Adult-FanFiction.org : Yu-Gi-OH

Anachronism	By : Ochodre Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > Het - Male/Female Views: 4986 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh!, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Author's Notes: Heh, I don't mind at all, a lot of the reviews I get (not on aff, but ff) have been just... one word or phrase or crazy crap like people roleplaying. o___O; I know what you mean about plot, and I've been debating over whether to give this story more substance. I think I'm going to since it'd be fun and because I'd feel guilty just having this be nothing but WAFF after WAFF, but it probably won't show up for a few more chapters. So just hold tight, I guess. o_o
It's no problem. If the lime stuff really makes you uncomfortable, well, the version on ffnet will be completely free of 'em. o_o
Heh, I really don't know. After I'd get this story finished, Ryou and Baku would be kind of... done in my book, if that makes sense. I've already felt like I've written most of what I wanted to write about them. It'd take a miracle for something to inspire me to do more BxR shonen ai, since it seems like so much has already been done by other authors. However, I dunno if you'd be interested, but Yugioh GX is SCREAMING for shonen ai to me. So if you've seen that and have any interest in Jaden / Juudai and Syrus / Shou... heheh. ^^;
Aw, I'm flattered. I love it when people illustrate my stories, and don't worry about quality, my own doodles for Snow on the Sahara were super suck. x_X If you want, you could just email me and I could host it on Denile / Worldweave. My address is in my profile.
And thanks to everyone else for all the other reviews, it inspires me to upload these chapters faster. ^^;
---
So leave your taxi waiting

And turn and close my door

And sit back down where you were sitting

A little closer than before

When you look that serious

It just makes me want you more

And I been meaning to tell you
The closer you get

The better I feel...

~ Dido, "Closer"
Ryou strolled home, one hand on his backpack strap. It was Friday, and there was no homework. A few years, even a few months ago, that would've meant nothing to him, but now he was gripped with a sense of relief and anticipation.
He had actually started to notice things on his way home. He waved at people without thinking, grinning for no real reason, even when he elicited only confused looks in return. It wasn't just due to the freedom of the weekend; his good mood had been with him all day, so much so that Joey had made some smart remark about getting laid. The blond and Tristan had teased him all morning, asking who the girl was, chasing him back into his shell momentarily. Even Yugi gave him a wondering glance, but he managed to avoid them. Especially Yugi, who wouldn't have to ask who his female companion might be.
He, the Pharaoh, and the Ishtars had all seen him gather up Bakura like she was his bride and worry over her and whisper to her, after that final confrontation with Malik's dark side. Ryou didn't remember much about that time other than his immense sense of relief and gratitude, but he was sure he'd held her head and buried his face in her hair, and tucked her crown under his chin, and who knows what else in the rush of victory. He might've even kissed her bruised cheek. All of which only reminded him of last night...
Ryou's good mood faltered, his earlier embarrassment returning. He lowered his head as his feet brought him to the door of his apartment, nervous hands fumbling with his keys when he realized the girl in question was probably waiting for him on the other side of the door.
That wasn't right. She wasn't really a girl, he shouldn't think of her like that, she was a guy at heart. She was his friend, and it didn't matter what gender she was, didn't, shouldn't matter that for a guy, she was an awfully beautiful woman --
He swallowed, looking for his voice. "Bakura, I'm--"
Ryou blinked.
Bakura was sitting on the couch, watching something on television and looking bored. She had one of her long-sleeved shirts on, collar left loose. Nothing out of the ordinary, but it was what she wore below the waist that made him stop and stare.
For all the world, it looked like a cream-colored, knee-length skirt. A pair of thin pale legs he had never seen before came out from under the bottom hem, folded and ending in small bare feet. If she'd had a tie and the colors had been coordinated, she could've almost passed for a schoolgirl at one of his old schools.
She finally looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"You... uh... where'd you get that?"
"Hm?" She looked down, as if she'd forgotten what she was wearing. "Oh, feh. I got tired of trying to remember what jeans were yours and which were mine, so I stole something else."
Ryou just stared in mute shock, wondering if he was in the midst of some strange dream. She narrowed her eyes and snorted.
"Don't think I'm celebrating my newfound womanhood, landlord. I had one just like this when I was the Thief King." She sneered and leaned back against the couch, stretching out her naked legs. "The Pharaoh probably wishes these were still unisex garments, since they'd have to be a damn bit more comfortable than what the runt dresses him up in."
"Oh, right," Ryou shook his head. He'd forgotten that everyone wore skirts and dresses back in ancient Egypt. He set his backpack down and sat on the other side of the couch.
"Um..." Ryou found himself unable to look at her face, and lowered his gaze to her lap. "Did you... sleep well? I would've made breakfast, but you were still asleep when I left this morning."
"Mmm, yes," she closed her eyes and folded her arms behind her head, looking well-rested and pleased with herself. "I didn't wake up until noon. Something in your pancakes or that hot watery milk you call tea must've done it. I don't even recall heading to bed."
Ryou hoped he wasn't blushing.
"That was good and all, but I think I'd rather have the usual tonight." Bakura went back to half-watching whatever was on television, and Ryou lifted his head.
"I told you, we don't have any--"
She cut him off with a smirk. "Check the freezer."
Ryou shook his head. He didn't have to go to the kitchen to know that she'd probably stolen a dozen pounds of premium cuts. "I don't even want to know how you pulled that off..."
"Those things are goddamned cold," the thief muttered vaguely.
"I'll go get started," he resigned himself, standing. As he entered the kitchen, he glanced back at the couch. "But - ah - would you like some tea first?"
Bakura turned at his offer. She looked thoughtful for a moment, briefly scowling at something Ryou wasn't privy to. "Yes, fine. Whatever you gave me last night."
Ryou busied himself with preparing the kettle so she couldn't see his shy smile.
---
The sky had darkened while the steaks cooked slowly. Bakura kept herself amused by channel surfing and blithely criticizing commercials and dramatic movie scenes. Ryou kept casting occasional glances at her, something that almost intruded on the oddly good mood that had gripped her. Frustration and slight embarrassment threatened to chip away at it as well; she was not as comfortable in the skirt as she wanted her roommate to believe. The stigma of wearing women's clothing she had picked up from years of possessing a Westerner bore on her conscience. But she had spoken the truth earlier, and in a strange way, wearing what she had worn in Egypt actually let her reclaim a little bit of what she had once been.
That, and the elastic waist of the loose skirt was far easier to bear than the tight waist of her jeans. The jeans had dug into her side whenever she bent over, and aggravated the stabs of pain that still plagued her gut. But Ryou's tea soothed them away, just as it had last night. She relaxed against the arm of the couch.
Bakura found a gory horror movie that just barely managed to hold her interest, and she settled into the crook of the couch's arm and its back, drawing her legs up.
"I think it's done," Ryou announced, stabbing a steak on his meat fork and setting it on a plate. Bakura tilted her head back until she looked at him upside down.
"Bring it here."
Ryou blinked at her. "Come on, this is far too messy to eat on the couch."
"I'm watching this."
"You're going to watch that while you eat dinner?" Ryou grimaced at the scene unfolding on the television.
"Yes, why not?"
Ryou sighed in resignation and walked over to the couch, holding the plate steady. He carefully set it down on the coffee table. "All right, but no sauce--"
"You had better put sauce on it."
"Bakura, I've seen you eat..." But Ryou looked defeated, and he went back to the kitchen to get the sauce and seasoning. He drizzled it over the steak and picked the plate up, though he was not quite ready to give it over to the thief.
Bakura's eyebrows came down in the beginning of a glare. "If you think I'm so miserably incapable of feeding myself, why don't you do it for me?"
"W-wha?" Ryou looked up, uncomprehending. Bakura pulled herself away from the couch's arm and moved next to Ryou, though she kept several inches of space between them. He looked wary.
"You seem to be under the mistaken impression that I'm some sort of ill-mannered toddler and you are my mother. I'm in no mood to try and combat your incessant fear of untidiness, so I'm going to play along."
Bakura listened to the words as she spoke them; they did not come across as annoyed or scathing as she had hoped. She had really just wanted to tease him and scare him into giving her the plate, and she could not keep that mischievous edge out of her voice. For a moment she thought it worked; he looked flustered and uncertain.
"Well, landlord?" To exaggerate her point, she settled against his shoulder and looked up at him with the most sarcastic look of neediness she could muster. "Are you going to feed me?"
But she had forgotten that, unlike when she was a spirit, he was now dangerously prone to doing exactly as she asked.
Mechanically, he carved off a bite-sized chunk of red-brown meat. He lifted the plate below the fork to catch errant drips, and held it up to her lips with a hand that shook slightly. Ryou looked as if he were doing something criminal and waiting to be caught, and even Bakura was surprised that he had actually followed through with it.
Her pride wouldn't let her back out now, though. Instead, she leant forward and sunk her teeth into the meat, drawing it off the metal prongs as neatly as she could. She looked back up at Ryou as she slowly chewed, careful to keep her mouth closed, and found him staring at her with something she couldn't identify.
It should have irritated her. It should have put a scowl across her brow, should have made her utter something rude to break his trance. It should have made her want to push him away, snatch the plate out of his hands and bristle and growl like a cat defending its kill.
But it didn't, and that was strange. She relaxed instead of tensing. Maybe it was the fact that she knew she could have done any of the things she usually did, over and over, and the care and concern in his serious-looking dark eyes would never be diminished. What would usually be insufferably suffocating was suddenly, at least for this brief moment in time, comforting and warm. Nearly as warm as the ear she rested against his shoulder.
This would usually be beyond forbidden, but something in her had given her the wherewithal to let herself relish it. Her head slid across his collar bone till it'd found his other shoulder, till she was practically strewn across his lap. In this position, he barely had to move the plate or his hand to feed her. She set her feet on the distant arm of the couch and made herself comfortable. The thief felt nearly drunk on something; maybe it was the tea.
Being this close to her old landlord made it possible for her to more clearly remember what it was like to inhabit his body, and the stark intimacy of having someone else's mind and being completely and utterly open to her. Much as she enjoyed having a body of her own, she had subconsciously missed that closeness. Back then, their relationship had been one-sided, in her favor; she had total access to him and everything about him, and he was barely aware of her existence. She had kept her walls up as much as she could once she was out, but now he could see her, hear her, and feel her. Only now did she understand that a wall between her and him was also a wall between him and her. She could no longer have it both ways.
There was an unhappy twinge in her chest that almost could've been longing, but she squashed it before it could be realized.
When she'd situated herself, she looked up at the boy she'd once haunted. He looked nearly terrified and bewildered at the sudden affection. That eased her further. One of them had to be afraid. If it wasn't him, it would've been her.
Ryou regained his wits just enough to carve off another slice of beef and wordlessly offer it to her. This time, she kept her eyes open as she took it, locking onto his gaze when she bit down. He blanched.
This delighted a sadistic but harmless streak in her that wanted nothing more than to tease and frighten the poor boy, but she caught herself before she let it thrill her too much. It was too easy to forget that she now had the body of a woman, and that over the past few years her vessel had changed bodies as well. His voice was a little deeper and older, his face had gone from girlish to androgynous to a very soft-edged masculine, and he was now easily as tall, if not taller than Tristan and Joey. Much as his manner denied it, Ryou was a young man.
Even he had to have a point where he would stop being shy and start being aroused.
Unless, of course, he had no inclination towards females, as she occasionally suspected. Bakura really couldn't gauge his preferences, but she had never seen him so red in the face as he was now. Besides, she was not quite female, but a strange juxtaposition of masculine personality against a feminine physiology. Which one would matter more to Ryou?
I'm sure you could find out...
She closed her eyes. The voice was nothing. Her teasing streak, sensing it had reached a line even it was unwilling to cross with Ryou, had simply turned inwards for gratification. But it was soon moot. Ryou was relaxing, almost smiling down at her, the fear creeping out of his posture and expression. It fleetingly threatened to move into Bakura instead, but she was far too comfortable. For once, it dissipated into nothingness instead of festering inside either of them.
Maybe one of them didn't have to be afraid after all.
The steak tasted better than usual.
---
Ryou lost track of the time as they sat together on the couch. Well, Ryou was on the couch; Bakura was nearly on his lap. He really had no idea what had gotten into her, but he wasn't about to complain. Sure, their current position was rather compromising at the moment, and sure, it brought into question the nature of their relationship, but it was also very warm, and very nice. Ryou focused on the latter.
Besides, it was rare to see Bakura apparently enjoying herself. Whether male or female, she had always spent most of her time being either cranky or sarcastic, but now there was a slight smile on her lips. If this made her happy, if she actually wanted this from him, all his own fear and embarrassment and uncertainty were no longer important and easily shoved aside.
But when she licked away some sauce that had not quite made it into her mouth, all his doubts threatened to return. He had to fasten his gaze to the television.
Suddenly, he felt her tensing against him. Ryou looked back down. She was alert and watching the door.
"Someone's coming."
Sure enough, a moment later there were a few knocks at the door, one soft and low on it, the others higher and more eager. Bakura narrowed her eyes and hissed a single word.
"Cheerleaders."
Panic jostled Ryou out of the happy-yet-nervous trance Bakura had put him in. They didn't know about Bakura, what was he going to say to them? They were going to draw all kinds of wrong conclusions if they saw them like this, or even if they didn't --
His lap was left cold as she silently slid away from him and retreated down the hall. He heard the door to her bedroom click shut. Ryou's heart sank, but as he sighed, he calmed down. As usual, she had been thinking while he'd been left to worry and wonder. He'd tell them she -- he wasn't home.
He set the mostly-eaten steak down on the coffee table and headed for the door. His worry started to creep back into him. What did they want? Had something horrible happened? The Shadow Games and everything associated with them were supposed to be over, but there were plenty of other bad things left in the world...
"Heya Ryou!" Joey's voice burst at him as soon as he started to open the door. Tristan and Yugi stood beside him, and they were all grinning like they were up to something and getting away with it.
"Um, hello," Ryou opened the door for them and stepped aside. Joey extended a leg over the threshold, but something stopped him. The blond stuck his head in and scrutinized Ryou's apartment, as if looking for witnesses.
"Where's... you-know-who?" He asked Ryou in a conspiratorial tone.
"He's... out, I haven't seen him in a while." Ryou's shoulders relaxed. For once, he managed to sound somewhat convincing.
"Awright! C'mon, guys!" Joey bounded into Ryou's living room and the other two followed him.
"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Ryou asked, closing the door behind them. Joey stared at him blankly for a moment, then broke out grinning, holding up his backpack.
"We got--"
Tristan suddenly intervened and clamped a hand over Joey's mouth. Yugi laughed nervously and shuffled his feet. "We, uh, Grandpa got a new shipment of cards at the store for Christmas. He wanted us to help him unpack and stock them, so... well."
"Oh yeah, yeah," Joey pushed Tristan's hand away and snickered at something secret, "But we still managed to snag a whole bunch! Wanna see?"
"What about Tea and the Pharaoh?" Ryou wondered, slightly suspicious of their behavior. They had never come over to his place before, not since the Monster World incident. He didn't really blame them, but he had to wonder if they had an ulterior motive. Particularly the two taller boys, who seemed to be masterminding something delinquent.
"They're... helping Grandpa stock," Yugi admitted, looking guilty for a moment.
"Well, I would like to see the new cards. I'm not sure there's much to eat, I just made dinner for -- myself," Ryou picked up the steak and set the plate in the refrigerator. The other boys soon joined him in the kitchen, and took turns inspecting the contents of his fridge.
"What the heck? You don't even have any wine coolers, man!" Tristan was astounded.
"My father would kill me if he found anything like that," Ryou sighed. No matter the legal drinking age of the country he lived in, Ryou's father had sworn off everything alcoholic after the deaths of his wife and daughter, and Ryou was inclined to share his distaste for the stuff. Bakura had occasionally come home smelling of it when she was male, but she too seemed to have lost interest.
"But yer dad's gone all the--" Joey started, till Tristan elbowed his side and Yugi frowned at him. "Ehh, I mean, uh, whaddaya have for snacks?"
"Not much, I'm afraid," Ryou found a box of saltine crackers and handed it to them. "I mostly cook or order out."
"It's okay, Ryou, we can get something from the store later. Let's look at the cards, guys!" Yugi sounded sincerely excited, and for a moment, Ryou was glad for the company. He missed being part of Yugi's circle of friends; though he was different, they were a loyal and big-hearted bunch, and it was hard to dislike them.
The trio ran back to the living room and Yugi pulled his backpack off, pouring out an array of card packs. Ryou followed them, but stopped as he passed the hall, looking down it with a faint longing melancholy. Bakura had probably figured he would try to shoo them away, but as much as he had enjoyed being with her, he hadn't seen his friends in a long time. He couldn't even recall the last time he'd spent with them that had been purely fun, and not in the midst of some vital tournament or epic struggle. He hoped she wouldn't get angry.
Tristan had already claimed the remote and was channel surfing, while Yugi and Joey sat around the coffee table, feverishly tearing open card packs and comparing their prizes.
"Ey, I got an idea," Joey announced around a mouthful of crackers, waving his cards. "Why don't we try duelin' with these new cards? Y'know, jes' for fun! I got my deck in here somewhere..."
"Okay! Mine's right here," Yugi enthused, then looked up at Ryou to see if he was in.
Ryou smiled slightly and nodded, sitting on the couch. "Sure, I'll put one together." Yugi grinned.
"I'll keep score," Tristan offered, though he seemed far more interested in a music video he'd found featuring scantily clad female dancers.
"Yeah, keep score of those chicks' bust sizes, ya perv," Joey snickered and dodged a playful punch from his friend. He looked back at Ryou and Yugi. "This is awesome, just us guys for once, huh?"
"Then I suppose I'm not invited."
Ryou froze, while the other three boys all turned and stared blankly at the woman standing in the hall.
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Anachronism