Main story warnings: Character death
Story rating: Rated T

Chapter title: Infection
Word count: 4.062
Chapter: 1/4
Chapter summary: Atem went to the hospital for an infection. He came home with something else.
Chapter warnings: -
Pairings: -
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

This story will be separated in two parts. The first part is a tribute to my Aunt, who really had this disease. The second part is where the puzzleshipping will begin. I will tell where that happens. It was actually kind of a struggle for me to decide. I had this story in my mind already but instead of the disease, it was going to be an accident. I changed it in tribute of my Aunt and to tell others what she had to go through. But I really wanted to do this idea so I kept the Puzzleshipping in.

During the story you will see some underlined text. While most happenings are written like with what happened to my aunt, those underlined parts are the ones I will never ever forget. Those made such an impact on me. I apologize in advance if it's distracting and made reading difficult.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Chapter 1: Infection

It all started with an infection.

Yami closed the door behind him with a soft thud. No one was home but he wasn't surprised. His father had already told him the day before that he was taking his older brother Atem to the hospital. His brother had been very tired lately, their general practitioner had thought it was an infection and send them to a hospital to examine it more closely.

He walked to his room and dropped down on his bed. Yami wasn't worried at all. His brother was strong. A vibration came from his school bag. He fished out his phone and saw that he had a message from his best friend, Jounouchi.

Wanna hang out at the arcade?

His fingers rapidly touched the screen of his phone as he typed his reply.

Nah, waiting for dad and Atem to return from hospital.

It didn't take too long for him to receive a reply.

Kay keep me updated.

Yami and Atem, unlike most siblings, had no troubling sharing stuff. They shared their clothes, jewelry, friends, secrets. They didn't share rooms because their rooms were a little on the small side, but it was enough for them. Yami smiled slightly as he remembered how he would crawl into Atem's bed at night when he was afraid when they were younger. Eventually Atem would get scared as well and they would all sleep together with their father.

He absently played a couple of games on his smartphone till he heard the front door opening and closing. He quickly jumped off of his bed and went to the living room where he assumed his father and brother were.

Once he arrived there, he didn't quite like what he saw. Atem was crying and his father's head was cast down. "What's going on?" He asked. "What did they say." Atem sobbed harder after Yami's questions.

"Yami… sit down." His father sighed. Yami nodded and sat next to his brother, squeezing his brother's hand a little. Aknamkanon shook his head, sighing out of his nose. "They found a tumor."

The youngest in the room gasped, his mouth opening and closing, not able to say even one word. "W-where?" He finally uttered.

His father closed his eyes. Not trusting his voice, he pointed to his head. Atem was trembling like madly, his crying louder. The tanned teen threw himself on his little brother, holding him tightly. Yami immediately closed his arms around the other, just as tightly.

"Tell me you're joking." Yami demanded, his voice muffled by his brother's shoulder.

Aknamkanon sat beside his crying son, rubbing his back affectionately. "They're going to do a biopsy to see what kind it is, if it's malevolent or benevolent." Their father told.

"Where exactly is it?" Yami asked, slightly moving away from Atem to look at his father.

Aknamkanon swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. "It's… in the middle. Right between his left and right lobe." He shook his head. "They said that there is a very small chance to remove it and a very big chance for…." His father couldn't even finish his sentence, continuing to rub Atem's back.

"For me to walk and talk normal." Atem finished. His crying had ceased but he was still sobbing continuously.

Yami shot up, turning to his brother and father. "You will be alright. I trust you." He said determinedly, sobbing himself. Atem smiled sadly at him.

"Thank you Yami." He said, wiping away his fallen tears.

Yami sat down next to Atem again, wrapping his arms around his shoulder and pulling him to rest on his chest. "I will stay by your side throughout the whole thing okay?" He said, petting his brother's hair. Atem nodded silently.

"When is the biopsy?" Yami asked, looking at their father.

"Tomorrow at eleven thirty am." His father answered. Yami nodded.

"I am coming too." Yami decided. His brother was a tad more important to him than school. His father hesitated at first but allowed him. Yami could miss a day school.

"So what exactly is going to happen?" Yami asked, softly running his thumb over the back of Atem's hand. It worked, for Atem had calmed down a lot. He was still breathing a little heavily and trembling.

Aknamkanon's eyes moved to Atem. He did not want to explain the procedure and scare Atem even more. The surgeon would tell Atem before the biopsy but he had already asked what was going to happen. Atem looked at his father and smiled slightly. "It's okay dad… I want to know as well."

"Are you sure?" He asked his son. Atem nodded. The father bit his lower lip. He really did not want to tell his son but he also didn't want to keep in in the dark. "Okay then. The doctor will drill a small hole in your skull. Then with a needle he will take some tissue from the tumor. They will analyze it in the laboratory what exactly it is." Atem looked really scared. Yami squeezed his hand.

"It might not even be a tumor. It's probably just a cyst or something." He tried to raise the mood.

"You're right." Atem said. He stood up from the couch, turning to his brother and father. He gave them a small smile. "I'm going to take a small nap okay? This all made me very tired." Yami just now noticed that Atem's eyes were swollen and he had bags under his eyes. Yami nodded and stood up as well.

"Let me tuck you in." He said. Atem laughed and lightly pushed him away.

"I'm the one who is supposed to tuck you in little brother." He replied with a wholehearted smile.

"I'm going to do it whether you want it or not." Yami said stubbornly and followed his brother to his room. He stopped by the door frame.

"Are you going to undress me and put on my pajama's too?" Atem joked, taking off his shirt.

"Nah, I'll give you that privilege."

"Are you seriously going to watch me undress?" Atem asked with a raised eyebrow. Yami just shrugged his shoulders.

"Not like I haven't seen you naked before." Atem rolled his eyes and changed into his pajamas. Yami walked over to him and pushed him on the bed. "Now sleep." He ordered, tucking Atem in. Atem smiled and closed his eyes. Yami waited by the bed for a little while. Atem's breathing had steadied so he knew his older brother was sleeping. Tumor or not, he knew this was going to be hard on his brother.

He silently walked out of the room and back to the living room. His father was pacing, phone to his ear. He decided not to disturb him and went to the kitchen. He wanted to make Atem's favorite dish to cheer him up some more.

He had already started cooking when his father entered the kitchen. "I just told your uncle and cousins about Atem." He sighed, sitting on the kitchen table. Yami glared at him.

"Nothing is for sure, you didn't have to tell them anything." He half snarled.

His father glared right back. "Yami, you and I both know that that is not a cyst." His father said. The boy just huffed and turned his back to his father, focusing on his cooking instead. "If only it was." He sighed, shaking his head.

Yami's shoulders slumped. Atem meant everything to him. "We can still hope it is." Yami croaked out. He heard the chair move and warm arms wrapped around him.

"We sure can." Aknamkanon sighed. Yami dropped his utensils and turned to his father.

"This is unfair!" Yami cried. "He was going to take me and our friends out to dinner for my birthday!" Aknamkanon lightly massaged Yami's nape. "He's just twenty dad… he isn't even legal to drink, let alone die." Yami cried. Aknamkanon shushed his youngest son.

"Calm down Yami, you don't want to wake him up." He whispered in Yami's ear. He moved away from his father when the smell of something burning reached his nose. He turned back to the stove where the chopped liver was.

"Great, you made me burn my liver." He muttered, throwing it away to start over.

"What are you making anyways?" His father asked, sitting back on the chair.

"Kebda." Yami answered.

"Atem's favorite." His father stated. Yami only nodded.

"Is the least I can do for him. I want him to face go through that with high spirits." He replied.

"Atem is incredibly lucky to have a brother like you. Yami did not answer and continued cooking.

When Atem woke up, dinner was ready. Yami had made lentil soup, kebda and white rice. "Yum." Atem hummed as his eyes feasted on the dishes Yami had made.

"Shut up and sit down." Yami said, starting to serve. Dinner was eaten in silence. It was slightly tense with the biopsy of tomorrow on their minds.

"Thanks Yami, it was delicious." Atem said with a smile. His plate was completely wiped clean. Yami chuckled. "Who's doing the dishes?" Both boys looked at their father who had stopped his fork mid-way.

"Fine." He sighed. Atem and Yami both smiled. "Atem, don't forget to shower with that shampoo." Aknamkanon reminded. Atem nodded. "And are you sure you're full? You know you can't eat anything after midnight." He nodded once more.

Yami and Atem both went to the older boy's room. Yami grabbed the bottle from Atem and sniffed at it.

"It stinks."

"I know."

The bottle label read 'antiseptic shampoo'. "Now are you going to leave or do you want to watch me shower as well?" Atem joked. Yami rolled his eyes and stood up from the bed.

"Fine, I'll be in my room if you look for me." Yami said, leaving the room. Atem sat down on his bed and looked at the bottle. With a big gulp, he undressed and went to the shower.

Yami tried to focus on his homework while Yami was in the shower but he just couldn't. This all was so… fucked up. He could not understand how Atem could have a tumor. He lived and ate healthy, he didn't smoke, didn't drink, got enough exercise. He slammed his books shut and shoved them back into his bag. It was only nine when he crawled into bed. This whole situation tired him.

He didn't know how long he just lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Light was shed into his room when his door opened. Yami sat up to see his brother closing the door. "You awake?" Atem asked, walking to the bed.

"Yeah."

Atem sat on the edge of the bed. He didn't say anything, just sat there. Yami placed his hand on Atem's arm. The older brother smiled sadly at him. "I'm sorry I ruined your birthday Yami." He apologized.

Yami's eyes widened and he lightly punched Atem's upper arm. "Don't be ridiculous Atem. My birthday is nothing compared to your health."

Atem didn't reply. "Can I sleep with you tonight?" He asked after another short silence. Yami scooted over to the other side and patted on the empty space. They both owned a single bed so it was nice and snug.

-o-o-o-o-o-

When Aknamkanon wanted to wake Atem up, he was surprised to find the bed empty. When he wanted to ask Yami where Atem might be, he found his two sons cuddled up in the small bed. He smiled tenderly, snapping a quick picture with his phone. They were sleeping so peacefully that he didn't want to wake them up, but they had an appointment.

"Atem." He whispered, lightly shaking his oldest son. Atem mumbled something under his breath and snuggled more against Yami. Aknamkanon shook him a little harder. "Wake up." He said in normal volume. The shaking combined with the noise successfully woke the two boys up.

"What time is it?" Yami asked after a yawn.

"It's ten thirty. We have to be at the hospital in an hour." Aknamkanon said. Both boys nodded and stood up. Atem left to his own room, Yami getting dressed in his own.

"I'm hungry."Atem complained.

"Sorry my boy, but you know the rules. If you eat the surgery will be postponed." His father replied.

"Exactly my point." Atem mumbled.

"Just get in the car." Aknamkanon ordered. Yami placed his hand on Atem's shoulder and guided him to the car. The two boys sat in the back while their father drove. Very little was spoken during the car ride. In the hospital, they were pointed to the department where they were supposed to be.

Atem's neurosurgeon escorted them to Atem's room for the day. He was given a hospital gown to wear. Once he was changed, the surgeon told the procedure, the risks and benefits. Atem absently nodded his head, he had heard this before from his father and it didn't help his nerves at all.

"Let's start with the CT scan shall we?" The doctor asked with a smile. Atem nodded somberly. The three were lead to the scanning room. There stood a tunnel like device. Atem had to lie down on the bed with his head in the tunnel.

"Try not to move." The doctor ordered. Yami sat by his side the whole time, holding his hand. It took only a couple minutes, but to Atem it felt like hours. They were brought back to the room where they had to wait for the results. The CT scan would tell them where exactly the tumor was.

It was a couple hours later that a nurse entered the room. "Good afternoon." She greeted, looking at the three people occupying the room. "I am here to prep for the surgery." She told. The nurse went over to the bed and plugged in a hair trimmer.

"Wow, what are you going to do with that?" Atem asked, shying away from her.

She smiled sadly at him. "I'm going to have to shave the area of the biopsy deary." She told. "Otherwise the hair can get in the way."

Atem looked pleadingly at his father but the man shook his head. He ran a hand through his crazy hair. Atem had always loved his hair. With a shuddering sigh, he lowered his hands and bowed his head in defeat. The nurse saw this as an 'ok' to prepare him. She took a look at her clipboard and turned the trimmer on. The whizzing noise was like torture to Atem.

"Did you wash your hair and scalp with the antiseptic hair?" She asked.

"Can't you smell it?" Atem retorted. He winced slightly as he felt locks of hair pool around him.

"Funny." The nurse said with sarcasm. "Have you fasted like was instructed?"

"Yes he has." Atem's father answered for him.

"Good." She said. To Atem the top of his head suddenly felt a lot colder. The nurse dipped some sterilizing liquid on top and he was ready. "My colleagues will take you to the operating room shortly." She said and left.

Only a couple minutes after she left, two others came into the room and wheeled Atem's bed out of the room. "Wait!" Yami yelled, making the two stop. "Can I come with him?" He asked them. Atem smiled gratefully at his little brother.

The two looked at each other. "We don't know." One of them said. "We will have to ask the surgeon." The other said. Yami nodded in understanding and walked with them to the operating room. The first man held up his hand for Yami to wait outside while he went inside with Atem and his colleague.

Inside, the surgeon had declined Yami's request. Atem grabbed the surgeon's arms when the anesthetic was given to him. "Please let him… I don't want to go through this alone." Atem pleaded, a couple tears escaping his eyes. The surgeon sighed.

"Go get him." The surgeon ordered the other. The man nodded and allowed Yami in. The boy was given green scrubs, a head cap, a mouth cap and something that he had to put over his shoes. He did not know how but he managed to fit all his hair into the cap. "You are not to touch anything, understood?" The surgeon said.

Yami nodded his head. "Can I hold his hand and talk to him?" He asked. A stool was put near Atem's hand for him to sit on. The anesthetic had already kicked in and Atem was motionless except for his chest heaving up and down.

"You may. Try to keep it low." The surgeon said. Yami took a seat on the stool and softly held Atem's hand. "I'm here Atem." He said softly. The surgeon had told them earlier that they would give Atem light sedation, that most patients found it tolerable. Atem was aware of every sound and touch.

Rubbing the back of Atem's hand, Yami watched as the doctor first marked the spots with a marker and then make an incision. One of the assistants handed him the drill. Yami gulped as it was turned on and the surgeon started drilling. It must've been awful, for Atem to hear the drill, drilling into his skull. He might not feel the pain but he probably could feel the pressure. He squeezed Atem's hand a little harder. "You're going to be okay." He whispered.

The other assistant handed him a huge injection while the other took the drill away. Yami looked away as the needle was stuck into Atem's brain. He could not bear to watch as people messed inside his older brother's brains. The neurosurgeon had collected enough tissue for the examination and took out the needle. To finish it, he sutured the incision, dabbing it with disinfectant. "You did amazing Atem." Yami said softly, still rubbing Atem's knuckles.

Yami stood up and walked out with the two assistants to Atem's recovery room. Once they had wheeled him inside and secured him, they looked at Yami. "How did it go?" the boy asked, looking at his brother.

"The procedure went flawless." The first assistant said. "All he needs now is to rest. We will monitor him here for now and if everything goes accordingly, he can go back to his room and home later." The two assistants left the room, the nurse from before entered. She attached an IV to Atem's arm.

"You'll have to leave the room sweetie." She smiled at Yami. "Your brother needs to rest." She said. Yami didn't argue and left the room, going to Atem's room where his father waited.

"It went well." He said before his father even had the chance to ask. He took off the green cap, the spikes springing back to their original place. The mouth cap he had pushed down the moment he had left the operating room. He took off the scrubs and the shoe protectors as well. "He has to rest now in the recovery room."

Aknamkanon sighed of relief. Yami sighed too and sat next to his father. The two slumped in their chair and waited. They waited until Atem was finally brought back to the room. It was the two assistants, with the nurse who pushed the IV bag.

"What's that." Aknamkanon asked, pointing at the bag.

"That's to keep him hydrated till he can drink water himself." The nurse explained, checking if the liquid was flowing freely into Atem's body. The tanned young man had woken up but was feeling fuzzy.

"Atem?" The nurse questioned. Atem didn't respond. He was staring off into space. "Atem?" The nurse asked again, this time more firmly. Atem blinked rapidly, as if he snapped out of a trance. His eyes moved to look at the nurse. "Good." She said. She opened his eyes and shone a flashlight into them. Pleased with the results, she checked his temperature, pulse and blood pressure.

"Atem." She said, "who are they?" She asked, pointing at his family. Atem's eyes moved from the nurse to his sibling and father. They had to wait for a couple of seconds before Atem answered.

"Dad and Yami." He answered with much difficulty.

"Does it hurt somewhere?" She asked. Atem closed his eyes, he had to think a little for his answer.

"My head hurts." He croaked out. The nurse nodded.

"From a scale of one to ten, how much does it hurt."

"Eight." Atem said after thinking.

"That bad?" She asked.

"Yes."

The nurse nodded. "Alright, we'll get you some morphine then." She left the room, returning shortly with another IV. She attached the IV to his arm as well. She pulled up the railing so Atem could change position if he wished and for him not to fall off.

"His vitals and breathing are good." She said, looking at Aknamkanon. "His reaction is still a little slow from the anesthetic but it should wear off soon. The laboratory results will be known in a couple of days. The hospital will call you." She explained and then left the three alone.

"How are you feeling?" Yami asked, arms resting on the side railing. Atem smiled weakly.

"Sore." He answered. His reaction had been a little faster. "Thank you Yami." He said after a short pause.

"For what?" Yami asked.

"For being beside me. You made it all bearable."

"Stop it, you're making me blush." Yami joked halfheartedly. "Sleep." He ordered. Atem did not argue and closed his eyes, sleep claiming him almost immediately.

The nurse would come sometimes throughout the day, waking him and asking him simple questions. The morphine had started working and the pain had numbed. Their friends had visited after Yami had told them about Atem.

Jounouchi, Shizuka, Anzu, Bakura, Marik, Otogi, Rishido, and Honda had all come with flowers, balloons, cards and gifts. Atem had laughed and greeted them all. He was not happy when the nurse shooed them all away for being too noisy.

Later his uncle and cousins had visited as well. His uncle and oldest cousin were both stoic but it was clearly written on their face that they were devastated by what happened to their cousin. His youngest cousin, Mokuba, wouldn't leave his side until visitor's hours were over.

"We'll come back tomorrow, okay?" His father said, softly rubbing his arm. Atem closed his eyes in understanding. His head hurt too much to nod.

"Later Atem." Yami said with a big grin.

Atem smiled back at him. "Later bro." He replied.

-o-o-o-o-o-

A couple days later Atem was back at home. Yami had skipped those days of school to support his brother. Atem had recovered mostly from the biopsy. They were nervously awaiting the results of the samples.

Their father had gone to work, leaving the two boys alone at home. Atem was lying on the couch while Yami was pacing around.

"What's taking so long!" He growled out with his hands thrown into the air. Atem winced at the loud voice of his younger brother. He had a headache and the incision was hurting as well.

"Yami, volume." Atem said. Yami stopped his pacing and looked a little guiltily at his brother.

"Sorry." He said and sat near Atem's feet. "The nerves are just killing me." He sighed. Atem chuckled, only to wince afterwards. This went not unnoticed by Yami. "Have you taken the painkillers?" He asked.

"No." Atem answered. Yami stood up and brought them over with a glass of water. Atem took them gratefully and swallowed them. It took a couple of minutes for the medication to kick in but he could wait. "I find it funny actually." Atem laughed lightly.

Yami looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You are the most nervous out of us all, while that should be me." Yami looked at him blankly. If Atem wasn't sore, he would've kicked him.

The turning of the lock of their front door confused both of them. Their father wasn't supposed to return home till five in the evening and it was still afternoon. Aknamkanon walked solemnly into the living room where both his boys sat.

"Boys…." He started. Both Atem and Yami looked at him expectantly. "I got a phone call about the lab results. Yami stood up and Atem swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat.

"Atem has glioblastoma multiforme grade four."

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Author Notes: This story is a tribute to my dear aunt who passed away the 24th of February 2014 to glioblastome multiforme grade four. She was still very young, just under 40 when she passed. The whole family was there to witness her last moments. We knew it was coming but I never knew it was going to be so hard on me. I hadn't slept in over 39 hours and hadn't eaten for 20 hours. I lost my voice from crying too much. I even burst out into tears a couple times while writing this.

I am writing this, to tell people what my dear aunt had to endure, what impact this all had on my family. I swear my little cousins, her daughters, did the most heart wrenching things.

The first three chapters will be based on what really happened, and the last chapter when the Puzzleshipping begins will be completely fiction.

Kebda, is an Egyptian dish of livers. I don't know if this is really Atem's favorite dish, I just looked up some Egyptian dishes and chose this. This is going to return a little later into the story though, you'll see.

Please read and review!