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Maka stepped outside of her and Soul's apartment, a grin on her face. A joyful sigh left her mouth as she stared over the view of Death City, her home city and her place of joy. But she wasn't keeping the view of the city or the joy it gave her in mind. Not today. She had plans. Aside from her shoes, her normal attire was completely disregarded for a red sundress, her hair pulled back into a full ponytail.
Watching her feet as she skipped down the steps to the street, her expression was joyous, as if she wouldn't let anything ruin her day. After all, she had convinced Crona to come out with her. As their destination, she chose a quaint cafe on the outside of the city. She didn't want to overwhelm him with too many people, and nothing too loud. (She knew he couldn't deal with too many people.) So, she made her way to the academy to pick the nervous young man up.
She climbed the steps to the DWMA giddily, skipping steps as to not be late. She was running a little late, (Oh no, had she overdone it? After all, this wasn't a date. Just friends. Just friends...Maybe she should take her hair down. Or take the bracelets off... Well, it's too late now.) As she made her way to the lower levels of the school, she found herself getting more and more excited. Happy that her best friend agreed to go out in public, happy he was finally opening up.
Light knocks on the door summoned the young boy to open it. The action took most of the strength he could muster; the door being a heavy dungeon door. When his visitor's face graced him, a smile tugged at the sides of his mouth, but didn't form completely. His sad eyes looked as joyful as they could get, and he stepped out to meet Maka, closing the door behind him.
"Maka! I was... getting scared you wouldn't show up." He looked at the girl bashfully.
Grinning, Maka clasped her hands behind her back, "Sorry I was late! Guess I took too long getting ready, huh? I hope I didn't overdo it."
It was then that Crona realized how the girl in front of him looked. How the hem of her dress wrinkled and fell just above her knees, how the red of the fabric sat in contrast to the ivory of her skin. The way the corners of her lips drew up in the cheery grin she had, and the way her hair was laying over her face. And as he stared at her, he could feel his face warming up. He quickly fixed that by shifting to look at his shoes again.
Maka looked over the nervous boy, dressed in the white shirt and slacks outfit the friend group picked for him a while back. Her head tilted in curiosity, trying to figure what was going through his mind. He always seemed so closed off, which she couldn't blame him. All he ever knew was dark rooms, violence, and abuse. But that was what she was there for; she was going to help him open up, and perhaps finally be happy. And how he deserves to be-
"Um, Maka? Shouldn't we go?" Crona spoke up with his soft voice, his arm crossed over his torso to cling to his other arm like his whole life depended on it.
Surprised, Maka drew in a quick breath, nodding quickly, "Oh, maybe we should."
And off they were, almost completely in time with their steps. Crona's words barely sputtering out of his mouth, and Maka thinking to herself how adorable his shyness was, as the two spoke idly during their walk.
When the couple arrived, it seemed almost too soon. Crona was enjoying the conversation as much as Maka. He enjoyed the looks she would get on her face when she became passionate about a subject. He liked hearing what she had to talk about. And she enjoyed just being with him. She even enjoyed the small pauses in their talks.
The pair took a seat by the window, continuing their idle chit-chat. When the waitress approached them, Crona froze, his teeth barely grazing his bottom lip.
"What can I get you two today?" The woman grinned, holding her pen to the pad of paper.
"I think I'll have a cup of tea, chamomile. And a pastry." Maka responded cheerfully, "What about you Crona?"
The young man in question was too involved in whatever he was looking down at in his lap, his shoulders shaking nervously. Until he heard Maka call his name, then he snapped to attention. He raised his head back up, staring at Maka nervously, then moving his gaze to the woman serving them, "I-I'll have what... what she's having."
"Hm? Alright! I'll have that right out for you." With that, the woman made her way into the kitchen.
Crona turned to look right back at Maka once again, his face melancholy. Maka frowned and looked back into his eyes, grey orbs meeting elegantly green ones. With one smooth movement, Maka's hands were on the table and lightly laying on top of his as she closed her eyes and concentrated on his wavelength. And began working to match her wavelength to his.
When she completed the task, the tension in Crona's body visibly left as his shoulders became less rigid and his expression was less scared.
And it felt nice. It felt nice to have someone who could match up with him so quickly. It felt nice to have someone who cared.
Maka opened her eyes once again, a soft smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Crona couldn't help but smile back, as a soft pink flushed over his cheeks. At that moment, looking at the boy in front or her, it took all of the self-control she could muster not to kiss him. She'd thought about it before; she'd even thought about maybe asking him to "go steady". But she didn't want to overwhelm him. If only she knew how much he'd like to be with her. How many times when she'd stayed the night to keep him company when he was afraid that he'd wanted to tell her something. Anything that would give her a clue.
"Two chamomile teas and two pastries!" The woman broke the two out of their dazes, setting the two cups of tea down; along with the two plates with delicious looking pastries sitting on them.
"Thank you, these look delicious!" Maka said with the utmost enthusiasm.
"You're welcome. Enjoy, you two!"
Crona's nervous hand reached for one of the plates, pulling it towards himself and began picking at one of the layers of the flaky pastry while Maka happily picked hers up and took a generous bite from it, an audible noise of content rising up from her throat.
"Ah, it's been so long since I've been here, their pastries are deliciou- Hm? What's wrong Crona, do you not like it?" The scythe meister immediately shifted her attention from the fruity treat to her friend.
Knocked out of his daze once again, Crona practically jumped out of his seat, "Ah! No, it's okay! I actually haven't tried it yet... Sorry."
"I'm sure you'll like it. This has been one of my favorite places to come for years." Maka grinned, tilting her head a little.
Crona nodded, understanding as he raised the sweet treat to his mouth and took a small bite. As soon as the flavor hit his tongue, his eyes widened in surprise, "These are... Really good, Maka!"
As if on cue, Ragnarok materilized from the swordsman's back, complaining about something or other, "Crona! What does a guy have to do to get some damn food around here!"
Then, the little demon spotted the flaky dessert Crona held in his hand and plucked it away with his own small, gloved ones, "I'll take that!" And he ate it in one large bite.
Maka stared at the small, black demon with a deadpan, holding the book she seemingly always had on her person, "Hmph... Maka... Chop!"
With a loud bang the book landed promptly on Ragnarok's little head. His already bulging eyes popping even more as a disgruntled "Ow" left his mouth.
"Now, shoo." Maka was less than pleased with the pest's appearance, and when the little demon was gone, Maka broke her pastry in half and readily shared the other half with the shocked boy in front of her.
"Oh, thank you, Maka..." Crona sputtered out, nervously and carefully taking the half out of her hand, "That's so kind of you."
"It's no problem! Really." Her grin could light the darkest of nights.