Disclaimer: I do not own Yuugiou. Yippee.
Author Comments: Yay! Thanks so much EVERYONE for the reviews! I CANNOT believe I received 3,400 hits! And only twenty of the thousands of you who read can review? :pouts:: But, thank you very much for the 21 (I think…) or so reviews! I'm almost to 100 =D
I'd also like to thank the copper araibian and manga-nut for their reviews on what REALLY happened in Bakura's past! I don't watch the series that much or anything so I don't really know u.u ::is ashamed:: I know, I'm horrible.
Author Ramblings About Upcoming Chapter: Yes, chapter eight… is it just me or are you guys sick of all the angst so far? Well, I am! So, of course… A CUTE FLUFFY CHAPTER! W00t! n.n Aren't you proud of me? Yes, contrary to popular belief, I can write FLUFF! Warning: Marshmallows and s'mores ahead!
Author Excuses: Nothing. No excuse. Laziness, perhaps. But I just didn't get around to it until now. Sorry it's a tad bit late!
Author Notice: If you haven't noted by now, I have changed the chapter titles (via links) again! I decided to go back to the original titles merely because I realized my sentence wasn't going anywhere and didn't really make sense O.o;; Heh. So, yah, it's changed.
Key:
"Spoken words"
'Thinking'
Hikari to Yami
Yami to Hikari
Here's chapter eight!
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Title: Ai No Ejiki
(Victim of Love)
Author: Suki No Hikari
Rating: PG-13
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Recap:
Ryou tried to look in his yami's eyes, but was unsuccessful because of the fuzziness. Ryou sighed softly. 'Bakura… I never knew… if you had only told me sooner… I could have helped you. I don't want you to be hurt anymore. I don't want you to think you are hated by me… I'm the only one you have left.'
Chapter Eight : Connection
Ryou started loosening the cap to his eye-drop bottle, preparing for his second dose of the day. The hikari had to admit, it had been hard trying to put these in your own eyes without the help of another person (namely Bakura in Ryou's case). After a few failed attempts, however, Ryou had gotten the hang of it and no longer needed help. He popped two sleeping pills in his mouth out of habit, swallowing them using his saliva. Only the did he realize that they were probably not even needed because he most likely wouldn't be in pain tonight. He shrugged, figuring it didn't really matter anyway.
Suddenly the grandfather clock broke the silence, revealing that it was already eight in the evening. It had been three hours since Bakura had exposed his past to Ryou and two hours since Ryou had come upstairs.
Ryou knew Bakura would probably go back to playing video games after he was done with his speech. Seriously, how long did you think he could go without them? So Ryou had ventured up to his bedroom to listen to music and think a little bit. A lot, really. But with all this thinking, Ryou had come up with only one thing: Bakura had seriously changed. Sure, he was the complete jackass he normally would be when speaking casually, but whenever he was being sincere, he'd take down his barriers. Ryou couldn't help but smile. 'He tore down those walls for me. Because he cares for me.' Ryou couldn't lie to himself; he had missed having someone care for him.
"Hikari! Come here!" Bakura's voice shattered Ryou's thought process and the hikari suddenly felt his stomach growl. 'I should probably go eat dinner anyway.' Ryou thought to himself and responded to Bakura's request with a, "Coming!"
Ryou started his trek downstairs, the eye-drops clearing up his vision temporarily. They normally lasted for about ten minutes before his vision went slightly blurry again. At least Ryou's vision was coming to the point where it was like being far-sighted without glasses for seeing things close-up. As he turned into the kitchen, Ryou began smelling something… rather good, actually.
The hikari nearly gasped when he saw a full spread of recently cooked food on the dining room table in the next room. Bakura loomed over it all with an accomplished smirk on his face. Ryou's face broke into a bright smile and he nearly ran into the dining room.
"Bakura, did you make this?" Ryou questioned excitedly.
"No. It popped out of thin air. What do you think?" Bakura responded, his voice cold, but Ryou could tell there was laughter behind his words.
"Wow! I never knew you could cook!" Ryou was glad Bakura had surprised him with this, or else he might've never even let Bakura near the kitchen. The hikari was no less than amazed to have seen his kitchen still intact!
Bakura smirked. "You learn new things every day, eh hikari?"
Ryou laughed. "Yeah, I guess you can cook after all!" Bakura's face faltered a little bit, however, thinking back on the past couple hours. 'Well… I tried to cook. Good thing they showed that stupid cooking show or I would have to clean the kitchen again. Yeah, dinner was supposed to be ready by six o'clock… but err… I burned everything… and had to clean it all up and start over… but lets not tell Ryou that…' Bakura thought to himself before smiling tenderly. It was small and barely noticeable, but it was there. 'I think it was worth it.'
Ryou gazed over the food and finally decided to sit down. Bakura took a seat next to him, where he had placed his own food moments before. They ate in a comfortable silence for a few moments until Bakura heard his hikari drop his fork back onto the table. He looked over to the smaller teen, trying to figure out what the problem was.
"You don't like it? Is that the problem?" Bakura snapped, a bit harshly, but Ryou paid no heed. The white-haired teen kept staring out into space, leaving Bakura quite confused.
The awkward moment was broken by a timid voice. "Did… did you do this for me… Bakura? Did you make this for me?"
It was Bakura's turn to fall silent, lowering his gaze to his lap. He nodded, but then realized Ryou wasn't looking directly at him and probably hadn't seen the gesture. "Um… I guess…" Bakura cursed his voice for betraying him. Even though he let his hikari see his weak side already, Ryou wasn't about to see it too often anymore. As much as he loved his 'weak' side, note the sarcasm, he'd rather keep up appearances. Especially with people like the Pharaoh and Malik and his demonic yami lurking around in the twenty-first century.But, of course, his voice has to go and be pathetic. Peachy.
Bakura noticed Ryou facing him and snapped out of his daze. A shy smiled played across the hikari's features and Bakura blushed, starting to feel quite faint. 'Whoa… did I eat something bad?' Bakura thought to himself, wondering why the heck his stomach was doing somersaults.
"Thank you Bakura," Ryou admitted meekly and gently moved forward to wrap his arms around his yami's waist in a gentle embrace. He quickly moved away after a small squeeze and sat himself back in his chair. Bakura felt his face heat up and he let out a small grunt, his way of saying 'You're welcome,' before turning back to his own meal.
After they finished eating, Bakura decided to go back into the living room and play his video games. Ryou sat on the couch, feeling a familiar sense of tradition wash over him. 'Just like the old days… except it's night… and Bakura isn't hurting me.' Ryou couldn't help but smile. The hikari looked at the screen, trying to make out the figure Bakura was using as his character. Ryou recognized the figure and his grin grew, realizing how good his vision was becoming. 'If it keeps up like this, I might just need glasses… or if the eye prescription keeps working, I won't even need them at all.' Ryou thought to himself, considering when he should go visit the doctor again.
A loud curse broke Ryou out of his trance and he noticed the unmistakable "Game Over" words flashing across the screen. Bakura nearly threw down the controller and muttered a couple more curses to himself. Apparently giving up (after only that long?), Bakura stood up and stretched before spinning around to face Ryou.
"I'm bored, hikari." Ryou nearly gasped. Bakura… bored with video games? Those words shouldn't even be put in a sentence together! Okay, maybe he was exaggerating that a bit, but still! Ryou couldn't help but think it was quite unusual.
"Well…" Ryou started. "What do you want to do?"
Bakura appeared in thought for a moment, his eyes gazing outside the window placed behind the couch. "I want to go outside," Bakura concluded finally and Ryou nodded slowly.
"Sounds good. Do you want me to come with you?" Ryou questioned, a bit shy. Bakura nodded slowly, knowing that Ryou could see him this time around. Ryou gathered himself off the couch and stared out the window for a moment at the purple and blue sky.
"It looks pretty nice out tonight. Too bad we missed the sunset, but we can look at the stars, right?" Ryou faced Bakura again, and the yami jumped because he had been staring at Ryou. The hikari didn't notice, however, and Bakura tried to compose himself.
"Whatever," Bakura muttered in a stoical tone and headed off to the front door. He opened it slowly and a cool breeze traveled in the room. The former tomb robber shut the door quickly before spinning and glaring at Ryou.
"Damnit! It's cold out there, hikari!" Ryou looked confused for a moment before stepping next to Bakura and opening the door for himself. He felt the same breeze wash over him, and Ryou smiled. Perfect temperature.
"I don't know what you're talking about Bakura, but I think it's just perfect out right now. I don't even think I'll need a jacket, it's so nice," Ryou stated calmly and began heading out the door. Bakura gazed at his hikari's back with an incredulous look. 'What the heck? It's freezing! Well, I'm getting a jacket.' Bakura thought to himself and quickly ran back inside to grab a sweatshirt and a summer jacket off the coat hanger. He promptly layered himself with the clothing before leaving and shutting the door behind him. Bakura noticed his hikari waiting for him on the sidewalk, and trotted out to stand next to him. Ryou watched his yami in disbelief.
"Why are you wearing all that?" Ryou questioned, surprised.
"Why?" Bakura repeated, an edge to his voice. "Because it's fucking cold! Egypt was so much warmer than this…" the yami trailed off and Ryou felt like slapping himself in the forehead. 'Of course. Bakura's not used to this kind of weather, even if it is the summer. He's used to the extreme heat of the desert so this must seem cold to him.' Ryou shook his head, smiling. 'Silly yami.'
"Let's go, hikari." Bakura demanded in a calm tone and Ryou nodded, following his yami to… wait, where were they going?
"Bakura, where are you going anyway?" Ryou inquired to the yami's back.
Bakura continued walking, letting Ryou trail him. "To the place with the water." Ryou furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, trying to figure out what Bakura meant by "the place with the water." He shrugged it off, trusting that Bakura knew where he was going.
The two teens strolled in a relaxed silence for what seemed like only about ten minutes, but when Ryou checked his watch, it had already been twice as long. The hikari frowned, noting how much his feet were aching. Bakura had led him through many neighborhoods, taking shortcuts Ryou had never seen before. Most of the time Ryou drove on the streets but Bakura was cutting through people's yards so he couldn't recognize where they were.
Ryou had an urge to ask that annoying question when parents took kids on long car drives. The hikari felt himself not being able to resist. "Bakura…" Ryou began to whine softly. "Are we there yet?"
Bakura grunted and finally they came out of the previous house's thick yard, reaching a small street. Bakura crossed it, not minding the traffic, or lack of, and Ryou suddenly noticed where they were.
"You took me to the beach, Bakura? Wait… how did you even know where the beach was?" Bakura shrugged and Ryou frowned. The yami had been to the beach a couple times when Ryou hadn't been home, using his "sense of direction" to find it on previous "adventures." Basically, the yami had become lost trying to find the grocery store about a year back.
"Lets just say I have my ways, hikari." Ryou blinked, trying to understand his confusing yami but waved it off, deciding to enjoy the night. After a little bit more walking, Ryou started to feel soft sand beneath his shoes.
"Hang on, Bakura. I'm going to take off my shoes real quick," Ryou proclaimed and sat in the sand, prying his shoes and socks off his feet. Once they were off, the small teen plunged his toes into the slightly warm sand. Bakura, who had been wearing sandals, kicked them off with ease before removing his two extra layers of clothing.
"Aha! So you were getting overheated, weren't you?" Ryou teased and Bakura glared at him.
"The walking warmed me up, stupid," Bakura growled and Ryou smiled knowingly. "Don't do that hikari!"
"Do what?" Ryou questioned innocently, a teasing expression playing across his features.
"You know what! That… that stupid look!" Bakura 'humph'ed and spun around, proceeding to get closer to the water. Ryou laughed and shook his head before jumping up and jogging after him. Ryou watched as his yami plopped down on the sand near the water so the waves would occasionally roll over his bare feet. Ryou stopped a few feet away from his yami, noticing how the older teen's gaze had drifted to the night sky.
Ryou approached him slowly and took a seat next to him. "What are you thinking about?" He inquired softly, trying to keep the peace of the silent night. Bakura shrugged, keeping a firm stare on the stars. Ryou looked up as well for a brief moment, then turned his gaze back to the water. The hikari arose slowly, dusting the sand off his shorts and Bakura turned to him, wondering why he was leaving so soon. His questions were answered when Ryou strode into the shallow tide, the water coming up just below his knees.
Ryou sighed. "The water's warm…" Bakura caught the phrase, and, getting tired of watching the hushed night sky, started to get up. Ryou had his back to Bakura, seemingly caught in the moment and not aware of the yami creeping up behind him. Bakura tried to get a hold of his possessed body, really, he did! But…
Ryou gasped as two arms encircled his waist and brought his body back against a muscular chest. "Bakura… what are you-" Ryou stopped suddenly when he felt a pair of lips on his cheek for a fleeting moment. Flustered, Ryou jumped from Bakura's embrace, spinning around to face him. Well, that's what he tried to do. But since Ryou had to struggle against the arms holding him, his actions were too fast, thus landing him bottom-first in the water.
His eyes were still wide and facing Bakura, however, barely noticing how he was soaking wet waist-down. "B-Bakura! Why did you do that?" Ryou commanded, his face color rivaling that of an apple.
Bakura smirked at Ryou. "You were just too cute." The yami winked flirtatiously and extended a hand to his hikari. Ryou's blushed even more (if that was possible) and took the offered hand. Bakura brought the smaller teen to his feet, purposely pulling too hard making the flustered hikari stumble into his arms.
Ryou leaped back swiftly and sputtered out what sounded like apologies. Bakura's smirk grew wider when Ryou refused to meet his gaze.
"Hikari, you're wet," Bakura stated simply and grabbed Ryou's hand, dragging him out of the water.
Ryou pouted. "Well it's your fault!"
Bakura put on a look of mock-hurt. "Now, whatever did I do to make you wet? I didn't push you in the water, did I?"
Ryou glared at his yami. "You scared me half to death! And then… then you… you kissed me!"
"I suppose I should've done it while we were still on the sand then, is that what you're saying?"
"Yes! I mean… no! I mean…" Bakura raised an eyebrow in question. Ryou huffed but added in a shy tone, "Why did you kiss me anyway?"
Bakura shrugged nonchalantly. "I felt like it."
Ryou gaped at him. "So you think you can kiss me whenever you feel like it, then?" Ryou's question was answered when a soft pair of lips planted themselves on his own and Ryou felt his heart flutter. Bakura pulled away after a few moments, keeping the kiss chaste. A stunned silence followed and Ryou's eyes were the size of saucers.
"S-stop k-kissing me already! It's weird!" Ryou spewed out hastily while rubbing his lips as if they were cursed. Bakura felt like an anchor had dropped in the bottom of his stomach just from hearing those words. Ignoring the overwhelming sense of regret and disappointment, Bakura turned around, heading for their stuff. Ryou touched his lips when Bakura could no longer see him. 'What was he thinking… kissing me like that?' Ryou felt anger stir inside of him as well as a faint feeling prancing in the pit of his stomach. He pushed them away, however, and began to follow the sandy footsteps his yami had just previously made.
Bakura began picking up the summer jacket when he was interrupted by a sneeze behind him. He looked over his shoulder at a shivering Ryou who was tying his shoes back on. Apparently the breeze was very cold against his wet skin.
"Here hikari." Bakura removed the jacket from his own shoulders and placed it around Ryou's.
The white-haired teen smiled appreciatively and dusted the sand off himself as he stood. "Thank you Bakura. And…" Ryou lowered his eyes. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. It just kind of surprised me… I didn't really know how to react."
Bakura placed his index finger under Ryou's chin, lifting it so their eyes could meet. Ryou noticed the affectionate smile that graced his yami's features and he felt himself going light-headed from the mere beauty of it. 'Bakura's smiling… and it's… warm…' Ryou had to keep from sighing out loud.
"Don't worry about it, Ryou." Bakura whispered, the sound of crashing waves carrying his words with them. Ryou felt his eyelids slipping shut and his vision going blurry. Was Bakura's smile really making him feel this faint? Ryou felt himself falling, his legs unable to hold him anymore. 'Why am I…?' Ryou wondered to himself but then it hit him.
Bakura caught his collapsing hikari under his armpits and lifted him back up onto his feet. Ryou rocked back and forth for a few moments before falling into Bakura, eyes closed. Bakura stared down at Ryou in slight shock. 'What's wrong with him?'
As if Ryou had heard Bakura's thoughts, a small voice answered the question. "I really shouldn't have taken those sleeping pills…" Ryou murmured wearily. Bakura let out a small breath he didn't realize he was holding and lifted the small teen into his arms, making a sound at the sudden extra amount of weight. Slipping on his sandals, Bakura started away from the beach.
Within moments, Ryou's breathing evened out, indicating that sleep had taken over his small body. Bakura held the teen protectively in his arms and carried the sleeping Ryou all the way home, the hikari's warmth soothing his aching arms.
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Awwwwwwwwww!! Wasn't that so cute? ::sighs dreamily:: Well I hope I didn't make Bakura too OOC… well, this whole story basically puts him out of character… u.u Oh well, I think that this chapter turned out really well, don't you?
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I hope you liked chapter eight! Please tell me what you think by reviewing! I think I only have about three-ish more chapters to go!
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