When I first heard that you were gone, I didn't believe it. How could someone like you, so strong and resilient, have been defeated at all, let alone by the very people we wanted to kill only some time ago? It was so insane, so ironic. The king of thieves brought down by his sworn enemy the pharaoh. And yet, it was so predictable it bordered on obvious. The good guys were going to win, and we, the lowly, scum-of-the-earth villains, never stood a chance. It was the sad truth of the world we lived in.

Still, it was strange. For the first couple of months after your demise, it didn't bother me. I pushed it to the back of my mind, as I struggled to maintain my grasp on my new life as a non-tombkeeper, as well as my newfound friendship (if one could truly call it that) with my- our- former enemies. I wondered if I had simply become numb, despite everything we had shared during our time together, which, in my case, included everything I had.

To this day, I still wonder what triggered it. It was one of those things that seemingly came out of nowhere, although I also wonder if it had simply built up over time, like some sort of bomb with an ever-shortening fuse.

It came at around 3:00 in the morning, as I remember. As of late I had become a bit of an insomniac, so being completely awake at that time was nothing new for me. I remember it started with a sleepy old memory, one that, once it struck me, made me wonder why I had ever forgotten.

It was a feeling of thin arms wrapped around me, those of a man who was cold in mind and body alike. I could hear the faintest cry from him, as his grip tightened.

"…Bakura? Are you crying?"

I recalled that it was that night that I first believed I understood you. You showed me that behind the cold, calculating exterior that most people saw, there was genuine, raw emotion. He was the loner that hated to be alone.

I also remembered that I had made a promise that night. We had, in that one, incredible moment, formed a bond that could never have been broken.

It amazed me, once it all came rushing back, that I could have suppressed such a memory for so long. I smiled bitterly.

"Hey, Bakura," I said to the air, wondering if there was a chance in hell that you could hear me. "I wonder if I really ever believed that I could keep that promise. If either of us could."" I gripped my pillow, close to tears despite the laughter that escaped my lips. "I forgot, Bakura. I haven't thought of you in months. I wonder if anyone has." I sincerely wondered, too. Was there anyone else left in this world who had been impacted enough by his presence to care about his absence?

"But that's fine," I said, my voice shaking along with the rest of my body. "I mean, you probably couldn't think of me, either. Even if you really did care, it's not like you ever had the chance to think about me, after we parted ways." It was probably cynical of me to think that way, although lately, I had become cynical towards most things. I suppose it's just one of the many things I learned from you.

"…Why did we have to part ways, anyways?" It was a question that, even if I hadn't realized it, was bothering me to no end. We may have been close while we knew each other, but in the end, our "relationship" had been incredibly brief.

And due to the promise we had made that night, it only seemed like some sort of cruel irony that had forced us apart.

"?...I really did love you, you know," I whispered, my voice so silent that even I needed to strain my ears to hear it. "You could be an asshole, and you weren't even close to perfect. But damn it, Bakura, neither was I. And that was why we worked."

It was an odd twist of fate that two people, so different yet far too like, would manage to find each other. And considering our individual circumstances, it came close to being a miracle. The young tombkeeper, condemned to a life of darkness from conception, and the ancient spirit, cursed to spend eternity in an inanimate object. Two lost souls, brought together by the slimmest of chances.

"I won't- no, I can't- let it happen again." It was nothing short of a resolution to myself. "I'm going to start over. And this time, I'm going to keep the promise I made to you. I won't forget about you again." I smiled to myself as I imagined your confident smirk.

You had better. I'll come after you if you don't.

"Right." I closed my eyes, sleep coming easily to me for the first time in months.

"I can't let myself forget him again. After all, I do still love him. Always will."

Xxx

I've had this written for a long time, but it took me a while- due to varying circumstances- to get it typed and posted. Still, I think it wraps up this twoshot rather nicely. What do you think?