Woot, hi people! Here we are with chapter nine! And as you may have noticed from the chapter of this title, this is part one! That means chapter ten will be part two! Yay! Heheh, I'm excited for some reason XD
Disclaimer!: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! If I did I certainly wouldn't be writing this!
Knock!
Pang!
Bang! Smash!
The last noise woke Marik from his sleep. He stirred and rubbed his eyes, yawning, then stepped out of his bed and shuffled to the window where the noise was coming from. Last night at the hospital he'd barely been able to sleep at all. The noises and comings and goings of the hospital staff kept him up all night and he was only now able to fully rest back here in his own room and bed. Unfortunately though, it didn't seem like that was going to happen after all. That last noise had sounded a lot like something breaking.
Marik hissed in pain as he stepped on something. He crouched down and felt the carpet in front of him for whatever it was he'd stepped on and cried out as he hurt himself again. He'd cut his finger. Growling to himself, he walked to his wall and turned on the light switch. After his eyes had adjusted to the light he immediately spotted what it was he'd stepped on. An empty glass he'd left on the windowsill had fallen to the ground and shattered.
"Stupid cheap glass," Marik mumbled. Now he would have to clean this mess up and put a band-aid on the scratches he'd gotten. He normally would have not even bothered with the band-aids and just left the mess to clean up in the morning, but his sleep had already been disrupted and he just knew that he wouldn't be able to fall back asleep. He got up to find a brush to help scoop the glass up when he heard another pang against his windowpane.
"Oh what the hell? I'm trying to sleep!" He exclaimed. He moved over to the window again, careful this time to avoid the glass, and opened it. He stuck his head out the window and was not entirely surprised to see Bakura out there. Of course. Who else would be throwing things at his window at –here Marik checked the clock sitting by his bed– 2:48 in the morning but a vampire?
"What do you want?" Marik asked boredly, stifling a yawn.
"Can I come in?" Bakura called up.
"Sure, whatever," Marik waved of, yawning again. Even in the dark he could see the way Bakura's eyes lit up and turned red, then within seconds Bakura had jumped up to his window and was directly in front of him. Marik stumbled backwards, startled, and ended up falling on his butt. Bakura climbed in and grinned at him, then offered him a hand up. Marik reluctantly took it.
"Jeez! You scared the crap out of me, you ass!" Marik reprimanded. Bakura just grinned away.
"Alright, what is it that you want? You know, just because you're not necessarily asleep at this hour doesn't mean that other people aren't," Marik remarked sourly, just a tad bit annoyed about his disrupted sleep.
"Aw, you're not asleep! Come on, I've got something to show you," Bakura said. Marik stared.
"Did you somehow miss the fact that it's almost three in the morning? And you want me to go somewhere with you?" Marik deadpanned. Bakura nodded. Marik stared. Bakura looked at him eagerly. Marik looked at his bed. It called to him, beckoning him to delve back into the covers and snuggle up tightly. He looked at Bakura. The vampire's red eyes danced with excitement and urged him to hurry up and get ready. He sighed.
"Fine. Can I at least get changed? I'm still in my pajama," Marik said gesturing to the baggy pants and black tank top he wore. Bakura shook his head.
"That'll take too long. Come on, let's go!" He said, and before Marik could say anything more Bakura had grabbed him by his arm and yanked him tightly to his side. Marik looked at him questioningly, and in reply Bakura tightly clamped a hand over his mouth and picked him up, then promptly jumped out the window.
As the ground rushed up to meet them fear crashed over Marik like a tidal wave and he tried to yell. The hand over his mouth prevented him from doing just that and then before he knew it they were both on the ground and Bakura had let him go, though they were still standing right next to each other with hardly an inch separating them. Marik hurriedly jumped away, and then glared daggers at the other as he remembered to yell at him.
"What the heck was that? Why would you jump out the window? You could have killed me you idiot!" Marik whispered harshly, remembering to be quiet as the rest of his family was still sleeping.
"You're bleeding you know," Bakura said randomly. Marik opened his mouth, closed it, processed what Bakura had said, then opened his mouth again.
"That's your fault too! A glass fell off my windowsill because you were throwing things. It broke and I cut my finger and foot on it!" He yelled, pausing as a thought struck him. The last time he'd been bleeding around the vampire it hadn't been a very good thing. He inspected Bakura closely, relieved to see that his eyes were still their normal fiery red color and not that dark, almost black crimson they became when bloodlust took a hold of him. Still... "Is that going to be a problem?"
"It shouldn't be," Bakura remarked carefully. "It smells delicious of course, but such a small amount is barely enough to stir my appetite. If for any reason I can't control myself, I'll let you know. Wouldn't want to eat my partner-in-crime, now would I?" Bakura smirked sinisterly and for some reason that caused Marik's cheeks to flush. He looked away, flustered and embarrassed by his strange behavior, at the same time recalling just how close he'd been to Bakura only a moment ago, and how the other had held him when they'd jumped out the window. His blush darkened and he cursed under his breath.
Marik's gaze flickered back to Bakura's he noticed the white haired teen begin to leave. Sighing (as well as wondering what in the world he was forsaking his sleep for), Marik followed Bakura. The two of them walked silently away from the Ishtar household.
The bright glow coming from the streetlights illuminated a mostly empty Domino city. A few cars passed by on the street, but no one was out walking like they were. It was early Sunday morning, so without a doubt most everyone was sleeping. Marik bothered Bakura to tell him where they were going, but the paler teen was deadly silent about that. Apparently it was going to be some kind of surprise. Eventually they turned down a side street and Bakura led him to a small grocery store.
"You do know that it's probably 3:30 by now, don't you? You can't get a drink or a bite to eat if the store is closed," Marik deadpanned.
"Just look in the window," Bakura said mysteriously. Marik rolled his eyes.
"I don't understand what could be so interesting... about..." As Marik peered into the window he saw one of mankind's most beautiful creations, a diamond in a landfill. There it was, one of the most gorgeous metallic monsters he'd ever laid eyes on. Inside the store on a raised platform surrounded by 24-packs of beer was a shiny new red motorcycle.
"See? Now isn't that worth getting out of your bike for? I was getting some hair product for Ryou when I saw it and thought it would be just perfect. I told you that we'd get you another bike," Bakura grinned. Maybe it was the mentioning of the strange task that has brought Bakura to this store, or just the sound of reality crashing down on him, but either way, Marik reluctantly tore himself away from the window and faced his companion.
"The store is locked Bakura, and even if it wasn't, we wouldn't have the key to start it," He said sourly.
"That's where you're wrong. Bakura, the Thief King, doesn't give up. And despite popular belief, I'm not as stupid as some seem to think I am." Bakura grinned away and pulled a silver key out of his pocket. He fit the key into the door and unlocked it, opening the door for Marik to step inside. Marik's jaw actually dropped open and he stared flabbergast at Bakura.
"Wha-? How did you?" Marik sputtered. Bakura grinned and ushered him inside. Then he thrust another key into Marik's open hand.
"That one's the key to the ignition. See, when I was here earlier I asked the manager about that bike there. There's some kind of contest going on, but who cares about any of that? Our manager buddy told me that he got to pick the winner and give them the bike. He had the key to it and everything. Even showed it to me. That was pretty stupid of him because I nabbed it from him the moment he wasn't paying attention. And then I saw that our good friend was also stupid enough to leave the store key lying on top of the register. So of course I took that one too. I figured it would come in handy. So am I good or what?" Bakura asked, still grinning.
"But if we do take it the manager will call the police in the morning and they'll find out it was us one way or another," Marik argued.
"You know, I really thought you would be more excited about this," Bakura commented idly. "Look, the cops will see that there wasn't a break in and they'll assume the manager took it. He's the one with the keys after all. And if they do figure out that he didn't take it, they won't be able to trace it back to us. This store is too small to have a camera installed in it, I looked. We'll be fine. Believe me, I've stolen tons of things and haven't gotten in trouble once."
Marik looked at the red motorcycle again. It was so beautiful. Not as much as his first baby, but it was close, and that made him want it all the more. He could just imagine driving it for the first time and all the fun it would be to tinker around with it and find out more about it. He wanted it to be his more than anything else he could think of at the moment, but he had promised not to steal anymore. And yes, it was beautiful, but there was no way he could ever get away with it, no matter how believable Bakura's word sounded.
"I'm sure you have, but how am I supposed to get it passed Isis? You don't think she would wonder how I got a brand new motorcycle?" Marik insisted.
"Just keep it at my house then until you come up with an explanation for it. And if you can't then it'll have to stay there. Ryou won't be too happy that I've stolen it, but what's he going to do other than complain about it? Give it back?" Bakura chuckled. To this Marik didn't have an argument. He knew that he shouldn't do it, but he wanted it so much... And if it would stay at Bakura's house...
"We good now? No more stalling?" Bakura smirked. He took Marik's silence as a sign of approval. "Good. Because I had better things to be doing at three in the morning too you know." With that said Bakura led him to one side of the motorcycle and he moved to the other. Both started pushing the newly liberated bike out of its small store prison.
The moment Marik put his hands on the cold metal his mind was instantly made up. He would take the bike and he would keep it at Bakura's house forever if he needed to. Because he really, really wanted it, despite his promise to Isis, and because Bakura was doing this solely for him. He had seen the bike and he had known that Marik would want it. He was doing this for him.
They rolled it out of the store and Bakura locked it back up tightly. That done, he watched Marik, who was staring with admiration at his new bike.
"Come on, let's go to my house now. You can drop the motorcycle off there and I'll walk you back to your house and you can get some sleep," Bakura said.
"Well we can't drive it. It's the middle of the night," Marik commented.
"So? Just try to be quiet," Bakura grinned fiendishly. Marik shrugged and decided he didn't care enough to tell Bakura that that sentence had been somewhat oxymoronic, and he hopped aboard the motorcycle, instantly relishing the feel of it beneath him. Bakura got on behind him and Marik put the key in the ignition, turned it on and revved it once before speeding off.
For about the first couple of minutes Marik's mind was only on his motorcycle. Every noise it made registered in his mind, every feel, every motion, all of the dials and numbers on it, the smoothness of the brakes and the acceleration. All the while he was waiting for the moment when he would really be able to take a good look at it and really inspect it. For those first few minutes only the motorcycle was on his mind, and that made it all easy. Then he began to notice other things, like the feel of Bakura's hot breath against his back and Bakura's arm around his wait and the way Bakura's thumb lazily caressed a patch of skin at his side through the fabric of his shirt. And that all made things not so easy.
He realized with some surprise just how hot Bakura's technically dead body could get and wondered how this could be. Every hot puff of air blown against his back sent shivers racing down his spine and his hands clenched ever tighter on the grip of the bike's handles. The arm tightly wrapped around his waist felt particularly nice and the thumb caressing his side sent minute shivers coursing through his body that apparently significantly impaired his ability to drive. Several times he had to remind himself to pay attention to the road and not Bakura's touch. Once it got so bad he veered halfway onto the sidewalk without noticing.
"What's wrong Marik? You seem distracted..." Bakura whispered in his ear. His low voice was gravelly and husky, and only a few centimeters away from his ear. That small gap was closed quickly enough though, and Marik's hand tightened again on his handles as he felt Bakura's soft lips graze against his earlobe, followed soon after by the feel of his hard, pointed teeth.
His heart began beating like crazy and it occurred to him that he could very easily be killed any moment. Those teeth could effortlessly inch away from his ear and move to his bare neck and pierce the skin there. But they didn't. Instead they continued to nibble gently on his ear, much in the same way Malik had done to him. However, when Malik had done it to him it made him feel strange and uncomfortable, but with Bakura it was different. It still felt strange, but in a much better way. He felt fluttery and nervous but he wanted it to continue, wanted Bakura to keep touching him, and now he couldn't help but wonder how it would it would feel to have Bakura's teeth nibbling like that on other parts of his body.
"Marik..." Bakura whispered seductively. He felt a brief wetness on his ear and he fathomed that Bakura had licked it.
"Y-yes?" Marik asked, voice unsteady and raspy. He felt Bakura lean closer to him, felt his hot body almost touch his own. A strand of Bakura's cool silver hair tickled his neck and shoulder.
"You just passed my house," Bakura said.
"Yeah... Wait, what?" Marik demanded, shooting forward and breaking away from the warm body leaning against him. His face burned steadily as he mentally berated himself for acting so spacey and out of it as he turned the bike around and drove it into Bakura's driveway.
He hopped off the bike with a huff, mortified by his behavior, and leaned the motorcycle on its kickstand. Bakura slid off it and opened the garage door and both of them wheeled the motorcycle in silently. At this point Marik wished a hole could just open up beneath his feet and swallow him whole. When he'd chanced a look at his companion he'd noticed him smiling wickedly. Damn sneaky vampire.
"Well, I suppose we should head to your house now Marik. That is, only if you think you can successfully take us there. If you aren't up to the task though you could always stay here. I'm sure Ryou wouldn't mind," Bakura remarked innocently, his red eyes telling a completely different story.
"No thanks, I'm sure I can make it. Actually, I can probably get back to my house without your assistance, so why don't you just stay here and save yourself the return trip?" Marik rebuked, annoyed.
"Silly Marik-chan! Don't you know there are dangerous thugs out there who could harm you? If I don't protect you, you could get hurt and then I would be in trouble too," Bakura grinned. Marik didn't bother to tell him anything else. Instead he just started walking. Bakura followed closely, and the two of the silently headed toward his house.
Marik remained silent the entire time, preferring not to say anything to get Bakura talking about what had transpired between them on the motorcycle. Even the silence was annoying; it allowed him to think about what had happened, and Bakura's telltale smirk was almost just as bad as if he had said anything. And that angered him even more because he couldn't figure it out. Why was Bakura doing this? Did he just enjoy fucking with him? And why was he responding in such a way to Bakura's strange actions?
"I don't like him damn it," Marik muttered quietly to himself.
"You say something, dear Marik?" Bakura asked, eyes gleaming with mirth.
"Nothing at all," Marik answered, and then they were quiet again as Marik silently fumed. He was being made fun of, he just knew it. Bakura was messing with him and enjoying every moment of it, and he was as good as sitting there and taking it. And why? Because for whatever reason, his brain turned to mush when he was around the other teen. It was all Bakura's fault anyways! Him and his damn touches! If he could just keep his hands to himself then Marik wouldn't have to go through all of these troublesome speculations about the nature of his sexuality and whether or not he did like Bakura in a more-than-friendly matter.
Sure, all of the signs pointed to him liking Bakura, but that couldn't be true! He wasn't gay! He liked women damn it, even if his brother and Bakura seemed to believe otherwise! It didn't matter if he noticed that Bakura was incredibly hot and if that devious, stupid, sexy smirk of his did make his stomach do flip-flops. It didn't matter if he enjoyed Bakura's company a lot more than he probably should, given that the other was a vicious bloodsucker and that despite his knowledge of that fact, he still felt comfortable in letting his guard down. And it certainly didn't matter if somewhere deep, deep down inside of him he secretly wished Bakura would touch him again and press their bodies flush against one another so he could feel that delicious heat between them again. Nope, none of that matter because he, Marik Ishtar, was not gay and did not like-
"Oh look. We're here," Bakura remarked thoughtlessly, interrupting Marik's inner turmoil in the most random of ways. Marik looked up, noticed they were indeed in front of his house, and unclenched the fist he hadn't even realized he'd made.
"So we are," He responded dryly. He turned to Bakura and was at once startled but how bright his eyes were and how they seemed to glow in the dark. He hadn't noticed it while they'd been walking in the street because of the lights, but now in the dark woods outside of his house he saw how clearly those bloody orbs stood out in the dark and started at him, urging him to do... something. They mesmerized him and mouth went dry.
"You're bleeding again Marik," Bakura said, voice lowering once more as his eyes glowed ever brighter. With much effort, Marik tore himself away from the other and looked down at his cut finger, which he had opened up again and was indeed bleeding. A bead of crimson was forming at the bottom of the cut, ready any moment now to drip down.
When Marik looked back up again Bakura was only a few inches away from him, and Marik's heart thumped erratically. He made to take a step back, but Bakura took a hold of his hand and held him still. He looked at him silently with his red, red eyes, and although Marik had a notion of what was going to happen next, he didn't pull away. Instead he watched as Bakura raised his hand to his lips and took the injured finger into his mouth.
A hot blush instantly made its way into Marik's cheeks as his mind filled with wickedly dirty images brought on by the hot, moist caverns of Bakura's mouth and the feel of his tongue swirling around the cut, sucking away all the blood that was offered to him. But these thoughts were banished and pushed away as soon as they'd come to make way for others as Marik watched with morbid curiosity the way Bakura's eyes changed color. The last time Bakura had fed off his blood his eyes had darkened to an almost black color, and that had almost scared him. They darkened now too, but not enough to become black, only enough to change to a deeper crimson.
Just as Marik was noticing this Bakura's eyes slowly slipped close as he savored the taste. The expression on his face was of the very essence of sinful ecstasy as he tried to coax more blood from the cut with his skillful tongue. Nothing else appeared to matter to Bakura in this moment, he was solely concentrated on the task at hand, and it occurred to Marik that this was the most vulnerable he'd ever seen the vampire. Someone could at this very moment be creeping up with a weapon in his or her hands to use on him, and Bakura would have been none the wiser. He wondered if this happened to all vampires when they fed and he wondered if his family or any other hunters knew. Vampires were hard to kill, but if this weakness of theirs were to become public knowledge and exploited, it would make the task so much easier.
A third question entered his head, brought on by the trail of thoughts the second question had inspired, and he wondered with something skin to worry if Bakura knew how vulnerable he was when he fed. But no, that was stupid and Marik dismissed it. After living for six hundred years of course he would know about his weaknesses. The real question was why he had chosen to reveal this fatal weakness to Marik, despite knowing what he was.
This question was stored aside with others that would require some thought. He would deal with them all later, for now he wanted to observe this rare moment before him. A vampire revealing his weaknesses to the very person whose job it was to kill him, and a hunter allowing a vampire to willingly feed from his blood. Marik chuckled softly at the irony of the whole situation, and just like that it all ended as Bakura pulled away and Marik's digit was returned to him.
"Do I really taste that good?" Marik asked, a soft smile playing across his lips.
"You have no idea," Bakura remarked a bit dazedly. His eyes, usually so rapt and aware, were glossed over and dreamy. His liquid fire locked with Marik's lilac and he became a bit more awake as his lips formed a half-smirk. "Wanna try it?"
Before Marik could respond Bakura crushed their mouths together, taking advantage of his surprise to force his tongue into Marik's mouth. He tasted the almost familiar taste of Bakura along with the coppery taste of his own blood, nauseating to him, but apparently irresistible to the vampire. Said vampire pushed Marik against a nearby tree and pressed their bodies flush against one another while their tongues followed instinct and battled with one another. Bakura's eyes stared at him, so intense they seemed to stare into him, and at once Marik realized that he loved to see those deep orbs as a fiery red much more than he did seeing the dull brown color they usually were. There was always so much raw emotion in them, so much the brown color just couldn't show. Even though brown was the natural color of his eyes, to Marik it seemed like the fake one.
He felt one of Bakura's legs come to rest between his own, allowing himself to adhere his body even closer to Marik's. The bark of the tree was rough and cold, but Bakura's body was warm and Marik placed his hands on Bakura's shoulders, forcing him even closer. He wanted that warmth and he wanted to feel the other's touch. Almost as if he'd heard his wishes, once of Bakura's hands slid under his shirt, each one of his cold fingers leaving hot trails behind on his skin as they ran up and down his abdomen and chest.
He moaned at the sensation, relishing the feel of those fingers, and Bakura broke away from the kiss. Marik saw the deep red of his eyes quickly before Bakura's head was bowed and suddenly the other's lips and tongue were now attacking his neck. He panted, out of breath from their kiss, while Bakura lightly bit as his neck and collarbone, licking the places he bit and trailing wet kisses up and down the length of skin revealed to him. His once hand continued to stroke the skin under his shirt, and Marik hissed in pleasure as a cold finger brushed teasingly over his nipple.
He moaned once more and rested his head against the trunk of the tree, allowing Bakura more access to his neck, while his eyes slowly closed in bliss. He could still taste the coppery traces of his own blood in his mouth, but even that wasn't so bad anymore. It all felt so good, and Marik wondered how he had gone his whole life without feeling this way before. And he didn't care at all anymore what anyone thought or even what he thought, because anything that felt like this had to be good, and he didn't ever want Bakura to stop.
Oh ho ho, what Malik would say if he saw this little display? Or even heard it. Do you even realize what you're doing Marik? What you sound like? The kind of person you must seem like, allowing him to touch you like that, right outside of your house too?
Those few sentences of thought invaded the hazy bliss surrounding Marik's mind. He opened his eyes and saw Bakura's arctic white made of hair in front of him and felt that somehow the hand that before had only been brushing teasingly over his nipple was now squeezing it, creating a pleasurable jolt of pain that he somehow must have missed before. He looked over at his house and saw the dark windows. Then he recalled the noises he'd been making only a moment ago, and with that he shifted to the left and tore away from Bakura.
"I-um... I... I-I should probably get back to me house now and um... you know, sleep. Yeah," Marik babbled quickly, purposely looking at the still-dark sky over Bakura's head and not his alluring red eyes.
For a moment there was silence and Bakura said nothing, then, "Of course. That's probably a good idea." Marik chanced a brief look at him and saw that Bakura was avoiding eye contact as well, and while he hadn't sounded nearly as uncomfortable as Marik had, there was definitely something there. Feeling his eyes on him, Bakura looked at him and Marik quickly looked away again, then both walked swiftly and quietly to Marik's house.
"Can I come in?" Bakura asked.
"Sure," Marik responded quickly, not bothering to ask why Bakura would need to come in in his hurry to get back to his bed and away from the other. He found out soon enough though as Bakura scooped him up into his arms and jumped up to Marik's window and climbed into his room. He let Marik go, who hurriedly scuttled away to what he deemed was a safe distance from the other.
"Um... so yeah, thanks and all, and I guess I'll see you on Monday," Marik said.
"Yeah, guess so. See ya," Bakura replied, and then he was gone. Marik walked to his window and peered out it, eyes settling quickly on Bakura's pale form, and he watched as the vampire ran away from his house, more of a blur than a definite figure because of his speed. He stayed on the path Marik had marked out for him to make sure he wouldn't run into any of their traps, and then he was gone. Marik walked to his bed and lied on it, pulling the blankets up around himself.
He was confused again, but that seemed to be a regular occurrence for him when he hung out with Bakura. How did he get himself into such messes? How had he allowed Bakura to turn him into such a dirty, wanton thing? He had been acting as if he really were a slut back there with the way he'd allowed Bakura to touch him and bite him like that, and then there were the noises he'd made! He couldn't comprehend how he'd allowed himself to act in such a degrading way, yet even as he thought this he could still fell those touches and some part of him wanted them back. To make matters worse, Marik noticed something he hadn't before with all the thoughts cluttering his head: he really needed a cold shower.
Seeing as that idea was out of the question unless he wanted to wake up the rest of his family, Marik tired unsuccessfully to get back to sleep. That didn't work very well, and the sun was already streaming into his room before he fell asleep again. He dreamt of sultry, lustful red eyes and silky white hair and a warm, pale body entwined with his own that was biting him with long, ivory fangs in such a way that made his scream in ecstasy, and when Marik woke up again, drenched in sweat, he was in much the same condition he had gone to sleep in.
Later that day Malik remarked about the peculiar marks on his neck, and with horror Marik realized that Bakura had actually left bruises on his neck from where he'd bitten him. For the entire day his siblings laughed at his expanse and his attempts to hide the marks (even the usually stone-faced Rishid), and Isis and Malik tried to pull the name of the person who'd done it out of him. Marik firmly stood his ground and made not a peep or otherwise, but from the gleam he saw in Malik's calculating eyes, he had already guessed correctly anyways.
00000
Bakura slipped into his and Ryou's house easily enough, picking the lock to the door with ease. (Why bother taking a key when it was so much more fun to do it this way, he figured) He checked on Ryou, something he'd done when they'd been alive and had continued to do now, even though it didn't really matter too much anymore, then went back down the stairs and turned the TV in the living room on quietly. Only reruns of old shows would be on at this hour, but that was fine because he wasn't really watching the television anyways.
At this moment he would usually take the time to gloat a bit on how far he'd gotten with Marik. The other teen wanted him, that much was apparent. He hadn't realized that yet, but it was all okay because these things took time. Soon enough though he would have the blonde on his back screaming his name. Unfortunately, Bakura was not thinking upon this aspect and gloating, instead, he felt very befuddled.
There was something different about Marik, something strange. He still wanted the other teen, but instead of just taking what he wanted he felt perfectly okay with waiting for it. It was completely different from any other relationship he'd been in (if they could in all actuality be called that), and that was what was so confusing about it all. Then there was also the way he'd acted that day in the hospital, how angry he'd gotten with the people who'd hurt Marik.
"Damn it! I do not like him! He's hot, that's it!" Bakura swore quietly. This was all Ryou's fault, he just knew it. If the other were able to just leave him alone and let him do things the way he wanted, then by now he could have been done with Marik. But no, his pesky younger brother just had to butt into his affairs, and now he was being forced to think about things and examine the nature of his relationship with the Egyptian teen. Now he was being forced to wonder if there could somehow be some feelings other than those of lust that were motivating him and if it could possibly true that he, the great Bakura, could actually fall so low as to like someone. That was not the way things were supposed to go. People liked him, not the other way around.
"Damn him," Bakura swore again, and this time he didn't know whom that one was for. Marik for being so damn irresistible, or Ryou for being such a pain in his ass.
00000
He knew the moment he woke up for school on Monday that it was going to be a crappy day. The morning started with Ryou asking him if he'd gone to see Marik again during he night. Somehow his annoying brother had found out about that (the motorcycle in he garage could have been a giveaway, but never mind that), and all of yesterday he had pestered Bakura to tell him what they'd done. He refused to of course, but Ryou just wouldn't give up. All of yesterday he had pestered him about it, and it appeared as if today's course would meander down the same path.
The overall crappiness of the day got worse when he saw Marik. He'd known that it would be awkward, what with the way the night before had gone, but on some vain level of naivety he had hoped that perhaps it wouldn't, or maybe Marik wouldn't have gone to school today. But no, he did, and the moment they locked eyes Bakura could already feel himself grow uncomfortable. He felt embarrassment, an uncommon emotion for him, and he began hoping that Marik wouldn't bring the subject of the night up at all. Fortunately, two unsuspecting students saved him from having that conversation. Unfortunately, he recognized them as being the two who'd picked on Ryou and hurt Marik.
They walked past Marik, completely unaware of him, sniggering to each other about some joke. Bakura felt his blood boil and his eyes go red. His fangs slowly descended from his gum line, and a deep, throaty growl emanated from his throat. Before he could stop himself he had walked past Marik too and stood behind the two students. He could see Ryou clearly in his mind, cowering by a wall as the two cornered him, too afraid of hurting them to use his strength to defend himself. Then he saw Marik, beautiful Marik, lying bloody and unconscious on the ground, then sitting in a hospital bed, pouting because of the wound on his head.
He walked up to the two of them and tapped both of them on their shoulders. They turned. He smiled. "Hello."
"Who the hell do you think you are?" One of them said. The other grinned and cracked his knuckles. Bakura's smile widened.
"Really? What a shame, I figured you would know me. You seem to know my brother quite well, and I believe we've had a talk about that before. Apparently neither of you cared enough for your own lives to listen to it though, because you both were the cause of my friend over there being hospitalized the other day," He said. The taller one, a hulking, bulky student with short black hair, looked over Bakura's shoulder to the spot where Marik must have still been standing.
"Yeah, I think I remember him alright. He tried messing with us. We had to teach him a lesson is all. Can't say I remember you though," The taller one chuckled. He elbowed his buddy, but the other student wasn't paying attention.
"Too bad. Looks like I'll have to teach you a lesson as well. Not to touch what is mine," Bakura growled. The taller student laughed again. Now his companion, who was looking a tad less cocky, now than he had been before, elbowed him.
"Hey man, maybe we should go. There's something wrong with him man. Look at his eyes," He said. Before the taller student could either take a look or get another word in, Bakura punched him in the face. His blood was boiling now, and as the other student tried to make a run for it he attacked him too. The first one staggered forward, holding a hand up to his nose, and he threw a punch at Bakura, but the vampire quickly dodged it and got behind his prey in a matter of seconds. The tall student looked around, trying to pinpoint his location, and then Bakura was on him once more, punching him and hitting him and clawing him and scratching at him.
He heard the other student creep up behind him and he spun around and kicked him in his face before turning back to the other. He was completely on the offense now, no longer worrying about getting hit himself because he was moving too fast, much too fast for a human's eyes to keep up with. He no longer felt like just teaching the two humans a lesson but wanted to kill them both for what they had done. They had hurt Marik and that was inexcusable. Marik was his. No one was allowed to touch him.
When they started to bleed Bakura only became more excited, more intoxicated from just the smell of it. He wasn't allowed to drink form them and he wouldn't, but that didn't mean he wouldn't kill them for what they'd done. They had both hurt Marik, they had touched what was his, and by doing that they had defied him. They needed to be punished for that, and the verdict was death. So he grew excited by the smells of their blood, and he laughed to himself and kept hitting them, even as they both passed out into unconsciousness.
This time it wasn't Ryou who stopped him when he lost control. It was Marik. For a moment, caught up in his craze and bloodlust, he had forgotten that the blonde was still there. Until he latched onto his clenched hand and Bakura was forced to face his hard amethyst glare.
"Bakura! Stop it now!" Marik yelled. Bakura released the student, more out of surprise than any mercy he felt or for a need to obey Marik's command. The bruised body crumpled to the ground and Marik yanked him away and started running until they were off the school grounds. There he stopped and dropped Bakura's hand as if it were burning and glared at him once more.
"What is wrong with you? Why would you do that?" Marik screeched.
"They deserved it! They hurt you," Bakura defended, crossing his arms across his chest.
"That doesn't matter! Maybe they deserved some of it, but you almost killed them! It looked like you would have if I hadn't stopped you! Why would you do that? You can't just go around attacking people like that! And you didn't even bother to hide yourself and act human! Damn it Bakura, what if they tell someone? And what if that information somehow gets out to my siblings? Why would you do something like that?" Marik yelled. His eyes burned angrily and one of his fists actually shook.
"I did it because they hurt you! They deserve it! They deserved everything they got and more! I should have killed them for hurting you!" Bakura yelled back, his anger exploding once more. His eyes shone red and he bared his fangs as he roared.
"It doesn't matter if they hurt me or not! You can't go around doing things like that Bakura!" Marik shouted loudly.
"It does matter because they hurt you and you are mine!" Bakura roared, his own fists clenching. He expected a quick retort from Marik right away, so when his anger had faded once more and his fist clenched he looked at Marik. The blonde teen no longer looked as furious as he had before, now he appeared shell-shocked. And then the full effect of what he had blurted out came down on him and Bakura fell silent as well.
He hadn't meant to say it. He hadn't meant to even think it. He had said... that Marik was his... If his heart could still beat, it would have exploded in his chest. As it was, with the scent of fresh blood filling his nostrils, he could almost feel its phantom beat. A cold feeling of dread settled in the pit of his stomach, and he took an involuntary step backwards. His movement broke Marik's silence, and the other teen's eyes widened as he brought a tan hand with a cut on the index finger up to reach for him.
"Ah-Bakura..." He turned and ran. Bakura, who had always faced every challenge head on and with unwavering stubbornness, turned away and ran. He could hear Ryou's voice echoing in his head, telling him things he didn't want to know. He could still feel the dull throb of anger toward the two students pounding at his skull, but that anger had nothing to do with those two had treated Ryou, but how they had treated Marik. And he didn't like that. It scared him. It scared him because it meant that Ryou was right, and he was beginning to feel things for this human that he didn't want to feel. So he ran.
00000
Marik stood with his hand outstretched, stunned. His head lowered slowly and he stood there, blankly staring at the spot that had once been occupied by Bakura. The vampire was long gone, but he still remained in the same spot as before, Bakura angry words playing over and over again in his head.
"It does matter because they hurt you and you are mine!"
Bakura... What had he meant by that? What could he mean by saying that he was Bakura's? And why had he gotten so angry? He had practically killed those students. And his eyes... For the first time, Marik had seen Bakura for the monster he really was. He had seen all the hate and fury in his red eyes, and there had been no trace of anything human in them. It had been frightful. Why had Bakura acted like that?
It's because he likes you, you moron.
The thought came so suddenly and with such force that Marik actually took a step back. He rejected the possibility of it possessing even an ounce of truth immediately. Bakura did not like him. It was impossible.
Then why would he kiss you? Why would he be so angry with those guys? Why would he fight them if it weren't for you?
No! Marik thought, clenching his hand, his eyes hardening. No, it's impossible! He doesn't like me! He fought them before because he's my friend and that's what friends do! And anything else that he says or does is because he's fooling around! He does not like me and I do not like him!
And with that final thought Marik stormed back to the school. By this time the beaten students had been noticed and taken to the hospital. Gossip was already flying wildly through the school, going from group to group, but no one seemed to have an inkling of what had really happened. Still, Marik paid attention to everything he heard, trying to find out if there was any way Bakura could get in trouble. There didn't seem to be, but the real test would be what the two students would say when they woke up. But he would cross that bridge when he came to it, and until then he concentrated on keeping Bakura out of his thoughts. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done.
00000
For the next two days Bakura didn't go to school. At first, Marik thought he was laying low until the two students woke up, but when they did on the afternoon of the first day, he still didn't show. The two students had babbled on about a demon with inhumane speed and sharp claws and fangs and blood red eyes. The good thing was that no one believed them. The bad thing was that Bakura still hadn't shown up. He saw Ryou a couple of times during school and thought about asking him where his brother was, but whenever he tried to ask the younger twin, he disappeared into the perpetual crowd of students. Luckily for Marik (or unluckily, depending on how you saw it), Ryou came to visit him soon enough.
Marik was just finishing his homework when the doorbell rang. He ignored it, opting not to get off his comfortable bed just to open the door. When the bell rang again Marik ignored it once more. He only got off the bed when it rang a third time and it had became apparent that no one else was getting it. He hopped out of his bed, grumbling to himself, and opened the door to one of the white-haired twins.
"Bakura!" Marik called out, stunned. It had been two days since he'd seen the vampire and the last place he'd been expecting to see him was at his front door.
"Sorry to disappoint, but you've got the wrong person Marik. It's Ryou," The white-haired teen explained, smiling sweetly. As Marik took a closer look he realized that this as indeed Ryou and hot his brother. The two looked so similar that even up close they were easily mistaken. Especially when it was the other brother that was on his mind.
"Sorry about that. The two of you look so similar to each other that I must have mistaken you," Marik laughed sheepishly.
"Oh, it happens all the time so it's not trouble. Can I come in? It's rather important," Ryou said.
"Sure, sure," Marik said. He opened the door and gestured to Ryou. The teen went into the room and took off his shoes, then followed Marik upstairs into his room. For a moment Marik reflected on the fact that this was the first time Ryou had ever been in his house as well as the first time he'd ever hung around him. Usually he only saw Ryou when he was at school or with Bakura.
"So Ryou, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Marik joked. He moved his books and things off his bed, allowing Ryou to sit on it, but instead the other teen declined and sat at the desk across from the bed. Marik shrugged and took he seat at the bed instead, only reflecting for a moment on how different he was from Bakura.
"Well it's about Bakura of course. But you're smart, so I'm sure you had already guessed that much Marik. Can you tell me though how he's been acting these past few days?" Ryou inquired. Marik frowned. Some part of him had thought that maybe this would be about Bakura, but how was he supposed to explain everything to Ryou when he was just as unsure?
"I can't tell you much, because I haven't seen him for the past two days, but up until he left school he was perfectly fine. It probably had something to do with those students that put me in the hospital though. When Bakura visited me in my room he got really angry, then he did when he saw them at school too. After that he just left," Marik explained, thoughtfully leaving out the part where Bakura actually beat them up. Ryou noticed that of course.
"I need everything Marik. Bakura already told me what he did to those two, he just didn't tell me why. And even if he hadn't, I could have pieced together that information," Ryou said smile, but in such a way now that Marik felt stupid for even thinking that Ryou wouldn't have known.
"Oh, okay! Heheh, sorry. Well obviously you know then that Bakura is the one who attacked them. I saw him do it. He just got so angry when he saw them, and then before I knew it he was on them and there was nothing I could do. He was furious. He looked almost inhuman. I'm sure you heard what those students said about it, that a demon attacked them. That's probably the best comparison. He was just so enraged... Honestly, I think he would have killed them if I hadn't stopped them. After that I yelled at him and he yelled back and said they deserved it because of what they'd done to me. Then he just left. That's all I know. I don't know why, or if I said anything, or if he just left because he wanted to," Marik explained, hoping that Ryou wouldn't be able to tell that wasn't the whole truth either. He thought that Bakura had left because of the last thing he's said, but he didn't want to tell that to Ryou. If Bakura hadn't then perhaps he didn't want his brother to know.
Ryou was silent for a moment as he contemplated what Marik had said. Marik sat quietly, watching Ryou. Both he and Bakura were over six hundred years old, but in many ways Bakura acted like he were still just a teenager. Ryou on the other hand seemed much more wise and thoughtful, like he'd learned some new secret of life's from every year of his own extended life. Marik felt something akin to uneasiness around him, the same kind of feeling one experience when they knew they were in the presence of a powerful older person. And technically that was exactly what Ryou was, even if he wore the appearance of a regular teenager.
"Well that proves it then. All right Marik, I need to ask you an important question, and I need you to tell me the absolute truth. Do you like Bakura? More than a friend?" Ryou asked abruptly. Marik sputtered, having expected something profound but certainly not this.
"What? Ryou, you can't possibly mean... -me? I don't-no , Ryou, I don't I mean... No! Of course I don't! I'm not gay!" Marik answered, still sputtering.
"It's okay to admit it Marik," Ryou said softly, stopping his excuses for the moment. "I know it's hard to come to terms with, but it's something you'll have to deal with. Bakura and I went through the same thing when we realized we were both gay. You'll know it if you are, you just need to look for it. I'd like for you to have the time to do that, but I need to know this information so I can help Bakura. So please Marik, I know it might be hard to say, but I need to know if it's possible that you could like Bakura."
Marik was the one to fall into silence now as he thought about what Ryou said. Hadn't he been asking himself the same question recently? And he hadn't been able to answer it. He didn't want to like Bakura, but then he did things like kiss him...
"I... I don't know Ryou. I do like your brother, but I don't know how I like him. I know that he's my friend and that I like him as my friend and want to hang out with him and be around him, but I don't know if I like him any more than that. Maybe I do... but I don't know," Marik admitted.
"Well that's alright. I wouldn't expect you to know for sure. You see, Bakura likes you. That's why he left. He's afraid. Bakura has been in many relationships before, but they've only been based on... purely physical activities. He's never felt emotionally attached to anyone before, and that's what he can't understand. He just realized t himself finally, and so he left," Ryou explained.
"Bakura likes me?" Marik asked, disbelieving this information. Sure, it was always Bakura who had initiated the kissing and touching and things like that, but it was still a surprise to think that there was any way he could possibly like him. It didn't make any sense. He'd figured that if Bakura had swung that way, he'd only be interested in the type of casual relationship Ryou had described. He almost couldn't believe him feeling anything other than that.
"I know, it's a surprise isn't it? But I think it's cute!" Ryou squealed.
"'Cute...?'" Marik echoed, still in a state of disbelief over the matter. He just couldn't wrap his mind over the fact that it could be possible that Bakura could like him. And cute was certainly not a word he would ever pick to attribute to Bakura.
"Yep! It's adorable! I've been waiting for such a long time for him to finally find someone to fall in love and live happily with! Aw, I'm so happy and excited now for you two!" Ryou carried on happily, not noticing the way Marik paled at the word "love."
"'L-love...?'" He squeaked weakly. "Ryou, don't you think that's a bit sudden? I mean, shouldn't I... shouldn't I at least talk to your brother first...?"
"Oh I'm sorry Marik! Of course it's not that serious, I just get carried away sometimes," Ryou apologized. Then his smile faltered for a moment and took on a more somber tone when it reappeared. "I would like for you to talk to my brother too, but he's not at the house. He left. I know where he went of course, and I'll tell you, but I think I want you to sort your own feelings out first. I don't want to put any pressure on you or make you change what you say. Before you talk to Bakura you need to figure things out yourself." Ryou smiled sullenly at him, and just as Marik opened his mouth to ask why Bakura had left, the door to his room opened and Malik poked his spiky head into his room.
"Where's your Math book?" He asked. Marik pointed to its spot on his bed, not trusting himself to speak, and Malik walked into the room and picked it up.
"Hello Malik!" Ryou greeted cheerfully. Malik's purple eyes focused on the arctic-haired twin briefly, and he grunted. It really wasn't a greeting back, but it was still a response, and for that reason Marik stared at his brother. Malik was never nice to anyone, yet here he was being half civil towards Ryou. Something must have happened between them.
"Did you follow my advice then Malik?" Ryou asked. That just made Marik all the more curious as to what must have gone on between them.
"What's it to you if I did or not? And brother, this is none of your business, so don't bother asking about it," Malik said, and then he had taken the Math book and left.
"He actually does his homework then? Funny, but he doesn't seem like the type who would. I know Bakura usually doesn't. He just complains that he knows it all already so there's no use," Ryou chuckled.
"Oh, well Malik only does it because otherwise Isis will throw a fit. But Ryou, what was it that you were talking about? When did you give advice to my brother?" Marik asked. Ryou laughed again softly and hopped to his feet. He smiled and put a finger up to his lips.
"It's a secret!" He exclaimed, then headed to the door. "Well I'm sure you've got a lot to think about, so I'll be going now to let you have some time to yourself! Bye Marik! Glad we had this talk! See you tomorrow at school!" And then he was gone, leaving Marik feeling very confused about how much and how little he had learned in the past hour.
Yay, that was chapter nine! I know the ending was a little abrupt there, but if I kept going there wouldn't have been a good spot to end the chapter. So, it's a bit abrupt, but all's well. Chapter ten will start right from where this one left off. Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and remember to review!
