Show Me the Way from Crazy
Eight
Lose Everything

(a.n. – GAH! I'm sorry I took so freaking long to write this chapter. Writer's block. -.- Forgive me. But I do still love all of you! *Glomp* And I will make an effort to update sooner and sooner. Now that the summer is here, and I have no more classes – I had to take a couple in the beginning of the summer, don't worry – I didn't fail classes during school or anything – I can update faster. So yeah – I'll stop blabbing and start writing. OH WAIT! The results of the ending are in . . . -.- Everyone went against what I wanted. So I guess it's a happy ending. People can still vote, if they want to. Though, I have an idea that will make everyone happy . . . hopefully.)
Disclaimer: *Looks through lots of legal documents in desk* -.- Damn. Still don't own it.
Note: This is completely AU. Nothing in the series has happened in this. Well . . . kinda. Everything up to Battle City has . . . I guess. But besides that – nothing! Heh heh – just to clear up confusion . . . Oh! And another thing, I will be switching the point of view every chapter (don't worry – only between two people) because well, it's better to get everyone's perspective, right? Heh heh – and this is shounen-ai . . . if you have a problem – why the hell are you reading it?
Key: Again, as usual.
//Yami no Malik to Malik//
/Malik to Yami no Malik/
\\Yami no Bakura to Ryou\\
\Ryou to Yami no Bakura\

Review Replies:
Kilandra Yamitea: -.- Malik and Ryou's souls were for sale on Ebay? Dammit. I must have not been on when that auction happened. Oh well. You'll just have to lend them to me sometime. ^_~
Chibi B: Haha. It's okay that you don't review "more often" as you put it. I don't really care how many reviews I get. Although, I'm not complaining that I have so many. ^_^;; As long as at least one person is still interested, I will always continue.
alesca munroe: Haha, I don't care if you take the quotes. Go for it. I took them from many random sites. Thanks for the reviews. ^_^
Blood Roses: I believe the "evil yami" (that we all – or, maybe it's just me – love) should be coming out in the next couple of chapters.

"To gain that which is worth having, it may be necessary to lose everything."

Ryou's POV

            We just got home from our outing around the city. Quite honestly, I was a little bit nervous. With the whole me liking Malik thing. Luckily, I didn't say or do anything that I would regret. I think I might soon though. I can't keep all of these feelings inside of me for much longer.

            At the movies, I wasn't really paying attention as much as I might have seemed. I just kept on staring at the screen, because I knew that if I didn't, I'd end up staring at Malik.

            From the corner of my eye, I thought that Malik kept on staring at me, and once I thought I saw him lean in really close to me. Of course, I was probably just wishing things.

            Currently, I was sitting on my bed, while Malik had wandered off into the kitchen, claiming that the frying pans hanging from the wall were "shiny." Sometimes I question his sanity. But that's okay, I still love him.

            I wish that I could just walk up to him, build up a ton of courage, and just tell him how I feel. Then I'd hold his face and kiss him deeply. But I could never do that. I guess I'm too shy to do something like that.

            But I can't just sit here. I need to do something, but I don't know what . . . maybe Malik will do something? No, he doesn't even like me.

            Sighing, I laid on my back discontentedly. Why was I born with no courage? Malik seems to have so much . . . I admire him. But more than that, I want to be with him.

            After lying in bed for an hour at the very least, I heard a tapping at my door. Going to it and opening it, I saw Malik standing there.

            I could feel the color rising to my cheeks, and knew that wasn't a good sign. I have such pale skin, I'm sure that it showed up greatly whenever I blushed. I bowed my head downwards, so Malik wouldn't notice the red creeping up on my cheeks.

            "Um . . . hello Malik-kun." I said quietly, not even daring to raise my eyes.

            "Hey Ry. I just wanted to let you know that dinner was ready." Hm. He called me Ry. He's been doing that for a little while now. Maybe it's something like a pet name! That would be nice, but I'm probably just going back to wishing again.

            Wait . . . he said dinner was ready? I looked up in shock. I had totally forgotten about dinner! But then, how was it cooked?

            "Wha . . ? How . . ?" I managed to say through my confusion.

            "Oh – I noticed that you were up here, and when I peeked in it looked like you were sleeping, so I didn't want to wake you up. Turns out, Bakura eventually wanted to eat, so he made dinner."

            I merely blinked at him. Bakura . . . made something edible? He can't even toast Pop-Tarts without horribly burning them! And the one attempt where I showed him how to use the oven, he managed to light a part of the kitchen on fire.

            "O-okay. And the house is still standing upright?" I questioned, scared of what the bottom half of the house would look like.

            Malik laughed. "He can't be that bad of a cook, can he? The kitchen looked fine to me."

            "Well, that's good," I breathed a sigh of relief, "Let's go down then."

            When myself and Malik reached the dining room, I sat down at my seat and stared at the plate of food in front of me.

            First I glanced over at the bowl of rice that was to the side of my plate. It looked innocent enough . . . okay, so the rice was okay. But then again, how do you fuck up with rice? Just to make sure, I dug my fork into the bowl the make sure that nothing was wrong with the rest of it. Then I looked over at the plate. Spaghetti and meatballs. Hm. I guess that's kind of hard to screw up, too. I took the fork again, and poked at the meatball. It seemed cooked enough. Then I took the knife and cut it through the center. There was nothing wrong with it. Thank God.

            Looking up, I noticed Bakura glaring at me. "Does it pass your inspection, Chef Ryou?" He asked bitterly, and I saw Malik try to hide a smile out of the corner of my eye.

            "Well," I started to defend myself, "The last time I tried to teach you how to cook, you almost lit the whole kitchen on fire."

            He kept on glaring at me, but didn't say anything back.

            In the middle of dinner, the phone rang. I stood up to get it, figuring it was Yuugi or someone from school.

            "Moshi moshi." I said into the receiver.

            "Hello, Ryou." I almost dropped the phone. It was my dad. He never called me when he was away. Hell, he barely talked to me when he was home. I guess he started avoiding me after Mom and Amane died. I guess I do look a lot like Mom . . .

            "Wha – I – urm – hey, Dad." I said slowly, still shocked. Why was he calling me?

            "So – how have you been; how's school?"

            I blinked a bit. Why was he asking me these things? Usually he didn't even eat dinner with me. Bakura was the only source of communication; the only one that kept me sane.

            "Dad . . . why are you calling?"

            "Can't I call to see how my son is?" He paused for a minute, and then sighed. "Okay. I'm coming home tomorrow and . . . well; I just thought that you should know."

            I already knew that he was coming home. I know he won't mind Malik; he'll ignore him too. He barely even took note when Bakura started walking around the house. Or when he blew stuff up, for that matter. Unlike my dad, I remember things . . . like birthdays.

            "Um – well – okay . . . I knew that, you told me before you left." I finally replied, hoping to get back to my dinner before it was cold.

            "I heard something from one of my friends," He started. That was just like him, calling his friends and not his son. "Do you have any visitors?"

            Oh. So apparently someone had seen Malik around. No big deal. "Oh – yeah, just a friend." I replied.

            "Oh . . . have I ever met him?" Why is he asking this? I don't think he's met any of my friends, for lack of not being around.

            "No. He's just hanging out here for a little while. We haven't broken anything or had any parties, if that's what you're worried about." I added hastily, thinking that was probably what he was worried about.

            He sighed, and I sensed a hint of annoyance in his voice. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, and we'll talk about this then." He finished, and hung up the phone without a good-bye. Typical.

            I sighed and hung up the phone too. I don't know why he was so mad. He'd probably go out before he went home, get drunk, and then forget about the whole thing. Going back into the dining room, I sat back down and ate a bit more of my meal. Blah. It was cold.

            "Who was on the phone?" Bakura asked.

            "Wrong number." I replied, not wanting to explain the whole thing in front of Malik.

            Both Malik and Bakura looked at me a little disbelievingly. I did spend a long time on the phone.

            \I'll tell you later.\ I said to Bakura through our mind link.

            That settled the confusion with Bakura. Malik still looked a little skeptical, but he didn't press further on the subject.

            After supper, we were all just lounging around in the living room. The TV was on and one of those stupid humor sitcoms that Bakura loves so much was on the screen.

            I was merely staring at the TV, not really taking anything in. I was fully aware of the Egyptian beauty sitting about an inch or two away from me. How nice it would be to curl up against him and have him hold me all through the night.

            When the stupid show was over, I saw Bakura look over at me and Malik. He got a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, one that was so notorious with me, and stood up.

            "Well," He yawned, stretching, "I'm a bit tired. I got up early today. I'm gonna go to bed. See you in the morning." He then passed by us, and I noticed that he whispered something to Malik on his was out of the room.

            Wonder what that was all about . . . Eep! Now I was alone in a room. With Malik. Oh God, now was the perfect time to tell him everything. For once in your life, just at least get enough courage, Ryou! I continued reprimanding myself until I noticed that Malik was staring at me.

            "What? Do I have something on my face?" I asked worriedly, not wanting to look like and idiot in front of Malik; the example of perfection.

            "Oh – um – no . . ." He said, and then diverted his eyes to another part of the room.

            Awkward silence . . . oh how I hate these. I have to say something.

            "Hey Malik?" I asked, looking over at him. Today was the day. The day where I stop being so shy and tell someone how I feel. "I – um – I . . ." Oh . . . great time to freeze up.

            "You . . ?" Malik helped me along.

            "I – um – I'm a little tired too, from the tour of the city and stuff . . . so I guess I'll see you in the morning." Well, tomorrow's another day . . .

            "Okay; I'll see you then. Good night, Ry." He smiled.

            "Night." I muttered quickly before going up the stairs.

            I'm such a baka. And a wuss, to add to the list of personality traits I hate about myself. I wish for once I could tell him how I feel; I wish I wasn't so afraid of rejection. But I can't, and I am. So . . . I guess I won't tell him tonight.

            I flopped down on my bed, pulling the covers over my head. I didn't want to deal with any of this . . . I was going to bed alone – again.

"Of all the words of tongue or pen, the saddest are those . . . 'it might have been.'"

(a.n. – Yay for me. Chapter 8 completed. Whheee! And I love everyone who reviews. ^_^ I love going back and reading them all; they're really the only thing that gives me inspiration nowadays. So, as I said, I'll make an attempt (no promises – I'm never good with them) to try and update sooner. Hell, I'll start the next chapter tonight if that makes everyone happy. As always – read and review. And if anyone missed the poll results: It was about 3 for sad ending, (which I personally wanted) and the rest (over 10) for a happy ending. But like I said, I think I've found something that will make both parties happy. Please review!)