[[ABRIDGED ABRIDGED ABRIDGE D. also i should probably mention this was based off a rp i was part of-]]
"C'mon, Bakura!" Came Marik's cheerful cry, quite literally dragging the silver haired man into the water with him. Honestly, Bakura would never understand why the egyptian boy insisted on going swimming with him every time they got near a large enough body of water, but he always obliged.
"I'm coming, i'm coming." He let out a slow sigh, rolling his eyes as they hit the water, Marik playfully splashing him with a grin. A slow smirk crossed Bakura's face as he retaliated with a splash of his own, and soon after Marik dunked him under the water.
Naturally, he chuckled to himself and dragged the boy with, smirking at him from under the water before swimming to the surface. And he waited for Marik to swim up after him, like always.
He gave him a count of ten, before his previous smirk was replaced by a look of confusion. Was he still under water, waiting to drag Bakura back down? He let out a soft chuckle, still a bit puzzled, but decided that was the obvious answer. "Marik, stop being an idiot. I know you're waiting to drag me back down, so just come up now." He called, rolling his eyes.
No response, nor did the other surface. His puzzled look returned, and after a moment's hesitation, he jumped back into the water, mentally cursing himself if the egyptian boy just dragged him under again. How long could that boy hold his breath, anyways…?
Bakura dived under, preparing to laugh when he foiled Marik's 'plan', only to stop and realize the boy was simply floating under the water. Confused, and by now worried, the silver haired man swam over to him and wrapped one arm around the boy, quickly swimming back to the surface and then to the shore.
"Oi, Marik…?" He mentally cursed himself for letting his voice crack a bit on the other's name, but he couldn't help it. Confusion was gone, replaced with worry - and dare he say it, fear. Bakura gently shook the egyptian, waiting for him to start laughing and complain about the fact the silver haired man had swam him to the surface.
He waited. And waited. Held his breath and counted to ten.
And then it dawned on him Marik wasn't breathing.
Panic and an emotion he'd later reflect on as pure terror took hold, and he began shaking Marik much more violently, breathing rapid and horrified. "Marik…? Marik! Y-you…this isn't funny, you bloody brat! Wake up!"
A distant memory stirred; the same feeling of helplessness he'd felt so many years ago, losing his family and his village. He couldn't do anything then - and it seemed he couldn't do anything now.
No. No, he wouldn't accept that. An idea stirred, but he had no real 'medical' training; he knew what CPR was, but no idea how to preform it. Terror took hold as his shaking became more violent, his pleas more desperate.
"Marik! This isn't fucking funny! Open your fucking eyes…!"
He had no idea how long he stayed there - it felt like hours, but maybe it was fifteen minutes. He just knew after a while, face white and breathing heavily, he stopped.
This couldn't…this wasn't…he wasn't…
He shut his eyes, taking in shuttered breaths, feeling nothing short of hopeless. If only I was quicker, if only I knew what to do…-
"…BWAHAHA! You totally friggin' fell for it!"
Bakura felt like his heart had completely and utterly stopped. Opening one eye, he stared in complete, white-faced disbelief at the egyptian, who was almost doubled over in laughter. There were a million things Bakura could scream at Marik, and none of them would come close to describing the mix of pain and relief he felt.
It didn't matter anyways; after a minute, he realized he couldn't talk without bursting into tears. Marik faking his death had come too close to home, a sudden realization on how dependent he was on the boy, and how much he meant to Bakura.
He supposed you could even call it love. And he knew, then, with full certainty that if he couldn't fix his past mistakes - if he had to watch Marik die, right in front of him, as Kul Elna had been done so many years ago, he'd shatter.
"…Bakura?" It occurred to him Marik had been trying to get his attention for the last minute or so he'd been staring at him in sheer shock. "Hey…why aren't you laughing…?"
He staggered closer to Marik, and without thinking wrapped his arms around the other, burying his face against the egyptian's chest and biting his tongue in order to keep himself from crying.
"…Bakura?" Marik sounded lost, and confused, but Bakura felt the other's arms slowly come around him. And for once, he couldn't stop the tears from rolling down his face; he was just glad the other couldn't see.
"…d-don't….d-don't ever do that again, you stupid son of a…" He choked out, feeling like his mouth was full of sand. It hurt to talk, mainly because he was trying to stop himself from full-out sobbing. He felt Marik's hand run through his hair quietly.
"…I'm sorry…" Marik's voice was more subdued and sad; he'd apparently realized how much that 'prank' had hurt Bakura. "…don't cry, okay? It'd take a lot more then some stupid friggin' water to get rid of me!" He exclaimed, trying to keep his tone more upbeat.
Bakura had no response; it took everything he had to not break down. His only reply was to cling to Marik tighter, still feeling the overwhelming terror that if he let go, the boy would be ripped from him. Like his family. Like his friends.
"…I won't leave you. I promise." Marik's voice dipped into a softer tone, gently running his fingers through Bakura's messy hair.
The silver haired man shut his eyes, feeling his breathing slowly begin to relax. "…I don't….think I could take it if you did." He muttered, forcing himself to breathe more evenly.
"I won't." The boy murmured, shutting his own eyes and just sitting there, holding Bakura. And the two sat there until nightfall, talking quietly and enjoying each other's company.