Alice has totally screwed me over.

Fragileshipping is greater than your arse.

I do not own Yuugiou by any means whatsoever, but I'd love for someone to send me the DVDs of Fate Stay Night.

-is shot-

Another Side

He spun the glass. His vision skewed. Ryou fancied he was nearly about to fall out of the barstool and - by the grace of God - he seemed to remain disturbingly stationary. His hands curled around the counter, and he let out a low groan. His head was aching. Jounouchi-kun and Honda-kun had suggested that he try a little sake - something about a calming effect, he actually hadn't been in any mind to pay them mind, he was just so goddamned hungry - but it hadn't tasted well, and it made him squirm and it made his head ache, but for some unusual reason, he still felt so much more calm. It was completely possible he was getting drunk. Bakura Ryou wouldn't know the feeling, though it appeared his body was used to it, he thought with a tentatively sarcastic edge. It was too unreal to honestly believe that he could think such a thing without a snarkish comment sneaking out, or the threat of loosing his body at the edge of his paranoia.

He sighed loudly. This was too much to think about, too much to handle. Now he felt sick, and that food sitting in front of him was not as appetizing as it had been when he had begged Jounouchi and Honda to drag his basically unconscious body towards the galley. He thought he'd seen their suspicious, hateful eyes, and it made him feel sicker to think about it that way. It wasn't right at ALL for him to think in such an outrageous way, not about his friends! He was only paranoid, that was all. If he ate something, maybe he'd feel well enough to care to go to sleep. Though he fancied he'd gotten plenty of that, being that he had spent so long on the bottom of a tomb floor, it hadn't been REAL sleep, and REAL sleep might have been exactly what Ryou needed. Anyways, it was nearly six more hours before the boat would stop, he should reap the benefits that Isis-san had given them.

A lithe hand ran through white hair. He dropped his arms to the counter and dropped his head, facedown, into it. Maybe if he hid from the world, his humiliation would be gone. His savior might have rescued him from his tormentor, but he was still scared and lonely, and he longed for some sort of reprieve. Anything but this goddamned loneliness. He didn't like having to think about it to himself, and having no distractions was killing his optomism.

"Bakura? What are you doing down here?"

"AIE!" Bakura all but fell out of his chair, gripping the counter in surprise. The last person he'd expected to come waltzing down into the galley from their room was him - but as fate had it, Atemu was standing right there, crooking a brow in confusion at the startled, white-haired boy as he stood just barely inside the doorway, lithe hands gripping the doorpost. A red flushed across his pale cheeks, and he forced a sheepish grin. "O-oh, Atemu-san. I... I was hungry after waking up, so Jounouchi and Honda helped me here for some food." Now that he said it, he sounded rather... stupid, seeing as half of his food remained and it didn't look like it was still steaming hot, especially seeing as Egyptian dishes seemed to be more or less warm.

Atemu smiled softly. "I see. Is that what you have sake for, too, then? You shouldn't be drinking. It is not very healthy for teenagers to drink that sort of stuff."

Another helpless smile. "Jounouchi-kun suggested it to settle my stomach."

"I see." Without any consideration put forth, Atemu slunk over into a stool at Bakura's side and folded his hands politely on the counter. "Are you feeling better? You didn't look well when Jounouchi and Honda went to take care of you."

"Y...yes, I think I'm feeling better."

"That is good."

Bakura shuffled nervously. What was Atemu doing, being anywhere but his room? ...yes, true, Atemu-san WAS an Egyptian king and the son of a God, if Egyptian myths were true as his tale was likely going to convey as soon as Bakura could be bothered to ask about it, and probably wouldn't need no more than two hours to make a deck to rule all decks, but he'd think proprierty demanded he not be gallivanting around! Bakura, who couldn't reign in his curiosity and self-control, finally asked, "Atemu-san? What are you doing down here?"

"I could not concentrate." Simple and firm. Just as Bakura should have expected.

"Oh."

"I see you're doing quite a bit of eating," Atemu suddenly said, grinning like a Cheshire cat. For some reason, Ryou could not resist a small laugh.

"It seems you're not the only one unable to concentrate, tonight. I was... accidentally thinking about him, and lost my appetite." The blonde-haired boy nodded with understanding, giving his companion a soft, encouraging smile.

"There is nothing left to fear about him, Bakura."

"Y... yes, I know, but can you blame me for being a little... nervous? He does not have a history of staying gone for long." The way that Egyptian looked at him was nearly frightening.

"Do you not trust me, Bakura?"

Bakura's mouth opened slightly. There was a flurry of things he so needed to say, so wanted to say - Of course I trust you, Atemu-san. You saved me from that great demon! I was trapped and you were the one that released me, and you were the one that did everything for me that I could never have saved myself from. I was frightened and you rid me of the monsters underneath my bed. But Bakura said almost nothing of the things he wanted to say, and only shook his head and said softly, "Atemu-san, I could never distrust you."

The smile on the boy's face nearly broke Bakura's heart, and he had no idea why. "I don't think that is very wise, Bakura. I did not do much, and I'm not quite the hero I'm made out to be."

"Of course you are, A-atemu-san."

"Do you really think so?"

"Of course!" His face flushed with red again, clashing against his disheveled white hair. Atemu smiled again, but for some insane reason, Ryou had to say he liked this smile much more.

"Thank you. It means quite a bit to me."

Bakura looked away quickly, nodding softly as he focused a pair of chocolate eyes on the shelves behind the counter. An Arabiac-speaking bartenders rolled his eyes at the apparent gibberish and slunk out into the back room, likely to find something to drown his own sorrows in. "I-I'm glad, then," he said softly, an almost serene, small smile sliding over his face, "I would not want you to be upset."

"Oh?"

"Yes."

He laughed. "Thank you, Bakura."

Ryou shifted slightly. Questions burned in his throat, but he couldn't force them out. So much to say, so much to ask, and he could cause himself to say none of them. It was embarrassing and hurtful. This would be his last chance to say anything, and he'd kept quiet for so long, because that was who Bakura Ryou was, but...

"...is something wrong? I will leave if you want, I only thought you might want company." Atemu looked about to stand up and Bakura finally plucked up the courage to look at him, and he shook his head violently.

"No, no, please stay."

"All right, then. But... Bakura, is something wrong? You looked vexed."

"At-atemu-san, are you wanting to stay like Yuugi-kun and the others desire you to?" It was the first thing that he had blurted out. It was not what he wanted to say. But the normally optimistic boy was uselessly nervous in the Pharaoh's presence, and he found himself blushing and constantly looking away.

A quizzical look crossed the (technically) older boy's face, and Atemu seemed to ponder this distractedly for a moment. At last, he answered, "No. I do not wish to be trapped inside the Puzzle any longer, and I would rather not be a burden to Yuugi any more. My place is... not in this world, and another five thousand years of just... existence is not what I had in mind." There was a short pause. "If there was someway for me to... retain a body of my own in this world, I would... like to stay and live. But as that is not an option, I will look forward to the conclusion of death, if that is what is to happen. Does that answer your question, Bakura?"

He nodded quickly. "Atemu-san... why haven't you told the others how you feel?"

"They have never asked and simply assumed, I suppose."

"...I would like for you to be happy."

"...Thank you, Bakura. I do not know how to return the feeling to you. I... only hope that you move on as you should, and try to leave this time behind."

Without warning, a laugh - a useless, insanely stupid laugh - erupted from Bakura's throat, and he felt as if he was going to cry. "I do not think that is possible. Atemu-san, I cannot ever say that my pain was ever equal to your own, but I too have been trapped for so long - this is not something a guy will forget about."

Atemu frowned. "Forgetting is not... you should not forget the things that you have gone through, Bakura. But I would not be happy if you were not willing to, at the least, move on."

"I... I will try, for you, Atemu-san."

There was a nervous shuffling as a moment or two passed in silence. Ryou was wholly embarrassed; saying such things at a time like this was not only inappropriate, but he had probably offended the Pharaoh in some innameable way. He had never been a very good conversationalist - hiding in the back of a crowd with an ignorant grin on his face was one of the only things that he had ever fully mastered, and with such an uprising of things he thought he ought to thank Atemu for, he was simply failing marvelously. And now he had fallen into silence, probably to signal to poor Bakura what a fool he was. However, Atemu suddenly stood up, perhaps appearing nervous or uncomfortable - Ryou found he could not name he the expression on his face.

"I should probably return to my room and... Complete my deck, then."

Bakura only nodded solemnly, understanding. "...Good luck, Atemu-san."