Bakura crouched low, peeking below the kitchen table. "What? You going to just sit there and sulk for the entire week?"

Kek nodded his head.

Bakura scowled. "Look, we all miss Ryou, but you're acting like toddler. Get the fuck out from under the table."

"Fuck you!" Kek snapped, curling his knees closer to his chest and hugging them.

"Fine!" Bakura jerked up and smacked the table. "Stay there and starve. I don't fucking care!"

"Good job, Bakura." Marik's voice came from the doorway to the kitchen. "That'll definitely get him out from under the table."

"Then you do better," Bakura hissed, walking towards the fridge and grabbing random things.

"What are you making?" Marik asked, stepping into the kitchen.

"Pad Thai …" he frowned at the bottle of fish sauce in his hand. "How hard can it be? Ryou does it all the time when he's too tired to cook something complicated."

Marik made a face. "Are you going to-"

"I'll put the meat on the side." Bakura slammed the bottle on the counter.

Marik clawed the air, rawring like a cat to mock Bakura's attitude.

"Not in the mood, Marik. At least if I was alone I could have steak and beer for dinner and marathon zombie flicks until Ryou came back, but instead I'm having to babysit the two of you."

"Oh please, making dinner one night is hardly fulfilling the role of a caregiver." Marik crossed his arms over his chest. "You should make dinner once in awhile anyway, you make Ryou do too much around the house."

"I do? When have you ever put on an apron?"

"You're not wearing an apron."

"That's not the point, Marik. Stop distracting me and deal with him." Bakura gestured towards the table.

Marik turned towards the table as well, sitting on the tiled floor and looking at Kek. "Hey."

"I'm not in the mood for your manipulation. Go away."

"I just want to talk."

"You don't know how to have a civil conversation."

Bakura laughed from his place in front of the stove.

"Shut up, Bakura. You didn't do any better." Marik growled and turned back towards Kek. "Look, I get it. Ryou's your favorite. Can't say that I blame you- Bakura's an idiot."

"Fuck you, Marik!"

"But," Marik continued, ignoring Bakura's cursing. "This floor is cold, your butt is probably numb, and if you spend the night under this table your back is going to hurt like hell."

"I don't care." Kek frowned into his knees.

Marik grit his teeth, looking angry and reluctant to speak, but he finally did. "I care."

Kek looked up a little, surprised. "You … don't seem to be lying."

Marik looked away, flustered. "I'm not lying. You'd know if I was, idiot." He turned back and held out his hand. "Please."

Kek reached out. Their fingers touched and then the loud wail of a fire alarm made them both jump.

"Fuck. Fuck! FUCK!" Bakura screamed, tossing the wok in the sink and dousing it with cold water.

Marik stood up, brushing smoke away from his face that he hadn't noticed when he was sitting on the floor. "It's been ten minutes, Bakura. How did you manage to burn it already?"

"I don't know! At least the fire's out."

Kek poked his head out from under the table. "None of us are surviving the week."

Marik coughed, walking out of the kitchen. "I'll order take-out."

After soaking the pan, Bakura crouched back down, looking at Kek. "It's smokey in here. Come into the living room."

Kek frowned, tugging at one of his spikes of hair. "I miss Ryou."

"Fuck, we all do, but if I crawl under the table and hide with you, Marik will throw a fit and bitch until it's time for us to pick Ryou up at the airport."

Kek groaned, rolling his eyes. "Fine. I don't get why you idiots are even bothering."

"I don't know." Bakura shrugged. "Because Ryou will bitch at us if we don't take care of you."

Kek gave Bakura an unconvinced look. "For someone who does things based solely to avoid hearing Marik and Ryou argue, you should go out of your way to pick fights with them."

"Shut up." Bakura snorted, plopping onto the couch and hugging a throw cushion to his chest.

They waited for the food in silence, and ate in silence. The only sounds came from the television, but it was white noise filling the room, unable to cover up the true silence. Marik cleaned his nails with Bakura's favorite pocket knife. Bakura scowled into the throw cushion he held. Kek curled in on himself on the spot of the couch that Ryou usually sat on, trying to smell Ryou in the upholstery.

No one did anything, but no one went to sleep either. They just sat, listless and mopng in their own thoughts.

Kek started crying.

Marik and Bakura looked up, mouths slack, genuine shock in their expressions as they watched for a moment.

Marik was the first to break, frowning and reaching over to rest his hand on Kek's shoulder. "Oh don't do that."

"I never had to spend a night without him." Kek bit his knuckles, trying to stop his ridiculous tears. "Not once in my whole life."

On reflex, Marik opened his mouth to argue, but thought better of it, realizing Kek meant since he'd returned and named himself. And it was true, Marik supposed. Even though they'd brought Marik's darker half back by accident while trying to steal Bakura from the Shadows, Ryou had embraced him right away, attacking Marik's dark half with hugs and smothering his face with kisses even as he shrieked about how he was going to dismember Ryou for daring to touch him. He had never lifted a hand, however. After a few more aggressive kisses to the forehead, Kek had flushed deep mauve and turned his head to give Ryou a better angle for kissing, and ever since then Ryou had slept in the same bed with Kek, sometimes with Marik and Bakura, sometimes on their own.

Remembering that night, Marik started kissing Kek's forehead. "We miss him, too," Marik whispered. "And we're still here. You're not sleeping alone."

"It's not the same," Kek sniffed, his tears slowing as Marik continued to kiss his face.

Bakura leaned against Marik's shoulder, reaching across Marik's lap and resting a hand on Kek's leg. "Let's face it … none of us are sleeping well tonight." With his free hand, Bakura grabbed the remote control. "Zombie movie marathon?"

Marik turned his head, planting a single kiss on Bakura's lips. "Might as well."

Bakura passed the remote to Kek. "You pick the first movie. Marik, grab the blanket off our bed. It probably smells a little like Ryou. I'll make some popcorn."

"Are you going to set the microwave on fire?" Marik asked as he stood.

"I can make popcorn!"

Marik grinned, kissing him again to throw him off balance before he had time to start a proper argument. "Don't worry. I have the take out guy on speed dial."

He returned with the blanket and cuddled up on the sofa with Kek as they waited for Bakura to return with the popcorn. A minute later he did, placing the huge bowl in Marik's lap so that they all could share and then he curled up against Marik's other side.

Bakura sighed, running his fingers through his white bat-wings. "Holy shit, it's going to be a long week."

Marik couldn't help the little smile toying with the corners of his mouth. "Don't worry, Bakura. I think we'll survive."

"Let's watch this one!" Kek selected 38 Days Later and tossed the remote onto the coffee table. "It's one of Ryou's favorites because it has a happy ending."