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“He’s right this way, sir. He did really well and stayed under throughout the entire operation. Everything went smoothly.” The nurse explained, leading Atem to Yugi’s room.
“Really? That’s great! And he should still be asleep, yes?” He asked, following behind her.
Yugi had just undergone top surgery, a surgery he’d been saving up for every single day for the past couple of years.
“Possibly. He should be waking up anytime now. Everything looks good, so he should be able to wake up whenever he’s ready. And he’s still under anesthesia, so he might be incoherent.”
“Oh, that’s alright. Either way, I’d still like to see him.”
“Of course! He’s just in here.” She said, opening the door to Yugi’s hospital room and walking in.
Atem walked in after her and smiled when he saw his partner. He thought Yugi looked as radiant and beautiful as ever, looking just as he did when Atem watched him sleep while he was still confined to the puzzle. It was one of his favorite pastimes before they confessed their feelings to each other, watching his chest rise and fall so peacefully.
“He’ll be in those dressings for about a week. You’re the boyfriend, right?” She asked, sitting beside a desk in the room, checking some records the doctor took before the surgery.
“Yes, that’s right,” Atem replied, sitting in a chair near Yugi’s bed.
“Do you two live together?” She asked.
“Yes.”
“Alright. He should be able to take a sponge bath tomorrow if he really wants, but once you get home please don’t let him shower or bathe yet. He has to wait a week or two after we’ve checked him out until he can fully submerge himself in any kind of water, and even then he’ll need a lot of help.”
“Okay. I’ll be sure to take good care of him. Though he might be cranky about not being able to shower right away. Yugi is very picky when it comes to personal hygiene.” He chuckled, watching the nurse.
“Oh!” the nurse remarked, laughing a little with him.
“It’ll definitely take some time for him to get used to it, but I can sympathize with him a little. I mean, I’d be pretty upset if I couldn’t properly shower for an entire week.”
Yugi stirred at the sound of his nurse’s voice, eyes opening and blinking slowly. Yugi was certainly still very much in a different world due to the anesthetic, not completely thinking straight as he simply stared at her blankly.
It only took her a moment to notice as well.
“Hello, Mr. Mutou! The operation was a success. You made it through top surgery!” she exclaimed, smiling.
“I did?” He asked, still drowsy.
“Yes, you did!” she reassured, looking at him from her desk. “And you have a visitor as well!” she chimed, gesturing to Atem.
Yugi followed where she gestured, slowly turning his head and flinching slightly as soon as he saw Atem.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you,” the remarkably handsome man before him whispered softly.
Yugi flushed immediately, averting his gaze and looking at the blinds of the small hospital window from across the room. Who was that guy? And why did he talk to Yugi so sweetly? Why was he here?
Despite Yugi being surprised, he still wanted to look at the strange, handsome man. He was so pretty and his voice was so sexy and deep.
Yugi tried to be sneaky, darting his gaze from the blinds to the man’s face.
In reality, Yugi did just that, only much slower. It was so slow that Atem noticed after a few minutes, chuckling at Yugi’s antics.
“Hi.” the man spoke, so sultry and sweet. He was looking directly at him with a bright smile.
Yugi averted his gaze again immediately upon being discovered, before pausing and looking back at Atem gradually.
“Hi,” Yugi spoke in a small voice. Rather than look away, Yugi stared at him, face flushing a deeper shade of pink.
The nurse laughed at her desk, finding the interaction to be rather sweet.
“As you can tell, he’s still being affected by the anesthetic. It should wear off in about an hour or two.” She explained.
“Ah. And yes,” Atem began, chuckling. “I can tell.”
“Hi Baby,” the handsome man cooed, looking at Yugi fondly. “Do you know who I am?” He asked, getting out of his chair to kneel near Yugi’s bedside.
Yugi simply shook his head, looking at the man with astonishment. He had just called him ‘baby’. Was this a dream?
“No? That’s okay. Would you like to know who I am?” He asked.
Again, Yugi simply nodded, saying nothing.
“I’m your boyfriend, Atem.”
Yugi gasped loudly, rather shocked this hunk of man was his man. He looked between the nurse and Atem as if to confirm that he hadn’t misheard what he just said.
The nurse smiled as confirmation and Atem nodded his head.
“Really?” He asked, still shocked.
“Yes. We’ve been together for four years, but I’ve known you for fifteen.” Atem confirmed.
Yugi gasped again, eyes wide. He was definitely still being affected by the anesthetic.
“Oh, my Ra! No way! That’s insane. How…how did we meet?” He asked, looking at Atem, bashful and even a little shy.
Atem’s expression softened, completely smitten with Yugi, if not more than he already was.
“Well, it’s a very long story,” Atem cooed, voice smooth as silk. He then moved to hold Yugi’s hand and kiss his middle knuckle. He glanced at the nurse, knowing he’d have to phrase his next words carefully. There was no way she’d think he was normal if he explained their entire life story, starting with the millennium items to now.
Yugi blushed a deeper shade, a lovely red, as his hand was kissed, wanting more attention–specifically kisses. He thought he’d die a happy man if Atem gave him a real kiss. He wondered if Atem would grant him his wish if he asked.
“But we first met when y- when we were little.” He corrected swiftly. “After we met, we…became good friends. And we stayed good friends–best friends for a long time. But then I had to go away. I left you for a few years before I came back four years ago.”
“But why?” Yugi asked, suddenly very sad about the detail regarding Atem leaving him.
“Why did I leave you?” Atem asked, Yugi’s tone feeling like a stab to his heart.
“Yeah. Why did you go away?” Yugi asked, voice cracking. The anesthesia made him feel things a lot more intensely compared to normal.
Atem frowned at Yugi’s question, remembering all the pain it caused him and Yugi when he left for the afterlife.
“I…I don’t know. But I promise it’ll never happen again,” he said, knowing very well why he thought leaving was his only option.
If it hadn’t been for the gods granting Atem his own wish, he’d still be in the field of reeds, reunited with his family and friends, but still missing a piece of his heart–that piece being Yugi.
“Promise?” He asked, tears beginning to prickle in the corners of his eyes. He looked akin to a small child who lost his favorite stuffed animal.
“I promise,” Atem said, kissing his hand again. “Nothing could take me from you, Yugi, nothing. Not if I have any say in the matter.”
Yugi sighed, relieved Atem promised.
“I’ll be right back.” The nurse whispered, walking by them to exit the room. “If there’s an emergency, please hit the buzzer next to the bed.”
“Alright, thank you,” Atem whispered back, still holding Yugi’s hand and looking away from him at the moment. Once she was gone, he went back to facing Yugi.
Yugi still looked at Atem, his gaze not leaving his lover’s face for a moment. He didn’t fully realize it, but he had started sobbing quietly. Atem was so beautiful. He seemed so kind. Why did he leave Yugi? Had he done something wrong?
Atem gasped as he saw Yugi cry. He hadn’t meant to upset him.
“Oh, sweetheart…shhh…no no. Please don’t cry.” Atem attempted to soothe, squeezing his hand softly, taking care not to squeeze too hard, as Yugi had very limited arm mobility due to the surgery.
“Did I do something wrong?” Yugi asked softly, continuing to sob, looking at Atem with some of the saddest puppy dog eyes he’d ever seen.
“No, not at all my love. It was a horrible mistake. I was the one at fault. You did nothing wrong, Aibou. I was in the wrong. I shouldn’t have gone.” He answered, rubbing Yugi’s knuckles with his thumb.
“Honest?” Yugi asked. He was so worried he made Atem angry or something, he had to be sure he hadn’t done anything. If he had, he’d make it up right away.
“Yes. Absolutely. You did nothing wrong.” Atem said, doing his best not to start crying as well. Whenever Yugi started crying he always did too, knowing what Yugi’s pain felt like, just like any other emotion he’d experienced with him while being confined to the puzzle.
“Okay. I just wanted to make sure. If I did anything, I’m sorry. You’re very handsome and sweet and I’d hate to make you go away again.” Yugi said, relaxing a little.
Atem bit back a sob, forcing himself to keep it together. Yugi was being so sweet, apologizing for something he wasn’t responsible for.
“No no. I won’t go away. I promise. You did nothing wrong my love.” He reassured, wiping Yugi’s tears with his free hand. “It's okay. I’m here with you now. I will never leave your side. I promise Aibou.” He said, using his free hand to grab some tissues from the box on a nearby nightstand and hand them to Yugi.
Yugi blew his nose, still clutching Atem’s hand in one hand. After he tossed them to the side into a wastebasket, he watched Atem check the floor, admiring him.
After Atem finished checking the floor for dirty tissues, he met Yugi’s gaze.
There was a brief silence between them before Atem spoke.
“I love you.”
“You love me?” Yugi said, fascinated by the statement. Atem loved him. That made him so happy.
“I always have. Ever since we became friends. You’re beautiful, handsome, and the kindest person I’ve ever met. You’re also very clever and a lot tougher than you think. How could I not love you?” He replied.
Yugi squeezed his hand and looked away, covering his mouth with his free hand.
“I…I think I love you too.” He confessed, flushing again.
“You do?” Atem said, teasing. He felt relieved to see Yugi doing better than he had previously.
“Yes. I love you Atem.” He said, smiling brightly.
Atem frowned, tears filling his eyes. His boyfriend was so cute and acted so precious that he couldn’t help but feel overcome.
“What’s wrong?” Yugi asked, noticing.
“Nothing. I’m just happy you love me too.” He replied, peppering Yugi’s hand with kisses. Even though Yugi had already forgiven him for leaving years ago, it was always refreshing to hear that he still had.
Yugi giggled as Atem did so, feeling quite entranced.
“What’s that? Do you like that?” Atem teased, kissing Yugi’s hand again and trailing over to his arm. He did so in a rather dramatized fashion, furrowing his brow as if to convey any potent romantic feelings he had further.
Yugi kept laughing. Not only did he love the attention, but was funny to see Atem act so dramatically on purpose. He reminded him of how that spooky character…what was his name again? Gomez! That’s right, Gomez. He acted exactly like how Gomez acted with his spooky wife Morticia on TV. What was the name of that show again? Yugi couldn’t remember and didn’t care enough.
After Atem was satisfied, he looked up at Yugi with a mischievous grin.
“Do you want a real kiss? I can give you a real one, Aibou. Or two. Or maybe even three.”
Yugi acted astonished, like a child who had just been offered their dream toy, gasping silently, and smiling.
“Yes please!”
Atem chuckled at his response, taking it as a ‘yes’. He leaned down and kissed him sweetly, still holding his hand.
Yugi immediately melted, eyes closing as soon as their lips touched.
After a minute Atem pulled away and Yugi looked flabbergasted, mouth agape.
Atem laughed and went in for another, which Yugi eagerly returned.
He pulled back a second time, and Yugi was still in utter shock.
Atem was kissing him! This was the best day ever!
“I love you, Aibou,” Atem said, kneeling by Yugi’s side again.
“Ohh, I love you too,” Yugi replied, smitten. He looked at Atem with a bashful, love-struck expression, batting his eyes at Atem on purpose.
“I can’t-” Atem sighed, smiling, pleasantly defeated. He pressed his forehead against Yugi’s hand affectionately. Ah, Yugi. Even in this state, he was so adorable and terribly sweet, stealing Atem’s heart all over again. He felt like he had been pierced by Cupid’s arrow a second time and was worried he might need to seek medical attention soon.
“I’m back!” the nurse announced as she came back into the room. “What did I- miss..?” She asked, concerned by Atem’s current position.
“Nothing ma’am.’ Atem replied, looking at Yugi fondly.
Yugi smiled at him, completely out of it but still very much in love with him.