A/N: (topples over dead) oh well the show must go on.

Cold and Lonely

Chapter Five

Yuugi chased the last bit of scrambled eggs around the plate with his fork. Bakura, moving swiftly, beat him to it and deposited it on the sole biscuit and sausage….which Yuugi promptly stole out of his hand.

"Damn! How'd you do that?" Yuugi shrugged, his mouth too full of food to answer. Bakura grumbled for a bit, and then drank Yuugi's chocolate milk in retaliation. The small teen pouted while his companion chuckled triumphantly.

Yuugi, despite being oddly happy for the first time in a LONG time, was also slightly unnerved. Sure, Bakura had been acting really odd last night, but this morning…he was downright cheerful! Which was definitely NOT how big, bad, evil Yami Bakura was supposed to act. Yuugi DID have the distinct impression that his host was doing a lot of it to put him at ease, and yet….none of the niceness seemed strained. Almost…natural. Was that even possible? One way to find out…..

"Hey, Bakura?…..I hope you don't mind my asking, but what the hell has gotten into you? No offense, but you used to be, well, an asshole!"

Bakura raised an eyebrow at Yugi's choice of words, "And whom would expect sweet, innocent little Yuugi to swear?" Or Ryo for that matter…

"Touché. Okay, no answers unless you want to give them."

"Nah, It's okay. Nothing big…" Bakura leaned towards Yugi, careful not to put an elbow in his plate. "It's not possible to have all this stuff," he motioned vastly at his apartment, "without money. And for money, you need a job."

"Now…" at this he lowered his voice conspiratorially, "do you realize how hard it is to keep a job when you send EVERY annoying customer to the Shadow Realm?"

"You didn't!"

"I did. Thirty-seven people had an impromptu vacation courtesy of me before my current boss, who thinks I just yelled at them, enrolled me in anger management and public relations classes." Yuugi couldn't help but giggle at the thought of Bakura taking an anger management course. He thought it must have been pretty wild.

"So…what about the people?"

Bakura waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, them. I eventually found them and erased their memories…though I think one is claiming to have been abducted by aliens." That got a laugh out of both of them.

"So all it took was a few classes for you to get like this?"

"You make it sound like a disease. But, yeah, that and a healthy desire to keep a job…plus Malik….."

Yuugi cut his host off, "Marik? The insane psychopath helped you REFORM?"

"Odd, huh? But Malik…he's changed too. A lot nicer, and pretty funny sometimes. I honestly think…..well, if he stops by today you'll see what I mean." Yuugi watched Bakura expectantly.

"What?"

"So what did Malik do?"

"Oh! He…...uh, gave me a stern talking-to."

"Really? What'd he say?"

"Oh, that I was a damn shit-sucking baka and needed to be shot…then he beat the living shit outta me," he grinned, "I've still got bruises." His face kind of went still for a moment, " But sometimes….sometimes I kind of…..regress." He shot Yuugi a sly look, "and sometimes I just get sick of being nice and need to burn something!" A grin spread across Yuugi's face and his eyes lit up with mirth as he let out a laugh.

A comfortable silence fell for a while after that and the apartment was straitened up. Soon, though, the quiet started to become oppressive.

"Hey Yuugi…how do you feel about a walk?" The person in question looked up, startled, and Bakura caught a flash of an emotion somewhere between worry and resignation in those expressive violet eyes. Bakura wondered about that look….the same way he wondered about the missing Millennium Puzzle.

"I need to get my truck from the shop. I was having transmission problems….whatever THAT means…"

"They gave YOU a license?" Yuugi's incredulous tone made his companion chuckle.

"Yeah…I was pretty surprised I passed all the required tests. It only took five tries too. So…..You wanna come along?" When Yuugi still looked undecided, Bakura continued, "We could hit the mall too. Then maybe pick up some lunch."

Yuugi smiled and started to nod, but then looked at himself and frowned cutely. He was still wearing the pajamas supplied to him last night. "I'd need my clothes….."

"Sorry, but you completely ruined those…I was barely able to salvage the buckles." The small one sighed, but Bakura, suddenly inspired, continued, "You could, of course, wear some of the clothes I shrunk before I learned you don't put leather and silk in the washer and dryer, ESPECIALLY together."

"Yikes. I know…I remember when Ya…" Yuugi's voice caught, but he kept a smile plastered on his face. Bakura noticed that the smile didn't quite reach those big violet eyes as Yuugi continued, "Anyway, that'd be great! Could I please? I don't like the idea of walking back to the Game shop in Ryo's ruined PJ's…..he might recognize them!"

Bakura's lip quirked at the last little joke, but was determined to find out why the little light was so sad. It had, he was sure, something to do with the pharaoh. He just knew.

"I'll be back…I'm glad I didn't get rid of all this stuff….." he strode into his bedroom, Yugi staring thoughtfully after him. Wide violet eyes narrowed in sudden wicked thought as he rushed into the kitchen.

Bakura came back into the living room carrying white leather pants, and a red leather tank-top. Also in his hands was a long, home-watered gray/white silk over-shirt. He figured these would fit Yuugi…..more or less.

He stopped dead at the sight of Yuugi standing in the middle of the living room holding a small bottle and his tennis shoes. At his feet was a very, very deep pot filled with the ruined clothing from the evening before. The spike-haired boy gave him a mischievous look.

"Don't worry, I'll wash it."

"Huh?"

"Open a window….I think it'll be necessary. I'm gonna have to ask you about this stuff later…." Yuugi was now pouring the liquid out of the bottle as Bakura, at a loss for anything else to do; he complied and opened the nearest window.

"Yuugi….what the BLOODY HELL are you doing?"

The smaller teen shot Bakura a LOOK, then flashed the label of the now nearly empty bottle Nail polish remover?

Yugi tossed the white-haired yami a book of matches.

"You're being too nice. It's starting to make me feel a tad freaked out."

Bakura idly lit a match and flipped it towards the pot. In the light from the sudden flames that followed, Bakura glanced over at Yugi, a fierce and toothy grin on his face.

"You and I, little-one, are going to get along just fine."

Yuugi matched his expression.

A/N: isn't that cute? Yuugi and Bakura burning things in Bakura's kitchen!