Tea could feel the dread rising within her as she looked from one man to the other. She was still disoriented from Bakura's fiery touch and was having trouble remembering why exactly she was being asked to choose. It was like deciding between the aurora and the penumbra. Bakura had been her entire existence for nearly twenty-four hours, and his intoxicating presence was hard to discount. But Tea still felt an incredible pull towards the pharaoh. Currently, he was staring down at the floor, seemingly overwhelmed by her presence. She felt her throat tighten as longing welled within her, but Bakura slithered over and slipped an arm around her waist before she could form the words she so desperately wanted to cry out.
"What's wrong, sweetheart? Can't make up your mind?"
His breath swept across Tea's ear as he spoke, and his grip tightened noticeably. Her vision became unfocused and she felt as though her legs were going to give out from beneath her. Yami looked up from his pitiful scrutiny of the floorboards, hoping that eye contact with the woman who had once been his queen could somehow express the love he couldn't articulate. But her eyes were glazed over, and the one who held her was no longer Bakura.
"Ryou! Praise Ra! Are you all right?"
But Yami's exuberant grin faded as he realized that Ryou was not smiling back, nor was he releasing Tea. The pharaoh took a step forward, his face lined with worry.
"Ryou?" he said cautiously
This time the light did smile, but it was a cold, unsettling leer. He simply trailed his lips up Tea's neck in lieu of an answer. In a heartbeat, Bakura had returned to deliver the final blow to the horrified Yami. He kissed Tea with an animal lust that rendered her unable to do anything but kiss him back. Bakura gave Tea one last peck and raised an eyebrow at Yami.
"I believe you have your answer." he said lightly.
The pharaoh could only stare with a morbid fascination, his fingers clutching the Puzzle so tightly that the sharp sides cut into his fingers. His mouth was pressed into a thin line and still he did not move.
Bakura was beginning to lose patience. "Well… Get out!"
Yami walked out of the room, looking back once to turn his ruby gaze on Tea. After the door shut, Bakura tried to fully devote his attention to his newly acquired toy. But he couldn't shake the nagging sense that his victory had been hollow. The cuckolded pharaoh's stance as he departed had been anything but defeated. Still, the fact remained that it was Bakura, not Yami, who now held Tea in his arms. Shrugging off the annoying thoughts, the spirit of the Ring gently lowered himself and Tea to the floor.
"Since you're so much more hospitable now, my dear, shall try this again?" he quipped as he propped himself up on an elbow beside her.
Authoress' Note: I apologize for the brevity of this chapter, but I've been buried in homework. I'm experimenting with the way I lay out the chapters. Please tell me if this one is easier to read. Thanks as always for the reviews; they really help!