What Marik had experienced with Bakura had certainly brought out a softer aspect of his personality. But in many ways, Marik was still the same argumentative, short-tempered brat that he had been when Bakura had first met him in this life. Yet somehow, that was alright with Bakura. Underneath it all, he could still clearly see Mahes- the soul that had always been there; the soul that Bakura had already seen flashes of even before he had shown Marik their memories. And Marik now knew who he had been, and knew what was between himself and Bakura.

And Bakura now understood much better why Marik was the way he was in this life. The first time their minds had truly met, Bakura had been able to see something inside of Marik- something in his past, his childhood, something about loneliness and isolation and loss. Marik had later opened his mind to Bakura and allowed Bakura to see that Marik had been imprisoned as a child, that his father had terribly abused him and his brother, and that both of his parents were now dead. But there was something else as well- and that something else was the worst thing that had ever happened to Marik, the thing that was the reason for all of this, the thing that had put Marik on the path he was on now. And this thing was hidden from Bakura. Marik had sealed it off in a deeper part of his mind, not allowing Bakura to get at it. Bakura wished he knew exactly what had happened to Marik. He wished nothing bad had happened to Marik at all. But still...

Still, truth be told, Bakura realized now that he didn't entirely mind the new, tougher personality aspects that Mahes had developed in his life as Marik. Bakura kind of enjoyed having someone to verbally spar with. In many ways, Mahes- Marik- had actually become more like himself. Their fights were passionate and always seemed to have a sexual undercurrent- even before Marik had found out who he was in the past, their arguments had been that way. But now that Marik remembered their past, they got to make up after their arguments.

Bakura discovered this added benefit shortly after all the tournament finalists had been assigned to their rooms. Bakura was in his own room, and he'd just finished eating a steak when there was a knock at his door. He opened the door and let Marik inside.

Marik talked about how imperative it was that they beat the Pharaoh, and he insisted that this time, they really did need to talk about their strategy. Bakura agreed, but of course, it just ended up in an argument over what strategy would be most effective. As they were fighting, Marik suddenly leaned in to kiss him, as if in apology that he'd let the discussion turn into an argument.

Soon enough, clothes were coming off and hands were wandering over bare skin. Marik reached down and played with Bakura until he was nearing the edge, and then rolled Bakura over onto his side. Bakura allowed this, so Marik cuddled up behind him in a spooning position.

Bakura soon felt teeth nipping gently at his neck, and slippery fingers sliding inside of him. Bakura tensed up automatically, but soon forced himself to relax, remembering from his past life how very good this could feel. When Marik deemed him ready, he coated his own erection with lubrication, and entered Bakura.

Once Marik was fully inside, he withdrew most of the way, then pushed back in very slowly, pressing against Bakura's prostate. Bakura made a soft sound of pleasure, and Marik reached around to grasp Bakura's arousal.

Marik pulled most of the way out again, and then pressed in slowly once more. His hand moved up Bakura's erection just as slowly, reaching the tip only at the moment of deepest penetration.

Bakura expected that Marik would begin thrusting normally, but Marik kept up the same agonizingly slow pace with both his thrusts and his stroking. Marik put his free hand on Bakura's hip, holding him in place so that he couldn't push back and speed things up. Marik made sure to keep his stroking in perfect time with his deliberate thrusts, and soon he made his thrusts more shallow, so that his fingers would be teasing the tip of Bakura's erection only at the instant when the hardest pressure was being exerted on that special spot inside of Bakura. Then he would move his hand back down Bakura's length as he withdrew from him, leaving Bakura aching for more. Marik did this again and again, and after several minutes of this treatment, Bakura finally cried out.

"Marik," called Bakura. "C-come on..."

"Last time we were together, you seemed to want to take your time," said Marik mischievously. "I'm just giving you what you want."

As Marik repeated the excruciatingly slow motion once again, Bakura moaned with abandon, his fingers clutching at the sheets, and Marik had to reign in his desire to speed up for his own pleasure. But Bakura's futile writhing was far too delicious, so he forced himself to continue the slow pace.

"Marik...I can't...can't take it..."

"You love it," Marik whispered, as his fingers found Bakura's sensitive ridge once more.

Against his will, Bakura moaned again, confirming Marik's assertion.

"Though, if you like, I could stop," offered Marik, just as he hit the spot inside of Bakura again.

"No...don't stop..." Bakura said breathlessly. He was clearly much too far gone to give Marik any of his usual attitude, and Marik liked that very much.

So Marik moved again, so tortuously slowly, and he felt Bakura's entire body shuddering against him.

"Oh...Marik," he said softly, a mixture of pleasure and need in his voice.

Marik was merciless, continuing the torment for several more minutes, loving the fact that Bakura was so desperate, and yet so obviously enjoying what was being done to him.

As Marik hit the spot yet again, his hand squeezing the head of Bakura's erection at the same instant, Bakura quivered uncontrollably in agonizing want.

"Ah- Mah-marik- you have to-"

"I will," Marik assured him, panting himself now as he licked Bakura's neck. "Just wait..."

Bakura gave a strangled cry of desire, an unspoken request.

Marik held on for as long as he could, but soon, Marik himself was finding it hard to wait. Bakura's soft cries and silent pleas were driving him out of his mind, and the feeling of Bakura around him was making him want to go deeper so very badly. So eventually, Marik very much needed his own orgasm, and couldn't stand it any longer himself.

He leaned in and nipped at Bakura's ear lobe.

"Would you like me to finish you off?" he breathed into Bakura's ear.

"Yes...oh, yes."

At that, Marik sped up immediately, pounding into Bakura, filling him entirely now, and stroking Bakura's need more quickly to match his faster thrusts.

"Marik...yes, I-"

Bakura came so hard that he thought he might faint. He could barely remember what had happened after that. The next thing he knew, Marik was gone.

Looking back on the event later, Bakura thought that Marik had certainly proved that he still retained the same troublesome, aggressive nature that he'd gained in this lifetime. Had he just recently been thinking that he kind of liked the new personality traits that Marik had picked up in his current life? He really wanted to kill the little brat for having done what he did to him. Even if the memory of it sent a jolt straight between his legs and a blush creeping up his cheeks. Of course, he'd rather die than admit that to Marik.

Just after that encounter with Marik, the finalists had all been called to the main area to find out who would be dueling first, and Bakura had managed to drag himself off the bed and go to the appointed place, only to find out that the first duel would be between himself and the Pharaoh.

As it happened, Bakura's duel against the Pharaoh had directly led to the next time that he and Marik had made up after a fight. That time, it had to take place inside Bakura's mind. This was because he- well, Ryou, really- was lying hurt in bed again. Actually, the fact that Ryou was stuck injured in bed was related to the fight that Bakura had had with Marik. Bakura had argued with Marik because Marik had wanted him to risk Ryou in order to win the duel against the Pharaoh and obtain a god card.

Marik had been entering his mind throughout the duel, giving him advice, and at the start, Bakura was grateful for the information and he used it to his advantage. He had even felt smug when Marik said that he admired him. But then, Marik had told him to pull his soul away from Ryou's body, leaving Ryou vulnerable to attack.

Of course, Marik didn't think that his plan would cause Ryou to be killed- he believed that the Pharaoh would not attack one of Yugi's friends. If the Pharaoh refused to attack, the time for his turn would eventually run out, and Bakura would automatically win.

At first, Bakura actually did what Marik had suggested, and pulled away from Ryou. But then Bakura understood what Marik simply couldn't understand- that he absolutely could not take the risk, even if there was only a tiny chance that Ryou could be killed. So, much to Marik's chagrin, Bakura had gone back and stood in front of Ryou, protecting him, and told the Pharaoh to hit him. That's how he lost the duel, and that's how they- he and Ryou- had ended up back in a hospital bed. And Marik was not happy about this turn of events.

But then Marik had come to visit Bakura inside his mind, and Marik had apologized in his own way, with kisses and bites and touching and sucking. So Bakura had accepted the apology in the same fashion that Marik had given it.

Afterwards, with the taste of each other still in their mouths, they had kissed deeply, each tasting himself on the other's tongue. They had lingered this way for as long as they could, but eventually it was time for Marik to depart, for the tournament was still going on, and there were things that Marik had to do. Time inside a soul room worked differently from normal time- they could pass hours inside Bakura's mind while only minutes passed outside. Still, time did pass, so Marik couldn't stay indefinitely.

Before Marik had left Bakura's mind that time, he had told Bakura that Yugi and his friends were looking for the Ring, so he had used his mind control to make Anzu take the Ring and hide it from the others. That way, Marik could keep the Ring safe while Ryou was stuck in bed, and Yugi and his self-righteous friends wouldn't be able to get their hands on it.

It was nice that Marik had done that, but frankly, Bakura was still a bit irritated over the entire situation that had caused the fight. Bakura had even admitted to Marik that his plan for the duel against the Pharaoh was quite clever and devious, but Marik had still yelled at him just because he was unwilling to risk Ryou. Marik obviously didn't understand how important Ryou was to Bakura- not just as his landlord, but also as his friend. He wouldn't risk Ryou's life just to get a god card, even if it meant getting the Millennium Rod from Marik in return. The items were greatly important to Bakura, but he would not put Ryou in grave danger, even for the sake of getting another item.

Bakura was inside the Ring pondering all of these recent events when he was suddenly interrupted- he felt that the Ring had been brought back to Ryou, and realized that Marik must have used Anzu to replace the Ring around the neck of his bed-ridden landlord. Bakura quickly left the Ring and went to his soul room inside of Ryou. An instant later, Marik entered his mind.

"Bakura...I need your help," Marik said immediately upon appearing in Bakura's soul room.

Bakura was still irritated over their latest quarrel, and wasn't in the mood for more demands.

"You need my help, do you? Again? Seems all I ever do is help you. You're the most demanding brat I've ever known. I've had to take care of you since the moment I met you," said Bakura.

"Oh, shut up already. Right now, I haven't got any patience for your bitching. This is serious, so just listen for once," said Marik.

"Oh, fine," said Bakura, rolling his eyes. "What is it you want?"

"The thing is..." Marik started, but found it hard to go on.

"I don't have all day, you stupid kid," said Bakura.

"I have a split personality!" Marik burst out.

"What?" asked Bakura, completely confused.

"Yeah, I have dissociative identity disorder, alright? And my other self...my dark self...he's all my rage and hatred concentrated into one personality. He used to take over my body and do things that I was unaware of. But now he's gotten out completely...and taken over my entire body. I can't get back in. My soul can still get into the minds of those I've controlled with the Millennium Rod before, but I can't get back into my own body. And my dark self...well, he intends to keep my body forever. And he wants to destroy me completely, so that I can never get my body back. Not to mention that he wants to kill everybody I care about. He's already tried to kill Rishid. Actually, I don't even think he cares who he kills. He just wants to kill and torture anyone he comes across, no matter who they are."

Bakura looked up sharply, more interested now.

"And how, may I ask, did you develop an evil alter-ego? Marik, what the hell happened to you in this life? What is it that you're hiding?" Bakura asked.

"My father...there were duties...and I have scars...and my dark personality came out...look, I don't want to go into details," said Marik.

"So, you want me to help you, but you don't even want to tell me what it's all about?" said Bakura, clearly annoyed.

"It's just really upsetting to think about it...and at a time like this, I don't want to be reliving all that..." said Marik, averting his eyes.

Bakura sensed Marik's distress. Sighing in irritation, he decided not to push Marik for more information at the moment. Bakura knew most of the terrible things that had happened to Marik in this lifetime, but still, there were things he didn't know- and these things were even worse than what he already knew. No wonder Marik seemed so different in this lifetime.

"I swear, if you help me and we get through this, I'll tell you everything," said Marik. "But right now...I don't want to have to think about it. I have enough to worry about. Right now, I just want to..."

"If we get through this? If? What is it that you're asking of me, Marik?"

"I need you to duel my dark personality and destroy him, so that he can't kill my family or obliterate my soul," Marik finally told him.

"A dark game," said Bakura. "So, if we win, then your dark personality will be destroyed. But if we lose...I assume that means that my own soul will be destroyed?"

"Yes," said Marik. Suddenly, he winced. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. It's just that my first instinct was to ask you because you're the only one I trust."

"I'll do it," said Bakura.

"What?" asked Marik.

"I said I'll help you," repeated Bakura.

"No," said Marik. "I can't ask you to risk...that was selfish of me. I'm just so used to not caring about-"

"Shut up," Bakura cut him off. "Let me worry about the risks."

It occurred to Bakura that he ought to be worrying more about the risks than he actually was. It was true that he'd taken precautions to make sure that he couldn't be completely destroyed. But if they lost the duel, it would still be a serious problem for him. He would be trapped inside a Millennium item again. Trapped for an indefinite amount of time- maybe forever. Or maybe just long enough that he would miss his chance at completing his lifelong quest, which would be almost as bad. But these thoughts only flitted briefly through his mind, and he found he didn't care about them much. He tried not to consider why it was that the risks to himself mattered so little when it was for Marik's sake.

"No," repeated Marik. "Look, never mind. I'll just...I'll just let my dark self destroy me. My dark side really wants to kill the Pharaoh, you know. That would be helpful to you. Just forget I asked."

Bakura grabbed Marik by the shoulders. "Snap out of it, weakling! Stop feeling sorry for yourself! You've always been too emotional. That's another one of your flaws. You are going to fight this. And I will help you."

"But...why?" asked Marik, looking at him dazedly.

"If you have to ask, then it shows you really don't know me, even after all these years," said Bakura, shoving him away.

"Oh..." said Marik quietly. And then he reached out to grasp Bakura's hand.

"We're partners," said Bakura roughly, turning his head away slightly. He didn't let go of Marik's hand.

"Oh..." said Marik again. And then he turned away himself, blushing lightly.

"Come here," said Bakura. And he pulled him down onto the bed that was in his soul room.

The two laid down together, and for a while there was silence as Bakura petted and nuzzled Marik in an attempt to calm him.

"But what if...what if we lose?" asked Marik finally.

"I'm a great duelist. I'll think of a good plan. Just trust me. I'll do everything possible to make sure we win," said Bakura.

"But you have to admit that we might lose. If we do...will we ever..."

"Even if we do lose...I've told you before, and I'll tell you again. I will always find my way back to you, Marik," said Bakura.

"Are you sure you want to help me? Do you know what you're risking? What you might be giving up?" asked Marik.

"I remember a time when I asked you almost the same thing," said Bakura, smiling a little.

"That you did," said Marik. He brought his hand up to caress Bakura's cheek, and he looked into his eyes, finally comprehending the fullness of it- what Bakura had promised, and what he was willing to risk for his sake.

"Love you, Bakura."

"Rest, partner," said Bakura quietly, as he brushed Marik's hair away from his face and kissed his forehead. "I'll keep you warm like I used to."

Marik snuggled into him, and eventually, they slept.

AN: Bakura's showing a little more belligerence now that he's secure in his relationship with Marik...Bakura WOULD do that, though. His arrogance is coming back to the fore. But before this- well, how do you explain why, in the canon, Bakura was doing everything Marik told him to do? Well, obviously it was because-

Oh, wait, at this point in the canon, Bakura is STILL doing almost everything Marik asks of him. Why do you let Marik dominate you, Bakura? Oh, yeah, it's because you love him so.

And now you're willing to risk your soul and body and the Ring for him...

OK! That's the end of my Thiefshipping- is- so- canon rant! FOR NOW.

Thanks SO much to everyone who has reviewed! I truly appreciate every one, so please let me know what you think!