A/N: Okay, yes, at this point my only real requirement for titles is that they be alphabetical. I like for them to make a little sense, but that's secondary. *grin*
Title: Gilded Memories
Author: liketolaugh
Rating: T
Pairings: Allen/Link
Genre: Romance
Warnings: AU
Summary: Reincarnated together lifetime after lifetime, Link and Allen make breakfast together the morning after they find each other yet again. Linkllen Week Day 6.
Disclaimer: Like hell I own D. Gray-man.
Allen woke up slowly, one sense at a time. First he heard the sound of breathing beside him, and then felt the dip of the mattress under him and the warmth of a body against his, one arm looped securely over his back, and then he smelled a familiar, unchanged scent.
Even before he opened his eyes, he was smiling.
Link was beside him, hair strewn over the pillow; some of it fell over his face and fluttered as he breathed, and Allen reached out and brushed it behind his ear. Link didn't even twitch.
They were together again, and Allen was grateful.
Several lifetimes ago, Allen had stopped counting the cycles. He and Link would grow old, die, and be reborn, only to find each other again – whether five or fifty years later, it no longer mattered (much.) Allen could be patient – they always found each other, and that was the important part.
Allen resettled himself, smiling slightly as he watched Link. Link's face – the structure, the features – was always the same, though minor differences did show up. Eventually, a different lifetime would yield a different pattern of wrinkles, and different habits would manifest differences in body fat and skin markings, scars and calluses.
Allen looked forward to it. He always did.
A few minutes, maybe ten or twenty, passed in the quiet, and finally, Link 'mm'ed, stirring slightly, and then opened his eyes and tilted his head, met Allen's, and smiled tiredly at Allen, eyes still half-lidded.
"Good morning," Link murmured.
Allen's smile widened, and he shifted closer to press a kiss against Link's nose. "Good morning," he echoed, smile lingering. It wasn't often that he woke up before Link, but he treasured the times he did; Link looked adorable, half-asleep like this, but it never lasted long.
Sure enough, Link blinked a few times, lifted a hand to stifle a yawn, and then pushed himself half-up. "A book signing, Allen?" he said at last, amusement tugging at his mouth. "Why do you insist on finding me in public places?"
Allen grinned a little, stretching subtly before he pushed himself upright as well. "When you put yourself out there like that, you're just asking for it," he teased.
Link was an author this time – a little old-fashioned in style, some had said, but adamantly good, as he always seemed to be at anything he attempted. Nothing international, but mildly famous. For once, he had been easy to find.
Usually, when Link found Allen first, he called him and arranged a meeting that way. Allen took amusement in not doing the same.
"I can't even retaliate," Link complained, the spark in his eyes contradicting his frown. "You're too good an actor; you would brush it off easily."
"And you're too nice," Allen offered helpfully, kissing the corner of Link's mouth through a grin.
"Exactly," Link said firmly. "I have done nothing to deserve this." Before Allen could counter, he touched Allen's shoulder lightly, half-urging him off the bed. "Breakfast?"
Allen brightened quickly enough to make Link grin a little as well, and the two of them moved into the next room over.
They were in Link's apartment, much cleaner and somewhat better stocked than Allen's, and they both divvied up the tasks without speaking about it. Link did glance over at Allen and raise an eyebrow in question, gesturing to his stomach, and Allen half-smiled and made a so-so gesture; his job as a dispatcher wasn't very physical, but it was stressful, so his appetite usually wound up around mid-level.
Allen checked the cabinet above the coffee maker and was unsurprised to find neatly organized spices, complete with coffee. Link, getting bacon from the fridge, gestured again, and Allen picked out a few he knew Link liked to use for eggs and set them by the stove.
"I read one of your books," he said to Link as he set the coffee to brew, nudging Link's elbow with his. "It was really good – I don't think I've ever liked a main character as much. But I'm surprised you took up fiction writing."
Link shrugged, slicing the package of bacon in half and starting to lay the strips out on the pan. "I've had an unusually wide variety of experiences," he said wryly, and Allen laughed. "So I have a lot to draw from. I thought, at first, that it would be interesting to get some of it down on paper, but then my mind started to wander."
Allen smiled. "It sounds like you enjoy it. I'll have to catch up sometime, but I only found your work a few weeks ago." And despite everything, Allen was still a rather slow reader.
Link gave him a bright, pleased smile, pausing to reach out and run his hand lightly over Allen's shoulder, and then asked, "What have you been doing, this time?"
Allen went to the big door which probably contained the pantry. "I'm an emergency dispatcher," he explained, reaching for the bread and then shutting the door again. "I got into a few tight spots early on this time-" He caught Link's concerned look, bumped his shoulder gently, and tacked on, "-I'll tell you about that later – and the dispatcher was very calm, helping me through it. I thought I'd like to do that for a while." He smiled. "It's a little stressful, but I'm helping people."
"You always are," Link said with a fond smile, moving to the fridge to get eggs. "So, what this time? Should we get married?"
"I think so," Allen said thoughtfully, popping the bread in the toaster; he noted that Link, sentimental as always, had already set the extra slot the way Allen liked it. "We won't even have to jump through any hoops this time."
Link made a satisfied sound. "Finally."
"Finally," Allen agreed with a grin. He ran his fingers through Link's tangled hair as he passed to the fridge, and then, just to tease him, again on the way back. "Kids?"
Link hummed. "It sounds like we'll both be busy. Maybe one or two. Not many."
"Not this time," Allen agreed, though 'one or two' consistently turned into three or four or five. The coffee finished, and he started putting it together, milk and- Link passed him the sugar and he laughed quietly, while Link gave him a quick smile and deemed the eggs done just as the toast popped up.
In a few minutes, they had the food divided across two plates, and both of them slowed to a stop, standing close again, holding hands despite neither being sure who had reached out.
After a moment, Link suddenly leaned up just slightly (a little shorter, always a little shorter) and kissed Allen, and it was long and slow and deep. When they separated, Allen sighed, smiled, and said, "I missed you."
Link wasn't smiling, but the depth of emotion in his eyes, so close to Allen's, never failed. "I waited," he told Allen, not for the first time, nor for the last, and then added, more firmly, "I love you."
Allen smiled, soft and broad, and kissed Link again.
I love you too.
*bright smile* This one, I actually really like. And then tomorrow's is fun too, and that's the last one. *nods to self* I hope you guys enjoyed this! Thank you for reading, and please review!