Back again! I'm a bit surprised about the last chapter. I thought it was obvious that Tyki was the Devil in that one…
Oh well… I'm updating this as I have the time to write it, so enjoy and show me love!
Warning: Bad Language and Hurt!Allen. Unbeta-ed.
Tarot Card Meaning/ Chapter Summary: The Querent who gets this card should be warned that they may be going through a time of emotional and mental trial. They querent must prepare for a mental and emotional rollercoaster ride. Lies that lay hidden will get revealed; truths they thought absolute will get undermined and destroyed. Though a scary card, it also tells the querent that they should trust their intuition in order to get through these trying times, instead of wallowing in depression and howling… at the moon.
8. THE MOON
Weeks had passed after the clash between Tyki and Cross.
Allen hasn't seen Cross in those weeks and he couldn't think of any other time when he'd felt more free and happy at the same time.
"Strawberry?"
He grinned and let his head fall back against the back of the sofa, mouth wide open. "Aaah…"
Tyki dropped the cleaned fruit in his awaiting mouth. "Fire in the hole!"
Allen laughed as he watched him jump over the sofa and landed next to him with the bowl of strawberry pressed against his stomach. "How's it going?"
"Going…" Allen replied, writing down a line on his notepad. "Somehow it's harder to write an upbeat song. Wonder why that is," he pensively said and then opened his mouth.
Tyki picked another strawberry from his bowl and fed it to him. "Because sadly, happiness isn't there enough in some people's lives to write about it."
Allen looked at him with a small frown. "But I am happy right now, have been for a couple of weeks now," he murmured, still eating his strawberry.
Tyki grinned and moved in to kiss him softly. "Then perhaps you just need to try harder, Mr Lyricist…"
Allen pouted and scratched his head with his pen, sighing. "Help me?"
"How did you ever do this without me?" Tyki chuckled and took the notepad over from him. "Do you have a melody in your mind?"
"Yeah," Allen said, picking up his guitar from the floor. He played a few notes and sang a bit of the lyrics he already had and stopped where he was stuck.
"Sounds pretty intimate," Tyki remarked, looking at him.
"It is…" Allen nodded.
"Care to tell me where your inspiration came from?"
Allen leaned into him. "I want to capture that feeling of waking up on a Sunday morning and finding the person you love lying there still blissfully asleep. The sense of wonder and bliss that comes with it."
Tyki smiled gently and thought about it. "The sun shining through the transparent white curtains that are billowing in a cool morning breeze… the sound of the waves rolling onto the shore in the distance…"
Allen nodded again. "You get it."
"How about this?" he proposed, adding a few words to the sheet and showing them to him.
Allen gasped in approval. "Baby you're a genius…"
"I remember a Sunday morning like that…" he whispered back, nuzzling his nose.
"You do…?" the younger male replied, kissing him softly.
The front door suddenly smacked closed and the next moment they saw Lenalee stomp up the stairs angrily, not even giving them a glance in greeting.
"Uh-oh…" Tyki whispered.
Sure enough, the next moment Kanda stood at the base of the stairs, the front door smacking closed again. "Why do you have to make things more complicated than they are?"
"How am I making things more complicated, mister I'm too good to go shopping with my girl friend?"
"I never said that, Lenalee!" He yelled back and then grunted in frustration. "Are you even listening to me?" He walked up a few steps. "I never said that!"
Allen snorted in amusement and then quickly sat back on his seat when Kanda glared at him murderously.
"Screw you, Kanda!"
Tyki winced at that and they watched Kanda run up the stairs with a stifled cuss.
"They're still working out the kinks," Allen said with a shrug, laying his head on Tyki's lap, closing his eyes when the older man ran a hand through his hair tenderly.
"You know I'll always want to go shopping with you, right?" Tyki whispered.
"Yeah," Allen said, nodding. He reached up and placed his hand against his face, frowning slightly at the smallness of his voice. "Where's this coming from, baby?" he asked softly.
Tyki shook his head and shrugged. "I care so much about you, Allen; you make me so happy…"
"I've never been more happy than with you," he murmured, smiling. He had an idea of what it was Tyki really wanted to say and just the thought of it was enough to have him laughing blissfully.
"What?"
Allen sat up again and straddled him. "Nothing, everything is perfect," he whispered, kissing him lovingly, moaning when he Tyki wrapped his arms around him and kissed him back hard.
"Allen!"
They both broke the kiss, startled by Lenalee's panicked voice and the sound of her footsteps thundering down the stairs. She ran into the living room with her phone in one hand, her eyes wide open and her other hand covering her mouth. "Turn it on!" she whispered, pointing towards the TV with shaky hands. "Turn the TV on!"
"What's going on?" Allen said, taking the remote from where it lay on the couch next to them, feeling more and more alarmed as the moments went by. "Lenalee?" he rolled off of Tyki and pressed the 'ON' button of the remote.
Lenalee had both her hands against her face by then and Kanda was standing next to her, holding a fist to his lips with a grave expression. "This is bad, Allen."
"Put on MTV," Kanda said.
Allen did as told.
"And in the other music news, Delete fans are rallying all over the web to protest against the band that is supposed to cover the opening act for Delete's West Coast tour. Black Order, a small town rock band that is growing rapidly in popularity on the West Coast has been given this big opportunity and already reports of nasty play are coming in, saying that one of Black Order's members slept with Delete's manager to obtain the gig. Many fans of Delete support this, since pictures of said member and manager are circulating on the web. Since Black Order's music is similar to Delete's, the fans think that the newcomers are trying to pick into Delete's success which is massive, but dwindling. They are also petitioning for the removal of Cross Marian as Delete's manager and producer. Ouch! Gotta love it when fans from different rock bands clash like that… Black Order has been struggling to enter the mainstream music scene for some time now and, if the rumors were to be true, it could shed an unfavorable light on this budding band's career. Will Black Order still be able to do Delete's opening act in their upcoming tour? Stay tuned for more on this developing story."
The room went quiet for a long time.
"What the fuck?" Allen whispered shakily, looking at Lenalee who still had her hands against her mouth. "How the fuck did they even…?"
"I think the most important thing right now is finding out how to fix it," Tyki said, taking the remote from Allen and putting it beside him and taking his phone out of his back pocket. He stood and went into the hall to make some calls.
"Yeah," Kanda agreed, taking Lenalee in his arms when she sought his embrace. "You need to call Komui, ASAP—"
He'd barely finished saying that and both Lenalee's and Allen's cell phones began to ring. The house phone and the fax also rang and that's when they knew that the shit had just hit the fan.
Big time.
"What we need to do now and fast is damage control," Komui announced, resting his hands on the table, looking at both bands sitting on either side. "Get our official stories straight and stick to them."
"And stick together," Wisely added.
Black Order looked at their counterparts in slight surprise and they nodded in acknowledgement and gratitude. They did feel like they were the ones who would cause this collaboration to sink in many ways. Not only were they newcomers to the music scene, but they were already messing up their credibility as well as Delete's, who had been the one who gave them a hand.
"Don't blame yourselves, you guys," Road said, smiling friendly. "People say stuff like this all the time, this is fixable."
"I'm sure Komui and Marian will find a way to quiet this thing down," Lulubel said from behind her sunglasses.
Allen wasn't so sure about all of this. It may not have been with the intention of scoring gigs from Big Red, but the fact still remained that they used to sleep together and quite a lot, too. They used to go out eating and shopping together as well, so the pictures that were posted online were genuine ones.
"Hey Allen," David said, sitting back with his feet on the table. "We all know you and Marian used to be a thing."
"And we also know that you guys have known each other for ever," Jasdero chimed in, shrugging. "Those accusations are based on nothing but air."
Allen smiled thankfully and nodded, looking at Lenalee and Lavi when they both put hands on his shoulders. "It still feels like I fucked things up…"
"You couldn't have known," Miranda said softly.
"Stop beating yourself up for this entire thing, we're sharing in this mess," Lavi agreed.
"That's all good and well you guys, but what are we going to do against the reporters and paparazzi that are already following us everywhere we go?" Allen asked, looking at Komui.
Komui sat on the table and sighed softly. "For the time being it'd be best if you limited unnecessary trips. They will try and provoke you, so give them as little a chance as possible."
Allen bent forwards in his seat and leant with his elbows on the table, burying his face in his hands. "Shit…"
"I know this wasn't how we wanted Black Order to be noticed," Komui continued, "but this is what we have to deal with for now. Please bear with it until it goes over."
"Where is Cross by the way?" Lenalee asked.
"He had a meeting with the producers of the tour," Wisely answered.
"He'll need to lay low too," Chaoji remarked.
"Marian knows how to handle the media, I'm not too worried," Komui said, standing again and picking up his papers from the table and shaking them straight.
It was the signal that this meeting was over and they all stood, getting ready to leave.
"How's Tyki holding up?" Miranda whispered as they exited the room and walked down the hall towards the elevators.
Allen nodded and sighed. "He wanted to take the plane with me, but I told him to stay behind. The media hasn't linked him to me yet and I'd like for it to stay that way for as long as it's possible."
"Being the mogul that he is," Komui said, "I think his entourage knows how to handle things like this efficiently."
"I'm very glad that the others were so supportive," Lenalee whispered as they watched Delete's entourage usher the rock band through the door leading to the box stairs of the building that gave out to the back of the studio.
"I for sure thought they'd blame us for this, you know? After the way the way that lady on MTV commented on their success…" Lavi scratched the back of his head and went to stand at the back of the elevator once it had arrived.
"About how their success is dwindling?" Komui asked, pressing in the button for the ground floor.
"Is it true?" Miranda wondered, watching the sliding doors close.
"It doesn't really matter when the bigger problem is that those fuckers are trying to ruin our lives and careers…" Allen whispered softly, standing next to Lavi with a dark expression.
Lenalee approached him. "Allen…"
Komui remained silent, deeply in thought.
They got out of the building, hurrying past the horde of photographers and music reporters that were being kept at a safe distance by hired security. They kept screaming their names and asking for their attention.
Before they managed to get into the car waiting for them though, there was one particular sentence that reached them and made their blood suddenly run cold.
"Allen, hey Allen! Are there as many advantages tied to doing it with Tyki Mikk as there are with Marian Cross?"
"Try and say that again, you stupid son of a bitch!" Lavi turned around in anger, but was held back by Chaoji who grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him inside the car. Allen, who was following behind Chaoji, visibly froze at that remark, body trembling when he turned to look around; suddenly feeling like everything was beginning to falling apart. When Lenalee put her arms around his shoulders he was barely aware of it, the sound of flashing lights and screaming voices echoing all around him incessantly.
"Allen, get in the car," Lenalee whispered, pulling him onwards with her.
"They know…" Allen whispered back, visibly stunned.
Lenalee nodded hastily, helping him to lower his head as they were now in front of the vehicle. "We'll deal with it later; get in the car for now."
Allen crawled inside and sat down, closing his eyes when the door fell shut and the intensity of the flashes was dimmed. Lenalee took out her sunglasses and gave them to him, covering his face with her body when they drove off and hiding the fact that one lonely tear had already found its way down Allen's cheek.
When they got home that night, they found the light on the second floor of their house.
"Are you sure you want to talk to him?"
Allen nodded and stepped out of the car that had brought them home from the airport with a decisive look. "He said it was important, that he wouldn't ask this of me if there was another way."
Lenalee sighed and followed him, thanking their chauffeur as she got out. "Aren't you worried about lurking paparazzi?"
"They've had their fill of pictures of me and Marian, a few more won't really make a difference.
"They've painted you as a whore, Allen!" she said in dismay.
Allen only smiled sadly at her and opened the door. "I'm just going to go see what he wants and then I'll probably take a shower and go to bed."
Lenalee closed her eyes and shook her head apologetically. He didn't need to be reminded of what the press said about him now… "Could you get a hold of Tyki?"
"I couldn't," he whispered in a barely audible tone.
"Do you want me to come up in a few minutes?" she offered in case he felt like he would need some support.
Allen smiled again and shook his head. "Goodnight, Lenalee."
She watched him go, now close to tears herself. Whenever something got to Allen this bad he would put up a smile, even if he felt like crying and screaming his pain to the world. He would internalize and shut everyone and everything off. She did hope that he knew that he had a support system ready to take care of him, even now.
Allen found Cross sitting in his chair in the lounge, bent forwards and with his elbows resting on his knees, hands intertwined in front of his lips. He closed the door behind him quietly and sat down on the red sofa left from Cross, looking tired and shaken.
Cross made a movement to stand, but stopped when Allen held up a hand.
"Just tell me what was so important," he whispered dully, eyes fixed on the glass low table.
"Allen—"
"Marian. No," he cut him off, still not looking at him.
"This isn't going to be easy to hear," Cross whispered.
Allen took a trembling breath. "Nothing can make this day even worse."
"I wanted to tell you this now before the press got a hold of it and you learnt this through the media," Cross said, producing a document holder from behind his back. "It's about Tyki, Allen."
Allen's head shot up. "What?"
"It's something that happened 7 years ago," he continued, opening the folder and handing it to Allen. "Tyki was accused of criminal sexual conduct of the 1st degree on a 16 year old boy."
Allen took the folder with shaky hands, eyes open wide as he looked at the police reports and the many, many printed outlines from different magazines and papers. "What the hell is this?" he gasped in horror.
"He was never proven guilty, but said boy was found dead a couple of days after filing the complaint."
Allen's watery eyes rolled towards him after he said that, fear and dread clear in them. "What are you saying…?"
"There was a trial and all the evidence pointed in his direction, Allen."
Allen shook his head, feeling sick. "What are you saying…" he whimpered pleadingly, lips trembling.
"He was convicted for one year and 5 years of probation on the account of having a relationship with a minor. He was 22 at the time and his probation time was over a little over a year ago. His family is rich so he easily got back on his feet," Cross whispered, closing his eyes. "He was never found guilty for the murder, but another suspect has never been found."
Allen closed his eyes and let the holder fall from his hands. He stood on wobbly feet, almost fell but was caught just in time by Cross. He calmly removed his hands from his body, his own quivering uncontrollably.
"Allen—" Cross whispered as he watched him go towards his room.
Allen lifted a finger as in "wait a minute" and then sprinted the last few feet to the bathroom where he vomited into his toilet bowl.
Cross waited patiently by the door and felt his heart break at the series of silent sobs he heard coming from within, hitting the back of his head against the wall repeatedly.
The light finally went off after a couple of minutes and Allen strolled out, looking dazed. Without even acknowledging Cross' presence he walked out of the room and left the lounge.
"Allen!"
Lenalee's head shot up from where she'd been resting it on her arm on the kitchen island and she jumped off her stool, running into the hall just in time to see Allen descend the stairs again with Cross close behind.
"Allen, where are you going?" Cross repeated, holding him back by an arm when they stood in front of the door.
Allen never answered, but opened the door with his other hand, wriggling himself free from Cross' hold a second later and walking back into the night.
"Allen!" Lenalee cried, running after him. "Stop! Wait!" she cried, catching up to him by their car. "Where are you going? Allen, talk to me."
He looked at her and she found pained, tired and tear filled eyes. "I need to confirm something at Tyki's," he shakily whispered, turning around again and unlocking the car before stepping in. "Don't wait up."
"Allen!" she called again, passing a hand through her hair in frustration and ascending worry when he drove off.
When the scandal explodes, who will be left standing and who will fall? When the dust settles, new truths will be revealed and important decisions taken.
ToBeContinued in 9. The Hanged Man
-BDP-
