Yipee! It's an update! And it's finally chapter 10!
DojomistressAmbyChan: Heh, poor Baku…but that's about to change now! A little. Sorta.
Akuryounoseiki: Hey, I agree with the OOCness bit. But if we want to have Bakura as a normal char, he's got to be ooc. Ryou doesn't appear in the show enough to have much of a character at all, and post-Battle-City Malik doesn't appear either. So we don't actually know what their personalities would be like, do we? And there's gotta be SOME oocness, otherwise the level of humor would drop drastically. But we're really doing our best to make them realistic…
Chibichibimalik2: I'm glad you like it! You're one of our most consistent reviewers!
Wolfbane2: Wait and see, this story is still going places. No pairings are set in stone yet. Muahahahaaaaa.
OBSESSED Uber Rei: Noooooo, don't have a heart attack! Don't do it, you have so much to live for! Don't worry, we're continuing, see?
LadywolfTerri: Heh, we have plans for Binky. We even had an idea for a lemon with Binky, but I don't think we'll post that….(sweatdrop)
A lilmatchgirl: I hope we don't disappoint!
And huge, enormous thanks to: Inuhanyou-fire-sit, Blueeyesbakura, trekkie-54, Marina-Kashu, and anybody else reading this story!
Oh, btw, SeventhDaughter (who's coauthoring this story) now has a story of her own, also a M/B, M/R, go make her happy and check it out if you have time!
CHAPTER TEN
There was a knock at the door. Malik stretched cat-like, and went to open it, snagging a half-empty can of ginger ale from the table on his way. He opened the door to meet a very familiar white-haired annoyance.
Gulping down the last drops of ginger ale, he tried to close the door.
"Wait." Bakura stuck his foot in the crack. "Just hear me out."
Malik rolled his eyes and leaned his head against the doorframe. "Let me guess. You've come to declare your undying love for me, and tell me that you can't live without me and you want to get married and have children and-"
"I get the point," Bakura said dryly. "And actually, I wasn't going to say that."
"Yeah, right," Malik scoffed "You sure were!"
"No, I wasn't! Children! Me!"
"So you admit to all the rest!" Malik crowed.
"No, I don't!" Bakura practically yelled.
"Then why are you blushing?"
Bakura turned red. "I AM NOT BLUSHING!"
"Really." Malik smirked at him. "Would you like to look in a mirror? I must say, you're quite cute when you blush! I never would have thought that the great tomb robber-"
"Shut up!" Bakura fisted his hands in Malik's collar, glaring claymores at him.
(A/N: Claymores: they're these huge Scottish swords. They were blunt, and the Scots used them to break the enemy's collarbones, and then the little kiddies would come onto the battlefields to finish off the enemies, who obviously couldn't fight back anymore – as a sort of training.)
Malik's grin was feral, and his eyes shone with the daredevilry Bakura loved so much. "As if you could make me shut u-"
Bakura pushed him up against the door and kissed him.
The sensation was incredible. Malik had been involved in a bit of kissing in his day, but nothing so full of feeling as this, nothing so intense. Bakura showed the aptitude of a long-time experienced kisser, and Malik was getting a firsthand show of Bakura's incredible technique.
The pale Egyptian kissed him softly at first, nibbling and licking until he forced Malik's lips to part. Then the kiss grew fierce as he shoved his tongue inside, mapping the contours of Malik's mouth, swirling his tongue around Malik's possessively. Malik's eyes closed; he was lost within a whirlwind of feeling. He swallowed a breathy moan and began to retaliate, giving Bakura what he wanted and fighting for his own ground. His hands crept up to encircle the tomb robber's neck as he pulled the other closer. Bakura's hands ran up and down his torso, his fingers caressing the narrow form beneath his questing hands, before finally settling around his narrow waist.
They broke off the kiss minutes later, though it seemed like ages to both of them. Panting, Bakura stared at Malik, victory glinting in his eyes. Malik stared back, an almost frightened look on his face, before abruptly shoving Bakura away. "What the fuck was that?" he growled, unable to keep the desperate note from his voice.
"You can't deny it. You felt exactly what I did in that kiss." Bakura took a few steps toward the blonde, but Malik backed further into the apartment. "Admit it – you're as attracted to me as I am to you."
"The hell I will." Malik slammed his fist on the wall. "Get out."
"Malik." Bakura's voice was strained as he stood his ground. "Will you listen to me for a second?"
Malik glared at him, opening his mouth, but Bakura beat him to it.
"I want you to be my boyfriend."
"What!"
"I thought I was being clear," Bakura retorted. "I said I want you to be my boyfriend."
Malik shook his head wildly. "As if. Forget it."
"That's it!" Bakura said, fighting a sinking feeling in his stomach that was suspiciously reminiscent of disappointment. This had only been a spur-of-the-moment action, and he hadn't really expected Malik to answer the affirmative. So why was his reaction so strong?
Why had Malik refused, for that matter? "Why?"
Malik's eyes refused to meet his. "I don't want a boyfriend."
"So you want a girlfriend?"
"No!" Malik snapped. "I don't want an anything-friend, be it boy, girl, or dancing iguana!"
"Why not?" Bakura insisted. He wasn't going to back down now.
"Actually, come to think of it, a dancing iguana sounds good."
"Really funny." Bakura did not sound particularly amused. "I can't believe I'm losing to a reptile."
"No, it's because I don't want to be part of another meaningless relationship consisting of nothing but sex!"
So that was what was bothering Malik. "What makes you think I want a meaningless relationship?" Bakura asked quietly.
"W-what?" Malik suddenly lost his anger, and stared at the once-tomb robber in surprise.
"I… care... about you," Bakura stumbled over the phrase slightly. Sort of. So he wasn't exactly being truthful…too bad.
Malik immediately regained his fire. Bakura's half-hearted confession hadn't seemed overly convincing. "You think I'll believe that!"
"So that's your problem!" Bakura's own eyes filled with scarlet fire. "You think that just because you knew me during Battle City doesn't mean that I couldn't have changed?"
"You?" Malik snorted.
Crimson eyes flashed. "So you can suddenly change, and get accepted, but that's a luxury denied to ol' Bakura, isn't it? Don't you think that's horribly selfish of you? All I want is one chance to prove to you that I care, but you won't even give me that!"
Funny, with all this talk, Bakura was near to convincing even himself that he was in love with the blonde!
Malik bit off his angry retort and looked away. "That's not what I meant," he said shakily.
"Just give me a chance," Bakura insisted, stepping closer.
Malik couldn't bear to meet Bakura's eyes. After everything he'd done, Bakura actually wanted to be his boyfriend? Bakura... cared about him? Hadn't he just accused Malik of being a selfish bastard? And yet, there was definitely something attracting about the wild abandon that seemed to dictate Bakura's every action, an attraction he'd clearly felt during Battle City that only strengthened with each friction-filled meeting. Bakura was suave, domineering, and sexy in his own way… he was Bakura.
"I'll be your boyfriend," he said softly.
Because Malik's eyes were on the floor, he missed the triumphant grin that flashed across Bakura's face. The tomb robber gently encircled the Egyptian in his arms, an internal voice chanting 'mine Mine MINE!' inside his head. Of course, now he could afford to be gentle... Malik was HIS.
Malik was stiff in his embrace, tightly wound like a spring. He relaxed slowly as Bakura reflexively stroked his back. "Thanks," Bakura said seriously.
Malik finally looked up, and into Bakura's red, red eyes. The earlier fire had banked to a soft, shimmering glow. He felt strange. How could Bakura be his boyfriend, just like that? But maybe, just maybe this would turn out well. He hoped it would.
Thursday dawned bright, but cold. Malik hurried into class at his usual three minutes after the bell, wearing a black leather jacket buttoned up to his chin. He ignored the whispers and murmurs that followed him to his desk and swung his backpack off his back. He started to pull it open, when he noticed the intense gazes of about everyone in the classroom. Apparently, they hadn't forgotten about Binky the python yet. Malik stared flatly at them, before decisively pulling it open and sticking one hand in.
He jerked his hand out of the bag violently and let out a startled yell. The class flinched back, nearly falling over each other to get away from whatever horror was waiting to leap at them. Before the scramble could become a mad dash, Malik's derisive laughter echoed around the classroom. "Hahaha... you should've seen your faces! You guys are so... hee hee... gullible!"
Muttered growls of "What an idiot!" and such followed this statement. Those were the only reactions available to the class, as the teacher had just walked in. Malik sat on his chair, still wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.
Ishimoto Sensei quieted the whispers and set the class working right away on the capitols of several European countries. He began to read about Berlin, the capitol of Germany, from a printed sheet in his hands. "…The Berlin Wall separating East Berlin from West Berlin was finally breached in the year…."
Malik tuned out.
He focused instead on Ishimoto Sensei's stubby hands, the way they moved over the paper as he read. From there, his eyes traveled down the teacher's short arms, to his stiff tweed jacket. Ishimoto Sensei, upon finishing the page, lowered one hand to reach into his briefcase...
Abruptly, there was a whoosh of displaced air, and an immense dinosaur, which Malik recognized as a Tyrannosaurus Rex appeared in the classroom. Its huge legs smashed through the desk and floor, while its head shattered the ceiling. Screams erupted throughout the classroom, as students shoved away from their desks in a panic. The Tyrannosaurus gave a furious cry, before leaning forward and gobbling up the nearest student in one swift movement. Ishimoto Sensei was ignored, having managed to hide behind the enraged monster, who was going on a rampage, continuing the destruction to the ceiling and floor. Crashes of misplaced masonry mingled with the cries of fleeing students.
Malik stood frozen where he had jumped up, staring at the magnificent monster. It turned its yellow eyes on him, and he suddenly laughed. "Go eat Ishimura!" he yelled gleefully.
The monster made a movement resembling a nod, before turning towards the hallway, to search out the diabolical teacher.
The students were now fleeing in droves, from the destruction as well as the dinosaur, as-
"Ishtar, will you please pay attention!"
Malik was abruptly recalled to dour reality. He quickly nodded and stared back down at his book, a sigh escaping him as he returned his attention to the boring class.
Malik stood in line in the cafeteria after what seemed like a never-ending lesson, waiting for his turn to grab a tray with whatever crap they were being served that day.
Yugi noticed Tea's eyes on the blonde Egyptian. Something up?" he asked her.
"I was just wondering..." she stopped mid sentence, her fork never reaching her mouth.
"Wondering what?" Otogi asked, sitting on her right.
"That jacket Malik was wearing this morning... how could you afford it?" she directed the last part of her statement at the person in question.
The others flinched at the question, and made various frantic movements at her that mostly meant 'shut up, idiot!'
Malik rested his tray on the table carefully. "What do you mean?" he asked, his voice suddenly guarded.
Tea blinked, suddenly aware of her mistake. "Oh," she said quickly, "I just meant that it looks like an awfully expensive jacket, that's all! Nothing about you."
Malik seemed mollified by her answer. "I've had this coat for a while now," he explained.
"It's a cool jacket," Tristan said enviously. "Wish I could afford something like that."
Joey opened his mouth, about to blurt some comment or other, then apparently thought better of it because he took a bite of the yellow mush on his tray instead.
Malik likewise poked at his food. "I wouldn't be surprised if there's some weird creature living inside this glop," he muttered, getting several appreciative laughs.
Several periods passed, so boring as to leave the students wishing another random animal would appear, just to break the monotony – even if it were another python.
Gym class was a break in the monotony, but they weren't looking forward to it. The teacher had started teaching them to play football, and the general opinion of the class was that it was the stupidest game on the planet.
"Great," Ryou said to Malik, dragging his feet, "now I'll get more bruises. I think Sensei has them all tackle me on purpose."
"I sympathize deeply," Malik intoned.
"Oh shut up," Ryou shoved him playfully. "You haven't been to the last few classes. Actually, you seem to be absent from Gym fairly often. Can it be that model student Malik actually cuts class?"
"Me?" Malik asked innocently, "of course not."
The girls and boys separated into different groups for different activities. The boys got stuck with football, as predicted. The game they played was long and hard, and even though nobody seemed too interested in it, they still managed to get an exhausting workout (and lots of bruises).
They plodded back to the locker rooms, groaning and generally exaggerating their tiredness, while the teacher shook his head at them.
"I don't like gym..." Yugi complained, for the 54th time that day.
"Does anyone?" Kaiba muttered as he headed for a secluded shower in the corner of the room.
"Yeah!" Joey said immediately. "I like it."
Everybody stared at him.
"Well, maybe only a little bit..."
Malik lurched over to them, a look of misery on his face.
"You look cheerful," Tristan commented.
"I'm exhausted," Malik groaned.
"Hey, wanna come with us to a pizza-and-arcade afternoon today?" Joey suddenly said. "That should cheer you up!"
Malik looked thoughtful. He mentally evaluated his schedule, then a big smile broke out across his face. "Sure!" he said. "Sounds great."
"Be there at 4:30," Joey added, glad to have made Malik happy.
"All right, Yugi! Fourteenth win in a row! One more and it's game over!"
The gang crowded around Yugi and Otogi as they fought the last battle of the day.
"I don't know why any of you bother playing against Yugi any more," Malik shook his head, "he always wins anyway!"
"That's not true!" Yugi protested, "I lost at...at...um..."
Everybody laughed.
"S'ok Yugi," Joey patted him on the back, "we don't mind."
"We love you anyway," said Malik mock-comfortingly.
"I'm hungry," Tristan commented. His stomach chose that exact moment to back him up.
"Wow, somebody said he's hungry before Joey? That's a first!" Anzu laughed.
"Hey!"
They all went to a table to have some more of their staple food – pizza.
Around a mouthful, Ryou suddenly turned to Malik. "Hey, Malik, what was it like in Egypt?"
Malik swallowed, looking uncertain.
"C'mon, you've been living there lately with Rishid and Isis!" Yugi tried to hint they meant the time after Battle City.
Malik seemed to get it, because he cheered up.
"Well, I lived in a standard neighborhood. I went to public school. I had a neighbor called Maurice, who had a dovecote in his backyard."
"A dovecote?" Tristan asked incredulously.
"Yeah," Malik answered. "And I had another neighbor called Sara, who had lots of kids. I mean lots – she had something around 15 or so. So anyway, Sara used to hang her laundry out to dry every day (and she really had a lot of it). And Maurice's doves used to fly around all day, and crap all over Sara's laundry."
"Fifteen kids?" Anzu was stunned.
"Ouch, poor laundry," was Ryou's comment.
"Listen!" Malik was warming to his story. "So Sara got mad, and told him that his doves crapped on her laundry, she was going to crap up his life. Maurice got mad, and threw all her laundry in the mud and jumped on it."
There was a collective wince.
"So Sara went and called her uncle, who owned a factory with 150 workers, and they all came and beat up Maurice and trashed his house."
Another collective wince.
"Maurice went and called all his friends and extended family over, from everywhere between Morocco and Israel. They brought knives, and chunks of wood, and pieces of iron, and machetes and rocks, and started throwing them at each other. So they called in the police, and the Civil Guard, and the Coast Guard, and the army-"
"Give me a break!" Joey exclaimed. "All that over a bunch of stupid doves?"
Malik sighed. "I know. And they say that doves bring peace." He shook his head.
"There's no way that really happened!" Otogi protested.
Malik shrugged. "You got me, I exaggerated. They didn't call in the Coast Guard. But everything else is true!"
The others all blinked at each other for a few minutes.
"That's one weird place you come from," Anzu finally said.
"People take feuds very seriously, that's all."
Malik looked at his pizza contemplatively. "That riot trampled Isis' flowerbeds. She was soooo mad."
"Well, what about you?" Ryou said. "So you had crazy neighbors. Now tell us something about yourself."
"Um...I didn't do much of anything interesting. I hung out with people after school and on holidays. I cut class. I blew off homework. I got into fights at school. I had a girlfriend."
"A girlfriend!" They practically yelled in unison.
"She cheated on me," Malik said in a flat tone. "Other than that, she was a nice girl. Cute." Malik suddenly grinned, preventing awkwardness. "But none of my friends there were as nice as you guys!" He put an arm around Otogi, who was sitting next to him, and put his head against his shoulder.
Otogi flinched, but if Malik noticed, he didn't show it. He was too caught up in being happy and no one wanted to burst his bubble.
Malik flopped onto his 'bed', in a strange sad-happy mood. Egypt hadn't been that bad; he'd had good friends, had enjoyed fun times. And his girlfriend had come and told him she was cheating on him, so they'd parted on okay terms…well, at least as ok as terms can be when you find out your girlfriend cheated on you. It hardly hurt anymore. Tired, but not nearly enough to fall asleep, Malik counting cracks on the ceiling of his room.
He'd counted some thirty cracks before realizing that the annoying beep was coming from the 'living room'. Getting up with a groan, he went to investigate.
The beeping came from his laptop. He sat down at the table and turned it to face him. It was a message from Ryou on MSN Messenger. Malik clicked on it. Strange, he'd never contacted Ryou before...
The message was short. malik
He splayed his hands across the keyboard and leaned back with a sigh. Yeah? he replied.
it's bakura the person on the other end typed back.
He got over his initial surprise rather quickly and typed, wow, you know how to use a computer? i thought you lived in the stone age!
very funny. im an up-to-date stone-age drop out. There was a pause. lets meet to celebrate
Malik: now?
Bakura: come on. lets go out for a drink or something. you havent seen me all day
Malik: oh poor me
Bakura: meet me at the 7/11 on the corner of tonkatsu street and ill buy you a coke or something
Malik: a COKE?
Bakura: you want something else?
Malik: YES! i want alcohol, not a sissy coke
Bakura: hardy har. after what happened last time you got drunk, you think ill buy you alcohol!
Malik: stinkaroo
Bakura: so anyway, just meet me there
Bakura: bye now
Malik glanced at the time again. It was a quarter after ten; by the time he'd reach the meeting place it would be a quarter to eleven, and then who knew how long Bakura would want to hang out with him? He sighed again and reached for the leather jacket.
As a last minute preparation, he added the chain to his jeans. He grinned to himself as he locked the apartment door. Bakura was his boyfriend, right? Why shouldn't he want to prove to Bakura see what a sexy bastard he'd landed for a partner!
Bakura was leaning against a telephone pole outside the 7/11. He looked dangerous, even in as relaxed pose as the one he was lounging in. Malik decided it was something to do with the predatory-ness that seemed to hang around the white-haired former tomb-robber.
He straightened as Malik came closer and slung a protective arm around Malik's shoulders. "Thanks for coming." He pulled Malik toward the store.
"I still want alcohol..." Malik muttered sulkily.
"Like I said, forget it buster. I'm onto you already. You can drink your coke and be happy about it."
"You're no fun... I finally got away from meddling older siblings, and now you come along," Malik groused.
Politely ignoring Malik's last comment, Bakura said, "I'm surprised you didn't want to go to a dance club." They entered the 7/11, Bakura settling down with his drinks, Malik pouting over his coke.
Malik seemed almost embarrassed. Bakura had to keep from grinning at the slight blush that colored Malik's cheeks. "I can't dance," the blonde confessed.
"Really?" Bakura said, startled. "I was sure that you -" he trailed off, shaking his head.
"Could dance like a harem girl?" Malik made a derisive sound. "If you can call what goes on there 'dancing'. Mostly it's just an excuse for people to show as much skin as possible and grind against each other."
Bakura looked thoughtful. "I'll just have to teach you someday," he said. "I'm a pretty good dancer myself."
"See? You're also looking for an excuse." He reached for one of Bakura's half-finished drinks, only to have his hand slapped away sharply by the alert tomb robber. "Ass!" Malik stuck out his tongue. "Come on, I want some!"
"No. You're an awful drunk, Malik." He grinned sloppily. "Honestly, Malik, with the way you're so prickly sometimes, it's like you've got PMS!"
So it wasn't a very smart subject to change to. Oh well, it was the thought that counted.
Malik glared at him, practically glowing with an evil aura. "You liken me to a girl?" he said softly.
"Um... I was kidding," Bakura said too quickly.
"Why you no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing Tombrobber!" Then he smiled sweetly. "Just kidding."
"Clumsy ass!"
"Idiotic numbskull!""Dufotic twit!"
"Dufotic? That's not a word!" Malik protested. The nerve of that cheater!
"You have idiot-idiotic, so you have dufus-dufotic," was Bakura's reasonable explanation.
Malik shook his head. "I can't reason against that one..." he muttered.
Bakura punched Malik in the shoulder, but his punch was a little off. "See? My wit goes unchallenged!"
"Cottleson cottleson cottleson pie," giggled Malik, the sugar and caffeine giving him a pleasant rush.
"Wha?" Bakura said.
"Ask me a riddle and I reply/ Cottleson cottleson cottleson pie," Malik elaborated.
"I didn't ask you a riddle," said a puzzled Bakura.
"No silly, that's how the song goes!""What song?"
"Cottleson Pie!" Malik seemed very pleased. "Cottleson cottleson cottleson pie/ why does a fish, I don't know why/ ask me a riddle and I reply/ Cottleson cottleson cottleson pie."
"Lovely song," Bakura said, not quite sure what it was about. He shook his head at Malik, but decided that was a very bad idea when the room began to swirl even after he'd stilled his head. He reached for a beer bottle, found it unexpectedly empty, as were two of the three others that surrounded him, and wondered where all the beer had gone. He was too stoned to look to Malik as the culprit. "Malik," he slurred, "let's go home now. I really think I've had enough."
Malik nodded, and unhurriedly started getting up.
The slowly made their way back to Ryou's house, because it was closer. Malik poked Bakura, laughing.
"Geez, Bakura, you're all over the place, I bet you couldn't walk a straight line if your life depended on it!"
Bakura, despite his drunkeness, managed to avoid colliding with anything, while Malik was less fortunate. Only slightly tipsy, he laughed hard every time Bakura slurred or tripped. At some point, he was laughing so hard that he didn't see the stop sign on the corner of Ryou's street in front of him and walked straight into it. Now it was Bakura's turn to crack up, which got him chased by a murderous Malik the rest of the way back to Ryou's house.
Bakura let them in using a key he dug out of some deep pocket. They fell onto the couch in the living room, laughing like idiots.
"We should do that again," Malik chuckled gleefully. "I had fu-u-un."
"Malik." The blonde turned his head in Bakura's direction, not noticing that the thief's tone had suddenly become more serious. Bakura leaned over and trailed a hand down Malik's tanned petal-smooth cheek.
Malik blinked at him.
In a sudden rush of hormones and uncontrollable passion, Bakura pressed his lips to Malik's.
Electricity shot between them. Bakura nibbled at Malik's lower lip, one hand coming around to cup the back of Malik's head. The Egyptian moaned into the kiss, his eyes closed. Bakura, encouraged, coaxed Malik's lips to part. The faint trace of alcohol on Malik's breath added to his natural sweetness, and Bakura finally realized where the ends of his bottles had gone. He tried to get annoyed, but realized that this new tidbit only serving to intoxicate him further.
Bakura was panting when he finally drew back.
He stared at Malik. Malik stared back. Then he stood up. "Come on, creampuff, let's get into bed." He began to half carry, half drag Malik in the direction of Ryou's room.
"Creampuff?" Malik took a wild swing at Bakura's head. He missed and almost launched himself out of Bakura's arms and into the hallway wall.
"Watch it, dummy. Let's try to get to the bed without killing ourselves."
"Creampuff," Malik muttered angrily.
They collapsed onto the sheets, fully dressed. Bakura kicked off his shoes, then lay back and pulled Malik close. Malik struggled weakly against Bakura's hold, pushing at his chest, but soon gave up. His common sense must have deserted him somewhere along the way home, he decided, and snuggled closer to Bakura's warmth.
"Good night, creampuff," Bakura muttered softly into Malik's hair. The blonde was already sleeping, a serene smile on his face. Bakura sighed contentedly and allowed himself to drift off.