Okay, this time it took me a bit more than a week to update the story. I think I'm doing good xD I've been really excited to show you this chapter because MARIK!

As always, I want to thank my wonderful Bakura (Demon Lionka) for being such a huge supporter of this story and my writing. Also, I want to thank Julia for her wonderful comments and Kathy for being a wonderful friend. And of course, I want to thank all the people who are reading this story and even leave some comments to let me know they like it! You're all amazing!

Chapter 9

It wasn't a rare thing for a fight to break out in the middle of the night in the neighborhood Bakura King lived. Peacefulness wasn't one of that place's advantages. Drunks would argue over the stupidest of things and end up using their fists until one of them was left in the cold streets unconscious or both of them were too tired to continue. Drug addicts would get desperate and try to rob the wrong person. A broken soul would wail in misery for a moment or two before disappearing in one of the holes that no one would ever call an apartment but still was their home. No, peacefulness wasn't what you could find there. But you could find something close to invisibility and anonymity. People only minded their own business there and didn't try to stick their nose where it wasn't wanted. It wasn't even because they weren't curious or didn't like gossiping. No. It was because as long as they stayed away from you, you would stay away from them too.

The voices became louder as their owners approached his building and he soon recognized them as those of his roommates. "You talk and talk and talk and I still don't get what your problem is." Marik was heard from just outside their door, exaggeration evident in his voice.

The door opened and the two boys walked inside, shutting it behind them. Bakura didn't think it would make much of a difference since the building was only occupied by them and a deaf old man who lived above them.

"You didn't follow the plan." Atem was furious, and if the black mist circling their living room was any indication, really close to losing it.

"Let me guess..." The white haired boy dragged his words to get the other two boys' attention. "It didn't go well."

In all honesty, Bakura hadn't believed even for a moment that Atem and Marik's games would bring any results but he still allowed them to go on with them until he had a better plan. That way when he was ready to do things his way, no one would complain. Still, he wasn't in the mood for any unnecessary whining. Not that he ended up going without it.

"Marik interfered!"

"He was leaving!"

"Well, he still left."

"Not because of me!"

Bakura had enough of this meaningless argument. "Both of you shut up and sit down." He wasn't surprised when neither obeyed him, but he was due to be at work in two hours and he wanted to get this over as soon as possible. "Now." His voice got dangerously low. Grudgingly, both boys took a seat; one on the sofa and the other on the old chair. "Good. Now tell me what happened." Atem opened his mouth to say something but Bakura stopped him. "Marik, you were supposed to let Atem deal with this and only interfere if necessary. What made you think it was necessary?"

Marik smiled pleased by the fact his friend understood Atem had been the one at fault. He told him all about how he had stayed back until he noticed that Yuugi was about to leave and how he had managed to befriend the boy before Atem made him flee.

"Befriend him." Atem sneered. "You used your magic on him and then tried to seduce him. Is this your definition of friendship?"

Marik had enough of the other boy's snippy remarks. "I tried to use my magic on Yuugi to make him stay but it didn't work. He stayed because he wanted to. He danced with me because he wanted to. He had fun while he was with me until you made him leave." He took a deep breath, clearly upset. "I was sincere in my intentions for the boy. Yes, I flirted with him. But I didn't try anything with him. We shared a moment, dancing and having fun. And while we were dancing, he didn't seem to be uncomfortable around me even for a moment."

Marik had enjoyed dancing with Yuugi as much as the other boy had. He had felt Yuugi's sadness sipping through his voice when he talked about Atem. He had understood that what Atem was doing was having a bad effect on the boy and so he had asked him to dance. It was the one thing that always helped Marik relax and he was pleased to see it helped Yuugi too. When his friend interrupted them, he let him do so without challenging him, but he didn't leave the two boys out of his sight. So he had seen the way Atem had held the boy as well as how he pushed him away.

"If you want to point fingers, look at a mirror. This is a wicked game you are playing with Yuugi and I don't like it, Atem. "

Bakura heard his two friends carefully, understanding that the situation was clearly more complicated than he had initially thought. He wasn't a fool. Even though both of his friends claimed they wanted to approach Yuugi for information, it was only a half truth.

"What do you mean your magic didn't work on him?" Bakura addressed the most important issue first.

"I mean what I said." The tall Egyptian boy stood up from the sofa and walked towards the little kitchen, starting the coffee maker. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep anytime soon so he needed the dark liquid. "I approached him when he was about to leave and used magic just enough to make him wanna stay some more. I was also hoping to catch a glimpse of his thoughts but nothing happened. He didn't get misty eyed, he didn't waver, and for sure I wasn't able to control him." The boy remembered how that fact initially filled him with frustration but later on made him even more excited to be around Yuugi. "And before either of you ask, he doesn't have similar powers. I have been trained to recognize the signs of someone with similar powers or one trained on how to see through the illusions and Yuugi didn't show any of the signs."

The noise of the old coffee maker was the only one being heard for a while as the boys processed what that meant. They hadn't heard of people who were naturally immune to their magic but they had limited knowledge of this other world they belonged to so they couldn't know if it could happen or not.

"This complicates things even more. Especially if Yuugi doesn't want to see Atem anymore. " Bakura admitted. But it did open up the way for his plan. "So, pharaoh, what did you do?" He finally turned to address Atem. "Why did the boy want to leave?"

"Twice." Marik whispered under his breath.

The conversation had finally reached the point that Atem wanted to avoid. How could he explain what had happened without exposing the internal battle he faced every time he was close to the younger tricolor haired boy? How could he admit what he was terrified of even admitting to himself? Instead of telling the truth, he went to the offensive.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't do anything to Yuugi." The look Yuugi had given him, so confused and hurt, flashed before his eyes but he ignored it. "He wanted to leave, so I let him go. He doesn't know anything anyway." He hadn't managed to question Yuugi about his grandpa's research but the others didn't need to know it. If they were convinced Yuugi had no information for them, they would stop focusing on him. "We don't need him."

Bakura saw through his friend but this route was more in parallel with his so he didn't say anything. Marik, on the other hand, wouldn't stay silent. Indeed, the taller boy left his cup on the coffee table with such force that it chipped. Black liquid fell on flat surface but he ignored it.

"Bullshit." His voice was quiet but intimidating. "I saw how you pulled him closer, not wanting anyone else to touch him, and then pushed him away. Whatever you think you're doing must stop."

"Why are you defending the boy so much, Marik? What is he to you?" the white haired boy inquired, knowing this wasn't about some stupid crush.

Marik was a flirt and an admirer of beautiful things. He had often mentioned Yuugi to him since the day they had seen him, but Bakura could now see that talking to the boy had made a greater impression to the taller boy than he had expected and it had nothing to do with gathering information or even the fact Marik couldn't use his powers on him.

"Because he's good." Marik's dark iris eyes shone. "You haven't talked to him, Bakura, but when you do, you'll see it, too. There is something about him that I can't describe. And for some reason," he turned towards Atem this time, "he likes you. I won't claim he loves you or anything like that, but when he talked about you, his voice conveyed all the longing he felt to understand you." He let out a sigh. "He wants to be your friend, Atem. Don't you get it?"

The crimson eyed boy felt guilt filling him; it felt like a piece of hot coal had resided in his stomach burning him from inside. And yet, he didn't want to take a leap of faith and admit he wanted to be Yuugi's friend as well.

"I don't need another friend." His words were cold and final. "Especially him. He may know nothing but his family is somehow involved in this mess that destroyed my life. I simply want to know if his family is a potential danger to us. If they aren't, we'll go on with our lives."

"And if they are?" Bakura challenged.

Atem didn't hesitate. "If they are, it's time for us to move again."

Marik and Bakura exchanged a look. They had all been saving money for the day this would happen, hoping it wouldn't. Their lives were far from perfect but they had already moved three times to throw off anyone following them from their trail before ending up in Domino and they didn't look forward to doing it again.

"We need to be on the lookout. From now on anything you deem suspicious will be mentioned. No more bets." Atem was in charge, having already made his mind.

"I think we should try Yuugi one more time." Marik challenged him nevertheless.

"He won't talk to me again." Atem's voice was bitter, even though he knew he was the only one to blame for that.

"He may talk to me, though." The taller boy stated as a matter of fact. When Atem tried to argue, Marik continued "I won't know until I try. I would like to see him again, anyway."

Atem didn't have a good enough reason to argue against it other than the fact he didn't want his friend anywhere close to tricolor haired boy. He sucked his lip and rubbed his temple, exhausted, knowing that if Marik wanted to see Yuugi nothing would stop him.

"Fine. But you're wasting your time."

"I have nothing better to do." Marik grinned and the conversation was over.

Soon after Bakura left to work and Atem went to sleep. Marik stayed up, finishing his cup of coffee in the quietness that finally filled the apartment. He had already made his decision and now he simply had to follow through with it. Fishing his phone from his pocket, he sent a quick text message to Yuugi- Atem had reluctantly given him the number.

"Hi, Yuugi. I'm Marik from last night. I'd like to talk to you some more, if you want it too. If you have some time for a cup of coffee later today, let me know."

Letting his phone on the floor, the boy laid on the mattress stretching his long limbs. Mana, who usually slept in the bathroom and wouldn't budge even if a bomb fell close by while she slept, chose that moment to make an appearance. Absent-mindly, he petted her behind the ears until his eyes started closing. The cat curled by his side and fell asleep too.

Light was filtered through a pair of light blue curtains as Yuugi opened his eyes for the first time that morning. He had the faint impression that something was moving beneath his pillow. Groaning, he reached and grabbed the offensive object. Surprised, he discovered it was his phone. He tried to remember how it had ended up there as the previous night's events came to him. He sighed, ashamed, recalling how he had spent quite some time before falling asleep hoping Atem would text him to explain his odd behavior. Of course nothing of that sort happened and the boy ended up falling asleep with the mobile phone by his side. Somehow during the night, it ended up under his pillow apparently. Now there was a text message for him, if the vibration was any indication. For sure he had set no alarm.

Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he read the message. It was from Marik. He thought he would feel disappointed, but actually he felt relieved. He needed to forget the crimson eyed boy. Hoping for a message from him wasn't a good start, so he was relieved to see he was alright. Focusing on the message again, he wondered why Marik wanted to meet with him. Could it be that Atem was planning to use the other boy as a messenger? No, he didn't think so. He didn't think Atem would try to reach him again. And Marik…he didn't seem like the kind of guy that would play messenger for Atem.

"What a mess." He whispered to himself, sitting up on the bed. He checked the clock. It wasn't even six o'clock. "Wow. It's so early."

Yuugi wasn't sure if it was because Marik resembled Malik or because of how the older boy had helped him relax the previous night, but he liked Marik. He decided to meet him later that day and get to know him better. There was nothing wrong with that. Guessing that the older boy probably had a late night, he chose as a meeting place a café close to the mall and set the time around early evening. He texted him back and then he laid back and closed his eyes needing some more hours of sleep himself.

He woke up again a bit after noon, feeling much better. He took a quick shower, made himself something to eat and then got ready to leave after writing a quick note to Joey and his grandpa that he would be out for a cup of coffee. It was true enough. After all, they didn't need to know with whom he would be. He knew Joey would protest and he wasn't in the mood for that discussion. Grabbing his jacket and gloves, he locked the door and took the road to the bus stop.

Briefly, he wondered what kind of business his grandpa and Joey had that had them out of the house on a Saturday morning. Fuzzily, he remembered how Joey had woken him up around eight in the morning, his mind barely registering the words the blonde said. They would be out for the day. If anything else was mentioned, he was too far gone to remember. He soon dismissed that train of thoughts. Whatever they had to do should better include some grocery shopping because they were running out of edible things for Yuugi to cook with and it was Joey's turn to shop. If they wouldn't bring anything home, he would have to get really creative with whatever he found in the cupboard and fridge to cook for dinner.

He reached the café slightly earlier than the appointed time but Marik was already there, waiting for him. When Yuugi entered the café, Marik stood up to show him where he was, even though Yuugi had immediately spotted him. He wasn't easy to miss. Yuugi took off his jacket and gloves since the café was quite warm and walked towards him. He was pleasantly surprised to notice that Marik waited until he was seated to reclaim his own sitting position. It reminded him of another person and another time, and even though Yuugi didn't want to be reminded of that, the gesture colored his cheeks with a soft blush.

"Thank you for meeting me." Marik's voice was pleasant and light.

"I didn't get a chance to say goodbye or thank you last night." Yuugi admitted. His eyes took in the dark purple V-neck sweater the other boy wore and smiled appreciative. He had chosen to dress comfortable and the color definitely complimented his eyes. He looked good. "I had a good time last night."

The older boy was pleased to hear that. "Do you like dancing?" he asked curious, choosing not to focus on the boy's sudden departure.

"I do. I'm not good at it, but occasionally, I like dancing when I'm alone at home." The amethyst eyed boy slightly blushed confessing this. "It was my first time dancing in a bar. I think you noticed." He nervously picked on the long sleeves of his own sweater, dark blue cashmere.

The other boy smiled at the younger boy's shyness and complimented him on how quickly he had picked up the moves. "I could show you some more at some point, if you want." He let the invitation linger for some moments and then changed the subject. "If I should make a bet, I'd say this isn't your first time here." Seeing the boy nodding, he picked up the menu. "What would you recommend to me then? You should know that I have a sweet tooth."

Yuugi's face lit up. He also had a sweet tooth and that was part of the reason why he loved coming to that cafe. "When you say a sweet tooth, you mean you like regular sweet things or do you go all the way?" he asked with enthusiasm, as he slightly leaned closer to the boy.

"All the way." Marik leaned closer, too. "When I like something, I always go all the way."

"Let me handle this!" Yuugi exclaimed and turned to signal the waitress, oblivious to the double meaning behind Marik's words.

A young girl around the age of sixteen with long dark hair and sharp blue eyes approached them. Taking a look at them, she dismissed Marik and turned her body in order to only face Yuugi. "Hello. I'm Leila. What can I get you?" She smiled flirtatious at the boy. Marik was quite amused and waited to see how Yuugi would react.

"Hello. We'd like two caramel cappuccinos, sweet with chocolate sprinkles, and two slices of your chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake, please." He ordered with confidence, his mind focused on the order rather than the girl.

"Oh, someone who knows our best combination!" the girl exclaimed with fake enthusiasm writing down the order. "You must be a regular. I've just started here but I think I can tell who has been here before." She smiled even wider in an attempt to be inviting, but it wasn't that successful.

"Nice to meet you." Yuugi was polite, completely unaware to what the young waitress was trying to do. "It's usually Makoto who gets my order. It's always great to see that business is doing good enough to get more staff, though."

Marik desperately wanted to laugh as the girl's expression fell. Couldn't the boy see she was flirting with him? "I'll be back with your order." She said, making a quick retreat to the kitchen.

When Yuugi turned his eyes on him, Marik straightened his expression. "Is the cheesecake as good as it sounds?" he asked, reclaiming the boy's attention. That thing had chocolate chips and cookie dough on its title. It had to be good.

Yuugi gasped, pretending to be offended. He pulled back from the table and held his hand over his heart, theatrically. "Marik, prepare to say goodbye to your salary. After trying Makoto's cheesecake, you'll find yourself being unsatisfied by any other cheesecake and coming here to surrender your money begging for a slice of heaven."

The taller boy started laughing. His eyes lit up and he tried hard not to knock anything off the table as he shook on his seat. A couple of customers gave him some odd looks but the boy didn't care.

"I mean it. You're doomed." Yuugi tried to sound serious and ominous, but he actually had so much fun that he started laughing as well.

When Leila came back with their order, they tried to compose themselves but to no avail. She unsuccessfully tried to get the younger boy's attention but left scolding. Marik noticed that she had undone a button of her uniform and applied a new layer of lipstick in order to get Yuugi to take an interest, to no avail. Fleetingly, Marik wondered if Yuugi was always oblivious to people flirting with him or if he deliberately ignored the waitress. Or maybe he wasn't interested in girls? Mmm, the possibilities…

"Go on. Try it." The boy encouraged him, waiting for him to be the first to taste the cheesecake.

The older boy picked up his fork and took a small bite. Chocolate and creamy cheese filled his senses in what must have been the fluffiest, freshest, tastiest cheesecake he'd ever had. He closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation. "Damn." Was all he could say. "You were right."

With a satisfied smile, Yuugi also picked up his fork and had a bite of his cheesecake. "Kino Makoto, the owner, is an amazing baker. She's been feeding me her sweets for years." A soft smile was shaped on his lips. Clearly, he really liked the woman. "Everything on the menu is delicious but I've been in love with this particular cheesecake for over a year." His voice was soft and calm as he spoke, his hands slowly closing around the porcelain of his cup. He blew on the hot liquid and took a sip. "Combining it with a cup of hot caramel cappuccino gives you quite a kick since the slight bitterness of the coffee enhances the sweetness of the cheesecake."

"I'm glad you've decided to share this with me." Marik honestly said and Yuugi smiled. They sipped their coffee in silence as more customers walked in, but at some point the older boy decided it was time for him to ask the question he was avoiding for so long. He knew there was a possibility his question would ruin his chances with Yuugi, but he needed to know the truth. "Does it bother you being here with me instead of Atem?"

That's it. I wonder what Yuugi will answer. You know, I've quite a problem with Marik. Since "What The Hell" he and Malik have stolen my heart. And in this story he is so charming and sweet that I am almost tempted to give Yuugi to him. Almost. I had so much fun writing Marik and Atem having their little argument. I think Atem is going through what I've heard people referring as "Gay Panic." Though I think it's not even about his attraction to a boy but in general his attraction to someone and his inability to control it. Poor Atem. Get your act together.

Let me know what you think about this chapter. See you soon.