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Mistaken Assumptions	By : tavia454 Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 17844 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, I make no money off this story! Bummer!

Chapter List
- 19
- 20
- 21
No, I haven't exactly been
working on this fic this past month cause as I said before I deal
with enough angst during the holidays – I don't need to write
it. But I did have one chap that was already beta'd and another that
was nearly finished, just not sent out to beta. So here's my finished
chap as a thank you for being patient.

Thank
you to Renaiya88027 for being my most awesome beta! And thank you
everyone for your reviews! I will do a small oneshot for the 500^th
reviewer if we get that far. Hope everyone had a merry Christmas or
whatever you happen to celebrate! Thanks for making this one the big
success it has been!

Oh – and the inner chap
dividers are back in place so for those that got a little confused
when I switched scenes in the middle of a chap – you might want
to re-read some of the chapters with the dividers in them.

~
o ~ O ~ o ~

Off balance and still all out
of sorts from the confrontation with his ex-lover in the bathing
chamber – which had adhered itself to his mind for the first
round of meetings that morning with a death grip the likes Yugi had
never known – the irritated Hyksos royal stalked the halls of
the palace, searching out something to distract him from the temper
he was ready to unleash.

He had managed to lose his
shadow for a period of time, thankfully – shortly after
having been thoroughly reminded of his former lover's high profile
looks by one of the two Egyptian immigrants that served as part of
the kitchen staff. It had been decided then and there, when the man
dropped to his knees before Atemu, that if the Pharaoh was indeed
going to serve out his time in the palace, he would need to be hidden
from the all those who entered to palace on a daily basis.

So
the first thing that Yugi did was to drop the taller royal into the
capable hands of the women who used to care for him in his youth. It
was just too bad that they knew their job so well, for he had gotten
his shadow back not moments after he left the throne room for morning
break. And Atemu had been none too pleased with his new look either,
looking as if he was about to unleash his
temper on the next unfortunate person to cross his path.

Yugi glanced behind him, noting
the other's disapproving expression with a slight smirk. Served the
Egyptian monarch right, for being so adamant about staying where he
wasn't wanted. He had to admit, though, with that mop of wild hair
drawn up into an intricately beaded plaiting, the lower half of his
face covered by a diaphanous white veil, the Pharaoh looked every
inch the exotic, foreign concubine. His former lover had the figure,
as well as the eyes to attract the attention of anyone who happened
to glance his way.

But that realization did
nothing to temper the young Hyksos king's raging attitude at the
impossible situation. He didn't want the other royal anywhere near
him. Not at all. It would be entirely too easy to fall back into that
man's arms, to give into the temptation that was Atemu. Which was
something he wanted to avoid at all costs. The wounds were still
fresh, still raw from their last encounter.

It was a mistake for the
respected Egyptian monarch to even be here. He knew this, Atemu knew
this. Basically everyone who was involved knew this. But yet he was
still here, bound and determined to stick around and cause all manner
of problems – one of which Yugi was dying to deal with, but had
so far refrained due to his inability to get his hands on the
culprit. Where was his grandfather, anyways?!

The young Hyksos royal chewed
diligently on his lower lip, feeling his temper rising again. He'd
had this insane urge to beat someone ever since finding the marks on
his former lover's back. Not because of the pain that it had caused
the other royal, but for the simple fact that the incident could well
cause a war. He would not be party to the signing of his country's
death warrant as his grandfather seemed so willing to do.

No, his anger had absolutely
nothing to do with the torment that Atemu had gone through. Nothing
at all. And Yugi kept repeating that thought over and over again as
he stalked the halls.

What if the Egyptians, even
inadvertently, found out about their sovereign's plight? What would
be left of his kingdom then? Or what about the Egyptian allies? What
if one of them found out? He had to tread carefully around his former
captor's all powerful persona even as he searched for a way to send
him home. There was just no way around it, the Pharaoh could not be
here – not pretending to be his slave. Not in any way at all
really. Too many people could take advantage of this situation. And
someone already had.

Oh
gods, what do I do now? Coherent
thought scattered, his face paling, as Yugi realized where he had
headed in his distraction. It was a part of the palace he never, ever
visited, not since his father's death. And he had no intentions of
doing so now. Spinning on his heel he nearly ran into the one who was
causing these distractions in the first place.

“Could
you just – ” Yugi made a useless, defeated gesture before
raking a hand through his unruly hair. “I need some time
alone.”

Keeping the elderly advisor's
words of that morning firmly in mind Atemu gave a distracted sigh. “I
am sorry, lit – ” At Yugi's glare he amended the title. “
– your Highness, but that is an impossibility right now. Were
I less concerned about your safety I would do so.”

Yugi glared impotently at his
words, giving a frustrated tug at his hair. “What? Do you think
that someone is just going to jump out of nowhere and kill me? I'm
well aware of our internal problems, Pharaoh. I'm not blind! And I'm
not helpless either, contrary to your belief.”

“Be
that as it may – ” Atemu matched him glare for glare.
“'Tis my responsibility to ensure your safety, as your personal
servant
– as well as that of your spouse. I would never forgive
myself if someone hurt you.”

Unless
you're the one who does it, right?
Yugi thought savagely. He gave a low growl, having been thoroughly,
and unnecessarily, reminded of the significance of the beautiful,
overly-extravagant piece that encircled his wrist. To Atemu's ears
the younger royal was beginning to sound more and more like himself,
and he was further convinced of that fact when the boy opened his
mouth.

“I
have already absolved you of the need to follow my grandfather's
dictates.” Yugi spat. “You need not play the servant –
not that your are any good at it. Nothing that you are doing is
helping me in the slightest. Your very presence upsets me. Go home,
Pharaoh.”

Atemu held a hand to his heart,
feigning hurt as he sought to change the subject, as well as lighten
the mood. “You wound me with your words, my liege. Have I not
attempted to give order to the piles of work that even now await you
at your desk? Hidden myself away at your request? I would do whatever
it is you desire of me.”

Yugi only snorted, failing to
find any sort of humor in the situation. “Whatever.” He
turned and stalked back through the halls, retracing his earlier
steps.

Atemu caught up to him quickly,
falling into step a hairsbreadth behind him, his heart in his throat
as he studied the smaller royal's angered countenance. Was there any
way to repair the damage he had wrought? “There was a time once
when you would have laughed, no matter the gravity of the
situation...”

Yugi shot his royal stalker a
withering glare. “Yeah...well that time's long since passed
hasn't it?”

Atemu lowered his gaze,
defeated. “Apparently so.”

The remainder of their search
was conducted in silence, neither of them quite sure on how to strike
up a conversation, or if they should even try. Yugi knew that he
should have been sitting in on the afternoon meeting with his nobles,
but at this particular moment he was rather certain that if he were
to do so it would only cause more dissent amongst them, which was not
his intention.

There was enough strife present
in Hyksos without his alienation of the upper class, no matter how
much he distrusted them. He was immensely glad that he had
rescheduled his part in the meeting for the next day once he had
learned about the Pharaoh's presence in his kingdom. And evil grin
crossed his features as he realized what had slipped his notice
during the time he had been stalking the palace in search of the one
who had earned his ire.

He had forgotten to inform his
grandfather of that little fact. An evil grin flitted across his
features. Not that it mattered, he was irritated enough at his mentor
to find a cynical sort of pleasure in this oversight. The old man
would probably be sitting in the throne room right now wondering
where he was. Oh well, it served the interfering old man right for
bringing the cause of his unhappiness back into his life with no
escape. His grandfather could just sit there, and wait. He had other
worries – like his friends...oh, his friends?!

Muttering a curse Yugi spun on
his heel, skirted Atemu's surprised form, and nearly raced back down
the corridor he had just passed, leaving Atemu to catch up or be left
behind. He turned down a couple of seemingly random corridors,
following a path that he knew by heart, fearing that in his
preoccupation the others had met with a fate far worse than his.

Yugi stormed into the cozy
chamber that he and the others had chosen as their daily meeting
room, only to be met with an eerie silence. He stalked across the
seemingly empty room, Atemu still following at his heels. Upon
reaching the other side, and realizing that no one occupied the
elegantly carved wooden chairs that stood in front of the fireplace,
he glanced around, not quite knowing what to do.

Someone was normally in here;
Ryou, for the most part, since the white-haired royal had troubles
sleeping. But not even he was curled up in a chair, waiting for
someone to notice his presence. Spinning around on his heel, Yugi
came face to chest with the Pharaoh once again. He blinked.

“Ack!
Could you just...not...” He waved his arms wildly. “I
said it earlier and I'll say it again. Leave me al – ”

Just then distraction entered
the room in the form of a highly pissed off Jou – High Priest
Seto on his heels. “Yugi! We got a prob – ”

The blonde stumbled to a halt
with his mouth open when he caught sight of his sovereign's high
color, and the other person standing right in front of him. He knew
all too well who was hidden behind that concealing veil. “Damn.”
He cursed. “I had hoped that...never mind. I see you got the
same problem.”

Yugi gave the blonde a
confirming nod, but was unable to do any more than that as the door
flew open again, this time admitting a pair of white-haired teens,
one of them looking rather frazzled and worn, the rings under his
eyes nearly overshadowing his entire face. “Yugi!” Ryou
nearly shouted when he caught sight of his friend. “Oh gods,
Yugi...we have a situation – ”

“I
know.” Yugi nodded, his eyes locked with Jou's, assessing the
blonde's newest set of bruises as the distressed white-haired teen
continued to rant. What had happened to Jou?

“–
this
managed to...somehow – ” Ryou jabbed an irate finger back
at Bakura. “ – find its way into the palace.”

“We
know.” Yugi and Jou both spoke up, this time catching the
frazzled teen's attention. Ryou paled as his eyes then met with
intense cobalt, and amused scarlet above the diaphanous white of the
veil. And he studied the matching set of bruises on Jou's features,
and what he could see of the Pharaoh's face, giving an accurate guess
as to how they had come to be there.

“But
I thought...he – you...” Ryou sank into one of the
chairs with a defeated sigh, drawing the two Hyksos royals to him in
his distress. Yugi patted his arm uselessly as he cried. “What
do we do?”

“I
don't know.” Both Yugi and Jou spoke again at the same time,
glancing at each other as they did so.

Bakura, however, was not at a
loss for words as he stomped across the room to present himself
before his battered sovereign. “I ought to kill you,
Pharaoh...or should I say slave? What were you think –?
Wait...what in the name of the gods happened to you?”

Atemu folded his arms across
his chest, unruffled by his friend's threat of death. “You can
try.” He stated nonchalantly, choosing to ignore the other's
question.

Seto only sighed from his
corner of the chamber, making his way over to stand next to the two
combatants, his gaze still centered on his blonde lover's battered
features. “Normally I would have to intervene on behalf of my
king...however, I feel that you are in the right Bakura. He needs to
die.”

Bakura slanted a glance at the
blue-eyed priest even as Atemu scoffed at his rebuke. “Very
well then. The two of you can try your luck together. I am game for a
release of tensions.”

A short bark of laughter came
from across the room, drawing all six teens' attention to the newest
arrivals. “And that is an endeavor you shall all fail at.”
Marik cautioned in a bored voice. Malik was holding onto his
shoulder, as if to keep him back in case a free-for-all broke out.
“There are other ways of settling your disagreements.”

“Yeah.”
Jou spoke up, leveling a glare at the wild-haired Egyptian ruler.
“Haven't you learned that lesson yet, Pharaoh?”
He sneered.

Bakura hooked a thumb at Atemu
as he stared Marik down. “He's the reason we're wearing these
ridiculous clothes, confined to life as a simple servant! Give me one
good reason why we shouldn't kill him and find a place to dump his
body?”

“And
he is the cause of Jou's distress as well.” Seto chimed in,
also giving Atemu the evil eye. “I do not take kindly to my
lover being beaten for someone else's mistakes.”

Atemu merely snorted his
displeasure, turning his back on the lot of them to focus on his
consort's pale features. What they did mattered not. There was only
one thing, or person rather, that mattered to him at that moment, and
he was refusing to even give the slightest glance in his direction.

“Ah,
but you forget, you are with them, are you not? Which was the whole
point of this foray in the first place.” Marik pointed out with
a chuckle. “If it were not for him you would still be sleeping
on the cold ground, making plans to storm the palace in the middle of
the night and steal the four of them away to Egypt with no one being
the wiser.”

At
that statement Yugi, Jou and Ryou swiveled around to stare at the
Egyptians in a sort of astonished fear, Malik backing away from his
lover with a glare. They
wouldn't?!

“Yes...we
would have.” Atemu confirmed their thoughts with a wry smirk.
“'Twas the plan we were making when we were so rudely
interrupted.”

Yugi gave a startled groan at
that, deciding that he would ignore whatever ruckus came from the
Egyptians after that point. If they murdered their Pharaoh it was no
business of his. Giving a glance at his two companions – for
Malik was still attempting to end the debate over the Egyptian
ruler's imminent demise – he leaned in and whispered. “How
are you guys holding up? Ryou?”

Ryou released a shuddering
breath. “I...spent the night in my bathing chamber. I got lucky
this morning...he was asleep. I just couldn't make it out of the room
before he woke up.”

“I'm
sorry Ry...I'll find a way to fix this.” Yugi gave his
white-haired friend a gentle squeeze. “I promise.” And
then he turned his attention to a solemn faced Jou. “What about
you? Are you okay?”

Jou glanced back guiltily, the
expression reminding Yugi of an abused puppy that he had once seen
foraging through the compost pile. “Look, Yugi...you're my
brother, and you know I stand behind you all the way, right?”
The blonde chewed on his lip thoughtfully. “I know it ain't
right...but I love him. I know we can't be together though...so if
you can find a way to make him go home...he won't listen to me.”

“Jou!”
Yugi exclaimed, Ryou mimicking his thoughts with a disconcerted
frown. “If you love him then there's no reason you shouldn't be
with him! I'm not going to stop you.”

“You
mean that Yugi?” Malik perched on the edge of the chair,
startling the trio with his unexpected presence. He had long since
given up attempting to put an end to the quiet sqabbling between the
Egyptians, preferring to take his rightful place amongst his friends,
to aid them in any way that he could.

“Y-yeah...I
mean that.” Yugi gave a reassuring smile, his heart sinking
rapidly with the knowledge that he would not be seeing their smiling
faces, putting up with their daily dose of sarcastic comments for
much longer. But they deserved a chance at happiness. He wouldn't
hold them back. Regretfully he pinned a smile on his face and asked.
“Who am I to say that you have no business being with the one
you love?”

“You're
our chosen king...and our brother.” Malik stated
matter-of-factly as he studied his sovereign's withdrawn features.
Was it his imagination, or did Yugi look as though he was going to
cry for a moment there?

“And
you know the laws about royalty fraternizing with the priesthood...”
Jou trailed off uncertainly, fiddling with the hem of his shirt.

Yugi gave a noise of dissent,
staring both of them down until they looked away in shame. “I
don't give a fig about those laws. I never have. As long as the two
of you are happy then those old laws can go...be buried with my
father. You will always be our brothers, even if you live in another
country.”

Ryou nodded enthusiastically,
trying valiantly to hide his own despair. “There's no reason
for you to stay here and be miserable. I agree with Yugi on this.
Follow your heart, not someone else's mandates.”

“Thank
you.” Both blondes gave a sigh of relief, Jou turning to give
the high priest a wide grin – only to find that the other's
attention was still centered on the Pharaoh. With a roll of his eyes
Jou wandered over to see if he could intervene in the rapidly
escalating situation.

As Jou walked away Yugi turned
to his remaining friend, taking a long look at his terrified
countenance. “What about you, Ryou?”

The white-haired teen flushed
heavily, fighting for his words. “I...it...I can't deal...not
with him...I'm sorry.”

And then Ryou lowered his head
shamefully. He couldn't deal with Bakura, not before, not now, not
ever. The white-haired advisor only wanted him as a toy, something to
play with while he was bored. As much as he could have wished
differently, there was no love in their couplings, just an
overwhelming sense of relief when it was over. If there was just the
smallest chance that the other...Ryou shook his head despondently.
There was no way that the Royal Advisor would ever look at him as
more than a toy.

“Don't
be.” Malik gave a squeeze to his shoulder. “We're with
you no matter your decision. We'll stick around until everything is
put back to right.”

As Malik comforted the other
teen, Jou turned a suspicious look at Yugi from across the room,
having a sudden thought. “What about you? Considering what I
think that bracelet you try so hard to hide means...”

Yugi tugged on his sleeve
absently, shooting a glare in Atemu's direction, only to note that
the Egyptian Pharaoh had other concerns as he argued with his priest.
“What do you mean?” He asked quietly, so as not to
attract the attention of the powerful Egyptian ruler.

Jou gave his sovereign a flat,
impatient look. “You know what I'm talkin' about. Don't pretend
you don't. If you were forced we'll find a way to free you...we just
want the truth, Yugi.”

Yugi lowered his gaze,
swallowing the need to lose his composure in the face of his friends'
obvious concern. “I...I – ”

But he was spared the need to
comment as Bakura chose that moment to speak up, bringing the younger
royals' attention to the four glares they were receiving from their
Egyptian counterparts. “We are right here, you know. And
whatever it is you're planning is not going to succeed.”

“He
makes a valid point.” Atemu leveled a glare at the four
conspirators, his tense, motionless posture indicating that he took
exception to their plans and would do what he felt was needed to foil
them. “The vows are unbreakable, even if it were up to me to
break them. Not that I would do so without being heard, and I do not
take kindly to those who would interfere with the intentions of
depriving me of the opportunity to make amends.”

All
of a sudden Yugi felt light-headed, he swallowed the rising bile at
the back of his throat, looking desperately for a way out of the room
without drawing attention to himself. This
can't be?!
Unbreakable! I
am forever bound to this man who...oh gods...what did I agree to?
Somebody help...please...

Malik shot from the chair with
a ferocious glare at the intimidating Egyptian monarch, just as Yugi
fell to his knees, a horrified expression shadowing his features, Jou
stepping in between Atemu and Yugi protectively. “Oh yeah?
Well, what if we decided to kill you? Wouldn't it be broken then?”

Seto stepped in between his
Pharaoh and his lover. “I am afraid that I would have to
intervene if such a thought crossed your mind.”

“You
would.” Jou muttered unhappily, glancing over at his
sovereign's prone form. Was there nothing they could do to help him?

Atemu turned to the blonde that
he had fought with the day before with a sour look. “Do you not
think that I regret my actions of that day? Do you not think that I
spend most of my time looking for a way to repair the damage that I
have done?” And then he peered around the blonde's interference
to lock eyes with Yugi. “You truly think me that heartless as
to play you false only to purposely deal this damage once I have
earned your trust?”

At the tearful, wide-eyed look
he gained from his consort Atemu bowed his head in defeat. This was
not going to work, was it? Had he broken all forms of their bond with
his careless behavior? “Never mind, I can see that you do. I
shall leave you to your friends, lit – your Highness. I have
chores to complete.”

With that said Atemu removed
himself from the silent chamber, leaving the others to glance around
at each other in astonishment. When more than half of the eyes in the
chamber landed on Yugi he shivered beneath their questions.
“Don't...just – just don't...I need to be alone for a
while...”

And he too quit the chamber,
bolting from the room without another word.

~
o ~ O ~ o ~

Please
review? And don't forget I'll do a one-shot for the 500^th
reviewer on fanfic!
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Mistaken Assumptions