Quick note: With Egyptian conversations beyond what my poor little online dictionary could handle, and Ryou being the only one to not understand what's being said, the Egyptian dialogue later in the chapter is in parenthesis. Because won't let me use carrots. Even though they looked so much cooler. Oh well.

Atemu leaned forward and placed the sweetest, gentlest kiss on Yugi's lips.

"I love you too, Yugi." he whispered.

Yugi smiled against the kiss, he couldn't help it, and pulled his other back toward the bed while a pair of golden cat eyes glittered knowingly through the skylight, taking in the entire scene and everything that was said.

Atemu followed easily and pressed him back, crawling on top of him. He moved his feather-light kisses from his face, down his neck, and across his chest and stomach until he got his pants. There, he unbuttoned them, sliding them down as slowly as possible. Never once did he stop kissing every inch of skin he could find. His Aibou's taste was too sweet to resist.

"Ahh, Atemu . . ." Yugi whispered huskily. As the name slid past his lips, the bulb in the bedroom desk lamp flared brightly and shattered.

Atemu chuckled low in his throat at the sound of his name and Yugi gasped, clasping a hand over his mouth, wide eyed.

"Your name . . . the blackout!" He blushed brightly remembering just how loudly he had said Atemu's name and exactly what had caused him to do so. (1)

"It seems you have more power than when I left. Have you been practicing? Or do I just drive you that crazy?" Atemu began licking his way up Yugi's inner thigh.

They were interrupted by the creak of the skylight opening above them and the attention of both boys snapped upward, Atemu moving to cover Yugi's body with his own. No one was going to hurt him while he was there.

The skylight creaked again and a cat stuck its head through the opening.

"Yami . . . Is it just me, or is that cat watching us? Like, watching us, watching us. . ."

Atemu would have dismissed this completely and moved to shoo it away except for the fact that it was the same cat from the alley and he swore he had seen it somewhere before even that.

He knew those eyes . . .

The cat jumped gracefully into the room but when it landed it was no cat. Instead there stood a beautiful woman with tan skin, long black hair done up in impossible knots, and golden cat eyes that seemed to twinkle down at them. An amused smirk played around her lips while her hands smoothed the folds of her dress, the style suspiciously reminiscent of Egypt and the days of the Pharaohs.

Yugi blushed brightly and pushed Atemu aside in his scramble for pants. Once he was decent again, he turned to confront the intruder, hands on hips and ready to give her a piece of his mind, when the embarrassment at being caught wore off enough and the details of her entrance and what it must mean caused his brain to stall and his jaw to drop.

She had been a cat, and now she was a beautiful Egyptian woman in Ancient dress.

And standing in his room.

He stared at her in awe. "Are you really . . . ? Yami! Is that . . ."

She wagged her finger from side to side and tsked before addressing boys. "Shame, shame, Atemu. You had us all worried. Next time you want to have hot sex with your other half, just say so," she said with a wink.

Atemu's eyes had widened considerably since her entrance. "Bast...? Wh-what are you doing here? Why are you here?"

Then his eyes narrowed as he remembered where she had entered from. "Were you spying on us?"

Yugi flushed even brighter and tried to hide behind Atemu. (2)

She gave a fake little gasp and placed her hand over her heart. "I cannot believe you would accuse me of something like that. What you two were about to do is sacred and beautiful. How can you even think to accuse me of spying?" Her face showed hurt at Atemu's words. "But yes, I was spying on you two."

The former Pharaoh hissed and opened his mouth to give her a piece of his mind when she cut him off

"Oh, come now, Atemu. You should know me better than that. You know I can't stand not being able to watch my favorites share intimate moments with the ones they love. Especially when the ones they love are so cute." She took a few steps forward and placed a small peck on the side of Yugi's cheek. "If you really want to get him going, I suggest nibbling his neck. He'll be putty in your hands." she whispered into the little one's ear.

"Hey! Don't kiss my aibou! And how do you know that'll get to me? Yugi's my first lover."

She straightened up and smirked down at the two of them. "Have you forgotten your entire culture in less than a day? What am I the goddess of? Anyone?"

Yugi decided he liked the woman and giggled. "Lady Bast, goddess of cats, defender of Lower Egypt, then later, all of Egypt and the Pharaoh and also sometimes associated with the moon, mother hood, fertility, sex and all things pleasurable." He recited with a grin.

"Correct!" she nearly squealed. "Adorable and knowledgeable!"

"And I just found out about the neck thing earlier, thank you though." He whispered back, conspiratorially. Atemu just looked away and grumbled something about crazy cat ladies.

"And as the goddess of all things pleasurable, it is my duty to know every little thing that could potentially drive you wild." She lightly drew a finger across Atemu's neck and giggled when he twitched and blushed.

"Um, would you like something to drink? Some tea or something?" Yugi asked. She was a guest in his home, after all, even if she had entered through the skylight.

"I would love some! Thank you so very much." Bast looped Yugi's arms with hers and let him lead her out of the room and Yugi found himself blushing again.

A real Egyptian goddess! In his house! Well, why not? He had just reached across time and brought back his darker half, the thief king was currently staying at Ryou's and really, was it that much stranger than anything that had happened to them in those three wild years of high school?

"At least someone is hospitable enough to think of their guests!" She threw the comment back over her shoulder at Atemu who was standing with his arms crossed, glaring at them in an almost sulky way. Almost but not quite.

He muttered a few choice phrases under his breath and followed them down the hall.

Yugi set about making tea when something Bast had said earlier surfaced and he stopped dead in the middle of the kitchen. "Did you say that the gods were looking for Atemu?" He asked slightly panicked. "He's not in trouble is he?"

"Mmhmm," Bast nodded. "Everybody is absolutely frantic. He is most of the gods' favorite seeing as how he stopped Zorc and restored the balance of Ma'at. Everyone thought Set had you and no one knew how to check to see whether or not that was true. I didn't believe it, of course since Set would brag about having captured you and flaunt you to Osiris and Horus."

"That's not why you're here, though, is it?" Atemu asked from the doorway. Her gaze flicked over to him from where she leaned against the counter and he locked eyes with her as he crossed the kitchen and went to put a comforting arm around his little one.

She raised an eyebrow at him, holding his gaze. "Oh, and how would you know that?"

"Because I know you, Bast, and if you had really been sent here to get me, you wouldn't have waited outside the house, watching us. You would have brought me to Ra straight away, with or without Yugi."

Yugi looked between the two questioningly, and a bit worriedly.

She stared at Atemu a moment longer before looking down and sighing. "You're right, I wasn't sent here to fetch you. No one even thought to look here since no one thought it possible. It shouldn't be possible, not without extremely powerful magic and just as powerful a bond. No, the reason I am here is because..." she bit her lip and looked up at Atemu with frightened eyes. "Because we believe the Day of Awakening is drawing near. And we're going to need some help. Not from you, but from someone else. Someone else who was sent here recently. Last night in the mortal world, actually."

Yugi immediately looked up. "Oh! Well that makes much more sense than what we were coming up with as explanations," he said thoughtfully.

She turned a surprised gaze on Yugi. "Oh, you've seen Akeifa? If you know where he is, that will make my job a whole lot easier. You see, Thoth was supposed to tell me where to go to find him but he told me to be in that alleyway since it would be in my best interests. He was right but now I have no clue where to find that little thief."

Yugi grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "He kind of crash landed in the living room of a friend of mine. We were actually trying to figure out how to get him back to his own time when . . ." He trailed off and then changed the subject quickly. "But the Day of Awakening? Are you sure? I mean, isn't that like, akin to the end of the world?"

"How do you know it's approaching? It could be just another one of their fights. And why do you need that tomb robber so badly?" Atemu demanded

Before she could answer either of them, knocking from the game shop door interrupted them, along with what sounded like Ryou calling and asking for Yugi.

Bast perked up and looked in the direction of the noise. "Oh! You were expecting visitors besides me?"

"Well, not really, but . . ." Yugi put down the teapot he was holding and wandered over to open the door, wondering what Ryou was doing here and if he had brought Akeifa . . . Oh shit!

Too late. He had already opened the door and the thief was, indeed with Ryou and looked up, spotting Atemu.

Akeifa's eyes widened in surprise but quickly narrowed again and he reached for the kitchen knife he had procured earlier and stuck in the back of his jeans.

"Muut, pr-Aa!" He snarled and sent the knife flying in Atemu's direction. (3)

In the space of just a few seconds, several things happened at once. Seeing Atemu alive and smirking, Ryou froze in place which prevented him from stopping his thief's attack, Atemu saw the knife coming for his head and ducked out of the way, narrowly missing a blade's between the eyes, and all the while, Bast simply continued to lean against the counter, grinning and watching the performance as if it were a well rehearsed play.

"Ra damn it!" Atemu cursed, forgetting the cat goddess currently in the room. He looked around for something to shield himself with and possibly throw back and shouted at the thief in Egyptian, "(You can't kill me if I'm already dead!)"

"(Then I will kill you a second time!)" Akeifa yelled back and tried to push past Ryou but wasn't quite quick enough and Yugi managed to slam the door shut again. The thief continued shouting and cursing while he banged on the door from the other side.

Ryou snapped back to reality when the door slammed shut and the thief began banging on it. He started forward and placed his hand on the man's arm to calm and restrain him somewhat. They needed to get inside and violently attacking the game shop door would not help

"I don't think that's helping things at all." He pulled him back gently so he could get up to the door. "Mind if I try?" Ryou gestured to the door then raised his hand as if to knock

He earned a low growl for his trouble and a short rant in Egyptian, by far the most that the thief had spoken since he arrived and animated by wide, expressive hand gestures. Finally the rant came to an end and Akeifa looked at Ryou expectantly, paused, then threw his hands up in frustration, muttering a few choice curses, when he realized that the boy hadn't understood a word.

Inside, Yugi leaned against the door and banged his head lightly against it. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't even thinking!"

Bast giggled at Yugi's actions and waved it all off. "No harm done. Nothing is broken, no one got hurt, and Atemu is still in one piece. Right, Atemu?"

The former pharaoh put down the pan he had been holding and grumbled something along the lines of "more or less."

"And here I thought I was your favorite. You didn't even try to stop him from taking my head off!" Atemu walked over and snaked his arms around Yugi's waist, pulling him close protectively.

Bast sighed at the scene. "You are, but it's fun seeing you flustered. You're too calm and expressionless most of the time. A flustered pharaoh is a cute pharaoh."

Yugi wrapped his arms around Atemu's neck and hugged him fiercely. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, "are you really ok?"

"Yes, Aibou. I'm fine. I did not mean to make you worry." He dropped tiny kisses on his other's cheeks, momentarily forgetting fangirl goddess in the room. He nuzzled his face into his neck, lightly sucking on a patch of skin.

Golden cat eyes twinkled mischievously as she watched the pair share a moment. She wouldn't ruin it...for now.

Yugi flushed, enjoying the attention, then giggled. "We still have an audience, you know."

Damn it! it was just getting good, too. Atemu would have insisted that they leave the thief and the boy outside and go upstairs, but knowing Bast, she'd either find some way to watch or let the boys in while they were occupied. And he couldn't ask her to leave either!

On the other side of the door, Ryou also giggled but at his thief's obvious frustration at not being understood. He lowered his arm and gave his lips a light peck. "Language barriers really suck don't they?" he said, trying his hardest to create a straight face. His thief could be so cute sometimes!

He turned back to the door and knocked lightly, calling out in a polite tone, "Yugi! It's Ryou. I've calmed Akeifa down some. Could you open the door and let us come inside?"

Atemu gave Yugi's neck a final nip before backing up and turning toward the door. Did they really have to be here now?!

Yugi looked at him anxiously. "Should we? I mean, I don't want to risk him trying to kill you again."

"But we really do need to talk to Ryou and Bast was looking for Akeifa . . ."

Bast strode over to the door, ushering the boys out of the way. "I can take care of that little problem. Just leave this to me." She turned to the door and knocked back.

Outside, Akeifa waited with infinite patience for the door to open, glaring at it in concentration, hoping the pharaoh would be the one to open it so he could strangle the man with his bare hands.

"(Akeifa? Are you listening? I am only going to say this once so please listen and do as I say: This is Bast. Osiris sent me to come get you because we need you're help with something. I would like to let you in so I can tell you exactly what you're needed for but I can't do that if you keep trying to kill the pharaoh. Will you promise not to kill him? Or do I have to send you back right now?)"

All Ryou heard was a woman speaking in Ancient Egyptian but he didn't there was anyone else alive in Domino who wasn't a spirit or Yugi's grandfather who could speak the language. Now he was more confused than before. Just what the hell was going on?

Akeifa's eyes widened as far as they would go and he gaped at the door. Bast? Osiris? The gods had brought him here? Ridiculous! It had to be a trick of some sort.

And yet, he was here, and where ever 'here' was, it certainly wasn't Egypt and it most definitely wasn't his own time. Even if it was a trick, there was still a chance that she was real and that meant a chance that she really could send him back if he didn't agree to leave the pharaoh alone. The Ra Forsaken, Damned Son Of A Rotted Dog Pharaoh!

"(He slaughtered my village and my family! I have a right avenge the dead!)" he shouted through the door. If she was protecting the pharaoh she must simply not know how evil the man was.

"(As I recall, it was Aknadin who gave the orders for your village to be killed; Atemu's father knew nothing about it. Aknadin is being justly punished for what he did. Now, will you or will you not promise not to kill the pharaoh?)"

Akeifa took a small step back, struck speechless by the information. He wasn't quite sure how to take the knowledge that his entire quest for vengeance had possibly been in vain. "(But . . . he . . .)" Surely not knowing about it didn't excuse him! Or rather, his father not knowing about it . . . But the Atemu was pharaoh! He had to be held accountable for what went on in his country, didn't he?

He opened his mouth to voice the objection and argue the point further when he remembered the threat to send him back. He closed it again and looked at Ryou, then supposed it wouldn't hurt to leave Atemu alive for the time being. There would always be time to argue punishment and such later. Especially if that really was Bast on the other side of the door.

"(He is safe for now.)" The thief said shortly.

Ryou grew worried at the expression on his thief's face. He stepped closer and took the man's hand in his own, rubbing small circles in reassurance. What had the woman said to make him so visibly upset?

Akeifa started slightly when Ryou took his hand and then looked down to realize that the boy looked anxious. Was he worried for him? His little mouse truly was a wonder. He felt some of his anger and frustration drain away and gave the boy what he hoped was a reassuring smile before squeezing his hand and releasing it.

Bast looked toward Yugi and Atemu, triumph written all over her face. "He says you're safe for now! That's as good an answer as any so why don't we let them in?" She took a step back and opened the door, the light from inside framing her against the approaching shadows of sunset.

And she really was a goddess, from golden glint of her cat eyes and striking features to the way the light and shadows clung to her figure just so. She was Egyptian beauty personified and it took all of Akeifa's willpower to keep from humbling himself at the sight of her. But he had never bent knee to king or god and was not about to start. He attempted to keep his expression flat, crossed his arms, and gave her a simple nod of acknowledgement.

Yugi moved slightly to stand in front of Atemu just in case. The answer really hadn't been good enough for him but he knew he wouldn't get a better one.

The thief spotted the movement and glared at the miniature pharaoh. "(Liar. You said he was gone.)"

Yugi held his ground and glared back. "(I spoke true. He was gone until this very morning.)"

"(Tsk tsk boys,)" Bast admonished. "(No fighting. At least not until after we get all our work done first. Come inside, Akeifa and bring that adorable- what do you call him?- little mouse with you.)" She beckoned them in with a lazy wave of her hand. "(Distractions, as fun as they are, are not needed right now.)"

Ryou just looked utterly bewildered at the woman before him. He could feel his mouth drop open in awe at her beauty. He had never seen someone so confident, so beautiful in his life. Well, if the man standing next to him didn't count. He felt as if he should bow or kneel,something to show her the respect and honor her aura demanded. He snuck a glance at Akeifa, and upon seeing the schooled expressionlessness of his face, huddled closer for comfort.

Atemu tightened his hold around Yugi's waist, tensed and ready to get them both out of the way should the thief make one wrong move. Promise to Bast or not, the thief had never shown any respect to any authority figure, human or god, so his faith in the promise ran shallow. He wouldn't put it past him to try something when everyone's guard was down.

Akeifa frowned, slightly disconcerted by Bast's knowledge of his pet name for Ryou and not at all pleased with the way she called him adorable, or with the way Ryou was looking at her. He put a hand possessively on the boy's shoulder, glared openly at all three of the rooms occupants, and stepped inside.

NOTES

1. As Fantasy.Maker said, Who knew the pharaoh's name had more power then just unlocking his memories and defeating Zorc! I've been in love with the idea of the pharaoh's name being something of immense power ever since reading fics by ScarabDynasty and LeDiz where they played with the concept of Atemu's name not being one to call out in a casual manor.
2. Well what Yaoi fangirl wouldn't spy if given half the chance!

3. Muut, pr-Aa! - Die Pharaoh!

BONUS!

Akeifa and the Letter Opener

THUD! The all too familiar sound of a dagger hitting the wall echoed through the small room. A small bug wiggled pathetically as it was pinned to the wall.

Ryou jumped about a mile into the air, seeing as the bug was less that a foot away from his ear. He shot a stern look in his thief's direction. "You know, you could just walk over here and kill it with a tissue instead of scaring me half to death. You might've hit me."

That was far from the truth and he knew it. The man was scary good with a knife. He wondered once where he learned how to throw then quickly deserted that thought. He probably didn't want to know.

Akeifa smirked at him and shrugged, then went to retrieve the 'knife' he had used to kill the bug. He was glad now that he had taken the time to sharpen the thing. It really was very handy now that it could actually cut something. Why Ryou would keep such a dull knife around in the first place, he'd never know.

Ryou glanced over as the knife was pulled out of the wall and did a double take. "What the hell? Why are you throwing around my letter opener?"

He made a half hearted grab for it, not really expecting to get it back. "I thought I lost it."

"Letter opener?" Akeifa raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar term.

"Yes, a letter opener. I use it to cut open letters I get in the mail. Much neater than opening it by hand. The envelope gets torn like that."

"It couldn't have opened them very well. It wasn't even sharp." he said dismissively.

Ryou stared at the man a bit incredulously. "They aren't made to be sharp enough to cut anything besides paper with. They aren't used for anything else." Then realizing the blade had cut through not only a bug but the wall, his eyebrows rose up into his bangs. "Did you sharpen it?"

The thief snorted and handed him the former letter opener. "It's much more useful now."

Ryou took it and looked at it dubiously. "Thanks I guess."

Akeifa gave a mock bow and sauntered out of the room. "Oh, the knives in the drawer with the forks are much more useful now too," he threw back over his shoulder before wandering out of the room to find something else to amuse himself with.

The knives in the drawer with the forks...? "You sharpened my butter knives too?!" Ryou called after him. He really need to find that man a hobby.

One that had nothing to do with knives and one apart from ravishing him senseless at the most random times. Hmmm... random times...

He jumped up from his seat and ran through the house. "Hey Akeifa! I have a surprise for you!"

Conversations for posterities sake. And because they're horribly amusing.

Fantasy.Maker: Yami[to Akeifa What is it with you and knives? Do you have a fetish for them or something?
Jenivi7: Akeifa: Better than a leather fetish. At least the knives are useful.
Jenivi7: Akeifa: (grins at Ryou) Isn't that right, little mouse . . .
Fantasy.Maker: Yami: WHAT?!
Fantasy.Maker: Ryou: (blushes and mutters something about never having used them for that before)
Fantasy.Maker: Ryou: Umm, I don't want you two to fight so I'll just separate you two... grabs Akeifa and whispers something in his ear
Fantasy.Maker: as dirty as you can think of
Jenivi7: (Akeifa picks Ryou up and tosses him over his shoulder, heading for the bedroom as quickly as possible, arguments over knives and leather completely forgotten)
Jenivi7: Yugi: (giggles and glomps Atemu) Well they look like they're gonna be busy for a while . . . Shall I help remind you of how a leather fetish is better than a knife one?
Fantasy.Maker: Yami: (begins rubbing Yugi in the naughtiest of places) Oh, I don't need to be reminded, Aibou. But if you'd like to show me, I would be adverse to that idea at all.
Jenivi7: Yugi: (flushes but unbuckles Yami's neck belt) Because it hides the most sensitive of places . . . (begins to kiss and nibble Yami's neck)
Fantasy.Maker: Yami: (groans and grinds against Yugi) You just had to find out about my neck didn't you?
Jenivi7: Yugi: (laughs breathlessly) I would have found it eventually anyways. You can't keep secrets like that from me, especially when we're so much alike . . .
Fantasy.Maker: Yami: Well then if we're so much alike... (picks up Yugi bridal style and carries him to another bedroom, whispering something about licking and the belly button)
Jenivi7: (Yugi blushes three shades darker but doesn't object)

Jenivi7: (fangirl swoon)
Jenivi7: Ack! alright, you go to bed!
Fantasy.Maker: hahaha
Jenivi7: Or we'll be here writing the smexing all night!
Fantasy.Maker: Which isn't a bad thing!!
Jenivi7: I would agree but you should at least make an effort to pass your classes
Fantasy.Maker: blah
Jenivi7: Cause I don't think the teachers are gonna accept the excuse of, 'But there was boy smexing!'
Fantasy.Maker: O God, my friend Katie would.
Jenivi7: hahahahahaha
Jenivi7: Well at least someone would XD