Healing Kisses (ch2)

EARLY RELEASE FOR MY $20+ PATRONS!

This will be my second time writing Claudine sick, (the first being in Tender Moments, and actually there was a similar plotpoint in Upon Our Fated Stage, but that's another story, literally). But either way, I did this one a bit differently; rather than fever/cough/all that stuff, Claudine has a different symptom.

Disclaimer: I do not own Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight.

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														Chapter 2.

It's true that Maya has always been a bit of a hopeless romantic, therefore she whole-heartedly believes it was Claudine's kiss that cured her sickness so swiftly.

She wakes the next morning ready to attend her lessons as usual, without any soreness in her throat or aching in her head. She puts on her uniform and gets ready in a timely fashion before exiting her room and heading to classes.

Everyone greets her and wishes her well, glad to see she's recovered. She arrives at her first class early and consults about what she'd missed with the instructor. Naturally of course, her diligent companion Junna had taken extra notes for her, and Maya thanks her humbly.

"Glad to have you back, Tendo-san," Junna says. "It's a good thing it wasn't a severe sickness."

"Nothing of the sort," she assures.

"Yes, yes," Kaoruko says dismissively. "That's all very good. But I do have to wonder about Saijou-san."

Maya catches the mischievous hint in her eye, but remains calm.

"Whatever do you mean?"

"Oh, you know. How she missed afternoon lessons after declaring she would go check on you. It makes one wonder what she must have done in order for you to be so energetic today."

"All right, enough!" Futaba intercepts her, chopping Kaoruko lightly on the head. "Why do you gotta make everything sound suggestive? You're gonna start rumors."

"Heavens! I would never!"

Futaba bonks her again before turning to Maya.

"Don't worry, Tendo. I'll keep an eye on this one."

"I greatly appreciate it."

"But you were the last one to see Kuro yesterday. Any idea where she is?"

Maya is only partially surprised to discover Claudine isn't present in class today. She'd been hoping things might turn out differently, but it seems luck isn't on her side.

"I may have an inkling."

"Oh, no!" Nana wails. "Could she have caught your cold? Do you think she's sick now?"

"That sounds likely," Hikari says.

"Waah, poor Kuro-chan!" Karen wails. "Mahiru-chan, maybe we should go check on her-"

"Eh? Right now? But, Karen-"

"No need to fret," Maya says calmly. "If she is not here by lunchtime, I will go see her. If she has gotten sick because of me, it is my responsibility, after all."

"Fu fu fu, how sweet."

"Quiet, Kaoruko! It's none of your business."

Class begins and everyone takes their seats. When their professor calls for Claudine, there's no response. Maya can only imagine how frustrated she must be, to be missing lessons when Maya is here attending, fearing she's going to fall even farther behind...

But what worries Maya the most is that she doesn't know how bad Claudine's condition is. She supposes she's being handed a taste of her own medicine since Claudine hasn't contacted her or informed her about anything. Maya just hopes it's nothing too severe.

The morning classes pass by without any signs of Claudine making an appearance, so naturally by lunchtime Maya is prepared to go see her. She eats a little hurriedly before standing up and taking her leave.

"Well then, everyone, I plan to go check on Saijou-san. Depending on her condition I may stay with her for the remainder of the afternoon."

"Yeah, yeah," Futaba rolls her eyes. "Give her my best."

"It is rather humorous," Kaoruko giggles. "That is essentially what Saijou-san said yesterday when it was you who was ill, Tendo-san."

"Right!" Karen blurts out. "Tell Kuro-chan we all hope she feels better!"

The others all agree, asking Maya to pass their well wishes along to their classmate before she takes her leave. She brings a bottle of water with her, then makes her way rather briskly down the hallways to the dorms. A seed of worry had planted itself in her chest early that morning when Claudine hadn't shown up for homeroom, but now it's begun to sprout a bit more.

In minutes, she finds herself at Claudine's door and comes to a stop. When she listens, she hears no sounds or movements from the other side. Maya raises her free hand to the door and knocks.

"Saijou-san? It's me."

She waits, but no response comes. She doesn't want to intrude if she's sleeping, but Maya had known the second she'd set out to come here she'd have to enter the room one way or another, just to check on Claudine and see for herself what the situation is. She knocks again.

"Saijou-san? Are you there? May I come in?"

Still nothing. Maya grips the bottle in her hand a little more tightly.

"I've brought you some water. I'll give it to you and then I'll be on my way if you need nothing more."

Now that she's provided an ample excuse to intrude, Maya tries the door knob. To her relief it's unlocked, as though the occupant had been expectant or even hopeful of company.

Maya enters slowly, cautious of potentially waking her if she's asleep. The room is lit by a lamp, and the curtains have been pulled aside to let in sunlight as well. Her eyes go instantly to the bed.

To her relief, she finds Claudine sitting up, still wearing her nightgown. At the very least, Maya is glad she hadn't woken her from a restful sleep. Claudine turns her head and glares at her, but doesn't say a word. Maya dips her head and approaches.

"My apologies for coming in. I simply wanted to check on you and see how you were fairing."

Claudine still says nothing. She just crosses her arms and turns her face away. Maya smiles.

"Am I getting the cold-shoulder treatment because I got you sick? To be fair, I was not the one who initiated that kiss, Saijou-san."

More glaring. Maya comes a little closer, almost cautiously now.

"Come now, Ma Claudine. Sure you can spare me a few words? I will even gladly accept any reprimands."

Claudine lets out a sigh, and the anger in her expression transforms into something more frustrated. She puts a hand to her throat and grimaces. Maya frowns, and a prickle of worry creeps into her stomach.

"Claudine? What is the matter?"

Still, she says nothing, but Claudine reaches toward her nightstand and opens the drawer. She pulls out a small notepad and pen, flips to a clean page and begins writing. Maya waits, patient and concerned, until she finishes and lifts up the page. It reads:

"My throat has been bothering me all morning. I would rather not speak if I can avoid it. I can't afford to damage my voice."

Maya's pensive expression softens as soon as she understands it's nothing too dire.

"I see. Have you taken any medicine?"

Claudine gives her an irritated look.

"Of course. I have my own supply of things."

"Have you eaten?"

A nod.

"Do you have any other symptoms? A fever?"

Claudine shakes her head. She appears to be more irked at the fact that she's refusing to use her voice and snap at Maya than anything else. At the very least it means her ailments are nothing serious, but that just means Maya can enjoy herself to the fullest in this situation.

"Luckily, I know better than to trust the word of a sick person who is adamantly trying not to inconvenience others. Therefore, I would have to insist I check your temperature myself."

Claudine's lip curves into a snarl and she begins writing furiously in her notepad. But before she can finish Maya has already moved close to sit on the edge of the bed.

"I've heard no protests, so I'll assume this is permissible. Lean back, please."

She purposefully pushes the notepad out of Claudine's hands and into her lap, effectively ignoring whatever it was she was writing. Claudine tries to resist, but the second Maya rests a hand on her forehead, the girl freezes.

Maya wraps her free arm around Claudine's shoulders, helping her lean back against the pillows. She leans close, and she hears Claudine catch her breath in a gasp. As much as she would love to kiss her right now, Maya refrains, lest she get kicked out. So she only does as she'd promised and checks her temperature, first with the back of her hand.

"You do feel a little warm." She replaces her hand with her own forehead, closing her eyes in concentration as Claudine stiffens. Maya waits for a few seconds, trying to assess things, before Claudine paws her off. Maya eases back with a thoughtful hum in her tone. "If anything, it is only a slight fever. To be safe, I should check your pulse as well."

Claudine grits her teeth and yanks her notepad up for Maya to see. It says something along the lines of "I don't need you to" but Maya doesn't read the whole thing.

"Please, Claudine. Once I can be certain you're all right, I will take my leave. Letting me know for myself is the only way to get rid of me."

Claudine thinks on it for a second, then scribbles something else.

"I said I'm fine. Are you saying you don't trust me?"

Maya doesn't falter. "I am merely saying I know better than to believe someone whose judgement may be clouded with sickness."

Claudine snorts and begins writing more, but Maya stops her with a hand on hers.

"Please, Ma Claudine. You did the same for me yesterday, didn't you?" And of course Maya is doing it a bit more teasingly, but she does still genuinely care. Claudine must know that, because she heaves a deep sigh and looks away, silent consent to let Maya do as she pleases.

"Thank you." Maya lifts up her hand and kisses it, then turns it over. She presses two fingers against Claudine's wrist until she can feel the pulse. "Close your eyes. Relax."

Claudine huffs and wrinkles her nose slightly, but she's bashful enough about the situation to obey. She closes her eyes and leans back against the pillows, drawing in a steadying breath.

Maya glances to the alarm clock on the bedside table, and once the new minute begins, she starts counting the beats in Claudine's wrist.

For a moment the room is silent. She can feel Claudine relaxing a little bit more, which is all Maya really wanted from this. When time is up she lifts Claudine's hand and kisses her wrist this time.

Claudine opens her eyes slowly and pulls her hand away, once again reaching for her notebook and pen. Maya inches a bit closer to her, tucking the loose strands of hair behind her ear.

"Your pulse seems a little too quick, Ma Claudine."

Claudine doesn't seem fazed by the comment. She simply writes something down before revealing the page that reads: 'That's your fault.'

Maya cracks a smile. "In that case, I'm very glad to know it isn't due to the fever. I'm honored to be the one who can make your heart race."

Claudine turns pink again and begins writing vigorously.

'It isn't racing!'

Maya pays the written words little heed as she moves ever closer, opening her arms in an unmistakable invitation. Claudine huffs, looking away as she lets her notebook drop into her lap again. She lifts her arms up begrudgingly to accept.

Maya wraps herself around her in a firm embrace, pulling Claudine close as she nuzzles into her hair. Maya gathers her silken hair and moves it to one side so she may run her hands gently up and down Claudine's back. She hears the tiny whimper, one of surprise and relief, as Claudine melts against her, clinging in a way that gives away just how much she enjoys it, but refuses to admit as much. Her heart jumps again, and Maya can feel it. She chuckles.

"Silly girl. You don't need to use your voice in order for me to know exactly what you're feeling."

There's a little resistance at that, as expected, but Maya persists in running patterns up and down Claudine's back, carding through her hair. She must be too tired to put up much of a fight, because she relents again before long, and succumbs to her fate.

Maya revels quietly in her victory and plants a kiss on her temple. Claudine grunts and huffs in the back of her throat. Maya purrs.

"Don't worry. I know I'm insufferable."

Claudine snorts and pulls back to glare up at her. Maya laughs.

"My apologies. But we both know you couldn't possibly consider kicking me out at this point."

Claudine blushes, but her eyes remain furious with a look that says, 'wanna bet?'

Maya just smiles. "Still as stubborn as ever, though I'm glad you're preserving your voice for the time being." She kisses Claudine's cheek, effectively pacifying her flustered partner. "Now then, it would be good if you got a bit of rest so you may recover entirely by tomorrow. Perhaps I shall use the same magical methods you used on me yesterday? After all, it did cure me, I'm sure."

Claudine snarls a soft warning, and her answer is clear; if Maya tries to kiss her right now, she'll bite. Her eyes say something along the lines of, 'You idiot! What if you catch the cold again? Then we'll be right back at square one and we'll just keep missing classes all week!'

Maya can imagine her scolding every word, and supposes she's right.

"Very well. But at least allow me one last selfish act." She leans in close once more, making a silent request. Claudine glares back, but eventually heaves a sigh. She closes her eyes and concedes. Maya dips her head. "Merci, mademoiselle."

She reaches up and thumbs Claudine's hair away from her forehead, then leans in. Maya holds a kiss between her eyes for a long moment, until she can feel her skin heating up. At that point, Claudine paws her away and glares some more.

"My apologies," Maya murmurs. "You should get some rest now. Allow me." She slips her arms around Claudine and supports her, adjusting the pillows properly before helping her lie down.

Clearly anxious about having to look up at her now, Claudine grabs her blankets and rolls onto her side to cover her expression. Maya only smiles and places her hand on hers.

"Rest, Ma Claudine. I shall stay by your side until you wake and feel well enough to speak."

Another huff. Maya knows exactly what her voice would be saying right now if she were willing to use it: 'insufferable, infuriating, unbelievable!'

But as Claudine settles in, she laces her fingers gently through Maya's and squeezes.

And that hand in hers says something entirely different, something Maya knows to be Claudine's truest feelings, from her heart:

'Merci.'

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A/N: Looking back to edit this now... wow it was sloppy ahhaa definitely far from my best Kuromaya work, but I've already done all I originally wanted to do. These little sick fics were just to satiate some reoccurring hunger.

I'll probably just add in any future oneshots to this collection.