Ch. 6-Sleep

Ummm…hi. cowers I'm sorry! I've had a ton of work lately. Sophomore year is kicking my butt, so I haven't been able to update. Plus, I discovered Demon Diary and Phantom of the Opera fanfiction, so I've been a bit distracted from the YGO fandom.

Anyway, here's Chapter 6 of The Virgo And The Capricorn! Read and enjoy! Oh, and the part right at the end is based on Psyche's "Life of a Thief."

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Bakura apartment, next day

"I'm going out today, Ryou." Bakura called over his shoulder. Not bothering to look up from his manga, Ryou asked, "What time are you going to be back?"

Bakura shrugged "Sometime around 10 o'clock tomorrow morning. Don't wait up, and don't even think about inviting Marik over, got that?"

"Meh. Don't kill anyone, Bakura—I'd hate to explain that to the cops again."

The door slammed shut behind him.

Ryou smirked. I never actually said I wouldn't invite Marik over…

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The door creaked as Marik pushed it open. "So, Ryou," he asked, "why isn't Bakura around to bite my head off?"

Ryou sighed. "He's out paying the bills."

"You mean stealing cash from little old ladies and robbing banks?"

"Probably."

Marik grinned and plonked himself down on the couch. "I can't believe you let him do that."

Ryou glared. "It's not my fault. Domino High doesn't allow students to work, and I live alone most of the time while my father's on digs. So it falls to Bakura to pay for this place." With a sigh, he sat down next to Marik and laid his head on his shoulder.

Some time passed like this. Finally, Marik spoke.

"Hey, Ryou?"

"Mmm?"

"Did you ever think how deceiving appearances can be? I mean, look at you. No offense, but you look as though you've never had a bad thought in your life. You look so timid and innocent--but you sneak out of the house, fight with your yami, and invite your boyfriend over when you're home alone."

Ryou straightened up to look Marik in the eye. "And your point is…?"

Marik kissed him lightly. "I love you for that. And I'm trying as hard as I can to be worthy of you."

Ryou sighed, snuggling into his boyfriend's chest. "You don't have do anything to be "worthy of me". I love you, and you're perfect as you are."

Smirking, Marik replied lightly, "Now, you know that's not true. If I was perfect, I would be boring, wouldn't I?"

"Hmm, you're right. So what do you want to do now?"

His boyfriend shrugged. "Play some video games? Bet I can beat you."

"Bet you can't!"

"Wanna prove that?"

"Sure. Whoever wins is in charge of dinner—if you want to stay, that is. I hope you like homemade meals."

"I hope you don't mind eating takeout!"

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An hour later, having beaten Ryou at every fighting game he owned (and accusing him of throwing the matches so he wouldn't have to cook), Marik was ordering Chinese food for the two of them.

"Yeah, lemme have the vegetable lo mein and the—whaddaya want, Ryou?"

Ryou shrugged. "Chicken with broccoli?"

"Chicken with broccoli. The sodas are free, right? Thanks. And you'll be here in 5 minutes? Okay." He turned to the other boy with a grin, collapsing on the couch next to him. Ryou smiled.

"Know any good ways to waste five minutes?

"Shut up and kiss me, Marik."

2 hours later…

Having finished their dinners, Marik got up to leave.

"Guess I'd better get home before Ishizu goes ballistic on me again."

Ryou pouted. "Oh…you're leaving already?"

"You don't want me to go, huh?"

Ryou stared fixatedly at the floor. "Well, it's not just that…it's, well …I'm a little scared of being home alone. It's all dark and creepy."

"Okay, Ryou. I'll stay with you. Just give me a few minutes to clear it with Ishizu and Odion."

So Marik called home to tell them that he was spending the night at his boyfriend's house. Predictably, his brother and sister disapproved, and only relented after Marik swore by his mother's grave not to try anything (accompanied by, "Whaaat! I'm at his house! You should be worried about my virginity, not his!") (1.)

After that…embarrassing conversation, Ryou pointed out, "There are 2 bedrooms in the house. One is Bakura's—and I wouldn't go near there if I were you. The other one is mine."

"Hey, th—"

"No, Marik. Sleeping on the couch won't kill you."

Marik sighed and nodded, muttering under his breath something about distrustful boyfriends.

Some time later…

Ryou tossed and turned, deep in the grip of a nightmare.

He was in the Shadow Realm again. He was very scared, and very much alone. /Yami? Marik? Anyone? Someone, please help!

But there was no one.

It was growing darker and colder by the second, and Ryou knew he wouldn't last much longer. As he huddled against a stone pillar, he was aware of the ground trembling. A hand thrust up from the shadows and dragged him down. Ryou screamed—

"Ryou! Ryou, wake up!"

Marik was standing at the side of the bed, looking worried.

"Are you alright? I heard you scream and thought you were having a nightmare…"

Shaking, Ryou nodded.

Marik yawned sleepily and added, "Well, if you're okay now, I'm going back to bed, okay?"

With strength Ryou didn't know he had, he reached out and grabbed Marik's wrist. "No…not okay. Stay with me."

"…okay, Ryou."

Marik turned back to him, climbing into bed and pulling the covers around them both. With a faint smirk, he put his arms around Ryou, who buried his head in Marik's chest. Soon, they both slept soundly.

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1. Come on now, Marik's spent a decade of his life underground, and the last 6 years trying to take over the world. Where would he have time to have sex?

Well, today is Marik's birthday, and tomorrow is Christmas! Merry Christmas to those of you that celebrate it! (Wow, before I typed this afterword, there were exactly 1, 000 words.)

Leave a nice review!