Author's Notes
Heh, so much for posting during summer break. Sorry everyone! Don't worry; I already have a good bit of the next chapter written up now.
There's not much else to say, so I'll cut to the reviewers...
Slashysecrets: Lauren! I thought it was you! Thanks for reviewing!
Angelbird12241: Aw, thanks! Heh, that won't happen for a while if Ryou has anything to say about it...
Kokoro Kawari: Yeah, I just now realized it messes with denoting yami and hikari mind speak. I'd chase the guy who came up with that rule with an axe now, but I can't use asterisks now... But thank you for your compliment!
Yami Sango: Cookie! Yay!
Goddesskali: Assuming my muses don't abandon me, I'll try to keep going.
Mars Explorer: I know the feeling... So I'll work on keeping you guys happy!
Tramontana Keeper: Ah, yes. I'm not sure if Ryou's going to hug or strangle Malik over the course of the month now...
Amarin Rose: Ooh, good question. Ryou never really got a chance to tell Malik about their homophobia, but it's still not gonna get any easier once he does...
PhoenixMageFire: All right! Thanks for the support!
LittleDarkOne: Yep, it's an evil cliffie. And yes, Malik is adorable.
Millennium: LMAO! I can picture that perfectly!
And to everyone else who reviewed: Thank you for replying and for putting up with my long waits!
There isn't much left to say, seeing as I no longer have my yami or my muses to bounce off against... So I'll quit babbling and move on to the disclaimer and then the fic.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Detective Conan. Simple as that. Now shoo, there's nothing else to say.
Yohmei stared at Malik with disbelief. The blonde looked up at him, blinking innocently. "Well? I just wanna go out with him to catch a movie or something, or do you still think I'm gonna ra—mmph!" Ryou had chosen that moment to come up and clamp his hand over Malik's mouth.
"Malik, hi, great to see you again..." he said cheerfully before putting his mouth by the now very confused blonde's ear. "Trust me, right now, acting like you normally do isn't a very good idea. I'll explain later, just please, PLEASE keep the affection down." he whispered hurriedly before removing his hand.
"Fine, but who's he?" Malik asked, pointing behind Yohmei at Satoshi, who was looking over the blonde with a critical eye. "You're not cheating on me, are you?" Malik asked dramatically, sniffling for effect. Satoshi looked at Malik like he was insane and Ryou slapped his forehead.
"Ha ha, what a kidder..." Yohmei muttered, giving Malik a sharp glance. "Malik, this is my nephew, Satoshi. He and his parents are staying with us for a few weeks. Satoshi, this is Malik, a very good friend of Ryou's." Yohmei gave Malik another look with the word "friend." The blonde tilted his head to the side and blinked.
"Yeah, you could say that..." he said slowly, not sure what was going on.
"These two were going to go see a movie today, and I completely forgot all about it," Yohmei fibbed, pausing to weigh his options before continuing, "but I promised Ryou he could go. Just be back before dinner, all right?"
Ryou's face broke out into a smile. "Thanks, Dad! I'll be right out, just let me grab my wallet."
Malik watched as his boyfriend dashed off to his room to retrieve the mentioned item before staring back up at Yohmei with an "Okay, what the hell is going on here?" look. Yohmei sighed, giving Malik his own "Not right now..." look. Ryou appeared a moment later, waving goodbye before he grabbed Malik's wrist and pulled him down the hall.
As soon as the two stepped into the elevator and its doors slid closed, Malik glared at Ryou. "Okay, you want to explain what's going on here?!" he demanded. Ryou shrank back a little before sighing.
"I'm really sorry, Malik. It's just that my relatives don't really handle homosexuality very well..."
"So you're scared of being rejected by family again?" Malik growled before leaning against the wall. "If they can't deal with you being happy in the company of another guy, forget them!"
"Malik, I don't have that much family left. I don't want to be alone on this..." Ryou muttered.
"You're not the only one who's lost family, you know." Malik shot back with venom. Ryou winced and hung his head, realizing his mistake.
Malik sighed and muttered curses under his breath. He just couldn't stay mad at Ryou, especially when he had that wounded-puppy look. Malik gently pulled the boy into his arms, stroking his hair. "Gomen ne... I shouldn't have yelled. But you have to realize that it won't be the end of the world if a few idiots can't understand us." Malik kissed the top of Ryou's head and tilted his chin up so they were looking eye to eye, "We love each other, right?" he asked, smiling when Ryou nodded weakly. "So that's all that matters. Don't let your idiot relatives get to you, okay?" he murmured soothingly, giving him a chaste kiss.
"Easier said than done... If they find out, they'll be sure to make our lives a living hell for their whole stay. It might just be easier to--" Ryou was cut off as the elevator doors opened.
Malik groaned, realizing they had never punched in the floor they wanted, which would mean someone else could come along and enter the elevator. Malik pressed a quick kiss on Ryou's lips before reluctantly pulling away and leaning against the wall. It was lucky he had, because Satoshi stepped into the elevator a moment later, smiling innocently.
"Seeing as I'm new here, and it's my first day and all, I was thinking you could show me around town!" he said with the confident air of someone who usually got his way. Malik scowled, immediately disliking the other boy. It was slowly becoming clear why Ryou wouldn't want Satoshi to find out about his sexual preferences.
"Sorry, your name is..." Malik began.
"Satoshi." the other said calmly.
"Satoshi..." Malik began again, narrowing his eyes, "We'd love to, really, but Ryou and I have already made plans for the afternoon, and they don't include you, I'm afraid. So sorry." he spat out. Satoshi feigned looking hurt, but somehow it didn't have the same effect on Malik that Ryou's previous emotion had. The brunette didn't seem to care.
"But leaving your guest all alone at home in a strange new city would be so rude..." Satoshi pointed out, staring directly at Ryou. The pale boy flinched and bit his lip, weighing his options. Satoshi had him pinned with his argument. But he had wanted to spend some time alone with Malik.
"Well? I'm waiting for an answer..." Satoshi said in a sing-song voice. Malik looked ready to ram his fist down the other boy's throat when Ryou finally gave in.
"All right, you can come with us. But you're paying your own way for everything, got it? And you're not sitting by us in the theater. In fact, just pretend you don't even know us." Ryou instructed sharply. Satoshi rolled his eyes and nodded, yawning.
"Sheesh, don't make it sound like you two are going out on a date or something." he muttered, not noticing Ryou tense up or Malik look ready to kill. "So, what movie is it gonna be?" Satoshi asked with his soon-to-be-trademarked "ha ha, I won" smirk.
---
"Ryou?" Malik whispered. The boys were sitting together in the darkened theater, near the front.
"Yes, Malik?" Ryou whispered back, trying to focus on the movie.
"This sucks."
"I know, I know."
Satoshi had, true to Ryou's instructions, picked a seat far from the two, but he still managed to find a way to make their time miserable by shouting commentary at the screen. Luckily for him, the only other people in the theater were a young straight couple making out in the back and a brother and sister who had the misfortune of sitting behind Satoshi.
"So, what are we gonna do? Sit here and suffer for another hour and a half or leave and have wasted our money?" Malik whispered, shooting a glare up at the obnoxious boy a few rows back.
"Well..." Ryou mused, looking up when Satoshi suddenly began yelling at the siblings behind him. It would seem one of them had "accidentally" dumped their popcorn over his head. "Let's leave. Now." Ryou said quietly.
"Good idea." Malik agreed, grabbing Ryou's hand and pulling him out of the theater while Satoshi was occupied in the popcorn war.
"So now what?" Malik asked once they were back outside. "We've now got a lot of free time to kill now since you don't have to be home until dinner..." the blonde pointed out.
"Well, let's see... The arcade's still not an option... We don't have our swim trunks, so the water park's out..." Ryou listed various other ideas that were impractical at the moment, sighing when he ran out of things to say.
"I've got it! Let's go back to my place." Malik piped up, looking quite pleased with his suggestion.
"But almost every time we go there, we end up making out, and..." Ryou protested, blushing at the images that appeared in his mind.
Malik chuckled and moved behind Ryou, wrapping his arms around the slim boy's waist. "As much as I'd like that, we can't." he murmured softly, slipping a hand beneath Ryou's shirt and ghosting it across his stomach for a few moments. Ryou shivered and leaned into the touch, whimpering softly when the teasing hand left and went back to his waist. "Isis is coming home early today, and she'd kill me if she walked in on that sort of thing. Quite a shame, really." Malik sighed, nuzzling Ryou's neck and pressing a kiss there. "But we could just watch a DVD or something. Make some popcorn. Snuggle on the couch. It's all innocent, I promise."
"That sounds nice..." Ryou agreed, actually quite thrilled with the idea. With most of their time together ending with Malik's tongue down Ryou's throat, or elsewhere lower on his body, a nice, quiet evening would be a welcome change.
"So that's a yes?" Malik asked, moving to face Ryou again. The smaller boy laughed and nodded.
"Definitely!"
Two hours later, Malik chuckled and turned off the TV as the ending credits scrolled across the screen. Ryou had dozed off sometime halfway through, and was now fast asleep, resting his head on the blonde's shoulder. "Cute..." he murmured, running a hand through his hair, "Better wake up soon love, or I might be tempted to keep you..." he added, teasing the sleeping boy. Ryou stirred slightly and opened his eyes, blinking sleepily.
"Malik?" he asked softly before yawning.
"Have a nice nap, love?" the blonde asked, leaning down to press a kiss to Ryou's forehead.
"Mmhmm... What time is it?" Ryou asked, still not fully awake yet. Malik craned his neck to get a good look at the small clock on the table next to the couch.
"It's just after quarter to six." Malik replied before looking back at Ryou, who sighed softly and settled back in Malik's arms. Then the information Malik had given him sunk in.
"What?! I'm gonna be late!" Ryou yelled, jumping up and running over to the entryway, struggling to pull his sneakers on. Malik frowned and followed the boy, wrapping his arms around the boy's waist.
"Ryou, calm down. You'll only miss the appetizer." he said soothingly. Ryou shook his head and pushed against Malik's arms, trying to get free.
"I need to make a good impression, all right?" he insisted, finally breaking loose. Malik pouted and crossed his arms. "Don't give me that look. You're making it harder than it already is. Do you really think I want to go eat dinner with Satoshi?" he asked, feeling his temper begin to flare up. "This is a delicate situation! If my relatives find out we're a couple, they'll make both our lives miserable for years! Do you want to have to put up with Satoshi any longer than necessary?"
"I could always just send him to the Shadow Realm..." Malik offered helpfully. Ryou groaned and hung his head.
"No, that would be a bad thing." He said in a strained voice.
"Aw, please? Please? Pleeease?" Malik begged.
"NO!" Ryou yelled, surprised at his reaction for the second time that day.
"I'm ho...me..." Isis had chosen just that moment to open the door and get an earful of Ryou's shouting. "Ryou, good evening. I didn't know you'd be here." she said, trying to compose her voice.
"Good evening, Isis. I'm afraid I was just leaving, though." Ryou said, bowing slightly before tugging on his sneakers and walking out of the apartment. Isis watched intently, noting the boy's mussed hair and upset mood and added that to their heated argument from before and quickly came to a conclusion.
"Malik, you weren't trying to pressure Ryou into sleeping with you, were you?" she accused. Okay, so it was the wrong conclusion...
"Are you crazy?" Malik shouted. "I would never do that to Ryou, and you know it! We were arguing about his stupid family. Turns out he has a bunch of homophobic relatives staying with him for a while, which means he's on edge, which means we're not having any fun right now." The blonde sat down on the sofa, sulking. Isis rolled her eyes and sat next to her brother, giving him a slight shove.
"So Ryou's family isn't perfect, and you two are having a spat over it. Please tell me your relationship is stronger than that, or my hopes for ever having a relationship somewhat like yours are useless." Isis scolded.
Malik scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Drama queen..." he muttered, earning a smack from a throw pillow. "Of course our relationship's stronger than that! It's not all about making out and stuff..."
"Then act like it. Wait until Ryou gets a chance to get home, then give him a call or send him an email or something." Malik rolled his eyes at the lecture and got up to type his apology on the laptop he kept in his room. Isis clucked her tongue and tugged the blonde toward the kitchen.
"After dinner." she added, ignoring Malik's frustrated groan.
"I'm sorry I'm late!" Ryou declared as he ran inside his apartment and kicked his shoes off. The pale boy cringed at the sharp glare Sachitobe gave him. Ryou bowed apologetically and took his seat next to Noriko and stared at the bowl in front of him, trying to will away his blush.
"You know, it's pretty sad that even a boy who's new in town and doesn't really know his way around, who was so rudely abandoned at the movies could get home before you." Satoshi said coolly, giving Ryou a smug look. Yohmei shook his head slowly before passing around the dishes of food.
Ryou stayed quiet, keeping his head down. He saw the disappointed look in his father's eyes, along with the unspoken message: "We need to talk." With that hanging over his head, added to the stress his relatives already brought, this meal was going to be a loooooong ordeal.
"You left Satoshi alone at the movie theater?" Yohmei asked calmly. He and Ryou were alone in the kitchen, working together to put away the leftovers and the dishes. The teen sighed, closing the fridge door and leaning against the appliance.
"He was being a nightmare, Dad. You would have left, too! I'm surprised the ushers didn't kick him out first anyway." He replied, trying to remain calm.
"That's not the point. He could have gotten lost, or mugged, or stranded, or any other list of things happen to him!"
Heh, doesn't sound like too much of a tragedy to me. a certain sarcastic voice piped up in Ryou's head. The teen fought off a groan at Bakura's remark as his father continued.
"You were supposed to be responsible for him while you were out!" Yohmei added. Ryou made a small scoffing sound.
"Nobody asked me! He just invited himself along and started making the day miserable! How am I supposed to be responsible for that?" he asked, feeling his temper flare up once again.
"Don't take that tone with me, young man!"
"Fine, then I'll just stop talking!" Ryou shouted before storming off to his room and slamming the door. The teen groaned as he flopped down on the bed, glaring death at the ceiling.
"Well, someone's all PMS-y this evening." Bakura said innocently as he appeared on the bed next to his hikari.
"Bakura, I'm in a bad enough mood as it is, and Satoshi's most likely just gonna make it worse. Do you really have to add to it?" Ryou asked, turning his glare to the spirit next to him.
"Hmm... Yeah, I do." Bakura snickered and stuck his tongue out before Ryou shoved him.
"Wow, you really ARE on PMS." Bakura commented, arching a brow. Ryou scowled and decided to ignore him. "Maybe you should just let Malik go ahead and screw you. It's a lot of fun, and it'll blow off a lot of st—hey!" Bakura ducked to the side as Ryou chucked a pillow at his head.
"Shut. Up." Ryou said in a dangerous tone. Bakura was about to reply when the doorknob turned. The spirit disappeared back into the Ring just in time to avoid Satoshi's entrance.
"Aw, is the little drama queen having a hissy fit?" Satoshi asked in a syrupy sweet voice as he leaned against the doorframe.
"This is all your fault, so would you mind possibly doing me a favor and jumping off the roof? Thanks." Ryou said icily.
"Nah, it's much more fun bothering you." Satoshi snickered, catching the pillow Ryou threw at his head with ease. "Now, now, there's no need for that. Let's not forget which one of us is bigger, faster, stronger, and overall a better fighter," he said, walking toward the still sitting Ryou and towering over him, "Get the picture?"
Ryou fought back a gulp and tried to stare Satoshi in the eye. Sure, the boy had always been a jerk, but he had never turned into a full physical bully before. Satoshi smirked and lightly shoved Ryou back against the bed before picking up a sports manga from his bag and perching comfortably on the desk chair. Ryou scowled and grabbed a copy of Detective Conan, flipping through the pages until he reached a particularly heinous murder scene. Imagining Satoshi as the victim lifted his mood a bit. Too bad he could never get away with it... Bakura, maybe, but not him. The teen sighed dejectedly and glanced out the window. Life sucks sometimes.
It was starting to get dark now, and a few of the brighter stars could be seen shining out the window. 'Maybe I should just get some sleep and forget about this until tomorrow,' Ryou thought with a quiet yawn. 'Yeah, sleep would be nice...'
All thoughts of drifting off fled as the telephone rang down the hall. The pale teen waited a few rings to see if anyone would pick it up. Once it became apparent no one was going to do so, Ryou sighed and got up, shuffling over to the impatient device and picked it up. "Hello?"
"Ryou, good. It's Malik." At the sound of his boyfriend's voice, Ryou smiled faintly and relaxed. "Look, I'm sorry I was such an idiot. Did you get in too much trouble?"
"Nah, not really. Father chewed me out for ditching Satoshi, and everyone else pretty much hates me, but that's not all that different. I guess I'll live."
"Sorry about getting you in trouble with your dad. Any way I can make it up to you?" Malik asked, "Say, flowers, candy, a big pink stuffed animal?"
Ryou bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at Malik's last suggestion. "How sweet. But just promise me you'll stick around and convince me that committing hara kiri over this mess isn't a good idea."
Malik laughed softly. "All right, I promise. If I could, I'd give you a hug and a kiss on the cheek right now. I'll see you later, okay?"
"Okay, Malik." Ryou sighed happily. "Thanks for calling. This is probably the best I've felt all day."
"Heh. Love you."
Ryou glanced down the hall to make sure no one was listening before he replied. "I love you, too." He smiled and set the phone back in its cradle.
...Maybe life didn't suck so much after all.
Author's Notes
Okay, my idiot hikari has finally gotten this chapter up. Rejoice, read, review, and pelt her with squishy tomatoes until she gets the next one up as well. Peace, love, and marshmallow bunnies!
