Warnings: Yaoi, OOC, AU, fluff, humour, angst, romance. Ehh... pretty much everything.
Author: GhostBunny
A/N: I thought I'd post the first part of this because it's Valentine's Day. It's set roughly three years after the end of the anime series, and I'm guessing that makes most of the characters about eighteen or nineteen, right? Pairings: Seto/Ryou, Yami/Bakura, Marik/Malik/Otogi, Possibly Jou/Yugi.
Yup, you read that right. Uke-Bakura! I'm so cruel to him... Yami might come across as a bit of a bastard later on in the fic, but he has his reasons and it doesn't matter too much just yet. Also, the title and the name of Ryou's shop are both nicked shamelessly from Gravitation songs, because I'm crap at naming things. Dedications: For everyone, Dar, Maggie, Fantasicat, Samurai Ashes, Zolac no Miko (thanks for your lovely reviews. ), and all the other people I haven't spoken to in ages. Sorry I'm not around much anymore, life's gotten really hard really fast. I will get around to answering my emails sooner or later, I promise!
And for Heather, for the poem. Its in my profile, so go read it. You'll laugh.
Ok, enjoy!
Lyrics: From 'Strangers' by James.
Welcome to my Romance - Chapter One.
"Death is staring at me again." Bakura muttered, glaring right back at the creature in question. "That's what goldfish do, yami." Ryou smiled, patting his darker half on the head in a motherly fashion as he walked past to find a certain novel amongst the thousands that lined the walls of the little old bookstore he and Bakura owned.
"He named his goldfish 'Death'?" Otogi asked, raising an eyebrow where he was perched like a cat on the metal spiral staircase leading up to the small flat Ryou and Bakura shared above the shop.
"Actually, there are four of them." Ryou called from the dimly lit area at the back of the shop. "He named them 'War', 'Death', 'Famine' and 'Pestilence'. Apparently they're the four goldfish of the apocalypse"
Otogi blinked over at where Bakura stood beside the large tank, a smirk on his pale lips showing that he had been listening.
"Err... Right." The dice player said, knowing that Bakura was a little strange sometimes. He was basically harmless now, though, and would protect his fragile little hikari from anything. The former tomb robber had calmed down a lot since the duel tournaments a few years ago. In fact, he rarely left the shop unless Ryou begged, preferring to remain inside to mind the store and talk to his four goldfish. He adored Ryou like a little brother and those who knew him well enough - meaning Malik, Marik, Ryou and Otogi - could tell that he was filled with guilt and regret for the way he'd treated his light. Ryou had told him countless times that it was alright, but Bakura had still never truly forgiven himself. He was happy enough, though, living above the little bookstore with Ryou and keeping an eye on him. He worked in the shop, looked after his fish, read books and practiced with his tarot cards. Ryou had gotten them for him as a present, and he'd used them so many times that he no longer needed the book to explain the meanings of each card because he had them all memorized perfectly. The cards themselves were his most precious possessions, kept wrapped in a square of black silk under his pillow. They bought him comfort when he couldn't sleep and distracted him when he needed it.
"Here it is!" Ryou smiled, re-emerging from the depths of the store with a book in hand. "Beauty and the Beast. I knew I had it somewhere." Ryou sounded pleased as he handed the book over to Otogi. "Great, thanks Ryou." Otogi grinned, digging out enough money to pay for the book as he ran his emerald eyes over the cover happily.
"You're welcome. May I ask why you wanted it so badly?" The snowy-haired English hikari asked, curious.
"Ah," Otogi smirked conspiratorially, "it's for Marik. Don't tell, but he loves fairytales. He likes happy endings. He loved Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, so I thought this would go down well. Malik puts up with me reading to his yami because he says he likes the sound of my voice. I'm quite flattered, really." Otogi explained, playing with his die earring.
"Marik likes fairytales?" Bakura sneered incredulously. "How the mighty have fallen." Although, he mused as he stared at his pet goldfish, that statement could be applied to himself as well. He was no longer the great and powerful tomb robber he once had been back in Egypt, five millennia ago. Settling down and deciding to live as the nearest he could get to a mortal had weakened him. It had been almost three years since he'd last used his shadow powers and he had doubts as to whether he could even summon a monster any more. He rarely even retreated to his Sennen Ring nowadays, either. The golden trinket hung on the wall in the apartment above the shop, having gathered a fine sheen of dust. For all intents and purposes it was little more than a decoration now, and Bakura knew that Ryou preferred things that way. And, if it made Ryou happy that he no longer used his powers, Bakura would keep things that way.
"Well, I think it's sweet." Ryou smiled. Marik was another who had changed over the past few years, although he still tended to succumb to the occasional mood swings. It had lessened since his relationship with Otogi and his hikari had begun, though. Malik, Marik and Otogi were the only people Bakura saw on a regular basis nowadays, except Ryou, of course. He knew that Ryou occasionally saw Yuugi, Jounouchi and the others, but they very rarely came to the shop and he very rarely left it. He hadn't seen the pharaoh in more than a year.
Thinking about Yami sent a familliar stab of dulled pain through Bakura and he resisted the urge to send his fist through the glass of the fish tank in front of him. It made him so angry...! He hated pain that he couldn't control, and the only one able to force that on him was Yami. The pharaoh. Once his pharaoh, but not any more. Not for five thousand years. He clenched his fist against the glass but kept his eyes carefully expressionless, no longer feeling the overwhelming anger as deeply as he had a few years ago, when he'd first seen his pharaoh again only to discover that Yami had no memory of him. And it had hurt. There was no physical pain that could ever compare to that. He'd felt helpless, and being helpless was not something that yami no Bakura dealt with well. It had turned into anger at the pharaoh for forgetting him, the gods, for allowing Yami to forget him, and everyone else, just for being there.
Through the rage he'd had some vague plan, because Bakura always had a plan to get what he wanted. Get the sennen items, the God cards, kill anyone who got in his way and make Yami remember him. He'd done some terrible things then. The worst, by far, was to take out his anger on Ryou. His hikari had forgiven him after he'd finally realized it was hopeless, but that guilt still weighed upon him heavily. The rage had eventually burned itself out for the most part. He'd known that he'd have to come to his senses and see clearly one day, see the fact that Yami didn't remember him and didn't care, because he was happy living with his hikari. So, resigned to his fate, Bakura did the same. He'd set things right with Ryou and finally let himself acknowledge the fact that his light was a person, not just a vessel. They'd opened up the store because Ryou wanted it, and he'd given up. He didn't want to see Yami, Yugi or any of them, so he spent most of his time in the shop or in his room, hiding from them. He wouldn't admit that he was hiding, though. His excuse for hardly ever leaving was that he didn't like those Ra-damned cars that were always roaring around everywhere. Ryou believed him, or didn't pry further. That was one of the things he liked best about his light; he knew when to leave things alone. It was all for Ryou that he'd stopped using the ring and given up the powers it gave him. For all intents and purposes he was human, now. A very creepy, occasionally psychotic human, but still human. Not that it really mattered anymore.
Bakura sighed and looked at his overfed pet goldfish, watching them drift serenely around in the water, ignoring the other two in the shop in favour of his thoughts when Otogi spoke again.
"Well, I'm off to stop Marik and Malik from wrecking my game shop, I'll see you later, Ryou! Bye, Bakura!" Otogi's voice cut into the former thief's thoughts as he left the Far East of Eden book shop. Ryou had named it after a song he liked, and Bakura had seen no reason to object.
"Goodbye, Otogi!" Ryou called, while Bakura just grunted. "I'm going to make a cup of tea, call me if anyone comes in, yami." Ryou smiled once Otogi had vacated the premises, wandering off up the staircase into the flat above.
Bakura muttered in reply and dropped a pinch of food into the goldfish tank, watching the fat, orange-gold creatures eat.
"I've gotten so weak," he murmured, and Pestilence looked up at him, seeming to agree. "I think I need a cup of tea." He sighed, running a hand distractedly through his silver hair.
For some reason he always felt better after a cup of tea when he'd managed to get himself into one of his more depressed moods. Ryou was right, tea could work miracles. It was annoying how much his hikari was rubbing off on him.
Found a message in the sand It read, "just do the best you can"
This world's not how I planned,
You're on your own...
Seto Kaiba walked along the grey street, looking disinterestedly at the shops lining the road as a light, spitting rain fell all around him. He'd been wandering aimlessly all day since he wasn't needed at his company. For once, his employees seemed to have everything under control, but he had his cell phone with him just in case an emergency came up. Mokuba was at school, and his mansion was empty. Having grown bored with wandering the echoing halls like some forlorn ghost, he'd opted to go out and spend some of his hard-earned money. So far, though, he'd seen few things he actually wanted. The street became less crowded near the end, the shops smaller. Finally, the CEO paused outside a tiny building and looked up at it through the spitting rain.
The shop that caught Seto's attention was nestled safely between two larger stores, hidden away slightly as all the most interesting places seemed to be. The sign above the door read 'Far East of Eden' in peeling black paint and the whole place seemed to have an air of antiquity about it that drew Seto in. As someone constantly surrounded by modernization and technology, something as archaic as this crumbling old bookstore was a welcome change.
It was nice to see something out of the ordinary once in a while, so, pleased to get out of the drizzling rain, Seto entered the shop.
The bell on the door jingled welcomingly as Seto stepped inside, the first thing to greet him being the piles upon piles of every sort of book imaginable stacked haphazardly on each available surface. The walls were lined with books as well, and towards the back of the shop a large tank sat on the top of a smaller bookshelf, four large, fat goldfish floating lazily in the water. At the front of the shop was a small metal spiral staircase that led up into a flat above.
There seemed to be nobody around, just the sound of a radio playing music from somewhere above.
"Just a moment! Please don't steal anything!" A voice called from up the stairs, and Seto got the feeling he'd heard it before. His suspicions were confirmed when a moment later Ryou Bakura came hurrying down the staircase, his brown eyes sparkling happily and his white hair still as long and unruly as it had been the last time Seto saw him, around three years ago. In fact, Ryou looked no different than he had then. The only thing setting him apart from the last time Seto had seen him was a smudge of what seemed to be soot on one pale cheek.
"Kaiba! It's wonderful to see you again, how have you been? I'm sorry for the wait, I was just cooking dinner. Well, burning it really, but at least I tried." Ryou smiled warmly, moving to stand behind the counter. Seto was slightly surprised by the way Ryou's eyes had lit up at seeing him in the shop - being the CEO of KaibaCorp he wasn't used to people being pleased to see him. Well, other than Mokuba, but the younger Kaiba brother spent far more time with his friends than he did with Seto, who was usually working anyway.
"Bakura." Seto greeted, inclining his head slightly in as near a friendly gesture as he ever really got. Ryou laughed at that, shaking his head.
"Please, call me Ryou. It would be rather confusing to call both my yami and I Bakura." "Fine, then it's Ryou. I wasn't aware you owned a shop." Seto commented, initiating conversation for once because talking to Ryou again after so long was oddly pleasant and he wasn't getting his usual desire to leave upon being spoken to by one of Yugi's friends.
"Oh yes, it isn't much and it's rather a mess at the moment, but I always wanted to run a bookstore and this place seemed perfect for it." The white haired young man explained. "How have things been for you? Is Mokuba well"
"He's fine. He spends most of his time with his friends now." Seto said, picking up an old book and wiping the thin layer of dust from the cracked leather cover before reading the imprinted gold letters of the title. 'The North Wall.' He placed it back down carefully.
"It must be lonely for you." Ryou murmured as he straightened one of the stacks of books. Seto normally disliked anyone insinuating that he was weak enough to suffer from something as pathetic as loneliness, but as Ryou said it Seto realized that he was probably right. Not that he would do anything about it. Least of all entertain those nagging thoughts of asking Ryou out to lunch. There was something satisfyingly calming about the other's presence that Seto enjoyed. Being in the quiet little bookstore with Ryou made Seto realize how hectic his life had become. Far East of Eden was like a little bubble of peace in the daily rush going on outside the door. He could foresee coming back again.
"Would you like a cup of tea? I hope you don't have to rush off, it is raining outside. Will you stay awhile?" Ryou asked hopefully, moving carefully around the stacks of books to the kettle that sat on a cluttered table near the fish tank.
"Alright, I suppose I have nothing better to do today." Seto admitted, taking the seat Ryou offered him near the stairs and watching the English former duelist make two cups of tea.
"That's good, I'm glad you're taking the day off and not working yourself too hard." Ryou smiled as he handed Seto his tea and sat on the stairs.
"Hm." Seto replied, quite enjoying the fact that Ryou would bother to worry about him. He found Ryou's mothering amusing.
A thump from above made Seto look up sharply, frowning as a moment later Ryou's yami appeared at the top of the stairs and yawned loudly. Ryou just smiled at Seto and rolled his eyes.
"Meh..." Bakura muttered to Seto by way of a greeting as he shuffled past Ryou and over to the fish tank, looking half asleep.
"Don't mind him, he's just feeding his fish. He was up late talking to them again," Ryou explained, making fun of Bakura, who just groaned tiredly and sprinkled fish food into the tank, watching with sleepy red eyes as the fat creatures swam to the surface and greedily attacked their dinner.
"I see." Seto said, quite curious because he'd never really seen yami no Bakura quite so close up before, and doing something as mundane as feeding his goldfish, no less.
"Don't worry; he's a good boy now." Ryou assured, giving his sweetest smile when Bakura turned to head off back up to his room and spared his hikari a wicked smirk.
"Yes, I'm a good boy." He hissed as he passed, then vanished back upstairs to his room.
"It's actually true, as well," Ryou shrugged. "He's just having a hard time being a normal person. He tries, though." "Hmm." Seto replied, looking at the stairs Bakura had disappeared up. He wanted to ask if Ryou and Bakura were together as more than just flatmates and a yami and hikari; it seemed as though they would be if Bakura had changed so much in the last few years. He didn't ask, though. That would imply he cared, and Seto Kaiba was not supposed to care. It nagged at him, though. As Ryou continued to explain how much Bakura had changed and how well the book shop was doing, Seto watched his lips move and decided he needed an excuse to come back here. A book, perhaps. Something Ryou would have to order, then he would be forced to come and pick it up. It was foolish. He had no idea why he was thinking such things. Still, he thought them anyway.
I hope to change now From a sorry state of mind I had hoped for heart to heart My heart's hard to find.
In the end, of course, Seto gave in and ordered a copy of the latest Harry Potter book for Mokuba. It was due to be released in a few days, so he reserved a copy and alternated between congratulating himself on finding the perfect excuse to to go back and berating himself for being so pathetic. But, as he said a brief farewell, Ryou's parting smile sent a surge of warm and unexpected giddiness through him the likes of which he was sure he'd thoroughly killed a long time ago. And he'd only been there for an hour and a half. He wanted to bash his head against a wall... Seto Kaiba was supposed to be a cold, uncaring bastard, not a pathetic teenager who found himself developing a crush on one of Yugi-tachi within minutes of seeing him again after three years. He wondered if perhaps it was a conspiracy. Something in the water, most likely. And that had all been terribly rash and spur-of-the-moment. At least he hadn't gone with the initial urge to ask Ryou out to lunch, that would have been even more humiliating. Perhaps he needed to talk to someone, he mused as he left Far East of Eden behind and headed back towards where he'd parked his car. There was really only one person who knew Ryou that he spoke to on anything like a regular basis. Of course, whether said acquaintance could be of any help to him was debateable, but at least it was worth a try. Probably.
No one can hear you They're just talking all the time There's the world And you're outside Your home's hard to find.
"Mmm, snacks. You must be desperate. So, human emotions getting to you again?" Malik Ishtar guessed, lying sprawled on his back across Seto's large desk as the CEO paced back and forth about the room. "I didn't call you here to use my desk as a bed, Malik." Seto glared.
"Aww, you're so cuddly." Malik grinned mockingly at the ceiling, ignoring Seto's well-practiced glare. "You're still angsting over Mokuba growing up and getting himself a life, yes?" The Egyptian guessed, balancing a bowl of pretzels on his scantily-clad chest and nibbling on them while he continued to smirk knowingly at the pretty ceiling tiles.
"No. I met someone," Seto paused, not sure how to go about continuing that. Malik turned his head to regard him with vivid purple eyes and grinned.
"A crush! Who is it? Do I know them? Can I matchmake?" Malik would have bounced, had he not been restricted by the pretzel bowl.
"No, you may not 'matchmake'. His name is Ryou Bakura, I assume you know him." Seto informed the Egyptian, who all but fell off the desk in shock, which dissolved into an insane cackling fit. Seto simply narrowed his icy blue eyes and waited the laughter out.
"You-Ryou-MWAHAHAHA"
"What exactly is so funny?" Seto growled, glaring coldly at Malik, who was as immune as ever.
"That's so CUTE!" Malik burst out between giggling fits. "It's perfect!"
TBC
There, end of Ch.1. I know, I know, insane out-of-character-ness from just about everyone. It's AU, I'm allowed! Plus, if I kept them perfectly in character I'd never have any fun.
Tune in next time for: Malik's adventures as a double agent! And you know, reviews always make me happy...