However, all is not gloom. This chapter is over 3000 words, specially as a big send-off, and now that this fic is finished... well, I'm free to focus on One Last Breath and Forever Dreaming, and once one of those is done I can begin revamping First Date - which means lots more Yami\Yugi fluff for you all, without any tragedy!
I know that is scant consolation for Ryou\Bakura fans, but since they're one of my top pairings, you can bet there'll be plenty more to come! ^_^
I would like to point out that I personally am not an Anzu-basher, for those who asked. It just suits this fic, and thus I play it to the best it needs. So, enjoy!
*~*~*~*~*~*
With Bakura's hand still firmly latched on to his wrist, Ryou made his way through the house, humming softly as the endorphins Bakura's attentions had released thrummed through his system. All thoughts of Anzu, of her dumping him, had been pushed from his mind. Right now, all that mattered was the lingering warmth Bakura had left against him, and the spicy taste on Ryou's tongue from Bakura's hot assaults. Almost floating, Ryou made his way through the house to the front door, not surprised when Bakura's arms quickly knotted round his waist as he stopped.
Ryou smiled as he opened the door, Bakura's chin on his shoulder. "Hi–"
Ryou had begun cheerfully, but his voice froze and his smile plummeted as soon as he saw the person on the other side. Much more quietly, Ryou began speaking again, his eyes dropping. "Hi Anzu…"
Sparkling blue eyes regarded the two boys with a puzzled look as Anzu took in the sight before her. "Uhm… hi Ryou…" she faltered, shuffling a little uncomfortably. "A-and Bakura… May I… come in for a second?"
Bakura opened his mouth to speak, but Ryou's soft voice cut him off. "Sure… come in…"
Bakura and Ryou both stepped aside for Anzu, allowing her through to the living room. As Ryou closed the front door, Bakura spoke in a low growl. "Why on earth did you do that?"
Saddened oaky eyes turned to Bakura. "I don't know…" he whispered. All those feelings of happiness had just been washed from him, and the old dejection was creeping back in. The pain he'd felt earlier had come back, knocking him reeling once again. He didn't know what to feel any more. It was like he'd just found out everything with Bakura had only been a daydream, and that all along he'd been sat in his bedroom still. He might as well have just come downstairs and opened the door. "Maybe she just wants to say sorry…" he added faintly as he moved past Bakura to where Anzu was.
"She could have done that at the doorstep," Bakura muttered as he followed Ryou into the room, arms folded across his chest.
Anzu was sitting on the edge of the couch at the far end as the two boys entered. Ryou sat at the opposite end to Anzu, half-turned towards her, and Bakura leaned up against the doorframe, watching to see what was about to unfold. Anzu noted this, and softly spoke to Ryou. "Does he have to be here…?"
A growl cut Ryou's reply off. "Yes, he does," came the curt reply from the door. "I'm here to see he doesn't get hurt again," Bakura added.
Anzu carefully chose to ignore that snipe, instead returning her attention to the softer boy. "Look, Ryou, I know I hurt you, but… I've been thinking. Maybe I made a mistake. I shouldn't have let you down like that. I realise now that I still care for you, and…" Anzu placed one of her hands on the back of Ryou's, her eyes fixed appealingly on him. Ryou, however, didn't return the look, his unwavering gaze directed at the floor. "…I was wondering if you could give me a second chance. Give a second chance… to us?"
Bakura mentally snorted at this. He couldn't believe that witch had turned up again, after what she'd done to Ryou. After the way she'd broken his heart, there was no way in hell he'd even consider getting back with her. What a waste of time this was…
"I don't know…" Ryou whispered. Bakura's eyebrow visibly quirked up at this, though – with a huge effort – he managed to keep himself from saying anything. Ryou was actually contemplating it? "I do still care for you Anzu," Ryou whispered. "But… you hurt me. Badly."
"Oh, Ryou, my darling," Anzu cooed, shuffling a little closer to the boy and placing her free hand on his shoulder. "I know I hurt you, and I am so sorry for it." Flicking her hair back with a shake of her head, she leaned closer to Ryou in a bid to get him to make eye contact with her. "Please, if you just–"
"Anzu…" Ryou softly cut the girl off. "It's not just that. I…" Ryou softly chewed at his lower lip softly, deep thought and wondering evident in his chocolate-brown eyes. "I like someone else too… or at least, I think I do…"
Anzu looked curiously at Ryou. "Someone else?" Ryou nodded slowly, his eyes closing, and Anzu smiled reassuringly. "But Ryou, does she like you too?"
"He does," came Bakura's voice, correcting Anzu as he pushed himself off the doorframe and stood in front of the two on the couch. "Quite a lot as it happens – and he actually shows it."
Anzu's attention, which had been directed to Bakura as he spoke, returned to the boy sat beside her. "Ryou, you don't mean…"
She trailed off as she caught sight of where Ryou was looking. His gaze, with those beautiful, deep eyes, was aimed directly at Bakura, with deep wonder and… was it happiness in his eyes? Anzu couldn't tell for sure, but she was sure she'd seen that look before.
Slowly, Ryou's line of sight fell to the floor once again. "I don't know…" he whispered. "I don't know who I want to be with… I care for you both, and…"
"Rubbish," Bakura scorned. "Don't keep your emotions based on the past, Ryou. Don't think about what you had. Think about now." As the addressed looked up at him questioningly, Bakura smirked. "Come on, it should be simple. Whose arms do you want to be in right now?"
Ryou simply continued to stare.
"Whose eyes do you want to melt into whenever you look at them?"
Ryou faltered, still not sure. "I…"
"Think about it. When each of us kissed you, who made you feel the best?" Bakura hadn't forgotten that Ryou hadn't kissed Anzu, and was quite deliberately using this fact to his advantage. Devious, certainly. Conniving, most likely. Wrong… possibly. But all's fair in love and war, right? And right now, both were happening.
Ryou, however, still couldn't choose. "Bakura, I know that all matters, but…"
The dark of the two growled in frustration, and roughly pushed Ryou back against the settee. Shoving Anzu's hands away from the boy, Bakura hopped onto the seat, landing so he was sat straddling Ryou's lap.
"Bakura, what are you–"
"Urusei."
Placing a hand either side of Ryou's head, Bakura thrust his lips up against Ryou's, forcefully stealing another kiss from the boy. Grinding his hips into Ryou's, Bakura thrust his tongue into his light's mouth as he moaned at the contact, meshing their lips together and swiftly moving across every contour in that hot, delicate cavern. Pressing flush against Ryou, Bakura held the kiss for a couple of seconds longer before breaking away, stopping to admire his handiwork.
Ryou was still slumped back against the couch, looking almost dazed as his mind tried to catch up with reality and work out exactly what had just happened. He slowly blinked back into focus, and looked questioningly at Bakura, who was still sat on his lap. "Bakura… what…?"
The boy simply gave a small chuckle in reply, pushing himself up and slipping off the couch out of Ryou's way. "Now kiss her," he ordered, gesturing to Anzu.
"What?"
"Kiss her."
Ryou turned to look at the girl sat beside him, still panting as he recovered from Bakura's surprise attack. He stared deep into her sparkling azure eyes, eyes that were full of questions and yearning for Ryou. His eyes roamed across her chestnut hair, delicately framing her pretty face and soft pink skin. His eyes drifted across her full chest, down her lithe dancer's frame, and across her smooth, slender legs. And slowly, he came to a decision.
"I can't…" he whispered, shaking his head softly. "It's not you Anzu, but… I can't." His eyes sparkled as he turned to face Bakura again, a wide grin breaking out across his face. He jumped to his feet and dived at Bakura, latching his arms around his chest and snuggling joyfully against him. "I want you," he whispered softly, nuzzling lightly against the taller's shoulder. "I want you, Bakura."
Anzu simply sat on the couch, her eyes wide, stunned. "Uh…?"
A smirk graced the victor's features. "Sorry Anzu," he leered. "I think he's made his choice. Now how about you get out?" Bakura kissed Ryou's forehead and smiled down at him, a glint in his eye. "I think we could use some time alone…"
Anzu slowly climbed off the couch to her feet, the look of shock on her face reminiscent of someone who'd just been slapped with a fish. "But… but that's…" she weakly stammered. "That's… not fair…" Anzu's hand suddenly fisted by her side, a scowl crossing her face, and she raised her voice as she began to vent her rejection at Bakura. "He was mine first! He loved me! How could you take him from me like that?" she demanded, tears of pain, anger and humiliation beginning to shimmer in her eyes. "How could you do this to us?"
Bakura chuckled deep in his throat at this outburst. "Me? How could I do it?" His eyes suddenly narrowed, and for the first time in that conversation his voice actually became a threat in its own right. "I wasn't the one who dumped my hikari for no good reason, you selfish bitch. I wasn't the one who left him to come home alone, hurt and humiliated, and to sob his heart out alone in his room. I wasn't the one who toyed with his feelings and completely ignored him!"
"You destroyed what we had!"
"No Anzu…" Ryou softly butted in, lifting his head from Bakura's chest. "You did. Bakura's right." The girl stood in a stunned silence, unable to believe that the pretty, gentle, sweet boy stood in Bakura's arms before her had just said that. "Please just go," he whispered, a bite creeping into his voice too.
Without another word, Anzu turned and walked out the door, closing it softly behind her.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Later that day, Bakura was standing by the oven, attempting to cook a simple meal for the two of them. Ryou was always the one who cooked the dinner usually, but – at Bakura's insistence – he was now sat in front of the TV with a nice hot drink by his side. Bakura had decided that, following the events through that day, Ryou was probably stressed out and in need of a bit of relaxation. Besides that, Bakura didn't want Ryou suddenly breaking down and burning himself while cooking… or ruining the dinner.
"Fucking thing," Bakura snarled in frustration as he whipped a wooden spoon through some exceptionally lumpy batter, trying to smoothen it out. "I don't know how that boy manages to do this every weekend without building some muscles… it must take him hours…" Pausing to wipe at a bead of perspiration with his sleeve, he resumed his constant beating.
"Actually, I use a whisk…"
Bakura glanced up from his creation and saw Ryou stood in the doorframe, a smile on his face as he rocked back on his heels innocently. "That is what it's made for…"
He fished one off the wall and walked across to Bakura, handing it to him with bright eyes sparkling. Bakura accepted the whisk with a small grunt of thanks, slightly irritated that Ryou had proved him wrong and that he wasn't watching TV like he'd been instructed. Shifting his weight to make the stirring easier, Bakura set about whisking the batter once again, trying to keep Ryou's presence out of his mind.
"Bakura…?"
'Fuck.'
Now for the question that Bakura had been hoping to avoid.
"What you said to Anzu earlier… about liking me… was that the truth?"
Bakura set the batter down on the table gingerly, turning so his back was to Ryou so that the boy couldn't see him biting his lip. Bakura had only meant to make Ryou feel better. That's what that first kiss had been all about. He'd enjoyed that, and had to have a second one… and he'd said that to keep Ryou from Anzu. He'd said it to protect the boy. How the hell do you tell someone that you only said something like that to stop them making a mistake? His head hung slightly, Bakura's eyes closed slowly as he began to at least try. "Ryou…"
Bakura tensed up slightly as he felt a soft, comforting hand on his shoulder. The boy had guessed. Bakura could just tell that he had, from the way the atmosphere in the room had changed. What had been a happy atmosphere – the place Ryou saw as his first real happiness – had now become the place of his emotional betrayal.
Ryou had guessed Bakura didn't mean it.
"It's okay Bakura," he whispered softly, the hand weakly slipping from Bakura's shoulder almost lifelessly. "I understand… but thank you, anyway. For looking out for me. At least you know how I feel now…" Gentle footsteps padded back toward the kitchen door, and Bakura hesitantly turned round. He almost gasped when he saw Ryou's slumped, dejected figure slinking away, and – with a knot of regret in his stomach – Bakura rushed after him. He didn't know why, or what he was going to say. He just felt so awful for making Ryou feel like that. "Ryou, wait…"
Obediently, Ryou stopped where he was before turning round to face Bakura. The darker boy froze as he saw the tears shimmering in Ryou's eyes. Somehow, the sight stabbed at him deeply. He felt an intense pain in his chest at that moment, one that made him want to cry purely because Ryou nearly was. He had never known a feeling like it. He swallowed a lump that had somehow appeared in his throat, and took another step forward. "Ryou…"
Bakura was amazed at how shaky his voice was. It was almost as if he really was going to cry, purely because Ryou was so upset. He took a deep breath, and tried to speak again. "Ryou…"
The gentle boy's eyes softly overflowed, the tear that rolled from each leaving a silvered trail down each cheek, and he tried to offer some sort of reply. "Bakura… it's okay, really… I'll… I'll be… I'll be fine…"
Ryou turned away from Bakura at his moment as he broke down, his face crumpling as the tears overwhelmed him. Truly, the delicate boy was heartbroken. He stood with the sobs gently shaking his body for a moment, before his legs gave out and he dropped to his knees. A choked cry escaped him, and he whimpered softly. "I'll be fine…"
"Ryou… I'm so sorry… I…"
Ryou vaguely felt Bakura kneel in front of him, a hand on each shoulder, and he shook his head fiercely. "Bakura, really, it's okay," he blurted between sobs. "Don't try to make it better, I'll be fine. You don't have to–"
A small choke made Ryou stop speaking, and he looked up at the object of his love. Even through his own hazy, teary vision, Ryou could see Bakura's eyes were reddened.
He was crying too.
"I didn't mean it then Ryou, but I should have. I was an idiot to just say it without meaning it, without thinking of you…" he whispered, forcibly trying to steady his voice. "But I do now Ryou… I do care for you…"
Ryou looked down again, his sobs suddenly filling with anguish as his tears splashed on the floor. "Bakura, don't… you hurt me enough the first time, you don't have to–"
"I know Ryou, and I'm sorry," Bakura interrupted, softly cupping Ryou's cheek and tilting his head up. "But listen. I do care for you. I mean it now. I want to be with you too… if you'll still have me…"
Ryou slowly forced his tears back, blinking to clear his vision and biting on his lip to stifle the sobs, and he looked up at Bakura. The boy had two tear-trails down his cheeks too, and his puffy eyes were wide and honest, desperate that Ryou should believe him. Slowly, Ryou leaned forward, pressing his lips lightly to Bakura's.
Bakura broke away before the kiss could deepen. "Ryou… I mean it… I'm not taking sympathy on you, and I don't just want to use you like earlier. I really want you…"
Ryou's eyes widened at this. He had expected Bakura to just take the kiss… not to react like that. Ryou suddenly understood so much more clearly. Bakura had just shown that his desire for Ryou was more important than his desire for another kiss. Bakura wasn't only interested physically – he cared for Ryou, and needed him to know it. A smile slowly crept onto the gentle boy's features, and he kissed Bakura again, a hand reaching for his shoulder and pulling him in. This time, Bakura responded by returning the kiss, and Ryou dropped into his arms, tingling all over. Through the kiss, Ryou could feel what Bakura really felt. What had been a lustful, demanding kiss was now soft and sweet, a gentle kiss full of caring. The way Bakura's hand came up to Ryou's cheek again, softly wiping the half-dried tears away with his thumb as he stroked the skin, spoke volumes. Bakura truly cared for the boy. Ryou felt a warm sheathe of pure passion descending over the two boys, and he pressed closer to the one he loved, deepening the kiss and melting against him as the tingling amplified.
Softly, Ryou broke away from Bakura. His eyes radiated happiness once again, the pure joy he had felt before, and he couldn't stop smiling as he spoke softly to the white-haired demon. "Yes…" he replied. "I still want you…"
With that, Ryou closed the gap between them once more.
*~*~*~*~*~*
End
*~*~*~*~*~*
Review please!
