Elloelloelloelloello! -smiles- lookie! Hehe... I updated! wo0htness! I was gonna write a bit more, but I wouldn't be able to post it up until tomorrow because tonight I a) Have end of year exams in two weeks and am currently studying my ass of, and b) The third part of the totally cool four part documentary on Ancient Egypt is on, and I HAVE to watch it. This week is about some dead high priest... and last week the episode was on TOMB ROBBERS! -keels over laughing- I nearly pissed myself during the whole thing... but I cried at the end.. when the guy died. He had a wife and kids!

o.o''' Yeah...

Disclaimer: I own nothing. NOTHING I SAY! BWAHAHAHHAAA!

Marik gazed thoughtfully at the light curled into a small ball, staring just as deeply into his own amethyst orbs, who smiled softly again, his heart as light as a feather, maybe even lighter. Bakura wasn't going to hurt him again, he was going to be safe here…

Ryou burst into tears.

Marik froze, and gaped at the young light, who now sobbed into his hands, his thin shoulders shaking. The darkness recoiled from the light alarmingly, his sandy brows knitted together in shock and partial amusement.

"Why are you crying?" He finally muttered, running a hand through his wild locks as he gazed at the sobbing light, who hiccupped, and lifted his head.

"I-I'm just so… happy." Ryou finally stuttered his eyes red-rimmed and swollen. "No ones ever been this nice to me in so long… No ones ever cared…" He swallowed deeply, and sniffed, rubbing his eyes. "No ones ever really even noticed…" The young light replaced his arms around his knees drawn up to his chest, and let out a long sigh. "Th-Thankyou so much…" He whispered softly, resting his head back into the deep, safe sanctuary of his knees. Marik, on the other hand, was dumbstruck, his cold eyes wide as he gazed at the soft angel. No one had ever thanked him for anything. Ever. He had never made anyone happy, he never made anyone feel special… Ryou had to be lying, he had to be. No one ever spoke to him like that, it was always cold and angry, harsh and full of hate. No one ever needed him, not even Malik. No one probably wanted him around.

"D-Do you mean that?" Marik finally stuttered, and to his eternal shame, felt his voice stutter slightly, with the strange, inhuman emotion gathered in the pit of his chest. He felt… Happy?

"Yes." Ryou said softly, his voice slightly muffled, but the Egyptian could still detect a musical note of happiness in his soft English voice. "Of course I do. Wh-Why do you ask?" He inquired softly, and finally lifted his head, and frowned slightly, tilting his fluffy silver head to the side. "Hasn't… anyone ever said this before?" His soft mocha eyes, shining with innocence and purity and light.

"N-No…" Marik muttered softly, and looked away, the faintest rose tinge spreading across his caramel face as he gazed softly at his hands. Ryou let out a long sigh, his heart welling in pity for the cold, uncaring darkness. He bit his lip, and frowned slightly, slowly stretching out from his small ball of personal protection, as he gazed at the Egyptian. Marik firmly looked away, cursing himself mentally for being so… Whatever it was he was being right now. He clenched his eyes tightly shut, as, to his eternal shame, he felt a harsh burning behind mechanical amethyst orbs. He tensed himself, and preparing to get up and walk away, when he felt a slender, pale hand grasp his. The Egyptians eyes snapped open, gazing in shock at his calloused, caramel fingers ringed in gold, entwined with the slim porcelain digits of Ryou. The Egyptians gaze slowly traveled, shocked, unbelieving, up Ryous wrist, his pale, creamy forearm clothed in sky blue cotton, finally settling on warm chocolate that seemed to sparkle and radiance love and warmth and light. His own amethyst orbs narrowed, cold and calculating, as he tried to sum up the strange, alien situation the darkness was currently going through, reading the warm, caring expression on the lights face.

"Oh, Marik…" Ryou whispered, his left hand joining his right, gently clasping the yamis wrist. He smiled faintly, gazing deeply into the stone amethyst eyes staring so calculatingly into his own. "I-I'm sorry…" He bit his lip, and softly, but firmly, tightened his hold on the yamis strong hand.

"Don't be." Marik muttered angrily, breaking his gaze with the light, and firmly wrenching his hand away from the light, ignoring Ryous shocked cry. "Don't waste your time caring." The Egyptian stood up abruptly from the young light, and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind him so hard the walls shook.

Ryou sat alone on the couch, crying silently as he struggled to figure out what he had done wrong.

Marik punched the wall angrily, a deep growl sounding in his throat as he continued to pace the room in rage and frustration, raking his fingers through his hair every few moments. GODS why was he doing this? Why was Ryou doing this? What the fuck was going on! Letting out a long moan, Marik sank onto the bloodstained bed, his head in his hands. What were these strange, alien feelings residing deep in his chest? He couldn't… couldn't understand. The Egyptian didn't know. No one had ever cared about him before, ever looked at him like that, ever held his hand softly, ever said that they mattered. It…. It scared him. Yes, the Great Marik Ishtar was afraid. Of a pathetic, weak little child like Ryou, and these strange, alien feelings inside his heart.

Without warning, without a moment of any warning, A terrible, frightened scream cut through the air. Marik froze, jerking his head up from his hands, and began to breathe heavily, his amethyst eyes clouded with confusion, before his eyes narrowed, burning with a white cold fire.

It was Ryou.

And Bakura.

OoOoO

Whilst Ryou was curled up in his miserable ball on the couch, his young mind struggling to comprehend the event that occurred in the last fifteen minutes, he was rudely interrupted- But the resounding bang of the front door to Marik and Maliks apartment clamming open with a crash, his greatest fear standing in the threshold before him, his arms crossed and his trademark sefl-satisfied smirk on his pale demonic face.

Ryou screamed loudly, and leaped off the couch in and instant, shrinking against the wall in fear as the demon stalked forward towards him with an evil leer on his face, narrow hard eyes burning with hate, rage and anger.

"There you are, you little bitch." Bakura spat heavily, a pale, clawed hand striking out at the velocity of an attack cobra, cruelly seizing a silky white hair, the force of his grip dragging the young light to his knees, the younger of the pair sobbing in pain and fear. "What the fuck did you think you were doing, trying to run away?" tightening his hold on the lights hair, and turning his tear-stained face up to his. "Answer me." He hissed, pulling harder on the lights hair, who cried out in pain, his pain wracked sobs increasing in volume.

"I don't know, Bakura-sama!" The terrified light finally stammered, desperate and in pain. "P-Please let me go…"

"YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Both of the whitenettes spun around, to find Marik at the door of the small hallway that led to the rest of the apartment, his caramel hands clenched tightly, as he seethed in rage. Neither of them had seen the yami this angry before. Ever.

"Well, well well." Bakura smirked as he finally released the light from his sadistic grasp, Ryou gasping and holding a hand to his head, his legs fumbling as he struggled to his feet. "I thought I might find you around."

"Stay away from him, you twisted sadistic freak." Marik spat angrily, his body positively quivering in rage. "I mean it."

"Why?" Bakura smirked, a cool, calm look on his face as he surveyed the Egyptian darkness before him. "What are you going to do to me?"

"If you ever hurt him again, I will kill you." Marik spat, his voice low and deadly, more venomous than the most virulent of poisons. "I will rip you limb from limb with my bare hands and destroy you." His eyes narrowed even further, to icy amethyst slits, his hands quaking in pure rage.

"How badly to you want him?" Bakura said casually, leaning against the wall. Ryou still stood beside him, shaking and shivering as he wrapped his arms around his slim form in fear. "What are you willing to trade for him?"

"What do you mean." Marik hissed, his voice a deep rumble in the back of his throat. "What do you mean, trade?"

"Exactly that." The pale demon smirked, and jerked his head towards the open doorway. For the first time, Egyptian darkness and the European light noticed the open-mouthed Malik, gaping like a fish at the scene before him, his wide lavender eyes flashing so many emotions through his eyes it wasn't even funny.

"Wh-whats going on?" He managed to choke out fearfully, his breathing harsh and erratic as his confused gaze swung from Marik, to Ryou, to Bakura, and back to his yami again. "What's happening…?"

"No." Marik finally understood what Bakura was hinting at, his body trembling further in pure hate. "You twisted fuck NO."

"N-No what? Ryou finally managed to speak up, his voice and limbs shaking in fear. "Wh-what's going on?"

"Your sick fuck of a yami wants me to give Malik to him… And there is no fucking way I am doing that." He glared daggers at the demon. "So don't even suggest it."

"Fine." Bakura said calmly, as casually as though he were just about to take a stroll through the park. "I guess Ryou and I might see you around then." Tightly grasping the collar of the younger lights jacket, the pale demon began to walk towards the door, Ryou crying and sobbing in pain, fear and rejection.

"You promised, Marik…" the whitenette whispered hopelessly. "You promised…" Bakura sneered at the tearful words, casting an amused eye at the caramel darkness, and snorted.

"What, you think I wasn't going to find you?" Bakura snorted, hitting the young light across the back of the head sharply, Ryou crying out in pain, and arching his back. "You're even more needy and pathetic than I thought."

"Wait!" Malik finally spoke up, his lavender eyes uncharacteristically narrow as he glared at first Bakura, and then Marik. "Bakura… Let Ryou go. I'll do whatever you want. Just… don't hurt him." He blinked, and his light orbs returned to their natural state, as he gazed softly at the demon. "Please." The self-satisfied, arrogant smirk on Bakuras face grew, his pale, slim hand releasing the light from his hold. Ryou fell to his knees, and held his head in his hands, sobbing and shaking.

"Malik…" Marik gazed open-mouthed at his teenage light, who smiled softly, his wide lavender eyes gazing into the yamis cold amethyst orbs, looking past the icy stone, the scowl on his face, into the depths of his soul…

"I'll be okay." The Egyptian light mouthed to his dark counterpart, a small smile on his strangely innocent caramel face. Marik gazed back, into innocent lavender eyes, hinted almost with a smile, coupled with a string burning light of resolution. Bakura threw his head back- and laughed.

"You're so bloody self-righteous, Malik." He snorted derisively. "It almost makes me fucking sick. You lights are all the bloody same…" The pale demon shrugged, and stalked towards the door, seizing the Egyptian light roughly by the arm as he marched through the doorway, Maliks innocent lavender eyes gazing straight into the yamis until the moment he was roughly snatched away.

Ryou let out a choked sob, his head still buried miserably in his hands, as he cried and cried. Marik merely stood stock still, staring spellbound at the empty doorway for a long time, his eyes glazed over and unfocused. It was an age before the yami snapped out of his daze, almost stumbling as he walked over to the light, and scooped the fragile, battered body in his strong bronzed arms, setting him gently down on the couch as though he were a china doll, drawing the lime green throw rug up to the young lights chin, who was still sobbing into his hands.

"Shush, Ryou…" He whispered softly, smoothing out the wrinkles in the gold-laced throw rug. "It's going to be okay. I'm going to look after you now, it's all going to be okay, I promise…"

Gradually, Ryous choked sobs and wails faded into miserable whimpers, and finally into a deep, exhausted sleep.

Forgive me for the lameasseness of it. I rewrote the stupid thing three times before giving up. THREE TIMES! ARGH! -yanks at hair Anyways,I must dash. I have a documentary to watch... xD

R&R!