Divey's A/N: This wonderful one-shot is a co-write between my fellow fav writer, The Lady Winged Knight, and me. At any rate, brief history behind this story, ok? We were exchanging yummy Yuugi/Yami pictures (say that 20 times fast!), and ran across this super sweet visual.
"Hey!" sayeth I. "We should, like, totally write about the yaoirific scene behind this!"
"Dude, yeah!" sayeth she. "'Except without the yaoi, b/c seriously? Ewwww!"
…
Or something like that.
Thus, this one-shot was born. We've divvied (would you believe Spell Check says that's a word!) it up into sections, so if you're really bored, you can try and find where one leaves off and the other begins.
The site for the GORGEOUS SWEET WONDERFUL pic can be found at (taking out the spaces): http: www. janime. net / images / FanArt / couple1 / 01 / 32. jpg
Observe and enjoy!
Also (last note by me!), this fic VAGUELY references one of my prev. works. ((shrugs)) It's no biggie, but it's an attempt to make this humourous fluff sound vaguely official.
I'm done!
Thus… on with the story:
Co-written, Fluffy, Piccie-Inspired Writing, Yami is Sick One-Shot! ((blinks)) That's a looong title.
Working on his homework, Yugi was suddenly jolted out of his concentration. Had he just heard something? Carefully, slowly, cautiously, he reached out and turned off the soft music from his radio. He cocked his head and listened.
There it was again.
He frowned and quickly rose to his feet, dashing out the door in the direction of the sound. Ever since Yami had been … given … a new body, Yugi had tried to remain ever aware of his surroundings. He didn't think he could bear being separated from his other half again. Thus, anything that sounded odd was checked out immediately. He vowed to never have the other in danger again. He would not lose his Yami.
He couldn't.
He sprinted down the few stairs to the main room, then slid to a halt. There was only Yami there, in his black leather ensemble, poring over the book he'd recently bought, Pharaoh Fantastic. At the sound of Yugi screeching to halt, he looked up. Ruby red eyes gleamed in amusement at a certain passage he'd just read, but the handsome face was quickly schooling itself into one of mild concern. Yami blinked.
"Aibou?"
"Uh, hey Yami. Um…" Yugi trailed off. He looked down, blushing, and shuffled his feet. To be perfectly honest, he felt a little silly now. Still…
"Ne, Yami. Did you hear something?"
And Yami grinned brightly. "Yes, aibou! I did!" Proudly, he placed his hands over his black-covered chest. "I heard the sound of this heart beating and the soft whistling of my breath! I enjoy being alive again, Aibou-mine! It is a sensation that pleases a Pharaoh!"
Yugi sighed ruefully. "Pharaoh? Not this again, Yami…"
But Yami had already been swept up with excitement. "Yes, Pharaoh! Truly, all shall bow before my majestic feet. They shall kneel in awe in my presence. Yea, truly, for I am the ruler of all life. Verily, I shall grant my audience with –"
Suddenly, Yami bent over almost double in a coughing fit. As Yugi's expression changed from mild tolerance to worry, Yami's face grew flushed, and tears formed automatically when the coughing grew harsher. Finally, it stopped, and Yami looked up at his other, breathing heavily.
"Aibou? My chest hurts. Why?"
Yugi had already started forward. "Gosh, Yami! That was nasty! You must be sick!"
Yami frowned. "'Sick'? No, aibou, I am not 'sick,' I am 'Yami,' or 'Nameless Pharaoh.'"
Yugi stared. "You don't – I mean, that's not … oh, no. No, I meant that you must be coming down with a sickness." His jeweled eyes narrowed as he thought harder. "Maybe the flu? That's been going around…"
"Flu?"
"Uh, yeah. Tell me, do you remember hanging around anyone who coughed like that?"
A measuring gaze bore into Yugi as Yami stared, deep in distracted thought.
"Can I banish this 'flu' to the Shadow Realm?"
Yugi smiled, "I don't think so, Yami. Sorry."
"Well, then, can I defeat it in a Yami no game?"
Yugi couldn't stop the laugh that burst out. "You silly, the flu is a virus…? Or maybe it's a bacterium. Any way, it's very, very, very, very, very small."
Yami straightened imperiously and waved an encompassing hand. "All are subjects under the great Pharaoh's rule! Bring this 'flu' to me! At once!"
Yugi sighed. "Hey, Yami? Start over."
Yami blinked. "All right."
Over the next 40 minutes, Yugi took the former Pharaoh on an exhausting trip through human physiology and the immune system. Ancient biology textbooks were uncovered, and graphic illustrations were diagrammed in a desperate attempt to clarify to Yami how, exactly, one got sick and recovered in this modern world.
Finally, throat parched from babbling, Yugi stopped. He stared at the other half of his soul, who had been caught again in a coughing fit.
"So, in conclusion, Yami: you're sick."
Yami stared desperately back into honest amethyst eyes.
"But I'm Pharaoh!" he wailed.
Yugi sighed. This was really getting old…enough was enough…Yami was grating on his last nerve.
"Not. Any. more. Yami, we live in modern times now! You. Are. Not. Pharaoh. In. THIS. Century." Yugi said exasperated.
Yami cocked his head. "But…When you become Pharaoh, you're ALWAYS pharaoh until you die…and even then I'm sure Ra had something planned." Yami mumbled.
Yugi groaned. "…I…you're…arg…go to bed Yami. …I'll get the thermometer." Yugi said sighing.
"But, aibou I…" Yami protested.
"BED. NOW. MARCH." Yugi commanded.
Yami gulped. Well, that was unusual. Yugi had never commanded anyone…much less commanded HIM. Wait just a minute…He was Pharaoh! No one could command him!
"Yami…" Yugi said in a low impatient voice as he tapped his foot in a motherly fashion.
'No one but Yugi…' A voice cackled in the back of his mind as he trudged to his room.
He went inside and proceeded to peal off his clothes and put on some of those comfortable things that Yugi had called "Pajamas". While grumbling and coughing, he pulled up the covers around himself.
'I've never been…sick before…Ra, this feels terrible.' Yami thought as he tried to sleep, feeling suddenly very tired.
After a few minutes of searching, Yugi had turned up most of the house without any sign of the thermometer. He frowned…it didn't seem to be anywhere. He nearly gave up, when he remembered that his grandfather taught him how to take someone's temperature without a thermometer.
There were two ways,
One: Kissing the sick person's forehead
Two: Placing your hand on their forehead
Either way worked, although the first was more accurate. Yugi decided to go with the latter.
Yugi slowly entered the room to see an exhausted Yami lying on his bed. He had kicked off the covers in his light sleep and was currently in the sweat pajamas that Yami had given him.
Yugi saw beads of sweat on his face and Yami's expression was twisted, probably from nightmares. He muttered inaudible words in his uneasy slumber. Yugi put his hand to Yami's forehead like his grandfather had taught him, and discovered that Yami did have a fever. In fact, he was burning up.
No doubt about it. Yami was definitely sick. This was worse then he thought.
Yami winced as he felt a slight pressure on his face. His eyes opened and looked up at his Hikari, whose face was of concern.
"How are you feeling now Yami?" Yugi asked.
"I feel as if I have been run over by a battle chariot and stomped on one of the strongest stallion's hoofs while I tried to get up." Yami said in a weak voice.
"If you need anything, I can get it for you…" Yugi offered.
Yami smiled slightly.
-One hour later-
Yugi frowned as he finished up another dish. Yami seemed to have recently discovered a taste for sweet snow, pizza, and just about everything else in the refrigerator. Before he could finish cleaning the empty bowl, he heard Yami calling him for the millionth time.
Yugi bolted over to Yami's room so as not to keep him waiting.
"What is it now?" Yugi asked as tolerantly as he could manage.
"Could I get a glass of water aibou?" Yami asked in an all too cute voice. "That is…if it's not too much trouble…" Yami added.
"No, no, not any trouble. I'll be right back…" Yugi replied.
Yugi exited Yami's room and walked over to the kitchen and began to get a glass for Yami as the phone rang.
"Moshi moshi?" Yugi asked answering the phone.
"Hello Yugi! It's me." Called a cheerful, but rather tired voice on the other end.
"Ryou! How are you?" Yugi asked.
"Pretty good…what about you? You sounded rather out of breath." Ryou commented.
"Yami is sick with the flu and with how he's acting about it, you'd think he really was still pharaoh." Yugi muttered.
Ryou chuckled lightly. "I know the feeling. Bakura's sick too and he's acting the same way…only it's "The great king of thieves" that I'm dealing with."
The Hikaris both shared a good laugh.
"So has Bakura been good? Aside from now that is…" Yugi asked.
"Kura's been doing well. I'm still thankful that he can't use his shadow powers though…" Ryou replied.
Yugi blinked. A rather long silence drifted into the conversation.
"You called him Kura." Yugi said rather surprised.
"Really...? I didn't realize I was doing it. Bakura hates that nickname anyway…oh! There he is now…sorry Yugi, I should get off before my Yami gets at the kitchen knifes again." Yugi heard Ryou said as some loud banging went on in the background.
"Okay Ryou, bye!"
"Bye Yugi! …Bakura! No! That's not for…ah…oh no…not again…" The phone slammed down on Ryou's end and Yugi went back to cleaning.
"Oh aibou?" Yami called. "Can I get some more water? And what about some of that cold, white stuff?"
Yugi rolled his eyes and dropped the dish back in the sink.
"Coming, Yami!" Yugi called back. 'Yup…I bet this feels just like home for Yami.' Yugi thought as he hurried back to Yami's room.
It was several hours later. Yuugi sighed to himself as he slowly stirred the chicken soup on the stove. It was probably the only thing that the Yami-Pharaoh had NOT requested, but Yuugi hoped he'd like it all the same. He knew that he'd certainly felt the warmth slide through him when he'd been sick and when his grandpa had made this same recipe for him. He hoped Yami would like it.
More importantly, he hoped it would calm Yami down and let both of them go to sleep. Yami needed it so much because his body needed to rest and recover, and Yuugi…
Well, he just needed to rest.
Sighing, he glanced idly over at the kitchen phone, mentally debating whether or not to call Ryou. While it would be nice to talk to a fellow sufferer, he certainly didn't want to bother the other. But maybe just for a few seconds…?
It came as a great surprise when he saw the phone light begin to blink, signaling that the line was busy. But since the only person upstairs was a sick and delirious Yami…
Oh no.
The spoon dropped heedlessly beside the pot with a clatter, as Yuugi dashed upstairs as fast as his annoyingly stubby legs would carry him. Oh, why couldn't he be taller? Why couldn't he get to the room faster? Who knew what Yami would do in his condition? Thus it was a panting Yuugi who threw open the door and dashed into the room.
"Yami!"
"Aibou?" Yami stared at him in flushed, feverish confusion.
"Who are you talking –" Yuugi blinked, as his overly large eyes suddenly absorbed the bizarre scene in front of him. Yami had dragged some sheets over the bedside dresser and had then scampered up on it. There he sat, presumably in some royal position of days long past. His left hand held the thermometer and a wilting flower (from Anzu, of all things), obviously substituting for the traditional crook and flail. Yami's normally uncontrollable hair had been mashed down with… a bowl. Closer examination revealed that it was the bedside bowl – to be used in case Yami couldn't make it the washroom in time. Fortunately – and thank any and all listening deities! – it hadn't been used yet. On top of the bowl rested a pile of ribbons, which curled and giggled their way down past Yami's shoulders and ended around his lower back. Presumably it was supposed to be part of a crown, although not in any sense of the word Yuugi was familiar with.
Still, all the oddities of Yami's confusing appearance were nothing compared to the horror of his right hand. It held… it held… the phone. The portable was being held up to the flushed face with shaking fingers, and it was with dawning horror that Yuugi saw Yami's attention return to the phone, a sure sign that Yami was about to speak. And who knew whom Yami was calling, or what Yami would say in his delirious condition!
Time seemed to stop.
"Nooooooo….!" Yuugi yelled, in slow motion. Moving as fast as he could in the slowed time, his hand yanked the Puzzle's chain over his head. His feet shuffled forward, as the Puzzle was whirled over his head. With a drawn out cry of denial, the Puzzle was thrown in a high arc, heading straight for the phone in Yami's hand.
The two collided with a 'thunk,' and the phone dropped to the floor. Yuugi darted forwards and picked up the phone, ready, willing and able to apologize to whomever his poor Yami had been harassing. Thus, it was with great surprise when he heard some canned music coming from the other end. Suddenly, it was cut off and a professional, female voice came on the line.
"Thank you for holding. This is KaibaCorp, how may I help you?"
Startled, Yuugi dropped the phone onto the ground with a clatter, breaking the connection. Amethyst eyes turned in puzzled confusion to the feverish former Pharaoh. Said Pharaoh had scrunched into a petulant ball and was hugging the stuffing out of a plushie Dark Magician.
"Yami, why in Ra's name would you call Seto at his office!"
The pout on Yami's face grew until it could wobble forlornly. "I-I just wanted to be not-sick anymore, aibou. Was that wrong?"
Yuugi sighed in fond exasperation. "Of course not, silly. But why would you call Kaiba?"
At that, Yami grinned in delight, "Well, aibou, he used to be my high priest. And, seeing as I am Pharaoh, it is his job to do my every desire. So I was going to command him to take my 'flu' for me!"
Yuugi stared.
Yami smiled triumphantly.
Yuugi's jaw dropped.
Yami's lower lip started to tremble. "A-Aibou? Yami bad?"
Yuugi sighed. "No. Yami's just very, very sick. I think it's time you took a nap, ok?"
Yami had fallen asleep remarkably fast, a testament to how sick he really was. Yuugi stood beside him, watching as the thin chest rose and fell with straining movements, as the body did its best to fight the evil within. Yuugi worried at his lower lip briefly. He'd given his other half some Tylenol and some Nyquil, but he didn't know if it was helping yet.
He was desperately hoping that Yami would recover soon, of course. He missed the confident smirk, and the gentle eyes that would gaze at him protectively – although only when Yami thought he wasn't looking, naturally. He missed his yami's deep voice, and the wonder that infused it when Yami discovered a new thing in the modern world.
On the other hand, Yami was acting awfully adorable – a phase which Yami was sure to terminate as soon as he got better. And did it really matter? All the running and the serving… did he really care about all that work? Deep down, it didn't. Yuugi was, truth be told, delighted at the thought of seeing his Yami in all aspects. He also knew that Yami would be more than happy to serve him, if he ever got sick.
Perhaps that was what made it all right, Yuugi mused. This feeling of equality, of yin and yang, of light and dark in perfect harmony. The knowledge that favours would be returned in full, and that one would do anything – anything – for the other.
He sighed and sat down beside the resting Yami on the plush bed. His drooping eyes roved over the sleeping king's face, as if tracing every feature into memory. Casually, his right arm moved upwards and then, with the gentleness of a dove, rested lightly on Yami's forehead.
He stayed that way for a long time, until his own eyes dropped shut. Then, Yuugi, too, fell asleep beside the other boy. They stayed that way for even longer, silhouetted by the shadow of the moon, and the brightness of the stars.
At another house in Tokyo, a familiar voice resounded in a sneeze, then proceeded to attempt coughing up his lungs. Inside, Ryou gently leaned over and placed a fresh, cool new cloth over Bakura's head and removed the thermometer from his mouth. The former tomb-robber himself was bundled up tight in the hikari's bed, completely covered in comforters and warm blankets.
Bakura moaned. "Landlord… Being alive is not all that good…"
Ryou nodded sympathetically and continued to wipe away the heat that radiated from the albino's flushed face. "Poor Bakura. I hope you get better soon. That chicken soup you had earlier today will help."
A weak attempt at a snarl disguised the pitiful whimper that sought to escape from the sick boy's throat. Ryou sensed that his other half wanted to change the subject, and so he cast about for a safer topic of conversation. "Um… oh! I was talking with Yugi today, and guess what? Yami's pretty sick, too," he smiled weakly. "I guess the flu's just attacking the yamis, huh?"
For the first time in a while, Bakura's face twisted into a superior smirk. "Hn. So you really can spread the sickness by coughing on someone else."
Ryou stared in confusion, until the full meaning of what his other said kicked in. "Ba-Bakura! You COUGHED on Yami and gave him your flu!"
"Muaha."
Ryou groaned. "Oh no…! Poor Yugi."
'Not to mention poor me…' Ryou finished in thought as he prepared for what was to come.
Bakura sneezed, cursed at full volume the ancestry of his flu bug, then stared menacingly at Ryou.
"Why is my pillow not fluffed yet?" he demanded, annoyed.
"This is gonna be a long night…" Ryou muttered, bringing out the thermometer, and then leaning forward.
Divey's A/N: For the record, Pharaoh Fantastic is a book. It's actually a collection of 13 short stories about Ancient Egypt and stuff. shrugs It's a good read (there's one story in there that made me laugh out loud! It was just a shame I was taking a public transportation at the time…), and the book totally gets me into YGO mode. So, yeah.
And Ta-DAH! Review, please? This is the first co-write I've done, soo...
Oh, note: While this is posted in my account, Lady Winged Knight did as much (if not more) work on this as I did. Feel free to drop her a message telling her what you thought! (Or, of course, I could just act as a go-between. That works too.)
Have a good day!