Chapter 7: If You Do Not Believe This Lie Is True
Rewinding the tape for the fourth time that 'morning', Marik sat back in his chair and pressed the 'play' button on the remote.
//"Come here boy." Silence. Slap. Gasp. Shuffle. Rustle. CRASH! cra-crack. Thu-CRA-SHATTER!
"You ass! You made me break my window! Now… you're really going to pay."
"Seto?" Creak.
"Mokuba! Go away! It's nothing!"
"But… I heard glass breaking." Creak. "Oh…"
"Come here boy."
"No! Mokuba, leave."
"Come here!"
"Leave!"
"Don't argue with me boy!"
Crack. Crack. Groan. Thump. Shuffle. Scream. Cry. Sob.
"Go-Gozaburo! Leave him alone."
"You wouldn't, boy. You pansies haven't got enough balls to pull the trigger of a gun."
"I'm only going to warn you one more time."
"And then you'll… what?"
Smack. Thump. Moan. \\
Marik winced and crossed his legs.
//"I'll kill you. I've had enough of your beatings. It's going to stop, and you're never going to touch Mokuba ever again."
"Oh, yeah?"
Thump.
"Stop!"
Bang. Bang. Smash. Crunch.
"Seto? What did you do?"
"I… holy… shit. I think I killed him. Oh… Shit! No! Don't--Don't move! Don't touch anything! You're only going to get connected with the crime scene. Just… don't move. Got it?"
"O-Okay."
Swish. Thump. Shuffle. Shuffle. Click. Crack. Whir. Shuffle. Click. Click.
"Okay. I've wiped all our prints off the room, and I've got the tape. Okay. Come on, and let me touch everything." \\
Marik stopped the tape.
"Damn it! Why did I just spend a month worrying about this?!" Marik asked as he finished off his third cup of coffee and ejected the tape, by kicking the eject button. Grabbing the tape and his coat, Marik hurried out the door. He needed Yami's approval on his verdict.
Running through the halls, Marik vaulted over a desk in his way and almost knocked over another cop with a handcuffed criminal.
"Hey!" The thug shouted as Marik ran towards the exit.
"That's what you get for being caught, screw up!" Marik shouted over his shoulder as he used his other shoulder to ram open the front door. Marik ran into the parking lot, and realized he had no car. Cursing himself, Marik looked around to see a woman entering the station with a set of keys in her hands. Walking over to her, Marik grabbed her arm and gave the woman a death glare.
"You drive?"
"Ye-yes." The woman shrugged, showing her keys.
"Good. Get ready to drive me somewhere."
"Wh-what?" The woman asked, pulling back.
"I'm losing my patience, bitch." Marik snarled. "Take me to your car. Get in your car. Take me to my partner's house."
"But… But…"
"What's going on here? Tea, are you all tight?" Malik asked as he walked across the parking lot.
"She's not dead yet. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm hijacking her car."
"Don't mess with people, Marik." Malik snapped angrily. "If you're desperate enough to break the law, I'll drive you. But you owe me."
"Everyone owes you something, but whatever. This is important." Marik huffed as he flipped Tea off in annoyance and followed Malik to his car. In the back of Marik's mind, it occurred to him that any other day he would have been hyperventilating at the mer thought of Malik driving him anywhere! On the other hand, Marik decided, he was already wound up about solving the case. Maybe there was only so much excitement to go around?
Marik sat down in the passenger's seat and immediately began to fidget like a child. It wasn't that he was impatient, he just hated waiting.
"Relax, would you?" Malik asked as he got into the car. "It's like you're off to see your drug lord or something. Run out of pot this morning?"
"Just crack." Marik shot back, with a slight sneer, while he mentally strangled himself.
'Way to impress the boy, Marik. Fuckin' genius that.'
"Where are we going anyway?" Malik asked as he pulled on onto the road.
"Down that way." Marik pointed. "I need to get to Yami's house. You wouldn't mind speeding, would you?"
Malik sighed, and rolled his eyes.
"Sure, let me just go a hundred and twenty in front of a cop car. That will be great for my record." Malik sniffed.
"Cop? Where?" Marik asked, before he spotted the police car a few cars behind them. "Oh. Oops."
"Damn straight."
"But I'm gay." Marik frowned.
"Is your stupidity natural or drug induced?" Malik wondered out loud.
"You're rude."
"And you're cocky. Not to mention conceited, thoughtless, aggressive, insane…"
"A bit touchy today, aren't you?"
"I'm like this every day, or don't you ever notice?"
Marik shrugged, not wanting to argue anymore, and the pair drove the rest of the way to Yami's apartment in silence. Malik watched Marik get out of the car and close the door behind him. As Marik walked up the path to the apartment complex, Malik rolled down his window and leaned his head out.
"Oi! Marik! I'm gonna go back to the labs to get my hours."
"Fine. I'll probably be taking the rest of the day off anyway." Marik shrugged without looking back. Getting up to the front door, Marik pulled out the front door key that Yami had given to him once and unlocked the front door. Running up the stairs to the third floor, Marik pounded on Yami's door. "Yami! Yami!"
Suddenly the door was wrenched open and Yugi stuck his head out, glaring at Marik.
"Ya-Yugi! Wow. You look like shit." Marik shrugged, as he took in Yugi's rumbled hair and clothes. Yugi's face was blotchy and there were bags under his eyes. "So, uh, is Yami there?"
"Marik." Yugi hissed. "You- You- YOU WHORE!"
"I… what?" Marik asked, in surprise.
"YOU CHEATING BASTARD! WHY DON'T YOU GO BACK TO YOUR SLUT?!"
"Damn it, Yugi! What did I do?" Marik asked, as Yugi chucked an empty beer can at his head.
"Yami, you prick! How long did you think it would be before I found out? I'm not fucking stupid!" Yugi sobbed as he threw another can at Marik and slammed his door.
"Well… I'm glad I didn't leave. This is far more interesting than lab work." Malik remarked from behind Marik. Marik turned to face Malik and Malik tossed him videotape. "You left this in my car. You… need a ride somewhere?"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Finally, you're here." Bakura sighed as he opened his door to see Malik and Marik standing on his front step. "Took you long enough."
"You were expecting me? Oh, Bakura! I'm so touched!" Marik giggled, as he draped his arm over Bakura's shoulder.
"Damn it, Marik." Bakura growled as he threw Marik's arm off his shoulder. "I'm taken."
"I know." Marik told the floor mournfully. "I miss my fuck-buddy."
Rolling his eyes at Marik's display of false lamenting, Malik looked past Bakura into the house.
"Why were you expecting me anyway?" Marik asked, suddenly cheerful.
"And why is Yami passed out on your sofa?" Malik asked. "Hey! What's Ryou doing sleeping on that chair?"
"Bakura! You had an orgy and you didn't invite me? How rude." Marik gasped.
"You slut." Bakura grumbled as he pulled Malik and Marik into his house. "Yami came over to my house last night because Yugi threw him out."
"So why did he go to you?" Marik frowned, scratching his head.
"Apparently you were part of the problem and Yami didn't want Yugi to get the wrong idea. Anyway, so he came over, drank himself off his ass and passed out on my sofa. Please, take him away."
"So why is my partner here?" Malik asked.
"Ryou came over last night after the club and I needed an extra pair of hands to keep Yami away from the second floor windows."
"Ouch." Marik frowned. "Then again, it did seem like a nasty break when I spoke with Yugi earlier."
"You talked with Yugi?"
"Yugi threw beer cans at his head and cursed him, is more accurate." Malik laughed.
"Screw this." Marik sighed as he reached over and roughly shook Yami awake. "Get up you lazy ass."
"Huh? 'arik?"
"Get up. I need you back at the office."
"Go away. My head hurts. I don wanna get up." Yami mumbled as he rolled over.
"Come on!" Marik growled.
"LEAVE ME ALONE! YUGI HATES ME! I JUST WANNA DIE!" Yami suddenly wailed, as he buried his face in the couch.
"Well, he was worse last night." Bakura shrugged.
"You're just going to let him act like that?" Marik asked, desperately looking for help.
"As long as he doesn't kill himself. Oi, Ryou. Time to get up." Bakura sighed as he shook his boyfriend by the shoulders.
"Umm? Bakura?"
"Why don't you shower and I'll make breakfast." Bakura suggested and Ryou silently agreed before going upstairs to wash.
"Hey, can I have some eggs?" Malik asked as he followed Bakura into the kitchen after a minute of staring at Yami.
"As long as you make 'em yourself."
"Uh… excuse me?" Marik asked, when he realized that the pair in the kitchen were honestly making themselves breakfast instead of worrying about Yami. "Sorry about the profanity, but… what the FUCK?! My partner is trying to asphyxiate himself with a couch pillow, and all you guys can think about is food?"
"He is?" Malik asked as he looked over at Yami, who was indeed attempting to end his life with a sofa cushion.
"Yami! No dead bodies in my house." Bakura shouted as he pulled out the orange juice container and tossed it lightly at Marik's head. "I don't see why you're so worried about all this, anyway, Marik. Give him a week, the tension will get to both of them and he'll be back down Yugi's pants in no time."
"I don't have a week! I'm too psyched that I solved the case to wait! I need his signature now!"
"Tell him it's a gun license and he'll sign in no time." Malik suggested.
"Say it's a release form to perform euthanasia on him." Bakura tossed back.
"His last will and testament."
"A love letter from him to Yugi."
"A humble apology from him to Yugi."
"Anything to Yugi." Ryou joined in as he came down the stairs, hair still dripping from the shower.
"How can you guys joke about this?"
"I'm just glad all this has nothing directly to do with me." Bakura shrugged, as he began to butter his toast.
"For once."
"I heard that." Bakura growled.
"Damn it!" Marik snapped, grabbing Bakura by the hair.
"Hey! Only I get to touch!" Ryou protested. "Hands off."
Marik ignored him.
"You are going to get you ass over to Yugi's and you're going to talk some damn sense into him! I will not listen to Yami bitch and moan all week! Now do it!" Marik demanded, before suddenly changing tactics. "Besides, do you really want your partner to be in a bad mood all week?"
"Crap." Bakura frowned. "You've got a good point. I guess I'll have to beat some sense into Yugi."
"Really?" Marik asked hopefully.
"After breakfast."
"Damn."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Do you think it'll work?"
"I think so; Yugi always listens to Bakura. Of course, I've never seen Yugi drunk before, either."
"So you're screwed?"
"Could very well be… but I haven't heard any breaking glass, so I think I'm all right."
There was a loud crash from inside Yugi and Yami's apartment.
"At least it wasn't glass." Malik suggested hopefully, as another sound of crashing came from within the apartment.
"You're not helping."
"Damn it, you're the one who dragged me into this."
"Well, excuse me! You offered to drive me." Marik shouted over the continued noise from within the apartment.
"You didn't have to take my offer. Hell, you could have walked here."
"If I had an hour and a half to spare."
"You weren't doing anything! Face it, Marik; the only reason you took my offer is because you like my ass."
Silence reigned. There suddenly came the sound of rapidly slamming doors from inside the apartment, but neither Malik nor Marik noticed, as they stared at each other.
'Am I that apparent?' Marik wondered to himself, as Bakura suddenly ran out of Yugi's apartment with Ryou in tow.
"How did it go?" Malik wondered, looking over at the pair.
"Is everything okay?" Marik chimed in, thankful for the distraction.
"Define fine." Ryou replied, looking a little preoccupied.
"There back together again." Bakura offered as he dug out a cigarette and light it. "But you're going to have to wait a bit if you want your partner back."