Bakura PoV, then Marik PoV after first break, then Kat PoV for last two breaks. Sorry.
Bakura made his way down to the kitchen so that he could start another 'wonderful' morning with a cup of dark roast. After his rude awakening, he'd attempted to go back to sleep, but that attempt failed as he was now awake.
He'd barely swung the door open when a hand grasped him by the shoulder and quickly pulled him in, pinning him just as quickly against the wall on the other side with a hand over his mouth.
Kat craned her neck as the door swung shut, possibly trying to determine if he'd been followed or if anyone was in the other room. Once she'd determined whatever, she lowered the hand from Bakura's mouth.
"What the fuck?!" Bakura shrieked.
"Shhhh! I need your help!" Kat whispered loudly in a slightly panicked voice.
"You…need my help?" Bakura asked, his mischievous grin slowly forming.
Kat groaned. "I knew I would regret this…"
"So, are you gonna keep me pinned to the wall, or is this part of the 'help' that you need?" Bakura asked suggestively.
Kat rolled her eyes as she released him and stepped back.
"I have a problem."
"I may be able to 'fix' that problem."
"Not that kind of problem, you dolt. I need help with…" Kat glanced around, then peeked her head out of the kitchen, making sure they wouldn't be overheard. Once she felt certain that they were indeed alone, she quietly re-closed the door.
Bakura watched in curiosity, trying to figure out his friend's nervous behavior.
"Are you going to tell me what I can help you with some time this decade?"
Kat stared at a spot on the floor, shifting and fidgeting nervously. She sheepishly forced herself to lift her eyes from the floor and over to that of her friend.
"Today marks one whole week that Marik and I have been together, and from what I understand in this era, 'firsts' are a big deal when it comes to dating. I've never technically 'dated' before, but you have. What should I do? I've read that some people give gifts, others go out on an actual date, some plan romantic evenings that lead up to sex, but it seems the protocol varies depending on the length of time and where you currently are in your relationship."
Bakura stared blankly for a long moment.
Kat continued to stare, but he could easily see the gears in her mind turning towards 'Oh gods, why did I ask him of all people?!'.
Bakura finally answered.
"Well, you've obviously skipped the majority of dating and are already on the 'living together and sharing a bed' stage, so I think for something 'special' you don't have to worry about a romantic evening leading up to sex. You kinda already do that. Buying him something is kinda pointless unless it's something meaningful. That leaves going out on a real date."
He could see how nervous she was about all of this, and she appeared overly relieved that he hadn't decided to joke around for a change.
"Okay…so what does that entail? I know a lot of couples go out for a nice meal with just the two of them, but what else?"
"It all depends. Are you trying to make this day about the both of you, or primarily about him?"
Kat lowered her gaze, thinking. "I guess him? I want to show him that I do care for him, and that I appreciate him still being here."
"So think about what he likes, and build from there."
Kat folded her arms, bringing a hand up to her chin in thought. "He likes motorcycles…and he seemed to enjoy the shop we visited…"
"Nope," Bakura said curtly. "Try someplace you haven't been to. Save going back to the first place you visited for a later date."
Kat dropped her arms and threw back her head while groaning in exasperation. "That counts out Rome for shopping again, we've already been to the arcade, and we just went to the mall yesterday, so what else is there?"
"He's vegan, right? That means he likes animals."
Kat brought her head forward. "Okay…and?"
"Take a trip to the zoo or an animal sanctuary, dummy," Bakura said while tapping her sharply on the forehead. "Look at the animals, spout off useless information about them and see how he reacts, let the day lead you from there."
Kat rubbed at the now-irritated spot on her forehead. "Is it really that easy?"
"Surprisingly, yes. Trust me, I had to fumble a bit before figuring it out myself."
Bakura saw his friend's bright smile moments before she leapt upwards to throw her arms around his neck.
"Thank you for not being an ass about this," Kat said while placing her head on his shoulder and squeezing gently.
Bakura returned the gesture. "What can I say? I have my moments."
"Love you, Kura," Kat stated as she released her grasp and slid back to the floor.
Bakura stared into the glittering gems that looked up at him, a bright smile accompanying them just before it all rushed out the kitchen door. He continued to look towards the spot where Kat had quickly exited, a small wave of warmth flooding through him.
"Love ya, too, nin."
Marik found himself being woken by a tiny ball of fur pouncing on top of him.
Kat transfigured, straddling herself across his lower back. "C'mon, get up!" she said excitedly.
Marik groaned as he reached over to check the time on his phone, dropping his face back into the pillow with another, louder groan.
"It's fucking six in the morning…and we went to bed at two," he muffled into the pillow.
He felt the body on top of him slide off to the side.
"Oh…right. I forgot that you need more sleep than I do."
Marik rolled his head in her direction, groaning again. "I thought you weren't a morning person?" he asked in a groggy voice.
He saw Kat shrink into her shoulders through the one eye he'd managed to peek open.
"Most times I'm not…but then there's times when I can't sleep…and when I'm up, I'm up."
"Yeah…well I'm not up."
Kat sat there for a moment, awkwardly looking away.
"I'll just…uh…I'll just go downstairs until you're ready then," she said sheepishly while trying to back herself off the bed without creating too much movement.
Marik buried his face back into his pillow to muffle another groan. "Wait."
He felt the pause of weight on the bed. He turned his face back towards his girlfriend and peeked a tired eye back open. "You'd better have some really strong coffee waiting for me downstairs."
Kat's face lit up as she nodded excitedly, then rushed off.
Marik buried his face and groaned yet again.
Three hours, one strong cup of coffee at home, a stop at a twenty-four hour diner for breakfast, and a venti blonde roast with double shot espresso later brought the couple to the local zoo.
After paying for admission, Kat excitedly drug Marik off to one area in particular.
"There they are!" she said enthusiastically while pointing down into a pit that looked like a small savannah outcropping.
Marik looked down, staring tiredly for a long moment. "You woke me up at six in the morning to take me out for breakfast and show me a bunch of lions? I can see one of those back at the house," he stated boredly.
The excitement Kat displayed quickly vanished. "But these ones are different. Mal transfigures into an Egyptian lion, also known as Atlas or Barbary lion. They're technically extinct now because a good percentage were killed in the Colosseum for entertainment."
"I'm surprised Malik allowed it."
"He didn't. When he was present, he made it clear that there would be no animals, only men in the arena. Though, he did transfigure a few times and fought as a beast to keep the spectators happy. His coloration was unique, so he couldn't just 'die' and pretend to be a different lion each time. That meant he had to 'win' those fights."
Marik's eyes slowly widened as he turned his gaze towards Kat. "Did he eat anyone?"
Kat appeared surprised by the question. "No." She quickly turned away, avoiding Marik's questioning glare.
"You said that in a way that makes me think that's a lie."
"He never ate anyone while transfigured," Kat said quietly, still avoiding his gaze.
"What about in his other forms?"
Kat hesitated, then took Marik by the hand, leading him away from the lion enclosure. She plastered false enthusiasm across her face. "C'mon! There's still lots more to see!"
A half hour later Kat plopped onto a bench while Marik dealt with the results of drinking more coffee than his body could hold.
The day wasn't going at all like she'd hoped. Waking Marik at too early an hour was obviously her first mistake, especially after the late night.
Then there was the lion enclosure, which she'd hoped would allow her to show more of the type of person Malik was to help the tension that still lingered a bit between the two. Instead it had made him ask a question that she wasn't inclined to answer without Malik present.
After that she tried to show him the leopards, thinking maybe he would at least be interested in the animal she was most like. Instead he had still appeared bored.
"Small world," came a familiar cheerful voice.
Kat looked up to see Yugi and Imhotep approaching.
"What are you two doing here?" she asked in confusion.
"We were talking about how he can turn into a wolf," Yugi said while motioning towards his twin. "Somehow the topic went to several other animals, and then he made a comment about having never actually seen a portion of them with his own eyes. I made a suggestion after that about coming to the zoo."
"We'd originally planned on going yesterday, but we pushed it to today because we didn't want to pass on everyone hanging out," Imhotep added. "So what brings you here?"
Kat's head and shoulders drooped as she sighed heavily. "Apparently the worst attempt at planning a day out with my boyfriend."
"You're having a date…at the zoo?" Imhotep asked in disbelief.
Kat scowled up at him. "Like you know so much about 'dating'," she said sarcastically.
"I would assume it's not exactly romantic to bring your date to look into the eyes of creatures whose souls are barely a spark of what they should be."
Kat gave him a confused look.
"Shae, I've seen eyes like the ones here. The newer ones still have that spark of life and a rebellious nature. The ones that have been here for a while have become complacent, accepting this is their life. The oldest…they are dead inside. They beg for an end."
Kat's shock was obvious. How had she not thought of it that way? She had taken Bakura's suggestion and opted for the zoo since there was no risk to Marik's life…but she hadn't taken into consideration the fact that she had essentially taken him to see an animal prison. Bakura had said that Marik obviously liked animals, which meant he wouldn't want to see them like this.
"Hey," Imhotep said, interrupting Kat's thoughts. "Remember that time I asked you if the dragons in the storybooks were real?"
Kat took a moment to recall the particular memory. "Yeah…what about it?"
Imhotep gave her a knowing look and waited.
Kat's eyes lit up as she realized what Imhotep was 'suggesting'. "Ohhh…"
Yugi looked between the two. "Um…someone wanna fill me in?"
Imhotep put an arm around his sibling's shoulder and began to direct him away. "Have I ever told you about the time I was almost eaten by a manticore?"
Marik returned just as the twins vanished into the crowd of people.
"Was it my imagination, or were Yugi and Imhotep here just a second ago?"
Kat nervously avoided eye contact. "You know what, this place isn't as great as I thought it would be. How about we go somewhere else?"
Marik sighed while rolling his eyes. "Sure, whatever."
nin- Akkadian/Sumerian word. It is sometimes used to denote a queen or a priestess, and is often translated as 'lady'. Other translations include 'queen', 'mistress', 'proprietress', 'lord', and 'sister' depending on the cuneiform symbols used. This particular instance Bakura is referring to Kat as 'sister' or 'sis'. Kat and Bakura's relationship is very complicated, in case you can't tell. They're just weird besties who are like siblings. However, Bakura's 'stronger' feelings are a bit one-sided and he knows it.
Would like to point out that Imhotep making a 'date suggestion' isn't ooc, there is a reason that will be brought up in a future chapter.