Maka watched her partner rush out of the living room and close the bathroom door on himself with a loud bang. She couldn't help but worry. Was he ill? But no retching sound came her way and she just couldn't imagine what could be wrong.
She woke Soul up because he kept twitching and scrunching his face together in sleep. The ash-blonde genuinely thought that he had a nightmare but judging from his reaction that wasn't it.
Maka sat there feeling a bit bereft, hugging the blanket to herself as she pulled up her feet to her chest and kept on watching Rachel McAdams wait for her husband while he traveled through time to pop up at various random points during her own timeline. She could empathize with her just now, given her partner's recent disappearing act.
Not having the energy to keep herself upright without using Soul as a cushion she lied down on the sofa. The movie was nearing its end as her eyelids kept fluttering, getting heavier and heavier with each blink.
A good hour passed before Soul had the guts to go out of the bathroom again. Cleaning himself up had been easy but the problem was that he had no change of underwear with him.
Sneaking out as quietly as he could, he made for his room to find something to wear. Getting that out of the way, he went back into the living room where he found that their movie had ended and some silly magazine show was on. Rounding the couch he saw that Maka had fallen asleep, curled up in a ball on her left side, breathing heavily, her cheeks still flushed, clutching a bunch of tissues in her right hand that she had brought up almost to her face.
Deciding not to disturb her – given that he didn't really feel up to facing her to find out what she had perceived of the whole thing yet anyway – he turned the TV off and made sure that the blanket was covering her everywhere, especially her middle, then retreated to his room.
Maka vaguely registered the sound of Soul's room door closing as she stirred from her sleep. The room was dark, the only source of light was from the moonshine filtering in through the window since he had turned off the TV. She felt a little better so probably the meds had kicked in and brought her fever down a bit. She got up and refilled her glass with water to get a drink.
Deciding that it was probably best to retire for the night the ash-blonde meister grabbed the blanket from the sofa. On her way to her room she pondered whether to see what Soul was up to but then decided against it and just went straight into her own. Settling down she grabbed a book from her stand and read for a while before sleep claimed her again.
Unfortunately it didn't last very long because soon she woke up again with the urge to cough. Maka secretly hoped that Soul would come rushing in to see how she was but he never came. Maybe he was asleep…
Soul was mortified beyond belief. He had heard Maka use the kitchen faucet then go back to her room. He wondered if she wanted company based on their track record of the past two days. Then his dream came to his mind again, nearly giving him a nosebleed. Nope… there was no way I could face Maka just now… For a good two hours he just sat there on his bed staring before himself.
Then he heard her coughing through the wall, but before he could gather the courage to check on her the fit subsided. And he was left in the silence again. He got ready for sleep but all he could do was stare at the ceiling, too anxious to actually drift off.
Some time later there was a knock on his door.
"Yeah?" – he called out after a few seconds pretending to have just woken up, hoping that Maka wasn't trying to gauge his reactions via the use of Soul Perception.
"Hey…" – Maka trailed off as she opened the door and leaned against the doorframe, a hint of vulnerability in her voice. Soul wouldn't meet her eyes. Awkwardness and tension was palpable from his soul wavelengths, so instead of asking if she could sleep with him another question formed in her mind. – "Are you angry with me for some reason?"
Right. Shit. The only times he had ever ignored her was when something she had done bothered him.
"If it's about the movie I'm sorry, I know you don't like that sappy stuff." – she whispered trying to figure out what was going on but also to lighten the mood.
"No, it's not that." – Soul offered, but still not looking her way which was starting to seriously piss Maka off. Or would have if she could muster the energy for it.
"Did I do something wrong?" – the ash-blonde girl asked again, a bit hurt by the way her partner was acting towards her just now.
"No. I'm sorry, I'm just really tired." – he said turning on his side away from Maka that effectively shut her out and signaled to leave him alone. She left without another word, closing the door behind her quietly.
Wow… way to go Soul… way to be a complete jerk to her… – he groaned inwardly as he buried his face in his hands.
The problem was that all he could see now when looking at his partner was her doing all sorts naughty stuff to him. Which – when he thought about it further – was anything but the way Maka would actually act, so clearly it was all in his head.
Sleep was really long ways away for him.
Saturday morning found Maka feeling much better. Physically at least. Her fever was down to 101.2 and aside from a runny nose and few sneezes and coughs here and there, she was pretty fine. Her mood though… Well, the only time she felt lower was when Soul got sliced during their first battle with Crona, and Maka had tripped herself up with guilt.
She felt… rejected. Yes, that was the right word. The meister had no idea what was going on with her partner. One minute it seemed everything was fine – they were watching a movie like usual – then in the next he was not looking her in the eye and practically giving her the silent treatment.
It was still pretty early in the morning so it wasn't unusual for the red-eyed boy to be sleeping, especially on weekends. Using this time she had, Maka decided to call Tsubaki, since she was surely up by now.
"Hi." – her raven-haired friend's calm and warm voice greeted Maka.
"Hey there, Tsubaki." – the green-eyed meister answered back as she made her way back to her room with the phone.
"Maka, hi, are you feeling any better?" – she replied frantically once she recognized the voice. – "Kid told us when we finally got up yesterday that you went home from the party with a fever." – worry was evident in the shadow weapon's voice.
"I'm a bit better now, I was pretty out of it all day yesterday." – Maka admitted.
"You sound pretty stuffed up. Did you catch a cold?" – Tsubaki questioned further. Sometimes Maka thought that she was like a mother to all of them. Especially Black*Star.
"Yeah, something like that." – colds don't really come with fevers above a 102, so it's probably the flu, but she didn't add that bit.
"I'm pretty sure you knew you weren't well when you came to school the day before yesterday, right?" – how the tall girl could sound sweet and admonishing at the same time Maka will never know.
"Yeah, you caught me there." – the ash-blonde laughed embarrassedly, making her cough a bit.
"Seriously…" – Tsubaki sighed, deciding to skip the lecture on proper self-care and how colds and damp, cool places didn't mix. – "You are keeping warm now though, right?"
"Yes, mom." – Maka teased.
"I'm not that bad, am I?" – the ninja suddenly jumped at the implications of how she was behaving, her naturally mellow nature seeping through, trying to get along with everyone.
"No, you are fine." – the blonde laughed, but it died down quickly as she remembered why she was calling in the first place.
"Why do I get the feeling that something else is up?" – Tsubaki inquired, suddenly worried again.
"It's…" – Maka began, unsure of what she should say. – "It's Soul."
"What did he do?" – Tsubaki asked bluntly.
"Nothing… I don't know." – the meister hesitated for a bit. – "One minute everything was fine, he was really sweet, taking care of me, then all of a sudden he ran off and locked himself in the bathroom. At first I thought he might have caught what I had and was sick, but I didn't hear him vomit or anything. Then he has been avoiding me since."
"Did you try asking him about it?" – the raven-haired girl suggested.
"He said he was just tired, but I could feel the tension in the air between us." – Maka recalled last night. In the end she slept by herself but it would have been nice to have Soul there. Maybe I was crossing a line with my request to sleep in the same bed with my partner?
"You know…" – the shadow weapon began with a sigh. – "Men are really quite literal beings. If he said he was tired, it just might be it. I mean he had a long night too, getting drunk, then he was all worried about you. Maybe he really was just exhausted and wanted the night to himself."
"Yeah, you are right. I'm probably just making a mountain out of a molehill." – Maka tried to sound enthusiastic and placated by her friend's words. – "I mean we are just partners, it's not like we have to be sewed together at the hip, right?" – she laughed again awkwardly.
Tsubaki rolled her eyes at the other end of the line where of course Maka wouldn't be able to see. She was really oblivious, wasn't she…
"So, spill the beans, how has Soul been taking care of you?" – the ninja changed subjects with a cheerful tone, effectively sending her blond friend on a spiel about how great her partner was for checking on her all the time, bringing her soup, watching movies with her, cuddling her when she was cold.
Clueless… utterly clueless… – Tsubaki thought.
Feeling much more light-hearted after the girl talk and seeing that Soul still wasn't around, Maka decided to make some breakfast. Eggs and bacon… Her stomach wasn't feeling up to the bacon yet, but Soul would surely appreciate it.
Maybe the lightly sizzling and delicious smelling bacon did its trick because within minutes the white-haired boy was up and checking out what was going on in the kitchen. He paused at the corner, leaning against the wall as he watched Maka's back while she was busy.
"Good morning!" – his meister greeted him cheerfully without turning, obviously sensing his presence without having to look.
"Good morning." – Soul replied in a low, gruff voice, which stopped Maka in her tracks for a second.
"Oh, no. I got you sick, didn't I?" – she turned around as she just got ready with the food and set it on the plates on the table that she had placed earlier. Now bacon didn't seem like such a good idea anymore.
"Just a sore throat, don't sweat it." – the white-haired boy shrugged, his eyes on the food. He couldn't sleep last night and after those few hours of shut-eye that he could get nearing the early hours of dawn, he woke up feeling a bit crap. But he didn't want his meister to feel guilty about it.
So we are still in the not looking me in the eye phase. – Maka sighed. She wished she knew what was wrong. Besides infecting him with her germs, because that didn't seem to bother Soul at all.
"That's how it started for me too." – the meister commented, pulling her mouth into a thin line.
"Well, I'm not gonna go to the pool today so I will probably be fine." – Soul stated flatly, full of sarcasm.
"Not you too!" – Maka exclaimed frustratedly. Why was everyone on her case today?
"Who else had the pleasure of telling you off?" – he smirked with that mischievous toothy grin that always got Maka's heart beating a bit louder.
"Tsubaki. We talked on the phone in the morning. She is seriously a mother hen sometimes." – she revealed with a smile of her own, because honestly she wouldn't have her friend any other way.
"Well, it's still true. How are you by the way?" – Soul glanced at her, their eyes meeting for a split second before he averted his gaze again.
"Better I guess. My fever is more manageable." – Maka sighed and laid her head down on the table once she finished eating, waiting on her partner to fork the rest of it in his mouth too.
"Clearly." – the white-haired boy chuckled at her since it was obvious that even keeping her head up required too much effort on her part at the moment, but it just induced a few dry coughs on his rough throat.
"Are you sure you are fine?" – the green-eyed meister turned her head towards him, trying to assess his condition more closely. He looked a bit paler than normal, but not exactly feverish.
"Yeah, yeah. A little cold's not going to knock me off my feet." – he waved off her concerns, getting up to collect the dishes to place them in the sink. After inconspicuously throwing the bacon out that didn't seem to agree with his stomach at the moment, but he didn't want to let Maka know that.
"If you are sure, I'm going to go lie down. It seems I wasn't that up to cooking just yet." – Maka stated hesitantly.
"Okay." – Soul replied nonchalantly as he fumbled around the kitchen to avoid having to turn around.
"Okay." – the blond girl repeated dejectedly then turned around and left for her room.
Soul! Get your shit together! – the weapon sighed to himself as he sagged a bit against the counter once Maka was gone. He did the dishes sluggishly, realizing when he got to the pan at the bottom that Blair never returned home the previous night. Probably entertaining Death Scythe or something.
Soul was sure he had a low-grade fever, despite denying it to Maka earlier. He could just feel it in his heavy eyes. Although that could have been from the lack of sleep.
He wanted to cuddle up with Maka. The weapon could fully understand his meister's earlier need for it too now. Being miserable when sick was enough of a pain on its own, let alone being lonely too. Interestingly he never felt any urge for anything like this before meeting Maka. His mother was always a bit withdrawn in personality so she didn't offer stuff like this when they were ill with Wes while they were kids.
On the other hand, he feared that his dirty mind would go off on its own again. Or that all he would be able think about once near Maka was that dream. Sucking it up, he decided to make a lemon-honey tea for the both of them and brought it to her room in hopes of placating his partner with it.
"Want some tea?" – he asked through the door.
"Sure!" – Maka perked up on the other side of the door, setting the book she had been reading in bed aside.
"Mind if I join you?" – Soul inquired as he set the tray down on the bedside table, gesturing towards the bed to indicate that he wanted to get under the covers with her too. He was feeling a bit cold. Good as an excuse as any.
The ash-blond meister didn't reply for a second due to being stunned by the sudden change in attitude.
"No. I mean sure. Come on up." – she nodded with wide-eyed surprise, pushing the blanket back and scooting over to make room for her weapon partner.
Soul scrambled in beside her and as Maka adjusted the covers again he handed her the mug with her tea. She hummed in approval as the warmth seeped in through her hands. The aroma of it was so distinct that she could recognize it even with her blocked nose.
"Lemon-honey?" – the ash-blonde asked without opening her eyes and just enjoying the hot steam as it cleared her sinuses a bit.
"Yeah." – her partner confirmed as he sipped a little on his tea, ultimately burning his tongue.
Maka chuckled at her impatient weapon as he jerked back a bit from the scalding beverage.
"Not cool." – he huffed back.
"Yes, that's the whole point of a hot tea." – she teased with a small smile as she blew on hers.
"You know that's not what I meant." – Soul sunk in further into the pillow in mock sulking.
"I know." – Maka maintained. – "But it was hard to pass up."
The white-haired boy rolled his eyes but a smile crept up on his face too.
They sipped their tea in silence, which soothed both of their aching throats to a great degree. Until Blair waltzed in through the window in cat form, apparently opening it with magic from the outside. She transformed back to human form and smirked at the pair of them.
"Aren't you two kiddos just cute. Being sick together, sipping your teas in bed with each other." – Blair purred with a mischievous and all-knowing smile.
"How did you know that Soul got sick too?" – Maka looked at her questioningly.
"Cats can just tell these things." – she winked at them, then started frantically looking around in the room, checking the corners, going even as far as ducking under the bed as if she had lost something. – "Ah, there it is. I knew I left it somewhere around here!" – the cat witch exclaimed suddenly pulling a set of sexy lingerie out from under the bed.
Soul spluttered his tea out in surprise, while Maka's face turned ash white from shock.
"W-what… what the hell is your underwear doing under my bed?" – she stuttered out in disbelief.
"I was supposed to bring it to work but left it here accidentally." – Blair laughed it off. – "Silly me."
The weapon-meister duo was speechless and tried to hide their embarrassment from the situation with sipping more tea. Bad idea.
"Want me to try it on to see how it looks, Soul?" – the purple hatted kitty inquired with a sly smile, making Soul almost expire as he swallowed the wrong way and subsequently coughing his lungs up. But there was no nosebleed to his surprise.
"I'm sick dammit, leave me alone." – he managed to huff once he gathered his wits, looking anywhere but Blair to hide his blush. There was only a certain meister he would have wanted to see in that thing.
"Anyway, get well soon guys, and behave yourselves!" – Blair playfully wiggled her index finger at them then skipped to the door and left with a whirlwind behind her since she left the window open.
"I'll get it." – Maka offered, handing her cup to Soul, quickly getting up on her knees and closing the window beside the bed before the warmth could escape from the room.
Turning to settle back in her bed she noticed Soul spacing out. Maka placed her hand on his forehead to see if he was feverish at all which prompted him to look at her. They gazed into each other's eyes for the first time since last night when the red-eyed boy ran out of the living room in a big hurry. It took the ash-blond meister a few seconds to realize that given her own elevated temperature she wouldn't be able to tell if he had a fever this way. She blushed a bit at her mistake and got back under blankets, her partner's eyes still on her.
"I'm fine, don't worry." – Soul insisted as he drank more tea, his voice considerably gruffer from the earlier episode.
"I would be calmer if you actually took your temperature." – Maka asserted as she retrieved her mug from the white-haired boy.
"Would have to wait a half an hour after this." – he raised the drink in his hand to indicate what he was referring to, Maka needing no further explanation to the fact that the reading would off because of the hot beverage they had drunk. – "And we only have your thermometer in here anyway."
"I think the concern of passing on germs to each other is a moot point right now." – the ash-blonde rolled her eyes at her weapon.
"Oh, so you wouldn't mind an indirect kiss from me then if I used yours?" – Soul asked teasingly, preparing for a Maka-chop for his comment, but his meister remained motionless, not uttering a single word for a long while.
"I was just kidding. Don't worry, I will get myself another thermometer from the bathroom cabinet later." – he said, then placed his cup down on the bedside table and scooted down in bed. Turning on his side, facing Maka he was snoring within seconds, the sleepless night catching up with him.
"No, I wouldn't mind at all." – Maka whispered as she watched her albino weapon's chest rise and fall with every even, deep breath he took.