Disclaimer: D. Gray-man belongs to Katsura Hoshino. Just as well, really.
It was starting to get very disturbing.
Every morning, Allen woke up to find a single red rose on his pillow. There was no note, ever, nothing to indicate where it had come from or how it had got there.
Allen's first suspicion had been Link, because who else even had access to Allen's room, but no, it didn't seem to fit him. And the first time Allen had woken up with a rose by his face, he had just enough time to think to hide it before his companion – guard – stalker – saw it. The inspector noticed nothing, only that the boy was slightly unnerved – easily explained away as a nightmare.
And a nightmare it was. Even though Link didn't seem to know anything about the roses, Allen didn't feel comfortable bringing the man into his confidences. And so, every morning, he made sure to wake up just early enough to hide the evidence. He had had to give up one of his midnight snack cupboards, filling it instead with withering roses.
Surely the white-haired boy didn't need Link's help, anyway. He could figure out who was leaving the roses on his own… maybe. Was it Lenalee? Lavi? …Kanda?
No, that last one was utterly ridiculous. Allen couldn't believe the idea had even crossed his mind.
Even more important than the who, though, was the how – at least in Allen's mind. How had the mystery suitor – because Allen was sure that was the why – how did his suitor get into his room every night without waking either himself or Link?
It was a mystery, and one Allen was determined to solve. Quietly, of course; the last thing he needed was for Central Agency to get wind of this.
So it was, one night, that Allen decided to pretend to sleep, but actually stay up and see what happened.
Imagine how well that worked out for him.
Around three a.m., Allen woke from an uneasy sleep wherein Cross was losing at blackjack, which was a problem because he had gambled a certain apprentice on the outcome. It took the boy a moment to realized he was in bed, and safe.
It took him a moment to realize someone was moving in his room.
It took him another moment to realize that Link was still asleep, and thus couldn't be on his way to or back from the toilet (which was a logical assumption).
Allen squeezed his eyes shut and hoped he was still dreaming.
It took him yet another moment to remember about the roses, and the creepiness, and that this was his chance to catch the perpetrator red-handed.
Very slowly, he opened his eyes. Very, very slowly, he sat up.
There was Tyki Mikk, of all people, going through the pockets of his exorcist coat as if it were a perfectly normal thing to do at three in the morning.
"Tyki!" Allen hissed, trying his best not to wake Link. "What are you doing?!"
The handsome Noah looked faintly surprised to see him. "Why, good morning, boy. It's so rare to see you up. You're such a sound sleeper."
"I – you – you?!" Allen sputtered, still trying to keep quiet. "Why – how?!" His brain refused to process this new information. "What?"
"Now, now, boy." Losing interest in the coat, Tyki abandoned it and joined Allen on the bed. The teenager shied away, but Tyki clamped an arm firmly around his shoulders. "What kind of reaction is that, hmmm? After i went to such lengths to show my love and everything."
The young Brit looked up at him with haunted grey eyes. Nothing made sense anymore. He tried to speak, but failed. Tyki continued to smile down at him, golden eyes bright in the darkness.
Allen's brain was still having trouble, but eventually he found his voice. Gathering his courage, he decided to ask the simplest of the many, many questions he suddenly found himself with.
"How–" His voice cracked. He cleared his throat and tried again. "How did you get in here without anyone noticing?"
Tyki raised an elegant eyebrow quizzically – not the reaction Allen was expecting.
"I mean, you're a Noah. You're our sworn enemy. How'd you get into exorcist headquarters without getting killed?"
The man laughed. "I have my ways."
"Shhh!" Allen shushed him. He glanced worriedly at the sleeping form in the next bed. The inspector snorted, but didn't wake.
Tyki was amused. "What are you so worried about, boy?"
Allen turned on him. "They think i'm the Fourteenth! If Link finds out you're visiting me in the dead of night…."
The Noah waved a hand dismissively. "You mean him? He already knows."
Allen choked. "What?!"
Tyki patted him on the back. "Easy, there."
Allen glared at him. "What do you mean, he already knows?"
"Scary," Tyki teased. "I mean, he knows. He usually wakes up when i come in. It doesn't bother him. We just swap stories about you. Sometimes we even do karaoke."
This was the last straw. "Karaoke?"
Tyki shrugged. "Like i said, you sleep very soundly."
Karaoke. Allen's mind reeled. Tyki Mikk and Link did karaoke. Together. In his room. At night. And he slept right through it.
He should have been more surprised at the unlikely friendship that had sprung up between the two men, but when he considered that both were effectively stalking him, it made a sick sort of sense.
Well, there was no more trusting Link anymore. With anything.
The teen buried his head in his hands. He really wished he could convince himself that this was all just a really bad dream.
"Get out," he said.
"Excuse me?"
"Just… leave now. Please."
"Fine, fine." The Noah got to his feet. "Same time tomorrow night?"
Allen groaned. Tyki smirked.
As the man melted through the wall, Allen lay back down and pulled the covers over his head, curling up very small.
He hated to admit it, but he finally understood why Cross never stayed in one place very long. At least the women who stalked his master were relatively normal… at least, most of them. None of them were Noah, was his point.
Maybe he could run away? No, that was no good. Not while the Order suspected him of treason. But what else could he do?
Suddenly the boy heard a voice. "I forgot something," Tyki announced. "There you go. So long, boy."
The fifteen-year-old pulled the covers down just enough to see his newly-discovered stalker disappear through his bedroom wall again.
There was a fresh red rose on his pillow.
A/N: Written for Poker Pair week (Oct 8-14), as well as to improve my humor-writing skills. I am so proud of myself for actually posting within the deadline.
The karaoke was a reference to Orange-Moon-Goddess's "101 Failed Attempts at Escaping From Cross Marian." Sorry if you were traumatized by that story, but i personally love it.
