"Murrue? Hey, c'mon honey..time to wake up.."

She could hear his voice, but it sounded faint and faraway. Mumbling a little, she snuggled further down in the fluffy comforter, burying her head in the pillows. All she wanted was to just go back to sleep, but the voice appeared again at the edge of her consciousness. "Murrue?" Something touched her shoulder, and she shook it away. "Mmmmm.." The next thing she knew, the covers were pulled back, letting in bright daylight. She winced at the sharp pain that stabbed through her head at the light, and huddled back into the pillows. "Go away..." she murmured, reaching out blindly to try and grab the comforter, but she couldn't find it. Instead, a warm hand was placed over her forehead. "You're burning up.." the voice said. "I'm sorry..." A moment later, the covers were replaced, and tucked firmly around her. She smiled sleepily, and curled back up, falling back asleep almost at once.

Mwu sighed, running a hand through tousled blonde hair. He had tried to wake Murrue up, knowing that she'd be late for work, but he hadn't expected her to be sick. She was running a high fever, her forehead so hot the skin almost burned his fingers..and now he felt bad for disturbing her. Wandering downstairs, he picked up the phone, going outside so he could make his calls without waking his sleeping girlfriend. He punched in the numbers for Morgenroete, placing the reciever to his ear.

"Hello?" Erica Simmons' voice answered, and Mwu whispered. "Hey, Erica, it's Mwu.."

"Fllaga-san? What's going on? Why are you whispering?"

"Cause Murrue's sleeping. She's sick, has a fever. I was just calling in to tell you she wouldn't be coming in today.." He heard Erica sigh at the other end of the line. "Sick, huh? I noticed yesterday that she was flagging a bit..but she denied it when I asked her. Okay, tell her not to rush things, and you take care of her. Thanks, Fllaga-san."

Ending the call, Mwu next dialled the academy, explaining the situation. They didn't sound happy, but let him take the day off. Afterwards, he took a bowl of ice water and a cloth upstairs to where Murrue lay. She was still sleeping, face peaceful, even with the hectic red flush to her cheeks. Mwu smiled, placing the back of his hand against her forehead. She was still running a fever, and it was still pretty high, so he soaked the cloth in the water, carefully laying it on her brow. The coolness of the water against the fever caused the young woman to stir, and she awoke, gazing up at the man who sat beside her with tired amber eyes.

"Mwu?" she mumbled softly, managing a sleepy smile. "Whatcha doing?" The man grinned, stroking her dark hair lovingly. "Looking after you." he replied, his smile widening as Murrue closed her eyes and nuzzled into his touch. "Why?" she asked drowsily, opening her eyes again.

"Cause you're sick," he replied, adjusting the cloth on her forehead. "You have a fever..."

She looked surprised at that, then set her chin determinedly. "M'not sick.." she replied, stubbornly trying to sit up, the cool cloth falling from her as she wriggled about under the covers. Mwu chuckled in amused exasperation, easily pushing her back down onto the bed. "Stay put." he told her cheerfully. Murrue grumbled, but couldn't really do anything about it. As he replaced the covers, she peeked up at him. "Can't I get up?"

"Nope." he said cheerfully, squeezing one of her small hands. "You can stay there 'till your fever goes down a bit. Want something to eat or drink?" She huffed a little at being made to stay in bed, but smiled at his offer. "I'm not really hungry.." she replied softly. "But some juice would be nice..." Mwu nodded, leaning forward to gently kiss her forehead. "Okay, sweetheart. You stay there and rest, okay?"

She rolled her eyes, but smiled again. As Mwu got up, he gazed down at her for a moment, the pale face and thick dark hair set off by the rosy flush to her cheeks, and the red pyjamas...she looked adorable, and he leaned down to kiss her again. Murrue's eyes widened, but then closed slowly as she returned the kiss.

"What was that for?" she asked, face even redder. He shrugged. "Cause you just looked so darn cute." She screwed her nose up at that, but she did look happy. After ruffling her hair, Mwu set off downstairs to fix her a glass of juice. He grinned to himself as he poured the cool liquid. Murrue's sickness wasn't nearly as bad as he'd first feared, apart from the high fever, she seemed okay. She was still sleepy, however, and some more rest would do her good.

Plus, it's an effective way to get her to stay put.

Back upstairs, he placed the glass on the bedside table, slipping an arm behind his girlfriend's back to help her sit up. She regarded him for a second, then sighed. "You took the day off, didn't you?" she asked, and he grinned. "Sure did. To look after you."

"I don't need looking after..." she huffed, pushing the comforter back. Mwu simply replaced the covers again, placing a hand on her forehead. "Right. And the fact that you're running a temperature means that you're just fine. Tell the truth."

She frowned, folding her arms. "My head and my joints hurt a bit, that's all. Don't fuss." She reached out to take the glass, sipping the juice, her annoyed expression melting into relief as the cool liquid soothed the back of her aching throat. The blonde man grinned. "And your throat hurts too? And you're still sleepy?"

"Mwu!" she complained. "Stop it! I'm just fi..." Her tirade was cut off by a huge yawn, and Mwu couldn't help but laugh. He took the glass from her hand, and gently lowered her back down onto the bed. Murrue attempted to protest, but found herself yawning again. "Why am I..." she mumbled, and he smiled. "Cause you pushed yourself too hard..." he replied, chuckling as his stubborn Murrue tried to fight the drowsiness overtaking her. He kissed her flushed cheek, and stroked her dark hair until she finally gave up the fight, and fell into a peaceful sleep.

"Sleep well, princess. I'll be right here when you wake up."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

( A mountain of the finest fluff XD. Enjoy. Poor Murrue-san...she conked out lmao.

Please read and review! )