Long live the Chirstmas holidays! They are a blessing to all. It's a pity I then have to do exams the moment i get back to school. It's mean!

Well, i hope you all enjoy this, especially since it is coming to an end.

Chapter 12

Both Seto and Jou had replayed the events that had happened the day before several times in their minds. It annoyed them to no end that Yami's words made sense. They could sense it – deep down they new those words were true. But could they ever find the courage to admit the truth?

Jou knew the matter needed to be dealt with. It would drive him crazy if he didn't come out and say the words etched into his heart. That was why he was here at Seto's thinking fountain. This was where Seto was most likely to be. Sure enough, there was Seto, sitting on the rim of the fountain staring down into the water.

Seto looked up and saw Jou. He had been preparing all morning for this meeting but suddenly everything he planned to say disappeared from his mind. Stupid Jou making him nervous and excited at the same time.

They stared at each other for several minutes not saying anything. Eventually Jou (the more impatient of the two) had had enough. "Say something damn it!" he cried in frustration.

"Why should I be the one to say something?"

"Because you're the smart one!"

Seto smirked. "So you finally admit that I'm better than you."

"I said 'smarter' not 'better'. And you should be smarter, what with your royal education and all."

Silence once again ensued. Seto sighed. "Look, I've been thinking about what the pharaoh said and I have to say that he makes some valuable points." Seto stopped and discreetly bit his lip.

Jou rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Yeah, I was thinking about what he said too and I think he's right." Seto looked at Jou expectantly. Jou didn't know why he needed to be the one to confess first but he knew Seto was anti-emotion most of the time so even hinting at feelings was probably a pretty big thing for him. "I…I love you Seto."

"How do you know?"

That really got on Jou's nerves. "That's not what you're supposed to say! You're supposed to say 'I love you too Jou' before running into my arms and sweeping me off my feet!"

Seto made a disgusted but amused face. "Where did you get that idea? Were you listening to those love stories the serving maids tell each other." Jou would never admit it but that was where he had gotten the idea from. "And anyway, would you really want me to 'sweep you off your feet'?"

"No, but you could have at least said the 'I love you' part!"

Seto shook his head as he stood up. "You really are funny sometimes puppy."

Jou crossed his arms and glared at Seto. "Do you love me or not?" he demanded.

Seto seemed to hesitate for a second. "I don't know."

Jou growled in frustration. He stormed towards Seto and pulled him into a kiss. It was like being led into paradise. Both sets of eyes closed and Jou's grip on Seto's arm lessened. It was gentle and slow but when Jou pulled back Seto felt like his puppy was running away from the most intimate action in the world.

"Did you like that?" Jou asked. Seto nodded mutely. "Well I think that's a pretty good indicator that you're in love."

"That's good," Seto said, an evil smile creeping onto his face.

Jou gulped nervously. "And why's that?"

"Because now you won't mind me doing this," Seto said before pulling Jou into another fantastic kiss that was nowhere near as simple as the last.

From the other side of the little garden Yami smiled. Finally! Now he could hopefully live a peaceful life without those two constantly trying to murder each other.

When the sun was set Ryou set out. He was glad that Seto was too occupied with his new boyfriend to keep a vigilant watch on him or this would have been a lot trickier. He needed to be quick and invisible to complete his task; everyone needed to believe that he was sleeping silently in his room.

Ever since Bakura had been caught the heightened security that had been brought in because of his initial raid had lessened making it easy for Ryou to reach the dungeons undetected. Then it got difficult. There were plenty of guards in the prison and sometimes one or two at the entrance; getting past them was going to be extremely hard.

There was one guard at the dungeon's entrance and he was snoring deeply. Ryou darted past him and down the dark stairs, not risking bringing a lighted torch with him. When he reached the bottom of the stairs Ryou chewed his lip nervously. Which way was he to go? The interrogation room where he had met with Bakura was to the left but had Bakura been brought to it from the left? Jou had put him in the room and he had hidden so he didn't know which direction the guards had come from.

Ryou also wasn't familiar with the prison's system. He knew that the dangerous criminals or those with life sentences were kept together but that was it. Bakura was most likely classed as highly dangerous and would be heavily guarded. Ryou could probably find him if he found the guards. Still, there was the question of which direction to take. He needed to be quick so he couldn't choose the wrong one – he would loose too much time.

Taking a chance, Ryou went left. He ran his hand along the wall so that he knew that he was going straight. It was so dark that he couldn't see his hand on the wall. Thankfully the cells here were empty (he could remember that from when he'd past before) which meant he would not be disturbing any prisoners. Ryou shuddered at the thought. That was another reason he was adamant about sticking to the wall – he didn't want any prisoners grabbing hold of him when he passed.

The passage echoed the sound of laughter up ahead. Ryou licked his lips as he approached the first lit torch in its bracket. He really had to be silent now. There were prisoners in these cells who could awaken at any moment. He would also be an obvious target as soon as he stepped out of the shadows.

For a moment Ryou almost considered turning back. Nobody would know that he had tried to help a prisoner escape. It would be better for him if he just turned back now.

It wouldn't be better for Bakura though. Ryou's heart twisted as he pictured the handsome thief's face. He couldn't abandon his love. Even if nobody else knew his attempted criminal act he would always know; he would be forever shamed by his cowardice. Saving Bakura was more important than avoiding getting himself into trouble.

Ryou scurried forward through the light. A few torches down he caught sight of the guards and stopped. They were all gathered around a table drinking and gambolling. Ryou smiled, it shouldn't be too hard to get past them. The only problem was that the table was placed against the wall; he'd have to pass right next to the cells to avoid detection and these prisoners couldn't all be sleeping with the noise their jailers were making.

Once again Ryou considered turning back. There was no way he was going to get past them unnoticed. Even if the guards were distracted by their game one of the prisoners could spot him and turn him in, and even if that didn't happen how was he going to open the cell door? His plan suddenly seemed like a foolish one.

Bakura's image appeared in his mind. He was so close, he couldn't turn back now. Maybe he couldn't rescue Bakura but he was sure his presence would give him some comfort. Or would he just anger Bakura because he had taken too big a risk in coming here?

Ryou was stood there nibbling his lip, trying to decide, for a long time. Too long.

"Hey! What are you doing over there?!"

Ah! Evil cliff-hanger! I promise to update as soon as possible. Please Review!