A/N: I don't own Yugioh

*looks around nervously* Eh..sorry for the long wait..*blushes* I sort of _really_ forgot about this fic..so, as a reimbursement, I made the chappie longer than usual! ^_^ *mumbles to self* I will never procrastinate again, I will never procrastinate again, I will never procrastinate again. *gives up because YK knows her middle name's procrastination* Also, Chibizoo's holding a Yugioh fanfic contest! For more information, go to
~*~

He gasped at the awe inspiring sight before him - a thousand specks of orange and ruby mottled against the night sleeves, their light so bright that even the star were made envious. Rumor had it that this place - Paradise Island - was beautiful beyond existence, but he'd never dared to think this beautiful.

A similar reaction was elicited from his companion, and for the time being, both refugees stared out from their place on the cliff into the light speckled ground below.

"It's amazing, isn't it?"

Yugi nodded, mauve eyes wide at the picturesque scene. Though shrouded in darkness, there was still an ethereal shimmer in those violet. "Yes..it is. I thought this place was only a legend.."

"Guess not." Joey gave his friend a grin and, after some hesitation, asked, "Do you think we should go down there. I mean, this'll probably be the only civilization we'll find for miles."

"D-down there?" The tricolor-haired boy gasped at the concept. "But..we don't even know who lives there! And we don't have any money and.." There was a sad and forlorn gaze. "..it seems like a place for angels."

"And you're not an angel?"

Surprised at the candid remark, Yugi could only stare as Joey placed a congenial hand on his shoulder. "Yug, how could you not be an angle? Everyone likes you..even the pharaoh himself! You're kind, innocent, optimistic.." The blonde blushed at his own descriptions, then gave a wry smile. "If anyone, it should be me that doesn't belong here."

He was then enfolded in an almost brotherly hug (much to his astonishment). "No, Joey," Yugi said firmly, "You have all the rights to stay at Paradise Island. If you hadn't helped me, I would have still been at the mercy of Pegasus.."

Joey grinned. "Aw, thanks Yug. Now would do you say we get down there and ease our hungry stomachs?"

~*~

The details were just as amazing as the whole picture itself. Yugi and Joey walked aimlessly down the limestone road, trying to capture all that Paradise Island had to offer. There were shrines of marble, with pillars that rose into the night sky; bright inscriptions on the walls told of gallant tales and marvelous deeds, and a faint lotus scent filtered through the air.

The pair weaved their way through the many people - consumers, merchants, priests, travelers. They were lost and more than a little famished, but the city seemed to wash away that anxiety with its marvels.

"Where do you think we should go?" Yugi asked loudly as to be heard above the incessant platters.

Joey removed his gaze from a statue of Ra he was admiring. "To tell you the truth, Yug, I really don't know.."

A low rumble sounded from his stomach, making the blonde flush. ".But I suppose we should find some food.."

Yugi nodded when a sudden realization dawned him; before he could voice that they were bereft of money, a stentorian voice interrupted him.

"Bread! Fresh from the oven! Only ten eggs a loaf!" The voice turned to Yugi and Joey. "You two! Get over here!"

Bemused and clearly frightened, Yugi timorously followed Joey's steps and approached the caller. A quick glance at his friend told that Joey was keeping a sharp eye out for danger and would strike if needed.

The voice, as it turned out, belonged to a woman. A very stunning woman, in fact, with the same shade of lavender eyes as Yugi. Flicking a lock of gold hair behind her back, she held out a hand. "Gee, you two look like you haven't eaten for a while. The name's Mai. Grab two loaves and sit down."

Yugi averted his eyes in embarrassment, but seeing that Joey was too busy gaping at Mai (or was it the food?), he murmured, "Thanks..but we don't have anything to trade for your bread..We just arrived here and, well.."

The sweet, tantalizing aroma exuding from Mai's laden cart made the boy's surrounding reel before him. He was so hungry! If only he had just one piece of that delicious bread, he would surely feel a whole lot better. Blearily, Yugi saw a golden bun being waved in front of him and, "No problem kid. I've plenty to spare. Tell you what, you can have it for free."

He must be hallucinating. Yes, that was it. No one in Egypt could be _this_ compassionate. But when the food was placed firmly in his hand, Yugi knew this wasn't some cruel dream. Lilac orbs glanced up at the woman in shock, gratitude, and utter disbelief.

Mai sighed. Guess not everyone's used to getting free stuff. "Kid, just take it. Trust me, I'm not going to blackmail you or anything, so get some food into your stomach before you faint on your feet."

With unknown tears coursing down his face, Yugi bit into the bun. The sweet taste lingered in his mouth even after he swallowed, and the next bite was equally soft and scrumptious. For Yugi, it was like savoring a piece of heaven itself.

Joey seemed to have undergone a similar experience, but Yugi could barely hear the quiet moans of delight from his friend as he finished the rest of his bread.

With their hunger sated, Mai gestured blithely at the two stools beside her. "Take a seat. Since you're new here, there really isn't any place you can go."

Numbly, Yugi obeyed, still doubting his luck.

"So.." Mai raised a quizzical brow, "what happened?"

Joey was the first to speak, apprehensively at first but gradually gaining confidence. "Well, me - Joey - and Yugi," he pointed to his companion, "had a, ah, _disagreement_ with our, um, boss; so we decided to run away for a while and came here."

Yugi sighed mentally when he realized that Joey hadn't been specific about what really happened. Sure, he didn't like the sound of Pegasus being his _boss_, but it was definitely better than "master" or "captor".

"Runaways, huh?" the blonde woman shook her head as if in amusement. A chuckle escaped her throat as she surveyed the two boys with new interest. "You're the first pair I've ever met - in Paradise Island, anyway. I suppose I should introduce myself.

"As you already know, my name's Mai. And the little shop on the end of this street," she pointed at a small mud cubicle, "is my bakery. Paradise Island's been my home for the past six years, boys. Beautiful place, isn't it? Anyway, before I moved here, I used to work as a cook for the pharaoh."

"The pharaoh?!" Yugi couldn't oppress the outburst. Does Mai know about him, then? It seemed that everyone, royalty or not, knew about the pharaoh's lost lover.

'Not lost,' Yugi corrected himself. 'Abducted.'

Either Mai didn't notice the outburst, or she ignored it. Rising from her seat, she took the handle of her bread cart and turned it towards the direction of her bakery. "Come on, boys. It's getting late, and I'm sure you don't have a place to sleep. My house isn't big, but it can fit two extra."

Yugi murmured a thanks while Joey hurried to help with the load.

"Hey..you need a hand?" the blonde asked, jogging up beside the cart.

Mai replied curtly, passing the handles over to the young man, "Why, thank you Joey. That'd be nice."

For the rest of the way, Mai was the principal speaker, with an occasional "yes" and "no" from her two guests. One by one, the red-orange torches that hung from rackets on the city walls were blown out, accommodating more room for the darkness and its blanket of stars.

Yugi shivered at the looming shadows that were conceived from the now scattered flames. Unconsciously, he moved closer to Mai and Joey, whom were in the discussion of Paradise Island's history. Well, more like Mai being the discusser and Joey the listener.

" - so then a group of farmers settled here," Mai was saying, and, as Yugi had noticed, frequently used hand gestures in her tale, "followed by architects, priests, herders.."

She suddenly stopped and Yugi almost bumped into her. Flustered, the pharaoh's lover took a couple steps back. Thrusting her hand into a pocket that neither boy noticed at first, she produced a finger-sized key completely made of bronze.

Yugi saw Joey raise his brow at him, and curiosity sank into his own mind as well. Bronze - especially pure ones - were very rare in Egypt. In fact, it was just discovered a few years back and the metal workers were working hard to propagate the material.

'But Mai _did_ worked for the Pharaoh. She must have been paid very well.' Having convinced himself that much, Yugi shrugged and followed Mai in, with Joey in tow.

Although the sullied mud compartment didn't look like much from the outside, the interior was the exact contrary. Animal skin rugs draped across the ground and on couches, silk curtains all the way from the Far East were suspended from the ceiling, and immense jars as tall as Yugi stood juxtaposition in the back, guarding the entrance to possibly more rooms. Ironically, there wasn't an oven in sight, but the tricolor-haired boy presumed it was in one of the other rooms.

Yugi gasped softly as he ran a hand over the tiger-skinned pillow, then quickly retracted when he remembered his manners.

"It's alright, Yugi," Mai chuckled slightly at the boy's flushed face. "You and Joey will be staying here anyway, so I suggest you make yourselves at home."

"Where did you get all this stuff?" Joey asked, and Yugi could see the growing spark of suspicion in those hazel eyes. The smaller of the two, naïve as he is, couldn't help but wonder how Mai could afford all this. These luxuries..only a high priest and the Pharaoh were capable of owning! And no doubt she had more.

But Mai dismissed the inquiry with a wave of her hand. "It's nothing..just a small family inheritance. Yugi, you can take the couch over there, and Joey, you'll have the one across from it."

When her guests nodded, she continued, "I'll have fresh clothes for the two of you tomorrow, and there's a bathing room in the back if you'd like to use it."

Yugi's suspicions were erased at the word "bath", a sumptuousness he hadn't enjoyed for the past few days. And his mud-caked skin urged him to take one.

Giving Mai an appreciative bow, he murmured, "Thank you so very much, Mai. If we could do anything to return this favor.."

"No need," the blonde grinned. "I've everything I need, as you can obviously tell. Goodnight, boys. See you in the morning." With that, the baker retreated to her room on the other side of the house.

Yugi stared after her, then turned towards his silent companion. "She..seems nice.." He began.

"But think about it, Yug. Even if she _was_ a royal cook, there's no way she could have stashed up _that_ much money. These things must cost at least six hundred bars of gold." To emphasize his point, Joey whistled conclusively.

"Yeah.." Deciding to relieve himself of the current dilemma, Yugi walked towards the room in the back. "I'm going to take a bath. Care to join me?" No sooner had he said that, Yugi covered his mouth as a red tint lit up his face.

Joey blushed at the spontaneous invitation but quickly declined. After all, who knows what Pharaoh Yami might do if he found out that he (Joey) and Yugi had bathed together..?

Yugi was silently relieved that his friend refused. He didn't _mean_ to ask; it just sort of came out. With cheeks still flaring, the small teen made his way to the tub.

That night, both escapees received a well-deserved rest. Neither noticed a pair of violet eyes peering out at them through the darkness.

'Whew..' The eyes blinked as they berated their owner. 'I almost blew my cover..I knew I should have brought them to a motel or something! Hn..I'd better watch this Joey-kid; he's smarter than he looks. As for Yugi..well, now I know why the Pharaoh fell in love with him. Such an innocent child..'

And then the eyes disappeared.

~*~

He was never one to be recognized for impishness or disobedience. But with the distress of the abduction of his lover, the capture of the infamous tomb robber, and the discovery of an abandoned slave, Yami thought he deserved some rest. And amusement. Thus, taking Seth's advise, he decided (although reluctantly) to let Ryou and the tomb robber become lovers.

Now, if Yami agreed on something, he had a tendency of overdoing it sometimes. With the possibility of entertainment in this, er, decision and the fact that both Ryou and the thief loved each other, Yami locked them in a room for the good half of the day, though neither came out until the day after.

Which was what Yami had planned.

Currently, Seth sat across from him on one of the palace's silk cushions, unenthusiastic about his task: using his telepathic powers on the two albinos and reporting their..activities..

Yami shook his head and smirked at the frown on the high priest's head. Normally, he'd never have made time for himself or prod into other's businesses. But..then Yami realized how much Yugi had changed him - changed him from a cruel, dreaded monarch to a softening young man on his way to learning compassion. Oh, how Yami missed the boy. But neither Seth nor any of his other councilors allowed him to delay any more needs regarding Egypt's welfare.

'At least,' Yami thought dryly, "I've sent my Eyes-and-Ears-of- Pharaoh (1) out to search for him.'

Turning his attention to Seth, the pharaoh snickered. "Well, my high priest, are you going to start or are we going to sit here all day?"

"M'lord," Seth protested though he knew was futile, "this is a violation to their privacy! And I'm quite sure you know what they're doing.."

Yami gave a feral grin as he eyed the blushing young man. "Yes, but I want you to tell me."

Sighing and daring to cast an irritated glare at his king, Seth complied.

(Seth's story)

Ryou shifted in the spot he had been standing on for the past ten minutes, hazel eyes roaming around everywhere but the boy in front of him. Bewilderment shrouded his mind - why is Pharaoh Yami locking him and Bakura in the same room?! Could he have possibly lent them empathy? But the notion didn't seem likely; the young monarch had been steaming with anger the day before.

A cough brought his back to the present. Instinctively, Ryou searched for the source of the sound and came eye-to-eye with Bakura.

"Ryou.." The tomb robber began, his voice sounding raspy even to himself. Suddenly, he didn't know what to say, which was contrary to his usual quick-witted and voluble nature. It was as if the mere image of Ryou had erased his mind of all words and thoughts.

"Ryou," he tried again, "I.."

But a finger on his lips stopped him. Molten chocolate eyes peered up at Bakura, divulging comprehension, love, and..fear?

"I know," Ryou answered, smiling at his mirror image. He opened his mouth to say more, then abruptly closed it and looked away, as though ashamed.

A ripple of despondency undulated through Bakura, but he didn't know why. Instead, he tilted Ryou's chin upwards so that their eyes met.

"Ryou..what's wrong?" The thief found that if he spoke quietly, then his voice wouldn't sound as rough and intimidating.

"I.ah, well.." Ryou stumbled, searching for the right words. He had the concept down..it's just that he didn't know how to vocalize it. Finally, "Bakura..I know you love me, and my feelings are reciprocated, but.."

Bakura held his breath, half of his mind wonder if Ryou was going to reject him and the other half dead frozen.

"..but don't you think this is going a bit too fast?" Ryou hurried to justify his alleged statement. "I mean, we've just met no more than two days ago. And I'm a slave and you're a, ah, tomb robber. I-I don't know..I guess I just fear for our relationship. I've heard rumors that couples that get together too quickly eventually break up and -"

Ryou stopped his blabbering when a pair of soft lips was pressed firmly against his own. The kiss deepened as an arm slithered its way around his waist, pulling the two bodies into having as much contact as possible. A pleasurable shiver ran down his back and Ryou almost whined at the lost of physical touch.

"Do you believe me now?" Bakura breathed, stroking the other's hair with one hand. It wasn't often that he was this soft - in fact, rarely at all - and he definitely wasn't the romantic-type. But for this boy..he'll make an exception. "Do you believe in love at first sight?"

Ryou nodded and didn't have time to reply when Bakura kissed him again.

(end of Seth's story)

Seth terminated his report with a polite cough. "And I'll sure you can guess what happened next, your majesty."

Yami feigned innocence, though his endeavor provided no response from the high priest. Smirking at the heated blush on the other's face, Yami scooted closer and attempted to goad the young man into finishing his tale.

"What if I don't know, Seth? Tell me. And that's an order."

Seth could have sworn that steam was rising from his cheeks (if that was possible) and prayed a thanks to the gods that his robe hid the bulge between his legs. "My pharaoh," he mumbled, shifting around a bit to ease the pain, "Please..it really isn't -"

"Dammit, Seth! Just tell me! I need to get my mind off Yugi! Fine, fine! Don't tell me! But at least _do something_ to distract me or else I'll have your head!"

Well, that was certainly unexpected, to say the least. And Seth knew Yami was far from joking this time. So, caught in the turmoil and hoping to keep his head intact with his body, Seth did the only thing he could think of: he kissed Yami.

~*~

A term I got from "the Lord Meren Mystery Series". The Eyes and Ears of Pharaoh is kinda like the pharaoh's detective and reports anything suspicious (or just stuff in general) to the pharaoh.

~*~

YK: ..I hadn't really planned for it to turn out like this..XD

Yami: I'm supposed to be in love with Yugi, not Seth!

YK: *shrugs* Well, let's let the readers vote on it. (to readers) If you want Yami/Seth or Yami/Yugi, then please say so in the review. (All reviews are automatically transferred to my email account) The couple with the highest votes will win ^_^