Kaiba woke up slowly, feeling very disoriented. Where was he this time? He looked around and discovered that he was in his bed again and that Bakura was nearby. Wondering what idiocy he had made of himself this time, he sat up slowly.

"...-kun...?" Bakura asked sleepily, eyes opening half way to look at the boy.

Kaiba looked down at him. "You're awake," he said emotionlessly.

"So are you," Bakura smiled, propping himself up slightly.

"Yes," Kaiba acknowledged. "You can leave now."

"Kaiba-kun... why do you keep pushing me away?" Bakura asked softly, eyes saddened.

"Pushing you away implies that you were close to start with," Kaiba said.

The paler boy looked at him a moment. "It's like there's two of you; the Kaiba-kun on the outside and the Seto-kun on the inside that you don't want anyone to see..."

Kaiba flinched slightly. "Don't call me that."

"Don't call you which?"

"Which do you think?" Kaiba asked with a venomous glare.

Bakura was quiet a moment. "Why does it bother you, Kaiba-kun?"

"Should I be pleased by your lack of respect?" Kaiba growled.

"It's not a lack of respect. If I knew your first last name, I'd call you by that instead. Should I call you Seto-sama instead when you don't want to be a Kaiba?"

Kaiba twitched.

"Sorry," Bakura said softly, looking down.

"Why do you try so hard to make me think you care?"

"If I didn't care, I wouldn't have come either time," Bakura pointed out.

Kaiba just glared.

Bakura sighed, sitting up and smoothing down his hair. "I'll go make you more soup then, if you don't want to talk about it," he said, getting up.

"There's still left from the last time you attacked the kitchen," Kaiba pointed out.

Bakura gave a small smile. "I told Mokuba-kun that I'd make more since you actually ate it. I can make something else for you if you'd like," he offered.

The brunet snorted. "You'll do whatever you want anyway."

"I do what I think is best," Bakura corrected.

Kaiba snorted and leaned back against his headboard.

"I'll be in the kitchen if you need me." Bakura looked at the boy a moment longer before leaving the room.

Kaiba draped his arms around his knees and brooded. Bakura apparently knew something that he shouldn't know, although Kaiba didn't know what it was. The circular thinking eventually annoying him, Kaiba used the bathroom to clean up from rather obvious signs of crying and went in search of his brother and Bakura. After looking for Mokuba in several places he went to the kitchen.

"Aaaa! Mokuba-kun, not so much!" he heard Bakura's voice laugh. "It just needs a little bit of onion!"

"But I like onion! It makes it taste better."

Kaiba sat at the table watching them.

"Now what?"

"Two tablespoons of basil."

"Basil? What kinda of recipe is this anyway?"

Bakura laughed again. "It's an Italian one. I learned it from one of the scholars at a museum that some of my father's finds are at."

"Eeee?!" Mokuba exclaimed, eyes wide with interest. "You dad works for a museum?"

Bakura's sad grew slightly saddened. "He did," he nodded. "I even got to go see one of his digs once."

"That's so cool!" Mokuba grinned.

Kaiba found himself enjoying the fact that neither other boy had noticed him and he could watch them unobserved.

"Aaa! Mokuba-kun, the basil!" Bakura interrupted himself.

"Right!" Mokuba exclaimed, turning. He paused, eyes wide. "Niisama!" he exclaimed happily, running over to give the boy a hug. "You're better!"

Kaiba returned the hug. "Get the basil," he said softly, smiling at his brother.

"Un!" Mokuba let go and near scrambled over to the cabinet. "Catch!" he grinned, tossing it at Bakura who awkwardly caught it. "Bakura's been showing me how he cooks," Mokuba announced, sitting next to his brother.

"Bakura is very willing to tell people how to do things," Kaiba said, raising a brow.

Mokuba laughed. "He keeps getting annoyed because I keep changing his recipe on him. "He wanted to use celery," the boy made a face. "I wouldn't let him," he smirked cockily.

"He couldn't know how much you hate celery," Kaiba said, putting an arm around his brother.

"He knows now," Mokuba grinned. "Hey, Niisama, can he stay here?"

"He may cook as long as he likes," Kaiba said with dry amusement.

"No, I mean longer then that. He can stay here and you can fire the annoying fat cook who never makes good desserts and Bakura can cook! And take me places because you're always too busy."

Bakura's eyes were wide. "Mo--Mokuba-kun!" he exclaimed. He gave a small, almost forced laugh. "You sound like you want me to replace half your staff! Are you going to pay me?"

"Why not?" Mokuba grinned. "And you can make sure Niisama sleeps." He gave his brother a mild glare.

Kaiba pressed his lips together. "He has a home of his own. And I don't want his 'friends' coming to visit him here."

"Mou, Niisama," Mokuba pouted briefly. "Hey, Bakura, you said you live by yourself, right? So it wouldn't be a problem! He can move in to one of the rooms on the other side that we don't use."

"Mokuba-kun...." Bakura's voice was slightly pained.

"Some people like living alone, Mokuba. Don't push him."

"But he cooks better then the cooks we have and you like him!"

Kaiba frowned. "Mokuba," he said warningly.

"At least have him over to cook, maybe then you'll remember to eat," Mokuba scowled, arms crossed stubbornly.

"I remember to eat as much as I need to."

"Like you sleep as much as you need to?" Mokuba countered stubbornly.

"Mokuba," Kaiba said in a warning voice.

"You worried me, Niisama..."

Kaiba put a hand on Mokuba's head. "I had work to do."

"You didn't sleep for almost a week!"

"Mokuba," Kaiba said again in warning.

"No! You can't do this again, Niisama!" Mokuba exclaimed. "I don't want to lose you!"

"You won't," Kaiba promised.

"You wouldn't listen to me," Mokuba near sniffled. "And Bakura barely got you to bed. And then you got worse again today!"

Kaiba shot a brief glare at Bakura. "I'm fine, Mokuba."

The smaller boy near pouted, arms crossed. "You better stay fine."

Kaiba sighed softly.

Bakura silently placed a place down in front of each of the Kaibas before getting one for himself and sitting.

Kaiba poked at the food. Noting his brother's scrutiny, he eat a forkful. "Yes, it's better than what Gozaburo's cooks make," he said, taking another bite.

"Seeeeeeeee? And you actually eat when Bakura cooks," Mokuba smirked.

Kaiba dropped his fork and stalked out of the room.

There was a soft knock at the door of Kaiba's study. "Kaiba-kun....?" Bakura's voice called.

There was no answer.

The door slowly opened and the pale haired boy looked in cautiously. "Kaiba-kun?" he called again.

Kaiba was standing in front of his desk, staring at something on it and shaking slightly.

Bakura carefully put down the tray he had been carrying and walked over. "Kaiba-kun, are you all right?" he asked, voice concerned.

Kaiba continued staring at a picture of much younger versions of himself and Mokuba with their adoptive father behind them, not seeming to have heard.

The paler boy hesitated a moment. "Seto-kun?" he called again.

Kaiba started, looking over at Bakura before reaching a hand out and taking hold of the picture. Without a change of expression, he smashed the glass. Reaching through the shattered glass, he pulled out the picture and tore it in half, replacing the part with himself and his brother carefully into the frame.

"Aaa!" Bakura exclaimed, quickly going to the boy's side and taking his hand, examining it, gave a small relieved sigh when he didn't find any cuts.

Kaiba sat down and opened the laptop as if nothing strange had happened.

Bakura held in his sigh and went to work getting rid of the pieces of the shattered glass, carefully extracting them from the frame.

Kaiba barely acknowledged his presence, looking through files on the laptop without opening any.

"I brought up your dinner in case you wanted any more of it," Bakura said softly, nodding to where he had put the tray. "Did you want me to bring it over?"

Kaiba grunted. "Whatever."

The pale haired boy hesitated a moment, then retrieved the tray, carefully setting it in a clean spot on the desk. He hesitated again as Kaiba continued to ignore him, then spoke. "Would you let me stay?"

Kaiba grunted again. "Don't interrupt me."

Bakura bowed his head and nodded. "Gomen," he said softly. He looked at Kaiba a moment more before exiting the room.

Kaiba glanced after Bakura a moment, then went back to looking through his documents for one without his adoptive father's influence on it. After a few hours he gave up, pulling another framed picture from a drawer and curling onto the couch, hugging it close. Slowly, he fell asleep.

"Seto-kun?" Bakura called softly.

Without opening his eyes, Kaiba swiped at the voice with one hand, curling closer around his picture.

Bakura gave a startled exclamation, moving back some. He looked at the boy a moment more before getting to his feet.

He returned a short while later with one of Kaiba's blankets and gently draped it over the boy.

Kaiba reached out again and pulled Bakura down onto the couch, cuddling close to him.

Bakura nearly squeaked in surprise as he fell. He nearly gave a small embarrassed laugh and looked up at Kaiba with a fond smile. Shifting slightly to be more comfortable, he snuggled closely. 'My Seto-kun,' he thought fondly as he settled down to sleep.

Kaiba smiled in his sleep, leaning his forehead against Bakura.

------

Note: Bakura's father is not actualy dead in canon, but at the time of writing this, we didn't know that [It was mentioned in the AE arc by Yami Bakura that Bakura's father owns the musium, so safe to assume he is still living.]. So, for purpouses of this fic, Bakura's father is not amoung the living. ^^