Vortexshipping (Atem x Akhenaden)

(I apologize in advance if I misspelled Akhenaden's name. Egyptian names don't translate well into any language.)

Akhenaden meandered down the long hall, thinking. This was not really a wise choice on his part; after all, any time he didn't have anything to keep him busy, his thoughts would wander to Kul Elna, or the family he abandoned, and those were not things he wanted to dwell on.

It was even harder to forget these things now that Seto had worked his way up as a guardian himself. To have his son so close, and not be able to act as the father he should be! And his dear wife, killed by bandits, Seto had reported, along with the entire village his son had lived in. Maybe in the end, it would have been safer to keep them close.

He shook his head, trying to forget. It was hard, though: there wasn't anything that required his attention for now. Nothing to occupy his time. It was startling, but the younger guardians seemed to have it under control. For perhaps the hundredth time, he wondered if maybe he was getting too old for this.

Footsteps and the soft snap of a cape caught his attention at the end of the hall. Pharaoh Atem appeared, glancing back and forth as though lost. Akhenaden laughed softly. Fifteen already, and he still got lost in the palace. Well, it had taken Akhenden some time to find his way around himself, when he was a boy growing up in the palace.

"My pharaoh," he said, walking up to Atem. "Are you lost again?"

Atem's cheeks reddened a little, but not enough to be very noticeable.

"It's the blasted Hall of Kings," he said. "So many corridors. I got turned around on my way to the courtrooms."

"Oh, are there hearings today? I was not aware."

Atem glanced around, seemed to remember where he was, and started off in a direction, talking as he walked, so that Akhenaden would follow.

"There wasn't supposed to be, not until next week, anyways," Atem said. "But a man was taken in for the murder of a state official and his family. He's said to be too unstable to wait."

"I see. How will you rule the case, if I may ask?"

"It's hard to tell until I get there," Atem said. "I think something's not quite right about it though. The man had no motive."

Akhenaden nodded.

"Sometimes, there is none, my pharaoh."

"Still," Atem said. "I will withhold judgment until I see the man for myself."

Akhenaden glanced sidelong at his young nephew. The boy was not very tall, but his bearing made him appear so. His sharp red eyes seemed so much older than a boy of fifteen. Responsibility will do that to a person, Akhenaden supposed. It had happened for him, and his brother.

Atem paused, just outside the courtroom.

"Uncle," he said suddenly.

Akhenaden blinked, surprised. It had been while since Atem had called him uncle. Since the boy had had to become pharaoh, he had always used the first names of his guardians.

"Yes, my pharaoh?"

"I...if the man is guilty, then will I have to sentence him to death?"

With greater surprise, Akhenaden realized his nephew was trembling. It was slight, but Akhenaden noticed it.

"If a man had murdered another, do you not think that is a just punishment?"

"It seems too final," Atem said softly. "I...I don't like having another's life in my hands."

He is compassionate, Akhenaden thought. Just like his brother. Would that I had the same compassion for life – perhaps things would have changed, had I not destroyed Kul Elna.

Akhenaden put a hand on the boy's shoulder – a great breach of etiquette, he knew, but necessary for the time.

"You must do what your heart feels is right," Akhenaden said. "I cannot make your choices for you."

Atem took a breath. He smiled softly, but he didn't quite look at Akhenaden.

"Thank you," he said.

He stepped into the courtroom. Akhenaden sighed.

"Compassion," he said softly to himself. "I am glad that his heart is in the right place."

And he walked on.

A/N: Yeah, not sure if everyone remembers, but Akhenaden is Atem's dad's brother, therefore he's Atem's uncle. And yeah, Akhenaden was kind of a bad guy in the anime, but remember, he didn't start out that way. I think he was a rather compassionate character, a normal guy who made the wrong choices thinking that it was the only way to protect the most people. Still don't like him too much, though. And this shipping is bordering on the pedophile. Next is Vividshipping (Yugi x Kisara).