"I have something I need to tell you guys," I said softly, my stomach twisting itself in nots.

Ryou raised an eyebrow and Akefia leaned back in his chair slightly. Miho looked between all of us, but then rested her gaze on me. I gnawed on my lip a little and then took a deep breath.

It was definitely a nerve-racking experience coming clean with myself; my actions and my words and my feelings. It was all so surreal and made me truly reconsider everything I've believed in before. Marik and I discussed what was going to happen and how we should treat this delicate relationship. We decided to keep it a secret, but not for long Marik had spilled the beans to Odion and Ishizu. I forgave him though.

His sister didn't seem to take the news too lightly. Odion, however, congratulated our relationship with utmost glee. When I came to visit the Ishtars again, Odion praised me and even cooked me a steak to show his appreciation. Ishizu, however, didn't come downstairs until the last half hour of my visit. She didn't say much, but I could tell by the way she looked at us that she had somewhat lightened up to the idea. Marik, in the end, was pleased that his siblings took it so well. And now it was my turn.

I supposed it was only fair, even now that all attention was on me. I inhaled through my nose and then exhaled through my mouth, closing my eyes and disappearing myself. I wished Marik was here with me, squeezing my hand assuringly.

"What is it, Katsu?" Akefia asked.

I opened my eyes and looked directly at Akefia, trying to read his expression. He looked concerned, an expected reaction. I looked back at Ryou and Miho, their expressions troubled as well. I scratched at my hair and then wrung my hands together nervously.

"C'mon, you're making us nervous here, spit it out!" Ryou exclaimed.

"I'm gay."

Well, it wasn't exactly how I was planning on sharing the news, but I knew whichever way I decided to tell them they would have reacted the same way. Akefia's eyebrows pulled together in a mix between frustration and worry. Ryou looked surprised, his mouth pressed in a straight line and his eyebrows raised. Miho covered her mouth with her hands and her eyes grew wide. I looked away from their gazes and down at my food, I picked up some fried rice in my fork and then scooped it into my mouth. From the difference of how much rice I've scooped up to the amount that actually made it in my mouth made me realize how much I was shaking.

I looked back up at my audience. Akefia was looking down at his food now. Ryou still had the same stupid expression on his face, only this time he was looking at Miho, who had removed her hands from her mouth.

"Wow, uhmm," Akefia cleared his throat and raised his white eyebrows. He blew air from his cheeks and leaned his head against his hand, "I'm... not sure what to say."

"Me neither," Ryou said quietly. I looked over at him and he was looking back at me. I was honestly expecting a sarcastic joke from him or maybe even a couple of tears or giggles, but nothing. Not even a smile appeared on his face.

I nodded slowly and chuckled, rubbing my forehead, "Yeah, it's pretty crazy, right?"

"How did you... you know..." Akefia rolled his wrists and took a hesitant breath, "How did you find this out?"

I looked at him and chuckled, peering back down at my food.

"Well," I stirred some rice around and shook my head slowly, "I... I don't know if I'm attracted to every guy, but I do find an attraction to... someone in particular."

"And you're sure it's not Tea?" Ryou snickered. Miho punched his arm.

I shot him a glare and so did Akefia. I internally smiled when I noticed the immediate concern in my big brother's eyes, especially when the large purple orbs looked back at me, all ferocity gone from them. When I lowered my head and peered at him through my lashes, his expression changed.

"I think I know who it is."

My ears shot up and I looked expectedly at my brother. He was... smiling. I opened my mouth to say something, but Ryou beat me to it.

"Who, Ake?" He asked, peering at him with wide eyes. Miho clung onto the fluffy-haired boy as she stared at him as well.

Akefia didn't look at them, he just kept his gaze on me, still smiling, now a bit with his teeth. I nodded and slowly smiled back at him. He laughed and finally looked at the other two teenagers at the table.

"It's Katsu's decision if he wants to tell or not."

I gave him a respectful nod and dinner went on, only this time it was a lot more quiet.

That night it was still a little quiet. Akefia and I laid on his bed, both of us staring at the ceiling in silence. It was strange because I figured once I relieved what was going on between Marik and I there would be a lot more controversy, but in fact both of my brothers took the news extremely well. Ryou jokingly said he knew I was a nancy all along, but I ignored his mockery and just sat back and watched Akefia slap him. My twin sooner or later apologized and actually gave me a hug, which was rare. Miho, too, hugged me. It was nice feeling this sudden welcoming warmth from my family, I just prayed it would stay this way.

"So do I ever get to meet this kid?" Akefia asked quietly.

I chuckled, "Of course, yeah."

It was quiet again, but by the rustling of sheets I knew Akefia had rolled over. I looked at him and saw him staring back. I rolled over too to face him and gave him a warm smile. He smiled back and sighed.

"It's strange because something inside of me really wants to beat you up," He chuckled. I rolled my eyes, "But that's just my inner evil talking."

"What inner evil? Akefia, c'mon, that's just your natural fatherly instincts kicking it," I laughed, "If Ryou or you came out to be gay I'd probably punch you guys with no second thought. It just shows how mature you are."

He raised his eyebrows at me and choked a laugh, "Fatherly?"

I pursed my lips and shrugged, "Well, yeah. It's what you've been trying to do all this time, protect me and Ryou as if we were your children or something. My god, what's wrong with me? I sound so cheesy tonight," I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

"It's your inner gay talking," He joked and rustled my hair. I swatted his hands away and he laughed. "But still, that's really nice of you to say, Katsurou," He smoothed out my locks a bit before vigorously rubbing his eyes, "Fuck, I hate crying."

"Crying's good for you though, it gets everything out," I smiled lightly and dried his scarred cheek with the sleeve of my shirt.

"You miss them, don't you?" Marik asked.

I looked up at his sad eyes and shrugged, taking a bite of my sandwich and sighing. Marik touched the hand that wasn't occupied with food and slipped his fingers between mine. I examined his face and swallowed my food roughly. I wanted to eagerly grab him into a kiss but we promised each other to keep this all a secret for now, so I just squeezed his hand a little and watched his frown stretch into a half smile.

It had been almost a full week of being with Marik and I enjoyed every second of it. We didn't really get a lot of homework done due to the fact that every minute alone would be filled with mindless conversation or making out. I've gotten a lot more immune to the gentleness in Marik's actions. He always touched so softly whereas every time I grabbed him or attempted to rough house, he would get a little nervous. I couldn't understand why, but I knew he tried to deny his fears. But just what was he afraid of?

My mind snapped back to the Egyptian sitting beside me as a feathery soft touch of his fingers danced along the palm of my hand and up the inside of my wrist. I closed my eyes and instantly melted at the feeling. The blond halfheartedly chuckled, stopping the touches. I looked back at him and watched as he moved around the rice in his takeout container with the fork in his hand. He put it down and looked straight ahead.

"Do you think now's a good time to apologize?" He asked quietly, tilting his chin forward.

I looked over and saw, right on queue, Téa and Yugi walking toward us, hand-in-hand. I gnawed on my lip and then suddenly felt a great deal of nervousness wash over me when I saw Marik get up. I quickly grabbed his hand and he gave me a surprised look. I looked at him with pleading eyes.

"Please stay," I begged.

"You have to do this on your own," He turned and knelt in front of me, holding my shoulders and smiling, "You can do it. I'll just be waiting over by the score booth when you're done." He glanced around and quickly pecked my cheek. He hopped down the bleachers, greeting the couple before skipping away.

I watched him leave and hesitantly looked over at the couple approaching. Téa was looking at the ground, clearly upset, while Yugi looked straight at me, anything but humour in his expression. I respectively stood up and climbed down the rows of seats to greet them. Téa finally looked up, but then turned her head to see Yugi.

"Katsu, I heard what happened," Yugi said with a little frown in his tone, his eyebrows slanting upward in concern, "Is everything alright?"

I sighed and rubbed my neck, "No, nothing's alright," This made Téa glance at me with large blue eyes, "I want to apologize for how I've been acting lately. I wasn't being a really good friend and it didn't help none that I was having these weird mood swings all the time. And Téa," She blinked, continuing to look at me hopefully, "I'm sorry I haven't spoken to you for a while about what exactly had been going on with me, but I can assure you both that I'm starting to come to terms with myself."

"Come to terms with yourself?" Yugi repeated slowly.

I closed my eyes. Fuck. I completely didn't mean to mention anything about that. I tried to search through my head for excuses, but when I opened my eyes again, it was because someone had touched my arm. I looked at Yugi and saw him smiling. Téa was smiling too. I opened my mouth to ask what was going on, but I was cut off by Yugi's chuckled.

"We know what's going on between you and Marik, don't worry," He grinned.

I clamped my jaw shut and gave them my most concerned expression, causing them both to break out in tiny giggles.

"Don't think we didn't see that little kiss on the cheek either," Téa winked.

Fuck. I peered over my shoulder at the score booth and then back at the pair. I sighed.

"Yes, okay, we're together," I rubbed my forehead in frustration, "Just please don't tell anyone, we kinda wanted to keep it a secret."

Yugi nodded, "Of course." He grabbed my hand and gave me a reassuring smile.

"Yeah," Téa grabbed the other hand and then linked hands with Yugi as well, "Friends will do anything for each other. We'll be here for you until the end, Katsu." Yugi nodded.

I pressed my lips together and then tried to blink back moisture. My god, maybe Akefia was right, my inner gay was definitely trying to make a breakthrough. I watched as my two friend's faces twisted in horror at the sight. Tears spilled from my eyes.

"K-Katsu?" Yugi asked slowly, clearly concerned as he let go of my hand.

I pulled them both in for a hug and just sobbed. I knew my sobs were loud and ugly but I didn't care because I knew now that Yugi and Téa forgave me and that everything would be fine again. Especially now that they knew about the relationship and everything. Things were finally looking up for me. I pulled away from them to see their faces, now looking a lot more understanding and soft. I thanked them.

"Thank you for apologizing, Katsu," Téa pecked my cheek and patted my shoulder, "It really means a lot to me."

I nodded and wiped away the excess moisture from my eyes.

Yugi chuckled and then shrugged, "I guess we'll need to double-date sometime," He winked at me and Téa giggled.

"Don't push it, Moto," I narrowed my eyes at him and he through his hands up in surrender, laughing as he did. I smiled warmly at him though.

"Well, don't keep your hunny waiting," Téa grabbed my shoulders and spun me around, pushing me toward the score booth, "Go!"

I looked back at them and smiled. They smiled back and then turned and left, hand-in-hand. I sighed at the sight, but it wasn't a depressed or jealous or longing sigh, it was just a thoughtful sigh.

Nonetheless I walked to the end of the long bleachers and climbed the stairs. I knew at the top of those stairs a certain someone was waiting for me. A certain someone who probably had the keys to the score booth door as well as the storage room in the gymnasium. Being a teacher's pet it was obvious enough that Marik won those keys in appreciation and trust, so I just prayed that nobody was around to rat him out on abusing the key-holding responsibility.

I knocked on the closed booth doors and they swung open. I was grabbed by the collar of my uniform and pulled inside. My lips were evaded by soft ones. I tangled my fingers through Marik's hair and brought him as close to me as possible. He suddenly grabbed my shoulders and held me back. I raised an eyebrow and when I took a good hard look at him. I tried to speak but big violet eyes were suddenly lidded and thick eyelashes shielded them. He looked down at my shirt and so did I. I saw his fingers playing with the hem of my uniform shirt. I looked back up at him.

"So everything's good with your friends?" He asked in a low voice.

My heart beat sped up and I could feel a blush reach my ears. He was being so... seductive. Why all of a sudden? My breathing hitched and I suddenly forgot who my friends were when I felt hot lips on my neck.

"What if somebody finds us?" I whispered. I held my breath when I felt soft hands touch against my chest.

"They wont. I locked the doors." He grinned and then drew tiny circles on the fabric of my shirt, "I... I wanted to tell you something... it's a little embarrassing though." He touched the dreamcatcher that was hanging around my neck and frowned, trying to clearly avoid eye contact.

I raised an eyebrow at him nonetheless, "What is it?"

"I... I don't want to go all the way yet. At least, not right now. I want to give this whole relationship thing some time before we start... you know," He cleared his throat a little.

Did he mean... like... all the way, all the way? The thought made me a little uneasy but I kept quiet, looking down at his hands and gently cupping them with my own. He looked back up at me.

"So then why are you seducing me?" I asked quietly with a cheeky grin.

He smiled at me and rolled his eyes, "This was kind of a little... experiment." I raised my eyebrow and he chuckled, "That sounds bad, but all I need you to do is kiss me. It doesn't even have to be making out, just a-"

I silenced him with a kiss. It was short and sweet but it still left me breathless. Marik looked away from my chest again to stare wide-eyed at my face, also trying to breath. He chuckled.

"Do it again." He whispered, barely audible.

Without hesitation I lightly grabbed his waist and brought him close to me. We locked lips to naturally, moving smoothly along to our own made up rhythm. But something in the air was making me feel a tad bit uncomfortable, not to mention the way Marik was pressed up against me like that. It felt so oddly... exciting. And then I felt his hands on my chest again, but they quickly left and instead I felt my sweater tug me a little. I broke the kiss to see what Marik was up to and then completely froze when I noticed what he was doing.

My uniform jacket was unzipped and not once did Marik and I break eye contact. He just unzipped my jacket like it was nobody's business. I stared at him as he began to unzip his own. I grabbed his hands and stopped him from doing so, causing him to jump a little. I brought him close to me, our bodies practically touching. I took hold of his zipper and removed his jacket from off his shoulders. His cheeks were a little red by the time the blue uniform hit the floor. I shrugged my own jacket off. Marik laughed halfheartedly before taking hold of my hair and pulling me into another melting kiss.

Sooner rather than later the feeling of his scolding skin against mine was practically burning holes into my very soul. Our stomachs were pressed sweetly together and I could feel the muscles in his abdomen contract and extract as my tongue made its way past his lips. His hands ran up and down my back and the feeling of fingernails made me shuddered with the ecstatic feeling. This new experience caused me to get a little rough, spinning us both around and pressing Marik's back against the wall of the shack. A tiny noise escaped the Egyptian's mouth as the fingernails dug deeper into my flesh. I didn't care though, because quite frankly it felt extremely good. I let a rebellious hand trail down his side and I lightly touched his thigh.

And as I expected, his hands pushed at my chest and our lips parted. We both gasped for air. I knew he needed his space so I tried to take a step back but I wouldn't budge. Marik was holding my shoulders and his entire face was flushed red. I pulled my eyebrows together in concern.

"Are you... okay?" I asked through gasps.

He nodded quickly and swallowed roughly, "S-sorry, I'm just a little n-nervous." He giggled, his entire chest and neck flushed red, "Please d-do it again."

Before I could object Marik pulled at the dreamcatcher necklace, causing me to immediately dive back in for a kiss. I hesitantly trailed my hand down to his thigh again and I gave it a squeeze before dropping my other hand down to his bottom, grabbing hold of his tush and tightly grasped it. He whined audibly into my mouth, panting and grabbing at the skin on my back. His touching was becoming more and more rough by the minute and I could feel the excitement barrelling into my chest. His kissing deepened as well with the push of his tongue.

He then lifted himself off the wall and turned me around, slamming me into it instead. I opened my eyes in surprise. This was so unlike the blond. But moments later Marik's tongue left mine. His eyes were wide and his lips were a little swollen and parted. His cheeks red and his eyebrows slanted up toward the centre. He looked so beautiful... so naughty.

"We have to stop now," He gasped, leaning his head on my shoulder, "I'm sorry,"

"Don't apologize," I whispered back and wrapped my arms around him, lifting myself off the dash to hold him more properly, "Why are you sorry?"

"B-because I..." He sighed, "Because we went a little overboard."

"Did we?" I asked. He nodded, "You didn't seem nervous about it." His blush deepened and then he cleared his throat, "There's more to it, isn't there?"

He looked up at me and sighed, "I can't tell you, it's too embarrassing," He chewed on his bottom lip and disconnected the hug, looking down at the floor.

I grabbed his hands and gave him an assuring smile, "You can tell me anything."

He examined my face as if to weigh his options. He finally sighed, "Okay, but you have to promise not to laugh." He narrowed his eyes at me.

"I promise. I'll take it to my grave," I put a hand to my heart and smiled.

"I'm serious!" He exclaimed.

"Me too!" I exclaimed back, causing him to smile.

"Okay, well," He cleared his throat and ran the toe of his shoe into the floorboards, "I'm kind of afraid of... it."

"'It'?" I could only imagine what it was.

"Yeah, you know... it," He looked at me with a little nod. I raised an eyebrow. He rolled his wrists and then sighed in frustration, "Sex! I'm afraid of sex, okay?"

I was about to respond, but I remained quiet, realizing he wasn't yet done explaining.

"Like, I like doing this with you," He ran a hand across my chest slowly, causing me to shiver in both excitement and coldness, "I like touching and kissing and hugging and stuff." He smiled worriedly at me, "But when I think about our relationship and other people's relationships... it just makes me feel like sex is a really big thing, you know? Like everybody is rushing to just get it done and over with. But I want this, us, to last. You know what I mean?"

I thought about this for a second. I could feel my body shivering from being exposed to the air for too long, but deep inside my gut there were a few crickets hopping around. I was nervous to talk about stuff as serious and confusing as this but I knew sooner or later there would be a time when I would do it too. It was just a tad uncomfortable talking about this with someone who you almost know for certain will be the first.

"There's no rush to have sex, right?" Marik peered at me through his eyelashes, a slightly worried expression on his face.

My insides relaxed. Just hearing those words made my entirety cool down, even the crickets stopped. I shook my head slowly, "No rush at all," I smiled. He smiled as well.

"I'm... I'm still a virgin, that's the only reason I mentioned it." He shrugged and kicked at the ground, his cheeks still rich with colour.

I chuckled at the concealed shyness, "Me too."

He raised his eyebrows and looked at me in the eyes, "Really? But you seem like the type who's been around, er-" He smacked a hand to his forehead and then shook his head, "That's totally not what I meant."

I laughed and touched his shoulders, "It's alright. Honestly, I haven't really had that many girlfriends, and the farthest I've ever gone was making out and touching a clothed boob," I snorted.

Marik laughed and then gnawed on his bottom lip, looking back down at my chest. He took in a shaky breath. I knew he was probably feeling a little uncomfortable and I felt bad. I rubbed his toned arms a little, grabbing his attention as I attempted to get rid of some of the goosebumps forming.

"Did you want to put your shirt back on?" I asked.

He shrugged and looked down at his chest, "Eh, not really." We shared a laugh and he looked back up at me, "Unless you want to."

The school bell rang, announcing that lunch was over. I rolled my eyes and shrugged as well.

"You wanna skip?"

"We shouldn't," He chuckled, grabbing his clothes from off the ground.

I smiled and touched his cheek. His eyes fluttered closed. I kissed his lips gently, slowly and softly, really feeling the smoothness of his honey-flavoured lips. When I pulled back to see his reaction, he kept his gaze low, and then giant violet orbs met my brown ones.

"Being a little late never hurt anyone, right?" He whispered, dropping his shirt back to the floor and flashing me his best bedroom eyes. I chuckled and grabbed him back into a deeper kiss.

AN: Okay I lied. There will be a few more chapters, maybe one or two more. It's hard trying to fit a bunch of conclusions into one last chapter, to be honest. I hoped you enjoyed nonetheless! Reviews are lovely! :)