Oneshot set after everyone returns to the DWMA after the battle with Arachne. Manga-based.
The journey back to the school is awkward, to say the least. Everyone is exhausted from the battle, so they mostly just sit in silence. Even if she hadn't been so tired, Jackie has a feeling that she wouldn't be up for talking anyway. She's still numb from the aftermath of the morality manipulating device, and judging by the blank look on Kim's face, her partner is feeling it too. Maybe they're both in shock. She laces her fingers through Kim's and shuts her eyes. At least we both made it back alive.
Maka (and by correlation, Soul) insists on accompanying them back to their dorms, and Jackie wonders if she's doing it out of concern as a friend or to make sure they can't run away again. She hates herself for thinking it, but it's true that they're both considered flight risks still.
"Lord Death will send someone to retrieve you tomorrow morning. He wants to have a word with you two," Maka explains kindly, almost apologetically. Soul stands silently by her side, expression unreadable. Jackie wonders what he and Maka think about Kim being a witch, but doesn't dare to ask. She and Kim nod curtly and turn to enter their room.
"Well, goodnight!" Maka calls softly, and then she and Soul head out. Jackie pushes open the door to their room, and they both pause. Everything is where they left it, but the room definitely seems like it's been searched. Kim breaks their shared reverie and flops down on her bed with no intentions of getting up.
Jackie's exhausted too, but they should probably get cleaned up before they sleep. Fortunately, it's pretty late, and the bathrooms should be deserted. She doesn't feel like dealing with the fallout right now; that can wait until morning. "Come on, Kim. We need to go wash up," she tells her meister gently. Kim groans and mutters something unintelligible into her comforter, and then slowly clambers off her bed, groaning. They gather their bathroom things and begin to head to the bathroom, with Jackie in the lead as Kim trails behind.
They both are eager to get cleaned up and go to bed. "I'll wash up and then help you out, okay? You should avoid rinsing the area you just healed," Jackie says. Kim nods mutely, taking a seat on one of the stools by the sink. Jackie washes efficiently but thoroughly. Her skin is still crawling from the morality manipulation, and she scrubs roughly in an attempt to cleanse herself of what happened.
She steps out of the shower and wraps herself in a towel. "Your turn, Kim." They've had a lot of practice at helping each other wash up around injuries, but Jackie can't stop herself from staring at the still-raw skin on Kim's chest and abdomen, where Kilik had dealt her the near-fatal wound. If Kim hadn't been a witch, she would be dead now, Jackie thinks, a shiver running down her spine. She's never been so grateful for her meister's abilities as a witch.
"Does it hurt?" Jackie asks, her voice hoarse, gesturing towards the newly healed skin.
Kim's head jerks up and she adjusts her towel. "No it just tingles and itches a little." She frowns, noticing Jackie's guilty expression. "What's the matter, Jackie? I've been injured loads of times before."
Jackie won't meet Kim's eyes. "I know that, but I feel like I should have done more this time. I didn't help defend you at all, and then I just stood there and laughed when you were bleeding out!"
Kim walks over to Jackie, stepping into her space. Jackie tenses, but Kim just places her hand under Jackie's chin and brings her eyes up to meet her own, ignoring the blush that spreads across Jackie's face. "You knew I could heal myself, and you trusted me to take care of myself." She releases Jackie's chin and sighs. "At least you didn't try to hurt anyone. I nearly killed Ox."
"But that wasn't you!" Jackie bursts out. "You were under the influence of the morality manipulation machine!"
She's surprised when Kim smirks. "Exactly. Same goes for you. Both of us were being manipulated, so let's just forget about it and move on, okay? You're no fun when you're moping." She squeezes Jackie's shoulder and is relieved to feel the tension leaving her. "Now let's go to sleep. I'm exhausted."
Back in their room, they both change into pajamas. Jackie tries to be surreptitious when she slides into Kim's bed beside her partner, but she's sure her face is bright red. There's no way she's sleeping alone tonight, not after she watched her meister nearly die. Kim doesn't say anything, just loops an arm around Jackie's waist like she's a big teddy bear.
"I can't believe Kilik tried to kill you," Jackie says, breaking the comfortable silence.
"Well, in his defense, I was trying to kill Ox," Kim points out.
"Still, he could have just tried to incapacitate you. He didn't need to kill you!" Jackie bites out. Trying to make herself relax, she takes a little jab at Kim. "Are you sure that you trying to kill Ox was all from the morality manipulation?"
Kim huffs a little sigh at her. "Yes," she says firmly. "Ox may be annoying, but I'd never want to kill him."
Jackie is quiet for a few minutes, thinking. "Who could have outed you as a witch? Do any of the professors know? Or maybe the other students?"
Her partner looks thoughtful. "I don't think any of the professors know, and unless you've told anyone else, none of the other students know."
Jackie shakes her head. "I haven't told anyone."
Frustrated, Kim mulls it over. "I have my soul protect on most of the time and I mostly refrain from using magic. Even when I do use magic, my soul is different from a regular witch, so I doubt anyone could have found out that way, unless they saw me doing magic." She pauses for a moment. "I guess the only other possibility is that a witch told the school about me. But that would be a huge risk, and I can't imagine who would be willing to take it."
"What do you think they'll ask us tomorrow?" Jackie asks, already dreading what comes next.
"I don't know. They'll probably ask me about being a witch, and they'll probably try to see how much you know. You could always say you didn't know anything, and that I kidnapped you and brainwashed you—"
Jackie cuts her off. "Don't be ridiculous. Whatever tomorrow brings, we'll face it together. I'm not abandoning you." Kim looks like she wants to protest, but Jackie keeps talking. "Now go to sleep. We'll worry about it in the morning." Kim actually listens to her for once, and is soon sound asleep. Jackie follows suit, lulled to sleep by the reassuring sound of Kim's heartbeat and her soft breathing.
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