...Two failed drafts, and one final, badly written piece. Tier 3 all over again.

Tier 4 Submission for the Yu-Gi-Oh Fanfiction Contest

Pairing: CrossShipping (YugiXYami Marik)

Disclaimer: I don't own this series or any characters. So don''t sue me. If I DID own this series, then the spin offs wouldn't exist.

"Yugi, come on! Run faster!"

His voice an urgent whisper, eyes tripling in size when he realized that they were following close behind. The bronze Egyptian grabbed the smaller boy's arm and all but lifted him off his feet as he made quick movement through the trees.

Of all the things he regretted, this was what he regretted most; getting his beloved Yugi into this mess. He hadn't asked for it, and he surely never expected it, but he had to have known from the start that being with Mariku was a dangerous fault-and by the looks of it, their relationship proved to have been a fatal one. Somewhere, deep in the heart Yugi had convinced him he had, Mariku's anger at defeat at last argued with guilt and terror at the fact that Yugi could quite possibly suffer from his downfall too.

Before Yugi had waltzed into his life, he'd taken pride in his villainy.

And even before there had been love in warmth in his non-purposeful life, he knew that he wouldn't go unpunished for all his wrongdoings; he'd known that one day, it would all come to an end. But he never would have suspected that Yugi would get hurt as well.

The heavy thoughts, knotted up guilt, dense forest, and the horror of this whole situation combined distracted Mariku enough for him to lose his footing and fall on the ground, stifling a yelp from a sudden sharp pain in his leg. When he felt an arm help him up, he was afraid for his life and Yugi's, but found it was just the latter yanking him back up to his feet, his face determined but his eyes scared.

The pain in his leg was sharp, and a painful jab of pain throbbed through the muscles every time his foot connected with the ground, but he had to get Yugi-and himself-to safety, or at least a hiding spot that would prolong their being caught by any authorities.

Whatever crime he was being chased for was beyond him, though something told him the chase was for multiple reasons. And why Yugi had insisted running from the house with him was a question he had no time or oxygen spare to ask. The forest got larger, the trees thicker, the sky darker, the whole world quieter. The silence made Yugi shiver; he was terrified of monsters popping out of the dark. But in the darkness was a sense of safety; they were alone now, and they were fairly certain that they'd escaped-for the time being, at least.

The assuring part of this dread was that it would all be over soon.

After a few beats of silence, Yugi threw himself at his lover, tears trickling down his face, mocking Mariku for everything he'd done. If you could have wished it all undone, he would have, but that power wasn't his. He kissed each tear as they fell, individually, and flinched inwardly when he realized, yet again, that only Yugi could draw out this side of him.

Call it endearing, but he called it protective.

For a moment, it seemed that perhaps things wouldn't be so bad if Mariku stopped running and surrendered. Sure, he'd be ripped away from the only love he'd ever had in this lifetime, and would probably never see Yugi again…but it would be with the knowledge that whatever hell he had to face, that Yugi would be waiting at the end of it, arms outstretched, smile wide, eyes shining, heart ready to love him again.

A cold breeze brought him back to reality, and when Yugi leaned in for a kiss, he turned away, offering his cheek to him. The air was cold, but it didn't begin to compare to the cold feeling in his stomach. No, he wasn't afraid; he didn't welcome what was to come, but he didn't fear it. The emptiness he felt was leaving Yugi here to suffer the consequences of his mistakes, alone, and wouldn't have anyone to lean on when it go to be too much.

"Yugi…I'm sorry that it had to come to this. I thought that I'd be with you to the day I died…but that day came a bit quicker than I thought it would."

The pale skinned boy felt himself go even whiter when he realized what Mariku was carrying on his belt: a knife. Already, he was comfortable with knives (how he ever survived this relationship, he'd never know) but what followed next took his breath away, fast, like he'd been punched in the stomach. "And I hate this, Yugi, I hate it! But…I guess that it was a false hope. I'm not going to be with you past today."

The knife was small, but very sharp; Yugi could see that much from where he was standing. Mariku's voice was strained, like he was speaking through gritted teeth and a boulder in his throat. "I'm sorry, Yugi. I love you, I do, never doubt it. But I'm not willing to admit defeat; not at the hands of any authorities. The only defeat I could suffer was when I fell for you, and that was enough. I…I just can't…you have to understand…"

To the tri-colored boy, this seemed a petty reason; he couldn't kill himself over this. If he hadn't known the man any better, he'd have assumed he was just being dramatic. But this was a man who knew well how to take a life, and he would again…only now it was his own.

Mariku was waiting for the boy; for him to kiss him, to speak, to run, to cry, anything except this horrible silence. But what he did next took them both by surprise. He placed a gentle hand over Mariku's, the one where his knife was held firmly between strong fingers, and replied, calmly, flatly, monotonously, "I know that you're telling the truth, for the most part. But you're also lying. I will be with you until the day you die."

And Mariku Ishtar, who would have had any other person before him dead before he could bat an eye, wilted. "Yugi, I'm not allowing you to die along with me. Just because my life is coming to an end doesn't mean yours has to as well. I…I love you, Yugi," he argued, choking on the alien syllables, "and I want you to go on living. For the both of us."

But suddenly, the knife was out of his grasp, in Yugi's, and in the same toneless voice-what had happened to his dancing, loving, happy spirit?-he said, "If you won't kill me, Mariku, you won't. I'll do it myself. It'd be no problem. It would only take a second." Through his words there came tears, and Mariku knew if he made a lunge for the weapon Yugi would have it through his throat and smeared with blood in a moment.

And he didn't want that. He wanted his last crime to be one that counted; he could see there was no changing the boys mind.

Slowly, hesitantly, he held his hand out, and Yugi studied it for a moment, wondering. Then, with a cloudy expression on his face, he placed the weapon gently into the empty hand. He took a gulp and wiped his nose before sputtering, "Do it fast, okay Mariku?"

There were a few beats of silence, and for Yugi this was terrible, because the end was near and perhaps there would be no parting words between them. But when Mariku put his hand down, and let the knife dangle freely in lax fingers, a surge of anger flashed through him.

"Yugi, I understand that you mean well, but I'm not willing to let your life end because of me. It's bad enough that everything I've done has touched on you as well, but I need you to stay alive, because I don't want to be the reason that your life has to end too soon, while you're still young…"

He trailed off when he realized that somehow, Yugi had gotten hold of the knife again, and his thoughts were jarred further when he cried out, "I don't care what you want! I refuse to have to go on without you! You're the only person I've ever really loved, and I'm not gonna let you, or the cops, or anybody get in between that!"Suddenly, he was pinned to the ground, the knife wrestled from his hand, Mariku looming over him. He saw now what he hadn't seen before in his eyes: guilt. And he was visibly afraid, and though the animal instinct in him wanted to keep on living, his heart was telling him he had to…go. "I don't want this, Yugi, truly I don't. I hate the thought of you dying with me, and because of me…but if this is what you want, then fine. This is my last favor to you." He chuckled sardonically, tears suddenly welling in the corners on his eyes, and rasped, "I never would have thought that my last crime would involve you."

Yugi had never seen Mariku cry before, band he was shocked by how natural tears looked streaming down his bronze face. Leaning in for one last kiss, Yugi closed his eyes, savoring in his senses that would be torn from him in a moment. He felt the kiss through his whole body, in his feet as well as his mouth, and as their tongues entwined in a familiar dance, Yugi couldn't help but think, If things had worked out differently, I'd be worried if we'd really be together all our lives, instead of how it will feel to be killed by my lover…

And then, Mariku broke away, his mind still on the last real kiss they would ever share with beating hearts, and he muttered, "So I'll kill you…and then I'll kill myself. Yugi…I just need you to know, that I love you, and I'm only doing this because I love you enough to…" There was no appropriate end to that sentence, and so he let it fade into the air, taking in his last view of the world he knew.

Before he could register what was happening, Yugi was crying out, in pain, in a heart-wrenching pain, the knife in his chest and blood already drenching his shirt. The tears leaked through his eyes, while blood leaked through his mouth. It was too late to give any last minute arguments; Mariku had done what only in his nightmares he'd done. He was killing the center of his universe.

Calmly, he yanked the knife from his lover's chest and stabbed it into his own, eyes tripling in size, mouth gaping from a silent scream. He was amazed at how much it hurt, and for a fleeting moment, he was sorry he'd wreaked this pain among so many others. Yugi's trembling hand on his brought him back to the painful present, and Mariku felt his head growing lighter and lighter.

"I'll see you in heaven, my love," Yugi whispered, the blood gruesome and wrong and tainting his words. Their tears mingled when they shared one last weak kiss, full of blood and anger, and mourning and loss, and worst of all, void of any emotion except pain. "Let's hope I make it to heaven," Mariku joked, trying to soften up what could quite possibly be the worst imaginable situation.

Yugi's death came first, his eyes drooping slowly, his last breathy words barely audible. "I love you, Mariku…" The latter, tears strangling him and blood filling his mouth, replied, only one octave louder, "I love you too, Yugi."

There was no reply, and Mariku had a moment to mourn before his own death took over, his eyes blurred, his head so light he found it hard to process any last meaningful thoughts, and his eyes searched wearily for one last thing to take with him in death. Something beautiful, something with meaning, anything that had a purpose…But he gave up, and held his lover's still body close to him and then, a deep slumber hit him. He wouldn't wake up, and that was okay; he was happy to sleep forever with Yugi beside him.

And it was true; he was with Yugi until his last breath of life.

I have no comments besides R&R and no flames.