SW: Well, I think this is it…

Yugi: Wow! Really?

SW: Yep, the last chapter of 'Supply and Demand'.

Bakura: Good riddance.

Thank you to Ocena Strex (Yep, this is the ending. :/ My Puzzle- and Bronze-shipping are fine but my Tendershipping…Ryou and Bakura are definitely going to have to do a lot of smoothing over for things to work out between them. Let's see!), Firewolf360 (Haha, glad you're excited! I can't wait to write it ;) And you'll find out about Ryou and Bakura ahead!), samaurai (Right? Bakura, suck it up and be a man), Ern Estine 13624 (Yeah…Hope you like this chapter!), and Time-Stopping-9990 (Thank you so much! Ryou's fate is still being decided, but I'm sure it will all work out!...But then again…) for reviewing!
Enjoy!

((((((LINE))))))

Ryou's arms shook as he stood up from his wheelchair, immediately grabbing a tight hold of the bars on either side of him for support, not resting any weight on his injured leg. He looked over at the trainer, who nodded her head. Slowly, like they had been doing for the past three weeks, Ryou let both feet rest on the floor, ignoring the immediate and sharp pain he felt as he let his hands loosen from the bars on either side of him. He heard the brace around his leg clank on the floor. Ryou bit his lip, staring hard at his leg as if sheer willpower would get it to move.

Taking a step forward with his uninjured leg, Ryou started to go through the motions of walking. But when brought his other foot forward and stepped down on his heel, an unbearable jolt of searing agony caused his leg to buckle and collapse.

He cried out and gripped the bars, his hands the only thing holding him up as the athletic trainer came running. She wheeled his chair over and helped him into it, stating how it was okay and they were making progress and Ryou would get it eventually, he just needed to stay determined.

Ryou stared down at his lap, trying not to let on about the pessimistic thoughts that had started to take over his mind. He didn't feel determined, not anymore. The only thing he felt was the dull throbbing in his leg.

Later, when he had been returned to his hospital room, Ryou heard his friends coming down the hall and braced himself.

"Hey, Ryou! How you feeling?" The albino glanced up as Malik and Yugi entered his room.

He gave a small smile, before looking down at his lap again. "Fine, I guess. I think I'm ready to accept the truth now though." Both of his friends looked confused, and Ryou gave a sardonic laugh. "I'm never going to walk again."

"What? No, you can't say that!" Yugi ran forward and grabbed one of Ryou's hands, which was quickly ripped away.

"It's been three weeks, Yugi! And I still can't even take a single step! It's obvious the physical training isn't working. You should just accept it like I have!" Ryou choked back a sob, shaking his head to clear it. "…I just don't know what to do anymore…"

Malik snorted and crossed his arms. "So you're going to give up? Is that how Ryou works nowadays?"

"Yeah, just because you've hit a little bump doesn't mean it's all over!" Yugi gave a huff and reached for Ryou's hands again, holding on tighter this time. "We're all here for you, Ryou. When you run out of strength, just take some of ours, okay?"

Ryou looked at their joined hands, before meeting both of his friends' eyes with tears in his own. "Can I borrow some of that strength now?"

"Duh, what are friends for?" Malik clapped Ryou on the shoulder then started to pull the table over to the bedside. "Shuffle 'em up, Yugi! Today's the day I beat you!"

((((((LINE))))))

"Hey, Isis! How's Malik doing?"

The woman looked over her shoulder and waved at one of her officers, smiling as she entered her office. "He's much better, thank you!"

And he was. Humming lightly to herself, Isis walked around her desk and sat down, shuffling through the papers she found there. In the past month, Malik hadn't spaced out on her once and just last week had actually started to open up and talk to her. It was amazing progress. It only frustrated her slightly that it had been Marik who had finally broken through that wall Malik put up.

She sighed and tightened her ponytail. Well, it couldn't be helped. And with Yugi dating Yami, she couldn't exactly enforce that officers can't date victims. As she went through some of the paperwork on her desk, she heard the sound of Malik loudly scolding Marik through the door to her office. Isis shook her head, a small smile playing across her lips. Besides, they seemed to go good together. At least, Marik had been exponentially less destructive since Malik had come home.

Outside, the blondes in question were running around the conference room, though if someone were to look closely, it would be hard to distinguish who was chasing whom.

"If you two idiots don't shut up this instant I swear one of you is going to lose a head. Literally."

Malik stopped, pouting over at Bakura. "Oh, c'mon. Can't we have a little fun?"
"I know what your definition of 'fun' is and I'd rather not have to burn my eyes out, so no." Bakura scowled at the two, holster in hand.

Malik stuck his tongue out at him and Marik rolled his eyes. "Do you need a partner for your patrol?"

"I just came back from it, idiot. The only reason I came in here is because my office is close enough to the conference room that I can hear your stupid arguments, and if it's alright with you, I'd actually like to do my work." Bakura turned, exiting the room and making his way to his office, the sound of a slamming door carrying down the hall.

Huffing lightly, Malik crossed his arms and made a face in Bakura's direction. "Someone needs to get laid."

"Too true. The only time Bakura ever actually focuses on his work is when he's frustrated about something. And considering he's been working non-stop since you-know-who was admitted to the hospital, I'm pretty sure I know what he's frustrated about." Marik smirked and walked over to Malik, wrapping his arms around the other's body.

Malik hummed and leaned into the embrace, lifting his head for the kiss that quickly deepened. He pulled away after a moment with a frown. "How are we going to get him to talk to Ryou? He hasn't even visited the hospital once."

"Bakura's an idiot." Marik nuzzled into Malik's neck. "I'm sure he'll figure it out eventually."

Yugi passed by the conference room, stepping in for a moment. "Hey, have either of you seen-"

"Yami's out on patrol, sorry."

"Actually," Yugi shuffled his feet, a blush growing as he noticed the position Malik and Marik were in, "I was looking for Bakura."

Malik blinked, barely feeling the hand drifting across and down his chest. "Oh. Well, he's in his office, but I wouldn't bother him. He's a bit…"

Yugi called out a thanks, leaving the conference room and stopping in front of Bakura's office, knocking once before entering. "Hello, Bakura. How are you today?"
"I never said you could come in." Bakura was scowling into his gun as he cleaned it. "Yami's out on a patrol."

Yugi pouted. "Why does everyone assume I'm looking for-" he took a deep breath and smiled politely, "I'm here to talk to you. It's about Ryou."

His hands paused for a moment, before he slowly started to put the gun back together again. "Yeah?"

"Uh," Yugi nervously watched Bakura's hands, suddenly losing confidence. He coughed, "You probably know this, but Ryou's going through physical therapy right now so that he'll be able to walk again."

Bakura examined the now complete gun, checking its sight right next to Yugi's head. "What does this have to do with me?"

"Oh! Well, Ryou could use all the support that he could get, especially now that he's considering giving up." Yugi swallowed, trying to ignore the gun pointed at him so he could watch Bakura for any type of response. "Maybe you could, I don't know, visit him and help him get some of his confidence back?"

Bakura snorted and put his gun away in a drawer. "And you think I'm the one who can do that?"

"You two did stay together after you rescued us from Millennium, I would've thought you had gotten closer…"
"No." Bakura glared at Yugi. "Get out of my office."

The smaller scrambled, practically running out. Bakura sighed as soon as his door had closed behind Yugi. He picked up a dart, aiming quickly before letting it fly, watching as it found its mark on the door.

((((((LINE))))))

Ryou fingered the top of his leg brace, frowning as he remembered the day's physical therapy session. Yugi and Malik had gone to visit the station a little over two hours ago, leaving him alone to think. Today had been particularly unsuccessful, but he knew he couldn't give up just yet. He'd rather not use a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

There was a knock at the door and Ryou looked up to see a nurse with a smile at the door. He vaguely recognized her, but that wasn't a surprise. In his extended stay at the hospital, Ryou had at least seen almost all the nurses who worked here.

This one giggled lightly. "Hello, Ryou. How are you?"
"Fine, thank you." He frowned slightly. "Is there something wrong?"
She let out another giggle. "Oh, no. Quite the opposite!" The nurse stepped into the room, and Ryou noticed the single white tulip she was holding. She came forward and placed it on his lap. "I found this in the file holder outside your door. It seems you've got a secret admirer, Ryou! Isn't that exciting?"

The boy hummed, examining the flower. The nurse waited for a moment, expecting an answer, but after a few minutes, Ryou didn't look up and she left. He rubbed a petal in between his finger and thumb, a small smile spreading across his face.

"I hope you appreciate that. The flower shop ripped me off."

Ryou drew in a sharp breath, his heart almost stopping in his chest. He didn't want to look up. "Why-What made you come?"
"Oh, so I need a reason now?" He heard footsteps approach the side of his bed. "Are you gonna look at me or are you just gonna sit there?"

He bit his lip, squeezing his eyes shut before looking up at Bakura. The man was scowling down at him and he shrunk back into his bed. The other grit his teeth and let out a long breath. "Look. I know I can be difficult-" Ryou snorted, "-and you are definitely the most annoying kid on the face of the Earth-"

"Wait! How am I annoying?" Ryou sat up, crossing his arms indignantly. "And don't call me a kid!"
Bakura smirked. "Touchy, touchy."

The smaller smacked his forehead, before dragging his hand down his face. "You're doing this on purpose."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"We haven't talked in almost four months, Bakura." Ryou reached down to finger his brace again. "Seriously, why are you here?"

There was a long pause. Ryou crossed his arms and Bakura chuckled at the younger's attempt at a threatening expression. Still, he started, "A little birdie-"

"Yugi."

"Stop interrupting me. Or I'm leaving." Ryou drew a line over his lips, before throwing his hand over his shoulder to throw away the key. "You're such a kid." Bakura held a hand to stop the words coming out of Ryou's open mouth, a smug grin on his lips. "Ah! You're lips are sealed. Anyways, a little birdie told me that you were thinking about quitting physical therapy. So I decided that I would convince you not to."

"Why? Why would you do that?"
Bakura paused again, glancing over at the wall. He opened his mouth to say something, but then turned to leave. "Yeah, you're right, it was stupid of me."
"Wait!" Without thinking, Ryou launched himself out of bed. He took a moment to look down at his feet in surprise, both resting on the floor without any pain, before reaching out to Bakura. He didn't want to risk taking a step and ruining the hope that had started to fill him. "Please don't go!"

The man turned back, his mouth in a smirk when he saw Ryou standing. "Look, you're going to walk again. And when you can, give me a call. You can stay at my house until you find an apartment or something."

Ryou blinked, before a wide grin was on his face. "Yeah, okay." Neither of them stating that it wasn't very likely Ryou would find an apartment.

"See ya." Bakura turned and raised a hand over his head, leaving the room with Ryou still standing beside his bed.

Ryou looked down at his feet, the silly smile on his face far from disappearing. Everything was going to be okay. He knew it.

((((((LINE))))))

Bakura: That's it?
SW: Yeah, so? I like this ending.

Bakura: It's lame! Can Ryou walk? Will I get together with Ryou?

SW: I thought you didn't like this story?

Bakura: …I don't! Cliffhangers are just bloody stupid!
SW: Not really a cliffhanger… -.-"

Ryou: I'm gonna miss this story!
SW: *sob* ME TOO!
Thank you to anyone who reviewed~

Thank you to anyone who favorited or followed this story!
Thank you to anyone who favorited or followed me!
Thank you for reading!

Review?