Weathering the Storms: A Marhinki Fanfiction

Joy

Chapter 8

Sohinki had made sure Mari was comfortable enough. She grumbled and told him to go to bed, but he couldn't help himself; he just wanted to be positive that she was okay. He filled a small glass with water from the bathroom, set it on the bedside table, and was about to leave when he heard Mari.

"I'm sorry if I scared you today," she said quietly. She sounded absolutely miserable.

"Why are you sorry?" Sohinki wanted to laugh out loud. "It wasn't anything you did."

"I know...I just hate seeing you worry about me," she replied, propping herself up in the bed.

"Mari, you know I only worry about you because I care about you," Sohinki smiled, meeting her gaze. To his surprise, Mari...blushed?

"Thanks," she murmured."I care about you too, y'know."

This wasn't any big news to Sohinki. "Of course you do, Mari. We're best friends. I know you would have done the same thing for me, you know, if I was psychotic like you," he grinned mischievously.

Mari used her less-bandaged hand to hit him in the shoulder. "I'm not psychotic!" she protested, smiling.

"Okay, sure," Sohinki drawled, rolling his eyes. Mari punched him again and laughed.

"I'm serious, you big dope," she giggled. Her face got serious again and she leaned in and kissed Sohinki on the cheek. "Thank you so much for everything you did for me today," she said shyly.

Shit, Sohinki thought. Lasercorn had been right- he did like Mari. You know, like that. When she had kissed him on the cheek his mind had gone blank and he felt like he was floating nine stories above the building. How was he supposed to handle this? Mari was his BEST FRIEND. You don't just fall in love with your best friend!

"Sohinki."

And what if Mari didn't really like him, and she was just trying to be nice? Then what? He didn't think he could handle getting rejected like that, especially after all they had been through together? What if they weren't friends after something like that?

"Sohinki!"

What if they ended up going out? And then they broke up? What would happen then? Would they both stay with Smosh? Oh, no. Smosh! What would happen when they found out? How would they take it? Would they tease them, or mock them, or freeze them out?

"MATT!"

Mari finally got Sohinki's attention by using his first name.

"What's wrong?" he said worriedly, thinking that maybe Mari was getting anxious again, or that her hands had started to hurt or bleed again. He grabbed her hands and started checking her over.

"Sohinki, I'm fine!" Mari laughed. "But look!" She was pointing up to the ceiling.

At first Sohinki didn't understand what she was pointing at. It was just a plain white ceiling, kind of gross, not very sturdy. The corners needed painting. The light was making an interesting pattern across it. The air-conditioning vent was-

The light.

The light!

"The power's back on!" Sohinki cheered, picking Mari up by her waist and spinning her around in a sheer moment of joy.

"I know!" Mari screamed back. The other four members came into his room and they all jumped and cheered for a while.

"Let's get the hell out of here!" Ian exclaimed, and the rest of the members agreed. Ian swiped his key card and they all shouted with joy when the door swung open. They rushed out onto the puddle-ridden sidewalk and laughed as Anthony did a funny little victory dance. A cab finally stopped for them, and Ian and Anthony climbed in, followed by Joven and Lasercorn.

"We'll wait for another one," Sohinki told them. "Mari's staying at my place tonight, anyway."

Mari looked at him incredulously. "Really?"

"Of course!" Sohinki smiled. Lasercorn gave him a sappy look, but he ignored him and shut the cab door. They were finally able to hail one for themselves, and ten minutes after, they pulled up at Sohinki's apartment.

"It's so cool," Mari whispered, marveling at the modern decor in Sohinki's living room. He turned red.

"My mom kinda got to me, but I like the style anyway," he muttered. Mari laughed and continued exploring.

"You have a turtle!" he heard her exclaim. He followed her voice and found her in his bedroom, staring at Sheldon the turtle.

"Yeah, that's Sheldon," Sohinki explained. He opened the terrarium and lifted the small turtle out and into Mari's open hand. "He's super lazy, but he makes for a good partner."

Mari made little noises at the turtle and pet him with one finger. "He's awesome!" she exclaimed, tracing the pattern on Sheldon's shell with her fingers. "He's a Reeve's turtle, right? He's a little small to be a box turtle, and his markings are a little different-" she realized she was rambling. "Oh, God, sorry. I just have a thing for turtles, you know," she explained.

Sohinki decided right then and there that Mari was absolutely perfect in every way.

"Yep, he's a Reeve's turtle," he grinned.

"3 years old?" Mari guessed. Sohinki was astonished.

"How did you know that?" he asked. Mari giggled.

"I have some talents that you don't know about," she teased. She gently put Sheldon back into his terrarium and yawned. "Can we sleep now?"

"You bet," Sohinki assured her, leading her to his room. "I'm putting you in here and I'll be on the couch if you need me."

"Wait!" Mari begged. "Can you stay on the floor in here? I sleep...a lot better when you're around," she said nervously.

Sohinki sighed dramatically. "Well, I guess so," he grinned. He dragged in an old sleeping bag, setting it up so he would be right next to Mari.