I've been meaning to try my hand at a more traditional YGO fanfic for a while (that is, with all the characters present and with powers and linked minds), so I started a total bs and here's what I've farted out so far. Well, chapter one, at least.

I hit a block on my "Bakura" series Questionable Existence, so until I force out the rest of the chapter I'm working on, I am spending my time on this to see what happens with it. I don't really have a title in mind yet since it's total bs, so forgive me for the crappy title and description until I figure one out.

[As usual, Malik = Yami Marik in my stories.]

Let me know what you guys think and whether or not I should continue!f

Chapter 1: A Walk in the Snow

"Crap!"

Malik walked out of the shop and into the crisp winter air of Domino City's streets. It was busy during the Christmas season – everyone was getting gifts and people were pairing off for the holiday break. He never really held it as a special time of year, but most people seemed to.

Yugi was whining noticeably louder than typical, hugging his tiny body with his slender little arms, frantically moving his purple eyes back and forth.

"What?" Malik's lilac eyes settled on the much smaller youth, only half-interested in what the fuss was about while shoppers moved around them, whispering about the two awkward figures standing on the curb.

Yugi was too nervous to make eye-contact with the blonde. "They left!" he exclaimed pathetically. "They actually left without us!"

"Hm?" Malik blinked and looked around, finally noticing that Kaiba's car was gone. -Son of a bitch…- "Well," he sighed, his breath coming out in thick plumes of fog in the chilled air, "they did, didn't they? Bastards left us behind."

"I can't believe it! I mean, I understand leaving me!" Yugi pulled his phone from his pocket, his gloved hands still quivering from how cold it was as he searched his list of contacts. "But you! You're huge! How could they have possibly missed you not being in the car? Seriously!" He let a curse slip when his phone sang a sick tune and went black. "Of course my phone would die at a time like this!" Atem wouldn't answer anyways. The two were fighting, and it really shouldn't have come as much of a surprise to Yugi that he'd so quickly been abandoned. But being left behind at the mercies of Yami Marik seemed a little extreme.

Malik tilted his head as he observed the mini-Game King suffer his mild panic attack, fixated on Yugi's reaction to the situation.

What was the big deal? Why was he freaking out? They were left behind: so what? They could catch a cab. They could probably walk back, too. Of course, it was pretty cold, and Yugi's tiny body probably wouldn't hold up well in this weather for long, so maybe walking wasn't the best route. But still.

"Freaking out much?"

The smaller youth looked up at Malik with his large, distressed eyes, bubbling over and making the yami flinch. "It's just… …They really left us…"

"Oh, Ra. Please don't start crying," Malik begged stiffly as Yugi's eyes watered. "Please, please don't cry. I will fucking rip off your arm if you cry."

Yugi whimpered before looking especially terrified, his expression paling under Malik's hard glaref.

Malik's eyes widened some. The baby panda was looking like he might make a run for it.

What had he said?

Yugi could be such a pussy sometimes. Still, he was fragile, and the teenager's fragility was something the yami was sensitive to.

Not many people had taken notice of Malik's fascination on the Game King's smaller half. Yugi was a strange little creature that got the yami's attention—mostly because he was so different than Atem. The pharaoh was stiff and full of himself, and could be hot-headed and over-dramatic and just freaking stupid. But Yugi was quiet and gentle and difficult for Malik to understand.

Those differences made Yugi easy for Malik to be curious about, and the yami had often observed him when no one was paying any attention. Yugi's fragility made him especially interesting to the blonde. How could anyone be that fragile? That sensitive?

Yugi was his polar opposite, and that made Malik just inch closer.

In some ways it made sense: opposites tended to attract one another. But in other ways, it didn't.

Malik watching Yugi so peacefully was like a lion watching a baby gazelle without wanting to eat it.

He didn't really have a need or desire to kill Yugi like he did the teenager's yami. Atem was the root of a lot of problems for Malik, and thus it made perfect sense, at least in the blonde's mind, that the pharaoh had to die. But over time, he'd disassociated Yugi with Atem. They looked the same (well, not as much since Atem had returned from the afterlife; now he looked like he did in the past), and were part of the same original soul, but not the same person.

All of that being said, Yugi's expression of terror bothered Malik, but he wasn't very good at conversation or not freaking anyone out, so he wasn't sure how to make up for…whatever he'd done…to make the tiny boy look so nervous.

"Uhh…" he blinked, watching Yugi take slow steps back in the thick snow. "Sorry?"

Yugi took another step back.

Malik snorted but did the only thing he could think to do: sat down on the curb. Lowering his massive height might make him seem less intimidating.

Yugi relaxed some, but he continued to watch the blonde with his enlarged eyes.

"Relax," Malik grunted. "I am not going to bite you or anything. Park your ass and we'll figure out how to get home."

Yugi slowly sat down, moving his purple eyes to stare at the street.

"We could get a cab," Yami Marik offered.

"I don't have any money on me," the other sighed, his eyes dropping.

"Sucks. Neither do I. You have a debit or something?"

Yugi shook his head, shyly looking at the large blonde through the corners of his eyes. "No. I don't usually have any need for one."

Malik growled, sending a steady stream of white air from between his teeth while considering their options. "Well, I don't have a phone anymore. I destroyed the last five of them in a series of events, so Marik won't give me a new one and I don't have a job to afford one myself. And it's too cold for my hikari to come pick us up on the bike, so I guess we're down to walking back."

"But it's so cold…"

"Yup."

Yugi shifted to hug himself, his little body quivering. "I guess we could try. KaibaCorp is what? A few miles from here?"

"No more than four or five."

"…Atem might come looking for me, so…maybe it's best to wait here?"

"You can do that." Malik stood. "But I won't sit here and wait just to get the chance to see that fool's face again unnecessarily," he snarled. Yugi looked up at him when the blonde offered one of his dark hands. "But you could just as easily come back with me. Cold or not, I can keep you warm. I'm like a fucking heater." He didn't move so Malik sighed and leaned to scoop the boy up.

"M-Malik!"

"Relax, you little turd. I'll carry you."

"You can leave me here! Atem will—"

"SHH," Malik hissed as he began to walk, moving through the thinning crowds of people through the streets. "I don't want to hear about him. It fucking pisses me off, got it?"

Yugi nodded quickly and buried his head into the crook of the other's neck, trying to ignore the scent of spice on Malik's shoulder.

"That's better."

In the background of the quieting city, the sky was beginning to turn a rich shade of purple that matched the color Yugi remember Malik liked to wear. Chills shot up his little back as he thought back to those days when Yami Marik ran around and tried repeatedly to rip his soul apart and sent Mai and the others to the Shadow Realm. Since his return, Malik had calmed down a considerable amount, but he was still unstable and violent at times. Could he be trusted?

Yugi didn't have much of a choice at the moment, so he just forced himself to remain as still and as quiet and as not-obnoxious as possible so as not to somehow trigger the Egyptian's insanity on the walk back.

"So," Malik breathed, turning a corner, "found a good college yet?"

Yugi's eyelids lifted. Was the yami actually trying to make conversation? They were in the quieter side of the city now, mostly consisting of the neighborhoods—Malik was taking the longer route. "Uh…. Not yet. But we're looking. You?"

Malik laughed. "Pff. I don't have an education to build off," he snorted. The Egyptian stopped his walking to look down at the small teenager he cradled in an oddly careful manner. "Father didn't exactly teach us very much in that dungeon of his."

Yugi's eyelids lowered slightly from under the weight of his peer's cold words. It was true: there really wasn't much of a chance that Marik had been well-educated in his confinement under the sands of Egypt. After all, their job was to protect the tomb, not to work. An education would have only been a threat to Marik's duties. He'd never really thought about it before, though sometimes the blondes had shown their lack of intelligence. Still, a lack of any education but the basics crippled them socially.

"Well, isn't that more of a reason to go to school?" Yugi wondered quietly, somehow able to keep their eye contact. "With an education, you could get a job."

"I can work without that crap just fine," Malik grunted. "If I needed money, that is. But I get to sponge off Bakura and my hikari, and all is well."

"Does that make you happy?"

"Huh?"

Yugi blinked and tried to give the blonde a little smile. He'd never had a real conversation with Malik before, and the chance to get to know him without the blonde trying to kill his yami was too much to pass up. Malik was insane, but Yugi wasn't certain if he was as much of a threat nowadays. So long as Atem's spell to keep him and the rest of the spirits in physical bodies was in place, Malik could exist, but if Atem died, that meant he'd be returned to Marik's mind and be sealed again.

"Mooching off of them like that," he clarified. "Does it make you happy? I'd have thought someone like you would prefer to stand on his own two feet."

Malik frowned. "Why work when I can more easily exist off of those two idiots?"

"Well… I don't know… I just mean that you don't seem like the dependant sort, is all."

Malik processed this comment before chuckling and starting to walk again, but instead of heading towards KaibaCorp, he was now going in a direction Yugi was unfamiliar with. "You're right," he agreed, ignoring the boy's quiet sounds of distress at their shift in direction. "Generally I'm not, but I guess it just boils down to me being lazy. Besides, I have little interest in working for some fool. I'd rather just live on the streets and take what I need, but Marik won't allow it, so he locks me up in the house where he presumes I'll behave."

"…Where are we going?"

"Back to my place."

"I thought we were going back to KaibaCorp!"

"Change of plans. Marik says to come back home; dinner's 'bout ready. If you'd like, I could just drop you in snowdrift and leave you to freeze," he offered. "Or you could just quit your bitching and come with me."

Yugi wished Atem would answer his mental calls for help, but the yami remained silent. Yugi was on his own, deserted in the snowy city to be looked after by a blonde Egyptian psychopath. "D-does he know you have me with you…?"

"Does that matter?"

"I…just…should be getting home, is all…"

"Relax," Malik snorted. "Gods, you're so fucking tentative. Have a little spine for once. Besides, it's just Marik and Bakura and his hikari—they're pretty harmless."

"Harmless… Right…"

Malik kept taking back routes that Yugi was unfamiliar with. It made him nervous. This was a large city, after all, and there were all sorts of weirdos in the back alleys that the yami was taking. Not that anyone would mess with someone as large and scary as Malik, but Yugi was still anxious by nature in these situations. Even being cradled by a strangely careful Yami Marik wasn't enough to settle his nerves. So when a group of creepers in hoodies approached them, Yugi was prepared to wet his Marshmallon boxers. Yami Marik, however, wasn't as intimidated, and he moved to go around them even as they came closer, ignoring the grungy youths until he was forced to pay them mind when one of them pulled out a knife from his sleeve.

"Give us your money!" he demanded. "Or we'll slit your fucking throat!"

Malik's eyebrows tilted inwards just enough for Yugi to take notice, and the hikari buried his face as deep into the blonde's neck as he could manage. He hid in the yami's spiky blonde hair, whining and shivering quietly. This got a rise out of Yami Marik, whose warm chest vibrated as he released a low growl in warning while being circled by the nine goons. "Get out of my way," Malik's eyes widened crazily, "or I'll break your body in two."

"Like shit we will!" The aggressor waved his knife, setting it aglow with the overhead street-lights. He snickered menacingly, sending his posse into similar fits. "Give us your cash, you blonde freak. Don't make me cut your little brother open."

Yugi whimpered a little louder, making Malik's eyes slide towards him. Why was the hikari so nervous? He should feel secure. Malik was big and kickass, so certainly Yugi didn't think they were in any real danger. Did he?

Feeling a little offended by the boy's lack of confidence, Malik's lilac eyes darted back towards whom he assumed was the leader of the hooded group. "He's not my brother," the yami corrected grittily. "But I am responsible for the little thing at the moment. That being the case, I'm prepared to protect him."

Yugi squeezed Malik's neck tighter, whispering into his hair. "…Malik… You don't…have to protect me…"

"Ha! Big words coming from just one guy! You're outnumbered!" He laughed again as his co-members pulled their weapons out. Malik could hear a chain to his left, and a gun cocked at his right. "Now give us your cash! I won't say it again!" There were at least five boys with knives.

"How pathetic humans are…" The yami flashed his white teeth at the group while allowing his dark senses to stretch further. The boys' heart-rates were going crazy; nervous humans were easy pickings. Without his Rod to amplify them, Yami Marik lacked most of his Shadow powers, but he had plenty to do damage to these fools. Mortals with knives weren't exactly intimidating to begin with, and he didn't need magic to tear them apart. "If you want money so badly, come and take it from me, spineless fucker," Malik dared.

"You asked for it! –Get 'im!"

Yugi whimpered but Malik just smirked as one of the hooded figures moved to attack him from behind. "Hold on, you little koala," he whispered before doing a turn-around kick at full swing. It was enough to send the gagster crashing into the wall, and he had enough motion to swirl around and slam his boot into the leg of another, snapping the man's shin in half. The goon shrieked and collapsed, hugging his leg. The rest of the group backed away, gawking at the bone ejecting from the other's leg and second guessing their plan of attack as Malik turned to glare at them. "Care to try that again? …Well? I'm waiting! I'll cave in the face of whoever's next!" He cackled wildly and the group started to back off. "What's the matter, boys? All talk? That really pisses me off."

"Shit! He's fucking insane!"

"Let's get out of here!"

"Come on!" Yami Marik howled as they fled and threw their weapons into the red snow, abandoning their injured friends. "I didn't even get to use my other leg!" He snorted and turned to glower at the two leftover men with his narrowed eyes. "I'm going to consume your souls and let you rot in hell for trying to jump me so cheaply like that..."

"Malik… No…"

"Huh?" He blinked, coming out of his angry fog when Yugi moved against him. He'd nearly forgotten he was holding the hikari at all.

"Don't kill them. It won't make you any better."

He sighed irritably but turned to look away from the temptations on the floor. "You ruin my fun, just like Ryou and Marik… But fine. Whatever." Yami Marik adjusted his little load and began to walk in the direction he'd been going before they'd been interrupted. Yugi wasn't sure how the yami had such a keen sense of direction. Malik acted like he knew exactly where he was going. "Next time, their souls are mine. I don't tolerate that shit without proper punishment."

"Killing people and taking souls shouldn't solve your problems," the small boy spoke softly, quivering from a mix of the cold and the attack.

"Maybe not," Malik snickered, "but it sure as hell makes me feel better when I've had a shitty day."

-(Next Scene)-

Yugi was feeling relieved as he was carried up the stairs to the door of the apartment where the four crazies stayed together; maybe Malik would let him down. …But he didn't. Rather than put the hikari down so he could open the door, the yami just gave a couple swift kicks to the door and yelled, "Hey, assholes! Let me in!"

Yugi's expression wilted with embarrassment at his kidnapper's loud and blunt demands, prepared to scold Malik for yelling this late in the evening, when the door opened. "Shut up, you dick," Bakura growled.

He was wearing his typical blue and white shirt and grey skinny-jeans, but his white hair was pulled back into a messy bun-ponytail with a chopstick ejecting from where the hair was knotted up and met his head. He also wore a scowl and Yugi whimpered, surprised when he found himself snuggling closer to Malik for…comfort? Nothing about this evening was going right at all! Atem still wasn't answering his 'calls', and that meant he was still asleep—or that he'd cut Yugi off their transmissions for a purpose.

Yugi whined louder and Bakura pursed his lips as he examined the situation.

After several tense seconds, the Yami finally gave up guessing. "What the fuck is the mini-pharaoh doing here?" he demanded, hands on his bony hips.

Yugi noted that the albino had a spoon in his right hand. So they were cooking? Come to mention it, the air coming from the apartment smelled especially yummy. Trying not to move so he could sniff at the air was challenging, but the teenager managed it somehow. "Mmm," Yugi purred. Yami Marik and Yami Bakura's eyes both immediately fell down at the cute, mewling little noises the hikari was making. Their faces flashed pink as Yugi smiled, staring past Bakura into the apartment. "That smells amazing," he cooed.

"It's stir fry with fried rice, eggrolls, and bean-paste rolls," Bakura murmured, still staring straight at the wide-eyed hikari. "But there isn't enough for five people."

Yugi frowned. "Oh. Well, I don't want to be a bother," he immediately recovered, squirming in Yami Marik's arms. "I should be getting home anyways. I'm sure Atem is worried si—AH!"

Malik pushed right past Bakura, carrying the whining Yugi into the apartment and making the other Yami growl. "There's plenty of food," the blonde insisted. He only dropped Yugi when they entered the kitchen. Malik put the smaller teenager down and closed the door, blocking the three hikari inside and leaving him to deal with the other maniac, who was shrilling in the living room about Malik's unwanted guest.

Yugi blinked at Marik and Ryou, both of whom looked just as surprised to see him there as he felt to have been carried by Yami Marik. "Um… Hey, guys," he smiled, rubbing at the base of his neck when he felt his face flush pink from their gawking. "So I guess I am here for dinner tonight."

It must be in the rulebook somewhere for hikaries that they look adorable all the time. Ryou was wearing the same clothing as Bakura, and that was normal, but Yugi had never seen him wear the frilly pink apron before. He'd also never seen Ryou with his hair in a ponytail, and the shaggy white locks make him turn almost as pink as Ryou's rather fabulous apron.

Marik wasn't any better. He had on that ridiculous lilac top that teased everyone; it seemed that even in 20-degree-weather he felt the need to show off his toned stomach. His hair was also pulled back, and he wore a purple apron. At least it wasn't frilly. Yugi was certain he couldn't have handled seeing Marik in frills without having to make a quick visit to the bathroom.

"Yugi?" Ryou's face was more concerned than happy to see the third hikari in the apartment. "How did you…? I mean…?"

"Malik brought me."

Both of their eyes widened and the two hikari exchanged worried glances before Marik put his wooden spoon down and approached Yugi. "My yami brought you?"

"We both got left behind at the store," Yugi explained. He sighed. "He was going to take me to KaibaCorp, because we were sure that's where everyone else was headed, but Atem isn't answering me. I think he's asleep."

"So my yami just brought you here instead?"

"Well, I didn't have much say in it, but that's basically what happened."

Ryou turned to pay attention to the rice, making sure the food didn't burn as they chatted. "Strange, but he's done stranger," the white-haired boy giggled. "I suppose one more at the dinner table won't hurt any. We make plenty. Malik is such a little piggy!"

"I don't want to be a problem…" Yugi's purple eyes fell to the floor and he rubbed at the tiles with his tennis-shoe.

"You're no problem," Marik assured, patting Yugi on the head as reassurance. "I'm just sorry you had to go through whatever you went through to get here. My yami can be pretty…er….well…I mean…you were there that time. And now you're stuck with him and Bakura tonight."

"He wasn't so bad," Yugi replied quietly, still staring at the floor as he thought back to his 'ride over'. Malik hadn't been especially mean. In fact, he was pretty gentle during that time. Was it possible that the yami was capable of being gentle at all? "And Bakura and I seem to get along all right enough. You know, when he isn't trying to kill Atem," he giggled.

Marik laughed. "Yeah, true. Well, you're welcome to stay for as long as you'd like, Yugi." He smiled before returning to the stir-fry. "We're just about finished."

"Will you be staying the night, Yugi?" Ryou wondered aloud.

"I…don't know. I mean… Unless I get a ride home or Atem wakes up, or…whatever…I guess I can't go anywhere."

"We don't drive," Marik shrugged, "and it's too cold to ride at the moment, so it looks like a sleepover it is! But don't worry, Yugi. We'll make sure my yami and Bakura don't bother you, okay?"

"Thanks, Marik."

I will post chapter two either tonight or tomorrow. It's almost at a stopping point. All I can say is…poor Yugi.