Message in A Bottle

Title: Message in a Bottle
by: spiderweb
Rated: R
Summary: Shounen ai. Ryou/Malik. After Battle City.

A/n: Thanks to all my lovely reviewers! ^_^ You lifted my spirits up and I'm feeling happier than before! The votes are unanimous! Ryou will LIVE!!! New fic will have to wait...

Oh well, you can't win 'em all... err Yami Bakura and Yami Marik ooc in this chappie...

As usual, Maliku flu fluff! And Yami Bakura/Yami Marik close-to-fluff-but-funnier

*****
Chapter 8: Yami Bakura Gives in And Ryou And Malik Are At It Again

*****

Ryou slowly opened his eyes. The aching pain in his head still moving like a virus...but somehow he forced himself to wake up. Someone was calling out to him.

"Hikari..." Yami Bakura demanded, gently shaking Ryou's shoulders. "Open your eyes and don't close them again! If you do, you'll die."

A soft whimper escaped Ryou's lips as he felt a little bit of his strength returning. His voice was softer than a whisper, and incredibly hoarse. "Yami----"

"It's me." A slight smile grazed the tomb-robber's lips. "You're in the soul room,Ryou. This way, you can talk to me as though you weren't hurt."

"What?"

Bakura pulled his hikari up, and embraced him, letting Ryou's head fall comfortably against his chest. "Hikari, your true body is lying on the hospital bed. You've been in coma for 2 s nos now."

Ryou's eyes snapped wide open, and as his spirit regained its strength, he looked earnestly up and into his yami's eyes. "Yami! Where's Malik? Where is he---?I need to---"

Bakura scowled. "He nearly killed you and you're dying to see him?"

"I---he---" Ryou felt tears run down his cheeks as he buried his face against Bakura's shoulder. "It was MY fault, yami! I deserved what he did to me! I hurt him...I shouldn't have...I shouldn't have..."

"You idiot." Bakura whispered, meaning what he said but saying it tenderly. And despite the shame his hikari was feeling, he couldn't help but ask the question that had been bothering him ever since. "Why did you go and do it?"

Ryou stopped sobbing abruptly. Once again, he lifted his head and gazed in Bakura's eyes. "Because the want I was feeling...it was too strong, yami. The way you always dominate me and I am like a mere servant. But your spirit was mine, same though not one. And what you felt...that's what I felt too."

Bakura gave a start. "What the hell?"

"You wanted Yami Marik despite your protests." Ryou shrugged innocently. "I felt that...and I came to want him too."

Bakura then turned away, not wanting to let his hikari see the truth his eyes were portraying. But Ryou didn't really mind. His own eyes were wandering around the soul room, searching for something and failing to find it. "Yami, I want to see Malik."

Bakura turned to the smaller and and pointed to a certain space in the soul room. "Look there, and you will see why you can't see Malik right now."

Ryou perked his eyes up and gasped as the vision began to take place. He saw himself lying down on the hospital bed, all sorts of wires hooked up on him. His colour was deathly pale, his head was bandaged, his hair was messily scattered on the white pillow.

All at once, Ryou knew his true body was dying.

As the vision ended, he hugged his knee up to che chest and started to weep, whispering 'Malik's' name over and over again.

The tomb robber sighed in despair at the sight of Ryou, helpless and agonized. He wrapped his arms around his hikari and hugged him tightly. At that moment, whatever hatred or discontent one had felt for the other disappeared. It was the start of a blossoming friendship two souls sharing one body should have had from the beginning. But of course, relationships take time. And for Ryou and Yami Bakura, it took the hikari's sacrifice to soften the yami's hard heart.

"If you promise to wake up, aibou..." Bakura began. "I'll bring Malik back to you."

Ryou nodded, and he felt Bakura kiss him feather-light on his cheek. "I'll wake up, yami. I promise."

Then, like the soft wind coming and disappearing ever so quickly in a cool winter morning, Ryou felt his yami's spirit take leave, holding the promise to bring back the one man that gave his life a meaning.

*****

Malik cursed, as he threw the empty bottle of beer can with perfect aim inside the trash bin. He was hurting like hell, no longer because Ryou betrayed him, but because HE had been the one to break the person he loved the most.

"Think of it this way, baka." Yami Marik's spirit took shape as he leaned against the wall opposite his hikari. "I helped you realize what a snake that tomb robber's hikari was. Wouldn't it have been---"

"Shut the fuck up!" Malik growled, ramming the spirt against the wall, anger taking hold of him. "This is all your fault, you disgusting son-of-a-bitch!"

"Oh?" Marik smirked, brushing his hikari's hold on him away. "Who tried to kill the boy?"

Malik blinked. "I---"

"Who had been so cold and unforgiving?"

"It wasn't---"

"Who had acted like a coward not wanting to take full responsibility over what he'd done?"

"The Pharaoh would have killed me if I told them!" Malik burst out. He had told Isis and Rishid, and the two had promised to take Ryou to the hospital without letting Yuugi and the gang know anything about it.

"So let them." Marik challenged, enjoying taunting Malik. "Wouldn't it have been better if you had died for your crime? You keep on yanting about your so-called love for that pathetic excuse for a boy, and yet you're too much of a coward to---"

"Stop." Malik interrupted. "Stop it."

"Can't take the truth, now can you?"

"You raped Ryou."

"He loved it."

Malik breathed deeply, then with an insane smile plastered on his face, he grabbed the millenium rod from the table. "You're right, yami. I should die for my crime. We should all die for our crimes. I'll take full responsibility."

Marik cocked his head to one side, as he watched Malik turn the millenium rod into a dagger. "What are you going to do? Kill me? You do know if you attempt that, you would die too."

"I don't care." Malik shrugged, taking a step forward. "We'll die for our crimes together."

"You asshole." Yami Marik spat furiously, but too late, Malik was already upon him. "Drop the damn dagger! You don't know what you're doing!"

"Yes I do." Malik laughed insanely. "I'm ending everything evil in this world!"

"Drop it, baka!"

"Die."

A sharp hand caught Malik's wrist as the dagger was inches from Yami Marik's throat. Malik let out an angry growl as he turned to who had stopped him. "Yami Bakura! What the fuck do you think you're doing!?! Go mind your own business."

Bakura smirked, twisting Malik's hand and forcefully grabbing the dagger from him. "Killing yourself wouldn't do Ryou any good."

"Dammit, I don't care!" Malik protested, trying to push Bakura away. "I don't care about Ryou! I just want to die!"

"Shut up, you!" Bakura shouted, grabbing Malik by the shirt and pushing him up to the wall. "What the hell do you mean you don't CARE about my hikari!?! You will---no buts---stop trying to kill yourself or your bastard of a yami for that matter, and head to the hospital at once."

Malik stared at him blankly.

"Ryou's woken up, you dimwit." Bakura said, letting the Egyptian boy go. "I made a promise to Ryou I'd bring you back to him. So go!"

"But--"

Bakura frowned. "I honestly don't know what Ryou saw in you. If you don't go and see him right now, I swear you've lost your only chance."

Malik blinked once again, then quick as lightning, he hurriedly left the house.

Bakura smirked, amused at how fast someone in love can change his mind. It was then that he felt rough hands encircle his wrist and pull him down to the floor.

"Don't go thinking I saved your ass because I WANTED to." Bakura said calmly, shrugging Yami Marik's hands off him. "I did it for Ryou."

Marik's eyes narrowed. "I'll remember that." Then, without any warning, he leaned forward and captured Bakura's mouth in his own. The other yami leaned in to the kiss, and soon, the gentle contact became a sadistic lashing of tongues and vicioius nipping of lips.

"afhjaheuaeahrdmfn" Marik tried talking between the kiss.

"What?" Bakura asked, pulling away whilst licking his lips. "Will you stop talking shit, you --whatever---"

"I SAID:" Marik smirked. "Why didn't you stop me from kissing you?"

Bakura snorted sarcastically. "Stop? I practically 'kissed back'. You're as much as a dimwit as your hikari, did you know that?"

"Whatever. So why?"

Bakura furrowed his brows in confusion. "Dammit, why DID I kiss back?"

"So you like me, tomb robber?"

"No."

"The hell--"

"I don't."

"Do I have to force every single moron in this planet to admit they actually like me?"

"Are you calling me a moron?"

Marik smirked, his hands sensuously caressing Bakura's skin, and moving down to his---err---thing. "How else can you prove you aren't?"

Bakura blinked, liking the feeling of Marik's touch as a predatory expression crossed his face. "Fine, I'll be seme."

*****

Malik threw his motorcycle without care as soon as he reached the hospital. His heart was pounding and he couldn't stop trembling. Ryou had woken up...Ryou had woken up...

He ran all the way to room 514, once or twice nearly tripping in his hurry, but he simply couldn't contain himself. He wanted to see Ryou ALIVE more than anything.

As soon as he reached the door, he stopped, his breath bing ing uneven. A look of pure worry crossed his face. What if Ryou wasn't able to forgive him? Worse, what if Ryou wasn't awake after all? What if---?

"Excuse me." A nurse with pink hair smiled, looking up at him. "Do you wish to visit Mr. Bakura?"

Malik gave the nurse a glance. "Yes...is he...awake...yet?"

The nurse reached out her hand and pushed the door open. "See for yourself."

Malik's heart nearly leaped out his chest at seeing Ryou again from the doorway. The other hikari was paler than ever, as he sat on the hospital bed. His white hair fell messily down his shoulders, and his head was thickly bandaged. Another nurse was feeding him some food, and Ryou was...

/He's smiling./ Malik thought, his face flushing at the beauty of Ryou's smile.

Ryou too, had caught sight of Malik's form, and without the slightest bit of hesitation, he widened his smile and reached his arms out to the Egyptian, like a child would when it sees its most loved possession.

Malik felt his eyes fill up with tears as he walked unsteadily towards Ryou, into his arms and embrace,clinging tightly. The sudden loving movement made both nurses in the room swoon and sigh.

"Malik..."Ryou whispered happily, burying his red face against his lover's neck. "Don't ever let go of me...please...don't ever..."

"I promise." Malik whispered back, his arms tightening even more around the smaller boy. "I love you, Ryou. I won't ever let go. Not even hell can separate you from me."

Ryou smiled happily, and for a long moment, he and Malik stayed that way, letting the feeling of love be the only thing that surrounded them.

Giggling mercilessly, both nurses exited, winking at Ryou when Malik wasn't looking. 'Go kid' they said wordlessly.

Ryou blushed redder, and when they were finally alone, Malik gently let him go.

"Have you forgiven me, Ryou?" Malik asked uneasily, not daring to look the other boy straight in the eyes.

Ryou pulled one of Malik's brown hands against his lips and kissed it gently. "It's your forgiveness I should ask. I love you Malik...and this time... I hope you would believe me."

"I do believe." Malik said, this time looking through Ryou's eyes and into his soul, trying to read him. He stroke Ryou's cheek gently. "I really do."

Ryou shook his head, then lifting himself up on his knees, he pushed Malik against the hospital bed, towering over him. "I want to prove it to you."

Malik's eyes widened and he felt his chest tighten as he watched Ryou strip before him.

*****

A/n: CLIFFHANGER!!! So how was it? I made Ryou LIVE!!! NYAHAHAHA! I know this chappie was sort of lousy...but it's a prologue to the GREAT THINGS ahead! And then you will have the two things I promised you.

A Yami Bakura/Yami Marik and a Ryou/Malik !!! I did leave cliffies to both as prologues, right? Don't 4get to drop me a review NOW and tell me to update faster!!!

REVIEW, k? ^_^

*singing* Ryou-Malik sitting on a tree---K-I-S-S-I-N-G!!! *Gets hit by Ryou and Malik plushies* ^_^