There was nothing this ex-soldier couldn't handle. He was the best at Academia, the strongest, the one feared by all, the one who managed to get any and all missions done. They were all just too easy for someone with power like his. During the dimensional war, he was revered by those of his dimension and the feats he could accomplish. Hardly anything stood in his path.
But the war was over and he wasn't hunting down prey, relying on his deck and monsters to cause total and utter destruction, carding people left and right. No, now he was actually doing good (which he argues the only reason he was helping restore any other dimensions was because the Professor had told him to). He had to assist pathetic duelists, help find suitable material for buildings and construction, even teach others how to fusion summon (which never ended well and some ex-Obelisk Force had to take over).
There were so many times when Yuri had wanted to turn down whatever request was offered to him. Yet, it was his mission to help these people out (whether he liked it or not) and he accepted each and every request. Declining missions just wasn't in his nature. He had never turned one down before (it was looked down upon at Academia) and definitely would not start that even during this restoration.
Perhaps he had taken on too many requests lately. (Yuto had always asked twice if he was sure he wanted to take this on and Yuri always said he could handle it. He'd normally walk away from the other before he could end up asking a third time or hear his concern for how much work he was doing. God forbid he mention something about teamwork. Wasn't that Xyz counterpart aware he was a highly trained soldier and what he could handle on his own?)
And for once in a long time, he felt absolutely tired, drained. It was practically a mission on it's own to get his aching body out of bed. The little sleep he had gotten wasn't helping either. His body was fighting against him, any movement was just a sore pain coursing through his limbs. While Yuri may have tried to keep his usual cool and arrogant facade on, even while feeling like shit, he couldn't keep it up forever.
"Yuri, are you okay?" Yugo asks while waving a hand in front of the other boy. He wore a worried expression as he stood in front of him- when had he gotten here again?
"I'm perfectly fine," Yuri answers with no hesitation. Mentally, he curses at himself for his guard being down and not even being aware of his presence. It was difficult for anyone to sneak up on him, especially this louder counterpart.
The synchro duelist stares at him, not believing the fusion duelist. (Sure, Yuri had a tendency to lie sometimes and he couldn't see through all those fibs, but they were usually in a playful or teasing manner.) Something was wrong with Yuri, he knew that much, but what? He tried to think of what Yuri had done that wasn't so...Yuri-like lately.
"But you don't seem fine," he starts. "I mean, you kinda just walk around like a zombie when you get home. And you haven't been eating as much lately. And you don't really talk shit to me as much as you normally do." Maybe he shouldn't have reminded him of that last bit but the words had already flown out of his mouth. "You just seem sorta out of it? That's really not like you."
Those lavender pink hues narrowed to his counterpart. When had this idiot begun to notice all of that? He had always been trying to seem normal, especially around others. (And especially around Yugo because he knows just how much this moron will worry if anything is wrong with him. But when had he become so observant? Maybe he was losing his touch.)
"I've been busy and I have a lot of assignments to get to," Yuri snaps, causing Yugo to flinch slightly. "I might be a little tired, but that is all." Without another word, he shoves Yugo aside. He thinks that he should grab something to eat, but the thought of food makes his stomach churn. He could skip one meal and live.
"Yuri!" Yugo shouts and stomps his way to follow beside the fusion duelist. "Don't push me!" He growls in annoyance for a moment. "If you're tired then you should stay in bed. I don't think it's healthy to be doing so damn much."
"And what do you know about health? You hardly eat anything healthy, it's a miracle to see you performing exercises instead of sitting your ass on your machine, and I know you have a tendency to skip meals and stay up late, especially when you get wrapped up in your D-Wheel," he growls. This had come out angrier than expected and he knew it. Normally he would have said this in a more mocking manner, teasing and poking fun at him. He hated letting this unnecessary anger take over.
"I don't stay up late or skip healthy meals that much! Don't throw this all on me, you- you stupid fusion head!" Yugo shouts and it sounds louder than usual to the 'fusion head'. "I was talking about you, not me! Don't try to blame me!"
Yuri considers apologizing to him, but doesn't bother with it. He feels a headache coming on (an actual one, not one he jokes about to get Yugo to shut up) and doesn't want to be here. A hand raises to rub his temples, though tries to make it look as if he were just pushing his hair back.
"I have to go."
He can still hear Yugo shouting nonsense at him as he turns on his heels. As he leaves, he tries to drown it out. The fusion duelist begins to pick up his pace, body aching more than usual and head beginning to throb. He just has to go and do more assignments so he can be done being a good person and helping out everyone because apparently they just can't help themselves.
Then he could go back to dueling, to spending more time with Yugo.
And not having his body feel like absolute shit (his legs were feeling heavier than normal).
And actually getting a good night's sleep (which sounded lovely right about now).
And having his vision be in focus (why was everything so blurry all of a sudden?).
"Yuri?" He hears Yugo's voice and it sounds ten times more worried than before. The fusion duelist wants to give a snappy reply back and yet he can't find his voice. He can't see anything. Everything just goes dark. There's a loud thump that follows shortly after. His name is called out once more- "YURI!"- and that's the last thing he hears.
~...~
Slowly, his pink hues begin to show, blinking and staring up at the ceiling. He remains still, trying to figure out where he was and what had last happened to him. He's in bed, sheets pulled over him and looks as if someone had tried to tuck him in. His clothes had been tossed aside at the edge of the bed (rather messily he might add, they weren't even folded properly). Looking down to himself, he realizes that he's in his purple silk pajamas (and whoever changed him -most likely Yugo- hadn't even buttoned him up correctly).
Yuri lets his eyes wander about the room. It wasn't anywhere out of the ordinary, hell it was his room. The only thing out of place here was a seat by the bed, his synchro counterpart sitting on it and having a mixture of worried and relieved feelings crossing his face.
"Yuri! You're awake!" He shouts the instant their eyes meet and doesn't hesitate to practically leap onto the bed and wrap his arms around the other. (And was he imagining things or were there actual tears in Yugo's eyes?)
"Yes, I am. Thank you for pointing out the obvious," he replies sarcastically, trying to push Yugo off of him. He finds that he's not as strong as he should be (with one push at full strength he can send him tumbling back if he wished it, not that he would). While remaining in his arms, he lets out a sigh. "I do hate to ask this, but what happened?"
Yugo, who releases him from his grasp and stands beside the bed, leaning over and hovering slightly over Yuri, frowns. "You mean, you don't remember?"
"If I did, I wouldn't be asking you, now would I?" He asks while pushing himself to sit up in bed before crossing his arms. The most he could recall was speaking with him and then...nothing.
"Well..." Yugo hesitates on telling him what happened. But when he sees the agitated (and very tired) look in his eyes, he has to answer. "You kind of fainted."
"Fainted?" Him? He had never fainted before. Even when he was pushed to his limits in all of his rigorous training at Academia. "You must be joking."
"I-I'm serious! I even had to call Yuto and Yuya over. Then they brought over some doctor and asked about what happened and if you were acting weird lately. After I told him some stuff, he kinda said you were overworking yourself and that you should rest for the day."
Yuri rolled his eyes. So much for trying to do good. Maybe this was a sign that he shouldn't be trying to undo what he had done. "I can't believe your first thought was to call those two over before a doctor."
"I panicked!" Yugo admitted. He let out a sigh as he looked over to Yuri. "Maybe I should have called one first, but I'm not really...used to that." Commons never had enough funds to actually call for one; friends usually helped those who were sick. Even though he wasn't living in the slums anymore, it was hard to kick old habits. "And I thought maybe they could help out to."
"Oh really? And where are they now?"
"They went to go and get you some medicine. I stood behind to make sure you didn't like throw up in your sleep or anything."
Yuri just wore a deadpan expression to a reason like that. He'd argue how stupid that was, but just sighed instead. "Well, I'm fine now. So I'll ju-"
"No!" Upon the slightest movement of Yuri beginning to push himself up, Yugo had moved forward, hands pinning down Yuri by his arms. "The doctor said you have to rest, so you can't get out of bed."
Yuri was stunned for a moment. He guessed his reflexes were still recovering since he had not seen that coming at all. "I can rest by not being in bed, you idiot." He glares up at his counterpart, who, he believed, was worrying far too much over him.
Yugo shakes his head, giving him a serious look and refusing to move from his position. "No, you have to stay here." He bites his lower lip, light blue hues locking onto his. "I just...don't want that to happen to you again, okay? I thought something really bad might have happened to you..."
The fusion duelist keeps his glare on the synchro duelist. Maybe if he gives him an icy stare, eventually he'll move. It doesn't work. (He's not about to admit that there's some form of guilt welling inside of him. If Yugo were to call him the idiot, for once, he wouldn't argue with him.)
"If you get off me, then I'll stay."
That response earns a surprisingly happy smile from Yugo. It annoys the hell out of Yuri (as it looks as if he has just beaten him at his own game).
"Great! And don't worry, Yuri, I'll take good care of you!" He states that proudly, intent on keeping his word. So, he lets go of Yuri, waiting to see if he's going to make a run for it or not. But his fusion counterpart remains tucked in bed, beginning to fix the buttons of his pajamas.
"...Who said you were taking care of me? I can take care of myself."
"If you could take care of your damn self then you wouldn't have fainted!"
Yuri clicks his tongue, and looks away from Yugo. He really can't argue against that fact. The one point he does make is one he can't fight. He really must be losing his touch (or Yugo is somehow getting smarter, which is impossible, he thinks).
"Oh, right! You have to eat something! I have some porridge ready for you. I'll just go get it and then I'll feed it to you!" Yugo gives him a quick grin before beginning to head out to the kitchen.
"Wait..." Did he just hear Yugo correctly? He better not be serious about that. "You are not feeding me, Yugo! Understand? I can feed myself!" He shouts even though the synchro duelist is already out of his room.
~...~
"For the last time, Yugo, I'm fine." He's certain that this was the tenth time he's asked the same question and he was sick of hearing it. Especially since he knows he's going to be hearing it more once they go to Yuto for some assignments. "If you ask one more time, I'm going to make you be the bedridden one."
"I just want to know if you're really okay." Yugo had seen the life in him blossom over the past few days. There definitely was an improvement in his health and he watched it all come back. Yuri was back to normal and looking better than before. Which also meant he was back to his usual attitude (not that much changed when he was ill, he just didn't have as much energy). "I can't believe that's the thanks I get for caring for your ass."
"I'm not about to faint if that's what you're worried about. That was a one time thing." And he was intent on not letting that happen again. To his last comment, the fusion duelist looks over to him curiously. "Did you want a reward for taking care of me? I never told you to do such a thing, you simply flung yourself onto me."
"I did not!" Then he remembers he actually did and his cheeks begin to flush. "Whatever! It's not like I expect you to thank me anyway."
"Really?" Yuri smirks as fingers rest against his chin, tapping against it. "Well, I honestly wasn't going to thank you before, but..."
"But, what? Did you have a change of heart or something?" Yugo asks. Whether that's a good thing or not, he's not sure. But by the look on Yuri's face, he decides that it can't be good. Oh, how he regrets even mentioning that. "Uh, I think we should get going now."
"If you insist, but first." He makes a swift movement, standing right in front of Yugo. A hand gripping onto the fabric over his chest, forcefully pulling him closer. Their noses are only inches apart and before the synchro duelist can even react and shout, the fusion duelist forces their lips to meet. He lingers as their lips are pressed together, gently nipping at those chapped lips and just when he feels the other is beginning to realize what's going on and even starts to kiss him in return, Yuri releases his hold and steps away from him.
"Thank you, Yugo~!" He chimes in an insincere yet playful tone while winking at Yugo. Meanwhile, he just stares- glares at Yuri for what he just did, face going red in embarrassment and anger. This wasn't the thanks he was looking for (or maybe it was if only he wasn't an ass who knowingly pulled back before he could even do anything).
"Don't kiss me out of the blue, you asshole!"
