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There were times, still, that Yuya forgot how much Serena really hadn't experienced until after everything had been dealt with; just what kind of sheltered and, dare he say, kind of awful upbringing she had. Things between them had become so normal - she'd adjusted perfectly well to life in Maiami, or at least it seemed that way, so it was easy for him to forget.
Today, however, it was impossible.
"What's a picnic?" She asked after he had thrown out the idea of something for them to do on their day off. It was the middle of summer, but today was a cooler day thanks to the rain from the night before, so it seemed like a perfect fit. Serena looked down as she asked, as she always did, feeling mildly uncomfortable about not knowing something, but learning how to be a little less… prideful, about it.
Yuya, for his part, tried not to stare at her in wonder and sadness. "It's like, you make some food and you take it and a blanket out to somewhere scenic, and eat lunch outside. It's really… relaxing," he finished lamely. The more he thought about it, the more he doubted Serena would be terribly interested, but he'd already dug himself into this hole.
Besides, he thought to himself, the fact that she had asked was a big improvement over last year. He should take that seriously and do his best to encourage that.
Serena looked back up from her feet, but didn't quite meet his gaze. "I get to choose the food," she said after a moment, her cheeks filling with color.
A grin lit up Yuya's face. He remembered a time, not too long ago, that she hadn't cared about food at all. He'd asked her, back then, what she liked about Academia, and asked about the food there. She had responded with I don't knowsand I don't cares each time. Now, though, after months of dragging her around to different places to eat, she seemed to have developed her own palette. Yuya couldn't have been happier.
"Whatever you desire, I shall make it so!" He replied, using the same dramatic flair he tended to use while Entertainment Dueling. She rolled her eyes at him, but he smile didn't budge. "Let's head out and grab some groceries, then."
The park was bustling with people that day, unsurprisingly, but it didn't bother either of them. Long since had Serena gotten used to living around so many other people, and being able to come and go as she pleased. The amount of freedom she had, despite craving it for so long, had once been almost frightening when she first learned that there would be no going back to separate dimensions. When she had been part of the Lancers, there had been a mission, a goal; it wasn't true freedom.
It had taken a year, but Yuya was proud of how far Serena had come.
He made quick work of setting up their picnic, putting the sandwiches he had made at Serena's request out on plates his mother had given him to use. Every so often, though, he'd sneak a glance at the girl as she people watched, checking for something he couldn't put his finger on.
It was weird, really, how protective he felt over his friend. Since everything had come to an end, and they all were forced to figure out how to live together in Standard - now the only dimension - he'd watched her struggle the most. Even the XYZ duo and Ruri's brother, Shun, seemed to have an easier time adjusting to life there. Even Yuri seemed to have an easier time than his counterpart, and something about that had stuck with Yuya.
"Ta-da!" He flung his arms out wide once he'd finished setting everything up, and Serena raised an eyebrow in response. "Hungry?"
She didn't say anything, just sat down on the blanket a bit awkwardly as she grabbed the sandwich closest to her. Yuya shrugged, knowing very well at this point how Serena could be, and sat down himself, sprawling out over the blanket.
It was nice to have the weather be a little cooler, he thought, turning his face towards the sun as he grabbed one of the triangles he'd prepared. The hotter weather had made it difficult to want to preform or work on his performances at all, and it's not like anyone would be out and about to see them, anyways.
Today, though, he smiled at the people coming and going from the park - younger kids laughing and shrieking as they played together, kids undoubtedly from LDS enjoying their vacation… It was nice to watch.
Over the last year since everything with the four dimensions and their previous incarnations had happened, truthfully, Yuya was still learning to readjust himself as well. He'd lived with the voice of Yuto for so long, that the silence that now replaced it had felt uncomfortable, despite the fact it was his natural state. The fact that they had managed to separate at all after everything was another thing entirely, and now, his simple life with his mother had suddenly evolved to include three other boys that still shared his face.
There had been a lot of change, for everyone.
"Spit it out," Serena said out of the blue, and Yuya jumped a bit. Moving his eyes over to hers, he found that she was staring at him with an expression he couldn't place; eyes narrowed. "If there's something on your mind, just spit it out. No use keeping it to yourself. Isn't that what you're always telling me?"
He almost wanted to laugh. It was true - he was always encouraging her to be open with him about what she was feeling, what was going on inside her head. "We're friends," he'd tell her. "I'm always happy to listen to what's on your mind."
"It's nothing, really," he said, taking a bite of his sandwich. "Things are just so different now, even from when we first met. I never expected it would turn out like this!" His voice was light and airy, but Serena nodded at him seriously.
He found himself wishing, not for the first time, that he could make her laugh more. Everything she'd told him throughout the year about her previous life at Academia had made his stomach tie itself in knots.
"Do you want to duel once we're finished eating?" She asked, and again, he was startled by what she said. "You're also always saying a good duel can clear your head," she reminded him, looking at him pointedly, "and I know you've been looking for some Entertainment Duel practice."
Yuya didn't even have to think about it. "Thanks, Serena," he told her with a smile, and for some reason, her face flushed a bit in response. "I'd love to take you on!"
It certainly hadn't been his attention to amass a large crowd while he and Serena dueled, but it's what happened. They weren't even in an Action Duel, since the park was far too crowded for that, so while he could practice being a generally enjoyable duelist to watch, it wasn't as crazy as the shenanigans he could pull with Real Solid Vision.
"Brave-Eyes Pendulum Dragon then attacks Lunalight Panther Dancer, bringing your Life Points down to zero!" Yuya called out, pointing at the monster in question as the crowd behind him cheered.
Serena, to her credit, didn't look too off-put by her loss. When the holograms faded, she gave him a small smile, and he felt his face get hot at the sight of it, for some reason. "Your strategy has improved," she said honestly, walking over to him from across the field, ignoring the crowd around them. "It was a good duel."
Indeed it had been - an enjoyable duel for Yuya, as well. He had found, over the last year, that he actually quite liked dueling against her; the two of them constantly neck and neck, never keeping a win streak for long.
Wiping away some of the sweat that had formed on his forehead, he grinned at her. "Thanks! You're always getting better yourself, you know. You keep me on my toes."
She looked away from him then, scoffing a little. "I'll make sure to win next time, then."
By the time the two of them got back to the neighborhood, it was already getting dark out. Yuya hadn't expected to be out the whole day, but found that he didn't mind at all.
"Did you have fun today?" He asked Serena, hopeful for a good answer. Despite how well she had adjusted in some aspects, what he really wanted to see from her was her having a good time.
Their duel had been excellent - and the smiles she gave during it were most definitely genuine - but Yuya still wanted to hear it from her. He wasn't really sure why, but he knew that it was important to him.
It seemed that Serena's goal that day was to surprise him as many times as possible, because she smiled at him then. "I believe that's what you would call fun, right?" She asked, raising an eyebrow in jest. "I," she paused to take a deep breath, before turning away from him as she continued. "I always have fun when we duel, you know."
Eyes wide, Yuya stared at her for a long time, before bursting out into a laugh. She whipped her head around, ponytail nearly hitting her in the face, but before she could go off at him he put his hands up to calm her down. "I'm sorry," he told her, still laughing a bit, "but I'm just so happy. I couldn't help it."
Now it was Serena's turn to stare at Yuya, wide eyed and red in the face. Almost without realizing, Yuya committed the sight to memory. As for why, he'd dissect that later.
"Serena?" He asked after a few moments passed. "Are you okay?" Slowly, as if dealing with an injured animal, Yuya's hand crept towards her shoulder.
Snapping back into reality, Serena straightened herself up quickly, moving towards the door to the house she shared with Yuzu, her father, and the other girls in a flash. "Goodnight," she said so fast Yuya had almost missed it as she disappeared behind the door.
Blinking, he moved a hand to scratch behind his head, unsure of what, exactly, had just happened. Shrugging, he turned around to begin the short walk back to his own house, Serena's words playing on repeat in his head.
It had been his initial goal to get her to have fun more often, to enjoy life in Maiami even just a little. Now that he had accomplished that, however, Yuya found he wasn't satisfied; already thinking of new things the two of them could try together. Serena's smiles and laughs weren't like Yuzu's, he'd realized, or even like Rin's - those were happier, more carefree. Serena's, though, almost felt like a gift every time he saw it: small, but genuine, and full of emotion.
"It's fine," he said aloud to himself, still thinking of what else he could try to get her to smile next. "I've got the rest of the summer, after all."