A/N: Something sweet (I hope) for you all! A bit of a songfic, too - inspired by an acoustic version of SHINee's song, "Hello," that I saw on YouTube. (The version actually goes very well with the mood of the story. If you're interested in listening to it, I've posted the link to the video in my bio, under the date which this story is published.) This fic takes place post-series, btw.
Warnings: fluff-fluff-fluff!
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or the song "Hello." Enjoy~!
Edit: "Quoted, italicized sentences" are the song lyrics.

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You are not done yet, he told himself. You are not done yet.

It was only thirty more minutes until the Game Shop officially closed for the day, but Yuugi honestly wanted out now. He had already cleaned the whole shop- …Alright, so maybe the whole shop sans the areas that he couldn't reach, but it was not his fault that nature and genetics gave him some limitations when it came to everyday life.

Still, regardless of the still-dusty top shelves, he had also checked stock again, just as Sugoroku had asked. He had helped dozens of customers who came in to buy the newly released ninja game (part five), and had even ordered a new stock after discovering that the shop was running out. TL;DR, today had been busy, and he felt like he might as well call it one and close. The only problem with that, though, was that Sugoroku would no doubt somehow find out (the man had the intuition of Isis with five thousand Millennium Necklaces at her disposal) and scold him for it, and Yuugi would once again be rewarded with more chores.

Yuugi sighed. Why even was he still alive.

He wanted to go see Anzu now.

They hardly had the time to go out now, both being busy with their own schedules, but they had somehow gotten some time to themselves for today. Anzu was always getting ready to go to New York, but she wanted to be in tip-top shape when she entered her dream school, and so had long ago taken to practicing as much as she could. Yuugi himself had recently been webcaming with his father more often to discuss Yuugi's future role to the business, as well as how he could still help his grandfather manage the Game Shop while he's at it. It goes without saying, then, that their dates have been somewhat far-and-in-between.

Surprisingly, though- or rather, not so surprisingly, they met and spent time with each other much more frequently as of late. Yuugi would help Anzu organize what she needed to figure out to make her future stay in the States as comfortable as possible, and would go shopping with her whenever she deemed it necessary to buy something for her apartment-room-to-be. Anzu would go with Yuugi whenever he had to take the trains to go see his father. They'd spend all that time just talking, being with each other.

It was just that…those weren't dates. Yuugi scrunched his nose in thought, even when the bell rang again and he spotted two younger kids immediately going to inspect the video game section of the shop. He really liked all that time that he and Anzu spent together, but they never really went out on something one would really consider as an actual date. Still, it wasn't as though he would give up all that time with her and replace them with other events. …Maybe he was just speaking from inexperience.

He sighed, only to stop short and give his customers a welcoming smile as they approached the counter, game at hand and ready to pay. …Maybe he just wanted to do everything that normal couples could do while he and Anzu were still here, in the same country. While they could still be physically close.

.

They decided to earn some money. As a couple, they haven't yet gone to the supposedly mandatory date-in-an-expensive-restaurant. They had laughed at the ideal, but suddenly Yuugi gave Anzu a small, mischievous smile. They didn't have enough money for a date with that much flair…yet.

They decided to go back to Yuugi's house and grab the long-forgotten guitar in his room before picking which busy street they could loiter on to earn some spare change. It was chilly outside - not quite winter but getting there, but somehow, neither of them felt cold - not when it was like heat seemed to exchange itself between them through their linked hands.

Stopping near the marketplace, where it looked like an endless stream of people were walking to-and-fro, they settled down on a space between two stores, away from either of the entrances. "What song?" Yuugi asked, laying his open guitar case down, its empty side facing up. The guitar wasn't huge, made to fit someone more his size when he was twelve, but it wasn't as though he had grown much since then anyway, and the instrument now fit snugly against him as he seated himself beside Anzu.

Anzu hummed in thought while grinning at the prospect of what they were doing. However, after a moment, neither of them answered the question, but there was no need. Yuugi's fingers began toying with a familiar melody, and soon, he was able to remember why he had bothered learning how to play the song in the first place. This song was perfect for how he had felt for her back then.

"When I act like this, I realize that I'm really young.
She's right in front of me, but I don't know what to do.
How do you start love?
People who have loved before, please tell me."

Anzu laughed, already familiar with his fancy for the lyrics. Though she did not really understand the words to the foreign song herself, he had told her the context, played it for her, and she had enjoyed the melody and became ridiculously touched with the reason for why the song was so close to his heart. It only became more special when she found that her feelings were also easily-relatable to the words that were now going from Yuugi's heart to his lips.

"Will there be a day when I can hold her hand?
Will there be a day when I can kiss her closed eyes?
Hello, hello. I brought up the courage.
Hello, hello. I want to speak with you for a moment.
Hello, hello. I might stutter a little, though…
Who knows - we might actually be well together."

This was juvenile, but they continued, bowing occasionally when they noticed people throwing and dropping spare change and bills into the empty case before them. A crowd was forming, and to ease his sudden jump of nerves, Yuugi closed his eyes and imagined that the only ones sitting out here were him and Anzu. Though others began to follow her clapping to the beat of the song, it worked, and he was able to sing with a voice more steady.

"Should I confront her?
Or should I wait for her?
It's harder when everyone tells me to do different things.
She has some high standards - that isn't unusual.
Please believe in me.
Will there be a day when I can hug her freely?
I believe that what we think can come true."

Chorus again. Anzu and some others familiar with the song began to sing along, "Hello, hello~" Why were they doing this again? To act childish, even if just for a moment? The clinking of more change and the clapping of a growing audience didn't quite faze them, however. The word "date" didn't even occur as a passing thought in either of their minds, though that was what Yuugi had originally intended - to take Anzu out on an actual date, for once. All that he could think of now, however, was the song he played mixed with the feeling of the best sense of the word "together."

"This is not my first love.
I've loved and parted before.
But this is still hard.
Please believe in what I say.
You are different.

"Hello, hello. This time, I'll put my whole self out there.
Hello, hello-"

"Oh yeah! Baby, baby, baby boy~!" Anzu sang, though it came out more like a merry laugh.

Yuugi chuckled, "Hello, hello! I don't know what you're feeling now…!

"Who knows - we might…actually…be…

"Something more than this."

.

"Oh, my God."

The crowd had since then left. They had played one more song after cheers for an encore, but chose to stop after Anzu caught several more young women gathering closer and watching an oblivious Yuugi with glossing eyes.

Now, though, both of them slowly looked up from the money that they had counted to each other's incredulous faces. Anzu spoke again, "What do we do with all of this? We can go to an expensive restaurant and eat steak three nights in a row!"

That's right, Yuugi thought. That was the reason he had encouraged Anzu to come with him to get his guitar, to find a spot where they could harmlessly loiter…

He gathered a few of the coins and bills in his hands, recounting it and placing it in his pocket. That would be enough for one dinner date. Then he gathered the rest and handed it out to her, "Keep it."

At the large stack of bills, Anzu leaned back, her expression by itself telling Yuugi that she wasn't so keen on keeping the larger portion.

"Look," Yuugi continued, lowering the stack though his voice came out slightly more saddened. "I…I'm not the one going out of the country right now. You are." He looked down, not really knowing why he was suddenly bringing this up. "That's pretty expensive. …And you…you need another laptop, or something, for the trip because…the one that you have now doesn't have a webcam…"

And for some reason or other - such reasons including that this was Yuugi and that he was always a bit more over-emotional than was healthy - at the simple words, "doesn't have a webcam," he quickly darted his arm up to wipe his suddenly wet eyes with his sleeve.

Anzu didn't know whether to laugh or comfort him, so she ended up doing a bit of both - the laugh sounding much more sadder than she expected or intended, and the embrace which she pulled Yuugi into expressing more joy that he would care for such a trivial thing than solemn comfort.

"Oh boy, Yuugi," she groaned through her laugh. He wasn't crying, really, it was only a sudden tear brought on by the spontaneous emotion he felt at re-realizing that their time together, like this, was limited. But he still hugged her back, even when she began mocking, "We were just singing about a time when we were too afraid to confront each other with our hearts, and now you're worried about the future?"

The money still being held and the guitar still laying near-haphazardly on the sidewalk, the only thing that either of them could think of was this moment: A loose but firm hug, a would-be cold night, the warmth of each others arms and feelings - and they each were storing it in a place within their minds for the upcoming times when they would be too far from each other to physically touch as they were doing now.

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"How was the steak?" Yuugi's mother asked him, her eyes holding a sort-of envious glint as she addressed him, though she was still smiling pleasantly.

"It was delicious. Juicy," Yuugi replied, knowing how much she had always wanted to try out the restaurant he had gone to with Anzu, but his mother always seemed to put it off and disregard the desire, and would eventually forget about it before something would remind her and the cycle would start again.

"Ugh, Yuugi," she scowled, though it was playful, "take your mother out next time instead of your girlfriend! You know how much I've always wanted to go there…!"

Yuugi replied, "Yeah, mom. …There'll be plenty of time for me to take you out there soon. I promise."

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A/N: Heh, the last scene was more so just to prove that Anzu and Yuugi really did eventually go to the restaurant.
Edit: For those unfamiliar with the song, it's (the original version) is Korean, which is why Anzu doesn't know the lyrics (sans the line she sang, which is an English part in the song).

Please review, even if it was a bit short orz ~

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