Title: For Lack Of Sun
Author: Broken Music Box
Rating: G
Summery: Malik muses on how and why Ryou loves the sunlight so much.
-------------
He always did hate the dark.
It was never rational. He just feared it for some reason. And, of course, once Bakura found this hidden phobia, Ryou never did see light once he got home. Only dark. Only shadows. The day after his yami decreed he wasn't allowed to turn the lights on, his smile turned very brittle.
Now, you can see the shadows under his eyes. His eyes still sparkle and shine at a joke or a witty comment, but the smudges of grey are always there.
He was once paired with Yugi Motou for a photography project. He flatly refused to go in the dark room. Something in his voice warned Yugi it wouldn't be exactly wise to ask why. Ryou didn't make a fuss. He just refused, arms crossed, legs braced, eyes stony. Everyone else's eyes just about popped out of their skulls.
I watch Ryou sit under a tree, head tilted towards the sky, like he's drinking in the rays of sunlight. He likes the sunlight best, just because it's the opposite of dark, and it's part of what and who he is. Hikari. Light. In some ways, he's like a plant. He needs the sun to survive. It's the way his soul is. Otherwise, he would wilt. Die.
No one wants that to happen. Not even Bakura. I choose to believe that he doesn't know what he's doing to his aibou. Yugi keeps Joey and Tristan from hounding him. Tea talks lightly, laughing hesitantly. They glance over occasionally.
And I sit away from the Yugi-tachi and Ryou, watching quietly. I see his silver-white hair gleaming, and his brown eyes staring into the sky. I wonder if he's watching the clouds, or the ozone layer being slowly depleted. I wouldn't be surprised if he said he could see it happening. I'd believe him too.
He truly looks like a creature of the sky. He looks as if he should be flying high above us all. Ryou needs the sunlight. I don't really understand why.
-Fin-