Oh look... a new fic. I need to stop, honestly. But like, I'm already in too deep, so, oh well.

I had the idea of doing a hospital AU and while this isn't what I had originally had in mind, I'm pretty happy with the direction it took. Maybe I might go and write out the original version I thought of.

Also, I'm planning on making this a rather short fic this time.

Anyway, please don't mind any mistakes I might have missed!

Trigger Warning: Self-harm mention. Mental illness mention. Implied suicide attempt.

"You've got a new patient to check on, Atem." A soft voice from behind a table spoke up, grabbing the attention of a male nurse walking by. "Room 211."

Atem took a step back, stopping in front of his co-worker, "Got it." He took the beige chart from her hand before he walked off in the direction of the room. He opened the chart, his heart falling at seeing the name. He let out a sigh as he walked into the room, "You have to stop doing this to yourself, Yugi."

"Sorry." The sixteen year old mumbled, looking down, his hospital bracelet more interesting.

Atem's features softened, "I enjoy seeing you, but I would prefer it if I didn't have to see you in the hospital so much," he gently took hold of Yugi's wrist, scanning the code on his bracelet, "and I'm sure your grandfather doesn't like rushing you to the hospital so much, either."

Yugi just kept his head down as Atem went about checking his vitals, "I know."

The two didn't say a word as Atem listened to the teen's lungs and heartbeat. Atem returned the stethoscope around his neck before typing on the keyboard that was connected the computer in the room, "Alright, I know you don't like this, but our new ones are busted."

Yugi looked back up Atem, letting out a groan at the blood pressure cuff in his hand, "Really? Come on, the nurse before you already checked!"

Atem shook his head, "You know how it goes. New nurse means checking everything again, and that includes using this baby." He spoke, swaying the cuff with his index finger and thumb.

Yugi rolled his eyes, "Fine."

Atem smirked triumphantly before wrapping the cuff around Yugi's arm, "You know the drill. Just take deep breaths and relax. I know you don't want to do this over again."

Silence once again filled the room with the only sound coming from the cuff around Yugi's arm. Yugi's eyes looked over the clean bandage on his wrist, covering the fresh cuts from the night before. Once the cuff was removed from his arm, he looked back to Atem, who was once again typing at the computer. His fingers ran across the bandage, "Yesterday was going so well too."

Atem looked back to the teen, "You wanna talk about it?"

Yugi shook his head, "Not right now."

Atem didn't say anything for a while, not wanting to leave the kid alone. Finally, he sighed, nodded and spoke, "Alright. If you need anything, you know what to do."

"Hey shorty." Jounouchi, Yugi's friend, asked as he walked into the room.

Yugi gave him a weak smile, "Hey."

Jounouchi took a seat at the foot of Yugi's bed, "I got something for ya." He pulled a letter out of his pocket before handing it to Yugi, "Don't know who it's from tho. Your gramps gave it to me before I came over here. He said that someone dropped it off for you."

Yugi opened the letter, his eyes reading the neatly written text.

"Yugi,

I was wondering how you're doing. I heard about what happened. I would like to see you in person, but I'm not sure if you would like seeing me. I know we hardly talk at school, so I don't know if you even care or like me or not. Anyway, I hope you read this letter. I expect no reply for you don't know who I am, but I hope to see you again in school soon.

- Pharaoh"

"Pharaoh?" Yugi tiled his head, "Well, I don't know who it's from, but apparently they go to our school and wanted to know how I'm doing."

Jounouchi furrowed his brows, "Why don't they just come to see you, then?"

Yugi folded the paper and returned it back into the envelope, "Apparently they're not sure if I like them or not. They said we don't talk much together."

Before Jounouchi could saw a word, Atem walked in, "Alright, you know the drill," he turned to Jounouchi, "Nice to see you again, Jounouchi."

Jounouchi nodded, "Same here," he stood up, "I better get going, my sister is visiting today and I promised I'd spend some time with her. See ya Yug." He patted Yugi's knee before walking out, "Take care of my pal, Atem." He added, before leaving the room altogether.

Atem scanned the code on Yugi's bracelet, noticing the letter in his hand, "Is that a love letter I see there?" He teased the teen.

Yugi shook his head, a small chuckle leaving his mouth, "Nah," he titled his head, "well, I don't think so."

Atem checked Yugi's vitals before typing at the computer, "Well, you never know, right?"

Yugi shrugged, handing the nurse the letter, "You tell me then."

Atem shot Yugi a look before opening the letter. His eyebrows shot up as he recognized the hand writing. With a small knowing smirk on his face, he read the letter. Finally, he folded up the paper and placed inside the envelope and handed it back to the teen, "Love letter, maybe. But that person does seem to care about you."

Yugi looked back at him, "You think?"

Atem nodded, "Maybe," he took a small plastic cup from Yugi's bedside table that the teen never noticed he brought in, "But how about you take your meds first?" He handed the teen the small cup and another cup with water, "I know you don't like taking them, but since you've started taking them, I've noticed that you're not visiting me so much."

Yugi looked at the small pills in the cup; his anti-depressant medicine, or 'happy pills' as Jounouchi calls them. He let out a sigh before popping them in his mouth, swallowing it along with some water.

Atem gave him a small smile before ruffling his hair, "Good."

A small smile of his own made its way on his face, "I guess."

Atem left the room for a while before returning with a tray, bandages and a cream medicine sitting on top, gloves on his hands as well. He sat on the bed, "I also need to change your dressings."

Yugi sat up, holding out his wrist to Atem. Yugi watched as he removed the bandage on his wrist before rubbing the medicine over his cuts then placing the fresh bandages over them. Yugi let out a tired sigh before watching Atem as he placed his used gloves and old bandages in the trash and bio-hazard bins.

He looked back as Yugi let out a yawn, "Get some rest, okay?" He smiled as Yugi nodded.

"Alright, brother." Atem started, walking his little brother's room, "I gotta ask you something."

Yami looked up from his homework, "What?"

Atem sat on his brother's bed, "Is there someone you like?"

Yami's eyes slowly widened, "What?" He asked, his voice giving away his nervousness.

Atem smirked, "Because you can tell me if you want. It's not like I'll go to your school and shout out about your crush on someone."

Yami sat up, "Where did you get an idea like that?" He let out a nervous laugh, hoping his brother would drop the subject.

Atem shot his brother a look, "Tell me about them."

Yami looked down, "They're pretty quiet, actually. I don't hang around with them or their friends, but I mean, for some reason I just developed a crush on them."

Atem just simply nodded, confirming his hunch, "So, are they cute?"

Yami's head snapped up, "Atem!" Yami shouted, chasing after his brother.

Atem laughed, running down the stairs, "What? I can't come and tease my little brother?" Atem looked back, a laugh leaving his mouth.

"Atem!" A loud voice caused both brothers to stop and look. Behind them, stood their father, arms crossed, looking at his two sons with anger in his eyes, "Did you come here just to tease your brother!?"

Despite being the elder sibling and pretty much being on his own, he couldn't deny that his father's wraith wasn't something to take lightly. He gave him a sheepish smile, "Uh, sorta?"

Their father just looked. Then, his frown was replaced with a smile, "Oh, carry on." He laughed, walking into the kitchen.

Yami's jaw dropped, "Dad!"

Yami couldn't help but punch his brother in arm at the laugh that left his mouth.

After a few days in the hospital and the rest of the week resting at home, Yugi was finally able to return to school. He walked down the hall, Jounouchi by his side, ready to go after someone who dared to antagonize Yugi about the recent hospital stay. This became routine for the two friends. Whenever Yugi would return from the hospital or when he took a few days to a week off from school, Jounouchi was there to make sure no one dared to ridicule Yugi about it. Besides, their bullying was half the reason why Yugi ended up in the hospital or away from school.

After lunch was when Yugi found a letter on his desk, the familiar ivory envelope looking back at him. He sat at his desk, holding the letter in his hands. He couldn't fight the butterflies that settled in the pit of his stomach. He looked around the classroom, trying to figure out who wrote him. All he saw was a group of people who he never bothered talking to and Yami with his own group of friends.

Yugi never noticed the slight blush that burned on his cheeks when Yami's laugh reached his ears.

"Yugi!" Jounouchi's voice pulled Yugi out of his thoughts.

"What?" He blinked a few times, looking at his friend.

"I asked who that letter is from."

Yugi looked back down to the letter in his hands, "I don't know. Maybe it's from the same person as before?"

"Well, open it then."

Yugi let out a sigh before opening the letter.

"Yugi,

I'm happy to see you back at school. I hope you took it easy while you rested at home, I'd hate to see you overdo it. I hope I didn't freak you out over the first letter, I guess I'm just worried over the possibility of you not liking me. But, that's silly, right? Anyway, I hope you feel better soon.

- Pharaoh"

Yami looked up at the ceiling in his room, trying to fall asleep. He let out a sigh, his mind running a mile a minute. He thought back to school that day. He remembered how relieved he felt when he saw Yugi walk into school. The teen still looked a bit down, but at least he was trying.

Malik's snickering still rang in his ears, his friend teasing him over his crush on Yugi. Not to mention the laughing from Bakura, of course. He rolled his eyes, trying to forget about his friends' playful teasing. Unfortunately, Yami was sure Yugi didn't even like him. Which was why Yami vowed to never tell Yugi about his true feelings.

No matter how much he wanted to.