A big thank you to everyone who has ever reviewed this story. All your comments have been appreciated and it is with a sad heart that i bid you farewell.
Chapter 9
The next day Bakura woke up with a splitting headache. That wasn't the only problem though. He was freezing and had the urge to vomit.
Bakura opened his eyes and stared up. It took him a few minutes to realize that the ceiling he was staring at was not the one in Ryou's room. Bakura blinked, wondering for the first time where he actually collapsed.
Slowly Bakura got to his feet and looked around. He recognized Ryou's living room. He also recognized the sound of metal on pot that came from the kitchen.
Bakura made his way into the kitchen and immediately noticed Ryou eating breakfast. A sudden fear overcame Bakura. What if Ryou had encountered him while he was drunk? He could've made the situation between them even worse!
What was Ryou going to do when he saw him standing there? Act as if nothing happened? Burst into tears? Flinch when he came close?
Ryou turned to look at Bakura when he felt the sensation of being watched. He quickly looked down again and mumbled, "Good Morning."
At least he hadn't burst into tears. Bakura let out an inaudible sigh. "Could you…err…make me breakfast?" he asked unsurely.
Ryou nodded and set to work without turning to look at the thief. He was trying to make as little eye contact with Bakura as possible. If he didn't look it was easier to keep his emotions in check.
Breakfast was eaten in silence, both afraid to say anything. Bakura because he was scared he would scare Ryou if he so much as breathed. Ryou because he was afraid to not only set Bakura off but also because he didn't want to change his emotionless state and make himself vulnerable.
It was a relief when the phone rang. Ryou walked out into the hall to answer it and, when he told the other person his name, was promptly deafened by a loud, "MERRY CHRISTMAS RYOU!"
Ryou had to wait until his ears had stopped hurting before he replied. "Merry Christmas Malik. Did you need to be so loud?"
"Sorry, I guess I was a little loud wasn't I?" Malik replied sheepishly.
"Just a bit."
"Ryou, the reason I called was to ask if your father had arrived."
Ryou looked puzzled. "My father? He wrote to me and said that he wouldn't be back for awhile. Why?"
"Because I'm inviting you to spend Christmas with us!" Malik said cheerfully.
"But I thought Ishizu wanted you to spend Christmas as a-"
"That plan was thrown out the window when she decided that we were going to be celebrating with the Kaibas. If she gets to be with her boyfriend then I get to spend Christmas with my best friend. And Bakura," Malik explained.
"Oh. Alright. Does that mean we should go to the Kaiba mansion?" Ryou asked, slightly dazed.
"Yep! See you there Ryou."
"See you," Ryou replied before he put down the receiver.
It looked like Christmas Day was going to be…interesting.
After a long, silent walk Ryou and Bakura arrived at the Kaiba Mansion. Once they got to the main house they received a warm welcome. "Ryou! Bakura! It's about time you got here," Malik said cheerfully as they entered the sitting room.
They both nodded at the excited blond who then introduced Bakura to the other people in the room. "The woman on the sofa is my sister Ishizu, the guy next to her is Seto, the kid on the floor is Seto's brother Mokuba and the one in the armchair is my brother Rishid."
Ishizu offered them a polite hello, Mokuba waved, Rishid nodded his head and Seto stayed stoic.
"Lively bunch," Bakura muttered under his breath.
Malik grinned. "Well now that you're here the fun can begin." He turned to Mokuba and asked, "What games do you have?"
"Loads," Mokuba replied enthusiastically. "There's monopoly and cluedo and chess."
"We need something everyone can play that doesn't involve reading," Malik mused.
"Why can't it involve reading?" asked Mokuba.
"Because Bakura can't read…Japanese," Malik said when he noticed the thief's glare.
Mokuba thought about it for a minute before an ingenious idea popped into his head. "I know!" he cried before running off to find what he was looking for.
There was an awkward silence while everyone awaited his return. "So you're Ryou's brother?" Seto finally asked Bakura.
Bakura frowned. "No."
"Cousin?" Seto tried again.
"No."
"He's not related to Ryou. I think. He came from 3000 years in the past and just happens to have white hair and the same last name as Ryou," Malik explained.
Seto scoffed. "Another one of your Egyptian fairy tales? When are you people going to admit that magic doesn't exist?"
"It does exist," Ishizu protested.
She and Seto then broke out into an argument over the existence of magic. Malik looked at the others and rolled his eyes.
A minute or so later Mokuba returned with a wide grin on his face. "Let's play Twister!" he shouted.
Malik also grinned. "Good idea," he complimented.
They both started to organize the game but were met with either reluctance or confusion. Once the game had been explained, though, they had Bakura willing to play.
"I'll spin the pointer but won't play since wearing a dress puts me at a disadvantage," Ishizu told them.
After much persuasion Seto and Ryou also got involved. Seto was the first to fall, though there was speculation that he had done it just escape playing. Ryou was forced into an embarrassing situation when he had to move under Bakura to reach the correct circle. Their eyes locked for a moment before Ryou fell onto his back and was disqualified.
Mokuba was the next to fall which left only Malik and Bakura to play for the title. In the end Malik won. He then went on to perform a victory dance that made everyone laugh or at least smile.
Since dinner was still a few hours away (and nobody wanted to play twister again) they all sat down and played cards. Before long Bakura became the master of Old Maid, Seto the champion of Newmarket and Ryou winner of Go Fish.
When they had finished playing cards dinner was ready to be served. The cooks had worked especially hard to produce the feast that was set before the guests. Succulent pieces of meat, vegetables of every kind, stuffing and sauces. Everyone's mouth watered as they dug in to the best money can buy.
When everyone had eaten as much as they could (including dessert) they all moved to the living room where a large Christmas tree was surrounded by presents. Seto and Ishizu sat on the sofa while Rishid took the chair and everyone else sat on the floor. Malik and Mokuba took charge of handing out presents to everyone.
"Here you go Ryou," Malik said as he handed Ryou his present.
"Thank you Malik," Ryou said but froze when he saw what he had received.
Bakura looked over Ryou's shoulder and frowned. "A book? What's it called?"
Ryou's face turned a dark crimson. He mumbled the name quickly and hung his head. Bakura frowned and asked him to repeat it. "I said it's called the virgin's guide to sex!" Ryou cried, shame written all over his face.
Malik laughed and Bakura was only just able to contain his own amused chuckle. "Don't worry Ryou; it's just a gag gift," Malik said, still grinning. Noticing that his friend was close to tears he quickly handed him his real present. Ryou took off the wrapping and stared at the gift in front of him.
"An X-box? Malik how can you afford this?" Ryou asked in amazement.
"He wasn't the one who bought it," Seto interjected. "He begged me to use my contacts to get it."
"You begged?" Ryou asked, even more astounded.
"That was what the gag gift was for," Malik explained. "If I have to humiliate myself then you do too." Ryou gave Malik a friendly hug. "You've also got some games from Ishizu and Rishid," Malik added, slightly embarrassed.
Ryou thanked them and Seto for his gifts.
"Sorry Bakura but we didn't have time to get you anything," Malik said.
Bakura shrugged. He hadn't met any of them before and hadn't even known about this holiday until Ryou explained it to him. He hadn't expected to get anything.
The thing that Bakura was most anxious about was whether Ryou liked his gift or not. Even if he didn't understand the symbolism he hoped he liked it.
"And last but not least," Malik said as he pulled out a small wrapped box from under the tree, "To Ryou from Bakura."
Ryou looked at Bakura in surprise. The thief turned away, not wanting to meet his gaze.
Ryou accepted the small box from Malik and carefully unwrapped it. He opened the lid and gasped. A large, round, silver coin that was attached to a piece of cord and had the eye of Horous in the centre stared back at him.
Malik looked over Ryou's shoulder and gaped. "Ryou, do you know what that is?" he whispered. "A replica Miracle Token. That's what the Pharaoh's used to give to the princess they wanted to propose to, kind of like an Ancient Egyptian engagement ring."
Ryou's breath was coming in short gasps. His heart seemed to be going a mile a minute. His mind was reeling from the information and realization. This was what he had wished for. Bakura's appearance had pushed his wish from his mind. He'd been so busy trying to cope with this stranger that he had forgotten.
It all made sense now. The strange new feelings he had for Bakura. The way Bakura had wanted to be close to him. The reason Bakura had appeared in the first place.
With this joyous realization came guilt. He had accused Bakura of trying to rape him because of lust. Now that he knew it was because he was trying to express his love Ryou felt like kicking himself.
Ryou turned to look at Bakura. The thief was trying to hide it but he was definitely blushing. A small smile appeared on Ryou's lips as he placed the box with the Token on the floor. Bakura saw the movement out of the corner of his eye and felt rejection course through his chest. The feeling increased and his heart seemed to break when he heard the words, "I'm sorry," come softly out of Ryou's perfect mouth.
Suddenly, Bakura was snapped from his misery by a soft hand on hid cheek. The hand turned his face so that he could stare into Ryou's beautiful brown eyes. "I love you too," were the only words Ryou said before he pressed his lips gently against Bakura's.
When Bakura's shock had worn off he felt a light fluttering in his chest. Was this what it felt like to be truly happy?
Ryou pulled away, his cheeks red from embarrassment. He removed his hand from Bakura's cheek and took the token from the box. He placed the cord over his head and let it fall to rest over his heart.
Bakura swallowed as Ryou looked back up at him. "Does this mean that…you want us to be a couple?"
Ryou nodded. "If we love each other why shouldn't we be?"
"You're right," Bakura said before he pounced on the unsuspecting Ryou and ravished his mouth.
Malik grinned as he watched his two best friends make-out. Ishizu smiled and Rishid looked away respectively. Seto remained stoic and covered his brother's eyes. This action was met by a protesting, "Hey!" from Mokuba.
Eventually Bakura came up for air. He stared down at Ryou and smirked when he saw a hint of lust in the 'innocent' boy's eyes.
Seto cleared his throat and everyone turned to look at him. "I'd appreciate it if you two refrain from doing that on my property and in front of my brother," he said, businesslike as always.
"But Seto I wanted to see them at it," Mokuba whined. "It's not like I haven't seen worse on TV."
"What?"
"Everyone laughed at Seto's mortification. They then had a fire lit, since it had gone dark outside, in the huge fireplace. They divided into groups and had their own private conversations.
Ryou was leaning against Bakura's shoulder and Bakura's arm was around Ryou's waist. They sat in silence, not really knowing what to say to each other. But it was a comfortable silence, not an awkward one.
Ryou was contemplating telling Bakura about his wish but eventually decided that maybe it would be better remaining a secret. He was sure Bakura wouldn't like feeling that he wasn't in control of his own destiny.
Bakura was wondering if it was really this easy. Give the person you love a gift and they magically return your love? He was too cynical to think that was possible. "Ryou?" Bakura said softly. Ryou made a noise to show that he was listening. "Was my gift really so amazing that it made you love me?"
Ryou was quiet for a moment as he decided how to answer the question. "It's always been there – my love has always been there. I tried to deny that what I felt was more than friendship but it was still there. Malik explained your gift's symbolism and I finally accepted that you did have real feeling for me. Then I realized what I had been feeling and I just…decided to go with it."
Ryou shrugged and Bakura smiled. He cupped Ryou's cheek and turned his face towards his. "I'm glad you decided to go with it," Bakura said before kissing his new lover.
Ryou smiled as they broke away. "Kissing your true love by the fire as snow falls; the perfect Christmas," he whispered before moving back to meet Bakura's lips.
Tis the end!-cries- Please Review!