Disclaimer: Nope.

Yay, another chapter. These stories are coming along so well. Thank you everybody who reviewed. This chapter is gonna be kinda short but the next will more than certainly make up for it. (laughs diabolically.)

 

Y. Bakura: I don’t like the sound of that.

 

Dai-na: Don’t worry Bakura-chan, I won’t do anything to you.

 

Joey and Ryou: Eep!

 

Dai-na: Enjoy! This chapter is for AngelHideki and her Yami, Ayame for their massive flattering.

 

And Everything Nice

By Dai-onna

 

 

Bakura paced his soul room, lost in his thoughts as he did. He was more confused than ever and he hated it. Since that night with Joey he’d been holding back, unresponsive to the blonde’s baiting or to his aibou’s concern. He’d made no mention of that night to either of them or even to himself, not aloud anyway. That breach of his defenses had left him feeling stripped, bare and uncertain, the way he had that final day of his childhood when everything that he’d cherished had been destroyed and he’d been forced to forsake his innocence. That was something that he hadn’t thought back to in a long time. He’d thought he’d put it all behind him.

How stupid he was. If he’d put it behind him then he wouldn’t still feel the need to withdraw from people, to shield himself from love and affection, to deny himself the right to feel. No, it still haunted him, as it always had, and he was just as scared as he had been that day. Scared of fate, of circumstance, and most of all, scared of the feelings that he could no longer control. But still, he knew he was no longer that little boy. His eyes had seen things, his hands done things that had changed him forever. He felt no guilt or remorse for the things that he’d done, would do them again, given the chance, but he still couldn’t fight off the vulnerability that had taken up residence in his blackened heart.

He just hoped that, in the end, it didn’t destroy him.

His thoughts shifted to Joey, the catalyst that had seemed to set everything in motion. He didn’t doubt that, even without the blonde’s role in his and Ryou’s life that he would be in the same situation that he was now, but, he knew that probably wouldn’t have happened nearly as fast without the feelings that he stirred in him.

You’re in love with him.

Ryou’s words that day at the park came back, haunting him, tormenting him. Worse was the fact that he hadn’t been able to deny it. It wasn’t that he was a bad liar, oh no, he was quite good at it, but when Ryou had tossed those words at him so simply, he’d been too dumbstruck to even consider lying.

What in the name of Ra gave you that idea?

Because you haven’t killed me for falling in love with him.

Bakura sighed softly to himself. How could Ryou say something like that so easily? How could he bare himself that way, leave himself completely open for pain, without any sign of fear at all. Maybe his Hikari was really the strong one after all. He thought about the way that Joey had told Ryou that he loved him. Something painful had lanced through him then, a deep envy, and he wondered if the blonde could feel the same way about him.

Did he want him to?

Joey had been sick for a few days now. Ryou had explained to him what was wrong with him. That it was a disease that everyone got, usually when they were little, but that once you’ve had it, you won’t get it again. He’d been somewhat relieved to know that it wasn’t serious. He’d been worried, though he’d never tell them that. Ryou often went to see him after school, but Bakura stayed in his soul room the whole time. He was afraid that, if he was left around his vulnerable lover for too long, in the condition that he was in, then he would do or say something that he wouldn’t be able to take back. Something that would take away the last of his defenses and leave him at the other’s mercy. He wasn’t ready to put that much trust in him.

In himself.

He growled softly, frustrated, and left the ring. It was the middle of the night and Ryou was sleeping. For a moment Bakura contented himself to watching him. His hair spread out about his head. His eyelashes resting softly against his cheeks. The slow rise and fall of his chest. He loved his light half. He could say it to himself, though grudgingly, and the softer one was truly a sight to behold. He sat down on the side of the bed and reached out to brush back a stray lock of the other’s hair.

When Ryou blinked his eyes open, Bakura found himself pinned by his sleep fogged gaze. Without a word, Bakura leaned in and kissed Ryou softly.

Ryou tried his best to clear his hazy mind as his Yami’s lips moved slowly over his own. When his brain ascertained that what was happening was indeed not a dream he couldn’t keep his relief contained. His Yami had hardly been coming out of his soul room lately and hadn’t been intimate with either he or Joey since that other night. He knew that his Yami needed time and peace to sort out whatever it was that was hurting him but he only wished that he would let them help.

Pushing the thought out of his head, he was determined to enjoy what his Yami was offering him and to give his comfort the only way that it would be accepted.

He wrapped his arms around Bakura’s neck and pulled him close, savoring the feel of having his Yami’s body stretched out over him. He was startled by the tenderness and the patience in Bakura’s kiss and wondered what his Yami was thinking. Even at his gentlest, his Yami had never kissed him this way. It was passionate and desperate but oh so soft and sweet. The hand that ran over the side of his face lingered, caressing his cheek before joining the other at his waist. He ran his own hands over Bakura’s bare shoulders, the Yami’s unclad form mirroring his own. He pulled his mouth from his dark half, reluctantly deserting that enticing kiss to run his mouth over the other’s face, expressing an unspoken need to soothe, to ease his pain. His Yami spoke something to him but he couldn’t make it out, the soft Egyptian words sounding beautiful and exotic to him.

When his Yami pulled back and looked him in the eyes he knew.

He loves me.

The knowledge made his heart swell and tears pooled in his eyes. The darker one looked almost scared of the crystalline rivulets as he reached up to brush them away. Ryou grabbed his hand and held it close to him, nuzzling his face in the palm. Then he met his Yami’s gaze and his message, though unspoken, came through clear. The simple offering of himself to the other. It was something that he had done countless times before, surrendering his body to his Yami, but never before had it held such meaning to either of them.

He held tight to his dark other as he took him; both needing the closeness, the comfort and security, and their bodies moved together perfectly. They knew one another implicitly, knowing every sensitive inch, and put that familiarity to good use. 

And when it was over; when they both lay there, drained and sated, comforted with the other’s presence, Ryou heard the softly whispered words. The ones he’d only dreamed of until that moment.

The two stayed together that way, wrapped in each other, unaware of anything outside the room they inhabited.     

 

Joey did his best to make it to the bathroom. His head was throbbing and with every blow the world seemed to disappear for a moment. He kept his hand against the wall the entire time, not trusting his legs to keep him upright. He took a deep breath and struggled not to choke on it. Sweat covered his fevered body and he felt like fire had lit his skin everywhere. He was trying his best to make it to the bathtub, a cool bath sounding like the ultimate paradise. The lights flickered on; blinding him and he instantly regretted reaching out for the switch. Every tiny beam of light that pierced his closed eyes was like a giant splinter slicing through his head. He clasped his hands on the sink counter trying to get his breathing regulated but he couldn’t seem to manage it.

With a shaking hand, he reached for the medicine cabinet, searching for something to relieve his headache and maybe decrease the fever that was plaguing his body. He grabbed the aspirin bottle and gasped as it fell from his hand. The world swam before his eyes, mixing into an intricate haze that made him feel as if the world had shifted from beneath his feet. He reached out for something, anything to steady himself but he came up short.

And then the world went black.

 

~~Owari~~

 

Joey:@_@

 

Y. Bakura: What the hell did you do?!!! People don’t black out from chicken pox!!

 

Dai-na: I know.

 

:Y. Bakura: What do you mean ‘you know’? Then what happened?

 

Dai-na: If I tell you that then there won’t be any point to the next chapter.

 

Y. Bakura: -_-;;; I hate you.

 

Dai-na: I know

 

Ryou -_-;;;;;;;;;;;

 

Joey:@_@

 

Well, sorry to leave you hanging like that after such a short chapter but, like I said, the next one will more than make up for it ^_____^ Please review.