Well derp. You can thank LadySunami for this. Goes to show I work better with some love. |D

Disclaimer: I didn't own this before, why would I own it now? I don't...

Warnings: Swearing, some?

"It's nothing..." Ryou whines in between sobs.

I shake my head in frustration. Of course, it's nothing and /that's/ why you're having a mental breakdown over it. "Yeah. And I'm The Gay Queen of England."

He just keeps crying. What am I supposed to do? Not like I know Ryou or Mariku that well... Or the situation.

"It's alright..." I mutter and ruffle his hair. "Cheer up or I can't have fun with Bakura without worrying about you!"

This actually manages to make Ryou smile, "You two are so cute together..." he sighs dreamily.

I wouldn't actually refer to Bakura or myself by saying 'cute', so I laugh at this. "Don't you mean 'sexy' or 'badass'?"

"Yeah..." Ryou mutters, "Something like that." He slowly gets up and yawns, "When will he pick you up?"

I shrug, I was so occupied with worrying about Ryou I didn't ask. But if he leaves Mariku here, it's probably right after school... It's just about now, but I can't tell Ryou that.

"Hopefully soon."

And with that, someone knocked on the door.

-Mariku's POV-

"What about my past?" Bakura says seemingly innocently. But I know my friend, and I can tell that he's actually more than unwilling to answer me.

"Where did you live before moving here?" I throw at him. I happen to know he wasn't around before high school.

"Here. And there." he pauses, "To be honest, I wasn't really here... Mostly there."

I scowl, "And that doesn't explain anything at all."

Bakura shrugs, "Maybe you just don't need to know."

The rest of the way, Bakura's dead-silent. Guess I made him angry... I'll try this differently later. Or maybe he would tell Marik? That's worth a try.

Suddenly though, he snaps. "Fuck." and takes his cell from his pocket.

He pushes a button a presses the device to his ear. "Hi. It's Bakura."

Quiet moment.

"Bakura. Ring a bell? The psychopath with a thing for stealing stuff?" he chuckles without humor, "Yes. That's right, he is. Good. Yes, connect to him."

Quiet moment.

"Youdo know who I am, right? Right. Umm, no. I didn't kill anyone. No, I don't need you to get me out of jail. No, just fucking listen!"

Quiet moment.

"I want tonight off. Off. Completely off. Without you keeping me locked in the cellar for it."

Quiet moment.

"Boyf- You fucking idiot! He's not-!"

Quiet moment.

"Fuck you. It's- Oh. Tomorrow? I don't know, really. But I won't run away or anything, I swear. Thief's honor."

Quiet moment.

"It's actually very honorable, but whatever. Thanks." Bakura rolled his eyes, "You too." Bakura puts his phone away.

Okay, that was shady. Didn't really sound like he was calling his parents or anything... "Where are your parents?"

Bakura shrugs, "You got me. Dead and buried, 'Riku."

"Seriously?" Bakura's parents are dead too? Why doesn't he ever talk about them? I thought we were friends...

He shakes his head disapprovingly, "I don't joke about this."

I didn't mean that, you idiot. I meant that you might lie about it!

"Who did you call, then?"

"None of your fucking business." Bakura says simply, "And what do you know, we're here."

With a pleased grin, Bakura parks in the middle of nowhere.

"What the fuck, Bakura? We aren't anywhere!"

Bakura childishly picks his tongue at me. "But we can't have a stolen car found in front of your darling's apartment, now can we? Follow me."

Oh. I'm an idiot. Duh. But I'm not ever admitting that to him.

So Bakura and I walk silently to Ryou's apartment, he with the graze of a cat (or a thief) and me with the graze of, well, me.

When we're there, Bakura asks, "Do you want to knock or can I break inside?"

I knock and hear Bakura whine, "You're so boring... Guess that's what love does to you."

As Malik opens the door, Bakura smirks and swiftly pulls him aside, leaving me face-to-face with Ryou. Crap.

-Ryou's POV-

As Malik gets up to open the door, I follow him lazily.

Only to freeze when I end up face-to-face with Mariku.

His lovely (wait let me take that back) violet eyes widen in apparent surprise, so I take it he hadn't exactly seen this coming either.

"Ryou?" Malik calls, causing Mariku to take a step back so I can see my other Egyptian friend.

Bakura's arms are wrapped around Malik's waist possessively, and he has a smug smirk on his face. "Have fun with big brother, will ya? Play nice and don't do anything you'll regret tomorrow!"

Don't do anything you'll... I believe I'm blushing harder than I had ever before. "Malik! I think I should say that to you!" I cry to take the attention off myself.

Malik grins up at Bakura. "Don't worry, Ryou. I couldn't regret anything tonight."

Bakura takes his attention off of Malik for a split second to call to Mariku, "'Riku. I trust you to have fun and take good care of little me-lookalike."

With that, they leave.

Mariku just stands there awkwardly before looking up at me and asking, "What should I do to Bakura if he violates little bro?"

I shrug. "Nothing, I guess. Malik really likes Bakura, you know."

He nods, "The feeling is mutual. They really are a perfect match."

Awkward. What now? "Umm, do you want to come inside?" Please say no, please say no...

"Sure."

Bloody hell.

I step back and make my way through the door, Mariku following me.

He looks around in my apartment, seeming to examine every little detail. It makes me really uneasy. My house hasn't changed that much since the last time he was there... Right?

Right.

"It's good to be here. It's been such a long time." Mariku murmurs, looking at the floor.

"Well yeah. You could've come any time." I retort.

And that makes him shut up. Sadly. I would've wanted to hear him speak some more, but apparently that was a foolish wish. My comeback was just too good for that.

-Mariku's POV-

I should've known Ryou wouldn't just forget about the things I've done. And more importantly, the things I didn't do.

"I'm sorry." I sigh, and quickly feel Ryou's eyes on me. I guess he thought I couldn't apologize. Okay, so maybe I don't do it often, but I care for Ryou, and I'm willing to make an exception for him. Or maybe a few.

"What do you want me to say? That it's alright? I don't think so." Ryou growls venomously.

I shake my head slowly a no, still not meeting his gaze. "I don't want you to say anything. I just want you to acknowledge the fact that I am sorry and that I am apologizing." I grunt.

"Okay." Ryou's voice softens just a little, and he turns his gaze away, "How was your first day of the new semester?"

"Honestly?" I ask, and he nods. "Well, I wanted to be with you more. But I guess it was alright. How about you?"

"I didn't want you to know..." Ryou runs his hand through his hair nervously, "But yeah. It could've been worse, I guess."

"Why?" I choke on my words, "Why?"

He looks down uncomfortably, "I was lonely."

-Ryou's POV-

It's surprisingly easy to be honest with Mariku. I guess it's something about how much I trust(ed) him. (Former) Best friends and stuff.

Mariku doesn't seem all too happy with my answer. "Why?" he repeats for the third time.

Why why why why why why why? Who can I ask why when he keeps asking it from me?

"You weren't there... That day... Or after that... Ever." I bury my head in my hands without a second thought and let out a choked sob. "It's not like I had anyone else, Mariku."

I feel his arms slowly encircle me from behind, so I turn to look at him over my shoulder.

Mariku is staring at me emotionlessly, and I end up leaning into the embrace against my own will.

He murmurs softly, and I slowly fall asleep in the only embrace I've ever felt comfortable in.

-Malik's POV-

"What are you grinning about?" I ask Bakura, since it's been twenty minutes after we left Ryou's place, and that grin still stays on his face.

He shrugs. "I guess it's just because I haven't been gone all night in ages. It feels nice for a change."

"Gone all night from where?" I ask more or less boldly.

Finally, his grin fades just a little. "Home. Kind of."

I take a deep breath before carefully asking, "Where do you live, then? Sounds kind of strict to me."

Bakura looks away from me as he whispers, "The psychiatric hospital on the other side of the town."

Luckily to me, I wasn't currently drinking anything, or I would've spat it. "What?"

He shakes his head, "I'm not insane, if that's what you're thinking."

"How did you end up there?" I ask, tilting my head and staring into Bakura's blood red eyes.

"That's a long story." he mutters.

"We've got time, don't we?" I grin at him.

-Bakura's POV-

Yeah, we've got time. Maybe I could share the story with Malik.

"You're Egyptian, right?" I start, just to make sure. As he nods, I award him with a loop-sided grin. "Me too. I know I don't look the part, but..."

I sigh. "I was eight when my parents died. I was sent to Japan because I supposedly had relatives here. But there was no one, and they ended up throwing me around from foster parents to other."

I don't bother to look at Malik, I don't want to see his face right now. "I was fourteen when I snapped. I had knife and I threatened to kill my parents and then myself. The leader of the hospital took me in. He's... Well yeah. He's alright. Plus, thanks to him, I can get out of that place when I turn eighteen. Until that... I guess they just want me to be safe."

I guess Malik's still considering this information as I bark, "And don't say anything. I don't want to hear it."

And he obeys me. Malik doesn't say a word as he presses his lips on mine.

-Malik's POV-

I pull away quickly enough. Not that I don't want to stay there, keep the kiss going, now, tomorrow, forever. But I don't know what Bakura is thinking now, and I feel like I should.

"Why did you do that?" he asks coldly.

"I thought it was obvious. I like you. It's not fair you had to go through that. You did-." I get cut off as Bakura's lips are on mine again.

I can feel him grin just before he pulls away. "Shut up." he mutters.

I return his sly grin. "Only if you do."

-Mariku's POV-

Just like that, Ryou fell asleep. Poor guy probably hasn't gotten enough sleep last night.

...but what am I supposed to do now? Not like I will just fall asleep too, and I can't get up without waking up Ryou.

At least he doesn't seem too worried about me taking advantage of him or anything. That's good, I guess. I mean, at least it's something.

I settle watching TV. There's absolutely nothing going on, but just knowing Ryou is right here for me to hold is enough. The TV is just in case someone walks in and asks me what I'm doing.

(Because it would be weird to say 'Oh, nothing. Just enjoying the fact that Ryou is here.')

-Bakura's POV-

We end up going to the movies. It's a cliche first date thing (I did not just call it a date), but it's not like we'll go to a bar and get drunk or or anything. Mariku would kill us if we did, and Mahad would too. And he'd never let me be out all night again.

It's a horror movie. I can't remember the name, since I don't actually go to the movies often, but Malik is laughing pretty much all the time.

-Ryou's POV-

I wake up to a knock on the door, and find myself sitting in Mariku's lap, with his arms wrapped around me.

As Malik opens the door, he stops to grin at Bakura once more. "Gooood evening, New York!" he then announces with a giggle.

Both me and Mariku stare at him dumbly. "Malik? Are you drunk?" I ask dubiously.

But he just shakes his head. "Just tired. Hehehee. Lack of sleep makes me a little tipsy, that's all~!"

Okayyy... Got it...

"Hey yo, 'Riku. Can I spend the night at your place? I said I'd be back tomorrow, and I don't want to waste it." Bakura asks, causing Malik to look up at him worriedly for some reason or another.

"Malik?" I question my friend, "Do you want to stay here? I could use a friendship chat."

"Then it's settled. Me and Bakura go to my place, Malik and Ryou stay here.", Mariku decides for us.

Malik lets out a whine and tiptoes to kiss Bakura full on the lips in front of the rest of us. "Goodnight, darling." the tanner of the two says with a shy smile I've never seen him use before.

Bakura whispers something in his ear, causing Malik's smile to widen before replying.

I knew it. Those two are so cute.

Now they're both staring at me. Why? Why me- Oh. I'm still sitting in Mariku's lap, aren't I? This is pretty embarrassing...

I try to get away without drawing any more attention to myself, but Mariku's arms are still wrapped around me. This is... bad, right? Or good? I sure feel nice here. I don't know.

"Good night, Ryou, koi." he says softly.

"Night, Mariku." I reply, and he sets me aside like a little doll before standing up.

Mariku and Bakura leave pretty quickly after this, and Malik all but collapses on the sofa.

"Still feeling overly energetic?" I ask him with a grin.

He somehow draws enough energy to shake his head, "No. That ended when Bakura left."

"How cute."

Malik turns to give me a weird stare, "Me and Bakura are cute to you? Ryou, you do realize big brother called you 'koi' just before leaving?"

-Malik's POV-

Hah, took the attention off of us. (Us. That sounds nice. I hope there is an us, but you can't really tell with Bakura.) Ryou is staring in front of himself blankly, "He.. He said that?"

I shrug, "You heard it too."

Ryou blinks, then blushes, then shakes his head quickly, then turns to stare at me. "He said that... How was your date with Bakura?"

Not this again…

"Fine?" I try.

Chuckling, Ryou shakes his head. "Not going to work. You have to tell me aaaalllll about it."

Crap.

*sob* Why did I have to end it there? I wanted to explain Malik and Bakura date but *headdesk* I guess I felt like torturing myself (and you?).

Review so I have an excuse to continue?