Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Warmth in Winter ❯ Plot ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

This should answer a few of your guys' questions! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I own nothing and make $0.00 an hour doing this. Nada. Zero. Zip. Zilch. Etc.

Malik woke up slowly, exhausted from the events of the night before.

Groggily, he sat up.

'Isis and Rishid should be back today.' he thought. Mariku wouldn't try anything with his sister and brother around.

Distantly, he heard the front door open and the sound of two people entering the house. The door closed again.

'Back already?' Malik thought in surprise, looking at his digital clock. He did a double-take upon realizing the time.

It was well past one in the afternoon!

He had never slept this late before.

But then again, last night had been stressful. Anyone would have slept that late.

Malik slid out of his bed and quickly got dressed before heading downstairs to greet his sister and brother.

"Isis! Rishid!" Malik called, running up to his family and hugging them both.

"My brother!" Isis replied, wrapping her arms around Malik. "How are you, Malik? We're sorry about having to leave."

"I was fine. Nothing happened." he lied calmly, wanting to just forget last night.

Just then, his stomach growled.

"Have you eaten yet today, Malik?" Rishid asked, looking at him with concern. Malik shook his head.

"I just woke up."

"Then how about we sit down and have a nice lunch?" Isis suggested. Both men instantly agreed.

"Someone should get Mariku and tell him we're eating." she added. At her mention of his dark half, Malik flinched slightly.

Rishid didn't notice (he was picking up the bags he and Isis had taken with them) but Isis did.

'Something did happen.' she thought, curious as to why Malik hadn't said anything.

She shook her head slightly.

'Maybe I'm just being overly sensitive.'

"Malik, please set the table. Rishid, would you go get Mariku?"

'Better safe than sorry.' she thought.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rishid carried the two small bags up to the second floor, throwing one in his room and the other in Isis'. Knowing Isis had most likely already started on lunch, he walked to Mariku's room.

He knocked.

"Mariku, we're having lunch." he called. He may not have liked Mariku much- due to all the stress the yami had caused Malik during Battle City- but as Malik had been the one to suggest Mariku live with them Rishid had decided to move beyond Battle City.

"Mariku?" he called again, thinking the other hadn't heard him.

"Go away, Rishid." Mariku replied coldly.

"It's lunchtime. Isis told me to tell you it was time to eat."

"I don't care." Mariku sounded unusually moody- Rishid decided it would be in his best interest to leave the other alone.

"If you change your mind, we're downstairs." he said over his shoulder as he turned around and went downstairs.


Isis and Malik looked up from the table, having already cooked lunch (simple mac'n'cheese).

"Where's Mariku?" Isis asked, puzzled. Rishid pulled out the chair next to Isis and sat down before answering.

"He isn't coming. I don't know why- it's better not to ask when he's in a mood."

"I wonder what upset him then." Isis remarked.

Malik was unusually silent for the rest of their meal.

*Some Time Later*

Malik sighed sadly, looking first at the hot chocolate in his hands and then the clock on the stove.

It was well past eleven PM.

Mariku had been inside of his room the entire day, and refused to talk to anyone other than to tell them to leave him alone.

Even though he was loathe to admit it, Malik was worried. Mariku had never stayed in his room for an entire day before- and him staying there meant he hadn't eaten.

"Malik?" a soft, feminine voice asked.

Malik looked up, seeing his sister in the doorway of the kitchen.

"Isis? Why are you up so late?" he asked, puzzled.

"Something is troubling you, my brother. If you like, we can talk about it." she offered.

"I... don't want to talk about it..." Malik said hesitantly. Isis nodded and turned to walk away.

"If you do want to talk to someone, I am here." She began walking back to her room when Malik's voice stopped her.

"... but I probably should talk to somone."

Isis smiled slightly to herself as she turned around again. She sat down at the table across from Malik, leaning forward slightly.

"What's wrong?" she asked, concern now evident in her voice.

Malik took a small sip of his hot chocolate before answering.

"It's... something did happen yesterday." Malik said slowly. "While you and Rishid were gone."

Isis nodded, showing that she was listening. She kept quiet, not wanting to interrupt her brother's story and cause him to lose his nerve.

Malik was quiet for several minutes while he figured out how best to continue his story.

'I can't just tell her what happened.' he thought. 'If I could just...'

"How do you know if you like someone?" he asked suddenly. "Some things happened yesterday, and I don't know what's going on, and I'm confused-" He cut himself off abruptly, not looking at Isis.

He didn't need to continue. She understood what he couldn't say.

'So that's what happened between those two.' she thought.

"It's very different for everyone, Malik." Isis said softly. "If you like someone, you think about them often. You enjoy seeing them and spending time with them. You want to touch them. You put extra effort into your appearence when you know you will see them. You worry about them and listen to them, and want only the best for them. You do little things you know will matter to them. It's a very special thing when those feelings are returned."

"But... I don't like him. I'm not supposed to. I'm supposed to hate him." Malik said dully, not thinking about what he said and only concentrating on what Isis had told him.

"'Like' has little to do with reason, Malik." Isis said. "It's alright if you like Mariku."
Isis placed a hand on top of Malik's, squeezing softly to reassure him.

"He doesn't like me." Malik said after a minute, voice filled with sorrow. "All he wants is..." His voice threatened to crack. He stopped talking, unable to say exactly what Mariku wanted from him.

"What happened yesterday?" Isis asked after several moments of silence.

"I- He..." Malik tried to say, but he couldn't force the words out past his lips.

His lips...

He lightly ran his fingers over his own lips, unable to speak.

Isis stood and quickly moved to her brother's side, wrapping her arms around him.

"He kissed you?" she asked. Malik nodded, lowering his eyes to the floor.

"He doesn't love me. He just wants my body." he said slowly, shaking with his knowledge.

Isis pulled him closer, wishing she knew how to comfort her brother better. Without knowing exactly what Mariku's thoughts were on her brother, she could not. She would not offer Malik false hope, for it was cheap and died quickly at twice the cost.

"I'm sure he cares for you." she tried. Malik shook his head.

"He doesn't. I know he doesn't." he said. He hugged his sister. "I don't want to love him. Not when it feels like this." He looked her in the eye suddenly, his violet orbs watering. "Does it always hurt, sister?"

"No. It doesn't." Isis said, attempting to reassure him.

After a few minutes of their embrace, Malik pulled away.

"I should go to sleep." he said numbly. "I just need to rest." Both stood, Isis still looking with concern at her brother.

"Goodnight." he told her, moving past her. Just before exiting the kitchen, he spoke again.
"Thank you, sister."

He disappeared out the door. Isis heard the sound of feet moving rapidly before a door slammed upstairs.

Isis' eyes grew sad and she moved her focus to her brother's forgotten hot chocolate, still steaming on the kitchen table.

*At The Same Time*

Mariku's stomach growled again, reminding him of just how much he had eaten that day- absolutely nothing.

It didn't matter much to him, however. He hadn't been able to work up the will or energy to move since last night.

It had seemed perfect. It should have worked, but for one thing.

He had read the signs wrong.

Malik didn't like him.

Mariku had been so proud of himself too. He had broken the heater on what he knew would be a cold night- one when neither Isis nor Rishid would be home. His hikari would have to go to him for heat because he knew Malik was often cold at night in winter- and when Malik got cold, he cuddled up next to one of his siblings for warmth.

He had been so confident that his plan would work when he had heard his door open, and that angel's voice asking to sleep next to him for warmth.

He hadn't even been deterred when Malik had pushed him away the first time, thinking that Malik was merely in denial and would respond once Mariku kissed him. He had craftily gotten close enough to kiss his light- with the added and unexpected bonus of having Malik run his hands through Mariku's hair- but then Malik had run from him again. He had been so determined to show Malik how much he loved the smaller Egyptian and have Malik return those feelings he had even trapped Malik with him.

That had been his biggest mistake.

Malik had wanted to know why Mariku was acting the way he was. Mariku had responded truthfully- their bodies did want it, though Mariku was hoping their hearts were in it as well.

Mariku's heart cracked slightly when Malik had said he didn't like him.

'This doesn't have to have anything to do with 'love', hikari.' Mariku had said.

'If he doesn't like me, feelings don't have to have anything to do with it. Once would have been enough for me. I just had to have him once.'

Mariku had given Malik the option of sleeping with him with no strings attached. It didn't have to mean anything if Malik didn't want it to.

But if he did...

They could have been together.

It had been a great plan...

...if Mariku had read the signs correctly.

'At least I got to kiss him.'

His stomach interrupted his thoughts again.

'I should eat something.' he thought, glancing over at his clock.

It was close to midnight- no one else should be up.

Deciding it was relatively safe to leave his room (he hadn't wanted to run into Malik) he released the pillow he had been holding all day and shrugged off the blanket he had wrapped around his shoulders.

They still smelled like Malik.

He padded quietly over to his door, peeking out.

No one- not like he had expected anyone to be there. He opened the door fully and began walking down the hall.

He was just about to descend the steps when voices caught his attention.

"He kissed you?" That was Isis' voice!

'What is she doing up so late?'

"He doesn't love me. He just wants my body." Mariku started in surprise.

That was Malik.

And he only knew of one person that had kissed his hikari recently...

"I'm sure he cares for you."

"He doesn't. I know he doesn't." Mariku's hands clenched into tight fists.

Malik sounded so sad. It hurt him to hear his light like this.

"I don't want to love him. Not when it feels like this."

All thoughts stopped.

He was only person that had kissed Malik- him, Mariku.

His light loved /him/.

He thought Mariku didn't return the feeling- and Mariku would be more than happy to correct him.

His thoughts whirled in his mind, a large grin breaking out on his face (had anyone seen it, they would have run for cover and prayed that the world wasn't going to end).

He realized he had been ignoring the conversation. He quickly pulled his attention back to the sounds he could hear.

"Goodnight." Malik was saying. "Thank you, sister."

With a near-silent chuckle, Mariku moved past the steps and into a certain room, three doors down the hall from his.

A/N: So- do we like this better now that we know it wasn't just lust? It'll be finished in the next chapter- promise! Hope we all enjoyed this!