'Do it!' Crona screamed at himself internally, looking around outside

'SAY SOMETHING!' He cried.

But he couldn't.

Crona dropped his pencil and pulled on his robe collar and gulped cartoonishly.

Kid sat next to him, his nose in a book, leaning back on the park bench comfortably.

'It's now or never. Man up!' His inner voice told him. 'You might not be alone with him for a while!'

Crona placed a trembling hand over Kid's. "K-K-Kid…"

Kid frowned and looked up at Crona. "Something wrong?"

"I-I-I-I-I….uh…." Crona swallowed. "Umm…" his face burned bright red.

Kid's frown deepened. "What's going on?"

Before Crona could let his anxiety stop him, Crona grabbed Kid's shoulders and pulled him into a kiss.

'WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!' Crona screamed internally, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. 'WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!?'

Kid, at first, froze, his body in shock, before he melted into the kiss, closing his eyes and pulling Crona's body close. 'Oh. That actually worked…' Crona thought to himself, smiling into the kiss.

Crona felt the heat disappear and the hands holding him leave. His brow rose in confusion as the lips left his. He opened his eyes and saw Kid stand up and turn his back to Crona. "I can't."

Crona frowned. "I don't understand…"

"Same-sex relationships have a certain…stigma…attached to them. I can't afford to bring that to my family." Kid said, straightening his tie. "My father would lose respect from his citizens. I can't allow that."

Crona stood up and stared at Kid. Kid sighed and turned to see him.

His heart broke.

Crona's eyes glistened with tears. He hugged his notebook and pencil to his chest. "So…the bully is right, then. Being g-g-gay is a bad thing. I deserve the t-t-treatment he gives me."

Kid eyes widened. He shook his head. "No, Crona! It's fine," Kid insisted. "But I can't act on my desires. I can't bring that kind of baggage to my father."

Crona nodded and swallowed back his tears. "I understand." He turned on his heels and walked off.

"Crona, wait," Kid called to him. Crona ignored him, walking off a little more quickly. "Crona!" Kid shouted. Crona didn't respond, just sprinted away. He sighed and plopped back down in his seat. "Crona," he whispered to himself. He buried his head in his hands, resting his elbows on his knees. "I think I messed up," he mumbled.

He got up and shuffled over to Maka's house. He banged on the door.

He heard a latch open and the door was tugged open. "Hello, Kid," she said. She frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Can I come in?" Kid asked, hugging himself and looking about ready to cry. Maka nodded and motioned him to come in.

Kid plopped himself on the couch and ran a hand through his hair. "Crona kissed me," he stated blankly.

Maka sat down next to him. "And?"

"And I kissed him back. And I hugged him. And I wanted to tell him how much I want to be with him," Kid responded.

"So what's the problem?"

"I told him I couldn't be with him because I didn't want to bring the stigma to my family," He sighed. "I think I might have messed up."

"You better believe you did!" Maka snapped at him. Kid flinched. "You care about him. Who cares what people think?" She asked, throwing her hands in the air.

"I can't have people disrespecting my father," Kid cried.

"You don't need to protect your father," Maka replied. "He's Lord Death. He'll be fine without you trying to keep up the image." She paused for a moment. "I think you care more about your image." Kid remained silent. His eyes turned away and he crossed his arms. "So I'm right. You don't want to deal with the same things Crona has to deal with." Kid flinched; a wave of guilt crashed over him. Maka put a hand over his knee. "You're going to get glares. You're going to get comments. And it's wrong that those things happen. And the people who will do those things are horrible people. But you have to decide if Crona is worth that."

Kid thought for a moment before he got up and turned to her. "Thank you, Maka. I have a young man to grovel to."

Maka giggled. "Good luck."

Kid smiled at her and pushed the door open. "Thank you. I'm going to need it."

"Also," she said as she got up to close the door after him. "I'll kick those homophobic asses. Just tell me who they are if it happens." Kid nodded and waved as he ran.

He ran over to Crona's house as fast as his legs could carry him. He almost slammed his body against the door when he finally got there. He banged on the door and called his name, ignoring the strange looks he got. "Crona? Crona, please! Crona!" Kid cried before he slammed his head onto the door and sniffled. "Crona, please," he whined. "I'm so sorry. I was selfish to push you away. I'm sorry."

No response. Kid sighed and turned his back to the door, sliding down to the floor and putting his head in his hands.

Kid could feel himself falling down from his backside. He caught himself and looked up.

Crona, his eyes bloodshot and his hair messier, stared back at him. "D-D-Did you need something?" He asked.

Kid scrambled up and pulled Crona into a kiss. Crona, at first, didn't respond before he began to fight Kid off. Kid, sensing this, let him go.

Kid had never seen Crona's glare but it struck fear into his heart. He had never known Crona to be angry, but last time Crona got angry he tried to kill one of the most powerful witches in the world. "What do you want from me?" Crona growled. "Y-Y-You said you couldn't tarnish-"

"I was wrong," Kid interrupted. "I was concerned with my own image. But I don't care what others think. I'm so sorry I hurt you. Please give me another chance. I'll prove it to you."

Crona's brow rose as Kid marched into his house with a purpose. Kid pushed the door open to Crona's room. The blanket's symmetry was ruined by Crona crying into it but the clothing and the sheets were still in place. Crona had refolded it and put it in the baskets, one on each side of the room. "W-W-W-What are you doing?" Crona asked, following him. Kid took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He opened them and began to toss Crona's clothes all around the room. "Kid!" Crona shouted.

Kid tore the blanket and sheets off the mattress and purposely messed up the robes Crona had refolded on the floor. He tossed them to the other side of the room before he began to mess those up as well. Once the room was in disarray, Kid fell to his knees. "I think I'm going to be sick," Kid said, covering his mouth with his hands, his face green.

Crona just stared at him in horror. This was his idea of begging for forgiveness?! Messing up his room?!

Then it hit him and he grinned. Kid was willing to betray everything he stood for just to prove to Crona he was sorry.

Crona fell to the ground and embraced Kid. "I forgive you," he said with a small smile. Kid gave him a shaky hug. "You can make it symmetrical, again," Crona added.

"OH THANK DEATH!" Kid shouted before he almost shoved Crona to the side and rapidly began folding the clothing. "I can fix this! I can make this all okay! Perfect symmetry will be met! Don't worry, Crona! Death the Kid is at your service!" Crona almost fell over laughing.