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The dim, almost dead light that usually illuminates the apartment living room flickers on when Maka flips the switch. She quickly kicks the shoes off her feet; which is usually unlike her if not for the bundle of groceries that are piled in her arms. She heaves the grocery bags onto the counter and then walks back over to where the entrance of the apartment is to beckon Crona inside, who was standing in the doorway awkwardly. They quietly walk in after getting permission, holding just with one bag which carries the casing of fragile eggs that they'll need for the food that they are making for dinner. Crona stops to slip their feet out of their shoes; leaving them right by Maka's set, and then sets down the bag near the others. Crona looks around the apartment, and even though it's not their first time in the home it's still a marvel to take in-- at least for them. What snaps them out of their wondered state is Maka lightly tapping them; calling them back to earth. She shoots them a sweet smile that makes Crona's heart warm, and then opens her mouth to start giving instructions.
"Would you mind helping me pull out the ingredients for the pasta, Crona?," She asks; slightly pausing before continuing her sentence. "and when you are done pulling stuff out of the bags, throw them in the bin right by the trash." She points towards the bin that is shorter in height, but bigger in width compared to the bin next to it. Crona hums in response, keeping this in mind before sliding past Maka to get to the counter that holds all the groceries. After Crona and Maka empty the bags that store the food, Maka starts giving out commands like a drill sargent.
"All right, you. Lets check off the list of ingredients, shall we?" Crona gives a short nod, and Maka continues.
"Ok, do we have kosher salt, black pepper, pasta and eggs?"
Crona points at the four things she listed off. "Mhm"
"That's good. How about the olive oil, bacon and cheese?"
"We do." They respond, motioning towards the last three items.
"Awesome! that means we are ready to start cooking!"
Crona leans on the counter, admiring Maka. They watch her grab a pot from one of the cabinets, and a bowl from another. Even the most simplest of tasks that she does for Crona leaves them feeling appreciated, even though half of the time it's basic common courtesy. It's just that they've never had someone show them even a little bit of love. Thinking about that makes their train of thought go to thinking about Medusa, and an involuntary shudder courses through their body; waking them up from their trance.
"Hey Crona, you ok?"
"Y-yeah, just a little cold..." They lie, not wanting to worry their partner.
"I can go turn up the heat if you want? I bet that'll warm you up."
"Sure, If you don't mind..."
"Of course I don't mind silly! I'll be right back, watch the water and make sure to add the noodles in the pot if it starts bubbling."
They nod, trying to slip past Maka to reach the stove. She stops Crona gently to give them a peck on their cheek, and then allows them to move past. They turn their head, a greyish blush drifting onto their cheeks as they watch Maka move down the hall to turn up the heat on the thermostat. Crona brings their attention back to the pot, and adds the pasta in to cook it.
• • •
The aroma of bacon cooking and sauce being made fills the kitchen. Crona cooks the bacon; of course with Maka's help. Her hand is on theirs, and they teach them how to shuffle the bacon around to make sure all the sides are equally cooked. Her other hand is nestled around Crona's waist as they hum a tune in their ear, one that they've heard before, but cant put their finger on.
"What are you singing, Maka?"
"Oh, it's Landslide by Fleetwood Mac. Say, you've never really listened to music, have you?"
Crona tries to recall a time where they've listened to music, but can't. The only time they ever heard music is when they go out with their friends, or it's when it's in a show. They shake their head no, and Maka lets out a dramatic, yet playful gasp. she leans away from her partner in a fake shock.
"You're telling me you've never listened to music, Crona? not ever?"
"Well, if you wanna count listening to the mall's radio while out with you, sure I have.."
"That doesn't count, Crona. How about I play some music for you? It's quite the wonder, listening to an ethereal song for the first time."
"That's fine, Maka.. of course you can. Also, what does e-reathe-real mean? I don't know how to deal with big words.." They struggle with the pronunciation slightly. Maka tends to use big words that they don't understand sometimes, so it's a common occurrence that she has to explain what a word means.
"It can mean beautiful, elegant, lovely, and some other things. just matters how you use it in the sentence you are using it in." while explaining, She drifts back to Crona's body, leaning against them. Crona flushes again.
"A-ah, that makes sense. Thank you for explaining it to me, Maka."
"Don't worry about it. Now getting back on topic, I need you to pick a number one through three."
"I pick two, I guess."
"Ok! I'll be back with an album and the CD player in a second, make sure the bacon doesn't burn while I'm gone!"
She lets go of Crona, and they sigh in their absence, even though she said she'd be back quick. They shift their attention back to the bacon sizzling on the skillet, watching the grease bubble and pop under the heat.
"I'm backkk!" Maka exclaims, in a sing-songy voice. she sets the CD player down on the counter, and pops open a casing containing a disc.
Crona watches her fiddle with the machine, then remembers something that Soul said while they were all hanging out once. "Uhh.. you're the songbird on the generation, that's for sure.."
"Hey! You got that from Soul didn't you? I bet he told you to say that, he's such a prick." She rolls her eyes. The CD player hums as it starts reading the disc. "There we go! Now all I have to do is press play."
"What are we listening to again?"
"I forgot to tell you, sorry! the album name is Room On Fire, it's by The Strokes." She presses the play button, and the sound of music fills the kitchen. "The first song that's playing should be What Ever Happened."
"Mhm.. it sounds nice, I like it."
Maka smiles at them. "see, this is what real music sounds like."
Crona nods, still trying to pay attention to the food. they feel their hand being grabbed, and they turn around, letting themself get led away by Maka. They look into her eyes, long forgetting about the bacon as they get lost in them. Her eyes are a lively, shiny green like a piece of green jasper. Crona finds them to be looking back at them, starting into theirs. they look away, now flustered. Maka giggles as the group drifts into the living room.
"Crona, do you know how to dance?" She asks, wrapping one arm around Crona's waist, pulling them closer.
"No... I don't.." They look back at her.
"Well don't worry about it, cause I don't know either. I do think it would be fun to try though, what do you think?"
"If you are up for it, I suppose. How would we figure it out though, if none of us know how to dance? I don't know how to deal with that.."
"I have a rough idea, it'll be fine Crona. just try to follow what I'm doing, ok?"
They nod, looking downwards to watch what Maka does, and try to copy it. She slowly spins her and Crona's bodies around, swaying to the music. The two settle, a gentle rhythm, like a boat on a calm sea. Crona feels Maka's soul reaching out to theirs, trying to connect them. They allow it, and suppress a shiver as warmth spreads throughout their body. As the song continues onto the next, Ragnarok decides it's a good idea to appear.
"WHY ARNT YOU COOKING? IM HUNGRY." The pair jump, and Crona skits away from Maka. The warmth from earlier is gone, the soul connection lost. Crona grumbles.
"Well, Maka was teaching me something..."
"DONT CARE, DONT CARE, DONT CARE!! GET TO MAKING THE PASTA!" Ragnarok bangs their fists on Crona's head, and shakes them around.
"Ow, Ragnarok! cant the pasta wait..?"
"NO." He hits Crona harder. They decide to fight back, and start hitting the mass that emerged out of their back. As the fight continues, Crona starts to worry what Maka will think of them after this. Crona stops, not wanting to make their partner hate them. instead of fighting, they just cover their head and crouch down, trying to block Ragnarok's fists.
"Ragnarok, quit hitting Crona. or you get no pasta."
He pauses, looking at Maka. "DONT TELL ME WHAT TO DO, STUPID GIRL."
"I'll tell you whatever I want. now get back into Crona before I start hit you with a book."
Ragnarok lets out a sound relatively close to a growl before shifting back into Crona. Maka walks over to where her partner is mumbling, and crouches down.
"Hey, look at me. Are you okay? Did he hurt you bad?" she reaches her hand out, softly touching Crona. They flinch away, and start sniffling.
"Crona, please talk to me. I know there's something on your mind."
"I don't want you to hate me"
"Hate you? Why would I ever hate you?"
"Because... because I fought Ragnarok.. and ruined our dancing... I just ruin everything." Their voice cracks throughout the sentence, and tears bubble in their eyes.
"Uhm, no you didn't. that was Ragnarok, not you Crona. and besides, you fought back because he was hurting you, right? That's just self defense."
Crona doesn't respond, as they continue sniffling. The hands previously covering their head now reach to cover their face, tears dripping from their eyes.
Maka sighs. "Crona, please look at me."
Their head slowly raises up, rubbing their eyes, which are now slightly red from crying.
"Thank you Crona. now, it was Ragnarok who started it, not you. It's not your fault, okay? Besides, even if it was I would never hate you. I don't even think I could have even a small bit of hatred for you, Crona. You are trying your best, and that's all that matters." Maka pauses, hesitating. Her face flushes lightly as she speaks. "I love you, Crona"
Her partner's eyes start to shine with tears again. "Did I say something wrong? I'm sorry Crona!" they nod no profusely.
"N-no, I just didn't expect it... it makes me feel all warm, but like a good warm. It makes me feel happy."
"Phew, that's good.. I thought I upset you!"
"You could never make me upset, Maka... I love you too"
Maka beams, and pulls Crona into a hug. They freeze, before slowly wrapping their arms around her. Crona feels Maka pressing rapid kisses to their cheek, and they giggle. they gently pull away from the hug, which gives more room for Maka to pepper kisses around their face.
"Makaaa.. that tickles." Crona says, laughing.
"Yeah, whatever" She responds playfully, pulling away. Crona stops her, pulling her closer, their noses lightly touching.
"Can.. can we actually kiss this time?" They mumble, their face flushing grey.
Maka is slightly taken aback. "You sure? Again, we should take this at the pace you want-"
"Yes, I'm sure. I want to kiss you, Maka."
Maka swallows, sweating. She hopes she doesn't mess this up. The two press closer, their lips meeting softly. The kiss is awkward of course, neither knowing what to do. the pair pull away, both blushing and smiling sheepishly.
"Was that okay, Maka? I hope it was... I don't know how to kiss people."
"Yes Crona, it was perfect."
"Can we do it again?"
"Of course we can."
Their lips push back together, less awkward this time as they find a rhythm. Maka moves her arms, wrapping them around Crona's neck lazily. she lightly pushes her partner, making Crona settle into a sitting position. Crona leans back, using their arms as support to hold their body up, giving Maka the space to lightly straddle their hips. Her lips separate from Crona's.
"Is it okay if we go a bit further? Like, making out further?"
"What is making out?"
"Here, I'll show you what it is, and you'll tell me if we can continue. Just... when we kiss, part your mouth slightly."
Crona nods in agreement, and Maka goes back to kissing them. Their mouth opens, and Maka's tongue slips into Crona's mouth. They shiver as Maka moves around their mouth, exploring it. as she pulls from Crona, they chase after her lips, connecting them once more. thier teeth clank together, and the two pull away, wincing. Maka giggles before pressing her lips on Crona's again, and she hums as Crona copies what she did earlier, their tongue moving around Maka's mouth, collecting the taste of her, savoring it. Maka wraps their tongues around each other, moving like how they danced in a wonky rhythm earlier. Crona whimpers slightly when Maka pushes her tongue to the back of their throat. the two continue kissing, getting lost in their own world. Neither of them hear the front door open, and Soul stomping in. He gapes at the scene infront of him.
"In the living room? out of all places? come on!"
The two pull apart quickly, scooting away from each other. both of their faces are now flushed in embarrassment instead of desire.
"W-we didn't hear you enter Soul, sorry!"
"Even if I wasn't here, you should at least move this-" he says, motioning towards the two. "into your room! something called common courtesy."
"Don't even play that card! you wanna talk about common courtesy?"
"Whatever, your food is long gone burnt, by the way."
Ragnorok pops out of Crona's back again.
"WHAT?"
"Shh, quiet Ragnarok! You're being too loud! Go back in" Crona murmurs, pushing Ragnarok's shoulders, trying to force him back into their body.
"YOU SAID YOU WOULD GIVE ME PASTA! YOU BURNT IT!"
"Look, we will order take out, ok?" Maka replies, already walking to the kitchen to dial the local pizza place.
"FINE. DONT BURN THE FOOD NEXT TIME BY EATING EACH OTHERS FACES THOUGH! OR YOU'LL FEEL MY WRATH!"
Soul scoffs. "Sure we will."
"QUIET BOY." Ragnarok yells as he drifts into Crona's body once more.
"Gods, your weapon is annoying Crona."
"Sorry about that..."
"Don't worry about it! He just needs... house training?" Maka says. The group erupts into laughter.
"House training? Are you serious Maka? Soul says through chuckles.
"I mean.. he does need it, I suppose." Crona remarks.
"Ok guys, quiet now. I'm ordering the pizza!"
• • •
The living room is quiet, besides the munching on pizza slices. The group sits together on the couch, watching a movie on the television. two are closer than the other though, with Maka and Crona curled up around each other as they eat.
"Hey Maka?"
"What's up, Crona?"
"Thanks for inviting me over... this was nice."
Soul interrupts Maka. "I'm glad it was nice for you guys, but I wasn't very happy seeing you two suck face."
He ends up getting hit on the head with a book after that.