Small heads-up: After the second break, there is a noticeable time-skip to much later in the day. I apologize if it ruins the flow of the chapter. I was virtually banging my head against the keyboard on this chapter because I needed to get from point A to point B, but I didn't want a ton of filler just to get there.
Atem stood in one of the hobby store aisles, rubbing his temple and forehead with his fingers as he tried to calm his overwhelmed mind.
"Why are there so many different types of artists' tools?"
He'd decided to take Solomon's suggestion, and started with a section labeled 'fine arts' to look for paint supplies. He was blown away with the choices available. In the past, he'd never had to choose. The options were standard and straight-forward during his time as Pharaoh. Even with the hosts that had on occasion dabbled in artistic hobbies, he'd never had to focus too much on the different tools or paints, as the projects he participated on were usually a co-op effort.
"That is a very good question," Marik agreed while standing next to him, trying to figure out the answer as well.
"Just buy one of everything," Malik said boredly from the end of the aisle.
"He can't just buy one of everything!" Marik argued.
"Why not? He could buy the whole store if he wanted."
"See, I told you they were in here," Bakura said presumably towards Yugi and Imhotep as he approached the aisle that contained both Ishtar's and former Pharaoh. He rounded into the aisle, stopping and staring in confusion. "Uhhh…why does everyone look like this is the last place they wanna be?"
"I made a suggestion for Atem to look here for a hobby idea, and now Malik thinks he should just buy the whole store," Marik said in exasperation.
"Why not? He could if he wanted."
Marik covered his face. "I give up."
"Make that two of us," Atem said with a defeated sigh. "I don't even know where to begin with any of this stuff."
"It actually all depends on what you would like to do," Bakura stated while concentrating on the items in the aisle. "Based on your former experience, I would suggest oil paints and canvas. It's not the same as painting on the human body, but it's the same basic idea just on a flat surface. Pastels would be a good choice as well if you wanted to lean more towards drawing and filling in abstract patterns."
Atem turned his head slowly in confusion as Bakura continued to rattle off suggestions.
"You understand this stuff?"
"I've dabbled a bit over the millennia," Bakura said casually. "Plus Ryou was always into artistic stuff. He spent a lot of time in places like this."
"I supposed that makes sense."
"So, have you decided which appeals to you?" Bakura asked, still looking at the materials in front of him.
Atem sighed heavily. "No. I need to think on it. I can always come back another day."
Bakura shrugged. "Suit yourself."
The four left the aisle, meeting up with the twins by the entrance.
"Find anything?" Yugi asked with a hopeful expression.
"No. Just looking," Atem replied.
"Um, guys…where did Bakura go?" Marik asked while looking around.
Atem and Malik looked around.
"He was just behind us," Atem said in confusion.
"I swear, if the Runt is filling his pockets with stolen goods, I'll break both his hands. I am in no mood for his shenanigans," Malik stated sharply.
"For fucks sake, why the hell would I steal from a fucking hobby store? That's low even for me," Bakura growled as he finally joined them.
Malik narrowed his eyes warily. "Where were you?"
Bakura held up a small bag. "Getting some clay, gravel-for-brains. I've been given a mark, and I thought I would have a bit of fun," he said mischievously.
Malik rolled his eyes. "And they call me a psychopath…"
The group of guys walked around for a bit, checking out various stores that drew their interest.
Malik had taken to keeping an extra watchful eye on Bakura. Meanwhile, Marik and Yugi kept pointing out things that they felt might spark Atem's interest. Imhotep would, on occasion, point out things as well, but he seemed more resigned to just follow Yugi everywhere he went like a lost puppy.
Yugi checked his phone as a notification chimed in. His face furled in confusion as he typed back. Another notification chimed in moments later.
"Um, Marik? I think Téa might need your help," he said, his face flushed red in a mixture of embarrassment and disgust.
Marik glanced over in confusion before walking over to see what Téa had sent Yugi. His face turned scarlet at the photo on the screen.
"I thought you had to be eighteen to be able to enter one of those stores?!"
"I don't care how old you have to be, just get my mom out of there!"
"How?! I'm not old enough to even wal-"
"Done," Imhotep interrupted while looking down at his phone. "I told her if she doesn't leave I'll have Mkhai tune into her implant and eat a bag of Doritos while talking into the mic. She's on her way out now."
He looked up from his phone to see several pairs of eyes staring at him. "What?"
"Okay…problem solved I guess?" Yugi said while trying to avoid the sudden awkwardness that had sprung up. "Maybe we should go meet up with the girls now," he quickly suggested.
Atem slid exhaustively down onto the SUV foot-railing before he lowered himself to the ground and made his way into the house. He made a mental reminder to never go anywhere with his ex again.
Kat skipped happily into the house, carrying the stuffed cat she'd bought that was nearly as big as she was. Once everyone was inside and out of the way, she dropped the giant plushie onto the floor then fell face-first into it.
"I have to admit, today was pretty fun! We should definitely do it again!"
"You're more than welcome to," Atem said unenthusiastically while making his way upstairs.
Kat sat up. "You didn't enjoy yourself?"
Atem stopped at the top of the stairs and looked down. "It was kind of hard when a certain someone kept giving Téa dirty looks."
"I wasn't trying to! It just…kept happening…" Kat said while attempting to avoid the scowled look she was receiving.
"Well, 'try' harder next time." Atem marched off to his room and slammed the door behind him.
Kat's shoulders and head fell. Before anyone could attempt to comfort her, she vanished in her usual vortex of fire, taking the stuffed cat with her.
"I'm too tired to deal with this shit. I'm heading back to the palace," Malik stated before vanishing as well.
Marik looked over at the only other person in the room.
"Don't look at me. You're the one fucking her," Bakura stated bluntly.
Marik shook his head in exasperation. "She was trying to be nice. Even I could see that. I'm not sure what her exact issue with Téa is, but it was obvious she wasn't intentionally trying to be cold with her."
Bakura scrunched his nose, as though he were facing some sort of unpleasant internal dilemma.
"Do you know what the concept of 'hazing' is?" he asked.
"Unfortunately. I used it on those who willingly wanted to join my criminal organization," Marik replied.
"Long story short, Kat was on the receiving end when we were Per-Bast. The fact that she received a lot of nasty comments once it was discovered she was barren didn't help. It's part of the reason she had no issues with dumbass having male partners, but she wasn't thrilled with the idea of him having a harem to provide an heir. She's envious of other girls for having the capability of being a mother without having to seek out a magical alternative. Téa's former incarnations have always been a bit too friendly towards the Pharaoh for Kat's liking. Obviously she had every right to be jealous before, but now…"
"But now things are different between her and Atem," Marik finished knowingly.
"Exactly."
Marik plopped down onto one of the cushions beside the table. "They were married for crying out loud. You would think Atem would realize these things and ignore them. How hard can it be for him to just brush it off for a single day?"
"Around other people? Pretty hard. Now, when they're alone…whole different story."
Marik looked at Bakura in piqued interest. "What do you mean?"
"In case you haven't noticed, Kat's relatively calm one-on-one. Put her in a group setting, however…she switches to bitch-mode. It's a defense mechanism on her part. Personally, I've always been aware of this. Royal dumbass, however, chalks it up as it's her norm…which in a way, it is," Bakura explained.
"Let me guess? Her behavior in general has something to do with how women were viewed in ancient times?"
"Pretty much. Kat's always been a bit of a black sheep…an outcast. She's never followed the traditional expectations of women. It's not her fault either. She was created to be the way she is. From what I've gathered, there was a group among the higher Godaeshan ranks that wanted the perfect General to lead an army in conquering the mortal realm and retaking it for their own."
"Conquer?" Marik asked warily.
Bakura nodded. "That's right. She was meant to lead an army that would bring about the End. Though, in case it isn't obvious, she's not exactly lining up soldiers to do so."
"What about you and Malik? You both refer to yourselves as her Lieutenants."
"We swore an oath to serve her, and only her. It kept us from being forced into swearing loyalty to someone else. Most high ranks abuse their authority over their underlings. Kat doesn't. She only forces a command on us to enforce the importance of something. Honestly it's a good thing in my case. I'm kinda stuck in this odd predicament because of my Godaeshan species sub-type, which if I hadn't sworn my loyalty to her, I could be easily ordered around by any who are higher ranking within the species."
"You? Ordered around? You are probably the only person who has more of a problem with authority than myself. I can't picture you following anyone's orders, regardless of loyalty."
Bakura grinned and chuckled. "You have no idea. I was only a palace brat for a few years, but I could have easily been a-" He stopped abruptly, his grin quickly fading as though he had just realized something. "Huh…I'd forgotten about that. Weird."
"Forgotten about what?" Marik asked in confusion.
Bakura quickly shook his head in dismissal. "It's nothing important. Just something personal that I just remembered."
"Okay…?"
Marik was about to inquire further when one of the doors upstairs opened. Kat emerged just after, her eyes still a bit puffy, making it obvious that she'd been crying.
"I'll leave you two alone," Bakura said quietly to Marik before vanishing.
Kat slowly made her way downstairs, saying nothing to Marik as she began setting up her computer and laptop for the evening's raid.
"Are you upset with me?" Marik asked, moving back a bit to make sure he wasn't in her way.
"Why would I be?" Kat said quietly.
"Because I didn't come up to see if you were okay."
"Why should you have? You weren't the one to point out that I wasn't trying hard enough to keep my personal feelings from showing."
"And that was absolute bullshit on Atem's part," Marik said bitterly. "You were trying. I could see it. There were times you tightened your jaw when it was obvious you wanted to say something. When it wasn't enough, you clenched your fists. You even actively walked away when it was obvious you felt annoyed."
"My behavior was unjustified. I should have tried harder. I shouldn't have let what I felt bother me. It's my problem, not everyone else's."
"You tried. You don't have to justify or apologize for your behavior. All that counts is that you actively tried." Marik was beginning to feel pissed off at this point.
"Like Atem said, I should hav-"
"Fuck what Atem thinks!" Marik interrupted loudly. "Does his opinion really mean that much to you?!"
Kat paused in what she was doing, then sat down and curled up with her knees to her chest.
Marik instantly regretted his words. "Habibty, I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"
"No. You have a point. I don't even know why I'm still seeking his approval. I made my choice. I need to stop holding onto these lingering feelings. I need to fully let him go."
Marik brought himself close and wrapped his arms around her. "Just so you know, I'm right here when you do."
Kat leaned into him. "I know. It's just…hard."
"I get it. He was your whole life before this."
Kat nodded.
"Do you regret the choice you made?"
Kat hesitated for a moment. "I can't answer that yet. I'm still…uncertain."
Marik's heart sank hearing her say that.
"Anything I can do to help you with that?" he asked.
Kat turned so she could curl into him. "Just this."
Marik tightened his arms around her, pulling her in even closer. "I think I can manage that."
Kat bought herself a super jumbo Pusheen...because why not? And yes, she collects them. No, Marik hasn't seen her collection. He's not even aware that she collects cute plushies in general...or that she occasionally transfigures into a cat just to bury herself beneath them.