Author's Note: Just saw a post on tumblr that said people into Euroshipping are probably into crack ships. Haha. Somewhat accurate reflection of my personal interests, as well as the developments in this fic, I suppose.

'…' yami to hikari

"…" hikari to yami

All was silent.

Too silent.

Silent enough, that one might think that the whole world's population, cars, babies, and mockingbirds have all evaporated into thin air.

That was, until an ear-piercing shriek was heard in the distance.

"What kind of question is THAT!" Ryou uncharacteristically bellowed at the stoic CEO, who merely stared at the normally timid albino as though what was happening was not out of the natural.

"I just asked your sexual preference: if you are straight, gay, or bi. Does the question require this much of a fuss?" The cobalt eyed brunette replied.

"Yes it is! It's personal and unprofessional! Is this a staple in your interview routine?!" The pale-faced teen continued, inching further and further away from his potential boss.

Emphasis on potential — the likelihood of Bakura getting the job was dwindling by the minute. Much like his composure.

'Treat it like any other question, hikari,' Bakura mentally chastised the agitated teen, emphasizing the last word he spoke.

'Just answer the man. Unless a certain someone isn't sure what he is… Hmmm?'

"You. Shush." Ryou said, or rather thought, blatantly to his darker half. He was still shooting the other occupants of the room a questioning glare, while inching towards the door.

"Why would you even ask that, Kaiba?! Shouldn't you be more interested on the skills I can offer your company?"

"Why, of course I'm interested in that. It's why I asked," Kaiba replied slowly, as though giving instructions to a child. His blue eyes remained stoic, and betrayed no notion of annoyance or impatience.

Ryou maintained his look of suspicion towards the other man.

"Wha-?"

"Think about it, Ryou. I simply asked, so I would know if this were welcome…"

The young CEO suddenly moved forward, closing the physical distance that Ryou had been creating between them.

It was as though time came to a sudden stop. The room was so silent, the soft billowing of Kaiba's trenchcoat was the only sound to be heard.

One hand gently caressed Ryou's cheek, and the other gingerly grasped his sleeved arm.

The taller teenager moved closer. Close enough for Ryou to smell the cologne he wore.

Soothing. Soft. Familiar. Like baby powder?

Let's go into Ryou's brain to see how he's doing, shall we?

Little Ryou lemmings — all wearing his signature blue and white striped t-shirt, but also little hardhats and construction boots — were in mayhem. A siren blared in the distance, amidst white-haired lemming shrieks.

Seto Kaiba is touching me! Repeat! Seto Kaiba is touching me! His cologne smells like baby powder! This is not a drill!

The little Ryou lemmings continued running in circles around what could only be the metaphorical insides of his skull. Nothing conclusive was really achieved by this little digression.

"What the…" Ryou managed to finally muster. Pink started to invade his otherwise pale features, as he began to mentally register what was happening.

Seto Kaiba likes me?!

'Your choice of words really show off your wide vocabulary, hikari. Way to seal the deal with Domino's most eligible bachelor.'

If his yami had the physical ability to slow clap, Ryou was sure he would.

Coming back to the reality of his situation, Ryou didn't know what to do. His chocolate brown eyes filled with bewilderment and embarrassment.

Kaiba's face was only a few centimeters to his own now. The taller teen's husky, baby powder scented breath sent involuntary shivers to his spine.

"What do you think, Ryou? Could this be part of our future?"

"Wha-"

"Ryou? RYOU!"

"I DON'T KNOW! I'M SCARED OF THE FUTURE!"

Once again, stunned silence was the only thing to be heard in the whole room.

"…Uhh, what, sorry?" Ryou replied sheepishly, upon realizing he awoke from his daydream.

He tried to do a quick save, smiling as innocently as he could to the confused Anzu, who had just fallen prey to Ryou's post-daydream PTSD outburst.

Quickly regaining her composure (friends allow their friends to occasionally act out of character if they promise to forget what happened), Anzu replied with her perfect cheerleader smile, "I'm going for my dinner break now, can you man the cashier for a while?"

"Huh? Mmm, yeah, sure. Enjoy your dinner."

Once Anzu was out of sight, Ryou banged his delicate white head upon the wall of the famous food chain he was in.

It's been a day since that fateful interview, but that particular incident kept invading Ryou's idle thoughts when he least expected it.

Who knew that the notorious, unapproachable CEO was either gay or bi?

'Awww…My hikari's all grown up. Who knew that you were the very epitomy of sex appeal for closeted, angry CEOs? I'm so proud of you!'

"You actually find it fun to taunt me in this way, do you?"

'Gasp! Of course not, dear hikari! The only hikari I'll ever have!'

"Mmmm… Since when did you start calling me hikari?"

'It sounds adorable, don't you think?'

"Coming from mou hitori no Yugi, it sounds normal. It makes you sound like a desperate molester, though. It's not in-character for you to be the big brother, friendly type of spirit. Accept it. I have."

'Oh fiddlesticks, what should I call you then?'

"First of all, never use the word 'fiddlesticks'. It makes you sound like a sissy. And that's coming from me. Secondly, you never really called me hikari, why start now?"

'Your accusations wound me. I merely wish to have a closer relationship with my other half'

"Mmmm…You want something, don't you? You didn't act like this yesterday."

'…'

"Well?"

'Fine, you caught me. Can we torture Anzu today?'

"Nope."

'Please?'

"No. Not another word."

'Why! Have a soft spot for her? Hmmm?'

"Never in a million years. Quiet down."

'Ryou and Anzu sitting in a tr…'

"Do you want your ice cream for dessert today or not?"

'Ice cream! Which flavour?

"Strawberry."

'Ohh…Fine, I'll quiet down, for now…But I'll be back…Bwahaha– '

Ryou closed their mind link. Having a yami as hyper, and strangely childish, as Bakura was tiring to no end.

Grabbing a stool, he rested his upper body on the counter.

McDonald's was unusually empty that day, with only a few customers silently munching their meals in the restaurant.

Without his dark's interference, the pale-skinned teen found himself reminiscing yet again on what happened afterwards at his meeting with the CEO.

"What do you think, Ryou? Could this be part of our future?"

Before Ryou could manage a coherent response (recall: panicking lemmings), Kaiba's secretary buzzed the intercom.

"Your next meeting in 5 minutes, sir," the disembodied voice mechanically stated.

The sheer contrast of her voice to the surmounting tension in the CEO's office felt like a cold slap of reality for Ryou. He became aware that he had been learning towards the brunet's touch, and self-consciously slid out of it.

Too concerned with his own mannerisms, Ryou didn't notice Kaiba's cobalt eyes tense in disappointment at the shorter boy's reaction.

He really needed to have a chat with that Yamato girl about her timing.

Meanwhile, Ryou was still trying to fully register what just happened. It was all too surreal.

Seto Kaiba. Flirting? Bodily contact? With quiet, invisible Ryou Bakura, of all people?

It was the pinnacle of dreams for most teenage girls, and some teenage guys, for Kaiba to merely give them a passing glance. Even brushing past him would probably be heaven for them.

As much as that seemed like a twisted exaggeration, Ryou couldn't help but imagine the mobs of Kaiba fan girls (and fan boys) out there, ready to hunt him down to kingdom come if they ever found out.

Heck, if they found out, he would be burned alive while tied on a wooden stake, for all he knew. While prayers were chanted for him to be reincarnated as a cockroach.

Resuming his stoic self, Kaiba quickly announced his leave soon after. He brusquely informed the disoriented teen he'd soon be notified if he got the job or not.

Ryou's financial concerns were the furthest from his mind then. He couldn't care less.

Regaining control over his two legs, he jumped up and raced out of Kaiba's office at the speed of, well, Ryou, and half-consciously made his way back home, with his yami's teasing cackles in his wake.

A day has passed since then, and Ryou found himself making his way back to McDonald's for his shift.

His bills had just come in the mail, and he couldn't stay agonizing in his sheets forever.

Now, thinking about it, Ryou realised that the teenaged billionaire only looked through the bio data in his CV and asked a few standard questions about his past job experiences, to which the pale-skinned teen relayed his present employment at McDonalds, skillfully emitting anecdotes of Anzu and burning patty fryers. It was after that when the CEO asked Ryou about his sexuality, which leads us back to the present day.

They say hindsight is always 20/20, but despite his constant reflection of the previous day's events, enlightenment was still beyond reach.

"Hey mister, can I order something?" A male child's voice suddenly came from the other side of the counter. There was something about the kid's dark hair and eyes that Ryou couldn't place…It was as though he knew the kid, from somewhere.

"Huh? Yeah, welcome to McDonalds, may I take your order?" Ryou managed a grin. He loved it when kids came to order. They were just refreshing as customers, compared to the angsty teens and grouchy middle-aged men he usually encountered.

And they didn't know how to swear just yet.

"A double cheeseburger for me, and a Big Mac for big brother. Also, large fries and two large Cokes to go."

"Okay, coming up…"

Ryou skillfully grabbed the burgers, scooped up some fries and put them in the to-go bag, and was in the middle of filling up the large cups with the dark beverage when he heard a voice so strikingly familiar…

"Akira, what's taking so long? We need to be quick if you want to catch the soccer match tonight…Ryou! What are you doing here?"

"…Otogi?"

Ryou then figured out why the kid looked so familiar. Stylish dark hair, bright green eyes… Of course the kid was related to the one and only Otogi Ryuuji.

Even the way he dressed was somewhat punk-ish. At least the kid, Akira, didn't wear leather yet. Although it probably wouldn't be long when he would start doing so…

"Earth to Ryou. Hello…?"

"Oh, sorry, Otogi!"

'I can't believe you're so polite to everyone else but me.'

This time, Ryou plainly ignored his dark, and listened to what Otogi had to offer.

"You're more out of it than usual, buddy. So, are you that broke to be working in a place like this?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Ryou muttered, glancing at his dark blue uniform.

"Why didn't you tell me then? You could work for me!" Otogi exclaimed.

"…You? As what, a toy organizer?" The snowy-haired teen replied, somewhat sarcastically.

He didn't like the way the conversation was going. He still had Kaiba's proposition in waiting. Regardless of Kaiba's strange behaviour the previous day, Ryou was sure his multi-millionaire slash billionaire classmate was definitely more capable than Otogi in the finance department.

"Better yet! An accountant! Those books need some balancing!" Otogi grinned, as Ryou rubbed his temples.

How could he willingly enter the employ of someone who didn't even have his books right?

"Look, I'm not good at math…And I'm not really intere–"

"So am I, but hey, I'm a game inventor!"

"…Uh, your point?"

"I meant that anyone could do anything they set their minds to!"

"Otogi, I'm not–"

"C'mon, give it a try! It should be better than working at this joint, right?"

Ryou knew it was probably in his best interest to not mention Kaiba's proposition to Otogi at this point. Duel Monsters wasn't the only card game the white-haired teenager knew how to play.

"Are you really THAT desperate, Otogi? I told you, I'm bad at math!"

"Well, you're the only person I know who would be willing to work with a low salary, if you're working at McDonalds now…"

The albino sweatdropped at the dice master's statement. "But, I like it here," he said slowly. "Why won't you ask Anzu?"

"She works here too? Ooh, so she was the one who caught fire in the newspapers…" Otogi seemed to be distracted a bit by the thought.

"I wouldn't want my office to catch fire though, so she's out." Ryou grimaced at the irony of the situation.

"So, would you please at least give my proposal a thought before you say no?"

"Err… Fine. I'll think about it, if that's what makes you happy."

"Onii-chan..." Akira chirped, and whispered something to Otogi while giggling softly. The green-eyed teenager chuckled in response.

"Oh...Ah, and Ryou?"

"What?" Ryou replied, slightly annoyed at the point in time.

"My coke…" Otogi said, while pointing to Ryou's hand, which was still pushing the cup towards the dispenser. Said dispenser was now spewing the sticky sweet substance all over Ryou's arm, uniform, and the recently mopped floor.

"Oh man... Anzu's so going to kill me," he muttered.