Maka's damp forehead glowed vaguely in the dungeon's torchlight. Pressing it up against the metal door in front of her, she breathed in a silent prayer of relief when the cool touch of the primitive steel washed over her sweaty skin. She leaned into the door, not bothering at all if too much of her weight bore down on the thin flesh of her forehead. Maka exhaled slowly, and patiently listened to the thready sound of anxious breathing coming from within the enclosed space ahead of her.
"Hang in there a little longer," she pleaded gently. "They let Medusa go, didn't they? After that, what excuse can they have for keeping you locked up?"
A beat passed, and then she heard a fluty voice ring out, more sad than anxious, if anything.
"Yeah… but what's going on with Professor Stein? Has he come back yet?"
Maka paused, unable to respond due to the new-found lump crawling up her throat. She merely closed her eyes, still not even bothering to adjust her position.
"Please tell me. Don't you think Professor Stein's disappearance has something to do with Lady Medusa?" the sound voice urged.
Well…
Maka swallowed thickly, forcing the lump to disappear, and acquiesced.
"It's possible. But you don't need to be worried about that." She was relentless, however, the sound of her own words felt false even as they tumbled out of her lips. Still, she continued.
"It's Professor Stein. He's tougher than he looks."
That was true, at least.
"He'll come back for us," Maka furthered once more.
Less true.
The person on the other side of the door must have sensed the uncertainty in her voice, because nothing was spoken again for some time. Was Maka lying? Or was she merely just hoping that somehow, someway, the Professor would make his way back to the DWMA without much resistance? Without anybody getting hurt? Maka pressed a palm up against the metal door and pushed lightly, finally pulling her face away from its exterior.
"Crona? Open up the door, please."
A small sigh then perforated the silence between the two meisters. "Why?"
"Because, I want to talk to you. Because… I don't want you to shut me out anymore."
Crona exhaled shakily - Maka could hear this. "Shut you out? I… I don't do that to you, Maka. You're the only one who even seems to care about me."
"That's not true, Crona." Maka frowned grimly and shook her head to herself, the two ponytails on the sides of each temple tickling her cheeks. "A lot of people care about you. I'm not the only one - I don't have to be the only one anymore! Don't you understand?"
The truth of Maka's sincerity was loud for all to hear. It seeped down into the crevices of her bones, her blood, and her entire being. There was no reason for Crona to be alone anymore. He didn't have to be. Life didn't have to be a terrible thing for him to behold, for once. Maka would help him heal, along with the others, and show him how amazing the reality of friendship could really be!
As if on cue, the sound of scuffling stirred Maka out of her thoughts. It sounded as if something, or rather, someone was moving. Letting her hand fall away from the metal frame, Maka waited patiently as the creaky door opened slowly, revealing an anxious looking Crona and the white pillow he was clutching to his side.
"Hi," Maka said sweetly to him. Crona smiled tightly in response, and left the doorway so that she could come in. Maka then watched as Crona shuffled away towards the farthest corner of the room. Wordlessly, he sank down the wall in a pitiful manner, resting his delicate chin upon the well-used cloth he hugged adamantly to his knees.
It made Maka sad to watch.
"Why do you sit there, Crona?" she asked him solemnly while closing the room door. "Is your bed more uncomfortable?" Peering at him carefully, Maka followed suit and settled next to him so that there knees touched. Crona did not flinch away.
"Well…" he started off meekly. "I feel safer in the corner, I guess."
Maka smiled apologetically, and nudged his elbow playfully with her own. "But, why?"
Crona produced another tight grin, the deep lines around his eyes lifting a bit at the expression. He loosed his grip on the pillow somewhat, grateful that Maka's skin was so warm next to his.
"I guess… I guess I don't really know. I still don't know how to deal with people… and since the corner isn't really a person…"
She nodded once and hummed out a long breath. Casting another speculative gaze at the lonely boy's face, Maka placed her hand on top of Crona's and leaned in, closing the distance with a gentle kiss upon the cheek nearest her. He cringed at first - something she had expected of course, but eventually felt him acquiesce to the closeness of their faces. Crona merely held still, feeling a creeping blush make its way up his porcelain neck as Maka's warm breath brushed across the rest of his nose. When she finally pulled away from the trembling meister, Maka witnessed a genuine smile stretching across his flushed mouth, and she joined him as well, cackling slightly at her furiously blushing friend.
"I… um… well, no one's… ever kissed me before," he mumbled lightly.
Maka laughed again and ran a gloved hand through her smoothed hair. "You don't need the corner anymore, Crona. Friends keep you safe, too. We all will. I promise."
Crona chewed his lip, pressing each incisor down against the reddened flesh.
"Okay?" Maka pressed.
A moment passed in silence, and then Crona finally relented. "Okay."
"Good." With a tired yawn, Maka stretched out her arms and folded them neatly together, all the while leaning her head upon the meister next to her. As waves of blonde hair passed over his shoulder, Crona stiffened and then decidedly relaxed, feeling the rest of his frozen body suddenly grow warm.