Filling in the Gaps
A YGO One-Shot

When I entered the apartment I share with my boyfriend, I experienced a mini heart attack. There he stood, in the middle of the room, shirtless and evidently pissed. At his feet lay a man I doubted either of us knew, unconscious but (thankfully) breathing.

"You're home."

Despite the fury on his face, he sounded so casual. I guess I wasn't surprised. Part of why our relationship worked so well stemmed from the fact we kept each other grounded. He never panicked, and I never became blindly enraged.

"Yeah. Um... Who's our visitor?"

He smirked, and the shift in his face distorted his scarred cheek adorably. A guilty pleasure of mine, I admit, was seeing how his scar moved with his many different facial expressions. Be it a frown, a full-on scowl, a small smile, a grin, or a smirk... Oddly enough, the scar combined with these expressions made him less frightening and more endearing—to me, at least.

"Some idiot who thought he could break in here, threaten me with a pocket knife of all things, and somehow escape unscathed."

I frowned. "To be fair, he probably didn't realize you would be here. If he broke in here with only a pocket knife, he probably thought no one would be home. Or that only someone... non-threatening... would be here."

"I thought of that as well," He replied, his eyes gaining a dangerous gleam. "And when I think of what might have happened were you the one here instead of me... Well, let's just say he's lucky to have gotten off with only a small head injury and one broken limb."

I stepped further into our apartment and shut the door behind me. A sigh fell from my lips, but I was relieved. Not just because Touzoku-Ou had prevented the burglary, either. Had I been the one the man found alone in our apartment, the one he threatened with a knife...

I was not weak, of course. My boyfriend taught me basic self-defense and dragged me along with him to the gym every Wednesday and Saturday. However, the unfortunate truth remained: by no stretch of the imagination was I indomitable.

Through all the training my boyfriend helped me with, I stayed lean and visually unintimidating, probably thanks to my inherited small frame. It was unlikely the would-be burglar would have found me frightening. Against an armed man, I strongly suspected my skills could not fully protect me.

With all my thinking, I failed to notice my boyfriend approaching. His strong hands gripped my shoulders, gentle and firm at the same time. A bit confused by the sudden contact, I met his eyes, searching for an answer.

Touzoku-Ou grinned when our eyes locked. "You are worrying, aren't you? Your hand was twitching." I didn't reply, which caused his smile to slip from his face. "Ryo, I'm here. I'll protect you."

"I can protect myself," I instantly said. "You showed me how, remember?"

Ah, the grin returned. I loved that grin.

"Of course. You're a good fighter." His hands dropped from my shoulders to my hips, pulling me closer. "Not the best, but good. And what you lack, I make up for."

My mouth twitched. "Isn't that our whole relationship?"

Calmly shrugging, he fixed his attention back on our intruder. "Should I drag him out of here? Or did you want to call the police?"

"I'll call the police. It's better for them to handle it, I think," I answered while sliding past him. I noted with a bit of amusement and delight how his hands lingered on my hips, trying as always to maximize the amount of physical contact we exchanged.

"If you say so. I'll keep an eye on him, 'til they get here."

I nodded my thanks and grabbed the phone. I dialed the non-emergency number, since it made little sense to treat the situation as urgent at this point. Touzoku-Ou was more than capable of keeping the man subdued, after all.

The police responded with surprising quickness, though I did try to reassure them there was no rush, that I was in no danger. They came, they gawked a bit, they handcuffed the still unconscious man, and they left, saying they might call later with some questions.

Alone with my boyfriend finally, I sat with him on the couch, curling into his side. He leaned his cheek on my head and wrapped his arm about my waist. We enjoyed sitting like this, just enjoying the affection and intimacy of our proximity. Such a simple thing, yet I knew it comforted me as much as him. We both craved familiarity and love, emotional and physical. Another thing we lacked in ourselves and made up for in each other.

"Tou-kun."

At his nickname, he pulled me a tiny bit closer, burying his nose in my hair. I felt the vibrations of an acknowledging 'hm' against my skull. I smiled and nuzzled his shoulder.

"Thank you for taking care of things today. I appreciate it."

"I enjoy taking care of you, Ryo. Even if you can handle yourself."

I reached over to take his free hand, tangling our fingers. "I feel the same about you, ya know."

His chuckle sent another vibration through my head. "Yeah, I've noticed that. We're a bit weird, aren't we?"

"Our relationship has never been normal, Touzoku-Ou," I laughed softly. "Or did you forget how we met? Inside the ring, the only fragment of the great Thief King untainted by the shadows and the wandering soul of the chosen host.

"Then, of course, there was the spell that brought you here, the real you, untouched by Zorc's dark influence. Let's not forget we're also technically related, even if there are several millennia between us. Face it, our whole relationship is bizarre."

His lips curled into his infamous smirk. "Way to kill the romance. You could have just left it at 'never been normal', Ryo."

I reflected his smirk back at him. "Thought you might need a refresher, that's all."

Amused and, perhaps, a bit aroused by the attitude I was giving him, he closed the gap between our faces and pressed our mouths together. I hummed into the kiss, wrapping my hands around his neck and deepening it as much as possible. He nibbled my lips playfully, hands squeezing my hips.

Shockingly enough, he pulled back first, smirk still in place. "You are a little minx, Ryo Bakura."

I couldn't help the cheeky grin pulling at my lips. "And?"

"And I love it. You, too."

"I love you, too, Mr. Thief King."

Our mouths collided again, and my soul seemed to catch fire. We completed each other. We were literally the definition of "perfect for each other". I suppose, considering how much we had in common, it wasn't a surprise.

Falling back on the couch with Touzoku-Ou climbing on top, I briefly thanked the gods and whatever other forces played a part in bringing me together with him. After the cruel hand fate dealt him—me, too, as a matter of fact—we deserved the happiness we could bring each other.

Like I told him, that was what our whole relationship consisted of. And it was perfect.

A/N: Yet some more writing practice/warm-up in the form of a YGO story. This time featuring Gemshipping. I obviously have not read over this, mainly because I was worried I would pick my writing apart to the point it wouldn't make it here. That being said, as I was writing it, I did feel like it was coming out better than The Joys of (Sweaty) Roommates. Maybe it's because I chose first person this time, or maybe I'm just more warmed up. Either way... here you are.

Until later, thank you for reading. -LA