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It was shaping up to be a great day, up until their model passed out right after the start of class.
Ryou wasn’t even paying attention like he should have been, although in his own defense, the students seemed to be handling themselves pretty well. It was a normal nude drawing session, and all he expected to hear was the scratch of charcoal on paper and the occasional question, not an “oh FUCK,” and a cartoonishly loud crash.
He looked up. ‘Oh fuck’ summed it up all right. He almost fell over getting up and untangling himself from his chair. “Call the campus police,” he snapped at a nearby student, who immediately scrabbled for their cell phone.
Ryou reached the model at a reasonably fast pace, stooping down to check his pulse. The man gasped before he could even touch him, sitting up and wobbling slightly. He looked fine, if pale.
And to think that Ryou was hoping to get through the semester without having someone end up at the campus hospital. Shows what he knew.
“Are you all right?” The model looked dazed, but nodded shakily in response. At least this time it didn’t look like another emergency room visit. The dean still hadn’t let him forget that series of incidents. “Stay there for a bit, okay?” Another nod. Good. “Someone get his clothes.”
It didn’t take long for two security officers to show up, one knocking politely on the open door before they headed in. “Again, Professor?” one of them teased as his partner knelt down to check on the model. “I think the hospital is getting sick of us by now.”
Ryou rolled his eyes. “Come on, Jou, it’s not that bad. This time, at least. And how would you know?”
Jou grinned as he squatted down to help the model stand. “They made a phone extension specifically for our school, Ryou. I think that’s a bad sign.”
“That was mostly not my fault!” Ryou called after them and received a scoff in return as they headed out the door like some bizarre four-legged race. He turned back to his class and received fifteen wide-eyed stares. Fuck. “Well, it looks like we’ll need a replacement model. You guys just... hang out while I call someone.” He waved them down and followed the officers out the door, pulling out his own phone. Hitting speed dial, he felt a smile stretch over his face as the call connected.
“Couldn’t live without me?”
“Something like that,” he replied easily. “We have a problem.”
“Another hospital visit ?”
“Damn it, why does everyone just assume it’s another hospital visit?” Ryou wondered out loud, and received a laugh in return. “No, the model just fainted and I doubt we can get a replacement so soon and Yugi can’t-”
“OH, I get it.” He could hear the grin in the other’s words. “You want me to come show off my naked ass to a bunch of impressionable young freshman.”
“It’s nothing they haven’t seen before. Hell, they’ve seen worse. Can you get here in time?”
“Mm. Fifteen minutes. You told them about-?”
Ryou snorted. “Nope. They’ll figure it out eventually.”
“Ryou, you heartbreaker! Be there in fifteen.”
“You know where to go. And thanks.” He hung up, stowing his cell phone.
“Professor?”
Ryou turned his smile to the student standing in the doorway. “We’ll be fine, I have someone coming over to fill in,” he assured them. “And thank you,” he said as they held the door open for them. The students were muttering amongst themselves, but stopped and looked at him expectantly when he re-entered the room. “Fifteen minutes,” he told them and received several nods in return.
He sat back at his desk, rubbing his eyes. Thank fuck he knew how to improvise from his years of playing DnD or else they’d be stuck without a figure model again. He sighed into his hands and surveyed his desk. Books, papers, drawings to grade, more books, his favorite book... he knew exactly how he would be spending his unplanned free time. He picked the book up gently, running his fingers over the well-loved cover.
Five Years Ago
“Are you sure you can sit through a three hour train ride with just one book?” his roommate called from the other room. Ryou shoved another shirt into his tiny suitcase and contemplated whether or not he could fit another pair of pants inside without the case busting a seam.
“The King of Thieves is my favorite book, Yugi,” he shot back, and eyed his suitcase again. Hmm. “And besides, I’ll be busy texting you the whole time.” He yanked on the zipper.
Yugi stood in the doorway, rubbing a towel through his hair. He hung it around his shoulders and cocked his head. “You never told me why you spent all this money just to go to a two day convention,” he pointed out. “I mean, I know you need a break from your thesis, but-”
“It’s not just a convention-”
“Yeah, I figured that out when you practically cried over your ticket-”
Ryou finally got the zipper closed. “It’s a great networking opportunity.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And maybe I’ll get to make some new friends.”
“Uh-huh.”
Ryou rolled his eyes. “And maybe I’ll get to freak out in front of my favorite writers, too, yeah, you got me.” He heaved his suitcase over to the door and turned to face his friend, who was looking at him gently. “What?”
Yugi smiled at him. “I haven’t seen you this excited in a long time, you dork. I’m glad you get to go, even if I’m totally going to give you shit for it the whole time.”
“Yeah, yeah, I'll miss you too.” After a hug and another round of teasing, Ryou found himself standing outside their apartment building, suitcase and carry-on in hand, ready to go to the convention. The convention his favorite authors would be attending. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck, he was so not ready for this-
His phone vibrated. He checked the text from Yugi.
i can see you freaking out. you'll be fine!
Ryou shifted his bag so he could text back.
wish me luck
He gripped his things and turned in the direction of the train station.
good luck!
The train ride was uneventful, but the hotel was packed.
Dodging around a group of what looked like his fellow grad students, he fumbled for his key, finally managing to get it into the slot. Ryou shoved his way inside, dropping his stuff and collapsing on the tiny single bed with a huff. God he hated people. He yanked out his phone.
god i hate people
Yugi must have been out of class because he answered almost immediately.
that crowded, huh?
yeah. i hope the convention is held in a big venue or i might cry
just pls don’t start a fight
Ryou snorted.
no promises
He swiped at the screen of his phone, checking the schedule for tomorrow. Meet his favorite author, and then stay for Isis Ishtar’s talk on her and her co-author's latest research. An easy day.
Ryou dropped his phone on the bedside table and stared at his suitcase. The suitcase he would have to get out of bed to unpack. He groaned out loud. At least this time he only had clothes to pull out and hang up, not dozens of tiny little figures or a carefully folded costume or two. He let out an amused breath as he considered the strange looks he would have gotten had he packed a cosplay outfit to wear to this particular type of convention. Maybe the author of King of Thieves would find it funny if he showed up in a red coat and fake scar tomorrow...like that would ever happen.
He felt his face warm. Damn it, Ryou, get ahold of your weird crush. He would probably just end up stammering a quick greeting at them and then fleeing out the door. Plus, what if they were an asshole? What if they laughed at him? He would have wasted a bunch of money that could have gone toward food and rent, and then be too embarrassed to stay in the room to see Miss Ishtar and her fellow historian, and-
And that was enough of that. He took a breath and levered himself upright. Time to unpack.
Ryou must have jinxed himself talking to Yugi yesterday, because the convention venue was just barely big enough to be worthy of the name. He checked the time on his phone and cursed loudly enough that several passerby gave him dirty looks. Waiting in the huge entrance line to show his ticket and then fighting through the mess of people made him late to one of the only two events he was going to. Why is this random fuckoff writing convention so popular? Probably due to the oh-so-mysterious author of King of Thieves finally showing their face. He sighed, then cursed again when he rounded the corner and saw a line stretching out the door of the room he was supposed to be in.
Bad luck days happened, but did it have to be today?
One of the convention staff stepped forward as he neared the back of the line. “Sorry, sir, but the line is capped right now. Mr. King has another event to attend after this.”
Mr. King? Was that his name? That had to be a pseudonym. “Right, sorry.” Now what?
Ryou briefly considered the merits of starting a brawl, despite his promise to Yugi. He tugged on his hair in frustration and turned away. He missed the person making their way away from the line, drawing more than a few awed stares.
Present Day
A sudden increase in the muttering caught Ryou’s attention. He looked up from his book and caught sight of a very familiar grin. A grin that had most of his students captivated. He raised an eyebrow and the grin widened.
“So, I hear there was an emergency?” The man flicked some white hair out of his face, drawing attention to the long scar under his eye. Ryou heard the whispers increase, and caught the word sexy spoken from the back of the class.
“Thanks for coming in, Bakura.”
“No problem, no problem. So. Where do you want me?” The question was said directly at Ryou in a very suggestive tone, and Ryou’s lips twitched.
“I have a husband,” he shot back haughtily.
“I’m sure he won’t mind,” came the reply, and Ryou snorted out a laugh before he could stop himself. He groaned.
“I can’t believe that was funny.” Bakura’s smile widened. “Anyway, stop making me laugh! This is serious.”
“I know the drill. Just get naked right?” He dodged nimbly around an easel, walking over to the screen in the corner. “Good thing I only have to remove one layer,” he tossed over his shoulder with a wink. Ryou put his head in his hands so his students wouldn’t see his helpless smile.
“Bakura, shut up and strip!”
Class went smoothly enough after that, and Ryou let the students leave a few minutes early as an apology for all the excitement. Bakura sauntered up after the last of them had left, rolling up the sleeves of his newly donned shirt and shoving his arms through his coat. Ryou raised a sardonic eyebrow.
“Leather pants? Really?”
Bakura smirked at him. “Malik gets on my case if I don’t wear them when I’m driving the bike. Are you really complaining?”
“Well, no.” Ryou shot back and was gratified to see Bakura’s “flattered and trying to hide it” face. It was adorable. “I may have no ass to speak of, but you certainly do.” It was an old joke but it still made them both snicker.
Bakura parked said ass on Ryou’s desk as the professor packed his things. His hand casually rested on the dog-eared book.
“Still reading this old story?” Bakura’s smile was small and nostalgic.
“Of course. It’s inspired some of my best campaigns. It’s a fantastic book.” Ryou slid the last of the papers into his bag and picked up the book. “Even if some people still don’t think so.”
“Hey, I’m not alone in thinking that book is still trash-”
Ryou gave him a look. “And a lot more people love it, you know.”
Five Years Ago
“Holy shit there’s a lot of people.”
Ryou looked over in surprise at the white-haired man surveying the crowd a few feet away, his scarred face holding the same vague sort of exhaustion that Ryou recognized in the mirror after a marathon class. He gave a tentative smile and pushed a lock of his own white hair behind his ear. Maybe he could make a friend?
“I get it. I kind of want to climb the walls just to get some breathing room.” He didn’t expect the man’s eyes to snap to him right away before taking on a speculative gleam.
“I think our very polite security guards might take offense to that.”
Ryou rolled his eyes before he could stop himself. The man grinned. Stepping forward, Ryou cautiously held out his hand. “My name is Ryou. Nice to meet you?” Damn it, he didn’t mean to make that sound like a question.
“I’m Bakura.” The man’s hand was rough and warm. Ryou felt the tips of his ears get hot. He quickly let go and turned to check the line in the vain hope that some people had changed their minds and left. No dice, although why were so many people watching them? Weird.
“Don’t bother with that event,” the man said, and Ryou looked at him in surprise. “It’s a shitty story, anyway. Just a dumb self insert-”
“Excuse me?” Ryou felt warm for a completely different reason. “King of Thieves is my favorite book.”
“Really? Why?” Bakura sounded genuinely curious.
“Wha- because it’s incredibly well-written, not to mention well-researched, and the characters-”
“-are flat and uninspired. Face it, it’s a terrible book. Anyone who likes it has terrible taste.”
Ryou forced himself to relax, but not without shooting the man a glare. He turned his back without another word.
“Hey, wait!”
“What?” That was it, he was not letting this man make his day any shittier. Ryou whirled back around, impatiently scraping a lock of hair out of his eyes. “If you’re just going to stand there and badmouth my favorite book while the author is right over there,” he gestured at the line without taking his eyes off of Bakura, “don’t expect me to stand here and listen.” He had a vague hope that his ponytail would slap the man in the face as he turned again, but was stopped when Bakura touched his shoulder. “What now?”
“You seem pretty defensive of a stupid book.” He put his hands in his pockets, watching Ryou.
“It’s a good book,” Ryou said shortly, but didn’t turn back around. They regarded each other, until Bakura’s eyes slid over Ryou’s shoulder and widened. He shook his head quickly at whoever he was looking at – Ryou turned but couldn’t pick anyone out of the crowd.
“Listen-” another tap on his shoulder. What was with this guy and touching him? “It’s crowded here, can we yell at each other somewhere else?”
“Yell at each other? Just how much do you hate this book? And anyway, I have somewhere to be-”
“You’ll never get in to see Isis with the line like that.”
Ryou deflated slightly. “I think I’ll wait and find out for myself.”
“Look, Ryou, you really like the book?”
“Haven’t I made that clear?”
Bakura held up his hands. “Why don’t we go discuss it? You can tell me what you like about it so much.”
Ryou squinted at him. “What’s your goal here?”
“What, can’t I have a friendly literary conversation? I promise not to talk shit about it for the first twenty minutes, but after that all bets are off.” He had a slight smile on his face that Ryou couldn’t interpret.
Biting his lip, Ryou looked the man up and down. “....all right. Where were you thinking of going?”
Ryou opened his eyes to the dawn sky and the sound of a furiously whispered argument. Holy shit.
“-and I mean holy shit!”
Did last night really happen?
“-yes I’m serious-”
Had he actually-
“-fucking-”
-slept with some random person he found at the convention? While completely sober?
“Look, I gotta go-”
He should leave immediately. Wait, this was his room. He rubbed his eyes and pushed himself upright.
“Shut up, Malik. Goodbye!” Bakura was sitting – naked, part of his brain whispered – on the edge of the bed, fiddling with his phone.
“Bakura?”
The man flinched and turned around, scratching the back of his neck. “Look, sorry, Ryou-”
“You’re leaving?”
Bakura’s gaze snapped to his. “You actually want me to stay?”
Ryou looked away nervously. “Well, I mean... we had a good conversation last night.” Surprisingly good, actually. Bakura, for all his talk of hating King of Thieves, seemed to know every detail of the book. “I just wanted to say... thanks? For that?” What else could he say?
“Uh, yeah. No problem. Look, I should probably-”
“Yeah.” Ryou turned his head away. “You can leave if you want.”
“No, Ryou, that’s not- I need to come clean.”
What? “What?”
“Okay so,” Bakura wrung his hands, “I wrote King of Thieves.”
Ryou stared. “What.”
Bakura wasn’t done. “And I thought, since I needed a break and you weren’t able to meet the author, I’d fix both problems and take you out. To talk.”
Ryou was pretty sure his brain was broken. “And was having sex part of the plan?”
“No. Well, not until like, thirty minutes into dinner-”
“Wait, wait, you wrote King of Thieves?!? And I...” Ryou stared. “I yelled at you-”
“Well, I was kind of asking for it-”
“And then I had sex with you!”
“That would be an accurate summation of yesterday, yeah.”
They looked at each other silently.
“I’m also Isis Ishtar’s co-author,” Bakura offered. Ryou stared some more.
“Wait. Wait wait wait wait wait-” he put a hand on his forehead. “You - you’re both of my favorite authors?”
“...yeah?”
“And I had sex with you?”
“Is this going to be, like, a weird hang-up with us, because-”
“Okay stop. Stop!” Ryou whipped his head back up so fast that his neck cracked. He leaned forward and shoved a finger into Bakura’s (very nice) chest. “I don’t believe you.”
Bakura cocked his head, a glint of challenge appearing in his eye. “Which part?”
“All of it! How do I know you’re not just some random creep who-” is a fantastic conversationalist and who I would most definitely fuck again “-goes around conventions telling people he’s a famous author? Two famous authors? Prove it.”
Bakura shrugged. “Sure.” He picked up his phone and tapped a few times, then handed it to Ryou. Ryou squinted at the contact information.
Calling ISIS ISHTAR
“What.” The call connected.
“BAKURA! I can’t believe you ran out right before our talk at the convention! Our joint talk, if you remember-”
“Um,” Ryou said very intelligently, but was saved by Bakura plucking the phone out of his hand.
“Sorry, Isis, I had somewhere important to be,” he replied easily, leaning back on his hand. His shoulder brushed Ryou’s. “Something came up.”
Ryou listened to the tinny response. He couldn’t make out the words. He stared at his hands.
Bakura shifted, pressing his shoulder into Ryou’s. “Wait, what did Malik say?”
“Bakura.”
The other man pulled his phone away from his ear and looked at Ryou.
“So...you’re both of my favorite authors.”
Bakura raised his eyebrows. “Yeah. And we had dinner, and then had sex last night.”
“Right.” Ryou reached over and grabbed the phone. He hit END CALL.
“Look, Ryou, I’m sorry I lied, I just wanted to-”
Ryou kissed him.
Present Day
“Ready to go?” Bakura was watching him, and Ryou smiled. He carefully placed the book in his bag and took Bakura’s hand. Their rings touched with a small clink.
“I’m ready.” He said warmly, and they headed out the door.