Dedicationshipping (Rishid Ishtar/Mazaki Anzu)
. . .
"Hey," she said, jolting him out of his thoughts. "You hurt yourself, didn't you?"
Rishid flinched a little, moving his hand quickly out of sight, almost without thinking about it. Anzu Mazaki stood in the kitchen door, tilting her head with concern furrowing her brow.
"Mazaki-san," he said, tilting his head. "I didn't hear you there. Why aren't you in the living room with the others?"
He could hear the sounds of laughter drifting from the other room. His brother's voice, actually thick with happiness for the first time in years, it felt like. Ishizu's voice, too, sounding lighter than he ever remembered it being.
"Well, I noticed you disappeared so...I was wondering what happened." Anzu stepped into the kitchen, looking concerned. "You just hurt yourself on the grease, didn't you?"
"It's fine."
Rishid gestured at the pan where he had been starting on dinner. The butter in the pan hadjumped up and burnt the back of his hand, but he was really fine, and he didn't want to worry anyone.
"I'm just trying to make sure we have enough to feed everyone."
"All by yourself?" Anzu said. "But we're all here, we can all help."
Rishid had to smile—she was a kind girl, wasn't she? Yugi had a very good group of people around him.
"I appreciate it, Mazaki-san, but I couldn't trouble you. You and everyone are our guests today."
Anzu put her hands on her hips, one eyebrow raising. She just stared at Rishid for a long, long moment, long enough for Rishid to actually wonder if there was something actually wrong going on here. Then she huffed, and stalked over to him, quickly enough that he couldn't move his hand away before she grabbed it, looking at the red mark from the burn.
"I guess it's not too bad, that's good," she said. "You should probably still take care of it, though. You guys have a first aid kit, right?"
"Mazaki-san," Rishid started, but her fingers tightened on his hand before he could take it away.
When he looked down at her and caught her gaze, her eyes were—striking, he thought. There was a power there that held him, the same shining determination that he had seen in Marik's eyes when they had been running the Ghouls. He couldn't look away, couldn't take his hand from her grip.
"Rishid-san," she said. "Do you...really think...that you have to take care of everything without anyone's help?"
He opened his mouth, but no words came forth. His eyes flickered upward towards the door, towards the living room, where he could hear the voices of their visitors—of his brother and sister, their voices light and happy. He felt something in him soften, and when he looked down at Anzu, her eyes were soft too.
"Do you really think Marik and Ishizu want you to have to hide away in the back like this?" she said. "Do you really think that?"
His lips parted again, and yet again, nothing came out. He felt a tear start at the corner of one eye, and he gently removed his hand from Anzu's grip to quickly wipe it away. It was...she was right, wasn't she...? He wasn't just back here making dinner because he thought that was what he was supposed to do...he...he didn't know if he really...belonged out there, in his sibling's happiness. He belonged back here, in the shadows, like always...that was for the best, wasn't it?
Anzu was still standing there, quiet, her hands at her sides as she looked up at Rishid with the same dazzling confidence that had given Rishid pause in the first place during this conversation. He looked down at the floor briefly.
Then he let out the softest sigh.
"No," he said. "I guess...I don't think that at all."
Anzu's smile brightened up her entire face.
"Good," she said. "Then let me get the others—we can all work on cooking together."
She hopped towards the door, but then looked back.
"And make sure you take care of yourself, too! That hand needs to be looked at, and if you don't do it before I get back, I'll tell Ishizu on you."
Rishid had to laugh.
"Thank you, Mazaki-san."
She smiled once more, and Rishid had to think it again—Yugi really didattract the best people to him, didn't he?
. . .
A/N: I guess that was cute? Next is Deathshipping (Yami Marik x Ryo).
