Hey, guys. I got into my first choice for college so by this time next Saturday, I'll be up in Galway unpacking. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thank you so so much for drawing-cookie on tumblr for the fantastic fanart for this chapter - I honestly screamed when I saw it. Enjoy!

CW: Nightmares, familial transphobia, death, trauma, abandonment issues.

The night before they were due to go to pride, Malik finally joined the others in bed. He had been a little nervous to beforehand, but they managed to coax him in with promises that they would stay up to finish watching the new Orange is the New Black season. None of them were a huge fan of it anymore, and they were all outraged by the fact that some of their favourite characters had been sidelined, but they wanted to see it through.

Bakura had dosed through the last ten minutes, and Ryou followed him to sleep shortly after it ended. Mehi stayed up with Malik, watching as he typed out the end of an article on the brutality towards protesters in Bangladesh.

"You misquoted that." Mehi pointed to the screen.

"Shit." Malik rubbed his eye and doubled back. "Thanks."

Mehi sighed and squeezed his hand. "Leave it for tonight. You're tired and this is something that needs to be written well."

"I can write it well now." Malik huffed and fixed the quote. "Or at least write it okay-ish and edit it before I send it off."

"You probably won't get the go ahead on it," Mehi warned. "They've literally been taking down social media posts. I'm not sure that even your news outlet's going to touch this with a ten foot pole."

"I need to try." Malik shook his head and finished it off. "Okay how's this?" Mehi peered at the screen.

The government needs to take ownership of Bangladesh's fallbacks rather than trying to sweep it under the rug and allowing students to be harassed, attacked, raped, and killed so as not to draw international attention to itself. These are not statistics - these are human lives that are being toyed with for the sake of saving face, and it should not be tolerated on a national or international level.

"Looks good to me." Mehi yawned. "Now put it away until morning."

"Let me just read through it once more." Malik clicked back to the top of the word document.

Mehi huffed and ran a hand through her hair. "You're worse than Ryou when he's cramming."

"I'm not that bad," Malik mumbled, already half distracted by proofreading.

"Yes you are." Mehi glanced over at their other two partners.

Bakura was on his side, facing the wall, but Ryou was sprawled across the bed. She frowned. He usually slept curled up between them for warmth.

She leaned a little closer. A frown was creasing his face, and he was moaning softly in his sleep.

"Oh shit," she whispered.

"Hm?" Malik paused and tore his gaze away from the laptop. "What's wrong?"

Mehi shook her head and pulled away from him. She shifted until she was sitting beside Ryou, and touched his arm. "Ryou? Ry?" In his sleep, he flinched. "Ryou, wake up." She gently shook his arm.

His eyes flashed open and a panicked groan escaped his mouth. He jolted up, covering his mouth and whined.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Mehi murmured. "You're okay."

Ryou just shook his head. His shoulders were heaving, and he buried his face in his hands. Malik quickly set his computer down on the floor and moved closer to them. "Honey?" He whispered. "What's wrong?"

"I-" Ryou choked on his words and curled in on himself.

"Are you going to throw up?" Mehi asked. He paused before shaking his head. Okay. That was good.

Malik swallowed and reached out to take Ryou's hand, but stopped when Mehi shook her head. Ryou sniffed. "They- they were-" He coughed, and a sob escaped his mouth. "They said I killed her-"

Bakura groaned and sat up, rubbing his eyes. He wasn't usually fast to wake, but once he saw Ryou, he joined them. He moved slowly, touching Ryou's knee with one finger to let him know where he was before carefully moving it up to his hip, never letting it leave his body. Once it was there, he slowly wrapped his arms around Ryou's waist. Ryou turned and buried his face in Bakura's shoulder.

Bakura reached up and ran his fingers through Ryou's hair. "It's okay," he breathed, voice somewhat slurred from sleep. "You're safe."

Ryou shook his head but offered no explanation as to how he wasn't. His entire body was shaking now. "They- he threw me onto the road-"

"He's a crock of shit," Bakura murmured, "who didn't deserve you. You got that?"

"He wanted me dead-" Ryou's words choked him again.

"She wanted you alive." Bakura's arms tightened around him, and he began to slowly rock Ryou back and forth, back and forth, b a c k a n d f o r t h, b a c k a n d f o r t h.

Ryou sniffed again and hiccuped. "An-and she- she didn't care, they just- they didn't even let me get my things or-" He leaned harder into Bakura. It looked almost painful. "They were meant to help me."

"Honey," Malik breathed, "Bakura's right. They didn't deserve you." He didn't know for certain, but he had a fair idea of who they were.

Ryou shook his head. "Ma-maybe I should-should've just s-s-stopped and kept pretending-"

"Ryou, that nearly killed you." Mehi leaned in and carefully cupped Ryou's cheeks, lifting his head from Bakura's shoulder. "They were the adults and they behaved like two-year-olds. That's on them. Not you."

Ryou brought up a hand to wipe his eyes. They were red and irritated looking, and he rubbed roughly, fingers pressing against his eyeball as if the pain could draw him away from the dream. "I could have saved her-"

"You were four," Bakura insisted, "and you being a boy is not what killed her."

Ryou just shook his head and whipped his head away, hiding in Bakura's chest again. The smaller man just sighed and kept rocking until Ryou's grip went lax, his breathing deepened, and his eyes closed again.

Slowly, Bakura lay back on the bed, bringing Ryou with him, and turned so they were both on their sides. Malik just watched, now anxious that Ryou would jolt awake again. He shouldn't have missed that - he should have been paying attention like Mehi was. "Was that-"

Mehi sighed slowly. "Yeah." She rubbed her eye with the palm of her hand. "I told you I think he has trauma but he doesn't want to get it checked until after."

"What happened?" He glanced at her but it was Bakura who spoke.

"When he was four, his sister ran across a road to get a ball he had dropped, and was hit by a car." His eyes were fixed on the top of Ryou's head and he hadn't stopped combing his fingers through his hair. "He saw the whole thing. When he came out twelve years later, his parents insisted that him being trans is what killed her. That he should have been inside playing with dolls instead of kicking a ball around with her."

Mehi picked up again when Bakura fell silent. "His father dragged him out of the house by his hair and shoved him into the road. He was hit, but he was lucky. He just broke his arm." She scratched her nose. "Thankfully, it was England, and he had his wallet with some sort of medical card or- I don't know how it works over there. But he was covered. His parents wouldn't pay a penny of it. He went back to get his clothes and phone, and they called the police on him."

"What the fuck," Malik hissed. "He was a child-"

"Yeah." Mehi shook her head. "It... fucked him up pretty badly." She lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling. "He ended up living with a friend for a while, then got lost in the foster system for nearly two years."

"How did he even get to America?" Malik asked, looking between them now.

"Picked up by a single father, was adopted, flown out, and..." Bakura sighed. "Diagnosed with cancer a few months later and died within a year. Ryou was in his first year of uni then." He let out another slow breath. "His birth mother died a while ago, but his birth father's still around. I think he's in New York now. That's why Ryou keeps the spare ticket - he keeps hoping he'll suddenly... I don't even know. Change his mind? Realise what he did was fucked up, apologise, and try to come back into his life?" Malik closed his eyes. Fuck. Holy fucking shit.

"Don't bring this up tomorrow," Mehi whispered after a long, dead patch of silence. "He mightn't even remember it, and he deserves a break."

That's right. Pride. Malik lay down beside her. "What if he does?"

"Then... we do what he's up for." Bakura shook his head. "Sorry, Mal. I know it's your first pride-"

"And if Ryou can't go, I'll have another first pride." Malik turned on his side to face them. "I'm not going to force him to go if he can't."

"We're not even discussing this right now." Mehi turned and wrapped an arm around Ryou from behind. "It mightn't happen. Let's just... try to get some sleep."

Malik hesitated, watching them. He didn't want to go back out to the couch, but maybe it would be better if-

Mehi reached behind her and grabbed his hand, pulling him closer. "Come on." She glanced at him and gave him a tired smile. He preferred her sleepy smile to her tired one.

But he returned it and wrapped his arms around her waist. One of his hands found Ryou's arm and he carefully held that as well. Bakura's leg lifted and he just put it on top of all of theirs, but Malik couldn't bring himself to argue. It could wake Ryou, and it was... kind of nice.

He closed his eyes and took a slow breath. 'Allah, protect Ryou,' he mouthed. 'Please.' He wasn't even Muslim, but surely Allah wouldn't abandon someone who needed His help that much. He gently squeezed Ryou's arm. Please.

Ryou ended up not being able to remember the dream the next day, or at least, from what they could tell at breakfast. He seemed his usual cheerful self once he had his cup of coffee in sugar. They took the train up to city centre, checked into their hotel, left their bags, and took the bus down to their destination.

Pride was a mess of colour and sounds that assaulted Malik the second he stepped off the bus. Mehi had managed to secure a rainbow hijab and was wearing exclusively blue, pink, and white outside of it. She had also managed to obtain blue and pink eyeliner and had succeeded in making trans pride wings so sharp they looked like they could cut someone. She was exceptionally proud of them.

Ryou had put coloured chalk in his hair - there was no reason to the colours; he just grabbed every one he could find and dragged it all through his hair until there was more purples and pinks and blues and greens than white. He had probably gotten the most excited for it because he was also wearing rainbow suspenders, rainbow converse, and a bi pride t-shirt that read, Both? Both? Both. Both sounds good. Malik suspected it was some sort of fandom reference.

Bakura had almost gone as extra as Ryou. He was wearing the t-shirt Malik had gotten him for his birthday with the rainbow flag tied around his neck, red wristbands, and a leather skirt with pockets and a mismatch of spiky belts. He also wore knee-high leather boots that had made Malik's mouth go dry when he saw them. He wore bright red contacts as well, and his hair had been braided by Ryou earlier that day, so it was swept over his shoulder, away from the back of his neck, which he always complained got too hot in the sun. Malik had twisted two red flowers into his hair.

Malik had just grabbed a plain black shirt last minute. He had painted his hand with the pan pride flag colours and pressed his hand onto the fabric until it stuck. Once it was dry, Bakura had writted PANTASTIC on the back with leftover pink paint. He also wore his shark tooth fossil necklace from Rishid, and a pair of gold earrings. The bruising around his nose was nearly gone, but he had patched it up with a bit of makeup just in case. He didn't want his artful photos being ruined by a bruise.

He had been a little nervous that they would stand out, but he almost lost his partners in the sea of colours with flags and balloons, and so many people dressed like fairies.

Mehi pulled Ryou under a giant rainbow flag and Bakura twisted, getting a good photo of them kissing as they helped to hold it up.

Malik grinned and tugged Bakura under the same one. Bakura smiled and kissed his cheek as he took a selfie.

Malik's cheeks burned as he glanced at his partner. "That's rude."

"Well we need photos of you too." Bakura winked. His braid swung down around his shoulder.

Malik just laughed and pulled him back to Mehi and Ryou as the parade continued. They escaped the throng of it into crowds of people milling around, laughing and eating and drinking.

"Hey, do you want a brownie?" Someone in a green fairy costume asked, grinning. He held a wicker basket full of brownies.

"Nope, he's good." Ryou pulled him away. "Don't eat or drink anything other people give you. Just in case."

"Oh come on, let him have some fun," Bakura snorted. "It wouldn't do him any harm."

"I don't want to get high, Bakura," Malik sighed, but he was still smiling. It wasn't just the crowds or the music, the colours or even the people he was with. The entire atmosphere was light, and he already felt giddy and high on emotions. He felt happy and excited, and his face hurt from smiling so damn much. He just didn't want it to end.

The phone call came about halfway through the parade. He groaned and answered, plugging one ear with his finger. "Hello?" He called.

"Malik? Are you there?"

Malik froze. "Isis?"

"Of course. Where are you?"

"I- hang on, let me get somewhere quieter." He glanced around and tapped Bakura's shoulder. "It's Isis. I need to go inside."

Bakura pointed over to a starbucks. "Head in there. I'll get Ryou and Mehi and we'll meet you there."

Malik nodded, wading through the crowd to the coffeeshop. The cool air washed over him as he walked in, sweat sticking to the back of his neck. "Sorry." What was he apologising for? He didn't do anything.

"Where are you?"

Excuse. Think of an excuse. "I- uh, I'm-" He swallowed. You know what? Fuck her. "I'm at pride with my partners."

There was a long pause. "Oh."

Malik's nails dug into the palms of his hands. Ryou had painted them gold and he hadn't touched anything with them for fear of smudging it but he couldn't help it. He needed the distraction. "Isis, if you can't do this, you need to tell me," he muttered. "Because if you can't, I'll come and get the rest of my stuff some day next week and I'll leave. But you need to tell me."

She sighed. "You mentioned your partners? Are they the ones you wrote about?"

"Mehi, Ryou, and Bakura," Malik slowly confirmed. "Yeah. I've been living with them."

"I see."

Malik looked up as his partners entered the coffeeshop, sweaty and concerned. "Isis, this really isn't a good time. Can we talk later?"

"Have you been praying?"

Malik swallowed. "Yeah. Yeah, I've been going to Mehi's mosque. It's nice there." He waited for a moment. "If you want to talk, you could come down on Friday?"

"That sounds like a good idea. Where is it?"

"It's on Mission Street. Can you make it?" Malik ran a hand through his hair.

"I can't come this week, but I'll be there next Friday," Isis assured him. "We need to talk sooner rather than later."

"Okay. I need to go."

"I- yes. Have fun." She hesitated. "And bring your... partners. If they're okay with it, I'd like to meet them."

Malik's heart caught. "Yeah, okay. I will. Bye."

As he hung up, Ryou edged a little closer to him. "Is everything okay?"

Malik looked up at them, gripping his phone in a clenched hand. "She wants to talk." A half disbelieving smile spread across his face. "She's coming to the mosque next Friday- she wants to meet you guys."

Ryou's eyes lit up. "That's great!"

"Is this what you want?" Mehi tilted her head, still looking a little concerned.

Bakura just looked pissed off. "Cause if it's not, you don't owe her anything."

Malik shook his head. "No. No, I don't want to lose her or Rishid." And if he lost one, he lost the other. "I want to sort things out."

"Okay. We'll work it all out later." Mehi gave him a small smile and hooked her arm around his, and her other one around Ryou's. Bakura took Malik's other arm. "Now put your phone away and come be gay with us."

Malik snorted and pocketed his phone. "Honey, you're straight as fuck."

She grinned and shrugged. "Then come be queer or whatever. We only get this once a year."

They left the calm of the coffee shop and re-entered the chaos, and a sort of blissful peace spreading through Malik, even amidst the screaming and cheering. He closed his eyes, his smile returning full force as the wave of sound and colour washed over him.

Finally got to the pride bit! The story kind of winds down a little bit from here, it's mainly them getting to know one another a little better, chilling out, and Malik sorting things out with Isis. Hope you enjoyed! Please vote and review, and I'll see you next week from Galway.