Yami and Ryou lay in bed together as golden, late-afternoon sunlight filtered into the dim hotel room around the edges of the closed curtains. Their most intimate activities were at an end for the moment, but the the latter was reluctant to leave this warm haven of love and safety. They shared one last full kiss before laying back against the pillows to rest.

"I wish you were my yami," Ryou whispered as he listened to his lover's heart beating in his bare chest. Yami sighed sadly, tousling Ryou's hair and kissing his forehead tenderly, but saying nothing. He loved Yugi too much to be asked to choose between his hikari and this hikari. He would always love Yugi the most, given the special bond they shared, but there was a piece of his heart that had been stolen by the young owner of the Millennium ring. "Do I really have to go back to him?" the British boy all but whimpered, cuddling up against his best friend as he squeezed his eyes shut, wishing that he could simply open them again and find that all of his own yami's abuse was just a bad dream.

Yami was slow to break the peace that he'd managed to restore to Ryou in their time together, but he knew that it must be done. "Yes, you know you must go. It'll be worse if you wait," he reminded him in low, gentle tones, stroking his smooth, fair back in a comforting manner. Ryou shuddered all the same. The last time that he had dawdled with Yami and come home after dark, Ryou'd received the worst beating from Bakura to date. At least, he thought it still counted as a beating when it included being thrown down a flight of stairs.

Yami nuzzled the top of Ryou's head, then pressed soft, brief kisses across his closed eyelids. "Will you please open your eyes for me, my precious Ryou?" he pleaded. Ryou hesitated, reluctant to return to his painful life at home, but Yami's dusting of kisses across his cheeks, jawline, and forehead encouraged him to comply. When he'd done so, Yami rewarded him with a warm smile that eased some of his anxieties, rubbing his nose against Ryou's. "Come on, let me help you get dressed." They climbed out of bed slowly, Yami helping the sore Ryou to his feet.

The brown-eyed boy still ached all over from the beating he'd received from Bakura two days ago, which had limited their activities this afternoon, though they were still mutually pleasurable. Moving in ways that everyday activities required him to do was a painful thing for Ryou at the moment, and Yami couldn't help but wince a little at the sight of the livid bruises on his body. He pitied the boy more than anything else, even more than he loved him.

When they were both back to their respectable selves, Yami guided Ryou all the way to the sidewalk outside the hotel before giving him one last embrace. They'd agreed to meet again in two weeks time. Ryou had opted for that duration because his yami had been irritable lately, and he didn't want to make things worse. After all, when Bakura wasn't happy, he was always certain to make Ryou at least equally miserable.

The lovers parted ways with heavy hearts. They always parted with their burdens before entering the hotel for the next installment of their affair, but their burdens were always waiting to be resumed when they left.

Yami was worried about Ryou and the abuse he suffered at Bakura's hands. The hikari was consistently not getting the medical help that he needed after Bakura's various brutalities. Yami was disgusted by Bakura's behavior, punishing and playing with his hikari so violently. Sometimes he hurt him just because he was bored or felt the need to reassert his power and dominance. Yami knew that Ryou wouldn't tell him everything that transpired between the two; some things were too upsetting, too painful, too shameful to speak of unless absolutely necessary.

Yami was worried about Ryou, but when he walked through the door of the apartment he shared with Yugi, he could leave all of those worries behind. He didn't even greet Yugi verbally, simply grabbed him by the shoulders and kissed him sweetly, earnestly. Yugi's arms wrapped around to the pharaoh's back, pulling him close as his boyfriend plundered his mouth like a grave robber.

When they finally broke apart, Yugi's cheeks were flushed as he lightly panted for air. "Happy to see you too," he teased good-naturedly. Yami just smiled and nibbled gently on Yugi's ear. This needy behavior wasn't out of the ordinary for him after visiting Ryou, actually. These days, Ryou's was usually hurt badly enough that Yami still had much yet to be gotten out of his system even after returning from his lover. While Yugi appreciated this fact, he also felt a twinge of guilt for benefiting from his friend's pain.

Yugi had, with Yami's help of course, come to terms with the situation as it stood. Yes, Yugi had felt a bit of jealousy, a bit of bitterness, a bit of anger, but he'd worked through all those and everything else. Yami had explained to him very… persuasively, that if forced to choose between Ryou and Yugi, Yami would pick Yugi without a moment's hesitation. And if even after all that Yugi had harbored doubts, they wouldn't have lasted much longer if he'd taken the time to notice some of the little things, like how Yami's face lit up upon seeing Yugi after every period of time they spend apart, whether it was half an hour or half a day or half a month, Yugi's presence was always a fresh light and joy to Yami's soul.

"How was Ryou today?" he finally inquired in soft, concerned tones.

"Bruised pretty badly," Yami sighed in response, hugging his own hikari close as he recalled the wounds. "He's still having trouble getting along with his yami. Oh, how I wish Bakura loved Ryou and treated him right, then we wouldn't need any of these complicated arrangements to make him feel like he's worthy of love. But that's never going to happen, and Ryou's caught in the middle between people he doesn't wish to impose on and people he wishes to escape." Yugi and Yami both feared for Ryou's psychological wellbeing too. Although he wouldn't give Yami any details, the pharaoh could imagine the sorts of deprecating, damaging, depressing things that Bakura told Ryou on a daily basis.

Ryou was at risk of losing himself entirely to the malignant will of his aggressive yami, but there was only so much that anybody could do to help Ryou without incidentally making things worse. All they could do was hope for a change of heart.

Ryou cowered on the floor, arms wrapped around his head as he weathered Bakura's stormy temper this evening. Apparently Ryou had forgotten to do some of the things on the list that he'd been given that morning, which had angered an already-irked Bakura and sent him into a rage. He'd yelled some generically angry things and gotten upset, then reached for his hikari with a look of violence. Ryou was used to being a human punching-bag by now, so he knew how to keep his mouth shut and be prepared to endure beatings of an indefinite length.

"You worthless piece of trash!" Bakura was howling. "Where do you get off thinking that you can neglect your duties and then go sneaking around and sleeping with my mortal enemy? Huh?" Kick. "You think that pharaoh loves you?" Kick. "He'd rather trade you in for a new TV!" Punches began raining down on him. "He'd rather have you as his slave than as his friend!" Bakura heaved Ryou up by seizing the front of his shirt in strong, tight fists. "Not even your own father wanted you!" Bakura gave Ryou a hard shake to emphasize his point. "He ditched you in a rotten part of town, hoping you'd get yourself kidnapped so that he'd never have to worry about you again. Face it, Ryou, you're nothing, and nobody's ever cared about you!" He fiercely threw Ryou to the floor once more, his lighter side crying out meekly in pain.

He turned his back on him and began to light a new cigarette. "I forbid you from having anymore contact with Yami from now on," he growled around the end of his cigarette, grinning in enjoyment of Ryou's desperate whimpers and sobs.

"Please, Bakura, I-" Ryou began. He'd never forgive himself if he didn't at least try to fight this decree.

"Shut up, you idiot!" the thief shouted as he turned around, his eyes blazing with fury. "He doesn't love you, and he never did! He'll be glad that you're out of his life." He took a long drag from his cigarette, kneeling down to blow the smoke into Ryou's face, making him cough. "It's time you faced facts and stopped living in a fantasy."

"That's… not true…" Ryou choked out, earning him a death glare and a slap in the face. A single tear slid from one eye and dripped to the floor as Ryou felt himself lose control of his life all over again.

"If you believe that, then you're a fool," he scoffed. "When was the last time he told you he loved you?"

Ryou opened his mouth and shut it again, unable to say that it had indeed been a couple of months since Yami had last spoken those words. Ryou hadn't thought much about it before, how he'd express the sentiment and Yami wouldn't quite reciprocate. He knew that it was a bit difficult for Yami because of the love he had for both hikaris, and he'd understood that. He hadn't pressed Yami about it, hadn't let it get to him before. Now, he had to wonder.

Bakura chuckled mirthlessly. "I bet he won't even put up a fight when I tell him that you two won't be seeing each other anymore." He grinned at that, and pulled Ryou's phone out of the pocket of his jeans, standing up as he dialed Yami's number.

"You're wrong," Ryou protested, only to cry out in pain as Bakura placed a well-aimed kick at Ryou's stomach.

"Shut up," Bakura snapped, putting the call on speaker-phone as they waited for Yami to pick up. Ryou's heart pounded in his chest. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't possibly be happening, yet it was.

"Hello?" Yami's rich, deep voice rumbled from the other end of the line. He sounded cautious; he knew from experience that just because a call was coming from Ryou's cell-phone, it didn't necessarily mean that Ryou was the one calling him.

"Listen up, pharaoh," Bakura growled fiercely into the phone as Ryou wished that he was anywhere but here. "You're little affair with yadonushi is over. You won't be seeing him again. Unless, of course, you'd be willing to make a deal." Ryou's stomach clenched painfully and his mouth went dry. He should have seen this coming, given how well he knew Bakura's evil ways, but it still caught him by surprise.

"What deal did you have in mind?" Yami replied after a few moments, his tone low and aggressive. He knew the odds were slim that any deal the Thief King offered would be agreeable to him, but the least he could do was hear him out.

"Well, since you'll be borrowing my hikari, don't you think it only fitting that I get to borrow yours? In fact, let's make it a more permanent arrangement: You get Ryou and I get Yugi. It's a fair trade, wouldn't you agree? Don't worry, Yugi and I will have plenty of fun together, just like you and yadonushi." He chuckled, then added, "Well, maybe not just like you two, but close enough." His tone was deceptively smooth, almost sugary. It was like the sweet taste of poison, the smooth surface of a knife's flat edge.

Ryou could tell that Bakura was enjoying every moment of this. He enjoyed watching Ryou squirm with discomfort as he listened to the conversation against his will. He enjoyed the process of toying with the pharaoh's feelings as much as he enjoyed ripping Ryou's heart to shreds. He took another long drag from his cigarette as the pharaoh responded to the thief's proposal with immediate vehemence.

"I'll be damned before I let you lay a finger on aibou!" Yami was outraged, and didn't bother trying not to yell. Bakura grinned sadistically as he listened and watched Ryou's reaction. "If you honestly thought that I would agree to that, then you truly are out of your mind. If you ever dare to threaten Yugi like that again, so help me gods, I will murder you. Understand?"

Yami Bakura let out a low chuckle of delight. "Come now, pharaoh, there's no need to shout," he crooned. "You've gone and upset yadonushi with your shouting; happy now?" As he struggled to maintain his silence, Ryou was biting his lip so hard that it had started to bleed. Bakura kicked him again, ripping a pained sound from Ryou's throat, the cry sank into a low groan as he rolled over to hide his face in the floor, feeling ashamed and broken.

All they could hear on the other end was silence, then a quiet sigh. "Well, since you won't agree to the deal, then I guess you're little whore's out of commission for good," Bakura continued, satisfied with how all of this had turned out. "Do you have any last words for yadonushi?"

A sad pause, then the tender words: "Take care of yourself, Ryou." Bakura ended the call a moment after that, tossing the phone aside as he cackled triumphantly.

"No 'I love you,' no 'I'll miss you,' just a 'take care of yourself.'" His laughter was growing hysterical, and Ryou cringed to hear it. That kind of laughter was never a good sign. "I can't believe you even thought for one second that he felt anything more for you than pity and a bit of lust! You're so gullible it's pathetic. I bet even I could make you believe that I loved you!" He was laughing so hard that his eyes watered, but soon the laughter finally came to an end. He puffed on his cigarette, glaring down at the trembling, huddled form of his hikari. "It was for your own good," he commented patronizingly. "Not even you would like to go on living a lie, believing a lie, for the rest of your life."

Ryou was heartbroken, and Bakura's constant jabs kept making things worse. He'd believed that Yami had truly, deeply cared for him, that he'd loved him as much, or at least almost as much, as he loved his own hikari. Yes, their relationship was qualitatively different; he'd always understood that. He'd just never realized that it was quantitatively different as well, that he was loved so much less by the pharaoh than Yugi was. He had been believing a lie, and much of it was his own fault. It was his own fault for loving the pharaoh in the first place, for that had made him see things the way he'd wanted to see them, rather than the way things really were.

The fact that Yami had let him believe the lies made it even worse. He felt betrayed, used, worthless. The emotional pain was worse than anything Bakura had ever done to his body. His torture methods were becoming more sophisticated, more complex, more effective at putting his hikari through hell. The abuse had started as purely verbal, then it'd become physical. Now it was emotional abuse as well, and Ryou didn't like where this progression was going, but he knew that it would go there, because Bakura was a sadist to the core. In addition to that, he was also someone who loved seeing a plan come to fruition.

Ryou was pulled from his thoughts when Bakura seized him by the hair and pulled him up to his feet. He coughed as the cigarette smoke was blown into his tear-stained face. Bakura's expression was fierce again, and Ryou could tell that tonight's violence was far from over. "Don't you get it, you little bitch? Nobody wants you around. Nobody cares enough about what happens to you to do something about it. Everybody knows that helping you would be a waste of their time. You should be grateful that I'm willing to put up with you, that I let you live here with me. Now stop your bloody crying and start cooking dinner."

Bakura dropped Ryou, who crumpled to the floor like a rag-doll. He strode away as he continued to smoke, looking back after a few moments at the discarded victim who hadn't moved a single inch. His patience finally ran out. He marched back over to the hikari and seized him by the hair once more. He extinguished his cigarette on Ryou's upper arm, making the boy scream at the unexpected pain.

"I'll give you something to scream about," he snarled, his face inches from Ryou's. He turned and dragged the brown-eyed boy to his bedroom, tossing his cigarette butt to the floor carelessly. Ryou started to panic, but Bakura took no heed of it as he tossed him carelessly onto the bed. Ryou was utterly terrified; this hadn't happened before, this was new. Before he had the chance to crawl away from him, Bakura seized his wrists in a vise grip and pinned his hands above his head, making him squirm with discomfort at the feeling of such vulnerability. Then he leaned forward, glaring at the swollen face and the tearful eyes that he so despised. With his free hand, he grasped Ryou's chin and forced his mouth open, leaning in to kiss his hikari with all the aggressive hunger he used when he ate a steak.

Ryou's very insides trembled with fear as he tasted the ashy nicotine flavor of Bakura's mouth. All of that couldn't possibly be from one cigarette. How many of them had he smoked today? He distracted himself with thoughts of anything else, anything at all, as he tried not to focus on what was happening. He'd found that simply not paying attention could help make his yami's abuse more bearable. He'd also learned the hard way not to zone out when Bakura was talking to him.

Bakura soon became bored of Ryou's passive acceptance of it all, and was soon engaged in hurting him even more. Anything to get a reaction from him. He bit his victim's tongue, his lips. He lifted a knee and pressed it to the other's crotch, making him arch and squirm and moan with a strange, strangled desperation. Bakura released his wrists and seized the hem of Ryou's shirt, removing it roughly and straightening up as he stared down at his terrified prey.

He noticed a hickey on his neck that his long hair had been hiding up until now. He traced it delicately with his long fingers right before he attacked it with his teeth. Ryou tried to push Bakura off of him, and his torturer allowed him to do so for a few moments before restraining his hands again, gripping his wrists with enough force to induce bruising. Ryou was crying again, his heart tearing as he remembered Yami's tender touches in giving Ryou that mark. The memory was now marred by Yami Bakura's abuse, just like the mark itself was now altered by his teeth. Soon, Bakura's teeth were gnawing at his collarbone, predatory growls emitting from his throat.

Ryou had been fighting against Bakura's restraint this whole time, trying to wrestle his arms free, trying to squirm out from underneath the other man's body, but all to no avail. His efforts to free himself weakened. What good was fighting when he knew it wouldn't work? He whimpered and gasped as Bakura's knee pressed into his groin with increased pressure.

"That's right, you fucking love this, you little whore," Bakura muttered, his voice raspier and harsher than usual. "Stop fighting it when you know you want this." The shame and sorrow that flooded Ryou's spirit as he let himself go limp were indescribably potent. He hated Bakura, hated that he had his hikari so well under his thumb that could manipulate him so perfectly.

Bakura smirked as he let go of Ryou's hands and shifted his knee slightly, reaching for the front of his victim's pants. When Ryou felt a slight tug at the waistband, a cry flew from his lips before he could even think: "Please, no!" Bakura froze, his eyes narrowing. Ryou felt his throat close over in dead terror. He hadn't meant to say no, hadn't meant to deny him. He knew how much Bakura hated it when Ryou said no.

"What did you just say to me?" came the deadly whisper. His quiet anger was always more fearful than his shouting.

"I-I didn't mean to…" Ryou whimpered, panting as panic set in. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" His attempts to placate the sadist were all in vain. Bakura held Ryou's gaze with his steely eyes as he slowly removed his own belt, gripping it in a way that made Ryou feel nauseous. This hadn't happened before, and his ignorance of what was about to happen unnerved and upset Ryou all the more.

"I'll make you wish you were never born, you pathetic excuse for a host!" He raised his belt over his head and Ryou covered his face with his arms, squeezing his eyes shut.

Yami's cell rang while he was helping Yugi make dinner. He put the knife down on the cutting board and wiped his hands with a towel before pulling it out of his pocket. Ryou was calling. That was unusual. Yugi glanced over at him curiously, but only saw Yami's back as he walked out of the kitchen into their bedroom, closing the door most of the way behind him.

"Hello?" he answered, not entirely sure who was on the other end.

"Listen up, pharaoh," Bakura answered, and Yami groaned inwardly. This could only mean trouble. "You're little affair with yadonushi is over. You won't be seeing him again. Unless, of course," he continued in sly tones, "You'd be willing to make a deal."

If Yami had to stop seeing Ryou, then the hikari would be the one to suffer the most. Without anybody to remind him that he was valued and cared for, without anybody to offer him gentleness, kindness, and compassion, he'd surely lose his mind and soul to the total and utter despair that he'd been fighting for so long. Yami had been helping him to fight it. Knowing that he'd never be able to free him from Bakura, he attempted to teach him things that would help him to survive on his own when the day came that Yami couldn't help him anymore. Well, this was that day, and the pharaoh didn't believe that Ryou was ready to stand on his own just yet. He still needed Yami, and he refused to give up on his friend easily.

"What deal did you have in mind?" His voice betrayed the protective anger he felt for the angelic boy he'd welcomed into his heart and bed.

"Well, since you'll be borrowing my hikari, don't you think it only fitting that I get to borrow yours?" Yami felt the color drain from his face and his jaw went slack in shock. "In fact, let's make it a more permanent arrangement: You get Ryou and I get Yugi. It's a fair trade, wouldn't you agree? Don't worry, Yugi and I will have plenty of fun together, just like you and yadonushi." He chuckled darkly, then added, "Well, maybe not just like you two, but close enough."

Yami's face was livid as he yelled, "I'll be damned before I let you lay a finger on aibou!" Yugi heard him from the kitchen, immediately becoming concerned. He padded over to their bedroom door, watching Yami's face through the crack. "If you honestly thought that I would agree to that, then you truly are out of your mind. If you ever dare to threaten Yugi like that again, so help me gods, I will murder you. Understand?" Yugi himself was becoming nervous. Who was he talking to? What was going on? What had the other person said to make the pharaoh, who was usually so calm and collected, so very angry?

The bastard laughed. How could he have the audacity to laugh? "Come now, pharaoh, there's no need to shout," he crooned. "You've gone and upset yadonushi with your shouting; happy now?" Yami flinched as he heard Ryou's pained outcry, the anger leaving him as Bakura's words sank in. Ryou had heard all that Yami had said. He'd probably just made his friend feel horrible about himself, and he was already so vulnerable. And Bakura was hurting the boy even now. He must have had the damn cell on speaker-phone. Yami should have known better, he should have known that it was a trap. He sighed sadly, frustrated with himself more than anything else.

"Well, since you won't agree to the deal, then I guess you're little whore's out of commission for good," Bakura continued, his smug tones betraying how satisfied he was with the results of his craftiness. "Do you have any last words for yadonushi?"

"Take care of yourself, Ryou," he said softly. What else could he say? If Ryou didn't take care of himself, then nobody would take care of him, and Yami hated to think about what would happen if Ryou ceased taking care of himself, ceased caring for himself at all. It was his way of telling the bruised, battered hikari, without being overt and eliciting mockery and contempt from Bakura, to not give up, to stay strong, to hold out hope for something better. Bakura ended the call, and Yami hung up as well, shoulders slumping in defeat.

Yugi pushed open the door and entered the room, making Yami glance up as he entered. The pharaoh looked conflicted, pained, crushed, upset. His jaw clenched as he closed his eyes, his body stiff with tension as his heart began to ache. Yugi had never seen him like this before. He cautiously approached his boyfriend and wrapped his arms around him in a gentle hug, only to have Yami crush him in his arms a few moments later, burying his face in Yugi's shoulder.

"What happened?" the hikari finally asked worriedly.

"It's over," came the whispered response. "I did all that I could to help him. I tried so hard to make things better for him. In the end, I just made things worse. I couldn't do anything to help him." He spoke slowly and with difficulty, and as Yugi held him more tightly, he felt the pharaoh shudder and begin to sob. "Bakura said that Ryou and I aren't allowed to see each other anymore. He did offer a deal, but I could never accept it."

"What was the deal?" Yugi asked hesitantly, not sure he really wanted to know the answer.

"He said that I could have Ryou permanently if I gave him you. I can't even bear he thought of him getting his hands on you!" Yami shuddered and squeezed Yugi in his arms as if he planned on never letting go. "I feel terrible that Ryou's stuck with him forever now, but I couldn't trade you away even if it was for the whole world… I could never let him hurt you…" Guilty sobs racked Yami's body as Yugi held him close, trying to comfort him. Yugi's heart felt warm, even as concern for Ryou started nagging away at his own mind. He knew from details Yami had relayed to him previously that Ryou was virtually a prisoner in his own home and that Bakura dictated his life with an iron fist.

Yugi's eyes watered a little, but he blinked them away. He couldn't fall apart now; Yami needed him right now. He gently released Yami and pulled out his handkerchief to dry Yami's tears. Yugi smiled sweetly, saying, "Thank you, Yami. I love you too." He leaned in and gave him a brief kiss. "We'll find a way to help Ryou, I promise. We can't just leave him there if he's in trouble, because he's our friend, and friends don't give up on each other." Yami smiled at Yugi gratefully, and the two shared another tender kiss. And another. And another.

A little while later, Yugi was pulling his pants back on while Yami watched him appreciatively from the bed. "Come on, aibou, we could just order pizza instead," the pharaoh proposed, not wanting to bother with cooking tonight.

Yugi glanced back at him with a smile. "Pizza's not very healthy, Yami," Yugi chided teasingly.

"We can cheat this once, can't we?" Yami pleaded with a perfect pout face. Yugi knew what expression he was wearing before he even turned to look, but he looked anyways. He was never able to say no to that face. He sighed and ran his fingers through Yami's hair. "Alright, I'll go order some pizza for us," he conceded with a playful wink. "You'd better make it worth my while."

Yami watched as Yugi, still shirtless, left their room to find his phone and order the pizza, then he sighed and stared at the ceiling. He would find a way to get Ryou to safety, to a place where he could heal, love, and be loved. He swore to himself that he wouldn't give up until he'd done so.