AN: And here's chapter 1! Enjoy!
CHAPTER I
Haunting Me
Jesara awoke with a scream that echoed through her flat. A few drops of sweat ran down her temples. Her breath was heavy and uncontrolled while her heart beat a million miles a minute. She sat upright in her bed surrounded by the silent darkness of the night; only the dim city lights illuminated her bedroom and she tried her best to fight against her panic attack. Her palm met her chest to calm herself down.
She swallowed hard and her mouth felt as dry as the gobi desert. When she finally managed to calm down completely Jesara laid her head in her palms, fighting against tears. 'Thank Ra… It was just a nightmare…' She thought to herself and wiped away the sweat from her forehead. 'If you would only stop to haunt me in my dreams…'
In this moment she regretted it bitterly that she asked Marik to take things slow and that it would be better if he'd stay in a hotel - at least for a few days or a week. Now she wished he would be right there beside her to soothe her nerves. Five days had gone by since their return from Battle City, but everything that happened still tied up her mind. Jesara glimpsed over her shoulder and to the little retro alarm clock on her nightstand. It was almost 5 am in the morning and the sun would be going to rise soon.
It was Saturday and Marik and her decided to invite Yugi and the gang for dinner in the evening. They wanted to prepare a traditional Egyptian menu for them - especially Marik hoped to make the first step to a better relationship with them and to apologise for all the shit he had put them through. It would be wise to get a bit more sleep, but after that horrifying dream Jesara was far from falling asleep again. So she got up from her bed with a moan and shut the bathroom door behind her.
After a hot, soothing shower she wrapped a big towel around her naked, still wet body and also one around her head like a turban to soak off the water from her fresh washed hair. The pleasant smell of freshly brewed coffee filled her kitchen while she rested her elbows on her kitchen island and checked her phone for new messages.
A smile formed n her lips when she looked at the picture of her home screen; it showed her and Marik when they got back to Domino harbour a few days ago. For her it was still surreal that after such a long time of separation and all the shit that happened during the tournament they were finally back together. It felt a bit weird, but yet so right. By now it was almost 6 am and the rising sun started to bath the city into a wonderful golden light, that enhanced by every minute that went by.
"Are you awake?" Jesara typed the text message into her phone and hesitated for a second, thinking about adding that heart emoji to the text before sending. She nibbled on her bottom lip, but then she decided to just do it. Hastily she added the emoji, pressed the "send" button and locked her phone to put it away. Her cheeks blushed a bit as she tried to hold back a sweet grin. Somehow it felt a bit weird to send a heart emoji to the former leader of a world wide criminal organisation, who tried to rule the world. But those times were over now; it was time to live a normal life as good as possible.
She poured the freshly brewed coffee into her favourite mug and added a bit of whole milk to it. Hopefully she won't regret it getting up so early later, but thanks to that freaking nightmare getting back to sleep was out of question. A sigh left her throat when she thought back to it. Everything felt so real in it; his touch, his breath on her neck, his disgusting smirk and attitude. It was just like he was really there. Jesara shook her head to get it off her mind again. 'It was nothing more than a nightmare. He's gone forever - hopefully.'
A buzzing sound caught her attention; it was her phone that vibrated to signalise an incoming text message.
"Almost. Why up so early?" Jesara grinned when she saw that Marik had also texted her a heart emoji in return. She thought a while if she should tell him about the dream she had, but decided against it. Explaining everything in a text message could be nerve wrecking; she will tell him later about it in person.
"Only the early bird catches the worm." To that she added the chicken emoji and pressed on the send-button.
Only a minute later her phone buzzed again. "I'm at your place at 2 pm." This time a blinking smilie added emotion to the new text message. Jesara texted back a thumbs-up emoji and another heart, then sat down on her usual spot on her balcony to celebrate her everyday-ritual.
xx
Jesara had changed into another version of her signature outfit; black skinny pants and a black tank top. She would change into something more elegant before Yugi and the gang arrive for dinner. The gentle voice of Michael Bublé sung from the sound system in her flat while she diligently set the table with plates, glasses, candles and other decoration stuff. From time to time throughout the day her nightmare crossed her mind and kept her deep in thought.
The sound of her door bell startled her from her thoughts. But a smile came to her lips when she realised who came to see her. It was about 2 pm.
"Mrs. Ishtar." Marik said with his typical elegant smirk as Jesara opened the door for him.
She rolled her eyes gently at his greeting and gestured him to come in. "Don't call me that all the time." Jesara said with a wink and a smile. But before he walked in he closed every distance between him and her to place a soft kiss on her lips.
"Maybe." Marik chuckled. "How was your day so far?" He asked ignoring her former beg.
"Just did the house work and prepared everything for the evening. We're ready to cook." Jesara said and formed a smile.
"Only cook?" He asked using air quotes for emphasis. With those words spoken Jesara gave him a light punch on his shoulder along with a wry grimace.
xx
While they prepared various Egyptian dishes - salty such as sweet - time went by ridiculously fast. Also Jesara's kitchen looked like a battleground thanks to the outstanding cooking skills of a former criminal mastermind who had tons of servants and probably never touched cooking spoon.
"We could also go to a high class restaurant, Jesara, you know that?" Marik growled while he struggled with the falafels. "This doesn't even look edible."
"What a sight for the gods. Mr. Ex-Leader of the Rare Hunters, who stole thousands of rare cards and earned millions with that, struggles with a tiny ball of falafel. Never call me clumsy again…" Jesara chuckled as she watched Marik's cooking mess from the corner of her eyes.
"Cooking never was something I was meant to do." He glared at her with an arched brow, apparently not amused about that new experience.
"Obviously." She held back a laughter as the falafel ball turned out more cubic than round. "Have you heard anything from Ishizu and Odion?" Jesara decided to change the topic before his ego got too damaged from the cooking disaster.
"They're almost back in Egypt. Ishizu told me that she will call us as soon as they are back in the tomb." He answered while washing his hands clean. "I hope everything is good there. But the servants of the Ishtar clan took care of it for sure…" Marik sighed and locked eyes with Jesara on the other side of the bright white kitchen island. "While I was away…" He added dryly, his words full of guilt.
"While we were away." Jesara corrected him with a wry smile. "Don't think too much about what happened. Everything will be fine since you decided to make good your mistakes. And today we are making the first step, okay?"
Marik crossed his arms in front of his chest, his expression insecure of what she said. "Do you really think they can forgive me someday? I think it won't be done with a self cooked dinner and a flower bouquet."
She could tell from his gaze and emphasis that he felt extremely guilty for everything, also insecure about how to act around the gang as soon as they arrive in about two hours time. It was something she hasn't seen in his eyes for a long time. Jesara made a few steps around the kitchen island and drew closer to him, gently brushing one of his sandy blonde hair strands out of his tanned face. "Give them a bit of time." She said under her breath to comfort him while her slight fingers stroked along his jawline.
"What if they hate me?" He sighed and rested his hands on her lower hips.
"They don't hate you." A reassuring smile played on her lips. Another sigh left Marik's throat before he returned the smile and pulled her closer to his chest.
"But they will after those awfully looking falafels…" With that he placed a soft kiss on her forehead and then another one on her lips, which ended up in a long untamed one. In that moment the nightmare of last night felt far away and distant; but little did she know things would get worse.
xx
After the food was finished and the kitchen cleaned again Jesara changed into a little, knee-length black dress with an elegant belt around her waist. Everything was ready, ambience lightning was on point and also a few candles flickered beautifully on various shelves and sideboards.
"Jesara?" Marik asked curiously, looking over the various dishes and well decorated plates on the kitchen island. "Are you sure there's enough food for Joey AND Tristan?"
She grabbed a bottle of Egyptian wine from the fridge and chuckled at his question. "That's enough food for a whole football team."
"That's why I ask." He arched an eyebrow at her.
The doorbell rang and Jesara immediately rushed into the foyer to open the door for the guests.
"Jess! Good to see you!" Tea cheered and hugged the egyptian girl like they didn't see each other for years.
"Hi there! Thanks for the invitation! I'm starving!" Joey greeted and stepped in after Yugi. Tristan followed him on heel and handed other a little present basked, stuffed with various Japanese delicacies.
"Oh thank you!" She smiled and mentioned for everyone to walk directly into the kitchen and dining room. "I'm happy that you're all here. What a pity that Duke had to leave the town for some business meetings."
"Hi there." Marik muttered, again back in the insecure mode. "I'm happy to see you." He offered Yugi his hand for a shake.
"Marik! Good to see you too!" Little Yugi answered with his typical innocent smile and accepted the hand shake. "Hope you're good?"
"Yes. Thanks to you, Yugi." Marik said with a wry smile on his gaze. "I won't ever be able to thank you enough for everything."
"Dude, no big deal!" Joey said and greeted Marik with a fist-bump.
After everyone was finished with greeting each other Jesara offered everyone a glass of lotus iced tea and invited them to sit down. The table was filled with a ridiculous amount of various egyptian salads and appetisers, which Joey and Tristan loaded their plates with. The evening started with a lot of chitchat with school topics and of course a lot of duel monsters stuff. Jesara was glad that she texted them before that it would be great if they would cut on the Battle City talks.
Tea watched Joey and Tristan with widened eyes when they gobbled the main dish like they haven't eaten since they got back from the duelling island. Jesara held back a grin when she watched them across the table too and leant a bit closer to Marik beside her. "That's another reason why I didn't want you to bring them to one of those fancy restaurants. You'd be broke now." She whispered low enough so only he could hear her. He answered with an amused smile and a nod.
"Well then, you little lovebirds!" Tea spoke up in her typical happy tone. "When, where and the most important question: When will the both of us go shopping for your bridal dress?"
'Oh Ra, that was inevitable…" Jesara sighed mentally. Tristan and Joey almost choked their food at Tea's random question. An embarrassed grimace formed on Yugi's gaze while Marik watched Jesara from the corner of his lavender eyes.
"Ahm…" Jesara cleared her throat; her cheeks burned from the blush on it. "We didn't even talked about that, Tea… Besides that I'm still seventeen, at least we have to wait until my birthday. Marriage under the age of eighteen isn't allowed in Japan. But you'll be the first to know." With that she hoped that this particular topic would be closed for now.
"Not in Egypt." Marik cut in and rested his head in his palm as he shot Jesara an amused grin. She knew that he did that on purpose to tease her. Did he really have to banter with her about that topic now? Her amber-olive eyes narrowed dangerously at him.
"By the way!" Yugi spoke up after he swallowed a bite of the main dish. "When do we all go to Egypt to discover the secret of Yami's past?"
Jesara exhaled thankfully that Yugi helped her to move out of that wedding-mess and gave him an unmistakable smile.
"Whenever you all are ready." Marik answered the teen and shrugged his shoulders. "But I think you still have a few weeks of school left until the finals?"
Yugi nodded. "I think so. Three weeks to be exactly."
"Are you excited, Yugi?" Tea asked curiously and helped herself to another portion of salad. "I'm so excited about what we will find out about the spirit of the puzzle and his past."
"Yes. But I'm also anxious about how everything will change." The teen said weary. "Marik, do you know what we have to expect once we're in Egypt?"
"Not exactly. My family guarded his tomb for thousands of years, such as his memories, secrets and the key to his name. But I'm afraid that I can't tell you everything you want to know. It was my purpose to guard the key to his destiny and hand it over to him as soon as he returns to the modern world. But I don't know more." Marik answered.
"How are the girls in Egypt?" Joey cut in, observing Marik with hopeful eyes while he chewed on his food. Jesara and Tea face-palmed in unison at his question.
"That's a very good question!" Tristan added, also munching away his meal.
"Joey! Tristan!" Tea urged and waggled with her spoon up in the air for emphasis.
After a second of weird silence they started to laugh in unison. For the first time Marik felt like he was on eye level with others, not the mighty criminal mastermind who was used to give commands at his servants. He never expected it to feel so comfortable - so normal.
The dinner went on and the gang talked and laughed until the late evening hours. Marik apologised once more for everything that he'd done to them during Battle City, but Yugi and the gang reassured them that he didn't have to. When the clock finally hit the midnight hour they decided to leave and head home.
"Thanks again for the dinner. It was delicious!" Yugi gave Jesara and Marik another innocent smile while he out his shoes on in the foyer. "See you at school on monday, Jess."
"Yeah, thanks guys." Joey said, rubbing his belly in unison with Tristan. "Can someone roll me home?"
Jesara giggled at the blonde. "I'm glad you enjoyed the meal, Joey. Although I don't know how you're even able to walk after those ridiculous amounts of food you stuffed into that belly."
"Joey is a walking miracle when it comes to eating." Tea grinned and patted Joey's shoulders. "It would be wise when the both of you don't plan on having a buffet at your wedding."
"Tea…" Jesara urged and raised her left eyebrow. "We're not even living in the same house hold yet."
"That's a thing we could change right here and now." Marik cut in and placed his left arm around her shoulders.
"Awwwww." Tea sang and slipped into her plateau sandals.
"Alright guys, we're heading home. Thanks again! I need to get going, grandfather tried to call me, but I somehow overheard it. See you!" Yugi waved goodbye and left, Joey and Tristan followed him on heel after farewelling Jesara and Marik. Tea hugged her only female friend, wishing them a goodnight before she left too. And then everything fell silent, just the ambience music played in the background.
"What a nice evening." Marik said randomly and pulled Jesara closer to his chest in her foyer.
"Mhm." Jesara murmured, a bit tired from the busy day and lots of preparations. Suddenly the nightmare crossed her mind again when she thought of the possibility to sleep alone again. What if those nightmares haunt her again this night? "Marik?" She asked and looked up into his lavender gaze.
"Mh?" His nose tip stroked gently over hers.
"Could you stay for the night?" She asked with a voice as low as a whisper. "I don't want to be alone."
Marik's eyebrows shot up immediately at her inquiry, but then a smile grew on his lips. "Sure I will. Why do you ask?"
"I need to talk with you about something." Jesara answered and nibbled on her bottom lip, not sure about how to tell him about that awful nightmare she had. "But let's clean up the mess, get a glass of wine and I'll tell you… ok?"
His expression grew curious at her words. Whatever it was it might be serious; something filled her with unease. "Is everything alright, Jesara?"
"Hopefully." She answered and stood up on her tiptoes to kiss him.
AN: I hope you enjoyed this little kick off for the story. As you know from my first FF "One Million Reasons" I try to update frequently and as soon as possible. I will try to keep that up, but my work life is a living hell right now and I need to focus on that. So I'm sorry if updates will take a bit longer than before.
As everytime: Please review!