I apologize in advance for the angst. But to make up for it this is an extra long chapter!

Chapter 8

As the light filtered through the gap in the curtains Bakura began to stir. His eyes opened and he looked down to see Ryou still blissfully sleeping on his chest. A small smile graced the thief's features as he ran his fingers through silky soft hair.

Ryou looked so beautiful like this – Bakura wished that they could stay like this for longer. But they couldn't for Ryou's eyes slowly fluttered open. He looked up sleepily at his warm pillow, smiled, and whispered, "Good Morning."

"Good Morning," Bakura replied, glad that Ryou hadn't freaked out upon seeing how close they had been sleeping together.

Slowly, Ryou moved out of their embrace and started getting dressed. Bakura lazily watched him, only half aware that he was doing so. Ryou didn't notice either until he was about to pull down his boxers. He looked over his shoulder, saw that Bakura was watching, and blushed.

It took Bakura a few seconds to register that Ryou was blushing because of him. He smirked and said, "Go ahead pretty one – I don't mind," in an innocent but suggestive way.

This caused Ryou's blush to increase tenfold and he quickly dashed to the bathroom to change. Bakura chuckled before getting up and getting dressed himself. He then headed into the living room to watch TV and wait for Ryou.

When Ryou had calmed down he exited the bathroom and made his way to the kitchen. Just as he passed it the phone began to ring. Ryou hurriedly picked it up and asked who was speaking.

"Hi Ryou, it's Malik," the voice at the other end said.

"Good Morning Malik," Ryou said cheerfully.

"Look Ryou I'm sorry but I can't come over today. My sister says that I have to spend Christmas Eve with my family and not protect my friends from homicidal maniacs." The last part was said so sarcastically that it made Ryou laugh.

"Don't worry Malik. I'm sure I can last a day without you here to protect and humiliate me."

Malik gave a short laugh. "You seem happier the normal. Are you on drugs!?"

Ryou laughed. "I wouldn't say that any louder if I were you or Ishizu might start thinking that I'm a bad influence and not let us play together any more."

"Don't worry, she's outside doing something."

"Is she chaining up your motorbike so that you can't escape?" Ryou asked jokingly.

There was silence on the other end before Malik whispered, "Shit," and hung up.

Ryou stared at the phone for a few seconds before smiling and placing it back on the hook. He then left for the kitchen, hoping that maybe now he'd be able to get something to eat.

It was after Ryou and Bakura had eaten their lunch that the phone rang for the second time that day. Ryou once again answered and asked who was calling but this time he didn't smile when he heard the other person's voice.

"Hi Ryou, it's Yugi."

"Hello Yugi," Ryou said in an emotionless voice.

"I was just wondering how you were doing," Yugi said almost shyly.

Was he feeling guilty for leaving the other teen alone with Bakura? Ryou thought that he should be. "I'm fine Yugi," Ryou replied in the same emotionless way.

"And Bakura?"

"He's fine too."

"He's not done anything bad has he?"

Ah, now they were getting down to the real reason Yugi had called. He wasn't worried about Ryou's safety, the safety of his friend, he was just worried about everyone else.

"No Yugi, he's been good," Ryou replied, almost sounding bored.

It seemed that Yugi was able to detect this hint of boredom. "Ryou this is serious! He's dangerous; everyone's lives are at risk as long as he is here. Why can't you understand that?"

Ryou was beginning to get annoyed now. "He's not dangerous. I'm the one who's been with him the whole time so I think I would know if our lives really were at risk."

Yugi's voice became sad and he talked as if he was speaking to a child. "Ryou you're being naïve. He's tricked you into thinking that way so that you'll be easier to manipulate."

"Well if he's so dangerous why aren't you over here protecting me?" Ryou asked, his tone angry.

"Ryou, don't put yourself before others. We're busy trying to find a way to send Bakura back. Stop being selfish – someone needs to watch him. We've put ourselves on the line to help you before, it's time you returned the favour."

Ryou couldn't speak. He was so full of anger at Yugi's stupidity and selfishness. He was also full of hurt. He had forgotten that Bakura was from another time and needed to be sent back. It made him sad when he realized that as soon as a spell was found to send him away then they'd be forced to say goodbye for ever.

"I've got to go now Ryou. Stop being foolish and trusting Bakura. He'll only hurt you and others. Then how will you feel, knowing you've let everyone down and that you caused this?"

The line went dead as Yugi hung up. Ryou slowly put the phone down, his emotions whizzing about inside of him. He walked back into the living room and sat down next to Bakura. The thief looked at him and could tell straight away that he was upset. "What's wrong pretty one?" he asked gently.

That simple and innocent question broke down all of Ryou's defences. Tears began to fall from his eyes as he sniffed pathetically. Bakura immediately pulled Ryou onto his lap and into a hug. Ryou buried his face into the crook of Bakura's neck, his hands clutching the thief's shirt.

Apart from doing that Bakura was clueless about how to comfort Ryou. It had been a very long time since he had cried and even longer since someone had comforted him. Were you supposed to tell the person crying that it was alright, that everything would be fine? Were you supposed to stop them crying or hold them until there were no more tears to shed? There were many other questions floating in Bakura's mind that he didn't know the answers to.

After a few minutes Ryou stopped crying. He didn't try to escape Bakura's arms though. He felt safe in the thief's comforting embrace.

Slowly, Bakura moved Ryou's head away from his shoulder and tilted it up so that they could look into each other's eyes. "Better now?" Bakura asked softly.

Ryou nodded and gave him a half smile. Bakura felt unable to contain himself and he leaned forward to capture Ryou's lips. Ryou was stunned and merely sat there, unmoving. Bakura's lips were…surprisingly soft.

Bakura pulled away and gazed longingly at Ryou. How long had he waited to taste those silky lips? Too long. He pulled Ryou into another kiss, this time entering the teen's mouth with his tongue. This was even better than their first kiss! Bakura pushed Ryou down onto the sofa and moved on top of him.

The thief was in a world of bliss; he had become addicted to the taste of Ryou's sweet mouth and was unwilling to stop. Ryou was also enjoying Bakura's kisses. His eyes had fallen shut as he let the man above him ravish his mouth. He felt Bakura's hand move under his shirt and moaned as fingers lightly dance across his skin. It all felt so good; it made him forget his problems outside of the apartment, outside of the here and now.

Bakura tore off Ryou's shirt and began to trail kisses down from the boy's throat to his stomach. Ryou smiled and moaned, loving the way Bakura's tongue glided over his skin.

Ryou would have continued to stay in this state of bliss if it hadn't been for the fact that, when Bakura moved back up to attack his neck, he felt something hard in Bakura's rub against his thigh.

Ryou's eyes snapped open. What was he doing? What was he letting Bakura do to him? He was actually letting Bakura do what he had always feared he would do.

Ryou quickly tried to push Bakura off and wriggle out from under him. Bakura's face loomed over his, the thief's eyes clouded with lust. "Where do you think you're going pretty one?" he asked huskily, his breath tickling Ryou's lips.

Ryou panicked as Bakura moved to reclaim his lips. He jerked his knee up as hard as he could, effectively making Bakura roll off him in pain. Ryou quickly jumped to his feet and moved away from the writhe thief who was cursing under his breathe.

"Bastard, what was that for?!" Bakura shouted when he was able to regain some of his composure.

"What was that for?" Ryou let out a short, hysterical laugh. "For taking advantage of me when I was vulnerable. Was that what you've been waiting for all this time? For me to crack under the pressure?"

Tears began to form and fall down the teen's face. "I trusted you. I thought that we were friends. I thought…" Ryou shook his head, unable to finish the sentence. "I hate you," Ryou whispered before running to his room and slamming the door.

Bakura stayed sitting on the floor for a few moments, stunned. Was that what Ryou thought had happened? Did he really think that all his compassion had been an act to fool the boy? Did he really believe that all Bakura felt for him was lust?

Bakura slowly pulled his legs to his chest and rested his head on his knees. What was he going to do? He had screwed up. Big time.

After about ten minutes of sitting there thinking, Bakura had come up with a plan. He'd go to that place Ryou and Malik had taken him a few days ago and get Ryou a present.

Bakura wrapped himself up in warm clothing and moved towards the door. He stopped as he reached for the handle, wondering if he should tell Ryou that he was going out. He decided not to – Ryou probably wouldn't listen anyway. Pulling open the door, Bakura stepped out into the harsh wind.

Meanwhile, Ryou was in his room, the tears still slowly rolling down his cheeks. He felt so betrayed. He was distraught. The tears kept coming however hard he tried to stop them.

He wished he and Bakura had never fought. He wished that he could be in Bakura's arms again – that would stop the tears. He wished Bakura had never kissed him in the first place – that was what had started all this.

That last wish was a lie though. Even though he hated Bakura at the moment, he knew that he would forever treasure that moment in time…

It had been hard to find a gift that would make Ryou forgive him. Bakura had been clueless about what half the stuff in all the stores was called, let alone what they were used for. But he had persevered. He had found something. He only hoped that Ryou would understand what it symbolized.

Bakura jumped at the mechanical roar behind him. He turned to the side to see someone sitting on what he had dubbed a 'modern day horse'. He quickly made a mental note to try and get one for himself.

The rider pulled off his helmet to reveal a very familiar face. "Bakura, what are you doing out here on your own? Malik asked, frowning slightly.

"Looking for a bar," Bakura replied. A thought suddenly occurred to him. "They do still have bars don't they?" he asked, panicking slightly.

Malik chuckled and nodded. "See that sign over there? The building underneath it is a bar," Malik said, pointing down the road. "Why are you looking for one anyway?" he asked curiously.

"I just am alright!" Bakura snapped. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry. I'm just…never mind."

Malik looked at him curiously. "Tried to express yourself to Ryou the wrong way huh?"

Bakura nodded and was silent for a moment. "Why are you out here?" he asked.

"I can only stand to watch Sister and Seto kiss for so long," Malik replied.

Bakura nodded. He then shifted uncomfortably. "Malik, could you hold onto something for me? It's a present for Ryou. I wouldn't want to loose it," Bakura requested, his cheeks slightly red.

Malik nodded and took the bag offered to him. "Don't get too drunk or you'll scare Ryou even more," he said seriously.

Bakura nodded and began walking. He watched as Malik sped away into the distance.

It had turned dark outside when Ryou finally left his room. He didn't really want to leave but his stomach was begging for food. He had quietly and cautiously moved from his room to the kitchen. He had made himself a simple sandwich and then returned to his room.

When he was finished he had returned the dishes to the kitchen to wash later. Everything seemed quiet. Too quiet.

Ryou's curiosity had overridden his nervousness and he had peeked around the corner into the living room. Empty.

Ryou frowned. This was where Bakura spent most of his alone time when Ryou was washing or cooking or busy in any other way. If he wasn't there where else would he be?

Ryou made to go back to his room. He noticed that the bathroom door was open as he passed it. Looking round he saw that it too was deserted. Did that mean that Bakura was in the spare room then? Ryou went up to the door but saw no trace of the thief.

That was when Ryou started to panic.

Where was he? There weren't that many rooms left in the apartment for him to hide in. And if he wasn't in the apartment that could only mean that he was outside alone in the bitter December weather.

Ryou wasn't worried about him exactly. It was what he would do to the unfortunate people that he met that worried Ryou. He made his way to the door and sighed in relief when he saw that Bakura had taken plenty of warm clothing. Alright, maybe he was a little worried about the thief.

Ryou began to pace back and forth in the living room. Where had Bakura gone? The only places he would know about would be the ones that Ryou and Malik had taken him. That included the mall and Yugi's house. Maybe he'd gone to kill Yugi to make it up to Ryou.

Ryou could imagine it clearly. 'I know I pissed you off little one so to make up for it I've brought you the head of the midget pharaoh'. Ryou giggled at his morbid (but quite accurate) imagination.

Thinking of Bakura like that depressed Ryou. It made him feel guilty for kicking Bakura below the belt. It made him admit that he missed having Bakura around. It made him want to give Bakura another chance.

There was a click and then a bang as someone entered and then closed the front door. Ryou's heart began to beat faster in anticipation. It had to be him – it had to be Bakura. What should he do? What should he say?

Bakura staggered down the hallway and into the living room. Through his alcohol induced haze he noticed Ryou. "Hello pretty one," he slurred as he slowly moved closer.

Ryou edged backwards, not wanting to face Bakura at that moment. Bakura continued forward, a lop-sided grin on his face. "What's wrong pretty one?" he asked in the same drunken manner.

Ryou bumped into something solid. The wall.

He was stuck. No way out. He swallowed hard as Bakura loomed over him. The thief leaned down so that he and Ryou were face to face. Hot breath that stunk of alcohol was blown onto Ryou's face and he wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Are you scared pretty one?" Bakura asked. Ryou stayed silent. "Don't be scared; I won't hurt you."

Bakura began to stroke Ryou's cheek with the back of his hand. Ryou tried his best not to move; just continued to stare into Bakura's dark eyes.

Bakura stopped for a moment, seeming to consider something. His hand dropped from Ryou's face and he leaned in to capture the boy's lips.

Ryou froze, his mind panicking. Bakura wasn't trying to…not again. Ryou was too scared to do anything – Bakura was drunk and not thinking clearly, he could get violent if Ryou tried to resist.

Bakura pulled away, looking dazed but slightly disappointed. "Are you still scared pretty one?" Ryou didn't even breathe. "You shouldn't fear me pretty one, I'd never intentionally hurt you because…" At this point Bakura moved so that his mouth was pressed against Ryou's ear. "I love you."

Ryou's eyes widened at the statement and his heart began to beat faster in excitement instead of fear. Did Bakura…really mean it?

Suddenly, Bakura's knees collapsed underneath him and he fell. Ryou managed to catch him and uneasily lay him on the floor. Bakura had fallen asleep.

Ryou sighed to himself. It looked like Bakura didn't really love him – he'd only said it because he was drunk.

Ryou decided to leave the thief where he was and went back to his room.

The bed seemed empty when Ryou climbed into it. And big. And cold. And…

Ryou stopped thinking and curled up into a ball. Maybe tomorrow would be better; it was Christmas Day after all.

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