So this is story number one of a song-fic challenge, idk if it will go beyond a couple of stories, but it's something I have that's sort of on-going. The rules are you're supposed to go through your ipod, on shuffle, and write down the first 25 songs and make one-shots about them. Well I'm not going to do them all in a row like that, so I figured as soon as a song gives me some form of inspiration I'll write out a story for it. This one isn't that great, but after hearing the song I knew i had to do something with it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, or any of its characters, or this song, so I STRONGLY disclaim some of the dialogue at the end because it was hard to wrap it all up.

Warnings (for this chapter): Deathshipping (Yami no Mariku x Ryou Bakura), some really weird OOC moments, mentions of sex, and scenes with physical abuse (so no flames about it)

Love the Way You Lie

"I-I'm so sorry, oh baby, please. Please don't cry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Gods I'm so sorry," his trembling voice was barely over a whisper, large bronze hands shaking as he brushed pure white hair out of his love's tear stained face. A purple bruise discoloring the pale cheek grotesquely, chocolate brown eyes squeezed tightly shut, pale hands grasped the bronze ones that couldn't seem to stop touching his face. "R-Ryou, please… I-I didn't mean to-" the smaller pale man tried to contain the sobs that threatened to break free, not daring to look up at his lover. He wanted to speak, to tell Mariku to just leave him alone for a while and he'll be okay, but his voice betrayed him. Any words turned into whimpers and pained gasps. Mariku just kept getting closer, those wine-colored eyes full of hurt and shame and horror and not leaving the bruise on his face.

The sobs finally escaped his lips, and he found himself in the arms of his abuser, burying his head into Mariku's broad chest and holding onto him for dear life. Mariku wrapped his strong arms around his lover and held him close, resting his cheek on Ryou's hair, still murmuring apologies in Arabic, emotion crashing over him. It was crushing, the shame and fear, Mariku had never feared anything. Ryou was the only person that made him feel any emotion other than anger or hate, and he wasn't sure how to deal with it most of the time. He tired to just stay unemotional, unfeeling; but his anger could not be contained. He couldn't keep it dormant inside of him all of the time, and now that he was living with Ryou his lover was bound to cross paths with it. But not like this, this couldn't happen.

Still stuttering, Mariku swore in between apologies that this wouldn't happen again. Ryou's sobs had started to cease, but the pain in his chest increased after he had spoken. Ryou knew Mariku better than anyone, and he knew Mariku wouldn't be able to keep that promise.

Yami no Mariku could never explain his emotions for the small white-haired hikari. Which made his life quite difficult when they could no longer hide their strange relationship, everyone wanted to know why. Some wanted to know why Ryou? But the ones that were worth his time asked why anyone? As far as everyone else was concerned, Mariku didn't have any emotions, how could he even feel something for him? That's where everyone was wrong, Mariku had emotions, he just didn't understand how they worked. Certain ones were simple; hate, anger, joy. Simple things that come from simple sources. The ones he didn't understand were mercy, sympathy, embarrassment, shame, or love. Complications confused him and just made him angry, his one emotion he could always fall back on; so he tended to stay stoic and observe. And that was how he had discovered Ryou.

Ryou, soft and quiet, beautiful and warm; he was the exact opposite of everything Mariku knew. And ever since he had met the quiet hikari his emotions were whirl-winding inside of him. He couldn't control them, but they were emotions he became high off of. Warm and overflowing, his chest felt like it was going to burst every time Ryou smiled at him, and he was sure he had exploded the first time they kissed.

But his anger and hate always gave him a drunk feeling, he did and said things he didn't always mean. The first time he got angry at Ryou, it wasn't even something the little one had done, and he had restrained himself, but the thought of his anger targeting the white-haired beauty killed him. He found it hard to breathe, like he had been stabbed in the throat; and he couldn't swallow. Ryou had noticed and came to him with concerned eyes, but Mariku had fled, wary that he would hurt him. And he had been right, that was how it had all started, and little out bursts had followed. He knew this side of him scared Ryou, and that the hikari had begun to worry about what he would have to do. Mariku would only see red when he saw his love deep in troubling thought, knowing he was thinking of leaving him. He knew that he loved the little one, his emotions that over-whelmed him told him so, nothing else could hurt so much. And that was how they ended up on the floor of their small townhouse with Ryou crying into his chest, he had lost it. He knew it was coming, and even as he sat on the couch staring into nothing he knew it was going to happen. Ryou was in their room, he hadn't told him he was packing, but Mariku just knew it.

The most stupid fights caused the most problems. There was a guy that had been talking to Ryou the night before at the club, Mariku had smashed a bottle across his head; the guy had been coming on to Ryou and wasn't getting the hint to leave. But Mariku hadn't seen that Ryou was resisting, he had just seen the other guy. Neither of them even knew his name. The rest of the night Ryou had barely talked to him, and he had been quiet all morning. Mariku lost it, yelling and accusing, and Ryou had protested…. but not denying that he was thinking of leaving him. Without a second's hesitation he had swung at Ryou and pinned him to the wall, only to realize what he had done seconds later when tear and fear filled eyes were staring back into his own. He had let go and stepped back staring in horror as Ryou fell to the floor with his hand on his face. The look on Ryou's face had been engraved in Mariku's mind ever since, and would probably remain there forever.

Footsteps down the stairs and through the kitchen roused Mariku from his thoughts, as he turned to see Ryou about to disappear out the door. "Wait!"

Ryou didn't know what made him stop as Mariku called out to him, but he did, and looked back at the blonde Egyptian as he jumped up from the couch and ran to him. He stopped in front him, still towering over Ryou, his eyes still full of unreadable emotions; the hikari almost wished they would be void of emotion once more, so this would be easier. "Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving," Ryou answered as quickly as he could, and tried to leave out the door again. He knew if he stayed in the other's presence for too long he would change his mind. He knew Mariku was unstable, dangerous even, and everybody warned him something would happen. Maybe not something like… this… but they had warned him. He just hadn't cared, he loved Mariku, and although the yami hadn't told him that he returned the feelings, he hoped one day he would.

"No, you're not," Mariku had grabbed his arm and pulled him back inside, closed the door and pulled the little one close to him. "You can't, you can't leave me," his protest had started out as an angered growl, but had ended in an almost hurt tone. He looked so lost, so confused, and so… as Ryou stared he finally recognized the emotion in Mariku's eyes. Shame. Mariku looked so ashamed, he was a second away from begging and Ryou knew it. Holding him, Mariku leaned his forehead against Ryou's with his eyes closed, trying to find words. Ryou stayed as stiff as a board, not wanting to relax into Mariku's warm embrace. He needed to leave, he shouldn't stay, he couldn't subject himself to being the one who teaches him-

Ryou had dropped his bag to the floor, and melted into Mariku before he could even finish his self-argument. He pushed himself up against Mariku, wrapping his arms around his neck, and brushing his lips against his lover's. He knew that it wasn't his responsibility to teach Mariku how to be human, how to love without hate or anger, how to control himself. He didn't have to be in the cross fire. But he wanted to be there, he wanted to be the only one Mariku trusted, he wanted to show everyone that the dark yami could be saved.

He whimpered as his back hit the door he had just tried to leave out of, as Mariku pressed harder into the kiss, tongue running along Ryou's soft petal lips begging for entrance. Ryou complied, letting Mariku explore ever crevasse of his mouth, his own tongue shyly rubbing against Mariku's. Hands explored and finally pulled Ryou up to his level, letting the hikari wrap his legs around the stronger's waist. He was melting, crashing and falling again, he wasn't going to leave. He could handle the pain, it wouldn't be this bad again, Mariku would get better, slowly but surely.

Deep inside Ryou knew it wasn't true, now they were both lying.

"I love you." Another whisper, though Mariku wasn't sure if Ryou was awake to hear him. The lithe, pale body was curled up against him; soft white hair spilled over Ryou's shoulders and across Marik's chest. Mariku couldn't sleep, couldn't stop petting that soft hair, couldn't stop looking at his love. His soft pale skin glowed white in the dark room, petal like lips slightly swollen from their activities only an hour or so before, dark eyelashes closed, and face void of any stress or worry. The bruise on Ryou's cheek had faded long ago, and Mariku had begun to gain some sense of control over his raw emotions. But not without incidents; other bruises had littered the hikari's body at some point in the past six weeks. Finger marks on his arm where he had been grasped harshly, cuts and scrapes from glass or knives, a giant bruise that had taken up most of his back when he had hit a wall too harshly. Mariku had begun to hate himself more and more when he thought about all the problems that he had cause the white-haired man, but in his own mind he was getting better.

Ryou, on the other hand, had quickly learned self-defense, and had developed a small temper of his own when things got too out of hand. He had even tried to leave again, but Mariku wouldn't let him leave. Ryou was his, and his alone; they loved each other. He remembered how hard it was when they started, now Mariku knew what all those feelings were. He still felt them here and there; warm fuzzy feelings that threatened to spread a smile across his face. Chills that made him shiver with pleasure and desire. Ryou used to get them too, Mariku hoped he still did.

It wasn't like he planned on hitting Ryou, on Ryou and him fighting, on the arguments and the screaming and the crying and the unbearable hurt that plagued his mind. He knew there were days when they couldn't even look at each other, they got so sick of one another that Mariku would have LET Ryou leave. But as they lay in bed, when they had their quiet moments, Mariku could never even imagine living without the hikari anymore. And Ryou felt the same… he just knew it, that look in those soft chocolate eyes that just shown. Ryou adored him, loved him without a seconds hesitation. Every night they thought that everything would be okay now, Ryou was never going to leave, and Mariku was never going to hurt him again.

And they were always proven wrong.

The coffee mug shattered against the wall, and Mariku's angered eyes turned on Ryou, who was nearly seething, still glaring at the yami. It only took another second for Mariku to cross the room and grab Ryou by the arms and bring him close to his face, but Ryou had long ago learned to not shield away in fear and stared him down. They were always in each other's faces, shouting venomous words at each other. Mariku growled an insult at the other, and Ryou shouted back at him, shoving Mariku and breaking free of his grasp. Mariku shouted after him as Ryou headed to his room, the deranged yami close on his heels.

"JUST GO MARIKU!" Ryou screamed, slamming the door behind him, and trying to hold it closed but the yami yanked it open and advanced on him; pushing him and pinning him to the bed. Ryou scratched and clawed and bit and screamed as best he could, fighting off Mariku's anger-blinded actions. The rage had over taken them both, Ryou finally getting an advantage and switching positions with the much stronger yami, he had to get away but he knew he wouldn't get far without a distraction. Still fighting off Marik's hands and arms he smacked Mariku across the face as hard as he could without thinking and then tried to jump off of him and rush out the door.

The hand to his face didn't even faze him, but fueled his anger even more as he grabbed Ryou's arm painfully and pushed him back onto the bed. This time it was Mariku's hand colliding with Ryou's face.

Other people had finally caught on to what was going on, Ryou's temper could not go unnoticed, and many had told them to just split up before they killed each other. But despite the torment and the fights, they still loved each other, and the love filled up most of their days. The fights were becoming more spaced out, as Mariku was getting better with his temper, but now that Ryou had one of his own, when those fights surfaced they were so much worse than they ever had been.

"MARIKU STOP!" Ryou was screaming, no longer fighting back and just trying to hide his face, the Egyptian couldn't stop hitting him. Tears were streaming down his cheeks as Ryou tried to get Mariku's attention. "MARIKU! MARIKU PLEASE! STOP! STOP!" Just as the yami brought his fist back once more it stayed there and Mariku just stared at his love, once again cowering in tears underneath him. He got off of him and stood by the bed, just staring. Ryou had curled up and was sitting up shakily, trying to stand up so he could put the bed between them. He fell against the wall and stayed there for support, meeting Mariku's gaze. Breathing heavily to break up the sobs that shook his body.

Mariku stared and stared, numb except for the pain radiating from his knuckles. He couldn't even say he was sorry, he couldn't talk at all.

"L-Leave… please…." Ryou finally said, breaking the silence, and Mariku complied without a second's hesitation.

He opened and closed the lighter, incense smoke filling the living room. The flame captivated his attention, his mind was a jumbled mess and he couldn't really focus on anything else. Ryou had started packing things as soon as the door had shut behind Mariku. And Mariku wasn't going to stop him this time, he kept repeating that to himself over and over again. This couldn't go on; the promises that he wouldn't hurt Ryou again kept repeating in his head like a broken record.

The last time he had said he wouldn't hit him, he had promised he would start showing restraint. Next time. He had said next time he would be better, but there should have never been a next time. And he had broken his promise again; for the hundredth time it seemed. So now he sat there, waiting for Ryou to leave, watching the flame from his lighter appear and disappear. Much like the love Mariku and Ryou had for each other, and a lot like their hate.

This time he didn't hear Ryou's footsteps down the stairs, but he heard the front door close. He looked up momentarily, a stab of unbearable pain in his heart as he saw Ryou with his bags setting them on the curb looking impatiently for the cab he and no doubt called. This was Mariku's punishment, he had lied time and time again, so no he got to sit there and watch out the window as the love of his life left him forever.

Maybe that's why they call it a window pane.

"Bloody taxi," Ryou cursed to himself, hugging his hoodie closer to him in the late fall cold. It just couldn't get here fast enough could it. Ryou still had the same problem today as he had when he had first tired to leave Mariku, if he stayed there too long he would change his mind. His love for Mariku clouded all of his judgment and he couldn't think rationally; when he looked at Mariku all that mattered was how he felt, and the thought that Mariku loved him as well. Mariku had only said it a few times, but that's what made it so special to Ryou.

The hurt that tore him apart during their fights, Ryou loved it a little bit, it was that burning feeling of his love for Mariku to the maximum. It consumed him, and that was where his temper had spawned. He knew that the last month or two was partially his fault as well as Mariku's. But they were reaching their limit, he had to go, or something unforgiveable would happen.

That was when Ryou did the one thing he shouldn't have, he looked back at the small townhouse, and saw Mariku watching him from their living room window, and their eyes met. And the emotions changed again.

"Damnit."

Mariku should have stayed at the window and just waited for Ryou's taxi, but as their eyes met he changed his mind. He had to try, one more time. He shoved his hands in his pockets, with the lighter still in one of them, and walked out to where Ryou stood on the curb.

"No, Mariku," Ryou said quietly. "Don't do this," he looked at his love with pleading eyes under his messy and clumped bangs, purple and black bruises still on his face.

"I'm not going to ask you to come back inside, I swear," Mariku said, his voice low put it sounded like a purr, which was something Ryou loved about him. Mariku didn't do it on purpose, but Ryou's heart strings were pulling at him again. They were civil, and their love was there, colliding with each other like electricity. "I just want to make things right before you go."

Ryou knew he was lying again…. but he loved the way Mariku tried to sound sincere about it.

"We both don't mean the things we say… or do…" Mariku looked up at Ryou, both knowing that Ryou's words could be just as harmful as Mariku's fists. "It's become a routine, I know, but things have changed."

"I know," Ryou admitted quietly. "I never use to get angry."

"You're temper is almost as bad as mine is now," Mariku said in almost a scolding manner, trying to get them both to share the blame. "So I understand the blinding rage you feel…. and you can understand how hard it was for me." Ryou wouldn't look up at him, staring at his feet. "How hard it is for me to control my emotions and not let them control me."

After a silence, Ryou interjected. "We're both the same with love too you know," he said, finally looking at Mariku through his bangs, seeing the confused expression on his lover's handsome face. "We're so blinded by our love for each other that… we don't see how this relationship is killing us. It just makes everything worse. We're running out of options…."

Mariku's eyes were full of emotion again, which destroyed Ryou to see, so he tired to look away, but Mariku's hands were grasping his face gently so as not to bother the bruises. Leading Ryou's gaze up to his own. "It's not your fault, it's mine," he said.

"No, I stayed when I should have left," Ryou tried to interrupt. "If I hadn't stayed this wouldn't be so hard for us now; you didn't love me back when I first tired to leave-"

"I have always loved you," Mariku said slowly but forcefully, and the look in his eyes made Ryou believe him. "Ever since I first saw you," he said quietly, stroking the hikari's face. "You're the only person that ever made me feel emotions other than anger and hate, you've taught me so much about myself and the world and…" he faded off as he kept gazing into the other's chocolate brown eyes. "Baby, please come back inside," he caved, Ryou's eyes widened as he broke yet another promise, so he continued quickly. "M-Maybe our relationship isn't as crazy as it seems." Mariku continued stroking Ryou's face as he spoke. "Maybe this is just what happens when personalities like ours meet, we can learn to live with it without all the pain and hurt." Ryou silently agreed, he knew he himself was like a volcano of over-baring emotions and that it could drive some people crazy, and that Mariku was a tornado of psychosis and confusion. And yet their love still blossomed.

"Mariku-"

"Please, Ryou-baby, please," Mariku began to beg in a quiet voice. "A-All I know is I love you too much to have you just walk away." He had said it, and Ryou felt his emotions over-flowing him once more. "You know me, you know I'm genuinely and cruelly honest, I can't lie to you about this. Please, I am getting better, I am changing. Next time we get into a fight I'll punch the wall or the door, I won't come near you. No, there won't BE a next time-"

"Yes there will," Ryou finally said quietly, looking up at Mariku incredulously. Mostly because he was about a second away from picking up his bags and bringing them back inside.

Mariku was silent at his love's interruption. "I'm so sorry Ryou," he finally said, letting go of the hikari's face. Putting his hands back in his pockets again. But Ryou's hands were suddenly on his shoulders, looking up at him so Mariku couldn't just stare at the ground.

"I don't know if we can do this, Mariku," Ryou said, looking up at the Egyptian with worry evident in his eyes. "Next time… something really bad could happen."

"I can't think of anything worse than living without you," Mariku murmured. Ryou melted again, and felt Mariku's hands on his face as he brought him in for a kiss. Mariku knew he was a liar; being with Ryou hurt more than anything he had ever endured in his life. He was tired of the games, the push and pull of their emotions, but he just wanted Ryou back, he wanted Ryou to stay with him forever.

Ryou would stay, he was sure of it now, they had one last chance to make everything right, and maybe they could. But he could tell that most of what Mariku said, he may had felt like it was sincere, but he was lying. He was born of anger and hate and would never be rid of it. Even then, as they ended their kiss and they had their eyes closed without their forehead's touching, he could feel it radiating from the other like a warm wind.

That was because, as Mariku leaned his head against Ryou's, his eyes squeezed shut tight, a pain entering his chest and anger bubbling up to the surface, he could feel that when he lost his temper again Ryou would end up paying for it. Though his hands were still on Ryou's face, he now had the lighter in one, and the cool metal burned into this hand like a hot brand as hate surged through his veins.

He knew that if Ryou ever tried to leave again Mariku would tie him to the bed and set the house on fire.

Song: "Love the Way You Lie" by Eminem ft. Rihanna

Blah, so yeah that was it. I'm actually not that proud of it, but it's the first thing I've written in probably a year. Hope somebody enjoys it.

No Flames please.