Akeifa found Ryou's hand, squeezed it, moved close briefly to whisper "stay here," and, with all the stealth and grace of a true thief, disappeared from the boy's side.

"What?" Ryou looked after him in alarm, making a small swipe at him that would not gather too much attention. "Where are you going?" He hissed after the thief but the man had gone. Someone was going to be pissed after this.

"Hey. Pharaoh's midget." Akeifa's voice rose over the back of the couch where Yugi and Atemu sat, just loud enough for them to hear as he crouched behind it and out of the god's line of sight.

Yugi jumped. He turned his head a bit to the side, trying not to attract attention. "Yeah?" he asked cautiously.

"What are you doing?" Atemu hissed and started as the man popped up out of nowhere. He moved in his seat to hide - yes, hide - the thief from view and also keep an arm around Yugi.

"Something that may benefit us both," the thief snapped before turning back to Yugi. "From what I've heard, you were the one who . . . stole," the term seemed to amuse him, "him from the afterlife." He indicated Atemu with a jerk of his head.

Yugi scratched the back of his neck. "I, well, it wouldn't have worked if he wasn't on the other side but I suppose so."

Akeifa grinned. "So can you get us out of here?"

"Wait a minute, Yugi," Atemu cautioned him, a wary eye on Akeifa. He had a hard time trusting the thief and would make no rash decisions to follow the man blindly. "I want to get away with you more than anything but are you sure you want to put your faith in him?" The young pharaoh threw the thief a barely concealed look of distrust before turning back to his aibou.

"wxA pr-aA, he's the one with the magic, if anything I am trusting him," Akeifa snapped. (1)

"It's you're half-baked idea that I don't trust, Hmt," Atemu spat. He jerked to move forward since the thief was seriously pissing him off and he was losing his fight to suppress the urge to punch a little respect into the thief. (2)

Akeifa gave a low growl at the insult and his hand disappeared behind his back, automatically reaching for one of his carefully stowed knives. Tentative truce or not, his fault or not, he was going to kill the man.

Yugi's hand shot out to push Atemu back into the couch and he shot a harsh look at each of them. "Stop it, both of you!" Akeifa met his look with a dark one of his own but brought his hand out from behind his back. Without a knife. He'd kill Atemu later but the runt was right. If they drew the attention of the gods, he'd be stuck here listening to their useless bickering for who knew how much longer. And unfortunately, killing one of them wasn't an option.

Yugi glanced around nervously. "Wouldn't that make them mad at us though? I mean, just sneaking off like that?"

"Of course it would which makes it a bad idea!" Atemu hissed in reply, yet even as he said it, he glanced over at the arguing gods to make sure their attention was sufficiently diverted for the time being. He also happened to catch Ryou sneaking over.

"What are you doing?" Ryou crouched down beside his lover and peeked over the top of the couch. "Are you guys fighting again? Can't you guys just make peace for once? For five minutes?" He poked his thief pointedly and sharply in the side.

"I'm trying to keep us from incurring the wrath of the gods here!" Atemu felt the need to explain that he wanted no part in this while he shifted his body ever so slightly in a way that would allow him to jump up and run away quickly if needed to. "Hmt thinks that the best course of action in staying together is escaping back to the modern world. Even though the gods will surely notice our absence at some point and most likely separate us." He pressed Yugi closer to his side. He could not let that happen.

"WHAT?" Ryou's voice rose in fear. Being separated from Akeifa was not a situation he could handle. The wrath of the gods he could deal with. He figured they could be appeased with a little flattery or some kind of offering. that always seemed to work. But if he and his thief were to ever be split apart . . .

Akeifa's gaze darkened as it shifted toward Atemu though he reached out an arm to pull Ryou close. "And if we stay here and they decide to separate us anyway? At least this way they have to find us first."

True. Any time spent with Yugi was valuable. But Atemu would never concede that fact to the thief. Never as long as his soul existed. "And how do you propose we go about doing this?"

Akeifa shrugged and pointed at Yugi. He'd thought the plan sounded simple enough when he'd first presented it. "He takes us back." The thief's gaze shifted back to Yugi. "Can you?" he asked again.

Yugi paused to think and then nodded. "Not by myself, but probably with Atemu's help." Even here and even said quietly, the name cracked with power and he nodded again to himself, almost certain that he could.

"Will you?" The question was still addressed to Yugi but now encompassed them both.

The lighter half hesitated still and nervously looked back to where the gods still argued, just in time to catch Thoth's eye. The god winked at him. Yugi broke into an excited grin and turn back to Atemu, eyes shining. "Let's do it!"

Atemu nodded, shifting once more to hide his aibou and any view the gods might have of his actions.

He shifted right into Yugi who said, "Thank you, Atemu," softly but clearly, ringing and crackling with energy in this place of the gods. Yugi then kissed him, brief and heartfelt and that energy turned into a bright glow between and around them. There was no hiding the sheer amount of power that he held as he spoke the incantation again, especially from the gods, but the spell was simple. The words shaped the raw energy into the familiar portal and through it appeared the image of Yugi's bedroom overlayed with a silvery shine that wavered and then became solid. There was no hiding the portal either as it stood tall and very visible just behind the couch where Yugi and Atemu were seated.

Akeifa needed no urging. He grabbed Ryou's hand and pull him through once the portal looked stable enough. Yugi followed with Atemu in tow right on their heals. The portal closed, nearly collapsing on itself behind the one who cast it, and the power dissipated in a blinding flash.

Stepping, or rather, barreling through the portal was the easy part. The surface resisted slightly until broken, then flowed around them, thick and oily until they broke through to the other side. It was the portal's collapse and the explosive backlash of magic that sent them all crashing and tumbling against each other into the opposite wall.

Yugi slid down the wall and sat with his legs sprawled over the floor, eyes wide and hair standing up just a bit straighter, still feeling the rush of power flow through him. "Wow."

Atemu winced and squeezed their still interlocked hands. "You okay?" He reached out to cup Yugi's cheek and brush his lips with his thumb. They were together in the modern world for who knew how long and he didn't want to waste a single minute of it.

Ryou, on the opposite end of the wall, rolled over onto his stomach, blinking wide and struggling to sit up. He had crashed into Yugi's desk and chair and would have a couple new bruises to show for it later.

"We're back." The sentence took half a minute to settle in before he jumped on Akeifa, hugging him tightly and laughing. "We're back!"

Akeifa took a step back, knocked off balance by Ryou's enthusiasm, his arms wrapping around the boy to catch and steady them both but stayed there, his own grin echoing Ryou's delight. He had just stolen from a god, gotten away with it, then showed the rest of the gods that they could not keep him where he did not want to be. Today was a good day.

Yugi felt himself color at the light touch. "Yeah, I'm alright. There's got to be a better way to release a spell though," he said with a wide smile.

"Mmm," Ryou snuggled into his thief's warm embrace, feeling just so comfortable he didn't want to move. His eyes weren't opening very well but that was fine since there wasn't a need to, anyway. Suddenly. he couldn't remember the last time he had slept. And he felt tired, very tired. So, if they were back and safe, why couldn't they take a little nap? A nice warm, long nap.

Pretty soon, Ryou was asleep in Akeifa's arms.

"Well, until we find a better way, how about I make it feel better?" Atemu kissed his cheek, his jaw, his neck and his lips. Finally. They were home.

Akeifa caught Ryou as he slumped against him and looked down, a bit surprised. Well, not like he could blame the kid, they had been awake for nearly two days. He hoisted the boy over his shoulder taking care not to wake him (though he suspected he didn't need to worry about that), offered the other two a small, half salute (though they seemed oblivious to anything but each other) and showed himself out.

Yugi didn't bother to answer, just wrapped his arms around Atemu's neck and kissed him back passionately.

Atemu was only vaguely aware of the other two's departure, focused mainly on the lips he was falling into and the fact that the bed was probably a lot more comfortable for them. So he wrapped his arms securely around Yugi's slim waist and stood, picking the boy up off the ground, and shuffled blindly to about where he thought the bed was. He found Yugi's desk instead and sat him on it.

Yugi wrapped his legs around Atemu, pulling him closer and closer and closer, kicking off shoes and pulling at clothing, his own and that of his other, knocking aside books and papers but not caring because they could always be picked up and unwrinkled later but right now he was back and Atemu was back and nothing else seemed to matter except for getting his other half undressed and inside him and being together and complete. Wonderfully and perfectly complete.

Atemu's mouth and kisses traveled up and down Yugi's torso and face, not wanting to stray too far from his lips for too long but wanting more than anything to taste his aibou's skin. And as soon as they were naked enough, he thrust a finger in and massaged it around. He was a tad on the impatient side, his other hand moving and roving restlessly over pale, creamy thighs and back as he inserted another finger and one more and then pulled out and pushed in the one part of him that could make them feel like they were one.

"Yugi," he breathed. No other god's name came to his lips save the one whose existence gave his meaning.

Yugi moved against him, trying to take him deeper, get them closer and as his name tumbled from Atemu's lips, over his skin and down his spine, to the very core of his being, he couldn't help but seal their lips back together, tangled limbs and bodies and tongues and souls . . . Perfection of the kind he could only achieve with his other half.

Atemu pressed deeper into him, harder, more, more, more and the desk was thumping against the wall and his breathing got louder and heavier and his voice was growing steadily in volume and he was worshiping the very skin and hair and lips and touch and taste and he would forsake all others if it meant keeping his Yugi.

Fingers tangled in hair and soft pleasure cries filled the air between them, weaving with Atemu's and he didn't try to stop them or care who heard. Atemu was his and they were back and nothing would keep them apart, not gods or demons or death itself. Faster and louder until his back arched, head rolled back and Atemu's name shattered the all the light bulbs in the house again as completion washed over him.

And the completion filled and connected them as Atemu was right there with him. He could feel the connection of their souls stronger than ever now. He braced his head in the crook of Yugi's shoulder, slamming in one more time and groaning out the name of the only one who could ever make him feel this good.

It was over and he stood there on shaky legs panting but he didn't want to pull out just yet. Wanted to stay connected even for that much longer. So he pulled his aibou off the table in his arms and finally located the bed to tumble into it, sweaty and happy.

"We're back," he murmured into Yugi's hair.

"Mmm," Yugi hummed agreement against his neck. Back in his room with Atemu wrapped around him and he couldn't think of anywhere else he wanted to be. "Let's not go anywhere for a while."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Atemu tilted the boy's face towards his and smiled. "I love you," he said before stealing a soft kiss.

"I love you, too."

In his good humor, Akeifa also gave a small, half salute and lopsided grin that showed too many sharp teeth to the old man reading at the kitchen table as he walked past and out the door.

The old man looked up, startled, and stared after the man in bewilderment. He then turned to stare at the stairs he had come down from. He was so sure there hadn't been anyone up there a few moments ago . . .

He shook his head and sighed. It was probably all to do with the goddess and all the strange events that his grandson seemed to attract. He decided investigate into the matter after he finished the newspaper. Things seemed to make more sense that way.

1. wxA pr-aA - Stupid Pharaoh

2. Hmt - A female servant or slave

A/N: I'll just quietly leave this here? But a serious thank you to everyone who's read this rusty, dusty little story. There's so much about it that I'm proud of and it makes me all squishy inside to think that other people have enjoyed it also. And a huge, HUGE thank you to for entertaining my silly idea and then writing a whole freaking novel with me. 3