A/N: I cannot believe that I am updating this already. -_-;; This is totally the fault of (yet again) Sailor Comet, Saraha, Callisto Firestarter, Blue Lagoon Loon, Kakarots-Frying-Pan, Kitsune Hashiba, and Chibi-chan. If I didn't love them for the feedback, I'd kill them for getting me into this. *appeals to rest of audience* I'm trying to finish my other fics, and these meanies all reviewed and inspired me to write in this one again! ;_; I have homework, darn you!

Anyway, for those of you who came in here through my profile and ignored the rating, this fic is "R." Not yet, admittedly, but we start dealing with things like sex and probably gore soon. So don't read it if ya can't deal. I've got three younger siblings; I don't need any more virgin eyes to corrupt.

Interesting fact before you read: Set was the god of homosexuality. Kinda makes you wonder what Kazuki-sensei had in mind when he named Seto after him, doesn't it. ^_~









"Dying In Egypt"









Seto was enthralled.

The blonde was beautiful. Completely and utterly beautiful. A mere soldier, true, but master to a Red Eyes Black Dragon, and so brave that he would call it out against one of the infamous Blue Eyes! So brave that he would fight against that same dragon's owner by putting his cheap nicked blade against a pair of stilettos carved by an elite smith!

And on top of it all, he actually had the upper hand.

It was too glorious for words. It was better than magic, better than the Shadow Games, better than the feeling that came when strung up between this world and the afterlife. It was beyond perfect.

And Seto wanted more.

"You're fucking fantastic," he informed the blonde in a light, conversational tone that he had never had use for with anyone but the pharaoh.

"And you're fucking gorgeous," the blonde replied with a quicksilver grin as he caught the arm holding one stiletto and parried the other with his own knife. Seto nearly died of euphoric shock right there.

This was beyond wonderful.

And if he was really lucky, the blonde might even kill him.

"You're a really pretty boy," the blonde purred, grinning at him. "What's your name?"

"Seto," the priest replied, slightly breathless.

"Mm." The blonde smiled languidly and twisted his arms to trap Seto's hands between his. "I like that name. Can I call you Seto-koi?"

"What does 'koi' mean?" Seto asked with a slight frown, breaking the other's hold and leaping back out of the range of his dagger.

The blonde giggled. "Loosely? It means 'lover.'"

Hearing the translation, Seto promptly tripped over his own feet and fell straight onto his back.

The blonde giggled again and drove his knife into the priest's stomach.









~ * ~ * ~ * ~









"/Ba- Bakura-san!/" Ryou gasped, staring at the shop in awe. "/This is your safe house? It's absolutely gorgeous!/"

"/Are you kidding me?/" Yami asked flatly, glaring at their cluttered surroundings. "/It's a junk heap, Ryou-kun./" Ryou ignored him in favor of a cluster of gold chains and amulets hanging from the ceiling.

Technically, both of them were right- the place was a mess, but the mess was made up of beautiful jewelry and brightly painted pottery and statuettes. It was a true artisan's workplace- the only thing that mattered was the art itself, and not the arrangement or the cleanliness of the shop. Still, each piece was polished mirror-bright and obviously well looked-after.

"/Lovely,/" Ryou breathed, wide eyes falling on a particularly stunning jewel.

"/And it doesn't bother you in the least that you could feed a family of seven with that for the rest of their mortal lives?/" Yami inquired sourly. Again, Ryou ignored him.

"/Bakura-san, who made all this?/" he asked. "/Do you know?/"

"/A friend,/" Bakura replied dismissively, closing the shop's door behind them. "/He owns this place. He's pretty odd, but he's not bad for an artist./"

"/Oh?/" Ryou's pleasant expression suddenly became slightly forced. "/A 'friend,' you say?/"

"/He's got a bitch, Ryou, and it's not me,/" Bakura reassured him, hiding a pleased smirk behind his hand.

"/Did I ask?/" Ryou replied innocently, batting his eyelashes and then suddenly grinning wolfishly. "/So, you are definitely not attached, then. And no prospects?/"

"/Well . . ./" Bakura began slowly, pulling a thoughtful face. "/There is this one rather attractive young man with a thing for jewelry and a much-appreciated opinion of my ass . . ./"

Ryou grinned again. "/Oh, you ARE good,/" he said in amusement, sliding up closer to the thief.

"/Would you two get a room?!/" Yami bellowed, glaring at them.

"/Could we?/" Ryou asked hopefully. Bakura blushed.

"/Maybe later,/" he mumbled, threading his fingers in with Ryou's. Ryou gave him another smile.

"/I like that idea,/" he whispered into Bakura's ear, taking the opportunity to press a kiss to the other boy's jawline. Bakura blushed again and Ryou chuckled. "/Isn't he so cute, Yami- kun?/" he asked brightly. "/See, I told you that this place wasn't so bad./"

"/I will believe that when I get laid and no sooner,/" Yami retorted flatly from the other side of the room, where he was inspecting an elaborately-carved statuette of the god Set. "/Which one is this? I can never keep track of you people's damned gods./"

"/Set, the lord of the northern sky,/" Bakura recited with an annoyed sigh. "/The God of Chaos who embodies hostility, who killed his brother Osiris the god of the dead, and is our beloved High Priest's chosen lord./"

"/Your High Priest?/" Ryou's smile turned sly. "/Ah, I've heard of HIM. They call him the 'Whore of the Gods,' don't they? A human so beautiful that the gods strike down any who dare to try and enter his bed in their jealousy./"

"/Don't tell me that you actually believe rumors like that,/" Bakura said in exasperation. "/The High Priest is just a cold fish./"

"/Of course I don't, Bakura-san!/" Ryou replied with a laugh. "/I just think that it's a good 'bedtime' story./" Bakura didn't miss the infliction on the word "bedtime"- not that it would've mattered if he had, as Ryou had quite cheerfully sprawled over the nearest table in a blatantly sexual pose. Again, the thief found himself blushing. There was something strange about Ryou- he'd never felt quite like this before, and he'd seen far more provocative people than the soldier.

It was just . . . Ryou's flirtations, he wanted to accept because of the person giving them, and not so much the body.

Not to say, of course, that the boy wasn't absolutely fucking gorgeous, but that was beside the point.

"/So- what now?/" Yami asked after a moment.

"/We wait for the owner and I get a fat chunk of change off him by selling . . . something,/" Bakura replied, remembering halfway through that statement that he'd already given Ryou the armband he'd originally been planning to sell. What did that even leave? True, he still had money left over from the ankh and earrings, but he'd have liked some sort of backup, just to be safe.

Well . . . there WAS "it."

"/When's he coming?/" Ryou inquired curiously, tilting his head slightly.

Bakura just shrugged. "/I'll tell you when he gets here,/" he said, internally deciding to sell "it." After all, it'd fetch a nice amount. They could use the money.

Still . . .

The gods were not going to be happy.









* tbc . . . *









. : please review, effendi! : .