Pulled to Pieces

[A/N: Just wanted to say thank you so much for the lovely reviews! It's been so long since I've been able to write creatively, so please excuse me while I work to really get back into it. Special thanks to MegaDuck, lalalei, and Chikorita-Trainer1. You guys have no idea how warm and fuzzy it makes me feel to know that people from almost half a decade ago are still reading my stuff and actually remembered my stuff, haha. THANK YOU SO MUCH AGAIN!]

By the time Roland and Mokuba reached the hospital, it appeared that the place was just getting into its daily grind. Doctors and nurses were bustling in and out of the hospital, laughing and exchanging greetings and farewells, and Mokuba noticed an orderly unlocking the automatic doors to the urgent care just a few doors down from the emergency room entrance. Once he and Roland entered, Mokuba immediately clambered onto a chair in the waiting area, shivering as he suppressed a cough, while Roland went to speak with a triage nurse. Moments later, he turned around and headed back to Mokuba.

"They're still getting him situated," he informed Mokuba. "We just have to wait a bit."

Mokuba nodded silently and continued to observe the ebb and flow of hospital activity as Roland continued to type and scroll on his phone, and occasionally ducked outside to take calls. This pattern continued for what felt like forever, although in reality, it was only half an hour, give or take. Finally, Yugi and Joey rushed in, and a wave of relief crashed over Mokuba as they took a seat on either side of him, just as Roland was excusing himself once again.

"Thanks for coming. I…I don't really know why I called you, I know this is different, but…I guess I'm scared. This has never happened before, not even at his worst…"

Yugi frowned and leaned forward, eyeing the child closely. "No, it's okay, we're always here for you guys, but let's back up a little here. What happened? Is he hurt?"

Mokuba shook his head, steadfastly staring down at the tiled floor. "We had kind of a fight, and Seto just lost it. I mean, he's had meltdowns before, which is why I called his doctor, but nothing like this." He paused to wipe away the tears welling in his eyes and sniffed. "It's my fault though. I said something really bad to him."

"What'd you say?" Joey asked, an unusual seriousness clouding his normally clownish disposition.

"I called him Gozaburo," Mokuba told them quietly after a brief pause. Neither Yugi nor Joey responded right away to this; they were both aware that Gozaburo Kaiba was a very sore spot for Seto Kaiba, and for good reason, but they'd never really known the full extent of it. But by the way Mokuba was talking, it was almost like what he'd done was unforgivable, and he was sure he lost his brother forever.

Joey let out a low whistle and leaned back, then clapped his hand on Mokuba's shoulder a few times.

"Daddy issues will do it every time," he said knowingly. "But I know you two can move past it."

"I don't know about that. He's been so stressed out and exhausted, and I pushed him too far. He even admitted he wished I never existed…not that I can blame him…"

"Oh, Mokuba, I'm sure you'll work this out. We all say things we don't mean, especially when we're stressed or just not feeling well." Yugi's attempt at comfort did not go unnoticed by Mokuba, but he also couldn't help feeling rather pessimistic about the words that were spoken. Seto didn't let anybody close, and the only person in the entire world he was close to had intentionally hurt him. How does anyone get over that?

"Why don't you come home with me? You really don't look well, maybe you could use a nap," Yugi suggested. "A little rest goes a long way, and I'll be right there if you need anything."

"Yeah, and I can stay here with your brother. I'll let you know when he comes to," Joey offered.

Mokuba gaped up at Joey in disbelief. "Look, I appreciate you coming down here, Joey, but Seto already attacked me. I don't think any of us want to know what he'd do to you. You guys hate each other, why would you volunteer to wait around for him for who knows how long?"

"Because I have absolutely nothing else to do."

"They have him heavily sedated, Mokuba, he won't be awake anytime soon, and when he does, I doubt he'll be up for much arguing."

Another voice had cut in before Mokuba could respond, and the three boys looked over to see that Roland had just returned. The man tucked his phone into his jacket pocket and turned to Mokuba. "There is a meeting at Kaiba Corp I need to oversee. I don't think you should spend be alone in your current condition. And if you are still willing to wait for Mr. Kaiba to come to...?" Roland looked at Joey expectantly, and the blonde nodded.

"Wait, my brother had a meeting today...?" Mokuba asked, puzzled. Even though he hadn't been to the office with his brother for an extended time, he still knew when all the meetings were. Apparently he was much more out of it than even he realized.

"Ah, forget about it, Mokuba, you've got more important things to do, like getting better," Joey assured him before turning to Roland. "We've got this." Roland thanked both of them and bowed out. Yugi turned and took Mokuba's hand, gently coaxing him into standing up.

"Tristan will come and pick us up," he told Mokuba. "We can stop and get some more medicine, if there's anything in particular you'd like." Yugi waved over at Joey, who threw the two a sloppy salute as they left.

A little while later, a nurse poked her head into the lobby.

"Joey Wheeler?" The blonde nodded. "You can come with me back to the room."

Joey suddenly felt a little nervous as he followed the petite woman to a room on the far side of the hospital. She paused outside before opening the door.

"He's not awake yet, but when he does, he'll still be pretty out of it. So there shouldn't be any issues, but if he becomes agitated, just press the blue button on the wall by his bed and some doctors will come assist." She smiled at him and opened the door, and Joey entered. The room was chilly, which was a bit of a surprise, considering Joey generally had the opposite complaint about hospitals; when he visited Serenity briefly before her eye surgery, he could just barely tolerate the excessive heat. It felt like he was stuck in some kind of torturous broken sauna, or-to be more accurate-hell.

Joey wandered over and kicked back in the chair near the window. Kaiba was asleep in the hospital bed just across the room, his slow, heavy breathing noticeable to Joey all the way over to his chair. He was only covered by a thin cream-colored sheet, which seemed ridiculous given the mildly shivery room temperature. A white and blue lined quilt had been neatly folded and placed at the foot of the bed, and after a moment's temptation of snagging it for himself, Joey picked it up and draped it over Kaiba. The blonde straightened the quilt a bit before returning to his chair and pulling out his phone, which he discovered was dead. Fantastic. The thing officially had the same entertainment value as a brick. He rolled his eyes and shoved it back into his pocket, then shifted his attention to Kaiba.

Joey felt a bit like a creep by watching him while he was asleep, but it's not like there were that many alternative options. Besides, he had to admit that it was mildly fascinating. Kaiba never seemed like he was even capable of resting; the guy was always alert and on his guard, staying aggressively on top of everything going on around him. Yet here he was, completely oblivious to the world and all that was happening in it, and so motionless that Joey would have questioned whether or not he was even alive had it not been for the fact he could hear Kaiba's breathing.

He sighed and leaned back, wondering what had possessed him to volunteer for this. The day already felt like it had been forever, and it wasn't even anywhere near noon yet. He didn't know how this was going to play out, but what he did know was that he was going to have a long time to mull over every possible outcome to all this.

Lucky him.