A Long Search for Happiness

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D/C: I own nothing.

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Carly slowly walked into the garage in Popo Time with Yusei along side of her. After just being released from the hospital, they both traveled to the location nonstop in order to avoid any paparazzi and Jack. More so the paparazzi at this point considering they both knew Jack knew the location but not knowing they would be there. Hopefully, Mina will make sure he doesn't leave the city to come here any time soon.

"We could go back if you want to?" Yusei asked, unlocking the main entrance that lead into the garage.

Carly only shook her head at the offer. "I rather be far away from the city and wait for everything to blow over. Which… at this rate will probably never happen."

Yusei paused. He's not really surprised by her words or blame her for not wanting to go back to New Domino anytime soon. With the arrival of Jack at the hospital and the… fight, between them both, it caught media attention. Not the good kind either. The reporter who got there first was none other than Angela and the tale she spun made them all wonder how she still managed to stay has a viable source of news. The only thing Angela cares for is to get something out at the expense of others. "We'll stay here for as long as you want to."

"What about you? Your work? Your lab?" Carly asked, realization hitting her at the aspect of Yusei leaving here alone. "Yusei, this is serious!"

"I… may of…" Yusei opened the door to the garage to reveal it had a massive makeover. The entire place looked very reminiscent to his lab back in the city. Everyone in the place got either fixed up, upgraded or simply replaced. The walls are a metallic grayish blue, futuristic looking furniture and there was a set up for where Yusei could do his work. "Bringing my work here with me."

"Oh…"

-.-

It wasn't awkward or tense. If anything, Carly and Yusei felt more at peace with the silence. Carly writing in a notebook and Yusei typing away at a nearby desk that contained a computer system, doing some work. There are times that Carly or Yusei will glance at the other, before quickly going back to their work. Neither one of them wanted to break the silence.

The silence was fare more comfortable than having to accidently bring up a… sore subject.

A sharp ringing interrupted that silence, causing them to look at the phone charging away next to Yusei. Yusei, absentmindedly, reached up to his ear where he had an earpiece connected to the phone. "Fudo… Akiza?… What do-… It's not her fault, someone had robbed them… Akiza… Akiza… Akiza, she did not sell them or publish the under a different name. Someone took stole her articles, she had nothing to do with their publishing."

Carly hid her face in her notebook, she wondered if she should leave or stay. It was clear the topic of conversation is about her… and about those articles…

"I'm not going to tell you where we are… Yes, she's with me… No, I'm not going to pass the phone to her… Akiza, that's between me and her…" Yusei paused, making Carly wonder what Akiza could have said to make him go silent for so long. "Carly and I don't have a clear define label for our relationship. However, I know I want to be by her side and we both know that we want to be together when we are in the right place… No Akiza, I choose my path and you choose yours… I can't answer that, I just know that she is special to me… She's not at fault, remember that."

Yusei reached up and pressed a button on the earpiece to end the call. Carly watched as his right hand slowly closed into a tight fist, slowly placed it down on the table. She now really wished she had left the room when Yusei brought down his fist against the table with an audible slam. "Yusei?"

Yusei visibly tensed, it didn't take a full minute before he fully relaxed and promptly took out the earpiece. He wondered if he should have gone to another room for the phone call or at least made sure at least she wasn't in earshot. Then, in the back of his mind, a flashback onto what had happened to Carly when Jack had confronted her about his own private articles being published without his consent or knowledge. "It was Akiza… she called abo-"

"Did she call about the articles or did she call about us?" Carly questioned, cutting Yusei off. At this point, she didn't care if she's being blunt. People breaking into her apartment, stealing her articles, the publications of said articles, and the results of said publications, it finally got to her. She is tired and trying to convince people otherwise that she was not for it all, proves to be more than she can handle. Mina and Yusei could very well handle it, and Carly just wants it all to be over with. There was no point in sugar coating anything, all of it will just end up hurting her more in the end.

"Both, leaning more towards the both of us. She's under the belief you had the articles published to get under her skin to uh…" Yusei grew silent towards the end, huddling into himself as he wanted to either hide from nervousness or annoyance, at whatever Akiza had said to him. "That you had them published in an attempt to make a jab at her for whatever reason."

"…Did Jack call her and told her what happened at the hospital?"

"He did."

"…Jack was under the belief there was something going on between the both of you."

"I see…"

Yusei slowly took in a deep breath, he swiveled around in his chair to see Carly staring at him from the couch. From his spot, the light had capture Carly's glasses, making it possible to see her grey eyes he could possibly say, fell in love with. "She got worried that you were possibly double-timing Jack with me and using me to up your career as a reporter. With Jack calling her, it only made things worse. That and…"

"You two grew to have feelings for each other… but it faded as time went by." Carly provided.

Yusei nodded, he crossed his arms over his chest, his mind filled with all his final interactions with Akiza before she left for schooling. Did he have feelings for her at some point, yes. Did he ever follow through with them, no. It just felt it was not the right time and with so much time had passed by, those feelings were transferred over to his work as their communication became stagnant and well… with Carly coming into the picture, it was when things were really put into perspective. "Jack called her, under the belief that her and I were together. Akiza, believes that you had seduced me, under the belief that you are only using me to up your career. Yes, she's horrified at the articles, but more so at the thought of you using me."

"Seduced?" Carly deadpanned. "Me? Seducing you? I don't have enough grace, let alone the know-how on how to seduce anyone. Let alone you."

"Oh? Really, now?"

-.-

"They were both lonely and they just were drawn to each other because of it. Yeah, it sounds sappy, but they are both very happy with each other." Mina sighed, sniffing deeply at her highly caffeinated drink Stephanie just served her. "Jack, I believe, expected Carly to wait for him."

"That she shouldn't move on with her life and to continue living in the past?" Stephanie provided, getting a nod of approval from Mina.

"In a nutshell. After what happened in the hospital… Jack isn't ready to let go and let Carly to continue on living her own life."

"Where is he right now?"

"Jack? Oh, he's been trying to figure out where she moved to and where she is right now. I have Trudge make sure he doesn't leave the city." Mina snorted into her drink. "Carly and Yusei are having one on one time, and the last thing we need is someone barging into their moments of solitude with either sheer stupidity or complete exasperation."

-.-

If there was one thing Crow would have never expected to see walking into Popo Time, is seeing Yusei kissing Jack's supposed reporter girlfriend… So when he quickly ran out the door, shutting it loudly behind himself and he attempted to gain his breathing what he saw was just a trick of his eyes… Crow turned right around and knocked on the door, which what he should have done in the first place.

Could you blame him? He thought no one was at the location. No one. Yeah, he didn't call ahead but… HE THOUGHT NO ONE WAS HERE!

Slowly the door opened to reveal a clearly annoyed Yusei, his clothes look disheveled and hair out of place. "What."

"…WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING HERE!"

TBC.