Story Note: Here's the deal with this fic. It'll keep running as long as at least one person is enjoying it. So if you do like it, YOU NEED TO TELL ME :P.
DISCLAIMER: The plot of this story is original. Ryou, Marik, Malik, Bakura, Domino City and all other things directly Yu-gi-oh related are copyright of Kazuki Takahashi.
Malik stared into the storm brewing outside the window of the apartment he shared with Ryou and Bakura with a dreadful intensity, his piercing violet eyes watching the violence of nature's fury wrack Domino City. A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, and in its light Malik saw the reflection of an all too familiar spirit behind him. He closed his eyes and, as a peal of thunder shook the skies, reopened them within the darkened confines of his mind.
"So, I see you couldn't stay dead." Malik didn't so much say it as project the thought out to the other consciousness he could feel was in there.
"Is that the way you greet an old friend, Mailk?" Marik sneered
"Even if I were fool enough to call you a friend, demon, it would change nothing."
"You spurn me, Malik? You who called me into being in the first."
"That was years ago, Marik. I have no need of you now. Your hold is broken."
"Is it now?" Marik sounded amused and materialized directly in front of Malik, barely inches from his face with the Eye of Wujet gleaming balefully from his forehead. Malik involuntarily took a step backwards, startled by Marik's sudden appearance and reviled by the pure evil that emenated from him. "I can have you cowed and broken within seconds, Malik Ishtar. My grip on you is as strong as ever."
"I...I wasn't expecting you to take such a...physical...shape in my mind. Nothing more."
"Don't be foolish, Malik. Regardless of what you wish, I am you and I can take your body at any time I so desire."
"I don't have your hate anymore, Marik. You may still be me, but you are a fragment of your former power. A mere mirage of what I used to be." Malik was bold, triumphant. He wasn't going to let that...thing beat him in his own mind.
"You don't understand, child. Perhaps I will demonstrate to you that your hate has not faded, no matter how you kid yourself." Marik stepped forward and grabbed Malik roughly by the collar, pulling him so close that the boy could feel the spirit's hot breath on his face. "Perhaps while you lie with that pretty host of the Thief."
"You wouldn't dare..." Malik gasped.
"Oh, I would, and I would continue to do so until you acknowledge who I am. Who you are."
"I've changed Marik. I'm not the same person I was during Battle City."
"No, Malik," Marik agreed, "you're weaker." With that, Marik tossed his lighter half to the ground. "I'll be seeing you, Malik. Next time...it won't be a courtesy call." Marik jeered as he faded away into the blackness and depths of Mailk's mind.
"Damn you, Marik." Malik called after his fleeing alter-ego. "Damn and curse you to the infinitesimal pits of the Shadow Realm."
Another flash of lightning brought Malik crashing back into his material body, jolting him to his senses and setting his heart aflutter. He quickly replayed the encounter in his mind, stopping in a lurch as he remembered Marik's threat to take control when he was with Ryou.
...Ryou! He had to be warned, so he and Bakura...wait. No. Bakura couldn't know about Marik's return. He would only take Ryou away from him, to protect his hikari...and himself.
Malik's heart pounded as he heard the door click softly open and footsteps padded almost silently towards him. Bakura was in control. As if Malik didn't need his problem compounded by the fact he now had to face an aeons-old spirit, who was quite probably cold, wet and irritable.
The light clicked on and Malik turned to face a very wet and bedraggled Bakura indeed. Even in that state, Malik couldn't help but admire the raw sexual energy that Bakura seemed almost to pulsate with. Locking eyes, violet to charcoal, Bakura straightened and his lip curled in a characteristic sneer.
"I know you are generally struck dumb by the sight of me, Malik, but would you stop gawking at my perfection and find me some dry clothing?"
Malik sighed. He was in one of those moods again. Why was it never Ryou who was in control when Bakura was grumpy? Having two boyfriends in the same body really was quite disturbing. There were days where he would go to sleep cuddling the relatively tame form of Ryou and wake up next to the wild-haired, harsh-eyed Bakura. It was even worse when they were gripped in the throes of passion and Bakura decided it was his turn, particularly since the boy's whole physique shifted into Bakura's lithe and powerful body. The change was so distinct that Malik could often feel the muscles stretch, build and strengthen beneath the hikari's skin as Bakura took control, often at the most inopportune times or during inappropriate circumstances. He was beginning to suspect that the thief did it purely to irritate him and to tease Ryou.
"My clothes, Malik, preferably before these ones have dried." Bakura barked at him, a small puddle forming at his feet.
"If that happens then I don't really need to worry then, do I?" Malik grinned, tossing him a blanket off the couch and heading into the bedroom.
"Very funny," Bakura looked at the blanket in his hands, then at the water slowly soaking into the carpet beneath him, "Ryou isn't going to be very happy with about this, you know." Shrugging, he pulled the sopping clothes off and tossed them in the general direction of the laundry room before wrapping the large blanket around himself.
Malik pawed through a few drawers looking for Bakura's clothes, because the Spirit of the Ring was taller and broader than both himself and Ryou.
"Why can't those two keep their things seperate" He asked himself after rifling through yet another drawer that proved to contain nothing but Ryou's stuff. "Ah, here it is..." Malik said finally, pulling out a plain white shirt and blue jeans. He turned and went back to the loungeroom where he had left Bakura, kicking the discarded clothing further into the laundry. Bakura was right, Ryou would definitely be upset at the casual mess they were making of his meticulously clean apartment, but it was mostly Bakura's fault anyway, so they could argue about it in the soul room where he could avoid blame. Despite knowing the Bakura wasn't wearing anything, Malik still couldn't help but stop and stare when he saw the thief-king wearing nothing but a soft grey blanket.
"My...aren't we looking delicious today." Malik commented with a grin
"My, aren't we being obvious today." Bakura spat back. "Much as I would love to walk around naked for your personal pleasure, it isn't the warmest day outside and even us five thousand year old spirits will feel a slight chill."
"Come here and I can fix that for you."
"Give me my clothes and I'll tell Ryou that you made all this mess, and got his favorite blanket wet."
"Don't you mean 'or I'll tell Ryou'?"
"I know what I said."
"Either way, he's not stupid enough to believe that I did this when his body is the one that's all wet."
"He's asleep dumbass. You kept him up all last night, and the boy doesn't have all that much stamina. Besides, I'm not idiotic enough to make a non-plausible threat."
Malik blushed slightly when Bakura mentioned the 'fun' he and Ryou had had the previous night, but he wasn't going to lose this argument. "True, you're just plain idiotic." He couldn't resist the jibe; Bakura had walked right into that one after all.
"You're going to pay for that, Malik." Bakura snarled
"Only if you catch me first." Malik taunted as he jumped out of the white-haired man's reach, tossing Bakura's clothes aside and running down the hall.
Bakura growled in fury as his quarry fled into the bedroom and locked the door. Pissed off as he was, Bakura didn't hate Malik quite enough to break down the door. Calming himself, Bakura gathered his scattered clothing and proceeded to dress in front of the fire which, he noted, Malik had allowed to die down. Muttering to himself about leaving incompetent children in charge of the house, he stirred the embers and went to brew himself a pot of tea. Looking at the selection, Bakura opted for leaves. How Ryou and Malik could even stomach the pre-packaged crap that was in teabags, he would never understand, and as for sugar...he gagged just thinking about the ruined taste. Ryou's sweet tooth disgusted him almost as much as his soppy attachment to Malik did.
"You can come out now, Malik. I'm not going to kill you...for now."
The blond Egyptian poked his head around a corner, his lavender eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, Malik. I'm sure."
"Well, it never hurts to check with you." Malik replied, carefully stepping into the room and slowly making his way to the couch where Bakura had settled down in front of the fire.
"You're safe with me, Malik. Ra knows what Ryou would do to me if I hurt you. Just remember to keep the fire going on days like this."
Malik sat down next to Bakura and nestled up against him. "I just forget to sometimes. We never needed a fire in Egypt."
"Well don't forget. I'm no real fan of being cold," he shrugged Malik off his shoulder, "and get off me. I'm not Ryou."
"But Bakura..." Malik pleaded, almost whining in disappointment.
"How many times have I told you, Malik? I'm not a very huggy person."
"Please, Bakura, you know I love you just as much as I do Ryou. Why aren't I allowed to be affectionate when you interrupt Ryou and I all the time?" Malik a angrily, rising from his seat.
Bakura drained the last dregs of his tea and set the cup down on the floor beside him, being very careful not to look Malik in the eye. At last he rose, towering over the tanned pretty-boy, finally meeting his eyes. "Because, tomb keeper, unlike you, unlike my host, I have seen horrors that you can never imagine. Unlike you, I know how dreadful the events of the past few years have really been. Unlike you, I understand what the word love means. Learn this, Malik Ishtar, and learn it well. I do not love you. You are amusing to me, and you have the requisite features to keep me entertained for some short while but I see what you still are. You are juvenile, you are young, and you are foolish. Despite everything you tell yourself otherwise, you are still vain and proud. Despite the thoughts Ryou consoles himself with every night as he rests uneasily in your clawing embrace you still contain the essence that formed the abomination, Marik. You, Malik, are a threat to me as long as you harbour the hatred in your soul. At any moment Marik could reform, and for that I can never love you." He explained himself calmly, as if telling a child, which, from his perspective, he was.
Tears welled up in Malik's eyes as Bakura's words drove into him, each one cutting deeper and deeper into his soul. Furiously he lashed out at Bakura, striking him with an open palm. "You...you say you can't love me out of some misguided loyalty to Ryou. I say you lie, Thief, I say you can't love me because you are incapable of love. You hide behind this new-found devotion to Ryou as an excuse for your inability to be human. You are just as much a being of hate as Marik is."
"You are right, Malik. I am not human. I am not even alive. I cannot feel the hot-blooded rush as the pair of you experience it." Bakura responded coldy, every last hint of warmth and understanding had fled from his voice as Malik poured out his accusation. "I am not, however, the demon you created. It was incapable of anything but rage. You may have defeated it, Malik Ishtar, but I am a far deadlier opponent. I would appreciate it if you would not sleep here tonight."
"What?" Malik exploded increduously, "This is my house as much as yours, Bakura. Even more so, as you are nothing but a shadow. I'm not going anywhere."
Bakura picked up his mug and walked over to the kitchen. "So be it, tomb keeper. Just remember that if I find you in this house tonight, I will kill you and wear the consequences."
"What have I done, Bakura? If anything I should be the one throwing you out. You are the one who insulted me..."
"...and you are the one who struck me, Malik. You are angry, you are childish, and you are impulsive. I can forgive you; perhaps I may even grow to love you...with time. But not for the moment. Go now and return in the morning, lest your anger get the better of you."
"You know what? Fine. I'm leaving." Malik declared, stomping down to his room and returning with a duffle bag and fistfuls of clothing. "Who knows when I'll come back? Explain that to Ryou. Try and keep your precious hikari safe and warm after that," he continued, stuffing the clothes into the bag to emphasize each word, "You've hurt me, Bakura, only you could be so cruel as to refuse me so utterly and then tear me away from Ryou." The furious teen slung the duffle bag over his shoulder and jerked the door open, "I'll be back...maybe."
Bakura cringed as the door slammed.
Author's note: As post-canon, this probably needs a touch of explanation. For the purposes of this fic, Bakura isn't a jerkass, at least, he controls it when around Malik and Ryou because he's now as much a part of Ryou's mind as Marik is to Malik. Malik's in Domino because he believes that the tomb and Items no longer need guarding. Also, I realize Malik tends to wander OOC every now and again, but he's a kid in love, give him a break eh? Well, that's about it from me, so please don't forget to pick up a little feedback slip and drop it in the box on your way out.
Cheers
T'ch'az
(Seriously though, the more you tell me, the more the story and I can improve.)