A/N: sorry for the long wait, here you go.

Ryou's POV:

I felt ashamed. When Seto had come to make sure I was alright, I had assumed that he was upset with me. I assumed that he would hit me. This is what Bakura had done to my mind. I do nothing but assume that everyone is just as cruel as he.

After the broken plate incident, Seto lead me back to my room. I kept mumbling apologies, but he continuously told me not to worry about it. When we reached my room, Seto placed a hand on my shoulder and asked me once more if I was alright. Still shaking slightly, I nodded. I wasn't afraid of Seto, I was afraid of not being able to rid Bakura from my mind. Past beating and sleepless nights, they wouldn't get out of my head. Seto seemed hesitant to leave, but did so anyways. We said our good-night's and he exited the room. I made up my mind to talk to Shizuka tomorrow.

I prepare myself for bed. As I turn off the light and crawl under the blankets, I know I won't be able to sleep. Why was this bothering me so much? I stared at the ceiling above me for what seemed like a good two hours.

"You may be safe for now, but I'll find you, my little angel." I heard Bakura growl in my mind.

I sighed and sat up. I couldn't lay here all night long. I pulled off my blanket and swung my legs over the edge of the bed. Maybe I could wonder the halls to keep me preoccupied. I pulled on a t-shirt, walked over to the door, and carefully opened it to make sure the hallway was empty. Once I was sure it was clear, I left my room and gently closed the door behind me. I didn't know if Seto had any rules against wondering through the halls at night, so I tried to be as quiet as possible. I kept walking for half an hour until I heard some music. I followed the sound of violins playing Beethoven until I reached the kitchen. A few clanking pots and quiet voices floated out from under the double doors.

I slowly opened the door and peeked my head in. I spotted Emi talking to a woman that I recognized as one of the chefs by a radio. Sweeping the floor beside them, was a guy in a custodians outfit who was humming along to the music. I made my way inside the room. Emi was the first to notice me.

"Master Ryou Bakura," she said with a smile, "can I help you with anything? I didn't hear my phone ringing, I apologize if I missed it." She was clearly in her pajamas as was the chef. She stood up and curtsied.

"Oh, no. I couldn't sleep so I was walking around. I heard the music so...I'm sorry if I am intruding," I mumbled.

"Of course not!" Emi tilted her head and grabbed my hand. She pulled me over to the chef and custodian. "Come, sit with us. This is Ayaka, one of the chefs. And this is Hayato, one of the custodians. We like to come here once in a while and talk while listening to music." I shook their hands and we began talking. Ayaka was a french woman with red hair and green eyes. She was the top chef at her culinary school and has been working here for years. Hayato, a short, dark haired man, on the other hand, was fairly new here. He was only working at this place to pay for music school. He wanted to be a violinist. We talked for quite a while before Ayaka decided to head to bed and Hayato had to continue cleaning elsewhere.

"So, tell me about yourself," Emi said once we were alone.

"Well...um, there's not much to tell," I said quietly.

"Really? I have a hard time believing that. If Master Seto Kaiba let you stay here, you must be pretty special. I've never seen him look at anyone the way he does at you," she mused. "May I ask why you're here?"

I nodded. "I had some trouble at home that lead to these," I pointed at the faint bruises on my arms. I knew she had already seen the rest of them when she brought my clothes up after my shower. "Seto was kind enough to take me in. He's been very kind to me."

Emi smiled at me. "He must care a lot about you."

I thought about this. It was true. I remembered earlier today when he had confessed to me. Or was it really a confession? I wasn't too sure anymore. I looked at Emi and she took my hands in hers. We talk some more about our lives and interests. A few hours must have passed because before I knew it, it was 2 A.M. and we both agreed that we should go to sleep.

"Goodnight, Master Ryou Bakura," Emi curtsied.

"Please, just call me Ryou," I encouraged.

We said our goodbyes and I walked back to my room. When I reached my room, I stopped at the door. For some reason I didn't go in. I found myself walking to Seto's room and when I arrived, I wasn't sure why I had gone there in the first place. I placed my hand on the door. Those things he said about me "you are the nicest, most innocent, adorable, sincere person I have ever met." If Seto did like me in that way, did I return these feelings? I considered this for a moment. And even though I had never thought about this before, I had reached the conclusion that I did have feelings for Seto. I always found him attractive, I was aware of that. But until now I didn't realize how benevolent Seto truly was.

I knocked.

At first there was no reply.

I knocked again. "Seto, it's me Ryou." Silence. "I couldn't sleep, so I...I don't know what I was thinking. Sorry, just-just ignore this. I'm probably a little tired and I wasn't thinking straight and now I'm babbling and I have no idea why I'm still talking. It's like an answering machine, you can't take back what you say. Unless you're still asleep. I'm sorry. This was stupid, I'm stupid."

Suddenly the door opened, revealing a shirtless Seto Kaiba standing in the doorway.

"Don't ever call yourself stupid," he said.

"Sorry to have woken you up. I'll just leave." I was about to turn away but Seto's hand caught my arm.

"Is there something on your mind?" He asked. I looked up at his blue eyes and then down at the floor. "Come in, Ryou."

I followed Seto into his room. He turned on a lamp by the door so there was a dim glow. I examined the place; it was a large but empty room. Seto walked over to his bed and sat on the edge. I joined him but didn't look him in the eye.

"Ryou, what is it?" Seto asked.

"Nothing, I was just...wondering why you've been so kind to me..."

Seto raised his eyebrows. "I already told you why. Because you're nice, innocent, sincere, and...adorable, as well as many other things," he said. I looked up at him and something told me that I was the first person to ever hear Seto Kaiba say anything like that.

"Why are you saying those things?" I asked. I could feel my face blushing.

"Because they're true."

"Seto, do you..."

"Like you?"

"...yes. Do you?"

"Yes, very much so."

I stared at my hands. I wasn't sure what to do now that I had gotten my answer. Seto's hand made its way under my chin and lifted my head so I was looking at Seto once more.

"I understand if you don't feel the same way, Ryou. I don't want you to feel obligated to anything," Seto said softly.

"Actually, I just wanted to tell you that I...I think I may feel the same way about you. But I've been through some really rough things and...and if we do get into anything, I want to take it slowly." I took the hand under my chin into my own. He had large, warm hands.

"Ryou, are you suggesting that we can have a relationship?"

I swear I blushed even more, if that's possible. "I think I am."

Yoyo: I realize I haven't written in a LONG time

Moe: no you haven't, care to explain why?

Yoyo: I am a procrastinator...

Pax: aren't we all?