Warnings: AtemuxHeba, mentions of other pairings, angst, spoilers.

Stale TV specials: Heba


It was just another day. Atemu and Heba were returning from their walk. It was nearly Christmas, and knowing that pained them both – though neither would say anything – since it would mean the time they'd have to separate would be even closer. That day they both dreaded already was merely a little over two weeks away. Still, they tried to enjoy their little time together as much as possible, being always together. Heba followed Atemu wherever he went, whether it was shopping for groceries or work. Not that the taller man minded, quite to the opposite. He loved every second of it.

It was snowing right now, and the two were walking in the middle of it, returning back to the house in silence and hands joined. Heba's eyes were slightly shadowed with sorrow, and they were staring at the ground, avoiding Atemu's gaze on him.

'I wish I was brave enough to say something. Or at least look at him.' Heba thought to himself. 'There are so many things I want to tell him, but…I don't want him to feel guilty about all the pain I've been through during this long life of mine. And if I don't talk about those things, there's pretty much nothing more left for me to say. There are so many things to avoid in a conversation with him that there's just nothing more to talk about. I haven't grown up at all…'

"Heba-" Atemu began.

"The snow is beautiful, isn't it Atemu?" Heba quickly interrupted the taller man, now looking at him and making sure to mask away his sorrow. 'It's so pure too. So unlike me…' he added silently inside his mind.

Atemu blinked softly, but then smiled tenderly. Heba felt his heart flutter just a bit. He had missed that smile so much. "Yes it is, beloved." Atemu gazed upwards to the snowflakes. Then, he looked down at Heba once more, this time with a bit more serious look. "But it can be dangerous too. It covers the ice on the ground. You need to watch where you're going, or you might slip and fall."

"Oh, Atemu, you worry too muuuuuch-!"

-

"It's not broken." Akunamkanon stated after he had examined Heba's now bandaged ankle. The softly tanned boy was sitting in front of him on the couch. "However, it appears to have got badly sprained. It should be okay though as long as you don't strain it too much for the next couple of days. Also, put an ice bag on it, it'll decrease the upcoming swelling and the pain."

"Okay. Thank you." Heba muttered softly.

"What does it mean that he 'mustn't strain it?" Atemu asked, standing at the living room doorway, leaning himself against the doorframes. Yami wasn't home yet, as he had probably gone out with his friends.

Akunamkanon looked at him. "Unfortunately he'll have to stay here and rest for the next couple of days. I'm afraid he can't leave this house unless absolutely necessary."

-

And that had been that. Heba no longer could go where Atemu went, so he was alone at the house for most of the day, when Atemu and Akunamkanon-san were at work and Yami-san at school. Atemu and Yami had brought him books, so he wouldn't get too bored, but Heba was a fast reader and had finished most of them in a single day. He was so used to reading much harder-to-understand texture from his magician study and spell books. He had to admit though, that the modern legends and stories in those books were fascinating. He had especially liked those adventures of that boy-magician, 'Harry'.

But after the two taller tri-colour haired boys had noticed how fast he read, they both had agreed they couldn't bring Heba new books every day, as there wouldn't soon be any left in the library. Instead, they decided to teach him how to use the thing they called 'TV' which was a box that showed moving pictures. Heba somewhat knew how it worked and what it was, because he had an access to Yuugi's memories, but since the pale boy didn't know everything about the TV, that meant Heba didn't either. But he didn't like the boredom and the ever-continuing silence, so he had allowed the others to teach him how to use it.

He was right now watching a show called Friends, wrapped up inside a blanked (he wasn't quite used to the cold weather yet), his legs held against his chest. It was snowing in the show, and the blonde woman called 'Phoebe' was supposed to get married. Heba chuckled mildly, remembering his and Atemu's wedding. He remembered how shy he'd been feeling with everyone's eyes on him. They had all been judging him with their gazes. His and Atemu's relationship had been kept a secret until their wedding to most people, but when he had walked down the aisle, the people of the palace had found out. Those whispers around him had hurt so much. Heba could deal with the insults towards himself, but his heart couldn't take the fact they had said so many horrible things about Atemu. Because of him. It had felt awful.

And Mahado…his beloved Teacher. He had needed an escort to walk him down the aisle. He would've asked Jono to do it, but the fair-haired young man had been another important part of the ceremony already, as blessing his and Atemu's marriage, among with Atemu's father the Pharaoh, was his job. If a healer blessed a marriage, it was believed to bring good luck and health in that marriage. But as it had turned out, that hadn't really had that big effect.

But anyway, Heba had almost hated the fact it had had to be Mahado who would escort him, despite him being the second best option. Heba had always admired the older man – he was about everything Heba himself had wanted to be. A powerful magician, strong, tall and good-looking. Mahado was also pretty much the only parental figure he'd ever had. As a really small child he'd lived with a woman his father had apparently left him with, because he had wanted to go and kill himself after his wife had died giving birth. The woman had been okay kind to him; she'd fed, clothed and given him a roof on top of his head in an exchange for just a little bit of work. But she hadn't loved him, hadn't been parental the way he had needed someone to be to him. Then he'd been kidnapped to slavery, and getting any kind of love or even tenderness there had been completely out of the question.

But Mahado had always protected him, taught him and been kind to him. But ever since he had got together with Atemu, Mahado had become so cold towards him, and had almost begun scaring him. He had still loved the older man, kind of in a way that was the mix of the ways you might love a brother and father. He'd been shattered when he had died. And then he'd found that letter and found out why Mahado had begun acting the way he had towards him…

Heba hugged his legs tighter against his body, and buried his eyes to his knees. 'Oh, Teacher…what you must've been through when you escorted me…it must've been killing you inside.' He thought. 'But still, I'm so selfish towards you…I can't bear to talk to you about that…'

"Heba, I'm home!" He suddenly heard Atemu's voice from the front door, and quickly rose his head back up and wiped his eyes.

"Welcome back." Heba told him, mentally congratulating himself for managing to keep his voice calm. Atemu pretty soon appeared at the living room doorway, walked to Heba and sat down next to him on the couch.

"What have you done today?" Atemu asked, smiling gently.

Heba shrugged. "Nothing much. Mostly just watched this show." He pointed at the TV. "There's a 'Christmas marathon' of it here on 'TV'. Or that's what they said."

Atemu turned to watch the television too. They sat there in silence a few moments.

Then Atemu asked: "Mind if I share the blanket with you?"

Heba smiled softly, holding the blanket side up. "Nope. C'mon."

Atemu pulled himself under the blanket with Heba, holding the smaller man around the waist and that way pulling him closer to himself. Heba leaned his cheek against Atemu's shoulder, and they both watched how Phoebe and her betrothed, Mike, got married. And several other episodes of Friends. Heba almost felt like crying when they saw Rachel had come back from the plane for Ross.

After the last episode was finished and the marathon of other series called The Simpsons began, Heba spoke up: "You're early today."

"The boss let me off a bit earlier because I told my lover was home and hurt."

Heba huffed. "Atemu, it's not that bad. I've been through a lot worse." Heba immediately realised his mistake when Atemu's eyes turned slightly darker, so he hurried to continue: "I didn't mean it after you died! I was hurt way before that too!"

Atemu sighed, placing a soft hand on Heba's cheek. "You're just like before, beloved. You keep all your sorrows bottled up because you don't want to hurt me with them. That shouldn't be so, Heba."

Heba frowned. "Why are you always so nice to me?" he asked out of nowhere.

"Huh?"

"Why are you so nice?!" Heba yelled, looking up at Atemu with flaming eyes. "Why don't you doubt me?! Why don't you think I didn't cheat on you during these 3000 years?! Why don't you think I'm a whore who can't stay loyal, just like everyone else?!"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down now. What are you talking about? And who has dared to call you that?!"

'My old master.' Thought Heba, but out loud he answered: "Several people, after you died."

Atemu's eyes softened. "Don't hold back. Tell me everything about it. I want to know what has happened to you these past years. You don't have to tell me everything. Just the things you want to say."

"But I'm afraid that you…might not see me in the same light as before if you find out." Heba murmured, glancing sideways.

Atemu pulled Heba into a tight embrace. Heba blushed softly. "Heba, I know you've changed during these years. But to me, it doesn't matter. No matter how much you change, you're still you, and it's you I'm in love with. Nothing can change those feelings of mine for you. I just want you to be able to release the things that hurt you, even now. Maybe then, you'll be in a bit less of a pain."

Heba pulled his arms around Atemu as well, feeling tears coming up. This time however, he didn't even try to hold them back. He let them fall. Atemu rubbed his back comfortingly as he cried, and held him soothingly.

Finally Heba calmed down and pulled back from Atemu's arms. He quickly wiped the corners of his eyes, before looking straight into Atemu's eyes with determination. "Alright." Atemu smiled at him. "So, what do you want to know?"

"It doesn't matter. Tell me what you want to tell me. I'll ask you if I want to know more. But you don't have to answer if you don't want to."

Heba nodded, feeling somewhat relieved. He knew Atemu would never really force him into something he didn't want to do, but being pressured by guilt was just as bad, if not worse. "Well…where should I begin…" He mused thoughtfully, a finger on his chin. "Well, as you know, after you died, Seth took over the throne with Mana as his queen. I continued my studies and became a priest for Osiris, kind of taking Seth's place as the Highest Priest in the court when I finally reached my full power. But…"

"Yes?" Atemu kindly encouraged him.

"Seth and I…we…well, you know I never really liked or knew him before all this happened. He sort of scared me, to tell you the truth. He had always been so strict and most of the times he made me feel like I had done something wrong when I was with him. But when I became his Highest Priest, we started becoming closer towards one another. After all, I understood what he was going through, living without the one he loved. We were able to comfort each other, and when I was with him I felt slightly better about life. We never had that kind of relationship, though." He added after seeing the look on Atemu's face.

"But unfortunately, most people seemed to think that was the case." Heba continued. "I would sometimes nightly visit Seth and Mana's room. The two of them never found out about it, but I had put a small spell on both of them to know when they were having nightmares. And when they would have those, I would secretly sneak into their chambers and soothe the dreams of the one sleeping restlessly, with my magic. But I'm guessing someone saw me sometime I went there, and thought Seth and I were…" He couldn't even bear to say it.

"Why only you and Seth? Why not you and Mana?"

Sorrow filled Heba's eyes. "Mana wasn't quite herself after Teana's death. She never completely recovered from it when she was still alive. It was horrible, to see such a cheerful girl change so drastically. She became so much quieter and even somewhat depressed. I don't think I ever heard her laugh anymore after that. Mana could be strong as long as Teana was there, comforting and supporting her, but with Teana gone, it seemed like Mana's strength had died too. I suppose she and I began drifting apart after that. I tried to be there for her as much as I could, but I always felt like she didn't want me there and preferred to be by herself. I guess we are similar in that; we both don't want anyone to see our tears when we cry."

Atemu gulped down his own tears of sympathy. Poor Mana. Then again, he guessed he should've been expecting something of that sort. Teana had been Mana's wife, and losing the one you were in love with never left you without at least some scars.

"So, I guess you can say that as Mana and I drifted further apart from one another, Seth and I became closer, and people easily made their own conclusions." Heba went on. "They didn't judge Seth for it – he was the Pharaoh and was allowed to have more lovers than just one – but about me…they said such awful things. I could heard them through my magic even when they thought I couldn't…they said I was betraying you and that I was a slut and a whore, and, and…" He couldn't go on. It still hurt so much remembering it. His voice broke, and he buried his face in his hands. He felt Atemu pull him into his arms again merely seconds later. The grip he held him with was slightly tighter than before.

"Those bastards…how dare they say such things about you?!" Atemu whisper-yelled into Heba's ear.

It took a while for Heba to regain his composure, but then he pulled back from Atemu again, took a few deep calming breaths and continued again: "They also began speaking I had probably cheated on you when you were still alive too. They said I had done it with Mahado…though I wonder where they heard about that. I never spoke about it to anyone…"

Atemu's eyes widened, and he grabbed Heba's shoulders into his hands. "You…know? About Mahado's feelings for you?"

Heba nodded sadly. "A few months after Teana's death, Seth came to me and Mana, telling they'd finally found Mahado's will. Apparently, as he had no other family alive anymore, he had left all of his property to us, his apprentices. I had nothing better to do that day, and needed some distraction, so I went to Mahado's room to check if there was anything I wanted to take with me. Mana and I had agreed we both would take the things we wanted the most – the rest we'd sell abroad and use the money to help the nation. I ended up finding a letter on his desk…it told everything. I finally understood everything, like why you had made him specifically my teacher and why he was always so cold to me after I married you…"

Atemu hugged him. "He actually didn't know I knew either." He murmured. "He was ill one winter, remember? Well, I went to see him to the healer chambers, and not knowing who I was in his fever, guilt-ridden Mahado told me he loved you. That he'd always loved you. But as you already were my lover by then, I knew there was nothing I could do to make him feel better about his feelings. If Mahado had known I knew he would've demanded me to have him executed, so I couldn't tell him about that either. So I asked Father to make him your teacher that he could easily spend time with you without being questioned about it, so that he would feel at least a bit better. I might've done wrong, but…I knew he would want to be near you, but also that he wouldn't touch you. He was simply too loyal for that. Besides, he'd taught me too in the past, so I also knew he would be a good teacher for you."

Atemu felt Heba shake his head against his shoulder. "You did nothing wrong. I do understand your motives. I just…I never knew or figured he felt that way about me. I almost thought he hated me, really. I can't even understand why he would feel that way about me…"

This time, Atemu was the one to pull back from the embrace first, and he took Heba's face in his hands. "I guess he saw the same things I did and still do, in you." He whispered as he planted a soft and loving kiss on the smaller man's forehead. "And what I see in you are your bravery, your determination, the fact you never give up no matter how bad things may seem…and you're not bad looking either." He finished with a wink, making Heba flush.

Then, the said one frowned. "I hated those comments. I felt like they were shaming Teacher's memory with them. I could deal with the things they said about me, but about him…that hurt so badly."

"Did you talk about that with Seth? Or about the comments about him and you?"

Heba shook his head. "I didn't dare. I was too afraid of what he might do to the people speaking those things if he had found out."

"What do you mean?" Despite being somewhat cool, Seth had most of the time been one of the most righteous men Atemu had ever met.

"Well, like Mana, Seth was never really himself anymore after Jono died, but in a different way than her." Heba explained. "He became a bit insane with his grief, really. He became a lot colder, crueller and more ruthless. He wanted to sent people to death for trying to steal food for their little starving children…" Atemu's eyes widened. It was almost like Kaiba had been back during the Four Game Masters and the Death-T times. "However, I often managed to make him think twice before doing anything like that. I sort of became his sanity – his balance – while Jono wasn't there, and when he was with me he seemed to be a bit more sane and himself and just…there. I couldn't always stop him, but…for the most part at least."

Atemu smiled comfortingly to him. "You might've done more for him than you ever realise. Maybe even saved his soul from Ammit."

Heba smiled a bit sheepishly. "Maybe."

There was a pause.

"What about Hondo and Mesi? What happened to them after my passing?" Atemu asked. Teana had been Hondo's cousin and Mesi's good friend, and Jono the guard's best friend. They couldn't have survived completely without grief either.

Heba answered: "To tell you the truth, I don't really know. If Mana and I drifted apart after your sacrifice, then I became complete strangers with Hondo and Mesi. I was present at their wedding, but they both just looked kind of depressed to me there. I thought it might've been just because of the grief for their losses – and on Mesi's part it probably was, too – but Hondo's story had a bit more behind it. But I won't go there, because I'm pretty sure he wants to tell you about it himself." Heba smirked a bit mysteriously as Atemu blinked. "They had three kids, those two. But about eleven years after your passing, Hondo got killed in a war. I was there too, at first, but I got hurt pretty badly in my first battle already and Seth sent me home after that – to protect the city and the palace, among Seth's family."

"And you just went along with that?" Atemu asked with surprise. He was shocked Heba had given up so easily. He was usually pretty stubborn.

Heba just shrugged. "I was injured badly and knew I would only be a burden at the battlefield if the others would have to carry and protect me all the time. At least back at the palace I could be some use as a Protector."

"What about Mana? Couldn't she have done the protection of the palace? Or on the battlefield?" Mana had also been a Protector.

"Mana never used her powers anymore after she fully learnt how to use them. Magic probably reminded her of Teana, who, as you know, had always been the most supportive of her studies. And she wasn't allowed in the battlefield because Seth and I were both afraid she'd just get herself killed on purpose." Atemu nodded. It was understandable. "I never really minded having to go back home, though. I was much more of a use there than I ever would've been on the battlefield. Besides, there I could protect the people dearest for me, and actually be a Protector…I suppose I might've been kind of selfish that way. Maybe I was just happy to be there because I felt like I was proving everyone wrong about me…"

"What do you mean by that?"

Heba frowned, shadows in his eyes once more. "Many people used to say about me that I was unsuited to be a Protector. That I should've been born a Fighter instead. They all said my soul was too dark to be a Protector's…"

"Well, they were wrong." Atemu said sternly, making Heba look up again. "I think everyone can be suited as a Protector, as long as they have someone or something precious to them that they want to keep safe and, well, protect. You had Mana, Seth, and Khemet."

"And Mahado-kun."

"Huh?"

"Oh, sorry, not our Mahado. I mean Mana and Seth's son Mahado. He was the first one of their children to have magic, so they named him after Teacher. They later made me his magic teacher. A bit ironic, don't you think? He even looked like his namesake, with the long brunette hair. He also had those tattoo marks made under his eyes, like it was a tradition in Mana's side of the family – you know Mana and Teacher were distantly related(1). The only thing different really was that compared to Teacher's greyish violet eyes, Mahado-kun's eyes were clear blue like Seth's." Heba sighed a bit. "To be honest, I really maybe loved him a bit more than I should've."

"How come?"

"Well, I often felt like he loved me more than his own parents. Mana was always a bit cool towards their kids, and Seth focused almost solely on his eldest son to make him learn everything he needed to know about being a Pharaoh…that's why, it was always me who Mahado-kun came to when he needed help or comfort. And thought I tried to stop myself feeling that way, I slowly began seeing him as my own son as well. I always told him about you as bedtime stories, by the way." He smiled, but then frowned again. "But then, when Seth died and Mahado-kun's brother took over the throne…Mahado-kun left. He told me he'd go to protect your memory and secrets, so you could someday return and come to the afterlife. He stole Seth's Rod and Mana's Torque – that had been given to her after Isis' death – and left with his wife. I barely had time to bid him goodbye, and tried to stop him, but…I guess he just felt he no longer needed to be there. Mana had died already a decade before Seth, so…and he had no real duties at the palace, as he was not the one to inherit the crown and at times of peace, magicians weren't really needed. And so, even though it pained me, I let him go. That time was the first time he called me 'Dad'." He softly smiled.

"D'oh!" said the TV at the background, but neither of the two men paid it any attention.

"And that's pretty much it for my life. I lived sometime longer after that, but nothing really special happened to me anymore."

"When you died…did you talk to our Mahado about his feelings for you?"

"Yeah." Heba nodded softly. "I told him I didn't mind him feeling that way about me – after all, I if who know what it is like to be in love with someone you can never have. But the topic of him loving me is kind of uncomfortable, so we don't really talk about it otherwise. I feel a bit guilty about it, since I think he should be able to speak about it with someone, but…I just don't know how to act when he admits he loves me, because I've never been a target to unrequited love before. Besides, even though I'm not in love with him, Teacher is still important to me and I'm afraid that I might hurt him even more if I accidentally say something wrong."

Atemu embraced him again. "It's alright. I'm sure he understands how you feel; Mahado is good at reading people. And there is nothing wrong with being uncomfortable in a situation like yours. It's completely natural."

"Then…you don't hate me for all these things?"

"Of course not. Don't be silly. If anything, I just hate myself. If I hadn't died, then-"

"Hush about that." Heba quickly interrupted him. "If you're not angry at me, you mustn't be angry at yourself either. I understand why you did it, and I would gladly go through all that again as long as I know I could still see you again."

"But-"

"I love you, Atemu." Heba put in.

Atemu blinked a little, but then held the smaller man a bit tighter. "And I love you, Desert Flower."

And then, they both started to cry and wept in each other's arms as the TV made the background noises.

-

When Yami came home a few hours later, he found Atemu and Heba sleeping on the couch together, leaning against each other and loosely cuddled up in a single blanket, while the TV was still on. At that sight, he murmured a quiet "Awww", before quietly sneaking to the room, shutting off the TV and pulling the blanket a bit better to cover the couple.

Afterwards he quietly walked out of the room, giving the two one last glance with a smile, before going upstairs to do his homework.

(1)Mana and Mahado both have those similar marks under their eyes, so I think they were a part of the same clan, or something. And because the males in the Ishtar family seem to have those too, I put them to Mana's son, so he could pass them on as a tradition to his descendants.

Errr…this was a bit…okay, a lot, besides its point too, but I hope it's okay anyway ^^;. I have to thank Hime no Ichigo for the idea of this chapter, since she suggested that "even though the TV is on the characters are clearly doing something else", although I'm pretty sure this wasn't exactly what she had in mind XD. But the idea felt good, and it was a great excuse to take a peek to Heba's life, since I've been wanting to write about that so badly it felt like my fingers were itching!

And yes, Mahado was in love with Heba. I have mentioned Priestess Isis had deeper feelings for Mahado, but I never mentioned if those feelings were returned or not, now did I? XD. And I've liked the idea of MahadoxYuugi/Heba pairing for a rather long while, especially one-sided, so it just came naturally to me.

Next is Singing Christmas carols, which is also up already now. It's quite a bit shorter than this one, but this was so long that I'm actually grateful for that.