Kindleshipping (Seto x Ishizu x Marik)
. . .
"Kaiba-san? Kaiba?" Ishizu called softly.
"He's over here, sister," Marik called back.
Ishizu frowned. Why was Marik answering and not Kaiba?
It was dark inside the Kaiba Mansion library, and she wove her way through the tall, dimly lit shelves trying to find her way into the center where she had heard Marik's voice. She and her brother had arrived earlier in the day with some of the old Tombkeeper archives; Kaiba had requested to have a look at them. Ishizu wasn't about to say no, especially if it meant that perhaps Kaiba was finally going to at least take them seriously about the truth of his past life.
I wonder if Atem's passing has anything to do with his new-found interest,she wondered with a hint of sadness. Well, perhaps this will help him find some closure...
She finally made it to the center of the library, where a huge, long table had been set up and was scattered with scrolls, tablets, and more modern books. My goodness. She had only been away for about a half-hour, and he had already made such a set up?
Marik was perched on a chair at the end of the table, his knees pulled up to his chest as he flipped through a magazine, looking bored. He glanced up at her approach.
"There," he said, nodding.
She followed Marik's gaze. A small smile grew on her lips.
Kaiba's face was pressed against one of the open books, sprawled halfway across the table and fast asleep. His back rose and fell softly and rhythmically.
Ishizu glanced back at Marik.
"You let him just fall asleep?" she asked with a small smile.
"He was being insufferable the whole time," Marik said, shrugging. "I wasn't going to say no to some peace and quiet. Geez. I mean, I'm only here to help him translate Arabic since he's got the hieroglyphics and hieratic himself. The way he kept pestering me was like he thought I had all the answers to the universe."
He shrugged again.
"Besides," he said, and he lowered his voice. "Seemed like he was dead tired and I didn't think he was going to listen to me if I said maybe he should take a break."
Ishizu put a gentle hand on her brother's shoulder and squeezed.
"I'm just teasing," she said. "I agree with you. He definitely seemed like he needed rest."
The pair of them looked across at the sleeping Kaiba. For the first time since she had met him, he looked so incredibly peaceful. All of the angry lines were erased from his face, the tenseness had gone out of his body.
"He looks a little cold, though," Marik said. "Should we wake him up and tell him to go to bed?"
He checked his watch.
"It isalmost one in the morning."
Ishizu smiled.
"I think he'll be fine here," she said. "Besides...if we wake him up, he won't go back to sleep."
She unbuttoned her black shrug and went around the table to drape it over Kaiba's shoulders. He stirred ever so slightly.
Marik was grinning at her when she looked up.
"You're way too nice," he said.
Ishizu merely smiled.
"We should also get some sleep," she said. "Come on."
Marik nodded and got up from his chair.
"You know," he said, as they left the room. "He really isn't all that bad to hang around."
. . .
A/N: Yep, there's another one down. Next is Kiddyshipping (Rebecca x Mokuba) *squee*
