Pairing - Anzu/Yami no Yuugi

Rating/Warnings - Mild R, to be safe. It's probably closer to PG-13 though. Allusions to sex and self-love.

Full Summary - They both dreamed of each other, longed for each other, until the night when they were finally able to forget the world in each other's arms. However, for Anzu, there is no happy ending to this fairy tale.

Notes - Christmas fic for Daimeryan Rei, posted far later than it was given to her. Contains the potential to be continued. More notes at the bottom, so I don't ruin things for anybody.

I can't get him out of my mind. I can't get him out of my dreams. I can still feel his touch upon my skin, the gentle feel of his fingers, the softness of his hair. It is as if he wove a magic spell around me that evening, binding me to him forever, completely ensnared in his arms. If I could, I would remain there forever, but I know that is not an option. Still, I yearn for it. I want him to touch me again, to kiss me again, to speak to me so tenderly. The thought of him leaving pains me more than I can express.

I can't seem to focus, even though I have a midterm tomorrow and a fifteen-page paper due and a big recital coming up. I can hardly believe he's affected me this much, but at the same time, replaying things again and again in my mind, it seems so very obvious that he did. He owns a part of me now, as I possess a piece of him, forever.

My mind feels so hazy, unable to linger long on thoughts not centered on him. His eyes, so confident and yet so…lost. The first time I looked into those eyes, I knew where my heart lay. I think he knew then, too, else he never would have…

As my fingers slowly slip into my panties, it's as if he is here with me again, and his name slips from my lips breathlessly again and again, but in the end, it's not the same. Nothing will ever be the same again, not now, now that I've finally had a taste of him. I'll never be able to remove his scent from my skin or the feel of his fingers in my hair, and I don't want to. The longer I can hold onto this memory, the better.

It had all start out normally enough, let me tell you. All I had done was visit him at the Game Shop near the end of the day, having felt a little lonely after my dance practice. If I'd known I'd be walking out of there with a piece of me missing, and something new settled over my heart, I'd have worn a different outfit, or perhaps used some perfume…

Not that it matters. I was obviously fine the way I was. That's what I liked about him so much; when he looked at me, he saw me, not just that tomboy who hangs out with all the boys. He knew my hopes and my dreams, and he supported me in my goals, and he appreciated me for who I am. Perhaps that is why I let my defenses down when he kissed me, why I didn't just step back and slap him like I would any other guy.

Truth is, I wanted it. Oh, how I wanted it. I'd dreamed about it for so long, touched myself and pretended it was him, but nothing compares to the real thing.

Anyway, I went into the Game Shop, innocent as could be. His grandfather was out, visiting a sick cousin downtown who was in the hospital with pneumonia. Left to run the shop, Yuugi was leaning rather listlessly against the counter, obviously bored. There weren't any customers in the store, and given his expression, there hadn't been in a long time. He perked up as soon as I arrived, and it didn't take long for me to get comfortably settled on top of a glass case and strike up conversation about everyday things.

Slowly, our discussion drifted until we were talking about his other self.

I must have started blushing. That's the only reason I can think of that would lead to him teasing me, asking those probing questions, pushing back the hurt and disenchantment in his eyes. I think he always knew my preference for his other, even though he tried his hardest to be everything he could for me. He shifted a little closer to me, smiling his sweet, sad little smile, and suddenly he wasn't himself anymore.

He was before me. The proud, still-backed, once-Pharaoh of ancient Egypt; the man who had defended my honor against Steps Johnny and had confided in me about his search for his memories. The man who had stood up for his friends again and again, going against increasingly brutal odds and always coming out the victor.

The man who held my heart in his hands.

No. The man who holds my heart in his hands, and will never let go.

His gaze pinned me to the display case, stole my breath away and left me speechless. His presence had never done that before, but there was something different in his eyes this time, in his entire posture. What was he up to?

"Anzu," he breathed softly, his voice strangely thick. "I've been waiting to talk to you all day." Even with such a quiet tone, his voice held such power, such confidence that bordered on arrogant, and I shivered.

"What about?" I tried to keep my tone casual, but I likely failed.

"You." He didn't hesitate as he leaned forward, brushing his lips casually across mine, first soft as a feather and then gradually harder, before pulling away. His lips quirked into a half-smile as if he was aware of how he was teasing me. "I've wanted to tell you for a while how much I care about you, but…"

"You're worried because of your memories?" My heart, which had initially leapt far beyond the heavens at the lingering kiss, instantly plummeted. Of course. He was a dead, 3,000-year-old Pharaoh who didn't even possess the simplest memories of who he was, on a quest to retrieve those memories so he could…

I couldn't let my thoughts linger on that; not now.

"I have little to offer you," he said seriously, leaning in to kiss me again gently. "But what little I have, I will give to you, if you fully understand the consequences. I…most likely will not be around forever."

I knew that, had spent sleepless nights tossing it around in my mind, desperately trying to find a way to keep him with us forever. However, locking him away from his memories was far more cruel than anything I could ever do. At the same time, none of us knew what would happen when he unlocked the final puzzle.

"I know," I replied softly, lowering my eyes. I couldn't bear to look at him anymore, knowing that my growing desire was mirrored in those beautiful amethyst eyes, almost brimming over with sheer need.

"Then will you accept, or…"

He was leaving it entirely up to me. He made no move to take me into his arms, or kiss me again, even though I wanted him to. It would have been so easy to let him make the decision for me, to sweep me away into endless bliss, but I cherished this one single moment. It showed how important I was to him, how much he respected me. The decision was mine and mine alone.

When I finally spoke, I could only force one word past my tight throat, my pulse fluttering nervously in my skin.

"Yes…"

What happened next seemed to occur in a flurry of motion. He locked the front door, setting out the "Closed" sign so no one would disturb us. He took my hand and led me back into the storage room, guiding me through the maze of boxes and merchandise towards a small bed over in the corner. He jokingly told me that Yuugi's mother used to send his father down there to sleep, when he'd done something wrong, before…he didn't go on. Even Yuugi hadn't told him what had happened to his father.

We didn't sit down on the bed right away. Instead, he wrapped his arms around me, drawing me into his heated warmth, and kissed me as thoroughly as possible. Every movement gentle and unhurried, he slowly let his fingers roam over my body, tracing over my curves and pressing lightly here and there. His touch sent sparks dancing across my skin, and when he finally slipped a hand beneath my shirt, it was all I could do not to writhe and beg him for more.

Our clothes soon found their way to the floor and he pressed me gently back against the bed. We explored each other in earnest now, curious hands touching and caressing and drawing gasps and moans from parted lips. Feeling as if my skin were on fire, despite being drenched in sweat, I gave in and begged him over and over until he finally settled over me, his eyes asking permission one final time.

I gave in to him, and we became one, lost in each other's arms. The pain was abrupt, intrusive, but quickly faded beneath his soft words and gentle touches. How long it lasted, I don't know, but the pleasure far surpassed anything I'd ever felt from my own fumbling explorations.

It didn't last nearly long enough. I had wanted to stay with him that night, to awaken in his arms like old lovers, to kiss him softly as the sun rose, to feel safe and protected and warm. But it wasn't meant to be, and he'd already warned me about how little he could offer.

Now, I try my hardest to push him from my mind. I had given him my innocence, and in return, he'd stolen a piece of my heart and never given it back. He'd fought the final battle and retrieved his long lost memories, and left us. We are all still reeling from the aftermath, trying to put back together the tattered pieces of our lives, trying to move on.

The tears won't stop coming. I've been crying for a good hour and a half now, and it shows no signs of stopping. I know I will never love another like I do him, and the knowledge hurts like nothing else.

Sleep comes slowly, and my dreams are, as always, restless.

Notes - So, that's that. I originally wanted to end it with him being reborn into the world, and finding her again, but I couldn't make it work in one chapter in this context. It has the potential to be turned into a full-length romance fic if there is a call for it. So please, leave reviews, leave concrit, and leave suggestions.