"Good Morning."

Chrona's eyes flutter open and they can't help but think it is, isn't it? Feeling this safe and relaxed was beyond foreign, and very addictive. They snuggled into Darren, even as their mind continued to question why they hadn't used the separate beds last night or the night before that. Couldn't they both just feel more comfortable being closer to someone else? Maybe it didn't have to mean anything.

"Hey."

They lock eyes and Chrona of course knows they're full of shit. They don't pull away as Darren leans in to kiss them and they certainly don't take the kiss lying down. Was this some weirdly intimate friendship? They never did more than kiss and cuddle. The idea made them sad though. Why couldn't Darren be genuinely interested? Why couldn't this mean something?

"Up you two or you won't get breakfast before class." Stein jokes, unlocking their cell room.

Surprisingly, Chrona had no interest "We don't have to get up just yet, we could skip breakfast."

Darren pulls back before laughing nervously. Chrona almost retreated in on themself had Darren not pulled them in for one last searing kiss.

"No. skipping. meals." Darren punctuates with kisses to the shoulder, climbing out of the bed and dragging Chrona with him.

Chrona laughs freely, hoping they'll never forget what this feels like. Their friends are amazing and have done so much for them, but in the past few weeks, Darren has had Chrona feeling more like a real person than their entire stay at the DWMA has so far. At first, they thought this was just what the weapon/meister bond was like. However, a ton of poorly veiled questions later and they found that such an intense bond was, well, not uncommon and not encouraged either. No one came to stop them though, so they figured it couldn't be that bad. It actually felt kind of normal when their friends were embarrassing them half to death with obvious jokes and nudges. Especially when it made Darren duck his head and smile to himself, avoiding Chrona's eyes. Did the thought make him happy? They'd ask if he was shy or private, but they already knew he was nothing of the sort. So, why hadn't they talked about it yet?

"Come on, we gotta go." Darren smirked whilst getting ready.

They went about their morning as good as can be. Everything was sunshine and rainbows, but Chrona couldn't seem to find a relevant point in the conversation to bring up their concerns. They wanted to talk about it, but for once Chrona was actively afraid to ask Darren something. Would it uproot their fledgling relationship? They hoped not. They were pretty confident that Darren felt the same and this confidence led them to keep looking for an opening. They finally thought they had found one, after class, when everyone seemed to be leisurely packing up while chatting about one thing or another. The two of them quiet in the middle of it. They had repeated the sentence they would say in their head about ten times and were ready to finally blurt it out when someone beat them to the punch.

"Hey, I don't know if any of you are interested, but I found a weird deserted area the other day while riding around and Blackstar and I were gonna go check it out. Anyone else wanna come?"

"Did you consider it was abandoned for a reason?" Maka spoke with feigned indifference.

"Yeah." Soul said.

"Makes it even cooler." Blackstar finished.

She rolls her eyes as the boys bump fists, but she already knows she's coming along if only to make sure they don't hurt themselves. Tsubaki makes eye contact in knowing sympathy. Kid agrees to come along, of course, for much the same reason. While Liz and Patty just seem pretty content to be along for the ride. So, it's no surprise when Darren volunteers their presence as well. They're actually kind of excited to see Darren being proactive within their friend group. It feels safe. Knowing that they weren't a fluke and that they and Darren were going through a lot of the same experiences. Doing it together was comforting in a way they currently couldn't describe.

"Chrona, you coming?"

"Sorry!"

They quickly caught up with the group, taking ahold of Darren's hand. They hadn't been out too far since and they were getting nervous the farther from the academy they got. Walking through the city was giving them way too many flashbacks to when they found Darren. They knew that it was just a memory and they had all their friends with them this time, but they still couldn't help but feel irked by the dark alleyways. Darren looped his arm around their waist and pulled them in tighter. There was nothing to worry about right now. They were being dramatic.

Yeah, no, this was a problem. Darren was starkly aware of the presence following them through the city. The others seemed to catch hints, but no one was sure enough to comment. He could feel her though. He wouldn't have been able to had he not been sensing her presence whenever he stepped off campus. She had been suppressing her aura and keeping at a distance, but he was too paranoid to not sense her. Her presence causing him to pull Chrona closer to him in protection. He wasn't exactly sure what she wanted, but he had an idea. This situation was a particularly gutsy display on her part though. What was she planning? Maybe he had run out of time to find out.

"There it is!" Soul finally said.

Blackstar and he bolted toward the overgrown blot of forest, hidden in a little crevice of the town. It was unkempt, but beautiful all the same. The plants more alive than anything in the middle of a desert town like Death City deserved to be. Everyone scattered slightly taking in the awe of the little oasis before them. Darren, however, seemed to refuse going past the opening to the clearing. Eyes scanning the lot for danger. It made Chrona swoon a little. That's when it hit them that now was the perfect time. They picked one of the flowers off the bush they had been admiring and began striding over to Darren when an explosion took his place. Everyone was immediately on their guard, standing back to back, waiting for the attacker. None came.

"Where's Darren?!"

He doesn't like the panic in Chrona's voice, but he'd rather they be safe over there with everyone else than over here with him and her. He had let her sequester him away from the rest of the group hoping he could get this over with quickly, but she was having far too much fun wasting his time. Making him chase her around; not truly fighting him.

Enough.

He chucked a poisoned knife in her direction, not particularly caring where it landed, more just hoping to get her attention. She easily sidesteps it before prying it out of the wall it embedded itself into. She inspects the knife before gripping it tightly. When she turns her face is scowling in fury. She wasn't having fun anymore. Good.

"What the fuck do you want?" He finally asks.

"I think a better question is what do you think you're doing with my property?"

He grinds his teeth "Humans are not objects to be owned."

"I'd hardly call them a human," she counters, toying with the knife "more an experiment of mine. Hardly any of your business circus boy."

At that he lets out an actual inhuman growl, barreling towards her with no regard for strategy or safety. This easily allows her to launch over him and make her escape to the end of the alley, but not before embedding the knife into the back of his waist.

"My kid's a freak, but even they couldn't love you." She chortles "Play house, nothing would drive them back faster."

"Keep telling yourself that." He sighs, ripping out the knife and immediately applying pressure "I'm sure that projection will work for you some day."

She hisses before disappearing; leaving him to take his antidote and bandage himself in peace before the other finally found him. He was not looking forward to that explanation. Speaking of, he needed to talk to Professor Stein.