(A/N:) ...*dies*

I'm sorry this took a while. For some reason...Yeah, I don't even remember why this was taking me so long. ;_; When I sat down to continue writing this chapter, I had to skim through what I've previously written for this to get back into the Smallest World mode. Hahah. -_-;

So...yeah. Enjoy. This plot is going so slow, even I'm getting impatient.

Warnings: Foul language. Oh, and sexual themes—GEMINISHIPPING, YA MAN. I decided to just bump this fic rating up to M already in case…

"Can you hand me the round brush?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah," I pause what I'm sketching and lean over to grab the brush and hand it to Marik.

"Thanks," he mutters, his eyes never leaving the canvas.

"Mm-hmm," I say, going back to my sketch.

About two weeks have gone by, and we're working on our new projects already. To Marik's content, the project involves actual art-making unlike the last project.

We're towards the back of the classroom, where it's a little quieter. The rest of the class remains towards the front, working on their projects as well. Soft chatter fills the room, and a radio is turned on to a popular music station at low volume.

The back of Marik's canvas is facing me, because he refuses to let me see his "genius work-in-the-making." I had rolled my eyes at the thought, simply because of the way he had said it.

"Alright, I'm done," Marik sighs and takes off his glasses, rubbing his eyes. He puts his brushes down as well.

"Liar," I look over at him. "No way you only finished in two days."

He looks back at me with a grin that clearly says he had been caught. "Okay, okay, I admit—I have some details to add if I want at least a B, but it's done to me. Besides, I worked on some of it at home."

"Wait, why not go for an A?" I raise an eyebrow.

"I'm lazy," he says bluntly.

I roll my eyes. "Underachiever."

"Overachiever."

"You haven't even seen mine!" I argue.

He grins mischievously. "Oh, but I'm sure it has, 'special attention to detail and shading, and the mood of it simply—'"

"Shush!" I kick his leg, but I'm smiling anyway.

"Ow, that hurt, I'm sure I'm internally bleeding now," he says sarcastically.

"If I show you my sketch, will you shut up?"

"Maybe."

I turn my sketchpad to him, and he begins to study it.

"Wow, that's nice. Where is this?" he glances up at me.

"My front porch, back at home. I had to rely on my memory...," I shrug. It's a simple concept, but hey, it fits the project theme: A place that has meaning to you.

He nods. "It seems...peaceful. I like the dark shading."

"Thanks. Now let's see yours," I grin.

"Oh, sneaky, sneaky. Just because you showed me yours I have to show you mine now?" he raises an eyebrow.

"Yes." I say blatantly.

He rolls his eyes. "Fine, fine..." He picks up the canvas off the easel, and rests it on his knee. My mouth nearly drops as I study the painting.

The main focus seems to be the cave, which is large and rocky. The floor of the cave contains smooth rocks and saltwater, and the cave is open to the ocean. A sandy beach and a cliff are shown in the background, and a lighthouse rests on the cliff. I notice that it isn't daytime in the painting, and it's a little after sunset.

"Wow...It's really pretty," my eyes widen.

"Thanks," he says.

"Where is this?" I ask, my eyes never leaving the painting.

"I don't remember where specifically, actually. But I just know it as a beach my family and I would go to a lot when I was younger," he shrugs. He points at the cave, "Here—this is where I'd swim to whenever we went there. I'd just hide out there until the sun went down and my family would become frantic, looking for me." He seems to smile the slightest bit at the memory; from mischief or nostalgia, I can't tell.

A place that has meaning to you.

I pause, suddenly remembering Malik.

"I don't really live with my family..."

I'm suddenly curious again. I almost ask Marik, but then think that the question may be a little too personal. I also realize that neither of us have ever brought up Malik—which is strange, because looking at Marik, it doesn't seem like the feeling of hate is mutual...Then again, Malik didn't seem like the type to hate his brother, either...I shake the thoughts out of my mind, and decide to make this simpler.

"Oh, Marik, that...that reminds me," I say, looking up from the painting. "Your brother is Malik Ishtar, right?"

"Hm?" he blinks. "Uh...yeah. How did you...?"

"He's...a friend my mine, I guess you can say," I smile. Well, considering how much Malik tends to cling to me nowadays, it's not really a guess...Oh, Malik.

"Oh...Oh!" Marik looks like realization just completely dawned on him. "Why didn't I realize that? You two are in the same year..." He shakes his head, "Wow, I'm slow."

I laugh. "No, I guess it's just because I've never brought the fact up." I pause, remembering something else. "Err...Excuse me if this question is too personal, but...," I fidget in my seat.

"Yeah?" Marik urges me to continue. He puts his painting back on the easel before looking at me again.

"Well, it's just that, uh...Malik seems to...not like you very much...," I talk slowly, trying to choose my words carefully. "Do you...mind saying why? I mean, if you know, that is..." Marik stares at me for a few moments, and I tense under his gaze. I'm afraid that this will possibly be a repeat of the incident with Malik at the café.

Suddenly, Marik smiles and speaks, "Malik...Malik has always hated me, I guess you could say." He shrugs, as if it's no big deal. "I kinda have an idea why, but...I guess it's better to not jump to conclusions and make myself think I understand my little brother," he chuckles a little.

I nod, showing him I understand.

"So, has my idiot brother started to annoy you yet?" Malik asks. He takes a bite of the French fries we're sharing. We had stopped at McDonald's for a snack after our last classes, because Malik was hungry and I had no choice. My car is in the shop, and I have been getting rides from Malik lately.

I chuckle a bit weakly. "No. He's...actually pretty nice, Malik."

He scoffs and turns his head to the side, but I see him roll his eyes anyway. "Marik...Nice...Yeah, right...," he mutters.

"I'm serious, Malik," I lean forward in my seat a little. "He's...nice. I...I don't understand why you hate him...," I mumble a bit, hoping he doesn't hear the last sentence.

Malik's head snaps back to look at me, and I retreat a little. He obviously heard what I had said. His lavender eyes narrow. "Anyway...," he says, indicating he's about to change the subject. "I have nothing to do today—I have no homework or studying to do. Let's go to your apartment."

I raise an eyebrow. "Why can't we go to your house instea—?"

"C'mon, let's go," Malik throws away the remaining French fries and grabs his bag and keys. He's already heading out the door, and I sigh and follow a few feet after him. I have no choice, anyway; unless if I want to walk or take the bus home.

"'Kura, I'm home," I say as I open the door to the apartment. "Malik's here too."

"Shit, Ryo—" I see Bakura jump up from the couch and quickly dash to his room. He comes back out, pulling on his jeans over his boxers. "What'd I say about bringing people over?"

"I texted you," I say, looking at him skeptically.

Bakura pauses, then looks at his phone on the coffee table. He picks it up and flips it open to look at the screen. "...Oh."

I roll my eyes and just then realize that Malik has been hiding behind me the entire time. It isn't working out too well since he's a little taller than me. I look back at him and see an expression of apprehension on his face. At first I question it, but then realize Malik's still not over the whole flirting-with-my-cousin's-boyfriend thing. I also remember that Bakura's never met Malik face-to-face and I have no idea how he'll act towards him.

Well, this should be 'interesting.'

I decide to take the risk, and step aside. Malik immediately regains some of his composure by standing up straight. "Bakura, Malik. Malik, Bakura," I gesture.

"H-hi," Malik says. He's rigid.

"Hm," Bakura responds, his arms crossed and looking to the side. Malik seems to loosen up a bit, seeing that Bakura didn't appear to give him too much grief.

As if on cue, I hear the door open behind us and we all look. I already know it's Akefia, since he's the only other person that has a key to our apartment.

"Oh, hey Ryo," he says, as if he's surprised that I'm home. His gaze turns and he sees Malik. "Malik," he acknowledges him.

Malik seems to have a surprised expression because of the fact Akefia had remembered his name. He weakly nods, and I can tell he's trying the best he can to not make any moves that could potentially be interpreted as flirting. Akefia walks past us, and gives Bakura a pat on the head. Bakura doesn't seem to accept this greeting, and he immediately grabs Akefia by his shirt and pulls him into a kiss. The tanned one seems to be surprised. I avert my gaze, while I notice Malik does nothing. I nudge him a little, and he seems to be unaware of the fact that it's rude to stare. He simply shrugs at me, clueless.

Bakura finally pulls away from Akefia, eyeing him and licking his lips, satisfied. He glances over to us, seeming to glare at Malik. Akefia mumbles something to him, and Bakura simply looks back up at him and shrugs.

"So...ah...," I try to ease the awkward moment. "Malik, will you be staying for dinner?"

"Huh?" he turns to me. "Well, if it's not too much trouble..."

"Not at all," I say, smiling. I turn to Akefia, "I assume you'll be joining us as usual?"

"Yup," Akefia says, heading to the fridge and trying to find something to snack on. Bakura has headed back to his place on the couch already.

I nod and start to head to the kitchen. Malik follows close behind. "Want to help me get dinner ready?" I ask.

Malik cringes a bit. "I'm...not too sure if you want me even near a stove..."

I blink. "Why?"

"I'm terrible at cooking," he mumbles sullenly. "I've never been very good."

For some reason, this surprises me. "Then...who cooks all the meals at your house?"

"Marik," he mumbles and pouts, and crosses his arms. He looks a lot like a sulking child. Marik cooks? More surprises for me.

"Well...," I trail off as I start to look through the cabinets. "We'll make pasta. And...," I look in the fridge, "...Ah, here. We have some vegetables left, so you can help chop those up and we can add them as well."

"Ew," I hear Bakura loudly state in the other room.
I shoot him a glare. I glance back in the fridge and say, "Fine, I'll add some white chicken breast in it or something..."

Bakura makes no response, so I assume he's agreeing to it. I turn to Malik and assure him that he doesn't have to eat the meat.

There's an awkward atmosphere at the dinner table. I feel a sense of déjà vu when I recall the first night I had dinner with both Bakura and Akefia.

"So...how was everyone's Friday?" I say, trying to start up a conversation.

"Crappy," Bakura says bluntly.

"Okay," Akefia shrugs.

"Fine," Malik mutters.

I feel like hanging my head in defeat. Now I know how parents feel when asking their teenage children how their day was.

"So, um, Akefia...How come I never saw you at school today?" I ask. Now I feel like I'm a parent about to bust their kid for skipping school.

"I had some work to do on a separate campus," Akefia responds. "The one only a few blocks over."

"Oh, I see...," I nod. "I didn't know there was another campus that close."

"I think they built it just last year," he muses.

"Hey, Ryo," Bakura says.

I look at Bakura. "What?"

"Stop pretending this isn't awkward," he says explicitly.

I have no response for that. I go back to eating to fill in the blank.

"Well, someone appears to be in the best mood of their life...," Malik mumbles. I nearly choke at Malik suddenly speaking, and in that manner too.

Bakura drops his fork. "...What?"

"Oh, nothing," Malik says cheerily. He puts his fork down and his elbows rest on the table. His fingers intertwine as he folds his hands. He gives a small smile. "I just can't help but notice how big of a stick there is up your ass."

I hear Akefia unsuccessfully hold back a snort of laughter behind his hand as he eats. I hold back a chuckle behind my hand as discreetly as possible. Bakura stares at the blonde, expression unreadable. "...What the fuck did you just say to me?" he narrows his eyes.

Malik's amusement increases. "I don't know, you just seem like the type who has a flagpole up their ass or something," he shrugs, as if it were a matter-of-fact. Well, Bakura isn't exactly prim and proper, but he is kind of uptight with rules and how I do things sometimes...And he is kind of pissed half the time.

Malik continues, "You greeted me rather rudely, first of all. But considering the fact I hit on your boyfriend, I don't blame you," he shrugs again. Bakura seems to tense, and Akefia pretends to be ignorant of the situation. Malik continues, "But really—the entire time Ryo was cooking earlier, you kept complaining and telling him not to add certain things to it. When you came over to check on the cooking, you criticized it. When Ryo set the food on the table, I noticed your look of distaste," he pauses to lean forward. "...You're kind of an asshole." I then notice that Malik had dropped his 'normal' way of speech.

Bakura stares at him. There's pure silence in the room, and I myself am surprised. I'm surprised that Malik even had the guts to say those things to someone he had just met. I'm surprised Bakura hasn't leapt from his seat to kill Malik yet.

Bakura breathes in deeply, shutting his eyes. He seems to be counting to ten or something. He finally speaks, "...And what makes you think you can criticize me like that?"

Malik clearly seems to notice that Bakura is holding back. I'm wondering if Malik has a death wish. "Nothing much—I just hate seeing how badly you treat my friend."

"We're related. It's natural," he says through his teeth.

The blonde one shrugs. "I suppose, but even being someone myself who despises another relative, I don't even act like that towards them." I automatically know he's talking about Marik.

"I don't...despise Ryo," Bakura says, opening his eyes at this point. I already know Bakura doesn't hate me, but hearing him say it like that is kind of surprising.

"I still see no reason why you should treat him like you do," Malik says blatantly.

"...Ever think you could be the one with the stick up your ass, here?" Bakura glares.

"Maybe. Anything's possible." Just then, he grins widely.

A moment of stillness.

…He had been screwing with Bakura for fun the whole time.

Bakura pauses, seeming to realize this. "...Fuck you, faggot," he says brashly.

"Takes one to know one," Malik says quickly and purposely before going back to eating.

Bakura is about to get up and probably beat Malik to death, but Akefia holds him down and I stand up and say, "Who wants dessert?" before he does.

"Hey, Ryo, let's go bowling," Malik says cheerfully. He's reverted back to his normal way of speech, and he's also seemed to have gotten hyped up on the ice cream he had for dessert earlier. We're both washing the dishes while Akefia and Bakura lounge on the couch as usual.

"Sure; when?" I say, handing him a dish to rinse.

"Tonight!"

I stop scrubbing the dish in my hand. "They're...open this late?" I glance at the clock.

"Yeah, they're open past midnight on Fridays and Saturdays," he says excitedly. "Sososo? Wanna go?"

"Uh...," I say, looking at him skeptically.

"Please? I'll pay your fee, if you want!" he begs.

I sigh, "Alright, fine—"

"Yay!" he wraps his arms around me.

"Ack, Malik, hold on—"

"What?" Malik lets go and stares at me, alarmed.

"Look, latest you bring me back is midnight, okay?" I say.

"Yeah, okay," he nods, agreeing quickly.

We finish the dishes, and I grab my wallet and key to the apartment. "We're going bowling, you guys wanna come?" I say to Akefia and Bakura. Malik seems to become alarmed that I've invited them without asking him, but then realizes that I'm just trying to be polite.

"Nah, we're okay," Akefia answers for the both of them. Bakura pays no attention. "I gotta get up early for work tomorrow, anyway."

I nod in understanding. "Alright, I'll he home around midnight. Bye guys," I wave, as I open the door.

Malik slings his bag on his shoulder as he waves at the both of them. "Nice meeting you, Bakura," he winks.

Bakura says nothing in response as we leave.

"I hate that guy," I say blatantly, still staring at the television screen.

Akefia ruffles my hair. "He's just messing with you."

"No difference. Still hate him." It's almost stated automatically.

A soft chuckle emits from the tanned man next to me. He moves my hair away and kisses my temple. "He's funny. I like him."

I glare at him. "Like him too much and you can consider yourself single."

He kisses me briefly on the lips. "C'mon, 'Kura, you know I could never find anyone else like you," he gives a small smile.

"Enough with the corny crap," I roll my eyes. "You're stuck with me and you know it."

"Well," Akefia says, lacing his fingers in the strands of my hair, "at least I want to be."

I open my mouth, but then decide to not respond at all to that.

He smirks. "No comments? Has my charm made you speechless?" he jokes, kissing my hand.

I scoff. "No, I just decided to be nice and not tell you how much of an idiot you are," I say defensively.

Akefia chuckles, his warm breath coming in contact with the skin on my hand. "You know, you're acting a little odder than usual tonight."

"Well, that blonde brat didn't exactly put me in the best of moods," I grumble.

He chuckles again. "Lighten up, 'Kura," he nuzzles my neck.

I grunt, unimpressed. Apparently, Akefia takes this as a challenge.

He nips at my neck, and I still remain expressionless. I feel his hand trail underneath my shirt, and I falter a little.

"What are you doing?" I say a bit warningly.

"What's it look like?" I feel his lips curl into a smirk before he starts leaving marks on my neck. His tongue makes a trail of saliva up to my jaw line, and then he starts sucking and nipping there too. I falter once again, making a small noise of uncertainty.

"Didn't you say you have to get up early tomorrow?"

"I lied," he says. Before I can even react, he pins me down and attacks my mouth with his own. I grunt at the sudden action, but moan in the back of my throat when he starts a war with my tongue. I feel his hand move underneath my shirt to play with one of my nipples for a moment, then trail down to my abdomen, then the hem of my jeans—

"W-wait," I gasp out, pulling away from the kiss and putting my hand on his wrist, stopping him from unbuttoning my jeans. He looks at me, concern evident in his face.

"What?" he questions quietly.

"C...," I trail off, "...Can we go to my room?"

Akefia's expression becomes confused. We both know that we've had sex on the couch before.

I purse my lips. "I-I just don't want Ryo walking in out of nowhere or something," I say as an excuse.

Akefia nods and gets off of me, helping me up. I stare up at him for a moment, and he stares back at me, most likely waiting for me to take the first step.

I dash as fast as I can to my room.

Akefia blinks before realizing I had left. He follows quickly, but I shut the door and lock it with the chain lock I had installed a few days ago. Ryo questioned it, but I simply stated I wanted more privacy (even though he barely steps foot in my room, unless if it's to wake me up or get laundry).

"Bakura!" he says, sounding rather frustrated. He opens the door, but he's immediately stopped by the chain.

"Muahaha," I say triumphantly, in a teasing manner.

I hear Akefia scoff on the other side. "Very funny, now let me in." The chain is fairly short, so his hand wouldn't be able to fit through and unlatch the chain. He's able to see me, though.

Talk about an advantage.

I make a small smirk. I walk slowly towards the opening of the door that he's looking through. "Okay, I'll let you in...," I say lowly, "...On one condition." I place my hand on the lock.

"What is it?" he says suspiciously.

I smirk. I lean in close to the half of his face I can see, and whisper huskily, "You wanted to fuck me, right? That's what you want?"

I see half of his smirk. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

I lick my lips before whispering, "Tell me...Tell me how bad you want me." I notice Akefia becoming a little less excited for a moment, but then the eye I can see seems to perk up.

He regains his composure. "Alright," he says calmly.

"Wait," I say, and the half of his face I see becomes questioning. "...Tell me how bad you want me. And...Tell me what you would do...," I trail off, starting to lift up my shirt, "...What you would do...if you had me, right now...," I finish, taking my shirt off completely. My hand goes back to the lock. Both of us have a satisfied look on our faces, I'm sure.

From what I can see of him, he eyes me hungrily and licks his lips. "Oh, the things I'd do to that pretty little body of yours...," he says huskily.

"Mmm," I shift a little, "Tell me, Akefia..." My free hand comes up and I begin to trace the small dips and curves of my upper body. I slowly trace circles around my nipple. I let small moans escape my mouth for his amusement.

He chuckles lowly for a moment, enjoying the show. "I'd love to fuck that body of yours straight through the mattress...I suppose I'd do anything to do so, 'Kura..."

I give a small sigh, though my smirk is plastered on my face. My hand moves down to the hem of my jeans. "Mm-hmm...Tell me more...," I grin toothily.

"Well," he chuckles once again. "If I could, I'd run my hands over every inch of your body right now..." I see half of his grin. "After all, I know all your sweet spots...I know what makes you tick—what makes you moan—what makes you scream."

I moan at the thought, unbuttoning my jeans. My eyes are half-lidded, and I stare at Akefia through them. He stares back expectantly—for me to unlock the door or to start jacking off for him, I don't know. I decide to extend the fun for myself a little.

I move the chain halfway, and unzip my jeans at the same time. I see the chain get tugged on as Akefia tries to get through. I smirk at his dismay.

"Ah, ah, ah, not yet..." I lean into his face that is now fully visible. "Now, tell me—ah—would you give me satisfaction? Or would you be selfish and take it all in for yourself...?" I grind into my own hand, slowly, making sure he can see.

"Oh, of course I'd satisfy you as well, Bakura...," he says, smiling deviously. I see a small movement from him. "I'd...I'd l-listen to what you w-want—go faster if you t-tell me 'faster', go d-deeper if you say 'deeper'—"

I don't question his stuttering. "Then show me." I unlock the door completely and he takes the opportunity right away. He grabs me by both shoulders, and my hands fly to his waist as he pushes me all the way to the bed. His lips crash onto mine as we crash onto the bed itself, and he's immediately dominant. I moan, and grind upwards. He's already unzipped his own pants—the little bastard. I knew it.

I bring my arms up and wrap them around his neck, bringing him closer. He pulls back for a brief moment to pull off his shirt, making me whine at the loss. He immediately comes back down to ravage my neck with his mouth after tossing his shirt away. I groan, wanting him to take care of the 'problem' I had 'downstairs.'

"Nngh...Akefia...," I grind upwards again.

"Mm...? Y-yeah, I know, just wait...," he mumbles, making more marks on my neck and moving down to start making more on my chest.

"Nn...No, now, Akefia...," I protest.

He moves further down and licks below my naval. "Mm, fine," he says, nuzzling me through my boxers at this point.

"Ugh...," I feel myself thrust upward a little at this. "I fucking hate you...," I lie back and rest an arm on my forehead.

"For what?" Akefia says, fingers lingering on the hem of my boxers, looking up at me.

"For telling me all that shit and getting me hard as hell...," I mumble.

He simply chuckles and pulls down my boxers and pants with it. "All in good time, my dear 'Kura."

"Hmph," I grumble.

(A/N:) SWEET MOTHER OF CRAP THIS CHAPTER IS LONG.

…TO ME.

...So I'm sorry that Marik is pretty much completely OOC. But here's the thing: I'm still in the process of developing his character in this AU. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get some of it...eventually...Soon...Next chapter...I hope...;_;

OH YEAH, and Marik wears glasses in this AU. Lolololololol. Sexy, right. I'VE MADE HIM PARTLY BLIND, OH GAWD, THAT JUST ATTRACTS ALL THE LADIES AND FELLAS, HEEEYYY—No I'm kidding. With that last part.

Yeah, Bakura hates Malik more than he probably did before meeting him now. Lulzies. So no thiefshipping in this, sadly. Haha. Unless if something weird happens.

And to the geminishipping fans…you're welcome. I think. Yeah. I'm not used to writing that.

…Okay, I'm really hoping I'm able to get this going somewhere in the next chapter. I'm getting annoyed with myself. -_-;