Bakura had all but threatened to throw Malik out on his rear after the whole 'bedroom' incident. Marik tried to defend their actions, but with little success. Every time he opened his mouth, it only seemed to enrage the other fiend further (not surprising, given their usual interactions). Malik eventually had to promise to wash the bedsheets in the stream the next day just to appease the homeowner. But Bakura was still rather cross; unappeased by the small promise. He ended up chasing Marik outside; after which he handed the remaining blonde a bucket of soapy water and a mop.
"If you're well enough to fool around, you're well enough to clean around. Get to it."
So Malik was left to slowly clean the cottage floor; while Bakura stormed out, muttering something about 'getting some air.'
Ryou remained thoughtfully quiet as he continued putting together a hearty stew for that night's meal.
The white-haired youth heard his companion gave a rather forlorn sigh. Malik always had a strong disliking of silence, mainly owing to his father's abusive 'isolation punishment' tactics. Taking pity on his (still-recovering) friend, Ryou slowly initiated a new conversation. "So... you and Marik?"
The mop's movements paused, and the dark skin of the wielder's face seemed to tint with a coral flush. "Yeah... we've been talking pretty much every day since we got here, and; well..."
Ryou felt himself genuinely struggling to not to point out the absurdity of Malik's 'romantic' ideas. "I had no idea demons were so like ourselves..."
The lavender-eyed teen gave another sigh. "Marik's got a weird sense of humor, and he eats some strange things. But otherwise? I'd say we could be brothers."
"...you found a guy... who reminds you of a close relative... so you decided to sleep with him."
The bandaged youth seemed to puff up with indignation. "Well, when you put it like that!"
Ryou nearly groaned as he tried to understand the other's logic. "How else would you put it?!"
"Fate, karma, kismet-"
"-incest, interbreeding, a distressingly severe form of narcissism..."
"Oh, go and kiss a summer gopher!"
"At least it won't look like my own sibling!"
The two soon began a rather playful 'fight' in which Malik used the mop's dripping tendrils to fling drips of water at his friend. Ryou retaliated by throwing the tiny bits of garbage left by his chopping (stems and potato eyes and whatnot). It was almost a relief, given all the drama and pain they'd been through the past few weeks; to simply act like carefree friends again. The pair had just about called a truce when Bakura walked back in.
"..." The demonic landlord stared blankly at the now-damp chef and the garbage-adorned house-cleaner. "I asked you to clean my house, and now it looks even worse. I'd say I'm dismayed, but in order for that to be true I'd have to be surprised." He opened his mouth to say more, but was shocked when a rather large bit of potato skin landed right on his forehead.
Malik looked uneasy after Ryou's bold move, but the paler human only grinned and cheekily asked, "Well? Are you surprised now?"
The demon looked stunned, before his eyes narrowed dangerously. His tone sounded most unforgiving. "I suppose you find this amusing?" There was a growl beneath the last word in the phrase, and Malik felt his anxiety growing. But then Ryou let out a soft giggle, confusing both of the taller males.
"I'd say it's a good start!"
"Hm." The fiend pointedly grabbed the tuber peel and tossed it in the wooden garbage barrel. His mouth was tightly drawn, as though he was just barely suppressing his fury. "Oh dear..." The demon turned his red gaze on Malik's mop, his voice oddly simpering. "Your friend must still be far more injured than I thought- he seems to have missed a very large spot."
Malik glanced around, unsure of what the demon was referring to- he thought he'd done a fair job!
But the homeowner shook his head before grinning widely. "No matter- allow me to rectify his error."
Bakura then easily picked up the bucket of soapy water and ran towards the now-laughing Ryou. He let out another growl as he (leisurely) chased after the gleeful youth. He intentionally kept his pace at a mere 'jaunt', rather than outright sprinting. He knew Ryou's ankle was still healing, and he had no desire to injure his 'prey.' But slowing the chase also gave them less chance of tiring, and the pair kept up their 'cat-and-mouse' like game for quite a while. Soon even Bakura was snorting in amusement as the white-haired duo ran around and around the small cottage. Random calls of harmless threats and vague taunts drifted in through the small windows of home, reaching Malik's ears.
The other human watched the pair's antics, his eyes rolling upwards in disbelief. 'Oh sure, and I'm the one who's acting immature here?!"
Ryou hadn't laughed so hard in ages, and he nearly had to stop twice just to catch his breath. Even Bakura had abandoned the now-empty bucket in favor of keeping some of his composure. 'This one never ceases to amaze me...'
But the demon's mood instantly soured when he saw someone running towards them- someone who he'd hoped not to see for a long time. Bakura stopped dead in his tracks and glared into the distance, surprising his 'prey.'
"Hm?" Ryou noticed the other's pause, and he stopped moving as well. "Bakura, what-"
"Someone's coming. It looks like Marik." His voice turned more sharp as he hissed to himself. "Tch- even after I promised to disembowel him for his indecent acts... I swear, that fool would sooner run into a wildfire than listen to my commands!"
"Wait- something's wrong." Ryou could finally see the distant figure that the other's demonic eyes had already spotted. "He's running strangely- as though he's nearly stumbling."
"Yes, well; forgive me if I lack any quantifiable empathy for the b*stard who tried to impulsively fornicate with another species on my bed-" But Ryou noticed that even as the lighter fiend tried to sound furious, his sharp eyes never left the other demon's struggles. "That fool probably got drunk off his *ss and now he's coming back for a second attempt at-"
"Ryou!"
Bakura blinked in disbelief. "Well, at least his taste is improving..."
"Ryou!-Malik-must-know!" The bronzed demon was covered in a full sheen of perspiration, and he was panting as though he'd been running for miles. He bent over, huffing loudly as he continued shouting random phrases. "I- met-him-ran-back-tell-Malik-safe-home!" He managed to gasp out in one long, breathless cry. "Safe-prison-gone!" The winded demon let out a soft groan as he suddenly slumped against a nearby oak tree.
"Marik?!" Malik ran out from inside the hut, having caught some of the blonde fiend's long-winded utterances. "What happened?! Are you alright?"
The exhausted demon nodded but didn't speak. He began coughing wildly, and Ryou wisely fetched him a clay mug full of fresh water.
"-hnks." Marik's voice was raspy as he barked out a brief word of gratitude. He quickly downed the contents, prompting Ryou to go and refill the cup for him. "I'm fine, Malik- but I just heard some news that you need to hear."
"News?" Both of the humans glanced quizzically at each other. Demons weren't known to pay attention to any matters involving humans.
But the larger blonde nodded again, finally able to speak at a slower pace. "I was wandering near the border of the human town, thinking of ways to get back at Bakura for being an over-reacting jerk-wad ("Hey!") when I saw that old man you told me about."
"You mean the doctor? Dr. Tosenku?"
"Yeah, and he wanted me to share a message with Malik!"
Ryou tilted his head in confusion. "About his wounds?"
"No, about his father!"
Malik seemed to freeze upon hearing that last word. "My father?" The boy gave an involuntary shudder as dark memories threatened to flood his mind. "But... wasn't he thrown in prison?"
"Yes, apparently the human poleash thought he murdered you after... well..."
"He tried to murder you." Bakura added bluntly, earning himself a stern warning look from Ryou.
"So he was thrown in jail, and evidently he got really mad at another inmate, and..." Marik trailed off awkwardly.
"He's dead." Bakura declared, but this time Ryou seemed to agree with his blunt statement.
"Serves him right." The pale human muttered to himself. 'Seems he finally picked on someone his own size.'
"..." Malik's violet orbs widened in disbelief. "I'm not sorry he's dead, but I just never expected... I thought..." His voice trailed off as his shoulders began shaking.
Ryou wrapped one arm around his now-shivering friend. "You've spent your entire life fighting to survive that abusive tyrant's madness. It's not hard to imagine how earth-shattering this must be for you."
A single tear slipped down Malik's face, but his mouth also lifted into a tentative smile. "Freedom. I- I finally have freedom." His head was reeling, and whether it was shock or joy that made him faint, he didn't know. All he knew was he fell into a pair of warm, strong hands; and a deep voice murmured, "no one will ever harm you again. I swear."
