Disclaimer: Kairan Akiyama is not the owner YGO, that title belongs to Kazuki Takahashi (lucky bastard). Arigatou-hamster to Raven-san for beta-ing.
"…" – talking
italics – thoughts
… – emphasized
/…/ – hikari to yami
/italics/ – yami to hikari
-italics- – song lyrics (all songs are from "Fallen" CD by Evanescence)
"..." – flashback (Chap. 7 and 8)
Enjoy the ride.
If I could say "I love You"
CHAPTER TWO: Concern
YUUGI
I showed up at Ryou's around 6:30 and we got to work right away, but it felt like he was upset. "And you're sure nothing's wrong," I repeated, looking at him from behind a library book.
"Yes, Yuugi, I'm fine," Ryou smiled, stopping in his notes to stretch.
I know you are. What was that? /Yami, you've been awfully quiet./
/The Middle Ages are boring; you should scrap the assignment and do one on Ancient Egypt./
I laughed a little. /I wish I could, but you know I can't./
I blinked as long fingers snapped in front of me. "You still in there?" Ryou chuckled.
"Yeah," I smiled, regaining my focus. "Just checking up on Yami."
"It's sweet the way you two care about each other," Ryou said softly, looking back at his notes. "Me and Bakura…"
"Ryou, something is wrong." I moved from his desk and sat beside him on his bed. "Come on, you can tell me."
"It's just, well…" Ryou stuttered, his cheeks turning a pale red. He reached around his neck and removed his Millennium Ring from its resting place, and positioning it on his pillow. "Yuugi…"
I nodded in understanding, shakily removing my own Item, the Millennium Puzzle and laying it beside Ryou's Ring. I looked up at Ryou expectantly, waiting for him to continue.
"You see, you and Yami care for each other, like brothers or something more," Ryou began, grasping the sheets between his clenched fists. "But Bakura, well… he doesn't care; at all. I mean, he cares for my body's well being, but that's because if something happened to me, he'd be trapped in the Ring, but that's all I am to him: a vessel and slave."
I tried to interrupt before that got where I thought it was going. "Ryou…"
"He has a body now, but still…" Ryou didn't look at me. "He doesn't care for me, not like I want him to."
I felt my eyes widen without my permission. "Like you want him…"
"I love my yami, Yuugi," Ryou said, almost flatly. "I love him like a bird loves to sing, like the air smells after a spring rain; I want to make him happy, but… he's just too damn insensitive!"
I put my hand on Ryou's shoulder. "Haven't you told him?"
"I try to!" Ryou got up and started pacing around his room, waving his hands about. "He's very clever, but he's thick-headed." He sighed and fell on his bed in exhaustion. "I don't know what to do."
"Just talk to him," I said optimistically.
"You can't just talk to Bakura," Ryou sighed, rolling over to his stomach. "He's too forceful, y'know? Like one night, he comes back from who-knows-where, mumbling about "wasn't worth it" and slides into my bed, waking me up and "wanting to cuddle". He just wanted to have sex."
I knew my voice was going to sound shaky. "Ryou, has Bakura…"
His face turned an interesting shade of red, I couldn't ask him, but I had to know.
-x-
RYOU
My face started to turn an interesting shade of red, I couldn't tell Yuugi, but I knew I had to tell him something. "It's nothing like that, Yuugi," I reassured him, wearing one of my false smiles. "He hasn't tried anything like that." But we both know it's a lie, don't we? They way you're looking at me, we both know. "This paper isn't going to write itself, you know," I chuckled, replacing my Ring and handing Yuugi his Puzzle. I looked at my watch. "It's almost seven; your grandfather's probably wondering what's keeping you."
"Good point," Yuugi smiled, I could tell he was happy to have the subject changed. "You come over my house tomorrow and we'll work some more, okay?"
Before I could say anything, Yuugi leaned over and gave me a small kiss on the cheek before tearing off. I sat there, my hand to my cheek and resisting the urge to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't asleep. Did Yuugi really just…I couldn't think about that anymore, Bakura would be hungry when he finally did come home, so I had to get dinner started. I put my school supplies away; for some reason, one of Bakura's buttons is my school work. After making sure my room was Bakura-proof, I went into the kitchen and started work on my easiest meal: spaghetti. I pulled out everything I needed and started humming to myself, the humming soon evolving into singing; and I was oblivious to Bakura's ninja-worthy entrance.
- I tried to kill the pain,
But
only brought more. I'm dying, Am I too lost to be saved? My God! My Tourniquet,
I lay dying,
And I'm pouring
crimson
regret, and betrayal.
Praying,
Bleeding,
And screaming.
Am I too
lost?
Return to me salvation.
My
God! My Tourniquet,
Return to me salvation.-
I felt him wrap his arms around my waist but I wasn't startled until he whispered, "Konban wa, my little nightingale."
"Bakura!" I gasped loudly, dropping more noodles than I meant into the boiling water. "You scared me!"
"I see, hikari," he replied, running his hands through my hair. He says 'hikari' like a swear, always with a hint of contempt or some underlying significance I don't want to understand. "Spaghetti again? I'm not Italian."
Just exasperating. "Well, do you want to cook?" I asked, smiling innocently.
Bakura spun me from facing the stove to him, which was like looking in a dark mirror. "I'd sooner kiss the Pharaoh's feet than try cooking," he replied, wrinkling his nose in discuss. "Just put something different in the sauce." He kissed my forehead then slumped onto the couch, channel surfing.
He's in a good mood, this might work out. I reached into the cupboard and brought out more ingredients, changing the song I was humming.
-x-
BAKURA
"Do you want to cook?" I snorted when I found Jeopardy. What kind of stupid question was that; I'm a tomb robber, not an Iron Chef groupie. "Nothing's on!" I called to Ryou.
"Try Nickelodeon!"
"I'd rather not," I grunted in replied.
"Simpsons is on," Ryou said helpfully. "14; tell me what's happening."
"It's a good one," I answered, becoming more comfortable on the couch. "The one when Homer tries to make a grill."
"Turn it up," Ryou called from the kitchen.
If there's one thing we have in common, it's our love of The Simpsons. I turned it up; it was just when Homer got the English version of the directions covered in cement. I laughed at his "le grill" line; I love this show. I moved on the couch so Ryou could watch with me and we spent the next twenty or so minutes watching insanity. We reluctantly got off the couch and stumbled into the kitchen, ready for dinner. "What did you put in this?" I asked as I ate some. "It's something new."
"I put something different in the sauce, just like you wanted," Ryou answered. "If you want to find out what it is, you can spend all next week trying to find it." He swallowed some spaghetti then continued. "As of tonight, I retire from the kitchen for a full week."
"What?" I stand up, pushing myself up using the table. "You can't just go on strike!"
"Why not? I'm tired of cooking and cleaning and everything all the time, it's about time you did something around the house," Ryou replied calmly.
"So something is everything," I retorted.
"For one week," he said coolly. He finished eating then walked over and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Good luck with the dishes, yami."
I watched him confidently saunter back to his room, going back to studying, no doubt. Don't worry, Ryou; I've got your number. You won't escape that easily, believe me.
