BAKURA / MARIK SHOUENEN-AI!!! (two men kissy-kissy)

 

First Kiss

 

Bakura gripped the reigns of the horse as they rode towards the desert. Marik looked over at his companion. His eyes were narrowed and his fingers looked tense. He looked stiff all over. Marik sighed as he thought of the girl in the brothel. Even for a moment, physical contact was comforting.

“Bakura? Did you..enjoy your girl?”

Bakura glared at Marik and returned his eyes in front of him. A growl churned in his throat. “Rayna is pregnant…and Khalfani wants her to kill the baby.”

Marik’s eyes widened. “What? Why?”

Bakura snorted. “PROFIT! For a few extra pennies, he’s willing to let this child die! I never liked the aristocrats…no offence, Ishtar.”

Khalfani is upper class? I wouldn’t have guessed that.”

“He gets a lot of money for that brothel and from those girls. He profits from my girl sleeping with crude, drunken freaks! And here my girl has barely enough clothes to hide her pregnant belly.”

Marik stopped his horse. “You know, Itemri, not all aristocrats are money-hungry. If I wanted to be money-hungry, I would not have defied my parents to live with Amunet.”

Bakura stopped  and turned his horse around to face Marik.

“I stayed with Amunet because I loved her! I didn’t stay with her because my family received a huge dowry.  Love is more powerful to me than money. It has always been that way for me. Yes, I could have left her, Bakura. But, I loved her.  Try to put a price on someone you love. Now, try to put a price on knowing that your wife is going to give birth to your first child.  No gold can pay for those experiences.”  Marik lowered his eyes. “No amount of gold is going to bring my wife and baby back from the grave. And that is the way it is going to be for the rest of my life.”

Marik passed Bakura remained silent. Bakura followed Marik when a spear flew in front of Bakura’s face and became embedded in the wall.

“Sweet Isis! Run, Ishtar! Run!”

“What? Where?”

“There’s the thief! Get him!”

“Ride, Damn it!”

Marik’s horse darted away. Bakura saw a gleam of metal some distance ahead. “Marik, let me lead! We’re running into a trap!”  Bakura leaned over to his horse’s ear. “Lead!”

The horse passed Marik and darted left into a skinny alley  Bakura emerged and turned left as a group of soldiers approached at full speed. “Turn!” The horse turned around sharply and Bakura grabbed a wooden staff. He held it out like a javelin and knocked an approaching soldier from his horse. Bakura stopped and jumped off his steed.

Itemri! What are you doing?”

“Getting weapons! This is how you evade capture, Ishtar!! You don’t escape Pharaoh Yami’s army without weapons!”

Bakura grabbed the man’s sword and mounted his steed. They rode straight and Bakura lifted his sword. He cut a rope making nuts and dates fall to the ground.

“What was that for?”

“The horses won’t run over the nuts! It gets caught in their shoes!”

The horses stopped behind the fallen food.

“How do you know that, Itemri?”

“Years of experience!”

A spear flew at them again and Bakura directed Marik left.

Bakura turned right to the other street and stopped.

Anubis!”

Anubis grinned. “I have you again, Bakura! This time there is no escape!”

Marik turned around and saw more soldiers closing in on them. 

“It’s time to watch you hang by your neck, Bakura!”

Bakura turned around to Marik. “Do you trust me?”

“Not really,” Marik said, jittering. 

“Sorry, Anubis!  You’re not going to hang he today! UP!”

Bakura’s horse jumped on a stone table decorated with jewelry.  The horse ran on the stone table passing the soldiers. Marik followed, thanking every god in heaven and hell that is father gave him riding lessons when he was a child.  Bakura’s horse jumped over the back row of soldiers and Bakura reached out, grabbing a handful of gold necklaces and bracelets.

Bakura let out a shriek of victory and they rode away at full gallop.

“Until next time, Anubis! Better luck next time!”

Bakura grabbed a lit torch and lead Marik into the desert.

**********************

Bakura lead Marik into the desert.

“Where are we going?”

“I’m going to take you to my home.”

Bakura lead Marik to the Valley of the Kings.  They rode out using the stars to guide them. 

Bakura eventually stopped.  He dismounted his horse and kneeled on the sand.

Itemri, this is no time to pray!”

“I’m finding my home’s entrance! Give me a moment, Ishtar!”

Bakura dug his hand through the sand until he grabbed a piece of fabric and brushed off the sand.  Bakura lifted the material and a flight of concrete steps were revealed.

Bakura took his horse’s reigns and stroked its nose. “Down, girl.”  Marik watched in surprise as this horse descended the stairs.

“You should bring your horse down into our home. Otherwise, she could suffocate in a sand storm.”

“OUR home?” Bakura stopped and turned. He looked up at Marik holding the torch, the firelight illuminating his features.

“Unless you have another home to go home to, I suggest you bring you and your beast downstairs.”

Marik groaned. “And how in the name of Isis am I supposed to do that, thief?”

Bakura rolled his eyes. “Grab your horse’s reigns and tell him to come down.”

Marik struggled to get his horse down the stairs. 

Bakura put his horse in a corner lined with hay.  He removed the horse’s reigns and pet the horse’s neck. “That’s my good girl.  You really saved our asses today.  I’m proud of you.”

Marik raised an eyebrow. “You talk to your horse like that?”

“If it wasn’t for my mare, I would have been in Yami’s jail at least one hundred times.  She is also the reason why my neck is safe for another day.” Bakura pressed his cheek against the horse’s neck. “Isn’t that right, my girl?”

The horse whinnied and shook its tail.

Bakura reached into a bucket and brought out two apples. He gave one to his own horse and one to Marik’s horse.

Marik looked around at the small room.  Bakura had another pile of straw covered with a sheet of purple satin. On the walls were carvings from the Book of the Dead.  A sarcophagus had a white linen draped over it and a small bucket was full of nuts, dates, apples, and some preserved meat. 

“You live here, Itemri?”

“It used to be a tomb.  But, after a thief pillaged it, the family decided to move their dearly departed elsewhere.”

“Did YOU pillage it?”

Bakura placed the jewelry he stole into a small chest that was already filled with emeralds, diamonds, and rubies.  “I would not raid a child’s tomb for somewhere to live, Marik Ishtar. I do have my morals, as hard as it is for you to believe.”

“This was a child’s tomb?”

“Correction….A royal child’s tomb.  It was said to belong to a child of the High Priest Seth.  The High Priest had tried without luck to produce an heir to the throne. It’s said that Pharaoh Yami does not…….particularly prefer the company of women, so Yami’s chances of fathering an heir to the throne is slim. Yami would have to be intoxicated on palm wine to touch a female.   The High Priest had fathered a baby girl, but the baby had died of fever.  They buried her here and her corpse, her jewels, everything….was stolen and desecrated. Seth moved the infant’s body, or what was left of it, to Pharaoh Yami’s tomb to allow the infant to its eternal sleep in peace.  But, no. I would not pillage an infant’s tomb.”

Marik examined the carvings. “These carvings are recent.”

“I’ve been living here for only a short amount of time. I was lucky to have found this crypt to stay in.”

Marik went to the bed of straw covered by the satin cloth. He sat down and covered his face. “My Amunet will never have a tomb like this.  My baby boy will never have a place like this to sleep.  And now my father has eliminated me from inheriting my family’s burial grounds. I guess I’ll end up lying in a tomb of sand, too….food for the jackals and the asps.”

Bakura sighed and walked over to Marik.  He sat down and put his arm around Marik. The thief one of the hands that covered his companion’s face and pressed it to his heart.  With his other arm he pulled Marik’s head against his chest.

Marik’s eyes shot open when he felt Bakura plant a tiny kiss on his forehead. Marik sat up and pulled his hand from Bakura’s grasp. “Why did you do that?”

Bakura looked down at the floor and shrugged. “You were feeling down and I figured I had to do something to make you feel better.”

Marik cocked his head to the side. “But why kiss me?”

“When that girl held you in the brothel, you looked content. Sweet Isis, Marik, both of us were nearly killed tonight!  For a moment, I almost gave up.  I figured if a girl kissing you will make it better, I decided to give it a try. Did it work?”

“But…I’m…not attracted to men.”

Bakura leaned back a bit. “Don’t tell me your adrenaline wasn’t going a mile a minute as we were running from Yami’s army!  Don’t tell me that you didn’t at least look at my ass as I was riding my horse!  Look, you don’t have to be attracted to me for me to kiss you.  I did that to make you feel better.”

Marik bit his lip.

“Tell me honestly, Ishtar. Did my kiss make you feel a little better? I deserve to know if it did or not.”

Marik turned his head away from Bakura, his shoulders heaving. “Yes…..it did.”

“Then you must be at least a little attracted to men, then, Marik.”

Marik shook his head. “No…I can’t be…”

Bakura folded his arms. “There’s no shame to admit that you enjoyed that quick kiss, Marik.  Love is love, Ishtar…plain and simple.”

Marik turned around. “It did make me feel better, Itemri. I don’t know why I enjoyed it. I shouldn’t have!”

“Who says? Your body is going to react to it if you enjoy it or not. I’ve learned that the hard way.  You enjoyed it because it was what you needed.”

Marik nodded. “I did need that.”

Bakura leaned forward and gazed into the purple eyes of his companion.  Bakura cupped Marik’s left cheek in his hand, moving his thumb lightly over the lips.  “I want to give you more of what you need, Marik.”

Bakura leaned into Marik slowly, stopping short of Marik’s lips. “May I kiss you again?”

Marik let out a sharp breath and whispered, “Yes…..Itemri.”

Bakura slowly pressed his lips to Marik and sheepishly slipped in the tongue past the barrier of Marik’s teeth.  Marik opened his mouth to allow the kiss to become deeper.   Marik brought his hand up to Bakura’s shoulder gripping it gently.   The blonde’s tongue brushed up against Bakura’s invading tongue, stroking it and brushing up against it gently. The white-haired thief moaned into the kiss, tasting the blond’s mouth, which was sweet as honey.

Marik’s hand moved up to Bakura’s neck, caressing the flesh gently.  Bakura pulled back hesitantly. Marik’s eyes were filled with tears.

Ishtar? Why are you crying?”

“That felt……so good…..”

Bakura brought Marik into his arms as Marik whimpered. “Amunet….I love you. I’m going to miss you.”

Bakura ran his hand through the blond’s hair and sighed. “She’s going to miss you, too, Ishtar. But you know what? The gods have sent me to you for a reason. The gods wanted to make certain you would not be alone after the death of your wife.  That is why I am here with you right now, holding you in my arms.  Because right now, Marik Ishtar, you need me here to hold you.”

Marik nodded and buried his face in Bakura’s robe. “Don’t leave me, Bakura. Please don’t leave me alone.”

Bakura nuzzled his cheek into Marik’s hair. “I never will, Marik.”

Bakura held Marik until Marik cried himself to sleep. Bakura remained awake all night watching him by the light of the torch.