AN: So nice to see ya back here :P chapter 13 is up and ready. I know this fic and the relationship building between them is a big piece of a slow-burn romance xD And hell, this chapter really was a pain in my a**, because it's a "filler" chapter… so, no flames pls! I did my best here xD really.

However… Enjoy!

CHAPTER XIII
Beside You

I felt so save in his arms and the warmth of his body cocooned me in a comfortable embrace, that made my heart jump in circles. The sound of his lungs inhaling one calm breath after the other, such as the frequent beat of his heart inside of his chest was like the most beautiful melody I knew. It was like I was on drugs. My head lied on his shoulder while his arm was wrapped around me and I literally soaked in every tiny bit of his odour. Marik was still asleep as I glanced over his bare chest to my nightstand to check the time on my alarm clock. 3.24 am. I wasn't able to sleep much. His presence and his peaceful countenance beside me was something I didn't want to miss - not a single second of it. So I lied awake and just enjoyed it to have him close to me.

Every time he gently exhaled his breath tingled my forehead. This moment was so perfect in his simplicity and I learned to be thankful for the little things. Love. What a little word with such a big meaning. Never did I expect that love would feel so weird and overwhelming at the same time, spinning my head upside down like a hurricane. My lips wore a happy grin from ear to ear when I buried my cheeks in his shoulders a little more, wrapping my arm around his chest a little more like he was all mine. And I was all his. Come what may.

Oh how wrong I was.

Eventually I drifted off into sleep again while the butterflies in my tummy gave me the feeling that everything was just perfect as long as I was with him.

xx

When I woke up the bed was made up on Marik's side and he was nowhere to be seen. I got myself ready for the day and wondered why he had left in the morning without saying anything and what this new day would have in stow for us.

Like always I found Odion in our private kitchen and dining room, leaning with his head propped up on his arm over today's newspaper. Beside him stood a big mug of steaming black coffee on the marble table and he glanced up at me with his deep olive eyes as I closed the door behind me. He gave me one of his well-knowing smiles when our eyes locked.

"Good morning." I said and raised my brow a little as like I wanted to say 'Why do you look at me like that?'. I helped myself to a cup of coffee and sat down across of him on the table.

"So…" Odion began to speak. "Am I right that your lack of communication is finally over?"

I nodded and pursed my lips into a quirky smile. "What makes you think that?" I asked in false innocence and shrugged as I nibbled in my coffee. I nursed my lips peered into my mug.

Odion leant back on his chair and folded his arms. "It's not like I'm blind, Jesara. That kiss on the dance floor was unmissable, such as Master Marik trying to slip out of your room in the morning unnoticed."

My cheeks went dark red in just a second. "Oh… well, then… yes." This time I wasn't able to hold back my happy grin that was now plastered on my face. "Speaking from the devil, where is he?"

"He's pissed about the outcome of last night…to say it meekly. I just saw him stealing out of your quarters and disappearing behind his own door. Guess he is already making new plans on about how to find out the locations of Slifer and Obelisk since his plan on reading Ishizu's mind failed bitterly." Odion answered and pursed his lips.

How could it be different? I had the slight suspicion that Marik's masterplan would cause much more trouble than it already did. Would it even lead anywhere? Ishizu came to my mind and I instantly felt sorry for her again. Her own brother just wanted to use the ancient magic of the millennium rod against her and I hated it to be caught in the middle, loving both of them.

"Besides that…" Odion added dryly and paused for a second to take a sip of his coffee. "Master Marik is not quite amused about those new Gravekeeper cards Ishizu helped Pegasus with. He thinks this new release is pure blasphemy."

My fingers playfully glided over the edge of my coffee mug. "This didn't go unnoticed for me. What do you think about Pegasus' new cards?" I asked suspiciously. I knew what Marik thought about them and why, but I also wanted to hear Odion's opinion. He still was the calmer and more rational thinker of them.

He shrugged slightly. "Marik's reaction didn't surprise me at all. His ancient duty as a tomb keeper caused him nothing but pain during his lifetime. Seeing his sister, who hasn't the burden to guard the tomb, making money with revealing a little of our history is of course annoying for him. For him it is a betrayal. But in my opinion we're also guilty of betraying our ancient duty, maybe far more than Ishizu is."

"True…" I commented dryly, feeling guilty at the same time. "What's on your to-do list for today?"

"Master Marik wants me to do some research and find out about the possible location of Slifer. At least I will try." Odion explained and took another big gulp of the dark brown liquid until his mug was empty.

xx

I decided to help Odion in the computer room, since Marik didn't make an appearance until noon. We browsed through several online news papers and blog entries where Ishizu was mentioned on the internet. It was like we were trying to research her whole biography. Every time I found a picture of her I lost myself in her piercing blue eyes and feelings of guilt literally froze me. If Marik was also capable of killing his own sister to get what he wanted I didn't want to help him with that, but did I have a choice?

The latest articles just mentioned the new release of the Gravekeeper cards and how Ishizu was involved with Industrial Illusions and Pegasus to create them. But there wasn't literally nothing else that would give us an idea about where Slifer could be hidden. After a few hours of searching and googling I highly doubted it that we were even looking in the right place. Besides that all the memories of our little make out last night, such as my confession towards Marik distracted me too. How he touched and kissed me literally set my veins and senses on fire.

"Screw it." I pressed out demotivated. "This doesn't even lead anywhere, Odion." I leant back in my chair and stretched a little. My eyes hurt from looking onto the screen of the computer for what felt like an eternity.

Odion let out a sigh, silently agreeing with me and rubbing his eyes. "Ishizu hid them very well and did her best to make them disappear without a trace. Maybe finding Ra was just luck."

"May I ask you something, Odion? Something personal?" I questioned cautiously and glanced over the edge of my screen to meet his amber-olive eyes.

He nodded at me, wearing his poker face. "Sure. What do you want to know?"

I swallowed a little. "What do you think about all of this? I mean… this whole 'finding the god cards and becoming king of the world-thing'." My eyes never broke eye contact with him.

He frowned and exhaled before the answered my question. "It's not on me to have an opinion about this. I'm just following and taking care of Master Marik like I vowed it to his mother in the hour of death."

'Oh Odion, you faithful soul.' I thought to myself, but I didn't believe him. He wasn't a robot without a brain or soul, he was human like me after all. Thinking was human.

Suddenly the door swung open with a loud bang and one of Marik's Rare Hunters stormed in. I didn't know his name at all, but I stared at him with a staggered expression.

"Urgent organisation meeting! NOW. Master Marik wants all of us in the hall!" He urged in a loud tone was disappeared again without an explanation what this 'meeting' was about. Odion and I stared at each other curiously.

I entered the meeting hall right behind Odion and Marik's servants stood in rank and file as usual. The lightning was dim, only the golden throne in the rear end was brightly illuminated and painted a wonderful contrast to Marik's sandy blonde hair and his golden headpiece. My heart skipped a beat when I saw him again. His lavender eyes glistered hypnotising beneath his bangs.

Like usual I positioned myself in the front row beside Odion. With every step I made I senses Marik's eyes resting on me until mine locked with his. I bit back a smile while my cheeks blushed and last night replayed in my mind.

"Jesara." Marik then said and stared at me with his pokerface. I blinked up at him in surprise. All the other Rare Hunters were still whispering and muttering about the possible reason for this urgent meeting. He then tilted his head a little to the right, mentioning for me to come closer. "Your place is up here. Beside me."

My heart skipped a beat as my face literally lost all its colour at his inquiry. Odion gave me a little push with his shoulder and smiled down at me. I nodded shyly and stepped up onto the platform. In a fraction of a second everyone stopped talking and the hall fell dead silent. I sensed all eyes on me and every hair on my skin rose, pointing up like needles when a shudder crept down my spine.

Now I stood right beside him and his throne and stared down to the ground. I hated it when everyone was eyeballing me with those stares like it was a cold day in hell. Nobody ever expected this to happen, nor did I. For them Marik was always an asexual being, who always called me his wife without touching or treating me that way - until now. We glanced at each other from the corner of our eyes for a little moment and my lips formed into a slight smile. Where things official between us now?

I glanced down at Marik beside me with my deep red cheeks. "What is going on, Marik? What's so urgent?" I asked him whispering. Whatever was the reason for this super urgent meeting it was either extraordinary great or one of his servants screwed things up on an astronomic level and will earn his one way ticket to the shadow realm now.

"Wait and see, my dear. Maybe we'll have a reason to pop the champagne. Lumis and Ambra said they have good news." He answered with a slight grin snaking across his lips.

My brow arched curiously. Lumis and Ambra didn't mess up like they usually do?

"Master Marik!" Lumis' voice cut through the tense calm as he entered the hall with his uneven twin Ambra. Ambra dragged an egyptian looking man of maybe thirty-five years behind him. He wore a fine suit and a crimson red bow tie, such as shining patent-leather shoes. The man looked like he could possibly have been to the gala dinner of Industrial Illusions too. His hair had a deep shade of almost black and already started to turn grey in the roots. I eyed him curiously, somehow I thought that I've seen him before. Lumis wore a winning smile on his lips as they approached the throne plateau. They bowed down and awaited the allowance to speak.

"Who's that, Lumis…Ambra?" Marik asked with words cold as ice. His lavender eyes narrowed dangerously at the three of them. His glance was intimidating in every way. "You've promised me good news and not leading a complete stranger into the heart of our headquarter."

"Master Marik! May I introduce you to Mr. Sabah Delrazek? We caught him just half an hour ago as he was lurking around the building. He said he was looking for you." Lumis explained respectfully and glanced back at the man over his shoulder with a smirk.

"So so… You've been looking for me." Marik repeated his words with a portion of deadly sugar in his undertone. "How did you even get here? Explain yourself, Sabah. Or I'll look for the answer myself." He commanded and positioned the millennium rod in his lap as a silent reminder, that it was better to tell the truth. His demanding tone sent chills down my spine and wondered how one mind could have two so extremely different sides.

Sabah cleared his throat before speaking. "I'm the chef curator of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo… or to be honest… I was."

"And why do you even think this was interesting for me, Mr. Former-Chef-Curator?" Marik teased him and raised his brow arrogantly.

"Because I lost my job to a woman who seems to be your sister. Ishizu Ishtar, if I'm right?" Sabah explained with a little more confidence. "It's been a coincidence, but I witnessed your little argument at the Industrial Illusions gala yesterday. And I'm sure that I know the location of something you are searching for."

Marik's brows wrinkled in surprise and I sensed how his mood lightened up underneath his icy shell. He stood up from his throne and slowly stepped down the platform. "And what do you think this is?"

"The egyptian god card Slifer The Sky Dragon. I know where it's to be found." Sabah answered confidently while the young sandy blonde, who could have been his son, drew closer to him with an intimidating aura.

His eyes narrowed to slits while Marik stared at him with his poker face. "Sabah… I guess you're a smart guy and I'm sure that you know who I am and where you are right now. Why for Ra's sake should you give this information to me?" Marik asked with an icy undertone and circled around him on calculated heels like a predator. I watched the scene from the throne area, chewing on my lips nervously.

"Do I smell…" He leant closer to Sabah from behind and whispered. "Revenge?"

Sabah nodded. "Ishizu had begged me to help her finding a safe hiding place within the walls of the museum a few months ago. Little did I know that she was aiming for my job. So yes, if that's what you want to call it."

Marik chuckled in evil amusement. "So you decided to reveal Slifer's location to me to give my sister what she deserves? I'm actually starting to like you, Sabah. Where exactly did you hide it?"

Sabah glanced back at Marik over his shoulder. "In the safest place the museum has to offer. Inside the death mask of King Tutankhamun."

"I expected nothing less than that from my precious sister." Marik grinned. His icy stare then wandered over his audience of Rare Hunters. "Alright, my faithful servants. Prepare yourself for a little trip to Cairo! Now. And you, Sabah. You will come with us and lead us in and out safely. As the former curator you know how to get in there without triggering the alarm."

"B-but I … No!" Sabah's eyes shot wide open at Marik's inquiry, but was cut off by a glistering light coming from the Anubis eye on top of the millennium rod and within a second Sabah's eyes went blank and empty.

"You will, my dear Sabah."

xx

I hurried to get myself ready for our mission and my heart raced from all the excitement. As fast as I could I pinned up my hair and changed into a black jeans and a black slim fitting tank top underneath my purple cloak. I sat down on my queen size bed to tie my black boots as the door opened.

"Wha are you doing?" Marik closed the door behind him and glanced down at me with a stern expression written to his heart-shaped face.

I frowned in confusion and looked up at him. "Get ready for our mission? How else does it look like?"

"You won't come with us. I want you to stay here." He commanded cooly.

"W-what? But why?" I asked desperately. "You also wanted me to be with you when we found Ra!"

"That was before you got hurt during the mission. And the valley of the kings is nothing compared to the security systems of the museum of Cairo. It's too dangerous. You stay and wait here. That's my last word." Marik explained in a demanding tone and turned around to leave.

I stood up from the bed hastily and grabbed for his wrist. "No way, Marik." With that he glanced back at me over his shoulder in surprise, his lavender eyes still icy. He didn't expect me to talk back to him like that.

"You can't switch me on and off like a TV whenever it suits your will. I will come with you. That's my last word." I said with so much confidence in my tone than ever. I've never been so certain about anything like that before. I swallowed and then gently wrapped my arms around his waist, burying my face in his back.

"Beside you. You remember?"

AN: Don't hate me for this awful chapter xD but it was necessary to prepare for the next one, which will be more exciting. Thx for reading :-) reviews are welcome!