A/N: So this is the fifth round of the Fanfiction Contest with Sedateshipping (Marik Ishtar/Serenity Wheeler), as well as the third fic that is in continuity with the giant fic that I'm planning (the first round was before the events, this takes place during it, and the previous round took place after the fic).

I'm trying something new by cutting back on the excess dialogue, and trying to write so that you can learn about the character based on how they think/narrate. I think it'll be an important skill later, so please let me know how it turns out. Oh, and enjoy!

Marik was sitting in the hotel lobby, bored and with nothing to do. This had become pretty typical of his last few days, as he slowly grew bored of the new environment. Odion was exploring the city with Ishizu, who had been asking him multiple times to come and see the sights, but he never wanted to go.

Even though once they left, he always wanted to go immediately after, just to hang out and do something different for a change.

Ishizu said they were out to some art museum, and Marik wasn't surprised at that, considering her recent interest had been in art collecting and the like. He liked that she had other things to do that weren't her job at the museum, and same with Odion.

Both of them – no, all three of them, had been holed up in themselves for the past few weeks of sorting out their latest 'problem', looking up documents after getting sidetracked from their tomb cleaning, by that problem. Which wasn't even a problem, Marik guessed. He wasn't sure, but he guessed that Yugi could handle whatever it was without his interference (though the idea that he had been one of Yugi's 'problems' in the past was not lost on him).

Though they didn't seem as worried about it as he'd thought. He'd seen them go off to do something fun about an hour ago, something about 'skating' that he didn't catch. It sounded interesting enough, but Marik didn't know how to ask if he could join them or if it'd be too awkward to insert himself into their gang.

Of course, the alternative was spending the rest of his 'vacation' sitting in the hotel lobby, watching people go by. Which had been going on a lot since his duel, but he really didn't know what else to do with his life. And once he got back 'home', he'd continue categorizing ancient Tombkeeper records and setting up identities for what the Egyptian government was calling 'two hundred displaced persons'.

Marik hated every second of it.

He'd told himself that after Battle City, he would rebuild his life with his sister and brother, which he did, but that he'd also move on from his experiences. And once Yugi had sent the Pharaoh away, he's promised his brother and sister that they could be free from the Tombkeeper's destiny forever.

But it hadn't exactly turned out as well as he'd envisioned it. There were others that depended on him, and they came with various levels of gratitude towards him and Odion and Ishizu. They needed last names, identifications, jobs, and houses – which he'd only been able to get through selling some of their artifacts to the museums across Egypt. There were five thousand years of files to sort through, documents that only he, Ishizu, and a few others could read. Him and Odion were still working out their own papers, and he was still under close scrutiny by the government for a long list of legal problems.

Even after all that, Ishizu still found time to go out to socialize with co-workers or take out the female Tombkeepers and show them around Luxor; and Odion was spending time with one of them that he'd seemed to be getting close to.

How did they do it, Marik wondered.

He was an expert in extortion, deception, and getting what he wanted from people through manipulating (especially with the Rod to help him out), but he didn't know anything about small talk or whatever it was they talked about, or how to carry on a conversation that wasn't related to the Pharaoh's legacy.

The last person he'd talked to as an equal, besides his siblings, had been… Bakura. Was that ever a disturbing thought. And it wasn't even Bakura, but the evil spirit that had been the cause of everyone's problems.

Marik had seen Bakura – the 'real' one, that he couldn't make himself refer to as 'Ryou' after the disasters that had happened when Bakura came down to Egypt to visit his father – leave with the group, that had grown even larger since the tournament started. It was odd to him, to see Bakura having moved on with his life, being able to seek out friends and relationships, especially after what Marik had heard about him from his father.

If Bakura could go out and take care of himself after the events of two years ago and before that, after everything that'd happened to him, couldn't he also? Could he go and tell a professional about his problems like Odion and Ishizu did occasionally?

Moving on was tough, and there was a part of Marik that didn't want to try and forget his past, because just look at what happened last time he attempted that.

But say he saw a therapist and finished everything to do with the Pharaoh's legacy and even took some classes or got another job besides helping the Tombkeepers. Then what would he do? Keep in touch with Yugi and Joey and Bakura? Find new friends? Find a girlfriend? He had no idea how to live a 'normal' life or to live like every other adult on this planet.

Marik was, for the first time in his life, directionless. He was completely lost.

Serenity didn't like that she had to spend her winter vacation studying for her entrance exams, but she still got to go to New York City for almost three weeks. Which was fantastic, but she was getting bored after being there for six or seven days now.

She'd seen all the tourist spots, bought all her friends and her brother their Christmas gifts for two days from now, and had even gone on a "date" to catch up with Duke after he'd moved back and forth now for a few years. That had been really fun, as he was happy to brag about finally opening his Dungeon Dice Monsters shop in California, and he knew a great fusion restaurant.

She could've gone ice skating, which was something she hadn't done in a long time, but there was her pile of study guides and textbooks that she hadn't touched since she'd arrived last week.

Oh well, she thought. It's too cold outside for me, I suppose. Why can't any of the dueling tournaments ever be in Hawaii, anyway?

But Christmas was coming up, so she couldn't be sad. She'd call her mom tomorrow on Christmas Eve Day and wish her a Merry Christmas, and then encourage her like she did every year to try and start dating again – Christmas was a holiday for family, but it was also a beautiful and romantic time of the year.

Maybe, for old time's sake, she and Tristan would go get some pizza or something tomorrow night. Oh but wait, he had a girlfriend now, that might be awkward. Maybe I should get back to dating. Or maybe not, now that her Big Brother was there to watch over her. She appreciated his protectiveness and loved him dearly, but not all the time, really.

Darn, these study guides are heavy. At least the hotel had an elevator. And a beautiful lobby, which was a nice change from studying in the room she shared with Tea (another plus, that the hotel had switched Joey and Tea so she didn't have to sleep with her big brother).

Oh, it was snowing today! Serenity hadn't even thought to look out her window this morning. What a nice surprise, maybe she'd go out later today after all. Maybe it would keep snowing all the way to Christmas day.

She stepped out of the elevator, smelling the scent of coffee that seemed to be a part of the lobby at all times. Already running math equations through her head, she had forgotten about the weight of the books; her right arm buckled, and the books collapsed out of her hands and onto her foot.

"Ow! Ow ow ow ow ow!"

That hurt! She rubbed her foot for a moment and bent down to pick up her books and papers. Oh great… now they'd fallen and spilled everywhere. This was not a good way to start off her studying!

Serenity groaned aloud as her foot ached through her sneakers, but stopped as she heard someone approaching her.

"Are you okay?"

Looking up, she saw Marik. Her first thought was to tell him to leave her alone, but that would be rude. "I'm fine," she said, dropping her gaze and not wanting to make eye contact with him. "I just dropped my textbooks."

She walked past him, still looking at her shoes. It wouldn't be too bad if he was here, probably, as long as he didn't do anything crazy or weird.

"What are you studying?"

Well never mind then.

"Uh… " Serenity didn't really know how to answer that. She didn't really know if she wanted to answer him at all.

It wasn't that she didn't trust him. No, wait, that was it. She wasn't sure why he was here other than what Yugi and Joey had said about some new problem they had to take care of during the contest.

This whole thing was just super-awkward. What the heck was she supposed to do, just sit there and try to ignore him, or strike up a conversation? Oh well, he didn't have the Millennium Rod anymore, so he wasn't really a threat… right?

"I'm studying for my entrance exams," she answered, and looked up at him for the first time to see him raising his eyebrows in confusion. This was so awkward; now that she had started, she had to continue a conversation.

Serenity had the feeling she was just looking for an excuse to avoid her studies, though there must've been an easier way to do that.

"It's a bunch of tests I have to take for entering college."

He nodded silently and sat back down. But damn it, Serenity thought, he was definitely attractive, which made the whole thing even more uncomfortable. He had blonde hair, a really slim figure, and those bright purple eyes, and… well, he was definitely not someone she'd abandon on a blind date.

But the events of two or so years ago had seriously put her off ever talking to him again. Taking control of her brother's mind and then trying to drown him, then seriously hurting him and Mai again on the blimp, were only his worst achievements.

"What are you studying?"

Huh?

"What are you going to college for?"

Her gaze jolted up at him once again in worry. Was he planning something? Why would he want to know anything about her? Then again, what was he doing here, anyway? Maybe he really was just bored or looking for a distraction.

"I don't know yet." It wasn't a completely inaccurate answer; she wanted to study law, but she wasn't positive yet and was only going to undergraduate school.

"Oh."

There was an awkward silence as he looked away from her this time, staring out at the door as if he was expecting someone to come through and defuse the scene – something she could seriously use right now.

"How do you find out what you want to study?"

Well… that was an interesting question. It sounded more like he was trying to start a conversation. Maybe she should oblige him after all. Maybe he was just lonely or curious for a change instead of crazy.

"I suppose you could do something you're interested in. Or if you wanted to, you could just pick a job that'd make a lot of money. Or if you want to help others, then you could study something that helps you do that, too…" she trailed off.

Marik looked at her as if he really was interested in what she wanted to say. What was he doing now after Joey and her friends went to Egypt to say good-bye to the other Yugi? She hadn't even heard from Ishizu during those two years, and she had missed the meeting about this 'problem' earlier this week to call her mom and check in.

"Do you, um, go to college? Or want to?" Oh gosh, that was an awkward question to ask, what if he didn't have a job or couldn't afford to go to college? Serenity looked right at him, his face impassive and impossible to read.

After a while, he shrugged and sunk into the seat. Wanting this conversation to be over more than she wanted to avoid studying, she slowly picked up her textbook, turning to the chapter on Japanese poetry.

The two of them sat for a while in silence, her taking notes and him staring around the room (and occasionally back at her). It was still awkward and she still didn't trust him, but just a tiny bit less awkward than before and he didn't seem to be up to anything now anyways.

"Can I… do you mind if I take a look at that?" Marik asked her, and she looked up startled again. She opened her mouth to refuse, but then for the first time memories of Ishizu recalling his history came back to her. Marik had probably never been to school or gotten a basic education before. A pang of sympathy washed over her, and her eyes softened.

"I guess so."

Serenity gestured to her English textbook, figuring he was familiar enough with that at least. Besides, she really didn't need to study English, being more familiar with it than Japanese and something she'd heard nonstop all week.

She got back to work; peering over her notes and watching him flip through the book with an impassive look still on his face. It didn't fit him, for some reason, she realized – seeing him, as an average student, was difficult. What would he look like in her school's male uniform, or Joey's school uniform? It was slightly scary, actually; she just couldn't picture it.

But then, that was sort of sad, too, that she couldn't possibly envision him as a normal male going to school and then getting a job and settling down eventually. The more she sat here, the more she felt bad for him.

"What does this word mean here?" he asked, flipping the textbook to show her.

Serenity tried to see what he was gesturing to, but the only way to see it was to walk up and go to him. After some deliberation, she decided it was safe enough to physically approach him after all.

"Let me see it, I can help you if you want."

A/N: Well, that was fun!

The fic was originally supposed to have more Marik POV, but I really like writing for Serenity and I might not get the chance to do that much in the future.

Plus, I wanted to stop myself before Marik got too emo or anything – not to mention at one point, it threatened to delve straight into Angstshipping.

Also, just a side note, this fic takes place on Marik's 20th birthday. Poor guy. =(

Please review and tell me what you think!