Nightmares

Body

All right - I lied. I'm doing -- well, something with it - or trying to anyway, at least. Hopefully this won't end up making it suck like an F5 tornado as opposed to a mere vacuum cleaner........

And everyone - thanks for not wanting to swat me for this - it's not at all the kind of thing I normally write about, but I'm trying to stretch out a bit creatively - and it helps explain a little more about our Yugi.....I hope, anyway. With me, that may be assuming a bit much.....

Disclaimer: Nope, they ain't mine. If they were, well, you know.....

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"Yugi?" Someone was shaking him gently. "Yugi, sweetie, wake up."

"O-kaasan?" He blinked and rolled over to find himself looking at a woman in a nurse's uniform.

"No, sweetie, it's me," she said. "It's time for your medicine." Yugi Mutou was easily the cutest patient on the entire floor - and such a sweet little thing, too.

"Oh." He sat up, still feeling dazed and shaken. Mercifully, he hadn't had any more dreams after he'd fallen back to sleep - at least, not that he could remember. He looked at the wall clock. Six AM.

"Here you go." She handed him a little paper container with two pills in it and a cup of water. "Maybe ---- Yugi, are you all right, sweetie? Were you crying?"

He took the pills and looked at her, all distraught violet eyes. "I had a really bad dream." He shuddered, looking down and hugging his Dark Magician plushie. "Am -- am I goio geo get to go home today?"

"I don't know. You'll have to wait for the doctor," she said.

Yugi shivered. He didn't think he could take another night away from Yami. Not after that last nightmare. Being in the hospital scared him. It reminded him of -- something. Something that had to to with - whatever that dream had been about.

After the nurse left, he huddled back against the pillows, hugging his Dark Magician plushie and shivering. He closed his eyes, trying not to think about --- about ----- all at once a vision came into his mind, unbidden and fully formed, of a beautiful woman, quite young, with eyes like ---- his? The same huge violet eyes, wide and deep and utterly innocent, although one was almost swollen shut from a vicious bruise. Her long black hair was ruffled and red-tipped, with blonde strands intertwining through the front. She was trying to quiet him. "Shhh, little Yugi, it's all right. Be quiet, now."

"But -- why does he do that?" he sniffled, looking up at her.

"He's -- under a lot of pressure. When things get better he'll go back to being like he was. You'll see. You just have to be patient and try not to upset him," she said. "Now go to sleep before he gets back. He'll want you to be quiet."

Yugi wasn't convinced - he'd never known his father to be anything but angry, always yelling and hitting him - and his mother. But he nodded, obeying her, hoping that maybe, if his father came back tonight, he would just go to sleep and they wouldn't yell at each other again, like they always did. It always scared him and made him cry, and then his father would come in and just get madder and then he'd hit him.....the door slammed.

"Bitch! Get your lazy ass in here and get me a beer! Now, you worthless whore!"

"Now remember what I said, Yugi----" his mother cautioned before running out, shutting his door behind him, leaving him in darkness-----

"Koi?" Soft lips brushed against his forehead. "Beloved? Wake up. Your breakfast tray is here."

Yugi stirred and blinked, finding himself staring into Yami's crimson eyes. His dark love kissed him softly. "Are you well, beloved?"

"Better---" Yugi sat up. "Yami, I --- I think I just had a dream about my mother."

The pharaoh looked surprised. "Your mother? What became of her?"

Yugi looked distressed. "I don't know." He looked around. "Where's Ji-chan?"

"Talking to the doctor," Yami replied, taking the lid off the tray and making a face. "They are not feeding you properly, koi. If you stay here any longer I need to have a word with your doctor."

"If I stay here any longer, I'll scream----" Yugi said. "And what do you mean, feeding me? What am I, a dog?"

"No, beloved, you're a kitten. My kitten---" Yami sat down and kissed him. "Sweet child of Bastet, my koi, my beloved----" He held Yugi for a long moment, then let go to pull the tray table over. "Even though they could be doing much better, you still need your breakfast." He umwrapped the plastic fork/spoon combo-whatever and handed it to Yugi. "Every bite. You need to get your strength back."

Yugi looked apprehensively at the tray, but obeyed his Yami. As he was finishing his little cup of slightly chalky orange juice, a fearsome apparition burst through the door. "Ork ork ork ork ork ork!" Yugi let out a frightened squeak and dropped the by-now empty cup, cringing back.

"Tristian---" Yami groaned, leaning his forehead on his hand and shaking his head. "Take the medical glove off of your head and stop being a camel's ass." He adored Yugi, but sometimes he didn't know about his beloved's friends.

Tristian rolled his eyes. "Man, Yami, you have no sense of humor---"

"Tristian, you scared the heck out of me---" Yugi said shakily.

"Hey, at least he didn't scare the shit out of you, Yuge," Joey said, coming in.

That line hadn't been funny the first three hundred times Joey had used it, but Yugi didn't say so.

"What are you guys doing here?" he said instead.

"We thought we'd come over to cheer you up," Tristian announced grandly.

Yugi shivered, hugging his plushie. He really needed to talk to Yami -- alone.....