This was the very-first Yu-Gi-Oh fanfiction I've ever written. Of course, with me being a fangirl, it's centered around Puzzleshipping. Don't hate. XD

All flames will be used to make yummy, toasted s'mores! :D

Title: Mezameru

Pairing: Puzzleshipping (Yuugi/Yami)

Rating: T

Genre: Angst, Drama, Friendship, Family, Hurt/Comfort, Romance

Full Summary: Yuugi is in a coma. His chances of survival balance on a mere mark of 35% How will his Yami cope when he thinks-no, when he KNOWS- that it is all his fault?

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh, nor ANY characters in this story, unless noted otherwise. I DO, however, own the plot of it. The Yu-Gi-Oh manga and anime belong to Kazuki Takahashi-san.

Please do not plagiarize, copy, repost, nor recreate my hard work in any way.

Or I will sic Yami on you

~ Chapter I ~

Tsumi

Two lone figures stood in the darkness of a rainy Domino night. One would mistake them for twins at first glance; they seem so similar. Each was lanky, yet having some muscle definition. Atop their skulls jutted exotic crowns of pointed ebony hair, rimmed in maroon. Each man had crooked yellow tresses framing their faces nicely. The taller of the two (though only by a couple of inches) had these gravity-defying bangs arching up into the black and red. One with humor would see a striking resemblance between that of their hair and a brightly colored starfish. Smooth, flawless alabaster flesh glistened under rain and harsh streetlights.

The artificial light gave the gloomy, storming atmosphere a sickly dull orange-brown hue. The taller, with naturally narrowed eyes and arms crossed, gazed down to the smaller with concern apparent in his stiff, confidant posture. "Aibou," a deep baritone rumbled through his chest. "What is wrong? Are you hurt?"

The smaller teenager shook his head hesitantly. His face was downcast, covered in darkly defined shadows. His companion tilted his head slightly, looking lost. What had his 'Aibou' so distraught that he wanted to speak now? Out in the rain and the cold? "Than what is troubling you, Hikari-mine?"

He saw a shiver travel down his aibou's slender form. Was that from the cold? Or... maybe fear? Fear of enemies unknown? Or, Ra forbid, fear of his taller friend?

Dark crimson softened to a tender scarlet, sweet and nurturing. "Yuugi," he murmured after a moment of tense silence. Said boy lifted his head slightly, expressive amethyst eyes wide. Was that rain or tears that lay their path across his smooth cheek? His little Light looked so lost and scared and vulnerable, like a lost kitten. The red-eyed man felt his heart melt at the sight. He had to try and comfort the boy...

But before his hand could cup the smaller's cheek so tenderly, Yuugi's small hand shot forward to catch his Darkness' wrist tightly. The one with red eyes stopped, looking both hurt and bewildered. "Aibou..?" he murmured, sound almost lost the that of the pounding rain.

"Mou Hitori no Boku..." Yuugi breathed, eyes again downcast. "I-I... I love you." The boy's 'Mou Hitori no Boku' felt his breath catch. Before he could react, soft rosy lips encased his own in an almost desperate kiss. His heart fluttered. How long had the yami dreamt of a moment like this? He didn't even know.

Before his stalled mind could register this amazing rush of emotion, he felt the warmth pull away. Yami had half a mind to growl in protest, but stopped dead at his hikari's face. Yuugi was staring at him with wide, heartbroken amethyst eyes. Tears pooled much more noticeably upon his thick, dark lashes as he looked away. "I knew you didn't feel the same," he gave a shuddering sob. "I'm sorry, Yami!"

Yuugi broke into a dead run, ignoring what quiet protests his Other managed to choke out. In a blind rush of emotional turmoil and heartache, the young Mutou was dead to his surroundings. He didn't hear the distant rumble of the engine, nor the growing haze of headlights speeding down the asphalt roadway.

"Aibou!" Yami snapped in a panic, finally coming to his senses. He reached out, as if he could just pluck his partner from harm's way. Their eyes locked for a moment. Terrified violet met frantic crimson. For a millisecond that seemed to stretch for eternity, they gazed at one another...

A horn blared, and cold, rain-sleeked metal met flesh.

"YUUGI! NOO!"

The scene was on a constant reply inside the man's distraught mind. He sat in the waiting room of Domino General Hospital, Intensive Care Unit. Around him sat his and Yuugi's friends. Solemn-faced, they were all silent.

Jounouchi Katsuya, Honda Hiroto, Mazaki Anzu, and Bakura Ryou. Beside Anzu was Yuugi's only living relative; his grandfather, Mutou Sugoroku. The old man's blank expression made the yami's heart twist painfully. The bleary tears in this room were all his fault... His fault...

That damnable scene of his sinful silence flashed across Yami's consciousness yet again. His hands moved to snake pale fingers into his still-damp crown of hair. They had been waiting for nearly two hours now! What was taking so LONG?!

As if summoned by Yami's mental curses, a man in a white uniform walked out from behind swinging hospital doors. They all looked up. The Ph.D.'s face was grim. "How is he?" Yami demanded at once, standing abruptly. The doctor was silent, looking at a loss for words. "Answer me!"

Jounouchi came up behind his friend, placing a hand firmly on the distraught man's shoulder. He was shrugged away. "Where is my Aibou?!" he demanded, voice cracking with emotion. The medical professional looked a bit taken aback, but understanding, all at once.

"I'm sorry..." he muttered, eyes showing genuine sadness for the ones before him. "The damage done internally was to great. His body has gone into a comatose state. Estimations show a thirty-five percent chance of him regaining consciousness." Yami flinched back badly, as if the one before him were a venomous snake. His crimson eyes were wide with disbelief and horror and pain.

"Mr. Mutou is currently in room 37, but visiting hours are currently over. You can come and visit tomor-!" The medicine man broke off in surprise as the patient's look-alike dashed down the hallway.

"Yams'!" Joey exclaimed, he, Honda, and Ryou taking chase. The former spirit dodged around an unused gurney, quickly turning a corner. He ignore calls of both friends and hospital staff as the plaques next to each door steadily grew higher in number.

34, 35, 36- there it was!

He stopped in front of a secluded room marked '37', and opened the door quickly. The sights that awaited his hungrily searching eyes made the dark one's gut twist unpleasantly.

His aibou, his sweet little Yuugi, was lying motionless under a sterile white blanket, pulled tight at the corners. His arms were folded tranquilly over his front, let one in a loose sling. An oxygen mask was strapped over his face, wires and loose rubber fittings over his chest and fingers to take pulse and oxygenation of his bloodstream. He looked like an innocent fly caught in a spider's web from some sort of perverse sci-fi fantasy movie. Yami heard his three friends catch up, and stop dead behind him.

Yami stepped numbly forward, to his partner's bedside. His took a vague note of how badly his hand shook when he reached out to touch Yuugi's pale cheek. He sucked in a sharp breath as his fingers molded to cup the smaller's cheek hesitantly. His skin was warm, but it was cold at the same time. Lukewarm.

His thumb traced gingerly across the boy's cheekbone as a stinging dryness began to build behind his scarlet eyes.

\Aibou?\ Yami called through their bond, fearful of what response he would get. His thoughts bounced silently on into blackness. That familiar warmth of another's presence in the back of his mind was gone. Yuugi... was gone.

\Aibou, please!\ he begged again, eyes closing tightly, head downcast. Still no reply.

\Mou hitori no ore!\

Yami sucked in a hissing breath through clenched teeth. He was on the verge of a breakdown.

\Hikari-mine Please, I beg of you, ANSWER me!\

Yami's shoulders slumped, and he sunk slowly to his knees. Moisture gathered in his thick, dark lashes. Crimson eyes glazed over in internal agony. \Dammit Yuugi! Answer me!\ His mental plea croaked out quietly, under his breath. "Please, Yuugi..." he murmured, almost inaudible.

His unoccupied fist clenched. The tears crested over his sharp cheeks, dripping down his chin. Yami gave a choked noise, and, for probably the first time in three millennia, the former Egyptian pharaoh began to cry.

:(

I think I'm gonna limit updates on this one by reviews. Can I get five please? :D

R&R, Please!