Chuck: Yo! This my first fanfic pairing Ryu + Yoh, so please R&R. Well, enjoy! ^_- *********************************************************************

Milk and Cookies

As the 18 year old shaman walked down the hallway of the En Inn, he felt himself growing depressed. Everynight, it was the same now. A slip of the lip, a flick of the wrist, or in other words, every night, he would stand up for himself, then receive a slap from the emerald shaman that was his love, or so he was led to believe. "What changed? When did he become so . . . dominant?" The thoughts of his darling Lyserg kept playing in his head, until he finally reached his room. Quickly changing into his robes, he prepared himself for bed. He sat down hard on his futon, then sighed lost in thought. "He was so gentle, so sweet. Now he's so . . . so . . ."
"Sour."
"Huh?" Ryu looked back to the door, seeing an exhausted Yoh Asakura fresh out of training. "Uh . . .What do you mean, Big Brother?"
Yoh slowly unbuckled all the weights on his ankles, and wrists, then unlocked the new shock collar Anna had put on him. Stretching as he walked, he slumped down next to Ryu. "He's become sour."
"Uh . . .sour? But how?"
Yoh thought for a moment, then smiled. "Well, your relationship with Lyserg is like milk and cookies.
"Milk and cookies?"
"Yeah. Lyserg being milk and you being cookies."
"How so?"
Yoh stretched once more, then laid down and stared up at the ceiling. "Well, from what others see, you and Lyserg are a perfect match, but Lyserg, being milk, has been left out too long, so he's become sour."
"By 'left out too long', what are you implying?"
"Well, Lyserg's been through a lot in his life. When Hao killed his parents he probably felt helpless, so he trained himself to be strong and dominate so he could never be overpowered again. Unfortunately, it worked to well. Now he thinks he has to be in control of everything, including your relationship, making him sour like the milk. So still appearing to be normal milk, you two still appear to go together, but the sour milk actually overpowers the taste of the cookies."
Ryu looked to the young, but wise shaman. "So, what do I do?"
"You need to find a new glass of milk."
"New . . . glass?"
Yoh nodded, then sat up. "Cookies are still cookies in the end. All they need is a fresh glass of milk."
Ryu thought of the past events with his beloved, then nodded. "You're right."
Yoh watched as Ryu suddenly stood up, holding his bokuto high.
"I, Bokuto no Ryu, shall break away from the sour milk and find a new glass!"
Yoh giggled. "Well, it's not really that dramatic, but I think you're getting the basic idea."
Ryu, suddenly knelt down to Yoh. "But, where do I find my new glass?"
"It depends on what type of cookie you are."
"Huh?"
Yoh poked Ryu's cheeks, then looked deep into his eyes. After a moment, he smiled. "You're chocolate chip."
"Chocolate . . . chip?"
"Yeah. You're common yet unique. "
Ryu stared in confusion, then smiled. "Okay, so who's my glass of milk?"
"Well . . . "Yoh thought hard. "Um . . . I guess anyone you like a lot would do. Of coarse, they'd have to feel the same about you."
Ryu nodded, then smiled. "I know! Horo Horo! Him and me have always had some kind of bond!"
"Ryu, wait! Horo's with . . ." Yoh was too late. Ryu was already gone. "Ryu . . . Horo already has his cookies."
A loud crash was heard, followed by the familiar sound of a kwan dao cutting through the air. "Get the Hell out!" Ren cried.
After a few moments, Ryu stumbled in with a fat lip and a black eye. "I think . . . Horo already has his cookies."
Yoh giggled nervously. "Yeah. Ren's more like molasses cookies. Not very good sounding, but still has his own unique taste that some enjoy, like Horo Horo does. Oh well, Ren could've done worse to you."
Ryu sighed, then turned around, showing his pants were ripped in the back, revealing flowery boxers.
"O-kay." Yoh giggled more, then searched through his pockets.
As he did so, Ryu blushed. Everytime he heard that bewitching laugh, an undescribable feeling was sent up his spine. Actually, to be honest, Ryu always felt different when he was near the young Asakura. He felt attracted yet, inferior to Yoh. Was it the way King Hao influenced the lazy shaman's every action, thought, even movement in the graceful manner that had become one of Yoh's more obvious characteristics, or was it the innocence of the new soul that inhabited the vessel which once belonged to the wise onmyouji?
"It's alright, Ryu. I'll stitch ya up." Pulling out a needle and thread, the young shaman crawled over to Ryu. "Hold still."
Ryu blushed in embarrassment. "Big Brother, how do you know how to sew?"
"When you live with Anna, you gotta learn a lot of things, including sewing."
"Well, what were you doing with a needle and thread?"
"I always keep them with me, you know, in case I fall and rip my pants."
"But, I thought you didn't . . ."
"It's not that I mind getting a little messed up, it's just . . ." Yoh looked down, then suddenly looked up again, crying streams of tears anime style. ". . . Anna would butcher me if she found out I ripped my clothes!"
Ryu stared at Yoh, then began thinking of the talk they had just had. "So . . . she's sour as well?"
Yoh stopped wailing, then turned away and nodded. "I guess."
Ryu smiled. "So . . . why don't you practice what you preach? Why don't you find a new glass?"
"Cause I'm engaged."
"So?"
"Well, it's like me and Anna are being sold together in the same package." Yoh sighed, then suddenly felt hands on his shoulders. "Uh?"
"But sometimes it is best to take the better product from the bad one."
Yoh stared in confusion. "What?" He was then spun around to meet Ryu's gaze.
"You being the better product."
Yoh's cheeks became soft pink. "Uh, you think?"
Ryu nodded, then knelt down. "You don't love Anna, do you?"
"Well, I kinda do, but more like a sister."
Ryu smiled, then wrapped his arms around Yoh and pulled him into a warm embrace. "Big Brother, I know this may be unexpected, and maybe even a little inappropriate, but would you please allow me to be your glass of milk?"
Yoh's cheeks became pure red, then he smiled and nodded a little, but after a few minutes he suddenly looked up again. "But Ryu, I . . . I can't. I mean, what about my engagement?"
Ryu brushed Yoh's bangs from his face, then smiled. "It'll be alright, Big Brother. We'll find a way." Ryu softly kissed Yoh's cheek, then laid him down in the futon, lying on top of him, such as a lover would to his spouse.
Yoh's eyes showed mixed emotions of confusion, fear, and happiness, that was new to the shaman's appearance. "But Ryu, is it right? Could it work? Would it . . . "
"Shhh." Ryu placed his fingers on Yoh's lips, then smiled softly. "Daijoubu, Big Brother. Daijoubu." And with that the momentarily wiser shaman silenced Yoh once more with a soft yet passionate kiss.