Sennen:: So I know I haven't been on here in 3827983 years, but forgive me. There is no real reason; I'm just really lazy. So here is my grand re-opening [insert large, gaudy banner here] in my first Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's fanfiction, Bubble Bath [omniscient point of view].

Warning:: Some spoilers for those who are not caught up in the Japanese subbed version [most recent episode as of this story-124]

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Aki Izayoi watched from the twins' balcony as the rain poured. Secretly, she enjoyed the rain; not only could one cry freely in it, but there was a sense of the sky weeping with you. And nature's tears were absorbed by the plants, just as Aki's Deck absorbed her own. The falling water also brought revelation. Aki wished it would give her insight into a rather-foolish-matter.

A flash of bright red in the water-dulled scenery caught her eye. A D-Wheel. Only one other person drove a red D-Wheel. Drenched, Aki returned indoors and waited by the lift, creating a rather large puddle on the floor. She patiently loitered in the corridor, wondering how Zora was holding up. Although Aki had never spoken to Yuusei's landlady directly, she felt sorry for her because of all the recent flooding. Not only was her house becoming moldy, but she had no company in that lonely house. The boys had had to move everything to higher ground. The twins, of course, had graciously opened their arms to the quartet, offering their home as a refuge for not only the boys, but for the equipment as well.

The elevator dinged, and Yuusei walked out-soaked to the bone, his D-Wheel in tow. He glanced up at Aki and inclined his head as a greeting. She looked away and walked back through the twins' penthouse apartment, heading toward the towel cabinet. Draping a dark pink one over her shoulders, she returned to Yuusei with a few smaller, white hand-towels to dry the D-Wheel, and a large blue-and-orange one for its rider.

"Here," she said, handing Yuusei the hand-towels, knowing that he would not dry himself until his D-Wheel was satisfactory. Aki draped the remaining towel over his shoulders.

"Thanks," he said, glancing up at her with a small twitch of his lips. He then proceeded to start drying the front of his D-Wheel.

Aki, on an impulse, decided to help him, and began to wipe off the arch above the seat. As she toiled, she wondered how the test run for the new engine had been (Yuusei had waited until there was a slight break in the rainfall, but it had suddenly come up again while he was out). She hoped he was making fair progress, because Jack would yell at him if he hadn't. Jack...where was he again? Oh, right; he was with Crow and Bruno at Martha's house. The three of them were helping her amidst all the flooding. Jack was most likely being manhandled by Martha (probably because he was "helping" his coffee), Crow keeping the children entertained, and Bruno fixing up a generator. The twins had opted to go with them, but Yuusei had been firm in putting his foot down. Aki had to agree with him; she cared about Rua and Ruka too much to let them catch a cold.

"Yuusei," Aki started, "how did the new engine hold up?"

"Not fast enough..." he muttered, then suddenly sneezed violently.

"Are you all right?" Aki asked, concern apparent in her words. It had sounded rather painful for a sneeze.

"I'll be fine."

Aki placed the small (now dripping) towel on the polished hallway side table, grabbed Yuusei's wrist, and tugged. He looked at her with an interrogative expression, not wanting to leave his precious D-Wheel. Her hand tightened with insistence and pulled him up. He obediently allowed himself to be dragged...to the kitchen? Why had she led him to the kitchen?

Aki nodded toward a chair. "Sit," she ordered as she released his hand.

As Yuusei lowered himself into the seat, he sneezed vehemently again and knocked the chair over. Aki grimaced and slid a box of tissues toward him. "Thanks," he said stuffily. "Say...why are we in the kitchen?"

Aki turned to face him, revealing a coffee pot full of milk. "Hot chocolate."

"...With a coffee maker."

"Yes." And with that, she turned and set the milk to heat.

"M'kay..." Yuusei finally noticed the towel around his shoulders and, upon realizing he was cold, wrapped it tighter. "Why don't we duel to pass the time?" he suggested.

Aki agreed, and they set their Decks on the counter. As the duel commenced, she found it hard to pay attention to the card battle because she began to remember her first duel with Yuusei. He hadn't been afraid of her psychic powers. He had promised her that he would catch all of her vented sorrow. To protect her, just as that strong, sleek Stardust Dragon had protected all those spectators from her Black Rose Dragon's "Rose Gale."

Unbeknownst to Aki, Yuusei was thinking the same thing. His promise was still valid, ready to exist whenever she had need of it. As he attacked Black Rose Dragon with "Shooting Sonic," he realized she was staring at him. Or rather, the bumps where his shoulder pads were. She was slightly pink.

"Why do you have so many pieces of clothing with those orange bubbles?" she finally asked, her cheek rivalling a pink carnation. "You have so many of them. Shoulder pads, knee pads, and elbow pads, I understand. But they're on your jacket, gloves, and boots, too. Why?"

Yuusei was slightly taken aback. No one had ever asked him that. He blinked and said, "My favorite colors are blue and orange. I found the shoulder, elbow, and knee pads in an unopened box in an alleyway. I decided to keep them, and after wearing them awhile, Martha made this jacket for me, and I sewed the pads on later. I don't know where all these bubbles come from, but Martha has all sorts of baubles and trinkets. A few weeks later, on the day she had decided was my birthday, she gave me these boots and gloves. The kids had found scraps in different places, and she stitched them together."

Aki blinked and quickly mumbled, "Oh," embarrassed by caring about such a trivial matter. Still, it was odd that he knew how to sew. Odd, but charming, too...

"It's your turn," Yuusei said quietly, appearing not to be fazed by her abrupt question.

Aki nodded and shivered. She thought about taking a bubble bath after her hot chocolate, but she had a duel to finish first. She had just drawn a card when the coffee maker beeped. She glanced at it, suddenly very cold. She shivered again unknowingly.

Yuusei stood up, knowing Aki was cold~even if she was too proud to admit it. "You need something warm in your system, Aki. You're freezing."

Aki opened her mouth to object, but then decided against it. When Yuusei made a decision, not even Martha could change his mind. She rose in defeat and gathered a pair of mugs and the packets of chocolate powder. Yuusei poured the hot milk into the two mugs and Aki stirred the chocolate in. She handed one to Yuusei. He accepted it slowly, and Aki could not help but notice that his gloved fingertips seemed to linger on hers. She glanced up at him and froze. In his eyes~a look that Aki had never seen there before. The cobalt irises held the concern they usually did~with Yuusei caring about everyone~but they were not as hard as they typically were. Something else lurked in those azure viewpoints~something Aki had not seen since she was a little girl.

Yuusei opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by, "Oi. Are you gonna kiss her already or can I have some hot chocolate, too?"

Aki started, almost spilling the hot drink on herself. Rua was standing in the hallway door, sleepy and sniffing the sweet aroma. Aki felt her face heat up and turned to the sliding door that led outside.

Yuusei looked down slightly, his dark bangs hiding his eyes and cheeks. He poured the steamy liquid into Rua's favorite yellow mug and handed it and chocolate mix to him. Rua mixed it, "Well, later then," and moseyed back down the hall to bed.

"Aki." Yuusei spoke, his voice gentle and caring.

"Yeah?"

"We should get to bed, too. It's late."

"Yeah..." As she turned, Aki's skirt caught on the door, and it slid open as she walked toward the sink. The sudden clash of indoor and outdoor atmospheric pressures vacuumed her outside with a strong force. Aki gasped~her hands lashing out for a hold~her mug shattering on the tile floor.

A second shatter sounded; a hand grasped hers, but it slipped; Aki fell down outside in the freezing rain that she now despised. She heard hurried paces and Yuusei's bubble adorned boots were beside her, his decorated glove extended.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "My grip wasn't very strong."

Aki accepted his outstretched hand. "That's all right. I was wet already."

"Yeah...are you okay?"

Aki nodded.

Yuusei pulled her up, and her head came dangerously close to colliding with his. Yuusei felt his cheeks warm at how close they were.

Aki noticed the salmon tinge of his cheeks and glanced into his eyes. That~look~had returned. She felt the blood flow to her face as she fell into those miniature oceans. She felt the need to show her emotion, so~without reason, she kissed his cheek~precisely on his marker.

Yuusei froze as he felt Aki's cold lips on the side of his face. The blood rushed to his head, and he was momentarily paralyzed.

Aki pulled away blushing a fiery shade of crimson and looked at her feet. "S-Sorry..." she muttered.

Yuusei regained his composure and allotted himself a small smile. "You missed," he murmured softly as he stroked her cheek.

Aki looked up. "What?" She hadn't even time to ponder his meaning before his rough lips touched hers softly. Unable to move, the thought of what was occurring hit her. Yuusei was kissing her. She had a panic attack in her head. What was she doing? What was he doing? But...it was nice~and kind of sweet.

Yuusei moved away and pushed a lock of her hair out of her face. "I said, 'You missed'."

As he held her gloved hand in his, Aki could not help thinking~standing outside the twins' home, bathing in the icy water with her oddly-dressed companion~that she was taking her desired bubble bath after all.

Fin

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Sennen: Okay, how many dirty minds are out there? Don't lie; it's a sin ;] . But anyway, does anyone know why the twins underwent a name change in the middle of the series? It's been bothering me. And for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about:: Fortune Cup names-Lua and Luca. After and during duel with ghost-boy:: Lua is changed to Rua; Luca is changed to Ruka. Oh, and by the way, don't flame me about how they should have hugged at the end. This series takes place in Japan, and Japan is a no-touch country. So I made it as custom.

-Cha~