AN: okay kids here's some more o' dat good ooc ~dramaaaa~~~!

god this went so far off the rails. this was not what i thought i was going to end up writing. but we're here now (:

Ryou stared blankly at Jounouchi's earnest face as he leaned, panting, on the doorframe and stared up at him. He just watched the feelings play out as he tried to keep up with Jou's wild shifts this night - from stubbornness and pride, to vulnerability, to pain and anger, and now, apparently, penitence and compromise. Even now, eyes never leaving Ryou's, Jou's face ran the gauntlet from determination, to hopefulness, to silent pleading, to remorse, to dejection, and then somehow right back around to pride, but a different breed to the pride that had caused him to reject Ryou's help and run away.

"I'm sorry for getting angry. You were only telling the truth, and who we were before we met doesn't matter as much as the fact that we're here now," Jou said seriously. "If … if it's alright with you, I'd like to stay, and make a pact with you just like I did with Yugi and the others. We swore we'd never run out on each other, and I want you to know that I'll never run out on you either."

Ryou's eyes filled with tears without him knowing it was happening until they were spilling over. Wherever they were coming from, it was a much deeper place than anything that had been touched that rainy evening. It wasn't just about Jou running out and coming back. It was about being abandoned to suffer grief alone, it was about being pushed away and alienated from his friends, it was about the empty dolls on his shelves that had once housed the souls of anyone who'd tried to get close to him, it was about being sent away from his friends' sides only last year because they didn't trust him.

And here was Jounouchi, telling him it was never going to happen again.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm crying," he lied, wiping his eyes and standing aside. "Please come back inside, you're getting wet again-"

He was cut off by Jounouchi seizing him and pulling him into a fierce hug. He was hot from running, radiating and surrounding Ryou in a kind of warmth he hadn't even known existed. He felt like it was sinking into his bones. It was like stepping out into the first warm rays of sunlight after a long winter. If Ryou was winter snow, he melted in that warm embrace.

"Don't do that," Jou said hoarsely. "Don't keep your feelings to yourself, even if it's messy or inconvenient. Even if it hurts me. Your honesty is one of the best parts about you, so don't give it up just because I acted like a jerk."

"I'm sorry, Jounouchi," Ryou said into his chest. "I'm really sorry about what I said. But you really hurt me, too. Does it really bother you that I say strange things?"

"No! I like it! I like that you're different and I like that you like creepy things! I'm a big baby who jumps when someone so much as says 'boo!', but you - you laugh. It's like you're not scared of anything!"

"I'm scared of lots of things, Jounouchi," Ryou said, breaking the hug to look up at him solemnly. "I think most of all, I'm scared of losing my friends. I don't like to think any of you would leave me, but…"

"Not gonna happen," Jounouchi said firmly.

"I hope so," Ryou said. "And you should know, I was crying because I was really happy you came back. Anyway, come inside! I think the food's almost ready, I still want to take a bath, and we haven't even started on the movies."

"Yeah, food! I'm starving. Didn't really get much of a chance to eat before … well, anyway, let's eat! Can we eat now?"

"Sure," Ryou said cheerily. "As much as you like, I have plenty!"

For the second time that night, Ryou brought Jounouchi in from the rain.

This time, he stayed.

It was three in the morning. They had eaten, and Ryou had taken his bath. He came out to find Jounouchi kneeling at the shrine to his mother and sister, hands together in prayer.

"Oh, hey!" he said cheerfully, when he noticed Ryou had entered. "I just thought I'd say hi, pay my respects..."

"Thank you, I'm sure they appreciate it," Ryou said, sitting down next to him and looking at the picture of them smiling together. After a moment, he spoke again. "You and Mama are very similar in a lot of ways. I bet she really likes you."

"I hope so," Jou said. They lapsed into a comfortable, thoughtful silence. Ryou was thinking about how Mama always used to have the same knack Jounouchi did, for filling a room with her presence and making everyone around her laugh and smile. How she faced everything with the same, almost manic kind of zeal. He was thinking that, when he had moment to himself, he was going to write a long letter to her and Amane and tell them everything about tonight.

Something always changes on nights like these … I feel like it's been a whole year, but it's only been a few hours. How many more things will change between me and Jounouchi before the sun rises?

How would I like them to change?

The question hung in the air between them the way he imagined magic lingered after a spell, leaving him with goosebumps.

And speaking of magic …

"It's time," he said decisively, standing up.

"Time for what?" Jou said, looking up at him bemusedly.

Ryou smiled, black eyes alight. "You said you wanted to make a pact. Let's do it … my way."

Jou hesitated for only a second. Then he grinned. "Okay."

Ryou gathered candles and other paraphernalia while Jou waited in the living room, looking more and more uneasy. Ryou focused on his task, drawing a circle and placing the candles. The sigils he chalked on the floor meant nothing to Jou, but he assumed Ryou knew what he was doing.

"Alright, I think that's everything," Ryou said happily, standing back to admire his work.

"Not quite," Jou said, fidgeting because he was of his depth, but determined to do this right. "You need a marker. Permanent, if you've got it."

"I understand," Ryou said, dashing to his room and returning with a permanent marker in blue ink. "Will this do?"

"It doesn't matter," Jou said. "You use whatever you've got. What matters is the feeling."

Ryou laughed. "You know Jou, for someone who doesn't voluntarily go anywhere near anything supernatural, you've summed up the first rule of magic perfectly."

"Guess I'm a natural," Jou joked uncomfortably. "Sooo … what happens now?"

Ryou smiled his enigmatic smile but didn't answer right away. He lit the candles and turned out the lights. The room was cast into an eerie semi-darkness, the flickering candles making it look like every shadow was moving. Ryou moved closer to Jou, looking right at him.

"Are you scared?" he whispered.

Jou huffed out a breath, relaxing slightly. "I was scared the first time. Maybe that's just part of it."

Ryou 'hm'd and seemed satisfied with the answer. He stepped into the circle and sat down, kneeling, holding out his left hand. "Now you," he said.

Jounouchi awkwardly followed suit, reaching out his own left hand to Ryou's.

"You drew on your right hands with the others right?" Ryou said. "So you need to do this one on the other hand."

"Yeah," Jou said. The uncapped marker sat between them on the floor. Ryou picked it up with his right hand, holding it up.

"What symbol should I draw?"

"Anzu drew a smiley face," Jou recalled. The whole occult feel to the thing had speaking in a hushed voice, leaning in close like he and Ryou were sharing grade school secrets. The shivers up his spine were starting to feel less creepy and more … exciting. "I think it was just the first thing that came to her head. Whatever it is, it should be something simple."

Ryou pursed his lips in thought for a moment. "I'll draw a star," he decided. He liked stars, and they reminded him of Jou - they made Ryou smile, but once he knew more about them, he understood that they were all heat and light. And it reminded him of Yugi's hair, and really, it was Yugi who had brought them together in the first place.

"Sounds good," Jou said. He moved his hand closer to Ryou's, so they were touching side-by-side. He hadn't expected to feel a tingling jolt of … something running up his arm, but to his credit he didn't flinch away from it, though he was sure he was blushing. It had to be part of this ritual Ryou had put together. Jou wasn't sure whether he really believed in this kind of magic, but … maybe there was something to it.

Ryou touched the marker to Jou's skin first. Unlike the first time, there was no need for haste, so Ryou carefully and slowly traced the shape of half a star. When he came to the apex of the top point, he paused for only a moment before crossing from Jounouchi's hand to his own. It felt like closing a circle. When he was done, he made to move away, but Jounouchi stopped him.

"Wait!" he whispered almost frantically. "We should say something first, while we have our hands together like this. Bakura," he started, but Ryou interrupted him.

"Will you call me by my given name?" he asked politely, face burning.

Jounouchi was slightly taken aback, but he smiled. "Sure. And you can call me by mine. It'll be another symbol of our pact." Ryou nodded.

"Alright…" Jounouchi took a deep breath and started again, looking directly into Ryou's eyes. "Ryou. This mark is a symbol of our bond. It means I'll always be there, no matter what!" he said it with pride and conviction, even in his lowered voice.

Ryou let out a breath that was almost a gasp. "Katsuya," he started, then paused, liking the name on his tongue. "Katsuya. I'll always be there for you too. No matter what."

Jounouchi - no, Katsuya - laughed a little, looking embarrassed but happy. He pulled away his hand and help it up, admiring the symbol. He looked at Ryou and flashed the back of his hand, grinning. Ryou smiled sheepishly and showed his too.

"So. That's it then?" Ryou asked.

"That's it," Katsuya nodded. "Now whenever you feel alone, you can look at the back of your hand and remember you're not. Even after the mark washes off, it'll still be there. Haha, if that makes any sense…"

"It does," Ryou said, staring at the mark.

"You know…" Katsuya said pensively, looking around. "This occult stuff isn't so bad. I mean, things like this at least. It's kinda nice."

"Yes, I like it," Ryou said. He knew they should be getting out of the circle, sweeping it up and properly ending the spell, or whatever they'd just done, but he was reluctant to leave when Katsuya was sitting so close in the candlelight. He knew he was probably blushing, but the light was playing in Katsuya's golden hair, and the shadows clinging to the corners of his face were showing Ryou angles he'd never seen before.

"And it's weird, but," Katsuya went on, slowly letting the thought form into words. "I feel like I can say anything now, and it would be okay… like, nothing can hurt us in here. I kinda don't wanna leave," he finished with a nervous little laugh, gesturing at the circle in general.

"Yes, the point of a circle is protection," Ryou said, leaning in eagerly. "You create a mystical space between worlds, where magic can be called upon and used, and at the same protect yourself and the spell from any harmful influences … or entities," he added darkly.

"So the... y'know-" he held up his hands and waggled them in front of his face like claws "-scary stuff can't get us while we're in here?"

Ryou covered his mouth, giggling. "Yes, the-" he mirrored Katsuya's pantomime "- scary stuff can't cross into the circle."

"Good to know." Katsuya looked at Ryou's face, only a little uncertain. They were so close, and he didn't want that to go away right now. Ryou looked so right in candlelight. Katsuya swallowed. "So … it's okay for us to be sitting in here even though the spell is over?"

"I don't think there's any harm in lingering for a while," Ryou said softly. He laid his marked hand over Katsuya's for a brief moment, as if to reassure him, and then let it rest so they were side by side, making the star.

I want more of this, Katsuya thought, staring at their hands. I want to see more of this side of Ryou and I don't want to be scared anymore - I won't be scared of the things he's interested in, and I won't be scared of getting close to him, or letting him get close to me. Katsuya might have felt like an outsider in Ryou's world when he'd walked into the apartment earlier, but here in the dark with Ryou's hand touching his, he realised that none of it mattered. So what if he was poor and stupid and had a fucked up home life? Ryou didn't care. All that shit felt like it was a million miles away. The scary stuff can't get to us while we're in here. He felt like a star, burning way out in the night, untouched and unafraid.

Outside, warm rain was pouring down and thunder murmured restlessly. The night was heavy and charged, and Ryou ran his ink-stained hand up Katsuya's arm without fear, but not without a certain amount of hesitation. The circle was supposed to be safe. Was this okay?

Katsuya gasped softly, warm eyes locked on Ryou's black ones. It was a silent, tense moment. Ryou's touch had left a fizzling comet trail of sensation along Katsuya's arm. Slowly, Katsuya mimicked Ryou's action, heart fluttering, and pulled him close, resting their foreheads together. He could feel Ryou's breath on his skin and he shivered, letting his eyes slide shut...

Katsuya thought of the moment he'd had outside Ryou's building, when he'd first lied. When he'd realised that things were changing between them, and how it meant that in some ways, things weren't going to be as easy or simple as they had been before. Now, in the circle of candlelight, he understood that some things were simple, even if they weren't easy. Ryou closed the distance between their lips and Katsuya met the kiss with shy eagerness. It was a surreal and ephemeral moment, and something in the back of his mind was clamouring that he was kissing Bakura Ryou, his friend, and that this was a terrible and reckless idea. But that part of his mind was somewhere outside the circle, and fear couldn't reach him here in this little universe Ryou had chalked out of the floor, where they were the only stars.

AN: thanks for reading! i think there's only going to be one more chapter to wrap things up but i do have ideas brewing for like ... a more long term thing? just seeing how their relationship grows and develops. so there may be more stories about these two in the future. but i'm working on another unrelated, much bigger project at the moment (hopefully the first part of that will be up some time this week)