Author's note: The story Destroyer inspired me to play around a little with Dom-Ryou. It's just another stream of consciousness thing that I'll add stuff to as inspiration strikes me. It's going to be a slower burn than Hikari Menagerie, but it will get smuttier later.

Marik hadn't let go of my hand since we left the house. I didn't know what he thought he was trying to accomplish. It wouldn't stop me from leaving if I wanted to. According to Marik, the door he was beating with the side of his fist was Ryou's apartment. I'd always wanted to know where the little white rabbit lived. So I waited. Of my own volition.

I felt a surge of irritated disappointment when a different albino opened the door. Decidedly not Ryou.

"Oh, hey, Bakura," Marik said. "I haven't seen you since tabletop night at the game shop."

I leaned to look past him, but all I could see was an empty living room. Very neat. Much neater than Marik's house. I wrinkled my nose and looked at Bakura again. He watched me sideways. Warily, but not fearfully.

"Yeah, I've been busy," Bakura said. "L- Ryou's been helping me write a Monster World module. He thinks it could be good enough to publish if we can get all of the details worked out."

Marik's voice brightened. "That would be so cool! I wish-" He stopped and frowned at me. "I can't wait to see it," Marik finally said. "Speaking of Ryou, though, is he home? I really need to talk to him."

"Is he expecting you?" Bakura asked.

"I texted him before I left my house, but he hasn't responded."

Bakura nodded. "He doesn't like to be disturbed when he's working. He probably has his phone on silent."

"It's really, really, important, Bakura."

Bakura finally stopped watching me to focus on Marik. Marik had his desperate face on. I knew that face. I wondered if he realized how pathetic it looked.

Bakura sighed and pulled out his phone. He tapped and swiped and tapped some more. I didn't have to wait. I could shove past him and find Ryou myself. If he was in there. I shifted, flexing my fingers in Marik's grip. Marik gave me that look, now. That desperate look. That frustrated look.

"He says he needs five minutes, but you can wait inside." Bakura almost glared at me.

I grinned at Bakura as I allowed Marik to lead me inside, twisting my body to jostle him with my shoulder as I passed. Marik toed off his shoes. He didn't stop me when I broke away to look around the living room. I could see clearly into the kitchen from there. The counters and sink were as empty and spotless as the living room. It made me edgy. The stark, neatness of it all. It wasn't natural and it wasn't sustainable. It made we want to rip the TV off the wall.

Bakura cleared his throat. I frowned over my shoulder at him, followed his gaze to my shoes, and then raised an eyebrow at him.

Marik shoved his bangs behind his ear. "Just do it," he grumbled.

"Do what?" I asked.

"You know what." Marik huffed wearily. "Why is everything an argument? At least tell me that much."

He didn't need me to tell him, though. I could tell from the exhausted frustration on his face. He knew I liked watching him struggle. He knew he was powerless to make me do anything. Little fool.

Marik gave Bakura an apologetic look. The albino scowled at me. Hard this time. My shoulders tensed. Would he make something of it? Oh, please, make something of it, fluffy. Show me those claws. I want to break them off.

Bakura sized me up. I could see the calculations running through his eyes. "Why is he here?" He asked Marik coldly.

Marik crossed his arms. "I couldn't leave him at home."

I chuckled. "I'm sure baldy will get over it." What's one more scar on his face, anyway? He shouldn't have stuck his nose in my business if he didn't want to get bitten.

Marik's face twisted into something sour as his eyes darted around the apartment.

Bakura wrinkled his nose at me. "Why does he smell like a pickled corpse?"

There it was. The fight. I'd been worried he'd lost it somewhere. I squared my shoulders and stalked over to him. Leaning down, relishing the ill-concealed flinch as my breath washed over his face. "Why do you smell like a garden?"

"Because I'm not a disgusting barbarian." Bakura planted a hand on my chest, forcing me back a step.

I retaliated with two forceful steps forward. Oh, the thrill I felt when Bakura stumbled back against the closed door. All of them, frail lambs. Wonderful. Perhaps this tedious diversion would prove interesting after all. Perhaps I would come back for Ryou later. See what sort of reactions I could get from him. For now, however, I'd made my point. I plopped on the couch, propping my shoes up on the coffee table.

Marik had his face in his hands. Before anyone else could move, a door off the dining area opened.

"Pardon the delay, Marik." Ryou bowed.

He turned to me. His polite smile flickered ever so slightly. Too quickly for me to discern the emotion that almost replaced it.

"Oh, dear, I'm afraid I never learned your name." Ryou bowed anyway. "I'm-"

"Bakura Ryou." I grinned. "I know." So proper. So reserved. I'd always wanted to see if the little thing even could scream. Wondered how he'd blush if I held him down and whispered lewd promises in his polite little ears. Wondered how he'd gasp and cringe if I followed through on those promises. Him and Yugi both. Far too enticingly innocent for their own good.

Marik interrupted our staring contest. "Ryou. I need to talk to you. Urgently." He cast a glance at me. "Privately, if possible."

"Of course. We can talk in my office." He opened the door he'd just come out of. "Make sure our other guest stays entertained, would you, Spirit?"

Bakura clasped his hands in front of him and lowered his head. Glaring at me through his wild hair. "Yes, Landlord."

Ryou ushered Marik inside and closed the door. Bakura sat in an armchair, with his feet tucked underneath him. We stared at each other in total silence. No ticking clocks. No traffic from outside. It made my skin itch. "Aren't you supposed to be entertaining me?"

"How about a staring contest?" Bakura said dryly.

I licked my teeth and bounced my foot. It bumped something. The neat stack of magazines in the center of the table. Not so neat anymore. I shoved at it with my heal, on purpose this time, watching them glide out of alignment with a satisfying swish.

"Seriously." Bakura's brow crinkled.

"I'm bored."

"You're a child."

"You're boring. What happened to you? Texting Ryou for permission to let us inside? And what was with that 'yes, Landlord' shit? The old Bakura would've told him to entertain his own damn guests."

Bakura pressed his lips together. "Living with L- Ryou has taught me the benefits of structure and organization. It's..." He snorted and smirked. "Well, nothing you'd understand. I'm happy. That's all that matters."

I glanced at the closed door again. Happy? How could Bakura be... I chuckled. "Ah. I see. You're fucking him. Naughty little bunny. Didn't think he'd have it in him."

Bakura's mouth tightened as his eyes narrowed. "Shut up."

I grinned, putting my feet on the floor so I could lean forward. "Come on, Kura," I whispered. "What's he like? Is he as timid between the sheets as he is fully clothed?"

Bakura's brow wrinkled as he eyed me. "What are you getting at?"

I leaned back. "Fine. Don't tell me. It would be more fun to find out myself, anyway."

I expected Bakura to get angry. Threaten me for threatening his precious little angel. I didn't expect him to laugh.

"If the gods favor me at all, you will," Bakura grinned a more devilish grin than I'd seen on his face in a while.

I frowned. I didn't like this. It felt like some kind of mind game. I didn't like those. Not when I wasn't the one playing them. "You think I'm joking?"

"I hope not. I think I'd pay to watch you find out exactly what he's like in bed."

I narrowed my eyes. If there was a trick, I decided I didn't care. I could take either of them. Both of them. So I laughed instead. "I never pegged you for a voyeur."

Bakura smirked as he twirled his finger in his hair. "Mm."

Silence descended again. It rang in my ears. A rushing whine. I clicked my teeth, trying to drown it out. I wondered why we were here. What the pair of lambs were doing. Lost myself in a meandering train of dashing thoughts and snippets of fantasy. I don't know how long it took them, but it felt like forever before the door finally opened.

My eyes latched onto Marik immediately. "You two done making out?"

Marik ignored me, as he often did when he knew I was trying to annoy him. I watched him step into his shoes.

"Leaving already? Bakura and I were just starting to have fun. Weren't we, Kura?"

"Mm," Bakura mumbled, absorbed in something on his phone.

Ryou put a hand on Marik's shoulder. "I'll text you later, okay?"

Marik nodded as he put his hand on the door knob. He never spared me a second glance. I never even got to see his face before he darted out the door. I paused, confused. He almost never took me out of the house. He definitely didn't take me out of the house and leave me places.

He had a point to prove. That must be it. He wanted to... make me miss him, or something. Ha! The joke was on him, wasn't it. I was unguiltable. Unmovable. All he'd done was leave me alone with his frail little friend, and a yami that may have been more sadistic than I gave him credit for. And when I was good and ready to come home, I would. I could. March home, bust in a window, and laugh as I told him exactly why his pathetic plans would never-

The sound of Ryou clearing his throat interrupted my thoughts. He stood in front of the TV, arms crossed. "Seeing as you have become more than a temporary guest, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to start following a few rules," Ryou said.

I stared at him. More than a temporary... "What?" I asked.

"Your shoes," Ryou said. "I must insist you take them off." He frowned. "And if you'll pardon some bluntness, when was the last time you had a shower?"

"What the fuck?" I struggled to wrap my head around the new turn of events. Marik had just... left me here? For how long? And what the hell was with the white rabbit's change in demeanor?

Ryou sighed and shook his head. "I understand that this is very confusing. You're probably angry, maybe even sad. It's okay. I'm willing to work with you to make sure you're comfortable. But before we get into any more details, I must insist that you take a shower. Or a bath. Come to think of it, a bath could be very relaxing." His face brightened. "And by the time you're done, Bakura can have some nice, clean clothes ready for you. How does that sound?"

"Condescending as fuck," I growled as I stood up.

Ryou cocked his head, infuriatingly calm. "I know a few things about you. Not a lot, but a few. I'm giving you a chance to prove that you can act like a civilized human being. If you insist on acting like an animal, I have no problem treating you like one."

I clenched my fists, glaring the smug little prick down. "You don't know shit! If you knew anything, you'd think twice before threatening me!"

"Oh. Are you going to bite my face, too?"

He wasn't scared. Not even intimidated. I'd show him. Before the evening was over, I would see what pain and panic looked like on that soft little face. "You'll wish that's all I did." I lunged for him, kicking off the coffee table with one foot.

Ryou's hand flashed toward me. I thought he was going to shove me away, but I was not ready for the hot punch to the gut. My legs locked, and then I suddenly found myself on the ground staring up at him. At the live taser sparking in his hand.

"So you've made your choice," Ryou said. Then he smiled. "That's okay. I think this will be a lot more fun for all of us in the end."

I hate puns. I really do, but I have to say I was shocked. No one in Marik's household had ever used physical punishment. Not since... well, him, obviously. Because of him... I guess I'd always known that on some level. Noticed it. But this was the first time I realized how much advantage I'd taken of it. I growled. Fuck this. I wasn't afraid of pain. I was made from pain. If this little shit thought he could-

My attempt to stand up was wordlessly denied by another jolt of electricity. A longer one. And I couldn't move. I couldn't fucking move until it stopped.

"Stay down," Ryou said. "You haven't earned the privileged of standing up yet." Ryou finally acknowledged Bakura and his shit-eating grin. "Spirit, get the handcuffs from my dresser, please. The metal ones."

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I demanded.

Ryou didn't answer. When Bakura returned with the cuffs, I pushed him away, but the psycho little rabbit just shocked me again. Forced me to the ground and kept me there until Bakura finished securing my hands behind me.

"There. That should make him more manageable." Ryou smiled and kissed Bakura on the head. "I want him washed and at the table by dinner time. You have permission to use whatever level of force is necessary. I trust your judgment."

Bakura frowned as he watched Ryou head toward the office. "Er... Landlord..."

"Yes?" Ryou looked over his shoulder.

"Is he... Does he really live here now?"

"Of course," Ryou answered brightly. "He doesn't have anywhere else to go."

"Is Marik okay? What was the emergency?"

"Marik is fine," Ryou assured. "At least, he will be. I'll tell you all about the conversation at dinner, okay?"

And with that, the little white not-so-rabbit disappeared into his office.