Queer as Tachi – Chapter 99
The nice thing about the holidays was, even though they had not all been able to be together on Christmas, the entire gang could gather again a week later for New Year’s and make up for whatever they might have missed out on. Naturally, there were lots of stories to be exchanged, as everyone wanted to know exactly how horrible the meeting-of-the-parents had gone, and Joey was intensely interested in what had happened between Tristan and his family. The celebration itself was rather low-key, at Joey and Mai’s again, but the ever-expanding group of friends was only interested in being with each other to mark the passage of the year and talk about all the promise of the one to come. Most of that promise seemed to be in the form of the impending wedding, but Joey got sick of talking about it after a while and put a moratorium on the subject in favor of much more interesting things. They stayed up late, toasted the new year, shared kisses with their respective sweethearts at midnight, and scattered to their homes in the wee hours, promising to do it all again soon. After all, the seijinshiki was less than two weeks away, then the full moon, and then Joey’s birthday. For a dark and dreary time of year, there were more than enough opportunities for the friends to get together with each other and enjoy good company.
Shortly after things settled down and returned to the normal routine, including a new semester of classes at the university, one small occurrence signaled to Joey that it was time for him to take his wedding plans seriously: the invitations arrived from the printer. All he had done was agree on the guest list and approve whatever design Mai had picked out, she had handled the rest, but the first Saturday afternoon after the boxes showed up at their post box, she cornered him and made him sit down with her to stuff cards in envelopes and make sure all the addresses were correct. Some still had to be written in, as last-minute additions to the guest list, and all of them had to be stamped and readied for mailing. At least he was off the hook for writing anything since he had terrible handwriting, Joey figured, but he was still in charge of double-checking and marking off every single one, to be sure that they had left no one out. In the process, he discovered one small problem – neither he nor Mai knew Kaiba’s home address. Mai told him to just go look it up, but Joey had an idea for an easier way to get it, and picked up the phone.
Fortunately, Yugi was not in the shop at the moment, but upstairs taking care of a few minor chores. He diverted his track and swept up the phone, delighted to hear Joey on the other end. “What’s up?” he asked brightly.
“Got a question for you, actually,” Joey replied. “You wouldn’t happen to have Kaiba’s address, would you? Being as you’re in tight at KaibaCorp and all…”
“Uhhh…” Yugi screwed up his face while he thought for a moment. “…no, I don’t, Joey. Sorry. What do you need his address for?”
Joey sighed in aggravation. “We’re workin’ on the invitations,” he explained. “I don’t wanna just send it to KaibaCorp, I don’t want his secretary to have to open it and have everybody know about it…”
Yugi blinked in astonishment. “You’re inviting Kaiba to the wedding?”
“Well…yeah.” Joey had forgotten that he had only discussed it with Mai. “We wanted to invite Mokuba, and we can’t really do that without Kaiba coming along for the ride. ‘Sides, I’m sure he’s gonna say no – we just have to do the polite thing and invite him.”
“Ah.” Yugi calmed considerably from the shock and smiled, turning away to wander through the living room while he took the call. “Sorry, Joey, I don’t have his home address. Just the office. I don’t think it’s even listed, he’s really strict about his privacy.” He paused and perked up suddenly. “But I think I know someone who might have it.”
“Oh yeah?” Joey idly wondered.
“Yeah…” For a moment, Yugi considered leaving it at that and simply promising to use his connections to get the information Joey needed, but deep down he realized that he could not keep Alastair’s existence a secret much longer. Alastair considered Yugi a friend, which meant that sooner or later, he would come into contact with the rest of the gang, and he did sort of know Mai after all. It would be wise of him to explain things fully now rather than at a more awkward point in the future. “Joey,” he began, keeping his voice light, “you remember the other guys besides Valon who worked for Dartz? Rafael and Alastair?”
“Kinda,” Joey answered. “Why?”
“Well…we never really met Alastair at all, did we? He was the one who went after Kaiba.”
“The one he dueled on his plane? Yeah, no, he was already out cold with no soul when I even saw his face for the first time. Not counting when him and Valon stood around insulting us that night when they stole the god cards,” Joey grumbled.
“Yeah,” Yugi acknowledged. “You see, Joey…some time last fall, Alastair actually moved here, to Domino. He came to me to sort of atone for his past, and said he was starting a new life here, getting a new job and trying to be a good guy for once. Kind of like Valon said he was doing,” he casually explained. “And he really is, too – I’ve gone out dancing with him a couple of times, Yami and I both. He’s actually a pretty cool guy.”
Joey’s voice came across the line all curious and skeptical. “Huh. And you think Alastair ought to have Kaiba’s address? What, on account of they used to be enemies?”
Oh, how to say this without outing Kaiba? “Well,” Yugi said cautiously, “I’m pretty sure he told me he was going to look Kaiba up, to try to make amends with him the same way he was doing with me. Whether or not they’ve actually patched things up, I’m sure he probably has Kaiba’s address.”
Fortunately, that was enough to placate Joey, he had no clue that Yugi’s answer was evasive or phony and there might be more to the story which he should puzzle out. “Yeah, I see what you mean. Probably got the door shut in his face,” he snickered, “but that still means he has it. You think if you gave him a call, he’d tell you what it is?”
“Yeah, I think so,” Yugi said airily. “We’re on pretty good terms, though we haven’t really spoken in a while. An email to say ‘Merry Christmas’ a couple weeks ago, that was about it. But I have his number, I can give him a call for you.”
“Aw, dude, can you do that? That’d be great,” Joey said with obvious relief. “I’m supposed to be making sure we have everybody’s address, and that’s the one that’s sticking out. And by the way – I’ll give you Grandpa’s invitation next time I see you. No sense mailing that one.”
“Okay,” Yugi chuckled.
“So, you and Alastair are kinda buddies or something?” Joey went on, sincerely curious.
“Well, we don’t talk all that much,” Yugi insisted. “We stay in touch, though.”
“You said you’ve been out dancing with him? He’s into that, huh?”
Yugi grinned to himself. “He took me and Yami to a gay club. A real one.”
“Aha. Well, better him than me.” There was a clear grin in Joey’s voice as well. “Well, I guess if he’s not a bad guy anymore, and he’s around…and you think he’s okay…maybe we can add him to the guest list, too. Think he’d want to come?”
Yugi considered it, easing himself to a seat on the arm of the couch. “Maybe. Didn’t Mai say they were kind of friends, when she was…um…?”
Joey glanced over his shoulder from where he stood near the balcony door; Mai had been listening to his entire conversation, and since hearing him say “Alastair,” had been staring at him with a darkly serious interest. “Yeah, which is why I’m askin’,” he replied, growing more serious himself. “If he’s been here a few months, how come he hasn’t contacted Mai?”
“I don’t think he knew she was here, to be honest,” Yugi said. “I told him, though, and I even gave him your number. If he hasn’t called her up to say hi…I don’t know. Maybe he’s just busy. He has a really stressful job,” he put in helpfully. “I think he’d be happy to come to the wedding. At least, happy that he’s not left out – since I’m sure you invited Valon.”
Joey began to grin to himself again. “Yep, we sure did. Huh. Well, at least that’ll give him someone to hang out with. Okay. I’ll put him on the list – we had a few extra invites printed up, just in case. Get his address, too, when you call him, could you?”
“Yeah, sure. In fact, I can do that right now.”
“Oh, sweet. You’re a lifesaver, Yug,” Joey exclaimed. “Call me back as soon as you got those addresses. I wanna be done with this today.”
Chuckling, Yugi promised to do so and hung up, instantly heading over to the desk to page through his address book and find Alastair’s cell number. Wherever he was, whatever he was doing, he wasn’t too busy or distracted to answer right away, sounding rather cheerful to be hearing from Yugi, and not at all disturbed by the request from him. “Of course I have his address,” he snorted in amusement. “Duh.”
“Let me get something to write it down,” Yugi said, grinning all over again. He fumbled around the desk for a moment, hunting up a pen that worked. “And you have to give me yours, too – Joey wants to invite you, too.”
“Me?” Alastair sounded quite taken aback, at the very least surprised.
“Well…you were friends with Mai, weren’t you?”
Alastair softened somewhat. “Yeah, you could say that. Mai was cool. Me and Valon both got along well with her – obviously, for different reasons…”
“Valon’s been invited, so…”
“Oh…that’d be nice.” Alastair was beginning to sound distracted. “Okay, I’ll give you mine, too, if he really wants that bad to invite me. I guess I can’t say no, not if Valon’s coming.”
He gave Yugi both street addresses in turn, which Yugi diligently wrote down and then straightened up, tapping his pen on the paper next to Kaiba’s name. “You haven’t called them to say hi to Mai, have you?” he asked as innocently as he could.
“No, I haven’t,” Alastair groaned in regret. “I got so busy, then one thing after another drove it from my mind. I really intended to, I just…haven’t.”
“Well, now’s your chance,” Yugi said encouragingly. “I’m sure she’d like to hear from you. Before you show up at the wedding out of the blue,” he added with a giggle.
“Yeah, yeah,” Alastair chuckled in return. “I want to. I’ll try to remind myself to do that. Maybe I’ll RSVP in person or something.” He paused, and when he spoke again, his voice had turned wary. “You didn’t tell them about me and Kaiba, did you?”
“No, I haven’t told anybody. That’s for you to do, not me.” Yugi murmured the rest. “Given the bad blood between Joey and Kaiba, I definitely won’t be telling him. He chose to include you for Mai’s sake, and because you and I are friends.”
“But he is inviting Kaiba.” There was another short pause, and then Alastair began to laugh. “Oh man, I can’t wait to see his face when he gets it! Just for that, I think I’ll keep it a secret that he’s getting an invitation. Let him find out for himself when it shows up.”
“That’s probably a good idea,” Yugi agreed, not quite as amused as his friend on the other end. “I don’t want to give him the chance to decide to reject the invitation before it’s even been delivered. Joey doesn’t even expect him to say yes, but…it’s the polite thing to do, you know.”
“Give me a chance,” Alastair said sneakily, “maybe I can talk him into it. I’ll wait till he gets it, first. It’ll be hilarious.”
Yugi laughed. “Well, I’m glad you have such a positive spin on it.”
“Maybe I know him a little better than you guys think you do. Then again,” Alastair snickered, “I’m with you – he’s not going to want to go to Joey Katsuya’s wedding. Flat-out no. But maybe I can change his mind before it’s too late. We’ll see. I’ll give it a try, at least.”
Meanwhile, at Joey and Mai’s, he turned from hanging up the phone and did his best to patiently explain everything Yugi had just told him about Alastair living in Domino. Mai listened without interrupting, her eyes shimmering with some unknown emotion, and at the end of it, simply took a deep breath. Then, a slight smile curved her full lips. “Well, I’ll be. The kid got his head on straight after all. I was kind of hoping. He wasn’t a bad sort, if not for Dartz.” She blinked up at her fiancé. “Did Yugi say where he works, or anything?”
Joey shrugged stiffly. “Just that he has a stressful job. He’s gonna call me back any minute now with those addresses, if you want to interrogate him some more.”
Mai picked up her pen and went back to the invitations spread out on the table before her. “Nah, I’ll give him some space. If he wants to contact me, I’m sure he’ll do it sooner or later. But you’re right. We really ought to invite him. I’d like to see both him and Valon again, together.”
Joey watched her for a moment, filled with questions and worries alike, most of which he had forgotten to have ever since snapping Mai out of her temporary insanity so long ago. “What about the third guy? If we heard from him…?”
Mai kept her eyes lowered to scan the invitation list, even though she wasn’t exactly focused on proofreading the names. “Rafael wasn’t like the other two. He was a lot more serious, he was the most devoted to Dartz of all of them. While Alastair and Valon were playing around, he was all about duty and pleasing his master.” She shook her head slowly. “We didn’t really get to be friends. Not like the other two. Even if I did know where Rafael was today, I don’t think I’d do more than send him an announcement. Besides…” She looked up, shooting Joey a narrow-eyed stare that briefly chilled him. “…I know what he did to the pharaoh, and Yugi. Would you really want to subject Yugi to seeing him again, even if the pharaoh did forgive him like he says?”
“No…I guess not.” Joey shrugged again. “It’s okay. It’s not like anybody has heard from him, not even Valon. We don’t have to worry about it.” He stood there for another minute, hands in the pockets of his jeans, watching Mai go back to work. “You sure you’re okay about Alastair, though?”
“Yeah, fine,” Mai assured, looking up at him with a perplexed little pout. “Alastair’s a nice guy, I don’t have any history with him like I do Valon. We were just pals. Well,” she added ruefully, “as much as you can consider a few weeks rooming together ‘pals.’ There’s a lot I don’t know about his past and stuff, but we got along just fine. I’m glad to hear he’s turning his life around and even trying to clear the air with Kaiba. I hope he does – though I’m sure that’s a struggle that’s going to take some time.”
The phone rang, then, and Joey answered it right away, glad to be rescued by Yugi’s timely response. He said he had gotten Alastair on the phone right away, and had both addresses for them. Joey gleefully wrote them down and thanked Yugi profusely again for saving him a major headache trying to locate Kaiba’s information by himself. He also relayed his assurance that Mai was not upset to hear about Alastair, and in fact looked forward to running into him again. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” Yugi said, then. “I mean, I’ve known he was living here since sometime in September. But after I told him you and Mai were here, and engaged, and all that, I thought he was going to call and catch up with Mai on his own. If I had known he hadn’t…”
“Nah, it’s okay, Yug,” Joey said blithely. “You don’t have to be responsible for everybody’s friendships. It’s not gonna change anything – you’re not planning to invite him to my birthday party or anything, are you?”
Yugi laughed at that. “Why would I do that? It’s your party. You pick the guest list.”
“Like you need another gay man hanging around you,” Mai muttered under her breath with a self-satisfied grin.
“Yeah, well. Nah, don’t worry about it, Yug. It’s all cool. As long as Mai’s okay, I’m okay – because I don’t even know the guy.” They chatted a bit longer about upcoming plans, but then Joey judged a look being thrown his way and sighed. “Man, I gotta go. Mai’s giving me the hairy eyeball – I’m supposed to be helping, not shootin’ the breeze with you.”
“I’m sorry,” Yugi giggled. “Go help. Be a good fiancé before she hurts you.”
“Yeah, you don’t know the half of it. All right. If I don’t see you before then, I’ll give you Grandpa’s invitation at our little party next week. Those poor people at the karaoke place,” he sniggered. “They’re not gonna know what hit ‘em.”
“Yeah, I’ll see you then,” Yugi agreed, “if we don’t talk before. Now go, before Mai throws something at your head.”
Just then, Joey growled painfully into the phone. “Too late.”
Everyone who had turned twenty in the past year concurred that it would be very awesome for them to all get together for the seijinshiki, the random January holiday to celebrate any and all coming-of-age birthdays since last January. That included literally everyone in Yugi’s circle of friends except Mai, who was older than all of them by about seven years, give or take. Six celebrants was worth going out to dinner and making a night of it, so they planned to meet together at the karaoke restaurant where they had taken Bakura on his birthday and make as big a deal out of it as they could. Mai, however, told them she was not playing taxi for six drunken young men taking advantage of their legal status, so they had to be careful just how carried-away they got. They had already spent the holidays staying in and visiting each other for parties, and Joey’s birthday would let them do it again in another couple of weeks, so they used the unique day as an excuse to go out. The food was good, the company a lot of fun, and they could make fools of themselves singing badly regardless of how much alcohol was plied beforehand. By the time they split up and went their separate ways close to eleven, they were all in agreement that it had been a great way to celebrate their mutual adulthood and they had had the best time. Everyone was still breathless from laughing and walking a little crookedly, more due to their enthusiasm than to alcohol, and Yugi was so tired that he almost fell asleep in the back seat of Mai’s car as she and Joey gave him a ride home. He managed to sleepily murmur that it was worth it, to be with his friends.
Yami’s visit was coming up fast, just a few short days after the seijinshiki party. With so many chances to go out with their friends, the pair had already agreed to make it a quiet day between themselves, particularly because Yugi had a belated Christmas present to bestow on his lover, and expected to receive the gift of his corporeal body in return. That didn’t mean they couldn’t still talk about it, though, and traded thoughts across their bond about it in the days leading up to the full moon. Such moments tended to distract Yugi considerably, causing his eyes to close and his conscious mind to go out of focus while he concentrated on the internal conversation, so after another such episode one afternoon Yami playfully chided him about getting more sleep so he would be ready for the embodiment, and then left him alone when he needed to keep his wits about him, in the shop during work hours. There was plenty of time to distract him later, and the full moon wasn’t even until the following night anyway. Yugi finished out his shift and climbed upstairs slowly, shaking his head to clear it of the fog that had been swirling around it since the party. He hadn’t indulged at all, except for a toast to his friends, so he blamed it on being up too late and then having to get up early to work the morning shift every day that week. He was looking forward to Yami’s visit not only for the usual reasons, but because he would finally get a day off and a chance to sleep in, so long as his partner consented. Knowing how much Yami liked snuggling in bed with him and holding him, he figured he wouldn’t have to press too hard to get him to agree to the idea. Upon reaching the top floor, Yugi kicked off his sneakers and left them near the door, padding sock-footed through to the house and taking a moment first to thumb through the mail which his grandfather had left in the usual place on the desk. Not that he was expecting anything – Téa’s card had come a long time ago, and he still wasn’t in charge of paying bills yet – but he liked to stay on top of things. Rubbing his forehead, he stood there for a moment thinking about going to get a long-overdue lunch, but he ended up moving towards the bedroom without acting on the idea. The deep, comforting voice stole through his mind, then. “You should get something to eat,” Yami encouraged. “I can hear your stomach rumbling from here.”
“M’not really hungry,” Yugi murmured out loud in response, meandering up the hall to his room. His stomach chose just then to make a fairly noticeable noise, at which he chuckled. “Well, maybe that’s not so accurate. I just don’t have much of an appetite. Nothing sounds good.”
Yami’s voice purred in understanding. “I suppose it isn’t all that long before you’ll be making dinner for yourself and Grandpa, anyway.”
“Yeah. I can wait.” Yugi pushed open his door and wandered through his room, going to his desk for no particular reason and having nothing to do once he got there. He fiddled briefly with the Duel Monsters cards laying out on his desk – he had been thumbing through his deck the other night, wondering about changing some cards up – but wasn’t much interested in playing with them just now. Instead, he closed his eyes and let his attention fade inward. “What were we talking about, before?” he mentally asked his partner.
“The day after tomorrow,” Yami gently reminded him. “Really, I don’t mind if we stay in. You may have been too busy to see our friends in the weeks before Christmas, but since then, you’ve more than made up for it. We could stand to be lazy for once.” He chuckled softly. “And it’s cold outside.”
“Big wimp,” Yugi half-heartedly teased him, smiling to himself. “It’s not that cold. And you have a nice new winter jacket, too.”
“True. However…” A throaty murmur simmered in the depths of Yugi’s mind. “…keeping you all to myself here in the safe, warm confines of home is a very attractive idea.”
Giggling faintly at the mental images that accompanied his soulmate’s voice, Yugi turned and went to his closet, poking idly through it for a warm shirt he could throw on over the top of what he already wore. “As long as you feel like sleeping in, with me. It’s been a long week. I could use it.”
“You do seem tired,” the voice in his mind noted. “You’re making it very easy for me to want to take you in my arms and protect you, and see to your every need, on my day out.”
“That sounds nice,” Yugi whispered aloud, smiling again. “I can agree to that.” Giving up his search without taking anything from the closet, he turned again and made to wander a circuit of his room again. But he didn’t make it very far. He had just stepped past the end of the bed when a wave of dizziness swirled through his head, making him stumble. He only had time to murmur, “Yami…” before the dizzy sensation brought dark spots to his eyes, clouding out his vision, and then with a breathy sigh he fainted. His senseless body collapsed against the bed and slid onto the floor.
Yami reacted instantly, his mind and soul sensing what was happening even before his mystical vision registered Yugi sprawled unconscious on the floor beside his bed. He cried, “Yugi! Yugi!” without thinking, even though the young one couldn’t have heard him. His ethereal form knelt beside Yugi, unable to touch him or pick him up, rendering him completely useless. He could not attend to him in this spirit form, and Yugi was so completely out cold that the touch of his partner’s mind was not enough to wake him. There was only one thing Yami could do, now, and so gritting his teeth in a growl of frustration, he bent his will to supercede Yugi’s own consciousness and take control of his body all by himself. Within moments he blinked his eyes open – Yugi’s eyes – and realized just how powerfully sick his young lover actually was. It took all his strength to push himself up off the floor, sitting for a moment to catch his breath and let his head stop swimming, during which he felt out the bounds of the illness which had taken over. Now he understood why Yugi had been so fatigued, so unable to concentrate, so pale, without appetite. He was very, very sick. Yami understood now what he needed to do, and with great effort, staggered to his feet and stumbled across the room to the door. He propped himself up on the wall outside, breathing heavily, beginning to sweat, his eyes fogged over with the delirium which had already claimed Yugi’s consciousness. As he began to make his way down the hallway, groping at the wall the whole way, he silently begged hope that he would not have to try to negotiate the stairs all the way down into the game shop.
As fortune would have it, Grandpa Muto had chosen that moment to run upstairs to fetch some tea, as the shop was more or less quiet and he could spare a minute to slip away. He was just coming out of the kitchen when he saw Yugi’s lithe form appear in the doorway leading to the hall beyond, leaning heavily on the frame. His appearance was enough to make Grandpa stop and start – he was hunched over, one arm wrapped around himself, edging along the wall as if leaving it would cause him to collapse. Yami’s heart leaped in relief to find Grandpa Muto right there in front of him, but it took him a moment to catch his breath and muster the words. He weakly moistened his lips and whispered, “Grandpa…please…help me…”
“Yugi!” Grandpa set down his mug and rushed right over, catching him even as he fell forward out of the doorway and went to one knee. “Oh my goodness, you’re burning up!” Solomon exclaimed, brushing aside a lock of hair to feel his forehead. “What’s wrong?”
Yami struggled to lift his head and regard his vessel’s grandfather with hazy eyes. “Yugi…is unconscious,” he breathed, his voice a mere rasp in his throat. “I took over…it’s Yami. I took over so I could…get him some help…” He blinked unsteadily. “He passed out on the floor a few moments ago…”
“Oh dear! Well, you just leave it to me,” Grandpa said hurriedly, bending to help him up. “Come, let’s get you back to the room and into bed. I’ll help you out. Come on…”
Yami staggered to his feet again and fell onto Grandpa Muto’s sturdy shoulders, amazed at just how difficult it was to steer Yugi’s ailing body around. With the support and gentle encouragement, he made it back into the bedroom and sat heavily on the side of the bed, at which he sagged and fell onto his side with his head flopping onto the pillow. Solomon thought for a moment and wisely decided to leave the Puzzle where it was, since Yami was still in control of Yugi, and just helped him into bed, not even making him change out of jeans and t-shirt. “You just stay here and rest,” he encouraged Yami. “How bad is it? Is Yugi…?”
Yami fought to think for a moment, and then closed his eyes. “Give it time,” he murmured between panting breaths, “and he will wake up, again. His soul is strong, but his body is very weak. I didn’t realize…he was getting so sick…”
Grandpa laid a hand on his forehead again, and then touched his cheeks gingerly. “Yes, he’s got a bad fever. He needs rest.”
“I’ll make sure he gets it,” Yami sighed, keeping his eyes blissfully closed even as he felt the blankets being tucked around his shoulders. “I will let go, now, and let him sleep. Perhaps I can talk to him on the inside…”
“All right. I’ll check back later.” Grandpa Muto patted him comfortingly on the shoulder, and stood there for a moment longer to study his appearance before turning and leaving the room, clicking off the light and closing the door on his way. Yami curled up on his side beneath the blankets, already beginning to tremble with an inner chill. It took even more force of will to relinquish his control and return to his usual state, sharing Yugi’s being through their bond, but it only caused him to stop feeling the physical symptoms of the illness. He still needed to try to reach Yugi’s mind, and assure himself that the problem was not much worse than it looked. For now, he allowed his partner to sleep, for that was the state his mind had already slipped into in those few minutes while the second spirit came to the fore. Rest would allow Yugi to regain the strength he needed to wake up and look around, and finally be able to understand his predicament.
Somewhere in his subconscious Yugi might have heard a call that pulled him out of darkness, for it wasn’t long before Yami sensed the brush of his mind against his own, and hurried to the door of the Puzzle’s realm in time to find Yugi’s inner self pushing it open, looking around curiously. Yami blinked at him and stared concernedly, and with some surprise. “Yugi, what are you doing here?” he fretted. “You shouldn’t be crossing over just now.”
Yugi gazed at him for a moment with the same surprised concern, and then began to smile faintly. “It’s okay, I know what’s going on. More or less. I thought…” He let go of the handle of the door and padded softly into the labyrinth, in just his socks and jeans like on the outside. “…I ought to come in here so I can sleep peacefully. It’s hard to sleep when you’re sick,” he pouted. “Even when you’re worn out and feel like you can…”
Yami shook his head slowly. “Yugi, you shouldn’t be here. I was testing your mind to see if I could wake you up, not bring you in here with me.” He came up to his partner and took his hands gently, glad to see him even though it made a worried frown crease his brow. “Why didn’t you tell me you were feeling so ill?”
Yugi blinked wide-eyed at him. “What? You…you couldn’t sense it yourself?”
The tiniest of smiles blushed on the pharaoh’s lips. “I can only see and hear through you, I can’t feel the same physical sensations as you unless I’m in control of your body – or our minds are fully bonded, having the same effect. I never feel it when you’re hot or cold, or tired, or hungry. Or sick,” he added with a prodding look. “I knew you were fatigued, but…you said nothing about it, so I assumed it was due to late nights and early work shifts. You’ve worked yourself very hard the last few weeks.”
Sighing, Yugi closed his eyes and gave a small shake of his head. “No, it’s not just fatigue. I feel – felt – really sick.” He peered up at his lover. “I fainted, didn’t I?”
“Yes, right in the middle of your bedroom floor.” Yami reached to brush aside his floppy bangs and caress his cheek. “I had to take control of your body for a few minutes, to find Grandpa and get you some help. We put you to bed…where you ought to stay,” he remarked with some sternness. “You need to rest, so you can heal. And that means your mind shouldn’t be in here with me.”
Yugi’s violet eyes predictably saddened at that. “But…shouldn’t I…if I’m out there, like normal…” He thumbed over his shoulder to indicate the door, his mind’s chamber beyond, and thus his waking state. “…I won’t get a good rest because of how wretched I feel. Before I fainted, I felt all hot, and weak. That’s going to keep me from resting, won’t it?”
“Oh, Yugi…” Yami smiled as he continued to caress his partner’s smooth cheek. “I sympathize with you, I really do. I know you’d rather be here with me, and I don’t want to watch you suffer. But the truth is, you get a more restful sleep when your spirit is in its normal house, as opposed to being here. Here, you don’t dream, but sometimes dreaming is exactly what your mind needs so it can help your body to restore itself. At a time like this, you need it even more. Not to mention,” he continued, cupping both hands around Yugi’s cheeks to try and ward off the serious pout that was coming on strong, “you need to take the Puzzle off for a while so you can sleep more soundly. Grandpa left it around your neck because I was still in there with you, but now that you’re becoming alert, you should wake up just long enough to put the Puzzle aside so it isn’t in your way.” He leaned in close and kissed his partner gently on the forehead. “I don’t want to risk a break in the connection between us, over this,” he added in a heartfelt murmur.
As much as his heart desired to spend as long as possible in the safe confines of the Puzzle’s mystical realm and the arms of his lover, Yugi grumbled to himself, knowing he was right. He didn’t want to risk a break in connection either, if any well-meaning soul came in and took the Puzzle off him while he was supposedly asleep. “All right,” he relented, bowing his head. “I’ll go back where I belong.”
“Please understand, Yugi. I’m not kicking you out.” They shared a look, and then Yami chanced a grin. “Well, not in the usual sense, anyway. I want to see you healthy again, as quickly as possible. I don’t want to cause any delays by a selfish desire to protect you here where you can’t feel anything.”
“I know,” Yugi murmured, beginning to smile himself. “You’re right. I’m just grumpy because I hate being sick. I don’t want to have to suffer through it, and feel all icky when I could be in here and feel nothing. But I know that’s not going to help me get better.”
Yami drew him closer and cuddled him in his arms for a few moments, though, letting his young love sink into him and nuzzle his neck gratefully. “Do you have any idea what it might be?” he wondered.
“Mm…no,” Yugi replied with his face still buried in his partner’s warm embrace. “It’s not a regular old cold – I don’t feel stuffy and I’ve never fainted from a cold before. I hope it’s not the flu,” he added in a wry grumble. “That’s no fun at all.”
“It seemed to both your grandpa and me that you had a fever,” the pharaoh noted. “I’m not a healer, I don’t know anything about being sick, so…your guess is as good as mine. Just get some rest. Sleep as much as you can.” He combed his hand through Yugi’s hair, rubbing the back of his neck comfortingly. “If there is anything I can do to keep you company when you’re awake…just keep the Puzzle close by. Our connection is strong enough that I can still talk to you.”
It was a good enough compromise, Yugi figured, so he reluctantly agreed and, after a few minutes indulging themselves in each other’s company, he dutifully crossed back over to his side of the mental connection and awoke shortly after in his own body, the full force of his illness hitting him the instant he regained consciousness. His face was warm, forehead and cheeks especially, but the rest of him was chilled even under the blankets, and he felt the haze of fatigue wrapping its fingers around his head and trying to drag him back down into sleep. He pried himself up on one elbow to take the chain of the Puzzle from around his neck, and then noticed that he was still fully dressed. Moaning softly to himself, Yugi forced his way out of the blankets and practically crawled across the room to get his warmest pajamas, after which he returned to bed and burrowed under the covers, desperately eager to chase sleep. Fortunately, it had no intention of evading him. He spent the rest of the day in bed, asleep most of the time, hardly even waking when Grandpa came in to check on him a few times. Promising his grandfather that it wasn’t a cold, therefore none of the remedies in the medicine cabinet would help, Yugi asked just to be allowed to sleep it off. He said nothing to Grandpa Muto about it, but the full moon was so tantalizingly close, he wanted to be over the worst of it in time to perform the ritual. Grandpa let him be, bringing him water or juice to drink every time he peeked in and taking Yugi’s temperature a couple of times. He did indeed have a fever, but no other obvious symptoms at the moment. All they could do was wait it out and let Yugi rest.
Yugi spent the entire next day in much the same fashion, sleeping when he could, or lying there with Yami keeping him company via their bond when he was awake. He didn’t even feel strong enough to get out of bed to go lie on the couch in front of the TV instead, all he had in those waking spaces was the gentle purr in his mind dominating the conversation. The fever didn’t go away at all, but it didn’t worsen either, remaining steady throughout the day and contributing to Yugi’s fatigue and delirium. He alternated between chills that had him hunkered down with fistfuls of blanket bunched up around his ears, and raging fever heat that made him kick the covers off and thrash restlessly in bed. All the while, he let the Puzzle lay on the pillow next to his head, close enough for his comfort and his partner’s connection but not in the way. Grandpa Muto came upstairs to check on him whenever he could get away from the shop, and once, came in to find Yugi fast asleep with the Puzzle immediately in his face, having fallen down the pillow and come to rest against his cheek. It looked as though he were trying to kiss the Eye, and his breath kept making little foggy spots on the golden surface that evaporated instantly. Chuckling to himself, Solomon gently moved the Puzzle aside, just far enough away so it wouldn’t fall again and bruise Yugi’s tender cheek with its corners, and double-checked that he was tucked in nicely before drifting out of the room again.
As night drew on, it became clear that the fever was not going to break before midnight, and Yugi was in no shape to be performing the ritual. If it had the ability to wipe him out and knock him unconscious even when he was perfectly healthy, there was no telling what kind of damage it would do to him in this state. Yugi felt as though a weight were sitting on his chest as he laid in bed staring at the ceiling, trying to blink back hot tears. He didn’t want to go without Yami’s presence, even if he was sick and therefore couldn’t go out or hold to any plans they might have made. Knowing how close it was kept Yugi up, he considered himself slept-out and couldn’t do anything except lay there awake lamenting his situation and wishing it could be different, that he could still have his partner’s physical visit regardless. Yami hovered near him the whole time, a translucent vision only Yugi’s mind’s eye could discern, sitting beside him and looking over him with a regretful smile. “It’s all right, Yugi,” he said soothingly, leaning in as much as he could. Without physical form he could not touch his partner, much as he wanted to stroke his hair or caress his cheek in consolation. “I’m not upset. We can miss one month, I promise I don’t blame you for it. It’s better this way – I don’t want to hurt you even more. I don’t mind having to go without the visit just this once.”
“But…” Yugi heaved a long sigh, looking away from the apparition beside him. “I don’t want to go without. I want to have you here with me.”
“I’m always here with you,” the pharaoh’s spirit assured kindly. “Tonight is no different.”
“I mean…you know what I mean,” Yugi sighed morosely.
“Yes. But your health is more important to me than being able to be outside the Puzzle.” Yami gave him his most confident smile. “I can survive another month without the experience. Considering how many eons passed before I was even able to experience it the first time, one extra month is nothing.”
Whimpering to himself, Yugi rolled over and faced the wall, closing his eyes even though he knew he wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep with so much on his mind. He felt awful, his whole body craved relief that it couldn’t have, but all he could think about was Yami and not being able to feel his partner’s touch for another month. He understood fully that it was not in his best interests to attempt the ritual now, with his body so depleted, and accepted Yami’s assurances that he was perfectly willing to forego the ritual just this once, but still, he desired it no matter how foolish it was. In time, Yami gave up trying to lift Yugi’s spirits by crooning soft nothings to him, and instead settled to quietly pass the night watching over him, choosing not to intrude on whatever private thoughts and complaints his young love wanted to entertain. Some things were not for him to listen in on, Yugi’s deepest thoughts were his own and he clearly did not want a spectator right now. It occurred briefly to Yami that his attempts at being comforting were keeping Yugi unnecessarily awake, lending him an extra reason to lapse into silence. Grandpa Muto checked on him one more time before bed, but by then Yugi had his eyes firmly closed in whatever feigned semblance of sleep he could muster, shutting out the world and privately wallowing in the wretched haze in which his illness had put him.
Some handful of minutes before midnight, Yugi stirred, pushing aside the blankets and slipping out of bed like a shadow. He had already retrieved the Puzzle, his perfectly-timed watch, and sharp safety pin and knelt on the floor before Yami’s spirit could be roused enough to realize what he was doing, but in that instant he descended on Yugi like a whirlwind. “Yugi, what are you doing?” he demanded worriedly, materializing in Yugi’s line of sight again. “You can’t – you shouldn’t!”
The fever had left Yugi weak, dizzy, and a little unsteady, his eyes clouded, but he clenched his hand into a fist and shook his head with the fleeting determination still left inside him. “It’s okay,” he murmured aloud. “I need this.”
“Yugi, don’t!” Yami insisted, his spirit rushing forth to try and meet Yugi’s eyes, to hold his attention. “I told you, it’s fine if we skip this month. Please, this is foolish!”
“I don’t care…” Yugi’s voice trembled with his fatigue, he couldn’t speak above a murmur. “I need you. I need you to be with me, and take care of me. I don’t care what effect the ritual has, I just need you…” He blinked back tears of pain and bit his lip until he could stay composed enough to watch the time. “Don’t try to stop me, Yami. I’m begging you not to.”
“And I’m begging you not to do the ritual,” the pharaoh said urgently. “There’s no telling what it’ll do to your body…”
Yugi waved a hand absently as if trying to shoo away the apparition like a fly. “I don’t care. It can’t make me any worse than I already am. Please, Yami…I need you more than you know.” He glanced at the time and took a deep breath. “I’m going to do it. Be ready. And don’t try to take me over, to stop me,” he added, barely lifting his glance. His violet eyes still swam. “If you do that, against my will, I won’t forgive you.”
The spirit retreated somewhat, bound by his honor and promises made many times over, though it made him grimace in pain. He could do nothing to stop Yugi, and quietly surrendered as the clock ticked over to the magic hour and Yugi began to mumble the incantation. The drop of blood from the heel of his palm was nothing compared to what the ritual would require of his energy, and the pharaoh could only look on sadly as his partner forced his way through it and paid whatever price was necessary to have Yami embodied once again. With his energy level so low, it was to be expected that the burst of power from the Puzzle knocked him out cold, and even as he rushed to pick Yugi up from the floor, Yami knew that he could be out for a long while this time. He caressed his lover’s hot cheek before gathering him up in his arms and lifting him off the floor, gently depositing him in bed and tucking him back under the covers. He sat beside him on the bed for a few minutes, just to make sure he was alive and going to stay that way, and then went to hunt out some clothing to cover his nakedness and protect him from the winter night’s chill. That done, Yami climbed into bed and nestled himself sitting in a corner where he wouldn’t disturb his partner’s sleep, waiting for him to open his eyes again. The passage of time was unbearable, but there was nothing he could do to hasten it. Finally, nearly ten minutes after midnight, Yugi wearily blinked himself awake, lifting his eyes to assure himself that the soft touch on the back of his hand belonged to Yami and no one else. They held each other’s gaze for a moment, and then Yugi rolled over to hide his face, curling up but not any closer to his partner. “I’m sorry,” he breathed hoarsely, feeling tears rush to his eyes again.
“It’s all right.” The fingertips stroking the back of his hand moved to his hair instead, combing it away from his fevered forehead and gingerly caressing his cheek. The pharaoh’s voice was soft and warm, not at all scolding. “I understand.”
Yugi sniffled back his unstable emotions, coughing weakly, and finally looked up to find Yami smiling peacefully down at him, a little light of worry in his eyes yet, but nothing to indicate that he was angry with Yugi for doing something so foolish and rash. Yugi struggled to give him a faint smile in return. “Now that you’re here…”
“I will watch over you tonight, and take care of you,” Yami promised. “I know you’ve spent most of the past two days sleeping, but after that, you should try to sleep some more.” He rested the back of his hand against Yugi’s cheek, gauging the temperature. It wasn’t normal. “If there is anything you want me to get you, say the word. If I am to be here, the least I can do is tend to you.”
“Thanks,” Yugi whispered. “That’s kind of what I was hoping for.”
“Sleep, now.” Yami folded back the covers and slipped into bed beside his partner, reclining beside him in the best position in which to stroke his hair comfortingly. He checked to make sure the Puzzle wouldn’t get in the way nor would the chain strangle Yugi while he slept, and then smiled again to put him at ease. He leaned over and brushed his lips against Yugi’s forehead. “I’m not angry,” he added in a soft tone. “Don’t worry. We’ll make the best of it.”
Yugi nodded silently and closed his eyes, waves of immense gratitude shoving out his worries and making it possible for him to snuggle down and try to sleep. The ritual had indeed sapped him of any strength he might have gained, and sleep sounded really good right about now. Yami curled up beside him, giving him a little space because of the fever’s heat but still close enough to comb his fingers through his hair and give the sense that he was watching over and protecting his lover. In fact, any thought of scolding Yugi, even mildly or with some humor, had vanished out of Yami’s mind the instant those violet eyes opened. He truly did understand why Yugi chose to do it, risking himself for this supposedly silly thing, and as the young one’s breathing slowed to an even, slumbering pace, the pharaoh considered that he might be able to do more for him on the outside than from within. There, he hadn’t even been able to offer Yugi the comfort and reprieve from suffering he could gain by letting his mind enter the Puzzle. Here, there might be something else he could do. Get him something to drink, tuck him in, bring him medicine. The idea made Yami smile to himself, and made it easy for him to forgive Yugi’s recklessness. Sometimes, he told himself, what seems like a bad idea at the time turns out for the best. Maybe Yugi does know himself better than I do. He chuckled under his breath. And maybe I’m just being a fussy, overprotective partner. He wasn’t unconscious for very long. It didn’t kill him. I should be thankful that he’s willing to sacrifice himself for me. But that thought made some more uncomfortable ones pop up, so Yami quietly banished them and steered his mind to more pleasant topics, so he could stay awake on vigil throughout the night. In his arms, Yugi slept without disturbance.