2003 one-shot --- Bakura/Ryou --- PG --- FINISHED
(A.N- wow! I had such good luck with my last b/r fic, I wanted to do another right away. This one centers more on pure fluff than philosophical commentary, though bet you don't mind . At any rate, the recipe for this one is "Ryou is ill, Bakura tries to help". In this one, Bakura and Ryou are freshly split, ergo- Bakura's only been out for a week or two ... which allows for a bit of chara torture, a generous helping of fluff, and a pinch of humor. ::evil grin:: I have way too much fun making fun of Bakura... Waaaay too much fun. Wow, the last page or so is really freaking sappy.. oh, well- Enjoi. )
---
Bakura had been sleeping peacefully in Ryou's guest room; he'd been having a pleasant dream- although, stomping into the kitchen, he couldn't remember any of it. Only that it had been warm, and he'd been at ease.
But something had woken him up.
And he did not know what that evil something was.
At present, the yami, frustrated with his sense of foreboding, was reaching for the coffee which Ryou was always up earlier to make- an act he was vastly grateful for.
There was no coffee. It wasn't even plugged in.
Ryou.
---
Bakura burst into his hikari's room without knocking, letting light pour dangerously into the room.
"...Bakura."
Ryou lowered a comforter away from his face; an unusually pale and drawn face.
The robber frowned, "What's wrong?"
Ryou smiled weakly, "I'm sorry; I couldn't get up. I just don't feel well... here," he tried to sit up, "I'll go and make the coffee."
Bakura gave him a stern look, striding forward, "Lie down."
Ryou winced, letting himself be pushed down. One grace hand lifted to his face, covering his eyes- where was that fiendish light coming from? Bakura sat on the bed's edge, letting one hand rest on his light's chest.
"Do you have... what is it? An ached head?"
There was that soft smile again- "Yes, a headache," he groaned slightly, the other hand moving to rest on his stomach, "...more like a migraine, really."
"Migraine?" Bakura tried the new word seriously, making Ryou laugh slightly when it came out closer to "migeren", "Is that bad? Will you be okay?"
"Well, if my head doesn't explode..."
A startled look plastered onto Bakura's face- his eyes went wide and his brows furrowed. Slowly, he leaned forward, shaking slightly. Frowning, he solidly put one hand on either side of Ryou's head.
Ryou blinked, "What...?"
"I don't want you to explode."
Ryou placed his hands over those of the pale young man, and said solemnly, "I'm not going to really explode, Bakura."
"...You promise?"
Ryou smiled gently, "I promise."
"...All right," Bakura let his hands slip from his light's oddly warm head and rest in his lap, "Do you need anything?"
Oh... maybe a nice dark hole to crawl into and die... "Could you bring me the ibuprofen?"
"Ibeeprufin?" Bakura frowned.
"Pills. Wonderful glorious little creatures that will help a great deal, my dear Bakura."
The yami stood up exuberantly, fully charged to hunt down and capture as many of the Pills as Ryou needed... provided they didn't put up too much of a fight or kill him.
"Where are they?" he demanded valiantly.
Ryou winced, "You needn't shout; they're in the medicine cabinet."
Bakura frowned slightly.
"...In the bathroom," Ryou clarified.
Bakura gave his light a quizzical look- what were magical creatures of the healing variety doing in his hikari's bathroom? And what real good were they if they were so small he'd never noticed them before?
Strange.
"What do they look like?"
"Oh... they'll be in a white bottle- it'll say 'Ibuprofen' on the side."
Bakura, once again, frowned.
Ryou mirrored it, "Right. You can't read my language yet... here-"he reached for a pad of paper and pencil that rested on the bedside table, accompanying a telephone.
"-it'll look like this," the white-haired teen scribbled "I-b-u-p-r-o-f-e- n" on it and handed it to his dark half.
"Please bring a glass of water, too, when you come back."
A mission! Bakura grinned, taking the paper gleefully. Finally a chance to prove he was not utterly incompetent!
This was his moment to shine!
Ryou gave his dark a long-suffering look. He'd known for a long time now that the yami was completely and utterly incomprehensibly insane, but now seemed like an inconvenient time to dwell on the fact.
Bakura had shot out of the room. Ryou groaned; if the house didn't burn down (and if those pills came real soon) he'd be happy.
Of course, he'd also be happy if the sun blotted out and song-birds could legally be killed by cast-iron frying pans...
---
Bakura, eyes wary, slunk carefully into the porcelain realm; the better to avoid sudden attack by the various creatures Ryou had mentioned in conversations past. He was especially worried by the ferocious-sounding "Razor" and "Toilet".
He slid his hand against the wall, heroically in search of the magical switch that somehow channeled the power of Ra. Ryou had demonstrated this amazing invention numerous times before, and it had taken rigorous denial on Ryou's part when confronted with Bakura's accusation of being some demonic sorcerer.
The light, along with a terrific buzzing roar, filled the room, and Bakura, terrified, shot into the hall.
He crouched low on the carpet, heart pounding. Something dark and vicious was in Ryou's bathroom!
His eyes shifted to and fro, surveying cautiously. Thus far, nothing had attacked, he was untouched.
Marvelous.
Maybe the beast was small of stature; maybe it was harmless. Slowly, Bakura stood, brushing himself off.
No one need know of this.
Carefully, he sidled along the wall; he drew on his skills as a robber- keeping his breathing shallow and feet light.
Slowly, painstakingly, he eased his body along the badly wallpapered wall. The hum of the beast became more intensive as Bakura neared the door. He peeked his head around the corner, and, horrified, let out a groan.
---
There was nothing. The room was empty.
Bakura growled and started his search for I-b-u-p-r-o-f-e-n.
---
Ryou, head pounding, turned on his side, staring forlornly at the, slightly ajar, door of evil.
He sighed, wincing.
/Bakura?/ He called, letting his eyes shut wearily.
At first, all the teen could discern was a growing sense of aggravation from his yami, followed by a swift, frustrated What?
/Where are you?/ Oh... there was that wretched pounding again.
In the bathroom. I found the pills.
Ryou frowned slightly. /Was there a problem, Bakura?/
The teen sensed a strong feeling of distaste emanate along their link.
Of course not.
Ryou smiled, wrapping the blanket around his shoulder. The former robber's lie was cute- see-through, but cute.
/All right, then. I trust you'll come save me any minute now./
Ryou smiled at the aura of fierce, protective pride that suddenly issued from his dark, and, enveloped by the musky sense, he allowed himself to doze.
---
Bakura walked quickly down the hall, heart full, Ryou's words replaying again and again through his mind.
He was going to rescue his hikari.
But first he needed a glass.
And those were... where?
---
Kitchen kitchen kitchen kitchen.
Bakura angrily stood in the middle of the room- analyzing his battle strategy.
Against the right wall was the big two-door white thing- Ridgebrator?- then the coils of fire on the big box that opened in front- Stoven?- then a long counter that continued onto the next wall. There were doors all along there... Then the little tub and the metal snake that gave water. Doors under that, too.
Dammit!
Where to start looking for "glasses". Why weren't they called goblets or chalices like they were in the good old days, anyway?
Kitchen kitchen kitchen kitchen.
Bakura kicked the Ridgebrator.
---
Gently, he tugged on the first handle- he'd seen Ryou do it before without any repercussions, but experience (and keyed-up-ness) kept him from trusting the fact.
Inside the tiny little room was very very cold- Cold enough to freeze water? Bakura mused, I don't believe it. But there were no glasses. Inside the bigger little room was a lot of food- lots of fruit and vegetables. Bakura scowled, how was the food supposed to last if it wasn't dried out? Silly boy.
There were no glasses there, either.
Bakura glowered menacingly at all the shiny things that dared defy him. There were many. Especially the Boaster.
It was mocking him.
"How dare you mock me, metal demon?!" the robber grabbed the horrendous box from the counter and shook it.
The Boaster glared back at him with his own face. Bakura grew ever more irritated- who did this thing think it was?
Bastard.
"I demand you stop that at once!" he commanded, shaking it.
But the Boaster merely glared under the lights infuriatingly.
"By Ra, I'll deal with you!"
He dropped the Boaster on the ground and rushed to the drawer he'd perused with the hard poundy things.
Yes, a hard poundy thing was exactly what he wanted!
"Take this! And that! Die, bastard!" Bakura shrieked, half-gleeful.
When the Boaster became a twisted metal wreckage- a degenerate scrap of junk- merely a shadow of its former self- and no longer able to use its evil powers to reflect his face- Bakura put it in the white box Ryou used for "Trash".
He stretched gracefully, feeling awfully better.
Spirits high, he poked into the next nearest cabinet. It was shocking. It was pleasing. It was better than beating the Boaster to death.
Glasses.
He sent a quick prayer to the gods, grabbed the prettiest, and shot to the snake for water.
---
"Ryou! Ryou! Ryou!" the yami bounded into his light's room, proudly displaying his efforts.
"Bakura! Bakura! Bakura!" Ryou winced back, reminding himself of murder's illegality.
"Look!" the yami knelt at his hikari's side, grinning.
Ryou sat up slowly, one hand over his eyes, the other softly trailing over the top of Bakura's head.
"Good job, dear," he sighed, regarding his counter-part with a soft smile, "hand me the pill-bottle."
"How does it work?" Bakura eyed the bottle warily- as if suddenly suspicious of its healing powers.
"First you press down- or it won't open- then you twist. Ta-da!" he pulled the lid with a flourish, catering to the childish curiosity suddenly adopted by his yami.
"Then- you pop 'em- ih 'our 'ouf-"Ryou took the glass- "-and swallow!"
"And that will help?" Bakura's frown began to lighten.
"Yes," Ryou took the robber's hand, guiding him to his feet, "thank you."
Bakura grinned (in such a manner that one's fluffy pink bunny slippers might run for cover) and sat with his hikari.
"You're a cum-well."
Ryou looked sharply away, blushing furiously- Why did I get stuck with the crazy one?-
"I-I'm welcome, you mean."
"Sure," Bakura massaged the boy's hand affectionately, rubbing his thumb over the mount of Venus and entwining their fingers, "I'm just glad you'll be all right. I went through hell, and-"
Ryou gently kissed him, conforming his mouth around the robber's next words.
"Hush, Bakura; my head is throbbing."
In response, the yami threw an arm around Ryou's chest and pinned him to the bed. The boy turned to look prettily at his yami; the white-haired spirit closed his eyes, relishing the feel of the boy's chest rising under his wing. Knowing that, because of his trials, it would continue to rise.
"You promise to get better, right?" he touched his hikari's cheek, remembering a time long ago, when a... friend... had complained similarly. He hadn't made it.
"I promise, Bakura- I just need to rest..." Ryou kissed the robber softly, worried by his dark look, "Are you okay?"
The yami pulled him close, burying his face in soft white hair, "Ryou," he whispered, "I'm going to stay with you until you're better, you hear me? I'm not letting you go till the pills drive the demons away..."
The teen nodded against Bakura's chest, smiling. Completely and utterly incomprehensibly insane...
Gently, Ryou tilted his chin to press his lips against those of the anxious, near-frantic yami, "I won't leave you."
Even if you're an unbalanced, paranoid, multi-persona'd, stark-raving-mad BAT who's downright non compos mentis...!
No... I won't leave you.
"Stay with me, then. To your heart's content."
"Ryou," the dark-eyed spirit kissed him chastely, "I love you."
The teen smiled, "I love you, too, Bakura."
Bakura grinned (in such a manner that, miles away, Yami huggled Yugi closer, glancing suspiciously about in fear), kissing Ryou again, before tucking the chocolate-eyed youth into his embrace.
"...But don't get too comfy," he whispered teasingly, "I may need another dose later."
Bakura only groaned as Ryou giggled off to sleep.
-fin-
(A.N- ...there. It's done. Sweet Jesus, it's done. I think. Umm... wow, not much to say. Actually, I'd like to apologize for the loss of humor and reversion to my usual fluff at the end there- it's a bad habit. But a good one. Yes, a good one. P.s- "non compos mentis is Latin for "not of sound mind". ... tee-hee- I just saw Trigun so- love and peace!)
(A.N- wow! I had such good luck with my last b/r fic, I wanted to do another right away. This one centers more on pure fluff than philosophical commentary, though bet you don't mind . At any rate, the recipe for this one is "Ryou is ill, Bakura tries to help". In this one, Bakura and Ryou are freshly split, ergo- Bakura's only been out for a week or two ... which allows for a bit of chara torture, a generous helping of fluff, and a pinch of humor. ::evil grin:: I have way too much fun making fun of Bakura... Waaaay too much fun. Wow, the last page or so is really freaking sappy.. oh, well- Enjoi. )
---
Bakura had been sleeping peacefully in Ryou's guest room; he'd been having a pleasant dream- although, stomping into the kitchen, he couldn't remember any of it. Only that it had been warm, and he'd been at ease.
But something had woken him up.
And he did not know what that evil something was.
At present, the yami, frustrated with his sense of foreboding, was reaching for the coffee which Ryou was always up earlier to make- an act he was vastly grateful for.
There was no coffee. It wasn't even plugged in.
Ryou.
---
Bakura burst into his hikari's room without knocking, letting light pour dangerously into the room.
"...Bakura."
Ryou lowered a comforter away from his face; an unusually pale and drawn face.
The robber frowned, "What's wrong?"
Ryou smiled weakly, "I'm sorry; I couldn't get up. I just don't feel well... here," he tried to sit up, "I'll go and make the coffee."
Bakura gave him a stern look, striding forward, "Lie down."
Ryou winced, letting himself be pushed down. One grace hand lifted to his face, covering his eyes- where was that fiendish light coming from? Bakura sat on the bed's edge, letting one hand rest on his light's chest.
"Do you have... what is it? An ached head?"
There was that soft smile again- "Yes, a headache," he groaned slightly, the other hand moving to rest on his stomach, "...more like a migraine, really."
"Migraine?" Bakura tried the new word seriously, making Ryou laugh slightly when it came out closer to "migeren", "Is that bad? Will you be okay?"
"Well, if my head doesn't explode..."
A startled look plastered onto Bakura's face- his eyes went wide and his brows furrowed. Slowly, he leaned forward, shaking slightly. Frowning, he solidly put one hand on either side of Ryou's head.
Ryou blinked, "What...?"
"I don't want you to explode."
Ryou placed his hands over those of the pale young man, and said solemnly, "I'm not going to really explode, Bakura."
"...You promise?"
Ryou smiled gently, "I promise."
"...All right," Bakura let his hands slip from his light's oddly warm head and rest in his lap, "Do you need anything?"
Oh... maybe a nice dark hole to crawl into and die... "Could you bring me the ibuprofen?"
"Ibeeprufin?" Bakura frowned.
"Pills. Wonderful glorious little creatures that will help a great deal, my dear Bakura."
The yami stood up exuberantly, fully charged to hunt down and capture as many of the Pills as Ryou needed... provided they didn't put up too much of a fight or kill him.
"Where are they?" he demanded valiantly.
Ryou winced, "You needn't shout; they're in the medicine cabinet."
Bakura frowned slightly.
"...In the bathroom," Ryou clarified.
Bakura gave his light a quizzical look- what were magical creatures of the healing variety doing in his hikari's bathroom? And what real good were they if they were so small he'd never noticed them before?
Strange.
"What do they look like?"
"Oh... they'll be in a white bottle- it'll say 'Ibuprofen' on the side."
Bakura, once again, frowned.
Ryou mirrored it, "Right. You can't read my language yet... here-"he reached for a pad of paper and pencil that rested on the bedside table, accompanying a telephone.
"-it'll look like this," the white-haired teen scribbled "I-b-u-p-r-o-f-e- n" on it and handed it to his dark half.
"Please bring a glass of water, too, when you come back."
A mission! Bakura grinned, taking the paper gleefully. Finally a chance to prove he was not utterly incompetent!
This was his moment to shine!
Ryou gave his dark a long-suffering look. He'd known for a long time now that the yami was completely and utterly incomprehensibly insane, but now seemed like an inconvenient time to dwell on the fact.
Bakura had shot out of the room. Ryou groaned; if the house didn't burn down (and if those pills came real soon) he'd be happy.
Of course, he'd also be happy if the sun blotted out and song-birds could legally be killed by cast-iron frying pans...
---
Bakura, eyes wary, slunk carefully into the porcelain realm; the better to avoid sudden attack by the various creatures Ryou had mentioned in conversations past. He was especially worried by the ferocious-sounding "Razor" and "Toilet".
He slid his hand against the wall, heroically in search of the magical switch that somehow channeled the power of Ra. Ryou had demonstrated this amazing invention numerous times before, and it had taken rigorous denial on Ryou's part when confronted with Bakura's accusation of being some demonic sorcerer.
The light, along with a terrific buzzing roar, filled the room, and Bakura, terrified, shot into the hall.
He crouched low on the carpet, heart pounding. Something dark and vicious was in Ryou's bathroom!
His eyes shifted to and fro, surveying cautiously. Thus far, nothing had attacked, he was untouched.
Marvelous.
Maybe the beast was small of stature; maybe it was harmless. Slowly, Bakura stood, brushing himself off.
No one need know of this.
Carefully, he sidled along the wall; he drew on his skills as a robber- keeping his breathing shallow and feet light.
Slowly, painstakingly, he eased his body along the badly wallpapered wall. The hum of the beast became more intensive as Bakura neared the door. He peeked his head around the corner, and, horrified, let out a groan.
---
There was nothing. The room was empty.
Bakura growled and started his search for I-b-u-p-r-o-f-e-n.
---
Ryou, head pounding, turned on his side, staring forlornly at the, slightly ajar, door of evil.
He sighed, wincing.
/Bakura?/ He called, letting his eyes shut wearily.
At first, all the teen could discern was a growing sense of aggravation from his yami, followed by a swift, frustrated What?
/Where are you?/ Oh... there was that wretched pounding again.
In the bathroom. I found the pills.
Ryou frowned slightly. /Was there a problem, Bakura?/
The teen sensed a strong feeling of distaste emanate along their link.
Of course not.
Ryou smiled, wrapping the blanket around his shoulder. The former robber's lie was cute- see-through, but cute.
/All right, then. I trust you'll come save me any minute now./
Ryou smiled at the aura of fierce, protective pride that suddenly issued from his dark, and, enveloped by the musky sense, he allowed himself to doze.
---
Bakura walked quickly down the hall, heart full, Ryou's words replaying again and again through his mind.
He was going to rescue his hikari.
But first he needed a glass.
And those were... where?
---
Kitchen kitchen kitchen kitchen.
Bakura angrily stood in the middle of the room- analyzing his battle strategy.
Against the right wall was the big two-door white thing- Ridgebrator?- then the coils of fire on the big box that opened in front- Stoven?- then a long counter that continued onto the next wall. There were doors all along there... Then the little tub and the metal snake that gave water. Doors under that, too.
Dammit!
Where to start looking for "glasses". Why weren't they called goblets or chalices like they were in the good old days, anyway?
Kitchen kitchen kitchen kitchen.
Bakura kicked the Ridgebrator.
---
Gently, he tugged on the first handle- he'd seen Ryou do it before without any repercussions, but experience (and keyed-up-ness) kept him from trusting the fact.
Inside the tiny little room was very very cold- Cold enough to freeze water? Bakura mused, I don't believe it. But there were no glasses. Inside the bigger little room was a lot of food- lots of fruit and vegetables. Bakura scowled, how was the food supposed to last if it wasn't dried out? Silly boy.
There were no glasses there, either.
Bakura glowered menacingly at all the shiny things that dared defy him. There were many. Especially the Boaster.
It was mocking him.
"How dare you mock me, metal demon?!" the robber grabbed the horrendous box from the counter and shook it.
The Boaster glared back at him with his own face. Bakura grew ever more irritated- who did this thing think it was?
Bastard.
"I demand you stop that at once!" he commanded, shaking it.
But the Boaster merely glared under the lights infuriatingly.
"By Ra, I'll deal with you!"
He dropped the Boaster on the ground and rushed to the drawer he'd perused with the hard poundy things.
Yes, a hard poundy thing was exactly what he wanted!
"Take this! And that! Die, bastard!" Bakura shrieked, half-gleeful.
When the Boaster became a twisted metal wreckage- a degenerate scrap of junk- merely a shadow of its former self- and no longer able to use its evil powers to reflect his face- Bakura put it in the white box Ryou used for "Trash".
He stretched gracefully, feeling awfully better.
Spirits high, he poked into the next nearest cabinet. It was shocking. It was pleasing. It was better than beating the Boaster to death.
Glasses.
He sent a quick prayer to the gods, grabbed the prettiest, and shot to the snake for water.
---
"Ryou! Ryou! Ryou!" the yami bounded into his light's room, proudly displaying his efforts.
"Bakura! Bakura! Bakura!" Ryou winced back, reminding himself of murder's illegality.
"Look!" the yami knelt at his hikari's side, grinning.
Ryou sat up slowly, one hand over his eyes, the other softly trailing over the top of Bakura's head.
"Good job, dear," he sighed, regarding his counter-part with a soft smile, "hand me the pill-bottle."
"How does it work?" Bakura eyed the bottle warily- as if suddenly suspicious of its healing powers.
"First you press down- or it won't open- then you twist. Ta-da!" he pulled the lid with a flourish, catering to the childish curiosity suddenly adopted by his yami.
"Then- you pop 'em- ih 'our 'ouf-"Ryou took the glass- "-and swallow!"
"And that will help?" Bakura's frown began to lighten.
"Yes," Ryou took the robber's hand, guiding him to his feet, "thank you."
Bakura grinned (in such a manner that one's fluffy pink bunny slippers might run for cover) and sat with his hikari.
"You're a cum-well."
Ryou looked sharply away, blushing furiously- Why did I get stuck with the crazy one?-
"I-I'm welcome, you mean."
"Sure," Bakura massaged the boy's hand affectionately, rubbing his thumb over the mount of Venus and entwining their fingers, "I'm just glad you'll be all right. I went through hell, and-"
Ryou gently kissed him, conforming his mouth around the robber's next words.
"Hush, Bakura; my head is throbbing."
In response, the yami threw an arm around Ryou's chest and pinned him to the bed. The boy turned to look prettily at his yami; the white-haired spirit closed his eyes, relishing the feel of the boy's chest rising under his wing. Knowing that, because of his trials, it would continue to rise.
"You promise to get better, right?" he touched his hikari's cheek, remembering a time long ago, when a... friend... had complained similarly. He hadn't made it.
"I promise, Bakura- I just need to rest..." Ryou kissed the robber softly, worried by his dark look, "Are you okay?"
The yami pulled him close, burying his face in soft white hair, "Ryou," he whispered, "I'm going to stay with you until you're better, you hear me? I'm not letting you go till the pills drive the demons away..."
The teen nodded against Bakura's chest, smiling. Completely and utterly incomprehensibly insane...
Gently, Ryou tilted his chin to press his lips against those of the anxious, near-frantic yami, "I won't leave you."
Even if you're an unbalanced, paranoid, multi-persona'd, stark-raving-mad BAT who's downright non compos mentis...!
No... I won't leave you.
"Stay with me, then. To your heart's content."
"Ryou," the dark-eyed spirit kissed him chastely, "I love you."
The teen smiled, "I love you, too, Bakura."
Bakura grinned (in such a manner that, miles away, Yami huggled Yugi closer, glancing suspiciously about in fear), kissing Ryou again, before tucking the chocolate-eyed youth into his embrace.
"...But don't get too comfy," he whispered teasingly, "I may need another dose later."
Bakura only groaned as Ryou giggled off to sleep.
-fin-
(A.N- ...there. It's done. Sweet Jesus, it's done. I think. Umm... wow, not much to say. Actually, I'd like to apologize for the loss of humor and reversion to my usual fluff at the end there- it's a bad habit. But a good one. Yes, a good one. P.s- "non compos mentis is Latin for "not of sound mind". ... tee-hee- I just saw Trigun so- love and peace!)