Touch The Stars

Touch the Stars

Hato chiisai

Disclaimer: No own.

YAOI WARNING

Pharaoh- Marik- telekinetic

Emperor- Bakura- telepath

King- Yami- teleporter

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Chapter 12

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Ryou moaned slightly and opened his eyes. He was in a large white room, strapped down onto a table with an oxygen mask on. He blinked and slowly looked around. His eyes widened when he saw Marik was still holding his hand. The Pharaoh was sitting in a chair, his upper half slumped over onto the bed and his head rested on Ryou’s belly. Ryou blinked at the Pharaoh’s face. He felt his breath hitch. Marik was…. Beautiful. His eyes were lightly closed, and his mouth slightly open as he breathed, soft little snores coming from his nose. He looked completely worn out. Ryou smiled slightly, and tried to reach out to feel his golden hair, but he was restrained by rubber straps. He squirmed; nature called.

“Ryou?” Marik asked, raising his head as the squirming had woken him. “Ryou! You’re okay! How do you feel?” He asked.

“Fine, thanks.” Ryou said softly, his voice muffled by the oxygen mask, which Marik removed before releasing Ryou from the rubber straps. Ryou slowly sat up. Marik reached out to steady him, just in case. Ryou looked around. “What is this place?”

“The clinic.” Marik said, helping Ryou to his feet. Ryou clutched the white sheet around himself, hiding his nudity. He looked up as the medic walked in, blinked, and rushed over. He had Ryou back on the table in no time for a final check up. When he pronounced Ryou to be well, Marik took Ryou back to his room for a bath and a good meal. Marik was delighted at Ryou’s playful time in the bath (he came out soaked even though he didn’t get into the tub) and but he was disappointed that Ryou didn’t eat much; only a bowl of soup and a small bit of bread. As Marik was tucking Ryou into his Nest, Malik came running in.

“Ryou! Ryou, you’re okay!!” He cried, and took a flying leap into the Nest and flung his arms around Ryou’s neck, planting a big kiss on his cheek. Ryou stiffened and blushed and his eyes widened. Marik laughed.

“Malik was so worried about you, Ryou.” Marik said, and Malik grinned, then looked at Marik.

“What about you?” He asked. “You never left his side. You haven’t even eaten.” Ryou stared, and Marik smiled and slid down into the Nest. Ryou smiled lightly as he found himself nestled between the Egyptonian pair.

“I was worried.” Marik said softly, and tucked a lock of hair behind Ryou’s ear. “I was so…. Scared.” Ryou stared at Marik. Malik looked back and forth between them, eagerly. “I don’t want anything to happen to you, Ryou.” Marik said softly.

Ryou stared at Marik. His heart fluttered and his breathes quickened. Marik brushed his knuckles down Ryou’s cheek. Ryou leaned into the gentle caress with a little sigh, making Marik swallow. Slowly, he leaned closer to Ryou. Malik was grinning like an idiot. They got closer. Their lips were inches away…. One inch, a mere hair from touching, when the door suddenly opened. Marik and Ryou jumped, and pulled back, Ryou quickly looking down, blushing, and Marik looking to see who had interrupted them. Malik also looked to see who it was, disgusted at the bad timing. They had been so CLOSE!!!

“Pharaoh.” It was Rishido. “I believe I know who planted the cobra in your chambers. It was sedated and hidden in the new planter brought in.” Marik stood and nodded.

“Take me to him.” He snarled, and he and Rishido swept from the room.

“Well, shit.” Malik spat, and Ryou blinked at him. “Sorry. Anyway, glad to see you’re feeling better, Ryou.” Ryou smiled.

“Thank you, sir.”

“Don’t call me that. We are of equal rank. Call me Malik, please.” Malik said, and Ryou smiled and nodded.

“Okay, Malik.” Ryou said.

………………………

Marik was led down to the dungeons and to a cell. And in the cell was a member of the high council.

“Neshi….” Marik snarled. Neshi looked up and grew pale.

“M-my Pharaoh.” He said.

“SILENCE!!” Marik roared. “You almost killed him!!! You know the penalty.” The man’s eyes widened. “GUARDS!!! Get a transport ready. Our friend here is going to visit our dear Emperor Bakura.”

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Bakura stood with the other monarchs in the docking bay. The Egyptonian pod opened, and out spilled a bound Egyptonian and a vid-disk. Bakura immediately fixed the man in a deadly glare, then went to watch the disk.

“Emperor Bakura.” The Marik on the screen said. “I once again regret to inform you that an attempt on your brother’s life has been made. This man smuggled a poisonous serpent into my bedroom, and your brother was bitten. He was in the clinic for two days under intensive care, and went through twenty four vials of anti-venom. In the end, he pulled through all right.” The camera panned across the room and focused on Ryou, who was playing cards with Malik. Bakura’s eyes softened at the sight of his little brother. Ryou pulled a card, grinned, and laid his hand down. Malik’s eyes widened, then narrowed and glared at Ryou.

“I hate you.” Malik pouted, and Ryou laughed. “Eleven out of twenty three?” Bakura smiled at his brother’s laugh.

“Ryou, come over here. I’m sending another vid to your brother!” Marik called. Ryou looked up and grinned, leaping to his feet.

“Wooo….” He said as he stumbled, a bit dizzy by his sudden movements. Malik reached out and steadied him, laughing.

“Slow down, Ryou. You’ve been trying to run a mile a minute since you got out of the clinic.” Malik laughed, and Ryou blushed. Moving over to the camera, Ryou flashed a brilliant smile.

“Hi Bakura! I miss you!” He sang, making Malik and Marik smile. Marik then turned to the camera and sighed.

“Bakura, I will be reinforcing my security. I will not allow another assassination attempt on your brother. Please see to it that the man I sent you pays for his crime.” And the vid ended. The other monarchs gulped as Bakura turned and glared at the Egyptonian, a sadistic grin appearing on his face as he popped his knuckles.

“You heard him.” He hissed. “Time to pay for your crime.”

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Marik sighed and walked into his dark room, weary from the rant he had just subjected his council to. He smiled and looked up at laughter from his bed. He looked up, finding Ryou and Malik on their backs looking up at the holographic night sky that was an actual live projection of the sky outside. Marik smiled; Malik had turned on the outdoor simulator. A light breeze swept through the room, smelling of the surrounding desert, and the sounds of the desert insects could be heard..

“See, and look at those stars right there. They curve around and up, see them? That’s the Camel. See it?”

“Yeah!” Ryou said. “Ooh! Shooting star!! Did you see it?!”

“Yep!”

“The sky is so different here…..” Ryou sighed, and Marik smiled.

“You’re far from your home planet.” He said, and Ryou and Malik both sat up on their elbows. “So the stars will look different.” Ryou giggled.

“No, I mean on my planet, you rarely see stars. Our whole planet is covered in clouds.”

“I see.” Marik said, flopping down beside Ryou opposite Malik. “Tell us about Assyria, Ryou. What’s it like?” Ryou sighed and cuddled into Marik’s side, and Malik in turn cuddled up to Ryou.

“Well…. It’s cool. A normal high temperature is like here right after sunset. The temperature of your nights is like our days. It’s always raining. We live in trees that grow hundreds of feet above the swamp. You can’t see the ground most of the time because of the thick mist. The trees are covered in moss and ferns, and the branches are so large and wide, that several people can walk across them at one time. We flatten the branches and put up railings to make walkways, and the branches will even fuse with other branches from other trees, so they’re all linked. They do this for their survival. If a tree is on higher ground and the water recedes, it can get it from the nearby trees that are still in water.

“The trees are so large, that at the base, it can take twenty or thirty people linking hands to encircle them. Some of the older ones need forty or fifty.” Marik let out a low whistle.

“Those are some big trees.” He gasped, and Ryou smiled.

“Yeah….” He sighed. “And they’re home.”

“So…. You were born in a tree?” Malik asked, and the three giggled.

“Yeah.” Ryou said. “Born and raised there. Our cities are built around hills of dry land. We live in the trees, but sometimes we cultivate the land on the hills. I live in a city that has several small hills. I would go down to the ground and play in the ferns…”

“What does Assyria look like? When you’re just looking around. Like, Egyptonian landscapes are yellow and orange….” Malik said.

“My planet is nothing but greens and blues, everywhere you look. The steel skies, the white mists, and the gray bark of the trees and the black waters below….”

“You live IN the trees?” Marik said.

“Mmm-hmm…. Our Palace is made up of five of the largest trees. The insides have been carved out. Each has seven levels. My room is on the lowest level, so when you look out, the mists are just a few yards below. It looks like clouds with ferns sprouting from them. And it’s always raining. And the rain and the plants smell so fresh. The air is clean and cool….” Ryou said, and Marik smiled down at the boy as he yawned. “We get fish and amphibians from the swamps, and there are birds in the forests, and other creatures living in the trees, and we raise swamp deer in marshy paddocks for food. The hills provide the land for cultivating our vegetables and we get nuts from the trees we live in and fruit from the vines crawling up the trees. There’s a vine right outside my window….” Ryou yawned again. “So I can just reach out a pick the fruit when I get hungry…….” Marik smiled.

“What’s it like?”

“….. sweet. They’re about the size of my fist, and they grow in bunches of about three to five……” Ryou sighed and his eyes fell closed. “And the skin is a light blue with pinkish flecks, and the meat of the fruit is a deep purple… they…….” Another yawn came from the boy and his speech was slowing and getting slurred. “they’re called Urulas……. They’re good….. and the stalks of the Gurana palms are….. really good, too…. Crisp…. I make a great palm soup with the Lanira roots……” Marik blinked not knowing what the boy was talking about now. “And some Phorna Fowl meat….. and……” And the boy grew silent as he slipped into sleep, Marik smiled over at Malik, who smiled back with big sleepy eyes.

“He misses his home, Marik…” Malik sighed, softly. Marik nodded, watching his little brother fall asleep. He sighed. Ryou was indeed homesick. Marik didn’t know what to do… He could no longer deny it. He had fallen in love with Ryou, and he was beginning to think that maybe, just maybe, Ryou was loving him, too. But he couldn’t keep the boy from his home, he obviously missed it. But…. How could he bare to let Ryou go? How?

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