My dear reviewers, this humble story is turning out so much longer than i thought it would. I can't seem to stop going and i still have so many events to cover before the end. I hope you are all in this for the long haul. I planned to cover Mana's date but it must wait till next time. Please bear with me.
GreyLiliy, its funny that you mentioned the possibility of Marie being an akuma. In my first few drafts she was, but she made a much more rewarding character as a human, so i swiched her to human.
2stupid, is there a traitor Noah? i fear i may be a bit behind in the series. If you have a chapter number for it or any other little plot bombshells that i may need to consider let me know. Thank you for keeping me on my toes.
ForbiddenSilence and CelestialSakura, i watched some of the show and found that part. I want to stay as close to the given story as i can, so i will work in an accident, but it will not be fatal. I hope i can at least surprise everyone as to how it will be incorporated. Thank you both.
BlueFox, i have Allen set at about age five. Time is difficult with this tale, i have so many things, but they must happen at the character's right age. i worry that i may have to leave gaps that span years, seeing that it has taken this and the last two chapters to get though one day.
x.S-laughter-x, zenbon zakura, Silverdrake, Itsuka Yamazaki, Vicky Chain and Seaory 101: Thank you all so much for your reviews. I hope you enjoy this new one as well as you have the others. Thank you.
Mana was sprawled on a bed that was as close to heaven as he could imagine it being in his apartment. The arm thrown over his eyes served to filter out the streaming afternoon light. A dip in the mattress alerted him to Allen's return. "Manaaah? You asleep?"
Mana held up his other arm and Allen hugged it to him, curling up to Mana's side. He chuckled as the body snuggled as close as possible, little head resting on his shoulder. "How was your day Allen?"
"Ok… I miss you… good." Mana happily listened to Allen's disjointed speech; he could stay like this forever. Little fingers played with the cuff of his shirtsleeve. He could recognize the texture of the boy's left hand as he intertwined it with Mana's own. He didn't have his gloves on and the thought of how much he trusted Mana to do something like that made the man want to cry.
"I had a good day too; I got a promotion… that means my job pays more and gives me more time off…" He shifted and sat, pulling the boy up with him and into his lap. Allen leaned into his chest with a content little sigh, listening to his heartbeat. "Know what that means…" He kissed the top of his son's head, "it means I get to come home early everyday to play with you."
"Ah good Manaah…I like this…" he paused, pulling away to look at the man. Large brown eyes blinked up at him, all sweetness and innocence, "… what you buy me?"
Mana sputtered and laughed so hard he nearly choked. The sudden switch to such an absurd topic made him completely crack up. He playfully tossed Allen to the pillows at the head of the bed, so he could fall back and let the laughter run its course.
The humor of the situation only increased with Allen's pouted pleas to not be laughed at. He pulled Bear from his resting place and belted the grown up with it for good measure. Mana pushed down the last of the giggles, his sides hurt from it. "Well, we both had a good day then huh?" Allen crawled back to his lap, but Mana gently nudged him away. "It's too hot for this… I feel like celebrating. Would you like to go to the park?"
Allen frowned and Mana could practically see his mind working as he analyzed the new sentences. "What's a park… is it good? Manah I want it if it's good. There food there? Maaaanaah! I'm hungry more. "
He frowned in mock disbelief, "didn't Rivka feed you? She told me yesterday that you were eating us out of house and home. Well, I'll bring some sandwiches ok?" Allen looked at him expectantly. "Big sandwiches. Oh right, a park is a nice place outside where people go to relax. There are trees and… stuff." Mana wasn't really sure about what else he could say about a park. It wasn't really an interesting topic.
He didn't need to worry, the boy seemed more than convinced by his answer that a park indeed was a good thing, and soon he was running about the room shouting as if it was his idea. Mana spent the next few minutes trying to find the boy's boots while Allen pulled on his lightweight summer gloves. Mana stopped by the door to pick up his briefcase and carried both it and the package he purchased out of the apartment. They went down the stairs together, the combined weight making the wooden boards creak.
Rivka was cleaning in the back room, the café being empty for the moment. She emerged as they crashed down into the room. "Thought I heard you get home Mana. You're awfully early. The boy here charged out of my kitchen like his pants were on fire." There was a flash of expression across her face that told Mana to expect a full inquisition later. He was so lucky to have a good woman like her to watch Allen when he couldn't be there. She chuckled as she wiped her hands on a cleaning rag. "Allen dear, tell the man what you ate today."
"I didn't mean too Manah…" Mana gave the boy an incredulous look, what could he possibly have to be sorry about? It was only food right? He had the sinking feeling that this was going to be expensive some how.
"Tell him Allen or I will, we both don't want me to yell at him." She had picked up a mixing spoon as she worked her way around the back of the counter. She had a way of brandishing it like a sword. Everyone in the room knew quite well that she was capable of using it like one.
Allen squeaked, "chicken." His eyes darted from one adult to another trying to judge their reactions.
"Chicken?" Mana looked down at the boy. Allen grabbed his hand.
"Chicken?" he repeated to Rivka. She nodded with raised eyebrows.
Allen looked at the floor; when he spoke it was hardly a whisper, "whole chicken."
Mana was sure his jaw would hit the floor at the news. All he could think of saying was, "how!? How could you possible eat a whole chicken… by yourself, before two in the afternoon?!"
"Well it wasn't all in one setting;" Rivka said reasonably, "I had a few cooking this morning and at some point…" she sent a dangerous glance at the boy who shrank behind Mana, and leaned on her elbow on the counter. "He nicked one, hid it and must have picked at it all day. I gave him his breakfast and his lunch and still I wondered where he was sneaking away to so often."
Truthfully, some part of Mana was impressed, that clever hungry boy. Even if he was starving, he would have never dreamed of stealing any of Rivka's food, especially if she was right there next to him. "We won't ask for sandwiches then. Shall I buy you another chicken tomorrow?" He started herding Allen towards the door; his tiny boots scuffed the wooden floor. "We're going to the park now; don't worry about dinner for me I have a date with Marie…"
Allen planted his feet on the floor, stopping Mana dead in his tracks. "Who's that?" He asked as he latched onto Mana's pant leg. Rivka raised an eyebrow; she looked like she wanted to ask the same question. "Maaanaaah, who's that?" he whined.
Mana sighed and picked him up, "I'll tell you all about it I promise, both of you." It was near impossible to carry Allen, his briefcase and a package, so with a gesture the boy climbed up to perch on his shoulders. "I'll be back before it gets too late… Allen say bye to Rivka."
"Bye bye!" he yelled back to her waving enthusiastically. The park Mana had in mind was a few blocks away. The heat baked into the pavement seemed to rise in waves that even the slight breeze that was building couldn't dispel. Mana was sweating slightly; the heat from Allen leaning on his head made it hardly bearable. He was twisting little strands of Mana's hair; he hoped he would grow out of that habit soon; the idea of going bald was too horrible to consider. He tried to quicken his pace in the vain hope that he would reach their destination faster and set Allen down.
The park was by no means the biggest or nicest in the city but it was a pleasant enough place to spend an afternoon. The shaded green lawns and patches of colorful blossoms called out a siren's song of cool and delicious rest. Mana pointed out the iron wrought gates and fences to his son, who made gleeful sounds and wiggled incessantly. His shoulders ached in protest; with a brief apology he set Allen down, pushing the package into his little arms.
Together they walked down a path until Mana decided they were in as shady and unpopulated place as possible. He chose to sit at the base of a large tree on the slope of a small hill, the cool dappled shade soothing his over heated body. A large field extended outward from the area displaying a soft carpet of green. Mana trailed his fingers through the fine green filament. The sun reflected off the grass making it unbelievably bright, while the gentle breeze carried with it the smell of warm clean earth. Puzzle pieces of pure blue sky cut through the leaves above. It was so alive here.
He settled against the trunk of the tree enjoying the feel of the rough warm bark through his shirt against his back. He let his eyes slid shut in relaxation, opening them again when he heard Allen working at opening the brown paper of the package. It must have been hard to open, the boy sat beside him furiously pulling at the corner.
Mana reached over and scratched a tear into the paper with a finger nail to help him start. Allen tore the paper to shreds and smiled hugging the set of books to him. They were nothing special, just elementary reading and math primers; basic school texts that he could study with on his own.
Mana wasn't sure if he could really get the boy enrolled in a school. He didn't have the proper pedigree, or Mana the money, for any of the good private schools. Most public schools would find him unacceptable as well. But he was determined to give him as much help as he could. Allen was moving along very quickly with his letters and numbers. Mana was fairly sure that he could start reading the dog-eared old textbooks.
"For me? Really… I can have them?" He looked so hopeful. The whole concept of gifts was still fairly foreign to the child. There were no presents before Mana took him in, at least no presents that didn't require some unspeakable form of reciprocity.
"Their all yours… I want to make sure to that; at least, you get a basic education… maybe I can hire a tutor when you're older." Allen gently set the books aside and threw his little arms around Mana burying his face in his shirt.
They spent an hour under that tree. Mana with his briefcase perched on his knees as a makeshift desk, worked on an endlessly dull set of patent forms. Allen was sprawled beside him on his stomach; his little reading primer open. Mana enjoyed looking down at him as he traced a gloved finger over the words, trying to sound out the letters and make sense of them. His mouth moved but no sound came from it. The only real sounds in the park were the rustle of wind through the trees and the occasional snippet of birdsong.
Allen stretched with a happy little sigh, rolled over and stood. Mana watched from the corner of his eye. He didn't want to lose sight of the boy; perhaps he was paranoid, but he couldn't help worrying.
"Go ahead Allen, go run around…have fun. I'm not going anywhere… just stay where I can see you." Allen nearly whooped with joy and pounded off down the gentle hill. Mana set his work aside to watch him run.
This is the way it should be, he thought, it's so wonderful to see him… being a child. My son… thank you God, for leading me to my son. The boy had made so much progress these past few months; the damaged, bloodied creature that he had brought home that cold night was completely unrecognizable in the lively little boy playing before him.
It was a start; Rivka told him that it would take years for a child like Allen to fully heal, especially after being so fully betrayed at such a young age. She told him not to expect a miracle recovery; there would be many setbacks and even a chance that some part of him would never be right again. He hoped to God that this would not be the case, but still Mana took her words to heart; he tried not to set too high of expectations for his son's progress, but he wanted to push him to move quicker. He felt a little guilty about it; it was so hard sometimes.
The clear sounds of a woman's voice and a chorus of childish laughter made him jump, thumping his head soundly against the tree trunk. He was instantly embarrassed by his reaction. A finely dressed lady, accompanied by two young girls at her side had wandered up the little hill from the other side; as they rounded the tree, the lady started upon the sight of Mana stranded in his little island of paperwork.
"Oh…" she gasped softly, her hand flying to her mouth to cover her surprise, "I'm so sorry, I didn't realize you were here." She took the hands' of her daughters and began to lead them away, but Mana stopped her. They had approached so quickly and the picnic basket in the crook of her arm suggested that the trio visited this spot often. He was really the one out of place here and years of practice urged him to be a gentleman. Besides, she was more than enjoyable to look at, sweet faced with a little cupid's bow mouth and a rather… entertaining curvy figure.
"You're more than welcome to stay here, I don't mind… there's plenty of space and I won't be a bother." He started to move papers to make room. He looked at her with his best smile, "… if your husband won't be too offended by you sitting here with a strange man, of course."
She considered it for a moment, but when she said nothing Mana continued. "Your lovely girls can play with my son…" He gestured to the boy playing in the grass. At the sight of the child the woman visibly relaxed; she must have decided he was safe to sit nearby.
"Thank you very much." She said as she sunk down beside him, carefully arranging he skirts. There was a moment of impossibly awkward silence. The two little girls looked at their mother expectantly.
Mana called Allen over. The boy stopped dead at the sight of Mana with the little group of people, a flash of panic ran through his eyes. "It's alright… don't be shy Allen, come meet the girls…" He eyed them worriedly and moved as closely to Mana as he could. Little hands grasped his shirtsleeve. "Go play with them…"
"How?" Allen whispered desperately, "Maanaaah… don't leave ok?" He slowly realized that this might just be the boy's first real encounter with people his own age. The little thing looked so nervous.
Luckily the girls' mother spoke up, "Allen, was it?" She looked to Mana for assurance; he nodded. "These are my daughters, Elizabeth and Abigail. Girls go play with Allen… stay where I can see you dears!" Two white and pink dresses sprinted down the slope with a very confused boy in tow.
The lady leaned back heavily on the tree causing her hat to slip forward. She made a desperate grab at it and shoved it back into place. It was a decidedly unladylike action. She seemed to relax without her children by her. Mana took a moment to observe her while she was distracted. He couldn't figure out how her hair was kept up in its elaborate style, it looked soft but he couldn't imagine how pins must be lodged in there. She had a pale rose dress, many layers of some sort of gauze draped over her tightly corseted figure. She could have easily been one of Gibson's Girls.
"I'm so sorry about this but this really is the girls' favorite place in the park… and I had to get them out of the house…" She apologized to him when she remembered his presence, before rifling through her basket. "… I was worried they were going to drive our poor house maid utterly mad; they are truly such a handful at times… I hope to get them all tired before dinner, mustn't have them running about when their father gets home. He would just; oh he would just burst…men have it so lucky, not that I'm complaining mind you; I have it very well but the twins would drive any mother mad…" she paused. Mana blinked at her, she spoke very fast; he wasn't quite sure what she was saying. "Sorry, I'm Rachael Brown, pleased to meet you Mr.…."
"Walker, Mana Walker. The pleasure is all mine Mrs. Brown."
"So how old is Allen? He looks about the same age as my girls… but perhaps a little small for a five year old. I'd guess that he was a very colicky infant, sickly ones are always small… oh are these his school books? Where does he attend? Oh dear, listen to me going on. You must think I'm terribly dull…" She blushed gracefully. She really did look like a painting.
"Where do you work? I've noticed that men always enjoy discussing business. My Leroy is in banking. At all our parties I can't keep up with the men folk's talk about such things; I end up talking fashion with the other wives, but I'm sure you're not interested in that…" She just kept going; Mana knew she had to breathe sometime; he considered taking out his pocket watch and timing her but decided that it would be too rude.
He instead looked out to where the children were playing. The girls were lovely little things, all sugar and neatly curled hair. They must be a well to do family to afford such nice things for the little girls. He was suddenly ashamed of his own poor clothes and that even with his promotion he still would never be able to buy nice things for his boy.
One of the girls had pinned her skirt between her knees and was trying to teach Allen to summersault and cartwheel. They were both covered with grass stains. Even from a distance he could see the boy applying himself fully to the task. There was no doubt in Mana's mind that by the time they left the park he would be as graceful as any acrobat in training. It fondly reminded him of some old friends from the University.
"… and for the life me, even with the snakes I never regretted getting on that that ship…"
Mana didn't really mind the chatter of her dainty voice, but he couldn't help but burst laughing out loud as Allen fell hard on his backside. Mrs. Brown looked out at the scene and smiled serenely, "… so sorry, to bother you with all my chatter, but it rare to have someone else to speak to out here…" Her monologue slowed and he noticed that she was looking at his hand; she's looking for a wedding ring… This was something he had never even thought of. He was a bachelor, no wife to be seen and he suddenly had a son. He would eventually need something to explain Allen's presence.
But for the moment he would ignore it, "no, it's really not a bother… I think I understand some of what you're saying…" an idea was forming in his devious little mind. "I can't blame you for wanting to talk about your children and such, I mean there aren't really a lot of people I can talk to about raising a child…" he let the sentence hang and was pleased when she inserted her own assumptions.
"Oh, widowed?" He looked away in what he hoped was an appropriate show of sadness and nodded. "I'm so sorry… how long ago? If you don't mind my asking…"
"Oh… a long time ago, Allen doesn't remember her. It's just us. Honestly sometimes I feel so lost, I have no idea what to do…" She nodded sympathetically and for a while they sat in silence. The twins ran up to their mother dragging a frowning Allen forward by both hands.
Everything on Allen's face was begging Mana not to laugh; naturally it was a hysterical sight. The girls had decked him with daisy chains; dressing him up in them, as they would dress a doll. He was clearly mortified. Garlands of little white flowers adorned his neck and head and stood in stark contrast to the bright red of his face. With all the grass, flowers and dirt stains the trio looked like some strange set of pagan deities.
"Mama!" one of the girls shouted, "We married Allen!" They squealed in unison. She pushed him forward, and sure enough, a small daisy chain ring was set about each of the children's ring fingers. His little white gloves, now stained green were still on. Allen glanced at Mana with wide eyes; he tried so hard not to laugh at the boy's terrified look.
"Goodness ladies, stealing my boy away so fast…" he chuckled as he laced his fingers behind his head. "Didn't stand a chance do you Allen?"
Mrs. Brown giggled and began setting out sandwiches from her picnic basket. "We should have a wedding reception then…" They were the most beautiful little sandwiches; the crusts were cut off cleanly and for some reason that impressed him. So this is what rich people snack on…
He was relieved when Allen didn't fall upon the food like a ravenous beast. Instead the boy sat nicely with Abigail and Elizabeth, still holding their hands. One of the girls fed him a little piece of cake with pink icing accidentally smudging some on his nose. She giggled as she wiped it clean. Allen was strangely quiet. There was something different, something off about his expression.
He slid away from them as the girls became more interested in their food than in him. Mana put an arm over his shoulder as the boy snuggled closer. "Manaah… I wanna go home… sleepy…" Mana pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time, it was getting late. He let Allen play with it while he packed up their things.
"Thank you Mrs. Brown, it was lovely talking to you, but we must be going. Allen isn't used to so much activity in one day…" with one last vicious shove he managed to fit Allen's books into his briefcase. He gave the trio of ladies a polite bow and smiled as the boy copied him. Allen grabbed his hand as they left; for the majority of the walk home he remained distant.
A block from home Allen stopped. Mana noticed the sudden absence of the boy's hand in his; he turned to look at him. He had pulled the corner of his left glove down, and was staring at the reddened skin of his wrist. "I'm different…" he whispered, "Aren't I Mana..."
Shit… It had been such a nice day; Mana forced the thought down. "You're as God made you, Allen. God doesn't make mistakes." He seemed appeased with that answer. It was what Rivka had told Mana that first terrifying night, Mana wanted to believe it with all his heart.
They resumed walking, Allen's hand again in his; he gave it a reassuring squeeze. It made them both feel a bit better. Mana figured if he showered first, he could get ready for his date with Marie while Allen had his bath. He needed to lay out his good suit; he hadn't worn it in quite some time and some part of him was worried that it would smell of moth balls…
Allen stopped suddenly again. "Manaaaah…" he whined in a tight and high voice. Mana could feel the sliver of panic it held. "… don't feel good…" The little body gave a violent convulsion and Allen cried out through gritted teeth, "Ah Manah, pick me up!"
Mana's heart pounded furiously as he scooped the boy up with one arm. Not out here! He had to get them inside. Allen sobbed into his shoulder, trying not to scream he bit down instead. Mana winced at the sudden sharpness, but he was determined to take it if it helped Allen. He tightened his grip on the shuddering body and ran the rest of the way.
He nearly kicked the door to the café open. Allen finally lost the battle to control his voice and shrieked long and high. Rivka started to speak but he rushed past her, nearly flying up the stairs, his chest was on fire from the effort. The little sofa was closest to the door, so the pair ended up there.
Allen calmed almost instantly inside the comforting, familiar room. Mana rocked him in his arms, still holding him tightly. Distantly he could hear Rivka's foot steps as she entered the room. He prayed the worst was over; Allen still shook and gasped with the aftershocks of the fit.
"It's alright…Allen it's alright. You're inside now, nobody saw any of it." Rivka's hand landed on his shoulder, just letting him know she was near. It wasn't that bad he told himself. It could have been worse, much worse.
"Mm' sorry… Mana" he whispered sleepily. Mana just shushed him and held him tightly. He pushed away, looking up with reddened eyes, "I tried not to… what's wrong with mee?" His voice was rough; he rubbed his left hand as he spoke. He looked more embarrassed than hurt. Mana wished he had an answer for him.
Rivka sat beside them and pulled the boy into her arms. He didn't fight it. "Go shower Mana, you have a date tonight. I already closed up shop for the night… I'll take care of him." She spoke softly to the little boy in that strange language of hers. He didn't understand any of it but it was pleasant to listen to. Allen did seem to understand it responding and nodding answers. It was embarrassing, but he was a little jealous of their rapport.
Running his fingers through his hair in frustration, he strode into the bedroom and set about finding his dress suit. "God!" he profaned. Throwing his coat onto the bed, he couldn't stay on his feet and slid down to rest against the wall. "This is just too much…"