Disclaimer: I do not own Yugoh or any of its characters or themes. This is FANfiction.

AN: slight AU, own bodies,caring-ish!Bakura... read at own risk!

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Taking Care of Ryou Bakura

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"How did you manage to catch a cold this time?"

Ryou sighed, "You don't have to take care of me," he said and pulled the comforter over his shoulder.

His dark side had only moments ago walked in the front door, a small bag of medicines in hand. Ryou had given Bakura money and a small list of basic medicines he'd need for this stubborn coughing he'd been dealing with for a while now. Of course, the severe coughing and chest pain only resulted from the fact that the cold Ryou had had the previous week was never dealt with… so, the cold took a turn for the worse and now, Ryou was stuck home. With his Yami. Oh. The. Joy.

It was bad enough he couldn't make it to the chemist himself and had to ask his Other Half for help...

"Don't be so stubborn. You're my landlord, after all," Bakura said and shook the bottle of cough syrup, "I need to take care of you."

But, Ryou's not exactly a person who's easily convinced, "I know you just need my help for another one of your… schemes. So , don't try to make it sound like you actually care."

Luckily, Bakura's not easily offended, "Fine, Princess Cream Puff."

Ryou frowned at Bakura's fondness of Ryou's new nickname. As far as Ryou was concerned, Cream Puffs were delicious and meant for special occasions. Not girly desserts that served as a subject for mocking whenever the occasion arised.

"All the same, you need your medicine. I didn't buy these concoctions for nothing, did I?" Bakura held out the tablespoon filled with the chocolate-coloured syrup. He raised his eyebrow expectantly and brought it close to his hikari's lips, "Well?".

Ryou mumbled a very unflattering phrase under his breath before all but grabbing the spoon out of his Yami's hand, "I can take care of myself, thank you very much." He jut the spoon into his mouth and instantly regretted it. The allure of the chocolate-looking syrup completely masked the bitter tone to the supposed 'cherry flavoured' medicinal molasses.

"It's not as true to the flavour of cherries as the label describes," his Yami noted thoughtfully, causing his Hikari to glare at him. "This is much better than the pineapple flavour, if that is any consolation."

Ryou, who downed a full glass of water to rid himself of the awful flavour shuddered violently as the final remainder of the taste harassed his taste buds, "Would it be safe to ask how you would know something like that?" Ryou said finally. He sighed and rested back into the pillows.

Bakura only shifted his eyes innocently to the side. He wouldn't dare explain to his Hikari how he had sampled each of the flavours before finally picking, to his mind, the best tasting one. He wouldn't dare divulge that he might not have exactly paid of any of his light's other medicine either.

"Now, close your eyes and sleep," Bakura said and grinned.

"…." Ryou pulled a face, "I can't sleep when you do that face."

"I don't 'do that face'. I don't do any face."

"Yes, you do."

"No-"

"I'm serious, that grin keeps me awake at night. It usually means you're about to steal some obscure but pricey jewellery, trying to steal another Millennium Item or harass some old ladies feeding the pigeons in the park," Ryou said and hid his face behind his comforter with only eyes poking out, "So… please don't grin like that.. not when I'm sick."

"… Those women practically asked to be harassed...". The grin gets joined with a playful wink.

Of course, Ryou finally disappeared completely behind the bedding.

"I'm only joking, Yadonushi ," Bakura said with a exhasperated sigh and pat the blanket where Ryou's head was current cowering behind, "So, stop trying to hide and tell me what you want for breakfast."

"You're going to make me breakfast?" Ryou asked and a burst of laughter suddenly erupted from the younger boy. He slapped a hand over his mouth and tried to stifle his laugh. He suddenly sneezed and rubbed his nose, "My apologies."

"Fine, then."

Bakura haphazardly tossed some tissues at Ryou and stalked out of the room. "Why would Ra curse my existence with a Yadonushi that is so stubborn… that fragile boy, so susceptible to any disease that crosses his path?!" and, that was followed by a whole cacophony of other insults that Bakura deemed worthy of his Landlord.

"Wait, Bakura, I'm sorry… " Ryou called after his Yami, only, his voice wasn't exactly what it normally was and he ended up in a coughing fit. Wracking, wrenching coughs that only causes a sore throat and a headache to boot. After a minute Ryou succeeded to calm the sputtering down and finally managed to take a gulp of water. He took in a deep shaky breath and dropped back into the pillows after collecting the tissues his Yami has thrown at him. It almost made him smile, to think that maybe his Yami cared.

He closed his eyes, decidedly ignoring his twitching nose. He'd been plagued by this cold for a few days now. It started with a sore throat, quickly escalated to a runny nose and now has him bogged down with bronchitis. Fever, coughs, the works. It's been a while since he's been sick. Probably two years now. Ryou was pretty proficient in taking care of himself, making sure to catch symptoms early and making sure to take the proper precautions. He'd usually just dress warmer than usual, make sure to drink his vitamins, take a nap in the afternoon and not over-exert himself… but this time, he didn't.

After Battle City, school started again. School itself wasn't that bad, basic schoolwork and homework. But somehow, it seemed just school was enough. Just two weeks after school started, Bakura was bogged down with this awful infection. If he could just sleep it off, he'd be fine, but he couldn't. The sneezing woke him up. The coughing kept him up. The fever made whatever sleep he achieved, uncomfortable.

A small part of him was content though. When he woke up this morning, he knew he wouldn't be able to go to school. He was proud of himself though, he'd been up to school for the past week with this awful cold. It took willpower to stay at school, especially when even the teachers started to recommend he stay home because he started to worry them… but, he knew when he woke up this morning that he wouldn't be able to go today… or tomorrow. Possibly the day after.

"Yadonushi, I've brought you a small assortment of meals… you may choose what you would like to eat."

Ryou's eyes snapped open and he quickly realised he'd actually fallen asleep. The time on the clock read an hour later, so Ryou sat up and blinked owlishly at his Other. He honestly didn't expect his dark side to do more than he had done this morning. Ryou expected that to buy the list of medicine he'd requested had already maxed out his Yami's kindness for the week, so… The act of being offered any type of meal was mind blowing … The young man expected an apple… maaaayyybbeee a glass of orange juice, if he it was his lucky day.
Only… that's not what his Yami had brought.

Not even close.

Scrambled eggs, buttered toast, bacon, a bowl of strawberry yogurt, another filled with grapes, some jell-o with custard.

Ryou blinked.

He knew he was dreaming. He HAD to be dreaming. No way had his Yami made all of this. Ryou's gasp of amazement suddenly erupted in another coughing fit, he quickly pound his chest to stop the annoyance. "B-Bakura-" he forced himself to down other gulp of water.

"Did you want something else instead?" Bakura asked, the smallest twinge of hesitation on his face.

He cleared his throat and smiled brightly, "Bakura… this…. This is amazing! You did all of this… just for me?"

"…. Don't read into it, Princess Cream Puff." Bakura said and rolled his eyes, "When you're ill you're supposed to make sure the body is fuelled with fresh fruits and warm meals."

Ryou smiled and stifled a giggle. "You made me toast …Even tea!"

"You taught me how to use a toaster…" Bakura stated flatly, an unimpressed look gracing his features. He suddenly wondered if his Hikari thought he was stupid. Why else would someone be so impressed if another knows how to operate a single appliance?

"And bacon and eggs!"

"Don't sound so surprised. I've always known how to cook."

"…. When did you even have time to make the desserts? Did you do this last night when I got back from school? You knew I didn't feel well when I got back and you took the time to do this for me? You made this jell-o last night because you thought it would make me feel better? It's even my favourite flavour, cherry!"

At this point Bakura was starting to feel a bit silly, having loaded up the tea-tray with such an assortment of goodies that his Hikari felt the urge to inventory it for him. It made him feel kind of awkward, but the awkward suddenly started to turn into pride… a warm feeling of accomplishment and happiness that his light actually appreciated his efforts…. A whole lot more of appreciation than he thought anyone ever could offer him for any of his works.

Ryou scanned the tea-tray again, tears welling up in his eyes, "It looks amazing!"

"You think you're complimenting me, but all this simply sounds like insults to me. I've always known how to cook, it just took me some time to learn how to use a stove, and that water-boiling monstrosity-"

Ryou shot forward and wrapped his arms around his Yami's waist, "No, no, no, no! I love it… " he sat back and wiped a stray tear from his eye, "I-I-I'm just… You didn't have to go through all this trouble just for me."

"You're my-"

"-I really appreciate it, Bakura." Ryou interrupted his dark side with a smile. He tilted his head, "If you're willing, I'd love it if you would join me?"

Bakura would never admit that the smallest part of his soul desperately wanted to join his light there at that moment. Just to sit together. Nothing else. To be part of a conversation or be privy to his company, that's all. He would never say it out loud, but he really did miss the lighter part of his soul whenever they were separated. He did care for the boy, in his own way. Of course, to let his light know that he cared was not in question. "…You might be contagious," Bakura countered with a roll of the eyes. He sat down next to Ryou anyway, making sure his Hikari was sufficiently bundled up before resting the tray on his lap.

"I promise not to get you sick."

And to Bakura, that meant, that maybe his Ryou had missed him too. "… very well." .

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