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“This is dangerously close to a date, Ishtar,” Bakura growled as he dismounted the motorcycle (or, as he liked to call it, the death machine.)
“It's not my fault you choose to see things that way.” Marik grinned back. The parking lot was relatively empty, thankfully, which meant there wouldn't be many people at their destination. The skies were clear and the air was warm, the sun shining down on them, but it was also a weekday so it cut down the amount of people able to enjoy the weather.
They'd travelled north of Domino for a change of scenery. Marik grew restless being in one spot for too long. Bakura was willing to indulge him in where ever he wanted to go or what he wanted to see, even though he acted like it was a hindrance. Perhaps he was a bit intrigued by the place Marik chose for them to visit as well.
They left their helmets with the bike, making their way to the stairs that lead down to the lake. There was a beach area where most people flocked to, but they avoided it in favour of the trails surrounding the body of water. They walked for a while around the circumference of the lake in relative silence, the water at their left visible through a brush of trees and rock.
Bakura didn't know what he expected but it wasn't for the forestry rising up around him to captivate him in such a way. Existing as a spirit left him disconnected to the world around him. He could see and he could feel and smell but it was all muted somehow, like he was experiencing it through a blurred filter. Now the light breeze caressed his face and ran through his hair and it was like everything had come into focus. Something more reminiscent of the thief that had existed thousands of years ago resurfaced. Vague memories came back to him, fantasies of leaving the land of rolling sands in favour of a more fruitful places. Destiny and blood had kept him bound to Egypt, but no such ties existed now.
They stopped along the way several times. Marik seemed to have a similar spell come over him, though perhaps not as intense. After living in the tombs for half of his life, he couldn't seem to get enough of the breeze whispering along his skin, his eyes closed and his head tilted to the sky.
The former tomb keeper looked over to see Bakura knelt over by a lush patch of flowers off the path. He fingered the petals of a pansy, an unreadable expression on his face. The thief looked outwards at the lake visible through the bushes, not even turning his head as Marik stepped up beside him.
“Having fun?” Marik asked, amused. “You look as though you've never seen a lake before.”
“I lived in Ancient Egypt, and then I existed as a spirit in the Ring for three thousand years.” Bakura replied with a sigh, getting to his feet. “What do you have in Ancient Egypt? I'm sure you can guess. Sand. Lots of sand. A huge ass river. More sand. What's that thing off in the distance? A straggler perhaps? Nope, it's a fucking rock. There's always the odd village or oasis as well but for the most part, it's a sea of sand and dryness.”
They began to walk along the path again. Bakura continued to speak, his tone as dry as the deserts he spoke of.
“And then you go to a village and the people avoid your eyes and won't even go near you because your face is marked and your hair is white.” He said, bitterness tinging his words. Marik stared at him while he spoke, comparing his new body – or rather his old body that they'd pulled from the shadows – to the one he'd shared with Ryou. The Thief King's body was smaller, but much leaner, eyes a pale blue-grey instead of maroon. Marik wasn't sure why, but he was compelled to reach out and touch the jagged scar running down Bakura's face. “White hair was seen as an omen, you know. Though given what I did to the kingdom, it's a pretty fair assessment.”
Bakura laughed darkly, eyes fixed on a point in the distance. “Case in point, I didn't have much time to stop and smell the roses. My revenge took priority over sight seeing.”
“You have time now,” Marik pointed out, sensing the conversation moving into darker territory. “ Or rather, we have time. I remember one of the first things I did when I got out of the tombs for good was just stopping and... taking in the scenery.”
A hint of a smile appeared on his features as he recalled the memory. It was one of the few less painful ones he had from his past. “It rained, and I'd never really experienced rain before, at least, not like that. Rishid told me to come back inside the hideout we were staying at at the time, but I didn't listen. I just stood there and let it pour down my face.” He could almost feel the droplets running down his skin again, soaking into his clothing and making him shiver, but it wasn't a bad sort of shiver. “I ended up catching a cold, but it was worth it, experiencing freedom like that.”
Bakura met his gaze. Marik turned his head away as the smile vanished.
“Of course, it wasn't real freedom. That would only come from the Pharaoh's passing on.”
Bakura didn't say anything for a long while, but he did stop walking. Marik looked over to peer at his face, trying to get an idea of what he was thinking, but he wasn't facing him anymore. Bakura wore his hair in a short ponytail, but his unruly bangs still covered his eyes.
“What is it?” Marik noticed him staring off at something. Bakura didn't respond. He suddenly took off, ignoring Marik call out. “Hey!”
The thief practically flew off the path and bounded down the slope, jumping onto a fallen tree trunk half submerged in the lake and running along it. It bowed slightly under his weight, and when it was too thin to support him he jumped off.
“Bakura!”
Marik's voice was cut off by the water rushing over the thief's head. The initial cold shock was invigorating, and Bakura would have laughed if he wanted a mouthful of lake water. He surfaced a second later with a gasp, bangs clinging to his face. He wiped them out of his eyes and looked over to see a displeased Marik standing on the small beach area nearby.
“Why did you do that?”
“It was fun.” Bakura grinned. He'd spotted this private looking little alcove and acted on a whim. It was a spot secluded from the rest of the lake, and for some reason it had appealed to him. “You should come in, the waters great,”
Marik rolled his eyes, rubbing at his forehead, unsure of just what had gotten into him. “You couldn't have at least taken your clothes off first?”
Bakura chuckled, swimming over to the shallow area, the weight of his wet clothing dragging him slightly. He stood up and began pulling off his sweater. “If you wanted me to give you a show, you could have just asked.”
“If walking back to my bike in sopping wet clothes suits you then fine.”
“Relax. I'll just lay them out to dry. Didn't you say we had time?” Bakura disrobed all but his boxers, wringing out his clothing and tossing it onto the rocky outcropping in direct sunlight. Marik was unimpressed.
“I don't believe we planned on taking a dip today.”
“I also don't believe we planned on getting fried by a sun god either but since when do things ever go how we expect?” Bakura winked and fell back into the waters, swimming out a bit and looking back at the other male expectantly.
“I didn't bring any swimwear.”
“Didn't stop me, did it?” Bakura snorted. “Don't be so boring.” Then he caught something in Marik's expression. There was a discomfort evident in the way Marik looked at him, then the lake, then anywhere else. “Wait... Marik, do you not know how to swim?”
Marik crossed his arms over his chest, bristling as though he expected Bakura to mock him. “It's not really something I bothered to learn. I prefer hot tubs anyway.”
“Lavish bastard.” Bakura muttered. “Come into the shallows at least. I can teach you how to swim. It's easy.”
Marik took an exasperated inhale, then conceded.
“Fine.” He said stiffly. Bakura smirked, unabashedly watching as he stripped down to his underwear. Marik hesitated for a moment before pulling off his undershirt, tossing the remainder of his clothing and jewelry off to the side and sinking one foot into the water. He sucked in air through his teeth as he took a few steps forward, the water rising to his waist. “It's freezing!”
“Well yeah, it's gonna be cold if you prance your way into the water like a delicate maiden.” Bakura snickered at the scathing look Marik threw him. As if to spite him, Marik sunk into the water all the way up to his shoulders in one go. Bakura laughed even harder at the expression he made. “See, not so bad, right?”
“Fuck off,” Marik snapped back at him, moving over to sit on a submerged rock with his legs hugged to his chest. He shivered, teeth chattering slightly. It may have been a warm day but the lake's temperature was still far below desirable.
“Sitting in one spot won't help much either.” Bakura said. “Come on, you gotta move, like this. Just paddle with your hands and kick your feet, it's easy.”
To demonstrate, he swam back and forth in front of the rock Marik sat on. The former tomb keeper frowned, looking uncertain as he slid to the edge, over a deeper part of the water. Nothing was visible but darkness below, and it made him uneasy for some reason.
“I'll sink,” he muttered, feeling stupid for even being perturbed, but Bakura didn't mock him for it.
“No you won't. I've got you,” the thief replied, and then looked away suddenly, as though he hadn't meant to be that sincere. Marik stared at him for a long moment, and then moved off of the rock. He held onto it with his hands but let his legs slowly kick at the empty space beneath him. It felt like something would reach up from the depths and drag him down without warning, causing an unexplainable panic to rise in his throat, but a hand at his lower back kept him steady. He exhaled slowly, silently thankful for Bakura's presence. He was sure that if anyone else tried to do what Bakura did, he would snap at them or flinch away, but the thief's touch was welcomed.
Throwing Bakura a look that was heavy with something more, he finally let go of the rock. He made a surprised noise, tilting his chin up as he sank slightly, but he quickly found that moving his arms in broad motions at his sides kept him afloat. He felt the water buoy him, the sensation not at all what he expected. Bakura seemed amused, removing his hand when he was sure Marik had it.
“Huh,” was all Marik said, manoeuvring around and shifting his weight forward to paddle like Bakura was doing before. It was like a second nature already; he wasn't sure what he'd been afraid of. They swam back into a more shallow area. “Okay, this is easy.”
Bakura reached up to flick at the water's surface, knocking a few droplets onto Marik's face. “Told you. All that fuss was for nothing.”
Marik retaliated with a splash, making Bakura sputter and shoot him a heated glare. Marik cried out when he slapped at the water with both hands, sending an even bigger splash back at him. That kicked off their small war, both of them laughing and shouting when they got lake water in each other's mouths or eyes. It went on for quite some time. The splash fight soon devolved into them tackling each other into the water, and swimming around in an impromptu game of tag. Neither would admit it, but it was so much more fun than they'd anticipated. It released something tight and heavy in their chests that they hadn't realized they'd been holding on to.
The game ended when Bakura pushed Marik up against the rock face, his hands at the other male's hips. They breathed heavily from the exertion their little activity caused, Marik with his usually perfect hair sticking to his face and neck and the kohl around his eyes smudged slightly.
“I can think of other ways to warm up, if you're still cold that is,” Bakura smirked.
Marik hummed in response, his lidded gaze sultry. He ran his hand up into Bakura's hair, sliding off the tie still holding it in a ponytail and storing it on his wrist for the time. The water swished as he pulled the thief close to kiss him, fingers lacing into his damp hair and tugging slightly. Bakura let out a small moan, meeting his lips again and again. All fell quiet aside from the wind blowing through the trees and water gently slapping against the shore. Sounds of people filtered in through the distance, but it went ignored by the two males utterly wrapped up in each other and the freedom they'd stolen for themselves.
Marik tilted his face, opening his mouth to lap at Bakura's tongue with his own, cupping Bakura's neck and running his fingers into his hair. He deepened the kiss, almost like he was trying to express gratitude in a way, though for what he wasn't sure he could put into words. It wasn't only for the brief swimming lesson, that he was certain of.
One of his hands slid down into the water, running down Bakura's chest and abdomen and producing a shiver from him – Marik knew he loved it when he did that. It moved lower until he was palming the thief's erection through his boxers. Bakura exhaled and tilted his head back, prompting Marik to press his lips to his jaw, trailing them down his throat.
“Hey, Bakura,” he murmured, bringing his lips close to the other's ear. “You're it.”
“Wha–” Bakura had half a second to contemplate his words before Marik set his hands on his shoulders and pushed him down under the water, laughing as he 'escaped'.
Bakura shook out his hair as he resurfaced, eyes flaring. “You fucking bastard!”
Marik just smirked back at him, swimming back around so he could pull himself out of the water, resting near their clothing on the warm rocks. He squeezed water out of his hair, smoothing it out and leaning his weight back on his arms to bask in the sunlight.
Of course it wasn't long until he felt someone block his light and he looked up see Bakura there, unsurprisingly. Marik slipped into a deceptively sweet tone. “Do you mind?”
“Not at all,” Bakura replied, dropping to his knees and straddling Marik's lap. “You going to finish what you started?”
“If I recall, you're the one that splashed me first,” Marik's grin never faltered.
“Don't play stupid,” Bakura growled, shifting his hips against the other male's. Marik chuckled at his deprived behaviour, though he didn't blame him at all.
“It's not my fault you get worked up so easily.”
Bakura bristled immediately. “I do not!”
“Proving my point,” Marik countered lightly, disentangling himself from the other so he could move to sit back against the stone wall nearby. They were well sheltered from any possible onlookers, not that there were many people in these parts at the time. The possibility of being caught in public still sent a thrill through him as he beckoned Bakura over with a single finger. “Come here.”
...
The thief panted against his lips as Marik's closed fist glided up and down his shaft. Marik leaned against his side, straddling one of his thighs as he devoured his mouth. Bakura tried to keep up with the kisses but when it became to much he had to roll his head back against the stone, his body feeling like it was on fire. Marik sucked at his neck instead, leaving a bruise near his jugular. Bakura didn't care, his release within grasp. One of his hands gripped at Marik's ass, encouraging him to go faster.
But Marik only slowed his pace, dragging climax away from him and making him hiss.
“What's the rush, Bakura? Didn't I tell you we had time?” Marik's voice was a devious purr in his ear. Bakura wanted to growl and protest but he knew if he did then Marik would only draw this out even more. “We have the time to let your clothes dry, redress, and get back to my bike. The day is still young. We can go wherever we want after this, or...”
Bakura's stomach knotted at the promise in the other male's words as his tone dropped to something far more lustful.
“We can go back to the apartment and I can throw you on the bed and fuck you until you can barely speak.” Marik gave his cock a squeeze, fire dancing in his eyes. “I wonder how many rounds you can last before you pass out, Bakura...”
“Marik...” The thief gave an approving moan. He almost didn't want to wait until they got home. He didn't think he would mind if Marik turned him onto his knees and fucked him right here. He sucked in a breath as teeth nipped at his earlobe, followed by a tongue swiping at it. He squirmed, wishing Marik's mouth was put to use in other places. The former tomb keeper laughed at his reactions.
“Perhaps we won't even make it to the bed. Perhaps I'll just take you against the door and make sure the whole complex knows my name in the process.” Marik resumed stroking him as he whispered filthy things into Bakura's ear, pausing every so often to thumb the dripping slit of his cock. “Maybe I'll tie you up and finger you until you're begging to finish, and then I'll leave you alone for a while, aching for me to be inside you. After all, there's no rush.”
He rolled one shoulder in an uncaring shrug that should not have been as attractive as it was. “But who knows really.”
“Gods, yes...” Bakura's mind was a haze of all of Marik's suggestions plus the sensation of Marik pumping him in earnest. “I'm gonna... come!”
“So do it,” Marik casually ordered, dark lavender eyes trained intently on Bakura's face.
“Fuck!” The thief cried out, perhaps a bit too loudly; sound travelled on water, disrupting the otherwise tranquil nature of their surroundings. He gasped as he released into the other male's hand, jerking his hips up a few more times before going lax. He exhaled a long breath, feeling Marik kissing his shoulder lazily, a small smile on his face.
When Bakura regained himself, he threw him a look. “I suppose your 'dates' aren't that bad...”
“So, do you want to go somewhere else, or...” Marik pulled away to rinse his hands in the lake. He grimaced a little. Perhaps they would have to shower when they got home before getting to... other activities. Then again, the shower was one optimal place for said activities. He smirked to himself.
Bakura threw him an incredulous look as he got to his feet. His clothing was still damp but it could dry off on the way back so he didn't care. “Is that even a question?”
Marik snorted. “Well, it's nice having the freedom to choose, isn't it?”
Bakura blinked. Having nothing but revenge at the forefront of their minds had left them so focused on one thing it wasn't like they had any choice at all. What enjoyment could they take in anything else if their goals weren't yet realized?
But now they could go wherever they wanted, do whatever they wanted without feeling like there was a shackle binding them to an ancient duty. It was an unexplainable feeling. They could take Marik's bike across the country, or visit foreign lands Bakura had only heard stories of in his past life, or they could go home and sleep the day away. They could stay in bed enraptured in each other because the rest of the world didn't matter. They could do all of it and more.
“I suppose it is.”