Akia opened her eyes and found herself in the warm embrace of none other than the love of her life. It wasn't a dream. This was real. Marik was here, sleeping peacefully next to her.
She tried as best as she could to wiggle out of his embrace without waking him up, but he only tightened his arms around her. "Stay…" Marik mumbled in a sleepy voice.
Akia couldn't help but smile at how adorable he sounded. She placed a gentle kiss on his bare chest, earning a soft chuckle from the young man.
"Regardless of how much I love being in your arms, I still have to make my deck for the finals today," Akia whispered.
"Ah, yeah, true…" Marik answered, still not loosening his grip, which didn't bother Akia too much, since she still had a few hours before her duel.
"Since you're awake, how about we talk and get to know each other better?" The red-eyed girl suggested.
"I'd like that," the young Egyptian man replied and kissed the top of his girlfriend's head.
"So I'll start. Do you have any preferences in food?" Akia questioned.
"Actually, yeah. I don't like meat in general. I usually stick to vegetarian options. I don't mind fish either."
"Interesting. So you'd rather not eat meat at all?"
"I mean, I don't mind eating it on occasion," Marik answered. "I just found that I have much more energy for working out when I keep meat off my menu."
"You work out? Wait, of course you do with those abs…" Akia giggled as she answers her own question.
"You like them?" He asks seductively.
"Ooh, seeing them up close like that is making me feel all hot and bothered," the black-haired girl replied with a flirty smile.
Marik loosened his grip on Akia to bring her face up higher so that he could kiss her. He gave her a soft pec on the lips then stared longingly into her eyes. "What about you? What do you like to eat?"
"I…" Akia breathed, feeling as though Marik had stolen her breath away. "Anything, really… Except raw vegetables…"
"I can't wait to go on dates together and eat out, discovering more about each other," the young Egyptian man whispered into her lips as he placed another, deeper kiss. His hands travelled under her shirt, resting on the bare skin of her back. After a few kisses, they pulled away, slightly breathless. "The nickname princess doesn't do you justice," Marik commented as he caressed Akia's cheek.
"It makes my heart flutter when you say it, though," the young woman replied.
"How about if I call you my goddess?"
Akia felt butterflies in her tummy and her face heated up when she heard Marik call her that. She was speechless.
"So that's your new nickname now, my goddess," Marik smirked at her reaction.
"That's not fair… Why do you have so much power on my emotions?" Akia hid her face in her hands and mumbled. She started trying to think of a way to retaliate.
"You're too adorable," Marik chuckled.
"I mean, how can I resist you, m-my king…?" Akia said the last bit in a barely audible voice, feeling her whole face flare up, looking Marik in the eyes at the same time.
Marik's eyes widened in surprise as he felt the blood quickly rush up to his head. "That sounds way too good when you say it…" He whispered with a nervous smile.
"A-Alright, enough of that! I need to get ready for the duel!" Akia exclaimed as she got up.
"Fine, fine. I still didn't get to ask you a question to know more about you, though," Marik whined.
"You asked me what I liked to eat."
"That doesn't count, that was your question."
"Okay, then what's your question?"
"Name one of your hobbies, other than Duel Monsters." Marik asked, genuinely curious.
"I like watching TV series and dramas into the late hours of the night!" Akia replied enthusiastically. "We should totally watch some together!"
"I'm all for it," Marik chuckled.
"What about you? Tell me one of your hobbies."
"Motorcycles. I love the feeling of the wind in my face. It's freeing," the young man responded.
"Will you give me a ride one day?"
"Of course. If you hadn't asked, I would've asked you sooner or later. Alright, enough talking, go get ready for your final match, my Queen of Games."
"Aah, hopefully I keep the title!" Akia exclaimed as she quickly got up and got ready. She looked through her deck, adjusting it a little before finally feeling ready to face her brother, or more precisely the pharaoh, in the finals.
"I'll be rooting for you," Marik told her then went to get cleaned up and ready himself.
When it was closer for the finals to begin, everyone started coming out of their rooms to head towards the Duel Tower. Akia spotted Mai and Jounouchi coming out of the same room and gave her friends a sly smile. Mai gave her one back as she saw her coming out hand in hand with Marik and winked. Yugi saw his sister and headed towards her.
"You ready?" He asked his sister.
"I don't know," she sighed. "The toughest duels are the ones against you. You and the pharaoh can be so unpredictable."
"You, too, though. I never know what to expect when dueling you," Akia's brother replied. He then glanced at Marik and frowned a little. "I see you two don't waste time."
"What's with the look?" Akia chuckled.
"It's just strange to see you clinging to a guy. My protective brotherly instincts are surfacing," Yugi admitted with a sigh.
"Ew, no! Yugi! Don't be that kind of brother!" His sister laughed.
"Fine, fine, I'm happy for you two and all that…" Yugi smiled at them. "Just treat my sister right, or she'll be the one giving you trouble. She can be handful."
"Hey!" Akia interjected.
"Haha, I'll keep that in mind," Marik answered.
The red-eyed girl glanced around as they all went on their way to the Duel Tower. She didn't see Bakura around. She let go of Marik's hand and caught up to Jounouchi.
"Jounouchi," Akia called out to him.
"Hm? What's up, Red Eyes?" He smirked at his friend.
"Is that a new nickname? Nevermind! Did you see Bakura by any chance?" The black-haired girl asked.
"Girl, focus on your guy and stop looking at other men," Mai teased her.
"That's not what I meant…!" Akia tried to defend herself then let out a laugh when she noticed that her friend was joking. "Fine, fine, I'm just worried."
"Now that you mention it, it's true that he's missing… Tell you what, I'll go look for him. You just go ahead and focus on your duel," Jounouchi reassured his friend.
"Alright, then. Thanks, Jounouchi."
"You're welcome, Red Eyes," the blond young man smirked and gave her a thumbs up.
Akia let out a small chuckle before going back to Marik.
"Something wrong?" He asked her.
"Just worried about Bakura since nobody's seen him," Akia admitted to her boyfriend.
"Ah," Marik nodded, not really sure what else to say to that. He didn't really like Bakura to begin with, considering that he had some history with Akia. But then again, he understood that he was a close friend of Akia, regardless, and that he had to learn to tolerate him.
When everyone arrived at the top of the Duel Tower, the Kaiba brothers were already there, along with Isono who would be the announcer for the duel.
"The Finalists of Battle City, Mutou Yugi and Mutou Akia, please take your place on the Dueling Platform," Isono stated.
Akia took a deep breath. Marik gave her a comforting squeeze of her hand before letting her go. Mai went up to her friend and gave her a comforting pat on the back.
"Even though I love both you and Yugi, I'm still rooting for my girl," the blonde woman winked.
"Thanks, Mai-san," Akia smiled. "Regardless of the result, I'll enjoy the duel to the fullest."
Akia and Yugi went up to the platform, while being cheered by their friends. The red-eyed girl glanced at her brother and knew he wasn't her brother anymore. She was now facing the pharaoh. It was going to be the toughest duel yet, but the funnest one.
"Duelists, ready your Duel Disks," Isono told them.
"Let's do this, Yugi," Akia told her brother.
"It's an honour to duel you once more, Akia," the pharaoh replied.
"Duel!" Both exclaimed.