"Hey, Ryou, does Bakura ever tell you 'I love you?'"
Ryou blinked. "Pardon me?"
Yugi blushed and looked away. "Well, Yami and I were just wondering...he doesn't seem like the type to, you see, so I'm curious if he says it when you two are alone." He tilted his head innocently.
"Er..." Ryou hesitated.
Yugi's eyes widened. "Oh, no, if you don't want to tell me, I completely understand! It's a private matter, I know. Sorry for bothering you!" He scampered away, leaving Ryou to look after his retreating figure.
"That's not it," the brown-eyed boy murmured to himself, a ponderous expression on his face. Actually, Bakura has never said 'I love you'. Funny, I never noticed before. I say it to him every so often. He always replies with a grunt or a smirk, and I accept that as his response. Is that normal, I wonder? He sat on the park bench, oblivious to the slowly darkening sky. Probably not. I know Yugi and the pharaoh say it to each other. Malik and and Marik do, too. Actually, with those two it's near meaningless, they say it so often. Are we really all that different?
Ryou was shaken from his thoughts by quick footsteps in his direction. He looked up, and found himself staring into blood red eyes.
"There you are," the former tomb robber grumbled, eyes narrowed. "For Ra's sake, where have you been? It was getting late and you still weren't home, so I had to come looking for you out here!"
Ryou was silent, slowly digesting the other's words. Then a smile spread over his face. "You came looking for me?" he whispered, eyes bright.
Bakura was a tad startled. "What - yes, I came looking for you! You don't even have a blasted cellular device, so I couldn't call you to see if you were all right, and..." Perhaps sensing that he had said too much, the man snapped his mouth shut. But Ryou had heard enough, and the smile didn't waver from his face as he stood.
"Thank you." He turned to Bakura, voice filled with fondness. The man rolled his eyes, looking away.
"As soon as we get back, you're cooking me steak. Medium rare, just how I like it. I haven't even had dinner yet." He groaned. "Ra damn it, I'm starved."
The thief continued to gripe as they made their way home. Ryou, however, chose to ignore the complaints in favor of intertwining their hands together, causing the other to stiffen immediately.
"Bakura?"
"What?"
"I love you."
Silence. Then, a customary grunt. Ryou just smiled to himself, and squeezed his lover's hand tighter. He understood that there were some things that didn't need to be spoken aloud.