Healing Kisses (ch11)

EARLY RELEASE FOR MY $20+ PATRONS!

Um so I wrote this like at least a month ago and it just slipped through the cracks and I forgot to edit/post it until just recently when I remembered haha. It's a bit dramatic, but anyone who's been in the situation I put Claudine in here will probably agree it's pretty accurate.

Disclaimer: I do not own Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight.

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														Chapter 11.

At the time, Claudine had thought her dessert pudding had tasted a little strange. But Maya and the others had been in such high spirits discussing their most recent successful stage performance that Claudine had gradually eaten through the entire pudding cup without really caring about the flavor; she'd indulged more in the conversation than the taste.

It's only now after she's kissed Maya goodnight and retreated back to her bedroom alone when Claudine begins to suffer the aftereffects of her mistake.

Normally, she and Maya would sneak into one person or the other's room and sleep beside one another. But tonight there had been a room inspection, and so both girls had agreed to keep their distance just this once.

But of course, as Claudine sluggishly brushes her teeth and hunches forward to rinse, her stomach sends waves of pain and nausea all over her body. She wants nothing more than to feel Maya's arms around her, hear her annoying voice turn soft and soothing, breathe in her warm familiar scent...

Claudine shakes her head and grunts at another twinge in her chest.

"Well, it can't happen. Not tonight. So I'll just have to get over myself."

She straightens up and grabs her hair brush a little too quickly, and ends up staggering against the sink. She curses in French under her breath and gets to combing through her hair, trying not to look at her reflection.

When she's finished with her nightly routine – which takes almost twice as long as usual thanks to her stiffened movements – she limps to bed and slowly sits on the edge. Her stomach bubbles and twists and makes odd noises, and Claudine moans.

"Merveilleuse. This is just wonderful..." She hugs herself for a moment, hoping that a bit of pressure will quell the chaos, but it only seems to make her stomach more uncomfortable. She glances briefly at her phone and then to the door, but stops herself. "She's probably asleep already..."

It's Claudine's own stubbornness that does her in, in the end. She's in the mindset that she shouldn't need or rely on Maya for every little thing. Claudine is determined to tough out the night on her own and have it all be over with by morning, where not Maya nor anyone else will be any the wiser.

So with that decided, Claudine cautiously stretches herself out and lies down, though just that simple movement makes her chest throb. It's as if she can feel the weight of every individual organ and bone in her body. Her pulse is beating from head to toe, and even though she's lying down, it's making her dizzy.

She closes her eyes and pulls the covers up, trying to ignore everything and just let sleep come naturally.

But of course she's granted no such mercy. After only a few minutes of lying on her back, her stomach is churning so badly she has no choice but to turn onto her side.

But as she does so, she can feel everything shifting and heaving inside of her, and it feels harder to breathe. She lets out a whimper, but then clamps her lips closed on it. She's going to get through this on her own tonight. She should at least be strong enough to overcome a little stomachache.

Or so she tells herself.

But she can't be lying there for longer than five minutes before her stomach begins to gnarl, sending a dull throbbing throughout her body. She growls softly, huffing at the inconvenience and promptly turns onto her other side, feeling everything shift and lurch as she does so.

Once she's settled like this, Claudine attempts once again to sleep. She can feel the prickling starting up all over again and tries to ignore it, mentally forcing it down. If she just pretends it isn't there, perhaps she can fool her body into believing it really isn't.

So she tries to occupy her mind with anything other than the pain; the content they're studying in class, the current script Nana is working on, her current favorite duet to sing together with Maya...

Maya.

As soon as her mind wanders back there, Claudine finds herself longing to be curled up at Maya's side right now for comfort.

And thus, it makes her recall the stomachache.

Exasperated, Claudine flips onto her other side again and squeezes her eyes shut. She's going to beat this damn stomachache one way or another.

So she ignores it, ignores it, and ignores it some more, but finds that ignoring it so much eventually causes her to think about it again.

So she rolls over again, and again, and once more, groaning and huffing and growling each time. It doesn't really occur to her that so much tossing and turning, on top of her heightened frustrations, might not be doing the best work in quelling the ache.

After nearly an hour of fruitless - and admittedly painful - efforts at sleep, Claudine pushes herself up from the mattress in a sweat. Her entire body feels disgustingly heavy. She hopes that a brief trip to the restroom might loosen her up a little.

So she staggers onto her feet and uses the guiding glow of the moonlight to make it to the bathroom and its light switch. She almost wishes she'd just throw it all up and get it over with. But her body doesn't seem to want to expel the rancid pudding. It's bad enough for her to want to, but not bad enough for her to have to.

So for now she just settles for washing her face and catching her breath and not thinking about Maya.

When she's able to, she begins making her way back to her bed, but finds little refuge upon arrival. As soon as she lies down again, all of the tightness returns to her stomach and chest. She groans again and bites her lip when a sudden swell of heat surges up behind her eyes.

It hurts. It's frustrating. She wants to handle it by herself, but she doesn't want to be alone...

When a particularly strong pang suddenly shoots through her abdomen, Claudine gasps and feels warm tears spill down onto her pillow.

And in spite of her world-class stubbornness, even Claudine Saijou knows when she's been defeated. She'd tried to handle it on her own and she couldn't. Denying it and pretending she'd succeeded would be even more pathetic than admitting she'd failed.

So with great effort, she pushes herself up from her mattress, strands of hair and tears spilling down over her nightgown. Her stomach makes some god-awful sound and sends jabs up her chest as she begins to limp across the room. Claudine leans against the wall almost entirely for support, not even wanting to think about how she must look right now. She lifts her arm up to rub across her eyes, but just feels more tears come immediately after.

"Damn it..."

She nearly falls against the door when she reaches it, clutching her stomach to keep it from bursting like it feels it might. She jostles the door open, wobbles into the quiet hallway, and closes it behind her.

It's somewhere close to 1AM by now, and with the entire building asleep, Claudine can't help but feel every noise she makes is too loud. Her bare feet make hardly any sound against the carpet, but each step feels heavy and sloppy. Tiny whimpers and sobs keep tumbling free in spite of her best efforts to swallow them, and everything seems to echo.

It takes her a moment to get her bearings, or at least as many of them as she can muster. Maya's door is no more than several yards across the hall, but with her head pounding, her vision blurred, and her body aching, it looks like acres to Claudine.

After only a few steps she sags and drops to her knees, curling in over herself. Something about not just her ailments, but the delicate hour of night, makes her feel so weak.

It hurts. She wants to see her. She wants to see Maya...

Tears come, and Claudine has no means of stopping them anymore. She tries to call out, but her voice gets lodged in her throat, thick and stinging. It hurts so much...

"Saijou...san...?"

At first she thinks she must be hearing things. No one should be out and about at this hour. There's a pause, as if the other person is registering what they're seeing, and then another call of her name.

"Saijou-san!"

Claudine winces at another pang in her chest. It isn't the voice she wants to hear most. But she'll be damned if she doesn't sob in relief at the sound of it.

There's a sifting of movement as the other person drops down beside Claudine and rests gentle hands on her back, carefully helping her sit up. Claudine shakes her head to dislodge some of the tears as her eyesight finally comes into focus.

Staring back at her are bright blue eyes pierced with worry, and it's probably the most emotion she's ever seen Hikari display while not onstage. Claudine coughs in an effort to find her voice, but it's so raspy and croaked she almost wishes she hadn't spoken at all.

"Kagura...san... What are you doing out here...?"

Hikari is clearly and rightfully stunned by the question. She blinks in disbelief, but the scene in front of her remains as reality and not just some strange dream.

"I should be asking you that." But Hikari can tell that Claudine hasn't caught her breath from her previous question just now, so Hikari answers her in the meantime. "Karen's snoring woke me up, so I just decided to go for a walk to make myself tired again, that's all."

Claudine swallows some horrible taste in the back of her throat and exhales as she listens to Hikari. Somehow, just hearing one of her friend's voices and getting to think about Karen snoring like a bear makes her feel just the tiniest bit better.

But Hikari is becoming more nervous by the second in not knowing what's going on.

"Saijou-san, what's happening? Are you sick? The nurse isn't in at this hour, but I can run back to my room and call-"

"Nn..." Claudine tries to protest, shaking her head. "No... Please, Kagura-san. Th-That isn't what I want..."

Hikari stiffens.

"But you're..." She doesn't even know what to say.

Claudine knows she must look as terrible as she feels, and the longer she stays quiet, the more concerned Hikari is going to become. So she draws in a deep breath and looks her in the eyes as sternly as she can manage when there are still tears dribbling down her face.

"Kagura-san... it isn't anything serious. I promise. I just-" Her breath hitches on a hiccup, and she bows her head again. Her voice breaks down into a whisper. "I just... want to see Maya..."

And in spite of the shock Hikari must be experiencing from finding one of her classmates collapsed in tears in the hallway at 1AM, she must understand on some level; that sometimes the best cure for some ailments is nothing more than company.

"Saijou-san..."

Hikari is still beyond concerned for her. But something clicks in the back of her mind – that whatever fates have been working tonight have chosen Hikari to make this assist, to deliver Claudine to where she most longs to be. If she truly is in bad enough shape to warrant medical attention, then Hikari knows Claudine would naturally rather do so by Maya's side instead of hers.

So Hikari pushes as many of her concerns as she can aside for the time being and accepts her role in this.

"All right. I'll take you to Tendo-san."

Hearing those words lifts a fraction of the awful, intangible weight from Claudine's back. She breathes out a long sigh and sniffles again.

"Thank you... Kagura-san..."

Hikari nods, then gets right to her task.

"Can you stand? Here, hold onto me." She slips her arms beneath Claudine's and slowly hoists her up to her knees first. Claudine clings to her shoulders, wincing, but she's determined to get up. She's so close now. With Hikari's help she can make it.

Hikari pulls as much of Claudine's weight onto her own body as she can manage, slowly lifting them both to their feet. Claudine bites back another groan, not wanting Hikari to think she's hurting her.

"Just hold on," Hikari murmurs. "It isn't far." She keeps a firm hold across Claudine's back and hip, draping the sick girl's arm across her shoulders.

Hikari takes things one step at a time. In spite of how desperately she wants to grant Claudine's wish, if there's anything she's learned from growing up with Karen Aijou, it's patience.

But with the designated door in sight, yet so desperately far away, she can understand why Claudine is trying to rush things. Hikari has to hold her back a little for her own good.

"Take it easy, or you'll only hurt yourself more. Tendo-san isn't going anywhere. She'll be there. I promise."

And again, Hikari's words cause a poignant reaction. Claudine's whole body heaves with a sob, but she nods.

Hikari guides her step by step to where she most longs to be right now. Every movement seems to amplify the pain, but Claudine is willing to bear it for the payoff.

Maya... Maya...

After one more step, Hikari comes to a halt. Claudine blinks more tears away to find they've reached that door. She whimpers in the utmost relief, unable to speak, so she just hugs Hikari as best she can. Hikari holds her in return and smiles.

"You're welcome. Feel better soon."

With this, Hikari raises her hand to the door and knocks a few times. Claudine wipes her eyes and waits.

Maya had gone to bed somewhat unsatisfied that evening due to the room inspections and the fact that they had prevented her from sleeping with Claudine as she typically did.

It had taken Maya quite some time to fall asleep without Claudine's warmth around her, but somehow she must've managed, because she wakes deep into the night groggy and puzzled at the sound of a knock at her door.

A glance to her alarm clock has her realizing it can only be some kind of emergency at this hour.

So Maya makes quick work of getting out of bed and hurrying to the door to address whomever it was that had come. Of course there is a part in the back of her mind and in the bottom of her heart that wishes it would be Claudine. But upon opening the door, Maya nearly wishes she were dreaming instead.

"K-Kagura-san? And-"

Claudine looks horribly ill, slung partially over a nervous Hikari's side, her hair and clothes all unkempt and tears dripping down her face. Maya can hardly spare the second to be touched by the relief she sees in those eyes upon finally seeing her, because her panic is too great.

"Claudine!" she cries. "What's going on?" Maya's heart is in her throat with worry as she looks to Hikari for answers, though subconsciously she's already taken a step forward and begun gathering Claudine in her own arms. Hikari gladly transfers her over, gently supporting Claudine all the while.

"I was out for a walk when I found her collapsed in the hallway. I didn't want to pry, but... all she wanted was to see you, Tendo-san."

It's almost too much for Maya to comprehend so suddenly and unexpectedly. But as Claudine staggers away from Hikari and into her arms instead, it snaps Maya into the present and forces her to understand it's all really happening now.

She has a million more questions to ask, but when she looks back to Hikari, the other girl's eyes are tranquil. Maya understands. Hikari has done her part and doesn't wish to intrude on their intimacy any further.

But Maya doesn't want her assistance to go unappreciated. While keeping Claudine steady at her side, Maya reaches out her free arm to pull Hikari into a brief hug.

"Thank you, Kagura-san."

Hikari lingers for only a second to accept the gratitude before easing back.

"Take care of her."

"But of course."

And with this, Maya closes the door and turns every last ounce of her attention and energy onto Claudine.

The poor girl is barely able to stay on her own two feet, even with Maya holding her up for the most part. One of her hands is clutching at her stomach, and the other is digging its nails into Maya's arm. She's shaking all over, and the tears have found a steady flow down her cheeks, causing strands of her hair to stick to her face.

Overall she's a fine mess, and Maya is in a panic for her. She reaches up to tuck loose locks of hair from Claudine's face, caressing her thumb over the tear tracks and seeking her eyes.

"Ma Claudine, what is wrong? You can't possibly imagine how frightened I am for you right now. Your heart is pounding and you're trembling all over. Are you going to be ill? Have you been already? Should I call for someone...?"

Maya isn't one to get unnerved, but the thought of something bad happening to Claudine is probably the only way to do it.

She can tell Claudine is shaking her head and trying to speak to her, but all that comes forth are little whimpers and fragments of words.

Maya doesn't know what to do. Until Claudine can give her an answer, she doesn't want to jump to conclusions. But after waking to such a start, at the very least Maya can relish the fact that Claudine is here with her now.

She wipes away a few more of Claudine's tears and brushes her nails back through her hair for her, then rests a long kiss on her forehead. Maya locks her arms around Claudine's back as gently as she can, and holds her as tightly as she dares. Claudine's hands quiver as they find purchase on her nightgown in turn, and her heartbeat shudders against Maya's chest. Maya bites her lip and does her best to remain calm.

"Breathe," she murmurs. "Breathe and tell me what's wrong. Please."

She hears a sniffle and feels a nod in response.

As Claudine gradually begins to calm down now that she's with her, Maya can feel her inhale as deeply as she can. Until she can speak, Maya decides it would be best to have her sit, at the very least.

So she bends forward slightly to loop an arm beneath her knees, turning Claudine in to her and lifting her slowly off the floor and into her arms. Claudine moans in the back of her throat, but seems thankful for the transportation to the bed.

Maya sits her up on the edge and takes the spot beside her as close as possible, keeping an arm across her back to rub softly. She kisses Claudine's cheek and waits for her to be ready.

"Je suis la," she whispers. "I'm here. Please say something, Ma Claudine." She doesn't know what's wrong or how long Claudine has been like this, but it must've been for a while judging by how much pain she's in. Claudine coughs, and Maya pats her back for her, but after that the girl finally finds her voice.

"Maya... I'm sorry..."

Maya's heart sinks and soars at the same time. To see her in such agony with tears in her eyes, but her first order of selfless business is to apologize for worrying Maya... It's too much. Maya begins to cry almost instantly.

"You silly girl... don't apologize... please..." Maya hugs her again, holding a kiss against her temple. "I love you so much. You don't need to apologize for coming to me and waking me up. Please tell me what it is that's ailing you. If I can't figure out some way to help you, I'm going to lose my mind."

She can feel as well as hear the little hiccups jolting in Claudine's chest, and Maya runs her hands all along her back to help keep her still. Claudine sniffles again, fingers curling into Maya's nightgown as she manages one word.

"P... Pudding..."

Maya has to admit, it isn't anything close to what she was expecting to hear right now. Puzzled, she eases back enough to look down into her eyes.

"I must beg your pardon, mademoiselle. I'm not following." She entertains the possibility that Claudine is speaking nonsense due to her pain and must begin to consider calling for professional help. Maya kisses her cheek again and travels her lips slowly along her hair line as Claudine finds more words, choked as they are.

"The pudding I ate tonight... was rancid... it gave me a horrible stomachache... it hurts so much..."

Maya is relieved to finally hear her confess what's wrong. Just the sound of Claudine's voice, even as troubled as it is, makes her feel just a little better. She sighs, nodding softly against her hair, waiting for Claudine to continue.

But that seems to be all she has to say. Maya is expecting her to reveal that she'd been ill, or fallen and bumped her head on the sink, or dropped something and injured herself somehow. But there's no word about anything like that.

Maya slows down her racing mind until only what Claudine said remains.

"A stomachache... Is that all...?" She'd thought it was much worse judging by the hour at which Claudine had shown up at her door, and the condition she'd been in with Hikari needing to all but carry her there, disheveled and crying and feeble. "All that... just for a stomachache...?" She mumbles the words in confusion, wondering if that's the entire truth.

But suddenly, Claudine slumps forward and starts to cry harder.

"I'm sorry... I'm s-sorry..."

"Claudine!" Maya holds her up, drawing her in again and cradling her against her chest. Claudine can barely find a grip on her sides as she wails into Maya's shoulder.

"I'm sorry... I know it's... h-hardly anything... I made you worry so much for something so small... But it hurt so badly, and I just wanted to see you a-and I couldn't stop crying... and then Kagura-san found me and I troubled her, a-and now I'm just troubling you..."

Maya understands all too well. The stomachache had only been the catalyst for all of this. No doubt it must be a particularly bad one if it had kept her up all night, and then would warrant Claudine to come seeking comfort and help through it.

But it's the thought that she'd troubled Hikari and Maya herself, that she'd potentially made a mountain out of a molehill and inconvenienced them, that's making her so excessively upset now. Maya has to stop her before she makes it worse.

"Claudine! Ma Claudine..." She covers Claudine's lips briefly with her own just to get her attention and make her slow down. Maya then goes on to kiss her forehead and pull her back into the embrace. "You poor, sweet girl. You're only causing yourself more agony in thinking you've troubled Kagura-san or I. If you keep crying so much, your stomach is never going to get better."

Claudine whines meekly into her neck.

"I'm so tired... it hurts..."

Maya knows she's referring to the physical pain caused by her upset stomach, but hearing Claudine say that makes Maya's chest hurt as well.

"I know. I'm sorry, Ma Claudine. But I'm here now. You've found your way to me and I'm going to do everything I can to help. Now first of all, I'll need you to breathe for me. These tears have to stop, for both our sakes." She runs her hands up and down Claudine's back again, carding through the curls of her hair. She holds her for a few minutes as Claudine hiccups her way down from the sobs, gradually regaining her breath. Maya kisses through her hair all the while.

"Easy now. Don't go thinking you've caused trouble for Kagura-san or myself. I would've been much more upset if I'd found out in the morning that you'd suffered by yourself all night. I'm glad you came to me, Ma Claudine. Though you very easily could have called and spared yourself the pain of the journey. Surely you must know I would've come running to your side?"

Claudine sighs and just shakes her head.

"I'm sorry."

"That won't be necessary. I suppose in times of sleepless desperation, the simplest of solutions might slip our minds." She gives her a bit of a squeeze and readjusts her hold a little, slipping her hands onto either side of Claudine's waist. Slowly, Maya begins running her hands up and down her sides, easing some of the pressure away. She leans in a little and brushes her nose against Claudine's, resting their foreheads together. "I know what you're thinking, mon cher. I know you must think you overreacted and-"

"B-But I did-" Claudine chokes. "I overreacted and caused trouble for you-"

"When did I ever say I was troubled?" Maya hushes her with another kiss. "And what crime did you commit to come seek me out? You were in pain, uncomfortable, unable to rest, and all alone, were you not? Of course you would want to come find someone to be there with you."

Leaving one hand on Claudine's waist now, Maya brings the other up over her chest and rests it over her heart. The pulse underneath flutters again and again. Maya closes her eyes and nuzzles against her cheek.

"And I cannot tell you how happy it makes me that the person you chose for the task was me."

She draws Claudine close again, rubbing her palm in slow circles over her heartbeat.

Claudine's stomach still hurts, but the pain of her self-inflicted guilt begins to dissipate.

Maya is right. About everything. If Claudine were in any other state of mind right now, she might've taken a moment to be infuriated by that.

But as she is now, she's just so relieved to be with her.

As she'd expected, Maya is already assuaging the pain, healing it, even. There's still a prickling churning in her stomach, but Claudine feels she can bear it now. This time she kisses Maya first, and her pulse skips beneath Maya's hand.

When Maya draws back, Claudine's tears have finally stopped.

"Merci..."

Maya moves her hand up to cup Claudine's cheek, brushing away the last of the tears.

"There is no need to thank me for something I so greatly enjoy doing." She pulls Claudine back into yet another embrace, one they can both enjoy a bit more this time around. Claudine has stopped shaking for the most part, and her breathing is no longer hindered by sobs. Even so, Maya knows she's still in pain. When she moves back, she gives her a once-over.

"Now then, no more guilt about causing me or Kagura-san trouble. She was only worried for you and would never see you as a burden, just the same as any of them. You would've done the same for her, or for Daiba-san or Hanayagi-san and not wanted them to feel like they'd burdened you, yes?"

Claudine dips her head.

"Yes... Although, perhaps not Kaoruko."

"Yes, perhaps not."

They share a smile at the good-natured joke, but it only lasts a second before another pang has Claudine flinching. Maya frowns and readjusts her hold on her.

"Let me help you lie down."

She moves slowly, taking Claudine's stiffness into consideration. Some of her movements jerk unnaturally, and her brow knits repeatedly. Maya helps lift her legs onto the bed and slides her far enough away from the edge, then gingerly helps her lie down on her back.

Claudine stifles another whimper, but it doesn't go unnoticed. Maya lies on her side next to her, leaning over to kiss her lips again.

"Easy," she murmurs. "You made it to me, Ma Claudine. I'm not about to let you spend the rest of the night in pain."

Claudine flashes her a tired, helpless look before another jolt runs through her chest and she has to close her eyes. Maya leans down and kisses the backs of her eyelids tenderly.

"Just rest now. I'll take care of you, Ma Claudine."

Maya is determined to get her some medicine in the morning if need be. But for now, since it is nearly 2 in the morning, she does whatever she can within her own power.

She begins by propping herself up on her elbows in a way that allows her to reach both hands out toward Claudine. The hand with the least mobility rests atop Claudine's head and begins threading fingers through her hair, petting with care and love.

Maya moves her other hand to rest once more on Claudine's chest. She is still for a moment, feeling the rather harsh way her heart is still pounding due to the pain. Claudine whimpers again, and Maya leans down to kiss her once more.

"Breathe," she reminds her. "Je ta'ime, Ma Claudine."

With this, Maya dips a little lower and moves her hand aside to press a kiss to Claudine's pulse. Even through the nightgown she can feel it faintly against her lips, straining a bit too much for her liking.

But as she continues leaving small kisses along her collar, Claudine's breath comes a little more easily. Satisfied with this much for now, Maya gradually begins moving her palm lower, massaging Claudine's chest with a light pressure before slipping down to the root of all this.

Even just resting her hand on Claudine's stomach, Maya can feel her pulse there as well, throbbing and amplifying the waves of discomfort. Her breath suddenly hitches too, and Maya returns to her lips to share some oxygen.

She moves very slowly, very carefully and lightly, tracing slow circles over Claudine's pain to erase it. She traces all across her stomach, occasionally retreating back up to her chest for a moment to spread out the pressure of her touch. She runs her fingers up and down Claudine's sides as well, making sure to cover every inch of what might be hurting her.

Every time little sounds tumble out of Claudine's lips or get stuck in the back of her throat, Maya pauses to kiss her. She kisses her forehead, her cheeks, her lips, and then ventures back down to her chest and eventually her stomach, kissing softly over the fabrics of her nightgown as her hand continues its soothing patterns.

She wants to heal her, or at the very least make her feel better, well enough to rest. She works with these thoughts in mind; thoughts of love and tenderness.

It takes some time, but Maya doesn't keep track. She would've done this all night for her if that was what Claudine needed.

But she notices it's taken only about an hour when Claudine hums one last time, and a tiny tear slips down her cheek.

"Ma Maya..." she whispers. "Merci..." She exhales, and the last of her pain goes with it. A smile forms on her lips as her eyes flutter back open for a second. Maya looks down upon her affectionately.

"It is I who should be thanking you for coming all this way to me, even when you were unwell." Maya kisses her again and feels a very tired kiss back. With her stomach no longer throbbing, Claudine can comfortably turn onto her side and wreath her arms around Maya's shoulders. Maya hugs her waist and rubs up and down her sides and back a few more times for good measure.

"I'm so glad you're feeling better," she murmurs. "How lucky I must be to be able to sleep next to you yet again tonight."

Claudine shuts her eyes and mumbles something against her neck, but it's so thin and sleepy Maya can't decipher it, though she has a good idea of what it might be.

"Rest now, Ma Claudine. You can tell me in the morning. Je t'aime."

Claudine sighs and hugs her tighter just before she goes limp with the relief of slumber at long last.

Maya's glad. She deserves some good rest after what she must've been through tonight, cringing in pain all by herself, too embarrassed to ask for help and too guilt-ridden when she ends up doing so anyway. Claudine's always been much more delicate than she lets on, and Maya knows it.

She holds her close, glad to feel the force of her pulse has settled back to its usual rhythm. Claudine sleeps now as she sleeps any other night – peacefully, and without any sort of pain. She unconsciously curls into Maya's form, their bodies fitting perfectly together, as if molded that way.

Maya is just glad to have been there for her, and to know she's now gone to bed smiling rather than in tears.

She just holds Claudine, savoring her closeness until she can't possibly stay awake any longer.

Maya will be sure to get her some medicine in the morning.

But for now she'll go to bed believing her love and kisses had done the trick.

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A/N: Really wanted to do some hurt/comfort tummy rubs. We've all had those awful stomachaches at 2am that make us feel like we're actually dying, right? I wanted to capture that level of pain and anguish and cancel it with equally powerful love and affection.