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The heat from the bright fire in front of them stayed constant despite the back and forth of the flames from the wind.
It provided a pleasant escape from the biting cold of the night, so much so that Crona almost forgot it was midwinter and nearly midnight. The open campfire was large enough to engulf their body in warmth. It felt like they were laying on the couch of Maka’s apartment, with the heater on high and wrapped in blankets, pressed into the side of the mentioned girl.
It was the same warmth that Maka radiated, the one that makes you want to stay by it for as long as possible. It was so gentle and kind that it made it easy to forget it could be the cause of possible destruction. Although sometimes, the flame would grow big and the constant flicker would become erratic and the possibility you could get burned was more evident than ever.
But Crona knew they’d never get burned. Maka would never allow that to happen to them.
Even now, when Crona sits what they think is way too close to the fire, Maka is watching carefully while trying to get things in order. Her eyes go to Crona every time they flinch back from the fire when the wind blows the flames to them. She makes sure the flames never touch them and when it’s a little too close to comfort, she’ll scoot their chair a little back and closer to hers.
No matter how subtle Maka tried to be, Crona knew but they never said anything, they just complied and smiled whenever Maka gave a small nod of satisfaction to herself.
To them, Maka was always the most fascinating thing, the most eye-catching and loveliest person in any place. Even when Maka ungracefully shoved the white, squishy candy she brought into her mouth when she thought no one was looking, Crona couldn’t help the warmth in their chest spread throughout their body.
“So, these,” Maka turned from the supplies she laid out in front of them to her partner, placing the white candy in their hands, “are marshmallows! We are going to put them over the fire to roast them.”
Her excitement jumped out in the tone of her voice, getting high as she continued to talk. She bumped her knee against Crona’s as she bounced, a characteristic that was completely unlike her but Crona loved to see her happy.
Camping was something Maka had been talking about for the past two weeks. As soon as Crona mentioned they never had a s’more or even been camping Maka claimed they absolutely had to go.
Originally, it was supposed to just be the two on a small camp getaway but Soul assumed he was part of the plans from the get-go and Black Star overheard them and invited himself along with Tsubaki.
The girl did her best to explain to Black Star that they weren’t invited. “Black Star, I don’t think it’s a group trip.”
“You’re right, Tsubaki!” Black Star agreed, clearly not understanding what she meant. “It’s not a group trip without Kid, Liz, and Patty!” With that, he rushed to go tell the others about the trip.
Two weeks later, the eight of them were at a campsite not too far from Death City, underneath the starry sky. Although it wasn’t quite what Maka planned, as long as she was with Crona it didn’t matter.
And as long as Maka was happy, it didn’t matter to Crona either. They grabbed a jumbo-sized “marshmallow” and brought it to their eyes, examining it carefully. “Do they taste good? I saw you eat one by itself not too long ago.”
Maka turned a shade of pink as her eyes looked away from her partner’s, “Hehe, you saw that? They are sweet and soft, almost like gummies- remember those?- but fluffier!”
“Oh okay.” Crona trusted Maka enough to continue without further question, and if marshmallows really were anything like gummies, they would enjoy them a lot. They took the long metal stick Maka handed them and copied her action of piercing the marshmallow with the point. “So we put it in the fire and that’s a s’more?”
Hesitantly, the purple-haired person reached out and put the white ball into the flames; their fingers wrapped around the very edge of the stick in fear that the fire might reach out and burn them. Maka watched Crona with a wide smile before grabbing their hand and slowly turning the stick.
“Gotta turn it, love.” She rested her head on their shoulder while she slowly turned the skewer. “After the marshmallow is roasted, we put it on chocolate and a graham cracker and cover it with another cracker. That’s a s’more!”
They let out a small “oh” before they leaned slightly into Maka. They no longer paid any attention to the roasting marshmallow; they opted out to turn and properly look at their girlfriend.
Despite the only source of light being the campfire, it worked wonderfully in Maka’s favor, Crona thought. It made her glow even more than she already did, it brightened her features in the best ways possible. Crona’s gaze fell over Maka’s eyes, a vibrant green like the color of the grass they lay in during spring. Not only was determination set in her eyes but pure joy as well. The proud smile that pulled at her lips filled Crona with a sense of admiration, the pink never left Maka’s cheeks; it only grew with every moment Crona continued to lean.
There, Crona decided, Maka never looked as beautiful. They stared for a moment longer, as if trying to memorize the scene. With a sudden burst of courage, Crona reached forward and pressed a chaste kiss to Maka’s lips. It was nothing special, just short and sweet but sudden for both of them.
Maka let out a giggle at Crona’s nervous squeak as they pulled away and brought their free hand to their lips. “Sorry! I-I just- you looked so pretty and you, and you were so close so I-“
The blonde planted a soft kiss on the corner of Crona’s mouth, taking their hand in her’s, “It’s okay, Crona. You don’t ever have to apologize for that.”
Crona gave a shy nod and smile before resting their hands in Maka’s lap, their gaze falling in embarrassment. The girl ducked down, she aimed for another sweet peck when an obnoxious groan stopped her.
“Oh, c’mon you lovesick losers, you have a whole tent to yourselves for a reason.” Soul loudly remarked, ignoring the yelps from Maka and Crona. He sat across the pair on the other side of the campfire, an unamused look on his face. “You two can’t even make s’mores right without making out first!”
“Soul! You could’ve announced your presence first instead of scaring us half to death!” Her grip on Crona’s hand tightened slightly, out of shock or as an effort to comfort Crona, they weren’t sure.
“Please, you two would’ve heard wouldn’t have been scared if you weren’t sucking faces.”
Crona’s face flushed as their body curled into Maka’s in embarrassment. Maka rolled her eyes, getting ready to tell Soul off but he speaks again before she gets the chance to start.
“Also, your marshmallow fell into the fire a good minute ago, dumbass.”
Another noise of surprise left Maka as she lifted the stick to see it empty. The marshmallow was nothing but a charred ball of sugar in the fire. Turning to Crona, she flashed a sorry smile that they shrugged off.
Soul clicked his tongue loudly before he went into his tent briefly only to come out with his extra jacket. He muttered something about the only reason he came back was Kid being cold before he left to join the others.
The couple glanced at each other as they watched Soul leave, a smile growing on their faces before they broke out into a fit of giggles.
“We’re the lovesick idiots?” Maka commented before she grabbed another marshmallow, quickly poking it and putting it to the fire again. That earned yet another giggle from Crona, who found their place pressed against Maka’s chest again. “I promise, I’ll actually make you a s’more this time. Just you wait!”
Crona allowed Maka to continue to hold their hand and help roast the marshmallow. They didn’t do much besides just sitting in Maka’s embrace but both wouldn’t have it any other way. In a matter of minutes, Maka pulled out the perfectly roasted marshmallow and carefully put it on the already prepared graham cracker and chocolate. She reached to the side for the other graham cracker to sandwich the marshmallow and set the skewer aside.
She brought the dessert to her partner’s mouth, looking down at them expectedly, “Okay, time for you to try it!”
The demon sword user smiled at her enthusiasm before leaning forward to take a bite. They gave a few experimentally chews, their facial expressions contorting every second: hesitation, confusion, curiosity, and finally a delighted look of surprise. “It’s really good! I like it!” Crona told Maka, a bright smile on their face as they quickly took another bite.
Maka smiled proudly, laughing softly at Crona’s reaction, “Now that you’ve had your first s’more, how ‘bout s’more kisses, please!”
Crona rolled their eyes playfully, swallowing their last bite, and reached up to meet Maka’s lips, a light giggle on their own.