Chapter 2

Atem kicked the sand in frustration. Whoever this Yugi was, he was an excellent thief, he thought as he plopped himself down at the edge of the tent city. The throbbing headache had yet to seize and Atem would do anything for a little guidance. At least it was not as bad as the migraines he would get at the palace.

His wandering through the city got him miserably lost, and it was apparently much too early for any of the townspeople to be awake even though Ra had begun his journey through the sky quite a while ago.

Was it the wind or did he just hear a whistle? Tilting his head back down the alley he swore he heard it from but saw nothing. He came to his feet when the hairs on the back of his neck prickled.

He looked to his left -just in time to see a sandal trying to collide with his skull. Atem dropped to the ground for a second time, the foot landing just between his legs, a little too close to his appendages than he'd like.

His head quickly snapped up the slender leg to see a silhouette in the light of Ra. The only thing he could make out was the spiked hair, and a hand holding what he assumed was the millennium ring. This must be Yugi.

Atem sucked in a breath, oh no you don't. He swiped Yugi's legs causing him attacker to stubble back, then jumped to his feet and lunged for his enemy's abdomen. Yugi dashed out of the way in time to land three blows right on the left side of his body. Damn, he is quick.

Yugi snickered, "Oh come on, Atem, you even taught me that one!?"

Atem clutched the offended area and started to stumble. Damn, he hadn't done this in a long time. This Yugi was indeed quite a bit smaller than himself, but he sure did know how to channel it where he wanted. A fire ignited in Atem's belly; he always loved a challenge. He rolled out his neck and stood tall, refusing to let the pain make him look weak.

He looked over his shoulder to meet a stunning pair of lilac eyes. "All you gotta do is say, 'you look lovely today, Yugi! And I'll give it back!" the attacker teased, waving the millennium ring out to the side, like a red cape for a bull. Atem's jaw clenched as he felt a smirk tug at his lips.

"Try me," he retorted. Yugi wasted no time and lashed out for hit to his face, but this time, Atem was ready. Atem moved as if he was dancing through water, leading Yugi's momentum to cause him to stumble forward. He grasped for the millennium ring, but Yugi was already face first into the ground, rear up in the air. Atem felt a strange feeling in his gut looking at his attackers perfectly shaped ass flagged in the air. He wondered what it would be like to smack such a squishy, soft, round – Yugi scrambled to his feet, spitting out a mouthful of sand.

"Oh, so you came to play, huh?!" He chuckled, placing the millennium ring around his neck then wiped his chin with the back of his arm. Yugi began to throw another punch, which Atem braced for, only to have a handful of sand thrown in his face. Damn thieves.

Covering his eyes, three more sharp blows struck his left side. Shit. He seethed, as he lost his footing, but he wasn't going down alone. He yanked Yugi's arm, hoping it would throw him over his head as he fell back. He miscalculated. Upon their collapse, Atem's breath caught in his throat and not because he had the wind knocked out of him. Yugi's groin was right in his face with his knees on either side of his shoulders. Yugi was breathing heavily, hands on either side of Atem's head, a smile and laugh of disbelief on his face causing his eyes to take the shape of half-moons.

Yugi was captivated by Atem's dark red eyes and couldn't look away, but he had to rub it in with a smirk, "Wow, you're head really isn't in it today, is it?"

Atem stared at him quite stunned. He felt the need to flip them over, rip of his man's tunic and just show him what he could really do between these highs. Atem's eyes snapped up in shock at the direction of his thoughts. No, I do not know this person, I cannot be thinking like that. Atem had never been with anyone before, not that he hadn't thought about it. He was a health young man with needs, however he took the title of pharaoh when his father passed at the age of 12, and there was little to no time for romantic endeavors. Even still, Yugi was a man! A very curvy and muscular man…

A slow clap broke the two of the two from their eye contact. A small crowd had gathered at the sight of a fight. Marik had pushed his way to the front, letting out a huge chuckle. "I knew this would be fight worth watching! Finally bested our king, now didja Yug'?" He bellowed, holding his belly with how hard he was laughing, "Jono owes me quite a hefty sum of gold now!"

Yugi dramatically rose, stepped to the side of Atem, and gave a graceful bow, "Why thank you all! I have so many people I would like to thank for this moment, mainly, Atem for choking as he always does," he boasted dramatically, giving Atem a wink. As he always does? Is there something I've choked on of his before? Atem shook his head and attempted to rise, but the pain in his left side left him numb all the way down his leg. He would not show weakness now.

Yugi turned his attention back to Atem after getting a few high fives from the small crowd and held out a hand to help him rise. Atem looked at it, expecting another trick. "Oh, don't get all butt hurt, your majesty!" He smiled. Atem took his hand and rose, finally getting a good look at the man. Heat pooled between his legs at the sight of his flawless tanned skin, light sparkling from the remaining sand. His face was soft, but his jawline was strong. The purple hue of his eyes seemed impossible to look away from. And those lips, such a soft shade of pink just begging to be assaulted until they were swollen and red.

He can't be real…

"You should be more careful with this," Yugi stated, handing over the millennium ring with a wink, "You never know who might try to take it from you."

Having the ring in his hands pulled Atem out of the lust filled trance the young man threw him into. He took a step away from the man in hopes it would keep his mind clear. But he was honestly just filled with more questions.

"Ready for our perimeter check?" Yugi pipped up, drawing Atem's attention once more. The younger man was filled with adrenaline after their short battle and couldn't seem to keep still. Somehow, Atem didn't feel it would be the best idea to be left alone with this… temptor. Or maybe he was more intimidated of the onslaught of dirty thoughts he did not even realize he was capable of.

Yugi clasped his hands behind his back and started bouncing away, giddy he had bested his leader. Atem didn't even realize his eyes were watching his rear until Marik smacked him on his back with such force Atem thought he might fall over. Now he knew how Jono felt earlier this morning.

"Well this is new," Marik smirked, as Atem coughed from the blow, "Did something happen between you and little Yugi last night? Is that why you've been so strange today?"

It took a minute to register what he had said, "W-What are you talking about?"

Marik raised an eyebrow, "You're acting like Duke when he was caught peeping on Jono. You were staring."

"I was doing no such thing," Atem huffed and turned away defensively, tracing the outline of the ring. It really was fascinating, an item he had dreaded but had never seen up close.

"Uh-huh. Then go ahead and tell me, what is it that is so fascinating about Yugi's backside?" Marik put a strong arm around Atem's shoulder and used his other hand to face Atem's chin in Yugi's direction. Atem's mind wandered again at the sight of Yugi's rear. Marik's laughter brought him back to reality.

"I-I do not have to explain myself to anyone! I don't even know you!" He scrambled to say, brushing off his arm.

"You don't know me? Ra, Atem, what the hell did that spell do to you? You really don't know who I am?!" the drunk man was visibly quite angry, which made Atem nervous. The blows on his left side were still throbbing and he was unsure if he admitted he didn't know the man it would end badly. So, he said nothing.

"By the gods, Atem. Who else do you not recognize?" Marik questioned, taking a step closer, eyeing the man who was supposed to be their leader. Atem was kicking himself. He was usually so confident under pressure. But between the headache, the pain in his side, the confusion, and the uncontrollable thoughts he was having about his attacker, he was struggling to keep his composure. Who could he trust? He needed to think fast.

"You are done questioning me, Marik. I need to speak with Jono," he ordered, changing his demeanor and regaining composure, "You will accompany Yugi on the perimeter check."

Marik eyes widened at the order before he whined, "Awwe man, but its my day off!" Atem left out a breath he didn't realize he was holding when the larger man accepted the change in subject. "Where can I find him?" Atem asked.

Marik was still groaning about how he was planning to spend the day with some ladies he had met or something, before Atem cleared his throat, "Marik. Where. Can I find him?" The larger man glared at Atem before stating he could be found at someone named Mai's white and purple tent not far from the temple. The temple must be the building I woke up in. "You owe me big for this," Marik growled, shoving past Atem towards Yugi.

Atem swallowed as he watched Yugi easily accept the partner change and walk out of sight. I want to know you… He found himself lost down a train of thoughts again. He shook his head. He needed to figure out what was going on first.

Mai's tent was not hard to miss since it was the largest tent near the temple. As Ra stretched across the sky and began to set more light on makeshift city, people started flooding in and out of their tents and it was almost as busy as the streets in Egypt. Atem realized Mai's tent was where the people would go to have a drink, make a friendly wager over the hand-to-hand combat in a round rink, and find someone to warm their bed.

Lifting the flap of the tent, a woman in a short yellow dress attached herself to Atem's arm. "Welcome back," she whispered in his ear, giving it a light nibble. Atem practically jumped, startled at her boldness. He had never met a woman so forward, let alone brave enough to actually touch him. Before he was about to give her a piece of his mind, a hand smacked the woman on the back of the head.

"Vivian! I will give you one final warning," a cold sharp voice hissed, bringing silence around the bustling tent. The voice belonged to a tall curvy blonde woman in a tight purple tunic, and she was livid. "You do NOT touch our king, understood? Now apologize before he cuts off one of your fingers!" She was hollering by the end of her statement. Vivian fell to the floor with her head bowed deep, "I am so sorry, my king, please forgive me!" She was sobbing at this point.

Atem froze in place. Did the king of these thieves usually take a finger? While he had been in battle many times and had to carry out certain executions himself, he was not used to such an extreme judgement for a minor offence. The blonde woman looked at Atem for an answer, her gaze was fierce.

"I am sure Vivian has seen the errors of her ways," Atem stated, holding his hands behind his back in a regal manor. The blonde woman cocked her head to the side in surprise, but nonetheless shrugged and accepted his judgement. "What are you all staring at?! Shows over!" She hollered then turned to Atem, "Come, I know what you are here for."

Atem raised an eyebrow, wondering how she could possibly know why he was here and eyed the entrance of the tent. Maybe he should've taken his chances with Yugi or Marik. No, he couldn't keep his composure around Yugi and Marik was far too drunk and Atem didn't want to take any chances with the man's temper. Jono seemed to be the best option at this point in time to question.

The blonde woman led Atem through the crowd of people to the rink of people fighting. "I am not here to fight," he quickly stated, but this caused the woman to stop in her tracks. "Okay, why are you acting so weird," she questioned, crossing her arms across her large bosom, "You're always here to fight. And the rumor around here is that Yugi managed to knock you on your ass, so you should be getting in there and proving to these goons that they can't overpower you. I know its been a training thing between you guys, but come on! You're going to start a mutiny," Atem's eyebrows shot up. There was already word about this? He had the feeling he would not be able to change the subject as well with this woman as he did with Marik.

"I'm looking for Jono," Atem tried anyways. She gave him a long glance, before taking a deep breath, "Look I know you're probably still upset because I wouldn't give you the ingredients for that stupid spell you were obsessing about, but you can be straight with me." Another mention of a spell. It would make sense that shadow magic would be involved since he was so turned around, but if her information was correct then the spell must not have been completed… No, it must've been at least attempted. Everyone seemed to know who he was and had a history with him, however he had yet to see someone who looked familiar.

"Helloooo?! Is Atem in there? I'd like to speak to him please!" the woman was waving a hand in front of his face. Atem gave his attention back to her, but his head was still spinning. "Please, I need to find Jono," he asked again with more urgency.

The blonde woman huffed, "Fine, but you and I are going to have a long conversation about this." Atem had a feeling this 'long conversation' would be a verbal reaming.

Jono was hiding in the corner of the tent with a green hood over his head, shuffling a deck of cards for a currently empty table. "Well, hello your majesty! Skipping out on guard duty are we?" Jono chuckled, "Yugi will be so disappointed! Actually, I take that back. I don't think anything will bring him down from this high of finally beating you." Atem rolled his eyes. He would never live the incident down. But the mention of the handsome man made his heart skip a beat. Atem rolled out his shoulders. Those feelings need to be buried. Perhaps deep into Yugi, with him screaming my name... He shook his head to rid the thoughts. What was happening to him? He felt like some sex starved lunatic. Well…maybe he was a sex staved lunatic. He was really kicking himself for not making use of the harems at the palace when he had the opportunity. But it was sex or sleep, and he really could not justify choosing anything other than sleep with the amount of exhaustion he endured.

"Play nice boys," the blonde woman stated before turning to attend to the patrons in the tent.

"Thank you, Mai!" Jono yelled as he began dealing a hand for himself and Atem, "Nervous?"

Atem glanced up at Jono quizzically, "For what?"

Jono stopped dealing the cards, "What do you mean for what? For the invasion? Since your stupid spell backfired, I thought we would be moving to plan B. Did you change your mind?"

Atem blinked. Invasion? "Right, right, nope no change in plans, but maybe you could run me through this spell one more time?"

Jono groaned and flopped back in his chair, "Uuugh, again with the spell? We agreed it was too dangerous to try, but you just haaad to try it anyways so we went all around looking for the dumb ingredients from the dumb book," Jono sat back up and started dealing the cards faster now, "so you could switch places with the damn pharaoh, but we know that it didn't work because you are still you, and we still need to get food for our people that the dumb pharaoh ignores, so can we please not try again? It was freaky enough as is. You really shouldn't mess around with that shadow magic, not with how unstable the millennium ring has been lately." Jono was talking so fast by the end of the conversation Atem could barely keep up.

His teeth clenched at the information. Bakura.

XXX

Bakura was loving the royal life treatment. Why had he not done this sooner? His people had tried to talk him out of this idea, but it was all going perfectly to plan. Bakura sat in a gold chair in the bedroom while a servant rubbed his feet, and another kept his cup filled with wine. Marik would be so jealous.

He disliked wearing the crown on his brow, it kept falling off, and the jewelry weighing on his neck, arms, and wrists made it feel like he was being weight down. There was no easy way to attack if he needed. The only weapon available was a large sword that Bakura's arms were not used to carrying. He would need to find a dagger or a rapier around here somewhere.

The white-haired man groaned. What was the best way to contact his tribe to let them know their plan was a go? And what happened to the actual pharaoh? Bakura looked around the room for anything he could use to his advantage. While he sat here in the lap of luxury, his people were left without a leader, without food, without protection. Yugi, Jono, and Marik would be able to keep the peace for a while, but the tribe looked to Bakura for their guidance.

Then - an earthshattering pain filled his mind and he collapsed to his kneecaps – RAAGGH. He opened his eyes but could see nothing. He could feel the cool marble floor with his hands, but his head throbbed with hurt. He could hear the serving girls scream in horror and bustling. "Get the healer immediately!" one yelled so loudly it echoed in Bakura's ears. He tried to stand but ended up crawling to where the large bed was. Ra, this jewelry was so heavy it was suffocating. His arms shook and his stomach was in knots. Was this a side effect from the shadow magic? Gah, even thinking hurt. Bakura stripped the heavy jewelry off and took a deep breath before burying his face into the soft pillows.

"Your majesty, can you hear me?" a soft smooth voice beckoned. The heartbeat in his head was so strong and felt as if it was going on for hours or even days. A cool hand touched his bare back, he didn't even realize he had stripped himself of his clothing too. Bakura was not in the mood, but the soft voice was gentle enough that it didn't ring in his ears and the hand on his bare skin was cool enough that it felt amazing against his hot skin.

"I need you to look at me," the angelic voice whispered. Bakura turned his head to the side of the pillow. An angel… he stared. His vision was still blurry, and his head still throbbed, however the young man staring at him was surrounded by a warm white fog. The gentle brown eyes stared into his soul and his eyebrows were close together in concern creating a soft wrinkle in his forehead. White hair framed his face, but most of it was pulled up into a bun on top of his head.

"Am I… in heaven?" Bakura gasped, reaching to touch the angel and see if he was real. The man chuckled softly when pads of Bakura's fingers touched the man's cheek. The pain in his head came back tenfold causing Bakura to bury his face back into the pillow and clench his teeth so hard he feared they would break.

He felt a wet cloth on the back of his neck as the angel turned his head back to face him. "Not heaven, but I brought you a cure," he stated, holding up a vial of a pink colored substance.

"Who are you?" Bakura groaned as the man held the vial to his lips, trusting every move he made.

The man laughed again, and Bakura swore it was the sweetest sound he had ever heard, "I am your healer, your majesty, Ryou. I've only been by your side since you took your father's place."

Bakura swallowed the surprisingly thick liquid and tried to process what the angel had just told him. Since I took my father's place? He looked Ryou again as the pain gradually released its hold on his head.

"That was a pretty bad migraine, your majesty," Ryou stated, reaching below the bed to put the vial back in bag laying on the floor, "I already informed Priest Seto and Princess Tea of your absence today, so please just take it easy, and try to stress yourself out anymore than you usually do." A gentle smile was on Ryou's lips as he noticed Bakura relax.

"A migraine?" He was baffled. That was the worst pain he had ever felt, and he had almost lost an eye and had many healed stab wounds.

"Yes, your majesty. You have been getting them more frequently lately. I wonder if they might be starting to effect your memory, this is not the first time you did not recognize me after an episode," Ryou replied, leaning down and placing the damp cloth from Bakura's neck into the small bag as well, "You really need to rest, you might have a bit of a headache for the rest of the day."

Bakura rolled into his back and let out a deep sign.

"Ack- whoa!" he heard his angel squeak. He quickly sat up to see Ryou leaning against a nearby pillar gawking through his fingers at Bakura's naked form. "Y-you're hu-" Ryou let out a muffled gasp as his hands flew to his mouth, blushing so hard his ears had to be just as red. Bakura couldn't help but feel a grin spread across his face.

When their brown eyes met one another, Ryou sprinted for the exit, thankful that he didn't slip or stumble as he usually did when he got nervous. Ryou struggle with the door handle and felt a low growl from behind him that sent chills down his spine. Ryou spun around in time to see Bakura striding towards him and placing his hands on either side of the door, trapping him in place. "My, my Ryou, did you enjoy the show?" Bakura whispered into his ear, taking in in sweet scent of water lilies and citrus from his hair.

Sweet.

Beautiful.

Mine.

Ryou's whole body was pressed against the solid ivory door as Bakura only seemed to get closer. "Your majesty, please – " he whimpered, then gasped as his naked groin rubbed against Ryou's, "Ngh!"

"Damn this tunic," Bakura hissed, and lowered his head to brush their lips together -

The door the two were leaning on was pulled open causing the two to collapse to the ground - naked Bakura on top of a positively red Ryou, right in front of Priest Seto and Princess Tea. Seto pinched the bridge of his nose, "You majesty, you best have a damn good explanation for this."