When It's No Longer Cliche

Yami blinked lazily as he gazed at the one next to him. His arm was draped loosely over the other's sheet-covered chest, his fingers feeling the inexplicably soft material as he squeezed it through his fingers. It accentuated Yuugi's curves in sinful decadence.

He wasn't tired at the moment, watching as Yuugi slept on through the Sunday morning sunrise. This didn't surprise him, though. Just a few hours of rest in the puzzle had him back up to full strength again. No, what he felt at the moment could only be explained as haziness.

This also wasn't surprising to him. He may be wide awake at the moment, but Yuugi was still asleep, and with how deeply they were bonded he would always feel hazy or drowsy when Yuugi slept. It was just how things worked.

But, then again, everything revolved around Yuugi. And personally, he didn't want to have it any other way.

Yuugi sighed in his sleep, rolling from his back onto his side and further into Yami's embrace. The ancient spirit could not believe how much he had come to care for the younger one next to him. What would have happened were Yuugi to have landed in the middle of his world when he had still been alive? What kind of ruler would he have been instead? Would he still have been locked into the puzzle?

The puzzle had been a trick. Completely and entirely. One of his senior advisors had proposed the idea of an immortal life for him, with and endless amount of power at his disposal. He should have known that any kind of offer like that couldn't be real. He also should have seen truly how much his underlings despised him. All they wanted was a way to get rid of him, incarnation of their god or not.

The puzzle had been crafted out of gold, to be sure. The finest gold, for this adornment was one that was meant to last for a specific reason. The finest gold, and the finest magi-craftsmen alive. But here is where the secret comes in for the betrayal and conspiracy against the crown-

The puzzle was not meant to be completed. All of the pieces fit together, but if untalented hands attempted to put it together, which the majority of the populace had no such magical abilities, and those that did knew better than to put together strange relics that pulsed eerie vibes of shadow magick, it would simply crumble under its own weight. The puzzle had been made to not hold itself together long enough to put all of the pieces in place.

And the puzzle had to last a long time, in order to serve as a permanent prison for the spirit it housed.

All of this had been revealed to the pharaoh after he had been sealed inside. Chains came out of nowhere and bound him in place. His memories had been stolen from him, his name erased, his ego crushed into shattered crumbs. Ice and darkness and pain coming from devices he could never really see tortured him and hurt him and made him bleed for ages beyond count.

He felt hurt at the deception he had been dealt. But why should he have felt so much pain and regret over that? He knew nobody liked him. He didn't want them to like him. He wanted them to fear him.

Suddenly, the voice of his father chimed mercilessly in his head. Fear holds this kingdom together. Familiarity breads contempt, and if you let mere peasants overrun you they will eventually realize that they no longer need you, thereby ending the need for a royal family. You'll rot in Duat if you turn soft, child. This was, of course, at the right bold age of eight, after he had given aid to a slave who had dropped a tray of fruit. The poor girl couldn't help it that she was nearly blind!

But the young prince Atemu had received a lashing for that. He was still crying as his father yelled the importance of fear into his face.

Was that why he was able to turn to Yuugi so readily? Yuugi had a softness to him that not many could ever hope to live up to, no one could deny that. Yami loved the softness, but a part of him was always yelling that it was the softness that he should stay away from, and that was where Yuugi also eluded him. His unbelievable strength. He had a strength and endurance that an athlete would envy. And his will power and stubborn temper only seemed to add to this. Yami had a strange feeling that his own father would have withered under Yuugi's wrath.

Yuugi did not believe in blind faith, nor did he believe that he should follow any path. He would create his own, even if he had to blaze his way through it with the fires of hell. Yuugi was gentle, and yet a pillar of strength. He had the ability to break down, but he also wasn't blind-sided to cause and effect and searching for a scapegoat or looking for comfort. Yuugi waited for the comfort to come to him. And that is where the puzzle's original purpose backfired. It found Yuugi. But Yami was having a hard time defining his new lover.

If anything, Yuugi was provocative.

He had an air about him that exuded confidence without arrogance. Whatever the balance between the two was, Yuugi had found it. He wasn't shy or abashed at seeking his lover's arms, and he wasn't ashamed about any part of him self. It seemed at times that a silent message was being sent from him, simply begging Yami to wrap his arms around that slim waist, get just a little bit closer, take everything about himself and embrace it and give it to him while they make love.

Yuugi was a tower of strength for Yami to lean against, it seamed. Yuugi wasn't afraid of Yami's past, nor did he seem to worry about the future. And unlike any of his underlings in the past, Yuugi wasn't even afraid of incurring Yami's own wrath. In fact, he verbally welcomed it, if it were indeed to come at all. Yuugi refused to live in an illusion, too. He wouldn't stand on unstable ground, appearing to be safe, whilst a pile a snakes lay just beneath him.

But this was where Yami seemed to falter. He was unsure about the future for the both of them. The winds boded a sick warning that nearly made him turn green at times with illness. Something was going to happen to them, and he knew that Yuugi had no idea.

But he couldn't readily account Yuugi as oblivious. The term just didn't fit for his little book worm.

And there was something else that was nagging at him, too.

If the puzzle indeed could not be put together unless the person assembling it had some sort of magickal abilities, then how in the world did his aibou put it together? Did Yuugi's blood contain a power that he just so happened to have overlooked? How would this affect their future? Since their bonding, Yuugi now had shadow magick running through him, even though he didn't know it.

Hell, Yuugi didn't even know about the shadow realm yet, and that was also truly worrying Yami. What would he make of it once he found out?

Perhaps there was a little magick that Yuugi possessed that was entirely separate from the powers of the puzzle and the shadow realm. Yami would have to look sometime and see if he could sense it.

Violet eyes began to blink open, and Yuugi moved his muscles just a little bit, experimentally, just to allow his body to register the fact that he was now awake. His breathing was slow and deep. : Good morning, love. :

Yami smiled softly. "Good morning," he whispered.

Yuugi's eyes filled with something akin to sympathy, and yet it was in a way that did not make Yami feel as though Yuugi were looking at him with pity. : I saw your memory. Of your father, and that little servant girl who had gone blind? It seems that we both had a rather crude upbringing.. :

Yami snorted, contempt for himself brewing just a little. : And look who turned out ahead. You overcame your abuse flying on silver wings. :

Yuugi shook his head. "Don't even begin to beat yourself up about it. Nature versus nurture is an ongoing dispute, and in this case nature won out. You were as unable to control your outcome as a polar bear trying to stay cool in the Carribean."

Yami looked at Yuugi curiously. "Say that again?"

Yuugi smiled. His brains were showing through yet again, and didn't seem annoyed at having to explain what he said. In fact, he looked rather delighted. "The thought of nurture is that parents and adults instill characteristics into their young, and that children learn only what they see. A young child, taught to play the piano at a very young age, will go on to be a pianist."

Yami nodded. "Makes sense. Go on."

"The nature side of it is that some habits people are born with. A child growing up in a wealthy home wants nothing but to be a rebel riding cross county on a motorcycle. In our case, with similar upbringing, it was personality that caused us to turn out the way we did. You had no control in your younger life. The only control I had was the putting together of the puzzle. That is the only real difference between the situations. In a way, you helped me to overcome my environment."

How was he able to do that? Take a situation that ultimately showed Yami as being weaker of character and turn him into his aibou's savior? Gods, he loved that boy so much.

Yami smiled, pulling Yuugi into a much-needed hug. "Give me some more of your quotes, aibou. I do love to hear them."

Yuugi burrowed his face into Yami's bare chest, his soft fingertips running gently over Yami's skin. "Two weaknesses leaning together create a strength. Therefore the half of the world leaning against the other half becomes firm."

Yami basked in the mystery that was his lover. "Where is that from?"

"The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci. Quotes on Philosophy." Yuugi planted a soft kiss on Yami's chest. : I think it fits us. :

The ancient spirit ran his fingers through Yuugi's hair. He was looking forward to making love again that night. He couldn't seem to be around Yuugi enough. Every moment with him made him feel more important than any gold or jewels he had ever worn. It was difficult just to fathom how much Yuugi meant to him.

Tap. Tap.

Yuugi turned his head just a little, seeing a few drops of water on his window.

Tap. Tap, tap, tap, tap.

"It's starting to rain," Yuugi murmured. As if on cue, the harsh downpour started.

"How long do the rains last here," Yami questioned.

"All year," Yuugi replied. "But there aren't any harsh storms like Egypt is used to seeing. We get soft rains and short rainstorms in the spring and summer and cold winters with a lot of snow."

"Snow?" Yami asked curiously.

Yuugi blinked. "You don't know what snow is, do you?"

Yami shook his head. "No, not really."

"Oh, I just realized," Yuugi stated. "The Egyptians also had ten day weeks, didn't they?"

"Yes," Yami replied. "How long are the weeks now?"

"Seven days are in a week now. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Meaning that tomorrow will be our one week anniversary."

Yami sat in silent contemplation. A lot had happened to them in one week. It was so hard to believe.

"We're going to have a current events class today," Yuugi decided. "I'm going to teach you as much as I can today about what's going on in the world. You'll be surprised at the governments that have sprung up over the years, and you'll be amazed at the different inventions that have been created."

"Sounds exhausting," the spirit commented. "I'd rather stay in bed with you all day long."

Yuugi chuckled, running his fingers slowly up and down Yami's spine. : Lazy old man. :

Yami laughed. : I thought I was a dirty old man. :

Yuugi laughed, too. : Lazy and dirty! For shame! :

The rain continued to pound outside, but at the moment neither were paying attention, deciding that a kiss sounded far more interesting than rising just yet.

xxx

"Okay. On to American government. Now, in the States there are two main parties, the Republicans and the Democrats. The idea behind this kind of politics is..." Yuugi looked up at Yami as the spirit slouched into the couch, closing his eyes.

"Yami..."

A snore rumbled past Yami's lips.

"You faker! Wake up!" Yuugi tossed a small pillow at Yami's head, ruffling his spiky hair.

"No."

Yuugi got up from his chair, sat the history book down on the coffee table, and settled himself on Yami's lap by straddling him. "Did I get carried away?"

Yami opened one eye, looking at the other sleepily. "We've gone through thirty five thousand years of history, from cave paintings to the Romans to the American Revolution. I need a break." Yuugi looked at him apologetically. "And food," he mentioned as an after thought.

Yuugi didn't mean to get so carried away. He just really liked knowledge, both learning it and teaching it. Friends looked at him as if he were an alien one day when he said he enjoyed a four hour literature test. He couldn't help it! The readings were good! He kissed his lover's forehead, running his fingers gently through his hair. : Want to try sushi? :

"Currently, I'm up for anything."

"Good." He picked up the phone next to the couch and began to dial. "We'll order out. I'd take you out to a sushi bar, but the storm outside has really picked up."

"No complaints here."

Yuugi dialed, placed his order, and gave the address of their establishment. Just as he put the phone back down his grandfather came into the living room, giving his grandson a leery glance. Yuugi cleared his throat, got off of Yami's lap, and curled up on the couch next to him. "We ordered out for some sushi, Ojii-chan. I ordered enough for all of us, if you want some too."

"Sure," Sugoroku nodded. "By the way, I have some fascinating news from Egypt."

Yuugi looked up curious, and Yami listened intently. His curiosity had now been piqued. "What is it?" his grandson asked.

"You remember the donkey that accidently opened up a roof to a burial chamber at the oasis?"

"Sure, they found some forty one mummies there."

"Well, they've done a lot of excavating there. I even had the pleasure to work on some of it whilst I was away, in between the fleet of twelve boats we were digging up. But since I've been gone, they've counted now over two hundred mummies, and they believe that there are more yet to be found. All of them common citizens!"

"Two hundred?" Yuugi asked. "And didn't I read somewhere that they have now found fourteen boats?"

The elder man nodded emphatically. "That's right. The wood has now been identified as cedar from what is now modern day Lebanon. The team wants me to come back and do some more work."

"What about the delta excavations," Yuugi asked. "Has anything else turned up about them?"

Sugoroku gave his grandson a stunned look, and Yami resisted the urge to ask what the hell they were talking about. "How did you know about those," the old man asked bewildered.

Yuugi shrugged nonchalantly. "I read and watch the History channel whenever I get the chance. The bones there they found are well over four thousand years old, if not four thousand five hundred."

His elder nodded. "The texts which are barely discernable on some of the clay pots that were found my original team wants me to decipher. It's slightly different from any of the text found in the Old or New Kingdoms. They think I might be able to find some similarities and discern what's there."

Yuugi looked at Sugoroku imploringly. "So...how long will you be gone?"

The old man walked into the living room, sitting down in the chair Yuugi had been in previously. "Now, that's what I wanted to ask you about. If you would like, you and Yami can come with me. You can do your school studies there, and even get to listen in on some of the lectures at the American University of Cairo."

"Is that where we'll be stationed," Yuugi asked excitedly.

"For the mean time. I'll be going back and forth to the valley quite frequently, and you're more than welcomed to join me."

Yami felt a wave of excitement rush through him, the emotion crashing his way from Yuugi. : What do you say Yami? Would you like to see what Egypt looks like now? I would love for an opportunity to do some Arabic studies, and learn more of the ancient Egyptian alphabet. :

What a strange prospect. See the land in which he had been born in, now in modern times? What kind of state was it in at the moment? What did the ancient cities look like now? Was his palace still even there? : I...suppose. This will be quite strange for me.:

Yuugi looked at Yami, his eyes gleaming. "Just wait until you see the pyramids of Giza."

"Giza?"

xxx

I hope you like. Sorry that it took so long. Yuugi and Yami are now if for the time of their lives as they head off to the cradle of creation.