Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ A Different Kind of You ❯ Healing ( Chapter 17 )

Yugi was about to step towards his fire-eyed savior when his eyes caught the silent, unmoving form of Malik standing off by the wall. The shorter amethyst-eyed boy stared at his friend, becoming self-conscious of himself and backing up into the darkness of his room once more.

Yami noticed the barely noticeable glances at Yugi's friend and he pieced the present puzzle together easily enough, having been through this sort of thing before. He moved over to Malik and whispered just loud enough for only the other boy to hear him. "Perhaps it would be better if you leave us alone for a while. Two people will be hard to take on even if one of them is silent."

The teen didn't want to leave though, worried for his friend, but he knew that he could trust Yami and that the crimson-eyed teen would take care of him. Only after slight hesitation did he nod and added, "I'll go find him something to eat. I'm sure he's hungry."

Yami agreed, saying, "That would be the best thing to do now," and watched as Malik left, using his periphery vision to keep an eye on Yugi as well. He smiled inwardly to himself, however, when he found Yugi loosening up and relaxing once again, his younger eyes watching him intently.

Slowly, he turned to face Yugi again, a gentle and friendly smile on his face. He was also careful to leave the usual edge out of his crimson-eyes.

Almost as if everything had been played in fast forward on the VCR, Yugi moved towards him and threw his arms around his waist, hiding his face where shoulder met neck. Yami smiled with relief, cautious to make sure a sigh didn't come out in case Yugi took it the wrong way. He wrapped his arms around Yugi gently but firmly, biting back a surprised gasp at how thin and frail Yugi felt in his embrace. Also, it was only slight, but Yugi could feel the vibrations of Yugi's legs quivering to hold his strength up and he mentally cursed himself for not realizing how weak Yugi would be after not coming out of his room for two weeks.

Cautiously, he bent down and picked Yugi bridal style, earning a startled gasp from the one in his arms. Keeping a smile on his face, Yami brought him into his room and laid him on the indented covered of the bed, somehow knowing that Yugi must've been on the bed the majority of the time he was locked in the bedroom if not the whole time.

"You're not strong enough to be wandering around all over the place right now," he explained to Yugi, "but don't worry; I'll watch over you until you're all better."

Yugi offered him a watery smile and nodded, afraid to say anything lest they get into another argument, which wasn't something he really needed at this time. All he was grateful for was that his crimson-eyed friend was there now and hoped greatly that he wasn't going to leave him again.

Yami walked over towards the door, however, and Yugi felt his chest tighten up and he made a noise of protest, a chocked whimpering, and he curled in on himself.

Yami turned back in surprised and only just managed to hide how worried he truly was. Could he really be this scared of me leaving him like this he wondered tensely to himself. "Don't worry, Yugi. I won't leave your side." He turned back to the door, or, rather, the wall next to it, and slid the light switch up slightly to allow a dense light to brighten the room up a little bit. He then turned around and moved back to the bed, sitting down. He couldn't help but find himself staring in awe as Yugi curled up next to him, his head sliding down his chest comfortable before resting on his lap with a small, contented smile on the younger's face the whole time.

Petting his hands along Yugi's back, the older felt largely relieved that he couldn't feel the spine's vertebrae like he would on a long time anorexic. Only slight bumps he smiled.

Malik knocked gently on the door then and Yugi jumped up, startled.

"Don't worry, Yugi, I'm here," Yami whispered comfortingly into Yugi's closer ear, watching as the younger teen relaxed and moved around as though trying to hide himself behind his larger form.

Malik was disheartened to see that Yugi seemed to be afraid of him and he sadly choked out, "I brought you something to eat; it's your favorite." He stepped slowly into the room and place the bowl of warm soup on the nightstand before turned away.

Before he could leave the room, however, and before Yugi could settle down against him, Yami stood and hurried over to Malik and held his arm so he wouldn't try walking away without listening to him. "You shouldn't take Yugi's actions to heart, Malik. He just needs a ground to settle on and his mind had obviously chosen him as an anchor to help him. Over time, he'll eventually open up again. Having been through this kind of depression myself, I know easier than you do that he's been hurt and doesn't want to reach out to anyone again too quickly."

The statement seemed to cheer Malik up considerably and the amethyst-eyed teen nodded. "You understand him so easily and you've only been here all of ten minutes," he praised him, obviously encouraged by easily Yami could make him feel better. "I'm glad that Yugi trusts you. I don't think I'd be able to help him as much as you are."

"Don't put yourself down. If given the chance I'm sure that you'd do just as good. Everyone has their own methods, after all," Yugi smirked knowingly.

Malik nodded and left down the hall. Yami watched him go, adding before he turned the corner, "If you would like to help though, you could go tell his friends he was going to be all right."

Malik looked over his shoulder and nodded. Of course, why didn't I think of that sooner? That should've been the very first thing I thought of doing after getting Yugi something to eat he berated himself.

After he left, Yami went back to the bed and sat down by the head so he could rest his back against the wall. Yugi settled down again and Yami started petting his hair soothingly. When he felt Yugi's body getting heaver though, and more relaxed, he shook the smaller boy awake and explained, "You should try eating something before going to sleep."

Yugi's expression clearly showed the he just wanted to eat, but he didn't try arguing with it. Instead, he sat up, with Yami's help, and rested his head against his helper's shoulder.

"I'm glad you're at least trying to get better. I remember when I went through this sort of thing that I had just wanted to die, but my friend knocked some sense into my head after I told him that…literally," he chuckled. The statement also caused a small smile to spread on the younger's face.

Yami then picked up the bowl carefully, using the towel Malik had used to carry it and its steaming contents, and proceeded to feed the half-asleep teen next to him. He only got through about a quarter of the bowl, however, before Yugi's eyes refused to stay and his mouth wouldn't allow any more food to enter. He smiled gently, pressing a chaste kiss to the younger's pale cheek, and then coaxed him down to his lap once more. He resisted chuckling when Yugi snuggled up to him and held onto his right arm like a young child would with a teddy bear or any other treasured stuffed animal they might have.

Knowing he wouldn't be able to go anywhere as long as Yugi was asleep, Yami shifted slightly to maneuver a pillow to rest against his head and he fell asleep as well.

Right at that moment, Joey was passing by and he glanced in unconsciously. He felt the corners of his mouth lift up into a smile. The picture the two look-a-likes made had Joey wishing he could had a camera so he'd be able to remember it. It reminded him of what people said about seeing him and Seto together and he didn't know what they were talking about only because he couldn't see it. Now, though, he felt as though he had a good understanding seeing the two twins together.

Malik turned the corner and spotted Joey. Pressing a finger to his lips he said, "You should leave them alone." He then proceeded to tell them what had happened when Yami arrived and Joey could feel himself brightening up as he headed back to his room. Just knowing his best bud, as he liked to call Yugi, would be okay made him feel a lot better than he already had been.

"You know, Malik," he said before he left his sight completely, "those two look so right together that I'm surprised they hadn't hit it off right away."

Malik chuckled silently into his hand and nodded as well, gesturing for Joey to go on his way. He was going to make it his personal business to make sure the two were left entirely alone.

The blonde agreed and headed down the hall once again, intent on informing his lover of the good news.

The amethyst-eyed teen watched him go before walking to Ryou's room and, also, the room he shared with his own lover. A joyful smile covering his face as he remembered the genuine shock that had broken out on Marik's face when he told him that Yugi had let someone in the room; it was definitely a priceless expression.

He knocked gently, just in case Bakura had just taken his medication, and the younger albino opened the door a few minutes later. Without even a word being said between them,, only looking at the amethyst-eyed teen's face, Ryou broke out into tears of joy and utter relief. He even threw himself into Malik's arms and thanking whoever was watching over Yugi over and over how grateful he was.

The door opened further and Malik managed to catch one of his eyebrows raise in suspicion at the scene at the scene that met him.

Feeling his presence, Ryou turned and threw himself at his lover instead, sobbing out ecstatically that Yugi was going to be okay.

A surprised expression took over Bakura's face and he held Ryou gently, looking at Malik for an explanation. Malik was all too happy to tell the story once again about what happened with Yami. Bakura couldn't help the small smile that rose the sides of his mouth.

He wouldn't say it nor admit it in a million years, even through pure torture, but he was genuinely happy that Yugi was going to be saved after all. Bakura looked back at Ryou and his smile widened further, holding him ever tighter against him.

The roughened albino remembered all too well how depressed and broken Ryou was when he first met him. The teen had intrigued him to no end and, even though the younger teen wouldn't say anything to him, he gradually got him to open up. He felt a sense of pride swell in his chest even every time he remember that it was him and him alone that had saved Ryou from losing himself completely.

The teen had intrigued him and, even the younger albino wouldn't say anything to him, he gradually got him to open up and he felt a sense of pride swelling in his chest every time he remembered that it was him and him alone that had saved Ryou from losing himself completely.

~~

Yugi floated through his dreams peacefully, not feeling anything but utter satisfaction pass through him. For once, he felt truly happy and he never wanted that feeling to wash away. Warmth enveloped him at all ends and he didn't feel uncomfortable in any way. He felt as though he could stay encased in this dream forever. However, as he felt himself tugged away from sleep and more into the waking he realized that the incredible feeling wasn't leaving him.

His eyes blinked open and looked around. The bedroom seemed the same, but what seemed different, apart from the door being open. That's when he realized that the room was moving up and down at a steady rhythm. Yugi jumped up and looked around, but a chuckle reached him and he looked back around to see Yami watching him intently.

"Ya-Yami," he croaked out around a dry throat.

Said person nodded and answered, "You've been asleep for a while, little Yugi. How do you feel?"

Yugi nodded, blushing at how he reacted. He wanted to apologize for acting so weird, but he didn't know how to. Arms wrapped around him gently, cautiously, and the amethyst-eyed teen glanced over his shoulder into Yami's crimson ones.

"You don't need to worry about anything now, Yugi. I'm here now and I'll take care of you. I'll make sure you don't get hurt ever again."

The younger nodded and looked away and just letting Yami's warmth consume him. Being here, with Yami, just made everything seem right, like everything would never be bad again. He wondered what took him so long to realize such a unique feeling.

"I asked Malik to bring something to eat. Would you like anything?"

Yugi shook his head wearily, not missing the small sigh that escaped Yami. His mood dampened and he couldn't help but feel as though he'd disappointed him.

A knock on the door distracted him and he saw Yami walk in with a plate, a sandwich on top. "I wasn't sure what you liked so I hope you don't mind peanut butter and jelly. Marik hasn't had a chance to go shopping yet." The silent "because we were too worried about Yugi to leave the house" wasn't missed.

"It's fine, thank you."

"Hey there, Yugi," Malik greeted cautiously, "Do you feel any better?"

Yugi wasn't going to answer, feeling guilt of how he treated his friends the past two weeks when they were trying to help him. However, seeing the look in both Malik and Yami's faces was enough to give a slight nod and, after further coaxing when Yami started massaging his shoulders, added, "A little."

"That's good," Malik smiled. "Would you like anything to eat? Drink?"

Yugi shook his head, looking down at the bed. "I'm still kind of full from what I ate earlier," he admitted, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Yugi. We'll just try later then," Malik suggested. He could feel his chest constricting at seeing Yugi close in on himself again, even with Yami holding him. He said the last thing he could think of to help Yugi. "I told everyone that you came out; they're excited to come see you." The hopeful spark that brightened Yugi's eyes didn't go unnoticed and he added, "Would you like them to come in?"

Yugi was about to answer before a better thought came to him. They've been coming to me and I locked them out. Maybe I can make up for what I did to them by going to them instead. He pushed himself out of the bed and used the wall to help him walk to the door. He looked back around at his two friends watching him expectantly and a small smile spread on his face. "Actually, I'd much rather go see them."

A large smile broke out on both of the teen's faces and they nodded excitedly. "Of course, Yugi, they'll be thrilled to see you," Malik encouraged.

"Yami, will you help me," Yugi asked quietly.

Yami nodded and was instantly at his side, helping him walk down the hall.