057 - Comfort
Title: Comfort (From prompt 57 of a 100 themes challenge)
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s
Pairing: JackxYusei, with hints of JackxCrowxYusei too.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Yusei is sick and Crow apparently knows how to cook.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
The dark pressed in on the small room, making it almost claustrophobic. Yusei chose to keep the light off, as well as the blinds closed, blocking out all traces of sunlight. He hadn't been feeling his best this morning, and decided that an extra hour of sleep would be good for him.
That was quite a few hours ago.
Ordinarily, Crow would have woken him up by now, but he had left for work early today, saying he had a big delivery out of town. And god knows Jack didn't care whether Yusei slept all day. So when Crow finally made it home that night, at nearly nine o'clock at night, he was surprised to find that Yusei wasn't working at his D-Wheel as he usually did. Didn't he normally have to have Jack drag him away from that thing?
This odd occurance worried the carrot-top duelist, making him wonder is something was wrong. He shook any bad thoughts from his mind and checked the next likely place for Yusei to be; his bedroom. He knocked politely at the door before opening it anyway to find his baby brother snoozing in the dark under about a ton of blankets.
Crow approached the bed and placed a hand on Yusei's shoulder, giving it a shake. "Yusei... Hey, wake up."
"Nn..."
Yusei opened his eyes blearily and gazed up at Crow. "Hey..." he yawned. "I thought you were going to be out all day."
"I was out all day." Crow said with concern. "Yusei... Did you sleep all day? You look terrible. Are you sick?"
It was true; Yusei's skin was pale, his eyes bloodshot, a light blush across his cheeks. But he shook his head and sat up.
"I was probably just tired. I'm fine, Crow." He smiled and got up out of bed. "I have to catch up on all the work I missed though."
And then Crow pushed him back down.
"Oh no you don't. You are sick, and you are staying right here." Crow said forcefully. He placed a hand to Yusei's forhead. "Look, you're burning up."
"But-"
"No buts. You stay here, I'll go make you... uh, soup, I guess. And possibly call Jack." Crow said as he exited the room. "If you get up, I'm tying you to the bed."
Yusei stared at the door for a few moments before flopping back into the pillows. He was still exausted anyway...
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Jack stumped in the front door a while later. He had spent the day drinking coffee, which wasn't exactly tiring, but Jack somehow managed to make it seem like he had been to war instead of across the street.
The blond immediately headed for the kitchen to find... Crow cooking something other than ramen?
"...Are you making soup?"
"Yup." Crow answered without turning around. "Yusei's sick, so he needs something, you know, healthy. And no, ramen isn't healthy."
"Yusei's... sick?"
Jack's brow furrowed. Was that why he hadn't seen him at all today?
He felt like an idiot for not noticing.
"Is he alright?"
"Yea, I think it's just a cold." Crow answered. "I made him go back to bed. Why don't you go see him?"
The taller nodded in response and headed for Yusei's room, the one at the end of the hall. He knew the path well.
Unlike Crow, he didn't bother knocking, and just busted in like he owned the place. Yusei sat up from underneath his blanket pile, looking at Jack with indifference to his entrance; seems he was used to this. What he wasn't used to, however, was Jack quietly sitting himself on the edge of his bed, pushing him back till he was lying down again, then softly patting his head. Hell, he hadn't known Jack knew how to be quiet conciously.
"...Jack?"
"Shut up. Go to sleep." Jack ordered.
Yusei blinked at him for a moment. "...I'm not tired."
"Don't care. You're sick, so go to sleep."
Jack continued to pet Yusei's hair, and the younger slowly began to drift off; it's true, he was rather tired...
When he had begun to doze, Jack stopped his calm stroking of Yusei's soft hair, getting up to leave, wondering if Crow had made enough soup for him as well. He stopped and felt a hand weakly tug at his jacket. He turned and looked at his friend, who looked so small and sickly beneath the massive amount of blankets piled atop him.
"What's wrong, love? Need something?"
And now Jack was being helpful? Had Yusei landed in Wonderland or something? But he shook his head no. "I... just wanted you to stay, is all."
Jack said nothing for a long moment. So long, Yusei almost thought he had done something wrong. But eventually, Jack reached around and pried the hand from his coat...
And removed the heavy article of clothing, thowing it over a chair.
The blond gently moved the younger to the side, giving him enough room to slide in beside him. Jack wrapped his arms around Yusei and held him close.
"You... didn't have to do that..." Yusei whispered.
"Do you want me to get up, then?"
"...No."
Yusei snuggled into Jack's shirt, not caring that the body heat probably wasn't helping his fever. He just wanted the comfort the hug brought.
Jack resumed his gentle stroking of Yusei's hair, and this time Yusei almost immediately fell into a peaceful sleep.
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When Crow came in to the room some time later, carrying a tray with two bowls of soup, he found both his brothers in a deep sleep. He smiled and backed out again, quietly shutting the door.
He would put the soup in the fridge for later.