A/N: Okay, there was no chapter yesterday. There was a good reason for this. The day was rather hectic and involved decorating, the discovery that computers don't work when they are not plugged in and solar-powered frogs. As a warning now, as this room is being decorated, and converted, and we don't really know about what we're going to do about internet access, updates will be irregular. Just so you don't kill me if I don't meet a deadline. Still, at least this one's long…
Review Responses:
Willowwind: Teaching Seto how to cook, eh...? Hey!We should do a crossover! Yup! Ryou from TSJOBTG (Which everyone should go read, btw, cause it rocks)teaching Seto how to cook with the utensils of DOOM! C'mon! It'd be fun! XD Just kidding. I mean, what if Cassie ate Bakura Bunny!Anyhoo, if you can teach Seto how to cook, I'll be amazed. He burns everything. Even water. (Hey, he's SMART enough to do it, right?)
Gothic Ember: Azreal make it up to him? Hmm, now, I wonder how she could do that... Heh Heh heh... I'm sure I don't know what you mean. (Laughs) Wellps, hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: Same as always, with the addition of 'City of Blinding Lights' being a song by U2. Lyrics at the bottom, as always.
Last time, we saw Azreal and Seto fall asleep on the sofa, and now we get to see what happened next!
Twelve: Fireworks
"Urrghmmph…" Azreal sighed, not opening her eyes for a moment. She didn't want to get up. She was so warm and comfortable, she wanted to lie here forever… Unfortunately, as it so often did, school would get in the way of that particular plan.
Still, she could lie here for another five minutes, at least. Only…
She wasn't lying down. Not exactly. Kind of slumped over to the side…
This probably wasn't good.
She opened her eyes to find that, not only had she fallen asleep on Seto's sofa (again), he had fallen asleep to, book still clasped limply in his hand. He would have some serious pins and needles in his arm when he woke up, as it seemed Azreal had been leaning on it most of the night, her head resting just as his arm ran into his shoulder.
It was odd in itself, seeing him asleep. In all the time she'd known him, she'd seen him in just about every mood, but never asleep. Never so… peaceful.
She sat up slowly, reddening, trying not to let her movement wake him. He shifted slightly, but didn't wake up.
And, right then, he looked so cute. His head rested on the top of the sofa, his mouth slightly twisted into a smile- as though his dreams were better then his reality. He was slumped in the sofa, all of his normal posture gone, and, the impossible was possible because he had…
Bed head. Or sofa head, at least. She should take some photos and flog them.
Smiling at the thought, Azreal ruefully thought that she'd better wake him up. It was still early, but she knew that Seto usually went into work for an hour or so before school. Besides, if he had spent all night on the sofa with her, he was going to be very stiff and ill-tempered when he woke up, and the longer he was left, the worse it would get. Oh, and he'd need to sort out his hair.
Taking one last look at his sleeping form- something she'd probably never see again, Azreal decided to go the less-then-subtle approach of waking him up.
"Mmph!" Seto exclaimed in surprise, waking up to find lips against his. But before he could wake up enough to return it, she had pulled away.
"Wakey, Wakey…" She teased, her voice slightly hoarse from thirst as she laughed. "It would seem we fell asleep on the sofa…"
"Huh?" Seto was still half asleep, very disorientated, and, after all, had just been woken up by someone kissing him. "Wha?"
Finding the idea of Seto saying 'Wha' absurdly amusing, Azreal left him to get his bearings and wake up properly, and went off in search of a drink. She never had had that one last night…
Unbeknownst to them, someone else had seen Seto, and her, asleep…
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November
There was never any peace, never any quiet. Never any time to just sit and be alone, never any time to get work done, never any time to slack off. Never time to be weak, never time to be impatient, never any time to be slow. Never any time for… well, anything much.
At least, not when you had a little brother.
James had made a full recovery, and everything was back to normal in the Mitsan household.
In the Kaiba's, though…
"Seto." Mokuba tried again. Seto studiously ignored him, as he had for the last ten minutes. Fine. It was time to bring out the heavy artillery. "Seto. Seto. Seto! Seto Seto Seto Seto Seto Seto Seto-!"
"Stop that."
"Seto Seto Seto Seto Seto Seto Seto Seto Seto Seto…" Mokuba continued relentlessly, hardly drawing breath. But his brother would not be broken that easily. Mokuba decided to make it into a little song. "Se-tooo, Seto, Seto! Seto Seto Seto… Setooo!"
"Are you intending to stand there and do that all day?" Seto asked, still not looking around at him.
"If I have to, and beyond. We'll see who rots first." Mokuba responded, picking his song up again. For some reason known only to him, he decided to do it to the tune of Bohemian Rhapsody, in particular the part where it says 'Galileo' over and over again. "Set-to-o, Set-to-o! Set-to-o, Set-to-o, Set-et-et-to…!"
Refusing to admit defeat, Seto gritted his teeth and tried to continue working. He was beginning to wish he had gone into the office to do this…
Abandoning Queen for the moment, Mokuba just continued his tuneless song from before. "Seto! Seto! Setooooooo! Seto, Seto, Seto Seto Seto! Seeeeeeee-to! SetoSetoSeto, Seto, Seto Seto, Setttttooooo-"
Seto held up his hands in defeat, cutting Mokuba off half way through a particularly long note. He turned round on his uber-cool swivel chair.
"Yes, Mokuba?" He asked. "What is it?"
"Hey, Seto!" Mokuba responded cheerily. "Hope I'm not disturbing you!"
"Not at all."
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(A/N: Fanfiction decided to randomly cut out the stuff here, and I can't get it to stop it. Anyhoo, it was two E-mail addresses, 'To' and 'From' with the subject 'RE: Photo'. I'd type the addresses out, again, but they don't show up, so...)
Hey!
Aha, I see you finally got around to sending me a photo. I see you still haven't cut your hair… I can't imagine it any other way. Do you remember when we were kids, and people kept asking you if you were a girl or a boy, and then you got really upset…? Then Sebastian and I told you it was obvious you were a boy because you had a tractor on your jumper?
Of course you remember! That was how we met! Awww, I've embarrassed you now, haven't I? But come on, we were cute when we were… what's that word you used? Chibis?
Anyways, thanks for the picture. I've heard all about your friends, so it was nice to be able to see them- you weren't joking about Yugi's hair, either! Blooming heck, that CAN'T be natural, or they'd be trying to work out how he broke the laws of physics…
However! There's only one girl on here. You talk about two! So, where's the other one…? Or did you guys not meet her till after you took this?
It looks like you have some nice friends there, Ryou. Just don't forget you have us to!
Even if Seb is irritating. He wants the computer, NOW. He's so impatient…
Yes you are. Be quiet.
Nothing happening here. Mom's away, AGAIN, performing, I believe, 12th Night. Her very favourite. Hmm, that brings it up to, what, a whole two days we've seen her this year?
Seb's telling me to stop ranting and get off the computer. I told him this would happen if he took ICT at GCSE. I only want to E-mail you… Meh. He's so insensitive. But you understand me, right? Course ya do! I'm your oldest friend!
Well, I guess I'd better go before he starts trying to send you messages on MY E-mails again. For goodness sake, if he ever bothered to reply to the ones you send HIM, then we wouldn't have this problem…
Miss you loads!
Olivia.
P.S. We're gonna need your postal address reasonably soon. Y'know, for Christmas cards and such…
Yo! Ryou! The only reason I never E-mail you is because my oh-so-dear twin sister is always hogging the computer! Don't listen to her! Oh, I know! Call her Ollie to annoy her! (Evil Grin) Well, I'd better send this before she reaches the delete button! Ha! – Seb
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"It's Anna's birthday soon." Mokuba said, matter-of-factly. "I mean, today's the first. Her birthday is the fifth. And I bet you haven't sorted anything out yet."
"I've got her a present." Seto said, defensively.
"That's not enough!" Mokuba protested. "Look, Seto, she may be able to put up with being mostly ignored for the rest of the year, but her birthday is special! It's her special day, and you have to make it special!"
Seto raised an eyebrow. "And you have been an expert since…?"
"Seto, we have cable."
"I see. Not for much longer." Seto muttered, darkly. "And, for your information, I was intending to take her out. I'm just not sure entirely where…"
"Well, if you don't hurry, she'll have other plans!" Mokuba told him. "Maybe she already does! But, luckily for you, I have a plan!"
"Oh?" Seto said. "Alright, Mokuba, let's hear this oh-so-wonderful plan of yours…"
Seto was rather surprised when it was a wonderful plan.
"You don't mind?" He checked. It was one of their traditions, after all…
"Nope." Mokuba grinned. "If Anna's happy with you, you're happy. And if you're happy for once, it's worth it!"
What a great kid.
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It wasn't hard for Seto to find Azreal that morning. In fact, she found him, running over to him in the queue into the form room.
"Pinch and a Punch on the first day of the month!" She chanted, doing so.
"Shall I even ask, or should I save both my breath and sanity?" Seto asked.
"Aww, it's a tradition!" Azreal pouted. "Besides, the harder you pinch and punch someone, the more you like them!"
"Then I guess Gardner's going to be beating everyone up." Seto commented drably. Azreal laughed. "What are you doing on your birthday?" Seto asked bluntly.
"Some family thing." Azreal smiled. "I'm thinking cinema. My sisters might even tag along, if they can get the night off."
"Are you aloud to take Pleasure trips down from Wherever to visit exiles?" Seto asked quietly, mockingly.
"Uh…yeah…Wherever…" Azreal kicked herself mentally. "But, it's going to be more or less right after school… James has to get to bed and all that, you know… why?"
"We are going out. And by out, I mean outside." Seto clarified. "I'll come and pick you up at eight, if your dad agrees, of course."
"I'm sure it won't be a problem." Azreal smiled, saying no more about it. "Where are we going?"
"Ah, it's a surprise." Seto smirked.
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As Azreal tried to find out where she was going, Seto was not the only one to have found the place. Or the event.
"I was going to see if we could all go together for Anna's birthday." Ryou finished, shrugging. "But, if she's busy with her family, I don't see any reason why we shouldn't go. I used to love it…"
"Yeah!" Joey agreed readily. "This way, we get the best of both worlds! We get to do something on Friday and Azreal has to have us for Christmas!"
He got told off for that one.
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Now, it's time to address a very old question: Where's Duke?
The answer? Somewhere in the USA, flogging his game and getting very rich.
However, it was almost time for him to leave. Just a few more weeks…
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Finally, the fifth came…
Azreal had always loved Fridays, but this one was even better then usual. She was going out with her family, would see her friends at school, and was going out with Seto. As she rolled slowly out of bed, dragging the duvet down with her and lying on the floor as usual, she felt the happy feeling inside her when you just knew nothing could go wrong. Even the sun had come out. Still bitterly cold, but at least it had stopped raining. She lay there for a moment, half asleep. Too sleepy to get up. Too lazy to get back onto her bed. The floor would do for now.
Suddenly, her bedroom door banged open and James was jumping on her shouting something incomprehensible about birthdays.
"Morning…" She winced, pushing him off before he broke some of her bones. "Don't jump on me like that, especially not before I've woken up!"
"Why are you on the floor!" He asked, as though it was the funniest thing he'd ever seen.
"So I can trap you in my duvet." She replied evenly, throwing it over him. He squealed and tried to wriggle free, but she wrapped him up easily. He was small, even for a child that would turn four in January.
"Let me go!" His giggling voice came, muffled. But however much he squirmed, Azreal kept hold of him, yawning.
"I don't think so."
"Yes! Ahhh! Let go! Let go!"
"Never!"
And so forth. If you've ever been a three year old, or had a younger sibling, you probably know the kind of noise that, down the hall, told Doug and Ruby it was about time they got out of bed.
Anna had just wormed a hand in under the blanket and was tickling James mercilessly when Doug entered. He stood in the doorway, looking bemused.
"Judging by the noise in here, it's time for breakfast." He commented.
Anna looked up in surprise. "Oh. Morning, Dad."
"Morning, Anna. Happy birthday!"
"Thanks."
"You're quite welcome. Now please untangle your brother."
"…Will do!"
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After her rude awakening, Azreal was a little earlier to school then normal. But no sooner had she stepped through the gate, thinking what a lovely day it was, was the wind completely knocked out of her. When she stopped panicking, she realised it was Téa with her arms round her neck giving her a bone-crushing hug.
Which was a nice gesture and all, but she was rapidly running out of air…
Téa was saying something, but Azreal wasn't listening. It kind of took a back seat to the need for air, air, air… Her lungs wouldn't fill properly. She swatted ineffectively at Téa's back, but she didn't seem to comprehend what was happening…
Suddenly, she saw the girl being hauled off her.
"You know, she might appreciate it a little more if you didn't suffocate her in the process." Joey's voice came.
Azreal bent over, filling her lungs, laughing and wheezing all at once. Then, she straightened up.
"Thanks for the save, Joey." She chuckled. "And thank you, Téa. Thought that counts, and all. Morning everyone."
They all exchanged looks. They were all subjected to the bone-crush-birthday-hug treatment once a year.
Then came the presents. There was a lot of sheep stuff. Azreal was very happy, and a little overwhelmed. For most of her life, she'd just had presents from her family, and no-one else wanted to know, but here were these guys, celebrating with her…
It was a surreal, dream-like experience. Like the best dream ever.
"You'll get my present later…" Ryou said, positively gleefully. "After break. In G&T."
Which left Azreal more then a little apprehensive. But it couldn't be helped. She'd have to wait and see.
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The first lesson of the day was gym, and, for once, the conversation in the changing room was low. One girl was very upset, sobbing. She was surrounded by her friends, and Téa, who was everyone's friend. Anna stood off slightly to one side, awkwardly.
"Don't cry." One girl said, passing her a tissue.
"I don't know why you don't just dump him." Another sniffed.
"I keep going to…" She stammered. "And then he tells me he loves me and I…" She was unable to speak.
"If he really loved you, he'd change…" Another said gently.
"And if you really loved him, he wouldn't need to." Anna said.
They all started at her. Even the tears dried up. Everyone was surprised. Anna didn't usually join in this kind of conversation. And what she said was a little unexpected to.
"What?" The previously-crying girl demanded.
Anna shrugged, wishing she hadn't said anything as she began to put her PE kit back into her bag. "It just seems to me that if you really loved someone, you'd love them despite their bad habits. Heck, maybe you'd even love their bad habits to."
"Does that mean you love Kaiba?" One girl giggled. "I bet he has a load of bad habits."
"Hey, hey!" Anna screamed, holding up her hands. "My relationship isn't being scrutinised here! You want to analyse something? Find out why Téa and Yugi keep going out and then- Oops."
Téa glared at her from a mass of squealing girls demanding to know if she really was dating Yugi as Azreal slipped out the room.
Although Téa didn't know it yet, she would extract her revenge for that later.
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"Are you sure you don't need any help…?" Téa asked, suppressing a giggle as Anna tried to shove all her presents into her small locker. It wasn't gonna happen. There weren't many of them, but they seemed to be rather large.
"No, it's okay." Anna gasped, pushing. "You go. No point both of us spending our entire break trying to close this door. There isn't even enough room for us both to push…"
"Okay…" Téa said reluctantly, heading out of the deserted corridor and through the doors to the playground as Anna began to pull things out of her locker and rearrange them.
A moment later, she felt, rather then saw, someone standing beside her, and turned to see Seto.
"How long have you been standing there?" She demanded.
"I only just got here." Seto promised. "It took long enough to find you." He complained.
"Ah, but was it worth it?" Azreal asked. "What's up?"
"I've got you a present, naturally." Seto replied, as though it was obvious. He pulled a slightly floppy parcel from who-knew-where and thrust it into her hands.
"You got me a… present?" Azreal repeated, almost whispering. She was blushing, though she had no idea why. She had never once blushed because of Seto before…
Well, maybe just once… just.
"Are you going to stare at the paper or see what's inside?" Seto asked tolerantly.
"Oh! Sure!" Azreal yelped, making him laugh that laugh, the one she was reserved for when he was in private. She began to unwrap the parcel, wondering what on earth it could be… It was soft, but the wrong shape for a cuddly toy… And, as the paper came away, she could see stripes, all the colours of the rainbow…
It was a set of beautiful, rainbow gloves. And a scarf to match. On the cuffs of the gloves, and the ends of the scarf, was some embroidery. Not sheep, as though he knew everyone got her sheep. Wings. A left one and a right one. A set.
Seto felt a lump rise in his throat as she stared at them, saying nothing.
"Do you remember?" He asked, sounding lame even in his own ears. "Your fingers were cold…"
-+-+-+-+-+-+- Flashback+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
Azreal laughed, pushing the metallic blue gift bag towards him. "Here. I really hope you like it… And I really have to go! See you later!" She stood up, her fingers brushing over his in the process. Seto grabbed them.
"Your fingers are cold." He frowned.
"I've noticed." Azreal replied, wryly. "It's cold outside, Seto, and I haven't been inside long enough to warm up yet. Nor have I been on Earth long enough to get around to buying a set of gloves. Wherever had a controlled climate, so…" She shrugged. "I'll see you later- I can't wait!"
She squeezed his warm fingers in her icy ones, before slipping out of his grip and leaving.
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"…You really remember…" Azreal said, a lump in her throat herself. "And you really… do care, don't you?"
Seto stood motionless.
"Oh, Seto!" She threw her arms round him, right there in the corridor, and, surprised, Seto wrapped his arms around her, feeling her hair, and shut his eyes.
It was amazing, how happy a set of gloves and a scarf could make a girl.
And a guy, he added mentally, as they stood so close to each other. It was almost worth spending all that time trying to sew those darned wings in…
She pulled away, slightly reluctantly, and pulled on her jacket before shoving everything else back in her locker, slamming the door before it could all fall out again. Then, she wrapped the scarf around her neck, and pulled the gloves on.
Seto just stood and watched. She was so… beautiful.
"Oh, I almost forgot." He said, snapping out of his stupor. "Here. Mokuba sent me a card to give you, 'on pain of death'." He smirked. "Apparently there's a present inside…" He handed over an envelope. "Uh-oh. Here comes the friendship freak." He commented, as Téa emerged through the door. Clouds were gathering now, and she to was wrapped up warm. "I'd better go."
"Fine." Azreal said, but she reached up and touched his face.
Seto raised an eyebrow. "She's close enough to see."
"In all honesty? I'm beyond caring." Azreal replied, kissing him quickly.
Oh, how much he wanted to just stay there with her and blow the consequences. But they kept it short, and simple.
"I'll see you later." He left just as Téa arrived, carefully ignoring what she'd just seen.
"Did Kaiba get you these?" She said, admiring the scarf and gloves.
"Yup!" Anna replied, suddenly feeling very happy indeed.
"And this?" Téa asked, flicking the still unopened card in her hand.
"Oh! No, that's from Mokuba…" Anna replied, opening it- which was difficult with gloved hands.
It was a very ordinary birthday card, but inside…
One look at Anna's face told Téa that she needed to snoop over her shoulder.
It was interesting. Very interesting.
"How cute." Téa said, sounding dangerous. "Hmm, who knew Kaiba could get bed head? And look at you two, all curled up together…"
Not only had Mokuba managed to take a picture of them, he'd stuck it in a card.
Dear Annait read.
Hope you like my 'present'. I think it's very sweet…! XD Maybe you can put it in a photo frame later? Well, happy birthday, anyway!
Mokuba
Anna continued to choke. Téa took advantage of her friend's weakness to snatch the card out of her hands.
"I think we should show this to the others…!" Téa said gleefully. "and whoever else we meet on the way!"
"No! Téa! You can't!" Anna protested, trying to snatch it back.
"Payback, for PE!"
"Since when have you been into revenge!" Anna demanded. "C'mon, Téa, give it here!"
"But it's so cute!" Téa's eyes glittered dangerously. "I think they would love it! Joey, especially."
"No! He would get totally the wrong idea! You can't!"
Téa laughed, skipping down the hallway. "Just try and stop me!"
Anna tried. And, naturally, managed it just before they reached the doors. Giggling, the two girls went out to join their friends.
"I wouldn't have, by the way." Téa said as they went out into the cold winds.
"I know."
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G&T class.
Feeling apprehensive as to what, exactly, Ryou was up to, Anna entered the room and-
And nothing happened.
Nothing continued to happen for the first half of the lesson, as she sat and listened to the band rehearse. They were playing Otherworld at the moment, trying to get the hang of it. After all, they only had a few weeks left.
Then, as the song ended, they approached her. All of them, and her siblings.
"I told you you'd get your present in G&T." Ryou reminded her mildly.
"Why do I suddenly not want to know what it is…?" Anna remarked.
"Oh, don't worry!" Greg dismissed. "We just got you this between us…"
He pushed a small rectangular box towards her.
"What is it?" Anna asked, poking it suspiciously. It was hard.
"Open it and find out." Craig grunted.
She did. It was a metal case, and inside…
It was a harmonica. A beautiful, metal, harmonica.
"We thought since you were so awful at the guitar- no offence-" Ryou grinned. "We'd get you something easier to play."
They all smirked. The smirks were wiped off their faces as she put it to her lips and played out a cool little riff.
"No way did you just make that up…" Matt grunted. "You actually know how to play that thing!"
"Maybe, maybe not…" Azreal said, mysteriously. She turned it over, spinning it round, admiring it from every angle. And, as the light caught the surface, she saw that four characters were engraved slightly into the surface.
"It's engraved?" She asked, trying to read it.
"Oh, yes." Ryou blinked. "We're not sure why, exactly, but all the ones were in the shop were. No plain ones at all. So we had to get that one."
"'Never Surrender'…?" Azreal read, slowly. "Nice."
"Well, it's your birthday." Greg said. "Wanna come play with us?"
"Uh, sure." Azreal nodded.
"Just this once, mind." Craig winked.
"Fine." Azreal said, picking up the harmonica.
Time to show these guys just what she could do with it.
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When Seto rang the bell that night, his hopes were dashed when Doug opened the door.
"Good evening." He said. Seto returned the greeting, whishing Azreal would get down here.
"It was you, wasn't it?" Doug asked roughly. "Who took Anna to the hospital, waited till she came back out, looked after her…"
"Well…" Seto said, uncertain of how to reply.
"And, as I understand it…" Doug continued, eyeing Seto up and down. "You have two, or more, occasions when she has been asleep on your sofa and you haven't ever… taken advantage."
Seto gagged. "What! I wouldn't… I mean… I…" He was still chocking, and felt himself going very red. Doug started to laugh as Seto continued to splutter. Azreal appeared at the top of the stairs.
"Seto!" She grinned. "I thought I heard your embarrassed stammering!" She took the steps two at a time, pulled on her jacket, gloves and scarf, said goodbye to her dad, and a second later, to Seto's relief, they were out the door.
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"Tell me…!"
"No."
"Please!"
"No."
"Tell me!"
"No! Honestly, you're as bad as Mokuba…"
"Only because you won't tell me where we're going…" Azreal sulked.
"You'll see." Seto half smiled. "We're almost there."
As if his words summoned the place towards them, they were there. Seto pulled the car to a halt, driving himself for once. He nodded at her, and, slowly, they climbed out of the car.
They were near the ocean, for Azreal could hear the sea lapping against the shore. The clouds had been rolling in all day, and although there was no starlight, she could see perfectly well. They were on top of a small hill, or cliff, and they were looking down on the Night Market.
From way up here, the noise was just the slightest snatches of whispers on the breeze, and all the stalls and winding walkways merged seamlessly into one. It was like someone had woven all the different coloured lights together, into a single mass.
Azreal stared at the beauty of it. "City of blinding lights…." She muttered.
"What?" Seto asked. And she stared to sing softly.
"You know. By U2…" He didn't, so, softly, she began. "The more you see, the less you know, the less you find out as you grow. I knew much more then, then I do now…" She smiled as she sung, leaning into him. He didn't pull away. "Neon hearts come alive, City lit by Fireflies, they're advertising in the skies for people like us… And I'll miss you when you're not around… I'm getting ready to leave the ground… Oh, you look so beautiful tonight, in the City of Blinding Lights…I'm not singing the entire song." She laughed. She noticed Seto looking at her.
"What?" She asked, moving closer to him. Hey, she was cold.
"Nothing." Seto replied. "I've just never heard you singing before."
"I like to save people the pain." Azreal said, half-laughing.
"It's not painful. You have a perfectly pleasant voice."
"You're lying, but thanks." Now she really did hug him. And they stood, so close she could feel his breath on the top of her head, so close he could feel her breathing, and they stood like that until there was no time anymore, even as it passed.
"You know…" Seto said, quietly, reluctantly. "As much as I'd love to just stand here all night, I did bring you here to show you something. And you're not going to see anything if you're facing me."
She let go of him. Slowly. And turned to face down towards the Night Market.
"What?" She asked, smiling.
"It should start in a second. Just wait."
A moment later, something did start, as a firework shot up from the market, exploding against the cloudy backdrop. And even as the clouds began to clear and reveal the stars beneath, they didn't get any less impressive.
"Fireworks…" Azreal whispered. "Why are they letting off fireworks?"
"I believe the fifth of November is Guy Fawkes night." Seto said.
"Guy Fawkes being…?"
"I have no idea." Seto admitted.
"Well, I bet that whoever he was, he was a really happy guy." Azreal smiled, taking his hand. "Because I sure am right now…"
"Me to."
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Meanwhile, not as high, but watching the fireworks all the same, Yugi, Ryou, and all the rest were wandering around the market even as they craned their necks upwards. At this precise moment, they were buying candy floss.
"So, what's the deal, Ryou?" Joey asked. "This 'Guy Fawkes Night'?"
"Well, it's something celebrated in Britain. Perhaps one of the stall owners is British. You know… Bonfire Night? Fireworks Night?"
"Yes," Yugi said, after a mouthful of the sticky substance had dissolved in his mouth."But what does it celebrate."
"Death of a traitor." Ryou replied easily, as they continued to walk along.
"Seems a strange thing to celebrate." Téa said. "What's the deal?"
"He tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament." Ryou informed them. "See, he was had a different religion to the King and was therefore persecuted."
"What? Was he like a Pagan or something, and they were Christians?"
"Nope. One was Catholic, the other Protestant." Ryou continued. "It seems dumb now, but back then… Anyway, he put gunpowder under the Houses of Parliament, and planned to blow it up on the 5th November. Got caught, naturally." He pointed upwards as the bangs and crashes continued overhead. "That's what the fireworks symbolise. The gunpowder."
"Then what about the bonfire?" Téa asked. "What does that symbolise?"
Ryou gave a slightly devilish grin. "Why do you think there's a dummy- a guy- burning on the fire, Téa?"
"Urrgh!"
"Don't worry." Ryou said. "He wasn't alive."
"Oh." Téa relaxed a little, but Ryou wasn't done.
"No, he had already been hung, drawn, and quartered." Ryou continued cheerily. "Oh! And he had his head displayed on a spike!"
"I think I'm gonna be sick…" Téa moaned.
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Seto and Azreal wandered almost straight through the market, although they went slowly, they stopped only once.
"Wait here." Seto instructed, disappearing into the crowd. And as Azreal waited, wondering where he was going, she didn't realise she had been spotted.
"Hey!" Tristan said, pointing to where the girl stood. "It's Azreal! What's she doing here? I thought she was going to the cinema with her family…"
"Maybe she came here after." Yugi suggested, "Come on! Let's go say 'Hi!'"
They began to move towards her, but, before they got close, Kaiba appeared, holding something. He gave it to her, and, laughing, she took his hand and they were quickly swallowed by the crowd.
"Should we follow them…?" Tristan wondered. The idea was quickly shot down.
"I just can't believe she'd rather be with him then us…" Joey kept saying in frustration.
"Come on." Ryou said. "Let's go see the Bonfire."
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They had been wandering around slowly, drinking in the sights and sounds, when, suddenly, Seto stopped.
"Wait here." He told her, disappearing without further explanation.
Azreal waited, looking up at the sky. The clouds really were beginning to clear now, and she could see the first of the stars slipping through it's net. So beautiful- not just the stars, but the clouds and the stalls and… everything. Right then, everything was beautiful.
Someone placed a hand on her elbow, but she wasn't surprised. It could only be one person. "That was quick."
"I got you something." Seto said, shoving the bag towards her. She opened it, and inside…
A fluorescent pink Hello Kitty watch.
"What was it?" Seto asked, pretending to think. "'Now you'll be able to make time for me'?"
Laughing, Azreal put it on. "Now we match." She smiled, taking his hand. And, once again, they disappeared into the bustle of this festival mood.
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They ended up out on the pier, just as they had that first night she returned to Earth. Whether by accident or not, their feet had carried them here. Silently, as though communicating with something other then words, they moved as one, and sat down at the end of the pier, just as they had done some months ago.
After the last of the fire works banged and shimmed and fizzled themselves out, the crowd began to disperse. Most plunged back into the Night Market again, but Azreal and Seto did not, instead walking silently down the dark track, between the warehouses, and down to the river front.
And, just had they had all the months ago, they sat down on the edge of the wharf, feet just above the water, and watched. In the day time, the water was not all that pretty, rather sludge. But at night, you couldn't see anything except the slight curves of light as the water moved. There was not much moonlight but the water seemed to glimmer and shine, as though it held something secret beneath it's waves.
"Do you remember the last time we were here?" Azreal asked eventually, smiling at the memory.
"Of course." Seto nodded. "We sat and looked out, just like this."
"Yes." Azreal sighed, unconsciously leaning on him. His arm was warm as he just as unconsciously wrapped it around her. "And then you told me that you had made a decision."
"And you asked what it was." Seto added, playing along.
"And you said that you were glad I had come back, and that you knew where we stood. Or rather," She amended. "That you knew where you wanted to stand."
"You asked what it was…"
"Yes…" Azreal smirked slightly, knowing he was waiting for the good part. She deliberately slowed down. "And… then…"
"Shut up so I can kiss you." Seto grumbled. He did.
It was strange, Azreal thought, that she spent so much time thinking that Seto had such beautiful eyes, but when she was close enough to get a really good look, she had her eyes closed. And then she was too busy feeling to think any more.
Seto's thoughts never stopped. Ever. He was always thinking about what he had to do, or planning things out, or theorising… his brain just never stopped. That was, of course, until he had kissed her. Then he was too busy feeling. It was like his brain disconnected lest it melted down.
The tips of her hair were tickling his fingers. It seemed so odd that he could still feel that on top of everything else. He could feel his pulse rocketing, heart threatening to burst out of his chest. Or was it hers? They were so close, he couldn't tell where she began and he ended; not until she pulled away some time later, resting her head on his shoulder instead.
"And then we kissed?" Seto asked, hazarding a guess at the end of her sentence.
"I was going to say something more dramatic…" Azreal replied, thoughtfully. "You know, 'And the Earth moved, rocketing into the sky till we stood among the stars', that kind of thing." She smiled. "But yours worked to."
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There were several exits from the market to the wharf, and Yugi and the others took one several metres up from where Anna and Kaiba were. They began to walk down, just in time to see the couple get closer and closer and…
"We are out of here. Now." Téa said, and they didn't need telling twice. "We are not going to stand here and watch!"
"You got that right!" Joey agreed. "Still… who else really wants to go over there and embarrass them…?"
"NO!"
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Anna stood up, so Seto did to.
"What's wrong?" He asked, as she looked up and down the walkway.
"No, nothing…" She shook her head. "I just thought I heard something…" She went to turn around, somehow missed her footing, and ended falling off the end of the pier.
She surfaced before Seto could react. The tide was on it's way out, and so the water was only waist depth. She spluttered, soaked, and began to wade back towards shore, the pier too high to climb onto.
"Don't say a word…" She called to Seto, as he began to head down onto the beach to meet her.
"I was only going to say-"
"No!"
"That that-"
"Seto…"
"Didn't happen last time." Seto completed, grinning. Azreal laughed, squeezing her hair out. Seto looked at her soaked attire.
"I think that would be a cue to call it a night." He said.
"Yeah…" Azreal agreed, but neither moved as they stood and watched the ocean recede.
"Happy birthday, Azreal."
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A/N: There. Hopefully, worth the wait. I haven't named the band yet, you may have noticed. I have a few ideas, but if you have a better one, feel free to send them my way! You may get an imaginary prize!Anyways, here's the lyrics to 'City of Blinding Lights', by, I repeat, U2. This song is on their album, 'How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb'.
The more you see the less you know
The less you find out as you grow
I knew much more then then I do now
Neon hearts come alive,
The city lit by fireflies
They're advertising in the skies
And people like us
And I miss you when you're not around
I'm getting ready to leave the ground
Oh you look so beautiful tonight...
Don't think before you laugh
Look ugly in a photograph
Flash bulbs, purple irises the camera can't see
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I've seen you walk unafraid
I've seen you in the clothes you've made
Can you see the beauty inside of me?
What happened to the beauty I had inside of me?
And I miss you when you're not around
I'm getting ready to leave the ground
Oh you look so beautiful tonight...tonight
In the city of blinding lights
Time...time...time...won't leave me as I am
But time won't take the boy out of this man
Oh you look so beautiful tonight
Oh you look so beautiful tonight
Oh you look so beautiful tonight
Now, join me next time! It's the Christmas show, but how will Ryou cope with the nerves, especially when something unexpected happens! And it's Christmas Eve at Azreal's- it's a recipe for disaster… What a weird experince that'll be. Writing a Christmas fic in the Summer Holidays...
