I feel so horrible.
Granted, previous oneshots were forays into romance and other fandoms, but still. You guys voted for the Ishtar humor shot ages ago, and my bunnies rebelled until they finally came up with this. It's short and I may tweak the ending a little bit later, but ah well—at least it's something.
Post-series, set after "Oreos", no pairings, and the review button is down at the bottom. Appreciation is directed at everyone who clicks on it.
Marik stared in disbelief at the car. "How does anyone fail this badly at parking?" he asked, flabbergasted.
Rishid shrugged helplessly, at a loss as to what he should do. "I do not know, brother," he said at length, frowning as he studied the situation. "But I do know we are going to have trouble getting out of our own parking place."
The two brothers had gone to get Ishizu from the museum since her car was in the shop for a routine inspection. They had parked the car and stepped out to get their sister; Marik's phone had disappeared (despite all his claims that he had not lost it and he had set it on that table by the living room) and Rishid's was out of battery. Once they had let their sister know they were outside, the brothers had returned to the parking lot to turn the car heater on in advance; it was still chilly outside and all three Egyptians limited the amount of time spent in the cold.
And then they came back and found this interesting situation.
The car in question had angled itself into the parking space in the most haphazard fashion that either of the Ishtars had seen (and that was saying something since both brothers had been all over the world during their time as Rare Hunters); the rear end of the car was not even in its spot but instead was dangerously close to the bumper of Rishid's own vehicle. Any attempt to get out of their spot would most likely end in them scraping the paint of the other car, if not denting the other vehicle's bumper.
Marik growled in frustration as he stared at it. "Did this idiot even try to pass driving school?" he asked irritably, lavender eyes flashing as he spoke. "No one passes someone who parks this badly unless they called in a favor or bribed them."
"Marik, be kind. Perhaps the owner of this car was in a hurry to get to their job, or they were running late for an appointment. There is a logical explanation behind this, I'm sure."
"Yeah, there's a logical explanation, all right. It's called being a moron," muttered the blonde Egyptian, frowning as he studied the parking space. "Rishid, do you think you can even get out of there?"
The taller man examined the situation intently before he stated slowly, "Possibly. You should sit in the car while I try to see how to pull out without damaging the other vehicle."
Marik opened his mouth to protest when a wicked gleam entered his eyes and he said innocently, "All right, Rishid."
Rishid frowned at the odd tone his brother had taken and at the younger's suddenly complacent behavior, but decided that his attention was better spent looking at the parking spot and figuring out how exactly he planned on getting out of there without hitting anything.
"Oh dear," came Ishizu's voice, and Rishid looked over in time to see his sister make her way toward them, dressed in a white long-sleeved button up and a dark knee length pencil skirt. "Someone clearly was in a hurry," she continued with a raised eyebrow, her eyes going to the haphazardly parked car that currently was giving them a lot of grief.
"Yes, they were," said Rishid with a sigh. "Do you mind standing back here and directing me so I can pull out?"
"Of course not," Ishizu said, backing away to the other side of the spot. Rishid moved past the other car carefully, opening his door slowly to slip inside (a not-so-easy feat, considering his height). As he put the keys in the ignition he noticed with a frown that Marik was in the back seat and writing something in a spiral notebook, but he shook his head and directed his attention to his sister. He had a feeling he would find out later about what Marik was doing later.
It was not easy, but after nearly fifteen minutes of careful manipulation the Ishtar's vehicle was freed from the prison it had been trapped in, and as an added bonus there had been no damage inflicted on the other car. "Nicely done, akhi," said Ishizu warmly as she slipped into the passenger seat.
Marik opened the rear car door and slid off the leather seat, pausing to make certain he had his older sibling's attention. "Hold on. I have to do something real quick," he said, not waiting for a reply before he moved around their car and made a beeline to the neighboring parking spot.
Ishizu frowned when she noticed that her youngest brother was placing a piece of notebook paper under the windshield wiper of the car that had given them so much trouble. "What is he up to?" she asked, wondering if she should stop him.
Before either of his older siblings could call out to him, however, Marik finished whatever he had been doing and was bounding over to them once again, opening the door to the backseat and sliding inside effortlessly. A mischievous grin lit up his features and remained on his face even as he buckled himself into the seat. "All right! Let's head home!" he announced cheerfully.
"Marik, what did you do?" asked Rishid curiously as they pulled out of the parking lot and began navigating through traffic.
The blonde teenager waved a hand dismissively. "I just left him a note that asked him to rethink his parking skills. It was nothing harmful," he continued, noticing the stern look that both Rishid and Ishizu were giving him. "In fact, I think I was actually nicer to him than I should have been."
Ishizu sighed, rubbing her temples. She had come to learn that, with Marik, the sentence could mean almost anything. She had best brace for the worst case scenario.
The following evening, Ishizu stepped into the front door of their home and went directly to the family room, knowing that Marik was in there watching television. When she got there she moved in front of her brother and brandished a piece of notebook paper. "'Optimus Prime does not approve of your parking job. Autobot, roll out and share some space with the rest of us'?" she quoted with a arched eyebrow. "You watched that Transformers movie again, haven't you?"
Marik idly shrugged, popping another Oreo into his mouth. "Well, he doesn't," he commented flatly, repositioning himself so that he could get a better view of his sister.
"Marik, you left your note on one of my supervisor's car windows," she said then, a hint of severity in her tone. The annoyance, however, did not extend into her sapphire eyes (which, at the moment, held an amused light in them). "He was most displeased when he saw it last night, and I was fortunate that he did not figure out who placed the note there and that he did not call in the police on the matter."
"Was it that one that's been giving you grief lately and keeps making you work overtime? If it was, I regret nothing."
"It does not matter if it was or not," said Ishizu, though the look of reluctant concurrence on her face confirmed the answer to Marik's inquiry. "We have to extend courtesy to everyone, regardless of how they themselves may act."
The older woman passed the sofa after that and was heading for the kitchen when she turned around to look at her younger brother. "I will admit, however, that my supervisor's reaction was quite humorous to watch and he was also fined for parking incorrectly last night," she said as an afterthought, disappearing into the kitchen to help Rishid make dinner.
Marik heard the unspoken laughter in that sentence and smiled to himself. "Any time, Ishizu," he said aloud to the empty room, returning his attention to the movie he was watching. He knew he was not really in trouble with his older sister; her reaction had been far too tame and her reprimand had been spoken more out of exasperated amusement than anything else.
Besides, Marik knew perfectly well that if his sister was angry at him then he would not be sitting in his seat at the moment. He would likely be running and taking shelter behind Rishid—if he made it that far.