Ishizu's fingers itched for the rolling pin on the counter next to her. She could pinpoint exactly where she'd hit him too, right between those two obnoxious spikes of hair. "Absolutely not," she snapped. "You are not cooking that in this house."
Bakura scoffed, refusing to turn around. "Marik gave me permission," he said, grabbing the jar of pepper and sprinkling it artfully on the large slab of raw steak. "And I'm pretty sure his word overrides yours."
"You're a guest in our home! You, out of all of us, have no right-"
"Do you want to take it up with him?" Bakura interrupted. "I'm not sure he'd appreciate that his word is being questioned."
Ishizu folded her arms. "He's my brother, not some overbearing ruler. We don't give him-"
"Ishizuuu," Marik's voice trilled from the other room. "We're out of pomegranate juice! Could you get some more?"
"-Special treatment," Ishizu finished lamely. Bakura chuckled, slamming a fist into the steak. She shot him a glare. "You're still not cooking that abomination in our house."
"Uh-huh. Sure."
"Well what are we supposed to do if you're stinking up the entire kitchen?"
"Not my problem," Bakura retorted. "Suck it up, or go talk to your brother."
"Ishizu? Is there any more-"
Ishizu groaned in frustration, storming out of the room. "Marik, control your friend," she seethed, standing in front of his chair. "Now."
Marik raised an eyebrow. "What you're asking is impossible," he said from behind his book. "You act like I have any say over what he does."
Ishizu grimaced. She could feel a headache coming on. "Just try. Please?"
The blond sighed and tossed his book away, heading out to the kitchen. "Fine." He paused in the doorway, glancing back at her. "Just...can you...go somewhere? Like go see what Odion's up to?"
"What, why-"
Marik shook his head."Or go get some more juice, or-or something. I'll get him out of the kitchen, I promise. Just...don't listen in. Please"
Ishizu raised an eyebrow but said nothing, turning on her heel and heading out the door.
As soon as she was out of earshot he swept into the room, leaning against the counter as Bakura worked. "You're an ass, you know that."
"Of course." He tested the freshly tenderized steak before rummaging around, searching for a pan. "You expected anything less?"
"No." Marik said, scooting closer. "And I don't expect that to change. Just tone it down a bit."
"Sure. I'll get right on that."
"At least pretend that you can be nice? You're going to have to if you want to keep occupying the same house as me."
"Why should I?"
Marik closed the space between them, smirking . "Because I'll make it worth your while," He whispered in his ear, bringing a wicked smirk to the white-haired youth's face. He leaned down, mouth agape as he kissed him fiercely. Bakura leaned into him, their hips bumping jarringly together as their tongues caressed each other. Marik whirled him around, slamming him roughly into the counter and caging him in between his arms.
"By the time I'm through with you," he whispered, his eyes dancing with lust. "You won't be walking for days."
Bakura's eyes darted across his face, a smirk spreading across his lips. "I love it when you talk like that," he hissed, his hands slipping into Marik's back pockets. "Keep going..."
Marik chuckled. "Gladly," he murmured, arms snaking around his waist. "I'm going to fuck you so hard-" His fingers stopped toying with his waistband, alarm bells going off in his head. Bakura was barely holding back laughter, his eyes watching over Marik's shoulder, pinpointed in the doorway. Brown eyes stared down shocked blues, a dark chuckle slipping from his lips.
The jug slipped out of Ishizu's hands, the juice spilling across the floor. "MARIK. ISHTAR. WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" She shrieked, grabbing him by the collar and hoisting him backwards.
"Get off of me! Ishizu-!" Marik twisted in her grip, scowling in embarrassment. "I told you to stay out of here until-"
"Until what? Until you-" she glanced from Marik to Bakura, then back to her brother. "How long have you been hiding this from me?"
"That's not important!" Marik said, glaring at the spirit who was smirking against the counter. "Could I get a little help here?"
Bakura shook his head. "You're the one who brought me here. If we'd just gone back to Domino like I had suggested-"
"You were going to leave with him?"
Marik growled, tearing at his hair. "Bakura, OUT. NOW."
Bakura didn't budge. Instead he grabbed one of the closest knife from the block, twirling the tip around his finger. "You know you're not getting out of what you promised," He said, grinning lecherously at his partner. His eyes turned to Ishizu's, with a look that made her skin crawl. "So you'd do best to put him down."
"BEDROOM." Marik barked, tearing out of Ishizu's grip."NOW." Bakura tossed the knife into the sink, slipping out of the room with another murderous-sounding chuckle. Ishizu shivered, watching as he stomped down the hall and slammed Marik's door. Then she turned to the younger man.
"Why?"
Marik refused to meet her eyes. He had backed away from her in Bakura's retreat, leaning on the small refrigerator and refusing to look at her.
"Why didn't you tell me?" She insisted, a little more forcefully. She reached out to put a hand on his shoulder but he pulled away, shaking his head.
"I have to go," Marik said, his voice low. "If you don't want to hear what happens, you might want to go elsewhere for a bit. Odion too, if you can find him." He brushed past her, stumbling down the hall.
"Marik, I-" He slammed the door before Ishizu could stop him. She sighed, traipsing towards her room. The last five minutes swam in her mind; This man that Marik had brought home...was now more than just his friend? So many questions...Since when? What had they done together, and how many people knew?
He could be arrested for this, she realized, her heart pounding. He could be thrown in jail...and if the police found out about father's death, and everything else from Battle City on top of it...She ran to his door, reaching out to open it. I have to stop them- But as she grabbed the handle, Bakura's voice made her pause, listening.
They're your family," Bakura said gruffly. "At least you have them."
"But-" Ishizu winced to hear the hitch in Marik's voice as he spoke. "They already hate you. You give them every damn reason to. They're going to throw you out at this rate, and I don't want-"
Bakura cut him off, presumably with a kiss. "As if I'm that easy to get rid of," he said quietly. Ishizu peeked through the crack under the door to see Bakura's hand on Marik's face, which reflected a small, sad smile, and a look she had never seen in his eyes before He's...in love? she wondered. As Marik flung his arms around the youth, burying his face in his shoulder, she backed away, tiptoeing out of the house.
I've never seen him as happy as he looked with Bakura. Not since the initiation, at least. She wandered out to the small corral where Odion was feeding their horses. Perhaps that's what he needs. As long as they're careful...
She reached the fence and then called over to her older brother. "Did you know about them? Marik and Bakura?"
Odion shrugged, patting the nearest horse on the head before hopping over to the fence. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "When Marik tells me a secret, I must keep it."
"Naturally." Ishizu motioned him along, heading towards the car. "We should give them some privacy, I think," she said, glancing back at the house. "And if Bakura's cooking, we should probably pick up some takeout."
As the car door slammed, Marik pulled away, his hands resting on Bakura's chest. "They're-"
"-leaving," Bakura finished, a look of 'I-told-you-so' spreading across his face. "And now that we're alone, we have some unfinished business to attend to, don't we?"
Marik cut him off with a kiss, his hands already tugging at his belt.
"Yes, I believe we do."