365 Days of Starshipping (Part 2)

Venturing Off

7/24/19

Judai'd finally narrowed the location of Starlight Junktion down to a single place. It was in a dimension he'd spent quite a bit of time in actually, just in a very hidden section that he guessed was hidden from the other residents of the spirit world as well - it was locked away behind a bunch of machinery and secret button panels, which made him wonder what'd happened during its creation in the first place.

Every spirit dimension and world had a story behind it, after all. Little bits of history would be scattered around every single location, but it was difficult to string together. Daitokuji had been extremely good at finding all the parts and pieces and putting the story together when they'd been travelling, and it was always interesting to learn about the different turf wars and disputes that'd happened. Plus, it usually helped them figure out why certain groups of duel monsters interacted with each other in odd ways.

Either way, Junk Synchron had whispered the new info to him the next morning, sounding extremely proud of what he, Quillbolt, and Sonic Chick had managed to do - they'd managed to find the exit along the dome the hidden city was in and reverse the path out, finding all the hidden buttons and panels. It'd taken them a solid day and a half, almost two days, but they were a determined little bunch and succeeded, even drawing up a map he could follow if need be.

"Yusei!" Judai exclaimed, catching the other's attention from where he was re-wiring some of his machines to prep for what he was working on that day, "I'm taking a trip to the spirit realm today, okay?"

"Okay," Yusei blinked, giving him a curious look as he put down the cords in his hands so he could join him, "Are you going to see the Aromages?"

"I'm planning on stopping there at some point, but I also need to check on a few places," Judai replied, not lying about that - he'd been putting off some routine checks he usually did on a few specific locations in the spirit realm, making sure that Darkness and the Light of Destruction hadn't tried putting their mitts on anything, so he was going to do that before making his way to Starlight Junktion, "Did you want anything in particular from there?"

"If you're able to, could you get more of the body wash with healing properties?" Yusei asked, smiling as he stopped in front of him and brushed some of Judai's hair away from his face, "It'd be good to keep a stock of it, just in case... actually, I recall there being soap like that too - that'd probably be better to get."

"I'll see what I can do," Judai said, reaching up with one hand and threading their fingers together, "I don't know how long it'll take, so I might not be back in time for dinner."

Yusei hummed, smile turning slightly softer as he nodded, "Alright. We've still got lots of leftovers thanks to all the food you brought back last night, so we'll be just fine if you aren't." He tilted his head a bit, eyes studying his face with a slightly more serious look, "You're checking on those places for corruption, right? Stay safe."

Judai chuckled lightly, letting his head fall on the other's shoulder as he hugged him, "Didn't even have to tell you, you already knew. I'll stay safe, don't worry."

"Good," Yusei stated, wrapping his arms around him as well and placing a kiss on the side of his head, "You leavin' now?"

"Yeah, just gotta grab a few things from the room first," Judai confirmed, though he didn't move, wanting to enjoy the hug for a bit longer. It was comforting and warm, things he needed before heading off to what he knew what be a long, tiring day of jumping around the spirit realm as fast as he could. He sucked in a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he just basked in the moment.

"I love you," Yusei murmured softly, squeezing him tighter for a second before bringing up a hand to scratch lightly through his hair.

"Love you, too," Judai replied back, finally bringing himself to pull back after a few more seconds. He leaned up, pressing their lips together in a short, but sweet kiss, grinning afterwards and earning himself a chuckle in return, "Don't let those gears of yours overwork today, got it?"

"Understood."

"Should I get like, a huge hydro flask of water and stick it right by your computer just in case?"

"I don't think that'll be necessary..."

"Or should I make a pot of tea and-"

"-Just go already, cute Kuriboh," Yusei interrupted, ruffling his hair as they both laughed and exchanged another quick kiss.

"Alright alright, be back soon!" Judai waved, walking up the stairs to get his stuff.

First things first, he needed to make a pit stop to his own dimension and pick up some duel monster currency from the castle. Then he could actually buy what he wanted from the Aromages, which he was greatly looking forward to because it meant he could finally get that cat potion for Yusei.

...Wait, the Aromages were going to tease the hell out of him, weren't they? Ah well, it was definitely worth anything they could throw at him - if it meant he got to experience a Yusei with actual functioning cat ears and a tail for a day, then nothing could stop him.