Shared showers became a delightfully regular habit between Kek and I. I asked Bakura to join us, but his answer was always "fuck you. I'm sleeping." So Kek and I washed each others hair and made out each morning without him.

We dressed and walked to the kitchen. My lips burned from the last quarter hour of hard kissing.

Kek mixed protein powder and flaxseed oil into his cup of oatmeal. Every morning. The same damn breakfast. For dinner it was chicken and green beans, and chicken and cucumber, and brown rice, and chicken and broccoli. Bakura and I were ready to puke feathers from all the chicken.

"Kek? Do you want an omelet? I'm off today so I have time."

"Thanks, Ryou, but I'm good."

"Are you sure?" I asked, I really wanted to make something nice for him, but he shook his head to decline.

"I have to watch my weight." He gave me a quick kiss and waved at Bakura who sat at the kitchen table with his own laptop and typed. Bakura grunted to acknowledge that he saw the wave and went on with his work.

I watched Kek leave and turned to Bakura. "Hey . . . I know this is going to sound dumb, but do you think Kek has ... um, well an eating disorder?"

"You're right. I do think that sounds dumb." Bakura's eyes stayed focused on his work.

"Seriously, Bakura. He's on the scale all the time and he worries about his weight more than Anzu did in high school, and I get that he works at a gym, but don't they get a cheat day or something? He's literally had chicken for twenty-one days straight."

Bakura peaked over his laptop screen. "Really Ryou? You kept count?"

"I was getting worried." I shrugged.

Bakura drummed his fingers against the table top. I could tell he was weighing options, trying to decide what to say next.

"He's trying to make weight."

"Make his weight what?"

Bakura sighed and set the computer to the side. Not a good sign. He looked at me.

"Okay, first I need you to promise not to get pissy."

"I'm already angry because of how you said that. It means you guys have kept secrets from me."

I slapped my hands against my sides and furrowed my brow. Sometimes I wished I was a littler more mean, like Marik. Then I could slap Bakura for being a bastard. He deserved it, for everything he'd ever done, but I couldn't lift my hand. Deserve it or not, it just wasn't in my nature, so I settled for the hardest look I could give- which was still probably about as hard as tofu.

Bakura nodded. He understood the look even if it wasn't intimidating, and he was never one to sugar coat or take offense when I got pissed at him.

"You're pissed off. That's fair, but if you're going to be angry, then, stay angry at me. I'm the one that told him not to tell you."

"It's real cute how you guys always take the blame for each other, but last I checked, Kek didn't take orders from you." My hands dug into my hips. I needed to do something with them just in case I surprised myself and slapped Bakura after all.

"You're already making too big a deal of this and I haven't even said anything."

"It doesn't matter," I yelled. "I don't want you two conspiring behind my back."

"We're not- look, he's going to fight in a boxing match, all right? It's how he got his job at the gym. He didn't want you to worry about him fighting though."

I frowned. I shouldn't have been surprised. I'd drank with Bakura and Kek and his boxing buddies a few times. It made sense that he would box too, but it still hurt that he hid it.

"You didn't trust me."

"Ryou, it's us. It's been less than two months and I think we've done a rather good job at redeeming ourselves, but you can't expect us to get everything right." Bakura sighed. "I know that's no excuse , but considering how well Kek's done with everything else, I really think he should get a learning curve on this one."

"So he's boxing?" I asked. Bakura was right. Anyone else, and yes I would have been more angry because they would know better, but Kek was literally learning how to be human, and he'd done a phenomenal job at it that I could easily forgive him as long as secrets didn't become a habit.

Bakura gave me an exasperated sigh. He didn't want to have the conversation, I could tell, but I wasn't letting him out of it.

"You have to tell me now, or I worry because you're still keeping things from me."

"It's not a permanent thing; it's just one match. Kyubi lost a fighter and Kek promised to fill in. That's why he's watching his weight. He put on so much muscle since he's been at the gym that he's almost out of the weight class he needs to be in for the match."

"How do you know all this?"

Bakura shrugged. "We talk."

"When do you guys talk about this?"

His grin was calculated and sinister. "When you're at court."

I got his jab, the that's what you get for keeping your loser friends implication of his words. Not that they'd have a problem with any other friends I made, but there was still too many open wounds between Bakura, Kek, and Atem. It was a little funny, I never got jealous watching them in bed, but the thought of them talking made me feel a little possessive. I stared at the tiles.

"I still wished he would have told me."

"I think he's a little confused about it, the bout. It's violence, but it's contained. I actually think this entire experience has been good for him. It's taught him how to control himself."

"You're right." I sat down across from him and smiled. "He even helps teach the little kids. I love hearing his stories when we walk home from work. It's definitely been good for him."

Bakura smirked. "But now that you know, I have an idea."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Don't tell him you know."

"Bakura, no secrets. Don't you get that?"

Bakura raised a hand to silence me. "Hear me out, this is going to be a surprise not a secret. He needs a robe, so let's go to the craft store on the other end of town, away from the gym, and I'll buy the material if you sew the outfit."

I bit my lower lip. It sounded fun, to surprise him, and I was good at sewing. I've made my own costumes for cosplays for years. It was also really adorable to see Bakura scheming something nice for a change. The more I thought about it, the more excited I got. And seeing Kek's face when we handed it to him- damn, it was going to be great!

"Okay, under one condition."

Bakura frowned at me. "What?"

"We get hamburgers on the way there. I can't handle anymore chicken."

"Gods, deal. If I don't eat some red meat soon I'm going to become anemic."