OOOOOOOOH!! SHIT!! Ok so, I like had a heart attack today. I was getting ready to update and then I opened the file that had this story on it and I noticed it was only 153 pages and I was like "What?" and then I went to the end of the file and it definitely wasn't the end of the story!! And I was like "FUCK! SHIT! FUCK! SHIT! FUCK! SHIT!!" Then I realized it was an old version of this story. I had looked under the wrong folder. Silly stupid me.

Yeah, so, on that spring break I was talking about, I totally finished the story. Yes, this story. (wrote 29 pages, man. It was sweet) It totally doesn't fit correctly into chapters and it's a little odd but it's done!! YAY!! (cheers for self) Finally. Now I can start another. (already has two going) WOOT!

I can't do work anymore, school work. I just don't care anymore.

In other news: I'm running out of neon orange glow-in-black-light nail polish. Damn.

Yeah and Malik is a beast in this chapter.

Mariku: A sex beast

What? Who said that? (looks wildly around)

-((12))-

Chyaputa 12: Tabloids

-((12))-

Yugi walked up to the school the next day to be greeted at the gate by three ravenous friends.

The unsuspecting teen, still slightly giddy after his and Atemu's moment on his roof the previous evening, walked unsuspectingly into the trap. "What's up guys?"

"What's up?" Honda repeated.

Jounouchi spluttered like a sprinkler, "What is UP, he says!?! As though you don't freaking know?!"

"Ah…" Yugi stopped dead in his tracks. He had just noticed a tabloid magazine in Anzu's girlie hands.

'Oh shit,' Yugi moaned.

"What have you, ah, got there, guys?" Yugi gulped, voice trembling.

Jounouchi snatched the magazine from Anzu's hands. "This, you ask? This? THIS?" He was shaking the thing so much Yugi swore pages were going to go flying.

"Ok, he gets it Jounouchi," Anzu snapped rationally. She grabbed the magazine out of Jounouchi's hands and tossed it to the stunned Yugi. "I think there is something in there that you should read. Page 26," she instructed.

Yugi accepted the magazine with apprehension constricting his throat as he fumbled for a hold on the slippery pages.

It was far worse than he could've imagined.

There was a picture. It was blurry and dark but there was no mistaking the two figures or their matching multicolored spiky hair, sprinting for their very lives around a corner.

"It seems the rumors stating that Descendants of Ra's Atemu had started dating again are all too true. But, in an unseen twist, it is not his old girlfriend, Vivian Wong, as many expected. No, it seems that Atemu, world renowned rock star, idol to us all, has decided to try batting for the other team."

"Oh… holy…" Yugi stammered. His stomach had dropped, his heart stalled.

"Read on," Honda stated, "It gets better."

"In fact, while this reporter was browsing at a local clothing shop in downtown Domino, Atemu and his new lover-"

'Lover!' Yugi cried silently to himself, cheeks radiating heat.

"-entered the store. After finishing their business, this reporter followed the two…"

'Followed!' Yugi exclaimed. 'More like hunted us down! And we were definitely driven forcefully out of that store!'

"Yugi," Jounouchi's testy voice spoke.

Yugi looked up to meet three pairs of wild eyes.

'I'm so dead,' Yugi thought helplessly.

He shrunk under their fury. "Yes?" But if he didn't breathe they would guess…

"Do you know what this means?" Honda questioned ruthlessly.

"I- well, I- I-" Yugi stammered.

"It means," Anzu began with rabid excitement. "That Atemu is dating someone right here in Domino!" the girl shrieked. "And he goes shopping!"

"Ah…" Yugi was stunned, mind blank.

"And that he's flamboyantly gay," Jounouchi squealed excitedly.

"Or at least party so," Anzu countered fiercely, defensive hostility echoing in her expression.

"I wonder who he could be dating," Honda pondered

"You know, it could be someone in our school!" Jounouchi added with buiding hysteria.

"Or even our class!" Anzu yelled.

Yugi bit his lip nervously. "You know, this is a tabloid, it could all be made up," he tried feebly.

"Hello! Have you seen the picture?" Jounouchi cried, shoving the magazine in Yugi's face. "No way! This is totally real!"

'Oh well, at least my friends are idiots,' Yugi thought with a sigh.

"Hey, Ryou!" Honda cried out over Yugi's head before leaping out of their conversation to greet the white haired teenager at the gate of the school.

Yugi turned as well. After seeing Ryou in that alley with Bakura he had tried calling his friend several times but he had never gotten an answer. Now that he saw Ryou in person Yugi thought he could understand why.

Ryou looked so… depressed. Even more than he had before last night. Yugi left Jounouchi and Anzu and rushed to join Ryou.

Honda was already deep in the explanation of the article in Anzu's tabloid.

"Atemu could be dating someone in Domino! Can you believe it!" Honda chattered.

Ryou looked meaningfully at Yugi as he drew close.

Yugi met his eye. "That's sure amazing, Honda. It could even be someone in our class. Who knows," he agreed, playing along.

Ryou shrugged. "Fascinating," he stated in a dull tone.

When they had all finally made it to homeroom Yugi caught Ryou before the teacher entered. "You ok?" Yugi inquired. "You don't look well."

Ryou shook his head as though to wake himself up. "I'm not. I'm…" Ryou rubbed his eyes.

"Things not go well with…" Yugi didn't want to say the name in case someone was listening.

Ryou let out an annoyed groan. "Things never go right with him."

Yugi was disappointed. From what he had seen, he had hoped Ryou and Bakura had worked things out. "But when I saw you two…"

Ryou looked so intensely away Yugi's skin singed with cold. "That didn't mean anything. He's just trying to… force it on me."

"Sorry," said Yugi and he meant it.

Ryou shook his head and made his way to his usual seat.

"Hey, Ryou," Honda called, looking unbelievably cheerful next to Ryou's dejected, slouched state. "You free on Saturday? I know you got your job and all but there's this movie we all wanted to see…"

"I can't, Honda. Thanks for the offer," Ryou dismissed immediately.

((12))

"Atemu!" Ishizu screamed. "Get your ass in here right now!"

The band members flinched at the sound of their manager's threatening tone. They had all heard that merciless attitude before something bad happened.

Mariku flipped a drumstick in his hand as he maliciously twisted his head back to fire a suspicious glower at the singer. "What did you do? I thought you were always the good one, Atemu?"

"Oo, looks like you were caught," Bakura growled viciously.

"At least I got something out of it," Atemu countered cruelly. Bakura's moody scowl followed him as he left the safety of the living room to go to the office.

Ishizu was seated behind her desk when Atemu entered her paper cluttered office; the woman's whole being was livid.

"You were seen," she snapped.

"I should hope so," said Atemu.

His manager gave him a nasty look. "Not in a good way," Ishizu corrected. She pulled out a magazine and ripped viciously to the correct page. "Page 26: 'It seems the rumors stating that Descendants of Ra's Atemu had started dating again are all too true…'" She read the whole article out loud with venom.

Atemu was utterly speech throughout Ishizu's reading of the article.

Ishizu closed the tabloid with controlled coolness. "Atemu. Is there truth to any of this?"

Atemu sighed, hands resting in his pockets. "Yeah."

Ishizu's eyes flashed. "All of it?"

"Every single word," Atemu admitted. "Although that part about us having secret meetings in a pottery barn are a little sketchy."

Her eyebrow twitched. "I see." She stood up so she could tower over him. "Atemu, I thought I had made the rules clear on the subject of dating."

"You have," Atemu agreed mildly.

She glared at him. "Then you will understand why I am forbidding you to see him."

"You can forbid me all you want," Atemu stated coolly.

Ishizu smoldered indignantly. "Atemu, you cannot afford to be distracted right now. You are at the height of your career. Do you have any idea how easy it would be for the press to push you back down again! This- other of yours isn't even a… You can't afford this kind of publicity!"

"This kind of publicity?" Atemu repeated skeptically. "And... what kind of publicity is that, exactly? That I'm bi? Is that the kind you're talking about?"

Ishizu was not happy; lines formed in odd places around her face. "Think of your band members. How well off would they be if you spoiled everything for them?"

The end of Atemu's lips curled, unperturbed by his manager's threat. "You mean, how well off would my agents, endorsers and investors be if I spiraled downward in the public's opinion, right?"

She seethed and planted her hands firmly on the surface of her desk. "This is not a game, Atemu. Your relations with this- this boy could ruin everything we've worked for!"

Coolly, Atemu raised an eyebrow in a smugly disbelieving expression. "We? No, Ishizu-san. There is only me and my band members. This is our career. You are our manager. You work for us. I don't care if your Malik's brother or not, I'll fire you if you dare to interfere with my personal business."

Ishizu was speechless and stunned. Her face drained of all pleasant color. Atemu felt his position growing.

"Believe me, Ishizu-san, I understand your situation perfectly. For your own purposes you don't wish for us to go down. I don't particularly wish that outcome either," Atemu stated delicately. "Saying that, I've decided to run my career on a new platform."

Ishizu's eyebrows rose doubtfully. Her senses were returning; the woman had endurance, that was the only way to survive the vicious environment of show business. "Well, it seems as though I have lost most of my power already. Very well then, what platform do you wish to run on?"

Atemu smirked with intelligence. "Be myself. Simple."

Then he turned to leave the office and just as he was about to turn the door handle his manager spoke again.

"You care for your- boy that much?" she questioned.

Atemu opened the door and glanced smoothly over his shoulder. "I care for him more than anything else in this materialistic world."

The woman shook her great beautiful head. "Then I suppose I'll have no choice but to follow you."

Atemu let out a laugh. "I was never going to fire you Ishizu. You're too good at your job. After all, I care for my band mates and you are very precious to one I still owe my loyalty to."

Ishizu shrugged in surrender, turning away to face her endless documents and papers. "Do as you wish."

Atemu stepped out of the office and closed the door after him, only to discover Malik standing next to the doorframe.

For the first time that day Atemu felt sick with nerves.

Malik looked at him slyly. "I don't even speak to her like that."

Atemu shrugged. Anxiety bubbled. All the horrible things he had ever done to Malik soared up into his mind. "You heard everything?"

"Yep," Malik answered simply.

Atemu bit his lip, something he had seen Yugi do too often.

Malik's expression cooled. "What?"

"You ok… with this?" Atemu asked.

Malik tilted his head. "Why wouldn't I be?" Atemu opened his mouth and Malik laughed. "Come, come, Atemu," Malik teased as he pulled himself off the wall. "Not everyone is in love with you forever, you know."

"Yeah…" Now Atemu felt embarrassed, a feeling he always tried to avoid.

"That reaction is correct. It's good for your soul, you know," Malik pointed out.

Atemu was confused. "What reaction?"

Malik's gorgeous eyes sparked. "Guilt."

"Ah," Atemu understood and Malik laughed again.

"Don't get me wrong, I think it's cute that you stood up for your lover like that," said Malik and he ruffled Atemu's spiky hair, as though the singer were a little kid. Atemu grudgingly let him. Then Malik chuckled and turned down the hall again. "I hope everything goes well with you two."

And Atemu knew that Malik meant what he said.

((12))

Yugi was depressed. It was his birthday and there was a party in his house with cake, balloons, silly birthday hats and he was depressed.

He was depressed because Atemu couldn't come and see him because the band had some silly engagement in America, again. The rock star had called him that morning, wishing him happiness and blowing him kisses, though nothing could replace Atemu's physical, soothing warmth and actual kisses. He had even said, "I got the best present for you. Just you wait." But Yugi didn't care about presents. He wanted Atemu! So Yugi sulked.

"Come on now," Jounouchi prompted as he smacked Yugi manly on the back a few times. "You look like your having as much fun as Ryou."

"Ha, ha," Ryou, who sat next to Yugi on the couch, grumbled.

"You want something to drink, Ryou?" Honda offered. "Come on, Ryou. You haven't eaten anything."

"I'm fine Honda. I eat enough at work," Ryou reasoned pathetically.

Yugi sighed loudly.

Jounouchi shook his head. "Look, we know you wanted to spend the day with your boy-toy Yami but you got us! So appreciate the friends you've got, ok!"

And now Yugi felt guilty. "You're right, Jounouchi. I'm sorry." Yugi finally stood up from the couch and got some really strange cake that his mom had concocted with mysterious, graying icing.

Then someone turned on a radio.

"Jounouchi! We're in the middle of Yugi's birthday party!" Anzu screeched.

"Yeah! And Descendants of Ra are making a huge announcement today! Yugi likes them, remember?" The blonde looked at the birthday boy. "You don't mind, do ya Yugi?"

Yugi shrugged. "Sure, it's fine."

Maybe hearing Atemu's voice would make him feel better.

Jounouchi turned the volume up and the party goers, who were mostly comprised of Descendants of Ra fans, settled around the machine.

Then Atemu's beautiful voice came on the air. It was an interview going on in America, the news casters were translating the voices into Japanese as the radio interviewer and Atemu spoke together in English.

'Is there anything Atemu can't do?' Yugi wondered.

"So, I hear you've started dating again?"

"Ah…" Atemu's voice stumbled. "Yes, that's true."

Member's of Yugi's party "oooooo"ed and squeaked.

"Are what the tabloids saying true? Are you really, if you don't mind this station asking, gay?"

Jounouchi and several others squealed and huddled closer to the machine. Yugi cringed for impact.

"Well, there's a complicated answer to that. To tell you the truth, I don't like to define myself by such absolute terms."

"But you are currently seeing a guy, are you not?"

"That, I cannot deny."

"See! See! I told you!" Jounouchi cried at Anzu. The rest of the audience shouted at Jounouchi to be quiet.

"Well, you are very brave, Atemu. Not many would admit that live on the air," the interviewer commented, impressed.

"I'd like to believe that I am honest."

'And blunt,' Yugi added whimsily.

"So can you tell us the name of your sweetheart?"

"Sorry, but that, will stay just between me and him."

"Damn!" several of the party goers cursed. Yugi breathed.

"So, Atemu, why did you choose to make this particular announcement today of all days?"

"For a number of reasons but mostly because it just happens to be a very special day for us."

"Ah, an anniversary, perhaps?"

Atemu chuckled. "Perhaps." Yugi felt the warmth from his breath.

"So what is this special announcement?"

The audience in Yugi's living room hushed into a deathly silence. Ryou gave Yugi a significant questioning look. Yugi shrugged, saying that he had no idea what this was about.

"Well, I wrote a new song," Atemu admitted.

The audience in Yugi's living room burst into gasps.

"Really? Is it for your lover?"

"You could… say that."

"Oh god…" Yugi moaned. Atemu wrote him a song… Atemu wrote him a song!

"Can we hear this song?"

"Of course. In fact my whole band is here in the studio, ready to play it live."

"Excellent! Well, this is very exciting!"

"Oh god…" Yugi moaned again. This was not happening. Atemu did not… Atemu couldn't have!

Ryou put a hand on Yugi's shoulder. "Keep it down," he warned.

Then the song played.

The tune made Yugi's heart squeeze and his lungs expand with the beat of the drums. The piano keys played on Yugi's rib cage. The guitar strummed at his throat.

Atemu's voice was impossible to describe. But as Yugi listened he swore he heard those lips and whips of hot breath pull at his ear in tantalizing notes.

"Your voice sings out from the phone

To save me from my alone.

If I only get your call

Nothing else matters at all

For one simple conversation

For a means of communication…"

"Yugi? Yugi? What's wrong?" Jounouchi cried as he had saw Yugi folded against Ryou's chest and little droplets of sweet tears shinning on his cheeks.

It was the most beautiful thing Yugi had ever heard.

((12))

Malik tapped the end of his pen on the side of his head in thought, not noticing the clips of ink that were left on his scalp. His insane cousin grabbed the back of Malik's chair to lean over his shoulder. "What cha doing?" Mariku questioned.

Malik covered the piles of paper with his arms and glared up at his best friend. "Go away, I'm working."

"Working on… what?" Mariku urged, tilting his head to the side to try to make out the heading on one page.

"Nothing," Malik insisted, shuffling all the papers into a pile so he could carry them. But as he attempted to vacate to another room, Mariku, not-casually, smacked the papers out of Malik's hands. They fell and scattered into a disordered mess onto the floor.

"Mariku!" Malik cried furiously, falling to the ground but he failed to block Mariku from snatching one up.

Mariku's eyes widened as he straightened up with his chosen paper. "Ooo, a fan letter? Answering your mail?" The older Egyptian with much bigger hair cleared his throat. "Oh Malik, you're so dreamy. I just love the way your hair sweeps the air as you walk with that perfect tush," he began in a high-pitched girlie pitch. "Oh I just love to think about you when I'm in bed. I imagine your, uh, masculine physique instead of my nerdy boyfriend's, ahem, composition. He can't hope to measure up to your-"

"Fuck off!" Malik screamed, seizing the letter from his tormentor's clutches. His face was bright red. "It does not say that!" he spat, enraged beyond intelligent retorts.

Mariku was unperturbed. "That's what they're all thinking, one way or another," he growled, one casual hand insuring that his hair was properly defying gravity. Malik shuffled to his desk and placed the letters upon it, trying to organize the untidiness of mail into some kind of logical stack. "Why do you even bother? They're all superficial, no-life idiots."

"Every once in a while, it's nice to be reminded that someone actually cares about you," Malik snapped venomously. The remark left both members of the room feeling uncomfortable. Mariku knew better than to challenge the other on this particular subject.

Eventually, Malik got control over his desk again but once he did, he found he no longer had the will to continue the endless redundant responses to his fanatics.

Mariku picked his teeth. "Atemu's disappeared again. Off to visit his damsel. Bakura's pissed and Ishizu nee-chan is on the warpath."

"Good to know," Malik muttered without turning around.

Mariku walked over and planted an arm on the desk, perching on a good vantage point to examine Malik's emotions. "Yo."

Malik glared at him. "What?"

"You still all ga-ga over that creep?" Mariku demanded.

"Atemu? No way, I'm over that," said Malik.

"Thank god," Mariku announced, leaving the desk. "Cause then, you know, I'd actually have to console you."

"And you wouldn't want to do that," Malik commented dryly.

Mariku smirked at himself in a nearby mirror. "Exactly."

"Actually," Malik began again, rotating in his office chair to face the door, "I have someone else I like."

Mariku unconsciously ran a hand up his lethal hair spikes again as he turned to his childhood friend, "Yeah?" he questioned eagerly. His stomach gurgled as he strutted into Malik's field of view, lounging majestically on the wall. "And who's that?"

"I was thinking of Bakura," Malik admitted mildly.

"B-Bakura!" Mariku spluttered. His rage soared up into his mouth. "That fuck ass! That conceded bitch! Are you demented?"

Malik shrugged. "He's not so bad. And he is pretty hot."

"If you like albinos and sadists!" Mariku raged, pacing around Malik's chair.

Malik frowned, turning back to his fan letters. "If anyone's a sadist, you are. What's your problem?"

"I don't fucking have a problem!" Mariku cried furiously.

"Then why are you angry at me?"

"I'm not FUCKING angry!" Malik shouted.

Malik rolled his eyes. "Fine."

"Why can't you pick someone logical to crush on?" Mariku growled ravenously.

"And who would you suggest?" Malik asked sardonically. "Atemu and Bakura are the only two guys I see on a regular basis."

Mariku fumed. He ripped Malik's chair around, forcing the other Egyptian to look at him. "I think you're forgetting another, very significant male in your life."

Malik thought about this. "You're right. My trainer's a guy but he's so old he doesn't count. And my nutritionist has got that wacky skin problem and hair that comes out his ears. Ew."

Mariku roared in frustration, hands gripping the armrests in an attempt to control his anger. "I think you're forgetting someone a little more obvious."

"Who?" Malik asked doubtfully. Mariku glared at him. "You?"

"Duh!" Mariku cried, releasing the chair and straightening to his regular height.

Malik looked at him. "You do remember that we're, ah, related?"

"Distantly!" Mariku reminded the other. "Like third cousins twice removed!"

"Like second cousins once removed," Malik insisted.

Mariku ignored this. "Same difference."

"Do you even know the meaning of the word related?" Malik accused.

"Like that's ever stopped you from falling for someone before," Mariku scoffed.

Malik was appalled. "Yeah, it has!"

Mariku glowered. "Since when?"

"Since forever!" Malik shouted.

"So you can fall for guys who are completely wrong for you but you won't even consider me? Someone who's been there for you, time after time…" Mariku argued.

"Yeah, right," Malik answered skeptically. "When was that, huh?"

"Every single moment of your ungrateful life!" Mariku pounced on a memory, "Remember that rattlesnake when you were five, I saved you from that!"

"You were the one who caught it and brought it to me!" Malik cried.

"I punched Atemu after he rejected you, fucking asswipe!"

Malik gaped, face stung with pink. "You hit Atemu?"

"Yeah, I did," Mariku admitted stiffly.

"You had no right to do that!" Malik accused.

Mariku hit himself in the forehead. "That's- not the point! Look. If you were a girl and I was a guy and we had children, they would be perfectly fine! No defects at all."

"Why am I the girl?" Malik asked, hurt and insulted.

"Cause you act like one, bitch! And this is my analogy!" Mariku snarled.

Malik's face flamed bright red. "If I was a girl, I would never have your children."

"You fucking idiot, we're NOT even talking about that!" Mariku screamed.

"How come you get to decide what we're talking about!?" Malik yelled.

Mariku roared, "FINE! Let's not talk AT ALL!"

"FINE!" Malik agreed, just as loudly.

There was a pause; both Egyptians had time to breathe though only one did.

Mariku jumped across the space between them and grabbed Malik's arms.

"What're you-" Malik snapped but was cut off by an insistent mouth and an adventurous tongue.

The room buzzed, preoccupying itself in its silence as the two figures slathered each other in hungry kisses and bites. Malik tried to back away but the other yanked Malik's arms around Mariku's back, clamping the two bodies together. Malik leaned backwards but it was no use. Mariku's teeth caught on Malik's lips as he tried to voice protest but neither of them heard it.

After a few moments, Malik relaxed. And then moaned.

"Don't get too excited yet," Mariku shushed with a chuckle as two sets of teeth clashed. Malik's arms held themselves around Mariku's body now so that the older Egyptian's hands were allowed to roam…

Malik squeaked between breaths, "No- don't- ah-" Mariku drowned the rest of the words with his tongue. His hands groped Malik's ass, pressing their hips together.

Malik broke from the kiss to moan. "Mari-" he gasped.

The two were top heavy. More significant actions called for the floor. The two stumbled, Malik going backwards.

The back of Malik's heel hit the corner of a shelf and the two toppled over, right through the doorway, landed with a thud in the living room.

Perfectly timed to see Bakura, who was about to sneak out the front door.

The three band members exchanged glances.

"What are you two doing?" Bakura accused, pale eyebrows raised.

"Just, you know," Mariku examined his and Malik's intertwined position, "Fooling around," he concluded.

Bakura's expression revealed nothing. "Yeah…ah, aren't you two related?"

Malik hastily scrambled away from the other Egyptian; his veil of platinum blonde hair did a poor job of concealing his glowing face from view.

Mariku just grinned like a sociopath. "Yep."

"What are you doing?" Malik demanded Bakura, trying to redirect the conversation.

"Going out to look for Atemu," Bakura said without shame.

"How are you going to find him?" Malik asked.

Bakura held up Atemu's cell phone with a smirk. "Nicked it last night. I traced his girlfriend's number," he explained.

Mariku and Malik looked at each other and then back at Bakura.

"Can we come?" Mariku asked.

((-12-))

See!!! I told you!! Malik is a BEAST!!! A FREAKING BEAST!!!

Mariku: (coughs)sexbeast(cough)

Malik is just awesome over all. Man. I love that guy. He's got Atemu all nervous and guilty. That is so hot. Mariku and Malik are pretty hot on their own too. I had soooo much fun writing their scene together. Teehee, I'm surprised Mariku knows what an analogy is. Heehee.

To be truthful, I was switching back and forth between Malik and Mariku being twins and unrelated friends. I swear, like three times I had to go through the entire text and change their relations. It was awful. So I compromised and made them second cousins once removed. I don't like incest but I am personally ok with this. Hopefully everyone else it too. (hopes)

Atemu is so fucking marvelous in this chapter too! He was all like "Take that in your tea and chew it, BI-ACH!!" It was sweet. Yeah, and I'm not even going to pretend that I can write song lyrics, cause I can't and I'm ok with that, really.

I do love Ryou. I do. I swear I don't torture him on purpose. That comment "You look like your having as much fun as Ryou" was pretty hilarious. I'm still laughing.

Haha. Yugi's friends are idiots.

NEXT CHAPTER!!!!!!! Call out the police, national guard, fanatics everywhere! The manhunt for Atemu has begun! SHIT! Letting rock stars out of the house is not a good idea.

REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!! My sweet, sweet readers!! REVIEW!!!