Disclaimer: I don't own anything!

Author's Note: This is an incredibly late birthday fic for arashi wolf princess, as requested by vampygurl402. I know there's no real excuse good enough for lateness, so I'll just have to apologize again for it.

A king, realizing his incompetence, can either delegate or abdicate his duties. A father can do neither. If only sons could see the paradox, they would understand the dilemma.
~Marlene Dietrich

"I don't know what to do. They're both so…reckless."

Tuya looked over at her pacing husband from where she was looking over the crop reports. Seti had been busy lately with his campaigns against the Hittite northerners, so she'd decided that she would help him. "Who?"

Seti sent a look at her. "Our sons, Tuya. You heard Hotep and Huy earlier. All this fasting that the priests have been doing—it's because of them! Rameses and Moses switched the heads on the statues in the Temple of Ra. Did we teach them no respect?"

"Of course we did." Tuya wasn't particularly happy with the boys either; she'd laughed at some of their pranks, but this one was insulting to the gods! "But they're young. They're doing what young people do."

"So you're saying that I should ignore them? Let them believe that this is unpunishable?"

"When did I say that?" she demanded. "If they truly believed it was unpunishable, they wouldn't have kept it a secret from us. They knew perfectly well that what they were doing was wrong."

"Then why did they do it?" Seti sat across from her at the table, stretching out his legs. His knees were beginning to ache; he was feeling old. "Help me with this, Tuya. You understand them far better than I do."

"That's because you don't spend any time with them, Seti. They know you only as pharaoh. That's why they do the things they do—it's to get your attention. You see them for lessons, for meals and to scold them. And you're rather silent at the table." And while Tuya understood that Seti was a man who enjoyed the peaceful times he had, away from the stress of his office, the boys had a harder time understanding why he hardly spoke at mealtimes.

"What do you propose I do, then?"

Tuya came around the table, resting a hand on her husband's shoulder. He was painfully tense, even here, just between them. "You're overstressed from the war," she told him. "You need time away from all this."

"I can't simply take time away," he protested.

"You are Pharaoh," she reminded him. "And while that means you have many responsibilities, it also means that you can make things happen. If you say that you are taking time away, then that's what's going to happen. And I think you should take the boys with you."

"The boys?"

"Yes. Spend time with them as their father, not as Pharaoh."

"They're one and the same thing."

"For political purposes, yes. For familial purposes, not so much."

Seti sighed; his wife was persuasive. Particularly when she was right.

Subtlety was not the boys' strong suit. They were trying to exchange looks and play behind his back, trying not to let him see. This time, with Tuya's words in mind, he chose to not scold them for it. The pyramids were the sacred site of former pharaohs, holy resting places. And while, intellectually, that means something to Rameses and Moses, in truth, they were still young enough—only fourteen and twelve, respectively—that sacred meant very little when it came to mischief.

(But he never had a brother, a sibling, to get into mischief with. It's less fun by yourself and Seti is grateful every day that the gods sent Moses down the river so that Rameses doesn't have to grow up the way he did)

Moses was the naturally inquisitive one, the unafraid one. "Father," he began, having to jog a little to keep up with Seti's longer strides. "Why are we here?"

And Rameses was right behind him, eyes just as curious, waiting for the response.

It took Seti a moment to gather his thoughts. These were his sons. Bright and brilliant as the sun. Finally, he began to speak. He spoke of the gods and why the great pharaohs of the past had built the pyramids. The boys listened attentively. Even if he sometimes saw their eyes wander, their attention never did.

"…my father brought me here as well. When I was only a few years younger than the both of you."

(It's been a long time since he's spoken of his father. Not since he's thought of him. Seti thinks of his father often, thinks of his accomplishments and how he can do better. Fathers, he thinks, should be something aspire to. He wants to be that powerful image that his father was to his own sons)

And, somehow, the words kept coming. Little stories of his father. The boys never knew their grandfather and they were fascinated.

"Father," Moses began—of course it would be Moses. That boy was never afraid to speak to him. "Didn't you have any brothers?"

(Moses can't picture a world without his brother. Can't picture growing up alone, without someone to laugh with, to share secrets with)

Seti looked down at them. His sons. Destined for greatness. "No. I was the only son."

"Do you ever wish you weren't?" Rameses asked. He'd been so young when Moses had come to them. Did he remember being an only son?

"Many times, in my youth."

"Not anymore?"

"No. I have a different family now." Rameses looked up at his father, understanding the implications of that. It made him grin, toothy and wide.

The sun was setting when they returned to the palace. Tuya smiled when she saw them, kissing their sons on the forehead in greeting and touching her husband's shoulder. "Welcome home. How was your adventure?" For she had no doubt that it had been one.

The boys went off at the same time, voices and stories overlapping as they all retreated into the cool shade. At some point, they got caught up in their own conversation, which allowed Tuya to drift back to walk beside Seti.

"Sounds like the three of you had a good time."

"Well, I heard that I would on good authority."

She arched a brow. "Oh really?"

He smiled a little at her. "Yes. I chose a very wise woman to be my wife."

"That's a good answer." The shadows in his eyes from months of war had lessened, somewhat, the tension not as pronounced in his frame. She was glad to see it and to see her sons so excited after spending time with him. Almost on a whim, she asked, "…are you happy?" (Happiness is something that they don't ask for. They have duties to complete and they need to get done. Happiness is something extra. But at this moment, Tuya thinks she really is happy)

Seti was quiet for a long moment. Most would think that he wasn't going to answer, but Tuya knew her husband and so she waited patiently for the reply she knew was coming. "…I believe I am."

She hummed a little. "And that is an even better answer."