Sealshipping (Atem x Mahad)
(Sometime when Atem is about nine or ten, and Mahad is only about fourteen or so; kind of an alternative scene of that one from a flashback during Millennium World)
Atem scrambled inside a vase. He went completely still and silent, imagining himself becoming as insubstantial as a shadow. He heard footsteps rush past. He heard them go back the other way again.
"Prince Atem! Prince Atem!" said the frantic voice of Mahad. "This isn't funny! Where are you? Prince Atem!"
Atem held his breath. He could feel Mahad hovering right beside the vase.
Don't look in here, don't look in here, don't look in here...
The footsteps padded uncertainly off in one direction, and then the distant shattering of a vase sent him dashing off in another direction. Atem could barely conceal his grin. Mana. That had to have been her.
Cautiously, he poked his head up above the vase's rim. Mahad was nowhere to be seen. Atem thought about using shadow magic to make sure Mahad wasn't nearby, but he wasn't very good at it yet and Mahad would certainly sense it.
Once certain that the coast was clear, Atem hopped gracefully out of the vase. Mana appeared around the corner, grinning madly.
"I distracted him!" she said, saluting. "He's gonna be sorting through that for a little while."
"What did you do, Mana?" Atem asked, genuinely interested.
Mana sent him a wolfish grin, and Atem could already tell she was going to keep it a secret.
"Okay, well, I guess I don't really need to know," Atem said. "So, now that we've got the nag off our tails, what do you want to do? Before he catches on, I mean."
Mana's eyes lit up.
"Let's go out to the fruit orchard," she said. "I'm hungry."
Atem nodded, liking the idea. The pair set off down the corridor, being extra cautious to make sure Mahad wasn't sneaking up on them. Atem felt a rush of exhilaration at his new found freedom. Whenever Mahad was around, all Atem could do was work, work, work. It was just one order after the next: go to this lesson, prepare for that one, don't forget that you're going to be the pharaoh someday, don't waste your time playing games right now, don't go see Mana until you're done with your work, don't leave the palace without a guard, blah, blah, blah. Bo-ring.
Every time he could get the chance, he and Mana would sneak away, out to the fruit orchards, the village sometimes, into the kitchens, where ever they weren't supposed to be, really. Mahad was left scrambling to find them.
They reached the final doors and jogged out into the warm desert sun. The sky was beautiful and blue, clear as water, and the far away fruit trees at the center of the huge courtyard were blurred through a haze of heat.
"Race you!" Mana squeaked, and she tore off.
With a shout of indignation at her getting a head start, Atem shot after her. When they reached the trees, they collapsed in a tumble of laughter. They giggled on the ground for a while. The sand was scratchy underneath Atem, but it was a nice feeling of freedom. He grinned up into the leaves that provided shade above him.
Mana popped up into a sitting position. Her stomach rolled, and Atem laughed. She jumped up and tried to reach for a pomegranate, stretching up on tip toe but not quite tall enough. With a smile, Atem, too, stood up. He reached the fruit easily and pulled it down for Mana.
"There you go," Atem said.
"Thanks!"
Mana bit into the fruit hungrily. Atem's own stomach rumbled, as he had skipped lunch to have maximum time for hiding. He started to reach for a pomegranate.
"Prince Atem!"
Atem groaned. He turned around to see Mahad stumbling to a stop in front of them. The older boy rested his hands on his knees to catch his breath, long brown hair falling over his tanned face.
"Prince...Atem," he panted. "Really...what...are you...thinking...?"
"Mana and I wanted to go to the orchard," Atem said defensively. "You never let us go."
Atem couldn't help but feel a stab of anger. He was supposed to be the next pharaoh, wasn't he? So why did Mahad have to run his entire life for him? This couldn't be right!
"Well, that doesn't mean that you can go running off by yourselves!" Mahad said.
He had regained his wind, and it looked like Atem was about to get another lecture. Well, not this time, Atem thought. This time, he'd show Mahad.
"There are other things that require your attention, Prince Atem. As a future pharaoh, you need to learn to put other things before yourse –"
Mahad's voice stopped abruptly, his eyes widened with a hint of terror. The glance killed all of the harsh words about to flood out of Atem's mouth.
"Prince Atem, look out!"
In a blur of motion, Mahad had grabbed Atem's arm and flung him towards Mana. Atem nearly landed on Mana before catching himself, shocked at Mahad's sudden movement – and then he heard the hiss.
Atem whipped around to see a snake shoot at Mahad and sink its teeth into the older boy's arm. Only the barest flicker of pain registered in Mahad's otherwise focused face. Then he spoke a single word of power, and the snake went flying through the orchard. It vanished as Mahad dropped to one knee.
Atem stared for only a moment.
Then he rushed to Mahad's side and grabbed his arm.
"I'm fine," Mahad said, trying to take his arm back.
But Atem wouldn't hear of it. He wrenched Mahad's arm towards him and inspected the wound. It was tiny, almost inconsequential, but Atem knew snakes, and that one had been –
A flutter of terror went through his chest, and he instantly put his mouth to the wound, sucking out to poison.
"Prince Atem," Mahad said. "I'll be fine –"
"Don't talk," Atem ordered. "Don't make the poison move any faster, okay? Just let me get it out."
Mahad fell silent. Atem returned to his task. Silence filled the orchard. Atem tried to focus only on helping Mahad, trying to still the rush of emotions in his chest.
Mahad had almost died trying to protect him. Him. The reckless, brash, disobedient boy that tried to break the rules every passing second, the one that drove Mahad nearly up a wall with his antics. Sure, he was the pharaoh's son, and the future king.
But Mahad had deliberately taken the snake bite himself. He had saved Atem's life. That hadn't been an act because of Atem's position – that had been a gut reaction, that only someone that cared about him would have done.
Atem let go of Mahad's arm. The poison should be gone. Mahad looked at the wound, and then at Atem. His eyes were warm with relief – not at his own escape from death, but at the fact that Atem was unharmed.
"Thank you," Mahad said.
Atem shook his head. His own disparaging thoughts about Mahad played through his head. Mahad had not deserved it. Any of it.
"No," he said. "Thank you."
And with those words, he sealed an everlasting friendship.
A/N: I think Atem was probably something of a troublemaker as a kid. And I can see Mahad being a nag; he'd have to be, between Mana and Atem. Next is Screechshipping (Rebecca x Anzu x Mai.)
