This was a fun chapter to write. Mentions of sex, violence and unkind insults. Mentions of the past and of past trauma. Teasing and taking the mickey out of Seto Kaiba - he's a big boy, he'll get over it.
Chapter 4.
The Morning After.
With the woman he loved in his arms, Yugi slept fitfully. They had rolled away from each other during the night, but it was still comforting to see she was still laying beside him when he awoke. The sound of her gentle breathing (it was snoring really, but to Yugi it was gentle, sweet music) filled him with fondness and love.
Still only half awake, he shuffled closer until they were almost touching, but not quite as he did not want to wake her. However, his movement on the bed must have roused her slightly, because she made a contented purring sound and wriggled her body against him, her bottom pressing tantalisingly against his morning erection.
But he was not about to wake her up fully and pester her for sex. He was not that type of man. Just being this close to her and feeling so warm and contented was more than enough for him. She was the woman he wished he could spend his whole life with.
He would love to lay like this with her for longer, but as his morning wood subsided, he felt an urgent need to relieve his bladder. Slipping quietly out of bed, he padded to the bathroom.
When he returned to the bedroom, Anzu was stirring, so he crawled back into bed beside her and kissed her bare shoulder. "Good morning, beautiful."
Anzu yawned, made a funny little sound and burrowed herself against his chest and whined, "I don't feel beautiful." She felt tired, and probably had mascara smeared all over her face. Yugi laughed and wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head.
"You're always beautiful to me."
After a few moments, she pulled away from him. "I need the bathroom." Still naked, she slipped out of bed. In the dark room, Yugi smiled lovingly. He was tempted to go over and throw open the curtains so that he could see her beauty in broad daylight, but she would probably scream if he did, so he refrained. But once she was in the bathroom, he did open the curtains, but just enough to let some light in.
"Yugi!" she called from the bathroom. "Can I use the complimentary toothbrush?" The hotel supplied toiletry samples, plus a small travel toothbrush and toothpaste. Yugi had his own toothbrush so had not used it.
"Yes, sure. Are you coming back to bed after?" he asked hopefully.
"What time is it?"
He looked at the bedside clock, and called out to her it was nine fifteen.
"Hmm… I should probably go. I was planning on hitting the gym this morning."
He wished she didn't have to leave so soon. "Didn't you get a good enough workout last night?" he said cheekily.
"Ha, ha.." she spluttered around a mouthful of toothpaste.
Smiling to himself, Yugi lay back on the bed with his hands linked behind his head, his naked lower half covered loosely by the sheets. He did not want to think about this only being a friends with benefits relationship, or that in two and a half weeks from now he would be back in Japan, while she would still be here. He wanted to make the most of the time they had together and spend every minute he could with her.
After a few minutes, Anzu called out, "Is it okay for me to shower?"
"Yes. Of course it is!"
"Would you like to join me?" she called out enticingly.
He did not need a second invite and leaped up to join her.
::::::::::::
Showered and dressed, Yugi and Anzu went down to the hotel lobby. Not wanting to put on her posh frock from last night, Anzu borrowed one of Yugi's tee-shirts and a pair of his jeans. The jeans were loose round the waist, and the clothes hung a bit shapelessly on her figure, but they smelled of Yugi and she felt comfortable in them.
They looked in the lounge, and found that no one they knew was in there. Yugi glanced at his watch. It was just gone ten thirty. "We must be the first ones down!" he said, surprised that not even Kaiba was up and about.
"We've missed breakfast," said Anzu, "so maybe they've been and gone."
"Either that or they're all sleeping in. Would you like to get coffee and something to eat before you go?"
"I think I would. I'm not sure if I can face the gym and dance studio right now!" After last night's bedroom activities and then this morning's seeing to in the shower, her legs were feeling a little too wobbly to manage her planned workout. "Can we get coffee and a pastry here?"
"Should be able to," he said, remembering the hotel had a nice coffee lounge.
The pair were just about to go into the coffee lounge, when the lift doors pinged open and out stepped Seto Kaiba, sporting a black eye and a fat lip. He took one look at the couple and scowled.
Anzu gasped at the possibility that Seto Kaiba had been involved in a fight.
Yugi confronted him boldly. "Kaiba! What happened to your face?!" he asked, intrigued more than concerned.
"Your idiot friend. That's what," Seto snapped coldly.
Anzu was keen to know more. "Would you like to tell us what happened over coffee?"
Kaiba huffed. No, he did not want to tell them, but it was better they heard the truthful version from the horses mouth, rather than whatever crap they would hear from the Mutt, so he nodded and followed them into the coffee lounge.
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Not only did Pegasus have the mother of all headaches this morning, caused by last night's shenanigans, but his stomach was also fizzing like a polo mint dropped into a bottle of cola thanks to one too many white wine spritzers.
And on top of that he had a PR nightmare to deal with.
Not long after Yugi and Anzu disappeared for the night, probably up to Yugi's room for a little slap and tickle, a brawl had broken out.
Katsuya Jonouchi had launched himself at the bit part actor who was flirting with Mai. The actor retaliated and the pair started rolling around on the floor like a pair of cavemen, until they were prised apart by Seto Kaiba.
Unfortunately, Jonouchi was in such a rage that Seto Kaiba was struggling to hold him and caught a blow to the face. He needed the assistance of two security staff to get the enraged duelist restrained and calmed down.
Thankfully the actor declined to press charges for assault and left the building, calling Mai a whore on the way out, and prompting Jonouchi to yell a cascade of abuse after him in Mai's defence.
The whole thing had been caught on camera, and journalists and photographers attending the event were having a field day. It was going to prove a huge headache to deal with, and Pegasus knew that keeping it out of the media would be impossible.
::::::::::::
Much to Seto's relief, the coffee bar and lounge was quiet when he, Yugi and Anzu entered.
Not only had his evening with Sara been ruined, thanks to the flailing arm and elbow to the face he received while trying to restrain an irate Jonouchi, he also had a wrenched shoulder and felt like shit.
They found a table with comfortable chairs, and Yugi went to order the coffees: black Americano for Seto, cappuchino for himself and a skinny latte for Anzu. Plus three croissants.
Seto had just begun to explain what had happened last night after Yugi and Anzu had left, when in walked the one person he did not want to see, with Mai hanging off his arm.
"Oh, great!" he growled.
Yugi and Anzu swivelled round to see who Seto was looking at. "Jonouchi! Mai" Yugi exclaimed, happy to see his friends were okay.
Jonouchi approached with a smirk. "Meh, heh, heh! Nice shiner Kaiba!"
Seto snarled, but did not dignify the comment with a response.
Anzu responded for him. "Just sit down Jonouchi. It sounds like Kaiba was keeping you from even worse trouble. You should be thanking him, not making cruel remarks."
"Stay out of it, Mazaki. I can handle the Mutt myself," Seto bit out.
Anzu huffed. "I was sticking up for you, moron."
Jonouchi snickered. Yugi tried not to.
"Behave, Katsuya," ordered Mai. "Sit down, and keep your mouth shut while l get us some coffee."
Pouting, Jonouchi sat back with his arms folded, and Mai went up to place their order.
"You were lucky not to have been arrested last night," Seto told him.
"Yeah, yeah. Don't rub it in. I've already had the lecture from Mai and Pegasus."
Anzu cleared her throat. "Why don't we talk about something else?"
Jonouchi perked up. "Yeah! Great to see you and Yugi back together again! Eh, Yug?" He gave his friend a lewd grin and a thumbs up.
Yugi grinned in response. "Thanks."
Rolling her eyes at them, Anzu changed the subject. "So, Kaiba. Who was that pretty blonde woman you were dancing with last night?"
"None of your business."
Mai had returned and overheard. "Sara White. She's Pegasus's niece."
"And thanks to that moron," Seto pointed at Jonouchi, "she bailed on me."
"Can't blame me for that!" Jonouchi retorted. "It was your lack of personality that scared her off!"
Anzu clapped her hands. "Anyway!" she interjected, determined to keep the peace. "Have you and Mai made up? I guessing so since you're together this morning."
Mai smiled at Jonouchi fondly. "This idiot was prepared to defend my honour, so what do you think?"
Seto shook his head in dismay. All that aggro and they were still a pair of gormless love birds.
Jonouchi explained, "Mai told me she was upset at me because I was gambling and drinking and ignoring her, so she flirted with some random guy to get my attention. It was a wake-up call, ya know? Made me think of my old man: I don't wanna end up like him."
Yugi nodded in agreement. "Makes sense. Good you recognise that, Jonouchi."
Seto groaned. "Oh, don't humour him, Yugi."
"I'm not!" Yugi narrowed his eyes at his rival and reluctant friend. "I'm commending him."
"Same difference."
Anzu was getting fed up with all the bickering and rolled her eyes. "Kaiba! I know you're sore, but can you just grow up?!"
Seto pointed at himself in surprise. "Me?! I'm the one who ended up losing his date for the night, while you four were…. Well, whatever you were doing all night."
"Doh… Kaiba's still a virgin..." Jonouchi snickered at his own joke. Mai kicked his shin under the table. "Ow!" he grumbled, rubbing his shin.
"I'm not a…." Seto snarled. "I don't have to sit here and take this shit from you. I'm done." With that, he got up and stormed out.
"Ooh, I think you hit a nerve there," said Mai.
Anzu giggled. "Do you think he is?"
"Is what?" asked Yugi stupidly.
"A virgin, dummy!" Anzu told him.
Yugi's face tinged with pink. "I wouldn't know!" He shook his head. "I don't even wanna think about it!"
"Gross! Me neither," agreed Jonouchi.
However, Mai and Anzu found the subject of Seto Kaiba's virginity quite funny. "I think it's rather sweet," said Mai.
Anzu agreed, "Perhaps he's saving himself for someone special."
"His dragons are special," said Yugi casually. "I bet he has a Blue Eyes body pillow."
"Yugi!" Anzu was not expecting innuendo like that from him! "That's disgusting!"
"Funny though!" said Mai, having a good giggle.
Anzu had a sudden thought. "Sara White! Doesn't that sound like…?"
Jonouchi interjected with, "Kisara!"
"Yeah. I thought so too," agreed Yugi.
"Who's Kisara?" asked Mai.
Anzu looked at Yugi, wanting him to take the lead.
"You tell her, Yug," said Jonouchi, feeling that only Yugi had the right to do so.
Yugi nodded, and told Mai that Kisara was a young woman who lived during Atem's reign as Pharaoh, and that her soul contained the Blue Eyes White Dragon.
Jonouchi couldn't resist interjecting, "We saw her when we went into Atem's memory world, didn't we Yug!" Mai knew a little about them going to find Atem's memories, but not much.
"Hm, mm." Yugi nodded, and although he had not planned to go into as much detail, he elaborated, "She was being stoned by a mob who feared her for being… different. Priest Seto arrived and saved her from the mob. We already knew that Kaiba is the reincarnation of Priest Seto, but it was still pretty shocking to see that he really did look like Kaiba, but in Egyptian clothes. Anyway, Kisara died during the battle to save Egypt from Zorc's eternal darkness, but her soul, The Blue Eyes White Dragon, lived on and protected Priest Seto for the rest of his life, and now she protects Kaiba." Mai was saddened, yet warmed by the story. Deep down, Kaiba was an old a romantic at heart.
:::::::::::
After leaving Yugi and his idiot friends, Seto Kaiba decided to go and find out how Pegasus was getting on with handling the fallout from last night. He knew he should have remained to help deal with the media last night, but had chosen to seek medical attention instead to ensure his cheek was not fractured.
In the aftermath of the skirmish, Sara had been nowhere to be seen, and Seto figured she had retired for the night to the sanctity of her own room. On his return from the hospital, he could have demanded her room number from the desk clerk, but did not feel it appropriate to appear pushy or intimidating towards the young woman who had, for some reason, set his heart fluttering.
As for Yugi and his moron friends; they could jump to as many stupid conclusions and tittle tattle behind his back as much as they like, his private life was none of their fucking business.
After being let in by Pegasus's personal security, he found Pegasus at his desk in his penthouse suite office, nursing a glass of Pepto Bismol. He looked pasty and bad tempered. "You look in worse condition than me, Pegasus!" he said gleefully.
"Come in, Kaiba! Sit down!" There were no flowery pleasantries for a change, which Seto found refreshing. "How is your face?"
"It'll heal. No fractures. The Mutt has hard elbows." He sat in the chair opposite and asked, "I presume last night is a PR disaster?" It had to be. He just hoped there were no photos of himself grappling with the Mutt in the morning papers – he had avoided seeing them this morning and had kept his phone on flight mode.
"Au contraire! See for yourself!" Pegasus passed him a copy of the New York Times. Headline news. Great!
But as he read the article, it became apparent that last night's events had not damaged anyone's reputation, or been negative for the tour in any way whatsoever! In fact, it had had the opposite effect.
Seto cheered up when he read that his prompt and swift action in restraining Jonouchi had prevented anyone from getting seriously hurt. The actor, who was a supporting actor in a Broadway show that was in danger of being axed, was also milking his new found fame, by giving interviews to every journalist who would listen.
"Vogue magazine would like Mai Kujaku to appear on the front cover of next months edition, and I have a request for both Mai and Katsuya to do an interview with Time Magazine, as well as requests for TV interviews, and a local martial arts centre for young people from deprived backgrounds would like Jonouchi to become an ambassador," Pegasus said, with just a hint of amusement.
Seto huffed. "Why doesn't that surprise me?" he said bitterly. "Are you going to let him? You know what he's like when he starts yapping."
Pegasus waved him away. "It's not my place to deny him opportunities. Besides, there's only six more shows to go and then I'm done with trying to herd my little troop of baboons. I'm going to retire to my island for a few weeks to recuperate, and Yugi and his friends can all do whatever they like!"
Seto snorted. It never failed to amuse him how everyone referred to them as Yugi and his friends, like they somehow all belonged to him.
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"That's fantastic, Mai!" Anzu was spending the afternoon in the hotel spa with Mai, and was responding to the news that she had been asked to appear on the front cover of vogue.
As well as appearing on the front cover, Mai was also being interviewed for a feature about being one of the few women competing in a game that was mostly dominated by men. "The photo shoot is tomorrow," she said. "I want to look my best, so an afternoon of relaxation will do me good." She also had a facial and a manicure booked.
Anzu smiled. When it came to her friends, Mai was the one who had visited her in New York most often –the only one to have visited her at all, really. Even Yugi had only been over once.
Because of Mai's visits; mostly to shop or to duel in the pro-league, they had become good friends, and Anzu had often expressed her disappointed that Yugi had not been to see her as often as he promised he would. Mai explained to her that she because she had inherited a large sum of money and enjoyed travelling the world and living the high life, it was easy for her. Travelling was not as easy for Yugi, because he was busy studying for his masters in game design, as well as working part time as a gaming product tester for Kaiba Corp., fulfilling his commitments as the King of Games and helping his grandfather run the shop. "He's a busy boy!" Mai had told her.
Sinking down into the warm water to enjoy the feel of the water jet pummelling a tight muscle in her lower back, Anzu remembered how Mai had told her not to be too hasty when she mentioned in conversation that she was considering ending her relationship with Yugi, in order to date a hot guy in class who had shown an interest in her. Mai had responded with, "Why do you want another man? You already have a good one, with a great future –I doubt you will find better."
"But what good is a good man if I never see him?" Anzu had complained. Mai had shrugged and told her that it was up to her, but that she might regret letting him go. There were plenty of women lining up to date him, apparently.
Anzu had not listened and let him go due to peer pressure from the new friends she had made at Juilliard.
After dating that hot guy in class, she soon realised he wasn't as hot as she thought he would be. She dated another guy, but found she was not sexually attracted to him at all. And then there was the awful experience at a party: being pinned against a wall, slobbered on and groped by a drunk guy she picked up with, but then decided she did really did not like very much, was a ghastly experience. A well aimed shove, and thankfully he got the message and let her go. But it had been a wake up call, that not all men were gentlemen like Yugi.
Anzu repositioned the jet of water onto another tight muscle.
She had not considered how badly she hurt Yugi when she suggested they should stop being a couple. She did try justifying her reasons, but had stuffed it up badly she brought out an anger in him that was seldom seen. She was just lucky that he was here now, and was such an amazing, lovely, forgiving person, who was willing to give her another chance.
She loved him, and always would, no matter what.
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