In Safe Hands (PuzzleShipping)

Chapter 52

Yugi left a few hours later, beat and run down. Ever since Yami had slipped back into his coma, everything had been going downhill. He almost lost a patient in surgery because he was so concerned about Yami.

Which was going to have to stop.

But Yugi couldn't ignore the pang of the hurt in his heart everytime he remembered Yami.

He met Yami as a healthy young man, well built, happy, playful, his eyes shone all the time, he was always full of life.

Ever since that accident, he had been the exact opposite.

His eyes were seemingly dead, not shining anymore and his body was weak and worn, still and pale. His usual jokey self was replaced with a dying corpse.

And Yugi had no way of helping him, no matter what he tried.

He had just gotten into his car and he had been on his way to his apartment when his car phone began to ring.

"Hello?" He said, pressing a button and the phone picking up.

"Yuug'?" A voice on the other side said, a thick Brooklyn accent sounding in the voice itself, "Is that you, buddy?"

Yugi felt a faint smile creep across Yugi's face, that slightly lit his saddened gaze.

"Is this the best attorney in all of Brooklyn?" Yugi returned, trying his best to cover the down feel in his voice.

The person on the other side laughed at his comment.

"At your service~!" He heartily commented in return, "Its so good to hear your voice again!"

Yugi nodded, stopping at a red light that seemed to stop everything else behind him.

"I agree! How have you been, Joey?" Yugi said, waiting for the light to turn green for him to go.

Joey, the thick accented person on the other line, sighed slightly.

"Busy." He said simply, "Extremely busy. Ever since I was a part of that criminal vs citizens case, I've been paged every night. Its been a while since my last full night of sleep."

Yugi winced. He was going through the same thing with Yami in the hospital. He's been covering both his job and Yami's job. He's been drinking more coffee than ever, and he didn't even know if he was hurting himself in doing so.

"Same. I've had to do double the work these last few days." Yugi said, slightly yawning, "I don't think I've worked harder in my life."

Joey chuckled.

"Is that so? Well how about 12th grade finals in college?" Joey laughed, "The two of us had to pull several all nighters just to run over the notes!"

Yugi slightly giggled, half heartedly.

"And you still almost failed." He said.

"And you aced it!" Joey pretended to be stunned, failing miserably, "I still can't believe it!"

"Oh, believe it." Yugi tried to smirk, "Explains how I'm a doctor and you're an attorney."

"'Ey!" Joey pouted.

Yugi slightly giggled, going silent soon after.

"So, Yugi." Joey broke the silence, "You seem...down. Is everything alright?"

Yugi hesitated for a moment, weighing his choices. He could tell Joey about Yami, or he could hide it. He knew it wasn't healthy to hole something up forever, and that it was better to let it out.

That would only make things worse, however.

"Well..." Yugi said, not knowing what to say, "N-No..."

Joey silently listened, like he was taught to do in Law School.

"Nothing's....okay." Yugi shook his head, looking slightly down, but keeping his eyes on the road, "Not at all..."

Yugi could sense Joey tilting his head through the phone from the shifts that sounded in the phone.

"What's going on?" Joey asked, concern clearly showing in his voice with every word he said.

Yugi blinked away his tears. He didn't want to burst into tears in front of his best friend. If anything, that would have embarrassed him.

"W-Well..." Yugi repeated, not knowing where to start, "You know...Yami, right?"

Joey nodded.

"The guy you keep writing about in your letters?" Joey slightly chuckled, "How's he doing?"

Yugi shook his head, sniffing.

"T-Terrible..." Yugi muttered, "He is only getting worse...no matter what we try...."

"But wait..." Joey said, "What happened?"

Yugi sighed, "A car accident...a massive car accident...one bigger than any that the hospital....has ever seen...."

"..." Joey listened, concerned and silent.

"...to make it...worse...." Yugi continued, his eyes brimming, blurring his vision, "Yami was...in the middle of it all...he was in a w-worse....condition...than any others...I-involved..."

Yugi couldn't go on. He found himself choking back sobs, and if he tried to go on, he would lose it all. He went silent, hearing Joey's deafening silence as well.

"How is he now?"

"...........weaker than ever......." Yugi could only say, "....he......has been....in a coma....all th-this time...getting worse...being p-put on more and more life supports...and just...loosing his fight..."

Joey was speechless. He honestly had no idea what to say. The only  thing that came to mind to say was reassurances. To tell him that everything was going to be fine. But even now, it seemed like that was pointless.

Yugi breathed and finally stopped outside of his apartment complex and picked up his phone.

"R-R-Right..." Yugi's voice quivered with every word he said, "W-Well I....I g-gotta go..."

Joey opened his mouth to say something, but was silenced when Yugi cut him off, ending the call with a push of a button.

He leaned back in his seat, laying the seat back and looking straight up at the car ceiling. His tears finally fell, going down the side of his face, down his cheeks, and he shook with his sobs.

Yami almost had no chance.

Nothing was changing.

Yami was losing, and Yugi had no way of boosting Yami.

If he used a life support, that would only increase his suffering and would add to the large number of wires he already had all over his body.

Yugi couldn't stand it.

Nothing was okay.

Not at all.