Witch's thoughts: hello there my dear readers! yes, I'm back! I'm very, very sorry that I wasn't up for so long, but it's all in the past now. however, if you wait for my star wars or KnB fanfiction, you'd have to wait some more. I'm still to find my love for star wars again and when it comes to Kuroko... jesus christ, Akashi is scaring the hell out of me! if you want anything from this fandom from me, wait until this saga ends. I'm terrified by Akashi ;_;

but coming back to subject (I promise, I won't rant like this in later chapters) I managed to get my hands on Yu-gi-oh! show some time ago, and oh my god, how I love Yugi. and Yami. and Atem... you'll see ;)

now, have fun! I hope you'll like the story!

Witch

Yami stepped through door to his house and sighed. A long day had passed and he felt drained, as he loosened the tie on his neck. His jacket was too hot for this time of the year and he had sweat a lot, having to have it on all the time in the office. Now, he was not only tired, as usual, but also feeling sticky. And that was what he couldn't tolerate.

Stepping quietly onto staircase, he shed his shoes and socks with pleasure. Padding with his bare feet through the hall and further into corridors, he listened to his own footsteps and thought about the night to come. Lost in thoughts, he didn't notic,e when Miho came out of one of the rooms.

"Oh!" she squeaked "I didn't know you are home, young master! Welcome back!"

"I'm home, Miho." Yami mumbled quietly, with another sigh cracking his neck. He grimaced. "Could you please tell Anzu that I'll be having dinner in my study? And have someone to prepare the bath for me? I would very much like that."

"Of course, young master" Miho curtseyed and run back to the kitchen. She even forgot that she should still be dusting the furniture in one of the bedrooms. Now, it was essential to fulfill young master's orders, to have everything in place right on the time. As usual.

At the same time, when Miho was looking for Anzu, Yami reached his rooms not meeting anyone else. Not turning on the lights and feeling soft carpet under his bare feet, he smiled a little, but it was a sad smile. His head hurt terribly and with all the work he should have to have finished by tomorrow, he sure wasn't getting much sleep tonight. Which was good.

Yami slouched, thinking about the night. There were times when it wasn't so important and sleep was a deserved rest, but no more. No more for far too long to remember otherwise. Feeling stiffness in his arms and neck, he tried to get rid of it by moving around, however, without success. Then, he flopped down on sofa, closing his eyes and leaning a little on pillows. Now, his spine protested to being twisted in such strange manner, but Yami ignored it. He needed to feel some of his muscles, because long day in the office left him a little numb.

Still with his eyes closed, he felt around a little to find a small coffee table by the sofa. These rooms were his for as long as he remembered and he didn't have to see to know what was where. Glasses on the coffee table, his desk and his books in one corner, armchair and bigger table to far right, by the window... a little further, his bed and wardrobes. He liked how all his rooms were connected into one, open, free space. It used to be different in the past, but since the nights became painfully long for him, Yami liked to wander around his room. All the walls and closed doors had been making him feel claustrophobic.

A sound of quiet, but firm steps made him twitch and frown a little.

"The bath is ready, master" came deep, beautifully masculine voice. Yami frowned even more. Steps were the wrong ones, as well as was the voice and he didn't like it, when his routine was interrupted.

"Shouldn't you be helping Serenity in the garden today?" he asked quietly, not moving an inch. His spine hurt and he felt that some of his joints were like on fire. But even that didn't make him change once determined position on his pillows.

Now he heard a small chuckle.

"No, master. I was supposed to, yes. But since it's already dark, miss Serenity finished her work. And I was told to prepare bath for master."

Seemed like subtlety would get him nowhere.

"What I want to know is, where is Mahad? " Yami said with tired annoyance "I didn't want you now, Atem."

"Mister Mahad went to take care of the books master had ordered, since it was required to have a person from our household to be present.

Oh, that's right, Mahad was gone for a day. Now, Yami decided, was the time to open his eyes. In the dark, they glowed like wolf's and were similarly terrifying in their sharpness.

What he saw, was that his servant was standing at the door, as he was supposed to, with towels and a bathrobe in his hands. Atem was already half naked and only in his tribal sandals, which meant he was prepared for bathing his master. But Yami didn't feel like it. However, he didn't feel like arguing as well, so now his problem was which one of the annoying things was to be less tiring.

He decided that as much as he would like Mahad to be the one to accompany him, he had to make do with Atem. He was way too tired to talk down Atem into giving in about helping him. Without another word, Yami got up from the sofa and went to bathroom.

/

Atem was in trouble.

He tried his best to stand still and behave himself, but it was nearly impossible to look stoic and respectable with a bunch of towels in his arms. Atem thought that he must be looking ridiculous, standing there with his hair tied on top of his head, bare legs and closing the door with his foot, since his arms were busy. It was only half bad that mister Mahad was gone for the day – they managed to go through the day quite safely without him supervising all of their activities as usual. But right now, when he should have been back already and the one to do this, Miho went straight to Atem and told him that master Yami wants his bath. Since mister Mahad wasn't there, it was apparently his responsibility and everything would be alright if Atem wasn't truly, desperately, childishly in love with his master.

Right now, it took all of his willpower to fight back a blush, threatening to overrun his face, neck and probably all of him, down to his toes. Hiding behind towels in his arms helped, but only a little.

Master Yami was already nude, when Atem followed him into the bathroom. On some other occasion Atem would watch his fill of his master's body, but right now he was only able to swallow back a sigh. He remembered what Anzu told him, when he was leaving kitchen to join the master.

"Be careful, please. When young master wants to eat in his study, it means something went bad at his work and he might be grumpy. Just be there for him and don't react to anything bad he says and he will be better after bathing." the woman said, watching as Atem was struggling with his bundle. "and one more thing. Do not, and I mean it, do not comment about his body, hair, eyes, anything that concerns his looks. You might be surprised, but you'll see what I mean. Just don't do it and everything will be alright."

Atem wondered why shouldn't he comment on anything and thought that he wouldn't do it no matter what happened, because wasn't servants supposed to comment on nothing? But right now, looking at pale, slender body of his master, with cruel clarity he understood that master Yami was undeniably sick.

Moving with tired, slow grace, Yami seemed to not notice intent looks his servant was giving him. Standing in the middle of the chamber, he continued to cover his body with soap, carefully trying not to get his hair wet. He shortly pondered about when Mahad would be back. He didn't like straying from the routine.

On the other hand, Atem followed his master hand's with his eyes, dying to know if he had been mister Mahad, would master allow him to be the one doing the washing. But soon he realized that even if master Yami would allow him to touch him, he wouldn't dare. Master's body was so thin! When Yami turned, so that he stood with his front to Atem, the servant was surprised to see that all his ribs and collarbones were heavily visible, making master look even more vulnerable.

Seeing that master Yami already rinsed himself from soap and got into the tub, Atem moved closer, kneeling behind master's head. Now was the time he feared and desired the most since the moment he was called to prepare the bath.

Yami stretched in warm water, already feeling better. His spine went silent, as well as his arms, as soon as he moved them around a little more, while trying to wash his neck. He felt relaxed and a little sleepy, as he floated, immersed to his chin. He closed his eyes and let out a satisfied sigh...

… that died down, when unfamiliar, too big hands touched gently his scalp. Feeling panic rising in his throat and at the same time fighting to swallow it down, Yami caught the hands.

"First, you wet my hair. Then, apply shampoo and try not to pull too much. After that, tell me you are finished, I'll do the rest myself."

He didn't intend to sound so harsh, but a second of panic at the touch of some stranger made him irritated again. All he got in response was quiet "yes, master" and Atem began to do his job, too slow and too lightly for Yami's tastes, but he couldn't complain, since Mahad was always the one to do it. No one else knew how he liked it. Or simply "wanted" it since "liked" was way too exaggerated. Yami hated to wash his hair.

With his eyes still closed, he let go of Atem's hands, allowing the servant to continue. Atem twitched, feeling unbelievably tense. He knew about master's phobia and wasn't so sure he was able to act as he was supposed. Looking at lean, beautifully muscled body of someone who lived sedentary way of live and trained martial arts, he felt the blush was back again. Master Yami was a very handsome man and Atem owned him a lot.

When a massage on his head stopped for a moment, Yami opened his eyes, wanting to scold the servant. But a look in his eyes made him frown and close his eyelids once again, a little calmer.

"Don't look at me like that, Atem."

"How do I look at you, master?" Atem asked, startled by this sudden conversation with his usually quiet, tired master. Also, he was afraid he screwed his task, and pulled too much.

"You do not own me anything." Yami said, or rather mumbled, as he was seemingly talking to himself. "I did not take you in and healed you out of kindness. You cost a pretty penny even though you were nearly dead. But, you are beautiful and I liked you. That's all that is to it and after you serve your five years of my constant wishes, you do not own me anything. Remember that."

And that means I own you a lot more than I thought. Atem didn't say that out loud, he only nodded his quiet "yes, master" and continued washing. He remembered the day half a year ago that his master was talking about. The day he was sold as deadly sick, wounded, dirty soldier and became a slave for someone who treated him, washed him and tended to his wounds until he was healthy. Some people would say that freedom was worth all pain one could get, but Atem wasn't so sure about this. He knew from experience, that when somebody helps you, he expects something in return. Atem feared that. His freedom wasn't worth much in this country, he was a foreigner and war slave, so he hadn't had to be treated well. But his black thoughts didn't transform into reality – master Yami expected loyalty and detested impertinence or rebelling of any sorts, but was not a bad master. Actually he was more of a strange master. His slaves all received a salary, had quarters identical to those of free people working in the house and they were only punished when did something really bad. It seemed that even if Yami liked to have slaves, he didn't spare them as much thought as other people did. Master Yami didn't hate slaves nor pitied them – he just had them. And somehow, Atem found that reassuring.

After tensing at first, Yami looked like he relaxed again under his hands and Atem felt some strange emotion stirring in him. Then, he blushed madly, this time from pure, red hot embarrassment. Apparently, this emotion stirred not in him, but him.

"Are you finished yet?" Yami's voice startled the slave, until Atem remembered that master couldn't see his lower half, as he was kneeling behind his back.

"Y-yes, master." he managed to cough up through his tight throat. "I'm finished."

"Then you may go for now. Leave my clothes near, I'll dress myself. And after you take care of your problem, wait for me in the study."

Smiling a little when he heard Atem draw in a surprised and nervous breath, Yami pinched his nose close and dived underwater. Funny nation, those Egyptians, he thought. Did he really thought he wasn't so evident that he got aroused by his master's body? Not that Yami minded. Actually, there wasn't much that he minded, even when he was properly rested, so in state he was now in, he wouldn't care if Mana brought her elephants again to play in his yard. That happened only once and never again later, because after Yami slept, he was so mad, that Mana didn't dare to come for a months after that. However, right now Yami really didn't care about anything and one servant with a secret crush on him didn't sound like something life threatening like an elephant in a gallop.

After drying himself and dressing, Yami walked to his study, finding there a meal, set for one person. There was little food, but all he liked, just as he wanted. He had to thank Anzu later. After all this years, she knew him so well, that she even once didn't have to ask for instructions. Yami welcomed that and promised himself to award her later. Bite after bite, he went through his food, absentmindedly looking at the shelves with his books. He felt Atem's nervous stare on his back, but choose to ignore it. The servant was stressed out enough already, there was no point in stirring him up more by talking to him.

Soon after the meal, Yami went to bed.

/

Late in the night, when the sky was dark and the moon hid behind the clouds, Miho was opening the door for Mahad.

"Welcome back, mister Mahad." Miho said, yawning a little. She wanted to get it over with quickly, as she was a little cold in her nightgown.

"I'm back Miho. How's the house? " Mahad asked, taking off his coat, before carefully taking a package, that he earlier set aside, in hands again.

"Everything is alright. We had no problems, mister Mahad."

"That's good. Did you..."

"Oh, welcome back mister Mahad!" they heard from the stairs. With a candle in hand, still lightly dressed, Atem was walking down.

"Hello Atem." Mahad said, looking a little tired and rather pale. "How was master today?"

"Oh, he was irritated about something." Miho interrupted before, Atem could open his mouth. "He ate in his study again! But he went to sleep some time ago and it's still fine."

"And who is with him?" Mahad asked, untying his shoes and taking them in hand too. Miho blinked, her look blank. Mahad didn't like that, a bad thought crossing his mind.

"Atem, who is with master? Who accompanied him?" he asked, harshly and with evident displeasure.

Both Atem and Miho looked surprised that they didn't think about that sooner.

"I-I did..." Atem stuttered, seeing a mixture of anger, fear and tiredness in eyes of the most calm person he'd ever met. But Mahad wasn't looking at him anymore. He let go of his packages that he treated so carefully before and launched into sprint, shoving Atem out of his way and hopping three stairs at a time.

When Atem and Miho managed to reach master's rooms after Mahad outran them, they saw that the door was wide open and heard noises as if there was a fight going on inside.

"Master! Master Yami! Please, wake up! Yami, WAKE UP!"

Mahad was shaking Yami's body back and forth, trying to wake him up and not succeeding for a long while. Thinking about the worst, watching master's ghostly white, distorted face, his paled lips opened in silent cry of fear and ragged breaths, Mahad's heart nearly stopped. But after a minute, when he was thinking about more extreme methods of waking up, Yami suddenly started breathing normally again, taking in air in needy gulps. His eyes snapped open, wide and shining from unspilled tears. He curled into a ball, fighting Mahad's arms, but eventually quieting down, when the servant didn't let go. For the longest of moments, Mahad stood still, his hands strongly restraining his master, with Miho and Atem watching him with scared expressions. Then, Yami's body relaxed, he put down his hands and sighed.

"Welcome back Mahad." Atem and Miho heard his weak voice.

"I wish I was back sooner, master. But yes, I am back." Mahad's voice was muffled, but again gentle and radiating calmness. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, I think that now it is." Yami sighed again, this time noticing that there were more people in the room. "Why aren't you two sleeping already?"

Atem blinked out of his stupor, watching the scene before him with wide-eyed amazement. But it seemed that he was the only one that found it unusual, as Miho stepped in front firmly.

"We were worried, young master." she said, cuddling a package in her arms. It contained books that Mahad brought. "Should I call Miss Mai's Isis for tomorrow?"

"No need. I feel better already. " Yami smiled weakly, but his face regained it's original colour, losing that terrifying paleness. "But I'll be getting this books, Miho. I may as well start working, since I'm up."

Atem watched Miho giving their master the package and helping him unpack it, when he met Mahad's stare. It was icy cold, firm and calmly furious. It promised him a talk and it meant a talk when he would suffer greatly if Mahad wouldn't like what he heard.

Oh yes, Atem was in for big trouble.

Witch again: so, how was it? comments are love :)