My first YGO fic for years and it's not even Puzzleshipping. Ah well, I've fallen for Thiefshipping since watching YGO Abridged and this was born. Hopefully it isn't too terrible.


Mission Impossible

File 1: And So It Begins

"Bakura? For crying out loud I asked you to get a tree! Can't you do anything?" Marik was not best pleased. He'd been out doing their combined Christmas shopping and was tired and grumpy from pushing his way through shoppers during the rush. All he'd asked his room mate to do was to buy a damn tree, was it that much to ask for?

Bakura looked up from his computer game and gave the succinct reply of a grunt.

Marik rolled his eyes and dumped the bags of gifts down on the sofa. "Seriously the garden centre is what, a five minute drive away? Or you could have gone to a forest and cut one down your damn self."

"Where the bloody hell am I supposed to find a forest in the middle of a city?"

"Use your imagination!" Marik sighed loudly and collapsed onto the sofa beside the bags. "I got your lighter half a teddy from the Bear Factory."

"Are you calling me fat?"

"Oh do shut up! Think it'll be okay? You asked for something suitably fluffy."

"I wasn't envisioning something actually fluffy."

"Well is it okay or not?"

"I'm sure he'll be thrilled. He's thrilled with anything I get him, usually because he's surprised I ever bother."

"Well to be fair if it wasn't for me you wouldn't bother. I didn't see you getting up off your fat ass and braving the snow to buy Christmas presents."

"That's the second time you've insulted my weight in as many minutes, Marik. Once more and I might get a complex."

"Don't be ridiculous, you're as anorexic as the damn pharaoh," Marik loudly slammed his feet onto the coffee table. "Do you think Kaiba will like the crotchless panties I got him?"

That did make Bakura look away from his screen. "The what?"

"Bottle of aftershave. I was just wondering if you were actually listening to me."

"Piss off Marik, I'm busy."

"Too busy to buy a tree."

"It's a plant. We have plants."

"You can't put presents under a bonsai! It's not the same."

"Add some bloody tinsel, then."

"You don't even care, do you? This is my first Christmas and I wanted it to be just like on TV!"

"With everyone yelling at each other and us having to put up with our respective parents?"

"No! Well Yes. But no! I wanted a tree and presents and santa."

"…Marik I'll say this once; santa isn't re-"

"SHUT UP! You're determined to ruin this for me, aren't you? You are the worst roommate in the history of roommates!" Marik got up from the sofa and ran to the door. "I'm going to Isis'!" Slamming the door as hard as he could, Marik made sure to sob loudly so that Bakura could hear.

Bakura rolled his eyes and went back to Skyrim.

Isis hadn't been home. It was as he was knocking for the seventh time that he remembered Shadi was flying in this evening and Isis had gone to pick him up from the airport. Thoroughly miserable Marik slid down to sit on her doorstep and sulked. It was two weeks to Christmas and any attempts to get Bakura interested in the holiday were completely fruitless. He had wanted to go shopping with his friend so they could pick out gifts together. He had wanted to wrap them with Bakura, one holding the paper while the other taped it up neatly. He had wanted to sit around their tree with mugs of hot chocolate and rattle presents together, trying to guess what was inside.

But his roommate was having none of it. He growled whenever Christmas was brought up and refused to pay for any gifts even though Marik was determined they were all going to be from 'Marik and Bakura'. He didn't care if he bought them all; he wanted the ex-thief to join in.

He had attempted to get Bakura to lick the envelopes as he wrote Christmas cards, but Bakura had threatened to disembowel him.

It had started snowing again and Marik had no idea what time Isis would be home. In retrospect this was a pretty awful attempt at being in a mood, but he was going to have to go home before he froze to death.

As he walked he plotted; he wasn't going to speak to Bakura. Nope, not at all. Not a single word would be uttered from his lips as punishment for not being festive. That was suitable punishment, right? Not having Marik talk? …Marik was starting to doubt the effectiveness of his plan as he pushed open the door to their shared apartment.

Nobody called out 'hello' to him, but then Bakura never did.

Bakura was still sitting at his computer as Marik entered and didn't even look up. Marik caught himself from greeting the other teen. He had to be strong and dish out this punishment.

Silently Marik got out the wrapping paper and tape and began sorting out the gifts. Still Bakura said nothing.

Marik kept glancing over at the silver haired man but Bakura didn't even look his way once while Marik wrapped all of the presents and wrote out the tags. By the end Marik was ready to scream, but that would go against everything he had been working toward these past twenty five minutes.

Finally he was ready to say something because the silence was driving him insane, just as Bakura got up and walked past him.

Frowning Marik watched his roommate go to his coat and come back with a small plastic bag. The kind you got at petrol stations. Marik lifted an eyebrow as Bakura knelt down next to him and avoided his gaze.

"I…didn't realise Christmas meant so much to you. I find it annoying. But if you want a tree I guess I can compromise."

From the bag he brought out a pine tree shaped car air freshener.

"Seriously? You seriously think that's as good as a tree?"

"It's a tree. It's green."

"You can't hang baubles from it!"

"There is just no pleasing you is there?"

Marik accepted the tree and they stuck it on the wall with blu-tack next to the sofa and placed their gifts under it. Next year, though, Marik was going to have his way. There would be trees, tinsel and an angel on top. He had three hundred and sixty five days to soften Bakura into someone that would actually care enough to buy him a proper tree.

Challenge accepted.