※ Pairing - Angstshipping
※ Warnings - angst, fluff
※ Disclaimer - I obviously don't own it.
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It was the summer after Battle City and everyone was glad that things had calmed down…slightly. Now that Yami no Yugi had banished the darkness within Yami no Bakura and Yami no Malik, the world seemed to be safe. The three ancient spirits seemed to actually be getting along, and not only with each other, but even with the mortals that were known as Yugi’s friends.
Relationships were blossoming, as Yami no Yugi and Yami no Bakura found something in common, other than being from ancient Egypt. And everyone had noticed that Joey had taken a particular notice to Yami no Malik - or as the blonde had begun to refer to him as ‘Marik’. Tea, having given up on Yami, began to notice Yugi and the two of them had a date set for that Friday.
Of course, none of that actually mattered. At least, not to Ryou Bakura. Oh, don’t get the wrong idea about the quiet white-haired teen. He was happier than he had ever been. His spirit, the other half of his soul was happy and was no longer on a quest to destroy the world. And now that the spirit had found out how to create his own physical body, he no longer needed Ryou’s, this left Ryou alone to do what he wanted.
So far, all Ryou had done was waste away the excruciatingly hot afternoons with Malik Ishtar. He’d learned a lot about the Egyptian boy, more than probably his sister even knew and in turn Malik had learned about Ryou. Neither of them had any close friends, so they’d gravitated toward each other and they’d found that the other was pretty nice to be around. Ryou, when Bakura wasn’t in control and Malik, when he wasn’t hell bent on destroying anything.
And today was no different. Ryou stretched out on the large bed beside the other boy, it had been a quiet morning and the two were now relaxing up in Ryou’s room. They rarely spoke; the presence of another person was enough. But today was a little different, Ryou had been thinking about a few things and something about Malik had never come up and the boy was curious.
“Hey Malik.” Ryou spoke causing the Egyptian, who’d been staring at the ceiling contently, to look over at him. “I have a question.” The response he got was silence, but he’d soon learned that that meant Malik was waiting. “What would you have done after you’d taken over the world?” Ryou wondered softly.
There was silence again, and after a few moments Malik answered, “Aside from the power, I never really thought about it.”
“Would you have destroyed it?” Ryou wondered, not afraid of upsetting his unusual friend. Malik was very hard to anger now, and he rarely ever got upset.
Malik snorted softly, “Where would I live then? I don’t like the thought of death, especially mine.” The boy shrugged coyly, and Ryou couldn’t help but smile at the small action. There was silence again.
“Well…” Ryou began again as he moved onto his side so he could face Malik. “What would you do now if you could take over the world? If the earth belonged to you and you alone, that would make you a god, you could do whatever you wanted and nobody could stop you.” Ryou shrugged.
Malik was silent yet again, and with Ryou’s position he could see the tanned Egyptian biting his lip in thought, unable to know how to answer. Ryou figured the boy could use a little help. “Would you be a kind ruler or a cruel ruler?”
“Kind I suppose. If you had asked me this a few months ago, my answer would be much different.” The boy replied as he looked toward his feet as if in shame, and then back at the ceiling.
Ryou nodded in understanding, “Fair enough. So Malik Ishtar, the oh-so-kind ruler of the planet we know as Earth, what would you do with the world? Make it a better place or leave it as it is?” The white-haired boy asked.
“Make it a better place of course.” Malik smirked, “I’m kind after all right? Can’t leave it the hellish way it is now.”
“And how would you do that, oh kind one?” Ryou snickered lightly as Malik playfully glared at him.
“I’d start by getting rid of all the annoying albinos.” Malik remarked, raising an eyebrow in Ryou’s direction.
Ryou just gasped, “But having Bakura in the world makes it so much more interesting.” He grinned as Malik rolled his eyes. “Anything else? Save the starving children in the world? Send all the bad people to the Shadow Realm? Overpopulate the world with pink fluffy bunnies? Teach everyone to obey the mighty power of your Rod…?” Ryou squeaked suddenly as Malik turned on him, pinning him to the bed. Before Ryou knew what was happening, he was laughing hard as lithe fingers ran about his ribs, tickling him without mercy.
“I’ll show you to obey the mighty power of my Rod!” Malik laughed lightly as he continued to attack Ryou for a few more moments. When his attack was done, it left both of them breathless, and being too lazy to move and ignoring the heat, Malik flopped down across Ryou’s body and rested his head against the smaller boy’s chest. He could hear the steady beat within the chest cavity below him and Malik was suddenly very glad, and not for the first time, that Ryou had not been destroyed during Battle City. Sighing softly to himself at the memory, he buried his nose into Ryou’s chest and slipped his hands beneath the boy, wrapping them around Ryou’s torso.
Ryou sighed to himself and idly began to stroke Malik’s hair, relaxing within the grip of the strong boy. Malik always had the same reaction when the thought struck him, and he always needed some reassurance that Ryou was still alive.
“You know…” Malik began once he’d removed his face from against Ryou, he rested his head so his ear was right above Ryou’s heart. “Ruling the world takes a lot out of me, and there’s just so much to do everyday. It’s so hard on just one person.” He replied.
“Oh yeah?” Ryou pondered on this, “I suppose ruling the world would be an awfully big job for only one boy. What are you going to do about it?” He wondered, continuing to play with Malik’s hair.
“I’m going to find a partner.” Malik replied simply, “Of course, this partner would also have to be kind, seeing as how I’m so kind, and they’d have to be able to put up with me and know when to let me be and when I need someone with me, either to stop me from doing something stupid or to just be there.” Malik continued, “They’d also have to work for free, I mean, since I’d practically be a god, I wouldn’t need money for anything, I could just take it and it would be mine.”
“Where would you and your partner live?” Ryou wondered, “I mean, you own the entire world! So where do you live?”
“Egypt.” Malik replied, and then shrugged, “I don’t care that I could live anywhere. Egypt will always be home.” He muttered softly, then he smirked, “Of course my partner doesn’t like Egypt that much - oh he, yes he - loves the country, but he’s not very good with heat, and he burns easily.”
Ryou laughed softly, trying not to disturb the boy resting upon him. “Is that so?”
“Yes, that is so.” Malik grinned back.
“So, what’s your partner like? Obviously they’re a male and sensitive to the sun.”
“Hell, he’s just sensitive period.” Malik shrugged, knowing the action would tickle Ryou slightly. “He’s a little younger than me, and even though I’m the oh-so-kind ruler I am, he’s kinder. He’s very sweet and unselfish and he unknowingly has me wrapped around his little finger.” Malik explained, making Ryou laugh. Malik smiled, “He’s very beautiful, but he doesn’t believe anybody when they tell him. He used to have a really rough past and even though he doesn’t talk about it, I know he was rarely happy.”
“I’m sure having you, the oh-so-kind ruler of the world, has brightened his life considerably.” Ryou smiled, twirling a lock of Malik’s hair between his fingers.
“Well…” Malik sat up and leaned his arms against Ryou so he could sit up, but still not hurt the boy. Malik looked at his nails as he spoke, “I suppose he’s brightened my life at the same time then, because I haven’t always been the oh-so-kind ruler I am today. He’s helped me change, whether I wanted to or not.” He shrugged, grinning down at the boy beneath him.
“Well, that’s certainly a lot to look for in one person.” Ryou replied, “However will you find someone such as he?” He asked as Malik moved again, this time, getting up on his hands and knees and moving so he was a directly above Ryou’s body.
“Che.” Malik shrugged then smiled, “I already found him.” And with that, the Egyptian pressed his lips against Ryou’s in a soft, chaste kiss that lasted no longer than a moment. With that said and done, Malik lay down again, using his own body to cover Ryou like a blanket. He gently rested his head beside the younger boy’s on the pillow, careful not to smother the smaller teen.
They were silent again, and like always the silence was comfortable. But this time, Malik had a question that broke the warm quiet.
“What would you do if you were to take over the world?” Malik whispered, his warm breath softly tickling Ryou’s ear.
Ryou turned his head so he was nose to nose with Malik. After brushing their lips together slightly Ryou smiled, “That’s easy. I’d give it to you.”
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