Chapter 6

(A/N: Has anyone thought about how much running in Death City must suck? It's hilly and in the middle of the damn Death Valley.)

Kid felt ready to collapse into bed. He'd only been back here for a day and he already felt exhausted.

Liz and Patti had their heads bent together as Kid unlocked the door. Kid had a funny feeling that they were conspiring.

"Goodnight," he said, heading upstairs.

"'Night Kid!" They chorused. He shook his head fondly and walked upstairs, yawning.

He staggered off to his bedroom, more tired than he had been since his last case. Kid opened the doorway and took off his shoes, before collapsing on the bed. He laid back with groan and took out the photo he'd taken from Maka. The teenage Kid and Crona smiled nervously at him from the past. His eyes naturally focused on Crona's face, taking in her pale and tired eyes.

She'd always looked so exhausted, more stressed and worn than any seventeen year old should be.

Reluctantly Kid put the picture on the his nightstand and got up to change for bed. Brushing his teeth Kid raised his eyes to his reflection. His own eyes were now shadowed, his face starting to get lined. The vitiligo in his hair was being joined by strands grey. He smiled sardonically around the toothbrush in his mouth. He was starting to show his age.

Kid turned off his light and positioned himself in the middle of the bed. He was tired but when he closed his eyes the only thing he could see was Crona's face, the last time he'd see her. The scared, tired look and he laid there, wondering where she was now. Was she happy? Safe? Had she'd forgotten him completely, and moved on with her life with someone else? Had she transitioned, finally able to feel like herself? Kid tried to picture what a older, grown up Crona would look like but his mind kept flashing to the picture, to her tired gray eyes and nervous smile.

It was hours before he fell asleep.

x~x~x~x

Shockingly, Liz and Patti were up before Kid was the next morning. Usually Patti wouldn't get before one pm unless there was a fire, and Liz denied that any time before nine am even existed.

"Good morning Kid." Liz put coffee in front of him. Kid sleepily muttered his thanks. "Sleep well?" Liz probed. Taking a rather longer sip than he usually would Kid shook his head.

"I was restless. How about you girls? Any problems?" He missed the look Liz and Patti shared.

"We slept fine." Patti munched on some cereal she'd found somewhere. Kid was afraid to ask. "Kid, you're still taking your medication right?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Yes, of course. Why do you ask?"

Patti shrugged. "I don't know. Sometimes you just do changes badly."

"Well I am," Kid replied, a little confused.

"Anyway, do you still have that invite? What time should we show up for that picnic?" Liz asked.

"It says it'll start at eleven. Most likely people will just show up throughout the day, so we can leave for it anytime you're ready." Kid rubbed his eyes.

"We should just leave at eleven, that way we aren't early," Liz pointed out. "Hey Kid, do you know if you have a frisbee anywhere?"

"Garage," Kid said immediately. "I don't think I ever used it, but my father gave me one for christmas."

Patti grinned. "Excellent. I haven't forgotten Soul winning our last match of ultimate frisbee. I think it's time to get him back." Kid laughed.

"Be careful about that. Last I remember Maka was running a mile a day and already had a black belt. You might have met your match," he teased.

Patti scoffed. "Oh sure, we'll see about that."

"Do you know if your dad is coming to the picnic?" Liz finished off her own coffee and dumped it in the sink. Kid rolled his eyes to his father's upstairs rooms.

"I doubt it. He rarely went to any school functions when I was in highschool, I don't see why he would have changed." Kid sighed.

Liz and Patti shot each other another look.

"Will the two of you stop doing that? I notice you know." He tapped his fingers sharply on the table.

"Sorry Kid. Old habits ectera, ectera." Liz waved her hand, eyes skirting away from his face. Kid frowned. He stood from the table, no longer hungry.

"I think I'll go for a run before we have to get ready," he announced, fastidiously washing his mug out and putting it in the dishwasher, before washing his hands. He had the funny feeling that Liz and Patti burst into whispers right after he left.

~x~x~x~

Even though it was still early, the sun was already baking the sidewalk and there was very little shade as Kid ran uphill. His every breath caught in his chest and he was soon wiping rivers of sweat away from his eyes, mildly disgusted. But he needed a release. Someway to let go of the bound up and nervous energy, still brewing in his gut from last night. His mind was still all tangled in his thoughts and his heart ached.

Goddamn Liz, but she was right.

'Because you're still in love with someone'. Of course Kid was still in love Crona, or at least he what he remember to be Crona, he'd never loved another.

At Harvard, Kid had thrown himself into his studies, taking advanced course after advanced course and by the time he graduated, he was basically already a first year law student. All of his professors had already written him letters of recommendations and Kid had even begun a weekend internship with a local law firm.

It had nearly driven him insane with stress and Kid had suffered a nervous collapse that ended with him in the hospital for a week, after shutting himself in his room and losing approximately fifteen pounds in five days. Liz had nearly begged him to cut back on his workload, or to see a therapist. Kid refused the therapist, but begrudgingly cut back on his classes, and resigned his internship.

He'd done it for a good reason, Kid insisted to himself, because if he hadn't been tired and kept busy, Kid never would have been able to resist the urge to come home, to chase Crona down and beg for her back. His waking moments were haunted by her voice and his sleeping ones by her vestige, tragic and beautiful. Working so hard nearly drove Kid to madness but dwelling on Crona, and all of the would-have, could-have, should-haves, would have pushed him over.

He stopped his run at the top of a hill, looking out over the desert. His lungs ached. His calves were going to make him regret waking tomorrow. But his heart thumped at the familiar scenery. The stark sands reflected the sun, beaming in golden radiance. He started a slow jog back to the house, looking forward to his proper shower.

Yes Kid had missed his home, missed his friends. And now with his heart torn open all over, he missed Crona too.

X~x~x~

"Liz, Patti, let's go!" Kid shouted.

"Chill out Kid, it's not like we can be late." Liz sauntered downstairs, wearing a pairing of jean cut offs and a thin blue tank top. Her face was shaded by a straw cowboy hat.

He shrugged. "I like leaving on schedule."

Patti jumped from the third step, making the floor shake. She was holding a frisbee, a soccer ball and a water gun. Kid didn't remember ever owning a water gun.

"I'm ready Kid! Let's go!" She started for the front door.

"Hey hey hey, are either of you going to put on sunscreen?" Liz asked.

"I'll do it when we get there Liz, but let's go already." Kid gestured to the door, Patti laughing at her sister. Liz continued to grumble about sunburns as she climbed into the driver's seat.

The park the picnic was held at was the oldest in the city, on a steep hill that had been flattened and overlooking a man made lake. It was well shaded by craggy old pine trees, and there was a crumbling brick wall that was suppose to be where the original Morte mansion stood.

"What happened to it?" Patti asked curiously.

"During the Great Depression there were riots in the city and the house was burned to the ground. Luckily my great-great grandfather, Felix and his wife, Fortune, escaped. The spent some time in Las Vegas where he won money in the casinos. Enough to come back and help revitalize local business and rebuild the Morte home." Kid smiled. "You know, my middle name is Felix."

Liz snorted. "You're middle name literally means lucky?"

"It's a very dignified middle name, thank you," Kid said.

Patti giggled. "Yeah Liz, see it means he was lucky to meet us!"

Liz winked at her sister in the rear view mirror while Kid huffed in playful exasperation. He smiled regardless, thinking that he was indeed quite fortunate to have the Thompsons in his life.

The parking lot next to the park was already filling up and Kid looked around for any familiar faces. On the playground there was the sounds of screaming and laughing children. The sun beamed.

"I don't see anyone, I think the picnic is more towards the interior of the park," Kid said.

With Liz and Patti trailing behind him, Kid led the way into the grassy, tree dotted field.

~x~x~x~

They had been walking along the shade of the trees for about ten minutes when a familiar voice made Kid look around.

"Hamlet, Ham-let, get back here! How many times have I told you, you don't run off without mama?"

A little boy, complete with golden curls and glasses ran out from the trees, giggling. Right on his heels was Marie Mjolnir, her hair up in a messy ponytail that Kid flashing back to senior AP english.

She grabbed the little boy up, and situated him on her hip, looking at him with her good eye. Her hand brushed his bangs away from his glasses, fixing them on his face.

"Come on, mama needs to finish putting sunscreen on you. And on your daddy! Wherever he's poking around," she muttered, turning 90 degrees and caught sight of them. Her eye widen.

"Hello, Ms. Marie," Kid said.

She stared stiffly at him, her eye roving over her face. The corners of her mouth tipped down and her jaw set.

"Hello, Kid. Welcome back," she bit off, her words thrown like a challenge.

This did not shock Kid.

Crona had thought Marie hung the stars and moon. If Maka should have been her sister, Marie was the person Crona would have chosen to be her mother.

~X~x~x~x~

"Okay class today we start on everyone's favorite part of the curriculum, short stories!" Marie walked back and forth between the rows of desks, her high-heeled sandals tapping. "Now I know you are all so enthused about Edgar Allen-Poe, and Ray Bradbury," at this the class groaned, "However, I thought since you are my AP class we could do something a little different! This semester we will be focusing our attention solely on short stories written by women." She turned around and smiled broadly. "So we will start with Kate Chopin, and 'Story of an Hour'. Please get into groups of four and um Crona, will you please pass these around?" She gestured to the stack of worksheets.

Crona smiled shyly, getting up. Marie was the only teacher who ever really called on Crona is a positive way. In other classes Crona was either ignored, or deliberately humiliated.

"Okay mom."

It slipped out so naturally that for a moment Crona didn't seem to realize what she said. Then the class erupted into laughter. Marie was blushing but Crona had gone bone white. She stood stock still as the class kept laughing.

It was one thing to be a teacher's pet, but altogether another to have something like that slip out.

A flustered Marie shouted for silence and order, never meeting Crona eyes. She sat back down as the worksheets were handed out. Head down and eyes on her paper she did not look up for the remainder of class.

X~x~x~x~x

Kid and Marie were still engaged in their staring contest when her son, Hamlet, started wiggling in her grasp.

"Daddy! Daddy!" He made grabby hands at someone behind Kid and the Thompsons. He turned and saw Stein, loaded with about fifty pounds of groceries, striding over the ground to them.

"Offspring. Wife," he said gravely, approaching. Stein raised an eyebrow at Kid. "Former student."

"Patti, and Liz. Now that we are all informed of our relative position to each other can you show us where this party is?" Patti asked brightly, smiling all the while. Liz turned her laugh into a cough. Stein's glasses flashed in the sunlight and he jerked his head towards the trees.

"We were somehow roped into this dog and pony show. Everything is being set up over here." He handed Kid some of the shopping bags, filled with chips and soda. "You're not a minor anymore. I can put you to work. Take this."

Getting the feeling that Liz and Patti were enjoying this, Kid carried the bags, feeling Marie's eye on him all the while.

Walking through the trees, Kid emerged out into a smaller field where two picnic tables were already laden with snacks and much to his amusement, Soul had been roped into standing over one of the parks grills.

"Hey! Kid!" He set the bags down as Maka ran up to him, her cheerful yellow sunhat flopping around. "You took your time getting here."

Liz and Patti caught up to them. "Yeah. This park is huge and with no clear directions..." Liz said. Maka grimaced. "Alright alright, point taken."

Patti dropped her collection of toys next to the table and raised the frisbee over her head, a gleam entering her eye.

"Okay, Soul. Today is the day. The day you meet your maker! Liz, go long!" And with that she let the disc fly, Liz sprinting for it. Soul was stuck in the middle, abandoned at the grill.

Kid shook his head. A shadow passed over the sun and he looked up to find Stein looming over him.

At five feet eight inches Kid was only two inches below average, however Stein had over a foot of height on him and it was impossible not to feel a little threatened by the way Stein was staring at him.

"She's mad at you," he gestured to Marie.

"I guessed," Kid said dryly. Stein nodded solemnly. Then he clapped Kid on the back, nearly sending him to his knees.

"Meet me in the parking lot next to the silver subaru at sunset," the man said then turned and walked over to Marie. Kid watched him bemusedly.

Parking lot at sunset?

What on earth could Stein want from him?

Kid turned away to see Patti running at him in full tilt. He leapt aside just in time as she caught the frisbee. She smiled at him, the bridge of her nose already getting pink from the Nevada sun. The electric blue frisbee was waved in his face.

"Damn Kid! You were right, Maka is awesome at this!"

She handed it to him and started running. Out in the field, Liz and Maka waved at him to throw it. Kid looked down at the disk then back up, and stepped into the sun, already grinning.

~x~x~x~

As the day wore on, many more people appeared. Harvar, his hair grown long and glasses on his thin nose. He'd gone to Denver University, and was still single.

He pulled Kid aside after Soul started pulling burgers off the grill.

"Hey, I wanted to say sorry to you Kid."

This was the last thing he expected to hear from Harv. Kid said as much.

The other man stared at him coolly.

"I believe I expressed repeated disbelief about your genuine attraction to Cronus-"

"Crona," Kid interjected.

Harv nodded. "Yes. I suppose so. Crona. Anyway, I wanted to say I was sorry for being derisive."

Kid looked Harvar over. He nodded. "Well, thank you I suppose, for your apology. Can I ask what brought this on?"

The bespectacled man shuffled, balancing his veggie burger and coke on his plate.

"I grew up during college. Did some thinking. That's all really," Was what he concluded out loud. Kid nodded, understanding. Harvar smiled slightly, walking away.

"Hope we see Crona this weekend, Kid."

Kid's grin melted off faster than Patti's ice cream in the sun.

Soul had been freed from the grill and passed it off on Thomas Sarel, who looked bemused standing over the coals. He, Maka, Liz and Patti took Kid by the elbow and march him away to make him show them the ruins of his ancestors house. They walked around and Patti gave Liz a heart attack by climbing around the ruined brick and mortar walls.

They were standing by a hill that led into a muddy gully when Maka pointed it out.

"Have you seen Black Star yet?"

Kid shook his head. "I haven't." He snorted. "Bizarre, you'd think he'd be the first to this event, what with how he loved the spotlight."

Maka laughed. "Yep! That was Blake all over."

Patti, arms held out like a gymnast, asked, "What happened to him?"

"He went off to Japan. I got one postcard from him when I was still living in Death City, but when I went to school, I never heard from him again," Maka explained.

"Do Sid and Naigus still live here?" Kid asked.

Maka nodded, sun hat flopping around. Her arms were tanning while Soul was probably going to look like a tomato by the end of the day.

"Yeah. You'd think he'd come back to at least visit them."

Kid shrugged, turning to look down the gully.

"With Black Star, who knows honestly? He was always so-"

"WHAT'S GOOD KID?" A voice shouted and Kid and Maka whipped around.

"Oh no," he groaned and braced for impact.

Maka shrieked and tried to leap aside however with the trees on one side and the crumbling walls on the other there was no where to go. Black Star charged into them, arms outspread. For a moment they all teetered together in a massive chokehold slash bearhug and the next Kid was tumbling ass over elbow down into the mud and grass.

He spent a moment staring at the spinning blue sky over head then groaned again.

"Hi, Black Star."