Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Four-Sided Triangle ❯ Conclusion ( Chapter 7 )

Title: Four-Sided Triangle 6/6

Author: Tsutsuji

Fandom: Yu-gi-oh!

Rating: NC17

Pairings: Yugi/Ryou, mention of Bakura/Yami, implied YY/Y and B/R

Summary: The conclusion. Finally, it's Ryou's turn! Bakura's true motivation for the game is revealed (as well as the meaning of the title).

Thanks for the wonderful reviews! I'm so glad to know it's good for you, too! ^_^

***

Chapter 6

Ryou desperately wanted this moment to last forever, just as it was. As he felt Yugi's release, he was overwhelmed by the sweetness of holding the boy he'd long to touch and make love to. But even so, he couldn't completely forget the emptiness that waited on the other side.

Why had his Shadow let him do this? his heart cried out. Did the spirit know all along that it would only hurt more when it was over?

Ryou's soft heart couldn't believe that Bakura was that cold, even if he did act ruthlessly at times. He'd become much less harsh since his unexpected reappearance at Duelist Kingdom, but he was still unpredictable at best. Ryou couldn't guess what the Spirit of the Ring really wanted. Whatever it was, he couldn't let it steal this precious moment from him.

He pressed his face against the soft skin of Yugi's shoulder and sighed again. Tears burned against his closed eyelids as he breathed deeply, filling his lungs with Yugi's scent

Yugi moved against him a little, making his unreleased arousal throb again. He looked down at the blissfully sleepy face. Yugi's eyes were closed and he was smiling. He had to kiss him one more time.

Yugi half-opened one eye and smiled into the kiss.

"Ryou?" he asked drowsily.

"I'm still here," Ryou said. He quickly blinked back the tears and managed a smile in return.

"Mmm, good...that felt so good." Yugi moved again, stretching. A tiny frown furrowed his brows as he noticed Ryou's hardness pressed against him.

"What about you?" he asked, sounding concerned.

"It's okay," Ryou lied, denying the ache in his groin. He tried to kiss Yugi again to distract him.

"No, it isn't. What can I do? I've never done this before so I don't really know how..."

"You don't need to do anything," he said softly. "If you just... hold me," he added. It was difficult to say the words. Yugi touched his burning cheeks lightly.

"Ryou?"

"That's all I need right now, Yugi," he insisted.

Yugi nodded. He pulled Ryou's head down into the crook of his neck and put his arms around him.

But he didn't let it rest with that. He continued to move his leg between Ryou's, carefully feeling for just the right pressure and friction. Ryou put his arms around the smaller body and clung to him. When Yugi's hand slipped down between them and found him, sparks shot up his spine and exploded behind his closed eyes.

"Yugi..." He moaned the name one final time. Then Yugi found his mouth again and kissed him deeply.

Ryou cried out wordlessly into Yugi's soft mouth with every pulse that tore through him. At the end he lay limply in Yugi's arms, smiling gratefully. All of his concerns in the bright harsh world beyond this place seemed meaningless now.

Yugi lay back with a sigh as if now at last he was fully satisfied. Ryou watched his heavy-lidded eyes drift shut as the after-effect of sex finally overwhelmed him.

It wouldn't be long now, Ryou knew. Now it really was over.

He drank in the scent of Yugi's skin and the sound of his breathing, and hoped his tears had gone unnoticed.

***

Yami drifted back from his brief oblivion to find himself practically curled up in Bakura's lap. He was leaning back with his head against the taller man's broad chest, while Bakura now lay stretched out with his back against a tree. He wasn't sure how they'd ended up this way. One of Bakura's arms was curled around his shoulder; the other hand was draped across his thigh, idly brushing across his skin. The strangest thing, Yami realized suddenly, was that the Puzzle was back in its usual place, hanging on his chest. Bakura must have placed it there himself. The Ring was still hidden behind Bakura's back.

He was a little too limp yet to spring up out of Bakura's lazy embrace, and for some reason he felt no urgency to do so anyway. Bakura sat with his eyes half-closed, seeming to stare at nothing. Then he noticed Yami was awake and smiled down at him. The smile was softer than his usual scheming look, but it was clear to Yami's eyes that this was still the self-proclaimed Stealer of Souls in possession of Ryou Bakura's body.

He tried to sit up and pull out of the strange embrace, but he was hardly surprised when Bakura's arms gently but firmly held him in his close.

"I've fulfilled your conditions," Yami said, his suspicions returning through the lifting haze of his climax. "Now you must return the others unharmed."

"In a moment," Bakura said, lazily, his fingers dancing lightly on Yami's leg. Despite this, or perhaps even because if it, Yami's alarm grew.

"Release them now, demon!" he said, struggling to get his voice to rise to its usual forcefulness.

"They're not quite ready to be released," the spirit answered, his grin widening. "Give them another moment and I promise you they will both be returned safely to this world.

Yami was now alert enough to look daggers at Bakura, but as usual the spirit was unfazed, and only chuckled.

"You think I've left them in some horrible situation from which it will take time to extricate them, don't you? Well, if you were paying more attention you'd know better. If you haven't figured it out for yourself yet, I'll show you..."

Yami felt his blocked connection to Yugi open up a little. He breathed a sigh of relief as the empty place in his mind was once again lit with a sense of Yugi's presence. But he was shocked to find that the image of Yugi that came to him was much like what he'd imagined as he climaxed. For a moment he thought the Spirit had looked inside him and taken his fantasy to manipulate it for his own use.

But then he realized this was not a fantasy, it was Yugi as he was at that moment, in a twilight world on the edge of the Shadows. The vision took his breath away. Yugi was lying on his back on the ground, nearly naked. His eyes were closed and a dreamy smile was on his face. With one hand he gently stroked Ryou Bakura's hair, while Ryou was curled up half on top of him with his hand drifting over Yugi's exposed skin. Ryou seemed to be touching Yugi as a blind person might, to know and remember every contour. His expression was innocent, but his look of desire had a hint of possession in it, enough that Yami felt his heart lurch with the sudden need to have Yugi returned to him, out of reach of any other.

He heard Bakura laugh softly. He realized he was scowling hard at the vision, with all of his anger at the spirit now being directed jealously toward innocent Ryou.

"Now you see why our game could not be rushed," the Spirit said. "Our other selves were also busy with their own activities. No doubt Little Yugi will be as anxious to return to you when his senses clear, as you are to have him back. And I don't think you need to worry that your bond with your partner will be damaged by this little adventure. Undoubtedly he already knows of your affection, whether you've revealed yourself to him or not. Clearly you would do anything to protect him, even if it means making love to a tomb robber."

Yami mentally squirmed at the sharp perceptions of the Spirit. He looked again at Bakura's face, and saw that he was also watching the vision of the two in the other world with a strange deep look in his eyes. He glanced again at the other pair, and saw with surprise that the look on Ryou's face as he watched Yugi sleep mirrored the one on Bakura's face as he watched Ryou.

"Hnh," Yami said, finally understanding completely. "As it seems you would do anything for your own partner."

"Oh, not quite anything," Bakura said casually, not bothering to argue with Yami's reference to Ryou as his partner. "This small favor it was easily within my power to grant. His infatuation for Yugi was becoming a distraction. Hopefully he will have gotten it out of his system for once and all," he continued dismissively. Despite his tone, Yami heard the possessive snarl in his voice.

"And anyway," Bakura continued, "I also got something I wanted. To see the great King of Games kneeling at my feet was worth the trouble! And you were every bit as good as I hoped you'd be."

Yami grunted derisively. He was uncertain if Bakura meant to be actually paying him a compliment or if he was saying something else entirely.

He decided it didn't matter. The game was over, and if he hadn't exactly won in the usual sense, he hadn't lost, either. Yami waited, comfortable with the idea that their roles were about to return to normal. He was now fully aware of Yugi's feelings, although he knew it was a one-way link: Yugi could not sense Yami, but Yami could hear his thoughts stirring. As the young one's haze of comfort lifted, he felt Yugi's concern for him rush through him like a cold wave.

***

Ryou felt Yugi starting to stir and saw his gaze become more focused. The little furrow between his brows returned and deepened, and Ryou knew he was starting to worry about his other self again. Reluctantly he drew his hand away, pulling back into himself.

"Ryou...." Yugi said questioningly.

"I'm sorry, Yugi," Ryou said automatically. He sat up and started to pull his clothes back into place. He couldn't look at Yugi. To his surprise, Yugi's hands covered his, and then gently pulled him back down to lie alongside him.

"I'm not sorry," Yugi said, smiling. He wrapped his arms around Ryou and snuggled against his chest. "It's better to stay close," he said simply, his voice muffled.

Ryou put his arms around Yugi again, and tried not to think about the intense look of concern for Yami that he'd seen on Yugi's face. In his warm embrace it was easy to forget, for a moment.

"I wonder how the duel is going," Yugi said, finally voicing his concern.

"I don't know, but I'm sure it will be over soon," Ryou answered. He hoped his sadness didn't show in his voice. He knew full well that it was already over, but he didn't want to tell Yugi that.

He felt the Spirit's mind touch his.

"You look comfortable," the Spirit thought to him after a moment. Ryou was surprised at the tone of the thought. There was only the slightest hint of sarcasm, not at all what he expected.

"Yes," Ryou admitted. "I am."

"Well, it's time. Are you satisfied?"

Ryou nodded. He touched his lips lightly to Yugi's forehead.

"Must you take the memories away?" he asked the Spirit.

"That was the condition," Bakura thought in reply. "You may keep your memory of this, as I shall, but the Pharaoh and his little partner must believe that this never happened. You have a few more minutes while we clean ourselves up, and then it's over."

Ryou sighed. "I understand... Thank you."

Bakura said nothing for a moment. Then Ryou overheard him as he spoke out loud to Yami.

"Perhaps you'd better dress," Bakura suggested to Yugi's Other Self. "Your little partner might not be the exhibitionist you are, and he might not appreciate finding himself naked in the public park when his spirit returns to his body."

Yami huffed at him indignantly, but he sat up and quickly pulled Yugi's clothes back on. Bakura did the same with Ryou's t-shirt and jeans. When they were both tidy again, he picked up the Ring and held it in both hands.

"Be prepared," he thought to Ryou.

The Ring flashed. Ryou laid one last kiss on Yugi's cheek before he felt the world drop away around him.

***

~~Epilogue~~

A moment later Ryou felt himself jarred back into his own body as if he'd been shaken apart and poured into it, like sand into a mold. He blinked and flinched a little as his normal senses took hold again. The park seemed unnaturally bright now, even under the shade of the trees.

Yugi stood beside him, blinking rapidly and looking confused.

"Ryou?" he said. "I'm sorry... what were you saying? I guess I just spaced out for a moment." He gave an embarrassed laugh.

Ryou's heard jumped when Yugi said his given name. For a second he thought Yugi would remember after all, but then it became clear that he didn't remember a thing. He forced a smile.

"We were just talking about Duel Monsters," Ryou answered.

"Oh, of course!" Yugi said. "Well, why are we standing here, let's go find the others!"

As they walked along, Yugi chattered about cards for a few seconds, but then his talk returned to the Puzzle and Pegasus' attempt to take it.

"The Spirit of the Puzzle -- Yami -- I can sense that he's worried that someone else might try to take it away again. So am I," he said thoughtfully. His hand closed around the Item possessively. "I couldn't bear to lose him. Somehow it feels like we've suddenly become closer than ever."

The Spirit of the Ring stirred in Ryou's mind.

"You see, my host, even if were to allow you to pursue your silly romantic fantasy, you could not break the bond that exists between those two."

If this was supposed to hurt Ryou, it didn't. Oddly enough he felt happier, even as he watched Yugi's far-away expression and realized that he was sharing his thoughts with Yami at that very moment.

"I'm glad," he thought. "At least Yugi has someone that he knows really cares about him."

He sensed Bakura's sharp irritation.

"Blind fool," the Spirit muttered.

The tone of his thought surprised Ryou. Then something odd occurred to him. Could Bakura actually be jealous? It didn't seem likely. But as soon as he thought of it, he realized that if he were, he would never admit it.

They found the others sitting on a bench in the middle of the park. Honda, Anzu and Jonouchi waved and called greetings, then gathered around Yugi, talking and joking loudly. Ryou stood beside them, barely listening to their talk.

"It's good to have someone who cares about you," he thought softly, "even if they can't tell you that they do."

"What are you babbling about now?" Bakura said. "It sounds like having sex with Yugi has finally addled your brains completely."

"Never mind," Ryou said softly to himself.

Yugi caught his eye for a second and grinned. Then he went back to telling the group about Yami's latest dueling strategy idea.

Ryou smiled at them all, though his smile went unnoticed. "Never mind."

*****

(Notes: I've played with the ideas of Shadow Realm, Shadow Game, and Bakura's powers a bit, but I've tried to make this fit more or less in anime canon. It's taken me a year to write this thing, but parts of this chapter were written on the very first day I got the idea. Did I pull off what I was trying to do? I'm not sure. Reviews and constructive criticism are much appreciated!)