(A/N: I couldn't resist making a small sequel to 'A Side of Chivalry', but didn't want to post it as another chapter (since it changes characters and location and all). Thanks for reading; please enjoy! :)
~.~.~
'A blind date... set up by Bakura, no less. What the hell am I doing...'
The red sports car flew around the corner, breaking the speed limit by a good twenty miles per hour.
The blonde driver sighed as he thought back to yesterday's conversation.
"Well, considering how... helpful you were in setting me up with Ryou last month, I figured I'd repay the favor." The white-haired deviant smirked at his blonde friend. "So, how about it? You up for a little gamble?"
There was a soft *ding!* from the GPS on the dashboard, signaling that his destination was just ahead. Marik glanced around as he guided his luxury vehicle up to the curb. It wasn't a bad-looking neighborhood; certainly more middle-class than he was used to, but not horrible.
The muscular man opened the car windows and double-checked the address. '1321 Sahara Drive- Apartment 2B.'
Marik frowned as he waited outside the small apartment complex. He knew everything that had happened on Bakura's 'blind date', and he still wasn't sure if the man was more grateful than furious.
Honestly, Marik was half expecting his 'date' to be an elderly grandmother or something. Bakura Touzokou had a weird sense of humor, and with his money it would be easy to pay someone off for the evening as a joke-
There was the sound of a door slamming, and Marik turned around. There, standing on the front sidewalk, was perhaps the closest parallel to Marik's ideal 'dream guy' as possible. The other man seemed around Marik's age (thank heavens) and was incredibly attractive. He had very similarly toned skin (a rich, chocolate hue that was oh-so-alluring) which led up to his strikingly white-gold hair and surrounded his vivid, violet-toned eyes.
"Er, hi!" The newcomer waved at the parked driver. "I'm Malik- Ryou's friend? Are you the one I'm waiting for?"
The larger man blinked in shock before his face relaxed into a pleased smirk. "I certainly hope so. I'm Marik." He leaned over, opening the door for his date with one muscular arm.
Malik noticed the well-toned limb, and climbed in with a similar smirk. "In that case, nice to meet you, too." The passenger reached up to grab his seat belt.
On a whim, Marik swiftly took the toned, flawless hand and lightly brushed his lips against the top of the skin. "It's my pleasure."
"Oh, my." Marik was pleased to see a dark flush running across the top of his passenger's cheeks. "Aren't you quite the gentleman!"
The driver smirked deviously before replying. "Nah, not at all- but something tells me you're worth it."
"Hey, how'd you know I use L'Oreal shampoo?"
Marik chuckled to himself as he started up the engine. 'Damn, I hope this isn't just a dream.'
It had been ages since he'd come across someone so engaging and funny- not to mention he was drop-dead gorgeous.
Excited, the wealthy business heir revved the motor before taking off down the narrow street. He gave his date a quick glance as he switched gears. "Let me know if I'm going too fast."
Malik just gave a sly grin and shook his head. "In this kind of car? There's no such thing."
Marik's own face broke out in a smirk, and he pressed the gas pedal further. The luxury car gave an impressive purr as the engine fired up.
The slighter male made an approving noise as the car revved. "Love that sound."
"Really? Bakura's always on me to drive slower- in fact, he says it's brainless of me to spend 90 grand on a car just to risk totaling it."
Malik snorted and pointed at the digital odometer. "What's the point of having a high-performance car that can reach 250 MPH if you're just going to drive 35?!"
The driver's eyes lit up, and he eagerly agreed. "Exactly!"
"My friend Ryou's pretty much the same- except he's more worried about getting a ticket." The shorter man snorted. "He acts like it's the end of the world or something."
"Not much of a problem for me- whenever I can't talk my way out of it, I just ask my dad to handle it."
"Oh?" Malik raised one eyebrow, intrigued. "What, is he the police chief?"
"Not exactly- he's the head of his law firm, the Ishtar-Amin Group." Marik smirked as he spoke. "Perhaps you've heard of them?"
The other youth rolled his eyes. He could tell that Marik was teasing him- the Ishtar-Amin group was a high-profile agency that handled multi-billion dollar cases. "Only every time I hear about something big in the news- not sure how he has time to fix your traffic tickets when they handle half the mega-cases in Japan."
"Meh, it's mainly business garbage- they don't usually deal with personal affairs." The larger man chuckled. "But he often makes an exception for me- mostly for the sake of our family reputation."
"Keeping the black sheep in line?"
"Something like that." Marik suddenly realized that he had no idea where he was driving to- he'd been so caught up in their banter that he'd forgotten to ask. "So, you wanna grab something to eat, or-?"
"That sounds good- I'm sure you've heard from Bakura, but I'm pretty much a vegetarian."
"Not a problem. You ever go to 'Veg-Heads'?"
"Veg-Heads?"
The brawny blonde nodded. "They're like a sit-down fast-food place, but the focus is on vegetarian and health foods."
Malik's eyes lit up and he returned the nod. "Sounds worth a shot- let's go!"
The engine revved again, and the pair sped off towards the glowing city lights.
Soon they were idling in front of the 'Veg-Heads' neon sign. The place was rather busy, but impressively clean. Malik went inside, looking over the large menu in approval while his date parked the car.
Eventually the two settled on their orders- Malik asked for a large salad and a small side of fruit salad, while Marik decided to stick with the spicy mozzarella sticks and french fries.
They chose a booth near the back of the restaurant, where things were a bit more cozy.
Malik dove into his salad, happily commenting on the fresh ingredients and various seasonings.
But Marik frowned after he bit into one of the fried potato stalks. "One problem with this place- they never put enough salt on the fries." He grabbed the table's plastic dispenser and tilted it over his side dish.
Suddenly, the metal lid on the salt dispenser fell off, pouring heaps of white granules all over Marik's plate. Surprised, the tanned millionaire looked up, only to see his date was hiding his expression with one hand.
It took him a moment to realize that Malik was actually sniggering behind his hand! Marik felt his heart skip a beat.
'He's a prankster, too!'
"Oh-ho? And just what is so funny?"
Malik couldn't talk, but continued to quietly laugh as he tried to hide his mirth.
The other man could only grin, his iris-colored orbs gleaming with playfulness. "You do realize this means war, right?"
Malik smirked and mockingly stuck his tongue out. "What, just because I... assaulted you?"
Marik grinned and stuck his own tongue out. "Tch, you mineral the same- thinking you can impress me with one fast trick."
"Oh trust me, I'll rock your world- and you'll be sodium confused you won't know which way is up." The slenderer blonde winked and tilted his head endearingly.
Marik chuckled, realizing he was beaten. "Alright, you win this round."
"Yes!" Malik threw his hands up in a teasing victory pose. "And what do I win?!"
"Hmm..." The richer man teased. "How about a date with a hot, wealthy young bachelor?"
"But I already have that- can't I just exchange it for a toaster?" The younger man jokingly whined.
"Why on Earth would you want a toaster?"
Malik's eyes suddenly lidded over, and he gave a sly smirk. "~Well, we can't share breakfast in bed without a bit of toast, now can we?~"
Marik nearly choked on the mozzarella stick he was eating, but was saved from notice when the waitress stopped by to check on their drinks.
The rest of the meal went by fairly quickly, with Malik eagerly agreeing that it was a fantastic dining venue. After leaving a generous tip, they stepped outside. The night air was the perfect temperature, and several stars were just peeking out between the high-rise buildings.
Marik offered one hand to his date. "Fancy a stroll by the waterfront?"
The slimmer blonde gave a warm smile. "Love to."
The two eventually managed to find their way down a quiet sidewalk towards the beachfront. They exchanged playful banter and various stories as they walked hand-in-hand.
Eventually Malik tugged on Marik's hand, leading him down to the actual shoreline. The moonlight glinted off the water, shimmering and dancing between the small waves.
They were alone, just two figures making their way idly along the beautiful beach. No urgency, no expectations- both enjoying the soothing sounds of the surf and each other's pleasant company.
"Wagh!" Malik suddenly cried out as his foot sank into an unexpected sand hole. He started to fall forwards, but was caught by a pair of powerful arms. He blinked in surprise as his date leaned over to check on him.
"Are you alright?"
Two pairs of violet eyes met. The slighter blonde nodded, face flushing as he replied, "I don't think I've ever been better."
Marik grinned before gently pulled his date closer. He knew he was falling for this gorgeous guy, and he couldn't be more thrilled. He quietly asked the enigmatic foreigner, "where have you been all my life?"
"Waiting for you." Malik whispered back, his eyes slowly glazing as his tilted his head. Marik obliged, lowering his face until their lips met.
Pulses raced, and their skin heated as they shared their first passionate embrace. The two figures melded in the moonlight, their wild hair glistening like the waves behind them. No paradise, no treasure could ever compare to the bliss of such simple ecstasy.
Both blondes were fairly light-headed by the time they parted.
"Waiting for me?" Marik repeated playfully.
Malik's tone changed from sweet to playfully annoyed. "And could you have taken any more of your sweet time? I hate waiting- it's boring."
Marik chuckled before suddenly pulling Malik into a surprising swoop. The shorter blonde gasped in delight as he felt the dark arms wrapping closer around his own tanned skin.
"Well, I can promise you one thing- after tonight, your life will never be boring again."
Malik let out an excited hum of approval as the two embraced again.
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, two white-haired men were relaxing in a large living room. One was seated on a plush leather couch, while the other was standing behind him, gently rubbing his shoulders.
"So, did Marik text you back yet?" Ryou smiled as he softly massaged his partner's neck.
Bakura kept his gaze on the screen, staring at his phone in disbelief. "They're engaged."
Ryou blinked, not sure he'd heard his boyfriend right. "Er, you mean they're busy with something?"
"No, I mean Marik's so completely, psychotically addicted to your friend that he promised to marry him in the future."
"Oh!" Ryou squeaked in shock. "Oh, my goodness- that was quick! Although I'll admit, Malik can be a bit impulsive... well, I suppose it's still good news, I guess?"
"Yeah..." Bakura added absentmindedly. He was silent for a few moments. "Ryou, your friend... he isn't a... gold-digger or anything, right?"
Ryou blinked in surprise at the unusual question. "Um, not at all- he's actually kind of spend-thrift." But his eyes lit up as he realized what the his beau's query meant. "Aw, you're concerned for Marik? You do care about your friends!" The slender male smiled with a teasing wink.
"What? How dare you insult me like that!" Bakura posed with mock fury. "I should take you to court for such a slanderous statement!"
"Court, you say?" Ryou casually waltzed around the back of the couch and took a seat next to his beau. "Hmm... so you're gonna hold me in contempt?"
Bakura chuckled as he used his arms to guide his boyfriend onto his lap. "For as long as you like."
The two shared another laugh before relaxing in each other's tender embrace.