Disclaimer: The characters and situations in this fanfic are all property of their original creators and owners and not mine in any way, nor did I profit from this in any way.
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh
Title: Honey-flavored Kiss
Romance: Anzu x Yami no Yuugi x Yuugi
Word Count: 2,640
Genre: Romance||Rated: PG-13
Challenge: Yu-Gi-Oh Pairings Challenge: Season 8: Round 1
Summary: Anzu is hiccupping and both Yuugi and his other self have cures for it. Teamwork may be the real answer they're looking for, though.
Anzu covered her mouth as another hiccup made its way out of her. Why can't I stop? She'd lost track of how many times she'd hiccupped since she'd started over to the Kame Game Shop. At least the traffic on the streets was a little thinner at this time of evening. If she'd had to deal with all of those people staring at her…
She shook her head; time enough to deal with that later. She had-well, it wasn't business, it wasn't really pleasure, and she had to admit that she wasn't certain of what to call it. It was something she and Yuugi and the other Yuugi-no, he's Atem remember that- were doing together.
Thinking of the other Yuugi as Atem was something she was going to have to get used to. It had only been a week since they'd found out what his real name was, after all. But she was determined to get used to it. He went through so much to get it back, the least I can do is use it while he's still here.
Her lower lip trembled for a moment at the thought of the Pharaoh not being around anymore. It had to happen; she knew it had to happen, but she did not want it to happen. She wanted him to stay with them.
Though if he found a way to live without Yuugi, to have a body of his own, she wouldn't object to that either. A flash of heat shot through her at the thought and she wished for the cool touch of the wind to calm her down. The wind did not oblige.
She turned the corner and saw the game shop on the far end of the street. Her feet could, and had, brought her here before without her having to think about it. She'd forgotten just how many times they'd all ended up here for something or other. What would it be like if, or when, the other one left?
No. Not that again. Just because he had to leave didn't mean she had to stress herself thinking about it. Not today, of all days, when the three of them were going to be spending the afternoon together.
She came up to the door and knocked briskly. Yuugi's mother opened the door and smiled at her. "Hello, Anzu. It's nice to see you again." So far as Anzu knew, Mrs. Mutou didn't know anything about the Shadow Games or the Millennium Items or the Pharaoh's spirit. Anzu wondered which one of them was the lucky one that way.
"Nice to see you again, too." At the older woman's gesture, Anzu came inside, changing her shoes for the guest slippers that she usually used indoors.
"Yuugi's in the living room waiting for you." She gestured down the corridor and Anzu nodded; she knew the Mutou house well after all these visits.
She hurried down that way and smiled when she saw him sitting on the couch. "I'm not too late, am I?" She settled down next to him; she liked being this close to him. Them.
"No, it hasn't started yet. We've still got about fifteen minutes." Yuugi fidgeted and smiled at her. "There's popcorn and soda if you'd like some."
Just then, Anzu hiccupped again, her cheeks burning bright red a moment later. "N-no. That'll be all right."
"Are you all right?" Yuugi peered at her and she hiccupped again, cheeks aflame. "Why are you hiccupping?"
She ducked her head down and wished that these hiccups had seen fit to visit someone else tonight. Maybe she could wish them off on someone like…well, she didn't know anyone who deserved them, but just someone else. "Tonight Mom made nanban-style fried chicken, and spicy foods tend to make me…" She hiccupped. "Hiccup." She didn't think she'd ever be able to get the red out of her cheeks.
"Oh. Would you like a glass of water? That usually helps me stop when I'm hiccupping." His eyes went distant for a moment, and she realized what he was doing. That look always meant the same thing. His gaze cleared in seconds and he rolled his eyes. "You always suggest honey!"
"Uh…what?" Even knowing about Yuugi's two souls didn't mean she always understood what was going on with them.
Yuugi sighed, a smile lifting the corners of his lips at the same time. "Ot…Atem suggested that we try honey." Again there was that distance, but when it ended this time, his gaze was sharper, more intense, more regal.
This was the Pharaoh.
"Try a few drops of honey," he suggested. Even though they used the same vocal cords, his voice was a touch deeper than Yuugi's. "It's been known to help." He didn't have to spell it out for her to know what she meant: a remedy from Egypt.
"I would," she replied, that blush still scorching her cheeks, with more intensity than before. "But I don't have any honey right now."
Yuugi was there a second later; she would never get used to how they changed in the blinking of an eye. "I can ask Mom if she has any. Hold on a second."
Before Anzu could say anything to the contrary, he darted into the kitchen. She stared after him, mouth open, but with no idea of what she had wanted to say in the first place. She closed her mouth and hiccupped again.
"Here you go!" Yuugi stood before her with a spoon in his hand, heaped high with honey. She took it from him and traced her tongue across the top of it, just to get a taste for it. Honey wasn't one of her favorite foods, being too sweet for her, but if it worked, she wasn't going to complain. She began to lick it up, hiccupping now and then as she did, but the closer she got to the bowl of the spoon, the less often they came.
"Thanks, Yuugi!" She glanced back up at him to see that his cheeks were every bit as red as hers were and wondered why. Then it clicked in her mind why and she was convinced that the red extended down to her waist, if not her toes. "I…um…t…thanks. I think that…did it."
She paused for a moment, hoping that no more hiccups would torment her. So far, so good. Her smile widened as she handed the spoon back. "No more hiccups! Thanks, both of you. Yuugi. Atem." She was proud of herself for remembering his name. She'd wanted it so much, after all.
Yuugi stammered out something that she took to be thanks and hurried back into the kitchen. She heard water splashing and his mother asking what was wrong. Don't say anything, don't say anything!
"Uh, nothing, mom. It's just kind of warm in there, that's all."
Anzu let out a deep sigh of relief and made herself as comfortable as possible on the couch. At least this had finished up before the movie was on. Hiccupping all the way through it would've been beyond embarrassing.
Atem was who walked back into the room, and she wondered for a moment what sort of conversation had passed in those few moments that led to that. Not that she objected, of course. Spending time with either of them was definitely high on her list of enjoyable activities.
He settled down next to her and turned the television on. Yuugi must have pre-set it to the proper channel, since the ending credits of the previous program were airing, with advertisements for what they were about to watch crawling across the bottom.
"I hope Yuugi's right about this." Atem said after a few moments, as commercials aired. "He seems to think it would be a good idea." Something about the tone of his voice told her that was all Yuugi had ever needed to say for Atem to want to check something out.
"You really care about him, don't you?" She asked the question without thought, and then stared at the television screen in an attempt to cover up she'd said anything in the first place.
"Of course I do." Atem replied, and she wished that she could just sink down into oblivion. She hadn't even needed to ask. 'Close' didn't even begin to describe what passed between these two. "He's my partner."
Anzu nodded, but didn't take her eyes off the screen. She'd read a few books about Ancient Egypt (Atem wasn't in any of them, of course. She hadn't expected to find him) and there was so much that she wondered about. That was one of the reasons they were watching this program; it purported to reveal fascinating new information about the age of the Pharaohs. Given Atem's recently restored memory, Yuugi had been insistent that he watch it, just to see how it matched up.
The opening credits began, with a somber voice detailing out a summary of that era of the world and place. Atem twitched a little, but said nothing to deny anything that the narrator mentioned. Anzu still paid most of her attention to the screen, but now and then, her gaze flickered back over to him.
Or them. Sometimes it was Yuugi there, sometimes it was Atem. She never could catch them switching. It wasn't easy to tell, she knew. The differences between them were so small, physically. A different set to the shoulders, a look in the eyes. If one wasn't looking for them in particular, they could go unnoticed. No wonder no one had suspected anything for so long. Even she hadn't.
I should've known. I really should have. But those regrets were long gone, and now she knew the truth. Now she had a dilemma that she did her best to avoid thinking about whenever it wanted to cross her mind. Like now.
She ran her fingers across the sofa arm and wondered what she was going to do. If he goes, I won't have to…do anything except say good-bye. She didn't think she wanted to do that, but the choice wasn't in her hands.
"Anzu?" She turned to see Yuugi's warm eyes gazing at her. That was one difference between them. Yuugi's eyes were always alive and full of warmth and concern. Atem's eyes were sharp and keen, the eyes of someone who looked for an opponent, a challenge, or a rival in everything. "Are you all right? You haven't said anything in a while."
"Oh, I'm fine." She waved it away with a smile, then blinked as a sudden hiccup struck. I thought this was over with! She touched her chest for a moment, her eyes widening as another one hit. "Oh, great. Just what I wanted."
"Maybe I should get you some more honey?" Yuugi asked, brows bending for a moment. Anzu nodded; if it had worked once, it would probably work again. She hoped.
Yuugi hurried out and back with another spoonful, and this time Anzu shifted a little to stare at the far wall as she ate it. As she did, more and more hiccups struck, until she had to take in deep breaths in between them just to try to get the honey down in the first place. Once she was done, she turned and opened her mouth to say she was finished. The words died on her lips when she saw that Yuugi had his back to her and he was staring with as much intensity at the other wall as she had been to that one.
It took her two tries before she could actually say his name. He shifted around, and she noticed only at the last second that he was opening his eyes as he did.
"Thanks." She began to hand the spoon back when another hiccup struck and she groaned. "Guess it didn't work this time." Again, she hiccupped, then again, and she fell back onto the sofa, burying her face in one hand. And hiccupped.
The only noise in the living room at the moment was the sound of the television, which neither of them paid any more attention to and the sound of Anzu's hiccups. Then Atem spoke. "I've heard that a shock can sometimes help one get over hiccups."
"I've heard that too." Anzu spoke more to the floor than to him. If this had just been Yuugi, she wouldn't have minded so much. But this was also Atem, who was more than just a crush; he had saved her life more than once, even forgiven her when she was stupid enough to put it in danger just to see him. "I don't think there's anything you could do to surprise me, though."
"I don't know." Yuugi was in charge this time, and she wondered if they ever got tired of switching back and forth like that. She glanced over for a moment. "I think there might be something." He stared down at the floor instead of meeting her eyes. "I don't know if it would work and I wouldn't want you to take it the wrong way."
Take it the wrong way? Anzu shifted closer to them, another pair of hiccups coming out. "What are you talking about, Yuugi?"
He swallowed and looked up at her. "I probably shouldn't tell you about it. It wouldn't be a surprise then, right?"
"I guess you're right. What do I need to do, close my eyes?" She couldn't think of anything Yuugi could do that would surprise her. After all the time they'd spent together, she knew him well enough to guess what he'd do most of the time. Atem might be more able to do it, though. Would he try some kind of Egyptian magic on her?
"That might be a good idea." Yuugi agreed, and she did, settling into the chair as she did. She could hear him coming closer and wondered what he was going to do. She hadn't heard him pick up anything, at least not as far as she could tell, so he probably wasn't just going to explode a bag near her ear. She hiccupped again and tilted her head back, trying to get some kind of idea of what was going to happen.
Yuugi was leaning closer to her, she could feel it. Anzu started to open her eyes, then slammed them shut again. Whatever was going on, she would keep them closed. It would be a better surprise that way, wouldn't it? Her heart raced a little faster and her hands clutched at the sofa arm nearest her.
Then something touched her lips and it took her a moment to realize what it was: Yuugi's lips on hers. Yuugi was …kissing her? Yuugi was kissing her! Oh, God, Yuugi was kissing her! She kissed back without thinking, her fingers tightening into a surprised ball.
The lips didn't move, but something about them did, some kind of awareness that she couldn't define. She almost fell backward and only her grip on the sofa itself kept her from doing so.
Because now Atem was kissing her. Her heart fluttered even more, and she returned the kiss just as she had the other one. Her head spun and she sank back down as he moved away.
"Did it work?" Yuugi asked and Anzu had to think about what he meant for a few moments. Oh. That was it. The hiccups.
"I think so." That wasn't one hundred percent true. She wasn't thinking about anything except that kiss. Those kisses? It didn't matter. What mattered was that it had happened at all. She opened her eyes and saw Yuugi was just a few steps away. "Thank you." The words were weak, but it was all she had.
Yuugi smiled at her, and she could feel Atem looking at her as well. "You taste like honey."
The End