A/N: Done at the request of one of my very good friends, Aki. :D

Bakura (C) Kazuki Takahashi

-o-

He never minded hearing about her day.

Most people only ever asked as a politeness, but when Ryou inquired, How are you?, he wanted to hear the answer. And after the first time, she didn't mind telling him, because she could see in his wide warm eyes—as attentive as a child to a bedtime story—that he cared about the answer.

She had to admit, though, that sometimes she felt selfish always talking about herself. She pressed for details of his day, asked how he was, but he only wanted to hear about her. Looking in his eyes, she would have thought that each of her words, each whisper of her voice thrilled him behind reason.

But she had him beat, she thought. Because, though she loved his voice, she got lost in his eyes before he ever spoke a word.

She felt giddy, dazed, that he escorted her home every day, and he never seemed to notice. He just smiled, that dazzling smile that sent ripples through her breathing, and left her weaker than before.

The first day of autumn breathed cool air across their skin like a caress as they left the school together, trailing unhurriedly along the sidewalks toward home. He was inquiring after another exciting tale of her adventures at school, but, giggling, she withheld the details, attempting to barter for his story, first. Laughing, he assured her of its perfect banality, but she pressed for details.

Without warning, something scarlet and gold flashed in her peripheral vision; startled, she half-turned, hand darting out to ward off the flying object. Ryou peered over her should, still smiling—always smiling, always at her—as the dry and weary leaf whispered across her palm. Reflexively, she closed her hand over the fallen bit of foliage, feeling it crack slightly beneath the pressure that rescued it from the ground.

"Well done," Ryou beamed, his chocolate eyes sparkling, and she grinned in return, his unrestrained delight too contagious to resist.

"Did you know? If you catch a falling leaf, you get to make a wish," she told him, pleased to have a bit of knowledge that she could offer.

"I have heard that, once or twice," he admitted. "Are you going to?"

"Of course!" She flashed another grin. "Wanna know what my wish is?"

"Oh, but I don't think you're supposed to tell! It might not come true." He tried to look solemn, eyes grown wider still.

"Ryou," she said, equally serious, "I want you to ask." Then, losing the solemnity, she giggled, and laughing, he complied with her request.

"I'm not going to tell you!" she crowed. "Not until you tell me about your day!" Giggling madly, she spun about, tossing the leaf into the air. It spiraled down, waltzing jerkily past them. "C'mon, Ryou, you catch it now. Make a wish!"

"I don't sure if that counts," he protested, but stretched out a slender, scarred hand, snatching for the delicate crimson dancer.

"Alright!" He beamed. "My turn!"