Hi everyone! I decided to actually write a oneshot for once and I'm pretty proud of it to be honest. I chose the ship Thiefshipping because I've been obsessed with that ship for awhile now lol. I'm sorry if the characters, especially Bakura are OOC, I'm not used to writing them and will hopefully get better at it. This is my first time writing anything on here, and I hope it's okay. Also it's kinda long so have fun!
"Well then, how about we go on a date?"
Those words echoed through Marik's head as he and Bakura neared the Mexican restaurant that they decided to go to. The words echoed on infinite repeat as he pondered the moments leading up to it. The two of them had been a bit wishy washy about what their feelings even were for each other, but it felt a bit out of the blue when Bakura asked Marik that. They had just been sitting on the couch of their apartment watching TV when Bakura just asked it. Maybe he was bored, Marik thought. Or possibly he'd been planning it strategically?
Marik wondered if he was just over-thinking this. He did have a tendency to over-think things that were more simple than he thought and be completely oblivious and overlook other things. Marik decided to stop thinking about it and focus on the date that was about to take place. After all, he wouldn't enjoy himself he was busy worrying about nothing. And he did want to enjoy the date with Bakura.
Once the two had gotten to the restaurant, they stepped through the opening and were instantly met with a waitress, "Table for two?" She asked, looking at them both.
Bakura nodded, to which the waitress said, "Alright, follow me. My name is Susan by the way."
"You look like a Susan," Marik responded, nodding a bit.
"Yeah, I agree," Bakura noted.
The waitress, who was unsure of what to say to that decided to change the subject with some small talk as she led them to their table, "So are you two around here?"
"No we aren't, actually," Answered Bakura.
"Oh wow, where then?"
"It's a bit… complicated," Bakura said thoughtfully, wondering if he should answer from the point of Ryou, or from where he himself actually was from, "To put it simply, I'm Japanese (but have Egyptian origins) and he's Egyptian."
"Oh cool! I wouldn't have guessed Japanese, because of your accent," She said thoughtfully to Bakura as they neared the table.
"Yeah, I get that a lot," Bakura chuckled as he sat down, "I'm not British, just gay."
"Oh, I understand," The waitress responded, who didn't understand, "Anyways here are you two's menus, I'll give you a moment to look it over."
Marik sat down across from Bakura and looked at what kind of food and beverages were on the menu, he also looked around at the restaurant.
The restaurant had ceilings that were high up, but not extremely so. There was a fireplace in the room that the two were in and two openings about the size of doorways around them that led to more dining areas. The two were sat looking out a window, which had a very large and extensive garden outside of it. Flowers of whites, blues, reds, yellows, oranges, and pinks were neatly arranged along a cobblestone walkway. Marik was unsure what types of flowers they were, as being in a tomb for the majority of one's life doesn't really give infinite flower knowledge. Marik looked over Bakura's shoulder and could see what he assumed was a foyer with a piano, a staircase that Marik had no idea where it would lead to. More dining areas perhaps? There was also a front door... That most definitely surprised Marik, as from his experience at restaurants at least there usually wasn't a front door. Adding together all from what he had noticed of the restaurant it dawned on him:
This restaurant looked like a house. Yes, Marik didn't have a lot of experience with houses, but from the little experience he had from visiting friends and living in an apartment with Bakura the restaurant they were at most definitely looked like a house.
"What do you think you're having?" Bakura questioned, bringing Marik out of his trance of looking at the restaurant's interior. Bakura looked at Marik and Marik looked back, looking into the white haired spirit's brown eyes.
Gosh, why does he have to have such beautiful eyes? Marik thought to himself but then remembered that he had been asked a question.
He thought for a moment, "Um, I don't know I've never had Mexican food before," Marik admitted.
"What? Hahaha, really!" Bakura laughed.
"Hey, don't laugh! If you've been trapped in a tomb all your life in Egypt you wouldn't have had Mexican food before either!" Marik shot back.
"Yeah, though you've still been out and about for awhile now. Though I guess new experiences are guaranteed in life." Bakura said, doing his best to subtly calm Marik down cause he could see the Egyptian was getting a bit upset about the remembrance of his life stuck in a tomb. Marik was caught a bit off guard by Bakura's sudden niceness. Even if Bakura had just made fun of him, the fact he was even trying to go back on making fun of him was suspect. But then Marik remembered that they were on a date, and that might be the reason Bakura was being so nice. It was still weird though.
"Well there's this cheese soup so I'll that," Marik said, glancing at the menu.
"There's a cheese soup?" Bakura laughed, "Well that's certainly interesting."
"Yeah it does sound interesting! Cheese is great so I think I'll like it. Do you like cheese, Bakura?" Marik asked happily.
"Not as much as I like you," Bakura smiriked.
"Oh shut up!" Marik responded, blushing a bit.
The waitress returned to the table, "So what can I get you guys to drink? And are you ready to order?"
"Yeah we are ready to order," Bakura said, "I'll have a chicken quesadilla and a glass of water."
"I'll have the cheese soup and a pepsi please. Oh and I noticed that this place looks a lot like a house." Said Marik enthusiastically, deciding to ask about the interior that he was so curious about.
"Oh, that's because it used to be a house! A mansion actually." Susan the waitress smiled, "It's actually said to be haunted!"
"Oh great," Bakura groaned.
"Really?!" Marik said amazed at the prospect of a haunted house, "What happened? Who's the ghost?"
"There's this story that the owner and one of the housemaids had an affair and the maid got pregnant. Finding this out, they both got really upset, and the maid hanged herself in the attic and the owner shot himself in the basement." Susan spookily said, "But it's just a story. Some people say they've seen them or they blame the ghosts on malfunctioning lights and stuff. Anyways, I'll go tell the chef to make your food!"
As the waitress left, Bakura turned to Marik, "Well, hopefully they won't bother us."
Marik nodded, as cool as it would be to see a real live ghost, it would make for bad timing. After all, they were on a date. Marik wondered if that the fact that Bakura was a Ancient Egyptian spirit would effect the ghosts in any way.
As they waited for their food, Bakura stared at Marik. He stared at Marik for a little while. Marik was unsure of why Bakura was doing so, or what was the white haired guy he liked was thinking. "Quite undressing me with your mind and talk to me dammit," He said jokingly.
"You're right I can do that in real life later," cooed Bakura.
"Bakura-!" Marik started when Bakura was about to lean across the table and kiss him before their food and drink got delivered to the table and Bakura held back.
"Here's your food!" Smiled Susan, who then walked away to let them eat their food. She seemed totally oblivious to what she had nearly walked in on.
The food looked absolutely amazing. The chicken quesadilla that Bakura had ordered was topped with melting cheese, and the soft tortilla was heated to a golden brown. The aroma was amazing, giving off the savory smell of the chicken and creamy smell of the cheese. Marik looked to his own food that he had gotten: A creamy cheesy soup topped with chives. Marik started to eat his food, barely even inhaling the glorious concoction. The soup itself was of course, cheesy, but also a bit smoky from the bacon that had been included in it. The chives that topped the masterpiece added a touch of juicy freshness that added a whole new life to the dish.
"This is really good!," exclaimed Marik.
"Can I try?" Asked Bakura.
Marik laughed, "Sure, if I get to try some of yours!" And without thinking, Marik got a spoonful of the soup and fed it to Bakura.
Bakura enjoyed the soup, and savored it as the spoon that held the cheese soup left his mouth, "You're right that was good," He grinned.
"Yep! Now let me try some of your food!" Marik exclaimed in almost a childish tone. Bakura pretending to be sad that he was giving away some of his chicken quesadilla, picked off a piece of it and fed it to Marik.
The chicken quesadilla was almost as good as the cheese soup, and Marik appreciated it. It took Marik a second to realize that they had just fed each other food. A slight blush started to form on Marik's face.
"Now, I can see that you enjoyed that. But I think earlier we were in the middle of something," Bakura leaned in closer to embrace Marik in a kiss, but once again they were interrupted. Only this time with flickering lights.
The lights were not just flickering but they were also swinging. Swinging nearly uncontrollably, "Duck under the table, you moron!" Bakura nearly screamed at Marik as they both scrambled under the wooden table to protect themselves from falling objects.
It was as if the whole room was shaking and as soon as it had arrived, it stopped. The whole room was silent, the lights were now off. Marik looked around, it seemed that nearly everyone around them had become frozen in time.
"Are you seeing this, 'Kura?" The blonde haired Egyptian asked.
"Yeah, freaky. I can't seem to wonder if that was the-"
Marik did not hear the rest of what Bakura was saying because Marik heard someone whisper, "Basement" right in his left ear. Marik shivered and he turned around.
"Uh Bakura?" He started.
"Yes?"
"I heard someone whisper 'Basement'."
"That's weird, I just heard someone whisper 'Attic'."
The two guys looked at each other.
"Should we go to the basement and then the attic?" Suggested Marik.
"Sounds like a plan." Bakura agreed.
The two walked through the dark restaurant, past people who were stuck in time. There were people in the middle of eating food, waiters in the middle of taking orders. Marik looked at each door, seeing if there was one labeled 'Basement'. He then stopped dead in his tracks, and pointed to a nearby door, "It's that one, I know it is."
Bakura gingerly opened the door, and sure enough, there were stairs going down, "How did you do that?" He asked.
"I don't know, I just had a feeling..." Marik squeaked, admittedly weirded out that his guess was right.
"Well, I guess we should go down then," muttered Bakura.
"Yeah, I guess we should." gulped Marik, who very much wished the lights had never went weird and time had never frozen.
I'm on the first date with Bakura, and this is what happens! A frigging ghost comes along and ruins it. Not even one ghost: 2! I know I think ghosts are cool and all, but talk about bad timing! He thought to himself as he walked down the stairs, Bakura leading the way. Their footsteps eerily echoed with a click clack click clack click clack.
The walk to the basement felt like forever to Marik, and after what seemed like hours but probably was only a few minutes, they reached the bottom. It was a simple room, with storage crates most likely holding food or old stuff that belonged to the previous residents. In the corner of the room was a man who was crying, holding a gun in his hand.
"Hello? Who's there?" Marik called out, the man looked over in shock.
"I'm the owner of this house," The man said.
"But the owner of the house is dead!" Marik proclaimed.
"Marik, do you even know what the premise of a ghost is?" Bakura remarked.
"Oh yeah," Marik chuckled, "Anyways, sir why do you have a gun in your hand? Also why did time stop?"
"I'm forced to relive my actions over and over again until my spirit finds peace. But it never will. I cannot forgive myself for my actions. It was my sin that caused one of my servants to bear a child. And I just cannot get over it." He muttered.
"Sir," Started Marik, "We all make mistakes and yes you had an affair with one of your maids and got her pregnant but that doesn't have to be a bad thing. Plus that was many years ago, the maid and the unborn child you had together are dead."
The man stared at Marik, "They are? How come I didn't know this… god why did that have to happen… I loved her even if I regret my actions..."
"Well you can still be with her and go to the afterlife. You just have to get over your regret!" Marik pleaded with the man and looked over to Bakura for encouragement.
"Right, we'll go up and talk to her and then you two can talk it out. That's an important thing to do with the people you love. And I'm sure you have other people to talk things out with if you were having an affair." Bakura added.
The man nodded, "Yeah, you're both right… I've been feeling guilt for too long. My wife discovered that our maid was pregnant due to me and she got angry. So angry I killed myself. I did it because of the guilt of having my maid live a life of shame for my actions of deciding that maybe a relationship between the two of us would work out, and I did it because I couldn't face those actions of cheating on my wife. I understand that… it's time to move on. Goodbye two sirs..." And with that the man burst up into a thousand shards of light, disappearing immediately.
Marik and Bakura stood in silence for a little bit, before Bakura finally turned to Marik, "Guess we should go to the Attic now, huh?"
Marik nodded, and they both started walking up the rickety basement stairs and found their way up the stairs by the foyer. Then, they could find in one of the bedrooms of the second floor was an attic stairway. The two walked, holding eachother's hands as the went up the attic stairs.
Bakura gave Marik's hand a squeeze, as they would have to face another ghost. Another lost soul. This time, once they got up to the attic, they saw a woman standing next to a noose that was hanging from the ceiling.
"Hello?" Bakura started, looking right at the woman. She had a pale face and wore and old fashioned maid dress. Her stomach was slightly large and she looked at Bakura and Marik coldly.
"Hello," was all she responded.
"Miss, please don't do it," Marik told her. She looked at him a bit off guarded by that.
"Why? Why shouldn't I? I've been repeating myself for how many years now…? I've lost track. I hate this existence as much as I hate couples like you two. You two look so happy together and when I look at myself all I see is misery! The man I love got me pregnant and then I'm ridiculed by him and his wife and next I know he's dead. Do you know how awful it is to feel that way? Do you know how awful it is to have the one you love most go against you and die?"
Bakura looked at her, "Look lady, though I do not have a full exact understanding of what you went through, I can still have empathy and sympathy for it. Bloody hell, when I was a little kid my whole village got killed leaving only me left! You're not the only one to experience misfortune and you won't be the last. But just because you've lived a life of pain doesn't mean you should take it out on others and cannot learn happiness again… I made the mistake of putting it out on others in the past and then Marik taught me compassion and happiness." He glanced at the blonde Egyptian beside him, who was wondering where the hell that speech had came from. Maybe Bakura wasn't as heartless as he thought.
The woman just looked at Bakura and Marik. She was silent. Then, she started breaking down crying, she fell kneeling to the floor. Marik went over to her, doing his best to comfort her.
"Shh, it's okay. It's okay miss. There's time to move on and there's still time to live peacefully in the afterlife." He smiled at her, "It's okay."
The woman looked up to him and looked over to Bakura, "Thank you. Thank you both. I still hold my resentment, but you're both right. It's time to move on."
With that she burst into a million shards of light and disappeared. Leaving Bakura and Marik to look at eachother for a split second before they were both suddenly back where they were sitting, almost as if nothing had happened. Marik looked around, time had gone back to normal.
"Did I just imagine all that?" He asked Bakura.
"Nope, you did not." Bakura answered, just as Susan went over to give them their check, "I'll pay for it," Bakura said to Marik, who couldn't help but agree.
Once Bakura had payed for their food, the two walked out of the Mexican restaurant and looked out at the sunny scenery surrounding them. What a first date that was, Marik thought and looked over at Bakura. They walked over to their car.
Everything was fine now, and there the two stood: in a parking lot of a Mexican restaurant that used to have been inhabited by two ghosts. It definitely was a first date Marik would remember, "Have fun trying to one-up this one for our next date," He chuckled.
"Next date?" Bakura grinned, "You sound so sure."
"Quit pretending like you weren't planning on having another date," Marik remarked.
Bakura chuckled at that and brought Marik close to him. And with that their two lips met, and Marik wrapped his arms around Bakura bringing him even closer. And with that, Marik had gone on his first ever date with the man of his dreams, and the day was nearly over. It was a day that Marik would never forget and never wanted to. And in that moment, he never wanted to leave Bakura's arms.