The month disappeared before it even felt like I'd settled into the apartment, a mess of calm, quiet days and hot satisfying nights. I was still sleeping with them. Even on nights when we didn't have sex, we shared Ryou's bed. I tried sleeping on the sofa, but it was . . . lonely. I didn't think about Marik in Ryou's bed, not as much, and fuck if it wasn't nice to sling your leg over a hip or a calf in the middle of the night while an arm slung around you.

I was surprised I hadn't heard from Marik yet. I mean, I'd stolen twenty grand from various accounts that he owned. I made it difficult to trace – but not impossible for Marik to trace. I figured sooner or later he'd want to yell at me. I couldn't help but to imagine that bossy, confident voice playing a sultry staccato in my brain as he bitched about nothing important and I retorted with sardonic one-liners, but that never happened. It was like he'd vanished from the grid somehow.

I pushed my thoughts aside and finished my beer, setting the glass at the edge of the table and watching the condensation pool where the glass met the table. We were at a bar, Kek and I, watching a fight. Ryou was wasting his time hanging out with what Kek and I had named "The Pharaoh's New Court." So Kek and I met-up with his trainer and a bunch of the meat heads they boxed with. Hanging out with Kek's gym crew was like finding yourself in a Western-style Gui Comi, or would be if their heads didn't jerk this way or that every time a woman walked by.

Marik would shit solid gold statues of Ra if he could see his alter-ego. If I hadn't walked into the bar with him, I wouldn't have recognized him myself. He laughed, joked, drank beer, and watched the fight, blathering on with his friends in boxing jargon I couldn't decipher.

Friends, holy shit, legit friends. I couldn't imagine Marik having friends let alone Kek. Personally, I'd rather stay at home. Kaiba had a special server setup for online duel monster games and that ate up a lot of my free time. Only what Kaiba considered "real goddamn players" had a password for it, less than thirty worldwide.

The list included all three Ishtars, but I'd only seen Ishizu sign on. In fact, I had an incredibly awkward duel with her because she mistook me for Ryou. I ended up playing along and pretended to be my old host so I didn't have to explain the mistake she made.

The whole mess was Ryou's fault, that little prank-loving shit. He changed his username to Hikari no Bakura then hacked into my account to change mine to Yami no Bakura . I haven't figured out how to change it back. The little bastard happened to be one of the only people better than me with computer code, but for some reason he prefers pencil and paper over a keyboard unless it's necessary. He thought the nicknames were hilarious. I thought they were fucking retarded. Ishizu just saw "Bakura" and rolled with it, paying no heed to the "yami" in front. I got my revenge on Ryou, however. I let it slip out that Ryou was "dating" Kek. She was very polite about it, but it didn't take long for me to win the game after that and she made a quick excuse not to play another.

The Pharaoh, or Atem, whatever the fuck they called him, wasn't a registered member. He had a password, but he never activated his account. Seto was pissed about it. I was pissed, too. It was his fault we were all alive, but according to Ryou all he did was mope around the game shop. The least the son of a bitch could do was be a respectable card game adversary.

After the fight we did several rounds of sake bombs, and by the time we walked home we were practically stumbling our way down the street, arms slung around each other for balance. As soon as we got through the door our mouths crushed together. We fumbled with our shirts and fell to the carpet, laughing.

"It's been over a month and I have yet to fuck you," Kek growled as he tugged at the waistline of my jeans.

"Idiot, that's because you keep fucking Ryou instead."

"We switch, but you haven't bottomed once for either of us."

I grinned at his words because they were true. I've been avoiding it, and it was all too easy when those two idiots kept getting distracted by each other.

"Tonight." He flipped me on my stomach and kissed my shoulder blades.

"Fucker, get off me," I growled, although at the same time I was grinding my ass against his crotch to get him good and hard.

We both laughed like idiots. Too many sake bombs, or just enough sake bombs. My fly was down and he teased my cock with his thick fingers. Yup, just the right amount amount of sake bombs. Thank the fucking gods for sake bombs. I don't even think Kek's group normally drank them – I'm fairly sure they were just trying to get the two Egyptians extra fucked up for shits and giggles, but hey, I wasn't complaining. It'd actually been a fun night, and the encore was looking to be even better.

I heard the door shut and Ryou's voice behind us. "Your night has obviously been more fun than mine."

We stopped laughing and glanced behind us. Ryou stood at the door in a long, dark coat that reminded me of the one he used to have years ago.

"So . . ." I said, drunk and amused with life, "how was gaming?"

It was funny talking to him while I was on all fours with Kek still holding my cock. I giggled at the thought. I hated how I giggled when I was drunk. Damn, maybe it's better that Marik doesn't come to Domino. I'd hate for him to hear me giggle. He'd call me a fool and leave. But there on the floor life was too glorious to worry about it.

Ryou smiled. He loved how I giggled when I was drunk. "It was . . . fun, but tense." He dropped his coat and shirt to the floor. "Everyone was pretending to be happy, but . . ." he shrugged.

Kek let go of my dick and slapped my ass. "Will fucking Bakura fix your evening?"

Ryou pursed his lips as if in thought. "Yes. I believe it will."

"Then go get the lube. I'll stay here and hold him down so he can't escape."

"I think he's too sloshed to escape, but I'll go get the lube."

I bucked to knock Kek off of me, but not nearly hard enough to get away. I wanted to fight a little, but more than that I wanted his hands grabbing me. The drinks were starting to wear off, but I still wanted to chuckle. Everything felt surreal – and it wasn't the booze. It was like I swallowed the Red Pill and woke up to a world that wasn't quite right, but was real.

The carpet pressed against my knees, Kek's fingers sliding up my thighs, the soft whir of the air conditioner. I'm here, in my own body (no more stealing Ryou's), in my own mind (no more Zorc distorting mine). When we fall asleep later I won't hide a dagger in my clothes, and I won't worry about being attacked in the middle of the night. It was weird, so weird. Last time I was in a body, comfort didn't exist, nor safety, nor laughter – the bitter mask of laughter, yes, but not real laughter. Manic laughter was always a way to defend myself, a warning system to let people know I was insane and dangerous and was better left alone. The last time I was in a body of my own, I didn't have—

I didn't want to say friends. That sounded like The Pharaoh's word, but I supposed it was still the correct word to use. I could call them lovers, but they were lovers that would back me in a knife fight if it came to that, and isn't' that what friendship was when stripped it down to its essence? Having someone who would jump right in the middle of any problem you had like it was their own. That was friendship, that was . . .

What I did for Marik during Battle City.

Shit, I hated when my thoughts circled back to Marik.

Kek was a blessing, giving me amnesia to my sorrows when he worked his lips against the nape of my neck. Ryou returned, naked, grinning, and holding a bottle of lube. Kek's mouth left my neck and I glanced over my shoulder to watch them kiss. It made a part of me yearn for them, but another part of me ached for Marik. I realized that I wanted all of them, and it was sad that it was a hopeless fantasy. Gods, it made my chest hurt. And since I had to choose ... I wanted Marik.

I hated it.

But I wanted Marik.

And if Marik truly wanted nothing to do with me?

What would I do?

I refused to consider the possibility of Marik never responding when I first returned, but a month had passed. Should I stay in Domino City?

No.

I couldn't stand the memories. I wanted at least an ocean between myself and the Pharaoh, perhaps the States, or Australia, as far away as I could get. Nevertheless, it was nice knowing that if I wanted to stay – Ryou and Kek would have let me stay with them. It was nice to have a home in them. Maybe I could steal them and take them with me. I was, after all, the King of Thieves.

I gasped. Ryou's fingers were inside me, slipping in and out. It wasn't an impressive feeling at first, but then Kek began fondling my cock and I could see the appeal.

Ryou leaned over my back and spoke in a soft voice. "Are you ready?"

I nodded my head yes. Why not? I hadn't tried it yet. Maybe I'd been waiting ... for someone else, but that didn't seem to be happening, and Ryou's and Kek's hands were feeling better by the minute. They were so good at making me feel attached to the world, even when i yearned for The Fields. I realized, in that moment, that even if Ma'at had lied to me, about Marik, it was okay- to be in the world- because they were in it, too.

Ryou moved his fingers, pushing them in a way that made me grunt. It was a sort of pressure, odd and deliriously wonderful at the same time. My fingers sank into the carpet and curled against the fibers. Carpet made for poor handlebars, but I had nothing else to grab onto, and I was finding that I needed to hold on as the wonderful, brilliant pleasure started to swell inside me.