Hey guys! Sorry about the little delay, but I had a busy and fun weekend with the retreat I work at, so sorry not sorry! Here's the next chapter! Enjoy the little moment at the end~ please review!
Knock knock.
"What was that?" Malik muttered, pausing the tv. Ryou stood up, tossing the book he was reading back on the sofa before heading to the door. On his way to the door, he grabbed a baseball bat that was next to the door and gripping tightly. Then he looked through the peep hole.
"Hello? Yugi, is that you?" Nothing. So he cautiously opened the door and looked around, but he couldn't see anyone. Then, he looked down and saw something he didn't expect. Two little boxes, one light pink and one violet. He slowly picked them up and brought them back into the apartment, setting them down on the table in front of Malik.
"What is this?" the Egyptian exlcaimed, grabbing the pink box and reading the tiny label attached to the bow. "Oh, it's for you." He handed the pink box back to Ryou, who took it with shaking hands and read the pretty hand writing on the label for himself. To Ryou from an old friend.
"An old friend..." Ryou mumbled to himself. He had to admit, he was scared that this box was from...him. Maybe it was some sort of terrible trick. But his fearful thoughts were interrupted by Malik's angry yell.
"What the hell is this supposed to mean?!" he growled, staring at the label on the violet box. "To you from me? Is that supposed to mean me, since you already have one? And what's with this shitty hand writing?" Ryou looked over, and Malik was right. The label looked like it was written by a three year old. There was even a sloppy looking smiley face on the side.
"I guess so," Ryou said, still not looking up from the box in his hands. Malik, on the other hand, didn't hesitate to tear into the violet box, lifting the lid quickly.
"What...no way!" he shouted, eyes wide. Ryou moved to sit next to him and look inside the box. It looked like some sort of rice dish with tomatoes, chick peas, and some other vegetables.
"What's that?" Ryou asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Whatever it was, it didn't look that good to him.
"Kushari! My favorite food from Egypt!" he exclaimed, jumping up and rushing for the kitchen. He came back merely seconds later with a fork in hand before sitting down and taking a heaping mouthful and tasting it slowly. Then, he did something Ryou didn't expect. A single tear fell down Malik's cheek as the fork sat still in his mouth.
"Malik! What's wrong? Is it poisoned?" Ryou exclaimed, dropping the pink box on the table and shaking Malik gently but firmly. "Come on, say something!"
"It's just like Ishizu used to make..." Malik sighed, a far away look in his eyes. It was like tasting the better memories of his childhood. Playing games with Odion. Ishizu reading him bed time stories. The simple pleasures. "It's so good..."
Ryou pursed his lips before turning back to his box and untying the ribbon. Then, he ever so gently opened the lid, looking inside. He was greeted with such a pleasant sight. Four small pastries topped with chocolate sauce.
"Profiterole...?" he whispered, looking at the pastries anxiously. "They don't make them here. I wonder where they came from." An old friend...
"Did you leave them? Did you?" Marik asked. He and Bakura were sitting, backs straight, on the edge of the store counter. Yugi and Atem had just gotten back from delivering the two boxes of home made food. Bakura didn't want to give away the fact that he knew where their apartment was, so he asked the two spikey haired men to take the presents for them.
"Yeah," Atem growled, staring at the two 'villains' as if trying to figure out their secret plan. Yugi noticed this and quickly elbowed him in the ribs.
"Thank you," Bakura replied, ignoring Atem's rude glare.
"Our pleasure," Yugi smiled. "It was a really good idea. I'm sure they'll appreciate it." Marik jumped up, a wide smile in place.
"I tasted the kushari! It was perfect!" he said, nodding quickly. Bakura mentally facepalmed. Marik was in the shadow realm a lot longer than he had been, so it's no wonder his entire murderous personality was wiped away, replaced by this idiot of a child.
"How were the profiteroles, Bakura?" Yugi asked, drawing Bakura out of his thoughts.
"The whats?" he huffed, cocking an eyebrow.
"The cream puffs," Yugi chuckled. "They're called profiteroles."
"Oh...I don't know," he replied. "I don't like those sugary things, so I didn't try them."
"Really? How do you know if they taste good for Ryou?" Marik demanded, hands on his hips. "What if they taste like shit?! That defeats the purpose of cooking them in the first place."
"First of all, you don't cook pastries, Marik," Bakura sighed, pressing his pointer finger to his forehead in irritation. "Secondly, it's the thought that counts. I'm not tasting something I don't like to eat. I'll think it tastes like shit either way."
"Whatever, fluffy!" Marik replied with a pout, crossing his arms. Atem sat down behind the counter, trying to ignore the 'villains' seeming as their small argument was giving him a headache.
"Will you guys shut it?" he asked, knowing that they never actually would.
"My apologies, pharaoh," Marik said, saluting. "Fluffy can get pretty loud, can't he." Bakura sighed, running his hand through his 'fluffy' hair before standing up.
"As I said, thank you for delivering the boxes and helping us cook. I guess I'll be going to sleep now since I'm so bloody annoying," he growled, crossing his arms and standing up to head upstairs. Marik merely snickered, smirking in the ex-thief's direction. Yugi was frowning, biting his lip gently.
"Oh, don't worry about him," Marik said, waving his hand nonchalantly. "He's just a temperamental asshole. That didn't change in the shadow realm."
"I heard that!"
"Ryou, how is your food?" Malik asked, putting down the empty purple box. He'd finished the entire plate in less than 20 minutes. Ryou's box, on the other hand, was pretty much untouched.
"Well, I tried a bite," he muttered, chewing nervously on his nail. "But it kinda tasted shitty..."
"Oh well! It's the thought that counts," Malik replied, shrugging.
"Yeah...I guess so."