Atem sighed and slowly opened his eyes, confused at first as to where he was. He realized that Mahad's arm was wrapped around his waist and he smiled to himself. Waking up beside the magician felt right, as if he had been doing it for years. The prince rolled onto his side, taking in the perfectly beautiful sight of Mahad sleeping. The look on the magician's face was one of pure serenity; Atem never recalled seeing his friend in such a state of peace. He carefully reached over and brushed a strand of hair out of Mahad's face, his fingers softly caressing his cheek.
It was very early, so early that the servants were all hopefully still in bed. Atem quietly got up, placing one sweet kiss on the magician's forehead before silently slipping out the door. Seeing no one, he turned to move down the hall.
"Going somewhere, my prince?"
Atem froze, recognizing that arrogant tone anywhere. He took a deep breath, trying to compose himself before turning around. "Master Seto, what are you doing up so early?" the prince asked casually as he faced the guardian. Seto was leaning against the wall, dressed in a simple tunic rather than his usual ornate blue and gold attire. He may have been dressed less pretentiously than usual, but none of Seto's pride was missed; it was etched into every move he made, every expression on his face.
Seto smirked and folded his arms across his chest. "I always get up this early so I can get in extra work before anyone else is awake. I like to be one step ahead." He took a few steps closer to Atem, causing the prince's heart to pound out of intimidation. "The real question is, why are you coming out of Master Mahad's quarters at this hour? Were the two of you up discussing palace security long into the night? Oh, I think not." His sapphire eyes were sparkling as they stared directly into Atem's, as if he delighted in seeing the prince squirm.
"That, Seto, is none of your business, and I kindly ask that you leave me alone," Atem demanded firmly as he turned to walk away. Seto had caught him in the most compromising situation possible, and he refused to stand there and watch the guardian revel in his humiliation. He had barely taken a step forward when he felt Seto's hand clasp tightly around his wrist. He lost his breath as the guardian pressed his body up against his back, wrapping his other arm around the prince's waist.
"Let me ask you, my prince, how was it being with that stiff magician?" Seto whispered in Atem's ear, his voice low and sultry. "When he kissed you, did it feel like it did when I kissed you? Did his touch set your heart pounding like mine did?" He slowly licked around the edge of Atem's ear, moving the hand around the prince's waist down to his inner thigh, gently squeezing. Atem let out a soft moan and Seto grinned, pleased with himself. "I am the only one who can make you feel alive, the only one who knows how to set your body on fire."
Atem hated himself for succumbing to Seto's touch so easily. His whole body was aching for more. Why did the guardian have such an intense effect on him? He shut his eyes tight and leaned his head back as Seto moved his lips from Atem's ear to his neck, his hand caressing the prince everywhere but where he was longing for it most. Seto was playing with him and he didn't like it. He opened his eyes and fiercely jerked his wrist out of Seto's grasp, catching the guardian by surprise. He was going to tell Seto he was wrong, that he certainly held no such sway over him, but he honestly wasn't sure if those words were true or not. He simply stared defiantly into the exquisite blue of Seto's eyes and turned to walk toward his room again.
"Do you think you can just walk away from this issue, Atem?" Seto said, easily catching up to the prince with his much longer legs and matching his pace. "You can't lie to yourself anymore. Are you going to lead Mahad on, settling for him because he is your friend, when you know in the back of your mind that you will always want me? That you will always need me?"
Atem turned and punched Seto square in the jaw. The guardian looked at him in stunned silence as he wiped a drop of blood off of his lip with his hand. "You don't even know him! Mahad has real feelings for me and he is the most loyal and devoted person I have ever met in my life. You can never compare to him," Atem growled. He rubbed his sore knuckles, still shocked at what he had done.
Seto narrowed his eyes at the prince, grabbing him by the shoulders and shoving him into the wall. "You can say whatever you want to convince yourself, my prince, but I can see right through you. You can screw that magician of yours as many times as you want, but it will never be enough, and soon you will realize that. Trying to hide from yourself what is obvious to everyone else is a futile thing to do."
"I didn't. It wasn't what you think it was," the prince said, turning his eyes away from the guardian in embarrassment. Seto raised an eyebrow at him. "I didn't have sex with him. I just slept there."
The guardian smiled. "So, you are more consumed with me than I thought."
"That is not the reason I didn't!" Atem shouted. "I…I just don't know how I feel about him yet." He really needed to stay quiet. He was giving Seto more fuel by the minute.
"I wonder why that is," Seto grinned wider, causing the cut on his lip to bleed again. "Face it, my prince, you will never get me out of your head." He leaned in and kissed Atem hard despite his injured jaw, smearing red all over the prince's lips.
The guardian's fierce kiss once again caused Atem to lose himself. The sweet, metallic taste of blood filled the prince's mouth, making him feel like he was experiencing Seto to the fullest. Everything was Seto. There was nothing else.
Seto pulled back, releasing Atem's shoulders. The dazed look on the prince's face was enough to satisfy him that he had made his point. "Come and find me when you are ready to put aside that pride of yours and admit that I'm right."
He left Atem alone after turning him into a puddle for the second time, which infuriated the prince. If he thinks I'm going to take him up on that he is truly fooling himself. Atem stormed off to his room, flopping himself onto his bed trying to get that conceited guardian out of his mind. "I am the only one who can make you feel alive, the only one who knows how to set your body on fire." Atem tried to tell himself that it wasn't true over and over, but he couldn't ignore that the places Seto had touched him were still burning, that he still hadn't fully caught his breath. It wasn't fair; he had only just come to realize his feelings for Mahad and already things were getting to be too complicated. He remembered sleeping quietly next to the magician, feeling his warmth, and he smiled. He loved spending time with Mahad; it was when Atem was truly at his happiest, but was what he felt really love? Or was he merely feeling comfortable and at ease being with a long time friend? He just couldn't tell at this point. Seto was ruining everything, clouding his mind when he couldn't afford it. Atem forced himself to clear his head and try to get a little more rest. Ignoring everything is all he wanted to do right now as he let himself drift off for a couple more hours.
"My prince, it is time to wake up," Atem's servant said as he quietly entered the room. The prince sighed as he sat up, rubbing the sides of his head. He was stressing himself out so badly he was getting a terrible headache. "Fetch me a remedy for the pain in my head please," he asked the servant, who immediately took off to fulfill the request. Atem stared at the ceiling while he waited, working on an excuse as to why he didn't return last night. The servants were notoriously bad when it came to gossip; once the servants found out something, it was circulated throughout the entire palace by the end of the day. Everyone discovering he was sneaking around at night with another man, that was all he needed right now.
The servant returned promptly, administering a mixture of healing herbs to the prince. "Not to speak out of place, my prince, but you did not return to your room last night." There it was, as expected. The servant gave him a curious look as he began to help Atem dress, taking his clothes off that he had worn the day before.
"I just had a lot on my mind last night and went on a long walk after dark. I wanted to be alone," Atem said very straightforwardly. He eyed the servant, giving him an authoritative look suggesting that the subject should be dropped. The prince could command those around him easily; he was simply a born ruler. So why was it that he let Seto have such a strong hold over him? Something was different about him, something that made Atem unable to stay away from him, no matter how frustrating he was.
As soon as he was dressed he went to go find Mahad. He wanted to spend more time with him and figure out where this thing between them was going. He made his way down to where the magician trained; Mahad was such a workaholic he was surely already down there. He quietly stepped into the room, not wanting to disturb Mahad's work. He stood near the doorway, watching with a smile on his face as the magician tried hopelessly to correct Mana, a smoking hole in the wall beside her.
"Atem! What are you doing here?" Mana shouted as she spotted the prince, running over to give him a hug. Mahad walked up behind her, smiling embarrassingly. Atem bit his bottom lip and gave Mahad a knowing look. Mana looked back and forth between them quizzically, her eyes going wide when she came to her own conclusion. "Did something happen..." Mana asked loudly before Mahad cut her off and led her out the door.
"That's enough for today Mana. Atem and I need a moment alone." He eyed her and she got the message. "I got it," she winked, "I'll catch you guys later!" Mahad shook his head as he watched her skip off. "I swear, that girl is going to be the death of me," he said to Atem as he turned around. "Here, come with me. We'll go for a walk." He held out his hand for the prince to take. He couldn't help but smile widely as Atem put his hand in his, the two of them walking together as if they were a real couple. "So what brings you here, my prince?"
Atem chuckled. He thought it was adorable that Mahad was still referring to him as "my prince" after everything that had happened. "I came to see you of course. I left this morning to go to my own room so we wouldn't be found in too compromising a situation. I would have lain there with you all day if I could have." He leaned in and nuzzled against Mahad's shoulder. This really did feel wonderful. How could he have doubted that this was right?
"I was wondering when you left. Waking up alone was rather… disappointing," Mahad said solemnly, pretending to be sad. He looked over at Atem, seeing his guilty expression. The magician started laughing, squeezing the prince's hand tighter.
"Mahad, you are making jokes! And laughing! What is this?" Atem asked astonished. He was overjoyed to see his friend so happy. He had never seen him act so carefree in his entire life, not even when they were children.
"You make me happy, my prince." He blushed as he stopped walking, leaning down to kiss Atem softly. Mahad let out a pleased moan as Atem wrapped his arms around his neck, pulling him in closer. He responded in turn, deepening the kiss so he could taste more of his prince. As he ran his tongue along Atem's lip, he pulled back, detecting an odd flavor. "My prince did you cut your lip? I thought I tasted blood."
Atem's heart stopped at the words. He couldn't believe how such a little thing like a drop of dried blood could destroy everything. He had to stay calm and take care of this. "Oh, I bit my mouth earlier and it drew blood. It's nothing to worry about Mahad." He smiled at him convincingly, kissing the magician one more time so they could break the eye contact that was making him nervous. Atem felt like the worst person to ever live. Mahad didn't deserve to be lied to. Atem suddenly heard footsteps and broke away quickly from the magician.
One of the pharaoh's servants came around the corner. "My prince, your father wishes to see you," he said as he bowed. Thank the gods. Atem needed to escape. "I have to go Mahad. I will speak with you later." He quickly walked away with the servant, not looking back. He let a professional air take over him, the only thing keeping him from bursting into tears. This was the last time he would ever make such a mistake again.
Oh my Atem, how little do you know... ;) I would like to tell everyone that I am planning on upping my rating because next chapter is going to contain some of that inevitable smut I was trying to hold off on Thank fleetingamethyst for talking me into it! Looking forward to some of those reviews I thrive off of! :D