-25-

Malik was gone again.

Bakura had tried to stay awake, but he'd just been so tired after that second time, completely exhausted not just from the sex but from everything else that had happened that day—waking up in the middle of the night to find Malik gone and finally realizing how wrong that was, the conversation with Ryou when he'd found out the awful truth, and then the meeting with the demon, followed by being stuck alone in the apartment while knowing Malik was being tortured and unable to do anything about it. So finally, against his own will, he'd eventually fallen asleep in Malik's arms with the comforting heka bouncing around the room. But the heka must have dissipated sometime in the night, because in the morning, Bakura had woken up to an empty apartment.

He realized that if it were any other day, he'd simply think Malik was at work. But now he knew the truth.

He tried to look on the bright side. He still needed to finish his conversation with Ryou, and he knew it wouldn't be possible to do that if Malik were here—not without the static cutting off everything Ryou tried to say, not without something worse happening, happening to Malik, if Bakura talked about the truth to Ryou in front of Malik.

Malik would be back soon, like he always was, and at worst he'd be a little bruised up, and hopefully by the time Malik walked in the door Bakura would be finished talking to Ryou.

And the reason he needed to talk to Ryou was because Ryou was the one who was going to get them the hell out of here.

So Bakura took a deep breath to steel himself, then picked up his phone and dialed Ryou. Ryou answered on the first ring.

"Ryou?"

"Oh, thank the gods. I was so worried. I've been calling and calling—"

"The phone never rang," Bakura said.

"Are you okay, though?" Ryou asked.

"As much as I can be under the circumstances, I suppose."

"That's good," Ryou said. "So...what's happened since the last time we talked?"

"Well, first, a demon grabbed me and cut off our phone call," Bakura said.

"So you still remember where you are? Everything that's happened?"

"Unfortunately for me, yes." Bakura gave a bitter laugh. "The demon that grabbed me...it admitted to me where we really are. It said it doesn't have the power to erase the knowledge now that I have it."

"Well, that's good anyways," Ryou said. "So is Malik there with you now?"

"No," Bakura sighed. "He came back since I last talked to you but he's...gone again."

"Was he alright when he came back, though?"

"A little banged up, but...basically."

"I'm glad to hear it," Ryou said. "So did you tell him? Does he know where you really are now?"

"No," Bakura admitted. "Malik still doesn't know."

"What? Why haven't you told him?" Ryou asked.

"I can't tell him. The demon said it would...do things to prevent it if I tried to tell him. Worse things than the static. Things that would really hurt him."

"I don't think it can, Bakura," Ryou said. "If they were capable of seriously hurting either of you, they would have done it long ago. So what's the worst they could do if you tried to tell him? Nothing more than what they're already doing anyways."

"I suppose so…" Bakura said slowly as he realized Ryou was right. "But still, if they just snatch him every time I try to tell him—"

"I think if they were able to take him any more often than they do now, they'd already be doing that," Ryou reasoned. "But they can't keep you permanently separated. So there must be a lot of times when they're unable to take either of you. Could you possibly figure out when one of those times is and just tell him then?"

"Oh." Bakura blinked. That made sense. Now that Ryou had said it, he saw that he should have figured it out himself. But he hadn't been thinking straight ever since learning the terrible truth about where they really were. Or maybe it was just that the threat of hurting Malik had short circuited the part of his brain capable of rational thought. "Yeah, that should actually be easy enough." He could just create some heka with Malik and tell him while the protective spell was still active. Bakura barked out a little laugh at himself for not thinking of that on his own. "I guess you can't trust what a demon says to you."

"It just lied to you because it wants to prevent you from telling him the truth. Because once both of you know, we can seriously work on getting you out," Ryou said. "And that's why it's imperative that you tell him."

"Yeah, okay, I get it. I'll think of how to break it to him when he gets back." Bakura paused. "So...what is this plan to get us out?"

"Okay, well, it has to do with your combined magic—I mentioned that to you before," Ryou said. "I think the fact that you're both powerful magic users with strong kas in close proximity to each other is what has allowed you to create the protection from the Shadows, so if we can use that—"

"That's not why," Bakura cut him off without thinking.

"Huh?"

"It's not because we're both powerful magic users. That's not why the magic is protecting us."

"What do you mean? How do you know?" Ryou asked.

"I figured it out based on...well, a lot of things," Bakura said. "Plus, the demon admitted it to me."

"We've established that demons lie, Bakura."

"Yeah, but I'm totally sure about this," Bakura said. "The fact that the demon said so isn't the only way I know."

"Okay…" Ryou said slowly. "So why is the magic protecting you?"

"It's...not important," Bakura said. He suddenly realized he really did not want to tell Ryou the actual reason. "I don't know why I even brought it up. Just...know that you don't know everything about what's going on, okay? I can figure some things out on my own without your help."

"It really, really is important, Bakura," Ryou said, sounding uncharacteristically irritable. "We definitely need to know everything about the magic protecting you in order to get you guys out of there."

"Who is we?"

"Rishid, Ishizu and I. I told you we've been working to get you out."

"Oh, no. We are not telling this to Ishizu!" Bakura exclaimed.

Ryou sighed. "Yes, fine. You and Malik can just stay in the Shadow Realm for the rest of eternity since you don't feel like telling us."

Bakura couldn't help laughing a little. Ryou wasn't usually sarcastic. This whole situation must have been really stressing him out.

"Oh, you think it's funny?" Ryou said. "Bakura...I hate to point this out, but...didn't you say Malik isn't there with you right now? You...do realize what's happening to him."

Bakura swallowed, suddenly feeling sick. "Okay. Damn. That was low."

"I'm sorry. I just need you to tell me so we can get you both out of there. And then demons won't be able to take either of you anymore. Alright?" Ryou said.

Bakura let out a shaky breath. "Gods, right now Malik is…"

"I didn't mean to upset you," Ryou said, sounding apologetic. "As I said earlier...they're not capable of seriously hurting either of you. Malik will be fine. But...please just tell me. I really need to know so we can properly create the spell we'll use to get you two out of there. It's not the kind of thing we want to mess up due to not having accurate information."

"Ugh, fine," Bakura said, realizing he had no choice. "Okay, it's...it's our…" He paused and took a breath before trying again. "The magic that keeps Malik and I safe was created because of our...um...you know...for each other. Our bond. Our bond with each other."

"Oh," Ryou said softly. "Oh, Bakura."

"Shut up!" Bakura cried.

"It does make sense, though, that your love for each other would be protecting you. Love and friendship can create powerful magic," Ryou said, sounding thoughtful. "But Bakura...do you know this for sure, or are you just guessing? You know you can't trust a demon. It's really important that we know for certain."

"I know," Bakura said. "After I realized, I...tested it."

"How did you test it?"

"Okay, that I'm not telling you," Bakura spat.

"Bakura, look, can we please just not argue about this?" Ryou said helplessly. "It's really, really important. Just tell me so we can get you two out of there."

"You know what's creating the magic!" Bakura yelled. "Why do you need to know how I tested it?"

"Well, first of all, I need to know if it was a valid test," Ryou said. "We can't just guess about what's creating the protective magic and why."

"It was valid," Bakura insisted. "I literally saw the magic we created. And I saw the apartment—the construct—becoming more solid with the magic."

"Okay, good," Ryou said. "So then, I need to know exactly how you created the magic. That's important as far as what you two will need to do to get out of there. We need to craft a spell for you two, so we need all the information we can get about exactly how the magic is created."

"Oh, gods," Bakura moaned, sounding pained.

"Bakura, please," Ryou said. "You do want us to get you two out of there, don't you?"

There was silence for a moment. Then, finally, Bakura worked up his nerve. "We fucked, alright!" Bakura yelled, his face heating. "It always happens when we have sex, and, and sometimes in a few other situations—like when we kiss or talk—but not as reliably, so...whatever! That's it!"

"So, when you make love..." Ryou said. "Oh, that's sweet."

"Shut up! Don't say that! I hate you!" Bakura cried.

"Okay, okay," Ryou said, sounding more businesslike now. "This is helpful information."

"It damn well better be," Bakura growled.

"I'll need some time to work out exactly what you two need to do to get out of there. It shouldn't take long," Ryou said. "In the meantime, just try to keep the magic strong as often as you can. That should help prevent either of you being taken as often."

"You're telling me we should fuck a lot," Bakura said, deadpan.

"Uh…" Ryou stumbled. "I guess."

"Oh, no, you want to advise me on my sex life, so just go ahead, let's talk about it!" Bakura said with overblown enthusiasm.

"Trust me, Bakura, I have absolutely no desire whatsoever to discuss what you and Malik do in bed," Ryou said. "I told you, I only needed to know how the magic was created so we can figure out exactly how to create the spell you two will need to do to get you guys back here."

"Oh, really? You have no desire to discuss it?" Bakura shot back. "So now you're uncomfortable hearing about how often Malik and I fuck?"

"Bakura, please…"

"No, really, this seems important. It's vital to preventing either of us being taken by the demons, you said," Bakura pointed out. "So, then, you're saying we should fuck more often than we already do?"

"Yes, try to do it as much as you can," Ryou said, sighing in resignation.

"Well, we already do it a lot. He fucks me at least once every day or two, so—"

"I really don't need the details, Bakura," Ryou cut him off.

"I don't know exactly how long I've been here, but you were already almost 18 by the time of the final game. So you must be an adult by now. Are you really that innocent about sex? Can't even talk about it?" A wicked smile grew on Bakura's face as he thought of getting Ryou back for embarrassing him by making him admit...that. "What, have you still not done it?" Bakura teased.

"It's not that," Ryou said. "I imagine I've done far more things than you have. It's just—"

"Wait, what?"

"Bakura, I shared head space with you long enough to know you're incredibly vanilla," Ryou said gently.

"What!"

"The point is, you're like a brother to me."

"What do you mean I'm vanilla?" Bakura yelled.

Ryou ignored the question and said, "You've known me since I was a child. I basically grew up with you. You even practically look like my twin."

"Shows what you know!" Bakura said. "I'm actually in my true form in this place—you know, the way I looked in ancient Egypt."

"Regardless," Ryou said. "I see you as close family. I don't want to think about you having sex any more than I want to think about whatever sex life my father may or may not have. It's just gross."

"Well, get over it," Bakura snapped. "This is kind of important. I'm trying to figure out a way to keep my partner from being tortured by a demon, if you didn't remember."

"You know I sympathize, Bakura. I've been trying to get you both out of there for so long," Ryou said. "But like I said, just make love more often. I can't fathom why you'd need to discuss it with me."

"Well as I was trying to tell you before you so rudely interrupted with your squeamishness, we already do it a lot," Bakura said. His voice took on a slightly sinister tone as he continued, "And Malik probably wouldn't mind doing it more, except he doesn't like leaving me sore too often, so I don't think he'd be willing to do it more than we do now, since he's always worried that if he fucks me more than once a day on a regular basis it'll rip up my asshole and—"

"Oh my gods," Ryou cut in. "Oh my gods, I do not need to hear this."

For a moment, Bakura knew he must have sounded like he was trying to hold back laughter. But he managed to sound quite serious when he said, "It's kind of important, Ryou. I need you to help me figure out how to get him to have sex with me more often, so we don't get kidnapped by demons so much. Demons, Ryou."

"Yes, I understand, but I'm pretty sure you can figure that out on your own, Bakura," Ryou said, seeming like he was trying to sound patient.

"So, you won't help me?" Bakura asked, putting on his most pathetic voice. "Because, you know, I do fuck Malik occasionally, but he doesn't like bottoming very often, and like I said, if I bottom more than once every day or two I get kind of sore, and I'd be fine with it, but Malik has always been pretty protective of me, so I don't really see how you expect me to figure out on my own how I can get us to fuck more often than we already do when my ass—"

"Oh my Ra, Bakura, I seriously don't think it matters what type of sex you have!" Ryou cut in sharply. "Just...make love in a way that doesn't involve your...anus." Ryou made a sound of disgust. "Gods, I can't believe you're making me talk about this. I really don't see why you'd need me to help you figure that out."

"What do you mean, Ryou?" Bakura asked with mock innocence. "What type of sex are you saying we should have?"

"You darn well know what I'm talking about. Now you're just messing with me."

"No, Ryou, I'm so vanilla, I don't think I'm sure exactly what it is you're referring to."

Ryou let out a weary-sounding sigh. "I'm sure you're aware of what oral sex is, Bakura."

"Oh, oral sex? You mean like when Malik takes my cock and sticks it down his throat and—"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Ryou cried. "Bakura, you are trapped in the Shadow Realm. Do you not think we have more important things to discuss? We do not have time for you to waste on trying to force me to think about your—ugh—ripped up anus and for you to amuse yourself by making me talk about you putting your penis in Malik's mouth!"

Bakura was laughing hysterically by the time Ryou had finished talking. When he finally got ahold of himself, he said, "I am in the Shadow Realm. And my partner happens to be temporarily missing right now. So I'd think you'd be a little more sympathetic about me attempting to take some joy where I can get it."

Ryou sighed. "Fine. Can we just move on?"

"Alright, alright," Bakura conceded. "But...just to be clear...you are saying that Malik should give me more blow jobs."

"Oh my gods," Ryou whispered. "Yes, I am saying Malik should give you more blow jobs. And you should give him more blow jobs. Alright? Now I swear to Bastet, if you do not change the subject right now I am going to hang up this phone and leave you both in the Shadow Realm forever!"

A minute later, Bakura had finally finished laughing. He was met by stony silence from Ryou. Finally, Ryou said, "Are you through? Can we get back on track?"

"You're no fun," Bakura pouted. "You've never been any fun."

"That's because I'm the one who does all the work. Like all the work I'm doing right now trying to get you two out of there."

"Fine, fine," Bakura said.

"Good."

"Alright, what else do we need to discuss?" Bakura asked.

"Well...I guess there's not actually much that would be vital to inform you of right now. I suppose it would be easier to wait until we have the plan finalized, and Malik is aware of what's going on, and then I can just tell you both at the same time," Ryou said. "I'll work on the spell with Rishid and Ishizu. It really shouldn't take more than a couple weeks to get it finished. We already have most of it worked out. I just need to let them know the new information about your protective magic I got from you today, and we can make a few tweaks to the spell."

Bakura groaned as he thought about Ryou telling Malik's siblings where their protective magic came from.

"So, make sure you tell Malik that you're in the Shadow Realm," Ryou continued. "Once he knows, and we've got the spell finished, we can hopefully get you two out of there."

"Hopefully. Great," Bakura sighed.

"Everything will work out," Ryou assured him. "And I'm sure Malik will be back soon."

-26-

Bakura leaned against the couch cushion, Malik resting between his legs, lying back on his chest with Bakura's arms draped around his shoulders.

Bakura still hadn't told Malik about the disturbing truth he'd first learned from Ryou the previous day. Malik had only gotten home—or rather, back to the fucking construct, Bakura internally corrected himself—ten or fifteen minutes ago.

Of course, he'd been in a terrible mood when he'd walked in the door. The fact that Malik was always in a bad mood when he got back made sense now—anyone would be if they had just been tortured by demons.

But Bakura had gotten him calmed down, and managed to convince him to come cuddle on the couch.

"Oh, Malik, I wanted to tell you," Bakura started. "I talked to Ryou earlier today."

"Huh? Ryou? When did you talk to him?"

"On the phone, I mean."

Malik looked confused. "When did you have time to do that?"

Of course. Malik didn't remember being gone. He didn't know Bakura had been alone in the apartment. Bakura squeezed him a little tighter, trying not to think about what Malik must have been going through at the time.

Suddenly, he wanted to put off telling Malik the truth. Malik had just been through a lot, and Bakura hadn't even had time to think of a good way to break the news to him.

Besides, while he didn't think it would be possible for the demons to take Malik again right away after they had just been forced to return him, it really would be safest if they created some heka together before Bakura told Malik that they were actually in the Shadow Realm.

"Yes, well, anyways," Bakura said, avoiding answering Malik's question. Instead he said, "He said he thinks you need to give me more blow jobs."

Malik let out a little laugh and gave Bakura a skeptical look. "He did not."

"He definitely did." Bakura snickered. "Call him and ask him if you don't believe me."

"You know what? I'm going to call your bluff. I will call him," Malik said, starting to get up and reach for the phone.

"You absolutely should. Put him on speaker."

Malik dialed the number and, when Ryou answered, did as Bakura said and put him on speaker.

"Hey, Ryou. It's me."

"Oh, hi! It's really good to hear from you. I was...a bit worried," Ryou's voice came from the speaker.

"Why?" asked Malik.

"Oh, nothing. I just tend to worry," Ryou said lightly. "You're doing alright, though?"

"Yeah," Malik answered.

"I'm here too, Ryou," Bakura said. "You're on speaker."

"Oh! Both of you?" Ryou sounded excited. "So, do you...have something to tell me? I mean, can I help? Malik, did Bakura figure out how tell you that you're in—" Ryou was cut off by a loud blast of static.

"Stupid reception," Malik said.

"Damn it," Ryou said, as if to himself. "Why are you calling, then?"

"Ask him. Ask him," Bakura said.

"Ask me what?"

"Ryou, did you—" Malik had to pause to laugh a bit. "I'm really sorry, but did you...tell Bakura that I need to give him more blow jobs?"

"This is not happening," Ryou said under his breath.

"Remember how serious this is, Ryou," Bakura put in. "So tell the truth."

Ryou let out a loud, pained sigh. "Yes, Malik. I told Bakura that. You do, in fact, need to give him more blow jobs." Ryou groaned and lowered his voice to a harsh whisper. "I swear, Bakura, I'd kill you if you weren't already—"

The static cut Ryou off again, but Bakura was laughing so hard he barely noticed it.

"I hate you sometimes, Bakura," Ryou moaned.

"Uh, Ryou, did you lose a bet with Bakura or something?" Malik asked.

"No, Malik," Ryou sighed.

"So you're actually serious?" asked Malik.

"Yes. I really, seriously think that you need to give Bakura more blow jobs, and Bakura also needs to give you more blow jobs. It's actually really important, so just do it, alright?" Ryou made a growling sound and lowered his voice again. "I hate you, Bakura! I hate you!"

Bakura was rolling on the floor laughing. Malik was giggling, but his face was scrunched up in confusion at the same time.

"What exactly is going on?" Malik asked.

"Nothing," Ryou said, sounding like he was talking through gritted teeth. "Just...have oral sex with each other more often! I'm really serious! Now I have to go! Goodbye!"

Malik and Bakura heard a slamming sound come through the speakers, though Bakura was fairly sure Ryou was using a magically enhanced phone and therefore slamming the phone down would not, in fact, help with disconnecting the call. But a moment later, the call did cut off.

Bakura laughed until he couldn't breathe, and Malik just stared at him in confusion, but continued to giggle himself. When Bakura finally got ahold of himself, he stood up and held his palms out to Malik and said, "Well, you heard him."

"You know what?" Malik shrugged. "He also said you should give me more blow jobs, so I'm not even going to question it."

With that, they both laughed and raced off to the bedroom. Clothes were shed, and soon Bakura was on his back on the bed, staring at the ceiling, watching the golden heka appear as Malik slid him into his mouth. Bakura watched the glowing magic the entire time, dizzily observing how the sparkling gold lights bounced around the room, solidifying the walls and making everything shine with a bright, warm glow.

The lights flashed even brighter when his pleasure reached a crescendo and his orgasm overtook him. Once he was finished, he gave Malik his turn. He closed his eyes as he took Malik in, but he could still feel the heat of the light magic on his skin, and see the brightness even through his eyelids. When he could tell Malik was close, he opened his eyes and looked up at him, and he saw a second intense flash of light as Malik exploded in his mouth.

Afterwards, he came up to rest his head on Malik's shoulder, and Malik drew his arms around him.

"Seriously, though," Malik said after several minutes of quiet cuddling, "what was that bizarre phone call with Ryou all about?"

Bakura started to open his mouth. He wanted to tell Malik the truth.

But he still hadn't had time to think of the best way to break it to him. And he didn't want to consider the problem at the moment. He was feeling calm and content, the light heka from their union still shimmering in the air, a literal afterglow that warmed him and made him feel protected and safe, and which prevented him from wanting to do anything other than snuggle up with Malik and relax in his arms among the luminous sparks.

But Malik was staring at him, expecting an answer.

"Ryou called me vanilla," he finally said. It was the only thing that had come to mind.

"Wait, what?" Malik laughed.

"Apparently, he's more experienced than me," Bakura said with bitterness in his voice.

"Um. Wow," Malik said. "Now I just have more questions."

"Such as?" Bakura asked, stalling for time.

"Alright, first of all...how on earth does he even know that? How would he know anything about what you like in bed?"

"We shared a mind link, remember?"

"Oh. Yeah."

"I mean, it's not like he knows details," Bakura said defensively. "I didn't share my mind with him the way I did with you when you and I mind linked. But you know, he could get general impressions, and we shared head space for a really long time, so…"

Bakura trailed off and Malik nodded. "Alright, second question," Malik said. "How in the fuck did you and Ryou even end up discussing your sex lives with each other today in the first place?"

Bakura stared at him blankly. "Um…"

"I mean," Malik said quickly, "I'm not saying you can't discuss your sex life with your friend if you want to. I just think it's weird that you did. It just doesn't seem like the type of thing you two would ever want to talk about with each other."

"Trust me, it's really, really not," Bakura said, pulling a face as he did. "The whole conversation was...odd. And unpleasant."

"I'll bet." Malik blinked. "Okay, whatever. Third question: how did Ryou calling you vanilla result in him telling me on the phone to give you more blow jobs? How are those things even connected?"

"Well…" Bakura was frantically trying to come up with an answer that wasn't technically a lie. Somehow, he'd never been able to bring himself to lie to Malik about anything, even from the very beginning when he'd told him way too much about his plans and his past during their first ever conversation. "Well, I was pretty mad at him for calling me vanilla and...some other things he said. So, I was trying to get him back."

"So you made him promise to say embarrassing things on the phone to me to make it up to you?"

"Hey, wait a minute!" Bakura suddenly said. "What did you mean by it when you said, 'How does Ryou know that'? How does he know that I'm vanilla? You're saying he's right? Do you think I'm vanilla?"

"Oh, Bakura," Malik said with mock sympathy in his voice, giving him an exaggerated look of pity. Bakura scowled at him, and Malik laughed and kissed Bakura on his nose. Bakura snorted and turned away, a sour look on his face.

"Don't worry," Malik said, snuggling closer to him. "I like it."

"Shut up."

"I do, though."

Bakura looked back at him hesitantly. "Really?"

"Of course," Malik said. "I don't need any weird stuff to make being with you exciting."

"Yeah, okay, sure."

"I'd rather have my skin on yours than on an outfit or a toy," Malik said. "And I'm definitely not interested in either of us being aggressive."

Bakura made a hmph sound and turned away again.

Malik sighed, sounding thoughtful, and reached out to card his fingers through Bakura's hair. "You know, I think I've already had way more than enough violence for a lifetime...or many lifetimes. The things done to me...the things I did to other people...I'm just done with it all. After all that, I don't need it in bed as well. Isn't that how you feel, too?"

"Yeah, I guess…but..."

Malik tightened his arms around him. "I don't want to treat you like one of my mind slaves. I don't want to put you in chains like you were in Egypt. I don't want to feel trapped again myself, like I did in the tomb. I don't want any more scars, and I don't want to give them to anyone else. I don't want to slap you around like I did to everyone else, even…" He choked on his words a bit. "...even my brother…"

Bakura turned back to him at that last, sympathy written on his face. "Malik…"

Malik swallowed thickly, then after a moment he got a hold of himself and gave Bakura a wistful smile, twisting a lock of Bakura's hair around his finger. "When I first met you...it was…nice to have one person I never tried to hurt. Someone who never tried to hurt me. Someone I could work with as an equal instead of trying to control like one of my minions. And we could insult and threaten each other all day, but neither of us ever tried to lay a hand on the other, even back then, remember? I'd never had that with anyone, but then I found you. You were different. We were different. Even from the very start, back when we were both so fucked up...we always protected each other."

"Yeah," Bakura said quietly. He looked down, a blush forming on his cheeks.

Malik put his fingers under Bakura's chin and tilted his face up to look him in the eyes. "I don't want to be rough with you," Malik whispered.

"Oh-okay," Bakura breathed, and let Malik pull him in for a tender kiss.

"I always want to be gentle with you," Malik whispered against his lips. "And for you to be gentle with me. Isn't that what you want, too?"

"Yes," Bakura sighed.

Bakura let the kissing go on for a few more moments, but then he broke the contact and flipped over, though he pulled Malik close to spoon up behind him. "Alright, alright," Bakura said, voice gruff. "I didn't mean for it to get all...serious."

Malik laughed. "Yeah." After a pause, he said, "Anyways, you're not totally vanilla. You do technically have a kink."

"What do you mean?"

"Well...you like it when I hold you down and tickle you."

"I do not!" Bakura cried.

"Yeah, it doesn't make you hard as hell, or anything." Malik snickered.

"It doesn't! I don't like that!" Bakura yelled, his face heating.

"Wow, make up your mind. First you don't want to be vanilla, and now you don't want to have a kink?"

"Not a cute one!"

"It is cute," Malik said, chuckling. Bakura turned to give him a death glare.

"Hey, you said it, not me," Malik pointed out, holding his hands up in mock surrender.

Bakura sighed. "Gods. Fuck this entire day. How do I keep getting myself into these conversations?" Malik laughed, and Bakura thought to himself that if it were possible to die of being exposed to too much embarrassment in a single day, he would be…but he cut off the thought as he realized he was, in fact, already dead. And so was Malik. And Malik didn't even know.

Bakura closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to try to calm himself.

"I don't think our day was that bad," Malik said. "Do you really want to complain about a day when you got a blow job?"

Bakura opened his eyes, and looked around the room. The light heka still shone all around them, and he focused on it, trying to get back his calm from earlier. "No, I guess not," Bakura conceded. "But...I need sleep."

Malik yawned, as if the mere mention of sleep had reminded him he was tired.

Bakura closed his eyes again, trying to relax and avoid thinking about what was coming when he woke up. Because he would have to tell Malik soon. He wasn't looking forward to the conversation, but he knew he couldn't put it off much longer.

Maybe once Bakura was a little more rested, he would be able to think of the least traumatic way to tell him.

-27-

Bakura set his internal alarm—something he'd learned to do long ago in ancient Egypt—for an hour. He woke up when he wanted, and glanced around, checking for the magic. It was still there, but just beginning to dissipate, which wasn't surprising. The sex had been fairly quick, so he hadn't expected the magic to last as long as it had after that time when they'd really drawn things out.

He didn't want to be awake; he was tired. But he couldn't let Malik get taken again. And he knew he would be if he allowed himself to sleep too long, to sleep past the time when their magic faded out. He thought the demons always came for them when they'd been asleep. Bakura's meetings with the demons always happened when he'd been sleeping, so that he believed they were nightmares, and Malik had only ever disappeared during times when Bakura was sleeping, so that he was gone when Bakura woke up.

He now remembered the demon telling him a couple times that it loved it when they slept—and now he understood why. Their protective magic was likely at its weakest when they'd been sleeping for a while, meaning they hadn't interacted with each other for hours, hadn't done anything recently that could strengthen the magic. And when their magic was at its weakest, the demons came to snatch them from each other.

So he had to wake up before the magic went away. Besides, he couldn't wait any longer to tell Malik the truth about where they really were. He'd already waited too long.

He figured he had at least a few more minutes before the magic was totally gone, and that he could use that time to think of how exactly to tell Malik the awful truth.

So he lay there thinking, idly running his fingers over Malik's sleeping body as he did.

When he saw the last of the golden magic wink out of existence, he shook Malik awake.

Malik looked at him groggily. "What's wrong? Nightmare?"

"I hate to wake you up, but...I need to talk to you about something. And it can't wait."

Malik sat up, suddenly awake and alert. "What? What's the matter?"

"Have you ever noticed…" Bakura chewed on his lip, trying to remember how he'd decided to phrase what he wanted to say. "Have you ever seen the room suddenly get brighter? And then everything around us suddenly looks more solid? Almost like it's more...real? And sometimes things sort of look like they're pulsing? And it makes you feel really relaxed? And maybe it makes you kind of dizzy, but not in a bad way...or maybe it reminds you of heka?"

Malik gave him a surprised but confused look. "Actually...yeah. What—"

He broke off, shaking his head, seemingly unable to complete the question.

"And you know how it always happens when we—when we—" Bakura swallowed. He supposed if there was any time to use the word, it was now. He softened his voice, a tender look appearing in his eyes as he reached out to touch Malik's face. "When we make love."

Malik sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes going wide for a moment before they lidded as he sighed, "O-oh." He whispered Bakura's name, sounding awestruck, and pulled him in to join their lips together.

The room got impossibly brighter as they shared tender kisses, everything thrumming with the magic.

"Do you feel it?" Bakura murmured against his lips. "Can you see it?"

"Yes," Malik sighed. "Yes."

Bakura let their kisses go on for several moments, but he reminded himself he couldn't let himself get lost in it, as much as he wanted to. This was important. And he'd already put it off for too long, to the point that he was starting to worry it was the influence of the Shadows that was making him averse to telling Malik, the same way it had made him averse to attempting to leave the apartment and therefore finding out where he really was. So he had to fight against the aversion. This wouldn't be pleasant, but Malik needed to know, or they'd never get out of here.

So he pulled away, breaking the kiss and giving Malik a sheepish look of apology. "So, um...that's not your imagination or anything. It's actually real."

Malik gave him a confused look. "What?"

"I really hate to ruin the moment, but I just found something out recently, and I need to explain it to you, and it's not...well, it's not what you'd call good."

Malik began to look worried again. "What do you mean?"

"It's nothing we can't get through together, okay? But this is going to...um, be upsetting to hear."

"Alright, you're really starting to freak me out."

"Malik...after the final game...do you remember how you found me? In the Shadow Realm?" Bakura asked, deciding to jump right in, to just get this over with.

"Yeah?" Malik said.

"But I mean...do you remember specifically what happened after you found me?"

Malik opened his mouth as if to respond, but then suddenly closed it, a confused look appearing on his face. "Actually...I…"

Bakura nodded. "I thought so."

Malik was beginning to look frightened already. "What...why wouldn't I remember that?"

"Alright, does this sound familiar?" Bakura took a deep breath. "You were yelling for me, and then you heard me call out to you, and you found me being tortured by a demon, so you grabbed me and we started running and the demon was chasing us. But the spell you tried to use to get us out of the Shadows didn't work, so we started running again. But then the demon caught up to us and grabbed us. Then the demon told you that you didn't belong to the Shadows yet, that you could still get back to the mortal realm as long as you left me behind. But you refused, so the demon tried to make a deal with me. It said it would let me out of the Shadows if I was willing to trade, to leave you here—I, I mean, in the Shadows—in place of me. You told me to do it, but I wouldn't."

Malik nodded slowly as Bakura talked. "Yeah, that—of course, yes. I remember now." He shook his head. "I don't know why I didn't before."

"So…" Bakura paused, steeling himself. "So...do you remember...what happened after that?"

Malik looked like he was thinking hard. "Oh," he suddenly said. "We kissed."

Bakura smiled and nodded. "And when we kissed, we were suddenly transported to an apartment…this apartment."

Malik squinted, seeming as if he were attempting to work out what Bakura was trying to tell him. "Are you saying...the kiss got us out of the Shadow Realm? You mean...when we kiss or have sex, it creates actual magic? Is that why you were talking about the thing where the room gets brighter and stuff when we have sex? Is that actually heka?"

"Well...yeah, it is real heka."

"Oh." Malik smiled. "That's actually really cool. But...you said what you had to tell me was bad…"

Bakura sighed. "Malik...do you remember the last time you actually saw another person besides me? The last time you saw your siblings? Or the last time you were outside, or anywhere other than this apartment? Do you even have any idea where we live...like, what city or even what country we live in?"

Malik's eyes went wider and wider as Bakura talked, and Bakura could see the fear bleeding into Malik's features again.

When Malik didn't answer any of his questions, Bakura squeezed his eyes closed for a second, then finally decided to just come out with it. "The kiss didn't get us out of the Shadow Realm, Malik. It brought us here, to this apartment, but...it's not an apartment."

Malik just stared at him, silent.

Bakura went on. "It's a magical construct created by our...you know, our bond with each other. The magic we create together grants us some protection from the Shadows, allows us to...well, be safe here together. But...outside of here is…"

"We're still in the Shadow Realm," Malik said, voice flat. He continued staring at Bakura, but didn't otherwise react.

"You're...taking this better than I thought you would. Better than I did, anyways. Or are you just in shock?"

"I…" Malik started. "I think I already knew."

"Wait, what?"

Malik gave a quick shake of his head. "I mean, not consciously." He paused and dropped his head into his hands. "Gods, this is just like the Battle City tournament!"

When Bakura gave him a questioning look, Malik elaborated, "When I found out about the existence of my alternate personality...who really killed my father...everything. I overheard my sister talking about it. You'd think I would have panicked, or maybe tried to deny it, but I remember I didn't even react. Because I already knew. Somewhere, deep down...somewhere in the back of my mind...I always knew."

"Well, your powers of denial have always been legendary," Bakura joked, giving him a false, affectionate punch on the arm.

Malik actually laughed.

"Just for the record," Bakura said, "I sure as fuck didn't know. I only just found out yesterday."

"How did you find out?" Malik asked.

"Ryou told me," Bakura said.

"Ryou," Malik gasped, as if he'd suddenly realized something. "How can we talk to Ryou? Don't tell me he's here in the Shadow Realm too?"

"No, no," Bakura said. "He managed to make a spell so he could contact us occasionally. Those phone calls we get from him and your siblings...that's them contacting us from the world of the living."

"Oh," Malik said. "Well, that's good. At least we can still talk to them."

"And they're working on getting us out," Bakura quickly assured him. "And now that we're both aware of where we really are, they should be able to manage it soon. Sorry, I should have mentioned that part right off."

"Oh." Malik smiled. "Well that's really good, then."

Bakura gave him a look of confusion. "You know...I know you said you already kind of knew, but you were being really calm about this whole thing for not even knowing until just now if there was even a way for us to get out."

Malik shrugged. "I can think of worse things than being trapped with you for eternity."

Bakura laughed. "You're insane."

"Anyways, I chose this. I remember now. I did tell the demon I'd stay here with you."

"So, um...you do understand that us being in the fucking Shadow Realm is an actual problem, right? The protective magic we create together wears off after a while, especially when we sleep and haven't been interacting with each other for hours. And then...the demons take one of us. And they torture us, Malik. Are you remembering that part?"

Malik scrunched up his face in confusion. "No...I…"

"Those nightmares I have...they aren't actually nightmares. A lot of them, anyways. They're real. And Malik, you're gone so damn much I seriously thought you had a fucking job. And you always come home all pissed off and covered in bruises and cuts."

Malik was starting to look frightened again now, and though Bakura didn't like to see him scared, he was relieved to see a more normal reaction from him.

"I mean," Bakura said, "apparently they can't do anything too serious to us because of the protective magic. But they can fuck with our heads, give us minor injuries...and I don't know about you, but I'd seriously prefer not to spend the rest of eternity trapped in a hellish dimension where demons just snatch me or my partner every day or so for a nice little torture session."

"But you said my siblings and Ryou are going to get us out, right?" Malik asked, an urgent note to his voice now.

"Yeah. They're working on it. They couldn't do much before because they couldn't even get us to realize where we really are. The demons were using Shadow magic to block them from telling us. But now that we know...Ryou said they'd be able to craft a spell for us to do that will get us the hell out of here and back to the world of the living."

"Okay," Malik sighed. He breathed deeply for a moment, seeming to calm himself. "I trust Ishizu and Rishid. And Ryou, too, from what I know of him. If they say they can get us out, then they can."

"I think they will. We need to contact Ryou soon and let him know that you know the truth now."

"Oh...oh, gods," Malik said, suddenly looking sick. He clutched at his stomach, doubling over.

"Malik?" Bakura asked urgently, putting his arm around his shoulders.

"I'm...I'm okay...I just...I just remembered. About...the torture."

Bakura pulled him closer. "It's alright. Not much longer. They'll have the spell ready soon."

"So...what the demons do to me...that's what they've been doing to you, too?" Malik glanced up at him, a pained look in his eyes.

"Yeah," Bakura admitted. "But I'm used to it."

"Fuck, don't say that!" Malik exclaimed, dropping his head into his hands. "Damn...I guess I was just repressing all the things the demons did...but as soon as you said it...about the torture…"

"Sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that part." Bakura rubbed Malik's back.

"No, no...I'd rather know the whole truth." Malik grimaced. "Gods, my powers of denial are legendary."

"Don't beat yourself up about it too much. It's not entirely your fault. The demons have been influencing our minds to make us forget what happens when they have us...or in my case, make me think they were just dreams. And they were bending our minds to discourage us from thinking too hard about anything. That's why I didn't really realize something was wrong with this whole situation until Ryou told me."

"Fuck," Malik said. "This is way more messed up than I first thought."

Bakura gave him a sympathetic look, continuing to stroke his back over his shirt.

"Bakura...I don't want…" Malik paused, looking distressed. "Thinking that they could just take you and hurt you at any time...or me…"

"Well, we can prevent the demons from taking either of us by making sure to keep the protective spell strong," Bakura said. "They only seem to grab one of us after it wears off, usually after we've been asleep."

"So, what...can we not sleep?"

"We can for a while," Bakura said. "It seems like the protective magic usually sticks around for close to two hours after we've strengthened it, sometimes longer."

"You mean by having sex?" Malik asked.

"Well, that's not the only way. Remember just a bit ago when we kissed after I said...you know…" Bakura glanced away. "You saw the magic then, right? But sex does seem to be the most reliable method of creating the heka."

"So...we need to wake up every couple hours to do it?" Malik let out a small laugh.

"I suppose so, if we want to be sure neither of us gets taken again before we get out of here. That's actually why I woke you up...after we did it earlier, the heka stuck around for a little more than an hour and a half. I woke you up when I saw it disappear."

Malik's eyes went wide as he seemed to come to a realization. "So that's why Ryou said I need to give you more blow jobs!"

"Yeah. Trust me, that was not a fun conversation."

"So I actually, seriously need to give you more blow jobs...or else we'll both be kidnapped and tortured by demons."

Bakura chuckled. "Yeah, basically."

Malik grabbed Bakura's chin and gave him a searching look. "Bakura, tell me the truth...are we really in the Shadow Realm...or is this all just an elaborate scheme to get me to suck your cock more often?"

Bakura knew he was kidding and burst out laughing, throwing himself backwards and flopping onto his back on the bed. Malik dissolved into laughter as well, falling next to him and clutching onto him as they giggled together.

They shared a few short kisses as their laughter died down, cuddling together on the bed. Bakura could feel their giddy kisses transmuting into sparks in the air all around them. Then Malik suddenly turned to stare up at the ceiling.

"Oh...I see it…"

Bakura looked up as well. "Yeah?"

"It's beautiful," Malik gasped. "All shiny and silver and lighting everything up."

"Huh," Bakura said. "I see it as gold."

Malik turned to give him a knowing smile, and Bakura smiled back, his eyes soft. But then Malik sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. "Do you think...do you think we could sleep for a while? I'm actually really, really tired."

"I'm not sure how long the magic will last...I mean, it seems to last for a couple hours after sex, but I haven't gotten to test it in many different situations…"

Malik gave him a tired look. "So...should we…"

"No, no. You sleep. I'll wake you up when the magic runs out."

Malik gave him a grateful look, but said, "Are you sure?"

"I'm used to not getting much sleep. It's not a big deal."

"I hate to make you stay up. It's just...this is all a lot to take in all at once, and I only got an hour or so before you woke me up, and earlier today…" Malik winced, and Bakura thought he must be remembering what had happened when the demons had taken him earlier.

"Of course you're worn out after going through all that. Sleep."

Malik didn't seem to have the energy to further protest Bakura's offer. He closed his eyes and laid his head on Bakura's shoulder, and Bakura slid a hand underneath his shirt, tracing his scars with his fingertips until he drifted off.