Author's note: Hey people! ...Don't kill me, I swear I'll update stuff soon. Ahm... in the meantime, I've got a ficlet for you. It's for a friend from Livejournal, Magda. She already got it, so... -shrug- Thought I might as well put it on here.

Pairing: Onesided Tristan x Ryou (Protectshipping).

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.

Warning: None! Beware of fluff and blushy!bishies ahead.

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Reach

-Reach for my hand when I call you.-

Bakura Ryou closed his locker door quietly, slinging his backpack over his shoulder carefully as he brushed his snowy bangs from his eyes. He turned towards the exit of the already deserted hallway, having full intentions of getting home before dusk. However, he was prevented from doing that when he heard a voice call, "Hey, wait up!"

Ryou stopped in his tracks, blinking as he turned slightly towards where the voice had come from. "Tristan?" he asked, a little baffled. "What are you still doing at school?"

Tristan had slowed from his mad run, and was now standing just in front of Ryou, leaning over, hands braced on his knees. He took deep breaths to still his racing pulse before he panted, "Had to catch you… before you left."

Ryou watched him with concern, worried at how he was breathing. He lowered his backpack and set it down on the floor, resting a hand on Tristan's heaving shoulder.

"You okay?" he questioned, looking rather quizzical. Why was Tristan wanting to catch him? Did he miss out on a game of tag, or something?

Tristan's breathing eased from his long run from Yuugi to Ryou, and he straightened, Ryou's hand falling from his shoulder. He coughed lightly, fixing his hair. "I'm good," he said as casually as possible, though Ryou's hand on him had his pulse racing all over again.

Ryou blinked, looking up at Tristan through his bangs. "Oh, that's good, then," he said half-heartedly, not sure of what else to say.

Tristan looked down at Ryou, feeling his skin heating up slightly. He willed his small blush away and forced a grin in its place. "What are you still doing here?" he asked, adjusting his own backpack.

Ryou smiled slightly, picking his backpack up again and putting it on. "I was just finishing off a project for English," he told him.

Tristan nodded slightly, as he himself had been working on his project for days. "What did you decide to do?"

Ryou started walking towards the school exist, motioning for his friend to follow. When Tristan did so, he answered lightly, "Nothing special; just a book review."

Tristan raised a brow. Leave it to Ryou to be all technical and literate. "What book?"

"It's called the Empire of Darkness," Ryou informed him, holding one of the doors open. He waited until Tristan had passed him, and then let the door close again. His smile grew when the crisp wind blew his bangs in his eyes.

Tristan looked at him curiously, having heard that name somewhere before. "…Isn't that a story centred around Egypt?"

Ryou nodded, his smile evident as he thought of one of his great interests, the land of Egypt. "It's a really great book… I had a hard time putting it down," he smiled sheepishly.

Tristan laughed a bit, knowing Ryou was quite into books and literature. That made him wonder… If he asked Ryou to come to the library with him, would he fre--

"So, what did you want to catch me for, Tristan?"

Ryou's quiet voice broke through Tristan's reverie, making him start a little. He took a breath and laughed, nervousness leaking into it, despite his effort to conceal it.

"Uh, well… I was just wondering if you want to… you know hang out," Tristan said quickly, looking upwards to prevent himself from turning slight pink.

Ryou smiled slightly, deciding he'd rather have fun with his friend than go home and be bored and alone. "Sure," he agreed brightly, adjusting his backpack.

Tristan stopped in his tracks and looked at Ryou, quite surprised. Ryou stopped also, the picture of innocence, as he cocked his head sideways, causing his snowy bangs to fall into his brown eyes.

"Something wrong?" Ryou asked curiously, brushing his bangs from eyes his carefully.

Tristan regrouped all his thoughts quickly and waved his hands, wearing a slight grin. "No, no. Let's just get out of here," he suggested, starting the walk to his house.

Ryou nodded slightly, following Tristan obediently. "So, um… where are we going?" he asked quizzically.

Tristan threw him a slight wink. "My house. That cool?"

Ryou, never one to argue, simply nodded and smiled, following his friend to his house.

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Tristan opened the front door to his house, knowing that his parents weren't home. He set his bag down next to the front door and grinned at Ryou. "Come on in."

Ryou gave a small smile, blowing his bangs out of his eyes and placing his bag neatly next to Tristan's.

Tristan shook his head in amusement at Ryou's preciseness. "Want something to eat?" he asked, taking off his blue school jacket and putting it on the table.

Ryou, who was busy looking around intently, looked at Tristan quickly. "Oh, um… okay," he agreed hesitantly, not wanting to be a pain.

Tristan flashed him a grin before walking into the kitchen and opening the cupboards. "Take a seat," he said off-handedly, taking out random packets of food.

Ryou watched him with a small smile, taking a seat at one of the stools at the kitchen counter.

Tristan was busy rifling through the cupboards, looking for food, when it occurred to him that he didn't even know what food Ryou liked. He straightened slowly, grinning sheepishly at Ryou. "What kinda food are you in the mood for?"

Ryou blinked. "Um… I don't know?" he offered meekly.

Tristan looked at him, slightly baffled. "…You don't know what you like to eat?"

Ryou's cheeks tinged a slight pink as he shook his head quickly, snowy bangs flying about. "No, I just meant… that I'm not sure if you have what I eat a lot," he tried to explain, cheeks still rosy.

Tristan chuckled at his friend, crouching down in the cupboard again. "You like cream puffs, don't you?" he asked, pulling out a packet of the things he knew Ryou liked.

Ryou squeaked, still blushing. "Tristan, really—I'm not hungry…"

Tristan stood up; a packet of cream puffs in hand, looking at the pale boy dubiously. "I know you are, so stop being such a dope."

Ryou's flush deepened a bit at that, and he felt terribly embarrassed. He hated to be a hassle when it came to his friends. "Um… okay, then…" he said meekly.

Tristan grinned and opened the packet, offering it to Ryou. When Ryou hesitantly reached for a cream puff, he watched him carefully, pulling out a can of soda from the fridge for himself. He popped the cap and took a drink, still keeping an eye on his younger friend.

"Um…" Ryou stared at the cream puff for a minute, as though it was poisoned. "…"

"…You okay?"

Ryou was so startled that he quickly stuffed the cream puff in his mouth, causing his cheeks to puff out as he turned his gaze to Tristan.

Tristan laughed at his friend's expression, rubbing the back of his neck. "You might want to chew that before you swallow it," he advised with a grin, indicating the cream puff.

Ryou squeaked a little and nodded, before chewing the cream puff hastily and swallowing it, coughing a little.

Tristan looked concerned, as he patted Ryou's back, trying to calm the coughing. Ryou eventually stopped coughing and he was blushing slightly as he gave Tristan an awkward smile. "Thanks."

Tristan smiled and patted Ryou's back once more before and resumed drinking his soda.

"Tristan… do you ever feel like you have to… reach, for something?" Ryou asked hesitantly, unsure of why he was even asking.

Tristan paused, lowering the soda to the counter, thinking carefully about what Ryou had asked him. "…Like reaching for a friend?" he asked, furrowing his brow slightly.

Ryou nodded, again hesitantly, biting a lip almost worriedly.

Tristan gave a small shrug, watching his friend curiously. "I guess… once or twice… when it was needed," he admitted, rubbing his shoulder.

Ryou hesitated again before saying, "I don't want to have to reach anymore…"

"What do you mean…?"

Ryou offered a small smile. "I'm not sure."

Tristan shook his head and grinned, knowing he may never understand Ryou.

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A/N: Oookay... that was a bit fluffy for my tastes... -makes face- But I know some people are fluff addicts. --;

Ahm... review if you'd like to, tell me what you think of this pairing. Later!