To Mend A Broken Heart

"What?!" Yugi said, staring at Yami in horror. Yami didn't turn to look at him, only kept his intense stare with the leader of the group, who was looking quite amused by this point.

"So you're telling me that you would rather pay the price for your friend's mistake?" he asked, a smirk still plastered on his face.

"Yes." Yami spoke confidently. "Whatever Yugi owes, I will pay. As long as you do not harm him whatsoever." Yugi went to protest, but Yami grabbed him by the shoulders, whispering so only the boy could hear him, "let me help you," he pleaded, staring straight at Yugi. He would do anything to make sure that Yugi was out of harm's way. Yugi couldn't find his voice to answer, and before either of them could do anything else, the two were pulled apart.

"Yami!" Yugi called out, struggling as strong arms pulled him back. The two thugs had grabbed them both, and Yami was being restrained by the other as Yugi kicked and thrashed around in front of him.

"Yugi!" Yami said, alarmed, "What are you doing?!" he demanded from the men.

"We accept your offer, stranger," the leading man said with a smirk, having not moved a muscle. He turned to Yugi, who was now next to him, being held back by one of the thugs. "No harm shall come to your friend, should he keep still," he continued. He then gave Yugi a menacing smile, "and your restraint was simply a precaution, nothing personal I hope." Yugi just glared at him.

"You wanted to take the boy's punishment," the man restraining Yami growled in his ear. "Well you're going to get it." Before Yami could understand what was happening, he felt a powerful force hit his gut, and he doubled over in pain, his breath having been knocked out of him. The man had let go of him to deliver his punishment, and Yami just stared wide eyed at the ground from the surprise of the punch.

Yugi struggled as the other man held him back, "No! Stop it! Don't hurt him!" he cried.

"A deal is a deal," the man standing next to him said, before he turned with a smirk, back to Yami who was trying to regain his breath after being winded. "Go ahead," he said.

Yami barely had time to prepare himself for the onslaught of abuse he was dealt in the next moment. The man started delivering powerful punches to his jaw, gut and various other places. The force pushed him back against the brick wall that was behind him. He would have been knocked off his feet had the wall not been behind him. He cried out as each painful punch was delivered, and his head was smacked against the wall as he was punched in the jaw again. His vision became blurry as his head throbbed, and his natural instinct was to curl into a ball as the entire top half of his body ached with pain. He wasn't able to do that though, for the man continued his onslaught of pain without pause. He could vaguely hear Yugi calling out, but he was too over come with pain to be able to focus on the sound of the boy's voice.

"Fight back!" Yugi called out to him, "Yami, fight back!" it was no use though, Yami just leant there against the wall as the man beat him senseless. Yugi couldn't bare to watch, as Yami's cries echoed in his ears. The person he cared most about was now being brutally bashed in front of him, and it was all his fault. He had never felt worse than he did in that moment.

The man finally delivered what felt like a finishing punch to the side of Yami's jaw, causing him to stumble sideways and collapse on the hard bitumen. All he knew by now was that the world was spinning around him as he was overcome by pain, and he could taste blood in his mouth.

Yugi squirmed even more in the other man's grip, "Please! Stop this!" he begged, looking beyond distressed. "Stop hurting him!" The man standing beside him simply grinned, and commented on how amusing it was to watch. Yugi glared daggers at him.

"Oi," the other man grunted down at Yami, who was lying on the hard ground, wincing in pain. "I'm not done with you yet," he said. Yami didn't respond, squeezing his eyes shut and wishing for it to all be over soon. "Get up, scum," the man demanded. Yami didn't move, he couldn't. He was too overcome with pain to be able to sit up, let alone stand up. The man made a frustrated noise, before he started kicking Yami instead. The defenseless man let out more cries of pain as he curled up on the ground, unable to shield himself from the onslaught of abuse.

Tears were now forming in Yugi's eyes as he watched, it broke his heart to see Yami so brutally abused. He squeezed his eyes shut, once again begging for them to stop, but none of the men paid any attention to him. He couldn't keep his eyes shut for long though, he had to open them once again only to see Yami continue to writhe in pain on the ground as the man kicked him viciously. Yugi couldn't take this visual torture anymore, and with as much force as he could conjure up, he threw himself backwards into the man who was holding him. The man was caught off guard, and he stumbled back, loosening his grip on the boy. Yugi took this chance to break free from his hold, and he ran towards Yami. Yugi reached the man brutally bashing him, and pushed him off of Yami, before standing in front of his friend protectively.

"Stop it!" he demanded, "Stop this madness!" he glared daggers at the three men who were staring at him now, surprised at his outburst. "I won't let you hurt him any more!" he said, narrowing his eyes at the thee men. The three just looked at each other, before the one who had been harming Yami stepped forwards.

"Well, seems you don't want to co-operate, you'll just have to receive the same punishment," he said, cracking his knuckles. Yugi's heart started beating rapidly in his chest as the man towered over him. He then heard Yami weakly say his name, and he turned to look down at the man who was sprawled on the ground. His heart ached at the sight. The large man took Yugi's distraction as an opportunity to throw his fist at the boy's face. Yugi cried out as it threw him backwards, and he skidded to the ground, clutching his face where he had been punched. He stared up in horror as the man approached him, towering over him as he laid on his back, resting on his elbows. He squeezed his eyes shut and tensed up, waiting for the brutal attack.

But it never came.

Yugi looked up in confusion, and noticed the three men were all looking at each other, listening carefully to something. He then heard a siren in the distance. The men quickly conferred with each other for a moment, before deciding that staying there was not an option, and they took off, disappearing from sight. Yugi sat up, staring after them with a baffled but relieved expression. He looked over to Yami, who was still sprawled on the ground a few meters away.

"Yami!" he jumped up and ran over to him, kneeling next to the man. He was covered in bruises, along with various scratches and cuts, and his once stylish clothing was now torn and ruined. He looked the worst that Yugi could ever imagine, but he still looked just as beautiful as always. Yugi carefully rolled Yami onto his back, and he was given a wince in reply from the man. Yugi looked down at his battered and bruised friend. "Are you alright?" he asked, the look on his face nothing but terrified concern.

Yami attempted a reassuring smile, but he winced instead. His lip was split, and it caused more blood to trickle down his chin. "I'll be fine," he croaked, looking up at Yugi.

Yugi was overcome with guilt, all of this was his fault. He dropped his head onto Yami's chest, fighting back tears of regret. "I'm so sorry Yami," he said, clenching his fists. "I never told you about this because I was afraid that this would happen. I never wanted you to get hurt." He lifted his head up to look at Yami, and he mentally cursed as a tear ran down his cheek.

Despite the pain he was in, Yami lifted up a hand to gently wipe it away, "Your safety means more to me than anything," he said, looking up at Yugi. "I'd happily do it again without question." The boy's heart soared, but he couldn't understand how someone could go through such physical pain just for him.

"But why did you do it?" Yugi asked, staring down at Yami in disbelief. "Why did you sacrifice yourself for me? You did nothing to deserve this," he said, more tears escaping his eyes.

It took only a millisecond for Yami to know his answer to this question. And he wasn't sure if the sense had been knocked out of him, or if some guts had been knocked into him. Because as he looked up at Yugi, he knew he wanted to speak nothing but complete honesty.

He attempted a shrug, and looked Yugi straight in the eye. "I do crazy things when I'm in love." His cheeks turned red, and he mentally cursed at himself, waiting for Yugi's response nervously.

It took a moment for Yami's words to sink in, and Yugi just stared down at him in amazement. He couldn't believe the words that had just come out of Yami's mouth, for they were the words that he had only dreamed of hearing. Yugi couldn't find his voice though, and so he responded in the only way that he could. He leaned down, beaming from ear to ear, and pressed his lips against Yami's in a soft, gentle kiss. Yami shivered beneath him, as the feel of Yugi's lips felt nothing but amazing. He hadn't expected this kind of response, but he didn't complain, as he wrapped his arms around Yugi's waist to pull the boy closer. Yugi, not wanting to hurt Yami because of the state he was in, simply hovered over him, as their lips moved together, sending shivers down his spine. Yami was overcome with ecstasy, as Yugi's gentle touch numbed the physical pain he was feeling. That was the last thing he was thinking of right now, all he could think of was how amazing Yugi's lips felt against his, and his heart beat rapidly in his chest from the excitement.

Yugi deepened the kiss as his hand slid down Yami's arm, searching for his hand. Yami understood instantly, and happily linked hands with the boy, as their fingers intertwined with each other. Yami had never felt as happy as he did in that moment, and all the nagging thoughts he had had previously about falling in love were completely washed away as he melted at Yugi's touch, as the boy used his other hand to gently caress Yami's cheek. Yami knew that Yugi was being gentle so that he didn't hurt him, but by this point Yami didn't care, and he wanted Yugi closer. He used his free hand to wrap around Yugi's waist, pulling the boy towards him. Yugi reluctantly let himself be pulled down, as his body weight pressed down on Yami, but the other didn't care. He was simply happy that they were so close, their bodies now pressed together. Yami let out a low moan from his throat as they kissed, never had he had such desire. Yugi chuckled against Yami's lips, and Yami simply pulled him back, kissing him more passionately. Yugi melted into Yami's arms, as Yami's tongue begged for entrance. He happily parted his lips, and they both were overcome with the intense pleasure they received from having such contact with one another.

They stayed like that for several minutes, wrapped in each others embrace as they kissed passionately. It was enough for Yami to ignore the pain he was feeling, for the hole in his heart had been filled. All the heartache he had felt previously was completely gone, and replaced with the love he had for Yugi. He realised how foolish he had been for pushing those feelings away, for now as the two of them kissed, he felt nothing but true happiness.

Love doesn't destroy you, he thought with a sudden realisation, it can only make you stronger.