Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh is owned by Konami and Kazuki Takahashi. Please support the official release.

To clarify a reference stated below: Kip was a character in the movie "The English patient" released in 1996.

Note: In this story Marik is the smaller one. Just in case anyone wondered.

Living together in crime

Chapter III: Partners in crime


"Bakura, can't we go steal at the Pharaohs home? I don't like it here! It's friggin cold! Also I wonder what kind of people can possibly have such an empty refrigerator. It looks like I've been starring into Björks living room! It's cold and..."

"Oh for the love of god, would you be silent...! It's not very advantageous to shout in the middle of a raid...!"

"But I am cold, Bakura! Don't you care?"

Bakura cared. "Here" He gave Marik his coat and closed the open refrigerator. "Our refrigerator will soon be empty too, if you don't do what I tell you to do...!" Bakura was whispering. He was cold too, especially now that he gave away his jacket. But he cared more about Marik than he cared about himself.

After he put on Bakuras coat Marik opened his mouth wide open again. "But I am a villain; I give the orde... - Umpf!" He couldn't speak further, because Bakura placed his hand over Mariks lips and stared angrily at him.

"Please be quiet, Marik...! This is the only thing I want you to do...! Be...! Quiet...!"

The first days after their arrival at their new home had been surprisingly pleasant thanks to Marik who had been busy arranging and decorating their home. In fact Bakura found himself happy observing the hard-working, sweating Marik. Marik was joyful, barely dressed and made their small apartment a comfy place to be, which proofed that he was serious about living together with Bakura. And afterwards he was exhausted and dropped asleep next to Bakura every time when the prime time started. It was tempting but Bakura resisted his urge to come closer to Marik. He felt that it wasn't right to take advantage. So he watched movie after movie with the snoring Marik at his side, smiling when the smaller one babbled in his dreams until he fell asleep too.

But then Bakura came up with the issue of money and they got into a discussion. Marik didn't want to work because it would ruin his daily routine of beauty sleeps and muscle training. Bakura suggested a robbery and so they broke into a wealthy looking house nearby.

And here they were. Arguing again.

"You may whisper, Marik, but please don't be so loud anymore. You get it?" Bakura tried to sound friendly but apparently Marik did not care. He jumped out of Bakuras grab and laughed at him.

"Why should I? I don't care if those richy-bitchy idiots wake up! I will tickle them with my rod so that they'll beg for me to stop! Those richy-bitchy-itchy-flitchy... ~ "

"Marik...!" Bakura grabbed the young Egyptian and concealed his mouth again. He was holding him tighter now. And closer. "Why won't you understand...! You cannot do those things any more. We have now an apartment, fully registered on our names...! Things have changed. We have to be careful...!" It was kind of an intimate situation. Mariks eyes softened and he loosened up. Bakura began to feel uneasy. Marik placed both his hands on Bakuras hand which was on his mouth.

Then he just bit in Bakuras hand so that they got separated again. Bakura suppressed the impulse to scream which was pointless because Marik stood aside laughing cheekily at him until the door flung open.

It was a loud noise. - BANG! - Someone was standing in the door frame. Dim light was falling into the room. Luckily the both thieves were in a shadily corner so the man didn't see them. The clicking sound of a shotgun interrupted the silent staring of Bakura and Marik. And without any warning the shooting began.

"Fuck!" screamed Bakura. He pulled Marik and himself under the table, waited patiently until the attackers ammo finished and he had to load his gun.

"Just fucking wait for it, you fuckwits."

Bakura wanted to use the moment to jump out of the window but Marik was clinching on Bakuras leg so he didn't came far and had to hide quickly under the table again as the next salvo launched. "Marik!" Bakura cried. "What are you doing?" He stared into the eyes of the younger one, but there was nothing there. Just plain fear. Marik pressed himself onto Bakuras leg. Like a cat that was about to drown.

"Where are you hiding, fucking fucktards." The steps became louder.

It was a serious situation. Before Samuel Colt had invented guns it was a nice world for villains like Bakura and Marik who could use knives and mind controlled Steve's. But now in the 19th century it had gotten dangerous.

Bakura knew they may got be killed here. Under a kitchen table. Bakura would've been dying while trying to save Mariks life but nonetheless it would be a stupid death. Without heroic pose or reason to die for? Just being shot under a kitchen table by Mister I-use-the-word-"fuck"-way-too-often?

"No!" Bakura responded. He did not need more than three seconds to jump out of his hideaway, disarm the surprised man and dash him on the head with his own gun. He didn't kill him though. He just left him lying there.

"The joker wouldn't have made it better." Bakura remarked with a smirk and laughed loudly.

Then he remembered Marik who was still hiding down there and he lifted the terrified one up. Mariks face was moving again but he didn't say anything. He looked at Bakura and was shivering. "You okay?" Bakura asked, closing the first two buttons of his coat that Marik was wearing. It was one size too big for Marik and too long too but Bakura thought Marik looked cute in it. He grabbed Marik by the hand and they climbed out of the window.

Outside in the open air Bakura took a deep breath. Then he glanced over at Marik who was apparently pouting. "What is it?" Bakura asked with one raised eyebrow.

"You should have let ME punish him! For I am the mostly evil of us!"

"Marik, you..."

"You could've at least asked me first!"

"Marik! It was a serious situation! You do not really think that you could've done anything against him, do you? He would just have shot you and you would have been dead." Bakura sighed.

"No! This is not true!" Marik insisted. He stomped with his foot on the ground and glared at Bakura. "You don't trust in my abilities as villain!" he cried. "You don't trust me!" With that he turned around, went two steps and just turned back to glare again at Bakura. Then he suddenly boosted his pace and was gone. The sight of his own coat was the last Bakura saw from Marik.

"Oh, Bugger..." Recently it was an easy task to hurt Marik feelings if your name was Bakura. But Bakura couldn't explain why. So he just walked after his roomie, sighing and cursing. The good thing was that Marik was never mad for long. Just a few nice words and he would've been cheery as always.

Bakura found Marik sitting at the sidewalk pretending that he didn't notice Bakura. As the white-haired boy sat down next to him Marik started gnarling and looked the other way. "Listen." Bakura said in his harsh voice almost sounding like the wind that blew through his hair, playing with it like a toy. "I do trust you. You know that."

"You don't." Marik responded immediately. "You don't trust me and you don't even like me!" He crossed his arms over his knees and placed his head on them. "You're always mean to me."

"And since when does this bother you?!" Bakura was confused. He had never seen Marik this whiny.

"I...I was always hurt by it." Marik confessed. "But... I didn't want to show it. I don't know, I guess I'm like this because of the whole living-together-thing. I thought it meant something."

Bakuras heart jumped. Without wanting it Bakuras lips moved to a broad smile, exposing his teeth. "Wh-What do you mean?" he asked trying to sound as ordinary as always. But if Marik had taken a look at Bakuras face he would have seen the reddish cheeks and the longing eyes. What did it mean to Marik?

"I thought it meant that we were now partners for a lifetime!" Marik still didn't take a look at Bakura whose head was about to explode judging by the color of his face.

"Wha... What?!" Bakura had to spit the words out. He was too excited to form a sentence. "Marik, what..."

A car rushed by. The howling motor pervaded the night for a moment before it was gone in the next.

Finally Marik turned his head to Bakura. "I want to be with you forever! I want to commit crimes with you together! We're partners in crime!" Bakuras excitement got off as if someone had turned off a switch. Partners ...in crime. He looked at Marik in well-known frustration, his heart sank to the bottom again. "Hahaha!" Marik laughed. "It rhymes!" The wild one stood up, wiggling his hips to his newest song. "I want to be with you forever! ~ I want to commit crimes with you together! ~ Forever! Together! Ba-Ba-Bakura, Ba-Ba-Bakuuraah! Ba-Ba-Bakura, Ba-Ba-Bakuuraah!... ~"

"Wonderful!" Bakura said loudly with hearable acrimony in his voice. "I am very pleased!"

It was still nice of Marik to talk about them as partners for a lifetime. Partners in crime. But for a lifetime though. That brought Bakura a smile on his face, but it was a sad one.

"Well, you don't sound pleased to me!" Marik laughed. At last he was joyful again. And that's all Bakura could hope to achieve tonight.

Tired of the roller coaster of feelings Bakura rode today he stood up and stretched. "Um, Marik..." he said. "We should head home."

Marik stopped his move, starred at Bakura. Then his expression changed. "No! I am still mad at you, you know! I told you about my friggin feelings and you didn't say anything!" He sat down again, scowled at Bakura.

"Ugh." It wasn't over yet. "Bloody Hell, Marik! I like you and you know that! Why do I always have to repeat it?" Bakura stepped closer to him. "I like you and I like living with you! Could we please go home now? I'm starting to freeze." Marik was still pouting. "Marik, I gave you my jacket, although I'm bloody freezing! Doesn't that prove anything?"

"Yeah but when you gave it to me you gave me this look like I was Locke and you were Jack I was talking about the specialalyness of the island and you wouldn't believe me. And then..."

"Marik, I don't know what you are talking about. Also I don't think the word 'specia..la…ly...ness' exists."

"I'm talking about 'Lost'! You know, the show with Kip as Indian terrorist from Iraq!"

"How can he be Indian if he is from... - Whatever! I never watched this show so you totally LOST this reference on me. Wuahaha." Bakura laughed.

Marik frowned. "Why didn't you watch it? It was friggin awesome! Half of the time Sawyer was on display he was shirtless! ...not that I enjoyed it because I like him! I just wanted to laugh at him because of his poor midriff! Hahaha! My midriff is way more..."

"I know." Bakura interrupted. "So we're fine now, again?" His teeth chattered. Slowly but steady the wind began to become bothersome for Bakuras skin. He shivered. "Can we go home? Or at least go home and argue there? I don't my body want to catch a cold!" Bakura wished he had put on a long-sleeved shirt and not his striped one.

"But it's not cold." Marik said.

"Yes, because you have my coat on you!" Bakura shouted. He was about to get angry again.

Marik stood up. "You want it back then?" He started to unbutton the jacket.

"No! I just want to go home! Now!"

"You can have it, if you want it, Florence. Just don't yell at me." Mariks voice sounded broken. He stepped to his partner in crime, handing him over the coat. Bakura looked at the smooth material, thought about how desirable Marik looked in it, smaller and much more fragile. He had never thought about Marik this way. That he could be fragile.

Since they knew each other, they were playfully competing against each other and in most of the cases Marik won, simply because Bakura gave up first due to Mariks annoyance. But Marik never showed any sign that he could be hurt by Bakuras words. He would simply laugh at him and insult him back or would get distracted by some non-relevant detail in their conversation and chatter about it.

But now Bakura could see that Marik had a frail side too. It was the first time he showed it openly to someone beside his siblings. It triggered something inside Bakura. He felt the upcoming urge to embrace Marik.

"I have an idea." Bakura said. He took his coat and placed it over his shoulders. His cheeks became slight pink as he grabbed Mariks arm. He pulled the boy close to him, lifting the coat so that they were both under it. As they started walking Bakura laid his arm on Mariks hip, bringing him closer to Bakura. "I like you." he whispered to Marik. "I like you very much, partner in crime." His face got much redder but he didn't mind. His heart started jumping again, when Marik grabbed his arm and placed his head on his shoulder.

"I like you too, Florence." creaked Marik. "But not as a gay."

"I know, Marik, I know."

They remained silent for a while. Then Marik lifted his head. "You know what, Bakura?"

"What is it?"

"Let's forget the whole stealing idea. You should get yourself a job. Makes things much easier."

"Does that mean we're no longer partners in crime?" Bakura chuckled.

"Oh! ...No, we still are partners in crime. Just much more... honest."

"Whatever you say, my honest partner in crime." Bakura chuckled once again.