The boys couldn't go to school for five days. Maka and Soul stopped by the manor to check to see if they were alright before they headed off. They hadn't seen the couple since the fight and they were worried. Maka knocked on the door.

Kid opened the door, looking pale and jittery. He called down for Crona to talk to them.

"I didn't know that Crona moved in here," Maka said, her hands on her hips. "Isn't it a little soon?"

"These are special circumstances," Kid replied, smoothing down his black T-shirt. Soul's brow rose and he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"You have to ask Crona," Kid replied. "It's not my business to tell other people what's going on with him."

Crona shuffled down the steps, wearing a long-sleeved black shirt and black jeans. Even when he didn't wear his usual dress he seemed to prefer long-sleeved clothing.

"H-H-Hello," Crona muttered, avoiding her gaze.

The bandages were finally gone. Crona's nose was still a little swollen but it was not nearly as bad as it had been, before. Maka noticed the lack of color in his face and the dark circles under his eyes. She also noticed the tremor in his hands. He didn't look at her. That only happened when he was hiding something. "I didn't know you moved into Kid's house," she said as she approached him. He took a step back. She frowned. "What's wrong? You tell me everything," she said.

"Crona," Kid said. "Is it alright if I tell them?" He nodded and turned his back to them, ashamed.

"What's going on?" Soul asked. "Why do you guys look like you've seen the ghost of Medusa."

"We might as well have," Kid replied, shutting the door behind them. "When I walked Crona home from the hospital, a slur had been carved into the door and a threatening note was hanging by a sharp knife. Needless to say, we're both stressed," Kid said as he sat on the couch.

"Crona, is this true?" Soul asked, hardly able to believe his ears. Crona, still not looking at him, nodded.

Even though Soul didn't dislike Crona, Crona had never been Soul's favorite person. He was submissive and weak-willed, unlike everyone else in the group, not to mention he spent a little too much time with Maka for Soul's liking. Nevertheless, Soul didn't want to see any harm come to his boy. He was sweet. Strange but sweet. "Well, I guess we're just going to have to kick his ass, then," he said with a smirk. "No one hurts Crona and gets away with it."

"I-I don't want to be any t-t-trouble," Crona replied, finally turning to them.

"Crona," Soul said as he gently put a hand on Crona's shoulder. "It's very likely that whoever did this has done this to others, too. We need to put a stop to it."

Crona hadn't thought of that. Soul was right. Odds are Bruce had bullied other gay kids before and Crona was just his latest victim. He still didn't want to be of any trouble, however. He didn't want them to feel the need to protect him. He wanted them to just live their lives and be happy. "I-I-I'll be fine."

"Crona," Maka spoke gently, cupping his cheek with her hand. "You don't have to go through life alone. We're here for you. We always will be."

Crona's anxious frown deepened. Why were they so nice to him?

She enveloped him in an embrace. "We won't let anyone hurt you," she whispered in his ear. It reminded him of all the times in the past he was hurting and she comforted him. When they first met and he had tried to kill them...when he betrayed them and ran away...

He hugged her back. Her eyes widened and she beamed. Usually his arms just hang limply while he was hugged, as if waiting for it to be over. She knew he wasn't the biggest fan of physical contact and usually wanted as much space as possible between himself and everyone at all times. "T-T-Thank you, Maka," he spoke. He smiled. No tears. No tremor in his hands. Just a friend. His best friend.

Kid, feeling slightly left out, hugged them both from the other side. He said nothing. Soul rolled his eyes. "Are we done being mushy?" He asked, his lips turned up. "I feel like I'm going to throw up."

Maka extended a hand out to him and grabbed his arm. She pulled him into the hug. Soul just stood there, his expression irritated, but his lips upturned nevertheless. "Fine. Whatever," he chucked as he embraced them.

They broke away. "P-P-Please be careful," Crona said as they made their way to the door. "I don't w-w-want you to get hurt."

"I would like to see him try to take down the girl that beat the Kishin," Soul replied with a smile. "I think we'll be fine." They waved as they shut the door behind them.

Kid smiled and hugged Crona from behind. Crona stiffened before he relaxed. "You know, we have five whole days all to ourselves," he whispered in Crona's ears. Crona flushed and nodded. "You wanna be naughty?"

"K-K-Kid," Crona sputtered, his face hot. Kid chuckled. "I-I-I...I..."

"You mean you never thought of me in dirty ways?" He asked seductively, actually expecting his joke to be true of Crona. He wasn't entirely confident Crona knew what sex was. It doesn't seem like Medusa really went out of her way to give him a half-decent education. Crona was smart, though. Despite having virtually no foundations in anything, he kept up with his schoolwork alright.

Crona didn't respond. Kid's brow rose. "Well, have you?" He asked, more curious than seductive.

Crona gave him a weak nod.

Kid's eyes widened. Crona was so meek and innocent he never would have expected the boy to have a real sex drive.

This was hot.

Kid nipped at his neck, sure to leave the same number of marks on each side of the neck. Crona gasped and the tremor in his hands returned. "What positions did you think of me in?" Kid asked, and evil grin on his face.

Crona gulped. "Po-Po-Positions?!" He replied, his knees shaking.

"Yeah," Kid muttered, nibbling on Crona's ear. "Are you on top? Am I on top? Are we standing up?"

Crona licked his lips. Kid noticed this and slowly felt the skin under Crona's shirt. He trailed circles on his lower back.

"U-U-Umm...y-y-you on t-t-t-top," Crona replied.

Crona was so nervous Kid couldn't tell if Crona actually wanted to be seduced or if Kid was actually almost raping his partner.

"Would you like me to be on top of you today?" Kid murmured in his ear.

Crona gulped. If Kid saw him undressed, Kid would see those scars. He'd be disgusted.

But Crona wanted Kid. Oh, Death did he want Death's son. He wanted Kid to take him and rip off his clothes and make him scream.

"Y-Y-You wouldn't w-w-want m-me..." Crona replied. "I-I-I'm not..."

"Of course I do," Kid replied, trailing up his shirt.

He froze.

He felt rough skin. It couldn't have been from Bruce- Ragnarock had healed that skin.

So what could have hurt Crona so badly Ragnarock either couldn't or chose not to heal him?

He felt rough patches. Like he had been scarred.

Kid continued around Crona's back, eyes wider every second.

His back was covered with rough patches. Some Crona flinched at- they still hurt. Others were little in size but, given the line, Kid could feel that they went deep.

He felt the large cut from Medusa's vector arrow.

"M-M-Medusa," Crona said, sensing Kid's confusion. "S-S-She was rough on me wh-wh-when I failed her.

"What did she do?" Kid asked, finally pulling his hand away.

"Whatever she f-f-felt like was app-app-appropriate," Crona replied. "H-Hiting, wh-whipping, b-b-burning, even c-c-c-cutting. Ragnarock wasn't allowed to h-h-heal me. O-O-One incident needed s-s-s-stiches."

Kid wanted to take all of these people that had ever hurt Crona and lock them in a burning building. Medusa and Bruce. The people glaring at them on the street. The rumors the students circulated about Crona's gender and family life.

How could she do that to her son? Her baby?

"Would it be alright with you if I took your shirt off?" Kid asked him. There was a pause. Crona was expecting a push away or a disgusted look. He slowly nodded, body shaking.

Kid softly pulled Crona's shirt over his head. He covered his mouth with one of his hands.

Black patches littered the pale skin. Cuts- some very thick and black, others mostly faded away. Square in the middle was a deep line where Crona had sacrificed himself to save Maka. Up in the left corner, Kid could see the cut that required stitches. The mark was sunken in and bright red. Medusa must have done quite a lot of damage. What had she used? A scalpel? A cutting knife? Crona's own sword?

"Sh-She used to say that a w-w-w-warrior's worth w-was always determined by his s-s-sc-scars," Crona mumbled. "I-If you want me to go away, I understand."

He felt lips press against his back. He gasped.

Kid kissed every single one of his marks, leaving his lips there for longer the deeper the scar went. The little sensations sent warmth through him. How could anyone be so loving?

"It pains me to see what you had to endure," Kid spoke, his hands resting on Crona's shoulders. "But I will take all the pain in the world if it meant making you happy. This is a very dark time in your life, I know, but I'm glad you showed me. I know you better, now."

Crona whipped around and pulled Kid into a deep kiss, his eyes squinted closed, his hands shaking. Kid's eyes widened with surprise before he smiled into the kiss, cupping Crona's cheeks with his hands.

Crona hissed as Kid nipped at his lower lip and pulled away. Crona whined and pulled him back, causing Kid to laugh into the kiss and run his hands through Crona's hair. Crona's eyes closed into the kiss, his usually uptight body relaxing.

Kid tossed the shirt on the couch and pulled away from Crona. Before Crona could speak, Kid grabbed his hand and raced up the stairs to Crona's new room.

He slammed the door shut and pushed Crona onto the bed and shoved his tongue into Crona's mouth. Crona gripped his blankets, shifting his legs under Kid's body. Kid trailed his finger down Crona's bare chest and ripped off his own shirt exposing his tan skin to the cold.

Kid happily nibbled on Crona's ear. Crona moaned before he covered his mouth with his hands, his face flushed.

Kid pulled his hands away from his mouth. "I want to hear that sound, again,"

Crona gulped but nodded.

And so they went on, Kid completely dominating Crona, nipping at him, kissing him all over. Crona lay flat, too embarrassed to move. He finally got his fantasy to come true but he couldn't make himself move to reciprocate. Sometimes a noise escaped his lips when Kid did something that made him feel particularly nice, his eyes closed and his hands against the headrest.

He moved his knee to give Kid better access when he felt it.

Kid was as hard as a rock.

He tensed, his face burning brightly. How was he supposed deal with that? Did Kid want him to do something?

"You can touch me, you know," Kid told him with a smile. "You'll like it more."

Crona quickly nodded. He trailed the tip of his pinkie finger down Kid's chest, stopping at the top hem of Kid's pants. Kid gently took Crona's wrist and touched his fingers to Kid's crotch. Crona's breathing hitched. "Do you want to?" Kid gently asked him.

"W-W-Want to…want to wh-wh-what?" Crona stammered.

"Anything, really. Oral, anal, just a handjob…" Kid trailed off, a light blush on his own cheeks.

Crona gulped and nodded. He rubbed the bulge back and forth through Kid's thick jeans. Kid gasped and gripped Crona's shoulders.

Crona's grip was light- almost like a feather. It was very clear to Kid that Chrona had no idea what he was doing.

Kid slowly slid his jeans off. Crona gulped. Kid frowned. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to," Kid said gently. He kissed Crona gently on each cheek.

"I-I-I just don't k-k-know what to d-d-do…" Crona mumbled, his eyes darting away.

"Just stroke."

Crona nodded. He began to very gently run his hands up to Kid's jeans and undo the zipper.

Kid's penis twitched. He closed his eyes, his brows furrowed, his grip tight. He wanted those hands all over him NOW.

Crona's hands were soft and nimble as he reached into Kid's boxers. He slowly stroked- too slowly for Kid's taste.

Kid knew it was his first time doing this. He bit back hisses of pain from the lack of moisture and the tense hand.

Crona could tell it was hurting him at times giving how he'd sometimes tense or squint his eyes. What did that book from so long ago say to do?

He licked his hand and put it back on Kid's shaft. He stroked a little faster, developing a rhythm. Kid grunted and closed his eyes, his mouth slightly open. He panted, moving along with the rhythm before he finally ejaculated. Crona' frowned and stuck his tongue out in disgust. Kid rolled over and sighed, relaxing for a moment, before he rolled back. "What do you want me to do?" He asked.

Crona shook his head. "I-I-I'm fine. R-R-Really?"

His brow rose. "Are you sure?"

Crona paused before he scooched over to Kid's chest and put his hand over chest. He smiled and gave a small nod.