Wow...this is fucking late. Couldn't help it, this was a shitty chapter and I just plain hated it. No matter how many times I read it and rewrote it, I just fucking hate it. So, enjoy the chapter I hate more than any other chapter I've written so far. Goddamn. This chapter. Goddamn this chapter.

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Rhode was all smiles. Of course, who wouldn't be when getting away with what she was. Walking amongst the enemy, right out in the open. No one cared, no one even bothered to look twice. Hardly anyone noticed the little girl walking along the hallways of the London Black Order headquarters like she owned the place until walking into Allen's room. Right now, she wasn't Rhode Camelot, she was Laura, a Finder's daughter. All thanks to Allen.

Of course, that was the only thing she really had to be thankful to Allen for at the moment as she found herself grabbed by the wrist and slammed against the wall as soon as she stepped foot in Allen's room.

"You know, I've given you better welcomes than this," Rhode grumbled.

"Did you know?"

"Wha'..."

"I said did you know!" Allen hissed.

There was a look in Allen's eyes that, Rhode couldn't deny, scared the hell out of her. It wasn't rage, it wasn't fear, it wasn't sorrow, it was all of them. And it was horrible. Never had she seen Allen like this before. And she was going to hate contributing to it.

"Yes," she looked away, "we all know. We've known for a while."

"And with all of your visits, you didn't even think to tell me?!" Allen released her and stormed to the other side of the room.

Rhode took a couple steps toward him and stopped, "I...I didn't think that..."

"Yeah, I'll bet you didn't," Allen muttered.

"You're not being fair!" Rhode protested, "It's not like..."

"Not being fair?!" Allen whirled around to face her, "You can talk about fair when you find out that you're doomed to become what you've been fighting all this time!"

Rhode was silent. She knew there was nothing she could really say to defend herself here. Allen was inconsolable...and right.

"I'm..."

"Don't apologize," Allen interrupted her, "don't you dare apologize. I don't want to hear it or anything from you. Leave."

Rhode paused then stomped her foot, "I won't."

"Yes, you will," Allen said in a dangerous tone, "or I will alert the entire Order that you're here."

"You wouldn't put yourself in that much danger."

"Oh, wouldn't I?" the exorcist snapped, "What does it matter? I'm supposedly going to become the Fourteenth. It's not like I can ever be trusted again."

Rhode suddenly rushed forward and tackled Allen, making him lose balance and fall over onto his bed. Almost on instinct, his Innocence invoked. He struck.

The girl cringed as the claws ripped through her small body, tearing through clothes and skin, and leaving four deep gashes in her stomach and chest. She fell back off of Allen and his bed, hitting the ground and gasping for breath despite her torn lungs.

Allen didn't move. He couldn't. Blood dripped off of his claws as the wounds on the girl slowly sealed up. He stared at her in disbelief. Before he could say a word, a whimper came from the small body on the ground. And it tore at Allen's heart as though it were his own claws.

"It...hurts...Allen..." Rhode whimpered as tears began to flow from her eyes, "It hurts so much..."

Allen jumped off of his bed and knelt by the Noah, taking her in his arms and holding her up slightly, "Rhode, I...I'm so sorry. I didn't..."

Rhode shook her head. Her wounds finished sealing up but she continued to lie in Allen's arms, her tears continuing to fall, "D-don't...Don't say that...I-it's my..."

"Master is dead."

Now it was Rhode's turn to be shocked. Cross? Dead? And the Noah didn't even need to do it themselves. None of this made any sense.

"Allen...I..."

"The guards found him shot to death..." Allen sighed, "When they checked again, his body was gone. We have no idea what happened...but some people suspect it was an inside job. Supposedly, he was killed less than a few hours after he told me about my connection to the fourteenth."

"...I'm...I'm so so-..."

"Now it's your turn to not say that," Allen said, "You and your family wanted him dead in the first place. Don't say something you don't mean."

"But I don't want you to be hurt," Rhode sniffled, "I don't want anything to happen to you."

Once again, Allen began to feel that hope he had before. That maybe, just maybe, there was hope for this young girl crying in his arms. He paused before picking Rhode up off the ground, getting a small squeak out of her. He couldn't help but smile as he lowered her onto his bed then took off his coat and wrapped it around her.

"Sorry about the shirt," he said with a smile.

Rhode chuckled weakly and wiped away a tear, "Stupid. You owe me a new one."

They both shared a short laugh before silence once again swept through the room.

"Hey, Allen..." Rhode paused, "What did you mean by 'supposedly?'"

Allen's smiled dropped. It was replaced with a look of pure determination. As though his will was the strongest thing in the world at the moment and that nothing would stand in the way of his upcoming declaration.

"I will not become the Fourteenth," Allen said firmly, "I promised Mana that I would never stop walking forward. To keep that promise, I can't give up who I am. I will never let him take over. I'll die before I let that happen."

Rhode paused, "Then...don't let him take over."

"Pardon?"

Rhode's small hands found their way to Allen's shirt and clung to it tightly. Allen tried to ignore his coat starting to fall off of the Noah, slightly revealing the flesh under her recently torn clothes.

"If it's between you becoming a Noah and dying or having you as the enemy and living..." Rhode buried her face in Allen's chest, "I want you to live. I want you to live forever. I love you...I love seeing you do all the things that make you happy, that give you meaning, that help you move forward...Even if it means fighting me..."

"Dammit, Rhode."

"Wh'..."

Before Rhode could utter another word, her mouth was suddenly occupied by a pair a lips pressing themselves against hers. She pulled away quickly but her head was quickly stopped by a hand pressing her forward again back into the awaiting lips and holding her there steadfastly. She began to breathe faster and squirmed in the tight grip of the exorcist who held her captive. She wasn't even certain what was happening. It was fast, sudden, almost completely out of nowhere. And as soon as it began, it was over.

"I...I'm sorry," Allen murmured, "I didn't mean..."

Rhode stared up at Allen. Her chest heaved slightly as she breathed a little heavier than normal. The coat had fallen away now, exposing most of her tight stomach and one small mound on her chest that Allen was struggling to keep his eyes off of.

"You...kissed me," Rhode said in the flattest tone one could imagine.

"I..." Allen coughed and looked away, "I just thought...you..."

It was Allen's turn to be interrupted. The small girl grabbed Allen's collar and pulled him down low enough for her to reach up and hungrily press her mouth against his. Despite his best attempts, the white-haired boy lost his balance and toppled down on the eldest Noah. Rhode proved rather resilient, though, and didn't allow herself to break this kiss. Allen had opened a floodgate. He started it, she reciprocated. She had always imagined (and dreamed, and hoped, and prayed) that it would be the other way around but this was more than acceptable to her.

Rhode felt something run along her lower lip and she quickly opened her mouth to allow it passage. She sucked lightly on Allen's tongue before swirling it with her own, savoring Allen's taste. It was heavenly. It was exactly what she wanted. Naturally, she couldn't help the moan that escaped her throat.

Caught up in the most passionate moment of her life, Rhode's hands made their way to the front of Allen's shirt and tore the cloth clear from him. She ran her fingers along his sides, across his bare back, and along his stomach. Were she capable of thought at the moment, she would have found it amusing that she was feeling Allen's body before she had even seen it. She would have wondered how she knew she wanted it so badly without even knowing what it looked like. But she also wouldn't have cared.

"Allen," Rhode whimpered as she pulled away, "I love you."

Allen smiled, "That was hard to tell." He paused. Rhode was a little worried because the look that now possessed Allen's face was one of uncertainty. As though he didn't know what he wanted, and even if he did, would it be his to take? Several thoughts ran through Allen's mind at blinding speeds.

"Is this right?"

"What if someone finds out?"

"Can I really do this?"

"Do I deserve it?"

"Does she deserve it?"

"What is 'it?'"

"What am I doing?"

"What am I?"

"What is she?"

"Who is she?"

"Who are we?"

These questions and many more blazed through Allen's head. And they took their effect. Rhode learned this as a tear drop made its way down his face onto hers.

"Allen..." she whispered and cupped his face.

"I...I can't..." Allen shut his eyes tight in an attempt to hold back the tears and avoid looking at the creature below him lest his eyes fool his heart which would in turn fool his mind, "I don't know...anything. What am I doing? This...I don't know what this is. I don't even know what's happening. I don't know if it's a dream or a nightmare that I can't wake up from."

Allen sat up and buried his face in his hands and allowed his tears to flow, at least for now. What could he say? What could he think? A million problems and no solution. Rhode knew that the task was up to her. And she would do whatever she could to make sure those tears of uncertainty, shame, and doubt would never flow again.

Allen's despair was interrupted by the sound of cloth rustling, more rustling, some cursing, and finally the sound of cloth being torn apart. And then a young voice that filled him with emotions he couldn't define.

"Allen...please look at me."

Allen hesitated. He hesitated for quite a while. He didn't know what effect laying eyes upon Rhode would have on his already fragile state of mind. But he relented. He had to. This girl was just as vulnerable as him right now. If he couldn't be there for her, then what kind of man could he call himself? He turned.

Before him, Rhode was before him, straight on her knees, bare before him. Most of her clothes lay on the ground by the bed. The tattered remains of her shirt were left on the bed. Skirt, stockings, underwear, all had been disposed of and left strewn about. Allen was stunned. Again, his mind was blank and words would not come. His eyes were wide and his jaw was low and certain physical reactions could not be helped.

"Allen..." Rhode shivered a little as she felt the night air reach her, "This is me. This is what I am. This is what I have been. But what I will be...what I can be...is all up to you. Allen, more than anyone else in the world, I trust you. You have never lied to me. You never left me behind. You haven't abandoned me, thrown me away, or wished ill on me. You're too kind for any of that. Even when I did horrible things to you and your friends, you still never once thought, 'by God, I hate this girl.' Not once did you think, 'she will pay for what she's done.' You never thought about revenge, harming me, killing me, or ever saw me as a monster. All you ever saw was me. And now what you see is me. What you see is Rhode Camelot...baring myself to you and only you. I trust you, Allen. I know that no matter what decision you come to, it will be the best for me. And once you've decided, I'll do everything in my power, everything I can...to do what's best for you. And...because of that...Allen...I give myself to you." Now it was Rhode's turn to begin to cry, "I...love you, Allen. I always will. No matter what happens, my love for you will never die."

Allen sat there. This girl, the enemy of the Black Order, one of the descendants who represented one of the memories of Noah who wished to destroy all of mankind, a girl who had ruthlessly tortured and hurt his own friends and allies all because it was just a bit of fun to her...had just poured out her heart and soul, revealed everything to him, put all of her faith and trust in him. Gave herself to him. It was so fast but at the same time lasted an eternity. So much to say, so much to think, so much...But in the end, all he could do was follow his heart. He reached forward and wrapped his arms around the small girl's body and buried his face in her chest and cried.

Rhode smiled as her own tears flowed. She held Allen tightly against her chest and rested her head on his, "Allen...you're so kind."

To Be Continued...