I'M ALIVE~! I swear that I'm alive and well and having writer's block! Now that that's been cleared up, onto some more sweet Tendershipping~!
Ryou sat on the other side of the table and listened to the soft music that was being played by the classical musicians. The restaurant wasn't really busy despite it being Valentine's Day weekend. Yet again, it was also extremely early in the day. The suit Marik forced him into for his supposed 'date' was snug and Ryou was glad that he had yet to start sweating. Getting sweat stains on such nice clothes wasn't on his to-do list, and getting bitched at by Marik for ruining such fine clothes definitely wasn't on the list either.
He absentmindedly drummed his fingers on the table as the waiter came by for the sixth time since his arrival. Ryou thought about ordering some sort of alcohol but shot it down quickly. Just because he had been sitting in a very high-end restaurant for an hour waiting for his date to arrive did not mean he could get drunk off his ass. He was a lightweight when it came to drinking alcoholic beverages.
"It's not a very bad thought, yadonushi," the spirit who lived within the millennium ring spoke suddenly almost causing Ryou to jump up in surprise. Bakura materialised behind him and leaned casually on the back of his chair. His oddly warm breath ghosted across Ryou's cheek as he spoke. "It would take your mind off of the very obvious rejection." Ryou could practically hear the smirk in the spirit's voice as he spoke.
"Unlike you," Ryou said quietly as to not draw attention to himself. After all, it did look like he was talking to himself since Bakura was invisible to everyone but Ryou. "I have faith in the good of people."
"And where has that faith gotten you?" Bakura asked gruffly knowing where Ryou's thoughts would eventually end up.
Ryou looked at the glass of ice water that was sitting in front of him. Bakura was right on one thing: He would undoubtedly feel better. No, he thought, I will not become like my father, the bloody drunkard! To emphasise his decision, he drank a few gulps of water. He heard Bakura mutter something about him being stubborn as a mule before the spirit disappeared back into the ring that hung beneath his suit. He released a breath he didn't know he had been holding in. Bakura could really grate on his nerves sometimes.
After another ten minutes of just sitting there with no lucky arrival from his presumed date, he pulled a couple of the twenties from his wallet and hailed the waiter over. "Sorry for all the trouble today," Ryou said with an apologetic smile that could rival that of an angel as he handed the bills over to the waiter.
The man gave Ryou a sad smile in return. "Your date just wasn't meant to be," he said gently and placed half of the bills back into Ryou's hand. "Do have a good rest of the day!" the waiter ended happily before bowing and taking his leave politely. Ryou looked down at the bills that had been placed back in his hand with a gentle smile.
I guess not, he thought in reference to the waiter's words about his date, but that's alright. My point has just been proven. He heard Bakura huff irately from within his mind.
"Only because that damned waiter felt bad for you," Bakura growled in his apparent refusal to give up.
Ryou placed the bills back into his wallet before exiting the restaurant. The overcast spring weather was beautiful and contrasted greatly with Ryou's withered feelings, but Ryou was determined to at least enjoy the rest of his afternoon. Well, that's what he thought until it started raining.
"Just bloody brilliant," he mumbled to himself sarcastically. Bakura's laughter resounded around his head painfully as he hurried under the cover of some nearby trees.
"I guess this just isn't your day now is it?" Bakura said through his harsh laughter. Water dripped through the tree leaves at a much slower rate than the uncovered areas of the street but Ryou's suit was still getting wet.
"Apparently not," he muttered as a cold droplet of water landed right on his head. A shiver instantly shot down his spine at the sudden contact. He wished that he had driven to the restaurant instead of walking. Then the entire dilemma of ruining not only Marik's suit but also Ryou's straightened hair could have been avoided completely. It took far too long to straighten the wild locks almost to the point that it wasn't worth it.
Ryou slid down the trunk of the tree till he was sitting on the moist ground. Bakura began to say something about getting mud on the dress pants but Ryou just couldn't bring himself to care right at that moment. He needed a break from everything. His semi-good mood had been washed away by the rain, and his thoughts wandered to the darker side of things. He buried his head into his knees and sat there. The only noises were the constant pitter-patter of the rain hitting and then bouncing off the concrete and the occasional whoosh of a taxi driving by.
Bakura was eerily silent as he watched Ryou sit under the tree getting drenched as the minutes ticked by. No doubt the poor kid was wondering why all the bad shit seemed to happen to him or why his emotions were all over the place or why it always went south for him and his thought-out plans. Bakura didn't have to even prod his host's mind to figure that much out. His cold dark brown eyes stared at Ryou as the boy shivered his poor heart out. All of the suit's layers had to be drenched by now, so there was nothing Ryou's body heat could hold on to in order to keep him warm. The rain was coming down in thick sheets.
"Go home, yadonushi," Bakura said in annoyance after a few minutes more. He was tired was watching the boy shiver pathetically in the cold rain. Ryou simply shook his head.
"I don't want to see Father right now," came his muffled reply. If Bakura couldn't read his host's thoughts, he would never have guessed what Ryou had said. Ryou hadn't lifted his head while he spoke.
"Then go to Yuugi's place."
"I don't want to answer any of his questions," Ryou mumbled again. His dull brown eyes stared at the nearly flooding road, for the sewers hadn't been able to drain properly with the continuous onslaught of rain water.
Bakura realised then that Ryou wasn't going to move from that position for a while yet and was going to mope the entire time. With an irritated sigh and a quick question to himself as to why he gave a damn, Bakura slipped off his black trench coat that he had gotten up his return from the shadow realm and draped it over his host's frail body. Since he was a spirit, he wasn't affected by the rain. He knew the coat wouldn't do much to keep the rain off of Ryou's back but it would at least provide a form of warmth for him.
Ryou felt the fabric come to a rest on his body and glanced up to see Bakura scowling down at him. "Don't get caught up in the rain next time, yadonushi," Bakura said with an irregular softness in his tone that he wasn't known to have. Ryou would have missed the slight tone change if he wasn't paying close attention to him now.
"Thank you, Bakura," Ryou said before pulling the black coat closer around his body. Bakura's body heat radiated around him and for the first time that day he felt… happy. A small smile graced his pale lips as the thought crossed his mind. It was ironic that the one who caused him so much pain and sadness would comfort him in the end. Bakura simply snorted, possibly because he heard the idea and thought it absurd, before disappearing back into the ring.
The rain continued for another couple of hours. When the coat finally lost all of its warmth and faded back into oblivion, Ryou fought to keep himself from shivering. Bakura noticed instantly what his host was trying to do and found himself scowling. Damn yadonushi and his idiotic mind! He should've just blood walked home, Bakura thought before materialising before Ryou.
He wasted no time in scooting Ryou forward, much to the boy's surprise, and settling himself behind him. He pulled Ryou back into his lap and locked his arms around his waist so he couldn't escape. "B-Bakura, what are you doing?" Ryou stuttered nervously. His back was pressed against Bakura's chest with the spirit's legs corralling him in from the sides. Bakura's arms were wrapped around his waist possessively and Ryou knew that Bakura wasn't going to let him go anytime soon.
"Obviously keeping you warm," he spat but it failed to come out as cruelly as he wanted. Ryou then noticed how warm Bakura was and instinctively leaned up against his warm chest. His eyes closed in bliss as the feeling.
"You're warm," Ryou mumbled softly as heat encircled him in a sweet embrace. Ryou would've asked Bakura why he even cared whether or not he was freezing but decided against the topic in the end. Whatever made Bakura act like this, well, he wanted it to last a bit longer. It was rare when he received such affection from anyone much less Bakura himself.
Bakura read Ryou's thoughts loud and clear knowing that he must have forgotten to block their mind connection before thinking. Bakura snorted at Ryou's thoughts, but he ultimately decided to complain about them later. Ryou's breathing had evened out and his mind was quietly beginning the dreaming process. Idiot finally fell asleep, Bakura mused silently. He gently held Ryou closer to him and buried his face into the mass of drenched white hair that sat upon his head. He inhaled slowly to savour the lingering strawberry scent before drifting off to an easy sleep himself. One last thought was sent into Ryou's conscious accidentally:
You only have to say those little words, yadonushi, and I'd stay to keep you warm forever.
So, I finished this in study block after becoming bored. I obviously didn't want to do my homework… hehe… Anyway, I'm alive and very tired. School, all this drama from my friends, and ROTC have just slapped me in the face and I'm struggling to keep up with it all. To put the cherry on top, I also got a new job until the end of November so my writing and gaming time has practically disappeared. Not that I'm complaining much lol. I need the money badly eheh… I can't say if my writer's block has disappeared completely but it's definitely work-in-progress. I actually have another title for this lol. I'm torn between Those Little Words and Warmth. Which one do you guys like better? Might change it if'n y'all like one better than the other. :) Thanks for being so patient guys! I know what it's like having to wait for that favorite story to update so I'm trying~! Please REVIEW as always! Love ya~