Misao: Random one-shot time!

Disclaimer: CLEARLY, I do not claim to own any of these characters. Because if I did… well, do I really even need to go any further with that? XD

Summary: "He feels safe with you, Pharaoh. Even if he doesn't realize it." [Taken from CheysuliNight's Plot Bunny Farm. WHICH ACTUALLY STILL EXISTS AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! Plot Bunny #825.]

Pairings: Marik x Bakura [Psychoshipping], foreshadowed Yamishipping. XD

Warnings: …None? Really. XD

Unattainable

It was so odd… how innocent someone most would think was the spawn of the devil himself could look in slumber, restless as it may have been. Amethyst eyes gazed down with uncharacteristic fondness at the form who's face was flushed in a far from pleasant way - but in the mind of the one who watched over the sleeping one, he was still gorgeous.

A groan, an uncomfortable shift and the curling of the lithe body broke the other out of his thoughts, pulling him back into reality before his mind had the chance to further explore a path he knew it shouldn't travel down. A sigh passed lips that had fell from a fond smile to a worried frown, slim fingers coming to soothingly stroke messy silver tresses.

The smile returned moments later - a barely noticeable twitch of the lips - when the restless one let out what sounded like a contented sigh, and soon after the tensed body relaxed and stilled in a finally peaceful state.

It was only because the thief was delirious from fever - he knew this - and admitting that truth to himself pained him - smile now tinged with a sadness. No one knew, save for his light, these feeling's he'd been harboring, hiding.

He knew what he desired, he'd never obtain. It was laughable, really - to anyone on the outside.

Here was an ancient spirit, the spirit of a powerful Pharaoh who'd sacrificed himself to save the world - and how clichéd that one was. Oh but it got better, said powerful Pharaoh was currently sat in the living room of a certain proclaimed Egyptian psycho, and sprawled out on the couch with his head nestled in his lap was none other then Bakura - the very person who'd made it his life's goal to murder him, the very person who he'd fought to save the world from.

And the Pharaoh wished for nothing more then to stay like that. To pretend.

Despite what many thought, Yami didn't hate Bakura. Far from it in fact. He understood completely now, the reason for everything Bakura had done, what fueled his hatred - and most of his evil doings were at the manipulation of Zork. With him defeated, the Pharaoh found himself seeing another side to the Thief that no one would have ever thought existed.

That wasn't to say Bakura was any less of a trouble maker, he was still short-tempered, violent, rude and enjoyed causing whatever havoc he and Marik could upon Domino City. But there was a surprisingly softer side to him, an almost sweet side, a side that Yami only ever saw because of his close watching of Marik and Bakura's growing relationship from afar. And what a strange relationship it had been to accept… though they shouldn't have been surprised. The two were almost a perfect match - almost because of their equal stubborn and dominating personalities. One had to wonder how such a conflicting factor worked out between them.

He'd been hiding these deeper feelings since they acquired their own bodies. He often made a show of disapproving of his and Marik's antics, but deep down he enjoyed bantering with the two. Never would he admit it to the two. They may have all come to an understanding, they all may tolerate each other - but Yami knew it was just that. Tolerance. Marik and Bakura would probably never see him as more then the 'high and mighty' son of Ra, someone to piss off, someone to taunt and mock.

So this was quite an awkward situation for him. Pleasant in one aspect - that aspect being obvious - as he would never have a chance to be this close if Bakura were in his right mind….

His eyes fell upon the sleeping one once more, the feverish face once twisted in discomfort were smooth and relaxed, and Yami couldn't resist but to trail a finger along the unusually soft features… He knew he should move soon, before Marik returned. Ra only knew what the possessive blonde would do to him if he walked in and found him like this with the unconscious thief. As completely innocent as his touches were…

The Pharaoh sighed, letting his hand fall to his side. A small part of him had a sneaking suspicion his hikari had done this one purpose… he was probably only trying to help, but Yami found it was only making it harder. Surely Ryou could have skipped a day of school to come watch over his own yami…

The hikari's all claimed they couldn't stay because they had important tests at school they had to be there for. 'Finals' or whatever they called them…

Apparently Marik had been called to the museum by Isis early that morning, who claimed it was extremely important and it couldn't wait. So said Malik as to why Marik couldn't stay with his lover - along with details on how livid his yami was over it. Which unnerved Yami on how his mood would be when he returned…

So that left me… Yami thought bitterly to himself. Luckily Bakura had been in the same state since he arrived, so he probably didn't even realize who he was. Or perhaps he did and just felt too crappy to even care.

The sound of a door opening had never been so foreboding to Yami, and his head jerked up just in time to see Marik stroll through the door. The moment those deep purple eyes landed on him, they narrowed - very slightly - but Yami noticed it none the less.

This is where things got a tad bit worse for the once-Pharaoh. It was bad enough having an attraction to one of your supposed enemies, but two?

Clearly, he wasn't in his right mind.

Dark eyes bore into his own, expressionless but calculating. Whether it was calculating on if he should let him live, or what the best way to get rid of his body once he murdered him for touching his lover was, he didn't know.

Yami knew he was being over dramatic however, the Egyptian before him - much like the thief - had toned down quite over the years. Marik proved to be very intelligent, which is why Isis often called on him for various things. He was strong - fiercely protective - Yami had witnessed this countless times and found it a very admirable quality in the yami that tried to come off as indifferent and uncaring.

He'd often found himself envious. He was always the strong one, the protector. Sometimes he wished he had someone to look after him, even if he didn't really need it. Much like Marik looked after Bakura, though the thief could clearly take care of himself.

"I'm surprised~" The Pharaoh started, the sudden deep baritone breaking the uncomfortable silence that had fallen upon them.

A look of confusion, a tilt of the head, silently questioning the random statement.

"I'm surprised he's let you so close." Marik elaborated, arms crossing over his chest as he leaned against the doorframe, finally allowing his gaze to fall on the sleeping thief on the Pharaoh's lap. Yami immediately took notice of how his eyes softened towards the white haired one, and he felt himself relaxing at the realization that the other Egyptian wasn't going to snap on him.

Before he could stop himself, Yami snorted a bit. This caused the blonde to look at him again, eyebrow raised. "He's been pretty much out of it since I've gotten here. I doubt he even realizes…" The words came out tinted with a bitter sadness, to which Yami hoped Marik hadn't noticed.

Marik was silent, brows furrowed slightly… Yami was no longer looking at him however, opting to stare at the carpet instead. After what was a painfully long stretch of silence, the blonde spoke up again. "No matter how badly he felt, Bakura would force himself to stay awake if he was with someone he didn't trust." To this, Yami's eyes widened, looking up at Marik… "He feels safe with you, Pharaoh. Even if he doesn't realize it."

Yami blinked, staring at Marik as he wasn't really sure how to take those words. A part of him wanted to scoff, because it seemed to unrealistically ridiculous a thought to him. The blonde's expression however, was completely serious.

A sudden shift from the still form in his lap drew both of their attention back down to the white haired thief. Brown eyes cracked open, blinking sleepily before peering up at the pharaoh, then over to the blonde by the door. "Marik…" He mumbled, recognizing the tall form.

Marik's once serious expression slid into a grin, "Hey there, sunshine." He chuckled, crossing the room and approaching the two on the couch, reaching down to ruffle the white tresses of the sick thief. The comment and action combined clearly annoyed the thief, who let out a weak snarl and swatted at the hand.

"Ah, I… should probably go now." Yami spoke up, that awkward feeling settling in again. Not only was he still not sure how to take Marik's comment, knowing Bakura was awake and aware now made him even more uneasy.

This however, apparently didn't go over too well with said thief, who was far too comfortable to be moved and had been just about to doze off once more. "Move and I'll stab you…" He mumbled tiredly - words barely audible - obviously still on the very edge of consciousness and losing the battle against sleep.

The comment made Marik - who'd being close as he had, had heard it - snigger, and he shot Yami an amused look. "Looks like your stuck with us." He smirked, then disappeared with the announcement of going to shower.. Leaving Yami with a sleeping Bakura yet again.

Hope. A sneaking sliver of it crept it's way into his heart at those words. Tolerance - it seemed - had been only the first step, and not the extent of which Yami had believed to be the farthest it would go between them. It was no where near a declaration of love, but it was perhaps the beginning of a tentative friendship.

Maybe, if he was patient… Perhaps his desires weren't so unattainable…

Misao: POINTLESS ONE-SHOT WAS POINTLESS. XD Yeah, I know. Wtf, right? I just needed to write SOMETHING to get me back into the flow again. Though I probably could have done better and taken it in a more interesting direction. Oh well..

The past two months have been hectic and life is pretty much being a bucket of fail and I've been having trouble with the next chapter of LTTT. So I decided to write a one-shot to at least give people SOMETHING and let them know I'm not dead or abandoning my stories again. XD And clearly, my titling skills have not improved. I still fail at it.