A/N: Yes yes Another chapter! More Bakura in this one ^.^
Warnings: Language, adult themes, yaoi, no sex themes in this one.
Disclaimer : I do not own Yu Gi Oh sadly enough.
He watched the boy sleep for a few more minutes, and then fell asleep himself..
Marik opened his eyes and closed them again, his head was pounding, he heard screaming faintly in the background. The teen had woken up a few minutes ago, and was confused about his whereabouts, what was this man doing in the room? Where was he anyway? What happened last night? So many questions shot through his head. He was shouting towards the Egyptian, who was still half asleep on the chair. He demanded answers, but his screaming didn't seem to get through just yet. He huffed and sat down on the bed, arms crossed against his chest and he turned his head away.
Marik senses finally started to realise what he was hearing and feeling, his neck and back were stiff. The screaming had stopped, he opened his eyes and stared at the teen that sat on the bed. When did this happen? He noticed he was sitting on a chair, no wonder he was so stiff, yet how did the teen end up in the spare room?
"Are you alright?" Marik asked the teen, who seemed to be interested in the markings that covered the wall. The teen reacted quite shocked and quickly faced Marik.
"What do you want from me?" he huffed.
What did Marik want? Even Marik couldn't remember anymore, he was way too drunk last night. "Nothing,.. really." He answered, thinking it would've been more awkward if he didn't reply to that, but as soon as he noticed the scratches that covered the teen he faintly remembered what happened last night. "You were hurt, so I took you home." Marik said.
The teen seemed to get a little annoyed. "I was fine." He said, gritting his teeth.
"You didn't seem fine." Marik snapped back. They both looked each other in the eye, trying to intimidate the other.
Marik observed the boy, the scratches he had, weren't enough to make him faint, though he probably did lose some blood. "What's your name?" Marik asked the boy carefully.
"Why would you care." The boy snapped at him.
Marik sighed. "I'd like to know who I would be fixing some dinner for... I'm hungry."
"I'm not staying." Was the direct reply of the boy, he huffed.
"Well, you must be hungry, and you're welcome anytime" Marik tried with a smile. The boy remained quiet; as if he wanted to tell Marik he made up his mind and wasn't staying like he said.
Marik stood up, and walked in to the hallway, noticing the boy watched every move he made, like a cat, facing a more dangerous lion, too scared to move, but trying to impress him by a furious look. He came back with a towel and threw it towards the boy. "you can clean up."
"I said I'm not staying" the boy snapped back. "If you weren't staying, wouldn't you have left a while ago? Nobody's stopping you." Marik said mocking him.
The boy held the towel in his hands and looked at it, rethinking the words the tall Egyptian just said. "Bakura," the boy said, like a short notice he wanted to mention.
Marik nodded and smiled, "I'll fix you some food, Bakura." With that he left the room.
-
Bakura, left in the room, blinked a few times. Why did he tell the weird man his name? Why was he actually staying and accepting a shower in a strange house? He didn't even know where the bathroom was to start with! Bakura thought about it over and over again and decided to take advantage from the situation, he hadn't had a proper shower in weeks.
There was dried blood and dirt all over him. He felt kind of bad sleeping in the strangers bed in this state. Everything in the room was tidy, there was a small nightstand next to the bed with a lamp on it. The markings on the wall were hieroglyphs, he recalled. He recognized some bird and a lion, but didn't know what they meant. After watching the markings on the wall, he noticed they were all written in black pen marker, though it looked like something that came from a shop. Bakura got off the bed and walked to the door, giving a small peek into the hallway, there were two more doors, one across and one next to the door he was in. He would give it a guess and walked to the door across, having the right guess, and entered the bathroom. It smelled like lavender and everything was clean and shining white. He heard the man humming to himself in the kitchen, and quickly closed the door and locked it. Then he took off his clothes and dropped them to the floor, watching the showerhead for a few seconds and then opening the water. The cold water that hit his face made him jump back, hitting his heels to the wall. He cursed and then turned open the warm water. Being careful from the side of the shower, feeling with his hand if the water was becoming a nice temperature, he finally got under the beams of water.
The hot water felt nice on his skin, he's been dying for a proper shower. It was like his skin was praising him for finally being cleaned.
Marik was glad his sister dragged him groceries shopping yesterday, so there was plenty to eat, His head still ached, so he took some painkillers. As he got back focusing on the food he realised he didn't know what to serve Bakura, so he just made some toast with eggs. While the eggs were on Marik walked to his balcony, grabbing his pack of cigarettes on the way there and on the balcony he lit a cigarette. His mind was about to wander to the boy in his shower, who has been randomly appearing in day dreams, but Marik reminded himself this was not the time. He quickly finished his cigarette, making himself dizzy from smoking it too fast, just what he needed. He threw his cigarette in the ashtray that stood on the little table on the balcony, and then rushed back to the eggs, just in time. He found himself humming to himself again, being in an awful cheerful mood.
He took the eggs out of the frying pan and put them on a plate, planning on checking on Bakura, maybe find some clothes for the teen, as he was almost as tall as himself. He moved to his bedroom, pulling his closets open and searching through his clothes. He didn't know the boy was actually going to stay or not so he didn't want to give him his best clothes. After pulling out some jeans and shirts and throwing them on the bed he found some good looking clothes that would fit Bakura easily. He walked up the bathroom door and knocked "Bakura, I've got some clothes for you, I'll put them down on the floor." He said, and then went to finish the food.
Bakura looked at the door, the knocking had made him jump, he tried to sum up what the man was doing for him and any motivation behind it. He opened the door and found, indeed, clothes lying in front of it, neatly folded. He looked up and met Marik's Gaze.
Marik had responded on the sound of the door, mistaking it for the front door and his sister coming in and watched towards the hallway, where he found a half naked Bakura, wrapped in a towel. Marik quickly looked away cause he didn't want Bakura to feel awkward, but couldn't keep himself from thinking and wondering. While Bakura hastily grabbed the clothes and closed the bathroom door again.
The teen felt annoyed, he wanted to eat and leave as soon as possible. He dried himself and then pulled on the clothes. They fitted well; it was a plain black t-shirt with short sleeves and a pair of jeans. He grabbed his old clothes and would toss them in the bin, as they were ripped and torn real bad. Bakura examined the bathroom again, and then walked to the living room, where the smell of eggs reached his nose, and he felt his stomach begging for it. Bakura joined Marik at the table, and looked at the plate Marik had served for him. "You had a nice shower?" Marik asked him. Bakura looked up at the Egyptian, and examined him. How the blonde hair fell over his face, and the back spiked up, the dark violet eyes that looked at him, the gentle expression on his face, the broad shoulders and muscular arms, the golden neck chocker and golden wrist bands. Bakura looked down at the plate, the food did look delicious, he grabbed his fork and started to take a bite. He hadn't had anything to eat in a while.
Marik finished his food before Bakura, he just simply looked at the teen eating. He wanted to start a conversation but Bakura had giving him enough signals he wasn't in for a conversation,.. yet? Marik didn't know. Suddenly something came across Marik's mind. "Want me to call your parents?" Marik asked the boy. Bakura looked him with a deadly glare. "I don't have any," he shrugged. "Mind your own business," he almost snapped. Marik frowned, "Sorry," he said, and then stood up, taking his empty plate to the kitchen. Bakura followed his moves, he was almost done with his food and then would just leave again, though he did feel a little bit guilt, The Egyptian seemed to live alone , but who knows what he was up to?
Bakura finished his food and put down his fork. "Thank you," he said to Marik, who sat on the other side of the table again. "That's okay," Marik said smiling. "Don't worry about it."
A knock on the front door, keys in the lock, the door opening, a voice shouting through the hallway.
"Marik, are you home?"
Marik's mood went from cheerful to annoyed. Why would his damn sister come visit him at a time like this? Bakura watched the woman who walked in to the living room, she looked at him for a few long seconds and then turned to face Marik. "Mum called, about what you want to have for your birthday." Marik gritted his teeth. "Couldn't you just call? I've got a working phone you know, and tell the bitch I want nothing from her." His sister stood quite shocked. "But she cares Marik," Isis tried. "I don't care," Marik snapped at her.
Bakura was quite interested in the fight between Marik and his sister, it entertained him, so he decided to sit back and watch this.
"Sorry Bakura," Marik said, and then dragged his sister with him to balcony. He closed the door behind him. Bakura watched two, they were both screaming at each other, throwing hands up in the air. The wind blew open the door a little bit so Bakura could hear the conversation between them.
"Then who's this?" Isis pointed at the teen in the living room, "Is he your new boyfriend?" She was angry. "No he's not damnit! If you just shut up listened to me woman!"
Bakura chuckled, but then tried to focus on the words spoken, he didn't recognize them.
The Egyptians were talking Arabic now, when they talked they usually tried to speak Japanese, so it would improve their language, but their vocabulary just wasn't big enough yet to sort this out. Bakura could hear the rage in Marik's voice, Isis was getting more upset, maybe it was time for him to leave, he didn't wanted to interfere in family business but as soon as he got up the door slammed open and Isis marched through the living room to the hallway. She turned to see Bakura, "Nice to meet you, I'm Isis, Marik's sister. I'm sorry about that." She said smiling, but Bakura could tell she was hurt. Marik also came in, "just get out, tell mum I don't want anything and she has to stop trying." He said, still annoyed with his sister. Isis smiled once more and then turned around to exit the door.
"Sorry about that," Marik muttered while he sat down, and the noticed Bakura was standing. "You're leaving?" he asked. Bakura nodded. "Thank you for the food and the shower, but I can't stay here." It made Marik even more angry. "Want me to walk you home?" Marik tried but the teen shook his head. "I'll be fine," he walked towards the front door. "My home is anywhere," He smiled, but felt hurt, then he opened the door and left the Egyptian by himself again.
Marik stared at the door that closed, the teen had left him so easily. My home is anywhere. What did he mean by that? Did he live on the streets? Marik walked towards the window in the front and peered down. A minute later Bakura walked out of the front of the building, looked to his right, then to his left and started walking.
Bakura walked back to the forest, where he lived. Once he arrived at the spot he looked up in the trees. There was a little tree house there, the wood was black, they burnt it down yesterday and it was the reason for him to flee into town. He gritted his teeth. He had to find a new place to sleep. He looked up to the sky, clouds were gathering, a deep dark grey. It probably was going to rain. Bakura was going to check out the damage on the little house, but as soon as he grabbed to the wood to climb up it broke off and he fell back down. He cursed. His hands were black from the ash that came off the wood. He cursed again, so much for the shower he had earlier. He sat in the dirt, everything around him was covered in the black ash, his clothes were dirty already. He chuckled, and then got up, he wanted to brush his clothes off but figured it wouldn't be a smart idea with his dirty hands.
The teen decided to take a stroll around the forest, seeing if there was any other place he could find shelter at, after coming here three years ago he never bothered to explore the forest itself. He had a small job at the harbour of the city, which usually got him through the most of the month, and if he didn't he would break in to houses at the outside of the city. After last night he had nothing left, the money he had, vanished together with his only shelter.
Bakura had walked through the forest for hours, he was tired and hungry again. He hadn't found any shelter yet and he felt the first drop of rain hit his warm skin, but he did come across a land house, in an open field. He made his way back to see if he could find anything to eat in the huge house. It took him about thirty minutes to get back, it was already getting dark, to his advantage. He examined the house, it was huge, the walls were white, the grass around it was green and well maintained. There were a few bushes that held pretty coloured flowers. There were no lights on, except for the one tiny light on the porch outside.
Bakura smiled to himself, sneaking through the grass around the house, seeing if there was any easy opening for him to get in. He didn't like breaking stuff and leaving his mark, he preferred to stay unnoticed to anyone. Once he reached the back of the house, there was a small window open. Small, but big enough for him to climb through with his slender body. He reached out for the windowsill and then pulled himself up, peeking through the window. It was a large kitchen, there were no lights on and no sign of movement. Bakura chuckled, this had became so easy over the years, and in a house like this there usually is a lot of food. He climbed through the window, sitting on the windowsill and swinging his legs to make a jump, he landed with a soft thump on his feet. Bakura looked around, he would just walk through the kitchen grabbing some food and then get out again, not taking any unnecessary weight with him.
The kitchen was wide, there was a window in the wall from which you could see the living room, there was a large fridge on the left, surrounded by counters and cupboards. Bakura grinned to himself this time, he sure wouldn't leave here hungry. He opened up the fridge and closed his eyes a bit for the bright light that came from it. It was stuffed with food and drinks. He grabbed a few things and stuffed them in his mouth.
"Can I help you?" A voice came "I guess you didn't notice the security, did you?" Bakura turned around, with stuffed mouth, he looked at a woman. She was near her thirties, had long black hair and the light from the fridge lit her blue eyes. Bakura remembered her, it was the woman who came to visit Marik today, what was she? Uhm.. his sister. "Did Marik kick you out already? Guess you were a one-nighter after all," she sighed. This made Bakura a bit confused but he shook his head, trying to swallow down the food that was still in his mouth. "Do you want me to call Marik?" she asked, annoyed that he was in her house. The teen shook his head. "then do you want me to call the police?" again, this time the teen shook his head, even harder. "Marik it is then," she shrugged and walked to the living room. "feel free to eat." She said to him before she left out of sight. Bakura could see her through the window, She held the phone to her ear and then looked through the window, at Bakura.
Bakura loved it how he got out of trouble so easily, she could've called the police, he broke into her house after all, but she didn't; instead she called the man whom he only met yesterday. Why would he give a fuck about him? People were so blind for cute and defenceless things, he loved it how it worked that way. He loved how easily the people were to get their mind manipulated, just by the cute and defenceless, maybe it confused them. He loved it, then when that happened, he was in control. He wasn't cute and defenceless, oh hell no, but even after eighteen years it still worked. Bakura despised cute, it was like a puppy. Once a puppy comes in, the not-so-cute-anymore older dog will be pushed to the background. He smiled to himself, he would get away with this easily again, it was cause people felt pity for him, at least they usually do. He didn't want them to feel pity for him, it makes him annoyed, but in cases like this it only works to his advantage.
Isis listened to the dial tone, Marik wasn't picking up his phone, it wasn't a working evening so he usually was home. She still wondered why Marik helped the boy in the shopping mall, and why he was there this morning.. and now he was in her house, did Marik send him? Maybe he was using the teen just to bug her. She didn't know why she was calling Marik now, she should've just called the police.
Marik stumbled half asleep towards the phone, he had fallen asleep again, worried about the teen and the storm coming up. "Ishtar," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. He heard Isis rambling and explaining that she found the teen in her fridge about five minutes ago. He'd only catch half of it but enough to know he had to come and pick up Bakura from her house, and she wasn't pleased with these kind of events. He hung up the phone and then grabbed his shirt and coat and then went to visit his sister.
Bakura had sat down on a stool in the kitchen, and didn't move after, he just watched Isis pace up and down the living room, the phone still in her hands. Bakura chuckled, so she did actually call him. Isis walked into the kitchen, and then sat down next to Bakura. "Next time I find you here, I'm calling the police." She said angry. "If you're alone, you should stay with Marik, he's alone too." The tone in her voice had changed, Bakura rolled his eyes. He didn't want to stay with anyone, he just wanted some food. "He didn't send you here did he?" she asked him. Bakura shook his head. "Why would he?" he asked interested and looked at the older woman. "Oh never mind," she said, realising it might have just been her paranoia state of mind. She wanted the teen out as fast as possible.
"He should be here soon." She said and stood up again. Bakura could tell she was nervous cause of his presence, it made him feel good. He watched every move she made, getting strands of hair from her face, licking her lips, blinking every second. "I'm sorry for breaking in to your house," he said, just to see her reaction, he wasn't sorry at all, but he doubted she was ever able to tell. She looked at him, her big blue eyes focusing, she was thinking and then she frowned. Bakura made it happen again, she fell for the cute and defenceless. He smiled and then frowned himself. "I just.. was just hungry." He said in a sad voice, but from the inside he was laughing at her, laughing at her stupidness.
It took a while before Marik arrived at Isis' house, Bakura and Isis had sat down together in the living room, talking about how Bakura met Marik met and what kind of person he was. Bakura found it all interesting, it made it easier for him to manipulate the man. Isis seemed real proud of her brother, he meant a lot to her but she would like it that he'd open up more to mankind, after what happened about 8 months ago in Egypt, he just hadn't been the same, he had barely laughed or smiled. Bakura thought that it was normal not to be open, Isis was too open to his opinion, she talked so easily about everything. She hadn't mention what exactly happened in Egypt and Bakura couldn't tell from what she did tell, but he will find out soon enough. He was smart like that.
The door bell rang, Isis got up and walked to the front door, opening the door. Unlike Isis, Marik didn't have a key to her house. "So, what do you want me to do?" Marik asked his sister, peeking over her shoulder towards the teen sitting on the sofa. Isis held up her hand and closed the door between the hallway and the living room. Bakura huffed, if they were going to discuss him, he'd rather hear it straight away.
"I don't know Marik, I think he's homeless." Isis said, "He wouldn't say anything about it when I talked to him, but maybe you can get something from him, you saved him after all." Marik let out a deep sigh, he wasn't in the mood for this. "and then what?" he asked, a bit annoyed his sister called him over for this. "Bring him to some agency, take him in, I don't know, you could use some company." Marik sighed again and looked his sister straight in the eyes. "We've talked about it this morning," he looked at the door. "He doesn't look underage to me, so if he's older than eighteen.."
"he is" his sister cut him in, "he's turned eighteen a few months ago."
"then agencies can't help him Isis, he's an adult now, he's on his own." Marik said and then growled "I'll see what I can do, but I'm not going to babysit him!" Marik actually did want to take him home, being around him and take care of him, but he didn't want to scare the teen away, he had the feeling he wasn't going to let him in easily. "What if he's a runaway?" he then asked his sister. His sister blinked at him, "he doesn't seem like it, and he said his parents died when he was eleven. Just go talk to him!" she said and then turned and opened the door.
Bakura looked at the two Egyptians, Marik seemed annoyed and his sister worried. He wondered what their conversation was about, probably more pity for the teen. Marik examined the teen, the clothes he was given this morning were dirty, black smudges covered his face and hands. "Hey Bakura," Marik said smiling, wondering if it was even his real name. Bakura smiled and nodded at him. He was tired, after all the walking today.
"Let's go to my place then" Bakura nodded, and stood up. Isis just smiled at him, why were they all so friendly? Marik walked to the door and Bakura followed him. "See ya around sis." Marik said and waved at her quickly, she just nodded smiling and the boys took off.
the walk remained silent, till they came close to Marik's apartment. "Why are you letting me in." Bakura said, wondering. "Cause I've lived on the streets myself." Marik said, he smiled at Bakura. "Who says I'm living on the streets." Bakura snapped at him. Marik kept smiling, "your behaviour does, ending up in my sister house too, it's a miracle she didn't scream murder." The expression on Marik's face changed, he was thinking of something now. "Do you think you can trust me?" Bakura asked him, Marik looked up. "tell me, can I?" he mocked him. Bakura smiled to himself, "No." He answered directly. "Then I know what to prepare for." Marik was smiling again, it sort of annoyed Bakura, Isis had told him Marik barely smiled or laughed, but it was all Bakura was seeing right now. It was a gently smile, but hurt hid behind it.
As soon as they arrived at Marik's apartment, Marik started flicking on all the lights, it gave a warm feeling. He went to get new clothes for Bakura again, and Bakura had another shower. As soon as they were both done they sat on the couch. "I'm sorry my t.v. doesn't work yet, we've got some troubles with the people who are supposed to provide it, they're coming around in a few days." Marik said, and then stood up, "you're hungry?"
Bakura wasn't that hungry anymore, but he'd like to have some food, so he nodded. Marik walked into the kitchen, preparing some food. "You want something to drink?" Bakura nodded again. Marik took two cans of coke out of the fridge and threw one at the teen, who caught it swiftly. "Thanks." He said, and opened the can.
Five minutes later Marik had made some sandwiches, he gave them to Bakura after taking one off, "I'll be right back," he said and then grabbed his pack of cigarettes and walked over to the balcony, once there he lit one up. Bakura looked at him for a few seconds, the setting sun was touching his face gently, then he focused on the sandwiches, now he had taste the food he realised he was still hungry. After a few bites he looked up at Marik again, the setting sun still touching his bronze skin, his blonde hair.. it created some weird glow around the man. The sky hard cleared up. Marik turned his head and the deep violet clashed with his own dark chocolate brown eyes again, freezing him into place. Marik looked surprised, his eyes a little more open than usual, slowly blowing the smoke out he inhaled earlier.
Bakura cut of the stare he was giving Marik by looking the other way. He looked at the walls, at the markings that covered them, but he couldn't help himself to look at the corner of his eye to see if he man was still looking at him.
Marik had turned his face away and was leaning on the railing of the balcony, staring in the distance. Bakura stood up and walked to the balcony, he found it awkward sitting alone in the living room of a strange house, it didn't feel the same as when he sat alone in the kitchen of the house he broke in to. Once he had opened the door his eyes fell on the view, from where they stood they could see the harbour and ocean perfectly, it was a pretty view. Bakura also leaned against the railing of the balcony, the wind softly caressing his face. It was cold outside, but the little bit of sun that was left felt warm. The ocean gave little sparkles, reflecting the sun.
"Pretty isn't it ?" Marik started, Bakura looked at him, he could tell Marik was tired and now he thought of it he was still tired himself. "Yes it is," Bakura answered him quietly, followed by a yawn. Marik laughed, "If you want to go to sleep, you can have the spare room. I don't mind you staying here, if you want to leave in the morning feel free too, you can always come back for some food or a nice bed." Bakura took a few seconds to note down the words just said. It would mean he could just live freely like he wanted to, but sleep in a warm bed and have warm dinner in the evening, maybe even a little company. The Egyptian didn't seem so bad, it was like Marik's sister had told him, he was hurt himself.
Marik yawned too, he threw the cigarette over the railing and then turned, "I'm off to bed," he stated. Bakura nodded and moved out of the way "I'm going to stay here a bit more." He said, staring at the ocean. It was calming and it reminded him of things, both pleasant and unpleasant things. Marik smiled at him. "If you need anything you can just wake me up." He said before he went inside, "oh and lock the door when you get inside" Bakura nodded once more and then turned to see the ocean again.
Marik had disappeared inside, Bakura could hear some doors open en close and then it was all quiet. The white head sat down on the chair that stood there, he sat there for half an hour, just staring at the ocean and thinking of things, till he caught him almost falling asleep. He decided it was time to go to bed himself. He got up and locked the balcony door behind him. he went through the room flicking off the lights. It felt so natural, like he's been doing it many times before, then he moved to the spare room, softly closing the door behind him. Bakura undressed himself until only his boxers were left, and then stepped into the bed. Once his head hit the pillow he felt the pulls of sleep immediately, he made himself comfortable and pulled the covers up high, he then closed his eyes and drifted off.
Once Marik opened his eyes and got out of bed, he found a note on the table saying 'I'm out, stole some food, hope you don't mind. Will be back at dinner.' Marik smirked to himself, seems like the teen was staying after all.
But once dinner time came, the teen wasn't there... Marik had looked out of his window for hours, and when nightfall came, and the teen still wasn't home he decided to go to bed..
The next day, the teen didn't show up. Marik had been worried and frustrated all day, pacing up and down his room, going to bed with a splitting headache. he was woken up by his alarm clock, it was time to head for work. He had a quick shower, got dressed and fixed his hair, put a note on the door and then rushed out of his apartment. Crossing the rose bush and the busy alleyways, he got to work just in time, he was a bit out of breath cause he ran all the way, but it only took him a minute to recover. He walked past the bald guy sitting in the hallway behind his newspaper, greeted him and then walked up to the bar, where he found Jounouchi.
"Hey Jou," he said, smiling. Jounouchi looked up and nodded at him. "Hey there," he said shortly, and then focused at his work again. Jounouchi was a bit mad Marik never called him after he found the teen in the alleyway, it had been a big letdown. Marik looked at the teen for a few seconds, till he lifted his head and looked back at Marik, "the glasses need a dry." He stated. It had never been Marik's intention to hurt Jounouchi, but ever since he had seen the white head teen in the alleyway his mind couldn't let it go. "I'm sorry about the other day Jou," Marik tried, but Jounouchi didn't bite. Marik thought about it for a bit and then said; "Want to try it over some other day?" He watched Jounouchi putting down everything he held and then he turned to face Marik. "Not really," the boy walked around the bar, "I'm going to clean the toilets." He said, but Marik could tell he was about the break down in tears. Yes, this was what Marik was afraid of, giving him false hope. Marik sighed and caught up with the work Jounouchi was doing earlier. He knew the toilets were already cleaned, it was the last thing they did when they finished a shift. He would give it a rest and see what Jounouchi will do, maybe his mood would cheer up later on the evening.
It was a quiet evening, Jounouchi and Marik had a few drinks themselves and Jounouchi finally seemed to cheer up. At the end of their shift their boss had left Jounouchi to close up, as he had one of the keys to the building. Jounouchi and Marik sat down on some chairs next to a table with a drink. they had agreed with their boss to pay a small amount of money to cover the costs of the shots they had every shift.
First, there was an awkward silence, then Jounouchi bit his lip and asked "Who is that guy anyway?" Marik hadn't said a word about him, but Jounouchi could tell his mind was somewhere else. "Just a teen living on the street." Marik answered, he didn't want to talk about it with Jounouchi. "You like him?" Jounouchi asked carefully. Marik couldn't answer this, it's true the teen has been on his mind since his eyes fell on him, but he wasn't sure he liked him, also the thought of Bakura might not be in to men kind of pushed the feeling deeper into the ground. "I don't know.." he answered, he wasn't lying or making up some excuse to avoid talking about it; he really didn't know. Jounouchi shrugged and leaned back on his chair. "You're not in to me then?" he huffed, a little childish. Marik chuckled, he knew Jounouchi was just having drunk talk, and was going to regret this when he sobered up. Jounouchi watched Marik carefully, he was serious about this. Marik had to think about his answer, if he said no directly, it would mean the end of all the fun he was having with Jounouchi, it was only a month since he met the guy but he knew he had drawn his attention very easily. Working three times a week with him didn't make it easier either. Saying yes it would mean giving Jounouchi false hope, and being stuck with him. "I'm not looking for anyone right now," Marik said, giving it another thought and deciding it would be the best answer. Jounouchi seemed disappointed, he swallowed the last bit of his drink down and then placed the glass back on the table. "Alright then," he said and stood up, "well time to head home." He gestured towards the clock that read 5 A.M. Marik nodded and got up himself, grabbing his coat, pulling it on. "I'll see you soon then," Jounouchi gave him a faint smile and then walked towards the door, waiting for Marik to step out and then locking it. "Bye," he said and took off.
It was raining again. Marik pulled up his coat higher and cursed. The wind was chill, and the glow at the horizon told him the sun would be rising soon again. Marik thought of Bakura, wondering where he would be, he walked home in a slow pace, he didn't feel like rushing or sleeping yet, though he was tired. The streets were quiet as they were almost empty.
Once Marik arrived at the building, he took the stairs up, dragging his feet up with every step. He did feel the exhaustion slapping him in the face, but once he got to the highest floor, he was caught by surprise. Against his doorpost he found the white head teen sleeping, blowing up a strand of hair with every breath he took. Arms wrapped around himself, he seemed cold. Marik got to his knees and shook the boy gently at his shoulder. "Bakura?" the boy moaned softly, he didn't wanted to be woken from his slumber. Marik tried again, shaking the boy a little harder. "Bakura?" the boy woke up shocked and caused Marik to lose his balance, falling right into the teens lap. Marik groaned and the teen was confused.
Bakura blinked a few times and watched when the man got up and fell on his rear end, he said something in Arabic and it sounded like a curse; it didn't sound polite. "Let's get inside," while getting up, Bakura tried to stand up too, his legs still unstable caused him to stumble forwards. He grabbed unto Marik's shoulder to regain balance. Both stared each other in the eye for seconds before Bakura cleared his throat and stood up straight. Marik tried to open the door, but after three failed attempts Bakura took over and opened the door in one swift move from his hand.
Both walked into the hallway of the dark apartment. Marik flicked on a light and then embraced the teen in a hug. "You had me worried." He whispered. Panic shot through Bakura's body, he wanted to hit the man, scream at him, how dare he fucking touch him! but Bakura controlled himself, instead he pushed away the man gently, he had his good intentions and he was too drunk to probably even remember in the morning. "Thanks," he said carefully and watched Marik's gentle face give him a smile. "I'm going to bed," he said, and then turned to the left to open the bedroom door. He gave one quick glance towards the Egyptian standing behind him, "goodnight," and then he closed the door. He didn't feel like explaining where he had been, maybe in the morning, when he was more awake.
Bakura laid down on the bed, realising he still had his clothes on, but he couldn't be bothered to take them off now. He thought off the man, he just heard the door of the other bedroom open and close. He felt safe in this bed, but he didn't allowed himself to trust the man, it was too soon, too soon after all the people who had let him down. His mind wandered to all kinds of things, he thought of his sister, he wanted to ask her what she'd do..
After two hours, Bakura still didn't sleep, he had slept enough when he was sleeping outside the front door. He couldn't stop going through things over and over. The man made him feel so secure, he was gentle and kind for letting him in, whenever he wanted. He was even worried about him! or was that just some lie? Bakura's mind got him thinking again, what if it was a lie? What if he found out too late? No, the man was too kind, too stupid to lie like that. He did care, for some unknown reason and he made Bakura feel good, why? Why did he feel good actually? Was he someone that actually cared for him? how could Bakura tell, he only met him five days ago.
Bakura turned to his side, watching the soft glow of the sun that came from behind the curtains, then he remembered the view on the balcony and got out of bed, opening the door to the hallway, softly walking on the front of his feet. He went through the living room towards the balcony, he opened the door and felt a cold breeze touch his face, the sky was clear and the sun was shining, once he stepped out of the doorpost he could feel the sun on his face, it was warm and gentle. He sat on the chair and stared over the ocean, enjoying the sun. Marik didn't seem awake yet, probably sleeping out his hangover. Bakura decided he would stay around today to get to know the man better, before he finds out things too late. He didn't like to be lied to, or left alone in the end. There had been too many people who had done that. He pulled his knees up to his chin and just gazed into the distance.
He must have sat there for hours, thinking his life through, how it was time to settle down, to stop living on the streets, and maybe finally, finally trust someone, finding a girlfriend.. he longed for a stable life, a life no one had ever given him. He felt his eyes water up, but the feeling soon disappeared as he heard noises inside the house, he guessed Marik had woken up, and not soon after Marik joined him on the balcony for a cigarette.
"Good morning," he mumbled, stretching every muscle in his body, his arms reaching to the sky. Bakura smiled, "good morning," he said. Bakura had noted down the Egyptian only wore his jeans and he could see the tattoos on Marik's back, no these weren't tattoos, these were scars. The scars held the same markings as the walls inside Marik's apartment, Bakura didn't realise he was staring at them, at every line on Marik's back till the Egyptian had turned and looked at him, "are you alright?" he had asked wondering. Bakura snapped out of it, he didn't quite know what to say; "I was ..uhm..looking at your back," suddenly he felt shy, for staring at the man's back, it gave him weird feelings he couldn't place. Marik smiled and sat down on the small table, which looked that it was about to break due the weight placed on it. "I got them when I was ten years old," Marik started, "some family tradition for any male born, like a bar mitswa or some christening" Bakura heard about the christening before, but he didn't know what a bar mitswa was, so he just nodded like he understood. It must have hurt he thought, all the blood... Bakura shook his head trying to block the thoughts out, they popped up every now and then, terrifying cruel thoughts. The man watched him carefully, Bakura lifted his head up and just smiled at him, a forced smile, hoping he wouldn't ask him why he shook his head. Marik remained silent, his eyes were set on the ocean again, staring in the distance, deep in thought.
Marik's body felt like he was burning, he was fighting back tears. Bakura reminded him of Mahado so bad, but he couldn't think of why, Bakura had deep brown eyes, long white hair, Mahado had deep blue eyes, long brown hair. Maybe it was the way he looked at him? his smile? The way he always defended himself.. his age? Was this why he was attracted to and cared for the boy so much? Marik didn't know, it confused him, it was like the hole in his heart had reopened and was craving for what it had lost. He felt the tears run down his face, he couldn't stop them, so he turned his face away and hoped Bakura didn't notice, but it was too late. The teen stood next to him, looking at him frowning, "Marik, what's wrong?" he asked the Egyptian who tried so hard to hide it. "Nothing, sun in my eyes," Marik had used the 'there's something in my eye'-excuse before he noticed. Bakura didn't bought it and huffed. "Seriously, what's wrong?" he tried again, a bit annoyed. Marik wanted to tell him, wanted to tell him everything, he wanted to hug him the most, but didn't budge. "Why'd you like to know, do you care?" it seemed to make the teen even more annoyed, "Yes," he growled, "are you serious?" Marik tried to avoid the conversation. "My fist is serious and can make your face look real ridiculous!" the teen snapped at him, and then startled from what he said. Marik looked surprised at him, blinked a few times, and then started laughing, ruffling the teen's white hair. "You're cute," he then said, still smiling and he forgot what he felt so depressed about a minute ago. It made Bakura even more annoyed, but he didn't want Marik to feel bad, so he just smiled at him instead.
After both boys had breakfast, Marik had a phone call from the TV provider's company that they were able to send someone around this afternoon, Marik who was all too happy to finally be able to get TV, made an appointment and decided to stay home today. Bakura had made a game from decoding the hieroglyphs on Marik's wall, trying to guess what every symbol meant, but it was still hard to figure out. He had found out that the lion meant 'L' but that was about it.
Marik was reading the newspapers on the sofa, after 30 minutes Bakura had grown bored of his game and sat down next to Marik. "You're not going out today?" Marik asked him, looking at him over his newspaper with small reading glasses, he had expected for the teen to be gone before he woke up again, and was surprised to find him on his balcony this morning. The white head shook no, "not today," he glared at the back of the newspaper and saw the weather, "it's going to rain today," he added, he hoped he guessed right by the pictures, the newspaper wasn't in Japanese but English. Marik turned over the page and looked at the weather section, it indeed was going to rain today. "Well I don't have much around here, so you'd have to find a way to entertain yourself." The teen shrugged, he was used to sit down and do nothing, usually without anyone around, so he didn't mind. "That's okay."
Not much later two men arrived to fix the T.V. It was going to take them a few hours cause of the network not reaching to Marik's apartment for some odd reasons, didn't the previous owners also have T.V.? So Marik and Bakura sat on the balcony in the little sun that was left. Dark rain clouds gathered above the ocean and it started to get windy.
Marik hated the cold, but he wanted to stay outside and talk to Bakura without two men eavesdropping them. "What were you so upset about this morning?" Bakura asked Marik, eyeing into his direction. Marik didn't turn his head but kept watching the dark clouds. "Nothing," he said in a cold tone of voice, he didn't want to talk about it. "If you tell me, I'll tell you something about me," Bakura tried, knowing the man was interested, and he hit the jackpot. Marik's head turned and faced Bakura, his eyes set serious. "for real?" he asked, just to reinsure himself Bakura wasn't lying, Bakura nodded as response. "You remind me of someone," Marik said shortly, like that was all he was going to give the teen to know. "remind you of who? Your brother?" Bakura asked, Marik had him curious. "No, I don't have a brother." Marik shouldn't have said that. "then who?" Bakura pushed a bit. Marik's breathing got heavier and he felt his heart pounding in his chest, he didn't want to open up to the teen like this yet, afraid he would leave and never return. "Then who?" Bakura tried again as if Marik never heard the question. "My ex lover." Marik said as if he was ending a topic, it hurt him to say Mahado was his ex lover, and not his lover. Bakura's eyes widened a bit, "you mean.. a guy?" Damn, why was he asking so much? Marik nodded. "You mean you're gay?" the teen asked, taken by surprise, again Marik nodded and then cleared his throat. "Yes, I'm gay." He stated.
Bakura tried to pretend it didn't bother him, but it did. "So now I've told you, it's your turn," Marik said, he was smiling at the reaction the teen gave him. Bakura was just staring at Marik's face, everything around him had frozen. How could this kind man be gay? Weren't gay people just weird people? Marik was way too normal for this.
"Bakura?"
The teen snapped out of his spacing, blinking and looking at the Egyptian again. "It's your turn," Marik repeated himself, still smiling but a bit worried. "Oh right," Bakura shifted on his chair and sat right up. "Uhm, what do you want to know?" he asked, biting his lip and hoping Marik wouldn't ask about something that would bring up bad memories and would give him nightmares again. "What happened to your parents?" Marik asked in a serious, interested tone of voice. "They're dead," Bakura said cold, he didn't miss them at all, "They died in a car accident when I was eleven, someone had apparently cut the break wires of their car, didn't surprise me as they had a lot of enemies, " The teen told this all like he didn't care at all, instead he was just angry at them. "My mother had always been nice to me and my sister, but my father was an ass." With that he ended his story. Marik frowned, "I'm sorry."
"What about your family?" Bakura asked him and saw the expression on Marik's face change. Marik let out a deep sigh, "You're going to pay one of your stories for that," he said, teasing Bakura and Bakura agreed to him. "My dad disowned me when he walked into me, with some guy." Bakura couldn't help himself but laugh. "hey, that's not funny!" Marik growled at him. "he did what?" Bakura chuckled. "He walked in to my room, after he heard screaming, I was there, with some guy, both naked." Marik said slowly, almost spelling it out. Bakura laughed again, he did find this funny, but Marik only seemed to get irritated, but he softened as he saw Bakura laughing, till his eyes filled up with tears, "I-I'm sorry," he stuttered, with a chuckle between them. "That's okay, I guess it's kind of embarrassing when you're dad walks in.." Marik sighed, now smiling himself. Bakura nodded and swiftly wiped away a tear from his face with his hand. "well it is," Bakura smiled at Marik, his face a bit flushed from laughing. "Why did he disown you?" Bakura was serious again, "It's illegal to be gay in Egypt, so I pretty much dishonoured his family, it'd be a crime if people came asking and they had to lie for me." Bakura had noticed how Marik said it was 'his' family, his dad's family, not Marik's, it probably worked entirely different in Egypt.
There was a knock on the window, the men who had come around for the TV, had finally finished their job. Marik stood up, "just a minute," Bakura gave him a nod and watched Marik walking inside, then followed inside himself, it was pretty cold outside. Marik had paid the two and then sat down on the sofa, "finally, after one and a half month it finally works!" Marik was glad his TV finally worked, it would avoid awkward silences between Bakura and him. Bakura sat down on the sofa next to him, glad Marik was distracted by the TV, so he wouldn't ask any more questions, but after Marik flicked through a few channels he turned his head, Bakura bit his lip and pretended he was watching the TV. "So," Marik started, "You want some dinner?" Bakura let out a sigh of relief "Yes please."
Marik had gone to the kitchen to prepare some dinner for them both. Bakura was actually glad he stayed at the apartment today, getting to know the man better. He wasn't that bad, the strange feeling of safety hadn't disappeared all day.
When dinner was ready, they sat at the small dining table. "So," Marik started again, "It was your turn wasn't it?" Bakura almost chocked on his food and tried his best to swallow it down. "Yea," he coughed. "You said you had a sister? Where's she now?" Marik wondered, afraid she'd be living on the street too. Bakura felt like a rock fell on his stomach, he didn't want to talk about this, but then again; Marik also answered questions he didn't want to answer. The teen stared at the man's face for a while, and then faced down to his food. "She's dead," he muttered, poking his food with his fork again, he had lost his appetite at once. Marik frowned, he felt bad for asking the question now. He wanted to know what happened to her but before he could ask Bakura started talking, "She got killed, three years and 2 days ago," tears gathered in the teen's eyes. "She was everything I had left.." Bakura shoved his plate to the middle of the table. "I'm sorry," he said while he pushed his chair back and stood up. "I'm not hungry anymore.." he then walked to his room, and closed the door behind him.
Leaving Marik alone at the table..
A/N: Chapter 3 is on it's way :) rate and review?:D