Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ I'll Be Home for Christmas ❯ Five Golden Rings ( Chapter 5 )

JG-chan: Whoo-hoo!! I am sooo on a roll with this fic it's not funny! Too bad not many people like to review it -_- but oh well! I will not drop my standards to being a review whore! :D Oh, and hopefully my format is a bit better from this chapter onwards… Onto the reviewer responses!

Black-Butterfly: *shrugs* I am too ^_^ although, whores don't exactly turn me on o-O Anyway, there isn't that much angst… but there might be some at the end. If you have any requests, I will gladly accept them =^o^=

Nomalaz: Wow, I inspired you? AWESOME! *feels special* That's really cool. Yeah, I like Jou and Ryou a lot too :D that's why I did this fic XD Nyoko: (JG's yami) e_e no DUH

DISCLAIMER: I own nada!

Warning: SHOUNEN-AI and I think probably some cursing. Oh, and alcohol usage :D

Five Golden Rings

"Happy birthday, Malik!"

Malik's birthday was today, the twenty-third of December. He was finally eighteen and was celebrating like it was 1999. Everyone had arrived at his house about half an hour ago, including Ryou, Bakura and Jou. Everybody who had been invited was mostly already there, including Yami, Yuugi, Anzu, Otogi and Honda. Marik was out getting the alcoholic supplies with Rishid, and Isis was… well, nobody really knew. Probably still upstairs getting ready.

"Ryou! You made it!" The platinum-haired Egyptian shrieked, bounding over to the three newcomers.

"Of course we did!" Ryou replied. "Here, this present is from Jou and myself."

Jou watched as Ryou handed over a small present. On the tag it said `TO: Malik FROM: Jounouchi and Ryou. Jou hadn't the faintest clue what the present was, but would definitely thank Ryou later for whatever it was, and for saving his butt.

"Thanks you guys! I'll open it when everybody is here. We're just waiting for Marik and Rishid to get back from the liquor store." Malik replied, taking the present from Ryou.

Jou wandered the room with his eyes, briefly stopping at the pile of suitcases stacked on top of each other in the corner of the living room. That's right; Malik was leaving tomorrow for Egypt. It was the same every year. The Ishtar family always left on Christmas Eve to go back to their home country for the winter. Malik hated the cold, naturally. He was always excited around this time of year, not being able to wait to go home. He'd always bug people about telling them how many days were left until he went.

"We're back!" Marik hollered as he walked in the door carrying a crate of beer on his shoulder. Rishid followed him in.

Jou cringed and felt his stomach lurch in seeing the brand name of the beer - Steinlager; the same type of beer his father drinks. "You won't be able to drink too much tonight if you're going to Egypt tomorrow will you, Malik?" Jou asked.

Malik shook his head.

"That's why he'll be drinking in moderation," Isis mentioned as she came downstairs in a white cocktail dress. "Isn't that right little brother?"

"Yeah, yeah." Malik muttered. "Time to open presents now!"

Everybody sat down in a circle on the floor of Malik's living room. Anzu sat opposite Malik in the circle, blushing at him. Everyone knew she had had been hot for him ever since the end of the Battle City Tournament, despite her liking toward Yuugi. Nobody really knew how Yuugi felt about it, but he didn't appear too bothered. In fact, he was just about joined at the hip with Yami every time anyone saw him. Everybody was sure Malik knew about Anzu's crush, but he wasn't taking interest, much to Anzu's dismay.

"Open mine first Malik-kun!" Anzu said, handing him her present.

"Uh, alright." He replied, taking the gift from her. He unwrapped it slowly. Inside was a box of Christmas sweets and a letter. "Oh, thanks Anzu." He said.

"You can read the letter later if you want." She said, and looked away.

"Alright, who's next?"

"We both got you a present, Malik. It's from both of us." Otogi said, speaking for Honda and himself as he handed over his present.

Malik took it from the raven-haired teen and ripped off the paper. Staring down at the gift inside, he went beet red. "You sick freaks! When, how and why do you expect me to get any use out of this stuff?"

Honda was rolling around on the floor bellowing with laughter, as Otogi just giggled. "What you don't like it?"

"What have I ever done to you to deserve this humiliation?" Malik shrieked. Honda laughed harder by the minute. "Was it your plan to embarrass me on my birthday?"

"What did they get you, hikari?" Marik asked, looking confused.

Malik sighed and showed everyone the gift - a package that contained lubrication, condoms, three porn magazines, a DVD and some pots of edible body paint in chocolate, banana and strawberry. Everybody cracked up laughing.

Rishid laughed. "You're only eighteen once, master Malik."

Marik grinned wickedly across the circle of his other half. "It should come in handy later on."

Jou's eyes nearly popped out of his sockets. Had he heard correctly? He turned to Ryou to discuss it. "Uh, Ry? Did I not hear right? Because I swore I just heard Marik say something dirty to Malik."

"You heard right alright," Ryou giggled. "They've kept it quiet for a while, but Malik and Marik have been together for about three months."

Jou could have died. "Are you… serious?"

"Yup!" Ryou replied. "Didn't expect that, huh?"

"I thought everyone was straight except me… Is there anyone else I should know about?" Jou giggled nervously to some degree.

"Well, we have our suspicions about Yami and Yuugi, but we know for sure that Honda and Otogi are seeing each other too." Ryou stated.

Jou's adrenaline was pulsing so hard he thought he was going to explode. His breathing started to come in short, ragged gasps and a small sweat broke out onto his forehead. How come nobody talked about this at school? Was he the only one that didn't know? And if so, why? Didn't they want him to know or something? `Great…' Jou thought. `I got myself all worked up for nothing about being bisexual when all my friends basically are too. Why wouldn't they have told me? Especially Honda… or Yuugi. I thought they were my friends…'

"Alright! A deck booster! Thanks, Yuugi, Yami! You guys rock!" Malik exclaimed, looking at the new cards he had received for his deck from the two star-haired boys.

"Open ours next, Malik." Ryou said, handing three presents over to Malik. They were all quite small boxes, of near equal size.

"Alright, I'll open the one from you and Jou first." Malik decided, and removed the gold and red wrapping from around it. Inside was a small box covered in dark purple velvet. Jou's heart thumped inside his chest in anticipation. "Ryou… Jou! This is awesome! I love it!"

Jou could have died when Malik pulled the piece of jewellery out of the velvet case and flung it about the air for everyone to see. It was a gold chain with a gold pendant of an ankh* on it. Right in the centre of the ankh was a generous sized amethyst stone. It looked as though it must have cost Ryou a fortune.

"I knew you'd like it!" Ryou cried. "Didn't you Jou?"

Jou felt like he just got smacked in the face with a wet fish. "Uh, yeah, definitely."

*~***~*

The rest of the night was pretty cruisy. Ryou had given Malik a personal gift, of which Jou wasn't really too sure, and Bakura gave him a CD - The R&B Collection II. Everybody except for Jou and Ryou were having some quiet drinks, discussing what they would be doing over the Christmas-New Year period. Otogi was heading down to his home-town of Takamatsu, and was taking Honda with him; Yami and Yuugi were spending it together with Yuugi's grandfather and Anzu was going to her parents' house. Jou guessed that Ryou would more than likely want to spend Christmas with Bakura alone, and so would be forced to go to his mother's.

"Hey everyone! Wanna play a game?" Malik suggested, calling everyone's attention.

"What sort of game?" Yami asked keenly.

Malik shrugged. "Anything! Truth or Dare, Spin the Bottle, I Never…"

"Why don't we play all?" Ryou suggested.

Anzu's eyes lit up, in high hopes she might be forced to kiss Malik at some stage during the night. "Yeah, that sounds like fun!"

"We'll start with I Never," Malik began, sitting himself on a chair. "But beware, if you're playing this game with me and Marik, you better be prepared for some pretty out-of-the-blue statements." He added, smirking haughtily.

Everyone chattered nervously and giggled amongst themselves before agreeing to the game. They found a seat either on the one of the three couches, chairs or resorted to the floor. Jou sat next to Honda and Otogi on one of the couches, and Ryou perched next to Bakura on the floor. Anzu quickly squeezed in next to Malik and flashed him a brilliant smile.

"You play this game by saying `I never… blah blah blah'," Marik said, opening a new bottle of lager. "If you have done what that person said, however, you must take a skull of your drink. Whoever has the most left in their drink by the end, wins."

"And what about the person that loses?" Anzu asked.

"Well, the person who wins gets to chose their punishment." Marik replied, smirking in her direction.

Malik smiled under half-lidded eyes at everyone in his living room. "Shall we begin?"

"Yeah!"

*~***~*

"I have never…" Malik mumbled in a slurred voice, and hiccupped a few times. "Had sex in a car!" He then took another swig of his beer. Isis looked at him warily, wondering if she should tell him to slow down a bit.

Jou sighed and took a swig of his lemon and vodka. He could hardly taste the vodka in it, but was deciding to go easy on it anyway, since he was driving. Otogi, Honda and Marik each took another swig of their drinks too. Ryou gave Jou a look of shock horror, now knowing that the car they would be going home in tonight had already been christened.

Malik let out a loud burp and put his empty bottle down. "I lose!" He shouted, and laughed. Everybody laughed hard at the drunken Egyptian. Isis merely held her head in one hand and rolled her eyes. "Let's play a different game now!"

"Like what?" Ryou asked.

"Spin the Bottle!"

*~***~*

The bottle landed on Jou. Isis of course went exceptionally red - roses staining her cheeks - as she noticed who the bottle had apparently landed on. He was at least four or five years younger than her and she felt more or less like a pedophile having to do this, especially in front of Rishid who would undoubtedly harass her for it later.

"Go on sister! What are you waiting for? Jounouchi's starting to blush…" Malik teased.

"Oh be quiet, Malik-sama." Isis snapped, and moved across the circle. "How long do I have to do this for?"

"Err… how long is it up to now?" Marik asked.

"It has to be at least fifteen seconds." Anzu answered.

Isis pursed her lips shut, embarrassed, and looking Jou in the eyes she whispered, "I promise it will be over before you know it."

Jou just grinned at the beautiful foreign woman facing him and closed his eyes, waiting for her to kiss him. He nearly melted when he felt her soft lips close over his, memories of past girlfriends flooding back to him. `Girls are still good.' He decided. Deepening the kiss, Jou put his hand behind the back of Isis' head and pulled her closer, their tongues brushing together in a delicate rhythm.

"Time!" Anzu said loudly. Jounouchi and Isis immediately pulled away. "It's your go, Jou-kun."

With a quaking hand, Jou reached toward the empty green Steinlager bottle and spun it quickly. All the blood in his body suddenly rushed to his groin as it landed on the person sitting opposite him in the circle - Bakura. The ivory-haired spirit purely smirked his response and crossed his arms.

"Well, well, well. A twenty-second kiss with Jounouchi, huh? This should be interesting." He scoffed, almost ridiculing the flaxen haired boy.

Jou glared at him. "Can we just get on with it?"

"Eager are we?" Bakura said, a glint of mischievousness flickering in his eye. He moved across the circle and pushed Jou down on his back, and straddled him. Everyone moved their positions to get a better view of the two boys. "I've been waiting for this…" Bakura whispered huskily as he leaned down to Jou's ear. "I'm sure Ryou's feeling quite jealous right now…"

That familiar feeling of when Ryou had hugged him that day at the mall came about Jou again, the blood rushing through his thighs, arms and face. His body felt weak and heavy, and a sweat once again broke out on his forehead. He almost felt feverish the way his head became light and the vision of Bakura hazy. At the same time he was trying to control what was happening downstairs, but in vain.

"Why do you say that…?" Jou choked out nervously.

"…Oh, you don't know, then?" Bakura replied, his voice touched with sarcasm. "Maybe I should just let you find out for yourself then."

"Huh--"

Before Jou had a chance to ask what the hell Bakura meant by that, he felt a strong hand violently pull his head back to an appropriate angle to allow Bakura the best access to Jou's mouth. A pair of warm, fleshy lips invaded Jou's own, barely giving him a chance to breathe. Bakura growled low in his throat hungrily, exploring every inch of the blond's mouth. Their tongues battled for domination while Bakura spread Jou's legs and settled himself between them, their evident arousals rubbing up against each other, creating heated friction.

"Oh!" Jou let out a strangled cry of pleasure, not knowing what was going on in his body, but not really caring either. It felt too good to care.

"Uh… time, you guys…" Anzu said.

Bakura pulled back and stared down at Jou, his eyes blazing scarlet red and filled with sheer lust. "Hn… You liked that, did you?"

Jou, panting as he was, pushed the spirit off of himself and sat up. "Uh… excuse me for a moment, guys."

Quickly gathering himself up, the honey eyed boy dashed upstairs to the bathroom and closed the door behind him with all of his body weight, and sank to the floor. He felt horrible, but so good and out-and-out excited beyond belief at the same time. His erection throbbed painfully in his trousers, wanting nothing but attention. He quickly got to his feet and undid his pants, pulled out his length and pounded at himself until he burst with a full release. By now he was absolutely exhausted, but the vivid image of Bakura's mouth on his would still not cease to leave his mind.

"Jou…? Are you alright?"

Ryou's soft voice reassured Jou that he was still there, looking out for him. "Yeah, Ryou. I'm fine. Just give me a minute and I'll be right down."

There was silence for a moment. "Err, well actually, I was wondering if I could come in and talk to you for a sec. If that's okay, of course?"

Jou quickly cleaned himself up and opened the door. "What's up?"

Ryou walked into the bathroom and perched on the side of the bath. "How do you feel? I know that can't have been the best experience for your first time kissing a boy… Bakura being such a horny bastard and all…"

Jou chuckled. "It was fine… a little rough, but it was okay."

"Well, I'm glad." Ryou replied, standing up and putting a hand on Jou's shoulder. "We were going to head off now anyway; Malik's pretty much comatose now and everyone's leaving."

Jou nodded. "Alright then, let's go."

*~***~*

Christmas Eve. The day that is supposed to represent dreamlike love and peace between families, friends or couples. `How ironic' Jou thought. `Trust something like this to happen on Christmas of all times.' He thought, staring out to the inky black night sky, dotted with thousands upon thousands of snowflakes and stars. Most of the roads were closed due to heavy snowfall in the northern parts of the city - where Ryou lived. If Jou wanted to go anywhere, they would have to go by foot to the subway station and take the underground trains. He didn't have a clue which train he was going to take to see Shizuka tomorrow. He guessed he'd just have to take a stab in the dark.

"Oh, well I'm so glad you made it there safely, Malik! Is it hot there? Oh, yes of course it is. Ha-ha, silly me. Yeah, I miss you too!"

Ryou was on the phone at the moment, as Jou could tell. Malik had called about ten minutes ago from his hotel in Cairo. Money was no object to the Ishtar family, so they could do what they liked. They usually only went for about two weeks to see their relatives, but insisted on staying in a hotel while they were away. As Jou listened, he really wanted to know what they were talking about.

"Malik, don't read that to me! It's personal. I'm sure Anzu wouldn't appreciate it, either."

Jou perked up. "Is he going to read that letter to ya, Ry?" He asked.

"Yeah!" Ryou laughed and turned back to the phone. "Huh, what was that? Oh, alright. Hey, Jou, go and plug in your phone and listen in; he wants you to hear what this letter says too."

Jounou grinned. "Alright, hold on a sec." He said as he ran to get his cordless phone out of one of the boxes in his room. He finally found it and plugged it in, pressing the talk button. "Malik?"

[Jou? Is that you?]

"Yeah! How was the trip?"

[It was fine! I love it here. We're going to see the pyramids again tomorrow.]

"Man, you're so lucky. So, how about this letter then?" Jou asked, grinning at Ryou.

Ryou scowled at him. "Must you be so nosey?"

"Yes! I wanna know what Anzu wrote to you, Malik." He replied.

Ryou rolled his eyes. "You two are just as bad as each other."

Malik giggled over the line. [Alright, alright. Get a load of this. I'll start from the beginning, okay?]

"Okay," Ryou and Jou said in unison.

The sound of Malik clearing his throat was heard. Then he began: ["Dear Malik-kun, happy birthday! I guess it must feel good to finally be eighteen huh? I wouldn't know, I've barely turned seventeen myself! Anyway, that's not really the reason I decided to write this letter to you."] Malik stopped and laughed. [Now it gets interesting…]

Jou and Ryou were in a fit of giggles, feeling most immature. "Keep going Malik, I'm dyin' in suspense here!" Jou cried.

["As you probably know, I'm going to America next year to start my dancing career in New York, and I just wanted to let you know something before I go: I have the most deep, sincere crush on you than I have anyone else!]

Jou exploded with laughter. "Oh Kami, keep going, please! This is rich!"

Malik laughed and put on Anzu's voice again. ["I would really appreciate it if you could write back to me, or phone me, or even come and see me about this. I know there is about a 99% chance you probably don't feel the same, but I have to know before I leave. I don't think you realise how serious this is - if you feel the same for me, I would stay in Japan, for you! I hope I don't sound obsessed or anything, but I would willingly devote my life to you if only you felt the same. Please Malik, for your sake, let me know, okay? With love, your friend, Anzu Masaki."]

Jou was breathless with laughter, whereas Ryou was going red and giggling uncontrollably. Bakura looked over his shoulder from his position on the couch and rolled his eyes, resuming back to the rather dull Christmas Eve movie on television.

"Oh man," Jou said, now having gotten his breath back. "She is going to get the harassment of her life when I next see her!"

Ryou smiled. "How do you feel about her though, Malik? She seems… uh…"

[Like a Ra damn stalker, maybe?! I mean I knew I had fans but this is just off the chain! There's no way I'd date her, I'm sorry. She's really not my type - at all.]

"She's going to feel so bad…" Ryou mumbled softly.

"Are you going to write back to her?" Jou asked.

[I don't know.] Malik replied. [I'll probably just call her and tell her I'm not interested. Marik would go berserk if I wrote to her or went around to see her.]

Jou was silent for a moment, remembering that Malik was dating his other half which seemed… weird.

"Alright, but whatever you do, don't lead her on. Her heart will be broken enough by rejection, Malik-kun." Ryou said in a warning type tone.

[Yeah, yeah.] The muffled phone-voice replied. [Anyway, I gotta go. Isis will have kittens if she sees how much this phone call is going to cost.]

"Alright, have fun now! Call me next week when you get the chance, alright?" Ryou requested.

[Yeah, of course. Love you!]

"Love you too, Malik. Bye now." Ryou replied softly.

[Ja ne! Bye, Jounouchi!]

"Later, Malik."

Dial tone.

Ryou and Jou hung up their phones and got up from their sitting positions to stretch their muscles. They smiled at each other before moving into the kitchen. Jou sat up at the breakfast bar and watched as Ryou disappeared into the fridge. The thin English boy was wearing a pair of cotton, light-blue cross-hatch patterned boxers and a t-shirt that was about five sizes too big for him. Jou suddenly felt embarrassed that he hadn't changed into his pyjamas yet.

"Do you like eggnog?" Ryou asked, pulling a container of the thick liquid out of the refrigerator.

"What, might I ask, in the hell is `eggnog'?" Jou asked, completely baffled.

Ryou laughed heartily out loud. "It's a Christmas drink we usually have on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. It's made with eggs, milk, cream, and usually has one or two types of liqueur in it."

"Oh yeah? What does it taste like?" Jou asked, interested.

"Well I made some up this morning while you were still asleep." Ryou replied. "Would you like a glass?"

"Un, I might just have a taste of yours if that's alright." Jou said.

"Not a problem." Ryou smiled. "Bakura!!"

The silvery-haired thief lifted his head. "What?!"

"Want some eggnog?"

"Yes."

"What's the magic word?"

Bakura rolled his eyes in monotony. "PLEASE!"

Ryou grinned at the irony in his darker half's voice. "Coming right up!" Quickly he got out two large glasses that were almost the size of small bowls on little glass stands, and poured each of them with some of the foamy, creamy liquid. "Here, try some." Ryou said, handing Jou his glass.

The blond looked hesitantly at the foreign liquid with suspicious ocher eyes. "You're not tryin' to poison me, are ya?"

Ryou laughed and shook his head, his hair rustling about his face. "Of course I'm not. Go ahead, it's not that bad. I put some rum and brandy in it for flavour."

"Hn… alright, I trust you." Jou said as he picked up the glass and put it to his lips, taking a taste of wonderful new flavours. "Hey, this ain't so bad!"

"How can anything alcoholic possibly be bad?" Bakura asked as he walked up to the countertop and took his glass of eggnog. Ryou rolled his eyes playfully and poured Jou his own glass, and put the mixture back into the fridge.

*~***~*

Jou sat huddled into the corner of the couch, his eyes glued to the TV. Ryou sat in the middle of the couch, while Bakura was at the other end with his legs stretched out over Ryou's lap. His eyelids were becoming heavy and he was bored mindless with the program on TV due to the fact he could hardly understand any of it. He sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Doesn't this Ra-damn country have any Egyptian channels?" He protested.

"You already know the answer to that, Bakura." Ryou replied drowsily.

Bakura snorted. "Well I think I might go to bed then," He said, getting up from his comfy position. "Goodnight, hikari." He said, and quickly leaned down to peck Ryou lightly on the lips.

"Night, yami." Ryou mumbled, then yawned loudly.

Jou watched as the spirit made his way to Jou's end of the couch. Chocolate eyes fused with amber and Bakura plunged his mouth onto Jounouchi's, a lot rougher than he had done with Ryou. But despite the improper beginning to the kiss, he became much more gentle and solemn. There was no dominating this time, and Jou found it much more of a turn-on than what had happened at Malik's last night.

"Goodnight, Jounouchi." With so much of a whisper, he left.

"… Night."

Jou turned to Ryou, who was smiling humbly at him. "He likes you," Ryou said, referring to Bakura in an almost doglike way.

"Yeah…" Jou said. "I noticed. But why? I thought you guys… loved each other."

"Oh, we do!" Ryou said. "Very much… and we've discussed you, if you were wondering."

Jou quirked an eyebrow. "What do you mean, you `discussed' me?"

Ryou sighed. "I have a confession, Jou. I didn't know when to tell you, because I thought you'd freak out or something… But please don't think of it as an excuse for you to move in with me, I wouldn't do that to you."

Jou wasn't entirely sure where Ryou was coming from, but was trying to understand. "Go on…"

"I like you, Jounouchi Katsuya. A lot. We both do… and I'm not sure how much longer I can stand it."

Jou's heart raced in hearing this confession. `So that's what Bakura meant about Ryou being jealous…' Jou was confused, but he knew one thing. All he wanted to do right now was kiss Ryou. He had already had Bakura, and now it was Ryou's turn. He leaned in closer to the pastel-haired boy and tenderly stroked his face. Ryou's eyes had not left Jou's since speaking, and he took initiative and tilted his head to the right, parted his lips, and closed his eyes. Jou his cue and did the same, completely and utterly indulging in Ryou's sweetness, relishing the honeyed taste of him.

Ryou moaned softly into the touch and enfolded his arms around Jou's masculine shoulders. Jou did not hold back; he not only groaned loudly at the beautiful, flawless friction between them, but at the feel of Ryou's tongue slipping into his mouth and rubbing faultlessly against his. The need for bounteous air soon became desperate, and the two boys pulled apart, feeling lightheaded and at the height of their rapture.

"I think I might be in love," Jou murmured jokingly.

Ryou smiled through half-lidded eyes. "I think I am."

Jou hmmed contentedly and brushed the silver strands of stray hair out of Ryou's eyes. "So, what now?"

"We sleep," Ryou said. "Or try to, at least. But, will you sleep with me tonight? In my bed?"

Jou nodded. "I thought you'd never ask."

*~***~*

+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+ ~TBC

*= Ankh: Yeah, the ankh is the same thing as what you see on Shadi's millennium item, the "Millennium Key" -_- that's such a bad translation. Anyway, look it up on the internet if you wanna get a better look ^_^

JG-chan: Ack that was a BAD ending! XD But I HAD to find somewhere to stop before it got too long, AND to hold you in suspense! Til next time, please review! =^-^=