A Warm Heart in a Cold Desert
Disclaimer: Don't own. Never have, and probably won't, seeing as I spent a majority of my $7 on Coffee Bean this morning... Mmm. I like Pure Vanilla coffee-free Ice Blendeds ^__^
Pairings: Bakura/Ryou, maybe some side Marik/Malik
Warnings/Other: Yaoi (Don't like? Don't read.), death, angst, wierdness. Splashes of humor here and there. Mild bashing of the American Government because I'm not too thrilled with the way the country's being run. Some Bakura OOC
Summary: -AU- Bakura, an Egyptian prison escapee. Ryou, a contradictory teenager sick of the family life. After Ryou is dragged along on his family trip to desert, he finds Bakura in the back of his car, and decides to run away with him. There's only one problem. They're lost in the desert with no idea where civilization is. YAOI BxR
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When Ryou awoke four hours later, the first thing he thought of was the quiet boy who had been occupying the back hatch. The second thing he thought of, was that he was starving and his stomach was growling, although he didn't regret sharing his lunch for a moment. And the third thing Ryou thought of, was that someone was staring at him. At this thought, he opened his eyes to find a strangely familiar pair of deep brown eyes staring back at him. Ryou blinked for a moment, before remembering who the eyes belonged to. "Oh! It's you. I'm sorry."
The elder shook his head. "Listen. I figure I should at least tell you my first name. Call me Bakura. Nothing else."
Ryou nodded. "My name is Ryou..." Blinking, Ryou looked around, realizing he was still in the car. Upon catching sight of his grandfather's house, and the warm, friendly glow of lights coming from inside, he glared. He could hear the laughter coming from inside the building, and he hated it. "That," Ryou said, nodding his head towards the house, "is my family."
"Some family." Bakura commented under his breath. "Your mother went inside a couple hours ago. Didn't bother to wake you up, and once I figured she would be gone for a while, I decided I'd be nice and stay here until you woke up."
"Figures she wouldn't wait for me." Ryou muttered, sighing as he lay back down across the back seat. "I never even wanted to come on this trip in the first place..." His voice trailed off as he looked at Bakura curiously. "Why /are/ you in the back of my car anyways, Bakura?"
Bakura glanced up sharply at Ryou, half wondering why he was allowing the small boy to see his face and hear his voice so much. "You tell anyone, and I swear I'll kill you."
A light smirk crossed Ryou's face. "I have no one to tell. I don't speak to my family as often as they'd like me to..." He added bitterly in a low mumble, but Bakura caught every note of misery escaping Ryou's lips.
"Heh, guess you're right." Bakura watched the people inside the house carefully for a few moments before turning back to Ryou and speaking. "I'm from Egypt. Prison escapee. They caught me while I was trying to sneak into this country." He wasn't quite sure why, but he felt he could trust Ryou. The gentle and innocent, calm expression in those deep brown eyes created a vortex that drew Bakura to their owner.
"Wow." Ryou said, gazing at Bakura in awe. "Sounds like quite the adventure... Though I can't say jail must have been too fun." He shifted in his seat, creating room for Bakura to sit next to him if he were to see fit. "So... What do you plan on doing now that you're outta jail?"
Bakura shrugged. "Find somewhere to live."
Ryou looked at him curiously. "But wouldn't they have people out there looking for you?"
"No." Bakura said flatly. "There's tons of crimes a lot more serious than sneaking into the country. Murder, rape, abuse, for example. They probably won't even notice I escaped." He turned around so that his back was facing Ryou. "Listen, kid. I'd love to stay and chat," Bakura started, although talking was never one of his hobbies, "but I have to get going. Can't stay anywhere within this area for too long. I'll see you 'round." He motioned to get out of the car by grabbing his small tote bag.
"Wait!" Ryou exclaimed softly, grabbing Bakura's hand. "Take me with you. I can't stand living with my family any longer. Please, Bakura. I won't be a nuisance. Please. Just take me away from here, let me come with you." He gazed pleadingly into Bakura's eyes.
Bakura sighed, seeing the lonliness in the backs of Ryou's eyes. He, himself, had grown up with that lonliness as a part of his daily life. "Usually, I'd say no..." Bakura said carefully, watching Ryou's eyes for any signs of emotions. "But I know that look in your eyes. It's a look I've worn since birth. Alright. You can come."
The look of gratitude and happiness that spread across Ryou's face was enough to make Bakura himself smile a little. Before he knew just what he was doing, Ryou had wrapped his arms around Bakura in a genuinely happy embrace. No words were needed, but Bakura could sense that Ryou was deeply thankful. The fifteen-year-old hesitated before releasing Bakura from his hug. There was something about Bakura that he liked. "Let's get going." Ryou stated.
"Bring only what you can carry," Bakura advised.
Ryou nodded and hopped into the back hatch beside Bakura. He dug through some clutter until he pulled out a small black suitcase. "Everything I need is in here. I also have some money in case we need it."
Bakura shook his head in positive affirmation. "We'll probably be trekking across the desert. Do you have any water on you?"
"Water... water..." Ryou muttered, searching through his suitcase. A frown. "No, I don't. But I remember reading somewhere that it's possible to get moist nurishment if you eat a certian part of a cactus tree." Silently, Ryou thanked his study habits.
"Good enough." Bakura said. "Now let's really get going. We need to travel while it's still cool out."
Ryou nodded a second time, and climbed over the back seat. Opening the the left-sided door, he hopped out and quickly ran around to the back. He opened the hatch, and Bakura wriggled his way out. The two exchanged brief smiles before they ran off into the quickly chilling night, leaving no traces of where they had went for Ryou's family.
//
"Really, now, you mean you actually got Ryou to come?" An elderly man, apparently in his early 70s, was sitting at the head of a large table. His bright blue eyes matched only those of his wife, a frail woman in her late 60s with a kind smile and dependable nature. He looked towards his daughter with a light shining in his eyes. "I'm so glad he could come. It's been years since I've seen that boy!"
A weak smile crossed Ms. Bakura's face as she stood, straightening out the folds in her skirt. "He's asleep in the car. I'll go get him." She said as she turned and left through the front door. Stepping out into the cold night air, she wondered mildly why her parents had decided to live in a desert-community.
Once she reached the car, she motioned to unlock the driver's side door when she realized with mild suspicion that the car was already unlocked, when she distinctly remembered locking it. Due to the darkness outside, she was unable to see inside the car until she pulled the door open. Her eyes widened.
"RYOU?!"
She sat on her knees on the back seat, and bent over so she could dig through the hatch. Upon finding absolutely no one in the car besides herself, she quickly exited the car and cupped her hands around her small pink lips. "RYOU?! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Her voice traveled off into the distance, but there was no returned call. She ran back to the car and searched for Ryou's black suitcase. Tears sprung to her eyes when she didn't find it anywhere in the car. Inhaling deeply, she attempted to calm herself down as she once again left the car.
Panicking, she darted back inside the house, catching her parents and a newly spotted pet parakeet off guard. "Ryou's missing!"
//
"Ryou." Bakura said suddenly, breaking the silence between the two. "You didn't react that much when you first saw me... Why?"
The smaller boy shrugged. "I didn't see the point in panicking and shrieking. First, it would have gotten my mother's attention, and second, if it turned out you were some kind of crazed murderer, it would have cost me my life."
Bakura glanced at Ryou, and saw a slight sadness emitting from his eyes. "That is a good point. Most prisoners I've come across would have killed you in that instance, had you made any other reaction."
"Yeah..." Ryou trailed off. The air was quickly reaching freezing, and he hadn't brought along a thick enough sweater. About half an hour ago, he had given his thickest jacket to Bakura. He didn't regret it, but he really wished he had another jacket like the one Bakura was now wearing.
Bakura saw Ryou's shivering, and stopped walking momentarily to check his watch. The digital glow-in-the-dark numbers read '10:02pm'. "Are you tired?" He asked as he saw Ryou fighting to hold back a yawn.
"A little... I can last a little longer if you want to get further away from my grandparent's place though." Ryou was obviously lying though half- lidded eyes and slightly slurred speach. His walking was forced and heavy, as if the boy was running out of energy for the day.
A flash of compassion crossed Bakura's stone-cold features as he shifted his shoulder bag, and slung Ryou's left arm over his shoulder, grabbing on to the British youth's waist to support him. "Think you can last about a mile?"
Ryou nodded, sleep clouding his mind. "I'll... I'll try." Leaning into Bakura, Ryou blinked harshly a few times to try and redirect his attention on walking.
.
Fourty-five minutes later, Ryou was barely awake. His legs were moving mechanically, not by his own discretion. Bakura was having to nearly drag his lithe aquaintance across the sands. Bakura, being born and raised in Egypt for thirteen of his sixteen years of life, was greatly accustomed to walking long distances in scorching hot sand, and sand in general. He knew, however, that Ryou was not as used to deserts as he was. Finally, Bakura stopped walking upon finding a secure looking stone and shrugged his shoulderbag off. He felt strangely protective of Ryou, for whatever reasons he couldn't quite understand. Maybe it was because Ryou reminded Bakura of what he used to be like as a child.
He shook Ryou's frame gently until he got a response from the near- exhausted boy. "Ryou? We're stopping for the night."
"Huh?" Ryou asked, his senses fogged over with an intense need for sleep. He peered at Bakura through misty vision.
Bakura helped him to sit down as he himself sat with his back against the stone, digging through his shoulderbag for the blankets he had stowed away. Ryou leaned on to him heavily. At last he found what he was looking for. He spread his feet shoulder width-apart, and pulled Ryou into his lap, covering him with both blankets as he leaned back, using the jacket Ryou had lent him as a pillow of sorts. Ryou quickly fell asleep listening to the steady beating of Bakura's heart.
.
Bakura sighed as he watched Ryou sleep. He gently stoked the lithe boy's soft, silver-coloured hair and reminisced about his past, when he was able to wear the same innocent expression. But that was long, long ago. The reason Bakura had left his home in Egypt wasn't because his family was poor. It wasn't because he didn't have any friends.
It was because his father hated him with a passion, and beat him almost daily. Eventually, Bakura had had enough of the abuse and ran away. He didn't know if his parents were still alive, and quite frankly he didn't care. He had never been happy at home, even if his father would leave him alone. But, Bakura realized, he wasn't the least bit sad now that Ryou had come along on his adventure. He sighed again. This was going to be a long night.
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Here's chapter two! I hope you liked it. Please R/R!
_**I am requiring a MINIMUM of FIFTEEN reviews before I update**_
~Shori Musei~
Disclaimer: Don't own. Never have, and probably won't, seeing as I spent a majority of my $7 on Coffee Bean this morning... Mmm. I like Pure Vanilla coffee-free Ice Blendeds ^__^
Pairings: Bakura/Ryou, maybe some side Marik/Malik
Warnings/Other: Yaoi (Don't like? Don't read.), death, angst, wierdness. Splashes of humor here and there. Mild bashing of the American Government because I'm not too thrilled with the way the country's being run. Some Bakura OOC
Summary: -AU- Bakura, an Egyptian prison escapee. Ryou, a contradictory teenager sick of the family life. After Ryou is dragged along on his family trip to desert, he finds Bakura in the back of his car, and decides to run away with him. There's only one problem. They're lost in the desert with no idea where civilization is. YAOI BxR
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
When Ryou awoke four hours later, the first thing he thought of was the quiet boy who had been occupying the back hatch. The second thing he thought of, was that he was starving and his stomach was growling, although he didn't regret sharing his lunch for a moment. And the third thing Ryou thought of, was that someone was staring at him. At this thought, he opened his eyes to find a strangely familiar pair of deep brown eyes staring back at him. Ryou blinked for a moment, before remembering who the eyes belonged to. "Oh! It's you. I'm sorry."
The elder shook his head. "Listen. I figure I should at least tell you my first name. Call me Bakura. Nothing else."
Ryou nodded. "My name is Ryou..." Blinking, Ryou looked around, realizing he was still in the car. Upon catching sight of his grandfather's house, and the warm, friendly glow of lights coming from inside, he glared. He could hear the laughter coming from inside the building, and he hated it. "That," Ryou said, nodding his head towards the house, "is my family."
"Some family." Bakura commented under his breath. "Your mother went inside a couple hours ago. Didn't bother to wake you up, and once I figured she would be gone for a while, I decided I'd be nice and stay here until you woke up."
"Figures she wouldn't wait for me." Ryou muttered, sighing as he lay back down across the back seat. "I never even wanted to come on this trip in the first place..." His voice trailed off as he looked at Bakura curiously. "Why /are/ you in the back of my car anyways, Bakura?"
Bakura glanced up sharply at Ryou, half wondering why he was allowing the small boy to see his face and hear his voice so much. "You tell anyone, and I swear I'll kill you."
A light smirk crossed Ryou's face. "I have no one to tell. I don't speak to my family as often as they'd like me to..." He added bitterly in a low mumble, but Bakura caught every note of misery escaping Ryou's lips.
"Heh, guess you're right." Bakura watched the people inside the house carefully for a few moments before turning back to Ryou and speaking. "I'm from Egypt. Prison escapee. They caught me while I was trying to sneak into this country." He wasn't quite sure why, but he felt he could trust Ryou. The gentle and innocent, calm expression in those deep brown eyes created a vortex that drew Bakura to their owner.
"Wow." Ryou said, gazing at Bakura in awe. "Sounds like quite the adventure... Though I can't say jail must have been too fun." He shifted in his seat, creating room for Bakura to sit next to him if he were to see fit. "So... What do you plan on doing now that you're outta jail?"
Bakura shrugged. "Find somewhere to live."
Ryou looked at him curiously. "But wouldn't they have people out there looking for you?"
"No." Bakura said flatly. "There's tons of crimes a lot more serious than sneaking into the country. Murder, rape, abuse, for example. They probably won't even notice I escaped." He turned around so that his back was facing Ryou. "Listen, kid. I'd love to stay and chat," Bakura started, although talking was never one of his hobbies, "but I have to get going. Can't stay anywhere within this area for too long. I'll see you 'round." He motioned to get out of the car by grabbing his small tote bag.
"Wait!" Ryou exclaimed softly, grabbing Bakura's hand. "Take me with you. I can't stand living with my family any longer. Please, Bakura. I won't be a nuisance. Please. Just take me away from here, let me come with you." He gazed pleadingly into Bakura's eyes.
Bakura sighed, seeing the lonliness in the backs of Ryou's eyes. He, himself, had grown up with that lonliness as a part of his daily life. "Usually, I'd say no..." Bakura said carefully, watching Ryou's eyes for any signs of emotions. "But I know that look in your eyes. It's a look I've worn since birth. Alright. You can come."
The look of gratitude and happiness that spread across Ryou's face was enough to make Bakura himself smile a little. Before he knew just what he was doing, Ryou had wrapped his arms around Bakura in a genuinely happy embrace. No words were needed, but Bakura could sense that Ryou was deeply thankful. The fifteen-year-old hesitated before releasing Bakura from his hug. There was something about Bakura that he liked. "Let's get going." Ryou stated.
"Bring only what you can carry," Bakura advised.
Ryou nodded and hopped into the back hatch beside Bakura. He dug through some clutter until he pulled out a small black suitcase. "Everything I need is in here. I also have some money in case we need it."
Bakura shook his head in positive affirmation. "We'll probably be trekking across the desert. Do you have any water on you?"
"Water... water..." Ryou muttered, searching through his suitcase. A frown. "No, I don't. But I remember reading somewhere that it's possible to get moist nurishment if you eat a certian part of a cactus tree." Silently, Ryou thanked his study habits.
"Good enough." Bakura said. "Now let's really get going. We need to travel while it's still cool out."
Ryou nodded a second time, and climbed over the back seat. Opening the the left-sided door, he hopped out and quickly ran around to the back. He opened the hatch, and Bakura wriggled his way out. The two exchanged brief smiles before they ran off into the quickly chilling night, leaving no traces of where they had went for Ryou's family.
//
"Really, now, you mean you actually got Ryou to come?" An elderly man, apparently in his early 70s, was sitting at the head of a large table. His bright blue eyes matched only those of his wife, a frail woman in her late 60s with a kind smile and dependable nature. He looked towards his daughter with a light shining in his eyes. "I'm so glad he could come. It's been years since I've seen that boy!"
A weak smile crossed Ms. Bakura's face as she stood, straightening out the folds in her skirt. "He's asleep in the car. I'll go get him." She said as she turned and left through the front door. Stepping out into the cold night air, she wondered mildly why her parents had decided to live in a desert-community.
Once she reached the car, she motioned to unlock the driver's side door when she realized with mild suspicion that the car was already unlocked, when she distinctly remembered locking it. Due to the darkness outside, she was unable to see inside the car until she pulled the door open. Her eyes widened.
"RYOU?!"
She sat on her knees on the back seat, and bent over so she could dig through the hatch. Upon finding absolutely no one in the car besides herself, she quickly exited the car and cupped her hands around her small pink lips. "RYOU?! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Her voice traveled off into the distance, but there was no returned call. She ran back to the car and searched for Ryou's black suitcase. Tears sprung to her eyes when she didn't find it anywhere in the car. Inhaling deeply, she attempted to calm herself down as she once again left the car.
Panicking, she darted back inside the house, catching her parents and a newly spotted pet parakeet off guard. "Ryou's missing!"
//
"Ryou." Bakura said suddenly, breaking the silence between the two. "You didn't react that much when you first saw me... Why?"
The smaller boy shrugged. "I didn't see the point in panicking and shrieking. First, it would have gotten my mother's attention, and second, if it turned out you were some kind of crazed murderer, it would have cost me my life."
Bakura glanced at Ryou, and saw a slight sadness emitting from his eyes. "That is a good point. Most prisoners I've come across would have killed you in that instance, had you made any other reaction."
"Yeah..." Ryou trailed off. The air was quickly reaching freezing, and he hadn't brought along a thick enough sweater. About half an hour ago, he had given his thickest jacket to Bakura. He didn't regret it, but he really wished he had another jacket like the one Bakura was now wearing.
Bakura saw Ryou's shivering, and stopped walking momentarily to check his watch. The digital glow-in-the-dark numbers read '10:02pm'. "Are you tired?" He asked as he saw Ryou fighting to hold back a yawn.
"A little... I can last a little longer if you want to get further away from my grandparent's place though." Ryou was obviously lying though half- lidded eyes and slightly slurred speach. His walking was forced and heavy, as if the boy was running out of energy for the day.
A flash of compassion crossed Bakura's stone-cold features as he shifted his shoulder bag, and slung Ryou's left arm over his shoulder, grabbing on to the British youth's waist to support him. "Think you can last about a mile?"
Ryou nodded, sleep clouding his mind. "I'll... I'll try." Leaning into Bakura, Ryou blinked harshly a few times to try and redirect his attention on walking.
.
Fourty-five minutes later, Ryou was barely awake. His legs were moving mechanically, not by his own discretion. Bakura was having to nearly drag his lithe aquaintance across the sands. Bakura, being born and raised in Egypt for thirteen of his sixteen years of life, was greatly accustomed to walking long distances in scorching hot sand, and sand in general. He knew, however, that Ryou was not as used to deserts as he was. Finally, Bakura stopped walking upon finding a secure looking stone and shrugged his shoulderbag off. He felt strangely protective of Ryou, for whatever reasons he couldn't quite understand. Maybe it was because Ryou reminded Bakura of what he used to be like as a child.
He shook Ryou's frame gently until he got a response from the near- exhausted boy. "Ryou? We're stopping for the night."
"Huh?" Ryou asked, his senses fogged over with an intense need for sleep. He peered at Bakura through misty vision.
Bakura helped him to sit down as he himself sat with his back against the stone, digging through his shoulderbag for the blankets he had stowed away. Ryou leaned on to him heavily. At last he found what he was looking for. He spread his feet shoulder width-apart, and pulled Ryou into his lap, covering him with both blankets as he leaned back, using the jacket Ryou had lent him as a pillow of sorts. Ryou quickly fell asleep listening to the steady beating of Bakura's heart.
.
Bakura sighed as he watched Ryou sleep. He gently stoked the lithe boy's soft, silver-coloured hair and reminisced about his past, when he was able to wear the same innocent expression. But that was long, long ago. The reason Bakura had left his home in Egypt wasn't because his family was poor. It wasn't because he didn't have any friends.
It was because his father hated him with a passion, and beat him almost daily. Eventually, Bakura had had enough of the abuse and ran away. He didn't know if his parents were still alive, and quite frankly he didn't care. He had never been happy at home, even if his father would leave him alone. But, Bakura realized, he wasn't the least bit sad now that Ryou had come along on his adventure. He sighed again. This was going to be a long night.
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Here's chapter two! I hope you liked it. Please R/R!
_**I am requiring a MINIMUM of FIFTEEN reviews before I update**_
~Shori Musei~
