'Totally a Bromance' (Markedshipping)

Chapter 2: "A Little Birdie Told Me..."

Yusei had finally finished tuning his Duel Runner, tirelessly wiring it all afternoon. 
As the sun set, he threw down his spanner and let out a glorious sigh of relief. His arms ached, his neck creaked; Yusei could finally stretch and relax.

"Are you done?" Jack boomed across the garage. 
Yusei winced and turn his head to view the blonde.
"Yeah, just about."
"Good, 'cause I needed you to search for Crow. He's been out since midnight despite having no work today. I can't be bothered searching so... You need to."
Yusei stood, having another stretch briefly. 
"W-why didn't you tell me sooner? If Crow's out this long, we should be worried..."
Jack spat, smirking.
"Hmph. You can worry, I just want him back so I can eat. You know I'm not going to cook and I do not trust your poisonous concoctions."
With that, Jack turned and waltzed away, closing the door with a slam. 

Thank God I finished fixing my bike... Crow isn't normally this late, even if he was out working.
The bright red Duel Runner fled through the City's streets, flying over the highways as Yusei checked every inch of the city in order to find the missing duellist. 
After racing through the city, and after finding zero signs of the other, Yusei switched lanes onto the main highway, the newly-constructed road that bridged the city and Satellite. This long, fresh lane brought Yusei back to that devastating battle between the Signers and Goodwin, and reminded him of Crow's selfless nature. Crow had entered that duel despite not being a Signer, in hopes to aid Jack and Yusei in their duel. In fact, Crow had been defeated in the duel first, leaving behind a key card which led Yusei to victory. 
As the wind whisked over his helmet, skating across his face, Yusei gazed out at the scenic view of Satellite. Their home, their origin; Crow had to be there.

Once in the sector, Yusei drove to the first place he thought Crow would head to by a whim - Martha's. Her orphanage was where they grew up, where they bonded, where they shared fond memories. If Crow wanted to get out of the city, he would find solace at Martha's.
Parking outside, Yusei removed his helmet and headed inside.
Greeting him was Blister, who had moved in with Martha to help her care for the surplus of children, after Crow had moved to the city.

"Yo, Yusei. You here on business?" Blister laughed, patting Yusei's shoulder with some force. Yusei greeted him, but had an air of seriousness to his voice.
"Hey Blister, you could say that..." 
"Somethin' on your mind?" 
"It's just, you haven't seen Crow today, have you?"
Before Blister could answer, Martha drew in from the kitchen, meeting both in the hallway. 
"Yusei, good to see you, I hoped you would come after Crow."
After... Crow?

They sat at the kitchen table, Martha sitting opposite the Signer. 
"I'm glad you came to hunt for him. He shouldn't leave you guys without saying."
"So, he is here?" Yusei felt relieved, a faint smile playing on his face.
"Not exactly," Blister butted in, sipping his coffee.
"You see, Yusei," Martha lowered her tone. Yusei leaned in, closer.
"He came this morning, very early on. He said he needed to search Satellite to find something. For you."
Yusei blinked, squinting. "For me? Why-"
"A gift. He said he wanted to get something to say 'thank you.'" 
He didn't know what to say, a gift? For me?
"He hoped he could find something perfect, since Satellite is known for that kind of stuff. But alas, he hasn't been sighted since." Blister continued sipping.
"No... No! He didn't need to, I haven't been doing anything like that, and if he wanted to thank me he-"
"Stop being so humble, man." Blister's gruff voice chuckled. "He told us how much prep you guys have done for this W. G... P... Whatever it is. And he paid close attention to how much you have been doin' for them."
Yusei felt fuzzy from hearing what Crow had said, like this. 
"But Crow has been doing just as much - he takes deliveries out and works all day everyday to pay for us to keep going, does he not-"
"He was adamant about how much you were doing though, and said that he felt like he and Jack don't thank you enough." Martha sighed, "He's a good kid  and you know how much he wants to thank people, especially you." 

Yusei fell back into his chair, eyes glaring at the table. He was in shock. Crow really used his one rare day off to find something for Yusei, to thank him? Yusei felt bad that he hadn't thanked Crow in a while.
"Maybe I should find something to thank Crow too..." Yusei muttered out loud.
Blister and Martha shared a sheepish glance.
"Yusei, just go find him." Martha demanded.
"R-right," Yusei leapt up, pulling on his gloves.
"I'll go make sure the kids are alright, they've been up since Crow came, and probably won't sleep until he comes back." Blister left Martha with Yusei, heading into the back.

As Yusei headed to the door, Martha stopped him, holding his shoulder.
"One more thing... He's not just getting a gift for you because he wanted to thank you. He wants something to break the ice..."
"Break what ice?" Yusei glanced over his shoulder, eyebrow raised.
Martha chuckled, voice weakening down to a whisper.

"A little birdie told me... Crow has feelings for you."