The Caged Rose

Disclaimer: One thing I do not pwn at is the pwnage of YGO.

Pairings: Malik/Ryou, Bakura/Marik. No Seto/Joey this chapter, I ran outta time, sorry about that. But it will at least be mentioned before this story is over. Same with other pairings. They will at least be mentioned.

Warnings/Other: Yaoi, Yuri, angst, school-fic, maybe some OOC, completely disreguards story line.

Summary: Ryou is a depressed yet caring loner who just wants some love. Malik is a popular, 'egotistical' honours student. Malik has a secret crush on Ryou, whose trust is literally impossible to gain. The rest is up to fate when they bump into eachother in the halls. YAOI, YURI.

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Time passed slowly after the two broke apart from the soft kiss they shared just moments before. A shocked pair of doe-brown orbs gazed back into two amethyst jems filled with a fearful glow. At length, Malik removed his hands from the other's shoulders, beautiful bronze limbs falling to hang limply at his side. The taller motioned to turn away after a few moments of complete silence.

"Sorry." Malik whispered despondently. What appeared to be a tear slid down his face, tainting the natural earthy shine of Egyptian skin with a depressed moistness. Ryou still hadn't said anything, as the wind blew a few strands of silver infront of his startled face. "Please say something." Malik pleaded in frustration, "Please, Ryou."

Ryou finally looked down, unsure of how to react or even what to say. "No one's ever kissed me before." He said quietly, risking a glance at Malik. Something akin to hope flashed through Malik's eyes. "Malik, I--"

"Look, Ryou. I'm really sorry. I just..." he trailed off, confidence falling short.

"What is it?" Ryou asked carefully.

Malik sighed, and with a glance at his watch, he realized there were only a few minutes left of Nutrition. 'Now or never.' He thought. "Don't hate me, okay? I love you with all my heart and all my being and I'll never stop loving you. I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry!' With that, Malik allowed another tear to trail down his cheek. He took a step forward when a hand grabbed his. He froze and turned back around to face Ryou. Malik's face was surprised as he stared into Ryou's eyes.

"Ryou?" Amethyst orbs widened as two candy lips were pressed gently against his. His arms instinctively wrapped around Ryou's waist, pulling the smaller boy closer. Tightly he held on to Ryou, both completely unaware of the bell ringing throughout the campus.

.

The 950-page Algebra II textbook slammed down on the dining room table in Bakura's small apartment. "Marik, we really have to talk." Said the thin, white-haired boy, sitting down across from Marik. "You really have to get over this hatred you have for Ryou. It's hurting Malik. I don't know how big that stick up your ass is, but it's time you took it out and learned to forgive."

Marik glared in return. "You don't even know why I feel so compelled to protect my brother, Bakura. You don't even know."

"I'd truly appreciate it if you would enlighten me to those reasons." Bakura stated calmly.

"Goddamnit, Bakura! I already lost one little brother, okay? I don't want to lose Malik too!"

Bakura sighed and glared at Marik, "Tell me something. You want to protect him, correct?"

A nod was his reply.

"Okay then. Hear me out, alright? You have to let him experience what it's like to suffer- you know, bad relationships, rejection, maybe getting banged up a bit, all that kind of crap. Marik, I know you love your brother, but think logically here. You won't always be able to watch over him all the time; he, like everyone else, has to learn to take care of themselves at one point in their lives. It's just part of life."

"But..." Marik sighed in defeat. He knew Bakura was right, but that didn't mean he had to be thrilled about the idea of exposing his only remaining brother's innocence to the harsh and cruel world he had been trying to protect him from for so long.

The expression in Bakura's eyes softened just enough to make it clear he was almost done lecturing Marik for tonight, as he stood from his seat and walked around to the other end of the table. He rested his arms on Marik's shoulders, his lips right next to the Egyptian boy's ear. "Really, Marik. You're not a bad person, but your methods of interaction with others are. All you need to do is give Ryou a chance- give Malik a chance. By pushing to keep Malik from Ryou, and Ryou from Malik, you're acheiving nothing but causing your brother an immense amount of pain. He needs Ryou, and Ryou needs him. They love eachother, Marik, you can't stop them from being drawn to one eachother. If you really love him, Marik, just give him a chance to love Ryou. For his and your sake. Don't you want him to be happy?"

"Of course I do," replied Marik, tilting his head back to rest the nape of his neck on Bakura's shoulder. He felt Bakura's weight shift slightly to accomadate him. "I guess you're right. It will behoove Malik to experience falling in love." The words the thin boy spoke only made sense in his mind, as he relaxed his tense muscles.

A rare, genuine smile crossed Bakura's face, he was right and he knew it. "Don't you just hate it when I'm right?"

"Yeah, I really do."

.

The sun shone brightly over the city, but the light was shining over two inparticular, each wrapped up in eachother's arms. They sat close to the other, not wanting to be too far apart from their loved one at any given time. Soft blonde hair fell over sparkling lavender orbs on one, while the other's delicate brown eyes hid behind cloud-coloured locks of purity. Malik, with his slender bronze arm laced around the English boy's waist, held on to the present, passing moments with all his heart, not wanting to lose the few chances he had with the one he loved.

He held Ryou close to his chest, tenderly stroking the silky white hair. "Ry?"

The smaller, timid boy looked up. "Malik?"

For a moment no one said anything, but that was changed when Malik stood, his arms now empty, as he stepped away from Ryou. He stood in the orphan's carefully tended to garden that had obviously been given much thought. He rested his hands on the white-picket fence, staring out of narrowed eyes into the near empty street at the black asphalt. Thin tanned fingers clenched around the points, and he pushed his body closer to then farther from the fence. He continued this rocking motion, humming lightly to himself, as he let out a long sigh. Evening was soon approaching, he realized with a slight darkening of his eyes.

"Ry?" He asked, still gazing into the fading light of the sun, "What's going on?"

The white-haired boy moved to stand beside Malik, "What do you mean?"

"I don't know, Ry, I really don't. Things are moving so fast, and... I just don't want to lose you. Marik can say what he wants, Ry, but I won't let that effect anything."

Ryou was silent.

"I just wish I knew what in hell is going on. Ry, I hafta ask you something. Before we take this any further, I just gotta know."

"What is it?" Ryou breathed quietly, risking a glance at Malik, who was still gazing directly infront of him.

"Ryou, you know I love you more than life itself, right?" When he was answered with a slight nod, he continued, "I really have to know how you feel about... me." Finally Malik broke his gaze with the asphalt and instead gazed down at the fence, on which his hands were still placed.

Ryou didn't respond. How did he feel about Malik? Well, he definetly didn't hate him anymore, and he really did enjoy the Egyptian boy's wam embrace and tender kisses. Not to mention he found himself becoming deeply attatched to the beautiful middle-easterner.

Unnerved by Ryou's silence, Malik bit his lip and continued his slight rocking motion. He waited patiently, quietly, for a response. Finally, Ryou cleared his throat and looked into Malik's twin amethysts with an experession of uncertianty. "Malik, I... don't know. I definetly don't hate you. Anything but hate. And... well, I kissed you, Malik. I... I fear a relationship. I'm not trying to say I don't like you, but I just..."

A sigh from Malik cut him off. "S'alright, Ryou. I'll wait for your fearless love until the day I draw my very last breath. I hope you appreciate that, even if it's just a little."

"I do appreciate it," Ryou admitted quietly, "Malik, please understand. I've never been in this kind of situation before. No one has ever payed any attention to me."

"Are you afraid I'll hurt you?" Malik said more than asked.

Again, Ryou was silent. Was he afraid that Malik would hurt him? He turned away from the blonde, still able to feel the gaze of the other boring into his back. "I don't think so." The other smiled slightly, a sad smile which didn't cover the whole of his face. Ryou sighed and stared blankly at the sky. Then he realized it.

'Damnit! How stupid have I been recently? Why didn't I realize this sooner?' He felt a dull aching in his heart; and he hated himself. Just as he, himself, was afraid of putting his heart in someone else's hands, Malik was fearful too. Though he noticed how Malik usually portrayed himself as a confident, outgoing student, deep inside, Malik was just like him. He was afraid of getting hurt too; of facing rejection and anguish too. He was the one doing the rejecting now, not Malik. Come to think of it, it was he who had been shooting down hopes, instead of having his own shot down.

Tears in his eyes, he turned to Malik with the most sorrowful expression the other had ever seen. "I can't tell you how regretful I am. All this time I've been doing to you what I was afraid you were going to do to me. And I feel horrible about it."

Malik was taken aback as he stared into Ryou's gorgeous brown eyes. "Hey, don't worry about it. Really. There's nothing you could do to make me stop loving you. Nothing." Upon speaking, he pressed his lips to Ryou's gently, feeling as if he had waited ages to kiss him again.

Ryou held on to the kiss as his arms rose instinctively to rest on Malik's shoulders, his eyes closing gently as arms encircled his waist. He couldn't help but smile; the warm, soft embrace still hadn't left him. Once they broke the kiss, Ryou began quietly crying into Malik's shoulder, shaking his head. "Ryou? What's the matter?"

The other's tears dampened his skin. He pulled back and wiped away at Ryou's tears, his fingers brushing lightly against the soft skin of the British youth's cheek. "Ry?"

Hesitantly, Ryou removed himself from the embrace and turned, his back facing Malik. "You're too good for me, Malik. I don't deserve you. So I'm sorry, but for your sake I won't interfere with your life again. I'll see you around."

And with that, Ryou barely waved goodbye before he walked inside his house, nearly forcing himself to lock the door behind him.

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Awright! Chapter 10 is done... But I think this fic is gonna end soon. Kinda running out of ideas for this one, and getting an overload of ideas for other fics. So yeah x-x But I'll keep this one goin' as long as I can without turning it into something horrible.

To all my reviewers, thanks so much for your support.

And Bakura, I'll think of a way to get your comments back in here sooner or later.

x Shori