Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Paranoid ❯ Wild drive ( Chapter 9 )

Marik glanced around anxiously as he descended the wooden staircase. He was immensely angry at himself for feeling so nervous about meeting Bakura all of a sudden. What the heck? It was only Bakura, after all…

 

That's right…only Bakura…

 

Suddenly, a creaking sound was heard from the living room and Marik spun around immediately, only to come face to face with a couple of snake-green eyes.

 

“Rishido!” Marik exclaimed, caught off guard. And here he had been preparing to impress Bakura…but now he suddenly met good ol' baldy. Rishido, however didn't seem to be thinking on the same lines. Needless to say that Marik was immensely surprised when he felt two steel arms envelop him in a suffocating hug.

 

Now, Marik was not exactly the right person to engage in such intimate displays of affection. It was all right coming from his sister, but Rishido was a no-no in all possible scenarios. Marik didn't want to seem more of a lunatic than he already was, however, so he settled on stiffly accepting Rishid's hug.

 

When his brother in law finally let go of him, Marik rushed to fill his lungs with fresh oxygen -a thing he had pined for while held by Rishid. Marik didn't even have time to blink before the other man started talking.

 

“I'm really sorry, Marik…” Rishido started with a tone very different from what he had used that afternoon “About earlier…I just saw Isis crying and…”

 

Rishid looked apologetic as he stared into Marik's pure amethyst orbs “Well, I thought you had hurt her or something…like you had done before…But then Bakura told me the whole story and…”

 

“Well…Am I glad to see you!” Rishid suddenly said. Marik's eyes almost popped out of their sockets at Rishid's VERY uncharacteristic happy expression. “Bakura is looking better already!” Rishid finished, and Marik instantly knew what the man was referring to.

 

Rishid seemed so glad at his thoughts and the blonde Egyptian vaguely registered how much Rishido cared about Bakura's happiness. Such a thought made Marik's stomach churn in jealousy, for some reason, but Marik dismissed it almost immediately.

 

After all, Rishid and Isis had every right to care about Bakura…Bakura had every right to trust THEM…not Marik- the man who almost killed him…Marik felt that indescribable pressure of guilt break his spirit yet again. Mentally, he promised to himself he'd make it up to Bakura- he'd compensate for the hurt he had caused these people.

 

Marik was generally paranoid- he still was. The point is, since the whole world that he had based his hate on was now destroyed, Marik had no reasons to hate…and since the peaceful, serene life that he had always dreamed of was now thrown at his feet…he might as well take it.

 

What's the use of hating so much anyway? When he hated the world around him, he was only trying to gain a better life. Now that he had that better life he had craved for…why not make good use of it? And the first step was to gain Bakura's trust back -because Marik really did feel guilty about that one.

 

Considering Rishid's encouraging words, Marik knew that he could bring Bakura `back to life' pretty fast. Rishid said that Bakura seemed better already…

 

The trail of thought was broken roughly, when footsteps were heard from the stairs. Marik turned slowly and saw the albino coming down. Before Marik could speak, Rishido had shouted “Bakura!!” from beside him.

 

Marik watched, transfixed, as the stained, bloody eyes turned towards him and hovered over his face. As Bakura approached them, his bloodshot eyes were fixed on Marik, and the Egyptian felt the uncomfortable knot come back to his throat. Why was he so anxious, damn it?

 

The Egyptian noticed his friend's attire. Bakura was wearing an airy white shirt and tight blue trousers to go with it. Damn those tight trousers!! Why did Bakura always have to wear them? Why, oh why, did he have to give Marik the graphic detail of every single curve or non-curve on his body…why?

 

As Marik watched Bakura walk up to him, he noticed the whine-red eyes roam over his body. A delicate, appreciative blush started spilling over Bakura's features and Marik inwardly danced in joy.

 

`I made him blush!! I made him blush!'

 

Bakura averted his eyes to Rishido, who had been watching them both with a knowing gaze.

 

“We're going, Rishido…” Bakura started, and Marik was all-too aware of the swift glances he kept receiving from two glowing bloody eyes. Marik, of course, noticed Bakura's stolen glances because he was looking at the albino too.

 

“Uh-huh. Drive safe.” Rishid counseled and made a move to walk away. This attracted Marik's attention, however, and the blonde boy suddenly focused on the bald man.

 

“Hey Rishido!” Marik suddenly called, earning surprised glances from both Bakura and Rishid. Marik starting a conversation was highly unusual after all. “Where's my sister?” Marik asked with a somewhat protective tone, gaining a small grin from Isis's husband.

 

“Don't worry, she's outside tending to the garden.” Rishid answered and Marik snorted in response. The blonde Egyptian was aware of Bakura's gaze as he spoke the next few words.

 

“You're the man of the house- YOU should be the one fixing the plants!!” Marik reprimanded”How can you let my sister engage in such manual activities!? Bakura, what do YOU have to say about this?”

 

Marik turned to Bakura, who just shrugged with a grin. Rishid just shook his head and smiled too, slightly.

 

“What?” Marik was dumbfounded. Hadn't he just accused Rishid? “What's so funny? I'm serious here! How can you let a woman do your work!!!?”

 

Rishid shrugged lightly “You just never change, Mariku.” With those last words, Rishid walked away and disappeared inside the bathroom. Weird.

 

Marik's next option was to turn to Bakura. Imagine the shock of the poor Egyptian when he met two intense, fiery orbs piercing right through him.

 

“What?” Marik asked somewhat bashfully in an attempt to sound harsh. Bakura had that dreamlike gaze in his beautiful eyes again, but this time, he wasn't staring at the distance. He was staring straight at Marik. And Marik felt his cheeks flame up and his heart miss a beat. Bakura was looking at HIM like that!!

 

Suddenly, Bakura shook his head to recover from the daze. The little grin, however, was still plastered on the albino's face. “It's just that you always acted like that around Rishid- accusing him for not being worthy of your sister…”

 

Marik snorted loudly as he found an excuse to stare profoundly in those sparkling ruby eyes “Well then, I was right. Baldy IS too macho for his own good...”

 

He left that statement trail on ominously and reveled in the way Bakura's grin kept getting wider and wider. For some reason, Marik felt so strangely pleased with himself- pleased with his ability to make Bakura laugh like that. Solely HIS ability- no one else's. Only HE could make Bakura laugh like that!

 

The little happy moment was interrupted suddenly by Marik's thoughts. He had meant to speak to Bakura but found that he couldn't move his lips. Only then did he realize in utter panic, that he had been grinning too. His smile had spread all over his unconscious face -and he hadn't even realized it!!!

 

`What the heck?!! I'm not supposed to be laughing like a jerk! What the-?'

 

But Bakura seemed to sense his companion's discomfort and rushed to speak.

 

“I see you're ready…Let's go!” Bakura simply said and started walking towards the door. Marik tried to shake himself away from his shocked trance as he followed Bakura's strides.

 

They exited the front door wordlessly, and Bakura led them both to the garage. The albino shoved his hand in his back pocket- the back pocket of his excruciatingly tight trousers- and took out a small remote control. Marik eyed it curiously as Bakura pressed a button and the garage door rolled up, revealing Bakura's familiar convertible car.

 

Bakura seemed a bit nervous as he turned to Marik, and the Egyptian had the feeling that Bakura was somehow afraid of him. Yet another twinge of guilt set fire to Marik's nerves. Imagine what he had done to this boy…

 

Bakura rushed inside and hopped in the now hoodless car without even bothering to open the door. Marik went to mimic Bakura's movements on the passenger seat when suddenly something caught his eye.

 

It was something stuffed in the corner and covered by a thick brown cloth. “What's that?” Marik's naturally explorative spirit kicked in again. Bakura turned a questioning glance at his friend. “What's what?” he asked in confusion.

 

“That over there!” Marik exclaimed, as he walked away from the car and towards the cloth-covered thing. He pointed at it and Bakura's eyes widened. The albino jumped out of the car and walked towards Marik slowly, eyeing the back of the blonde's head.

 

“You don't remember? That's-” the silver-haired boy started, but was cut short when Marik pulled away the fabric that covered the mysterious object.

 

Bakura watched Marik's expressions turn from shocked and bewildered to ecstatic and near-delirious. Marik's eyes widened to an incomprehensible size, as his usually tight, stiff lips formed a silent `o'.

 

Stretched in front of him, glorious in all its beauty was a street-rider Honda motorcycle. Although it was slightly dusty and seemed forgotten, Marik could still recognize the shiny color of black and silver on the bike's surface.

 

Marik didn't even need an explanation for this one, since he knew that it was his bike. The keys were resting on the motor and Marik was sure that no one had touched it ever since he left. Finally! Something he recognized! He always had an obsession with these vehicles- they made him feel free and independent for some reason.

 

In fact, he had a bike in Battle City…but it was best not to remember those times. Slowly, the Egyptian raised a trembling hand to run it over the bike's seat, not caring one little bit about getting dirty.

 

“Um…your bike…it's untouched…” Bakura finished his thought as he watched Marik run his hands all over the engine with a passion like no other.

 

Marik suddenly let out a very challenging smirk. “Bakura…” he started, and instantly spun around to meet a set of genuinely concerned ruby eyes.

 

“…I don't know about you, but I'm taking my baby…for a ride…” Marik wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, as he leaned on the bike. Bakura flushed visibly at Marik's choice of words and Marik's general behavior. Something told Marik that Bakura was having pleasant flashbacks again…the thought of acting like his old self excited the blonde even more.

 

“So what do you say we race…?” Marik suggested as he leaned even more casually on his beloved bike. These vehicles really had this sultry effect on him- when he was with a motorcycle nothing mattered. “You in your car, and me with my lady…” Marik suggested in a challenging tone.

 

Suddenly, everything seemed like a challenge, a huge contest he had to win in order to prove to the angelic albino how good he really was. Bakura obviously squirmed around and tried to look everywhere except in Marik's hungry eyes.

 

“Marik…I don't really think you're ready to drive…the doctors said…” Bakura started slowly, but was cut off abruptly by Marik's elegant movement. The Egyptian straddled the bike with one fluent swish of his long leather-clad limbs. Needless to say that Marik was positively relishing the dark blushes that stained Bakura's cheeks with each and every sultry glance.

 

“Bullshit!” Marik finalized his thesis “I say there's nothing better than a warm engine, pumping and vibrating between your legs….don't you agree with me Bakura?” he gave an extra dark look with his statement, and watched Bakura glance around pointedly, obviously at a loss for words. That raging blush on the albino's face was driving Marik over the edge.

 

“Uh…Um…M-Mariku, I don't think…maybe you should just…” Bakura started, but was cut off once again by a sudden roar. Marik had started the engine and was now leaning down, listening to the motorbike groan and rumble as if observing a person's heartbeat.

 

“Oh yes…it's been so long…” Marik had his eyes closed and was getting a little too lost in his obsessions. Unaware of the thunderstruck gaze Bakura was aiming at him, Marik continued to speak. “…Let me hear your voice…” he murmured to his bike, while he violently reved it up.

 

When the Egyptian heard the protests of the motor, he let out an unconscious husky growl. He was partially unaware of Bakura standing there watching him, so he continued to lose himself in the abyss of his reverie, until he finally shook his head and opened his eyes.

 

He almost gasped when he saw Bakura's now morbidly pale, detached face. Marik felt confused, what know? But he quickly understood the problem- Bakura was probably getting more flashbacks of happier times. Revealing crazy passion in front of Bakura was not the best thing Marik could do, obviously. So he settled on trying to lighten the mood.

 

“Com' on Bakura! Whassamatter? Afraid you might lose? Hey, you should be happy I'm doing you a favor! You get to race with a car, remember?” Marik challenged, a well-known, competitive glare glowing in his eyes.

 

Bakura shook his head instantly, trying to recover from his serious shock. “I'm serious Mariku…you shouldn't be driving…” he started again, earning an impatient huff from Marik.

 

“Com' on mommy, I promise I'll be good. Tell you what, you don't have to race me if you're so sure you're gonna lose... Let's just take a ride, what do you say? You, me and my motorbike…”

 

`Oh yes…' Marik replayed his words in his mind, adding various dirty images in his fantasy `You, me and my motorbike…Imagine the possibilities…' But of course Marik refused he was thinking about anything of the sort.

 

Bakura's eyes widened considerably, and this time, a fervent glowing red smudged his whole face. “I, um-”

 

Marik grinned devilishly “What's the matter, Babe? Afraid are we?”

 

Bakura instantly glowed even redder and shot a rare glare up at Marik “You wish!” the albino said in a tone Marik had never heard before. Wow!! Finally he was getting some feedback- he seemed to have hit a nerve…

 

“Oh yeah? I bet you are…Why else would wittle bwaby Bakuwa be so slow?” Marik probed harder, eliciting a fiery stare from his albino companion. And then, before the Egyptian knew it, Bakura's entire body was pressed against the back of his own, their bodies combined provoking unbearable heat.

 

Marik took a sharp intake of breath unbeknownst to Bakura. Oh…so the diary was right about Bakura's body heat, after all…The things this boy was doing to him…He caught a quick sight of Bakura's face through the rear view mirror and noticed Bakura's eyes were shut tight, his face forming a flinch of anxiety.

 

`It must be much worse for him…' Marik thought `It must take great effort not to hump me or something…' Marik suddenly reveled at the thought of having such powers of attraction on Bakura. He felt strangely exuberant at having such domination over the albino- without the Millennium Rod…yet another weird feeling.

 

`Then again, maybe he's afraid I'm crazy and might hit him, or something…Better not think about that, though…'

 

And so, trying to get back to the role of `hardcore, macho, biker boy', Marik revved his bike up. With each movement, he could sense the maddening friction of Bakura's body against his own. The boy's knee caps were pressed to the back of Marik's thighs and Bakura's torso was inevitably adhered to the Egyptian's back, although Bakura did try to avoid any kind of physical contact- and failed miserably.

 

Marik, on the other hand, found Bakura's efforts to resist him extremely exciting and was a bit too lost at his dirty thoughts before Bakura broke into his trance.

 

“What's the matter, blondie? Who's slow now?” Bakura asked in a dark, challenging tone. Marik's eyes widened in shock. Blondie? Well he hadn't heard that one before…He thought he'd read it somewhere in that diary, but…but…why was Bakura acting so…normal towards him? Usually Bakura was extremely composed and self-conscious around Marik…why the sudden change?

 

The Egyptian was now completely overwhelmed with unknown feelings. He enjoyed this new, dark Bakura so much, that he wanted to gain domination over the albino's now fiery character even more!!

 

“Blondie??” Marik murmured slowly through clenched teeth “I'll show you blondie!”

 

And with that sudden shout, Marik unexpectedly slammed on the ignition, making the bike's tires screech with fire and catching Bakura completely off guard.

 

Marik's cocky grin reached the width of the galaxy when Bakura let out a startled cry of shock. The albino reflexively wrapped his arms around Marik's waist, making Marik relish at the feeling of the complete control he had gained.

 

But for now, all that Marik did was concentrate on driving, making the motor burn with life and speed. Since Marik didn't remember the way to the bar, he had to listen to Bakura's instructions. After a while, the wind beat their bodies mercilessly, howling in their ears and fading their voices. Bakura had to shout his directions.

 

They had surely violated a dozen Californian laws on speed limits, red lights, innocent pedestrians etc. but Marik honestly couldn't care less. He just wanted to feel that air blow harder, he wanted the frost of the wind to cool his overheated body -which was burned by Bakura's every touch.

 

He needed to feel the freedom of the road again, the speed of a motorcycle…the life!

 

Bakura was obviously having different thoughts from behind, since his face was scrunched up slightly and his brows were furrowed. When Marik caught sight of Bakura's face in the mirror, he smirked inwardly. It was just priceless to have fiery Bakura in such a predicament.

 

“SO WHAT DO YOU THINK, EH? WHO'S A BLONDIE NOW?” Marik shouted to be heard over the howling wind. He focused on the rear view mirror and saw Bakura smirk.

 

“YOU ARE, BLONDIE!! YOUR BLONDE HAIR IS FALLING ALL OVER MY FACE!!” Bakura roared back. Marik's hold on the bike handles tightened instantly. He was savoring being with this vivid new Bakura so absolutely…this Bakura was not the cruel character he always knew in Battle City, but he wasn't the anorexic, reserved boy he had met here either. No…this person had so much more life in him…Marik idly wondered if this was how Bakura always was before Marik got paranoid.

 

“OH YEAH?? YOU WANT ME TO MAKE MY HAIR FALL ON YOUR FACE EVEN MORE?” Marik yelled as he spotted a dark alley at the right side of the road.

 

“I DON'T SEE HOW THAT'S POSSIBLE!” Bakura barked ironically, but he screamed suddenly, when Marik performed a harsh, tire-screeching turn in a dark alley. Marik smirked.

 

“Want a bet?” he murmured inaudibly and suddenly, he dropped to a lower circuit and pulled the bike up, so that the entire front wheel lifted away from the ground and the motorcycle resembled a wild horse trying to break free from its tamer.

 

“AHH!!” Bakura yelled as he felt his body drop dangerously backwards. Instinctively, he wrapped his thin, pale arms all over Marik and held on to the Egyptian for dear life. “MARIKU!!”

 

Marik secretly gave a self-satisfied smirk and inwardly patted himself on the back. He had Bakura screaming, begging, hugging him unconsciously and proving how Marik had succeeded in breaking the tough façade…ha!

 

When Marik finally brought the bike to a normal driving position, he continued driving nonchalantly, as if nothing had happened. He could still feel the tremor course through Bakura's hands, since the boy continued to hold onto him, hugging him unconsciously. Marik reveled in the signs of human contact, not having experienced anything quite like it in his dream world before…

 

He decided to tease Bakura just a bit…just to prove how he had successfully wooed the albino. Since they had calmed their speed and were heading steadily towards the bar, Marik didn't need to shout to be heard any more.

 

“You're such a little wimp, Bakura!! How would you survive without me? You're a total sissy!!” Marik accused, as he watched Bakura's absolutely giddy, love-struck face grin slightly. What the-? Bakura enjoyed been cursed at? Or was it because Marik was acting like his old self? To Marik's relief, Bakura didn't loosen his hold on his waist one bit.

 

“So are you!” Bakura returned the offence and Marik tried to ignore how ironically true the statement was. Technically, yes he WAS a sissy…And his male lover was sitting just behind him. Bakura also knew this, and used the accusation as a way to remind himself of his past with Marik probably.

 

Marik himself felt a bit disappointed at not being able to tell Bakura he knew about everything. It was no secret anymore! There were no secrets anymore…

 

“We're here!” Bakura exclaimed much too cheerfully than usual as he pointed towards a blue-lit, dark-looking club.

 

Marik raised an immaculate blonde eyebrow at the sight. He drove pleasantly to the bar whilst engaging in various offensive conversations with Bakura.

 

Finally, Marik pulled over in the alley next to the store. He dismounted first and was immensely disappointed at being forced to move away from Bakura's warm body. Once Marik was down, he watched Bakura stagger a bit dazedly as he got off the bike.

 

“Whassup? Not used to high rides?” Marik questioned with wit, until he saw Bakura's knees buckle in weakness. Marik instantly ran by the boy, supporting Bakura from falling. “Bakura!” Marik shouted, as he saw Bakura's heavy eyelids refocus. “What's wrong? Are you ok!?” Marik kept asking in a worry that annoyed him profusely.

 

Bakura, however, seemed to take it differently, as an absolutely blessed smile touched his face. He stared into Marik's crystal lavender eyes and unconsciously leaned forward. When he finally got a grip of himself, he managed to pull away just in time for it not to seem suspicious.

 

But Marik, of course, had taken full notice…and his heart had been beating painfully faster at the prospect of kissing the albino. Bakura however, shrugged lightly and acted oblivious “Don't worry. It's nothing…I just haven't eaten well…” Bakura said, as he finally tried to support himself with his own feet.

 

`You haven't eaten at all…' Marik corrected the sentence in his mind.

 

Marik didn't loosen his hold on Bakura, but his eyes glared daggers at the silver-haired boy “I'm not worrying, I just don't want to deal with Isis's screams in case you get sick. And I already told you, you should start eating properly, before I'm forced to feed you like a baby. Geez, Bakura, you just can't do anything without me, can you…?”

 

Bakura smiled pleasantly at Marik's glaring, frightening face. Marik felt immobilized and vulnerable- now why did Bakura ignore his trademark glare? “Whatever you say, Marik…you just like the sound of your own voice too much…For the record, though, it's true that I can't do anything without you…”

 

Marik didn't really want to deal with the sincerity of those eyes and the magnitude of that statement. Instead, he lowered his gaze and pulled away from Bakura, who kept smiling as though the happiest person alive.

 

“Why don't we go inside?” Bakura suggested, and immediately started walking towards the back door of the bar. Marik reluctantly raised his gaze to look at the albino's beautiful silver head.

 

`He said he can't do anything without me…he's been wasting himself in the attic...just for me…' Marik felt so shocked and overwhelmed by all these feelings that assaulted him all of a sudden.

 

It only took one phrase from Bakura, and Marik had melted to putty…It always happened. Always the same.

 

“Hey! Wait up!” Marik very uncharacteristically shouted, making Bakura stop and turn around slowly. A quirked eyebrow betrayed Bakura's confusion at the sheer normality of Marik's behavior. Marik could see the problem. Bakura was wondering what had happened to make Marik act so normal again, all of a sudden.

 

Marik ran to the albino's side and together they walked to the backdoor of the club.

 

“So if we own this place, how come Isis and Rishido don't come with us?” Marik asked suddenly, making Bakura gaze at him skeptically. “Well…since Isis is a librarian and she knows nothing about store management, we had to hire someone…don't worry, she's a cool person.”

 

Marik raised an eyebrow “She?”

 

Bakura nodded “She's a woman. You'll meet her in five…actually, we owe everything to her…she does EVERYTHING in this place…”

 

Marik smirked. Now this would be interesting…watching Bakura at work…

 

“Hey Bakura, do you wear those little barman outfits? You know, the ones with the tail and the fru-fru and the little sleeves-”

 

“Shut up, Mariku. NO.” Bakura cut in boldly, earning an overly loud snort from Marik's part. Naturally, Marik's curiosity had to pump up again.

 

“So…about that manager woman…” Marik started, as the two of them opened the heavy, brass door. Marik's voice became muffled as they walked inside.

 

“What do you mean when you say she's cool? Does she resemble Rishido in any way? In that case, she just sucks, man…”

 

Only the clap of exasperated Bakura's hand on his forehead was heard.