Better Late Then Never

Chapter 3: Bakura (ghostly white hair and dark lavender eyes)

With your thoughts turned inward on yourself and your crush you failed to notice the large patch of ice on the sidewalk that everyone else avoided. That is before you felt your feet slide across it and lost your both footing and balance, pitching forward as you threw your hands out in front of you to take the harsh surface of the side walk.

But your fall was brought to an abrupt halt as two muscular arms snapped around your waist from behind and managed to keep you upright.

*Who …?* You asked yourself, wondering who could possess such quick reflexes as you looked over your shoulder to see …

Ghostly white hair and dark lavender eyes. Bakura.

You felt the blush swarming up on your face as you looked up into the eyes of the very said former spirit that you had fallen for quite some time ago. *Speak of the devil and he shall appear.*

“Hn, are you going to even try to stand on your own feet onna or should I just drop you?” Yep, definitely Bakura, Thief King of Egypt and former soul stealer. At lest you were hoping it was former.

“Gomen.” You apologized as you reestablished your footing taking your time in turning to face him so you would be able to plaster a calm look on your face. “Thanks for catching me.”

“Hpmh.” Was the reply you got as the white haired Egyptian glanced around irritably before he reached out and snagged your upper right arm. “Come on.”

“Hey! Hey!” You dug your heels into the sidewalk, your free arm garbing a hold of a pole as you held on, firmly stopping Bakura. Had it been anyone else this would have been a very comical sight but you didn’t loosen your death grip to keep from being dragged only heaven knew where. “And where do you think you are taking me?” You snarled, temper raising slightly at the clear inconsideration, you weren’t one of the submissive Egyptian women he might have known some five thousand years ago, damn it! No matter how much you liked this guy you weren’t going to start acting like one either!

“You are coming with me, we need to talk.”

“And what if I have no wish to?” You snapped back, matching Bakura’s tone, this was the one thing about him that both infuriated and amused you, you both had a temper.

Bakura seemed taken back but just for a second as he let go of your arm to get up in your face. “Then I will drag you there. And make no mistake onna, I do not bluff.”

And you knew he would do it too, there was no mistake that Bakura was physically stronger then you, beside as far as you knew he had never bluffed before and you had no wish to try and see if this was a first time.

So reluctantly you loosen your grip on the pole as you eyed him warily. “Fine, I’m coming.”

Bakura smirked as his hand retained possession of your arm. “Good girl.”

You bared your teeth. “I am NOT a dog … Kura.” You replied, using the pet name you made up to irate him.

“DO NOT call me Kura.” Bakura growled back at you as you smirked seeing that you had gotten under his skin.

“What ever you say …. Kura.” You said, barely making the effort to hide your smugness.

At lest that is until your back was suddenly met with a brick wall as Bakura whirled you around and slammed you into said wall. Though a hand on the back of your neck kept your head from slamming full force backwards stars still burst before your eyes as Bakura’s free arm wrapped tightly around your waist and drawing him closer to him, his his body seem to imprint upon yours as he caught you between the wall and himself.

*OWWWW!* You gritted your teeth at the still hard ‘tap’ from the wall as you shook your head slightly before looking around, you were in an alleyway just out of sight of the street but with the position you and Bakura were in if anyone looked into the alley it would look like ….

You felt the heat raise up on your face as Bakura smirked seeming to realize what you had came to see as well. “Interesting positions we find ourselves in? Strange, it is in the same place we met.” You could hear the arrogance and dark wickedness in his voice ringing clearly and that was your only warning before you took a sharp intake of breath as you felt the slight pressure of teeth just below the outer shell of your ear as Bakura nipped gently on the skin before soothing the string with a slow sweep of his tongue.

“Bakura … move. I .. I can’t breathe.” You stammered, sure your knees were going to buck as you felt like melting; you couldn’t rightly think straight with him doing that and he knew it, everyone knew you seemed to possessed a heighten sense of touch and you had a thing about people being around your neck and shoulders for that reason.

“Hn, good to see I leave such an … impression.” Bakura drifted lower, his lips just feathering over yours as he said this, tearing a small sound caught between a whimper and a groan before he stopped with chuckled. “Very well, I can’t have you fainting on me now.” You felt the butterfly light sensual caress of his mouth straight through your body before the smirking devil pulled away but did not loosen his grip any and you were oddly grateful for. *Dear God he is going to be the death of me.* You thought as you swallowed down a protest at the teasing but could not find the nerve to look him in the eye again.

You could feel Bakura’s eyes boring into your head as you averted his glance, almost as if he was looking for something as silence stretched between the two of you.

“The gift.”

“What?” You asked, looking back at him at the sudden statement.

Bakura’s expression was dark, almost angry but you clearly see confusion in his eyes for a second before it was wiped way. “The gift Ryou passed on to me. He said it was from you though frankly I’m surprised you were able to make something like that, I heard your brother is good at working with metals but I didn’t think you knew as well.” He said just on the edge of sounding insulting before he glanced down at something. “Though I believe that is the reason you have been favoring your right side.” He said, moving his free hand to garb the wrist of your right hand and pin it level with your head palm up. Unwrapping the wrap around your hand Bakura reveled a slowly healing gash in your lower palm, a wound you received in making his gift.

Weapons was not a thing to give a former thief but having not been able to find a gift for him that you really liked you had your brother to help you make a genuine replica of a dagger of ancient Egyptian design with Bakura’s cartouche inscribed into the handle in thin gold lining; sure it cost you every dime you had as well as a promise to do the house chores for the next five months but you were proud with the end result. “It is nothing, just a little cut.” You said forcing up a cocky grin though your heart was pounding like a bird trying to escape a cage.

“Hn, it does not look so to me.” Bakura replied sharply to your lie, his thumb pressing in on the gash as you took a sharp breath of pain before he glanced up at your face. “It looks like it was more then ‘nothing’ to me ….. so why?”

“Why what?” You asked as you tried to twist your hand away.

“Why do it? What was your reasoning for this gift?” He was all but snarling as his thumb pressed even harder, making make the skin around the gash turn ghost white.

“Bakura let go, you are hurting me!” You hissed in pain and anger as you wrenched your hand away but Bakura’s hand on your neck tighten, locking onto your hair as well to stop you from trying to leave.

“Why onna?” He demanded.

“Why what?” You asked, the feeling of tears building in your eyes as you blinked them back, no you won’t cry in front of Bakura, he thought tears were weak and you won’t let him have the satisfaction of seeing you cry over him.

Bakura growled softly in frustration as he retained possession of your wrist but thankfully did not pressure the wound anymore. “Why did you do it Name? Why give a thief, a killer such a thing?”

*What is he so angry about? It was a gift, what is wrong with that?* You ranted mentally as you tried to twist free. *Sheesh, he hasn’t look this angry with me since ..* You stopped your own thoughts as something, a memory, clicked in the back of your mind.

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Flash back
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“ … and the village was wiped out completely as a result, Bakura was the sole survivor.”

“Is that why he … you know … was so obsessed with the Millennium Items?” You questioned Ryou softly, your voice sounding ragged even to your own ears.

Ryou looked at you with a knowing look, no one in your circle of friends had a prefect family so hearing such a tale, putting yourself in the mindset of a small child that just witnessed his entire family, his clan, being massacred hit something in you. “Yes.”

You didn’t reply as you laid your chin on the top of your knees, it had only been a month since Bakura’s and Yami’s return and Bakura was out so you came over to see just how his former host was holding up.

“Anyway, that is the story. But don’t tell Bakura I told you Name, he …well he isn’t much on reveling things.” Ryou said with a small shrug as he looked away with a distance look on his face, though the haunted look was gone he still looked years older then he really was.

“I won’t Ryou. Promise.” You said, forcing a small as you blocked out the mental images of what Bakura must have witnessed as you reached over and laid a hand on Ryou’s, causing the white haired teenager to look up at you and smile softly.

The sudden slam of a door caused both you and Ryou to pull apart as you looked to see Bakura standing in the doorway with a dark unreadable look on his face. He said nothing, seeming to be silently fuming before he slipped away as quickly as he appeared, leaving no hint that he was there but in the air was unmistakable tension.

“I think I better go.” You whispered softly as Ryou nodded with a small gulp.

“Yea, I’ll walk you …”

You shook your head as you stood and retrieved your shoes. “No worries, I can walk myself home. It isn’t even sunset.” You said with a fake smile but your eyes roamed the shadows for the another white haired being, not wanting to be taken by surprise again and having a vague feeling his earlier bout of anger was directed at you.

“Name.” Ryou stopped you at the door with a suddenly serious look. “I think he is jealous.”

You blinked. “Jealous? Who?”

“Bakura.”

That took you back. “Jealous? Of what?”

Ryou opened his mouth to say something but suddenly stopped and seemed to think better. “ … never mind. Just get home fast ok? And Name …. remember, he is still human.”

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End flashback
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*He wouldn’t … I mean why would he have been so jealous of Ryou that day? Why so angry at a gift from me …. Unless ….*

“Bakura, I don’t like Ryou as anything more then a brother.”

Bakura stilled, seeming taken back by your answer before his face harden again. “What the hell?” He asked.

“Why are you so angry because I gave you a gift? I would think even a thief won’t mind actually receiving something without having to worry about the law getting them for it later.” You said, trying to inject a note of calm into your voice.

But that didn’t seem to work, if anything Bakura’s eyes only darken more. “Why onna? Why give a thief anything?” He asked, eyes raking over your face moodily.

Now it was your turn to be silent; you couldn‘t tell him, you just couldn‘t. There was no way in hell he would feel the same. So you cracked a barely plausible smile and said. “I plead the fifth.”

Bakura’s eyes went eyes then narrowed. “Wrong answer.” He hissed before crushing his lips down into yours in a hard passionate kiss.

Taken off guard and by complete surprise you gasped softly giving him the opening he needed to deepen the kiss and drive every bit of conscious thought right out of your mind. Never mind it was your first kiss or the fact you never expected for Bakura to be the one to take it, all you could think about at that moment as the feeling of him and that kiss.

He literally left your breathless, it wasn’t until you floundered slightly in the air for air that he pulled away though this time you came with him as his hand that held your wrist now had a vice like grip around your waist and the other was tangled deep in your hair. “Now Name, I want the truth.” He said, slightly out of breath himself.

You had been left in a daze until his statement, his command, broke through that blissful stupor. You glanced down, staring at his shoulder before you took a deep breath. “I …” You took another deep breath as you realized it was now or never, you would never be able to summon up the courage to do this again if you didn’t do it now. “I love you Bakura, I have for quite some time now, I just never knew how to tell you.”

You felt the former thief stiffen and braced yourself for the push, the rejection maybe even the laughter but there was no denying the anguish that that welled up in you at the thought. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I know you couldn’t feel the same, I’m being stupid. I should have never …”

“Shut up Name.” Bakura ordered as you looked up at him. “Just shut up.” That was your only warning before his is mouth fastened on yours, hard, hungry and possessive.

This continued as your own hands wandered up and under the back of his shirt to roam gently over the soft skin hidden beneath before he pulled back slightly, softening the bruising force as he seemed to try to coaxed you gently into returning the kiss instead of demanding you do so.

Bakura’s hands clamped on your hips as he leant into you, keeping you caught between him and the wall as he fitted against you, impressing his own desires upon you as he broke the kiss to pressed his lips to your ear. “.... Aishiteru Name. Aishiteru.” He whispered huskily as you felt his lips trail a blaze of fire down your throat.

You yelped softly when you felt his teeth come down on the small section, just piercing the skin before he pulled back, gently suckling on the area to ease the string of the love-bite which you were sure was going to leave one hell of a mark.

“What was that for?” You asked as soon as he pulled away to face you.

Bakura‘s eyes laughed with amusement at the look on your face. “What do you think it was? I claim what is mine.” He growled softly but not threateningly.

You looked at him for a few minutes before getting a sly look on your own face. “You know that I believe the same way correct? Besides, turn-about is fair play.”

“Hn, as you wish but in a … less popular place.” He said as he took your uninjured hand and pulled you from the wall.

As you pulled away from the wall you smiled. “So I guess that is my Christmas present?” You teased.

“You can take it as you wish.” Bakura replied stoically though the small ghost of a smile that was fighting to show itself ruined the effect.

You smiled as you nuzzled into his shoulder. “Well I guess it is better late then never koi.”