Mew: Damn it. The title of this chapter is lame. Oh well. LIFE SHALL GO ON.

Draiku: Hopefully, that is. –rolls eyes-

Mew: … -sighs and shakes head at Draiku-

Draiku: …what?

Yoko: They're sleep-deprived. Sorry for all this.

Mew: Anyway, I want to give a huge, HUGE thank-you to everyone who takes time to review! Thanks to you, Badass Boyfriend has over a hundred reviews! This is a HUGE achievement for me, and without you I couldn't have done it! Thanks again!

Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 10: Sudden Changes

"Y' see," the man with sunglasses said to Marik, Malik, and I, "I'm what you'd call a drug dealer. However, I prefer the term…eh, 'supplier to the needy.' But o' course, everything has a price on it, including drugs. Now, if I remember correctly, I left 200 grand buried in someone's garden. Your garden. Now it's missing, and I think I know who took it. Y' see?" Malik glared at him. "Now, my question for you three is, where is that money?" Of course, Malik and I were gagged; we couldn't answer. He turned to Marik and made the electric window go up a bit, squeezing Marik's neck. Marik let out a cry of surprise and pain blended together.

"MMPH!" Malik said, sitting forward again. The drug dealer pointed the gun at him, silencing him.

"Tell me where it is," he said, looking to Marik again while keeping the gun on Malik. I could imagine that Marik was glaring defiantly right about now.

"I'm not going to tell you," he snarled. The drug dealer pushed the "up" button again, and squeezed Marik's neck. Marik choked a little, and I was glad that he hadn't suffocated. Malik's eyes were watering as he stared at his lover suffering, trying to breathe. Was the window really that strong? Then again, this was a drug dealer we were facing. He could have had someone alter the window so it was strong enough to decapitate a human or something. Looking closely, I saw that the window was in fact sharpened at the top. This guy was insane! He'd obviously done this before, probably many times.

"You ain't gonna tell me, eh?" the dealer said, glaring. "Then I'll jus' cut off yer head with my window."

"MMNPH!" Malik exclaimed, eyes widening.

"Shut up!" the dealer yelled, glaring at Malik.

"Hey! Don't you dare talk to him like that!" Marik yelled.

"And why shouldn't I?" the dealer growled.

"No one can talk to Malik like that," Marik snarled back. "No one, unless they want to answer to me." Malik gazed at Marik through worried eyes, but the dealer laughed cruelly. I was amazed that Marik was opposing someone who could kill him at any second.

"An' look what position you're in," he said with a grin. "Now, tell me where th' money is."

"Like I said before, I'm not telling you. If you hadn't insulted Malik like that, though, I may have considered giving half of it to you," Marik said with a smirk.

"You jus' want to die, do ya?" the dealer asked, giving the up button a tap. Marik snarled as it cut into his skin slightly—enough to just make a dark red mark on his neck.

"Finders keepers," he said. "Losers weepers." The oldest preschool taunt in the book. "Besides, we're going to put it to better use than you ever could."

"Oh really? Do tell," the dealer said dully.

"Well, judging from your…occupation, you'll use the money to buy cheap drugs, which you'll sell at abnormally high prices to make a profit. Malik and I, however, are using the cash to get married and go to college. Obviously, which is better?"

"Tch. Mine, o' course. It benefits me. The question here ain't what's right an' what's wrong, it's what benefits one o' us the most!" the dealer said in a growl.

"Still, though, we did find it in our property. Thus, it's ours." The dealer pressed up again, and Marik let out a yell of agony. I gasped, seeing his neck start to bleed. Oh god, the dealer was really going to kill him.

"I bet you guys don't even know who I am," he sneered. "Th' name's Smithy—Tommy Smithy." I mentally gasped. He'd been all over the news! If he said that he was going to kill you, he meant it. What more, he was on the top of the most wanted lists all over the state. (A/N: Smithy's name is just SO original. –snicker-)

"Never heard of you," Marik growled through clenched teeth. Smithy looked insulted, to say the least. He suddenly smirked.

"How about this," he stated, pointing the gun directly at Malik's head. "Tell me or your little boyfriend gets it." Malik's eyes widened, and Marik glared furiously, thrashing in his seat.

"Bastard!" he yelled, ignoring the cut in his neck. Malik looked to Marik, shaking his head. I didn't know what he meant by that, but knowing Malik, he wanted the best for Marik; not himself.

"So, you gonna talk? You got ten seconds," Smithy said. I suddenly felt something beneath my fingers. It seemed to be a switchblade—perfect. I fumbled with it, trying to get it to cut through the ropes around my wrists, but failing. Marik was looking to Malik, watching him shake his head, and staring at him through agonizing eyes. He seemed to say, "What do you want me to do?"

"Fine! The money is--," Marik started, when I pressed the switch on the knife. It made a click noise, and Smithy gasped. He pointed the gun, and obviously saw the knife sticking out from behind me.

"Why you little--!" he yelled, and squeezed the trigger.

I heard a shot, and everything went black.

-

When I regained my consciousness, I was standing in front of a man—Tommy Smithy—and holding a gun. The dealer's head was bleeding a little, but he was still alive—just knocked out. I looked at the gun and saw fresh, dripping blood on its handle. Gasping, I dropped it to the ground, just as some policemen ran over. I looked around and saw a bullet hole through the roof of the car I'd recently been confined in, and wondered how I got out.

Wait—where were Marik and Malik? I frantically looked around and saw Marik lying with his head in Malik's lap, bleeding profusely from the neck. Malik was crying, holding cloth to it to try and stop it, but it wasn't helping. Marik was breathing heavily, gasping for air. Paramedics rushed over and took him into the ambulance, then drove off with him, leaving Malik alone.

"Hey, you! Did you shoot?" one of the policemen asked me. I shook my head.

"No—not at all," I quickly said. "He had us tied up in the back, and I…somehow got out here, and I was holding that gun for some reason. I don't know why, though." What the hell had happened in the past few minutes? The policeman looked to Smithy, then me, then back at Smithy.

"Lemme see your arms," he said. I nodded, holding out my arms so he could see the marks the ropes had made. He examined them. "How the hell did you get out?" I shook my head again.

"I can't remember. All I remember is him pointing the gun at my face, cursing at me, and pulling the trigger. Then…it blacks out." Malik hurried over.

"I saw everything," he said breathlessly. "I can tell you exactly what happened." The cop nodded, and Malik started. "Smithy had his gun pointed at Ryou, and he was about to shoot him for trying to escape. I kicked the gun away at the last second, and it shot the roof instead. He pointed it at me, and was about to kill me, when Ryou suddenly jumped up and snatched the gun from him. He forced Smithy out, and said that he'd kill him if he didn't do as he told him. Then, Ryou freed Marik from the window, and he untied me. After that, Smithy tried to attack him, but Ryou hit him on the head with the handle of the gun and knocked him out!" Malik turned to me. "It was so badass." I stared at him.

"I really did all that?" I asked. He nodded.

"Yeah! You saved our lives, Ryou!" he said, grinning.

"So that's Tommy Smithy," the policeman observed. "Well, since that's him, then that pretty much automatically makes your story true. You hit him in self-defense and didn't kill him, so there won't be a trial or anything. Plus, you saved your friends' lives. You should be proud." I beamed, feeling quite proud indeed.

"Hey, what about Marik?" Malik asked. The cop shrugged.

"He'll survive, but the cut was kind of deep. His voice box may have been damaged, and if that doesn't happen then he'll have a permanent scar," he said. Malik shuddered a little.

"I'm just glad that he'll live," he whispered, wringing his hands. I put my hand on his shoulder to comfort him. He sighed softly, lowering his head, and a press van drove over. I blinked, and a woman rushed over to us. She talked to the cop for a few seconds, then turned to me.

"Are you the one who saved your friends from Smithy?" she asked.

"Um, yes," I replied nervously.

"Can I ask you a few questions?"

"Sure, go ahead." The camera turned to me, and my stomach tied into knots.

"So, were you afraid?" the news lady asked. I nodded.

"Yes, very. More afraid for Malik and Marik, though," I replied. Malik smiled at me, looking grateful. She asked me a few more questions, and left. I sighed with relief.

"Thanks so much, Ryou," Malik said, smiling calmly at me. I nodded and he tugged me into a tight hug. "If you hadn't been there, imagine what would've happened. You saved us."

"No problem," I said, smiling. After a few more pictures from some more press people, we decided to head to the hospital. Marik was lying in his bed, looking bored, and wearing a bandage around his neck.

"Marik!" Malik yelled, dashing over and hugging him tightly while I took a seat in one of the chairs. Marik smiled warmly and gently hugged Malik back. "Dammit, I was so worried about you! And why aren't you saying anything? Are you okay?" Marik nodded and tugged away from Malik, picked up a notepad and pen, and scribbled something down on it. It read, "I can't talk for two weeks. Doctor's orders. If I do, I'd be working my vocal cords, and my voice would either go away altogether, or sound really bad." Malik nodded.

"Oh, I see," he said. "What if you're called on in class?" Marik shrugged. "Did you get stitches, or what?" Marik lifted the bandages on his neck to show him the stitches, and I cringed. "Ouch. That looks like it hurts. But at the same time, it looks awesome," Malik commented, and Marik put the bandages back down with a nod.

"When are you allowed to leave the hospital?" I asked. Marik wrote something down and showed it to me. It read, "Tomorrow." I nodded.

"That's good. Then you won't miss any school." Marik scribbled something down and showed it to me. This time it read, "Unfortunately." I just had to chuckle a little bit. We "talked" with Marik a little longer, and finally Marik's parents arrived. They all but obsessed over him, making sure that he was totally fine. After another hour or two, a nurse came in and announced that visiting hours were over. Much to our regret, we had to leave.

Malik and I decided to stay at the hotel across the street from the hospital, so in the morning we could go to school together. Marik's parents stayed there as well, in a different room.

"I can't wait till he can talk again," Malik said, lying back in the bed. I nodded in agreement.

"It'll be weird not being able to hear him speak for so long," I said. He nodded and stretched.

"I'm exhausted. Let's go to bed," he said, and I nodded again. Though I had no memory of knocking out Smithy, I still felt exhausted. In just a few minutes, we were both asleep.

-

The next morning at school, everyone talked to me, asking things like, "Were you scared?" and "Why'd he kidnap you guys anyway?" (we didn't mention the money to the press; we just said that he planned on holding us ransom for more money). Apparently, we'd ended up on the front page of the newspaper that morning. Knowing my dad, he was probably reading that article right now. I wondered what he was thinking.

Mana proudly latched onto me during school, bragging about how she was going out with a hero, and how the other girls weren't. It annoyed me to no end, of course.

"Ryou, there is a visitor for you in the office," the secretary said over the speaker. I blinked, wondering who it was, and went there. No one I recognized was in there waiting, so I asked the secretary who it was. She pointed at a man wearing a cowboy hat and a necklace with a cross on it. I blinked.

"Um, you wanted to see me?" I asked. He looked up at me.

"So you're Ryou, huh?" he said. I nodded. "Not exactly what I pictured, let me tell you." I sweatdropped. "You're going out with Mana, correct?" I nodded, slowly, putting two and two together.

"Are you her father?" I asked. He nodded once.

"Yes; you haven't met me before because I was working down at the ranch in Texas," he replied. Great, just what I needed. A rich, Christian, wannabe cowboy man. Now I knew why Mana was so religious. "Anyway, at first I had my doubts about you, Ryou," he continued. "But now, seeing that you saved two men from certain death, you have my respect, and you may continue dating my little girl. However, if you break her heart, I'll break you. You seem like an intelligent young man, so of course you understand. Do you, Ryou?" I nodded briskly.

"Um, yes sir. I understand," I said meekly.

"Good, good. Well, Ryou, that's all I had to tell you. G'bye." He tipped his hat and left, his boots clicking on the tiles of the hallway. Well. That had been odd, and scary at the same time. I never predicted that I'd encounter someone like him before.

"Ryou!" I looked up as I left the office, and saw Malik walking towards me. "Ms. Kujaku told me to tell you that she's moved in with your dad." I blinked, staring a long while.

"Come again?" I said. Malik sighed.

"The school nurse is living at your house," he said slowly, using elaborate hand gestures and actions to represent each word. I gasped.

"Mai's at my house??! Living there??!" I repeated. He nodded.

"That's what I just said." I raced towards the nurse's office and burst in to see her giving some kid his medication.

"Oh, hello Ryou," she said, smiling. "Everything okay? Go on, Jimmy. Here's a pass." She sent the kid off and shut the door behind him. "So, I take it Malik got the news to you?" I nodded.

"But…why so soon?" I asked. She shrugged.

"Your father proposed it. He said that he didn't want to see me living in a little apartment, like I do right now. So I went ahead and accepted—besides, he's really charming, Ryou," she said, smiling. I groaned. "What, is it that big of a deal?"

"Of course it is! I mean, you're in my house, and dad didn't even ask me about it!" I said. "Then again, knowing what he thinks of me now, he probably didn't care. Oh well. Whatever. You two do what you want." I turned to leave, but she stopped me, putting a gentle hand on my shoulder.

"I could go back to my apartment if you'd like," she offered, smiling. I shook my head.

"Never mind. Forget all that I said. I don't have a home anymore; I shouldn't be deciding what you can or can't do at my father's house," I said softly.

"You're sure?" she asked. I nodded. "Alright. Well, get to class, alright? The bell's going to ring in a few minutes." I nodded again, and opened the door to leave. "But Ryou, remember. You always have a home, alright?" I nodded yet again, pretending to understand, and left.

-

After school, I went to Marik's house again. We mostly lounged in the living room, doing homework together. Unfortunately for Marik, he had a few speeches coming up in about a week, so he'd have to make up all of them at once as soon as his throat healed.

"Maybe Mr. H will go easy on you and excuse it. I mean, you almost died," Malik said. Marik shrugged and scrawled down, "Hopefully."

"He should, though," I said. Marik nodded in agreement when suddenly, the doorbell rang. Malik got up and answered it. He soon came back and looked to me.

"Ryou, it's your dad," he said. I gasped, staring.

"You're serious?" I asked. He nodded.

"He said that he needs to speak with you immediately." I got up and went to the front door. Sure enough, my father was there, standing in the doorway. He actually looked depressed.

"Da—Jonathan?" I said, my voice shaking as I caught myself; he didn't want to be my father, so I wouldn't call him "dad". He looked up at me, pain evident in his eyes.

"Ryou," he said softly, "I owe you an apology." I gasped, eyes widening. Was he serious? Was my father, the religious Bible-worshipping man who believed that all gays and lesbians be isolated in an island in the middle of the Pacific, actually apologizing to me?

"I saw the article in the paper today, about you saving your friends from that man," he continued. "I was so…proud of you, but I was ashamed of myself for not being there with you. I also realized that the Bible was written by a man—not God Himself. And I thought, 'What sort of god would claim that He loved everyone, yet hate someone for being in love?' I can't believe that I didn't see that before. And I'm sorry, Ryou. I'm so, so sorry."

"Y-you are?" I said, voice still shaking. He nodded, and by this time I started crying. He tugged me into a warm embrace, and I hugged him back. "So, can I call you 'dad' again?" I asked in a small voice. Apparently, this was very important to me. He nodded.

"Of course you can," he said, patting the back of my head gently.

"And, can I come home again?" He nodded again.

"Of course," he said again. A grin split my face. "Just promise one thing." I blinked, my grin fading.

"Um, what?"

"Just don't dye your hair again, alright? It looks strange on you," he said. I burst out laughing and crying at the same time.

"I'll have Marik and Malik dye it its normal color again so you won't have to care," I said, still laughing. He chuckled and patted my back.

"Good," he said. I told Marik and his family that I would be returning home, and they were, of course, happy for me. Marik's reply was, "Sheesh, finally! I was wondering when you'd leave so Malik and I could have sex." The only way I could tell that it was a joke was when he grinned at me in a somewhat goofy manner. Then he swallowed the paper whole so his parents would never figure out what he'd written. Evidently, they didn't know that he and Malik had had sex before.

I packed up my stuff from the guest room, including the photo of my father and I, and left. My father and I drove back home, and needless to say, it was probably the best day of my life.

TBC

Mew: AWWWWRR. Jonathan loves Ryou again!

Draiku: Yay! Finally. Took him long enough.

Mew: I'll say. I do wonder how he'll react to the porn under Ryou's mattress, though. –evil snicker-

Yoko: Uh-oh. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it, and please take time to leave a review! –grins-