The birds served as their daily alarm clock, waking them from their few hours of sleep just in time to watch the sun rise over the trees. Marik smiled as he felt lips on his road-roughed skin, his arms snaking around Bakura's waist to pull him closer. The grin widened as the lips moved downwards, a hand reaching for his zipper. The air was soon filled with the delighted gasps that came with an early morning blow, mingling with the birdsong and drifting on the damp forest breeze. Marik's hands were busy enough, making Bakura moan muffledly as they writhed together in the early morning light. Finally they collapsed against each other, their lips reconnecting in a rather slippery kiss.
"Morning to you too," Marik whispered, laughing softly. At last he stood, not bothering to rebutton his pants as he stretched. "I'm going to go wash up, have the fire going by the time I'm back."
Bakura smirked. "Whatever you say, princess." With a flip of a finger, Marik was gone, making his way down to the stream they had been following. They had learned quickly to make sure they were near water; both coming from Egypt had a way of enforcing how dangerous dehydration could be. He knelt down at the water's edge and plunged his head into the stream, gasping as the icy cold hit his face. He came up spluttering, quickly shedding his clothes and scrubbing the rest of his body down. He closed his eyes, letting the water run over him as he took a deep breath of the clean forest air.
Let nothing ever ruin this, he thought quietly, taking a sip of water before moseying back to their campsite, his clothes in his hands.
"What's for breakfast?" Marik deadpanned, wrapping his ragged towel around his waist. "Please tell me it's pancakes."
"Of course," Bakura replied, plopping a few ladlefuls of soup into one of their cracked bowls and handing it over. "It's whatever you want it to be."
Marik smiled, sipping it slowly. "How are we doing on supplies, anyways?"
Bakura shrugged. "We're going to need to find a town soon," he said, stirring the bubbling pot thoughtfully. "Within the next day or so."
"Mm. We'll have to find a road then." He finished his soup and licked the bowl clean as Bakura did the same, grabbing his own towel from his bag. Marik nodded and started packing up their few possessions. The blanket folded nicely into the bottom of Bakura's backpack, his towel into a ragged plastic back until they got into town. There were still a few cans of soup and protein bars left between them, enough to keep them going until they found some small piece of civilization where they could refuel. He had to admit, it would be a nice change, even from what little of a routine they had. He'd get to eat something that didn't come from a can again, for instance, and get to talk to his family back home again. He smiled. He'd have to remember to call them.
With a flutter of wings, a tiny sparrow landed on the tree root next to him, chirping curiously at Marik. The young man smiled at it as he zipped up the backpack, sitting back against the tree. "Is this your forest?" he asked musingly, reaching out a hand. "Are we on your turf, is that it?"
The bird chirped again, cocking his head at the strange creature. It hopped over and landed on Marik's finger, singing happily for a moment.
He chuckled, rubbing its head with a gentle finger. "Well thank you for letting us rest here, then. It's quite a lovely place for a home."
The bird cheeped its agreement before taking off, winging its way past Bakura's returning head.
"A friend of yours?" He asked dryly, tying his wet hair back with a rubber band.
"Maybe," Marik said, slinging his bag onto his shoulders. They kicked dirt over the smoldering embers and stamped the rest out before making their way back to the stream. It flowed vaguely southward, leading them through the woods. The sun filtered through the trees, dancing with the breeze across their skin as they tread quietly through the brush. Few words passed between them as the forest around them provided a soundtrack. The stream bubbled beside them to the birdsong, as the rustle of their footsteps provided a steady beat.
Slowly the stream grew wider, the trees more sparse, until the forest ended and they stepped blinking into the sunlight. The a few scattered clouds drifted lazily through the blue expanse of sky, promising good weather for at least a little while. The stream quickly headed downhill, towards a larger river, which didn't get far before leading them to a cliff.
"Well, what now?" Marik asked, staring over the edge at the water falling below. "Unless you want to try and climb down there."
"Not on your life," Bakura retorted. He looked around, catching sight of smoke billowing in the distance. "There we are. Train tracks. Bound to lead to civilization eventually."
"Good, except for the teensy problem that the train is going across a bridge, Bakura…you expect me to risk not only by falling to my death but by getting hit by a fucking train?"
"Will you do it?"
Marik smirked. "Of course!" Together they started off towards the bridge, watching for any signs of another oncoming train.
"It looks like they come on the hour," Bakura offered as another train went by. "We should be good."
As they reached the rusted tracks, Marik hazarded a glance down, balking at the sight. "We could always double back, you know. That town wasn't too bad….and the forest was nice enough…."
"Scared, Ishtar?" Bakura asked, raising an eyebrow.
Marik scowled, clambering up onto the iron rail. "Suck it," he hissed, taking a wobbly step. As Bakura climbed onto the parallel rail, the blond misstepped, retreating hastily and falling back to the ground.
"You alright there, cowboy?"
Marik glared over at the condescending grin on his partner's face. "I am going to fuck you so hard if we make it out of this alive," he hissed. "It's not fucking natural to be this high up."
"Then don't look down." Bakura grabbed his hand and pulled him back to his feet, meeting his eyes. "Look at me. Do you really think I'd let you fall without me?"
Marik sighed and shook his head. His nails digging into Bakura's hands, together they stepped back onto the rail and slowly made their way across.