*STAB!*

"Er, Bakura?"

*STAB!*

"What."

"Is everything going alright?"

"Everything's fine."

*STAB!*

"You know that your dinner's already dead, right? You don't need to keep stabbing the beef."

*STAB!*

"Maybe I feel like stabbing it." *STAB!* "Maybe I like stabbing it." *STAB!* "Why the hell do you care, tomb keeper?!"

"Well, we are supposed to be baby-sitting you while Ryou's out- remember?"

"I don't need a Ra-damned 'baby-sitting!'"

Malik Ishtar frowned. Normally, he'd have to agree with the ill-tempered thief. But Bakura had been acting like more of an *ss than usual lately, and it wasn't just he and Marik who'd noticed. Even Ryou was concerned. The tenderhearted hikari had openly admitted so on the phone yesterday.

'Malik? I know this is a big favor to ask, but would it be possible for you and Marik to keep Bakura company tomorrow night? I'm going to the movies, and he's been acting a bit odd... I'm not sure about leaving him on his own.'

The youngest Ishtar sighed. He had a pretty good idea why the former spirit was so irritated. Ever since their return to the 'mortal realm,' the three yami's had remained close by their hikari's sides. At first it seemed natural- they were, after all, some of the only modern people who even knew of their existence. But over time, the pairs began to connect in a more... personal ways. Soon it wasn't just sentimental and sympathetic feelings keeping them together.

But while the Pharaoh and Marik had gradually revealed their feelings towards their lights, the stubborn 'Thief King' had not. Rather, the white-haired fool seemed to prefer brooding and occasionally complaining to the 'tomb keeper and his foolish pet' about his 'oblivious hikari.'

This was normally a minor annoyance, if anything- Bakura liked to voice his complaints on everything, so Malik and Marik weren't too surprised by the clueless objections.

But then Ryou had met Hiroshi Kanabe.

Another junior at Domino High, Hiroshi had recently transferred after his father's job moved from Tokyo to Domino. He was a fairly attractive teen, with an average skin color and deep, sapphire-toned hair. His pleasant smile and easy-going personality quickly made him popular in all of his classes. Neither Malik nor his yami were very intrigued by the new boy (and heaven knows Bakura didn't care). But it seemed like 'Hiro' (as he asked Ryou to call him) had become very fond of the white-haired hikari.

Two weeks ago, Ryou had unexpectedly announced that he was going to a movie screening with 'Hiro'. And now it seemed like they were enjoying each other's company at least twice a week.

Leaving Malik and Marik to look after an exceptionally irate tomb robber.

The blonde let out an audible sigh, but just watched as the white-haired fool stood up. Bakura disposed of his leftovers (mainly vegetables) and left the plate and silverware in the sink.

But before the Egyptian trio could move to another room, there was a loud noise from the street- the metallic sound of a car door being closed.

"Thanks again, Hiro!"

There was a sound of someone yelling a random reply, and a car's tires turning against the pavement. Moments later, a light-skinned teen with cocoa-warm eyes came through the door. A large smile was etched across his soft face.

"I'm home!" Ryou Bakura came traipsing into the kitchen, clearly in a very pleasant mood. "Malik, Marik; I brought you some Milk Duds!"

The two golden-haired teens nearly plowed into the pale boy as they reached for the boxes of sugary sweets. Ishizu had all but forbidden any candy in their household; mainly due to the 'rock candy' incident.

"And Bakura, I brought you some of that spicy jerky you like- they had some small bags at the- the... theater..." Ryou's voice trailed off as his yami wordlessly took the sealed bag and headed up the stairs.

Ryou's doe-like eyes blinked in raw confusion. Something was bothering his yami; but no matter what he said or did, the former spirit refused to admit anything to his 'landlord.' Heck, lately Bakura was barely even talking to him at all; a very painful shift that worried the teen.

This concern didn't escape Malik's detection, and the Egyptian hikari quickly swallowed a handful of chocolaty morsels before breaking the silence.

"So, what movie did you end up seeing?"

Ryou's gaze was still locked on the upstairs landing as he replied. "Oh, um, 'Die, Cheerleader, Die: Part 2.'"

Malik raised a golden eyebrow. "You've been going out a lot, haven't you?"

Ryou finally turned back to his blonde friends. His expression lifted slightly, and he shrugged. "Well, it IS near Halloween, so there's a lot of horror films playing- and it's not quite finals yet, so we have more free time."

"So, how was your date?" Marik bluntly asked, his entire mouth already stained with caramel and chocolate.

"Eh?" Ryou tilted his head in confusion. "My... 'date?' Marik, Hiro and I aren't 'dating'- he's not even gay."

The two blondes blinked in almost perfect synchrony. Marik's face twisted in puzzlement, while Malik looked completely dumbfounded. "But- you went to the movies with him several times this month! Only with him!"

Ryou gave a soft grin and nodded. "Yep! I overheard Hiro talking at school how he loves horror films, but his girlfriend hates them." Neither Marik nor the hikari duo noticed the sudden footfalls re-appearing on the upper landing. "And one day, on a whim, I asked if he wanted to see 'Deathmaker 8' with me- and it turns out his uncle is friends with the producer! So we got free tickets to the first showing!"

Two pairs of lavender eyes blinked as the pale hikari elaborated. "In fact, Hiro said he was really glad to have someone to go with- he gets free tickets all the time, and he says he feels 'stupid' just sitting in a theater alone. Not to mention the snacks are a huge rip-off if you don't buy a larger size and share with someone." Ryou explained sagely.

The ancient King of Thieves had quietly made his way back down the stairs to listen in at the kitchen entryway. He hung back, waiting as Malik began talking animatedly.

"You're joking, right? All the girls (and half the guys) in school think he's gorgeous- and you're telling me that everything's just been a series of 'friendly outings?'"

Bakura listened for the smaller boy's response with the intensity of a starving hawk.

Ryou only laughed. "Malik, you're much too suspicious! This really was just a friendly outing. Like I said, Hiro loves horror movies almost as much as I do, but his girlfriend hates them. She won't watch them at all, but he still likes to catch the new releases." The light-haired boy chuckled. "Good grief, Malik; just because a gay guy hangs out with another guy doesn't make them a couple!"

Bakura felt his chest pounding so hard that it nearly hurt.

A few moments later, Malik's cell phone rang, and he explained that Ishizu was expecting him and Marik home soon. Ryou waved them off, mouthing a silent 'thank you' to the shorter blonde, and shut the door.

Meanwhile, a thin figure had silently made his way into the room, and was waiting in the shadows.

"Ryou."

"Gaah!" The poor hikari jumped and turned to face his other half. "Bakura! I thought you weren't going to do that anymore!"

The darker man grinned. "Can I help it if I'm a scary guy?"

The hikari gave a faint groan- it was a running joke between the two that Ryou was easily startled.

"Hn- Ryou."

"Hmm?" The boy watched the former spirit's face as he spoke.

"Next time you want to see a horror film... I wouldn't mind going with you."

The hikari gave a sad smile and shook his head. "Thank you, but you don't have to spend time with me if you don't want to."

"I do."

Ryou felt something strange run over his body- like an invisible pulse of electricity. "Really? I mean, I thought you hated going to movies."

The former thief snorted. "If those two bloody imbeciles are joining us, yes. But seeing as how they've recently been banned..."

The hikari flinched as the memories of that fateful night crept into his head. "Ah. I forgot about that."

"I'm still trying to forget- and I still smell that fake butter-cr*p whenever I wash behind my ears."

Ryou couldn't help but snicker lightly at the thought. "Oh yes," the boy's face suddenly turned unusually coy, "...although, I don't really smell the butter anymore." He suddenly leaned towards the surprised yami.

"Eh?" Bakura froze as his lighter half sidled up to his face.

"Hmm... nope. Still don't smell it." The teen took another bold step forwards, the Ancient Egyptian soon catching on.

"Really? Hmm, try getting closer."

Ryou felt himself flush when he saw the wicked grin adorning the thief's face. "Ok."

Two pairs of pale arms wrapped around one another, and the light-haired duo embraced.

"You know, I remember you complaining that you got some in your mouth..." The thief mischievously teased.

Ryou knew his skin must be the color of his yami's crimson eyes, but he shyly tilted his head and guided his lips to his darker half's. He hummed happily as he felt the taller duelist eagerly respond.

They stood in silence for several moments, each enraptured in the other's warmth and comfort.

But of course, the enchanting moment was broken when the thief slyly remarked, "You know, I remember you also got some butter down your shirt..."

Leading to a playful series of taunts in which Ryou promised to do the laundry later, while Bakura insisted that wasn't what he meant.