A/N- This is my second chapter fic in the Yugioh genre. It's also my first AU. It revolves around the following pairings: YB/YM and M/R. I have a problem with OOCness, but I'll do my best to keep everyone in character. Thanks for taking the time to read my story. I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer- Yugioh is owned by Kazuki Takahashi, not me. The plot of this story, however, is my own.

Warning- cursing, sex, yaoi, violence, stuff like that

Our Stupid Moonlit Romance

Prologue

Absently chewing on a French fry, Touzouko Bakura glanced yet again at his watch. What was taking him so long? They were only given an hour for lunch between classes, and Malik was nowhere to be seen. It was the last day of school, and they'd agreed to celebrate the end of their junior year by going over to the nearest burger joint for lunch. At least that's what Bakura had thought.

Grumbling in annoyance the teen ran a hand through his pale hair. Why him? Malik had been his best friend since grade school, yet until just a few months ago, the teen hadn't thought of him as a romantic possibility at all. Sure Malik was hot, but he'd always just sort of been there. Things had changed though when he had accompanied Bakura and his brother, Ryou, to a secluded hot springs resort just outside of Kyoto for Winter Break. Bakura could still remember those December evenings spent sitting in a pool of steaming water, listening to Domino High's most love blonde whisper his deepest secrets into the frosty air. The white-haired teen had decided then and there that he wanted him, had known at that moment that he would do anything to gain the love of Malik Ishtar. Bakura wasn't exactly known for being able to express his less violent emotions, but he knew that somehow he'd find a way to confess how he really felt.

There was just one problem. Ryou was also smitten with the sexy Egyptian. Ryou Bakura was the spitting image of his older brother. Though he was a year younger and slightly smaller than Touzouko, the boy had the same white hair and mocha-tinted eyes. In reality, their greatest differences lay not in physical appearances but in personality. While Ryou was polite, warm-hearted, and kind, Bakura was wild and at the constant mercy of his most absurd tendencies. While Ryou's wardrobe consisted mostly of nicely kept jeans and polos, Bakura wore nothing but tee-shirts and worn out leather. Even the way they treated their hair was different. Ryou was known for keeping his tresses well-conditioned and neat. Bakura's hair on the other hand was lucky if it saw the bristles of a comb once in the course of a month. The differences didn't end there. The elder of the two could think of a million things that separated him from his brother. Among these was the fact that Ryou was very in touch with peoples' emotions, a distinct advantage when tried to win over someone's heart.

"Hey Kura!"

Bakura's head snapped up at the sound of his crush's voice. "Finally! What the hell took so lo…" The teen's voice died on his lips when he saw who Malik was with. "Ryou," he all but growled. "What are you doing here?"

A gentle smile gracing his lips, the boy looked up at his sibling. "Oh, well Malik invited me." His grin lessened somewhat at the annoyance in Bakura's eyes. "I hope you don't mind."

"Of course he doesn't!" Malik ruffled the boy's hair affectionately. "He's your brother for Ra's sake!"

Forcing himself to calm down, Bakura took a rather large bite of his hamburger. "You guys should grab something to eat. Class starts again in half an hour."

Laughing to himself, Malik stole some of the boy's fries. "Since when do you care about even going to class, Kura?"

"Since I realized I only have three more hours to make the lives of our sensei a living hell."

All three teens laughed at this, though to his credit Ryou did his best to look reproving for all of about fifteen seconds. Ordering a banana split for Ryou and a veggie burger for himself, Malik plopped down across from Bakura. He was all smiles. "I sure can't wait for this summer. I'll have to get Ishi to take us boating again. Remember when you got stung by that jellyfish?"

The elder of the white-haired teens rolled his eyes. "As if I could forget. You remind me of that every day!"

"Hey, it was funny!" Malik grinned crazily while Ryou took a large bite of ice cream to conceal his laughter.

"He's right, Kura. The look on your face was priceless!"

Bakura 'hmphed'. "Fucking thing just startled me was all."

"Whatever you say, Baka-boy."

"Damn straight." Pretending not to notice Malik's play on words, the teen began flicking the remains of his French fries into his brother's ice cream. Ryou crinkled his nose in disgust, trying to pick the potato bits out of his whipped cream as discreetly as possible. With his brother currently occupied, Bakura turned his attention to the tannest of the group. "So, you up for a bit of partying tonight? You know, as a celebration for making it through another year in hell."

Malik grinned but shook his head. Wish I could. Ishizu wants me to go with her and Rishid to some museum banquet." The boy pulled a face.

"Really? What's going on at the museum?" Not surprisingly, Ryou looked interested.

"A new exhibit on European History." The Egyptian ruffled his soft spoken friend's hair. "Hey! Why don't you tag along? Then we can be bored together!"

Ryou's eyes grew very wide. "Y-you mean that? Malik, I'd love to go!"

Bakura was about to say something but caught himself. 'Must…not…look…like a dick…in front of…Malik!' He felt more than a little put out. After all, Ishtar had never invited him to any banquet before.

"Well then Ryou, it's a date. I'll pick you up at around 7:30, okay?"

The younger teen beamed. "That sounds lovely, Malik. I'll have to…OH MY GOD! CLASS STARTS IN THREE MINUTES!" Not bothering to finish his sentence, the youngest of the Bakuras leapt off his seat and sprinted from the restaurant.

Bakura in turn, no longer really caring if he made it back to school, sat there and glared at the back of the retreating boy's head. 'Damn Ryou. Damn Malik Ishtar.'

Not noticing the dark look on his best friend's face, the blonde merely chuckled. "That brother of yours is something else! Hey, you don't think he's tagging along just to be nice, do you?"

Bakura clenched his fists. "Doubtful."

"You sure?" Malik breathed a sigh of relief. "I was afraid I was being too forward."

"Too forward? Ishtar, why would you care?"

At this, the Egyptian actually blushed. "I don't know. I guess… I guess I've just been feeling differently about Ryou this year. I never realized what a great person he was."

By now the force of Bakura's nails digging into his flesh had caused his palms to bleed. Could it be? Could the one person he wanted to be with really have fallen for his younger brother? No! It wasn't possible. He wouldn't believe it until…

"Kura, do you think he likes me?"

"I…" The teen forced himself to stop and think about his words. Malik may have unknowingly crushed his heart, but he was still a friend. That and there was always a chance that Bakura could eventually win him over. Either way, he had to think before he spoke. "I…don't know," he said through gritted teeth. "Why don't you ask him?"

---

Across town and several hours later, a boy who looked remarkably like Malik Ishtar strolled into Club Khonsu. The phases of the moon, depicted in fluorescent neon lights, shone down upon his face and lithe body, causing the blonde's amethyst eyes to glow blue. The few people still sober enough to stay awake looked up as he passed. It was hard not to stare. Mariku Ishtar was as beautiful as he was dangerous.

"Hey Mai!" The Egyptian sat down and called out to one of the bartenders. His voice was deep, smooth, haunting. It was a voice entirely to dark for a teen of seventeen years. "Three shots of Jack Daniel's and a pitcher of the cheapest shit you've got on tap."

Mai Kujaki, a busty woman with raspberry-painted nails and blonde hair, arched one of her perfectly waxed eyebrows. "You having troubles at home again?"

Marik didn't reply but downed the first JD as soon as it hit the counter. Mai didn't press any further, and he realized that this was why he liked it here. They didn't care who you were, where you came from, or what your age was as long as you paid your bill and left an occasional tip somewhere between the peanut shells and plastic ashtrays. Yep. Club Khonsu was a seedy place full of seedy people, and in a way this was comforting. Here you didn't have to be anybody. Here you could forget, and forgetting was one of Mariku's favorite pastimes.

"So…" He wasn't obliged to make conversation, but today the Egyptian was lonely. "You still seeing that Jou guy?"

Mai's lips broke into her first genuine smile of the day. "Yeah, he's a sweet kid, good heart."

"A little young though, isn't he?"

"Heh! You, little boy, should not be talking!" The woman tapped his glass playfully. To anyone else, Mariku's words would have been taken as an insult, but she had known him long enough to understand that he didn't really mean to be rude. Life had simply made Marik into a hard person, and it showed.

A commotion from the front of the bar caused both blondes to look up. A group of seven male college students and entered the club. It was obvious they were new to Domino. All veteran club goers knew the Khonsu wasn't a place for good times or friendly laughter. It was a sad place, neither fit for the carefree nor the jubilant. Mariku analyzed the men's drunken faces carefully from the corner of his eye. Not all of them were bad looking. A few, in fact, were quite attractive. A smirk now gracing his lips, the wild-haired blonde downed his final shot of whiskey. It seemed drinking himself into a stupor of lethargic self pity would have to wait until another night.

"Hey sandbags!" One of the men, a muscular redhead with bad teeth, signaled to Mai. "You gonna take our orders or what?"

Rolling her eyes, the woman ambled over more slowly than usual. "Don't call me that again, or you'll be missing some anatomy of your own. Now what do you want?"

"Sheesh, sorry!"

Mai watched Mariku closely as she mixed the drinks. He was leaning farther over the counter than necessary, back arched. Not only did this cause his already thin waist to appear slimmer, but it made the Egyptian's ass appear that much more prominent. He ran his tongue seductively over the condensation of his mug as he did this, making the teen's intentions rather clear. Most of the men had noticed by now, and, though a few looked rather disgusted, the majority appeared to be enjoying the show.

"Hey!" The redhead, who seemed to be the leader of the group, motioned to Mariku. "What's someone like you doing drinkin' all on his own?"

"No real reason. Just sick of the same old crowd I guess."

"Well then, allow us to spice up your life!" A brunette, whose biceps were only slightly less bulging than his superior's, patted the seat next to him. "Come on! We'll buy you a drink."

"Well I've never been one to pass up free alcohol." Seductive grin still plastered on his face, Marik moved to sit with them. Mai frowned. At first the Egyptian's habits and sexual preferences had shocked her, but after a while the woman had come to realize that sex was his escape. It was the one constant in an otherwise unstable life.

"Ishtar working his magic once again?"

Mai turned to her friend and fellow bartender, Otogi. "What do you think? Why else would he be talking to a bunch of wasted idiots?" By now Marik had managed to strike up a conversation with one of them. It might have even looked innocent if his hand hadn't been resting so close to the junction of the man's thighs.

Otogi nodded. "Has a lot of trouble with his family, does he?"

"Yeah. He got really drunk this one time. Started going on about how he hasn't seen his brother and sister since his dad died. Then he got into this whole thing about his mother. Did you know that he's been their main source of income since he was fifteen?"

"Shit, what is she? Junkie? Alcoholic?"

"He never said. You know Ishtar. Personal life's the one thing he is reserved about."

"Hey Mai!" Both bartenders glanced towards Mariku. "I'm out of here. Money's on the table." And he was gone, out the door and into the streets, with no more cash in his pocket and surrounded by a group of people he'd only just met. But then anyone who knew the teen knew that this was how he lived, day to day, paycheck to paycheck, not giving a fuck about life or where his was heading.

As she gathered up the wad of bills Marik had left her, the woman shook her head. "That kid treats his life like he rides that damn motorcycle, fast and hard and as if he won't ever have to stop."

"What happens if he falls off?"

Mai offered a sad little smile. "Not if. When."

---

-TOT