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I make up the couch with linen and pillows. I remembered doing this with Kek. He was right. It is our couch. I feel like such an asshole. Ryou tapped my shoulder and distracted my thoughts.
"Something wrong?" I asked, as if I didn't already know that my leaving was very much wrong as far as Ryou and Kek were concerned.
"Come see," Ryou whispered, sneaking to the kitchen with his cellphone in camera mode- Ryou forever with that damn cell phone.
We dropped to our knees, peeking through the crack in the kitchen door. Kek and Marik were laughing, talking about something from childhood. Occasionally Kek would shove his spoon at Marik. Each time Marik would furrow his brow, and argue, but each time he ended up opening his mouth and taking another bite. After a few more rounds of sharing from the container, Kek frowned at his empty ice cream carton. He sighed, stood up, and stretched.
"Guess we should go to bed." Kek scratched the back of his head.
"Yeah." Marik stood up, frowning at the door. "Ryou, are you filming this?"
How the fuck did he even see us? Ryou didn't care though. He pushed open the door all the way and rested on his side to get a better shot.
"Why shouldn't I? You're both getting along and it's adorable. I need to capture this moment for later."
"If you're going to stay for a few week's," Kek said, "You better get used to being part of the Ryou documentary. He films everything."
"Really?" Marik raised an eyebrow and glanced down at Ryou.
I didn't like where I thought this was going.
"Have any cute ones of Bakura?"
I knew I didn't like where that was going.
"Do I ever." Ryou grinned. "Want me to text you a few?"
"Of course."
I groaned and marched out of the kitchen. I slipped out of my hoodie, but kept my boxers on as I slipped beneath the blankets. It was weird keeping clothes on in bed. It was weird not following Kek and Ryou to the bedroom after they waved goodnight.
They waved goodnight.
Waved.
Like this was a sleepover.
Like I didn't live here anymore.
I wanted to yell at them for it, but I didn't have the right. Malik sat down beside me. He combed his fingers through my hair, and I sighed at the comfort of it.
"You can go with them," Marik whispered.
I shook my head no.
"I didn't mean to make everything awkward," Marik said. "When I read your note, I thought- I didn't take into account how much time had passed."
Fuck, this is all my fault. If I knew how the fuck to let things go… but that was never something I was good at.
"It was from a movie," I muttered, thinking more than speaking. "That note. It's an old movie from the States."
"What movie?" Marik asked.
"No way I'm telling. You'd go watch it." I smiled despite the whirlwind in my chest.
"Oh? Don't want me watching? Is it a sappy rom-com?" A beep rang out from Marik's pocket. He grinned and grabbed his cell phone. "Well then, looks like I'll have to content myself with home movies instead." Marik removed his tie and jacket. He rolled up his sleeves and loosened the top few buttons on his shirt before laying down beside me.
"You have way too many clothes on." I grinned.
"I'm a guest."
"Then you should be polite and at least take off your shirt."
Marik snorted in laughter. "That's hardly polite."
I tried to think of what would be considered polite by our house guest standards, and realized that we've never had anyone over. We've gone out, but no one ever comes by. That wasn't fair to Ryou. He was a little more social.
"You're quiet," Marik said.
"I was thinking maybe Yugi and the others should come by? Didn't you assholes sort of become friends? They'd probably want to see you while you're in town."
"I wouldn't do that to you." Marik frowned. "I know how you feel about the Pharaoh."
"I don't really care. It's all Ressurection Club now." I shook my head. It's hard to explain to someone who never went through their own weighing. The pain, the vulnerability of having your soul measured for all to see (all the gods to see), the agony of returning. "It's not that I've forgiven anything, not really." I stared at the ceiling. "It's just that it's too complicated now to really… feel any one way, about anything. It's like you said earlier. It was never just the Pharaoh- everything was bad."
A strange, tense silence wrapped around us. Marik broke it by loading up the first video.
"Are you going to give me context?'
"I guess." I didn't really want to, but it was better than us laying still and quiet. I stared at the screen. "That was the day of Kek's bout. He'd made his weigh in, so we went to get noodles so he could put some of the weight back on before the fight."
"He fought?"
"It was a boxing match. That's how he got his job. Now he just trains, though." I sighed. "Marik… it's hard to explain, but-"
"I know." Marik cut me off. "You don't have to explain. I can tell. The few minutes in the kitchen were all I needed to know how different he is."
How great he is. Marik shouldn't just know that he was different. He should know that Kek was fucking phenomenal. Ryou too. We bullied Ryou around during Battle City, but we should have taken better care of him- I should have taken better care of him.
"So what's this?"
"Me laughing on the floor."
"Yes. Obviously. Why?"
"Uh… I think I'd had three beers?"
"Three beers is all it takes to have you literally rolling on the floor laughing?"
"It's not the same as the beer I drank as a child."
Marik laughed. "Maybe I should buy a six pack then. What's this video?"
"Horror movie marathon."
"If it's horror, why are you all laughing?"
"Watching dumb kids getting stabbed for being morons is really funny."
"Fair enough. You laughed when you stabbed yourself, too."
"Yeah… I don't really remember why that was funny, though. Zorc is a helluva drug."
"The Items in general," Marik agreed. "This is the last one."
"Don't watch that one." I grabbed the phone.
"Why not?" Marik smirked, trying to take his phone back.
"That was my first morning back. You shouldn't see it."
"Why? Are you adorable?"
"I'm naked."
"So what?"
"So's Kek."
"I already know you slept with him."
"Fine." I rolled my eyes. "Watch, whatever. There's no arguing with you."
"Not really." Marik smirked.
He watched the short film. I did, too. If anyone else had sent it, I would have thought they were doing it to hurt me. Remind me of what I was going to leave behind, but I know Ryou. He wanted Marik to see that first morning. He wanted to see both me and Kek.
"You look really happy in all of these." Marik's smirk softened to a warm smile.
"Yeah, it wasn't all bad," I confessed. "I wished you were there, too, though."
"Wished I was there, too?" Marik chuckled in a soft voice. "In addition?"
"I guess so." I laughed at myself. "That is how I said it."
"I'm here now." Marik set his phone aside. Ryou left a lamp on and soft light made Marik's skin glow.
I grabbed him, and buried my face against his chest, sucking in the aroma of his cologne and skin. The only problem was, wrapped up in the blankets as we were, I could still smell Ryou and Kek as well. I fell asleep wrapped in Marik's arms and all of their scents.