AN: Hooray! Update! Hope you all recovered from the events of the last chapter :P I know it was a little massacre, but now I'll ease your nerves and give you a fluff overload. Like I said in a previous AN I wanted to try to throw in a little more spice and erotic poetry xD hope I did it well.

Well then, no more spoilers - just to warn you. It's going to get spicy here.

Enjoy! Hrhrhr.

CHAPTER XV
Nemesis

As soon as we got back to the headquarter Odion and I brought him to his quarters and carefully laid him down on his bed. His pain-stricken moans and groans with every move he made were pure torture for my soul. I hated it to see him suffer like that. Marik pressed his hand onto is wound in anguish and I tried my best to comfort him without loosing my composure, although I was closer to it than ever before. Odion rushed out of the room again to get all the medical supplies we needed to treat his wound.

"You need to relax, Marik." I whispered with a weak voice and bent over him. "And I need to take that off and see how…" I paused for a second to find the right word that wouldn't sound too bad. "…see your wound to treat it."

"Argh… Just do it." He groaned and removed his hand to give me free access to his arm.

Carefully I propped him up and took off his cloak. It revealed a black muscle shirt and pants…and blood. I swallowed hard and hoped Odion will come back very soon with everything we needed. From what I was able to tell it was a penetrating gunshot wound on his upper arm. I sighed in relief that we wouldn't have to go through the painful procedure of removing a projectile from his flesh.

"Okay, it seems that the bullet just went through-and-through." I said to him and forced a little smile to my lips to comfort him. Hastily I ripped off the other sleeve of my cloak and made a new, fresh pressure bandage with it.

Our eyes never met each other - it was like he tried to avoid me to see the pain that was written to his face. I knew him well enough that it was obvious to me that he didn't want me to witness his weakened right now. It wasn't just that he was injured physically and needed help from others; he also had fallen hard from the top to the bottom. He looked like he had just realised that he was - although he thought the millennium rod will give him the power to get everything he wanted - only human after all. Not a god like he wanted his slaves and Rare Hunters to see him.

My hands were trembling when I fastened the pressure bandage a little more and I let out an exasperated sigh. His face grimaced in ache when the purple fabric tightened above the wound and I felt so sorry for him. I bent over him and placed a careful kiss onto his forehead. "It's gonna be fine."

Just then Odion rushed back into the room and threw a bunch of medical supplies beside his suffering Master onto the bed. He looked more than just distressed when he soaked some sanitary pads in alcohol to disinfect Marik's wound. "I'll do that, Jesara. Go and clean yourself up."

"D-don't you need help? I can assist you, Odion." I stuttered and looked at him thoughtfully. He then glanced back at me over his shoulder and down to my heavy trembling hands, then his olive eyes locked with mine.

"Calm down first. Trust me." He said and turned back to his Master's arm.

It was just that one second as I glanced into the big golden framed mirror in Marik's room that I fully realised what had happened tonight. My hands were covered with his now dried blood, such as parts of my cloak and the also Sabah's blood was still splattered all across my pale face. I looked like I came right out of a slaughterhouse, which was an almost perfect description for the happenings of the night. The shock that paralysed me was profound and I scanned my bloody appearance from head to toe. My whole body felt numb for a moment like my senses were falling into a deep, black whole. The cries, the noise of shooting machine guns and the dull sound of bodies falling to the ground echoed in my ears while everything else around my became silent. In my ears heard my heart beating wildly and my blood pressure set my veins in fire. I've never been so close to death like tonight.

Like Odion said I cleaned up the mess that I was and tossed my cloak into the nearest trash-bin. I showered as fast as I could to wash off all the blood and changed into a black jeans and tank top, which reflected my mood right now just perfectly. My hair was still soaking wet, but I didn't care at all. All I wanted right now was getting back to Marik and Odion.

Hastily I rushed back into Marik's quarters where Odion was just doing the last stitches. Marik's face was beset with pain, but he let out a relieving sigh when his faithful companion finally finished. I sat down right beside him on the bed and shot him a compassionate glance. His fine bed sheets were stained with dried blood on one side, which was a silent reminder of what had happened tonight. We all tried to ignore it, wether Odion nor Marik did say a single word.

"I'll do the bandages, Odion. Now you should go and wash off…" I paused and looked at his cloak and hands, which were also stained with red liquid. I tried to find another word for it. "…the day."

We looked at each other for a second and then he nodded approvingly, handing over the medical bandages to me. "Thank you." He muttered and stood up. "I'll be right back." Odion then left the room and shut the door behind him cautiously.

I then started to wrap the white fabric around Marik's upper arm and he watched me intensively with his lavender irises. Every move I made was careful and every once in a while I locked eyes with him shyly. "How do you feel now?" I asked whispering. My voice was still weak from the latest happenings.

"A little….shot?" He answered dryly and I couldn't help but smile a little at his sarcasm during this dark hour. "And you?"

"Doesn't matter right now." I said short and crisp as I finished his bandage and packed away the medical supplies. "I'm just grateful that we've got you out of there alive."

"I could have also made it out on my own. There was no need to put yourself and Odion in danger." Marik muttered back, again complaining that I didn't obey his order of running away as soon as things got ugly. "I told you that-"

But then I cut him short. "Yes yes. We both see how this ended up, Marik. I promised it to you that I won't leave you alone a long time ago, whatever hell may come. And I'm not the one to break promises." I stared into his eyes insistently. "You would have done the same for me, wouldn't you?"

A little moment of silence followed before he finally nodded. "You have a point." At this I blushed slightly.

I gently wrapped my hand around his and squeezed it a little. "Would you mind if I change your bedsheets and clean the… mess?" I then asked and pointed towards the red stains on the silky material beside him.

Marik frowned a little. "That's not your job, Jesara. Odion could-"

Again I cut him off. "No. I'd like to do that."

Finally Marik gave in and let me help him up carefully. After changing his bedsheets I drew closer to him and carefully laid my hand onto his unwounded shoulder. My tired amber-olive eyes gazed up at him and I was trying to dig out the right words from the chaos that stormed in my brain. "You should rest and get some sleep now." I suggested thoughtfully and my cheeks started to burn. "S-Should I… May I… help you… changing into something… more comfortable?" I stuttered nervously as my gaze wandered down his body and my heart started to race.

He arched a brow down at me and I was certain that he felt my unease - although we already had crossed that line a little during the last days. But now it was him being the submissive thanks to the current circumstances. "Go ahead." Marik agreed casually, but I could see the hint of a smirk snaking across his lips.

Carefully he lifted his arms above his head and gesturing for me to take off his black muscle shirt, grimacing a little when he felt his wound aching again. Nervously my slight fingers slipped underneath the black fabric, feeling the warmth of his skin on my fingertips. I then gently pushed his shirt up his toned abdomen and chest, trying my best not to hurt him while I undressed him. Our eyes locked again after I pulled the muscle short over his blonde head and let it drop to the ground.

His left hand brushed across me cheek like a feather and I forced a smile. I would have happily welcomed his touch, but under current circumstances everything felt a litte…awkward.

I leant towards his wooden armchair where his night kaftan was laying on the backrest and took it cautiously. Marik then drew a little closer to me and leant down until I felt his breath tickling my ear. "Didn't you forget something…?" He whispered dryly, but seduction is his undertone was evident.

My heart skipped a little beat and I knew that he was mentioning his pants. I swallowed nervously and blinked at him from the corner of my eyes. Our cheeks and lips were almost touching each other, but he made sure to keep a tiny bit of distance like he was playing a bittersweet game of temptation with me and my senses. "Go on."

I hesitated for a moment. The tension between us built up like a wildfire. With brightly reddened cheeks my eyes wandered down his bare chest and with a heavily beating heart I started to unbuckle his belt. Shyly I looked somewhere else when I pulled his pants down slowly, kneeling down in front of him a bit.

Suddenly I completely froze in my motion when I heard the door behind me swing open. I must have totally forgotten that Odion would come back to check on his Master eventually. With shocked eyes I glanced back at him over my shoulder and I felt caught in the act in the worst way possible. Odion's eyes widened in shock and his face turned into the deepest shade of red I've ever seen.

"Aaaalright. See everything is fine. Good night!" Odion chocked feeling awkward and shut the door again.

That must have been a disturbing view for him. The common phrase 'It's not like it looks like.' would have fitted into this awkward, highly ironic situation. Marik and I were dead silent for a moment, but then he suddenly broke out in utter laughter.

I hastily stood up and pulled his night kaftan over his head, biting my bottom lip in embarrassment. "That's not funny." I hissed.

"Too funny." He chuckled, fighting for air. "Poor Odion."

Then I started to fight against the grin that snaked across my lips, but to no avail. And then we both laughed uncontrollably, forgetting the events of this night for a brief moment. I pressed my palm onto my mouth and tried to control my laughter. "He might be disturbed for life." I chuckled through my slight fingers.

I stared up into his face again. It felt so good to see him laugh with such an honesty, forgetting all the trouble. His pure smile was almost hypnotising me in this moment. For a moment it was like we were set back in time.

"Oh Ra… You really need some rest now." I said and tried to choke back my chuckles. Without opposition he laid himself back down on his bed and I made sure he was comfortable. Then I dimmed down the light and let out a sigh. I collected Marik's clothes from the floor and threw them to the laundry box.

Just when I went to the door to leave I glanced back over my shoulder to tell him good night, but Marik had already fallen asleep. He must have been too exhausted from this night's events that sleep overwhelmed him within seconds. I smiled when I saw him snoozing so peacefully.

I decided to stay for a little longer and tiptoed back to his bed. Carefully I laid down beside him and curled up in foetus position. My eyes observed him attentively like he was the most exciting thing on earth.

His confession during the car ride back to our headquarter came back to my mind. "I love you" I remembered and couldn't help but blush and smile to myself, burying my cheeks into the silky soft cushions of his bed. I didn't expect him to say those three words so soon, but I wished he would have done that under other circumstances. Marik already said that I meant more to him, but he also begged me to give him time to get out of his nutshell. Odion was right about him. Marik really was like a mussel and only revealed his true nature piece to piece to me every once in a while. His soul had so many facets, bad and good ones.

And I loved all of them, some more and some a little less.

Mentally I asked myself why he chose this particular moment to tell me he loved me. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep, but I only dozed off into a light slumber while a smile was plastered onto my lips.

xx

A loud shout startled me out of my sleep and I jolted up in the bed. My staggered eyes met Marik right beside me, panting heavily and rubbing the beats of sweat from is forehead with the back of his palm.

"Marik?" I whispered and shot him a concerned glance when I laid my hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

He shrugged and pressed out a sigh. "Just… a nightmare." Marik's lavender eyes then met mine. "You're still here?"

I nodded awkwardly and nibbled on my bottom lip. "I-I fell asleep… I hope that's ok?"

Marik eyed me for a little moment and I couldn't read the expression that was written to his heart-shaped face, but I could always loose myself in his eyes. "More than okay." He whispered back and smiled before he suddenly pressed his lips against mine out of the blue. I accepted the kiss without hesitation and snaked my arms around his shoulder.

"Did you really mean it?" I asked under my breath when I broke away from his lip's embrace.

Marik arched a brow and placed another brief kiss onto my lips. "What do you mean?"

"What you said… during the ride back?" I responded and traced my fingertip along his temple and jawline, my heart was racing inside of my ribcage.

A playful grin snaked across his lips and he tied me closer to him. "I always say what I think." With that he pushed me down into his soft cushions and I glanced up at him above me before Marik's mouth melted into mine again.

I gently stroked my hand through his sandy blonde hair. "Could you repeat it?" I moaned when our lips separated for a second. "Please."

Marik's nose and breath tingled my ear when he leant down to me a little more, sending a pleasureful shiver down my features. Somehow he knew exactly which buttons to push to make me go weak in his hands. The tension between us gave me goosebumps all over my skin, especially when his nose tip stroked along my outer ear. I knew he was grinning, although I didn't see it. "I love you." He whispered soft as Egyptian silk.

My grip on his shoulders tightened a bit in sensation. "I love you too." I responded whispering into his ear. We finally broke through the boundary by confessing this to each other. He looked down at me with an intensity that I've never seen before in his eyes and a smug smirk played on his lips. I lifted my head a bit to kiss him, but he kept his distance in a playful way like he wanted to tease me. His nose tip tickled against mine, but yet he didn't kiss me.

"Marik…" I whispered in a begging manner, tightening the grip of my fingers on his shoulder.

"You still deserve a little nemesis for not obeying me." He said dainty. I inhaled deeply when I suddenly felt his hips between my legs and his body pressing down on mine. He played with me and he knew he could easily dominate what laid beneath him. My craving for him and my urge to touch his lips with mine gave him control and power over me and a control freak like him knew exactly how to use it against me. He found a way to torture and seduce me at the same time.

Marik then placed kisses like feathers onto my neck and I arched my back in sensation when the touch of his lips drove me crazy. Closer and closer to the edge of losing my mind in his bittersweet embrace.

AN: That's what happens when a sadistic control freak discovers his sexuality, huh? Tell me how you liked it in a review.

Until next time :-3