Title: Exhausted in Cyberspace

Pairing: Seto Kaiba/Yami Yugi (Atem/the Pharaoh)
Tags: Romance, Hurt/Comfort, Virtual Reality, cyberspace, Episode s03e02-03 Isolated in Cyberspace, Prideshipping

Summary: The Pharaoh won his first battle in cyberspace, but all those direct attacks took their toll. AU. Drabble. Kaiba/Yami Yugi (Atem)

AU: Atem and Yugi are two separate people and Atem duels in the first battle instead of Yugi (who is off somewhere else).

Atem's first battle in Noah's virtual environment could have gone better. He groaned. Everything hurt. It was times like these that he missed the holographic projections from Kaiba's duel disk in the real world, because the monsters here? They felt real. As in, when they hit you, it hurt, and Atem had taken more than his share of a seemingly endless barrage of direct attacks.

He struggled to his feet. Atem's body felt heavy but he didn't have time to rest; the others were in danger. Besides, this wasn't anything he couldn't handle. At least, that's what he kept telling himself.

After an hour of trudging through a patchy forest floor, he changed his mind. His body felt like one big bruise, and almost tripping over large tree roots and various scattered debris didn't make this trek any easier. Maybe taking a break wasn't a bad idea…

Once Atem's body hit the forest floor, he was done. As much as he wanted to find his friends, the fact that the forest canopy was slowly spinning above him cemented his decision. Atem had to believe his friends would be alright until he was able to catch up to them.

It didn't take long for him to pass out.

Atem was woken up by a very familiar voice.

"Pathetic," Kaiba said, a smug grin on his face.

He waited a few seconds for Kaiba to come into focus before responding.

"Kaiba," he responded.

Kaiba knelt down beside him. "What happened to you?"

"The monsters here put holographic projections to shame." Atem said, closing his eyes. Kaiba kept going in and out of focus.

"I know. Somehow this virtual program is able to recreate the sensation of touch. I'd be more careful if I were you."

Atem could almost hear the smirk in Kaiba's voice. He snorted. "I'll try to remember that for next time."

"Hn." Kaiba sat down next to him. Atem heard Mokuba and Kaiba talking, but his mind was sluggish and he couldn't discern what they were saying. Silence reigned for a time; just before he passed out, Atem felt the back of Kaiba's hand on his cheek.

"Just take it easy," Kaiba said softly.

Okay, so maybe Atem's first battle didn't go so badly after all.

END

A/N: Based on the episodes Isolated in Cyberspace (Part 1-2).

Yes, I use the English names, including the Pharaoh's true name (it's sexy and totally screams "I'm an Egyptian pharaoh!"). Also, I love the dubbed version of the anime cause the Pharaoh's voice is hot.

Anyone who has an issue with this can go suck a carrot. ._.