365 Days of Starshipping (Part 1)

Crow and Jack Return

2/7/19

They never actually got around to playing the VR game, considering Judai was too tired to really think about their deck compositions. Instead, Judai found himself seated in the kitchen surrounded by different types of coffee.

"You do know I've been all over Europe, right? I've tried so many different types of coffee, I think by now I'd know if I actually liked it, which I don't," Judai stated, raising his eyebrow at Yusei, who was standing across the table from him.

"Why not?" Yusei asked in response, fiddling with the jars containing the coffee grounds while trying to decide on one. Judai may not like coffee much, but Yusei clearly did and apparently thrived off it, so he'd bought actual coffee grounds for him so that he wasn't drinking instant coffee anymore.

"Too bitter, and the flavored ones aren't too much better either. Cream doesn't do much for me and most days I don't need the caffeine boost."

"You definitely need one today though, so help me pick one. I'll try to make it more to your liking."

"You do realize it's already four o'clock in the afternoon, right?" Judai responded with a sigh, realizing he was quickly losing the little battle they were having, "Vanilla, I guess."

Yusei smiled at that, picking up the jar of vanilla coffee grounds and quickly brewing up two cups of coffee. Judai watched him fondly for a few moments before closing his eyes for a bit - he was tired, after all, and not used to oversleeping. Under-sleeping yes, as he still had the occasional nightmare or two, but certainly not oversleeping.

Before he knew it Yusei was setting a mug in front of him and sitting down by his side, huddled close enough that they were touching but just far enough so they could drink their drinks without bumping into each other. Taking a peek at the liquid, Judai blinked sleepily, noting that it was a really light brown; either way, he shrugged and took a sip under Yusei's watchful gaze.

He stopped for a second at the sweetness of it, taking another sip before humming out happily. He saw Yusei grin in victory next to him, finally starting to drink his own mug of coffee.

"What the hell did you put in this to get it this sweet?" he asked, taking another long sip. It was way sweeter than anything he'd had before, and he really liked it - he had to wonder if it was actually still coffee he was drinking.

Yusei stared at him a moment in thoughtfulness from behind his mug before answering him with a playful gleam in his eyes, "Trade secret."

"...Really Yusei?"

"Truly," he responded, nodding as seriously as he possibly could. Judai gave him a dirty look, but he knew it was probably ruined due to how quickly he went back to enjoying his coffee. Once they'd both finished, they put the mugs in the sink and made their way back to browsing on Yusei's laptop.

Suddenly Judai realized something, looking over at the couch from where they were seated at the desk, then at the upstairs. He blamed the caffeine for finally kicking in and making him aware of this predicament - why couldn't he have just remained oblivious to this?

"Oh gods," Judai mumbled, continuing to stare at the couch before burying his face in his hands.

"What's wrong?" Yusei asked confusedly.

"Jack and Crow, they most definitely saw us this morning," Judai groaned, looking up at Yusei, "They're going to come back and then who knows what they're going to do."

Yusei stared for a moment before comprehension dawned over his face, his eyes widening slightly as a slight look of horror came over him. This, of course, did not make Judai feel better in the slightest about the inevitable conversation that would take place.

"How screwed are we?" Judai asked, fearing the answer.

"They're going to lord this over us for weeks," Yusei replied, a bit of dread lacing into his voice. He sighed, composing himself again; Judai found himself in a reassuring hug soon after, fingers threading through his hair while Yusei rest his head on top of his. "At least they're gone for most of the day anyways, so it won't be too bad."

Judai hummed at that, though he was less focused on his words at the moment and far more focused on how he was playing with his hair. He'd have to try it on the taller man instead soon, especially now that he knew how nice of a feeling it was.

Of course, this was right when the door to the apartment slammed open. Crow and Jack looked at them, grins splitting across their faces the second they saw how close the two were.

"I'm guessing you two a thing now?" Jack asked, and Judai just felt like dying of embarrassment.

"Yup," Yusei responded, tightening his grip slightly on Judai in reassurance.

It didn't really help much though, since Crow's reaction made Judai want to crawl into a hole and hide forever.

"FINALLY! Hallelujah! It's about time, holy crap, how long were we waiting for this Jack?!"

"Eh... a month or so now?"

"We've been waiting for this moment for a month! A month! Now, smile for the picture you two!"

"W-Wait, guys-" Yusei tried to cut in, but to both his and Judai's despair, there wasn't any way to get out of this situation as Crow pulled a camera out of nowhere and immortalized their embarrassment.