AN: I wrote this a while ago for Tae's birthday. It's already on AO3, and I'm finally getting around to uploading it here now. Just a short little pre-Citron fic.

Bakura crept up to the vendor, stealthy and slow, noting that the merchant was looking in the opposite direction, paying attention to some customers, realizing that he probably wouldn't notice a kid milling around in his peripheral vision. There was some absolutely delicious looking meat on the table- Bakura guessed that it was goat- and his mouth was already watering just at the sight of it. He got closer, and closer, and then-

"Hi!"

Bakura jumped when the kid grabbed his arm. He turned to look and saw wide lavender eyes staring into his, an earnest and open expression on the face of the child who had accosted him. Bakura reflected for a moment on the fact that he thought of the other as a child, though the boy who had grabbed him was likely his own age, maybe even a little older. Then he jerked his arm out of the other's grip. "Hi," he said tersely.

"Do you want to play?" the other boy asked, seemingly undeterred.

The boy was draped in expensive white silks and wore gold bangles around his wrists and neck. He was obviously from the palace. Bakura snarled. "I'm busy. Find someone else to play with."

The boy looked downcast, but seemed to accept this, and wandered away. Bakura forgot about him and focused again on his task, creeping closer to the wares he had his eye on. With one deft movement, he snatched the meat off the table, shoving into his robes as he turned away.

"Hey!" a voice that was already all too familiar said. Bakura winced as he felt a tug on his sleeve and turned to see that it was the same boy who had just tried to engage him.

"What?" asked Bakura, voice hushed.

"You forgot to pay for that," the boy said, much too loudly.

Bakura's mouth dropped open and hung agape. He looked at the boy, incredulous- but he could tell by the boy's innocent expression that he wasn't trying to catch him out; he honestly thought he was being helpful.

"Thanks," Bakura said through gritted teeth, not wanting to look suspicious. Everyone had heard what the boy had said. At that point, he had no option but to dig into the pockets of his robes and produce the silver and gold coins he had hidden there, just in case, and hand them over to the vendor in exchange for the meat. The vendor looked at him suspiciously, but held his peace when the metal Bakura offered equalled the price of the meat on the scales.

Bakura closed his eyes in exasperation. He'd had to give up practically all the currency he had for this transaction, and that wasn't something he'd been planning on. He'd needed those coins for other things. He waited until he'd walked a ways away from the man he'd tried to steal from, and then rounded on the other boy- who was of course following him, as Bakura had somehow known he would.

"What in Ra's name were you thinking?" Bakura yelled.

The boy went pale, cringing away from him. "What do you mean?"

"You fucked up my-" Bakura started. Then he sighed to himself. The kid couldn't possibly have known. And for some reason he couldn't justify to himself, he felt compelled to explain himself to the kid. "Look, I was trying to steal that meat. And you...thwarted me."

The other boy looked at him in confusion- but there was no judgment in his expression, just curiosity.

"I'm starving," Bakura finally admitted in the face of the innocent look on the other's countenance. "I'm fucking starving. All the time. I have to steal, or I'll die."

The other boy's pale purple eyes went wide. Then he suddenly ran off without a word. Bakura shook his head, not disappointed, just glad to be rid of the nuisance. He forgot about it and headed for the exit of the market, bemoaning to himself how much lighter his pockets were as he walked towards his horse and prepared to head home.

But before he even got to his steed, he felt another pull on the sleeve of his robe. He turned and was somehow unsurprised to see the same boy from before- and told himself that he wasn't happy to meet him again.

"Here," the boy said, his kohl-lined eyes wide and innocent and he held out the gift in his hands. Bakura couldn't help but gasp as he saw what he was being offered.

"If you're hungry, this should help," the boy said, as he handed Bakura a generous cut of fish, along with a pallet of spices.

Bakura caught his breath again. He knew how expensive spices were. "Thank you," he managed to choke out as he took the offering.

"You're welcome," the boy said. "Oh! I almost forgot!" Then he stripped a gold bangle off of his own wrist and handed it to Bakura as well.

"This...is too much..." Bakura said, though he didn't know why- this brat was from the palace, there was no reason to deny anything he was willing to give to him.

But the other said, "It's alright, just give me one thing in return."

"What?" Bakura asked. He was still choked up and wished he wasn't. It was stupid.

"Next time we see each other- you'll agree to play with me!" The other youth laughed and then suddenly grasped Bakura's head in his hands and rubbed their noses together.

Bakura let it go on for a moment, his heart skipping a beat at this rare moment of human affection, but then he jerked away. And yet he said, "Alright, it's a deal."

The other boy nodded and Bakura finally hopped onto his horse with all of his ill-gotten gains, and thought of how ridiculous this all was. It compelled him to look at the other boy over his shoulder and say, "You know we'll probably never even see each other again."

"Maybe," the mysterious boy said, his dark skin catching the light of the setting Egyptian sun. "But I have a feeling we're going to be friends for a long, long time."

AN: Later on they met again and lived...come on, you all know the words...happily ever after. Thanks for reading!