This is it, Cross mused.
It was the final battle, against the Earl. Allen was standing right next to him, with a lot of wounds, but not as serious as his friends. They stood in front of a black door.
"The Earl is behind this door."
"I know."
"He's waiting for you"
"I know."
Cross pulled up the cigarette and took a long drag. He exhaled slowly, released the familiar sickly smelling puff of smoke.
There was nothing wrong with getting high before going to the final battle, after all.
He eyed his stupid apprentice, whose bangs covered his eyes, so he couldn't exactly saw his emotions behind it, but he could make a guess.
"Are you afraid?"
He froze. He didn't even blink. Or even breath for God's sake. The white haired boy spoke at last, and he could pick up a thin crack in his voice.
"I… can't stop walking now."
"Have you ever?"
"…" The boy twitched.
There was no point in holding back his curiosity now.
"Do you really think you could survive? Your friends may, but what about you?"
Allen widened his eyes but soon reverted back to the look that pained Cross so much. "I… don't know anymore."
Cross Marian had always been a liar.
"I don't think you could ever have a chance to see the aftermath."
So he would be honest once.
"Because you were unlucky. You've always been."
Allen gave him a small smirk. "You don't need to be that straightforward, Master."
"Well, I have always kept you in the dark, right? Aren't you glad to see your Master's rare moments of straight answer?"
"If only you had always been like that." He sighed.
The redhead allowed himself to smirk.
"That would be impossible."
Even the boy chuckled a little bit. "Righttt…"
"That's right. Now answer my question, stupid apprentice."
"Geez, Master…" He pouted. Then he stared into the black door.
"Truthfully, I wished this war were simple as before the Ark."
Then maybe he would have a chance to survive.
"Lenalee would cry if I died… Kanda would probably yell at me for being a pathetic moyashi, Lavi… he would, I don't know, try his best not to cry, and you would…"
Allen can't say that Cross wouldn't care.
He may hate him, call him stupid, threw him his debt…
But he did care.
Cross stared at him, "God isn't good at dealing with his child, is he?"
Then the boy spoke, but he couldn't finish the sentence anymore. "Master, I…"
A tear escaped his right eye. He was trembling, for God's sake.
Cross had always been an asshole.
The ex-general sighed, running his finger through his hair. Then he walked towards the boy.
He wasn't once.
He pulled his pupil into a hug.
So he would do it one more time.
It's almost like a hug, even more than that time.
"It's familiar, isn't it?" His pupil smiled a little. "Like that time, if you even remember"
"Of course I remember" Cross scoffed.
It was ironic, even now and then.
"… Will I be the one who fall, or both of us?"
"I don't know, Master, but I think you won't die."
"I'll have to abandon Maria if I die this time."
The white haired boy chuckled.
"You know, Master," he faked a yawn, "if you keep hugging me like this, I'll probably fall asleep…"
Cross snorted.
"… So wake me up when it's all over."
Cross stared at the child. A grin.
"I made no promise."
Chuckled.
"I wouldn't expect you to."
A/N: I love Cross Allen parental moment. I think that in the final battle, his friends will battle with the noahs, leave him and cross are the only one who deal with the earl. It's a future assumption