NO LEMON IN THIS CHAPPIE.

Evanescence: I’m sorry. I didn’t mean you in particular.  I meant general.  Yes, Ryou’s dad is a baka.  He’s going to be more of a jerk.  Look at the pressure he puts on his son to be perfect.  You know what that means, right?

Moonnymph: Yes, he is an ass.  He’s gonna be a bigger ass.

Firedraygon: SURPRISE!  Yeah, I know he could have burst in, but he was in complete shock.  Wouldn’t you be?  Here’s another postage!

Randalberzerker: Must….have…good…..reviews…Now you can sleep. 

VMR: I do what I can, usually more than I should.

Digi: We all loved Seto dancing.  Maybe he’ll dance later.  *wink *

//…//-Ryou to Bakura

\..\-Bakura to Ryou though mindlink

The Mighty Have Fallen

            Bakura opened his eyes and looked down at his lover beside him curled up and entwined with him.  He clasped Ryou tightly feeling his body move by his breathing.  Ryou groaned and curled up tighter around Bakura.  “You’ve made me so happy, Ryou.  My dearest Ryou.”

Bakura’s hands migrated to Ryou’s hips rubbing them gently finding Ryou moving his hips with delight.  Bakura kissed Ryou on the forehead and the little brown eye opened.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Ryou smiled and kissed Bakura’s lips gently and ran his hand over Bakura’s chest.  “Happy Birthday to me!  So where’s my birthday present?”  Bakura reached to the side table drawer and brought out the box of candy.  “Why didn’t we eat these last night?”  Ryou pouted.

“It wasn’t your birthday officially until the morning.”

“How do you explain last night?”

“I love you. That’s how I explain last night.”  Bakura rolled out of bed  and put on his robe.

Ryou sat up and opened the chocolates.  “Butter Creams, Bakura?  You have good taste.”

Bakura kissed Ryou’s cheek quickly.  “So do you.”  Bakura stepped into the shower.  Ryou put his robe on and fed his new fish.

            He carried the bowl downstairs and placed it on the mantle looking at it proudly.  Ryou went into the kitchen to start breakfast when he saw his fther at the table.  Ryou smiled and hugged his father.  “It’s my birthday, daddy!”

****Flashback*****

            The three year old came down as he did every year on his birthday declaring it proudly.  His father always had a cupcake with a lit candle on the table.  Streamers and balloons decorated the entire living room.  Birthday gifts were piled on the kitchen tables in mountains.  “Happy Birthday, Ryou!  You are getting so big!  Pretty soon you won’t be my little boy anymore.  You’ll be a big boy.”

“I’m this many old,” the child said happily displaying three fingers.  “Next year, I’ll be this many,” Ryou said indicating four fingers.  “See?  I can count!  1…2…3…4..hmm..I know..4…5!”

Steven hugged his son tightly.  “Good work, son.”

“I can count to 10!  Wanna see?  1..2…3…4..5..umm..8…6…ummm… 7…9..10! Yeah! I did it!”

Steven offered his son a gift.  “This is for my big boy.”

Ryou hugged his daddy.  “I love you, daddy!”

*********

            Ryou looked at his dad.  “Father, are you feeling alright?  You look really pale.”

“I’m fine, Ryou,” he said flatly.  “I’m going to the tavern at noon.  I will not be home until late.”

“Dad, it’s my birthday today.  Didn’t you remember?  That’s why you came home.  Are we going to celebrate later?”

Steven stood up slowly out of his chair.  “You’re right, son.  I don’t want to forget your birthday.”  Steven pulled his son into his arms.  With one quick motion, he wrapped his fingers around the collar on Ryou’s robe tightly and slammed him into the refrigerator seething.

Ryou’s eyes widened and his body quaked.  “Dad? What are you doing?”

He slammed Ryou on the table pinning him down with his fingers around Ryou’s neck.  The boy’s throat gurgled and his body thrashed to get away. 

“I saw you last night, boy!  I saw you screwing Bakura senseless!”  Ryou gasped for air and gripped his father’s arms.

“Dad…can’t…breathe!” 

His father gripped him tighter and quivered as he shook the boy.  It pained him to do this.  All he wanted to see was his innocent boy before him.  But all he could see was the person he had now become.  “I refuse to celebrate the birthday of a son such as yourself!  A son who turns his back on his own father!”

Tears slid down Ryou’s face.  “How..did I?”

“By sleeping with another boy, Ryou!  You turned your back on me and all the hope I had for you.”

Steven could feel the boy’s breathing become hoarser as he gripped tighter.  He gripped the boy’s hand.  “Where is your ring?”

“I…uh…forgot…to put….on.”

“That wasn’t from a lady, was it?  There is no lady!  That was from Bakura!”

Ryou’s heart beat furiously as he struggled to break the grip on him.  Steven fought back tears as he felt his son slowly stop trying to fight him.

“You’re not even going to fight back?  Bakura was right.  You are  a wimp!”

 “Dad..can’t fight..you. I love you.”

Steven bent low to Ryou’s ear.  “I doubt that concerning what I saw last night.”

// Yami!   Yami! Help me! //

\Ryou? \

// Ra! Help me!  I can’t breathe!  He’s strangling me! //

\ Hold on! \

“I never want to see you wear that ring again!”

Ryou cried holding his head back.  “Can’t do that.  I love….Bakura.  I love…him.”

The water in the shower turned off.  Steven slapped Ryou hard enough to knock him off the table and onto the floor.  “Explain yourself.”

Ryou rolled over and looked at his father above him.  “You never hit me before.”

“You deserve worse than a slap, Ryou.  Your actions last night were a slap in the face to me.”

Ryou wiped his tears away.

“I’m not wasting any more time on you.  It isn’t worth my time.”  Steven walked out of the kitchen and slammed the front door.  Ryou backed against the wall and brought his knees to his chest.  Bakura ran down the steps and found Ryou trembling, his eyes glazed over. 

“Ryou, Ryou, speak to me.”

Ryou coughed as his lungs gasped for air.  A tear fell from his eye and he clutched onto Bakura.  “He saw us, yami.”

Bakura hugged Ryou.  “We were quiet.  How could he hear us?”

“Yami..” Ryou whimpered.  Bakura pushed away Ryou’s hair away from his neck to kiss him when he saw little bruises along his skin again.  On Ryou’s cheek was a red mark.  Ryou coughed and gasped for air desperately.  His father had almost seriously injured his own son.

“Can’t breathe..”

Bakura rubbed Ryou’s back.  “Shh..Relax, Ryou. I’m here.  Breathe.  In and out. I know you can.”

Ryou wrapped his arms around Bakura’s neck kissing the neck over and over.  “I love you, yami.  My father doesn’t love me anymore!”  Bakura’s grip on Ryou tightened.  Ryou let out a long mournful cry into Bakura’s shoulder that seemed to echo through the house.

So Ryou’s dad was no different than Cinetti, defending values, while beating those who they were obliged to protect.   

“I love you. I love you. I love you,” Ryou repeated as he buried  his face in his yami’s shoulder.  Bakura rubbed Ryou’s hair and kissed his temple.  Nobody beat up his Ryou and got away with it.

“I’ll show him not to hurt you, Ryou.”

“No, yami!  Bakura, don’t hurt him!  He’s all I have!”

“But he hit you.  If it wasn’t for our mindlink, who knows if he would have stopped strangling you.”

“Please, yami!  He’s all I have….and he hates me.” 

Bakura put Ryou’s face in his hands.  “I love you, Ryou.  I’m sorry this had to happen.  We will get through this together.”

“He said he refuses to celebrate my birthday. I must be a terrible son…because I didn’t turn out like he wanted.”

“Why are you so concerned about him, Ryou?  It’s you I care about!  Not someone else’s feelings of how you should run your life!”

“I didn’t make him proud of me…I disappointed him….I am a terrible son.”

Bakura felt tears coming to his eyes.  “You are not a terrible son, Ryou.  You are not terrible to live your life the way you want to.”

Ryou’s head collided with Bakura’s shoulders.  Bakura sat on the kitchen floor holding Ryou tightly to him as he sobbed.  “I am a terrible son…..and he hates me.”

  Next Chappie: Umm…Steven visits the men I think.  Hmm…Whatever I feel like writing tonight.