When Marimba rhythm starts to play
Dance with me, make me sway
Like the lazy ocean hugs the shore
Hold me close, sway me more
The blimp and the Battle City Tournament were long forgotten for these two souls, loners both, who danced together to forget their past troubles. Evil alter egos and vengeful parents took back seat to their need to dance, love, and forget their difficult pasts.
Duke was teaching Marik how to samba, and while it was slow going, they were both enjoying themselves. Duke had a degree of self-awareness and control over his body that amazed Marik, making him eager to acquire that same amount of control over himself.
Yet, no matter how hard he tried to focus on the samba, he and Duke seemed to ease back into blues no matter what. Eventually, they stopped fighting it and let the music carry them as they rocked their hips together in a sensual haze.
Like a flower bending in the breeze
Bend with me, sway with ease
When we dance, you have a way with me
Stay with me, sway with me
They'd made progress in their blues dancing as well, so it was far from dull. Duke had taught Marik how to follow dips and turns, and he actually had fun just trusting himself to Duke's arms and expertise.
Trust was the hardest thing to learn about dancing for Marik. He was good at learning steps and rhythms, but trust was hard. Trust would never come easily to Marik Ishtar.
Other dancers may be on the floor
Dear but my eyes will see only you
Only you have that magic technique
When we sway, I go weak
"Do you teach dancing to all your other lovers?" Marik asked, his gaze fixed on a distant point past Duke's shoulder. He hadn't meant for the question to sound like a bitter accusation, but it did, even to his own ears. He winced at his blunder as Duke spun him out and pulled him close, wrapped in the other's arms.
"Not like this," Duke murmured into Marik's ear from behind without missing a beat. They rocked together for a few more beats before Duke added, "You're special to me, Marik. That's why I wanted you to stay in Japan. I can say goodbye to a one-time dalliance, but not to you."
Marik's heart skipped a beat, and he felt guilty for doubting him, even momentarily.
"I'm glad I stayed, too," he sighed. He'd be lying if he said that he hadn't been even a little bit anxious about letting Ishizu and Odion go back to Egypt without him, but he'd decided to take a risk, a leap of faith, and he was thrilled that Duke was proving himself as dedicated as he'd claimed to be.
I can hear the sound of violins
Long before it begins
Make me thrill as only you know how
Sway me smooth, sway me now
As the old song says, "Dancing soon becomes romancing," and Duke always did his best to make that true. For Duke Devlin, making love was as much of a dance as lindy-hop or salsa. As Duke and Marik cuddled on the bed, breathless in the afterglow, it occurred to Marik that everything Duke did was in rhythm, from sex to dancing to cooking to dice-rolling to typing.
"Do you always have a rhythm running through your head?" he asked, looking up at his dark-haired lover with wide lilac eyes.
"Always, and you do too," Duke purred, tapping the spot on Marik's chest that hid his heart.
Author Notes: The song is Sway by Michael Buble. Look it up; it's a great song for dancing! ;) Please review, and I might add another chapter to this!