Author's Note: I got nothing. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh yadadada you know. Let's just get into the chapter!
I update every Wednesday!
Bon appetite!
In the matter of an hour, the source of Bakura's major headaches for the previous few weeks was resolved with two simple kisses. All of the confusion and worry he caused himself by avoiding Marik was finally put to an end. Bakura did notice a slight change in their routine after that night. Their typical ritual of hanging out to research or not research remained the same. For the most part, they continued to do work while taking breaks to play games or watch movies or go around town.
However, their interactions changed slightly. Instead of Bakura practically jumping out of his seat as Marik touched him, he would instead wrap an arm around Marik to draw him closer. When they would go out to grab groceries, Bakura would now take the initiative and take Marik's hand. When they played Duel Monsters, he didn't shy away when Marik amorously teased him but instead, met him back. There was a new openness and understanding between the two, the fragile barrier that forced Bakura to keep his distance was now gone.
Things were going extraordinarily well with this revelation. This was only made more wonderful now that Bakura finally figured out where the Puzzle was located. He told Marik the good news and now researching and preparation was moving as faster than ever. Two weeks after the kiss, Bakura sat in Marik's living room, researching and compiling a list of items they would need for the extraction. He could hear Marik mumbling his complaints. Despite the two being in their honeymoon phase of their new relationship, Bakura knew they still had work to do.
Instead of trying to keep the Puzzle a secret, the Tokyo Museum of History made a public announcement of the donation. There would be a special exhibit on ancient Egyptian artifacts, including the completed Millennium Puzzle, which would be made public starting the second week of February. Normally Bakura would have tried to steal the Puzzle before this. However, with everything hanging in the balance, he didn't want to take a chance. They would steal it once it was on display where they knew exactly what sort of security and facility would be guarding it. Better to know what they were going into versus knowing nothing at all.
So Bakura sat on the couch, reading on his laptop as he heard Marik let out another loud sigh, clearly trying to get his attention. "What do you want, Marik? You're supposed to be researching right now." He could see Marik plop the stack of papers onto the table in front of them. "But I'm bored. I'm tired of doing geometry!" Bakura just rolled his eyes, scrolling down a few pages as he looked at different climbing rope. "You're not doing geometry, you dork. You're doing basic math. Just add the heights like I told you."
He glanced over to see Marik fall back into the couch. "I don't want to. I don't like math. I'd rather do something fun. Wanna join?" Bakura paused typing only for a moment before continuing, ignoring what Marik could be insinuating. "No, I don't. We have lots to do before February. That's less than a month away." Marik gave another noisy sigh, causing Bakura to smirk. "Geez, you're such a buzz kill Fluffy. What's the point of having a boyfriend if we don't do fun things together?"
Bakura felt a small glow of happiness at the mention of boyfriend, but didn't back off his argument. "We can do stuff later. Right now, this needs to be done." He felt Marik get closer, seeing Marik glare at him off the corner of his eye. "And what about me? I need to be done too, Bakura." Bakura stopped typing altogether, trying to figure if the innuendo was intentional. One glance at the mischievous look Marik now gave him was all the answer he needed. The albino had to stop and wonder if the room temperature suddenly increased because he was feeling particularly warm. He saw Marik lean in closer, raising an eyebrow, looking rather tempting.
Bakura blinked as he turned back to computer, sighing. "No. Tell me how did I end up with a horn dog as my partner?" Marik pouted and he plopped back onto the couch. "It's not my fault! I have pent up sexual frustration, damnit!" Bakura just chuckled, clicking on the next page of search results. "Then you should have kissed me sooner." He heard Marik laughing next to him on the couch, the young man rolling his eyes in the process. "I wanted to, but you were dense as a brick, Fluffy."
Bakura just raised an eyebrow, glancing over. "Oh? How so?" Marik blinked as he looked over. "You still haven't figured it out?"
"Obviously not, or else I wouldn't be asking now."
"Bakura, I'd been dropping hints for weeks that I liked you but you never picked up!"
"Oh, I picked up. I just figured you were being unintentionally flirty!"
"How on earth would I have been unintentional?"
"Clearly, you've never seen yourself interact with others in public."
"Are you kidding? I thought I was being obvious!"
"If you liked me, you should have said something sooner!"
"I couldn't do that!"
"And why not?"
"Because… because, well…" Bakura looked back up to see Marik with a slight blush on his face. "I couldn't tell you because I didn't want to jeopardize our friendship." Bakura blinked before tilting his head to laugh at the ceiling. He caught the whipping motion of Marik's head as he turned to glare at him. "And what's your excuse, Fluffy? You were just as much a chicken as I was!" Bakura continued to snigger, finally getting control over himself.
"Because I was afraid of jeopardizing our friendship too. God, we're hopeless." He looked over at Marik's stunned expression, which melted into a smile. Bakura chuckled, thinking back to those times when Marik flirted openly when they played in the snow or drank the smoothie rather seductively (strangely enough) on his birthday. Suddenly, those instances made a whole lot more sense given the context of Marik's explanation.
Bakura shook his head as he returned his attention to his computer, focusing again on their work. Marik, however, was not to be ignored. "Bakura!" He heard the nasally voice whine behind him, with Marik crawling up to him. Bakura just rolled his eyes. "What is it now Marik?" He felt Marik's hands slipping around his waist and sneak its way under his shirt, stroking his abdomen and chest. Bakura blinked and swallowed hard as he felt Marik's torso press against his back as he embraced Bakura from behind.
"Why don't we have a little fun now and work afterwards?" Bakura felt his face flush as he heard Marik speak softly into his ear. He licked his lips nervously, trying to remain focused as Marik dipped his face into the crook of Bakura's neck. "Marik…" he stated sternly, trying to keep his voice steady as he felt Marik lay soft kisses on his neck. Marik just hummed a questioning sound, not pausing on his mission. "We can have fun after we work. We should really be focusing r- ahh…" Bakura smacked himself mentally, his brain starting to shut down as he felt Marik graze his teeth ever so lightly against his skin.
He heard Marik chuckle, knowing that he was winning his boyfriend over. "Don't you think we could do that afterwards?" he purred, lips pressed against the shell of his ear. Bakura blinked, struggling to focus while those damned lips kept teasing him. It's impossible to focus when Marik's like this. Bakura was about to state his refusal again when he felt Marik's hand, which had been caressing his chest, rising upwards, hiking up his shirt as he traveled, causing the man to almost jump. Bakura squirmed, wanting to revel in the sensation of Marik's hand on his skin while also decrease the growing discomfort of jeans, which had suddenly become a size too small. He bit his lip to keep from making any noise, his ears almost burning with heat.
Like I'm really going to get any work done now.
"Fuck it. You win." He grumbled, closing his eyes as he shut his laptop down. He heard Marik cheer, releasing him. Bakura smirked as he turned around to kiss Marik on the lips, his hormones now kicking in. The kiss lasted only a moment before Marik pulled away. Bakura blinked in confusion as Marik stood up and grabbed his laptop. "Wait, what are you doing?" Marik logged in as he pulled up some sort of software. "Having fun!" He declared, smiling as a vampire video game appeared on the screen.
Bakura could only gape at his boyfriend, who now had his attention fully focused on some absurd mission involving Californian vampires. "Wait, what? But what about back then with the hugging and the kissing and-" Bakura found himself blushing, stupefied that Marik had tricked him like that. His boyfriend just shrugged smiling up. "I just said we should have some fun now and work later. I didn't give specifics. You can't blame this on me!" Bakura just stared at Marik, who seemed annoyed by his character's inability to open doors at the moment.
Bakura, unwilling to admit he had been duped and struggling to calm down his body after being aroused so quickly, crossed his arms as he leaned into Marik, watching him play his video game. "God damnit. You're such an asshole, you know that?" Marik just smiled and winked at Bakura. "I learned from the best." Bakura rolled his eyes as he fell sideways, laying down on the couch as he covered his eyes. "Fuck off." He muttered, frustration still evident in his voice.
He heard Marik snicker at him. "You know you love me. Maybe after I'm done here, we c- Oh! I found a knife! Now I'm ready for a fight!" Marik interrupted himself midsentence as he became distracted by his game. Bakura knew it was pointless trying to maintain a meaningful conversation once Marik was distracted. Whether it was a video game or painting, Marik's focus was unfaltering in its task. As annoying as this was, Bakura did find some moments of amusement in it. Marik usually got very frustrated with this game, giving Bakura plenty of opportunities to laugh at his boyfriend's expense.
Bakura closed his eyes as he listed to Marik mumbling about some harebrained mission to slash and destroy some art at a museum. Bakura wasn't really paying attention to the details – it was something about cursed spirits or some rubbish of that kind. "This mission is stupid." He heard Marik mutter angrily. "There's a puzzle to slash the paintings? What kind of convoluted bullshit is this? I just want to slice things up with my knife. Is that too much to ask for?"
Bakura chuckled at Marik's frustration. Yes, this is quality entertainment right here. "Careful there, Marik. Keep that up and you'll sound like a psychopath in no time. If I had known you liked knives so much, I would have gotten us a matching set when I bought mine last month." Bakura smirked when he saw Marik snap his head around to glare at Bakura. "Oh, shut your face, Bakura." The albino just laughed, amused by Marik's frustration and bewilderment as he tried to deal with the video game and his boyfriend.
"Hey Bakura." The albino blinked one eye open to glance at Marik, whose focus remained on his game. "What?" He grumbled, knowing it was easier to just give Marik what he wanted than to fight on the issue. "Did you ever figure out what happened to the knife you lost? Or is that still a lost cause?" Bakura blinked both eyes open, watching Marik. This was an odd topic to suddenly bring up. This could work to my advantage though. He may as well get some answers while he could.
"Don't you think I would have returned that new knife if I had found my old one?" Bakura avoided answering the question directly, hoping to draw out a bit of information from Marik as to how he got his hands on Bakura's weaponry. Marik shrugged, either not really sure of his answer or too focused on his game to comment. Bakura closed both of his eyes as he relaxed on the couch. "What about you? Do you have any clue what happened to my knife? It couldn't have just disappeared after all."
Bakura watched as Marik just shrugged before muttering about doors slamming in his face all the time. "Huh? Oh, no, I don't know. If Odion didn't find it and the police didn't, then maybe someone unrelated got to it. The Orichalcos?" Bakura didn't say anything, noting the almost disinterested tone in Marik's voice. He narrowed his eyes. Why was Marik lying to him? Why had he taken his knife? Surely Marik had noticed the knife was gone by now. So why keep up the charade?
"Marik – be honest – did you take my knife?" This finally got Marik's attention as he paused looked up from his game, a look of confusion on his face. "What? No. Why would I do that? It's your knife." Bakura studied Marik, a puzzled expression staring back at him. Either Marik was an incredibly good actor or he legitimately believed he didn't take the knife. Bakura nodded as he turned to stare at the ceiling. "Alright. Just checking." He heard Marik return to his game, but Bakura's mind was elsewhere.
This makes no sense. How the hell did my knife end up his Marik's dresser? Logic says that Marik took my knife and hid it from me, but why do I get the feeling he's telling me the truth? If he didn't take it, then who did? Was it planted by someone? If it was put there by someone else, who on earth would know to put it there? Perhaps the Orichalcos suspected I was there and used the knife as proof… no that still doesn't make any sense. That doesn't connect Marik to me. Also, why wouldn't they have targeted me directly if they knew I was there?
Bakura clicked his tongue as he sighed, baffled by the lack of logic in his life. Well, this is Marik and I've known for a while now that logic and Marik never go hand in hand. He was no closer to figuring out how the knife ended up in Marik's sock drawer. Part of him felt like letting the issue go and moving on. What did it matter now that he had his knife back? However, part of him couldn't let go of the issue. He wasn't sure what, but he felt like there was something fishy going on.
Bakura was broken from his thoughts when he heard a knock at the front door. "Fluffy, there's someone at the door." Bakura flicked his eyes over to glare at a smirking Marik. "I'm busy. You go answer it." He caught Marik roll his eyes at him. "Yeah – busy daydreaming, I bet. What were you thinking about?" Bakura growled as he reached for a packet of papers on the table next to him. "Nothing perverted, you asshole." He fought off a growing blush, suddenly feeling nervous under pressure. He swore Marik enjoyed trying to get him to blush.
He heard a soft chuckle. "I didn't think you were, but now I'm curious. What naughty things has my boyfriend been thinking?" Bakura chucked the paper at Marik's shoulder. "Nothing, damn it. Now go answer the door." Marik laughed out loud, a grin on his face as he tormented his boyfriend. "I'm playing a game. Go put down those notes you aren't reading and go answer the damned door." Bakura was ready to snap back with a reply when he heard a deep low voice from behind. "It's a miracle either one of you gets anything accomplished. I'll get it."
Bakura bolted up in his seat, looking behind to see Odion walking through the living room towards the front door. He stared in shock. When the hell did he get here? He looked over at Marik, who didn't say anything as he saved his game. He didn't seem surprised in the least. "Marik, how long has your brother been here? I thought he was on mall cop duty today." Marik closed out of his game as he closed his laptop, straightening the papers that Bakura had tossed at him. "Nope. He's been home all day. Took today off. Why?" Bakura sat up and crossed his arms. "No reason." He mumbled.
Of course there was a reason. Bakura wasn't sure why, but he felt almost embarrassed by this knowledge. One for not noticing another human in the apartment, and two for being rather open about his new relationship with Marik. Had Marik told his brother yet? He hardly wanted Odion to find out about his their relationship by walking in on them. Or perhaps he already knew or suspected at least. Either way, Bakura felt like a teenage kid with a chaperone and that bugged him. They didn't need a damn chaperone.
Bakura shook his head as he grabbed the blueprints of the museum off of the table, examining them as he thought. Why should he care what Odion thought about him and Marik – it was their life. They could do whatever they want. Bakura looked to the side to Marik, who finally stopped messing around and was studying the notes that Bakura had printed off for him. When the kid put his mind to it, he could be productive.
Bakura heard voices coming down the hallway as Odion returned with his guest. Bakura realized he recognized the voice, groaning as he saw Ishizu coming around the corner with her elder brother. "Ishizu!" Marik cried, a smile growing on his face. Bakura caught the dark look on her face when she glanced over the albino before turning to smile at her younger brother. "Hello Marik. How've you been?" Marik's face lit up, as if realizing something. "Great. Actually, I have some good news ab-"
Bakura raised an eyebrow as Marik stopped talking, suddenly catching himself before continuing. He flicked his eyes over to his boyfriend's siblings, who watched him curiously. "Well, what's the good news? Or do you want to save it for dinner?" Ishizu asked, her question sounding more cautious than eager. Bakura blinked, now his turn to be confused. Was this a family dinner going on? Shit, I better duck out of here before it gets awkward.
"Actually, why don't we talk while we cook, Ishizu?" Marik asked, standing up as he put the papers down on the table. Ishizu watched for a moment before nodding. She turned her attention to Odion, a small smile on her face. "Don't go into the kitchen while we're cooking. Just relax and no helping!" Bakura raised an eyebrow as Ishizu sounded almost teasing. This was the most relaxed he had ever seen her. He watched as Odion rolled his eyes as Marik walked up to grab the bags that his brother held. "Yeah, birthday boy! No helping! Just enjoy your day!"
Bakura choked back a snort as he saw Odion give in to his younger siblings, who seemed set on forcing their elder brother to have a relaxing and work-free birthday. Well, that would explain why Odion got off work today. Bakura took this as his cue to start packing his stuff up to leave the siblings to their celebration. Before Bakura could load up his bag, he heard Marik stop in his tracks. "Hey Odion, can Bakura join us for dinner?" Bakura froze, quickly looking up to politely decline, noticing that Ishizu was already reprimanding her little brother. Bakura blinked in surprise when Odion just shrugged and nodded. "Sure. I don't mind."
Marik cheered as he grabbed his sister's hand to run into the kitchen, leaving Odion to chuckle at his younger brother's antics. Bakura looked around as he realized that he and Odion were left in the living room to wait. Well. Now what? Bakura never really talked to Odion much – most of his interaction with the Ishtar family was with Marik and Ishizu. Not that he disliked Odion – the elder brother was polite and calm and collected. It was a nice fresh breath of air from this circus of a family. Bakura just wasn't really sure what to talk about with Odion.
"So, uh, it's your birthday?" Bakura coughed, trying to start a conversation. He was invited to dinner so he may as well make small talk. Odion nodded. "Yes. We decided on January 12th." Bakura blinked in confusion. "Decided?" Bakura hadn't really meant to ask the question in that matter, but he couldn't filter himself before asking. Was this an okay thing to ask? What if this was the result of something negative? After learning about Marik's back, Bakura felt a bit more cautious in his curiosity regarding the Ishtar family.
Odion sat down in the armchair across the room, leaning back into the chair as he relaxed. "Yeah. I was adopted, so we aren't really sure when my birthday lies. Our mother figured my birthday was most likely sometime in January. Ishizu picked the date, and it stuck. I don't particularly mind." Bakura grunted as he nodded his head. Well that's one way to get a birthday. He supposed it made sense – if he didn't have a birthday, then why not make up one? Everyone has to have one at least.
"Any idea what they are making you for dinner?" Odion shrugged, laying his head back. "No idea. They insisted on making in a surprise. They've been planning this for weeks apparently. Something about it being the first time in years we've all been together." Bakura watched as Odion opened his eyes to look over at Bakura. "Personally, I don't need anything bombastic. A low-key day would never go unmissed." Bakura chuckled, understanding that sentiment.
The two men sat in silence, though Bakura noted that it wasn't as uncomfortable as he initially thought it to be. He leaned back into the couch, crossing his arms as he relaxed with Odion, not feeling the need to break the silence. "Bakura." He heard Odion's deep voice murmur the words. Bakura looked up at the Egyptian man who was studying him. "You wouldn't happen to know what Marik wanted to discuss with Ishizu is private, would you?"
Bakura's brow furrowed as he tried to figure out the tone in Odion's voice. Truth be told, Bakura hadn't given much thought to the good news Marik had wanted to share with his sister. However, something in Odon's voice made him feel like he should know. It was almost as if Odion knew a secret, a very obvious secret that Bakura should be made aware of. What would Marik want to share with his sister in private? Bakura already knew that Marik only discussed personal matters with Ishizu in private, as she was prone to overreacting. So what would Marik want to sha-
Oh.
Bakura felt like smacking himself in the head for missing that obvious one. He glanced up, Odion still watching, amusement growing on the man's face. …Does Odion know? Bakura had no idea if Marik had told his elder brother yet. But if the look on Odion's face was any indicator, he suspected he already knew. Bakura glanced away to stare at the floor, trying not to appear contrite or guilty. "Uh, well… if I had to guess, I'd say Marik's probably is telling Ishizu about… well… us." Bakura looked up and almost choked as he saw Odion, who was now smirking at him. What was his life coming to?
"What do you mean by us?" Bakura now glared at Odion, who was amused by Bakura's discomfort. He is far too much like Ryou for this to be good. Bakura sighed loudly, glancing at the kitchen. May as well get this over. "Marik and I are… a thing, I guess? We're dating?" Bakura wished he hadn't sounded so unsure but truth be told, neither him nor Marik had said what they were. They just sort of knew. It was different putting it to words and Bakura hated it. Perhaps that's why he was glad it worked out the way it did with Marik – they hadn't needed to say anything and just understood.
He heard a soft laugh. Bakura snapped his head up to snap at Odion, to find the condescending look gone from the man's face. "I figured as much. I was wondering how long you two would take." Bakura blinked at Odion's strange acceptance of the entire scenario. "You're okay with… this?" Odion just shrugged nonchalantly. "Sure. I'm not really surprised. I've known Marik wasn't interested in girls for some time now. And given how often you hung out, I suspected that there might have been something there."
Bakura smirked, nodding his head as he gave a small sound of realization. He supposed to anyone watching them, they appeared as a couple. It wasn't an unfair assumption. Odion didn't miss the mark in that regards. Bakura leaned back, relaxing a bit. He wasn't sure why, but it was a load off his chest knowing that Odion knew and frankly didn't care either way. The fact that he suspected this would happen between Bakura and Marik just seemed right. If anything, it would put Marik at ease.
Bakura hadn't realized how quickly time had flown by until Ishizu walked into the room. She glanced as Bakura and he instantly knew in that glance that she was pissed at him. Shit. What did I do now? She quickly masked her emotions as she turned to Odion, a small smile on her face. "Dinner's ready." She said, waiting for Odion to get up and walk to the kitchen. Bakura followed, noting how Ishizu glared at him. He knew she didn't want him at dinner, but figured she would've had the sense to maintain some semblance of civility. Why the hostility now?
"Come on, slowpokes! Let's eat!" Marik chirped breaking Bakura from his thoughts. He saw the dinner the two siblings had prepared, with Marik standing by the table. Bakura instantly sensed something was off. There was something very forced about Marik's cheerful and chipper attitude. A few weeks ago, he might have missed the signs, but he could tell by his facial expression, his tense posture, and the forced range of his voice that something was off. He flicked his eyes back over at Ishizu and suddenly; he realized the source of tension between the two siblings.
Oh.
Bakura knew that Ishizu didn't like him in the slightest and he never really cared much for Marik's elder sister. However, despite their dislike for the other, they remained cordial for Marik's sake. However, that seemed to have been forsaken with the revelation of Marik's good news. He glanced over at Marik and could tell that his sister's reaction bugged him. Bakura knew better than to say something at dinner, so he remained quiet and polite through the meal, allowing the Ishtar siblings to carry the conversation. Bakura watched with a strange amusement as he and Odion mostly observed dinner. He would talk to Marik afterwards about it all…
After they finished eating, Bakura started gathering dishes. He just got a free meal so he figured he should do his part and do the dishes. In some way, it felt like clockwork, much like how he and Ryou would operate at home. Odion tried to help, but Marik shooed him away, telling him to relax and talk to Ishizu. Bakura felt very aware of Marik next to him at the sink, helping him wash the dishes. Bakura glanced back to see Ishizu leaving the kitchen, discussing something rather quietly with Odion. He flicked his eyes back to Marik, who was humming some Disney tune while drying the dishes.
"Hey Marik." Bakura prompted, scrubbing one of the pans. Marik glanced over. "Yeah?" Bakura bit his lip, feeling a bit nervous. Sure, he felt like he had some progress, but this felt like new ground to both of them. What was the new normal? Is it the old normal? It was hard to say. "You alright? I noticed you seemed a bit off at dinnertime. Something on your mind?" Marik looked up, surprised that Bakura had picked up on his mood at their meal.
Marik turned back to the dish he was drying, sighing slightly. "Yeah. While cooking dinner, I told Ishizu about… us." Bakura nodded his head, figuring that was what eating at his boyfriend. "Let me guess – she's not too thrilled?" Marik bit his lip, looking down as he nodded slightly. "She… She was so upset that she was ready to just walk out and leave. I begged her not to. I think the only reason she didn't was because today's Odion's birthday."
Bakura glanced over as he saw Marik's hands tremble for a moment. "I'm not sure why I'm surprised. I know she doesn't like you and you're not a fan of her either. But I didn't expect her to be so… angry? Disappointed? Disgusted?" Marik shook his head, as if trying to clear his head. "I don't know. We've grown apart and I'm trying to let her be a part of my life again. But that's hard to do when she doesn't approve of half the things I do. Sure, the crime thing I get, but she was appalled when I told her I was gay for crying out loud! I just don't know what to do at this point."
Bakura snorted for a moment, glancing over. "She didn't realize you were gay? Seriously?" Bakura hadn't meant to focus on that part, but couldn't help it. Besides – he wanted to cheer Marik up a bit. He succeeded, bringing out a small giggle from Marik. "Yeah. I have no idea how she missed that one. I was hardly in the closet to begin with." Bakura chuckled, leaning back as water splashed up as he rinsed the ladle. Marik gave a huff of annoyance as water splashed up on his favorite lavender top.
Bakura finished up the dishes, grabbing a rag to dry his hands before handing it to Marik. He watched as Marik took the dishtowel almost mindlessly, his eyes unfocused. Bakura finally sighed. "Don't worry too much." Marik looked up, startled from his thoughts. "What?" Bakura rolled his eyes. Marik always zoned out on him. "Don't worry. Ishizu'll come around. She might not like me, but she's your sister. And as your sibling, it's her job to worry about you to the point of annoying you."
Marik snorted as if in agreement. "I guess so. I just worry about her hating me." Bakura started laughing, Marik's head jerking up in both surprise and annoyance. "Trust me – she doesn't hate you. She loves you too damn much for her own good, I swear." Marik rolled his eyes, tossing the dishtowel on the counter. "If you played nice, then she wouldn't have to show her love in this way, you dork." Bakura chuckled, shrugging but not denying Marik's statement.
Marik shook his head in exasperation at Bakura, the albino now smirking. Marik finally sighed as he leaned forward to rest his head on Bakura's shoulder. Bakura just raised an eyebrow, but didn't argue, raising a hand to run his fingers through Marik's hair. There was a moment of quiet between the two before Bakura felt arms wrap around his waist. He could feel Marik start to say something but then quickly burying his face back into the albino's shoulder. Bakura waited a moment before wrapping his arms about Marik.
Bakura had quickly figured out when it came to hugging and other forms of contact involving Marik's back, it was best to let Marik initiate it. Sure, Marik was growing more comfortable with people touching his back, but Bakura found when he let Marik make the first move, he seemed less prone to panic or fear. As much as Bakura wanted to come up and hug Marik whenever he wanted to, it was better to let Marik set the pace. Bakura was careful to keep his hands away from skin, knowing that Marik wasn't quite ready.
Bakura closed his eyes and sighed, idly rubbing his thumb back and forth on Marik's shoulder blade. Despite all the insanity and craziness in life, it was these brief moments where everything else didn't matter and Bakura could just revel in the warmth and companionship of his partner. Bakura gave a small smile when he heard Marik sigh next to him, giving a light hum. "Thank you, Kura." He heard Marik state softly. Bakura glanced away, his face growing slightly red. "Yeah, whatever."
Marik chuckled as he pulled away, bopping Bakura on the nose. "You're cute when you're embarrassed." Bakura gave a rather indignant look, which only caused Marik to snigger at his boyfriend's expression. Bakura rolled his eyes, glancing down the hallway as he caught a glimpse of something moving. Did Odion forget something? Bakura didn't have time to think about it as Marik pulled on his hand. "Come on. Let's go see Odion and Ishizu. They're probably wondering where we are."
Bakura smirked, resisting the urge to tease Marik with what his siblings probably thought they were doing. He would have more time to torment his boyfriend later. He walked followed Marik and joined the Ishtar siblings, Odion pulling out a deck of cards so that they could play. Bakura chuckled, realizing how oddly normal this was becoming in his life. From casual chatter about to life to suppertime to games – Bakura had integrated himself into the Ishtar family.
Before Bakura was even aware, two hours had passed playing cards and Ishizu was packing up. She gave Odion a hug goodbye and she reached to hold Marik's hand in goodbye. Bakura hadn't realized it until recently, but Marik quite literally didn't let anyone touch his back, not even to hug his siblings. Which was why Bakura was shocked when Marik took a step and gave his sister a quick hug. Ishizu and Odion both looked shock, Ishizu not having time to return the hug as Marik quickly let go.
Ishizu quickly composed herself, though, smiling at her brothers. "Goodnight you two. Take care now and I hope you enjoyed your birthday Odion. We'll have to hang out together soon." Marik smiled and agreed as Odion nodded his head. "It'll have to be sooner than the next birthday though. April is too far away for that." Ishizu chuckled at Odion's comment, as if agreeing. Bakura stood off to the side watching, knowing Ishizu would sooner sell herself to the devil than even hug the thief.
Bakura watched as Ishizu left, keeping his face coolly distant and uninterested. He glanced over in her direction when he blinked in surprise. Ishizu was… smiling at him? What? Ah, shit. She poisoned my food, didn't she? Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck. Before Bakura could confront Ishizu, the woman cut him off. "Um… good night Bakura. I'll see you around, I suppose." Bakura studied her, as if trying to figure out what was going on. She didn't sound condescending or suspicious, but instead rather… sincere.
Bakura just looked on dumbstruck before realizing he was gaping at Ishizu. "Uh, right. See ya." Bakura walked away, not comfortable with long goodbyes. He plopped down on the couch and opened his laptop, hearing the Ishtar siblings talking in the hallway. What was that about? Ishizu was hostile and angry at him all day and then suddenly… civil? What was going on? What brought about this change? He knew she was pissed about him and Marik dating. Bakura remembered seeing something moving outside of the kitchen after he and Marik hugged. Was that…
"Hey, Bakura, are you still working?" Bakura glanced up at Marik, who walked into the living room. Bakura bobbed his head back and forth noncommittally. "Sorta. Just finishing up a side project. Any plans in mind?" Marik shrugged, looking around. "Not really. Odion's heading to bed since he has work early tomorrow. I'm on break still so no class for me. Wanna watch a movie?" Bakura raised an eyebrow, a smirk growing on his face. A few weeks ago, watching a movie meant just that – watching a movie. Now that they were dating, it eventually morphed into make out time.
Bakura had no issue with that.
"Yeah, sure. Let me just finish up a few things. You can pick tonight." Marik smiled as he walked over to the growing movie collection in the apartment. Bakura had brought some of his own DVDs over to help with the growing compilation of movies. "What's Mean Girls and why do you own it?" Bakura cackled as he closed a few more tabs on his internet browser. He forgot that Ryou threw that in the bag of movies he brought over. "It's a movie classic in every sense of the word. Curious?"
Marik just shrugged as he popped in the DVD. "I suppose. To be honest, I don't trust your suggestions in movies anymore, but how much worse can it get?"
"Why on earth wouldn't you trust me? I thought you liked the movies I showed you."
"You made me watch what your idea of a romance movie was!"
"What's so wrong about that?"
"The movie was frigging Cannibal Holocaust! How the frig is that a frigging romance movie?"
"It is a romance movie. It's about people's love of killing other people."
"I'm starting to see how you've been single all these years now."
Bakura flipped the bird in Marik's direction, hearing his boyfriend snigger in response. Marik left the room only to return with some pillow and blankets for the couch. He watched as Marik prepared their "nest" for the next hour and half of the film, rolling his eyes. Today wasn't particularly productive, but Bakura didn't mind. They would just have to catch up on work tomorrow. Tonight they could relax and have fun. As Bakura wrapped up on his computer, he quickly bookmarked a security job opening at Kaiba Corp before joining Marik for their movie.