At last, Yugi and Anzu are back together! Party shenanigans. drunken behaviour, flirting and non descriptive sexual content.

Disclaimer: Another reminder that I do not own Yugioh.

Chapter 3.

Reunited.

As the final leg of the tour rolled into New York upon a wave of publicity, everyone appeared to be in good spirits.

Jonouhci had never been to New York City before, and was excited about doing some sight seeing. Mai, of course, had been a few times and was looking forward to going shopping. Seto and Pegasus were just relieved that the tour was almost over and they could go back to running their companies and not have to spend their time babysitting badly behaved duelists.

Most excited, and also slightly nervous, about being in New York, was Yugi. He couldn't wait to see Anzu, so that they could spend some time together and hopefully heal their strained and damaged relationship. And what better way to start the healing process, than at a glitzy dinner and dance being organised by the tour sponsors for publicity, which was being held on the night of their arrival in New York.

Pegasus had given Yugi a ticket, and told him that as the King of Games he was expected to attend. Ordinarily he did not particularly like attending these kind of events, but the ticket had a plus one, and the person he had in mind to accompany him was Anzu.

He was a little apprehensive about whether she would accept his invite, given the current state of their friendship, but the lure of influential people from the world of show business proved too good to resist and she agreed to be his plus one. "I'll agree to come with you, Yugi, but only because I still see you as my friend, and to show there's no hard feelings between us."

Yugi was cautiously optimistic. Just agreeing to come to the ball with him was a win in his books.

Setting out to impress, he arranged to pick her up from her apartment block in a limo.

Wearing a rather expensive dinner suit, with a white silk shirt and a purple bow tie (Mai's idea because it complimented his eyes), Yugi instructed the driver to Anzu's address, which was in a rather shabby, downmarket area of the city, since that was all she and her flat mate could afford.

Yugi thought it must look rather funny to the local residents, to see silver Bentley pulling up outside an old, run down apartment block. He got out of the car expecting some intrigued looks, but it appeared that the locals were either uninterested, or unfazed, because apart from one or two suspicious glances, they ignored him.

Steeling himself, he walked up to the door and pressed the buzzer for her apartment.

Anzu's voice came over the tinny intercom. "I'll be right down." A few minutes later, the heavy door clicked and was pulled open, to reveal a young woman he had not seen in over ten months.

It was amazing how much she had changed in those months! Her figure was sleeker, more toned. Her hair was longer, glossier, and looked like it had been professionally styled for tonight, hanging in soft waves over her shoulders. She was wearing a figure hugging, lilac evening dress, with a deep purple lacy shawl to keep her bare shoulders warm. She was wearing make-up, but it was subtle and professionally applied.

Ladylike, beautiful, elegant were all ways of describing her, but the words that fell out of Yugi's mouth were, "Anzu! You look amazing!"

"Thanks. We're even colour coordinated!" She tapped his bow tie, making him chuckle.

"How did you know?"

"A little birdie, well, actually Mai, told me. And a friend from college did my hair and make-up for me," Grinning, she nudged him playfully. "You look pretty good yourself." She had never seen him in a tailored, obviously very expensive evening suit before. His handsome face looked less rounded and more adult than when she had last seen him, and she was sure he had grown another inch or two, because they appeared to be the same height, even though she was wearing shoes – all be it shoes with only a small heel, specifically chosen so that she would not tower over him.

"It's rented," he admitted. "Pegasus sent us to a place that hired them out."

"Well, it's still nice, smart." She nudged him playfully. "You look good in a suit."

Blushing, he offered her his arm, which she accepted to be polite, and let him walk her the short distance to the waiting car.

"I thought the car might attract more attention than this," Yugi said to her once they were safely inside the back of the car, "but hardly anyone even looked!"

Anzu smiled with amusement. "People who turn up in cars like this round here are usually Mafia, so they tend to look the other way."

Yugi pulled a face. "Oh, okay." She had already told him, that while people on low pay tended to live around here, a lot of students also lived here because it was affordable. But she had said nothing about organised crime gangs! He would like to offer to pay for her to to live somewhere a bit nicer, but thought better of mentioning it now, because she was proud of her independence and he did not want to start an argument.

Instead, he tentatively asked, "I er.. hope everything's okay between us?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" she said defensively. He shrugged.

"You still seemed annoyed with me when we last talked, and…I guess that's probably my fault for speaking my mind." He sat there with one hand on each knee, drumming his fingers. He had not known how much tension there would be like between them, but this was definitely more awkward than he thought it would be.

Anzu touched his hand nearest to her, mainly to stop him from fidgeting. "I'm not annoyed with you. I do know it's not entirely your fault. It just didn't occur to me at the time, that telling you I had a new boyfriend was a bit insensitive." She withdrew her hand when he tried to intertwine their fingers, so he went back to the fidgeting. "Trouble is," she continued, "We've known each other for so long that I feel comfortable talking to you – I feel like I can tell you anything sometimes."

He screwed his hands into fists on his knees and smiled at her tightly. "Yeah, I know. But I was upset, Anzu. Not only did you dump me, it also felt like you were trying to twist a knife in me, too."

She pursed her lips. "It wasn't intentional. I'm sorry."

He reached for her hand and this time she let him take it. "Can we start afresh?" he asked, "and be like two good friends who haven't seen each other in ages? I also think it would nice for us to do some fun stuff together while I'm here, and see how it goes, yeah?"

She smiled at him. "Yeah. I'd like that. Two good friends," she reiterated.

They sat in the back of the car holding hands, until they arrived at the venue and were ushered from the limo and onto the red carpet. Anzu was not expecting a red carpet and was awed.

"You okay?" asked Yugi, sensing her nervous excitement.

"Yeah! This is… wow! Just wasn't expecting so much attention. It's amazing!"

Wanting them all to see she was with him, Yugi offered her his arm, which she accepted by looping her arm through his, and he steered her towards the entrance of the hotel.

Cameras flashed, and the paparazzi called out to Yugi, demanding to know the name of the woman he was with. Grinning like a Cheshire cat, Yugi proudly introduced her as a future star on Broadway, which earned him a subtle elbow in the ribs.

They posed for a couple of photos, and then made their way inside. Anzu wondered when her friend, who tended to shy away from such attention, had become so comfortable and brazen in this sort of environment.

The couple reached the lobby, and saw Pegasus standing there, gushing and flattering his captive audience. But when he spotted Yugi and Anzu, he excused himself and came over to greet them.

"Ahhh, Miss Dancing Queen Anzu! Beautiful as ever!" he gushed, taking Anzu's hand and kissing it. "You and Yugi-Boy make such a lovely couple."

"We're not…" Anzu caught the apologetic look Yugi was giving her and bit back her retort.

"We're just good friends," Yugi finished, but with a slight hint of regret in his voice.

Sensing awkwardness, Pegasus continued, "Well, regardless of your relationship, being seen in the company of the King of Games certainly won't do your career any harm," he told her, as if she did not already know that.

"That's not why I'm here," she replied defensively. "I came because I'm looking forward to spending an evening with my friends."

"I'm sure you are my dear. I mustn't keep you. Enjoy the party!" And with that, he left to greet some more arrivals.

"God! That man…" she seethed.

Yugi turned to her with a tight smile. "He's okay in small doses. Shall we go and find the others?"

Anzu nodded. "Find the food, we find Jonouchi."

Yugi laughed. "We will, but I don't think it's being served yet." He took her through the foyer and into the reception room, where they were offered champagne and dainty canapes, which they accepted.

The first person they spotted among the crowd was Seto Kaiba, since he was tall and tended to stand out in his silver blue suit. They went over to talk to him.

"Yugi. Mazaki." Seto looked Anzu up and down, raising an eyebrow in mocking appreciation.

"I thought you two were no longer talking," he said sneeringly.

Anzu snorted. "I'm here, aren't I?"

"For Yugi? Or for the opportunity to be noticed?" he said spitefully.

Anzu was annoyed, but Yugi stepped up to defend her honour. "For once, Kaiba, just shut up," he said wearily. "Anzu's here because I want her to be here."

Seto smirked. "See! He's defending you, even though you're using him."

Anzu was about to say something back, but Jonouchi and Mai came over to greet her. She had seen Mai a few months back, but had not seen Jonouchi for well over a year.

"Looking great Anzu!" Jonouchi said around the mouth full of blini and caviar, which he had just shovelled in on top of two cocktail sausages and three mini pizzas.

"Not so bad yourself," Anzu replied, surprised by how well her shaggy friend scrubbed up. "But I see you're still as greedy as always!" she teased, stepping back when he tried to hug her, to avoid food ending up in her hair or on her borrowed dress. "Finish your mouthful first," she warned him.

After greetings, compliments and long time no sees were made, the friends mingled. Despite his spiteful words, Seto Kaiba introduced Anzu to some influential people from an agency that provided actors and dancers for the theatres. She was not expecting it, and was nervous at first. But Yugi was amazing and chatted with ease as he extolled her virtues. They seemed impressed. Surely she was not that talented, was she?!

But at least she now had some contacts and a potential foot in the door.

A short while later, an announcement was made and they were ushered into the dining room and shown to their tables. Once everyone was seated and wine was poured, the first course of the four course meal was served.

During the meal, Yugi and Anzu chatted and laughed with Mai and Jonouchi, who were sitting opposite them. It was like old times, and Anzu felt herself feeling closer to Yugi than she had in a long time. Deny it all she wanted, but there was no escaping the fact that she was still in love with him. It left her with a dilemma; keep him at arms length and insist they should only remain friends, or… throw herself in the deep end and enjoy him while he was here.

The latter was far more enticing.

At the end of the meal, the string quartet handed over to Pegasus, who made a mercifully short speech, before introducing a comedian, who did his best to make everyone laugh while they were served coffee and digesting their food. After that, a DJ took the stage and started playing dance songs.

Eager to get the boys dancing, Anzu and Mai tried to drag them onto the dance floor.

Keen to get out of it, Jonouchi suggested that while the girls danced, he and Yugi could go to the games room.

Yugi was torn; he preferred gaming to dancing, but wanted to be with Anzu. "I'll do whatever Anzu wants." He looked at Anzu, hoping she would decide, but she threw it back to him to make his own decision.

"You can go if you want, Yugi. I won't stop you," she said pointedly. It was obvious in her tone of voice that she did not want him to go with Jonouchi.

Unfortunately, Jonouchi did not get the memo. "Cool! C'monYug! Anzu don't mind!" he retorted.

Caught between his best friend and the woman he was trying to get back with, Yugi shifted awkwardly. He did not want to let either of them down.

Mai could see this and intervened. "Yugi wants to stay with Anzu, you moron." She grabbed Jonouchi's hand. "I'll go with you." She winked at Yugi and Anzu, who were somewhat relieved.

A bit slow on the uptake at first, Jonouchi suddenly seemed to understand, grinned, gave them the thumbs up and went with Mai.

Pleased, Anzu grabbed Yugi's hand. "I love this song!" Yugi laughed, and let her pull him onto the dance floor, where she showed off her talent with an elegant spin, before grabbing both his hands and bouncing on the balls of her feet in time to the music. He knew he must look pretty useless in comparison, but they were laughing and having fun, so it did not really matter.

After dancing for a while, it was Anzu who suggested they should go and sit down for a bit – she must have seen he'd had enough.

They bought soft drinks to rehydrate, and found a table in a quieter corner so that they could sit and talk.

"Are you having a good evening?" he asked. He assumed she was, but you never know.

"I'm having a great time!" she said, leaning over and kissing his cheek. "I've really missed you."

Given the good mood, Yugi made his move. "Do you think we can be a couple again?"

As much as she wanted to, Anzu was not sure. "I really don't know, Yugi. For a romantic relationship to last we would need to see each other a bit more than once every ten months!"

He wasn't giving up that easily. "I'm getting better at managing my workload, and I'm earning a lot more money, so I can easily afford to come and see you more often." The determination in his voice was evident, but Anzu was still not buying it; he had made promises before which he'd failed to keep.

She sighed. "Money or no money, I know how difficult it is for you to take time off. I just wish I could make it home occasionally and see you, but unless I stay here and work during the holidays I can't pay my rent!"

"I can pay your rent," he offered. But she shook her head.

"No! I don't want to feel indebted to you. I know my finances are tight, but once I graduate and find proper work, I'll have more money and it will be easier. But…." she took a breath to steel herself. "We might have to accept that our lives are too different now. If I get my dream job, I might not even go back to Domino!" She stopped short of telling him that she was planning to base herself in New York permanently once she graduated.

"That's another year away. A lot can change in that time," he said, clearly in denial. "I don't want us to give up on our love because of what might happen in the future!"

"Yes. But we might also have to accept we can't be in a relationship, and try to move on."

"What if I don't want to move on?" he said flatly.

"Have you tried dating anyone besides me?" she asked searchingly.

He nodded. On the rebound from her dumping him, he's had more women than he dare confess to having, but there was no love involved, it was just sex. "Yes. I have. But they were not you. It just isn't the same with someone else, you know?"

She nodded slowly. "I do know," she admitted. It was why she could not make things work with the two guys she had dated since ending her relationship with Yugi. "But we might have to accept it. I don't know what else we can do."

"Why? I'd rather we try to make it work than give up," he said bluntly.

Anzu laughed. "We could try and be friends with benefits?"

Yugi was not keen on calling that, but.. "If that's what you want? Sure!"

She sighed. "You're always so determined."

"Yep! That's me! And it's why I'm asking if you will stay with me tonight?" It was amazing what a few glasses of wine could do to eliminate any hesitation he might otherwise have felt about making such a bold request.

Ten months since they last shared a bed was a long time. She wanted him. "Are you propositioning me, Yugi Muto?" she teased, her face so close to his that their noses were nearly touching.

Yugi swallowed; if she was enjoying playing this game, he would keep it going. "If that's what you want me to do, then yes, I'm asking you to spend the night in my bed," he said, attempting to steal a kiss from her, but she pulled back slightly. Mean of her, but making him work for it was fun.

Unfortunately, he took her playing hard to get as rejection and backed off with a sad sigh.

"This is more than a game, Anzu. I'm in love with you. I always will be," he said, hanging his head slightly, confidence dwindling, "but if you don't feel the same way about me, tell me, and I'll call a car to take you home." His overconfidence had backfired, or so he thought, until she grabbed his hand.

"I don't want to go home. I want to be with you," she said, leaning over and kissing the little spot at the juncture of his neck, just behind his ear, which she knew from experience was sensitive.

She found it very difficult to be tactile with anyone else she dated, but with Yugi intimate little touches felt natural.

::::::::::::

Jonouchi was up to his old tricks again, throwing down challenges and bets he could not hope to win. Mai found it irritating how he could sometimes be so mature and sensible, but then go and let himself down by behaving like a complete idiot. She supposed it was the price she paid for loving a goof ball who was three years her junior.

Leaving him at the table, knocking back yet another shot after losing his childish wager on a parlour trick that she thought he should have seen through, Mai went to find someone who would pay her some attention and with whom she could have a sensible conversation.

She had hoped to find Yugi and Anzu, but there was no sign of them on the dance floor. Looking around, she spotted them at a table in the corner. They were deep in conversation and appeared to be…very close. That was a good sign, she hoped.

She spotted Pegasus by the bar and he tried to catch her attention, but she pretended not to notice and walked in the opposite direction, until she found herself on the dance floor, where the disturbing sight of Seto Kaiba dancing made her snort with laughter. He danced like several planks of wood hinged together. Pinocchio sprang to mind.

Avoiding him, she moved to the other side of the dance floor and began to dance. Her mother had been an actress and dancer, and as a child Mai had received dance lessons, so she was a pretty good mover.

Her sexy moves caught the attention of a male actor, who made a beeline for her and began to flirt. Deciding she might as well enjoy herself, she hooked her arms over his shoulders and flirted back. Unlike Jonouchi, who thought dancing was meh, he was obviously a trained dancer and moved with snake hips, which made it enjoyable, and soon they were pulling some raunchy moves – if that didn't bring Katsuya running, nothing would.

The DJ slowed it down and couples drifted together, smooching and swaying in each other's arms. With no sign of Katsuya, Mai found herself dancing with her snake hips actor.

::::::::::::

After enthralling Yugi with a sweet, loving kiss, Anzu suddenly leaped up when she heard the music slow and dragged him by the hand towards the dance floor. He made a half hearted attempt to protest, but did not resist.

Dancing cheek to cheek, Anzu let Yugi take the lead, steering her in a tight circle, his body melding with hers as they swayed in time to the music. She gazed around at the other couples, and as they slowly turned she spotted Seto Kaiba dancing with the woman she saw him with earlier. With her pale skin and lovely blonde hair, Anzu thought she looked familiar and wondered who she was?

She was about to ask Yugi if he knew, when she spotted Mai, dangerously close to a rather dashing man. "What's Mai playing at?" she whispered in Yugi's ear.

Right now, Yugi didn't care. He only had eyes for Anzu and was not paying any attention to the people around him, until now. "Oh, crap! If Jou sees them…" All of Hell would let loose. Concerned, he stopped dancing and looked around, but thankfully couldn't see his friend anywhere. Last he recalled, his friend was still in the games room. "We should probably intervene, before it gets out of hand."

Anzu shook her head. "No. It's not our business. We should leave them alone."

Yugi was unsure of what to do: the last thing he wanted was to ruin his night with Anzu by confronting Mai and her… dance partner. It would cause a scene and bring Jonouchi running. There would be trouble, and Yugi would then end up spending the rest of the night trying to calm his irate friend and his chance to spend the night with Anzu would be lost. "I dunno," he murmured, conflicted.

But lust and love won, and he was unable to resist when Anzu whispered, "Shall we go to your room now?"

"Y..yes!" he said enthusiastically, adding, "Are you sure?" It looked like the DJ was finished with the slow songs for now, and was playing party songs again. Mai and her beau were no longer attached to one another, and Mai was walking away from the dance floor alone and going in the direction of the games room, so he was no longer concerned about Jonouchi seeing her dancing with another man.

"I wouldn't suggest it if I wasn't," Anzu said huskily, nuzzling behind his ear and making him shiver.

Unable to wait any longer, he grabbed her by the hand and dragged her away from the dance floor.

She went willingly.

No one noticed them as they slipped out of the ballroom and made their way towards the elevators, which would take them to his room.

::::::::::::

Instead of gong to the games room to find Jonouchi, Mai went to the ladies powder room to use the loo and to touch up her hair and lip gloss.

Finished in the ladies room, she considered finding him, to have a go at him for ignoring her and demand that he pay her some attention, but changed her mind and decided to go to the bar instead.

Waiting at the bar to order a drink, was the actor she had danced with, and his face lit up when he spotted her coming towards him.

Deciding to teach Jonouchi a lesson for abandoning her, she smiled and went over to talk to him.

::::::::::::

The door to Yugi's hotel room clicked shut with a gentle thunk.

Discarding their shoes, they moved further into the room.

With no hesitation, they stepped closer together and started kissing.

Their kisses became passionate, and when they parted for air, Yugi kissed and nipped his way along Anzu's collar bone. Thwarted by the strap of her dress, he hooked his fingers under the strap and tried to ease it over her shoulder and down her arm, while his other hand searched for a zip. He wasn't having much success, and Anzu feared he might become impatient and tear the material.

She stepped away. "Hang on!" She reached round for the invisible zip at the back, but it was not easy to undo, so she turned her back to him. "It's here," she said, pointing it out. Smiling, he deftly worked the zip down, and Anzu allowed the straps to fall off her shoulders, smiling as she wriggled her way out of the dress and tossed it onto a chair.

Anzu slowly turned back to face him, and started to undo the buttons of his shirt. Looking down, she spotted the tent in his trousers, and felt a rush of desire and anticipation.

Yugi noticed her shiver. "Are you okay doing this?" As a gentleman, he had to ask.

Anzu rolled her eyes teasingly. "Would I be here if I wasn't?" she said, sliding her hand over the front of his trousers, giving him a gentle squeeze before sliding the zip down and teasing her hand inside.

His breath hitched. He opened his mouth to speak, but could not string anything coherent together, other than a moan. She was too beautiful for words.

::::::::::::

In the ballroom, Mai was standing near the bar with her actor acquaintance, and was unaware that Jonouchi was looking for her. He had grown bored of being made a laughing stock by some dick weed card sharp and had threatened the guy; demanding he hand him back his cash, or else….

His threat got him thrown out of the games room, so he made his way drunkenly towards the buffet table at the back of the ballroom.

On his way, he bumped into Pegasus. "Oi! Max! You seen Mai anywhere?"

Pegasus had grown used to the disrespectful way Jonouchi often addressed him and ignored it. Besides, he had his own demeaning pet names for everyone, so was not too bothered by it. "Oh, Joey-Boy! I do believe she was last seen on the dance floor, in the company of a fine, handsome actor."

Jonouchi grimaced. What the fuck did Pegasus mean by that?! He went to find out.

The DJ was playing classic party hits. Jonouchi recognised the current song as Dancing Queen, by Swedish pop quartet ABBA. A huge disco ball gave it a 70's vibe (not that Jonouchi was around in the 70's) and coloured spotlights spun arcs across the dance floor. People seemed to be enjoying it and the dance floor was packed. The whole scene made Jonouchi feel dizzy and he realised he was absolutely rat arsed. Fuck! He was going to throw up if he stayed here!

Forgetting about Mai, about food, about….anything, he legged it to the men's restroom to empty the contents of his stomach.

Feeling a little better after purging some of the toxins from his body, he decided to rehydrate with some water, and was just on his way to the bar when he spotted Mai. She was with some smarmy, pretty boy actor, who's name escaped him. She was laughing at something he had just said, and when the smarmy, pretty boy actor smiled and affectionately touched her bare upper arm, Jonouchi saw red.

:::::::::::

Completely unaware of what was happening down in the ballroom, Yugi and Anzu were making up for the last ten months of being apart, and by the time they were done they were absolutely spent and ready to fall asleep.

Anzu felt numb and tingly – she had forgotten how good it felt to be basking in a post coital glow. It was not something she had even come close to feeling with the guys she had dated since, and it made her realise that Yugi was the only man she needed.

After popping out to the bathroom, she got back into bed and snuggled down.

She peered at her kind, sweet, wonderful lover in the darkness. He had fallen asleep soon after their passionate love making session and was now out for the count –hardly surprising given how much energy he must have expended, not once, but twice. Wow, had he made her feel special tonight!

She gently moved his untidy fringe away from his face and kissed along his eyebrows softly. It was difficult to imagine that someone who slept with a look of such serene innocence could be amazingly naughty when they were having sex. Just thinking about it made her heart do joyous flips and her tummy flutter.

His face twitched serenely and he smiled softly.

Smiling, she snuggled against him, and he made a contented little sound and draped an arm around her as he nuzzled her ear, before relaxing back into his slumber.

Anzu closed her eyes and dreamed sweet dreams.

Whatever happened in the future, she was going to hold onto this night forever.

Next weeks chapter might be a few days late as I am away for a few days and won't get much chance to edit and stuff.

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