I apologize for the lateness of this chapter...its been a busy two weeks for me and my betas. Special thanks to my Grammar Nazi for all her wonderful editing despite her own week being crazy! And now the moment you've all been waiting for...the long awaited continuation of TIMAEUS.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot

Dedications: to both my betas whom without these chapters would not be as good as they are, and my wonderful readers for their words of encouragement and their reviews that are indepth and inspiring. You guys are the best!

As always, read, review, critique, comment, rant, and take notes! i LOVE them! Especially since Timaeus will bcome an original story one day!

Chapter XXXI: Rules

Timaeus' touches were like his kisses: some were soft and sweet with tender promise, some coarse and hard with want. Others were quick and teasing, but most of them were long, deep, and passionate. Yugi bit his lip to keep from moaning, but Timaeus was quick and saw the tension in Yugi's glamour and smirked.

Lowering his face deeper into Yugi's neck, he savored the sweet, supple skin sliding against his lips, and wondered what it would be like to taste it. He trailed a coarse tongue down Yugi's chin to his throat and his collar, and peppered it with kisses. His fingers patted down Yugi's shoulders and arms like tiny kittens after their mother, and slipped the blanket down Yugi's chin, down his collar, exposed his chest, and finally, his hips. His hands found Yugi's hips and settled there. He felt Yugi shivering under him, saw his fingers curl in the sheets and swallow a weak, strangled sound—a hybrid between a whimper and a moan. His armor was breaking, but he remained absolutely still.

Timaeus' smirk widened. Stubborn little thing, his consort was. "Do you want me to stop, love?" he asked with a kitten-like cock of the head. Yugi didn't move. "I know you're awake, sweetling," he teased musically. The new nickname was drawn out into two musical notes: the first high and sweet; the second, a perpetual medium ring. "Sweetling?" he repeated. "If you don't want to continue, you need to tell me." There was a strange noise from the body beneath him—an odd mixture of a growl, a purr, and a whimper—but Yugi stubbornly remained quiet.

Timaeus shook his head with a sigh of "Stubborn." Then, with a wolfish grin, he added, "Very well, sweetling. If you're not going to listen, I will just have to punish you."

Before giving his little lover time to ponder the words, his fingers danced under the hem of Yugi's shirt, teasing the soft, flat stomach and the juts of his hips with ticklish thumbs rubbing in soothing circles. His finders spidered lower and dug gingerly into the tender skin of Yugi's hips. More than once they brushed the sensitive junction between Yugi's hips and thighs and he smirked with each rushing shiver up Yugi's spine—like the icy waters of a river cracking and freed by spring.

Yugi responded with fidgets and small sounds, but nothing loud or fierce enough to show he was awake. Timaeus' hand slid to Yugi's stomach, while the other continued to explore his body. One of Yugi's hands uncoiled from the bed sheets and jerked to Timaeus' hip and a sharp gasp escaped his mouth.

Timaeus smirked. His eyes gleamed wickedly at the beautiful body trembling beneath his hands. His grin curled to a proud, victorious smile. Only he would ever make Yugi tremble like this, he realized. Only he would have the right to see him flushed with heat, and the very fact that he was the reason Yugi was trembling filled him with pride.

A part of him enjoyed the charade: he'd meant the teasing as a punishment, but with each tiny blush to Yugi's cheeks, every fidget of his body against his, and each brush of skin beneath his fingers, Timaeus quickly found himself beaming. It soon became a game of who would break first, and it made Timaeus wonder how far Yugi would let him go. How much was he allowed to touch?

He had to admire his little one's resolve—Yugi was more than just stubborn, it seemed. He was willful and determined, and Timaeus beamed with pride. This was the Yugi he'd fallen in love with, and the one who would become his Consort and rule Locri as its Magistrate beside him. But first, he needed to regain Yugi's trust, and to do that, he had to get Yugi to quit playing. There was a time and place for resolve and recklessness, and it was the first thing he needed to teach his little consort. As amusing as Yugi's antics were, and as bold as he was being now, he'd given Yugi his word—and even if he hadn't, he didn't want their first time to be a loveless affair driven by lust.

Deciding it was time to end this little bout of play, he prepped for his final trick: carefully, he slid his hands up Yugi's stomach. The hem of Yugi's shirt caught in his thumbs and it lifted, exposing his midriff to the cold, open air. Yugi was visibly shivering now, his lower and upper lip sucked between his teeth, but still, his eyes refused to open.

Wolfishly, Timaeus—hands on Yugi's hips—leaned and whispered in his ear. "Just ask me, little one, and I'll stop," he promised, then added with a voracious chuckle, "If you don't stop pretending, I will have to punish you," he warned, the way a child warned its rival that they were in trouble. Yugi's stillness did not change.

Timaeus licked his lips and smirked. "Alright." It was Yugi's only warning before he plunged his face into Yugi's stomach and his tongue in Yugi's naval.

Yugi didn't even try to contain his shock. His mouth opened in a voluminous morph of desire between a shriek and a moan. His hands flew to Timaeus' hair; fingers wove into the silvery locks and tugged fiercely. "T-T-Tim—" he tried to call the name but all he managed was a barely audible squeak. He tried to buck his hips, but Timaeus snatched them up in his hands and pinned him to the bed like the claws of a predatory bird. "Timaeus!" he finally screamed.

Timaeus pulled away and Yugi's lust-hazed mind blinked with confusion and disappointment.

"So now you're awake?" Amethyst eyes dark with desire met the victoriously gleaming emerald and pearl.

His mind cleared enough to survey their position. Timaeus on top of him, clad in only his tight under-armor, knees on either side of Yugi's thighs and his hands still ensnaring Yugi's hips, and Yugi's arm on his shoulder, the other buried in Timaeus' hair. Yugi's whole face burned.

Timaeus regarded Yugi's flustered face with an amused chuckle. Yugi's face burned to the tips of his ears; he bowed his head and looked away with an embarrassed frown. Timaeus' eyes shone with tender apology: one soft green, the other a pearly reflection, and pressed his lips to Yugi's cheek. With a small gasp, Yugi spun to him, cheeks pink with bashful surprise and delicately touched the tender spot. He suddenly looked so much younger and inexperienced. Timaeus nuzzled his neck comfortingly, then tilted Yugi's chin to face him. His eyes shined with uncertainty. Timaeus pressed a light kiss to the edge of Yugi's lips—the gentlest of promises.

Yugi blushed again, touched by the gesture, but he wasn't ready to surrender the game just yet. His eyes hardening with determination, Yugi sat up and took Timaeus' face in his hands, then kissed him hard. Timaeus' lips parted in an unexpected gasp, temporarily stunned by the boldness. Yugi was quick to take advantage of it, and teased his lips open with his tongue. Yugi pressed harder into him, but Timaeus was not one to be flustered. He grasped Yugi's arm with just the right amount of seductive tightness and pulled Yugi to his hard chest with a rough tug. Yugi gasped in surprise. Timaeus parted his lips with a practiced tongue and captured Yugi's lips again in a fierce kiss. Yugi felt a familiar heat pouring into him, filling him with a sweet savory warmth so strong, he felt drunk from it.

Yugi couldn't stop the moan that slipped through his lips, or the way his bones liquefied into nothing. His hands moved to clench Timaeus' forearms—independent of his thoughts—and was once more reminded of the other kisses they'd shared, both fierce and soft. Why was it so easy to fall into this man's arms? Why did one kiss leave him breathless and witless and his mind blank with the way Timaeus' body pressed against his? It made him wonder how easy it would be to just let go of everything and give into what his heart so desperately wanted.

He felt Yugi's fingers tighten affectionately and expectantly in his tunic, and with the greatest reluctance, Timaeus pulled away. He looked into Yugi's dazed, flushed faced: panting and disappointedly angry. He couldn't stop himself from smirking. The darker part of him wanted nothing more than to pounce, but his logic and honor were stronger. Besides, he decided that even without his promise, he didn't want Yugi's first night to be a loveless affair. Not when he'd waited so long to know what love felt like. Even if it took him years, Timaeus decided, he would grant that wish. For now, however, they had much to discuss: Yugi still needed reprimanding for his scuffle on the deck, and they needed to discuss his new tutelage. And as much as he enjoyed Yugi's boldness, a smirk coiled in recalling the kiss Yugi had initiated, only to have it backfire; he didn't like Yugi attempting to weaponize his affections.

Securing Yugi's hips in his hands, he gave them a light squeeze and leaned over his small consort with a low bow. "Didn't I warn you not to play games with me unless you intended to finish them?" he whispered hotly in Yugi's ear—a sharp sultry purr.

Yugi's eyes shot open and a tremor of anger, excitement, and fear shot through him. Absent was the cloud of bemusement his lust had trapped him in. Anger now pooled in Yugi's gut. He glared down at his lap and started muttering low Coptic curses under his breath. Only a few were directed at Timaeus.

Timaeus shook his head with a bemused chuckle. "As much as I long to continue this…" He tilted Yugi's defiant chin up and met Yugi's clouded eyes. "I made you a promise. One I fully intend to keep." For a moment, Timaeus wanted to believe the tide had passed between them. That the storm of bitterness was over and they could truly begin their life together. But he wasn't that naïve.

"And more importantly," he chuckled. His mismatched eyes glittered: one green and vivid with mischief and wicked delights; the other a pearly reflection, brightened by a playfully sinister red line. His smile was a smirk. One that Yugi knew all too well. "It's time we indulged in a few rules."

Yugi gulped loudly. That smirk was sending a chill shivering up his spine.

"R-Rules?" he snapped, mortified by the nervous stutter in his words.

"Yes, sweetling," Timaeus answered. There was a hint of derision in the nickname. He rolled into a sitting position on the edge of the bed, one arm braced at Yugi's hip and his top half leaning over him. Yugi glared at him for it. He tried to push himself up, but Timaeus' grip was firm.

"Firstly," Timaeus ignored the bravado and raised a scolding finger. "Since it seems I cannot trust you to hold your tongue, or my men to behave themselves, you shall not speak nor associate with the crew until I deem otherwise."

"You cannot trust me?" Yugi snapped, incredulous with anger.

"Secondly," Timaeus said evenly and unflinching. "You will accompany me at all times. If in the event I am called away from you, you shall remain here or with Rhebekka. As your safety is my primary concern, I'll feel all the better having you at my side and away from the prying eyes of my men," he added with a possessive growl.

"Furthermore, now that we are married, you shall join me for meals where we shall spend at least two hours a day rehearsing your station as my Consort and Magistrate of Locri, and henceforth, we shall share the Trierarch's quarters."

Yugi's cheeks huffed angrily. "I'm not a babe that needs to be watched!" he snapped.

"I know that, Yugi," Timaeus said with a soft calmness. Yugi's mouth dropped to an 'o' of surprise and Timaeus continued. "Or have you forgotten how we met?" It was a rhetorical question, but he still waited for an answer.

Yugi's cheeks reddened and his expression widened with mortification.

Timaeus softened his next words but kept his expression hard. "This issue is not about whether or not you can defend yourself, but if you should. You're too reckless. Even more so than the day you nearly flung yourself from the rafters. Your temper is too rash, and you're too quick to act. You show regard only for your pride and none for your safety and you lack the patience to hold your tongue," he criticized, but not cruelly.

Yugi opened his mouth to protest, but Timaeus silenced them with a gentle press of his fingers, eyes and voice intenerating. "You were right to defend yourself, and I'm proud of you." His face was warm, but his eyes were not smiling. "But you should not have been there. What if your witty remarks landed you in a situation you couldn't handle? What would you have done then? Whatever skills you have, there are times when your safety is more important than your pride."

"They attacked me!" Yugi said defensively, but even he heard how weak the protest sounded.

Timaeus shook his head with a sigh that was both impatient and impressed. "And they've already been punished for that offense. But they are your subjects now, and bullying them with that fact will earn you no respect."

"Bullying?" Yugi nearly choked on the word. The accusation was so unjust he could barely speak. "But they—" He tried to protest but the arguments froze on his lips when Timaeus hardened his eyes.

"This is not Kemet, Yugi," he said sternly and absent of any endearment. "You are not a prince here, nor are you righted with special treatments because you were born as one. Once you became my consort, you became their Magistrate. Your rank and status is second only to my own, but I am the Trierarch of this ship, not you. It is my duty to deal out justice and enforce the laws. Your duty is to mediate order and take care of everyone. It is a privilege for you to uphold, not a right you inherit. They did not see you as their Trierarch's Consort today; they saw you as a spoiled child throwing a tantrum. Do not lie and say it did not give you pride to see them humbled."

A protest formed on Yugi's lips, but one look at Timaeus' even eyes and stern silence and all his thoughts sounded stupid. The worst part was that it had given him pride to see them cower, to shock them into submission. He had felt vindicated by it. Yet with a few harsh truths, Timaeus had taken even that away from him. Worse, he'd made it all sound petty, even cowardly. Like the bullies who'd teased him as a child.

Timaeus gave his hand a comforting squeeze. "Hence the rule," he said simply, sparing Yugi the admission.

Tears of shame prickled Yugi's eyes, but he forced them back, squared his shoulders, and stiffened his spine. His eyes stung and his body trembled from the effort. "And what exactly does my station entitle?" he demanded, eyes wet but hard, and cheeks puffed and unyielding.

Proud and stubborn even when vanquished. Timaeus grinned proudly. "That shall be the second rule," Timaeus continued, his stone face beamish. "Two hours a day and all our meals will be spent preparing you for your role as Magistrate. I shall explain the details in progression. For now, you need only be aware of them. I want you well aware of what will be expected of you by the time we reach Locri and I'll not have you stumbling about because you were ill-informed."

Yugi glared at him, irritated, but said nothing.

"It is the best way for me to keep an eye on you," Timaeus admitted with a casual shrug. "And besides…" His green and pale eyes gleamed wickedly. Yugi shivered. "We are married. It would seem odd if we didn't spend at least some time alone together, and we shan't become better acquainted otherwise, aye?"

Something about the way he said it made Yugi fluster and he rose to bluster. "And I suppose I'm meant to smile, nod my head, and do as I'm told like a dutiful little wife, am I?" The derision was hard and mocking.

Timaeus' chuckle burst into an outright laughter—his eyes dark and amused. "You have courage, Yugi. However…" He leaned over Yugi again, looming like a shadow. His eyes narrowed. "You've got more courage than sense, and I'm getting fed up with this constant spite of yours," he warned with an amused snap, his patience thinning.

"And I am fed up with how you've forced yourself into my life," Yugi snapped, sitting up. "You expect me to just accept this farce of a marriage and obey your commands? Ha! I won't allow you to treat me poorly. I won't allow it!"

Timaeus' smile never faltered but his eyes flickered with something that wasn't amusement. "Be grateful that I haven't!" he snapped, suddenly angered. "You've been nothing but a brat since we've set sail!" His thinning patience finally snapped. "Other than the circumstances of our wedding, have I ever given you reason not to trust me?" He didn't wait for Yugi to answer. "I could've kept you locked up when I escorted you to Djanet. Or I could've made you my cabin boy, yet I did not. And now that we are married, I could've fixed it so you couldn't leave this room or do anything unless I said otherwise." He leaned closer, his voice a low hiss. Yugi shivered, but his eyes held no fear. "But I have not." He paused and pulled away.

"You…" Yugi let all his anger and bitterness bleed into his voice. "You are cruel and heartless!"

Timaeus sprang and Yugi sucked in a breath, his wrists pinned above his head and a hand curled tightly in the flesh of his hip. Timaeus loomed domineeringly above him: one eye wild and green, the other a cruel reflection—and his smile curled.

Yugi's heart leapt into his throat, waiting for him to strike. Instead, he leveled their eyes and whispered in a low, husky wisp. "If I was cruel and heartless, I would've beaten you bloody for the day's insolence and I would be having sex with you, and not even your tears or your pleas would make me stop." His words were low with dangerous promise. "Were I cruel and heartless, I wouldn't be waiting to consummate our marriage, nor would I be trying and willing to regain your trust in me." His words softened and his grip loosened. "No, little one, I am not some unscrupulous brute who would beat his lady, nor will I become the monster you think I am," Timaeus assured, hard with honor but soft with the gentlest of promises.

Yugi's hands were released but he left them where they were. His body expelled a breath it didn't realize it had been holding. Timaeus regarded him with even eyes, for a moment saying nothing, but there was something else in his eyes. Something low and pained. Suddenly, as quick as it appeared it was gone and Timaeus' eyes hardened. "But neither shall I tolerate your mistreatment of me."

He untangled himself from the bed and grabbed his mantle off the chair, and clasped it with a single swoop over his shoulders. It was a full moment before Yugi realized he was free. He sat up suddenly, limbs light and ready to flee.

Timaeus spun to him with a radiant smirk, and wickedly gleaming eyes. He noticed Yugi's glare and swaggered over to him, taking the little one's chin in his hand, smiling when Yugi put up no resistance other than a defiant glare. "I told you before, Yugi, you are mine to protect, and everything I've done I did to ensure just that." He sealed the declaration with a bold kiss—quick and hard—then he spun to leave.

Just as he reached the door, Yugi found himself and growled, then spat, "I never asked for your protection." Timaeus stopped and Yugi took advantage of the pause. He would regret it later. "And I never wanted it." His tone was low and cruel with the fact.

Timaeus stood there, saying nothing, and then left without another word. The door slammed behind him. Only when he was alone did Yugi finally allow himself to collapse bonelessly into a heap of angry tears. He punched the pillow in his anguish and curled himself into a small ball. He was right. He did regret the lie: all it had done was hurt them both.

Why…? He pushed his face into his pillow, muffling his sobs. Timaeus cared about him, perhaps even loved him. So why was Yugi so cruel to him? How…? It was the one question that burned in his mind. How could they possibly have a future when he wasn't even willing to try?

On the other side of the door, Timaeus slumped heavily against the thick wood. Anguish weighed heavily on his heart and his weak legs wobbled like gelatin. His face fell into his hands and his fingers dug anxiously into his face. Silent tears he hadn't felt in years pricked his lashes and he did nothing to stop them. "What have I done?" he whispered brokenly to the ghosts of no one. "What can I do?" The question left him thick and hollow.

Neither heard the other collapse on the other side of the door.

Long live the Queen (sips whine) I'm evil aren't I?

This was one of my favorite chapters to write! It had all the stuff i love about knightshipping: smut, romance, comfort, argumentation, character building and development and relationship growth, and just when you think they're making progress BOOM! But overall i think this was one of the better chapters for them to get some time to discuss their situation and make some progress, even if one step forward takes them two step-back...but overall i thnk we both got a real sense of their developing chracters this chapter, and i love the return of bad-ass Timaeus and voluptuous Yugi.

ENJOY! i can't wait to see the comments for this one!

Next Time: A new voice makes an appearance and a few surprises are about.

Next Update: August 21st (will be sooner if the ediditng is done early)