[Hospital Party]
It all happened so fast.
They’d been on the phone for most of an hour; Heba wasn’t home, but try as he might, Malik hadn’t been able to convince Yuugi to leave when he expected him back relatively soon. Still, he’d take what he could get, and talking to Yuugi was always worth it. He could occasionally hear Yuugi moving around what he presumed was Heba’s kitchen, tidying things and fetching himself a glass of water while they talked.
Malik didn’t remember what, exactly, they’d been talking about--it hadn’t been important--but Yuugi very suddenly drew in a sharp breath.
“Yuu’?”
“I… I can’t see…”
Yuugi’s voice trailed off, and just before Malik could ask for clarification, there was the sound of breaking glass, and a loud clatter that the Egyptian could only assume was the phone hitting the floor, and then silence.
Malik panicked.
It was lucky that teleportation often required honing in on an individual, rather than a location; he hadn’t ever been to Heba’s house, and he wouldn’t have known how to find the kitchen anyway. Malik was there almost before he’d really grabbed the Rod, just in case.
And Yuugi was out cold.
Malik cursed under his breath, assessing the situation at a glance. Yuugi appeared to have fallen against the refrigerator and had taken out most of the magnets on his way down. He wasn’t moving, but he was breathing, and the puddle beneath him was more than likely from whatever glass he’d been holding--
Which had shattered beneath him when he landed.
Without thinking, Malik rejoined the pieces, summoning the fragments with magic. Some pieces came away bloody, and his stomach churned violently at the sight of it. “Yuu’!” he cried, struggling to roll him over to get a better look.
As luck would have it, the biggest gash along his arm wasn’t yet bleeding--much, despite being fairly deep--and the majority of the damage seemed to have been absorbed by the leather wristbands Yuugi always wore. The man stirred, still ashen-faced, and Malik breathed a sigh of relief.
“Ma-kun…?” Yuugi whispered, voice small.
“I’ve got you,” Malik said quickly, pulling him to his chest as he rose. Yuugi sagged limply against him, cold and wet and shaking, and Malik couldn’t quite make out what he said next. “We’re going to the hospital.”
He didn’t give Yuugi time to object.
----
By the time they reached the front of the line in the emergency room, Yuugi had nearly fainted again--perhaps from the toll that teleporting took on his body--and Malik was on the verge of actually using the Rod to send the other patrons away. Luckily, Malik didn’t actually have to accelerate the acceptance process; Yuugi looked as awful as he felt, and his arm no doubt needed stitches. They gave them some paper towels to slow the bleeding, and soon ushered them into the triage room.
Malik found himself filling in bits Yuugi couldn’t seem to articulate; the latter kept apologizing, kept losing his place in his explanation, and Malik had the distinct feeling that he was downplaying some of his symptoms.
“--It happens a lot, it’s no big--“
“Yuugi!” Malik cut him off, frowning disapprovingly. “Blacking out and hitting your head is a big deal!”
“It is worth coming in for,” the triage nurse said gently, finishing her work at wrapping Yuugi’s injured wrist with gauze. Butterfly bandages would be enough to hold the skin together for now, and as long as Yuugi didn’t strain too much, he might not need proper stitches. Yuugi said nothing, gazing down at his arm like he couldn’t really see it again.
“Sorry for the trouble,” the King of Games said at last, distractedly. He gripped his seat, rocking forward a little, and Malik caught him by the shoulder just in case.
The nurse smiled reassuringly, reaching to check his temperature with the back of her hand. “It’s no trouble. The doctor will see you shortly… I think they’ll likely prepare a room for you, if you want to wait in the lobby.”
“That’d be great,” Malik said for him, giving Yuugi no room to interject. “Thank you.”
----
Getting Yuugi fully situated with a private room didn’t take much longer, and to Malik’s immense relief, he seemed to get some of his color back shortly after the doctor arrived. Whatever was ailing him had passed, at least somewhat; Yuugi was back to answering questions coherently and following simple directions. He had been labeled a fall risk, which meant ferrying him around between departments by wheelchair, but that expedited the process somewhat.
Malik stayed with him as much as he could; Doctor Muraki made no comment about how unusual his presence might have been, and Yuugi was glad for that. He was no fan of hospitals.
“Ma-kun, can you call Heba?” Yuugi asked abruptly on the third trip back to his room. Malik had completely forgotten about his companion’s boyfriend; how unusual it would undoubtedly be for him to come home to an empty house and a bloody wet spot on the kitchen floor, and no Yuugi.
He didn’t want to call, but there wasn’t anything Malik wouldn’t do for Yuugi, and he agreed with a sigh. Excusing himself back to the lobby, he went and made a few calls--saving Heba for last--before he returned again to wait out the results of the tests.
It was going to be a very long night.
