Title: Pharaoh
Author: Sometimes, A Muse
Date: started 6/4/2008; finalized 6/5/2008
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh
Pairing: YamiYugi x Yugi, hints of YamiBakura x RyouBakura if you squint
Rating: PG-13
Warning: This is one of those AU's in which Yami doesn't get sent away and ends up with a body instead.
Word Count: 1278
Summary: One-shot. Crowning the Pharaoh.
Disclaimer: Don't own the characters, don't have any money to give you if you sue. Original plot elements are mine.
Author's Note: In my journal, I requested people to give me characters and prompts as an exercise to help combat take advantage of my insomnia; for each prompt I would supply a drabble dedicated to the requester. This request was for Atem/Yugi, with the prompt "ancient civilizations and sand/warmth."
Dedication: Dedicated to hiza_chan (on LJ), who requested the pairing and supplied the prompt. And, once again, I prove that I can't write short drabbles to save my life.
It was a complicated idea, in the way that simple ideas grow because there's that one more thing that would make it perfect. Of course, one more thing was never really one more thing, but a bunch of little one more things, and Yugi knew he owed a great debt to the friends who helped him out. Ryou had been the first to come on board, and it was his quiet understanding as they'd stayed late at the library researching that assured Yugi that the whole thing was a good idea after all.
Malik's laughter at hearing the reason behind the long-distance phone call had been a little off-putting, but he'd nevertheless gone to fetch his sister as being more knowledgeable on the subject. Ishizu was, in fact, wonderfully knowledgeable, and even promised to smack her brother upside the head for his teasing. Yugi had no doubts that she'd done it too.
Anzu was Yugi's next, and possibly most valuable, co-conspirator. It was under her advice that the whole thing really began to come together, and Yugi didn't know that he'd have been able to succeed without her quiet encouragement.
Jonouchi and Honda had been wonderful about obtaining and helping to hide the items he'd needed, without Atem finding out. Mai had become Yugi's personal stylist. Even Bakura had been convinced to help (Ryou was, after all, incredibly persuasive when he wanted to be). Then again, when the directive was to kidnap Atem for the day, and return him blindfolded, it didn't take too much persuasion.
Now, Yugi stood in the center of the apartment, looking around with a critical eye. The rest of his friends had left just over half an hour ago, and Bakura was due back with Atem in just under five minutes. Satisfied that everything was, in fact, perfect, he skipped into the kitchen one last time to check the food before keying on the stereo and rushing to get changed.
"This is not funny," Atem's voice dripped with irritation as he was maneuvered - rather more forcibly than he felt was necessary - by Bakura. The white-haired man merely laughed as he steered Atem up the stairs to his apartment.
"On the contrary, my dear Pharaoh, I'm finding the situation highly amusing."
"You would," Atem spat out.
"I can't help that your boyfriend asked me to keep you occupied, then blindfold you when I brought you back." Bakura grinned, though he knew the other wouldn't be able to see it. "I offered to tie you up too, but he said it wasn't necessary. More's the pity."
Atem chose not to reply, and Bakura grinned wider at the knowledge that the former Pharaoh was attempting to glare the blindfold into the Shadow Realm. Still, Atem was playing along: he hadn't really struggled against Bakura, and he hadn't attempted to remove the blindfold. Yugi's brief, two-line note - the last thing Atem had seen before his eyes were shrouded in black silk - had been taken to heart.
"We're here," Bakura said, tugging on Atem's arm. He knocked on the door, then moved around behind Atem, hands on his shoulders. Atem allowed himself to be maneuvered, guessing that Bakura was somehow presenting him in front of Yugi. The thought was slightly amusing, despite the blindfold, but Atem was careful to keep his expression neutral - it wouldn't do to give the former Thief King more reason to tease.
The door opened, and Atem heard Yugi's voice thanking Bakura, and Bakura's voice asking if Yugi was certain he didn't need Atem tied up. Two chuckles - Yugi's light and Bakura's deeper - and Bakura excused himself. Yugi took Atem's hand, leading him into the apartment and closing the door.
"Aibou...?" Though Atem only uttered the pet name, the questions were there as well, floating on the air between them.
"You'll see, you'll see." Yugi reached for Atem's other hand and tugged gently, encouraging him to move forward slowly. "I need you to come in and sit down first, or it'll ruin the surprise."
Atem allowed himself to be maneuvered slowly through the apartment. Yugi had soft music playing, the melody familiar yet not, and Atem could smell the slight smoke from burning candles. Finally they stopped moving, and Yugi's hands on his shoulders encouraged him to turn and sit down. Yugi caught his hands, however, when they started to raise to remove the blindfold.
"Just a moment. Wait until I tell you." Yugi pressed a quick kiss to Atem's lips and squeezed his hands briefly before moving away.
This time Atem did allow the smile to curve his lips. An evening with Yugi was always fun, but one with a playful, scheming Yugi held even more potential. He heard the rustle of cloth moving before Yugi's voice instructed him to finally remove the blindfold.
The sight that met Atem's eyes took his breath away. Candles burned around the perimeter of the room, casting everything in their glow. The few pieces of Egyptian-inspired art that Yugi had were highlighted in particular. The windows were covered, cloth painted to look like carved stone slabs pinned over the plain curtains. The furniture had been moved to the room's perimeter, pushed out of the way of the cloth runner that started from Atem's chair and extended down the center of the room. Yugi knelt, forehead on the floor, at Atems's feet, clothed in what appeared to be a simple cloth wrap around his waist.
"Aibou?" Atem questioned, voice barely above a whisper.
"Yes, my Pharaoh?" Yugi raised his forehead from the floor, darting his eyes up to meet Atem's gaze before respectfully lowering them again. His large amethyst eyes were ringed ever-so-slightly in kohl black, and he was dressed in a fashion reminiscent of ancient Egypt - specifically of the slaves who used to attend the great Pharaoh.
"What...why have you done all this?" Atem leaned forward, sliding off the chair - which he saw had been decorated as a kind of throne - and knelt in front of Yugi.
Yugi met his eyes again and winked briefly before looking down and assuming his act once more. "I hope my attempts to recreate the splendor of the court pleases my Pharaoh."
"It's truly breathtaking, but I don't want to see you as my servant. Were I to return to the court, you would stand at my side, not below me. I do not rule you." Atem reached out his hand to caress Yugi's cheek, raising his lover's head to gaze into his eyes. Yugi smiled gently.
"You rule my heart," he replied simply, before leaning in to press his lips to Atem's once more. Pulling back before Atem could deepen their kiss, his eyes sparkled as he said, whisper-soft, "Happy Anniversary."
This time, when their lips met, Yugi's mouth opened willingly under Atem's. Afterwards, Atem willingly allowed Yugi to dress and adorn him - the robes and accessories were decent imitations of his ancient attire - and re-crown him Pharaoh for an evening. Dinner was a homemade affair: Yugi was an excellent cook, and had prepared modern interpretations of traditional dishes. They'd even played a simple duel, both drawing from the same deck and the game ending, not because one of them won, but because they got distracted enough kissing each other that they forgot about the game entirely.
Later, as they lay naked and comfortably entangled in bed together, Atem confessed to Yugi that, while he did not wish to become a Pharaoh again, he would be Yugi's Pharaoh whenever Yugi wished. Yugi merely kissed his reply onto Atem's lips as they tumbled amongst the covers once more.