Disclaimer: I don't own Yuugiou… sadly y,y

Ryu: -,- Well, I've been getting hits anyway. Now if only I got some reviews. Well, to those of you that read and don't review you can all go suck it. Since I put months into writing the original copy of this fic by hand I'm gonna continue it whether anyone reads on not. Besides, no reviews means no thank you portion, less work for me , So whether you like it or not here's chapter 4.

Chapter 4: Kissed in the Night

"Aniki, we're home."

Silence was all that greeted the boy's call.

"Aniki?"

"Maybe he's out?" Ryou offered.

"He'd have called or something," Malik replied. "Aniki!" he called into the darkened house.

"Shut up!" came a grumpy voice from the upper floor.

"Mariku, where's Rishid?" Malik yelled to his brother.

An annoyed Mariku appeared at the top of the stairs, dressed in a sleeve-less black shirt and khaki pants. He was hardly visible, the only light on him being reflected off the golden jewelry he was wearing that matched Malik's. It made the two look almost like twins, except of course for Mariku's wild hair.

"He went to work," Mariku answered grumpily.

"At this hour?"

"Mayor went to an all night party," Mariku said flatly.

"And nee-san?"

"Haven't heard from her," Mariku said, bored. "Now, if you'll excuse me, it's 1:30 in the morning and I'm tired so I'm going to bed. Keep the noise down or else."

He didn't wait for either of the other boys to reply before turning and disappearing into the darkness of the upstairs hallway.

"Let's go listen to some music," Malik said, turning to Ryou with an evil smirk.

"Hai," Ryou nodded in agreement.

/HOURS LATER/

It was past three in the morning and Mariku had already been to yell at them four times, thus it was starting to get old. Malik had turned the music off and was currently locked with Ryou in a game of Egyptian Rat Screw (Malik's idea). Ryou's hand was becoming sore from either hitting the floor or being hit by Malik, meaning his deck was nearly depleted. But he was becoming too tired to really care anyway.

"Why don't we call it a night?" Malik suggested, catching Ryou trying to hide a yawn.

"Gomen," Ryou said shyly.

"It's okay. Let's just change."

"Hai."

Ryou got up and disappeared into the bathroom/laundry room where his bag had somehow migrated.

'Rishid-san,' he thought as he began to strip down.

He re-emerged a moment later, now dressed in a white tee and powder blue pajama pants, to find Malik standing at his dresser, taking off his assorted jewelries, wearing nothing but a pair of dark violet pajama pants.

Ryou was at first embarrassed at the sight of his shirtless friend but instead gasped at the sight of the markings all over the boy's back.

"Malik-kun… is that your tattoo?" he asked.

Malik glanced at him over his shoulder.

"Oh yeah. It's pretty cool isn't it?" he asked.

The space between Malik's shoulders was marked with what looked like three tablets or cards, each one holding the image of a creature of some form, an anhk in between them. The area below that was scribed with hieroglyphs, much like those on Rishid's face.

"Didn't that hurt?" Ryou asked, coming to stand behind the Egyptian.

Malik looked up at Ryou's image reflected in the mirror, his eyes sad and hurt.

"Not nearly as much as the pain of betrayal," he said quietly.

"Malik-kun…"

Try as he might Ryou just couldn't find the bottom in the sorrowful, lavender sea that was Malik's eyes.

Malik turned and put a bright smile on for his friend. "Forget about it. Let's just go to bed," he suggested.

Ryou nodded with a tiny smile and crossed to lie down on the pile of pillows and blankets that was Malik's bed. He let out a small yawn as he curled into himself, wrapping a blanket around his lithe form.

"Malik-kun…" he yawned out as the said boy turned out the lights, leaving only a single candle burning on the dresser that cast gold and violet shadows on the wall.

"Yeah?" came a slightly tired reply.

"What's that thing you keep trying…" Ryou had to stop mid-sentence to yawn, "…trying to tell me?"

An unseen flush crossed Malik's cheeks, hidden by the golden-orange light of the candle.

Ryou rolled over when a reply didn't come and looked at the boy, shades of orange and purple dancing on his pale skin. "Malik-kun…"

"Hm?" he looked shyly at the boy.

"You look like Ra," Ryou joked sleepily, his eyes starting to drift shut.

Malik's flush only deepened and he looked away from the kawaii boy before him.

"Look, Ryou-kun…" he started. "I wanted to… wanted to tell you that I… that I lo…"

He trailed off as Ryou's soft snores fluttered to his ears. The white-haired boy had fallen into a gentle sleep, looking positively angelic in his slumber.

'He's even cuter asleep,' Malik thought. Then, a small sparkle of orange caught his eye from Ryou's cheek. He moved closer and was able to make out the tears running down Ryou's cheeks, leaving light, wet trails in their wake that twinkled in the candlelight.

"Ryou-kun…" he gasped. "What's wrong?"

Ryou only slept on, a soft moan passing his lips every now and then. Suddenly, the words Malik had struggled to say came out as easily as anything.

"Oh Ryou-kun…" he whispered, closing the gap between his face and Ryou's. "I love you Ryou-kun. I love youso much, with all my heart. I want to know what's hurting you. I want to be with you, be able to comfort you… be able to help you."

Malik's face was barely inches from Ryou's, their lips ready to touch, when the sleeping boy uttered a single word:

"Shi…zu… Shizuka…"

Malik stopped his approach, his heart struck. "Ryou-kun? Do you really think you love her? If you do I'll understand." A single tear slipped passed Malik's eye. "I just want you to be happy… even if I…" Malik's words trailed to nothing as his lips brushed against Ryou's in a short-lived kiss before a pair of hands grabbed Malik and pulled him off the sleeping boy, dragging him out the door.

Outside the room a foot nudged the door shut and the hands released Malik. The boy turned angrily to see who'd grabbed him and thought for a moment he was looking into a mirror.

"What do you think you're doing?" Mariku asked, an evil smirk on his face.

Malik just swallowed around the lump in his throat before his older brother. Mariku was waiting for an answer, standing in nothing but a pair of black pants. Finally, Malik said the first thing that came to mind.

"What are you doing?"

Mariku's grin only broadened. "Imagine," he said dramatically, crossing his arms over his chest. "It finally becomes quiet enough for me to sleep when my stomach gives a growl. As I walk down to the kitchen I happen to glance into my little brother's room. And what do I see? Why my dear brother stealing a kiss from his sleeping lover. Tell me, just how long have you two been together?"

Malik didn't answer, just looked away, his flush returning, deeper than before.

"Just as I thought," Mariku said. "Ryou-kun feels nothing for you stronger than friendship."

Malik still wouldn't look at his brother.

"Well then," Mariku chuckled. "I think it's only appropriate that I inform the sleeping angel of my brother's thieving ways." He reached for the door only to have Malik bat his hand away.

"Don't you dare," the 'thief' growled.

"And why not?" Mariku's grin grew impossibly wider.

"Because…" Malik's voice vanished again and he looked away from his brother.

The older boy gave another chuckle before reaching for the doorknob once again. This time Malik actually grabbed his brother's wrist and tried to pull him away but only succeeded in angering the boy as Mariku lost his temper, forcing his brother back against the wall.

Malik let out a small yelp of pain as his brother pinned him down. He looked up into Mariku's eyes; hurt lavender meeting angry lilac; Mariku's eyes always looked angry now, ever since Otogi came around. They stayed like that for an eternity it seemed, staring each other down as if they were trying to think of the best way to kill one another; but their stare was broken at the sound of the front door opening. They listened as soft footsteps padded across the living room and down the stairs just on the other side of the wall Malik was pinned against.

"What are you two doing up so late?" came a voice from the top of the stairs as soon as a figure turned the corner.

Isis stood there, glaring at her brothers as they broke their battle of eyes and looked up to her. The eldest of the Ishtar blood, Isis was tall and lithe, her skin dark like the boys, though her hair black and running halfway down her back. Her eyes were a forceful turquoise that demanded she be respected and taken seriously; Isis wasn't one to kid around. She wore a cream colored dress along with golden jewelry (a family trait it seems).

"It's past three AM," she informed them, though they both already knew. "You two should be in bed by now. Where's Rishid-kun? And let you brother go Mariku."

"Rishid's working," Mariku said, scowling as he let go of Malik.

"What's going on with you two?" she pressed.

"Funny story really," a delighted Mariku said. "I get up for a snack, come down to the kitchen and see-"

Malik had to force his hand over Mariku's mouth to get him to shut up.

"It's nothing nee-san," he lied.

"You know you can't lie to me Malik-kun," she warned.

Malik fell silent but his gaze stayed locked on his sister. Isis stared back at him, waited, and then looked to Mariku. Mariku just shrugged, not caring about the hand over his mouth anymore.

"Whatever, I'm too tired to deal with this," Isis decided with a sigh. "We'll talk about it tomorrow morning." That said she went back up the stairs and headed for her room, leaving the brothers alone again.

Malik waited till he heard the door to Isis's room close before looking back at Mariku, letting his hand drop. "Look," he said, trying to sound threatening, "you cannot tell anyone about this; especially Ryou-kun."

"Oh?" Mariku said in a falsely meek tone. "And if I do?"

"Just don't," Malik hissed.

Mariku chuckled before turning to start up the stairs, but stopped at Malik's hand on his shoulder. He glanced back and was caught in his brother's eyes, a lavender sea of swirling anger, frustration, determination, and worry. He sighed, closed his eyes, and shook his head.

"You really are pathetic," he said. He looked back at Malik and saw that his eyes were just as hard as they'd been two seconds before. "I won't tell anyone, for now," he promised with a sigh. "But you're gonna owe me." Nothing left to say he shook off Malik's hand and ascended the stairs back to bed.

"Arigatou, nii-san," Malik called quietly after him. When he got no reply he went back into his room and shut the door, locking it behind him.

He looked over to the white-haired boy and smiled; he hadn't woken. He walked to the bed and laid down next to Ryou, brushing a tuft of silky, snowy hair from the boy's sleeping face, placing a soft kiss on those pale cheeks.

"Sleep well, Ryou-kun; my angel."

Rolling over, the Egyptian boy finally managed to find sleep.

/NEXT MORNING/

Ryou awoke the next morning in unfamiliar surroundings and sat bolt upright, looking around and examining the many Egyptian posters and statues around the room, and the giant entertainment center. That's what struck his memory and he realized he was at Malik's; remembering now that he'd stayed the night.

'Scared myself there for a moment,' he thought. 'I should probably call and check on otou-san,' he decided, stretching as he got out of the bed and walked to Malik's dresser where he'd plugged his phone in last night.

Picking up the pale blue device he skimmed through its phone book till it landed on the name 'otou-san' and pressed the call button.

It rang a few times before the line connected and he was greeted by a groggy, "Moshi moshi."

"Ohayo, otou-san. How are you doing?"

"Who the hell is this?" Bakura yawned.

Ryou just sighed. 'Of course he forgot again.'

"It's me otou-san, look at your caller ID."

There was a pause, then Bakura's voice saying, "Gomen nasai."

"It's all right. How are you doing?" Ryou asked a second time.

"Just fine," Bakura answered tiredly. "When will you be home?"

"I'm not sure. Why? Do you need me? Because I could ask Rishid-"

"No, it's okay," Bakura interrupted, not wanting his son to get excited. "Just curious is all."

"Okay," Ryou said, calming a bit. "I guess I'll talk to you later then. Make sure you take your medicine."

"I will," Bakura said, trying to stay awake.

"Okay. I love you."

"Love you too," Bakura yawned. "Ja ne."

"Ja," Ryou barely get out before the line when dead. He pressed the end button on his phone and looked down, solemnly, at the device. He didn't notice the door to the room opening or the boy carrying the tray of food.

"So you're up finally."

Ryou turned his head and smiled at Malik standing in the doorway.

"Hungry?" he asked merrily.

"Hai," Ryou nodded.

Malik smiled and set the tray on the dresser. On it were two plates of rice and omelets, two bowls of miso soup, four pieces of toast and butter, a bottle of soy sauce, and two glasses of orange juice.

Ryou walked to the dresser, picked up a bowl of soup, and pour a bit into his mouth, moaning with joy as it flowed through his cavern and down his throat.

"This is good Malik-kun," he complimented.

"A… arigatou, Ryou-kun," Malik said, blushing a bit as he poured a bit of soy sauce over his rice and eggs. "I hope I… did all right."

"You made this?" Ryou asked; a bit surprised.

Malik nodded shyly as he ate a bit of rice, his flush deepening.

"I didn't know you could cook," Ryou went on, deciding to try the omelet. "Mmm… you're a great cook Malik-kun." He looked up at the boy and was filled with concern. "Are you okay? Your nose is bleeding."

Malik set his plate down and took hold of his nose to try and stop the bleeding.

"What's wrong Malik-kun?" Ryou asked as he got up, having set his plate down already. He went into the bathroom and tore off a few sheets of toilet paper that he brought out and handed to Malik.

Malik put the paper in place of his hand, wiping the blood on it on his pants.

"What happened?" Ryou asked, taking a drink of orange juice.

"Got me," Malik lied. "But I'll be all right."

Ryou breathed a sigh of relief before going back to his food. "That's good."

They ate in silence for a while, not sure what to say to one another. Malik would check his nose every now and then, each time finding more blood on his hands. It wasn't until after they'd finished that it finally stopped entirely. He started to get up to throw the bloody tissue away but Ryou stopped him.

"I'll take it, you rest a minute," he offered.

"H… hai," Malik agreed shyly, giving Ryou the bloody paper.

Ryou smiled and took the tissue into the bathroom where he threw it away and washed his hands. He came back out to find Malik on his feet, cleaning up from their breakfast.

"Let me help," Ryou offered.

He took the tray from Malik and carried it up to the kitchen where Rishid was standing at the sink, washing the few dirty dishes there.

"You're up early Rishid-san," Malik said, coming up behind Ryou.

Rishid looked up at the two and smiled. "I could say the same thing," he said playfully. "Actually I haven't been to bed, I just got home."

"What dishes are you doing?" Malik asked. "There weren't any last night."

"Mariku-kun was walking out the door as I pulled up," Rishid said, that being answer enough. "I'll do those," he offered, gesturing at the tray Ryou held.

"That's okay, we'll do them," Ryou said. "You should go rest."

"I will, after I wash those," Rishid said.

Ryou would've argued on had Malik not given him a 'just drop it' look. So he sighed and handed the tray to Rishid who set it next to the sink. The two thanked him and started back down the stairs just to have Rishid's voice stopped them.

"Ryou-kun, is that blood on your pants?"

Ryou stopped and looked down at the spot Rishid was looking at. Indeed there was a small red smear there.

"Oh, that's been there," Ryou lied.

"No," Rishid argued. "Old, dry blood is more orange-brown, that's still red. What happened?"

Ryou bit his lip, trying to think of a lie.

"I had a nosebleed," Malik came out and said. "Ryou-kun threw out the bloody tissue for me and must've gotten some on his pants."

Ryou nodded his agreement; surprised Malik had just come out and said it. Rishid eyed them curiously, particularly Malik who gave a quick nod in Ryou's direction.

"Oh," Rishid said, realizing what he meant. "Okay then, run along."

The boy's sighed, smiled, and then disappeared into Malik's room.

'Poor Malik-sama,' Rishid thought as he started the boy's dishes. 'How much longer is he going to torture himself?'

Ryu: How long indeed? Probably about as long as you people are by not reviewing. I don't care if it's a good review, if you wanna say, "Hey, your story sucks" I'm okay with that, I accept all criticism, just leave me a review… So alone…o,o /cries in corner/