Ryou Bakura forced a smile as he stopped his staring distractedly out the car window and turned back to face his expectant father. "I'm really looking forward to this trip dad, but… couldn't we move it up to another weekend instead? I promised a friend that I'd hang out with them this weekend."
Touru chuckled, leaning over to ruffle his son's fluffy white hair playfully. "Silly Ryou! You can hang out with your friends any old day! This is the first time that we've been able to hang out together as father and son in over three years!"
That was true enough. Touru Bakura had been traveling across the globe since his son had been two years of age; not having a father around was no big deal for the younger Brit. Still, the boy grimaced. "Yes but I don't think you understand exactly what this guy is capable of. He's a little… different from most of my other friends."
"Well if he's friends with my little boy then he must be an amazing guy!"
Ryou smiled a secretive sort of smile, one that his father didn't catch. "Believe me, he is."
"Then he shouldn't have any problem with you taking a day off for once." Touru concluded, emphasizing the ending of their discussion by swerving the car into the next lane over.
His son, however, didn't agree. "But dad, he's completely different from anyone you've ever met before. And you really shouldn't change lanes like that; its dangerous."
"Ryou, it'll be fine. He'll get over it." The blue haired man sighed and glanced at the rearview window. His grim expression suddenly lit up. He elbowed his son and grinned. "Hey Ryou, want to play a game?"
Ryou smiled thinly at the reference to one of his favorite horror flicks of all times. "That depends. What type of game are you thinking of?"
"The alphabet game!"
His son laughed a little at his father's eagerness. "Dad, I haven't played that game since I was seven!"
"All the reason why we should play it now! We have a long ways to go and you're never too old to relive a childhood memory." He shook away his son's protests. "You know the regular rules right? Well let's just make a quick adjustment to make this a little more fun. The word has to be something that you actually see outside of your car window. I'll start! A is for ambulance."
The pale faced younger boy sighed grumpily even as he forced back a small smile. "A is for ambulance and B is for boxes."
"Nice!" Touru laughed as the truck full of cardboard boxes sped past. "Let's see… C is for… cardboard?"
"Dad, that doesn't count! I already used that truck for my letter!"
"No? Hmm… Aha! C must be for… candy!" He motioned quickly to the candy shop that quickly trailed behind the moving car. "A is for ambulance, B is for boxes, and C is for candy shop."
"A is for ambulance, B is for boxes, C is for candy shop, and D is for… dad!"
Touru's smile widened. "A is for ambulance, B is for boxes, C is for candy shop, D is for dad, and E is for elephant."
Ryou quickly spotted the Elle the Elephant and Company moving van. He pointed at it again, this time referring to the other animal that was painted on the goofy logo. "A is for ambulance, B is for boxes, C is for candy shop, D is for dad, E is for elephant, and F is for falcon."
"Good one! Alright, my turn. A is for ambulance, B is for boxes, C is for candy shop, D is for dad, E is for elephant, F is for falcon, and G is for… uh… green."
The Brit stuck his tongue out at his father. "Now you're just being lazy!" he scoffed, and after a quick look around he rattled off, "A is for ambulance, B is for boxes, C is for candy shop, D is for dad, E is for elephant, F is for falcon, G is for green, and H is for hot."
"You can't use the weather as your word!" he protested.
"Well you can't use a color for yours then."
"… Fine. "A is for ambulance, B is for boxes, C is for candy shop, D is for dad, E is for elephant, F is for falcon, G is for green, H is for hot, I is for ice cream."
"Yum! I want some!" Ryou licked his lips, eying that vanilla cone that rested in the girl's hands.
"Focus on the game Ryou. We'll take a rest stop soon enough."
"Oh, right! Uh… A is for ambulance, B is for boxes, C is for candy shop, D is for dad, E is for elephant, F is for falcon, G is for green, H is for hot, I is for ice cream, J is for jam." Ryou's eyes continued to trail after the girl who held an ice cream cone even as the car sped by. Within seconds both girl and ice cream cone were out of sight. He sighed and looked back at his father. Neither Brit noticed the sudden spray of blood. They didn't hear the girl's shriek. Nor did they see the wild-haired Egyptian leave the new crime scene and glare at the direction that the car had just headed.
"Interesting choice! Now let's see… what's left? I have K so… A is for ambulance, B is for boxes, C is for candy shop, D is for dad, E is for elephant, F is for falcon, G is for green, H is for hot, I is for ice cream, J is for jam, K is for Columbia."
Ryou stuck out his tongue once more. "A is for ambulance, B is for boxes, C is for candy shop, D is for dad, E is for elephant, F is for falcon, G is for green, H is for hot, I is for ice cream, J is for jam, K is for 'Columbia', and L is for liar because Columbia doesn't start with K!"
"Ooh, you caught me! Okay, so A is for ambulance, B is for boxes, C is for candy shop, D is for dad, E is for elephant, F is for falcon, G is for green, H is for hot, I is for ice cream, J is for jam, K is for 'Columbia', L is for liar, and M is for man."
"Again with the laziness!" Ryou gasped suddenly as he suddenly recognized the man that his father was referring to. The Egyptian male easily kept up with the vehicle and - after a moment - he leapt forward and hooked both hands onto the roof. He dangled there, grinning at Ryou. Said Brit blinked incredulously before finally managing to find his voice. "Dad… I have a request."
"What is it?'
"… Change the word 'man' to 'Melvin'."
Touru raised one eyebrow, but didn't take his eyes of the road. If he had, he would have seen his son roll down his window and lean out. "That's kind of a weird request." he remarked.
"Please?" Ryou begged, muffling a giggle as Melvin licked the side of his face playfully.
His father sighed. "Alright, fine. A is for ambulance, B is for boxes, C is for candy shop, D is for dad, E is for elephant, F is for falcon, G is for green, H is for hot, I is for ice cream, J is for jam, K is for 'Columbia', L is for liar, and M is for Melvin."
Ryou smiled, but soon his smile faltered and he quickly shook his head at the frustrated older man. "Thanks dad. A is for ambulance, B is for boxes, C is for candy shop, D is for dad, E is for elephant, F is for falcon, G is for green, H is for hot, I is for ice cream, J is for jam, K is for 'Columbia', L is for liar, M is for Melvin, and N is for no!"
"Huh. Another weird one. Okay then… A is for ambulance, B is for boxes, C is for candy shop, D is for dad, E is for elephant, F is for falcon, G is for green, H is for hot, I is for ice cream, J is for jam, K is for 'Columbia', L is for liar, M is for Melvin, N is for no, and O is for opaque windows."
"A is for ambulance, B is for boxes, C is for candy shop, D is for dad, E is for elephant, F is for falcon, G is for green, H is for hot, I is for ice cream, J is for jam, K is for 'Columbia', L is for liar, M is for Melvin, N is for no, O is for opaque windows, and P is for please." Melvin frowned, shaking his head at the younger boy's begging. He resumed scratching stubbornly at the side of the car.
Touru remained oblivious. "A is for ambulance, B is for boxes, C is for candy shop, D is for dad, E is for elephant, F is for falcon, G is for green, H is for hot, I is for ice cream, J is for jam, K is for 'Columbia', L is for liar, M is for Melvin, N is for no, O is for opaque windows, P is for please, and Q is for quails." He swerved a little to miss them - nearly knocking Melvin off of the car as he did so (who responded with a low growl of irritaion) - but returned quickly back to his lane.
"A is for ambulance, B is for boxes, C is for candy shop, D is for dad, E is for elephant, F is for falcon, G is for green, H is for hot, I is for ice cream, J is for jam, K is for 'Columbia', L is for liar, M is for Melvin, N is for no, O is for opaque windows, P is for please, Q is for quails, and R is for roses." Ryou blushed as he accepted the flowers with their recently torn roots.
"A is for ambulance, B is for boxes, C is for candy shop, D is for dad, E is for elephant, F is for falcon, G is for green, H is for hot, I is for ice cream, J is for jam, K is for 'Columbia', L is for liar, M is for Melvin, N is for no, O is for opaque windows, P is for please, Q is for quails, R is for roses, and S is for slow." Touru grumbled, glaring at the large line of traffic that stretched out in front of them.
"A is for ambulance, B is for boxes, C is for candy shop, D is for dad, E is for elephant, F is for falcon, G is for green, H is for hot, I is for ice cream, J is for jam, K is for 'Columbia', L is for liar, M is for Melvin, N is for no, O is for opaque windows, P is for please, Q is for quails, R is for roses, S is for slow, and T is for touch." Ryou whispered the last word while leaning a little against one of his boyfriend's warm tan palms. Melvin caressed the side of the Brit's face softly. Ryou smiled.
"A is for ambulance, B is for boxes, C is for candy shop, D is for dad, E is for elephant, F is for falcon, G is for green, H is for hot, I is for ice cream, J is for jam, K is for 'Columbia', L is for liar, M is for Melvin, N is for no, O is for opaque windows, P is for please, Q is for quails, R is for roses, S is for slow, T is for touch, and U is for umbrella."
Ryou smirked playfully, mirroring his darker counterpart almost exactly as Melvin kissed the edge of his mouth and ran one hand suggestively along one of his legs. "A is for ambulance, B is for boxes, C is for candy shop, D is for dad, E is for elephant, F is for falcon, G is for green, H is for hot, I is for ice cream, J is for jam, K is for 'Columbia', L is for liar, M is for Melvin, N is for no, O is for opaque windows, P is for please, Q is for quails, R is for roses, S is for slow, T is for touch, U is for umbrella… and Y is for hell yeah!"
Touru frowned even as the side door swung open and closed with a sharp click-click. "Y doesn't come after U! You missed V, W, and X!" Finally turning upon hearing no response from his effeminate son, the startled explorer found that he was alone in the vehicle. "R-Ryou…?" he asked himself weakly before finally spotting his son waving from outside the car window, safe and sound in a strange man's arms.
Ryou let out a giggle as the man pushed away from the car and landed heavily on the nearby pavement. As the moving car inched forward despite the owner's disbelief and shock, the Brit beamed again and waved at his stupefied father once before turning and sliding one of his pale hands into his "friend's" tan one. Toru blinked as he tried to understand what had just happened. His homophobia kicked into overdrive as he finally snapped out of his shock.
"What the bloody hell?!"