Draiku: -cackles- Chapter two! Fear it! Cower before its very might! Writhe in pain as you read it! Tremble in… -continues-
Mew: Stop scaring them away. OO"
Disclaimer: Don't own anything in here but the plot. Whoop-dee-doo.
Puppy
Chapter 2
Jou was first to awake the next morning. Marik had one arm around him gently, breathing softly. The yami snuggled closer to him, holding Jou even more tightly. He let out a sigh of bliss and his eyes opened gently.
"'Morning, Pup," he muttered. Jou couldn't stop himself from smiling ever-so-slightly at Marik's drowsy expression.
"'Mornin'," he replied. Marik smiled and nuzzled him lovingly. Jou hadn't expected this, he thought that Marik would nibble his earlobe and remove his silk-pajama shirt.
"Wanna get some breakfast?" Marik murmured into Jou's ear, kissing him afterwards. Jou nodded, feeling a slight hunger-pain tug at his stomach. Marik sat up, his arms wrapped around Jou's torso, and rocked the boy from side to side slowly with his chin rested on his shoulder.
Jou mentally sighed in content, but he refused to let Marik know that he felt quite comfortable in this position, though this yami had raped him before. But now, it seemed as if he was an entirely different person. A kind one that just wanted to make him be happy and feel loved.
Marik scooped Jou up, bridal style, and carried him to the kitchen. Jou hadn't expected this at all. Marik had never done it before.
The yami sat Jou in a chair and then walked over to the fridge.
"What do you want to eat? We have cereal, pancakes, eggs, bacon, whatever," Marik said.
"Um…how 'bout…bacon?" Jou suggested to himself.
"Alright," Marik replied and took out a package of bacon from a drawer in the fridge. He put a few pieces on the stove and fried them. After the bacon was finished cooking, he put it on a plate and set it in front of Jou, along with two pieces of whole-wheat toast with non-fat butter on them. Marik decided that he didn't feel like washing the pan to make pancakes for himself, or getting out a new one, and chose cereal instead.
He sat across from Jou, pouring some milk into his bowl.
"Where'd y' get th' money for all this?" Jou asked.
"Hm?" Marik asked, looking up at him.
"How'd y' pay for the food?"
"Oh, I got a part-time job at Kaiba Corp. Basically, I help the researchers develop decks that can beat Yugi for Kaiba. The pay's good, the number of life-points that are subtracted from the computer that acts as Yugi's points become my daily pay. So I usually earn a bit over three thousand each day." Jou gaped at him.
"Y-you're so fuckin' rich," he muttered.
"Yeah, I suppose so," Marik said with a shrug.
"Then why haven't we moved or somethin'?" Jou asked.
"It's best to save the money for important stuff. Like…college, for instance," he said.
"Y' don't even need t' go t' college. Y' get enough already," Jou said suspiciously.
"Yeah, but you do," Marik said with a grin. "Plus, I was thinking that after a bit we could get a new television set or something, one that's actually in color."
"That'd be cool. With cable, too?" Jou asked.
"Why not? We could definitely afford it." They sat a while in silence.
"How'd y' get back here?" Jou suddenly asked.
"Huh?" Marik said, raising one eyebrow.
"Well, you died, right?"
"Yeah."
"So how'd y' start livin' again?"
"Well…I went straight to Hell, actually. No stops in between, not even a pit-stop. Anyway, Satan, or Lucifer, whatever, told me that I shouldn't have died yet. He actually sent me up here and gave me about ten extra years of life. I was gonna die at the age of thirty-something, but now I'll live till I'm forty-something. Pretty nice guy, actually. Once you get to know him. I was in Hell for about a month or so, and it actually wasn't so bad," Marik said with another shrug.
"Seriously?" Jou said. Marik nodded. "And you're not worried that you're gonna die when you're forty-somethin'?"
"No, not at all. Hell's actually pretty nice. Everyone has their own opinion and even though we disagree, we get along. Better than Earth, actually," he said with a smile.
"Interestin'," Jou muttered.
"Ah! Tomorrow you have school!" Marik exclaimed. "We need to get your stuff organized." Jou blinked, slightly surprised at Marik's concern for him.
"Um, alright," he replied. The doorbell rang, quite suddenly.
"I'll get it," Marik said, standing. He walked to the entryway, only to be greeted by a certain spiky, tri-colored haired boy, a girl with brown hair, another boy with a shark-fin cut, and an albino boy that looked totally innocent.
"Heya, Jou! Long time no see! Why haven't you…Marik!" Yugi exclaimed. Marik snarled.
"What are you doing here!" he growled.
"We're Jonouchi's friends! Why shouldn't we be here!" Anzu replied angrily, yet fearfully at the same time. Honda looked ready to fight, and Ryou was clutching his Millennium Ring worriedly.
"Oh, yeah," Marik said, his once surprised and angry expression changing into that of a dull one. "I vaguely remember you guys."
"Where's Jou! What have you done with him!" Honda demanded.
"'Ey, Marik? What's goin' on out there?" yelled a voice from inside that belonged to Jou.
"Yugi, Ryou, Honda, and Anzu are here to see you," Marik replied lazily. The four in front of him stared at Marik in disbelief. "Come in," he said, stepping aside. They walked in cautiously, almost expecting the walls, floor, and ceiling to be splattered with blood. Surprisingly, it wasn't.
"What…the…Hell?" Everyone turned to look at Ryou when he said this. The boy had never said a nasty word in his life. But they understood. "What the Hell?" was the correct statement in this situation. Jou hurried out of the kitchen, greeting them happily.
"Hey, guys!" he said, grinning. "How've you been? Sorry I couldn't call or talk t' ya, the phone's been down," he lied, but it was believable to his friends. Yugi blinked, confused out of his mind. He had expected Jou to be covered in bruises and other injuries, looking depressed and possibly bed-ridden.
"Jou, could we talk, without him around?" Yugi whispered, using his eyes to gesture to Marik.
"Huh? Uh, sure, Yuge. 'Ey, Marik? Would you mind if I talked t' my friends in private?" he asked.
"Not at all. I'll clean up the dishes and such from breakfast," Marik replied, smiling at Jou.
"Thanks," Jou said. He and his friends went to his bedroom, shutting the door. "So, what's up?" he asked.
"Why's he here?" Honda asked seriously. Jou blinked.
"I shoulda known that you'd ask that," he said softly. "We're buds now." The four in front of him gasped.
"What! But I thought that…you wanted him dead, Jonouchi!" Anzu whined.
"I know!" Jou snapped. "When we first met him, he was insane. I dun think that he was always insane, and maybe jus' had a mental breakdown or whatever. And, he's like, really, really health-wise. Seriously, if y' look in the cupboards here there are no chips at all. Not even a piece of chocolate. Y' see what I mean?" They simply stared at him.
"Jou," Yugi murmured, "did he ever hurt you in some way?" He had obviously noticed the confusion and angst in his friend's eyes. Jou gasped.
"Wh-wha? No, o' course not! Marik an' I are friends!" he said quickly, his voice quivering.
"Jou, are you sure? You don't seem very sure of yourself," Ryou said softly. Jou nodded.
"I'm sure," he replied, forcing a smile. Yugi smiled slightly.
"Well, in that case, your friends are my friends, Jou," he said.
"Thanks, Yuge," he said, smiling.
They chatted for the rest of the time, mostly dueling and their strategies, with the exception of Honda and Anzu, who weren't duelists. They simply suggested things to their friends, like adding a "Change of Heart" to a deck to use to sacrifice an opponent's monster.
It soon got late and they had to leave, but Yugi and Yami both were still concerned. Jou had acted slightly embarrassed when they spoke of Marik, but why?
"Maybe we should ask Jou in private," Yugi suggested to Yami as he made his way to the Kame Game shop.
"That would be best," Yami replied, nodding in agreement.
Jou and Marik ate their dinner in uncomfortable silence. Jou kept his attention firmly on anything other than Marik, whether that be a spot on the floor or the faucet dripping. Marik raised one eyebrow at him.
"What's troubling you?" he asked.
"N-nothin," Jou replied.
"Jou, you haven't spoken to me since they left, so what's wrong?" Marik pushed. Jou blushed and looked at his lap.
"W-what if they find out?" he asked worriedly.
"About what?" Marik asked.
"A-about… well, us. I-I'm worried about what they'll think of me," Jou admitted, clenching his hands into fists. Marik leaned back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head in a relaxing position.
"Well," he started, "if they were real friends, and they suspected that I was forcing it on you (which I did do, I suppose, but now I'll only do that if you want me to), then they'd do something about it, like call the cops and have me arrested. They'd ignore the entire incident and stay your friend.
"Or, if they think that we're in love (since I have no idea if you love me or not), then they'd accept you for who you are. They'd treat you like they normally do and ignore the fact that you like me.
"But if they weren't true friends, then they'd ignore you, tease you, or maybe even hurt you. So, what do you think they are?" he asked, looking to Jou.
"O' course they're real friends!" Jou said quickly, standing in his seat.
"Then if you want to, you can tell them. If it's too embarrassing, then keep it a secret. Personally, I'd want to keep it a secret, since they'd probably kill me and throw me in a river." Marik took a small sip of his tea. "It's entirely your decision. Now, we should organize your things for tomorrow." Jou nodded, thankful for Marik's advice.
After organizing everything, they went to bed together.
TBC
Draiku: Well, that didn't quite turn out as I had expected. And oh my gods! It ended similarly to the way the last chapter ended, with them goin' to bed together!
Mew: Will Yugi and Yami discover the truth about Jou and Marik! What will they think if they do! And what grade will Jou get on the pop quiz in history! Find out all this and more, all in the next chapter! (Hopefully, that is.)
Yoko: Please R&R! We love it when you share your thoughts with us! –hands out pennies for thoughts-