Awaking with surprise, and unable to fathom where he was, Yugi sat up looking around his room. Recall of the day slowly came to him. The room started to spin around him, forcing him to lie back against his pillows. It seemed so quiet there, he thought as he reached up touching the puzzle and chain around his neck. Like a dream, he remembered the barred door to his other’s soul room.
 
He truly wondered if that was real or a dream, knowing Yami would never keep him out like that. Silently he called out to the spirit, hoping desperately for an answer, and yet still surprised when one came.
 
A sudden light filled the room and, even though no one was there, Yugi was no longer alone as the Spirit of the Puzzle appeared before him. The Spirit was immediately concerned over the other’s condition as he took note of the look upon Yugi’s face. “Yugi, what is wrong?”
 
This confusion of Yami’s troubled him greatly. “Why wouldn’t you answer me earlier?” He watched Yami’s face carefully looking for the answers there as he waited for the Spirit to speak. Was there something the Spirit was hiding from him?
 
A dark shadow crossed Yami’s face at Yugi’s words. He could not remember not answering Yugi; in fact, he found himself unable to recall anything from the last several hours. The last memory that came to mind was from Egypt, a very long time ago…
 
~~~~~
 
“I’m yours forever.” He meant it, even if Atemu was not Pharaoh, who else could fill his life as his lover had?
 
Fevered lips brushed against his parted ones, wanting more of his beloved’s touch. His clothing already tossed to the floor, Set’s hands moved to untie the ones still barring his body from the full contact it craved.
 
His lover was not being very cooperative as he pulled Set up onto the bed. Forcibly laying him down, he moved over the body that earlier garments covered.
 
“Tell me again…” Kisses flowed down his body, “How much you love me…” over his neck and across his chest.
 
The Priest’s body tingled from the caress and the way the words wrapped around him. It was impossible for him to make a coherent thought the way his body was reacting. “You already know.”
 
“Yes I do, but I love to hear your voice, especially when calling my name.” He sat up as his touch moved across Set’s body lightly caressing the sensitive areas from memory. It pleased him watching the way the Priest’s body reacted to him, his touch, and his kiss.
 
How could he deny such a request considering the one asking brought him such happiness? He sat up looking once again into his lover’s eyes. “I love you more than I could say, Atemu. My life is neither deserving of your notice nor love.” Lips crushed against his knocking him back down upon the bed, hot and hungry, pressing their mouths together in an exchange of self and soul. There was not enough time to regain his senses before the embrace swept him away.
 
Broken abruptly apart, crimson gazed into his sea of blue. He sat up straddling the Priest’s body. “Am I a fool, Set?”
 
How did one answer a question like that from his Pharaoh and God? Truthfully, he hoped. “Undeniably you are not.” He was not sure what brought about this question, but there was no way, even if Atemu were a fool, he would tell him that.
 
The Pharaoh’s hands pulled Set’s up over his head holding them down tightly. “Do you doubt my judgment?”
 
“The Pharaoh is above such thought, I would be loath to question him.” He tried searching his lover’s face looking for the reasoning behind these questions. Obviously, he did not. As a high priest of the country, he, if anything ever happened to change that, would respond appropriately. However, what would one do with a Pharaoh who was unable to rule his people? What to do with a God who fell to the ground as man, common and human as the peasants who worked in the fields?
 
“Then never again am I to hear you doubt your position in my life or bed.” Releasing his hold on Set’s hands, he moved them down the long arms gently rubbing the cool skin. Moving off his lover’s body, he quickly stripped off any remaining clothing before his hands continued their journey over the sun-kissed form.
 
Warm hands traipsed over night-cooled skin. The intoxicating feel of flesh on flesh, gentle and loving, went straight to his head. The soft touch of those hands as they moved over his skin caressing spots no other knew of, gliding over his skin, as they reached every exposed inch. Hands deftly touched him to taunt and tease. His body arched wanting that caress, needing the touch more with each pass. Down his legs, they snaked slightly tickling the sensitive skin.
 
 
Then warm breath kissed at his flesh, heightening and overriding all other sensations. A soft breath of air closed over him before his lover’s wet tongue moved skillfully over the hardened organ flicking ever so teasingly as it glided over the skin. A lavish journey, winding around and back again before burning hot lips parted, opening wide to take him in.
 
~~~~~
 
“Yami, are you alright?” There was uneasiness in the boy’s voice. The other was on the verge of explaining what had happened earlier in the hall between their soul rooms when--nothing came out.
 
His partner’s voice brought him back to the present once again. It puzzled him, never before had he relived so vivid a memory. So real, he swore he could still taste the essence of his long-dead love upon his lips. Without thought, his hand raised in an attempt to wipe away any visible proof of his actions, forgetting for the moment that he no longer had a body with which to use for such things.
 
“Yami,” Yugi called to the spirit, “What’s wrong with you?” Concern shaded his voice; the boy was exhausted, still feeling the effects of his illness. However, the Spirit of the Puzzle looked even worse than he felt. Standing in front of Yugi for several minutes, he was staring at him and yet, it seemed, not seeing him at all.
 
He could not recall how long he had stood there and that bothered him almost as much as the worry he seemed to have caused to Yugi. The look on the young boy’s face showed his concern for the spirit.
 
It was just a memory, a fragment from his past returning to haunt him, showing him the things no longer in his possession. “I didn’t mean to worry you so much, especially like this. You aren’t well right now and should be resting.”
 
It was true; he did not need to worry as far as the spirit was concerned. He had pledged to protect the boy, not the other way around; he would find a way to get over whatever was bothering him without disturbing Yugi any further. “I think it would be best if I stayed in my room for now. Maybe this illness is affecting the both of us in ways we don’t yet know.”
 
This made some sense to Yugi, after all, he had not been ill since the day he completed the Puzzle. Who knew how this would cross their link? There was only one other person he could think to ask, but Yugi did not know for sure how either soul in possession of the body of Ryou Bakura would feel about answering that question. Or if Bakura could answer it-- he didn’t exactly have the kind of relationship with the Spirit of the Ring that Yugi had with the Spirit of the Puzzle. For now, his eyes felt too heavy to stay open much longer and he was in no condition to argue.
 
“Sleep for now. We’ll figure out this soon enough.” The Spirit dissolved, melting back into the shadows of Yugi’s mind. Crossing the division between the soul rooms, he returned to his chamber to work once again on the puzzle of his past and just why it decided to haunt him now.
 
He stopped in his tracks frozen to the spot before one of the doors. A ghostly pair of hands moved between his legs bringing his body to life. “Set--“
 
 
~~~~~
 
“--You shall cause my death one day.” As serious as the words spoken, a smile crossed his face while the Priest’s hands gently kneaded at the growing desire between his legs.
 
“Only if you are unwilling to finish what you started…” He didn’t need much convincing after having to wait for so long to get his lover away from the day’s crowd and then the silly dealings with the healer. As if he, the living god, could ever get sick.
 
“I always finish the things I start, especially when I enjoy them so much. You just need to practice patience.” The Pharaoh moved between his lover’s legs, “Impatience does not lead to an enjoyable experience for either of us.” He reached for a bottle of oil kept next to his bed. After opening it, he poured some of the sweet fluid over Set’s body, smirking as the Priest jumped in reaction to the cold oil, “Observe the results of your impatience, there was not time to warm it properly.” Taking some of the oil into his hands, he rubbed them together warming it with his own heat before applying it to his love.
 
His hand traveled over the boy, rubbing the oil into the well-toned skin coating his own fingers in preparation. As he moved his hand further down between Set’s legs, it brushed over the Priest’s flaccid organ reawakening it in expectation. Continuing further, his slender finger pushed against the tight opening demanding entrance. Forward into his lover he pressed, slowly loosening and easing his way.
 
A low moan escaped the Priest’s mouth, as he raised his hips slightly to further force his lover’s fingers into his body wanting more. More of that touch, the feelings that came from joining together as only two lovers could, and the satisfaction that came from bringing the other to that highest peak and dying in each other’s arms.
 
Deep blue eyes gazed up lust-filled, staring hard into his crimson pair; a wave of pity overcame him, pity, and his own feelings of lust for the writhing body in front of him. Removing his hands from the other’s body Atemu positioned himself between his lover’s legs, lying his body down upon the other while pressing against Set. Long thin fingers slid through his hair, pulling gently to signal the other’s growing impatience. Moving forward to meet Set’s rising hips, he forced himself deep within the tightness of his lover’s body.
 
How often had they joined in this way? He no longer knew, only that it had been far too long since the last time, as their bodies moved in the near frantic, but familiar, dance. Moving in an unspoken agreement, separating then coming together harder and deeper than before; they reached for final release; neither one found himself willing nor wanting to stop.
 
~~~~~
 
In the eternal maze of his soul room, the ancient pharaoh’s spirit fell to the floor in reaction to the overwhelming recalled sensations. The scent of the desert air, the slippery feel of the oil coating his body, Set’s lips upon his own, moans sounding in his ears--whether his or Set’s, he no longer knew. His bodiless soul responded to touches long since past, ancient caresses he would never feel again. Shaking he fell face down upon the floor, thankful that he was not the one in control of his partner’s body at the time. Knowing there was no way he would be able to explain the inevitable reaction the recall would have had upon the body of the teenaged boy.
 
Yes, it was better for him to stay inside for the time being. He did not want to think how any of this would affect Yugi. It was obvious the illness was the cause, otherwise he was going crazy, and that was not a promising outlook for their future. After all, of the new recalled memories, just how was he going to face Kaiba again?
 
 
~~~~~
 

onward