A/N: Another update. We're in the latter half of this story and I hope you are all liking this story and will continue to stay with me through the series.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Yu-Gi-Oh GX nor the song with which this story shares a title

Chapter 6

Zane POV

The next morning, after we had gotten dressed, we made our way back into town. We would have loved to spend the next few days out in our cabin but the new year had started and with it, the new dueling season would start in the next week or so. I had already figured out the season with my manager; practice sessions, publicity, recruiting, visits to duel academy and other schools, the works.

But Aster had just gotten a new manager so the two of them needed to figure that out. Loren had called him and told him he had gotten a lot of things already scheduled. Aster appreciated his pro-activity. Henry always checked with him on dates even though Aster always updated him with his schedule.

The drive wasn't too long and I dropped Aster off at the apartment. He told Loren he'd meet him there. Since Aster was meeting with Loren I called Atticus and asked if he wanted to have lunch. I wanted to catch up with my old friend and I also wanted details on his new relationship. I hadn't told him that part, but he'd agreed happily.

I met him at a coffee shop not too far from his apartment. He didn't have a car so he relied on Bastion for a lot of his far transportation. But that actually wasn't too often because his work was only two blocks away. It was mainly when we all got together that Bastion drove him around. Maybe that was more often now, though.

Atticus was already there and waved to me when he saw me get out of my car. We got some drinks and took a table outside. We talked for a few minutes before Atticus asked me about what we did at the cabin. I wasn't sure if Aster was okay with me telling people about our engagement yet so I just told him that we went to the vineyard and enjoyed the new year in my cabin.

Atticus knew there was something I wasn't telling him, but thankfully he didn't push. He seemed satisfied for now so I wanted to get my answers.

"So Atticus." He was listening. "If you don't mind me asking, I want to know what happened between you and Basitian. It definitely came as a surprise to all of us."

'I knew this was coming." He looked at his coffee in thought and smiled. "It just kind of happened, you know? Can you really explain what happened between you and Aster?" I nodded. I understood his point. He looked away, deep in thought. I didn't want to interrupt him, I just let him talk as he was willing.

"I guess this all started four years ago, when we all first met Dana. Around that time. I worked with Bastion on the tag team assignment and I was worried he was going to think I was an idiot. I mean I can be a little air headed sometimes but I'm not completely useless. But compared to Bastion I might as well have been. He is so smart, there is no way I could have kept up with him. I thought for sure he would get frustrated with me right away and we wouldn't get along." He was smiling now. "That wasn't the case. We just sort of . . . clicked I guess. We found commonalities and the only outstanding difference was out intellectual standing, but that didn't seem to matter to either of us. We just talked about whatever and we became friends.

"Then over the next few years things changed for me. I didn't know at the time how Bastion felt so I kept my feelings to myself. It all started when he'd proposed that we get an apartment together so we could afford rent. That was a year and a half ago. Since then I started to notice little things in his behavior that I just found adorable. Like the way he only uses his derivative mug for tea and his sine curves mug for coffee. Things like that.

"I thought it was just that I was becoming good friends with him, but then a little less than a month ago something happened. And it is going to sound incredibly stupid and cliche but it's true. I was sorting through the mail and was walking into the living room not paying attention where I was going and he was walking out reading the newspaper and we crashed into each other. I fell on top of him and we just stayed like that for a minute. We just looked at each other and that's when I knew. I knew that I cared about him as more than a friend.

"Then things like that kept happening and I started to think that maybe he felt the same way. Believe it or not it was actually Bastion who finally said something about it. We both knew something was going on and we just . . . came clean. And that's that."

I listened to his story and couldn't help but think about how such a similar thing happened between Aster and me. We had developed that friendship but both of us knew something more was going on. I remembered that day very well.

It was during one of my visits to Syrus at duel academy that I thought it would be nice to pay a visit to an old friend. Or new friend as it were.

I knocked on Aster's dorm door and when he opened it, he smiled. "Come on in, Zane. What brings you here?"

"I just thought I visit." I sat down on his bed as he went to his mini fridge to get some water. He offered me some and I took it gladly. I did want to visit him, but only because I really wanted to see him. Recently I had been developing some deeper feelings for Aster and I really wanted to know if I truly cared about him enough to know if I wanted something more from this.

We talked a while about nothing in particular and then Aster asked a question I was not expecting.

"So you have your eye on anyone lately?"

Of course I knew exactly what he meant, but I decided to walk my way around it. "Well there are a few duelists I'm trying to set a match up with. They seem like good opponents."

"No, Zane you know what I mean. Any cute girls?" I looked away. "Or cute guys, I don't know."

I sighed. I didn't exactly have to tell him who did I? But I didn't want to light to him. "Yes actually. There is. A guy. It's sort of a recent development."

He seemed surprised that I'd actually said yes. "Oh, really?"

"Yes." I didn't want him to be left out. "What about you?"

He smiled. "There is. A guy."

We both asked 'what's he like?' in quick succession and both of us couldn't help but smile.

I started. "Young. Well younger than me."

He countered. "Older than me."

We continued like that. "A duelist."

"A duelist."

"Occasionally bratty."

"Often over brooding."

"Short for his age."

"Not tall enough for his age."

"Blue eyes."

"Blue eyes."

"Silver hair."

"Blue hair."

We had continued to walk towards each other with every description until we couldn't walk any farther. At that point we had both realized that we both had only been describing each other.

"His name?" I started.

He smiled, continuing to play along. "His name?

I cupped his face with one hand. "Aster Phoenix."

He put his hand over mine leaning in to the touch of my hand. "Zane Truesdale."

We looked at each other as we slowly moved towards each other. It took a painstakingly long wait before we finally met.

Kissing Aster was nothing I had ever expected. It was gentle and full of care. There was no rush, no need, only an understanding between the two of us. An understanding that we both knew what we wanted. And in that moment neither of us wanted anything more.

I smiled at that memory. And now, five years later, nothing had changed between us.

After lunch with Atticus I returned home as I was sure Aster had finished his meeting with Loren.

I opened the door and only Aster was there. He was sitting on the couch obviously distressed. He had his hands over his face and files and schedules strewn about the coffee table.

"Aster, what's wrong."

He threw his hands down and let out a groan. "This schedule. Loren scheduled ne for a publicity thing on Saturday night. And there is no way I can get out of it. He's reserved the meeting space and everything."

Saturday night. "You mean . . ."

"I can't go see Dana at the ballet." He got up and walked over a window. "Every ballet for four years. I have seen every ballet she's been in for four years and now I'm missing this one."

"Can't you just go to a different night? We can buy a ticket and-"

"Don't you think I thought of that? I called Dana but she told me all the rest of the nights were sold out. She had to pull a lot of strings to get us the tickets she did."

I put a hand on his shoulder. "Aster it's okay. She'll understand."

"She told me not to worry about it. She said I had to think about my career and that she'll be in more ballets."

'See? It's okay. This isn't something you should get upset over."

He sighed again. And turned around to let me hug him. "She a good friend. I should go support her not spend Saturday night talking to a bunch of people who don't even care about me, only me dueling ability."

"She'll forgive you. I promise."

He was upset, and I wasn't going to make him cheer up. He'd calm down eventually and then we'd move past this. It was one little unforeseen conflict. It wasn't as if he was walking out of our lives forever.

Dana was understanding. She wouldn't hold this against him. The only person who would hold on to this would be Aster. He was sensitive and hated breaking promises. He'd had so many people break promises to him that he hated doing it himself.

I held him until he calm down and the whole time I was holding him I thought about how he would have to miss the ballet had Loren known about it. He wouldn't have scheduled on that day if he knew, right?