Surprisingly Kid and Maka made great traveling partners. Something Kid had always hated about vacations, other than the obvious pointlessness, was having to trek across the vast expanse of the underworld with only Liz and Patti for company. Now do not misunderstand, he cared about his two body guards very much and generally enjoyed their company but there is such a thing as too much. Patti would always talk excessively about worthless things and Liz never said much.
However, Maka was the perfect middle ground. She would point out land marks as they passed or ask a question here and there. Every once in a while this would strike up a conversation but as soon as they had run out of pertinent things to say she would stop. It was the perfect amount for him.
So naturally when the girls had 'forgot' to pack an extra tent for her, Kid very kindly offered to allow her to stay in his. They were still weren't far enough into the Light Kingdom to avoid the bitter cold that accompanied the desert.
They had stopped with only a few hours of the sun remaining. Due to recent attack of the creatures in the area no one was allowed to leave camp alone.
"We need water. Maka can you go get some? I thought I saw a stream over to the right somewhere." Liz remarked while building a fire.
"Yeah! Kid go help her 'cause I'mmm thirsty!" She was standing over her sister with a giant leaf fanning the stick. It was hindering more than it was helping.
"Why don't you do it? I have some last minute papers to file." Kid said from a substituted desk made from a slab of rock. He wasn't going to waste time getting water while there was still work that needed to be done.
"'Cause I'm busy and it's your stupid rule anyway!" With a sigh Kid organized all his papers into a bag and set them inside their tent. Sometimes it was about picking your battles. Meanwhile Maka was grabbing the canteens from the area where they tied the horses.
"I'm ready! Let's go!" Maka grabbed Kid by the arm and raced into the woods. If she were to be quite honest she would admit how tired the trip had made her. The heat had just sapped her energy and she wanted nothing more than some cool water.
"Maka. There is no need to run." Kid of course had no trouble keeping up with the girl that was pulling him along but he didn't think the exercise was necessary or particularly good for her body. He had been looking up more about the human body in order to learn her limitations and had found that more often than not she did things that pushed herself. He wished she would be more careful sometimes; the human body is so frail compared to his.
They came upon a clearing with soft green grass. The ground was firmer here and had forced Maka to stop while her footing readjusted. He took the moment to force her to take a break.
"It should be somewhere around here but we should look carefully. If it's small we might miss it." * Maka simply nodded. The sun was high in the sky and the heat was having a dramatic effect on her body, at least compared to Kid. He noticed little beads of water forming on her forehead, coating it in a light sheen. It was strange to him; he felt perfectly comfortable.
After a bit of wandering they came across a shallow stream. It wasn't deep at all, they couldn't even fill their canteens, but it was enough to steal a sip of water from. Maka crouched down and used her cupped hands to gather up some of the liquid. As she sipped the water would dribble onto her face leaving endearing trails down her chin.
"Let's head up stream. Maybe we can find a deeper pool." Maka splashed herself one more time with the water before rising. However, this time Kid's eyes were pulled elsewhere. Little beads trailed down her neck. They kissed her porcelain skin before sliding to her collar bone. Suddenly Kid felt slightly warmer.
Trying to shake himself out of it he took the lead. It was partially for his own sake and partially for hers. If he hadn't he was sure they would be looking for days... or so he told himself. The ground was getting rockier and they had to move away from the main stream due to dense under brush. It wasn't long before they heard the thundering sound of a waterfall.
Exiting the wood, they found themselves near a small drop about 10 feet high with water cascading over it. Beneath was a pool with dark blue water. Kid immediately went to work filling their canteens from the waterfall. The water was clean and refreshing
"Maka, would you like a-" He had turned to ask Maka a question only to be interrupted by a loud splash. Panicking he tried to find where the girl had entered the water to dive in after her. After a moment though, her head popped above the water with a satisfied smile on her face.
"Ahh that's refreshing." She continued to tread water in the deep center of the pool. Her hair clung to her neck and shoulders in a wave of gold. When it was out of its restraints it looked longer. Looking to the bank Kid saw Maka's clothes resting on a flat rock, the water was obscuring most of her but he could just make out the outline of her underwear.
"W-what are you doing? Humans haven't been creatures of the water for millions of years!" He stammered attempting to close the canteens. It was suddenly scorching.
"It's so hot Kid. I know were on a schedule and stuff but I just couldn't help myself. You should come in too. It's really relaxing." She hummed to herself before diving down. When she flipped Kid caught a glimpse of her long legs. Sending his mind to other thoughts he questioned himself. How can anyone handle this heat!
She rocketed to the surface with a splash before settling back into the water. She turned to her friend and the look on her face changed from relaxed to one of concern. "Kid! You're bleeding!"
She rested her hand on her face in a displaying manner. Reaching up he dabbed at his lips only to pull away with crimson on his hand. "It looks like you had a bloody nose. The heats really getting to you. Why don't you come on?"
He panicky covered his nose and waved her off. He was absolutely on fire! Why on earth did she want him to come in there when she was like that.
"Well fine. If you won't come in then I'll come out and see what I can do about fixing it." She started to swim towards the shore. Kid relaxed when he thought about the end of the ordeal, until he realized exactly what her coming out meant. There was at least 15 feet from where the water would still cover her to her clothes and he wasn't sure he had the self restraint for that.
"N-No!" She stopped midstroke and looked at him with concern. "I-I'll come in."
"Kid are you okay? You look pretty pale."
"Just fine. I'll be in, in a second." He took of his shoes and started to wander closer to the water.
"Wait!" He jumped a little and cursed himself for being so skittish. But, he couldn't really help it, this was an entirely new situation for him. "Don't ruin your clothes. Just take them off and come in afterwards. I promise I won't look."
"O-okay." She hid her face behind her hands in a teasing way then swam to the other side of the pool. Kid gulped as he undressed himself. He had never really interacted with the female gender much before outside of parties and well...dead people. Everything that was happening was starting to mess with his head.
With a deep sigh he slid into the water. As Maka promised, it was cool and calmed his nerves a bit as he felt his body relax. Hearing his entrance she turned back and swam over.
"It's nice isn't it?" She smiled from her spot a bit too near to him. He could make out the lacy fabric of her bra a quickly turned the other way while blushing. "Are you sure you're okay? You look hot."
He suddenly felt a hand rest on his forehead and he snapped his neck around only to come face first with Maka's chest. Granted it wasn't particularly large but he didn't care. It was absolutely perfect to him. And that's what did it. He floated on to his back essentially down for the count. "Kid you're bleeding again."
"I've given up." He closed his eyes for a moment to calm down. The water rippled softly against his skin and migrating birds trilled in the greenery around them. For once, he let his guard down. He let the water of the pool wash away his duties, his stress, and most importantly his reality.
At some point he felt Maka's hair float past his face but she seemed as tranquil as he was so he didn't even bother to mention it. For just a second, everything was perfect.
"Kid, will anything ever be... normal again?" It was less a question of anxiety and more one of curiosity. He cannot understand it simply because he doesn't know what to consider normal. It has been a long time since anything has work in the grand design.
"Well, what is normal?"
"I'm not dumb enough to think that this really just a PR visit to the other kingdoms. For things to be normal... You see- Normal is not running away from everything. Normal is seeing you laugh and smile. Normal is just being." He took a moment to digest her question and allowed it to quietly wander through his mind looking for an answer.
"Then I am not sure. Because I never had that in my life until I met you." He felt his balance interrupt as dainty arms circled around his waist and pulled him under. Her face was buried in his neck and making odd twitchy motions. Curiosity got the better of him and he gently tilted her head up.
Those deep stone green eyes looked beautiful in the deep amber of the sun. Her hair was plastered to her face and sticks and twigs managed to entangle their way in. In the water she looked almost ethereal as they drifted shut. Something compelled him forward, screaming something that he couldn't quite understand. Her lips drifted closer, the light pale red of swirling candy.
She screamed. There was a massive splash of water and Kid instantly flew into attack mode. Something was out to hurt her and it was his job to keep her safe. However, surveying the scene he found nothing but a frog on the bank. That did not change the fact of the girl who was crouch on his shoulders looking petrified.
"Uh, Maka?" She was shaking like a leaf and pulling his hair in the direction of the bank.
"S-something's. In the water, it brushed my leg." He started to walk towards the bank. It was getting late anyway. It would become too cold soon.
"It was probably a fish."
"What if it were a rattle snake?" And thus Maka and Kid spent the trip back arguing as to wither or not rattle snakes could swim. Which in a short answer, there are no rattle snakes in hell.
Haha this was kind of cute to write. I really enjoyed the last part.
Notes
As some of you may have noticed Kid is A LOT less...well dickish. It is in part because of Maka but also because of the sleep he's getting every once in awhile. Ever meet a sleep deprived person? Not fun. Alright, please review.