Here's a new ficlet for my "Hell Fire" Buffy/Yu-Gi-Oh crossover collection. I hope you like it as much as I do writing these. :) After all, as I've said before, especially from my perspective, Buffy/Yu-Gi-Oh crossovers are, quite fun to cook up and write sometimes.

Hard Workin' Man

I'm a hard workin' man
I wear a steel hard hat
I can ride, rope, hammer and paint
Do things with my hands that most men can't
I can't get ahead no matter how hard I try
I'm gettin' really good at barely gettin' by

Got everything I own
By the sweat of my brow
From my four-wheel drive to my cowboy boots
I owe it all to my blue collar roots
I feel like I'm workin' overtime on a runaway train
I've got to bust loose from this ball and chain

I'm a hard, hard workin' man
I got it all on the line
For a peace of the promised land
I'm burnin' my candle at both ends
'Bout the only way to keep the fire goin'
Is to outrun the wind

~Brooks and Dunn, Hard Workin' Man

Andrew Wells notices something for the first time. It's quiet, except for the soft strains of the song "Lay Your Hands On Me" by Bon Jovi flowing through the air like water or rain while coming from somewhere – probably the radio with the volume turned down – although Andrew isn't sure why. The red satin bedsheets keep smoothly caressing his naked back, and he's lying beneath a powerful Pharaoh, who is known to both Andrew and the rest of the Scooby Gang as Atem, and is unclothed except for the purple cape which he usually insists on wearing all the time (and often makes Andrew wonder if it gets dirty), Andrew clutches at the sheets, his azure eyes closed.

The scary thought of what the others would say if he was caught by them in this position crosses his mind before he opens his eyes and notices Atem's enticing and curious crimson gaze as it roams all over his unclothed male body, his hands gently gripping Andrew's shoulders for a bit before moving all over his skin.

"Such white skin. Almost like marble," Atem's powerful baritone voice – which could've put both Warren and Jonathan, had they still been alive, into a trance – says, breaking the silence that Andrew feels has been there for too long. His crimson eyes soon look into Andrew's own sky-blue ones. "But, however, it's so pale. That's what worries me. Have you been staying inside for too long and not getting enough sun, little one?"

Andrew then feels thankful that Atem has spoken first because the silence is kind of getting on his nerves, like it usually does. After all, silence can be kind of loud sometimes, almost like it's trying to hide or mask someone or something. Plus, it's a subject Andrew knows about all too well.

Finally, he speaks. "Well, Your Majesty-"

"Please," Atem interrupts, holding up a tanned hand, "call me Atem. For we are in my quarters in Scotland, and you don't have to call me ‛Your Majesty' or ‛Your Highness', which is usually when you are either in the presence of the Scooby Gang or outside my quarters. And speaking of whom, the Scooby Gang also have to refer to me as ‛Your Majesty' or ‛Your Highness' unless they are in my quarters too. It is only when they're in my room that they are more than welcome to call me Atem.

"All right?" Atem adds.

Andrew thinks this over and nods, getting the message at the right moment.

"That's good, Andrew," Atem says.

Andrew groans, feeling Atem shifting his body and soon gets lost in the sensation of the ancient one kneading his skin with his tanned knuckles.

It is then that Andrew remembers something that can only be classified as a ‛painful memory' and one he doesn't like to recall unless he wants to – the Scooby Gang and many other people, when talking about him, never use his real name. Instead, they insist on referring to him as ‛Tucker's brother', ‛the other guy', ‛what's-his-face' and ‛what's-his-name'.

However, when he hears about this, Atem actually calls the Scoobies out on that one day while simultaneously letting all of his royal anger out and keeping his temper under control (much to the shock of both Andrew and the Scoobies).

"His name is Andrew, you guys. Don't you get it? Haven't you remembered his name by now? I didn't think so. So stop referring to him by all those other names. It's really mean, not to mention degrading. I shall refer to him as my most trusted advisor. In another time, Andrew could've been the one I would turn to for advice."

Andrew pulls himself out of the flashback just as he feels Atem straddling his hips before lowering himself onto Andrew's now hardened manhood.

"Oh, Atem" is all Andrew can think of to say before he loses the train of thought – or rather, what he was really going to say – completely.

Atem, now smirking calmly, then leans down and gently grips Andrew's shoulders before beginning to move up and down on him – but at a slow pace, of course. After all, going too fast too soon doesn't work too well. Taking one's time, Atem knows, is best personified in sayings such as "Make haste slowly" and "play it by ear". He has heard of those sayings recently and has once asked Andrew what they meant...

"Andrew, my servant," Atem calls, his baritone voice echoing all over the castle, where it's heard by the Scoobies, who exchange puzzled looks with each other. Atem then smiles as he hears Andrew coming and waits. Soon Andrew comes into his quarters, and Atem's grin grows a little.

"What is it, Atem?" Andrew asks, bowing a little before locking eyes with the Pharaoh.

Amethyst eyes meet an azure gaze before Atem finally speaks.

"It's these eloquent modern expressions, Andrew. I hear them quite often, but I don't know what they mean – basically, ‛take one's time', ‛play it by ear' and ‛make haste slowly'."

Andrew pauses and thinks for a bit. His brow is furrowed. Then his eyes light up as he gets the answer.

"Well, Pharaoh," he begins, "since you asked, I'll tell. First, ‛take one's time' means to go for something, but take it at a slow pace or at one's leisure. ‛Play it by ear' means to improvise on something, especially when it comes to writing, or make something up as one goes along. And last but not least, ‛make haste slowly' means that activities should be performed with a proper balance of urgency and diligence."

He looks at Atem, who looks thoughtful as he processes what Andrew has told him.

"Hmm," Atem finally says. "Thank you, Andrew. You really know your English. And you are my trusted advisor as well. I knew I made the right decision when I picked you for the job of advisor, too."

Andrew smiles a little at the thought of being seen by the Pharaoh as an advisor...

"Andrew... Andrew..."

Andrew blinks a little to see Pharaoh Atem, his amethyst eyes filled with concern. "Yes, Atem?"

The concern leaves Atem's eyes and is replaced by laughter as Atem then remarks, "I can see your mind must've been quite restless for you to have that memory of when I called you into my quarters that one day."

Andrew looks down at the sheets and nods, as he also remembers that day. He also wonders why there's all the hush-hush about something secret going around as of a few weeks ago, and he still can't understand it. Meanwhile, Atem, smiling now, moves up and down on Andrew, picking up where he left off, and then finally reaches his climax, hissing out Andrew's name only for Andrew to join him.

Then, after getting off of Andrew and helping him to his feet, Atem uses his powers to whisk away the sweat and seed from between his and Andrew's bodies, especially their thighs, and then the bedsheets (so that the sheets look as clean as ever).

Soon he says, "You ready to tell the other Scoobies what I have found out so far, Andrew?"

"Yes, Atem," Andrew replies with a nod as Atem then snaps his fingers, causing Andrew's clothes to reappear on his body – without any wrinkles, which Andrew sees to be quite an accomplishment – before making his own kingly raiment reappear as well. "But not now, though. I still have to recover from – well, you know..."

He lets the sentence hang in the air, but Atem soon catches on and replies, "I understand. You just lay down and rest for a bit. After all, as you sometimes say, rest heals the mind and spirit as well as the body itself."

Andrew nods in agreement as Atem flashes him an encouraging smile before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

It's then that Andrew notices how quiet it really is, as the radio's turned off.

However, Andrew simply shrugs, closes his eyes while lying back into the pillow on the bed and then tries to get some sleep.

Atem perks up his ears as he hears the familiar voice say in a whisper, "Your Majesty?"

He looks over and sees her right next to him, and smiles.

"Yes, Dawn?" he asks.

Even though she's now eighteen, Dawn still holds onto habits like biting her lower lip. She does that now – something Atem finds to be quite intriguing. Finally, after wracking her brain a little, she then asks, "Was there something Andrew wanted to tell us – something that involves you?"

Atem nods. "Yes, Dawn. There is. But he doesn't feel like divulging it right now, though. He needs to rest for the time being."

He then looks to see if Dawn has gotten the hint, and is pleased to see that she definitely has.

"Good for you, Dawn. Glad you understand, too," he says while reaching up and gently stroking her cheek. Dawn smiles back as she leans into the caress.

The moonlight showing through the windows of the castle indicate that it is early evening, and everything is kind of quiet.

As Dawn sleeps in her bed, Atem watches over her like the big brother he's seen as in the view of both her and Buffy. At that moment, a thought occurs to Atem and he smiles at the phrase ‛big brother figure'. He believes it's the right phrase that fits him quite perfectly, just as ‛advisor' is the right word that personifies Andrew, too.