Over the next week, the two fell into a routine. During the evenings, they played card games, had dinner, and talked. And during the nights, Bakura slept in Marik's bed. Bakura was still slowly healing. His bruises faded and the severity of his cuts and wounds lessened. He was still sore and therefore betting during their card games was still off the table, but it was clear that he was quickly getting back on his feet again. By the next Saturday, it crossed his mind that the tournament was rapidly approaching, and that he still needed to get more tokens for Marik. He was still hurt, yes, but he decided that he'd healed enough over the past week. And, as he placed the Millennium Ring around his neck, the power of three thousand years settled in him, and no minor cuts and bruises could outweigh that.

Bakura left at dusk, after letting Marik know where he was going.

The duelists were still in the peak of their preliminary games. Bakura sighted them along the streets and in the park. It was getting close to the beginning of the tournament, and many were now scrambling to acquire all their tokens. They were desperate, frantic, and therefore focused. Bakura eyed them carefully and realized that this was a time to be daring. These duelists were so entrenched in their games that they would never notice a slinking thief.

He saw a pair dueling under the dark canopy of the park. Surveying the scene, Bakura couldn't believe his luck.

The duelists were locked in a shouting match. It was nearly nighttime, so slipping away would be effortless. Better still, the pair was dueling near one of the park exits, so Bakura wasn't worried about getting away. And lastly, he spotted the duelists' two tokens, sitting perfectly unguarded on the bench beside them.

Bakura walked along the park toward the duelists. He didn't slow as he approached their bench- that would only let the duelists know that he was up to something. Although his heart was hammering, eager, as he drew near the duelists, he looked outwardly calm.

When he finally passed along the bench, he quickly scooped up both tokens with one hand, merely brushing his fingers along the bench, and continued walking.

The only sign he gave of his success was a sigh of relief, as he ducked his head and made for the park exit. This could not have been easier. He had merely picked up the tokens and walked away.

"Hey, where are the tokens?" he suddenly heard behind him.

"I don't know; they were right there. That's where you left them, right?" the other duelist responded. "You think it was that guy-"

Bakura didn't break into a run, though his heart was galloping at what he'd just heard. His pace didn't change as he walked out of the park and blended into the street crowd, just as he heard the duelists making toward him.

Despite their quick realization that the tokens were missing, there was nothing they could do to catch Bakura. He'd already blended into the crowd of tourists, duelists, and citizens of Luxor. As Bakura moved through the city streets, he breathed a second sigh of relief, and soon enough, he'd made it to Marik's apartment.

He found Marik at his computer, listening to music on iTunes, and set the two tokens in front of him.

"Two of them?" Marik asked.

"Yup," said Bakura. "Wasn't hard."

And it was true. It hadn't been hard. Having the security of the Ring really made a difference. He was finally starting to get back all of his old confidence in stealing. He shook his head slightly as he remembered how badly he'd messed up before. He'd been so stupid, and it wasn't like him. Of course, it had all been Marik's fault, for keeping the Ring from him, and for making him mad...but it didn't matter now. He was back on his game.

"Well, thanks," Marik said. "I appreciate it. At this rate, I should have all the tokens I need by the time the tournament starts."

"Uh-huh," said Bakura. He leaned over Marik's shoulder. "What are you listening to, anyway?"

"Oh, I just noticed there were a bunch of songs I'd never seen before on here, so I was flipping through everything," said Marik. "I guess you've been downloading some songs?"

"Yeah," said Bakura. "Not a lot to do around here while you're at work."

Marik skipped past "Falling Slowly," a song he'd downloaded himself. The next song that came on, "Indestructible" by Disturbed, was unfamiliar to Marik. It must have been one of Bakura's.

"Ah, I can see why you like this one," Marik said after listening to the lyrics for a bit.

"Yeah," said Bakura, and Marik clicked to go to the next song.

"Well, that one is clearly yours," said Bakura, wrinkling his nose as "Set Fire to the Rain" by Adele came out of the speakers.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with this song," said Marik. "Alright, let's see what else is on here."

The song changed again, and "Wings of a Butterfly" by H.I.M. came on.

"This one must be yours, because I didn't download it," said Marik. He listened for a minute. "It's pretty good."

"Gods kneel before our crime. I love that line," said Bakura.

"You would," said Marik, skipping to the next song.

"So...Beautiful Thieves by A.F.I.," said Marik. "Gods, do all the songs you like have to do with delinquent activity?"

Bakura shrugged. "What do you expect?"

Marik rolled his eyes and moved on to the next song. "Wait- what the hell is this?"

"Um..."

"Did you download '7 Things' by Miley Cyrus?" Marik asked incredulously.

"No, I- I have no idea how that got on there."

"Well, I didn't download this, so it had to be you."

"Let's move along!" Bakura reached over Marik and clicked to skip to the next song.

Bakura looked slightly relieved as a far less embarrassing song came on. The two listened as the lyrics reverberated from the speakers.

I don't care what you think as long as it's about me
The best of us can find happiness in misery

"I guess this is one of yours," said Marik. "Actually, I kinda like this song."

Marik skipped forward again, and the next song that came up was one of his.

Signed, with a home tattoo,
Happy birthday to you was created for you

Bakura gave Marik a pointed look. Marik shrugged and moved on to the next song.

You do everything for me
Protect me from the shadows

Bakura instantly recognized it. He'd heard Marik listening to it before. "Oh, 'Die With You' by Blutengel. I like this song."

This time, they listened to the entire song instead of skipping ahead to the next one.

When the song ended, and Marik saw the next song that was about to play, he quickly hit the "stop" button. He really didn't need Bakura to know that he had "Lost In Your Eyes" on his iTunes.

"Alright, I'm kind of tired of looking through songs," Marik said. "Do you want to play a card game?"

"Sure," Bakura said.

Marik shut off his computer and they sat down at the kitchen table. They shuffled their decks and picked up their cards.

"Do you wanna bet this time?" Bakura asked, scanning his cards.

"Sure, if you feel up to it," Marik replied.

"Loser gets fucked?"

"Classic." Marik smiled. "Sure, let's bet for that."

They started at an even pace. Bakura lost a couple of hundred points when Marik wiped out his Witch of the Black Forrest with the Amphibian Beast, and then Marik's side of the field was wiped clean of all his monsters and Bakura attacked him directly. Neither could quite get the upper hand throughout the game, but the closer their life points dwindled to zero, the more both of them felt on edge.

They hadn't bet all week, and it was clear that the lack of sexual activity had put a strain on their current duel. Neither wanted to lose. Neither wanted to succumb to the other, evidenced by the fact that Bakura's hands were clenched around his cards and his knuckles were white, and that Marik growled every time he lost life points. The prospect of finally having sex again was the only thing either of them could think about.

"I use Monster Reborn to raise the Hayabusa Knight from your graveyard," Bakura declared, and Marik sullenly fished the card out of his graveyard and placed it on Bakura's side of the field. "And then I'll add the Malevolent Nuzzler to it, giving it 1,700 attack points."

Marik scoffed. "Great. But it'll take more than that to defeat my Harpie's Brother."

Bakura smirked. "And then I use Reinforcements on my Hayabusa Knight to take out your remaining 300 life points."

Marik scanned the power-ups quickly and realized that Bakura indeed had enough points to completely take him out. And really, Marik should have seen this coming. They both had great decks, but Marik had used most of his power-ups early in the game, while Bakura had gotten them later in the duel.

Marik heaved a great sigh and threw his cards on the table. "Well, fuck."

He had no choice but to follow through with the bet, however. It had been a while since he'd lost a "loser gets fucked" bet with Bakura, but there was no use dwelling on that now. They packed up the cards and, as was their fashion, wasted no time in heading toward the bedroom.

Soon enough, Marik was lying naked on his back as Bakura began to prepare him. As he slid in a second finger, he looked up at Marik's expression. He looked bored and just slightly uncomfortable. That irritated Bakura. He wriggled his fingers around, trying to get some reaction out of Marik, but Marik only turned his head to the side and stared at the wall with disinterest.

After another minute of Bakura's efforts, Marik spoke. "Alright, that's good enough," he said, still not even looking at Bakura. "Get on with it."

"Damn it!" Bakura yelled, slamming his fist into the mattress next to Marik. Marik finally looked up at him, his eyes registering surprise. "Just tell me already! Tell me how to do it right!"

Marik immediately broke into hysterics. Bakura jerked his fingers out of him, staring at Marik with a murderous glare, but Marik was laughing so hard he barely even noticed.

"Well, if you don't want to tell me," Bakura said loudly, trying to grab Marik's attention, "then maybe I'll just shove it in right now, with no more lubrication, and go as hard as I can. It will probably hurt. Does that suit you better?"

Marik heard him, and bit his lip, trying to stifle his giggles. Finally, he seemed to get himself under control, choking down the last of his laughter. "Alright, alright. I'm sorry."

He didn't look a bit sorry, but Bakura calmed down slightly, waiting to see what Marik would say.

"Okay, so put your fingers back in." Marik looked like he was still trying to suppress a smile, but Bakura chose to ignore it and did what Marik said.

"Now, crook your fingers up in the direction of my stomach," Marik said. Bakura did. "Now move them, like, kind of stroke against the wall."

Bakura silently followed Marik's instructions, trying to ignore his own lingering irritation.

"Well?" asked Bakura finally. He still wasn't getting any real reaction from Marik, and he could see the ghost of Marik's amused smile still lingering at the corners of his mouth.

"Well, you're still not really in the right place. You're looking for a little bump...no, higher up, it should be a couple of inches i- ah, ah!"

Bakura smirked in satisfaction as Marik closed his eyes and tipped his head back, the last of that amused look finally erased from his features. So that's what he was supposed to do.

Bakura kept it up for a while, until Marik was squirming under him, his breath coming fast.

"Alright?" asked Bakura, smiling. Now it was his turn to look amused.

Marik opened his eyes only halfway and nodded, seeming unable to speak.

"Well, at least now I know how to get you to shut up," Bakura smirked as he coated himself with lubrication.

Marik registered the jab, and his eyes cleared a bit. "Hey!" he cried, offended, but anything else he might have said was cut off as Bakura slid inside of him, making him gasp.

Once Bakura was settled inside, he was still. "Any further instructions?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just- s-start out slow," Marik said, his breath still uneven, "and t-try to hit that same spot."

So Bakura started slowly, experimenting with the angle of his thrusts, remembering where the spot he'd found was. He titled Marik's hips up a little, trying to get the best angle, and then he heard Marik's sharp intake of breath. That was it.

Bakura continued that way, finding that he was concentrating so hard on his technique that he wasn't in much danger of finishing too soon, but the little sounds of pleasure coming from Marik were turning him on, bringing him ever closer.

"Alright, you- you can go a little faster now," Marik panted.

Bakura sped up, and he felt Marik's hands reach to grab onto him, his nails digging into his sides.

"Touch me," Marik gasped. "Touch me."

Bakura had to shift around a bit to make it work, propping himself up on one elbow so that he could reach between their bodies and grab hold of Marik. After the slight change in position, Bakura wasn't sure he was getting quite the best angle anymore, but now it didn't matter, because he was gripping Marik with slick fingers, drawing unrestrained cries from him as he stroked up and down.

Bakura was climbing himself, the sounds coming from Marik starting to really drive him crazy, and just as he began to wish that Marik would hurry up, he felt Marik clench around him, gripping onto him even tighter as he moaned and spilled over his fist.

Bakura removed his hand, using it to lift one of Marik's legs up a bit, and now he didn't have to worry about technique, so he just pounded into Marik in the way that felt best to him, as hard as he could, knowing that Marik's completely relaxed and open body could take it now. He glanced at Marik's face, and the look of satisfaction he saw there tipped him over the edge, and he came inside him with a cry.

He was shaking a little bit as he pulled out. For a moment, Marik looked at him with hooded eyes, but an instant later Marik rolled away, turning his back to him.

Bakura noted with satisfaction that Marik's breathing still hadn't quite evened out.

"Good?" asked Bakura.

"Sure," said Marik, sounding as if he felt a bit awkward.

Bakura decided to let it go, rolling over himself and sleeping better than he had all week.

AN: All the songs mentioned are from me and Tae's Thiefshipping playlist. Basically, songs that remind us of Thiefshipping.

We hope you liked the chapter! Please review!

And yes, Ryou will be in the next chapter. Also some major plot events.