Author Notes: Tendershipping as requested! Takes place on the yacht to Duelist Kingdom.

Ryou lay his head down on the pillow and closed his eyes, as if to sleep for the night, but before he slipped into sleep, as he floated in that strange, detached state of semi-consciousness, he forced himself into his own soul room.

He found himself standing there and didn't even pause as he left it behind to seek out the Spirit in his soul room. The Spirit of the Millennium Ring had a very dangerous soul room indeed, full of shadows, mirages, illusions. Nothing was what it seemed to be, and Ryou knew from first-hand experience that it was very easy to fall into dire peril here.

"Bakura, come out here!" he called, trying to keep the fear he felt out of his voice. His yami materialized out of the shadows, striding towards Ryou with a cocky grin.

"You called?" he asked languidly, putting his arms around the teen and pulling him close. Ryou became flustered, knowing that he was just trying to distract him from his purpose.

"We're on our way to Duelist Kingdom, just like you asked," he said, starting to blush as Bakura brushed his lips over Ryou's ear. The teen pressed his hands to Bakura's shoulders to keep him from getting too close before Ryou reached his point. "But I want you to promise that you're not going to hurt them while we're there."

"Why should I make such a promise?" the ancient demon whispered as he brushed his lips across Ryou's neck, making the sensitive boy shudder.

"Because I care about them, and if you hurt them, then I really will get rid of you for good."

"Come now, Yadonushi, you know that there's no way to separate the two of us now. We are one." He froze in his tender teasing as realization hit him, then he let out a laugh and glanced at his host's grim, flushed face. "You would kill yourself to stop me from hurting people who hardly remember that you exist?"

"They're my friends, and they're not that bad, you know that," Ryou insisted as Bakura tucked Ryou's hips against his. They stood at the same height with the same proportions, which made their intimacy always feel strange to Ryou. It wasn't natural. It made him feel like a clone.

"And you know that they care less for you than you do for them, don't you?" Bakura tucked a stray lock of white hair behind Ryou's ear as he brought his head up to look his lover in the eye. Ryou let out a low sigh.

"Yes, I know."

"And you know that I care more for you than all of them combined, don't you?" Bakura smirked at Ryou's confused expression.

"Are you trying to say that they care for me so little that when it's added up, it's easy to surpass that level, or are—" Bakura silenced him with a sudden kiss, slipping his tongue into Ryou's open mouth. Ryou finally gave in and put his arms around the Spirit, letting himself relax into the embrace.

"You should really stop over-thinking things, Yadonushi," he whispered as he lifted Ryou's ass in his hands, then crossed his arms under the other's posterior, carrying him deeper into the shadows as Ryou wrapped his legs around Bakura's waist and nuzzled his head into Bakura's shoulder. "Just take my words for what they are."

"Thank you… for caring," Ryou whispered as he closed his eyes, waiting for Bakura to reach whatever destination he was heading for.

"As I said, we are one. How could I not?" There was an edge to his voice that made Ryou shiver and cling to him more tightly. Those were perhaps the most romantic words the Spirit had ever said to him.

After walking for a long while in steady silence, Ryou felt him come to a stop and kneel before lowering Ryou onto a pile of silky sheets and plush pillows. Ryou opened his eyes and realized that there wasn't very much that he could see in this part of the soul room, it was so very dim. But he could see Bakura's face getting closer as he leaned in for another kiss, this one ending soon as Bakura began to undress his host by tugging his sweater off over his head. Bakura quickly removed his own sweater and Ryou's belt, making the pale Brit squirm a little beneath him.

"Someone's eager tonight, hm?" His husky voice brought heat to Ryou's face, his dark eyes narrowing as they began the strange dance of seduction. Bakura would bite and kiss, scratch and stroke, soothing each wound with a gentleness that most people would never guess the vengeful Spirit possessed. He loved Ryou, but he also loved to make Ryou cry. The pleasure and the pain competed for dominance of Ryou's body, and even if he knew that it didn't have to be like this, Ryou wasn't sure he would have wanted anything else.

Bakura paid attention to him. Bakura never forgot about him or left him behind. They were always on each other's minds. Bakura was the only one who'd ever been bothered by the fact that Ryou got bullied, the only one who'd ever stood up to the bullies on his behalf, and Ryou appreciated it, even when he didn't agree with Bakura's methods of punishment. It was the most care Ryou had ever been shown by a single person, and he wasn't willing to fight the hand that was, in its own way, trying to save him, even when it meant pain, because he understood that it was the only way Bakura knew how to love him. Beggars can't be choosers, not even when it came to love.

This was only their third time laying together, and Ryou was still nervous, still hesitant as Bakura reached for his waistband and began to uncover the lower half of Ryou's body.

"You're shaking like a leaf," Bakura observed in his sultry tones, pulling Ryou's pants off and tossing them away before he crawled upwards and kissed Ryou's hip, the younger one's hands tangling into the Spirit's hair and gripping his head firmly, unable to shake the reservations he felt.

"You're sure nobody will be able to tell?" Ryou asked in a faint whisper before gasping and lifting his hips as Bakura's ministrations aroused a need in him he still struggled to understand.

"I told you before, your body will be unaffected by all of this. The only way for anybody to know what happens here is for you or I to tell them." Bakura found it somewhat annoying and somewhat adorable that Ryou actually cared about what other people thought of him. Ryou's breath hitched as Bakura shifted his focus and began to prepare him.

They were both panting as Bakura lowered himself to lay beside Ryou and put an arm around his whimpering host. Ryou curled into the curve of Bakura's body, closing his eyes as he winced with pain.

"You know, you could leave now if you want to," Bakura reminded him quietly.

"I know, but I want to stay just a little while longer," Ryou whispered back. Bakura didn't understand why Ryou would stay here with him and with the pain longer than he needed to. It was impractical. But he had to admit, he liked to hold Ryou in his arms for just a bit longer.

"Sleep well, Yadonushi," he murmured into his hikari's hair. "Tomorrow's a big day." Ryou nodded slightly, letting himself slip into the warm, safe darkness of sleep.

Bakura had become the cause and the cure to all of Ryou's pain. It wasn't healthy and it wasn't right, and Ryou knew that he ought to end it, that he ought to leave, to maybe even find someone who could exorcise Bakura from his soul. But if he did that, he'd be all alone again, and Ryou couldn't stand the thought of going back to that empty life of loneliness. Bakura's double-edged love was better than drowning in isolation.