I've always hated being assigned clean up duty in Professor Stein's lab. You see some of the weirdest stuff in there. Horrible things. Things you never want to see again. But it seems that I have gotten assigned this job yet again. Just luck I guess. Black*Star was supposed to help me, but I haven't seen him in about an hour.
The school is so quiet after hours. The dorms are usually bustling but the wing that holds the classrooms is lifeless. As are the lower levels I'd assume.
I could faintly sense Crona's soul, as well as Ms Marie and Joe somewhere below me. Other then that I was alone on this side of the vast school campus. Outside the wind had begun to pickup, howling as it blew through around the building, and echoing down the long halls.
"I don't think I can deal with winter!" Crona whimpered somewhere to my left. It was dark so I couldn't see him amongst the shadows.
"Well I personally prefer spring, but winter isn't all that bad." I put the bag of trash down and attempted to search for the frightened boy.
"I-I can't see anything good about it."
"The school is closed for the holidays, and everything looks so nice covered in snow."
"Still."
"Come on out Crona. I can't find you."
"N-no. I'm fine r-r-right here."
"Suit yourself." I grabbed my bag and turned to walk away.
"Kid don't leave!" He jumped out from behind a desk and latched onto my arm causing me to drop my bag. "S-sorry."
He walked me to the dumpster behind the school, making small chit chat the entire way and he never let go of my arm. This was a habit of his, clinging to either Maka or I whenever he was frightened. We managed to calm him somehow. Not that I understood why. But I didn't mind, part of me thought it was cute and slightly endearing.
"Since you seem to be so shaken up, would you like to go for a walk with me?" I asked putting on my leather coat.
"B-but it's cold outside."
"You have a jacket right?"
"Maka gave me one." He fidgeted with his hands a bit.
"Then you'll be fine. Come on Crona, it'll be fun." I smiled at him and he nodded slightly.
Once outside I could see why he was hesitant about the choice of jacket Maka made. It was a red fur lined coat and a hat that looked like some sort of strange monster. But even though it was a horrendous color and tacky as all hell, not to mention totally asymmetrical, he looked simply adorable in it.
"It looks funny doesn't it?" He pouted, slinking behind me. "I should have just stayed at the DWMA. Everyone is staring at me."
"The jacket is a little strange looking, yes. But you makes it look cute." I reached around and touched his hand lightly. "And of course they are staring. You're a very handsome man."
"Y-you think so?"
"Mhmm." I stepped aside so we could walk together.
The city center was beautifully decorated for the holiday season. Lights everywhere, hanging overhead, in the trees that lined the sidewalk. Even the store fronts were dolled up. It was a sight to behold. I glanced to my right and could tell by Crona's face he wasn't used to this.
"You're first Christmas I take it?"
"Yes. Lady Medusa never let me out during the winter."
"Then you have definitely missed out. This is the best time of year. You know why?" I asked, and he shook his head. "Street vendors."
"Street vendors?"
"They sell so many different things this time of year. Toys, knickknacks, and food. Lots and lots of food. Some of Death City's finest cuisine can be found at street vendors."
"Of course Lord Death's son would know a lot about fine dining." He giggled.
"You laugh but it's true. Come I'll show you." I grabbed his arm and pulled him along to my favorite vendor.
"Lord Kid!" The vendor, a tall man name Alejandro, called as we walked up.
"Alejandro! It's good to see you again." I hugged him lightly.
"It's good to be here." He paused and eyed Crona. "And who is this you bring with you?"
"C-crona." He blushed and looked down.
"A friend of Kid's I assume. Well Crona any friend of Kid's is a friend of mine" He reached behind the counter and brought out two sticks of deep friend meat buns. "On the house."
We continued our journey down the street munching on the buns as we went. The vendors were used to see me this time of year, but I was usually alone. As we passed then would stare.
"Kid…..is there something wrong with me?" Crona asked suddenly.
"Not at all."
"Then why are they staring?"
"They are only hear seasonally. So they've never seen you before." I forgot he wasn't used to this sort of attention. "I'm sorry. Would you like me to take you back to the DWMA?"
"I don't want to ruin your night."
I chuckled slightly, leaned forward and took the top bun off of the skewer it was on. "You made my night infinitely better."
By the time we got to the school it was locked for the night. In all of our fun we both forgoten that curfew was ten o'clock. Liz and Patty weren't home so I decided to loan him their room for the night. At first he wasn't to sure he could deal with staying at the manor but once the wind picked up he changed his mind. Once home I took his coat and hung it by the door.
"Is Gallows Manor always this quiet?" He asked making his way to the living room.
"Only when the girls aren't here."
"They keep thins interesting huh?"
"Never a dull moment with those two.
"So is it just you three here? It seems kinda big."
"Father stays with me on occasion, but usually he just stays in the Death Room." I led Crona to the kitchen and made some hot chocolate. Outside it began to snow. "And the girls do have their own apartment near Maka. They just stay here when we are working late, or they don't feel like making the trek into town."
"Don't you get lonely?"
"Actually I'm quite used to it." I chuckled, leaning against the island bar. "Father has always spent more time in the office then at home. Until Liz and Patty came along no one would even visit me."
"What about your mother?"
"Never met her. She died shortly after I was born, and Father never mentions her."
"Oh Kid, I'm so sorry." He reached over and took my hand.
"It's alright. Things could have been worse." I smiled and gripped his hand lightly. "You and I have more in common than you'd think."
"N-no. . . I'm a monster. You're good, and kind."
"I've never seen you as a monster. Misguided perhaps. But you are a fantastic person Crona."
"You really. . . really think so?"
"Of course."
"Maka was the first person to treat me like a human. Most people don't see me as more than just a weapon or a pawn."
"You're far more than that to me." I paused and blushed, realizing what I had just said. Quickly I pulled my hand away and scratched the back of my head. "We're friends."
As the night came to a close the storm picked up outside. What started as a light snow became a howling blizzard. I started a fire in the fireplace to try and warm up the house but only the bottom floor retained any of the heat. Luckily I had a mountain of blankets, if only I could find them.
I searched the upstairs closets, my room and even my father's room to no avail. The girl's room perhaps? I shook my head. The only thing in Patty's closet is a pile of giraffe dolls with their necks broken. And Liz would kill me if I looked in hers. I sighed. "Well it looks like I have to get the ones out of the storage."
"Are you sure? It's snowing pretty hard out there."
"Oh I'll be fine." I smiled and opened the door. The cold didn't affect me much, being a Shinigami and all. So I didn't really mind battling the wind. The only thing that really mattered to me at that moment was making sure Crona was comfortable.
Once inside the storage unit I realized how long it had been since I went in there. I knew where nothing was. There were storage totes stacked to the ceiling. "Most of these are probably reports that need to be filed." I sighed. "Father really needs to get better at this."
I began the process of looking through the totes. Christmas decorations, Halloween decorations, random baby clothes. . .but no blankets.Where are they?! And how can we be this disorganized! Unacceptable. About an hour later I heard something fall behind me. "Crona?"
"Yea."
"What are you doing out here?!"
"You were taking so long, I got nervous." He peeked around a large mannequin that my Father had for some reason. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize." I smiled and walked to him. As I did so there was another avalanche of boxes. "Crona!"
"I'm alright." He giggled from under the mountain of stuff. "I found the blankets."
"I can see that." I laughed, wrapped one around him and we headed back to the manor.
The snow made his robe soaking wet, so I offered him one of my shirts. It wasn't much but at least it was dry. And he would be covered in all those blankets so he should be pretty warm. He changed in the living room and hung his clothes in front of the fire.
"I made some more hot chocolate." I announced as I walked back in. To my surprise he was sitting on the couch, with only my shirt on. In mid step I paused, nearly dropping my tray. "I. . . uh . . ." We weren't built the same, we was significantly thinner than I am, but my shirt still only came to just below his waist. The sight of him sitting there like that was just breath taking. I never knew anyone could look that amazing before. I swallowed hard and walked over to sit next to him, trying not to stare to much.
"Something wrong?" He asked, grabbing a blanket and covering up.
"No. Not at all."
"You look like you have a fever."
"Nope, I'm good."
"Are you cold?" He lifted the blanket and covered me in it.
"Quite the opposite actually."
"Oh?" He reached up and felt my forehead. "You don't feel hot."
"I am….trust me." I looked away again.
He giggled again and rested his head on my shoulder. "Thank you Kid. You made this night so much better."
"Always glad to help."
"Do you mind if we sit here like this for a while?"
"Not in the least." I closed my eyes and leaned against him, listening to the storm outside. The manor didn't seem so big and empty anymore. With him with me it felt. . . I don't know how to describe it. . .like home I guess. And I never wanted that feeling to end.