New chapter! I know I was supposed to write a '"Welcome to the black side'' chapter, but I had to write this one chapter before I forgot it.

Wisely stormed out of the school, ignoring his family, even Neah when he called him.

''Just, what the fuck happened there?'' Fiidora asked.

''Well. I think my brother messed up real bad.'' Cross said, pointing at his brother, who was spitting blood to the floor. ''Say Al, whom did you get a fight with this time? Kanda or Wisely?''

''It was Marie, not BaKanda.'' He corrected. ''And Wisely.'' He admitted, spitting more blood and flipping his hair out of his eyes. ''I don't know what's gotten into him.''

''Wisely is not one to go punching people around. You must have pissed him off somehow.'' Sheryl said.

''No shit Sherlock.'' He barked at him before looking at his face in a car's window. ''I'll be late.'' He simply said.

''Are you hunting?'' To say the youngest Marian's vioce sounded hopeful, would be a misunderstanding.

''Nah, just going to make some money.''

''Damn. When are we going, though? I'm starting to feel thirsty.'' He was whining now, and Tyki couldn't help but snicker at the sight of an almost-adult-looking Cross whining like the kid he was.

''There should be a raid soon, I'll ask them.'' Allen said before punching him on the arm softly and then walk away.

''Hey Al! Can I come?'' Mikk asked.

''Sure... If you can follow me.'' He grinned before turning around a corner.

Tyki smiled, also turned at the corner and stopped there, blinking. Allen was nowhere to be seen.

''Sometimes, you tend to forget that Allen is also good and disappearing.'' The resting redhead said, smiling smugly. ''I wouldn't try to find him either, Tyki, he's really mad right now and he would leave you with nothing, too.''

The cheating Noah sighed and started to walk to the house, the rest following him and falling in easy conversation between them, as usual.

''I wonder what happened...'' Sheryl said as he took his boyfriend's hand and kissed, hiding a smile. ''C'mon, don't be mad at me.'' He whispered, trailing kisses along his jaw.

''Shut up. I seriously don't get this need of yours. Why do you want me too look like a frigging kid?'' He glared at him. ''Are you with me because you know I'll be always able to look like this?''

That startled Sheryl. Where did that crazy idea come from? Had he done something to make him think so? Maybe he said something and didn't realise it? Cross (just as his relatives) was a quite sensitive person when it came to his body.

''Of course not, dear. I love you for who you are, not for how you look.'' He turned his face around and kissed his nose. ''I love the way you act shy around me sometimes, or how grumpy you can be on the mornings. I love how you admire and respect your brother, I wish Tyki would love me a pinch of the love you have for Neah and Allen. I adore the way you flush every time I embarrass you. I love how sexy you look when you are fighting... And I love you no matter how you look.''

Cross was speechless: that could very well be the first time Sheryl had been so honest with him. It was not that they lied to each other, of course not, but they didn't go around saying sappy things to the other.

''Then why?''

''Because I want you to be the real you, not some image you created to be comfortable around us. I know something happened and that somehow it includes your brother and if you don't to talk about with me, I'm... ok with it, but you really should talk with him about this, about how you feel.''

''Right, because Al has always been known to be honest with his feelings.'' He growled.

''Cross, baby,'' Sheryl took his rounder face in his hands and kissed his forehead. ''Please, talk to him, if not for you, do it for me.'' He pleaded, brushing some red strands to the side, making sure the only visible eye was not covered by anything.

''No. I don't want to talk about this with him, ok? Nor with anyone. Just leave me alone.'' He stood up and left the room, slamming the door shut on his way out and he, unconsciously went to his brother's room, sitting on the bed and hugging his knees.

He hated that topic. Why did everyone care so much about how he looked? So what if he didn't like his real body? It was small, weak and he looked like a child. Not to mention his eyes. He only had one eye, the other one was not his, it was a transplant. That's why he covered it with his hair and why he never allowed anyone to see it besides his family. Not even his lover.

Sheryl stayed in their dorm, knowing better than chasing the youngest assassin when he was upset; maybe he shouldn't have pressed the matter, but Cross was too stubborn for his own good most of the time and he knew his boyfriend wouldn't tell him what was really bothering him but he had thought that he would talk with Allen because, in the end, he could see that he trusted his older brother with everything he had. He even knew that, if for any reason he had to choose between Allen and him, Allen would always be his first option. And even if he hated it, he understood why: the elder redhead was everything Cross had known for a long time, if he had understood well.

Sighing, he stood up and went to his cousin's room: it was the first time he had seen Wisely so mad at anything and it was the first time he had heard of him getting physically violent with someone. And it was the first time he had seen him angry towards the elder Marian.

''Go away, Sheryl.'' Came from the inside when he knocked on the door.

''As if.'' He opened the door and closed it behind him. Then, walked up to the bed and sat down next to him. ''What happened? You are not one to go throwing punches around. Even less to Allen.''

''He's an asshole and he had it coming.'' The albino only said, lying down and facing the wall.

''What did he do? Wake you up with snakes?'' He asked, chuckling.

''No.''

''Then?''

''It doesn't matter.'' He simply said.

''Wisely...'' Sheryl turned him around so that they would be face-to-face, more or less. ''Look, I don't know what you and Allen have between hands nor do I really want to know, but I've never seen you so... active and friendly to someone, and I don't want you to go back to your old self.''

The youngest didn't say anything and Sheryl sighed, kissing his forehead and walking out of the room. He didn't know how, but Allen seemed to be in most of the emotional turmoils around the house, today.

''I won't. I talk with him, ok?'' Well, at least he succeeded a bit more than he did with his boyfriend.

''Alright.''

The Portuguese stood up and made his way to the kitchen to get something to eat, his eyes diverting to watch his brother, who was studying on the common room table along with Toraido and the twins, who were scribbling something on a paper.

''Is everything alright?'' Neah asked behind him.

''More or less.'' He shrugged and bit his apple, licking his lips. ''I wanted Cross to talk to Allen, but he refused to and closed himself on his room.''

''I thought it was a store room, now.'' Neah pointed out, frowning.

''Not Cross', Allen's.'' He pointed out and the older chuckled humourlessly.

''Ah, yes. He used to do that when he was a kid, too. Whenever he had a fight with the other children or with their parents or was scared, he would sneak into Marian's room and wait there for him to arrive. If it was late, he would sneak under the covers with him.''

''Really? He always seems so... independent.''

''Yes, he does. But in the end, he's still an eighteen years old boy who loves his brother above above all. No offence.''

''None taken. I already... knew that.'' The tallest of the two sighed and rubbed his nose. ''May I ask you something?''

''I guess. As long as it doesn't involve the Red clan, you know you can ask me anything.'' Neah said as he sat down on the kitchens table, his feet dangling on the air.

''Alright. Why do you and Allen call each other by your surnames instead of your names?''

The second-in-command seemed to be taken aback and confused by that question. ''I don't... really know. We've always done it.'' He seemed to think about it so Kamelot said nothing and continued to eat his apple. ''I guess it's because that's because how the Master always called us, so it sort of stuck. Why the question?''

''Calling each other by surnames... It sort of makes it look like you despise each other instead of caring.''

''Oh. We never really thought of it that way. That's how we grew up, so it's weird for us to call the other by our names, nothing else.''

''Then why do you call Cross by his name?''

''Because when I called him Marian he wouldn't turn around, while Allen did. He doesn't call me Campbell because... well, I don't know why he does call me by my name, but it's not like I really mind.''

Sheryl nodded and then told him he was going to his cousin's –the cutest girl in the world– room and see if she needed help with her homework.

However, he didn't miss how his brother looked up when Neah also entered the room and sat on the sofa, grabbing one of the music sheets Allen had written a few months ago.

When Allen arrived home, it was about 4am and there was no one to greet him, not that he expected it nor cared about it. But when he got to his room he was surprised to see his brother curled into a ball on his bed, staring blankly ahead.

''Cross?'' He called him and stroked his hair. ''What are you doing here?''

''Can I stay?'' The younger simply questioned.

''Y-yes, of course.'' He kissed his head and smiled. ''Where are your pyjamas?''

''Not here.'' Allen snorted and threw him a pair of loose-fitting sweatpants and a T-shirt big enough for sleeping. ''Ok, what happened? Did you have a fight with Kamelot?'' He sat down in front of him, crossing his legs.

''Sort of...'' He looked down and played with the end of his hair.

''Do you want to talk about it?''

Cross only hugged a pillow and looked at his brother with soft yet wary eyes. ''That's what we fought about, actually.'' He confessed in a whisper, now staring at the bed sheets.

''I don't understand. You fought about you talking to me?'' Cross nodded. ''What did he want you to talk about with me?''

The youngest of the two was biting his lips now, nervous as hell. This was a topic he really didn't want to talk with his brother. It pained him to think that Allen... that he... could have died because of his stupidity. Al had given up so much for him and he couldn't even thank him for giving him something he had lost because he had been too terrified to act. He couldn't even face his brother most of the time, he couldn't walk besides him, only behind him, making sure he didn't do anything wrong that would put him in danger again because of himself. In his real body he was weak and he knew it, that's why he had to look stronger, sharper and scarier, so Allen wouldn't get hurt again.

''Cross, is this about your eye?'' The elder asked, alarmed, as he crawled next to his dear baby brother. The frightened look he received was the one and only answer he needed. ''Oh God. Cross.'' He gathered his little brother in his arms and cradled the back of his head in his hands.

''I... I wanted to say that I'm sor...''

Allen chuckled, no humour in his voice and kissed the youngest Marian on top of his head. ''You don't have to. I would do it again. It was my fault in the first place, so don't you ever think of apologising to me, is that clear?''

''B-but you...''

''Cross, no more. It's my fault you lost your eye. If I hadn't been playing poker that night, you wouldn't have been shot, ergo, you wouldn't have lost your eye.'' Allen smiled, pained moved the red hair covering his brother's right side of the face. There was a big scar covering the eye area, but it wasn't that bad, but his right eye had bigger pupils and it was slightly browner than his left. ''I gave you me eye out of free will, is that understood? I would have lost it anyways, wouldn't I? So why shouldn't I give it to the person I love the most?''

FLASHBACK

It was supposed to be an easy mission, an actually, the mission itself had been easy: enter the house, kill the duchess and everyone else in the house and leave. But they finished quickly and tidy, just like always, so they had decided to go to a pub. They both had shifted to look older than they were and went inside. While Allen was playing poker, Cross had found someone to spend the night.

''Al, I'll see you later.'' He announced but he only received a dismissing hand movement.

It wasn't even five minutes later that everyone in the pub heard a loud gun-shot.

It wasn't even ten seconds until Allen was running outside.

He didn't scream, he didn't cry when he saw his brother, back in his original form holding a hand over his eye, trying to stop the bleeding. He just reversed to his normal body, hovered his younger brother over his shoulder and picked up his pistol.

And he started firing. Surely, his aim wasn't as good as his sibling's, but he wasn't half bad, either. When the last lifeless body reached the ground he growled to no one. ''No one hurts my brother and walks away alive. Ever.''

When he reached one of the clan's safe-house an hour later, Cross had already passed out.

The 6 hours and 42 minutes he had to wait until the youngest was stabilised had been the worst and hardest and thing he had to do. He had called their grand-father and explained him the situation. He had tried to reach their parents, but they never answered the phone, nothing new there. He called Neah, too, but apparently he was in a mission in South-Asia, however, as soon as the Earl had told him what the situation was, he had opened a door and went to support his cousin.

''Marian.'' He had rushed to him and hugged him, cradling his head. ''What happened? Tell me everything and I will fill in the report in your behalf.'' He told him.

''I don't really know. We finished the mission and went to a pub, I was playing poker when he came to say he was going to be out for the night, he had someone hanging on his arm, but I didn't look... Why didn't I look? I would have seen she... or he, wasn't trustworthy, that they were hiding something... It's my fault... I should have known better than to let him run off with someone just a few hours after we were finished...''

''Marian! It's not your fault!'' He shook him gently by the shoulder and kissed his tear-stained cheek. ''You couldn't have known that, now could you?'' When Allen didn't reply and looked away, he knew something was off. And he knew exactly what and who. ''That day... They cursed you, didn't they?''

The youngest of the pair, chuckled darkly and humourlessly. ''Yeah. And you, Allen Marian, the Demon Slayer, will see theworld as bad as it is.'' He quoted, mimicking his father.''Funny, huh? My own parents cursed me to see the bad everywhere... And yet not the good. I knew they were useless, but that much? Why would you show an assassin something that wouldn't make him feel bad or guilty at all?''

Neah chuckled along with him, but he couldn't help feel sorry for his cousins: their parents just turned their backs to them, which is why they mostly lived with him and his mother, his father having long passed away. They both acted as if they didn't care, but he knew that deep inside, it hurt them both.

He knew Allen was civil with them, and he was sure he had called them to no avail, too. And he knew, Cross hated them more than anything when he found out that they had tried to kill his brother and him. Allen might have known or suspected something, because they night their house exploded they had been camping a few countries away.

''Does he know?'' The Noah asked.

''Not yet. I wanted to tell him in a couples of months, though I guess it'll be better if I just tell him when he's fine again.'' He sighed. ''Thank you for coming.''

''Don't mention it. I'll go talk with mother and grand-father, will you be alright?''

''Yeah, don't worry.'' He smiled softly and Neah bent to kiss his forehead. ''Are you my mother now?''

''Shut up. Call me if anything happens.'' Marian nodded and Neah disappeared through the gate and to the Red Town.

''Master Marian.'' He looked up and saw the healers of the house, drying their bloodstained hands with a washcloth.

''How is he?''

''He's been stabilised and his face is recovering at the normal speed for someone like him or you. However...'' The boy gulped and the main healer, a woman in her early fifties, couldn't help but think that she was so sorry for the kids of the main branch to have to live like this. ''He lost his eye, with a donor, we could reattach the nerves but we don't know how long will it take to find a suitable one and, the longer we wait the more difficult it will be.''

''Then take mine.'' There hadn't been any hesitation, no traces of fear. He just wanted to save his brother. And, he would have ended up losing his own eye in a matter of months, when the curse finally took form in his body. ''I will lose it soon anyway, so use it to save my brother's vision.''

They couldn't refuse such an order so they got him ready to operate.

When he woke up, several ours later, Cross was sitting by his side on the bed, not even looking at him and obviously mad.

''Hey there, how a...?''

''Don't you 'Hey there' me, brother!'' Cross yelled, eyes full of fury. ''How could you...? Why would you...?''

''Father cursed me, Cross.'' The eldest interrupted him, swiftly, before things escalated too much. ''I was going to tell you when it ultimately took its final form but given the circumstances Neah and I agreed to tell you now.''

''Neah knew?'' He was furious now: he told him before him, his own brother? Did he mean so little to him?

''He guessed it, I wouldn't tell you before him, Cross.'' He sat up and hugged him, pressing him against his chest. ''I would have lost my eye, brother. The curse would have eaten it and then replaced it with its own, so, why wouldn't I give it you?''

''B-but you...?'' He wasn't crying, as he wasn't going to, but he was damn close to it.

''It's alright. I love you and I would do anything for you.'' He kissed his forehead and lay down again, bringing his sibling down with himself. ''Let's rest for a while, alright? I'm sure grand-father and the Master will be here with Neah at some point.''

''Yeah.'' He snuggled down to him, hugging his midsection as Allen ran his fingers through his hair, soothing him. ''I love you.''

''And I love you, too.'' It wasn't long until Cross fell sleep again, lulled by his heartbeat and the fingers scratching his scalp.

END OF FLASHBACK

Next morning, when Cross opened his eyes he found himself nestled up to his brother's side he couldn't help but smile sweetly. He brushed his hair out of of his face and kissed him on the eye. It was weird that he slept in, he almost never did, so he was happy he got to see him so relaxed. He heard the others chatter downstairs and sighed contently as he remembered that they and Neah had a whole free week.

''Cross?'' He looked down at his sibling and smiled. ''What are you doing up?''

''I woke up about twenty minutes ago. It surprised me to see you here.'' He teased him, grinning, the angst of the night before already gone.

''It surprises me, too.'' Allen said and stretched, mewling in pleasure before getting out of the bed.

''Hey, Al?'' Cross asked, still in bed.

''Yeah?''

''You said I should be in my true form while in the house but... what about your eye? You are always making it look normal.''

That took the elder aback and he blinked before chuckling. ''I guess you are right. Maybe we could talk Neah into letting them see his real hands.'' He laughed as he stood up.

They walked down stairs just as Neah was doing the same on the opposite stairs. ''No one is seeing me with my true hands, Cross.'' The oldest said, frowning.

''Not saying we are going to force you.'' He replied and went to the kitchen, getting his food before his brother came in and took everything for himself.

A few minutes after they were sitting by the table, eating and chatting about what they could do today when Allen received a call from headquarters. He didn't spoke at all, just making non-comital sounds until the end.

''Of course. Wait, I'll ask.'' He turned them to his relatives and grinned. ''So, there are three rates issued next week: New York, South Korea or Italy, which one do you prefer?''

''Italy.'' The both replied at the same time.

''Italy, grand-father. Ah yes, everything is fine.'' He laughed at something the man had said. ''Oh, you'll come pick us up? That's great! Sure, good-bye.''

''So?'' Cross asked as he tried, once more with no succeeding, to steal a piece of food from his brother.

''Next Tuesday we are going to Volterra to have a feast.'' He replied, grinning.

They usually tried to go on raids in Southern Europe or Southern Asia because humans ate a lot more better and healthier that the US, Northern Europe or Africa. They had yet to go to Latin-America, but that was for the sole reason they still had no division there.

''And he's coming?'' Neah asked, curious: never had a high member of the clan come to see them. ''Does he want to meet the Noah personally?''

''That's what he said. I guess he is just curious to meet Cross' boyfriend.''

''Great. Now I'll have to hear them both sharing embarrassing stories about me.'' The teen grumbled.

Allen and Neah laughed, merrily, and they couldn't help but think it had been too long since they had enjoyed each other's company like that, alone and being able to be themselves.

And it felt really damn good, too.

No cliffhanger this time! I hope you liked it! And you finally get to see the picture that brought this fic to my mind!

shaerahaek. deviantart art/Returning-Favours-458751637

(please delete spaces in between when copying the link so you can see it. And please review her drawings, she is awesome at it!)