Kid sat quietly as Maka's house was being prepared.

Crona was being released from the hospital, today. He was going to take a small tram to Maka's house. Kid had wanted to be with him- make sure he knew the way- but his stomach was in knots.

Everyone else in the gang was bustling about. Maka was putting the finishing touches on the cake. Tsubaki had almost got the banner hung up. The sisters had placed flowers and candles all about the room tables in the room. The boys were wrapping his gift.

"Man, Kid looks really out of it. He's not checking the corners to make sure everything's symmetrical," Soul muttered to BlackStar.

BlackStar thought for a moment, his brows furrowed, his chin resting on his balled fist. "I got an idea!" He proudly shouted. He grabbed all the flowers from the left corner and put them in the right corner. "Kid?"
Kid glanced over at him. "This is how you want it, right?"

It took Kid a minute, but eventually he screamed and rushed over. "Get your filthy asymmetrical hands off of those flowers!" He shouted as he laid all of them out on the ground. He began to furiously count each petal, just to be absolutely sure there were no problems. "Just in case Crona gets worried," he said as he finally stopped counting. "I wouldn't want the asymmetry to trigger him."

Soul blankly stared at him. "Uh huh."

"If h cared about symmetry so much, why is he with someone who doesn't have anything symmetrical about him," BlackStar whispered to Soul. Soul merely shrugged.

Kid had plucked exactly 3 petals from the roses in total to make them perfect before he dropped them on their respective sides of the room. "Perfect," he commented as he glowed.

He froze. Someone had quietly knocked at the door. Someone timid and shy.

"He's here!" Make celebrated as she ripped the door open and pulled Crona into a hug. Crona gently returned it.

"H-H-Hi...Maka..." Crona stuttered as she let him go. "I-I-It's good t-to see you..."

She took his arm and brought him inside. He covered his mouth with his hand, his eyes wide open in shock.

A purple banner hung that said, in big white letters, "WELCOME HOME CRONA!" Small candles smelled of lavender- his favorite scent- surrounded by roses, his favorite flower. Tsubaki held the cake proudly in her hands.

"You're back. Cool," Soul said as he playfully nudged Crona. BlackStar smiled as he ruffled his hair. Crona giggled and swatted BlackStars's hand away. The sisters ran over and squeezed him tightly.

"You're home! I'm so glad you're okay!" Liz said. Crona didn't hug them back, but smiled, anyway.

"Yeah. We all really missed you," Tsubaki said.

"Especially Kid," Patti added as they all stared at Kid.

Crona gulped. He was sure Kid was really angry with him. Kid had, after all, been the one that had found him and saved him by minutes.

The others fell silent. They knew Kid hadn't taken what had happened well at all. He didn't eat. He didn't sleep. He was grumpy and irritable and his symmetry obsession had been even worse than usual.

And Crona was not entirely wrong. Kid wasn't mad, but he was hurt. He was hurt that Crona had tried to abandon him. He was hurt that Crona hadn't thought about how his actions might affect the rest of them. He was hurt because he thought- no, hoped- that when Crona could finally see how much he was cared for, he wouldn't be so broken. But Kid was wrong. And he couldn't help but feel partially to blame.

Kid, with a stoic expression on his face, marched over to the pack. Crona trembled slightly, and prepared himself for Kid's wrath. He hid his face behind his hands, expecting a smack and some screaming. Instead, Kid gently took Crona in his arms and squeezed tightly. "Welcome home," he whispered in the boy's ear. "I was so worried."

Crona could have broken down right there, but he breathed back his tears and buried himself in Kid's chest. "I missed you," he whimpered.

"I missed you, too."

"Sit down. Tell us about the hospital," Liz requested. "I'm curious."

"Oh, um, okay," Crona said as Kid pulled away from him. They followed him to the couch. He sat down and gave them a shy smile with a small blush. "They were really friendly," he said. "Everyone was really nice. And they taught me some really cool stuff. I can deal with more things, now."

"That's wonderful!" Maka cheered, sitting beside him. Crona nodded.

"They said that if I had nightmares, I should count to ten and keep something relaxing by my bed, like a book. They also said that I need to talk to my teachers about a lighter work load. They gave me a note. They also mentioned that I should take up some sort of activity that's very low-stress, such as meditation."

"I heard they're really strict, there," BlackStar said, leaning against the wall. Crona nodded.

"We had to wear a uniform and be in our rooms before ten. We also weren't allowed to have anything sharp- even plastic knives. All of our food was cut for us." He cringed. "The food was awful."

"Did you make any friends?" Tsubaki asked, standing next to BlackStar. Crona happily nodded.

"His name was Takashei, and he was very nice. He used to fling peas into my food," he giggled.

Kid couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. He had met someone new?

"So why'd you do it?" BlackStar asked him. The room fell into a tense silence. "Why'd you try to hang yourself?" Crona blushed and looked away, his head hung in shame. Kid, next to him, put a protective arm around his shoulder.

Soul smacked BlackStar in the back of the head. "BlackStar, stop it. That's rude."

"I'm curious," BlackStar snapped at Soul. "Crona hurt all of us. We deserve an explanation."

"I-I-I'm sorry...I didn't think..." Crona mumbled. "I n-n-never wanted..."

"So then why'd you do it?" BlackStar pressed on. "I don't get it. Medusa's gone. You're free. We all care about you. You go to a fantastic school. You're in relationship with a god. What's wrong?"

Crona stared at the ground. "You don't have to answer, Crona-" Maka began.

"No. BlackStar's right," Crona said as he sniffled. "I hurt you. I hurt you really badly. You deserve to know why." He took a deep breath, trying get control of his emotions. "I couldn't deal with the nightmares. I couldn't deal with the stress of school. And I couldn't deal with all the guilt of everything that happened. And I didn't think you would mind. I didn't think you would really care. I figured you'd be better off without me. I thought you were only my friends out of pity."

SMACK. Crona fell backwards onto the cushions. Maka, flushed and in tears, had her hand raised. Crona felt his stinging cheek. "That hurt!" He complained.

"Maka, why would you hit him?!" Kid shouted, now standing in front of Crona.

"How dare you!" Maka shouted at Crona, ignoring Kid. "How dare you doubt our intentions to be in your company! I helped you kill Medusa. I brought you here! And you think I did that because I pitied you?!" She screamed at him. Crona inched away from her red face. "I did all of this because I knew, deep down, you were a good person! And I knew you needed some guidance. And I like being with you. I like being around you," she said, softer than before. "You're a bag of nerves, but your also a bag of compassion and love. Everyone has their flaws. What makes you think yours are special?"

The room was tense. No one spoke. Finally, Kid sighed.

"Mental instability makes no sense," he finally said. "Crona's trauma at a young age really marked him. You may think this is illogical, but to him, it makes perfect sense." He brought a hand to his chest. "Everyone mocks me for my need for perfect symmetry, but to me, it makes perfect sense. I need it. And it's an unhealthy obsession, and it's an obsession that no one knows why I have, but it's part of who I am."

"Crona, why's didn't you ever come to us?" Tsubaki asked him.

"Lady Medusa said-" he began.

"Lady Medusa isn't here," Soul interrupted with a stern tone. "You have to find a way to break this hold she has over you. It's not cool."

"She can't hurt you, anymore," Maka told him. "She's not coming back."

Crona wiped his eyes. "You're right. I need to try to undo all the damage she did."

"And we'll be here every step of the way," Kid said as he held Crona's hand. Crona looked over at him and smiled.

"Now, how about that cake," Liz asked, smiling. "This party sure has become sad."