Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

Detected to my g/f, Khela. Luv ya'.

Also, this fic is a little different from everything else I've done. Up 'til now, all of my work has had a backdrop of humor to it. But I really want this to be a good romance fic. So I hope my regular readers don't hate me after this :-P


Chapter one: Bath time

"Ouch!"

Odeon came running into the living room/den at Malik's loud scream. "Master Malik, what's wrong?" The young Egyptian just glared at him while his Yami burst out laughing. "We went to the pool today and the stupid brat got himself sunburned." Odeon blinked. "Sunburned? That can't be pleasant." Malik just gave him a 'duh' look. "Well no shit, Odeon. Ow!"

Marik laughed again. "Poor wittle hikawi got all burneded." "It's not funny, you jerk!" "Yes it is." Odeon felt his 'Malik-instincts' kicking in. "Poor Master Malik, I know just what will help." "You do?" Malik gave him a sad, puppy-look. "Yes. A nice, cool bath, some aloe-vera, and a good night's rest." Malik sighed. "But we don't have any of that aloe crap."

"Yes we do, Master Malik. Ishizu always makes sure that there is some in the house during summer." "Yeah, so no worries Hikari," Marik said, happily, clapping Malik on the shoulder. "Owwwwwwwww!" "Master Malik!" Odeon was at Malik's side, immediately, to keep him from hitting the ground.

"Marik-sama, may I suggest that perhaps you should stay a ways away from Master Malik? You seem to be a tad rough with him, and that will hurt much more with his sunburn." "Marik, you're an asshole," Malik gasped from Odeon's arms. Marik smirked, "No I won't, yes I am, and yes I am." Odeon raised an eyebrow. "No, I won't stay away from my hikari, I am far to rough with him, and you bet your hide I'm an asshole."

"Marik-sama, please." "Oh, alright." Marik bent down to the tan blob in Odeon's arms. "I'm going to Kura's for the night, so be good while I'm gone." Malik made a 'murmph' sound that Marik apparently interpreted as a goodbye because he turned his attention on Odeon. "See ya' tomorrow, old guy. And by the way, you don't need to be holding him anymore you know." Odeon looked down at Malik in his arms. "I'm so sorry, Master Malik." "It's okay, Odeon." Marik laughed. "See ya' suckers." And with that, he left.

Leaving Malik and Odeon alone together! Odeon was suddenly on high alert. Himself. And Master Malik. Home alone? This surely did not bode well with the older man. You see, during Battle City, Odeon had noticed an odd feeling whenever Malik was around. It was different than the brothership he had felt for the young boy, though. This feeling was stronger, almost too strong to put a name to. But Malik had just called his 'war on the pharaoh', there was no time for 'odd feelings'.

However, after the tournament...Odeon had sat awake a few nights, trying to discover what the feeling he had for the younger might be. These long nights and the 'interesting' dreams about Malik that haunted him every night, were enough to make Odeon act veeeeeeery oddly around Malik. Snap, snap "Odeon! You in there!" The ponytailed man jumped three feet in the air. "Master Malik, you startled me!" Malik frowned.

"Sorry. You had this weird look in your eyes like when you lost the duel with Jou. ...I didn't like it." Odeon's look softened. He knew how scared Malik had been and how worried Odeon's condition had made him. "Don't worry Master Malik, I'm alright. I was just thinking about some things." Malik gave him a look. "If you're sure..." "Of course. Now, why don't you go get a nice, cool bath, and I'll finish making the dinner I was working on."

"Ooh, whatcha' makin'?" "Chicken." "I am not!" "No, Master Malik, I meant that I am grilling a chicken to go with some corn and potatoes." Malik licked his lips. "My favorite." "I was aware of this, yes." He extended a hand to help Malik stand up. "Thank you, Odeon. I think I am going to get a nice hot bath." "No, a cool one. The warm water will just irritate the burns." Malik pouted. "Mou. I nice cold bath, then." "There are towels in the closet." "Yeah, yeah. Be out in a while."

Odeon sighed as Malik walked out of the room. Well, another conversation passed without Odeon making an idiot of himself. He always seemed to be talking with his foot in his mouth around the blonde and he hated it. One day he had gotten so many words mixed up that instead of the point being 'would you like to have some of the Christmas cookies I just made' it changed to 'I knocked your sister up under the mistletoe'. He and Malik were still at a loss to how he had managed to mix his words up so badly.

Well, if nothing else, he could count this as being progress.

Malik's POV:

Mmm, nice, fresh towels. I love them. Well, at least something is going my way today. If you want to know the truth, I didn't even want to go to that stupid pool today. ...After all, it's not like I can swim or anything. There was barely enough water underground to keep clean, let alone learn how to swim. But you don't tell anyone. Ever.

In all reality, it's the fault of this little fact that I got burned. You see, instead of swimming with everyone else, I was lounged out on one of those pool-chair things. I had, of course, brought some magazines and books, to pretend like I had better things to do than actually get in the water. However, it seems that I was playing the odd man out anyway, being the only one not in the water.

It surprised me that Marik had figured out how to swim, but then again, it may have been from his past life or something. Feh, far be it for me to care. Anyway...what was I talking about? ...Oh yeah, the pool. Well, anyway, I don't really spend all that much time outside. So I forgot to put sunscreen on. I blame it on Marik! Why? Because I can. At the moment, I'm afraid the best word to describe me is 'crispy'.

Oh well. At least Odeon was sympathetic. Hmm, speaking of Odeon, he's been acting a little weird lately. He keeps getting that look in his eyes. I don't like that look...Oh well!

Normal POV

Malik closed the door to the bathroom and tossed the towel down by the tub. The jerking motion of his arm, however, made him hiss in pain. Oh, this was so not fun. 'Oh god. I am not going to like this. Not like this at all. Ow, dammit!' Every movement sent a new wave of pain up his spine. Now realizing the extent of his burns, Malik decided that slow movements would have to do the trick.

Malik slowly raised his arms to try and pull off his shirt. Yeah, this wasn't so bad. Not bad at all. He raised his arms higher to pull the shirt over his head, and it felt like fire was being held to his flesh. He let out a pained whimper, but told himself not to cry or shout. But dammit, that hurt! Biting his lip near to the point of blood, he put his arms down a bit, grabbed the collar, and edged the shirt over his head and onto the floor.

There now, that wasn't so bad, was it? Oh hell. Yes it was. But at least that was all he had to worry about. He relaxed his grit teeth and undid the belt to his jeans. As he pulled the waist down over his thighs, the pain came back, just as bad as before. Unprepared, Malik let a loud scream pass his lips. There was the sound of running down the hall, and then a banging at the door. "Master Malik? Are you alright?" Malik whimpered again.

"Yes, Odeon, I'm fine!" His voice sounded strained, even to himself, but there was no way he was going to admit to needing help. "Are you sure, Master Malik?" "I said I'm fine." He closed his eyes, gritted his teeth together, and pushed his jeans and boxers down, leaving them on the floor by his shirt. How in the world had he managed to get sunburned on his legs? He heard the soft, padding sound that meant Odeon had given up and left him alone.

The blonde turned on the water for his bath, making sure that it was cool, but warm enough so that he wouldn't get hypothermia or something as dreadful. Of course, with his awful luck, he'd get sick from the cold anyway. Once the tub was full, Malik stepped into the water, noticing with distaste how cold it felt to his skin. He sat down and immediately felt cool relief spread over the burns on his legs. Okay, maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

Bracing his shoulders, he grabbed the soap dispenser to help himself lay back because the side of the tub would have held his arm at an odd angle as he was lying. The sting from his shoulders and back seemed to leave him the second his reddened skin touched the water. 'Ooh, this feels so nice. I guess Odeon was right about the cool water helping. He would know some home cure like that.' He laid in the water for a few minutes, just letting the cold spread over his skin.

Once a good portion of the burning had gone away, Malik decided to kill two birds with one stone, and get clean then instead of later on that night. The blonde shuddered at the idea of having to undress for another bath. He pulled himself up out of the water and grabbed some shampoo to clean all of the grime from the long platinum tresses. He tentatively reached up to his hair, and felt the burn return, ten-fold.

"Owwwwwwwwwwwwww!"

Immediately, there was a loud knocking on the door. "Master Malik, are you sure you're alright in there?" "Yes, yes, I'm fine. My fucking sunburn just really hurts!" Odeon nodded sympathetically. "Poor Master Malik. Is there anything I can do to help?" Malik thought about this. Could Odeon help? He had sure seemed to know what he was doing with the burning. But...he cast a withering look at the soap in his hands. The only problem here was that he couldn't wash himself, and what could Odeon do about that, wash Malik?

The tan boy suddenly had the urge to beat his head against the tiles. Why in the world had he thought something like that? It was sick and wrong. God, Odeon would surely hate him for even thinking it if he knew. He would never say anything like that. But at the same time, he would need to bathe at least once before the burns healed up. He couldn't walk around dirty. And really, Odeon was his brother, there was no reason to be shy around him. He had bathed Malik when he was a child, had he not?

"Cld ju elp me sh mslf?" Odeon cocked his head. "Pardon, Master Malik?" "I said, could you help me wash myself?"

Odeon's POV:

I froze on the spot. Was I just hearing things? Malik actually wanted me to wash him? This was like something out of the violating dreams I'd been having. Of course, when Malik was a happy little two or three year old, there was no problem with washing him. After all, he was too young to be able to do it himself, so how else would he get clean? But many years had passed sense I last helped Malik in a bath. He had grown into a lithe young man. A lithe young man that was haunting the most impure of my dreams.

But at the same time, Malik needed my help. What was I to do? Deny him and leave him in pain to take care of himself, or agree and risk highly embarrassing both of us? I heard Malik say through the door, "if you don't want to, you don't have to or anything. I'm sure I can manage." But I didn't want him to 'manage'; I wanted him to be comfortable.

An image suddenly came to me of a frail looking Malik with tears running down his cheeks sobbing as he feebly tried to soap a washrag. No way would I do that to my Malik. Wait, my Malik? ...Oh well. I gave Malik the only response I could without feeling like a heel later. "How am I to get in, Master Malik?"

Normal POV:

"I left the door unlocked, I think. Try that." Odeon pretended not to hear the slight sigh of relief that came from Malik. He reached down to the knob and felt that, indeed, Malik had forgotten to lock the door behind him. Well, it was the moment of truth. Odeon pushed the door open, stepped in without looking in Malik's direction, and closed the door behind him. He heard the splashing of the water and slowly turned around. Malik was sat up in the tub, looking at him with curious purple eyes. The red from his burn showed horribly, all over his arms and, Odeon swallowed, his chest.

Where in the world had the frail Malik he had envisioned before gone? This Malik was slightly broad-chested with mussels everywhere, hidden just beneath his limber looks. Odeon felt his mouth dry out as he looked at the tan teen. "Um, Odeon? You're staring. Is...something wrong?" A red blush covered the elder's cheeks. "No, of course not, Master Malik, I was just looking at your sunburn." "I see." They sat in uncomfortable silence for a moment, neither sure of what to say. Odeon finally broke the gap.

"So, what exactly do you need help with, Master Malik?" "Huh? Oh, right. Um, probably just my hair and my back." Odeon nodded, just glad that that was all he would need help with. The idea of Malik naked in the cool water was becoming a bit too enticing. He approached the side of the tub and pulled up the little stool Ishizu had in there to put things on while bathing, sitting on it lightly, blushing at the fact that, now this close to Malik, he could easily peek at what the boy had to offer.

"So...what kind of shampoo do you use?" Odeon asked, trying to take the situation far less heavily than he had before. He didn't want to make Malik uncomfortable, after all. "Um, the blue bottle." Odeon wetted his hands in the water, noticing that Malik had taken his advice by how cool it was to the touch. He squeezed the bottle as the gel puddled in his hands. Malik turned his back to Odeon, and the older reached for him.

Silk. Pure silk. That was the only comparison Odeon could make as he ran his fingers through the platinum locks of hair. When Malik was a child, he would pet his hair lovingly to help the boy fall asleep. Now, well over ten years later, Malik's hair was just as soft and thick as when he was a boy. Odeon gently stroked the long blonde hair, spreading the soap evenly and making sure not to miss a single strand. He ran his hand down the back of Malik's neck and was surprised to hear the boy purring slightly.

Malik must have sensed that he'd noticed. "This feels really good, Odeon." The man smiled. "I'm glad." Suddenly, there was little reason to be nervous. The two had always been quite a bit closer than brothers needed to be, and helping Malik, even to this extent, just felt natural. He held the boy gently in his arms as he leaned him back to get rid of all the soap. He picked up the washcloth, ran it through the water, and placed it on Malik's back.

In all truth, it was the first time he could remember seeing the marks sense the night they were put on him. Well, except for once or twice during the Battle City tournament, at which time he had been too busy to notice them. They had paled considerably from the inflammation they had caused on the night they were given to him. They seemed to only make Malik seem, while Odeon hesitated to even think such a thing, even more beautiful. He ran the cloth gently, almost unconsciously teasingly down his spine, causing Malik to arch delicately into Odeon's hand.

Once Malik's back was free of suds, Odeon squeezed the extra water out of the rag and placed it on the side of the tub. For as reluctant as he has been to enter earlier, he was three times as such to leave. He got up from the stool and turned his back on Malik. "Well, if that's all that you needed for me to help you with, I think I'm going to go finish the dishes I was working on." A look of hurt flashed across Malik's face and Odeon immediately tried to figure out what he'd said that was wrong.

"I didn't mean to interrupt you from anything. Sorry for being such a bother to you," he huffed. Odeon touched his cheek. "I never meant to make it sound like you're a bother, Master Malik. You aren't at all. I'm sorry if I insinuated that. I was just making sure you didn't need my help before I just up and walked out on you." Malik blushed and looked down. "I just feel like I'm always a bother to you." "Nonsense. You have never been a bother, Master Malik. So don't you ever worry about that." Malik gave a sly smirk, but acted thoroughly chastised. "Yes, Mother."

Odeon blushed. Was he sounding too much like a parent? He had always wanted to be more mellow than Ishizu, who yelled about...everything. But the twinkle in Malik's eyes made him realize the joke. "Oh, well if I'm your parent, then I can ground you and make you eat your greens." "Noooo!" Odeon reached into the water and splashed Malik playfully.

"Finish your bath and put a robe on. I doubt it will be good for an old man to see you walking around in your birthday-suit." "Aw, you don't think I'm sexy?" Odeon choked on his air. What could he say to that? Lie? Say he didn't think of Malik that way? Tell the truth? The playful air in the room had mostly diminished. "Go ahead and get clean, Master Malik. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me." Odeon walked out of the room, not daring to look back and see Malik's hurt face. But as he closed the door he heard Malik whisper, 'what did I do wrong?' 'Oh, Malik,' he thought to himself, 'it's not you, it's me.'

Odeon mouthed the words before repeating them in a whisper. "I love you, Malik."

HG: Yeah, like we didn't figure that out. So, what do you guys think? I think I did good because I made my friend turn colors. Heh. But maybe that's because he's homophobic. Oh well. If you liked this story, please review and tell me so. To tell the truth, I had fun writing this. I'm never this serious, so it was a good change.

TTFN.