A Vampire Story

by Annzy Bananzy

Bakura-a heartless vampire-was perfectly happy with his lonely, slightly boring life until a stranger appears and offers him the adventure of a lifetime. He agreed out of boredom, but little did he know that this adventure would also bring romance.

39. Finally Getting Somewhere

Author Notes: Merry Christmas, everyone. I'm sorry for the wait, and please enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 38: Finally Getting Somewhere

What the hell was I thinking?

This was the sole thought running through Marik's head the next morning as he replayed yesterday's events over in his mind. Not all the events though; he was blocking mostly everything from his very horrid date with Suzette, which left only what happened afterwards to make him question his choices. Mainly, the one involving him going on a date with Bakura…

He felt bad for questioning the agreement now, since he had been so eager and happy about it yesterday. He didn't know what was wrong with him; it seemed like a good idea at the time, but the more he thought about it, the more nervous he became… He just couldn't help but wonder if the date would go well or not. Considering the last date he had been on, he didn't have high hopes for the activity anymore. And if it went badly, things would be so awkward between them! He didn't want that at all! He liked the way things were now; he liked having Bakura as his friend, and he didn't want some hasty date to ruin his longest friendship!

Aside from that, he felt anxious wondering what Bakura was expecting from all of this. What did he want to come from this date? Was he just testing it? Was he potentially looking for something more? Did he just like kisses and wanted more of them (and something else…) so he figured they might as well be in a relationship so he could get them more often?! What the hell was he thinking! It was times like this he really considered putting the Millennium Eye inside his own socket… or hiring Pegasus for a little reconnaissance. Heaven knows he'd be all for it.

He did consider simply talking to Bakura about what he wanted, but… it was kind of embarrassing. And whenever he was around his sarcastic friend, things were still so easy between them that it eased all of Marik's worries. Their simple conversations, their sharing laughs together, their similar personalities - it all made him feel really good about going on a date with him again. He really felt at ease around the vampire, which was funny considering what his dad would want him to believe. The only problem was that when Marik was left alone, mainly when Bakura was teaching Yami and Kaiba how to cook, he couldn't help but dig up all of these worries and anxieties again. Alone, he could see how everything could fall apart and leave him even more lonely than before, how his great run with Bakura was coming to a close, how he shouldn't go on this date because it could only spell disaster. Being closer than they are right now could take up precious time that could have been better used searching for the Millennium Items, since no doubt they'd be going on more dates. And the more dates they go on, the more they stay in one place, and the more they become sitting ducks for his father to find…

Then again, Marik couldn't help but ease his worries as he laid his head on Bakura's shoulder, watching him search through his Millennium Item watcher website, thing. We have been working hard… and it's not like we could do much moving anyway since we're not sure if the Item is still in France or not. Besides, didn't he deserve to indulge a little after everything he's been through? Childhood and all? Of course he did.

"We're all set for tomorrow, right?" Bakura asked, turning his head to smile at Marik.

"What?" he lifted his head, blinking almost dazedly at him. "Oh, uh, yeah…" Was it Valentine's Day already? Ahah…

Bakura grinned and stuck his tongue out at him teasingly. "You forgot, didn't you? I may be bad with directions, but you are certainly bad with time."

"Shut up," Marik blushed slightly and turned away. "Everything just seems to be moving faster, that's all!" And slower at the same time, however that worked.

"Oh yes, I'm sure." Bakura chuckled and closed his laptop, leaning back against the seat with a relaxing sigh. "I'm just glad Pegasus finally got off our backs."

"Tell me about it." Marik resumed his earlier position of resting his head against Bakura's shoulder, this time with a small, amused smile. Pegasus had continuously asked them to go shopping for materials he needed, as well as clean together, and then would always insist on them taking a break, together, inside their tent. Which wouldn't have been so bad, if Pegasus wouldn't ask a million questions after each activity, or spy on them while they did them, or try to set up cameras around the house.

"If we walked over to our cozy tent I'm sure we'd find him setting up yet another camera," Bakura commented offhandedly, obviously not wanting to get up from the couch at the moment.

"Yeah, probably," Marik replied with the same obviousness of not wanting to move. Hey, this really was a comfy position; he could fall asleep like this.

"Or, who knows, he could just be hiding under our bed and waiting for us to show up."

"Oh, God," Marik laughed and closed his eyes, relaxing into Bakura even more. "I wouldn't put it past him. He'd wait there all day if he had to!"

"Most definitely," Bakura agreed, chuckling and also closing his eyes. This was… nice. It really was. If someone had told him centuries ago that one day he'd actually enjoy being romantic with someone, well, he'd have thought they were a terrible oracle. The only thing he had considered himself having a romance with was danger, and more specifically the danger of stealing and getting put to death if caught. Perhaps that was part of the reason he liked this relationship? It was still full of danger, as they've almost died so many times, and even more so now that Marik's dad could possibly know where they are - if they're as popular as that French vampire would have them believe. He knew the idea tore Marik up inside, but, honestly… he kind of wanted to meet him. Meet the bastard that did such horrible things to his son and return the favor, show him what true hatred is… Though if he truly is as skilled as Marik tells him, perhaps it is just better to steer clear of him. Besides, he wouldn't want to see Marik so upset, and especially not tomorrow, so he better not show up during their date!

… Their first date, actually, assuming there will be more where this one comes from.

"Should we turn in early?" Bakura asked, noticing Marik yawn out of the corner of his eye.

"Mm…" Marik finished his yawn and squeezed his eyes shut from tiredness. "I'm getting weak - I never used to feel this tired before."

"I think that just means you're becoming more normal," Bakura teased, sitting up slowly so Marik had time to sit up as well.

"Or that I'm not fit to battle with vampires anymore!" Marik said, stretching and giving Bakura a grin as he joked, "Which is bad since I need to keep you in line, mister."

"You threw me over your shoulder like I was a doll, twice, just a few days ago," Bakura reminded him, rolling his eyes. "I think you're good."

Marik laughed, but shook his head as he stood. "Nope! Starting tomorrow it's back to one hundred sit-ups and push-ups a day for me."

"... Is that really what you used to do every morning?" It would explain his physique, Bakura supposed.

"Just on the go," Marik explained, shrugging as they walked. "In Egypt there was this whole room in our pyramid designated for morning training."

"You really should talk about your old life more often," Bakura commented. Every time Marik said something on it, he just became more and more curious.

"Well, I don't really like thinking about it much." Bakura expected the answer, though he still really wanted to know. Nonetheless, he didn't want to upset Marik, so he dropped the subject.

"I think if you just do some stretching you'll be fine," he advised. "It's what I used to do back when I had my own body."

"That'd be fine if you're a runner, Mr. Thief King," Marik said, grinning at him. "But a fighter needs muscle. Especially when going after vampires."

"Hey! I was plenty strong back in my day!"

Marik snickered at how defensive he was becoming. "Bet I could've snapped you like a twig."

Bakura huffed and crossed his arms. "If you could catch me, that is."

Marik stuck his tongue out at him childishly, which made Bakura smile. He couldn't help but think his friend was, well, cute, and that this interaction, this conversation, was so... nice, and natural. It gave him high hopes that their date would go well tomorrow… though, like Marik had said before, they've probably already gone on plenty of those. Having an official date under their belts would be nice though.

"Wanna check for monsters under our bed?" Marik asked as they entered the tent, pointing at their luxurious sleeping accommodations and snickered. "I promise we won't hurt them as long as they come out now!" he called in that purposefully loud tone that insinuated they knew someone else was there.

They waited a few seconds, and just when Bakura was about to go and check under it himself, they heard rustling and soon saw a white head of hair pop up from behind the bedskirt.

"I-I was simply… cleaning!" Pegasus tried to excuse himself, though his burning cheeks and guilty smile gave him away.

"Yeah yeah, "cleaning."" Marik rolled his eyes and went over to help him up. "You should be more worried about what Kaiba and Yami are up to - I think I overheard them saying they were going to try cleaning."

"Mon dieu!" Pegasus visibly paled at the thought and quickly rushed out of the tent. "I hope you are wrong! Egad, I can already imagine the broken lamps…!"

"Nice excuse to get rid of him," Bakura commented, nudging Marik's shoulder with a grin.

"What can I say?" Marik gave him a playful wink before going to grab his pajamas. "Lying when I want to is one of my specialties~"

"When you want to?" Bakura grinned, his tone signifying he was trying to bait him somehow. "And do you want to lie right now?"

Marik paused at the door of the tent, turning back to give his friend a suspicious look. He didn't want to fall for any tricks, but he also wanted to try and be more trusting with Bakura. "Hm… I suppose not?"

The smile Bakura gave him sent shivers down his spine. "Then tell me," he started, appearing next to Marik so fast that Marik jolted at the unexpected motion, "are you looking forward to our date tomorrow?"

"..." Bakura must have simply liked to make Marik speechless, or else he really enjoyed seeing his cheeks color, however faint the red tint on his tanned skin seemed. He's always asking things like this, isn't he? Marik couldn't help but think, remembering all of the previous times he seemed to ask questions or insinuate things about their relationship. He was always the one to start these talks, too! Marik may be the more disciplined and trained one, but he certainly did not have a lot of confidence, it seemed. Well, he should try and correct that, too! Not only to feel confident on asking questions about their relationship, but also giving Bakura straighter answers than he has been! So, with all that in mind, he took a breath and looked directly at him. "I'm really excited," he admitted, his grip instinctively tightening around his pajamas, his eyes glancing away from Bakura's. "But I'm also really nervous."

Marik heard his heart beat about five times fast before Bakura replied, "Yeah… me too." He turned his head to his white-haired friend, smiling when he saw the careless grin he was giving him. "But excitement and nervousness go hand in hand."

"Good point!" Marik laughed, and with that puff of breath he could feel a lot of tension leaving him. Bakura felt the same way! That was great! So it wasn't just him being weird. "Well, I'm gonna go change now." He always went to the house bathroom to change - it felt nicer than changing in the tent.

"Okay." Bakura gave him a waving motion with his hand before he turned to walk back into the tent. "Don't be long - I want you to get a good night's sleep tonight~"

Marik rolled his eyes, but found himself still smiling. "Yeah yeah, whatever, you weirdo."

---

Bakura wasn't lying; he wanted Marik to get a good night's sleep, which was why he wasn't going to sleep next to him that night. Why give him the attention that he wanted Marik to beg for tomorrow~? Besides, he doubted he'd have been able to sleep. Not only is it already harder to fall asleep because his body doesn't need to, but he was also too excited to even try. Instead, he was catching up on his journal, writing about all that's been happening, as well as his anticipations and hopes for tomorrow and seeing how they'll compare to what actually happens, etc. He would occasionally jot down a few things for the latest novel he was working on, but his mind would always wander back to Marik and their date tomorrow, so that was kind of a wasted effort.

When it got to be around three AM, Bakura had an itch to go outside. However, the last time he had went outside during the night alone was in New York, and that had not ended very well… Still, the feeling wouldn't go away, so he shut his laptop down and started walking around the tent, pacing, if you will. His eyes would wander to Marik, and even though he snapped them to pay attention to what was directly in front of them, they couldn't help but swivel back over to his friend. They couldn't help but notice how absolutely breathtaking he looked, so calm, his eyes closed trustingly, his breathing slow and even, his mouth parted invitingly…

Bakura groaned to himself and shook his head. Save it for the date tomorrow. Er, today. Whatever - the date! Save it for then!

Unfortunately, just as before, his mind couldn't help but think of him - beautiful, peaceful. Before he fully knew his own plan, he walked over to the bed and slipped in beside him, as quiet as a mouse. It was so quiet that he could hear the way his own heart beat faster just by being next to him, and he couldn't help but wonder if the quicker pace would waste the blood he's drank, even though he just had some of Marik's blood a few days ago. And the time he had blood before then was back in New York, just after Marik found him on Bandit Keith's torture machine… The thought of it still sent a shiver through him. If he slept every night, he was certain he would still be having nightmares. That's part of the reason his journal still wasn't "complete" - he still had to write about that time… the torture. But he didn't want to think about it, how painful it was, how he almost died, how upset Marik was… The only good thing about that time was being able to meet all the other monsters there, and seeing Keith die. Well, not seeing exactly, but you know. What was he thinking about? His last drink, right; he should probably go hunting soon. What color was his mark, anyway? He should check in the morning.

Right now, he turned himself towards Marik, a small smile on his lips as he watched his sleeping form. Tomorrow, their relationship would finally get somewhere…

---

The day started out very nicely. Marik woke up at around seven to see that Bakura had wandered into the bed at some point in the night and was now sleeping, and he couldn't help but smile at the sight. Heh, and he had talked such a big game about not hugging or even touching him until he begged for affection. Such a big, scary vampire Bakura still was after all this time.

He went over to his bag and took out his outfit for today, a simple black pants and shirt combo, since almost everything else was either dirty or not nice enough. He would have to do laundry later today, or maybe he could ask Pegasus to do it for him. And after laundry maybe he could sketch some more pictures for Bakura's novel - he had to turn it into his editor soon, didn't he? Bakura had said he was ignoring his publisher's emails and phone calls, so she's probably pretty mad at him… Speaking of Bakura, he should probably wake him up, shouldn't he? Well, he'll just get changed first.

With that on his mind, Marik headed out of the tent and towards the house, the warm sun and chill air waking him up quite a bit. He made sure to zip up the tent so the sun wouldn't get in, and hopefully Bakura would wake up and apply his sunblock all by himself because that is something he definitely doesn't want to help with on the morning of their big date, otherwise he'd think of nothing else.

… Wow. Date. Heh, they're actually going on one now, after all this time. How long has it been since they've met, anyway? Half a year? Almost a year? It seemed like an eternity, but a good kind of eternity. An eternity that he would be kind of sad to see end. Scratch that, really sad to see end. Which begged the question: after they found all of the Millennium Items and made the wish, would they continue to hang out together? Or would they separate? When first starting this whole venture Marik had figured they'd separate right after, but with things the way they are now, it almost seems like they'd continue to live together, have fun together… which could lead to two endings, a break up or… something long term, like marriage. Assuming Bakura would even consider such a thing - he didn't really seem the marrying type, did he? Though he also didn't seem the romantic type most of the time, so perhaps it wasn't that odd to think this way. Right? And please tell him that he wasn't already thinking of marriage when they hadn't even gone on their date yet?

Marik audibly groaned as he waltzed into the house. He needed to stop thinking about this; just enjoy what was going to come! Just get changed and then head back to wake Bakura up to begin their day of fun! Definitely don't worry about finding the Millennium Items, or about his dad possibly coming to, to… Yeah, don't worry about any of that. Only worry about Bakura.

"Hey, Ishtar." Great, now Kaiba wanted to talk to him, probably about yesterday. He must have just gotten out of bed, since he was still in his suit pajamas as he walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah?" Marik turned around to address the tall man, his tone rather biting. He couldn't help it, he didn't want to talk to this jerk. "What is it?"

Kaiba waited until he was about a foot away from Marik before speaking again. "I just wanted to clear something up." Before Marik could ask what he meant, he continued. "I don't hate you or your kind, I just don't want Mokuba to be under that influence. He's still in grade school, they'll make fun of him for anything and everything already. There's no need to give them any extra ammo."

Marik just sighed. "Kaiba, I really don't care. We're only going to be here another week probably and then we'll be out of your hair, so it's fine. Buh-bye." He walked away, headed towards the bathroom before Kaiba could say anything else. That was weird, Kaiba didn't seem the type to care what anyone thought, so why even mention his reasonings? Maybe Pegasus put him up to it; that man was too strange sometimes.

He quickly got changed and looked at himself in the mirror. Well, he didn't look too tired, so that was good. He just had to comb his hair and apply his kohl, and he'd be pretty much ready for the day; his jewelry was back in the tent as they weren't that comfortable to sleep in. As he brushed through his hair he debated between asking Bakura to make breakfast here or just going out to eat. Considering Pegasus was probably going to be even more annoying to them today because of their date, the latter option was most likely the wisest. He was sure Bakura would agree, and it seemed he'd be wanting Marik to make most of the choices anyway. He wondered why that was… Maybe Bakura just wasn't sure how dates completely worked yet. That could be it. He was sure Bakura would be suggesting things as time went on, anyway - it wouldn't be like him to not have something to say.

Before he knew it, he was back in the tent putting his jewelry in, when Bakura slowly woke up. Behind him, he could hear the vampire stretch and shuffle under the covers, his feet landing softly on the ground, his footsteps coming nearer. "How do you put in your earrings without a mirror?" he asked, genuinely curious as he watched him.

"It's not that hard after awhile," Marik told him, his skin crawling with anticipation. It felt like something exciting should be happening already, or that Bakura should say something about their date, or literally anything that didn't feel so… normal.

"Well, I'm going to put the sunscreen on now, I guess," Bakura informed him, as if he too thought this morning's start was odd. Maybe they're both just incredibly nervous? But why was Bakura nervous? He's the one who was always pushing their relationship, it seemed. You think he'd be eager to get a move on.

"Good idea. I think we should eat at a restaurant, by the way." Marik turned to finally look at him, grinning. "Pegasus is going to be pretty annoying this morning, don't you think?"

Bakura scoffed as he pulled the sunscreen from his small duffel bag. "Yeah, good point. You're the one who actually needs food, so where do you want to eat?"

Marik smirked, teasing, "You just want me to pick because you don't know where anything is still."

"If you want me to pick then we're going to the same restaurant we went to on our double date," Bakura mildly threatened, sticking his tongue out at him.

"Yeah, no thanks." Marik felt a small shiver involuntarily go through him as he remembered that awful day. He tried to move past it, but it really wasn't an enjoyable experience at all. Better than some other ones he had, definitely, but that didn't take away it's own unpleasantness.

"Great." Bakura gave that smile that revealed he got his way again. "Then you're picking."

Marik pouted, turning back around to slip on his armbands as he asked, "Why do you want me to pick everything, anyway? You should have some say in what we do."

"I want you to have fun," was all Bakura said, lathering up his arms with pretty-much-magic lotion. "I know I'll have fun with whatever we do, so I want to focus on what you want so we both have good memories." Bakura paused before adding. "Since I know you have so few."

Marik tensed up, stopping right in the middle of putting his choker on. Bakura didn't even know the half of all he had been through, but he was already taking into account everything he had told him. His father, the ritual, the murders he's seen, the killings he's done, the vampires begging for death… Now he understood. Bakura really had changed, even more than he realized. How many other times had he taken Marik's feelings into consideration when making decisions? Did he even want to know? "Thank you," he replied quietly, closing the choker around his neck.

---

"Are you boys sure you don't want to stay for breakfast?" Pegasus asked for the upteenth time in the span of ten minutes. The only reason they had stayed that long was because the man had insisted that Bakura give Yami and Kaiba last minute cooking instructions so they don't burn the house down, and currently Pegasus was grabbing both of their arms and giving them the most pathetic, kicked-puppy-dog look they had ever seen. Luckily they were pretty immune to such obviously fake emotional tactics. "We've all gotten so used to Bakura's cooking! We can't go back to slop and gruel!"

"It's just one day," Bakura tried to tell him, amused. He couldn't feel annoyed when his talents were being praised so highly. "You can make it through. Order take out or something."

"You are the one who wanted us to go out, right?" Marik reminded him.

"Oh, foo." Pegasus pouted, but at least he let them go - sighing quite loudly, but still. "Well, I suppose you're right."

"Of course we are." Bakura patted Pegasus on the head with a cheeky grin. "See you tonight, grandpa."

"Grandpa?!" Pegasus gasped, his eyes flickering with anger. "If anything I am your father! Not grandpa!"

"Bye, grandpappy," Marik called as they walked off.

"AT LEAST HOLD HANDS WHEN WALKING AWAY FROM ME!"

They both laughed, but they went along with it and clasped their hands together. It wasn't like they weren't going to do that eventually, anyway.

"How'd you think of calling him grandpa?" Marik had to ask, still laughing as he remembered the indignant look on Pegasus' face.

"With that gray hair of his?" Bakura questioned back, still smirking at his own cleverness. "How could he be anything but?"

"Fair enough." Marik grinned before bringing back, "Whatever floats your boat."

"You're really bringing that back?" Bakura gave him an exasperated look that included a raised brow and slightly cocked head.

"Isn't it your favorite?" Marik replied cheekily with a shrug of the shoulders. "I remember you having strong feelings for it."

Bakura rolled his eyes and felt like making a comment that alluded to him having strong feelings for Marik, but figured there would be plenty of time in the day for those. So, instead, he replied with a simple, "Shut up," that made Marik laugh. Which was good - he liked to see him laughing, especially when they were holding hands.

They walked like that for quite awhile, just holding each other's hand in a comfortable silence, walking down the streets of Paris, on their way to some restaurant for breakfast. Some people gave them weird looks, but they didn't really care; they were vampire and vampire hunter, what did they have to fear? Besides, as long as Bakura kept glaring at some of them, they wouldn't approach, right? He glanced over at Marik, feeling a little better at seeing him also glaring at rude people staring at them, instead of feeling self-conscious and wanting to take his hand away. It seemed they were both ready for this date after all.

---

"Marik, what the hell is this thing."

"I told you - it's a crepe."

"Yes, I heard you order it, but I want to know what specifically it is."

"Well, what does it look like to you?"

"Stop laughing at me."

"Just answer the question, kitty~"

"It looks like thin bread with dessert toppings."

"Ding ding ding! We have a winner!"

"This can't be any good."

"Just try it."

"Fine! …"

"So?"

"It's delicious."

"See, this is why you should trust me more often."

"It's not as delicious as you though."

"..."

"Not laughing anymore, are we?"

"How is your mark, anyway?"

"I don't know," Bakura replied, still proud of himself for getting Marik's face to turn that red that quickly. "I just had your blood a few days ago, but let's find out, shall we?" He lifted up his shirt sleeve to reveal that the teardrop was just a very light pink, as if a sunburn was just beginning.

"Oh." Marik stared at it for a second, obviously debating whether they should take care of it or not. "I guess it's fine for awhile. Before we leave for another country you should feed though."

"Why?" Bakura frowned softly. "It's not bad at all, and it's not like there's a shortage of people around."

"I know," Marik rolled his eyes. "But it's better if you don't wait until you start to go crazy, you know."

"I don't wait that long," Bakura argued, but they both knew that was a lie. Before Marik came along he stuck to his once-a-month feeding schedule even if his heart started to ache from a lack of blood.

Marik just stared at him for a long time before taking his crepes back. He took a few bites, while Bakura enjoyed sipping his hot chocolate, before he mumbled, "You can just have a sip of my blood if you really hate feeding that much."

"Really?" Bakura wasn't as surprised as he thought he would be to hear the offer. Probably because he knew that if he had asked, Marik wouldn't have said no, but it was nice to hear him suggest it. "I would very much like that."

Marik gave him a smile, chuckling as he cut up more of his crepe. "You're just lazy."

"Well." Bakura leaned back, fixing him with a grin. "What's the use in hunting when I can have the most delicious meal anytime I want?"

Marik felt a shiver run through him and he dropped his fork in protest. "Hold on! I never said "anytime you want"!"

"Considering you'll be having me feed way more often than I'd like to," Bakura reasoned logically, placing his arms behind his head. "You're right - it'll actually be more than I could ever want."

"... Shut your smug mouth," Marik grumbled, stabbing his crepe with his fork.

Bakura just laughed, deciding to lean forward and open his mouth, requesting, "Feed me?"

Marik rolled his eyes and shoved a forkful into his friend's mouth, smirking when Bakura started gagging. "Whoops! Was I too forceful? Sorry~"

"Haha," Bakura glared daggers at him. "Very funny. Now it's my turn." He snatched Marik's fork from his hand to get his own bite, perfectly ready to shove it down Marik's throat. Unfortunately, said man was stubbornly clamping his mouth tight with a mischievous look in his eyes and his arms crossed. He shook his head simply. "Oh, come on, it's only fair," Bakura reasoned, the corner of his mouth quirking upwards. "But if you're going to be like that I guess I'll just eat the rest of this myself~"

"Okay, fine!" Apparently Marik was hungry enough to forsake his stubbornness and open his mouth, closing his eyes as he waited for the inevitable. Which just happened to be a kiss, because of course Bakura was going to take advantage of this perfect opportunity, I mean, really, who wouldn't? Marik should have expected it. And maybe, deep down, he did expect it - and look forward to it.

---

Smiles. Open smiles, shared when they're not afraid to show the other how they're really feeling, how good of a time they're having together. Smiles that one briefly sees before the other turns their head away, as if they both don't know they're smiling. Frowning smiles, used when they want to pretend they're upset with something the other said purely to continue a conversation. Small smiles, ones that are hard to see out of the corner of your eye, but they're there whether you know of their existence or not, and they're just as happy as a large smile - they simply don't demand the attention of the other. Secret smiles, the smiles you really don't want the other to see, so you try and hide them by smiling internally, or looking at something else and pretending that's what you're smiling about, or even going so far as to make up a verbal excuse as to why you're smiling. Smiles.

Laughter. Loud laughter, when you forget about everything and everyone else around you, and are thinking of only the other person and what they said or did to make you laugh. Hidden laughter, when you try to cover your mouth in an attempt to catch the laugh, because you don't want to seem too giddy. Chuckles, used constantly because you just feel so elated being with the other. Snickering, for when the other does something funny or embarrassing, and you thought of the perfect snappy comment to add to the situation. Giggling, for when the other does something so terribly cheesy that you just can't help but let out the high-pitched sound. Laughter.

Jokes. Fun jokes, the ones that are simply light hearted and pure and just make you laugh, and remember why you like each other. Gags, that rely on facial expressions or physical movement to get a laugh out of the other. Puns, for when you want to make the other groan and smile and playfully push you aside. Inside jokes, for those times you want to be funny, but remind the other just how close and intimate you already are. Jokes.

Really, those are the things you remember most from a date. Of course, you remember other things, as well, like how often you held hands, and how many times you kissed that day if you kissed each other at all, but ultimately those actions tie in with smiles, laughter, and jokes very well.

---

It seemed they really didn't know what to do on a date after all, since they were recycling one of the ideas from their last double dating venture: ice skating. It had taken some convincing on Marik's part as Bakura was very much against going back to that awful, frozen wasteland, but eventually he got the job done with a kiss or two.

Now Marik was doing what he would have done the first time - skating backwards while holding onto Bakura's hands so he didn't fall. And taunting him, of course, because why wouldn't he?

"I thought vampires were supposed to be good at everything?" Marik snickered.

"I thought vampire hunters were supposed to like killing," Bakura snapped back, almost slipping even though they were barely moving forward. Or backwards in Marik's show-offy case.

"Ouch, touchy." Marik laughed and squeezed his hands, trying to help stabilize him. "You think you'd be grateful I'm not normal."

Bakura's only response was a quiet grumbling. He should never have agreed to this - he wasn't having any fun at all! Weren't dates supposed to be fun for both parties?! He supposed he shouldn't have said he'd let Marik make all the decisions after all.

Thankfully Marik seemed to sense this as he laughed again and promised, "We only have to stay here for an hour, then we can do whatever you want, okay?"

"I'm taking you to a bar," Bakura threatened. He grinned when Marik paled.

"But it's only the afternoon!"

"In the evening, then."

"Fine, but I'm not drinking anything. Especially if you give it to me."

"Aw, come on~" Bakura laughed and fluttered his lashes playfully. "Don't you trust me~?"

"Not for this."

"You break my heart."

"Oh, really? Because apparently I'm the one feeding it from now on!"

Bakura had to start laughing. "Is that still on your mind?" He smirked, tilting his head so Marik could get a better view of his fangs. "Admit it, you're looking forward to it~"

His laughter got louder as he saw Marik flush and sputter, "Shut up! Oh my god, you're so annoying!" He stood there fuming for a second while Bakura laughed at him. He quickly realized he had the upper hand, though, and smirked as he let go of his hands. "Whoops~"

Now it was his turn to laugh as Bakura screamed ever so slightly and immediately fell onto the ice. "Marik!" Bakura pushed himself onto his hands to glare up at him.

"It was an a-accident!" Marik blatantly lied, still laughing and having to clutch his stomach.

"Like hell it was!" Bakura growled and tried to get himself onto his feet. Only to fall back onto the ice a few seconds later, and listen to Marik's even louder and more hysterical laughing. He should just hide in his shadow until this hour was over… That would teach him.

"Here." Marik giggled as he extended a hand out to him.

It briefly ran through Bakura's mind to pull him down to the ice with said hand, but he thought of something better. He stood back up, with Marik's assistance, and quickly leaned in to kiss his cheek. "Thanks." He smirked when Marik couldn't meet his gaze.

"You're welcome," Marik mumbled. "Now let's get back to skating!"

Bakura chuckled and leaned in so he could speak a little more quietly. "And what if I'd rather just stare at you~?"

"Oh, my god," Marik turned to him with a slight glare. "I know you're just trying to embarrass me, so knock it off!"

"Why, Marik!" Bakura pretended to feel offended. "How could you ever believe I was anything other than genuine?"

"Stop."

"But you're so beautiful~"

"Bye!" With that, Marik skated away, leaving his inept skating partner behind. Bakura didn't seem to care too much as he was just laughing and standing in one place, the stupid tease... Though deep down he knew there was at least a little truth in Bakura's words, just like there always seemed to be...

He couldn't help but remember a day, not unlike this one where they were just hanging out. They had just finished sledding down a hill together, Bakura hadn't let go of him yet, and when Marik told him he could let go Bakura said "No" and asked, "What would you say if I said I wanted to stay in this position forever? What would you say? How would you react?" Back then, he just answered with "I don't know," but if Bakura asked him again... Was it bad that he still didn't know what to say? He wouldn't mind, he'd love to just have fun with him forever, but they still had stuff to do - they still had a mission. And Marik wasn't sure if a big distraction like dating should be something to indulge in right now, not with this demon inside him, or his father coming after him, or the fact that they didn't even know where the rest of the Millennium Items were...

It made him feel guilty. Looking back it was so obvious that Bakura had deeper feelings for him all this time, what with all the hugs and kisses and jokes and "I love you" moments. But Marik had been more focused on his mission - no, that was only half true. He was more focused on finally having fun with a friend for once, and the mission almost came second to that... Was that selfish? Even while trying to help others he was more concerned with himself? To the point of just ignoring and rationalizing away the romantic feelings from his friend simply because he didn't know what to do about them? It sure sounded selfish.

Should he tell Bakura this? About how he wasn't entirely sure if this, this dating thing was something good to do? Wouldn't that hurt him, or at the very least cause some tension between them for awhile? Bakura may be understanding for some things, but he's probably been waiting so long to go on a real date with him… Then again, there was no way he was going to be able to keep this uncertainty a secret forever; Bakura was very perceptive. Not to mention that if he was going to start trying to share his feelings more, this would be a good thing to talk about.

Eventually, he just sighed and looked out into the crowd of ice-skaters, trying to spot his friend. He'd go to rejoin him and decide what to do from there. He was already smiling when he saw that Bakura had somehow made his way over to the ice rink wall and was trying to skate forward while holding the edge. He looked absolutely ridiculous with those wobbly legs of his.

"Well well well, what have we here?" Marik teased as he skated right up next to him. "It seems you've found someone else to depend on."

Bakura simply rolled his eyes. "Haha, very funny. I couldn't very well stand in the middle of the ice rink, could I? And since you left me I was forced to try and teach myself how to skate."

"So you're taking lessons from a wall?" Marik laughed. "Walls aren't really known for moving around, you know -"

"Would you just take my bloody hand already?" Bakura asked, holding his hand out to him with a small pout.

Marik stared at his hand for a second, feeling like he should feel hesitant about grabbing it. But he wasn't. "Always," he replied, grinning as he took his hand and intertwined their fingers. They shared a smile with each other, though Bakura's quickly went away once Marik's turned more mischievous. "And now the real fun can begin!"

Marik pulled him off of the wall and started speeding away, leaving Bakura to either somehow keep his feet on the ice or to just fall and be dragged on the ice. "Slow down!" he complained. This was just like when Marik drove them on his motorcycle - too fast and the constant feeling of crashing into people.

"Face your fears, Bakura!" Marik laughed as he sped up even more. It was kind of hard while trying to hold onto someone who was struggling, but he was managing. "Have fun!"

"Those phrases do not go together!" Bakura hissed. That's it, this was ridiculous! He didn't have to take this!

"Hey, you're getting better at skating I think!" Marik called, since he didn't feel much resistance from him. Turning around to grin at him, he realizes that was probably because Bakura wasn't even there anymore. "What?!" He did a hard stop on the ice, looking around to try and find him. How the hell did he get out of his grasp?! He had a pretty tight grip! "Bakura?"

"Just resume skating."

"Where are you?!" Marik looked all around, probably looking like a crazy person to anyone who was watching him. His eyes soon rested below him, on his shadow, before his eyebrows shot up in disbelief. "You dissolved into my shadow?!" he hissed quietly. "Here? In front of all these people?! Do you know how incredibly stupid that is!"

"We were going so fast I doubt anyone saw!" Bakura snapped right back. "Now skate so it doesn't look like you're talking to yourself."

Marik screamed quietly in frustration before skating along, feeling royally pissed off. "This was dangerous!"

"Your skating is dangerous."

"What if someone saw?!"

"They'd probably just assume it was their eyes playing tricks on them."

"Ugh!" Marik groaned again and shook his head. "I'm going to go to the bathroom so you can come out without drawing attention, okay?!"

"You know I wouldn't have had to do this if you hadn't forced me into such high speeds."

Marik frowned and sighed, unclenching fists that he hadn't even realized he'd formed. "Sorry. I thought it would be fun."

"... I didn't mean to make you so upset -"

"Well you did!" Marik interrupted him, stepping off of the ice and making his way to the nearest bathroom. "Vampire hunters could be anywhere, Bakura! And dissolving into shadows is kind of a huge red flag!"

"... I'm sorry."

"Shut up."

They walked the rest of the way in silence, though it was only about another minute before Marik walked into the men's room and looked around to see no one else inside. "Okay, come out."

A second passed, and then darkness seemed to emerge from Marik's shadow, forming the familiar outline of his friend before Bakura actually took full form in front of him. He was frowning, and looking at him in concern. "Are you thinking about your father?"

"..." Marik clenched his teeth and turned his head away. Of course he'd think of that, he was probably always trying to think about why Marik did things. "Maybe."

Bakura stared at him for a second, and it made him clench his fists again. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I wasn't thinking, okay? But I don't think your dad is here -"

"How do you know that?!" Marik screamed, stepping forward and gesturing forcefully with his hands. "What if he is here, what if he's watching us, waiting until we're not around witnesses, what if he wasn't sure you were a vampire until you just did that!"

"Marik," Bakura reached forward to grab Marik's wrists, looking straight into his eyes. "Calm down."

"Let go of me!" Marik yelled, trying to pull his hands away and finding that Bakura was actually using his vampire strength to keep him there. That really pissed him off. "I'm calm!"

"Take a deep breath."

"No!"

"Marik -"

"Just shut up!" Before Marik realized it, he spread his arms out wide to get Bakura off balance before kicking him away with his leg. The only problem? He was wearing ice skates. So instead of being pushed harmlessly away, there was now a sharp blade plunged into his stomach. Marik felt his blood run cold, Bakura just had his mouth open in surprise. If the vampire hadn't needed blood before, he certainly needed it now.

"Shit!" Marik took his ice skate out of Bakura's chest and quickly supported him when he started to stumble. "Bite me already, what are you waiting for?!"

"You just stabbed me with an ice skate!" Bakura finally caught up with what had happened.

"I'm sorry!" Marik felt tears welling up in his eyes. He just stabbed him. Maybe his father wasn't the danger, maybe he was the danger! Even if he had gotten mad he should have remembered he was wearing sharp, metal blades on his feet! Or what if he had remembered, and all of his killing instincts had kicked in subconsciously… Or worse, that thing had taken over for just that second, or somehow inspired him to kick him with his skate. "Just suck my blood al -" Marik bit his tongue when he felt Bakura's teeth sink into his neck. Even when he felt so guilty, this experience was still so pleasant… He almost felt disappointed when Bakura stopped after what felt like only a second. "What the hell?!" Marik frowned at him. "You need more than that!"

"What I need is a new shirt," Bakura replied, pointing at the tear in the fabric. "I don't need a lot of your blood, remember?"

"But I thought it tasted good?" Marik questioned, raising his eyebrows at him in surprise.

"It does," Bakura bit at his bottom lip, as if he was trying to resist his favorite candy. "Extremely. But… we're on a date and it would seem rude to take more than I need to?" He reached over to wipe away the few tears that had fallen from Marik's eyes. "Don't cry. I'm fine. I promise."

"I could have killed you," Marik stated bluntly, more tears forming as if to replenish the ones Bakura was wiping away. "I could have killed you."

"But you didn't," Bakura reminded him, frowning and caressing his face as he stared into his eyes. "I'm fine. I'm not the one crying."

Marik's vision started to blur with tears now. He reached forward to take Bakura into a hug, burying his face into his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Bakura wrapped his arms around Marik's back as he tried to remember what started this in the first place. "You're just… anxious because of your dad, I guess."

"It's not just my dad," Marik told him, closing his eyes and feeling like the worst person in the world. "It's just… everything. I don't know. It's the fact that I still have these killing instincts even though I've stopped all my training for months." Wow, even when Bakura was the one who had just been hurt, Marik was still talking about his problems. He really was selfish, wasn't he. "It's the fact that we don't have the Millennium Items yet, it's the fact that we've stayed in one place for so long, it's the fact that I don't talk to you enough, it's -"

"It's okay." Bakura squeezed him, closing his eyes again and wishing he knew what to say. Sure he was sore about being stabbed, but he was fine. He had suffered worse when he was still human, and the recovery time was a lot longer. Meanwhile Marik was always so worried, always so stressed, always carrying around such awful guilt with him, but he supposed that was to be expected considering what he'd been through. And Bakura could tell he was worried - back on the day he had asked him out he knew Marik was worried about everything. He had thought that a fun date could help him forget about it, but he supposed that was a little naive.

This whole situation just reminded him of what Isis told him back in Japan, about how Marik would never forgive himself if he accidentally hurt anyone, especially Bakura. He could only hope that he would move on and not get hung up on this one incident… after all, it could have been a lot worse. And he hadn't really been in much danger of dying - he had stabbed him in the chest, not decapitated him or something.

"I have an idea," Bakura said, taking out his cell phone. "Why don't we call your siblings and ask if they're still in contact with your father. We can have them call him and ask where he is."

Marik loosened the hug enough so that he could look incredulously at Bakura's face. "They probably haven't contacted him in forever, what if he gets suspicious?! That's a horrible plan -"

"You obviously need some closure," Bakura reasoned. "Do you have another idea?"

Marik was silent and just stared at him. He didn't, really, but he still didn't like the idea. What if his dad became suspicious?! Then he could find them!

… But how would he find them, exactly? Just because he receives a suspicious phone call doesn't mean he'll know where they are. And it would be better to know if he's in France than to just be paranoid constantly… Especially if that paranoia could cause him to hurt someone close to him.

"All right, fine." Marik let go of Bakura and sat next to him. "Make the call then."

As Bakura called Rishid through speed dial, Marik brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them just so he could have something to squeeze. His mind felt like a blank currently, a blank that only had guilt accompanied with it.

'You are the danger, you know,' spoke the creature.

Shut up.

'I'm part of you, Marik, whether you accept it or not. And since I want him dead, that means part of you wants him dead, too.'

You're not me.

'Oh, yeah? Try taking your jewelry off. I'll still be with you. I've been fully with you since New York.'

Funny, Marik had never even thought about that. He wondered if there were a time where if he had stopped wearing these accessories, this creature would have never taken form. Too late now, he supposed - he wouldn't have even thought about not wearing them until after he met him.

'You can't stop me forever,' he taunted. 'The next time you two have a spat like that, I think I'll be able to finish the job.'

Considering that's the first time I've ever tried to hurt him, that's not going to happen.

'You're forgetting that people lash out when they're stressed, Marik.'

Shut up!

When all he heard back was laughter, he realized something. The anger he felt towards this inner thing, it was absorbing it. Hell, even his guilt felt like it was being taken away! But wasn't this thing only supposed to get emotions that he tried to repress?! He wasn't trying to repress them! … Was he? Was it just so natural to him now to shove all negative emotions away that he didn't even realize he was doing it? Or was this thing so sentient that now he could just take away his emotions instead of waiting for them to be unwanted?

When Marik started to feel more tears well up, he buried his face into his knees, allowing himself to feel the painful sadness gathering in his chest. You can't have this one, he thought, clenching his teeth and willing this emotion, however painful, to stay with him. It may not feel good, but it's mine. Not yours.

He didn't hear any response.

"Well." He looked up when Bakura spoke. "Rishid says he's been answering your dad's calls all along with fake stories just so he wouldn't get suspicious. Their last talk was a month or so ago, so he's going to call him for an update."

"Okay." Marik winced at the way his voice cracked. Sadness sucked.

Bakura gave him a wry smile before putting an arm around his shoulders, pulling Marik close and making him feel just a tiny bit better. "It'll be fine. You'll see. Or hear, whatever floats your boat."

Marik just teared up more and avoided his gaze, feeling his sadness wriggle and twist his gut around. "I just stabbed you in the chest, you don't have to try and cheer me up."

"Of course I don't have to," Bakura agreed. "I want to. Because once you stop crying I can use this as an excuse to get out of this ice rink."

Marik smiled lightly at that. Figures he'd say something like that. "You're awful."

"Awfully cute~?"

"Did you seriously just say that?!" Marik laughed, just a little. "You hate being called cute!"

"True," Bakura nodded, looking straight into Marik's eyes as he smiled. "But it made you laugh."

Marik stopped laughing, but he was still smiling as he stared back into Bakura's brown eyes. "How are you so," he struggled to find the right words. "How are you so cool about this? I hurt you…"

"And immediately felt guilty," Bakura pointed out, squeezing his shoulder gently. "I know you, Marik, and I know you wouldn't hurt me or anyone else on purpose. You're just… dealing with a lot. I understand that." He gave him a pointed look before adding, "I wish you would talk to me about it, but I understand it. Plus, I got to drink your blood, so that's a bonus."

"Right." Marik laughed wryly and turned his head forward again so he could stare at his knees. Dealing with a lot… He didn't even know all of it. "What do you think I'm "dealing with," exactly?"

"Well, the usual; trying to get the Millennium Items and feeling stressed at not having them already, feeling paranoid about your dad finding us, your general past which you probably think about a lot, and…" Bakura hesitated before finishing, "and being on a date can be unnerving if you're unsure about it."

"You think I'm unsure?" Marik turned to look at him again, but this time Bakura was avoiding his gaze.

"Kind of." Bakura shrugged and chewed on his bottom lip. "You have to admit you've been avoiding a lot of things related to us."

"I know…" Marik sighed and released his legs, letting them slide away from his chest yet still have some bend to them. He placed his hands flat on either side of himself. "I just… you're the best and only friend I've had."

They each thought about that in a moment of silence. Bakura could understand that; he didn't want to ruin his friendship. It made sense.

"And," Marik spoke before he was sure he wanted to say this and clenched his teeth. "And, I guess I'm not sure if… if dating is something we can afford, if we are "famous" and my dad could be just a few hours away from finding us."

… Well, that made even more sense, Bakura supposed. It still made him feel quite… just plain awful inside, and not because of the freshly-healed wound in his chest. Was Marik saying he didn't want to be anything other than friends simply because they couldn't afford it? That was kind of a stupid reason in his opinion. They could manage it, if they both wanted to make it work… Is that what he was saying? He didn't want to make it work? Was he not worth the time or something?

"What did you want from this date anyway, Bakura?" Marik questioned, turning to look at him.

Bakura sighed and shook his head. His entire mood had crumpled with the way this conversation went. He thought things were finally moving forward, but now it seemed like they were going to take two giant steps back. Only this time they both knew what could be if they only walked forward. "I just wanted a guarantee," he replied, staring at the floor. "I wanted… I know we already promised to live for each other, but I wanted to know how you felt. I wanted our kisses to be clear and mean something, instead of just being a confusion, or worse."

"... Oh." Marik was quiet, but he felt a small fluttering in his stomach from hearing that. Bakura really just, liked him then, huh? Even with everything he's put him through? He just… wanted to be even closer without having to worry that he'd be scaring Marik away? Why was he even worried about that; if Marik had been scared he would have left already. "Well," Marik swallowed his nervousness, jumping a bit when Bakura turned his head and stared straight into his eyes. He looked so upset; why did it seem like this hurt him worse than the blade? "We could still have that without having to go on dates, you know."

Bakura's eyes widened; he didn't seem so upset anymore. "... Are you saying -?"

They both jumped when Bakura's cell phone rang. The vampire swore under his breath before answering. "Hello? … Oh, really? That's good news." Marik raised his eyebrows at this. Good news? "So he'll be there awhile, then? … That's great. Thank you." When he hung up, he turned to Marik with a big smile. "Well, apparently your dad thought that Bandit Keith would be able to help him find you, and he just landed in New York a few days ago. He only recently found the remnants of Keith's body, and he's so upset by this discovery that he's not leaving New York until he finds who's responsible for this murder and takes care of them."

"Seriously?" Marik grinned. Good luck with that one; New York was a big city and there were several murderers. "That's awesome!"

"Mmhm." Bakura nodded, but his small smile held the same enthusiasm. "And Rishid promised to tell us when he finds out your dear old dad is moving to a new location. So we don't have to worry."

Marik was so happy that he just laughed and wrapped his arms around Bakura for a hug. This was fantastic! He kind of wanted to call his siblings later just to ask if there were any other important details he should know about, but for right now this news was enough to have him relax a little. "He's nowhere near us!"

"And he won't be for a while," Bakura reminded him, wrapping his arms right around Marik's waist and smiling. "Which means you can stop being so paranoid."

Marik laughed and closed his eyes, simply enjoying hugging his friend. He felt a lot better after hearing this! In a few days they'd probably be moving to a different country and his dad would still be in America! And it still seemed like his dad had no idea where he was in the first place, otherwise he'd be on his way over here instead of asking other hunters for help. His siblings had probably been giving him false leads and such; they were the best~

"So," Bakura spoke while they were still hugging. "You're probably right that dates would be too much of a time-waster, but can we at least finish this one?"

"Yeah." Marik chuckled and let go of him, about to stand up. But as he peered into Bakura's face, remembering all that he had done to cheer him up despite being stabbed, he decided to give him a kiss first. A kind of long one, too. He separated when Bakura buried his fingers into his hair though. "Come on." Marik grinned. "We'll go to a bookstore or something."

"Seriously?" Bakura scoffed, smiling as he rolled his eyes. "You obviously need to pay more attention to me if you think books are the only things I like."

"Well, I also know you like me a whole lot," Marik teased.

"... What?" Bakura was surprised to hear him make such a joke that he just stared at him.

Marik laughed and leaned in to give him another kiss before standing up. "I thought you wanted to leave?"

"I do, but," Bakura tried to find the right words as he stood up. He raised an eyebrow at him. "What you said earlier, about not having to go on dates?"

"We can talk about that tonight," Marik promised, reaching over to take his hand. "After this date. Okay?"

"... Sounds good to me." Bakura smiled and followed after him. "Can we stop by a clothing store? I do need a new shirt."

Marik cringed at the reminder. "Right…"

---

They had fun picking out a new shirt, considering the circumstances. Marik kept pulling out brightly colored T-shirts with ridiculous sayings on them for Bakura to try on, but of course he was joking. Those kinds of clothes just didn't seem to suit the pale man at all. He did complain when Bakura said he was just going to get a dark red shirt though; "Can you be more boring?! At least choose something with a pattern!" Bakura argued that Marik never wore anything patterned, but Marik said that he didn't need to since he already accessorized with gold, and adding any sort of pattern would be too distracting. After hearing that explanation Bakura had to tease that fashion must have been part of his hunter training.

Long story short, Bakura ended up wearing a black and red checkered, button-up shirt out of the store. He liked it though, as Marik had stared at him just a bit longer than usual when he tried it on for the first time. Probably because he hadn't buttoned up the top three buttons, but whatever. He'll take it.

"You should wear collared shirts more often," Marik commented as they walked out of the store. "They look good on you."

"I'll keep that in mind," Bakura replied, smiling softly. "Don't go slicing all of my old shirts now just so I have to buy more of this type."

"Haha, very funny. Button up all the way before you burn yourself."

"All right, dear."

"Thanks, honey."

Bakura laughed and shook his head. "Honey? Seriously?"

"You just called me "dear," are you really going to go there?" Marik retorted, glancing at him before pointing off to the side. "There's a book store over there, still want to go in?"

"Definitely." Bakura chuckled and pinched one of Marik's cheeks playfully. "You can go look at the romance novel section for ideas."

"Ideas on what?!" Marik swatted his hand away, rolling his eyes. "We're plenty romantic already."

"Well, you did just stab me in the chest -"

"Please stop bringing that up…"

"I'm just saying you may want some pointers, that's all," Bakura told him as they entered the store.

Marik just sighed and followed after him, feeling his stomach twist with guilt again. He knew Bakura had a right to be upset over earlier, but he really just wanted to forget about it. That was probably him just wanting to suppress his feelings, though, and he couldn't do that. If his emotions are what gives the beast inside strength, then he can't let it get any more of them, even if it involves feeling awful…

"I'm going to check out the magazines," Bakura told Marik, pointing over to the display.

"Okay." Marik took a closer look at the magazines. "Wait, that's the fashion section." He grinned at him. "Did our little shopping adventure make you more interested?"

"No." Bakura rolled his eyes. "I just need to check up on someone."

"What?" Marik followed him over to the magazines. "Who?" Bakura never talked about anyone else, especially not anyone in a fashion magazine!

"I suppose I've never told you, have I?" Bakura hummed as he picked one off of the rack to start rifling through. "Ryou has a younger sister."

"He does?" Marik raised a brow at him. "Why hasn't she come to visit? Or called?"

"Her and Ryou grew apart after high school," Bakura replied, shrugging. "She began her national modeling career and travelled a lot, he became absorbed in the stories in his head. They mainly communicate through emails now, and I've written one or two to her ever since the vampire bite."

"Oh…" Marik frowned, now feeling kind of upset for some reason. They've been living together for how long and this is the first time this has come up? He supposed it wasn't an entirely important detail to Bakura's life, but still… It bothered him that there were still things he didn't know about him. Heh, he kind of understood how Bakura must feel about him, then - Marik still has a ton of things he hasn't told Bakura about, and they're all much more important than this. "So you're just checking up on her?"

"Yes."

"Why though?"

"Well…" Bakura looked up from his magazine, an odd look on his face. "I haven't checked on her in awhile, and she does actually know who I am, in relation to Ryou."

"She does?!" Marik's jaw dropped, just a little. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, you know how kids are," Bakura tried to say, sighing and looking back to his magazine. He seemed a little uncomfortable. "They're more in tune with spirits and anything supernatural. One night, after Ryou went to sleep, I took over just to remember what having a body felt like. This was when he was around ten, I think, and Amane, his sister, came in just then. She was seven. Apparently she'd had a bad dream and wanted to sleep in Ryou's room since she was scared." Bakura chewed at his lip and flipped a page, though he didn't seem focused on reading. "She could tell I wasn't her brother right away, and at first she was scared - as well as she should have been, for I wasn't sane in any sense of the word back then. Not that I would have hurt her, since she was only a child, but still. Long story short," Bakura looked up to meet Marik's curious eyes, "after she wasn't scared of me anymore, we talked for awhile. I explained who I was, and we talked a few times after that - only at night though, after Ryou had went to sleep. She was curious about me and who I was and where I came from, and sometimes she even borrowed the Ring just so she could talk to me throughout the day."

"So, you were like," Marik was trying to have this make sense in his mind, "a companion?"

"More or less." Bakura eagerly returned to his magazine. "Again, it's very boring inside the Ring - it was nice to have a change of pace."

"Didn't she tell Ryou about you?" Marik asked, creasing his eyebrows together. "Wasn't she worried about a spirit taking over her brother's body?!"

"I was crafty." Bakura didn't sound too proud of that fact. "I told many lies to set her mind at ease. I convinced her that I was simply a spirit who wanted to watch, not interfere. At the time, I suppose that was true… but you remember how I told you I would take over to teach Ryou's tormentors a lesson sometimes."

Marik nodded, wondering where this was going.

"Well, she knew that was me and asked why. When I told her my reasoning, I think she pitied more than hated me." Bakura sighed and closed his eyes. "She was a strange girl. Sweet though."

"Right." Marik just stared at him for a bit longer. He almost felt like asking why he didn't mention this earlier, but he was afraid that would sound too accusatory. Plus, it wasn't like Marik could talk, what with all that he hadn't said… "I guess I'll go look at the romance section then," Marik told him, giving his best effort to smile. "For those "romance ideas" you want me to have."

"Do take your time~" Bakura opened his eyes just to wink at him, laughing when Marik rolled his eyes.

As he walked off, he almost felt lost. Staring into the bookshelves, reading the section titles but not taking anything in. His mind was a blank, while his subconscious just wanted to feel upset over not knowing this about Bakura sooner. Eventually he started to think in sentences: Why didn't he mention this earlier? How long have we known each other, and we still don't know everything about each other? If I told him about the thing inside me, would he feel how I feel now, or worse… Or is this thing something I should never tell anyone about, even family or friends? I want to meet Amane… Just once. Just to see who is this girl that knows about Bakura.

He started imagining what Amane might look like. Would she, too, have white hair? She was a model, so was she tall and thin with perfect skin? Or was she a different type of model, being any other kind of body shape and complexion? If he asked Bakura more about her, would he tell him? He seemed uncomfortable when talking about her, probably because it reminds him of a version of himself he now wanted to forget. Just as Marik wished to forget about most if not all of his past.

Well, if he hasn't brought her up until now, she must not be that important, Marik's thoughts finally reached a conclusion, though his emotions still wanted to linger on the hurt and suspicion of not being told this until now. He took a deep breath to try and control them before finally looking at the bookshelf in front of him and trifling through titles. He then noticed he was actually in the drama section of the store, but drama and romance were pretty similar, right? Regardless, after reading a few of the book summaries, he knew nothing here would possibly interest him and ended up walking to the romance section anyway, though he had to wonder if anything would interest him there, either.

"Marik!"

He jumped when he heard Bakura call his name and turned to see his friend giving him a despairing look. "What is it?" he asked, walking over to him.

Bakura flattened out a magazine and pointed to the headline: Fashionista Suzette Moreau's Friend Recently Murdered. "Fantine was killed a few days ago," Bakura told him, staring at the magazine desolately. "In an awful way, too - a twisting stab to the heart."

"What?!" Marik grabbed the magazine to bring it closer, as if that would somehow change the words that were written there. "No way!"

"Suzette saw her die, but the murderer was wearing a mask and didn't have any tattoos, so there weren't any distinguishing features."

"This is crazy," Marik said, skimming the article. It was just as Bakura had said. "Why would anyone murder her?"

"They think he was just crazy," Bakura replied, frowning. He pointed to the bottom of the article. "They're holding the wake today, at 3:30pm."

Marik took out his phone to look at the time. "It's three o'clock right now…" he looked at Bakura, assessing the glum look on his face. "Do you want to go to the wake?"

"I think so," Bakura replied, looking uncomfortable now and staring down at the floor. "I know we barely knew each other, but -"

"You don't have to explain it," Marik told him, smiling weakly. "I get it. I would have loved to see a wake or even a funeral of some of the people I've lost."

Bakura smiled just a little and glanced up at him. "It would be the first wake I've ever gone to…"

"It'll be okay," Marik replied, shrugging. "We vampire hunters have our own "wakes" for fallen hunters. It can't be much different."

Bakura snorted and closed his eyes. "I'm not worried about that, it's just…" he paused, wondering how to explain what he was feeling. "I can't help but think about all the people who will miss her and feel sad that she's gone, and I wonder how I didn't think of that way back when, when I killed my first victim." Especially since he had been angry over his own village being murdered… had he really done much better?

"Oh." Marik stared at him for a moment, remembering again just how much Bakura's changed. "Well… who knows? People do crazy things when they go through a traumatic experience… maybe you just needed a few centuries to figure it out."

Bakura raised a brow at him and crossed his arms, regarding Marik silently for a moment. "I just realized - there's a fundamental difference between you and I."

"And what's that?"

"All your life, you were forced to kill and wanted to stop it, even with your own trauma. Whereas I reveled in death and wanted the world to burn, just like my village." Bakura stared down at the ground again, sighing. "And that's why you should probably be the one to make the wish. Your heart, your will… I don't know how, but it's just so pure…"

A shiver went through Marik as Bakura finished, and he had to look away. What was he feeling now? Shouldn't he feel happy for being praised like this? Yet all he felt was heavy. "Don't say that… I'm just… trying to do the right thing -"

"Exactly!" Bakura exclaimed, looking back at the magazine to look at where the wake was being held. "You're willing to sacrifice anything in order to help others. You're selfless, Marik."

"I'm really not," Marik denied, clenching his teeth together. He wasn't pure, or selfless, or anything like that! Wasn't this thing taking refuge inside him proof of that? "I don't think trying to make up for the horrible things you've done is selfless - I think it's just guilt forcing me to act."

"But many others have just continued the hunting line," Bakura pointed out. "They were selfish because they just kept going, not willing to be the one to break the cycle even if they knew it was wrong."

"Can we please drop this?" Marik snapped, clenching his fists now. "I know you're caught up in your own guilty reveries, but trying to compare yourself to me is not going to do anything! We've both killed people, and whether we wanted to do it or not we still killed people, so we're not different! We're exactly the same! And, newsflash, we're both trying to stop the murdering of vampires, so we're the same in trying to make up for what we've done, too! So stop moping and let's just go to Fantine's wake, okay?!"

All around them was silent. Even nearby customers who heard Marik and didn't understand Japanese were silent, since they could understand his emotions. Bakura stared into Marik's fiery, violet eyes, taking in for a moment what he said. He supposed that was true - fundamentally, they were no different. He was just trying to point out the difference between their resolves. Bakura was willing to fall low and dirty to achieve what he wanted from life, whereas Marik always strived to be better even amongst filth. What determined the path someone wanted to take? They had went through similar traumas, watching innocent people and the people they love die… So why did that experience make Bakura assume all of adult humankind was evil and deserved to die, while Marik still believed that every life was precious? Was it just a general weakness of character, and in that case, who was the weaker one? He had a feeling it was himself, but he was getting stronger every day by Marik's side.

"All right," Bakura finally replied, nodding and closing up the magazine. "I'm sorry." He smiled, trying to joke to lighten the mood, "Do you think anyone else would go to a wake while on a date?"

Marik rolled his eyes, but he was calmed down and smiled just a little. "Maybe not. But we've never exactly been like anyone else."

"Very right." Bakura chuckled and turned, going to put the magazine back and running the address of the wake through his mind again. He was soon frowning, imaging the painful way Fantine had died… and a small part of him still yearning to find the man responsible and twist a knife in his own heart. Seemed he was still a little weak against wanting revenge.

---

It was a nice hall that the wake was held in. Flowers lined the hallways and bundled together on tables around the open casket, though Fantine was covered with a sheet from the shoulders down. She had a peaceful look on her face at least, and Bakura was surprised. Was it possible to look even more beautiful in death than in life? Her hair was straightened to perfection, her face looked as if it had more color than when she was in the ice rink, and her navy blue outfit perfectly complimented her features. Marik seemed to notice his confusion and leaned in to whisper in his ear, "People fix the departed up with makeup and other stuff to make them look really good."

"Thanks," Bakura whispered back, still dumbfounded. He had heard of makeup before, but he didn't know it could transform a person this much! Still, he supposed Marik would be more of an expert on this matter than him.

They looked down at Fantine for a few more seconds, wondering if they should say a prayer or just wish her happiness beyond the grave. Bakura ended up doing the latter, remembering how kind she had been and hoping that whoever was judging her soul would see that kindness.

They walked away from the casket, and Bakura looked around the room once more. Other than flowers, there were a few tables with scrapbooks and billboards full of all sorts of pictures of Fantine. Baby pictures, gradeschool pictures, crazy high school pictures, selfies - anything they could get where she was smiling. Bakura and Marik agreed it wouldn't be right to look at those pictures though - they had only known Fantine as the young woman they met. Other people who actually remembered her child self would appreciate the pictures more.

To be honest, after grabbing some coffee, they had considered just leaving. They had paid their respects, and while they felt a bit of sadness for her passing, they really hadn't known her long or well enough to stay for hours like other people in her life. She would be in their thoughts for the rest of the day though.

"Már-reek! Bákura!" They turned, startled by Suzette's appearance. She looked more like a widow in mourning than a person who had lost a dear friend. She wore all black, her outfit consisting of a long-sleeved, ruffled shirt and long skirt, and she even wore a black veil to cover her face. Her hair pulled into a tight bun completed the look. She walked over to them quickly, her tall heels clacking manically against the floor. "I am so glad you came! Oh, I am sure Fantine appreciates that you are here."

"I'm sure of that, too," Bakura replies, frowning softly and feeling awkward as he added, "I'm sorry for your loss."

Suzette took a deep breath and reached under her veil to dab at her eyes, allowing the boys to see that she was also wearing black gloves. "Oh, thank you. I have been in shambles since it happened. She deserved so much better…"

Marik nodded in agreement, and before they knew it Suzette wrapped her arms around both of them, bringing them in close and much tighter than they thought necessary. Until she whispered in a hushed, solemn tone, "Pretend to comfort me - I have something important to tell you both."

Bakura grew confused, while Marik steeled himself and immediately wrapped his arms around both of them for "comfort." He had a bad feeling about this…

"The man who killed Fantine, his name is Shadi," she told them both. This shocked Bakura enough to finally join the group hug. "He killed her because we did complete our mission of breaking you two apart. I do not know much else about him, except that he has the Millennium Items you seek and wants Bakura dead."

Bakura felt his gut twist, along with Marik's part of the hug getting tighter. Why did this man want him dead? Before he could ask, Marik separated and gave Suzette a pitying smile. "Hang in there, Suzette - Fantine would not want you to cry."

It took Bakura moment longer than he'd like to admit to realize Marik was still pretending to comfort her, in case someone might be watching them. Probably this Shadi character… but would he really be watching them here? And if that was the case, how were they ever supposed to talk about this in private?

"Oh, I know you are right…" Suzette sniffled, sounding sincerely heartbroken. "It is just so difficult…"

They hugged again, though Bakura had the sneaking suspicion that Marik was simply having an even more private conversation with her. After a few long moments, they broke apart, shared sad smiles, and Suzette walked off still dabbing at her eyes with her handkerchief. Marik turned to him, also looking a little teary-eyed, which of course made Bakura's gut tighten a bit. "Hey…" He leaned in to hug him close. "It's okay."

Marik pulled him in extremely close for a hug and hitched his chin on his shoulder so he could have an easier time whispering. "I'm not actually crying, I just want to tell you what Suzette said. I asked her if this guy was watching us, and she assumed yes. She doesn't know for how long though, which worries me... what if he's been watching us the whole time and we didn't even know it? We have to be more careful. We don't know what his endgame is."

Bakura swallowed before asking as quietly as he could, "Then how are we supposed to talk about this?"

"A lot of whispering hugs," Marik replied as if this was obvious. Perhaps Bakura shouldn't remind him how sensitive his ears were, or tell him how shivers were going down his spine from Marik's hushed tone, even with such a serious topic…

Despite this, Bakura decided to joke, "Then I guess you better start sleeping with me again."

He couldn't see it, but Marik flushed and had to bury his face into Bakura's shoulder, groaning softly. Why, why does he have to word it like that! "Whatever…"

They stayed like that for a few more moments, just hugging, since it seemed like neither of them had anything left to say. Eventually, Marik pulled away and took Bakura's hand, lightly pulling him away from the wake. "Come on, let's go get something to eat."

---

Since this date had gone downhill fast, they decided to wrap it up with a dinner near the Eiffel Tower. Near it, mind you, not on it, and Bakura didn't even suggest they go on it. Marik had been through enough today without his fear of heights coming into play. It just sucked that finally, after Marik could stop being paranoid about his dad, that they now had someone knew to be paranoid about. And they couldn't even talk about him, because they don't know if he's watching them right now. How fantastic.

Regardless, they tried to have a good time. Bakura joked that he couldn't pronounce any of these things on the menu, and how he was glad he didn't have to worry about using chopsticks here. He was glad those comments made Marik laugh - and it seemed genuine, too.

"Let's just share a meal then," Marik suggested, giving a little grin. "After all, you're on a liquids only diet."

Bakura laughed and shook his head. "Ah, yes." He smirked just to show off his fangs again. "And I'm still full from my previous meal today~"

Marik blushed softly and stared back down at the menu, but he was still smiling a bit. "So no room for dessert back home?"

"If you're cooking, I'll accept it~"

"Good, because I was thinking a smoothie -"

"That's all red?"

"Oh my god, stop being so bloodthirsty."

"I thought you were offering!"

Marik laughed and shook his head. "I'm cutting you off for today. Sorry."

Bakura gave a fake pout, and decided to test his luck by asking, "What about kisses? Can I have more of those?"

It astounded Marik just how easily Bakura was requesting kisses now. What was so enjoyable about them anyway? He didn't understand it really himself, even though he also enjoyed kissing. "... We'll see."

Bakura wore a real pout now, but he couldn't complain as the waitress came to take their order just then. He waited impatiently as Marik requested they bring the house special, and once she left he argued, "What do you mean "we'll see"?! I thought you said we didn't have to date to have a guarantee."

Marik averted his eyes as he replied quietly, "I know, I know, I just…" he chewed at his lip and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I guess now's a good a time as any to talk about this."

"Yes, please." Bakura smiled a little, since it felt like Marik wasn't avoiding the idea of them anymore.

He was still silent for awhile though, which was fine with Bakura. He was probably just trying to think of what he wanted to say. Besides, he was incredibly pleased when Marik started out with, "I really do like you, Bakura, as… as a lot more than just a friend." He paused, prompting Bakura to purr:

"Please go on~"

Marik rolled his eyes, but he was smiling again. "And like I said, we don't have to go on dates if we both already like each other. I don't mean we'll never go on another date, but I do think we should put them to the backburner for now - until we find the rest of the Millennium Items. " And this Shadi guy, Bakura could imagine Marik adding.

"That all makes sense," Bakura nodded his head in agreement, pleased to finally be getting somewhere with this. Finally these feelings didn't have to be pent up anymore!

"But," Marik started, looking up at him. "I don't know… what to do. Obviously neither of us have ever dated, or had a significant other before… so, I guess I'm just asking…" he swallowed nervously, and couldn't look at him anymore as he asked quietly, "what do you want from me?"

Marik couldn't see it, but Bakura was practically beaming from this question. "Oh, what I want is very simple." He started counting on his fingers: "One, I want you to sleep next to me every night because that's very nice. Two, I want to continue with the teasing and the joking and the kissing. Three," he grinned, "I want us to confess our undying love to each other every morning -"

"Get real!" Marik laughed and shook his head.

"Four," Bakura continued anyway, a small frown gracing his face. "I want you to talk to me… obviously I can't make you, but if we're really agreeing to go past being friends then we need to communicate more. And I'll try to do the same, too."

"..." Marik was silent at that, his smile having disappeared immediately. Figures he'd request that… it only made sense, he supposed. After all, part of being a couple was trust and communication, right? They seemed to have that first one down pat, but… they were pretty lacking in the second. "I'll try," was all he could promise in the end, since he still wasn't sure he wanted to tell Bakura anything about the demon inside of him. "Any more requests?"

"No." Bakura seemed satisfied and laid back in his chair. "That's all for now. Can you think of any?"

"You pretty much summed everything up." He tried to think of something, but the only thing that came to mind was how… Bakura hadn't mentioned anything about sex. Was he just that old-fashioned? Or maybe he wanted to put that on the backburner, too, until they completed their mission? Or… maybe… he didn't know what sex is? No, that was impossible, right? He had to know! Well, it didn't really matter - they'd talk about that bridge when they came to it.

"I think this is the start of a beautiful relationship," Marik finally finished, smiling.

Bakura laughed and rolled his eyes. "More like the progression of a beautiful relationship. Finally."

"Is it like the Heavenly Choir is singing for you?" Marik stuck his tongue out at him. "Are you just overjoyed that I'm returning your affection?"

"It feels like the whole world is smiling down upon me~" Bakura stuck his tongue out right back. "I could just burst from happiness any minute."

Marik started to laugh really hard, and he put a hand up to his head as it struck him how… strange this all was. It felt like nothing had changed, but the talk they just had… a lot of stuff was going to change now, wasn't it? They were nice changes, but still changes. And he still wasn't sure if they were doing everything right, though he supposed it was too late to worry about that now. They had bigger things to worry about anyway - he shouldn't bother feeling nervous over Bakura, especially considering all he's done to help him so far.

The rest of the date went by without any more incidents; it was just filled with a lot more smiles, laughter, and jokes.

… Well, there was one thing of interest to mention. They saw Kaiba and Yami eating dinner together nearby, seemingly on a date. Perhaps that's why Kaiba had talked to Marik that morning.

---

"Hello, boys!" Pegasus greeted. He eagerly put down the book he was reading and practically skipped over to them. "How was the date~?"

"It was great, grandpa," Bakura replied, snickering when Pegasus just huffed again.

"I need more details than that!"

Marik groaned, not wanting to deal with this. "How's this for details?" He simply grabbed Bakura by his shirt collar and pulled him in for a kiss. And of course they smiled at each other and laughed when Pegasus exclaimed, with a twinkle in his eye:

"What marvelous details! Oh, you two look so happy~ And that makes this old man happy~"

"And now we'll retire to our tent for the evening," Bakura replied, snickering and taking Marik's hand in his before pulling him along. "Au revoir."

"Boys, wait!" Pegasus stopped them before going back over to his book to grab an envelope underneath it. "A letter came for you - slipped under the door in the afternoon."

"From who?" Marik asked, feeling his blood run cold. No one knew they were staying at Pegasus' house… except for maybe -

"Someone named Shadi?"

Marik and Bakura exchanged a look. "... Thank you." Marik grabbed the letter and then they both walked out. Thankfully Pegasus sensed the change in mood and didn't ask what was wrong.

Once they were in their tent, Marik shakily opened up the letter so they both could read it.

Greetings, Marik and Bakura.

My name is Shadi. You do not know me, but I know you quite well. I have been following your journey ever since Bakura failed to die when you two first met. I have to say it is very frustrating how no one seems able to kill him - not Pegasus, not Bandit Keith, not even Marik, who I was sure would be able to. Fantine and Suzette could not even break you apart. But do not worry, I have two more tests for you before I decide it can't be helped. If you can complete them both together, we'll meet in Egypt and I'll give you the remaining Millennium Items so you can make your wish. If you can't, it was nice knowing you, Bakura.

The first test is in England - not too far from where you are. Take the 11am shuttle to London tomorrow and wait outside on the nearest bench. It will be nice to catch up with an old friend, don't you think?

If you complete this test, I'll tell you the second. If you ignore these tests, I will destroy the last two Millennium Items.

See you soon.

Shadi.

Bakura finished reading it rather quickly, and kept glancing at Marik to see how he was reacting. Only, his expression didn't change, which alarmed Bakura greatly. Shadi had just threatened to destroy the last few Items, the things they had been searching so long hard for. Not to mention the parts that made it sound like Shadi thinks Bakura's supposed to be dead right now. Certainly Marik must be feeling something; enraged, incredulous, horrified, anything like that, but instead he simply walked over to sit on the bed, staring blankly into space and letting the letter fall beside him.

"Marik?" Bakura spoke quietly, walking over and tentatively sitting next to him. "Are you okay?"

"I hate feeling angry," Marik replied, which was kind of confusing, but okay. "It feels like everything is shaking, and I can't think clearly. I don't know what to do, I just… I want to smack this Shadi guy across the face and ask him who he thinks he is."

"That seems natural," Bakura told him, trying to think about how he felt now. Was it bad he didn't really feel angry? He felt more… tired, than anything. They had went through so many challenges together already that, honestly, what were two more? His biggest question was why Shadi didn't just tell Marik's dad where they were, if he really wanted Bakura dead. Mr. Ishtar was supposed to be a really great vampire hunter, right? He scared Marik at least… Unless Shadi thinks they could handle him? Then again, perhaps confronting the father could be the second test. No matter what, Bakura felt pretty confident that they would be able to get through it.

Bakura snapped out of his thoughts when Marik took a long breath through his nose and let it out through his mouth. "Let's just go to sleep… we have no information on this guy, no way to track him down… as much as I hate it we have to just do what he says."

Bakura let silence fall between them for a moment. "Well," he started, bumping their shoulders together comfortingly, "if all we have to do is two more tests, then I think we'll be okay."

Marik snorted and shook his head. "I guess. It's just so frustrating!" He stood up and walked over to his bag to grab his pajamas. "I don't like dealing with someone I've never even met! Who knows if he even has the Items? And why does he think you should be dead?!"

"I don't know…"Bakura rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. That part did make him feel kind of odd. Especially when he mentioned how not even Marik could kill him. Why would Shadi say that? They had never really hated each other that much, and soon they had become good friends…

Of course, while Bakura was stumped, Marik knew that Shadi was referring to the beast inside him. Which is what really upset him. Who was this guy that knew so much about them? Had he really been watching them all this time and he never knew? Does he know more about this demon than even Marik does? He wished he could find this guy, but all they had on him was Suzette's warning and now a note. Some people would say that's enough to find him, but no, and even if they tried they couldn't risk not completing his stupid challenges.

No matter what he thought, by the time Marik laid down for bed he still felt angry, tired, and confused. But Bakura coming to lay next to him made him feel a bit better; he even laughed a bit.

"What is it?"

"Nothing. Just thinking about asking you to turn into a cat so I can cuddle you easier."

"... You can still cuddle me, you know. You are taller."

Marik grinned and turned his head. "I won't until you say you want me to cuddle you."

Bakura rolled his eyes, but he was smiling as he wrapped his arms around Marik's middle. "Fine, then I'll cuddle you. Good night."

"Good night." Marik smiled and, looking down at Bakura's peaceful face, felt better already. He was right; they could handle anything this Shadi guy threw at them, and then they could have a chat in Egypt face to face. Not to mention, if this all panned out… their journey would finally be over. And, after that… Marik could fully focus on him and Bakura.

Maybe that was the scarier adventure still.

---

AN: Finally, amiright?

I'm sorry this took so long, everybody. A lot of things have happened since I stopped updating. For one thing, I finished my first semester at college! 3 As and an A-! I'm going for Physical Therapy, which is a doctorate, but I can handle it I'm sure. But enough about me.

To be honest, I've had the idea of Amane coming in ever since the near beginning of the story. I know it seems weird she's only been brought up now - I think early on I mentioned Bakura looking at magazines as a ~slight~ hint that he keeps tabs on her? If not I'll have to put that in when I redo this story. Either way, Amane isn't something I just threw in on a whim is what I'm saying XD She has a purpose. That purpose has changed (definitely for the better), but she still has one. Same with everything I do~ ;) Lol jk XD

This isn't spoiling too much for you guys if I tell you this: as mentioned in the chapter, Marik and Bakura are going to visit three more countries, namely England, South Korea, and Egypt, before the end arrives. As it is right now in my head, England will probably be only one chapter, South Korea might be two, and Egypt is undetermined - it depends on… quite a few things, actually. I only have a vague idea of the ending I want so I'm not sure how many chapters it will take to write it! It's an adventure for me, too, guys XD

NOW, knowing how long my chapters are, I'm not sure how long it will take for me to write all this out exactly, but it's exciting for me at least to know that I've made it this far and I only have a little bit more to go! One question I do have for you all is, would you want me to a) finish the story completely, however long that will take, and then post a chapter every week whenever that may occur, or b) do as I have been and post a chapter as soon as I finish it? Right now I'm leading towards the former, but I'm curious what you all want!

I would also like to address something else. Ren-Li asked me in a review why I decided that Bakura doesn't know what sex is, and the answer to that is… I started this story in eighth grade, when I was still pretty naive, and I didn't want to write anything about sex or sexual scenes because they grossed me out. I still don't want to write any sex scenes, by the way, but I've gotten better at getting as close to that as possible and cutting away to the next scene (thanks to RPs). I still like the idea of Bakura not knowing about sex because that makes his love more innocent/genuine, too, kinda, even though everything else about him isn't very innocent? And Marik really doesn't need anymore pressure on any part of his life XD So, with all that being said, when I re-write this story I don't think I'll change that aspect of Bakura. I like it; it's different and fun for me, not to mention I get a kick out of imagining Marik trying to explain sex to Bakura later on.

One more thing, I can't remember whose reviews I've replied to… so I'm going to reply to all reviewers that reviewed ever since the last chapter was put up either sometime today or this week! Because I really do love and appreciate all of your reviews, guys; thank you! Sometimes I would read one and feel inspired enough to write a paragraph of this story even if I was busy, so thank you!

I'm sorry to keep you all waiting like this, I really am, but I hope that for those of you that stick with me you'll enjoy what's to come. :)

Oh, and as for the Prideshipping (Kaiba and Yami)? Use your imaginations. ;)

~~~{ANONYMOUS REVIEW REPLIES}~~~

Ginnonifu: I'm sorry for dawdling, but hopefully you're not too nutty? Ahah, I hope you enjoyed their date! :) Thank you for reviewing! *heart*

KibaWantanuki: Heehee, I hope you liked some of the cute moments in here! :3 The French girls really were surprising, weren't they? XD Haha, Shadi's going to be a bigger problem later on though. ;) Thank you for the review! :)

IrkenIshtarGamer: You did spell complete right! :) And I hope this chapter makes your life a little more complete XDD And don't worry, I'm not done yet XD I do definitely want to finish this story since it's come so far!
Haha, you're welcome and I love you for reviewing! :)

Shadow101: Aw, golly, favorite author? *blushes* Thanks! I hope you still love this fanfiction even though I don't update that much ^^" I'll definitely write more thiefshipping as I still need to finish my other stories! XD Thanks for reviewing and I hope you enjoy what's to come!

Anonymous: Here's another chapter! I'm glad you love it, and I hope you're not too mad at Marik this chapter XD He's dealing with a lot the poor boy. Thank you for reviewing!

Frostfear: Heehee, is last chapter still the best? XD They're finaly together yay~*heart* And yeah! I wanted Bakura to be the one pining because he's not the one who's really stressed to get the Millennium Items XD I'm glad you liked it! When I first started this story I didn't intend for it to be a "great twist," it just kinda came out that way XD I'm sorry for not updating soon, but I hope you liked this chapter! :) Thank you for your review!

DarkLinkLover: Don't apologize for reviewing XD I'm happy to read your reviews as all writers are happy to read reviews! I hope it's still your favorite, but if not I understand - my updating isn't the best!
That is what Anzu was saying! :) I had a longer message originally, but FF.N deleted it or something so I had to add a shorter one XD Thank you for reading this story three times! Geez, you really do love this! Thank you! :)
And I'm sorry but I decided to not go with puzzleshipping at all! Perhaps that's more clear with this chapter? Peachshipping is sweet, and also pretty important for this story XD I don't really know why my past self didn't remember how important it was XD I hope you continue to enjoy the story anyway, and thank you for reviewing!

Ren-Li: Hey there! Haha, I hope you liked this chapter! I'm sorry you didn't realize it wasn't complete; I hate when that happens XP I'm glad you like the story though! :)
I'm glad you like my writing style! To be honest, re-reading the first 10 chapters or so makes me cringe because compared to now, I see my old writing style as kind of awful? But I like it now, and that's why I want to re-write the first few parts of this story when it's all done! Hehe, Thiefshipping has always been my favorite YGO ship too XD and of course vampires and the supernatural is just fun for me! So combine them all and you get a vampire story- XD
I answered your question about Bakura's lack of sex knowledge above, so thanks for asking! As for writing more than a kiss later on, I might write a make-out scene later? I really don't want to write anything more than that; I want to keep it at a T-rating, focus more on the adventure and romance! I hope you understand! But yes, Marik might be a little amused when he finds out about Bakura's lack of knowledge, but he'll mostly be freaking out because he has to explain it in relation to them and their relationship XD haha it's gonna be great; if I don't fit it into a chapter I'll definitely have to fit it in as an extra XD
Thank you for your review! I liked reading it and I hope I answered your questions adequately!

C.F.: Thank you! I'm glad you love it, and I hope that love continues! :) Thank you for reviewing!

AnAnon: I am busy and life happens, and for that I apologize! I really am trying to finish this story because I want to; so badly do I want to finish this story and say I completed it! But, to tide you over, they are at least together now! :) Haha, it's fun to think of you lurking in the shadows liking this story from day one XD Thank you! I'm so happy people like this story so much! :) I hope you liked this chapter and thank you very much for reviewing!

Roni: (About chapter 5) Haha, that would be hilarious if Marik had developed his pictures of Bakura and arranged them into a collage XD But he wouldn't trash the place! He's staying there for free, after all XD Thank you for reviewing! :)

Guest: I updated! :) And yep, that's what Anzu said in chapter 9! :) I hope you liked the chapter and thank you for reviewing!