Teenage Jail

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.

The final chapter. I almost changed the summary because first, it got a plot, and then, the ending became ambiguous, so "happily-never-after" no longer fits. But I've wanted to use that term ever since Chibi-chan sent me a review with it, so it stays.

But, like I said, this is an ambiguous--if not exactly happy--ending. Malik and Ryou are always going to have an abusive relationship, at least on the emotional level; but no one dies this time around. That's worth something, eh?
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"And freedom, oh freedom--
Well, that's just some people talking.
Your prison is walking through this world all alone."

-- The Eagles, "Desperado"

Malik waited until late afternoon before going over to Bakura's apartment, sure that the other teenager would be back from school by then. He'd spent the day scanning for jobs in the area, looking for something he could do to take the burden of caring for the three of them off of Isis' shoulders; but this world was still so strange to him and there wasn't a place for an unschooled foreigner with serious social problems, so he'd finally given up and headed to the apartment complex. He knocked on the door with his usual abruptness, knowing that Bakura would have heard him drive up already.

A moment later the door opened, and Bakura smiled. "Hi," he said.

Malik pushed the door open and walked inside. When he heard Bakura pull the door shut, he turned around. "I want that paper back."

Bakura gave him a confused look. "Huh?"

"The paper you copied my tattoos on yesterday." Malik held out his hand. "I want it back, now."

Bakura stared down at the floor. "I...it's not here. I gave it to my father already."

Malik dropped his hand and growled under his breath. "I can't believe you."

Bakura folded his arms, still looking at the floor. "He said he could translate some, but lots of it read as nonsense." Bakura tossed his head back up, smirking. "So you still have more to explain, Malik."

Malik stared. For one second, he thought that this was just another nightmare, and in a moment his sister would come in and wake him up. The next second he ran for the door.

Bakura reacted quickly and shoved Malik as he moved past, causing the two of them to crash to the floor. Malik jerked back and slammed a knee into Bakura's stomach, making him gasp and curl up slightly.

Malik scrambled back up and kicked at Bakura's face, but the thief caught his foot and twisted, sending Malik crashing to the floor again. The blond instinctively reached his hands out to break his fall, and wound up trapping an arm beneath his body. He tried to shove himself up, but Bakura had already recovered and crawled over him, gripping his other arm and wrenching it up sharply.

Malik shouted in pain as his shoulder threatened to dislocate, and Bakura chuckled.

"You hate to make things easy on yourself, don't you?" he asked with a smirk, moving to dig his knee into the small of Malik's back. "All you had to do was fulfill our bargain and stay away from my host, and we could have avoided this mess."

"Die," Malik snarled. "And there is no bargain. You lost the game, remember?"

Bakura wrenched his arm up higher, and Malik cried out loudly. The thief snickered at that, and then leaned down slightly. "'You're just asking for it,' aren't you?"

Malik's hands clenched into fists, and he started trying to throw Bakura off, making the thief jerk warningly on his arm. "You don't learn," Bakura commented.

Malik struggled a moment longer. Then, feeling the muscles in his shoulder straining to the limit, he unwillingly stilled, panting in anger and fear.

Bakura's smirk grew wider. "Now, all the 'nonsense' parts had references to monsters in them, so start from there." He waited, but when Malik remained quiet, Bakura narrowed his eyes and continued as if he hadn't been expecting an answer. "But, hmm...." He reached out and fisted a hand in Malik's hair. "Seeing as my host was gracious enough to do you a favor with that little blow job on the beach, I think it's time you returned it," he said, wrenching the blond's head up.

Malik clenched his fists enough to feel the nails biting his palms and squeezed his eyes shut. Not again, no no "No...."

The hand around his wrist and in his hair loosened slightly, and Bakura snarled. "What do--" The hands tightened again, and then Bakura suddenly threw himself off of Malik. The blond opened his eyes in confusion, and a moment later the Sennen Ring sailed across his vision, landing with a jingle-jangle onto the carpet down the hall.

Malik blinked at it, and focused on getting his breathing back to normal. Soon, he propped himself up on the elbow of his uninjured arm and looked over.

Bakura had collapsed into a ball on the carpet, fists pressed against his temples and shaking badly. Malik waited another minute, then pushed himself up on his knees and crawled over to the other teen.

When he placed a hand on Bakura's shoulder, Bakura jerked away with a strangled noise. Malik frowned, then grabbed his arms and forced Bakura to sit up. "Stop," he said. "Stop. You won."

Bakura stared at him blankly for a moment. Then he sank forward, falling against the darker teen and laying his head on Malik's shoulder. "I overheard him and I couldn't...I just couldn't let him....I'm sorry, I am I am. I'm sorry."

Malik stayed still for a minute, and then wrapped his arms around Bakura with a wince at the lingering pain in his shoulder. "It's okay." He continued to hold him while Bakura kept repeating "I'm sorry" under his breath.

 

Malik glared up at the window and considered chucking a brick at it instead of the pieces of gravel he'd been using. He leaned back to toss another pebble, but then the window finally opened. The window was high enough that all they could see of Yuugi was his hair and eyes, which blinked sleepily and then widened when he noticed Malik and Bakura standing in the back alley of the Turtle Game Shop.

Malik pointed at the storage room door and mouthed 'Come down.' He held up the shoe box in his hand. 'It's important.'

Yuugi blinked again, then nodded and moved away, pulling the window back down as he did.

A few minutes later, the door opened and Yuugi motioned for them to come inside, since he wasn't really willing to stand in the alley in his pajamas. Malik strode in, and Bakura followed a second later, hands still clutching his elbows. "Hi, Bakura-kun...Malik-kun. What are you doing up so late?"

Malik just held out the box. "Here. It's yours."

Yuugi gave him a confused look, but when Malik only continued to hold the shoe box out, he took it. Yuugi opened the lid, and then his eyes widened again and he stared at Bakura. "What? But this is--"

"Yours," Bakura said, finally looking up. His hands were gripping his sleeves tightly. "It's yours. Just...please keep it away from me."

"Yeah," Malik said. "It's different from the other Items, the same way the Rod is. It's still dedicated to its old master."

"You have to lock it up," Bakura added. "Or else it comes back. I don't know how it does it but it does. Put it in a safe and hide it until it's time for you to go to Egypt, please Yuugi-kun?"

Yuugi glanced between the two of them, a self-protective suspicion lingering in the back of his mind despite the apparent sincerity of their words. But after a moment, he nodded. "I will, Bakura-kun. I promise."

"Thank you," Bakura said quietly. He gave Yuugi a faint smile, which Yuugi echoed with much more brightness.

"Thank you," Yuugi said. "This will be a big help. The other me is grateful, too."

Bakura nodded once, and then looked at the door. Malik, noting the action, said "Good-bye" and ushered the other teenager back out.

Yuugi leaned through the doorframe and waved, then shut the door once they were out of sight. He looked down at the Sennen Ring lying in the shoe box. "That was weird...."

 

Malik steered the motorcycle into the parking lot, then pulled into a space near his apartment. Bakura let go, and gave Malik a confused look when the blond slid off the seat. "This isn't home."

Malik reached over and caught his arm, pulling him off of the bike and towards the stairs. "You're staying here tonight."
ura ura shook his head. "I can't, it's too late--my father will be worried."

"I don't care."

Bakura yanked his arm out of Malik's grasp. "I know you don't!" he said with sudden violence. "You never did, I'm just another puppet that gives you what you want, I know! But he's leaving tomorrow!"

Malik slapped a hand over Bakura's mouth. "Shut up!" he hissed. "You'll wake everyone up and we could get thrown out!"

Bakura glared at him, and Malik continued. "What if Yuugi doesn't listen, eh? What if he doesn't lock it up, and it comes back. What would you do then?"

A moment later Bakura slumped, and when Malik let go of his mouth the paler teen sat down on the steps and leaned against the railing. "At least he needs me. It wouldn't hurt too much."

Malik knelt down and glared at him. "Is that all you judge things by? How much they would or wouldn't hurt?" he growled.

Bakura gave him that same empty gaze he'd had ever since he agreed to give away the Ring. "What else is there?" Malik just stared at him for a moment, and Bakura shook his head. "Please. Just let me go home. I can walk. It doesn't matter. But I want to see my father."

"No." Malik stood. "Now come on." He pulled Bakura up and started walking to his apartment, half dragging the other teen behind him.

When they reached the door, Malik fumbled for his keys and opened it as inaudibly as he could, then brought Bakura inside and locked it again. He kicked off his boots and, remembering that Isis had been growing more and more worried over the last month about his tendency to disappear for hours on end, left thher her teenager standing by the couch and walked to Rishid's room. He knocked once and said, "Hey, I'm home," quietly as he opened the door. Then he blinked.

Malik frowned at the empty room, started to wonder why Rishid would be out at this time of night, and then his eyes widened. Malik turned and stared at the door to Isis' bedroom.

A minute later he took a step towards her door, before changing his mind and going back to the living room where Bakura had removed his shoes and was lying on the couch. He grabbed the paler teen's wrist and tugged. "Come on."

Bakura stood up and followed Malik to his bedroom. Inside, Malik shut the door, then jerked off his shirt, pants and socks and tossed them at the small pile of dirty laundry by his dresser.

Bakura hesitated a moment, then followed suit. He looked about the room, not really sure where to put his clothes, and feeling slightly awkward standing there in his boxers. Malik waved a hand at a random corner as he pulled the bedspread down. "Just toss them on the floor. It's pretty clean."

Bakura bit his lip, then set his clothes down by the bookshelf, folding them loosely out of habit. When he stood up, Malik put a hand on his back and directed him to the bed. Bakura sat down, but then blinked when Malik pushed him over slightly.

"Give me some more room," the blond said. Bakura scooted over, and Malik stretched out and pulled the blanket up to his waist, eyes closed.

Bakura frowned for another moment, then lay down and faced the wall. He reached out and pulled the blanket over his shoulders, curled up slightly, and shut his eyes.

 

Malik blinked sleepily several times, trying to figure out what had woken him up, before realizing that there was another person in his bed and they were shivering. He shook his head briefly and rolled on to his side, draping an arm around Bakura's waist and pulling the other teen closer to him. "What is it?" he asked.

There was a long pause, and then Bakura finally stilled and sighed. "...Will you at least tell me before you go, Malik? I'm so tired of people leaving without warning."

Malik frowned. "What are you talking about? I'm not leaving."

"Everyone leaves," Bakura said under his breath, before shaking his head. "You said you were going to Egypt again."

Malik's frown deepened. "What? When?"

"That night you came to my place, and you had those scratches on your face?" Bakura reminded. "You said you would go away."

Malik blinked and thought back. "No, I just said we couldn't yet. That doesn't mean we will. I think Is...I think Isis likes it here."

Bakura was quiet for a little while. Then he spoke again. "Would you tell me, though? That's all, I won't ask you to stay or make a scene or anything. I'd just like to know for once."

Malik pulled back a little, then pushed down on Bakura's shoulder until the other teen rolled onto his back and looked at him. "I'm not going anywhere," he said forcefully.

Bakura studied his face, and said, "You promise?"

"Yes," Malik answered.

Bakura hesitated briefly, then placed a hand on Malik's stomach and rubbed his fingers along the skin there. "Prove it?" he asked.

Malik looked at him. Then he leaned over and pressed his lips to Bakura's, and the paler teen immediately opened his mouth to let Malik slip inside. Malik reached over and gripped Bakura's arm, pulling himself up enough to lie across Bakura's chest.

Bakura ran his hands along Malik's sides, trying tong tng the darker teen closer without brushing against the tattoos. Malik smirked, then bit down on Bakura's lip, making him draw his breath in sharply. Malik ran his tongue lightly over the flesh trapped between his teeth, nipped it once more, then let go and pushed back to see Bakura's face.

The paler teen had his eyes closed, breathing shallowly, so Malik leaned over and ran his tongue up Bakura's cheek, licking away the drying tear tracks. Bakura shuddered once, his fingers reflexively digging into Malik's abdomen and making the other teen hiss, then opened his eyes and looked up at him.

Malik pressed his lips to Bakura's cheek. "I'm not leaving," he whispered.

Bakura swallowed, then replied, "Okay."

Malik leaned down and attached himself to Bakura's neck, trailing small bites over the skin and laughing at the soft noises that the paler teen made. Then he hesitated for a minute, absently kissing Bakura's shoulder as he stared at the wall.

Finally Malik shut his eyes briefly, then opened them again, tightened his grip on Bakura's arm, and flipped the two of them over. The blanket slid down a little at that and let some of the warmed air escape, and Bakura held himself up to stare down at Malik. "What..." he started to say, before Malik cut him off by sliding a hand into his hair and tilting Bakura's head up so that he could reach more of his throat.

Bakura moaned and dropped down to brace himself on his forearms. He started rocking his hips against Ma mak making the Egyptian hiss against his skin and dip his tongue into the hollow of Bakura's throat. A moment later, Malik's free hand moved down and slid into the elastic of Bakura's boxers.

Bakura moaned and bucked against Malik's hand, and the blond pushed his boxers down near his knees and wrapped his hand around Bakura's growing erection. Bakura moaned again and thrust into his hand, then winced when he felt a twinge of pain in his spine. "Can...can you let go?" he panted. "My neck...."

Malik released his hair, and Bakura's head dropped down. He began nuzzling Malik's throat, and the darker teenager's hand tightened around him before he let go. Bakura made a loud protest at that, and Malik chuckled before shushing him. "Quiet, you'll wake them up...."

"Oh!" Bakura looked up suddenly, his face starting to grow red as he bit his lip.

Malik rocked his hips upward, and Bakura's eyes shut again. Malik laughed, then pushed up on the paler teen. "Here, move so I can get these off...." Bakura shifted, and Malik pushed off his boxers before reaching over and grabbing Bakura's own. They struggled to remove the fabric without having to get out of the comfortable warmth of the blanket, and finally Malik threw the underwear out to the floor.

Bakura leaned down to kiss Malik again, but blinked when the blond tangled a hand in his hair a moment later and pulled him back up. Malik moved Bakura's head to his shoulder, and soon the other teen began pressing soft, open-mouthed kisses to the skin there, before trailing down towards his chest.

Malik watched with hooded eyes as Bakura's head slid further beneath the blanket as he moved down, then lifted his other hand to his mouth and began coating it with saliva.

When Bakura closed his lips around a nipple and licked it lightly, Malik moaned and arched his back. "Bite," he ordered.

Bakura glanced up at him through a fringe of bangs, but Malik only pushed encouragingly on the back of his head, so Bakura gently closed his teeth over the nub. Malik made a noise at that, and Bakura heard him slip his other hand under the blanket. Then there was suddenly a sticky, wet hand on Bakura's erection, making the paler teen start and bite down sharply. He immediately pulled back to apologize, but was cut off by Malik's satisfied grunt.

Malik continued to smear the saliva over Bakura, then shifted and moved his legs up, pulling Bakura into the right position at the same time.

Bakura pushed up and stared down at Malik at that. "What...are you sure, I mean, don't you want--"

Malik used the hand still in Bakura's hair to push the paler teen down into another kiss. Then he pulled back and looked him in the eyes. "Can I trust you from now on? Because otherwise, no," he said.

Bakura stared at him, closed his eyes, and then opened them a moment later and nodded. Malik kissed him again, then let go of Bakura's erection and moved the hand to his hip, pulling him closer. Bakura moved back enough to bite his lip again, and then pushed in.

Once the paler teen was fully inside, Malik leaned up, caught the side of Bakura's lip and tugged slightly. He stopped biting down, and Malik slipped inside his mouth, licking the underside of Bakura's tongue briefly.

Bakura shivered at that, then pulled back and slid in again, trying to move slowly because he couldn't imagine that the saliva was enough lubricant. It wasn't long, though, before he felt Malik tug on his hair and whisper "Faster," so Bakura clenched his hands in the sheet and sped up his movements.

The hand on his hip tightened enough that he could feel the nails cut into his skin, and Bakura looked up again just to be sure he wasn't hurting Malik. The look on the darker teen's face convinced him that he was making the Egyptian happy, however, so Bakura finally stopped worrying and just enjoyed himself. He dropped his head to Malik's shoulder and started sporadically echoing the bites that Malik liked to give him.

Malik groaned at that and thrust up, trying to get Bakura to put enough friction on his erection. When the other teenager failed to notice the action Malik groaned again, this time in frustration, and squirmed a hand between the two of them to stroke himself.

When he felt Bakura tense up at another thrust, Malik quickly jerked his head up and managed to smother most of the other teen's cry with his lips. Bakura sunk heavily on top of him, and Malik growled when his hand was trapped. He pushed at Bakura, trying to get the paler teen to move off him.

Soon, Bakura rested his head on Malik's shoulder, but pulled out and moved his knees up so his lower half was above the darker teenager. Then he reached down and pushed Malik's hand away despite a protesting hiss, before slipping both of his own around his erection.

Malik bucked up into his hands and Bakura tightened his grip a fraction, listening for the approving noise Malik gave him. Then he scooted down slightly and kissed Malik's other nipple, before catching it between his teeth and gradually increasing the pressure.

Malik thrust into his hands again, swore under his breath, and thekurakura felt warmth splash over his hands and the upper part of his legs. Ignoring it, he fell to Malik's side, quiet again.

Malik lay staring up at the ceiling, panting harshly, and soon kicked the bedspread off of them. "Hot," he muttered, closing his eyes as the cooler air of the room suddenly washed over him.

When Bakura started shivering, he originally thought it was the change in temperature; but when the other teenagedn'dn't stop, Malik clenched his jaw. Then he paused for a moment, and his expression smoothed out before he slid over enough to be able to turn onto his side. He threw an arm over Bakura's waist and pulled him closer, feeling the paler teen absently curl up.

Malik waited for a minute, until Bakura stopped shaking again. "It's going to get better, Ryou," he said. "It has to."

Bakura didn't reply to that, but soon he moved nearer to Malik and laid his head against the Egyptian's chest.

Malik slid his other arm underneath the pillow and continued to stare at the wall for a while, resting his chin on Bakura's crown. Finally he looked down, lips brushing the top of Bakura's head as he spoke. "Mine."

Bakura sighed quietly, but pressed closer to him.

 

Rishid shut the door behind him quietly, and padded down the hall. He turned right when he reached the living room, intending to check if Malik had come home yet and what condition he was in, since he knew that Isis would ask as soon as she woke.

He opened the door quietly, not wanting to disturb Malik up if he was asleep. Rishid blinked when he saw the bedding, gazed for a moment and then shut the door carefully so as not to wake the two teenagers.

Rishid walked into the kitchen and began to make breakfast for his family, pulling out an extra plate from the cabinets.


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