Promise Me Nothing

Chapter Twenty-Two: Bakura

A few minutes after Marik had left, I dragged myself into sitting up, running a hand through my hair. Marik was weird—there was no other way to put it—making finding a gift more difficult than I’d imagined.

But I knew what he like, so I could give him what he wanted. I could hear when he opened his present, since his voice carried through the thin walls. “Bakuuuuuura, I love you!”

I bit down a smile, then let it stay, going to the living room. The tree Ryou’d decorated drooped sadly over a gift, left for me. However, the sight of Marik clutching a box to his chest made everything look better.

I’d gotten Marik the one thing I knew he wanted—an Xbox. While I wasn’t sure why he really needed one, he’d been gibbering about wanting one for a while now, making shopping easy. Marik was grinning now, white teeth seeming brighter on his dark skin.

“Here, here.” Marik shoved a soft, gift-wrapped thing into my hands as I sat beside him. It felt clothing, something Ryou had received as a gift quite often.

I pulled away the messy wrapping to reveal something large, white and folded. Gingerly, I began unfolded it, freezing midway through.

“Promise to wear it at least once? Please? For me?” Marik tugged at my shoulder, grinning still.

I threw it over his head with a grimace. “No way in hell am I ever wearing this thing.”

“But you’d be so cute.” Marik sat down the Xbox carefully, pulling the fabric off his face. “I bet Ryou’d wear it.”

“No one would wear it.” It slid to the floor, the hood staring at me with large, stitched eyes.

“Just once? You’d only have to wear it once in your whole life.”

“Never.” I pushed the cat onesie away, shivering as the oversized ears poked out mockingly. “Cats were sacred in Egypt when I was around.”

“Probably ‘cause they’re so snugly.” Marik got up, going over to the couch, motioning me over. I went and sat beside him, putting an arm around his shoulders awkwardly. I wanted to hold him, but touching him like this felt taboo still. We weren’t exactly together, were we?

Marik laid his head in my chest, wrapping his arms around me. “This is nice,” he said quietly.

Settling in comfortably, I held him. Yea, this was nice, and if Marik didn’t seem concerned about being held back, neither would I. There was no reason to, after all; I liked him, and knew he liked me too.