AN: I decided it was time for some non derp synchroshipping.

I basically spent a week and a half in bed reading synchro fluff and making a head canon. This is the result of everything.

This is NOT related to my other fics. This is NOT a derp lemon.

Enjoy.

SICK IN BED

Atem woke to the sound of Yuusei coughing again. He frowned and rolled over, one arm circling around Yuusei's waist. "Hey," he murmured, kissing the back of his shoulder. "You okay?" He'd been having coughing fits all night and Atem was beginning to worry.
Yuusei nodded, still couching hard into his pillow. Once his fit stopped, he rolled over to face Atem. His eyes were tired and bloodshot and he looked exhausted. Had he even slept?
Atem brushed a few loose stands back from Yuusei's face and frowned. "I'll go get you some water." He slid out from under the covers and looked down at Yuusei for a moment. He was shaking, coughing weakly into his hand. His entire body seized up when he coughed and the wetness on his cheeks indicated just how forceful these fits were.

"I'll be right back."

Atem fixed his pyjama bottoms and made his way into the kitchen. He grabbed a glass from the drying rack and filled it, his mind half on the task at hand. He was worried about Yuusei. He'd been coughing on and off for the past few days and it only seemed to be getting worse.
He made his way back to the bedroom and took a seat on the edge of the bed by Yuusei. "Here."

He watched while his lover thanked him weakly and took a long drink. After setting the glass down Yuusei took Atem's hand. His hands were clammy and felt almost frail under Atem's fingers. "Yuusei..."
"Don't worry. I'm fine. Thank you," he whispered. "I'm keeping you up. Why don't I move onto the couch?"
"No, you're staying here," said Atem firmly. He brushed the back of his hand over Yuusei's cheek and smiled, leaning down to kiss him.

Yuusei turned his face away so Atem only kissed his cheek. "No, I'll make you sick," he whined.
"Mm. True. You try to rest, okay? I'll get you some warm milk."
"Have I told you how much I love you?"
"A few times, yes."

Chuckling, Atem kissed Yuusei's brow and stood back for a moment. Once Yuusei had managed to slip into a fitful rest he left the room. It was nearly six in the morning, and he was already up... His eyes drifted over to the living room table where his deck and duel disk were. Right. The start of the tournament was today.
He shook his head. Yuusei was much more important than this tournament by far. Besides, he was slowly drawing away from these kinds of things. With a new generation of duelists rising he figured it was coming to a time for him to retire while he was still at the top.
But those thoughts didn't bother him for long. His attention was quickly returned to the task at hand. He warmed up a glass of milk for Yuusei while he fixed some breakfast for the pair. He folded the omelettes carefully while he watched the bacon sizzle. He heard a sound and looked back. Yuusei was standing at the threshold rubbing his eyes.

"Yuusei, go back to bed. "

Yuusei yawned and then coughed into his arm before moving over to stand behind Atem. He wrapped his arms around his waist and rested his chin on Atem's shoulder. "I just don't want to be far from you right now," he whispered. "I didn't mean to keep you up all night."

"Don't worry, okay? Really."
Atem turned his head to kiss Yuusei's cheek while he flipped the omelettes and bacon. "Your milk is warmed up. Go have a seat."
Yuusei nodded weakly and took the mug, shuffling over to the kitchen table. He looked haggard sitting there, hunched over the warm mug and sipping it from time to time. There were dark circles under his eyes and he looked pale and almost gaunt.
Atem set their plates down and took a seat. "Are you cold?" he asked, noticing Yuusei shiver.
"N-no..."

He watched Yuusei eat for a long moment. It became clear after some time, though, that Yuusei simply wasn't hungry. He was pushing his food around absently with his fork between coughs. Atem finally stood and took Yuusei's plate. "Don't force yourself if you're not hungry."
"Sorry..."
"Don't be."
He placed a soft kiss to Yuusei's brow and cleaned their plates off. He then took Yuusei's hand, leading him back into the bedroom.

"You need to rest. You won't recover if you're not sleeping. I'll pop out and get you some cold and flu medicine, okay?" He brushed Yuusei's hair back and gave him a gentle smile. "I hate seeing you like this. I have my phone on me, so call or text if you have to, okay? I'll be back soon."

He found his pants and pulled them on, also fishing for a shirt in the pile of laundry in the corner. He almost laughed. Yuusei was terrible at folding laundry and putting it away. It was one of the jobs often left to Atem.

Once he was dressed, he made his way out of the apartment and hurried quickly down the four flights of stairs to the parking lot. It had taken some practice, but just a year ago he'd finally learned to drive. Yuusei had helped him get over his terrible fear of crashing the car. After all, many of these things were still very new to him. He's only had his own body for a little over three years now.
He got into the two-door Mazda and made his way to the pharmacy. He wanted to speed to get there and back to Yuusei faster but he kept himself in check. It wasn't a long drive, only about five minutes.
Atem made his way inside and found the section he wanted. He grabbed some tablets and some herbal tea before going to the cash. Yuusei would need something to sooth his throat, and cough syrups made him gag.
He felt so anxious. Being away from Yuusei never really bothered him. But he was so sick...
He drummed his fingers nervously over the counter while the cashier bagged his items. He paid and had to stop himself from running back to the car and speeding home. No calls or texts. That was a good sign.

He got home as fast as he dared and made his way back into the building. Taking the stairs two at a time, he pulled his keys out and quickly opened the door.

He grimaced.

He had hoped to come home to silence or even just cough, but he heard Yuusei in the bathroom, clearly sick to stomach.
Atem pulled his coat off and moved into the bathroom. "Yuusei..." He took a seat on the edge of the tub, one hand resting on Yuusei's back. He was on his knees, arms on the edge of the toilet. "When did this start?" he asked gently.

"A few minutes ago," he whispered into the porcelain. "Atem... I feel terrible."

Atem moved Yuusei's hair back from his face and moved to sit on the floor. "Shh." Yuusei sat back after a moment and Atem pulled him loosely into his arms, one hand slowly rubbing Yuusei's back while the other reached for the washcloth hanging on the tub faucet to hand to Yuusei. "Should we go into the clinic?"

"If it's just the flu we'd be wasting our time. Besides, I don't really want to be on horse pills," he said somewhat breathlessly. His exhaustion and the force of being so sick to his stomach was getting to him. Yuusei cleaned his face off with shaking hands and leaned his head back against Atem's shoulder. "Do we still have the Pepto?"

Yuusei lurched forward to bend over the toilet again while Atem got him the bottle from the cabinet. Today was going to be a long day.

-xxxx-

A few hours later, Atem made his way back into their room with a hot cup of tea. Yuusei's vomiting had stopped, though the coughing hadn't improved at all. He set the mug down and turned to leave, but Yuusei reached out and took his wrist with weak fingers. "N-No... Please... Please stay. Sleep with me for a while."
Atem obliged and crawled into bed. Yuusei curled against him, head resting on Atem's chest as he coughed weakly into his hand. "I'm s-sorry you're stuck here," he muttered, his eyes fluttering between open and closed as a result of the fever. "You can go that... tournament thing... I'll be fine here."

"I'm more worried about you right now," replied Atem, fingers stroking Yuusei's damp hair out of his face. "If your fever gets any higher I'm taking you in, okay?" He looked down as Yuusei squirmed in feverish discomfort and then began to cough again. Atem held him while the coughing fit shook through his entire body. "Yuusei..."

"I'm okay," he rasped, tears in his eyes after the fit. "I'm okay. Really. I used t-to get coughs like this a-as a kid sometimes..." He trailed off and closed his eyes again. One hand shifted to fist weakly into Atem's shirt, as if to keep him close. Atem didn't plan on going anywhere, however. Not when Yuusei was this sick.
"Think you could stomach some tea?" he asked.
Yuusei opened his eyes again and nodded slowly. "I can try."

Atem reached over to get the mug. He helped Yuusei get his grip on it and take a few sips. He then took it back and set it back down while Yuusei readjusted his position against Atem's body. After a long moment, Atem relaxed back on the pillows while he absently stroked Yuusei's hair. Yuusei would let out little groans of pain or cough from time to time, but between those he managed to rest a little.

"Don't you have errands to run?"

It had been a full two hours, he noticed. He must have drifted off for a while.
Atem looked down at the man in his arms and then shook his head. "I told you that those things can wait. You're my first concern right now, okay?"

Yuusei gave a little smile, the first in days.
"I'm really lucky to have you," he whispered. He then buried his face into Atem's chest, letting out a little sigh. "I love you," he murmured into the fabric of his shirt.

Atem just smiled and then shifted to kiss the top of Yuusei's head. "Shh. Just try and get some sleep for now. Would you like those tablets first?"
Yuusei nodded.
Atem reached over to get the box, popping two tablets out into his palm and watching Yuusei swallow them. He then curled back up against Atem. "Thank you."

"Shh. Just sleep."

-xxxx-

"Atem?"

Atem yawned and stretched his arms above his head. He opened his eyes and squinted against the sunlight. "Mmm. Yuusei? What's wrong?" His sleepiness faded when he remembered how sick Yuusei was. He sat up quickly, all tiredness gone. "Are you oaky?" He looked down at Yuusei. Some of his colour had returned and his skin seemed less flushed. "Hey... Your fever broke," he murmured, placing a hand on Yuusei's forehead.

"I a lot better," said Yuusei. "Still coughing, but no stomach pain. I don't feel like I'm going to die," he joked softly. "Thank you. For staying."
His fingers found Atem's hand and curled around it. Atem laced a hand through Yuusei's hair and kissed his cheek and then his lips. "Of course I stayed. I promised I would."

The pair was silent for a moment. Yuusei sat up and pulled his shirt off, relaxing back in only a pair of dark blue pyjama bottoms. He then shifted to lay flat on his back, staring at the ceiling while Atem watched him. He reached out and rested a hand over Yuusei's heart, smiling to himself. "I'm glad you feel better. I was really worried."

Yuusei smiled. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"If I asked... If I asked you to make love to me, would you?"

Atem blinked in surprise. He'd never heard Yuusei ever say that. Make love... That was something he'd only ever read or heard in romance novels and films. He met Yuusei's shy gaze and then frowned. "You're sick. I don't want to... hurt you or anything."
"I just need you right now. I need to be close."
Atem's eyes close for a moment while he thought. But the soft plea in Yuusei's voice already made up his mind.

"Yes."

That burning when their lips touched was there as it always was, but something about it was different this time. It was softer and more desperate all at once. A thousand times more intense but not hot. Yuusei's hand ran along his back, pulling him close while they kissed. His hand fisted into Atem's shirt and began to pull it off. The kiss broke and Atem shifted to pull his shirt off unbuckled his belt. He kicked his jeans off and returned his attention to Yuusei's lips, content to kiss him for a while. He was enjoying the gentleness of Yuusei's fingers up his spine and sides. It was unusual.
Yuusei for, for the most part, a rough lover. Things were normally fast-paced, lust-driven, and hard. Though they had moments of gentleness, they were never like this. He was never like this. Almost innocent and frail under Atem's wandering hands. Well, no... Perhaps not frail. That wasn't the right word. But he was... breakable? Fragile?

Pure.

Atem smiled against Yuusei's lips while they undressed. It was almost surreal to feel Yuusei's hand explore him in a way they never had before. They ran over his back, his legs, caressed each inch of him and teased everywhere his hands could reach except for the one place Atem wanted him to touch. The one place where he was burning to feel those hands he loved and knew so well.

"Yuusei..."

"Atem, please."

Atem opened his eyes. When had he closed them? He didn't even remember.
He looked down at his lover to see the soft blush that touched his cheekbones. Please. That was the request. Please...
"I love you," he murmured, pressing a soft kiss to Yuusei's cheek. By Yuusei's smile he knew that was what he'd wanted.
"I love you, too."

After that it was something more. Something beautiful that Atem hadn't shared with Yuusei yet. It was new and intense, filled with far too many emotions for him to sort out. Hands clutched at the sheets, lips met lips and sweat-slick bodies moved above the covers in the late haze of the afternoon. Words. Tears. Promises. Kisses. Hands. Lips. Arms. Legs. Atem didn't know or care what time it was or what needed to be done. What mattered was Yuusei. What mattered was the man who had his arms wrapped tight around him, panting and begging for release.

The pleasure was blinding. The love overwhelming.
Atem didn't think it was even possible for him to want one person so much. To feel something run so deep. Each time Yuusei cried out or whispered sweet nothings he found himself becoming steadily intoxicated by the very presence of the man beneath him.
He loved Yuusei. That would never change.

Was it once? Twice?
Touch me. Faster. Slower. Yes. Please. More. Again.

"Atem?"

He opened his eyes. The setting sun was casting a red glow over Yuusei's chest as they simply laid there in the afterglow of their lovemaking. The sounds of the city outside were starting to die down as the evening began to blanket the city.

"Yeah?"

"I'm always going to love you. I just want you to know that."

Atem was silent for a moment, letting the words just roll around inside him. He felt Yuusei tense next to him after a few seconds, and he could nearly feel the panic.
"A-Atem...?"
He looked back at Yuusei, smiling down at him as he lifted the man's chin to kiss him. "I don't think it's possible for me to ever stop loving you, Yuusei."

Yuusei's eyes cleared and then softened.
There was a moment of silence between them in which an entire conversation occurred. At that moment, both said in perfect silence that they were in love. That what they had was treasured dearly in both their hearts.

Yuusei was soon asleep after taking his medicine again, which left Atem to watch his sleeping lover for a long time. He absently stroked his hair and watched the steady rise and fall of his chest.
"You're everything to me," he murmured to the silence around him. "Everything."