Finally! Another new in-story day! Yay!
It was still dark out when Marik woke up. He rolled over, feeling around for the warm body that should have been beside him, but quickly realized that he was alone in his girlfriend's bed. He reached over for his phone on the nightstand to check the time. It was still a good hour before he would normally have gotten up for school, causing him to internally groan at the fact that he had just started to get used to Domino time, and now his internal clock was all messed up because he had spent one night back in Egypt.
After several moments of pondering if he should just continue laying there for that hour, or if he should get up, Marik audibly groaned and chose to do the latter. His body was a bit stiff, but not sore. It was a pleasant change from the last time he had woken up without his girlfriend at his side. He found his thoughts wandering back to the night before, smirking proudly at himself for his consecutive 'performances' and the fact that his lover had appeared satisfied afterwards. He made his way to the shower in the conjoined bathroom, hoping the heat from it would loosen up the stiffness he felt.
After his brief shower, Marik got dressed in the school uniform that had been laid out for him, then proceeded to head downstairs to determine the whereabouts of his missing girlfriend. Kat wasn't too hard to find, as he could see from the bottom of the stairs that she appeared to have fallen asleep at some point while pouring over what appeared to be his school textbooks. Marik couldn't help but smile slightly and shake his head, as it was obvious to him that she was trying to help him get caught up on his assignments.
As he got closer, however, his smile turned downward, and his heart felt like it had sunk down into his stomach. Kat's head rested across a folded arm, but her other arm was outstretched towards none other than Atem. He was in a mirrored position with his hand reaching out for hers. The way their fingertips were positioned so closely to one another, it appeared they had been lightly holding hands as they fell asleep beside each other. Even their faces were turned towards one another.
Various scenarios quickly began playing through his head, each more bothersome than the last. He had fallen asleep after being too exhausted from several consecutive rounds of sex. Had Kat not been as satisfied as he thought? How long after he had fallen asleep had Atem appeared? How many hours did the two spend alone? Had they been sitting down here together this entire time…or had Atem attempted to take advantage of his former wife's current state? Was he even aware of it? Would Kat have given in to her body's desires? Did she still desire Atem in that way for that matter? She had mentioned that even though she was no longer in love with Atem, that she did still love him in general.
Marik took a deep, silent breath in, then released it as quietly as possible in an attempt to calm his racing thoughts. It wasn't quiet enough, however, as he saw sapphires flutter open as Kat slowly lifted her head up and stretched, taking in and releasing a deep breath of her own.
"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you," Marik said quietly. He did his best to bury his jealous thoughts, and silently prayed nothing would happen that might cause them to return to the surface.
"I had meant to come back to bed," Kat began, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "But Atem and I started talking about the stuff in your textbooks…and I guess we both fell asleep. Sorry if I worried you."
"Worried? What would I be worried about?" Marik questioned with false confidence, continuing to attempt hiding the jealousy that he had yet to fully bury.
Kat got to her feet, then walked the few steps between them and brought herself in close. She brought his face down to hers, placing a kiss on his lips. "Sorry if I made you worry that I was in the room next to the one you woke up alone in," she clarified as they pulled apart from the kiss.
Marik's eyes widened slightly, then he found himself looking away and feeling ashamed for letting those jealous thoughts enter his mind. "Was it that obvious?" he asked.
Kat smirked and giggled slightly. "You reek of it."
Marik quickly looked back towards his girlfriend. "What?"
Kat lightly tapped the tip of her nose.
Marik's head and shoulders fell dejectedly forward. "Oh, right…"
Kat turned and walked back to the table, gathering up the textbooks and notes that lay scattered across it. "The assignments themselves are done," she began as she placed the books and folders into Marik's school bag. "But I didn't get all the notes finished. I may have focused a bit too much on some of the historic inaccuracies and got sidetracked," she added with a light chuckle.
"That's fine," Marik said while looking down and away again. He was suddenly riddled with guilt for even thinking that something might have happened between Kat and Atem while he was asleep.
Kat approached again and offered Marik his bag, but he was too lost in his thoughts to notice. She lowered the arm that held out the bag, staring in that way she usually did.
"How about I give you a ride to school? It's a bit further away than what you're used to, and I don't want you to be late," she offered.
"Sure," Marik replied, still appearing distant.
Kat quickly put on her boots and grabbed a set of keys hanging next to the door that led to the garage, then opened the front door while still carrying Marik's bag with her.
Marik followed her out the door, not really taking notice of his surroundings until he got to Kat's car. It was only then that it dawned on him that the driveway was usually empty. He stopped and gazed upon the dark purple muscle car that was now sitting there.
"This isn't…this isn't the car that you wrecked, is it?"
Kat looked at him as though he had insulted her. "That was a '69 GTO Judge. This is a '69 Mustang Mach 1."
"Sooo… another classic muscle car. Got it," he said casually.
The insulted look Kat wore intensified. "How do I put this? Think of one car as a Road King, the other as a Valkyrie."
"But one is Harley Davidson, the other is Honda."
"Precisely."
"Oh…" Marik said sheepishly. He took another look at the car. "Why purple?"
"Because…it's one of my favorite colors?" Kat replied slowly, acting as though it should have been obvious.
"Really?" Marik said in surprise.
Kat curled up her nose in mild annoyance. "Gods…do I just have a habit of falling for the oblivious ones or something?"
Marik scowled as he quickly realized she had compared him to Atem in that regard. "I'm not oblivious. I just didn't picture you as someone who liked…well…purple."
"I like various shades of pink too," Kat started, glancing upward with only her eyes as she placed a concentrated finger on her bottom lip. "It's hard to find the right shade to match with my skin tone though. There are few blues I don't mind, but not those bright ones. I like deep earthy tones. Like with reds," she continued, bringing her gaze down and across to Marik. "I prefer deep wine colors, but the brighter crimsons tend to pair better with the vast amounts of black I usually wear. Mal and Atem pull off wine easily, but me and Kura always look better in crimson and scarlet."
"Why do you wear so much black? If you don't mind me asking."
"Hides blood a lot easier. It's not as necessary now as it was about a century ago, but old habits die hard. Same with why I wear a lot of open backed tops and skirts. You never know when wings need to be unfurled or a tail might inconveniently appear."
Marik smiled in amusement at the idea of what might have happened had she begun to shift while wearing the skinny jeans from the day before. Right now she was still in the pajama pants and loose tee that she must have put on after he had fallen asleep.
"I see something finally brought a smile to your face," Kat commented towards Marik's improved mood.
"So tails and pants aren't a good combination?" Marik asked with an amused smirk.
"It rubs the fur wrong. Very irritating." Kat stated matter-of-factly.
Marik couldn't help but chuckle. He opened the passenger door to the car and got in. He looked over and watched Kat do the same on the driver's side, raising a brow in amusement as she did.
"Is that-"
"Don't even go there," Kat interrupted.
"But that's-"
"Shush."
Marik was trying his best to hold in the laugh that was quickly bubbling forth as he realized his girlfriend needed what was essentially a booster seat to be able to see over the steering wheel. Looking down at the pedals, he noticed they stuck out and up a bit further than most cars he'd been in.
Kat groaned irritably. "It's not my fault I'm vertically challenged."
"Vertically challenged? That's the first time I've heard it put like that," Marik commented, the laughter he was still trying to hold back slowly breaking through.
Kat lolled her head to the side, glaring a scowl at her boyfriend. "Call me short…I dare you."
"I watched you climb a bench to look in a cupboard," he commented with a smirk. "That being said, the word 'short' does not come to mind when I look at you," Marik said, his face softening from the amused expression he wore just a second before.
"Oh? And might I ask what does come to mind?" Kat asked, her scowl deepening.
Marik quickly leaned across, grabbing her face and planting a big kiss on her cheek. "That I absolutely love my girlfriend…even if she is vertically challenged," he replied with another smirk as he pulled away.
Kat rolled her eyes, smiling as she did. "You're an ass," she commented with a slight chuckle.
She turned the key in the ignition, causing the whole car to slightly rock as the engine roared to life.
"Whoa…" Marik said in awe at the raw power of the vehicle. "No wonder you like cars like this…it's pretty much a more powerful motorcycle."
"Something like that," Kat replied with a small grin. She backed the vehicle out of the driveway and proceeded down the road.
The roads were fairly empty this early in the morning, with the exception of the occasional commuter on their way to work. As they pulled up to a stoplight, another driver pulled up alongside them in a modified tuner car. The other driver's engine whined in quick succession, indicating the driver wanted to challenge them in a street-race.
Kat didn't even bat an eye at the challenge, instead keeping her focus on the road ahead. When the light turned green, the car next to them took off with a quick start. Kat simply proceeded ahead at a reasonable speed as though the challenge hadn't been issued in the first place.
"You know they wanted to race, right?" Marik asked.
"Yup," was all Kat replied, keeping her focus on the road.
"I'm sure you could easily beat them."
"I know."
"Judging by the fact that they are hanging back a bit, I think they're going to try again at the next light."
"So?"
Marik was right. At the next light, the tuner issued its challenge again. Kat tightened her grip on the steering wheel and shifter, still trying to ignore the other vehicle. Like before, when the light turned green, the tuner jetted forward while Kat proceeded normally.
"Why aren't you accepting their challenge?" Marik questioned.
"I'm taking you to school, not getting involved in illegal street-races," Kat replied, sounding slightly irritated.
"Are you holding back because I'm in the car? I can see you tensing. It's obvious you want to do it."
"It's not about if I want to. I know if anything bad happens, I'll be okay. You on the other hand…"
Marik reached over, placing his hand lightly over top of the one on the shifter knob. "You have decades of driving experience. I'm not too worried," he said while giving her a reassuring look.
Kat gave him a quick glance, then smirked. "When the next light turns green, you might want to hold on to whatever you can…except the hand over the shifter."
Marik quickly retracted his hand as they approached the next light. As expected, the tuner tried its luck again, only this time Kat responded by quickly pressing the gas pedal a few times, the Mustang rocking with each press.
"I've decided that I'll be nice and give them a three second head start," Kat said, becoming increasingly focused on the road ahead as a devilish grin formed across her face. "You have that long to get a tight grip on whatever you can."
As the light turned green, she pressed down on the gas, but didn't release the clutch. The tuner beside them jetted forward again, meanwhile Kat began counting down.
"Three…two…one-"
As she said 'one', the Mustang lurched forward, the front end raising slightly off the ground. The car had barely crossed the intersection when Kat quickly pressed the clutch again, shifting just as quickly. It wasn't much further down the road when she did it again.
Marik had expected the takeoff to be fast, but he severely underestimated the amount of grip he would need as the Mustang continued picking up speed, quickly closing the gap between them and the tuner. He had barely re-secured his grip as Kat shifted again.
The two cars continued forth, the tuner almost clipping the front end of a commuter as it quickly maneuvered around them. The Mustang was already even with the tuner, but it was evident that the beast of a car had no intention of slowing as it continued to nose ahead.
Marik noticed a sharp turn quickly approaching. "Um…shouldn't you start slowing down…?"
"Do you trust me?" Kat asked, her grin still devilish.
Marik looked over, becoming slightly concerned as he noticed the sclera of Kat's eyes had darkened. "...yes…?" he said unconfidently.
"Then you might want to tighten your grip even more."
Marik's mind wasn't able to register everything that happened in the following moment. The car lurched sideways at an angle that allowed it to drift around the corner. Tires screeched for what seemed like forever as Kat held the wheel tightly with both hands. It was as if time itself momentarily stood still, but as the moment processed in Marik's mind, time sped up at an increasing rate. The Mustang lurched forward again, Kat's hand back on the shifter as she quickly brought it back up to speed.
A few moments later, the Mustang began to slow.
"Looks like they couldn't catch back up after that turn," Kat commented in amusement, the darkness slowly receding from her eyes.
Marik suddenly realized that his heart was beating rapidly and that his entire body was tense as he continued his white-knuckled grasp on the dashboard and the back of Kat's seat. His mind was still taking its time, however, processing the intense moment.
"Are you okay?" Kat asked in concern.
Marik's mind finally caught up with the rest of him.
"That…WAS…AWESOME!" he replied excitedly. "I thought you were crazy for giving them a head start, but the way you closed that gap! And the way you slid around that turn! That was amazing!" he said quickly.
"So I didn't scare you?" Kat questioned.
"Are you kidding!? I spent most of my life in boring caves and hated it. I love exciting stuff! And that race was the very definition of exciting!"
Kat chuckled lightly. "Yes, I suppose it was."
Marik could see the school approaching in the distance. He leaned towards his girlfriend. "I'll admit, seeing the way you handled this car was a bit of a turn on. I say we go find somewhere private before you drop me off," he said suggestively.
Kat simply smiled. "As much as I would love to gamiil, I would end up wearing you out again and you would miss even more school."
The car came to a stop in front of the school. Kat put the vehicle in neutral and applied the parking brake.
Marik looked into the tiny backseat, then back at his girlfriend with a smirk. "You know…there's an alley we can pull into a few blocks from here…"
Kat tightened her grip on the shifter knob. "Please, do not tempt me. As much as I would love to take you up on that offer, I know it will just lead to you being late. Just…put that away for later tonight," she suggested, gesturing with her eyes to where the material on Marik's pants had become extremely tight.
Marik lowered his chin and drew his face into a puppy-dog-like pout. "You mean I have to think about you being hot-n-bothered all day without any sort of relief?"
Kat chuckled and smirked playfully, bringing his chin up with the tip of a finger as she leaned in close. "Who said anything about not having a source of relief? Don't forget, my sweet gamiil, I've gone for well over a decade without a lover. My monthly problem didn't just cease to exist during that time."
Marik's pout vanished, becoming suggestive curiosity. "Oh? So you would rather go home and satisfy yourself?"
"Are you worried you'll be replaced?"
"Depends, what are you replacing me with?" Marik asked playfully.
"A jack rabbit," Kat replied just as playfully.
"A what?" he asked in confusion.
Kat rolled her eyes. "You seriously don't know what a 'jack rabbit' is?"
"Um…I'm assuming you're not talking about the animal…at least I hope you're not…"
Kat dropped her head into her palm, trying not to laugh. "It's a…uh…a type of 'toy'," she tried to explain.
"Ohhh…" Marik said in realization. His face became playful and suggestive again. "I'll make you a deal: You and me head to that ally now…and I'll let you use that on me later…"
Kat quickly brought her head up and faced him, her expression one of shock and surprise. The hand on the shifter tightened its grip, shattering it. "For-…for real?" she choked.
Marik leaned towards her, his playful grin widening. "Yup," he replied, enunciating the 'p'.
Kat looked forward and down, her eyes shifting rapidly back and forth between him and the space in front of her as she contemplated.
"Dammit…" She looked over at her boyfriend, shaking her head and pursing her lips. "You're bad. Very, very bad. Here I am trying to be a good person and make sure you aren't late for school…and you have to pull something like this," she scolded sarcastically. "Bad Tomb Keeper. Bad. Now I have to punish you by giving you exactly what you want."
Marik grinned devilishly. "Oh no, not that! Anything but that!" he mocked as Kat tossed aside the remains of the knob onto the floor. He then watched as she figured out a different way to grab the shifter, placing the car into first gear and heading towards the ally he had indicated.
I've always liked the idea of Marik being a bit of a thrill-seeker. Combine that with teenage hormones, and you end up with the perfect recipe for a backseat quickie lol
