Chapter Text
As it turned out, asking someone out, even one's childhood friend, was more than a little daunting.
Yuzu hadn't anticipated being this nervous when she'd planned last night to ask Yuya on a date, but now she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to pull it off. She stood in front of the door to his house, fighting with herself - she wanted to knock on the door, she really did, but... what if Yusho or Yoko answered instead?
...No, that was a dumb fear. Of course they would understand. Yuya's parents were some of the most wonderful people in town, and Yuzu loved the thought of having them as in-laws... she was getting ahead of herself. She was here to ask Yuya out, not ask for his parents' blessings.
After what felt like far too long (and probably was), Yuzu raised her hand to knock - and then the door opened, revealing the person she'd come here for. Yuya looked a bit surprised, but he smiled at Yuzu as he stepped outside, closing the door behind him.
"...Hello, Yuya." Yuzu greeted him curtly, still struggling with her inner thoughts. It should have been as simple as asking him if he wanted to go out to lunch, but the words wouldn't come, and she was sure that if this kept going, she was going to embarrass herself and royally screw this up.
...Well, at least Yuya was forgiving, and Yuzu knew that he would never hate her. In fact, she was pretty sure he felt the same way toward her as she felt toward him, but of course there was no way of knowing for sure unless she could get those words out.
"Hey, Yuzu!" Yuya returned her greeting, all enthusiasm as always - and then his tone shifted and he stared at her quite intensely. "What's wrong? Your face is all red."
His words prompted Yuzu to act without thinking, and she huffed. "You're what's wrong! I came over to see you so I could ask you out on a date, but you-"
She stopped dead in her tracks as she realized what she'd just said. Well, so much for subtlety - and she was sure her face was even redder now.
"Ask me out... on a date...?" Yuya blinked twice at this, and then he started blushing as well, his face resembling the lower layer of his hair. "You... you mean..."
"...I-I mean, I..." Yuzu silently cursed him for being so cute. "S- sorry... you- you don't have to..."
"N-no, no!" Yuya waved his hands in front of his face. "I just... didn't expect it, is all. You, um..." He took a deep breath, then cleared his throat. "...You want to go out to lunch somewhere?"
As if he'd been prepared for just this occasion. Had he been wanting to ask her out, too?
"...Sure," Yuzu answered him, after a brief, awkward silence. "Um... are you busy today? Maybe we could... spend the day out?"
Yuya's face lit up at those words. "Nah, I'm not busy. I was actually getting kinda bored... I finished all my homework last night, so I don't have anything else to do." He turned around, then glanced back at her. "Just let me tell mom and dad, okay?"
Now that she thought of it, Yuzu hadn't talked to her own dad about this. She really hadn't thought it through as well as she'd initially believed - then again, she hadn't originally planned to spend the whole day with Yuya.
"Yeah… I should probably call my dad, too." Yuzu managed a smile. "Th-thanks, Yuya... I hope this isn't too much of an imposition..."
"No, it's great!" Yuya insisted, smiling from ear to ear. "I'll be honest... I've thought of asking you out before, but I could never work up the courage. Thanks for doing that for me - you really are the best!" He waved back at her. "I'll be right back, okay? Don't wanna keep you waiting!"
He disappeared back inside the house, and Yuzu's shoulders slumped, the tension draining from her all at once. She had really been worried about nothing... then again, that was often the case with Yuya.
After taking a few breaths to steady her nerves, Yuzu picked up her duel disk and dialed her home number. She was sure her dad would approve - in fact, her main concern was him getting too enthusiastic about this...