Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! I know it's difficult to come to terms with, but it's the truth.

"Any minute now, my ship is coming in
I'll keep checking the horizon
And I'll check my machine, there's sure to be that call
It's gonna happen soon, soon, oh so very soon."

Waiting for My Real Life to Begin~ Colin Hay

Chapter 10

Alistair awoke the next morning to the sound of his cell phone ringing. Drowsy and still half-asleep, he got out of bed, amazed that the sound hadn't woken Seto up, and retrieved the phone from his pants pocket, wondering who on earth could be calling him.

It had taken Ryou the better part of the morning to work up the courage to dial Alistair's number, and another ten minutes to finally press send. He felt that it was horribly awkward to borrow something from someone he'd only just met, but since Alistair had offered and he really couldn't afford to say no for nothing more than politeness's sake, he had no choice but to take him up on it. And it was as good a reason as any to see him again.

As the phone started to ring, however, he contemplated hanging up, terrified that Alistair would answer, but at the same time wanting him to.

"Hello?" Alistair asked, his voice husky. He sounded like he'd just woken up.

"Hi, um, I hope I didn't wake you up," Ryou started even though it was almost noon. "It's Ryou Bakura, from yesterday. You told me to call you." Truth be told, that had been the last thing on Alistair's mind and he'd completely forgotten to even check for the books he'd promised to bring.

"Right, hi." He cleared his throat. "It's fine, I should be waking up anyway." Out of the corner of his eye he saw Seto starting to stir and decided to take the conversation elsewhere. Seto looked at him questioningly. "Hang on one second." Alistair pressed the speaker against his chest. "It's this girl, Zoe, from work," he lied. "She needs me to take her shift."

"Tell her not to call so early in the morning next time," Seto grumbled, yawning and preparing to get out of bed. Putting the phone back to his ear, Alistair walked into the hallway.

"Sorry about that," Alistair apologized once he'd closed the door behind him.

"Is this a bad time?" Ryou asked cautiously.

"No, I just had to deal with something."

"I was just wondering if you were still willing to loan me those books. You don't have to of course, but…"

"No, it's fine. Um…" He needed this day to track down Darren, but he had promised Ryou the books and in the end he decided that he could kill two birds with one stone if he brought the books to Ryou on the way to Darren's. "Do you have time for me to drop them off today?" he asked finally.

"Yes," Ryou answered quickly.

"What time?"

"Any time; I don't have any plans. What time is best for you?" Alistair didn't even know what time it was but he guessed that it was roughly twelve.

"What about one-thirty?" he suggested.

"That's fine. Oh, but you need my address. Or we could meet at a coffee shop or something," he added quickly. Alistair saw the opportunity to get himself closer to where he ultimately needed to be and took it.

"I actually need to go to this diner downtown, Twist, do you know it?"

"I think I've heard of it. Where is it exactly?" Alistair described the area. It was actually quite far from where Ryou lived, but he wasn't about to say so. "Oh, that's not too far, that's fine. So I'll see you at one-thirty?"

"Yeah, see you then. Bye."

"Who was that?" Alistair jumped visibly. "Sorry," Mokuba, who had been on his way to see if the two were up despite not being allowed in the hallway, apologized, trying not to stare at Alistair, who was only wearing his underwear.

"Oh, I…I was just talking to my coworker, Zoe."

"Why are you meeting her at a diner?" Mokuba. Alistair, who had no idea why Mokuba was so interested, or why he sounded so suspicious, or even why he was there at all, thought fast.

"I told her I'd lend her a couple of books for a class she's taking; all of the copies at the library are out right now, and since the diner's right on my way to work I offered to meet her there to drop them off."

"Oh. Anyway, is Seto up yet? HQ called to see if he's coming in today."

"I think he's in the shower, but I'll give him the message," Alistair promised.

"Ok, thanks." There was an awkward pause in which Alistair realized that he was standing in the hallway in his boxer-briefs, and suddenly self-conscious, he slipped back into the bedroom.

Mokuba walked back to his room, wrinkling his nose slightly at the thought of Alistair and Seto in the shower together. He wasn't sure why exactly it was that beyond his jealousy, Seto and Alistair's relationship made him so uncomfortable seeing as how they were so utterly tight-lipped about it, but it did. He finally decided that a large part of it had to do with the fact that they were so secretive; it left plenty of room for his overactive imagination to fill in the blanks and he often didn't care for what he was able to come up with, especially now that he had real visuals from the night they'd fallen down the stairs.

Alistair relayed Mokuba's message to Seto, who ultimately decided that he'd work from home that day, not feeling motivated enough to make the drive into Domino seeing as how he would just end up doing there what he could do just as well from his home office.

Trudy was annoyed about Seto and Alistair sleeping so late and missing breakfast, which Alistair apologized for, explaining that it hadn't been on purpose. Given that she hadn't been so vexed, even commenting about how unusual it was for Seto to get a decent about of sleep, she quickly let the matter drop.

He told her he wasn't sure what Seto's plans were, but that he was planning on meeting a coworker for lunch and he wasn't sure if he'd be back for dinner.

"I'll leave a plate for you in the fridge," she said as he was on his way out the dining room to grab the books that Ryou needed from the library and his room. He thanked her over his shoulder.

To his immense relief he was able to find all five books on Ryou's list, including the Kaiba's copy of Black Beauty.

He bumped into Seto on his way down to the garage.

"I thought you were taking a shift at the library today," Seto commented.

"I am, I'm just bringing these books to a friend of mine on the way there who needs them for a literature class at the university," he added.

"What friend?" Seto asked, trying not to sound accusatory.

"Moira," Alistair lied. "She's the one I went to the department fair at the university with."

"Oh." Seto relaxed. Alistair hanging out with some girl was hardly anything to get jealous over.

"Anyway, I'd better get going or I'll be late." He edged past Seto and continued on to get his motorcycle.

Ryou had left for the diner an hour before he was supposed to meet Alistair there to give himself enough time in case he got lost. He ended up arriving twenty minutes early and ordered a soda while he waited. He'd never been to Twist before, but as soon as he saw it he knew exactly what kind of clientele it catered to and was happy to know that his thoughts that Alistair might be gay hadn't been merely wishful thinking.

"Are you waiting for someone, Sugar?" the drag queen waitress asked him as she handed him the glass of soda. He nodded. "Who is it? Maybe I know them."

"His name's Alistair," Ryou replied.

"Red hair, skinny, nice ass? I know him. He used to come here all the time. I haven't seen him in a while though." She looked Ryou over for a second time, taking in his delicate features and big brown eyes, and decided to give him a heads up. "Just so you know, when he did come here, he rarely left by himself if you know what I mean, and never with the same guy twice."

"Hey Crystal: do you think you could stop chatting him up and serve some of the other people in here?" a disgruntled-looking older man asked irritably. She looked up and raised a heavily made-up eyebrow and put a hand on her hip.

"I know you're not talking to me like that," she snapped. "Anyway, you have enough meat on your bones to tide you over until I'm good and ready to take your order." Ryou was shocked by the statement, and was quite sure that the man would at the very least get up and leave, but he merely rolled his eyes and returned to checking his cell phone. Crystal noticed the startled look on his face. "I tell it like it is," she explained. "Oh, it looks like your date is here; I'll just leave you two alone, shall I?"

"Hey," Alistair said, taking a seat across from Ryou in the classic cherry-colored booth. He set the books on the table.

"Hi," Ryou greeted him, trying not to sound overly eager. "Thank you so much for loaning me these."

"No problem," Alistair replied. "Books can be expensive. What class do you need them for anyway?"

"British Literature. It's a one week long block seminar. It meets from ten until six for a week and at the end there's a take home exam."

"That sounds really intense." Ryou nodded.

"It probably will be. It wasn't my first choice, but I needed another class and since I registered late there weren't a lot of options."

"Who's the professor? I'm going to be taking a British literature class too."

"Um…I think his name is Bradbury."

"Oh, it's not the same professor then."

"What's your major?" Ryou asked to keep the conversation going.

"I don't know yet. This will be my first semester. What's yours?"

"I don't have one yet either; this will be my first semester too. I have no idea what I want a degree in yet, do you?"

"I'm thinking about diplomacy."

"That's really interesting. What would you want to do with it?"

"Well, I want to help people, maybe even the people from my homeland." Ryou didn't need to ask where that was.

"That's quite noble of you."

"Or just naïve." Crystal came back over to take Alistair's order.

"I'll just have whatever the special is," he said, adding to Ryou, "if you don't mind me eating in front of you."

"Oh no, of course not."

"Oh, hey, Crystal, can I ask you something?" Alistair asked suddenly. Crystal pouted.

"You disappear off the face of the earth, you don't visit, you don't call, and now you want to ask me something?"

"Uh…"

"I'm just yanking your chain," she laughed. "What is it?"

"Does Darren still come here?" Crystal raised an eyebrow.

"Can I borrow him for a second?" she asked Ryou, who could only nod. "Walk with me," she instructed a confused Alistair. He followed her to the far side of the diner and she suddenly rounded on him. "How can you start asking about other men in the middle of a date?" she demanded. "That sweet boy over there is head over heels for you and you have the nerve to start asking about Darren?"

"He and I aren't here on a date," he explained hastily. "I'm just loaning him some books."

"Well you better tell him that." Before he could reply she continued. "As for Darren, yeah, he still drags his ass in here sometimes. I haven't seen him in a few weeks though. You're not chasing after him, are you? You could do way better."

"No I am not 'chasing after' him; I just need to talk to him."

"Why, did he knock you up?"

"Of course not, I just need to tell him something." Crystal suddenly turned serious.

"You're not positive, are you?"

"Positive?" He'd heard the expression thrown around before, but he'd never understood what it meant, just that it was bad.

"HIV positive."

"No," he said. "It's nothing like that. But it's personal. Look: if he comes in today or tomorrow can you tell him to call me? Tell him I have the same number."

"Alright, I will." Suddenly the mischievous expression crept back into her eyes. "Now go back to your not date or I might just put him in my pocket and take him home with me."

"Sorry about that," he apologized to Ryou after he'd sat back down.

"It's fine. Um, Alistair, can I ask you something?" Alistair suddenly found himself wondering if what Crystal had said about Ryou thinking this was a date was true.

"Uh, sure."

"How do you know about the Millennium Items if that's not too intrusive to ask?" Alistair, who had been prepared for a much more uncomfortable question breathed a mental sigh of relief.

"Oh, that. I worked for an organization called Doma for a guy called Dartz who was, I guess you could say a ghost of the last king of Atlantis, and he knew about them and because some of my colleagues and I were supposed to target Yugi Motou who of course has, had, the Millennium Puzzle, he warned us of its power and also about the power of the other items."

"Doma." Ryou said the word slowly. "Yes, I remember that name…The spirit chose not to pick a fight with Dartz. He went away for so long that I tricked myself into thinking that he was gone for good. I was a fool." He stared reflectively down at his drink. "I'm sorry." He looked up and laughed briefly. "You don't want to hear about that…"

"No, it's fine. It's really kind of nice. Se—My boyfriend doesn't believe in magic, or at least, he says he doesn't, so it's refreshing to talk to someone who knows just as well as I do that it's real." Ryou smiled, his amber eyes lighting up, though he was deeply disappointed that Alistair had a boyfriend.

"I know what you mean. Most people, outside of my friends, tend to think I'm crazy. And my long, un-excused absences from school didn't look all that great to colleges either. I had to take night classes just to get my high school diploma and I have to see a psychiatrist who wrote a note for the university explaining that my behavior was the result of a psychotic break. She gave me a prescription, but I just toss the pills. They wouldn't have helped at the time, and I don't need them now." He frowned. "The spirit made a mess of my life for five years and even now that he's gone I'm still putting the pieces back together."

"I know the feeling. As soon as Dartz…disappeared I guess, I realized that my life was a complete mess. Actually, I didn't even have a life. I had to rely on other people's charity which just isn't who I am. I like to be the one responsible for my own successes and failures. Ironically though, I've almost always found myself being used by someone else, or been dependent on someone else. That's finally starting to change though."

"There's still hope for me then." It was at that moment, looking into the Brit's sincere and open face that Alistair realized that Ryou was hoping for more than just a couple of books.

"I might be reading into this more than I should," he started. "But I think that you should know that I'm seeing someone."

"Yes, you mentioned that. It's Kaiba, isn't it?" Alistair's eyes widened.

"How did you know that?" he asked in astonishment. Ryou smiled sadly.

"I don't need a Millennium Item to figure that out. There aren't too many people I know whose names start 'Se' who don't believe in magic." He took a final sip of his soda. "Don't worry: I won't tell anyone, I promise." There was a short pause. "Thank you for letting me borrow the books."

"No problem." Alistair was still reeling from how easily Ryou had discovered his connection to Seto. Ryou placed some money on the table next to his empty glass.

"I have to go. I'll call you when I'm done with the books. And thank you again."

"You can call me for more than just that."

"Only if you don't mind hanging out with a certified psycho." Ryou's smile was coy.

"I could say the same to you; I've done some pretty questionable things myself, but without having the excuse of an ancient Egyptian spirit possessing me."

"Well, if you ever feel like exploring that I can recommend my psychiatrist to you as long as you don't mind having to wade through a lot of metaphors."

"Tcha. Maybe I should."

"I'll see you around Alistair," Ryou said as he picked up the stack of books, looking directly into Alistair's eyes. "Bye."

He managed to maintain his composure until he was outside and had rounded the corner. Then he paused and let out a breath. This had been a big step for him.

Being the host of the evil spirit, although it had been terrifying and had made him feel helpless, had ultimately made him stronger. He was no longer the naïve and frail boy he had once been. The spirit had hardened him. Gone were the round cheeks and un-toned body, and in their place the spirit had left a more angular face, lithe physique, and an altogether stronger person who, despite his ordeal, had managed to maintain his characteristic sweetness.

Only a few years earlier he never would have managed to work up the courage to talk to Alistair.

How extraordinary it was that Alistair was dating Kaiba of all people. Ryou had, more from a sense of intuition than anything else, long since suspected that the powerful CEO was gay, so that wasn't what was interesting. What he found intriguing was that Alistair seemed to care about him. Ryou didn't know all that much about Kaiba, but his general impression was that he was arrogant and a sore loser, nothing that led him to think that the handsome brunette was someone who would be easy to fall for. Clearly there was more to Seto Kaiba than he'd thought. Still, it really was a pity that his crush on the redhead would go unrequited, though he rejoiced in how normal Alistair had acted, despite knowing about the evil spirit. Yugi, Joey, Téa, and Tristan still acted skittishly around him even though they knew that the Millennium Ring was gone for good, but Alistair hadn't.

He began walking towards the bus stop, hugging Alistair's books to his chest.

Author's Note: Here we enter into the realm of headcanon. Yes it's a bit cliche to have Ryou be gay, however, I argue that that isn't wildly unbelievable. Next, Ryou is a hard character to keep IC and gets botched a lot in the opinion of the fans. I propose a balance between shy, polite and sweet Ryou, and occult obsessed and 'weird' Ryou. Also keep in mind that I draw mostly from DM (sub and dub) and not the manga; though it might creep in from time to time.