Ok, before I start, SORRY for the extremely late update. Really! I had a really bad case of writer's block for three or four months. And I'm finally over it, so I'm typing as fast as I can. The sporadic trips that have come up over the summer haven't really helped things there. I will try to get this chapter up before I leave for camp for two weeks.

Disclaimer: I'm sure you got it by now.

Warning: YAOI! Though I don't know why you've read this far if you have a problem with that…also randomness, etc. And rambling. Lots of that.

And now for review responses!

Hikari Flame: Actually I got major writer's block for evilness….so for at least the first part of the chapter I'll be nice. Later on I got ideas.

Molly( ): I have no clue if people can breathe while French kissing. You see, I've never tried it. I'll trust you there. Yes, I do just like writing fluff, even if it's not particularly easy for me. Was it that obvious?

Demonfer: thanks for reviewing! I got 2 from you, so I'm just going to blend them into one response because I'm being lazy. Well it's 8:30 AM, what do you expect? Anyways, glad you like kissing. I'd have to agree with what you said about that….hehehe…by the way, it was Bakura who said that. I know I sometimes start with the same word a lot. I'm trying to fix that, but it's hard. I've had that particular problem for years…I'm working on it. I still don't like it, but I would have been surprised if no one had noticed.

Yamijenny: Glad you like it so far. Did you read the prequel? If not, go read Thief's Brother BEFORE you read this chapter.

Kotori-chan: Yes, fluff is good. Planning to continue!

Uzulu: First of all, I'm glad you like my style. Thanks. But have you noticed that a lot of stories on this site don't follow the information on the TV show exactly? If they did, every story would be almost exactly the same. It's more fun--for both authors and readers--just to let our imaginations roam. It makes for more interesting stuff, too. I know all of this stuff--I just disregarded it.

I'm surprised I didn't get more reviews for the last chapter of Thief's Brother yet. I thought a whole lot of people were going to try to kill me somehow…or at least yell at me a lot. Maybe they were too mad at me to review… :-( Anyways, here are review responses--or really, RESPONSE--for that last chapter.

Molly ( ): ….I did tell you ahead of time, you know. Why didn't you get mad at me then instead? (People, I told molly because I know her and I was asking her if she thought it was a good way to end before I was sure how to end that story.)

Chapter 3

Bakura walked in late that evening, having no clue what had happened earlier in the day. Whenever he went off on his little--trips, the link shaped by yami and hikari was always blocked. He didn't want his light to be exposed to all of his bad habits, and Ryou understood that.

As he walked in, he opened the link again. There was no reason to keep it closed here. From what he could tell, Ryou was fast asleep and possibly having pleasant dreams, as he radiated happiness and satisfaction. The spirit smiled. He would make sure not to wake his hikari.

He wandered around the house. It was night by now, but the thief king didn't feel tired. The spirit also knew that he could wander around without disturbing his hikari--skills left over from his days as a tomb robber. Bakura wished he could think of that time as "fond memories," but they were anything but that. Better not to think about it….

He walked into the living room. Suddenly, the spirit stopped, staring openly at the sofa. There was Ryou, curled up in Malik's arms! Well, he couldn't deny that he'd expected it. After what had happened…back then….no, better not to think of it. He shook his head, hoping to clear it.

Both of the boys in front of him were fast asleep, but it was obvious that it would be impossible to move either without waking both. Bakura shook his head again and left them there, knowing from the pleasant feelings he was receiving through the mind link that his hikari was happy.

The Next Day

Ryou yawned as he awoke, feeling warmer than he usually did when he got up. Slowly, he looked up at his "pillow," momentarily surprised to see Malik. He got over that quickly and burrowed deeper into the older teen's chest.

As he snuggled closer, he felt his new boyfriend stir slightly, then felt a pair of pale lilac eyes upon the back of his head. Looking up into Malik's eyes, the pale-haired boy smiled gently.

"Morning," Malik whispered as be bent down to steal a kiss from the younger teen.

Eventually Ryou stood up. "Breakfast time!"

Malik glanced over at him before starting into the kitchen. "So long as I don't have to cook--Isis hasn't let me near the stove since I accidentally blew up our old one."

The pale boy began to giggle. "Then I guess it's a good thing I know how to cook. Come on, I'll teach you how to make donuts"

They set about making food. Ryou made dough and dipped it in boiling oil while Malik sprinkled powdered sugar on top of the newly made donuts. Soon they had enough to start eating.

Bakura walked in, announcing, "I smell food!" Suddenly, he paused. "Hikari…."

"Mmph…yesh?" Ryou had just taken a large bite of donut.

"How many of those do you plan on eating?" Ryou just smiled at his yami's question. The spirit sat down groaning.

Malik looked over at him. Maybe Bakura didn't really like the idea of him being there, but at least he hadn't told him to leave yet. And he wanted to know why the thief was acting like that…."Hey Bakura? What's with the groan?"

The answer was a single question that said it all. "Have you ever seen Ryou on a sugar high?"

A few minutes later the Egyptian had definitely seen enough of a hyperactive Ryou. Bakura had made it clear that if Malik wanted to date his hikari, then the Egyptian was the one that got to deal with sugar highs and other stuff like that. Well, he couldn't deny that his boyfriend was still really cute….just in a more BOUNCY way than usual.

Lost in thought, he was surprised when Ryou suddenly jumped on his back. "Malik! Will you give me a piggyback ride?" Laughing, he agreed. Who could say no to that face?

Eventually the Egyptian was able to get Ryou to go for a walk instead of bouncing around the house all day. Walking down the sidewalk towards the park, the pale hikari ran ahead of his lover, yelling at his boyfriend to hurry up. Malik did so, and soon they reached an area of the city that was covered in trees, grass, and paths. Children played on the playground while their mothers watched, and the park held an aura of peace and tranquility.

Ryou ran ahead again as Malik slowed to a walk. Out of breath, he looked around for a drinking fountain. Finally finding one, he got a drink and looked around for his boyfriend. 'Where can he have gone that fast?' he wondered. He'd only looked away for maybe a minute, and the pale hikari was gone. And it would be noticeable if Ryou was there….white hair wasn't exactly common in Japan.

"Ryou….Hey Ry!" He called. "Where'd you go?" There was no answer. Malik began to feel worried; it wasn't like the other teen to disappear like that. "Ryou, this isn't funny. Where are you?" The Egyptian found himself running down a narrow trail boardered by thick trees. His boyfriend could be just a few feet off the trail and he'd never see him…

He became more desperate as he got farther into a forest, with no sign of the missing teen. Suddenly, he heard a noise to the side of the path, a few yards ahead of him. It sounded like two people were fighting….

'Well,' he thought, 'at least it might be worth checking out.' Malik plunged into the bushes, making sure to be quiet enough that no one would hear him coming. He didn't want whoever was fighting to attack him, too.

Soon he could see what was going on. It looked like some guy who looked like he spent a little too much time at the gym was trying to drag a much smaller boy away. The smaller guy was putting up a struggle, but….

Then he noticed the smaller boy's silvery hair.

He jumped out from the bush he'd been behind. "Ryou!" he shouted. Both of the other teens looked at him. Ryou's eyes widened in recognition, and his struggles increased. By now Malik had noticed the muffled sounds coming from his boyfriend, and the hand covering his mouth.

He walked up to the other boy, who was quite a bit bulkier than him. Well, so were most people--as a vegetarian, he stayed pretty thin. Of course, that didn't mean he was weak….but a lot of people didn't realize that.

"Let him go." He said quietly.

The other teen just smirked at him. "And what're you gonna do about it? Make me?" Malik simply stared at him for a minute or two, before suddenly attacking, surprising the bigger boy.

All he could think was, 'Hope Ryou got out of the way….'

The fight didn't last as long as Malik had expected. Apparently, big muscles slowed people down….'Makes it easy for the rest of us,' he thought.

He quickly ran over to where Ryou had fallen, pulling the teen into his arms. "Ry, you all right? What happened?" The younger boy looked up at him, eyes full of tears, before collapsing against him, sobbing. Malik wrapped his arms more tightly around his young boyfriend, pulling the hikari closer to his chest. "Ry, it's ok, I'm here…." He whispered softly.

Suddenly there was a crashing in the bushes. Both teens looked up, startled, as Bakura ran into the clearing. "What the--" he exclaimed. "Hikari, what…." He knelt over by his hikari, who still hadn't spoken a word. Suddenly, he looked over at Malik. "What happened here?"

Malik shrugged as he answered. "Not really sure. When I got here, some guy was trying to drag him off. I don't really know what happened before that, and Ry hasn't said anything."

The spirit glanced down at the pale teen. Using the mental link, he asked, 'Hikari? You want to tell us what happened? If you don't you can show me and I'll tell Malik.' The teen didn't need to answer; the images that began to show in Bakura's head were proof that he'd gone with the second option.

()()()(flashback)()()()

Ryou was running down the path through the forest, using up the energy he'd gotten from the donuts. Suddenly, he saw a large teen standing ahead of him, blocking the path. He slowed to a walk, stopping a few yards in front of the other boy. "Excuse me," he said, walking forward as if to pass by the other person. However, the bulky teen stepped in front of him to block the path again.

"Where do you think you're going?" he said, his voice deep and grating. Bakura felt his hikari's confusion at this comment, and then a sense of fear as the other teen continued. "No answer? Then I think you with me." The last three words were spoken quietly, and the bigger teen began to grin as he spoke. "Yes, that's a good idea…." With that, he grabbed Ryou's arm and began to drag him into the woods. The pale teen began to struggle, only to have his arm twisted behind him. He screamed in pain, and his attacker clamped a large hand over his mouth. "Quiet, baka! Wouldn't want anyone to hear you, now would we?" His voice lowered to a murmur as he pushed Ryou farther into the woods. "We can have lots of fun together…lots of fun…." His hand let go of Ryou's arm and slid down his back, stopping at his butt. The hikari began to panic, thrashing and doing everything he could to escape, to no avail.

At that point, Malik burst into the clearing. Bakura knew what happened after this, so he closed the link, ending the memory.

()()()(end flashback--I hope you all guessed that…)()()()

Bakura quickly explained what he'd seen to Malik, keeping his hikari close to him as he did so. When he finished, Malik reached for Ryou, pulling his boyfriend close to his chest. "Oh Ry…." The boy curled up against him, sobbing again. "Shh, Ryou, it's OK, I'm here…" The only thing important to him right now was to comfort his Ryou…'wait…' he thought. 'My Ryou?' Then he settled down, holding the younger teen as close to him as he could. 'All right, then. My Ryou.'

Bakura's thoughts were very different as he watched the couple. 'Just like then….why is this happening again?'

Later that day, Ryou had fallen asleep in Malik's arms. They were all at Ryou's father's house, although currently it was just the teen living there, along with his yami; his father was still in Egypt, working at his latest dig. The couple was sitting on one of the sofas in the living room when Bakura walked into the room. "Hey," he said. "Can I talk to you about something?"

The Egyptian glanced over at him, startled. Apparantly he hadn't noticed the tomb robber enter. "Sure," he said quietly, "so long as you don't wake him up." He tilted his head towards the pale teen in his lap.

Bakura smiled. "No problem." He sighed as he flopped down next to Malik. "Listen…about what I said a few days ago…..I think today proved more than you realize." After all, Malik couldn't remember the past…could he? Bakura didn't think so. So he couldn't realize that things were working out the same way as they did in Egypt….

In Malik's lap, Ryou lay dreaming. In his mind, a whole scene was playing out….scenes flashed by, then faded, only to be replaced by another scene.

()()()(dream sequence)()()()

He was running down a narrow city street, close behind someone who he somehow knew to be Bakura…but in the dream, Bakura wasn't his yami, he was his brother, and he wasn't a tomb robber, he just stole sometimes when they needed it to survive. He wasn't sure where their parents were….

Then that scene disappeared just as some guards grabbed them, and he noticed that Bakura was unconscious….

Then he was in a small, dark room, crying. Bakura was gone, he didn't know where he went….he didn't know where he was….

And then he was running around with Malik….it was definitely Malik, not just someone who looked the same. He just knew it was.

And then it was night. He was in a garden, surrounded by desert flowers and other plants. A man was holding on to him and he couldn't get away. He needed to escape….but he was trapped…panic overtook him. Then he heard Malik's voice, and all of a sudden he was safe with him, and the other man had disappeared.

And then he was awake, still in the Egyptian's arms.

()()()(end dream sequence)()()()

In fact, end chapter. That's a full five pages of writing, not including the author's notes. Well, I'm getting better.

Tell me what you think! It gives me inspiration and helps me concentrate.

Oh yeah, and I'm going to camp to learn Japanese for 2 weeks, and will write more once I return. So no updates for 2 weeks….I hope to have quicker updates now than in the past once I'm back home, though.