Chapter 3: The Birthday Cake of Doom
The blonde alchemist stretched out his legs and yawned. He waited for his sleep blurred eyes to clear and looked up at the calendar that hung over the dresser.
'Yes! Today's my 16th birthday. Driving permit, here I come!'
He was so excited he leaped off the bed and… "What the—what the heck is a squeaky toy doing on the floor!" A fully dressed, smiling Ryou came in the bedroom.
"Sorry Ed, Champsky carries them around without me knowing," he said apologetically. (A/N: I couldn't think of a name, ok? So sue me!) Ed forgave his boyfriend, but glared at the small pug puppy in his arms.
'I swear that dog does these things on purpose!' He thought irritated.
The pug just gazed at him with those big, liquid brown eyes, panting, looking the part of a cute, innocent puppy. Ryou gently let the dog go, watched it scamper off, (probably to wreak even more havoc, like he'd done the past month) and walked over to join his lover on the bed. Well, they weren't technically lovers yet. They hadn't even gotten past kissing. He gently brushed Ed's long blonde bangs out of his eyes. "How is it that you can look so messy and yet so beautiful?" he asked softly, peering deeply into his gold eyes. Ed shrugged.
"You're the beautiful one, Ryou, not me." Ryou blushed. Ed leaned in closer for a kiss, wrapping his arms around the white haired boy's neck. Ryou slid his arms around Ed's bare waist (he was naked from the waist up) and closed his eyes as they shared a soft kiss, filled with quiet passion. Ed's hot breath fanned Ryou's cheek as he pulled away to kiss his eyelids, nose, chin forehead, and back again to his lips. Ryou murmured against Ed's lips, "I love you."
"I love you, too," he breathed, clinging tighter, pushing his body closer. They both shivered at the contact. The tender moment was suddenly interrupted by loud barking. Ed's eyes popped open. A large, pulsing vein pooped out of his forehead, indicating he was not happy.
He harbored evil thoughts of killing the pup, all of them horrible and gruesome. The little pug came running, happily barking. He was carrying something in his mouth. He brought it over to the side of his master's bed. It was covered in slobber; way too much for such a small dog. It was like he held riverbanks of saliva in that wide mouth of his. Ed immediately recognized it as his red leather jacket. The puppy stared up at him with big, wet eyes. He watched in horror as the dog produced gobs of spit that drizzled down the smooth material. Ed attempted to lunge, only he didn't get very far with Ryou holding him back. Ed spazzed. "Let me go! I'm gonna kill that stupid mutt!" The pug sensed Ed's anger and scampered out of the room, leaving a long trail of saliva and a slobber-drenched coat in his path. Ryou managed to restrain his pissed off lover for about five more seconds before Ed used alchemy to make a giant hand appear between them and knocked the white haired teen into the wall.
When he recovered his senses, he shouted after Ed, "That's cheating!" Ed responded, looking back for only a second, "All's fair in love and—Clang! Bakura had appeared out of nowhere, wielding a waffle iron that he'd used to knock Edward senseless.
"What I think you meant, Eddie dear, was all's fair until Ryou's yami comes wielding a waffle iron." Ryou sweatdropped. He sent his dark half a grateful smile.
"Thanks, 'Kura." Bakura bowed deeply and walked off. Ryou watched Ed for a few more minutes before waking him up. He wanted to savor the moment. The boy looked so peaceful, lying down like that with swirled eyes. Ryou liked him a lot better when he wasn't ranting and raving like the maniac he was.
He mentally prepared himself for the onslaught of cursing and screaming, kicking and clawing he was about to endure. Hell knows no wrath like a pissed off chibi. He silently slid off the bed. Tiptoeing towards him, he kneeled down and slipped his hands underneath the passed out boy's arms. He was relieved he didn't wake up. Then, lifting him, he hoisted him onto his back. He started out towards the front door, grabbing his wallet and keys off the coffee table, all without disturbing the sleeping boy on his back. Ed was heavier than him, and he still managed to easily carry him out the door. People stared, but he ignored them. Some girls squealed when they spotted Ed, and quite a few of them were rabid fan girls. (The center of ALL evil, rabid fan girls chase, tackle and occasionally bind and gag bishounen) Ryou had to run faster than he ever did in his life when he passed the fan girls. He stopped off at the mall where he met up with Yugi, Joey and Tea. "Hey, Ryou!" Yugi said.
"Who's that?" Tea asked, pointing to the blonde on his back.
"Uh… I'll tell you later," Ryou said. Shifting Ed higher onto his back, he charged off, leaving his friends behind to stare in confusion. (A/N: It's what I like to call "Robin" eyes. It's those wide white eyes with the black rims. It looks hilarious)
"What was that all about?" Tea asked, turning to her friends. Joey and Yugi glanced at each other, grinned, then turned back to Tea, singing in unison, "Ryou's got a boyfriend!" When he arrived at the clothing store, he was out of breath; carrying around a heavily muscled chibi on his back while sprinting to the other side of the mall kind of tired him out. The white haired teen gently lay his boyfriend in a corner of the store, making sure his head was propped up properly. He stretched, then looked for some clothes he could buy for Ed. Ten minutes later, he had a black T shirt, jeans, and Timberland boots draped over his arm as he carried them back. Just as he began to hoist Ed onto his back again, a very aggravated black haired man in a white T, jean jacket, black pants and combat boots came storming by. He had the same silver pocket watch dangling from his pocket that Ed possessed. Whatever he was angry about, Ryou was sure it had something to do with Ed. Quickly, he hid Ed beneath a pile of teddy bears, and made sure no part of him was visible. Then he swiftly cut off the black haired man before he got any closer.
"Sir," Ryou said. The man turned to him. "May I help you with something?" He forced his hands to stop fidgeting. The man tried as best he could to hide the intense anger he felt, but the teen could see it blazing in his eyes.
"I'm Roy Mustang. I'm looking for someone who works for me. His name is Edward Elric, also known as the Full Metal Alchemist. Have you heard or seen him?" Ryou tried to avoid meeting Ryou's eyes.
"What does he look like?" he asked, trying to distract him from the moving pile of bears. Roy saw out of the corner of his eyes, but said nothing.
"Really bright blonde hair, gold eyes, a real shortie. Wears a red leather jacket with—"I've seen him," Ryou answered curtly. The sooner Roy left, the sooner he and Ed could get the hell out of there. "Only hanging around the park mostly. And any food vendor he could find."
"Thanks for the tip," Roy said, winked at him, causing him to blush, and ran out the store, going in the opposite direction. A now awake and newly pissed off Ed burst from the teddy bear pile, scaring the crap out of two little girls that were about to select one, and stomped over to Ryou.
"Your yami has another thing comin' if he thinks he can knock me out anytime he damn well pleases," Ed fumed, fangs sticking out, veins all over his forehead. Ryou sweatdropped.
"Eh he. Um, Ed? I think Roy Mustang is pretty pissed at you for running away. I also think he knew you were underneath that pile of bears and didn't want to make a scene, so he just walked away," Ryou told him. Edward's eye twitched.
'I am not going to scream. I am not going to lose my temper. I'm just going to calmly…'
"Why the hell was he here?" Ryou couldn't take any more of Ed's screaming, so he slapped him, picked up the clothes and shoes, and hauled Ed off to the dressing room, kicking and screaming the whole way. When Ryou managed to calm Ed down, he started to get dressed. It took him about three seconds to realize Ryou was still in the room. 'Three… two… one…' "Why the hell are you still in here?" After that, cursing, screaming, loud thumps and punching was heard over the next hour. People that walked by just stared. Mothers covered children's ears. Some yelled, "Fight, fight, fight!" Some were just plain disturbed, hoping whatever they were doing would stop soon.
Finally, Ryou came out first, completely unharmed, while Ed came out with a long red scratch running from his left eye down to his cheek and a few bruises. They walked out of the store together, Ed glaring with a "you'll pay for this" look. "Ed?"
"Hmm?" Gold eyes met warm brown ones.
"I'm sorry you had to deal with that on your birthday," Ryou apologized. Ed shrugged. "It's ok. I've had worse." He smiled, to let his boyfriend know he wasn't mad anymore. Ryou smiled back. He glanced at his watch and noticed the time. It was 12:00. He had to meet Bakura on the other side of the mall.
"Uh, Ed? Do you mind going home by yourself?"
"Huh?" Ed looked up, surprised.
"I've got to meet Bakura for something." Ed should have been able to figure out what Ryou was doing, but apparently, he was oblivious. "Ok. See you at home." He kissed Ryou on the cheek, and sauntered off. Ryou wandered around a bit before he made his way to the bakery. A tall, young blonde woman with purple eyes stood at the counter, wearing jeans and a lily pink blouse. She looked bored out of her mind, tapping her fingers absent-mindedly on the glass countertop. Ryou grinned. It was Mai Valentine. He walked up to the counter, a big smile on his face. He cleared his throat 'til she looked up. Her eyes lit up. "Hey, Bakura," she said softly. He smiled.
"It's Ryou. Bakura's the one with the evil eyes, flared out hair and open shirt." She nodded.
"Right, sorry. Anyway, where's that little short kid you're always hanging around with? He's a cutie," she asked, and giggled. Ryou's cheeks flamed red. "He's uh… um…" he couldn't finish the sentence. She lightly tapped him on the chest playfully. "I know he's your boyfriend, silly. I just asked where he was," she explained. He sighed in relief. "He's a home. Hopefully my dog is still alive by the time I get back," he replied, chuckling a little. Mai readily agreed. "I've seen that kid's temper. But if that dog is so destructive at that size, I fear for Ed's life more than the dog's," she laughed heartily. Then her eyes grew serious. "Ok, down to business. What would you like to buy?" she asked in a professional voice. He surveyed the bakery. None of the cakes seemed to perk his interest. He wanted the cake to be perfect. He wanted to be Ed's first… and last boyfriend and lover. He wanted to show Ed how much he cared. You don't go around telling people you love them after two months, but what the heck? He'd do it anyway.
Ryou turned around just as Bakura skidded to a stop in front of the bakery. He held the most awesome and most beautiful cake he'd ever seen. Bakura walked up to his light half. "You like it?" he asked. He had a deeper accent than Ryou.
"Like it? I love it!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms around Bakura. Awkwardly, he hugged him back, but pushed away. Ryou's eyes were shiny. "Where'd you find it?" he asked.
"Uh… I-I bought it from a new bakery. Trust me. It's really good." Ryou was skeptical.
"What new bakery?"
"Just a new one! What's with the skepticism? Don't you trust your own yami?" Bakura attempted at innocent chibi eyes and failed miserably. He ended up looking like an evil, psychotic chibi. Sigh. "Ok Bakura." Bakura disappeared. Honestly, couldn't he just walk home? "See you, Mai," Ryou said, as he walked out carrying Ed's birthday cake. Although, on the way, he heard something growling, and somehow he doubted it was his stomach…
(A/N: Next chappie is short cause I split chapter 3 into 2 chapters. Read and review. Constructive criticism welcome. No flames. I am the goddess of water and I shall drown your silly flames! Mwahahahahaha!O-O)