For yugioh_contest. Theme: Hero
"Wow, Bakura, you look like shit."
Marik observed as his best friend wandered to speaking range, looking even more haggard than usual. He was awarded with a glare cold enough to freeze lesser men to the spot where they were standing.
"...Glad to see you too Mariku. What the hell are you doing here?" Bakura asked, slumping down on the bench next to his friend and getting comfortable to the point of almost falling off.
Marik raised his brow slightly, but didn't comment.
"Watching the brat for Ishizu, she had work."
"Ah."
Noticing that Bakura had closed his eyes, Marik commenced to stare at his best friend's rumpled form. The white haired youth had dark circles under his eyes and his clothes were all but hanging on his already slim body. Putting one elbow on his knee and leaning his chin on his hand Marik frowned, somewhat worried by the outer appearance of the other.
"...Seriously Bakura, what fuck is wrong with you? You look like a dead person."
Marik said softly, making Bakura sigh but he got no other reaction from his friend.
"I haven't slept much."
There was a slight pause in the conversation before Marik concluded that he wasn't going to get any more out of the other without some prompting and prodding.
"...And?"
"...Fuck! Okay I haven't had that much to eat either!" Bakura rose from his slouch with a flourish and glared at his friend before rubbing his eyes and adapting a more normal sitting position.
Seeing Marik's stare which was clearly asking him to elaborate, he buried his face in his hands with a sigh and muttered something intelligible. Marik blinked.
"I didn't quite catch that."
"I said money's a bit tight right now..." Came the slightly muffled growl. Marik sighed in turn, leaning back on the bench and digging around his pockets for his pack of cigarettes. Finding them, he placed one between his lips and reached out to nudge his friend on the shoulder.
"Want one?"
Bakura removed his face from his hands with apparent difficulty, staring at the object in the other's hand for a while before realizing what was being asked. "Uh, no, I'm trying to quit."
Marik just shrugged, feigning indifference. He didn't need to ask, he knew Bakura's reason for quitting. The white haired kid that he had brought with him to the park. Ryou.
Bakura let out a groan, leaning back also and setting his head on Marik's shoulder. Marik, lighting up, glanced at his friend and found him dozing against his arm. Marik breathed in, letting the smoke trail out of his mouth as he spoke.
"Bakura. Go home and get some sleep."
"Mmh. No way, I promised Ryou I would bring him..." Bakura mumbled, shaking his head against Marik's shoulder, making his already messed-up hair stand up even more in haphazard directions. Marik gave a rueful grin, nudging his arm against Bakura, hoping to jostle him out of his dozing state.
"Fuck that, Ryou is a smart kid, he understands. Plus I bet he doesn't like to see you looking like that either."
"Shut the fuck up, I'll just take a nap or something when I get home."
Marik frowned and grabbed a piece of white hair between his fingers, tugging on it for good measure.
"You look like a goddamn corpse Bakura. A nap isn't going to fix that."
"...Up yours Marik." Bakura growled weakly, getting a few more pulls of his hair as a reward.
"Get the fuck home before I make you." Unsurprisingly, Marik's growl sounded more menacing than that of his friend's. He was growing more irritated with Bakura's behavior by the second.
"You're killing yourself Bakura." Marik hissed, finally ceasing his torment on Bakura's hair. For the moment.
"I don't care." Came the whisper, and Marik turned to stare at his friend in mild surprise. Bakura had finally opened his eyes, half-open as they were.
"It's for Ryou. I'd do everything for him." Bakura finished, still speaking with the same tone, making Marik's anger settle down a bit.
"You know Bakura, Ryou won't appreciate you killing yourself for him." He said gently, making Bakura bristle before the other removed himself from his friend's person, fists clenched tight.
"Shut the fuck up Marik! Just shut the fuck up! I don't need your-"
"Bakura?" Came the soft voice of a child, and a gentle touch on Bakura's knee, calming him instantly.
"...What is it Ryou?" Bakura failed to sound cheerful despite his best effort, as his tired gaze met the genuinely concerned eyes of the child in front of him.
"Are you-" The child started unsurely, biting his lip and glancing at the ground before gaining the courage to finish. "Are you okay?"
Bakura smiled, and Marik noticed how his eyes gained some of that old spark as he looked at the child. The most important person in Bakura's world, Marik noted, unable to keep a small smile from spreading across his own face.
"Yeah, Ryou, I'm fi-"
"No he's not."
"Shut the hell up Marik!" Bakura hissed at Marik, too angry at his interruption to realize he was cursing in front of Ryou. Marik shook his head, pushing his friend out of the way to look the child in the eye.
"Listen to me Ryou. Bakura needs some sleep. So I need you to take him home and put him to bed okay?"
"If I do, will he get better?" Ryou asked hopefully, before adding, "You know, I told him I could stay home today so that he could rest! I did! But he didn't believe me..."
Marik put his hand on the little one's shoulder and gave what he hoped was an reassuring smile.
"It's okay Ryou, Bakura is just being a stubborn ass. Now, you take him home and make sure he goes straight to bed yeah? I'm counting on you to make him better."
Ryou's smile was bright enough to rival the sun.
"I'll do my best Marik!"
Grinning, Marik watched as his loudly protesting best friend was dragged out of the park by a seven year old.
"There's a hero if I'll ever see one."