Heyo! Sorry this is late but it's been a wild few days. I say that every week, rip. But I told my gran about my name/gender change and she acknowledged it so we're going to talk about it next weekend, and I actually told the girl that I like that I liked her and we're going to go out on a date at some stage! So yeah a pretty good week for me! Happy Valentine's Day and I'll try to update on time next week rip. Enjoy!
CW: Drunkenness, family arguments, mixing with alters
"They were so pretty," Ryou sighed, leaning his head back. "Like fuck me gently with a chainsaw pretty."
"Damn," Bakura whistled. "I haven't heard you say that about anyone since Yugi."
"Yeah, well Seto's grown into themself." Ryou twisted around to lay on his stomach on the couch. He was almost sprawled across Bakura's lap. "And they're pretty."
"He- sorry, they might kill you if they heard you say that," Malik commented, taking a sip of coffee. Winter had set in far too soon for his liking, but Ryou's coffees were a godsend on cold December days after a few hours of looking for a job. "I didn't talk to them much but they were pretty-"
"Weren't they?" Ryou smiled at him. Bakura stole the bottle of wine off the table. "Hey, give that back!"
"I think that's enough for you." Bakura set the bottle down, hiding it behind the arm of the couch.
Ryou frowned at him. "Excuse you, I'm an adult, and I can decide when I've had enough for myself." He looked at his mug, still half full. "And I say one more mug is the perfect amount."
"I think Bakura's right, honey." Malik leaned forward. "Drink a bit of water and then you can have more later."
"I'm fine!" Ryou protested. "I'm not upset."
"We never said you were, but you've been calling Kaiba pretty for the past twenty minutes." Bakura pushed the wine bottle a little further away. "Sober up a bit before you have anymore."
Ryou grumbled and grabbed his mug, cradling it against his chest. "Well they are pretty."
"You know what? Fair." Bakura shook his head. "I'm just glad you're not still pining after Yugi."
"Fuck, Yugi's pretty too."
Malik shot Bakura a look, and the latter shrugged. "He gets like this when he sees pretty boys."
"They're not a boy," Ryou corrected, taking another sip.
"Okay, pretty people then." Bakura rolled his eyes. "Why the sudden obsession?"
"I saw them at pride." Ryou shrugged. "They gave a speech and recognised me and came up to talk to me afterwards."
"Yeah, well did they fucking apologise for what they put you through in Battle City?" Bakura raised an eyebrow and took a sip of his wine - out of a wine glass. Malik was almost proud of him.
"As a matter of fact-" Ryou pointed at Malik, even though Bakura was the one who had spoken. "-yes."
"Really?"
"Yes." Ryou nodded firmly. "They said they were sorry for what happened and they should have reacted better to the situation."
Malik waited for a moment. "And?" There was always an and. Regardless of how much Kaiba had changed, they were manipulative as hell, and learned behaviour like that didn't just go away after a few years.
"And..." Ryou wrinkled his nose. "And that they were being affected by the items."
Bakura slammed his glass on the table. "Bull fucking shit!"
"Bakura!" Malik scolded. "You nearly fucking broke the glass!"
Bakura waved off his concerns - he probably didn't care. It was one of Ryou's, so if he had broken it, he would have just stolen another to replace it. "Seto fucking Kaiba was not affected by them! I don't care if they were a priest in their past life - Malik had the Rod the entire time. Maybe if Seto had held it - maybe then they'd have been affected but-"
"Bakura, shush," Ryou whined. "I know they weren't affected by them. I'm not that naive."
"You're starting to act like it," Bakura grumbled. He picked up his glass again to take another sip of wine.
Malik rolled his eyes and looked back at Ryou. "Honey, if you know they're lying, then why are you even bothering?"
"Because they're not lying." Ryou moved, propping his legs up on the cushions. His head lolled off the side of the couch. "They think they were affected by the items. And they're better. They're really doing better."
Something heavy settled in the bottom of Malik's stomach. "You already have a date with them, don't you?"
"Yes!" Ryou cheered, sitting up again. "They text me earlier. I'm going to dinner with them tomorrow."
Bakura leaned down and hit his head off the coffee table, three deliberate times, and then let it rest there. "You know what? I'm not even fucking surprised."
"I am." Malik shook his head. "I didn't think Kaiba would have the balls to ask you out."
"They didn't." Ryou's smile grew. "I asked them."
"Oh shit." Bakura sat up. "You know what? I'm fucking proud now." He reached over and ruffled Ryou's hair. "Well done."
Ryou pouted and pushed Bakura's hand away. "I'm not a child - it's not like this is the first time I've asked someone out."
"It's one of them, and it's Seto Kaiba. I'm proud," Bakura repeated. "Maybe you do get more wine-"
"No." Malik shook his head. "You've both had more than enough wine." His phone buzzed in his pocket and he checked the screen. Ishizu. "I'm going to get you both some coffee - you both need to sober up."
He made sure to grab the wine bottle on his way into the kitchen. Once inside, he glanced back at Ryou and Bakura. Bakura was back to complaining about Kaiba, loudly.
He closed the door, and moved to leaned over the counter. His phone had stopped buzzing, and started again. It wouldn't stop until he answered it. Finally, he closed his eyes and hit the answer button. "Hello?"
"Malik?" Ishizu called down the phone. "Are you there?"
"I'm here." Malik cleared his throat and set the bottle on the table. "How are you?"
"I'm doing well." He could hear tapping in the background - she was working. Of course she was. "We have more artifacts on their way soon, so I wanted to contact you before then."
"Oh." Malik swallowed. That made sense. Ishizu tended to fall into another dimension when she was getting in new artifacts. That might explain the radio silence - though he hadn't contacted her either. "How many new shipments have there been?"
"This is the first since you left."
Or not. "How's Rishid doing?" He changed the topic. He knew full well that Rishid was fine and getting on well with his course, but he wasn't sure that Ishizu knew he was still emailing his brother and hadn't extended her the same courtesy.
"He's alright. He's struggling a bit with his exams."
Malik's gut twisted. He had always helped Rishid study. "When are they this year?"
"Next week. He'll have winter break then and he'll be helping out at the museum."
"Oh." Malik rolled his shoulders back. "Well that'll be nice."
"Indeed." The tapping stopped and a chair creaked. "Will we be expecting you back? Or are you going to stick with this fool's errand?"
Malik grit his teeth for a moment. "I'm happier here than I was in Egypt," he insisted. "For one I don't have to hide being gay. Secondly, I have a better counsellor. I have friends. I'm looking for a job-"
"You haven't found one yet?"
"I'm working on it."
Ishizu gave a heavy sigh. "Malik, it's been three months. You can't keep this up forever. If you come back before winter break ends, I'm sure the museum will take you back-"
"I'm not going back," Malik growled. Something felt off. His head was pounding, but his vision wasn't going, so he wasn't worried about switching with Nasir again. Or any of the others- from what Bakura said, there were a few.
"You're an Ishtar. You belong here."
"I belong with people who actually care about me!" Malik yanked the phone away from his ear and hung up. He turned it off as well, in case Ishizu tried to call him back. He wasn't going. He wasn't.
"Malik?"
Malik turned to see Bakura and Ryou in the doorway. They both looked worried. "I'm fine," he mumbled. "My sister just called." He looked outside. In the parking lot below, a child screamed and tugged at the bag in her mother's arm. "I don't want to go back."
"I know." Bakura walked over to him and carefully wrapped his arms around Malik's waist. "You don't have to. Not if you don't want to."
Malik relaxed against his chest. Something still felt wrong - like he wasn't wholly himself. He had an appointment soon; he could talk to Hasegawa about it then. "Yeah." He closed his eyes and took a slow breath before turning. He stayed in Bakura's arms, but gave Ryou a smile. "Do you want help picking out an outfit for tomorrow, honey?"
Ryou returned it slightly. He looked more sober than a few minutes before. "If you wouldn't mind." Definitely more sober.
"Of course not." Malik's smile grew. "Where are you going?"
"Um..." Ryou pulled out his phone to check. "I think we're going to one of the restaurants in the Marriott." He paused. "Fuck I need to dress up for that."
Malik stared. "Please tell me you have a suit. A nice one."
Ryou shook his head. "I- I have a shirt and dress pants, but- fuck, my new binder isn't even here-"
"Okay, honey, grab your coat." Malik checked his wallet. Good, he had his card. "We're going suit shopping."
"I don't have money for this, Malik." Ryou groaned and leaned against the wall. "I'll just-" He pinched his forehead. "I'll make up an excuse. They're paying for the meal but I can't-"
"Nope." Bakura shook his head. "This is the healthiest crush you've had in your life. You're telling them that you can't afford it and you want to go somewhere else."
"No, neither of those things are happening." Malik pocketed his wallet again. "I'll cover it. Think of it as an early Christmas present." Ryou was the only one he knew who still celebrated Christmas anyway, so it didn't matter.
Ryou looked up at him. "No. No, that's too much. I couldn't ask you to do that."
"You're not." Malik shrugged. "Besides, I have too much money for someone who isn't working." Bakura blinked a few times. "Go get your coat and I'll sort it out, okay?"
Ryou shook his head and ran to hug Malik, then noticed him tense. He stopped before they could touch. "Thank you!" He darted out of the room to get his coat and shoes, and maybe a shirt that didn't smell of wine.
"You feeling okay?" Bakura asked after a moment.
Malik gave him a smile. "Of course." He kissed Bakura's nose and the other relaxed. "It'll be my good deed for the week. Besides, he deserves a nice date."
Bakura hummed and glanced at the door. "Yeah. I guess he does." Malik glanced at his phone. One of the pages he had been studying was still open in his browser. Bakura looked at it over his shoulder. "What's that?"
"A surprise." Malik pocketed it. He had asked Rishid to send him scans of a few spellbooks to 'study'. Ryou reappeared at the door and Malik took Bakura's hand. "Come on - the sooner we get there, the sooner we can get pizza or something afterwards."
Bakura grinned. "Can't argue with that."
Takashi smiled when she looked into the waiting room and spotted Bakura. "Morning, Bakura. How are you doing?"
Bakura nodded. "I'm okay." He stood and followed her down to her room. Instead of walking up the stairs, she led him to the room just beyond them. "You've moved."
"Yeah, I decided to switch it up." Takashi smiled and held the door open for him. This room was purple with an old dark brown carpet, and two near-identical cushioned armchairs. Bakura sat in the one with the green cushion, and Takashi took the one with the yellow duck cushion. "So how's your week been?"
"It's been okay." Bakura nodded. "Ryou went on a date with someone, so that was nice to watch. And I found out Malik has at least four alters, so Namu wasn't an act so that's fun." He drummed his fingers on the seat. "And we're going on a date soon."
"That sounds nice." Takashi nodded. "But how have you been feeling?"
Bakura hesitated. "Okay? I guess?" He shrugged. "It's not a good week but it's not bad. I'm just tired."
Takashi nodded again. "Do you need some time alone?" Bakura raised an eyebrow. "Without Malik, I mean. You're quite introverted. Maybe just some relaxation time on your own would be good for you."
"I don't think so," Bakura mumbled after a moment. "He gives me energy."
Takashi sighed. "I know you enjoy spending time with him, but you're still using him." Bakura opened his mouth to argue. "As a coping mechanism," Takashi amended. "And it's not healthy. For either of you."
Bakura huffed and leaned back in his seat. "Damn. I thought we'd at least chat for a bit before you tried psycho-analysing me."
"If you don't want to talk about it, we don't have to." Takashi wrote something on a sticky note and pinned it to the top of her clipboard. "But it's something I believe you need to address." Bakura grunted and Takashi looked up at him again. "Have you been taking your antidepressants?"
Bakura didn't look at her. This played right into what she wanted to talk about. "No," he mumbled. "I don't need to right now." Although his mood had been dropping with his energy levels, but he was just tired. He was fine. He didn't need them- not when he had Malik.
"Because of Malik." It wasn't a question. "Bakura, if there was something wrong with your liver, would spending time with Malik fix it?"
Bakura shrugged. "I mean, if he was a surgeon maybe."
"Right. But he's not." Takashi shook her head. "And even if he was a surgeon, he'd need the right equipment and medication, and possibly a replacement liver to help. So why are you treating your mental illnesses any differently?"
"Because-" Bakura dug his nails into the arms of the chair. "It's all in my head. I don't need them when he's around. He's helping-"
"But he's not fixing it." Takashi offered a smile. "And of course they're in your head. If they weren't, they'd be called something else." Bakura shrugged one shoulder. "Bakura, this isn't a thing of you having bad mental health. This is an illness. You need to treat it right, or it just gets worse."
"Are you trying to get me to walk out again?" Bakura looked up at her. "Because it's going that way."
"If it is, then why did you come back?" Takashi raised an eyebrow.
"I-" Bakura scowled. "Ryou and Malik are worried about me and I figured this would help them calm the fuck down."
"Why don't you worry about yourself before them?"
"Because I can't." Bakura scowled. "Ryou's a self-destructive ball of anxiety, and Malik was acting weird yesterday."
"How weird?"
"Like he wasn't himself. But I know for a fact it wasn't an alter." Bakura shook his head. "At least I don't think it was. He was almost acting like how Nasir described Kek."
"Well he could have been mixing." Bakura frowned, so Takashi elaborated. "It's when two or more alters are almost fronting at the same time. It can happen when something minorly triggered the person, or even without it."
"Oh." Bakura looked at the floor pattern. It was new - diamonds instead of circles - and he wanted to memorise it. "Yeah, that's probably what was happening."
"Even if it's not, you need to learn how to distance yourself from Ryou and Malik's issues." Takashi crossed her legs, right over left. "Malik's coming to therapy here with another counsellor, and Ryou is going somewhere else on and off again. You need to deal with what's happening for you."
"But they're what's happening for me."
"Bakura, you're not responsible for the dysfunction of others." Bakura scowled down at his feet, and Takashi sighed. "Why are you so against taking your antidepressants?"
Bakura pursed his lips. "I already told you. I don't need them."
"I don't think you're being honest - either to me or yourself." Takashi leaned back, pressing against the cushion behind her. "Are you scared?"
Bakura's scowl darkened and he hunched over his lap. No, of course not. Maybe. A little. He mumbled, "When I started them, I was... anxious. All the time. I couldn't sleep at night. And I got spots, and I was getting sick-"
"Part of that comes with starting new medication," Takashi admitted, "but that sounds like you're allergic to the ones you were on." She frowned. "But your records didn't show any signs of allergies to any ingredients." Bakura kept his gaze down. "Bakura?"
"I was just really anxious, and I couldn't... I couldn't turn off," he mumbled. "I was sick, but it- that was just food poisoning, I just- I don't want to go on them anymore."
"Why not?" Takashi pressed. "Can you tell me?"
Bakura's eyes slipped closed and he had to take a slow breath. "I don't want anything to change. I- Malik might-" His eyes squeezed, as though he was struggling to keep them shut.
"Leave?"
Bakura slowly nodded. He couldn't handle anyone leaving. And he couldn't handle Malik leaving. Not again.
"Bakura, from the sounds of it, he really likes you. You've been together for a few months now - I don't think he's going to leave you if you react badly to medication that you need to take." Bakura glanced at Takashi and she gave him a smile. "If he needed to take medication for his D.I.D, would you leave if he had a bad reaction?"
"Of course not."
"Then why would he leave if the same happened to you?" Takashi shrugged and set her clipboard down. "And I'm sure he'd agree with me in saying that if you were dating someone who did leave because of something like that, then they're not someone who deserves to date you."
Hope you guys liked it! Please remember that your partner isn't going to leave you for something like this and you deserve to be happy and healthy. Please review!