A/N: I blame Peter Maximoff for everything I did not get done today. *sulk*

Thank you to Kittenanimegirl13, PlatinumDarkside, readwithcats, sparklehannah, Ennael, Amelia Loves Anime, and Shadow Spears for reviewing!

Title: Zephyr

Author: liketolaugh

Rating: T

Pairings: None

Genre: Angst

Warnings: None

Summary: DGM Hallow countdown: Sometimes the end just sneaks up on you, and you don't see it coming.

Disclaimer: I only wish I owned D. Gray-man.

Possibly the only thing Red hated more than not being fed was refusing food.

It went against every instinct the seven-year-old had. He didn't remember much about the orphanage, way back when, and he didn't remember what had made him run away (at three fucking years old, what kind of idiot was he) but he did remember the persistent clench of hunger, the fear of starvation that had stalked him for the two years that it took him to find a job at the circus.

He remembered what it felt like to be hungry – was still feeling it, in fact – and he'd do almost anything to avoid that. Almost.

Except Red had seen the cook slipping poison into his food, again, and Red wasn't having any of that, not today, not ever again. (Once was more than enough. Twice had been goddamn idiotic.)

So. Food refused. No more poison, problem solved.

Except Red was fucking hungry.

"Al-len!"

Red rolled his eyes and glanced dubiously over at Mana, who was waving at him from where he was eating under the tree that marked Allen's grave.

It had been a week since Allen's death, and the weird clown was still greeting him like an old friend and calling him by the dog's name. Red was starting to get suspicious thoughts about the guy's sanity, but hell. He was at least pretty sure that he wasn't going to try to kill him.

Which was more than Red could say for the cook. Asshole.

Mana continued waving like an idiot, and Red rolled his eyes again, gave a put-upon sigh, and hid any happiness he might have felt as he ambled over to Mana and plopped down undignifiedly beside him.

"What?" he asked bluntly.

"Hi, Allen!" Mana said, blisteringly cheerful. There was a full plate of food on his lap, which Red ignored steadfastly. Mana wasn't stuck here, so they had to feed him if they wanted him around, and Mana was more useful to them than Red was, so they did want him around. "I didn't see you today!"

"I was doin' chores," Red snapped, already annoyed.

"Are you hungry?" Mana inquired innocently.

"No," Red snarled, scooting back a little.

"Oh, you must have eaten, then!"

"Don't be fucking stupid!" Red crossed his arms and looked away, scowling. He felt a thick finger prod clumsily at his cheekbone and swatted at it with his good hand. "Leave me alone and eat your fucking dinner!" God, this guy.

"If you haven't eaten, you're hungry," Mana explained to him patiently, like Red was the slow one. Red glanced over and scowled at him. "Did they forget to give you food?"

If Red explained what had actually happened, Mana's head would probably explode. He seemed that level of naïve. "Yeah."

"Oh!" Mana smiled brightly. Did he ever stop smiling? Didn't he feel like an idiot? Didn't his cheeks hurt? "That's okay, Allen! You can share mine! Here!"

He thrust an entire roll at Red's face. Red stared at it like it was poisoned, which actually, he was now wondering if it was, and then tilted his head to frown at Mana like he was stupid, which he probably was.

"You're offering me your food?" he asked dubiously.

"Because you don't have any!" Mana explained, smile not so much as wavering.

Red stared at him for a few moments longer, and then, slowly, wondering warily if Mana was about to snatch it back and make fun of Red for being stupid, reached for the bread. Mana waited patiently, and then finally, Red took it, pulling it back so it was close to his chest.

Mana beamed at him, apparently pleased, and looked down, starting to dig into the food. At least the rest of it wasn't poisoned, even if that didn't guarantee the roll wasn't.

But Red was hungry. And Mana probably wasn't sane enough to figure out that Red deserved poison yet.

Red bit into the roll, chewed, and swallowed. When nothing happened, he, too, dug into it, finally admitting to himself just how hungry he was.

He barely had time to miss the roll after it was gone before Mana thrust a chicken leg at him, and this time, Red didn't hesitate before taking it, though he did very nearly snatch it.

He did hesitate, though, before he took a bite, silver eyes lingering on Mana, who didn't seem to be thinking anything of the food he was giving up.

"…Thanks," Red said at last.

Mana paused to reach over and ruffle his hair, smiling cheerfully. "Of course!"

...Technically this was on time. *continues sulking* Thanks for reading, and please review!