Disclaimer: must I check again? Alright… nope, don't own Yugioh. Nor do I own any lines or related ideas I may have consciously or subconsciously made.
Author's note: So I may or may or may not have used/tweaked a line from New Moon in here… I couldn't help it. I have to confess that I'm a romantic at heart, as much as it pains me to say it.
So yes, there's my confession. Yes, I used a line from a very cheesy romance series. There! All said and done. (whoo!) Now, I know I've had a lot of fluff… and fluff is good… so enjoy the continual fluff!
PS: this chapter is more about relationship development, but there's still the fluff :)
Hide-and-seek: game one
The Ball was set for the following week. Every Princess, King, Queen and well, again with the 'anyone who was anyone,' would be there. There was a double purpose to it, Atem knew. His father could be crafty when he chose. He wanted Atem to pick a queen of his own.
Too bad Atem's feelings were so mixed up that he had no intention of picking anyone until his feelings were set in stone. And he wasn't exactly sure how he could figure that out.
Each Guardian was given a task. Mahad had security with the help of Shada and Karim, Seto was set with the task of invitations/guests, Isis with conduct at the Ball, Shimon was to get entertainment and a program written up along with any other minor details, and Mana was to be Atem's personal body guard.
The credit for that little event was due in (most) part, to Mahad. He knew full well of Atem and Mana's struggles and knew that pushing them together would get it all sorted out in due time. Besides, he trusted Mana to get his Pharaoh out of any situation that may or may not pop up in any event.
Mana was both excited and a bit nervous. She was the personal body guard to the High King of the Spirit world – not many people could say that. Actually, probably just her at the moment.
That said and done, Atem and Mana had to find a way to spend the rest of their day.
Mana decided she'd play a game of hide-and-go-seek. However, she didn't inform Atem of this information.
Which left Atem to figure it out on his own.
"Mahad," Atem said in an exasperated tone. "You haven't seen Mana by any chance, have you? I've been looking for her all morning."
Mahad frowned, "I thought she was with you."
"Wonderful," Atem said. "She's probably playing a game of hide-and-seek."
"Ah, that would make sense. Might I suggest you check in the vases?"
"There are millions of vases in this palace!" Atem cried, "She could be anywhere and everywhere."
"The Lotus and Jasmine Gardens are the two places I would check first," Mahad advised. "Those are her two favorite gardens. After that, you should check the trees in the Plum courtyard. They are quite fun to climb, so I'm told."
Atem, nodded in gratitude. "Thank you, Mahad. Mana is a creature of habit – why I didn't think to check there in the first place, I don't know."
"Perhaps you were worried about her," Mahad suggested.
Atem did a double take. Mahad and his double-meanings lately.
He checked the Lotus Garden first. He did an inspection of every pot and vase, but no Mana. Moving on to the Jasmine Garden, he took a moment to examine it. He hadn't been to this one yet.
It was peppered with dark and light Jasmine bushes and trees and in-ground ponds swimming with fish, and covered by several potted variations of the Jasmine flower. There was a dull stone fountain at it's center, water spouting from it gently.
Atem sighed. He'd have to check every tree in order to find her.
He looked through every Jasmine bush and tree, in every pond and all of the vases—but no such luck. It took him nearly an hour to complete his search, and upon finishing, he knew he had one more place to check before having to check the entire palace.
The Plum courtyard was covered in plum trees – hence the name. There were tall, short, thin, fat, wide-reaching, skinny and gnarled trees everywhere he looked, of all different colors and variations. There were several stone picnic tables among them, along with a small cloth-covered pavilion with a few rope hammocks set inside. It was quite nice, Atem thought. Mana always seemed to pick the most beautiful and peaceful spots in the palace.
He blew air through his lips and muttered to himself, "Alright, Mana. Where are you hiding?" he expected no answer, of course – but it was worth a try.
He moved through the trees carefully, looking up into their branches and inspecting them thoroughly. Mana had to be hiding in one of them, right?
Then again, there were those pesky vases again.
Good thing she wasn't in one of the vases after all.
Staring up into the one of the most gnarled, darkly beautiful plum trees there, Atem finally spotted her. "Ah-hah," he grinned. "Found you, Mana."
"Amun Ra!" Mana shouted, "You gotta come up here to say you found me! Otherwise I win."
Atem rolled his eyes. "We both know I'm a good climber, Mana. Why bother?"
"It's more fun that way," she proclaimed. "Now come on, Atem. Did you find me or not?"
"Of course I found you. I'm talking to you right now."
"Well I'm done talking then!"
Atem undid his cape and hauled himself into the tree, quickly rising to her vantage point. "There," he said, leaning in close. "I found you."
Mana quickly backed away, squealing in delight, but in her haste, fell out of the tree with a thud.
"Mana!" Atem jumped out of the tree, landing nimbly at her side. "Are you alright?"
Mana blinked. "Whoa. I see stars."
He knelt down, frowning over her in concern. "Mana?" She tried to push herself into a sitting position, and Atem put his arm around her shoulders when she staggered. "Hold still," he said gently. "Are you alright?"
Mana looked over at Atem's expression. After a moment, and to Atem's confusion, she began to laugh.
"You must have hit your head," Atem commented.
Mana shook said head, grinning. "It's just funny. I fell out of a tree."
"Don't you usually fall out of something or other?"
Mana laughed, pushing herself up. Atem maintained a grip on her arm, and Mana had a sudden shock. Looking at Atem, she remembered the realization she had made only the day before. Atem… attractive…
Uh-oh, she thought, stuttering thoughts equaled stuttering mouth.
She blinked and Atem's concern grew. "Mana?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you sure you're feeling alright?"
Mana tried to smile through her mixed-up thoughts – but had a sudden idea. She had to find a way to make her thoughts snap back to reality or force his onto the same station as hers. Ever since he had come back, her feelings for him had grown, and now she had to experiment.
"I dunno," she said gustily, batting her eyes. On purpose, she stumbled – Atem's arms caught her waist, steadying her quickly.
"Mana, maybe you should sit down," he said in concern.
He's cute when he's worried, too, Mana thought. He's always cute, she amended quickly – oh, Ra.
Looking up into his eyes, she was caught again by their closeness; that was really a problem. It seemed that every day they had an encounter like this. Her heart thrummed in her chest. Did she actually like him like that?
Her heart said yes. Checking her brain, Mana had a little mental melt-down.
Her brain said yes, too.
She wasn't sure if that was a good sign or a bad sign.
"Atem," Mana breathed, speaking without thinking. "You're um… kind of attractive."
Atem's face broke into a smile, blush rising in his cheeks. "You must have hit your head. How hard did you hit it, Mana?"
Mana's face flushed. "Not too hard, I don't think so." In her stuttering thoughts, she spoke with improper grammar, unable to phrase it any differently.
Atem guided Mana to one of the picnic tables, examining her head and making her nervous in the process. "What's the damage, doc?" she asked as he sat beside her.
"No lump, nothing," he said, smiling. "You probably would have had better luck hiding in a vase."
Mana laughed, if not a little tensely. "Yeah, but every time I hide in a vase I either break the vase or end up stuck in it."
"It's better than falling out of a tree," Atem observed. "And hitting your head."
"Naw, falling out of the tree was actually quite fun."
"Your head doesn't hurt?"
"Never did!" she beamed.
Atem blinked and the redness in his face returned. "It didn't?"
"Nope!" Mana replied cheerfully, her heart skipping a beat. She had to find out if Atem felt the same way. "I just like to mess with you, Atem." She smiled, leaning in and kissing his cheek.
Atem's breath caught in his throat. Mana had said… and her head hadn't… and she had just...
Was Mana inferring what he thought she was?
Cheesy moments, cheesy moments… you gotta love 'em. Am I doing too much fluff? Should I downgrade it…? I dunno. Maybe you guys like the fluff – do, don't, let me know!
-Anevay