It's like you're a drug. It's like you're a demon I can't face down. It's like I'm stuck. It's like I'm running from you all the time. And I know I let you have all the power. It's like the only company I seek is misery all around.
Marik dropped to his knees and cried as burning pain seared his skin, consuming his senses so that all he knew was the hot, inflamed sting of his carved flesh. Trying to move only caused more pain, and he found himself unable to crawl the rest of the way to his own bed. Even the slight shudder of each sob increased his suffering and encouraged his tears. His tears fell and mixed with the dusty sand on the floor, darkening it until, in the dim candlelight, it looked like blood.
The more he cried, the more pain he was in, so he cried even more. The cycle of emotional torture continued, overwhelming the child who was too young to understand or handle what had been done to him or why it was happening. Even if he were older, though, and could understand his father's reasoning, he would still be distressed. Nothing truly justified putting a child, your own son, through so much pain.
"I feel so alone," Marik whimpered, hiding his face in his hands as he continued to cry, wishing desperately for a friend, for someone to comfort him in his agony.
"I'll be your friend."
Marik looked up in surprise, but nobody was there. Breathing shallowly, Marik called out, "Who's there?"
"The one who will make things better," the voice whispered in his ear, sounding like it came from all directions at once. "I will be your friend and save you from ever being hurt again."
"You can do that?" Marik asked in awe and disbelief. He didn't think there could ever be an end to this.
"I am the strength you're too afraid to use," the voice told him. "I'm the one who will keep you safe. I am the one who cares more for you than anyone else ever could. I am the one who will never desert you."
"What is your name?"
"Malik."
It's like you're a leech sucking the life from me. It's like I can't breathe without you inside of me, and I know I let you have all the power, and I realize I'm never gonna quit you over time.
"What have you done?" Marik demanded, filled with horror as he faced Malik in his mind.
"I've saved you." Malik tilted his head a little as he coolly considered his distraught alter ego. "He hurt you. He scared you. Now, you are safe."
"Safe?" his twin repeated tearfully, wanting to trust his other self, wanting to believe that he was finally safe.
"I would never lie to you." The other boy stepped close and took Marik's face in his hands. "You are safe now, but I won't rest until I am strong enough to protect you from the whole world. I will be strong enough that you will never be afraid again."
"Really?" It sounded too good to be true. Was such an existence possible? A life without fear and pain and darkness?
"Really." Malik pressed his lips to Marik's for a moment, surprising his better half. "I won't give up until we do." His eyes narrowed with anger as he added, "And the pharaoh, the one responsible for all of your pain, will suffer as we have. He doesn't deserve his power if he's going to use it to dictate another's pain."
"You're right," Marik agreed, fascinated with these new ideas and almost surprised at himself. "Nobody who hurts people like that should be allowed to have so much power."
"I will make that power ours," Malik promised, grasping Marik's hands in his own as they stood together in a puddle of blood. "I will avenge you and claim his throne for us."
It's like I can't breathe. It's like I can't see anything, nothing but you. I'm addicted to you. It's like I can't think without you interrupting me in my thoughts, in my dreams. You've taken over me. It's like I'm not me. It's like I'm not me.
"Why are you doing this?"
Marik was terrified of Malik now. He'd taken over and subjugated his lighter half, imprisoning him in their soul room as he set about their campaign for power on his own. Marik's wrists wore manacles that chained him to the stone wall behind him. It was the stone wall of his underground home in Egypt. Malik had made his prison into the place where he'd suffered the most pain and fear. Malik stood before him, his purple cape flowing from his shoulders and the Millennium Rod clasped tightly in one hand, his black tank top tight around his muscular torso, his cargo pants loose enough to be comfortable but tight enough to be flattering.
"Because you were getting in the way. The moment you started second-guessing yourself, you became a liability. I couldn't let you ruin all of our plans, now could I?" He strolled closer to his other identity, looking calm and casual, even smiling a little. "Trust me when I tell you that I know best."
"How can I trust you when you betrayed us? Betrayed me?" Marik demanded, deeply upset. "You gave away our cover, then you took control when I told you not to!" His breathing was shallow now just as it had been when he was a child, his circumstances pressuring him into a similar state of distressed panic. "I told you not to and you still did it!" he shouted angrily. "How am I supposed to trust you now?"
"You'll have to trust me," he answered with that same, unconcerned smile, kneeling down before the tan teen. He hooked the head of the Millennium Rod under Marik's chin and forced his hikari to look him in the eye. "I'm in control now, so you don't have a choice."
"No!" Marik screamed, like a child having a temper tantrum. "I'm in control! I have to be in control, Malik you know that!"
He fell silent as Malik pressed the golden artifact firmly against his throat, bringing him to his senses as he cut off his air for a few moments, then eased the pressure.
"You said you loved me." Quiet tears began to fall from Marik's eyes. "You promised you'd never hurt me."
"I do love you." Malik removed the Millennium Rod from his throat and kissed him slowly. "This is for your own good."
"I don't… I don't believe you…" Marik murmured between kisses, trying to resist his desire. Malik was the only one who loved him, and Marik, like every other human being, wanted to be loved.
"Yes you do."
Malik unzipped Marik's cropped hoodie and unsheathed the Rod's blade. He cut away Marik's purple hoodie and black tank-top, his prisoner trembling as he bit his lip and watched the other's movements anxiously, afraid that the blade might slip. He pulled away the last scrap of fabric and set the Rod down out of Marik's reach.
"I need to be in control," Marik insisted faintly as Malik's hands traced over his chest, his abs, his shoulders, his neck. One calloused hand curled around Marik's throat, caressing it gently in an imitation of a choke-hold.
"You like the chains, though," Malik murmured. He licked a slow trail of saliva up Marik's cheek.
"No I don't. Let me out." Marik was pleading now, sounding pathetic as his alter ego cupped his hand over the slight bulge in Marik's pants. "Let me be free again, Malik. Please, please…" He was trembling again as he turned his sad lilac eyes upon his partner in crime. Their faces were so close that Marik's nose brushed against Malik's cheek. "Please, Malik. Please," he begged, whimpering like the child he used to be.
"No." Malik roughly claimed Marik's lips in a harsh kiss. "You don't need to be in control, because you can trust me. I am in control now. I will take care of you."
Malik pulled away and stood over Marik, opening his pants with one hand as he beckoned Marik with the other. Shakily, Marik got to his knees and stood, his face now close to the other's crotch. He had just enough loose chain that he could take hold of the waistband and pull the khaki pants and boxers down to his knees. Malik grinned as he watched him, pleased by how well-trained Marik was and proud of himself for making him that way. He twisted his fingers into Marik's hair as his hikari hesitated and looked up at him with uncertainty and fear.
"Learn to love the chains, my dear," Malik crooned. "You won't be escaping them anytime soon."
Author Notes: Bronzeshipping as requested (by several people, actually)! The song is Addicted by Kelly Clarkson, and I hope you enjoyed this songfic. Please review and request a one-shot for your favorite Marik shipping!