A/N: Arg, bloody long-ass chappie XP And I'm not gonna be able to update for a week or so.

Disclaimer: Dun own YGO, sadly.

Chapter 7: Sick Puppy

"Bakura, you awake?"

Bakura groggily opened his eyes, blinking a few times to wake up. The first thing he saw was Ryou's blushing red face. He cocked an eyebrow. "Ryou…why are you blushing?" he asked. Ryou blushed harder and looked away, pointing down. Bakura looked, and blushed a bit as well. He was still in the tub, naked. But the embarrassing thing was not that he was naked (for they both had seen the other naked before), but that he was quite visibly "happy". He bent over, covering himself, blushing harder. "Oh…"

"U-um, y-you feel a-a-asleep..." Ryou said shyly. Bakura nodded.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"W-well, you s-sl-slept in there a-all night…so it's seven in the morning." Ryou replied, fidgeting still. Bakura sighed. He was hoping to have slept in his warm bed instead of staying in more cold water.

"Okay. I need to go somewhere in a couple of hours." he said. Ryou flicked his eyes to his yami, still not looking at him fully.

"Where are you going now?" he asked. Bakura growled lightly.

"Why does it matter to you?"

"It's just odd of you to go somewhere and not tell me where you're going. Usually you never leave the house or go terrorize people or go to Marik's." Ryou said, not failing to notice the flinch Bakura made. "Speaking of which, what's going on between you two? Duke and I ran into him yesterday and he looked really, really sad." he asked, turning to Bakura completely. Bakura sighed.

"I don't wanna tell you, Ryou. Leave it at that." he said.

It was hard enough telling Joey all that. He thought. They sat in silence, and then Bakura realized something.

"Hey…why were you out with dice-boy?" Ryou blushed madly, looking at his knees on which he was sitting. When he didn't answer, Bakura put the pieces together and grinned. "No way! You and Duke!" he shouted unnecessarily loud. Ryou's face became redder than a tomato and nodded. Bakura laughed and ruffled Ryou's hair. Ryou let out a small groan.

"Don't tell anyone, Bakura, please. Duke doesn't want anyone to know yet." he pleaded, looking Bakura in the eye. Bakura blinked.

"Why doesn't he?" he asked.

"There's something big going on with his company and he didn't want me in any danger from rival companies!" Ryou blurted, blushing. He then pouted. "But he always takes me out and stuff. So I'm not sure if that thing's over yet…" Bakura grinned.

"So that is where you've been going?"

"Yes."

"Well then, I was right."

"What?"

"I had the suspicion you were going out with somebody. You kept coming home giggling and you were all happy and such." Bakura explained. Ryou blushed and smiled.

"You noticed?" he asked. Bakura blinked, and looked away.

"You're my hikari. Of course I damn well notice." he muttered, making circles in the cold water that was left with his claw of a fingernail. Ryou giggled, and hugged Bakura. Bakura stiffened.

"You've changed so much, Bakura." Ryou said, letting go of his yami. Bakura grumbled something. "Well, I'll leave you to get dressed and such. See you in a few minutes, Bakura." Bakura watched Ryou leave and shut the door, and he sat there, thinking. He wasn't sure if 'anyone' included Joey or not. He seemed a bit worried about Duke the other day, so maybe if he explained that to Ryou he could tell him…

But then that would mean explaining why he was even with Joey all day. Shit. He wasn't exactly ready to tell Ryou about them two. Hell, he wasn't even sure if they were really going out! It didn't matter, really, because Bakura was going to tell Joey whether Ryou liked it or not, he decided.

He sighed, standing up and grabbing a towel. He needed to hurry if he wanted to take Joey to eat or something. Or maybe he could make something for him; like soup. He could make soup. It wasn't burn-to-a-crisp-able. Bakura hit his forehead after letting the bath water drain. He was becoming too damn soft. When back then he wouldn't have cared if Joey was ill, he was now thinking about fixing him soup. What had happened? Was it Ryou? Malik? Maybe even Marik? What had happened to him to make him so… caring? He couldn't figure it out.

Bakura shook his head, and wandered back into his room. He'd think about it later. He grabbed some clothes from his closet and the floor, slipping them on tiredly. He sauntered back out and to the kitchen, where Ryou was making breakfast. There was a large amount of bacon already cooked resting on paper towels to soak up grease on the table and he could still hear some sizzling. Bakura peeked in, watching Ryou scamper about. He smirked at the frilly apron he wore. Ryou could be such a girl at times.

Maybe that was one reason why he and Duke were together…they had that little fact in common.

Bakura shrugged a bit, and tapped Ryou on the shoulder. Ryou jumped, yelping. He spun around, shrieking, "Bakura!" Bakura laughed, ruffling Ryou's hair. Ryou pouted. "You know how much I don't like it when you sneak up on me like that."

"Which is exactly why I do it." Bakura answered, grinning. Ryou sighed.

"It's a wonder why you and Duke aren't friends. You two are so much alike it scares me at times." he said, turning back to his scrambling eggs. Bakura chuckled.

"Well maybe if you'd bring your boyfriend over we'd see if it worked out." he stated, walking back to the table to grab his favorite breakfast meat.

"I'll ask him if he wants to stay for dinner tonight." Ryou said. He looked over his shoulder at Bakura…who was stuffing his face with bacon. "You are coming home tonight, right? You stayed out pretty late yesterday." Bakura looked up from his bacon-eating, and swallowed.

"I might. Depends on how long I stay at Jo—" he said, but stopped himself in mid-sentence. Ryou noticed, and looked at Bakura.

"Where?"

"N-nowhere."

"Bakura…"

"What!"

"You're hiding something."

Bakura gulped, staring at what was left of the bacon pile. "Wh-what makes you s-say that?" he stuttered. Ryou rolled his eyes and finished up his eggs, setting them on the table along with some toast, waffles and more bacon.

"You're stuttering and you never do that, for one thing." he said, trotting off to get plates and silverware. "Two, I've also noticed you were in a very good mood last night and so far this morning. By now you would have yelled at me once for something." Bakura grabbed his things from Ryou's hands and started piling food on his plate.

"So? Besides, I'm wide awake. I yell at you only when I'm half-asleep." he lied, also choosing to not explain last night when he had arrived home. He was still tired from yesterday and no where near being wide-awake. Ryou rolled his eyes yet again, fixing his own plate as he sat down.

"Wide awake? Then explain why your eyes are drooping." he said, taking a bite of his eggs. Bakura blinked, finding that he had to force them back open.

"…Shut up."

"Where'd you go yesterday? Most surely you couldn't have done that much in the rain and at the park! And who did you see? You never told me." Ryou persisted, looking Bakura in the eye until said yami turned his head down.

"Why do you wanna know?" Bakura groaned, nibbling half-heartedly on a piece of bacon with some scrambled egg laid on top.

"I'm worried. And I'm curious." Ryou replied, pointing at Bakura with his fork. Bakura stuffed the rest of the bacon-with-eggs-on-top in his mouth, pouting a bit.

"…When I leave I might tell you."

"You better."

"Is that a threat I detect, Ryou?"

"Depends on my mood when you leave."

"Ooo I'm soooo scared."

"You better be."

"…Ryou?"

"Yes?"

"Just how long have you and Duke been dating?"

Joey sneezed for the tenth time that morning and rubbed his nose. He was seated upright in bed, a box of tissues handy on his bedside table. Whenever he was sick, he'd usually go to Yugi's or Tristan's because of his father. But his dad's new girlfriend stayed over, and was currently mothering him as if he were her own child. Joey was glad for the hospitality she was giving, but he really wanted Bakura next to him. He sighed, and sneezed again.

"Which is that? The tenth or eleventh one?" Martha asked, smiling. Joey chuckled and sniffled.

"Eleventh." he said. Martha giggled and smiled. Joey was surprised at how nice the green-eyed brunette was. Usually the girls his dad brought home were either trashy or dumb or fake-nice. This one was smart, kind, funny, and overall, very tolerant of just about anything. Joey grinned and sneezed again. "Twelve."

Martha smiled again. "Here, I'll go get you some more soup. I'll be right back, Joey." she said softly and trotted out of his room. Joey nodded, and stared at the wall. Where was Bakura? He had said he'd come…

Ding-dong!

Joey jumped, and stared with large, excited eyes out his door. "I'll get it!" he heard Martha cry. He grinned, unaware that he was bouncing on his bed.

"Bye, Ryou." Bakura said, patting Ryou's fluffy white head. Ryou smiled and gave Bakura a little hug.

"Aren't you going to tell me who you're in such a rush to see at nine o' clock in the morning?" he asked. Bakura groaned.

"Fine. I have to whisper it though." he muttered, a faint blush on his cheeks. Ryou clapped his hands, and leant towards Bakura. Bakura sighed, and whispered in Ryou's ear. Ryou blinked and then stared at Bakura, bewildered. Bakura blushed a bit harder and nodded, opening the door and walking out, leaving a confused hikari with a tiny little smile on his face standing behind the door.

Bakura took the bus instead of walking since he was still tired from yesterday. Before he had to walk everywhere, he had Marik or Malik take him places since he didn't really want a car or anything. But Malik was out of continent and he had currently distanced himself completely from Marik for obvious reasons. So, the bus it was.

When he was dropped off, he frowned. It was still a few minutes to Joey's. He let out a small sigh, and trekked down the side walk, glad he wore the long-sleeved Godsmack shirt he had stolen last week. He was still cold from yesterday's rain and sleeping in the bathtub. Truthfully, he never wanted to see water again.

Bakura went up the stairs of Joey's apartment complex, and stared at the door. Yup. It was the Wheeler's. He rapped lightly on the door and rang the door bell. He heard the same female voice from last night call out, "I'll get it!" The door opened and he was greeted with a woman with long, thick brown hair and kind green eyes. She jumped a bit when she saw Bakura, but smiled.

"Hello. This is the Wheeler residence. Can I help you, sir?" she asked. Bakura could hear nervousness in her voice and gave a slight nod.

"Joey's here, right?" he asked. The woman smiled and clapped her hands in a way that reminded Bakura of Ryou.

"Oh, you're a friend of his? He has a little cold and I think he could use your company. Come in, come in, mister…"

"Bakura."

"Welcome, Bakura!"

Bakura smirked and walked in, slipping off his shoes. The apartment smelt of alcohol, but there weren't many beer bottles on the floor. The shards that he had expected to be there from the day before weren't visible, either. "Um, where's Joey's ro—"

"Bakura!" a voice called from down the hall. Bakura grinned.

"Never mind." he said and speed-walked to Joey's room. He heard a sneeze, and walked in the room just as Joey was wiping his nose with a Kleenex. He made a 'tsk tsk' sound, waving his finger. "Aren't you glad I brought you home earlier than you wanted?" he asked. Joey laughed and spread his arms.

"Just c'mere, 'Kura." he said. Bakura sat on Joey's bed, instantly getting hugged by the blond. Bakura didn't respond much, only rested his head on Joey's shoulder.

"How are you?" he asked, pulling away. Joey sighed and smiled.

"Fine. Thirteen sneezes already." he said, grinning. Bakura chuckled.

"You're counting?"

"Martha encouraged it."

Bakura blinked. "Is she that woman?" he asked. Joey nodded.

"Yeah. She's dad's new girl. She's actually really nice." he said with his happy-go-lucky smile.

"She's been treating you okay?" Bakura asked. Joey chuckled, nodding.

"She's been great. Dad has too. He's out looking for a job right now." he said happily. Bakura smirked widely and kissed Joey softly.

"That's good." he said. Joey nodded, grinning.

"And I've also got a certain someone I'd like to go on a date with sometime." he hinted, looking at Bakura with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Bakura looked shocked for a moment, but chuckled.

"What if that certain someone doesn't know where to take his certain someone?" he asked. Joey made a pondering 'hmm' sound.

"Well, my certain someone can take his certain someone wherever he wants."

"And when is his certain someone going to feel better?"

"In a day or two."

"Yes!"

Joey laughed, hugging Bakura tight. They spent the rest of the hours talking and joking around until lunch came rolling around. Martha came in just when Bakura was done pecking Joey's cheek. They both froze when she arrived, not sure how she would take seeing some psychotic albino kissing her boyfriend's son. Luckily she didn't notice, and smiled her kind smile.

"It's lunch time!" she announced. Joey smiled while Bakura smirked, looking at each other in an unsaid victory. "What do you two want? We've got plenty of soup!" Martha said, laughing nervously. Bakura stood up.

"I'll make it for him." he said. Joey blushed a little, smiling. Bakura grinned back, and waltzed out into the hall, looking for the kitchen. He found it easily, and began to search through the pantries. When he opened one cabinet, he was taken aback to find it full of soup cans. "Plenty of soup, indeed…" he muttered. He pulled out a few, reading each of the labels. It was only then he realized that he had no idea what Joey liked. Slightly embarrassed, he went back to Joey's room, peeking in.

Joey smiled warmly up at him. "Yes, Bakura?" he inquired.

Bakura blushed a little. "Umm…what kind of soup do you like?" he asked, looking down at his feet. He heard Joey make a giggling sound, smirking at how girly he had sounded.

"Chicken noodle." Joey replied. Martha giggled and walked out the room. Bakura took the chance when she wasn't looking to race in and give Joey a quick kiss on the lips, trotting back out smirking. He could just imagine the cute little blush on the blonde's face. When he stepped into the kitchen, he found Martha taking a couple of bowls from the dish washer, setting them on the counter side-by-side. She looked up as he came in, and smiled.

"I'm so glad he has friends like you, Bakura." she said, stepping away to go clean another part of the counter. Bakura didn't reply and walked to the soups that he had taken out, picking up the one he clearly remembered labeled 'Chicken Noodle' without looking at it. Thieves were special like that.

"I'm just glad I met him." he finally said, reading the directions carefully. He was banned from the microwave unless supervised. He was banned from the stove and oven completely. Bakura sighed, and put the tip of his thumb nail around the rim of the can, calculating how much pressure he needed. When he figured it out, he easily broke the aluminum, an indifferent expression on his face. He heard a yelp of utter shock next to him, and looked up to see Martha with a paled face.

"H-h-how d-did you d-do­ that!" she asked, gasping. Bakura shrugged.

"I dunno. I've always been strong, I guess." he said nonchalantly. Martha gulped and went back to nervously wiping the counter.

"I-I see…"

Bakura blinked for a moment, and then shrugged it off. Modern-day humans were strange. He dragged his nail along the inner rim, slicing off the top. He pulled the rest off when he could, preferring not to do anything to his well-grown claw. Grabbing a bowl, he re-read the instructions. "Um…I hate doing this, but can you help me?" he asked. Martha looked up, surprised again.

"Umm, sure…" she said. Bakura watched her pour the soup into the bowl and put it into the microwave. He stared as she pressed the numbered buttons, mesmerized when the inside lit up and the bowl began turning around while the machine hummed steadily. Martha noticed his dazed look and smiled. "You okay, Bakura?"

Bakura shook his head, shooing away the awe. "I'm fine. My hika—um, brother doesn't let me use the microwave." he explained. Martha nodded and started helping him put up the unused cans. The only noise was the microwave's fan and the setting of cans on cabinet shelves for a while.

"Why did I buy so much soup?" Martha muttered. Bakura chuckled.

"My brother does that all the time. He buys these enormous amounts of food and most of the time we never eat it."

"Really? What about your parents?"

Bakura went silent, his arm pausing in mid-air with a soup can still in his grasp. "…Killed." he muttered, mainly thinking about his own parents instead of Ryou's. Martha gasped, almost dropping a can.

"Oh dear!"

"It's fine. We've been living like this for a long time." Bakura hastily said, not wanting to go into detail. Martha sighed sadly.

"I'm very sorry." she said. Bakura didn't reply, only finished up putting up the cans. He turned back to staring at the bowl of soup spin.

"You have no idea how much I've heard that in only a few months." he said almost as softly as he would speak to Joey. Martha looked at him with pity.

"Well…how did you meet Joey?" she asked, changing the subject. The microwave beeped a few times, causing Bakura to get startled and jump. Martha giggled, and took out the soup. "Just a little longer." she murmured, putting the bowl back in and resetting the microwave. Bakura glared at the machine and huffed.

"Well, it's embarrassing how we met as friends, but I've known him since my brother became friends with him." he responded to Martha's question. Martha smiled.

"What's your brother's name?"

"Ryou."

"That's a nice name. Do you have any other siblings?"

"…Amane."

"How old is she?"

"I forget sometimes how old she would be right now."

Martha stared blankly at him. "Did…she…"

"Yeah."

"Oh my God…" Martha gasped yet again. Bakura flinched. "What's wrong?"

"I'm big on the Egyptian gods." he said stiffly. Martha blinked for a moment. "Our dad loved Egypt."

"I see…I think…"

"It doesn't matter. And is the soup supposed to be doing that?" Bakura finished, pointing to the boiling soup. Martha gave a little squeal of surprise, and before she could get to the microwave, Bakura had already clicked open the white microwave door and taken it out with his bare hands. Martha gaped at him.

"Isn't that hot!" she shrieked with worry. Bakura blinked at her, clearly unaffected by the burning hot glass bowl.

"It's warm…"

Martha stared at the bowl and touched it, yelping. "Eep!" Bakura chuckled, and set the bowl on the counter then closed the microwave door.

"Where're the spoons?" he asked. Martha got one for him and handed him a paper towel. She, still awed by Bakura, watched him leave to Joey's room. It was then she noticed that he didn't fix himself anything, and quietly put the bowl up.

"Hey, 'Kura." Joey greeted when Bakura came in. Bakura grinned and sat on Joey's bed, putting the bowl of soup in his lap.

"Oi, sick puppy." he joked, kissing Joey's cheek sweetly. Joey didn't even bother to protest, knowing that Bakura would just shut him up in one way or another. He sighed, and kissed Bakura back.

"I heard Martha gasp and yelp a few times. What'd you do?" he asked. Bakura stared at him for a moment, and then chuckled.

"I guess I freaked her out a little."

"…Weirdo."

"Of course. Now do you want me to feed this to you?"

Joey blushed. "Y-you don't have to…" Bakura shrugged, dipping the spoon in the soup, pieces of chicken and noodle drifting in with the broth. He carefully lifted it out, and stared at the steam coming from it.

"How do I cool it down?" he asked. Joey laughed and sneezed. He rubbed his nose, and smiled at Bakura.

"You blow on it." he said. Bakura paused for a moment, and then blew hard, causing it to splatter everywhere. He gazed at the now empty spoon, ignoring the fact that the previous spoonful was now soaking into his black cargo pants.

"Joey…it didn't work." he stated. Joey laughed again, and hugged Bakura, careful not to spill the bowl on his lap.

"'Kura you're so cute!" he said adoringly. Bakura blushed lightly and tapped Joey's head with the spoon.

"You are too. Now tell me how I really do this."

"I did. You blow. But not as hard as you just did."

Bakura sighed, and dunked the spoon back in, taking it out and staring at it. "How hard do I blow it?" he asked. Joey thought for a moment and grinned. He leant in to Bakura's ear, licking it and nipping at his earlobe. Bakura's breath hitched as Joey's tongue tickled his ear, a bolder blush coming to his cheeks. Joey then blew softly on Bakura's wet ear, sending shivers down Bakura's spine.

"Like that, 'Kura." he whispered, his warm breath cold on Bakura's ear. Bakura nodded, and looked at the spoon filled with chicken, little pieces of noodle and steaming broth. He puckered his lips, and slowly blew. The broth wavered a little in the spoon's crater, but didn't fly out. Bakura grinned and looked at Joey. Joey smiled. "That's it!" he said. Bakura nodded.

"Now open up." he said, nearing the spoon to Joey's lips. Joey parted his mouth, giggling when Bakura put the spoon in his mouth. He swallowed and the spoon was gently slid away between his lips. Bakura smirked. "This is easy."

Joey chuckled, kissing his ear again. "You're weird."

"I think we've already settled that issue."

"We have, but what's wrong with bringing back up?"

"What's wrong with it is that it's keeping you from eating. Open up."

Joey obliged. This went on for a while, Joey wanting to talk rather than eat and Bakura wanting to feed him rather than talk. Finally when the soup had completely vanished from the bowl, Joey had his way and would only stop for a sneeze. Bakura usually would have shut him up, but had no will to. Joey usually would have paused to let Bakura have a word, but found that bothering the yami was much more fun. Whenever they would try to start kissing or something, Martha would come bouncing in.

Frankly this annoyed Bakura more than Joey's non-stop talking. He was glad when she had excused herself to go run errands, meaning that the two had the entire apartment to themselves. Joey apparently had the same idea when he suddenly captured Bakura in a tight hug and kissed him full on the lips. Bakura was starting to think that it'd go into making out, but a sudden voice starting singing. Joey broke the kiss, and looked regretfully at his pants on the floor where the sounds seemed to be coming from.

Bakura looked as well, glaring at the pants. He could see a faint glow from the pocket area flashing a blue-ish color. Joey groaned and reached over Bakura to get them, but Bakura snatched them up just when he was starting to lay in his lap. He rummaged through the pockets, and pulled out a silver cell phone that was still singing and blinking.

"Who is it?" Joey asked. Bakura shrugged and looked at the screen, freezing instantly at the name in bold.