"Best friend, worst thing

He's been cheating

Friend deceives, he leaves"

"Hikari, I have something to tell you."

"Yes Bakura? What's wrong?" Ryou's bright brown eyes were wide with curiosity and dread. Perhaps Bakura had finally succeeded in his mission to flush Hamsterdam, the "demonically bewitched" hamster down the toilet? But then he probably wouldn't look so distressed…

"Don't hate me Ryou. You know I love you…"

"Yes…"

"And I would never do anything to hurt you intentionally."

"Yes…"Ryou laughed uneasily. "What is it, Bakura? What in the world did you do that is so bad?"

Bakura took a deep breath. "….Okay…." He shut his eyes tightly. " Hikari….well…I've….well…you see…"

Ryou raised an eyebrow. "Yes….?"

"Marik and I…I mean…"

"Spill it Bakura!" Ryou shouted, unable to contain his nervousness upon hearing his lover's name mentioned as being involved in whatever secret his Yami kept.

Bakura inhaled sharply, and his eyes shot open and locked on to Ryou's. "Marik and I have been sleeping together for the past month and a half." His words poured out quickly and hit Ryou like a ton of bricks. His brain froze. The blood rushed out of his head and his heart pounded in his ears. He opened his mouth to say something, but the words caught in his throat.

"Ryou…Hikari…say something…." Bakura pleaded.

Ryou open and closed his mouth repeatedly, trying to force words to come, but succeeding only in looking like a suffocating fish. Finally, a single word pushed its way forth from his lips: "Why?"

Bakura sighed. "I don't know why Ryou. We never meant for anything to happen. We were drunk, and everything just happened…and kept happening…" He finished quietly, bowing his head.

"Drunk? So that's why you and he have been out so often?" Ryou growled. "So you could get drunk and go fuck!"

"No Ryou! That's not how it happened!" Bakura shouted, pride and anger temporarily overriding his guilt. Ryou's eyes welled up with tears, and Bakura immediately regretted his outburst. "That's not how it happened." He repeated, his shame returning to him quickly.

Ryou could no longer hold back his anger, and with a frustrated cry he lunged at his Yami, arm outstretched with fist clenched, aiming square for Bakura's jaw. In one swift motion, Bakura reached out and caught hold of his Hikari's wrist before Ryou was able to strike him. Ryou unclenched his fist, letting his wrist hang limply in Bakura's grip. He hung his head, his snowy white locks covering his tear-stained face.

He fell to his knees, burying his face in his free arm and sobbing uncontrollably. Bakura winced at the sight of his hikari so distressed (and partially because of his doing), and knelt beside Ryou. "Ryou…Hikari….I never meant to hurt you like this….nor did Marik….please, please forgive us."

"Last date, she cries

Whispers 'goodbye'

He walks once more

Out that door"

"Ryou, what's been bothering you so much lately?" Marik asked, shifting positions slightly to stare at his lover sitting beside him on the couch. "You seem so … down."

Ryou said nothing and Marik frowned slightly with concern. "Ryou…" He leaned closer as he lifted his arm to wrap it around the boy's shoulders. Ryou shyed away from Merik's touch and repositioned himself further down the couch. Marik sighed. "Ryou please…talk to me. Tell me what's wrong." He pleaded. "I love you so much and it hurts me to see you like this, especially when you won't let me help….I miss being close to you…I haven't held you in my arms for days."

"And that bothers you?" Ryou inquired softly.

Marik paused, running over the question in his mind and trying to comprehend why such an odd thing was asked of him, especially right after he just got done expressing his concern. "Yes Ryou, of course it does. You know how much I love you, and love holding you and being around you." He placed a hand on Ryou's arm for a moment before the other pulled away. "If you don't want to be intimate for a while, that's fine, but I'd at least like to know why."

"Oh yeah, of course its fine!" Ryou spat as he leapt to his feet. "Why the hell would you need me when you have my Yami?"

Marik blinked, taken aback by both the accusation and Ryou's uncharacteristic harshness. "Whu..what?" he stuttered.

"Oh, don't act like you haven't a clue what I'm talking about!" He screamed. "Bakura told me everything! Everything!" He screamed.

Marik gaped at Ryou. "Bakura…he…told you?"

"Everything! He had the balls to come to me and admit it!" He growled. "Unlike you!" He stuck a condemning finger in Marik's face.

Marik cringed at Ryou's hateful words. "Ryou….I…"

"And I was foolish enough to believe you when you said you loved me, You used me….And I hate you for it…" He whispered these last venomous words.

The Egyptian boy didn't move a muscle. He couldn't. He stared at Ryou, face frozen in shock and hurt. He tried to speak, tried to say something, anything, but nothing could be pushed forth, save for a soft strangled noise coming from his throat.

Finally, his throat opened and allowed words to come. "Ryou…I'm so sorry." He whispered hoarsely. "I never meant to hurt you. I…we…we were drunk."

"So I heard," Ryou snarled.

"It didn't mean anything. We didn't know what we were doing…I DO love you Ryou-kun. I love you, and I made a huge mistake. Please forgive me…I never meant to hurt you like this."

Ryou stared at him for a moment, tears streaming down his delicate cheeks, leaving wet glistening streaks which seemed to make his pale face glow lightly. Marik hoped that he saw forgiveness in the glow, and he allowed himself to hope that the snowy haired boy would throw open his arms, and allow Marik to embrace him, hold him close, and tell him that he was forgiven.

But Ryou only stared at him with a fierceness foreign to his character. "Leave….."He whispered severely. "Now!"

"Ryou…" Marik protested.

"Now! Get out!" The level of his voice alarmed Marik to such extent that he jumped quickly to his feet and took a few steps back. "Okay Ryou," he said, his voice ragged and cracking. "If that's….if that's what you want…" he paused, hopeful that Ryou would reconsider the brusque order. But Ryou only turned his head away from Marik, his teary eyes foncused on the wall. The Egyptian nodded silently to himself in quiet resignation, and then turned to the door. He slowly pulled open the door, then turned back to look on the face of his former lover for the last time.

"Goodbye…" He heard Ryou whisper just before he shut the door behind him.

"(Please, please, please...)

Please stay…

Don't go away

The hardest thing is

Letting go of you

What can I do?

Alone with me, alone with you"

Marik drew out the last note on his guitar and then abruptly cut it off as the crowd exploded in applause and cheers. Ryou lifted his head quickly to catch a brief glimpse of Merik's lilac eyes, rimmed with glistening tears, before they disappeared under a cascade of golden hair.

Ryou's own eyes were welled with tears. Trying to let go of Marik had been the hardest thing that he ever had to endure. And no matter how hard he had tried, he had never truly succeeded in fully releasing that part of Marik that had fused itself with his soul.

Ryou caught a glimpse of his friends coming towards him from across the room. He was still too much in shock to answer the inevitable questions, so he quickly jolted out the back door. The cold fresh air felt refreshing against his hot face. He fell back against the frozen brick wall of the building, breathing in deeply and reflecting on the song.

He heard the door open behind him, and he winced. It was probably Yugi come to check on him, as well as barrage him with inquiries. "I don't really feel like talking, Yugi." He muttered without turning around.

"Ryou…" A soft and all too familiar voice caught his ears. He turned around and came face to face with Marik.

"Oh…" He paused. "Hi…"

"Hi…" Marik smiled and scratched the back of his head nervously. "…Um…did you hear the song..?"

"Yes," Ryou replied softly.

"….What did you think?"

"I….I don't know."

Marik's face was the epitome of disappointment and sorrow. "Oh…Oh, ok."

"I just-"

"Its okay Ryou," Marik sighed resignedly. "Don't worry about it. I understand. Marik forced a smile. "Well…thanks for coming out to the show." He said, as if talking to a mere groupie. He turned to leave as Ryou looked at the ground.

"Marik, wait," he murmured.

The blonde turned back around. "Yes?"

Ryou took a step towards him, closing the distance between them. He took Marik's hand in his own, and the look of shock was apparent on the other's face. "Thank you for the song…I loved it…I know you never meant to hurt me, and I know you're sorry." Marik's eyes welled and Ryou squeezed his hand comfortingly. "I don't hate you…you know that. I still love you, and I always will… We were meant for each other, and I really don't think anything is going to keep us apart." He reached up to touch Marik's cheek, and then brought his lips to the others in a passionate and longing kiss. The kiss turned into a embrace, and Marik held the smaller boy to his chest as tightly as he could, running his fingers through his white hair and nuzzling his face into the other's cheek.

"I missed you so much," Marik whispered into Ryou's ear and his voice cracked lightly. "I love you Ryou…I'll always be yours, and yours alone forever."

Fin

Reviews are much appreciated