It happened in the middle of the night.
Searing pain burned in his stomach, waking him immediately from a deep sleep. Allen Walker ground his teeth together and curled up, clutching desperately at his stomach, shutting his eyes. It had been ten days since the last time the Fourteenth tried to take over. Ten days of feeling like everything was okay again. Ten days of acting like his entire life wasn't falling apart.
Each pang of pain was unbearable as Allen struggled to catch his breath, trying to calm himself. "It'll be fine…" He whispered to himself. He repeated those words to himself as he felt the Fourteenth trying to take him over. His head was pounding and he could practically hear his heart pulsing loudly in his ears. "It'll be fine… It'll be fine, it'll be fine, it'll be-" Choking on his words, he struggled not to scream as he threw his head back. "-fine…!"
He wasn't exactly sure when, but he realized that he was being held. Strong arms were holding Allen against the other's body, one hand moving up to pet the snow white hair down. Tears were spilling from the young exorcist's eyes as his breath hitched. "K-Kanda… It hurts…" He sobbed pitifully, squeezing his eyes shut again.
Gentle fingers ran themselves through his hair soothingly, providing a small distraction. The person holding him spoke up. "Do you hear the words coming out of your mouth? Listen to them." He said firmly. "It's going to be okay."
Allen trembled, eyes still tightly closed. It was going to be okay… Everything would be okay… He must have blacked out for a moment. When he opened his eyes, his hands were around Kanda's neck, merely touching the skin. He pulled his hands away, breath hitching as he realized he, rather the Noah inside him, was about to strangle the other man.
Kanda sensed that Allen was in control of himself again and moved to press his forehead against the other's, closing his own eyes. He continued to pet his hair.
"K-Kanda…"
"Shh, Moyashi. It's going to be okay. Just calm down." Kanda said softly, trying to help the other relax.
Once Allen began to catch his breath, his tears ceased. The pounding and pulsing in his head began to fade, the pain fading along with them. His breath hitched occasionally as he sniffled the rest of his tears away. Kanda gently brushed his young lover's bangs out of his eyes, pressing a kiss to his warm forehead, pulling away after. No stigmata. The older exorcist let a slow breath of relief out through his nose. He continued to pet Allen's hair back, the action lulling the boy to sleep as the rest of his pain melted away.
"Hmm… How are you so calm?" Allen whispered softly, eyes drooping a bit. His finger lightly traced along Kanda's jaw.
Kanda didn't answer right away. In truth, he didn't feel very calm. He was trying to keep a strong façade for his lover so he didn't feel scared or panicked.
"Kanda?" The boy whispered again, his finger coming to a stop on Kanda's chin.
"... If staying calm means keeping you human, then it's what I have to do."
Allen opened his eyes fully, the comment bringing him out of his sleep.
"... It's scary, you know. To see someone you care about turn into someone they're not." Kanda said, lacing his fingers through the soft white hair. He carefully pulled Allen's head forward, resting their foreheads against one another.
Allen felt like his heart was caught in his throat. The immense guilt he felt for putting everyone he loved, especially Kanda, through this nightmare never ceased. He moved his hand up to rest on Kanda's cheek, stroking the skin with the tips of his fingers as softly and carefully as he could manage. ".. I know the feeling." He whispered, closing his eyes.
Kanda didn't know what he meant by that at first. It took a moment to realize he was talking about his fight with Alma. Kanda hated how he let himself lose control so carelessly that day. Maybe if he weren't so reckless, they wouldn't be in this situation to begin with.
At least, not so soon.
"Shut up… This isn't about me." Kanda mumbled, eyes still closed. Allen let out a soft chuckle and his hand came to rest on the cheek.
"I love you..."
Kanda pouted slightly, pursing his lips a bit. "Hmph."
The smile lingered on Allen's lips as he slowly drifted back to sleep, but not before he heard Kanda's voice mumble a response back.
"I love you too, Moyashi."
This was meant to be a prologue of sorts just to get the ball rolling. I was very excited to get this fic started and also nervous! It's been a long time since I've written a fic like this and even longer since I've written a DGM fic. Please go easy on me!