Pottery Owl?

No.

Sunny Children's Wear?

Definitely no.

Simply Pampering Products?

...Maybe.

Marik nearly groaned aloud. He'd been up and down every section of the mall five times, and yet he still had no idea what to buy for his hikari.

The tall, muscular man stood out amongst the crowd of everyday shoppers. His dark boots made a steady noise as they re-traced over the same path he'd taken barely an hour earlier.

"Which store, which store, which store..." The bronze-skinned male muttered in frustration. The other shoppers all gave him a wide berth (and a few stares).

The former villain grumbled to himself- he hadn't expected this one little gift to be such a challenge.

Then again, he wasn't really used to purchasing things for others- even his beloved little hikari.

He shook his head in annoyance. If only he'd never heard of this crazy custom...

The other day he and Malik were over at Ryou's house when Bakura started acting like a little b*tch. He kept whining about something Malik did (something about Malik breaking something Ryou didn't know the thief had 'borrowed' from the Kaiba mansion). And then the two shorter Egyptians started arguing- loudly. He was just about to jump in when Ryou subtly pulled (as in, literally yanked) him aside and told him about the upcoming holiday.

"Violin times day?" Marik frowned at the unfamiliar title.

Ryou gave an indulging smile and spoke softly. "No, no- it's called 'Valentine's Day.' It's a holiday for romance and sharing. I just wanted to let you know that people tend to exchange gifts with their loved ones."

"Gifts?"

Ryou nodded. "Yes, sort of like Christmas or Birthday presents, except these are meant to be more romantic." He held up two fingers for emphasis. "The most popular gifts are flowers and chocolates, but you can always give the person something more special."

"Like what?"

Ryou gave a wry smile. "Well, that's the entire point, isn't it? If you know the person well enough, then you should be able to find them a very special gift- something that will be really meaningful to them."

But... what kind of gift would be 'meaningful' to his hikari? He already had just about everything he ever wanted- which Marik would know. They'd only been dating for a short while, but Marik had been a part of his light's mind for years. He knew Malik's dreams and passions and hobbies...

His eyes wandered over the rows and rows of large shop windows. Nothing... nothing... wait...

There! The large Egyptian's face lit up in realization as he stared in the specialty store's display window. Thatwas just perfect for his hikari! He quickly raced inside, startled the shopkeeper, and nearly shoved aside four other shoppers. But the determined yami ignored their protests and demanded that the clerk ring up the item. The nervous employee decided it would probably be better to let the massive man cut in line, and obliged.

Marik grinned as he held the small box under his left arm- his hikari would be so pleased. He felt a bit of smug satisfaction from the whole trip. He still couldn't believe that Odion and Ishizu had forbidden him from ever going to the mall alone again- it wasn't like anyone died or anything the last time he went without supervision! But for some reason everyone made a big fuss and the two older Ishtars ended up 'grounding' the blonde yami.

Like it was Marik's fault that they all got loose? What kind of pet store keeps their tarantulas in a thin, glass display case right up front, anyway?

The next day, Odion was out somewhere and Ishizu was working in her upstairs office. Malik and Marik were relaxing on the couch downstairs, watching some cheesy horror film together.

They had just finished 'Deathmaker 4' when the less-muscular blonde turned to his partner.

"Y'know, today is Valentine's Day." Malik gave a rather mischievous look. Marik blinked in feigned ignorance.

"Valentines?"

Malik nodded. "It's a holiday for telling your loved ones how much they mean to you." He swiftly leaned over one end of the couch, pulling up a small box from behind the sofa. It was wrapped with a purple paper and topped with a green bow. "And this is for you."

Marik carefully took the package from his hikari and began to unwrap it. Inside was a clear plastic box. He smirked as he saw a familiar array of brightly-colored circles.

It was an assortment of of his absolute favorite candies. They were all foreign; and although they weren't expensive, they were hard to get ahold of.

"Thank you, hikari."

Malik grinned and shrugged. "I figured you'd like them- I know Ishizu said no more sugar, so we can just hide these in the back of linen closet."

"Don't we already have some fireworks hidden back there?"

"Oh, right... hmm, is there anyplace in Odion's room that we haven't used yet?"

While Malik continued to muse aloud on where to hide the sweets, Marik used the distraction to grab his own gift.

"Here." He struggled not to falter as he stiffly handed the item to his other half.

Malik carefully took the (not covered) box from his yami. "Hm? What is this?" His eyes widened as he looked over the strange package. He could see some sort of instruction booklet, and a small, black square with cords coming out of it. "Is this something... electronic?"

Marik nodded eagerly. "It's a special, tiny camera- it's designed to film the scenery when you take a ride on your motorcycle."

Malik's violet eyes widened. "Film?"

Marik grinned as he happily explained. "These straps go around your helmet- see? And then you just turn it on with this button-" he pointed to a green knob, "-and it will record everything you see. There's a computer chip inside that you can put into your laptop, and you can re-play everything." Malik's face was shining with sheer awe. "You can relive your favorite trips anytime you wish."

"Marik... this is perfect!" Two lavender orbs glowed with gratitude, and Malik warmly thanked his boyfriend. "Thank you."

Marik loved seeing his hikari's eyes light up like that. He wrapped his arms around the smaller male and grinned. "Happy Valentine's Day."

Malik returned the smile and pressed his lips to his yami's.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Marik."

The two shared a rather passionate embrace, their minds lost in the blissful comfort of each other. They had just broken apart when the slimmer tomb keeper had a sudden thought.

"But- something like this can't be cheap... how did you-"

There was a deafening clatter from somewhere upstairs in the house. A very angry female voice suddenly sounded throughout the entire dwelling.

"MALIK! MARIK!"

The two boys jumped at the furious tone.

"Suddenly I feel like going for a ride! Care to join me?" Malik (quickly) held out a hand to his lover.

Marik smirked and gently took ahold of his partner's hand. "Love to."

They both raced to the garage, and managed to drive off before Ishizu could catch up. She decided to chastise them later, and headed out to the local convenience store. It was astonishing how quickly they always ran out of migraine painkillers in the Ishtar household.

An hour later, Odion walked in the front door, surprised to find that he was alone in the quiet house.

'Unusual...' He soon spotted a dark piece of rectangular leather sitting on the dining room table.

'Ah, there it is.' The large man grabbed his missing wallet. 'Odd... why does it feel so much lighter?'