Author Notes: Reviews, critiques, comments, and requests are all appreciated!
Set flopped down onto his plush bed with a groan of frustration. Today had not been a good day, and it had left him with a throbbing head and a stiff, aching back. Gods, he hated that stone throne. It was the most uncomfortable surface he'd ever experienced. He wanted nothing more than to forget the events of the day and lose himself in something far more pleasant. He closed his eyes and growled in frustration as he buried his face in a pillow.
He was too distracted by his massive headache to hear his lover's feet padding softly towards the bed. Suddenly, the pharaoh felt soft hands massaging his back firmly, their owner kneeling with his legs on either side of Set's thighs. As the tension was gently eased from his body, Set let out a low sigh.
"Where does it hurt the worst?" Ryo asked gently. If Set was this surly at this time of night, it meant that he must have had a bad day, and Ryo had learned that Set never liked talking about a bad day.
"Lower back," Set mumbled half-audibly into the pillow, then moaned, closing his eyes as his slave's expert hands began to undo the knots in his tight muscles, assuaging the pain that only worsened his mood. Ryo hummed a soft, sweet tune as he continued the massage, the humming eventually turning to quiet singing, and soon even Set's throbbing headache was beginning to ease.
"Tell a servant to fetch us some wine," he muttered, sounding less tense. He felt the warm presence on his back lift, heard the feet scamper away only to return shortly, the body returning to his.
"It will be here soon," Ryo murmured. He could guess that Set was suffering from a headache as well as a backache. They almost always coincided. The wine tended to ease the former, and Ryo always did everything he could to make them better.
Set rolled onto his back underneath Ryo, staring up at the youth with tired eyes. He reached up to caress one pale cheek, making the boy smile sweetly and lean down to kiss his king. "What can I do to help you?" the loyal slave murmured against his master's lips.
"Stay right here, with me." Set tucked Ryou's hips against his own, the blue-eyed slave letting his body rest gently against the pharaoh's. As Set combed his fingers through the soft, white locks of hair, Ryo closed his eyes and lay his head on the pillow beside Set's, humming the same gentle tune he had earlier.
Several minutes later, a low servant came and delivered a flask of wine with two goblets, placing them on a side table before bowing and exiting without saying a word.
"Would you like me to pour you a drink?" Ryo offered, and Set nodded. Ryo rose from the bed as Set stiffly brought himself up into a sitting position. Ryo returned and reclined beside him on the bed, handing one glass of wine to his pharaoh, who downed it in one gulp and held out his hand for more. Ryo smiled knowingly, and handed Set the other goblet as well, which he downed just as quickly, letting himself fall back against the silk cushions with half-lidded eyes.
Ryo caressed his lover's cheek and kissed his forehead, sliding his fingers through the lusciously dark hair of the king. Set brought one hand up to the back of Ryo's head, weakly pulling him down into a tender kiss. He was tired, and that made Ryo feel sad for him. He never would have guessed how hard it was to run a kingdom unless he'd had first-hand experience with a monarch himself.
Ryo slowly dusted kisses across Set's face and neck, drifting down to his chest as the hand on the back of his head gripped his scalp firmly. The king inhaled deeply, letting out a shuddering sigh as his back arched up to press his body against those pink lips. Ryo slowly worked his way back up to Set's neck, pressing only his lips and tongue to the tanned column of flesh. He knew that his master didn't like bearing marks there, where they were visible to all. Yet, he loved to ravage his teeth across Ryo's own skin, marking him possessively so that nobody could mistake that the pale slave belonged to anyone besides the pharaoh.
They continued in their intimate, delicate foreplay, the slave pleasing his tired master and giving his body new energy through arousal. They had nights like this once in a fortnight, when Set was too exhausted to do much at all, and Ryo flooded him with a reviving tenderness. It was on nights like these that word "love" hovered on the edge of his mind and his lips. They did love each other, but the words could never be spoken aloud. Ryo had seen those brief flashes of pain, even regret, that occasionally surfaced in Set's face in moments of intense intimacy, pleasure, and gentleness. For reasons unknown to Ryo, it would cost Set dearly to ever say that he loved another. Ryo'd heard rumors of the maiden who'd sacrificed her spirit to the Blue-Eyes White Dragon and her relationship to the then-Priest Set, so he had his suspicions.
If he was honest with himself, Ryo knew that he didn't really care if Set ever said that he loved him. He knew that he did, he could tell by the way he cried his name, kissed his lips, embraced his body, stroked his hair. Everything said it so clearly to the pleasure-slave that saying it aloud wasn't even necessary.
"Ryo," his master panted, cheeks and neck flushed as he watched his lover trace his fingers over his member.
"Yes?" came the sweet response, noting that the king's cheeks looked redder than ever before. Was it that good, or was something else on the monarch's mind?
"I… I want…" he breathed out, halting as he struggled past his embarrassment. Ryou's eyelids drooped alluringly as he understood with a sweet smile. He dipped his head and licked his lover's entrance in a fluid motion, making Set let out a strangled gasp of pleasure.
"I know," was Ryo's simple answer. For the first time with Set, Ryo set about preparing his master for penetration. He used his tongue and saliva for a while until he reached for the oil and switched to using his fingers. He decided then and there that he'd never seen a more gorgeous sight than Pharaoh Set writhing with pleasure, sweat making his hair stick to his forehead, eyes glazed as he begged ever-so-faintly to be filled.
After they'd both attained their satisfaction and lay together in a tangled mess of limbs and sweat and skin, Ryo felt closer to him than ever before.
"Set…" he whispered hoarsely, fluffy affection welling up within him as the words "I love you" echoed deafeningly within his own mind.
"Yes?" his pharaoh answered languidly, a vulnerable, soft expression of pure bliss on his usually stoic face that made Ryo ache. It shouldn't matter to him, and he had no right to wish so, but he wanted nobody else in the world to see that look on his beloved's face. He lifted a pale hand to carefully brush Set's long bangs off of his face, then traced his jawline delicately as he peered down into the other man's face.
"Are you happy?" Even in the darkness, Ryo's expressions were still mostly visible, and Set couldn't help but feel warmth blossom in his chest upon seeing the look of earnest desire and concern on the youth's sweet face. Set took Ryo's hand from his face and brought it to his lips, kissing the fingertips, the knuckles, the palm, the hollow of his wrist.
"I am very happy, my angel." The words pleased Ryo more than he could have ever thought possible, and he drifted into sleep feeling more loved than ever before in his life.
