12 chapters posted in 90 days! I never thought I'd be able to accomplish that!

Little warning updates, will still be primarily weekends, but I've started working and the last two weeks they had me work Friday so expect updates in the early to late afternoons.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Dedications: To all my fans, followers, and reviewers! you guys inspire me so much! Also special thanks to Sakura-chan and Val who helped me through writer's blocked and inspired three more chapters!

As always read, review, critique, comment, ask questions, post theories and have fun!

Chapter XII: Kindling

Yugi spent the rest of the day in Rhebekka's infirmary. It hadn't taken him long to learn why she'd governed so much respect, and it wasn't Timaeus' confidence. Rhebekka's title as Physician was simply that. She commanded so much more. Despite her size Rhebekka used fury and knowledge as her strength. It was she who held their lives in her hands every time the men saw her. She who treated their wounds and her word that declared whether or not they returned to battle. She who decided what they ate or if they would at all. She who demanded they bathe and wash their clothes, and treated the infections of those who ignored her wisdom when on a ship or in battle when infections and accidents could be deadly. The solders obeyed her rules and regulations on the ship as they obeyed their commander in the field. They owed him their loyalty and would gladly lay down their lives for him, but it was she who they owed their lives. And she knew it. And made sure they never forgot it.

Timaeus could not have chosen a better Quartermaster. His duties were to the soldiers and ship-hands whether they were rowing the oars, preparing the sails or training on deck. But health and life be it treating wounds, preparing meals or disinfecting the ship was Rhebekka's authority.

And just like her Trierarch, Rhebekka was a hard mistress: when it came to her domains, Rhebekka missed nothing. Vegetables, not properly skinned and washed, were immediately discarded. Pots and plates not properly sanitized she demand be done again. No one dared enter with hands unwashed, or wore clothes that weren't clean in fear of her wrath. Diet, she declared was the key to health, but preparation was the key to diet, and cleanliness in both the kitchen and the infirmary was important above all else. The woman battled infection and disease with the ferocity of Sekhmet and the tactical brilliance of Timaeus on the battle field.

Yugi was no exception, and he'd spent the day switching between giving medicine to the most stubborn of patients, and serving everyone their evening meals. He was grateful patients ate first and the crew only when Timaeus dismissed them. No one else would catch him wearing one of the Physicians feminine smocks. Under Timaeus' order any House of Life member fortunate to survive the assault without injury or deemed healed and able to work was left in Rhebekka's care and she'd put all but those who were trained as physicians to work in the kitchens.

He could hear the roars of laughter and hammering pounds of the crew below in the mess, and breathed a sigh of relief that mess had a second set of stairs to the infirmary. He secured a bowl for himself and ate upstairs. The table and chair was by no means as spacious or as elegant as the one he'd shared with Timaeus that morning but it was enough for him to enjoy the meal—a stew of thick vegetables, salted meats and tasty broth.

He'd been content to stay all night but Rhebekka insisted she needed no more help and there was more than enough people to clean the dishes and sent him off to wait for Timaeus. Yugi hadn't missed the sly grin as she said it. Now, he found himself standing on the decks once more redressed in Timaeus' clothes and braving the winter air.

He leaned against the ships railing and stared over the darkening waters bathed in the burning mesh Amun's reflection before he descended into the underworld for another night. Timaeus had yet to fetch him, but Yugi wasn't complaining about the broken promise, but now it left him alone and confused if he should return to his rooms. Another thought disturbed him. He didn't have a room. The King occupied the Quartermaster's loft and Rhebekka made a habit of sleeping in the infirmary, he'd be damned if he shared a hammock with the crew. That left only Timaeus. He certainly couldn't impose on him there again. The only thing he could ponder was the couch in the State Room.

Yugi's blood ran cold. Timaeus parting words returning like a vengeful specter. I'll return after dinner. Yugi chocked on air, spun around and leaned against the banister, clenching it with tight, white fingers. He covered his mouth, his throat suddenly felt tight and very small.

"There you are," Yugi jumped a good foot in the air with a screech that doubled as a scream and someone lunged to catch him.

"Easy, lad," Timaeus' voice rolled over him like relaxed thunder, surprised and a little amused. He took Yugi's hand and in his shock allowed himself to be led away. "Come, the ship is anchored and the night is upon us. Let us rest."

Yugi blinked owlishly, mind contemplating obedience. Oculars fell on the hand encased almost lovingly in his and narrowed to a shadowed plum. His feet found ground and he pulled his hand away. Shock more than Yugi's strength compelled Timaeus to free it. "You don't need to escort me everywhere. I can walk fine on my own."

Timaeus pivoted to the side throwing a fiercely irritated gaze over his shoulder, then spun completely and glared softly at Yugi with the full force of that brilliant stare. Then he pressed a hand to his forehead, his mouth a single line that released a calming sigh.

"Must everything be a constant battle with you?" His bass tone dropped like a low roll of thunder. "I'm not going to devour you."

Yugi's shoulders shook, his fight losing its strength with each purred promise. The blatant obvious he'd fought so hard to deny settled over him like a lifted fog, and he slumped, defeated. "I have to be strong. I have to fight." His limbs folded in on himself and he stared at his lap. "Or I'll shatter."

Timaeus knelt next to him, a hand placed on his shoulder, but his posture tensed ready to offer more if wanted. Yugi couldn't register his surprise at the action. He'd grown so used to the aristocratic glares, those tender motions and seductive advances, all mild and restrained, that the comforting gesture didn't surprise him as much as he knew it should have.

He's trying to earn yours, Rhebekka had said. Is it really so difficult to perhaps do the same? It was, but not for the reason she thought.

"I was so spoiled. My father promised to never let anything happen to me and I believed him. My mother was everything to me and I loved her. And Pas and Muth and Menk and Maat were always there to protect me, and I let them because I didn't think the world could touch me… Now my father is dead. My mother is gone. And all I can do is grieve," he said missing a beat and unsure where the low, vulnerable voice telling his tale was coming from. It certainly wasn't from him. Not when he'd taught himself to expect betrayal. "Pas and Muth can't help me and I have to protect myself from Menk and Maat now." There was a soft pause and his next words were a chocked sob. "How are you supposed to go from having everyone to having no one?"

Confessing the truth did nothing to ease his trepidation nor did the stoic glare in Timaeus' gaze soften. Sometime during the story he'd taken to sitting next to the smaller and now directed his neutral mask towards the sky. Guilt set in as well as shame. And regret, Yugi felt it burning in his heart. That he'd confessed something so personal to someone who knew nothing of loss and sacrifice.

"You don't," Timaeus confessed with a softness that was like a bird's wing across Yugi's cheek. Yugi looked up at him in surprise, but the man's gaze had not left the sky. "You can't, you can only stand up and keep moving." There was elegance as he spoke, like the specter of a past life had temporary possessed his body. "What other choice do you have?"

"You could find someone to help you?" Yugi suggested and they both snorted at his hypocrisy.

"You could," Timaeus chuckled. "There are many kind strangers in the world, but it's difficult to tell them apart from those who would destroy you."

"Was that the case with your King?" Yugi asked without thinking, but regretted it when Timaeus shot him a look so sharp he visibly flinched. "Sorry," Yugi broke the gaze and looked away. "That's too personal."

Timaeus pinched the arc of his nose and sighed. "I couldn't tell you," Timaeus said thoughtfully. "I don't know what I did to impress him, but he offered me patronage and I had no loyalty to anyone then and nothing to lose if he betrayed me." He paused to chuckle "And yet he didn't and it didn't surprise me. Perhaps secretly I hoped he was that someone to help me. I have no illusions had I not met him I'd be dead."

The confession was more than Yugi could bear. The information brought more questions than answers and solved no riddles, and only confirmed what he already knew. Yet to Yugi, it felt like Timaeus had confessed to him what he kept secret from everyone else and the truth of his past.

"Perhaps that choice was what saved me," Timaeus continues, as if he were alone. "The decision to let my guard down and hope that he was being truthful." He turned to Yugi and smiled. "It was quite a relief to be free of the burden of strength."

He couldn't disagree. He'd bore that burden since his father died. It seemed the only way to keep himself from falling when he'd lost everyone else.

"You're fortunate you'll be with your loved one soon. Then you can share that burden." Timaeus reminded and Yugi felt the gravity of it fall from his shoulders like a soaked mantle.

"I'm free," he whispered to himself.

"Yes, you are," Timaeus promised, leaning closer. "You're free and no one will ever harm you." There it was again that purred pact that made his defiance want to melt and surrender to all it promised. "The only one who can hurt you now is yourself."

It was a warning as well as a promise. It was he who stood at the crossroads: not the King who he was indebted his life or his siblings waiting for him in a palace of sand, not even the infuriating and comforting Knight who held his heart and life in his hands so tenderly like a broken-winged bird ready to fly again. He, who made the decision of whether to melt into the pain of the past or take that uncertain step into the future. Whatever choice he made: it was his.

If he was willing to try.

"I suppose it couldn't hurt to try."

Timaeus rolled his eyes, smiling. There was that stubborn will, but it was softer now, more open and less defiant. It would do for now.

"I'm pleased." He said and rose to his feet with a serpentine leap. "Then let us rest, I fancy you do not wish to sit on the deck all night." He offered a hand and Yugi took it.

"No, I suppose not," He rose to his feet and followed him through the double doors between the afts two stairs, and entered the aftercastle's inner chamber.

The State Room, as Yugi now realized what it was, was a wide chamber section in parts and connected to the other rooms through a series of doors decorated with ornamented carvings. A combination of moonlight leaking through the windows and candles burning everywhere illuminated the darkness crafting a cool, shadowy feel that Yugi found strangely comforting.

Overhead, iron chandeliers swayed with the rocking of the ship, their iron rings covered in melted candles like the water swept towers of a monstrous sandcastle. Two tables occupied the center: one a long dark wood table and four ornate gilt armchairs, Yugi recognized from that morning. The food had been cleared away but the white table cloth and candelabras remained. The other a massive, circle sealed in place featuring an enormous topographic map and a series of module ships and what looked like game pieces. The left wall was a series of compartments housing scrolls of maps, constellation sketches, and other organized navigational tools.

He turned his attention away from them and searched the room for a place to rest but all he could find were the window seats aligning the far wall beneath the windows. It looked cruel compared to what he was used to but chose not to complain. "I suppose the coach will suffice."

Timaeus stopped outside the Great Cabin and looked at him with an owlish blink. "What is this then?"

Yugi shrugged like it were a simple answer. "Where I'll be sleeping? I certainly can't stay in your room again?"

"Of course you can!" Timaeus protested, and shoved the doors to his room open and gestured inside. "I'd be a horrible host if I let you sleep in there, now come." It wasn't an order but an invitation and Yugi followed.

"The bed is large enough," Timaeus said, lighting the candelabras, first the one on the night stand, then the one on his desk. He blew out the light, removed his mantle, and tossed it to the couch. "Besides," he removed the rest of his armor and added them to the clutter of his desk. "I'm used to sleeping on the couch."

"Absolutely not!" Yugi objected right in his face. "The bed is yours, I have no right to take it, if anyone will stay on the couch it's me, I'm your guest after all."

"And," Timaeus argued. "As my guest, it is you who will be given the bed, now enough squabbling." He spun Yugi around and ushered him towards the canopy, but Yugi would not go quietly.

"I refuse!" Yugi dug his heels into the carpet and threw the dispute over his shoulder.

"Fine!" Without warning, Timaeus bent and hooked his arms under Yugi's legs and middle and lifted him into his arms. Yugi shrieked and immediately protested the action but Timaeus dodged his blows, shoved open the canopy's curtain with his back and proceeded to deposit his beautiful spitfire on the bed.

"I am not taking your bed!" Yugi jumped up and marched over to the desk where Timaeus was putting out the candle lights.

"I'm giving it to you!" Timaeus said with enough finality that all his counters vanished. Satisfied, Timaeus opened and adjacent wardrobe and pulled out a silver under-armor identical to the one he worse but clean of sweat and the days dust.

"Where are you going?" Yugi demanded watching him banish into an adjacent room.

"To bathe," Timaeus explained. "I have my own washroom and toilet which you're welcome to use as you wish." He left without another word and Yugi collapsed on the couch in a huff.

"Fine, be that way." Yugi fished around for Timaeus mantle and pulled it into his lap. Stubbornly, he pulled it over his arms, undid the straps of his shoes, and lied down to sleep on the couch.

X X X

Timaeus emerged from the room less than an hour later, and donning a clean under-armor. He shook his head scattering raindrops and ran a hand from his now clean hair, free from salt dust, wood specks and the days dust. He understood immediately why Rhebekka insisted on constant bathing at sea, and deposited the drying cloth in the basket.

He arched his back feeling a swing of fatigue and retired to sleep. He fished around for his mantle, only to find it already sprawled across the couch—on top of Yugi.

"Stubborn thing!" Timaeus growled and fought down a curse. "Fine." With the greatest tenderness, he slid his arms under the sleeping bundle, stopping if he so much as suspected a stir. Tenderly he curled his arms around the boy's middle and lifted him into his arms. Grateful, the bed hadn't been made that morning, he set Yugi down on the mattress, removed his mantle and covered Yugi with the blankets.

"Now, then," He unfolded the mantle from his arm and spreading over his shoulders. Discarding his boots, he flopped lazily onto his back, mantle covering to his waist and let sleep's oblivion take him.

It didn't last long, however, when Yugi shifted in his sleep. Used to his lumpy cot in the temple, he'd molded easily into the couch's comfort, but now the bed felt too soft and the sheets much thicker than the mantle he'd worn. Sleepily he opened his eyes and curious fingers sought answers. They felt silk and feathers and Yugi shot up. Suspicions confirmed, his eyes shot to the couch in anger, where Timaeus slept, raggedly breathing and limps flopped about like wet cloths.

With an agitated growl and wicked smirk, Yugi slipped out of the bed stomped to the couch, grabbed the mantle and, with a mighty tug, pulled it out from under its master and sent Timaeus sprawling in shock to the floor. He landed ungracefully and hissing as his limbs ached. His eye opened, and he reached for a blade but stop when he recognized the black silk covered feet of his attacker.

"What?" Yugi taunted, arms crossed in a smirk. "No witty remarks?"

"You," Timaeus hissed and was on his feet in a single move. "Do you. Have. Any. Idea. How lucky you are I didn't attack you?" He set his blade on the table to rid himself of the temptation. "If you were an enemy…"

"Well I'm not," Yugi interrupted smoothly, ignoring the threat and point to the bed with stubborn will. "Now get in the bed right now!"

Timaeus' brows knitted together, his smile a twitch of barely restrained fury. "You're in no position to be making demands, little one." He stepped closer allowing his height to magnify his face like a lizard unfurling its frill. "I chose the couch, now get to bed, before I throw you over my shoulder and carry you there."

"Don't even think about it!" Yugi blushed, his whole body frazzling like a hissing cat.

Neither of them noticed how loud their argument had grown. Or that in their anger they'd woken the King who slept next door, and found himself in the State room determined to silence them, only to be caught up in the shock of the conversation. Their Trierarch's scream had awoken the soldiers, who were light sleepers by trade and on were on the main deck in an instant. The stampede had roused Rhebekka who ordered the staff who'd made beds of blankets on the infirmary floor to stay put while she saw to the commotion. They found themselves barreling into the Trierarchs rooms and stood frozen outside the adjacent State room, where the King stood stunned and they assumed the worst until they too heard the echo of the two occupants' ranting.

"It's your bed and that's that. I will not take it!" Yugi declared with finality.

"I said I gave it to you, what more do you want?" Timaeus groaned in frustration, then taunted. "Do you want me to tuck you in again is that it?"

"Be serious will you!" Yugi stomped his foot, face blooming crimson like an unfurling flower. "I'm trying to be polite and you make jokes."

"I never joke, Yugi," Timaeus corrected. "I am tired and fed up with this, now please go to bed so we may both enjoy this night?"

"You are impossible!" Yugi shook his head in aggravation.

"And you," Timaeus leaned forward with a dangerous purr. "Are far too stubborn for your own good. I am this close to tying you to that bed and having it my way."

"Try it and I'll have you on the floor again, and then we'll see who gets it his way." Yugi threatened raising his hands and his fingers mimicked claws.

"Do not be foolish, Yugi," Timaeus leaned closer his singular eye blazing with emerald fire that Yugi's burning amethyst met spark for spark. "I am a seasoned soldier and you, I'll bet, have never worked a day in your life. There is nothing stopping me from overpowering you, if you're so determined to be stubborn. Were I less kind, you'd be on your back right now, or worse, over my knee."

"And if I were less controlled and twice as bold, you'd feel me in your stomach right now," Yugi boasted fearlessly "I'm not as delicate as I look."

"As I've delightedly come to learn." Timaeus licked his smirking lips.

Their eyes locked the other in a contest of glares. Stubborn and unwillingly to relinquish their claim, completely unaware of the crowd their ruckus had caused outside. Of the shocked faces of Timaeus' men and Yugi's fellow temple hands that defied their mistress' orders and stayed hidden in the back to listen.

Finally, with a frustrated sigh, Timaeus collapsed his face in his palm and said. "Alright, alright, I'm tired of arguing." He pulled his hand away and looked at Yugi. His mouth was dropped, his limps heavy and his glaring eyes just as red and black-rimmed as his. "We're not going to agree on this, so let us compromise? What do you suggest?" He chivalrously offered Yugi the first choice.

Surprised by the new freedom, Yugi looked over his shoulder. His eyes scrutinized the bed, and then turned to Timaeus. "The bed is big enough, why not we…share it?" He mumbled the last part but Timaeus heard it, and everyone left outside was left to speculate.

"Really?" Timaeus arched a brow, and Yugi groaned when his smirk returned. "You don't find sharing my bed repulsive?"

"I'm suggesting it, am I not?" Yugi snapped. "You wanted to compromise?"

"Alright, alright," Timaeus said lifting the fallen mantle and laying it on the bed. "We'll each take a side, unless you'd rather I wrap my arms around you?"

"Try it and I will put out your other eye!" Yugi promised loosening the tight rings of the garment's neck.

"Would you like me to help you get that off?" he offered politely, but Yugi still took it as teasing.

"I can do it myself." He said and climbed into the bed backing in as far as he could until he hit the wall and slept facing it.

"Alright then, little one," Timaeus slipped in next to him, and pulled over all but one of the sheets; let his little one have an additional barrier to ease his worry. "But let me know if you change your mind about my arms?"

"Go to sleep." Yugi snapped.

"Very well," Timaeus chuckled. "Good night, Udjalah."

Yugi grunted suddenly. "Call me, Yugi. It sounds odd when you say my name."

Timaeus chuckled. "You said it was only for family? I am simply respecting your wishes."

"Wishes change," Was the blunt answer. "Call me Yugi."

He couldn't see Timaeus smile but he could hear it in his final words. "As you wish,"

The rest was silence. Outside with their words still fresh, all the ship heard was a compromise made over a bed, the swish of cloth and the bed dipping beneath two occupant's weights. In the back the girls' snickers, soldiers fought to contain their laugher and Dartz buried his shocked face in his hands and shook his head. Rhebekka, the only one having any real context of the situation, ushered everyone out with a ferocity that rivaled her work ethic. Over her shoulder, she stole a glance from her King who gave her a nod. The two of them made a silent pact to gather the night's context and speak to their respected charge in the morning.

This chapter was a bear, specifically the beginning. You have no idea how hard it is to get the dialogue right, but the goal was it was time for Yugi and Timaeus to break the ice (lord know I complain about them-usually Yugi-being too stubborn) but don't think just because they're not being hostile anymore doesn't mean it'll be all candy hearts and roses ;)

Glossary:

Quartermaster: Often replacing First-Mate on military ships. quartermaster commanded a great deal of power and influence; basically the captain commanded all authority but all other times the crew obeyed the quartermaster; usually they were elected by the crew, other times they occupied an already important position (in this case Rhebekka acting as Surgeon and Cook); other duties included punishing crew fro minor offenses, kept records, accounts and books for the ships, divide plunders and even became Captain of a captured ship.

Next Time: Yugi finds himself in a compromising position-and must deal with the aftermath.