A Warm Heart in a Cold Desert

Dislcaimer: I have yet to aquire the buisness skills necessary to own YuGiOh. Sorry, folks. No on-screen yaoi today.

Pairings: Bakura/Ryou, maybe some side Marik/Malik

Warnings/Other: Yaoi (Don't like? Don't read.), death, angst, some Bakura OOC maybe. For D, Tia, and 'Kate' *giggles and looks at Tia* yes, I would update for you anyways... ^_^

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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"How long has it been since we started off?" Ryou asked as he and Bakura passed yet another sand dune. The sun was beating down on Ryou's back as he trudged around various boulders and cacti. Even though he had sneakers on, he was quite sure that by the time Bakura reached wherever it was he wanted to go, his shoes would have long since melted.

"About three hours." Bakura said as he stopped walking and waited for Ryou. "Getting tired already?"

Ryou groaned. "No, just thirsty..." His vision was blurring slightly from dehydration, but he refused to collapse into weakness like had the previous day. But after walking for almost three hours straight, he was starting to get kind of tired. Ryou closed his eyes for a moment to yawn; a mistake which would cost him as he tripped over something protruding from the desert ground. "Ack!"

Bakura turned around upon hearing something fall behind him. His eyes glazed over momentarily as a brutal memory of his mother's death came back to haunt him. He was so lost in the memory of that horrible night, that he didn't even hear it as a pained and frightened yelp emitted from the smaller boy.

"BA-BAKURA!" Ryou had his entire body, minus his left ankle, curled into a ball as a rattle snake hissed its way towards him. He tried to remain as silent as was possible, although he visibly shook every time the snake would open its mouth and bear three-inch long fangs, dripping with a poisonus substance. "Bakura...!"

The Egyptian snapped out of his trance and, upon seeing the snake approaching his young comrade, cursed in his native language. He reached into his tote and pulled out the first heavy item he could find; it just happened to be the lock he had picked upon escaping from prison. "Back off!" Bakura shouted at the reptile. He threw the lock at the snake's head with perfect aim. The iron lock smashed into the rattler's head and cracked the skull with a sickening crunch. Bakura paused for a moment to make sure the snake was dead. He climbed over a couple medium-sized boulders and clenched right below the snake's head with his fist.

Silence reigned over the area for a few moments until Bakura was sure the lock had killed it. "It's dead." He stated, releasing the breath he hadn't been aware was held in.

Ryou looked up at Bakura as the older of the two flung the snake's body off to the side. Bakura sat hunched on his knees as he picked up the lock. "This thing sure proved itself useful..." He turned back to Ryou. "Come on. Let's get going... Had enough excitement for today." He stood up and motioned to reach for his tote as Ryou remained stationary. "What're you waiting for? Come on, let's go."

"I-I can't." Ryou admitted softly, looking down.

"What?" Bakura asked, turning back around. "Why not?"

Ryou pointed meakly at his left ankle. "I can't move it... It hurts..."

A thin silver eyebrow arched with mild worry attatched to it. "Did the snake bite you? Let me see." Bakura pulled back the fabric of Ryou's pants and inspected the youth's ankle. He was deeply relieved when he found no bite marks: There wouldn't be a way he could get Ryou to a hospital for treatment, and there were two main reasons for that. One, he was a prison escapee, and second, he couldn't remember the location of a hospital close enough. "Well, that's good. It seems you only scared it by doing whatever you did. If it had bit you, there wouldn't be any way I know of to treat the wound."

A light sigh of relief escaped Ryou's lips. "I still can't move it though..." He looked up pleadingly at Bakura. Ryou didn't want to be left in the desert, all alone and with no idea where he was. "Please don't leave me here, Bakura."

Bakura almost looked shocked. Sure, he was a prison escapee, and back in Egypt he had a bad reputation for a thief, and he had a bit of a sadistic side at times, but he did have honor. And because he had honor and self respect, there was no way he would leave someone like Ryou alone in unfamiliar territory. He shook his head. "I might have been in jail, but I am human. I wouldn't leave you here." He bent down and picked Ryou up to his feet, and slung his arm around the boys' waist, much as he had the previous night.

.

"Okay... This isn't working." Bakura said, stating the obvious. He was too tall, thus making his shoulder out of firm reach for Ryou, whose disabled ankle prevented him from walking correctly. The two had spent the past hour or so tripping over eachother at random intervals until they both agreed to stop their trek for a little while.

Ryou nodded, and leaned into Bakura's arm so he could rest his ankle. "I'm sorry for slowing you down like this. I mean, I hardly even know you, and you're already doing so much for me--" The fifteen-year-old was cut off as Bakura knelt down infront of him, although his back was facing the smaller of the two. "Er... Bakura?"

"Well, get on. It's not every day I decide to give piggy-back rides to people."

Ryou simply stood and blinked.

Bakura sighed. "Your ankle is injured. If you want it to heal, you can't put so much pressure on it. Hurry up, get on my back."

"Okay." Ryou said as he climbed on to Bakura's back, blushing slightly at how developed the Egyptian's muscles were. Bakura locked his elbows against Ryou's knees and stood.

"Hold on tight." Bakura said as he started off. He couldn't see it, but a smile bright enough to light the dark side of the moon was present on Ryou's face.

//

The sun was starting to set by the time Bakura finally admitted to being tired. In truth, he had the stamina to carry Ryou for a while longer, but Ryou refused to put too much pressure on Bakura.

As they were walking, Ryou drifted in and out of sleep as he fought to stay awake. He enjoyed being this close to the other boy, and he definetly enjoyed being held tight in a strong embrace the night before. Ryou felt himself zoing out into sleep in timing with a feeling similar to that of falling down an elevator shaft.

His warm chocolate eyes blazed open, and he blinked, unaware of his surroundings for a moment until he looked down and found himself on top of Bakura. A blush spread across his pale cheeks upon realizing that his lips were mere millimeters from those of his Egyptian comrade.

Bakura smirked. "Well? You gonna kiss me or not?"

Ryou paled even more, which was somewhat strange since he turned a shade of red bright enough to outdo the light from the sun. "Uhm... I... Bakura... I..." he stuttered, his cheeks burning. He looked down as Bakura shifted his position so that he was sitting. Ryou slid off Bakura's waist and sat in the older boy's lap.

A cool hand touched his chin and lifted his face up. Ryou's unsure eyes met Bakura's confident, almost lazy earthen orbs. "Afraid?" Bakura gently drew Ryou's face closer to his. "Don't worry. You don't have to do a thing." With a tenderness Ryou didn't know Bakura was capable of, the sixteen-year- old pushed his lips against Ryou's. It was a simple kiss, nothing extravagent, but Bakura did mean something behind it. He pulled away a few seconds later, gazing into Ryou's eyes. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Ryou stared at Bakura in pleasant shock, hardly daring to believe what just happened. He remained silent as Bakura continued to keep eye contact with him. Eventually, something in Ryou's mind told him to respond. "Uhm, n- no... I-It wasn't bad..." he dared to glance away for a moment. He had always believed that one's first kiss should have some kind of meaning behind it, but as Ryou looked back to Bakura, his heart fell in realization that the kiss was probably empty.

The last flickers of sunlight dissapeared behind mountians of rock and desert off in the distance, and the orangey light that reflected in the backs of Bakura's eyes vanished along with it. "Good." Bakura said. Something that wasn't exactly a smile by dictionary definition of the word, but was enough of a smile to be taken as one, crossed his face as Ryou snuggled up against him. The temperature was quickly dropping, and Ryou's short-sleeved shirt was proving to be useless.

"Bakura?"

"Yes?"

"Why are we on the ground anyways? Weren't we walking?" Ryou had almost forgotten entirely about the fall.

By the momentary blank look on Bakura's face, he had forgotten how his foot had caught in between a couple of rocks and he had lost his balance. "I tripped." Bakura said flatly, wrapping his arms around Ryou's shoulders.

"You okay?" asked Ryou, genuince concern prominent alongside his accent.

Bakura nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine."

A smile draped itself across Ryou's features as he lay his head atop Bakura's chest. He was beginning to feel very calm around the other. "Hey, Bakura?"

"Yes?"

Ryou picked his head off Bakura's chest, and smiled again, tilting his head to the side slightly. "Thanks for saving me earlier... You really did save my life."

"I guess I did, didn't I?" Bakura said, smirking sublty and closing his eyes, falling asleep.

.

Ryou gazed at Bakura for a long time after he had fallen asleep. Gentle breaths raised and lowered Bakura's chest as eyebrows would occasionally furrow, only to relax moments later. What really caught Ryou's attention was the soft curve of Bakura's lips. Slightly parted, they glimmered in the moonlight, and gave their owner an almost ethereal appearance. Held tight in Bakura's arms, Ryou couldn't move too much, lest he awaken the boy holding him. Carefully, Ryou leaned forward and humbly pressed his lips against those of the Egyptian. The kiss lasted a few seconds before Ryou reopened his eyes and watched the face of the other through half open eyelids.

"Bakura..." Ryou whispered, snuggling deeper into the strong arms holding him. Sleep quickly took over him.

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A few minutes later, one sharp brown eye peeked open and crinkled into a smile.

"Love you too, Ryou."

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^_^ Thanks to D!

_**I am requiring a MINIMUM of FORTY-FIVE reviews before I continue. 15 more!**_

Note: The minimum requirement of reviews increases by 15 each chapter... I think that's pretty reasonable.

~Shori Musei~