Sorry for the wait. I didn't have any Kleptoshipping inspiration. The next chapters for my other stories will be out soon, now that school is over. Please read and review.

The Thief King remained silent for the rest of the morning. After some gentle prodding and even gentler words of comfort, Yugi managed to get Bakura into some kind of bed, letting him sleep on the couch for the rest of the day. Sleep was the farthest thing from Bakura's mind at the moment. The same self-loathing questions plagued his mind as he lay there, threatening him with pain worse than death. He could handle torture, rape, mental anguish; he had seen that all before. What, however, was he doing to Yugi?

He rolled over on the couch, facing the back cushions to ponder this a bit more. The small teen obviously had strong feelings for him... and Bakura was leading him on. Heartbreak was not an issue Bakura had dealt with.

"I brought you some tea." The thief froze at the sound of Yugi's voice. "I'll just leave it, for when you want it." Soft footsteps that Bakura couldn't believe he hadn't heard the first time traveled away until there was reigning silence once again. Bakura released a breath he didn't know he had been holding. He wanted to hear Yugi's voice again, wanted to hear him say so much more, wanted him to tell the thief to get out, to never come back again, to fuck out of his life-

But he knew Yugi would never do that. The kid was just too nice. Back when he was still known as the Thief King, showing kindness to anyone who wasn't direct kin was a ticket to your grave; inviting someone strange into your house was out of the question, almost inconceivable. And yet…

His thoughts were interrupted again when Yugi passed behind the couch, his footsteps quicker and lighter than before. Maybe he didn't want to disturb the thief? Bakura sat up, the blanket that he only just realized was placed over his thin form while he was asleep falling to the floor, and watched Yugi make his way down the hall toward his bedroom. The thief waited a few more seconds, curious, and got a pleasant surprise when Yugi peeked back into the living room and blushed a dark red when he saw that Bakura was awake.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, heliotrope eyes daring to stare into Bakura's mahogany until anxiety got the best of him and he looked to the floor. "I'm sorry, I was just worried."

That word again. 'Sorry'. Yugi's replies consisted of apologies and compassion, omitting judgment, anger, hatred, and any other emotion that one should associate with Bakura. "You shouldn't be, little one." The thief was proud of himself for that statement. It seemed to calm Yugi's nerves a bit.

The violet-eyed beauty came hesitantly closer, resting one hand on the back of the couch while the other flexed at his side. "Worried? I know, you can take care of yourself, and I'm s-"

Bakura took Yugi's shaky hand, back facing up, and placed it on top of his head, where he knew it was itching to go. "No. You shouldn't be sorry, especially not for me. You've done nothing wrong..." You've done too much right, Bakura finished silently.

Yugi paused, then started to run his fingers through Bakura's soft hair. "... Bakura," he started, and the thief waited patiently, almost seeing the thoughts running through the fragile boy's head, until he settled on silence again. It wasn't uncomfortable in the slightest, but Bakura wanted to start Yugi on a topic, any topic, just to hear him speak again.

"Yes?" he prompted gently, leaning into Yugi's touch and making a slight sound akin to purring in the back of his throat.

That didn't exactly snap the smaller into gear, but he did start to think about what he was going to say again. "I... I want to ask you something, but I don't know if you'll take it the wrong way..."

At this point, Bakura couldn't care less if he was kicked out. He was too busy memorizing the feel of Yugi's hand, the smell of his skin, the sound of his voice, the utter pulchritude that he exuded-

"Bakura?" The thief hummed, quite uncharacteristically, in response. "Well, um…"

"Yugi, just say it," Bakura mumbled, a little more harsh than he intended.

"Do you want to stay here? With me?" He tried, and failed, to wipe the worry from his expression, but Bakura understood, looking up at him with the slightest smirk on his face.

He sighed, leaning back against the arm of the couch. "Do you want me to?" he asked, not unkindly.

Yugi nodded. "I like you here… I like not being alone."

Something ripped through Bakura's heart when Yugi said this, making his breath catch in his chest. Apparently the Pharaoh's departure was fresh in his mind, as well as the death of his grandfather. "I'll stay as long as you'll have me, little one," he managed to say. "I enjoy your company as well."

"Thank you, Bakura. Thank you so much." The teen's breathtaking eyes were alight with excitement and happiness. Bakura studied them for a few seconds, deciding that he liked when Yugi looked that way, especially when he caused it.

The thief closed his eyes, an unintentional dismissal to Yugi, who heeded it without question. He let himself fall back on the couch and again pondered his ever-growing connection with Yugi. What in Ra's name am I doing to him?