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Yusei couldn’t help but wonder if Judai had possibly been in the city the year before that, as well. The thought of his friend in danger like that didn’t exactly sit well with him, and his curiosity wasn’t enough to overcome how awkward he felt it would be to bring the question up. 

“It was a… pretty amazing duel,” he replied thoughtfully. The whole scenario had a lot of feelings and emotions attached to it that always gave Yusei a slightly difficult time untangling. He couldn’t deny that it was spectacular, at the very least.

Yusei had gotten quieter. Judai couldn’t help but feel that it was because of his choice in conversation topic. But he couldn’t really think of anything else to talk about that wouldn’t set HIM on edge, so he persisted anyway. 

“Yeah! And it was… just… so exciting, with that huge thing dropping down slowly on top of everything. I had a great seat, you know.” He gave Yusei a thumbs up. “Right in the middle of the city.” 

Yusei hadn’t really given Judai’s decision to watch the whole Ark Cradle incident too deep of a thought - that is, until he brought up the fact that he was in the middle of the city during the most dangerous part. “Why didn’t you leave with everyone else?” he asked, suddenly changing his expression to one of a mix of shock and worry. “There was debris falling everywhere, you could have gotten hurt…!”

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Yusei made a non-committal ’hmmm’ in response, not entirely sure how well he’d be able to pull that particular request off. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, sliding his hands down and placing them on Bruno’s chest. “I’ll… try,” he finally replied.

Well, this was cozy. Bruno watched Yusei’s face carefully for a few long moments before he spoke. “Thanks…” Their faces were so close. It would be normal for him to kiss Yusei again before he pulled away, but Yusei had been so weird about it last time. Because I’m not here anymore, he thought a little sadly. Maybe I just shouldn’t even think about it.

Gently, Bruno began to let go of Yusei. “Well! Now that that’s settled, what else do we have left to fix?” he asked brightly.

As he felt Bruno letting go of him, Yusei gently pressed his forehead into the other’s chest, resting it there briefly before pulling away. As much as he wanted to give in to all his old habits with Bruno, he was still rather apprehensive about the whole situation. Still, he couldn’t stop himself from taking a little bit of comfort with the other while it lasted.

“Once the bike is tuned up, I think that might be it… ” Prior to the peculiar encounters with people he shouldn’t be encountering, Yusei’s free time had been particularly plentiful, and he had been using it to repair things around the garage as well as fixing things up for the residents of the city as side-jobs. Due to this, he didn’t have much of a back-log of things to do.

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Yusei was a little surprised at the sudden comment, and found himself at a bit of a loss for words. “Did… you?” Honestly, he wasn’t entirely sure what to say to something like that. Talking about his own accomplishments was still really odd, but it was clear that talking about Judai’s life was a bit of a bad idea at this point. 

“So, you were in the city back then?”

Judai nodded, fidgeting with the mug on the table now. “Yeah. I visited a lot back then, but I never stayed long. I heard about the WRGP and I wanted to watch, so I was in the city then.”

A slow grin spread across his face. “I got to watch that thing falling down on the city and the way you stepped up to the task of defeating it. It was … well, it was one of the best duels I’ve ever seen!”

Yusei couldn’t help but wonder if Judai had possibly been in the city the year before that, as well. The thought of his friend in danger like that didn’t exactly sit well with him, and his curiosity wasn’t enough to overcome how awkward he felt it would be to bring the question up. 

“It was a… pretty amazing duel,” he replied thoughtfully. The whole scenario had a lot of feelings and emotions attached to it that always gave Yusei a slightly difficult time untangling. He couldn’t deny that it was spectacular, at the very least.

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Yusei closed his eyes in thought, nodding slightly. “Well… thank you for telling me. It explains a lot.” It sort of trashed his idea about the other being able to freely move in and out of the timeline, but that was fine. One less thing to try and sort out later, really. 

Judai was silent for a long time after that, sipping at his coffee and continuing to watch Yusei. It was weird. There were things that he had wanted to say to the younger man, but now that he was sitting RIGHT THERE, Judai couldn’t remember a single one of them.

“I watched you save the city, you know,” he commented finally, rather abruptly. “It was amazing!”

Yusei was a little surprised at the sudden comment, and found himself at a bit of a loss for words. “Did… you?” Honestly, he wasn’t entirely sure what to say to something like that. Talking about his own accomplishments was still really odd, but it was clear that talking about Judai’s life was a bit of a bad idea at this point. 

“So, you were in the city back then?”

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Yusei’s expression softened from curiosity to sympathy, though it was probably difficult to tell since Yusei’s emotions were never clearly displayed in his expression. “That… has to be rough,” he replied, recalling Z-One. That man had lived to be so incredibly old, and while it wasn’t the same situation that Judai had found himself in, Yusei felt it was pretty similar. He had learned a lot about Z-One in that man’s few final minutes… 

With a small laugh, Judai shrugged and picked up his mug again. “It’s how life panned out. I’m fine with it now.” He took a drink and looked at Yusei over the top of the mug.

“I just figured you should know. I’ve kind of been… deluding you up till now.” 

Yusei closed his eyes in thought, nodding slightly. “Well… thank you for telling me. It explains a lot.” It sort of trashed his idea about the other being able to freely move in and out of the timeline, but that was fine. One less thing to try and sort out later, really. 

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“… Oh.” Well, there go all his assumptions, right out the window. But, still, that raised even more questions. It certainly explained a lot of things that Judai had been saying earlier, however…

“How?” was all he could ask. He set his mug down gently on the table, giving the other a baffled look. It didn’t sound that far-fetched, certainly not with everything that had happened to Yusei already, but… what had made Judai so special that this would happen to him?

Judai shrugged and looked away, unable to maintain eye contact with Yusei any longer at the moment. “I think it happened when I fused with Yubel. She’s a sort of… mythological being herself. Longevity, the whole works. Plus I’m… a king of a sort? It’s hard to explain.” 

He glanced to Yusei again, fiddling with the edges of his mug. “I didn’t realize it until I was well into my thirties, pushing forty. When I had barely aged since school.” 

Yusei’s expression softened from curiosity to sympathy, though it was probably difficult to tell since Yusei’s emotions were never clearly displayed in his expression. “That… has to be rough,” he replied, recalling Z-One. That man had lived to be so incredibly old, and while it wasn’t the same situation that Judai had found himself in, Yusei felt it was pretty similar. He had learned a lot about Z-One in that man’s few final minutes… 

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“I’ll say…” He frowned a tiny bit before taking another sip of his drink. He could tell that this particular topic was making the atmosphere a lot heavier than was comfortable. “Sorry, it’s just been on my mind a lot lately.” Time for another topic change.

“You were right, though, this coffee is really good.”

This was all wrong. Every part of it was wrong. And it was all because Judai was having a hard time forcing himself to explain things to Yusei. You should tell him, came the voice that Judai knew only too well. It was better to listen than to fight against good advice.

Suddenly, he set his mug down and looked Yusei in the eyes. “Yusei, I’ve been alive for a little over a hundred and thirty years. That’s how I’ve been able to come to the city frequently. It’s why I look and act older. It’s because I am. Much older.” 

“… Oh.” Well, there go all his assumptions, right out the window. But, still, that raised even more questions. It certainly explained a lot of things that Judai had been saying earlier, however…

“How?” was all he could ask. He set his mug down gently on the table, giving the other a baffled look. It didn’t sound that far-fetched, certainly not with everything that had happened to Yusei already, but… what had made Judai so special that this would happen to him?

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Yusei thought for a bit on the other incarnations of Judai he’d run into. He… thought it might not be a good idea to bring them up. It could make things awkward, especially with the one that had been married to one of the other Yuseis. 

Though he couldn’t help but wonder if Judai shared one of his particular… problems. “I’ve… even been running into people that shouldn’t still be around,” he admitted, looking down at his coffee before taking a sip. 

That one actually brought Judai up short. He watched Yusei for a long moment before looking down at his mug, an uncharacteristically sober expression on his face. “Yeah. I’ve been having that problem too. It’s… well, it’s unsettling is what it is…”

Slowly, he picked up the mug and took a long drink. This meeting wasn’t going anything like how he had hoped. It was starting to make him sad… 

“I’ll say…” He frowned a tiny bit before taking another sip of his drink. He could tell that this particular topic was making the atmosphere a lot heavier than was comfortable. “Sorry, it’s just been on my mind a lot lately.” Time for another topic change.

“You were right, though, this coffee is really good.”