Prism
Anzu couldn't help but lean back against the body behind her. There were hands on her shoulders, folding skin and working out the kinks - she'd had one hard day at work.
First, she'd been treated like crap by a customer and then some person's child had squirted ketchup all over her hair. Her boss had given her the day off with pay in exchange for not causing a commotion that would eventually lead to a lawsuit. She couldn't count all of the words she'd held back. The day off wasn't enough, but she knew that her manager hadn't been at fault for the incident. It had simply been bad luck. The day off was still quite a prize, and she didn't hesitate to take it when it was offered.
So it had been a surprise when she came home early, smiles reaching eyes and hands for their kindred and greetings took place almost without words. Anzu had suspected that they wouldn't be home, off at a tournament or at the shop. She hadn't even explained what had gone through, but she supposed that the red staining her hair had been enough of a clue.
Hands were in her hair now, coercing the red away and into a place where Anzu didn't have to worry about it. The perfumed bath was stinging her nose with the strong smell - she knew she'd been in the water for too long - but it was a good sting. She took a deep breath and let the papaya scent settle in her lungs. It was his favorite.
She leaned back a little more, delighting in the moment. It was rare that they all got along like this; she was glad that she could bring harmony to this situation. It was soothing in itself just for everything to be as calm as it was.
There were lips on her neck, a nose smelling her newly washed hair; small hands dipping from her shoulders to cradle her between her legs - there was a small gasp, a moan in her ear - and then suddenly in chorus a light voice joined with deep and Anzu felt very small and sheltered:
"I love you."
Then their voices digressed into whispers, telling her that she was beautiful and that she was wonderful and that they loved her even more and that everything would be alright; and she believed them.
The dinner invitation had been from Yuugi; there had been a limo outside waiting for Anzu as she made her way out of the home. How on earth could he afford that? she asked herself. But then again, how often did they go on expensive dates in the first place? She would have been just as happy making her way to a pizza place or a movie - however, she couldn't lie about how excited she had been when Yuugi had called, asking her to dress formally for this occasion. It had been a while, she realized, despite it being a while that she had never really missed.
She had asked her mother for help with the dress a few days before. Her mother had told her that she looked wonderful - she hadn't wanted her mother to see her, at first - and told her that whomever she was spending the evening with was very lucky. Anzu had known that her mother would say that, and despite any other feelings, that was why she'd gone to her in the first place. It had been years. She smiled and agreed politely, making her way out to the car, strapless red dress and all, trying not to gape at the shiny commodity waiting with the door open on her street.
The neighbors were going to say something about this. It was the middle of August, and she was too old to have been going to anyone's prom.
"You're breathtaking." Anzu knew by the type of compliment, as well as the voice, that Yami was the speaker. It was impossible to miss the difference.
He held out a hand, reaching to help her inside, and for a moment he really did look like a prince: he was wearing a suit, black in color with a baby blue button up and slightly darker tie.
Anzu hadn't known that he was coming too. She didn't say anything, though. She had been easy to forget that their relationship not only included herself with either of them, but the two of them together. They were like brothers sometimes, bickering and arguing over things she didn't think were important - she shuddered at the thought. If the two of them were like siblings, what would anyone else think about the three of them?
Yami's eyes were twinkling like the stars outside - a quality that he had that Yuugi didn't - and it always pulled her in. Before she knew it, his lips were on hers and she didn't think she would ever forgive herself for even contemplating being related. Not with Yami's finger trailing down her back in that way. His tongue mingled with hers, making her feel that she could see those stars, too, in her mind's eye; and it took a curt knock from the limo driver on the window to force them apart. The ex-Pharaoh's hand had already worked down the back of her dress and had been reaching to unzip it.
Her chest was heaving when Yami escorted her into the lovely, upscale restaurant with the foreign name that she had never heard of. It heaved harder when she got a look at Yuugi.
His welcoming smile stretched from ear to ear - and his compliment wasn't in words. It was instead in his eyes, widening like dinner plates as they perused her body, making her feel both sexy and adored at the same time. He himself was dressed in a nice navy blue suit in a material different from Yami's, the accents a very light pink - she dared call it peach, and she blushed at the thought. She wasn't sure who her eyes should be focused on, and she decided that they wouldn't mind if she darted back and forth.
"Anzu, stay out of this. It's got nothing to do with you at all."
"You're staying overnight at my house to get away from him, Yuugi. I think that this has something to do with me." It had been one of the least stellar moments in their relationship - Yami was staring disapprovingly from a corner, watching as the slighter Yuugi packed some of his things. "Wait - wait. Yuugi, you called me over to see if there was something I could do. Why don't just you take a moment and actually think about what you're doing?"
"I am thinking, for once," Yuugi said. He was sniffing, and Anzu could hear the tears there, ready to burst out. "He's being ridiculous. All I wanted was a bit of extra time with him, and he's being a jerk about it; if he doesn't want me around, fine. I'll leave him alone." There was a tone of finality to that, a tone that made Anzu feel brokenhearted inside - she didn't like it.
"I'm sure that's not what he meant, Yuugi." Anzu looked to Yami for answers as to what was going on, but as per usual, he stood there, saying nothing, just watching. His eyes didn't show anything that the brunette could see - but she should have known better; she had never been able to read him. "Please," she said, looking at Yami. "I'm not going to turn him away, but you need to do something about this. What if this was me, Yami? Would you just let me walk away?" She could see herself in Yuugi, see herself jumping to conclusions because of a comment or two, being emotionally vulnerable - she had done it before. It was strange, watching from a calm point of view. It all seemed so logical when you were the one doing it. It seemed to make so much sense. She would have to keep this in mind in the future.
"Yuugi," Yami said, stepping forward into his hikari's room, his face stern, arms crossed.
"What?" Yuugi asked, still spilling through clothes and accessories and trying to shove them into a pack that wouldn't hold more than two days of clothes.
"It's not that I don't want to spend time with you," he said, and she waited for him to continue. He didn't. There was an awkward pause; apparently Yuugi had been expecting more from him as well.
"...is that it? Am I supposed to be convinced?" Yami sighed. Anzu moved forward, hugging Yuugi, who was nearest her. She was sure that Yuugi and Yami were both worried about this situation.
"Yuugi, you know that he means it. Don't leave. Listen, I'll stay the night here. It's already half past nine. You'll be alright. Both of you." She had made up her mind, and her voice sounded stronger than she felt. Anzu went with it. "I am. You can't go to my house, Yuugi, because I'm staying here." Yuugi looked at her as though he didn't believe her. "Yami," she asked, "do you have a shirt and some pijamas that you could let me borrow?" Yami nodded, moving out of the doorway to get what she asked.
"You always agree with him," Yuugi said, and he reminded her more and more of herself with each passing minute. How many times had she had this argument with Yami, before the three of them had gotten together? How many times had Yami said the same things to her?
"That's not true," Anzu replied, both to him and to herself. "I - we have to stick together if we're going to get past this at all. Yuugi, we love you." She could see that Yuugi didn't disagree with her completely, but that he wasn't feeling particularly loved at the moment. "Listen," she said, her voice dropping to a bit of a whisper. "We're not all easy people to get along with. We have to try hard if we're going to make this work - we've had too many arguments in the past month, and if you want the three of us to stay together, we're going to have to start talking. Not yelling and saying things that we don't mean. It's never done any of us any good. You know it hasn't." Yuugi nodded, wiping at his eyes. "Can we - both - stay here tonight, love? We need to talk." He nodded again and began unpacking his things, moving them into a meager pile in a corner of the room so that he could clean his bed. Anzu sighed, relieved, and she hoped that if this happened again, with her, Yuugi would be considerate enough to tell her the same thing.
Yami returned with the clothes that she had asked for. "...are you leaving?" he asked. It was then that Anzu knew what Yami was really afraid of - of Yuugi being right, and of his inability to stop him from leaving. But they weren't going anywhere. Anzu shook her head. Yuugi avoided eye contact. Yami disappeared again, and when he did reappear, several minutes later, he had the giant futon leaning against the wall, ready to lay it down on the floor. Yuugi left the room to fetch the blankets - they would be needing a lot of them. "Thank you," Yami said when Yuugi was gone.
"You're going to have to tell him how you feel, Yami," Anzu said, feeling rather comfortable in her T-shirt and sweats despite the current situation. She moved to help Yami unroll the futon, and she smiled, hoping that it would be encouraging. "Really tell him. It will be alright. You just have to be honest."
"It's just that - " Yami began, but Yuugi entered, and he shut his mouth. He didn't speak again until they were all down on the mat, lying face up; usually when she spent the night, Anzu felt great, full of love and loving. Now she felt like a divider - she had insisted that Yuugi and Yami lay next to each other, but that didn't mean that she wasn't in the middle of this by any means.
"Yuugi," Yami said, as per usual trying to keep his voice level. "I do care for you, deeply, and I do want to spend time with you, but I also want my space."
"I try to give you your space, Yami," Yuugi said in response, his voice indignant. "...but it never seems to be enough."
"We live in the same house, Yuugi, and we date each other as well as the same woman - sometimes I feel a bit smothered. It's not only time with you that makes up that feeling. It's Anzu as well."
That came as a bit of a surprise, to have her name mentioned in this, but she was indeed part of this issue, so it made sense. Yuugi sighed. "I don't like feeling that I'm pestering you."
"Sometimes you do, though," Anzu interjected, not really paying attention to the flow of conversation. "And you have to take that into consideration. It's important." Yuugi shook his head. "Yuugi, you've been upset over more serious things than this before."
"It's been building up for a long time."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Yami asked, his voice soft despite being deep. He turned over on his side, then, his arm draping over Yuugi, cuddling up to him. Anzu mentally sighed; she knew that the worst was over now. Yuugi looked over at her, and she winked, making a small shooing motion with her hands that budged the sheets. She wouldn't mind sleeping next to the spooning couple so long as they weren't arguing about it.
This evening was not turning out as planned. Granted, Jou hadn't been in the country for two years, and she was glad to see him, but she hadn't been ready for the barrage of questions - it was a good practice, though, she told herself. Jou was one of her close friends, and she could safely assume that he would go easy on her in comparison to everyone else.
"Both of them?" Jou said, looking flabbergasted. "Ya gotta be kiddin' me!"
"I'm not," Anzu answered. "...it was...difficult, at first, but we sat down and tried to work things out and...this is where we are. It was their idea, actually."
"...to date you at the same time."
"...it's more than that now. We're all in love with each other."
"And I'm supposed'ta buy that."
"...I bought it, Jou. I'm happy."
"Are ya really? Gotten permission ta cheat on both ya boyfriends, eh?"
That comment hurt. It made her feel terrible, even he hadn't meant it with the intensity that others would. "...that's not it at all, Jounouchi!"
"This is weird, Anzu."
"...I know."
"...but if you like it, I do."
Anzu didn't think she would ever be ready to tell another person.
It was cute, watching the both of them together when they thought she wasn't looking. Anzu was asleep, apparently, and the two of them were on the couch in the den, watching a movie. She couldn't see what because of the angle. But Yuugi had climbed onto Yami's lap, leaning back into the ex-Pharaoh, head tilted back and peppering kisses on Yami's jaw. "I love you," he whispered.
Yami nodded, his arms circling around Yuugi and holding him closer. "Aibou..." Anzu wasn't sure if it was a call or a whimper - she was leaning against the staircase now, trying hard to listen.
"Hm," Yami said, one of his hands stroking Yuugi's arm. "...should we go pay Anzu a visit?" Anzu's face flushed red and she could feel her temperature beginning to rise.
"We don't need to wake her. She's tired, and she has work in the morning." Anzu had never thought about it before - did they have sex without her, just the two of them? She'd done it before, just Yami or just Yuugi, but she enjoyed them together as well - it had simply never occurred to her.
"I'm a bit weary, too," Yami said with a yawn. "...but this is nice. Let's finish the movie."
Yuugi shifted, sitting up on his knees on the couch and turning to face Yami, suddenly straddling his hips. "What movie?"
Anzu's arms were around Yuugi's neck, her back was arching and she could hear this squishing sound as he pushed into her - it both aroused and made her self conscious, and she tried not to think about it. Yuugi was panting in her ear, a silent as possible like always unless he felt like whispering sweet nothings to her; telling her how good she felt. Sweat was beading on her brow and her hair was sticking there, covering her eyes; she let go of Yuugi to move the strands away. His thrusts were moving her - she could feel her breasts rise and fall, her body bouncing against the mattress. This time her hands wound themselves in Yuugi's hair and her lips were parting, wet with perspiration dripping from Yuugi's forehead as they kissed. He stretched over her, hips pounding. She could hear her heart beating - or what that the throb of him inside of her? It was all too much.
There was a creak, and - "Oh shit! Sorry...!" Yami's voice as he walked through the suddenly open door.
Yuugi's head turned, but it took much more for him to realize what was happening. Anzu could only stare, eyes wide; the only thing that had kept her from covering herself up were her fingers being tangled in Yuugi's hair.
Yami was staring now, Yuugi still trying to pull himself together to say something.
"Yami!" Anzu shouted, trying to snap them both out of it. He was still inside of her, and she needed him to move or ...something.
"Oh, right - um...I shall go find something to - " Anzu opened her mouth to ask if he wanted to join them, but he cut her off. " - no no. You two finish. I'll be downstairs."
"Okay," Yuugi said quietly, and Anzu could only think about how that was his first input on the whole situation.
She wasn't sure that this was going to work. "It isn't," she said to Yuugi.
"It will, I promise," he said, and his cheeriness seemed to spread throughout the room - she wanted to believe that this would work.
And two hours later, after a bit of mess and a small disaster, there it was: a yellow cake with midnight blue frosting and golden roses on the corner - the sun and stars that Anzu saw in his eyes.
Yami loved his first home-baked birthday cake.
They were meditating. Or at least Yami was.
She was more so trying to participate in something Yami did on a regular basis. Sometimes, Anzu felt further from him than Yuugi; they hadn't shared a mind, and she knew that there some things about him that she know and others that she would never know. But she wanted to bridge the gap, to make herself feel a little less like a third wheel tacked on to her lovers' coupling.
His legs were crossed, arms at his sides, and he was humming - some song she didn't recognize. His voice was soft, lips forming words she couldn't interpret. She had always liked the sound of old Egyptian.
Yami had told her once that he could only remember it coherently when he was meditating - he'd also said he remembered more when she was present, but she didn't know if she believed that; it was more likely that he was trying to make her feel better. Yami was the smooth talker and Anzu wouldn't put it past him to say something like that even if he was on a spiritual journey - or whatever he wanted to call it.
To be honest, she hadn't noticed until the three of them had first gotten together that he took time to meditate; it was something that Anzu happened to stumble upon and simply found endearing, and after spending many weeks watching him and wondering, she decided to ask if she could join him. It was more than about just praying, he had told her, and it had surprised her to find out he prayed at all; it was about renewing his sense of self, he had said, what he valued and wished the most for himself and others. Anzu wasn't quite sure what that was, or why anyone would spend so much time meditating on it. It wasn't something that she did at all-she wasn't religious. She hasn't been able to work out his motives, and she was too embarrassed to ask; more often than not she spent their time together, like that day, watching Yami and listening to his beautiful Egyptian.
"...is there something wrong?" he asked her.
She started; his eyes were still closed, and she wasn't sure that he wasn't just pretending to have them closed. "N-no," she answered. "I'm just...ah...finding it hard to concentrate." She always had trouble concentrating. She didn't know what she was supposed to be thinking about.
"Meditation," Yami said, "is about finding a problem within yourself every day, and resolving it within yourself. Every session brings you a small peace, and one step closer to total peace."
This was something that he hadn't told her before. It seemed rather profound, and she became suddenly afraid of where it was going to lead. But since he had offered, Anzu supposed that she could use the opportunity to be more...direct about this very personal subject. "...you mean every day you sit here and think for sometimes hours on end about flaws you have?" That didn't come out the way she'd wanted.
"Not quite, Anzu, but close enough. What better way to...better myself? I can be a better person if I study myself work to accept things I can't change, and change what little I can." Anzu wasn't sure just how amazed to be. Here was a man - hers - who everyday deeply thought about who he was and where he was going. "Think of it in another sense," he added. "The better I become, the better I can serve both you and Yuugi."
In the back of her mind, she got the image of Yami, in Pharoah dress, bowing before her while she and Yuugi held whips above her - she struggled not to giggle as she replied, "...I don't get it. You don't have to serve us in any way..."
"Or do I? Are you not a servant to the ones you love? Is it not your job to be there, to comfort, to guide, to show, to tell, to mentor and cherish?"
She had the feeling that each of those words had a deeper meaning to Yami than they did to her, and that was why he was here in the first place. "...I...I guess."
"Here," he said, and his eyes were open, her hands suddenly in his. "Focus your thoughts on one thing, and follow that thought through to the end. Resolve it. Follow it until it no longer puzzles your mind." His hands were warm.
"...um...nothing weird's going to happen with the Millennium Puzzle, is it?" she asked tentatively.
Yami laughed, genuinely. "No, love; I wouldn't do something like that without telling you. You don't need an Item to look into your heart. You can do it yourself."
Author's Notes: I edited this story on 9/17/10. And a second time on 6/3/11.
Yep. This was for the Yu-gi-oh! Fanfiction Contest, and the pairing was Yuugi x Yami Yuugi x Anzu. I'm growing into it, honestly, and I had fun doing this from Anzu's perspective. This is a very...plain pairing, and it was difficult thinking of a full-length story without turning it into a multi-chap, so I decided to do what I've been doing best for the last few months or so: writing a disjointed story. It turned out to be longer than I thought it was going to be, and I'm rather happy with the results. I hope that there aren't too many errors, as I did make an effort to beta this myself before posting.
For those of you not familiar with the contest, stop by the Yu-gi-oh! Forums and take a look! it's very exciting!