Peachshipping (Yugi x Anzu)
(contains some of my headcanons for post-series Yu-Gi-Oh. Italics are Yugi's POC, non-italics are Anzu's POV, bold is them together. And obviously, the "him" they keep referring to is Atem.)
Weights hung from my heart. It was like my feelings were doused in fire extinguisher, making them sluggish and slow to make sense. That was how the first weeks after he left us felt. That was what it felt like every time his disappearing figure in that door of light flashed across my mind in those moments of silence that I strove to avoid.
You can't imagine the emptiness. That strange echo inside of your own thoughts. Where I had once felt a constant presence, there was nothing. I could barely even cry – the numbness filtered through me like a slow oil.
I thought my heart would stay an unfinished puzzle. I had thought that he had that last piece – but he was gone now. I could never complete my heart. But then I saw you, closely, for the first time. And I realized that you were not the little boy that I remembered. He had left his mark on you, a presence, a a strength and confidence that somehow looked so perfectly right on features I had once looked on as a sister might look at a younger brother. But you weren't the little one anymore.
I could see it in your eyes, how broken his departure left you. I was afraid to approach that. I didn't want to hurt you more. I knew how much you loved him. I hoped you knew how much I loved you. But I kept my distance, afraid of pushing you over the edge, away from me, forever. I could not replace him, I felt. I could never replace him.
Every time I caught your gaze, my breath caught. But when I dared to move a little closer, his eyes appeared in my head. Were you only a replacement? Was I just clinging to you because I thought you were becoming more like him? I couldn't hurt you like that. I couldn't let myself love you thinking that all I was seeing in you was him. And so I stepped away. And I let you disappear.
That day at the airport was the hardest. I knew we had been avoiding each other's gaze for so long, stepping on eggshells, trying not to hurt each other. But the second that plane was in the air, I realized – I didn't care anymore. I didn't care if he was still in your heart, or if my feelings might drive you away from me. But the wind stole my words as I shouted them after you, the air ripped away the truth. And I thought then that you would never, ever know.
Four years in New York. It wasn't as glamorous as I had hoped. Sure, the lights and the sounds dazzled for a time. The city that never sleeps let me avoid those quiet moments where I would remember him, and then you, and realize then that he had only been a high school crush – a love that would pass with time. But what I felt for you never disappeared. I thought I'd never get the chance to tell you that. While that frenzied city helped me escape my twisting thoughts, it also made me long for that gentle city I had left behind, a place where you could always find a patch of peace. There was no such thing here.
I wanted to tell you...
...with all my heart...
...no matter what happens...
...just how much I love you.
Those years passed by.
You never quite left my mind.
I met people in New York. I dated a few of them.
There were girls at university. I might have even kissed one or two.
But they never had your smile. They never held my hand quite gently enough, never glowed with that light you always shone.
They were never you.
I came back to Domino today. A place I thought I would never see again.
I saw your number on my cell phone. I stopped in the middle of the street and nearly caused an accident.
You had grown up so much when I saw you. And for the first time, I saw you. Not him. You.
I don't know which of us moved first. But then your arms were around my neck, and mine were around your waist, and I never wanted to let go again.
It took me all this time to realize that you were the only one for me. It took me all this time to know that I wouldn't always see you as his shadow. You were you – and I couldn't believe that I had waited so long to say this.
I couldn't believe that we were finally here. Those words I had lost to the wind four years ago came back to me.
"I love you."
A/N: *dies from the beautifulness* *comes back to life out of joy* I LOVE Peachshipping! I mostly ship it post-series, though, because Yugi needs a little while to grow up a bit, and Anzu needs some time to recover from her love for Atem and then be able to see Yugi for himself. Flame me if you want to, but I'mma call this canon. At least, it's my canon. (fanon?) Next is Pastelshipping (Marik x Roba).
