A (mostly) fun chapter :)
"How dare you ask to have Bohemian Rhapsody turned down!? That is an insult to the great Freddie Mercury himself!" Kat shouted towards Atem as they both exited the SUV.
"I'm sorry that I don't share your taste in what you haphazardly refer to as 'music'," Atem stated in annoyance.
Kat pulled at her hair in frustration. "What's next?! You're going to say that the Prince of Darkness sucks too?!"
"I don't even know who that is."
Kat tightly clenched her jaw, one eye twitching.
"Can you two just not today?" Marik asked in annoyance.
"I bet if 'Crazy Train' were the name of a fucking Duel Monster, not only would you know everything about it off the top of your head, you would know exactly how to counter it if it were ever played against you," Kat stated bitterly.
Marik covered his face in exasperation.
"If there were such a thing, it would obviously be a Machine type, which means I would have to use a non-magic based strategy," Atem argued.
Marik lowered his hand and attempted to separate the two. Kat glared imaginary daggers towards Atem as she was steered in the opposite direction.
"To be honest, 'Crazy Train' could imply a toon type," Bakura pointed out as he came to stand not far from Atem.
"Huh, I didn't think of that," Atem said as he began to think more in depth on the matter. "Good thing I know how to counter that as well."
"Kura!" Kat shouted in a chastising manner. "You're not supposed to side with him!"
Bakura furled his brow. "Who said I was siding with anyone? I'm just making a point."
Kat replied by sharply folding her arms and turning with her back towards him.
"Hey everyone! We've been waiting for you!" said two voices speaking in-sync as they approached the group.
Five heads turned towards the pair of voices.
"Oh my-" Atem started.
"-fucking gods," Kat finished.
They were staring wide-eyed at a pair of Yugi's standing side-by-side.
"Katrina, can you tell which is which?" Atem questioned.
Kat shook her head. "No. They're smiling in a way that doesn't let me see Im's fangs, and they're standing too close together for me to sense which is which based on their aura."
Bakura scratched the side of his head as he looked back and forth between the two Yugi's.
"I'm more curious as to which one came up with the idea."
Both Yugi's pointed towards each other. "He did," they said simultaneously.
"Oh, shit…they rehearsed this," Bakura stated in amusement.
"Any ideas?" Atem asked Kat.
Kat had a finger curled to her mouth as she thought.
"Just one," she said casually. "Did somebody say…"
"Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker," finished the Yugi on the right. He immediately facepalmed. "Shit."
"That one's Imhotep," Kat said with a grin as she pointed towards the twin on the right.
Imhotep reverted back to his normal appearance. "I wasn't expecting Shae to use a WoW meme against me."
"Oh well, it was fun for the short time we got to do it," Yugi chuckled.
"Seriously, I gotta know which one of you thought that up," Bakura said while looking back and forth between the two while waiting for an answer.
"It was originally Yugi's idea to show up looking the same," Imhotep stated.
"But it was Imhotep's idea to take things up a notch with talking in sync," Yugi added.
"I am suddenly extremely grateful that you and Set weren't identical," Atem said to Kat.
"Why? You wouldn't have had to hide things. If anything, you could've had two wives," Kat pointed out.
"Or two Vizier's," Bakura added.
"Okay, that's just dumb," Kat stated.
Atem stood off to the side mirroring Marik's expression of face buried in palm. Malik was the only one standing there looking bored throughout the entirety of things.
Yugi and Imhotep turned to head inside the mall.
"We'll wait for you inside. Téa should be here shortly," Yugi said towards the group.
"Joey and Tristan aren't coming?" Atem asked as he lowered his hand and diverted his attention towards Yugi.
Yugi shook his head. "Joey scored a pair of tickets to a wrestling event that's taking place today."
Atem gave a single nod in understanding. "Then we should head inside before Téa arrives. "
Kat, Bakura, and Malik followed the twins inside, but Marik stopped Atem before he could follow as well.
"I know this whole thing was your idea, but could you maybe try not to fight with Kat?"
Atem scowled. "I haven't been trying to, but ever since this morning she has done nothing but get on my case about one thing or another," he stated irritably.
"I know," Marik said casually. "But can't you try to just ignore it when she starts going off on you?"
"That is easier said than done," Atem replied.
Marik sighed heavily. "Listen, I'm not sure if you're aware, but she's struggling right now. She spent millennia focused on a single goal, and while that goal has finally been met, the end result wasn't something she'd ever considered. She doesn't know how to shift her focus away from worrying about everyone else."
Atem shook his head in exasperation. "I make no promises, but I will try."
He took a step to follow the others, but paused for a moment to glance back towards Marik.
"Thank you for still being there for her. I know she can be difficult at times, but you seem to be able to look past it."
Marik let out a small chuckle. "It's not about looking past it. It's about accepting that it's part of who she is. Do I find it irritating? At times. Would I ask her to change? No. I only ask that she try to focus less on others and more on herself."
Atem shook his head in amusement. "You will come to regret that."
"I'm sure I will."
"Hey guys!" Téa called out with a friendly wave as she approached the group. "I hope I haven't kept you waiting."
Yugi and Imhotep waved back.
"Don't worry, we haven't been here long," Yugi said as Téa got closer.
"That's a relief. I was running behind and I thought for sure I would be late." Téa looked around. "Where's Atem?"
"I fell a bit behind," Atem replied with a small chuckle as he and Marik joined the rest of the group.
Kat narrowed her eyes on the brunette, but remained silent.
"Great! Now that everyone is here, we can finally get some food!" Imhotep commented.
Yugi laughed. "I'm guessing you'll want burgers?"
"What kind of question is that? Of course I want burgers!"
Both rushed off towards one of the restaurants within the food court.
"I think I'll go join them," Téa said with a friendly smile towards Atem. "What about you?"
Atem sat at a nearby table. "I'm not certain. I need to think about it."
"Don't think too hard, you might starve," Kat quipped.
Atem scowled subtly in his former wife's direction
"How about I just bring you back something?" Téa suggested. "It'll be my treat."
Atem hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Sure."
Téa smiled with a small nod, then left to join the other two.
Bakura groaned. "Great, since everyone keeps mentioning burgers, now I want one." His shoulders fell forward as he trudged over to join the rest.
Marik looked down at his girlfriend. "You can join them if you want."
Kat shook her head. "No, surprise me like usual. I'm gonna wait here with Atem."
"Are you sure?"
Kat nodded.
Marik sighed lightly. "Okay…but while I'm away NO ARGUING," he warned.
Kat pouted a bit. "No promises."
Marik shook his head in exasperation, dragging a reluctant Malik along with him towards another section of the food court.
Kat joined Atem at the table, looking fondly over towards the pair of boys that bore a striking resemblance to him.
"They appear to be getting along quite well. One would never guess that they'd been separated for the majority of their life," Atem commented about the pair that he, too, was looking at.
"I'll admit, I was worried how Im would adjust to life alongside mortals, but it appears my concerns were for nothing," Kat stated.
She tensed as Imhotep shied away from someone that had accidentally brushed up against him. The teen had immediately grasped a small section on the back of his twin's hoodie and brought himself in close while attempting to be subtle about the reaction. Yugi turned his head and said something to the other teen with a gentle smile, who nodded while relaxing and released his grip.
"I see what Yugi meant by being there for one another," Atem stated, having paid just as close attention to the interaction as Kat had.
"He's a lot like Set," Kat pointed out, sounding sad. "He has a way with words that helps those around him."
"I agree. Though he's not nearly as long-winded," Atem said with a light chuckle.
Kat couldn't help but smile and laugh a bit as she cast a side-ways glance towards Atem. Her light-hearted demeanor didn't last as the smile and laughter quickly faded, redirecting her gaze to the floor.
"Why was I never enough for you?"
Atem blinked a few times as the out-of-nowhere question took its time to register, then averted his gaze once it did.
"I don't have an answer for that. I'm sorry."
Kat was silent for a few moments before she spoke again.
"I keep wondering if there was something I could have done better. If somehow I could have been better. Then maybe nothing would have happened, and we wouldn't have ended up-"
"Stop." Atem said firmly, interrupting the woman across from him. "You are not responsible for what happened."
"Then why did you feel as though you couldn't tell me? Did I say or do something to make you think I would turn you away?"
Atem lowered his head. "It had nothing to do with you. I was simply ashamed of myself, nothing more."
"And what was there to be ashamed of? The fact that you had a preference, and that I wasn't that preference?"
Atem looked towards the others. "This is not the place to discuss this."
After several more moments of silence, Atem returned his gaze across to his former wife. She was still staring at the floor, holding onto herself tightly as though letting go might cause her body to fall apart.
"We're back!" Yugi said while carrying a tray of food, Imhotep beside him carrying their drinks.
"I got you a veggie burger, I hope that's okay," Téa said as she sat beside Atem with her tray. "I wasn't really sure what you might like, so I had to go based on Imhotep's suggestion."
Atem forced a smile. "I'm sure it will be just fine."
"He doesn't have a problem with meat. He just doesn't like fish or salt flavors," Kat said while glaring at the other female.
Atem quietly cleared his throat while giving his ex wife a look of warning.
"I was simply stating a fact," Kat said innocently towards the glare she was receiving.
"I bet," Atem said with a scowl.
"Looks like everyone beat us back," Marik chuckled on approach. He placed a small box in front of his girlfriend.
Kat stared at the box for a moment. "Is this a pizza?"
Marik pointed accusingly at Malik. "His idea, not mine."
Kat glanced skeptically over at the other Ishtar, who was wearing a proud smirk across his face as he sat down. She then carefully lifted the lid partway, before flipping it off entirely, her eyes glittering in awe.
"Holy fucking shit…that is a lot of cheese…"
"I can't tell if your reaction is a good one or not?" Marik said as he sat down beside her.
"It's a good one," Atem reassured with a knowing grin. "You just made her day."
Kat lifted a slice, eyeballing the way the cheese stretched as she did.
"It's also in the freaking crust!" she shouted in surprise.
"Wow. Malik was right. You do like cheese," Marik said in amazement.
"That is a massive understatement," Atem said with a chuckle. "It's more like an obsession."
Kat raised a middle finger towards Atem while taking an enormous bite of the unholy conglomeration of cheese that had been presented before her.
"So…how is it?" Marik asked, trying to hide his amusement at how much his girlfriend appeared to be enjoying her food.
Kat swallowed her current bite before answering. "Anyone stupid enough to even think about touching this, will die." Her eyes narrowed on Bakura, who quickly averted his gaze. "You get one free pass. Next time it's a guaranteed death sentence."
Malik chuckled from where he sat further down. "I told you she would love it."
"I see that. I think she loves that pizza more than me," Marik commented.
"No offense, but I do," Kat stated before taking another large bite.
Marik chuckled as he dug into his own meal. "I'm starting to think the only way I'll get a love confession out of you is to smother myself in velveeta."
"Make it colby-jack, then I'll consider it."
All bow before our lord and savior, Cheesus Crust.
I started a new fic that is an AO3 exclusive called 'Our Scars remind US that the Past was Real'. No regular update schedule, just something that I work on when brain gets stuck and needs a break from TWoF. It's a post-canon 'TKB gets a second chance at life' type fic. OC shows up in prologue, but after that it's all canon characters. Basically, TKB wakes up in a world where only he remembers the events of canon, and everyone is trying to convince him that the things he 'remembers' never happened.