Anzu fidgeted with her hands, a light blush suffusing her cheeks as she looked at Yugi. "Um... so... thanks for the date... Yugi..." she said.

Yugi nodded. His entire face was red, and he was trembling. There was a panicked look in his eyes.  He stared determinedly at the sidewalk like it provided the answers to whatever question was rolling around in his brain. "Um..."

Anzu took a deep steadying breath, closed her eyes, and lowered her head, lips puckered.

Yugi felt his already hot face become hotter, and stumbled a step back. He crashed right into a trash can and fell over, covered in brown banana peels and instant noodle boxes, among other things.

Anzu's eyes opened. She stared in shock at Yugi on the sidewalk, then sighed and walked over to him.

"Sorry, Anzu," he mumbled, looking dejected.

She shook her head. "It's fine, Yugi." Holding out a hand, she helped him up. With a sigh, he began brushing the trash off of him, face once again studying the walkway.

Casually, face tilted toward the sky, she asked, "...Wanna try again tomorrow?"

He jerked his head up, a clump of ramen hanging forgotten between his fingers. "...Um... yeah."

"Then... see you tomorrow," she said, blushing once again. With a last, sweet smile at Yugi, she turned and headed inside.

"See you," he said automatically, staring after her, a hopeful sparkle in his eyes as he finally let the ramen drop.

"So, how did it go?" his other self asked, sitting casually on Yugi's bed, his transparent body not making a dent in the bedspread.

Yugi blushed. "...The date was fine. We've always gotten along really well. But when we got back to her family's apartment, she tried to kiss me."

"Then you kissed her," Yami said, smirking.

"Er... no, I didn't." Yugi said with a groan, burying his head in his pillow. He'd taken a shower as soon as he'd gotten back, but thought he could still smell something sweetly rancid hanging over him.

Yami leaned forward, looking confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well... when she tried to kiss me. I, er... I tripped on a garbage can, and fell, and... after that... she went inside." He brightened slightly. "But she wanted to go on another date with me tomorrow."

Yami's lips were twitching suspiciously as he patted Yugi gently on the head. "At least the rest of the date went well. And she's willing to try it again."

"Yeah... I guess." But Yugi still looked worried. He hugged his arms tight around his body, frowning.

"What's wrong?"

Yugi looked miserably up at his other self. "I've never kissed anyone before. That's why I panicked when Anzu tried to... to..." He blushed, quickly hiding his head against his drawn up knees. "I just know she'll expect me to be some kind of expert or something. I don't want her to know how inexperienced I am."

Privately, Yami didn't think Anzu expected any such thing, but he understood Yugi's problem. He wanted experience, so he could impress Anzu. "I see."

Yugi sighed, turning his face back up. It was still tinged pink from blushing. "I need to practice before tomorrow, or I'm afraid I'll panic again, and... and I don't want that to happen."

"I'm sure it'll turn out fine, even if you don't practice."

Yugi turned troubles eyes toward his double. "But what if it doesn't? I'd hate to keep disappointing her."

They were silent for several minutes. Suddenly, Yugi sat up straight and looked at his other self, mouth open and eyes wide in realization. "I... think I know of a way to practice."

Yami tilted his head. "Really?"

Yugi looked up at his other self with sparkling eyes. "You can teach me!"

Yami went red and shook his head.

"No... no, listen. You look just like me, and we share the same body, so... so it's like I'm practicing on myself. It should work!" He leaned forward, the blanket slipping from his thighs.

Yami didn't move, but his expression turned wary. "Aibou..."

"Please?"

Yugi's expression was so hopeful that his other self crumbled. He knew it was a bad idea, but he'd never been able to resist the whims of his little partner. "Okay, we'll practice."

Yugi gave his most innocent, happy smile and hugged Yami around the waist.  Despite being in spirit form, Yugi had never had any trouble touching his double.  "Thank you!"

Yami looked helplessly at the bundle of warmth in his arms. He knew he would do anything for this most precious of people. "Close your eyes," he murmured into Yugi's hair. He was glad Yugi wouldn't be able to see the blush which had returned to his cheeks.

Yugi's other self gently leaned Yugi back and tilted his head up. Yugi's eyes were obediently closed. In the moonlight, Yugi's lips had been frosted with silver.

Gently, Yami kissed Yugi. At first, it was just a gentle pressing of their lips together, but then Yami began moving, and his tongue flicked out, licking Yugi's lower lip, nibbling gently. Yugi's mouth opened in a gasp, and suddenly Yami's tongue wasn't just on his lips, but in his mouth, exploring, tangling. Yugi's senses reeled. He was sure if he hadn't been sitting already, he would have fallen over.

Yugi eventually had to pull away for air. His cheeks were flushed, and his lips were full and bruised from the heat of Yami's kisses.

After he'd gotten his breathing under control, Yugi asked in a dazed voice, "That's what kissing is like?"

Yami nodded.

"Wow." He smiled shy at Yami. "Thank you, my other."

Yami nodded again, smiling at his little partner. "Mm."

But as Yugi slid under his covers for the night, Yugi's face peaceful in the light streaming from his bedroom window, his other self felt the smile slip off. With a pained look and one last, fleeting touch to Yugi's hair, he disappeared back into Yugi.

Anzu shifted her hands nervously in her dress as they stood before her apartment. Yugi looked even more nervous than her. It wasn't a good sign.

"Um... it was a wonderful movie, Yugi..." she said, smiling. "Thank you for taking me."

"Thank you for being willing to go out with me," he responded, smiling tremulously.

She shrugged, blushing. "Then... um... well, good night."

Yugi gulped. "Goodnight."

Anzu leaned down, her eyes closed and lips puckered. She waited for another crash, but none came. Instead, she felt Yugi's gentle lips on hers. Yugi's kiss was everything that made up Yugi - innocent, light, warmly comforting, and just a little shy. They broke from the kiss, blushing even harder than before.

Anzu murmured again, "Goodnight," and hurried into the apartment building. Yugi frowned thoughtfully after her.

"So, how did it go?" Yami asked, sitting down next to Yugi on his bed.

Yugi had been frowning ever since that kiss with Anzu, and his other self's question just made it deepen. "It... it was okay."

Yami looked a little worried now. "Just okay?"

"Mm." Yugi nodded. He hesitated a moment, then got up and sat next to Yami, leaning into him. "It was... okay. But... the practice we had yesterday... I... I liked that a lot better." He turned confused eyes up to Yami. "Maybe I did something wrong."

Yami sighed and patted his little partner on the head. "Maybe, but.... Well, give it time. These things don't always work the first time. Try again on the next date, okay?"

"I will. Can we..." Yugi blushed, and mumbled into the sheets, "...Can we practice a little?"

Smiling, Yami gently tipped Yugi's face up and kissed him. The kiss was electric, sparking all of Yugi's nerve endings. Then Yami deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue into Yugi's mouth. Yugi groaned and threw his arms around Yami's shoulders, leaning into the kiss.

When they broke off, both were panting and flushed. Yami sighed and rest his forehead against Yugi's. "Need any more practice?" he asked softly.

"I might..." Yugi whispered.

As his other self leaned in again, Yugi wondered if it was really just practice.

"Yugi?"

Yugi blinked, noticing Anzu's presence for the first time that evening. She sat across from him at the restaurant, chopsticks resting against her plate and her hair glowing softly in the subdued lighting. He blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, Anzu."

She frowned worriedly, and Yugi recognized in her look the ghost of their childhood friendship. "What's wrong? You've been distracted since our date started."

Yugi bit his lip. "Anzu... something just..." He shook his head, and looked at her. "Can we try kissing again?"

Anzu was surprised and more than a little embarrassed, and her refusal was on her lips... where it died, looking at the troubled expression on Yugi's face. No matter what, Yugi would always be her friend, and she would do anything she could to protect him.

"...Alright," she murmured.

It was akward, but they leaned across the table and let their lips rest together. When they pulled away, instead of looking better, Yugi's worried frown had increased.

Anzu licked her lips nervously, a question in her voice as she said, "Yugi."

Yugi winced, his hands clenching in the front of his shirt. "I... I'm sorry, Anzu."

Anzu was silent, studying Yugi's face. She knew him, knew he didn't like to hurt people. He always twisted himself into knots whenever he did, his pain ten times worse than whatever the other person's was. Anzu recognized all the signs now of that happening.

She sighed and reached out a hand, placing it over Yugi's own. The action made him flinch, but he didn't pull it away. "Yugi, what's wrong?"

Yugi's eyes dropped to his plate, studying the barely touched rice and... something fancy which Anzu had ordered for him. He still wasn't sure what it was, actually.

"Anzu, I... think that... I... we're... it's just..." He swallowed back his words, but felt them stick at the lump in his throat. "I... think... I'm... it's..."

Anzu sighed. There was only one topic which could make Yugi this nervous around her. "Yugi, you want us to go back to being friends?" she said gently.

Yugi looked at her, mouth gaping, eyes wide, brain clearly trying to catch up. "H-h-how...?"

She smiled warmly, knowing Yugi had to see she wasn't mad at him, because otherwise her friend would assume she was. "I love you Yugi, but you're a friend. There was just... something missing, right?"

He nodded, blushing. "Y-yeah."

"Me too," she whispered, smiling.

His relief was visible, his shoulders slumping and his body relaxing for the first time that evening. "Thank you, Anzu."

She shrugged, winking. "That doesn't mean friends can't eat dinner together, right?"

Yugi nodded happily.

When Yugi entered his bedroom and flicked on the light switch that night, he was in high spirits. Everything had been resolved, and Anzu and him were back to being just friends. The relief he felt surprised him.

A form coalesced in the darkness. Yami stepped up next to Yugi, studying the boy's obvious happiness. "It looks like everything went well."

"It was amazing! She felt exactly the same as me!" Yugi said, eyes shining.

"I am happy for you, aibou," Yami said softly, smiling softly, eyes shuttered. "So when's your next date with Anzu?"

Yugi blinked. "Anzu?" He shook his head, looking confused. "We're not. We're just friends."

Now Yami looked confused. "...Aibou?"

Yugi took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I don't think I'm explaining properly." He smiled up at his partner. "Anzu and I decided we were just friends, and won't be dating anymore."

Yugi turned away suddenly, so that Yami couldn't see him blush. "It just wasn't anything like... like our practice was."

Yugi felt thin arms encircle him from behind, and leaned into Yami's embrace. Yami murmured into Yugi's shoulder, "Aibou, are you sure?"

Yugi turned and nooded into Yami's chest. "Mm."

Then Yami's lips were covering his, and Yugi stopped thinking when Yami's tougue entered his mouth, tangling in an ancient dance. Yami tasted faintly of something spicy and hot and ancient, and he found himself leaning into it, wanting more. Anzu's mouth had tasted familiar and comforting, like fruit bought from the local market. It hadn't made his senses spark like this.

Yugi broke off when he felt himself becoming lightheaded. Yami brushed Yugi's bangs back from his face, letting his hand trail down the soft cheek. Yugi nuzzled into the touch.

"We can take this slowly, aibou," Yami said softly.

Yugi found himself too tired to reply, just nodded, eyes already closed. Yami chuckled and guided him over to the bed, where he felt himself being tucked in, and the light shut off.

"Good night, my light," Yami said, and Yugi felt him gently kiss his cheek, before also feeling the spirit return to his soul room. It was comforting, knowing his other self was so close.

He fell asleep, still feeling as if Yami's arms were wrapped tightly around him.

THE END