Simply Ice

So cold. Why was it always so damn cold in that room? Allen turned to face the person next to him – Yuu Kanda – and watched his shivering form. Was it weird that, though Allen was completely naked, and Kanda was only missing a shirt, Kanda was the cold one? Was it weird that Kanda was the only one to feel the cold? Could one say that it was a strange thing to hear that the one that was more exposed was... the warmer one?

To be perfectly honest, it was weird. Kanda, who was formally crowned "Ice Prince" by Lavi, could feel the cold, while Allen, who was always so warm inside, was becoming numb. He couldn't feel the cold; not like it mattered. Though, you'd think it'd be the other way around – Kanda should be used to what his own kingdom is made of, should he not? If he were truly the ruler of that kingdom in God only knows what place (obviously somewhere not close to here.) Honestly, they had to have had a loon for an old king if he selected Kanda by thinking he would do the place good. Still, to Allen, Kanda wasn't ice, rather, he was something... softer. Maybe he was water, in the respects that he used to be so cold, and it's like now that colder self melted, though only for Allen. He could be soft, yet so swift at the same time, and Allen found it breathtaking.

That was the last cold feeling Allen felt. After meeting, falling in love with, starting to date, and spending all his time with Yuu Kanda, it's almost as if Allen became numb to any feeling. But not the warmth. Never the warmth. His mood always changed drastically, sending various shivers down his spine, and the coldness would rush through his body, but he couldn't feel it. He knew it was there, but it could not be felt. He started feeling... unreal compared to everyone. Smiles, laughter, annoyance, shivering. All a thing of the past. And he would always tell others that it was not Kanda's fault. Hell, Kanda was the one person that made him feel wanted in that world of theirs. But they wouldn't believe it. They'd go on and on about how Kanda was turning their Sprout into a monster. Lavi would be spouting some nonsense like, "Whatever the Prince touches, turns to ice, after all." Lenalee just laughed and said that the cursed teen must be ill, or too tired from his last mission.

Tired. Yes. What another thing he was, but couldn't feel. But it was not the missions he was tired of, or tired from. Oh no, he was tired of the way people looked at him sometimes. The cruelty in their voices when they taunted him for the scar on his face, or his rough, red arm. It wasn't fair. It's not like he liked being that way. Even his parents didn't want him because of it.

Crying. Unlike feeling, that's something the poor boy was good at. He would go eat breakfast, and rush back to his room – which he now shared with Kanda, thanks to hours of him begging and Kanda making a few threats – and cry. Normally, he had it perfectly planned out – Kanda got up at five, ate, and then trained 'till noon – but he was thrown off track one day.

He got up to find Kanda missing. Normal. Training again... He thought. But he wasn't. Allen's lover, and missing person, was actually in the bathroom.

Allen strolled down to the cafeteria, and ordered simply noodles. Jeryy took the order like any other, until he realized who had spoke the request. "Allen, are you okay?" The chef asked, and Allen just shook his head and took the bowl of noodles, sneaking off to an empty part of the cafeteria. Not normal. Everyone noticed. But, at the time, Lenalee was on a mission, and Lavi thought it best he be alone. After making it to the cafeteria and back, Allen checked the clock.

Nine. Still training. Without any further thought, he just broke down in tears, and when Kanda heard that whimpering, he ran out of the bathroom, forgetting to put clothing besides his boxers on. Shit...

"Beansprout," He began, then shook his head. "Allen." He placed a finger against his chin as if in thought, removed it, and growled. "Why are you crying, and whose face do I have to fuck up for making you?" Allen tried to calm himself. Steadying his body, he tried to stop the tears and looked up at Kanda.

"Unless you plan on fucking my face up, you can't do much about it. Though it's pretty fucked up already..." Kanda, who was getting impatient at this point, frowned. "It doesn't matter, anyway. I-I'm fine." Oooh! So close, Allen. Nice try, but wrong answer. So close... yet so far away.

"Allen, first of all, you stuttered. You only do that when you're crying, or when we're having s--."

Not the right time for that, Kanda. He thought, then finished his sentence instead with, "Ahem, or when you're embarrassed." Even if Kanda was the "ice prince", Allen only felt warmth from him.

"It's just... I'm starting to become numb to the world. The only things I feel are your love, and the warmth. And, I know I'm sad... and freezing, I just can't feel it. Maybe I'm just so cold I went numb to completely and think I'm warm. I don't know," Allen explained.

Kanda inwardly cursed the people who taunted him. "Hey, Beansprout. No, I mean Allen." After hearing this, Allen walked over to Kanda. Allen, upset, and curious, shifted his eyes up to take a look at Kanda. Kanda, worried, picked up the boy and carried him to the bed where they cuddled up together. Kanda told stories of many things, but the one that calmed Allen enough to lull him into sleep was the one where the war was over; they were free. Thinking it'd be safe, Kanda got up to get himself a drink. As soon as that warm touch left, Allen awoke shortly after being trapped in a dream of death. He couldn't tell the difference between reality and dreams at the time, so he called out Kanda's name. Kanda came rushing back, and looked down at the boy with a scared face.

"What's wrong, Allen?" Kanda asked. The younger boy shook his head, as if to say "nothing" and the face of his blue-haired beauty changed to a confused one.

"Nothing. But I felt the cold again." Then he got it. With Kanda around, and constantly in his mind, he was simply too warm to feel the cold. It wasn't bad at all.

"Really? I'm pretty warm," Kanda said, and Allen nodded.

"So am I, now that you're here again." And thus, the case of Allen's numbness was closed.

THE END.

Sappy endings are nice, don't you agree?
Durrhurr. Inspiration came from a good friend of mine (I miss you dearly, Crystal dear,) and Count Down by Momosportif.

"I rarely feel the cold anymore."

~Ann