Why he was here he didn’t really know.  Okay, he did know, he was here as a favour, but he didn’t do favours not for anyone and yet here he was.  A favour for who was the real question and that he wasn’t quite sure the answer to.  It had started by Ryou asking him to go on holiday together, he had been so happy and determined and naturally he’d declined.  Well somewhere along the line Yami had got wind of this and come to persuade him.  How he’d managed Bakura wasn’t exactly sure himself, but somehow he had and now here they were, on holiday together, just the two of them.

Bakura looked over the broad back of the chestnut gelding he was saddling and watched Ryou trying to calm his spirited mare.  He gave his own horse a sharp slap on the belly, making her breathe out the air she’d been sucking, and tightened his girth.

It turned out Ryou loved horse riding and happened to have a relative in Scotland who owned what he would have described as a ranch.  So here they were on a riding holiday. Of course, Bakura could ride, he’d never done it for pleasure before but he could ride as well as the next yami.  He hoped Ryou could ride just as well for the mare he was holding was tossing her head and shying away from him and she didn’t seem like she’d run out of energy any time soon.

Bakura swung up into the saddle with practised ease and waited for Ryou, who had to hop along on one foot whilst his mare shied away from him, until he got enough balance to swing up himself.

“Are you sure you want to take that one?” Bakura asked, “she’ll be fast but we are going out across the open moors you know.”

“It’ll be fine,” Ryou berated, “I’ve been taking her out for years me and Jet go way back.”

Jet, the black mare, tossed her head as if agreeing with him and Bakura let it drop.  He followed Ryou when the boy swung out onto a defined trail and headed off.  They walked along in silence for about ten minutes before Ryou looked over smiling.

“Thanks for coming Bakura I really didn’t think you would.”

“I didn’t think I would either,” Bakura grunted, “it’s going to rain you know.”

Ryou glanced at the sky, “we’ll be fine, a little rain won’t hurt us and I don’t think it’s that close anyway,” he was too cheerful to have something like rain ruin his mood.

Bakura turned his head to watch Ryou as they walked along.  The boy sat a horse well he had to admit.  His back was straight and tall, his heals down and his knees nicely rounded off the saddle.  His legs wrapped around the horses’ sides making them look longer than they actually were and his hips swayed gently with the rhythm of the walk.  As much as he hated to admit it, Yami had been right, he did owe the boy.  What was a holiday compared to all the trouble Ryou had gone through to get him his own body?  Yami was very grateful to Yugi but the two of them were dating so that wasn’t hard to express.  He’d never been attracted to anyone that way and didn’t think he would start now.  He owed Ryou but that was all.

Ryou kicked Jet into a light trot and Bakura’s horse followed out of instinct.  Ryou had said the chestnut was called Echo but it mattered little to him, a horse was a horse.  After a while Ryou nudged Jet into a canter and Echo followed again.  Bakura wondered if he had been given this horse on the principle that he would just follow but it didn’t matter, it was relaxing to just ride along looking at the scenery pass and enjoying the cool breeze against his face as they cantered across the moors.  Bakura looked back and saw that all that was visible around them was open country.  He had no idea where they were and hoped Ryou did, but he seemed to know exactly where he was going.

“I used to visit here when I was little and come out on one of the ponies,” Ryou turned sideways to talk to Bakura, “I know my way round here well even in the dark, so don’t worry,” when Bakura looked up shocked he smiled, “I know you almost as well as I know myself, we did share a mind for a while.”

‘Funny,’ Bakura thought, ‘it didn’t help me understand you at all.’

He looked up as thunder rolled overhead and wondered how long before it was going to rain.  Ryou didn’t seem to even notice, he pulled up into a walk, giving Jet the rein and ambled along as if getting wet was what he wanted.  The steady beat of the horses’ hooves lulled Bakura and he found that he didn’t really mind if they got rained on either.  There were worse things in the world and it was warm enough that being wet would only be refreshing.

The rain finally started splattering down; just gentle splashes at first and Ryou turned his face up into it letting the water cool his brow.  Bakura watched him from the corner of his eye, the way his neck stretched a long, creamy line and his long, silver eyelashes brushed against his cheek.  He didn’t know why he was noticing Ryou in that way but it didn’t matter, he turned his head and looked out over the moors in time to catch lightening flash across the sky and light up the dusk that he hadn’t even realised had fallen.  Only it couldn’t be dusk, he reasoned, glancing at his watch showed it to only be twelve-thirty.  The storm had rolled in so fast and neither of them had been aware.

The wind suddenly whipped up, blowing against them as they sat the horses and whistling over the miles of open land they lay to each side of them.  The drops started to fall very heavily and made a beating sound on the dry earth, almost like horses galloping.  It was an uneasy sound and Bakura began to wish they weren’t out here in the middle of nowhere.  Shaking the feeling away he looked over to see what Ryou intended to do and found him searching the distance as if looking for something.

“We can’t be much further from the abandoned shack,” he explained, “we should make for that, it’s faster than going back.”

“If you can find it in this then I agree,” Bakura answered picking his reins back up and kicking his horse into a trot.

Ryou took the lead again and cantered smoothly forward heading in the direction he knew would lead to the shack.  It was a small, wooden hut of a building that had been there for as long as he could remember and to his knowledge no one had ever lived in it.  The walls were still sound and the roof only leaked in one corner.  It did creak in the wind but they weren’t going to sleep in it just shelter from the rain.

Ryou pointed out over the expanse of grass and Bakura could just make out the small hut in the distance, sitting like some lonely hermit out in the middle of nowhere.  They kicked their mounts into a gallop and headed for the shack as fast as they could in the rain-slicked country.  Lightening flashed brightly overhead and a second later thunder rumbled across the sky so loud that it sounded like some great monster was descending on them.  Jet reared, forelegs flailing as if to ward off what she thought must be there.  Ryou bent down over her withers and neck and tried to calm the mare before she bolted but as he did this she wheeled away and he was pitched straight over her shoulder and onto the muddy ground.  Bakura reined Echo in and swung him back, glad of the horses’ calm nature.  He jumped from the saddle and knelt to see if Ryou was injured but the other boy was already sitting.

“I’m fine,” Ryou grated, “we have to get Jet.”

“Don’t worry about the horse for a minute,” Bakura had to yell over the sudden rumble of more thunder, “can you walk?”

Ryou flexed his muscle gingerly testing them and then climbed stiffly to his feet but Bakura noticed he was favouring his left leg and had his left hand firmly clutched to his right shoulder.  Ryou was already scanning the miles of open land for Jet but Bakura grabbed his arm and shook his head.

“You’re hurt, we’re going to that hut, we can find the horse when better weather comes, we’d never find anything out here right now anyway.”

Ryou nodded reluctantly and Bakura helped him into Echo’s saddle then mounted behind him.  He wasn’t sure how badly hurt Ryou really was and he didn’t want him taking another fall for lack of anyone to hold him in the saddle.  He turned the horse back in the right direction and took up a gentle canter, slipping an arm around Ryou’s waist when he felt the boy flinch from the movement of the horse.

After what seemed like an eternity of stiff riding, battering rain and howling wind they eventually reined in at the hut and Bakura helped Ryou from the saddle.  He tied Echo to a railing that ran around the edge of the hut and took the saddle in with them.  The building smelt of damp and moss and in one corner there was a spreading pool of water from a slow leak in the roof.  Some of the floorboards were warped with years of damp and neglect and one of the windows had been boarded up but it was much better than being out in the storm.

It was only now, in the dry, when Bakura noticed that a combination of the rain and howling wind had made him cold.  He found a tatty, old blanket hung on a nail against one wall and spread it across the floor then stripped off his jacket and shirt and laid them out along the boards to try and dry them even slightly.  With the clothes not weighing him down he felt better and began to warm up immediately.  He noticed that Ryou had sat on the blanket and had his knees curled to his chest with his arms wrapped tightly round them but he still had all of his clothes.

“If you take off the wet clothes you won’t be so cold,” Bakura informed him.

Ryou looked up at him, his eyes looked a little dazed and he was holding his right shoulder stiffly.  Bakura hoped he hadn’t taken a bang to the head in the fall and scooted closer to inspect him.  His silver hair was hanging limply down his face and he was sitting as if he hurt badly.  His eyes were half closed and his chin rested against his up-drawn knees.  He had begun to shiver visibly now and Bakura was starting to get a little worried.  He may not exactly care for the boy but he didn’t want anything bad to happen to him, not to mention what Yami would do to him if something bad did happen.

He tugged on Ryou’s jacket and the silver-haired boy lifted just enough to allow him to slip it off.  He proceeded to remove Ryou’s shirt as well and sat next to him.

“How hurt are you?” Bakura asked.

“I’m fine,” Ryou didn’t seem to want to say anything else.

“You’re not fine, you’re shivering and holding your shoulder and you were limping before.”

“I’ll be alright, I’m just cold, I banged my shoulder and hip but they’ll be fine in a minute,” another shiver racked through him and Bakura wondered if he felt cold badly or if he really had hit his head.

Bakura reluctantly wrapped an arm around Ryou’s shoulders and was rather surprised when he snuggled against his chest.  He tipped his head so he could see Ryou’s face where his cheek pressed firmly against the yami’s chest and noticed that he was blushing.  He pulled the boy over between his legs and wrapped both arms around his thin frame, holding him tightly as he trembled and curled closer.

“I’m so cold,” Ryou said weakly, “I never could take the cold.”

“You’ll get sick if you stay this cold,” Bakura said as way of explaining his sudden kindness, “if you get sick and I didn’t try to help Yami will kill me.”

“That’s it then?” Ryou asked glumly, “you’re doing this so that Yami doesn’t scold you?”

“Why else?” Bakura looked down at the boy curled against him.

“Well because you’re my friend, or perhaps because you couldn’t just sit and let me get sick, or hell, even because you feel you owe me would be better than because Yami says so,” Ryou hadn’t meant to rant and he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer to it but he lifted his head and looked at the yami anyway.

“You want me to be your friend?” Bakura looked puzzled, “I’ve never been anything but mean to you and you still want me to be your friend.”

Ryou shifted upwards to answer at the same time as Bakura looked down at him.  The movement made Bakura’s lips brush Ryou’s forehead and they both froze, neither one knowing if the other had meant to do that.  Ryou was the first to move, turning his face up towards Bakura and looking him in the eyes, putting their lips only inches apart.  Bakura seemed to be warring with himself in his own mind and Ryou wondered what he was thinking.  What he didn’t expect was for Bakura to lean forward and brush his lips against his.

He drew in a surprised breath, his eyes going very wide but he didn’t pull away.  He leant into the kiss pressing his lips to his yami’s and bringing a hand up to cup his cheek.  Bakura ran his fingers into the feys hair and gently moved his lips against the other boys.  He didn’t know why he had done that but it felt right, like before that moment and since he had received his own body he hadn’t been whole.  He understood now why Yugi and Yami were so inseparable, why they did everything together as if to be parted was a worse fate than death, because it was true, a yami and their host should never be parted.

He tipped Ryou backward onto the blanket and their chests pressed together, bare and warm and it occurred to Bakura that they were both half-naked.  His hand seemed to betray his thoughts and skimmed down Ryou’s side, fingers gently exploring the soft creamy skin.  Ryou gasped through his nose and turned his head breaking the kiss.  Bakura stilled, waiting to be told to get up, waiting to be told he should never have done that but what Ryou said caught him by surprise.

“You feel the same?” his eyes rolled to look at the yami frozen over him, “I didn’t think it effected you too, don’t stop.”

“Neither did I until just now,” Bakura thought about all the times he’d caught himself looking at the other boy and wondered why, all the time he’d been mean to him and felt hollow inside afterward, “but I do.”

He moved his hand round between them and stroked down Ryou’s chest, stopping when his fingers met the waistband of his pants and stroking back up.  He took one of Ryou’s nipples gently between thumb and index finger and rolled it.  Ryou gasped and his back bowed upwards to meet the caress.  His breath sobbed from his throat and his hips jumped involuntarily against Bakura’s.  Bakura grunted and looked up to find Ryou staring at him wide-eyed and his cheeks burning.

“Sorry,” he squeaked.

Bakura shook his head, “it’s alright, do you want more?”

Ryou nodded and closed his eyes, his cheeks were a flaming, brilliant red but he was telling Bakura to carry on.  Bakura’s hand fell back to his waistband and he pressed his palm against the front of Ryou’s pants.  He could feel Ryou hard and straining against the tight riding pants and carefully unzipped them.  He made a small startled noise wen he saw Ryou was wearing nothing under the pants and his swollen length sprang free.  Bakura’s hand instinctively wrapped around the member and he heard Ryou’s breath hiss between his teeth.

Ryou could feel Bakura’s hand tighten around his aching length and fought to keep his hips still and his back down against the blanket.  The yami’s hand started to slide gently up and down and he felt sparks of pleasure dance through his body.  Colours swirled against the back of his eyelids and his breath quickened.  He wanted more and he bucked his hips into Bakura’s hand.  The hand tightened and he felt the stroking become firmer, more insistent.  He bit his bottom lip to keep from crying out and shivered with the pleasure slamming through him.  He felt Bakura’s other hand stroking down the inside of his thigh, exploring as if he was looking for something or memorising every inch of him.  Suddenly the hand came up and closed around his balls, Bakura’s thumb pressed up into his sack and his fingers kneaded him causing him to hold his breath so he didn’t shout.

“Call out,” Bakura’s voice was soft and husky with passion and even that made Ryou tremble, “make some noise, no one can hear you out here.”

Ryou unclenched his teeth and took huge panting breaths but as soon as Bakura’s skilful hands went back to their work he found himself arching into the air and mewling out his pleasure.  His breath was sobbing by now and he didn’t know how much longer he would be able to hold but before he could say anything Bakura’s hand left his scrotum and skimmed down between his legs along the line of flesh that separated his balls from his butt.  He felt the finger quest lower and press against his entrance, gently asking permission.  Ryou hesitated for just a moment then bucked down making the finger press more firmly against him.

“You’re sure?” Bakura sounded a little unsure himself.

“Yes,” Ryou squirmed and panted round his words, “I want this.”

Bakura’s other hand was still stroking him, sending white-hot pleasure coursing through his veins and tightening his entire body.  The yami’s finger slipped into him gently and he stilled a little, the strange sensation taking his attention for a second.  It didn’t hurt, not at all but it did feel odd.  Ryou felt the finger begin to move in him, stroking his insides gently, telling him it’s alright.  After a short time he relaxed again and noticed Bakura had begun to twist his hand with each stroke of his length and that it was pulling him near to orgasm again.  Just as he thought he couldn’t take anymore Bakura slipped a second finger into him and the slight sting of the action made him hold off again.  His breath was becoming so ragged now that he wasn’t sure he was getting enough oxygen and someone had begun to moan incessantly, upon further inspection he realised it was him.

Bakura’s fingers were working inside him, stretching him, gently widening his virginal passage and Ryou felt them touch something that made his whole body arch off the floor.  He threw his head back and moaned, spilling his seed onto Bakura’s hand, his body writhing with pleasure and his muscles tightening until every line of his body was taught and thrumming.

Once the pleasure had receded he slumped back against the blanket and panted.  His chest heaved and his lungs felt like they would burst, his heart hammered against his ribcage like a trapped animal and he couldn’t see straight.

He felt someone move over him and focused to find it was Bakura.  He had moved to sit his hips and look down on him.  Ryou half-wondered what he was doing but his body was too relaxed to form any coherent thoughts and he just settled back and listened as his breath calmed to somewhere near normal again.

He felt something nudge at his entrance and was suddenly very aware that Bakura had moved to lay over him.  His legs were pulled up around Bakura’s hips and it was his yami’s member that was gently asking entrance.  His eyes went wide and for a moment he wasn’t sure what to say then he caught the gentle look in Bakura’s eyes, the need that floated there just under the surface being controlled tightly whilst he waited for the answer and Ryou nodded, he would allow this, this was what he wanted.

Bakura stroked the top of his arm as if comforting him then slowly pushed his hips forward in a smooth motion.  He stopped when Ryou flinched against the pain and waited.

“Is it too much?” he asked softly.

“No,” Ryou shook his head, “I’m fine it just hurts but I’ll be fine.”

Bakura nodded and pushed forward until he was sitting as deeply within Ryou as he could get.  His breath was coming a little fast and he could see Ryou under him trying to stay calm and relaxed while he adjusted.  It did hurt but Ryou didn’t mind, he had known that it would but it wasn’t so bad, he could handle it.  He shifted his hips slightly and Bakura gave a soft moan above him.  He smiled and did it again making Bakura bite his lip and pant through his nose.  He gently pulled out and pushed back in once and Ryou arched under him, back bowing until their chests were touching.

Both boys were panting and Bakura picked up a rhythm, gentle and smooth.  Ryou moaned and arched under him and his rhythm got a little quicker his breath coming faster.  He was moaning with Ryou now and his hips were jumping forward of their own will making the rhythm harder and faster.  Pleasure was coursing through his body making his mind switch off and his natural instinct take over.  Ryou had abandoned himself to the feel and was almost screaming under him, his muscles had tightened in pleasure and it made sparks dance across Bakura’s vision in pleasure.  His breath was whistling around his moans and he didn’t know how much longer he could hold when he brushed something deep inside of Ryou and the smaller boy screamed his name and arched up off the floor his hands scrabbling at Bakura’s back.

Bakura shifted the angle his hips were taking and Ryou thrashed under him moaning, his head tossing against the floor like it was almost too much pleasure to bare.  Ryou’s thrashing increased Bakura’s pleasure and they both shot moaning at the same moment and collapsed in a sweaty, panting heap back onto the scratchy blanket.

Bakura rolled away onto his back trying to catch his breath and not crush Ryou at the same time.  Ryou didn’t seem to like being parted from him and nuzzled against his chest until Bakura wrapped his arms around the silver-haired youth.  He made a small content noise and closed his eyes as if he’d just fall asleep there.

Once Bakura had caught his breath his mind began to work enough to realise that the hut wasn’t creaking nearly so much anymore and the pounding of the rain against the roof had stopped.  He lifted his head enough to look around a little and Ryou whined as if to protest him leaving.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Bakura assured him stroking his nearly dry hair, “listen, the rains stopped and the winds come down.”

Ryou lifted his head slightly to listen, “so it has.  We should go while it holds off,” he didn’t sound too enthusiastic about moving, “but we only have one horse.”

“We do need to go,” Bakura agreed, “don’t worry you can come to my room after we get back I’ll keep you warm,” he waited a second for Ryou to realise the meaning of his words and smile and then continued, “we do only have one horse but he’s sturdy enough to get us both back if a little more slowly.  How are you feeling now?  Do your arm and leg still hurt?”

Ryou tested to see if he was still sore, “my hip is a little but that may be from something else.  My arms fine now.”

Bakura smiled mischievously and sat up.  He grabbed his shirt and realised they must have been there for longer than he had thought given that his clothes were nearly dry.  Both boys dressed quickly and immediately went to find Echo, neither one wanting to be caught out in the storm again.  To their surprise when they opened the door Jet was also stood near the rail.  Her herding instinct had seen her back to the other horse in the area and she didn’t look any worse for her scare.  Bakura opted to ride Jet home in case they had a repeat performance and Ryou was happy to accept Echo as his mount.

It took them a little time to get back over the slippy ground and with Ryou’s leg hurting but eventually they reined into the yard and handed the horses to the stable boys.  Both boys made for Bakura’s room only stopping to assure people that they were fine and had in fact been inside for the worst of the weather.

Bakura stripped off the dirty clothes as soon as he got to the room and settled back against his pillows, sinking into them with a sigh of contentment.  He watched Ryou war with his shyness and eventually strip and join him.  He nestled against Bakura’s chest and placed one arm over his heart feeling it beat under his fingers.

“You know I’ve waited forever for that, for what happened in the storm.”

“So have I,” Bakura admitted, “difference is I didn’t realise what I was waiting for.”

Ryou smiled, “you wouldn’t you never were good with emotions, I’ve loved you for years.”

“You have?” Bakura was a little taken back, “I… I love you too.”

Ryou smiled happily and buried his nose against Bakura’s chest.  Here was where he was going to stay for the rest of the night.  He felt Bakura’s heart fluttering under his hand.  And there was where he was going to stay for the rest of his life.