A/n: Well, here it is- the final installment of this fic. Unless I decide to go off and make it an epic novel... which I don't believe I will.
I'm not sure if I mentioned this already (waaaay to lazy to check right now), but the lyrics to Fumbling Towards Ecstasy are serving as chapter titles and being incorporated a bit into this last chapter. This song belongs to Sarah Mclachlan, pas moi.
Sadly.
BUT ONE DAY I SHALL RULE THE WORLD! Or, more specifically, my associates will achieve world domination and simply share their conquests with me.
All the fear has left me now...
I stumble away from the vehicle, amazed to be in one piece.
"We missed the truck?" I ask, still feeling somewhat dazed. She tsks, rolling her eyes and stomping up to the door with her keys.
"Of course we missed the truck. I'm not that bad a driver, Anzu!"
As I follow her inside, I decide not to mention that it had taken her a good ten minutes of screaming and cursing to figure out that she was on the wrong side of the road...
"Besides, if we had, it would have been YOUR fault!"
I sigh.
"Shizuka-"
"Why, for the love of all things good, holy and/or made of chocolate (1), did you not say something sooner!"
Now I blush. To be perfectly honest... when I first noticed the rip, I thought it was part of the design. You never know with fashion today! Besides, it's not like it made her look bad...
"Look," her tone softens as she turns, exasperated, to me, "I'm gonna go change. Make yourself at home, blah blah blah, I'll be just a minute."
I can't help but smile at her less than conventional welcome. I try to keep my cool as I nod in thanks, and she leaves the room.
It's a small apartment. This room and the one that she just retreated to are probably the only two. She only arrived a few nights ago, but there are next to no indications of her not having lived here for most of her life. Her things are all over the place, leaving a bit of a mess, but it really is a cozy little place.
"Hey!" she greets me brightly as she reappears, apparently in better spirits now that the skirt has been abandoned. I didn't mind it, but then I suppose that's just me. She's now wearing a simple, earth-toned kimono.
I smile. I bet I look goofy, but I can't help it. It's hard not to when she looks so... happy.
"So, you wanna listen to some music? What do you like? I got..." moving to a shelf stacked with CD's and cassettes, she skims through the pile and randomly tosses albums onto the make-shift bed (2) behind her (woah, did not notice that before...), "K's Choice, Sigur Ros, Cream, Faure, Garbage, Queen, Jefferson Airplane, all the great Mozart arias, Pink Floyd, Ray Charles, ooh, and Bizet, and-"
I glance down at the rapidly developing mess of music, eyeing the recordings of Carmen and Don Giovanni, lying just underneath Electric Ladyland and Janis Joplin- Greatest Hits. (3)
"You like Heart? They're pretty good. I've got Dreamboat Annie, which is definitely worth listen- oh, yes, definitely this!" I look up as she waves an album labeled Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, "Sarah Mclachlan," she informs me, popping the CD into an enormous stereo.
I shake my head, seating myself timidly on the edge of her bed.
"You're insane, you know that?"
She smiles, pressing "play" and adjusting the volume.
"So, appreciation for music is an automatic sign of insanity, is it?"
"I don't see why it shouldn't be."
She turns, joining me on the bed.
"Neither do I," she admits.
I'm not frightened anymore...
"So Shizuka," she begins, not looking at me, "did you meet someone... you know... special out there?"
"Uh... well I..."
Kaoruko... (4)
"...Not really, no."
So I lied. No biggy. It's not like she would want to hear about it. She'd probably be grossed out and start avoiding me and...
Wait a minute- what am I thinking? This is Anzu!
She's staring at me now. Okay... whatever that look means... I think she's figured out that I'm not telling her the truth...
"Well actually... there was somebody. But we're over now," I add quickly.
She's still staring, taking on a more guarded look.
"What happened?"
"Cheated on me," I admit, pleased with how cleverly I avoided having to define the gender of this person by using bad grammar.
Her expression suddenly moulds into shock.
"What a bastard!"
I blush. I don't know why... I guess just because the way she said it sounded so... protective. My imagination runs off with images of me in Anzu's arms as she pulls me closer, whispering that no one would hurt me as long as she lives...
Woah, snap out of it, Shizuka! Keep your head firmly on your shoulders!
"Well it wasn't, I mean, I got over it," I finally manage.
"Still..." her eyes narrow slightly, "If you give me his name and address..."
"Heh," I chuckle nervously, occupying my fingers with undoing my hair, "That's uh, well I... think I have something to uh, tell you..."
She waits patiently for me to continue, eyeing me with curiosity and- ooh, is that concern?
"Thing is... it's a she," I spit out.
She looks confused.
"Wait, who?"
"The one whom I went out with... and who cheated on me... is a girl."
It takes a moment, but the realization visibly dawns on her. Her expression is again unreadable, and awfully... soft.
"...I'm gay," I blurt out, completely unnecessarily.
It's my heart that pounds beneath my flesh...
I know what I'm going to do. But I think I won't do it. I'm so sure. (5)
But... oh God... I've just gone done it.
I lost control completely, idiot that I am. After staring into her beautiful face for a few moments longer than I should have, I started tuning out reason and listening to my heart for once, and it wanted this. It still does. But does she?
I pull back, suddenly aware of what I'm doing.
She's staring at me in shock, hesitantly touching the lips that I had just pressed my own against (5). She brings her hand down again and continues to stare.
"Shizuka..." I can't even manage to apologize. And I don't really want to, actually. I want to see what she does.
"Did you mean that?" she asks suddenly.
I nod quickly, understanding, "Yes. I think... I think I'm in love with you, Shizuka." (6)
It's my mouth that pushes out this breath...
I can't stop gawking. She kissed me! Anzu kissed me!
"I just wanted you to know," she continues in her constantly apologetic way, "I'm not asking that you love me-"
"Anzu..."
What a truly brilliant response. Quite an impressive usage of vocabulary- so informative, so fitting, so... moronic. Honestly.
"If you like we can forget that this ever happened," she graciously offers.
"Anzu!"
Forget that? Are you kidding me?
"But I hope we can at least continue to be friends and-"
This is just too much for me. In a desperate attempt to get her to just stop talking, I launch myself at her, attacking her lips with mine. She hesitates before wrapping her arms around me and pulling me closer.
As air is decidedly becoming an issue, I pull back a little and just snuggle up against her, arms wrapped about her neck.
"Will I have to do that every time I want you to shut up?" I ask softly, smiling up at her. She slyly smiles back.
"Should I take that as an 'I love you too?'"
"No, no. Wait for the words," I instruct.
"Meaning that they are actually coming?" she asks hopefully.
"Sure," I offer.
"When?"
"Patience, patience! I have to do it right."
I pull back to face her directly, looking seriously into her eyes. I take in a deep, dramatic breath.
And start giggling, falling forward onto her shoulders.
"...I love you too, Anzu," I whisper, giggles aside.
And I do.
A/n: Good grief... I kind of like the last line, but somehow it feels like eggs slamming against a wall. If that makes... any sense. I mean its all flowy and ladeeda and prettiful and then suddenly blah. I mean, I guess that fits Shizuka's personality pretty well, though.
Footnotes! I actually have footnotes! I usually tend to find them just a tad distracting and sometimes downright irritating, but I decided to do 'em due to the length of this chapter.
(1.) I'm afraid this is a fruitless statement, as chocolate is good and holy and perhaps should be classified under the list of good and holy things instead of stand on its own. But then, chocolate is to some people a wonder beyond the good and the holy, so perhaps separation is indeed appropriate.
(2.) We're talking pretty much just a mattress sitting at most a foot off of the floor.
(3.) Dude, that is such a perfect depiction of my musical tastes. I love classical and new-age and stuff, but I also greatly appreciate hard-rock and alternative. Siiiiiigh.
(4.) If anyone cares, this is the name of a girl mentioned in the first series anime who competes in some popularity contest against Anzu and Miho and Jounouchi (who dresses in drag to see if that helps him out at all!), and cheats to win. Atem gives her some kind of punishment, like always being sad or seeing herself as ugly or something.
(5.) Heheh, I totally stole that from Ryou VeRua. Read her stuff, 'tis fun!
(6.) This may be a little cryptic, but it's kinda supposed to be. Shizuka of course is not able to make much sense, but because they think similarly, Anzu is able to grasp her meaning anyways.
I should probably have done more revising of this story, but I figured I'd just post it. Why not, ne?
FIN.