Ryou woke as the Pharaoh dressed. He stayed in the warm bed and was glad he was being treated so well. He entertained the thought that Yami was a cruel master for a short time. He wondered why Yami didn't have personal attendants. Yami noticed his gaze and blinked. Ryou's stare made him nervous.
"Am I to be your attendant Pharaoh?" Ryou asked.
"You are to be whatever you wish to be Ryou. I said you aren't a true servant or slave." Yami gave up on any form of address other than Pharaoh for the time being.
"Could I receive some training?" Ryou asked. "I want to be of some use." Yami chuckled. He wouldn't want to hang around in his room all day either.
"I suppose. What sort of training?" Yami asked.
"I don't know. What kind of assistance do you need?" Ryou asked.
"I didn't think you would desire to assist me." Yami said.
"I want to learn something and be of help to you." Ryou said.
"Why?" Yami asked, turning to look at the teenager.
"I want to thank you for taking care of me." Ryou said.
"Taking care of you?" Yami asked. Ryou recognized it as a point of clarification.
"You don't want to hurt me or make me a slave. That's better than my brother treated me." Ryou said.
"I thought Bakura cared for you?" Yami asked.
"He's angry I was taken. That doesn't imply he cares for me. The feeling is more akin to having a shiny bracelet taken from you. You can't show it off anymore." Ryou said, clenching his teeth to withhold bitterness.
"Or make it serve you?" Yami asked.
"Yes." Ryou said. Yami walked to the bedside and looked at the boy.
"Perhaps it's better for you to be here." Yami said.
"Yes." Ryou said.
"You've only know me for a night, how can you tell?" Yami asked. He usually didn't converse with someone as young and untouched by his status. It was refreshing and horrifying.
"You aren't Bakura. That's enough for me." Ryou said.
"But why serve me? You don't have to do anything. I could just have a tutor come and teach you things, something you're interested in. You're given a different life, I don't want you to be condemned to servitude." Yami said.
"I could do both, if it's not too much trouble." Ryou said.
"I would be interested to see how this turns out. I'll talk to Seto. His servant has a tutor and is a very skilled attendant. I'll come back in a few hours. You should rest. It's not even sunrise yet." Yami said.
"Yes Pharaoh." Ryou said. Yami walked to his door and smiled at Ryou's last comment. "Thank you Yami."
Yami was good at pushing distractions away. He did what he needed to so his kingdom stayed in one piece and checked on Ryou, asking a servant to bring lunch for them both. He talked to Seto first and Seto laughed.
"A tutor? What does he need to learn?" Seto asked, scoffing. It was clear what he would've done with a "personal attendant" like Ryou.
"He isn't a slave and he isn't 'at my disposal'. We're punishing Bakura, not Ryou. He wants to learn how to be my attendant and teaching him other things would be good for him. He's still young." Yami said, shrugging his shoulders.
"So are you. Do you have a tutor?" Seto said, smiling.
"I pursue independent studies now and Ryou is younger than me in many ways. I'm a Pharaoh for Ra's sake. You learn things." Yami was riled and wondered how Seto's supercilious smirk got under his skin so effectively today.
"When you're flustered, you make very amusing hand motions." Seto said, smiling and blinking.
"Seto-" Yami growled.
"I'll send my attendant and her tutor over after lunch. We'll let them study together. I'm sure she has skills that Ryou could use to benefit you." Seto said, looking the Pharaoh over.
"Don't start with anything moderately lascivious or I will do something very painful involving your spleen." Yami said. Seto checked to ensure his sincerity. It was a very dire threat.
"Do you even know what a spleen does?" Seto asked.
"I know where it is and how to extract it painfully. Do you really want to chance an organ, vital or not?" Yami asked.
"Do you ever wonder why we worry about you Pharaoh?" Seto asked.
"Don't be pompous Seto, it doesn't suit you." Yami said.
"You know it does." Seto chuckled and Yami decided it was best to terminate the conversation.
Ryou wandered in late that night and blinked. The Pharaoh had yet to return to his quarters. Ryou started the fire and crawled into his own bed. He had a lot to learn.
Ryou learned just how much personal attendants did for their Master's. Yami watched (with much skepticism) as Ryou learned more and more seemingly unconnected and random tasks. One of the most volatile skills was cooking. Yami was torn between fearing for the health of his liver, spleen and any other organs involved in whatever Ryou cooked and the desire to appease the white haired boy. Yami knew Ryou could easily be just as sulky and angst ridden as Bakura. (Truth be told, he would carry it off better than Bakura.) Instead, he was learning and trying to help Yami.
The meal in questions ended up having a high alcohol content since the alcohol involved in cooking hadn't been baked long enough to tame and the alcohol consumed to drown the taste would rival Seto's binges after a particularly bad week. Yami ended up taking a rather undignified stumble to his bed.
Ryou contained his laughter. He knew his cooking had been atrocious and the Pharaoh hadn't masked it well. He needed an unaware Pharaoh in the morning anyway, hence his poor culinary skills previously.
Yami woke with just enough of a hangover to make him questions his senses and perceptions. He groaned and noticed it was later than he usually woke. Much later. Ryou appeared by his bedside, ducking to place something on the floor before speaking.
"How do you feel?"
"Hung over." Yami said. He dreaded the first step on the cold stone floor and sighed, bracing himself. Ryou watched him expectantly. He slid down and found a strange, fluffy sensation at his feet. A navy, fluffy rug straddled his bedside. He blinked at looked to Ryou.
"You have some new clothes to try on Pharaoh." Ryou laid them on the bed and motioned towards slippers of the same color and material. Ryou wandered away with the excuse of fetching his breakfast. Yami blinked and wondered if he'd missed something. He glanced at the clothes and shimmied out of his nightwear.
Ryou chuckled as he got the Pharaoh's breakfast. Seto's attendant had suggested he learned to make clothes first and his cooking skills would come later mostly because bad cooking could distract the Pharaoh from a distinct wardrobe change. Ryou had made the last additions to the Pharaoh's wardrobe and toned his smirk down as he walked back to their quarters.
Yami blinked and wondered if the alcohol went straight to his waist. He couldn't conceive of his tailor finding a way to make any pants tight on his thin (he used the word to keep himself from insulting his figure) waist. Then he looked again. Leather. Black leather. Unusual. He wondered for a moment if this was someone's idea of a joke. He'd blame Seto or Bakura. He hadn't seen the Thief for a while and assumed he was still sulking. At least they kept the studded collar. And the chains for a belt? He was confused to say the least. Did he like it?
"I brought breakfast. Closer to lunch really." Ryou had his back tot eh Pharaoh. He hadn't seen the Pharaoh yet.
"Did you pick these up Ryou?" Yami asked, wishing the boy would look at him.
"Yes." Ryou said.
"Are you sure they're for me?" Yami asked.
"Of course they are." Ryou turned and blinked, holding his chin.
"What do you think?" Yami furrowed his brow. Ryou came closer and circled him, thinking.
"Ah, I know what's wrong." Ryou shifted the belts so they crossed over his waist. "There. That's a good look for you Pharaoh."
"Is there a new tailor?" Yami asked.
"I made them for you. Your tailor had the wrong measurements, by the way." Ryou said.
"It's kind of you to correct such an oversight." Yami said, biting his tongue.
"It was no trouble Pharaoh. Seto asked to see you, should I let him in on my way out?" Ryou asked. Yami sighed.
"Very well." Yami would get used to the style and the impending leers.
Author: Yesh, no yaoi. Haven't decided whether to include it or not. Any helpful, um what are they called? Suggestions, yesh, suggestions. I'll add a thing on the summary mentioning this non yaoi as of yet. How do you like it? Funny or lame? I can take it. (Hides in corner, curling into fetal position) Do your worse! Hehe. I'ma go get some well earned coffee now. Luvs, overdue to the mental hospital.