Pharaoh and the Thief

Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Warning: Yaoi, lemon, etc.
Author’s Note: Here’s the next bit, I hope it is to everyone’s satisfaction. I particularly like it. Enjoy!

And a tremendous thank you to all my wonderful reviewers. You guys are the best!

Chapter 10

Atem splashed water on his face and stared at his dripping reflection in the mirror. There was a soft knock on the door, and Seth entered looking perplexed. “I know you don’t particularly want to see him right now, but Akhenden insists I ask you for an audience,” he said, sweeping into a bow. Atem sighed, tired by his priest’s persistence to interfere in this matter.

“Fine, show him in,” Atem said, drying his face.

Akhenden swept into the room, his robe billowing behind him and bowed low to the pharaoh. “I bed your forgiveness my Pharaoh, Son of Ra, Glory of Egypt.”

Atem sighed and rubbed his temples. “I haven’t forgiven your recent insubordination, but seeing as I have allowed you into my chambers, please tell me why you are here.”

Akhenden stood from his bow. “I only care for your safety, Bright One,” he said quietly.

“I know you do,” Atem said, sitting on the bed. “And I am thankful for your loyalty, but you must learn your place, Akhenden.”

“Of course, my Pharaoh,” he responded, bowing slightly again. “I bring news of your would-be assassin.”

Atem glanced up at him, eyes narrowed. “What did you do?”

“Nothing, without your consent of course,” the priest responded. “I dispatched some of the palace guards to keep an eye about the city.” Atem’s eyes narrowed more.

“Only for your safety. We have no way of knowing whether this was a plot, or just an attempt by a desperate man. They were ordered to do nothing unless provoked,” Akhenden said quickly, noting the Pharaoh’s displeasure.

“Then what has this got to do with Bakura?” Atem asked, calming himself.

“They found him. He’d gotten into a fight in some low-life establishment, and they brought him in,” the priest said.

“Where is he now?” Atem asked.

Akhenden smirked. “In the dungeon, half dead from a knife wound he received in a brawl.”

Atem’s eyes widened and he left the room quickly, bidding neither priest follow.

Akhenden’s eyes followed the Pharaoh, narrowed in anger.

“Why is he so concerned over some low-life common thief?” he spat.

Seth regarded him with calm composure. “He loves him,” he said simply.

“Why?!” Akhenden hissed, rounding on Seth. “After all we do for him, all the loyalty we’ve sworn him, after we’ve protected him, and he holds some despicable commoner who tired to murder him in better standing than us!”

Seth ignored the ‘we’ and said, “Calm down. He respects you and loves you still. But he’s in love with Bakura. What is so wrong with that?”

“Because he doesn’t deserve it!” the elder priest growled. “He doesn’t deserve to be graced with the Pharaoh’s love!”

With that, he swept out of the room, leaving Seth staring after him.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Atem hurried down the dungeons, sweeping past surprised guards and demanding entrance to Bakura’s cell. The white-haired thief lay on the floor, unconscious and deathly pale. Atem’s heart skipped a beat as he thought for a moment Bakura was dead, but when he knelt at his side, he saw his chest rising and falling in shallow breaths.

He brushed the hair from the thief’s face and was surprised at how cold his skin was. Atem motioned to a guard at the door.

“Help me get him up, and have someone fetch the healer,” he said. The guard gave a curt nod and yelled for one of his comrades to find the Pharaoh’s healer as he picked up the white-haired man and followed the Pharaoh.

Once Bakura was again situated in the bed chamber he had before and the healer had stitched up the knife wound in his side, Atem sat on the edge of the bed, regarding the other man. The guards had wanted to restrain Bakura, but Atem had refused, ushering them away.

Atem watched his troubled lover’s sleep and bit his lip, wondering what on earth he had done. He reached a hand out and stroked the soft hair away from his face. He let his fingers trail down his face, tracing the curve of his jaw and running a thumb over his dry lips. He felt tears stinging his eyes, and he vowed he would make it up to Bakura, whatever it was that had distressed him.

He thought of Akhenden’s and Seth’s warnings, but shrugged them off. He had spent the last year trying to right his country after his father’s death. Now, for once, he was going to do something for himself. And for Bakura.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Bakura’s eyes flickered open and he squeezed them shut again as bright light assaulted his eyes. Where was he? When he tried to move, a sharp pain shot up his left side and he groaned. Oh yeah, the fight... But that didn’t explain his current situation.

The thief felt a weight on the side of the bed leaning over him and fingers brush at his hair. He flinched away and opened his eyes, realizing where he was. He immediately regretted it as it pulled at the gash across his left side, leaving him doubled over trying to catch his breath. He felt strong arms encircle him, supporting him as he struggled to breath. He wanted to flinch away again, but there was no where to go.

Instead, once the pain had subsided a little, he looked up at met the Pharaoh’s worried gaze.

“Bakura,” Atem whispered, reaching up to touch his face, but Bakura turned away.

“Don’t,” he whispered. Atem looked hurt, but pulled away, perching on the edge of the bed watching the thief.

Bakura was exhausted. All the raging emotions he had experienced yesterday had run dry and now he couldn’t even summon enough energy to snap at the pharaoh. He felt emotionally drained, left completely empty. All he wanted now was to be left in peace, but the look on Atem’s face told him he wasn’t going to get that.

Atem watched him, worry clearly sketched across his regal face. “What did I do?” he asked quietly.

Tears glazed Bakura’s eyes. “You don’t even know do you?”

Atem said nothing, his fingers itching to wipe away Bakura’s tears. “Tell me.”

“Kul Elna sound familiar?” Bakura asked with a hint of bitterness.

“The village that burned eight years ago?” he inquired.

Bakura’s heart clenched to hear the pharaoh speak of his pain so nonchalantly.

“Yes,” Bakura said huskily, “the village you burned. The lives you destroyed.”

Atem looked confused. “Me? I had nothing to do with that. It was a tragic accident.”

“Nothing to do with it?” Bakura repeated, beginning to feel the heat of anger. “You’re the one that gave the order. You had them burn it down! Rape and slaughter my entire family! You destroyed my life!” he yelled, getting stiffly out of the bed and shoving Atem away.

Atem looked shocked. “I didn’t--”

“I’m leaving,” Bakura said shortly. He tried very hard not to give away how much it pained him just to do this. Atem watched him pull on a robe, wincing obviously as he did so from the knife wound in his side.

“You can’t leave Bakura, you’re hurt,” Atem sighed, walking over to where Bakura was standing, taking his arm gently and trying to pull him back to the bed.

“I’m not staying here with you!” Bakura snarled, viciously yanking his arm out of the pharaoh’s grasp. The sudden movement pulled at the healing wound in his side, causing him to double over in pain, gasping.

“Yes,” the pharaoh said sarcastically, “because you seem to be doing so well on your own.”

Bakura leaned against the wall, trying to make the throbbing pain in his side stop so he could breathe. “You murdered everyone that meant something to me!” Bakura spat at him, eyes full of venom and pain. How could the pharaoh deny it?

Atem advanced on Bakura and put his hand on the other man’s shoulder, gently pushing him up so he could see his face. “Have I ever given you any reason to believe I’d do something like that?” Atem asked softly, cupping his face.

He could see the conflict in the thief’s eyes. “They said it was you,” Bakura whispered, looking at the floor. He didn’t know what to think anymore, especially since he couldn’t deny the feelings he still had for the pharaoh.

“They always do,” Atem replied, just as softly. Bakura glanced up. At his words, the pharaoh saw the endless amount of pain in the thief’s eyes and all he wanted to do was take it away. He pressed his lips softly to Bakura’s.

Bakura was so surprised he forgot to fight it, but stood there frozen, a million thoughts racing through his mind.

He killed them, the tiny voice in his mind said. He is my enemy; I came here to kill him. And after all he’s done to me, how can I just...

Then another voice reasoned, Maybe it wasn’t him. Bakura thought about this. He didn’t want it to be him. He wanted to believe him.

Atem deepened his kiss ever so slightly against the immobile thief and let his hand rest at the curve of Bakura’s face, burying his fingers in that soft white hair.

A pleasant shiver wracked Bakura’s body and he timidly returned the kiss. The pharaoh’s hand tightened in Bakura’s hair at his reaction, and begged for entrance to his mouth, which he was granted.

The thief’s mind was blank as the pharaoh’s thumb caressed his cheek and his tongue explored Bakura’s mouth. Bakura could feel his body heating with lust as the pharaoh wrapped his other arm around Bakura’s waist and pulled him closer.

Bakura panicked at the dominant contact and broke the kiss trying to pull away, but finding nowhere to go.

“It’s okay,” the pharaoh whispered, leaning his forehead against the other man’s gently, afraid of breaking the fragile trust Bakura had with him.

Bakura was breathing heavily. He wanted it. He wanted it so badly, but this was his enemy, the man who murdered his family. He had already seduced him once, why was he letting him do it again?

“You can trust me, Bakura,” Atem said softly, planting a hand on either side of the thief’s face and tilting it up to meet his. “I promise you, I would never have ordered that.”

Bakura’s eyes searched the pharaoh’s for a moment, and found no lie in them, his resistance fading.

“Okay,” Bakura murmured, and allowed Atem to pull him into another passionate kiss. Bakura responded this time, returning the kiss. Slowly the pharaoh pulled Bakura back to the bed and gently pushed him back, climbing on himself. He pulled off Bakura’s robe, exposing his pale torso. Atem moved his lips down the thief’s neck, nipping softly.

Bakura moaned quietly in response. He loved the way Atem made him feel. He craved it, needed to feel his touch on his body. His hands clenched in the sheets and the pharaoh’s hot mouth moved to one of his nipples, lathering it with his tongue and biting gently, causing Bakura to cry out in pleasure. “Atemmmm,” he moaned, much to the Pharaoh’s pleasure.

Atem glanced up at the thief as he moved down, leaving lingering kisses along Bakura’s tanned stomach, dipping his tongue in the thief’s navel before going lower. Bakura stared back at him with a lust filled gaze that excited the pharaoh. He had never wanted anything so badly in all his life.

When Atem reached the hem of Bakura’s trousers, he looked questioningly at the thief. Bakura nodded ever so slightly, and Atem smiled warmly at him as he slid the trousers off of Bakura’s tan hips. Atem shed his own robes as well, and leaned over Bakura to claim his lips in another passion-filled kiss, exploring his mouth with fervor. He trailed his fingers lightly down the thief’s side, careful to avoid the wound. Atem’s tender fingers made Bakura’s breath hitch in his throat and moan into the pharaoh’s mouth.

One of the Atem’s hands lingered down to Bakura’s waist, teasingly fingering his hip before moving down to his erection. He stopped just upon reaching it, not sure if Bakura would allow it.

Bakura bucked his hips into the pharaoh’s hovering hand, forcing contact. The pharaoh smiled against his kiss with Bakura as he wrapped a hand around the other man’s erection and slowly began pumping. The pharaoh once again moved down to kiss the tender spot where Bakura’s neck met his shoulder, finding it to be the thief’s most sensitive place.

Bakura arched his back as the pharaoh bit down lightly. He was making the most wonderful mewing sounds and arching into his touch. It was making the pharaoh painfully aroused until he could stand it no longer and pulled away from the thief to situate himself between his legs.

Bakura watched him through lidded eyes as the pharaoh stuck two fingers in his mouth and sucked on them seductively. Bakura moaned at the sight, raising his hips to rub against the pharaoh’s painfully obvious erection. Atem closed his eyes and groaned in return.

“Bak-ku-kura,” Atem moaned as the other man writhed beneath him.

“I want you,” Bakura moaned, continuing to thrust up at Atem. “Please...I need you...”

Deciding his fingers were wet enough, Atem withdrew them from his mouth and complied with Bakura’s pleas, and let his other hand trail across the sensitive skin of his inner thigh.

Bakura let out a strangled noise. “Pl-please,” he moaned beautifully. Atem smiled at the pale-haired vision and obliged, sliding a finger into Bakura’s entrance. Bakura growled in his throat and thrust his hips into the intrusion. Atem gazed down at him, loving the sight of the pale thief writhing beneath him. He added another finger and Bakura’s growling grew louder, his fingers clenched in the sheets as the pharaoh stretched him.

“I can’t--” Bakura growled, “I need—now!”

Atem chuckled softly and withdrew his fingers, only to line his erection and slowly push himself in. The scream that escaped Bakura’s throat was the most wonderful thing Atem had ever heard. Bakura thrust up in need, forcing Atem to bury himself to the hilt.

The pharaoh let out a low growl as he was engulfed in Bakura’s tight heat. He allowed the thief a moment to adjust before he started pumping in and out. Bakura screamed again as Atem brushed the bundle of nerves, sending white hot pleasure sparking through his body.

The pharaoh leaned over Bakura so that he could claim him in a heated kiss as he pounded into the thief, forgetting he was wounded. Bakura didn’t seem to mind as he thrust up to meet Atem every time, crying out each time his bundle of nerves was deliciously struck.

Atem close to the edge himself, grasped Bakura’s length again and gave it a few harsh jerks before Bakura came, clawing the sheets and screaming, in his hand. Atem felt Bakura’s muscles tighten with his orgasm, and he soon came as well.

After he was spent, the pharaoh collapsed next to Bakura, who was panting just as heavily as he was. Atem laid a hand on the thief’s chest absently tracing patterns there. He could feel Bakura’s heart beating in his chest.

Bakura rolled over to try to lie closer to the pharaoh. Pain shot through his side, reminding him of his knife wound. He let out a strangled cry at the sharp pain and glanced down to see the wound was torn open a bit and bleeding sluggishly.

Atem followed Bakura’s gaze and noticed the wound. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, pressing a hand against it to stop the bleeding. Bakura flinched slightly.

“It’s okay,” he said, gazing at the pharaoh. Atem kissed him softly, rubbing his thumb over the scar on his face.

“I love you,” Atem whispered, wrapping his arms around the thief.

Bakura propped his head up on his hand and gazed down at Atem. “You love me?” Bakura asked, his voice sounding pained.

“Yes,” Atem said, tracing the lines of Bakura’s face. The thief bent down and kissed the pharaoh, massaging his lips with his own and nipping at his bottom lip.

“I love you too,” Bakura whispered, feeling the emptiness inside him filling with something warm and happy.

Bakura lay back down and snuggled up to Atem, tucking his head in the other man’s shoulder.

“I can’t avenge them now,” Bakura whispered suddenly. Atem glanced at the other man and entwined his fingers with Bakura’s.

“I will find out who did it, and they will be punished,” Atem said steadily, rubbing his thumb over the back of Bakura’s hand.

Bakura looked up at him. “You’d do that?”

Atem smiled. “Of course.” He kissed Bakura’s mouth.

“I’d do anything for you,” he whispered, lips moving to Bakura’s jaw. “I promise, I’ll stop the pain,” he finished as he nibbled on Bakura’s ear.

Bakura smiled and let Atem kiss him.