3A/N: This is a little one-shot I wrote when I was playing around with the idea of Maka taking Ragnorak's hit instead of Soul. I might add onto it later or I may not. Enjoy!
Lunar
The heart monitor's soft but constant beeping seems to ridicule Soul as he stares at the linoleum floor of the DWMA's hospital wing. "You…failed…you…failed…," it taps out, according to the rhythm of Maka's heartbeat.
It should have been you, he rails at himself, lifting his eyes to look at her face. Her expression is deceptively peaceful, a result of all the painkillers being pumped into her body. If it wasn't for the bandages wrapped around her chest, binding the wound Ragnorak gave her shut, it would seem that she was sleeping. His hand, which is wrapped around Maka's, tightens as he remembers how that wound gushed with blood.
He didn't know that someone as tiny as Maka could bleed so much.
His nails dig in his skin as he watches Maka's face change from tranquil to terrified-he knows what's coming. And sure enough, less than a minute later, Maka's yells claw at his eardrums, worse than any nightmare he's ever had.
Soul calls out her name over and over, rubbing her hand comfortingly. "Maka, wake up!"
He wills her eyes to open to reality or for her to fall back into her dream but most of all, he wishes it was him lying in that hospital bed. But instead, he's stuck watching helplessly as she continues to thrash in her bed, still caught in whatever hell the black blood cursed her with. Panic seeps into his voice. "Maka, please open your eyes!"
Her eyes finally snap open, gaze roaming wildly before finding him. She tries to sit up but collapses, the wound splitting across her chest refuses to let her lift herself up even an inch. She cranes her head instead and speaks between gasps, sweat dripping down the sides of her face. "I…I'm…all right…" She looks back at him. "Are you?"
Soul forces himself to nod, the concern on her face burning him like a thousand little paper cuts. "Of course, I'm okay. You had me worried, that's all."
She gives him a small smile. "Only a little nightmare."
Soul stands as he adjusts the covers around her, careful not to put any weight on her chest. "Didn't seem so little to me."
Her voice comes out slightly slurred, pain medication already taking her someplace far away from here. "It was you who got cut in my dream."
He tries to ignore the painful twinge in his heart as he sits back down, holding her hand again. "It should have been me. You shouldn't have thrown me out of the way."
Maka lets out a guilty giggle. "I had to protect you, didn't I? You would have guarded me with your body if I hadn't."
He can't answer with her eyes on him so he looks away and hides the agony written all over his face. She doesn't sound resentful at all, more like she would do it again if given the chance. And that's what makes the guilt hurt the worst.
"Soul?"
He looks at her. Maka's eyes are closed but her mouth is moving, barely audible over the heart monitor.
"Don't leave, okay?"
He begins to nod but then he catches himself. "Y-yes."
She falls asleep with a ghost of a smile. "Good."
Soul holds her hand till the sun comes up and she wakes up, repeating the same words over and over again. "I'm sorry, it should have been me."
