DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

A Little Problem
By Shadow's Mirror

Ryou wasn't quite sure how or when it had happened, and he was even less sure what he was feeling about it, but he couldn't deny the truth any longer.

Bakura had definitely developed a 'thing' for spending the night in Ryou's bed.

For the sixth time that week, Ryou had gone to bed alone and woken up in the morning with his dark half asleep next to him.

As he carefully sat up, not wishing to disturb the sleeping yami, Ryou sighed and ran a hand distractedly through his tousled hair. He winced slightly as his movement caused a twinge of pain.

It looked like today he and his yami would be having... The Talk.

- - -

Bakura eyed his light in growing confusion as Ryou paced back and forth across the living room. "Ryou... what's going on? You're wearing out the carpet."

Ryou blinked and shot a guilty look at Bakura. "Oh. I'm sorry, Bakura." He immediately sat down on the sofa beside his yami. Within seconds he was fidgeting.

Sighing, Bakura arched an eyebrow at his light. "Whatever the problem is, just spit it out already, would you? You're more nervous than Devlin in a room full of jealous boyfriends."

The analogy startled Ryou into a soft giggle, but it served its original purpose well. He calmed down enough to give Bakura a small smile. "I... need to talk to you about something."

"Well that explains why you asked me to come in here after dinner." Bakura shrugged slightly, indicating that he'd guessed as much already. "What's wrong?"

Ryou bit his lip and forced himself to stop fidgeting while he tried to work out the best way to say what needed to be said. He'd put off talking to his yami all day, but he still hadn't worked out how to tell him and time was running out.

Only another hour before bedtime.

He couldn't handle... that... happening again. He just couldn't.

"Bakura... for the past week or so... I have woken almost every morning to find you... well... sharing my bed." Ryou blushed a little, but quickly went on before his yami could interrupt.

"Please, do not misunderstand! I do not mind that at all." His blush deepened slightly.

"I also do not mind that you join me... in the middle of the night." Again, his blush deepened.

"Or that you use that spell to take on physical form to do so." His blush kept on deepening.

"Or that you... snuggle into my side or my back while we sleep." Ryou's cheeks were almost as red as a stop sign by this point and he was starting to struggle with his words. His voice was trying to give out more often, as his level of embarrassment rose. He bit his lip hard and hesitated, still not sure how to word what he so desperately needed to say.

Bakura's frown had deepened with every statement, now he looked at his light in confusion. "All right. Now we've sorted out what you 'don't mind'... how about we get down to what has you in such a state?"

Ryou's blush deepened even more, taking it into the zone of the colour chart reserved for embarrassed Lights. "It pokes me." He blurted out the words and promptly looked horrified.

Bakura blinked. "It... pokes you?"

Looking thoroughly embarrassed, still horrified and now rather miserable, Ryou nodded.

"Well that's... uh... I really don't know what to say about that. I guess... I'm sorry?" A hint of colour had appeared on Bakura's cheeks as well.

"Oh! It's not too bad! It's only a little problem, really!" Ryou hurried to reassure his yami but, curiously, his yami didn't seem to be reassured very much at all.

In fact, Bakura looked rather... put out.

"Only a... little problem?"

Ryou nodded. "Yes. I would not have said anything, except... well..." He looked uncomfortable. "It is a little hard to hide the bruises from the others when we change after gym class."

"Bruises?" Bakura blinked and looked confused. "But... I haven't..." He frowned. "What bruises? Where? Who's been hurting you?" He was clearly trying not to raise his voice, but his growing anger was obvious.

"The bruises from where the points have been digging into me." Ryou bowed his head and looked as miserable and embarrassed as a Light could possibly look.

"Points? Ryou... what in the Shadows are you talking about?" Bakura's anger was gone, replaced by complete confusion.

Ryou's blush surely made it into the record books for deepest colour ever seen on a human's cheeks. "The points on your Millennium Ring. When you snuggle up to me at night, they poke into my back or arm and bruise me."

The yami blinked and stared at his light in silence for several seconds. Then he silently got up and headed for the doorway.

"Bakura? What is it? Where are you going? Oh dear. I did not mean to upset you!" Ryou started to get up, but Bakura held up his hand.

"You didn't. I'm going to look in the Book of Secret Arts. I think I remember seeing a spell there that would make the Ring vanish unless it's actually needed." His voice was very soft and it sounded suspiciously like he was trying not to laugh.

Ryou relaxed back into the sofa and smiled a little. "Oh, I do hope so! That would be perfect!"

"Yes. The last thing I want is for something poking you in bed to be a 'little problem'."

The End