He can act so cold, sometimes. And yet, at others, so warm. He changes so much… he's temperamental, like the spring. The bitter coldness of winter still clings to spring, just as the memories still cling to him.

Painful memories. Many of which I caused.

But spring is a joyful season, as is he, at heart. He is warm and he is gentle like April showers, and he gives me a new lease for life, just as those rainfalls give reason for the plants to grow.

Spring is the reason that the world flourishes, really. Everything comes to life in the spring. It's a nice time to live, when the leaves unfurl and the dew smells sweet every morning.

It could never be as sweet as he is, though.

He leans against the wall, his back to me, talking to someone on the phone. I stare. And stare. This is one of the few chances I have to indulge in the pleasure of looking at him without being noticed.

He's standing in the hall, and I can see him perfectly through the doorway of the living room, where I am regarding him from, slouched on the sofa.

He laughs softly, shaking his head, and I watch as his overly-feminine, long white hair sways briefly, before settling down against his back. My eyes moved down, taking in the very slight curve of his hips and the thin line of skin visible at the small of his back where his shirt has ridden up. My eyes move further down, across his ass, down his long, toned legs, relishing the sight.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not a pervert, although sometimes I start to worry when I think of our age difference… I mean, a few thousand years is a little bit on the big side… but in some (actually scratch that, in most) ways he is far more mature than I could ever be. But I blame Marik for that, he always wants to do immature things and I just go along with it for fun, because it usually involves tormenting the Pharaoh about something or other.

My ears catch up with the rest of me and my eyes snap back to the TV screen in front of me as I hear him say goodbye to whoever it is on the phone. I look up, as if I had been watching the documentary the whole time, a questioning look intentionally in my eyes. Damn, I'm good at hiding things. Good job too, or else things would be a lot more awkward between us.

He's singing under his breath as he puts the phone back into its cradle. He's half singing, half humming. The lyrics make no sense to me, but the way he's singing them, breathily, softly, makes me glad to be able to hear them.

Smiling as the shit comes down
You can tell a man from what he has to say
Everything gets turned around
And I will risk my neck again, again

I frown as I actually think about the words, because Ryou has had a lot of shit in his life. And yet he's always remained so happy, through it all, so bright, so calm.

I've only seen him break down occasionally. And it was always my fault. He would always try again though, no matter what I'd do to him. I've never been able to figure out why.

He stares at the phone for a minute as I think this, before turning and coming into the room, a half-smile on his face.

"Who was that?"

"Just Yugi."

Humph. The Pharaoh's other half. Far too damn innocent for my liking, but I've got the feeling that Atem feels a little differently, if you know what I mean.

"…if you want."

I snap back to attention, realising Ryou had been talking to me as he walked out of the room. Shit. What had he said?

"What?"

He half-turns in the doorway of the room and smiles at me. I notice that a light blush was grazing his cheeks, as if he was warm or… uncomfortable? I watch him closely. I have spent far too long observing his body language, and from what I can tell he seems slightly embarrassed by something.

"I was just wondering if you minded watching a film tonight."

I stare at him, perplexed. Why was he embarrassed to ask that? By Ra, that boy can confuse me sometimes.

He seems to take my confused silence as a negative answer. His blush has intensified now, turning his whole cheeks a dark pink. He looks decidedly worried, and I can't quite work out why.

"Sure!"

I blurt it out before I could stop myself. Damn it, I think. I could have tried to be a little cooler, at least. I grin sheepishly at him, and he beams back at me, still flushed slightly pink.

Geez, that was close. I back out of the room and hurry to my own room, immaculate as per usual, and flop on the bed. I really don't know what to make of that encounter.

I could have sworn he was staring at me when I was on the phone.

But maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part. He certainty didn't rush to accept my offer of a movie, did he? Mind you, he didn't blow me off either.

I seem to be blushing a lot more when it comes to Bakura now-a-days.

Huh. Being unable to resist the non-existent charm of your yami? And there I was, thinking me and Yugi didn't have much in common. Stupid, annoying clichés.

Ryou was sat on the couch when I sauntered in, trying my hardest to look cool, calm and collected in the face of my hikari. I flung myself onto the couch next to Ryou, causing the smaller boy to fall inwards as the sofas surface was pressed down.

Our hands brushed and we both looked away. After a long pause, Ryou turned to me and spoke hesitantly.

"Err… if you go get the drinks, I'll load the film up, shall I?"

I simply nodded and get up, leaving the room.

We settled down in front of the film and I can't help but sneak looks at Ryou out of the corner of my eye. I have to admit that I wasn't watching the film. The proximity of his body was far too distracting to concentrate on the characters in front f me.

I intended to make this evening much more interesting than anything the characters in this film could.

My other half sat there, his legs crossed and his hair falling softy around his shoulders and down his back. His lips were very slightly parted and I watch the rise and fall of his chest as he breathes.

I shift in my seat as I try to focus on anything but him.

Whether or not Ryou was watching me or if he just sensed my eyes on him I will never know, but as I regarded the side profile of Ryou's face through the smaller boy's hair, Ryou turned his eyes to meet mine.

I try to suppress the surprise evident in my face. Ryou blushes.

We watched each other for a while. I know I had fear in my eyes, and can you blame me? He can be pretty sadistic at times. His eyes were unreadable as he leant in closer to me.

He had an almost triumphant smirk hovering around his lips, and he doesn't look away. Our eyes bore into each others, and his hand reaches for mine. He strokes my fingertips and leans in to me, kissing the corner of my mouth gently, before fiercely kissing my lips properly.

It wasn't the clichéd kiss that stories promise. Angels didn't sing and fireworks didn't explode. But that didn't matter, because it felt inexplicably right, and I felt curiously at ease, comforted in an unexplained way.

The last thing I expected him to do, as my emotions ran through those anti-clichéd thoughts, was for him to then sit up, pulling away from me.

Before I can react, he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me onto his lap, my legs either side of his hips, so we are facing each other. His arms are wrapped around my waist, and he pulls me in for a deeper kiss.