A/N: Hey! *beam* Finally I got to add a little training - this one has, as usual, been on the list for a while, but then again, I have a lot of things on the list, haha.
Thank you to jy24, alpaca, BlackIrisFlowers, sparklehannah, Lena-luvs-cats, Deacog, Shadow Spears, Codename-SN, Kisaragi Senketsu, newby6320, and pikaree1 for reviewing!
Title: Fair Play
Author: liketolaugh
Rating: T
Pairings: None
Genre: Family/Drama
Warnings: AU
Summary: Cross hated his master. Really. Allen fucking Walker was the most infuriatingly mysterious human being on the planet - but even Cross couldn't say that Allen had done a bad job looking after him.
Disclaimer: I only wish I owned D. Gray-man.
"Your friends never have any good books," Cross bitched, slamming the book shut to scowl at Allen.
Irritatingly enough, Allen just looked faintly amused. "I never was blessed with the most legitimate of friends. We make do."
Eleven-year-old Cross crossed his arms and huffed. "This is boring," he bit out. He shoved the book at Allen, cover first. "Look at this! I could've understood this when I was eight."
Allen picked up the book and examined the cover obediently, looking it up and down. A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth, and he glanced at Cross. "This is a year twelve physics textbook," he said mildly, putting it down on the table.
"It's old," Cross said petulantly, reaching up to scratch under his relatively new mask. "It's so old that it's wrong."
"So it's boring, elementary, and also wrong?" Allen bantered gently, opening it himself to scan the pages.
Cross scowled harder and didn't reply. He didn't really expect Allen to get it, because Allen hadn't ever shown even a little interest in finding new books or research, and most adults were quick to remind Cross that they were older and smarter than he was.
Bullshit.
Sure enough, after a few moments, Allen closed the book and shook his head, smiling gently, and handed it back to him.
"I won't pretend I see the problem," Allen told Cross, who jerked his head away, frustrated. But then Allen continued, "But this is a larger city, so we should be able to go to a library tomorrow if you do well in training."
"I always do well," Cross said defensively, hiding his surprise.
Allen smiled at him warmly. "Yes, you do," he agreed easily, and Allen fucking Walker never made any damn sense.
"Well…" Cross frowned at him, lingering and suspicious. "Good."
"Good," Allen agreed with clear amusement. Then it dissolved into a faintly thoughtful look, and Cross scooted away, trying not to feel too unnerved. After a few moments, Allen continued, "In the meantime, why don't you walk me through that textbook? Tell me what's wrong with it."
"I said I understand it," Cross snapped, pushing back and giving Allen a frustrated look with more hurt in it than he'd meant.
Allen raised his hands in surrender. "I know," he assured Cross. "I believe you."
Cross scowled at him for a moment. "Then why do you want me to prove it?"
Allen smiled, patient and rueful and something else. "That wasn't my intention at all. I thought you'd enjoy teaching someone else. Was I wrong?"
"There's no point if you already know it," Cross said petulantly, crossing his arms. He didn't know how old Allen was, but he was definitely old enough to have gone through year twelve.
Allen raised his eyebrows, visibly surprised. And then he smiled again.
"But I don't," he replied, making Cross start, raising surprised eyes to meet Allen's. Allen's smile twitched with held-back laughter. "I didn't have the education you've had, and even if I had-" His smile softened. "Well, I can already tell that you're much smarter than I am."
"No way," Cross said, before he could stop himself. Over the last year, Allen had proven himself stronger, more experienced, and more patient than Cross. He was like a legend sometimes – it was unnerving. There was just… no way.
"It's true," Allen assured him. "And I'm certain that time will prove it. Now, if you'd like…?" He gestured questioningly to the textbook, eyebrows raised in question.
Cross gave him one last suspicious look, and then, slowly, opened it, flipped to the first chapter, and then beckoned Allen a little closer. Allen obediently brought a chair near and sat beside him, and, slow and cautious, Cross started, "So how this goes, is this-"
Cross impatiently brushed his sweaty hair out of his eyes and forcibly relaxed his too-tight grip on Judgement. He took a deep breath, listened, and then spun around and pulled the trigger before he could even process what he saw, heart racing in anticipation.
When he focused, he could see Allen smiling at him warmly, paused in place, and then he nodded down. Cross flicked his eyes down, and there was Judgement's bullet, on the ground, crumpled from its collision with Allen's own bulletproof Innocence.
A self-satisfied smile flickered across his face. Allen's challenge to him for the day was to manage to shoot him five times before Allen could tag him ten, and that was number five. He'd done it.
When he looked back up, Allen had deactivated, his dark uniform once again visible and his white hair shining starkly against it. He looked ruffled, as anyone who'd been running around as much as Allen had been would be, but not nearly as much as Cross felt he should. Still, he looked as pleased as Cross did, and twice as proud.
"Well done," Allen complimented easily, nodding to let Cross deactivate Judgement. Cross did, tucking it away and slowly relaxing as the adrenaline drained away. "And as promised, we can go to the library next. Would you want to go straight away, or do you want a chance to wash up first?"
Cross considered, panting as he caught his breath, and then, after a few moments, wrinkled his nose. "Let's go back first. I feel gross."
"Back it is," Allen agreed, reaching out automatically to place his hand on Cross' shoulder and guide him in the right direction. Cross rolled his eyes, but allowed it; Allen never deliberately initiated an encounter with akuma when Cross was tired from training, and he never did it by accident, either.
That was another thing that seemed unbelievable about Allen. Unlike Cross, he could see akuma – it was an effect of his curse, he had explained once, but he hadn't said any more than that. Either way, though, it had kept many, many akuma from catching them by surprise in the streets or at night.
Cross didn't usually go places without Allen.
Walking through the city, Cross was pretty sure Allen was leading them the long way around – he did it pretty often. He also, unlike Cross, didn't seem to notice the people who would turn their heads to stare at them, or stop to whisper, and rapidly, Cross' discomfort rose to the forefront.
Finally, Cross ducked his head, instinctively reaching for his mask and half-covering the porcelain with his fingers as he avoided the gazes of those around them.
"Master?" he asked abruptly, without looking up. "Why don't you hide your scar?" Or his hair, or his arm, or anything else that might be considered strange or abnormal, which was almost everything about him. Even the shine of his eyes sometimes seemed supernatural.
"Why don't I?" From anyone else, Cross would have expected surprise or even apprehension, but Allen only sounded thoughtful. "…I suppose I haven't ever felt I should."
"You don't make sense," Cross complained, and then immediately regretted it.
That brought a pause, only just perceptible – Cross wouldn't have noticed it at all if Allen wasn't touching him. Then, quietly, Allen told him, "You shouldn't feel bad that you want to hide it. It's only natural."
When he looked up at Allen, Allen was smiling at him, soft and reassuring.
"But you don't," Cross muttered unhappily, trying to squash down the creeping shame.
"I never said that," Allen corrected, without taking his eyes off Cross', still earnest and gentle.
For a few moments, Cross was silent, and then he took a deep breath, dropped his hand from his mask, and asked, "Are we there yet?"
Allen laughed quietly. "Almost."
"Good."
Cross' hand twitched up a few more times before they got there, but it never made it to his mask.
And, done. *smile* A little bit on their early interactions, and a little on Cross' training (but just a little.) I might aim for late training next, but we'll see, haha. Thanks for reading, and please review!