"Tell me a story ,Daddy? A new one, not the ones you always tell."

A new story? You sure you don't want me to tell you Rapunzel again?

"Pretty Please?"

Alright…well, there is one I know….It starts many years ago, and involves a young boy. His family lived in a large underground chamber that had once been built to honor a king…a pharaoh of ancient Egypt. You know where Aunt Ishizu and Uncle Odion live? That's Egypt. And this boy lived there with his brother and sister and his father, who had forbidden the boy from ever leaving his home, to keep him safe and sound. They had everything they could ever want in their home, even servants to bring them food and drink from the outside world. The little boy had toys to play with, and books to read, and he thought that he was happy. And for a while, he was. But the boy knew from his books that there was more outside his home; a whole world outside his door, just waiting to be explored. Every night, he would wish upon the only star he could see, through the tiny hole in the ceiling, to be able to go outside one day.

"This sounds like Rapunzel, only with a boy."

Hush, you. You wanted a new story, I'm telling you a new story. If you don't want to listen, then you can just go to sleep.

"Nooo, keep going!"

Alright, but no more interruptions, alright? Let's see…So finally, he had had enough of just wishing and hoping for that some day would come, and he decided to ask his father if he could go outside, just for a little while. But his father grew angry that I—the little boy would even think of such a thing, and tried to make it so that he would never try to leave his home again.

"What did he do?"

What—he—he tried to hurt the little boy, to make him sorry for what he wanted. It's…it's something you'll never have to worry about, darling.

"Promise?"

Of course I promise. I would never…ever…do anything to hurt you, you know, that…right?"

"Uh-huh..Daddy.If this story makes you sad, you can tell me another one instead…"

No…it's…it's okay. This story has a happy ending, don't you worry…Now where was I…Oh yes. The—the little boy was hurt, but he still wanted to go to the outside world, more than anything. And though his father had trapped him in his room, he still wished on the star that he knew was twinkling above him that he would some day escape. That someday the gods would grant his wish…and one day, years later, they did.

On a day when his father was away, a thief broke into the boy's home, wanting to steal some of the treasure his family was in charge of guarding…specifically a necklace and a knife that belonged to a set that the thief had owned. In fact, he wore one of the items around his neck—a ring of sorts.

"Like the one Papa has in his study? In the glass case?"

How do you know about that—

"He showed it to me and told me I should never, ever, ever touch it."

It—it's kind of like that one, yeah. The thief had expected to find the chamber empty, but instead found the boy, who had now grown into a young man. At first they fought, with words and with swords, until they were both worn out. Then the young man realized that the thief could help him to escape.

He offered to trade the necklace and the knife for his freedom, and for the freedom of his brother and sister. Together, they quickly gathered up what little they could carry and tried to make a run for it, but when they reached the stairs, there stood their father, gazing down at them!

"What did they do?"

What did they do? Well, the boy ran to stand in front of the rest of his family and the helpful thief. He told the old man that they were leaving, that imprisoning him underground wouldn't keep him safe. But his father grew angry, and tried to hurt the boy again, yelling how he would hurt his brother and sister and the thief for trying to help him escape. But as he did so, he tripped, tumbling all the way down the stairs, and the boy knew his chance had come. Sadly, he apologized to his father and ran, followed by the thief and his brother and sister. Out they went into the sunlight. The boy handed over the necklace and the knife, and the thief set off on his merry way. But before he could get very far, the boy ran after him, asking if they could stay together and travel the world together.

"What did the thief say?"

.He said yes. And so they did.

"The end?"

The end. And now it is time for you to go to sleep, little one.

The little girl pouted for a moment but settled in, clutching a kuriboh plushie tightly to her chest. "It still sounded kinda like Rapunzel."

"Well, sometimes stories sound similar to othersnow close your eyes…"

"AlrightGoodnight, Daddy."

Marik smiled, tucking her in and smoothing back her hair. "Good night sweetie. Sleep tight, alright?"

She nodded, yawning .Her eyelids were beginning to droop when her gaze fixed on the door, a tired smile spreading across her face. "G'night Papa," she whispered before dozing off.

Bakura smiled and nodded, leaning against the door frame. "Good night…"

Marik crossed to the door and wrapped an arm around his waist. "How long were you listening?"

Bakura shrugged."You're feeding her a load of bullshit, you know that, right?" he muttered.

Marik only smiled, gazing at the tiny figure, barely visible under her blanket. They had adopted her only a few months ago, and she already felt like theirs. It had taken years to convince Bakura, even more to get all the paper work doneand for moments like this, it had been worth it. He leaned up and kissed him gently.

"When you're little, sometimes stories and fairy tales are all you have," he said quietly, lifting a hand to his pale cheek. "And I don't want her growing up without that."

Bakura sighed. "Fair enough." He took Marik by the hand and pulled him out of the spare room, which had hastily been turned into a room for the four-, almost five-year-old. "And now that she's gone to bed, we should do the samesort of."

Marik grinned. "I think that's something I could get behind, as long as we're quiet," he said, looking fondly at their daughter for one more second before shutting the door with a soft click.