Dead and live bugs littered the floor, hiding where you least expected them to pop out. The whole flat smelled like cat piss. The carpets were torn at the edges. The whole place was disgusting—and yet here I was, enticed by a “pretty please with a cherry on top.”
Also, to add onto the flat’s extensive list of faults, there was no mattress in my room. A bed frame, yes; an actual place to sleep, no. On Ryou’s meager earnings, there was no way in hell’d I’d be able to get another mattress.
I leaned against the doorway to the other room, arms crossed tight against my chest. Marik had just now turned on the furnace, seemingly unbothered by the mid-December chill that was bleeding in.
“Seriously, Marik,” I said, watching him put his things away, “how’re you paying for this?”
His deeply-tanned back was visible when he bent down, edge of the harsh carvings in his back peeking out. Then he straightened, whirling to face me. “Ishizu sent me money for my birthday. Now—“
“Enough money to put down for a flat? What did you really do, Marik? And you do know you have to pay rent every month, right?”
“Well then. . .” Marik hesitated, pushing his fingers to his chin. “How do you feel about getting a job?”
“Oh my Ra.” I pressed my alms over my eyes, sighing slowly. “How, precisely, did you pay the safety deposit and first month’s rent?”
At this, Marik burst into a wide grin, eyebrows arching before sliding downward. “The manager’s name is Steve, so we can live here for free!”
“They send bills that you have to pay—or they shut everything off and the manager can’t do a damn thing about it. Of all the difficult evil things to do properly, renting without paying is the hardest, behind killing the Pharaoh. And what would you’ve done if the manager’s name hadn’t been Steve? Go flat to flat, looking for a Steve?”
“This was actually the third block I had to go looking for a Steve,” Marik said, triumphant smile falling into more of a bashful frown. “But I’ll figure something out.” His soft expression only lasted a moment before springing into a smirk. “I always do.”
He stepped forward, taking my hands from where they’d fallen into clenched fists. “Now,” he said, yanking me to sit on his bed, “I’ll tell you all about my great plan!”
I exhaled, letting his touch give me shivers before he pulled away, leaping up and beginning to pace.
I glanced down at my hands, now free of Marik’s. This’d better be good.
YOU ARE READING
Promise Me Nothing
FanfictionWhen Bakura and Marik move into a flat together, Bakura doesn't know what to expect. But what he gets is more than he ever thought possible.
