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Chapter Text

The throne room is as grand as Yugi imagined it'd be - high ceilings, winding pillars, and walls bathed in light. 

It is expansive enough to accept offerings and hosts feasts and casts judgments.

From his discrete scan upon entry, most – if not all – of the court is present.

They sit on either side of him, creating a path for him.

He is led toward the daïs.

He risks nothing more than a glimpse at the king who sits upon his throne, adorned in royal purple and white linens so fine, so sheer, the threads almost shimmer in the light.

It is not his throne though, but the gold that colors his skin and drips from every limb that makes the king immediately recognizable.

Yugi is deposited on the floor by the very soldiers who ambushed him on the streets outside his tiny, mud-brick abode.

There he stays, kneeling on the hard surface. The stone is cold where he rests his forehead against it.

“The rumors are true then,” the king speaks. His voice is deep; as bottomless as the Nile. Yugi imagined it must’ve come from the god residing within. “A child of Khonsu lives amongst us.”

“Given his complexion,” Yugi hears a member from the court comment, “it is a wonder it took the soldiers as long as it did to track him down.”

“Indeed.”

There is an unnatural pause, and Yugi can feel eyes sweeping over his form, assessing him. He tries not to shift under the burdensome weight of the king’s gaze.

“Sit up.” When Yugi obliges, the king’s voice comes again. "Tell me your name.”

“Yugi, my lord,” he says quietly. His eyes focus on his hands in his lap. The shendyt he wears is threadbare at the edges, well-worn, and he feels rather exposed – small and insignificant in the presence of the Living Horus.

“Why would you not alert the Great House to your arrival?”

“I did not think it necessary.”

“You did not think it necessary to inform your king of your presence in his city?”

Yugi closed his eyes. He inhaled a silent, steady breath. “I only meant that I did not wish to make a nuisance of myself. I had no intention of seeking out special privileges or positions due to the circumstances of my birth. My only desire is to lead a quiet life here." He allows himself a moment to catch his next breath, but it’s heavy in his throat. “I must insist that you allow me to return – “

“You insist?”

The resounding silence of the court deafens Yugi.

His fingers clench tight in the thin fabric of his shendyt. Behind his lids, he can see a deep frown marring his father’s face, admonishing him yet again for allowing his heart to speak in his head’s stead.

But then he thinks of his mother – his dear, sweet mother who died so very long ago.

Thinks of how she used to call him her little tide; of how she used to hold him in her warm embrace and simply accept that he was swayed by his emotions in the same manner the oceans were swayed by the moon.

It was not his most endearing quality. 

“If you were anyone else,” the king intones, the baritone of his voice resonating in the space between them, “then your head would be decorating the palace walls.”

Yugi lowers his head further, his chin dipping to his chest. “Forgive me, Your Majesty.”

“You've done nothing to warrant my forgiveness,” the king says, dismissing him. “Fortunately, you will not need it to perform your duties. I expect – “

“But Your Majesty, I – "

Yugi bites down on his tongue hard.

It’s not the blood in his mouth, but the contempt radiating off the king at his interruption that overwhelms his senses. His eyes are affixed to his lap, but he can hear the shift the moment the king rises from his throne.

Footsteps draw toward him, steady with intent. 

Yugi resists the primal instinct to look up and analyze the impending danger - or to flee. 

He waits instead, still.

He flinches a moment later, when a hand curls around his jaw.

Nails dig into the bone as the king forces his chin up.

Before him, in all his glory, in his magnificent splendor, is the King of Upper and Lower Kemet, the son of Re, the living embodiment of the God Horus. His golden hair is but an extension of the crown that sits atop his head.

His irises are the color of fire.

They sear into his soul when their eyes meet.

“One more outburst, demigod,” the rage in the king’s voice is palpable, “and I will risk Khonsu’s wrath.”

Yugi opens his mouth to apologize again.

The sharpened lines of the king’s eyes narrow further when his lips part.

So, he says nothing.

A few tense seconds later, the slender fingers at his jaw release him. It stings where the king cut through superficial layers of skin. The pain serves as a marker, reminding Yugi of exactly where the king touched him.

His gaze immediately returns to his hands. A heat rises high in his throat, and it persists even when he swallows.

“Priestess,” the king summons once he returns to the throne. Yugi catches movement in his peripheral. “He will serve as your apprentice. Take him to the healing chambers. Perhaps he’ll learn a modicum of proper decorum while under your instruction.” A heavy pause. “For his own sake.”

Long, elegant robes fall within Yugi’s field of vision. “As you wish it, per ʿaa,” the priestess acknowledges. A river of black hair shifts over the length of her back when she bows.

Even with an averted gaze, Yugi registers the moment she beckons him.

Every muscle in his body is taut with tension as he rises from the floor. The heat in his throat extends to his eyes, and they burn with fear and fury.

“Come, Moon Child,” the priestess murmurs. “Make haste.”

There is the slightest trace of urgency in her voice, a near imperceptible hint of concern. He follows her steps as she leads him out of the room and into the halls, away from the burning gaze of the king.

Out of sight, Yugi inhales a shuddering breath, and the tears hot in his eyes finally find release, rolling down his cheeks.

The priestess regards him quietly - a compassion that is edged with awe. “It will be alright,” she assures him after a minute of silence.

Yugi isn’t sure it will be, but he has to hope.

He wipes at his face, brushing his fingers and palms over his cheeks. His tears shimmer a luminescent white on his hands.

It takes until they reach the healing chambers for the glowing remnants to fade from his skin.

Chapter Text

The healing chambers are magnificent.

Shimmering golden drapes hang from elegant arches. Sunlight floods the room, and the floor practically glitters.

Yugi stands at one of the tables propped against the far wall. It is littered with multiple mortars and pestles, most of which are half-full with medicinal herbs and healing salves. Stacks of linen bandages and dressings lay at the end of the table, next to a box where the Priestess stores needles and thread.

He has been Isis’ apprentice for near a decan now, but he is still fascinated everyday by all of her research and experimentations as she works to determine which mixtures are most conducive to healing.

The injuries he’s seen since his arrival have been minor. Isis handles them all with grace, and Yugi uses the opportunity to learn the foundational basics of medicine. Despite his entirely mixed feelings regarding this apprenticeship that the king has thrust upon him, Yugi is actually quite thrilled to learn the art of healing. He hopes if he learns enough, he'll no longer have a need for his unique gift.

He picks up a sealed jar of balm, eyes its thick, creamy texture, and turns to ask Isis about its components.

Isis’ gaze is already on him.

“You are reluctant to use your gift,” she observes out loud. In the short time he’s known her, Yugi has come to find the priestess incredibly perceptive. He lowers his gaze to stare at the golden necklace decorating her clavicle. It is emblazoned with The Eye of Horus, and it stares back at him.

The sacred jewelry reminds him of the pendant the king wears from a rope around his neck. He’d managed only a glimpse of it during their first and only tense meeting in the throne room many days prior.

“I prefer not to use it unless necessary,” Yugi says, confirming her suspicions.

His answer intrigues her. ”Does using it weaken you somehow?”

“No, not at all,” Yugi replies. When his answer does not sate her curiosity, he feels compelled to fill the silence. “It’s just… I’d hope to use it as little as possible when I’d first arrived in Khemet.”

That still isn’t a direct answer, but it’s enough for Isis, it seems. A thoughtful hum resonates in her slender throat. “You came here to live a quiet life, you told the king,” Isis says. “It is… uncommon for Khonsu’s children to remain in one place for long. You all are revered as great healers that wander the Earth, leaving miracles in your wake.”

“Hmm.” A self-deprecating smile curves at Yugi's lips. He lowers the jar in his hand back down to the table. “I am… different from my siblings,” he explains. "I am not as accepting of the sacrifices required to maintain such a gift.”

A short pause. "You are referring to your vow," Isis says.

“I am,” Yugi exhales through his nose. “I apologize, priestess, that you have been burdened by me. It is likely I will not live up to the same expectations that my siblings have.”

Before Isis can respond, a sudden commotion from the outer corridors cuts their conversation short.

Voices grow louder, sharper in alarm, increasing in volume until several bodies pour into the room. Isis is immediately at the entry, assessing the severity of the situation, but even from back here, Yugi can see the large gash across one of the men’s forearms. A sparring incident gone wrong, Yugi gathers from the three soldiers all trying to talk at once.

Isis guides the injured man to a chair. Throaty groans and a sea of profanity spill from his lips. He is thick in the torso and arms, skin a darkened brown that greatly contrasts his straw-colored hair.

Even before Isis calls him, Yugi knows that he is needed. When he approaches the injured soldier, he can see a sliver of bone buried deep within the splintered muscle and hanging skin. Red paints the once pristine floor at Yugi’s feet.

With controlled urgency, Yugi brings both of his hands to hover over the wound. The noise and side chatter quiets as a soft blur of white illuminates from his palms. The thrum of magic that runs in his veins gathers, coalescing into the two focal points.

Within moments, the arm bone disappears beneath shifting, regenerating muscle fibers. Strings of skin gravitate towards each other, gluing themselves back together. The cascade of blood runs dry but patches and specks remain on the man’s skin and on the tiles, as the only remaining evidence of the injury.

When the warm glow fades from his hands, Yugi realizes the incredulous quiet that has fallen over the room. He looks up to the soldier who is gazing disbelievingly at his arm. The man's lavender eyes run up and down his limb, trying to find the gnarly injury that is no longer there.

Yugi slides his gaze over to meet Isis’ widened blue eyes.

“Fascinating,” she whispers.

“Quite.”

The king’s voice ricochets off of every corner.

Everyone in the room straightens, except for Yugi, who shrinks back and tries to disappear into the larger bodies around him.

The king’s presence is grand, all-encompassing. He is the center of the universe and pulls others to him like gravity.

Yugi wants to look, wants to answer that call, but he also wants to live.

“And imagine, with all the good you could’ve accomplished here, you went into hiding instead. How incredibly selfish of you.”

The king's words cut him deep.

Yugi wants to defend himself against the accusation, to soothe the sting of his heart, but the king has not yet asked him a question or given him permission to speak.

With curt instruction, the king dismisses the three soldiers around them. As they pass, he says something to the one he healed that Yugi doesn’t quite catch, but he can hear the annoyance in the king's voice.

Yugi notices that Isis has also retreated, further into the room. Her absence beside him startles him into an awareness of the king’s proximity; of how completely alone he is with the unforgiving and ruthless ruler.

As the king steps into his line of vision, which is limited by the bow of his head, Yugi sees bronze calves adorned in golden cuffs and long, slender legs that disappear beneath a half-pleated kilt. The king's presence is foreboding, yet there is grace in his every step, his sandals near soundless against the tiled floor. His purple cape trails behind him as he circles around Yugi, who has the misfortune of having the undivided attention of the king.

“Are you aware that it is considered treason to lie to me?”

Fear is a heavy drip down Yugi’s spine. “I have not lied to you, my lord.”

He senses movement behind him, over his shoulder, and a moment later, the king’s breath caresses his jaw. The low cadence of the king's voice sinks into his skin.

“Have you not, Aahmes?”

Yugi’s breath seizes in his throat. The tiny, invisible hairs on his arms rise. “Yugi is my chosen name,” he says as steadily as he can manage. “I have not gone by Aahmes in many years.”

“You’d cast aside your given name so easily?”

“I did not make the decision lightly.” Yugi follows this with a quick, “Your Majesty,” to soften the edge in his voice.

It doesn't seem to work. Sucking all the oxygen out of the room, the king circles back around to stand in front of him.

Yugi gazes upon the ivory white of his linens. The pendant at his chest gleams.

“Meet my eyes,” the king orders.

Yugi reluctantly complies. When his gaze locks onto the king’s, Yugi remembers how truly striking he is; how unworthy he feels to bare witness to such radiance. The sun itself simmers behind those crimson eyes, piercing and unspeakably breathtaking.

“Why have you come to Khemet?” the king asks.

Yugi is not quite sure how to answer that. He can’t speak of his reasoning to the king. He can’t even share the tidbits of information he had with the priestess.

But he knows he must say something.

The king is not known for his patience, and he doesn’t want to antagonize the royal any further.

Still, when he parts his lips to respond, no words are forthcoming.

The king’s eyes narrow. His displeasure radiates from him, and Yugi is swept away by the wave of emotions within him. He can sense them at his fingertips, can feel them rising in his throat. He is paralyzed; crippled by those who look upon him as if he were nothing but a disappointment.

This is exactly how the king looks upon him now.

The relentless teasing at the hand of his siblings flashes through his mind, as they remind him again and again that he is far too soft for his own good.

“Are you hard of hearing?” the kings prompts again. “Or simply insistent on being obstinate?”

Embarrassment is a warm heat in his cheeks when his eyes prick. He drops his gaze, swallows past the tightness in his throat, and tries to blink away the sting. He can’t bear the thought of crying in front of the king, of making a fool of himself in front of such a godly presence, but still Yugi’s lashes come away wet with his next blink.

When he glances up at the king again, there is a nearly imperceptible change in the other's expression; mostly in his eyes. It’s so slight that Yugi wouldn’t have noticed it had they not been standing so close. The king observes him now, silently, his gaze unreadable.

Yugi shifts, knocking loose a single tear. He wants to wipe it hurriedly off his face, but he’s frozen underneath the king’s intense gaze. He can feel it leave a wet trail on his skin as it slips down over the curve of his cheek. The king’s eyes follow it wordlessly.

His slanted jaw tightens.

"Son of Khonsu or not, I will not tolerate insubordination. If you came to this land with the hope of shying away from your duty, you have come to the wrong place. You’ve been entrusted with a gift, and I will not let you squander it at the sake of my people.” At long last, the king dismisses him with a nod of his head and a final warning. "Do tread carefully within these palace walls, Aahmes. "

“Understood, my lord,” Yugi says with a steady voice that surprises even himself. He bows and steps back, as far away as he can manage. He finds the table at the far wall and busies himself with organizing the contents that he’d already tidied up earlier.

That still does not provide enough background noise to block out the king’s voice when he addresses Isis. It is clear he does not care if Yugi overhears him.

“Speak your mind, priestess,” he hears the king say. “You think my misgivings about your new apprentice are misplaced?”

“What I think does not matter, per ʿaa.” There’s a small pause. “However, as I understand it, the rumors of his presence spread because he was aiding people in the community. Despite the risk of his identity being revealed to the Great House, he was unable to allow those in need to go without care.”

Yugi winces at that. He wasn’t sure how he’d been tracked down - if it was his appearance alone or if word had traveled back to the king - but he supposed the latter made the most sense. Common folk are rarely able to keep such enticing secrets to themselves.

“That is all to say, Your Majesty… that there is more to Yugi than meets the eye.”

Yugi’s heart warms at the pointed use of his name, but he stiffens once again when he feels the king’s gaze upon him. Judgement rakes over him like hot stones. Like others, he imagines the king finds him unusually frail and much too pale. He tries to fold in on himself at the thought.

The king hums low in his throat, and the sound curls underneath Yugi’s skin.

“Indeed,” is all the king says.

Chapter Text

Mana is a bright soul that lights up every corner of the palace. She radiates youth and naivety and boundless energy.

She serves as an apprentice to Mahaad, one of the priests on the king's court.

Yugi can tell that Mahaad is incredibly fond of Mana, though he often seems quite exhausted by her at the end of each day. 

Yugi doesn’t quite realize her importance to the king until she falls ill.

It seems like nothing at first – a passing illness that is hardly noteworthy.

But to everyone’s horror, she’s bedridden within days. None of the healers can determine the problem, not even Isis. Whatever the cause, the sickness seems to spread throughout her body, crippling her. 

Each sunrise, Yugi infuses her skin with his magic to cleanse her system, but even he has his limitations. If the gods decide it's her time, he simply does not have the power to alter her fate.

The king visits her daily. He doesn’t once look Yugi’s way, redirecting all his inquiries to Isis, and Yugi simply tries to stay out of everyone’s way. There is a revolving door of visitors and healers and priests. It is clear that Mana is immensely loved, and Yugi is both awed and saddened by it.

He's not sure if anyone would care to visit him if he ever found himself in a similar state.

To everyone’s relief, Mana does seem to improve over the following days. Her fever breaks, and she is no longer wracked with body tremors. She is lucid when she wakes, but she still spends much of her time resting.

After a decan, her health is no longer in such dire straits that she requires a healer in her room at all times, but Yugi still spends his nights visiting her. He says it's for her benefit, so that he can tend to any needs if she happens to wake in the middle of the night (and that’s partially true). But really, he does it to ease some of the loneliness that has consumed him ever since moving into the palace.

In the city, there were always people milling about at all hours of the day. Families and street vendors lining the roads; young ones chasing each other, weaving through the crowds. He missed listening to their conversations and laughter.

He missed the curious children on his street that would approach him, asking him questions about the pale tone of his skin and the rare jewel-color of his gaze with excitable wonder in their eyes. Mana did the same. She'd come visit him during his breaks and inquire about him and his life, and he missed her presence in the halls as much as everyone else. 

So at night, he tells Mana his stories and hopes his presence comforts her as much as hers comforts him.

Curled up in a chair to the right of her bed, he idly brushes his fingers through the hair over his shoulder. “I have not seen any siblings visit you,” Yugi murmurs. “I assume you are an only child then? I never thought to ask during our previous conversations.” He pauses to consider the notion. “Despite having to be brought up in their shadows, I do care immensely for my siblings. I imagine it is for the best that I was not subject to my father’s undivided attention.”

He watches the gentle rise and fall of her chest. “I do miss Ry,” he confesses. “I would not be surprised if stories of his journeys have worked their way here. He was always the most dutiful of us, I’d say. He was also very kind to me,” he tells her. “The others… not so much. I do not think they appreciated the extra attention our mother gave me. I was the youngest… and rather small as a child. I suppose that hasn’t changed all that much.”

Yugi's gaze drifts toward an open window. He closes his eyes against the light wind that rushes into the room. “I miss her,” he says whimsically.

“How long ago did she pass?”

The king’s quiet voice echoes in the nearly silent room. Yugi scrambles to his feet, bowing low to greet him.

“Forgive me, Your Majesty,” he says, still hushed, mindful of the resting occupant. 

“There is nothing to forgive,” the king responds. Yugi can sense the king approach Mana’s bedside opposite of him. With his attention on the prone figure, Yugi uses the opportunity to peek up at the other. Even when cloaked in the darkness of the night, the king is outlined by a soft golden glow. No matter how many times he has crossed paths with him, Yugi is continuously awestruck by the raw power that radiates from beneath his sun-kissed skin.

“Your mother,” the king prompts. “She was human. How long ago did she pass?”

Yugi flushes, embarrassed when he realizes he has not yet answered the king’s question. “Nine years ago,” he replies hurriedly. 

A beat of silence. “She must’ve been special to attract the attention of a god.”

“She was,” Yugi says instantly. A smile teases his lips, as he begins to reminisce. “She was stunning. Long, raven hair. Eyes that resembled an iris flower. Kind and soft-spoken and just… lovely.”

Yugi’s eyes have returned to the floor, but he can still sense when the king shifts, as though angling himself to look at him. “And your father?”

“Father was – is… ” Yugi searches for the right word but comes up empty-handed. He lands on a close approximation. “Strict.”

The king hums – a thoughtful rumble in his throat that makes Yugi’s skin tingle. “You take after your mother then?”

A deep warmth blooms in Yugi’s chest. It slowly climbs up his neck to color his face. “I suppose,” he says.

“It sounds like you miss her dearly.”

Yugi’s heart deflates. “I do.”

The king regards him for a long, silent moment. “My mother passed many years ago as well, but I still note her absence every day. I understand your grief well.”

Yugi is surprised to be on the receiving end of the king’s empathy. Momentarily stunned, he is unsure of how to respond.

He catches movement out of the corner of his eye then. His attention immediately shifts to Mana who has begun to shiver slightly. The lines of her face crease in discomfort.

Instantly, Yugi retreats to one of the supply tables. He returns with an extra linen blanket and places it over her. He tucks the excess fabric beneath her, tightening it around her body to resemble more of a cocoon. The extra pressure and warmth appear to calm the small tremors in her frame.

Her face relaxes again in her sleep, and she seems at ease again.

“Thank you for caring for her,” he hears the king say, his voice closer than before. “She is important to me.”

Yugi turns to brush off the gratitude, but his words catch in his throat. The king has moved and now stands in front of him, only a step away.

He is so close that the heat from his body seeps into Yugi’s skin. Unable to look elsewhere, Yugi meets the king’s gaze, even though he hasn’t been given permission to. In the illuminating glow cast into the room by the moon, the king’s eyes remind him of rubies, glinting as they wander over the slopes of Yugi’s face.

"It would appear I have misjudged you," the king admits. Dark scarlet eyes flicker over his shoulder to the bed behind them. Then, back to Yugi. “I shall return tomorrow to check on her status. Goodnight, Aahmes.”

Yugi is unable to bid the king the same. He has lost his voice entirely.

He doesn’t even bow when the king takes his leave, too dazed to move.

His heart flutters in his chest.

For the first time, it is not fear of the king that causes it.

Chapter Text

The king looks at him differently after that.

There's still an intensity in his gaze, but the contempt is gone, the overwhelming disdain fading away to make room for something Yugi hasn’t been able to put a name to.

Like always, Yugi becomes immensely flustered under those eyes, but it's for an entirely different reason now.

Before, he found himself intimidated by the king’s golden skin and corded muscle.

Now, he’s rendered breathless by them.

The king’s rich voice, smooth like the fine silk that decorated him, no longer stokes fear but desire.

At night, Yugi begins to lose himself in fantasies he has no place entertaining. Unlike others, he can’t simply find relief with his hand under his sheets. 

Lust to this extent is a foreign feeling for him, an illicit one, and he takes to wandering the halls at night when he can't quite shake it. 

He has gone this long without knowing the pleasure of physical affection or the satisfaction of completion, but the fire in the king’s crimson gaze sets a low boil to his blood, and he's not sure how much longer he can go on not knowing.

He finds some self-deprecating humor in the situation. That out of all people, he’d find his eyes drawn to the one person it was forbidden to gaze upon.

He tries to discourage his incredibly human desires by avoiding the other as best he can, but the king is every bit a living god in how omnipresent he becomes. It seems the more Yugi tries to avoid the king in the days that follow their encounter in the healing chambers, the more he finds himself in the royal's company.

It makes being here all the more difficult.

So much so that Yugi considers leaving.

As long as he resides in Khemet, the king has the authority to demand he earn his keep, but Yugi is not a prisoner.

He is not obligated to stay. He can travel outside of this land to another, far away from ruby-stained eyes, if he so wishes.

And yet, he stays.

He stays and performs his duties by day and explores the palace at night. This eve, he ends up in the inner courtyard under a waning moon. The glow of it kisses his skin in a gentle hello. Beneath its light, he’s reminded of the steady hand of his father and the gentle patience of his mother.

He feels his magic stir gently in his blood, flowing through him like the water of a babbling brook or cool river. In times of strife, the moon often brought him peace and alleviated his inner turbulence.

It does but for a few moments this time, before he senses the air shift around him, alerting him to another presence – one that will consume him if he’s not careful. The warm, humid air curls over his skin, but it is the king’s eyes that trace the heated line down his bare spine.

“It is rather late for you to be out here.”

Pivoting, Yugi immediately sinks into a bow. “Apologies, Your Majesty. I hope I did not disturb you,” he says.

"You have not.”

Yugi straightens to his full height but keeps his head bowed.

"Mana has made a full recovery,” the king states aloud.

Yugi smiles. “She has,” he replies. “She was quite restless towards the end of her stay.”

The king hums. “She can be quite the menace when forced to sit in one place for too long,” he relays, and Yugi can hear the affection deep in the baritone of his voice. It makes him shiver.

He can only assume that the king notices it because, even with averted eyes, he knows he’s being closely observed.

“Tell me why you traveled to Khemet with no intention of serving the Great House, Aahmes,” the king orders. “At first, I thought it was because you did not care about the welfare of my people. But after watching you, I’ve come to find that you care more than most."

The king's refusal to acknowledge his chosen name is still a stain on their interactions, but Yugi understands the monarch’s reluctance. Names hold such considerable power here. They are revered. To cast aside one's name is unheard of.

Yugi can’t help but wonder about the king’s name. He imagines it to be a name of power, one that suits his fierce devotion to his people.

A name that has pleasure dripping from its vowels.

"With how disobedient you are, I am starting to think there is a part of you that enjoys my negative attention,” the king says. “I cannot ever recall having to repeat myself to another so often just to ascertain an answer.”

Though there’s annoyance in the king’s tone, there’s also a lilt there.

As though the other is mildly amused by it all.

"Forgive me, my lord. I often forget myself in your presence," Yugi says before he can think over his words.

"I am willing to help you remember your place if you so require it."

Yugi doubts that even the nightfall is enough to mask the furious flush that heats his face. Though he is still unsure of his station, Yugi knows for certain that it is underneath the king.

"You may look at me when it is just you and I,” the king says, and Yugi isn't quite as thrilled with that privilege as perhaps others would be. When he peers up at the king, he finds a fire flickering within the cerise gaze.

The king is truly a glimpse of the sun in the middle of the night.

"Tell me why you've come here,” the monarch demands once more. 

Yugi folds in a bit on himself. "You'll think me weak for it,” he says.

The king takes but a moment to consider this. "Perhaps," is all he can offer.

Unable to avoid the conversation any longer, Yugi sucks a fortifying breath into his lungs. It provides him little comfort though. His stomach still turns with relentless unease at revealing a secret he’s kept so close to his heart.

“You and I are both bound by duty,” Yugi forces himself to speak. “I know that you would lay your life down to honor yours, to protect your people.” Yugi drops his gaze to the ground between them, unable to withstand the king’s calculating gaze any longer. “Whereas, I find myself wanting to stray from the vow that was forced upon me.”

A long pause follows. "I see," is the king’s eventual response.

Shame fills him almost instantly, and his body feels heavier under its weight.

However, before it can take hold, the king directs another question at him.

"Do you like games, Aahmes?"

Yugi welcomes the shift in conversation, despite being entirely confused by it.

“I do,” he answers.

The king waves over a guard (there is always at least one within earshot of him) and orders them to fetch him a servant, who comes promptly. Minutes later, the servant returns with a rectangular, ceramic box. It is coated with bright-colored glazes and looks to be crafted from ground quartz. It is a beautifully built board, custom-made, Yugi is sure. On its surface are three rows made up of ten squares each. Five of them contain detailed carvings, put there by a steady, expert hand.

Yugi recognizes the game immediately.

Senet.

When the king gestures toward a nearby table and motions for him to sit, Yugi obliges.

“You’ve played before?” the king surmises by his expression.

The monarch opens the lid that also serves as the game board. He retrieves the cone-shaped ab pieces from the inner chamber followed by the four casting sticks.

“I have,” Yugi says. He watches as the king sets up each of their seven ab pieces along the first and second rows.

When the game begins, quiet befalls them, but there’s a tension to it.

Whenever Yugi takes his turn, he can feel the king’s gaze, heavy on his cheek.

Yugi uses the king's turns to indulge as well.

With the other's attention focused on his game pieces, Yugi takes the time allotted to him to soak in the details of the king's sculptured face – the slant of his cheekbones, the curve of his jaw. The golden strands of the king's hair sway in the warm night breeze, fluttering over his brow.

Heat rises within Yugi, and he feels flushed. He pulls his attention inward and attempts to calm the sudden rush in his blood, the quickened beat of his heart.

A silent minute later, he realizes that the king is watching him again.

“It is your turn, Aahmes," he intones. "Cast the sticks.”

Yugi mumbles a quick apology and proceeds with his turn. When he’s finished, he notices that the king's eyes are wandering down his neck and over the rounded edges of his shoulders.

When their eyes meet, Yugi is finally able to discern what it is that resides within the king's gaze.

Attraction.

Chapter Text

The weeks that follow are torturous.

Whatever is happening between him and the king is getting worse.

They can’t even share the same space together without the temperature rising and the oxygen dipping. Yugi’s breath turns shallow and his skin flushed whenever the other is in close proximity.

Under the king’s attention, his body burns. He finds himself more self-conscious with his daily attire, which consists only of a shendyt that hangs off his waist. The rest of him is on display. This has never bothered him before, but now he feels every dip and rounded curve of his body being analyzed.

After being on the receiving end of the king’s fiery gaze for so long, Yugi is becoming more and more desperate in a way he’d never thought possible.

He just wants the king to touch him.

It's all he can think about.

He imagines the king’s hands on his skin almost daily now, sliding down his body to touch places no one ever has before.

The vow taken by Khonsu’s children is not a secret. It is well known that to maintain their gift of healing, to prove themselves worthy of wielding such power, they had to swear to lead a chaste life.

As such, Yugi has never dwelled on his transient urges for long, as he knew fulfillment of those desires was not in the cards for him as long as he wished to maintain his gift.

But what he feels for the king is not fleeting.

It is a slow fire that consumes him.

It lingers in his lungs like smoke.

It is suffocating.

More often than not, Yugi escapes to the courtyard to clear his head.

This is where he retreats after he is dismissed early today by Isis. The sun is still high in the sky when Yugi lowers himself to sit on the grass under a tree he’s come to favor. Green leaves weep from its long branches, creating a shady alcove that protects him from the unforgiving rays.

The heat is stifling but his breath comes easier than it has all day. He’d been quite out of sorts ever since that morning when he’d caught the king’s smoldering gaze across the throne room.

Those eyes that so openly undressed him.

No one has ever looked at him like that before, and Yugi feels as though he is truly being driven to madness. 

His wayward thoughts cease at once when he belatedly registers the king beside him. His heart is a painful stammer in his chest and his breaths tight as he hurries to his feet.

The king stands in the light, outside the line in the grass drawn by his shade. The sun magnifies the gorgeous golden tone of his skin. The sheen of sweat atop it almost shimmers in the light. 

The scarlet hue of the god-king's eyes is a glory to behold.

Yugi realizes at once that the others who’d been scattered throughout the courtyard, similarly enjoying the gardens, are now gone. Only the king’s guards remain, unmoving at the entryways, blocking them.

“It is a beautiful day, Aahmes,” the king says, drawing Yugi’s full attention back to him. His voice creates a pleasant rumble that Yugi can feel vibrate in his own chest. “Why do you shy away from it?”

Yugi bows his head, fearful of what the king may see in his gaze. “I do not mean to,” he says as steadily as he can, “but my skin will burn if I remain in the sun’s direct path for too long.”

“Can you not simply heal yourself?”

Yugi felt a twitch at his brow. “I can, my lord. However, I prefer not to use my gift unless necessary.”

The king considers this with a low hum. “You will remain at the sun’s mercy if you do not build a resistance to it,” he insists. Then, he reaches a hand out, his fingers curling inward to beckon Yugi closer. “Come here, you pale little thing.”

Yugi squeaks.

“O-oh. Uh, I think it’d be best if I s-stayed – “

“It sounds like you are about to disobey a direct order from your king." The royal's tone drops in a warning. “I would strongly reconsider doing so.”

Yugi’s jaw snaps close with an audible click. He clasps his hands together in front of him to keep them from visibly shaking. Sucking in a breath, he takes a step toward the king.

Before he can take another, the king roughly pulls him by his upper arms the rest of the way into the sun. The movement is jarring enough that Yugi braces himself against him, palms connecting with the monarch’s chest to steady himself.

He freezes at once.

He’s touching the Living Horus without permission and is immediately fearful of the repercussions of doing so.

But when Yugi gazes up, it is not anger he finds glittering in those crimson eyes.

His fear sizzles away, and his next breath catches in his throat when he processes their proximity. Yugi is face-to-face with the chiseled cut of the king’s jaw, with the golds of his hair as they cascade over his brow, and with the bright fire in his eyes.

The king isn’t wearing his traditional garb that provides extra layers. He dons only a thin tunic now and, as such, so very little cloth separates their bodies.

“Your Majesty…?” Yugi questions breathlessly, as the king’s hands slide from his arms to traverse over his back. He can feel the staggering strength in those arms as they wrap around him.

Lust swirls bright in the king’s gaze. “Sweet, willowy Aahmes… so soft, so delicate,” the king comments, trailing a single finger down the bare curve of his spine. “We must be careful,” he murmurs, his voice a purr. “Wouldn’t want to break you.”

With that, the king flattens both hands against the dip of his back and brings their hips flush together.

A hard heat presses firm against the juncture of his thigh, and Yugi inhales a sharp breath.

“Or would you like that?” the king says, and he grinds against him for added emphasis. 

Stars bloom in Yugi’s vision, a quiet “A-ah…” leaving his mouth in a gasp.

The sheer depth of pleasure that ripples through him, with his body pressed against the king’s in this way, is beyond what Yugi could’ve ever imagined. He has never known this level of physical closeness with another, of this rough-edged intimacy.

The king’s hold becomes unbearably tight as his hands slip down further to the curve of his ass. Using the new leverage, the king rolls his hips against Yugi's own hardening arousal, and another wave of pleasure crests over him at the burning friction. 

Yugi knows he is unraveling quickly. His knees feel weak, and he's barely able to support his own weight.

However, he can also see that the king is far from unaffected.

The other's pupils are dilated, blown to encompass his irises. A low growl reverberates in his throat.

“I think the gods sent you to test me,” the king says then, his voice sounding as if it had been dragged over gravel. “Why else would you be here if not to tempt me? You make it difficult to resist you simply by existing. All I can surmise is that this is a test to ensure I do not jeopardize your gift for my own selfish desires.

“It is torture though, being unable to have you; to spread your legs open and take you like I’ve imagined doing so many times. The things I would do to you, Aahmes…” he swears seductively. “I’d make you moan and writhe beneath me until you cried those pretty, white tears.”

Yugi is flushed with arousal. The king's words, the bone grind of their hips, the raw strength and sex appeal dripping from every edge of the king's form... it lights up every single one of Yugi's nerve endings. 

The monarch drops his face into his neck with his next grind. A hot mouth traces a line over the curve there. “The taste of you, the sight of you… I know that I cannot have you, but oh, how I want," the king breathes hotly against his neck. "And I have never wanted for anything."

Yugi’s eyes roll to the back of his head. “Per ʿaa,” he moans.

Slender fingers lift between them then to tighten around his jaw. The king jerks his face to the side and whispers “Atem” in his ear.

Yugi doesn’t understand at first. He feels the king’s teeth clip the edge of his jaw impatiently, biting down on the skin hard enough to hurt, but all Yugi’s brain processes is intense pleasure.

“Say it,” the king commands. “My name.”

“Atem,” Yugi breathes instantly, his voice and breath and body shaking.

The king’s eyes – Atem’s eyes – glow.

Then, to Yugi’s internal panic, the grip on him loosens.

The king’s hands leave his body, arms falling away from him as the monarch withdraws from his atmosphere entirely. 

Yugi is left standing there, watching in breathless confusion as the king leaves him and exits the courtyard without another word.

Stunned and painfully hard, Yugi looks around the wide empty space, his heart in his throat and blood roaring in his ears.

He can’t muster the brain power to move a single muscle until he feels his skin begin to burn under the beating sun. 

Chapter Text

Days later, the bruise at his jaw is faint where the king grabbed him.

The bite is far more noticeable, the blemish dark with hues of purple. 

A thrill runs down Yugi's spine whenever he catches sight of it in his reflection. 

He can still feel the king’s possessive hands on his body; the blunted edge of his teeth dragging tantalizingly over his sensitive skin. 

He’s never wanted so desperately to forsake his vow of chastity, but he’s also never been so scared of doing so. Before, it was just this idea in his head. There were no real consequences of simply entertaining the thought.

Now though, he’s compromised and hardly able to think straight. 

He’s terrified of making an impulsive decision simply because he’s touch-starved and someone finally wants to touch him.

And not just someone, but the king.

Atem... 

Yugi had long known the four names associated with the king’s royal titulary. He’d heard them enough times when the monarch was being addressed in court. But Atem had been unusually particular about his nomen, more so than kings past, and he reserved it only for those closest to him.

For Atem to share his birth name with Yugi was almost dizzying.  

His musings are interrupted by an unexpected knock at his door. A servant stands on the other side. Evidently, his presence is requested in the throne room. 

This is not unusual in itself. Despite being a healer, he’s been called to the throne room on multiple occasions, usually to aid in menial tasks. 

He believes it's a way for the king to keep him in his line of sight. 

However, he hasn’t seen Atem for three days, not since their encounter in the courtyard so the request catches him off guard. The sun has long set, and he’s surprised that there’s still activity in the throne room at this time.

His lungs have to work overtime to keep his heart steady as he pads through the halls. He nods to the guard stationed by the main door, then enters quietly, mindful not to interrupt whatever proceedings are ongoing. 

Despite his gentle push, the groan of the door reverberates loudly in the nearly silent room. 

A wave of confusion floods through Yugi but only for a second. 

It is quickly replaced with dread when he realizes that the only other person occupying the throne room is the king himself. 

Fire burns behind those intrigued eyes, the sun god himself simmering right beneath Atem’s skin. A chalice rests lazily in his hand. 

“Hello, Aahmes.”

Yugi’s heart thuds so loudly in his chest when he bows, he's sure the king can hear it, too. “Your Majesty,” he recites. “You called for me?”

In lieu of a response, the king beckons him forward, and Yugi hesitates for only a beat. He does not wish to antagonize him so early on. 

He draws toward the king like a moth to a flame, equally sure of his demise but unable to resist the metaphysical pull. 

Atem lifts the goblet of wine to his lips and watches his approach over the rim. 

When Yugi reaches the foot of the daïs, the king lowers his cup. Dark burgundy eyes drag down the length of his body. 

Yugi flushes hotly. 

“I want to learn more about your vow,” Atem says when his gaze returns level with his. “You’d mentioned before wanting to stray from it. Why is that?”

The question was bound to arise at some point, but Yugi still pauses for a few moments before responding because the answer is quite personal to him. 

He doubts saying such will yield a positive response from the king though. 

“Contrary to lore, we are not immortal, nor are our lifespans lengthened by any means. Our divinity extends only to our gifts,” Yugi tells him. “Knowing that my life is limited to mere decades, I believe forfeiting all worldly pleasures is a steep price to pay.” Yugi’s eyes fall away from Atem’s. He feels ever so small speaking now like he’s trying to justify himself before a judge, but he soldiers on. “I suppose I just would’ve liked to be given the choice.”

The king remains silent, and shame runs through Yugi’s veins. 

How could he expect someone who had taken to their predetermined role with so much more grace than he had to understand?

“I came here,” Yugi speaks again to fill the void in conversation, “because I wanted to prove to myself that I didn't need to rely on my gift, in case I did decide to… stray.” He exhales an audible breath. His eyes flicker back up to Atem. “But whenever I came across people in need who required care, I couldn’t stop myself from using it…"

It takes a painfully long time for the king to speak. “Worldly pleasures,” he says, echoing Yugi’s words from before. He swirls the chalice in his hand thoughtfully. “Does that include wine?”

“I assume, my lord.” When the king arches a brow at him, Yugi clarifies, “There isn’t an explicit set of rules. To be safe, general abstinence of any vice is practiced among my siblings.”

Atem hums. “So, you do not know?” he intones. “Perhaps, the rules surrounding your gift are much less complex than you think.”

Yugi considers this. “Perhaps…”

“You could always test this theory, Aahmes,” he says, gesturing to his cup. “You can have a taste if you’d like."

Yugi’s heart skips a beat. “But… what if… ?”

Right then, he sees the glint in Atem's eyes and hears the lingering challenge in his voice. The king is a strategist at heart, and it's clear to Yugi that he wants to know the rules...

... so he can determine how far they can bend them.

Yugi has never before felt so inclined to indulge in a drink, but temptation sits before him now in the most alluring package.  

Yugi's gaze drifts down from Atem’s face to the chalice. 

He steps forward, carrying himself up the stairs to the elevated platform where the king sits on his throne.

He stretches his hand out toward the king to take the chalice, but it is Atem’s free hand that slips into his open palm. The king's insistent tug pulls Yugi down and onto his lap. His throat constricts on his next breath. His knees are cold against the back of the throne where they straddle the king.

He watches Atem as he brings the chalice back to his lips and drinks deeply from it. After, he sets it on the small table beside them, and his hand curls behind Yugi’s neck to pull him into a demanding kiss. 

Atem teases his lips apart with precision. The wine, warmed by Atem’s mouth, pushes into his own.  

Yugi moans around the intoxicating flavor, and he swallows the offering without a second thought. He chases the herbal notes, his tongue sliding inside Atem's inviting mouth to taste the wine lingering there. 

The king’s hands grip onto the arches of his hips and guide him into a sensual roll over his lap. 

Pleasure erupts behind Yugi’s eyes, and Atem consumes the needy whimper that leaves his lips.

The king must like the sound, must want to hear it again, because he rocks Yugi over him with more force than before. 

Sparks of pleasure burst over his skin, his groin pulsing with a rush of blood. His need is thickening, trapped between his legs, but he can also feel the hard flesh of the king swelling between them.

Yugi's body responds on its own. His arms lift to curl around the king's shoulders, to wrap around him and hold on tight. He moves fully into the motion now, and a grunt of approval vibrates low in the king's throat. 

Atem's hands reposition themselves on his body, one settling against the dip of his back to encourage the strong rock of Yugi's hips. The other curls in his hair, tight enough to hurt but it doesn't, god, it doesn't. 

Pinned against the king like this, Yugi has a small height advantage, and Atem's mouth lowers to suck a heated line down the column of his neck.  

His shendyt is draped over both of their laps, serving as little else than a cover. It does nothing to separate their bodies from one another. 

This becomes all too apparent when the king’s shendyt rolls up his hard thighs and the heat of his burning arousal slides against his own.

It sends pleasure rippling across Yugi’s entire body. 

The sheer depth of rapture is torturous, like a sweet, agonizing death, and Yugi is so overwhelmed by it all.

Gods, he wants the king to reposition them so that Yugi can sink down on his cock. He wants Atem to fill him until his body aches. 

This is especially true when the king begins to thrust up against him, meeting his hips in each roll. Moans spill from Yugi's lips like a waterfall of worship. “Gods…” he gasps. 

“Oh, Aahmes,” the king pants. “I want to defile you in every way. I want to fill your body with my essence and watch it pour out of you.” Atem’s lips slide across his jaw to his earlobe. He whispers huskily, “If you’re truly part god as well, do you think if I come inside of you, we could bring other gods into existence? Perhaps with our union, a new generation of deities would rise from the earth."

A coil Yugi’s never felt before winds tight in his belly. He can’t string together enough syllables to respond to Atem. 

Sweat is beading heavy at his brow, and he can feel his bangs clinging to his forehead in strings as the humid air circles them, their body heat held prisoner between them. They are a harsh wave together, rocking into each other, chasing the other to the precipice. Precome and sweat have made the slide of their hips deliciously slick. 

"How tight you must be,” Atem says, panting heavily, still at his ear. “You’d feel every drag of my cock."

Yugi breathes harshly. Euphoria eclipses all else, as he begins to tremble in the king’s arms. 

“Have you ever come before?“

“No,” Yugi says, but he's about to, just like this, rutting against the king. 

"Come for me now then.” 

And he does. 

His orgasm rips out of him. It shakes him to the core and leaves cracks along his foundation.

He throws his head back and vaguely registers Atem's moans spilling into the curve of his neck. 

Aftershocks tremor through him, and he feels them almost as intensely as his climax.

Their laps are so slippery now, flooded with copious amounts of fluid.

Yugi doesn’t really care though.

He doesn’t care for much of anything but Atem’s handsomely flushed face before him. 

Outside of that, his vision is hazy. Sounds seem far away, but he can feel with acute intensity Atem's hand trailing a path down his bare chest. It disappears underneath his shendyt, and those fingers curl to collect some of the mess they made. 

Then, Atem brings his coated fingertips to Yugi's mouth. 

“Open,” the king commands. 

Yugi's lips part with ease. 

When Atem’s slender fingers slip into his mouth, his tongue immediately curls around them. 

Atem’s pupils dilate instantly. 

Then, the king grabs him by the jaw and plunges his tongue between his lips. 

Together, they taste themselves and each other. 

“You're such a wonderful listener when you try," Atem praises, breaking the passionate kiss. 

The words are so potent, they unfurl in Yugi’s blood. 

For an indiscernible amount of time, he feels as though he’s shrouded in a cloud of pleasure, lost and unable to navigate through it. Some of his senses seem muted, while others feel amplified.

Atem’s breath, hot on his skin, is what ultimately tethers him to the present. 

“Where’d you go, pretty thing?” the king mumbles against his cheek. 

“I’m here,” he breathes quietly.

Atem is holding his face still, possessive but the roughness of his touch has lessened significantly. Pulling back, the king gazes deeply into his eyes, and Yugi tracks the red hue that runs through the irises. 

“This isn’t enough," Atem tells him. "All this does is make me want you more.” 

He is too distracted by the intensity of Atem’s gaze to realize that Atem has released the grip on his face to take one of Yugi's hands in his and is now dragging his nails down the center of his muscled chest. He doesn't put enough strength behind it to draw blood, but it's enough to leave a row of angry red lines. 

If Yugi had more presence of mind, he'd be horrified. 

In any other setting, harming the king in any way would be grounds for immediate execution.

"Heal it," Atem orders, releasing his hand.

Yugi blinks at him, still partially adrift. 

He can do nothing else in that moment but obey Atem.

He raises his hand back to Atem’s chest and runs the tips of his fingers over the lines, gentler, and they disappear almost instantly.

"It would seem no rules were broken," Atem observes out loud. Still, his brows furrow. "You should go now.”

Yugi hates the sound of that.

He resists the urge to cling to the king, but just barely. The idea of separating from him at this moment makes him almost panic.

“B-but Your Majesty — Atem, I —"

“You should leave," Atem repeats, and it's an order now, "while I still am giving you the option to. Before I sink inside of you and doom us both.”

Atem is right, Yugi knows this; he realizes the precarious situation they're in. None of that matters though, because Atem is pushing him away, and the rejection is a strike of a whip to his heart. He feels so inexplicably fragile, and everything just hurts. 

His eyes prick with heat.

He's immediately embarrassed, but he can't stop it, so he simply ducks his head to hide the tidal wave of emotion rolling through him. 

He goes to pull away on unsteady legs, but the arm still secured around his waist tightens.

When Yugi peers back up at Atem, something in his garnet gaze changes. 

Atem’s hand raises between them to cradle his bruised jaw once more. Then, his eyes drop to his mouth, and he runs his thumb over his bottom lip. It is a surprisingly tender gesture  — not something he would've ever expected from the king. 

“See to it that Aahmes is bathed and put to bed,” Atem instructs.

Yugi is still in such a daze that he doesn’t understand who the king is talking to until two pairs of hands help him out of the king’s lap. His shendyt is wrinkled and soiled, but it covers his modesty. The servants at his sides tug him along, out of the throne room and into the bathing quarters, and he is strangely grateful for their guidance.

He's suddenly too exhausted to be ashamed that there were servants apparently within earshot of them the whole time. He focuses instead on the warm water and on the soapy rags they wipe him down with. The sensation is pleasant enough. 

As is the fresh tunic they provide him. 

It's much nicer than what he’s used to wearing.

When he's finally brought to his bed, his consciousness acknowledges that the sheets are warm and fresh. He curls into them further as the exhaustion takes hold of him. 

He drifts off, but not without many, many thoughts of Atem. 

Chapter Text

Yugi is summoned again several eves later — this time, to the king’s private quarters. 

His heart races in his chest as he pads through the halls toward his destination and only slows when he enters the antechamber to find it empty. The adjoining bedroom is also lacking the god-like presence of the king. 

He shuffles nervously, unsure of what to do as he awaits the king's arrival. His eyes scan his surroundings, taking mental inventory of the large, furnished space. It’s dimly lit, making everything appear a touch washed in gold. Magnificent art adorns the walls, details of which Yugi knows were drawn painstakingly by hand. It makes the entire space feel sacred.

The large bed in the center of the room is covered with sheets woven from the most precious textiles; so fine, they shimmer. 

The air smells of the king, of sun and sand, and Yugi is momentarily enchanted. He feels a light breeze filtering in through the balcony, beckoning him. 

Responding to its quiet call, he draws toward it and slips between sheer curtains to step out into the humid night. Lights from the prosperous city below glimmer across the land. 

It is a clear, cloudless night. Amongst the stars, the half-moon shines, incandescent. 

It soothes some of his inner turmoil. 

For as satisfied as he’d found himself in Atem’s arms that night in the throne room, he’d spent the last few days feeling rather hollow without the king. 

He’d never imagined being able to attain such a state of pleasure and wholeness with another. 

It left him feeling rather bitter, having spent his life to this point without it.

But separating from Atem in the aftermath hurt. 

Atem had ensured that he was comforted and cared for afterward by his servants, but what Yugi had really wanted was Atem’s hands on him.

To be honest, Yugi didn’t think he’d ever want anybody else’s. 

There lay the problem. 

He knows the king is unreachable and yet his heart aches for him, and his body burns. It is difficult to reconcile the pull he feels toward Atem and the guilt that has been churning in the pit of his stomach since their throne room activities. 

Despite retaining his gift, Yugi feels as though he’s done something wrong. 

For as long as he has spent his life denying himself the opportunity to touch and be touched by another, he's incredibly conflicted about giving in to temptation. 

Yugi looks to the moon for guidance, but it remains silent in the face of his struggles.

Atem, however, does not when he appears behind him and trails his fingertips over the gentle curve of his shoulder. 

“You should see how you look standing here, touched by the moon’s light,” Atem says, warm breath carrying his words to Yugi’s ear. “You outshine the very stars, Aahmes. “

Yugi’s eyes slip closed. “Your Majesty, I — “

A strong arm wraps around his waist and pulls him back until he's flush against Atem's bare chest and hips.

When Atem mouths the slope of his neck and sucks the skin between his lips, Yugi gasps.

“You know my name,” the king lightly admonishes.

Yugi does, but he’s weary of speaking it out loud. Despite being given permission, he still worries that he’ll be punished if someone else overhears him. 

"Atem," Yugi breathes anyways. 

A pleased hum reverberates in the chest pressed against him. The king’s teeth graze the side of his neck. “I have not stopped thinking of you since our last encounter,” he tells him. There’s a hard heat between them now, Atem’s arousal apparent. “It is as though you are seared into my mind's eye.”

Atem grinds into him then, and a moan tumbles from Yugi’s lips. He cants his hips back to increase the friction between them. 

Atem’s grip on him tightens considerably. 

“I know what you want,” the king mumbles huskily, grinding into him with intent now. “How I long to give you what you so desperately crave.”

“Ah, Atem…”

“Mmm,” the king hums, pressing against him again, and if he just lifted both of their shendyts, Yugi would feel that swollen flesh between his cheeks, leaking and seeking refuge at his entrance. On the next grind, maybe it’d even slip inside of him. 

Yugi’s hips rock back into Atem’s at the thought, and the growl that leaves Atem’s throat would likely follow Yugi into his dreams for many nights to come. 

Spinning him around, Atem pushes him against the edge of the balcony, where the stone bites into his lower back. Not for the first time, Yugi is startled by the amount of strength in the slender muscles of the king’s frame. 

Atem crowds him, hands settling on either side of his hips. 

The royal leans in close, captures his bottom lip, and drags the blunt edge of his teeth over it. 

All of the air in Yugi’s lungs is lost to him. 

The pressure, laying heavy at his thigh, throbs with need. 

“You are pure in body and soul. It’d be a grievous sin for someone to touch you in the places no one ever has,” Atem says against his cheek. He pulls back to lock eyes with him, irises a darkened ruby. “And yet,” he intones, “your virgin body begs to be dominated. Yes, you’d take my cock, and you’d thank me for it. Would you like that? If I took you to my bed and indulged in your sweet body until I’ve had my fill?” The king’s eyes drop to his mouth. He drags the pad of his thumb over Yugi’s bottom lip. “Or, perhaps, you’d prefer if I took your mouth,” he murmurs. “Is that what you want, Aahmes? To taste your king?”

His answer reeks of desperation and urgency, but Yugi can’t find it in himself to care. “Yes,” he sighs. 

Atem lifts his hand and presses his fingertips to the soft underside of his jaw. Yugi obeys the wordless command and tilts his head back so that the king's lips can brush over his. 

"Kneel."

For all the orders Atem has given him in the past that has caused Yugi to hesitate, this was not one of them.

He sinks to the hard floor, his heart pounding in his ears, as Atem unwraps his shendyt and reveals his thick, pulsing arousal.

Yugi’s mouth waters.  

It’s possible he’s biased, but Yugi considers for a moment how magnificent it is, as glorious as the rest of the king.

He watches wordlessly as Atem wraps his hand around it and brings it to his mouth. 

“This is what you wanted, right?" Atem asks as he brushes the firm head of his cock over his lips. 

Precome drips from the tip, and Yugi instinctively glides his tongue over his bottom lip to taste the king. 

It is earth salt, tangy and decadent, and Yugi hardens further. 

"Suck.”

When Yugi parts his mouth, Atem guides his cock between his lips. The velvety skin slides over his tongue, and his jaw aches with the stretch as Atem fills him.  

Yugi has not even a modicum of experience, but he knows he wants to take care of this sensitive and gorgeous part of Atem’s body. So, he keeps his teeth off when he wraps his lips around Atem and sucks as instructed.

Yugi shudders, his cock twitching at the low moan that leaves Atem’s throat. He explores the hard arousal in his mouth with his tongue, mapping it, before applying more suction.

Several minutes in, he isn't sure which one of them is enjoying this more. 

If he had the choice, he would worship Atem like this on his knees forever.

“Look at me.” 

Yugi complies, gaze flickering up to make eye contact with the king. 

“Oh… so pretty,” Atem comments. His hand slips into Yugi’s hair, and he uses the leverage to thrust into his mouth, causing Yugi to splutter. "I've wanted your lips around me since the moment you walked into my throne room and couldn’t keep your beautiful mouth shut. I wanted nothing more than to remind you of your place.” The king thrusts in again and, even though he’s struggling to breathe, Yugi slackens his jaw to allow it.

"Tell me, Aahmes,” the king breathes harshly, “do you think if I forbade you food and drink that you could sustain yourself on my come alone?"

Yugi moans around Atem’s arousal, and the next time the king plunges into his mouth, he slips right past his gag reflex and into his throat. 

Yugi reels back on instinct but Atem's hand is tight in his hair and keeps him still. 

His lungs burn, desperate for air. He can feel the tears, gathering at the corners of his eyes.  

He peers up at the king once more, who takes one look at him and comes on the spot, hissing harshly between clenched teeth.  

Yugi doesn’t even need to touch himself. He comes alone from the taste of Atem on his tongue, from the quake of the king’s muscled thighs, from the knowledge that he is the one who is pleasuring the king in this way. 

His thoughts float around him as Atem’s come moves sluggishly down his throat. 

When Atem pulls him to his feet, Yugi distantly registers that Atem is still half-hard.

The next thing Yugi knows, they're inside again and his back is against the bed. The sheets are as luxurious as he imagined. It feels so good against his skin, as do the pillows soft at his head, but Atem hovering over him is even better. 

“Spread your legs for me, Aahmes.”

Yugi obliges without a moment’s pause, and the king assumes his rightful place between his thighs. “I could just take you right now,” Atem tells him. “You would be so tight at first, but I know you’d open right up for me. Just look at you. You’re soft with bliss.” The tips of Atem’s fingers trace feathery lines down his exposed neck. “Such a delicate little thing you are.” 

Yugi does feel delicate. Like Atem could break him with a single word. He can barely feel the weight of his limbs.

He doesn’t squirm, but he does draw in a sharp breath when the head of Atem’s cock brushes along his entrance. 

“Atem,” Yugi begs, tossing his head back, fingers curling in the bedsheets. “Please.”

“A-ah.” Atem’s hands curl around his knees to drag him closer. He folds Yugi’s legs to his chest until his thighs are flushed tightly together. “Amun-Ra, give me strength,” the king mutters. 

Yugi keens when Atem’s arousal finds his entrance again, applying the tiniest bit of pressure. Not enough to breach, but enough that Yugi is wracked with a full-body tremor. 

With a low curse, Atem drives forward, and his fully re-hardened erection, still damp from his release and Yugi’s mouth, slips in between his flush thighs. Atem’s hands stay on his knees, holding his legs in place, bent between them. The king falls into a steady rhythm of thrusting, the hard, firm muscle of his cock slipping again and again between Yugi's tender thighs. 

Sweat drips down Atem’s jaw, and Yugi wants to catch it with his tongue, but he doesn’t have the mental wherewithal to do anything more than take whatever Atem is willing to give him. The snap of Atem's granite hips, his hot, burnished skin, his sharp edges and fine lines, it all sends Yugi’s mind spinning. 

It’s not enough to get him hard again, but it keeps him on this high, where everything feels so, so good. He can’t get enough of Atem’s hands on his body, drawing pleasure from him. It makes him feel wonderfully whole. 

When Atem lets go of his knees, Yugi allows his legs to drop on either side of the king. Atem’s hand drops to grip his arousal, and he pumps himself urgently as he marks Yugi with his ecstasy.

That almost gets Yugi hard again, but his arousal is banked when Atem's sudden weight forces him deeper into the mattress. 

The pressure grounds him in space. 

They stay like that for an incredibly long moment, their breaths heavy as the beading sweat on their skin and the mess between them cools.

It’s only when Atem begins to peel away from him that Yugi realizes what's happening. He reaches out with both hands to grab hold of Atem’s shoulders without any thought to the possible repercussions of doing so.

“Atem, wait — please stay,” he exhales, voice edged with panic. 

The king remains silent, his eyes assessing him. 

Yugi feels the full weight of them and flinches away, embarrassed. He releases Atem’s shoulders and immediately feels untethered. There’s a wave of emotion, threatening to submerge him again, similar to what he'd experienced in the throne room. He feels just as helpless as he did then. 

His eyes prick with tears, and he knows Atem can see them, shimmering in his gaze. 

Atem sighs and brushes a rogue tear off his pale cheek. Yugi notices the faint white traces of it on Atem’s thumb when he pulls his hand back. 

“You are so very sensitive.”

The words sting, but Yugi can tell by Atem’s tone that it is more of a quiet observation than it is a dismissal. 

Without another word, Atem moves away from him to stand from the bed. He disappears into an adjoining room, leaving Yugi cold and damp. That magical space he’d experienced only minutes ago begins to crumble around him. He wonders if this is Atem's way of dismissing him. 

Before his can figure out his next steps, Atem returns to him with a damp cloth in his hand.  

He climbs back onto the bed, his body half-curled over Yugi, who shivers at the wet touch at his inner thigh. 

Yugi doesn’t know whether to bask in the unexpected gentleness of Atem’s touch or be horrified that the king is tending to him like this. 

He's lost and still not quite himself, which is why he blurts out, “Let me stay with you.”

It’s a ludicrous request. He knows he is being foolish, pretending that their relationship is more than what it is, but it still hurts when Atem very firmly says, “No.”

Yugi bows his head, shame burning at his cheeks. He’s in such a vulnerable position still, with Atem’s knees planted between his legs, the cloth wiping over his lower belly. 

He dreads their impending separation.  

Atem finishes cleaning him in silence and then puts the cloth aside. Yugi is surprised when Atem lowers his body back down to rest atop him.

“My self-restraint is wavering with every minute you are in my presence," the king says. "I would not be able to get through the night with you beside me."

Atem's hand moves to cradle the side of his face, fingertips sliding behind his ear. His thumb brushes over the lingering bruise at his jaw that he had all but forgotten about until Atem applies pressure to it.

“Heal this,” the king orders quietly. 

Yugi sucks in a fortifying breath and obeys. He glides the tips of his fingers over the back of Atem’s hand then over the bruise. He can feel the magic humming in his fingertips, can see the faint shimmer of it reflecting in Atem’s eyes as he heals himself.

When he’s done, Atem kisses him again.

This one is different from all the ones before it.

It’s slow and lingering, sensual like the king is trying to coax light from the shadows. Emotions rise high in his throat, pleasant but intense. Yugi breathes in the king’s scent to steady himself. He resists the urge to clutch his magnificent body closer to him and relish in Atem’s perpetual heat.  

When Atem does formally dismiss him, Yugi is quick to grab his discarded shendyt and escape into the antechamber. It is only once he has retreated back into the halls, out of sight of the guards, that he allows himself a moment.

He crosses his arms over his stomach and hugs himself, seeking what little comfort he can. 

Atem’s touch, both the roughness of it as well as the instances of tenderness, is a high Yugi wants to chase forever. 

But he isn’t quite sure if the resulting crash is worth it.  

Chapter Text

There is a god hidden within the sanguine hue of Atem’s eyes.

He is the earthly embodiment of Horus and, when they are tangled up in one another, Yugi can feel the sun itself at the king's fingertips. 

Yet, there is an invisible pull between them that makes Yugi think that Atem is, in fact, the moon, and himself, the tides. 

It is as though it's part of Yugi's genetic code, maybe even a design flaw in the makeup of his soul, to answer Atem’s call.

Yugi has never felt so powerless. 

Over the next few weeks, he spends many of his evenings in Atem's company. 

By now, he is intimately familiar with the valleys of Atem's muscles and the ripple of his abdomen when the king thrusts in between his thighs. He knows just how the king likes to be serviced when Yugi is on his knees, as well as how the blunted edge of Atem's teeth feels along his skin.

He can easily recognize the drop in pitch of Atem's voice when the king is closing in on his climax.

After no one daring to touch him for his entire existence, Yugi finally knows the touch of another. Atem has shown him a previously hidden world of pleasure — one that has infused itself under his skin, sunk into his bones, and settled deep in his marrow.

His body desires Atem's own constantly. 

Yet, it's the glimpses of tenderness from the king, when Atem's touch becomes gentle and his eyes a fraction softer, that Yugi's heart yearns for.

Those moments when the king cradles his face and kisses the very breath from his lips. 

Yugi clings to those scraps of affection desperately. 

He thinks if he holds onto Atem tight enough; if he wraps his legs around his hips and arms around his neck that Atem won't send him away. 

He tells himself the next time will be different; that Atem will realize that this — whatever it is that exists between them — amounts to more than just a forbidden thrill. 

But it never is different.

It's a bitter poison to swallow when Yugi realizes that the king will never care enough for him to treat him as an equal. 

He will never value him beyond a warm body. 

He doesn't want anything from Yugi beyond that and, to Atem's credit, he never let on that he did. 

Yugi has never been in love before.  

And, after this, he never wants to.

He thinks it is simply too painful an emotion for his tender heart to bear, and he knows he can no longer go on like this. 

So, the next time Atem calls for him, Yugi turns to the servant sent to do the king's bidding, goes against all his internal programming, and says, "No."

He's not sure if he or the servant is more shocked by his response. 

They stare at each other with wide eyes for several long moments before the servant hurriedly takes his leave. 

Yugi can feel the sharp uptick of his heartbeat. It's thudding violently in his chest, threatening to burst out altogether. 

He’s bordering on panic by the time he reaches the nearby windowsill. He tries to seek comfort in the moon's light, but the night sky is dark with clouds. Yugi can sense a storm brewing. 

He rubs his hand over the opposite elbow and forces himself to inhale a steady breath. 

He doesn't know how Atem will take his rejection but he expects not well.

He can't imagine the king has even been told no — certainly not in this regard. 

After all, who would turn down the chance to be with a god-king as magnificent as Atem? 

No, others would simply count their blessings and not make things out to be more than they are. 

Yugi remembers those first days when he walked on glass around the king — the fear and unnerving disquiet. This is what it feels like when Atem stalks into his room unannounced, the air around him thunderous. 

"No?"  

Yugi turns to face the king, but he struggles to meet Atem’s eyes. He feels so terribly small and stupid. 

"Surely, my servant misheard you,” the king says evenly. 

Atem is giving him an out, and Yugi almost takes it. 

He could end this fight before it begins. He could let Atem have his way with him. He could intertwine himself with the king and pretend that everything is okay. 

For the space of a long breath, he’s willing to forsake his heart and settle for affection that starts and ends with his body. 

But he knows himself well enough to know that that will never be enough for him.  

Yugi braces himself. 

“He did not."

The room falls dangerously quiet. 

He knows Atem won't kill him but, beyond that, the king's temper is a wild card. 

His heart quivers. 

"I cannot continue as we've been," Yugi says quietly. "I am tired of being sent away after you've decided that you no longer have any use for me."

Yugi can hear the hard clench of Atem's jaw.

"Is that so?" Atem says lowly. His ruby eyes glitter — a challenge. "Despite your feelings on the matter, what you seem to forget, demi-god, is that I am your king."

Yugi's heart pounds relentlessly in his chest. He exhales a long, shaky breath. 

"But I am not your whore."

Atem moves so fast, Yugi can't escape him. 

His back hits the wall abruptly, and the breath is forced from his lungs. 

Atem's forearm digs into his throat. It's not enough to cut off his breathing, but it keeps Yugi pinned in place.

Like this, he is completely at the king’s mercy. 

Heat radiates from Atem's frame like the sun.

His fury is more suffocating than the pressure at his throat.  

"How quickly you forget your place, Aahmes," the king intones. He inclines his head and peers down at him with a sneer. "You must consider yourself rather special, being on the receiving end of my attention," he says. "I assure you that you are not."

Atem's words cut him so deep, Yugi folds in on himself. 

He'd told himself as much, but Atem's confirmation is salt from the earth in an open wound. 

Yugi's eyes burn furiously, and he would willingly forfeit his gift if he could just not cry in front of Atem; if he could just disappear into the wall behind him instead. 

There's no stopping it though. His inner tides are turbulent, and his eyes well with emotion. 

Atem adds the smallest degree of pressure into his throat when he leans over to whisper into his ear, "If you ever speak to me like this again, you will regret it." 

Atem pulls away, wrenching his arm from Yugi as if disgusted by his tears and show of weakness. 

The king doesn't spare him a single glance when he turns on his heel and storms out of the room.

When the door slams shut behind Atem’s form, Yugi’s hand instinctively flies out to soothe the throbbing pain.

It's not his throat he reaches for, but the space over his heart. 

He expects the aftermath of their fallout to be terrible. 

The thought of being back on the receiving end of Atem’s temper and chagrin fills him with anxious dread. 

But not even he could’ve expected the king’s punishment to be as cruel as it was. 

Because for the next several weeks, Atem doesn't even acknowledge his existence. 

He won't look at him when they cross paths in the throne room or courtyard, nor will he speak to him when he comes by the healing chambers to discuss private matters with Isis. 

Yugi hears the whispers from the house staff and servants; the rumors that line the walls of the palace. 

About how the king has been especially quick to anger as of late. 

How even members of the court are playing a dangerous game every time they interact with him. 

Yugi does his best to tune it all out.

He focuses on the tasks delegated to him by Isis and spends the majority of his free time sequestered in his room, wiping his tears away in secret. His heart recoils in pain every time he recalls the venom Atem had directed at him the last time they spoke.

Yugi tolerates the treatment for all of three weeks before he makes the decision to leave. 

The idea of never seeing Atem again is like a hot blade sinking into his chest and piercing his heart. 

But Atem's blatant dismissal and disregard is constant agony. 

After he comes to his decision, he tells only Isis of his plans to leave. 

He is thankful for her kind tutelage and the knowledge she's imparted to him. He will genuinely miss her steady, calm presence in his life. 

When Yugi tells her of his abrupt departure, she doesn’t question his decision nor ask any prying questions, and Yugi doesn't know how to express his gratitude other than to hug her. 

That evening, when he returns to his room, he takes a moment to survey the space. 

It’s not much — bare walls, a well-crafted dresser, and a simple cot.

Still, he'll miss it dearly. 

He's never been in a place long enough to acquire a notable amount of personal belongings — just some clothes and a pair of worn sandals. 

It makes for a quick packing process.

As he gathers his things, his hands come across the tunic he’d been provided the time Atem had his servants tend to him. 

The luxurious fabric is soft against his skin. His chest stings horribly as he folds it and places it off to the side.

He'd thought the ultimate price for tempting fate would be his gift, but he understands now that it was his heart. 

He ignores the ache in his bones as he packs away some food he’d acquired from the kitchens. It'll last him at least a few days.

When he's done, he places his small messenger bag on the dresser. 

He doesn't know where he'll go, but he imagines he’ll simply continue on with his lonely journey and carve out a temporary place for himself in the next city over. 

He'll finally accept his role, he tells himself. He’ll live a humble life, travel from place to place like his siblings, and fulfill his duties. He’ll be given room and board and goods during his stay in exchange for healing those in need.

Then, he’ll take his meager belongings, move on, and never have a place to call home. 

He'll live with the memories of the king's touch, and he'll cherish the brief time in his life when he experienced a glimmer of physical intimacy. 

Had he known at the time how interwoven his body's desires were to his heart, he may have hesitated longer before accepting wine from the king’s mouth. 

"You are not leaving."

Yugi startles, spinning around to find Atem standing behind him. 

It’s been so long since Atem had last spoken to him — or acknowledged him, for that matter — that Yugi is momentarily speechless.

His heart aches at the very sight of him.  

Despite the gravity in the room pulling him toward the king, Yugi forces himself to take a step back.

"You can't keep me here," he says. 

Atem considers him through narrowed eyes. "Would you care to test that theory?"

Panic seizes Yugi's heart. He crosses his arms over his midsection to shield himself from the king’s latent wrath. "I'm not a prisoner," he whispers. “I have a duty to continue on with my travels and help those in need elsewhere."

"And you would have me believe that you have a modicum of regard for your duties.”

This time when Yugi’s tears come, they are hot on his face. Anger is such a foreign emotion for him, but that’s exactly what he feels, standing across from the king.

He opens his mouth to speak but indignant fury and pain are wedged in his throat, keeping his words voiceless.

He can't stand to be there a moment longer. 

Fuming in his heartbreak, Yugi sidesteps the king and moves toward his bag. 

Power crackles in the space around him when Atem snatches him by the wrist.

"You are not leaving."

When Yugi tries to pull away, Atem tightens his grip, forcing Yugi to yank it out of his grasp. 

Almost instantly, Atem's arms are curled around him like vices, hot bands searing into his flesh. 

Yugi barely resists the urge to slam his balled fists into Atem’s chest, but only because to assault the king in such a way is a silent wish for death. 

"Let me go!” he says, flailing in Atem's unbreakable hold. “Leave me to curse the day I gave into your advances so that you could use me for cheap thrills. You do not even want me — "

Atem's mouth collides harshly into his.

The kiss is raw, stinging, yet Yugi immediately succumbs. 

Seconds later, he's lying flat on his bed with Atem's full weight on top of him. 

“You foolish boy,” Atem hisses in between biting kisses. He tears the shendyt's from their bodies then nestles his hips in between Yugi’s legs. “You are all I want. My crown weighs heavy on my head, because it keeps you out of my reach. I cannot in good faith take away a gift that benefits my people, and yet all I want is to part your thighs and make you mine." He emphasizes his point by grasping onto the underside of Yugi's thighs and spreading them wider to allow for a heated grind. "I never want to let you out of my sight or my bed." Their hips meet again in a hard, sensual drag. "You run through my dreams, and I find myself chasing you."

Yugi tries to focus on the words, but they blur together in his head. He's too overcome with pleasure to think straight. Atem's rhythm is brutal in its intensity, in the way he flexes his hips with all of his strength to light up every nerve in Yugi's body. The friction is unbearable. Stars explode in Yugi's vision with every grind of Atem's hips. 

The king dips his head to trail a path of open-mouthed kisses down his neck. He marks him with his teeth and tongue as he rocks against him.

He stains his skin with his filthy whispers.

He ruins him with the pleasure of his undulating hips. 

Yugi almost feels himself drifting away, but is kept in place by Atem's weight and given breath by Atem's mouth.

He is tethered by a thread that is wrapped securely around Atem's finger.

"You are not allowed to leave," Atem tells him through harsh pants. "I'll chain you to my bed if you attempt to do so again."

The threat is edged with possessiveness, but Yugi can hear the underlying desperation in Atem's voice. 

Yugi breaks into full-body shivers when he feels the blunt edge of Atem’s cock between his cheeks as Atem smears precome over his entrance.

“Please, just do it,” Yugi begs him. “Please, Atem.”

"If you were indeed sent to test me, I fear that this is a test I will fail."

Atem cants his hips forward.

Yugi feels the pressure at his entrance and instantly comes. 

Atem catches his stream of moans with his mouth and begins to urgently pump himself between his legs. The king growls into the kiss as he comes, too, and Yugi can feel the hot streams of the king's ecstasy trickling down the seam between his cheeks. 

He begins to drift again to somewhere wonderful and simple.

But his attention still sharpens over Atem when the king’s hands come to cup the back of his head. 

"When you wander off like this, I wonder where you go, Yugi,” the king admits quietly. "And if you take me with you."

Yugi's tongue is a lead weight in his mouth; too heavy to form words. 

But when he hears his chosen name fall from Atem’s lips, tears immediately spring to his eyes. 

Then, they bleed over with his next blink, and Atem kisses him full on the lips. 

"You have no idea the power you have over me," Atem says when he pulls away. He wipes away his tears and says, “Come bathe with me. Then, we shall sleep.”

Yugi's heart trembles in disbelief. He still doesn't have the fortitude to speak, never mind stand up. 

But Atem seems to realize this. He teases his mouth apart and soothes him with deep kisses until his shakes subside, and Yugi has enough wherewithal to follow Atem to his chambers. 

Chapter Text

The king’s skin gleams like burnished gold in the morning sun. 

Yugi is mesmerized by the sight. He feels like he should be on his knees, worshipping the deity before him, but instead, he's in Atem's arms, encased by sinuous muscle and enticing body heat. 

The edges of his vision are bleary with remnants of sleep, but at the center of it all is Atem's face, undisturbed in his restful slumber. 

Atem is as plain as he’s ever seen him, missing his kohl and crown and gold and linen. 

Yet, even without the glamor, he is objectively beautiful — perhaps, even more so. 

His tawny skin is warm like the desert sands. His hair is a river of ink and honey, the strands of which create subtle hills and valleys between the wrinkles of silk sheets. He is carved from marble, created using the most precise shapes, but his edges have been softened by sleep. 

Like this, he looks much more like a man than a god-king. 

Compromised by sleepy, wistful fantasies and insurmountable affection, Yugi lifts a hand between them to brush aside the loose strands drifting over Atem’s brow. 

He wants to touch the king further; wants to sweep the pads of his fingers over his lashes, the corner of his mouth, and the pointed tip of his nose, but he still doesn't quite know his place with Atem. 

Belatedly, he realizes that his touch has stirred Atem from his light sleep. 

There is a fluttering of lashes first followed by peeks of red. 

When the king’s eyes lock onto his, fear strikes Yugi's heart like a serpent. 

He wonders if Atem will open his mouth to dismiss him; if the king will regret his decision to bring him to bed last night.

But then Atem tightens his arm around his waist to draw him closer, and Yugi is flooded with instant relief.

“Yugi." 

Just like that, it’s as though Yugi is made of clay — soft and pliable with his whole heart entirely at Atem's feet. 

"Atem," he whispers back. 

That ruby gaze shifts over his face. "You are a sight to behold in Ra's early light," the king says. 

Yugi doesn't know how to respond to that. His voice is held captive by the affection clear in Atem’s baritone. He exhales a shaky breath when Atem’s fingertips graze down his throat.

"I…" Atem's gaze returns to his own. "Perhaps the only thing more sacrilegious than touching your body with the intent to pleasure is touching it with the intent to do it harm.” His expression twists, unfamiliar and nearly uncomfortable with his next words, "Forgive me, Yugi. My temper precedes me. I am aware that my patience and tolerance is lacking, but to lash out as I did..."

“Why did you?”

Atem searches his eyes for a long moment as if the answer might be found in his gaze. “I’ve spent much of the time since your arrival trying to keep our relations strictly physical despite how much my heart wanted you. When you threatened to cut off my only means of connection with you, I became afraid, and I reacted cowardly to hide that fear,” he says. “And then I spent the days following angry that the thought of you leaving instilled in me such fear. Regardless of any of that, I never should have put my hands on you in such a way. For that, I am sorry."

Yugi takes a moment to digest the king’s words. He has never seen Atem as unguarded as he is now. "I was not aware that my loss would affect you so."

The intensity of Atem's stare softens ever so slightly. “Son of Khonsu," the king reveres. "Sweet Yugi. Are you aware that moonlight follows your every step? That the ethereal beauty and divinity you possess steal the breath from my very lungs?"

Emotion wedges itself in Yugi's throat. Unable to speak, he takes Atem's face in his hands and kisses him instead, desperate for the contact and for his words to be truthful in their entirety. 

Whereas Yugi had fallen asleep in a fresh tunic, the king had slept naked, and that is something Yugi is suddenly reminded of when Atem rolls them to settle firm hips between his legs. 

Heat pools in Yugi's gut and flows through him like rushing water.

He spreads his legs further, and the fabric of his tunic rides up his thighs. 

Atem’s arousal is a hard heat nestled between their bodies, next to his own.  

They taste each other with open drags of their mouths. When Atem rolls his hips into him, they both moan urgently into the kiss. 

They are in a precarious situation, enveloped in heat and intimacy, but neither show signs of slowing down. 

“Please, Atem,” Yugi pleads to his lips. “I need — “ He loses his words to another grind, this one that aligns their arousals perfectly. “Oh, gods…”

“Tell me what you need,” Atem demands, mouths brushing. 

What he needs in that moment is for Atem to finally take him — but what he says instead is, "I need your heart.”

Atem draws away from him, just enough to look into his eyes. The sunrise glows in his mahogany irises.  

"And what do you, sweet Yugi, intend to do with the heart of a king?"

"Hold it against mine forever.”

It is clear that Atem isn't expecting an answer so quickly — nor one spoken with such certainty. 

Atem's gaze darkens with intent. His hand lowers, slipping down between their flush bodies. Yugi’s heart races with anticipation and profound need. "I am going to make you mine," he declares at last. "I can no longer delay the inevitable."

But the delay still comes in the form of sudden commotion in the antechamber. 

Voices ring out loudly in a controlled panic. 

Atem is on his feet immediately, fastening the folded shendyt on the dresser around his hips. He stalks toward the door, rips it open, and then disappears into the adjoining room. 

Yugi has already scrambled to his feet. He smooths out his tunic, hands shaking from emotional and physical whiplash. Moments ago, he was in the king’s arms, ready to give him everything. 

Now, that same king returns to him, his expression one of neutrality, but his voice cracks with ferocity as he orders, “Report to Isis, now.”

Yugi doesn’t have time to ask what’s going on, because Atem is already gone, taking only his crown and cape with him. 

He takes off in the direction of his throne room with two of his advisors without another glance in his direction. Yugi runs opposite of him, across the palace toward the healing chambers, his bare feet softly thudding against the stone floor. 

When he arrives at the chambers, it is overflowing with bodies. 

Servants are scattered throughout, trying to stifle bleeding. Panicked chatter and wails from children immediately overwhelm him.

He would be lost, frozen in his own state of alarm, if it had not been for Isis, appearing before him. 

Her expression is stern, but there is tangible relief in her gaze as she directs him to the most critically injured. She relays the pertinent information as they bypass civilians with burns and puncture wounds so deep, it leaves bone and muscle exposed.

A rebel attack. A multitude of casualties and injuries. The perpetrators had been captured and detained.

Yugi imagines Atem is dealing with them as they speak. 

He is led to a young girl, no more than sixteen, who is laid across a cot. She is visibly dipping in and out of consciousness, wavering between the living and the dead. Her skin is soaked with blood as another apprentice of Isis holds the skin folds of a large gaping wound at her stomach together, keeping the entrails inside her body. 

Yugi is propelled into action, his panic subdued in favor of saving a life. 

He brings his hands to her body, his palms hovering over her wounds, and calls forth his gift.

But nothing happens.

Dread courses through him. 

He can feel the ancient magic thrumming in his blood, quieter than usual, but it’s there. It flickers as a match does, trying to catch fire. 

The delay is short-lived as his palms start to glow. 

Relief crashes into him, but he maintains his balance. He focuses on the wounds, sealing affected organs and connecting fine muscle fibers. He stitches the wound at last and looks at the girl's face to find her out cold, though her chest rises and falls with her quiet breaths. 

In a triage situation such as this, he can't afford to linger. He has to move on to the next person and hope she pulls through. 

Eventually, the chorus of cries and residual panic in the room quiets some. 

Once the fatal wounds are tended to, Isis pulls Yugi aside to rest as she and the others care for the more manageable injuries.

He could keep going. He isn’t injured himself, and his magic isn’t drained. 

But he takes the break anyway because he’s frazzled with how quickly the morning turned. His central nervous system is wracked with adrenaline in the midst of a crisis, and he's trying to come to grips with the horrifying images forever burned into his brain. 

He leans back against the far wall, feet sticky with blood, and forces himself to steady his breathing. 

His mind is a chaotic fog, yet he can still sense the moment eyes fall on him. 

He turns his head and meets Atem’s gaze over the crowd as the king stands at the threshold of the chambers. 

Atem looks away to scan the room and evaluate the state of things. 

Then, those eyes return to him.

Seconds later, the king is gone, having disappeared back into the halls.

Atem doesn’t call again for him. 

For a moment, Yugi wonders if he imagined that beautiful moment between them when it seemed like the king truly returned his affections. 

He doesn't let himself stew in his doubt for long though and, eventually, he dismisses it altogether.

He knows that the words Atem had spoken to him in bed were genuine, and he won't be told otherwise. 

He also knows exactly why the king has distanced himself yet again. 

After all, if they had progressed any further that morning then, in all likelihood, Yugi wouldn’t have been able to save those he did from the attack. 

There would’ve most certainly been more casualties. 

He understands this is difficult for Atem to reconcile as Yugi spends the next few days trying to do so himself.

Not for the first time, Yugi curses the circumstances of his birth. 

He'd spent twenty summers, putting others first. 

And not once did he ever feel that his father was satisfied with all the good he'd done, with the lives he'd saved and the wounds he'd healed.

Instead, the focus remained on all the good he could still do. 

There would always be more, he knew.

As it stood now, he'd never be allowed to rest. 

It wasn't until he laid the two paths before him that he found some degree of peace again. 

Either he'd stay here with the king, united as one in heart and body at the cost of his gift. 

Or he’d leave, heartbroken, and carry on with his lonely journey. 

Either way, his time as a healer in the palace was running out.

Why choose the path that would leave them both miserable?

At first, Yugi allows Atem the space to come to the same conclusion on his own. 

But after several days, he finds himself in the king's antechamber with his heart in his throat. 

It nearly leaves his body altogether when the king appears from the adjacent room. In the span of days, Atem looks like he's significantly aged.

“I did not call for you.”

Emotion keeps Yugi tongue-tied as he takes in Atem's tense posture. His expression is guarded, no longer softened with the affection he'd seen days prior. 

When Yugi remains silent, Atem's gaze falls away from him. 

“You should return to your chambers, Aahmes.”

With how quiet the room is, Yugi has to imagine that Atem can hear the breaking of his heart. 

Atem's walls that Yugi had painstakingly taken down have built themselves anew. 

His vision blurs, but still, he can say nothing. 

Eventually, Atem's eyes return to him. 

"Aahm — "

"This is the moment you lose me forever.” 

Yugi's voice is a whisper that carries in a windless room. 

His tears gather in the corner of his eyes and run freely down the curves of his cheeks, leaving shimmering wet tracks in their wake. 

“If you send me away now, I will never come back," he clarifies.

"I have not relieved you of your formal duties here."

"I don't care.” Yugi wipes furiously at his tears with the heels of his palms. “I won’t let you do this to me again.”

“Let me?"

Anger burns hotly in Atem's eyes, a sudden blaze in the dark.  

But it's gone just as quickly as it appears, and Atem's unreadable mask returns with its fatigued lines.

"Do what you must," Atem says quietly. 

And with that, the king disappears into his bedroom. 

It's a dismissal if Yugi's ever seen one, but the bitter resignation in Atem's voice gives him pause. 

It alone draws Yugi inside the king's chambers and out to the balcony where Atem stands under the light of the moon, overlooking his kingdom. 

"When you first arrived, I ridiculed you for what I perceived was your selfishness and unwillingness to accept your duty,” Atem says, sensing Yugi's presence and subsequent approach. “And now I have been humbled in the face of my own selfishness."

There’s a rough edge to Atem’s voice that pulls Yugi the rest of the way to him. 

Atem turns when Yugi steps up beside him, and Yugi brings his hands to his jaw, cradling it. 

"Atem, I love you – “

"I despise you.”

Yugi flinches, but his hands remain simply because he can feel Atem’s pain in the tight clench of his jaw.

"That's not true," Yugi says.

Atem’s hands fasten themselves around Yugi’s wrists. 

The king’s grip is like a vice, but he doesn't pull Yugi’s hands from his face. 

"It is,” Atem argues quietly. “I am tormented by you. At night, the moon is but a reminder of your light and shape and all that I cannot have. The sound of your voice in the throes of passion is all I think about, and the only colors that are meaningful to me are the ones that can be found in your gaze. Even if you were to leave, there is no place you could run to far enough away that I would not track you down. Do you see now, Yugi?” the king asks, peering into his eyes. “You are the bane of my existence, and the object of my every desire.”

Yugi is suddenly adrift, unable to catch his breath in his desperation. "Touch me, Atem," he begs. "Please."

"I cannot." Atem shuts his eyes, shaking his head. “I cannot give into temptation. I must keep my composure. I am a king,” he reminds him. “I am a god."

And just like that, Yugi has had enough. 

He has had enough of Atem's indecision; enough of his life being determined by others; enough of being too scared and timid and weak to take matters into his own hands —

— the same hands that drop from Atem’s face down to the shendyt that hangs from Yugi’s hips. 

His eyes remain affixed to Atem as he undoes the knot and lets the fabric fall to the floor to pool at his feet. 

Yugi stands bare before Atem and whispers into the night, "You are also a man.”

Atem’s eyes lower from his face to trail a scorching path down his entire body. 

The king’s hands are on him at once.

Atem’s touch is fire, but Yugi refuses to be burned this time. 

He has to wonder if his own touch is cool when he leans up to kiss Atem and the king shivers. 

Without delay, Atem reaches down to cup the underside of his thighs and heft Yugi up into his arms. 

Yugi lets himself be carried inside, past the curtains, and to the large bed. 

The muscles and tendons of Atem's shoulders flex and pulse as he lowers them both down to sit on the edge of the mattress, Yugi still in his lap.

Yugi uses this opportunity when Atem is distracted and blindly shuffling through the dresser beside them to slip his tongue into Atem’s mouth. He rarely gets the chance to dominate the kiss, but Atem allows him his exploration, and Yugi takes full advantage of it. 

He tenses on reflex at the slick finger that slips between his cheeks to rub at his entrance. 

His heart is pounding against his ribs, his breath lost to Atem’s mouth, but still, he arches his back to encourage Atem further. 

Finally, the tip of Atem's finger breaches the temple of his body, and he breaks off into a gasp that Atem hungrily swallows. 

Tears slip down his cheeks in all-encompassing relief as Atem parts reluctant muscle, easing into his body.

Atem seeks to soothe him, licking into his mouth and tightening his hold on Yugi to grind their cocks together. 

When Atem adds another finger, the stretch begins to burn, and a queasy tremor zips up Yugi's spine. 

A blossoming of pleasure follows shortly after when Atem brushes against a spot inside of him that makes him tremble. 

Yugi tosses his head back, submerging himself in the sensations. 

Atem takes the opportunity to mouth at his pale neck, sucking the skin until it's bruised and raised; until Yugi’s attention is split between being penetrated and the raw, stinging lovebites. 

Atem’s slender fingers begin to tease him apart, loosening the muscle in preparation to take the thick arousal currently trapped between their stomachs.

The thought of it inside of him has Yugi breaking out into full-body shivers. 

Atem’s fingers leave him with a taste of what's to come.

But when Yugi feels Atem begin to shift them, his hand flies out to push against Atem’s chest. 

Their eyes meet in wordless conversation. 

There is an incredibly long pause. 

Then, to Yugi’s shock and delight, Atem folds under the pressure and slowly reclines until he’s lying back on the bed.

Yugi had been on his back before Atem countless times.

It was a subservient position, known as a woman’s place, and one that men even with their inclinations sought to avoid. 

It was a position unheard of for royalty. 

But Atem was before him now, offering him something that no one ever had. 

A choice. 

One that was entirely his. 

He could choose here and now to take Atem inside of him. 

Or he could walk away. 

It was a choice, however, that Yugi had made long ago.

His knees frame Atem’s hips as he rises and positions himself. Fear snaps out at its chains when he feels the blunted head of Atem’s cock at his cheeks, but Atem’s hands are there at his hips, steadying him, comforting him. 

Yugi inhales a breath and holds it inside his lungs. 

He focuses on Atem’s eyes as he descends. 

His body resists at first.

Yugi has to apply more and more pressure until finally the muscles give and the cockhead slips inside of him. 

Yugi quakes, steadied only by Atem’s grip as he continues to sink down onto him.

He can feel Atem’s cock inside of him, parting virgin muscle to accommodate his large size. His body aches, the stretch burns, but it feels so good. 

Yugi can’t breathe nor can he stop his descent.

He can’t do anything but be filled by Atem, submitting to the sweet clutches of ecstasy once he comes flush with Atem’s hips. 

"Inside of you at last," Atem purrs, his voice dripping with lust and desire. "You are divine.”

It’s surreal.

Yugi feels like his entire body is overheating. He breathes harshly, his eyes closed and skin flushed. He can feel Atem’s cock pulsing inside of him, leaking, and providing extra glide for when Yugi lifts up on his knees and sinks back down onto him again.

He's shaking head to toe, trembling with delight and life-affirming pleasure. 

Yugi feels like Atem may split him in half but it feels so good, Yugi isn't capable of stopping. 

He rides Atem slowly, reveling in every inch of his cock as it disappears inside his body. 

He thought he’d have to fight to remain in this position, but Atem doesn't make any sign of moving them.

Rather, Atem's head is tipped back against the mattress, his face twisted with pleasure, and sweat beading at his brow. His eyes are hot coals that rake over every inch of exposed flesh. 

On Yugi’s next descent, Atem flexes his hips upward to bury himself completely inside of him. 

They develop a steady rhythm of giving and taking then. Atem thrusting up into him as Yugi sinks down. 

Yugi covers Atem’s hands on his hips with his own and laces their fingers together. 

“This is what you wanted, Yugi?” Atem pants. “To be filled? To be fucked? ”

“To be yours,” Yugi corrects. 

"You are. I will mark you as mine. No one else here,” Atem says, punctuating with a thrust, “ever." 

Yugi’s trembling intensifies. 

Atem’s words are rapture, and the coiled heat in his thighs, between his legs, tightens until it’s unbearable.

When Yugi comes undone, Atem uses the orgasmic contortions of his body to draw out his own, pumping into him until Yugi can feel Atem’s ecstasy filling him. 

Atem's hands leave his hips to curl around his biceps, catching him as he collapses onto him. 

Yugi must black out for the next few seconds, because the next thing he knows, he’s lying against the bed, and Atem is positioning a pillow beneath his lower back to prop up his hips. 

Yugi looks to him with dazed eyes, questioning. 

Atem answers first by kissing him, open-mouthed and with heated strokes of his tongue. Then, he pulls away just enough to murmur, "I want you to keep my seed inside of you. I want you to feel it whenever you breathe or move and know that you are mine.”

Atem’s body and his words anchor him and keep him present, despite how much he's inclined to drift off. 

He presses a hand flat to the center of Atem’s chest and says, "And you are mine.”

Atem doesn’t deny it, because they both know it to be true. 

Instead, Atem cups the back of his head and kisses him breathless. 

All the while, Atem ruts against him, in between his legs, until he's hard again; until the king can easily slip inside of him with nothing more than a faint gasp from Yugi. 

This time, Atem fucks into him with long, deep strokes and undulating thrusts. The pleasure inside of Yugi mounts, building in his chest and in between his legs until he breaks and comes again. 

He is blissfully unaware of anything other than Atem and pleasure. 

For their final time that night, Atem turns him over onto his knees and takes him from behind. He’s so full that Atem’s come drips down his thighs with each thrust. Yugi's rapturous moans spill out onto the pillow, his body aching and overwhelmed with so much pleasure that he’s not sure he’ll ever reemerge from this daze. 

He is practically boneless when Atem carries him from the room to the adjacent chambers to bathe him.

Once they return to bed, Atem pins him down with his entire body weight. He kisses him for a long while, languidly and with such care that Yugi becomes weepy.

But Atem simply brushes his ivory tears away and holds him until they both surrender to exhaustion. 

He doesn’t tell Atem because he can’t bear to ruin this magical moment between them, but as Yugi finally drifts off, entangled with the king, he knows in his very bones that his gift is gone. 

Chapter Text

With the morning comes heavy rain. 

Light cracks the sky — a spiderweb of blinding energy. Thunder rumbles in the distance, casting an ominous echo overhead. 

But it’s the downpour that is most alarming. 

It was an extraordinarily rare occurrence to begin with. Rainfall was scarce in a land as dry as theirs. The water was not well-absorbed by the soil, leaving the possibility for torrents, putting both lives and property at risk.  

Before true panic could set in, however, the storm subsided, leaving as quickly as it had arrived. 

Yugi shuffles in his spot, restless with anxiety. He’d been verbally confined to the bed, ordered to wait for Atem to return. He tries to settle, knowing it'll take a while for Atem and the council to evaluate any damage and await word as to whether aid was required. 

But he finds it impossible to sit still.

As uneasy as he is by the unexpected storm, he is even more unnerved by Atem’s sudden absence. He feels lost here, enclosed by luxury, and alone in a bed far too big for just himself.

He pulls comfort from the same blankets that’d been wrapped around their bodies the night before.

When he shifts again, a wince slips from between his teeth. His body is still so tender from their extended union, but he doesn’t shy away from the pain. Rather, he welcomes it. 

In the past, he’d often forgo healing himself when injured out of spite, preferring to be a martyr for his own petty cause.  

But now, he can’t heal himself, and there's something terribly freeing about that. 

Despite the ache in his back and burn within him, his body feels lighter than ever before. 

His thoughts scatter in the wind at the sound of the chamber doors. 

The anxiety in Yugi’s gut eases at the king's return just to flare again when Atem bypasses him without a single word. 

The king draws toward the balcony windows, watching the faint drizzle outside with crossed arms and a faraway gaze.  

Yugi can see the tension in Atem’s shoulders from here. 

His fingers twitch with the desire to reach out to him, to soothe the stress lines in his frame, but fear keeps him glued to the bed for the time. 

He doesn’t regret his choice. 

How could he? He was true to himself — for the first time in his life.

However, if Atem's guilt became too heavy a load for him to bear, would Atem turn him away?

Yugi anxiously soothes the tremors in his thighs with the palms of his hand. 

He feels incredibly fragile, on the cusp of tears at the thought that after all this, he still somehow ended up alone, when Atem’s steady voice cuts through his inner turmoil. 

“Tefnut is displeased,” Atem observes aloud. 

Yugi opens his mouth but no words of comfort are forthcoming. 

He can’t talk to Atem like this, he decides. Not with his back turned to him.

With care, he eases himself out of the bed. 

He reaches for his shendyt and ties it loosely around his waist to cover his modesty. 

His steps are soft as he pads toward Atem. He keeps his approach careful, but still, the moment Yugi steps into his space, Atem visibly tenses. 

"I wonder what our penance will be for what transpired last night," Atem remarks, his gaze affixed to the outside world. "I am inclined to believe that this is only a warning of what is to come."

Yugi gazes out across the wet landscape. "You think that this is because — "

Atem’s eyes cut to him in challenge, and Yugi doesn’t bother to finish the thought. 

He has no evidence to argue to the contrary. Personally, he’d anticipated his father’s disappointment, but other gods interceding on his behalf made little sense to him. 

None of that matters to him now, though. 

What matters is Atem and the palpable distance between them. 

“There will be consequences to our union, Yugi,” Atem reminds him, but his voice is distant like he is also reminding himself. 

Yugi doesn't realize he'd been holding his breath until it's knocked out of him. 

Relief fills its place and settles in the bottom of his lungs. 

Despite the tension, all was not lost. 

He was still Yugi. 

Inhaling, he rounds on Atem so that they are facing each other.

Garnet eyes lower to him. 

Yugi can feel the tension in the air as if he's staring down a cornered animal, but he still dares to reach out with both hands and fit his palms to Atem's face. 

As soon as Yugi touches him, Atem goes completely rigid. 

They stand like that, still, the only noise around them their nearly silent breathing and quiet rain. 

Then, Atem audibly exhales. 

The tension melts from his shoulders, his arms loosening as he reaches out and encircles Yugi’s waist, pulling him close. 

A sob of relief lodges itself in Yugi’s throat, and Yugi’s hands move quickly to coil around Atem's neck. 

He tucks his head under Atem's chin and brushes his lips over the warm skin, right over his pulse point, in a kiss of sheer gratitude.

"I've done a great disservice to you."

"Don't say that," Yugi whispers into his skin, "Atem…"

"I never should've — "

"It was my selfish choice to make." Yugi lifts his head and suddenly they are eye-to-eye, close enough to assume Atem’s breath as his own. "Will you discard me for it?"

Atem’s arms tighten around him. "How could I," he responds quietly, "when you are so inexplicably intertwined with my ka?"

Atem coaxes Yugi into a kiss then, and Yugi melts into him as his breath is stolen away. 

When Atem draws away from him to speak, it takes everything in Yugi not to chase him. 

"They are gone?" 

Yugi watches Atem's lips as they form the question. A tendril of fear crawls down his spine, making him shiver. They both know the answer, yet to speak it out loud intimidates him.

A part of him fears that Atem will release him once he hears the truth of it. 

That he is no longer a demi-god. No longer a being touched by divinity. 

That he is now simply a man helplessly in love with another. 

“Yes,” Yugi breathes. 

A pause. "Do you regret it?"

Yugi shakes his head. "Do you?" he whispers.

"One could not regret being with you, Yugi," Atem replies instantly,

Yugi’s heart is inexplicably delicate, paper-thin almost, and he is so careful with it when he presses his body against Atem's and murmurs, "If we are already condemned, then is there any harm in you loving me again?"

The strong arms encasing Yugi in corded muscles tighten around him. “Do you think I stop when our bodies are not intertwined?” Atem asks him. “Do you truly not know how much I yearn for you when you are out of my sight?"

At that, Yugi’s hands lower from Atem’s neck to grip his biceps. He hopes it'll be enough to keep him from simply drifting away. 

“I feel lost, Atem,” Yugi says, swallowing a wave of emotion. “My value has always been tied to what I can do for others. Without that, I’m left grappling for my worth.” 

Atem's breath is warm on his face, but his lips are surprisingly gentle against the corner of his mouth where Atem kisses him. “You are everything,” he says, his hands leaving Yugi's body to strip them both of their shendyts. Linen falls soundlessly to the floor. 

Atem's bare skin is heated silk against his own, and Yugi's lungs expand around a full breath when he's lowered back onto soft sheets. 

Atem draws away for a moment to fetch the bottle of oil from the bedside, but he quickly returns to drape his body over his.  

"Nothing makes me feel as powerful as you do,” Atem confesses to him. He drags his teeth over the protrusion of Yugi’s clavicle and sucks hard on the bone, eliciting a pleasurable gasp. “Relinquishing your body to me to do what I please,” he breathes against his skin. “And right now, precious Yugi, I’d like to fill you with my seed. And when I'm done, I’ll keep my cock inside of you until I'm ready to take you again."

Yugi wants that, too — wants Atem to fill all the places within him that are hollow.

A moment later, Atem is stretching him open with slick fingers, and Yugi gasps at the intrusion.

There’s a tender ache in his muscles, but the one in his heart that needs Atem back inside of him is much more prominent. Still, he's aware that his body has its own physical limitations. 

“Gentle,” Yugi murmurs. 

“Gentle,” Atem echoes as he teases muscle apart. Yugi moans and parts his legs further to encourage Atem to touch him deeper. "Just for you."

Atem’s fingers leave him empty, but the blunt tip of his arousal is ready at his entrance — pushing, pushing, pushing, until the head slips inside.  

Yugi arches into the touch, eyes rolling to the ceiling, as Atem sinks into him. 

The fit is so deliciously tight, and every thrust onward is a pleasurable drag of Atem's cock. 

Atem is taking so much pleasure from his body, but he’s giving Yugi just as much in return. In exchange for this, for letting Atem dominate and possess him, Atem is offering him a home; he is offering him value, worth, and affection, and everything Yugi has ever wanted. 

“You’re so soft," Atem huffs, thrusting into him. "Your legs open so easily for me. It makes sense, don't you think? That your body would fit against mine so well. You were born for me, after all. Born to tempt me, to hold me hostage with your pretty tears. But now your body's mine and you just have to take it, don't you?" The flushed, damp skin of their hips and thighs meet, and Atem flexes inside of him as deeply as he can. Pleasure wracks through Yugi's body. "And you do, sweet Yugi. You take it so well."

Yugi fully succumbs to ecstasy when it crests over him. He trembles through his climax, his mind fading in and out, as Atem empties into him in a series of deep thrusts. 

When Atem's arousal softens, he remains inside of him, keeping his seed where it is. 

Yugi sighs at the feeling, at the closeness, at the love that Atem doesn’t put into those exact words, but instead into the way he curls around him, holding onto Yugi as if he's precious cargo. 

Yugi opens his eyes when he feels a flutter on his face to find Atem brushing his hair aside. A tear slips down his cheek, unbidden. 

“Such a sensitive little thing you are,” Atem says with traces of fondness. When Atem wipes his tear away, no evidence of it remains on Atem’s fingers. 

There will be consequences to our union.

Atem's words echo in his head, and Yugi's tears come anew. 

Shakily, Yugi asks him, “Was I worth it?”

Atem’s touch stills at his cheek. He searches Yugi's face, his eyes distant with consideration. 

Finally, he says, "I cannot give you an honest answer without knowing the price,” Atem tells him. He lowers his face and captures Yugi's lips in a kiss that is soft with tenderness. “But if I had to hazard a guess," he adds, "I'd say yes.”

Chapter Text

In light of their consummation, there are consequences that Yugi had both foreseen and accepted prior to making his choice.

Losing his gift, for one. 

Losing what remained of his father’s affections, for another. In all likelihood, he’d be further cast aside and disowned for his choice.

He'd expected all of this, yet he hadn’t expected punishment.

Especially because he didn’t consider choosing his humanity over his divinity to be a crime worthy of such. 

He hadn’t thought his father to be a particularly vengeful god, not since long before the birth of his children, but as Yugi stands in the healing chambers, he realizes how entirely foolish he's been. 

The room is in a state of panic, much as it was the last time the rebels attacked. 

Except this time, the target had been the royal procession when Atem had ventured into the city.

This time, it’s a stab wound to Atem’s chest that Yugi is trying – and failing – to heal. 

His hands are stained red, his white shendyt saturated with the king’s blood that may as well be his own. He recoils, curling in on himself against the pain. It feels as though someone is sinking a hot blade into his heart. 

“No, no, no,” Yugi mumbles, half-present, begging, pleading. He quickly exchanges the gauze beneath his palms for a fresh one to help stifle the bleeding.

Isis works hurriedly beside him, stitching a second wound at Atem's side that she surmised was the more life-threatening of the two. 

Yugi can hardly see through his tears, but even in his state of alarm, of partial dissociation, he can feel the touch at his cheek. 

He looks up from his blood-soaked hands and meets Atem’s gaze. The lines of the king’s handsome face are drawn with pain, but his aura radiates a calm acceptance that has Yugi’s soul flaring with anger. 

“No.” Yugi shakes his head and tears fall from his eyes like rain. “Atem, you can’t do this; you can’t leave me.”

“Yugi,” the king says. His voice is faint, yet it’s the only thing Yugi can hear over the erratic beat of his heart. “If it is my time to die then I will accept that. Set will make for an excellent successor. Kemet will mourn, but rest assured, she will continue to thrive.”

“But what about me?” Yugi whispers through his tears. “What am I supposed to do without you?”

Atem places a hand atop of Yugi’s where it lies pressed against his chest. Blood wets their joined fingers. “Come closer, my sensitive moon-child,” Atem beckons him. 

Yugi decreases the space between them at once, lowering his face to Atem’s. He bites back a sob when Atem kisses him with gentle lips that take his breath away but not his pain. 

When Atem draws away, his quiet words brush along Yugi’s cheek. “Know that you were worth it, sweet Yugi.”

The sob escapes him then, crawling up his throat before he can stop it. His shoulders shake with the intensity of his heartbreak, and his tears stain Atem’s cheek. The king’s rich golden skin looks so much paler now. 

“N-no,” Yugi presses another kiss to Atem’s lips. “I wasn’t worth this.”

Atem’s words fail him as he slips from consciousness. 

His chest rises and falls with his every shallow breath, and Yugi’s only solace as he devolves into wretched sobbing is that Atem is no longer in pain.

He litters Atem’s face with tears and desperate kisses.

And, just like that, Yugi is confronted with another choice. 

In reality, his decision takes place in the span of seconds but it feels as if it's an eternity in itself. 

His first instinct is to drop to his knees and pray for mercy on his anguished, naïve soul.

To bargain, to beg, to grovel for his powers back, to agree to maintain a life of solitude and carry out his duty without a single complaint. Or even offer his life in return, if that’s what's required. 

But there’s no guarantee any god would give him an audience in this dire moment, and the thought of fitting chains back to his ankles after taking a step without them for the first time in his life makes something bitter churn in his gut. 

He could also simply stay here and cry into Atem’s warm neck until it eventually turns cold. He could consider all the ways his grief and guilt would kill him — because it would. If not today, then tomorrow or in a month or year… 

He could spend Atem’s last day on this earth pitying himself, knowing he had brought so many back from the brink of death, but that he couldn’t do the same for the man he loved. 

Instead of doing any of that, however, Yugi kisses his king’s jaw and nuzzles their cheeks together. Then, he pulls away to stand up tall.  

Through his fog, he taps into the strength inside of him that has nothing to do with his forfeited magic and everything to do with his steadfast refusal to let Atem pay the price of his choice. 

“Fetch me a kit,” Yugi says to the dark-haired helper beside Isis. She’s a young girl, visibly distressed by the chaos, but she responds instantly, disappearing to grab the requested supplies. 

Isis pauses long enough to meet his eyes. “You’ve only observed previous stitchings, Yugi. You’ve never performed one yourself.”

“I know,” Yugi acknowledges. His gaze returns to Atem’s face. “But this is our only option. He can’t keep losing blood like this. Focus on your work there, and I will do my best to stitch the wound at his chest.”

If she’s at all hesitant about his capabilities, she doesn’t show it. Likely because she knows Yugi’s words to be true. They simply do not have the time to wait for her to close the first wound before tending to the second. Any further delay could result in Atem's death. 

When the helper returns with the supplies, Yugi has her sterilize the chest wound with alcohol. He's grateful that Atem is not conscious to suffer the same horrific sting that he had to when Isis had first begun. 

Yugi forces his breathing to steady, calming the tremors in his hands. When they no longer shake, he leans in closer and pierces the skin edging the wound with a silver hooked needle. He pulls through the attached thread and weaves the edges of the wound together. As he seals it, the blood flow significantly slows to an ooze. 

In all his time healing, he’d never had to bloody his hands quite like this. 

Beneath the waves of alarm and misery, Yugi feels a slither of accomplishment when he looks upon the sutured wound. 

It’s not nearly as neat as Isis’. When healed, it would almost certainly leave behind a nasty scar. Yugi, however, would consider himself lucky if Atem lived through this to complain about his shoddy handiwork. 

After he and Isis tend to the king, they move on to the injured guards that had been brought in with him. 

Several of them do not survive. 

By the end of the day, Yugi is covered in blood that isn’t his. He rinses off as best he can, scrubbing his skin raw. He thinks he’s run out of tears, but his eyes immediately burn anew when he enters Atem’s private chambers and sees the unconscious man resting in his bed. 

“You did well today,” Isis tells him, looking worse for wear. “However, I do not wish to give you false hope. It would be a miracle if he survived the night, Yugi.”

Yugi runs his fingertips over the king’s cool temple, brushing aside a few golden strands. “If he does not, then I will transverse the Duat and find another way to bring him back to me,” he says quietly. 

The next time Isis speaks, it's to excuse herself to the antechamber where the rest of the council waits anxiously for report. 

Once alone, Yugi sinks down onto the chair beside the king's bed. He takes Atem’s hand in both of his and brushes his lips over the knuckles.

He exhales sharply, on the cusp of tears, but fights it, fearing if he starts crying again, he’ll be unable to stop. 

Leaning over the bed, he presses Atem’s hand to his forehead, and listens carefully to Atem’s breathing. 

"Don't leave me," Yugi whispers into the night several hours later. 

In response to his plea, Atem lightly squeezes his hand. 

Chapter Text

A quiet wind ruffles the curtains on the balcony, stirring Yugi from his slumber. The faint glimmer of faraway light signals the break of dawn, but the night still clings to his surroundings. 

Shrouded in darkness, he can hardly make out the scar on Atem’s chest, but he can feel it under his fingertips. He traces the raised skin, silently admiring it. It’s jagged in places with uneven grooves and hills, but its significance adds immeasurable beauty to it.  

Yugi’s work was too amateur at the time to result in a smoother scar, but that matters little to him when he can feel the steady heartbeat beneath the pads of his fingers. 

Yugi startles, surprised, when a hand fastens around his wrist. 

He looks up at Atem with wide eyes. The ruby of his gaze gleams even in the fading night.  

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Yugi says. He smiles bashfully under his intense gaze. “I thought you were sleeping.”

Atem’s eyes narrow, but the threat is neutralized by the smirk tugging at the king’s lips. “So you believed me to be sleeping, and that gave you the right to molest me?”

Yugi flushes at once, spluttering, “You — you touch me all the time — “

“Yes, but you see, I am the king. A god amongst men,” Atem says, and he’s grinning now. He releases his wrist to slip an arm behind Yugi’s back and roll them over. It’s sheer muscle memory that compels Yugi to open his legs to accommodate the familiar weight between them. “I have special privileges,” the king added. “Certainly where you are concerned.”

Amused and mildly indignant, Yugi opens his mouth to respond. 

A sigh falls from his lips in place of words when a wet heat grazes the skin of his neck. 

Yugi tilts his head back against his pillow, allowing the flat of Atem's tongue to lick up his throat.

Yugi shudders at the sensation. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the shadow of Atem’s hand, reaching for the small bottle on the nightstand. 

His focus shifts then to the hot palm, running up the outside of his thigh. After losing several shendyts to their frequent activities, Yugi had taken to sleeping naked as well. With how frequently their bodies were entangled, clothes seemed like an unnecessary obstacle between them when they were in private. 

“Your Majesty,” Yugi whispers, breath catching at the talented fingers playing between his legs. “Is there something I could do for you this morning?”

“Mmm.” Atem nips at his jaw. “I’d say so.”

“Isis said only yesterday that you were supposed to be taking it easy still.”

“I think we can both agree that I've been taking it easy,” Atem argues while simultaneously pushing two slick digits inside of him.

Yugi’s mind goes blissfully blank as he surrenders to the pleasure Atem so freely gives him. It is impossible to worry for the future when Atem is atop him, treasuring his body with his expert touch, with hands that know his exact curves. 

All that matters in this moment is he and Atem, intertwined. 

He gasps sharply when the blunted tip of Atem’s cock prods at his entrance and pushes in, parting the ring of muscles that always yield to him. Strong hands pin his hips in place. 

“That’s right, beloved,” Atem mutters huskily. “Take it all.”

Yugi always does — willingly, desperately. 

A hand curls underneath one of Yugi’s knees, bringing it to his shoulder and opening Yugi up entirely. 

By the time their hips are flush, both of their breathing has turned ragged. 

There is no place safer in all of Kemet than here, enveloped by the slender, hard muscles of the king, joined with him in body and soul. 

Yugi takes Atem’s face in his hands, their eyes locked as their hips begin to rock against each other. 

Each thrust has their noses bumping and lips brushing. 

Their lovemaking is always so intense, and this time is no different. As Atem fucks into him deeply at such an agonizingly slow pace, Yugi finds it hard to breathe. Atem’s touch is like fire, licking at his skin, heating his blood, and curling up his spine. He can feel the shape of Atem’s cock as it thrusts into him, spreading his muscles open, and hitting that spot inside of him that makes him writhe beneath the king. 

Starburst of pleasure graze his skin when Atem quickens his pace, hips colliding, damp skin slapping together harshly. Yugi's thighs draw taut with tension, teetering on the precipice until Atem buries himself to the hilt and rubs his cockhead inside of him. 

Ecstasy rushes through him and tremors wrack his body, forcing an arch of his spine when he comes between them. 

He clings onto Atem’s shoulders to anchor himself through his climax, to keep himself from drifting too far as Atem fills him with his seed while muttering filth into his ear. 

Quiet pants blow past Yugi's lips as he orients himself in space, finding his body boneless beneath the king. 

His eyes flutter shut when Atem brushes his sweaty bangs aside and presses a lazy kiss to his lips. 

“Good morning, sweet Yugi,” he says. 

If possible, Yugi melts even further into the sheets. “Good morning, Atem," he coos. "Did you sleep well?”

“Mm, always with you by my side,” Atem mumbles, kissing him again. 

Yugi accepts it easily, but he raises a shrewd brow the moment Atem pulls away. “You are being awfully charming this morning.”

“You’d prefer I not be?” the king inquires. “Perhaps, you’d rather I punish you for being such a nuisance and send you off to the cells.”

Yugi is unable to suppress his responding chuckle. “But you may miss me," he says. 

“That may be a risk I’m willing to take.”

A knock at the door of the king’s chambers interrupts their conversation, but Atem makes no move to unwind their tangled limbs. 

“Forgive me, Great Pharaoh,” Isis’ voice filters through the heavy door. “Would you be so kind as to relieve my apprentice? He is needed in the Healing Chambers to observe.” 

Yugi had been too distracted by their lovemaking to notice the amount of light pooling into the room now, brightening up the space. He realizes he's lost track of time and goes to apologize for his tardiness, but his words are muffled by Atem’s tongue playing at the seam of his lips. 

When Atem pulls away, he asks in a low voice, “What say you, demi-god of the moon? Is it time for us to report to our stations?” 

Reverence weighs heavy in Atem’s tone, giving Yugi pause. For Atem to even pose the question... it reinforced to Yugi that his opinion mattered, that his words held value to the king.

He blinks away the slight burn in his eyes. 

“You know that I am no longer a demi-god,” Yugi corrects softly. 

In response to that, Atem kisses him deeply. 

Yugi responds instantly, weak to Atem’s affections. 

When his breath is sufficiently stolen from his lungs, Atem draws back enough to say, “You saved my life with your bare hands. These hands,” he says. He brings one of Yugi's hands to his lips and kisses the knuckles. “Your courage in the face of certain failure, your determination and bravery, makes you more of a god to me than you ever were with your gift. I'd even go as far as to say that they are my favorite qualities of yours.”

Yugi is unable to string together a coherent response for a long time. When he finally can, he repeats, quite breathlessly, "What say I? I say you should kiss me again and never stop.”

Atem smirks. “You are very wise, moon child.” 

Atem's advisors who turn up at his door shortly afterward are hard-pressed to agree.

All too soon, they are separated for the day to carry out the duties assigned of them. However, by dusk, they find their way back to each other, just as always.

Atem joins him out on the balcony, embracing him from behind. He interlaces their fingers together and places their joined hands over Yugi’s heart.

His scar – signifying what they mean to each other – isn't visible like Atem's is.

But it's just as permanent. 

Together, they watch the sun set. Directly across the sky, the moon is alight. 

It was a rare occurrence to see them out at the same time like this. 

Yugi supposed as unlikely as a union between the sun's god-king and the moon’s child. 

“What a pair we make,” Yugi says fondly, gazing out into the vast future. 

He feels Atem's lips, pulled into a smile and warm at his cheek. “Indeed,” the king says.