At 4 AM Black*Star was still in full swing with energy, dragging whoever he still could into his flurry of action. Liz was already passed out on a sunbed with a beer bottle still in her hand. Patti was giggling away on a giant giraffe swimming ring, currently letting the blue-haired meister to drag her back and forth in the pool. Kid's eyes were starting to droop as he stared at the DJ set, trying to decide what he should put on next. Tsubaki was exhausted too but held her front with a gentle smile as she sat at the edge of the pool watching her partner's antics.
"YAHOOO!" – said obnoxious assassin hollered out of the blue, making Liz jump at the sudden increase in noise and the beer bottle slipped out of her hand, shattering on the tiles. The young shinigami was snapped back into alertness at once.
"I'm sorry, Kid! I will clean up in a sec!" – Liz frantically stated and was already getting up from where she was sprawled out.
"No, don't! I will get it, you will just cut your feet on the glass shards." – Kid ran off to get a broom, garbage shovel and mop presumably.
"I think we should call it a night before anything else happens." – the older twin pistol groaned as she leaned back down after looking at the time.
"No way!" – Black*Star burst out, displeased with the way this was going at the moment. Of course he had not had enough tact to realize he was the reason, nor to apologize.
"Okie dokie." – Patti agreed though and went for the ladder to get out of the pool.
"Geez, idiot, wait for Kid to come back and clean up!" – Liz called out to her sister when she saw what she was trying to do.
"Oooh, sorry, sis!" – the infantile demon weapon let go of the ladder railing to fall back into the pool. The older Thompson sister rolled her eyes as she let her head fall back onto her towel.
"Did Soul never come back?" – Black*Star asked as he looked around room.
"Did you just now realize?" – Kid replied sarcastically as he came back in and began to clean the mess up.
"I apologize for Black*Star." – Tsubaki bowed at Kid from the other end of the pool.
"No need, not your fault." – Kid sighed as he began sweeping.
"Soul has been alone in a lockable room with Maka for the past 3 hours? How dare he keep his god out of the loop on his conquests?!" – the blue-haired assassin looked shocked and jumped out of the pool, only to slip on the wet, slippery side and fall right back in.
"You do realize they live together, right? Whatever idea your gutter of a mind has come up with just now, they are perfectly capable of doing in the comfort of their own home." – Kid muttered to himself as he furiously tried to gather all the green shards the beer bottle shattered into.
"Still, we have to go see!" – the ninja insisted as he reemerged with one hand extended above his head, pointing at the ceiling. – "Unless, of course, you are completely fine with them getting it on between your bed linens, Kid, and you not even knowing about it!"
Five curious heads poked in through the crack of the door to see what the scythe weapon and meister were doing in the guest room alone. In the end none of them could resist the temptation of snooping on their friends. To some extent every one of them rooted for this duo to finally realize their feelings for each other and act on it. Though they were absolutely not prepared for the sight that greeted them.
Maka was bundled up like a burrito in blankets, only her head sticking out, with a small wet washcloth on her forehead, while Soul was sleeping above the covers on his side, facing Maka with one arm draped around her torso protectively. They backed away slowly and closed the door behind themselves.
Maka woke up feeling entirely too warm and with a pounding headache. And she had to pee. Really bad. Glancing around, she saw that Soul was sleeping beside her peacefully, drooling lightly on the blankets that covered her. The meister smiled a bit, but even this little movement caused her throat to flare up like it was literally on fire. She cringed at the feeling. This was not good. Even worse she could barely breathe through her nose because it was so clogged up. It was a no win situation either way. All she really wanted to do was to fall back asleep, but nature's call was way too insistent to ignore so she sat up.
As she did this she realized two things. First, there was a small towel on her forehead that fell off with the movements she made. Second, Soul's arm was wrapped around her. She was deeply touched by the gestures her weapon made to make her feel better. Maka gently untangled herself then shuffled out of bed and staggered towards the bathroom.
She shivered against the coolness of the black, white and red tiles that decorated the en suite as she sat down to relieve herself. The meister knew that she had a fever. Probably pretty high too based on how crap she was feeling. She sighed heavily as she leaned into her hands that only irritated her throat further and sent her into a small coughing fit.
"Maka?" – came Soul's sleepy yet awfully worried - not that he would ever admit to that - voice and a small knock on the door. – "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'll be out in a minute." – Maka rasped as a reply after the fit subsided.
After finishing up she stood in front of the mirror a bit as she washed her hands. I look awful. – she observed her pale complexion and bags under her dull eyes. As she exited the room she saw that Soul was waiting for her leaning against the wall by the door with his arms crossed.
They looked each other in the eye stubbornly, saying nothing, until Maka shivered again, then turned her head away sneezing three times in fast succession into her elbow. What she wouldn't have given for a tissue just about now.
"Come, get back under the covers." – he said grabbing her hand and guiding her back to the bed.
"Actually, I'd like to go home." – the ash-blond girl muttered as she sat down on the bed. She dug through her bag and found some paper tissues, blowing her nose noisily into one. Not that it helped much, her sinuses closed right back up.
"Sure. Let me just get our stuff. Lie back down until then." – the albino boy responded coolly and turned to go back down to the pool where some of their belongings still were, but was stopped by a cold hand grabbing his.
"No, I'll come with you. I would just fall back asleep if I lied down." – Maka stated as she pulled herself back up to standing position, never letting go of Soul's hand. He grabbed her bag from beside the bed and they walked out the door.
As they went downstairs the meister let herself be dragged along sort of, almost closing her eyes and trusting her partner to lead her wherever they needed to be. Somewhere along the way she caught a glance at a clock and saw that it was only 7 AM.
Reaching the pool they saw that the party had long ended, no one was in sight. Soul had started for the bathroom to get his bag and stuff that he left in there in a hurry earlier, but found that they were neatly folded on one of the sunbeds. He then had to pack away with one hand because his partner stubbornly wouldn't let go of him still. Who knew Maka was the clingy type when ill? During their now more than two-year partnership he had never actually witnessed her being sick before.
The white-haired boy could see that she was barely hanging onto consciousness so he did his best to hurry then swung that bag over his shoulder too and made their way toward the front door. In the lobby they ran into Kid.
"Oh, hey, you guys are still up?" – Soul asked with surprise when he saw him.
"No, just me. I couldn't sleep until everything was put back in order." – he answered while stifling a yawn.
"We gonna head out. Thanks for the party. It was really cool." – the scythe weapon waved a lazy goodbye to their host.
"Yes, thank you. Sorry I was such a downer." – Maka smiled, tiredly leaning onto Soul.
"You weren't. Feel better soon!" – the shinigami took in the girl's appearance. It was clear that she was sick, her skin clammy and flushed. Then his gaze wandered to their joined hands, which almost made him raise an eyebrow but he didn't comment on it.
As they stepped outside a cool breeze hit them and Maka shuddered at it. Soul took off his hoodie and handed it to her with one hand while shoving the other in his pocket.
"Take it." – he curtly suggested, his eyes intensely on her.
"Thanks." – the blonde muttered quietly as she shrugged it on, welcoming the warmth that she could feel lingering in it from Soul's skin. But despite that she was still cold.
"I really wish we had come with Luci." – Soul sighed, deep in thought as they walked the cobblestoned street away from the manor.
"With who?" – Maka looked at him questioningly.
"The bike. We could be home faster." – he blinked at her wide-eyed. Now that he thought about he had never told her that he named it.
"You named your motorcycle Luci? Why didn't you tell me?" – she cried out agitatedly but regretted it as soon as it made her throat hurt and cough heavily.
"Well, it's Lucille actually, but yes." – the red-eyed boy scratched the back of his head embarrassedly. – "I thought you were going to laugh at me for it."
"No, I wouldn't." – the ash-blond girl leaned into her partner for support with a small smile. – "Since when are you into French names anyway?"
"Dunno, just came to me one day." – he shrugged.
They walked in silence after that. Around halfway Soul just decided to carry Maka piggy-back style because she was walking so slowly and unsteadily that it was more efficient this way. It was kind of awkward with both backpacks at his front, but the fact that she didn't protest made it all the more compelling for the weapon partner to get her home as fast as possible.
The white-haired scythe set his meister down as they reached the door so that he could fish his keys out and open it. He reached to pick her back up again but she shook her head indicating that she can stand and walk in on her own.
Once inside the cozy apartment Maka went straight for her room and changed into some comfy flannel pajamas and clambered into bed under the covers for warmth.
Soul stood for a moment in the living room, trying to decide what he should do. First of all he had to take care of the laundry. He hanged all the damp towels and swimwear out. He knew it should be washed too but the myriad of knobs and buttons on the washing machine were too intimidating to figure out and usually Maka handled this stuff. She would kill me if I accidentally ruined her bikini… – Soul shuddered at the thought.
Okay, kitchen, medicine cabinet… – he continued his quest to tend to things, Maka among others too. He placed the things he deemed necessary on a tray – thermometer: check, fever reducers: check, cough syrup: check, orange juice: check, small towel and cold water bowl: check.
The demon weapon knocked on his partner's room, but no answer came so he quietly opened the door. Maka seemed to be asleep again so Soul set the tray down on her bedside table and turned to leave once more but the girl was able to grab his wrist halting him in his tracks.
"Stay." – was all that she could manage. The meister was hot and cold at the same time. Her head throbbed uncomfortably with the pressure in her sinuses, she couldn't breathe properly through her nose but her throat flared with every breath she took through her mouth. All in all, she felt horribly miserable and the last thing she wanted was to be alone.
Soul took pity on her and sat down on the edge of her bed, half turned towards her, his right hand still trapped by his partner's too warm one.
"Be honest with me, what hurts?" – he began, his trust a bit shaken by yesterday's pretenses. Surely she had known that something was wrong all along, but kept telling them that she was just 'tired'.
"Everything." – Maka replied with a little whine and curled on her side around her weapon's hand. Soul placed his other on her forehead.
"You are still feverish." – the red-eyed boy frowned and reached for the thermometer, offering it to his little patient, which she took in her mouth without a word.
"102.6" – Soul stated unhappily after the allotted amount of time passed and he checked the reading.
"Soul…" – Maka began quietly, completely ignoring her partner's tone as he set the thermometer back down on the tray, her mind entirely elsewhere. – "Do you ever regret that I walked up to you at the piano that day?" – she asked contemplatively, her eyes trained on their joined hands.
"What the…?" – the weapon partner was taken aback. Where was this coming from? After a short pause he continued. – "Never, ever think that." – he stated bluntly.
"I'm sorry." – she whispered, still not meeting his eyes, burrowing her head deeper into the pillow, a tear escaping her eyes. – "I… I just…" – her fevered mind was running wild with thoughts of inadequacy, guilt for being difficult and short-tempered at a lot of times, for smacking Soul on the head with thick books way harder than necessary. In her state she couldn't imagine why Soul was putting up with her bossy attitude and violence, her distrust in men in general. Deep inside she knew he wanted more, that he loved her, but she made a point of denying that fact because her heart wasn't ready to accept it due to the fear of betrayal, not unlike the one she witnessed her parents go through.
"Shh…" – Soul brought her up into a hug, cradling her as she cried into the crook of his neck. Scratch that… fevers are worse than PMS… – he thought with an inward panic because he had absolutely no idea what was going on. Nonetheless he kept silently rocking her until she calmed down some.
"Maka." – he brought her face up to meet her gaze, some tears still shining at the corner of them. They stared at each other for a long minute, before the white-haired boy broke it off in his usual disinterested voice. – "Take some fever medicine."
That request was nothing Maka was expecting from their shared moment. She nodded with a little pout of disappointment and took the offered pills. After settling back down Soul placed a wet cloth on her forehead again, but made no moves to leave her side just yet, intending to wait until she fell asleep. But it never came. As if her natural stubbornness made it impossible.
"Way to start the New Year, isn't it?" – the meister commented after a short while.
"Yeah, really uncool." – her partner replied with a hint of sarcasm and humor, making her chuckle a bit that only led to a coughing fit. – "Cough syrup?"
"Ugh. Thanks, I think I'll pass. That stuff tastes vile." – Maka made a disgusted face at the viscous, fake sugary smelling liquid.
"Using your fancy words again, aren't we." – Soul smirked teasingly at his meister as he set the offending bottle down.
"Repugnant would have… been…" – she was interrupted by the need to sneeze, making her breath hitch before hiding under the blanket to let them go. – "Fancier." – his partner finished after the fit.
"My bad." – he handed her a pack of tissues. No amount of illness was going to take away her ability to pester him about his vocabulary it seemed. – "Do you want something to eat? Soup?"
"We both know that would just be a disaster." – Maka smiled knowingly at the thought of Soul trying anything more complex in the kitchen than scrambled eggs.
"I could just order some from the corner shop." – Soul shrugged at the jabbing.
"Nah, just come snuggle with me." – the words slipped from her mouth before she even realized what she had asked. It wasn't that they haven't watched movies on the couch together and ended up cuddling, but they have never been in each other's beds before. Certainly not together. Finding Soul with her in the morning was a surprise too, even if he was above the covers.
It seemed that this was exactly what her partner had in mind too because he didn't seem fazed or tried to get under the blankets with her, just motioned for her her scoot over a bit.
"No, come and actually snuggle with me under the blankets. I'm cold." – she clarified with a blush that was blissfully obscured by the flush on her cheeks because of the fever.
Soul stood there for a moment shocked by Maka's straightforwardness, then with a shrug got under the covers and hugged her to himself, trying furiously to keep the perverted thoughts out of his mind. Okay, cool down, there is nothing wrong with this, she is just cold, I'm helping her to warm up. But damn her hot breath on my neck… Her soft skin touching mine… Damn it brain! She is sick! Shinigami please don't let Spirit find out about this!
"Soul, stop freaking out." – Maka sighed, snuggling in further to make herself comfortable.
Right, at least there is no nosebleed like when Blair decides to be all close up and personal in the early hours of the morning.
As he calmed down he noticed his meister drifted off to sleep again, breathing heavily through her mouth, her face showing signs of discomfort. Kissing her forehead lightly he carefully slipped out from under her then exited the room.
Only to run into Blair.
"Ahoy, Soul! Being a naughty boy?" – the cat in human form asked with a wink, wiggling her index finger at him.
Soul almost blushed but then remembered that there was absolutely nothing to worry about, she couldn't possibly know what had happened inside.
"Maka is sick." – he stated simply in his usual cool voice, giving nothing away.
"Oh, poor girl, Death Scythe will be devastated to hear!" – Blair purred with pity.
"Are you meeting him?" – Soul raised an eyebrow at the kitty.
"Yeah, I'm working today at Chupa Cabra's, he is sure to stop by." – she looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully as she tapped her chin with her finger.
"I think he is the last person Maka would want to see right now, so please try and not tell him. We don't really need him kicking down the door with fatherly worry." – the scythe boy sighed as he pocketed his hands, making his way towards the kitchen.
Looking into the fridge he saw that they had practically no food, so grocery shopping was a necessity. Also he was still set on getting that large bowl of soup for Maka. Sooner or later she would have to eat and right now a good chicken broth would probably be best.
"When are you leaving for work?" – Soul asked from Blair.
"At 1 PM. ~Nya." – she reverted back into her kitten form and jumped on the table, watching what the white-haired weapon was doing. According to the clock it was 10 AM now.
"I gotta go run some errands, should be back by then. Mind watching Maka if she needs anything?" – he requested as he put his shoes back on, patting his pockets to make sure he had his wallet and keys, and headed out the door.
"Sure." – the cat replied as she licked her paws and rubbed them behind her ears.