Allen woke up the next morning, opening his silver eyes to see the sleeping swordsman in front of him. A smile pulled at his lips. It was rare for him to wake up before Kanda, but when he did, it made his heart flutter. The other man looked so lovely when he slept. Allen wanted to plant a kiss to his lips, but he was afraid he'd wake him if he did.
The thought was for nothing, though, because soon Kanda stirred in his sleep, letting out a soft grunt as he opened his cobalt eyes. Allen's smile widened, cheeks turning a soft shade of pink. His heart swelled with love.
"Good morning, ugly."
Kanda let out a 'tch' and tried to get his hands around the neck of the bean sprout in front of him, Allen raising his hands in defense as he let out a quick laugh. "I'm not ugly, baka moyashi, you are."
"You sure?" Allen teased, trying to lean in for a peck on the lips.
Kanda refused, turning his head away. "You call me ugly and then try to kiss me? What do you think this is?"
"Come on, just a little good morning kiss." Allen insisted, puckering his lips slightly. Kanda glared at him for a few seconds before kissing him on the lips.
It was sweet until Allen let out a small yelp. "You bit my lip!"
Kanda snorted, sitting up from the bed. Raising his arms above his head, he stretched until he felt a few satisfying pops in his arms and back, letting out a sigh through his nose.
Allen watched, laying back on the bed. He folded his hands on top of his chest, his smile widening as the other turned back to look at him. He seemed to be studying over the white haired exorcist.
"I'm okay, Kanda." Allen said suddenly. Cobalt eyes met his silver ones. They were both quiet for a moment before Allen spoke again. "I think… I think I'm doing better." He said hopefully. "That was the first time in ten days."
Letting out a soft sigh before sitting back down on the bed, Kanda loosely crossed his arms over his chest. "I'd prefer it to be zero."
Allen's face fell upon hearing those words. He crawled over to where his lover sat and wrapped his arms around him from behind, resting his head on his shoulder. "Then I'll make it zero."
Turning his head to the side, Kanda couldn't miss the look of determination in the other's eyes. He couldn't help but smirk.
"Then I'll hold you to your word, Moyashi."
Allen wound up leaving the room first, sneaking out quickly so no one would see him escaping from the Japanese exorcist's bedroom. He made his way down to the cafeteria casually, already starving. He wanted to try to get his day off to a good start, especially since it was entirely possible for it to turn to shit on the turn of a dime.
Slipping quietly into the cafeteria and up to the counter, thankfully, he was met by a warm and welcoming smile. "Morning, honey!" The chef, Jerry, greeted him. "The usual?"
"Yes, please!" Allen answered, a wide smile on his face.
God, how he missed Jerry's cooking the few months he was on the run. It wasn't the only thing he missed, but it was a major comfort when he returned and the chef didn't have one judgemental bone in his body. Allen nearly broke down crying on the spot as the older man pulled him in for a hug, scolding him for not saying goodbye. It reminded him of a father scolding his child and it filled the sixteen year old with a combination of joy and relief.
Only a few minutes later, Allen's usual mountain of food was ready. Thanking Jerry for the meal and gathering his trays, he made his way, as casual as possible, farther into the cafeteria.
Suddenly, a familiar voice called out to him. He poked his head over the pile of food to find Lenalee Lee waving him over to where she sat. His smile widened and he walked over, making himself comfortable at the table. "Good morning, Allen." The girl greeted him warmly.
"Good morning, Lenalee." Her friend responded. He wasted no time digging into his meal, which was a relief in itself to the young woman. "How did you sleep?" He asked with a full mouth.
"Well. And you?" She questioned, a smile widening on her face as she rested her head in her hand. There was a slight knowing tone to her voice.
He didn't quite pick up on why, just looking at her curiously. "Fine…" He answered with an innocent smile.
She hummed, taking a bite of her breakfast. "Where is Kanda?" She asked curiously.
Underneath his poker face, Allen's heart got caught in his throat. Did Lenalee know? "I'm not sure." He lied. "In his room, perhaps?"
Lenalee let out a giggle, looking at her friend with teasing eyes. "Perhaps."
A blush rose to his cheeks as much as he tried to keep it down, stabbing something nervously with his fork. "Where's Lavi?"
"On a mission." She said quickly back, almost catching Allen off guard. Almost like she was expecting the question.
A moment later, the samurai in question made his way into the cafeteria, taking a seat next to Lenalee once he got his food. He looked at neither of them, looking down at his food.
"Good morning, Kanda." Lenalee said cheerfully to her friend, giving him a smile.
Kanda grunted in acknowledgement, eating a few noodles.
"Late start today, huh?" She prodded, nudging him gently in the arm.
Kanda stopped, slowly turning his head toward her, narrowing his eyes. She was grinning widely at him, the way she did when she was up to something. "What are you going on about, girl?"
"Oh, nothing!" She insisted, waving her hand. "Nothing at all. Lovely weather out today, isn't it?"
"I think it's too chilly outside." Allen said, taking a mouthful of potatoes.
"You're too frail, Moyashi." The oldest of the table mumbled.
The youngest huffed. "It's Allen, you hard head."
"That's what I said."
"No you didn't! You called me bean sprout!"
"It's the same thing."
Pouting and mustering up a glare, Allen kicked the other's foot under the table. Kanda gave a swift kick back, grunting softly.
Lenalee wasted no time teasing the two. "Playing footsies under the table?"
It worked like magic to get the two men to stop, the two turning their heads away to hide their embarrassed, blushing faces.
The rest of breakfast went along like this, the two men bickering, making their friend laugh. Afterwards, though, Allen was scheduled to head down to Chief Komui's office, accompanied by his assigned General.
Kanda, as a General, was responsible for Allen. Rather, he was responsible for restraining the Fourteenth, should he take over Allen's body. But what the Order and Central didn't know was that Kanda and Allen had already come to the decision that if the Fourteenth were to consume the young Exorcist, Kanda would eliminate him. It was a hard decision to make given the relationship the two developed, but they both understood it was what needed to be done.
Their relationship was another thing that the two were determined to keep from Central. They were certain if they were found out that they would be punished and they preferred not to find out what the punishment would be.
Allen took a deep breath in through his nose as they rounded the corner. He wasn't expecting to feel Kanda's hand squeeze his shoulder. Turning his head to glance up at him, he noticed Kanda was just staring ahead, a blank expression on his face. It was like the hand on his shoulder was to reassure both of them.
Allen's fingers lingered on the doorknob of the Chief's office for a moment before he opened the door. Inside, Komui, the head nurse, and one of Central's Crows stood by the desk. Relief washed over him as Komui offered a familiar, warm smile. "Good to see you, Allen, Kanda."
It was a comfort to see two people he trusted even as the Crow watched without saying a word, looking him over silently.
"Good morning." Allen said to the three of them, smiling. Komui led the group to a separate examination room, closing the door behind them.
"I suppose we should get started." Komui said, a hint of nervousness in his voice.
Allen nodded, taking a seat on the bed. Kanda stood in the corner, arms crossed. The younger man could practically feel the tension permeating from him.
Komui didn't like to interrogate Allen like this. Allen knew this, and he understood that the Chinese man was just doing his job, even if neither one of them liked it. "When's the last time the Fourteenth tried to take over?"
Kanda averted his gaze to the floor, digging his nails into his arms.
Allen let out a deep breath through his nose. "Last night."
That was something no one wanted to hear. There was an uncomfortable silence as the masked Crow began to make notes on their clipboard.
Komui swallowed silently. "So that's… A ten day gap?" He questioned softly. Allen nodded in response, the Crow taking note. "Can we check the injury on your abdomen?"
Allen nodded again, unbuttoning his shirt to reveal the wound where Kanda had stabbed him with Mugen. Glancing at the swordsman, he noticed that Kanda wasn't looking at him.
Head nurse checked over his injury along with Komui. "It seems like it's healing." She noted. Komui looked hopeful.
"That's good, right? For a while, it wasn't." The Chief said, the scratching of pen on paper behind him nearly undetectable.
Allen himself felt hopeful. Maybe, if the wound was healing, that meant Allen was gaining better control over the Noah memories trying to consume him.
After a few more questions, the exam was wrapped up and after the Crow left, Komui closed the door again, just the four of them left. "I hope you know that I don't like doing this."
"Then don't." Kanda snapped, arms still crossed.
"Kanda." Allen said, waiting a moment before looking back at Komui. "I understand. I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Just know that we're in your corner, Allen." Head nurse spoke up. Allen's eyes softened a bit.
"Central may have a tight grasp on this situation, but we can try to help in any way we can." Komui said, resting a hand on the sixteen year old's shoulder.
Allen placed his left hand on top of the other's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze before smiling gratefully. "Thank you."
After that, Allen and Kanda were free to go, walking quietly down the empty hall. Allen looked over at his boyfriend. "That went well." Kanda grunted in response, making Allen sigh. "What's the matter?"
"I hate how we have to do this. I wish Central would stay the fuck out of everyone's business."
Allen opened his mouth to speak, then sighed and closed it. He didn't disagree with him. This wasn't the first time Central made things difficult for everyone. He glanced around the hallway for a moment, noticing they were alone. Allen carefully nudged his fingers against Kanda's hand, feeling the other's fingers twitch. After a moment, Kanda loosely locked his fingers with Allen's and the boy took advantage of this, firmly grasping his hand and making the two of them come to a stop.
Kanda sighed heavily and turned his head away as Allen stood in front of him, staring intently at him. "Kanda." No response. "Kanda, look at me." When the stubborn samurai didn't look at him, Allen carefully cupped his cheek with his left hand, still holding his other hand with his right. He gently turned his head to make him look at him, looking at him with a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "This is a minor inconvenience."
"A major inconvenience." Kanda growled.
"Shut up, I said it's a minor one." Allen said stubbornly, pouting. "We can't let them pick at us, or they'll get exactly what they want."
"And what is that? What do they want?" Kanda asked, brows knitting together in frustration. Allen could almost swear he saw desperation in the other's eyes. "What do they want, Allen?"
It didn't help that Allen's face fell into one of sadness, fear, unknowingness, everything that Kanda didn't want to see. He closed his eyes tightly when the other leaned up and pressed his lips against his. He let go of his hand, wrapping his arms around the boy's waist as he held him close, almost afraid to let him go. He stopped the kiss to rest his forehead against Allen's. The two stayed like that for a few minutes, absolute silence in the hallway. Allen pulled away and smiled brightly, caressing Kanda's cheek softly with his thumb. "Where's that stubborn attitude of yours? We're gonna be okay. Isn't that what we said last night?" He asked. "This is no different… We're gonna get through everything they throw at us."
Kanda sighed heavily again, opening his eyes. "... Your confidence is kind of annoying."
Allen snorted and pinched his cheek before the other waved him off. They continued walking down the hall together, separating once they walked by the training room. They said their goodbyes as Allen walked off toward the library. A little bit of peace and quiet sounded good to him right about then.
Sitting down at one of the library's tables with a book in hand, Allen made himself comfortable. He got through the first four pages when he heard the chair next to him move. When no one other than his best friend sat next to him, he smiled widely, lowering the book.
"What are you up to?" Lenalee asked sweetly, folding her hands on the table.
Allen knew he was being cornered. "Just reading a story." He answered before closing the book softly. "What's wrong?"
Lenalee was caught off guard a bit, blinking. "... What do you mean? There's nothing wrong."
Allen smiled warmly at her. "I know you've been itching to find out what happened to me after I ran away."
Her eyes widened a little as her expression fell a bit and she let out a sigh. "How did you know?"
Allen let out a soft chuckle and placed his novel to the side. "I can read you better than any book, Lenalee."
The two moved to the back of the library to have more privacy, both sitting on the floor. Lenalee was the first to speak after they got situated, hugging her knees. "It was really hard after you left. It took me a while to be able to get up and carry on the way I normally did."
Allen gave her a sympathetic look before looking down at his own feet. "... Me too…" He whispered. He let out a soft sigh when he felt her rest her head against his shoulder. "I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry there wasn't anything I could do to help you." The girl whispered carefully, tears brimming in her eyes. Her friend hushed her and gently wiped a stray tear from her eye.
"Don't blame yourself. You didn't do anything wrong. I'm the one who panicked and ran. Please don't blame yourself."
Lenalee took a deep breath and nodded, looking at the floor. "Okay… Go on."
Allen nodded. "Okay, well… After I left, I just tried to get lost as best as I could. It worked for a while, and I remained mostly unbothered." He began to explain. He hesitated to tell her about the Fourteenth's appearances, mostly because she didn't know, or at least he hoped she didn't. He wanted his friend to remain as ignorant as possible on the matter. He was tired of worrying her and his other friends with the nuisance that was Nea Campbell. "Then Kanda and Johnny found me and I thought it was going to be a total nightmare, but…" He paused for a moment before he smiled at her. "It wasn't."
Lenalee smiled, glancing up at him from her place on his shoulder. "Is that when you and Kanda hooked up?" She asked with a small giggle.
Allen's face turned pink. "We didn't… Hook up." He insisted.
"You really think the two of you can pull the wool over my eyes?" Lenalee asked, sitting up to look at him directly. "I know you two better than anyone! How did the two of you end up together?" She asked. "Please tell me. You know I'm not going to tell anyone. You know that."
Allen sighed heavily and leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes for a moment before he opened them again. "Well, for me… I've had feelings for Kanda since the whole thing with the Ark…" He admitted. He heard the girl let out a small gasp. "I just had a sinking feeling of guilt the entire time that I didn't stay behind to help him fight, and it only got worse when we did the same with Krory."
Lenalee just watched him silently, her body turned toward him as she hugged her knees again and leaned her head against the wall.
"Then everything came crashing down when Lavi and Chaoji fell… I realized I was never going to see them again and it crushed me. And the whole time, all I could see in my mind was him." He said softly, looking up at the ceiling. "So then when everyone came back, and I saw him walk through the door and he was alive, I kind of realized…" He trailed off, chuckling nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck. "... that I had completely fallen for him."
Lenalee's smile widened. "The man who tried to stab you the first day you met."
"The man who tried to stab me the first day we met." Allen repeated, snorting. "Funny how things work out, yeah?"
Lenalee closed her eyes and giggled before she looked at him again. "But that doesn't answer my question! How did you two start dating?"
Allen's blush returned as he recalled the occasion, scratching his face lightly with his finger. "Well, you see. I was trying to keep myself occupied and making money by performing as a clown. Shocking, I know." He said, pulling a snicker from his friend. "And that's when Kanda and Johnny found me." He debated telling her about the akuma that attacked in that moment, but left the detail out. "They found out it was me and chased me down."
Lenalee stretched her legs out in front of her, folding her hands on her lap. "How did they know it was you?"
"Kanda looked at me and was suddenly filled with the uncontrollable urge to kill me."
Lenalee began to laugh. "Allen, be serious."
"I am being serious! Those were the words that came out of his mouth!" Allen exclaimed. "Lenalee, don't think that just because we're dating now, he doesn't want to choke me to death for annoying him."
The girl wiped tears from her eyes after a good chuckle, taking a deep breath. "Okay, go on."
"Where was I?" He thought, tapping his chin. "Oh! They chased me down and Kanda caught me. Before I knew it, he was on top of me, holding me down." Allen smirked slightly when he saw Lenalee's eyes widen. "Do you know what he did next?" He whispered.
"What?" She whispered back.
"He grabbed a rag from Johnny and tried to rub the skin off my face and into oblivion."
The poor librarian nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the ungodly cackle that left Lenalee's mouth.
Allen, himself nearly hysterical after seeing her reaction, was trying to hush her. "Stop, you're gonna get us kicked out!" He whispered loudly, grabbing her arm and shaking it gently.
She was laying on the floor, covering her face in her hands, struggling to catch her breath. It took a while, but she was finally calm enough to let Allen continue. She shoved his arm gently. "Will you stop stalling and tell me already? When did you realize Kanda liked you?"
Allen had a gentle smile on his face as he looked at her. "Well… I had a pair of fake eyelashes on as part of my clown costume, and when Kanda was trying to rip off my face-"
"Allen."
"- the eyelashes fell off." He said, glossing over her whining. "We kind of just looked at each other for a moment, and then he said 'I don't understand why someone with such beautiful eyelashes in the first place has to wear fake ones to cover them up.'" He said, grinning widely. "But that was the moment. It kind of just clicked in my head. Kanda liked me back, I wasn't just imagining things."
Lenalee's eyes lit up as she listened to her friend speak. She had her hands on her chest as he talked, taking in the information. "Oh my God…"
"I know. I couldn't believe he said that. The look on his face when he realized he said it out loud was priceless." Allen said, snickering. "I don't think I've ever seen him blush so hard."
Lenalee laughed brightly. She was ecstatic over the fact her two closest friends really did end up together, finally putting all of her wonders to rest with a confirmation. She was feeling pretty good in that moment.
The good feeling rubbed off on Allen too, which made him hesitant to ask his next question.
"What happened while I was gone?"
He watched as his Chinese friend's face fell a bit, eyes staring ahead as she recalled.
Allen's heart froze for a moment as he looked over her expression. "... Lenalee?" He carefully touched her hand.
Lenalee swallowed a bit, looking at the floor. "Well… Lavi was gone for a while… Him and Bookman were missing." She started with. "A lot of Finders died. And one Exorcist."
Silver eyes widened in shock. After a pause, he asked who it was, voice lowered.
"Ainsley Grimm." Lenalee answered. "I'm not sure if you remember her or not."
Allen nodded softly. "The blonde one?" He asked. "Parasite type?" His friend confirmed with a nod and his heart sank. "She was a lovely woman."
He could see as tears threatened to fall from her eyes. Lenalee always had a difficult time dealing with the death of her comrades. "She sacrificed herself to protect Linnea and Christine. Linnea took it very hard."
"I can understand. I can't imagine what I would do if I lost any of you." Allen admitted, nearly whispering the words.
Suddenly a hand gripped the boy's firmly. He glanced up to his friend, seeing the understanding in her face and eyes. She wouldn't know what to do either, he knew that. The white haired boy offered her a comforting smile, gently squeezing her hand back.
"We're not going to lose anyone else, Lenalee. I promise." He smiled reassuringly as violet eyes met his. "Why don't we go have lunch?"
It brought a smile to her face, much to his relief. The both of them stood up and after a moment of stretching their legs, they made their way to the cafeteria. "You know what I keep thinking about?"
Lenalee hummed, looking over at him.
"About how I was expecting to be… A little more contained than this." He admitted with a chuckle. "After the battle at the North American Branch, they threw me in a cell. I thought for sure they'd do it again."
Lenalee didn't answer at first. So, Kanda didn't tell Allen. She didn't think he would. Her friend waited for her to respond. "Well, a few of us got together to speak on your behalf in front of the Great Generals."
The girl noticed the shocked expression on the boy's face. "... You did?"
"Mhm." She hummed again, grinning softly. "Me, Marie, Miranda, Krory, a few Finders…" She began to list. "... And then Kanda. And after he was done, it seemed like he finally got through to them."
The last part made Allen stop in his tracks, Lenalee noticing a moment later. "What's wrong?"
"Kanda…" He started out, voice soft as he stared at the floor. "... Spoke on my behalf?"
Lenalee let out a soft chuckle and nodded. "Yeah… A lot of us were surprised, too."
"When was this?"
Her response almost made the boy's heart beat out of his chest. "A few days after Kanda returned to the Order, before he left to look for you."
I had to try so hard not to post this immediately after the prologue. I'm trying to post on somewhat of a coherent schedule. I hope you enjoy!
DGM belongs to Katsura Hoshino
