Garbed with a new Egyptian tunic similar to Atemu's, the two young teens made their rounds in the Palace. Yugi listened with a delighted smile as the Pharaoh excitedly explained what each room's purpose was. In the midst of showing Yugi the stables, the smaller's stomach growled audibly. He blushed with slight embarrassment, clutching it.

"Hungry?" Atemu grinned, turning to him.

"Uh… well…"

"No worries. Let me show you the cooking area. You'll eat well at dinner, but we can grab you a snack of some sort in the meantime."

"Sure." Yugi nodded eagerly, trying to ignore his loud stomach, which was wholeheartedly agreeing with the idea of food.

The kitchen was huge—not that that fact came as a surprise to little Yugi. There were stations in which people worked: a group sat on cartons of shipped food and drink items such as beer, milk, and other exotic fruits and vegetables. They were peeling potatoes. Then there were those that crushed grapes for its delectable juices, in other words, wine. Another group cut vegetables in a tedious fashion, wanting only the best prepared for their Pharaoh's meal. One lone man was baking bread on the complete opposite side of the room. The aroma of this bread and spices filled Yugi's senses, leaving him nearly faint with hunger. The workers in the entire kitchen turned at the sight of Atemu standing in their presence, and ceased all other movements aside from throwing themselves at the ground in a low bow.

"Please, everyone, rise and continue." Atemu said, approaching a young woman in particular who's breath became ragged like she felt she committed the worst crime of stopping her work. Yugi watched as Atemu leaned down and took her cheeks in his palms, smiling warmly as he lifted her back up. Yugi had to smile at the sight. Atemu valued the wellbeing and happiness of his people; that was displayed quite clearly. The woman beamed at Atemu, nodding, bowing slightly, then sat herself back down along with everyone else and carried on with the peeling of the potatoes.

"So Aibou, you like fruit, right?"

"Yes, very much." Yugi nodded. He followed Atemu upon being gestured to one corner of the room where numerous boxes sat in stacks, untouched. Atemu lifted the lid of one box and reached inside for a yellow-pinkish, juicy-looking fruit. He tossed the peach to Yugi, who caught it and stroked the soft texture with his thumb.

"Bon appétit." He grinned, and Yugi returned it.

"Thank you, Atemu."

"Shall we continue our expedition?" The Pharaoh asked, reaching down to take a peach for himself along their journey.

"Yes!" was Yugi's cheerful reply, taking a slurpy bite into his fruit.

"And this," Atemu nodded in acknowledgement to the two guards that stood by yet another large set of golden double-doors before shoving them open. "Is the throne room."

Yugi gasped as he entered, marveling at how huge the room was, standing in the very center and rotating himself around over and over to take it all in. The open stone windows dropped nearly to the floor, allowing in the sunlight to make the entire place glow.

"It's very pleasant to come up here at night. Out here," Atemu brought a hand to Yugi's shoulder in the midst of his spinning, causing him to stop, and pushed him along to a deck-like area outside of part of the room. There, the throne sat with a perfect view of the city and the sky. "Is where I often sit. In the evening hours, the stars light up the sky and you can see the desert for miles… I will have to show you." He smiled.

Yugi gaped, the only barrier between the floor where they stood side by side and the great, long fall to death being the stone rail.

"That's a… long way down." Yugi gulped. "Aren't you ever afraid that something would happen…?"

"Sometimes." Atemu admitted with a small chuckle. "But I know it's very stable. I don't worry too often about it. Why? Are you afraid, Aibou?"

Yugi turned away in an attempt to hide a small blush. He was afraid. Very afraid. But he'd appear childish if he said that to the Pharaoh, so he bit his lip and shook his head slightly. Atemu, however, knew his Aibou much too well. Yugi felt the Egyptian sidle closer to him, leaning to his ear.

"I will always catch you, Aibou," was all he said. But the tone in which it was expressed and the gentle smile Atemu wore as he spoke it caused Yugi to have an unexplainable pounding of his heart. He took a shy glance at his partner, his lips parted and quivering to form a sentence.

But it was as if the strange moment had never been transpired as Atemu grinned and stretched back his aching arms. "Well! I'd say by now it's almost dinnertime. Are you hungry again?"

"K-kinda, yeah." Yugi pursed his lips, placing a hand idly on his stomach.

"Well don't worry, they always make the most delicious meals for me here. I'm sure it will be most satisfying for you, too."

"I'm sure it will." Yugi smiled.

It was proven to be very difficult to have a thick conversation with someone you already knew inside and out. And yet, it still seemed like there were many sides and things that Yugi had yet to discover about his partner, Pharaoh Atemu.

What Yugi discovered today caused his heart to melt as he followed the Pharaoh into the common streets of the city, among the people and the bustling ancient city nightlife once again, after a most delicious dinner meal as Atemu had promised (the tables were covered with baked bread, wine, meats and fruits. At the first taste, Yugi nearly collapsed in his seat from the sheer delectableness of it all. Atemu, sitting across from him at the table, had laughed notably very freely—it was making the servants smile wide. Yugi assumed the Pharaoh had not laughed or smiled or felt like himself for a very, very long time).

Yugi silently prayed he wouldn't run into Muscles again. But then, since he was with the Pharaoh, Yugi felt quite confident that he was in safe hands. Muscles would never have the chance to lay even a finger on him with Atemu around.

But it seemed the coast was clear, anyway. Atemu had requested his Aibou for a little more patience before they would call it night, since the boy had not left the Egyptian's side for one moment the entire day. Yugi nodded, smiling bright.

"Don't worry about me, Atemu! I'm so happy I have the chance to be with you again… in wherever you go, whatever you do." Yugi had said.

"Aibou…" Atemu had trailed off, gazing at Yugi breathlessly, almost adoringly. He was quiet for a few moments before clearing his throat. "Well, in that case… let's go down to the cooking area again. I have to fetch some bread and go into the town real quick."

"Why do you need to do that?" Yugi asked curiously, raising his brows.

But Atemu only smiled gently at him from over his shoulder as he turned to descend the stairs. "Nightly tradition," was all he said. Yugi was confused, but went along without further questioning.

And now he understood. It was the most beautiful deed he'd ever seen his partner do, as far as he could remember. He always knew Atemu was a kind and giving soul. But this went beyond what he ever thought the Pharaoh himself would do. It, in all honesty, had brought his affection for his friend to entirely new levels.

As the sun set over the sandy pyramids of the desert beyond the city and the brilliant stars Atemu spoke of began to make their radiant appearance, the teens escaped the palace for more than just some fresh air. Yugi wanted desperately to stop in their brisk walking to admire the city nightlife, but assured himself that he would have time to do that when they returned to the palace.

The streets were lit with torches and many folks hustled around, doing last minute shopping in the markets and playing a relaxing tune with woodwinds. Yugi scanned everything and everyone, noting how different the energy felt in the evening. It was more pleasant, more at ease. Women carried large pots over their heads, the children were still out and sat in huddled groups by any small bodies of water, some couples even danced together with the music. Yugi wanted so badly to incorporate himself into these activities, somehow. As he turned to watch the dancing, he hoped there would be just one single opportunity at the very least that he could do that with Atemu before he would have to leave this century and return to his respective time period.

At the thought, his shoulders visibly sunk while him and Atemu walked on, ignoring the attention received from the people. That's right. He would have to leave at some point – when, who could say. But Baniti had told him they would figure something out, and Yugi had no doubts they would be able to, granted all this magic they had.

Suddenly, while he was contemplating, he looked up to see Atemu jogging from him.

"Ate—Your Majesty?" Yugi called with slight confusion, correcting himself on Atemu's name when he remembered he was in public. But he stopped dead in his tracks, watching with amazement and overflowing emotions of joy and admiration. Atemu had spotted a trio of very poor, very hungry looking children. Their clothes were tattered and dirty like their delicate tan skin. Their hair clung to their cheeks, soaked in oil and humidity. They very clearly hadn't bathed in quite a while. They looked up at Atemu with big, sad eyes. Yugi nearly teared up – those eyes. They were so defeated. So worn. But when they saw Atemu before them, those eyes glimmered with hope. And their hopes and prayers had been answered as the Pharaoh reached into his robes and pulled out thick, large and fresh pieces of bread and cheese, handing it to the children. They gasped and extended small, shaky hands to accept the food, looking up at Atemu a couple times to make sure he was really allowing this. With a nod of his head, he smiled softly as the children simultaneously, and quite vigorously, chewed off part of the bread and cheese on top. They wouldn't be hungry tonight.

Finally, after stroking their skinny cheeks with his slender hand, Atemu rose from his bent position and returned to Yugi, who could only stare at him, his lips slightly parted.

"Let's go." Atemu smiled, taking the smaller by his hand as they walked among the dusty roads again and back to the palace.

"You're… you're amazing… you do this every night?" Yugi asked as they passed through the stone pillars and up the long set of stairs that led to the entrance.

"Yes. Every night. I go into the town with some form of food and give it to anyone who looks hungry. Unfortunately, it seems like the usual targets of starvation are at small children. These times are much different compared to your twenty-first century. It's harder to live here for the people." Atemu sighed, and Yugi sensed sadness.

"But… you're making a difference, Atemu. Your people appreciate this greatly… you should be very proud of yourself."

Atemu hummed with a small smile. "I do feel proud… my guardians and teachers, much like Baniti and Mahad, have taught me what it means to be a good Pharaoh. He or she has to become aware of the conditions of the common people. Whether he or she takes action on these conditions is up to them. I chose to do something about it. I care about my people."

Yugi's eyes softened. "You're a wonderful Pharaoh, Atemu."

"And," he added, turning to Yugi. "To have you by my side again… it means a great deal to me. I thought about you for days on end, and your strength and confidence and what I've learned from you has given me the motivation to be who I am now and continue doing what I do."

Yugi shrugged idly, feeling his cheeks form a small blush. He kicked a stray rock on one of the steps. "I… don't know what to say."

"No need. I just want to thank you."

"Are you sure this is all right, My Lord?" Baniti asked, bewildered at the sight of Yugi sitting on the edge of the Pharaoh's bed, in his chambers. "There are more spare rooms that I can allow young Yugi to use…"

"We're quite fine, thank you. We're both actually quite used to this. I would like to have Yugi with me for tonight."

"As you wish then, M'Lord. I am obviously in no position to refuse your wishes." Baniti said, cracking a small smile.

"Goodnight, Lord Baniti!" Yugi beamed, kicking his legs.

"Until morning." Baniti bowed his head slightly, disappearing behind the door and shutting it behind him. A small quietness fell in the room. The only lighting in the darkness were a few candles to the side of the bed.

"Nice place you got." Yugi said suddenly, grinning. Atemu smiled, pleased with Yugi's approval on his room. He watched as Yugi slid off his shoes and placing them to the floor for the time being, feeling a sudden wave of playfulness come over him as he rose on the bed and started bouncing up and down, feeling the soft texture of the mattress and silky blankets on his feet. Atemu chuckled.

"Yeah. It is nice." Yugi turned to Atemu with a smirk when he caught his friend in the midst of a large yawn.

"You gonna sleep? You look beat." Yugi pursed his lips, stopping in his jumping on the bed.

And suddenly out of nowhere in a completely out-of-character fashion, Atemu rushed forward and flopped ungracefully on the bed. Yugi couldn't contain his laughter, letting himself fall onto the cushiony pillows on the other side of the king-sized bed along with him.

After a moment of stilling their breaths, Atemu and Yugi turned to face each other.

"This is like a sleepover." Yugi grinned.

"In 1000 B.C. ancient Egypt with your best friend, the Pharaoh, in his quarters."

Yugi laughed at the strangeness of that, even though he couldn't deny it's complete truth. "That does change things a little bit!"

"Quite." Atemu smiled. Several moments of silence passed, a thought causing Yugi to frown a little.

"So… how am I going to get home?"

Atemu sighed lightly, reaching over to twirl a strand of Yugi's blond locks. "I'm not really sure. But we'll figure it out, I assure you. But I won't keep you here for more than a week. I know your friends and your grandfather miss you and are worried about you very much."

"Well… I mean… I love my friends, but… I also really love it here, with you… couldn't I stay here for a little longer?"

"Aibou," Atemu said sternly. "You have to go back."

Yugi sighed, knowing he couldn't argue. "Yeah… I guess you're right."

"But if you invent a time machine where you can come and go as you please, feel free to visit."

Yugi scoffed. "A time machine! I wish."

Atemu laughed, rising to his elbows as he turned to the candles. "Alright. Lights out, Aibou."

Yugi giggled, snuggling into the covers and the pillows. "Okay."

The few candles' jobs were then brought to an end with a quick blow, and the darkness enveloped. The city and the palace went silent for the rest of the night.

Hmm, so how will Yugi get back home? We shall see! But not for a couple chapters. ;) The real fun has yet to begin!

R&R!