“Okay,” Bakura took a long sigh as he gave a glance to their shopping list. “We just need some Oreos and we’re finally done here.”
“We need Oreos?” Malik asked, curious as this was the first time he went shopping with him since the two moved in together. With the rare hunters disbanded, he found himself with a lot of free time to peruse around Target.
Bakura rolled his eyes, “It’s for my host, he has a severe sugar addiction.”
Malik jabbed Bakura in the stomach, “I can tell fluffy- oh my god!” His attention quickly diverted to the comically-large, dedicated Oreo aisle. Malik quickly ran into the aisle, starstruck by all the variety.
“Ow- What was that for?! And why did you run off?” Bakura groaned, already worn out from spending over an hour at the grocery store.
“Since when were there so many flavors! We’re going to be here all day just deciding!” Malik gawked, not taking his eye of all the Oreos. “And I thought there was already enough in Egypt, I mean, it’s awesome how creative-“
“We’re done, let’s go.” Bakura said tersely, already wheeling the shopping cart full of groceries out of the aisle.
“Wait what? How? We didn’t even decide yet?”
Bakura turned his head around, “Oh please, no one actually buys those weird flavors. We’re just getting the regular ones.”
“If no one bought them they wouldn’t sell them!” Malik scoffed. “C’mon, lets try this red velvet flavor.”
Bakura whipped his head around, growling, “I’m not paying 8.95 for bloody red velvet Oreos! Everything is already too inflated thanks to all these Duel Monsters coming to life and I don’t need red velvet Oreos to dig a deeper hole in my wallet!”
“You act like you earn your money!” Malik raised his voice, a few onlookers take notice of them. “Just put away the regular Oreos, everyone already knows what they taste like!”
“You can start making decisions when you get a job.” Bakura hissed, his knuckles turning white as they gripped onto the cart handle.
Malik’s face briefly flashed of hurt before getting heated again, “You know I’ve been looking- I don’t even understand what the big deal is!”
“It’s not a big deal but you’re making it one. It’s not even for you, it’s for my host!”
“Why don’t you ask him then? How do you know he doesn’t want to try something new?”
“Maybe because I live in his mind?!” Bakura pinched his nose bridge and took a deep breath. “Look, I just get Ryou Oreos to make up for all those times I stabbed him okay? Plus, we just have a thing going on where he eats the cream and I eat the cookie part. Getting a weird flavor would just ruin that dynamic.”
Malik scrunched his face, “Gross, only the cream?”
“Yeah, I don’t know either. Sometimes he combines multiple cookies and rolls it into a ball.” Bakura shrugged. “I’m telling you, severe sugar addiction.”
“Okay look,” Malik crossed his arms, his face slowly relaxing, “Let’s just buy the red velvet Oreos and I’ll pay you back when I get a job.”
“You’re taking out a loan for a cookie? No wonder you’re broke.”
Malik immediately tensed up again, “Why are you such a d*ck, I’m trying to COMPROMISE!”
“I’m a d*ck? Even after I let you move in with me for free, I’m a d*ck?!” The two were starting to draw up a crowd of people pointing and whispering.
“You let me move in?! It was Ryou who did, and it was Ryou’s apartment!”
“-And this is Ryou’s cookie choice!”
“I want to hear it from him! Bring him out!”
“I can’t bring him out, moron.”
“Why?! Why the hell not?! Did his soul just disappear? Or did you kill him and steal his body-“
“I CAN’T BRING HIM OUT BECAUSE GROCERY STORES ARE TOO LOUD BECAUSE IDIOTS LIKE YOU THINK IT’S APPROPRIATE TO HAVE STUPID F*CKING ARGUMENTS IN PUBLIC!”
The store went silent, aside from onlookers gossiping amongst themselves and Bakura’s heavy breathing after shouting. Malik averted his eyes in embarrassment, realizing he probably took this too far.
“…Let’s just go.” Bakura sighed as he grabbed a pack of red velvet Oreos and threw it into the cart before walking away from the direction of the registers. Malik followed suit.
The two made it to the back of the store, which resembled more of a warehouse than a grocery. There was an awkward air between them after their public outburst, and Malik knew he had to clear it up. After all, Bakura is known for keeping thousand-year grudges.
“Bakura..” Malik started, looking a pissed off king in the eyes, “I’m sorry for being such an *ss today. I don’t know I just… had my heart set on that stupid box of cookies. And I really hate not having a job or my own money, I used to rule over hundreds and now I feel kind of trapped I guess. So, I’m sorry.”
A moment passed before Bakura’s gaze softened. “You’re lucky I love you…” He mumbled as he opened the unpaid bag of Oreos and took one out for Malik. “Here, take it.”
“Huh? We’re stealing it?”
“We’re customers right? We should be able to sample before we buy.” The thief king smirked, “Plus, Target doesn’t care. Not as long as we steal under $1,200.”
Malik’s eyes lit up as he took the allusive red velvet Oreo and took the long awaited bite.
Only to violently spit it out.
“Yuck! It’s so artificially sweet, who the hell thought this was a good idea?!” Malik gasped, rubbing the taste off his tongue.
“I told you, no one buys these. They’re weird novelty items that should be ignored.” Bakura crossed his arms, a little satisfied that he was right.
“How sweet are they…? Let me try.” Ryou quietly said in the back of their shared mind.
Bakura looked around the open, empty aisle. “Seems quiet enough… Alright, you can try the abomination. Just make sure it’s out of your mouth when I’m back.”
The millennium ring under their shirt glowed before a softer face took over, which Malik instantly recognized as Ryou, the host of the spirit. “Usually when people say things are too sweet, they tend to be just right for me.” He said, taking a cookie out from the opened bag.
Malik watched in horror as Ryou opened the cookie and peeled off the crème with his fingernails, before eating it whole. Ryou’s eyes closed and his shoulders lowered as he let out a soft moan, the Oreo filling seemingly hitting the right spot. “Wow, these are just amazing! I might even say their better than the original! It’s a shame you don’t like them.”
“…I’m starting to see why you’re able to wield the millennium ring.”
“Huh?” Ryou cocked his head. Before he could get an answer, Bakura took his place to finish the leftover cookie part.
“Hmm…” Bakura took time to reflect between bites, “Surprisingly it’s not terrible, it’s less chocolate-like.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“No,” Bakura shrugged, “It’s a bit nicer, we’ll buy it.”
The two made their way to the check out lines, leaving behind the box of regular Oreos in an unrelated aisle, and brought the red velvet Oreos with them home, (ignoring the dirty look from the cashier as they swiped an opened item.)
From that day on, the red velvet Oreos were the host and spirit’s go to choice for snacks. Even Malik warmed up to it, opting to eat the cookie parts when Bakura couldn’t keep up with Ryou’s sweet tooth. That was until, it stopped being sold at all three supermarkets in a 10-mile radius.
Is it better to have loved and lost, than to never have loved at all?