Title: Love Taught Me

Disclaimers: Yugioh doesn't belong to me.

Warnings: Male x Male. MPreg.

Chapter Four

"So…when do you return to the doctor?" Yami no Bakura inquired to his Light, raising his crimson tinted brown eyes from the television. Ryou's mouth opened and no words emitted. Bakura ignored the seep of irritation that threatened to rear its ugly head. "What?" he snapped.

Ryou couldn't believe that Bakura had managed to tear himself from Myth Busters long enough to speak with him. Usually Bakura was engrossed with the show. "At the end of the week."

"…Do you want me to go with you?"

Ryou blinked several times. Perhaps he needed to have his hearing checked. Had his dark just volunteered to accompany him to the doctor's? Ryou glanced outside. Nope, pigs weren't flying. Did that mean that…Bakura was truly accepting of the pregnancy? "That's up to you. I…I don't want to burden you with this. I can take care of myself."

"Bullshit," Bakura negated, rolling his eyes. "In eight weeks you'll be having a kid."

"In six weeks we'll know if it's a boy or girl."

"It better be a boy," Bakura growled, crossing his arms in front of his chest huffily, as if Ryou actually had control over the gender of his child. "And it better come out stealing shit."

Ryou stifled his chuckle. Ryou had been spending the past couple of days imagining a happy, content life with Bakura that included their baby, a dog, a mini-van, and a picket fence. Of course, that was absurd. Bakura hated dogs, he hated vehicles in general, and he most definitely wasn't a picket fence man. Besides, Bakura couldn't work. He was a Spirit that had been granted a physical body. Bakura wasn't stupid. In fact, he was incredibly intelligent but Ryou couldn't see Bakura attending college and working a 9 to 5 job. Ryou was blessed that his father sent him enough money to keep him comfortable for now. It wasn't going to last forever.

Bakura's eyes softened as Ryou gently touched his stomach. A chill wound its way down his spine. In there was Bakura's offspring. Growing inside Ryou's body was a living being. He'd never had use for a brat, never wanted one but he couldn't disregard the feelings of pride that coursed through him. He was going to be a father and he was damn determined that he treated his whelp with more affection then his own father had treated him.

"I don't know what I'm going to tell my father or our friends," Ryou said, visage so forlorn that Bakura felt his heart tighten in his chest. "Yami accepted me without question because he knows how Shadow Magic works. Besides Marik, I don't think anyone else will. My father? I can see the conversation now. 'Hi Dad, guess what I'm gay and I'm having your grandchild. Oh, and the father's an insane Spirit from the Sennen Ring. Don't you remember the item you found on one of your Egyptian digs? Well, it has special powers." Ryou frowned. "He'll disown me."

"Fuck your friends," Bakura hissed, feeling strangely protective of Ryou. "And if your father loves you then he won't give a rat's ass."

"You don't understand, Bakura," Ryou sighed, running a hand through his white hair. "Being gay is taboo enough. Having a child with another man that isn't adopted is unconceivable. And, said father happens to be your near twin. People will assume the worst about us."

"Since when did I give a damn about other people's opinions of me?"

"I know you don't but I do," Ryou rose to his feet and headed towards the kitchen. He wasn't surprised that Bakura was behind him. "I don't know what to do," he said, taking a seat at the breakfast nook.

"Who gives a shit?" Bakura sneered, opening the refrigerator. How he adored modern appliances and the convenience that came from it. He was still skeptical about vehicles, washer and dryers, and trash compactors. "I'm not going to fucking listen to you moan and bitch about this and you're not aborting it. So you better damn well get used to the idea that not everyone's going to like this."

Ryou gnawed his lower lip. Bakura had a valid point. Ryou knew he was going to love this child no matter what people thought about him. "I'm sorry. I just, I want to be happy but right now all that I can think about are people being mean." His eyes started to well with tears and he rested his head in his hands.

"No one's going to be mean," he snarled, setting a bowl of salad and chicken breast in front of Ryou. "Now eat."

"Where are you going?" Ryou asked as Bakura headed towards the door.

"Out."

Short and direct. His dark was always like that but Ryou had to admit that he felt warm and fuzzy inside. Bakura had never been this considerate and caring. Bakura used to abuse him mentally and physically but that had changed once Battle City was finished. Bakura had begrudgingly admitted that Ryou was his friend. Bakura fought his inner demons in order to be closer to Ryou. Ryou had always been in love with the Tomb Robber but he knew Bakura would never feel the same for him. That's one of the reasons Ryou wanted to keep his baby. It was the only connection he had to Bakura.

…

"Open the damn door, Pharaoh!"

Yami no Yuugi scowled as he descended the stairs of the Turtle Game Shop. What in the hell did that irritating thief want? To curse him for speaking to Ryou about his pregnancy? "What do you want, Tomb Robber?"

"That insult's a little old, Pharaoh," Bakura rolled his eyes as he shoved his way past Yami. "Besides, I have more important matters to discuss. What did my Light tell you?"

"Enough to know that you have no business being in his life anymore," Yami gritted through clenched teeth. Gods be damned, Bakura could rile him up more then anyone else he'd ever been in contact with.

"I don't think so. It's my brat too," Bakura glared at the hoity-toity leather obsessed twit. "I suggest you quit filling his head with bullshit. Ryou's made his choice. He's mine and I won't let you…interrupt our little love nest."

"Love? You?" Yami chuckled, shaking his head. "Ryou's your possession. He always has been but then again, nothing changes, does it? You think that everything belongs to you, even the people in your life."

"What are you going on about? I'm warning you, Atem," he snarled the name as if it were an offense, "To not turn him against me. As much as you might hate me, do you really want to see Ryou raise that kid on his own?"

"And what can you do for it?! Beat it to submission whenever it cries too much?! Or maybe"

"Stop," Bakura said in a deathly quiet voice. "All of you think the worst about me. Did you know Ryou was scared that I'd beat him into a bloody pulp once he told me that he was carrying my kid? I admit that I haven't been gentle with him in the past but he's the only mortal I can stand to be around. I don't give a fuck what you want me to do, Pharaoh. I won't abandon him."

You've changed, Yami thought. Perhaps Bakura had turned a new leaf but that still didn't mean that Bakura wasn't a psychotic sociopath with klepto and pyro tendencies. "Fine. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. If you so much as lay a hand on Ryou, I'll personally send you to the Shadow Realm."

"…Agreed. Do you know what's happened to him and how?"

"Shadow Magic," Yami responded, relaxing his guard. "There are endless spells that one can cast on a mortal's body."

"I figured that much," he said sarcastically. "Why? Who?"

"I don't know. I've been thinking about it and have no answers."

"Yami?" a voice from the stairs called. Yuugi raised an alarmed brow at the civility between the two. "I thought I heard Bakura. What's going on? It's six," he said, rubbing his eyes with his fist.

"We're finished, Light," Yami said, smiling softly at the smaller youth. Yuugi nodded and groggily went upstairs. Sometimes it killed him to be so close to Yuugi but so far at the same time. A snicker snapped Yami from his thoughts. "Yes?"

"How long have you been pining?" Bakura laughed. "Never mind."

Yami watched Bakura leave the game shop with that irritating smirk of his curling his lips. Was he honestly that easy to read? Had anyone else noticed how he was desperately in love with Yuugi? Maybe that was one of the reasons that Anzu loathed him so vehemently now when she used to be obsessed with him. Had she seen the same love that Bakura had? Yami secretly wished Ryou and Bakura a happy ending. At least someone should be allowed to spend the rest of their life in bliss.

…

Bakura quietly glanced into Ryou's boudoir, not wanting to disturb him. He was reading one of his pregnancy books. One his hands caressed his abdomen. There wasn't a noticeable change in Ryou's weight yet but soon enough he'd show the telltale signs of being with child. He wondered the exact specifics of what went through Ryou's mind. Was he excited? Scared? Nervous? A mixture of all three? Was he ashamed? Bakura sank down onto the bed. "I didn't hear you come in," Ryou commented, raising his eyes from his book. "You didn't get into a fight, did you?"

"No. What are you reading about?"

"He can hear. His inner ear's developed," Ryou beamed, face flushed a lovely glow that warmed Bakura from his toes to his head. "I was debating on putting headphones against my stomach and having him listen to classical music. Experts say that babies that listened to classical music in the womb were more intelligent then those that didn't. I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier."

"How do you expect to provide for it?"

"I'll work. Father sends me money. Um, I can hire a babysitter so I can finish college and get a good job."

"Why hire a babysitter? I can do it."

"Do you even know how to change a diaper? Or to warm a bottle? Or"

"I can figure it out," Bakura snapped. "I'm not an idiot, Light. Are you hungry?"

"What?"

"Are you hungry?" he repeated, knowing that this pregnancy would be the real test for his nerves. Ryou was hormonal to begin with. Now he had a valid reason. "I didn't ask you a hard question."

"You…you took me by surprise," Ryou said softly, cheeks a brilliant shade of rose. "I'm not used to this."

Bakura frowned, tucking a strand of white hair behind Ryou's ear. "It took having a physical body of my own to come to my senses. Those first few years I hated you. You were weak. I didn't want you as my host. Then you betrayed me during Duelist Kingdom. I wanted to rip you apart after that. That's when I used to beat you to submission." Bakura clearly remembered those nights that Ryou would bandage his wounds. There had always been so much blood.

"But you protected me," Ryou said, blushing at Bakura's hand covering his own. Did his dark even realize he was holding onto his hand? "Although, you and Marik were the reasons that I was in the hospital to begin with. You wouldn't let my body take that blast. You switched with me just in time to save me. I would have died if you hadn't done that. I know that you only did it because if I died then so did you and you'd have to find another mortal to leech off of. It still meant a lot to me despite your motive behind it."

"Don't forgive me. I don't deserve it." Bakura lightly stroked Ryou's cheek, swallowing the lump in his throat as Ryou's eyes closed and he unconsciously leaned into the touch. His heart skipped several beats as the pure and utter serenity that softened Ryou's countenance. Bakura paused, stomach clenching tightly as realization dawned on him. Ryou was in love him. How was that even possible? After all the terrible deeds Bakura had done? Ryou's eyes opened only to widen at the confusion etched across Bakura's face. "How long have you been hiding this from me?" came the near growl.

Oh shit, Ryou thought, nauseous. This was not happening to him. This had to have been a dream. Any second now and he'd wake to not be in this situation. He never wanted Bakura to discover the secrets he kept so tightly guarded. The tears were already starting to form as his heart palpitated. Cold sweat trickled down his forehead. This was definitely not a dream. It was a nightmare.

"Ryou? Ryou!" Bakura snapped, panic deluging him as Ryou didn't respond. Ryou had a wild, crazed glimmer in his eyes and his pupils were dilating. "Fuck! Ryou! Son of a bitch," Bakura snarled, grabbing the car keys from the nightstand. He wrapped a blanket around the shivering body of his light. "I'm taking you to the hospital." As much as he hated vehicles, he'd be damned before he let anything happen to Ryou.

…

Hmm. Very wary about this. I haven't written anything from the Yugioh verse in quite a while. I left a cliffhanger! Actually, I'm still debating the turn of this story. I think my friend's pregnancy kind of budged me to write this. (Love ya Tabby!)

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Peace, Love, and Doughnuts!

Shiny Ryuichi Sakuma!!