Extra long chapter here. Don't expect any more like this though – next time I'm back to my shorter chapters. Thank you to all who reviewed last chapter! Enjoy!


Chapter 4 – Tears and Kisses

As sunlight spilled through the hangings of his four-poster, Ryou slowly opened his eyes. He had a pounding headache and felt like he had been in the middle of a stampede. Ryou didn't think he had the energy to get up so he laid still, his eyes slowly fluttering closed.

"Wake up sleepyhead!" a voice boomed as the hangings were drawn back.

Ryou groaned and put his hands over his ears. Malik shook his head and pulled the covers off the bed. Ryou shivered (since he was only in his boxers) and curled up into a ball. Malik rolled his eyes. "I bet if it was Bakura telling you to get up you wouldn't be putting up this much resistance."

Upon the word 'Bakura' registering in Ryou's sleep fogged mind he automatically shot up into a sitting position. Ryou quickly covered his face with his hands as the sudden movement made it feel like hot knives were being pushed into his brain.

"Here, take this," Malik said gently, holding out a glass of water and some medicine for Ryou to take.

Ryou carefully took the things offered and slowly drank the water and medicine. "I feel like death," he said quietly.

"I'm sure you do. Welcome to your first hangover!" Ryou flinched at the unbearable loudness of Malik's voice. Malik chuckled. "So tell me," Malik said, more quiet this time, "what do you remember about last night?"

Ryou massaged his temples as he tried to recall last night's events. "I remember you conning me into sneaking out, and then getting to the bar. Then you went off to dance and I met…I met Bakura," Ryou said, trailing off quietly. The rest of his memories were pretty foggy but, for some reason, his memories of Bakura were very clear.

"Do you remember anything after you got drunk?" Malik asked, sitting down next to Ryou, watching his face the entire time. Ryou remained quiet. There was something in the back of his mind telling him he had forgotten something. Since that hadn't worked, Malik decided to try a different approach. "Ryou, what do you think of Bakura?"

Ryou's cheeks turned pink. "Well…he's-he's very nice and…err…um."

"Do you want to kiss him?"

Ryou's cheeks began to glow as he imagined himself kissing Bakura. The image was too real for Ryou. It was as if he could feel the touch of his lips, taste his beautiful mouth, smell his intoxicating scent…

Suddenly, something clicked. The reason the image was so real was because he had kissed Bakura before! He had done it last night at the bar! He had told Bakura he was a boy! He had told him that he was the prince! Bakura must hate him now.

Ryou put his head in his hands and began to cry. Malik put his arm around him and tried to sooth the sobbing boy. "He hates me! He hates me!" Ryou wailed.

"What? What gave you that idea?"

"He only liked me because he thought that I was a girl," Ryou said, still sobbing. "Now that he knows the truth he'll hate me for leading him on."

Malik looked confused. "Were you leading him on?"

"I don't know!" Ryou almost shouted.

Malik sighed. It was going to be a loooonng day.


Bakura sighed longingly as he stared out the inn window towards the palace.

"Oh for goodness sake Bakura; you've only been separated for a few hours!" Marik shouted angrily at his companion. Bakura ignored him. Marik's eye twitched and he seriously contemplated throwing something at the other thief's head. Bakura sighed again. Something HARD!

"I wonder if he's awake yet," Bakura said dreamily. Marik bit his tongue. He'd never seen Bakura like this. Bakura in love was annoying. "Maybe I should go to the palace and find out," Bakura continued.

Marik started and jumped to his feet. "Have you lost your mind! You can't go to the palace in broad daylight!" Marik strode over to Bakura and grabbed him by the collar. "Bakura, come out of La-La land and back into the real world!"

Bakura took hold of Marik's wrist and glared up at him. "Do you have a problem with the way I've been acting?" he asked icily.

"Yes, I do," Marik replied, glaring back.

They remained in silence, still glaring at each other, for a few minutes. Finally Marik sighed in defeat and let go of Bakura's collar. "Look, I'm sorry I snapped, but could you please cheer up, just a bit? Chances are you'll see Ryou tonight. Come on, let's go get a drink." Bakura nodded grudgingly and followed Marik. As they left the room Marik said, "You do know that you're paying don't you?"


By the time nightfall arrived Ryou had stopped crying. Malik had let him wallow in self-pity for awhile but by midday he'd had enough and had tried to cheer him up. It seemed to have worked – sort of.

"Are you ready yet Ryou?" Malik asked as he put on his cloak. They were going back to the bar to meet up with Bakura and Marik. Malik couldn't wait to see Marik and was anxious to leave.

"I'm not going," Ryou said sulkily from the bed.

Malik turned to look at him. "Why not?" he asked. Ryou didn't answer, just stared at the floor. Malik sighed heavily and went to sit by his friend. "Ryou, Bakura doesn't hate you. How many times do I have to tell you? If I didn't know any better I'd say that he liked you more than as just a friend."

Ryou blushed but remained looking at the floor. He knew Malik was only trying to make him feel better – he knew that wasn't true. Why should he go with Malik? To be rejected and hated? Why did Ryou even care what Bakura thought of him? He was just a commoner and it wasn't like Ryou actually loved him.

Since Malik had gotten no response he knew that it was a lost cause. Ryou could be so stubborn sometimes. "Fine then. Stay here and mope. We'll just have a good time without you."

Malik got no reply. Sighing, he left Ryou alone, still looking down at the floor.


At the bar, Bakura was feeling restless. Ryou had yet to show up and he was dying to see him. Bakura's restlessness was also starting to get on Marik's nerves. Bakura wasn't the only one who was longing to see someone – he desperately wanted to see Malik, but was he bouncing on the edge of his seat? No.

"I've never known you to be so impatient," Marik growled.

Bakura ignored him and continued to peer towards the entrance.

About five minutes later Malik walked in and headed towards their table. Bakura looked to see if Ryou was with him, but he couldn't spot him. As soon as Malik was seated, Bakura demanded, "Where's Ryou?"

Marik glared at him and Malik sighed. "He didn't want to come – he was too embarrassed."

"Embarrassed?" Bakura echoed, confused.

"He thinks that he made a fool of himself and that you hate him."

Bakura went quiet. Did that mean that Ryou didn't love him? Was it the alcohol that had made Ryou kiss him? Would he ever see his angel again?

Malik watched as Bakura became silent and looked down at the floor. That sad expression reminded him of Ryou. Even though Malik didn't exactly like Bakura, that look of devastation pulled at his heart-strings, and made him say, "He doesn't hate you, Bakura. He hates himself because he thinks that he was too forward and that he's ruined the relationship. I also think he's in denial about the feelings he has for you. He's never been in love before."

Bakura looked up and felt the flame of hope rekindled. If what Malik said was true, then Ryou really did love him but was too scared to admit it. He needed to see Ryou. Bakura stood up and made to leave.

"Where are you going?" Marik asked.

"I've got to go visit someone," Bakura replied. "And anyway, I'm not going to stick around to watch you two go at it." With that Bakura left, first heading up to his room to grab his kit, and then made his way towards the palace.


Ryou was standing on the balcony outside his room, staring out across the city. He sighed, wishing he could be one of those people who had the freedom to do what they wanted and not be pressured by the expectations of others.

Ryou didn't like being put under pressure but, as the prince, he was almost always under pressure. He had once been told that he had the fate of the country on his shoulders. If he offended someone (even if it was by accident) then the whole country could go to war. That was why Ryou was so timid and preferred to just blend into the background.

Ryou sighed again. He wondered if Malik was having a good time with Baku- No! No, he wouldn't think about that commoner. That charming, handsome, hot- No! No, he should not be thinking such thoughts.

Ryou's love life was already planned out for him. He would marry Lady Mai. They would have lots of children and live happily ever after. The plan wasn't official – but it was what everyone expected to happen. Ryou didn't want it to happen. Lady Mai scared Ryou at times.

Since they were little they'd been told that they would marry. Mai was older than him and had a strange idea of what he liked. For example, the lacy, revealing dress that Malik had threatened to make him wear. Why she thought that was a good birthday present, Ryou would never know.

Ryou shook his head to rid it of all these complicated thoughts, before going back into his room, leaving the doors to the balcony open.


Bakura had made it to the palace and gone through the secret entrance easily. He had only one thing left to do, and that was to scale the tower to Ryou's room. Bakura had made his way around the palace and had seen Ryou standing on the balcony.

As soon as Ryou went back inside, Bakura readied his grappling hook. He had chosen to do it this way to avoid being lost inside the palace. Also, because it was still quite early in the evening, there would be more people about.

Bakura easily scaled the palace wall and was up on the balcony in no time. He looked through the net curtains that were fluttering softly in the gentle breeze and saw Ryou, who had his back to him. He was sitting at a desk, staring absently into the mirror in-front of him.

Bakura's breath caught in his throat as he stared at his angel. He was even more beautiful in the soft light of the candles than in the dim light of the bar. Even then he had been the most beautiful thing Bakura had ever seen.

Silently Bakura moved into the room, making sure he was not reflected in the mirror. He suddenly froze as he heard Ryou sigh. He looked into the mirror and saw that Ryou's head was resting on the palms of his hands, his expression sad. "Why do you taunt me?" Ryou asked, still staring into the mirror.

Bakura didn't know what to say. Was Ryou talking to him? He was the only one in the room. Was he taunting him? Bakura didn't think he was. How had Ryou known he was there? He was usually undetectable when he was sneaking about.

"You're not supposed to taunt me," Ryou continued, still gazing at the mirror. "You're supposed to serve me – show me my reflection – that's what mirrors do. But you're not showing me my reflection are you?"

Bakura relaxed slightly. Ryou hadn't noticed him – he was talking to the mirror. For some reason that didn't strike Bakura as strange.

"You're showing me his reflection. You're trying to tempt me, trying to make me feel bad for not going with Malik. Well guess what? I already feel bad without your help." Tears began to well up in Ryou's eyes and his voice quivered slightly. "I feel so strange. These new emotions…I know they're real. I wish Bakura felt the same way. I wish he loved me too."

Suddenly a pair of arms encircled Ryou's waist, and a voice purred in his ear," I love you Ryou."

Ryou's head shot up and he looked in the mirror to see the smirking face of…"Bakura…is this a dream? Are you real?" Ryou asked in a whisper.

"Trust me, this is no illusion. I'm real and I meant what I said." Bakura paused to kiss Ryou's cheek before continuing. "Ryou, don't you know that talking to inanimate objects is the second sign of madness?"

Ryou blushed. "You…heard that?" he asked shyly.

"Don't worry," Bakura said slyly as he moved to kiss Ryou's neck. "I won't tell anyone. It'll be our little secret."

Ryou leaned back to give Bakura easier access, moaning softly when Bakura's lips hit his tender spot. Bakura smirked, using his tongue to help Ryou make more of those delightful noises.

Finally Bakura stopped and let go of Ryou so that he could move him off the stool he was sitting on, take his seat, and then replace him on his lap, sitting sideways as usual. Bakura then returned his arms to around Ryou's waist and Ryou placed his around Bakura's neck.

"I missed you, Ryou," Bakura said softly, gazing into the boy's beautiful eyes. "I spent the whole day thinking about you and how perfect you are."

Ryou blushed and looked uneasily away from him. He wanted to say the same thing but it would be a lie. He'd misjudged Bakura – he'd thought that Bakura would hate him. For once he was glad that he was wrong.

That wasn't the only thing that made him look away though. Bakura seemed so truly and completely devoted to him. He didn't think he deserved that devotion, that unwavering love. Also, it scared him slightly. All these emotions were new to Ryou, and the way he felt about Bakura was quite scary.

Bakura could sense that what he'd said was making Ryou uneasy, and tried to make the situation better. "Ryou, I don't expect you to say the same thing back. Feeling true love is new and strange to me, so I can only imagine how you feel. Don't feel the need to pledge your undying love – it's really not necessary. If you think that we're moving too fast, say so. I won't be angry – promise. Just tell me and I'll put it right." Bakura concluded his speech by dropping his head down onto Ryou's shoulder.

Tears began to form in Ryou's eyes. He loved Bakura so much…and Bakura felt the same. It was time to stop listening to his rational mind and start listening to his heart – like Bakura was. Ryou rested his head on top of Bakura's and whispered, "Love you 'Kura."

Bakura smiled softly and whispered back, "Love you Ryou."


It was late by the time Malik arrived back at the palace. Marik had been worried about him so he had walked back with him and was currently waiting outside the walls for Bakura – since they both knew exactly where he had run off to.

Malik wondered what exactly Ryou and Bakura had been doing that had stopped Bakura returning to the bar. One idea sprang to mind but Malik quickly dismissed it. They wouldn't be doing that, would they?

Reaching Ryou's room, Malik quietly opened the door and stepped in. It was quiet. There didn't seem to be anyone there. Malik looked over towards the bed and saw that the hangings weren't drawn. Silently, he crept closer.

Bakura and Ryou were lying on the bed together – thankfully still dressed. Bakura was lying on his back, his arms gently resting around Ryou's waist. Ryou was using Bakura's chest as a pillow, his arms also draped over Bakura's waist. Both were wearing small, content smiles, breathing in perfect synchronicity.

Malik smiled. 'Awww, how cute!' he thought. 'Now, how do I get rid of Bakura? The direct way I think.'

"Ouch!" Bakura exclaimed, waking up and moving to cover his abused shoulder.

"Be quiet! And hurry up, Marik's waiting outside," Malik hissed.

Bakura gave him a death glare but remained quiet and silently removed himself from under Ryou. Before he left, Bakura gave Ryou a quick peck on the cheek, Malik another death glare, and then left via the window.

Malik sighed. Maybe taking Ryou to that bar hadn't been a good idea. He hadn't expected this to happen. If Ryou and Bakura weren't together then Ryou would be miserable. But, if they were together, it would only be a matter of time until King Yami found out, and then there would be trouble.

Malik perched on the edge of the bed and looked down at Ryou. He looked so happy, Malik didn't want to be the one who ruined his happiness. Malik sighed. What was he to do?


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