Author's Note:
For the YGO Collab Love discord Valentine's Day 2023 Event. My prompts were:
1. drunk confession
2. "This is the happiest I'll ever be."
3. Dancing
Thank you to Alecto for the beta read. :)
XXX
The newly introduced tradition of a senior school dance was upon them and though Anzu had considered the outcome unfolding before her, she hadn't quite processed its implications.
She'd given the dress plenty of consideration. Twirling now before her mother's bedroom mirror in a beautiful midnight blue off-the-shoulder gown. And she'd put careful thought into the decorations and music they'd dance to too, given her position as part of the planning committee.
But she hadn't stopped and given much thought to the fact that her sweet Yugi would show up dressed like a gentleman, smelling of expensive cologne that made her mind conjure foreign places she'd love to whisk them away to. He looked terribly handsome, and every bit the confident man she'd attributed Atem as being.
When he asked her out to the dance, he approached her with a shy smile, wringing his hands nervously. Eventually mustering out, "Anzu, would you like to attend the dance with me?"
And of course, she'd accepted. The request was too sweet not to. Plus she'd be going with her best friend. Not some guy who was just hoping to get lucky.
It wasn't until the evening of the dance, as she got dressed, that her excitement grew. Not only for the fun they'd have but, also because she was going with Yugi. It wasn't the first time she'd felt excitement at the prospect of seeing him. She felt it nearly every time she heard his footsteps approaching or when Jounouchi hollered his name, announcing his arrival. But she hadn't wanted to complicate the beautiful thing they'd created over all these years.
Until she saw him tonight. That was when it all hit her. She realized how much she didn't mind that this would be like a first date. That they'd inevitably be blurring the lines of their friendship into something more romantic. She understood now her mother's teasing about how they'd both better behave themselves.
She just hoped that Yugi too was open to exploring the dimensions of their relationship tonight.
"Anzu, you look stunning," Yugi complimented, as he made his way into the house. He truly seemed in awe of her.
"Thank you," she replied, with a delighted smile, and accepted the corsage he extended towards her.
After some lighthearted threats from her father and many photos taken by her mother, they were ready to depart.
Otogi and his date waited out front in his car. They made their way to the venue located within KaibaLand, laughing and teasing one another all the while.
After parking, Otogi switched off the music. Anzu gave herself a once over and prepared to enter the party with Yugi. Her heart swelled with pride at the idea of walking in with the man she'd weathered so many adventures with.
XXX
Jounouchi secured his bike out front before making his way into the dance venue. It was a large domed building that, like many in the park, paid homage to Kaiba's prized Blue-Eyes White Dragons.
Having arrived late, the lobby was empty save the cute boy handling tickets and snacks. As the other boy looked up from his phone, they locked eyes. It was none other than Kaiba Seto himself.
"What're you doing out here, moneybags?" Jounouchi asked, surprised to find him selling tickets of all things. He let slide the fact that he just thought Kaiba was cute.
"I've been saddled with this task in order to meet the extracurricular requirements to graduate," Kaiba replied, clearly displeased.
"Oh yeah, I just finished it myself not too long ago. Did some work with the local animal shelter," Jounouchi shared.
"Bet you were right at home, mutt" Kaiba teased.
"Shut up," Jounouchi snapped. He placed his ticket down on the table a little harder than necessary and waited for Kaiba to return the stub.
"I see you're here alone?" Kaiba commented.
"My date got sick," Jounouchi explained. "Dropped her off her flowers but figured I'd go anyway since I've got the suit for the night."
"Lucky her," Kaiba deadpanned. "Well, enjoy the frivolity."
"It'll probably be better than your night," Jounouchi teased- and pocketed the other end of the ticket. He made his way past the brunet and into the dance, searching for Yugi and the others.
Over an hour later, he ventured back into the lobby for some air and to give his friends and their dates some alone time.
Glancing over at Kaiba's table, he noticed the other man was packing up for the evening.
"Home free?" Jounouchi inquired.
"Thankfully," Kaiba muttered.
Jounouchi watched as Kaiba made his way to a storage room off to the left of the lobby and unlocked it.
"Hey, I was wondering, why do you care about graduating high school anyways?" Jounouchi asked, following the brunette into the shelf lined room.
Kaiba paused in returning the snacks to the shelf. "To be honest, I don't. It's just one of the many things my PR insists I do for image's sake."
"Now that sounds more like you," Jounouchi said, with a genuine laugh.
Kaiba hummed in agreement as he pulled a flask from the inner pocket of his jacket and drank deep.
"Hey, you had that the whole time!" Jounouchi exclaimed.
"Yup," Kaiba replied. "How else did you think I was going to get through this night?"
"Well, at least share," Jounouchi insisted.
Kaiba hesitated a moment before passing over the flask. "Fine."
They did this a couple more times before Kaiba spoke, a rosiness about his cheeks.
"I've got a meeting with a suck-up manager early tomorrow," he groused. "So, saccharin sweet, it's annoying."
"I bet," Jounouchi concurred, reaching out and taking a snack packet and also helping with reshelving.
"But there's no real point in replacing him, there's more where he came from."
"That must make it tough to know who to trust," Jounouchi said quietly.
"Yes," Kaiba agreed, equally quiet. He took another swig of the flask, now nearly empty. "At least you're not like that. You and your friends. Aside from with Mokuba, sometimes I wonder if this is the happiest, I'll ever be."
"What do you mean?" Jounouchi probed.
"I'm…" he looked down at the flask in his hand. "I'm going to miss our time together, as insufferable as you all are," Kaiba whispered. "With school ending, I won't see much of you."
"It doesn't have to be that way," Jounouchi replied.
XXX
Anzu stepped into the decked-out party, taking in the deep hues of purple and gold that adorned the walls. Paired with fairy lights, it created a magical atmosphere, just as they'd wanted, for their theme: royalty.
Beaming at those who watched, she proudly made her way to their table, holding on to Yugi's arm.
"I'm really glad to be here with you Anzu," Yugi said as they took a seat. "That's not to say I don't always enjoy being with you-"
Anzu giggled at his flustered expression. "Thank you, Yugi, you're the kindest."
"So are you Anzu," Yugi said, blushing. "Let me go get us some drinks."
Anzu smiled at his thoughtfulness, appreciating how mature he'd become since knowing Atem and after all they'd gone through as a group.
She wondered what it would be like if Atem was still here. Would she have accepted Yugi's offer? They all agreed he was better off at rest but they missed him nonetheless, especially when sharing times like these.
But that didn't change the fact, especially after seeing Yugi tonight, that she'd rather be here with no one else. Yugi had taken hold of her imagination and she didn't want it to let go.
"Hi!" Honda greeted. He and his date took the seats to the left of Anzu.
Anzu returned his greeting just as Yugi made his way back to the table carefully balancing two brimming cups of soda.
"I think the magic act is about to start!" she exclaimed as she accepted her drink. Sure enough, the lights in the room dimmed as an announcer stepped up to the mic.
Jounouchi found his way to their table just as the show started, whispering an explanation about his date falling ill. They spared him a sympathetic glance and whispered back how they were glad he made it nonetheless.
Returning their attention to the stage, they spent the next hour enthralled by the magician's tricks, sleight of hand and various feats of illusion.
"That was pretty neat," Bakura commented as they all refilled their drink glasses after the show.
Yugi and Anzu both nodded in agreement. They continued to converse a while longer before Bakura returned to his table.
Anzu turned back to Yugi, who looked as nervous as he'd the day he'd asked her out to the dance.
"Anzu, would you like to head out to the dance floor?" Yugi asked somewhat shyly.
"I'd love to," she replied, taking the arm he offered her before heading out onto the slowly filling floor.
When it came to dance, Anzu couldn't contain herself. Finding herself swaying to the rhythm and beat. Yugi tried to follow her movements as best as he could, a smile forming on his lips as he became more comfortable with the movements. Soon they were lost in the music.
Eventually, a slower song came on and their dancing followed suit. Anzu smiled to herself at the rosiness of Yugi's cheeks from the exertion they'd just taken part in.
Soon it mingled with a blush as he placed his hand on Anzu's shoulder and offered his hand to her to draw closer. Anzu gladly accepted; a bit shy herself now at the close quarters.
At first, they bashfully averted one another's gaze until Yugi mustered up the confidence to keep eye contact. What Anzu saw there was the sweetness she drew comfort from and the thrill of what they were just beginning to explore.
"I know I'm not much of a dancer compared to you," Yugi confided.
"You're fun to dance with," Anzu soothed, smiling. Taken in by Yugi's sweet gaze, she bent down and placed a kiss on his cheek for good measure -sending Yugi blushing all over again. But he didn't shy away, nervously smiling as he reached up to return the affection. Anzu beamed from ear to ear as he pulled away, feeling loved and appreciated by the object of her affection.
Delighted at this new development, Anzu felt the urge to kiss him again in other places, but they were already pushing it with a kiss on the cheek in public.
"I really am so glad to spend this night with you, Anzu," Yugi said.
"Me too," Anzu replied. "I think I'd like to spend even more, like this," she ventured.
Yugi's smile widened. "I'd love that."
XXX
Kaiba looked up at his words.
"I know we haven't always seen eye to eye," Jounouchi continued. "But if you really mean it, we'd be happy to have you around."
Kaiba smiled ruefully. "Seems you finally got to me. You and your friends."
Persistence," Jounouchi replied.
"Probably," Kaiba said, with a chuckle. He repocketed the flask and exited the storage room, waiting for Jounouchi to follow suit before shutting the door.
"So, as long as you continue to keep things civil… we're having an after party at Yugi's… you could stop by?" Jounouchi offered.
Kaiba studied Jounouchi for a moment before turning away. "I—"
"Jounouchi!" Yugi called. The doors out into the lobby were opened, and people had begun flooding out. The dance had ended.
Jounouchi turned to find Anzu and Yugi making their way over to them. He wasn't sure, but he could've sworn the two had been holding hands. About time.
"Hello Kaiba," Yugi greeted, politely.
"Yugi," Kaiba offered, with a slight smile and nod.
Yugi turned to Jounouchi. "Are you ready to head out?"
"Yeah, about that," Otogi began. He and Honda had come over and joined them. "My car isn't starting."
"Oh no," Anzu lamented. "How are we going to get home?"
Kaiba cleared his throat. "I can give you a ride to Yugi's," he said, much to everyone's surprise.
"Thank you, Kaiba," Yugi replied. "That'd be really helpful."
"Yeah, especially since I don't think I can get a jump start till morning," Otogi shared.
"I was just telling Kaiba about your after party, Yugi," Jounouchi said.
"Yes, you're welcome to come," Yugi said brightly.
Kaiba hesitated. "I— I guess I could stop in for a bit,"
"Wonderful!" Yugi cheered. "It'll be great to spend some time outside the arena with you, Kaiba."
Kaiba offered a surprisingly shy smile. "It just might."
"Great!" Jounouchi said. "Where's Bakura by the way?"
"Probably waylaid by his admirers. They swarmed him after he accepted the crown for prom king with Anzu," Honda said.
"Congrats, Anzu!" Jounouchi exclaimed. "You're one lucky date, Yugi."
"That I am," Yugi replied, gazing adoringly at her.
"Well, someone had better go rescue, Bakura," Otogi said. "Otherwise, we may never get out of here."
"See you all out front," Kaiba interjected. "I've already called for a limo."
Jounouchi broke away from his friends and followed Kaiba outside.
"Hey, Kaiba. Thanks, you were actually not a jerk today," Jounouchi said.
Kaiba turned to look at him. "You know what? Thank you."