Bright lights flashed across Domino City in blazing festive colors, billboards screaming ‘buy buy buy’ dared not let you forget it was New Years, overblown and saturated traditions surrounded the new and unlikely couple, Malik and Bakura.

Despite all the bling and pizazz they walked past, Bakura seemed to particularly be unaffected by all the advertising, his sole focus on getting home, dark brown eyes stared hard into the distance ahead of him, watching buildings creep closer before leaving his view, waiting for their apartment complex to show up.

Malik on the other hand, was mesmerized by all signs of celebration, enchanted by couples giggling, families laughing and Christmas lights that still stayed up despite it being the 31st. It was all his first New Year’s in Japan, and his first New Year’s since he was able to let go of his hatred for the pharaoh. His eyes darted around unrestrained, capturing every fried food vendor and jumbo lotto they passed by.

“Bakura, look!” Malik tugged on his sleeve, bringing him out of his trance. “They’re selling soba here, we should get some!”

Bakura took a quick glance at the small stall before looking back at Malik, raising a brow. “For what? To eat? We’re Forks, remember? We can’t taste any of that.”

“Tch- Of course we can’t but it’s almost New Years. It’s a Japanese tradition y’know? For a long-lasting relationship.”

“So you need the help of a bowl of noodles to stay with me?”

Malik groaned, “That’s not what I- you know what, whatever.” He dropped the foreseeable argument as he didn’t want the year to end on a bad note. Bakura dropped it just as quickly two promptly kept walking, but Malik still wanted to get with the holiday spirit. He didn’t get celebrate much back in his tombkeeper days or his time as a Ghoul and his siblings decided to go all the way back to Egypt, something about preparing to assist the pharaoh’s memories. Bakura was the only one he could spend the holiday with.

Yet somehow, Bakura did not share the same views as him. He was never the type to be sentimental or reminisce on the past year they’ve had. Rather, he was always talking about the future: what he’d do with all the millennium items, what he’d do with Zorc’s power, what he’d do once he’d regained all his memories again. It was something he usually liked about Bakura, always getting right back up and not dwelling on the fall, but now it was pestering Malik. Why can’t he just let loose and enjoy the last day of the year?

Malik so desperately wanted to join in with the festivities. The fear of missing out had always had a pull on him ever since the first time he went up to the surface, but right now it was suffocating. Maybe he just had to be a little more convincing.

“…Soba isn’t just for relationships.” Malik’s voice started back up again, “It can be for longevity in general too.”

“I think being stuck in this world for several millennia is long enough, don’t you think?” Bakura hissed, not even turning to look at Malik as he spoke. Malik didn’t understand why Bakura was particularly hostile tonight but he kept going.

“It’s also for good luck too. Maybe you’ll have better luck with the pharaoh!” His voice came off harsh as Bakura’s grip on his hand tightened. Why did Malik have to bring up such a sore spot now of all times? He was just making everything worse. Bakura stayed silent as he stopped walking.

“…I don’t need luck.” Bakura said under his breath. He then turned to finally look at Malik, his lip curled and his face grew stiff. “Why are you so insistent on those d*mn noodles?”

Malik’s brows furrowed, he could feel them pressing on his eyes. “I don’t know, I just want to spend New Years with you. Is that too much to ask? Why don’t you want to spend it with me?”

“I am?! What do you think we’re doing?”

“Going home?! To do nothing when the clock strikes midnight in less than half an hour?!” Malik threw his free arm in the air, “I don’t think that’s what people call spending New Years!”

“Well, it’s what you asked for wasn’t it? You wanting a calling card so I got you a calling card!” Their bickering grew louder.

“You think going to a gas station for phone credit counts as a celebration?! -And for the record, I paid for the card, so just tell me, why don’t you want to actually celebrate with me?!”

A moment of silence followed the question. Bakura gave a low grunt before answering. “…I don’t feel inclined to celebrate a year that’s not from my time.” Despite his face staying stone cold, his grip on Malik loosened, his hand going limp “My host doesn’t care either, so it’s meaningless.”

Malik parted his lips, he almost forgot Bakura was just a spirit co-habiting a body. And at that, only fully came into consciousness just a few months prior. Malik remembered how it was, leaving the underground. How out of place he felt, an aching feeling that he shouldn’t be out there, like a relic of an archaic past surrounded by the new shiny present times. However, where Malik wanted to polish the dust of the past and jump right in with the jewels of the present, Bakura shielded it, keeping it in an exhibit in a locked museum no one was allowed to enter, until it opened for only the millennium items sometime in the distant future.

The argument was long forgotten as Malik leaned onto Bakura, their bodies touching. “I get it Bakura, I get how it feels to be out place, out of the loop, alone, left to catch up with the rest of the world who hasn’t stopped in your absence. But still-“ Malik glared into Bakura’s deep brown eyes full of mystery, full of hurt not even he knew the full extent of, shoved away three thousand years ago, “-every moment we’re still here, every moment we’re still alive, it is our time.

“Bakura, I don’t care what you think, you were brought back to life and you will celebrate it.” Malik shoved his forehead onto Bakura’s, passion pressed on him as the fog from his warm breath landed on Bakura’s nose. Bakura’s cheeks were dusted with pink as his gaze softened into his partner’s light lilac eyes whose filled with resolve and determination. Bakura smirked and let Malik into his museum to touch the artifacts all he liked.

“Fine, since you say this is our year, lets have our own traditions.” He held tightly to Malik’s hand, pulling away from his tenderness and leaving the set path back home. Malik was confused to say the least, but the mystery excited him as he eagerly followed Bakura, wondering what he was possibly talking about.

Bakura ran through streets and alleyways, only pausing to take an occasional sniff before continuing. They were a good ways away from home when Bakura finally stopped running like a madman, his eyes fixated on a thin man hovering over a mailbox, neatly tucked in against the wall of a winding, darkening alley. Malik was still puzzled before he too noticed the sweet scent wafting through the air.

“Bakura are you-“ A hand rushed to his mouth as Bakura gave him a confirming smirk. He glanced in both directions, taking note how busy the city was, and quietly ambushed the man from behind, into the alley, Malik following suit.

Before the man could scream, Bakura pressed down his thumbs deep onto his victim’s throat, crushing his windpipe. The man pointlessly grabbed and scratched at his neck before a satisfying snap came from it, like snapping crab legs. Beads of blood dripped from where Bakura’s nails dug in, the sight made his mouth water. He dropped the man and stepped on his corpse and stomped on his face, obfuscating it with a crack, before turning to Malik, who gave him a smirk, intrigued on what Bakura was getting at. “Is killing people going to be a tradition now?” He asked.

Bakura flashed his canines, “Soba is pretty similar to the small intestine, right? Why don’t we have a tradition catered to people like us?” He rolled the body under his shoe before walking towards Malik, cupping his face. “Organs are longer than noodles anyway.”

Warmth crept up on Malik’s cheeks, despite the cold temperatures that were still foreign to him. He placed his hand over one of Bakura’s and leaned closer. “Killing a Cake for a New Years celebration seems like our kind of thing.” Every breath was felt on Bakura’s lips.

“Hm? I thought your dark side had gone away.” Bakura chuckled, his nose brushing Malik’s.

“Maybe that’s proof that everything is okay.”

Bakura laughed again, more genuinely this time. “Hah- What kind of logic is that?”

“Love doesn’t need logic, thief. What’s a little bit of darkness here and there if it means I get to stay with you? I’m sure the pharaoh’s done worse.”

And then Malik pulled in tightly, and Bakura followed through. Their cold lips, bearing the chill of the outdoors, kissed deeply, their rapid breathing warming them from the outside as their mouths opened up to warm up from the inside. Their tongues held each other, huddling and rubbing against themselves, as the heat from the slippery friction warmed them up. Remembering a warm and fresh body was behind them, Bakura pulled away and beckoned Malik to follow him, dragging the body deeper into the alley.

No one dared go too deep into the city, especially at night. While Domino City had a front as a bustling tourist attraction (you can thank Kaiba for that,) it no doubt had a wicked core. Gangs, violence, crime, all prevalent in the crevices of the former Battle City. However, even the toughest of gang members will probably leave you alone if they find you eating out a corpse.

So, banking on that knowledge, the two thieves went to town. Plopping themselves next to the body, Bakura first unbuttoned the man’s uniform to show his bare chest and stomach, his figure was not at all impressive but it made him all the more easier to kill. Bakura used one of the prongs of his millennium ring to stab and cut open the man’s abdomen, aiming higher than where the intestines were as to not puncture their treat. A spring of sweet blood flooded to the surface, like striking liquid gold. Salivating, Malik sealed the fountain of blood and began to drink every drop. The taste was sugary and a bit nutty, and addictively warm as it sent a shiver down Malik’s spine. He wanted to lap every last vial of blood before Bakura flicked his forehead.

“Don’t get impatient, we’re here for the human noodles, right?” Bakura scoffed as he continued cutting into the corpse’s insides, the skin swaying up and down vigorously, dragging the navel with it too. It was all morbidly appetizing that even Malik could tell Bakura was holding himself back by his teeth were furiously biting into his lip.

Once a deep enough ravine was cut, Bakura stuck his hands in with a squelch and ripped open the skin and all its layers like a wrapper to a candy bar, his bare hands grazing every slimy organ and tissue, exposing the man’s insides. Now licking his lips, Bakura pulled out a slippery dark red section of the deceptively named small intestine and offered it to Malik, his arm and sleeves drenched in bloody goodness. “Happy New Year, Malik.”

Malik beamed at the juicy piece of red covered meat, it had been awhile since he’s had the opportunity to eat a fresh Cake, (he’d been getting by on illegal Cake spit for the time being,) but this would be the first time in a long time he’d be eating the organs of a person, like having filet mignon after only eating mincemeat. And he couldn’t be any more excited, his eyes dilated like the anticipation of the Cake alone intoxicated him. “Happy New Year, Bakura!”

He gave Bakura a quick bloodstained peck on the lips before slurping up the intestine like soba, although its girth was more reminiscent of very thick udon. The blood coating the organ was like a broth or fondue, aiding in sliding the intestine in his mouth, the sweet-sauce pooling on the inside of his lips, with stray drips spraying all over his clothes. Malik was in an absolute state of euphoria as he moaned while shoving as much of the human soba as he could, before biting down and unlocking a whole new meaning of bliss.

The intestine was so soft and velvety, and had a rich red bean flavor. And when Malik punctured the inside, sweet blood gushed into his mouth almost bringing him to climax. The flavors and the textures and all the meat stuffed into his mouth which made it hard to keep chewing were so overwhelming in the best of ways that before he knew it, he found his hand trailing down to his pants. Bakura let out a huff of a laugh before laying his hand over Malik’s devious one.

“Let me help you with that, idiot.” He whispered seductively over Malik’s ear which made him shiver. Bakura locked their lips and slid his own hand into Malik’s pants and stroked him, moaning in Malik’s mouth as he took a bite of the intestine he wasn’t done with swallowing yet. His breathing grew heavy as Bakura needed to satisfy an erection of his own, pressing himself onto Malik and thrusting wildly, the flavor was pushing him to the edge.

It didn’t take long for Malik to finish, an extreme amount of euphoria buzzed over him. He managed to swallow the rest of the intestine that Bakura hadn’t taken during their passionate kiss. Malik was now not just full, but completely satisfied. All he wanted to do now was to lay in bed with his lover, and perhaps clean his clothes from all the different types of bodily fluids it had to endure.

He turned towards Bakura who was finishing himself off, still covered in blood, before noticing that he was also drenched too. Malik was too fixated on the Cake that he didn’t realize how messy he’d been, and the body bled a river so his pants and shoes were wet too. “How… the hell are we going to… get back home… looking like this?” Malik asked, barely able to catch a breath, leaning on the brick wall of the alley.

“Looking like what?” Bakura turned to him, his lips dripping in blood complemented by a childish milk mustache of more blood. He was so oblivious, so impulsive, that Malik started laughing before getting closer to Bakura.

“You got a little something on your lip.” Malik chuckled over Bakura’s mouth before licking the blood of his lips, his tongue gliding across Bakura’s face made his face warm before parting his lips and letting him in for another kiss. They’ll figure out how to get home eventually, for now they’ll just savor the moment. The very moment, despite all odds, they’re alive.