AN: Hey, look! What's this? Another chapter? Cool. :D And guess what? There are only 2 more left after this. Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion! (Sorry if there are any typos. Wordpad doesn't have spellcheck? Wtf.)
Ryou opened his eyes and saw the ceiling above him. He felt.. rested. He hadn't had a single dream as far as he knew. He vaguely became aware that he was not alone. Seto was snoring softly next to him, his arm firmly around Ryou's waist. Ryou gazed at him and sighed. He felt terrible about last night's events. He had wanted to be with Seto, do naughty things to that statuesque body, but he couldn't.
'Can I ever? What if Bakura messed me up for life?' Ryou frowned as tears pricked the corners of his eye. 'I don't know what to do. I'm broken, defective, and worthless. I can't let Seto fall for me. I don't want to hurt him'. Ryou tried to formulate a plan, he mulled it over in his head for about twenty minutes before the perfect man next to him began to stir.
Two of the most impossibly bright blue eyes opened and looked at him adoringly. Seto smiled, "Morning."
"Morning," Ryou responded dully, failing to mask his sadness. He didn't meet his gaze or return his smile.
Seto's eyes filled with concern. "Something wrong?" he asked.
Ryou silently cursed himself for not being able to control his emotions. He still wasn't exactly sure how he was going to handle the issue with Seto.
"I'm fine," he gave Seto a small smile. "I had a bad dream is all."
Seto was well aware that Ryou was a terrible liar, but he decided not to press it.
"Well," Seto stretched luxuriously. Ryou could see his muscles rippling under his skin. "Today is our last day. The ship has probably already docked on my private island and we'll take a helicopter back home tomorrow. Is there anything special you want to do?"
Ryou thought about it. Honestly, he didn't feel like doing anything besides curling up in a ball and staying in bed all day. He wanted time alone to think, but that was not something he could get.
"How about you tell me what you want to do?" Ryou suggested. "You're the one who's been working so hard this week."
Seto smiled, "Okay, I'll pick." He kissed Ryou softly between the eyes. "But I'm very tempted to just lay here with you all day."
Ryou smiled despite of himself. The conflicting emotions buuilding inside of him could tear him apart.
"Well, I'll think of something. Let me grab a shower, feel free to jon." Seto kissed him fully on the lips then winked as he pulled himself away.
Ryou watched or more like ogled Seto as he crossed the room, still not wearing a shirt, until he disappeared into the bathroom. Ryou shook his head to collect his thoughts as a blush slowly crossed his cheeks.
Ryou's phone rang from the night stand. He lazily grabbed it and looked at the caller ID. It was Julian. Ryou sighed in relief. 'Just the person I needed to talk to'.
He flipped open the phone, "Hey, Julian. I'm glad you called. We need to talk."
"Why, yes we do."
Ryou stopped breathing. That was not Julian's cheerful, adorably accented voice that greeted him on the other end. It was the voice of someone who had been the cause of his nightmares for the past few weeks... It was Bakura.
His mind raced with questions, but he couldn't formulate a single coherent thought.
"Ryou, you're coming home," Bakura growled. "Be home tonight or you'll lose something very precious to you."
"Ryou?" He heard Julian call out in the background, followed by a loud thud, and then silence.
"Bakura, I'm out in the middle of the ocean! I will come home tomorrow, I promise. Don't hurt Julian!" Ryou begged, tears were already streaming down his face.
"That's not my problem is it?" Bakura spat. Ryou could all too easily picture the crazed grin on his yami's face. "Oh, and don't even think about telling your little loverboy. If you do, I'll kill him and I'll do it in the worst possible way imaginable. Slowly and very painfully. You'll get to watch, of course."
"Pleae, Bakura," Ryou pleaded frantically. "Give me one more day. I'll do anything if you'll just wait one more day." It pained Ryou to say these words, but it brought him even more agony that the whole situation was his fault.
"Anything?" Bakura sounded intrigued. "It seems like I'm holding all the cards. What could you possibly offer me?"
Ryou thought about it. If he knew one thing about Bakura, it was that he loved being in control. But what could he offer him? All he had was himself. That was just going to have to do.
"Me..." Ryou whispered. "If you promise not to hurt Julian, I swear I will come home and never leave. I'll be your slave again."
"I see.." Bakura chuckled quietly to himself as he mulled the proposition over. Ryou knew the words he had spoken would probably seal his own death. There was no way he could back out of it now and if it meant saving Julian's innocent life, then we would do it willingly. "But how do I know I can trust you?" Bakura asked.
Ryou said the first thing that came to his mind. "I swear on Seto's life, I will not disobey you and I will never leave you."
"Deal," Bakura responded immediately. "See you tomorrow." He hung up the phone.
Ryou's first instinct was to cry, never stop crying. Cry until he was nothing but a dried up husk of what used to be a human, but he couldn't allow himself to do that. Seto would be out of the shower soon. He wiped any remaining tears from his face. He had to pull himself together. He took several deep, slow breaths. 'How do I do this to Seto? This will be my last day with him before I lose him forever.' Ryou groaned and hid his face in the pillow. 'I should have just died that night in the rain.'
Ryou was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't notice Seto, towel around his wiast, sit down next to him on the bed.
"You okay?" Seto smiled as he stroked Ryou's hair.
"Of course," Ryou looked up and returned the smile as best he could. "I get to spend the day with you."
Seto seemed convinced and responded by kissing Ryou's forehead. "Great! Get ready and we'll get going. We're docked on my private island today, so we'll do a little exploring."
"Okay, cool," Ryou said as he forced himself from the warm embrace of the bed and headed for his own room. It took all of his willpower to not turn around when he heard Seto's towel drop to the ground.
Ryou took a quick shower and got ready for the day. While in the steamy solitude of the shower, he decided to make it the best day possible. He would do everything he could to make sure Seto was happy. He would never be able to repay all of Seto's kindness and he also knew he would break Seto's heart when he left. This thought would plague Ryou the entire day. No matter how many sunny smiles he elicited from Seto, they were not able to pierce through Ryou's dark cloud of misery that ever loomed over him. It threatened to swallow him whole.
Breaking Seto's heart would surely be much better than the alternative: Julian's death. Possibly Seto as well, depending on his yami's mood. Ryou had no idea if Bakura would actually keep his end of the deal of not harming Julian or Seto, but he had no choice except to trust him and hope for the best.
Ryou and Seto made their way off the ship and onto the island of Desiderium. It was absolutely perfect. Crystal clear, blue waters, white sandy beaches that stretched as far as the eye could see, lined with palm trees that swayed lazily in the warm, salty breeze. Paradise.
Seto grinned at Ryou's awed expression and held out his hand. Ryou took it without a second thought and they set out to explore the island.
They roamed through jungle trails, found hidden ruins, and saw many exotic animals. Towards the evening, Seto took him to a private beach front to watch the sunset. There was a four poster bed right on the beach. Next to it was an icebucket with pink champagne and a bowl of various fruits found on the island. Ryou blushed as Seto led him to the bed. Seto poured the champagne into two glasses and handed one to Ryou.
"To us?" he smiled.
"To us," Ryou whispered and clinked his glass against Seto's. He curled up against Seto's strong, sun kissed chest and did everything he could not to cry as they watched the sunset and sipped their drinks. He had never seen a sunset quite like this. Bright oranges, striking pinks, and royal purple near the horizon where it met the deep blue ocean. He looked up at Seto's face. His features were only enhanced by the dying light of the sun.
Seto looked down at Ryou and smiled, "I love you, Ryou.."
Ryou gave a small gasp and he could no longer fight back the tears. Seto took their glasses and set them aside so he could wrap both arms tightly around the smaller teen. He rocked him gently as his body shook with silent sobs.
"I'm sorry," He whispered softly as he stroked Ryou's hair. "I didn't mean to upset you."
"It's not you," Ryou choked out between sobs. "I just..." He trailed off.
"It's okay," Seto squeezed him tight, wanting nothing more than to make everything better.
After a few minutes, Ryou calmed down and lay numbly in Seto's arms. He sighed as he remembered his promise to make today perfect for Seto. He picked up his head from Seto's chest and positioned himself over Seto, staring down into his eyes. Seto looked back at him in slight confusion and stroked Ryou's tear stained face with his fingertips. They said nothing for several minutes, staring into each other's eyes while Ryou mentally prepared himself for what he was about to do.