AN: Thanks for clicking on my story! Hope you like it! Please be kind this is my first fanfic so please review!

Also, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters, if I did why would I be writing fanfiction?


Two years. That's how long Bakura had been out of his life. Two years without being possessed and losing his memory of days, weeks and even months. Two years of freedom or in Ryou's case – two years of nothing but loneliness.

He never would have thought that losing his alter ego would be so mundane, boring even. Everyone moved on, Yugi continued winning dueling tournaments, Jounouchi went out to become a professional duelist, Anzu moved to New York to become a dancer and Honda went to an out of town university.

Yup, life was boring for the white haired teen. He never would have thought that he would miss the cruel Yami. True that they barely talked and when they did the spirit did nothing but taunt him or hurt him physically or mentally but Ryou couldn't shake off the empty feeling in his soul, his mind… His heart. He considered the Yami a friend and sometimes even more than that. Of course he never voiced how he felt to said Yami for fear of an aggressive reaction or a cruel remark. So he prompted to keep his feelings bottled up even to this day. The only other company he would receive were few phone calls or letters from his father, but that wasn't enough to cure his loneliness.

No, instead routine ruled Ryou's life. Everyday would be the same, wake up, shower, eat, school, walk home, homework, eat, shower and sleep; only to wake up the next day and repeat the process all over again. The weekends were the only time he broke his routine, but every weekend was the same, grocery shopping, cleaning and any free time he had he devoted to the television, internet or reading. No one bother contacting him so he didn't bother either.

Today was a Sunday, groceries and cleaning were out of the way… What to do now?

Glancing over at his coat hanger, a small sigh escaped his lips at the sight of his Yami's black coat. Even though the millennium ring was gone along with the rest of the items, he couldn't bring himself to throw the coat away and much less wear it. No, instead the kept it in his coat hanger by the door, when he left his apartment that would be the last thing he saw and when he came back home it would be the first thing he saw. He often found himself spending hours of his time just standing in front of it or admiring it from afar, even going as far as to let his finger brush against the material.

Blinking out of his daze, he turned and looked at the black screen of his television, staring at his reflection. Raising both pale hands, he lifted his hair into the two horn-like ones Bakura sported. He knew that just because they shared the same body didn't mean that they were the same person. But Ryou could pretend… Couldn't he? Insane as it sounds, Ryou would sometimes stare at himself and see traces of his Yami still lingering and he would pretend that the former never left.

But it wasn't enough; it annoyed him, how similar they looked yet how different they were. Bakura had more striking features, sharp eyes, his frame was tougher, his hair was a mess of spiked locks… And Ryou has softer features, his eyes wider and rounder, his hair more tamed, his frame was slender, scrawny… The teen fixed his hair back to normal and shook his head.

He had to stop living in the past; it was messing with his sanity. His friends moved on, so should he… Right?

Another sigh escaped his lips as he got up and stretched his sore limbs. He dragged his sock clad feet to the kitchen and decided that some tea would calm him and maybe he would be able to think of something else. Setting the kettle in the stove he rubbed his eyes. Maybe a nap would be nice? Yet he wasn't sleepy or tired, just bored.

Groaning quietly he decided to turn on the television, channel surfing always helped him think of something else. Finding nothing interesting on the other hand, was rather annoying and he decided to settle for watching the news.

Night soon rode in and Ryou found himself again in his couch, only this time he was keeping busy. In his hands he was skillfully painting a small figurine of none other than Bakura. It was the same figures he used for the Monster World RPG he loved so much. He worked carefully, not wanting to smear too much paint on the wrong places, no he wanted the figure to be perfect. He stopped, though, at the eyes, staring at the fake pupils that stared back him and before he knew it, Ryou was suddenly overwhelmed by a sudden rush of emotion.

Sadness, regret, hurt, longing, desire, love all fell on him like a ton of brick and it left the white haired teen in tears. He was finally able accept that he truly loved and missed his Yami. He was able to look beyond the cold, cruel front Bakura often put up and instead looked at the man. He knew Bakura was hurt, traumatized as a child. Seeing his family, friends and neighbors would drive anyone insane. But Ryou didn't feel pity for him, no, Ryou felt love. Love and understanding, he himself had lost his sister and mother to a traffic accident.

Had Kul Elna not been destroyed, would Bakura have been a good person? But if not for the village, the millennium items would have never been created, the ring would have never fallen in his possession and he would have never met Bakura…

Ryou wiped his tears away with the sleeve of his shirt and took in a shaky breath, putting the figure down to admire his work.

"Is that supposed to be me?"

Every muscle in Ryou's body froze and his eyes grew to the size of saucers. Did it happen… Did he finally snap and lose his sanity? Was his mind playing tricks on him? Chancing a glance back, he was met by Bakura.

The Yami grinned at him, tilting his head slightly to the side. "Yo." He said coolly and smirked. "What's with the waterworks? Still a cry baby I see."

At this, more tears fell from Ryou's eyes but these were tears of happiness. Relief washed over him and the previous lonely feeling suddenly replaced itself with hopeful, happy ones. He returned a small smile and looked into Bakura's eyes, giving him a warm look. "Welcome back, Bakura."

Said Yami smiled and approached the couch, placing his hands on Ryou's shoulders. "Glad to be back."