This is a momentous occasion!

A NEW, BRAND NEW, AND OFFICIALLY NEVER-BEFORE-PUBLISHED CHAPTER!

I would like to thank my laptop, Fiver, and Yu-Gi-Oh for helping me get this far. Oh, and of course my readers. :D

Geometry is possibly the dullest and most difficult thing ever invented, Malik decided as he absentmindedly doodled in his book. He wasn't about to put his hand up for help either, seeing as his work for the hour consisted of a picture of a llama, a few hearts and maybe a butterfly or two. He added a pair of glasses to the llama and labelled it 'Pegasus'.

Oh. My wit and maturity astounds me.

Without Ryou, this is even more mind numbing. Malik thought grouchily, selfishly irritated that Ryou had decided to take this particular day off. Half tempted to re-label his llama 'Ryou', he dropped his pencil and yawned widely, running a hand through golden bangs and stretching jeaned legs out beneath his desk.

Wait, what if he's sick?

Frowning slightly, Malik straightened up and reached into his pocket for his mobile phone. Sitting at the back had its advantages, he mused, tapping out a quick message and then scrolling through his phonebook for Ryou's number. Watching the little animated letter swoop off, he tapped his nails on the desk and sighed, rolling his kohl-rimmed eyes towards the ceiling.

It was going to be one long Geometry lesson.

Curled up on his bed, Ryou jumped as his phone vibrated so violently it fell off his bedside table. He leaned down to pick it up and saw that he'd received a text, and that the text was from Malik.

"...should have known." Ryou muttered, smiling to himself. Malik wouldn't hesitate breaking the school rules to send him meaningless messages.

From: Malik Ishtar

Where r u? Bin missin ure sexy face around here. Got geom, need help plz!

Ryou giggled and rolled his eyes. Malik's epic failure at Maths of any type always managed to cheer him up.

Well, it's better than sitting here feeling sorry for yourself all day long. A voice hinted.

Ryou relented and replied, thinking the whole time about how guilty he would feel if his friend got a detention.

Malik leaned back in his chair, still staring at the ceiling and ignoring its creaks of protest. He was going to dream about angles tonight. The phone in his pocket buzzed loudly, and he hastily returned his seat to all fours. Luckily for Malik, the rest of the class were chattering, so he escaped any punishment for his illicit communications with Ryou.

From: Ry

I'm in disgrace. It's not fun.

Pythagoras' theorem is a² +b²=c². And C is always the hypotenuse. Okay?

Ryou

Malik frowned at that, his forehead wrinkling and lips pouting involuntarily as he considered Ryou's answer.

In disgrace?

Firstly, since when does Ryou get into trouble?

Secondly, what did he do that was so bad he was kept home?

Thirdly, what the heck is Pythagoras' theorem?

Ryou sighed heavily and buried his face in his pillows; today was going incredibly badly so far. A few hours before, the entire street had been bathed in a gorgeous rosy glow but now icy rain was hammering against Ryou's window and a grey coldness was creeping through the house; Ryou was wearing his dark blue jumper, the one he usually reserved for hiking in the depths of winter.

He was convinced that if he went outside, into the sheeting rain, beneath the roiling black clouds, and stood in the very spot he had earlier, he would feel the resonant warmth of Marik in his very bones, and it would make a welcome change from the ice of his mother's disapproval.

Of course he wouldn't do it. He was too afraid of getting wet.

Like when you didn't do what you wanted with Marik, because you were too afraid of the consequences.

Well, if you could decide what you wanted.

"Ryou, you're a coward, you're an idiot and you don't deserve friends like Malik." Ryou muttered angrily, punching the mattress underneath him. It wasn't particularly satisfying.

He'd never been so annoyed at himself. He would probably never see Marik again, and it was all because he'd had some foolish idea that Marik might actually make the first move and that he could just sit and smile while Marik swept him off his feet.

Marik wasn't a knight in shining armour, and it was just as well. Knights had never been Ryou's thing.

Maybe if I'd just...I don't know, attacked him, or something.

He had a sudden vision of himself throwing Marik on a couch, and snorted with laughter despite himself.

Yeah, right. Innocent little Ryou, the dominatrix.

That brought on a whole parade of disturbing images, some of which left Ryou laughing and some of which just made him cringe and blush madly.

Right. My own company is proving extremely unhealthy. I'd better go downstairs.

Ryou was pretty sure that his mother wasn't home; if she had been he would have been keeping well clear. If anyone spotted him, he'd just say he was hungry.

The landing was even colder than his room, Ryou noted as he stepped into the chilly corridor. He pulled his hands inside his sleeves, shivering slightly, his phone hanging on a cord round his neck in case Malik decided to text him again. (He was hoping for this).

It rang just as Ryou reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Hello?"

"What did you do?"

"Malik?" Ryou glanced at the clock, and was relieved to see it was morning break. Apparently, even Malik wasn't audacious enough to call him during a lesson.

"Obviously. Now answer my question."

"I stayed out all night. But it was an accident, I swear. In fact, it was practically kidnap."

"What? Who- wait. It wasn't him, was it?"

"If by 'him' you mean Marik, then yes."

"Eeeeeeee -"

Ryou rapidly held the phone at arm's length as Malik began squealing. When he was sure the risk of 'deafening by Malik' had passed, he cautiously replaced the phone.

"Are you still there?"

"No."

"Malik, that doesn't make sen-"

"It's my turn to talk now! What did you do with him?"

"Now that was subtle. Not."

"And sneaking off in the middle of the night to engage in secret meetings with a man you said you didn't fancy is?"

"I never said I didn't-"

"Aw! You two go so well together! He's so much taller than you, Ryou. If you go out together you might look a bit of a midget."

"Malik! I think you're getting ahead of yourself. We didn't do anything. I didn't even intend to meet him. It just sort of happened."

"...That sounds like something you say when you just got knocked up."

"Well, rest assured that is not the case."

"I wonder what your babies would look like-"

"Malik! Do you want to hear the story or not?"

"I'm being quiet."

"Yeah, that'll be the day. Anyway, I was half sleepwalking through Domino-"

"You're joking."

"Ahem."

"Sorry!"

"And I slipped over on the ice. Marik turned up in his truck and then took me back to his flat-"

"Where he proceeded to screw your brains out!"

"Malik! He did not. I think that would be described as 'rape'."

"Not if you consented..."

"Please shut up. This is giving me images. I already imagined myself as a dominatrix this morning, and you are not helping."

"Wow. You're kinkier than I thought."

"No comment."

"Ooh la la. Anyway, all joking aside, what did you do?"

"He bandaged my ankle and my wrist..."

"*cough*Bondage*cough*"

"Malik, I hurt them when I fell over." Ryou felt his wrist twinge at the memory.

"Oh, right. Carry on. But I don't want to hear anything too dirty! I'm an impressionable child."

"You have a one track mind. And there is nothing dirty! I went to sleep on his couch, Malik. It was pretty comfy, actually. And then he drove me home at some unearthly hour this morning. Okay?"

"Is that it?"

"Yes."

Ryou decided not to relate their sort-of-kiss to Malik, for fear of a torrent of 'Aww's'. Also, he didn't want Malik to start asking awkward questions like "Why didn't you get his number?" which would only serve to increase his annoyance at himself.

"Actually, it's thanks to you that I am not in hospital with hypothermia."

"Because I am so hot. Obviously."

"No. Because you are so clumsy. According to Marik, you knocked some stuff off his desk when you went to...um, 'see' Akefia and if you hadn't, he wouldn't have been driving around town at one in the morning looking for his flat keys and therefore wouldn't have been there to rescue yours truly."

"I am such an awesome matchmaker." Malik sounded truly pleased with himself at the idea that the whole thing had been his fault.

"Be afraid, singles everywhere! Malik will come and pair you up with anyone and everyone and then automatically assume you are in some kind of sadomasochistic relationship."

"Yep, that's me." Malik suddenly paused, then groaned. Ryou could almost hear him rolling his eyes.

"Oh crud, that was the bell. Give you a call at lunch."

"You'd better, otherwise I'll go stir crazy."

"We wouldn't want that, now would we... Mwah! Bye!"

Ryou waited until he heard Malik hang up before he hung up himself; it was a habit of his. It was only after their conversation that he realised he hadn't managed to ask a single question about Akefia.

After thinking about it for a while, he decided that was probably for the best.

Now that the babble of Malik's excited chatter had receded, the house seemed even more quiet than usual. It was almost eerie, the way the silence seemed to press in on Ryou, more suffocating than ever.

I've probably spoken and been spoken to more in the last few weeks than I have been in my whole life. It's not surprising that coming back here is a bit of a shock to the system. Ryou told himself.

By the time he'd actually made it to the kitchen, he was genuinely hungry. Ryou had a bit of a thing for unusual sandwiches, so whenever no one was around, he'd scour the kitchen cupboards for any potential combinations that could be slapped between two slices of bread and eaten at high speed.

About 10 minutes later, Ryou had created a masterpiece of a sandwich. Bananas, crème fraiche, tinned peaches and raspberry jam.

Yum.

Feeling extremely greedy, he carried it into the living room, licking peach juice off his fingers.

This would be so much better if I could share it...

Ryou sighed. Who would want to share with him anyway?

To distract himself from this rather depressing thought, he took a huge bite of the sandwich. Inconveniently, that was the precise moment the house phone began to ring loudly.

Well, aren't I just Mr Popular?

Ryou put his sandwich down and ran for the phone, assuming that the caller would ask for his parents.

"He-o?"He said, with his mouth full.

"Excuse me? Is that you, Ryou?" The bemused voice of his mother's secretary greeted him.

Ryou swallowed with difficulty. "Yes, this is Ryou speaking."

"Ah. Well, Mrs Bakura asked me to tell you that she won't be home for a few days. There's an urgent business meeting in Amsterdam. I hope you understand."

Ryou nodded, and then realised that was completely pointless.

"Erm...yes. Thank you. I mean, that's fine."

"Yes. Mrs Bakura said you'd be fine. We offered to shift the meeting, but she insisted. Well, have a good day."

"You too. Goodbye."

Ryou put the phone down hurriedly, fighting down the urge to overreact to this news.

Of course she would choose a business meeting over me. I've known that since...forever.

He wandered back to the sofa and sat down heavily, his sandwich not seeming quite so appealing anymore and his good mood in tatters.

His thoughts drifted as he leaned back into the soft leather, and he found himself thinking about Marik.

Again.

Ryou pulled at the peach-stained bandage on his wrist, remembering how dark Marik's hand had been against his own, how piercing his eyes had been behind platinum bangs, and felt a delicious shiver run down his spine.

I should be frightened of him, not lusting after him! The much ignored rational-Ryou struggled to make itself heard.

He remembered the warmth of Marik's dark coat as it lay heavy on his lap.

That's what Marik is. Warm.

Ryou pressed two fingers into his own arm, briefly wondering if he was cold in comparison.

You're being ridiculous, he thought. You're sixteen years old. You like Marik because he's pretty and older and unobtainable. Not because he's warm.

Unobtainable. That's it. People have an annoying habit of wanting what they can't have, and this is no different.

Ryou frowned.

What do I want from Marik, anyway? Apart from Marik himself, that is.

That was part of his attachment to Marik, for sure, but Ryou wasn't shallow. The pretty surface of Marik shouldn't have been good enough, important enough to turn his brain to mush and cut his attention span down to zero.

Somewhere deep in Ryou's mind, in the dark recesses where he rarely ventured, he felt a strange, possessive feeling creep. The idea of having that – Marik - to hold and to look into those fathomless eyes and to truly believe that he thought of no one else was so absurd- and yet so tantalising.

It's just a crush.

Crush sounded nice. It was something everyone got. It was nothing special, a seed planted only to be left withering in the dirt.

But crush sounded painful as well.

Crushed. Smushed into nothing, and forgotten.

Maybe that explained the hollow feeling in Ryou's chest.

He'd been crushed.

"Ice cream."

That was what Ryou heard when he picked up his mobile for the second time.

"Yes... what about it?"

"I just said it so I could see...erm, imagine... the look on your face."

"Right."

"Only joking, stupid. I want ice creams, and you want out of the house. There is only one solution."

"What's that?"

"Come and get ice creams with me!"

"Wow, Malik. I never would have come up with that one."

"Don't be rude. We can't all be geniuses."

"My mother will kill me."

"So? You're already officially dead."

"...What?"

"I told everyone in maths that you died in an accident with an oversized pastry and a pneumatic drill."

"Malik, that's ridiculous. You didn't."

"I did."

"No you didn't."

"Okay, I didn't. I'm so predictable. By the way, Akefia's coming too."

"What?"

"Hope you don't mind!"

"I don't get a choice, do I?"

"Nope. Don't worry, he's lovely, and I warned him about your secret relationship with his employee-"

"Malik! There isn't a relationship!"

"You should have seen his face."

"Oh my God, Malik. Keep your mouth shut next time."

"I'll hold you responsible if I starve."

"My ears are bleeding from your inane chatter."

"Bye! See you at five."

"Wait wha-"

"We're meeting in the square."

"Oka-"

Beeeeeeep.

Ryou pulled his coat tighter around himself, shivering slightly. He was extremely glad he'd decided to wear gloves as it was particularly cold, and the parade of shops near the Square provided less shelter from the wind than you might have expected. The sky was an ominous shade of grey and Ryou glanced up worriedly as he passed a warm looking café. If it snowed, he would kill Malik for dragging him out of the house.

Malik is the only person I know who would voluntarily eat ice cream in this wea-

Someone grabbed him from behind, with a jubilant cry of "Ryou!"

"Malik, that is not a socially acceptable way to greet people." Ryou prised his friend's arms off him and adjusted his coat.

Malik beamed, "Nice to see you too."

Ryou noticed that his friend was similarly wrapped up against the cold, but unlike Ryou, who was wearing navy-blue, Malik's gloves and scarf were rainbow-striped and stood out lividly against the somewhat dull backdrop of the Domino Square. Ryou blinked.

"Where's Akefia?"

Malik's head turned almost comically fast to look over his left shoulder. "Oh, he's coming. He's slow, you know? He keeps whining about how ice cream is out -of-season. I don't know what he's on about, ice cream is always good... Wait, there he is! AKEFIA! OVER HERE!"

Ryou watched the lone figure strolling leisurely towards them. The first thing he noticed was how tall it was.

"Malik, you hypocrite. You said Marik was too tall for me; look at him!"

Malik frowned. "Ryou, you're shorter than me."

"These things are relative, Malik."

"Screw relative. I want ice cream!" Malik dashed off to greet Akefia with the enthusiasm of a hyperactive dog chasing its favourite toy. Ryou followed at a less manic pace, feeling slightly apprehensive; what if Akefia didn't like him?

That would be unspeakably awkward.

He caught a snatch of their conversation as he caught up with them.

"...for summer, Malik. You'll get brain freeze." Akefia was saying, sounding faintly amused.

Malik's indignant response rang out. "God! You're all such killjoys. Okay, I'll get ice cream, while you two be miserable togeth- mmph!" His rant was stopped abruptly when Akefia leaned down and kissed him. He kissed back without inhibition.

Ryou froze, horrified.

Great. As far as I am aware, there is no common decorum which says what you should do when your best friend engages in public displays of affection with another man who you don't know in the middle of the town square.

Having deduced that shouting "Can I join in?" would be an inappropriate reaction to the situation, Ryou stood awkwardly a few metres away, face burning. Malik and his new 'friend' were definitely attracting the wrong kind of stares.

And I was worried about whether Akefia liked me. Now the real question is whether he'll let go of Malik's face for long enough to even notice I'm here.

Half an hour later, the trio were sitting at a rickety table outside one of the cafés overlooking the river. Fortunately for Ryou, Malik and Akefia had ceased making out, but now he was facing an entirely different situation: conversation.

"So...you're Ryou?"

Ryou glanced up from his hot chocolate, bought not so much for its flavour as its warmth, only to find Akefia watching him curiously.

"Yes. I'm sorry for invading your date."

Not that that's stopped you doing anything.

Akefia laughed, but the laughter didn't touch his eyes. "Don't worry about it..."

Ryou sensed there was something coming, and braced himself.

"Did you really go to Marik's?" Akefia asked; subtlety evidently wasn't his strong point. No wonder him and Malik had such a good time together.

"He did! Didn't you, Ryou?" Malik was distracted from making origami cranes from his napkin by the sudden question.

Ryou knew he was blushing. "Yes... but it isn't what it sounds like!"

Akefia raised his eyebrows incredulously. "You're serious? You crazy kid."

Malik nudged him pointedly "You thought I was lying."

"Of course I did. Can't trust someone you've fucked." Akefia elbowed him back.

"What the hell?"

I did not need to hear that.

"We aren't a couple, you know." Ryou said, in attempt to steer their conversation out of the gutter.

"I should think not." Akefia said, whilst attempting to steal Malik's scarf. "Impromptu relationships never end well."

Malik snorted "That's stupid."

"It's also true, my dear. Keep that in mind." There was an underlying severity there that made Ryou wince slightly.

Malik rolled his eyes, their playfulness fading. "You know what? I don't care. I'm going to get another... something." He turned and walked off, rewinding his scarf as he went.

Akefia watched him leave and then turned to Ryou. "Devil-may-care little whore, isn't he?"

Ryou did a double take. Where did that come from?

"So... how'd it go?" Akefia asked casually, apparently having forgotten that he'd just insulted Ryou's best friend.

"How did what go?" Ryou said coldly. He was beginning to understand Marik's discomfort on the subject of Malik and Akefia.

"Your little liaison, your midnight rendezvous."

"I'm not sure it's any of your business."

Akefia laughed. "Come on, Ryou. I didn't mean to offend you. I'm just curious."

Ryou looked away, slightly mollified.

"You really didn't notice anything strange about him?"

The pills...

"Not really."

The visible half of Akefia's face was disbelieving. Ryou wondered briefly why Akefia wore his hair like that – silver bangs swept down over his face, hiding his right eye.

"You've got to be kidding. He's the strangest person I've ever met, and I've met some freaks in my time."

"That's a little harsh. He seemed normal to me."

"My family are dead. People think I am."

Akefia's voice lowered.

"Well, Marik isn't the person you think he is. If you value normality, I wouldn't recommend pursuing him."

"Excuse me?" Ryou was dumbfounded.

"I've known Marik for a long time," Akefia continued, ignoring Ryou's expression, "I've seen him at his worst, and believe me, you don't want to see that. His act will crumble eventually."

"Why do you even care?"

"I care because I've seen what happens when people give up on him. People like you, who think they can take it and then realise they can't."

"You shouldn't worry about me. I can handle myself."

Sure you can, Ryou. With Malik there to back you up, that is.

"I'm not doing this for you; I've worked too hard on him to let him go back to that. He deserves better, and you can't argue with that."

"I..." Ryou stopped.

I won't give up on him?

I'd never hurt him?

"I don't even know him. We aren't a couple. I already told you."

Coward. Liar. Pathetic, pathetic little boy.

Akefia's smile was cruel. "Of course you aren't. But you want to be, don't you? I can see it in your innocent face, Ryou."

Ryou stared at his feet; he couldn't bear the thought of looking up and seeing himself reflected in Akefia's glittering eyes, looking every bit as dejected as he felt.

"Everyone wants someone." He said quietly.

He heard Akefia lean back in his chair, so relaxed, so nonchalant. "If you want him so much...why did you let him get away?"

"I don't know."

"Better luck next time. If there is a next time, that is. One thing's for sure; you'll never find another like Marik."

This was too much to bear.

Ryou stood up and walked away, his chair scraping harshly against the concrete in his haste to get up. Akefia watched impassively.

"It was nice meeting you." He said, somewhat redundantly, as Ryou had turned and was walking hastily in the opposite direction.

A few moments later, Malik returned.

"Where'd Ryou go?" he asked, immediately concerned. It was almost as if he could sense the tension.

Akefia shrugged. "Home, I guess."

"Oh." Malik looked slightly put out. "I got him another hot chocolate."

"I'll have that." Akefia pulled the Styrofoam cup from Malik's gloved hand and placed a careless kiss on his jaw.

"You're freezing, Akefia." Malik sat on the arm of Akefia's chair, his jeans sliding down to expose a sliver of tan stomach. Akefia leaned his head on his shoulder and to a bystander it probably looked like a perfectly innocent gesture. Malik knew better; Akefia's cold hand up the back of his shirt gave away as much.

"Warm me up, then." Malik didn't see the predatory smile that was slowly spreading across Akefia's face but even if he had, the chances are he wouldn't have cared.

"Sounds good to me." He felt Akefia's lips on the back of his neck, and a shiver of anticipation ran down his spine.

They abandoned their date in favour of the dark decadence of Akefia's apartment; it was distinctly warmer between the sheets.

The sun was hanging low in the sky, casting a watery white light across the promenade. The river and the sky gleamed the same steel-grey; it was bleak, to say the least. Against this washed out slice of Domino, you could make out a solitary figure in navy blue, walking alone towards the thrum of the inner city.

You might have said that it looked defeated.

It's finished, it's finished, it's finished finished finished!

Woo!

As you can probably tell, I am ridiculously happy that this chapter is finished. It is a sign that the story is actually moving forwards!

Kal277.