was telling a story or something, either way it drew another laugh from Yusei.

"What happened?" He asked, oblivious to Judai's appearance.

"I found a tendon," the woman said simply, laughing herself.

Judai couldn't help himself, he straightened up a little and knocked on the door frame. "Yusei, who are you talking to?" He asked, tilting his head at the other.

Yusei jumped a little and looked up at Judai. "O-Oh, Judai, you're back earlier than I thought you'd be."

"We have been talking almost 2 hours," the female voice commented.

Yusei glanced at the screen as if to confirm this for himself before returning his attention to the other. "Judai, this is Aki. She's in Germany right now studying medicine."

Judai came over and poked his head over Yusei's shoulder to look at the screen, immediately recognizing the girl as the one in Yusei's picture from the WRGP. "Hi! The name's Judai Yuki."

The newly dubbed Aki smiled warmly at him and introduced herself as well. "So, this is the guy you were telling me about, Yusei?"

Yusei nodded and turned his laptop a bit so that Judai could be seen without having to awkwardly stand behind him.

"Well then, I owe you my thanks for getting Yusei out of the house and away from his computer, Judai," Aki said, putting some papers away in a folder. "He can get a little absorbed into whatever he's working on and forget there are other things important to life, like food and relaxing."

"O-Oh, well, you're welcome. Glad I could help." Judai laughed nervously.

Yusei flushed a little in embarrassment as Aki talked about him like this, "Aki…"

She laughed a little and smiled at him, "I know, I know. I have to go now, Yusei. It's really late…or rather really early here. I'll call you some other time, okay?"

"Okay. Bye Aki."

Judai watched Yusei stare at the screen until it went blank and the video chat main screen reappeared. His shoulders seemed to drop the moment she was gone, and a long sigh escaped him, making it look like he was wilting as he closed the laptop and looked down at the clock in his lap.

"Yusei," Judai spoke up after a few minutes, unable to keep quiet about how down the other looked now compared to when he was laughing with Aki. "You miss your friends, don't you?"

Yusei looked up at him as if he'd been lost in his own thoughts, which he probably had been. He stared at Judai a few minutes like he was trying to figure out what the other had said before it clicked, and he turned his focus back onto the clock. Judai was about to pester him for answers when he finally spoke up.

"I do. We all miss each other. At least, I like to think they miss me too." He explained, glancing at the picture on the nightstand. "Don't you miss your friends from your time, Judai?"

Judai really hadn't been prepared to answer that one. Of course, he missed them, but as far as he'd been able to research, none of them were dead. In fact, it seemed they'd all lived nice and fulfilling lives. "Well, I mean, yeah I do."

"Are you going to go back?" Yusei asked, still not looking up from his work.

This question also caught Judai off guard. He'd been trying to get Yusei to open up to him, not the other way around. Still, he wondered how he should answer. Originally, he'd planned just to hang out for a week, maybe, then head back, but obviously two months later, that hadn't happened.

"I…I don't really now," he admitted, shrugging. "I guess I just figured I'd see how things went. I mean, there haven't been any negative effects on either of our timelines or my friends with me being here, so I guess there's no rush to make a decision or anything."

"No, I guess not," Yusei didn't look all that pleased with his answer.

Judai's eyebrows furrowed. What more was he supposed to say, and why did it seem that he upset the other whenever they talked about his being in this time? He couldn't think of anything wrong with what he said or how he answered the other whenever Yusei would ask, and he was getting a little sick and tired of how the other reacted.

"You know, if you want me to go back to my own time, you should just say it," Judai sighed after a long stretch of silence. This got a reaction out of him. Yusei froze up almost completely, and he even put the clock down. "Go on. Say it. You always get into a huffy mood whenever you bring this up."

"Judai, I-"

It was the first time he'd ever seen the other completely speechless. He looked like he was struggling to arrange his thoughts and figure out what he was going to say, and Judai really didn't have the patience for it. He didn't want a carefully thought out and planned response. He wanted what the other really thought. What he could already read on his face.

"Fine." Judai stood up and grabbed his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder. He didn't even say goodbye as he walked out of the room and out the front door, leaving Yusei behind to stare after him. He'd only made it to the end of the driveway though before a hand grabbed his wrist.

"Judai, wait!" Yusei yelled, looking about as frazzled as he sounded.

Judai paused and looked over his shoulder at him. He waited quietly for the other to explain himself, though he could already tell what he was going to say by the way he was gripping onto his wrist. It almost made him smile.

"I…I don't want you to go back to your time." He continued, hesitantly letting go of Judai in favor of stepping back. He himself hated unexpected physical contact, so he was a bit ashamed of himself for grabbing onto the other like that. Yusei's eyes remained fixed on the ground now that he wasn't worried the other was going to keep walking. "I don't want you to regret being here instead of being in your time with your friends. My friends are just miles away from me and I miss them terribly. I couldn't imagine being years apart from them."

"Yusei, did you ever consider you're my friend too?" He turned around fully and smiled at the other. "Or that maybe I might want to stay here?"

Now it was Judai's turn to pause. He thought over what he'd just said. Earlier, he wasn't sure why he was still here. He'd been dodging around the idea for awhile now, but saying it out loud… It solidified it. He really did want to stay here, in Neo Domino with Yusei.

"Come on man, it's not like my friends are gone or I can't go see them. Heck, I could probably just write them letters and they'll be fine." Judai continued, rather pleased with his revelation.

Yusei just looked conflicted. "I…"

"Your friends are like your family. I get it. Mine are too." He started to explain, trying to think of a way to word all of this so it would make sense to the other. "They're always in my heart, and if I'm perfectly honest, Yusei, I doubt they'd be surprised if I flat out told them I traveled into the future to hang out with you and decided to stay because you're really cool and I want to get to know you better. So, stop worrying about me and whether or not I'm heading back. Okay?"

Yusei watched him for a long while before finally giving in and nodding. "Okay."

"Perfect! Now, let me go put my bag up and we can head out. It's Saturday, remember?" Judai chimed happily, running past the other back into the house without letting him get another word in.

When he got back outside, Yusei was already seated on his bike waiting for him. He could feel how tense the other still was when he sat down behind him. Judai hoped that Saturday would work its usual magic and unwind the mechanic before too much longer. He wanted Yusei to go back to laughing and smiling like he had been earlier when he was talking to Aki.

"Hey, Yusei, why don't we go to a park or something?" He offered. "I've got some energy to burn, and we could duel each other if you want."

"You're not going to make another endless wager, are you?" Yusei asked, a bit apprehensive. "Forcing me to have a sleep schedule is bad enough."

"I don't know. Do you have any other unhealthy habits that need forcibly broken?" Judai laughed, trying to loosen the tense air from earlier. All he got in reply was a shake of the other's head and what he assumed was an eye roll he couldn't see.

The tension did seem to be dissipating between them the longer they drove, however. Maybe it wasn't so much their adventures on Saturday that helped Yusei relax so much as it was how much time he spent driving them here and there?

Yusei pulled up to the park and searched for a little bit to find a place to park his d-wheel. For some reason, he'd chosen some out of the way spot in the shade of a tree. The shade made sense, but the location really didn't.

"Why are we all the way over here? Wouldn't it be better to park in the actual parking lot?" Judai asked.

Yusei shook his head. "It's better over here, trust me."

"If you say so," he sighed, looking around the park with a smile.

It was a nice and sunny spring day, so there were lots of people milling around with children, pets or friends, but it wasn't so crowded that you couldn't sit down or find a private place for yourself.

"Let's go find a place to duel!" Judai could hardly contain himself. He took off into the park, letting Yusei trail behind him.

They settled down by a large tree where they could choose to either sit in the shade or the sunlight without going too far and started their match. Yusei had requested not to use duel disks and just play the old tabletop way, so their disks just became card holders that way the gentle breeze wouldn't destroy their game like a dusk tornado.

"Damn, you're a lot stronger when you're not tired," Judai laughed nervously as they neared the end of their third game. It was supposed to be a tie breaker, and at the moment it didn't look like he was going to be able to pull this one off.

Yusei only smiled at him and waited quietly for his turn. He played the psychological aspect of the game just as well as he played it, and Judai swore Yusei knew his silence was unnerving him and making him second guess his every move.

"…and that's game," Yusei finally spoke up, grinning with satisfaction as he watched Judai do the math and realize his lifepoints had struck zero.

"Man! I almost had you!" Judai laughed, clearing up his cards. "I guess that means you win this round."

Yusei made a noise of agreement while he cleaned up as well, leaning back and laying down in the grass once everything was put away. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the warmth of the sun for a long while until he realized that Judai had fallen silent. He opened one of his eyes to look over at the other and question him on what was wrong, but he just found Judai staring at him.

"I-Is there something on my face?" He asked nervously. Judai looked a little red, and he started to wonder if he was getting sick. Sitting up, Yusei took off his glove and pressed the back of his hand to his own forehead before putting it up against Judai's. The way Judai recoiled from his hand, he'd have thought he struck him.

"Are you feeling alright?" He asked, leaning back away from him himself.

"I-I'm fine, I promise!" The brunette yelped, turning an even darker shade of red. "It's nothing!"

"Are you sure? If you want to go home, we can." Yusei offered, furrowing his eyebrows in concern.

"What? No. I want to stay here. Like I said, I'm fine, Yusei." Judai spoke way too quickly and shook his head. He bit at his lip, willing the heat in his face to die down a little. He looked away from Yusei in hopes that would help a bit in time to see a boy running towards them.

"Hey! Y-You're Yusei right? Yusei Fudo from the WRGP tournament?" The boy asked excitedly when he reached them. He held out a pen and a blank duel monster's card. "C-Could you sign this for me?"

Yusei's attention broke away from Judai and his frown was quickly replaced with a gentle smile.

"S-Sure," he accepted the card and pen, signing it as promised and returned it to the child.

"You're my hero!" The boy blurted out, clutching the card to his chest.

"James?! What do you think you're doing? Get away from him!" A shrill cry shattered the happy mood immediately as both Yusei and the boy looked over to the angry mother fearfully. "I already told you no. He's a criminal."

Judai watched Yusei visibly flinch and almost recoil from her as she came over and dragged her son back. He didn't even hesitate to jump to his feet and put himself between the mechanic and the woman, doing his best to hold back from glaring at her.

"What do you mean, he's a criminal?" Judai asked innocently, his eyes flickering gold and green. "Yusei hasn't done anything wrong. All he did was sign a card for your kid."

"Hasn't done anything wrong? Can't you see the yellow mark on his face? He's even branded to warn others of his crimes." She continued to protest, shooting an accusing look over Judai's shoulder at Yusei.

"You don't even know him, how can you-"

"Judai. Stop." Yusei's hand on his shoulder broke Judai's concentration away from the woman. Though his tone sounded calm an pleasant, his eyes showed there was no room for arguing. "We should go."

"But-"

"We're leaving." He reiterated, looking to the woman with a patient smile. "I'm sorry for speaking with your son without permission."

With that, he turned and left, walking back towards where he parked. Judai glanced between them, as lost as the now stunned mother. He let out a frustrated growl then stuck his tongue out at the woman before following after Yusei.

"I'm sorry," Yusei sighed when Judai caught up with him, getting onto his bike. "I should have told you sooner."

"None of that was your fault, Yusei," Judai grumbled, crossing his arms. "What was she talking about anyway?"

"Not here," he cut in, giving Judai his helmet. "Get on. I'll explain elsewhere."

This time, not even the drive up to the cliffs helped Yusei relax. He was stiff as a rock the entire way, and every mile, Judai heard nothing besides Yubel cursing that woman for being so shallow-minded and cruel. He agreed with them to an extent, but now that he was cooling off, he figured she had had a valid reason to react the way she did. She'd said Yusei was a branded criminal. If he'd seen a kid talking to someone he knew was bad news, he probably would have tried to get them away from them too.

'Still. She judged him by a mark on his face. That's not right.' Yubel grumbled.

Not much we can do about that now… Judai returned, resting his head up against Yusei's back as he watched the city start to pull away as they travelled from it.

When they pulled over in the usual spot, Judai hopped off and waited for Yusei who took his time. The other didn't say a single word as he walked past Judai and went to the railing, leaning on it and looking out over the city. Judai waited for him to start explaining, but it was quickly becoming apparent the other didn't seem to have any intention of doing so. He followed Yusei over to the railing and waited.

"Neo Domino's gotten a lot better than it used to be." Yusei finally said after a few minutes passed. "Before, the people were completely divided. There were those that lived in Satellite, a manmade island after the Zero Reverse disaster and those who lived on the mainland. Satellite became the lowest class, working in squalor for what little they would allot us.

After Godwin was defeated, I helped with the plans that built the roads you can see connecting Satellite to Neo Domino, finally bridging the gap between them physically. As you saw though, there are still some issues with the gap in the peoples' hearts. Change like this isn't easy for everyone."

"Yusei…" Judai could hardly believe someone could look so determined and sad all at the same time.

"There are still 'no Satellite' buildings, jobs are selective and there are those in Satellite that are still resentful as well," he continued, starting to smile a bit. "But it's better than it used to be 2 years ago."

"I guess…As long as it's getting better." Judai sighed, shrugging a little. "I still don't understand why she treated you that way though. She said you were branded. What did she mean?"

Yusei turned to give him an incredulous look, like he was baffled the other hadn't made some kind of connection.

"What? What's with that look?" Judai protested, grumbling at him.

The raven smiled and shook his head. "It's nothing. What she meant was this." Yusei pointed to the mark on his face. "Anyone who's arrested and sent to the facility is branded with a mark like this. It has a tracker in it with a chip that holds a copy of that person's permanent record."

Judai had honestly thought the mark was some kind of fancy tattoo. Now that Yusei pointed out what it really meant, he couldn't help but lean in close and investigate it a little closer. It was hard to tell the difference between it and the rest of his skin other than the coloration and faint scarring on the edges. Lost in his own curiosity, he reached up and brushed his finger over the mark, tracing it. It was smoother than his skin, but that was about all he could tell before Yusei flinched away from him. Apparently touching that was a no.

"They really fit so much into a tattoo?" He asked, still looking at it though he kept a bit of distance this time.

"Y-Yeah, they did," Yusei muttered, doing his best not to cover the mark somehow like he normally would. He knew by now that it was better to satisfy the brunette's curiosity lest Judai do something to satisfy himself, and he really didn't want to wake up to Judai staring at him in the middle of the night.

Judai looked over his friend. He could tell Yusei was trying to keep as much as he could veiled behind a poker face, but his eyes gave everything away. A soft sigh left him and he stepped forward slowly, trying to make his movements predictable. He wrapped his arms around Yusei, immediately feeling him stiffen. Judai honestly thought he was about to squirm away when a pair of arms timidly wrapped around him as well.

"I'm sorry, Yusei." He whispered to the other once he was sure Yusei really wasn't going to pull away. "I know it's not my fault, but I'm still sorry that all that happened. I'm glad it's getting better."

He felt Yusei press into him and he tightened his grip accordingly. Judai really didn't expect Yusei to say anything. He just hoped that what he was doing was okay, and that it was helping him.

"Come on, why don't we hang out up here for a while?" Judai asked, remembering how happy just sitting up here made Yusei that first Saturday they'd ventured out.

Yusei nodded and drew back, but Judai had been so warm, he almost immediately regretted the decision. He hadn't expected the other to hug him to begin with, but it hadn't been disagreeable either. Maybe he was touch starved, but it had felt so nice and safe compared to where his mind had wandered remembering the path he'd been forced to take to get Neo Domino where it was now.

He looked to Judai and managed a small smile. Had the other's eyes always been so bright and pure?

Lunara: Sorry this took so long this time. I got a little stuck on where I wanted to go. It's so hard not to just write them as a couple already. XD

Thank you for reading!

Will write for reviews ;-;