Okay, so. I've had this bunny running around in my head for days, and I really need to write it out, so. 8D I haven't had any Mnemo!bunnies in like forever, mainly because I've been on a kick with this pairing here. -points down at fic- ... Anyway. I don't own Yuugiou, but I think all of you knew that. If I did, these two would have a lot more screentime. TOGETHER. -shot- ... Yeah.

And yes, this is PikaChan. I changed my pen name because I was bored. -snerk-

Warmth

They say that when you're deprived of something for an extended period of time, you begin to appreciate it more and more.

This was the mantra that continued to run through Ryou's head as he sat on the sofa, curled up in a thick, fluffy blanket. The blazing fire in front of him not only provided an added warmth to the otherwise cold room, but it was also a source of illumination for the white-haired boy - the thick book in his lap helped take his mind off of the freezing downpour outside.

However, his mind wasn't as focused on the book as he thought it was.

Try as he might, he couldn't stop his gaze from fluttering over to the boy that stood by the window, glaring out at the rain. The dull light that came in from said window cast a much more subdued light onto the boy, and Ryou couldn't help but frown at the gloomy expression on his face.

A sudden clap of thunder jolted the boy out of the trance he seemed to be in, and he clasped his tanned hands onto the windowsill. Even from where he was sitting, Ryou could tell that he was shaking - whether it was from fear or the cold, he wasn't sure. Most likely a mixture of both.

Ryou closed his book and set it on the coffee table in front of him. "Malik," he called, "come over here. It's warmer."

Malik simply kept staring out the window, as if he were cursing the rain for ever existing.

Ryou frowned again as he continued to watch the Egyptian, the aforementioned mantra echoing in his mind again. From what he knew of Malik's past, his first venture out into the world hadn't been until he was ten years old. The moment that the light of Ra had fallen upon his face, he'd grown an immediate fondness for the sun and its warmth. And even now, seven years after that day, he still loved sunlight.

On every sunny day, Malik would go out and just sit in the sun for hours on end, taking in its rays - as if the more that he was exposed to the light of the sun, the more that the remaining darkness in his heart deteriorated. It was the ethereal manifestation of Ra himself, the ruler of all Egyptian gods; it was the cosmic body that gave light and warmth to all of the Earth. The Earth could not function without the sun, and likewise, Malik could not be happy without its light.

Which was why he hated rain, and continued to glare out the window, as if nature would bend to his will and diminish it instantly. The downpour was preventing him from mingling with the sun's rays like he so enjoyed doing.

"Malik?" Ryou's voice sounded again.

The blonde reluctantly tore his eyes away from the window and slowly made his way over toward the couch where Ryou was sitting, coming to a stop just in front of him. The smaller boy blinked up at him, light from the fireplace reflecting in his brown eyes, giving them the illusion of miniscule suns within their depths.

Ryou held his arms out and opened the folds of the blanket, in a silent offer to share its warmth with Malik.

As he wordlessly sat down on the sofa and leaned into Ryou, Malik's arms wound themselves around the other boy's waist. A slight chill ran throughout Ryou's body as a cool face buried itself in the crook of his neck, but he draped the blanket over the both of them anyway. He blushed faintly, bringing his hand up to fondly stroke the hair near the base of Malik's neck.

Malik let out a calm sigh at the gesture; something erupted within him and filled his body with a new kind of warmth - one that warmed him from the inside out, spreading from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. He pressed a gentle kiss into the pale skin of Ryou's neck as he snuggled closer to the other, wanting to share this warmth with him. "...thanks," he muttered, his thoughts drifting away from the sun-stealing downpour outside.

Ryou simply smiled as he wove his fingers through the flaxen strands, continuing to offer Malik a kind of warmth that would forever rival that of the sun.