Valkyria : Nothing to say today except to enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer : I claim no rights to the anime/manga Yu-gi-oh.

"I knew that he was going to leave sooner or later, but I preferred later than sooner. I wanted him to stay so, so, badly, but I knew he had a life back home. A life without me and knowing that he was going to go home and forget about me was the most hardest part of this." - Ryou Lindel.

Chapter Twenty-Five : Buried Secrets.

Throwing himself into his work full-heartily, was one way that Ryou was coping with the fact that Bakura was going back home. He figured that if he worked hard enough and long enough that he would be so busy he wouldn't even think about, much less, linger on the fact that Bakura was going to leave and never come back.

But, alas, like all of his plans; they didn't work. For everywhere went, everything he did and everything he touched somehow reminded him of Bakura. The museum where he worked reminded him of the first time he met the horse-breeder. His favorite café reminded him of when Bakura asked him to join him on the trip to the Nakayama Jump. It was at the point that even looking at one of his artifacts brought Bakura to his mind. It was frustrating and downright pathetic.

It didn't take long for Ishizu to notice his behavior and pull him aside to ask him what was wrong. And that was all it took for the floodgates to open and for him to confess to his boss that he was going to miss Bakura.

"There is such a thing as a webcam, cell phones and letters." Ishizu had remarked dryly and not without great amusement. "And, I'm sure that Bakura will visit you again. He sure as hell can afford the trip back and forth."

"It's different!" Ryou protested at the time. "I can't touch him over a webcam. I can't take him around town for dinner over a phone call. I won't be able to do anything with him."

"You'll be able to do something." Ishizu blessed him with that wicked grin she rarely used. "I heard that phone sex was pretty great."

"Ishizu!"

"Oh, don't act so innocent." Ishizu's grin turned into a soft smile that reached her eyes. "Listen, if I'm right about Bakura -and I usually am- then he'll come back to you and he'll make sure to have a solid way for you to contact him and vice versa."

"I don't think so." Ryou huffed exasperatedly. "I'm pretty sure he'll be too busy for me."

Ishizu had raised an eyebrow at him before turning on her heel and leaving the room. "We'll see about that."

Believe him, he wanted to stop Ishizu and ask him what in the hell she meant by that, but he could only watch her walk away in confusion. He certainly hoped that she wasn't going to do anything drastic.

Oh hell, who was he kidding? Of course she was going to do something drastic! There had been many a time where she had done something to get one of their galleries running when one of the deliveries screwed up. Good God, he didn't want to think about what she was going to do.

But on the other hand, he couldn't help but be curious about what she was going to do. She did have a tendency to surprise him with her little schemes. He would never forget about that one time she set him up on that date- Ryou quickly shuddered at the reminder. That would be the only time that he let Ishizu set him up with someone. The time with Bakura did not count.

At mention of Bakura, Ryou cursed under his breath and returned to his paperwork, placing the small stack of papers into the out box. He had work, work, work, until he forgot about relationships that were doomed to fail from the start.

It was three days later that Ryou found himself at the airport and in Bakura's strong arms. He buried his face into the older male's broad shoulder and took a deep breath, taking in the sandalwood and spices that seemed to float off him. This was it and he hated it that it was. How could three days could have gone by so quickly? It wasn't fair and for once, he didn't give a damn if he was acting like a child or not.

"You're acting like you're never going to see me again." Bakura murmured, chuckling when Ryou grumpled into his shoulder. "I'll come back again soon. I promise."

"Yes, of course." Ryou pulled away and stared into those amused lavender eyes that he had gradually fell in love with over the duration of the man's stay. "I am going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you as well, but I am planning on bringing you over to Egypt so that you can spend some time with me." Bakura wiggled his eyebrows, smirking when Ryou blushed deeply. "I'm not going to forget about you, do you understand?"

At Bakura's serious tone, Ryou couldn't help but lower his head. He hated when the older male's voice dropped an octave deeper. It caused a shiver to run down his spine.

"Ryou?"

"Yes, I understand and I won't forget about you either."

"Good." Bakura breathed, lowering his head and staring into his eyes. "I'm happy to hear it." Ryou meeped quietly when Bakura pressed his lips against his own. And before he could react, Bakura pulled away and grinned into his eyes. "I'm very happy to hear that."

This was not happening! How-how could Bakura do this to him? His hands itched to reach up and wrap his hands around the man's throat. How dare he? How dare he kiss him like that and not expect Ryou to be angry or sad about it? The man was leaving for goodness sake and he had the audacity to plant a kiss on his lips like everything was okay?

Ishizu was right. Bakura was a no-good bastard. Especially doing something like this.

"Bakura..." Ryou sighed quietly, pressing his anger back and startling slightly when the announcement for the departures to Egypt flowed over them. "I-You-you shouldn't have done that."

"Why not?" Bakura sounded honestly confused and didn't make Ryou feel like an ass for the next words he was about to say. "I'm sorry if I overstepped my bounds."

"You didn't!" Ryou was quick to protest. "I just think that it's best if we didn't any pursue any relationship." he lowered his eyes again. "I mean, long-distance relationships never really work."

"And you've tried this?" Bakura chuckled bitterly. "How can say that long-distance relationships never work when you don't try."

"We barely know each other." Ryou spluttered, taking a step back away from the elder male. This wasn't how he imagined saying good-bye to Bakura. At all.

"I know that you hate eating or drinking anything before you go to bed. It gives you nightmares or weird dreams. I know you like going to the library during the last few hours because that's when the crowds have thinned out. Your favorite color is orange and your favorite ice cream is rocky road. You don't get along with your father and you're afraid of horses, but you're getting over that." Bakura grabbed his arms and shook him gently. "Don't tell me I don't know anything about you."

"You may everything about me, but I know nothing about you." Ryou bit his lips and fought back the sting of tears burning his eyes. "All the time we've spent together and you haven't told me anything about you. How do you expect us to have a relationship, a loving relationship, when won't even tell me about your childhood, or, or what your favorite color is-"

"Red."

"What?"

"My favorite color is red." Bakura rattled off quickly. "And I hate carrots and onions and-"

"Stop." Ryou placed his hand on Bakura's lips. "You're forcing yourself to say these things and I don't want that, Bakura. I don't, okay?" he pulled away from that lush mouth and his heart broke when Bakura's next words came out of his mouth.

"Okay. It won't happen again." Bakura stepped away, making sure to ruffle his hair gently. "I'm sorry that I over stepped my bounds."

"It-It's okay." Ryou wrapped his arms around his waist in an effort to stop himself from himself from wrapping his arms around Bakura. This wasn't what he wanted, but who got what they wanted in life anyway?

"Are you going to be alright?" Bakura asked, glancing up when the departure call sounded again. "I don't want to leave you here by yourself."

"I'll be alright." Ryou whispered, finally allowing a few tears to slid down his flushed cheeks. "Good-bye, Bakura."

"Not good-bye," Bakura correctly gently. "I don't say good-bye to friends. It's see you later, eh?"

"Alright then." Ryou chuckled wetly, reaching up and wiping his tears away. "See you later, Bakura."

Ryou watched, with a breaking heart, as Bakura walked out of the airport without a single glance back in his direction. It was unfair, he decided, that he couldn't be with Bakura-but, couldn't he be? He could easily have a relationship with the older man if he wasn't so afraid.

"I guess I understand now." Ryou thought, smiling through his tears. "I guess...I understand how Yuugi feels. About not being with Atemu. It's a horrible feeling not being with the one care about. A very horrible feeling."

A/N : Well, Bakura and Ryou finally separate and doesn't that suck? I hope this chapter doesn't feel too rushed? If it does, then don't hesitate to tell me, yeah?

Next Chapter : Sands of Despair.