The End of a Life

Disclaimer: I am the creator of my own little world. Unfortunately, that world is not Yugioh.

Malik stepped into the room carefully, still uncertain of himself after what the mind-healer had done. He felt strange, but more like himself than he had for a long time. Bakura smiled at him, passing him a plate and gesturing him into a chair.

To his surprise, he felt his face stretching in a smile. He hadn't smiled in a long time, he realized dully. What Marik had done to him had driven all thoughts of happiness out of him mind completely. He barely remembered now, how it felt to be happy.

Still, he was with Bakura, and would be, it seemed for at least a little while longer. Ryou kept shooting him looks, as if he was going to flip right then and there. He saw Bakura giving him a tired grin, jerking his head at Ryou. Malik grinned back. Ryou was strange sometimes.

Eating quickly and daintily, Malik glanced down at Ryou, who still sat on the floor at Bakura's feet, but who now had a little tray perched on his lap to eat off of. There was something in his expression as he stared up at Bakura...

"Love struck," Malik said decidedly. It was unmistakable. He'd seen the look often enough to recognize it when he saw it.

"What?" Bakura looked over at him, head tilted questioningly. "Who's love struck?"

"Ryou." Malik responded without thinking, then slapped his hands over his mouth. He shouldn't have told Bakura that. Ryou was going to be furious!

Ryou looked over at Malik for a second, before returning his attention to Bakura, seeing the amazed expression on the vampire's face. "I'm sorry," he stammered. "I didn't mean to – I," he stopped.

Bakura was laughing softly, leaning backwards on his chair, and shaking his head in disbelief. "I've never heard anyone apologize for falling in love before." He explained, once he'd calmed down. Malik smiled, and left the room, wishing Bakura luck mentally.

Ryou felt something inside relax at those words. Bakura wasn't angry at him. That meant he had a chance. Moving quickly, so he wouldn't be able to stop himself, Ryou leaned up and kissed the vampire.

There was no response for several seconds, and then Bakura's arms slid around him, and Ryou was pulled into the vampire's magically strong body.

"Baka," Bakura whispered. "You could have just told me."

Malik, leaning with his ear against the door, smiled and went to his room. He loved happy endings. Closing his eyes, he let the end come – the end Marik had staved off for so long. Malik's body crumbled into dust, and his spirit soared to join his family in death.

Bakura felt the magic escape past him, but ignored it in favor of showing his little mortal exactly why he should have been told earlier. He knew where it was going anyway. Even if the healer hadn't, he'd known how long it had been since Malik had been captured, and he knew what it took to keep someone alive that long.

A cruel smile crossed his face at the thought of what the magical backlash would do to Marik, and then he turned back to Ryou. His friend could wait. Unwilling to relinquish Ryou's lips, he simply picked the boy up and carried him into the bedroom...