Disclaimer: Okay, it's not mine. BUT THE CARROTS ARE! BWUHAHAHA!

A/N: (sweatdrop) Argh, another evil edit. (points at disclaimer) See, look! Mutilating my story has driven me to insanity! (Author's alternate personality Krad says: It's only a short putt...) Eh, urusei. Anyone can make that joke. As usual, there will be a link in my bio (I would put these things in the chapters, but ff net won't let me for some reason... oh no, they're on to us!). Though I personally don't think you'd be missing much by reading this version; I think this is pretty indisputably the worst lemon in this story... (Alternate personality Shigure: (shoves author in a bag) Quiet! You'll scare 'em all off!)

XooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooX

Chapter Eight: Reason

XooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooX

Yami blew a bang out of his face, and watched the clock. Three... two... one... Yes! Finally, his shift at the game shop was over! "Yuugi, your turn!" he called upstairs, heading that way himself.

Yuugi came down, taking the steps two at a time. He paused, though, to give Yami a quick hug. He chuckled, and ruffled his little brother's nearly identical hair. Yuugi giggled, before continuing on his way.

Yami smiled, about to do the same, but he froze. Up at the top of the stairs, leaning casually against the wall, was Malik. His breath caught... "You two... have a very compassionate relationship, don't you?" the blonde commented.

Yami winced. "Malik..." He just smiled, and walked away.

He hesitated, not sure what to do. Malik was so... enigmatic. He was a complete mystery, and even though he had been living at his house for over a week now, he still hadn't been able to figure him out. He hid his feelings utterly. The smile as he left meant nothing - at least, Yami thought it didn't, but he couldn't be sure... Unless he followed him.

A few minutes later, Yami knocked hesitantly on Malik's door. "Who is it?" he called from inside.

"Yami. Can I come in?"

There was a long pause. "If you want."

He opened the door, and squinted. It was dark inside; all the lights were off. And it was cloudy tonight, so there wasn't even any light from the moon. He could see Malik's silhouette, though, because he was standing in front of the window. Yami stepped inside, and tentatively closed the door. "I'm sorry," he started, despite not really sure what he was apologizing for. "Are... you okay?"

"Of course!" He laughed lightly. "No one realizes what crap that is, do they?"

Yami blinked. "What?"

He heard Malik sigh. "Why did you kill my brother?"

Yami's eyes widened. That came as a bit of a surprise; they hadn't said a word about that since Malik had come here. "I... don't know," he said awkwardly. 'Of course you do!' "I was just so mad at him, for doing that to you... I didn't even stop to think that you wouldn't want me to, but I understand. Despite everything, he was your brother..."

Malik whirled around. Now that his eyes had adjusted, Yami could just make out his face. It frightened him, more than Malik usually did. "You understand nothing!" he hissed. "I didn't want you to kill him because I wanted to kill him myself! I hate him... that bastard... You couldn't even begin to understand what my life has been like! I was supposed to kill him..." Trembling, he sunk to his knees, holding his head as if it hurt.

Yami stared for a moment, then rushed over. "Malik-" he started, laying a hand on his arm. Malik lashed out, hitting him across the face so hard that he fell backward.

"Don't touch me!" he screamed. Then his eyes widened, and he timidly reached out to brush his fingers across the red mark on the other's face. Yami flinched, and Malik hurriedly pulled back. "I'm sorry," he muttered.

Yami couldn't believe it. Was Malik... crying? He cautiously touched Malik's arm again, and when he didn't react he awkwardly wrapped his arms around him. 'I shouldn't...' Malik stiffened at first, but gradually relaxed.

Eventually, he stopped crying. He was so still and silent that Yami was beginning to think that he'd fallen asleep, and then he spoke. "Why did you really kill my brother, Yami? You are too good to be a part of Darkness, seriously, because you can't tell a lie."

He winced. Damn. If anybody was good enough to catch him, he should have known it would be Malik. "I'm... sorry. I can't tell you right now; maybe someday..."

Malik pulled away, turning to look at him. "I don't believe you," he said bitterly. "Only someone as nice as you would refuse to tell a person why their own brother is dead because they think, what? That it will hurt them?"

Yami winced again. And if anyone could pull off a guilt trip that well, it was Malik. No, he couldn't let him get to him. If he told him now, there was no way...

Malik slapped him again, and judging from the cold look in his eyes, it didn't seem like there would be any apology this time. "Fuck you," he snapped, and got up to leave.

Yami grabbed his arm. "I'm sorry," he said hurriedly, feeling like he was witnessing a train wreck and couldn't do a thing about it. "I... The reason I killed Marik is... I love you." And he released him, fully expecting him to run away and never talk to him again.

After a few moments, Malik sunk to the ground again. Yami waiting, wondering what to do, and realized that Malik was crying again. So, not being able to think of anything to say, he held him for a while longer. And outside, it started to rain.

XooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooX

"It's really coming down cats and dogs out there, isn't it?" Ryou's dad said cheerfully. "Bakura came in, right?"

Ryou just kept staring out the window. His dad raised an eyebrow, but walked away.

Bakura had not actually come in. He let the rain wash over him, drenching him and plastering his hair to the roof, as he thought. Why...? Why had he been so stupid?

XooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooX

It was the next day. Yami hit the 'off' button on his alarm without opening his eyes, and let himself wake up slowly. He had this unpleasant feeling that once he woke up the whole way he was going to remember something horrible, and he was in no hurry to do so.

Finally, he had to open his eyes. And it all came flooding back... What had he done?

Then he rolled over, and there was Malik.

The blonde chuckled as he gasped. "No need to be so surprised, Yami-kun," he said softly. "I've been waiting for you to wake up... I did a lot of thinking, last night. And I decided... Hmm, too hard to put in to words..." Smirking a little, he leaned forward and kissed him. Yami was more than willing to give into his touch, moaning a little as he straddled his hips...

The alarm clock went off, and Yami sat blot upright. He was... alone. He grimaced. And his sheets, ugh... Fuck it.

After he had cleaned himself up a little, he got dressed and headed down to breakfast. He eyed the coffee cup at his place with distaste; he didn't want to drink it. As long as he stayed numbly half-asleep, everything would be okay... Then he blinked owlishly. "Where's Malik?"

His grandpa shook his head. "In his room. Yuugi and I went up to check on him when he didn't come down, and he told us to, er, leave. Only a bit more figuratively than that. Do you know what's wrong with him?"

"No," he lied dully. Malik may be able to tell when he lied, but there was no way his grandpa could.

He shrugged. "Oh, all right then. Well, it's Saturday; no rush."

After breakfast, he went upstairs and banged on Malik's door. "You can't mope around all day, you know," he said dryly.

"Fuck off!"

Yami sighed; ah, he'd thought that was what jii-san had meant. He sat down, back against the door. "This is your own fault, you know," he said gently. "You asked."

Something hit the door, and shattered. He jumped. "Fuck off!"

He moaned, massaging his temples. Was that a migraine he felt coming on? "Do you really hate me that much?" he demanded.

Suddenly, the door opened. He fell over backwards, discovering the hard way that it had been a china bowl Malik had thrown. The other boy stared down at him for a moment, then looked away. "Get off your ass; you look like an idiot," he grumbled. When Yami didn't get up right away he grabbed his arm and pulled him in, closing the door behind him.

Yami had a moment to look Malik over. His hair was tousled and his eyes were slightly bloodshot, but unfortunately he didn't look any less sexy. At least not to him... Then Malik spoke.

"I don't hate you, you know," he said, not meeting his eyes. "I just don't know what to do right now... I haven't know what to do this whole damn time, and you've only made it worse..."

Yami ran a hand through his hair. "Well, I'm open to suggestions," he said, feeling exhausted. Then Malik kissed him.

Before he could get over his shock enough to react, Malik pulled away. This time he looked him right in the eyes. "If I were to be with you... what would you do?"

Yami stared back at him, thoughtful. "If you mean, will I hurt you, then no. Never."

Malik smiled a little, and hesitantly kissed him again. This time Yami kissed back, pulling him close. This felt so good, and he never wanted it to stop... But unfortunately, there was something he needed to ask. He broke away.

"Malik, I have to know something. Anything we do... will it be because you love me, or will it be because you want to forget about Marik?"

He looked up a little guiltily, and also a little sadly. "Maybe a bit of both?" he said. "But more of the first..."

Yami sighed, and allowed himself to be pulled into another kiss. It was good enough for him, really. Even if it had been completely about forgetting Marik, he wouldn't have minded it. As long as it made Malik feel better...

XooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooX

Time marches on. At some point, they slept. And then...

Yami woke to the sound of someone banging on the door. "Malik, would you like some lunch?"

Ah, jii-san. "Fuck off!" Malik said, sounding utterly content. It was a bizarre combination. There was a pause before he heard the sound of footsteps walking away. Yami opened his eyes.

Malik grinned that ever-so-slightly deranged grin he had. He was playing with a lock of Yami's hair. "Good morning, koi. Or afternoon..."

Melt. He could already feel himself getting aroused. He also felt an immeasurable wave of relief. "Hi," he managed to get out, cursing himself for being lame.

Malik chuckled. "You read porn, don't you?"

He blinked, startled. "Er... How'd you know?"

"Well, you seem so experienced, but you were obviously a virgin..."

He rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks. Anyway, it's quality literature." And he kissed him.

XooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooX

A/N: Quality literature forever! XD Erm... Hmm, I seem to have slightly lost my handle on the whole realistic thing I was aiming for... Hey, it's Malik; it's gonna be a little unrealistic! Right? Oh well. Just tell me this fic hasn't gone completely downhill, and I'll be happy :) Review on-e-e-egai-i-i-i?