Wo0ht! An update! Yes!

And it's long.

Well, not really. In the grand scheme of things, it's short. But only because I have like, three or four fics going on at once and I like to update at least twice a month and If I want to do that for everything then I have to have them in shortish chapters... You know?

XD XD XD

Sorry.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

ONWARDS!


"Wow... This place is big ass."

"Shh..." Ryou tried to be as inconspicuous as possible as he traipsed along the halls, but the loud-mouthed male he was dragging along behind him, was proving it to be extremely hard work. And the fact he was dressed in leather, when the current trend was baggy jeans and tee-shirts, only gave Bakura more stares. "Please... Don't draw attention to yourself, we want to make a good impression..."

"Why?" Bakura snorted, rolling his eyes. "What, they might not let me in? But what about my dashing good looks-"

"Bakura, please." Ryou muttered grimly. "Just let me do all of the talking, okay? We don't want to screw this up. This is your only shot."

"Okay..." Bakura mumbled, blinking as he was slowly led into the receptionists office, staring around him.

"Hello?" He jumped at the sound of the cool female voice, staring behind the glass screen. "How may I help you two?"

"Oh!" Ryou smiled sweetly, gripping Bakura's wrist tightly. "I-I'm Ryou... I'm already a student of this school, but I wished to speak to my Principal about my cousin joining... We spoke on the phone?"

"Oh, right." The woman smiled, glancing down at her paper. "Yes, you were due in about now... Just go straight through."

"Thank you." Ryou tugged Bakura along with him, shooting the older male a glance. Bakura only rolled his eyes. "Don't..." The teenager warned under his breath as he turned the brass doorknob to the Principals office. "Just please... Be quiet and let me do all the talking, 'kay?"

"Whatever." Bakura muttered, looking sullen as he slouched into the principal's office, keeping his eyes downcast.

"Why... Hello." The Principal surveyed Bakura over his glasses. "And this is the potential student, is it Ryou?" The teenager smiled weakly.

"Um, yes it is, sir." He whispered weakly. "This is my cousin Bakura." The older male shot Ryou a look, but he kept his eyes focused on the principal. "He's staying with me for a week."

"Huh." The principal narrowed his eyes. "And... Why would we want to go through the enrolment process if he were only to stay here for a week?" Ryou blinked.

"I-It was just a request of my father." Ryou kept his voice gentle. "He didn't want Bakura to stay at home all day, that's all." The principal raised an eyebrow. "It's true, I-I swear..."

"I never said it wasn't." The principal muttered smoothly, surveying Ryou intently. "But is he... savoury enough, for this school?" Ryou blinked.

"W-well... I-I know the clothes are a little off," Ryou glared at Bakura for a split second. "But that's just his fashion sense. Please don't judge him by it. He's a smart guy, really."

"...Huh." The principal raised an eyebrow as he regarded Bakura. "Cousin, 'eh?" Ryou nodded, biting his lip.

"Yes. My mother and his father were siblings..." Bakura only rolled his eyes as Ryou lied through his teeth. "E-Everyone says that I got my brains from my uncle Bill." He added hopefully. The principal only snorted.

"Give me three good reasons why we should go through the entire enrolment process –which you would need his parents for- if he's just going to be here for a week?" Ryou sighed, and looked around, trying to think of a good reason.

"Well..." Ryou sighed again, deeply. "You see..." He bit his lip, locking eyes with the headmaster. "His father... He doesn't want Bakura to be by himself for this week while he's on business with my parents. If you put him in all of my classes, then I'll make sure that he'll behave..." At this stage, Bakura wasn't listening. His arms were crossed, and he idly stared out the window. The principal rested his chin on his fingertips, staring off into space for what seemed like an eternity.

"Okay." He sighed, somewhat regrettably. "Welcome to our school, Bakura."


"Ryou!"

The whitenette smiled widely as Malik stopped a foot away from him, leaning against the flaky-painted locker. "Oh man... Did you hear?"

"Hear what?" The teenager blinked as Malik was positively wriggling in excitement. "What the heck's wrong?"

"Seto and Jounouchi!" Malik crowed. "Oh man, it's the best gossip ever!" Ryou's eyes widened. Bakura had his head inside his new locker, listening intently. "Okay. Last night... You know Seto and Jounouchi were planning to go see that movie, right?"

"Yeah..." Ryou frowned slightly. "Jounouchi was really excited. He said it was the first date they'd been on in weeks."

"Yeah." Malik was beaming. Not from the news, but the fact that there was news to tell. "Well, Seto bailed on him, again, after the... Trade weight something... well, it dipped on the stock market. So he had to stay home on his precious computer and make sure that his money was okay. Thing was, he forgot to tell Jounouchi. So Jounouchi was waiting at the movies for like, half an hour, before he realised that Seto wasn't going to show. Se he called him up, and started ranting and raving on the phone to him about how much of an asshole he was and everything..."

"And?" Ryou's eyes were wide, and he clutched his books tightly. "Are they okay?"

"Are you kidding?" Malik almost laughed. "Jounouchi totally broke up with him. He said he was sick of all Seto's shit. Reckoned he was only in it for the sex." Ryou's heart stopped, and his mouth fell open.

"They didn't." He gasped. "But... They've been going out for two and a half years!" Malik shrugged.

"Jounouchi's sick of his shit. Can you blame him?" Ryou bit his lip, looking down.

"Well, no..." He murmured, his mind ticking over. Buried in his locker, Bakura stilled. Seto... That's the one Ryou's had a huge crush on, isn't it? Malik frowned at the unmoving person behind Ryou. All he could see was a pair of black leather pants and the bottom half of a trench coat.

"Hey." Malik lifted his voice. "Who the hell do you think you are, listening in?" Bakura snorted behind the locker, rolling his eyes. Deep in his chest, however, his heart was thudding in nerves. This is it. Me and Marik. No, Malik. Either way, me and him. Us. Again.

"Oh!" Ryou's eyes widened. "I should have introduced you. Malik, this is my cousin, Bakura. He's staying with me while all our parents are on business. Bakura, this is my best friend Malik." Ryou gently took a step to one side, hiding a smile.

"Hey." Malik jumped as Bakura slammed the locker door shut. He froze when he took Bakura in for the first time, his mouth falling open. Holy hell he's hot.

NO!

Don't think like that, dummy! You don't like boys! Goddamn it why do you always do this to yourself? Malik blinked, gently shaking his head. Bakura smirked, his eyes drinking in Malik's lean form again. Is it me, or is he even hotter since I got turned into a human? Fireworks were almost going off in his chest.

"Hey." Malik finally managed to recollect himself, stretching out his hand for Bakura to shake. Ryou stood between the two, taking the scene in. Although the pair were silent, the way they had looked at each other for those few seconds spoke volumes. They're both in love. God, I hope Malik can admit it to himself.

"Hey." The smirk on Bakura's face grew as he gripped Malik's wrist, shook it for a few moments, and let go. Christ, I hope I can control myself here and not go too far and freak him out. Malik opened his mouth to say something, when he was interrupted by the morning bell.

"Oh no!" Ryou winced. "Come on, Bakura, we have to get to History class." Malik raised an eyebrow, as his heartrate quickened.

"You doing classes with us?" The Egyptian asked. Hating himself for it, Malik blushed slightly, biting his lip. Bakura smirked, and nodded, hefting his new books in his hands.

"Where did you get those from?" Ryou stared at the thick book in Bakura's hands, and the dark canvas backpack on his shoulders. Bakura only chuckled, tapping the side of his nose.

"Last night." He muttered mysteriously as the three walked through the halls. Ryou hid a smile as he they headed towards history, clinging tightly to his books. There was no doubt about it, Bakura was turning heads. People leaned over, whispering behind their hands, and countless pairs of eyes focused on the male. "History, huh?" Bakura smirked. "Anything I would be familiar with?" He murmured conspiringly, arching an eyebrow at the whitenette.

"Maybe." Malik watched the pair as they walked, unable to take his eyes off Bakura. It was so crazy. He'd never met anyone who looked anything like him before. And at the same time, I just can't help but feel like I've met him before... The light, casual conversation from the white-haired pair washed over him as he trailed along, deep in thought.

"Here we go." Ryou smiled as he held open the door for the elder two males. Bakura blinked as he walked inside the classroom, staring around at the maps and timelines on the walls. Part of him was nervous- He'd never actually gone to school before. "Here." Ryou gently took Bakura's hand, his cheeks flushing just a tiny bit, and led the male up to the back of the class. Bakura sank down into the wooden seat, staring down at the desk.

"Like the desks." Bakura smirked, running his finger along the scratched wood. Ryou rolled his eyes.

"They're really old, yeah." He sighed. "This stupid school is too overcrowded, so the funding goes towards building new classrooms, not upgrading the ones they have."

"They have inkwells." Malik leaned over his desk, looking past Ryou to stare at Bakura. The man shook his head, chuckling. "That's so cool."

"Why?" Ryou frowned as Bakura dragged his backpack of his shoulders, and started rifling around. "Huh?"

"I was just commenting." Bakura mumbled, looking down at his book. "Geez." Ryou rolled his eyes, before pulling out his own stationery.

"You're just gonna have to be careful." Ryou pleaded. "Teachers are going to take it all the wrong way if you talk to them like that. It's public school, no one's nice here. They're just gonna label you as a rebel without a cause if you're not careful..."

"It'll be fine." Bakura stretched out in his chair, his hands behind his head. "I'm not going to cause any trouble." He leaned back in his chair, behind Ryou, until he locked eyes with Malik. "I'm only here for one reason." He winked quickly at Malik, before straightening himself once more, smirking. The blonde sat in his seat, frozen as his cheeks slowly started flushing.

"Bakura." Ryou warned, shooting the male a glare. "Please..." He leaned in as close to Bakura as he could. "You just met him, and you're practically flirting already..."

"He likes it." Bakura muttered, low enough for Ryou, and Ryou only to hear. "I thought you said he was straight." The teenager blinked, staring at Bakura for a long time, before shuffling in his chair, lowering his chocolate gaze down to his books. "Ryou?" Bakura frowned, and made to push Ryou, or something, to get his attention, when the door opened, and the teacher arrived.

"Good morning class!" He walked across, to the front of the room. He smiled around the room, but the grin faded when he laid eyes on the white-haired male in the black trench coat. "...Oh." He pressed his lips together, clearly unhappy with the latest addition to his classroom. "I see we have a new student." Thirty heads turned, staring at Bakura, who only surveyed the teacher with a cool, even gaze. "Care to introduce yourself?"

"Must I?" Bakura shot back, wrinkling his nose in a snarl. Judgemental prick. Ryou groaned, at his right, his head momentarily in his hands.

"Sir, this is my cousin." Ryou explained, shooting Bakura another glance. "He's my cousin. From England." He added, nodding as though to affirm his point. If anything, the teacher brightened.

"England? Good. Did you study native history there?" He flicked the catch on his suitcase, rustling through the papers inside. Bakura smirked, trying not to laugh.

"Oh, you could say I studied history." Malik leaned forward on his chair, his elbows on the desk as he stared at Bakura, chewing on the end of his pencil.

"The Interregnum and Restoration?" Ryou bit his lip as the teacher shut his case. "It's what we're covering now..." Bakura frowned slightly.

"Oh... Oh yeah." He brightened. "I remember that. Sixteen... fifty? Sixty? It was a few years before the Plague, wasn't it?" The teacher shrugged.

"Got half of these kids beat." He muttered to himself, under his breath so no one would hear. "Good enough." He raised his voice. "Ryou, you'll have to share your textbook with him. I'll get one out of the resource room by tomorrow. Now. Everyone turn to page two-fifty-six, we're continuing with the re-instatement of the Rump Parliament..."

"Do you really remember this?" Ryou stared at Bakura, his eyes wide as he leafed through his thick text, looking for the appropriate page. "The Civil War and Interregnum and everything?"

"Well... Yeah." Bakura muttered, staring off into space. "I was in London at the time, wasn't I? Bad idea when sixty-five rolled around..."

"That's so amazing." Ryou breathed, his eyes shining. Bakura frowned, tilting his head to one side.

"What... But you know I was." He muttered. "You know I'm over two thousand years old..."

"Yeah, but..." Ryou let out a long breath. "It kind of just hit me. Sitting in this class, reading and learning about all of this history that happened such a long time ago, it's impossible to fathom... And the person sitting next to me was there when it happened..."

"Well, I wasn't there." Bakura muttered. "And I was a fucking cat. The only way I ever found out about anything was if some rich family took me in. I don't remember dates or nothing..."

"Still, I think it's so cool." Ryou stared down at the page. Bakura frowned, before regarding Ryou with a steely glare. "What?"

"It's cool?" Bakura's voice was more of an angry whisper, than anything. "Watching the love of your immortal life destroyed in front of your eyes, and then doomed to wander the earth for seven hundred years as a fucking kitten... Is that cool to you?" Ryou was wide-eyed.

"N-No, I-I... You don't understand." Ryou pleaded, biting his lip as his heartrate quickened. "I..."

"Oh, I'm glad you find it cool, Ryou." Bakura snarled. "Because I really don't think it is-"

"Bakura, listen to me-"

"You two enjoying your conversation up there?" The teacher glared at them from the front. "Now you two stop that chatter, or it'll be detention." Bakura clenched his hands into fists on the table. Ryou noticed, his eyes widening.

"Yes, sir!" He agreed, shooting another glance at Bakura. The man only looked the other way.

"Good. Malik, you start reading from the third paragraph." The Egyptian groaned, but complied, rolling his eyes at Ryou as he did so. Ryou smiled, and his eyes focused on the page as Malik recited the material, but his hands, as opposed to making notes like he should have done, were busy writing two words on the corner of his notebook. He ripped off the corner as quietly as he could, and folded it in half, wedging it in the spine of he textbook. He handed the book to Bakura, open so he knew the page, and looked down at his hands. Bakura started reading himself, bored, before noting the small corner of paper in the middle. Keeping his eye on the teacher, Bakura slowly unfolded the small paper, trying hard to not let it crinkle. He smoothed it down with a finger, reading the contents.

I'm sorry.

Bakura chuckled, and shook his head. Holy shit, he's apologizing for that... What a fucking pushover! It was nothing... I was the one that got him in trouble. Either this kid is too naive, or he's just polite beyond all bounds... He picked up his pen, and pressed it against the page. He'd never written with a ballpoint pen, ever, and it surprised him as he started to write. Oh God... It just... flowed. No scratchy quill, no ink blots, no nothing... Ha. The quill. One thing I'll never miss... He set down the pen, and folded up the letter, replacing it in the spine. He handed the book back to Ryou, voice of Malik washing over his ears. Bakura leaned back in his chair to watch the Egyptian, smiling. The morning sun streamed through the windows, lighting up Malik's hair to an even more vibrant shade of gold. His caramel skin, -not as dark as Marik's, Bakura noted- even seemed to radiate. He just seemed gorgeous. Bakura allowed himself emit a short lovestruck sigh.

Ryou smiled as he slowly unfolded the note, staring at Bakura's writing. He admired the detailed writing of Bakura's, the old old old fashioned calligraphy. Well, one characteristic hasn't changed...

I know. I was a bit of a prick.

Ryou tried hard not to laugh, but a short giggle issued from his lips as he shook his head. That's the closest he can come to saying sorry, isn't it? Bakura heard the sound, and looked over to Ryou, the one closer to him. The teenager was smiling at him, his head cocked ever so slightly to the side. Sunbeams danced across his face and hair, lighting up little sparks of stray white strands, bleaching them gold. Bakura stared for a short moment, at the halo-like effect that the sun had on his hair, illuminating him from the side. He does look like an angel... Bakura bit his lip, still staring. He could still see Malik behind the slender whitenette, reading diligently, a bored expression on his face. He looked from Ryou to Malik, and back again, both lit up in the fresh morning sun. Is it bad that I think both of them are really pretty? He shrugged. Nah. He looked back down at his empty notebook, and picked up his pen, starting to doodle in the margin, purely so he could drag that pen across the paper again, the simple, easy flowing ink, in a controlled, thin line. Ryou smiled again, and shook his head, turning back to his textbook. Bakura was lost in his thoughts as he scrawled on the fresh white paper. He just felt so fantastic at that moment... Being normal again. Here he was, with two legs, not four, close to the one that he had given his heart to fifteen hundred years ago.

Life really didn't get much better than that.


Awwhhhh. Fluffytime! XD XD XD

R&R!!!