A/N: Life sucks right now, and it's making writing really hard. I'm going to be putting some of my ongoing stories on slower update schedules, but this will not be one of them, so you guys are safe. ;)

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The next morning found Allen waking up in the same bed as Kanda. By the time they made it to their room the night before, he was chilled to the bone from being rained on, and even the hot shower the villagers had provided hadn't warmed him up. He was still shivering even after Kanda had piled all of the blankets on his bed, and it wasn't until the samurai climbed in bed with him and wrapped his arms around him that Allen was able to warm up enough to fall asleep. And now, in the clear light of day, Allen couldn't decide if he was embarrassed by how needy he had been or if he was grateful for the help, and recalling that Kanda had never once complained while helping him certainly didn't ease his confusion.

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice Kanda was waking up until the samurai had leaned over him and kissed him on the lips. And that snapped Allen right out of his introspection. "Would you stop doing that?"

Kanda scoffed once before kissing him again. "Nope."

Allen pulled away and climbed out of bed, using getting ready for the day as an excuse to put some distance between himself and his mission partner, who apparently wanted some sort of romantic relationship from him. Kanda sat up, but didn't move from the bed as he watched Allen scurry around. "Can I ask you a question, Moyashi?"

Allen glared at him and grumbled under his breath. "As long as it's not about the baby."

That caveat was exactly what Kanda was expecting to hear, so he forged ahead with his question. "You've expressed a lot of reluctance about being in a relationship with me, but you haven't once complained about our genders, so that makes me wonder, what's your sexual orientation?"

Caught off guard, Allen stumbled over his words trying to avoid the question; he was pretty certain that Kanda was trying to ask if he was gay, and he wasn't about to give the samurai a straight answer. "What's it to you if I like men or if I like women? Do you think getting me pregnant gives you the right to pry into my personal life? That's none of your business, so leave it alone."

Allen trying to avoid giving him a direct answer was also something Kanda was expecting to hear. It simply confirmed his suspicions that the Moyashi was gay. If the boy was homosexual, he certainly wasn't going to admit to it so easily. So he ignored Allen's protests and continued with his real question. "But you don't deny being gay. And if you like men, you must have thought about me in that way at least once before everything that's happened lately. So, are you attracted to me?"

Allen scowled suspiciously at Kanda for a moment before he decided that there was no point in lying. Kanda may have asked about physical attraction, but it wasn't because he was trying to get Allen to stroke his ego. And if he wanted to find out what the samurai's true motives were, he would have to answer truthfully. "Yes. From a solely sexual standpoint, the hottest person at the Order, regardless of gender, is you. I think that's a pretty undeniable fact by this point."

When Allen stood from where he'd been digging through his bag, he found his back pressed against Kanda's chest as the samurai held him close and whispered in his ear. "It's all a matter of taste, Moyashi. From where I'm standing, that title belongs to you."

Allen was completely taken aback by that comment; he had not been expecting Kanda to turn that around on him. He wanted to struggle out of Kanda's hold, but he was too stunned to move. He'd never been told he was attractive before, and he couldn't decide if he liked that or if he was pissed at Kanda for messing with his feelings. "Don't try to make shit up to make me feel better, Bakanda. It doesn't fit with your personality."

"It's the truth, Moyashi. To use your own words: 'from a solely sexual standpoint,' I've wanted you from the moment I first laid eyes on you. But that was four years ago. My feelings have only gotten deeper since then. And with the way things have changed lately..." In case the Moyashi didn't get what he meant, Kanda slid his hand from Allen's shoulder to his belly. He left it there long enough for the boy to get his point then he pulled it away before Allen could get angry at him for breaking the rules of their truce. "I am very much looking forward to our future together."

Following the samurai's reference to the unborn child that he was unwillingly carrying, Allen was done with their conversation. "Just say whatever it is you're wanting to say but won't because you think it will upset me."

"I love you, Allen." It may not have been true two days earlier, but it was definitely true now. The two day journey to this little town had only strengthened Kanda's feelings for his Moyashi.

Allen had no clue how to respond to the unexpected declaration - beyond getting angry and physically hurting Kanda, which he didn't really want to do in this small town where they were probably being watched. But he was saved from having to react by a knocking at the door.

Ania, the young woman who was their translator the night before, stuck her head in the room just seconds after the pair disentangled themselves. "Are you ready to go, honored exorcists? I have come to escort you to breakfast."

They followed the girl back to the same room as the night before, and while Allen ate, they listened to a much more detailed description of what was happening out at the shrine. And what they heard made Allen lose his appetite and put Kanda on edge. It wasn't all of the villagers who prayed at that particular shrine. It was just the women. Specifically, women who were pregnant or had recently given birth. The story hit far too close to home for the exorcists who had just recently learned that they were going to be parents, and the only silver lining, if they could even call it that, was that the women never trekked out to the shrine alone; they always had at least one companion, which meant that the akuma in the forest weren't singling out pregnant women.

Kanda's gut instinct was to order the Moyashi to stay behind, but that would definitely fall under 'nagging him about his pregnancy' and piss him off. And the fierce glare that Allen had aimed in his direction was definitely daring him to try, which only confirmed for Kanda that trying to prevent Allen from investigating would be bad for his health.

The mayor of the village tried to order Ania to escort them to the shrine, but she adamantly refused to put herself in danger, so one of the other English speakers stepped forward. Jakub was eager to put this whole thing to rest; the ritual of praying at that shrine was an important part of their culture, yet his wife wouldn't even step out of their house after her sister's death.

Allen and Kanda followed Jakub down the path to the shrine in silence. All three men were focused on the mission at hand, and Kanda was desperately trying not to think about the last time he'd trekked through the forest with the Moyashi; at least this path was well-maintained, making the similarities easier to ignore.

Neither Kanda nor Jakub noticed that Allen wasn't with them anymore until they heard the sounds of someone throwing up. They looked back to find Allen at the edge of the path, propped against a tree as he lost his breakfast into the bushes. Guessing that it was the Moyashi's morning sickness acting up, Kanda kept his mouth shut and waited for the boy to finish, masking his concern because of the presence of the villager; he knew Allen wouldn't want the people here to know that he, a male, was pregnant. Allen rejoined them as quickly as he could, making no mention of just how upset his stomach still was, and they continued on their way.

They only made it a few minutes down the path before Allen had to stop again, and by their third pit stop, Jakub could no longer hide his concern for the young exorcist. Their mission was important, but not nearly as important as the exorcist's health. He pestered Kanda for information about Allen's condition, and when the samurai wouldn't tell him anything, he began insisting that they turn back so that Allen could rest and get medical treatment.

Jakub's questioning went completely unnoticed by Allen, who was far too distracted by his morning sickness and the accompanying emotional trauma to be concerned with the random villager, but it annoyed the shit out of Kanda. He hid his irritation well, but by the fifth time Jakub suggested that they turn back, the samurai snapped. "He's fine. It's just a little vomiting. We're exorcists. Our jobs are too important to let something as insignificant as that interfere. He knew that when he joined up."

Jakub was almost convinced to drop it, but then Allen made a particularly bad retching sound, and he was once again worried for the boy's health. "Are you sure we do not need to turn back, General? Your companion-"

Kanda shot Jakub that fierce glare that was known for terrifying even the most hardened finder. The constant pestering only served to remind him that if he had his way, Allen wouldn't have even come on this mission. "Look, if he wanted to turn back, he would say so, and he probably wouldn't shut up about it either. Just leave him be."

Finally understanding that whatever was going on with younger exorcist was none of his business, Jakub kept his mouth shut and continued to lead the way to the shrine. But the next time they had to stop so that Allen could vomit - which he certainly wasn't going to mention was just dry heaving by this point, a thought occurred to him and he tried a different approach. "I understand that you do not want to turn back, but if the mission is that important, why do we not leave him behind? We can keep going and your companion can catch up when he's feeling better."

Back when they first met, Kanda would have had no problem with leaving the annoyingly naïve Moyashi behind when he caused problems like that, but not anymore. He was not about to leave Allen's side unless the Moyashi told him to. "We'll wait. We'll need him when we reach our destination, and I don't trust his sense of direction to get him there on his own. We'll waste more time trying to find him again if we leave him behind than we will by just waiting for him to finish."

"My sense of direction is not that bad, Bakanda!"

The outburst made Kanda look back at the Moyashi, wondering if it was instinct that made him argue like that or if he was actually feeling better. It was definitely the latter as some of the color had returned to the brat's porcelain skin and his enchanting silver eyes were bright and clear. But to be absolutely certain, Kanda baited him. "Che. If it weren't for that bottomless pit you call a stomach, you probably couldn't even find your way to the cafeteria."

"Take that back!" Allen stepped forward to take a swing at Kanda, but he stopped in his tracks as his left eye activated. "We must be close. I can sense the akuma."

Letting the petty fight drop, as he had only been egging the Moyashi on to see if he really was feeling better, Kanda turned his focus on the mission. "How many?"

Allen shook his head. "All I can sense so far is a lone level two and a handful of level ones. I won't know more until we get closer."

Jakub was confused by their exchange; he knew they were speaking English, but he had no clue what they were talking about. He was also trying to figure out how the exorcists could go from focused on the mission to fighting with each other at the drop of a hat like that, but he knew that if he asked, he wouldn't get an answer. "We are almost there. The shrine is less than half a kilometer away."