A/N: Day two! *bounce* Not gonna lie, this is the one I'm most pleased about. I've had it done for about three weeks now, and I'm pleased.

Title: Conspiracy to Date

Author: liketolaugh

Rating: T

Pairings: Allen/Link

Genre: Romance

Warnings: AU

Summary: "Link!" Allen grabbed his hand and beamed at him, and Link felt a moment of dread before- "Mana won't stop trying to make me date. Will you pretend to be my boyfriend?" Linkllen Week Day 2.

Disclaimer: Like hell I own D. Gray-man.

Just a movie, Link reminded himself, staring apprehensively at the door in front of him. Nothing we haven't done a thousand times before. We're just watching a movie.

Except that wasn't it. When Allen had invited him to see a movie before, it had been when everyone knew they were just friends – now they had been pretending to date each other for two weeks. Which was, come to think of it, the longest Link had gone without visiting Allen's house in years.

Link sighed. Why did he still go along with Allen's ideas?

With that thought moved to the forefront of his mind, he knocked on the door.

Within moments, the door flew open and Allen was beaming at him.

"Evening, Link!" Allen smiled, and then grabbed Link's elbow and leaned forward to press a kiss to Link's cheek. When he leaned back again, his hand slid down to Link's, perfectly natural. "It's good to see you!"

Link smiled slightly and tried not to blush. If they were really dating, he wouldn't blush, right? "You see me every day," he reminded Allen, studying him in an effort not to think to hard about their clasped hands.

Allen's silver eyes were sparkling, paired with a smile that lit up his whole face.

Ah, yes. That was why he went along with Allen's ideas.

"Link!"

Link started, looking up to where Allen's father had appeared, smiling at both of them with that edge of mischief he always seemed to hold.

Intellectually, Link knew that Mana Walker wouldn't mind that he and Allen were dating; he'd been dropping (mortifying) hints for months, and more recently, his pestering had actually been what drove Allen to ask Link if they could pretend to date in the first place.

Still. Link was nervous.

"Welcome home!" Mana said warmly, and Link forgot all restraint as his cheeks burned. "I understand you finally went ahead and asked my son out. Well done!"

The first part was nothing new; Link was unsure when Mana had started greeting Link that way, but it had been a long time ago, so it was only a little embarrassing now. On the other hand- Well, even if they weren't dating for real, it was… rather nice to know that Mana would have approved.

"If I'd had my wits about me, I would have done it months ago," Link answered without thinking, and almost bit his cheek in embarrassment. He'd actually been considering it, but it had always seemed too… intimidating.

Mana grinned. "Yes, my son is quite the catch, isn't he?" the man teased, eyes glittering with mischief.

"Mana!" Allen protested, saving Link from having to respond. "You're killing me!"

"Can't a man extol his son's virtues to his boyfriend?" Mana asked, grinning at Allen.

"No, Mana."

But Allen was laughing, eyes warm even as his cheeks pinked with embarrassment, and soon enough, shaking his head, Allen glanced over at Link.

"Let's go set up the movie," Allen suggested, tugging Link forward with their intertwined hands. "Lenalee told me a bit about it, and it sounds really fun."

"Last time you told me a movie would be fun, I had to leave three times from the secondhand embarrassment," Link told him.

Allen grinned. "That was fun! But for me, not for you." Link barely kept from rolling his eyes, a half-smile on his lips. "Anyway, this is a different kind of fun. I think you'll like it."

"If you say so," Link offered, projecting as much doubt into his voice as he could manage without smiling, and Allen pouted at him.

Mana had already claimed the armchair, leaving the little couch for Link and Allen. Link settled on the end, and Allen let go of his hand to go fiddle with the remote, setting up the movie. Link watched him, absently bending down to untie his shoes and set them carefully beside the couch.

Finally, Allen was satisfied as he got the play menu up, and he returned to the couch to sit by Link, curling into a loose half-ball with arms around his knees, and Link thought about it for a moment and then reached over and reclaimed Allen's hand, not quite looking him in the eye.

Allen gave him a bright smile and squeezed slightly, looking genuinely pleased. Allen really was a very good actor, Link thought distractedly.

"You can sit closer than that!" Mana jeered, startling both of them into looking at him. Mana grinned at them, and then, covering his eyes melodramatically, added, "I'm not here! You two are completely alone!" Mana seemed to reconsider the statement, and then said, "Except not that alone, because I am still here."

Allen snorted and badly stifled a snicker, because Allen loved dirty jokes even though he was too polite to tell them most of the time. Flushed again, Link glanced over at Allen, wondering what he'd do.

His eyes were glittering with amusement again, a grin twitching at the corner of his lips. After a moment, he glanced at Link and raised an eyebrow in question, and Link considered it for a moment, and then shifted subtly.

Allen's smile warmed again, and he scooted over so their shoulders pressed together and Allen was leaning against Link, feet tucked under him, and Link's arm was around his shoulders.

Allen's hands were always cold, so Link was a little surprised at how warm the rest of him was, and even more at how much he liked it. Allen seemed content, too, judging by how relaxed he was, and Link wistfully wondered how much was acting and how much was Allen's natural desire for affection.

He didn't dare wonder if part of it was Allen wanting to be close to him.

The movie was fun, as it turned out – funny without being embarrassing and with a plot that was easy to follow but hard to predict. Link wasn't paying complete attention to it, though – Allen's body shook against his every time he laughed, and at some point he'd hooked his arms around Link in something like a loose hug. His chin was on Link's shoulder, with his head brushing lightly against Link's.

They were very, very close.

Eventually, the movie ended, and Link shifted lightly to signal to Allen that he wanted freedom of movement again. Allen sighed against his neck and then let go, giving him another perfectly-casual kiss, this time just behind the ear.

"Allen," Link murmured in protest, trying not to squirm at the feeling, and Allen snickered quietly.

"What?" he asked, feigning perfect innocence.

Link shoved him away gently, and Allen moved away compliantly, still smiling. Link readjusted himself and glanced at Mana, who had been surprisingly quiet during the movie.

"I suppose I should go home soon," Link said, with a hint of regret. The Walkers' apartment always had much more life than his own empty one, and before that, than Malcolm Leverrier's large home.

A distinctly predatory glint appeared in Mana's eyes. Link was unnerved.

"No, why don't you stay!" Mana offered genially, clapping his hands together in a gesture of supplication. "It's rather dark out now, after all. You could sleep with Allen!"

Link blanched. God, Mana was enabling them!

Allen, because he had no sympathy, was stifling laughter into his hand, eyes glittering with mirth. After a moment, he nodded in agreement, moving his hand just enough to give Link a sideways smile.

"You should," he said earnestly. "You do it all the time anyway, Link, one more time won't hurt."

Yes, Link did it all the time – sleeping on the pull-out couch. Link had clearly overestimated the Walkers' collective sense of propriety. He supposed they did willingly associate with Cross Marian.

"Alright," he said helplessly, for appearance's sake. Both Walkers beamed at him, which was rather like being drenched in liquid sunlight, and he clasped his hands together, slightly embarrassed. "Thank you, Mr. Walker."

"Anytime, anytime," Mana dismissed, and then, to no one's surprise, "And call me Mana!"

The corner of Link's mouth twitched. No, this was one thing Link did enjoy for teasing's sake.

The three of them stayed around for a little while, talking, and Allen reclaimed one of Link's hands. For all intents and purposes, though, it felt rather normal, which Link had found to be standard for most occasions – pretending to date had changed much less than he would have thought.

Aside from the hand-holding. Which made it difficult to concentrate.

Eventually, though, Mana excused himself with an exaggerated wink, and Allen stood up as well, dragging Link with him.

"He's right, it's late," Allen commented, tilting his head toward his bedroom. "We should go to sleep."

Link hummed in agreement, and then glanced at the door to Mana's bedroom. He probably wasn't listening. "I could sleep on the floor if it would be more comfortable for you," he offered, pitching his voice a little lower just in case. It would probably be suspicious if Mana found Link on the couch anyway, and Link didn't want Mana to think they were fighting, or something-

When he looked back at Allen, he was frowning, and as soon as Link caught his eye, Allen shook his head.

"I don't mind at all," Allen told him, voice quieting as well, into something a little softer and gentler. "Do you?"

Link hesitated, considering it seriously. Did he? It was intimate, and implied a lot of things- But he did genuinely like Allen, and… No, he didn't mind, he decided, and shook his head.

Allen smiled, soft and pleased. "I'm glad," he said, and then released Link's hand to lead the way to the bedroom Link had been in – of course – a thousand times before.

Link hadn't brought clothes, so he borrowed some of Allen's pajamas. Allen was only a shade taller and a bit skinnier than Link was, so Link knew they'd fit fine.

"You pick those pajamas every time," Allen pointed out when Link returned from the bathroom (he was not changing in front of Allen) and Link started and looked down at the fish pattern pajamas, confused.

"I do?" he asked.

Allen laughed quietly. "Yeah. You see, that there's the ice cream stain from… You know."

Link did know. Allen's ideas were the worst.

"Oh," he said, and watched Allen crawl up under the fluffy sheet and squirm around to look at Link expectantly.

To his credit, Link only hesitated for a moment before he followed Allen in as well, pulling the sheets up better over both of them.

Link had never shared a bed with anyone before – at least, not with the intention of sleeping. His knees bumped with Allen's, and Allen's arm slipped up to rest at the small of Link's back while he smiled at Link, cheek squished against the pillow and hair splayed and messy. He slept a little lower on the pillow than Link did, Link noticed, giving the illusion of him being smaller and shorter. One of Link's arms was pressed between them.

They were, again, very close.

Link sighed and closed his eyes.

"Mana seemed very happy that we were dating," he commented without opening them. "I suppose it worked the way it was supposed to."

Allen laughed again, hushed and breathless. "More or less," he agreed, and Link felt him lean a little more into him. Startled, Link moved the arm not trapped under him to rest on Allen's shoulder and opened his eyes again.

Allen's eyes had closed, and he looked content, his head tilted forward slightly; the top of his head was just by Link's nose. Link was struck with the impulse to move his hand up and touch his cheek, just to see

The impulse immediately mortified him and he squashed it down, but the damage was done.

"Allen?" he asked, hesitantly, and Allen opened his eyes again and tipped his head back to look at him questioningly. "Would you…" He hesitated and almost reconsidered, but then forged on, eyes meeting Allen's evenly. "Like to date for real?"

Allen blinked at him, and then smiled. It was a mischievous smile that well rivaled anything Link had ever seen on his face before.

"Isn't that what we've been doing anyway?" he asked.

For a long moment, Link stared at him. Allen's grin held for the first few moments, but then it started to falter, worry overtaking his expression.

Finally, an answering smile, bemused and involuntary, broke out across Link's face, and he buried his face in Allen's shoulder and laughed.

I've been wanting to do both a modern Mana Lives AU and Linkllen + Mana for so long, you guys have no idea. *beam* Thank you for reading, please review, and I'll see you tomorrow!