Anchor
Disclaimer: I do not own YGO. This is a work of fanfiction.
Inspiration: Muguet Porcelaine by Hermes, photos of hats flying in the air at commencement ceremonies, and Anchor by Sophia Black. I do not own any of these.
...
He watches her move, entranced, long brunette hair swishing to an invisible beat, lithe figure twirling around the kitchen. Everything was a dance. The laundry, the dishes, the vacuuming. Even grocery shopping- a waltz of aisles, coupons, and carts. Of course the fridge was usually empty, but the lack of money didn't keep Anzu from scraping together delicious meals out of strange and improbable combinations of ramen and tuna.
Compared to the epic-ness that was SAVING THE WORLD via a children card game, adulthood seemed oddly mundane, if a little repetitive with its constant stream of bills and errands. The heat was almost always in danger of being turned off, the linens almost always worn to single layers of thread, and the to-do list a constant duel of necessary and even more necessary. More than once Grandpa had offered (more like forcefully demanded) that they take some of the profits from the game shop to purchase real food, not to mention decent furniture; Yugi insisted mention they liked the mismatched chair and table set they found for a few dollars at a neighborhood garage sale. Neon pink and purple gingham would be ludicrous in any other setting, but, somehow, the clashing colors fit perfectly in the faded tweed sofa Anzu decorated with various hand-me-down cushions.
"It's shabby chic," Anzu explained with a smile to Mr. and Mrs. Mazaki as well as Grandpa during their first visit to the city. "Environmentally friendly, too."
Mr. Gardner managed a somewhat polite nod as his eyebrows attempted to climb the wobbly fire escape to the roof. Like most fathers, he did not approve of his only daughter "getting by" in a generously sized closet in the middle of a foreign city with little more than a dream and a very limited budget. He had always thought- perhaps rightly- that she would have had a comparably roomier and therefore easier life in Domino, perhaps dancing for one of the local companies or opening a studio of her own. Unlike Mrs. Gardner, Mr. Gardner found the lights of this strange new city dizzying and exotic and far too removed from the tree-lined streets of home, especially after several years spent traversing the globe. Egypt and California were all well and good; home was the best of all, right?
Mrs. Gardner, on the other hand, understood the allure of making it in the big city. There was nothing quite weaving through the throng of neon yellow cabs, though she did have some valid concerns about the cookware in the child-sized kitchen. Reality was of course disappointing compared to the glitzy shine of dreams, but skillets that imbued food with a sickly green cast was downright dangerous.
Oops, Anzu giggled. That's next on the to-buy list, after a new space heater.
At that, Grandpa laughed, too, a strange sound rumbling deep in his chest and expanding across the doll-sized living room, when he and both Gardners happened to visit during the same weekend. Mysteriously, the stove had new coils the next day, and the broken screens on the only window in the living room was replaced, too. Mr. Gardner took to repairing various cracks and dents for the rest of their trip, and Mrs. Gardner left at least a month's worth of pre-cooked meals that had the refrigerator and pantry shelves tumbling in protest. Grandpa dusted, swept, and dusted again, humming to a cheery little tune that Anzu choreographed while setting the table and folding the laundry.
That was the most beautiful sound Yugi had ever heard.
He had expected growing up to be hard. Difficult, even, compared to the carefree mindlessness of youth. He had planned and strategized for every eventuality, just like he used to with cards. Avoid the trap of not buying overpriced food here, setting aside reserve cards for the impending winter, lining up errands just right to save time and subway fares, etc. etc. All in a day's work for someone who anticipated and plotted against the most devious enemy of all: randomness.
There was the time the bus driver decided to get out in the middle of a crowded street and yell at out-of-town pedestrians for crossing the wrong way, for example, something that resulted in an almost comical escalation of gestures and shouts. Or the time the corner grocer just happened to have the last issue of Cards Weekly in stock for his birthday. The good, the bad, and the just plain weird coalesced in this new city, and, for Yugi, keeping up with the changes was almost as exhausting as trying to predict someone's next card.
The only easy thing, Yugi reflected, was just how easy it was to fall and stay in love. Almost like breathing, and just as instinctive. Perhaps he had always been in love, the kind of feeling that made him feel as if he could save the world with just his conviction and a pack of paper printed with some awesome pictures. By all accounts he and his friends should have had a much harder time getting through progressively more demented (power hungry, too, come to think of it) individuals, yet they had persevered, prospered, even, thriving with each challenge. Duelist Kingdom, Battle City, the Monster Realm, and finally Egypt. Each with its own lessons, each with its own place in his heart.
None that could rival the place Anzu held, of course. She was the reason he felt comfortable in this new land with strange customs and even stranger sayings, a solid shape in an otherwise ephemeral place, one that remained constant even as the world shifted and changed. She held on to him as he held on to her and they danced, together, through dreams.
And that was the best thing about growing up- doing so together.
...
This concludes the Mirrors universe. As promised, bonus fic Flames is posted separately due to language, drinking, and themes.
This also concludes my writings for Yu-Gi-Oh fandom. I grown much as a writer and as a person since I first started writing almost two years ago, and I hope that you have enjoyed the journey as much as I have.
Unedited drafts of my unfinished YGO stories- Calamus, Sentimental Notes, and Trials have been posted. I am a sporadic writer- stories always come to me in bits and pieces, and sometimes only in beginnings or endings,- so you can take the drafts for what they are- unfinished stories, or the new beginnings of new endings.
The stories belong to you now.
