Title: Now

Pairing(s): Yusei x Aki

Rating: K+

Warning(s): Fluff and spoilers for 154

Note(s): It has become quite the point of controversy whether Yusei and Aki kissed in their final scene together, since it was unclear if they did or not. This fic assumes the former.

"I am thinking it's a sign
That the freckles in our eyes are mirror images
And when we kiss they're perfectly aligned
And I have to speculate that God himself
Did make us into corresponding shapes like
Puzzle pieces from the clay."

- "Such Great Heights" by The Postal Service

Eight years seemed like such a long time to be apart.

It didn't always feel it though, considering the fact she visited during the holidays and returned home for a couple of months each summer. It wasn't until autumn, when the leaves began to change colors and she returned to Germany for another year of schooling that he found himself missing her the most.

Of course, they still kept contact through e-mails, letters, long-distance calls, and eventually social networking (Yusei was not keen on getting a Facebook account, but Aki managed to encourage him to sign up). And when she finally graduated from Medical School, he held his breath. She now had two options: either establish permanent residence in Germany or return home.

But apparently, the decision was an easy one for her. Hence why he was now visiting the Neo Domino Hospital to pick her up after her shift ended. She had just changed out of her scrubs by the time he arrived and he could almost literally see her eyes light up with absolute delight when she saw him.

"Yusei," she said with a smile, that same smile he had told her not to forget the night she waited for him in the garage to say a proper good-bye before heading off to study abroad. He returned her greeting, vividly remembering that moment when he realized Aki's hands seemed to fit perfectly in his own and that when their lips briefly brushed together, there was a tingling sensation, like a shock of electricity, that ran down his entire body and ended at the tips of his toes.

There wasn't a lot said then, but words weren't needed. The moment they shared said enough: This is supposed to happen, but not right now. And with this revelation came an unspoken promise that she would one day return to live in Neo Domino City and he would welcome her with open arms when she did.

Well, what was the future then was the present now.

And he still had a bargain to uphold.

Though he kept little contact with Aki's parents while she was away, he was fully aware of what they expected of him now that she had returned. Since he had been 'unofficially dating her for nearly a decade,' as Crow had put it over a telephone call, they were hoping he and their daughter would be married shortly after she came home. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about that, yet.

For awhile, they just talked. About work, dueling, past memories, future hopes... the kind of things they had always talked about when they were at ease. They wandered as far as the Neo Domino Park, where he opted to sit down on a nearby bench and invited her to join him.

It was at this point that further words became unnecessary, just as they had before. She slid closer to him and he allowed his hand to cover hers. Their eyes locked and they gravitated toward one another.

Actually, they had kissed quite a few times since their late-night encounter all those years ago; once while strolling by the Daedalus bridge on a hot summer night, another time under a makeshift mistletoe at Christmas, and also before they parted at the beginning of each August... However, those instances were simply a reassurance that they still remembered their agreement. But it was different now.

Their lips met and he kissed her more fiercely than he had in the past because, for once, there was nothing holding them back. When they drew apart, a second revelation fell upon them, now that the first had been completed:

The time is now.

Fin.

Comment(s): Short, I know.