Author's Note:

It's been roughly eight months since Allen fled the Order, following the events of chapter 205. Most of the events after that still happened, but some did not. And everything post hiatus definitely did not: I'm not even gonna try to figure out where Hoshino-Sensei is going with the most recent chapters, it'll only hurt my head.

-The story explains it better than I can here, so just read it already. ;)

.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

I was excited for this mission. Link had continued to follow my every move for four months after Neah left, and now he, too, was finally gone. Nothing was going to get me down. Until I saw the mission folder. Master Cross was alive and well, and somewhere in Istanbul. And I was being sent to get him and drag him back to the Order. Damn.

And to make things worse, my mission partner was none other than Kanda Yuu, antisocial bastard and homicidal samurai. The biggest problem though, was that he was smoking hot. And that I was in love with him. And that he hated my guts.

Yet he had come after me when I fled from the Order. Those three weeks when we were on the run together were still a source of confusion. Because he hadn't dragged me back. And he had helped me find a new host for Neah. Hell, he even held me when I learned that Timcanpy was dead. I just didn't know how to process how out of character the whole thing was for him. And when I asked him why he just said he owed me for what happened with Alma. An obvious lie.

And now here we were, together in Istanbul, looking for Master Cross. I both hated and loved every second of it. Much like how I felt about a certain samurai. And I vaguely wondered if this mission was going to be as hopeless. Because even if I managed to work up the courage to tell him, he would reject me. And even if by some miracle he did accept me, and there were certainly some behaviors that made me wonder if he might, nothing could ever happen between us. We worked for the Church, and the Church considered homosexuality a mortal sin. Not even our positions as the two strongest exorcists could save us from that.

A sudden gust of cold snapped me out of my thoughts. The chilly October air flowed into the cafe as more customers came and went. I sighed and shook my head to rid myself of my melancholy. My tea was gone, and I had wasted far too much time; I was going to be late and that would only piss Kanda off more than he already was. I pulled my hood on as I left the cafe, though it did little to protect me from the wind. The streets were crowded and I wove through the people as quickly as I could.

I was near the inn when it happened, I could see Kanda glaring at everything as he waited for me. I was maybe a block away...

The woman who bumped into me was dressed rather strangely, though in my exorcist uniform I wasn't exactly one to judge. She wasn't wearing the colorful garb of the locals or the conservative style of the European tourists. It was some sort of blend of the two, and it was really ... odd. Especially with her hair. Brunette with blue streaks wasn't exactly a normal color, but again I wasn't in a position to judge. She seemed to be in a hurry, and I expected her to just keep moving, but she didn't. She turned like she was going to apologize, but froze when she saw me, or rather the rose cross on my chest.

.x.x.

I watched Allen's exchange with the strange woman from afar. I knew he wouldn't want me to intervene, but a feeling in my chest said something bad was about to happen, so I made my way towards them. My concern soared when I heard my Moyashi scream in pain. Breaking out into a run I somehow managed to simultaneously catch him as he passed out, and draw Mugen and level it at the strange woman. "What did you do?"

"You'll soon find out." She laughed and disappeared. "Curses are so much fun."

A curse? Why would anyone want to curse the Moyashi? The brat was the nicest person on the planet. It was irritating as hell and I had to go and fall in love with him anyway.

The Moyashi whimpered in my arms, and he sounded like he was in a lot of pain. I put Mugen away, and adjusted my hold on the Moyashi, carrying him bridal style back towards the inn.

I made it all of five steps before I was stopped by a man with long, vibrant red hair. Figures. We'd been scouring the city for three days looking for General Cross, and now he just waltzes up like he hadn't faked his own death.

"I saw what happened." His tone was all business, no traces of his usual laid back attitude. He placed a hand on the Moyashi's forehead and whispered the words of a spell. Then he swore under his breath. "We need to get him inside."

"No shit." I pushed my way past him. I knew he was following me by the critical stare boring into the back of my head.

.x.x.

Cross had been keeping track of the pair since they'd arrived in Istanbul. Their presence confirmed that the Order knew he was alive, which was what he wanted, but they had caught his trail quicker than expected. He wondered what possessed Komui to send those two. Alone together. They turned absolutely everything into an argument. And they were both criticals. It wouldn't reflect well on the Order, not that Cross cared about that.

At first he was watching his idiot apprentice, worried over how he was doing with the Fourteenth. But Cross was clever, and it took him no time at all to figure out that Neah was gone. It was relieving to know that the brat was free from that fate. Which left him time for other things, like observing the brat's lover. Apparently both boys were idiots. So much time had passed and they still hadn't acted on their feelings, it was painful to watch. Cross would have to do something about that. Just for the fun of meddling, not because he actually cared about love.

Cross was debating whether or not it was time to reveal himself, when circumstances decided for him.

He was proud of his skills as a magician, proud of the skills that enabled him to identify the strange woman in the crowd as a witch. And he knew right away that she was trouble. So he watched her. He watched her aura turn murderous as she noticed something in the crowd. He followed her gaze, and Cross' heart just about stopped. Allen. Though the brat was wearing his hood, so to that witch he was just an exorcist. Cross watched as she began making her way towards the teen. He grit his teeth, even with Maria's shielding he wouldn't make it. This was one of those times he regretted leaving Judgement behind, the normal pistol he carried now would be useless against a witch.

Cross ran, but in the end he could do nothing but watch as the witch bumped into Allen. He couldn't hear what the teen said, but he knew that it was an apology. The brat was too damn polite. Words were exchanged, and Allen's body language clearly indicated that he was frustrated with whatever it was the witch was saying. Then she cast a spell. A curse. And Allen screamed. Cross broke into a sprint, not noticing that Kanda was nearby until after the witch had vanished.

He caught up with Kanda and did a quick examination spell on Allen. It was not good. The curse was too complex. It would take lots of energy, as well as time that they didn't have, to reverse it. And even then it wouldn't work completely. The curse had elements of permanence, and there was simply nothing anyone could do against that. But Cross would try. His apprentice didn't deserve this. Not after everything he'd already gone through.

The first step was to get the teen inside so he could work in privacy.

.x.x.

By the time we reached the inn the Moyashi was practically screaming in pain, though he was somehow still unconscious. I placed him on the bed, my heart aching from hearing him like that. Cross immediately pushed me away. "Make yourself useful, pretty boy, and go fetch a rag and basin of cool water for his forehead."

I bristled at the nickname, but now wasn't the time to argue, so I did what I was told. As I left the room Cross started whispering spells again, and I noticed the Innocence cross in the Moyashi's left hand was glowing.

The screams had died to whimpers when I returned. I placed the damp cloth on the Moyashi's forehead, he was burning up. Not knowing what else to do, and wondering what the hell was happening, I looked to Cross.

"He was cursed." Cross spoke without looking at me, and I could hear the worry in his voice. "His Innocence is trying to fight it off, but it can only do so much."

He sighed and collapsed in the chair by the bed. "I've reversed the spell as best I can, but we won't know if it was enough until he wakes up. All we can do now is wait."

Silence fell, between the two of us anyway, the Moyashi was still moaning and whimpering in pain. I stared at the boy on the bed, my chest growing tighter as I watched him thrash. I thought about the curse that did this to him, and it made me angry. Unconsciously I tightened my grip on Mugen's hilt. "Why?"

"Hmm?" Cross was once again directing that critical stare at me, and it felt like he could read me like an open book. When he was done sizing me up, his focus returned to the boy writhing on the bed. "I can't say for sure, could be any number of reasons. Most likely it's either a case of mistaken identity, or he had the bad luck of running into a witch who simply enjoys cursing people." He smirked at me in a way that made my skin crawl. "Unless she caught him cheating at cards, I seriously doubt that this is because of something he actually did."

I growled at the implication and returned the smirk. "After what happened while he was on the run from the Order, he was forbidden from touching cards ever again." My smirk morphed into a glare when I noticed that his expression hadn't changed. I wanted to smack it off him, but since I couldn't do it physically, I settled for doing it verbally. "And even if that was the case, wouldn't it technically be your fault? Since you're the one who taught him to cheat in the first place?"

Cross returned my glare, and I almost regretted baiting him like that. "Big words for a pretty boy with girly hair."

I expected better from him. My hair was an easy target, and honestly it only bothered me when it was the Moyashi that insulted it. "Looked in a mirror lately? Your hair's pretty girly too."

I was cut off from saying more by a sudden screech from the Moyashi on the bed, and our attentions turned back to the boy. He was drenched in sweat, his hair and clothes clinging to his body, it made him look thinner and sickly. I changed the cloth on his forehead, he was even hotter now, paler than I'd ever seen him before.

When I finished, I watched in fascination as Cross showed his fatherly side and gently removed the Moyashi's clothes and tucked the still thrashing boy under the covers. I gaped at the out of character display. He caught my stare and glared at me briefly before turning his attention back to Allen. I hadn't expected him to answer my unspoken question. "He was out of it for over a month after the incident with Mana. I was the one who took care of him back then."

He didn't say anything more, and I had no reply, so we fell into silence. Then the Moyashi's screams started up again. And his body started changing. And all we could do was stand there and watch as the curse took hold of him.

The screams faded to whimpers, then even those died away. Allen lay on the bed, silent and still, only the slight rise and fall of his chest letting us know that he was still alive. The green glow of his Innocence faded and we knew it was over. The only thing left was for him to wake up and see what he had become.

It was eerily silent in the room. Cross leaned back his chair, propping his feet on the bed and lighting a cigarette. I didn't pay much attention to him, still worrying over my Moyashi. I vaguely heard him say that he was going to go after the witch when he was done here, and that Komui might be able to do something about Allen's current condition.

"As for you..." My focus snapped to him as he addressed me. His one eye narrowed as if he was reading my soul. "What exactly are your intentions towards my idiot apprentice?"

I almost, almost, jumped in surprise. But I collected myself and glared at the red head. "What are you going on about?"

Cross smirked, and I cringed inwardly. Somehow this man knew about my feelings, hell, he'd probably known since we first met back on the Ark. "There's no point in denying it, pretty boy. I know that if it was up to you, you'd fuck him into the mattress without a second thought."

He slowly and deliberately put out the cigarette and lit another, we both knew that my ability to speak was long gone. "What I don't know is this: is that as far as it goes, or do you actually have feelings for the little idiot?"

It was a lie. We both knew it was. We both knew that he knew exactly how I felt. We both knew that I was madly in love with the boy.

My glare deepened, and I managed to grind out, "He hates me, so what does it matter?"

"Idiot. Just tell him. I can guarantee that his response will be different from what you're expecting."

Wait does that mean that Allen likes me? No. There's no way. He hates me-

Cross snickered as if he knew what I was thinking. "The list of people my idiot apprentice hates yet cares for consists of two people: myself and that moronic inspector that Central had following him around." He took a drag on the cigarette, and gave out a short bark-like laugh. "Hell, knowing him there's probably a few of the Noah on that list too."

"Your point?" I growled out. I did not like that this man could read me so easily.

He laughed. "My point, pretty boy, is this: I know what Allen's hatred looks like. And it's not the tit for tat insult thing that he does with you."

His one eye seemed to bore a hole in my head as I tried to process his words. I had no retort, so I simply continued to glare at him. "So?"

"So you should probably fuck him before you take him back to headquarters." I was surprised to hear concern behind those crass words. But mostly I was shocked that he seemed to condone everything I wanted to do to that boy.

"What?!"

Cross sighed and stood up, running a critical eye over the still sleeping Moyashi. "That boy's self-esteem is going to take a major hit from this. Knowing that his crush wants him might just keep him from breaking completely."

With that he was gone. The lingering smell of cigarette smoke the only proof he'd even been there in the first place.

I wondered if he was messing with me, if he wanted to get me to embarrass myself by confessing to someone who didn't love me back. But if that was the case, he would have stayed to see it. And though he had messed with me all afternoon, it was the Moyashi that he really enjoyed tormenting. That, combined with the concern I'd just witnessed, confirmed that despite appearances the General really did care about his apprentice's well-being. Which meant only one thing: he wasn't lying about the Moyashi's feelings for me.

While I was standing like an idiot in the middle of the room, the Moyashi began to stir. My eyes drifted over to the beautiful lump of white as the silver eyes flickered open.