"Want you to rule my body
For a thousand years
I wanna build a pyramid
As a tеmple for where we make love
I will pray to you
Be a slave for you
Call upon the Gods
Make it rain for you
Cause baby
You my pharaoh."
Pharaoh by Simon Curtis
Seto was walking back to his office after an important meeting when his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and checked the caller. Ryou. He answered the phone with a warm greeting and the start of the smile.
"I need a favor."
"Bakura."
Seto didn't break his stride, but his smile disappeared.
"Yes, hello, it's me again. Don't worry though, this is the last big favor I'll ask for."
Tight-lipped and cautious, Kaiba asked, "What do you need?"
"I need to go to Egypt, and you're coming with me."
"I'll buy you a ticket, but I can't go with you. It takes time to reorganize my schedule." Seto closed the door behind him once he reached his office, not wanting to be overheard. "I'll follow you within twelve hours."
"I'm sorry, Kaiba, but that's not good enough." His tone was unexpectedly placid. "Don't make me bring your little brother into this."
"You wouldn't dare."
"Do you really want to test me?" Bakura laughed, the hollow sound taunting Kaiba through the phone. "I know that you can drop everything at a moment's notice if you really need to. This is one of those times."
"I have plans–"
"You're not the only one," Bakura snapped back, his voice all venom. "And my plans have been thousands of years in the making. So if you don't want me to harm a single hair on your precious brother's head, you'll get one of your silly planes ready for a flight to Egypt. Just the two of us. Nobody else." Bakura hung up before Kaiba could protest.
So, he'd been right. The spirit had been planning something big. He'd chosen Kaiba to bear witness, and the brunette would be there for every moment of it.
Several hours later, Kaiba was flying one of his jets to Egypt. No copilot, no flight attendant, nobody else.
"I was hoping to spend more personal time with you during the flight," Bakura complained. He'd spent a few hours of the flight mostly quiet, but he was getting increasingly restless.
"You're the one who asked for no staff on the flight."
"Hmph."
Bakura moved over to one of the windows, staring out pensively at the world below. Kaiba had no idea what they would be doing in Egypt. Thus far, Bakura had refused to share any details. It was a gamble whether he would tell Kaiba anything at all besides where they were going once they landed.
"When was the last time you were in Egypt?" Kaiba didn't know why he asked, aside from boredom.
"Let's see… The Ring had returned there by the time Yadonushi's father bought it for him, but I haven't possessed anyone there in a good long time." The Spirit's face pinched in thought. "I think the last time I was there in person, they were still fighting the crusades."
"I… didn't know the crusades were fought in Egypt."
"Maybe it was a different war then," the Spirit answered with a dramatic sigh. "Humans never run out of reasons to kill each other. It was definitely before lightbulbs and the internet and whatnot."
"Those two inventions happened almost two hundred years apart from each other."
"It was still before then," Bakura growled. "My point stands."
"It's going to look very different."
"I know, but it will still be Egypt."
They were quiet for awhile.
"What do you hope to accomplish at the end of this, Bakura?"
"I'm either going to rule the world or destroy it. I haven't decided which. I'm not sure I even care, so long as the Pharaoh is destroyed."
Kaiba didn't ask any further questions, and Bakura didn't offer any other information.
It was finally over. Atem was gone. The Spirit of the Ring was gone. The Millennium Items were now buried deep in the sands, hopefully never to be found again. Seto'd had an arm around Ryou's shoulders ever since he woke up, free of the Spirit's presence. It was the first time they'd shown to Yugi and his friends the nature of their relationship, but in those moments, they'd hardly noticed Seto's special attention to their friend. Too much else had been going on.
Yugi was crying, his friends rallied around him in comfort. It was over. They were focused on easing his grief.
Kaiba decided that it was time to leave, and without a word to anyone, he led Ryou out of the tomb and back into the light of day. Ryou was trembling at his side, so the first thing Kaiba did was get them checked into a hotel. Once in their room, Ryou threw himself down on the bed.
"How are you feeling?" Kaiba finally asked.
"Tired and hungry."
"I'll order us some food."
The brunette called room service and ordered whatever he thought would be agreeable to his boyfriend's tastes. After he hung up, he sat beside Ryou's prone figure on the bed.
"I can't believe he's gone."
Kaiba put a hand on his back, rubbing it in slow circles.
"I'm never again going to blackout and wake up with blood on my hands."
Had that happened with Bakura? Ryou had never mentioned it.
"I'm not going to miss out on my own life anymore."
Certainly a benefit.
"I'm not going to attack people I care about without my permission."
That applied to both Kaiba and the geek patrol.
"I finally belong to myself again."
"That's not entirely true."
Ryou lifted his head to look at Seto, only for his confusion to be replaced by amusement when he saw that familiar smirk.
"You belong to me too."
"There's nobody else that I want to belong to." Ryou smiled, the expression sweet and sincere. He rolled over onto his back and held out his arms, summoning the brunette closer.
Kaiba obliged, but only after removing his boots and his coat did he crawl over the bed into Ryou's embrace.
"If I'm yours now," Ryou whispered. "Then you have to belong to me."
"I already belonged to you."
"Not fully. Not while the Spirit was around." Ryou's eyes were serious. "Nothing was fully mine while he was around."
"Perhaps, but he's gone now." Seto kissed him. "You're free."
"Free." Ryou still wasn't sure he fully believed it. He lifted a hand to trace his fingertips over Seto's face. His life was his own again.
"Free." Seto wasn't ready to talk about the other implications of what had happened that day. He didn't know when he would be ready to talk about it, but when he was, it would be with Ryou, no one else.
Room service would be arriving soon with their food, then they would have to figure out when to return to Japan and if they wanted to do anything else in Egypt before they left. When they returned, Kaiba would find an extravagant way of apologizing to Mokuba for his sudden disappearance. The younger Kaiba would finally get to spend time with his brother's partner now that the danger of the Spirit was gone.
A lot of things could happen now that the Spirit was gone, Kaiba realized, not least of which was making his relationship with Ryou a bit more permanent.