Note; I put an AU warning but I just wanted to elaborate on the differences
- Yami goes by the name Atemu and has some memories of his past as Pharaoh.
- Neither characters possess their Sennen Items. Atemu has his own body and Yuugi is not mentioned, same goes for Ryou (he has his own body, no Yami Bakura).
That's all that I can think of. If anything else confuses you let me know and I'll clear it up for you ^^

"Finding anything of interest?"

The tanned teenager jumped at the sudden, authoritive voice. He stood straight, expecting it to have belonged to someone much older, then stifled laughter at the sight of his new companion.

The new boy, who was not tan but his skin had darkened from days in the sun, stood at barely 150 centimeters (if you didn't count his hair) and was definitely still a teen. At the display of the taller boy whom he'd approached, he cocked a brow and extended a hand unsurely. The tanned blonde grasped it firmly, just to be polite. After releasing their hold, he knelt down and continued to brush at the sand.

"Nothing, yet," he mused quietly, looking up and offering the other a smirk. From where he stood, his large, star-shaped haircut was effectively blocking the sun from lavender colored eyes. He tilted his head and watched his own shadow with amusement before kneeling beside his taller companion.

"You're using that brush wrong."

The blonde cast an offended stare at the lighter boy. "No, I'm not, and who are you to say?"

The teen with tri-coloured hair let out a short laugh, the kind uttered by men much older than he. "Forgive my rudeness, I am Atemu."

The blonde looked his acquaintance up and down before waving the sand-covered brush at him accusatively. "I knew you looked familiar! You look just like the pharaoh Atemu!"

Atemu's sun-kissed cheeks earned a deep, pink flush. "I get that a lot. I'm actually, supposedly, a descendant of his, even though it's been written that he died before ever copulating."

The blonde nodded, "that's true," he went back to brushing the sand, eyeing Atemu curiously. "Though, your resemblance is uncanny."

Atemu was not flattered this time; he was too busy studying the strokes of the brush. One eye twitched irritably but he put on his best smile and tried to ignore it. "You haven't told me your name."

"Huh?" the blonde seemed pulled from thought. "Oh, I'm Marik Ishtar. You might recognize my name, or know my sister's, rather."

"It wouldn't happen to be Isis, would it?" Atemu asked with some interest. Marik nodded.

"It would, actually," he grinned proudly, "my sis is really important to the Egyptian government. As a matter of fact, our family comes from a long line of tomb keepers. The last member who stayed true to our past and rituals was my father."

Atemu emitted a thoughtful hum and eyed Marik's back before excusing himself and walking off. As he did, he crossed paths with a pale boy whose long, white hair was up in a ponytail. The latter observed the stranger with soft, brown eyes before kneeling beside Marik and handing him a glass of lemonade. Marik smiled at the boy appreciatively and they shared a quick, soft kiss before the blonde took a sip.

The pale boy tilted his head and spoke in polite (but notably suspicious) tone, "Darling, who was that?"

Marik looked over his shoulder and shrugged. "I'm not sure, Ryou. I was hoping you could tell me that."

"Why would I know?" Ryou mumbled, turning his nose to the air. Marik chuckled at the obvious display of jealousy and gave his boyfriend a light push. Ryou regained balance before falling over then huffed and stood up. "Is that the thanks I get for bringing you this?" he snatched the glass as Marik went to take another sip and wagged it in the air. Ice cubes swished around in the translucent liquid and clinked the sides of the glass.

"Hey!" Marik grinned, jumping to his feet, "give that back!"

Ryou grinned back and held his arm at full length. When his slightly taller boyfriend reached for it, the pale boy wrapped his arm around, switched the glass to his other hand, then held it out in the other direction while cradling Marik's modest frame. Ryou lowered his lids and cast a seductive gaze, tempting Marik to encase him. The blonde smirked, slid an arm beneath Ryou's and pressed it against his narrow back then claimed his mouth in a passionate kiss. Ryou moaned softly as he relinquished power to his lover, allowing his mouth to be explored and offering his tongue's gentle caress to the intruder.

When at last they parted, their cheeks sported a new blush and their lips remained moist. Still, when Marik swallowed the sound was dry and he eyed the glass of lemonade. Ryou giggled and brought it within his reach. Not wanting to release his lover just yet, Marik pocketed the dusting brush and took the glass with his newly freed hand.

Neither of the boys knew they were being watched from afar.

Once the glass was empty Ryou took it and returned to the shaded area beneath a large tent, but not before confirming that Marik was not flirting with 'that kid', and not without another quick kiss. Conveniently, he and Atemu crossed paths once more as he headed back.

"Marik, was it?" the oddly authoritive voice asked. This time the blonde did not look up.

"Yeah. Where'd you run off to?"

"Back to my crew," Atemu explained. "We're excavating over where the remains of an underground tomb are supposed to lie."

"Your crew?" Marik echoed doubtfully, "are you trying to tell me you're leading the men you work with?"

"That's right," Atemu grinned. "Just as I know you are leading yours."

Marik sighed, "you're wrong about that."

"Oh?" it was hardly a response but there was a cockiness to it that Marik didn't like.

"Yes, if you must know," Marik replied stubbornly. "Isis is at the head of all my archaeological digs."

Atemu crouched beside Marik, propped his elbow on his knee and tilted his head against a half-closed fist, "but Isis isn't here, is she?"

Lavender eyes shifted in the direction of the pharaoh's supposed descendant, but that was all the regard he was given at that moment. "No, no she's not."

Atemu reached toward Marik's back. "Then that makes you…"

Marik gaze snapped toward the nearing appendage then he quickly stood up and backed away. His eyes narrowed as he demanded, "What are you're doing? I don't appreciate being touched so casually!"

"My apologies," Atemu's voice was hardly sincere. He stood up and responded to Marik observatory stare with a cocky smile. "I'm not sure what you're looking for, but you're not going to find anything over here. The rest of your team is actually very close to mine. Why don't you join us instead of alienating yourself?"

"I'm fine where I am, thank you," Marik considered saying there was something he was looking for, but he felt no need to explain himself to this strange teen. Atemu eyed him doubtfully then glanced toward the large tent.

"Wouldn't you like being closer to your friend?" he asked, scanning the distance for white hair or a light blue striped shirt. Marik tensed and Atemu smirked. "He is closer to the rest of us, after all."

"Stay away from him," the blonde growled protectively. Atemu focused crimson-violet eyes on the flushed teen, once more finding him amusing.

"Who said I was interested?" a suntanned hand waved listlessly near tri-coloured hair, then Marik was being glanced at through half-lidded eyes. "As I was saying, without Isis here, her crew answers to you."

"Wrong again," Marik shrugged and shook his head. "They answer to our brother, Rishid. She puts him in charge because he's 'more reliable'."

Atemu observed the air-quotes around the last two words, followed by the way the blonde crossed his arms defensively after realizing he'd said too much. Atemu brushed yellow bangs behind his ear (from which hung very expensive-looking golden earrings) and cast a gaze across the desert sands once more. "Well, if that's what Isis Ishtar says I guess I can't argue. If you change your mind, I'll be more than happy to work together. Until then."

Without hesitation, the composed teen strolled off. Marik watched until he was sure he wouldn't come back, then continued his exploration of the sand hole he'd created.

An hour passed before Ryou came to check on his boyfriend again. This time he brought a water canteen.

"How's it going, love?" the gentler boy asked, observing the small artifacts that had been dug up. Marik was now in a hole waist-deep and digging slightly further away from the tent. "Looks like you found something."

Marik nodded, "not what I'm looking for yet, but I'm close," he gestured toward the cheap items that were lined up against a large, protruding rock. "Isis said I'd find stuff like that first; it was put here to discourage diggers. Thank you," the last part was said as he took the canteen being offered. Ryou nodded.

"Well, she was right about that," he said politely as possible, "it looks like absolute junk."

"Most of it is," Marik boosted out of his trench, shifting loose sand back in. Ryou briefly wondered how he'd gotten the hole to take shape at all, then carefully stepped around to sit against the rock as Marik now was. The blonde picked up a solid jar and gave it a light blow, sending dusty sand particles airborne. Ryou winced, covering his nose and mouth. Marik grinned and pointed to the worn markings. "This one's almost like-new, if you ignore the chip at the top and the weather damage that is."

Ryou laughed, "Marik, that's like saying I'm a girl if you ignore my chest and sex organs."

Marik scoffed, "that's hardly the same thing. Look here, you can still make out what it says."

"Really?" Ryou leaned in to read the hieroglyphs but frowned, "No, you can't–"

Marik stole a kiss then hopped back into his ditch. Ryou pursed his lips in a pout then grabbed one of the useless chunks of clay and chucked it at his love. The chip hit Marik's shoulder and shattered with a dull sound followed by muffled thuds as the pieces fell to the sand.

"Ryou!" Marik scolded, "You can't treat this stuff like that! Even the worthless bits are still thousands of years old and deserve respect."

"Anything that old deserves respect indeed," Atemu spoke up as he approached. Marik groaned.

"Why won't you leave me alone?" the blonde asked tiredly. Ryou stepped away when Atemu stood next to him, brown eyes darting from one male to the other.

"I don't think I deserved that," Atemu gripped his own waist, "your brother asked me to come get you."

Marik tensed. "Why should I believe that?"

"You have no reason not to," Atemu replied smoothly, "the crews were getting hungry but neither one wants to stop digging, so we're taking turns, so to speak. Rishid figured, since you're alone over here, you might not want to leave your spot, so I volunteered to come watch it for you."

Marik looked at Ryou expectantly. The latter admitted, "I had come over here to ask if you were hungry, I would have offered to bring you something and eat with you."

Atemu raised a brow at the pale boy. "You don't get much sun, do you?"

Ryou jolted slightly, "beg your pardon?"

Atemu nodded. "That was rude of me, I apologize. However, in this desert sun you should be tanned or burnt by now. Instead, the light reflects off of your skin and hair most perplexingly."

Ryou blushed and stammered over a response, while Marik growled and lifted out of his hole again. He stepped between Ryou and Atemu, glaring at the latter. "You said you weren't interested in him."

Atemu smirked, "I asked who said I was."

Marik tilted his head downward angrily, "are you, or are you not?"

"I am now," Atemu replied as though this was okay, then spoke around Marik and directly to Ryou, "If you don't mind me asking, why are you here? Since my crew arrived, I haven't seen you do anything but tend to him."

Ryou glanced at Marik as the other teen gestured his way, then glared at him as well. "Not that it's any of your business, but I join Marik on his digs simply to be with him."

"How sweet," Atemu was disinterested now and waved the couple along. "Go on then, both of you. I'll sit here and guard your … site … while you're gone."

Marik tensed as Atemu stifled a laugh when calling the spot a 'site'. Both wanting to prevent a fight and spend time with Marik, Ryou ushered his boyfriend along, toward the large tent.

"Ah, you got him to come eat, after all," Rishid placed a hand on Ryou's shoulder. "Did Atemu stay and watch his spot?"

Ryou made a cutthroat gesture with his hand that Rishid didn't get.

"Don't call him that around me," Marik chided, "he doesn't deserve that name."

"Master Marik," Rishid replied, "that is the name his parents gave him. What else should he be called?"

"I can think of a few things," Marik grumbled under his breath. Rishid looked to Ryou who only shrugged and shook his head. Marik caught this and slammed a fist on the table. "How can you be so nonchalant about it?"

Ryou jumped and eyed his boyfriend nervously, "he… he didn't really do anything wrong…"

"Yeah," Marik scoffed, "he's only done nothing but taunt me since he got here and talk to you like he's on some high horse and you're just a lowly commoner."

Ryou sighed, "You're reading too far into it. I don't think he was raised in a very social environment. Maybe he just doesn't know the right and wrong way to talk to people."

"He is the head of his team," Rishid agreed, "He carries the air of someone who likes to be in control."

"You've got that right," Marik rolled his eyes. "You haven't seen the way he talks to me, though. Neither of you have. It's not right at all."

"So talk to him about it then," Ryou huffed finally. "Until then, give it up and just enjoy being here."

Marik looked up apologetically. "I'm trying to, Ryou. You saw how happy I was earlier."

Ryou nodded slowly, "yes, but I think you need to come over here and join the main dig for a while."

Marik started to speak but Ryou silenced him with two fingers to his lips and continued, "I know you're on a mission for Isis but whatever's there has been for millennia and isn't going to suddenly move any time soon."

Marik sighed, "Alright, fine, but I'm only doing it for you."

"I know, love," Ryou kissed Marik briefly then glanced at Rishid. "Would you mind telling Atemu he can come back now?"

Rishid nodded. "If Master Marik is staying here, I can do that."

Ryou waited until Rishid walked away, then grinned and kissed Marik again, deeply this time.

Though he usually kept to the shade, Ryou felt that Marik would need constant encouragement to stay at the main dig site, so he visited with his lover frequently and showed interest in what he was doing. Together, they unearthed what was assumed to be a pillar and soon proved itself to be part of the underground building Atemu had mentioned. It took most of the day to dig to its base, but it was worth it to see the start of the ceiling of the tomb. When sunlight betrayed them at last, Atemu and Rishid allowed their diggers to retire for the night, but a handful chose to stay and work by moonlight. Amongst these were Marik, Ryou, and Atemu, though the former two lost interest in the dig when not supported by their enthusiastic peers.

Less than an hour into the night, Ryou stretched and yawned, placing a hand on Marik's shoulders gently before saying, "I think that's enough for me today, love. I'm going to turn in."

Marik smiled, his eyes reflecting the light of the moon. "That's fine, Ry. I'm surprised you lasted so long without getting sunstroke."

Ryou nodded sleepily, "I'm glad I could. It was worth it to see you at work."

Marik kissed his lover gently. "You know the only thing I adore more than work is you, my dear."

Ryou blushed faintly, but even his body was moving slowly now, "and I adore you enough to endure it."

Marik laughed softly at their little anecdote, then brushed the sand from one hand and tousled soft, white locks. The day outside had done some damage to the sensitive strands, but Ryou had ways of bringing his hair back to tiptop condition after almost anything.

Marik watched Ryou stagger to the tent and smiled pitifully before jumping to his feet and aiding the boy. Once Ryou was safely tucked into his sleeping bag amongst the other diggers, Marik planted a final soft kiss on his temple before returning to work. It wasn't the pillar that interested him now, however; it was his side-project.

Atemu waited until Rishid decided to give in to sleep, leaving him and Marik the only ones awake, before going over to check on the blonde. It hadn't been long at all, but he had made impressive progress. His 'site', as the pharaoh-descendant had mockingly called it, had turned into something resembling a respectable dig. He had turned up more 'junk' of course, but with each piece his ambition had grown and he was now on the verge of finding what he sought. Atemu could not yet tell what it was, but it was emanating a strange, dark energy that he wondered if the other was keen to.

"Do you plan to sleep at all tonight?"

Marik jumped, not without audible surprise; he had been so engrossed by his progress that he had let his guard down and not sensed anyone approaching. He cast an indifferent gaze toward Atemu and resumed disturbing the sand. "Not as long as you're still up."

"You're that weary of me, huh?"

"No, I just won't come in second to you."

Atemu emitted a soft chuckle. "Your stubbornness is both admirable and detestable."

"Pity," Marik countered, "your personality is only the latter."

"Well, since you're the expert," Atemu hopped down and enveloped the taller boy. "Maybe you could help me fix that."

"Back off!" Marik elbowed the other teen, hitting his shoulder at their height difference. Atemu hardly flinched and, in fact, tightened his grip in an awkward from-behind hug. Marik growled. "Let go."

Atemu complied but did so as though it was by choice, not demand. "What is it you're looking for?"

Marik ignored the question and pulled the sand in front of him closer; it spilled to his feet and his trench began moving just a few more inches away from the tent. Atemu stayed silent as the air around them grew different.

"You should stop," he warned evenly. There was no emotion in his voice, just cold fact. This intrigued Marik and he watched Atemu for a reaction as he continued to shovel sand from his waist level down to his feet.

"I thought you said there's nothing over here," Marik replied at last. "Or is that why you're telling me to stop? You still think I'm wasting my time."

Atemu shook his head deliberately. "No, Marik. I was wrong, there is something over here, but it's not something you should…"

"Listen," Marik interrupted, "I don't know if you can't take a hint, but I don't like you. It's a shame really, when we first met I kind of hoped we could be friends, but something bugged me about you even then, and you've done nothing but agitate me since the first time you opened your mouth."

"My apology–"

"Don't give me that transparent, automatic bullshit," Marik hissed. "I don't want anything to do with you."

Atemu sighed, "Have it your way then, I'll be…"

He stopped in mid-step as something began to reveal itself beneath the sand. It wasn't yet visible, but it was close. Marik seemed to sense this, too, as he took a step back and began digging downward instead of forward. Atemu opened his mouth to issue another warning but he knew it would fall on deaf ears so instead pressed his lips into a fine line and waited.

Some ten minutes later, Marik had dug up half of a stone tablet with chipped remains of paint, some of it gold. The tablet was a mere three feet across (it was difficult to tell how tall with more than half of it still buried) but its carvings were almost entirely preserved. Marik had revealed this much of it using his tools but decided enough of it was showing now that he could grip it by hand and yank it out of its sandy prison. Atemu, who had been watching in silence, now stepped forward.

"Marik!" he warned. Something akin to concern was evident in his voice. "If you'll listen to one more thing I say, let it be this: do not touch that stone."

The blonde pursed his lips in childish protest. "Why should I listen to that?"

"Because," Atemu gestured to the visible hieroglyphs. "I can't read the parts that are still covered, but it says something about an inescapable trap."

Marik grinned, "I've done enough digging and endured enough 'traps' to know of their danger."

"Then why do you not head this one's warning?"

"Because," Marik said plainly, "I'm doing this for Isis."

Before Atemu could protest further, Marik gripped the stone and was gone. The remaining teen sighed, shook his head, then took one last look toward the tent before reaching out to touch the stone as well.