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Description
Ryou squirmed closer to his sleeping yami and tried in vain to fall asleep. No matter how hard he tried Ryou was troubled by thoughts that only came to him at night, the thoughts that made him scared to sleep.
Ryou was the only one who knew that Bakura was trapped by nightmares every night. Ryou was also the only person who knew that Bakura was capable of crying because Ryou was the reason why Bakura always cried.
During the thief kings nightly terrors he always struck out with everything he had. Bakura would hit, kick, bite, and occasionally slash with the knife that he kept underneath his pillow. Of course the only person who was ever there was Ryou. Ryou was the one who took on all the pain that was intended for Bakura's nightly attacker. Though it hurt Ryou never cried out or complained and Bakura hated Ryou for that. Bakura would feel better if Ryou would get mad at him or at least as act though he had done something wrong but Ryou never did that. Instead Ryou always was gentle and soft, telling his yami it wasn't his fault. Though Bakura hated Ryou for being so kind Bakura also knew that it wasn't Ryou he hated, it was himself.
Everyone of Ryou's friend still thought that Bakura beat Ryou due to the fact that he had new injuries every time they saw him but it wasn't true.  Bakura had changed a lot from the person he used to be. He had gone from a sick sadist to someone who could actually love.
Ryou sighed and buried his face in his yami's soft hair, breathing in his scent. Suddenly Bakura tensed up. Ryou tensed up too, knowing that Bakura was about to start attacking.
Ryou was prepared for the first hit. Bakura's fist caught him on the cheek, sending a flash of pain through his face.
"Bakura, wake up." Ryou said gently as he shook Bakura softly. A knife slashed through the air cutting Ryou's chest. Blood seeped through his white night shirt and Ryou let out a small whimper.
"Kura, it's time to wake up." Ryou said in a voice of forced calm, ignoring the pain in his chest. As the knife swished through the air again it cut a thin line at Ryou's throat.
Ryou grabbed the hand holding the knife, the hikari's other hand trying to slow the flow of blood coming from his neck.
"Bakura." Ryou said gently yet fiercely. The yami's blood chocolate eyes flashed open, wide with fear.
Bakura's eyes traveled from his hand holding the knife to the cuts on Ryou's skin. The yami's hand began to tremble as he dropped the knife. The bloodied knife fell onto the white sheet, staining it red.
"Ryou...I'm sorry…" Bakura choked out, tears threatening in his eyes.
"It's just a scratch." Ryou lied, letting go of his yami's hand. "It doesn't hurt at all."
"I'm sorry." Bakura whispered, looking down at the sheets. Small drops of water appeared on the blood stained sheet.
"Bakura, look at me, I'm alright." Ryou said as he brought Bakura's chin up. Tears ran silently down the frightened yami's face. Ryou smiled at his yami and wiped the tears from his cheeks.
"Ry-ou" Bakura cried before burying his face in his hikari's shirt. Ryou held his yami tight as he cried.
After a few minutes Bakura forced himself to stop crying. Ryou stroked his yami's hair as they sat there, both silent, both lost in their own morbid thoughts.
Dawn found the two boys collapsed on the bed, holding onto each other, asleep. Ryou squirmed as the light hit him and buried his face deeper into his yami's soft hair. Bakura yawned and sleepily opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was Ryou, clinging tightly to him even in sleep.  A slight smile played on Bakura's lips as he stared at his hikari. Ryou looked so innocent and sweet that Bakura wanted to hide him away from the rest of the world and keep him to himself but Bakura knew that Ryou would never let him do that so instead the yami made due with looking lovingly at the small sleeping boy.
The sleepy hikari woke a few minutes later, yawning. Bakura smiled at Ryou and Ryou smiled sleepily back as he sat up. Bakura sat up too.
"Morning Kura." Ryou mumbled, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes.
"Morning my little fluffy hikari." Bakura replied. Ryou smiled and leaned against his yami, willing himself not to go back to sleep. Bakura smiled back and hugged his hikari tightly for a moment.
"Shouldn't you be getting ready for school?" Bakura asked.
"Can I stay here with you today?" Ryou asked, still not fully awake.
"Don't you have a test today?" Bakura said nonchalantly.
"No." Ryou lied, drawing the word out much longer than necessary. Bakura laughed and let go of Ryou. The tired hikari fell onto the bed as Bakura stood up.
"I can try and make breakfast?" Bakura suggested.
"No, no, no!" Ryou exclaimed, suddenly wide awake, as he remembered the last time Bakura had tried to make breakfast.
"At least that got you to wake up." Bakura laughed. Ryou glared at his yami, trying to look dangerous but all he succeeded in doing was looking like an annoyed kitten.
Finally Ryou gave up on the glaring thing and decided to get dressed. The hikari turned away from Bakura as he got dressed, trying to hide the blood on his shirt from last night. Ryou pulled off his sweats and shirt, throwing both in the hamper, and pulled on some pants. As Ryou looked around for a shirt Bakura came up behind him and wrapped his arms around his hikari.
"Kura?!" Ryou asked, startled for a moment.
Bakura didn't answer. Instead he rested his head on Ryou's shoulder, staring at the cuts that stood out sharply against Ryou's pale skin.  The yami's pale slender fingers traced the cuts with the soft touch of a butterfly's wing. Suddenly Bakura released his hikari and walked off, furious at himself.
Ryou sighed, he had forgotten about hiding the cuts from Bakura. He could still feel his yami's feather light touch upon his skin, tracing those two lines.
Ryou pulled on a shirt and grabbed his book bag. He walked into the living room where Bakura was sitting. Ryou dropped his bag on the couch and hurried into the kitchen to make some pancakes for breakfast.
In less than ten minutes the table was set with pancakes, eggs, and bacon loaded onto the plates. The timing was impressive, even for Ryou.
"Kura," Ryou called out in a singsong voice.  "Breakfast time!"
Bakura slouched into the kitchen and sat next to Ryou. Ryou smiled at Bakura and his yami gave a weak smile back. As Ryou hurried and ate Bakura pushed his food around on his plate.
"Is something wrong?" Ryou asked as he paused in his eating.
"Yeah, guess I'm not all that hungry." Bakura replied with a slight shrug. Ryou stared worriedly at his yami then took his plate to the sink.
"I have to go now." Ryou said as he grabbed his bag. Bakura walked over to his hikari and kissed him gently on the lips, squeezing him in a quick embrace.
"I love you." Bakura whispered.
"I love you too." Ryou whispered back, a slight smile playing on his face. Bakura kissed his sweet hikari one last time before deciding to release him.
"Bye." Ryou said happily as he opened the door, smiling at his yami.
"Goodbye my sweet little hikari." Bakura replied, smiling back as Ryou disappeared through the door.

"Hey Ryou!" Yugi greeted Ryou as he walked into the classroom.
"Hey little Ry." Malik called from the back of the classroom. Yugi and Ryou walked over to where Malik was.
"What did fluffy do to you this time?" Malik asked as Ryou took his seat next to him.
"What do you mean?" Ryou asked.
"Don't lie Ryou." Yugi interjected. "We can see the cut on your neck."
"That?" Ryou asked, unconsciously covering the cut with his hand.
"Yes that!" Malik demanded.
"I accidently cut myself while I was making dinner." Ryou lied horribly.
"On your neck?" Yugi asked sarcastically. Ryou nodded.
"I don't see why you still cover up for that sicko." Malik said. "Every day you come to school with a new injury and a lame excuse. We know that fluffy is the one that hurts you. You know you tell anything."
"If you want you can even come live with me." Yugi added. "So you won't have to be tortured by that creep."
"What?!" Ryou asked, blanching at the thought of living without Bakura. "I can't… I couldn't…I would never be able to do that."
"Of course you could. Pharaoh and I would be happy to have you." Yugi said.
"So would I, though I can't speak for Marik…" Malik told Ryou too. Ryou just shook his head blankly unable to imagine life without his precious yami, even just the thought of it made Ryou want to stop living.
"I'm alright with Bakura." Ryou reassured his friends, still reeling from the thought of life without Bakura. "I wouldn't leave him if my life depended on it."
"You're way too nice to that psychopath." Malik sighed.
"I guess that's one reason why you're our friend." Yugi agreed. "You're way too nice to everyone."
"I guess." Ryou said with a half shrug. Malik opened his mouth to say something more but the teacher hushed them all and started the lesson.
During lunch Malik and Yugi, thankfully, stayed away from the subject of Bakura though they did throw a lot of worried glances in his direction. Ryou ignored these looks and stayed on happy subjects, talking and laughing along with his friends.
After school Yugi and Malik decided to walk Ryou home.
"I'll be fine by myself." Ryou told his friends.
"I don't care." Yugi said. "We're walking home with you whether you like it or not."
"If you want we can follow you like stalkers." Malik suggested with an evil smile.
"Thank but no." Ryou laughed.
"Then it's settled, we're walking you home." Yugi stated. Ryou rolled his eyes but didn't object as he started walking towards his apartment. Malik and Yugi flanked either side of him.
The three of them laughed and talked the whole way to Ryou's apartment. When Ryou opened the door the 'ever so eager to see Ryou' Bakura wasn't there.
"See you tomorrow." Ryou told his friends as they turned to leave.
"See ya." They called back.
"And be careful around fluffy." Malik added. Ryou just rolled his eyes and waved one last time before closing the door.
Since Bakura wasn't home Ryou decided to make dinner. He grabbed a couple of steaks out of the freezer and set them on the counter to defrost. Then Ryou snagged a book from his bag and curled up on the couch to read.
An hour later Ryou got up from the couch and covered the steaks with marinade then set them in the broiler. As Ryou curled back up on the couch the front door opened, revealing a windblown Bakura.
"Kura!" Ryou called joyously. He jumped up from the couch and wrapped his arms tightly around his yami. Bakura half smiled and hugged Ryou back.
"Hello fluffy one." Bakura laughed. Ryou laughed along too.
"Dinner's nearly ready." Ryou told Bakura.
"Thanks." Bakura murmured into his hikari's hair, his smile fading.
"Is something wrong?" Ryou asked.
"Huh? Why do you ask that?" Bakura asked startled.
"You sound kind of sad." Ryou said.
"It's nothing. I've just had a long day." Bakura told Ryou.
"Okay." Ryou replied, believing Bakura's lie.
"I'm going to go get washed up before dinner." Bakura said as he detangled himself Ryou.
"Okay." Ryou said. "I shall go finish up dinner."
Ryou walked towards the kitchen while Bakura headed towards the bathroom. Ryou pulled the steak out of the oven and added boiling water to the instant mash potatoes. Bakura walked back into the room as Ryou was setting the table.
"Let me help." Bakura said as he took the plates from Ryou.
"Thanks!" Ryou beamed at his yami and Bakura gave him a crooked smile back.
The two of the finished setting the table and sat down to eat. Bakura was moving the food around his plate again. Ryou was watching him worriedly, not eating a thing either.
"Don't you like it?" Ryou asked. "I thought steak was your favorite."
"I love steak." Bakura reassured Ryou. "I guess I just feel like eating right now."
"I'm sorry." Ryou apologized.
"For what?" Bakura asked puzzled.
"I should have asked you when you wanted to eat…" Ryou said guilty.
"No, no, no, it wasn't your fault at all." Bakura told Ryou. "If it's anyone's fault it was mine."
Ryou stayed silent and picked at his food. His face showed no emotion. Bakura sighed and thought about what he was going…had to do.
"So how was school?" Bakura asked, trying to change the subject to something happier.
"Same as usual…" Ryou said with a sort of half shrug.
"Did they think I was the one who cut you?" Bakura asked darkly.
"Huh? How did you know that?" Ryou asked.
"When I was walking back I heard Yugi and Malik talking about how I'm constantly beating you but you're too kind to leave me." Bakura muttered, his eyes cast down, his grip on his knife tightening.  "I guess their right..." Bakura said with a dark, sad laugh. "I am always hurting you but you never stay away. I have told you again and again. The only real way to keep you safe is if I die. I know that if I leave you'll just follow me." Bakura's voice was now bordering on the edge of tears. "No matter what I do you never listen and I always end up hurting you!" Tears were now running down Bakura's face. "The only way you'll ever be safe is if I die…" Bakura whispered again.
"I'm sorry Ryou…I…I love you…" Bakura choked out as he looked into Ryou's eyes showing him just how much pain he felt right now. Bakura raised the knife.
"No, Bakura…" Ryou whispered as he saw the knife.  "Bakura!" Ryou screamed, crying as blood splattered his face.

Description
Ryou squirmed closer to his sleeping yami and tried in vain to fall asleep. No matter how hard he tried Ryou was troubled by thoughts that only came to him at night, the thoughts that made him scared to sleep.
Ryou was the only one who knew that Bakura was trapped by nightmares every night. Ryou was also the only person who knew that Bakura was capable of crying because Ryou was the reason why Bakura always cried.
During the thief kings nightly terrors he always struck out with everything he had. Bakura would hit, kick, bite, and occasionally slash with the knife that he kept underneath his pillow. Of course the only person who was ever there was Ryou. Ryou was the one who took on all the pain that was intended for Bakura's nightly attacker. Though it hurt Ryou never cried out or complained and Bakura hated Ryou for that. Bakura would feel better if Ryou would get mad at him or at least as act though he had done something wrong but Ryou never did that. Instead Ryou always was gentle and soft, telling his yami it wasn't his fault. Though Bakura hated Ryou for being so kind Bakura also knew that it wasn't Ryou he hated, it was himself.
Everyone of Ryou's friend still thought that Bakura beat Ryou due to the fact that he had new injuries every time they saw him but it wasn't true.  Bakura had changed a lot from the person he used to be. He had gone from a sick sadist to someone who could actually love.
Ryou sighed and buried his face in his yami's soft hair, breathing in his scent. Suddenly Bakura tensed up. Ryou tensed up too, knowing that Bakura was about to start attacking.
Ryou was prepared for the first hit. Bakura's fist caught him on the cheek, sending a flash of pain through his face.
"Bakura, wake up." Ryou said gently as he shook Bakura softly. A knife slashed through the air cutting Ryou's chest. Blood seeped through his white night shirt and Ryou let out a small whimper.
"Kura, it's time to wake up." Ryou said in a voice of forced calm, ignoring the pain in his chest. As the knife swished through the air again it cut a thin line at Ryou's throat.
Ryou grabbed the hand holding the knife, the hikari's other hand trying to slow the flow of blood coming from his neck.
"Bakura." Ryou said gently yet fiercely. The yami's blood chocolate eyes flashed open, wide with fear.
Bakura's eyes traveled from his hand holding the knife to the cuts on Ryou's skin. The yami's hand began to tremble as he dropped the knife. The bloodied knife fell onto the white sheet, staining it red.
"Ryou...I'm sorry…" Bakura choked out, tears threatening in his eyes.
"It's just a scratch." Ryou lied, letting go of his yami's hand. "It doesn't hurt at all."
"I'm sorry." Bakura whispered, looking down at the sheets. Small drops of water appeared on the blood stained sheet.
"Bakura, look at me, I'm alright." Ryou said as he brought Bakura's chin up. Tears ran silently down the frightened yami's face. Ryou smiled at his yami and wiped the tears from his cheeks.
"Ry-ou" Bakura cried before burying his face in his hikari's shirt. Ryou held his yami tight as he cried.
After a few minutes Bakura forced himself to stop crying. Ryou stroked his yami's hair as they sat there, both silent, both lost in their own morbid thoughts.
Dawn found the two boys collapsed on the bed, holding onto each other, asleep. Ryou squirmed as the light hit him and buried his face deeper into his yami's soft hair. Bakura yawned and sleepily opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was Ryou, clinging tightly to him even in sleep.  A slight smile played on Bakura's lips as he stared at his hikari. Ryou looked so innocent and sweet that Bakura wanted to hide him away from the rest of the world and keep him to himself but Bakura knew that Ryou would never let him do that so instead the yami made due with looking lovingly at the small sleeping boy.
The sleepy hikari woke a few minutes later, yawning. Bakura smiled at Ryou and Ryou smiled sleepily back as he sat up. Bakura sat up too.
"Morning Kura." Ryou mumbled, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes.
"Morning my little fluffy hikari." Bakura replied. Ryou smiled and leaned against his yami, willing himself not to go back to sleep. Bakura smiled back and hugged his hikari tightly for a moment.
"Shouldn't you be getting ready for school?" Bakura asked.
"Can I stay here with you today?" Ryou asked, still not fully awake.
"Don't you have a test today?" Bakura said nonchalantly.
"No." Ryou lied, drawing the word out much longer than necessary. Bakura laughed and let go of Ryou. The tired hikari fell onto the bed as Bakura stood up.
"I can try and make breakfast?" Bakura suggested.
"No, no, no!" Ryou exclaimed, suddenly wide awake, as he remembered the last time Bakura had tried to make breakfast.
"At least that got you to wake up." Bakura laughed. Ryou glared at his yami, trying to look dangerous but all he succeeded in doing was looking like an annoyed kitten.
Finally Ryou gave up on the glaring thing and decided to get dressed. The hikari turned away from Bakura as he got dressed, trying to hide the blood on his shirt from last night. Ryou pulled off his sweats and shirt, throwing both in the hamper, and pulled on some pants. As Ryou looked around for a shirt Bakura came up behind him and wrapped his arms around his hikari.
"Kura?!" Ryou asked, startled for a moment.
Bakura didn't answer. Instead he rested his head on Ryou's shoulder, staring at the cuts that stood out sharply against Ryou's pale skin.  The yami's pale slender fingers traced the cuts with the soft touch of a butterfly's wing. Suddenly Bakura released his hikari and walked off, furious at himself.
Ryou sighed, he had forgotten about hiding the cuts from Bakura. He could still feel his yami's feather light touch upon his skin, tracing those two lines.
Ryou pulled on a shirt and grabbed his book bag. He walked into the living room where Bakura was sitting. Ryou dropped his bag on the couch and hurried into the kitchen to make some pancakes for breakfast.
In less than ten minutes the table was set with pancakes, eggs, and bacon loaded onto the plates. The timing was impressive, even for Ryou.
"Kura," Ryou called out in a singsong voice.  "Breakfast time!"
Bakura slouched into the kitchen and sat next to Ryou. Ryou smiled at Bakura and his yami gave a weak smile back. As Ryou hurried and ate Bakura pushed his food around on his plate.
"Is something wrong?" Ryou asked as he paused in his eating.
"Yeah, guess I'm not all that hungry." Bakura replied with a slight shrug. Ryou stared worriedly at his yami then took his plate to the sink.
"I have to go now." Ryou said as he grabbed his bag. Bakura walked over to his hikari and kissed him gently on the lips, squeezing him in a quick embrace.
"I love you." Bakura whispered.
"I love you too." Ryou whispered back, a slight smile playing on his face. Bakura kissed his sweet hikari one last time before deciding to release him.
"Bye." Ryou said happily as he opened the door, smiling at his yami.
"Goodbye my sweet little hikari." Bakura replied, smiling back as Ryou disappeared through the door.

"Hey Ryou!" Yugi greeted Ryou as he walked into the classroom.
"Hey little Ry." Malik called from the back of the classroom. Yugi and Ryou walked over to where Malik was.
"What did fluffy do to you this time?" Malik asked as Ryou took his seat next to him.
"What do you mean?" Ryou asked.
"Don't lie Ryou." Yugi interjected. "We can see the cut on your neck."
"That?" Ryou asked, unconsciously covering the cut with his hand.
"Yes that!" Malik demanded.
"I accidently cut myself while I was making dinner." Ryou lied horribly.
"On your neck?" Yugi asked sarcastically. Ryou nodded.
"I don't see why you still cover up for that sicko." Malik said. "Every day you come to school with a new injury and a lame excuse. We know that fluffy is the one that hurts you. You know you tell anything."
"If you want you can even come live with me." Yugi added. "So you won't have to be tortured by that creep."
"What?!" Ryou asked, blanching at the thought of living without Bakura. "I can't… I couldn't…I would never be able to do that."
"Of course you could. Pharaoh and I would be happy to have you." Yugi said.
"So would I, though I can't speak for Marik…" Malik told Ryou too. Ryou just shook his head blankly unable to imagine life without his precious yami, even just the thought of it made Ryou want to stop living.
"I'm alright with Bakura." Ryou reassured his friends, still reeling from the thought of life without Bakura. "I wouldn't leave him if my life depended on it."
"You're way too nice to that psychopath." Malik sighed.
"I guess that's one reason why you're our friend." Yugi agreed. "You're way too nice to everyone."
"I guess." Ryou said with a half shrug. Malik opened his mouth to say something more but the teacher hushed them all and started the lesson.
During lunch Malik and Yugi, thankfully, stayed away from the subject of Bakura though they did throw a lot of worried glances in his direction. Ryou ignored these looks and stayed on happy subjects, talking and laughing along with his friends.
After school Yugi and Malik decided to walk Ryou home.
"I'll be fine by myself." Ryou told his friends.
"I don't care." Yugi said. "We're walking home with you whether you like it or not."
"If you want we can follow you like stalkers." Malik suggested with an evil smile.
"Thank but no." Ryou laughed.
"Then it's settled, we're walking you home." Yugi stated. Ryou rolled his eyes but didn't object as he started walking towards his apartment. Malik and Yugi flanked either side of him.
The three of them laughed and talked the whole way to Ryou's apartment. When Ryou opened the door the 'ever so eager to see Ryou' Bakura wasn't there.
"See you tomorrow." Ryou told his friends as they turned to leave.
"See ya." They called back.
"And be careful around fluffy." Malik added. Ryou just rolled his eyes and waved one last time before closing the door.
Since Bakura wasn't home Ryou decided to make dinner. He grabbed a couple of steaks out of the freezer and set them on the counter to defrost. Then Ryou snagged a book from his bag and curled up on the couch to read.
An hour later Ryou got up from the couch and covered the steaks with marinade then set them in the broiler. As Ryou curled back up on the couch the front door opened, revealing a windblown Bakura.
"Kura!" Ryou called joyously. He jumped up from the couch and wrapped his arms tightly around his yami. Bakura half smiled and hugged Ryou back.
"Hello fluffy one." Bakura laughed. Ryou laughed along too.
"Dinner's nearly ready." Ryou told Bakura.
"Thanks." Bakura murmured into his hikari's hair, his smile fading.
"Is something wrong?" Ryou asked.
"Huh? Why do you ask that?" Bakura asked startled.
"You sound kind of sad." Ryou said.
"It's nothing. I've just had a long day." Bakura told Ryou.
"Okay." Ryou replied, believing Bakura's lie.
"I'm going to go get washed up before dinner." Bakura said as he detangled himself Ryou.
"Okay." Ryou said. "I shall go finish up dinner."
Ryou walked towards the kitchen while Bakura headed towards the bathroom. Ryou pulled the steak out of the oven and added boiling water to the instant mash potatoes. Bakura walked back into the room as Ryou was setting the table.
"Let me help." Bakura said as he took the plates from Ryou.
"Thanks!" Ryou beamed at his yami and Bakura gave him a crooked smile back.
The two of the finished setting the table and sat down to eat. Bakura was moving the food around his plate again. Ryou was watching him worriedly, not eating a thing either.
"Don't you like it?" Ryou asked. "I thought steak was your favorite."
"I love steak." Bakura reassured Ryou. "I guess I just feel like eating right now."
"I'm sorry." Ryou apologized.
"For what?" Bakura asked puzzled.
"I should have asked you when you wanted to eat…" Ryou said guilty.
"No, no, no, it wasn't your fault at all." Bakura told Ryou. "If it's anyone's fault it was mine."
Ryou stayed silent and picked at his food. His face showed no emotion. Bakura sighed and thought about what he was going…had to do.
"So how was school?" Bakura asked, trying to change the subject to something happier.
"Same as usual…" Ryou said with a sort of half shrug.
"Did they think I was the one who cut you?" Bakura asked darkly.
"Huh? How did you know that?" Ryou asked.
"When I was walking back I heard Yugi and Malik talking about how I'm constantly beating you but you're too kind to leave me." Bakura muttered, his eyes cast down, his grip on his knife tightening.  "I guess their right..." Bakura said with a dark, sad laugh. "I am always hurting you but you never stay away. I have told you again and again. The only real way to keep you safe is if I die. I know that if I leave you'll just follow me." Bakura's voice was now bordering on the edge of tears. "No matter what I do you never listen and I always end up hurting you!" Tears were now running down Bakura's face. "The only way you'll ever be safe is if I die…" Bakura whispered again.
"I'm sorry Ryou…I…I love you…" Bakura choked out as he looked into Ryou's eyes showing him just how much pain he felt right now. Bakura raised the knife.
"No, Bakura…" Ryou whispered as he saw the knife.  "Bakura!" Ryou screamed, crying as blood splattered his face.