"Do we really need to visit this blasted marketplace again?!"
Ryou just gave a patient smile as he reassured his stubborn partner. "Well, Bakura; you could really use some new pants, and there's a sale on dark-wash jeans at the 'Twisted Threads' store today."
The white-haired yami scowled as he obediently followed his former host through the mall. "I hate going 'clothes shopping'."
Ryou struggled not to roll his eyes- he knew the unspoken, second half of that statement: 'I hate going clothes shopping because you won't let me shoplift anything.'
It had taken ages for the palest hikari to convince the 'King of Thieves' that stealing things wasn't the ONLY option. (Truthfully, he'd been hoping to convince Bakura that it wasn't the BEST option, either; but that specific sentiment was still a struggling work-in-progress).
Ryou could hear the former spirit trailing behind him, muttering something mutinous in a very low voice. The exasperated teen just shook his head. 'Hard to believe it's already been two years...'
A year after the ceremonial duel was concluded, the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle had begged the gods to allow him to return to the modern era. He'd argued that he was neither the 'Pharaoh' nor Yugi Motou, meaning he was a separate entity who had never been given a chance at his own life. And indeed, the gods eventually determined that the spirit was right, and he deserved more time on Earth. So they granted his return, allowing Yami Yugi to reunite with his beloved aibou. But unfortunately this divine ruling had other consequences- after all, if 'Yami Yugi' was a different being, then surely so were 'Yami Bakura' and 'Marik'? It was only fair, the ancient deities reasoned, that the other two 'shadows' also be returned (albeit under far stricter circumstances). With their darker components banished, the other two yamis' were also brought back to the modern day Domino. Though they were more or less 'reformed,' the two still needed careful monitoring, and their former hikaris' soon found themselves clumsily roped into the task.
Malik and Ryou, having been closest to the villains, were deemed the two mortals 'best suited' to look after their dopplegangers. The first month was painfully awkward, to say the least; but over time they began to connect with their counterparts in more positive ways. The darker yamis' quickly learned that they were not nearly so much of a threat without the shadows at their beck and call. This necessitated that they learn more about modern living, and they eventually submitted to their counterparts' teachings. And over time, each pair soon found themselves sharing more than just their homes.
Yet despite their eventual relationship, Bakura had quickly learned that his current and former landlord would NOT tolerate stealing.
These 'punishments' tended to vary, based on mood and opportunity, but Ryou was both clever and (surprisingly) shrewd in some cases.
In one instance, Bakura had refused to turn down the volume on a very gory action film he'd stumbled across on the TV late one night. The shrewd hikari had given up on battling for the remote, but was able to wake up much earlier than the thief.
Bakura woke up just before noon, and he was not amused to find that all the channels- save the PBS station- were blocked with some sort of numeric password. Begrudgingly, the technologically-impaired yami admitted defeat and promised to be more 'considerate' of his housemate's 'bedtime.' But Ryou later surprised him with a generous gift- a pair of extended-length headphones. Bakura soon learned how to use them whenever he felt that things were growing 'a bit too quiet' for his liking. And Ryou was able to sleep, no longer worried that the first floor ceiling would suddenly break apart from the surround-sound fueled vibrations.
"Hey." Ryou felt his thoughts float aside as he was tapped on the shoulder by his counterpart. "Is this the store?" Bakura pointed up at a white sign with a dark blue mark in the center- the logo for the alternative department store, 'Twisted Threads.'
The shorter duelist nodded and guided his yami through the large entryway. "Yep! The men's jeans are towards the back..." The nearly-identical pair soon found themselves deep inside the department store.
"Ah, here we are!" Ryou gazed eagerly over a prominent display table filled with dark-blue denim. "It's a very good sale, so you should try on several pairs!"
Bakura grumbled something, watching as his hikari began perusing the different styles. He sometimes pointed out whether he liked a particular style or not, but otherwise he let his modern counterpart handle the browsing.
Half an hour passed, and Ryou's arms were soon laden with more jeans than he could carry. Bakura quickly grabbed half of the stack before they headed towards the men's dressing rooms. Ryou chose the largest stall, and quickly began piling the jeans onto the wooden bench inside. He then gestured towards the full length mirror, reminding his ancient yami how modern shopping worked.
"Like I said, this is a great sale, so try on as many as you can. Just be sure you make two piles on the bench- one for the pairs you want to get, and one for the ones you don't like or don't fit right. Alright?"
The ancient duelist nodded without a word. He knew how to try on clothes, for Ra's sake!
Despite the spaciousness of the quarters, Ryou surprised his yami by heading towards the louvre door and adding, "okay, I'll just wait outside then."
"Eh?" Bakura instantly felt something was off. Something seemed odd about the way Ryou had thrown out that statement- almost like he was trying too hard to be casual. Intrigued, Bakura glanced at his partner's back and added, "you're more than welcome to stay."
The shy teen's voice seemed to stumble in its response. "N-no... that's ok, I don't want you to feel rushed or crowded."
This really caught the thief's attention- why would his naive, incorruptible hikari leave him alone with all of this expensive merchandise? The only two explanations that came to mind were that either Ryou had suddenly started completely and fully trusting his yami (not likely)... or else...
The Thief King smirked. He had an inkling that his sweet, innocent little hikari was strangely bothered by one particular sound- a theory he'd recently been looking to... 'test.'
The devious fiend grinned as he decided to explore said theory. "Oh? It's really not a problem."
The shy youth didn't look back as he reached for the door handle. "N-no, that's alright; I'll give you some privacy."
On a hunch, the yami slowly unzipped the metal teeth on the front of his own denim pants.
*zzzzzzzzip!*
Ryou froze instantly, and Bakura grinned victoriously. Yep, it was undeniable- his precious hikari was clearly flustered by the sound of his other half undressing.
"Is something wrong, dear landlord?"
"Wha- NO!" Ryou hissed, but didn't turn around. He really didn't need his partner seeing just how flushed his face had gotten from that one, small sound-
*zzzzzzzzip!*
The modern teen gulped heavily before trying for the door handle again. He was trying to ignore the sounds, instead focusing on the silver handle just within reach...
"Why, Ryou- does that sound bother you for some reason?" Feigning ignorance, the barely stone-faced yami stepped closer to the trembling hikari. "My goodness, I didn't realize this was so... hard for you."
"It... it's not!" Ryou stumbled again, not wanting to turn around and see his yami's expression. But his shoulders gave another small shudder, a sure sign that his willpower was faltering. Sensing opportunity, the thief quickly grabbed his partner's waist and turned him around. He ignored the bewildered protests from his light, instead focusing his attention someplace lower.
"Are you worried the fabric will get stuck? It's alright- why, it's easy- see?" Bakura didn't bother hiding his wicked grin as he easily took hold of the small, metal pull and guided it -very- slowly downward.
*zzzzzzzzzzzzzziiippp!*
"Ack- BAKURA!" Ryou hissed in frantic rebuke as his hands fumbled around his now-opened fly. "You don't do that in public!"
"Oh-ho? And how do you expect me to try on all these clothes if I can't undress?" His grin grew to an almost impossible width as he smirked at the flustered teen. "Silly little hikari, always proposing the wildest ideas~"
The two scarlet orbs fell into a half-lidded state, and Ryou gasped as he was suddenly covered by a heatedly exited Thief King.
"Bakura, y-you can't- don't-!" The teen's dazed protests began fading as he felt two eager hands teasing and exploring his body. He let out a soft groan as his lips were roughly claimed by a much warmer pair.
Bakura knew he'd won- his little light could never resist once their lips met. The twisted yami gave a victorious purr before scraping his teeth downwards over the now-throbbing pulse point.
Ryou let out a faint whimper, but didn't object. There was little point in resisting now- Bakura knew all his sweet spots; all his weaknesses and desires... as he melted in a pliable pile of warmth and desire, poor Ryou could only think one thing:
'Oh... crap.'
An hour later, a rather annoyed senior citizen approached a store employee with a complaint. The older shopper insisted that two 'hooligans' were engaging in 'some manner of raucous horseplay' in one of the men's dressing rooms. The bespectacled senior snorted as he carried on after the salesman. "Probably vandalizing the walls and breaking all the furniture! Disorderly brats, never respecting their elders..."
The store clerk promised to look into the disturbance, and managed to find the only closed dressing room in the men's department. He gave a quick rap on the door with one knuckle, before adding: "Excuse me, is everything alright? We've had reports of unusual sounds from this area..."
There was a sudden flurry of movement, and a very disheveled boy, with what looked like his smirking twin, suddenly emerged from the stall.
"Oh, um, n-no... sorry; my brother was having trouble getting out of a pair of skinny jeans, and he needed help." Ryou turned back to his 'brother' and added, "you're really not a size 0, you know."
The employee glanced around the fitting room- sure enough, there were multiple styles of their most popular jeans hanging from every hook and bench. Apparently the two shoppers were telling the truth.
"My apologies; seems it was just a false alarm. Thank you for shopping with us today." The clerk left, without another word.
Ryou gasped, still unsure how they'd avoided a police call. His skin was still covered in a fine sheen of perspiration, and his face was undoubtedly redder than a tomato.
Bakura, meanwhile, held none of the shame that his modest hikari was currently experiencing. He snorted before running a hand through his barely-rumpled bangs. "Tch- fools. Always thinking that we're related because of our appearances."
"You were lucky hebelieved that!" Ryou quickly whispered at his unabashed boyfriend. "Public indecency is an arrestable offense, you know!"
Bakura shrugged, hardly phased by the threat. "Tch, whatever- you modern mortals are too high-strung; always worrying about your overrated 'decency'."
Ryou knew his face would never lose its rosy hue if he continued arguing with his other half, so he only added: "we're going someplace else to get your jeans- and it'll be a store with the smallest dressing rooms possible!"
"Oh? Is that a challenge?" The incorrigible yami gave a sly grin as he was guided away from the men's department by his soul mate.
"NO!" Ryou hissed as they finally reached the farthest section of the store. As the pair made their way out of the department, Bakura noticed a display rack of long-length outerwear jackets.
"Hey, Ryou."
"Yeah?"
The smirking thief held up a rather large overcoat, with a full-length double zipper. He grinned as he tugged on the top pull, slowly driving it along the metal teeth.
"Zip." Bakura teasingly narrated, his voice full of barely-hidden laughter.
The unamused hikari frowned and spun around on his heels. He kept his back to his partner as he stepped away, tersely adding: "You'll be lucky if you hear that sound again in a month."