Separate Source
If Bakura wouldn't answer his questions, Ryou had another source: Yami. He was a lot less close-lipped than Bakura, and would be more likely to tell him what he wanted to know – the question was if Yami knew the answers.
Ryou found Yami in the bedroom; he was sprawled out comfortably on the bed, eyes closed. He looked ridiculous but comfortable.
"Need something, little one?" he asked, opening his eyes. Ryou hated that nickname even more than 'hikari'. Yami wasn't that much taller than him.
"I want some answers."
"So ask some questions."
Ryou sat at the edge of the bed, and Yami opened his eyes. "No, no," he said. "That's going to get uncomfortable, and I have a feeling this is going to be a long talk. Lie down."
Ryou heaved a sigh and took the offer, stretching out beside Yami; an arm wrapped lazily around his waist. "Why are you always cuddling me?" he asked; it wasn't what he had come to ask, but it was a good question.
"You're handsome like Bakura, and softer."
"Yeah, about Bakura…" Ryou bit his lip. It was weird to be curled beside someone he swore he hated, flattered by his words… even odder that he found being compared to Bakura flattering. "Why? I never did understand that. How do two enemies end up in bed together?"
"Similar kinks," Yami replied.
"Is that all?" It was almost a disappointing answer.
"Not at all – it's actually the least significant," Yami answered. "There are a lot of complicated reasons behind it. The first time we just met on the street one night, we were both angry, horny, and…" Yami paused and stared at the ceiling, as though watching a scene unfold on it. He seemed lost in his own reverie, and his words held an almost dreamy quality as he continued, "I'm his better – he knows this, I know this."
It didn't matter to Ryou who knew it – it still made him angry that Yami would say it. He kept his mouth shut though, and Yami continued undeterred.
"As long as he can dominate me in bed, he's okay with it, too."
"And does he?"
Yami smirked and shook his head slightly as though to clear it, but he didn't take his eyes off the ceiling. "Most of the time. After all, while he needs to know he can top me in something, I've got put him in his place once in a while." He almost sounded like he…
"Do you care about Bakura? I mean, seriously?"
Yami sighed heavily, and Ryou looked over at him in surprise. He had never heard a noise like that pass Yami's lips. Or perhaps he had never listened for it. "Have you ever felt like you don't know where you start and Bakura begins? That no matter how hard you try to look for it, the line between you two sometimes blurs, and one bleeds over into the other?"
"Never," Ryou said.
"Oh?" Yami sounded amused. "So that was all Bakura Ryou who just screamed his heart out downstairs?"
Ryou hesitated. "…No," he admitted.
Yami nodded and clicked his tongue. "Lets just say Bakura keeps me on my toes, reminds me who I am."
"Well, that's all fine and dandy for you, but where do I fit into all this?" Ryou frowned. "Just what does Bakura get out of all this, with you? Or with me, for that matter."
Yami didn't answer right away, and his eyes slipped closed. "Those are questions for Bakura to answer." Ryou silently cursed the answer and almost missed Yami's soft reply: "All I can really say is that you two remind me a lot of Yuugi and I."
Funny, Ryou had always figured that Yuugi and Yami had a healthy relationship. "Does that bother you?"
Yami smiled. "Not at all." He sat up, stretching and popping his back. "Bakura is complicated, little one. I'm not sure I could answer every question you have. Perhaps you could answer a few of mine."
Ryou bit his lip again, then nodded slightly. Seemed only fair, after all. "Sure."
"Do you appease Bakura because you love him, or because you fear him?"
The question felt odd – Ryou figured his reasons were obvious. He considered Yami's previous statement. "Are you asking because you wonder about me, or because you see a parallel in my behavior and Yuugi's?" Yami didn't even flinch, and Ryou answered, "Because I care; he's not really that scary, once you get used to him."
Yami nodded, and he leaned down above Ryou, their faces close. The morning light painted him well, made him look a bit ethereal. Almost made him glow. "And do you honestly hate me, or do you just resent the affection I rob from you?"
Ryou hadn't expected THAT question… and didn't know how to answer.
"Never mind," Yami said. "Your eyes say enough. You shouldn't look at it as a loss of affection. Whatever Bakura feels for you, my presence can't change it."
"Then how should I view you?" Ryou asked. "If you're not robbing affection from me, then what are you doing?"
With a grin Yami said, "Offering you a little more." He leaned down and took Ryou's lips, settling his body comfortably against the smaller teen's. He broke the kiss quickly. "Just know that I'm not here to make you sad."
Yami… Ryou still felt the vague stir of hatred in his belly, mixed with excitement. Yami did rob affection from him, no matter what he believed, and Ryou wouldn't be quick to forgive that. But Yami definitely had a way with words... and his body.
Not to mention that Ryou never could resist temptation; he reached up and pulled Yami down into another kiss, opening up to him. At least kissing Yami didn't feel like a mockery – it only felt like defeat.
Then he felt it – the sudden surge of emotion… and it wasn't his. Ryou gasped, and Yami pulled back, looking up at Bakura. The white-haired man stood there, face expressionless, but Ryou had felt that unidentifiable emotion; it choked him, ran through him, and it was as triumphant as it was scary. It had been so long since he had felt any emotion flow between them.
After a minute of looking them over, Bakura nodded slightly and turned to leave without so much as a word.
Caught twice in less than twenty-four hours. Ryou started to push Yami back, but the spirit didn't budge.
"Don't pursue him now," Yami said. "Leave him be."
Ryou trembled, torn between listening to Yami and defying him. Finally he looked at the clock.
10:00 AM.
He couldn't handle the house anymore – Bakura and Yami were giving him a headache, screwing with his emotions. He needed to get out.
"I think I'm going to school after all." He would be able to clear his thoughts better there. Yami nodded, sitting up to let Ryou go.
"Did I answer your questions?" the spirit asked suddenly. He didn't sound overly concerned.
Ryou nodded minutely. "Yeah, thanks." Almost warily he touched Yami's hand. It was the first time Ryou had touched Yami of his own accord. "Want me to pass any messages to Yuugi?" he offered, feeling a little awkward.
"No; I'll see him later tonight."
Ryou stood up to get dress, and smiled to himself. That would mean that he would have some time alone with Bakura.
He wouldn't let Bakura off so easy the second time around.
notes
ugh, I'm not sure how to feel about this chapter; it set Ryou up with SOME answers to his questions, but made Yami a little more confusing, if you ask me – he was a bitch to write in the next chapter. x.x I guess I like the question and answer session, I just wish Yami could've said more, lol.
Overall, it wasn't that great, but it was needed to get the ball rolling for the next chapter.
I think the plan is that I'll put the last chapter and the epilogue up at the same time, simply because they sort of flow together (and I think its silly to wait and post an epilogue). Since neither is QUITE done (^^;;), it might take a little bit longer than these updates have been going. x.x