Disclaimer: Do not own YGO. This is a work of fiction. It is written by a fan. Hence, the term fan fiction.

Author's Note: Hello again everyone! Here I am, still in the YGO Fanfiction Contest… by a miracle, I have survived (wipes brow).

This round is Replayshipping or Yuugi Mutou x Rebecca Hopkins. Ooh, the kawaiiness (this is a nice improvement from the previous round, which was Otogi x Shizuka… I shudder at this and its lack of… really anything). Well, hope you like this little one-shot I concocted. (squeal) Enjoy!

#2 Author's Note: Thoughts in italics.

Little Habits

By: Angel's Nocturne

Yuugi stared his opponent down, unblinking in his glare. Those beady black eyes were watching him, so seemingly blank and uncaring, but Yuugi knew better. Those eyes were thinking, calculating their next move, unrelenting in their devious plotting. He would not be fooled by that cute little face, for beneath that adorable exterior lay hidden the makings of a mischievous beast—

Aibou, it's a teddy bear for Ra's sake.

Yuugi could feel Yami's spirit presence beside him, as they both sat at the eating nook in Rebecca Hopkins' apartment waiting for the girl in question to finish up in the bathroom so they could head out. Teddy was situated across from them, staring with its black beady eyes. So empty and mindless… or at least, they seemed to be.

Yuugi huffed a little as he slumped in his seat, brushing away a stray blond bang from his face. So what if it was just a teddy bear? That didn't seem to make much of a difference to Rebecca. He was sure that for all the time he had known her, she was never once apart from that dreadful little stuffed thing. She carried it around everywhere. She even snuggled and cuddled with it and called it pet names like "Teddy-poo" and "Teddy-kins".

Sometimes she even had longer conversations with the bear than with him! It made him wonder who the girl really had an infatuation for. It didn't seem like him at times.

Yuugi listened to himself gripe. A small smile tugged at his lips—from the way he ranted someone might think he was jealous. Jealous of a stuffed children's toy.

Well, he wondered, why shouldn't he be, when the damned thing got more attention than he did? It merely seemed unfair, that was all. Of course, as Jou had warned him, this was what he got for having a psychotic twelve-year old girlfriend.

Like he's one to talk about age difference, Yuugi thought, amused. Mai is like, what, eight years older than him? That's a bigger leap than what I have with Rebecca!

It was true enough—being twelve only put about a four year age gap between them, which really wasn't all that far to grasp. Granted, she was in college and surpassed him in everything education-wise—thus providing for an odd maturity that further closed the age discrepancy—but it was just the little things like Teddy that helped to remind him that in many ways, the two of them were worlds apart.

It was nice to have someone who was his height, however. Sure, Anzu had always been his crush, and it wasn't as if he minded constantly being face-to-chest with her from time to time… but it was a bit demeaning to have to look up at someone. He appreciated being able to literally see "eye-to-eye" with Rebecca. She was one of the few people he knew that he could do this with, besides his grandpa.

Yuugi sighed heavily. This caught Yami's attention, as he had been watching Teddy as if attempting a staring contest with the bear. It appeared that Teddy was beating him without much effort. Something troubling you, aibou?

It's nothing, Mou Hitori no Boku, Yuugi said quickly, rushing a smile. The Pharaoh could easily see through his lighter half's attempts at fooling him but said nothing, only brandishing a look of doubtfulness as he returned to watching Teddy with a definite lack of interest.

Once Yami's attention was drawn away from him again Yuugi's eyes fell downcast. It wasn't really troubling him but… he had started thinking about it, and now he couldn't stop. He and Rebecca had only been officially going out for a little while, and it was only up to Yuugi soon to wonder if he was doing this just to be courteous or if he truly had feelings for Rebecca. In the beginning it had been the former; he was too nice to break the girl's heart, and if it came down to her having a crush on him versus wanting to get her revenge on him and his grandfather, he'd much rather pick option number one.

And crushes never last long… right?

It wasn't until recently that Yuugi's thoughts turned to this. The trigger had been Jonouchi's words to him, as they walked home from school after a long, agonizing day of classes and tests. It had been such a simple conversation, and yet….

"So, you busy this weekend?" Jonouchi asked as they walked along the sidewalk, the sun starting to edge towards the city's horizon, just kissing the tops of the skyscrapers. "I've been redoing my deck and I think I finally got a really awesome strategy. Wanna try it out?"

Yuugi shook his head. "Aw, wish I could Jou, but I can't."

"Eh? What, Gramps got you watching the store again?"

"Nah, I'm hanging out with Rebecca this weekend. I'm taking her to the movies on Saturday."

Jou made a face. "You still going out with her?" Yuugi nodded. Jou crossed his arms up over his head, his gaze drawn skyward. "Sheesh, I woulda thought she'd be over you by now. Guess this crush is a pretty strong one then, huh?"

"I suppose so…." Yuugi glanced over at Jou. "Why, did you think she moved on already or something?"

"Maybe—I mean, ya know how crushes like that are. They come and then they go. Shizuka did the same thing with that Otogi." The mere mention of the name made the blond's eyes narrow, but the thought was let go as fast as it came. "Don't worry, I took care of that one quick."

Yuugi wasn't really listening. His mind wavered on what Jou first said. "… You don't think Rebecca would just get over me like that, would you?" Jou didn't seem to notice the connotation in Yuugi's voice as he responded back casually.

"At some point, I guess. It's one of them silly little crushes, everybody gets 'em at her age. I know I musta once or twice… but, they were with those girls I saw in them videos, so I don't think they really count." He chuckled to himself. "But hey, I'm just surprised she's still clinging to you as it is. You're a real nice guy for letting her draw this out, though—I'm sure if I were in your shoes I woulda dropped the nice shit and finally told her off." Jou elbowed Yuugi gently in the ribs. "C'mon, I bet it's gotta get annoying having a twelve-year old hanging off you like that."

Yuugi was silent. Jou once again failed to notice as he added with a wink, "Well, once she finally gets over ya and gets a crush on someone else, you'll be a free man again. Just you wait, Yuuge."

"Y-Yeah…," Yuugi said quietly, staring down at his feet. "I guess you're right…."

He wasn't sure if he wanted to wait for that.

Was that all this really was? A silly little crush, like one of those fast trends that flood the teen universe every so often? They come, they make a big hit, and then they're forgotten about as if they had been last year's news instead of last week's. Yuugi's violet eyes stared deeply into space—was that all Rebecca had for him?

Could she really just drop him like a rock when the notion hit her, just so she could go off and chase after some other boy?

Why do you care so much? he chided himself. You don't really "like" her like that… sure, she's a nice girl and everything, but it's not like you have a crush on her…. He inwardly chuckled, but it was one without humor as it died quickly in his thoughts.

No, he reminded himself. He had a crush on Anzu. He had always had a crush on Anzu, ever since the start of high school, maybe even before then. He was generally quiet about it but despite his efforts it was pretty obvious to everyone. Obvious to everyone….

Everyone except Anzu.

Maybe she did know about it, but if that were the case, she sure didn't acknowledge it. And as obvious as his crush was on her was her crush on his other half. She did seem to have quite the infatuation with Yami… it was almost like she truly, deeply loved him—

But maybe hers is the same as Rebecca's, Yugi thought abruptly, silencing the previous train of thought. Maybe her crush on Yami is just a fleeting thing as well. It'll come to pass eventually.

And what if it did? What difference could that make—just because she no longer stared at Yami with such adulation didn't mean her loving gaze would turn to him. He would still be just her friend, the short one who had a crush on her. She probably didn't like him that way; Yuugi had theorized before that in liking Yami she must like him as well, but somehow, his hopes only fell upon deaf ears.

He tugged on his collar, adjusting it. What was the point of keeping to such a crush, if all it meant was broken hopes and wasted time? He'd be better off chasing after someone who actually liked him back. Someone like….

His gaze turned to Teddy.

Rebecca….

His eyes turned away for a moment. Why was he avoiding the idea? Like he said, their age difference wasn't that far apart. They both liked Duel Monsters, and since her grandfather—Arthur Hopkins—was an archaeologist she had a similar interest in some of the ancient historical discoveries, particularly in Egypt. And she liked him; that was a bonus. It also didn't hurt that she was attractive, even for her age, and would probably grow more into it was the years went on… she would grow into it.

And hopefully she would grow out of some other things… Yuugi's eyes turned pointedly at a certain fluffy stuffed animal.

But what if she grew out of him too?

Yuugi shook his head. Why am I even thinking about this? I have a crush on Anzu, not her—

But if crushes were so fallible, who was to say that his wouldn't come to pass one day too?

Maybe he would find someone else beyond Anzu. Someone who actually acknowledged his liking them for what it was.

And as for Rebecca… well, Jonouchi was probably right. Just like she would grow out of her childish habits and become a teenager like the rest of them, she would probably outgrow him as well. Her liking him was just another part of her childhood. She'd let him go eventually.

Yuugi readily accepted the idea to end his obsessive mental rantings, but a pang of hurt jolted his heart lightly. The thought of it made him feel sad—even if it was just a crush, it was kind of, nice, to have someone adore him for a change.

To have someone have eyes for him, and him only.

The sound of a door opening forcefully and approaching footsteps jerked Yuugi from his thoughts. He could see Yami glance up as well, before nodding to his aibou.

About time, he said, before disappearing into the Puzzle. Good luck, Mou Hitori no Ore!

Arigatou, Yugi answered quietly, as he turned his attention to the blonde girl trudging over to him from down the hall.

"So sorry that took so long!" Rebecca said hurriedly as she hoisted her purse onto her shoulder. She flicked back her long flowing locks of golden blonde. "I couldn't find my cell phone and I had to search all over for it!"

Yuugi smiled at her. "It's no problem, I don't mind."

"Oh, Yuugi, you're such a sweetie!" she announced, beaming. "I'm sure waiting like that must've been annoying, though. It would've bored me, if it was the other way around."

The boy shrugged. "Teddy was keeping me company." With a bigger grin he added, "He's a bit of a talker, you know."

Rebecca gave him a coy smile in return. "Really now? I hope he didn't give away any of my secrets." Picking up the bear, she flicked Teddy's nose lightly. "You didn't tell him, didya Teddy? Didya?"

"No, he was very tight-lipped about it," Yuugi responded. Rebecca giggled.

"'Course he is! Teddy wouldn't give away any of my personal stuff." Her eyes sparkling from behind her tinted glasses she hugged the toy to the point that the stuffing could have puffed out. "Would you, Teddy? No you wouldn't." After a moment of choking the thing her gaze turned back up to Yuugi. "What time does the movie start? I'm sure we're probably late as it is, we should get going."

"I completely agree," Yuugi answered politely. As they started to head towards the door, he noticed that Rebecca was still gripping Teddy in the crook of her arm. "Um, Becca?"

"Yes, darling?" Rebecca responded.

"Well, uh… I guess Teddy's coming with us this time too?"

The college student looked at him as if he had three heads. "Of course!" Her pouting lips curled into a huge grin, one that strangely made Yuugi's stomach do gentle flip-flops. "He always comes with me… you know, it's just one of those habits that you can never seem to grow out of." She giggled lightly. "I know it seems kinda silly and all, but—"

"No," Yuugi interrupted suddenly. Her words rang through his heart. "No, Rebecca it doesn't."

"…It's one of them silly little crushes, everybody gets 'em at her age…."

"But what if she grew out of him too?"

"…It's just one of those habits you can never seem to grow out of…."

A vague smile played on Yuugi's face. "It doesn't seem silly at all."

YxRxYxRxYxRxYxRxYxRxYxR

In a small apartment somewhere in Tokyo, sunlight filtered through light-colored draped into a small bedroom. It flowed like golden water over cream-colored carpet and a white bedspread covering a king-sized bed. Two nightstands stood on either side, with small lamps for light and an alarm clock sitting upon them. The details of the bedroom were unfussy and sleek-lined—even the pillows were very clean cut and not a frill or lace edge was seen amongst them.

"Yuugi!" an agitated female voice rang out, echoing through the apartment. "Hurry up, we're gonna be late. Again!"

Another voice, this one distinctly male, retorted politely," I'm trying, 'Becca! Gimme a second!"

"You always say that!" Rebecca huffed. The click of high heels gave note of her uptight pacing. "I didn't marry you for being slow."

"I said I'm trying, hold on!"

A loud, annoyed groan rumbled in a room not far from the bedroom. A few moments later, the clicking of heels on hard-wood floor resumed, this time very quick.

"Okay, that's it!" Rebecca yelled. A door could be heard opening, most likely the front door. "I'm heading down to the car and driving there, with or without you! If you're not down in five then you'll be walking there by yourself!" With that, the door slammed shut, leaving the disgruntled yelps of Yuugi Mutou to be heard muffled throughout the apartment and the bedroom.

"Rebecca!" A cool breeze flowed in through the open windows, causing the drapes to billow lightly with the movement. "Rebecca!"

Among the plush white pillows that decorated the bed, only one blob of color stood out from the purity of the white room. It was a brown fuzzy teddy bear, a little worn from years of hugging and travel, but seemingly content as it sat before the pillows, having finally found its place after so long.

And within those seemingly empty, beady black eyes, you could almost see the hints of an amused, calculating prowess that Yuugi Mutou had noticed so many years ago.

The End

Author's Note: Aww, wasn't that cute?

Okay, love it or hate it, reviews are always treasured.

See you all later, lovies! Hugs and cookies!