A/N: I'm apologizing for the lateness again, I always have to with this 0.o Just so you know, Bakura's “If you want someone to talk to, get yourself a woman” -line is meant with utmost respect to all women and men everywhere xD

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By the time the sun began to rise they were already a good distance away from the town. They set up a camp before midday and rested during the hottest hours of the day. Malik didn't regret leaving yet, in fact it was much easier to breathe here and he had this unexplainable urge to smile. He was free now, no worries or responsibilities. Bakura was dozing off next to him and Pharaoh was off somewhere. He had stayed up, too hyped to sleep now and not used of sleeping at this hour.

“You should get some sleep, we're riding the whole night again.” Bakura muttered from his spot.

“I'm not tired.” Malik simply stated, finally spotting Pharaoh in the distance, galloping towards them. “You sleep, you're the one doing all the riding and stuff anyway.”

“Can you ride?”

Malik shrugged. “Yeah, well enough.” He hadn't got that much time to practice but he had whenever possible, secretly of course as he had to borrow someone else's horse. “Why?”

“Just asking. Go to sleep.”

“No.”

“Suit yourself...” Bakura muttered and went back to sleep, snoring loudly.

Malik just rolled his eyes and rose to greet Pharaoh when he got closer. The horse halted in front of him and neighed happily. Pharaoh was calmer now than he had been when younger but still playful and wild despite that he did as Bakura or Malik told him to. Everything was going well so far but of course, his negative side refused to shut the hell up and he kept waiting something to go horribly wrong. Malik sighed and petted Pharaoh absently, but the horse soon got tired of his lack of attention and went on his way again. The teen watched him go before turning his attention to Bakura who was snoring far too loud to sound real.

Malik went over to him and kicked him on the side, not too hard but enough to get him to stop, hopefully. “Stop that, you're not even asleep.”

“I was until you kicked me.” Bakura sat up, looking annoyed and rubbing his eye. “I thought I told to you to go to sleep.”

“I thought I told you I wasn't tired.”

“You will be.”

“I'll go to sleep when I'm tired.” Malik sat down and scooted closer to share the shade of the rocks. “How long before we reach the city?” He asked to strike up a conversation, not feeling like arguing again. They had been doing that a lot throughout the trip. It seemed that Bakura also decided against getting on his nerves right now.

“Not long. We should be there before dawn.”

“Good. My butt is getting sore from all this riding.” Malik stretched and cracked his poor back. Bakura just laughed. “Hey, I'm not used to it, alright?”

“Whatever.” Bakura waved him off and lied back down, closing his eyes but not pretending to snore this time. Malik sighed and looked up in the sky, willing the sun to move faster so they could get going. Of course, that didn't work out too well, or at all, and he would have to wait and get bored or go to sleep, neither of which he felt like doing.

“You're boring company...” He complained to Bakura.

“You're annoying company so we're even. Now shut up and let me sleep.”

“Your horse is a better conversationalist than you are.”

Bakura snorted. “If you want someone to talk to, get yourself a woman.”

Malik 'hmph'ed and decided to brood until they could leave. There they went again, annoying each other and then they wouldn't talk for a while before one of them couldn't take it anymore and opened his fat mouth and it would start all over again. He guessed it couldn't be helped when both of them were so headstrong and lacked compromising skills.

The only bad thing about brooding was that it was terribly boring so he had to find something else to entertain him. “Hey Bakura?”

“What. Do you. Want. Now.”

“I'm bored.”

“Do I look like I care? Entertain yourself in a way that doesn't involve me.”

“But you're the only one around!”

“Find Pharaoh.”

Malik yelled in frustration, throwing his hands up and Bakura muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like some sort of profanity, turning on his side to face Malik.

“Come here, brat.”

“Why?” Malik glared and folded his arms, not moving an inch.

“Because!” Bakura growled and grabbed the stubborn youth, dragging him close and put him to lie down. “Relax and shut the hell up.”

Malik struggled but it was in vain so he stopped and tried to do as told, but it was damn difficult. “You can't just tell someone to relax and expect them to obey.”

“Shh...” Bakura stroked his hair with one hand his back with the other, in a way that was surprisingly calming. Malik closed his eyes and breathed deeply, enjoying this perhaps more than he should have. It felt nice though and he, for once, decided not to think too much and just went with it.

“You're still an idiot.” He mumbled but the insult lost its strength and sounded terribly affectionate.

“Hmm, I know.”

---

Malik was still asleep when it was time to go, huddled close to Bakura who considered shaking him awake but knew that it would be much easier to haul him on the horse than to stand his bitching. Bakura whistled for Pharaoh who came back from where ever he had been and stood still as the sleeping figure was lifted on his back, awake one soon following to make sure that the one sleeping wouldn't fall off because that would surely wake him. ...and it would hurt.

Malik stirred and mumbled something but didn't wake up, much to Bakura's relief. Apparently, no matter what the kid liked to believe, he was tired and slept like a baby. It was kind of cute, actually...

Pharaoh moved softer than normally, as if he was careful not to jostle Malik awake. It seemed that not only was the horse a better conversationalist, according to Malik, he was also more considerate than Bakura was. Maybe Malik should just hook up with the stupid animal as they loved each other so much. The thief laughed silently at his own thoughts; he must have been really tired too at this point to think about stuff like that.

---

Malik woke up when the horse slowed down. He blinked, trying to clear his sleep blurred vision. Once he could see, he spotted countless buildings and people around them, stepping out of the way and minding their own business. Pharaoh's ears turned from side to side in nervous and curious fashion, and when he glanced over his shoulder, he saw that Bakura was hooded. The thief noticed that he was awake and gave him a smirk.

“We're here.”

“I noticed...” Malik commented dryly and turned his attention back to their surroundings. This was the large world he had been wanting to see all his years and so far he wasn't impressed but he was curious and willing to give it a chance. He had to admit that he was more than a bit nervous and slightly scared, but at least he wasn't all by himself. For perhaps the first time during this trip, he was grateful that Bakura was with him.

They stopped in front of an inn and dismounted. Bakura offered to help Malik down but the boy let out an annoyed huff and jumped down, ignoring the helping arms. Pharaoh was tied to a pole in front of the building and they walked inside. The room was bustling with other travelers and Bakura sat Malik into a lone corner and told him to wait there. Malik did but wasn't at all happy about it. Being left alone in a bunch of strangers made him nervous and he somehow got the impression that he was treated like a child here. Even though he hadn't seen much of the world, he could take care of himself if need be.

Bakura came back with all their stuff and a key, and they headed for their room, which was rather small but had enough room for both of them.

“What about Pharaoh?”

“Don't worry about him.”

Despite the fact that they could move in the room without bumping into each other, Malik was getting a bit claustrophobic and after the long journey filled with Bakura's more or less wonderful company, he just needed some time for himself. So when Bakura was distracted with their stuff, he sneaked out. Deciding not to go outside he headed for the roof instead. There weren't many people there and he sat on the edge, tired after the trip. He would spend some time without Bakura constantly breathing on his neck, quite literally, and maybe then they could stand each other for a while again. Malik smiled to himself a little and settled to wait for the sunset.

---

Bakura found Malik sitting on the edge of the roof, gazing into the horizon. The thief smiled a bit and made his way over. “Don't jump Malik, it's not worth it!” He cried with much fake desperation, startling the boy and almost making him fall off.

Malik clutched the edge and turned his head to glare at Bakura who was laughing his ass off. “Gods, you're such a moron.”

“Now how many times a day are you going to tell me how stupid or idiotic I am?” Bakura wondered out loud and sat next to the other.

“As many as I deem fit.” Malik faced the horizon and the setting sun again. “You deserve every one of them; you almost made me fall.”

Bakura sighed. “You're so cruel to me, Malik.”

“Hmph, yeah...” The teen leaned his head against Bakura's shoulder much to his surprise. Bakura glanced and blinked at Malik, who seemed rather comfortable, and decided against any witty remark that was trying to make itself known. He had some sense in him at least, enough not to ruin this rare moment.

“Bakura?”

“Hmm?”

“What are we going to do here?”

The older male thought it for a moment. “Well... Tomorrow I'm going to show you around and... we'll see.”

Malik nuzzled his shoulder and Bakura leaned his head against the other's. “Does that mean you don't know?”

“No, of course not. It means that I'm not telling you yet.”

The teen snorted. “Oh, whatever. Let's just not do anything stupid...”

Bakura chuckled. “Aren't you forgetting who you're with?”

Malik snickered a bit, too, and Bakura found himself hoping that he would actually laugh at things he said.

“How could I forget?”

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A/N: Yes, it's short and stupid... and nothing much happened... I'm trying to update as many of my fics before or during Christmas as possible (my goal being all) but in case I completely fail and don't update anything until next year, Happy Holidays to all!