Chronicles of the Nile 11

Characters: Set and Jono

Pairings: Set/Jono

Warnings: shounen-ai

Rating: K

Summary: Set is unable to rise out of bed after Kisara's death. Fortunately Jono is too stubborn to let him lie down and give up.

For Those Dear To Us

"Set?" High priest Set opened his eyes at the soft call of his name, growling at the interruption of his rest. He turned his head to the side. The room was lit brightly so it was still daytime and Set could see his visitor clearly. Golden hair seemed to glow in the sunlight and bright brown eyes eyed him curiously.

"Jono..." Set mumbled, recognizing the person easily. "What are you doing here?"

Jono looked pensievely at the high priest before saying: "I brought you something to eat." The blond lifted up a bowl at his words.

Set closed his eyes briefly as a frown settled on his face. Irritably he began: "I don't want to-"

"The pharaoh's really worried you know", Jono interrupted him firmly. "Not to mention all the servants are getting tired of forcing you to even drink."

Not impressed by the other's words Set turned his face away from Jono. For some reason he felt disappointed that the blond was there because of someone else and not him.

"I'm not interested", he growled. The brunet was starting to get angry at his weak voice. It still sounded threatening enough to chase away most of the priests and priestesses and all of the servants but it held no affect on the stubborn soldier standing next to his bed.

Set had to give the boy credit for being so brave. He could understand why Atemu was planning on naming Jono the captain of the guards. But he was not going to forgive the youth for disturbing him all the time.

There was a soft clatter heard as Jono probably put the bowl of food down. Then a weight was placed on the bed next to the high priest. Set looked back at the blond to see him sitting on the edge of his bed. Jono was biting his lip, a thing he had been doing often when visiting Set. Set had never seen that look on Jono's face anywhere else.

"Will you eat if I say that I want you to eat?" Jou said carefully, his tone slightly shy. Set lifted an eyebrow at both the tone and the strangeness of the question.

"Why would that change my mind?" he asked nonchalantly. Jono slowly moved closer and looked Set straight into the eyes.

"Because..." he started. Set lifted an eyebrow.

"Because...?"

Jono looked away, his eyes dowcast.

"Because I don't want you to die..."

Both of Set's eyebrows rose and his eyes widened. Jono had never said anything like that to him before. Of course he had his suspicions when Jono kept visiting him every single day since he had stopped coming out from his room. But he never expected the blond to actually admit to anything.

While Set was thinking about this he felt something wet fall on his hand. He looked down to see a single droplet of water on his hand. He looked up and saw more tears run down Jono's tan face.

"I don't want you to die..." the blond repeated and sobbed quietly. "Please, don't wither away like this." Jono looked him into the eyes and glared through his tears. "If you die, I'll cross over only moments after you."

Set forced himself to sit upwards and reached out a hand. He grabbed Jouno's arm as tightly as he could, which was not much. If Jono wanted to leave, Set could do nothing to stop him. Fortunately for him Jono did not seem to be in a hurry to go anywhere.

"Don't you ever say anything like that again", Set hissed at the blond infront of him. "Because if you do, I'll personally rip your tongue out." Jono blinked at him, clearly confused, before snapping: "Since when have you cared about anything I say?" Growing anger was clearly showed in the blond's tone. "Since when have you cared about anything I do?"

Set carefully pulled Jono closer and was pleased to notice that the blond did not resist. He gently wiped the tears away with his free hand. He was even more pleased when he saw a red color spread on Jono's cheeks as he dropped his hand back on the bed.

"Since you started caring about everything I say", Set whispered and lifted his hand again to brush blond strands away from Jono's face. "Since you started caring about everything I do." Set planted a soft kiss on Jono's forehead, causing the blond to blush an even brighter shade of red.

"Se-Set?" Jono stuttered, clearly at a loss. Set pulled away from the blond, letting go of the guard's arm.

"So, what did you bring me?" he asked, distracting the other man from his recent actions. Jono smiled at him brightly and quickly grabbed the bowl from the sidetable. Set took the bowl from Jono as the blond's eyes shone with happiness and expectation.

"I made it myself", Jono said exitedly. "Of course I don't have much experience but I made it for Atem once when he was ill. He told me it tasted good."

Set took a bite of the strange-looking mess in the bowl. It was impossible to tell what was in it, but he was positive that Jono would not try to poison him. It was also clear that Jono had gone through a lot of trouble to prepare it, since he had made it for the pharaoh before. Set was very aware of the close friendship those two shared.

"So, how is it?" Jono's voice interrupted Set's thoughts. Set swallowed the food in his mouth before answering: "It's edible." He never complimented anyone, Jono knew this. Hopefully he would also remember it.

"Really?" Jono's voice was almost a squeal as he spoke the single word and Set smirked. Apparently Jono had made the right connection from 'edible' to 'absolutely delicious'.

Set quickly ate the rest of the food, already feeling himself grow stronger. He placed the bowl back on table and noticed another bowl on the table. Apparently Jono had also brought him some water. Set took the bowl and drank its contents.

'That boy is an angel...' he thought as he put the other bowl on its former place.

Now that he was feeling stronger, Set directed his full attention back to Jono. Only now he noticed the dark shadows underneath the blond's eyes. Had Jono been sleeping at all? Now that Set thought about it, Jono had been by his side every day, every time he was not in guarding duty.

Set was very aware that Jono felt something towards him. He just had not realized how deep it went. The only reason the blond would seek to be near him was that he desired him, but to go without sleep just so he could come and see him?

Set reached out and took a gentle hold of Jono's chin. The blond only blinked at him, confusion clear in his brown eyes.

"When was the last time you slept?" Set asked, his voice tender. Jono's eyes drifted away from his face and Set immediately knew that the answer was not going to be one he liked.

"Last night..." Jono muttered quietly, clearly hiding something. Set glared at the blond, but it was useless since the shorter man was not looking at him.

"Then..." Set started again. "When was the last time you slept well?" A small tinge of red spread on Jono's cheeks. The blond mumbled something to himself. "What was that?" Set's grip on Jono's chin tightened only the slightest.

"I can't remember..."

Set continued glaring at Jono, and the blond still refused to meet his gaze like he was usually always ready to do. Set was certain now. Jono did not only desire him. What the blond felt was much deeper than that. Even now Set felt Jono's fingers getly brush against his knee through the bed cover that reached up to his hips. It was very likely that Jono did not even realize he was touching the high priest.

Set's hands moved to rest on Jono's shoulders, causing the blond to finally look at the brunet.

"Do you love me that much, Jono?" Set asked gently, causing Jono to blush.

"I..." the blond started. "I love you more than that...Set..." An uncharacteristic blush lit up his cheeks.

Set moved his hands to Jono's back, wrapping his arms around the smaller body. He pulled Jono against him, resting his chin against the strong shoulder of the warrior.

"I don't deserve it..." he whispered softly, breathing in the smell of the desert that always seemed to surround the blond in his arms.

"Yes you do..." Jono whispered back. "You're so strong...and you're willing to sacrifice so much for the right cause..."

Set pulled slightly back to look into Jono's eyes. The brown orbs held nothing but sincerity and admiration. The blond loved Set so much it could have been said that he worshipped the high priest. And Set found himself enjoying the warmth those eyes directed only at him.

Set turned his head to the side to see the room beginning to dye itself in shades of red. He looked out the window to see the sun beginning to set. He strengthened his hold on Jono and lied down on the beg, bringing the blond down with him.

"Stay for the night?" Set asked Jono, rolling to his side so the blond was also lying on the bed. Jono's cheeks were once again bright red as his hands came to rest against Set's chest.

"H-High priest!" the blond gasped. "I-I don't think you should...not just because of what I said! I-"

Set placed his finger on the soft lips of the smaller man.

"Don't get me wrong, Jono, you are beautiful, truly are. But that's not what I had in mind at all." Set's words caused Jono to blush even darker. "I just want you to stay here to keep me company. Could you do that?"

"If you want me to", Jono said carefully, his eyes completely unguarded and showing Set his insecurity.

"I wouldn't ask if I didn't", Set said in a reassuring manner, bringing Jono to nod at that and mutter a soft: "Ok then."

Set pulled the cover from beneath Jono and threw it over the blond's body. Then he put his arm around the slimmer body again to hold the other close. Jono's content sigh caused a rare smile to come to Set's lips as he planted another kiss on the blond's forehead.

Set now understood that death is not the end of the world, it is only the end of one person's journey. What was important was that those still alive kept on going. Not only for the dead one's sake but for their own sake aswell. And for those sake who loved them.

Set buried his face in Jono's hair, feeling more alive than he had in a long time. Kisara might have been gone but Set was still there and Jono needed and loved him. Set tightened his hold around the blond. It was very possible that Set could learn to love Jono even more than he had loved Kisara. His feelings towards the young man were strange, different from the ones he had had for the girl, but they might just be equally strong.

Owari