By RankoSaotome
Disclaimer: Max, Monica, and all related characters are copyright of Level 5 and Sony. None of them are copyright of me.
Well, thanks to a girl named Pug Dragon, I wrote this up. Hope you all enjoy it, despite it's a mere one-shot... Anyways, enjoy. Please slap down a review and tell me what you think.
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Monica coughed violently as she tried relaxing on Max's bed in his very home. Her face was bright red and she felt like she was laying on a furnace, just heating up more and more. Her arms felt like they were completely numb, while her legs felt like there were pins and needles all over them.
In short, Monica was sick for possibly one of the first times in her entire life.
Her, Princess Monica Raybrandt, a girl who'd never been sick once in her entire life, was completely ill and felt so very weak, laying there in Max's room. Of course, thank goodness she wasn't on the train when she caught this bug, she had NO idea how she would react to getting motion sickness as well.
"How are you feeling, Monica?" Monica slowly looked aside at the question, to find Max at her side, just entering the room. For a second, she sniffed at letting Max see her so weak, but she slowly looked away, her red hair capturing her features and hiding her face from him.
"Oh, don't be that way, Monica... If you don't want to talk about it, you don't need to..." Despite the protests of Max, Monica remained facing away for the moment. It didn't help that, just a week ago, she'd almost thought she'd never see him again. As the princess, she had to see to her kingdom...
However, she had disgraced her people to return to Max. To return to... the one she loved.
And it hurt to know he was seeing her like this. She didn't want to think that he might see her as weak for getting so sick so quickly.
"It... It's not like I am ashamed of being sick... I... I just don't know how to react to catching this bug. Back in the future, sickness was never a problem for me..."
"Monica, please listen." She heard Max's request, befre looking at him. "It's not shameful to get sick. It's a natural thing, and besides, this gves me an excuse to take care of you for a change."
Monica would have blushed at the obvious care Max had for her, but she was also confused. Why was he so intent on taking care of her? She could probably take care of her own cold, but...
There was something oddly... nice... about being cared for for once rather than always being the one to care for others. Not only was it showing that her friend, Max, genuinely cared for her, but that she could also lean on him when she needed the support. And that, now that she thought about it, thrilled her more than anything.
The silence slowly shook Monica from her mussing, as she slowly, and agonizingly, moved up into a seated position. Her insides rebelled slightly as she moved, not wanting to get out of the laying down position. But, she eventually brought herself to sitting.
"Hungry?" Max asked, a smile on his face as he sat a tray of food in Monica's lap. The young woman smiled a little as she inspected the food.
"Famished." She replied, as she liked what she saw. Chicken soup, with real, small strips of chicken in it, a glass of what looked like fresh orange juice, and, something that surprised her, her absolute favorite, a Witch Parfait, slightly warmed to not worsen her condition. "I'm surprised, where did you get all this, Max?"
"I... um, I made it all myself..."
That answer surprised Monica, as she looked up at him with a stronger smile now. She was quite happy with this, that he knew her favorite food's recipe and was willing to make it to heighten her already downed mood. "Thank you, Max... I don't know what to say..." She said, before starting on the chicken soup.
Hearty vegetables, meat, and noodles wrapped around her spoon, trying to escape as she blew over the steaming liquid food. After blowing a few times, she brought the spoon of noodles and such to her lips.
And was immediately struck by how delicious the soup was. She'd had chicken soup before, but never like this before. Homemade by hand and served with a smile. Not just the taste was what she savored, though, as the attention of Max was what she was soaking in. Seeing his happy gaze out of the corner of her eye, figuring he was happy that she was apparently enjoying the soup.
Then, a thought occured to her. He had spent a good amount of time and energy preparing this just for her. And, grateful as she was, she had yet to thank him. She needed to rectify that fact.
Lowering the spoon back to the bowl of soup, Monica looked over at Max and smiled brightly. "Max... You have no idea how happy this makes me. Thank you..." She said, before covering her mouth to muffle some coughing.
Max was about to move to check her, but one hand left her mouth to stop him. She coughed twice more, before pulling her hand away. "Are you okay?"
"I... I think so..." She said, barely stopping herself from instinctively saying she was fine. She figured, with Max taking care of her, the least she could do, whilest hesitantly, was to open up to him.
"Max...?"
"Yes?"
"Can we do something?"
"In a bit. First, eat. You need your energy." To that, Max's only answer was a smile, before she went back to her food.
After eating her meal, which Max handed her a handkerchief after, Monica turned back to him. "So, what did you want to do, Monica?"
"Talk. And please, can you make me a promise?"
"Sure, anything. Just ask."
"We both must promise to tell nothing but the truth. No lies, no changing subjects, I... I want to be open with you and... I would like you to be open with me too..."
Max was silent for several moments. He was no fool with girls, especially when they wanted to talk. However, he also knew that Monica was a different type, being that she may have genuinely wanted to just talk. Not chew him out. "Sure..."
"Thank you... I suppose I should start..."
Max was treated to a rare sight. Monica Raybrandt, the princess from the future, adventuress extraordinaire, and generally confident individual, looked lost. She looked like something was bothering her, and yet, also like it was a little heavy on her shoulders.
Taking the tray from her lap, Max set the tray to the side on a bedside table, then sat down beside Monica, watching her. And he was hard pressed not to let his eyes wander. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate her looks, goodness knows he thought Monica has a very sexy bod... Just, he didn't want to chance ruining the moment. Slowly, he slipped an arm around her shoulders.
Monica, in a rare moment of unease, went rigged at his touch. But, slowly, she eased up and let the awkwardness of the moment leave her. Hesitantly, she spoke.
"I don't know why..." She started, coughing slightly. "But when I saw you walk in the door, I felt a little... ashamed to be seen as so weak..." Max looked like he was about to protest, but she silently and gently shushed him. "But... I also felt happy that you cared enough for me that you would do this for me..."
"And, well... I never noticed before, but you mean a lot to me, Max... And... I feel like I've never truly thanked you and shown my appreciation for everything..."
"Max, I... I want to apologize and..." This time, though, Monica was shushed by Max. But the smile on his face spoke that she didn't say anything wrong.
"There's no need to apologize, Monica. After all... After all we've been through, from the Sages to Dark Element... And the Dark Genie... Then, how you broke your own land's laws to come back to me..."
Monica was interested. She wanted to know what he would say now.
"I can positively say, Monica..." He said, moving a little closer to the girl and causing her to blush. "I can say... Without a doubt... That I fell in love with you..."
Monica's heart skipped a beat at his words, fluttering its way up and towards her throat. She'd heard such words before from others in her time, but none of those boys had ever said it in such a truthful fashion. She was speechless for the moment, not believing her ears.
Finally, Max started to turn to face her again. "Moni..." And was interrupted rather abruptly when Monica surged forward, planting her lips on his. At first, he was stunned, but slowly adjusted to the kiss, returning it. Slowly, he gently pushed his tongue against her lips, requesting entry.
She granted his tongue entry, just before deciding to return the gesture with her own tongue, the wet appendages curling and sliding together.
Slowly, the kiss was broken, and Monica smiled at Max. "Then I can also say, without a doubt... My dear, sweet Max... That I love you too..."
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THE END
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Well, that went well, if I do say so myself. Thanks again to Pug Dragon for the inspiration to write this, you're awesome. And, everyone, look forward to a few more Dark Cloud 2 fics in the future. See you later.