celenova
yusei had been counting down the days since aki had told him the day she was returning to neo domino city. he made sure not to make any plans for that day so he could spend the whole day with her. he got up early so he had enough time to get ready and meet her at the airport. he wanted to be the first to welcome her back ( not that many of their friends remained, but still ). it was selfish, but yusei wanted to spend as much time with her as possible.
finally seeing her in person after so long ( it felt like an eternity ) took his breath away. had she gotten more beautiful in her absence? it was something he wasn’t brave enough to say, but he had no shame in knowing that he was so lucky to befriend a woman so beautiful inside and out.
“ aki … ” yusei was overwhelmed with so many emotions – seeing her face-to-face, hearing her, being right in front of her and not just hearing her voice over the phone … he wanted to reach out, to hug her, but he held back. he didn’t want her to worry, and he didn’t want to push her or give her the wrong idea ( whatever that idea was ). “ welcome home. ” he smiled back, though it couldn’t compare to hers. “ i’m glad to see that you’re still smiling. ”
his smile made butterflies flutter in her stomach, making her feel pure joy. he had grown, not too much but enough that she noticed over course. though, his smile didn't change at all. it still managed to make her feel so giddy on the inside.
" of course. you told me to keep smiling, it would be wrong of me to deny such a request. "
with a small laugh, she took a step closer. they were older, both of them had matured so much in their time apart, but they were still close. whatever someone would call their bond was still there, she felt it. with that bond came her ability to read him pretty well. on the phone over the years, she could tell the loneliness was getting to him and even now in person, she could tell. her arms quickly wrapped around him, pulling him closer both for herself and for him. her face happily leaned against him, closing her eyes a bit.
" sorry. it must have been lonely, huh? i know i'm not all of our old friends, but hopefully, i can help even if it's just a bit. "















