Disclaimer : All characters within belong to the creators of D.Gray-Man.

Different Kind of Human

Allen yawned and snuggled down into his pillow, doing his best to ignore the pain in his damaged eye and get some sleep. Normally Bookman would have given him a painkiller to help him sleep. But tonight, Head Officer Komui had popped up out of nowhere and dragged the old exorcist away, shouting an excuse about 'records maintenance' behind his shoulder as he left.

The sound of the door opening broke into his thoughts and he perked up. It looked like he'd be able to get some shuteye after-

He gasped as his good eye focused on the person who poked her head in and looked around before walking inside. Short, spiky hair framed her pale face, and her strange eyes lit up as they came to rest on him.

"Hey," Rhode Camelot said casually, as if she wasn't deep inside the headquarters of an organization full of people who would gladly gut her like a fish if they knew she were there. She closed the door and walked over to Allen's bedside, flipping a chair backwards and sitting on it. She crossed her arms on the back of the chair, leaned her head on them, and said, "I had a feeling that you'd be alright."

Allen found himself gaping like a fish out of water, unable to find anything to say. A thousand accusations, curses, questions flashed through his head, but nothing escaped his mouth. Finally, he managed to say, "You."

Rhode shrugged. "Yes, yes. It's me. Surprised?" She giggled, surprising Allen by how utterly normal she seemed - just a young girl sitting beside his bed.

"The security measures here were designed without us in mind," Rhode said, waving at the walls with one hand. "All the wards and seals here are set to detect and stop Akuma. Not humans."

She blinked as Allen started to get up, opening his mouth to yell - and casually flicked him back into bed with one finger, knocking him back and taking the breath from his lungs.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," she said. "I'd hate to have to mangle an invalid." Her smile changed, somehow, becoming a corpse's grin - dead and full of black humor. "On second thought, I'd love to mangle invalids," she said, "but you're a special case."

Allen's expression changed from anger to confused suspicion. "Special?"

Rhode nodded and said, "You're interesting. Different from normal humans." She pointed at his ruined eye. "That wasn't supposed to heal, you know."

"This eye... It was cursed when I was young," Allen found himself explaining. Rhode shook her head slowly, the expression on her face one that was normally reserved for the very young and the very foolish.

"That's what you think," she said. "And what you think happens to be wrong." She shrugged again, ruefully. "Who would have guessed it? You're one of us." Allen frowned, and Rhode elaborated. "The children of Noah."

"Liar!" Allen shouted, sitting up in his bed. A sigh passed Rhode's lips and she got up, pushed him slowly yet irresistibly down with one hand. Allen's eyes widened as she clambered on top of his chest and sat there, looking down at him. As he watched, her skin darkened and a series of crosses appeared on forehead.

"I wouldn't lie to you," she purred, lowering her face until it was all Allen could see. "In fact, I've come to like you." Her breath - scented faintly of mint and cinnamon - brushed his face. "You are one of us."

Allen grit his teeth, trying and failing to force the girl off of him. She was light - he could barely even feel her weight on his chest - but he couldn't make her budge even an inch. "So what if I'm not a normal human?" he said angrily. "It doesn't change who or what I am."

Rhode giggled again. "If you knew the truth about this world, then you'd be having different thoughts," she said. Her fingers brushed lightly across his cheek, following the line of his jaw and trailing down his neck to his chest.

"I wonder what the other exorcists would think, if they saw you like this," Rhode murmured, ignoring Allen's struggles as she undid the buttons of his hospital shirt. "Consorting with a member of the enemy. D'you think they'd stop to hear your explanation?" The corners of her eyes crinkled in amusement. "I don't think so."

She scooted down, moving to his stomach, leaving his chest bare. "You're different from the others, Allen," she repeated, idly doodling across his chest with one finger. Allen found the color rushing to his face despite himself, and despised himself for it. "Different blood." Her nail sliced into his skin, and blood welled up around the shallow cut. She slid down and licked it away, her tongue darting in and out like a cat's. "Different kind of human."

"Get... off of me," Allen said, and blinked as Rhode complied, lifting herself off of him and sitting beside him on the bed. "I don't know what you're thinking, but-" He cut off as Rhode put a finger to his lips.

"Shh," she said softly, "You're hurt and weak; you haven't gotten a full hold of your powers yet. You could be so much more than you are now..."

Allen narrowed his eyes. "What are you trying to say?"

She got up and leaned over him, looking into his eyes. "Why don't you come with me?" she asked. Something in Rhode's voice told Allen that she wasn't joking.

The answer came almost without thought from his lips. "Never."

Rhode sighed and folded her arms behind her head, looking up at the ceiling. "That's what I thought you'd say. But hey-" She shrugged. "The offer's always open, you know?"

She reached with out a finger and tapped his forehead. "Sleep on it."

And Allen's world went dark.

---

He woke to see Bookman, not Rhode Camelot, leaning over him, the wrinkled old man staring down at him in turn.

"Interesting," the old exorcist mused. "I did not think that you would be able to sleep without any painkillers."

Allen blinked and touched his shirt - the buttons were all done. The chair at his bedside was facing in the right direction.

"Is something wrong?" Bookman asked, noticing Allen's wandering gaze.

"Did anyone come into my room at night?" Allen asked, trying to remember what the room had looked like before Rhode had entered.

Bookman shook his head. "As always, guards were posted outside your room, and they did not mention any visitors."

Allen nodded slowly, then smiled. "I see. Thank you, Bookman."

"I will be nearby if you need me," Bookman said, and left.

Allen lay back again in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. It said nothing, provided no answers to the questions in his mind.

You're different from the others, Allen.

Different blood.

Different kind of human.

Had it all been a dream? He ran a hand across his chest again, then stopped. Very, very slowly, he unbuttoned it, and stared down at the nearly healed crescent cut just over his heart. Rhode's words came back to him, unbidden.

The offer's always open, you know?

Allen lay still like that for a long time, his expression unreadable.

Author's Notes:

Originally, I was planning on having this be a semi-humorous story where the Earl and Rhode drop in on Allen as part of Rhode's homework, but I changed my mind halfway through and it ended up like this. Besides, having the Earl inside the HQ is a bit too much of a stretch, isn't it?

The bit about Allen being a child of Noah is purely made up by me.

As for Rhode and Allen... :shrugs: I like Rhode. Would she act like she did in this story? Probably not... but it's good to imagine, eh? Allen was a bit quiet, but I imagine he was surprised - and embarrassed. XD

I hate to say this - because I normally despise people who put characters together solely because they can - but dammit, Rhode and Allen look good together, in my mind's eye. :laughs: