Hey again everyone! Gods, sorry for the long delay, but I've been VERY busy and I've revived One Last Breath! Long intro short, just about every review had the same line of comment... so thankyou to everyone, and I'm glad you all enjoyed it! And welcome to all new Hikarists!
Here's the fic!
Bakura glanced up from his sketch in the dirt as a tri-coloured spiky-haired boy staggered through into the main room of his house. "Morning!" he chirped cheerfully, sniggering as Yugi's bleary eyes eventually managed to focus on him. "Finally got up?"
Yugi gave a dull nod, before shuffling further through, aiming in the vague direction of where the seats were. Despite his otherwise bright and chirpy attitude, Yugi had never been a morning person. Stifling a yawn, Yugi tried to make his hazy purple eyes focus on the vague brown outlines in front of him so as to make sure he didn't miss when he sat down.
"How you feeling?"
Yugi turned and blinked sleepily at Bakura. "You mean aside from the fact that I'm having to deal with my first morning for a year, I'm tired, the sun's too bright and I had the most wonderful night of my life?"
Bakura nodded in reply. "…sore," Yugi admitted, wincing slightly as he sat down.
Bakura sniggered again. "With the amount of noise you made last night, I'm surprised you can even walk!"
Yugi blushed brightly, though he was still too deep in 'morning' mode to turn away. Moaning slightly, he settled back against the wooden chair – Amun knows how Bakura and Malik had sneaked THAT out of the marketplace – and sighed, his eyes closing again. "Where's Malik?" he asked casually, hoping to change the subject very quickly.
Bakura glanced up from his sketch again. "Hmm? Oh, he's out shopping… he earns his keep," Bakura explained pointedly, dropping a hint that if Yugi was going to live under his roof, he'd have to pull his weight too, son of a God or not.
"By shopping you mean stealing?" came a deep voice from the entrance to the room.
Bakura smirked. "Ah, so the Pharaoh has awoken too." Turning, he addressed Yami with a grin. "Looks like some are better with mornings than others."
Indeed, this was a true observation. Unlike Yugi, who had slumped into the chair now, Yami was stood regal and proud, displaying fine posture with an air of power about him. As Pharaoh, he'd been awoken at all hours of the night, and so had learnt how to handle it very quickly. Now he could awaken and – at his discretion – be ready to rule a kingdom within three minutes. Of course, even a Pharaoh likes to have a lazy morning in bed now and then – particularly if they have the love of their life in their arms. Yami gave Bakura a nod by way of greeting, before heading through to the back of the house. "The Nile still where Ptah left it?"
The Tomb Robber grinned. "Last time I checked!"
"In that case, your Pharaoh intends to have a morning soak before he goes about town." With that, the last of Yami's spikes of hair disappeared from view, only to return within a couple of seconds. "Bakura…" he began enquiringly, his head tilted slightly to one side as his eyebrows furrowed. "What exactly is that you're drawing?"
Not bothering to look up this time, the tip of his tongue between his teeth as he frowned in concentration, Bakura absently replied, "New weapon. Very powerful. Overthrow empire. Slay High Priest. Quickly remove Malik's clothes."
Yami blinked for a second. "…it looks like an ostrich."
Bakura looked up this time, fixing Yami with a death glare. "I thought you were having a morning soak?" he uttered between gritted teeth.
Giving a grin and a wave in reply, Yami turned and strode off again, singing at the top of his lungs, welcoming the new day.
"What do you mean, I'd better pay for it?"
"I'm telling you to pay for that bread. You know the penalty for stealing, don't you?"
Malik smirked at the stall's owner. Now and then, he liked to get himself caught, just to see how it turned out. "Oh, you mean getting your hands cut off? Oh yeah, it's happened to me five times, I'm thinking of giving it up for something safer, like defiling temples."
Malik noted with something close to fascination that the stall owner's left eye actually twitched at this, and his mouth opened a little in wonder. For half a second, he even contemplated poking at it to see if it bit him. His mind's wandering session was soon cut off, however, as he saw the owner's blade raised high into the air. "I'll show you!!!" he roared.
Malik's eyes never left the owner's. At the last second he jerked his arm back, pulling the owner's forward into the arc of the weapon, and caught his other wrist as the blade hung literally half a finger from the man's flesh. "I spared you this time," he whispered, his voice chillingly cold. "I'd suggest you let me go quietly." Malik nodded down to his waist, where a dagger hung, glinting as the sun sparkled off it. "Otherwise I may be forced to show you how to use a weapon."
With a quiet whimper, the stall owner nodded, releasing Malik's hand and putting his sword away. He quite deliberately turned his back to Malik, busying himself with some pots at the back of his stall, and Malik helped himself to the bread happily, softly humming the tune Yugi had been singing. Glancing down, Malik frowned as he saw a carefully prepared piece, ornately shaped, sat at the front corner of the table. "Hey," he called, grabbing the stall owner's attention.
The terrified man turned round, his eyes wide. "Y… yes?"
Malik beckoned the man over, who hurriedly obliged, and picked the piece of bread up, pressing it into his hand. "You shouldn't put this so near the front," he cautioned, dropping the other pieces of bread amongst the figs and meat hidden in various pouches and pockets about his person. "Someone might steal it."
With that, Malik turned and began looking for a stall that sold beer and wine, leaving a very confused owner to stare after him.
"So Yami, what exactly do you do around the house?"
Yami looked down at his smaller partner, confusion across his face. His mind had been a million rods away, his thoughts troubling him, and he didn't catch on to what Yugi meant. "Hmm?"
"Around the house. Bakura said something this morning about earning my keep." Yugi's violet eyes stared up at Yami enquiringly. "What do you do?"
Yami grinned softly. "I clean."
Yugi froze mid-step, looking up at Yami with wide, surprised eyes. "You clean?" This concept somehow seemed alien to Yugi. This was the Pharaoh, ruler of Upper and Lower Egypt, the most powerful man in the world… cleaning? Scrubbing? Yugi just couldn't quite make the connection between the two.
Yami gave a small nod. "That's right. I get down on my hands and knees and get dirty," he explained, giving Yugi a slight wink, causing the smaller boy to blush.
Yami couldn't help feeling himself melt slightly at the adorable sight that Yugi cut. Little Yugi; his Yugi, so perfect in so many ways, so adorable, so beautiful, so kind and sweet… Yami smiled softly, gently brushing Yugi's cheek with the backs of his fingers, and felt his heart soar as Yugi leaned softly into the touch. Yes, Yugi was his… Yugi chose to be his, as the Gods themselves had willed… and he was Yugi's too. That was a thought so wonderful, but so humbling, a thought that made Yami feel like the king of the world and as small as the most insignificant bug all at the same time.
Despite the fact that Yami knew Yugi loved him, and that he knew he loved Yugi as no-one else could, he couldn't help but feel so… inadequate for the boy. He was a mere man; even as Pharaoh, he still shared the same weaknesses as every other man, as he'd shown when Yugi had been taken from him.
Yami stared at his reflection in his mirror, a piece of silver that had been hammered flat until it was smooth and reflective enough to serve its purpose. Out of his Pharaonic clothing, there was nothing to suggest that he was any different to any other man. He ate. He breathed. He loved, and he hurt. Deep down, despite everything he and his people believed, he supposed that, really, he was just any other man. He gazed past himself to the reflected Tomb Robber on his bed. He was just another man too. He loved, and he hurt too. And he had swallowed his pride and asked the Pharaoh for help, for what must have been the most important thing in the world to him.
"I'll do it."
Yes, Yami was just another man. Yugi, on the other hand… Yami sighed softly as he gazed upon Yugi's face, the younger boy's eyes closed in contented bliss. The son of a God… Now that Yami knew, it seemed so obvious to him. Yugi was too perfect to be just any mortal. Too perfect for any mortal. Even a Pharaoh was less than the boy deserved. Yet that was exactly what he asked for… Yami just wished he could allow himself to give it.
Sighing, Yami tried to push his inner torment aside, and resorted to the only thing he knew that brought him true peace. Leaning forward, he softly pressed his lips up against Yugi's, allowing his hand to drop and slipping them both lightly round Yugi's waist. He felt his heart swell almost to the point of bursting as Yugi returned the kiss without so much as a gasp of surprise, an action that came so naturally to the boy now. Pulling Yugi a little closer, Yami gave a soft sigh as Yugi's arms draped lightly round his neck. To Duat [1] with the fact that they were in the middle of a courtyard right now; Yami felt himself melting in a sheath of ecstasy as his lips meshed with Yugi's, the younger boy having forced Yami's lips apart so their tongues could meet. Softly breaking away, Yami smiled at Yugi, leaning so their foreheads gently touched. "My love," he whispered softly, placing a light kiss on the tip of Yugi's nose.
Yugi giggled lightly, scrunching his nose up, and smiled up at the Pharaoh. "My only," he returned, lightly pressing a kiss to Yami's lips. With another giggle, he took Yami's hand and began tugging insistently. "Come on," he whined. "I wanna go have a soak!"
Yami sighed. "I do too, Yugi… after all, I was over halfway there before you called me back!" And that was true enough – quite how Yugi had managed to get him back, particularly when he'd resolved to disobey the boy just that once, was beyond him. He was pretty sure there hadn't been any divine powers involved either. Not that it mattered.
Holding onto Yugi's hand, the former slave skipping happily by his side, Yami let his cares slip away again as Yugi's playful laughs resonated through his head. The young boy was almost addictive; so delicious, filling him full of deliriously happy thoughts and visions. What did it matter that he didn't have his throne, when he had Yugi? Around Yugi, his world was complete – he had no need for anything else, not even shelter. Speaking of which…
"Yugi," Yami began, his voice gaining a playful tone. He glanced at the Nile, which they now stood beside.
"Yami?"
"What were you planning to do to earn your keep?"
Yugi pondered this. "Well…"
With a little whoop of triumph, Yami cut Yugi off, scooping him up over his shoulder bodily. Ignoring the little one's furious squeaks of protest, Yami stood at the river edge. "Think faster!"
Yugi grinned. He already knew what was coming; he'd heard that phrase numerous times before – and also knew how to defend against it. As Yami launched the petite youth, Yugi caught hold of his shoulders, gripping onto Yami's cloak tightly. A cry of surprise resonated across the water as both teens fell in with a mighty splash, a few water fowl bobbing for safety as the two emerged with their hair plastered to their face. Parting the strands that obstructed his vision, Yugi giggled at Yami, who was stood pouting with his arms folded.
Huffing, Yami glared at Yugi and narrowed his eyes. "You," he stated, a grin crossing his lips as he waded closer to Yugi. "Are so dead…"
[1] Duat – as you may recall from chapter one, Duat is the ancient Egyptian underworld (i.e. hell)
Well, there ya go people! Please review!
