Wow wow wow! This is important.
So, it's no secret that I hate that garbage bag called Téa or Anzu or whatever. But she's going to be one of the main characters of this story for plot purposes. As always, I will NOT bash her, because that's just not professional.
I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!
Her days in the Muto's house were going smoothly, Mana would say. Everyone got along with her, she was like a part of the family. She was starting to learn where all the rooms were, at least she didn't walk into other people's rooms anymore. The days went by quickly, which was a shame because Mana was enjoying the company she had here. Her house wasn't as crowded as this, she just had her brother to talk to.
And speaking of Mahad, she didn't forget to call him constantly, telling him about Solomon, her new friends, her new room, the view she could see from her window, the good weather, what she did on her spare time, how big the house was and how she wished he could be there with her. He would say the same.
Even that night, sprawled on the bed, she flooded Mahad's phone with messages. She missed him a lot, and wanted him to know just how much.
Someone knocked on the door and opened without waiting a response from Mana. "Mana, we're having guests." It was Serenity. Mana didn't bother to turn her face to her.
"Okay."
"Grandpa Solomon was telling them about your visit here."
"Right."
"I think you should come downstairs and meet them. Because you know... he's talking about you and they're expecting to see you in person?"
Mana grumpily got off the bed, and headed for the door before Serenity blocked her path.
"What?"
"Do you want to be seen in your pajamas?"
Mana sighed a long one. "Fine, I'll put something on. I'll be down in a minute." she said and Serenity left.
Honestly, Mana didn't care if she was wearing pajamas or not, but for the sake of the household and not embarrass them with her careless attitude; Mana wore the clothing she had taken off before she put on the pajamas and ran downstairs to the living area.
She spotted three people that she hadn't met before. A man with black hair and blue eyes was talking to Aknam. Then there was this woman with long brown hair, her eyes were blue too. Lastly, a girl, seemed to be about her age. She looked just like the woman next to her (Mana assumed she was her mother), but her hair was shorter. Their eyes met, and the girl smiled to her, walking towards her.
"Mana right?"
Mana only nodded.
"Tea. It's so good to see you, really. I mean I know Serenity is here but it's almost all guys around here, I was getting bored out of my mind." she happily said, holding Mana's hand.
"Glad to meet you too." said Mana, squeezing her hand. Friendly people were always welcomed.
Mana quickly met the other two people who were Tea's parents, then retreated to the back of the room where Serenity stood alone.
"Why don't you join them?"
"You're here too Mana."
"Yeah but I don't have anything going on with them. You're family. You know them. Seems a bit rude to be escaping from your guests don't you think?" Mana said jokingly, but Serenity didn't look too amused.
"It's just... ever since the talk of the wedding first started it's been very boring. The room just gets grimmer whenever they start."
"The wedding? Who's getting married?"
Then from the other side of the room, Atem piped up. "Do we really have to have a ceremony? What are we even celebrating? An agreement between two men?"
"Here we go again..." Serenity murmured, and Mana listened to the conversation going on.
"Atem, I know this isn't going to be the best day of your life, but it's not like I'm gonna get married again. I want it to be the way I always imagined. Just let me have this please." answered Tea with a little pout on her lips. "Wearing a wedding dress should be my right."
"It just gets sadder and sadder to watch." said Joey, Mana hadn't realized he had came over next to them. "Poor Atem."
"So... Atem doesn't like... ceremonies?" she asked, and Joey shook his head.
"No, he doesn't like being forced to marriage." To Mana's surprised face, Joey started explaining. "When Tea was born, her father and Atem's father had an agreement so that their children would marry each other. They're going to marry when Tea finishes her studies. She's your age actually, so there's still at least four years but the fathers are very excited to see it happen."
"And no one except them likes this situation." Serenity added. "The room fills up with their enjoyment and everybody else's annoyance. That's why we stopped going to their house. Grandpa Solomon too."
Mana averted her gaze to the crowd sitting on the sofas. Aknam and the man were still talking, the woman listening to them intently. Yugi and Tea were whispering to each other, and Atem was sitting silently, massaging the bridge of his nose. He was under stress, clearly.
"You're right, poor Atem."
Since she didn't have a place there, Mana went back to her room. It was none of her business, nor was she interested in their 'grownup' conversations. There had been a lot of times that Mahad basically begged her to grow out of her witty and immature attitude, and to have sense of the real world. It felt too much work to Mana, she liked not having a care and just seize the moment, live the day. Maybe it was because Mahad was still looking after her. But as far as she knew, she would continue her childish antics.
In her room, she changed into her pajamas and got under the covers. Her head dipped into the soft, plushy pillow and she started to think.
There was a small part of her that was disappointed because... well, she had taking a liking to Atem. He had been kind to her all that time. A small voice in her head had tried to convince her that he even tried to flirt with her but Mana now knew that was impossible. It appeared that he was only trying to be nice to her. Which was still fine, but Mana couldn't help but want something more out of it.
Not half an hour had passed, and Mana heard Atem loudly speaking, then a door slamming shot. She jumped off the bed, and peered from the door. Atem was walking up the stairs and when he looked up, he saw her watching. His scowl formed into a worried one.
"I'm sorry Mana, did I wake you?"
Mana shook her head. "No, I wasn't sleeping." Atem nodded, and looking off, he headed to his own room. A bit hesitant, she called for him. "Atem?"
"Hm? Yes?"
"Do you, um... do you want to talk? I - I mean you don't have to. It's just that when I get angry Mahad usually makes me sit and talk to him. When someone is listening to your problems your anger fades away much quicker. And lowers the risk of you breaking another door... probably."
Atem stood and contemplated her suggestion, and they ended up sitting cross legged on her bed.
"He doesn't get it- none of them do. Dad didn't have to marry someone he didn't want to. Yugi will never have to experience that since I'm the elder. And there's no way my dad's going to force Jo to do anything. Anything remotely out of the ordinary happens to me in this house, I swear."
He had been keeping that for himself for a long time, clearly. Mana nodded for him to continue.
"See, this whole... marriage thing began when Tea was born. I was 4 at the time. My dad and hers were close and they made this stupid deal that basically forbid us to make our own choices. I wasn't aware of anything and didn't take it seriously, it didn't bother me. I forgot it even.
"When I was in middle school, I didn't understand girls at all. They were too confusing. I only got along with Tea and Serenity. I really liked both of their company. So I was fine with marrying Tea. I thought that I might as well marry a friend rather than a girl I'm not familiar with.
"Then in high school, when I finally started to see girls in a different way, I realized I wasn't allowed to fall in love. Because I would end up with Tea anyway. Since then I try to convince my father otherwise but I'm not making any progress, as you can see. I still have a few years because they want Tea to finish school first but they're already at planning the wedding."
Mana thought for a while, as Atem still had a few things to say. "I just hate being controlled like that."
"What does Tea think about this?"
"We don't talk about it. I try not to. Imagine planning your wedding with your brother, Mana. Would you marry Mahad?"
"No, uh, gross!"
"See?" Atem sighed, and laid on his back. "I'm not mad at Tea, really. She's right in her own way. I know she likes those romantical stuff, she deserves a good wedding ceremony. I just wish she would have it with someone that really loves her. But it's not her decision to make either."
After staying silent and listening to Atem's rant, Mana laid next to him on her side, facing him. He turned to her too.
"I think you're wrong." Mana said, "You said that you weren't allowed to fall in love. That's not true. You had time, Atem. You're 4 years older than us, right? That means you had all the time in the world to fall in love, go on dates or have your first kiss. You know, milestones."
"Are you trying to make me regret the way I spent my teenage years? Because if so, you're really good at this."
"No! I'm trying to say you still have time. You're older than Tea, and you still have years to experience those kinds of things. Much more if you're lucky and she's going to medical school." she said jokingly. It did not cheer him up.
"So... I should go out there and... find someone to... fall in love with? Only to eventually break up with them because I'll get married? I'm almost engaged Mana."
Mana sighed and sat up, looking down on him as his head was still on the covers. "Don't look at it like that. Just because it's going to end one day, doesn't mean you shouldn't try it. If that had been the case, people wouldn't do anything. Also, most relationships don't even last a year, so-"
"And what if I fall in love with the woman of my dreams? Tea finishes school, and I'm right there, having to marry Tea, but not wanting to break up with my girlfriend. What do I do then?"
"Then..." Mana thought about it for a long time, staring off into the distance before answering. "Then you hold your girl's hand, and you run. So fast, so far."
"I run?" Atem sat up too, meeting her eyes. "What if I don't have the luxury to run away?"
"What would happen if you did?"
"I don't want to. I don't want to be separated from my family, I don't want to make a choice. If I get married, I want to be able to visit them, not hide from them. I want them to love my wife just as much as I do. None of the things that are going on in my life are in my favor right now. I really don't know what to do."
His forehead crinkled as he closed his eyes. Yes, he was stressed. Mana put her hands on his head to ease the tension by massaging his temples. "Don't worry too much. In the end, everything will turn out fine. Things seem a bit confusing right now, and you're overwhelmed by them, I understand you."
Atem's eyes snapped open, and he stared at Mana, who quickly retracted her hands. "I'm sorry. When Mahad does it, it relaxes me so I thought-"
"It actually does. Would you mind..."
Mana smiled and nodded, gently tugging Atem's head to lower to her lap. She massaged his temple, his scalp. He seemed visibly relaxed, Mana took proud in it. She knew a little talk could solve things. At least, for now.
All the while, she got more and more used to having him under her touch.
All the while she wrapped him more and more around her finger.
I'm saying it again. The way the plot is going, it looks like I'm about to bash Tea, but no. That is not what I'm going for. Just enjoy the Vaseshipping I'm putting out for ya.
xo