And here is yet another from me for this adorable couple :3 I'm sorry. I hope they're not getting repetitive or anything like that. Enjoy~
Disclaimer: I still do not own Kaichou wa Maid-Sama! :'(
Because You Lied
"Misa-chan, it's time to wake up."
Misaki slowly blinked her eyes open, expecting to find herself in Usui's apartment with the handsome blonde boy staring down at her, as she did the previous morning.
But then she remembered that that was two days ago, and that she was now back in her own home and her mother was the one calling her.
The girl pushed herself up from her bed and sat up, sniffing once.
"Morning, Mom." She yawned, but then halfway through it turned into a cough.
"Oh no. You're not sick, are you?" Her mother walked over to her bedside and placed a hand on her forehead. "It's not like you to get sick. You're not overworking yourself again, are you?" she asked.
"No. I must have caught it from someone else." Misaki grumbled, having a pretty good idea of who was responsible.
"Well you have a fever and I don't want you going to school or work today. It's Friday anyway so take a long weekend for once." Her mother suggested.
"But Mom-"
"Not 'buts'." She said and Misaki sighed. "Do you think you'll be alright today by yourself, or do you want me to take off of work?"
"N-No! I'm perfectly fine. You go." Misaki replied immediately. "And tell Suzuna not to worry about me either."
"Alright. She's going over to a friend's house after school so you'll be alone in the house till late. Call me if you need anything." She kissed her daughter's forehead before exiting the room.
Misaki sighed again.
"I hope the Student Council can make do without me today." She mumbled to herself, lying back down and pulling the covers up. "I'll call work later and tell Manager I can't make it." She closed her eyes even though she was hardly tired anymore.
She heard the door close as her mother left for work and a few moments later, her younger sister knocked on her door.
"Onee-chan, I'm off to school." She announced. "There's some watermelon in the fridge, if you want."
"Okay. Thanks Suzuna. Bye." The elder sister replied gratefully.
She waited until the door to the house closed once again.
She flipped over in bed several times but could not even find an ounce of tiredness left in her body so she gave up on sleeping for the time being. She sat up in bed and threw the covers off, standing shakily and eventually making her way to the kitchen. She made herself some toast and had some yogurt and some of Suzuna's watermelon. Then, she took a glass of cold water and a box of tissues back to her room and moved her waste bin close to her bed.
"I wonder what I should do…" she wondered aloud. She had completed all of her schoolwork and was not in the mood for TV or anything else. She considered cleaning up the house a little, but knew her mom would be upset if she found out she exerted herself even the slightest bit.
She blew her nose and took a sip of water, knowing she should probably get some rest and try to sleep off her cold. So Misaki flipped over onto her stomach and folded her arms on her pillow and closed her eyes. But within the first moment, the blankets seemed too hot for her and she fidgeted until they were off of her body. But even then, her purple t-shirt and pajama pants seemed to be too hot and she flipped around uncomfortably. The small rotating fan did not do much for her either. But she forced herself to close her eyes and keep them closed until finally, she nodded off for a time.
She awoke to a clammy room and bright sunlight, telling her that it was probably a few hours after noon, just about the time she would start heading off to Maid Latte. "Crap! I have to call…" she reached for her cell phone and dialed, clearing her throat to get rid of some of the hoarseness. But in doing so, she only made it worse, for her voice cracked when Satsuki answered the phone and Misaki replied.
"Hello?" she rasped.
"M-Misaki-chan? Is that you? You sound awful!" the manger fretted. "Are you okay?"
"Well it's not as bad as it sounds." She said reassuringly, cursing her dried throat which made her sound as sick as a dog. "My mom just thinks I should take off today and-"
"Oh yes of course! We'll be fine without you. Just take it easy and make sure you get better, okay?" Misaki could hear the worry in her manager's voice and smiled to herself.
"Thanks for worrying about me. But I'm alright, really, so tell everyone I'm fine. I'll try to be in tomorrow." She promised.
After a little more fretting and chatting, they finally ended their conversation and Misaki closed her phone and put it back on the table beside her bed.
She sighed and decided to take a shower to help unclog her nose. But even after emerging from the humid bathroom with her hair dripping wet, her pajamas and the muggy air only succeeded in making her feel worse. She must have guzzled down more than 10 glasses of water in the time period she was awake and went back into the kitchen for an eleventh. As she filled up her glass and headed back to her room, she heard a knock on the door and stopped in her tracks.
"Weird. Oh god, don't tell me Manager came by…" she groaned.
But when Misaki opened the front door, none other than the tall, blonde, Usui stood before her.
"U-Usui!" She gasped in surprise, spilling some of her water. "W-What are you doing here?" she asked,hoping she did not look like a total mess.
"Manager told us all that you called saying you were sick." He informed, her his emerald eyes burning down into her golden ones.
"S-So why did you come? You're getting over a cold yourself, remember?" she reminded him.
"I came because you lied." He told her, stepping in and closing the door behind him.
"L-Lied? What do you mean?" Misaki fought with all her might to hold back a sneeze.
"You told Manager to tell everyone that you were fine." He said, looking down at her with hard eyes. "This isn't 'fine', Ayuzawa." He informed her, perusing her flushed face, sweat beading on her forehead. Then he smirked a bit. "Can I come in?" he asked.
"You're already in, Baka Usui." She mumbled.
"Ah right. Thanks." He ruffled her hair. "I'm here to take care of Ayuzawa today."
"W-Wha-?"
"You came to me when I was sick, so here I am." His eyes were sincere and caring. "So have you been eating properly?" he asked.
Misaki found this conversation familiar.
"Yes. I have." She murmured.
"Hm. Somehow I don't believe you."
"Will you believe my foot when it's in your face?" she spat.
"Ahaha. Prez can still make funny jokes."
"It won't be just a joke if you don't stop pestering me, pervert."
"Alright, alright." He chuckled.
"Well I don't really know what you're going to do for me. I don't need anything done. So you're better off just going home." She turned away from him and headed into her room and, of course, he followed. "Gah! Don't come in here! Baka Usui!" she grabbed her pillow and threw it in his face. He laughed in his monotone and she glared fiercely at him. "Go sit in the living room or something." She blushed.
"But I can't help Ayuzawa if we're in two separate rooms." He pointed out.
She placed her glass of water down and sighed. "Like I said, I don't need anything. I appreciate your efforts but the best thing you could do for me would be not to worry." She told him honestly.
"I know. But still I can't just do nothing when you're sick." He walked over to where she now sat on her bed and gave her back her pillow. She put it back where it belonged as Usui sat down beside her. "Let me feel your forehead." With one hand on her waist and the other on her shoulder, he turned her body to face him and pressed his forehead against hers. She tried to pull away but he would not let her. "It's pretty high." He mumbled, pulling away.
"Don't exaggerate things, I'm fine." She huffed, reaching for another tissue.
"You're obviously not. And why is your hair wet?" he asked.
"I just got out of the shower, Baka Usui." She tossed her tissue into the trash.
"Don't you know it'll only make you sicker if you don't dry it properly?"
"Well I was about to when some outer-space alien came knocking on my door." She mumbled. "But it's mostly dry now anyway so there's no point. I'm going to lie down now so I'm trusting you not to do anything weird in my house." She warned.
Usui got up off her bed. "Of course not, Prez." He watched her crawl under her blankets and lie on her stomach, letting out a long sigh of exhaustion. But he also noticed that she left enough room for him to be able to sit on the edge. He smiled and took her silent offer.
"Don't do perverted things to me either." She snarled softly.
"Darn. You caught me." He said sarcastically and she snorted.
Normally she would have found it difficult to fall asleep with someone watching her like that, but for some reason, Usui's gaze was calming as she felt his irises flitting over her body. But just as before, she could not stay still for long and kept fidgeting, feeling hot and her breathing changed. Usui noticed this immediately and watched as she kicked the covers away.
"You okay?" He asked.
"Yeah. Just a little hot." She mumbled, lying back down on her stomach and closing her eyes once more. Usui smiled, reaching forward and running his fingers through her dark, slightly damp hair. She froze at first, but soon his movements became rhythmic and soothing and she relaxed against his touch. His knuckles lightly brushed the back of her neck and then he switched to gently rub circles on her shoulders and back with his palm. Misaki was unable to hold back a small moan because it felt so wonderfully relaxing and Usui smirked, continuing his motions. Within moments she was asleep, her breathing deep and even for the first time all day. She slept soundly for about five minutes with Usui sitting beside her. But then he felt her shudder and she shifted, pushing herself up again and blinking her eyes open sleepily.
"Prez, you just fell asleep." He frowned. "You should get some rest."
"I know. I just feel cold now for some reason." She mumbled.
"It's the fever." He told her. "I go get you a washcloth." He left her room and returned within a moment with a rag soaked in cool water. He sat back down beside her. "Lay on your back." He ordered. "You'll suffocate yourself." Surprisingly, Misaki obeyed him without complaint, her golden eyes too weary with fatigue. "Good girl." He said as she lay on her back and rested her head on her pillow.
Usui placed the washcloth on her sweating forehead and he could see the relief on her face when he did so. "Ayuzawa," he said softly, for she looked as though she were about to fall back asleep any second now. "I know it's hot but you have to stay warm." He told her, pulling the covers up to her stomach.
"Okay." She tried to keep her eyes open, but was losing. Usui reached forward and took her wrist in his hand, pressing two fingers against her vein. She did not resist in the slightest and let him do as he pleased, her determination to stay awake finally giving in as her eyes closed. Usui counted a minute before letting go of her wrist and placing her hand over her stomach.
"Your pulse is a little slow." He informed her. "But I think you'll be alright. Are you still cold?" He queried.
"A little." She admitted, shifting slightly. "But the blankets are too hot." She whined.
"Well there's an obvious solution to that problem." He placed his hand atop hers, which were folded on her stomach.
Then he leaned down and wrapped his other arm under her back and pulled her up slightly into a loose hug. She moaned what he assumed was supposed to be a complaint, but did not let her go. He took in her sweet scent, her hair smelling faintly of plumbs. Misaki stopped resisting before long and ceased her struggling, her body going limp in his embrace. "Go to sleep, Prez." He whispered into her ear.
"Baka Usui…" she mumbled, her good old spunk returning to her tired tone. "Pervert…" but she said no more as her mind slipped into unconsciousness. Her pulse dropped and her breathing became deeper and less ragged, her stomach rising and falling evenly in accordance to her breath.
Usui sat up slowly and carefully pulled his arm out from under her body, taking the cloth off of her head to feel her temperature. She seemed a lot better than earlier and he smiled down at her sleeping face. She looked almost like a doll; her face calmed in slumber, her long hair framing her face, her hands folded neatly over her stomach.
He was almost glad she had lied about being fine, for that made him suspect her even more than if she had said she was not. Since she had told that little white lie, he had been able to go over to her house and see her like this.
For a time, he ran his fingers through her hair and brushed the back of his hands against her cheeks. He flipped one of her wrists over and took her pulse again, satisfied that it was more or less back to normal. He placed his forehead against hers again to find that her fever was now nearly gone and smiled in satisfaction. Then he slid his free hand between her head and her pillow and leaning down, kissed her forehead.
"Sweet dreams, Misa-chan." He murmured and she stirred as though she had heard him and was subconsciously thanking him.
Then, two familiar, sleepy words tumbled off her tongue.
"Baka…U…sui…" she mumbled in her sleep. But the small smile on her lips as she said it made her all the more irresistible.
Unable to hold back, he leaned down and kissed her again, this time on the cheek.
He squeezed her hands one last time before standing up and, with much effort, forced himself to leave her room and then her house altogether.
He was grateful that she had lied, and that he had not believed her, but even if he had, he still would have come anyway; because he cared.
A/N: And that concludes this 2-shot story! ^^ I'll get another up as soon as I can, promise!
Please review!