The Mythology Set

Paint II

Seto sighed and sat up, running a hand through his hair—longer than he was actually comfortable with, but these people didn't cut their hair, so he wasn't expected to, and he had no way to ask. He'd picked up some words, of course; he couldn't speak full sentences, but he could get the general point across. Not that anyone listened to him except Joey.

Joey.

The brunet smiled as he turned to the boy spread out across the animal skins that served as their bed. He was so beautiful, his long hair decorated with feathers and beads as the sun glittered down on it. The golden skin covered by paint wasn't glistening like it usually did, but the paint that usually marked him a healer was flaking off and dulling the glow. He'd have to help him repaint his body when he woke up, though when that would be, he had no idea.

He chuckled quietly as recalled the night before. He'd always imagined being a bachelor for the rest of his life, so paranoid that he couldn't trust any of the women he dated. Now he was married. Or at least, married in the most basic sense of the word. They'd promised that they were each others' 'tynmehk,' which was basically just as good as marriage. It had taken him a while to understand, but he'd learned that 'tynmehk' meant 'darling' and that 'darling' meant 'spouse.'

The shaman had come into their teepee, bashfully scuffing his foot over the floor as he offered him a plank with shredded wild boar meat on it. He'd washed off all of the deep purple paint and replaced it with red, his usual loincloth exchanged for one bleached white and decorated with dozens of beads. He'd also donned a red headband studded with more beads and a necklace made from animal teeth and turquoise beads, something he recognized was very valuable among these people and used only in ceremonies. When Seto had taken the proffered food, they'd shared it, taking turns feeding each other until he'd leaned down to give the healer a kiss.

The kiss was soon followed by gentle touches and more kisses—kisses all over each others' bodies, deep kisses on the mouth, even little butterfly kisses. Then, Joey had settled on Seto's lap, kissed him gently on the mouth, and slipped the necklace over his head, placing it reverently around Seto's neck.

Voilá! Married.

And, for some reason, Seto didn't mind.

Seto stroked the blond's side gently, leaning down to brush a kiss over his cheek, then slid out from under the bear skin that was their blanket. He realized that wearing a loincloth would have been much easier than his pants (shorts, now; it had been quite some time since they'd been pants), but he wasn't ready to give up that much of his own world. He wasn't quite sure what a tynmehk was supposed to do the day after marriage, and he didn't know what he was capable of doing since his body ached like no other; his lover had been quite frisky the night before.

Hearing Joey mew and hum as he stretched (his usual post-sleep ritual), he turned and smiled at him. "Golhiph."

Joey blinked up at him slowly to break out of the sleepy glaze he was still coming out of. Then, his lips spread into a sweet smile. "Golhiph, Seto." He bit his bottom lip and giggled quietly. "Tynmehk Seto."

Seto chuckled and knelt beside him. "Tynmehk Joey." He wrapped his arms around the blond and nuzzled his cheek. "Tynmehk Joooeeeeyyyy!"

"Nyu!" The shaman squealed and giggled again, then turned his head and caught the brunet's earlobe between his teeth gently. "Grrr!"

"Hey!" The brunet snarled playfully and shoved him onto his back, then began kissing his neck. "Mmn. Joey…"

Joey moaned and arched up against him. "Haaa, sdak jimgn…"

Seto nuzzled his throat gently, then leaned back and smiled gently. "Nde desfl." He flicked the blond's nose playfully, then traced one of the stripes of paint with a finger. "Looks awful this way."

"Ah-? Ahf… wool?" The shaman blinked up at him innocently.

"…Close enough." He reached over to grab a basket covered with an animal skin so he could go get some water to mix with the berries so they could make the paint the blond wore. "Sjuldafn."

The blond mewed and wrapped his arms around his leg quickly. "Fygkahj! Nde jimgn!"

Seto chuckled and patted his head. "Nde desfl." He stroked the shaman's hair, smiling a little. "Sujt hegf."

"Sdak jimgn!" Joey whined playfully, nuzzling his thigh.

Both men jumped as the air seemed to explode outside.

Seto turned sharply, immediately taking a step in front of the blond as he instinctively covered himself with the blanket. He was initially worried about another tribe attacking them, but he recognized the noise as something else. It took a few moments for him recall it, but eventually, he remembered where he'd heard the noise before.

It was a gunshot. None of the peoples here had guns. The best they had were swords or rudimentary bows and arrows. The only people that had guns would be… people from civilization. People he could relate to. People with clothes, with weapons, with technology.

"Big Brother! Are you here? STAY BACK!" That was Mokuba's voice!

Joey reached out to grab the brunet's pants quickly. "Seto! Sojg fajkign!" He yelped as the older boy wrenched away from him and frowned in confusion. "Seto-?"

He gasped as he heard yelling outside and ran to the door flap of the teepee, in case someone had decided that the brunet needed to be taught his place, but frowned and ducked back when he saw his lover hugging someone else, smiling and laughing.

Smiling and laughing like he'd never done around him.

Joey continued to peek out at the strange group, all of them wearing strange clothes like Seto had used to wear and holding strange things that he could only assume were weapons. He felt a twinge of jealousy when his darling continued to hug and smile at the younger boy that had arrived among all the adults, but he understood. If… if that had been his darling before Joey had saved him, and Seto had only taken him as his darling because he thought he'd never see his first darling again… it made sense.

He gasped as one of the men looked toward the teepee and ducked backward, hiding himself from view quickly. If Seto wanted to go join his original darling, he wasn't going to make any trouble about it. He could just go, and… he'd try to find someone else to be his darling.

The blond frowned as he felt something rolling down his cheek and lifted his hand to touch it. Pulling his hand back, he whimpered as he saw the tears on his fingers, then scrubbed at his eyes. He shouldn't be crying. It may have been the morning after their formal ceremony, but that was no reason to fall to pieces.

He shuffled over to the bed to find the loincloth he usually wore. He needed to go collect some herbs he was running low on, anyway…

Joey gasped as he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned sharply, clutching his loincloth to his chest. When he found Seto frowning at him, he turned his gaze on the floor, unable to hide his sad expression. "…Rahjk sfidk mayir?"

Seto tilted his head, raising an eyebrow, then cupped the blond's cheeks and gave him a soft kiss. "Mayir shogsd."

"Nn… T-tynmehk?" The healer mewed in confusion. "Sfidk tynmehk?"

"…Sfidk…?" The brunet frowned, brows furrowing together as he went over the conversation. Joey had asked if he was leaving with the boy, and he'd confirmed it. Now he was asking if he was leaving with the boy… boy darling? What boy darling? Joey was his only darling, and—

…His darling was so cute when he misunderstood what he saw and became jealous.

Cupping the blond's cheeks, he kissed him gently, then leaned back and smiled to him. "Tynmehk Joey. Hir sfidk tynmehk. Joey."

Joey whimpered in confusion. "Hir sfidk tynmehk…?"

"No, the little boy is not my darling." Seto rolled his eyes, then turned to leave. "I'm leaving now, Joey. Mayir shogsd."

"Skiga!" The blond hurried to pull his loincloth on and ran to the door flap again, hesitating only a moment when he heard a chopping sound, like a knife into a piece of wood over and over again, but louder.

Stopping in the doorway, he gasped as he saw some giant thing in the sky, letting down something to the ground. He watched the people that had come for his lover climb the odd-looking rope one by one, then turned his gaze on the brunet, who had stopped just outside. He shivered when he saw the intense look Seto gave him, tears forming in his eyes again when he began to lift off the turquoise necklace.

Seto was leaving.

Joey hugged him tightly and rested his fingers on the necklace, wordlessly telling him to keep it. "Tynmehk Seto."

The brunet kissed his forehead lightly and nodded. "Tynmehk Joey."

Pressing a kiss to his lips, the younger boy whimpered as he pulled away from him and began toward the flying creature again. "…Tynmehk Seto…"

Seto paused at the rope, where his brother was waiting for him, then turned to look back at him. After a moment, he turned fully toward him and held his hand out to him. Joey stared at him in confusion, then looked down at his hand. It was open to him, as if offering something. Something that he had to make the decision to accept.

If he left, his people would be without a healer. But then, they could always abduct a healer from another tribe; he was easily replaced. Seto… Seto had treated him like a human, like a lover, not just someone with the ability to heal him. Seto had treated him better than any of his people ever had. And Seto was an honorable person; he was certain that if he left with him, Seto would take care of him, just like Joey had done for him.

Looking around at his people, Joey could only see hatred. Seto had never shown hatred—only fear, resignation, and, eventually, contentment. This hatred… he didn't like it. Didn't want to be a part of it.

Taking a few steps forward, he hesitantly lifted his hand to hover over the brunet's. He looked up at him anxiously, fingertips lightly skimming over his palm, before he finally placed his hand on top of it and curled his fingers around it. "Tynmehk Seto."

Seto smiled and gripped his hand as well, pulling him closer. "Tynmehk Joey."

There was an angry screech, and then Joey's people surged forward, shouting and waving their short swords and spears. The blond yelped and hugged the brunet as the air began to explode around them, squeezing his eyes shut as thunder clapped on all sides. The screaming and shouting grew louder as he felt his lover wrap an arm around his waist tightly and he felt his chest rumble as he began shouting something in his own language as well.

Then suddenly the earth was gone from beneath his feet and he felt himself being propelled upward. He clung to Seto tighter and whimpered, hooking his legs around his waist as he felt the brunet's arm loosen around him. "Seto!"

Seto grunted quietly and released him completely in favor of climbing up the ladder. He had no doubt that the blond wouldn't let go. He was actually finding it hard to breathe under his death grip. He turned to catch one last glance of the place that had been his home for the last few months.

There were a few bodies limp on the ground, probably the ones that had gotten close to them. He momentarily thought it a shame that they had to die, but when he remembered that no one really paid attention to Joey unless they needed a healer, he decided he didn't care. Joey was his now. He didn't need to think about them anymore.

He just needed to think about getting Joey to let go of him so he could breathe. Oh, and explain to Mokuba why he'd brought along one of the natives that had kept him captive.

.-.-.-.-.-.

Joey whimpered and scrambled further into the bush that was protecting him, mindless of the scratches he received as he burrowed deeper. "Ksojd!" He heard a growl of annoyance and whimpered again.

This world was too different—too big and too loud! He wanted to go home! He wanted to get away! That giant hollow bird needed to rest and then take him back to his village! Yes, he'd probably be beaten for leaving in the first place, but at least he was familiar with those people and prepared for whatever happened to him!

Seto growled again, running a hand through his hair, then circled around to the other side of the bush. Seeing golden hair through some of the branches, he slid his hands into it slowly, being careful not to disturb any leaves. Once certain that he was in a good position, he braced himself, then clamped onto the blond's shoulders and yanked him swiftly out of the bush, cursing as he saw all of the welts and scratches on the shaman's body from the twigs. "Damn it, Joey!"

Joey flinched, too frightened to even struggle anymore. Letting out a quiet, frightened bleat, he buried his face in the brunet's chest. "Seto!"

"…And you're… married to him," Mokuba stated in disbelief. "Is that what I'm being led to believe?"

"Shut up. I didn't think about how he'd react to everything once I got him back here." Seto frowned and held the blond tightly, gently stroking his naked back. "…I'm going to take him and help him clean up."

The younger boy sighed, unable to help a little smile as the wild man cuddled closer to his brother. "Alright. Don't forget that we've got to arrange interviews with the media, though. Some people think you're still missing."

The brunet sighed loudly but nodded nonetheless, pulling Joey closer. "Hypt, Joey." He smiled when the healer immediately hopped up to wrap his legs around his waist and kissed his shoulder gently. "Tynmehk Joey."

Feeling a little bit less tense at the gentle reminder that Seto would take care of him, Joey nuzzled into his neck and whimpered, "Tynmehk Seto!"

"…You're going to have to tell me what that means sometime, Seto."

The brunet narrowed his eyes at his little brother. "Mokuba, go pester the chef for some cinnamon sticks. I want to show you something. Have them ready by the time we get out of the shower." Then, once seeing that his brother was baffled by what he'd said, he turned and strode into the mansion, continuing to whisper to the blond in his arms comfortingly until they reached his bathroom.

Once there, he gently set the blond on the counter. "Joey? Joey, look at me. …Muomo."

Joey whimpered, then slowly squinted up at him. "Seto…?"

Seto gently traced the scar on his face, reminding him of his first days among them and how Joey had taken care of him. He traced the same line on the blond's face to hopefully convey that he would do the same; he would protect him and take care of him. "Tynmehk Joey."

The shaman blushed and buried his face in the brunet's neck. "Seto…!"

Making his way into his bathroom, Seto paused to compare the experience he knew was coming to the ones he'd had in the recent past. While he really enjoyed soap and indoor plumbing, he had to admit that making love to Joey in the river on warm, lazy evenings while the rest of the village partook in feasts could never be replaced.

He set Joey down gently, stroking his cheek and whispering a quick reassurance before he walked over to the glass encasing the shower. Hearing a confused mew behind him, he turned, then smiled a little when he saw the timid, baffled expression on his lover's face. "Trust me. It's fine." When the blond tilted his head, he chuckled. "Ghigas."

Joey frowned and tilted his head the other way as he watched the brunet step into the strange rock formation. He watched him twist a knobby rock, then let out a screech of terror as water began pouring from the ceiling and pointed at him. "Irofujk nEdkslofi!"

Seto turned to stare at him and raised an eyebrow, mentally trying to translate the words. 'Irofujk… Demon? I think it's demon. NEdkslofi… Oh God. He thinks it's demon water!' He couldn't help a chuckle and stepped back, motioning at the water slowly. "No, Joey. It's… Hmm." He tried to think of way to explain it. "…Lydeo. Lydeo nEdkslofi."

The blond frowned unsurely. He didn't believe that it was river water. You couldn't turn a river on and off! Stepping up beside his lover cautiously, he gave the falling water a skeptical look. "…Lydeo nEdkslofi?"

The older boy nodded and held his hand out under the water. After a pause, he smirked and flipped the water in his hand onto the blond's face. "Lydeo nEdkslofi."

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH IROFUJK NEDKSLOFI!" Joey tumbled backward, terrified. He lifted his hands to wipe his face off frantically even as he listened to his lover laugh at him. Then he realized…

…The water had been warm.

Confused, he stepped back toward the strange thing, both cautious and curious. He glanced at the brunet again skeptically. "…Lydeo?" When he received a nod, he hesitantly reached into the stream of water. He shivered and wondered what magic it was that made the water the warm temperature it was, then timidly looked back up at the brunet when he didn't sense any malice around them. "…Lydeo."

Seto nodded again, both amused and endeared by the shaman's actions. "I want you to get clean. Hmm… Hrogslja. Clean."

Joey blinked up at him. "C-cleeeeeeennnnnn?"

"Yes." The brunet chuckled again. "Clean." He pulled at the loincloth and smiled a little, nodding his head at the water. "Hrogslja. Lydeo."

"Oh…" The younger boy blushed and looked down at his loincloth, then loosened the knot and let it fall around his feet. He looked back up at the brunet and couldn't help a bashful smile as he pointed at the magically warm water. "Tynmehk Seto hrogslja…?"

Seto paused before nodding slowly and shedding his ragged pants. "Okay."

The blond blushed again as he looked the older boy over, mumbling a quiet 'dishet,' then stepped under the running water, yipping as he was pulled up against his lover's body. "Ah, Seto!"

The brunet kissed his jaw softly, then turned him around so they were facing each other. "Let me…"

Joey shivered as the older boy's hand slid over his sides, looking up at him in confusion. "Seto…" He mewed as the brunet grabbed some slippery thing and began rubbing it on his body. It smelled like… vanilla. He liked vanilla.

"Joey, no!" Seto grabbed for his hand when he realized what the blond was going to do, but he was too late.

The blond sputtered in disgust and immediately began spitting to get the awful taste out of his mouth. "Ugha! Pbth! Blehck! Nnnnngggg!"

Seto's brows furrowed together in annoyance as he lifted a hand to wipe the saliva off his face. He'd have to hide all of the citrus-scented cleaners and air fresheners so Joey wouldn't try and taste them. Not to mention any scented candles or flowers that might look like any they'd eaten back at the village. He'd probably have to cover any electrical outlets, too, now that he thought about it, and anything sharp in the kitchen, like blenders and food processors…

Fuck. It would be easier to tie Joey up and keep him in a closet.

.-.-.-.-.-.

The blond looked cuter, Mokuba decided, when he was wearing one of his older brother's button-up shirts and a pair of boxers. He looked so small in them, so out of place, that he just… wanted to hug him and give him a cookie. He assumed that the wild man had buttoned the shirt himself, too, since one of the buttons had been skipped at the top, leaving one side of the shirt hanging lower than the others.

…Why did Seto look so grumpy? And why was he talking to the cooks about hiding all of the cleaning supplies?

Mokuba turned his attention back on the blond and frowned when he saw him reaching out to him. "What?"

Joey blushed a little and pulled his hand back quickly in embarrassment, mumbling a quiet, "Ndeo ohujk…"

The younger boy could only stare. "What."

"He likes your hair." Seto frowned and lifted a hand to his own longer-than-normal hair. "Everyone in the tribe wore it long, male or female. Since only girls have long hair here—normally—your hair makes him feel more at ease." He paused, then smirked. "He said it's pretty. Expect him to ask to braid feathers or beads into your hair."

Mokuba scowled at him, then looked down at the cinnamon sticks he'd been asked to get. "So what was this all about, anyway? Is he gonna show me some special grinding power that he learned in his village, or—"

Recognizing both the scent and the appearance of the spice sticks, Joey squealed and scooped one of them up, biting into it with a crunch. He munched on it happily and looked up at Seto, unable to help shyly turning his gaze on his feet when the brunet smiled at him.

"…He just ate that, Seto."

Seto smirked. "Yes, I know. It's what they ate for a treat in the village."

Mokuba felt queasy just watching the blond grab another stick and begin gobbling it up. "…That is so gross, I don't even—"

"Look at the bright side," the brunet deadpanned. "At least you're not eating maggots."