Disclaimer: I own it in my dreams. I also am Ryo Bakura's girlfriend in my dreams, but nobody cares.
Cry of the Black Magician
"I'm home!" Yugi cried. His response was an exhuberent reply from Sogoroku, and a raspy "Hi Yugi," from up in his room, followed by rough coughing. Yugi's grandfather came from behind the counter to greet Yugi at the front door of the Kame game shop.
"Hi Jii-chan. What's wrong with Atemu? I know he didn't sound so great this morning, but..."
"I don't know, exactly. I'm going to the drug store to pick up medicine. I just managed to convince him no one would poison it. No need to watch the store, just leave up the closed sign and I'll be back in a minute. Bye!" He said all of this very, very fast, and was gone. Yugi did an anime sweatdrop and fall, then climbed the stairs to his room. Atemu was at the desk, senior super duper advanced honors algebra textbook in front of him. After he got his own body, he decided to go to school with Yugi. He was a senior, taking all classes as advanced as they come. Except cooking, Yugi thought, smiling. The Mutou family was now on their twenty-seventh toaster in two months, and Atemu had felt so badly about it he'd gotten a part-time job after school to pay for them all, not to mention cooking utensils.
"Hey 'Temu."
"Hi," he replied in a low rasp, and looked back at his unusually blank paper.
"Yugi, have you seen my reading glasses?"
Yugi cringed. He'd hidden Atemu's glasses, because the older boy hadn't been looking well that morning. He didn't want Atemu reading.
"I heard that, Yugi. Where have you hidden them?"
Yugi smirked. "In the toaster."
"WHA- Yugi Mutou, you know perfectly well that all toasters are against-" but he didn't get to finish his sentence, because his voice cracked and he started harshly coughing. This left Yugi in a state of utter shock.
"Oh... My... Ra."
"What?" Atemu whispered.
"The almighty King of Games didn't finish an evil rant."
"So? It's quite a human thing to cough, is it not?"
"Yeah, but not for the almighty King of Games." Atemu shot him the Glare to end the world, got up, and headed in the direction of the kitchen.
"What are you doing?" Yugi asked, skipping to catch up.
"Getting my glasses back. I NEED those to read, Yugi, and I've got homework to do." His voice was scratchy and whisper-fine. He reached up a hand and rubbed his throat.
"You okay?"
The pharaoh's lips formed the words 'I'm fine,' but no sound came out, giving it away that he was obviously not okay. He nodded curtly and walked over to the toaster, still scratching at his throat. I will defeat you, he thought.
Yugi, who heard last thought through the mind link, edged slowly out of the room. This was going to be bloody. He grabbed a jacket and dashed outside and around the back of the house so as to be able to watch Atemu through the kitchen window.
Good, Yugi's gone. I don't want him to see me like this and worry. Yugi heard all this through the link, and gasped. He closed off his end, but kept his mind open to Atemu's thoughts. Immediately the pharaoh's posture became worse than it had before, and his eyes slid a bit out of focus.
"Achoo!" Ugh. I've had to do that since Yugi came home. I just hope he didn't hear me. I wonder where he got to. Oh well, time to tackle this toaster. Ra, my head hurts.
"Gah!" Yugi saw Atemu cry out in pain, leaning heavily against the kitchen counter. One of his hands rushed to hold his head, while the other grabbed the nearest solid object- his good friend the toaster.
Ack! It's the toaster! He could see his reading glasses cleverly wedged in one of the slots, well hidden but not in a position so they wold get scratched. At least aibou thought of that. You really have to give him credit. Too bad I won't be around much longer. Ra, I am going to miss him. So much. Yugi was shocked to see a lone crystal tear run down the former pharaoh's slightly flushed cheek.
What did he mean, 'won't be around much longer'? Did Atemu plan to leave him?
"Okay toaster, I know we've had a rough start, along with your twenty-six other brothers, but you have no idea how hugely I would appreciate it if we could just work together this time. Please." His voice choked up, and he ran a hand through his crazy tricolored hair. "Please Ra, be with me."
In any other situation this would have been hilarious, a three-thousand-years-old five foot three porcupine head King of Games, ex-pharaoh of Egypt, begging Ra for help getting reading glasses out of his twenty-seventh toaster. But Yugi couldn't laugh. Right now, the pharaoh looked weaker than he ever had before, and it was scary.
Slowly, the older of the two boys unplugged the toaster. He reached in two fingers and wrapped them around the glasses. Up slowly... slowly...
"OHMYRAITOUCHEDTHETOASTERANDITDIDN'TEXPLODE!" Yugi watched, smiling, as Atemu just stared from the toaster to his glasses and back, not believing what he saw. "YES!" But his victory celebration was cut short when his face turned ashen gray and violent, hoarse coughs shook his entire body, making him slump to the table, literally writhing in pain.
"ATEMU!" shrieked Yugi. He ran back inside and up to the kitchen, where Atemu was kneeling on the floor with a fist to his chest, desperately gasping for air.
A wave of panic washed over Yugi. Their phone hadn't been working since the recent snowstorm, so he couldn't call for help. Grandpa wasn't home. What was he going t do?
((HELP!)) Atemu screamed in vain through their mind link.
Yugi kneeled down in front of the older boy, and in his panic did the first thing that came to mind. He placed his hands on Atemu's shoulders and took deep, steady breaths. "Match me."
The pharaoh did as he was told, clawing desperately to each gust, trying to make each one last a little bit longer. For nearly five minutes they stayed there, totally silent except for Atemu's raspy, horrid breaths. Eventually his breathing calmed to a normal level, and he could speak again.
"Yugi... I'm so tired..." His hand tried to lift itself to his madly flaming throat, but Yugi's got there first, gently willing his aching voice to relax.
"Don't talk. Let's get you back to bed-" he stopped. Atemu had passed out cold and keeled over forward, his forehead coming to rest on Yugi's small shoulder.
Yugi let out a small cry of surprise as he actually felt the warmth through his clothes. He had on one of his trademark black SM leather shirts, a sweater, and the thick winter jacket he'd grabbed before running outside into the snow in fear of his dark half blowing up another poor, defenseless kitchen appliance.
"He's burning up!"
"Who is?" Sogoroku asked concernedly, coming through the door. He held a small white bag in his right hand, and stopped short when he saw the scene in front of him. The toaster lay smashed on the floor where Atemu had dropped it when he started coughing. His grandson and his grandson-in-a-twisted-sorta-way sat on the floor, oblivious, a pair of reading glasses clutched in Aemu's limp, very pale hand. Yugi had on an extremely thick jacket.
"What happened, Yugi?"
"He tried to get his reading glasses out of the toaster, and he did, but then he started coughing REALLY HARD and he was having some sort of breathing problem, so I got him to breathe and then he just fell over and fell asleep, and Jii-chan, he's got a huge fever!" Yugi half-screamed, getting very excited. That still didn't explain the jacket, but oh well. Life moves on and the world keeps a' turnin.'
"Calm down," said Sogoroku, crossing to their place on the floor and putting the back of his hand to Atemu's forehead, sliding it down the boy's flaming cheek.
"Can you support him up to your room?"
"I think so."
"Take him up and get him in bed, and try not to wake him."
Yugi nodded, and started to lug the ex-pharaoh up the stairs. It wasn't that Atemu was heavy, in fact, he was perfectly scrawny compared to every other person in the world. They arrived in their room, and Yugi sat Atemu down on his bed, right across from Yugi's. He pulled up the covers, and the sleeping bioy moaned in protest, so he took them off, which caused Atemu to shiver and sweat violently, so Yugi settled for leaving them up halfway. This got no reaction from Atemu, and Yugi considered that to be a good thing.
Sogoroku came up then, and firmly stuck a thermometer under the boy's tongue. Atemu didn't even stir.
"What's it say?"
"One hundred and three point seven."
"That's not good!"
"Yugi, calm down. You've had plenty of fevers before too."
"But you couldn't hear what he said!"
"What do you mean, Yugi?"
"I heard him thinking through our mind connection, Grandpa, and he didn't even notice! He said he wasn't going to stay much longer... that he was going to leave us... me..."
He perched on the edge of Atemu's bed and held one of his other half's hands. It was freezing. How could his hand be so Ra-darned freezing when he was Ra-darned burning up and Ra-darned sweating like he'd just run a Ra-darned marathon? Sogoroku left and came back a minute later with a washcloth and a small dish of cold water, along with a measure of orange medicine.
"I've got to go run the shop. Use this." He left.
Yugi dipped the white cloth into the water and gently pressed it to Atemu's madly sweating forehead. They sat there like that for a few hours, though to Yugi it felt like mere seconds.
"Aibou..." He was still asleep, but the current situation had an effect on whatever dream the past pharaoh was having.
"Aibou... don't leave me here... Don't go... Aibou..."
"I'm right here. You're going to be fine."
"Promise me, aibou..."
"I promise..." Yugi whispered, using his old name for his dark half, "Mou hitori no boku."
"I'm glad I'm still mou hitori no boku to you... mmph..." Suddenly he rolled over fitfully- right onto the floor.
"Aah!"
"Are you all right?"
"NO! DON'T YOU DARE HURT MY AIBOU!"
"I AM your aibou, Mou Hitori no Boku."
"Oh. Gomen nasai. Dream... How did I get up here and why am I on the floor and what time is it and did I pass out?"
"Whoa, take it easy. If you get back into bed, take Grandpa's medicine, and don't make yourself cough, I'll tell you."
The ex-pharaoh tried to lift himself on skinny arms, but failed.
"Uh... could you help me get up?" he asked, feeling very helpless.
"Sure." Yugi held out a hand for the older boy to take, and supported him the last few inches to the bed, onto which Atemu collapsed, shivering.
"Are you cold?"
Yugi got a sneeze as a reply, so he pulled up the covers and handed Atemu a tissue.
"Thanks, aibou," Atemu said thickly.
"Okay. Now take this." He poured a little of the orange medicine into the little plastic cup thingy, helped Atemu sit up, and handed it to him. The older boy drank it, and couldn't help but cough at the taste.
"I told you not to cough. Now I can't answer you," Yugi teased.
If looks could kill, Yugi would literally be a little angel.
"Whoa! Not The Glare! Okay, I give up, just enough with The Glare! And don't talk. You sound hoarse enough as it is."
Atemu laid back on the pillow and wearily closed his eyes. (A/N: Don't little kids always seem even MORE tired when they fall out of bed? I dunno...)
"Okay, yes you passed out, and you got up here when I carried you up. You were on the floor because you kind of... spazzed out and fell out of bed."
Atemu cringed.
"It's okay. You looked like you were having a really bad dream." He left out their 'conversation.' "Oh, and as to the time- four forty-seven."
"Nearly five! I was supposed to meet Anzu at five today! She's going to think I don't like her anymore!"
"But you DON'T like her anymore."
"Wha-"
"You love her. I told her you were sick, and she said you two were going out today, so she said she wanted to come and see you!"
Atemu blushed a so-far-unknown shade crimson nearly as deep as his eyes.
"OOH, Anzu and Atemu sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G- Oh, by the way, have you kissed her yet?"
Atemu's face became even more flushed, if that was possible, and his end of their mind link conveniently became closed off.
"So you have! How was it?"
Atemu smirked.
"Come on, spill!"
"I'm not supposed to talk, your orders."
"Hmph. Fine. I'll just find out from Anzu."
"Don't count on it."
Ding! Dong!
"There she is now. I'll go get the door. Don't you dare get out of bed because a) You aren't even strong enough and you're way too young for a heart attack, b) I'll get killed by Jii-chan if I let you, and c) You'll get killed by me if you do, and I don't want to become a murderer."
No answer. He took that as a yes.
Anzu greeted him at the door. She was wearing a white knit sweater, jeans, and short black boots under an unbuttoned dark blue winter jacket. "Hey Yugi!"
"Hi. How are you?"
"Pretty good. I'm worried about Atemu, though. He would only skip school if the fate of the world depended on it."
"Yeah, especially since he got that flute solo in band. But what I wonder is, if he got his own body only a few months ago, where the heck did he get so good? I'm practically tone-deaf."
That might explain his voice, Anzu thought. "Some things are destined to remain a mystery. Can I say hi to him?" She finished removing her boots.
"C'mon. Just don't make him talk too much. He starts coughing really bad when he talks a lot. Or a little, for that matter." He smirked. "Don't kiss him either, because I'll be in there and I really don't want to be scarred for life, it'll probably make him cough, which is not good, and you really do not wanna catch whatever he's got."
They arrived at Yugi and Atemu's room, and could hear Atemu's coughing through the door.
"I told you not to cough. Screw you."
"Sorry, Yugi. I couldn't help it. Hi, Anzu."
"Hey, what's wrong?" She kneeled by the bed and nuzzled his cheek, getting a blush and a butterfly kiss in return, but Atemu quickly pulled away.
"What's the matter?"
"I don't want to get you sick."
"You're so sweet"
"BBBBBBBBLLLLLLLEEEEEAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHH!"
"What was that? It came from the bathroom."
Yugi then came back into the bedroom looking very green and very grossed out. How he got to the bathroom so fast... let's leave it up to Einstein.
"Yugi! Did you catch Atemu's... whatever-he-has?"
"No."
"Then why did you throw up?"
"Watching you two cuddling made me a little dizzy, I think. I'm just gonna go do my homework with my back turned and you two can do... whatever boyfriends and girlfriends do."
"Sorry, aibou."
"That's all right. At least we're separate now." He shuddered.
"Yugi, if I was still fused with you it would be very inconsiderate for me to be in this relationship."
"Okay. Just don't kiss or anything until my back is turned."
"Will do. By the way, did you get my homework?"
Yugi rolled his eyes. "Ryo has it, since he's in your English class now that he got moved up in that subject."
"Yeah. The guys all said they'd be over later too. Probably because they want you help with their work."
"Oh joy. I can hear that Hallelujah corus now." The pharaoh rubbed his temples with sheet-white fingers, scrunching his eyes. He hissed through his teeth in a nearly catlike way.
"Are you okay?"
Atemu gave a curt nod. "Just dizzy... headache... it'll pass- Agh..."
"I'll get you a glass of water," said Yugi.
"Yugi, it's okay... don't. You've done enough for me-"
"Don't even go there, Atemu. This can be my repaying the debt from when I got that flu REALLY BAD last month and you stayed with me the whole time, then got it from me."
The ex-pharaoh saw that he was going to lose this one anyway. "Fine."
Yugi went to get the water, leaving Anzu and Atemu alone.
Anzu giggled.
"Did I miss a joke?"
"Well, here's Yuugiou, the Game King, with that enchantingly deep voice, lying in bed and barely being able to talk. Ironic, ya know?"
"Oh, ha ha. I don't even get a sympathy vote?"
"Well, I gues it could be arranged..." She pecked him lightly on the cheek.
"Ooh, don't do that," he pleaded, blushing furiously. "I don't want to get you sick."
"Fine. Just promise to make up for it when you're feeling better."
"I'll pay interest, too."
Yugi came back up with a glass of water for Atemu and sodas for Anzu and himself. Atemu sipped the water gratefully, rubbing his throat.
"Oh yeah, I found cough dops in some cabinet downstairs. Lemon, licorice or cherry?"
"Uh... what are cough drops, Yugi?"
"Okay then, you're getting licorice. It's not half bad, really. Here." He handed Atemu a purplish losenge. In a minute, the room smelled pleasantly like licorice.
Anzu asked Atemu if he's like to have a for-fun duel with her, but he politely declined, saying he was tired. So Yugi dueled Anzu while the ex-pharaoh slipped off into a relatively peaceful-looking sleep.