Just to prove that I'm still alive (if just barely), I made this little fic in honor of tendershipping and one of my favorite days of the year, September 2nd (which has more meaning to it than I'll let on) and so I hope you will all tell me what you think. No flames, but constructive criticism welcomed.

Disclaimer: If I own Yu-Gi-Oh!, then I absolutely hate the idea of yaoi. Especially Bakura/Ryou. But I do love tendershipping and therefore do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

The candles were ready to be lit.

Quite beautiful, the pastry was smaller than the average birthday cake, but, for newly turned sixteen-year-old me (Ryou Bakura), it was extravagant. Iced to perfection with my favorite vanilla flavor, none of the dark chocolate cake showed on my pale blue glass plate as I carefully sat in my usual seat at the kitchen table. The only other wooden chair was empty much to the my dismay; Malik had to leave at the last minute to go to Egypt and, therefore, I would have no party guests. There would be no presents. There would be no birthday song. There would be no balloons, streamers, or friends there to wish me a happy new year of his life. For me, being sixteen wasn't sweet. Instead, September the second was just like any other day.

Fortunately, it was a Sunday, so I didn't have to go to school and put up with teachers, homework, or headaches from them. I had instead gone out that day to the grocery store and bought some new snacks and some cake mix thanks to the small raise I had received at his new job, a modest bookstore with a quiet crowd. In my free time, I could read to my heart's content of Romeo and Juliet because it also had famous books in English (I still had trouble with all the kanji). I finally bought the book on Saturday after my last shift so I could read after dinner, which I planned to do once Bakura got home. That way, I wouldn't have to feel dismal about my crush forgetting my birthday.

Bakura had never been good with things such as days of the year or remembering things about people that didn't happen in Ancient Egypt, have to do with RPGs or Duel Monsters, or the Millennium Items. Birthdays were no exception.

The only times Bakura ever remembered my birthday was when I turned nine, the day I received the Ring. When he found out, his birthday present to me was an all-expenses paid "vacation to his favorite little landlord" to my soul room. When I woke up, it was a month later and I was in the hospital for mysterious stab wounds. The second and only other time was when I was thirteen and my yami's birthday present that time was "a lesson on how to be a man".

I sighed, getting up from my chair to find the book of matches that were hidden somewhere in my cramped apartment's kitchen.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

I flipped opened my cell phone in surprise at the unfamiliar caller ID, still rummaging through all the drawers. "Moshi moshi?"

"Ryou?"

"Oh, Dad!" My lips broke into a smile at my father's voice. "I'm so glad you called! For a moment, I almost thought you'd forgotten my b---"

"The rent?" My heart sank considerably. "Yes, that's what I was calling about. I'm sorry, but you have extra money there, right? I'm afraid I can't send any money this time. You can manage, can't you? See, I'm in a tight position right now and---" there was a voice shouting distantly in the background. "Sorry, Ryou, but I have to go."

"Don't worry, Dad," I replied dejectedly, finally finding the wooden sticks I needed in the back of one of the drawers. "I've got---"

Click.

"…it." I finished lamely, tightening the hold I had on the book of matches. I sighed, flipping the phone shut and muttering, "Thanks for the birthday well-wishes, Dad. I love you too."

"What's wrong?"

I jerked around with a small 'eep' of surprise to see none other than myself leaning against the doorframe. Well, myself if I was about five inches taller, had more muscle, had spikier hair, crimson eyes, and looked downright sexy in a black leather trench coat.

Waiting for my heart to restart, I barely managed to stammer, "N-Nothing."

His brow furrowed and he gave my favorite sexy pout, lifting himself without using his hands. I gulped as he walked forward, his hips swaying slightly. Very wrong images entered my head that I tried to shove out as he did.

"Why are you lying to me? You know I don't like it when you lie to me, hikari."

"I-I-I-I---"

He cut me off, glancing behind me. I realized with a pang that he saw the cake and the book of matches in my hand. "What's that for?"

"I-It's a cake."

"A cake? Why do you have one of those?"

"I made it." I answered quietly, averting my eyes to the ground.

"I didn't ask how you got it, I asked why."

"Because it's my birthday."

I still couldn't meet his eyes, most likely narrowed in disgust or gleeful in the fact that my celebration was so pitiful.

"I-It's your birthday?" I asked quietly.

I nodded. "I'm sixteen years old now."

"…Wow." Was all he could come up with. "What are the matches for?"

"To light the candles."

"Why do you need to light them? Won't it ruin the taste?"

I finally gazed up into his honestly confused expression. "No, because then I blow them out."

"Why? What's the point of lighting them and blowing them out?"

"It's a tradition." I explained slowly. "When someone has a birthday, they have a cake and put candles on their cake, light them, and then make a wish before blowing them out. If they make a wish and blow them out, they're supposed to get their wish."

He nodded slowly. "Does it work?"

"Not for me." I sighed. "But I just like to do it."

"Okay then." He nodded slowly. "Light the candles then."

"What?" I asked.

He rolled his eyes. "Light the candles and then blow them out so I can give you your present." (1)

"Y-You remembered my birthday?" I was astonished.

"Well, I've been waiting for this for a while and I don't think there is going to be a better time for it than now." He shrugged.

"Do you want to eat the cake with me?" I blurted out.

He stared at me like I was crazy for a moment before asking, "Is that another tradition?"

I nodded. "Yeah, the person with the birthday has a big party and invites their friends. Then, they give presents and eat the cake together and play games."

"Where are your friends then?" He asked.

"Well," my stomach dropped, "you're here. And Malik's in Egypt at the moment."

He nodded slowly. "What about the Pharaoh and the runt?"

"They're not really what I would call friends…" I murmured slowly.

He nodded, more confidently this time as he shrugged off his coat, tossing it carelessly onto the counter.

He sat down in the other once-empty chair, putting his cheek into his hand and watching me carefully. Trembling under his gaze, I took a match and lit it, licking my lips as I lit the three candles I had been able to scavenge from a kitchen cabinet. I flipped off the lights and sat down. I couldn't see Bakura yet since my eyes hadn't adjusted, but I instead stared intently at the cake that was hardly bigger than an oversized cupcake.

"Aren't you going to make a wish?" He asked.

I nodded, finally having one in my mind before taking a deep breath in, holding it for a second before blowing the candles out. I got up from my seat, flipping the light switch back on and grabbing another spoon from the silverware drawer.

"What did you wish for?" He asked.

"I can't tell you or it won't come true."

"Well then, what were some of your previous birthday wishes?"

I paused. "I can't tell you those either."

"What? They haven't come true?"

I shook my head, feeling heat rising into my normally pale face. "They haven't. Not yet." I murmured, handing him a spoon after taking the candles out of the cake. I took one and stuck it in my mouth like a cigarette, making sure to get all the remnants of the sweet dessert off of the wax. He followed my lead with another candle and, when we had made sure all of the pastry was off, both reached for the last candle at the same time, my fingers brushing against his long, thin digits.

"Go ahead, birthday boy."

I blinked, looking up at him in surprise. "Really?"

"Sure." He shrugged.

I took the last candle and suddenly had the distinct feeling he was scrutinizing the way I licked the icing off the candle so I made sure to quickly finish, blushing all the while.

"Tuck in." I said simply, diving into the cake with my own spoon. He did the same and we ate in silence.

"It's good." He commented.

"Thanks."

Soon, all that was left were crumbs and he leaned back, actually fidgeting in his chair. He, the great Thief King Bakura, was fidgeting like a five-year-old.

"Ryou, are you gay?"

…Had I heard that correctly?

"W-What?" I gaped.

He stood up with a sigh, leaning against the table a little closer than I was normally used to, his eyes boring into mine. "Are you a queer? A homosexual? Do you find the male sex, well, sexy?"

I gulped. Had it just gotten about six times hotter in the room, or was it just me?

"I-I-I…! …maybe…" He raised an eyebrow and I was pretty sure that I was now the same hue as his eyes. "Yes." I finally admitted.

"Do you find me sexy?"

I couldn't answer and his face broke out into a self-satisfied smile; he knew the answer. "Good."

"Wha---" I didn't have time to speak. Nor did I want to speak unless speaking counted as screaming in happiness as his lips crashed against my own.

He tasted like… cinnamon would probably be the best way to describe it ( had always been partial to cinnamon myself). Like a spice. His hair smelled like it too and the scent was absolutely driving me mad.

When we finally separated for air, he gave a small smile. "It's not much, but, Happy Birthday, Ryou."

Tears stung my eyes as I flung myself into his arms again. "It's the best birthday present I've ever gotten!" And then, I added in a whisper. "You just made my birthday wish come true."

1 – Birthdays to Bakura mean presents. He doesn't know about any other birthday traditions.

R&R!