A/N: Hello! I am brand new to this site, and this is the first piece of fanfiction I have ever made public. I feel a little out of my league here, but hopefully it isn't too bad. Considering making it a two-shot with a follow up chapter, if that seems like a good idea. :)
It was a particularly cold February that year in Domino. Snow fell heavily from solid gray skies and a freezing wind beat incessantly against frosted windows. Yugi Mutou woke slowly, burrowed under the secure warmth of his covers with his still-sleeping darker half.
Yugi glanced at the alarm clock on his nightstand and groaned briefly as he stretched – it was time to get up and get going if he wanted to make it to school on time. It briefly crossed his mind that it was odd to find the spirit still asleep at this hour, as typically he was up with the sun and would be the one to rouse Yugi – not the other way around.
He turned over to face Yami, blinking in surprise as a soft whimper met him. Yami's face was drawn pale in the dim light from the window, his brows furrowed and forehead creased as he mumbled in his sleep, twitching at whatever imaginary dangers haunted his dreams. Yugi frowned, eyebrows drawing together slightly as he brushed the bangs away from the former Pharaoh's face, hoping to chase away whatever was disturbing his sleep. He was a little warm, Yugi thought: Nothing serious, but warm nonetheless.
His touch seemed to stir the spirit and bleary red eyes opened slowly, blinking away the vestiges of sleep and travelling sluggishly up to look at his Light.
"Good morning, aibou" Yami said softly, the corners of his mouth tilting up in a gentle smile as Yugi's fingers brushed through his hair.
"Morning," Yugi smiled back. "Are you feeling okay?"
"Hmm?"
"You're a bit warm," Yugi said, frowning again as he pressed the palm of his hand against Yami's forehead. "And kinda pale."
"Oh," Yami tilted a dark eyebrow and sat up, as though considering his answer. "I feel fine, Yugi."
But Yugi, not one to be fooled, did not miss the subtle hunch of his Dark's shoulders, or the shallowness of his breathing. He narrowed his eyes slightly as Yami turned to regard him with an innocent look.
"What?"
"I don't think I believe you," Yugi said.
"I'm just a little tired. I didn't sleep well last night," Yami said, chuckling at the somewhat petulant look on his Light's face as he reached out to ruffle his already-tousled tricolored hair.
"If you say so," the younger relented, sparing one last suspicious glance at the former Pharaoh before sliding out of bed and heading to the bathroom to get ready for school.
When Yugi emerged from the bathroom forty minutes later, Yami was standing at the window watching the snow through the glass. He had dragged the covers out of the bed with him and they were wrapped tightly in a cocoon around him, leaving only the top of his head and his spikey hair visible. Yugi grinned and headed downstairs to gather his things.
Five minute later saw Yugi bundled to the ears in his coat, scarf, gloves and hat.
"Yami, I'm leaving!" he called up the stairs.
The spirit appeared in the upper hallway, glancing down at Yugi with a nod. He descended the stairs gingerly, seemingly slightly off balance as one hand grasped the railing for support. Yugi's frown returned to his face and he walked over to the base of the staircase to meet his Dark and glance up at him with a disapproving scowl.
"Mou hitori no Boku," he admonished. "What's wrong?"
Yami met him with a somewhat apologetic grin. "Apologies, Yugi. I am still half asleep."
Yugi narrowly kept himself from smacking his palm to his forehead in sheer frustration at the stubbornness of his darker half. Anyone with half a brain could see that he was off, and Yugi was positive it was more than just a night of poor sleep. He was opening his mouth to form an argument based off of this but Yami, as always, sensed his intent and put a finger to his lips before he could open his mouth to get a word in edgewise.
"Yugi," the spirit said firmly as he put his hands on Yugi's shoulders and began to guide him back to the door. "I am fine."
Yugi growled unintelligibly, earning a surprised laugh from Yami as the spirit helped him put on his backpack. "Fine!" he sighed. "But you let me know if you start feeling bad."
"I will," Yami nodded. "Be careful, Yugi. It's icy out there."
Yugi nodded an affirmative, throwing out a thumbs up as he opened the door to the house. A fierce wind blew a gust of snow into the open space, making Yugi bring an arm up to shield his eyes and Yami shiver whole-heartedly as the cold began to seep in.
Yugi looked back over his shoulder. "Get some sleep, Yami."
Yami merely nodded, and Yugi closed the door.
The school day dragged, Yugi reflected as he opened the door to his house that afternoon. He stomped the snow out of his shoes and brushed it out of his hair – they had a good foot and a half by now, and it was still snowing. Hanging his coat and scarf on the hook at the door, he glanced around the living room, finding it odd that Yami wasn't downstairs. Normally he made it a point to meet Yugi at the door after school.
"Yami?" Yugi called, frowning as no answer came in response. He climbed the stairs to the second floor after poking his head in the kitchen to confirm that the former Pharaoh wasn't in there either.
He stood at the top of the stairs for a moment, just listening. His ears picked up on a low, muffled sound coming from within their bedroom and followed it to the bedroom door. He opened the door quietly, in case Yami was napping, to poke his head inside but found no one. Frowning, he stepped in to the bedroom, taking note of the drawn curtains and empty bed. The blankets were ruffled, shoved together in a heap at the footboard as if someone had hurriedly kicked them off. As he turned, he noticed that the bathroom door was tightly shut and dim, yellow light poured out from the gap at the bottom. Tilting his head, Yugi confirmed that this is where the noise was coming from earlier and that the sound was a pained moan. His heart jumped in worry – that was not a typical Yami sound.
Yugi knocked on the door softly, calling out to his other half and pushing the door open quietly when no response came. The sight that met him upon stepping into the bathroom made his chest tighten in anguish and his heart flare in sympathy.
Yami knelt on the tile floor before the commode, holding his bangs and the rest of his hair away from his face with one shaking hand, the other clenched in a white knuckle grip on the rim of the porcelain bowl as his stomach ridded itself of its contents.
"Yami!" Yugi cried, alarmed. He dropped to his knees next to the larger figure and instinctively leaned forward to pull his hair out of the way as the spirit lost his grip on it. "Are you okay?"
The former pharaoh dragged a harsh breath through his nose and shook his head, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against the rim of the bowl. Yugi rubbed his back gently.
"Mou hitori no boku?"
"A-aibou… I do not feel well," Yami choked, before retching again.
"Oh Yami," Yugi sighed, continuing to stroke his Dark's back in soothing circles, at a loss for what to do.
Yami kept his head in the bowl for a moment longer, his shoulders shaking and his muscles drawn taught as Yugi's hands attempted to ease the tension from his shoulders. The spirit collapsed backward into him with a great sigh, unable to hold himself up any longer as exhaustion overcame him. Yugi continued tenderly massaging his skin for a few more moments until the floor started to become uncomfortable for them both.
"Think you can stand?" the younger asked, brows furrowing as Yami sat forward again with great effort. "Do you need help?"
"I can manage," Yami said weakly, waving his Hikari off as Yugi tried to help him to his feet.
He pulled himself up on one knee and used the edge of the sink as leverage to shakily haul himself upright, but wavered on his feet for a moment before sinking back to his knees with a groan as his stomach rebelled once more and sent him forward to shove his face over the bowl again. Yugi lunged forward with a small sound of distress and wrapped an arm around the back of Yami's shoulders to keep the spirit from slumping forward as he was sick again.
Yami, chest heaving after the fit subsided, turned to regard Yugi with hooded eyes. "Perhaps not," he rasped. Yugi patted his shoulder gently and reached forward to depress the lever and flush the toilette.
"Come on," he said, rising to his feet and moving around to stand at Yami's other side. "Let's get you cleaned up and in bed."
The taller of the two nodded, gritting his teeth as his Light's arms snaked around his chest to help haul him slowly back to his feet. Yugi staggered under the extra weight for a moment, wrapping an arm around his taller counterpart's waist to steady them both and Yami made a visible effort to straighten himself and hold his own weight to prevent toppling them over. He wobbled on his own legs for a moment before collapsing against the sink with a sigh.
"Easy," Yugi said softly, placing a steadying hand on his dark's lower back. He reached around him to fill the empty cup on the sink with cool water and raised it to Yami's lips. "Here."
Yami took the cup and sipped slowly at the water, rinsing his mouth and spitting in the sink before bracing his arms on the counter and hanging his head, trying to catch his bearings. Through his haze he felt Yugi lean forward and rest his forehead against his back.
"Are you alright?" Yugi murmured, his face buried in Yami's shirt.
"Yes," Yami breathed, closing his eyes and swallowing roughly in attempt to calm his still-rolling stomach.
"Bed," Yugi said, gently nudging the taller figure to turn around so he could help him out of the bathroom and back into their bedroom.
He half supported, half carried his ill counterpart to the bed, gently lowering him to lay on top of the duvet. Once he had Yami safely under the covers, he disappeared back into the bathroom and began rummaging around in the cabinets for the needed supplies. He emerged a moment later with a clean bucket, some damp towels, a glass of water and a handful of pills. He approached the bed, frowning in concern at Yami, who lay curled on his side, panting lightly. He set the bucket on the floor at the side of the bed.
"Here," Yugi said, handing Yami the glass and depositing the pills into his open palm. "Take these. They'll help your stomach and your fever."
Yami swallowed them and the water with some difficulty, a look of disgust playing briefly across his normally schooled features. Yugi grinned despite himself and took the glass back as his Dark handed it to him and put it on the nightstand before folding the damp towel and using it to dab lightly at the hot skin of Yami's face and neck.
The spirit moaned softly as the coolness of the towel came into contact with his fever flushed skin and Yugi's brow creased in concern. Tired ruby eyes slid open to meet his own worried amethyst and Yugi tried to muster a smile of reassurance, which came out more like a grimace than anything. Yami chuckled softly and the sound sent shivers up and down Yugi's spine.
"I'm alright, aibou" he reassured the younger.
"Not yet," Yugi responded quietly. "But give it a couple days and you'll be good as new, I'll bet."
They sat this way for a few more moments, Yugi observing as Yami's eyes slid closed, most of the tension leaving his body as his breathing evened out and he began to doze. Yugi sighed, brow creasing in a frown again as he got up from the bed and tossed the damp rag into the laundry basket. Throughout their time together, Yugi had rarely ever seen Yami vulnerable and each time he witnessed it, it was enough to make his heart ache.
"Yugi," Yami's slightly sleepy baritone floated across the darkness to him as he opened the door, halting his thoughts.
"Yes, mou hitori no boku?"
"Will you lay with me for a while?"
Yugi smiled and closed the door. "Yeah."
He padded softly back over to the bed, divesting himself of his uniform jacket as he went. He slipped under the sheets and scooted until he was laying so close to Yami that he could feel the heat radiating from his skin. He sighed inwardly, but Yami seemed to sense his concern and raised a hand to gently stroke his spikey hair, guiding Yugi down to lay his head on the juncture between his shoulder and neck.
They lay like that for a while, Yami lulled by the feeling of Yugi's feathery light breaths against his neck and Yugi lulled by the sound of Yami's pulse as it fluttered steadily beneath his ear. Another fifteen minutes passed and Yami was asleep. Yugi nuzzled against his Dark's neck gently, smiling as his arm tightened around him, aware of his presence even in sleep, and closed his eyes to follow over the edge and into slumber.
A week had passed since Yami's bout of illness had fallen upon them, and the snow that had piled high around the doors and windows of the Mutou household had steadily began to melt. The house was quiet but for the scrape of cutlery from the warm kitchen.
Yami, now wholly recovered, was devouring his pancakes with gusto. Across the table from him sat Yugi, looking less than enthusiastic as he pushed his plate, which was still full of food, away from himself. Noticing this, Yami halted in shoveling his breakfast in his mouth and tilted a questioning eyebrow at his Hikari.
"Aibou? Are you not hungry?"
Yugi shook his head, paling slightly at the motion and letting his head fall forward onto his arms with a groan. Yami, now fully concerned, scooted his chair closer to lay a hand on his Light's shoulder.
"Yugi?"
The former pharaoh snapped his hand back in alarm as Yugi leapt to his feet, nearly knocking over his chair in the process, and clapped his hands over his mouth as he ran for the downstairs bathroom. Yami winced as the sounds of retching floated around the partition wall a moment later.
"Not again."