Healing Kisses (ch18)

EARLY RELEASE FOR MY $30+ PATRONS!

So since we hurt Claudine last chapter, it's only fair to balance it out, right? But it won't be the same.

Disclaimer: I do not own Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight.

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															Chapter 18.

A golden warmth washes across the backs of Maya's eyelids early that morning and rouses her slowly. She shifts about a little, trying to gauge her position in relation to her partner's - her left arm is comfortably numb, which tells her Claudine is lying on top of it. Her right arm is draped across Claudine's back, and her legs are softly tangled with hers.

Maya shifts a little closer to her, dreading the act of opening her eyes to see the time that will most likely be far too close to her alarm going off. Instead, she nestles up to her sleeping classmate, trailing her fingertips gently across Claudine's shoulders and down her back. She lets her face sink into the pillow right next to hers and listens to the little humming moans of her breath.

Maya savors every second of having her all to herself like this, gliding her fingers through the messy curls of hair yet to be combed. Her natural scent mingles with that of last night's lingering cherry blossom shampoo, and Maya breathes it in as deeply as she can.

But eventually, not knowing when the peace and quiet will end is too much for her, so she opens her eyes to glance at the alarm clock on Claudine's nightstand.

There's an incomparable sense of relief when one wakes nearly an hour before their alarm is set to go off, and that wonderful feeling flows through her now.

With a sigh and a smile, Maya pulls Claudine closer and closes her eyes again.

She lazes around without falling back asleep, petting over her shoulders and aimlessly mapping patterns across her back. With great care, she painstakingly removes her trapped arm from beneath Claudine's weight and stretches it out to get the feeling back. But as soon as she's accomplished that feat, she uses that arm to caress her partner's adorable sleeping face. Maya simply can't take her eyes off of her.

As the sun continues to shine through the pink curtains, it glazes Claudine in an angelic light. Her skin glows and her hair shines like the waves of a small golden ocean. Maya's heart suddenly swells as if engulfed by that tide, bathed in so much warmth and love so early in the morning she can hardly handle it without tearing up a little.

With a sigh, Maya leans in to leave a small kiss on her forehead before closing her eyes again, resting her face nose-to-nose with hers. Her hand continues roaming along Claudine's back, only coming to a pause at her side to register the soft thrumming of her heartbeat.

Maya makes every second last this morning, until a fleeting glance at the clock warns her of what's to come. She coaxes her princess into a gentle embrace and holds her close in preparation. It feels like the longest minute of her life, but eventually time wins out and the clock starts beeping.

Claudine is woken from her sleepy trance with a moan so irresistible it's quite impressive that Maya hasn't kissed her already. She loosens her hold on her just a little, enough to let Claudine stretch herself out and get her bearings.

Maya pushes herself up to silence the alarm, then lies back down to ensure she's the first thing her partner sees this morning. Claudine rubs the backs of her eyes in a cute, childish fashion, mumbling incomprehensible things as she adjusts to the light of the waking world. As soon as she blinks open her eyes, Maya is right there waiting for her.

"Why, good morning, ma princesse."

Claudine huffs.

"Why do I get the feeling you've been watching me sleep for hours?"

"I'm not sure. It was only one hour at the most."

"That's awfully creepy." She says as much, but it's clear by the way her eyes drop down to Maya's lips that Claudine's heart is in the exact same place as hers.

Maya dips down for a brief little kiss, one that Claudine reciprocates as best she can until a petite yawn interrupts her. Maya chuckles and hooks her arms beneath hers, turning her over onto her back. She braces herself up on her elbows to look her over.

"How are you feeling this morning? Is your stomach all right?"

Claudine must remember now exactly how she'd fallen asleep last night, like a puppy beneath Maya's belly rubs.

"It's fine."

"My, are you sure? Because I could always continue-"

"That won't be necessary-"

But in an act of mercy, Maya's hand has already found its way to come rest upon Claudine's stomach. She begins to move it ever-so-slowly, in a manner that has Claudine's irked tone instantly melting away into a whimper. Maya smirks a little smugly and brings her hand upward a bit to glide across her collar.

"Oh my, Saijou-san," she purrs. "In spite of your protests you seem awfully content right now."

Claudine's eyes flash open into a glare and she tries to paw Maya's hand away.

"Quit it! We have to get to class-"

"Oh, but don't you remember? Our first block's instructor is absent today, so we may stay in a bit later."

Claudine makes an expression that's mixed between annoyed and relieved and embarrassed all at once. A blush coats her cheeks in seconds and she quickly turns her face as far away from Maya as possible.

"Still, we should-"

"Ma Claudine~" Maya leans down and whispers huskily against the shell of her ear. She feels Claudine's pulse spike beneath her palm. "As I recall, you had quite a difficult day yesterday. I think you deserve a morning of rest, don't you?" She pauses her hand for a moment, feeling as Claudine's pulse backflips quicker and quicker before she finally cracks.

"Fine! Do what you want then! We both know you're only indulging yourself anyway…"

Maya grins. "Indeed I am." She knows if she tried to kiss her again now she'd get bit, so she simply lies back down beside Claudine and continues massaging her stomach.

For all her stubborn protests, Claudine melts within seconds, sighing and relaxing instantly just as she'd done last night. Maya has gained confidence with her motions by now, so she moves her hands in the exact ways she knows will bring about the best results.

To her delight, Claudine actually falls back asleep before long.

Maya knows it's probably not good for her ego to be stroked this much so early in the morning, but she takes it as a major victory in her book.

While her hand continues lazily rubbing across Claudine's stomach, Maya rests her head on her chest to listen to the song of her heart. In only moments, the rhythm has lulled her into a state of sleep that teeters between unconsciousness and its counterpart, gently pushing her from one realm into the other, back and forth like waves.

It's a long, warm, indulgent morning indeed.

But even all the best things must come to an end - at least until tomorrow.

For now, Maya feels herself being roused as Claudine rolls her off her chest, quickly pushing herself up so Maya can't ambush her with even more tender touches and sweet nothings.

"Get up," she snaps. "We're going to be late now."

Maya sits up and stretches, then follows her out the door and to the restrooms to change and freshen up. The smug smile never leaves her face all morning long.

Maya makes sure to keep an eye on Claudine throughout the morning due to how rough yesterday had been on her, but thankfully Claudine is entirely back to normal now.

Their lecture classes pass by as per usual, until dance lessons come at the end of the day. Claudine makes up her assessment from yesterday and performs her routine exceptionally well, earning nothing but praise from Ms. Sakuragi.

When she's finished and given her grade (which is excellent, by the way), she retreats to the locker room for a drink. Maya subtly slips away to follow her without anyone else noticing.

While Claudine is taking a sip from her water, Maya prowls up from behind and ambushes, pouncing by locking both arms around her waist and pressing up against her back.

"That was quite the splendid performance, Saijou-san," she draws into her ear. Claudine sputters and coughs, spilling water down her front as she quickly brings her wrist to her mouth.

"T-Tendo Maya-! What do you think you're-?!"

"I merely thought congratulations were in order, Ma Claudine."

"Get off." Claudine pries her away and grabs the towel from her locker to dry herself off as much as possible, muttering all the while. "Honestly. Now I'm going to have to go back out there with water stains all over my clothes."

"Never fear," Maya purrs. "So long as you remain pressed up close against me, no one will notice."

"Mechante. You are unbelievable, Tendo Maya." Claudine pushes past her and stomps to the exit, then pauses to call back at her. "And don't follow right behind me."

Maya does as she'd been told and waits a few moments before emerging from the locker room as well. The few other girls who had needed to do make-up assessments have just finished up, so Sakuragi calls for them all to get into partners. Maya saunters over to where Claudine is stretching out on the floor touching her toes and offers out her hand. Claudine wrinkles her nose cutely, but accepts nonetheless. Maya helps her up, and together they join their classmates to hear about what they'll be practicing today.

Ms. Sakuragi explains the routine and passes around a few iPads with a video so everyone can get an idea of what they're doing. It involves two people, so naturally Maya takes a step closer to Claudine to stake her claim, as if it hadn't been obvious enough already.

To Maya, the routine is simple enough to memorize after seeing it only once. It's just a matter of slowly going through the steps a few times before she's ready to ask Claudine to join her.

Everyone else stands back to watch them first, as is usual. Maya and Claudine are always the quickest to pick up a dance routine and be able to perform it as a sort of example to the rest of them. Though it is a partner's dance, they only come together a few times to grab hands and twirl each other around to switch sides, but for the most part they are simply mirroring one another - something that requires the timing and cooperation only they can achieve so quickly and flawlessly.

At the end, one person gives a small leap, and the other is to support them by the waist to lift them up a bit before bringing them to a safe landing.

Naturally, Maya steps into position to support Claudine the first time around, gracefully dipping down a little to show her intent. Claudine purses her lips just a little, but doesn't verbally protest for the sake of the routine. She bends her knees and gives a small leap, where Maya is ready and waiting to catch her, using her momentum to help lift her up high for a second before bringing her back down. They finish with hands interlocked and take a deep bow simultaneously.

Their classmates break into a small applause.

"Wow! That was amazing as ever, you two!"

"I think I understand how to do it now!"

"Excellent," Sakuragi says. "Now switch roles or pick up the pace a little. Add your own unique style to it."

So they do as instructed and switch positions so they can each learn both sides of it. A bit of background music is put on the CD player to help set the mood of the piece as the rest of the students begin practicing too.

Maya and Claudine continue as well, keeping their timing and staying in-step together, reflecting one another in perfect sync. This time at the end, Claudine raises Maya for the leap before they take their bow.

"I must say," Maya smiles, tugging at Claudine's wrist to smoothly pull her into a dip. "That was quite impressive."

Claudine hastily pries her off and wriggles out of her arms.

"We're in class, you idiot," she snaps.

"Indeed we are."

Claudine huffs and tosses her hair over her shoulder to get her bearings.

Maya waits patiently for her. She isn't quite sure why, but she's found herself in a delighted mood this afternoon, more so than usual. She must be showing it somehow, because Claudine narrows her eyes in a suspicious glare.

"What's got you so gung-ho? We aren't finished yet, you know. We had a few parts where our timing was off."

Maya tilts her head innocently.

"I'm aware," she replies. "As for the query of my mood… I'm not quite sure. Perhaps it is the music or the routine, or simply because of the fact that I am privileged enough to perform it with you, Saijou-san."

Claudine sputters.

"Wh-? What's gotten into you? You're being creepier than usual." She turns her face away but offers her hand out to her. "Come on. Let's do it again."

And Maya happily obliges her. She truly isn't sure what's gotten into herself either, but she feels a bit lighter today, moves a bit more easily. When she tries to think about what she'd done differently today that might have caused this, she can only link it to the fact that she'd gotten to sleep in late with Claudine this morning.

If she could do that every morning, and not just on weekends or on rare days when a professor wasn't in, it might jeopardize her career by making her want to stay curled up in bed all day long.

As they go through the routine again, Maya puts her body on a sort of autopilot, letting muscle memory do the job as her mind wanders back to this morning - Claudine's adorable bedhead, her cozy body heat, how the sunlight graced her at just the perfect angle…

She's lost in her daydreams. Perhaps just a little too much.

Because when Claudine bounces up for the leap, Maya catches her perfectly, but must've misjudged the distance between them. Claudine throws her arms out to the sides in a grand gesture of flare, and the next thing Maya knows she's being shoved from her daydreaming by an elbow to the face.

The impact hits her as hard as if she were enjoying a beautiful, warm, flowery meadow only to be suddenly struck by a rock. A sound mixed between a gasp and a short cry flies from her lips as the pain registers, but even so, she manages to help Claudine land before she crumbles to the floor. A second later, she hears Claudine's voice, high in shock and panic.

"H-Hey! Tendo Maya!"

Maya's eyes are shut, but she is aware of the rest of the class coming to a halt all around her, hearing people stopping their steps to murmur and cry out in surprise.

"What happened?"

"Eh? Tendo-san?"

"Is she all right?"

Only now when all of their comments start reaching her does it truly click as reality for her. There's a sharp, stinging pain throbbing around her nose and cheek. She presses both hands tightly across her nose and mouth, swallowing thickly.

Overall, she's a fine, unceremonious mess.

But as the music is paused and nervous patters of footsteps rush over, and familiar voices call out her name, the one she hears above all else is the one she knows best.

"Maya-?!" In her panic, Claudine has dropped all formalities, and if not for the pain in her face Maya probably would have smiled. She feels a tentative hand on her back, trying to help her sit up. Then, a horrified gasp. "Oh my god, she's bleeding-!"

Maya doesn't realize it until Claudine shrieks the truth in terror. The difficulty of swallowing was because the usual saliva is now mixed with blood; blood that's oozing out between her fingers, over her lips, down her chin and onto her clothes as well as the floor.

With the confirmation of blood having been spilled, a lot more panic arises. She recognizes her friends' voices amongst the crowd.

"Oh no-"

"Maya-chan-?"

"Sh-Should we call the cops?!"

"You'd call an ambulance, Karen."

"And I don't think it's that bad…"

"Even so, that's quite a bit of blood…"

Now that she understands her injury, Maya keeps a tighter hold on her nose and slowly opens her eyes. As they've all mentioned, there is already a sizable splatter of red on the floor and on her lap, staining her white stockings. Her head is aching slightly from the dizzying sensation of being struck, followed immediately by dropping to her knees.

But even the slight pain and embarrassment is made lighter when she sees that Claudine is right there next to her, her eyes ridden with concern and dismay. She seems a tiny bit relieved when Maya opens her eyes, though.

"Maya!" she cries. "Are you all right?"

Maya swallows again, but before she can speak Claudine is already chiding her more.

"Idiot! Don't swallow the blood! You'll make yourself sick!"

Maya actually chuckles a little in spite of her situation, and in the process a little more blood spurts out. Claudine yelps.

"H-Hey! What are you laughing about?"

Maya shakes her head a bit and finally speaks, though her voice is a little muffled and clogged.

"It's nothing. I'm all right."

Claudine scoffs.

"Says the girl bleeding all over the studio! Can someone please bring us some tissues?"

There's a bit more bustling and conversation above Maya, but she's just glad that Claudine is sticking close to her side and not taking her hand off her shoulder.

When Ms. Sakuragi finally makes her way over, she calms down the clustering girls as best she can and looks Maya over.

"Tendo, get to the nurse. Do you need someone to take you?"

But before Maya can even respond, Claudine jumps in.

"I'll take her," she says. "Technically this is my fault anyway."

"All right."

Maya feels an arm across her back now as Claudine presses close to her side, preparing to help her up. Maya tries to put a hand around her shoulders in return, but both of her palms are bloody and she doesn't want to get any on her.

A moment later when Nana brings them some tissues, Maya dips her head in thanks, which only causes more blood to drip. Claudine chides her in French and grabs a few tissues before holding them against her nose. Maya eventually grabs hold of them herself and presses them in place with one hand, then crumbles one in her other palm before holding onto Claudine so she won't stain her leotard.

"Are you ready?" Claudine murmurs. "Slowly."

Maya does as she's ordered and stands up slowly, and even then a little dizzy spell hits her. Claudine must feel her sag a bit because she quickly reaches out with her free hand to hold onto her stomach and prop her up.

When they're both finally on their feet, Maya grimaces a little at the streaks of blood left behind on the floor, but now with the tissues pinched on her nose it's stopped dripping.

Claudine pulls her in a bit closer to keep her steady and begins leading her toward the exit. Maya sees and hears her other friends wishing her well, and she smiles and nods in response. She hears Ms. Sakuragi telling everyone to stay away from the mess so she can call the janitor and get everything cleaned properly.

But then as soon as they're alone together in the hallway, only Claudine fills her senses.

Especially her hearing.

"Honestly!" she snaps. "How did this happen? We've done this kind of movement together a thousands times before and no one has ever bled from it! Leave it to you to be the first! You're always first in everything, aren't you? I didn't hit you that hard, did I?"

Maya thinks it's adorable how she goes from exasperated to annoyed to concerned all within the course of five seconds and a single breath. Maya shakes her head.

"You are not to blame for this, Saijou-san. You simply performed the extravagance of the motion as you should have. It was me who didn't position myself properly in time." She sniffles and shifts the tissue around, but immediately gets chided again.

"I thought I told you not to swallow the blood! If you throw up on me I'll never speak to you again."

"Oh my, now that would be an issue…"

"Mechante…"

They make their way to the nurse's office while Maya keeps her eyes trained on the floor. She only looks up when she hears a groan from Claudine.

"You can't be serious…"

There's a little handwritten note on the nurse's office door that explains she will be at a meeting from 2 to 3pm. It's about 2:15 right now.

Claudine growls again.

"We just missed her…" She pauses with Maya just outside the door, making sure she can stand on her own before trying the door. At the very least it's unlocked. "We're going in anyway," she decides. "You need to sit down and get cleaned up."

So Maya follows her inside, too prideful to admit that she's relieved to finally be seated on one of the beds; the walk here had made her a little bit woozy.

Claudine doesn't sit beside her right away, she rushes over to the nurse's desk to write on the sign-in sheet (like Maya had done for her yesterday), then grabs a handful of more tissues, picks up the little waste basket, and brings them back to the bed. Maya drops the dirty tissues into it before accepting the clean ones from her.

"Thank you."

Claudine says nothing for the moment. She just nods and puts her hand on Maya's back again.

Maya closes her eyes for a few minutes and lets the nosebleed run its course, disposing of each tissue as she goes. When it's finally over, she sniffles a few more times before letting the last tissue fall into the bin, then lets out a long sigh. Claudine perks up.

"Did it stop?"

"I believe so."

"Finally. That was a bit excessive for a nosebleed. Do you have to be so dramatic in everything you do, Tendo Maya?"

Maya knows she's only joking and smiles as she plays along.

"But of course. As Head of the 99th class, I must do everything with unparalleled flare. Even getting injured."

"I'd prefer it if you didn't get injured," Claudine snaps. "While I am going to take that #1 spot from you one day, I won't accept doing it because you were out of the picture due to an injury. That's like cheating."

"Worry not. I don't plan on doing it again."

"Good."

A beat of silence passes between them, and Claudine must realize her hand is still on Maya's back, because she removes it now. Maya tilts her head curiously.

"Claudine? Is something the matter?"

Claudine sighs, and her eyes go to the floor.

"I'm sorry. It's my own fault you got injured. I guess I wasn't paying attention to how close you were. I didn't think I'd hit you that hard, but-"

"There is no need for you to apologize, Ma Claudine," Maya stops her, reaching out to gently rest her hands over hers in her lap. "This injury was entirely my own fault. I admit, I wasn't all that focused during our routine. It was my own negligence that caused the poor distance and timing that allowed you to make contact. I've paid my price for my lack of attention today." She doesn't want Claudine to blame herself for something so silly, because Maya knows she'll take it straight to heart.

Claudine glances at her from the corner of her eye, and Maya can see a bit of relief there. When Claudine turns to her fully again, the usual feisty spark is back in her tone.

"You're lucky it didn't bruise. Even makeup can't always cover up an injury right in the middle of your face. You might've been benched for the next few performances or made to wear a mask of some sort. Does it still hurt? Should I get you some ice?"

Maya shakes her head.

"It doesn't hurt at all."

"All right…"

Maya smiles and opens her arms, inviting her in. But Claudine pokes her chest and pushes her back.

"Not when you look like you've just been in a horror film."

Maya looks down at herself and remembers the fine trail of blood splattered across her clothing.

"Ah, that's right."

Claudine sighs again.

"Wait here. I'll go find you a spare uniform."

She gets up and does exactly as Maya had done for her yesterday, opening the nurse's closet and pulling out a clean uniform in a zip-locked bag. She brings it back to Maya who gratefully accepts.

Maya gets to her feet and makes her way to the bathroom to change. When she glances at herself in the mirror, she realizes she must look a lot worse to other people than she does looking down at herself. But luckily there is no bruise on her face and no more blood oozing.

She changes quickly, folding her leotard and leggings and draping them over her arm before washing her face and hands in the sink. When she's finished, she steps out of the bathroom to find Claudine with her arms crossed, looking almost a bit nervous, as if she'd been expecting Maya to start bleeding again. When she sees she's changed without incident, Claudine visibly relaxes a little. Maya grins and opens her arms.

"Come here, Ma Claudine. There is no need to worry."

Claudine glares. "I'm not a dog." She stomps over to Maya, grabs her hand, and pulls her back over to the bed, making her sit down. "You should lie down for a few minutes. You might not feel sick right now, but you did swallow some blood. We can't have you getting a stomachache on top of all this, because guess who it'll be taking care of you for that, too?"

"That sounds very tempting."

"Never mind. If you get a stomachache now, you're on your own."

Maya chuckles and smiles up at her. Claudine huffs and looks away. But after a moment she takes one step closer to the bed, taking Maya by surprise as Claudine softly pulls her in. She wraps both arms around her shoulders, and Maya is coaxed into the gentle warmth of her collar.

"I really am sorry…" Claudine murmurs.

Maya can feel the vibrations of the words in her chest. The arms around her shoulders squeeze a little tighter. Maya closes her eyes and nuzzles against her, lifting her arms to circle them around the small of her back.

"You've no need to apologize, Ma Claudine. It was an accident, and you were not at fault in the first place."

"Still… did you really have to bleed so much?"

"I apologize."

"The injured person doesn't get to apologize, idiot."

Claudine holds her there for a moment, and Maya indulges in her closeness. She really is getting spoiled today in so many ways.

And just when she'd thought it couldn't possibly get any better, Claudine eases back just a little and kisses her sweetly.

Maya can't help but pull her down a little to deepen it.

But the knowledge of where they are has Claudine pulling back all too early, blushing quite a bit.

"All right, lie down."

"Oui, mademoiselle."

Maya lies on her back on the bed and folds her arms over her stomach. Claudine pulls up a chair and sits beside her. Maya closes her eyes as her partner begins playing with her bangs, her fingers leaving tiny touches along Maya's skin. Her stomach feels completely fine, but she knows this will make Claudine feel better, and Maya certainly doesn't mind the treatment anyway, so she happily obliges.

Claudine continues toying with her hair a little, and after a few moments Maya senses her leaning forward. A soft kiss is pressed to the bridge of her nose, right where Claudine had elbowed her. It's so soft and sweet Maya feels her heart flutter upon receiving it.

When Claudine sits back, Maya opens one eye and offers out her hand to her. Claudine tilts her head.

"What's this?"

"You looked like you wanted to hold my hand, Ma Claudine."

Claudine turns as pink as her leotard.

"How do you know what I looked like? Your eyes were closed!"

"Call it a lover's intuition."

"You are unbelievable."

"But am I wrong?"

Maya watches her debate internally with herself and eventually lose no matter what.

"You're insufferable, is what you are…"

Nonetheless, Claudine reaches out her hand and rests it in Maya's on the edge of the bed. She leans over her again and kisses her forehead.

"Get some rest. I'll wake you in a little while."

"Ah… To be woken by a princess from one dream into another. How spectacular."

"Or maybe I'll just leave you here by yourself like an idiot."

"Such a cruel princess. But even more beautiful."

"Will you be quiet?" Claudine has a policy against smacking sick people on the shoulder, so she flicks Maya's forehead instead. Maya laughs out loud before finally closing her eyes again.

"Very well. Thank you for your excellent care, Ma Claudine."

"Are you still talking? Maybe I should leave."

"My apologies."

Maya squeezes Claudine's hand and feels the contact returned. She sighs and finally lets sleep take her, knowing her princess will watch over her and be there when she wakes.

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A/N: Oh darn that nurse... not being there again... oh no...

Next chapter is a longer one! I would've made it its own oneshot, but I'm still writing them as being in their 'secret' relationship and their little pet name antics in it, so it might as well just stay in this fic.