Hiya guys! So, I haven't posted anything in a long while and I've been under attack by a vicious summer cold and I'm kind of trapped in my room (fear of spreading infection lol). Put me in the mood to right a bit of fluff! It's just something I was playing around with. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater. At all. Unfortunately. Boo :/.
He should have realized when he woke up and she wasn't bustling about the apartment getting ready for school.
At the time, he just figured she'd gone ahead of him for some early training, and her bedroom was silent.
He was further surprised when he didn't see her at her locker, or even waiting by his, and when she didn't show up for classes, he thought perhaps she took a day long meister-only mission. He was a little sore that she hadn't said anything to him about it, but he pushed that aside. He didn't own Maka, as much as he would like to possess that part of her that no one else could touch. Okay, so he realizes that sounds sappy, but he's been in love with his meister for years and, damnit, he's earned some sap when it comes to his affections for the feisty little blonde technician.
He worries about her for the rest of the day, and tries to distract himself by actually paying attention to class, which has Black*Star giving him weird looks and Liz raising a carefully trimmed eyebrow. At lunch, his eyes flicker over to the empty seat beside him she always occupied.
"Okay, what's up?" Liz finally asks, adding on an exasperated sigh for dramatic purposes. Soul frowned. "What are you talking about?" he asks, slouching further in his seat. He knows he's been caught moping. Liz gestured to Maka's empty seat. "You've been sighing and actually taking notes in class and Maka's nowhere to be found today. Did you two get in a fight or something?" Soul shrugged and picked at his fries (he wasn't even eating with his usual gusto). "She just took a mission today and she didn't tell me. It's just weird not having her around. That's all," he said in reply and forced himself to eat (the fried potato tasted like sawdust in his mouth). Kid cocked his head to the side, looking a tad confused. Black*Star just snorted. "MAKA'S NOT ON A MISSION!" His voice echoed throughout the cafeteria and Tsubaki attempted to quiet him. Soul's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean she's not on a mission? She wasn't home this morning and she hasn't been at school at all today. Don't be stupid Black*Star," he said. Black*Star jumped up onto the table, to everybody's weak protests. "YOU DARE TO INSULT AND DEFY YOUR GOD!" Soul dearly wished for a Maka-Chop right about now. Liz glared at the blue haired spaz and yanked him off the table by the hem of his shorts. Black*Star went tumbling and Tsubaki went after him, apologizing to their friends. Liz and Patty plucked bits of spaghetti off Kid before he noticed the unsymmetrical globs of noodle and sauce as he spoke. "Soul, Maka has taken no missions today. She hasn't even checked in, actually. Are you sure she wasn't at the apartment this morning? Did you actually talk to her?" Patty spoke up beside him. "Ooooooh! What if Maka-chan's all sick and stuff and you left her all aloooooone?" she asked. Kid finally noticed the spaghetti he was covered in and went into one of his OCD panic attacks and Liz and Patty attempted to calm him down as Soul contemplated Patty's suggestion. He never actually did check her bedroom…..
….
….
SHIT!
With a rushed, unnoticed, goodbye he took off like a bat out of hell towards the school parking lot and hopped onto his motorcycle, speeding off towards their apartment.
Maka was miserable.
She'd been dealing with a cough and sore throat the past couple days, but she hadn't expected it to turn into this, pure immune system hell. A sneeze tore through her body and she turned over with a quiet "Ugh" to blow her nose again. The tissue went into the wastebasket she had moved this morning to sit by her bedside table, on top of what had to be hundreds of others. She coughed again, the sound hoarse and dry. It sent sharp pains down her throat and when she was done she forced herself to take a sip of her gatorade. At first she'd been drinking water, but when the fever hit, she started downing the electrolyte-filled drink with gusto to stave off dehydration. Her entire face ached, from her cheeks to her nose to her ears. All her sinuses were screaming in pain and she groaned again curling into a ball on her side. On top of all this, she wasn't exactly in the best mood, either. This morning, Soul had gone to school (late again, she'd heard him get up after seven) and she hadn't been able to really speak due to the immense pain crawling up and down her throat like a thousand knives. So he'd left without word, probably thinking she'd left early for training. Meaning, she was left alone to deal with this and she couldn't even bring herself to get out of bed to order noodle soup from the local deli (she sure as shit wasn't up for cooking today).
Another cough and sip of gatorade, and her eyes fluttered closed. Hopefully this nap would last more than fifteen minutes…..
She didn't even make it to five minutes, according to her bedside clock, when the front door to the apartment slammed open and Soul could be heard running to her room. Her bedroom door was kicked open and he stood in the doorway, sweaty and out of breath.
"Maka! So (gasp) sorry (gasp) for not (gasp) realizing (gasp) you (gasp) were sick!"
Maka's eyes widened as he caught his breath and he walked over, placing a hand on her clammy forehead. He hissed, snatching his hand back. "Shit, Maka! You're burning up!" Maka groaned and closed her eyes as another onslaught of coughing hit her. This time, she had to snatch a tissue to catch whatever came with the cough. Well, at least it was breaking up. Soul glanced down at her wastebasket. "That's just nasty," he muttered, before snatching up the bin and taking it out of the room, to Maka's scratchy protests. A minute later he returned with a clean bag inside and two more bottles of gatorade and a cool washcloth. Perching on the edge of her mattress, he uncapped one gatorade and forced her to drink and lay the cloth on her forehead. She sighed, the cool wet material soothing against her steaming skin. "Thank you, Soul," she managed to say, but he only hushed her.
"Should'a been here sooner," he mumbled, and she smiled softly in return. "It's okay," she whispered in response before sleep finally took her for a good long while.
Once he was sure she was sleeping soundly, Soul stood and took in the sight of her room. For once, it wasn't immaculately clean. It looked like she'd tried to get up this morning before he did but hadn't made it past her closet. He also noticed there were no dirty dishes or take out containers in the kitchen, meaning she didn't eat. And she definitely needed more cold medicine and cough drops, if the empty wrappers and packaging littering her bedside table were anything to go by. Mentally, he made a list and set to work.
He started with her bedroom, cleaning the space around her bed first. He picked up random fallen tissues and empty gatorade bottles. She'd been drinking it a lot, which meant he needed to get more, especially since he'd brought her the last two. Another addition to his list. He eventually ended up taking out the garbage again and putting a new bag in her bin. He also refilled her water glass and set the last cough drop he could find next to it. Then he went about folding her clothes and putting them away and placing her textbooks back in their respective places on her bookshelves. He even dusted a bit (his meister was rubbing off on him). Once he was satisfied her and room was significantly cleaner, he cracked her bedroom window, being sure to keep the blinds shut, and went out to the kitchen to take inventory of what they had to make noodle soup. As he browsed the pantry and fridge, his eye caught the deli delivery menu and he grinned. They wouldn't burn the broth like he would, and she loved their soups. So he made the call, and offered a giant tip if the kid picked up two cases of gatorade on the way in. After that was settled, he checked on Maka to make sure she was asleep and ran down to the corner store to stock up on cold medicine and more cough drops. After a moment of hesitation, he also picked up a chocolate bar. If she was up for it later, a little chocolate might make her feel better (then he reprimanded himself mentally about how much of an uncool sap he was regarding his meister and his affections toward her).
By the time he returned, the delivery kid was shuffling by the front door with a large paper bag and two very heavy looking cases of gatorade. Soul was sure to tip the kid extravagantly before kicking the door shut behind him and dropping his load on the kitchen counter. First he arranged the soup and pills on a tray for Maka, along with a mini loaf of bread and small slice of carrot cake (a bonus from the owner of the deli, who knew them quite well) alongside his own meal.
When he went to nudge her bedroom door open with his foot, Maka was sitting up in bed, gulping down her second bottle of gatorade and scrunching up her nose. She groaned, but then caught sight of Soul laden down with food and more sports drink and managed a weak smile.
"You're the coolest partner ever, Soul Eater," she murmured, and Soul shrugged with a smirk. "Don't you forget it," he teased as he sat cross legged at the end of her bed and set the tray between them. "Soup from your favorite deli and more cold medicine to fend of the evils of illness," he said with a bit of a flourish with his hand. Maka giggled before coughing enough to scare him a bit. She just smiled again and ate her soup quickly. Soul winced internally as he thought about how hungry she must have been since she couldn't get up to make her own meals.
"I really am sorry I didn't come sooner," he muttered. Maka sighed and shook her head. "It's okay," she replied as she dunked a hunk of bread into her soup to soften it up. "You're here now, Soul. That's all that matters." Soul frowned. "But I should have checked on you this morning! I was stupid, and all day I thought you'd taken a mission without telling me and I missed you and-" He blushed a bright red as Maka's eyes widened a bit and she smiled tenderly. "You missed me?" she whispered. He stuttered a bit. "W-well, y-yeah, you're my meister and of course I would miss you and I had to actually take notes in class and it was so weird not having you there and….." Maka was giggling softly, the food having done a great deal of good. She was sitting up straight and seemed to already be feeling a bit better. "I missed you, too, Soul," she said and he stopped and smiled.
They ate in silence until Maka pushed her bowl away. "So stuffed," she groaned with a smile and leaned back against her pillows. Soul pushed another gatorade her way and she drank it willingly. He took the tray and set it on her desk and went to leave, but she reached out to stop him. "Stay?" she asked quietly, wide emerald eyes gazing up at him.
How could he say no to that?
He didn't.
"Of course," he replied and sat down beside her, leaning back against her headboard. Maka sighed and closed her eyes. All the food and talking had worn her out and she curled up at his side. Hesitantly, he pulled her closer with his arm around her shoulders. After a moment, he spoke again.
"Hey, Maka," he murmured. She turned her head slightly to look up at him. "Hmm?" He gazed down at her, scarlet meeting emerald. "I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you," he muttered. Her eyes widened comically, and he continued. "Pretty sure, actually, that I have been for a while." Maka's lips parted slightly, and she floundered for words for a minute, before another cough took over. She turned away from him and lunged across her bed for tissues. He waited, rubbing soothing circles into her back, and she quieted before turning back to him.
"I'm not exactly at my best here, Soul," she muttered, snuggling back into him. He shrugged. "I'm not exactly caring, Maka," he replied. She snorted. "You must know that I love you, too, Soul," she said softly, and his gaze snapped back down to hers. He grinned. "Well, now I do," he teased and leaned down to kiss her. Maka gasped, and her hands went up to cover his mouth. He blinked, and pressed a kiss to her fingers. "What are you doing?!" she exclaimed in her scratchy, squeaky voice before wincing. She lowered her voice. "You could get sick, stupid," she murmured. He grinned and pressed another kiss to her palm. "Don't care," he murmured before yanking her hands away and pressing his lips against hers. She tasted like gatorade and soup and carrot cake, and he didn't care that she'd been coughing up her guts for the past several hours. She was still his Maka and she loved him, too.
Three days later, Soul groaned and rolled over in bed, reaching blindly for his near empty gatorade bottle. Maka was at his bedside in seconds. "Here," she said and handed him a new one and a packet of cold medicine. "I've got soup from the deli en route." Soul glared up at her. "This is completely your fault," he muttered, his voice rough and scratchy from the same coughing fits she'd suffered 72 hours previously. She snickered. "I told you not to kiss me, stupid," she replied before gently flicking him and draping a washcloth over his forehead, providing relief against his raging fever (also courtesy of his impromptu make out session with his meister). He groaned again. "Remind me never to do that again," he growled. Maka just giggled and made him drink more gatorade.