Well this was totally unintentional, but I'm updating exactly two years after the last one! This story has been on my mind through all that time but stuff happened and I took a rather long break while I dealt with it, so for that I apologise.

I will finish this story, at some point. It's planned, it's there in my mind (and in a document) but writing it is just taking a while. I promise it will be finished though! It's my biggest writing project by far and it's my baby, and I want to see it done and completed.

Anyway I had some time finally over the holidays so I finished the most recent chapter and the next one has been started. I wanted to make sure it was of the same quality as the rest of the story so it was hard to get back into but I think I managed it after a reread.

Thank you for reading, and Happy Holidays to you all! 3

DustyStars

Xx

Chapter 14- Tentative?

Marik was the only thing Bakura could think about throughout his entire shift that day. Having arrived on time and pacified his rather pissed off boss he had begun his work, collecting people around the city and taking them to other parts of the city before taking their money. Of all his jobs Bakura liked this one the most; many of his clients were too busy looking at their phones to speak to him past the usual pleasantries which suited him just fine.

He was careful when stopping in busy areas in case Mariku or Atem happened to be around, but he saw no sign of them throughout his shift. The sensible thing for him to do in his situation would be to pack up and move to another city, and he probably would have already done so had it not been for the recent developments in his life.

Bakura had never been attached to anyone as far as he could remember. He kept his head down, fended for himself as much as he could and only thought about himself. But that had changed now. Somehow Marik had got under his skin and been able to make Bakura… Dare he say it… Care?

Yes, he cared about Marik in some way. The whole concept was foreign to him and he didn't know whether he wanted to run towards it or away from it. Of course he could be hundreds of miles away from here right now… But something was stopping him. That had to count for something, right? He had left his phone at Marik's as a way of letting him know he would be back, but he was unsure of what he would actually be going back to. Would Marik think Bakura was using him? Both last night and more long term? And just what did Marik feel about him? So many questions needed answering, and Bakura was quite sure there would be a lot for him and Marik to talk about once he returned.

Around seven o'clock Bakura finally finished driving people around and returned to the taxi hire service to drop off his car.

'I need you to work for the next six days straight,' Bakura's boss said by way of greeting as Bakura walked into the office. 'You've fucked up and now you're behind on the numbers.'

Bakura sighed as he rolled his eyes. So this job was about to go downhill too if he wasn't careful. Either he would have to work the extra days or get fired from yet another job, one which he wasn't quite ready to give up yet.

'Sure, whatever.'

He turned to leave.

'And make sure you're not late tomorrow morning,' he boss continued as Bakura turned to leave. 'We got some early morning reservations and I need you here before six.'

'Yeah, fine.' Bakura barely heard him as he left the office, as a sudden wave of trepidation about Marik washed over him.

It didn't take long until he was once again stood on Cordon Road outside the door to Marik's (Or rather, Ryou's) apartment. He cast a quick glance around him before knocking on the door. After a few tense moments where he wondered whether Marik would even open the door, he heard footsteps on the other side.

The key turned in the lock and the door opened to reveal Marik, who to Bakura's relief was wearing a slight smile on his face.

'Hey, come in,' he said a little awkwardly, standing back to allow Bakura to enter. 'How are you?'

'Good thanks,' Bakura replied, equally awkward, something he was not accustomed to being.

'Do you want a drink?'

'Just water, please.'

Why were they being so formal all of a sudden? Bakura thought as Marik moved off to the kitchen. He could only assume it was due to what had happened last night, but he suddenly felt a little… dare he say it… Nervous?

He went into the living room and sat down, and a few moments later Marik joined him with two glasses of water. Bakura was acutely aware of the tension in the room now, and a glance at Marik showed that he seemed to be finding the sofa very interesting to look at, while occasionally trying to sneak looks at Bakura without him noticing.

'So,' Bakura said, finally breaking the silence.

Marik appeared to try and hide a smile, his cheeks reddening. 'Yeah… So…'

'That happened.'

'Yeah…'

The two went silent again for a few seconds, both of them now avoiding looking at the other. Bakura, who had spent most of the day thinking about what he wanted to say suddenly seemed unable to articulate even the simplest of sentences now Marik was actually in front of him. Why on earth was he behaving like this? At this rate they would be sat here in awkward silence forever.

'So how do you feel about it?' he asked quickly, at the same time as Marik said 'Did you like it?'

Marik smiled nervously. 'You first.'

Bakura looked down. 'I asked how you feel about it,' he said again, almost scared of the answer.

Marik took a moment before answering.

'I liked it,' he started. 'I don't regret it, and I'm kind of hoping you don't either.'

Bakura looked up to see the Egyptian looking at him apprehensively. Well it looked like he wasn't getting kicked out straight away at least.

'I don't regret it,' he replied, and watched Marik visibly relax. 'I was worried you would think I'd taken advantage of the situation you were in and I kind of thought you were expecting me to show myself out after you left this morning.'

'I went to see Ryou,' Marik explained quickly. 'But I didn't want to wake you up so I just left you.' He looked down again, refusing to meet Bakura's gaze as he continued. 'I thought you'd left for good when I came back and you weren't here. I thought you might be disgusted with yourself… But then I found your phone…'

Bakura smiled slightly. 'Yeah, I had to go to work or my boss would have killed me.' He thought for a second about Marik's words. 'Why would I be disgusted with myself?'

Marik blushed. 'Well, you know…'

'What?'

The Egyptian took a deep breath before the words came spilling out. 'Well we're both guys and I didn't know if you swung that way because I never really asked you and you might have woken up and realised what you'd done and hated yourself and then hated me and-'

'Marik, stop,' Bakura said, barely able to conceal his smile. 'You're worried I would hate you because we're both guys?'

Marik nodded, still staring resolutely at his lap.

Bakura shook his head. 'I've never been one for labels, I'll like whoever I like. It doesn't bother me. Does it bother you?'

Marik seemed to be having an internal battle. 'Not really, he started before faltering. 'It's just… I had a really sheltered childhood you know… And I've never really bothered with… Stuff like that…'

'Like sex?'

'Yeah…'

'Oh.'

There was another pause.

'So do you like me?' Marik asked tentatively, and Bakura could almost hear the worry in his voice. He paused for a moment before answering. This was what he had been struggling with all day. He knew what he felt… But he needed to take some time before he could admit it to Marik. He looked at the other boy, who was looking at him with a mixture of worry and growing nervousness as the silence drew out.

Finally Bakura made up his mind to just bite the bullet and say it.

'Yeah,' he said, making sure to look directly at Marik as he said it. 'But it scares me that I do. I've never been in this situation before.'

'Me neither,' Marik replied, letting out a little chuckle.

Another pause.

'What do you want to do? Bakura asked, watching Marik closely. He was looking at the coffee table as though he expected something profound to be written there.

'What do you mean?'

Bakura sighed. Where did he start?

'I mean, we both like each other, and neither of us are bothered that we're both guys, but there's the slight problem that Mariku and Atem now think they've… got rid of me. If they see me, they'll not hesitate to hurt both me and anyone I'm seen with. Ryou is in danger too- he's lucky to be alive, but if they see him again that might change. Just being here means I'm putting you both in danger, and-'

Here Bakura paused, thinking of how to phrase the next part.

'-and that's not something I want.'

Marik was watching him now, and he seemed to be taking some time to absorb what Bakura had said. Then a smile crept onto his face.

'What?' Bakura asked, feeling the colour rising to his cheeks. 'What's so funny?'

Marik's smile widened. 'I just find it ironic,' he said. 'When I first met you you threatened to break into my apartment and took the piss out of me as much as you could, and now you're here saying you want to protect me.' He started laughing.

'Oh bugger off, Marik,' Bakura huffed, eyes narrowing as he looked away, folding his arms. Marik was right though, it was rather ironic how much his view had changed.

Once the Egyptian was calm again, he slowly moved closer to Bakura on the sofa.

'So you liked last night then?' he asked quietly, and Bakura turned to find Marik only a few inches away from him.

'Yeah,' Bakura replied, totally captivated by Marik's deep purple eyes. 'It was pretty damn amazing from what I can remember.'

Marik moved even closer, so their noses were almost touching. His eyes were half closed and Bakura could feel his breath on his face.

'From what you could remember?'

'Hm?'

Bakura was struggling to concentrate with Marik so close to him.

'You mean you can't remember all of it?'

'Um. It all sort of blurred…'

Bakura was amazed at the effect Marik seemed to have on him. All his thoughts had become disjointed and right now all he could think of was how much he wanted to grab Marik and pull him to the bedroom and-

'Would you like a reminder?' Marik whispered, putting a hand on Bakura's leg and moving his whole body so they were touching.

The white haired man tried to hold himself back, he really did, but Marik's skin was touching his, and he could smell his aftershave, and it was driving him crazy. As Marik tried to close the gap between them and kiss him, Bakura instead pulled away and stood up, before grabbing a started Marik and dragging him to the bedroom.

Half an hour later Marik and Bakura lay side by side on the bed, panting slightly and staring up at the ceiling.

'Holy shit,' Bakura mumbled, turning to look at Marik. 'That was intense…'

Marik just smiled weakly as a way of answering. Several parts of him ached and he could feel the cool sweat drying on his skin. But he was happy. It felt so… right. Yes, that was the word. It felt right to by lying next to Bakura on his bed after what they had just done. He couldn't quite explain it; by all rights he should be disgusted with himself but he wasn't. He'd learned long ago to ignore what teachings his father had drilled into him, and he wasn't particularly bothered what social etiquette told him was correct, and so he was happy with his situation. Of course, there were still all the issues that had been raised before about Mariku and Atem… He would have to deal with those at some point.

He felt Bakura stir next to him.

'I have to get up early for work tomorrow,' he mumbled, pressing his face into the pillow so all that could be seen was his shock of white hair.

Marik, who had been about to speak, paused for a second. He had told Ryou that Bakura would talk to him soon… He had hoped that would be tomorrow, but if the latter had to work that would prove difficult.

When he vocalised this, Bakura removed his head from the pillow.

'Bugger,' he said. 'I'll have to go after work. Ryou's right, I ought to tell him why it happened. I should be able to get off around 4 tomorrow.' He looked at Marik. 'You are okay with me telling him that, right?'

Marik nodded. He knew Ryou had a right to know, but he did hope Bakura would tell him everything he had told Mark. Bakura trusted him now, and him alone. Again he knew it was silly of him to get jealous of his friend but still… He couldn't help it. He mentally shook himself.

'I'll go and see him in the morning and stay until you get there,' he said, and Bakura nodded before reacquainting his face with the pillow.

Marik's stomach made a rumbling sound and it was only then that he realised he was starving. Wincing slightly he got off the bed and set about finding his clothes, which were strewn all around the bedroom. As he pulled his boxers off of the door handle Bakura raised his head again with an unreadable expression.

'Marik…?'

'Yeah?'

Bakura's brow furrowed.

'Can I, um... Do you have anything to eat?' he asked quietly, not quite meeting his gaze.

Marik couldn't understand Bakura's sudden change in attitude. Just a minute ago he had been fine but now he was looking almost nervous.

'Yeah, I'm about to go make dinner,' he replied, trying not to sound confused. He turned to leave the room.

'Marik?'

Bakura was definitely avoiding his gaze now.

'Yeah?'

'Can I stay tonight?'

'I thought that was a given,' Marik replied. Bakura looked relieved and nodded slightly before laying back down again, leaving Marik to exit the bedroom and head to the bathroom.

Once inside he shut the door and leaned against it. What was that about? They had been doing fine, well more than fine really, and Bakura was suddenly worried that Marik would kick him out? Bakura really didn't trust easily… He clearly still had reservations and doubts, which made Marik feel a little weird. He supposed he would just have to prove to Bakura that he could be trusted not to turn his back on him.

Marik didn't even think he could turn his back now.

He sighed. He would make them both dinner and they would talk normally, and tomorrow they would meet Ryou at the hospital and explain the circumstances. Marik wondered how his housemate would take it. He would completely understand if Ryou wanted Bakura out of the way... but that would place Marik in a difficult position.

It was no use thinking about it now. Right now he had other things to do, and the worries could wait till tomorrow.

(AN: I'm thinking of writing the lemon separately to keep the main story at a T rating, please let me know if this is something you think would work! Dusty 3 )