Ba-dum… Ba-dum…

There it was again. The beating of Kid's heart. It was quickening as of recent. Not at random periods of time, and he was sure that it wasn't some problem with his medical condition (which Nygus said herself was 'best in the school'). But Kid had considered several times that maybe he should talk to a doctor or his father or something about it.

The young Reaper brought his hand to his chest and tore his gaze from the wall of his bedroom of which he had been staring at for so long. The beating was growing more rapid by the second, all because of that one damn thing.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum…

Kid rested his head in his hands, elbows being supported by his knees. That one thing is what he couldn't get his mind off of. Whenever the thought crossed his mind he could feel his heart rate accelerating, blood and heat rush to his cheeks and collect in a bundle of red. Almost like roses. In fact, all heat in his body tore away and rushed to his cheeks like tornados, leaving goose-bumps littering Kid's pale skin.

He knew the reason this was happening, he just didn't understand. This shouldn't really be happening to someone of the likes of Kid. But he knew; his father had had the same feeling long before, and had described in full detail the symptoms he had. They had all matched up to Kid's symptoms perfectly.

Kid took a deep breath and exhaled. He was in love.

How, exactly, he wasn't sure. He had spent time with her, the girl he loved, and he simply developed a small crush on her. But as he watched her more, as he talked to her, spent more time with her, he suddenly lost the crush on her and developed the feeling called 'love.'

Who he was in love with? Oh, a girl named Crona.

Answering that question was easy. But figuring it all out was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. He was in love with everything about her. He loved the way that she smiled ever so slightly, with a blush on her cheeks whenever he complimented her, he loved how she stretched until her bones cracked, the softest moans of pleasure that escaped her vocal cords when she did so, he loved the deepness of her dark blue eyes, he loved her soft, quiet personality, god, he loved everything about Crona. He would even put up with Ragnarok if he could just have her.

Kid grit his teeth and let himself fall back onto his bed. He simply stared at the ceiling, trying to connect the dots and figure out why, out of all people, this was happening to him. Because love sucked in Kid's mind. Love sucked really hard.

He saw her virtually every day, but recently Kid was avoiding Crona just to keep the symptoms away. Maka had noticed, tried to talk to him about it. Kid had simply given her a blasé wave and told her he had no clue what she was talking about.

But he did know. He thought it was silly, how he was avoiding her and yet he wanted to hold her in his arms and tell her how much he loved her. He wanted to feel her warm lips against his cold ones and to make her the happiest girl alive.

But he wasn't. Kid was just avoiding her like the plague.

Kid's choice to avoid Crona eventually had an effect on his normal social life. Before he came to the Academy, he rarely left home aside to go on missions and shop for groceries. Liz and Patty had pretty much been the closest things to friends he had ever really had. Kid had always had sort of a social anxiety problem, he wasn't sure why. However, when he came to the DWMA, it was like all his problems were washed away and left to die on the shore.

But since he fell in love, Kid had rarely left the house. Liz and Patty weren't sure what was wrong with him; Liz had tried to get him to go out to parties, and Kid had almost gone. But when he heard the words 'Crona will be there' his heart beat rapidly and the bundles of heat and roses gathered at his cheeks once more, goose-bumps all over his skin, it was obvious he was staying home.

Everyone thought he was depressed or something; Kid had heard Liz talking about it with Tsubaki. "I think Kid's depressed about something, he's been acting really weird," were his partner's exact words. Well, to answer that, he wasn't depressed. He was simply in love.

But it was sort of like depression in Kid's eyes.

It ate away at him since he realized his feelings for Crona. He couldn't sleep at night, and admittedly some tears were shed a few nights in the past as he mulled over the feelings. He had just been lying face-down in his bed, and one drop of Kid's tears dripped onto the pillow. One came after the other, and soon he had been sobbing uncontrollably. He really didn't have any reason for these crying episodes; he just was simply thinking, 'I'm in love, god, why am I in love?' and the tears started falling.

Liz had heard him bawling before. She had once come in, asking him what was wrong and telling him that everything was okay, even though Kid wasn't sad or scared at all.

Thinking about it, Kid could understand why she thought he was depressed. Having to watch him cry for absolutely no reason at all and having to tell their friends that Kid wasn't coming to their party must have made it seem like that.

Kid wondered how Crona thought about it.

God, there were the goose-bumps again. Kid beat the sides of his head with his palms and rose up off of his bed. He angled his amber eyes over to the window that was hung on one side of his room. He suddenly realized how much he craved fresh air. He hadn't left the house for a couple of days; he'd actually skipped school and had only been sitting around the house since Thursday. It was Sunday. Damn, he wanted out.

He couldn't go downstairs, Liz and Patty were down there and he didn't want to risk an encounter with them. They'd ask 'where are you going' when honestly Kid didn't know himself. But that was where the only exits to the house were.

Kid raised his eyebrows at the window. Window it was then.

Carefully pulling the glass up, Kid locked the window into place and stuck his head outside. He took a deep breath, refilling his lungs with freshness. Then, pulling himself back in, he slowly stuck one leg out the window, followed by the rest of his body, and jumped.

He landed on his feet onto the stone pavement of Death City, stood up straight, brushed himself off, and began walking away from Gallows Manor.

Kid smiled as he felt the gentle breeze blow across his warm skin, as he felt the air soothe his lungs and rejuvenate his body. Looking up, he saw that it was around dusk; yet dark clouds were strewn across the sky. It would probably rain soon. Kid would probably need to be back in his room by then.

Oh, well. No rush.

Kid ambled down the sidewalk, slowly mulling over his problem. Kid was known to have constant fits over symmetry, but now he felt like he'd give up symmetry himself just to keep Crona safe. Hell, he'd break his own heart to keep Crona safe. He just couldn't understand why.

Why was he feeling like this? Why was it him who had to feel like this? Why did he have to be in love? Why couldn't he and Crona just be friends? The questions rushed through Kid's mind like bullets from the barrel of a gun. This sent Kid's hands beating against his head once more.

Minutes dragged by with Kid asking himself so many questions. And finally, the Reaper found himself alone in the streets. He could see children peeking out from behind the curtains, looking through windows, adults bringing in objects that Kid could not see, and stray animals taking shelter under trash bins.

Kid was confused, but then he realized exactly what they were hiding from. Kid felt something cold hit the top of his head. Quickly looking up, he was greeted by the onslaught of water tumbling out of the sky.

It was finally raining, and it dawned on Kid exactly how long he had been walking.

And looking around, Kid realized that he had absolutely no clue which route he had taken to get here, nor which route he took to get home.

Great. Liz would beat him down.

Kid blamed love.

Kid's exasperated sigh was lost amongst the sheets of rain that assaulted his body. He immediately became drenched, his clothing hugged his body and his bangs covered his eyes. The hair that curled upwards at the back of his head now sunk and clung to the nape of his neck. Kid bit his lip and moved forward. He'd have to find a different way to get home, then. Knowing his partners they'd probably assume what he was doing and be correct. Unless they thought he was kidnapped or something. And when the young reaper thought about it, that might be the likelier case.

Kid slowly walked on, slowly getting his surroundings and figuring out the ways he could get back to his mansion. He also tried to figure out what sort of excuse he could use if Liz was angry at him, how to rebuild his social life, if Crona returned his feelings-

Wait, when did that get there?

Kid leaned again a brick wall of one of the shops in Death City (it just so happened to be closed) and beat the sides of his head violently. Crona's image was flashing across his mind again, and he wanted desperately for it to leave.

Get out, get out.

Nope. Crona's beautiful face was still there.

Get out, get out!

She smiled at him. Several times before.

Kid hissed under his breath and slumped to the ground. Why the hell couldn't he get one person out of his head?! Pulling his knees close to his body and burying his face in them, Kid exhaled and inhaled rapidly, trying to calm his pounding heart.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

Kid clutched his chest with both of his hands, resting his forehead on his knees, aware that his tears were flowing with the rain, yet unaware that true love had really done something to his mental state.

Kid sat there, sobbing his heart out, for who knows how long. Just letting the tears flow as love worked its way through his bloodstream and poisoned everything in its path with its effects. Why, why, why…? So many more questions rushed through Kid's mind. Why did he love Crona, why was he crying so hard about this, why was all this happening, why was his social anxiety returning, why did his heart race whenever he saw or thought of her, why…?

"K… Kid?"

Oh, great. He was so delirious that he could hear Crona's voice.

"Kid…? A-Are you alright…?"

Kid felt something warm grasp his shoulder, gently shake him, and he knew that he was certainly not imagining this. He angled one eye to the side, and he soon found him face-to-face with the very girl who had been causing all these feelings in his heart.

Crona.

Crap, why did she have to find him crying like this?!

Kid shot upwards, quickly wiping away the snot that dripped out of his nose and ignoring the puffiness around his eyes. He could feel the heat rushing to his cheeks and his body becoming colder, his heart pounding harder than it's ever pumped before.

"Crona!" he said, trying his best to sound normal. "What on earth are you doing out here in the rain like this?"

"I was visiting Maka and it began raining when I started to go home... What are you doing here?"

Crap, Kid, you shouldn't have even asked the question. "Oh, I was just on a walk and got caught in this storm. I was a little out of steam, so I stopped to take a rest." That seemed believable.

Crona eyed him suspiciously. "Were you crying just now…?"

"No. Why?"

"I just thought I heard you crying."

"I wasn't crying, Crona. You must have imagined it." Kid gave her a cunning smile.

Crona didn't look convinced. Kid never knew she had this sort of determination in her. There was a moment of silence between them before Kid's nose began to tingle and he let out a loud sneeze.

HAH-CHOO!

"Kid," Crona went on, "won't you catch a cold in this weather?"

"I'm a Grim Reaper; I can't get sick very easily." Kid desperately tried to claw his way out of this conversation. "I should probably head home now."

"Do you know how to get back from here...?"

Kid knew the answer: no. And judging by how out-of-control his mind was right at that moment he wouldn't be knowing any time soon.

Kid hesitated, and in that moment Crona saw right through him.

"Come on," she said, taking his hand in hers. "The school isn't far from here; you can dry off in my room until the storm lightens up…"

Oh, no, no, no. This was going all wrong. "N-No, I can make it home."

"Don't be silly. You might get sick again."

Again? Kid was puzzled for a moment before he thought, 'Wait, I had skipped school for two days just to avoid Crona.' Not to mention he had been absent from many social events just to avoid her. The only logical explanation was that he was sick. And the logical one to say he was sick was none other than the eldest of his two partners. Well played, Liz Thompson, well played.

"I won't get sick, I just-"

"Come on, Kid, I insist…"

Kid knew there was no getting out of this now. So he simply bit his tongue and let Crona lead him through the rainy streets and to her room at Shibusen. She occasionally looked back at him, but other than that the trip was silent, with Crona's warm hands in Death the Kid's cold ones.

0o0o0

"Here… I don't have any towels, but you can use this to dry off."

Kid eyed the white, spotless blanket in Crona's hands, and took it without arguing. He began to rub himself down with it, absorbing the water that clung to his body. As he used the blanket to dry his hair, he studied the room. It was a little small, but this dungeon-sort-of room had been Crona's home since she was enrolled at the DWMA. Maka had once tried to talk her into moving in with her and Soul, but Crona must have refused because here she remained.

"You can sit down if you want…" Crona gestured towards the bed pushed off to the corner of the room.

Kid raised an eyebrow. "What if I get it wet?"

"I don't really mind." Crona smiled at him. Kid felt his heart pick up speed, and immediately followed Crona's orders. Man, he hated love. How she had him at the mercy by just smiling at him. Kid tried to take his mind off of his situation by continuing to dry himself off, but yet the blush still remained on his pale cheeks.

Kid felt the bed bounce, and he looked to his right to find Crona sitting beside him, wrapped in a second blanket. She looked at him worriedly, with those beautiful blue eyes of hers.

"Kid, are you alright? You don't have a fever, do you?" Crona blinked. "You're a little paler than normal and your face is red."

Crap, it was noticeable. Kid turned away, avoiding eye-contact with his companion. "No, I'm fine." That was the truth, at least.

"Oh…" Crona paused for a minute. "Do you need me to take your jacket? It'll be better if you get some of your wet clothes off, right?"

Kid sighed. For reasons he wasn't aware of, he undid the clips that held his jacket together, undid the buttons that reinforced them, and pulled his jacket off of his shoulders. He folded it neatly into a square, not really caring that it would dry faster if it aired out.

If Kid was going to be face-to-face with the girl he loved (don't even mention being in her home), he could at least have a little symmetry, correct?

There was a dense silence between them, several thunderclaps and lightning flashes booming outside. Then, Crona said, "Kid, I know you were crying."

Kid's heart stopped for the first time in months since he realized he was in love. "W-what are you talking about?"

"When I found you, you were crying… Right?" She eyed him. "Weren't you?"

She knew. "I wasn't crying. Maybe it looked like I was crying because of the rain." Kid desperately made an attempt to climb up the thread to salvation.

"Kid," Crona retorted, her deep blue eyes imploring him to talk to her, "what's wrong?"

Those eyes. Those eyes were the eyes that haunted Kid's dreams day and night, the eyes of the person who walked in Kid's dreams, the eyes of the girl who he was madly in love with. They stared at him, straight into his honey-colored eyes. They were filled with worry, determination, and Kid saw something flash across them that he couldn't read.

The look she gave him finally made him crack. Kid spilled everything without fully knowing he was doing so. His thread snapped and he went plummeting back into the black hole that was love.

"Okay, yes, I was crying! You know what else? I haven't been sick at all! I've been skipping school because I have been so deeply in love." Kid rose from the bed and began pacing the floor, dropping the blanket on the floor in his wake. "I've been so deeply in love with this person that every time I see them, every time she crosses my mind, she gives me goose-bumps, she makes my heart beat like a drum, and she makes my mind go numb just by looking at her! Every time she walks through the room I stop breathing!" Kid sharply turned to his shocked audience member. "Do you know who she is?"

Crona shook her head nervously.

"Well, that girl is you, Crona! I haven't stopped thinking about you for three god-forsaken months! Symmetry has nothing against my feelings for you!" He grabbed his hair in his hands and paced the floor again, tears spilling out of his eyes as he poured his heart out. "I have never, ever felt like this for someone before! I can't even explain how much I care about you! But I don't know how to handle always feeling nervous or sick around you. That's why I've been gone for this week Crona, that's why I can't make it to the parties everyone throws anymore! It's because I don't know how to do this anymore!" Kid sank to his knees and sobbed, "I just don't know why this is happening, why I'm in love, but dammit, I love you!"

Kid sat there, bawling for what seemed like the eightieth time that day, and Crona watched him, slowly processing what the Grim Reaper boy had just told her.

Crona had honestly felt attracted to Kid since she was allowed into Shibusen. He always was cool, calm and collected. Sure, sometimes his symmetry fits were annoying, but Crona felt that Kid couldn't help it. She enjoyed being around him, and looking deeper she realized that there were feelings in her heart for Death the Kid.

She'd always been disappointed when Kid wasn't around; Liz had always said that he was either sick or 'just feeling depressed' and that he couldn't come to school or a party or just a fun little outing with friends. Crona had always felt a little worried over Kid since he began to disappear. She offered to come visit, but Liz and Patty had just waved her off and told her that they could handle it.

Ba-dum, ba-dum…

Crona's heart skipped a beat. A deep red blush formed on her pale cheeks as she watched the boy cry his heart out because of how he had no idea how to deal with love.

Neither did Crona, for that matter. Then they could do it together, right?

She realized in that moment that she felt the exact same way as he did. Crona had never had this sort of feeling before; had only heard about it from the stories she and Maka read. But she liked it, and she wanted to share this feeling with Kid. She wanted to be in love with him.

But she had been too scared of it. And when Kid had pulled his various disappearing acts, Crona had been worried sick and disappointed. Even Ragnarok had given her advice on confessing her love to Kid.

"Don't hide it too long, it's unhealthy," Ragnarok had said. "And when you tell him, make a show for me, dammit! Don't just say 'I love you, man, let's go out and eat macaroons'! Put some feeling into it! Get mad! Be determined! When life gives you lemons, squeeze those suckers in life's eyes and make it sorry!"

So that's exactly what she'd try to do.

Before she even knew it, Crona had gotten up from her place, walked over to Kid, kneeled beside him, and planted her warm lips onto his tear-stained cheek.

This quieted Kid's sobbing immediately, as well as widened his eyes to enormous saucers and shrinking his pupils down to mustard seeds. He slowly turned to stare at her, a look of pure disbelief in his glossy amber eyes.

Crona smiled and pressed her forehead against his. "I'm glad then," she cooed, "that you feel that same way about me as I do about you."

Kid simply sat there, his forehead pressed against Crona's, letting her words sink in, until finally his emotions exploded inside of him, and before he knew it, more tears—tears of joy this time—were spilling out of his eyes.

"I love you, Crona…" He breathed, voice shaky from crying.

"I love you, too, Kid," Crona replied. She shut her eyes, her own tears piling up and spilling over her eyelashes. She moved forward and pressed her lips against Kid's.

His lips were cold; hers were warm.

They both shut their eyes and pressed their lips closer together. Kid cupped his hands behind Crona's ears, holding her closer, and she held onto Kid's shoulders.

Tears were spilling out of both of their eyes.

Ba-dum… Ba-dum…

Love sucked so hard.