When Marik woke up on Sunday, his heart was already hammering in his chest. Today was the day. Ryou would go to the dig site, pretend to find the Ring, and hand over the fake one to the officials.

Marik tried to tell himself not to be so nervous. There was no reason this shouldn't work. As far as the three of them could tell, the fake ring looked totally authentic. It felt authentic, too- almost. The combination of the glamour and Bakura's blood had made the fake ring thrum with what felt like the remnants of an ancient power. True, all three of them could feel the difference between the fake ring and the real one- but the difference was minute. Almost unnoticeable. Besides, a person with no connection to the items couldn't feel the power inside them at all- they would only be aware of the power should that small bit of leftover magic be activated to release a burst of energy, which was all any of the items were capable of anymore. And that drop of Bakura's blood had ensured that the fake ring could do that. They had tested it out, and they had all agreed that it looked right. So there was no reason it shouldn't be enough to fool the museum officials, and anyone else who looked upon the fake. And the glamour would make sure that the experts at the museum saw the fake ring as something ancient, rather than something newly created. So really-

Marik turned at the sound of the couch springs squeaking to see Bakura rolling over, stretching and yawning.

"How long did you plan to sit there staring into space?" Bakura asked.

Marik dragged himself to his feet, wincing as a sharp pain shot through his lower back. It was really no fun sleeping on the floor. "I'm just a little nervous, alright?"

Just then, Ryou walked into the living room, flicking a strand of damp hair out of his face. He must have just finished showering. "Don't be nervous. I'm sure everything will go well."

Marik nodded and tried to smile. "It probably will. I want to thank you again for helping us. We really do appreciate it."

Ryou waved it off. "I should probably be going. I don't want to be late."

"Don't you want to eat first?"

Ryou smiled and grabbed an orange from Marik's counter. "This will do."

Marik nodded. "Well, good luck."

Ryou thanked him and headed out the door. Marik tried to take comfort in the fact that Ryou didn't seem worried at all, but it really wasn't much help.

Marik busied himself cooking breakfast for himself and Bakura, but after he'd served up the food, Marik found that he could eat little, and by the time the dishes were in the sink, he was clearly a nervous wreck, pacing jerkily around the kitchen as Bakura watched.

"You're making me dizzy with that," Bakura finally said.

"I can't help it. I-"

Bakura kicked a chair out from the table. "Sit down, Marik," he said, forcibly grabbing Marik by the shoulders and shoving him down into the chair. Marik looked at him in shock, but before he could say anything, Bakura was down on his knees in front of him, his hands at the waistband of the sweat pants Marik had slept in.

"What- what are you-"

"Taking your mind off things," Bakura said, smirking. "Besides, I kind of figure I owe you. You know, because of what you did when I was all sliced up."

Marik didn't question him any further, and soon he felt Bakura's warm mouth around him. Moments later, all thoughts of worry flew from his head, drowned out by the sensation of Bakura's tongue lapping at the sensitive underside of his cock.

Marik leaned his head back and just enjoyed it, giving himself over completely to feeling. He unthinkingly reached his hands out and grabbed Bakura's forearms, his nails digging into the pale skin.

At first, Marik tried not to move, wanting it to last longer, but it had just been so long since he'd had Bakura in this way, and it seemed as if he'd never get used to the feeling, Bakura's soft, wet mouth taking him in and out and sucking and licking, and his hand following after, slippery with saliva and squeezing him tightly.

He knew he couldn't hold on much longer, and finally he gave in and arched towards Bakura, trying to get deeper. He heard Bakura laugh a little, the rumble sending pleasurable vibrations through his cock that seemed to light up every nerve in his body, bringing him ever closer. When he felt Bakura's other hand slip between his legs, his fingertips gently brushing along the crease in his thigh, he completely lost it, and before he could help it, he cried out Bakura's name as he came.

Bakura swallowed it all, and before Marik could even start thinking again, Bakura had already stood up and turned away.

"Go get dressed," Bakura said, without turning around.

For a moment, Marik sat dazed, but then he got up, his legs shaky, and headed back to his bedroom to put on his clothes for the day. By the time he got back to the kitchen, Bakura had changed out of his nightclothes as well, and was absentmindedly shuffling his deck.

"Wanna play a card game? Just for fun?" Bakura asked. "Not much else to do."

Marik shrugged. "Sure."

The two sat down at the table and readied their decks. The game dragged on for longer than usual, and when Bakura won in the end, he grumbled that he should have insisted on a bet, which only made Marik smile.

The rest of the day passed, and Marik's nervousness slowly began to seep back in. He practically jumped out of his skin when he finally heard Ryou come in the door.

"Ryou! How did it go?"

"Everything went according to plan," Ryou smiled. "I gave them the fake, and they didn't seem to suspect anything."

"Yes, but the museum officials haven't had a chance to really examine it yet," said Bakura, his arms crossed over his chest. "So we don't know anything for sure yet."

"No need to be so negative," said Ryou. "Still, though, I'll stick around for a couple more days, just to make sure there isn't any trouble and that you don't need my help for anything else."

Ryou seemed to suddenly think of something, and turned to Marik. "If that's alright with you, Marik."

"Of course, Ryou. I- we- really appreciate how helpful you've been. I can't thank you enough."

"It's no problem, really," said Ryou, seeming a little embarrassed at being thanked so much.

"Well," said Marik, "I was about to cook dinner."

"That would be great," said Ryou. "I'm pretty hungry."

As Marik began to prepare dinner, Ryou headed off to take a shower, as he was covered in dirt from digging all day. By the time Ryou came back into the kitchen, Marik was just setting their plates on the table.

"So, how was your day?" Marik asked, turning to Ryou. "You were gone a pretty long time."

"Well, I didn't want to find it too quickly- I thought that might seem suspicious," said Ryou. Marik nodded. "It wasn't bad, though. I got to talk to some people. Your sister was there. Yugi, too."

"What?" Bakura burst out. "Why the hell is that asshole still here? He already found the stupid Puzzle, he should be gone!"

Ryou's eyes widened in alarm. "Oh, gods, I'm sorry, Bakura. I shouldn't have mentioned-"

"Why?" repeated Bakura viciously.

"Well, he's just staying until the dig is over," said Ryou. "He'd like to see all the items unearthed. He's got strong feelings about them. After all, they were a big part of his life."

"He's got strong feelings about the items," Bakura scoffed, forcefully stabbing his fork into his plate.

"He'll be gone soon, I'm sure," Ryou said, trying to be reassuring. He scrambled for something to say to change the subject. "You're a really excellent cook, Marik."

"Thanks," said Marik. "It's nothing."

Ryou tried to fill up the rest of dinner with conversation. He was majoring in theology, as he'd always had an interest in all things supernatural and mystical, and he told the other two about his classes. Marik listened with interest, but Bakura continued to stare down into his food, not seeming to pay much attention.

By the time dinner was done and Marik had cleaned the dishes, Bakura did seem a little calmer, and he even said goodnight to Ryou when he announced that he'd had a long day and was going to bed. Soon after, Marik said he wanted to go to bed as well, since he had to get up for work the next morning.

As Marik laid his blankets and pillows on the floor in front of the couch, Bakura said, "I still can't believe you gave him the bed."

"He's a guest, Bakura."

"And what am I?"

"An annoyance," Marik said, smiling, and Bakura gave him a tart look.

"Well, I'm not tired at all yet," said Bakura. "But he's sleeping in there and you're sleeping in here. So what am I supposed to do? I can't watch TV or use the computer or do anything in here if you're trying to sleep- not without hearing endless bitching from you, anyway."

"I'm sorry, Bakura, but I need my sleep for work."

"Fine," said Bakura. He got up and walked out into the kitchen, grabbing his coat off the hook.

"Where are you going?" asked Marik.

"To steal another token," Bakura said. "Seems like a fine time."

"Alright," said Marik slowly. "Just...don't tell Ryou how I'm getting the tokens, alright? I doubt he'd approve."

Bakura rolled his eyes. "Fine, I have no reason to tell him. And I'll be back well before he wakes up, so he won't even know I'm gone."

"Well...okay, then," said Marik.

As Bakura left the apartment, Marik laid his head down and tried to get some rest.

The next morning, Marik woke up with a shiny little blue token laying next to his head on the pillow. As soon as he realized what it was, he quickly grabbed it and put it away with the rest of his tokens. He would have thanked Bakura, but he was still asleep, and Marik didn't think he'd appreciate being woken up. So Marik went about readying himself for work. By the time he walked out the door, neither Bakura nor Ryou had stirred.

When Marik arrived at work, his nerves began jumping again. If the officials had found anything remiss about the fake ring, he would probably hear about it today from Ishizu. The day passed slowly as he waited, dreading the thought of Ishizu showing up and pulling him aside to give him more distressing news. But as it turned out, he didn't see her all day, and he felt a wave of relief when he was finally able to clock out and head home.

When Marik got back the apartment, he found Ryou cooking dinner. Based on the faint sounds coming from the living room, he assumed Bakura was in there, watching TV.

"Oh, Ryou, you don't have to do that," said Marik, nodding toward the pans of food that were already starting to sizzle on the stove.

"It's no trouble," said Ryou. "Really, you've opened your home to me; it's the least I can do."

Marik laughed, and Ryou looked at him curiously. "What's so funny?"

"It's just- you look so much like Bakura, but everything you say is the exact opposite of what he would say. Hearing that come out of your mouth, when you look so similar to him- it's just funny." Marik raised his voice slightly, so that Bakura would be able to hear him from the living room over the TV. "I've let Bakura stay here for months, and I don't think I could get him to do any housework if I put a gun to his head."

Ryou smiled sweetly, just as Bakura yelled from the living room, "I told you, Ishtar, I didn't come here to be your maid!"

Marik smiled indulgently and shook his head as he walked off into the living room. "And yet, somehow, you expect me to be your maid."

"Well, I guess life isn't fair," said Bakura, as he popped a cigarette into his mouth. "Big surprise."

Marik rolled his eyes and sat down next to Bakura on the couch.

"So, what did you two do all day while I was at work?" Marik asked, curious.

Suddenly, a malicious smile came onto Bakura's face that Marik didn't like one bit. But when Bakura spoke, his voice sounded totally casual. "Oh, we spent the day fucking."

Marik's eyes went as big as saucers. "What?"

Bakura shrugged. "Well, the- arrangement- between you and I will be ending soon, so I'll need to find someone else to have sex with. Figured I might as well get started now."

Marik was stunned. "You- you really- you actually-" he sputtered.

Bakura suddenly burst out laughing. "Of course not! I was just messing with you!"

Marik hadn't even noticed the tight feeling in his chest and stomach until he felt the knots unwind, flooding him with a strange sense of relief. "Bakura! That was not funny!"

"Yes it was!" Bakura said, still laughing hysterically.

Marik was bewildered. "Why would you even joke about something like that?"

"I just wanted to see how you'd react. And trust me, it was priceless. You should have seen the look on your face!"

"You're such a jerk," Marik said, sounding sulky and crossing his arms over his chest.

"I don't know why you should care," said Bakura. His laughter having subsided, he was now back to sounding nonchalant. "You're the one who wants to end this arrangement for the sake of your reputation. I'm sure you don't expect me to be celibate for the rest of my life after you."

"I-" Marik started. "I don't care. I was just shocked, that's all."

A look of annoyance flashed on Bakura's face, then was gone. "I can't believe you actually thought I was serious, anyway. I like Ryou alright, I suppose, but he's really not my type. Do you actually think I go for the sweet, polite, angelic sort? Besides, Ryou isn't even gay. He has a girlfriend back in Japan."

Marik saw an opportunity to change the subject and ran with it. "He does? What's she like?"

"Well, he seems to really like her, but I guess he's kind of upset that she's not as serious about the relationship as he would- I don't know, he was going on and on, and I kind of started to tune out."

"Seriously, you're such a jerk," said Marik, shaking his head in exasperation.

Bakura seemed about to retort, but just then, they heard Ryou calling loudly from the kitchen that dinner was ready. Once in the kitchen, Bakura located the only plate with meat on it and picked it up. It seemed to be some kind of chicken dish.

"Thanks, Ryou," Bakura said, and Ryou beamed.

"Oh, he can be civil," Marik said sarcastically.

Bakura ignored him. "Well, I'm going to eat in the living room."

"Oh, no you are not!" said Marik. "You know I don't want you eating over my carpet. You'll make a mess!"

"Sorry, the newest episode of The Walking Dead just finished downloading, and I intend to watch it now."

"Bakura, you can watch that any time!"

"Nope, watching it now," Bakura said. "And if you don't want to eat in the living room with me, you're going to miss it..."

Marik hesitated for a moment. He really wanted to watch it, too, and Bakura knew it. "Damn you! Fine!" he finally said.

Bakura smiled in triumph and took his plate to the living room, Marik and Ryou following after him.

"So," Ryou said, before Bakura had a chance to start playing the show, "what's this show about, anyway?"

"It's about life after the zombie apocalypse," Marik said. "You like the occult, Ryou, it might interest you."

"Actually," said Bakura, "it's mostly about this really boring love triangle that literally no one cares about, and these irritating characters nobody likes give dull speeches for an hour and there are almost no zombies."

"Yeah, nobody's really sure why they watch it," Marik said.

"Because of Daryl," Bakura pointed out.

"Oh, right," said Marik. "Well, anyway, you'll see, Ryou."

Just then, Marik heard a splat, and he turned to see that Bakura had dropped a chunk of chicken onto the floor.

"Oops, sorry," said Bakura, not sounding the least bit sorry.

"Damn it, Bakura!"

"Oh, don't worry about it," said Bakura. "You can clean it up later."

"I can clean it up-" Marik started. "I swear, Bakura-"

Before Marik could get another word out, Bakura started laughing and very purposefully thew another small piece of chicken to the floor.

"What the hell!" Marik yelled, but Bakura was still laughing, and not paying any attention at all to Marik's irritation.

Marik turned to Ryou. "You know, Ryou, that's his favorite hobby- ruining my carpet."

"Oh, yes, it's my hobby," Bakura said with overblown sarcasm. "It's what I fucking live for."

Ryou giggled a little, and Marik and Bakura both looked at him curiously.

"I swear," said Ryou, "you two still argue like a married couple."

Marik turned away, a blush spreading across his cheeks, but Bakura snapped his head around and retorted, "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

Ryou looked slightly taken aback. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it."

"You obviously meant something," Bakura said, narrowing his eyes.

"It's nothing," Ryou said, and Bakura glared at him. "I mean, it's just...well, you know, the way you guys acted toward each other during the Battle City tournament...I always kind of assumed there were feelings...I thought it was a bit obv-"

"There are not- there never were- feelings," Bakura growled.

Ryou flinched away from Bakura's harsh tone. "I'm sorry," he said again.

"If you don't believe me, I'll have you know that after this tournament is over, I'm leaving, and I'll never see that idiot again," Bakura said, thrusting a thumb at Marik.

Ryou looked surprised, his eyes wide and innocent. "Leaving? Why?"

"Well, our life paths aren't exactly going in the same direction, what with me being a thief and that brat insisting on keeping up his stupid little 'good guy' act."

Marik had been silent this entire time, but now he spoke up and snapped, "It is not an act! I'm so fucking sick of you saying-"

Ryou shrunk back into the couch, as if he wished he could disappear. "I'm really, really sorry," he said quietly. "I didn't mean to touch a nerve. Please just forget I said anything."

The anger drained out of Marik, and he looked at Ryou sympathetically, and with a little guilt. "It's not your fault, Ryou. I know you didn't mean-"

"Shut up, Marik," said Bakura.

Ryou looked alarmed again, and quickly tried to think of something to say to defuse any further anger and yelling. "Hey, Bakura? After you leave here, if you ever need a place to stay, or even if you just want to visit, you can look me up, you're always welcome..."

Bakura rolled his eyes, but now the look on his face had changed from one of anger to one of mild irritation mixed with indulgence. "Ryou, has anyone ever told you that your kindness is sickening?"

Ryou gave Bakura a shaky smile. "Yes, you have. Several times, in fact."

Bakura couldn't seem to help returning Ryou's smile. The kid was good all the way down; it was hard to stay angry with him. "You know what? Maybe I will stop by sometime," he finally said. "Now that that's settled, can we all just shut up and watch the stupid show?"

The other two didn't reply, so Bakura took that as an agreement, grabbing the remote and pressing play. No one said another word throughout the entire episode.

When the show was over, Bakura began to flip through the channels, and the three continued to stare at the TV in silence until Ryou said that he was tired and wanted to go to bed. Marik bid him goodnight and then announced that he was going to take a shower. By the time he got out, Bakura was already asleep on the couch, so Marik grabbed his own blanket and pillow and bedded down on the floor.

For a while, he tossed and turned, uncomfortable on the hard floor, but he was truly worn out after a long day of work, and eventually he fell into a restless sleep.

It seemed as if only minutes had passed before Marik was awoken by a sharp rapping at his front door.

Apparently, the noise had woken Bakura as well, because he heard him growl, "Who the hell would be knocking at this hour?"

Marik looked blearily at the clock. "It's after seven," he said. "Whoever it is probably wants to catch me before I head in to work."

Marik suddenly snapped fully awake as it hit him that someone was knocking on the door, and there was Bakura, right in his living room.

"Bakura, go hide in my room!" he hissed. "And wake Ryou, if he isn't up already."

Bakura didn't say anything, but got up and stalked back to Marik's bedroom, slamming the door a little harder than was strictly necessary. Marik started for the door, but then he remembered something, and quickly threw his blankets and pillow onto the couch. It wouldn't do for it to look like two people had been sleeping in the living room- it was only supposed to be himself and Ryou here, so it wouldn't make any sense for there to be two sets of bedding in the living room, when there was obviously a perfectly good bed in the bedroom.

Marik's heart was already pounding by the time he got to the door, and it jumped straight into his throat when he opened it and saw who was standing on the other side.

"Hello, Marik," said Yugi.

AN: We've been trying to imply something about Bakura for a while; hopefully it came through in this chapter. It wasn't supposed to be super obvious in previous chapters, but we're trying to make it more obvious now. Anyways, thanks for reading, please review!