Alright, i think this sucks, but figured I'd publish it anyway, because I have no life. As usual, OCs involved. This takes place about halfway between The Hell Inside My Head and DWMA Prom. So, um… enjoy?
PS: I might write more, but I might not. Depends on the reviews and if I have time once school starts up again.
Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater. If I did, Aless would be an actual character.
Aless sighed, leaning her head back and staring at the ceiling. This was the third time in two weeks that Crona had fallen asleep while they were hanging out. Am I boring? she wondered. I mean, I don't think so, but how else do you explain this? He keeps falling asleep while we're talking… he usually looks tired, but most of the time he fights it… maybe Ragnarok is keeping him up at night? I'll punch that little sucker out if that's the case.
She looked to her right, where the demon swordmaster was sleeping beside her on her new couch. She'd finally saved up enough money to buy one, so she and her friends wouldn't have to sit on the bed all the time. Biting her lip, she stood up slowly, careful not to wake the exhausted meister. If he needs sleep that badly, I shouldn't wake him up.
Aless poured herself a cup of tea. She was itching to take a bath and relax, but the last time she'd done that while Crona was asleep in her dorm room, it had ended with embarrassment. I'll just have to wait until he leaves. Don't want another incident. She settled for sitting on the bed and sipping her tea, gazing out at Death City.
Eventually, she looked back over at Crona. She was surprised to find the boy crying silently with a look of anguish on his face. Is he still asleep? Tiptoeing over to him, she heard that he was making a small whimpering noise, not unlike a sad puppy.
"Crona?" she whispered. "Are you awake?" There was no response. "Sweetie, wake up." She shook his shoulder a little, and Crona opened his eyes with a cry of shock.
"Wh-what… was I asleep?" he mumbled, blinking up at her.
"Yeah, you passed out while we were talking… you've been doing that a lot lately. And you were crying in your sleep. Is something wrong?" She sat down next to him, frowning. "The past couple of weeks, you've seemed kind of depressed."
"I… I d-don't really want to talk about it," he muttered, averting his eyes from Aless's concerned gaze.
"You can tell me, you know. I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to. C'mon."
He shook his head and Aless closed her eyes, a little exasperated.
"Crona, you're not helping anyone, including yourself, by holding in whatever's bothering you. Like I said, I have noticed a difference in the way you're acting, so you're not fooling anyone."
"Why do you want to know so bad? It's not like you can help."
Aless felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. Did he really feel that hopeless?
"Why do I want to know? Because I want to fix it. I don't want you to be sad." He started to say something, but she cut him off. "Let me guess, now you're going to ask why I want to help you?" Crona looked a little stunned, and she knew she had guessed right. "Yeah, I know because we've been through this before. Crona. I know what makes you sad. But do you know what makes me sad?"
He shook his head.
"Seeing you cry makes me very sad. I hardly ever cry, even if I get hurt, and you know that. But the moment you get upset, I just want to bawl my eyes out. So can you just help us both out and tell me what's wrong?"
The silence stretched out. Aless could hear her heart pounding in her head. It had taken a lot of effort to say that. She'd never admitted to caring so much for someone. As far as she was concerned, showing your feelings was just asking to get your heart broken. But if it'll help someone I love… I have to prove to him that I care.
"I don't want you to think I'm crazy," Crona whispered. "I mean, I know I'm crazy. I know there's something wrong with me. But I can't let you know. Because if you knew, you wouldn't like me."
"Is it something bad that you did?" Aless suggested. He nodded. "Well, I'll be the judge of whether it's that bad or not. Remember, I forgave you when you betrayed DWMA. Everything you've done in the past? It's no big deal to me. So unless you've recently gone on a killing spree, I'm sure I'll be okay with it."
She put a hand on his and looked him in the eye. I'll never cease to be amazed, she thought, at the amount of sadness he can put into a single glance. Up until meeting Crona, she'd never met someone with eyes that conveyed so much pain. Even when he was at his happiest, he still had a hint of melancholy on his face. Aless doubted that that would ever go away.
Crona took a deep breath, and she waited expectantly.
"R-remember when… when Ragnarok told you about… me being both a boy… and a girl?" Every word seemed to be a struggle, pushed out through gritted teeth. Nevertheless, Aless nodded. "And I t-told you that I was a boy inside?" Another nod. "Well, lately I've just felt like… like I'm switching between a boy and a girl."
Aless cocked her head to one side.
"Can you explain that a bit more?"
"It seems like… like sometimes I feel like a boy, and sometimes I feel like a girl. And I think I'm going crazy." He grabbed Aless's hands and squeezed them hard. "Please, Aless! You can't tell anyone! I can't let anyone know that I'm going insane. Especially when they all think I'm getting so much better… I'm getting worse, I think, from hiding it. But they can't know!"
"Calm down, sweetie," Aless told him. "I won't tell anyone. Nobody has to know. Is that all that's been bothering you?"
"Yes! Don't you think it's bad? I've been up at night, just so disgusted with myself that I can't even sleep… I just want to be a typical, average person!" He buried his face in his hands. "Why can't I be normal?"
Crap. What do I say to that? Aless thought. He knows he's not normal, so if I say anything otherwise I'd be lying… but abnormal isn't a bad thing! Not to me, anyway… obviously he feels different…
"To be honest, I don't think there's such a thing as normal," she told him. "There's something strange about everyone. Think of you friends. Like… like Black*Star, for instance. He seems pretty average, right? But when you look closer, he's an egomaniac. He's not perfect. Nobody is. And Patti's one of the sweetest people I know, but that doesn't make her normal. Not by any means. Maybe you should worry less about being normal and more about just being true to yourself."
"But… but I don't know who 'myself' is!" Crona cried, lifting his – or was it her? – head up and shooting Aless a miserable look that tore her in two. "All my life, I never had a chance to be myself. I'm just figuring it out now. I th-thought everyone w-was like this!"
Aless wrapped her arms around his shaking body, holding him tight.
"I'm sure there are other people who feel that way," she whispered. "And I know for a fact that the people you love would still love you if they knew. Maka will be your friend till the day she dies. And I will always love you."
Finally she felt Crona's arms move, hgging her back.
"You think you're strange," she went on, "but you know what I think? I think you're brilliant. Exactly as you are." Her shirt was getting wet where Crona had rested his head on her shoulder, tears dripping down. If his tears were raindrops, she thought, this would be a freaking hurricane. But she didn't care. It's Medusa's fault. He'd know himself better if he was just given a chance as a child.
Aless stared out the window, up at the moon, silently praying to whoever was up there listening to help Crona, to wash away the venom that lingered from his mother's bite. Answer my prayers, she begged in her mind. I know I don't pray much, but please listen, just this once. This soul is worth saving.