hey everyone this is a oneshot requested by vampygurl402 and please check out my other works as well as my new long fic True Ways

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Joseph wrapped his arms around himself as his body shook with shivers. For a place that could be so hot during the day the night was freezing and his cell did little to help keep the cold out, it also didn't help that he didn't have anything to wear except for the small piece of cloth that was tied around his waist. In short, his life wasn't even a life anymore, before when he was a slave at least he was treated well, more than well, but now it was like he was dying. He wanted to blame himself, his brothers, Potiphar's wife, the only person he didn't want to blame was Potiphar. The man had shown him kindness, taken care of him, trusted him, and in the end, all he could do was act accordingly. Even if he had believed Joseph innocent he couldn't show it. As a man with great responsibilities, a leader, trusted by Pharaoh himself, it wouldn't have looked good if he had taken the word of a slave over that of his own wives.

Time seemed to meld together days came and gone and time really had no meaning anymore, food wasn't given often and when it was it was either very little or rotten. There had been a pair of men that had been tossed into his cell with him, but they had come as soon as they had gone, each accused of the same thing. They had each talked to him, but very little at that. During their time together they had both had dreams which they had been talking to each other about and given that there really wasn't any other place to go Joseph had heard them.

It was like getting hit by lightning hearing them talk of their dreams, and before he knew how Joseph knew the meaning of both men's dreams, but by now he knew his lesson and didn't tell the men anything. Talking about his own and what he knew of other people's dreams had cost him too much already and he wasn't about to go open his big mouth and say something that he knew would cause him more trouble than it was worth to warn one man and elevate the other.

JKOD

He was right again, a few days later and they were both gone, one right back to work in his old position, the other dead. There had been a lot of commotion that day, Joseph had heard lots of shouting from his cell, which was strange as his cell was isolated and he was often left with only silence. That day the air was filled with muffled cries and yelling as the man was executed before a crowd, but as soon as the man was dead the silence was back as the crowd that had gathered to see his death dispersed.

After some time Joseph noticed something growing out of a crack in the stone floor and he remembered the rotten pomegranate that one of the men had thrown to the floor and realized it was a plant. Getting up he looked over the plant and saw that it was no bigger than his smallest finger, taking some of the water that gathered in a puddle in the darkest corner of the cell he took a hand full and poured it over the small plant hoping that he could live long enough to see it grow into a real tree.

JKOD

And grow the tree did, even without an idea of how much time was passing around him Joseph watched the tree grow and soon it had reached his chest, flowers blooming into the fruit as it continued to grow. Besides watching it grow there was little he could do but give it water when he had it, then before he knew it he was eating the fully grown fruit. By now he more or less knew it had been years since he had been sent to prison and knew how to conserve his food and ate fruit from the tree when he needed it, but he didn't let any of it rot and go to waste.

Just as he picked the last piece of fruit from the tree did Joseph hear noises close to his cell, when they stopped a few minutes later he turned away and back to the fruit thinking nothing of the noises. As he finished each pod of juice and tossed the seed into the pile he was making to save them and try to plant another tree to add to the other small plants that would hopefully become trees he heard more noises though this time they were closer and seemed louder. Before he could think on it the door slammed open and three men ran in, grabbed him and rushed him from his cell. He tried asking them what was happening but they wouldn't answer him.

They dragged him through many halls and Joseph had no idea where they were going, when they stopped it was in a room like one he hadn't seen since he had been bought and brought to Egypt. They stripped off the now thread worn and falling apart wrap from his waist, cut his hair, bathed him, lined his eyes, and redressed him. One push out the door and the same three men grabbed him and were dragging him away again. But this time he could tell where they were headed. Joseph now recognized where he was, despite his eyes aching from all the unaccustomed sunlight and newly kohled eyes, even though that it wasn't hard to recognize his Master's home.

What I'm I doing here, he wondered to himself as they neared the grand home. I never thought I'd see this place again.

Joseph had no sense of time as they dragged him closer to the house then through it, memories flashed through his mind of the life he had once had here with a clarity that was no longer impeded by time. Joseph now realized that the years had cost him, at least in memories that now were unhindered.

Then like many years before he was dragged into a room before Potiphar and thrown at the man's feet.

"I've often found myself wondering "what have I done"," said Potiphar from this throne-like chair, which was very much a throne, but could never really be a throne as Potiphar will never be a Pharaoh. "I wanted to trust you. Trust that you wouldn't do that to me, but my pride wouldn't allow it. I had no choice but to trust my wife, then when it was so obvious that she had lied to me, used me to fix her mistakes... I've wanted to free you since the day I discovered her subterfuge but I couldn't, many things made that impossible. But now... now she is gone, sickness of the lungs has taken her to the next world, she is in Osiris and Anubis' hands now, and will no doubt feel both of their wraths."

After a long silence, Joseph risked speaking," what now?"

"Now… now I hope you will forgive me," said Potiphar as he shook his head in guilt.

"That won't be hard, I forgave you long ago," said Joseph saddened by the obvious guilt and subtitle self-loathing he saw in his old friend.

"Really?" Potiphar asked surprised at how easily Joseph had forgiven him.

"Yes, it does not do to hold onto unimportant hate or anger especially when the person doesn't deserve such emotions directed at them."

"I have never met anyone like you... I have seen people kill for lesser fits of anger and feuds stretch decades because of unseemly words used, yet you forgive me for hurting you for years when you did nothing to deserve them. How can you be so kind-hearted?"

"I guess I just don't have it in me to be petty or spiteful," said Joseph truthfully through he himself had wondered more than once in his life why he forgave people so easily instead of falling into anger.

"Hopefully you will forgive me for this as well," said Potiphar as he walked towards Joseph and softly kissed the younger man's chapped lips. "Now that you are free you will no doubt want to return home to your family, I had to do that at least once before never seeing you again."

"They don't want me, never did," said Joseph as he rained in his emotions which had been sent into overdrive at the kiss. The younger man didn't know what to think, or how to feel. "What did you do that for?"

"I've wanted to do that from the moment I really saw you, saw you as a person, as a friend…"

"Just a friend?" Joseph wondered as he tried to gather some bravery.

"Friends is all I dared hope for…"

Joseph chose not to respond with words but actions and kissed Potiphar much like the man had kissed him. As their lips touched Potiphar wrapped his arms around Joseph's smaller frame and held him close, not wanting to let go.

THE END