Meet me in the heavens
Part III
Anzu waited patiently for Atemu to return. He had promised to take her back to the lodgings where the angels were staying. She shifted from foot to foot as less and less angels became present. She was about to follow the line of her people when he returned, a drawn expression on his face. Worried, she approached him and asked, "Is something wrong?" He hadn't bothered with telling her what he had to do, only that he would be back shortly.
"No, I'm fine. Anzu..." He hesitated and then sighed. "I hate asking this and getting into your personal matters, but why do you have a spell around you?" She stiffened. Last night when Shizuka had looked at that mark on her neck, she knew no one else could see it and had put a visibility shield around her so that no one could see it unless they forcefully broke the spell. "I have heard some unsettling news and..." He trailed off again, looking a bit grey faced.
"There is something you should know, Atemu," Malik said softly. "Your little angel has already nearly fallen under temptation with me. I will keep my distance, but I won't reject her if she is the one that comes to me. There is no law that condemns me in Hell. You will have to deal with her."
"What kind of news?" Anzu queried, closing in on herself. She didn't want to see that look on Atemu's face that she had seen on Shizuka's. Fighting with one friend was bad enough. Atemu didn't answer, though, and of all of her friends, he was the one she trusted most. With a tiny, anxious sound, she dropped the shield and he eyed her, his gaze landing on her neck. He reached out and brushed the mark and then sighed again.
"Alright. I just needed to know if it was true." She raised the spell again and looked away, pulling her arms around her, holding herself before she broke. "Anzu? What is it?"
"Shizuka...she was disgusted by me, Atemu. I was afraid you would be, too." She glanced at him. There was nothing different. He held the same soft, gentle expression he always had on his face. It reassured her and comforted her. When she had been younger and had been going through her training and had no friends, she had always run to him when she was lonely or had a problem.
"You know I never would be," he murmured, reaching out with a hand. She took it and he drew her in, hugging her. "Come. We're both weary. Let's hurry back, shall we?" She nodded, knowing that the honest exhaustion that fell on her was from the tense meeting that day.
---
Anzu sat in bed, wide awake. She rubbed her arms and stood, pacing. Her dreams were plagued by things that her mind shouldn't have been able to conjure. Despite the utter weariness that she'd had when she fell into bed, there was nothing exhausted about her right then. She turned her head to the balcony and cautiously stepped out. The angels preferred the daylight hours and even though it was always twilight in Hell, they could sense what time of day it was.
She wetted her lips nervously and then pushed a hand through her damp hair, looking back at the tangled sheets of the bed. She shuddered. I don't want to go back to bed to those dreams, she thought, hugging herself. I can't...I can't imagine myself... She trailed off, staring vacantly at the stone alabaster of the banister.
"You should be asleep, little angel," a quiet voice purred above her. She jumped back and hit the door of the balcony as Malik swept down. He settled on the banister and raised an eyebrow at her. "Why do you look so shocked to see me? You called for me." She stared at him, uncomprehending, and remembered dimly sending out a thought for him in her sleep. She hadn't meant to, but her unconscious mind had been so deep in the dream that it acted on what it wanted.
"Go away," she mumbled weakly. He eyed her and then stretched his legs out in front him and slid off the banister, falling lightly to his feet and folding his wings behind him. He held out a hand to her, not speaking, staring at her with an intent look in his eyes. She stared at it as if it were a snake, clasping her hands close to her chest. When he didn't lower his hand, she hesitantly raised her hand. She knew what it meant if she accepted him in her room. She had called for him and he had come. I will have to account for my actions if they are discovered, she thought as her hands wavered above his, hesitating. At last, she laid her slender, fair hand in his and his eyes glittered. She bit her lip and then took a step away, leading him into the room. I hope, she mused as, with a flick of her finger, the doors closed, that I won't regret this.
---
Bakura drummed his fingers over the long table as Seto read off the submitted votes on a recent matter. Although what happened in the human world had no direct effect to them, the two Bureaus, each consisting of angels or demons, did. Lately, the demons that had been assigned to the Bureau of Hell had been bored and began to wreck havoc on the humans, twisting their lives and causing deaths for their own amusement. The Bureau of Heaven had attempted to rectify the problems that had arisen because of the demons' actions, but to no avail. They had had to vote on reassigning new demons and letting Satan deal with the demons, to kill the demons, or exiling them. The votes that were adding up were turning in favor of exiling the demons and stripping them of their powers so as to make them humans.
We might actually get something done, Bakura reflected with a grim twist of his mouth. He glanced at Malik, who was twisting a lock of his hair between his fingers and staring down at the table with a deeply pensive expression. He had been unusually quiet the entire meeting and had only briefly discussed with Anzu and his friend that sat next to him on whether to vote for exile or death. The demons, though they disliked the humans, found it more satisfying to torture them while they couldn't escape through a quick death. Those that killed them while on Earth and caused problems with both the Rulers were only sneered at.
"...The votes have decided for exile," Seto announced. He swept a hand out, asking with a sardonic tone to his voice, "Anyone wish for a recount?" There was a pause. "Good. Here's one issue out of the way. Next is..." Bakura didn't bother to listen to the next issue, knowing well that it would have to do with the borderline patrol on the two borders of Earth. This was a common issue and always rose at every World Meeting. It was resolved for a few days, but soon enough the system broke apart and so it was brought up again. And again. And again. Bakura was more interested in his friend's odd mood. He couldn't decide what it was that had kept him quiet.
What is on your mind, Malik? Bakura wondered, staring at Malik who appeared oblivious.
---
My powers are steadily fading, Anzu thought, staring in the looking glass, her palms pressed against the mirror. Soon, it will be obvious. I won't be able to fly anymore. That is always the last thing to go, though. Maybe...just maybe I will be able to make it through this meeting. She closed her eyes and rested her forehead against the cool surface. All I ever wanted was to be accepted by the other angels, to have friends like Shizuka and Jou. I wanted to be normal. I tried to pretend that I didn't know, but something makes them dislike me. Now they'll hate me.
"Regretting?" She turned slowly to see Malik looking at her with a shuttered expression.
"No, not really," she replied, giving a wan smile. His eyes moved over her face carefully and then he gestured to the divan. She went to it and sat, watching as he settled beside her. Despite the harshness she knew was a part of him as a demon, he had been gentle with her last night and careful. It made her feel special. Maybe that was all she really needed. She knew it wasn't a sin if she went to bed with another angel, but she could never imagine them as attractive. She wasn't sure why, but the only man she had found attractive in that manner had been Malik. Why? She demanded of herself as he pulled her up against him. Why, why, why?? "...I'm not normal, am I?" She asked him, needing someone to answer her.
"No." His frankness startled her so that she raised her head to look at him. He lifted one of his shoulders in a shrug, keeping his arm around her. "You asked." He paused and sighed, dropping his head back, murmuring, "I thought I was incapable of feeling." She stared at him and decided not to try and interpret that comment. She lowered her cheek back against his shoulder and closed her eyes. He raised his hand and stroked her hair idly. He had said that he wouldn't come to her room again after last night, but here he was. She didn't understand what was happening. She had been afraid of the feeling of home when she was with Malik, even with Bakura. She was afraid of the feelings she felt with Malik. It was all wrong. Everything was wrong. She trembled and his stroking stopped. "You still don't regret?"
"Nothing is ever right with me." She shoved away from him and stood, thrusting a finger towards herself. "Look at me! What do you see?" He lifted his eyes and kept them on her for a long time.
"A woman who is afraid of her own feelings." A corner of his mouth tilted his mouth upward. "Do you know, Anzu, that we demons don't gradually fall in love with a person? It just happens. My sister, when she first met Seto, instantly knew she was in love with him and it was the same for him. Oh, there are some instances where it's different. Usually we meet that person, we love them, and then it's done. Nothing romantic like with humans or long and extravagant with you angels."
"I didn't ask you about that," she said, confused by this completely different turn of subject.
"I know. I was saying that for a different reason." She merely shook her head and paced a few steps from him, wrapping her arms around her again. Malik watched her with a hidden expression. His mind hadn't been functioning properly ever since she had called out to him in her sleep. He almost hadn't answered her; her tone had been dreamy and too sultry to be hers, but he would have recognized the softness of her voice anywhere. He supposed he should have recognized what was happening when he had first set eyes on her and became so persistent in wanting her. He had lusted after an angel before, but never became so obsessed with one that he absolutely had to have her.
He should have known. Marik would have known. Isis would have known. But he hadn't.
"You don't have much time until your wings will start fading and be unable to function," Malik told her as she stood in front of the looking glass, staring at her reflection absently. He rose to his feet and went to her, sliding his hands over her shoulders. "Let's enjoy that time before they find out what we've been doing, Anzu." She blinked and raised her eyes to his in their reflection, aware that he hadn't used the singular term. She turned and leaned up, circled her arms around his neck.
"Teach me, Malik," she murmured against his lips. He smiled and took her mouth in his.
Trust me, I will.
---
Atemu never noticed Anzu's gradual decrease in power because of the shield Malik had taught her. He couldn't help her when her wings began to fail, but he could keep up the façade for as long as he could. He should have known that Bakura, who had been watching him rather diligently the past few days, would have detected that familiar spell more easily than any of the angels. It didn't surprise him when he was accosted by his best friend in his bedchambers when he was preparing to leave. Bakura's raging storm paused as he flicked a look up and down at Malik and realized he hadn't dressed for bed yet. His expression turned even blacker, if possible. "You filthy son of a bitch!" Bakura whispered darkly, flying towards him. Malik glided away easily and frowned, grabbing Bakura's arms and snapping him down beneath him. He gritted his teeth as he attempted to keep the prince beneath him.
"I didn't go after her, Bakura," he snarled. Bakura fell silent, but was still seething inwardly. Slowly, Malik released his arms and rose carefully to his feet as his companion did the same thing. They stared at each other for a long while before Malik looked away, his mouth pursing. "She called for me."
"I'm about to ask you something, Malik, and if you so much as try to lie to me, I will rip out your tongue." There was a pause in which Malik awaited the question. "Do you love her?" The demon stiffened and Bakura swore softly, his earlier anger evaporating to nothing. He pushed his fingers though his hair as he stomped around Malik's bedchambers, thinking frantically. It was one thing if all Malik wanted was sex, but he had known from the start there was something off about Malik's curiosity about the angel. Even after her retort to Seto, she wouldn't have interested him. Love for demons was immediate and permanent. The only love in the Realms that wasn't permanent was that of humans.
"Do you think I wanted this?" Malik demanded in a snarl. "Do you think I asked for this?"
"No, but damn you, Malik, this means – " He couldn't manage to say the words, but saw it in Malik's face. For the first time in his life, Bakura wanted to cry. He wanted to sit down and weep. Because of his duties, he could do nothing for Malik. He couldn't go with him, he couldn't help him, he couldn't do anything. Malik looked away and said nothing, his face tight with tension. "I lost Marik," he said quietly at last. "I lost the people I considered family. I should have killed you that day, but I couldn't. You're my best friend, Malik, the only person whose given a damn about me, the only person I've cared about."
"I can't let her just go by herself in a world she knows nothing about because of something she did with me."
"She knew what she was sacrificing!"
"But I love her!" Malik howled, looking agonized. "Even if she hadn't called for me that night, Bakura, do you think I would have been able to let her leave here back to Heaven? I would have begged if I had to! I need her!" Bakura once again took up pacing, biting down on his lip viciously. He would do anything for Malik, but would he give up his demon powers? Would he enter the human world just so he wouldn't be alone? He knew the answer to that was too obvious.
"...When should we expect her wings to start fading?"
"The spell is set to deactivate as soon as that starts. I'll be the first to know." Bakura nodded jerkily and said nothing else, leaving Malik in his bedchambers to go to his own home to think.
---
Malik woke in the middle of the night, his mind snapping into attention sooner than his body. He stared blearily around the room and recalled that he had stayed in his own chambers that night after speaking with Anzu briefly. Something had woken him up, but it was taking some time for him to shake off the weariness to wake completely. When he had, he made a quick probe around Hell and then stiffened, realizing that the spell around Anzu had broke. Her wings will be useless by the end of the day, he thought. He sent a tentative call to Bakura, who answered immediately.
Malik. Did the spell break?
You know me too well, Bakura, Malik answered grimly. Yes, it just failed. By the end of the day, she'll be unable to use her wings, maybe even sooner. I'm going to her now. He hesitated and carefully queried, Will you meet me there?
Yes. Bakura's single-word response brought some relief to Malik. I'll have your back, Malik. He ended the conversation there, not elaborating. They both knew he didn't need to. Malik sat up in bed and ran his hands through his hair, feeling a heavy weight settle on his heart. He had ruined all three of them. He had never wanted to ask Bakura to go with him, but it seemed as if he had decided upon that on his own. Shivering and feeling ill, Malik scrambled to his feet and dressed quickly before leaving the warm safety of his bedchambers.
He spotted Bakura lurking on the rooftops, his massive wings spread out in an intimidating gesture. When Malik landed beside him, he murmured, "She's still sleeping. We'll stay here until morning when she wakes." Malik opened his mouth to protest, but Bakura raised a hand. "She needs all the sleep she can get, Malik. She doesn't have any of her angelic powers anymore except for the diminishing bit in her wings. We can be her wall when the attacks come, but it will still hurt her. Trust me on this." Malik hesitated and then inclined his head in agreement. The two settled side by side, their arms crossed, waiting for the feeling of morning to settle on them.
"Bakura, you ought to stay in Hell," he said a few moments before morning. Bakura remained silent. "You'll only be unhappy in the human world; you and I both know that. I won't be the reason for that."
"It will be worse here." Malik looked at him, surprised by the irritation in his voice. Bakura merely glanced at him through the corner of his eye. His jaw was tight and his eyes had turned to a hard, dark blue. He shifted, ruffling his wings as he said, "She's awake." They waited for her to get ready and then dropped down onto the balcony. Malik tapped on the balcony doors and Anzu emerged from the bathroom and opened the doors, looking to the two in confusion. "Are you ready?"
"What?" Anzu turned her gaze to Bakura and observing his solemn expression, nodded. A corner of his mouth curled upward as she raised her chin and set her body in a stiff, determined air. He reached out and clasped her tiny shoulder briefly. Turning to Malik, she murmured, "If I fall, promise to catch me?" His smile was light, but full of warmth. Bakura eyed him and knew then that the uncertainty he had been feeling for his decision was unwarranted. Malik had been without much happiness for far too long. If she was what made him happy, Bakura would accept that and stay by him the whole way through.
"I promise," Malik assured her. He nodded to Bakura and the two took each side of Anzu. "Let's go."
---
They hid out around the building until the last minute when everyone else was inside. Despite Anzu's outside appearance of confidence, she didn't actually feel that way. She wanted to simply leave now and wait until her wings had gone. She could have Malik shield her wings so that no one would see them. She didn't regret losing her powers from what she had done, because he had made it clear to her that he wasn't going to let her go through the punishment alone. She hadn't expected Bakura to be there, too, but it appeared that he would be Malik's partner throughout this.
As soon as they entered, she knew by Atemu's briefly shocked expression that everyone knew. She bit her lip, but didn't alter her course. The two demons beside her were less worried, looking completely nonchalant. Then she noticed the course, heavy-lidded male that stood near Seto, turned towards the doorway. His head tilted ever so much as he looked at the trio. "So," he rumbled, his voice dark and full of power. She quivered and edged closer to Malik. "This is the path you decided to choose, my son?" Anzu glanced to Bakura and saw him smile.
"How long have you known?" He questioned in return.
"I am the Ruler, here, boy," Satan reminded him, his expression unchanging despite the underlying warning beneath his words. "Don't forget who taught you everything you know. I knew before you did that this was the lady that would capture Malik's attention." He turned his black gaze to Malik. "It is a pity, after losing your brother, that I will lose you, too, even in a somewhat less violent way."
"Less violent?"
"Yes, Bakura. I imagine you assumed he would be exiled. As it happens, I have decided upon death instead. He is one of the strong demons of Hell. Why would you think that he would be allowed to leave here alive?" He paused, a smile curving his thin lips. "In fact...the girl may die, too."
"That is not your decision to make," Atemu stated coldly.
"Be quiet, angel, this is none of your business." The angel looked briefly stung by this rejection before anger flooded onto his face. The storm that was whipping up energy in the room from not only Atemu, but Malik and Bakura, caused the lesser demons and angels to look nervously around, eager to leave the room. Seto raised his eyes from the floor and he glanced to Atemu, meeting the angel's eyes with a knowing look. Anzu didn't see what had happened next. She was thrown against the door by Malik as needles of power were shot at her two protectors. She knew by the sudden decrease of power in the room that Satan intended on stripping them of their demonic powers before killing them. As soon as they were mortalized as she was, Atemu and Seto unleashed their power, causing a horrific storm that blinded the others. There were screams from the lesser creatures, but Anzu never heard what happened after that as she was swept into a stark blackness.
---
Seto's lip curled in disgust as he gazed down at the human city. The stench of them was almost overbearing. He glanced behind him at Atemu who was easing Anzu awake. Malik and Bakura stood beside him, looking a little agitated. "To my knowledge," Seto rumbled to them, turning from the revolting sight, "you need certain qualifications to get through the human world. As you three are all of an...older age...Atemu and I will fix it up so you have respectable qualifications and put it into your mind so that you aren't frauds. Is that fair?"
"Why did you help us?" Bakura demanded.
Seto snorted. "I didn't do this for you." He nodded to Atemu and Anzu. "It's not every day that someone – whatever creature they may be – stands to their actions. Most angels try and use their influence or the Treaty or some other thing to ensure their safety. She was the only one that took it as it came. You could say I have a certain respect for her." He eyed them and shook his head. "To believe that two of the most powerful demons are degraded now to humans."
"Not everyone is so lucky to have their lover killed," the once-prince of Hell snarled at him. He stiffened and glared mutinously at him.
"I don't ever forget whose fault that is, Bakura."
"Leave it be, you two," Malik snapped as Atemu and Anzu approached them.
"Let's hurry and get them situated," Atemu said. "I don't want to linger in the human world longer than necessary, especially with how things are surely going in Hell." Seto nodded curtly.
Afterward, Seto waited impatiently for Atemu tensely with Malik and Bakura as he bid his farewells. "Anzu, perhaps I should have told you," Atemu murmured, taking her hands and staring at them, "but..." He paused and then sighed. "When you were little, you asked me if you were different. I never told you then, but the two of us, as you must have noticed, were different than anyone else. We had power that could have changed us to demons. You were never conscious of that power, but I was. I could have honed it, but I chose not to. That way, you would never be susceptible to that fate." He glanced towards Malik. "But you ended up without your powers either way."
"I regret nothing, Atemu," she assured him quietly. "Malik...He's the only person who has been able to make me feel this way." She blushed and looked away, adding, "Even though I know you..." He chuckled and brought her into his arms. She hugged him fiercely, saying, "I'm sorry. I wanted to make you happy, but I never realized until this meeting that I couldn't because..." She couldn't say aloud the truth.
"You'll still be my friend," he told her, drawing away and pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Someday, I'll come and check in to make sure you're doing well." He met Seto's eyes over her head and he stepped away to join Seto. "Goodbye, Anzu." The demon gave her a tiny bow before the two disappeared. Malik and Bakura joined her, their hands in their pockets. She let out a sigh and looked at the bag of things they held with the papers and money the two had conjured for them.
"In Heaven or Hell," Bakura remarked, "it was always easy to come by gold and you never had to have official papers." He gave a dirty look to the bag. "Humans always make things difficult."
"Mmm," was Malik's vague response. Anzu went to him and circled her arms around him, pressing her face against his shoulder.
"Things will work out just fine," she said.
---
(Five Months Later)
Jounouchi rubbed the back of his head as he loped down the sidewalk, sometimes bumping into humans. Shizuka was beside him, casting interested looks around and exclaiming about the devices humans used. She had cast a horrified look at the "cars," and might have been run over if Jou hadn't hurried her across the street.
They might not have been there if Jou hadn't bounded up to Atemu and demanded for the location of Anzu so that they might visit her. He had given him a mild look at the fist Jou had shoved in his face. Shizuka had tried to pull him away when he had stopped to look at the male, but he wouldn't budge and he had told Atemu that very thing if he didn't hand over the information he needed. Atemu willingly gave them the location without any conflict, only saying, "Malik and Bakura will be there, too." Shizuka had paled, but Jou scoffed and dragged his little sister down to the human Realm.
Jou read the numbers of the gate he stopped in front of and beamed, knowing that these were the ones Atemu had given him. The street had been harder to find. He looked around and grabbed Shizuka, lifting his invisible wings and flying over the gate. He glanced behind him and satisfied that the street was empty, he moved up the path with Shizuka protesting behind him. Dunno why she's so worried, he thought as he went to the window of the house and peered in. After all, what can those two do? They're humans now!
Click.
Blinking at the sound, Jou turned to see Bakura and a strange sort of thing in his hand. He looked curiously at the gleaming black object with the cylinder at one end and a hole in the middle. "What's this?" He asked him, pointing at it.
Smiling, Bakura replied, "It's a gun. I'm not so sure if it can kill you, but it can kill a human easily enough. Want to test it?" Jou paled a bit and turned his eyes on the gun, as though it had grown fangs in the last minute.
"Do you, uh, carry that around everywhere?"
"Malik and I both do." Jou went paler, if possible. "So." Bakura put the safety on the gun and tucked it in his jeans, still smiling. "Can I guess you two came to see Anzu?" Jou glanced beside him to see his sister standing there, her features twisted in concern.
"Um, yeah...Is she here?"
"Yes."
A long pause followed where Jou scratched his head and stared at Bakura in confusion.
"You expect us to go looking for them or somethin'? I'm all for that, but I don't want Malik to come around a corner and use one of those gun things on me." He shifted uncomfortably, adding, "After all, I've got a lot to live for." Bakura raised his eyebrows, amused.
"Like?"
"Like...making sure Shizuka doesn't marry for another couple centuries."
"Ah." Bakura smirked. "That makes sense." He chuckled and shook his head, gesturing them to follow. "Be glad I like you, Katsuya, or else I would have kicked your ass back to God's little haven upstairs." Jou blinked.
"Don't you heaven Heaven?"
"No, I mean haven."
"...Sure." Bakura moved around them and went to the door, opening it and ushering them through. Jou bounced inside, smiling like a little boy and turned a corner to have another black barrel staring at him. He whipped around and slammed into Bakura who raised an eyebrow at him. "Uh, one of those guns are around the corner." He pointed a thumb to the corner he was talking about and Bakura shoved him off him and then pushed him into the room, Shizuka following quietly behind them. Malik was seated on the couch with Anzu beside him, curled up against him. He eyed Jou and snickered, setting the gun down.
"I didn't think I would see you again, Jounouchi." Anzu raised her head and looked from Jou to Shizuka and she bound out of the couch. The two girls flew at each other, sobbing and hugging and sputtering things. Jou watched with a dumb look while Malik and Bakura eyed them warily. They had learned, after so much time on Earth, that women here had more mood swings than those in Hell. Usually, demon women had mood swings only when they were menstruating and very rarely out of that time. Here, the mood swings were ten times worse during that time and unpredictable outside that time.
"I didn't even get so much as a 'hello,'" Jou mumbled when Anzu parted from Shizuka, kicking at the ground like a little boy, pouting. Anzu laughed and turned to him, hugging him hard. He grinned, his mood instantly gone. "How's it going with your evil, uh, lover...and his...friend?" He looked to each of the men when he mentioned them.
"Oh, really good!" Anzu burst cheerfully. "Thanks to Atemu and Seto, we were able to make friends here real easily and get jobs and everything. This world is so interesting and there are a lot of nice people." Shizuka smiled, knowing that the fact of having people to talk to was what excited her the most. She had only had three people that would socialize with her in Heaven. As Shizuka listened to Anzu explain in detail her current life, she realized that she had never seen Anzu as happy as she was now. It made a piece of her warm inside.
I'm glad she is happy, Shizuka decided. Maybe losing her powers was better for her.
---
Malik yawned as he shut the light off and crawled into bed beside Anzu. Jou and Shizuka had stayed until an hour before sunset, leaving then. Shizuka and Anzu had hugged and cried some more before the Katsuyas left. Atemu had visited only a week earlier, so he hadn't been entirely surprised to see them in this Realm. There was the tiniest sliver of demonic power left in them so that they could sense if any strangers were on their property. After they had gotten involved with a few criminals, just for the sake of trouble, they were a bit more cautious when they sensed anyone unfamiliar there. Although, Atemu did almost murder Bakura for shoving a gun in his face as soon as he walked in the door. He should know better than not to knock. Their screaming lasted the first half hour he was here. And Malik had been laughing his ass off the entire time while Anzu tried to stop them and eventually gave up.
"Malik?" Anzu murmured tiredly, snuggled against him.
"Mmm?"
"Atemu told me, before he left, that the next time he visited, he wanted to see children running around. What does that mean?" Malik blinked in the darkness and didn't answer for a long time.
"Atemu said that?"
"Yes, why? What is he saying?"
"Oh, nothing to worry yourself about," Malik replied brightly, tangling his legs in hers and kissing her softly, hoping to distract her from the topic. It worked successfully, just as he suspected it would. He sighed and nuzzled her temple, closing his eyes as the light scent of vanilla from her skin wafted up to him. "I love you," he mumbled.
She smiled. "I love you, too."
There was a pause.
"Bakura loves you, too!" A laughing voice came from outside the door. Malik gritted his teeth.
"Go to Hell, Bakura!"
"Been there, done that." He snickered. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Bakura!" Anzu called. "And I love you, too!" He merely laughed while he left them. Malik muttered something evil under his breath. "Oh, you know you love him."
"That doesn't give him the right to listen at doors." She giggled. When silence fell over the room again, Malik laid in bed for a long time, staring at the ceiling, listening as Anzu's breathing became deep. He smiled slightly. Although, it gives Bakura the right to me just as much as Anzu. He glanced at her. Well, maybe not as much.
Finis
---
DIS: I didn't like how I ended it, but I couldn't think of anything else. There's the conclusion to my three-part story. Believe it or not, this was only supposed to be a one-shot, but extended well beyond one-shot format. Please leave a review telling me how you liked it before you leave. Ciao!
