Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Keeper Of His Heart ❯ 2 ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Yugi looked up from his book and glanced at Yami, who had fallen asleep during his narration of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. He smiled softly as he took in the relaxed look on his yami's smooth face, then frowned at Yami's barely touched lunch tray. "Yami, you need to start eating. Soon you're going to weigh as much as me, and I'm underweight myself." He scolded the taller boy, fussing with his sheets.

Yami moaned a bit and turned onto his side, the sheet slipping off of his nude, bandaged shoulder and back. Yugi gently but firmly rolled Yami back over, lest he tear open his side or jar any of his broken ribs. Yami's peaceful face suddenly contorted with pain, and the little one leaned over, whispering soothing words into his ear. Yami relaxed again, and Yugi bestowed a kiss upon his cheek then stood up.

Yugi closed his book and set it aside, stretching his short, alabaster limbs and blushing when his elbow popped. He gazed at Yami again, and felt his heart break once more. His poor love had fallen victim to Marik's knife; his bottom lip had been sliced in half, and was now stitched together, his face was a myriad of stitched up cuts, and the sheets hid even more damage done to his body.

Shaking his head and choking back tears, Yugi abruptly left his bedside and began rearranging the white lilies in the chipped, purple tinted glass vase. He gently grasped the clammy stems and rattled the flowers, causing the fragrant pistils to release more of their scent, which smelled a lot like the perfume Yugi always wore. Lilies were Yugi's favorite flowers, and Yami always claimed he smelled like them, even when he wasn't wearing his perfume. So, Yugi always made sure that Yami had a bouquet of fresh lilies next to his bed, so that he would be reminded that Yugi was always with him.

He worked with trembling hands and blurred vision. A tiny sob escaped his throat, and the tears shimmering in his eyes ran down his cheeks, landing with small plops onto the flowers' leaves and dresser. His Yami, his dear, beloved Yami was broken, so broken....and Yugi wondered if he could ever be fixed again. Shaking his head to deny such a though, Yugi dropped onto his knees, the pain in his heart bubbling over, and he curled into a ball and cried, great, heaving sobs wracking his thin frame.

He flinched when he heard a whimper that wasn't his own; looking up, he saw Yami flinch in his sleep, nearly tearing his IV out, tears slipping past his closed lashes. "No, stop it, get away from me, no, no no stop it stop it no..." Yami continued to mumble, tossing his head from side to side, his jerky movements pulling on his oxygen tube as he was lost in the throes of another nightmare.

Panic swiftly welled in Yugi's chest, and, his own tears and pain forgotten, he rushed to his darker half's side, laying his small, light body on top of his to hold Yami still. "Shh, shh. It's alright, Yami...it's okay...it's over...h-he can't touch you anymore...Shh....hush....it's done...it's over...I'm here...I'm here, my love." Yugi stroked Yami's good cheek with soft, gentle fingers and gave him little kisses on his forehead, desperately trying to calm him down before he had another episode....

Yugi shivered, and Yami flinched. Cursing himself, Yugi stroked his hair, gave him kisses, and whispered soft words until he felt the bigger boy relax under him. He smiled with relief, weariness quickly replacing the fevered adrenaline of moments before. "That's a boy, Yami. See, n-no one's here but me.....it's alright....." He laid on top of Yami, not moving until he was sure Yami was deep asleep, away from the nightmares.

The hospital staff had tried administering different drugs and medications to stop Yami's nightmares, but none of them worked. The only thing that worked would be for Yugi to pull Yami out of them. Although, once Yami was wrapped up tightly in that dark embrace, even Yugi couldn't pry him loose. He would toss and turn, kicking and screaming ungodly, blood curdling cries of sheer terror.

Their effects on him were tremendous. He'd scream until his throat was raw and bleeding; his thrashing would tear open his wounds, his limbs banging into the metal rails on either side of his bed, causing bruises, and his heart rate would go up too high for his weak body to keep up with. When he got like this, only a quick injection of a sedation could stop him.

Last time, the doctors almost lost him; a few more minutes of carrying on like he had, and Yami's heart would have burst in his chest. There were straps attached to the bedrails; after a nightmare, when Yami was sedated, he would have to be tied down to prevent him from thrashing around if another nightmare took hold. On the occasions when he'd wake up in the middle of a nightmare, he'd vomit great amounts of blood.

They were also affecting him mentally, making him even worse. Yami would hardly eat; Yugi had even tried to force-feed him a couple of times. The nurses had told Yugi if Yami wouldn't start to eat on his own soon, they'd be forced to put him on a feeding tube.

Yugi bit his lip, feeling tears burn at his eyes again. But he couldn't cry here...not so close to Yami. Taking a shuddering breath, he waited, making sure Yami was sleeping peacefully, before he started to pull back; it was getting late, nearly supper time, and he had to get home.

Yami's eyes flew open as the weight receded from his chest. "Y- yugi...please, don't go..." He whispered, his ruby eyes wide with terror. He didn't know what was what anymore; nothing made sense. He felt so unstable and volatile; his world was plagued by memories, nightmares of Merik, and what had happened that night, though Yami couldn't remember the exact details of what had actually happened. He only remembered glimpses and snatches, and his imagination distorted things, turning them into little demons that tormented his mind, crawled on his skin, ripping at his body-

Yami cried out, his eyes popping, panting heavily, and he started to jerk, trying to rid himself of the little hell-spawns that were crawling on him-

"Shh, Yami, it's alright. Hush. I'm here, hush. Shhh. Shhh..." The panic died down, the demons disappeared as short arms wrapped themselves around him, running through his hair, and a soft, angelic voice wrapped him in a cocoon of warmth...of love...

He was brought back to sanity, to reality, and blinked, smiling softly at Yugi. "Aibou..."

Yugi smiled back tiredly. "See, Yami? It's alright..." He continued to whisper and waited a bit; Yami didn't say anything; he just looked softly at Yugi, comforted by his presence.

"I-I'm sorry...." Yami murmured, and Yugi shook his head. "Don't be; you can't help it...it's not your fault..." Yugi trailed off, shifting under Yami's steadfast gaze. The older boy hadn't even blinked once. Reaching out, Yugi snagged Yami's Jell-O and spoon of his barely touched tray. "Yami, you hungry? You need to eat...come on....please?"

Yami shook his head, but Yugi scooped up a tiny bit of red Jell-O and brought the tip of the spoon towards Yami's mouth. Yami hated moving his lips; his lower lip, which was puffy and swollen from the stitches, hurt when he moved it. He looked sadly at Yugi, sending his darling aibou a look of guilt and regret, before turning his head away.

Yugi sighed, throwing the Jell-O and spoon back onto the tray carelessly. He stood up, massaging his temples. "Yami....I'm sorry....I can't take it anymore; I'm at my wits end....I'm going home..." Yugi didn't look at his Yami, who stared at him, shock and hurt filling his eyes. Yugi refused to look; he couldn't take that look...he couldn't bare it anymore....

Yugi reached up to Yami's IV stand, standing on tip toe, and turned on Yami's morphine drip; the medicine trickled down the tubing and into his veins, and Yami was soon asleep. Yugi grabbed his book bag and walked to the door, looking over his shoulder at Yami, who seemed to be peacefully sleeping. Soon, he knew, the nightmares would start....but he couldn't keep chasing them away...he was so tired....the hospital staff would just have to handle him; just sedate him and tie him down to the bed, and he'd be fine....

Guilt filling him, Yugi turned and fled the room, a few of his tears shimmering in the dull light before splashing to the floor in his wake.