Ack. Was this a quick update or what? XD Hope you enjoy.
How, off to bed with me... School in four hours X.x;
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
"Isis." Malik bit hard on his lip as he twirled the phone cord in his fingers. His suitcase was on the floor of the small living room, along with various other boxes and cases of his possessions. He gratefully accepted the coffee that was handed to him, taking a sip.
"Malik!" The teenager sighed at the sound of his sisters' voice, taking another gulp of coffee.
"Hi." He whispered, his eyes downcast. "Thanks Ichiko." He muttered, jerking his head towards the girl. The brunette nodded and smiled weakly, before heading back to the kitchen table, where her college notes where spread out.
"This is odd… Do you know what time it is over here?" Malik nodded.
"Yeah, I know. But I didn't have much time. I'm over at our place right now, I… I…" Malik swallowed deeply. "Ryou kicked me out."
"Why?" Isis was clearly concerned, Malik could tell from her voice. He felt like crying.
"I… Well… To make a long story short, Bakura woke up, I told him about sleeping with Ryou, and now Bakura won't ever take him back, and Ryou hates me…" The Egyptian swallowed, and closed his eyes. "I-I never thought Ryou would be this angry at me…" He felt tears pushing at the back of his eyes. "I'm so confused…"
"Oh no." Malik winced at Isis's tone, taking another gulp of coffee. "Malik, you didn't."
"I need to come back to Egypt." Malik muttered. "I… I have to go. Think about it Isis, when Bakura's able to get out of bed, he's going to want to kill me for what I did to Ryou. I can't take that risk at all, I-I just can't. I have to go. Ryou hates me, Bakura hates me, and they hate each other…" He ran a hand through his hair. "I-I've gone and messed everything up for everyone…"
"Okay." Isis said gently. "Um, I'll try and arrange a flight for you tomorrow. Will Ichiko let you stay?"
"Better." Malik cast an eye over to the girl, bent over her college notes. "We're subletting this place to her."
"Stay as long as you need to." The girl muttered, frowning at her work. "It's all good."
"It's all good." Malik repeated wearily into the receiver. "I'll stay here tonight then fly out tomorrow, okay?"
"Sure." Isis said gently, biting on her lip hard. "Malik… I'm really disappointed in you, you know that, right?" Malik's heart sank, and he nodded weakly.
"Yeah." He sighed. "I-I know you are."
Bakura closed his eyes as the hospital room door opened. He was curled on his side, away from the door, staring at the wall. The television was switched off.
"Hey," The nurse smiled. "We'll have to move your T.V if you're not watching it. It's a waste of resources you…" She stopped when she noticed Bakura's state. "Oh goodness." She whispered, clutching her clipboard. "Are you okay?"
"Piss off." Bakura muttered, tightening his hold on the blankets. The blonde nurse blinked, and then bit on her lip.
"Bakura, are you oka-"
"I said piss off!" The yami rolled over, and sat up. "For fucks' sake, you stupid woman, just… Just leave me alone!" The woman took a step back.
"Bakura… What's wrong?" She asked softly. "I-It's only five o'clock, I thought Ryou would be here-"
"Don't talk to me about that little slut!" Bakura raged, clenching his hands into fists. "Don't you dare ever mention him around me!" The nurse's eyes were wider than ever.
"Why not?" She asked. Bakura growled.
"Because he's a cheating slut and I hate him!" Bakura took a deep breath, and went to say more, when it happened again. He gasped as his the pain in his already throbbing head increased tenfold, crashing over him like a wave. "Oh fuck." The yami gritted his teeth as he grabbed handfuls of his own hair, and yanking down hard on it to counteract the pain. He bowed his head, gritting his teeth. "FUCK."
"Oh no!" The clip board clattered to the floor as the woman ran over to Bakura's bedside, hovering over the yami anxiously. Bakura's breathing increased, faster and harder. "What on earth is wrong?"
"… Headache." Bakura finally managed to mutter. It felt like someone was attacking his head with an axe. "Oh fuck it hurts…" The nurse stood back, her eyes wide.
"How does it hurt?" She asked. "Is it in waves, or is it constant?" Bakura gritted his teeth, feeling as though he might cry.
"… Waves." He muttered, trembling. The nurse bit her lip.
"Is it worse on one side of the head, or does it change, or is it equal?" Bakura groaned.
"It's all over and it fucking hurts." He gasped, closing his eyes. "Turn down the lights…"
"Are you nauseous?" The nurse picked up her clipboard, and began scribbling furiously. "Do you feel as if you're about to vomit?"
"A bit…" Bakura whispered. "But it's my fucking head that hurts…"
"Okay…" The nurse bit her lip, and sat down on the edge again. "Bakura, has this ever happened before the coma?" Bakura shook his head, trying to regulate his breathing.
"It really hurts…" Bakura sounded pathetic, and he knew it. The nurse sighed deeply in sympathy.
"Okay… I think you might be experiencing heavy migraines, Bakura. We're going to have to run some tests-"
"Make it stop." Bakura groaned. "You're a freaking doctor, make it stop."
"I'm a nurse." The woman said gently. "And I'm sorry, but Migraines are largely untreatable, unless you want to risk expensive drugs with low success rates and awful side affects-"
"I want this to stop." Bakura groaned. "How long is this going to last for?" The nurse shrugged.
"Depends on the person. Usually, it can be up to seventy-two hours-"
"No." Bakura said flatly, shaking his head, despite the throbbing pain. "It can't be that long… You can't let it go that long!" Bakura panicked, starting to hyperventilate. It hurt so much!
"It's okay!" The nurse said. "It should dissipate soon, just relax. You have to relax, or you could trigger a relapse. Okay?" Bakura groaned, shaking his head. "Please, just lie back…" The blonde gently placed her hands on Bakura's shoulders. The yami growled, and pushed her hands away. "Bakura, do you want this migraine to go away, or what?" Bakura sighed, nodding weakly. "Please, just lie back."
"Kay." Bakura groaned. Slowly, as though he was afraid to, the yami started to lie back into the pillow. Eventually, he lay out flat on his back, his head throbbing. He twisted his hands into the sheets hard, biting his lip hard. "Still hurts…" He groaned weakly. The nurse sighed. Bakura made a face, the nausea increasing in his throat. "Ugh… This sucks."
"I know." The nurse sighed gently, trying to smooth out the sheets. "I'm very sorry about this all, you know I am." Bakura sighed, and shrugged.
"Nothing anyone can do about it." He wrinkled his nose. "Apparently." He closed his eyes. "Why did I have to wake up?" The nurse's mouth fell open in shock.
"Bakura… You don't mean that." She protested. "You can't. About ten percent of the population has migraines, you can still live a normal life-"
"Not the migraines." Bakura moaned, feeling tears pool in his eyes. "Ryou."
"What do you mean?" The nurse blinked. "I-I'm confused… Did he do something wrong?"
"Yes he did something wrong!" Bakura opened his eyes. "He slept with someone else. He fucking cheated on me! Of Malik, or all people. I know he's sex on legs, but honestly, how could he?" Bakura tried to sit up, but couldn't summon the strength. "I don't understand it at all…"
"He what?" the nurse blinked. "You must have it wrong, Bakura. Ryou couldn't do it. He-"
"He did!" Bakura shot back, his hands clenching into fists. It still hurt. The nurse shook his head.
"Let me finish. Ryou was the most devoted person I've ever seen. He was at your bedside every day for those nine months for at least an hour. He was so sad about what happened to you. I just can't see someone that devoted and loving betraying you."
"Well, he did!" Bakura growled. "Ryou cheated on me and he didn't even try to deny it when I asked him. He's a fucking slut and I hate him." He relaxed against the sheets again, trying to calm down. Was it him, or was the headache lessening, just a tiny bit?
"You're so angry…" The nurse frowned slightly. "Bakura, did you ever have counseling or anything?" The yami groaned, wrinkling his nose.
"Yeah… There was this woman, Sanami. I used to go and see her once a week when I was trying to… To win Ryou over." Bakura's voice caught in his throat. "But that was over a year ago." The nurse bit her lip.
"Sanami… Her name rings a bell. She's one of the town top therapists and counselors isn't she?. You were lucky to be one of her regulars." Bakura sighed.
"Whatever." He muttered, rolling over and staring at the wall. "It's no use anyway." The yami closed his eyes. "I feel a bit better." It was true, his head was reduced to a more mild throbbing, and the nausea in his stomach was greatly reduced. "I might take a nap."
"Okay." The nurse nodded, standing up and glancing at her clipboard. She sighed as she closed the hospital door behind her, and started to walk down to the nurses lounge. Sure, she had other patients, but they could wait at the moment. She wasn't attached to them like she was attached to Bakura, and she wanted to help.
Perhaps it would be an idea to give Sanami a call.
Ryou had been crying for a long time.
He was curled up under the covers, hiding away from the world. Eventually, his sobs dried, and quieted, until all that was left was a strange, hollow emptiness. It felt so strange…
"It's not fair." Ryou whispered brokenly to himself. "A-At least I was honest… And I know what I did was wrong, but I was pushed into it. Malik made me…" Ryou shook his head. "I-I can't use that. If I tried hard enough, Malik would have stopped me. I-I can't use that excuse. It won't work. I'm just a horrible person." Ryou looked down at his left hand. The huge diamond was still on his finger, managing to twinkle even under the sheets. Ryou sighed, and took a deep breath, inhaling the stale, warm air under the blankets. He never, ever took the ring off. Not for school, not for showering, he didn't even take it off when he slept with Malik. "I love Bakura." Ryou whispered. "I-I do. I'm not even sure if what I feel for Malik is love. He makes me happy, and he's not bad looking." Ryou closed his eyes.
"It's just a dumb crush." Ryou tried to tell himself. "And it doesn't even matter any more. I pushed Malik away. I-I can't, I don't want to have him back." The teenager rubbed at his red, raw eyes. "How did this happen? I-I had both Malik and Bakura, and now I've lost both of them… Ugh. I sound so shallow." He muttered, inflamed with self-disgust. "No wonder both of them don't want me…"
"That's not true." Ryou had grown quite used to the concept of talking to himself over the months. "Malik wants me. He loves me. But I don't want him! I-I don't, I don't, I don't!" He shook his head violently, starting to sob again. "I am not that desperate. I am not going to go back to him, just because Bakura's rejected me… Bakura." He whispered, shaking violently. "It's not possible. He has to forgive me, h-he has to. He will. He's not going to stay mad at me forever. Bakura still loves me. Part of him does. He didn't mean it when he said he hated me. He's only angry with me. H-He has to be. Not after everything we've been through. Bakura just needs time to think about it, and simmer down. He's always had big issues with his anger." Ryou curled into a tighter ball under the blankets, sniffing. "Things are going to work out.
Things have to work out."
Ryou did not want to go to school.
To say he was looking forward to it would have been a huge underestimation. But Ryou had to. He'd missed so much school over the past school year, and gotten so behind, that he was in real danger of holding back. And although he was at a crisis with Bakura, Ryou always cared very deeply about his school work.
Ryou looked like crap as he wandered down the halls, and he knew it. Thankfully, however, he was one of those teenagers that no one really noticed, so he wasn't pulled up for his obvious grief.
That was, of course, until he entered Geography, where he sat next to Yugi. The moment that Ryou sank into his seat, white-faced and shaking, the smaller teen knew something was up.
"Bakura." He muttered, keeping an eye on the teacher. Class wasn't starting for another few minutes, thankfully. "What on earth is wrong?" Ryou, who was staring at his desk, blinked, and looked up.
"O-Oh." He said softly, sounding far away. "I… I…" Ryou twisted his hands together.
"Yes?" Yugi was extremely concerned for his friend, who just seemed… dead inside. "Bakura, what happened?"
"Did Jounouchi tell you about Ba- The spirit of the ring waking up?" Yugi nodded, smiling.
"Yeah, you must be really happy about that-"
"It's over." Yugi froze.
"What…"
"It's over." Ryou repeated, staring at the floor. "Between us. He found out about Malik sleeping with me and now he hates me." Yugi's eyes widened to an impossibly large size.
"No way." He breathed. "You're… You're not serious. You can't be! Bakura… How can it just be over like that?" Ryou shrugged, still looking at his desk blankly.
"He hates me." Ryou repeated weakly. "He said I was a filthy slut and slapped me then said he hated me and threw me out of his room. He literally threw me out." Yugi's shoulder slumped slightly.
"Bakura…" He didn't know what to say. Although the relationship Ryou shared with his yami unsettled the maroon-eyed boy, Yugi was still Ryou's friend, and he cared about him, despite the whitenette falling out of his attention often. "I-I'm so sorry…"
"Nothing you can do." Ryou whispered gently. "Nothing anyone can do. I did something wrong, and now I'm paying for it." Yugi shook his head.
"But Bakura, from what you told me, it didn't sound very consensual. It was obvious you didn't want it, and you tried to push him off-"
"I should have tried harder!" Ryou burst out, clenching his hands into fists. Yugi froze, his eyes widening. Ryou slumped, closing his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Yugi." He said gently, biting his lip. "I don't mean to yell, it's just upsetting…"
"Of course it is." Yugi said, trying his hardest to be consoling. "I'm so sorry, Bakura. I really am." Ryou opened his mouth to respond when the loud voice of the teacher cut through their conversation.
"Okay class, everyone settle down, and turn your text books to page 58, we're continuing our discussion on the effects of human influence on the general climate…"
"You should go to the nurse, Bakura." Yugi said gently. "You're in a terrible state, you can't be here…"
"I-I have to." Ryou said gently. "I-I need to distract myself, Yugi. I-I can't just keep on thinking about it… I was up all night crying about it, I-I can't go through that again." Yugi sighed deeply in sympathy for the teen.
"Bakura, I'm really sorry." He repeated. "But do you think it's healthy, bottling all of this up inside you?"
"Yugi, please I-"
"Bakura, would you like to share with us what is so interesting, hm?" Ryou gulped as he raised his eyes up to the teacher, who stood at the head of the classroom, her hands on her hips.
"I-I'm sorry, Miss." Ryou mumbled, lowering his eyes as he straightened up. The teacher opened her mouth to continue reproving the teenager, when she fully noticed his condition.
"Bakura, what on earth?" She tried to peer into his face. "Are you okay? You look awful…"
"I'm fine." Ryou shot Yugi a look. "I-I just didn't get enough sleep last night is all… I'm having a bit of an insomnia issue right now, but it's all under control." The teacher, satisfied with the response, turned back to the whiteboard. Yugi shot the teenager a look, before raising his hands.
"He's lying, Miss." The shorter teenager proclaimed. "Bakura's really not healthy, he needs to go to the nurse-"
"Yugi!" Ryou protested weakly, slumping his slender shoulders. "I told you I was fine…"
"Bakura." The teacher stared at Ryou. The rest of the class looked on in bemusement. "Okay, nurse now. Yugi will escort you." Ryou groaned, shaking his head. "I'll write you a pass…" She bent over her desk for a moment, filling out a small square of paper. "Here. You both get your things." The whitenette gathered up his things slowly, while Yugi gathered his books into a stack, and hooked them under his arms quite quickly. The teacher handed the paper to Yugi, who led the way out of the room.
"I said I was fine." Ryou said hollowly as soon as they were in the corridor. "L-Look, I've missed enough school as it is, I need to attend as many classes as possible-"
"Bakura." Yugi was kind, but firm. "You're in a terrible state. You need to go to the nurse's office, and there's no way around it, okay?" Ryou sighed, but followed Yugi as he led the way across the school to the nurses office. After taking one look at Ryou's state, the nurse quickly led Ryou over to one of the beds, forcing him to lie down.
"I'm fine." Ryou murmured gently, stretched out on his side. He stared across the room, his hands under the pillow. Yugi sat in a hard, moulded plastic chair beside him, chewing on his lower lip. "Really…"
"You're not." Yugi said gently. "Ryou, you're trying to conceal a horrible pain inside yourself, and you can't. You have to just let it all out." Ryou closed his eyes. "Ryou…" In a rare moment, Yugi used the whitenette's first name. Ryou's eyes snapped open, and he lifted his head up slightly, confused. Ryou gently eased himself into a sitting position, staring at the boy. "The spirit of the ring hates you." Yugi dragged the chair closer to the bed. Sure, what he was about to do was cruel, but it was the only way to get through to him. "He never wants to see you again. The one person that you ever truly love hates you. After everything you've been through, the coma, everything, it was all for nothing. You love him so much and he feels nothing in return-"
"Stop it!" Ryou pleaded, his eyes welling up with tears. "Yugi stop…"
"Malik tore you two apart." Yugi pressed on. "You were going to get married and spend the rest of your lives together, and now it's all over-"
"Stop!" Ryou's voice broke, and tears trickled down his cheeks. "Stop it Yugi, stop it stop it stop it!" He started to cry, sobbing weakly as the saline water dripped down his face. "Just stop…" He buried his face in his hands, emitting a low moan.
"Hey…" Yugi said softly. He stood up, and then sat down on the edge of the bed, next to Ryou. "It's okay…"
"No, it's not!" Ryou protested, lifting his tearstained face. "You're right… It's over between us. E-Everything we've ever been through… It's all over…" Yugi did the only thing he could, and wrapped his arms around Ryou's shoulders in a loose embrace as the whitenette cried. His sobs were so hard, they wracked his small frame, his breath coming out in short, punctuated gasps.
"That's good…" Yugi whispered soothingly. "Crying is good, Bakura. You need to just let it all out."
"I did last night!" Ryou protested, albeit a little weakly. "I-I was up all night just crying and crying… I'm a child, I know, crying so much. I'm so ashamed of myself…"
"Hey." Yugi said gently. "It's perfectly okay to cry. You just lost the love of your life." Ryou's sobs increased. "I was so worried to see you as blank as a statue, to tell you the truth. Bottling everything up is really bad."
"Y-Yeah." Ryou sniffed, still crying. "But… Bakura." He broke into fresh sobs. "I-It can't be all over just like that. He can't."
"We'll help you." Yugi said encouragingly. "We'll all help you get through this, Bakura. We know how much you care about and love him. But…"
"This is my mistake," Ryou whispered through his sobs. "And I have to deal with it. I was wrong, I was really big in the wrong…"
"You were forced into something you weren't comfortable with." Yugi tried to be comforting. "It's fine. You might not have Malik to help you through this, but you have us." Ryou nodded, smiling weakly.
"Yeah, I do have you guys." He said softly, his hands shaking.
That is, until you forget I even exist again.
Awh. Sadness. XD
R&R!