I'm back again. Aren't you all glad to see me?

That better have been a yes.

Anyways, I'm still writing for this as much as possible. I want to finish it so I can work on Moonlit Walk, but I'm still only about halfway through. I expect about 6 chapters, maybe 7 or 8 max. So there we go. About halfway through. Oh, and sorry about delays, I was just in Colorado for a week over break and had absolutely no access to computers.

You know, recently a friend of mine, who often reads my stuff, recently commented that I have a way of taking completely disjointed (was that the right word? It was something like that--meant disconnected, seemingly separate) situations and making them flow together. I think that's why I have so much trouble; my imagination comes up with such random situations that it's really hard to make them flow together. Therefore I get stuck a lot. Therefore, I write slower. Funny how that works.

Disclaimer: I've said it three times already. Hasn't it sunk in? If I owned any anime, there would be many more shirtless guys wandering around, in addition to much more romance. There isn't nearly enough romantic anime these days. And, most good animes aren't on until late at night…it stinks. Wait. This isn't as much a disclaimer as a complaint now--I'll shut up.

Warning: Also hasn't changed. Yaoi, limes, violence, etc. I've said it 3 times now! Does it really take that long to sink in?

Review responses now. I'm still amazed every single time I get a review.

Hikari Flame: Hi again! Still enjoying it, huh? Well, someone's happy…

Kura( ): only the first chapter so far? Darn…well, that part was supposed to stir up pity, so I guess it worked!

Mana-the-Authoress: ummmm…..have you guys had too much sugar or something? Well, I do like cookies and cake. I'm from America, how can I be the queen? Oh well. The world confuses me, adding one more thing to the list isn't really all that bad, I guess. Thanks for reviewing!

Demidemocratik( ): Hi again! Glad you still like it. I think I'm being ordered to continue….well, you reminded me to work on it. That is good. I kept forgetting….

Ryou smiled as he snuggled into his lover's chest. (1) He felt so safe here…there was no one who would wish to harm him, and Malik really did care about him. He could tell.

He leaned his head on the older teen's shoulder. They didn't even speak, because there was no need to. Just being together was enough.

A knock suddenly sounded at the door. Ryou quickly stood and bowed his head, looking exactly like any slave in the presence of his master. Malik stood as well, looking annoyed, and went to answer the door.

His sister, Isis, stood in the hallway. "I am not interrupting anything, am I?" She asked, and both boys relaxed at the sound of her voice. Isis knew about their relationship and had long ago accepted Ryou as an adoptive brother. They could act normally around her. Marik was a different story. The middle sibling of the three was considered psychotic and dangerous by many. Malik had known from the start that telling him about Ryou would only put the younger boy in danger, and Isis's immediate agreement with that decision had convinced Ryou to stay as far away from Malik's older brother as possible.

"Hey sis. Not really, come on in." Malik went over and sat down again, pulling Ryou into his lap. The younger teen giggled as his lover wrapped a pair of strong arms around him. When everyone was comfortable, the older of the boys asked, "So what's up?"

Isis looked at her brother wearily. In fact, he hadn't seen her look so tired since she had been forced to arrange for the funerals of both of their parents. Both had been killed in the same minute, trying to protect their children from the attack of a shadow monster escaped from his master. Marik had still been harmed--many attributed his current insanity to that attack. Even having his sister seem so tired convinced Malik that something was very wrong. "Isis, what is it? Something's up."

The black-haired priestess sat quietly for another minute before answering. "I was using the Tauk again."

Now the boys began to get curious. Isis never used the Tauk without a reason, it wore her out too much. So what was going on? They asked her, but her answer was vague. "Something's wrong. Before you ask, I don't know what. The vision was uncharacteristically vague. But…this is worse than most visions I have gotten ever were. And…it concerned our family somehow."

At this, the room was silent. 'Danger…' Malik thought. 'Oh gods, what's going on?' But it was obvious that Isis had no answer to that question.

"As I have no more to say," The Priestess said, "I will take my leave." And, with that, she walked out the door and headed towards her own apartments, obviously for some much-needed rest.

Once she was gone, Malik lifted the younger boy's chin so that their eyes met. "We get interrupted a lot, don't we?" His lover responded by leaning his head into the older boy's chest, which he took as a yes. He stood, pulling Ryou up with him. "Come on. I want to show you something." Looking interested, the younger teen followed him out the door.

They wound through the palace, going too fast for Ryou to remember the route very well. All he remembered afterwards was turning many identical-seeming corners. Eventually, though, they arrived at the outskirts of the palace, where there were less people rushing around.

Malik led them into another hallway, which seemed identical to all the others. The only difference was that, unlike all the other areas they had been in so far, this hall was empty.

"Where are we?" Ryou murmured. He'd never seen this place before, he was sure of it. But then, there was a lot of the palace that he'd never seen. It was a gigantic building.

Malik didn't answer. He was staring at the wall on the left side, which was seemingly blank. There was nothing there. "Malik?" Ryou asked, "What are you doing?"

"You'll see." With that, the older of the boys returned to studying the bricks. Suddenly he brightened up, as if he'd finally found what he was looking for. Ryou still saw nothing except the blank wall. However, he heard Malik muttering something under his breath. He still wasn't prepared when the older teen suddenly seized his wrist dragging him towards the solid bricks.

Or were they solid? Ryou saw the bricks looming in front of them, creamy tan in color and looking like solid rock…and then they were past them, standing on a beaten dirt path. Ryou was leaning on Malik's shoulder, supported by his lover's arm. Looking behind them, he saw a small dark doorway in the creamy brick wall. Turning around, he was greeted by the sight of a magnificent garden, beyond imagination in both size and beauty. "Where are we?" He whispered.

They were in a huge courtyard filled with flowers and trees of every variety. There were paths winding throughout the square, and many of them were lined with low walls. The area they could see from where they stood was at least 100 square yards, and it looked as though that wasn't the whole thing. There was the noise of a fountain, but there wasn't one in sight.

In short, it was a paradise. An empty one. Why wasn't anyone here? It was the most beautiful place Ryou had ever seen; he couldn't imagine why anyone wouldn't come here as often as possible.

"I come here whenever I can," Malik said, looking around. "It's so peaceful."

"Malik?" Ryou asked shyly. "Why isn't there anyone else here?"

The older Egyptian grinned. "They can't find it." Seeing that his lover was even more confused now, he explained further. "This place is hidden. Isis found it when we were just little kids, we used to come here to play. Then she became a priestess, and she ran out of time to visit, so I came alone. Anyways, shadow magic covers the entire area. No one can find the door without either already knowing where it is or being shown by someone else who knows. The magic is also what keeps the plants alive and healthy, since gardeners don't know this place exists."

"How did she find it, if it was so well veiled?"

Malik answered, "The veil wore thin at one point, when I was just a year or two old. Apparently, the magic's old and wore out or something like that. Isis repaired it somehow, I'm not really sure how, since she didn't have the Tauk yet…" he trailed off as he sank into thought.

Ryou snapped him out of it by reaching up to tap him on the cheek. "Don't think too much, you'll hurt yourself."

"HEY!" With that, Malik began to mercilessly tickle his lover. Eventually, they wore each other out playing around and collapsed against one of the low walls.

Ryou leaned against the older Egyptian's shoulder. "Malik?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you. For bringing me here." In response, the older boy wrapped his arms around Ryou. He lifted his chin and kissed him. Neither pulled away until they both needed air desperately.

"How could I not?" Malik whispered. "This place wouldn't be complete without you."

And I think I'll leave it there. Since that seems like a good place to stop and all. Tell me what you think!

Oh, I got the idea for a secret room from a fic. The story was Frozen Fire Makes No Water by Siiarrei. Anyways, it wasn't exactly the same, that story was set in modern day and the way into the room was through a tunnel in a pool, but it did give me the idea for a secret room. Yes, I did get permission from the author. Thank you, Siiarrei!

(1) Yes, I do mean "lover" literally. As I said before, I do not write lemons. Therefore, this is my way of…implying certain activities. Isn't word choice a wonderful thing?