AN: One such idea that idly came to mind while I was trying to wake myself up for work in the early morning. I'd been thinking about this particular story setup and this is one of the detached (or I guess "isolated" if you like) ideas involved with this particular bedtime theme.

One night…

Understandably, Marik could never sleep in the pitch darkness. Haunting images of his earlier life as well as terrifying sounds following him out of his nightmares had more than once caused him to wake up screaming. It had taken much "shopping" around, but Bakura finally found a lamp with a glass base. In the bottom was another bulb that lit up dimmer than the lamp bulb itself. It could be turned on alone or with the bigger bulb depending on how many times you clicked the knob. However, once their eyes adjusted to the dark bedroom, even that dim bulb would be too bright for the others to sleep with. So Ryou had bought some translucent glass paint and colored the base of the lamp to dim it down further. Now, the bulb gave off a warm, gold-brown glow that was just bright enough to let Marik see the layout of the room after his eyes already adjusted to the dark. They slept with it on all night, but as it was dimmer than a true nightlight, it no longer bothered anyone. The lamp sat on a small shelf which served as a headboard to the hikaris' bed; so they always had a faint glow over them as they slept.

Bakura thought back on all of this one night, while sitting at the kitchen table with a hot cup of tea… Tea was something that had grown on him after spending so long sharing a body with Ryou before finally getting his own, so he still had a cup now and then… Bakura remembered bringing that lamp home from one of his heists, and remembered the trouble it had caused the first couple nights. He remembered Ryou's bright expression when he told the thief he'd found a solution, and the way he'd spent his time carefully adding layer after layer to the glass. Marik was so grateful, he kept pulling Ryou into tight hugs. He'd tried to do this with Bakura as well for stealing the lamp for him in the first place, but the thief had threatened to punch him if he did.

"That's what he's for!" he'd growled, pointing a finger at Ryou.

Bakura had acquired most of the things in the house that weren't brought with any of them when they'd first moved in together. Luckily he didn't need to steal the mattresses - they would've been hard to sneak around with - but he had accumulated a generous layout of soft warm covers for the beds, letting the teens do whatever they would with them. Marik occasionally stole things too, though never to the degree Bakura could. Still, he'd come home with gifts for either of his partners now and then, and he'd found quite a few throw pillows and silk or plushy sheets for Bakura's bed especially.

Ryou, being the more honest one, paid for whatever he could, which wasn't much. But he also served as the cover for all the stealing. No one ever suspected he or anyone with him needed to steal anything because he always paid for things when he went out. The truth was, he paid for the power bill, rent, and some groceries, while Bakura went out and gathered anything else they needed and Marik would find helpful or decorative things in smaller amounts. It all worked itself out. Together, they made their home quite comfortable to live in.

Bakura thought back on all of this, letting his gaze move around to see everything they had put together. There were hints of Ryou and Marik's taste in décor here and there, but most of it was the result of Bakura's own robberies. All those years ago, he had been the king of thieves… Well, times were different, but he still maintained that mindset. This was his home. His hideout. His palace. These were his partners. And it was his job to make sure things were taken care of. 'Yes,' he thought to himself, 'A king is no king if he can't take care of his lot.'

His thoughts were interrupted by a sound. Bakura tensed and listened… it was music. He frowned and turned his head toward it. It sounded like one of Ryou's music boxes. The young British boy had a fancy for them, for whatever reason, and collected ones he was particularly fond of.

Bakura stood up and took a few steps toward the hall. It was coming from the bedroom alright, but the others had been asleep when he'd last checked. He frowned and walked toward the open door, stepping soundlessly inside.

The dim glow of the bulb washed over the two lying in the bed. Marik lay asleep on his back with his head turned toward Ryou, who was now propped up on his elbow and looking down at the Egyptian. His pale hand was softly moving over Marik's hair. On the headboard shelf, one of the music boxes played a soft lullaby-like tune.

Ryou glanced up at Bakura, who cocked his head in silent question. Not wanting to wake Marik, Ryou hesitated and spoke through their now-only-occasionally-used mind link:

He was getting fitful again… Ryou looked sadly down at Marik. I think he misses his mother… I heard him call for her in his sleep.

Bakura blinked at him, then looked down at Marik. The lamp glow and the tune of the little music box set the scene for a child's bedroom, and made the blonde appear even younger than he was.

He never knew his mother… Bakura answered.

Ryou was quiet for a moment, looking at Marik quite possibly in the same way Bakura had just been doing. Wouldn't that just make him miss her all the more? I miss my mother terribly and I at least got to live several years with her… What must it be like for him? To look around and see other people's mothers… And not even know what it feels like to have one? The young one's face became even sadder as he thought these things, and his hand moved down to stroke Marik's cheek. He withdrew it though as Marik twitched in his sleep, made a small sound, and then rolled over toward him; moving closer. Ryou readily welcomed the unconscious one into his arms, wrapping them around the tan boy's head and shoulders. He brought the covers up around him and held him close; bestowing more of his careful pets, delicate strokes, and soft kisses as he leaned his own head against the blonde's.

Bakura frowned thoughtfully at what Ryou had said. Marik had never said anything about his mother before… But it wasn't impossible for him to think of her without having ever known her. He already knew how Rou felt about his… and Bakura understood-

He shook the thought away; he wasn't about to let those thoughts come back after all this time. Without a word, Bakura left Marik to Ryou and went back to checking things out around the house, almost thoughtlessly.

It was some time later that he realized the music had stopped. It had drifted so easily into the background that one could easily forget they were even hearing it. Bakura took his time with another tea cup and waited till he'd finished it before going back to the bedroom door. Ryou had fallen asleep again, still cradling Marik protectively to his chest. The Egyptian's arm was lazily slung over one of the ones that held him.

Bakura sighed. They both seemed to have relaxed at least. He gazed at them for a while, before creeping up to Marik's side of the bed. More minutes ticked steadily by as he continued to observe them. Then, without much thought or reasoning, he reached out with a thief's stealth and brought the blankets up to cover the exposed skin of Marik's back.

...

Again, I wrote this stuff more for myself than anything but figured I'd post it in case anyone's interested in this sort of thing. Just in case anyone's curious, I had been listening to a music box of "Always With Me" from Spirited Away (love that movie ^^) on youtube when I imagined this scene, so that's sort of what caused the setting and idea for me.

Oh, and a little trivia, I actually own one of those lamps with the base bulb. It's really neat, only mine isn't painted.