Well here it is, and wow, thanks for all the support, it really does inspire me!
Dance
The wait was suffocating, the abused Egyptian hardly able to stand it as he waited there, shivering as though cold although his body burned from pain and humiliation.
But finally, as he knew it would, the door was thrown open, Rishid standing there, the pissed-off expression melting to one of utter confusion when he saw who was on his doorstep.
"Sha-!" He was cut off as the blacknette took a step forwards, arms going about the taller Egyptian's neck, lips pressing hard against the other's in a forceful kiss.
Shadi's cheeks were wet with tears, but he didn't stop, he couldn't, no matter how much he didn't want to do what he was doing, he was too scared to do anything else.
Rishid blinked in surprise, light brown eyes wide in shock. He tried to push the blacknette off, only to find he wouldn't be budged, and finding that all too soon he was relaxing and responding to the other man. He knew something was definitely wrong, he had seen Shadi's distressed face when he opened the door, but all questions seemed to fall to the sideline at that moment.
Taking another step forwards, the amber-eyed male kicked the door closed, although the sharp sound as the wood hit the doorframe made him flinch. He was painfully aware of the other Egyptian's hands, sliding down his body, having given up trying to push him off. His lips parted invitingly for the others a tongue, an opening that was taken after a brief moment of hesitation.
Long fingers drifted down Shadi's back, feeling the blacknette's shaking with suspicion. One hand drifted further down, but the taller Egyptian stopped everything, pulling back with a sharp gasp as his fingertip encountered something warm and wet, and the smaller Egyptian let out a soft, pained cry.
"What the hell has happened to you!" Rishid demanded, his hand rising to look at the blood on his fingers with an expression of horror. When no answer was given, the blacknette just hiding behind his hair, a soft "Oh my God…" was murmured. "They didn't…tell me they didn't." It wasn't out of concern for the men, obviously, but out of pure worry for the state, both physically and mentally, that Shadi was in now.
Again no answer was given.
One finger hooked under Shadi's chin, tilting his head up, brown eyes looked at the empty expression on the Egyptian's bruised and tear-stained face. "I need to get you to a hos-"
Amber eyes suddenly gained some clarity and the Egyptian shook his head with a terrified "N-no…I-I can't." He tried again to pull the other man in for a kiss but was stopped forcefully.
"Shadi, stop it, you need to get medical help." Rishid was beginning to put together the events that must have happened, although how those four had found Shadi's apartment he couldn't figure out.
"N-no! You c-cant…y-you don't know w-what they'll d-do!" The smaller Egyptian seemed near hysterics, and Rishid was slightly perturbed at how emotionally shook up the blacknette must have been to be in such a state. He stopped any more of Shadi's advances by gripping him tight by the shoulders and holding him out at arms length.
"Shadi, stop it. I can only guess at what they put you through, and what they've threatened to do to keep you quiet, but you need to see a doctor." God only knew what kind of injuries the amber-eyed man had.
Again, Shadi tried to argue, but his voice failed him and he instead just choked out a sob, falling to his knees when his legs gave up on supporting him. He stayed still for a moment, black hair pooling around him and hiding his face as tears coursed down over his cheeks. He barely even registered when the taller Egyptian crouched down in front of him, a hand lightly touching his shoulder, unsure. Shadi wanted to respond, wanted to latch on to the source of comfort offered to him, but when he tried to move everything suddenly went black and he knew no more.
Light brown eyes blinked as the longhaired Egyptian toppled side wards onto the floor, curled against the cold wood. His black hair hid his face, but Rishid knew he was out cold.
With a quiet, pained sigh, Rishid gently picked up the smaller Egyptian, surprised at how light he was; he was like a bird, and he had to wonder if the mental pain and emptiness was manifesting itself physically.
Softly he set him down on the sofa, covering him with a light blanket before stroking the long strands of black hair from his face. Rishid regarded the amber-eyed man with an unreadable expression, the backs of his fingers lightly brushing across the bruise on his cheek before he drew away sharply and went for the phone, distracting himself from the inappropriate thoughts that invaded his mind.
-
"But officer! You don't" Pegasus was obviously cut off on the phone and he made a few failed attempts to get in a word before just nodding and murmuring a defeated, "Okay, I understand." The receiver was placed back in its cradle and the American looked to Mai and Seto who were waiting silently. He shook his head sadly.
"They say they can't do anything until he's been missing for 48 hours." He said quietly, appreciating the little comfort the brunet offered by pressing against his side, the silvernette's arm going around his waist.
"48 Hours! In 48 hours he could be dead and lying at the bottom of a ditch!" Mai snapped at no one in particular, her long fingers curled into fists as she paced up and down the room. Both Pegasus and Seto winced at her harsh words.
At that point it was only those three that knew about Shadi's disappearance, although Pegasus knew they would soon have to warn the other dancers that there was a possible risk. And he knew it wouldn't go down well.
They had tried to find a way to contact the Egyptian but looking through the records they found no telephone number or address for him, as it wasn't mandatory to offer such information, as so many employees lasted only a few days. No one really knew anything about his personal life, for that matter, even though he had had a 5 year career there
However, his presence was certainly missed.
"Don't say that, Mai." Pegasus said softly, hand lightly stroking up and down the brunet's back to soothe him. Seto had seemed particularly affected by Shadi's disappearance, in his own, silent way, and most likely it was only the American who noticed it.
"We have to be hopeful, and we have to keep trying."
He got only a snort of distaste from the blonde, and he watched as she ran a hand through her hair in agitation.
All of them looked up sharply when the back door was opened, but their faces fell to disappointment when they saw it was only the Egyptian twins.
"Hey! You could look happier to see us, we brought new recruits!" Malik pouted, although something twanged in his chest that told him things weren't right.
However he didn't ask any questions just yet as moved aside from the doorway so his brother and the 'recruits' could enter. Behind Marik there came in a tall, Egyptian woman with long black hair that cascaded past her shoulders, and behind her came a set of white-haired twins.
"This is Isis, our sister." Malik introduced her, and she was welcomed half-heartedly, as were Ryou and Bakura, British twins that were just looking for some money whilst they studied there.
Mai forced a smile and showed them through, giving Pegasus a look that told him to tell Malik and Marik what had happened, and the American stopped the Egyptian twins as they tried to follow their friends and sister.
The explanation was short, to the point and no time was wasted with hopes and doubts. The twins took in every word Pegasus had said with a blank expression that slowly darkened, and Marik gained a feral look whilst worry flickered in Malik's lilac eyes.
"The cops wont do anything?" Malik asked, disbelieving.
"Not a thing." Pegasus sighed, "He hasn't been gone for 48 hours, and since we didn't see him get taken…" He left it hanging, and gently tightened his hold on Seto when the brunet shivered as Marik growled.
"Fucking hell!" The more violent of the twins hit the wall, hard, creating a spider web design in the gold paint. "He could be dead and we can't do a damn thing about it!" He calmed slightly as Malik's hand found his own, although he was still bubbling with suppressed rage just below the surface.
A cheer from the stage broke them all out of their reverie, and they glanced over to see a woman coming back from the stage, all four sets of eyes catching a glance at the crowd.
All watched as they realised that Mai was the next to go on and she was standing in the doorway with a blank expression. Even despite the circumstances, she still knew she had a job and a duty to do, and despite the doubts and fears that must have been foremost in her mind, she still went out and danced.
Marik suddenly turned and head for a dressing room, Malik tailing him.
"What are you doing?" Pegasus asked softly, and the twins turned to look at him.
"We're going to do what we come here to do." Malik answered as he went first into the room.
"We're going to going to go out on stage and pretend there's nothing wrong." Marik said, voice painfully blank.
Pegasus sighed and pressed a light kiss to Seto's forehead, the younger man still clinging to Pegasus.
The show must go on.
Reviews inspire me; they really do, so review if you want more.
Chapter 6 is already planned out, so as long as I get the 10 reviews it will be up soon.
; Now I've just gotta find a way to turn the characters' frowns upside down.