Ragna and Gwen:

I stood before his bedroom door, hesitating. Ragna hadn't been feeling well all day and I was coming to check on him, but I didn't know if I should knock. I sighed, and knocked quietly, once. I then opened the door and poked my head in, asking, "Ragna?"

I waited. A dark form on his bed shifted, and Ragna's breathy whisper answered me a few seconds later.

"Gwen?"

I came in and shut the door, moving to his bedside and sitting down beside him.

"Hey. How are you feeling?"

He groaned, throwing an arm over his eyes. He was shirtless, and the covers were laying around his waist.

"Like shit." He mumbled, and I frowned. I leaned forward, and Ragna sighed in relief when my hand came in contact with his burning hot forehead.

"Well no wonder you feel like shit! You're burning up! Stay here, I'll be right back." I bolted out the door to the kitchen. I filled a glass with cold water, and zipped down to the bathroom, grabbing the ibuprofen and wetting down a rag with freezing water. Upon re-entering Ragna's room, I shut the door and set the medicine and water down on his nightstand.

"I brought some medicine and water for you. Do you think you can sit up for a moment?" He groaned, but with some effort, did so. I handed him two pills and the water and he drank it all, handing me back the glass. His leather glove over his Azure brushed my palm as he flopped back down in bed. I smiled softly at him, but he didn't notice. He was curled up in bed like a child, brow furrowed in pain. I sat down next to him, and placed the cold rag across his forehead. His eyes flew open, and then he sighed in relief again.

"Thanks." He murmured, eyes closing again. I took his hand and asked,

"Do you want me to stay here with you?" His grip tightened on my hand and he scooted back, pulling me down with him. I laid down next to him, and arranged myself on his pillow, throwing my hair back so it hung down the side of the bed. He threw the blankets around my waist, and threw his arm over me, sighing slightly. I shifted my knees so my shins laid along his thighs, and removed the rag from his forehead, running it down the side of his neck. He sighed, relaxing even more. I then put it onto the nightstand behind me, and ran my fingers through his hair, and he snuggled into me. I smoothed the silky strands through my fingers, and he sighed again.

I continued to play with his hair, neither of us saying anything, and we laid there together for a while. His breathing eventually evened out, and his face relaxed, indicating that he had fallen asleep. I grinned, and removed my hands from his hair. Light as a feather, I traced my fingers over his eyebrows, down his nose, over his lips where his hot breath tickled my fingers. I smoothed them over his throat, and down his chest, tracing the fine lines of the defined muscle. I ran my palms down his chest, and down his arms, and held his flesh hand in mine. He unconsciously gripped mine back, and I grinned before falling asleep.

I woke up a few hours later, and felt Ragna's heavy breathing on my shoulder. His brow was furrowed and he was sweating profusely, rivulets running down his chest. My eyebrows rose in alarm, and I shook him, trying to wake him up.

"Ragna. Ragna! RAGNA!"

He jolted awake, and whined in pain as he jostled his head too hard.

"Your fever is rising. Stay put." I slipped out of bed, and ran to get another glass of cold water and some cold rags. I came back a few seconds later and found him sitting up, and I wordlessly handed him two pills and a glass of water. He drank them down again, and laid down, now beginning to shiver. I wiped the sweat off of him, and he didn't protest, just jerked once. I tucked the covers around him, and he grabbed my wrist.

"Stay." He said, shivering. I nodded, and climbed under the covers with him. After arranging myself comfortably, he curled up to me, nestling his face into my chest and holding me close around my waist. I curled into him, one hand in his hair, and the other over his hip. His bare leg slipped between mine, and he sighed, affectionately kissing my collarbone. He snuggled his face back down between my breasts and promptly, fell asleep. I blushed at realizing that neither one of us were really wearing proper clothing, me in just one of his way-too-big shirts and pajama shorts, and him in just boxers. He was obviously enjoying the fact that my breasts were unbound though, so I let him get away with it. I cradled his head to me with one hand and planted a kiss in his spiky hair.

"You're ridiculous, you know that?"

The next morning, I woke up to Ragna nuzzling my chest, one hand on my hip, still asleep. I was acutely aware of his bare legs against mine, but I didn't move away, I just felt his forehead for a fever. He had cooled significantly, and it looked as if his fever had broken overnight. I shifted, and pressed a kiss to his messy head of hair, stroking my fingers through it. He moved a bit, trying to hide his face in my breasts. I smirked at him, and almost melted at the cuteness when he pulled back, blinking sleepily at me.

"Good morning sleepy head. How are you feeling?" I asked, still petting his hair.

"Better thanks. What time is it?" He asked, purring into my caresses. I checked the clock and groaned.

"6:39 a.m." I murmured back to him. He hid his face back into my chest, with a murmur that sounded like, "Why the HELL are we up?" I sighed, and settled back down, and Ragna moved so he was laying over me. I looked up at him with one eyebrow raised. He stroked a hand through my shorter hair, and sighed sadly.

"I still don't know why you cut it." I shrugged.

"It'll grow back." He smiled, and leaned down, placing a much deserved kiss on my lips. I kissed him back eagerly, and he chuckled into my mouth, moving to lay between my legs, which I parted for him. He supported his weight on his arms by my head, framing my face with his forearms. His tongue came out to slip into my open mouth, and I slid mine along his, humming into the kiss. He pulled away for air, and smiled at me.

"Thanks for staying with me yesterday." I smiled back. "No problem."

I yawned and curled up, Ragna rolling off of me and laying on his side by me. I curled into his chest comfortably, and within seconds, fell asleep. Ragna, however, didn't fall asleep quite so quickly.

I stared at the feminine lines of her curled up form from the faint light filtering in through the window, and wondered for the n-th time why this woman had picked me, of all people. She was a beautiful person, both inside and out, and yet she had chosen me, the broken one. I loved her so much, yet, I never felt like I expressed it enough. Oh, she knew, but I had never told her outright how much I cared for her.

I curled a bit more around her, and in her ear, I murmured three words.

"I love you."

She smiled back.