A/N: My sincerest apologies for not updating in such a long time. Turns out high school is harder than it seems (lol). Anyways, I'll try to get back into the groove of things just as I'm trying to do with One and the Same.

Enjoy(?)

Chapter Two

楽園でのトラブル

will you still be here beside me

when the sun rises?

Eyes scrunching up as he fought against a yawn, Ryou rolled over onto his side and pushed his journal away from himself, his pen rolling across the white tile floor. He'd quickly become accustomed to the hardness pressing into his body from beneath, though perhaps he was simply too tired to care. Thoughts of setting up his sleeping bag fled from his mind as his mind drifted into a satisfying white haze.

Yet before he could slip into the warmth of dreamland, Mokuba's annoyingly loud screech snapped him into awareness.

"You bitch!" The twelve year old's voice rang throughout the room. "I'll kill you!"

Ryou opened his eyes halfway, vision blurred with the remanence of exhaustion. He slowly turned to face his brother and the millionaire's youngest son, eyeing them with distaste. Bakura was sitting casually atop Mokuba, who was sprawled out on the floor on his stomach, the older leisurely pushing buttons on a portable gaming console - a gaming console that quite obviously did not belong to him.

"What are you two doing?" Ryou murmured, unable to bring himself to care much for the answer but the growing concern for Mokuba's slightly purplish face had him asking anyway.

"Bitchkura's fricking suffocating me, that's what!" Mokuba shouted angrily, his black mop of a head bouncing about in his rage. "Get him off!"

The older of the two snorted, lifting his gaze from the game and sending a bored look his brother's way. "Try anything and you'll regret it," he muttered quietly, a stark contrast to Mokuba's pitchy squealing.

Rolling his eyes, Ryou lazily pulled himself to his feet and stretched, wincing at the loud popping noises his joints made. It was obvious he wasn't going to get much sleep there and, making a quick decision, he headed over to the Yuugi-tachi's room, teddy bear in hand.

The hallways were surprisingly desolate for only ten o'clock. Ryou had envisioned something different deep down in his subconscious, but what it was exactly that he'd expected he didn't quite know. Perhaps drunken teenagers stumbling around dizzily, lost in the haze of partying. Nevertheless, the trek to Science Lab 01 was a rather quiet and uneventful one.

When he pushed open the door, however, noise assaulted him very rudely.

"...can't just do that so suddenly! There has to be some sort of reason!"

"...the hell?! Are you serious?!"

"...kill you if you so much as think of breaking his heart…"

Ryou sighed. As if he'd pushed a button, the room before him fell into a tense silence, all eyes finding his tired and weary face.

"Oh," Honda breathed in apparent relief, "I thought you were Otogi."

In spite of the raised eyebrow that statement rewarded, Honda offered no explanation. When Ryou turned his confusion onto the next pair of eyes he could find, Jounouchi merely shrugged back at him, unwilling to speak yet again for whatever mysterious reason he'd become a practical mute in the first place.

Yuugi beckoned him in, thankfully, after an awkward beat of shuffling and wordlessness. "R-Ryou-kun, how nice to see you," he greeted with a failed attempt at his usual welcoming smile.

"What's wrong with you lot?" Ryou plopped himself down on an empty chair, eyeing appreciatively the circle of blankets and friends before him. He suddenly found that he wasn't all that tired anymore.

The lab tables had been pushed to the walls around them, with chairs and stools stacked on top and beneath save for the exception of a few scattered about the room. His friends had created an almost slumber party feel to the whole get-together, what with their sleeping bags arranged into a neat circle so that they could all face each other as they conversed.

"I'm breaking up with Otogi," Honda admitted hesitantly, casting a wary expression in Kujaku Mai's direction.

Ryou blinked. "What? Why? You've only been together for two weeks."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." He waved a hand dismissively. "We just… aren't working, I guess."

Atem frowned. "Well, you are only fourteen…"

"Fifteen, actually," Jounouchi chimed in, pretending to stifle a yawn behind his hand.

Rolling his eyes, Honda collapsed onto his heap of blankets. "I thought it might've worked out, though," he mumbled. "I mean, we've liked each other for about a year now…"

"Crushes are common in adolescents…"

"Oh, would you shut up, Atem?!"

"Sorry, Mai."

"Look," the blonde continued, removing her glare from Atem, "even if you are young, who cares? It's sweet. And we've all watched you two skirt around each other for God knows how long, and I'll be damned if you just end your poor excuse of a relationship because it isn't working." Yuugi nodded agreeably.

There was the slightest trace of a scowl when Otogi Ryuuji entered at that moment, and Ryou worried for a moment that perhaps he'd overheard their conversation. The dice boy simply took his place in the circle, however, and settled in for bed.

Honda cleared his throat thickly. "W-well, um, I guess it's getting a bit late, huh?" He asked, scooting closer to his boyfriend. "'Spose turning in is-"

"Could you be a little quieter?" Otogi muttered. "I'm trying to sleep."

"Oh. Right." He cast an 'I told you so' look at Mai.

"Well," Yuugi announced after a long moment, "Go Fish, anyone?"

"What's that?" Anzu asked, leaning forward to inspect the cards he'd pulled out of seemingly nowhere.

Atem pursed his lips, looking the perfect picture of amusement. "A card game," he explained, pulling out a second deck and adding it to his younger brother's. "We'll need more cards for so many people."

As Yuugi began to shuffle the large pile of cards, muffled groaning could be heard from Otogi's heap of blankets. Unable to help himself, Ryou sniggered.

"I'm in," Honda declared loudly, shooting an annoyed glance at his irritable boyfriend. "How do we play?"

Grinning from ear to ear, Yuugi began to animatedly explain how to play the rather simple game. Ryou sighed and leaned his head back against the wall, his drowsiness returning, and easily slid off to sleep to the quiet chattering of his friends.

The next day was spent preparing for the school festival. Ryou joined Yuugi and a few others from their class and set about creating the stage for The Show, as Anzu had so simply dubbed it. No one was quite sure of the actual title at that moment in time.

While Ryou had so longingly expressed his desire to put on a haunted house presentation, the class had alas settled on a small talent showcase after much debate. Yuugi had been saddened that his idea of a tabletop arcade had been shot down, and Jounouchi silently moped over the lack of half-naked women (he'd wanted a beauty pageant, specifically one in which the contestants modeled swimwear), but the votes had been counted and a talent showcase was now set in stone.

Bakura had dropped by just before lunchtime, glaring at Atem and quite obviously longing to pick a fight, but Ryou had steered him away from that particular desire by simply appearing before his brother. Bakura had then proceeded to shout and throw Ryou's shoulder bag at him, officially kicking him from their settlement and ordering him to room with the Yuugi-tachi.

"It's not a big deal," he'd assured Honda and Yuugi when they turned concerned questions his way. "Bakura's just upset that I spent the night with you guys. He'll get over it soon."

"If you're sure…" Yuugi had murmured, placing a small hand on Ryou's arm before wandering off to help Anzu draw the curtains apart on the stage.

The concern had been flattering but a little suffocating, and Ryou had unconsciously drifted away from his friends for the following setup time. He hated how the Yuugi-tachi always treated Bakura like he was dangerous, how they always became worried when he and Ryou spoke. Bakura was his brother, and however rude he could be at times, that would never change.

He wished they could see the Bakura who pulled back the blankets of his own bed for his younger brother at night, allowing Ryou, who was prone to nightmares, to sleep with him. He wished they could understand.

Come lunchtime, Anzu had declared the stage properly set for The Show. "Each individual act will need to set up their own props if they require extra stuff to work with," she said, brushing her hands together to rid them of imaginary dust.

Jounouchi, who was still a little put out over his idea being shot down, shrugged and headed for the cafeteria, no doubt needing to inject himself with food in order to cheer up. Not like it mattered much, Ryou thought; he still wasn't talking, after all. The group slowly migrated after their strangely silent friend, chatting away without concern. Ryou had a hunch that they liked the quiet Jounouchi better than the obnoxiously loud one.

Unsurprisingly, Mokuba was throwing food at Bakura, which was the first thing Ryou had the pleasure of seeing upon entering the cafeteria. His brother, rice dripping from his hair, was cursing up a storm and gesturing violently at the table where the boy's older brothers sat. Mokuba only wrinkled his nose and flung more of his rice.

And admittedly Ryou couldn't blame him. Seto and Noa, the middle Kaiba child, were seated at opposite side of their table, laptops out as they furiously typed away, an intense aura of competition and dislike hanging palpably between them. It didn't seem at all welcoming.

Honda shrugged away from the group and approached Otogi, who'd been working with another class for the sole purpose of avoiding his boyfriend. Gesturing for the others to follow, Yuugi made his way warily over to their two friends.

"How's it going, Otogi?" Honda greeted, taking a seat tentatively beside the Dice Master.

Otogi, however, scoffed angrily before standing and walking away. He plopped himself down at the Kaiba table, attracting more than a few confused looks. Ryou thought they made a nice group; they could all be angry together.

"I don't get it!" Honda cried, throwing his hands up. "What am I supposed to do here? What does he want?!"

The all-knowing, advice-giving Atem furrowed his brows and hummed contemplatively, the rest of the group holding their breath in await of the older male's judgement. Alas, Atem pursed his lips, directing a curious look at Honda. "You've had other crushes before. Girls, right? Tell me their names."

Obviously confused, Honda blurted, "W-well, there was Miho-chan first, and then Shizuka-chan, I guess? But I don't see what that has to do with-,"

"Ah," Atem nodded, "I know what's wrong with Otogi."

Honda leaned forward in anticipation. Atem simply nodded to himself, appearing smug.

"Well?!" The brunet finally caved after about a full minute of silence, his eyes wide. "What is it?!"

"His name, obviously," the older male responded. "You called the girls by their given name and a term of affection. You call Otogi by his surname, nothing more."

Honda gaped. "Y-you… You mean, all of this is because he wants me to call him by his given name?"

Yuugi hummed thoughtfully. "It makes sense, Honda-kun. You are dating, after all."

"But-,"

"Just do it, man," Jounouchi advised around his food, startling everyone. Honda gave him a wild look before nodding, quickly scrambling to his feet.

Ryou watched on with the others as Honda hesitantly closed in on his boyfriend, using slow movements as though he were a predator stalking his prey. The analogy was more than a little disturbing.

Honda spoke, presumably using his boyfriend's given name, and Otogi moped for a few long moments longer before abruptly pulling Honda down and kissing the life out of him. Both Kaiba brothers stood, laptops in hand, and fled from the foreign display before them.

Yuugi, on the other hand, began clapping and whooping without a thought.

The next time Ryou encountered Malik was later that night.

It was long after midnight, the halls deserted and rather eerie in his opinion, but Ryou liked it. He'd been walking for a while by then, having needed a break from the chaos of his friends.

Only, when the band room's door creaked open and the Egyptian teen slipped out, he didn't seem like Malik at all if the hungry look his sent in Ryou's direction was anything to go by. In fact, he reminded Ryou of the first time he'd ever met Malik, back when his hair was wild and his eyes even wilder, an amused smirk on his lips that Ryou hadn't seen since.

To be continued...

楽園でのトラブル

I'm glad you decided to stay

til morning, my love

but there's one hell of a day ahead