Seto and Mokuba raised their hands to shield their eyes from the light that filled the room.
"What was that?" the younger Kaiba asked, turning back toward the gathered group. Seto followed his gaze as the light coalesced into a vaguely human shape and then into the distinct image of Yugi. Only it was not Yugi, rather it was his rival, the Pharaoh as he had called himself.
"How can he be real?" Seto asked, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"Can we go see?" Mokuba began walking the best he could, dragging his brother behind him as he tried to use the older Kaiba for support while simultaneously direct him toward where the light had emmanated.
Seto was surprisingly easy to direct. His gaze never wavered from the form of the second Yugi-the Pharaoh as he was pulled along. His mind was whirling as he tried to make sense of what was happening. He watched the two Yugis step into each other's arms and embrace for a long moment. Or rather, it was long enough to make him feel uncomfortable, but then, he was fairly uncomfortable with any such display of affection.
Umi was different, Seto thought as a small smile crept over his lips.
The pair parted, their eyes glistening with tears. They took positions on opposite sides of the room, but at they moved, the Pharaoh met Seto's level stare. The other Yugi, the one that belonged in this time watched the exchange with interest. The Pharaoh nodded slightly before turning his attention to his partner. Mokuba moved forward to watch the events as Seto hung back in the distance. They both watched the match begin, intrigued in its purpose and its outcome. Monsters were summoned, fought and fell, spells were cast and traps were triggered. The room was tense with anticipation for each move, and Seto felt himself creep closer and closer to the action. After one intense combat, he finally tore his attention from the battle before him. He looked around for Umi, curious about how she felt seeing her brother's two distinct personalities on display, but he could not find her.
Seto turned to the duel once more, now uneasy by her absence. He leaned over to Mokuba.
"Have you seen Umi?" he asked his little brother.
"Huh? Um, no, I don't remember." Mokuba could barely glance Seto's way as he answered.
Once more, Seto felt himself drawn in by the action as the Pharaoh seemed to dominate his opponent as Gods flared to life before them.
"I'm going to go look for her." he said to no one, as everyone's attention was on the game before them. "Besides, now that the Gods are in play, there's no way he can win." He gestured toward his time counterpart, whose field seemed thin in comparison to the titanic beasts summoned by his past version.
Seto pulled away from the duel and found his way through the stone tunnel until he blinked in the sunlight reflecting off of the sand and stone. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he noticed a dark spot against a stone, as Umi sat on part of a ruined wall.
"What are you doing out here?" he asked after he stood looking at her for a long moment. She had tucked her knees against her chest and her hair hung loosely, obscuring her face until she lifted her head. Seto's eyes widened as she looked at him. Her face was streaked with sand and salt that ran in the tracks left by tears. He opened his mouth but did not know what to say. Seeing her so upset shook him.
"Umi?" He knelt down next to her. He tried to take her hands in his, but she clamped them more tightly around her knees. "What's wrong?" He brushed her hair back, before wiping her face clean.
"I, I don't know. I just saw him and I had to leave. It was just, I don't know. All of a sudden, everything hit me. Everything that I've had to put up with, deal with, cope with this past year. It all just..." She brought her hands to her chest quickly, like they were something that struck her in the chest at high speed. "I just, I've lost so much."
Seto sat next to her and slipped an arm around her shoulders. She leaned heavily against him as he interlaced his fingers with hers, drawing her into him. She took a deep breath, exhaling in a sigh as the tumult of her emotions stilled in his presence. They sat in silent communion for a long moment.
"You aren't alone, Umi." he said in a whisper. "We've all lost things, people, had to do things that we didn't really want to do, things that sort of kill a little bit of us everytime." He stroked her hair. "It's alright to let go sometimes."
She nodded against his chest, feeling security, and peace for the first time since she arrived in Egypt.
"Is that what you did to Bakura? 'Let go?'"
Seto shifted on the stone they had made their seat.
"He had it coming."
Umi shifted in his embrace so that she could look up at him. His blue eyes seemed to avoid her as they darted from her to the ground next to him several times. She stared at him patiently, expectantly, waiting for him to explain.
"I mean, he kidnapped Mokuba."
"Mokuba can take care of himself, or so you've told me."
Seto rolled his eyes.
"I did say that."
"So, what happened?"
"I punched him in the face."
"Why, Seto."
"Because he's a little shit."
"Seto."
He took a deep breath and let it out quickly.
"Fine. He was talking badly about you. With explicit details, and I just, I lost it."
"Oh." Umi sat back and looked up at the sky. She could feel Seto shifting on the rock next to her as if he were trying to figure out what to do with his hands now that they were no longer holding her.
"Umi." he glanced at her.
"Yeah?"
"Nothing." he shifted nervously once more. She looked at him.
"What?" She asked, turning toward him fully, leaning toward him.
"It's, It's nothing." he shook his head, trying to convince her, but she could tell that something was bothering him.
"No, it's not. What's wrong?" She placed her hand on his knee.
"It's just something that Bakura said. It's nothing."
"But it got under your skin."
He looked ahead in silence. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. Bakura's insinuations had bothered him, but he did not want to admit it. Not to her, not after everything she had been through. He wanted her, yes, but he knew he had to be patient. He did not want to pressure her into anything she might not want, and yet, he knew that she also wanted him; their time together in their share hallucination had proven that to him. But after Bakura's mocking, he could feel his patience wanning.
"Umi, I don't want to," He sighed as he looked for the words. "I don't ever want to hurt you, you know that, right?"
"Yes. Actually, you're the only person I really feel safe with. It's stupid, but I don't even feel safe with my own brother sometimes."
He rubbed his eyes.
"I never want to make you feel like I've pushed you into anything."
"What did Bakura say to you?" She asked, trying to get to the root of the problem.
"He was mocking me, for not having the same knowledge of you that he does."
"He raped me, Seto."
"I know, but sometimes I still wonder if..."
She placed her hand on his cheek and pulled him toward her. She rested his forehead against hers for a moment before kissing him lightly.
"You are the only one I want." She whispered against his lips. "And one day, I'll be ready. Maybe that will be today, or tomorrow, or maybe it will be longer, I don't know. But I will let you, and only you, know when I am. Alright?"
He nodded against her forehead and she could feel him relax beneath her touch.
"It doesn't even matter, really, anyway." he said. "Whether you want to or not, I still want to be with you. I can't imagine being with anyone but you."
He knelt on the ground so he could look in her eyes directly. He rested his arm heavily on his propped up knee as the other supported his weight against the dusty ground.
"I know we have a few things to work out, but Umi, I want to be with you. I would, I would be thrilled if," he took a deep breath and released it quickly. "If you would be my wife." The words escaped him like rapid fire, and he looked at her, surprised that he actually managed to get the words out.
She smiled at him and brushed her fingers along his cheek and jaw. She watched as his wide blue eyes slowly closed at the touch. She could feel his pulse racing and the tautness of his muscles as her fingers trailed along his neck. She gripped the back of his neck and pulled him toward her, planting a solid, passionate kiss on his mouth. He took a moment after the kiss to open his eyes. He chewed on his bottom lip uncertainly as he met her emerald gaze.
"So, is that a yes?" He asked, feeling his voice crack under the stress. He cleared his throat as she laughed and slid both of her arms behind his neck and shoulders.
"I think it might be." She smiled, nodding. He pressed his lips against hers quickly and deftly pulled her into his lap as he sat on the rock once more.
She sat curled in his lap, kissing him for what felt like an eternity trapped in an instant before she pulled away. When she looked up at him, she was shocked to feel tears streaming down her cheeks.
"What is it?" He asked, brushing away one of the droplets.
"He, He's gone." She said, craning her neck around to see the tomb entrance.
"Who?"
"Atem. I can feel Yugi's sadness."
"Oh." Seto felt a twinge of sadness himself at the news, despite how hard it was for him to rationalize the existence of the other Yugi. Still, the thought of his true rival leaving struck him deeply and in a way he had not expected. He felt a hollowness that he had not anticipated, a void that Umi's presence only partially filled.
"You didn't get to say goodbye." Umi noted as she saw the pained expression cross his face. Seto looked at her in shock once more.
"Neither did you." She laid her head against his chest and wrapped her arms tightly around his ribs. She could not help the tears that were still falling as he folded her once more in his embrace. Umi was not sure, but she thought she felt a stray tear or two fall onto the top of her sat together, wrapped in each other's arms until it seemed that time had grown still. Wind howled in the distance, but there, sitting on the stone that had once been a temple, Seto and Umi found a sliver of silent peace.
"Come back with me." he whispered into her hair. "We can take the jet, maybe stop someplace for the night. We'll get back before they do, I bet." His fingers lightly stroked the exposed skin of her arm. "We can forget about all of this for a while."
"What about Mokuba?"
He tightened his arms around her.
"I'll get him a flight home. It'll be fine."
Umi smiled against his chest as she placed a hand on his heart. She could feel the muscle's rapid contractions. She tilted her head to look up at him. He waited hopefully for her answer.
"Mokuba needs you." She said with disappointment in her voice that echoed the look on his face. "You know I'm right."
He traced a finger along her jaw and tilted her chin further upward before he placed a soft kiss on her lips. As he pulled away, his tongue darted over his lips, tasting the remnants of her on them.
"Yeah." he admitted. "I just wish, I don't know, I just don't want to let you go. You get into almost as much trouble as he does."
"I do not." she said with mock ire which made him grin.
"Maybe not." He slipped his hand over her hip and underneath the hem of her shirt. His fingers were cool on her hot skin. "I wish we could get into some trouble together."
Her breath caught at the purr in his voice. Her heart raced and she felt the tingling of arousal spreading through her body. She chewed on her bottom lip as his hooded blue eyes bored through her. His other hand slid beneath her shirt as she straddled his lap. He looked up at her, his hands reaching up her spine as she arched her back.
"This is a new view." She smiled down at him, staring at his upturned face. The deep chuckle made his chest vibrate against her thighs and hips.
"You can look down on me like this anytime you want, Umi."
She felt a rush of excitement at the invitation and the power that it ceded her. She traced her fingers over his brow, around his temple, across his cheek and down his neck, watching his eyes drift shut and his mouth part in anticipation. He flicked his tongue over his lips. His breathing was unsteady as he tried and failed to breath deeply. She kissed the tip of his nose and watched the small smile flutter on his lips before his tongue poked out between them once more. He chewed on the bottom one for a moment as she watched him, her face hovering above his. She brushed her tongue across his lips gently, feeling him stiffen in surprise. His eyes were wide as she pulled away and his breath came rapidly. She settled neatly on his lap, her legs folded beneath her as she straddled him. His wide eyes locked on hers, following her as she settled. He let out a deep, shaky breath.
She rose to her knees once more, her head tilted toward him, her hand beneath his chin. The look on his face begged her for satisfaction, release, something to ease the pain of his desire. She pressed her lips roughly against his as his hands slid over her thighs and hips, pressing her toward him. She settled once more, still locked in the kiss, allowing herself to be folded into his arms. She was ready to give herself to him, then and there, among the ruins and sand, but voices in the distance drew his attention from her. He scowled as he looked back toward the entrance to the tomb, frustration coloring his angular features. She tried to bring him back to her, but the moment had fled at the approach of the others. They kissed once, twice, lightly as Yugi and his friends ascended into the light. Seto held her in a possessive embrace as he watched them cross the sand to the waiting truck. Mokuba trotted along after the group.
"He's not going to steal me, you know." Umi whispered. Seto loosened his grip.
"Your brother might not." He glared at the group, as she cleared her throat. "Sorry." He pulled her back against him, relishing in the feel of her. His hands slipped over her thighs and hips once more before disappearing up her shirt again. "It would be nice to have some privacy though."
"We're in the middle of the desert."
"A little more comfort then?" His hands disappeared below her waistband as they brushed the soft skin of her buttocks. She sucked in a hot breath at the touch as the dreamlike memories they shared from their time in the past raced through her mind.
She kissed him as he tilted his pelvis toward her, rubbing his erection against her throbbing sex.
"A little more comfort, indeed." She brushed her hand over the zipper that separated them, toying with it, tugging it downward. "I hear sand gets everywhere." She let him support her as she worked his belt open. She wanted him. She knew he wanted her too. She was inches away from freeing him from the cursed material that kept her from her conquest when her brother's voice cut through the air.
"Hey, are you two coming?" Yugi called. Snickers of laughter echoed over the ruins. "What?" his innocent sounding voice asked over the laughter. Umi could picture his face going red when the double entendre became clear to him.
Umi and Seto looked at each other for a moment before the hilarity of the question made Umi snort. She could feel laughter vibrating through Seto's chest as she pressed her forehead against it.
"Your brother is such a mood-killer." He chuckled as he pulled his hands out of her pants and attempted to make himself look presentable. Umi stood and pulled him up with her before zipping his fly back up. Her fingers brushed over the fabric and she could feel his member stirring to life. She looked up at him only to see him swallow hard and clench his jaw.
"Stop that." he growled as he interlaced her fingers with his.
"Hey, Big Bro! Are you two riding with us or not?" Mokuba asked as he rounded a fallen column in time to see Seto kiss Umi's fingers.
"You ride back with them. We'll meet you there." Seto's eyes never left Umi's as he spoke. "I've got to fly the jet back anyway." He led Umi towards the open sand where the dragon-like craft glistened in the distance.
"I thought we decided that you'd take Mokuba back?" she protested as she struggled to keep up with his long stride.
"Changed my mind. Besides, we're just going to Cairo to meet up with them. The jet's faster." He scooped her up in his arms and kissed her before continuing on. "Maybe we can find a little more privacy and comfort there before they get back?"
The flight back to the city was quick, and they arrived long before their siblings. They did indeed find some uninterrupted time to spend once they returned to the city, but just as they landed, Umi's phone sprang to life with several notifications. One email caught her attention. She was staring at her phone as Seto walked up to her after storing the jet.
"I need to go to the Department of Antiquities." She looked up at him. "One of my mother's colleagues there wants to meet with me."
"About what?"
"Something I set up last summer. Apparently it's been useful for his research."
Seto closed his eyes, took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Sorry?" she offered, not sure if he was angry at her.
"What? Why?" He took her hand and started walking from the air field, keeping pace with her this time.
"I don't know, you seemed mad, I guess."
"I'm not mad. I'm a little frustrated that we keep getting interrupted, but I'm not mad. Meeting this guy is important to you, right?"
Umi nodded.
"Then we'll go meet him."
"But..."
"Everything else can wait, Umi. I'm far more patient than most people give me credit for. And for you? I'd wait until the end of the universe."
She looked up at his profile as they walked. His eyes darted around his surroundings as he slipped his arm over her shoulders and pulled her closer to him.
They arrived at the large building and were ushered to the warehouse lab where Umi had spent much of the last couple of summers. Seto noted how she seemed to visibly relax once in the space. One of the techs that worked with her smiled and waved at her as Dr. Mamoud rounded the table to greet them.
"Umi Muto! You look more and more like your mother every time I see you!" The white-haired old man had a deeply lined face from years of broad smiles that he now cast upon the young couple. He bowed in greeting before embracing Umi. "And who is this fine young man with you?" He asked, his attention turning to Seto.
"Dr. Mamoud, this is Seto Kaiba, my boy..." she started.
"Fiancee." Seto corrected her. Umi felt her heart tumble as the word fell so easily from his lips. He cast a side glance at her, the corner of his lips turned upward in a smile. "Or had you already forgotten?"
Umi stumbled for words as she blushed. She could not stop the grin that slowly erupted on her face as he kissed the fingers of their intertwined hands.
"Oh congratulations! Such a lovely couple; Umi, your mother would be so pleased to see you so happy."
The meeting with Dr. Mamoud went well, but Umi had lost track of time as they talked. Seto looked over the scanner that Umi had built while the pair chatted. He had little interest in the work that was being done, but the device itself was interesting enough. He picked up the scanner and looked at it from all angles. It was cobbled together from off the shelf parts, but despite its simple construction, it was far more than he had expected from a high school project. Well, more than a normal high schooler. Had it been his project, he thought it would have been far superior. But then he realized the resources available to him were far greater than the average high school student. He was lost in thought when Umi approached him.
"Like what you see?" she asked over his shoulder, making him jump. "Sorry?"
"It's... nice. Simple."
"The scanner is pretty basic, but it is my design. The real power comes in the software we developed to use it with." She took the device from him and turned it over in her hands. "I forgot how heavy it is."
"What does the software do?" he asked, his interest piqued. He enjoyed building and took great pleasure in the construction of the Duel Disk prototypes, but his passion had always lay with the software he developed to make use of the hardware he built.
"It's a fairly simple algorithm also, but it searches the scans and make predictions on what pieces might fit together."
"It has really helped us to narrow down possible matches. Of course, we always have human eyes and human intuition make the final judgement." Dr. Mamoud said.
"I would take the scans that were recommended as matches and work to reconstruct them in a 3D modeling software. At least until Ms. Ishtar pulled me to scan a special project. But that was before."
"I heard the tablet is still on travelling display."
"Tablet?" The mention of a tablet in conjunction with the Ishtar name sounded far to coincidental to Seto.
"It was a recent find, well for mainstream Egyptologists. Apparently the Ishtar's had know about it for generations." Dr. Mamoud offered. Seto raised his eyebrows. Umi's cell phone rang.
"Excuse me. Hello?" she answered without checking the caller. "We're with Dr. Mamoud at the, yes, at the building we met Ishizu yesterday, or today, I don't remember. Sure, fine, no, fine, Yugi. We'll be down there shortly." She hung up the phone and turned back to Seto and the old Egyptologist.
"I'm so sorry to be rude, but we have kept you from your work long enough." she said politely before taking Seto's hand.
"Oh not at all, Umi, my dear. Please make sure you give Fatima your current address so we can send you a copy of the paper when it is published."
"Of course, Doctor. Have a good night, and thank you for meeting me." She bowed deeply to him.
"Of course, of course. And it was nice to meet you too, Mr. Kaiba." The doctor echoed Umi's bow. Seto bowed stiffly, uncertainly before Umi led him from the office.
"If you ever want to make version 2.0 of that scanner, Umi, let me know." Seto offered once the door was closed behind them. Umi looked up at him in shock and surprise. "I can get you some much more efficient base materials, and I wouldn't mind looking at the code for the matching software you developed."
"My partner did most of the code work. I built it and made it output into files I could read with Solidworks. I did the best with what I had."
"And it's quite impressive."
She was smiling at the praise when they entered the lobby where their brothers were waiting.
"I wish we had more time alone together." she whispered as she felt his hand tighten around hers. It was his turn to look at her in surprise. He swallowed hard when she met his eyes.
"So do I." He licked his lips as they gazed at each other. "Oh, that reminds me. I have something I wanted to give to you." He reached around to the back of his neck and pulled out the long cord that held the card-shaped locket which he wore at all times. He lifted the black leather strip over his head and slid a small ring from its resting place above the locket. "I've been meaning to since, well, for a while, but then the thing with your grandfather, and Mokuba getting kidnapped, and, well, shit." The narrow silvery band glinted in the fluorescent light of the building as it fell through the air and onto the floor. Seto knelt to retrieve the ring with shaking hands. As he picked it up, he looked up at Umi.
"I, I know I asked you already, but I thought I should make it official." He held out the ring to her. "Will you marry me, Umi? It, It doesn't have to be today or even any time soon."
She kissed him to silence his uncharacteristic nervous chattering.
"I already said yes, Seto."
"Right." He slipped the ring over her finger before standing. He lifted her bejeweled hand to his lips and kissed her fingers lightly.
After a moment gazing at him, Umi looked at the small ring. What she had thought was a simple band was far more intricate than she had first seen.
"Are those," She looked more closely. "Are those hex nuts?"
"Set with diamonds, yes."
She looked up at him, an amused grin on her face.
"I thought you would like it." He still looked nervous.
"It's brilliant, Seto." She laughed. "Crazy, and brilliant, and I love it." She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him to her lips. Umi could feel Yugi's happiness for her echoing through her being despite the intense emptiness she could feel within him. As she opened her eyes, she smiled first at her fiancee, feeling a shudder of excitement travel through her being, before she gave her brother the biggest smile he had ever seen on her face.
"I guess we should join them?" Seto slipped his hand in hers once more and led her to her friends.
A/N: I feel that this is a hot mess. I would love some critique if there is anything that stands out as odd or off, especially. Also, I'm just about done wrapping this up. Expect at most one or two additional chapters. Again, any thoughts on the story would be most welcome. Where are things moving too slowly? Where are they moving too quickly or glossed over too much? etc. I have a couple of side stories regarding these characters but I'm not yet sure if I'll publish them.