~ Malik's Gift ~
Morning came and Yami hadn't slept a wink, although, he was about to doze off when the door to his chambers opened and Bener walked in, tray of food in hand.
"Morning." She stated simply as she walked over to the bed. Her eyes rested on the frail form of Athena and then she gazed at Yami, who didn't look much better. His eyes were dark and his skin, even though he had a deep tan, looked washed out.
Bener sighed heavily while handing Yami a bowl of date cakes.
"I'm not hungry." He said, pushing the food away from him.
"Yami, eat something, get some sleep." She begged him. "What good is it going to do Athena if you kill yourself waiting for her to get better?"
Bener, as usual, had proved her point and Yami picked up the bowl and began nibbling on the sweet cakes.
"I can send Anzu in to watch her, and you can go get some sleep in a guest room."
Nodding his head, Yami stood up from the chair, without saying a word and carried himself, unwillingly, out of the room.
As soon as he left, Bener walked out of the room to fetch her grand daughter.
She knocked on the simple wooden door before she entered.
Upon entering, she felt her face grow hot. There was her little grand daughter, lying in bed with the biggest player Egypt had ever seen.
Walking over to the bed, she smacked Anzu upside the head. With a yelp the brown haired girl was awoken rudely from her sleep. Rubbing her head, Anzu glanced up to see an angry Bener staring back down at her.
"Get up right now." She whispered harshly.
Anzu did as she was told, being careful not to wake Malik up, which was a difficult task because his arm was wrapped around her. Standing up and shaking her head, she blushed as her grandmother continued to stare at her.
"What?!" She questioned finally. Malik was still sound asleep on the bed.
"Come with me." Bener commanded. "You have to watch Athena. Yami needs some rest."
Anzu followed her grand mother out of her room and down the hallway.
Once she was clear out of ear shot from Malik, Bener spoke up.
"Anzu, don't get me wrong, I love Malik like a son, just as I love Yami, but…he's…well he's…well you know." Bener said sounding slightly embarrassed. "Plus, you're just too young." She added matter-of-factly.
"Grandma, I know what Malik has done in the past, but he's different now." She told her.
"Uh-huh, you'd like to believe that wouldn't you." Bener paused. "Anzu, no one can change a man-" But she stopped her sentence when she thought about Yami and Athena, and how much Athena had changed him. But then there was Malik, a player, and a womanizer. The more she thought about it, the more her head hurt. She wasn't going to let Anzu be just another one of his girls. What could she do though? She couldn't tell Malik to stay away from Anzu. He was a good man, except for that on little problem. Plus, she did love him like a son, and she was beginning to think that maybe being around Anzu would be good for him.
"Ok, Anzu, you may be young, but you are old enough to make your own decisions, but I'm warning you now, don't feel bad when he runs off with some other woman. I'll be watching him closely." She stopped her walking, and Anzu stopped as well, they were in front of Yami's doors. Bener hugged Anzu close to her as she whispered, "He'll never be like Yugi."
Bener pulled away and walked back down the hallway, leaving Anzu stumbling into Yami's room. Malik had almost made her forget about Yugi, but her grandma had just brought him up again, splitting her in half.
Half of her wanted to forget about Yugi, after all, he was dead. The other half was angry that she allowed herself to be kissed by another man, after she had promised herself that she would never love again.
With tears in her blue eyes, Anzu flopped down on the chair by the bed and cried.
* * *
Malik awoke sometime later to find himself hugging nothing but air. He chuckled to himself as he sighed. This was a normal occurrence; go to sleep with a girl, find yourself waking up to an empty bed. But he knew that Anzu always had work to do, it was that way the last time he had spent the night in her room. That was another thing that was different about Anzu, he was never with the same girl twice, he found himself becoming bored with whoever he was with, sometimes even the night that he was with them. Not with Anzu, he found himself longing to know more about her, and wanting to be with her as much as he could. This was actually the first time Malik had considered that the girl he was falling asleep next to was human.
Sitting up on the bed, he brought his hand around to his back and rubbed it. The pain was almost gone.
Malik leaned over and grabbed his shirt off the floor. Putting it on, he began to wonder what Anzu thought of him. He knew that everyone knew of his reputation, was she willing to look past all that?
Shaking his head, trying not to think about all the negatives, Malik got up and walked out of the room, heading nowhere in particular.
Not paying attention to where he was going, because he was too preoccupied with thinking about the previous night, Malik bumped into somebody in the hallway.
"Watch where you're going." The voice shot at him.
Malik glanced up and saw Yami for the first time since Yami had scorned him.
"Sorry." Malik was too distracted to get mad at Yami.
Yami felt the same way. However, he was also feeling guilty for being so rude towards Malik yesterday, when Malik was only trying to help.
Yami couldn't help himself; he had to say something, even if it wasn't an apology.
"So, where are you headed?" Yami questioned awkwardly, not having really spoken to Malik nicely since Ra knows when.
"No place special." He said as he shrugged his shoulders. "You?"
"Same." Yami replied, he never imagined he would feel this uncomfortable talking to his best friend. That had to be changed. "Wanna walk to the gardens with me?"
"Sure, why not." Malik grinned a little as he eased up, maybe Yami was in a better mood today.
The two made their way to Yami's private sanctuary in silence. Both having loads to say, but neither one knowing just how to say it. Occasionally they would glance at each other, trying their best to figure out where to start. Usually it was Malik's humor that made a situation like this more comfortable, but he found that his humor was failing him now.
When they arrived in the garden there were a few servant girls doing laundry, but when they saw who had entered the courtyard they were quick to gather up their things and leave.
"How's Athena doing?" Malik asked after they were left alone.
Yami felt his eyes tear up, but he did well to hold them back.
"She spoke to me last night. But she's been drifting in and out of consciousness." He paused as he smiled a little. "Bener came in this morning and told me to go get some sleep, she said that Anzu would watch Athena for me. I went to a guest room, but there's no way that I can sleep."
"Yami, she's going to be fine." He said comfortingly.
Yami smiled at Malik. For some reason, hearing those words from his friend made him feel a whole lot better.
"So that's where Anzu is." Malik muttered to himself, but Yami heard him.
Raising and eyebrow, Yami smirked at his friend.
"I see you've met her?" He asked with a grin on his face.
"Well I…we uh…yea." Malik blushed a little.
"Malik this is so unlike you, getting all choked up over a girl. Is there something you're not telling me?" He asked, nudging his friend on the arm.
"N-no, of course not." He stuttered.
"Come on…do I have to make you talk?" Yami asked playfully as he raised his hands bringing them threateningly close to Malik's waist.
"Ok, Ok! Please don't!" He yelled, pushing away from Yami. Aside from having his back carved; which was something that he was trying not to think about now; being tickled was the worst form of torture that Malik could imagine.
"Well, I met her after you…" He stopped, not wanting to bring up such a sore subject, things were going so well. "Anyway, she helped me get better, and Yami you know me. Random girls, sure they're all pretty, but face it, most of them are just down right bitches." He smirked as Yami chuckled. "None of them have anything special, but Anzu…I don't know what it is about her. She's gorgeous and she has a brain."
"Yea, I know what you mean." Yami said as he sighed heavily.
They were both quiet for a while before Yami spoke up again.
"Uhh, Malik, this is going to bug me for the rest of my life if I don't do it now."
Malik just stared at his friend with a confused look on his face.
"I'm, sorry." He said quietly, he didn't know why, but that made him feel a whole lot better.
"Don't worry about it." Malik said cheerily, trying to lighten the mood. "I was a bastard, I deserved it. And I'm sorry too, you know, this whole mess was my fault."
"Malik, don't say that. This is no more your fault then it is mine. However, I must say that whoever did this…" Yami stopped as he made a fist. "His days are numbered."
Malik wished that were true, but he remembered what the spirit said. 'Nobody can kill me Malik, not Yami and not you.'
"But I don't want to think about that now, all I'm worried about is Athena." Yami sighed. "So…are things back to normal between us?"
"Of course! I knew you couldn't last long without me." Malik joked.
"Oh shut up." Teased Yami as he punched Malik.
"Yup, things are most definitely back to normal." He said, massaging his upper arm.
"Yami!" Came a cry from the other end of the courtyard. The boys turned their heads to see Bener making her way over to them. She didn't look too happy to see them.
"Yami I thought I told you to get some sleep! What are you doing out here?" But she stopped when she noticed that Yami and Malik were together and they weren't fighting. "I see you two have made up." She said, smiling casually. As she looked at Malik she tried to forget what she saw earlier, because she still cared about Malik.
"How's your back?"
"It's better."
"Yea, well Anzu told me that she fixed you up. I taught her everything she knows." Bener stated proudly.
"Well in that case, thank you Bener." Malik said as he reached over and gave her a soft peck on the cheek.
Bener smiled at him. How could she have ever thought badly about him? He was such a sweet boy.
"Anyway, Yami I came to tell you that Athena is awake. She's talking a little bit to Anzu, and she even ate something. She really wants to see you."
Yami stood there as Bener walked out of the courtyard. He glanced at Malik before he broke out into a run.
"Yami wait!" Malik hollered after him. He skidded to a halt and turned around. Malik reached down and picked two water lilies out of the reflection pool. Throwing one to Yami he winked and sent him on his way, slowly following after him.
* * *
"Do you want anymore of this melon?" Anzu asked Athena.
"No thank you." She whispered, it still hurt her to talk, but not as much as it did before.
Anzu laid the melon back down on the trey and sat on the chair.
"Where's Yami?" She asked her friend. Athena desperately wanted to see him.
"He should be coming soon my grandma went to-" She was cut off when the door swung open.
Anzu quickly got up from the chair and bowed low. Yami walked towards the bed, with a curious look on his face.
"How's she doing?" He asked Anzu.
"She's much better Pharaoh." Anzu told him, raising from her bow.
"Thank you Anzu. You can go and be with Malik now." He chuckled softly at the look on Anzu's face when he said that.
"My Pharaoh, I don't know what-"
"It's ok, he told me everything, and to tell you the truth, I've never seen him like this. It's quite amusing actually." He smiled as Anzu walked out of the room blushing.
Yami sat down on the bed next to Athena and handed her the lily.
She smiled at him, which made Yami happy; he hadn't seen her smile in a long time.
"How are you feeling?" Yami asked her as he brushed her hair aside.
"Better." She whispered. Athena brought the lily up to her nose and breathed in. "This smells wonderful."
Yami looked down at the floor, there was something he had to ask her, he needed to know what happened that night, so that he could figure out who did it.
"Athena, can you tell me what happened that night? Tell me everything that you can remember. What he looked like, what…he did to you." Yami hesitated on the last part because he didn't know how much of that he could stand to hear.
"I…I don't remember what he looked like." She lied, because she remembered what the man had said. 'The day that Yami finds out who I am will be his last.'
However, Athena told him all that she could about what the man did to her, pausing every so often, and looking away from Yami, because she was embarrassed.
Yami tried to keep a straight face as she went over the horrific details of her rape. But the more she said, the more he wanted to hurt that man, he didn't want to cry in front of her.
"Athena, I will never let this happen again." Yami reassured her as he bent down and hugged her gently.
"I know." She whispered into his ear, with effort she lifted up her arms and placed them around his neck. Yami shuddered, it was the first time that he had felt her touch in days.
He wanted badly to kiss her, but he was afraid that once he started he wouldn't be able to stop.
Pulling away, he remembered how much his friendship with Malik meant to her, so he thought that he should fill her in on what he had heard today, it might cheer her up.
"I think you'll be happy to hear that things are back to normal between Malik and I."
Athena smiled at his words, she was delighted to hear that.
"Also, I think Malik and Anzu have something going on, if you know what I mean." He raised his eyebrows, and she giggled a little.
"I know, Anzu told me all about it when she was in here. She seems to like him a lot."
"I guess I never saw it coming." Yami said, referring to the fact that Malik and Anzu were as different as night and day. "But when I talked to Malik today, well it was like he was in another world. Which is hard to imagine. I've always seen Malik as being a girl expert, but its like Anzu has totally made him forget everything."
"Either that, or he wants to forget everything." Athena stated, she knew that Malik would want to treat Anzu different then all the other girls. She knew that Anzu was special to him.
"Yea, you're probably right. Anyway, now that you're awake, I'm going to stay in here, no matter what anyone says." Yami walked over to the other side of the bed and slipped under the covers. Wrapping his arms around his love, Yami took in a deep breath, this was the happiest he had been in almost a week. He had patched things up with his best friend, who now had someone of his own to preoccupy him, and Yami was exactly where he should be. In his bed, with Athena wrapped up securely in his arms.
'I'm never letting you go again.'
* * *
Even though she was reluctant, Anzu found herself making her way to Malik's room. All day she couldn't help but think about Yugi. Had this been what Bener wanted? Did she want her to forget about Malik, so she tried to bring up the past, in hopes that Anzu would forget him? No, why would she do something like that?
Becoming lost in her own thoughts she didn't realize that she was already standing in front of Malik's door.
Sighing, she tried to forget about what Bener said. Then, after she had cleared her mind she brought her hand up and tapped softly on the door.
There was silence, and just as she was about to walk away the door slowly cracked open. Glancing into what appeared to be an empty room she raised an eyebrow apprehensively.
"Malik? Malik, are you in here?" Anzu stepped into the room. "Mal-"
"Gatch ya!" He shouted as he grabbed her around her waist from behind.
Anzu whirled around and brought her hand up, accidentally whipping it across Malik's face.
"Ah! What was that for?" He whined as he rubbed his cheek.
"Well, don't scare me next time." She told him as she sniggered.
"Ok, ok…here I have something for you." Malik raised his hand, and in it was the white lily from the garden.
Anzu's eyes lit up. "Aww, thank you Malik, that was so sweet." She smiled when he handed her the lily and kissed her on the cheek.
Again, this was something that Malik would have never done, he never felt the need to do random acts of sweetness to other girls, then again, none of them were ever around long enough to enjoy anything that he could have done for them.
"And there's one more thing." He added to her.
Anzu glanced back up at him curiously.
"Would you like to go down into Thebes with me? I was thinking about taking you shopping. I've noticed lately that your clothes are so plain and boring. A girl as beautiful as you should dress to fit the part."
Anzu, who noticed that her mouth was hanging open quickly shut it. She just stared wide-eyed at him, unable to say anything.
"What, was it something I said? You know, if you don't want to go, we don't have to, I was just offering." He folded his arms and looked at her, waiting for a response. He chuckled, noticing the look of shock on Anzu's face.
"No, no I…well, I don't know what to say."
"How about, 'Sure Malik, I would love to go.'" He joked.
"Well, yea, I mean yes, Malik." Anzu was absent-mindedly fiddling with the pleats of her dress as she glanced away from him. She never remembered feeling happier. Malik was treating her like she was a princess, and this was something that she wasn't used to. She had grown up knowing nothing but poverty, and then, when she became a palace servant, things improved a little, but still, she had few possessions of her own.
"What's the matter? You look like you've just seen a fiend from the netherworld."
"Why, why are you doing this for me?" She asked him before she could stop herself.
Malik's eyes widened a little at her question. He hadn't really thought about why, but now that she asked, he had a pretty good idea.
"Because, you deserve it." He picked up her hand and brought it to his lips. "Anzu you deserve to be with a prince or a king, not some son of a high priest, especially with the reputation that I have. But I'm just asking for a chance to be with you. I want to give you all that I can, because, when nobody else would help me, you were there for me. You were the answer to my prayers."
Anzu flushed scarlet, did she really mean that much to him? She had met him only a few nights ago, and yet, she felt as if she knew him better then anyone, then again, she was probably the only girl in Egypt that ever got to know him aside from Athena.
"Malik, you're quite a confusing person, you know that." Anzu said, smiling at him.
"What do you mean?"
"I…well I have heard all the…uh…rumors, and well, I never thought anyone like you could be this sweet."
For the first time in his life, Malik felt the sting of shame. He lowered his head for a moment as he contemplated what had just been said. True, the kinds of things that he was doing were morally wrong, and, up until this point he had never given it a second thought. But now that he was with Anzu, he wished that he could tell her that he had never done all those things, he wished that she would forgive him.
Anzu noticed the look on his face, and she knew what he was thinking.
"Malik, I'm willing to look past all that, I don't care what you've done, it's over now," she paused for a minute, "right?"
He snapped his head up when he heard the cautious tone of her voice.
"Anzu, there is no one else, I promise." He said, glancing into her eyes.
She beamed at him as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Good." She whispered into his ear. He smiled at those words, hugging her tightly.
"Now, are you ready to go and spend some money?" He asked as he pulled away from her. Anzu nodded her head approvingly. "Feel free to buy anything you want, it can cost as much as you want, and you can get as much of it as you want."
"I don't want to make you poor Malik."
"Oh, believe me, I don't think you can." He said with a smile. See, Malik was a wealthy man, having inherited everything after his father's death. Thinking that he would never return to Egypt he sold the family estate, and made a hefty profit off of that.
However, he never had the opportunity to spend money on someone like Yami did. Plus there was the fact that every girl he was with didn't even deserve two deben to rub together. Malik's money just sat in the palace treasury, waiting for him to spend it. And he wanted so much to spend every last deben on her, but he knew that Anzu wouldn't let him. Although, he was going to try.
"Before we go, I have to change. Palace officials can go into the city of Thebes without looking their best." He walked over to his ebony wardrobe drawer and swung it open.
Anzu's jaw nearly dropped to the floor when she glimpsed upon the finest array of clothing she had ever seen. She could have sworn that Malik's clothes were even finer than the Pharaoh's. There were robes in every shade, from white to a light amethyst that matched Malik's eyes perfectly. He pulled out the light amethyst one and slipped it on over his white linen kilt. Then he walked over to his dresser and opened a box. In it were his golden arm and wristbands. Securing them on himself, he turned back around to see an awestruck Anzu.
"Yea, I clean up nicely don't I?" He said sarcastically while he clamped on his earrings.
Anzu wasn't joking though. Malik was just…drop dead gorgeous. His perfectly tan skin was just visible beneath the layers of see-through purple linen, and his arms, neck and wrists were hugged tightly by gold bands. He had made sure to wear the thinnest thing that he owned so that he wouldn't cause more pain to his back, but it was simply torturing Anzu.
Then when she snapped out of the daze that she was in she looked down at her own apparel, and it made her want to run and hide. She was wearing a plain old wool dress that Bener had made for her. 'Who am I fooling? I don't even deserve to look at him, I'm just a servant.'
"What's the matter?" He questioned, noticing the look on her face.
She merely glanced from herself and back to him. He got the picture.
"Anzu, you are amazing no matter what you wear. But hey, as soon as we get down there you can buy the prettiest, and most expensive linen…no silk dress that you can find." He smiled at her. "Then we can burn this if you like." He added, picking up a piece of the material. Anzu beamed at him again. "You can get a dress in every color if you want to."
"No Malik I-" She was cut off when he reached over to her and put his hand on her cheek. She felt herself freeze up at the feel of his warm hand on her face.
"Anzu, give up. We are going shopping and I am going to spoil you rotten."
She merely nodded, taking in a deep gulp of air.
"Relax, you act like you're walking on eggshells."
Anzu chuckled softly and smiled at him. There was no reason for her to be nervous around him. Even though he was a fifthly rich, son of a high priest, who was extremely handsome…and perfect, in every way, she still felt comfortable around him, but to her they were as different as night and day.
"Well, are you ready to go?"
"I don't see myself getting any readier."
Malik chuckled softly. 'You are too cute.'
What he did next shocked her, he held out his arm for her. She knew what to do because she had see countless other noble men and women do the same, but she was shocked to see how polite and gentlemen like Malik was.
Grinning, she slipped her arm around his and together they walked out of the room and down the hall towards the palace exit.
"Malik, what will Yami and my grandma think about this?" She asked him as they walked down the steps at the front gate. The sun was shining brightly overhead, and the sounds and smells of the city were all around them.
"I don't think they'll mind too much. There are plenty other servants."
Anzu nodded her head in agreement, besides, she was with Malik. There wasn't much else she could think about at the time.
"Ooh Malik look!" Anzu yelled as she pointed off to the right. Malik glanced over and saw a baboon juggling some red balls.
"You don't get out much do you?" He sniggered at her overexcitement.
She shook her head.
"No, I haven't been out of the palace in a long time. Except for the dedication ceremony, but that was up at the temple and I didn't have a chance to see the city."
"Well, in that case…where do you want to go? Wait…first things first, we have to get you a new dress, the clothing bazaars are down that street." Malik led her down a side street with a noticeably smaller crowd.
"Where did everybody go?" She asked, curiously glancing around at the different shops that were along the sides. Some shops sold expensive imported oils and spices. Others were vending their fine gold and ivory jewelry.
"The common people usually don't go down this ally, they never have nearly enough money to even buy the smallest piece of jewelry that is sold here…Ah, and here we are."
Malik stopped and so did Anzu. They stood in front of a beautifully decorated building, and Anzu gazed at it with awe.
"After you." He said as he held the door open for her.
She stepped into the building and nearly fainted. Hundreds upon hundreds of finely decorated dresses in every color imaginable were hanging around the room.
Malik stepped up behind her and whispered into her ear.
"Enjoy yourself."
Anzu remained speechless. She didn't know where to start or what to look at first. It was quite overwhelming.
"Can I help you?" Came a voice from the other side of the room. Anzu made her way to the front of the shop, to see who was there.
She noticed a rather beautiful young woman dressed in a fine red silk dress.
"My name is Vanessa…um." Vanessa eyed Anzu up and down before she continued. "I'm the owner of this shop…is there…um…something I can help you with?" She asked apprehensively, noticing the shabby apparel that Anzu was wearing.
"Oh, uh…I was just looking." Anzu said shyly.
"Is there something wrong?" Malik asked, coming up behind Anzu. But when he looked up, he almost shouted.
"Malik?" Vanessa exclaimed, sounding rather annoyed. "What are you doing here?"
"Nice to see you too Vanessa." He said sarcastically.
"You two know each other?" Anzu asked as she turned to him.
"Yea, we-"
"Met." Malik interrupted, shooting Vanessa a warning look.
"Yea, we met." She eyed him nastily. "I remember it like it was yesterday…although, I rather wish I could forget it." She turned her attention to a blue shawl nearby, pretending to be preoccupied with it.
"Vanessa…" Malik shifted his weight uneasily.
"So is she the flavor of the week?" Vanessa whipped her head around and glared at Anzu with a look of utmost hatred and jealousy at the same time.
"No, Vanessa, you better watch your tongue. It's gotten you into trouble before." He turned back to Anzu and looked at her as if to wordlessly say sorry.
"Whatever Malik." She flipped up her hand as she turned around about to walk back to the back of the shop.
"Where are you going?" Malik asked.
"Well Malik, unless there is something I don't know about you…there is no one here that is going to buy a dress."
She lifted up the curtain and almost disappeared but Malik grabbed her arm harshly.
"You always were a bitch weren't you?" He tisked. "We are here to buy a dress."
"Oh really?" She looked past him and stared right at Anzu. "Consider yourself lucky girl. I think you're the first one who gets to see his money." Vanessa gazed back up at Malik, who still held her arm tightly. "All I got to see was his bed…although…" She stopped as she licked her lips and narrowed her eyes.
Malik quickly let go of her and backed away.
"Would you just shut up and help Anzu find a dress."
"Anzu? So that's your name. Well Malik how long did it take before someone told you who she was?"
"Vanessa give it up, I'm tired of this bull shit. I'm not that way anymore."
"Oh really?" She brushed past him and began to take Anzu to another part of the room. "I can't imagine how long that'll last." She mumbled to herself.
"I heard that!" Malik yelled from behind them.
This was just great. Vanessa had just screwed him over in front of Anzu. Now what would she think of him?
'Ooh, if Vanessa wasn't a woman…' He thought. Malik desperately wanted to punch her lights out.
"What kind of dress did you have in mind?" Vanessa asked her, putting on a much more pleasant face.
"Oh…uh I don't know ma'am." She said timidly.
"Anzu, right?"
"Uh huh."
"What's a girl like you doing with a guy like Malik? You do know what he's all about right? I mean, how many times have you had to have sex with him before he would buy you something?"
"Actually…we haven't. And I do know what he was about, but I really believe he has changed."
"Suit yourself." She shrugged as she fumbled through a rack of dresses. "Ah, here we go." Vanessa pulled out a light blue silk dress with a matching see-through linen over dress. "This is one of the most beautiful dresses I have, and the most expensive. But I'm sure Malik thinks you're worth it." She said that with a hint of jealously. "There's gold and turquoise beads sewn into the fabric. See here." She pointed out the intricate beadwork.
"Wow, uh…I don't think I-"
"Don't worry about it, it'll look great on you. Here," She shoved the dress into Anzu's arms, "Go try it on in the back room."
"Uh, ok…"
Anzu walked back across the room and slipped into the back chamber. Vanessa made her way back over to Malik.
"So, how about you ditch the girl and come with me?" She whispered seductively into his ear as her hands made their way down his chest.
"Vanessa no." He pulled her hands off of him and backed away.
"C'mon, you know you want me. Our nights of hot sex, you know you miss them. She's just a girl. I'm a woman. What can she give you?" Vanessa stepped closer to him, her lips parted slightly as she lowered her gaze.
Vanessa was a beautiful woman, but she was also a mistress, at a tavern in the sleazy part of Thebes. That was where Malik had met her. That was where he met most of the girls he had been with.
"For the last time, no!" Malik pushed her away from him, and just in time too.
Shyly, Anzu opened the curtain that separated the back room from the rest of the store.
Malik's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. He was gazing upon the most radiant creature he had ever seen.
Vanessa, noticing Malik's sudden enthrallment grunted with distaste.
"Will that be all?"
"Is this all you want Anzu?"
She nodded her head.
"That's all Vanessa." He said without looking at her.
When Malik had paid for the dress they stepped out of the shop, which made Malik extremely happy. But now he had to face Anzu alone. What would she think? Would she be angry with him?
Anzu noticed Malik's agitation, so she grabbed his hand and held it in hers.
"Thank you so much Malik. Don't worry, I won't hold that against you." She sniggered at how tense he looked. "C'mon, ease up and forget about her."
Malik smiled a little as they continued to walk. "Anzu, I didn't tell you how amazing you look. I was in shock when you stepped out of the room." He said as he looked at her.
Anzu looked away as she muttered her thanks and blushed uncontrollably.
Malik sighed as he shook his head. 'You are perfect.'
"So where do you want to-" He stopped as something caught his eye. It was a necklace that was sitting on a wooden stool at the Jeweler's bazaar.
"Malik, what are you doing?" She asked, tugging on his arm.
"Come here." He said as he pulled her towards the outdoor shop.
"Excuse me sir." Malik said to the man who owned the shop.
"How can I help you?"
"That necklace, right there. How much is it?" Malik said, pointing to the stool.
"Aah, I see. A beautiful necklace, for your beautiful wife."
"Oh, no she-she's not my wife."
"Mmm." The man hummed as he picked up the necklace with great care. "This necklace came to me from a very mysterious source…mysterious indeed." He examined it as though the man himself was going to buy it. "It seemed to be very precious; pure gold this necklace is."
Anzu stared at it. It was the most beautiful piece of jewelry that she had ever laid eyes on. It far surpassed the simple gold bracelet that she owned, and most certainly surpassed it in price as well. She studied its unique design. It was a little gold choker, delicate and beautiful and it had the millennium eye in the center.
"I'll take it."
Malik handed the man his money and the man gave him the necklace.
"Oh, no Malik, you've spent enough on me already."
"Shhh. It's ok, I want you to have this." He hushed her as he walked behind her and secured the necklace in place.
She placed her hand on it, unable to believe that she was wearing something so expensive and gorgeous.
"Malik, you have to stop being so good to me."
"Why? You deserve it all." He softly kissed her cheek as they began to walk again.
By the time late afternoon had rolled around, their arms were full of clothes, jewelry and basically anything else Anzu could have ever wanted. But Malik wasn't done yet, he wanted to know more about her, like where she grew up, and what kind of friends she had.
So he took her to his favorite hang out spot. Of course it was the tavern.
Stepping in, they rushed to a table so they could drop the heavy loads they were carrying.
The tavern was fairly packed this evening with villagers quietly talking over a pint.
"Did you have fun today?" Malik asked her eagerly, moving in closer.
Anzu's face lit up with a huge grin, "I couldn't have asked for a better time." She said, moving into him until their foreheads were touching. "Thank you." She whispered, before she gave him a soft peck on the lips and pulled away.
"Any time." He smiled.
"Can I get you two anything?" Came a voice from behind them.
"Huh? Oh," Malik turned around and saw the bartender; he was so wrapped up with Anzu that he almost forgot where he was.
"Yea, uh…one glass of beer."
"Make that two." Anzu said.
"Ok, two glasses of beer, and some date cakes." He finished. The bartender walked away, leaving the two alone.
"I didn't know you drank." Malik said, sounding slightly amused.
"Well, I don't…but according to Athena, it's quite fun. So I'll give it a try."
Malik raised his eyebrows as he got the picture in his mind of a drunken Anzu…quite amusing.
"There's a first time for everything…Anyway, enough about that, tell me more about you."
"A-about me?" Anzu looked slightly shocked at his request. Who would want to know more about her? She had to be the most boring person on Earth.
"Yea, about you." He repeated.
"Well, uhh, what's there to tell?" She asked in all honesty, becoming slightly ashamed at the thought of her talking about herself, and having Malik falling over asleep.
"I dunno, tell me everything. Where you grew up, what your dreams are, who your friends are."
"Um, ok…where should I start…aah ok, um, I grew up in a town right outside of Thebes." She started, as she looked up, trying her hardest to condense her life story to mere five minuets. But as she looked at Malik, she noticed that he looked truly interested. "And, I had thr-uh two best friends." She stopped as her heart skipped a beat. All day she had gone without thinking about Yugi once. She didn't want to bring him up; for fear that Malik would figure out that she still had feelings for him, somewhat…
"Ok, and who are your two best friends?" He asked, pushing her on, wanting to know more and more.
"Jounouchi, and Honda. I miss them soo much." She sighed longingly, placing her head in her hand and resting her elbow on the table.
"Go on, don't stop there."
"Jounouchi, well, he is really really funny. Not quite as funny as you, but still, he could get a couple of laughs." She chuckled quietly at the fond memories.
"And what about Honda?" He smiled when he noticed how happy Anzu was when she thought about her friends.
"Well, he wasn't quite as funny as Jounouchi, but I don't know where we'd be without him, he was such a hard worker."
"I bet you'd give anything to see them again wouldn't you?"
She nodded her head fervently.
"Come on!" He grabbed her hand and yanked her out of her seat. She picked up her bags, and Malik snatched up the ones off the floor.
"W-what about the food!?!" She asked, being pulled out of the tavern.
"I left some money on the table." He said back to her.
He continued to pull her down the street, which was now lit with oil lamps because it was starting to get dark outside.
"Where are we going?" She was running out of breath.
"Just follow me."
It didn't seem as though she had a choice, he was pulling her along really fast down street after street until he reached his destination.
Anzu bent over a little bit as she tried to catch her breath. She was so worn out that she didn't notice Malik walk away and come back.
"Ok, are you ready?"
She looked up and saw that Malik had a camel behind him, holding it by the reigns.
"Excuse me?" She asked, standing up straight.
"Here," He yanked on the reigns and with a grunt the camel knelt down. Then he helped her onto the camel, and it stood up again.
"You remember how to get there right?" He asked, tugging on the reigns one more time, and the camel started to walk, with Malik leading the way.
"Malik where--" Anzu paused as her eyes widened. "Oh my Gods! Malik, you mean—we are—we're going?"
He turned around and looked up at her, smiling. "Uh huh. So do you remember how to get there?"
"Uhh-yea…" She could hardly speak. Just when she thought Malik couldn't get any nicer…
"Now, don't think I'm Mr. Nice guy. I'm doing this for myself too. I want to learn more about you, because it seems as thought you don't think you're very interesting. But you are, and I want to help you realize that."
Anzu was glad that they had made their way out of the city where the only light was the moon, because she was blushing immensely.
"You're blushing aren't you?" He said with a chuckle, not even looking back, but continuing to walk, pulling the camel behind him.
What? Surely he couldn't see her blushing in the dark.
"Huh? N-no I'm not, you don't know what you're talking about." But she couldn't hide it.
"I know you are. Anytime I complement you, you blush. Heh heh, it's so cute." He paused, "Now I bet you're blushing even more." He didn't even turn around; they just kept on going. Anzu could feel her face grow hot. He knew her better then she thought. She sighed to herself. She couldn't think of a time when she had been happier. Malik was perfect. Sure, he had a…well…not so good track record but hey, he's a different man, and every time she heard his creamy voice, everything seemed to flee from her mind.
Becoming aware of the sudden cold, she brought her arms around and rubbed her skin, shivering slightly. She tried to keep quiet, not wanting to bother Malik, but nothing got past him. He stopped the camel and had it kneel down.
"We don't have too much longer but here take this." He removed his thin violet robe and wrapped it around her, leaving his torso bare. "It's not very thick, but it's better then nothing."
"Malik, won't you be cold?" She asked, wrapping it around herself tighter. It smelled just like him. Amazing.
"Nah, I'm moving around, don't worry about it." He walked back around and before long they were on their way again. She couldn't help but stare at him, his strong arms, with nice muscle tone, were holding onto the reigns. His tan back, although covered with hieroglyphs, was perfect, as was the rest of him. She continued to stare at his back, trying to make out what it said. But she, like almost everyone else in Egypt couldn't read the sacred writing. This was something that Yami hadn't planned on. He wanted everyone to see what Malik had done, but he forgot one thing; only he and a few other people could actually read the writing.
"We're almost there, you'll have to tell me where to go from here."
Anzu was so lost in thought that she didn't notice they had arrived in her village.
"This street is a dead end, when you get to the house that's painted funny make a left. It's right up here." She said, pointing to an audaciously painted house about two hundred feet in front of them.
"What were they thinking?" Malik said, trying to stifle a laugh.
"They were the talk of the town when I lived here. But that just shows how much there is to talk about around here." She said quietly, suddenly becoming aware of the fact that Malik had probably never been in a low class neighborhood like this. He had been used to the palace, and royalty not two story run down mud brick buildings and peasants.
"Make the left here." She said. "But the camel has to stay. There's a place to tie him up right over there."
She helped Malik unload all of the stuff and when the camel was tied securely, they set off down the narrow street that led to Anzu's old house.
"Don't worry, nobody's going to steal the camel. We might be poor, but we're not thieves." She told him, noticing how every ten feet that they would walk, he would look back to make sure it was still there.
"Well, if someone did, I'd have to carry you back." He walked closer to her and wrapped his free arm around her.
"I wouldn't mind that." Anzu whispered to him, coming in to him and nipping on his ear.
"Ooh, playful are we?" And with his one arm he picked the small girl up, and she wrapped her legs around him to steady herself, while trying to hold onto the bags and his robe at the same time. She had to take in a deep breath at the feel of his rock hard abs brushing against her. His upper body was still bare due to the fact that his robe was still wrapped around Anzu. But she no longer needed it. For some reason, it felt as though the temperature rose about thirty degrees. Huh, wonder why.
Coming to the end of the ally he gently put her down and took his robe from her, putting it back on himself. He wanted to make a good first impression on her friends.
They both stood for a while in silence as Anzu stared at her childhood home, one that she hadn't seen in years.
"What are you waiting for?" He gave her a shove, and she continued up the little dirt path with Malik behind her.
Millions of things were running through her head, would they recognize her in all these fancy clothes? And would they still accept her?
With a deep intake of breath she rapped on the door.
It was quiet at first, but soon, voices could be heard on the other side of the door.
"Jou, just answer it!" Came a yell from inside.
"Damn it Honda, you know it's just the tax collector again. We've already paid for this month!" He yelled back.
Outside, Malik couldn't help but laugh as he nearly dropped the bags.
"ANSWER THE DOOR JOU!!"
Anzu held back a laugh as the door swung open.
"Pardon, but we've already…" Jou stood in the doorway slack jawed, with his sandy blonde hair partially covering his eyes, the same way that Anzu remembered it.
"Uuh…c-can I help you?" He asked, trying to find his voice. But before she could get the chance to answer, Honda came up right behind him.
"Is there a problem Jou?" But as he looked from Jounouchi down to Anzu, he too was at a loss for words. "Anzu?"
She inclined her head, smiling.
"Anzu!!" They both shouted together, smothering her in a big hug.
"Wow, I mean, look at you…you are beautiful." Honda said, pulling her out of the hug.
"Yea, Hondas right…you, you clean up nice." Jou's eyes went from Anzu and rested on the gorgeous pale-blonde boy behind her. He suddenly felt all of his muscles tense up, and he had no desire to hide the nasty look that he was giving Malik.
"Who are you?" He asked rudely, as though he didn't really care to hear an answer.
Malik, happy to finally be acknowledged extended his hand.
"My name's Malik Ishtar."
But Jou didn't return the warm welcome. However, Honda wasn't the type to be rude to a guest.
"Hey Malik, I'm Honda, it's nice to have you here. And the worthless hunk of junk that thinks he's too good to shake your hand is Jounouchi." He said, raising his voice to indicate that he wasn't only talking to Malik.
Jou just grunted with disapproval and continued talking to Anzu while Honda tried to apologize for Jou's actions.
"Don't worry, its not you, he's like this around all strange guys ever since…well someone…with his sister…uuh. We won't get into that right now." He said uncomfortably. "Let's go inside." He said to all of them. Jou was quick to hold the door open for Anzu, but he made sure that it slammed shut before Malik could get through.
Once they were all in the den, which was small but cozy, Honda brought them out some beer and bread. Jou continued to shoot nasty looks at Malik, who sat uncomfortably under the others gaze. Finally, Jou got the nerve to talk to him.
"So, where do you live?" Jou asked, not sounding all that interested.
"In the palace." Was his simple answer, Malik didn't feel like going into details.
"Ohhh. So you're one of the Pharaoh's pretty boy friends are you?" He said with a snigger as he eyed Malik like he was a fresh piece of meat. "I knew something was up with you from the moment I saw you." He added scornfully.
Malik was about to ask him if he would take it outside, but a comforting hand was placed on his, and Anzu gave him a sorry look.
"Jou, just because he doesn't stink doesn't mean you should be envious." Honda shot at him. "So why don't you shut your mouth you reeking refuse heap!"
Jou turned a deep shade of red at those words and felt prompted to apologize.
"Ok, ok…sorry Malik." He said in an undertone.
"Don't worry about it, you don't stink that bad." He replied with a chuckle. Malik's wit was a force to be reckoned with. Honda and Anzu both laughed when they saw Jou trying to play it off by pretending to be preoccupied with something else.
"What's all this laughter?"
All three of them turned their heads to the door where a young girl with long brown hair stepped in. Malik's face went white. He knew her. He couldn't remember her name, but he slept with her the night of the temple ceremony. Evidently, she remembered him too because she looked at him with shock and disbelief, about to open her mouth to say something. Malik quickly shook his head and making sure that nobody could see but her, he put a finger to his lips with a pleading look on his face. 'Oh please. Ra why me?' It seemed as though no matter where he went there was always going to be some girl that he had slept with, unfortunately. If Anzu, or the others ever found out about this one…well…Malik would be walking home…alone…to spent the rest of his life…alone.
"Shizuka! You're home finally." Jou said, jumping up from the chair and giving her a hug.
"Malik, this is my sister Shizuka. Shizuka this is Anzu's friend Malik."
Shizuka shot him a look that said 'you better watch you back.'
"S-sister? Oh…that's nice, well um…hi." He said, trying his best to sound normal.
"Hello, Malik." She said, with an exaggeration on his name. Then she walked past him and put on a much more pleasant face as she greeted Anzu.
"It's so nice to see you after all these years." Shizuka said, "And your dress is so beautiful! Where did you get it?"
"Well, Malik got it for me." She replied, walking over to him and grabbing his hand, which made both Jou and Shizuka glare at him.
Malik's face grew hot, 'uh oh.'
"Oh? That's nice." She too had the same sound of jealously that Vanessa had.
"C'mon, lets go upstairs and catch up. The boy's will be fine on their own." Anzu grabbed Shizuka's hand and together they ran upstairs, leaving Malik and the other two boys standing uncomfortably silent in the den, until Honda spoke up.
"So, how did you meet Anzu?" He asked curiously as he sat back down on the chair.
At this, Jou's eyebrows raised a little. "You guys aren't a thing are you?" He asked warningly.
"Jou, just shut your face for a while, huh?" Honda interrupted seeing the worried look on Malik's face.
"Anyway Malik, how did you meet her?"
Malik didn't know if he wanted to answer that question. First he would have to say that it was because the Pharaoh carved up his back. Then they would ask why, then he would have to say why that happened. And telling two Egyptian citizens that you kissed the Pharaoh's girl doesn't go over too well.
"Honestly?" Malik asked.
"Well, yea. It cant be that bad can it?" Jou said, crossing his arms.
"Fine, but I'm not going into details."
"But-"
This time Honda didn't have to shut Jou up. The look that Malik gave him was enough. Even though Malik was an all around funny guy, he was still threatening. Jou might have spent all his life working in the fields, but his muscular build up didn't even compare to Malik's.
"She actually saved my life." He said quietly. "I was down in the dungeon, left to die, but she brought me to her room…"
At that Jou choked on his drink, and Honda slapped him on the back of the head.
Seeing that Honda had shut him up, Malik continued. "She healed my back almost instantly. It still hurts now and then, but she learned everything from her grandma. I was in good hands." He turned around and lifted up the back of his robes, as gasps emitted from the two boy's lips.
"Ouch." Jou said, although he did have a slight up tone in his voice which made Malik grit his teeth.
"You know Bener?" Honda asked.
"Yea, she's the palace nanny, why?" He asked curiously.
"When Anzu still lived here, she would talk about her grandma all the time, but we never got to meet her. Then when Yugi died…" Honda stopped at the look on Malik's face.
"Who's Yugi?"
"You don't? Anzu didn't tell…" Honda looked bewildered. He then looked at Jou, who looked like he was about to cry.
"Please excuse me." Honda pardoned himself before going upstairs.
Jou continued to stare at his beer flagon with an empty look on his face.
"Can I tell you something?" He asked Malik quietly.
Malik, who had no idea what was going on, or who Yugi was, merely nodded.
"If you ever harm one hair on Anzu's head, I'll hunt you down and kill you with my bare hands. She's like a second sister to me, and I protect Shizuka with my life."
This only made Malik squirm. If Jounouchi ever found out…not that Malik couldn't take him, it was just that, he really didn't feel like being on Jounouchi's bad side. Although, something told him that he already was.
"No harm will ever befall her, I promise. I know you don't want to hear this, but I care about her, more then you or Honda, or even she knows." He took one last sip, put his cup down and made his way upstairs. It was really late and they had to get back to the palace soon.
Making his way to the closed door at the end of the hall, he heard voices. It was Anzu and Honda. As much as he didn't was to eavesdrop, he couldn't help it.
"…Yea but he never will be." Honda said quietly.
"Honda I know, but I care about him too. I can't erase what's happened in my past…or his for that matter, but that doesn't matter. We have to live from today!" She cried.
"You're trying to replace him Anzu. And you know that no one will ever be Yugi. No one, not even Malik." He said sternly to her. "Anzu, he loved you and you loved him, we all loved him, and no one can change that or take that away."
Malik felt his heart sinking. Anzu didn't care about him; she was just trying to replace someone that she had loved long ago. He didn't know if he could listen on any further, but he was glued to the spot where he stood, unable to tear his attention away from what was taking place on the other side of that door.
"Does he know about Yugi?"
No answer. But Malik could hear Anzu's sobs from where he stood. His heart ached for her; he wanted to take away all the pain that she was feeling.
"Anzu answer me!"
" No," She paused to take in a breath, " And I don't want him too. I don't care what you or Jou, or Shizuka say, I care about Malik, more then I would admit to him, and he doesn't need to know about Yugi!"
Malik saw the handle turn, and before he could run away he found himself face to face with a tear stricken Anzu.
He didn't know what to say, but when she ran to him and flung her arms around him, burring her face in his chest, he realized that he didn't have to say anything. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in closer as Honda walked out of the room and went back downstairs.
"Shh, it's ok. I understand why you didn't want to tell me. But lets promise each other something ok?" He lifted her chin up and wiped away some of the tears with his thumbs, as he smiled at her.
She nodded her head as she gave him a weak smile.
"No more secrets, from either of us, ok?"
Again she shook her head, not really able to find her voice. She couldn't believe that Malik had heard her conversation with Honda and wasn't mad at her. If she had found out that he loved someone else, even though she didn't really love Yugi that much anymore, she would have been heartbroken.
"Let's go home." He whispered to her, but then something popped up in his mind. If he promised not to keep any secrets from her then he would have to tell her about Shizuka. He decided it would be best to tell her when they were way out of earshot from Jounouchi.
Together they went downstairs and said their good-byes, after which they left the small house and walked back down the alleyway to the camel, which, to Malik's relief was still where he had left it.
When they were well into their journey home he told her about Shizuka, and to his surprise Anzu could do nothing but laugh.
"What's so funny?" He asked, sounding shocked.
"I knew this already." She said with tears of laughter in her eyes at the look of horror on Malik's face as he turned around and looked up at her from the ground.
"Wha?!?"
"You think for one minute that she would sleep with someone as hot as you and keep it to herself? Malik, she told every girl that would listen to her!" Anzu almost fell off the camel because she was laughing so hard.
Now it was Malik's turn to blush, and even though Anzu couldn't see it, she knew he was as red as a radish.
"Malik what am I going to do with you?" She asked jokingly as she tried her best to calm down.
"I dunno…but I got a few ideas…" He said quietly so that she wouldn't hear, but it wasn't quiet enough.
"Malik!" She said, almost warningly.
"What?!?"
He turned around and bit his lip so that he wouldn't laugh as Anzu stared down at him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I have to say...that was a very fun chapter to write. I like to write anything with a lot of Malik in it, and incase you hadn't noticed, he's my favorite Bishi of all time!! That's why I used every chance I got to describe him in detail...He's so damn fine!
Ok, I hope you enjoyed this one because it'll be a while before I update this story because I'm not quite sure where I want to go with this. I have a couple of ideas, one of which would end it very soon, one that would require a sequel (possibly) and one that will have this story turning into a freggin epoch. Any options are fine, but I've been working on this story for about a year now.
Just let me know what you want and I'll do it (because I know this story is getting to damn long to begin with!)
Arigato Gozaimasu!