Disclaimer: There were too few club scenes in the anime for Yu-Gi-Oh! to be something I own.

Take my hand and lead me out
into the night

Follow me into a new sunrise

Cherry kisses upon my tainted skin
Flying high to a new adventure

~Modern Lover, Cinema Bizarre

Chapter 18

Two Weeks Later

"I can't," Ryou insisted. "I don't even know how to dance; I'll look like an idiot."

"No more than me," Alistair countered. "Come on. We don't have to stay long, but it's a good experience. I don't even like being around people for the most part and I managed to have fun when I used to go. It's the last weekend before school starts; let's end it with a bang!"

There was, however, a deeper meaning behind why he wanted to take Ryou to the club. He hoped that by taking him out, he could help convince the Brit that he wasn't the freak that he was so certain people saw him as. That it was in his head. And he also rather missed the flashing lights, the thumpa thumpa of the pounding music, the stomping of hundreds of feet, and the feeling of being a part of something, even if that something was nothing more than a sea of colorful, intoxicated, gyrating young adults.

His one trepidation was seeing Darren there, but he'd finally decided that even if he did, Darren would no doubt actively avoid him, but if he was stupid enough not to for whatever reason, he figured telling the man to rot in Hell would be enough to get rid of him.

Ryou finally agreed to go with Alistair to Byzantium because even though the idea of being around so many people made him nervous (a leftover phobia from his time with the dark spirit of the Ring), he wouldn't have to face them alone; Alistair would be there with him.

"I don't even know what to wear though." Alistair couldn't quite keep a small smile off his face at Ryou's distress.

"There's not a dress code."

"I know, but that almost makes it worse. If there were a dress code I would know what to wear and what not to…"

"If it helps narrow things down, my suggestion would be to not go with your sweater vest or that weird robe thing."

"Well of course not; that's just for when I go to the cemetery." Visiting the local cemetery was one of Ryou's quirks that Alistair had yet to figure out. All Ryou ever said about it was that he enjoyed ingesting the 'energy' and 'the wisdom of all of the people from times past' that was present there. "Here, what about this?" He got off the bed where they'd been lounging for the past half an hour and retrieved a white long sleeved shirt. Alistair knew that Ryou wouldn't wear anything that wouldn't cover the scar on his arm or else he would have said that at a club like Byzantium less was more.

"That's fine," he said after Ryou had pulled the shirt over his head. He marveled for a moment over just how fair the Brit was. The white of the shirt did nothing but emphasize the paleness of his skin and hair and cause the darkness of his eyes to pop in contrast. He put Alistair in mind of a dove, the featheriness of Ryou's hair rounding out the comparison.

When they arrived at the club an hour later and walked inside after paying the cover and made their way into the mass of people crowding both the dance floor and the bar, Ryou grabbed hold of Alistair's arm, not so much out of fear, but as a means not to get separated from him as he took in his surroundings.

Byzantium appeared to comprise of two floors and a bar. The main floor also featured a small stage and two stripper poles against which several young men were dancing wearing nothing more than jean shorts.

"Do you want to dance, or do you want a drink first?" Alistair shouted over the music.

"Ehm…A drink." Alistair nodded and led the way to the bar. After presenting his ID he ordered a beer. Ryou chose a fruity, alcohol-free cocktail.

"It may not get me drunk, but at least it tastes good."

They were lucky enough to find seats at a small table overlooking the dance floor.

"What do you think?" Alistair asked.

"It's really good," Ryou replied, taking a second sip of his drink. "It's mango and pineapple."

"I meant: what do you think of Byzantium," Alistair laughed.

"Oh." Ryou took another look around. "It's really loud, but the music is catchy I suppose."

"So you'll dance with me?" Ryou made a face.

"I'll try, but I don't know if I want to do that." He pointed towards the men dancing on the poles.

"Don't worry: that's not a requirement and I don't think I will either."

After finishing their drinks, Alistair offered to go back to the bar to retrieve the deposit on Ryou's glass before going to the bathroom. He was only gone for a few minutes, but in that time several people came up to Ryou either asking him to dance or if he wanted to hook up with them.

Once he was back, Ryou told Alistair about the men who'd approached him.

"I can't believe you're surprised."

"It's just, I've never thought of myself as good-looking before."

"You just wait. There's a guy here who's always trying to get people to work for his porn site and I bet that he'll ask you."

"To be in a porn movie?" Ryou looked and sounded incredulous. "You're making that up. People don't just come up to other people in clubs and ask them something like that."

"You'd be surprised. He even asked me the first or second time I came here. He said that I'd make a lot of money if I used the stage name 'Rossi Red' and let him market me as exotic."

"No, really?" Ryou put his hand over his mouth and giggled into his palm.

"True story."

"Are there any other weird people that come here?"

"I haven't been here often enough to say for sure, but if there's one I'm sure there are others."

"Do you know if he actually gets people to be in his movies?" Alistair shrugged.

"Probably."

"Would you ever do that? You know, be in a porn movie."

"No. You?"

"Of course not. It would be so weird to know that a bunch of blokes you've never met, or necessarily want to meet, wank off to you getting shagged."

"Careful Ryou: your British is showing."

"Oh hush!"

"I didn't say that that's a bad thing." He leaned across the table to give Ryou a kiss. "Now come on, let's go dance."

"Alright, but you'll have to show me how."

Hand in hand the two walked down the three steps that led from the bar to the dance floor. As they made their way into the center of the crowd, Ryou noticed that numerous people took notice of them, and though at first that made him uncomfortable, by the time they'd reached their destination he was quite proud to be on the arm of someone that so many people found attractive.

"So what am I supposed to do?"

"Just listen to the beat and move. That's all everyone else is doing." Ryou watched on as Alistair began stomping his feet and moving his body in time to the pounding bass of the music and then tried to imitate him, but felt horribly silly and laughed.

"I can't."

"Come here." He put his hands on Ryou's hips and Ryou wrapped his arms around Alistair's neck and allowed the redhead to move them both to the beat and occasionally twirl him around.

As Alistair had predicted, the shady pornsite solicitor approached the pair while they were taking a break from dancing and leaning against the wall.

"I remember you," he told Alistair. "Have you thought at all about joining my team?"

"Not really."

"Are you sure? You could make a lot of money with a face like yours, especially if you were willing to let some of my tops cover it in cum." Ryou couldn't keep himself from giggling, and the man turned his attention to him.

"I haven't seen you before, what's your name?"

"Ryou," Ryou replied, trying to compose his face.

"Ryou huh?" The man appraised him closely. "Can you deepthroat?" Ryou's eyes widened.

"I beg your pardon?"

"There's nothing hotter than watching an innocent-looking twink swallow a huge cock. I'm sure my clients would agree and you could make some good money too."

"I'm not really interested, thank you." The man's eyes lit up suddenly.

"You have an accent. Where are you from?"
"I'm from England."

"That's even better. You could play a tourist who gets lost in the wrong part of town or something like that."

"Um, no thank you."

"Are you sure? I could turn both of you into stars. You're turning down a great opportunity. If you go with another company they may not appreciate you as much…But if you're sure…"

"We'll think about it," Alistair told him. "Ask again next time."

"I'll hold you to that."

"Ok."

"Oh my god," Ryou said as soon as the man was gone, turning to Alistair. "You weren't kidding. That was so weird!"

"I'm telling you: he's here all the time."

"Do you suppose he even really has a website?"

"Oh I have no doubt. Granted, he probably runs it out of his basement but…"

"I just can't imagine going up to someone and asking them something like that, especially something like 'can you deepthroat' with a straight face as though it's a completely normal thing to do."

"For him it is."

"But does he honestly think that saying something like that is going to make me want to work for him? Or what he said to you?"

"Evidentially." Ryou shook his head in disbelief.

They stayed at the club until almost two in the morning before deciding to call it a night and beginning the thirty minute walk back to their apartment.

"So what did you think?" Alistair asked, swinging his and Ryou's hands back and forth as they crossed the street.

"It was fun. Not something I'd want to do all the time, but every once in a while. It was quite a workout as well; I can tell that I'll be sore in the morning."

"You're welcome to join me when I go running to help build up your stamina."

"But that's so much work!"

"It's just two miles."

"As I said: that's so much work!"

"I guess you'll just have to get a workout some other way, huh?" He grinned slyly.

"I guess so," Ryou agreed, smiling and biting his lower lip. He'd never thought he'd ever get to a point where he could be happy again, but since going to the hospital to check on Kaiba, Alistair had done nothing but make Ryou feel special. He only hoped it would stay that way.

Author's Note: Consider this chapter a direct contrast to the relationship that Alistair and Seto had, and also as an excuse for me to include a funny anecdote from my own clubbing experiences.

As far as Ryou's concerned, going out with Alistair gives him the opportunity to sort of reintigrate into society, much like Alistair had to himself after first going to live at the Kaiba mansion.