Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured in this work of fiction.
Warnings: Twisted.
::Fixing Things::
Marik was still curled up in bed at one in the afternoon, but that was nothing out of the ordinary. Ryou put the finishing touches on his latest doll, blowing lightly on it to get the paint to dry a little faster. It had taken him a week to finish, one of the more challenging pieces, since it came with a fractured body and a half-painted head. He'd fixed it, reshaped it, sanded it, coated it and painted it. All that was left was for the paint to dry and one final coat of varnish, then it could join the rest of his collection.
Throwing open the curtains, he let the light stream in to wake the boy on his bed. The windows had been opened hours ago, because paint fumes were not healthy things to breathe in. Marik winced a little in his sleep, turning away from the sunlight and pulling a pillow over his head.
A week ago, while looking through a thrift shop for abandoned Monster World figurines, he'd spied a certain group pass by. They all looked so happy, secure in their friendship, except for one, who stood a little apart, a little awkward, a little shy. So he had gone out to meet them, and to meet this beautiful sight, of whom he had only the faintest recollections.
They talked and he listened, and, when it was time to disperse, he found himself offering Marik a place to spend the night. One night became two, and two became a week, which left him here grinning sardonically down at the boy snuggling the pillows.
Oh well, let him sleep. They were up most of the night anyway, and, while Ryou was very much a morning person, Marik was not. Picking up the can of varnish and his newly completed doll, Ryou headed outside, to the balcony, shaking the can as he went.
He liked old things, broken things, things that needed fixing. Most of his Monster World dolls were salvaged, retrieved from thrift shops, from friends, from the internet, so that he could customize them to his liking. His sets were built from standard sets, from old sets, from abandoned sets, refurbished and continually updated as he gained more material.
It was a nice feeling, knowing that he had taken in the unwanted and given them the love and care that they deserved.
Carefully checking that the final coat of paint had dried, Ryou sprayed on the varnish, fixing all the work he had done on that little figurine. For the moment, he couldn't touch it, else he might leave prints on the fresh varnish. He would have to leave it here, in the balcony, away from sunlight that would leach the colour from it, until it was ready to be moved.
Marik was finally stirring, calling out for him softly. Smiling cheerfully to himself, Ryou went back into the room.