Puzzle Pieces

by serena.jones.585

Chapter 0, Piece 0: Preface "That? Oh, it's a puzzle, but the box is missing, so I'm not sure what the picture is." "Couldn't someone just put together and see?" "I suppose they could, but how? You'd pull out a handful of pieces, but you wouldn't know if they were sky or water or anything. There'd be no way to see how they relate. And you'd never know if a piece was missing."

49. Piece 42

Chapter 49, Piece 42 * * * * * * * *

"You seem to hang pretty tight with Moneybags." Jou didn't quite sneer. "You two an item now?"

"Why would we be an item?" Anzu looked confused. "I'm his personal assistant. I'm practically his babysitter."

"You gave up dancing for that?"

"I didn't give up dancing." She looked away. "I couldn't hack it."

"What does that mean?"

"It means just what it sounds like." She looked directly at him. "I couldn't take the stress. The rehearsals, the workouts, the nonstop diets. The travel was crazy, the people were your best friends during a show and would stab you in the back at an audition. I woke up one morning and realized that I was out of amphetamines and I just started crying. When I finally stopped, I called the director and quit. Then I called my mother and she found some money to bring me home."

"Anzu -" Jou shook his head and simply hugged her.

They stood that way for a few minutes.

Finally Anzu sniffed. "I forgot how good that feels. You better let go before my mascara starts running."

"Yeah, mine too." Jou quipped, letting her go. "So how did you wind up here?"

"Good timing and bad luck." She bit her lip. "Jou. This thing with you and Kaiba. Is it really irreconcilable? He really wants to talk to you - and really, he's not like he was. He knows he was a jerk. He wants to mend a lot of fences."

"By throwing around a lot of money."

"Money is the easy part for him. I think - I honestly think - what he really wants is to make friends."

Jou thought for a moment. "You know, I might get to where I don't want to punch his lights out every time I see him. But hell will freeze over before I become his friend."

"What happened? What did he do that was so terrible?"

"He knows."

"No, he really doesn't. And he really wants to."

"He knows what he did because he admitted he knew it. And if he 'forgot' like Yug' says, then he's cruel, on top of being an ass."

"Then tell him that. Give him five minutes - just five minutes, that's all he wants."

"Y'know, for a guy who claims he doesn't remember me, he's trying real hard to get to me."

"He just wants five minutes to tell you how he feels."

"Yeah? Well, he should have done that back when it mattered."

"That was the old Seto. The new one...," she shrugged. "He really is a different man."

Jou considered it. "Do you seriously think I want to hear any of what he wants to say?"

"That, I can't even guess. But, if there is something you want to hear him say, you won't hear it if you don't give him a chance." She took Jou's hand. "Just five minutes. After the presentation. That's all he's asking for."