Suou woke up. It was still dark out, and everyone else was sleeping. She turned around in bed.

She was cold. The blanket wasn't giving her enough warmth. Perhaps the fever from yesterday still lingered.

Try as she might, Suou couldn't fall back asleep. It wasn't just that she was cold – She was lonely as well. Suou couldn't understand why she felt this way. People were present around her. July was sleeping silently next to her, and Mao was curled up between them.

Hei was here as well. Suou thought his absence was the reason she was feeling lonely before now. Was she wrong? But when she was reunited with Hei, she didn't feel lonely anymore. So why was she lonely now?

Hei was right there, on the bed in front of her.

Right there…

Maybe all she needed to do is get closer. If she slept right to him, not only would she be warm, but she'd be as close to Hei as she could physically be.

Her half asleep mind thought the logic was flawless.

ー

Hei heard something shift in the room. He could tell it was trying to be as silent as it could be, but it made plenty of amateur mistakes. It wasn't a trained agent. That meant there was no immediate danger.

The person was now approaching him.

Could it be a thief? No. Hei had installed special locks to this place a long time ago, when he had first purchased it. It would take more than the amateur presently walking around the room to get through them.

Besides that fact, Hei would have heard if someone entered. It would make a substantial amount of noise if someone had busted into the house.

Then, it was someone in the room.

It was too big to be Mao in his current form.

It couldn't be July, either, unless someone had programmed him to get up in the middle of the night. Hei would have been aware of this, as he checked his programming every night.

That left one possibility.

ー

Suou advanced as silently as she could, making sure she didn't hit or step on anything accidentally. She made it to side of the bed without incident, and began to slip into it.

ー

What reasons did Suou have to approach Hei now?

Maybe she had seen something outside.

But she was sound asleep, the last time Hei checked.

Perhaps she was getting water?

No, or else she would go in the opposite direction.

Maybe it was something related to-

She was getting in the bed.

ー

As Suou put the sheets over her, she felt much better than before. It was so much warmer here, than on the floor.

The bed wasn't considerably big, and just managed to fit two people comfortably. Of course, Suou would rather be much closer to Hei. She began to tentatively inch closer to him.

ー

What was Suou doing?

She was getting closer and closer to Hei.

Too close. Hei was beginning to get uncomfortable.

ー

Suou felt Hei's body shift. Now he was facing her.

"What are you doing?" He asked quietly.

Ignoring him, Suou continued shuffling towards him.

ー

With the help of the moonlight, Hei could see Suou's face. Her eyes were half closed, and her face was red. Did she have a fever?

Instead of answering his question, she began to close the uncomfortably small gap between them.

Hei began to back up, in an attempt to put more room between them.

ー

Suddenly, Hei became further away.

"Are you alright?" She heard him ask. "Are you sick?"

Aw. He cared about her. It made her feel warm and fuzzy.

It encouraged her to get closer to him, even as he moved further away.

ー

Suou continued to get closer to Hei, even as he tried to get away from her.

She seemed to be sick. If Hei didn't take care of it, she wouldn't be able to perform well in battle. Not only that, someone else may catch her fever. It would impair the group's effectiveness immensely.

As he tried to think a way out of this situation, his back hit the wall. He couldn't get away from her now.

ー

Hei stopped moving. Suou took it as an invitation. She buried her face in his chest, and cuddled in close to him. She didn't feel lonely anymore.

Suou was sure she'd be able to fall asleep now.

ー

She was cuddling with him now.

Cuddling.

Hei tried to remember the last time somebody had done that with him.

He couldn't.

Hei could feel that Suou's body temperature was well above normal, confirming his belief that she had a fever.

It seemed like a common cold. The best way to deal with that was to make sure that she stayed warm.

After a second of hesitation, Hei made a decision.

ー

Suou was beginning to fall asleep. She wished she could stay in this moment forever.

Carefully, Hei's arms wrapped around her, bringing her closer to him.

She sharply drew her breath in surprise.

Never mind. She wished she could stay in this moment forever.

ー

She squeaked.

Hei couldn't have misheard. As he brought her closer to him, a tiny noise had escaped her.

It took all of his willpower to hold back now.

This was truly the test of a real man.

ー

Suou smiled, and cuddled into Hei. From now on, she was going to sleep here. She's decided.

She quickly fell fast asleep.

ー

She's a child.

Keep telling yourself that.

Concentrate on something else.

Focus on your breathing.

Hei thought Suou smelled sweet. It was a good scent.

No. Breathe.

In. Out. In. Out.

Suou was sleeping now. Her mouth was slightly open, and she was breathing into Hei's chest.

Upon closer inspection, Suou was quite cute. Her face was-

That of a child.

A child, Hei.

Hei continued his struggle for what he felt was a decade or two before he finally slept.

ーーー

Early the next morning, Hei opened his eyes. When he did so, he saw the sleeping form of the red haired girl under his care.

For a terrifying second, Hei wondered what she was doing in his bed. Then, he remembered the previous night.

He still had his arms wrapped around her. Hei noticed she didn't feel as sickly as she did before.

Ever so delicately, Hei got out of bed, making sure not to disturb Suou as she slept.

Maybe he should make breakfast today. It might help finish off Suou's fever, if she still had it.

Hei considered it. He knew a few Russian dishes.

Sure, why not? Maybe it would make her smile.

Hei stopped that train of thought immediately. What was he thinking?

Shaking the thought out of his mind, he went to the kitchen. He knew he had the ingredients for pelmeni.

Hopefully she'd like them.

The start of episode 11. Watch it. Every day. Several times. It's amazing.

If you liked this, review.

If you hated this, you're sick. Have some hot chocolate. And review.