Seto and Jono woke up next to eachother.
"Good Morning, Seto." Jono said
Seto smiled.
"Good Morning, Jono." He replied.
He noticed that he was laying on Jono's chest. After he had the nightmare, Jono held him. He had the best sleep he's ever had in years.
"Do you feel better?" Jono asked.
"Of course." Seto said.
They both smiled.
"I didn't disrespect you last night, did I?" Jono asked.
"Of course not. We just slept together. Nothing happened." Seto said.
"Good." Jono said.
Seto didn't know whether or not to be glad or offended.
"Shall we go to the valley of roses today?" Jono asked.
"Of course. But, why don't we bathe first after I fulfill my priestly duties." Seto said.
"That would be great." Jono said.
Their eyes met again. They wanted to kiss eachother, but they abstained.
"I really want to kiss him, but I can't. I want to be his lover, but I can't. I wonder if we can have a courtship and eventually marry, despite being men..." Jono thought.
Seto and Jono went to the royal baths that the Pharaoh and bathed.
Seto put on his priestly garb. This time he put on a simple white robe with a purple cape that covered his head. Kind of like a veil.
Jono put on villager clothes.
They headed to the valley of roses.
Seto had never been there. Jono picked a beautiful red rose. He took off the thorns and gave it to Seto.
"Seto... About last night..." He said.
The priest smiled as he accepted the rose.
"If it's possible, I would like to court you, Seto. " Jono said.
Seto smiled.
"Will the gods allow a man to court another man? And if so, do you accept being courted by me?" Jono continued.
Seto accepted the courtship.
"I don't see why not. I will be very happy and fortunate to be courted by you, Jono."
Yami Bakura was hiding behind a bush and grinned.
"So the priest is being courted by some commoner... I'll have to come up with another way, then." He thought.
Seto and Jono's courtship was official, but not entirely public. Even the Pharaoh didn't know of his friend and his cousin's courtship.
He planned on courting his cousin, but he did not feel ready yet as he kept sleeping with many women.
Amira saw Seto and Jono return to Jono's chambers. The two men were holding hands.
Seto danced for Jono, but did not intend to seduce him. He wrapped his purple cape on Jono and kept dancing.
One of the Pharaoh's messengers walked into Seto's chambers.
"Priest Seth and sir Jono, the Pharaoh would like to see you." He said.
"We'll go right now. " Jono said.
They headed to see the Pharaoh. The messenger picked up on what was going on. The image of Seto moving his hips and his hands as he danced for Jono kept playing in his head.
"Hmmm... Something is going on between those two. The priest was dancing like a woman to her husband. I shall investigate. " He thought.
He then saw some roses on Seto's bed and some rose petals scattered on the floor.
(Jono had thrown Seto some rose petals during his dance. )
He saw that Amira was approaching and headed out.
Amira thought that the messenger looked suspicious.
Seto and Jono went straight to the Pharaoh.
"Yes, my Pharaoh... " They said.
"How are things going? " The Pharaoh asked.
"Very well, cousin. " Seto said.
"That's good. Has Jono been staying with you? " The Pharaoh asked.
"He sure has. And it's been a huge help. " Seto said.
"I've been making sure that the priest is OK. " Jono said.
"Perfect. So, I've called on the both of you for two reasons. We're having a dinner tonight. So, I want you two to join me. Cousin, do you think you can provide the entertainment? " Atem said.
"Absolutely. " Seto said.
"And also, I got word that Yami Bakura has left the Kingdom. So we should be safe. That's why I am having this dinner. Seth, I need you to do a few chants to thank the gods. " Atem continued.
Jono and Seto smiled.
"We'll get dressed, then. " They said.
"Good. " The Pharaoh said.
"I want you to wear some of the finest clothing you have. " The Pharaoh said.
One of the Pharaoh's harlots was waiting for him.
"I have to go. " He said.
Seto and Jono went to go get their finest clothing and headed to the baths. They bathed together.
They covered their intimate parts in order to help them abstain from sex. They had just begun courting and they wanted to respect eachother.
Seto wore a cape, a hood, and pants. He wanted to wear flowy clothing because he was going to dance at the Pharaoh's dinner party.
Jono wore something similar.
They wanted to announce their courtship, but decided to abstain. Seto was hoping and praying that the Pharaoh wouldn't try to court him or ask for his hand in marriage as everyone was expecting him to marry the Pharaoh if the Pharaoh did not find a suitable woman. He had a feeling that he and Jono were being spied on.
They had arrived. The Pharaoh's messenger that spied on them was there.
Once everyone had arrived, the Pharaoh gave Seto the signal to start with his chants and his dances.
Everyone watched as the priest chanted. After his chants to the Egyptian gods, he sang and dance.
"That priest Seth sure wasn't rehearsing for the dinner party. " The messenger said.
Seto had just started dancing. He hadn't moved his arms or his hips the way he did when he was caught.
He was inside a circle where everyone clapped.
He pulled Jono in and danced the way that he was dancing for him earlier. Jono joined him in the dance.
"Pull in some other people and the Pharaoh after me to not raise suspicions. " He whispered in his ear.
Seto nodded.
Jono went back to his spot. Seto pulled in a soldier, a guard, the messenger that spied in him and the Pharaoh. (One at a time)
Everyone was enchanted by the beautiful priest.
"My Pharaoh, you're a very lucky man! If you don't find a woman to marry, you'll end up marrying this gorgeous priest. Why don't you ask for his hand in marriage already? " one of his guards said.
"I'm not ready to court my cousin yet. But I do have a feeling that I might end up courting him in the future. " The Pharaoh said.
"Well yes... And you're very young, so you have plenty of time. But if I were you, the minute he moved those hips, I would've proposed to him right away. " the guard said.
The Pharaoh blushed.
He could agree with the guard about how attractive his cousin was and that the hip shaking would be enough to get him to propose.
One of the guards found Yami Bakura at the dinner party. He was disguised as another guard. He secretly went to the Pharaoh and told him. The Pharaoh gave him approval to let some other guards know in order to carry out the arrest. Yami Bakura was arrested. They took him by surprise.
"Jono. May I speak to you? " The Pharaoh said.
"Yes, my Pharaoh. " Jono replied.
The Pharaoh and Jono walked.
"How has my cousin been? " He asked.
"Seto has been doing well. Thankfully the nightmares have decreased. " Jono said.
"That's good. Do you think that he's ready to face Yami Bakura? "
"I'm not sure. " Jono said.
Then he remembered what Seto said to him
"I am stronger when you are by my side, and I feel like I can face any challenge in the world and get through it successfully with your love. "
"Maybe he can. I can be there if he needs my help. " Jono said.
"Perfect. We need him to duel Yami Bakura. The guards have just arrested him. I will order some guards to be present and I will also be there. We will let him know. The Pharaoh said.
"Perfect. But I still worry about him. " Jono said.
The Pharaoh was able to sense that Jono truly cared about his cousin.
"Why is Yami Bakura after him specifically? " He asked.
"Don't tell anyone. But my cousin was born with a special ability. " The Pharaoh said.
Jono looked at him. Maybe he truly was gifted. Seto is a priest, after all. A highly regarded priest.
"He is a man, but he can also bear children. Yami Bakura wants to infiltrate my kingdom and thinks that if he can rape my cousin and make him bear his children, he can overthrow me. " he continued.
Jono was very surprised.
"He can bear children? But he is a man. " He said.
"Yes. He is. But the gods gave him that ability. There are very few men in the Kingdom that can do that. Most of them are priests, though. " The Pharaoh said.
Jono was having a hard time understanding that. He started to question his love for the priest.
The Pharaoh and Jono were still talking. They passed by the priest (who was talking to other priests ) and he flashed Jono a smile. It was the same smile that charmed him and got him to fall in love with the priest.
His heart softened after that. He remembered why he fell for the beautiful priest.
"I'm sure he didn't asked for the ability. Does he know? " Jono said.
"He knows. But he didn't take it well when he found out. He couldn't fathom it. " The Pharaoh said.
"Poor Seto. It must be hard living with that fact. And it makes it worse when there are men that see you as a piece of meat that can benefit them. " Jono said.
"I know... I feel bad for my cousin. " The Pharaoh said.
"I'll summon him and I'll tell him once we get prepared for the duel. We need to put Yami Bakura in trial and we need to find his band of thieves first. " The Pharaoh continued.
After the dinner, Seto and Jono headed back to Seto's chambers.
"Seto. Now I know why you are very scared of Yami Bakura. " Jono said.
"Really? " Seto said. He had no idea about Jono finding out about his ability.
"I know that you can bear children. " Jono said.
"Jono, I-"
"It's fine, Seto. "
"I can explain. I was afraid to tell you. I'm scared of losing you. What if you don't want to be my lover anymore? " Seto said.
He started to cry. He really didn't want Jono to know about his secret yet.
Jono embraced Seto.
"Seto. I promised to protect you and to be by your side no matter what. I am still going to keep that promise. I still love you no matter what. " Jono said.
The same messenger was making his way to Seto's chambers to spy on them. He wanted to give the information to the Pharaoh as soon as he could confirm it.
Amira caught him.
"Did you need anything, sir? " She asked.
"No, my lady. Have a great night. " He said.
He left right away.
Several months have passed. Seto and Jono were still courting. They still haven't become intimate yet.
Jono knew that Seto wasn't ready to give himself to him. He didn't ask much. But he promised Seto that he will wait for him. He could even wait an entire lifetime for him. He and Seto had talked about the possibility of marrying eachother in the future. Seto was still studying about the priesthood and religious duties. Thankfully, he did not have to stay celibate his entire life, and he could take a spouse. He still needed to learn and find out if he could marry a man (besides the Pharaoh)
The priest returned to his chambers. He found a red rose on his bed. This rose had thorns and came with a note.
"Meet me at the basement. " It said. One of the thorns poked him as soon as he picked it up.
"Owwww! "
He bled a little.
Seto questioned the location of the meeting. But he headed there anyway.
"Maybe Jono has a surprise for me? " he thought.
Kuriboh noticed that Seto was heading towards a strange direction. Luckily, Jono was heading towards Seto's chambers.
He noticed the rose and the note.
"Oh no... Seto is in trouble. " He thought immediately. He ran out until he bumped into Kuriboh. The furry creature was trying to tell Jono where Seto went.
Seto had arrived at the basement and was met by a very familiar evil laugh.
"Oh no! " He said softly and fell to his knees.