Whoa, major apologies in order here! Exams and school have been hell, and I've been putting this together piecemeal, since the new time limit my parents have installed on my computer exposure hasn't been helping one little bit! I'd like to thank my wonderful reviewers once again, you make all this happen! This one's for Lone Phoenix, another great reviewer who hasn't been getting the attention she deserves. Sorry, Sarah! I hope you enjoy, and it means a lot that you put your real name with your last review! Now, on to the thanks!

D-Chan (daisy): OMG, nuva!!! Are you okay? Oh well, I guess this had happened before, huh? Yamis get fluff overloads often... well, glad you liked the last chapter so much! I thought the wedding thing might be a bit corny, but hey, I trust you guys! The wedding should be coming up, but not for a while yet... oh well, they're still major kawaii!!!! tackle-glomps Seto and Joey

Tessabug: Wow, you reread my fic? I'm so honored! Not that I wasn't before, mind you, but.. wow! I hope you enjoy this chappie, although it focuses mostly on Bakura and Ryou, with a bit of Yami/Yugi fluff along the way. Don't worry, though; I maintain that Yami won't be outdone! Oh, and by the way, I love off-topic questions! I kinda didn't like Intuition at first, but then I went and bought the CD the first day it came out, because I'm like Jewel's biggest fan, and now I think it's pretty good. Of course, I also love Christina Aguilera, so... yeah. Hope that answered your question, and I look forward to hearing from you again! And I almost forgot! hugs Ignigena for taking care of the flamer Thanks, Ignigena! Ja ne!

seadragon1012: Yay, the ferrets are dancing! I really hope that this chappie keeps them happy, and hope to find out if it did! Later!

babygurl: Heya, princess! I know you probably won't read this till you get back (lucky girl) and I sincerely hope you're feeling better! I'm so glad you found it cute, fluffy, and all-around amazing; I'm still waiting for the next chappie of Silent Tears! Anyone else who reads this, go read and review that story! That's an order! giggles Seriously, it's really good, and if you like Tea bashing, plus she's got this amazing character called Trinity, and there's fluff... oh, and she just started in on S/J!!! Anyway, back to the reply... .~_^ Sure you can come to the wedding, and remember, you can borrow Diamond whenever you want, as long as you feed him! ^_^ Hope to hear from you soon, and ja ne!

Princess Strawberry: Sorry, Princess/Yami! I hope I made up for it in this chapter; there are at least two or three fluffy bits with Yami and Yugi, so enjoy! Once again, your reviews mean a lot to me, and I hope you're not losing interest in my story! Later!

phwee? yami hobo: Isn't it awful? I just did my high school English exam... damn, craziness! LOL, this chappie is an R/B lover's paradise, at least as far as this fic goes. They're getting together in the next one, I totally promise! BTW, I plan to dedicate that one to you, so tell me what if anything you want in it! Ja ne!

Lone Phoenix: Hey, Sarah! brushing Diamond's fur I've been working on this guy for three days; grooming tigers is a lot of work! I don't suppose I could blame the lateness of this chappie on that.... no, didn't think so ^_^. If only the grooming was as easy as the hug... glomps Diamond. The wedding might take a while, but hey, this is your chappie, so enjoy it! Later, girl!

Starfly: cringe Don't like flowers....? Okay, duly noted; tone down the flowers! Well, glad you're still with us, and still enjoying the fluffiness. It's appreciated! Don't worry, however long it takes, I'll keep writing!

Dia: Yay, a new reviewer!!!! bounces up and down I saw the video of that song a few days back; you're right, it does sound Ryou/Bakura-ish... Thanks for the heads up, but more importantly, thanks for your lovely review! For your Yami... well, there's some angst in here, but probably not enough to satisfy her. Sorry, Yami Dia, but this isn't exactly an angst fic! ^_^ I'm so happy to hear you love it, and I hope you keep reading. Ja ne!

Lizzie: Okay, I think I'm finally getting close to fulfilling your request and getting Ryou and Bakura together! Have I mentioned how tough they are, LOL? Hope this chapter makes you as happy as the last one did, and I'll catch ya later!

Kesiah: Don't worry, you're getting the wedding! I just don't know when yet... There's more Y/Y and some R/B quasi-fluff in this chapter, so enjoy! Thanks for your reviews once again!

Okay, replying to babygurl's review reminded me of something. Who would want me to write them in as a guest at the wedding? I already know she's coming, but do you guys think it's a good idea, and more importantly, do you want to come? Let me know in your reviews, I'll be waiting! (Oh, and of course, I won't be there. This isn't exactly a Mary Sue fic, after all.)

Warnings: You guys know the drill: Yaoi, fluff, angst, I guess for this chappie...

Disclaimer: Don't own them!

Chapter 17: Co-Dependent

The next day, Ryou trudged onto the school grounds exhaustedly, the spires of the Millennium Ring clinking together against his chest. He had done two hours of homework before dinner last night, then watched some TV, and done more work. All the while, Bakura had been moping about the house, alternating between his soul room and flopping down in the window seat to stare at the stars. I think I liked it better when he was abusive, the hikari had thought to himself more than once. At least he paid some sort of attention to me.

A fairly large group huddled around where they all usually met caught the albino boy's eye, and he moved towards them. Upon closer examination, Seto and Joey were found to be at the center of the circle, with everyone else around them. Mai was even there, although she'd graduated the previous year. At the moment, she was clutching Joey's right hand in one of her own and staring down at some blinding object that, to Ryou's dazzled eyes, looked like a diamond ring. Blue and gold left their own impressions on his retinas, and the white-haired boy rubbed his eyes vigorously.

"Good catch, Joey!" Mai whistled as she glanced up at Seto. "If I knew you had this good taste, Moneybags, I'd have snagged you at Battle City! Of course, there was the matter of your personality, or lack thereof, back then."

"I don't know, Valentine," Azure eyes narrowed dangerously. "I don't go for loudmouth blondes with an IQ less than the number of pairs of shoes they own." The brunet's gaze turned pensive. "Although on second thought, since the way you spend money would make a drunken sailor hang his head in shame, you could be a genius by those standards."

"Well, looks like you're engaged to one." The blonde shot back, and Joey pouted cutely.

"Leave me outta this, will ya?" he said, letting his accent take over for a minute.

"Yeah, you're right, this's between me and Kaiba," Mai agreed, "I'm going to have to start differentiating which one soon, though. After all, Joey Kaiba has a much nicer ring to it than Seto Wheeler, don't you think?"

Serenity giggled. "Yeah, it's true! Joey's the bride!"

The blond blushed crimson as Ryou shouldered his way to a position next to Yami and Yugi. "Did I hear right?" he asked the shorter of the two boys. "Are Joey and Seto getting married?"

Yugi nodded happily. "Yep! It's so cool! Have you seen the ring yet, Ryou?"

"He's just arrived, aibou." Yami interjected. "If we haven't even seen it yet..."

"As a matter of fact, I've been blinded already," Ryou chuckled good-naturedly, glancing back at the happy couple. "Looks like there's about to be a fight, guys." he said.

Mai and Seto looked to be squaring off, and the spectators fancied they could see tiny lightning bolts arcing between them. Then, just when it had basically come down to who would throw the first punch, both would-be combatants broke out laughing, and Mai slapped Seto on the shoulder playfully as she headed towards the parking lot.

"Congrats, Rich Boy!" she called back as she vaulted over the door of her red convertible, making even Serenity cringe at the height to which her miniskirt went as she did so, and earning more than a few boys in the surrounding area angry girlfriends. As the blonde sped away from the school grounds, the remaining teens all looked to Seto for an explanation.

"What, you think I'd hit a girl?" was all the brunet said in his defense, and the tense atmosphere collapsed in a gale of laughter as Joey took his former place in his fiancé's arms.

"Chivalry's really sexy," he laughed as he pulled Seto down for a quick kiss, and everyone except Ryou smiled at the public display of affection. I wish that were me and Bakura, he sighed inwardly, and Yugi tugged at his yami's hand.

/I think we're going to have to play matchmaker, Yami./

The pharaoh looked down at his hikari. //Really? For whom?// When Yugi nodded his head in Ryou's direction, the taller boy immediately wished he hadn't asked. //Ryou... and the tomb robber?//

The shortest member of the group nodded happily. /Yep!/ At his darker half's derisive snort, Yugi's mind speech took on a whiny tone. /Please, Yami?/

//No. I respect Ryou too much to do that to him.//

/Oh, and you think this is any better?/ One glance at the sullen boy near them made any reply to the contrary impossible for Yami to voice.

//I still don't like it, aibou.// grumbled the spirit.

/You don't have to like it, Yami. Nobody's asking you to sleep with Bakura./ A mischievous grin played over the other boy's face. /Good thing, too. I'd have to beat them senseless./

Yami gave the ghost of a laugh at that. //And just how would you do that, my little love?//

/Hell hath no fury like a hikari scorned./ Yugi turned away from his boyfriend. /Hey, I think we can get a good look at the ring now. Let's go!/ With one last wistful glance at Ryou, both boys stepped into the space left by Mai's quick exit.

"Whoa, that's nice," Yugi breathed, one delicate finger tracing the designs of the dragon scales. Yami admired the jewelry from a greater distance, yet his love's excitement brought a smile to his face. He had to admit, Seto knew quality.

"Yes, it is at that," the darker of the two echoed, looking up at the tallest of the group. "Perfectly suited, as well. Who knew you could think about anyone but yourself, Seto?"

"I did," Joey returned, defending his fiancé, but Seto stopped him with a gentle touch on the arm before moving around his love to stand three feet away from the slightly shorter Yami.

"Yami, what do you say we leave all this crap in the past where it belongs?" To everyone's surprise, the billionaire extended his hand. "We might be dueling rivals, that's true, but there's no reason we can't at least be civil to each other." Crimson eyes alighted on Yugi, azure on Joey, and Seto voiced what both duelists were thinking. "For their sake, if nothing else."

The tricolor-haired sovereign sighed, staring at the other boy's outstretched palm before enclosing it in a firm grip. "Agreed, Seto. I too am tiring of this constant feud." The rivals exchanged smiles just as the bell sounded, and everyone but Joey and Seto stalked off to homeroom.

"Thanks." the blond said, giving his love an affectionate squeeze. "Must have been rough on you, huh?"

"Actually, I'm more relieved than anything, to tell you the truth." Smiling faintly, Seto took the other boy's hand in his, leading him away from the spot. "Come on, love. We're going to be late."

"You know, I never thought much of homeroom anyway..." Sweetly, the shorter boy nuzzled his fiancé's neck. "How about we skip it?"

The brunet drew in a breath quickly before sliding free of the tempting embrace. "You're not getting out of school that easily, puppy." he grinned, renewing his efforts to drag a more than unwilling Joey into the school building. This time, the blond gave a bit.

"But, Set... school's so boring!" It was the first time Joey had whined in front of Seto, and immediately his cheeks became tinged with red as he realized how foolish he must have sounded. "Sorry about that..." he began before the taller boy took advantage of his moment of weakness to drag him the rest of the way to the school doors. That done, he spun Joey around faster than the other boy would have thought possible, and leaned down so that his lips were less than a millimeter from the blond's ear.

"Now, do you want me to carry you, or should I save that for our wedding night?" Joey's blush intensified ten times over as his amber eyes darted around, making sure that nobody had heard anything. Seto chuckled; everyone was in class by now, and besides, he had spoken barely loud enough for anyone but the blond himself to hear, even had they been standing right next to them. Still, he found Joey's conservative nature endearing, if anything.

"Save it," the shorter boy muttered as he pulled the school door open, holding it for Seto. "Now who's lagging?" he teased, sticking his tongue out for effect.

"Thank you, Joey," The brunet nodded as he stepped through the portal. "I believe you've finally found your calling."

It took the blond a few moments to process the information, and by the time he did, Seto was twenty feet away. "I am not a doorman!" he shouted indignantly before chasing after his fiancé, letting the door bang shut in his wake.

* * *

While the history teacher droned on, and Joey and Seto found new and innovative ways to pass notes undetected, Yugi and Yami were trying to think of ways to get Ryou and Bakura together, against the pharaoh's better judgment.

/So, considering they don't have that good a relationship right now, the romance movie idea won't work... how about a candlelit dinner on a terrace? Wouldn't that be romantic?/ When Yami failed to reply, the hikari sent the mental equivalent of a pout across their link. /Yami!/

//Yes, aibou.//

/Are you paying attention to me?/

A flash of surprise. //Why, of course, Yugi.//

/Well then, what did I just say?/

Silence once again. //Candlelit dinner?// the spirit finally ventured after a time.

/That was a lucky guess!/ Yugi was as indignant as Joey had been a while back, and all Yami could do was laugh across their bond.

//You know me too well, my love.// he said once his laughter had subsided. //I apologize.//

/I forgive you, Yami. Now, can we get back to helping Ryou and Bakura get together? We're wasting valuable time, and Ryou is getting worse and worse./ As though to punctuate this statement, the white-haired boy lay his head down on the desk and began to stare out the window, his shoulders rising and falling quickly in what looked to be a sigh.

//Aibou, I don't think the normal fallbacks are going to work with these two. Bakura's a psychopath, and Ryou is too shy to engineer anything romantic. We're going to have to change our tactics completely this time around.//

The hikari tapped his pencil softly against his desk, thinking. /You're right, Yami. I just hope we think of something soon./

//As do I, my love.// With that, the pharaoh withdrew, and Yugi began to stare up at the ceiling as though the answer to his many questions would come hurtling down from heaven at any moment.

* * *

Once school was out, Ryou went straight home instead of hanging out with the others. Joey, Seto, Tristan, and Serenity were going to be spending most of that evening packing up the Wheelers' apartment, and Yugi and Yami had told him that they were going to catalogue the new inventory at the game shop. Of course, the two conspirators had no intention of doing anything so mind-numbing, especially not when spying on two certain albino boys had the potential to be so entertaining.

//Explain to me again why we're hiding here of all places.// Yami frowned, picking leaves out of his hair, and trying to keep the branches of Ryou's perfectly trimmed hedges out of his line of sight. //Couldn't Seto afford to give us a car, like in those police movies? I bet it would be more comfortable. There's a sharp thing digging into my back, and a squirrel just looked at my duel deck like it was dinner.//

/For the last time, Yami, this is the last place Ryou would expect to find us, and plus it affords us a perfect view of the first floor! Now, you have two choices; go back into the Puzzle or quit complaining./ Yugi adjusted his position to lean back against the pharaoh. /It's not exactly that comfortable for me, either. Except for you, though. That part I like./ Contentedly, the shorter boy sighed into Yami's chest, and the spirit had to fight off the urge to ravish him right there.

//I don't think the Puzzle is a viable option, love. Without me, who'd protect you from the rabid, Dark Magician-eating squirrel?//

/Oh yeah, I'm so sure that exists./

//Would I lie to you?//

/No, but let's just say you have a history of being misinformed about certain aspects of modern life./ To take the sting from his words, Yugi smiled up at his darkness. /I think it's cute, personally./ Violet eyes darted to the house, where Ryou was opening the windows. /Shh. This is it. Try to nail down anything suspicious that we can use./

//Understood, aibou.// Hugging the other boy to him, Yami rested his chin in Yugi's surprisingly soft hair and waited for something to happen.

* * *

Bakura was nowhere to be found when Ryou got home; lately, the spirit had taken to staying outside the Millennium Ring while his light was at school, saying that he preferred to be at home to attending class. From Ryou's perspective, it was simply another effort on Bakura's part to distance himself from him. I wish... oh, I don't even know what to wish for anymore.

Throwing the windows open, as though fresh air would clear his fogged mind, the hikari went from room to room, looking for his counterpart. The tomb robber was sleeping in his room, and the music blaring out of the headphones that hung around his neck was deafening even at range. Unobtrusively, Ryou switched off the stereo and hung the headphones back up on the bedpost. Leaving the bedroom door open, he went downstairs, had a snack, and switched on the television as he pulled a few books from his backpack. From upstairs, he could hear Bakura's sleepy muttering, and then the heavy noise of his yami coming down the stairs. The former thief blew past his hikari without even a word of acknowledgment and into the kitchen, and Ryou heard a great clatter that could only mean one thing; he would soon have a mess to clean up.

I'll deal with it later, he said, scribbling down an answer in his notebook before turning the page and tackling the next problem.

* * *

While Ryou was dreading the eventual cleanup duty that awaited him, Bakura was trying desperately to think of a way to get out of the house without making it painfully obvious that all he wanted was to get away from his hikari. It wasn't that he hated Ryou anymore; quite the contrary, actually. Nobody was more aware of his destructive nature than the yami himself, and Bakura's greatest fear after the night that Ryou had spent at Yugi's place was that he would do something to make the other white-haired boy decide to leave him for good. Until he could think of another way, though, he would do that by avoiding him. No matter how much it hurts him, this's gotta be better than whatever would happen to him if he got too close.

The ex-tomb robber had just formulated a plan about going to see Marik about something or other when Ryou shuffled into the kitchen and began clearing up the latest mess. The taller boy was about to slink off, opening his mouth to mumble the appropriate clichés, but the hikari beat him to the punch.

"I just wish I knew what was so wrong with me," he said with a sadness that nearly broke the spirit's cold heart. "It must be something big if not even you can stand my company. You didn't even find looting corpses this distasteful."

The reference to his past brought back the demons that Bakura had kept at bay for centuries; the guilt, the self-hatred that he would not allow himself to feel. Those he could lock away again easily; you do what you have to do to survive. However, this time, there was a new specter among the old, familiar ones, a new feeling that the spirit of the Ring now recognized as his own solitude. Its insistence, coupled with Ryou's tearing eyes, were enough to almost shatter his facade to pieces. Turning away from his hikari, Bakura closed his eyes as the full hopelessness of his existence settled in on him, trying desperately to compose himself enough to formulate some kind of intelligent reply. Before he could, though, Ryou rose to his feet, angrily wiping away one lone tear that had begun to trickle down his face.

"I guess you don't give a damn about being alone, do you?" he accused. "It's so easy for you. If you can use someone else, fine. Once you've drained them of everything they have to offer, you move on, without a second glance. Well, I refuse to be drained!" A hollow sound as Ryou's fist connected with the countertop. "Ever since you came along, my life has been nothing but one knock after another! First Duelist Kingdom, then Battle City, and now... why do I even bother with you?! Why do I even try to..." The hikari's hand went to his mouth, stopping himself mid-sentence. Try to what, Bakura thought. What's he trying to tell me?

Before he knew it, Ryou had slipped out of the kitchen, tugging on his shoes in the entranceway. As his hikari threw open the door, a chill wind and the scent of rain met the spirit's notice. "I'm going to take a walk," the lighter of the two said quietly. "Don't wait up." With that, he was gone, and Bakura didn't have the will to chase after him.

* * *

From their vantage point in the bushes, Yugi and Yami had seen the entire scene play out. They watched Ryou run off in an easterly direction, and the dejected way Bakura flopped down on the couch to stare at the ceiling for what seemed like forever before they decided it was safe to leave.

"This might harder than we thought," Yugi said as they made their way back to the game shop.

"I don't think there's anything we can do, really." The spirit of the Puzzle sighed, lazily draping an arm around his hikari's shoulders as they walked. "Whatever problems those two have, they'll have to work them out alone. There's nothing you can do to help them at this juncture in their relationship."

"Maybe you're right." The shorter boy sighed. "Still, I find it funny that Bakura didn't chase after Ryou. Shouldn't he have?"

"I'm sure he'll follow when he's ready, aibou." A brief tightening of the arm about his love's shoulders, and Yugi inched as close as he could without tripping both of them up. "Besides, I'm sure Ryou will come back on his own."

"You don't understand, Yami. I'm really worried. What if Ryou gets hurt, or worse, what if he comes back and Bakura's out looking for him, and then he decides that life isn't worth living...."

Yami stopped them both, kneeling down to stare his hikari straight in the face. "Listen to me, Yugi." he said. "I admire your commitment to others, truly I do, but you must stop carrying the weight of the world. It would destroy me to see anything happen to you, and if you continue to take the problems of others onto yourself, that is exactly what will happen. Do you understand me, aibou?"

The other boy nodded slowly after a moment, wrapping his arms around his darkness briefly. "Thank you for caring, Yami. I love you."

"And I you, little one." As the pharaoh rose to his feet, he felt something splash against his cheek. "Looks like it's starting to rain. We'd better get home."

"I hope Ryou's back home by now..." At Yami's stern glare, Yugi hung his head. "Sorry, Yami. I can't help but worry. No matter what you say or do, you won't be able to get my mind off it."

A predatory glint formed in one crimson eye. "Is that a challenge, lover?"

The petite boy blushed as he caught the spirit's meaning. "If you want it to be," he returned shyly.

One quick glance told Yami that they were within sight of the game shop. "Oh, most definitely," he breathed, lifting Yugi into his arms with ease. "What do you say we skip dinner tonight, aibou?"

Yugi had to remember how to breathe at these words. "What'll we tell Grandpa?"

"That we have something a lot more important to take care of before we eat." The darker of the two grinned. "It's not a total lie."

The other boy chuckled into his leather shirt. "What would I do without you, Yami?"

"You'll never have to find that out, my love," the spirit said. "I promise."

* * *

At about one o'clock that evening, the phone in Yugi's room began ringing, jarring the short boy out of a deep sleep. Rolling over drowsily, he reached across Yami's prone form and retrieved the cordless phone from its charger on his dark lover's side of the bed, being careful not to awaken the other boy. He deserves a good night's sleep, Yugi reminded himself, gazing down at Yami lovingly as he hit the top button on the phone, cringing at the beep that the appliance made.

"Hello?" His voice betrayed that he had just been woken up.

"Yugi?" The voice on the other end of the line was gruff, unfamiliar to the tricolor-haired boy.

"This is he." Yugi replied, a little apprehensive now. Who would be calling for him at this hour? His hand found Yami's, holding onto the dark sovereign for courage. His boyfriend stirred, but didn't wake up. "May I know who is speaking?"

"Yugi, thank Ra! I've been trying to get this damn thing working for a good twenty minutes!" The voice on the other end calmed down somewhat after this outburst. "This is Bakura. Ryou wouldn't be over at your place again, would he?"

"You mean he's not home yet?" The hikari's voice held a note of panic, and he shook Yami just hard enough to bring him around. "You haven't heard anything at all?"

Beside him, the spirit of the Puzzle mumbled sleepily. "This had better be good, aibou. I was having the best dream.."

Covering the mouthpiece with one hand, Yugi turned to the other boy. "It's Bakura. Ryou still hasn't come home. He was wondering if we knew where he was." His eyes began to cloud over. "Yami, I'm worried again. Really worried."

Taking the phone in one hand and wrapping Yugi in his free arm, pressing the other boy to his bare chest, right over his heart, the pharaoh took over the conversation. "Tomb robber?"

"Pharaoh." Worry had stolen the venom from Bakura's voice. "Is my hikari there or not?"

"No, he isn't. We've heard about as much as you have, apparently." The spirit nodded a few more times. "Yes, Bakura. If we hear anything, you'll be the first to know. Yes, we have the cell number. Good luck." With a great effort, Yami turned the phone off and cast it aside before returning to Yugi, doing everything he could to calm his love down, to little avail. Finally, the spirit removed his hands from the other boy's hair, pressed one last kiss to his lips, and slid out of bed, groping in the darkness for his clothes. A flash of lightning illuminated the room as he did so, and Yugi clutched the covers tight around him.

"Yami, what're you doing?" the short boy asked.

"I'm going to go look for Ryou. It seems to me that's the only way to calm you down." Fully dressed by this point, the spirit extended his hikari's clothes to him. "Coming?"

Yugi nodded. "No way I'm going to let you go alone." Throwing the garments on, the petite boy leapt from the bed and into his boyfriend's arms. "Thank you."

"Anything for you, aibou." Yami replied, holding the door open for the other boy and closing it behind them, so that Solomon wouldn't suspect anything should he wake up before they got back. With any luck, that won't be too long.

* * *

Ryou had stopped running a while back, wandering around aimlessly for a bit until the storm had grown too powerful to ignore any longer. Once the arcade and most of the stores were closed, though, the white-haired boy found himself huddled on a street corner under an awning, shivering periodically through his white sweater. He didn't have his wallet on him, he'd realized, so a hotel was out, and he didn't want to go to any of his friends after the episode at Yugi's house the last time.

So, without many options, the teenage boy opted to wait out the storm in a nearby park. There was a wooded area there that would at least provide some shelter from the rain. No sooner had the hikari made up his mind, though, than a blast of lightning reminded him of the dangers of that course of action. Look, he reasoned, it's either there or back home, and I'm not facing Bakura tonight. With a resigned sigh, Ryou shuffled off toward the park, trying to stay out of the rain as much as humanly possible.

* * *

The golden glow of the Millennium Ring led Bakura to the edge of the park before the spires went rigid and the glow faded, the location spell's effect having been fulfilled. He's in there? the yami thought to himself as a bolt of lightning struck, way too close for his comfort. Doesn't he know how dangerous...? With a growl, Bakura plunged into the brush, calling Ryou's name.

"Ryou! Hikari, don't make me come and get you! If you can hear me, come out!" Great job, Bakura, a voice in his mind chided. That tone's really gonna make him want to talk to you. Would it kill you to try to act a little bit nicer? Poor kid's probably scared out of his wits, alone and cold in the storm, lightning getting closer...

"Grr... fine." The spirit muttered to himself. Now I'm hearing voices. What next? "Ryou, I apologize. Please, come out."

A scant distance away, Ryou heard his yami's voice calling to him. Did he just apologize? Bakura, apologize, without being forced to? I must be hearing things. Reluctantly leaving the cover of the great weeping willow he had taken refuge under, the lighter of the two boys began to turn his head this way and that, searching for his counterpart. "Bakura? Is that you?"

Trying not to let himself feel too overjoyed that he had succeeded in locating the other boy, Bakura raced toward the sound of Ryou's voice. He found his light leaning against the trunk of a tree, doing a fairly good impression of a drowned rat and shivering at least once every five seconds. "You're drenched!" the yami exclaimed distastefully, shrugging off his coat and draping it over Ryou's shoulders. It was at least three sizes too big; baggy on the darker of the two, swimming on the lighter, but at least it slowed down the shivering. "You could get sick, catch a cold, or pneumonia! Running away like that... stupid hikari." Soulful chocolate brown eyes flashed up at him, and the fire went out of Bakura's anger. "Never mind," he said, "Let's just go home." His hand locked onto Ryou's wrist, but the other boy refused to move. "Hikari...."

"I'm not going home," Ryou pronounced defiantly. "Not tonight at least, and certainly not with you."

Bakura found that remarkably funny. "So you're going to stay here, in the woods, in the middle of a lightning storm?" As if to accentuate his point, a great roll of thunder sounded. "Get real, hikari." He redoubled his efforts to drag the shorter boy back towards their house, but the muddy ground coupled with Ryou's stubborn nature made that task totally impossible. Frustrated beyond belief, the yami threw his counterpart's arm down. "Fine, stay here and rot then! See if I give a damn!" He turned to leave, but hadn't made it more than a few steps before he heard a sound come from the spot where Ryou had been standing. Bakura turned back to see the form of his hikari sprawled face-first on the forest floor, the coat having fallen a few inches away. Panicking, he rushed over, lifting the other boy and shaking him lightly. "Wake up, Ryou. Come on, please wake up!"

Ryou's eyes cracked open just a bit, and his lips struggled to form words. "Yami... so tired... cold, very cold...." All the strength gone from him, he collapsed, uncaring, into Bakura's arms. His pulse, upon inspection, was definitely weaker than normal, but still relatively strong. There was no immediate danger to his life, at least not as far as his darkness could tell, but there might be if he didn't get out of the rain and into someplace warm soon. Snapping up the discarded garment and wrapping Ryou as tightly as possible in it, Bakura ran back the way he'd come, as quickly as he could with the mud clinging to his shoes.

Why do you care so much what happens to him, whispered the voice again.

"Because he's my hikari, and I need him if I hope to continue to exist." The tomb robber was in no mood for mind games with himself.

Are you sure there's not another reason?

"What are you getting at?"

Tell me that your heart didn't beat ten times faster when you heard his voice, saw him there under that tree. Tell me truly, if you can, he of the ice cold heart.

"Shut up!" He was almost at the edge of the wooded area, and as he gained the sidewalk, a car coasted to a stop before him. The window was rolled down, and Yami's head poked out. "Get in, tomb robber. We'll give you a lift."

While he didn't like accepting favors from the pharaoh or his hikari, even pigheaded Bakura had to admit he was stuck on this one. The car would have a sufficient heating system, and he would get Ryou home that much sooner. Propping Ryou up on the back seat, the spirit slid in after him. Yami started the car just as Yugi leaned over from the passenger seat to check on his friend.

"Where'd you find him?" The boy's voice was thick with worry.

"Park." Bakura didn't feel like answering a barrage of questions at the moment.

"Is he all right?"

"Just got a chill, I think." Was it just him, or was Ryou getting a little pale? "Pharaoh, can we speed this up a bit? I hardly think we're going to get a speeding ticket at this hour."

"That's the kind of logic that got your car totaled and your license revoked, tomb robber," Yami replied coolly, and Bakura slumped down in his seat, too tired and too worried to argue.

Despite the white-haired yami's fears that they would never get home, Yami pulled into their driveway before five minutes had passed. Nodding a grudging thanks to the other two boys, Bakura slid his precious cargo from the back seat and hastened to get them both into the house, turning the heat up as high as it would go. Yugi wrapped both his arms around one of Yami's, squeezing lightly.

"I don't think they ever needed our help, love," he said with a chuckle, and the spirit of the Puzzle had to agree.

"Let's get back to bed, shall we, aibou?" the taller boy offered as he shifted the gear into drive.

* * *

Once he got Ryou into the house, though, Bakura was presented with another problem. His hikari couldn't stay in wet clothes if he had a prayer of getting better, yet he was in no state to undress himself. A hot bath might also do him a world of good, you know, the annoying voice in his head added, but Bakura shot down that idea. Just getting Ryou into a pair of warm pants and a shirt would be more than trouble enough for him.

It took him a few minutes to peel off the sodden sweater; Ryou wasn't exactly cooperating in his current state. The greenish-blue button-down shirt wasn't a problem, and the darker of the two took a moment to admire his hikari's body. After everything, he is quite beautiful. What I wouldn't give...

Shaking his head violently, the spirit went back to his work, tugging a heavy sweatshirt onto Ryou's bare chest and toweling the other boy's hair dry as best he could. The jeans clung to his hikari's slender legs like seaweed, and it took a great effort to get them off. Not allowing his eyes or mind time to wander, the former thief slid the prone form of his hikari into matching sweat pants and lay him down, pulling at least five layers of covers over him and settling in for another long night's vigil, wiping Ryou's face with a warm cloth every so often and praying to Ra and his pantheon to preserve this boy that so confused him.

It was around three o'clock that Ryou began to toss and mutter in his sleep. Bakura didn't pay much attention, focusing on keeping the other boy warm, until he heard his name.

"Bakura...."the hikari's muted voice said. "Bakura... love... I love you, Bakura...."

The former thief was stunned beyond belief. He must be delirious. There has to be a logical explaination. He can't... love me? Can he? And why do I so hope that he does? Scoffing, he wrung out the cloth and passed it over Ryou's face and throat again. When he wakes up, he's going to have some explaining to do. Before his eyes, Ryou curled up with a pillow, rolling over lightly. Make that a lot of explaining.

* * *

Thanks for being so patient, you guys! Exams are all but over, so I should have a lot of time to write. Hope you enjoyed it, and remember, the only way for me to know is to review! I'm very sorry for the cliffie, but I promise, it'll be resolved at the start of chapter 18! Later, and thanks in advance for the reviews! Peace out, guys!