(ORIGINALLY POSTED 11/4/2020. Something went wrong the first time I tried to post this; it would show up for some readers, but not everyone, and it wasn't showing up under my profile at all, even 24 hours later. So we're trying again.)

So, a lot of fans like to ship Ishizu with Seto, but I prefer him with Téa ;) In fact, my favorite man for Ishizu is actually Ryou Bakura...and she my favorite lady for him! And this fic will be the first in my attempt to show why I think they make such a cute couple :)

As with all my Yu-Gi-Oh! post-series works, while I have taken certain elements from the manga-continuity and its follow-up, The Dark Side of Dimensions, this fic is animé-continuity only and therefore the events of that movie have no real bearing on this story. I have also elected to use the dub names and other select localizations.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or its characters; I am merely a fan who enjoys writing about them. All rights belong to Kazuki Takahashi. This is a work of fiction written for pleasure only, not for profit.

Please enjoy!

.:Coffee and Falafel:.
-I-

'Ryou—a colleague of mine invited me on a dig early this morning. I know we were supposed to see the city today, but this is the opportunity of a lifetime! I knew you wouldn't mind. We'll go around town when I get back, okay? Love—Father'

Ryou Bakura put the note down with a sigh. It should come as no surprise, no shock. His father was always off on his own, traveling the world—why should a pre-university trip with his son be any different?

If Bakura were to be perfectly honest, of course, Cairo had not been his first choice for vacationing spots. It would be boiling this time of year, and he had learned all he needed to know of Ancient Egypt from his yami. The old spirit was malevolent and vicious...but...he had protected the boy in his own way. For the longest time, he had been the only company Bakura had. The boy had hated what his yami did to others and had resisted whenever he could—resistance that had usually proven futile, but he had tried—yet despite it all, Bakura could never quite bring himself to hate the spirit, itself. This odd mix of fear and comfort had only strengthened when he realized the spirit had been his own ancestor, much as Atem was Yugi's. Bakura did not need to see Egypt.

But Mr. Bakura had been excited to present the idea of going to Cairo before Ryou started college in the fall, and Ryou had been excited at spending some quality time with his father. Three days after graduation, they had boarded a plane to the land of pyramids. The first day/night in, they would rest of course (and use that to better adjust to the time difference)...but the remainder of their time would be spent exploring and enjoying the town.

Well...that had been the plan, anyway.

Bakura sighed again as he pushed the note away. He couldn't bring himself to hate his father, either...or to even truly dislike him. The loss of half their family years ago seemed to have had an even greater effect on Mr Bakura...he had traveled the world ever since, seeking to outrun the grief.

But his was not the only heart still hurting. Ryou missed them, too...such losses are never fully overcome, only lived with.

"Yes...and I would also like…"

Bakura looked up; he knew that voice! Sure enough, just a few feet away at the counter stood none other than Ishizu Ishtar. On her way to work, no doubt. Bakura smiled, then sat back in his seat. He wouldn't disturb her when she had some place to be.

"Bakura?" Ryou looked up in surprise. Evidently, Ishizu was not in as much hurry as he'd thought.

"Miss Ishtar," he greeted, smiling again. "How are you? I haven't seen you or your brothers since...well, I suppose I haven't seen your family since the Pharaoh returned to the Afterlife, would it?"

"It has been awhile," she agreed. "That would make it...at least a year, wouldn't it?"

"Has it been that long?" Bakura shook his head. What with graduation and everything, that should have tipped him off, but...it seemed like their crazy adventures had only happened yesterday.

"Oh...but you must forgive my manners," he said. "You're quite welcome to sit down, if you have the time." She smiled again.

"I have a minute," she said, gracefully slipping into the chair across from him. "So...what brings you to Cairo?"

"Oh, I'm on holiday before I start university," he replied, and she knitted her brows.

"...Alone?"

"Oh, no...my father's here with me," he said, smiling naturally. No need to divulge that his father had abandoned him for some old digs...again. It wasn't Ishizu's problem, and Bakura did not need anyone's pity, either. It was...what it was. But a knowing—sallow—expression had crept itself across her face.

"I take it...your father isn't here 'with' you?" she asked tactfully. He looked away; his smile did not falter, but his eyes held a loneliness Ishizu was all too familiar with. She loved Marik and Odion, as they did her, but not a day went by that they did not think of their mother.

"I'm sure you've heard from Yugi how my mother and sister were killed in a car accident several years ago," Bakura said quietly, and she nodded.

"Marik, actually," she said. "Although Yugi and Mokuba have mentioned it, as well."

"Father...I think he travels to try and hide from the grief," Bakura explained, and Ishizu nodded.

"But he is not the only one who still grieves, is he?" she said. "I take it...the 'vacation' here was his idea?"

"He was sincere when he said he wanted to spend some time together," Bakura insisted. "He planned out the whole week...rest the first day and adjust to the time difference, explore the city the second day, Museum of Cairo the third..."

"But something changed." Bakura shrugged.

"He...ran into an old colleague of his yesterday," he responded. "He had dinner with us, and then apparently texted Father early this morning about the opportunity to go on an archaeological dig. The 'opportunity of a lifetime', I was told...so...I suppose I can't entirely blame him." Bakura took another sip of his drink. "As he'd already left by the time I woke up, I Googled where to find 'real Egyptian coffee'—which is quite tasty, I might add—and...here I am. But...I suppose the day is before me, now, isn't it?"

"Ishtar," the barista called out. Ishizu stood.

"Oh, my…" Bakura looked embarrassed. "I'm so sorry—here you are trying to get to work, and I'm keeping you-"

"It wasn't any trouble," Ishizu said, voice sincere. Anyone could see how disappointed he was, however hard he tried to hide it...however nobly he defended a man that Ishizu was not entirely sure deserved it. Then an idea settled in her head. "Bakura? You're welcome to come join me at the Museum."

"Oh...you're too kind," he smiled. "No...I don't want to impose. This is my issue, not yours-"

"It's not an issue," she replied, picking up her coffee from the counter and then walking back to him. "You were going to sightsee and visit the Museum anyway, weren't you?" Bakura opened his mouth, then closed it again.

"If it were truly an imposition, I would not have offered," she added. "It would still have much to do with archaeology, of course, but at least you would have some human interaction as well."

Bakura paused a moment longer, then nodded. "Very well," he agreed, standing up. He was taller than she, by a good four inches. "Thank you."

"None necessary," she replied. "Your family and mine are not so different...we have suffered losses that—mercifully—few people truly know."

.:Y:.:Y:.:Y:.

"So...what is this dig that your father was invited to join?" Ishizu asked, as she and Bakura entered the museum.

"I'm honestly not sure," Bakura replied. "I'm not even sure what they were talking about, only that it had something to do with Egypt and its history. His note didn't say anything about what it was."

"I see." So...Mr Bakura had brought his son all the way to Egypt on the promise of spending some quality father-son time together, then left that living son for the first dead thing that came along. Ishizu had not harbored the same resentment toward their Tombkeepers' duties that Marik had, but that didn't mean she hadn't understood the resentments themselves.

"Come," she said. "I'll give you the VIP tour."

Bakura had never been as interested in ancient cultures as his father had (perhaps because he had spent a good portion of his life with a malevolent spirit from an ancient culture routinely taking over his body). However...Ishizu proved to be a far more attentive guide than his father, and not only for actually being present. Where Ryou could hardly get his father to converse with him about anything beyond archaeology, Ishizu not only answered his questions but explained how ancient traditions had influenced the modern customs as well.

From his history lessons, Bakura had known how much the Greeks had contributed to the cobblestones of latter-day life, but Egypt had had her shares, as well. Wedding rings had originated in Egypt, did he know? They had also invented toothpaste, of all things, and possibly surgery: the oldest known treatise was an Egyptian text dating back nearly 5000 years.

"I must admit, I can understand more clearly why my father and Mr. Muto love the culture so much," Bakura said, after Ishizu finished showing him a scroll of papyrus with the writing still on it. "Terribly clever, they were. Very advanced, particularly for their time."

"Yes," she smiled.

"I would have gone with him, if he'd asked," Bakura said, looking at a sign describing some differences between Upper and Lower Egypt. He wondered which one Atem had ruled over, or had they been united at the time?

"You and your father are not close," Ishizu said.

"No," he confirmed. "But...I recognize my blessing in even having one." He met her eyes. "In even what time he makes for me. When compared to the lot some others have...mine isn't so bad, really."

"Well...that's all in the past, now," she said.

"That doesn't make it less painful, though," Bakura pointed out. "A wise person once told me that we don't really move on from pain, we just learn to move with it."

"Yes...I suppose that is true, as well," she agreed with a nod.

The museum was a rather large one, and so the tour took longer than Bakura realized. In fact, he didn't fully register how long it had been until Marik and Odion showed up, greeting Ishizu with hugs...and food.

"Bakura! I didn't realize you were in the country." Marik's enthusiasm surprised him. After all, it had been Marik and Yami who had worked together, not Marik and Ryou, at a time when Marik and his goals had been far more malevolent. "What brings you to Egypt?"

"Bakura is vacationing here with his father...but an engagement came up," Ishizu tactfully explained. Marik exchanged a look with Odion; they had heard from Mokuba little details of Bakura's life but what he had observed: Mr Bakura traveled all the time, leaving his son to fend for himself. Evidently, this didn't stop when they were both out of the country.

"We'll go to my office," Ishizu said, leading the way. "I wasn't expecting you to bring me lunch."

"We wanted to surprise you," Marik said. "You're welcome to join us, Bakura. There's plenty of food here for all." Bakura smiled.

"That would be lovely, thank you," he agreed.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

(If I got any details about Egyptian coffee shops wrong, I apologize. And accept corrections :P)

Anyway...sorry it's kind of short. I wasn't planning on posting anything new for awhile, but the stress of this past week has gotten to me so I decided to try and channel it in a more productive direction. This was where it took me *shrug*. I ended up getting a lot more done on this one than I thought, so...Happy November, everybody :)

There WILL be at least one more chapter to this. Please leave a review if you liked it; it encourages me to keep going :)

Keep on Rockin' in 2020!
~MoonlightTyger