Disclaimer: Didn't own it before, don't own it now, never will.
I want to thank everyone who reviewed last time and apologize for not getting this out sooner but my computer seems to want to start World War 3 with me and keeps deleting my files. Woe, Woe is me! And now the main event:
"I'm so glad Keith didn't interfere and that Ryou was able to move away with Bakura," Annie gushed as she stared at the last photo of the couple.
"Bakura represented the home and love that Ryou had always wanted and Ryou gave Bakura goals. He took on the responsibility of being a partner and therefore didn't return to his life of crime." Her grandmother took another sip of her drink to wet her throat. She'd been talking for several hours now and her voice was starting to get raspy.
"Are you alright Grandma?" Annie turned her solicitous eyes on the older women and suddenly felt rather selfish. These boys had been the woman's friends and several of these memories must be hard for her to relive, yet alone have to share aloud. "We can stop now if you'd like."
"Stop?" The women scoffed. "Why we're almost at the end. Why would you want to stop now?"
"I just thought this might be too hard on you."
"Nonsense. I may be old, but I'm not dead." She sat up a little straighter and pointed to the next photo. The location was unclear but the scene was endearing. Marik and Malik were lounging on a couch, Malik's head ensconced on Marik's lap. The older boy's fingers were woven in his companion's platinum locks and they both looked perfectly at ease. "Malik had always been rather stubborn when he wanted something..."
XXX
The butler left Malik waiting in the downstairs living room of Otogi's mansion. Malik hadn't wasted even a moment since being released from jail and had rushed back to his former place of employment as though the devil was nipping at his heels. He hadn't felt this alive in years and now he was only moments away from seeing Marik again. His heart beat unsteadily in his chest.
During his trip Malik had tried to think of what he would say to Marik, how he would even begin to explain things to the older Egyptian, but he could never quite actualize what he wanted to express. Finally he just gave up and decided he would wait to see the look in Marik's eyes when he saw him again and just go from there. After all, there was still the chance that Otogi had told him the truth back then and that Marik would want nothing to do with him.
Unable to sit quietly, Malik began to pace the room. At least now he would know.
Hearing footsteps in the hall, Malik stopped his movement and took a deep breath. This was it. The doorknob seemed to turn only millimeters at a time, and he heard the hinges creak as the door was slowly pushed open. Malik felt like his heart would explode in his chest if something didn't happen soon.
Finally, the door swung completely open and Malik found himself face to face with the slender, and obviously infuriated, form of Otogi.
"You sure have a lot of nerve showing your face around here," his former employer sneered at him.
Malik's bewilderment at seeing Otogi made it hard to think. He hadn't planned on confronting the man until he had ascertained whether he had lied to him about Marik or not. Now he didn't know quite what to do or say about this sudden surprise.
Otogi, however, seemed to know exactly what he wanted to say and proceeded to do so with perfectly aimed caustic phrases. "First you worm your way into my house where I treat you as a respected employee, then you put the moves on my boyfriend, and even after I pay you to go away, I just can't seem to get rid of you."
Otogi was stalking ever closer to him as he spoke, his green eyes flashing with rage under his black bangs, and Malik was swept by a fleeting fear. He lifted his foot to step back, to move himself out of harm's way, but stopped. Hadn't he finally decided he wasn't going to be afraid anymore?
Switching tactics he stepped forward and cut off the other boy's approach.
"I didn't come here to be lectured," he said with the confidence he hadn't remember having for a long time. He could only assume that Otogi had come to try to chase him off again, but he wasn't going to be intimidated. He wasn't leaving until he got what he came for. He looked Otogi in the eyes unflinchingly. "I just want to know about Marik."
"Well you've come to the wrong place. What could I possibly have to say to you about him?" Otogi seemed puzzled, but it was had to determine if it was do to Malik's statement, or the boy's sudden rally to confidence.
Malik met Otogi's eyes, refusing to flinch under the intensity reflected at him. "I want to know the truth."
"The truth? The TRUTH?" Otogi laughed darkly. For him Malik's words had a much deeper implication. "I see, so that's it. You came to hear about how he left me. You wanted to look in my face while I admitted that he was so enraged to return and find you gone that he packed up his things and left the same night. How he wouldn't let me explain, or tell me where he was going. Or maybe you wanted to know about how much guilt and shame I felt. Or about how cold his voice was when he left me? Is that what you want? Is it?"
Somewhere during Otogi's vituperation, Malik had stopped listening. The only thing he could process was the phrase 'he left me.' It seemed tangible proof that Marik really had loved him. . Otogi had lied to drive him away and the other boy was so mad he had left him on the spot. Malik was almost dizzy with happiness and he wove the sentiment of the statement around his heart like a scarf to keep the chill out.
"What are you smiling about?" Otogi snapped at him. He couldn't stand to see the boy looking so pleased by his humiliation. This was the boy he had lost to and he couldn't let his guard down.
"He's not here," Malik responded, as though the fact had just dawned on him.
"Of course he's not here," his former employer rejoined peevishly. "He left to look for you."
"He..." Malik's violet eyes suddenly flashed. Marik had left to try and find him. All that time he'd been off searching for Bonnal, Marik had been searching for him. His quest for revenge that was spurred on by the hatred and anger that had been consuming him had been leading him away from the genuine affection that had been pursuing him. Away from Marik.
Still, in all this time he hadn't heard from the other boy at all. Was he going to be denied this too? Not if he could help it. Swallowing his pride he turned to the only resource he had at the moment for help.
"Do you know where he is?"
Otogi was taken aback by the desperation in Malik's voice. He'd already realized that the boy before him was no longer the timid and repressed boy he had employed, but only now did he realize what must have happened. They had never met up; Marik had failed to track him down.
"Dammit,"Otogi cursed under his breath. When the butler had informed him that Malik was back he had just assumed the boy had come to rub his new found happiness in his face. In fact, he'd only been looking for Marik. Fate was a cruel mistress to drag him back into this affair.
Otogi gave a heavy sigh and somehow his anger seemed to leave him along with his breath.. "I wanted to put all of this behind me," he admitted. "I mean it's not like Marik hadn't taken other lovers before, but he always came back to me. Always. I convinced myself it was because he loved me."
"Otogi, I...," Malik didn't know what to say about the somber tone the conversation had taken.
Otogi waved him off. "Then I saw how he was with you. I saw the way he looked at you, that spark of concern in his eye or the slight smile the sound of your voice brought to his face, and I knew he didn't love me. That he had never loved me." He ran a hand through his raven locks. "I knew it, but I didn't want to accept it. I thought if I could just make you go away then..."
Rather then offer a spurious apology, Malik simply repeated his question. "Do you know where Marik is?"
For a moment Otogi thought about lying. Why should he help either one of them he reasoned. They obviously hadn't spent much time considering his feelings when they were sneaking around behind his back. Maybe they didn't deserve to find each other, and he certainly shouldn't have to be the one to encourage their reunion. With scorned thoughts prevailing in his mind, Otogi could already feel the erroneous directions forming on his lips when he stopped himself. There was no point in it now. Nothing was going to bring Marik back.
"No," he said, changing tactics. The truth was just as damaging as any lies. "I don't know where he is. He has no reason to keep in contact with me." Otogi watched as Malik's face fell, but there wasn't defeat in those arresting lavender eyes like he expected. They looked back at him with determination.
Otogi knew that he had lost. Whatever had been between Malik and Marik before, whatever had stood in their way and kept them from just being together back then (he wasn't conceited enough to pretend his relationship with Marik had been a deciding factor) was gone now. Malik clearly cared for Marik and was ready now to be with him.
"I don't know where he is," Otogi reiterated with a sigh, "but I know someone who might. I'm sure the first place he would have tried looking for you is with your sister."
Of course! Malik felt stupid for not having thought of that himself. Isis was probably still staying with Rashid and if he knew his sister, she'd know how to reach Marik.
"Thank you." It pained him to thank Otogi after the malicious lie he'd told, but the information was valuable and he was grateful nonetheless.
Otogi nodded in acknowledgment and watched as the boy walked past him and out of his life once again.
"I wish I'd never met you Malik Ishtar," he sighed to the empty room.
XXX
Isis noticed the change in her brother the instant she opened the door to find him standing on Rashid's front porch. Her brother had been a stranger to her for so long that it was overwhelming to see the spark she remembered in him rekindled. She had prayed every night he would find the strength to be himself again someday, and now here he was standing before her. He was boldly looking her in the eye for the first time since waking up in the hospital and she couldn't hold back her tears at the sight of him. She enveloped him in a crushing hug and her heart only swelled further when he didn't flinch or pull away.
"I've missed you so much brother." Finally, slowly, she let go and stood back to look at the boy her brother had become. No, that wasn't right. She saw in him the man he was. He'd faced a terrible amount of adversity and he had overcome it.
"I can see that," Malik observed. Then he gave a sly smile. "You didn't have to pull out the waterworks just to prove it."
"Oh shut up," she laughed, wiping the tears from her face. "You could have at least written."
Malik patted her on the shoulder. "I've been busy. Mind if I come in?"
"Of course not!" Isis blushed at her delay in extending the invitation and stepped aside. As though she had finally begun to process the reality that Malik had in fact returned, she suddenly gasped and threw a hand over her mouth. "He's going to be so happy to see you."
"What?"
"Marik," Isis gushed. She grabbed her brother by his shoulders and planted him to the ground just inside the front hall. "Wait right here, I'll go get him."
"Marik?" Malik's brain took a moment to catch up. Did she mean Marik was here? His heart jumped into his throat. It had to be a joke. Maybe he had heard her wrong. It just didn't seem possible that the person he was searching for was so conveniently waiting right here for him.
Nothing in his life had been easy lately and it was hard to believe something this important, something he wanted this badly, would be so quick to materialize.
Still, regardless of his incredulousness, it was true. Malik found himself taking deep breaths to try and keep his heart from leaping out of his chest when that familiarly gruff voice reached his ears from further within the house.
"What the hell Isis? I was trying to sleep!"
Malik's stomach twisted itself into a knot. Please, please let this be real.
"You won't care about that when you see what's waiting downstairs," he heard Isis reply in exasperation.
Their footsteps were on the stairs now; Marik's heavy and lumbering while his sister's were fleet with excitement. "Look here woman, I don't care what you-"
Marik stopped mid-sentence as he spotted Malik standing there and their eyes met. Isis smiled over the man's shoulder and then sensing what was about to happen made her way back upstairs with a bounce in her step. Neither blond noticed.
Malik watched the emotions spark through Marik's eyes and tried to remember if the violet orbs had always been so expressive. Shock and surprise bled into acceptance and confidence as his lips turned up in smile that for once wasn't a smirk. Just as quickly it was gone, and Marik looked at the younger Egyptian with a look of such intensity, that it made his toes curl.
Malik felt like time would stop just for them, but he saw Marik's eyes narrow slightly in what he recognized as suspicion and then that sonorous voice broke the silence that had enveloped them.
"We should talk."
And Malik could only nod.
XXX
Rashid' living room was commodious, but it's austere furnishings seemed to add to the effect. With so little furniture to take up room, the space between objects became more noticeable and Malik couldn't help but note the distance between himself and Marik as they made their way into the room. There was a distance between them both physically and emotionally, and they both still felt it. The question was wether they could be honest and if that would be enough to overcome it.
Malik settled himself as comfortably as he could with the tension between them on the couch, and Marik bypassed the only chair in the room to sit beside him. They weren't touching, but they were close enough that they could be at a moment's notice. Malik swallowed and took a deep breath. He been waiting for this moment, but now that it was here it was suffocating. His happiness hinged on what would happen next and he prayed he had the courage to face this last obstacle.
"I went to see Otogi." Malik didn't know why he opened with that, but all he could focus on was how their proximity allowed him to feel the heat of Marik's body. Besides, he wanted Marik to know he had gone looking for him, that he hadn't simply shown up here by accident.
Marik's snorted a quiet laugh. "I'll bet he was thrilled."
"Hardly." Malik looked down at his hands in his lap. He nervously toyed with his metal bracelets, but stopped as the sound echoed through the cavernous silence. "He told me what happened."
"Yeah well,,,"
He caught Marik's flippant hand gesture out of the corner of his eye and understood. It was the older boy's way of acknowledging what had transpired since they last saw each other. Malik shook his head. He didn't care about that now.
"So what brings you back here?"
"I wanted to see you." In truth it was so much more than that, but the journey that had brought him to this moment seemed ineffable and he didn't know how to properly convey it. Yet somehow Marik seemed to be at the core of it.
"You knew I was here?" Marik asked. There was a genuine note of surprise in his tone.
Malik shook his head. He was much more comfortable with this line of questioning then the one he knew they would come to. His stomach flipped at just the thought of what he would have to confess eventually. "Not at all. I just thought Isis might know how I could get in touch with you. Otogi said you were looking for me."
"I was." Marik's statement was so direct that Malik clung to it as verification of their shared desire to reunite.
Marik closed the distance between him and his hand fell cautiously to Malik's knee. He still remember how shy to the touch the blond had been, and he didn't want to frighten him. Nevertheless, the weight of his hands seemed to spark something in Malik and the teen jumped to his feet.
"Malik..." Marik's voice was hesitant and the sudden rejection to his touch. The boy's startled and skittish response stirred disappointment in Marik's heart. Even with Malik's back to him, Marik knew what his face would show. Lavender eyes full of fear and secrets that the blond wanted to keep buried. It was an impenetrable wall that had kept them from fully being together before, and it dawned on him that nothing had changed after all. Malik may have said that he wanted to see him again, and implied that he wanted them to be together, but there was no point if he still couldn't trust him. Marik let out a dejected sigh. He really could have loved this one.
"I'm sorry," Malik rejoined, only this time it wasn't the timid apology tinged with fear at another's touch. This apology was merely meant to say: "Wait, let me talk."
Marik felt something in his heart shift as Malik turned to look at him with determination burning in his eyes. Yes, Marik wanted to shout. This was the Malik he had known was in there all along.
"I can't think when you're touching me," Malik confessed with a smile. "And there is something I want to tell you. Something I need you to know before we do this."
Marik also rose to his feet and held up a hand to stop him. "It's enough that you want to tell me."
He was gratefull for the escape Marik was offering, but he needed to do this. Marik had to see who he really was- all of him, and accept him regardless. He had to know that Marik saw who he was and wanted him anyway. Otherwise he'd always wonder: would he still want me if he knew the truth? Malik didn't want that wall between them anymore.
With one good shove he sat Marik back down on the couch.
"Maybe that's enough for you," he told him. "But I'm sick of hiding." He pulled his shirt over his head and spun back around so that the full scale of his scars was revealed. "I want to tell you about the night I got these."
It was the story he couldn't tell before. The part of him he had kept hidden that night Marik had first asked, and the secret that he knew had kept Marik from ever saying he loved him. It wasn't that the truth made him unlovable, it was the distance he had placed between them to protect himself- to conceal his shame. Once he had displayed this side of himself there would be nothing to stand between them.
Marik sat there and listened. He didn't turn away and he didn't block it out. He kept silent only because there was nothing he could say. Malik had taken control of this story and he didn't want to interfere in that. And yet, as the ordeal was revealed to him in all it's horror and tragedy, all he could think was how proud he was of Malik. The boy had carried a terrible weight on his shoulders and rather than cave under it, he had found a way to bear it. The teen truly was amazing.
"So that's when I knew that I could have what I wanted, and what I want is you," Malik concluded. A silence descended on them once more and for a moment he wanted to drop his eyes to the floor. He had just put himself on display before the man he loved, and while he wanted to be strong, he still felt a nagging voice in the back of his head saying maybe he was unworthy after all. That maybe this had been a mistake.
His eyes dropped as far as the top of Marik's spiked blond locks before he felt himself pulled violently off balance.
The heat of Marik's body and the reassurance that flooded through him as those slightly chapped lips found his own dispelled that voice. The kiss wasn't harsh or demanding. In fact their lips were only just touching, but it was far from chaste and somehow it was everything he wanted and needed.
"Don't ever drop your gaze," Marik enjoined as he pulled back. "You have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of."
They could do this, Malik realized with a clarity that no one could question. With Marik beside him to catch him when he began to falter, to prop him up when he started to fall, he knew he could do this. Suddenly the gravity of everything seemed to catch up to him and he fell listlessly against the other Egyptian. He had done what was needed, and his world hadn't shattered. All his fear and apprehension had been worth it, because he had overcome them and it was alright. Just knowing Marik accepted him was more than enough.
Marik shifted them until they were situated on the couch with Malik's head settled on his lap, those lavender eyes alternately gazing up at him or fluttering shut as he languidly ran his fingers through soft platinum locks.
Marik began to talk about himself as they rested there. He spoke of the family he had lost, the friends he had made, and any more of a hundred other little details that would bring them closer together. The stories sparked memories, and Malik began to share tales of his own life and suddenly they were speaking as though there had never been any distance between them at all.
They were finally getting to know each other, and it was refreshing to know they didn't have to hold anything back. Secrets and deception were a thing of the past, and the new relationship they were building was based on the solid foundation of trust. It was frightening to bare your soul so completely to another, but they both knew this was the only way it could ever work. And they both wanted it to work, so they talked and shared and kissed and just enjoyed one another's company.
As Isis poked here head in a few hours later, she didn't have the heart to disturb them as they lay ensconced in each others arms. Instead she fetched her camera and surreptitiously snapped their picture, knowing that the moment marked a new beginning for them both.
A/N: I didn't want to make this too sappy or fluffly of a reunion so I tried to keep it a little understated. Still, I hope it was visceral enough to satisfy all the Marik/Malik fans out there even without the effusive declarations of undying love. I wanted to show the connection they had made so that the "I love you"'s wouldn't be necessary, but implied. Sadly, this is the end of their little saga which I hope I concluded satisfactorily. I feel like Malik came full circle and is going to be ok now so if I didn't convey that properly then I'm disappointed in my ability to tell a good story. Please review and let me know what you thought if it's not too much trouble. And now there's only one more chapter to go, but I sort of wrote two different endings for the Seto-saga and I'm not sure which one is more fitting. Maybe I should just flip a coin. Lol.
