Chapter Text
It was two days after exchanging numbers with Yuu that Malleus finally worked up the nerve to text them. It was a simple “ Hello. How are you? ” but it somehow took an hour to compose. Fortunately it didn’t take quite that long for Yuu to respond.
“ Eh. Mighta caught a cold :-/ “
Malleus frowned. Was this because of the other day? He vaguely remembered Lilia once saying something about how colds weren’t directly caused by the cold, but standing around in the the snow all day still can’t have been good for them. Either way, he should probably do something. Broth was good for colds. He definitely remembered Lilia making some kind of broth when Silver got sick as a child. Maybe he could help him make some for them.
It was a few hours later and armed with a large tupperware container full of broth that he arrived in front of Ramshackle House. He hadn’t actually been invited, so he decided to knock instead of just teleporting inside. The door creaked open, but instead of Yuu or Grimm, it was one of the ghosts that greeted him.
“Hello! Another friend of Yuu’s? Their room is that way. They’re starting to get a bit cranky, though. Not much for sitting still, that one.”
Another? Malleus tried to ask if someone else was already visiting Yuu, but the ghost disappeared before he could get a word in. He glanced at the dining room and saw Grim eating lunch. He didn’t say a word to Malleus, just waved a paw at him. He waved back before turning to the stairs up to Yuu’s room.
There was, in fact, someone else visiting. Malleus could hear raised voices as he approached their door, opening it to see Yuu bundled into what looked like five different quilts on their bed, and Rosehearts standing over them. Neither seemed to notice his entrance, too distracted by whatever they were arguing about.
“You need to rest! Pushing yourself like this is how you got sick in the first place!”
“It’s just a cold! Besides, if spending a little time outside was gonna make me sick, surely it would’ve happened after I spent the other day in the Briar Wood!”
“And then you stayed up late yesterday while your immune system was still weak, and now here we are. Rest.”
Yuu curled into the pile of quilts on top of them and groaned, “Auuuugh, why do you have to make so much sense…”
Malleus cleared his throat, “I do have to agree with Rosehearts here, though I do apologize for any role I played in your illness.”
The arguing pair turned to look at Malleus, Rosehearts blanching in shock, and Yuu struggling not to grin around an exaggerated pout. “Eh, don’t worry about it, I’ve always been prone to colds anyway-“
“-Gee, I wonder why.”
“Like you’re any better, Riddle. Anyway, thanks for coming over, both of you.” Yuu smiled, and then noticed the container in Malleus’ hands, “Ooh, and you brought food?”
Malleus held up the plastic box, “I didn’t know if you had enough to eat here without walking to the cafeteria, and Lilia said chicken broth was good for colds, so…”
“Aw, thanks Hornton!” Yuu grinned, and he felt his stomach flip. He barely noticed them taking the tupperware from his hands to examine until they spoke again. “Uh, do people in this world normally make broth with pineapple slices?”
Riddle leaned in to see what Yuu was talking about, “Not to my knowledge?”
Malleus stomach flipped in a decidedly less pleasant manner this time. “I don’t know how to make broth, and Lilia couldn’t recall the recipe, so we experimented a little. Is that bad?”
“I mean, it’s unique, but we won’t know it’s bad until we try it! Besides, I hear citrus is good for colds.”
“That’s an…optimistic take,” Rosehearts eyed the broth dubiously. “Yuu, can I ask something? Privately?”
“Sure? Hornton, can you heat a couple bowls of this up for us to try? The microwave’s next to the fridge, by the sink.”
Malleus nodded, and took the broth back from Yuu. He considered asking what a “microwave” was, but whatever Rosehearts was concerned about seemed urgent, and Grimm could probably explain it, if he was still downstairs.
Not only was Grimm downstairs, but he agreed to help without any fuss, except for grumbling something about how much trouble it would be if he let him burn down the house. The microwave turned out to be a large plastic and metal box with a lid on the front to put food in. Apparently it was an entirely nonmagical device, like his keepsake from Lilia. Grimm told Malleus how to set it, as apparently his paws were too big to push the buttons himself. After a few minutes it started beeping loudly, which Grimm said meant it was finished. Malleus poured some of the reheated broth into two bowls to carry back upstairs. He offered some to Grimm, but the cat just wrinkled his nose at the pineapples. That did not bode well for Yuu’s reaction, but there was no point turning back now. Instead, he took both bowls and decided to teleport straight outside Yuu’s door rather than risk spilling any of the broth on the stairs. Then, he readjusted his grip in order to knock before pushing the door open with his elbow.
Rosehearts still looked uncomfortable with Malleus’ presence, but he seemed to be attempting to hide it for some reason. He could only assume it had to do with whatever he and Yuu had spoken about. “Right. I’ve delayed this long enough, but I really need to get back home before Mother does. Trey said the Scarabia students have elected to stay over break, so the kitchens should still be running, but the ghosts are on vacation. Can you please promise to take it easy at least until your cold passes?”
Yuu nodded immediately. “I-yes, of course, don’t worry about me, okay?” None of their earlier protest was in their voice.
“Thank you, I’ll see you after break, assuming you don’t get in trouble again.” Riddle smiled at Yuu and avoided Malleus’ gaze as he left, and Malleus wondered if maybe he should have taken the long route back up to Yuu’s room after all. Yuu waved goodbye to Riddle, and then reached to accept a bowl from him. They poked at a floating piece of pineapple with their spoon with a slightly apprehensive expression.
“Aight, if I’m trying this, you have to too. On the count of three?”
He nodded and sat in the chair by their desk, before readying his own spoon. “Three, two, one, one and a half, sorry Hornton, zero!” Yuu shoved the spoon into their mouth before they could think any better of it, while Malleus took a cautious sip. It was awful. The tangy sweetness of the pineapples did not go with chicken broth at all, and that was before you considered its texture. Yuu seemed to agree, based on their grimace as they put the bowl down on their nightstand. “Well, I was right, it’s definitely unique. I’m not actually hungry right now though, but I’ll definitely save it for-“
“You don’t have to lie.” They looked up at him with a slightly guilty expression and he continued. “It’s awful. You know it, I know it, you don’t have to pretend it’s not.”
“Ah, well, it’s definitely not good , but I wouldn’t go so far as say it’s that bad. I mean, it’d be a waste to throw it away, and you worked so hard on it…”
They continued, a steady stream of awkward reassurances spilling out, and Malleus felt thrown. He was used to people trying to avoid offending him, but this felt different somehow. Less like they were afraid of him hurting them, and more like they were afraid of hurting him. It was almost laughable, the idea that a human thought they could hurt Lord Malleus Draconia, except that he really did feel better about the terrible broth listening to them ramble. There was the niggling thought that they didn’t think they had hurt Lord Malleus, but instead the fictitious Hornton, but he pushed it down. Yuu was starting to lose the initial topic and wander into the weeds of thanking him for the thought, and the attempted magic theory help, and for listening to them even when they were being stupid, except that last one didn’t make sense, because they were never stupid. He opened his mouth to say so, but never got the chance.
“Lord Malleus! Finally!”