Warning: mild blood, talk of suicide, mild smut.
~Chapter 4 ~ In Your Arms
The pale boy quietly shut the bathroom door behind him and locked it before giving a small relieved exhale. Carefully he pealed off his shirt and look at the mass of band aids covering the slit in is arm. He grimacing, seeing the blood that was starting to seep through a few of them and carefully pulled them off, pressing a piece of toilet paper to the wound to stop the bleeding.
Meanwhile, Yami Yuugi seemed to have come to some sort of conclusion, unclenching his fist and following Bakura. He stopped outside of the bathroom door, hand poised to knock before dropping his hand and testing the knob.
Finding it to be unlocked, and vaguely remembering that the lock was broken, he pushed the door open slowly and gently, taking one cautious step inside.
Bakura's eyes went wide in a panic and he quickly turned away, pressing his arm to his chest, breath coming fast. "Yuu--Yuugi-san...!" he exclaimed, voice shaking. "I-- I though I'd locked the door, why--- why are you...?!"
Yami's eyes widened as he caught sight of Bakura's arm, seemingly not hearing what Bakura was saying. He strode over to Bakura, gently taking him by his shoulders and turning him around. "Bakura, why didn't you tell me?" He asked, using the same pleading tone he had earlier. "You're hurt..." His eyes shone, sadness reflecting from their crimson depths as he reached for Bakura's arm.
The paler boy trebled, clutching his arm to his chest even tighter, trying to hide it. "No! It-- it's nothing, don't--"
"Bakura," Yami Yuugi said, gently pushing him down so he was sitting on the toilet and kneeling beside him. "It's not nothing. Let me see." He gently pulled Bakura's arm away from his chest, fingers ghosting over the wound. "Didn't you see to it that this got taken care of properly?" He asked, looking down at Bakura's arm, at his hands, anywhere but at his face.
Bakura was near hyperventilating, eyes watering. "Don't-- don't look--" His other hand moved almost franticly trying to cover as much of the wound and mess of band aids that he could. He whimpered as the blood continued to slowly flow, panic worsening as he was torn between trying to stop it and trying to hide it. "Don't-- don't look..." he repeated again, voice cracking.
Yami Yuugi looked up at Bakura, watching the other boy and finally leaning up to wrap his arms around him. "Bakura, it's okay." He said, trying to reassure the nearly hysterical boy, holding his arm away from their bodes. "It's all right." He said again, his voice soothing as he shh'ed Bakura quietly. "Don't worry about it, we'll take care of it, okay?" He pulled away a little, looking into Bakura's eyes, his gaze probing. "Okay? It'll be fine."
The boy gave a small whimper, trying to move his arm to press it to his chest again.
"Please, Bakura." Yami Yuugi pleaded, pulling away a little, and seeing a towel lying draped over the sink he grabbed it and pressed it gently against the wound. "It's okay. You don't have to try and hide it from me, okay?" He reassured, rocking back and forth slowly against Bakura, soothingly.
"I didn't want you to see..." the boy whimpered.
"Why not?" Yami Yuugi asked simply, simultaneously resting Bakura's arm on his leg and continuing to dab at the blood pooling where the cut had reopened and reaching up to wipe away a stray tear on Bakura's cheek.
"I---" the boy faltered. He gave another small whimper and looked down at the blood. "You have to press it or it won't stop..."
Yami Yuugi nodded slowly, wrapping the towel around his hand and pressing against the wound. "Why didn't you want me to see?" He asked again, tilting Bakura's head so he could look him in the eye.
Bakura panicked softly, seeming unable to answer.
Yami Yuugi looked at him for a second, fear and worry in his eyes. He trailed one finger along Bakura's cheek. "It's okay. You don't have to say. Let's just get you taken care of, okay?" He asked, trying for some kind of positive response from the boy.
The boy gave a small nod. "I-- I have more band aids, I-- I can take care of it..."
Yami Yuugi shook his head. "I'm not a doctor, but this needs more than a band aid. We should see if we can find something to wrap it with." He trailed off, looking around. "I'll find something, all right? Is that okay?"
Bakura looked down.
"Bakura..." Yami Yuugi said softly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have barged in. But, will you please let me take care of you?" He asked, holding Bakura's injured arm carefully. "Please?" He asked, almost begging with him as his fingers stroked Bakura's hand.
The boy didn't respond, continuing to look down at his arm.
Yami Yuugi sighed, reluctantly letting go of Bakura's arm and standing up, walking over to the medicine cabinet. "I really don't know what to do..." He examined various bottles. "I don't really know how to bandage a cut like that."
Bakura reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of Band-Aids and began carefully applying then, making sure the skin was pinched together tightly.
Yami Yuugi turned away from the cabinet to watch Bakura, his expression sorrowful.
When he had finished, the boy reached for his shirt, hair spilling away from his shoulder to show a deep diagonal scar that slashed across from his shoulder to his collar bone.
Yami Yuugi turned, catching sight of the scar on Bakura's shoulder. "Are you sad, Bakura?" He asked softly, trailing one hand over the exposed skin.
Bakura stilled, breath catching slightly, hand tensing around the striped cloth of the shirt in his hand.
Yami Yuugi noticed Bakura tensing, moving to sit beside him again. "Are you sad now, after all that's happened to you?" He asked again, softly.
Bakura was still a moment more before moving to slowly put his shirt back on, taking great care to not jostle his arm.
"You don't have to be." He said, resting on the edge of the bathtub. "I don't want you to be." He said, tenderly pushing Bakura's hair from his face.
The boy leaned into the touch slightly, eyes closing. "I didn't want you to see..." he near whispered.
Yami Yuugi sighed and shook his head. "If it matters that much to you... I didn't." He rested his head in his hands, intertwining his fingers. "I didn't see."
"You did, and you can't make it go away like I always do..." Bakura looked down, voice still soft. "I almost convinced myself it was an accident..."
Yami Yuugi looked up, shocked. "You mean, it wasn't?" He asked, breathlessly.
The boy gave a small smile. "How could it be...?"
Yami Yuugi reached over, eyes wide, and hesitantly touched Bakura's arm. "But... why?" He questioned, watching Bakura, emotions flooding through him.
The boy was quiet a moment. "He always stopped me before... and I didn't want to believe he was gone, so-- so I tried to make him take over to stop me..." His hands tensed a moment. "And when he didn't when I just had the knife I-- I kept going, hoping... hoping he would..." his voice trailed off and he gave a small smile. "I thought I was dying... hallucinating... but the touch was real...."
Yami Yuugi looked taken aback for a second. "But he did stop you?"
"Un," Bakura gave a small laugh. "He yelled at me, said I was being an idiot and if he ever caught me trying anything like it again that he'd break my fingers," he smiled, putting a hand over where the Ring was under his shirt.
"I wouldn't have put it quite like that..." Yami Yuugi said wryly. "But I do agree. You have people who care about you, Bakura. We... I would be sad... if you, if you..." He didn't seem to be able to say it, instead drawing Bakura's fingertips to his lips. "And he better not try to break your fingers..." He half-growled, tone almost possessive.
The paler boy smiled fondly. "So does that answer all your questions?" he asked, voice still quiet.
"What did he do after he threatened to break your fingers?" Yami Yuugi asked, eyeing Bakura's hand in his, his gaze flicking towards Bakura himself after a second. "As pretty as they are..." He said, trailing off as he rested said fingers against his cheek, still watching Bakura.
Bakura smiled again. "He complained about the lack of bandages in my medicine chest and used the Ring to stop the bleeding while I just stared like an idiot," he laughed at himself.
Yami Yuugi nodded slowly, brow furrowing. "I see..." He continued to hold Bakura's hand to his cheek, his expression thoughtful. "You aren't an idiot, Bakura." He said pointedly after a second.
"What else could I be?" The boy looked down, a small sad smile on his lips. "You even told me he had his own form and I still couldn't comprehend it."
"You were tired and upset." Yami Yuugi said clearly. "It's not a matter of intelligence. You're a very smart person." He gazed at Bakura adoringly, his words and expression indicating two separate things entirely. "So he took care of you?"
Bakura nodded, blushing slightly.
"And I can't," Yami Yuugi said, his sentence floating the line between statement and question.
The pale boy blinked in confusion at Yami Yuugi's tone. "Yuugi-san...?"
"I'm just wondering. How well did he take care of you?" Yami Yuugi asked, keeping his tone as light as possible. "Is he what is best for you?"
Bakura looked down. "He knows me, Yuugi-san... sometimes better then I let myself..." he trailed off. "I-- I wanted this to be different. I-- I wanted you to... to not see everything I try to hide." He hugged himself slightly. "I wanted you to know the me I wish I was..."
"Bakura, I want to know you for who you are. Not who you wish you were. Not to say that I don't want to hear about your goals for yourself...." He smiled. "I want to hear about that as well. But most of all, what I'd like to see from you, is yourself. However you feel most true to who you are inside. That's the Bakura I want to know." He paused, clutching at Bakura's hand. "That's the Bakura I love so much." He said, smiling again. "If you feel like you have to show me, or anyone for that matter, another person... well, what I'm saying is... you don't have to around me."
"But when you move, you get a chance to reinvent yourself," the pale boy protested. "I try so hard..."
"You get a chance to grow." Yami Yuugi half-corrected. "And if you have to try that hard... it isn't worth it. Please, let me see you. I want to see Bakura." He pulled Bakura towards him, gently sliding Bakura's arm down his back. "I want to see you." He said again.
The boy melted against him. "Bakura's who I want everyone to see..." he said, eyes closing. "The one who's always smiling in school, being supportive and giving advice and helping everyone with their homework and studying..."
Yami Yuugi held him up, supporting his thin frame against himself, settling Bakura into his lap. "What does this Bakura have to say about that?" Yami Yuugi asked, pointing at Bakura's heart. "Are you happy like that? Aren't there times, like now for instance, when you'd just rather someone else were the supportive, helpful one?"
"But no one likes a weakling or a cry baby. Boy's aren't supposed to be weak..."
"I wouldn't call that weak," Yami Yuugi countered, running his fingers through Bakura's hair absentmindedly. "I'd call that... honest with one's self." He seemed to be satisfied with that answer, hands trailing downwards to rest in the small of Bakura's back.
The boy gave a small shudder, buying his face in Yami Yuugi's shoulder. "It's weak to want to run away and hide from anything but I can't stop doing so. I still get afraid whenever I have to take a bus and he always has to takeover whenever I have to get in a car because I just can't do it..."
Yami Yuugi clenched his hands unconsciously. "Bakura..." He whispered, pulling the boy closer to himself. "That's not weakness..."
"Yes it is," Bakura near whispered.
"I don't think it is." Yami Yuugi said, massaging light circles in Bakura's back. "I think that, after all you've been through, I think you are very strong. Those who mock you have not walked the roads you have. They should not judge you."
"I don't want to be like this," Bakura's was muffled. "I'm so tired..."
"It's okay to be tired." Yami Yuugi said softly, rocking back and forth against Bakura, his own eyes sliding shut. "It's all right."
"I even took my meds today and I still can't forget..."
"I'm sorry." Yami Yuugi said, "Would you like to sleep?"
The boy shook his head. "He can't make the nightmares go away anymore..."
Yami Yuugi flinched, looking incredibly guilty. "Then would you like to lay down?" He asked, amending his question.
Bakura shook his head again.
Yami Yuugi nodded. "Whatever you want." He said, resting his head against Bakura's shoulder.
"I want to forget everything..." the paler boy said softly.
"And how will you do that?" Yami Yuugi asked softly, holding Bakura close. "What will make it go away?"
"I don't know... I just want to lose myself in you..."
"You do?" Yami Yuugi blinked for a second, faltering a bit against Bakura, still smiling softly.
Bakura nodded slightly. "I feel safe and warm inside your arms...."
Yami Yuugi smiled, wider now, more assured. "I'm glad. I like holding you." He added quietly. "I like feeling yo in my arms, I like to know that I can protect you, at least a little."
The pale boy gave a soft smile, relaxing further in the other boy's arms.
Yami Yuugi looked down at Bakura, mind churning with troubled thoughts, like a storm brewing on water. He realized that something was still untold, Bakura was still hiding something, or so it seemed. A part of him wanted to know what, to help. Another part was fighting to protect Bakura's 'privacy', or so it seemed. Maybe he was afraid of finding out what was hidden. Maybe he didn't want to know...
The paler boy was slowly twining his finger around the chain of the Sennen Puzzle, a small smile on his lips, his eyes unfocused and almost blank.
Yami Yuugi continued to watch Bakura, trailing his finger through Bakura's hair, brow furrowed. It seemed like he was perfectly content. Happy. Why now? Why was he happy now? What was the inciting factor in his happiness? If not him, though Bakura had said he was the reason, then what? His hand stopped moving.
The boy looked up. "Yuugi-san....?" he asked, voice slightly confused and a bit worried.
Yami Yuugi smiled. "I'm sorry, Bakura. I just... I was just thinking, that's all." He resumed his light petting of Bakura's hair. "Would you like to go back into the bedroom?" He smiled, amused. "This toilet seat isn't exactly comfortable, now is it?"
"Ah!" Bakura flushed slightly with embarrassment, the pinkness in his cheeks highlighting the paleness of his skin. "Gomen, I had almost forgotten," he laughed softly, getting to his feet.
"It's okay." Yami Yuugi said, tone assuring, taking Bakura's hand and leading him back into the bedroom. "I just thought you might want to sit in here."
Bakura smiled slightly, twining his fingers around Yami Yuugi's.
Yami Yuugi sat down on the bed, returning the smile and drawing Bakura into his lap gently. "It's much more comfortable in here."
The boy smiled, melting against Yami Yuugi's chest, fingers almost automatically going back to playing with the chain the boy wore. "It's comfortable wherever you are," he said softly.
"Is it now?" Yami Yuugi said, quirking one elegant brow.
"Un," Bakura nodded, relaxing fully, resting his cheek against Yami Yuugi's shoulder, fingers twining around the metal of the chain.
"It's comfortable wherever you are as well... Bakura." He said, watching Bakura's delicate hands thread through the chain around his neck. "Very much so."
The boy gave a soft smile and lifted his lips to gently kiss the side of Yami Yuugi's neck.
Yami Yuugi tilted his head slightly, closing his eyes, and relaxing again, his troubled thoughts slipping away until nothing even remotely upsetting remained.
Bakura's lips spoke silent syllables against the shorter boy's skin as his fingers almost danced up the chain holding the Sennen Puzzle to caress the skin around it, backs of his fingernails lightly scratching pale patterns on the Yami Yuugi's flesh.
Yami Yuugi shivered slightly against the touch, leaning into it at the same time. He rested his hands at Bakura's sides, resting now against the headboard of Yuugi's bed.
"Ne, Yuugi-san...?" Bakura asked as he continued his gently assault on the other boy's neck. "Why do you wear a collar so often?"
Yami Yuugi opened one eye, gazing down at Bakura slightly. "Why does Yuugi wear it, you mean." He said, correcting Bakura.
"You both do and you show it off more," the pale boy pointed out, shifting to be straddling Yami Yuugi's lap before resuming his attentions.
"You're right." He said, almost dejectedly. "It's a kind of defense mechanism, really." He said, rather shortly.
"Defense mechanism...?" Bakura prompted, fingers sliding under the tight black cloth of the other boy's shirt.
"It's a kind of protection, flamboyance is. To wear the things we wear. It defends us from ourselves." He said mysteriously, seeming somewhat unwilling to elaborate.
"How?" Bakura asked between the kisses he was placing on the other boy's neck.
"Because people judge you by how you look. Isn't that so?" He asked. "So they usually avoid us. There may be another, more psychological reason, but that's what we say when someone asks."
"But it makes you stand out," Bakura pointed out before beginning to gently nibble on Yami Yuugi's neck, shifting once more to settle his weight on the other boy's more sensitive spot.
"That's more the point than anything." Yami Yuugi said, sighing a little in response to the gentle lips trailing over his neck. "Reverse psychology, right?"
"Maybe...." Bakura's hand moved to slide up under Yami Yuugi's shirt, searching for sensitive areas.
Yami Yuugi sucked in a breath, sharply, contentment written all over his face. "We don't get bothered much. Except by the occasional... wonderful... talented... person, such as yourself." He said this brokenly, thoughts getting muddled.
Bakura smiled against the shorter boy's neck, pulling Yami Yuugi's shirt up slightly and lightly tracing over the skin with his injured hand, the tips of his fingers slightly colder then the more active ones that were exploding higher up.
Yami Yuugi tensed, instinctively, then relaxed once more, smiling himself. He knew he should stop this now, before he let it get out of hand, he didn't want to force Bakura to do something he didn't want to... but there was still that niggling in the back of his mind, that small voice telling him it didn't matter...
The pale boy continued to work Yami Yuugi's shirt higher and higher, then ducked his head under it to begin lavishing attention on one of the shorter boy's nipples, licking the erect skin before covering it with his lips and delicately nipping at it as he suckled.
Yami's eyes widened at the intimate touch, his body reacting before he could think as he arched slightly. "B--Bakura..." He said haltingly, his voice soft.
"Nani...?" the paler boy asked softly, smiling at the reactions of the boy beneath him and shifting to center himself over the now more prominent bulge in Yami Yuugi's pants.
Yami Yuugi waved one hand helplessly. "Nothing..." Yami Yuugi said, his voice low. The niggling persisted, but it was overshadowed by twinges of pleasure now.
Hands trailing lower now, Bakura's fingers began tracing the top of Yami Yuugi's pants, one hand slowly undoing the belt with the colder fingers explored it's rim.
Yami Yuugi let his head fall back, the gentle fingers tracing his skin leaving him slightly breathless. This touch... from Bakura, it was sheer heaven. He sighed, one hand reaching up to stop Bakura, dropping as soon as it moved. He didn't want to hurt him... but he could barely speak.
The pale boy gently pulled the belt through the loops and paused, looking at it a moment, eyes unsure, as if debating his next move, hands stilling.
Yami Yuugi looked up for a second, questions in his eyes, mixed with a certain realization. "Bakura?" He asked softly, breathing heavily, his voice husky.
The boy looked up, eyes still unsure. He looked back at the belt, then at Yami Yuugi's wrist, and then the bedpost and back to the belt, entire manner hesitant and debating.
Yami Yuugi blinked, following Bakura's gaze. "What is it that you want?" He asked, tone wary, a bit careful. "Bakura?"
Bakura was still a moment more before slowly reaching for Yami Yuugi's wrist and gently wrapping the leather strap around it.
Yami Yuugi relaxed into Bakura's actions, smiling. "Go ahead." He said lightly, keeping his tone even.
Movements almost hesitant, the pale boy lifted Yami Yuugi's wrist to the bedpost and carefully buckled the belt around it before turning to look up at the now captive boy beneath him, eyes still unsure.
Yami Yuugi smiled reassuringly at Bakura, his free hand tracing over Bakura's cheek. "This is what you want?" He asked, voice breathy.
"I want you..." Bakura said softly, eyes closing as he leaned into the touch.
"You have me" Yami Yuugi said, amused as he tugged on the belt meaningfully. "You can have me." He amended. "You can take whatever you want... of mine."
The pale boy gave a soft smile. "But you share it all with Yuugi-kun..." he said softly.
"And what did he tell you regarding that?" Yami Yuugi asked, hand still resting against Bakura's cheek. "You asked him, and he told you?"
"But there's a difference between liking and taking...."
"Yes, there is." Yami Yuugi said, nodding gravely. "I realize that difference. And so does he."
Bakura seemed almost to collapse, curling up on top of the smaller boy, burying his face in his chest.
Yami Yuugi put his free hand in Bakura's hair, smiling adoringly at Bakura as he rested against him. "Bakura?" He asked after a second.
The boy was shaking slightly, whispering something unintelligible.
"What's wrong, Bakura?" Yami Yuugi asked again, a bit more urgently this time, taking Bakura by his shoulders and supporting him a little. "Are you okay?"
The pale boy looked up, eyes watering on the verge of tears. "Gomen nasai, Yuugi-san, Yuugi-kun, I-- I---" he buried his face in Yami Yuugi's chest again, clinging to him.
"It's okay, Bakura." Yami Yuugi said, mentally berating himself. "I'm sorry. It's my fault."
Bakura shook his head. "Boku no sei, Yuugi-san no sei janai, Boku no sei," he insisted.
"What do you mean?" Yami Yuugi asked, tone concerned as he lifted Bakura back into a position more resembling sitting.
The pale boy curled up against Yami Yuugi's chest. "I-- I didn't stop to think, I-- I just wanted to make you mine like he showed me how and I-- I almost forgot that-- that Yuugi-kun also-- I---"
Yami Yuugi froze, his thoughts both grinding to a halt and speeding up infinitely, tumbling over one another. His hand gripped Bakura's shoulder. "Bakura?" He questioned simply, fighting off a hurt expression.
"Gomen nasai..." the boy said miserably. "I wanted to make you mine..." he near whimpered.
"Don't apologize." Yami Yuugi said, comfort in his voice, ice in his veins. "You don't have to. I understand. It simply angers me... that he would... take advantage of that..."
Bakura was miserably quiet a moment before reaching out to undo the belt, keeping his eyes low and shoulders slumped.
Yami Yuugi sighed, catching Bakura's hand as his fell. "You didn't have to stop." He said. "If you don't want to." He paused. "But if you feel like you're doing it because of what he said... then don't." Yami Yuugi sighed then, his expression laced with pity. "I just wonder why you didn't tell me..." He said, so soft it might have never been heard.
"Didn't tell you....?" Bakura said in a small voice. "And-- and I liked... liked playing with you..."
"You don't have to stop then." Yami Yuugi said, speaking as if to a child, comforting Bakura the best way he knew how. "I wasn't going to stop you." He added, rather shyly.
The pale boy gave a small shaky smile. "I-- I don't want to take that from Yuugi-kun without... it's his body too...."
Yami Yuugi nodded. "I understand that. And I wouldn't encourage it unless I were sure that it was fine with him." He said firmly.
"It'd be like... like if he went and went all the way with someone before we were split..." Bakura said softly, slowly calming. "It wouldn't be right to Yuugi-kun..."
"Would you be in love with whoever that was, if it had happened?" Yami Yuugi asked, probingly. "And no one said you were going all the way." He tapped Bakura's nose a bit playfully.
The boy gave a small smile. "I-- I was planning on trying...." he said softly, looking slightly embarrassed.
"Well, I wouldn't have stopped you," Yami Yuugi pointed out. "And Yuugi is all right with it. So you don't have to look so embarrassed." He smiled, amusingly.
Bakura blinked. "Yuugi-kun's...?" he repeated, eyes going wide.
Yami Yuugi nodded slowly. "Yes."
"How... has-- has he been....?" Bakura trailed off, blushing slightly.
Yami Yuugi traced the color on Bakura's cheeks, smiling a little wryly. "Has he been what, Bakura?"
"Been aware?" Bakura asked meekly, the deepening blush making the rest of his face seem almost porcelain.
Yami Yuugi continued to smile. "At times, yes." He said, admitting this with both great relish and deep embarrassment. "Only a few times." He amended.
"Can-- can I talk to him? To-- to make sure, I mean. It's not that I distrust you, I just--" Bakura trailed off.
"Of course. It's perfectly all right." Yami Yuugi said, closing his eyes for a second. "It's perfectly fine. Just a second."
Bakura fidgeted slightly, looking down.
Yuugi's eyes opened and he blinked up at Bakura. "Hello, Bakura-kun." He said sweetly.
Bakura blushed deeply almost scrambling off Yuugi's lap.
Yuugi grabbed Bakura's uninjured hand, holding him in place. "He'll be back in a second. What was it you wanted to say?" Yuugi asked, that same sweet tone in his voice.
Bakura's blush didn't fade. "I-- I wanted to--" he stammered. "You-- were you aware...? Of--- of what we-- what we were....?" he trailed off, voice slightly faint as the contrast of color in his cheeks and lack of color in the rest of his face grew.
Yuugi smiled, his presence a comfort in and of itself. "Sometimes, yes. Why do you ask?" He seemed curious, tilting his head to one side.
"I-- I just wanted to make sure that you-- you were okay with-- with what I-- what we--" Bakura stammered.
Yuugi near-grinned. "I already told you, I'm fine with it. I can't deny him anything." He smiled adoringly. "And I wouldn't deny you anything either, Bakura-kun." He brushed a lock of hair from Bakura's face. "So go ahead. And have fun."
Bakura smiled. "I don't want to take advantage of you or take anything you're not willing to give," he said softly, eyes closing blissfully at the touch.
"You wouldn't be, Bakura-kun." Yuugi assured. "That's not how I see it."
"Yuugi-kun," Bakura smiled. Almost hesitantly, he reached out to caress Yuugi's cheek before leaning forward to gently brush his lips against the smaller boy's.
Yuugi's eyes closed briefly, his whole world ceasing to revolve in the short seconds of the kiss. He leaned up into Bakura's touch for a second, thinly veiled desperation reflecting in his actions. Guilt nearly won out, but his more powerful emotions quelled it, if only for those... few moments.
Bakura melted into the kiss happily, caressing down the smaller boy's cheek to trace down his neck.
Yuugi, in feeling Bakura's reaction, silently apologized to some part of himself and responded a bit more fervently, little moans coming from his mouth.
Bakura pulled away after a long moment, smile blissful. "Can I have you both?" he asked with a small laugh.
Yuugi smiled up at him. "I wouldn't complain." He near-whispered, still caught up in the wonder of the boy on top of him, sheer happiness clouding his senses. "No, I wouldn't complain at all..." He trailed off, breathing heavily.
The pale boy smiled happily, snuggling closely to the shorter boy, tracing down his chest slightly. "Maybe someday you and Yuugi-san can separate," he joked lightly.
Yuugi melted into the soft touches the other bestowed on him, smiling in perfect contentment. "I don't know... I think it might be kind of strange..." He said. "But maybe..." His voice faded as he rested against Bakura, eyes closed.
"Maybe just for a little while," Bakura amended. "I just want to feel you both.... I wouldn't want you to be torn apart...."
"I understand what you're saying. Sometimes... I really wish I could just hold him. Like this." Yuugi said, his voice small. "I do care about him... quite a lot."
Bakura nodded. "You're lucky to have him. I hope you don't mind sharing," he laughed softly.
Yuugi shook his head, blonde locks swaying in front of his face. "Like I said, I don't mind. As long as it's you, Bakura-kun. But I'm sure you want to get back to him..." He trailed off.
"You can stay..." Bakura said softly. "Yuugi-kun mou, suki yo," he blushed softly.
Yuugi looked at Bakura, curious again. "Thank you..." He said softly after a second.
"He doesn't mind, does he?"
Yuugi paused for a second. "No. He doesn't mind." He smiled. "Mou hitori no boku... he's very appeasing when it comes to me. In the only ways he knows how, well, he kind of dotes on me." He blushed lightly. "It's rather sweet of him."
Bakura smiled softly. "You're both so lucky..." he sighed, voice tinted with longing.
"But you can be..." Yuugi said, trailing off a bit, taking Bakura's injured hand in his, holding it carefully. "You can be like us, have what we have. Maybe... maybe not with him... but mou hitori no boku? He cares about you, that's obvious. And I, I care about you." He looked into Bakura's eyes, his own shining a little. "Bakura-kun..." He stopped and smiled.
The paler boy gave a heart-melting smile. "Yuugi-kun..." his voice was emotional. "If only I could be part of you both..." he sighed longingly, snuggling close. "You make me feel as if I could be whole again..."
Yuugi met his snuggling, legs twining with Bakura's, almost unconsciously. "I think you can, Bakura-kun. No, I know that if you want to - I know that you can." He sounded rather enthusiastic for a moment. "I know it." He repeated, softer this time. "And, if I can, I'll help you heal." He whispered.
Bakura gave a blissful smile. "Yuugi-kun..." he caressed the name, voice tired as his eyes closed.
Yuugi blinked. "Are you tired, Bakura-kun?" He asked, mentally noting how much he enjoyed Bakura saying his name.
The pale boy when to protest, but instead gave a yawn, much to his embarrassment. "Gomen..." he blushed slightly.
"It's okay. You've had a long day." Yuugi said, softly. "Don't worry about it." He was nearly as embarrassed when he yawned himself.
"I should get home," Bakura murmured, making no effort to move. "He'll wonder if I'm not... I don't want to..." he trailed off with another yawn.
"You sure you have to go?" Yuugi asked, pleadingly, holding Bakura's hand to his cheek.
"I should...." The pale boy's voice was fading. "So tired...."
"Mmm." Yuugi muttered, his own eyes sliding shut. "Maybe..." He curled up closer to the pale boy.
"I don't want him to...." Bakura murmured exhaustedly. "I should go...."
Suddenly, the hands holding Bakura's were firmer, stronger. "He won't." The deep voice said. "Don't worry about him right now."
Bakura gave a small tired smile. "Yuugi-san... But I don't want to be a bother..."
"You can drop the '-san', Bakura." Yami Yuugi said, amused. "And you will never be a bother."
"Demo, I can't call you both Yuugi-kun," the pale boy protested weakly.
"So just call me 'Yuugi'. It's not that confusing, Bakura. I know which one you mean." He smiled.
"Demo...."
Yami Yuugi sighed. "No buts, Bakura." He said firmly, tapping Bakura's nose.
The boy made a vaguely unhappy sound, but didn't protest further.
"You can sleep here. I'll be here in the morning." He said softly, disentangling himself from Bakura and sitting on the edge of the bed, regally.
Bakura reached out and tiredly gripped the cloth of the boy's pants. "Don't leave...." he near begged, voice exhausted.
Yami Yuugi paused. "I won't leave." He said, laying down next to the tired boy again. "I'll stay here, with you. If you want"
Bakura gave a small smile. "Maybe-- maybe you can keep the nightmares away...?"
Yami Yuugi smiled and nodded. "Maybe I can keep the nightmares away." He said softly, resting his forehead against Bakura's.
The pale boy gave one last smile before his eyes closed and he fell into an exhausted sleep.
Yami Yuugi closed his own eyes, resting against Bakura, his own expression rather tired.
-----------------------------------
In the next chapter of the Soap Opera...
"You weren't invited in," Yami Bakura said plainly, crossing his arms as he scowled slightly, blocking the shorter boy from entering further.
Yami Yuugi's upper lips curled, and he crossed his own arms. "Not by you, no. I wasn't." He said, traditional haughty tone in place. "I'm here to take care of more important matters."
...
The Puzzle's spirit backed away, bumping into the wall and gently sliding to the floor, hand impacting with the cold tile beneath him. Why did he have to care? Why did it matter so much, what they did? His eyes narrowed, then closed for a second as he sat in the steam-filled bathroom, clutching his bleeding hand.
...
"I can feel him, in my mind, cradling it and soothing everything away so I don't have to think anymore. He knows everything about me, even things I don't know and I don't need to speak, he hears my heart's desire and the words I think...."
Yami Yuugi nodded slowly. "And, he loves you?" He asked, voice wavering. "Does he love you more than he loves himself? Does he worship your every move? Would he do anything, no matter how high the cost, to protect you?" He questioned, his tone surprisingly deadpan the more he talked.
The pale boy hesitated. "I-- I don't know..." he admitted, playing with the towel around his waist.
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AN from Fran:
Bakuraluva: *bows* Thanke kindly. YamiYuugi's parts are written by the Mayhemchan, who is unfortinaly offline for a while, but she'll be happy you're enjoying how she's playing him. Smut's a very board term, so... Glad the cats are liking it! :)
Sailor Comet: Yep. :)
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Feed the feedback junkies and review please!
~Chapter 4 ~ In Your Arms
The pale boy quietly shut the bathroom door behind him and locked it before giving a small relieved exhale. Carefully he pealed off his shirt and look at the mass of band aids covering the slit in is arm. He grimacing, seeing the blood that was starting to seep through a few of them and carefully pulled them off, pressing a piece of toilet paper to the wound to stop the bleeding.
Meanwhile, Yami Yuugi seemed to have come to some sort of conclusion, unclenching his fist and following Bakura. He stopped outside of the bathroom door, hand poised to knock before dropping his hand and testing the knob.
Finding it to be unlocked, and vaguely remembering that the lock was broken, he pushed the door open slowly and gently, taking one cautious step inside.
Bakura's eyes went wide in a panic and he quickly turned away, pressing his arm to his chest, breath coming fast. "Yuu--Yuugi-san...!" he exclaimed, voice shaking. "I-- I though I'd locked the door, why--- why are you...?!"
Yami's eyes widened as he caught sight of Bakura's arm, seemingly not hearing what Bakura was saying. He strode over to Bakura, gently taking him by his shoulders and turning him around. "Bakura, why didn't you tell me?" He asked, using the same pleading tone he had earlier. "You're hurt..." His eyes shone, sadness reflecting from their crimson depths as he reached for Bakura's arm.
The paler boy trebled, clutching his arm to his chest even tighter, trying to hide it. "No! It-- it's nothing, don't--"
"Bakura," Yami Yuugi said, gently pushing him down so he was sitting on the toilet and kneeling beside him. "It's not nothing. Let me see." He gently pulled Bakura's arm away from his chest, fingers ghosting over the wound. "Didn't you see to it that this got taken care of properly?" He asked, looking down at Bakura's arm, at his hands, anywhere but at his face.
Bakura was near hyperventilating, eyes watering. "Don't-- don't look--" His other hand moved almost franticly trying to cover as much of the wound and mess of band aids that he could. He whimpered as the blood continued to slowly flow, panic worsening as he was torn between trying to stop it and trying to hide it. "Don't-- don't look..." he repeated again, voice cracking.
Yami Yuugi looked up at Bakura, watching the other boy and finally leaning up to wrap his arms around him. "Bakura, it's okay." He said, trying to reassure the nearly hysterical boy, holding his arm away from their bodes. "It's all right." He said again, his voice soothing as he shh'ed Bakura quietly. "Don't worry about it, we'll take care of it, okay?" He pulled away a little, looking into Bakura's eyes, his gaze probing. "Okay? It'll be fine."
The boy gave a small whimper, trying to move his arm to press it to his chest again.
"Please, Bakura." Yami Yuugi pleaded, pulling away a little, and seeing a towel lying draped over the sink he grabbed it and pressed it gently against the wound. "It's okay. You don't have to try and hide it from me, okay?" He reassured, rocking back and forth slowly against Bakura, soothingly.
"I didn't want you to see..." the boy whimpered.
"Why not?" Yami Yuugi asked simply, simultaneously resting Bakura's arm on his leg and continuing to dab at the blood pooling where the cut had reopened and reaching up to wipe away a stray tear on Bakura's cheek.
"I---" the boy faltered. He gave another small whimper and looked down at the blood. "You have to press it or it won't stop..."
Yami Yuugi nodded slowly, wrapping the towel around his hand and pressing against the wound. "Why didn't you want me to see?" He asked again, tilting Bakura's head so he could look him in the eye.
Bakura panicked softly, seeming unable to answer.
Yami Yuugi looked at him for a second, fear and worry in his eyes. He trailed one finger along Bakura's cheek. "It's okay. You don't have to say. Let's just get you taken care of, okay?" He asked, trying for some kind of positive response from the boy.
The boy gave a small nod. "I-- I have more band aids, I-- I can take care of it..."
Yami Yuugi shook his head. "I'm not a doctor, but this needs more than a band aid. We should see if we can find something to wrap it with." He trailed off, looking around. "I'll find something, all right? Is that okay?"
Bakura looked down.
"Bakura..." Yami Yuugi said softly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have barged in. But, will you please let me take care of you?" He asked, holding Bakura's injured arm carefully. "Please?" He asked, almost begging with him as his fingers stroked Bakura's hand.
The boy didn't respond, continuing to look down at his arm.
Yami Yuugi sighed, reluctantly letting go of Bakura's arm and standing up, walking over to the medicine cabinet. "I really don't know what to do..." He examined various bottles. "I don't really know how to bandage a cut like that."
Bakura reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of Band-Aids and began carefully applying then, making sure the skin was pinched together tightly.
Yami Yuugi turned away from the cabinet to watch Bakura, his expression sorrowful.
When he had finished, the boy reached for his shirt, hair spilling away from his shoulder to show a deep diagonal scar that slashed across from his shoulder to his collar bone.
Yami Yuugi turned, catching sight of the scar on Bakura's shoulder. "Are you sad, Bakura?" He asked softly, trailing one hand over the exposed skin.
Bakura stilled, breath catching slightly, hand tensing around the striped cloth of the shirt in his hand.
Yami Yuugi noticed Bakura tensing, moving to sit beside him again. "Are you sad now, after all that's happened to you?" He asked again, softly.
Bakura was still a moment more before moving to slowly put his shirt back on, taking great care to not jostle his arm.
"You don't have to be." He said, resting on the edge of the bathtub. "I don't want you to be." He said, tenderly pushing Bakura's hair from his face.
The boy leaned into the touch slightly, eyes closing. "I didn't want you to see..." he near whispered.
Yami Yuugi sighed and shook his head. "If it matters that much to you... I didn't." He rested his head in his hands, intertwining his fingers. "I didn't see."
"You did, and you can't make it go away like I always do..." Bakura looked down, voice still soft. "I almost convinced myself it was an accident..."
Yami Yuugi looked up, shocked. "You mean, it wasn't?" He asked, breathlessly.
The boy gave a small smile. "How could it be...?"
Yami Yuugi reached over, eyes wide, and hesitantly touched Bakura's arm. "But... why?" He questioned, watching Bakura, emotions flooding through him.
The boy was quiet a moment. "He always stopped me before... and I didn't want to believe he was gone, so-- so I tried to make him take over to stop me..." His hands tensed a moment. "And when he didn't when I just had the knife I-- I kept going, hoping... hoping he would..." his voice trailed off and he gave a small smile. "I thought I was dying... hallucinating... but the touch was real...."
Yami Yuugi looked taken aback for a second. "But he did stop you?"
"Un," Bakura gave a small laugh. "He yelled at me, said I was being an idiot and if he ever caught me trying anything like it again that he'd break my fingers," he smiled, putting a hand over where the Ring was under his shirt.
"I wouldn't have put it quite like that..." Yami Yuugi said wryly. "But I do agree. You have people who care about you, Bakura. We... I would be sad... if you, if you..." He didn't seem to be able to say it, instead drawing Bakura's fingertips to his lips. "And he better not try to break your fingers..." He half-growled, tone almost possessive.
The paler boy smiled fondly. "So does that answer all your questions?" he asked, voice still quiet.
"What did he do after he threatened to break your fingers?" Yami Yuugi asked, eyeing Bakura's hand in his, his gaze flicking towards Bakura himself after a second. "As pretty as they are..." He said, trailing off as he rested said fingers against his cheek, still watching Bakura.
Bakura smiled again. "He complained about the lack of bandages in my medicine chest and used the Ring to stop the bleeding while I just stared like an idiot," he laughed at himself.
Yami Yuugi nodded slowly, brow furrowing. "I see..." He continued to hold Bakura's hand to his cheek, his expression thoughtful. "You aren't an idiot, Bakura." He said pointedly after a second.
"What else could I be?" The boy looked down, a small sad smile on his lips. "You even told me he had his own form and I still couldn't comprehend it."
"You were tired and upset." Yami Yuugi said clearly. "It's not a matter of intelligence. You're a very smart person." He gazed at Bakura adoringly, his words and expression indicating two separate things entirely. "So he took care of you?"
Bakura nodded, blushing slightly.
"And I can't," Yami Yuugi said, his sentence floating the line between statement and question.
The pale boy blinked in confusion at Yami Yuugi's tone. "Yuugi-san...?"
"I'm just wondering. How well did he take care of you?" Yami Yuugi asked, keeping his tone as light as possible. "Is he what is best for you?"
Bakura looked down. "He knows me, Yuugi-san... sometimes better then I let myself..." he trailed off. "I-- I wanted this to be different. I-- I wanted you to... to not see everything I try to hide." He hugged himself slightly. "I wanted you to know the me I wish I was..."
"Bakura, I want to know you for who you are. Not who you wish you were. Not to say that I don't want to hear about your goals for yourself...." He smiled. "I want to hear about that as well. But most of all, what I'd like to see from you, is yourself. However you feel most true to who you are inside. That's the Bakura I want to know." He paused, clutching at Bakura's hand. "That's the Bakura I love so much." He said, smiling again. "If you feel like you have to show me, or anyone for that matter, another person... well, what I'm saying is... you don't have to around me."
"But when you move, you get a chance to reinvent yourself," the pale boy protested. "I try so hard..."
"You get a chance to grow." Yami Yuugi half-corrected. "And if you have to try that hard... it isn't worth it. Please, let me see you. I want to see Bakura." He pulled Bakura towards him, gently sliding Bakura's arm down his back. "I want to see you." He said again.
The boy melted against him. "Bakura's who I want everyone to see..." he said, eyes closing. "The one who's always smiling in school, being supportive and giving advice and helping everyone with their homework and studying..."
Yami Yuugi held him up, supporting his thin frame against himself, settling Bakura into his lap. "What does this Bakura have to say about that?" Yami Yuugi asked, pointing at Bakura's heart. "Are you happy like that? Aren't there times, like now for instance, when you'd just rather someone else were the supportive, helpful one?"
"But no one likes a weakling or a cry baby. Boy's aren't supposed to be weak..."
"I wouldn't call that weak," Yami Yuugi countered, running his fingers through Bakura's hair absentmindedly. "I'd call that... honest with one's self." He seemed to be satisfied with that answer, hands trailing downwards to rest in the small of Bakura's back.
The boy gave a small shudder, buying his face in Yami Yuugi's shoulder. "It's weak to want to run away and hide from anything but I can't stop doing so. I still get afraid whenever I have to take a bus and he always has to takeover whenever I have to get in a car because I just can't do it..."
Yami Yuugi clenched his hands unconsciously. "Bakura..." He whispered, pulling the boy closer to himself. "That's not weakness..."
"Yes it is," Bakura near whispered.
"I don't think it is." Yami Yuugi said, massaging light circles in Bakura's back. "I think that, after all you've been through, I think you are very strong. Those who mock you have not walked the roads you have. They should not judge you."
"I don't want to be like this," Bakura's was muffled. "I'm so tired..."
"It's okay to be tired." Yami Yuugi said softly, rocking back and forth against Bakura, his own eyes sliding shut. "It's all right."
"I even took my meds today and I still can't forget..."
"I'm sorry." Yami Yuugi said, "Would you like to sleep?"
The boy shook his head. "He can't make the nightmares go away anymore..."
Yami Yuugi flinched, looking incredibly guilty. "Then would you like to lay down?" He asked, amending his question.
Bakura shook his head again.
Yami Yuugi nodded. "Whatever you want." He said, resting his head against Bakura's shoulder.
"I want to forget everything..." the paler boy said softly.
"And how will you do that?" Yami Yuugi asked softly, holding Bakura close. "What will make it go away?"
"I don't know... I just want to lose myself in you..."
"You do?" Yami Yuugi blinked for a second, faltering a bit against Bakura, still smiling softly.
Bakura nodded slightly. "I feel safe and warm inside your arms...."
Yami Yuugi smiled, wider now, more assured. "I'm glad. I like holding you." He added quietly. "I like feeling yo in my arms, I like to know that I can protect you, at least a little."
The pale boy gave a soft smile, relaxing further in the other boy's arms.
Yami Yuugi looked down at Bakura, mind churning with troubled thoughts, like a storm brewing on water. He realized that something was still untold, Bakura was still hiding something, or so it seemed. A part of him wanted to know what, to help. Another part was fighting to protect Bakura's 'privacy', or so it seemed. Maybe he was afraid of finding out what was hidden. Maybe he didn't want to know...
The paler boy was slowly twining his finger around the chain of the Sennen Puzzle, a small smile on his lips, his eyes unfocused and almost blank.
Yami Yuugi continued to watch Bakura, trailing his finger through Bakura's hair, brow furrowed. It seemed like he was perfectly content. Happy. Why now? Why was he happy now? What was the inciting factor in his happiness? If not him, though Bakura had said he was the reason, then what? His hand stopped moving.
The boy looked up. "Yuugi-san....?" he asked, voice slightly confused and a bit worried.
Yami Yuugi smiled. "I'm sorry, Bakura. I just... I was just thinking, that's all." He resumed his light petting of Bakura's hair. "Would you like to go back into the bedroom?" He smiled, amused. "This toilet seat isn't exactly comfortable, now is it?"
"Ah!" Bakura flushed slightly with embarrassment, the pinkness in his cheeks highlighting the paleness of his skin. "Gomen, I had almost forgotten," he laughed softly, getting to his feet.
"It's okay." Yami Yuugi said, tone assuring, taking Bakura's hand and leading him back into the bedroom. "I just thought you might want to sit in here."
Bakura smiled slightly, twining his fingers around Yami Yuugi's.
Yami Yuugi sat down on the bed, returning the smile and drawing Bakura into his lap gently. "It's much more comfortable in here."
The boy smiled, melting against Yami Yuugi's chest, fingers almost automatically going back to playing with the chain the boy wore. "It's comfortable wherever you are," he said softly.
"Is it now?" Yami Yuugi said, quirking one elegant brow.
"Un," Bakura nodded, relaxing fully, resting his cheek against Yami Yuugi's shoulder, fingers twining around the metal of the chain.
"It's comfortable wherever you are as well... Bakura." He said, watching Bakura's delicate hands thread through the chain around his neck. "Very much so."
The boy gave a soft smile and lifted his lips to gently kiss the side of Yami Yuugi's neck.
Yami Yuugi tilted his head slightly, closing his eyes, and relaxing again, his troubled thoughts slipping away until nothing even remotely upsetting remained.
Bakura's lips spoke silent syllables against the shorter boy's skin as his fingers almost danced up the chain holding the Sennen Puzzle to caress the skin around it, backs of his fingernails lightly scratching pale patterns on the Yami Yuugi's flesh.
Yami Yuugi shivered slightly against the touch, leaning into it at the same time. He rested his hands at Bakura's sides, resting now against the headboard of Yuugi's bed.
"Ne, Yuugi-san...?" Bakura asked as he continued his gently assault on the other boy's neck. "Why do you wear a collar so often?"
Yami Yuugi opened one eye, gazing down at Bakura slightly. "Why does Yuugi wear it, you mean." He said, correcting Bakura.
"You both do and you show it off more," the pale boy pointed out, shifting to be straddling Yami Yuugi's lap before resuming his attentions.
"You're right." He said, almost dejectedly. "It's a kind of defense mechanism, really." He said, rather shortly.
"Defense mechanism...?" Bakura prompted, fingers sliding under the tight black cloth of the other boy's shirt.
"It's a kind of protection, flamboyance is. To wear the things we wear. It defends us from ourselves." He said mysteriously, seeming somewhat unwilling to elaborate.
"How?" Bakura asked between the kisses he was placing on the other boy's neck.
"Because people judge you by how you look. Isn't that so?" He asked. "So they usually avoid us. There may be another, more psychological reason, but that's what we say when someone asks."
"But it makes you stand out," Bakura pointed out before beginning to gently nibble on Yami Yuugi's neck, shifting once more to settle his weight on the other boy's more sensitive spot.
"That's more the point than anything." Yami Yuugi said, sighing a little in response to the gentle lips trailing over his neck. "Reverse psychology, right?"
"Maybe...." Bakura's hand moved to slide up under Yami Yuugi's shirt, searching for sensitive areas.
Yami Yuugi sucked in a breath, sharply, contentment written all over his face. "We don't get bothered much. Except by the occasional... wonderful... talented... person, such as yourself." He said this brokenly, thoughts getting muddled.
Bakura smiled against the shorter boy's neck, pulling Yami Yuugi's shirt up slightly and lightly tracing over the skin with his injured hand, the tips of his fingers slightly colder then the more active ones that were exploding higher up.
Yami Yuugi tensed, instinctively, then relaxed once more, smiling himself. He knew he should stop this now, before he let it get out of hand, he didn't want to force Bakura to do something he didn't want to... but there was still that niggling in the back of his mind, that small voice telling him it didn't matter...
The pale boy continued to work Yami Yuugi's shirt higher and higher, then ducked his head under it to begin lavishing attention on one of the shorter boy's nipples, licking the erect skin before covering it with his lips and delicately nipping at it as he suckled.
Yami's eyes widened at the intimate touch, his body reacting before he could think as he arched slightly. "B--Bakura..." He said haltingly, his voice soft.
"Nani...?" the paler boy asked softly, smiling at the reactions of the boy beneath him and shifting to center himself over the now more prominent bulge in Yami Yuugi's pants.
Yami Yuugi waved one hand helplessly. "Nothing..." Yami Yuugi said, his voice low. The niggling persisted, but it was overshadowed by twinges of pleasure now.
Hands trailing lower now, Bakura's fingers began tracing the top of Yami Yuugi's pants, one hand slowly undoing the belt with the colder fingers explored it's rim.
Yami Yuugi let his head fall back, the gentle fingers tracing his skin leaving him slightly breathless. This touch... from Bakura, it was sheer heaven. He sighed, one hand reaching up to stop Bakura, dropping as soon as it moved. He didn't want to hurt him... but he could barely speak.
The pale boy gently pulled the belt through the loops and paused, looking at it a moment, eyes unsure, as if debating his next move, hands stilling.
Yami Yuugi looked up for a second, questions in his eyes, mixed with a certain realization. "Bakura?" He asked softly, breathing heavily, his voice husky.
The boy looked up, eyes still unsure. He looked back at the belt, then at Yami Yuugi's wrist, and then the bedpost and back to the belt, entire manner hesitant and debating.
Yami Yuugi blinked, following Bakura's gaze. "What is it that you want?" He asked, tone wary, a bit careful. "Bakura?"
Bakura was still a moment more before slowly reaching for Yami Yuugi's wrist and gently wrapping the leather strap around it.
Yami Yuugi relaxed into Bakura's actions, smiling. "Go ahead." He said lightly, keeping his tone even.
Movements almost hesitant, the pale boy lifted Yami Yuugi's wrist to the bedpost and carefully buckled the belt around it before turning to look up at the now captive boy beneath him, eyes still unsure.
Yami Yuugi smiled reassuringly at Bakura, his free hand tracing over Bakura's cheek. "This is what you want?" He asked, voice breathy.
"I want you..." Bakura said softly, eyes closing as he leaned into the touch.
"You have me" Yami Yuugi said, amused as he tugged on the belt meaningfully. "You can have me." He amended. "You can take whatever you want... of mine."
The pale boy gave a soft smile. "But you share it all with Yuugi-kun..." he said softly.
"And what did he tell you regarding that?" Yami Yuugi asked, hand still resting against Bakura's cheek. "You asked him, and he told you?"
"But there's a difference between liking and taking...."
"Yes, there is." Yami Yuugi said, nodding gravely. "I realize that difference. And so does he."
Bakura seemed almost to collapse, curling up on top of the smaller boy, burying his face in his chest.
Yami Yuugi put his free hand in Bakura's hair, smiling adoringly at Bakura as he rested against him. "Bakura?" He asked after a second.
The boy was shaking slightly, whispering something unintelligible.
"What's wrong, Bakura?" Yami Yuugi asked again, a bit more urgently this time, taking Bakura by his shoulders and supporting him a little. "Are you okay?"
The pale boy looked up, eyes watering on the verge of tears. "Gomen nasai, Yuugi-san, Yuugi-kun, I-- I---" he buried his face in Yami Yuugi's chest again, clinging to him.
"It's okay, Bakura." Yami Yuugi said, mentally berating himself. "I'm sorry. It's my fault."
Bakura shook his head. "Boku no sei, Yuugi-san no sei janai, Boku no sei," he insisted.
"What do you mean?" Yami Yuugi asked, tone concerned as he lifted Bakura back into a position more resembling sitting.
The pale boy curled up against Yami Yuugi's chest. "I-- I didn't stop to think, I-- I just wanted to make you mine like he showed me how and I-- I almost forgot that-- that Yuugi-kun also-- I---"
Yami Yuugi froze, his thoughts both grinding to a halt and speeding up infinitely, tumbling over one another. His hand gripped Bakura's shoulder. "Bakura?" He questioned simply, fighting off a hurt expression.
"Gomen nasai..." the boy said miserably. "I wanted to make you mine..." he near whimpered.
"Don't apologize." Yami Yuugi said, comfort in his voice, ice in his veins. "You don't have to. I understand. It simply angers me... that he would... take advantage of that..."
Bakura was miserably quiet a moment before reaching out to undo the belt, keeping his eyes low and shoulders slumped.
Yami Yuugi sighed, catching Bakura's hand as his fell. "You didn't have to stop." He said. "If you don't want to." He paused. "But if you feel like you're doing it because of what he said... then don't." Yami Yuugi sighed then, his expression laced with pity. "I just wonder why you didn't tell me..." He said, so soft it might have never been heard.
"Didn't tell you....?" Bakura said in a small voice. "And-- and I liked... liked playing with you..."
"You don't have to stop then." Yami Yuugi said, speaking as if to a child, comforting Bakura the best way he knew how. "I wasn't going to stop you." He added, rather shyly.
The pale boy gave a small shaky smile. "I-- I don't want to take that from Yuugi-kun without... it's his body too...."
Yami Yuugi nodded. "I understand that. And I wouldn't encourage it unless I were sure that it was fine with him." He said firmly.
"It'd be like... like if he went and went all the way with someone before we were split..." Bakura said softly, slowly calming. "It wouldn't be right to Yuugi-kun..."
"Would you be in love with whoever that was, if it had happened?" Yami Yuugi asked, probingly. "And no one said you were going all the way." He tapped Bakura's nose a bit playfully.
The boy gave a small smile. "I-- I was planning on trying...." he said softly, looking slightly embarrassed.
"Well, I wouldn't have stopped you," Yami Yuugi pointed out. "And Yuugi is all right with it. So you don't have to look so embarrassed." He smiled, amusingly.
Bakura blinked. "Yuugi-kun's...?" he repeated, eyes going wide.
Yami Yuugi nodded slowly. "Yes."
"How... has-- has he been....?" Bakura trailed off, blushing slightly.
Yami Yuugi traced the color on Bakura's cheeks, smiling a little wryly. "Has he been what, Bakura?"
"Been aware?" Bakura asked meekly, the deepening blush making the rest of his face seem almost porcelain.
Yami Yuugi continued to smile. "At times, yes." He said, admitting this with both great relish and deep embarrassment. "Only a few times." He amended.
"Can-- can I talk to him? To-- to make sure, I mean. It's not that I distrust you, I just--" Bakura trailed off.
"Of course. It's perfectly all right." Yami Yuugi said, closing his eyes for a second. "It's perfectly fine. Just a second."
Bakura fidgeted slightly, looking down.
Yuugi's eyes opened and he blinked up at Bakura. "Hello, Bakura-kun." He said sweetly.
Bakura blushed deeply almost scrambling off Yuugi's lap.
Yuugi grabbed Bakura's uninjured hand, holding him in place. "He'll be back in a second. What was it you wanted to say?" Yuugi asked, that same sweet tone in his voice.
Bakura's blush didn't fade. "I-- I wanted to--" he stammered. "You-- were you aware...? Of--- of what we-- what we were....?" he trailed off, voice slightly faint as the contrast of color in his cheeks and lack of color in the rest of his face grew.
Yuugi smiled, his presence a comfort in and of itself. "Sometimes, yes. Why do you ask?" He seemed curious, tilting his head to one side.
"I-- I just wanted to make sure that you-- you were okay with-- with what I-- what we--" Bakura stammered.
Yuugi near-grinned. "I already told you, I'm fine with it. I can't deny him anything." He smiled adoringly. "And I wouldn't deny you anything either, Bakura-kun." He brushed a lock of hair from Bakura's face. "So go ahead. And have fun."
Bakura smiled. "I don't want to take advantage of you or take anything you're not willing to give," he said softly, eyes closing blissfully at the touch.
"You wouldn't be, Bakura-kun." Yuugi assured. "That's not how I see it."
"Yuugi-kun," Bakura smiled. Almost hesitantly, he reached out to caress Yuugi's cheek before leaning forward to gently brush his lips against the smaller boy's.
Yuugi's eyes closed briefly, his whole world ceasing to revolve in the short seconds of the kiss. He leaned up into Bakura's touch for a second, thinly veiled desperation reflecting in his actions. Guilt nearly won out, but his more powerful emotions quelled it, if only for those... few moments.
Bakura melted into the kiss happily, caressing down the smaller boy's cheek to trace down his neck.
Yuugi, in feeling Bakura's reaction, silently apologized to some part of himself and responded a bit more fervently, little moans coming from his mouth.
Bakura pulled away after a long moment, smile blissful. "Can I have you both?" he asked with a small laugh.
Yuugi smiled up at him. "I wouldn't complain." He near-whispered, still caught up in the wonder of the boy on top of him, sheer happiness clouding his senses. "No, I wouldn't complain at all..." He trailed off, breathing heavily.
The pale boy smiled happily, snuggling closely to the shorter boy, tracing down his chest slightly. "Maybe someday you and Yuugi-san can separate," he joked lightly.
Yuugi melted into the soft touches the other bestowed on him, smiling in perfect contentment. "I don't know... I think it might be kind of strange..." He said. "But maybe..." His voice faded as he rested against Bakura, eyes closed.
"Maybe just for a little while," Bakura amended. "I just want to feel you both.... I wouldn't want you to be torn apart...."
"I understand what you're saying. Sometimes... I really wish I could just hold him. Like this." Yuugi said, his voice small. "I do care about him... quite a lot."
Bakura nodded. "You're lucky to have him. I hope you don't mind sharing," he laughed softly.
Yuugi shook his head, blonde locks swaying in front of his face. "Like I said, I don't mind. As long as it's you, Bakura-kun. But I'm sure you want to get back to him..." He trailed off.
"You can stay..." Bakura said softly. "Yuugi-kun mou, suki yo," he blushed softly.
Yuugi looked at Bakura, curious again. "Thank you..." He said softly after a second.
"He doesn't mind, does he?"
Yuugi paused for a second. "No. He doesn't mind." He smiled. "Mou hitori no boku... he's very appeasing when it comes to me. In the only ways he knows how, well, he kind of dotes on me." He blushed lightly. "It's rather sweet of him."
Bakura smiled softly. "You're both so lucky..." he sighed, voice tinted with longing.
"But you can be..." Yuugi said, trailing off a bit, taking Bakura's injured hand in his, holding it carefully. "You can be like us, have what we have. Maybe... maybe not with him... but mou hitori no boku? He cares about you, that's obvious. And I, I care about you." He looked into Bakura's eyes, his own shining a little. "Bakura-kun..." He stopped and smiled.
The paler boy gave a heart-melting smile. "Yuugi-kun..." his voice was emotional. "If only I could be part of you both..." he sighed longingly, snuggling close. "You make me feel as if I could be whole again..."
Yuugi met his snuggling, legs twining with Bakura's, almost unconsciously. "I think you can, Bakura-kun. No, I know that if you want to - I know that you can." He sounded rather enthusiastic for a moment. "I know it." He repeated, softer this time. "And, if I can, I'll help you heal." He whispered.
Bakura gave a blissful smile. "Yuugi-kun..." he caressed the name, voice tired as his eyes closed.
Yuugi blinked. "Are you tired, Bakura-kun?" He asked, mentally noting how much he enjoyed Bakura saying his name.
The pale boy when to protest, but instead gave a yawn, much to his embarrassment. "Gomen..." he blushed slightly.
"It's okay. You've had a long day." Yuugi said, softly. "Don't worry about it." He was nearly as embarrassed when he yawned himself.
"I should get home," Bakura murmured, making no effort to move. "He'll wonder if I'm not... I don't want to..." he trailed off with another yawn.
"You sure you have to go?" Yuugi asked, pleadingly, holding Bakura's hand to his cheek.
"I should...." The pale boy's voice was fading. "So tired...."
"Mmm." Yuugi muttered, his own eyes sliding shut. "Maybe..." He curled up closer to the pale boy.
"I don't want him to...." Bakura murmured exhaustedly. "I should go...."
Suddenly, the hands holding Bakura's were firmer, stronger. "He won't." The deep voice said. "Don't worry about him right now."
Bakura gave a small tired smile. "Yuugi-san... But I don't want to be a bother..."
"You can drop the '-san', Bakura." Yami Yuugi said, amused. "And you will never be a bother."
"Demo, I can't call you both Yuugi-kun," the pale boy protested weakly.
"So just call me 'Yuugi'. It's not that confusing, Bakura. I know which one you mean." He smiled.
"Demo...."
Yami Yuugi sighed. "No buts, Bakura." He said firmly, tapping Bakura's nose.
The boy made a vaguely unhappy sound, but didn't protest further.
"You can sleep here. I'll be here in the morning." He said softly, disentangling himself from Bakura and sitting on the edge of the bed, regally.
Bakura reached out and tiredly gripped the cloth of the boy's pants. "Don't leave...." he near begged, voice exhausted.
Yami Yuugi paused. "I won't leave." He said, laying down next to the tired boy again. "I'll stay here, with you. If you want"
Bakura gave a small smile. "Maybe-- maybe you can keep the nightmares away...?"
Yami Yuugi smiled and nodded. "Maybe I can keep the nightmares away." He said softly, resting his forehead against Bakura's.
The pale boy gave one last smile before his eyes closed and he fell into an exhausted sleep.
Yami Yuugi closed his own eyes, resting against Bakura, his own expression rather tired.
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In the next chapter of the Soap Opera...
"You weren't invited in," Yami Bakura said plainly, crossing his arms as he scowled slightly, blocking the shorter boy from entering further.
Yami Yuugi's upper lips curled, and he crossed his own arms. "Not by you, no. I wasn't." He said, traditional haughty tone in place. "I'm here to take care of more important matters."
...
The Puzzle's spirit backed away, bumping into the wall and gently sliding to the floor, hand impacting with the cold tile beneath him. Why did he have to care? Why did it matter so much, what they did? His eyes narrowed, then closed for a second as he sat in the steam-filled bathroom, clutching his bleeding hand.
...
"I can feel him, in my mind, cradling it and soothing everything away so I don't have to think anymore. He knows everything about me, even things I don't know and I don't need to speak, he hears my heart's desire and the words I think...."
Yami Yuugi nodded slowly. "And, he loves you?" He asked, voice wavering. "Does he love you more than he loves himself? Does he worship your every move? Would he do anything, no matter how high the cost, to protect you?" He questioned, his tone surprisingly deadpan the more he talked.
The pale boy hesitated. "I-- I don't know..." he admitted, playing with the towel around his waist.
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AN from Fran:
Bakuraluva: *bows* Thanke kindly. YamiYuugi's parts are written by the Mayhemchan, who is unfortinaly offline for a while, but she'll be happy you're enjoying how she's playing him. Smut's a very board term, so... Glad the cats are liking it! :)
Sailor Comet: Yep. :)
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