Waking up to feel his boyfriend's body pressed against his back, Allen gently opened his eyes and let out a yawn.
"Finally awake, hm?" He heard the other ask from behind him. Kisses were pressed to his neck and the boy let out a breath of content.
"How long have you been awake?" Allen asked groggily, keeping his eyes closed for a minute.
"Not long." Kanda said, resting his hand on Allen's hip. "I was listening to you breathe. It's calming."
Allen hummed, smiling as he kept his eyes closed. "That's a little creepy."
"Tch, like you don't stare at me while I sleep."
Allen gasped and his eyes shot open. He turned his head to shoot back a remark of denial, but his lips were captured in a kiss, silencing him. "'Mmph!"
Releasing him, Kanda chuckled. He moved to lay on his back, resting his hands on his chest. Allen rolled over to face him, laying his head on his shoulder. "Last night was amazing." He said quietly, his left hand carefully tracing along Kanda's tattoo.
Kanda then snaked his arm around the other, resting his hand on the small of his back. After pressing a kiss to the top of his head, he nuzzled his nose into the white hair, closing his eyes. He hummed in agreement, feeling himself being pulled back into sleep. It was rare for him to be so drowsy in the morning, but it was something that Allen was happy to take advantage of. After a minute, he could tell the other had already fallen back asleep, and soon, felt himself following suit.
xx
The next three weeks were relatively quiet. But that's when Allen began having the strange recurring dream that he thought had finally stopped.
Allen was sitting alone in the middle of a dark room, though now the space around him was vaguely lit. He heard the voice again, only this time, a name echoed in his mind.
"Nea…"
"Nea…"
"... len."
"Allen! Allen, are you awake?"
Waking with an alarmed start, Allen's head shot up as he sucked in a breath. He was in his own room, his own bed.
Oh, that's right. Kanda had been called to a mission the day before. To avoid suspicion, Allen opted to sleep in his own room until he returned.
Lenalee knocked on the door again. "Allen, are you okay?"
Sitting up and rubbing his eyes, he called out to her. "You can come in, Lenalee. I just woke up."
Opening the door carefully and letting herself in, Lenalee closed the door quietly behind her. "I didn't mean to startle you. I just wanted to make sure you had enough time to get ready for our mission."
"Shit, I nearly forgot." Allen mumbled, rubbing his head as he groaned softly. "Thank you, Lenalee."
The girl smiled at him for a moment before looking him over. "... Are you okay?" She asked, worried about him.
Allen smiled back reassuringly at her. "I'm alright. Just having strange dreams." He said.
Her smile seemed to drop a bit hearing that. Taking note of the reaction, Allen got up from the bed and stretched. "It's nothing to be worried about, I promise. Let's go get something to eat, okay?"
She gave a small nod as the two began making their way to the cafeteria together. Allen seemed a bit lost in thought as they walked, probably thinking of his dream. Lenalee thought of something to take his mind off of it. "Kanda's birthday is in a few days."
"What? I thought his birthday was in June." Allen asked, looking at her. At first she thought he was joking, but the look on his face told her no, he wasn't joking.
Staring at him, baffled, she said, "Allen… It is June. Today is the third."
"I thought it was still May." Allen said, pressing his palm to his forehead, starting to panic a bit.
"How many days did you think were in May, Allen?" Lenalee questioned him in disbelief.
"I know how many days are in May!" He insisted. "I just lost track of which day we were on." Shutting his eyes, he took a deep breath and gripped his hair gently. "I can't believe I almost forgot. What a terrible boyfriend I am."
Putting a hand on his shoulder, Lenalee smiled reassuringly at him. "You're not a terrible boyfriend." She insisted. "And if you didn't get him anything, you know he's not one for gifts anyway. He's always preferred to spend his birthdays quietly."
She had a point, but he still felt wrong. He would think of something before Kanda's birthday. Hopefully.
After breakfast and their preparations, Allen and Lenalee made their way to the Ark. Their Finder was Toma, which was a delightful surprise for Allen. He always worked well with Toma, and to be completely honest, he was happy to see the man was still alive. Just before taking a step into the Ark, Timcanpy perched himself on top of Allen's head, making the boy smile.
Allen still wasn't completely comfortable using the Ark for transportation, especially with his comrades. Deep down, he always felt like something would go wrong, even though it was an irrational fear at this point.
Lenalee noticed his discomfort. Trying to break the silence, she began to ask Toma questions about their mission.
"Well," he began, "it's in France, which is why we're using the Ark to get there."
Allen nodded. He'd been to France plenty of times. Behind Italy, it was one of his favorite places to go.
"There may be Innocence there, but we're more concerned with the presence of akuma than anything else." Toma went on as they walked through another Ark gate, reaching their destination. "From here, the location is about a half hour away."
The walk there was nice. The sun felt good on their skin and there was a careful breeze. Any good feeling they had dissipated when Allen's eye activated, shooting in the direction of a group of disguised akuma.
"How many?" Lenalee asked, activating her Dark Boots.
"Three in front of us. Seven in the distance." Allen replied. He activated Crown Clown as the three disguised akuma revealed themselves, lunging at them. Allen dodged as the akuma missed him, turning on a dime to swipe his claws at it. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Lenalee slide and knock the second akuma into the air before launching herself up to deliver the final blow. These were only level twos. The ones in the distance seemed like level threes. They'd have to keep their stamina and energy in check if they wanted to have any chance of eliminating these akuma in a single day.
Once finished with this small group, they made their way to the group in the distance. Allen confirmed that they were in fact level threes, and they weren't the only ones. Taking out around twenty akuma in that area, Lenalee looked over to see Allen seeming like he was short of breath. "Are you okay, Allen?" She called out.
Turning to face her, he smiled. "I'm fine, Lenalee." He called back as he finally caught his breath. "I just got a bit ahead of myself."
"Don't push yourself too hard." She told him. "We still have a lot to go. I don't want you to get hurt."
Toma rushed over to provide the two of them water in their downtime, Allen thanking him. "I will, Lenalee."
After resting for a few minutes, the two Exorcists moved on to take out the next swarm of akuma. It took much of their day, and the sun was beginning to set as they started finishing off the last of them. Both of them were exhausted at this point, Allen leaning on his sword as Lenalee had both of her hands on her knees, panting.
Allen deactivated his sword and walked over to her slowly, nearly dragging his feet. "Lenalee…" He breathed out. She picked her head up and smiled at him.
"We work well together, huh?" She said. letting out a chuckle.
Her words made him smile. "Of course we do."
The first thing to hit him was the smell, and then the feeling of smoke on the back of his neck. Whipping around and putting his arm out in front of Lenalee, he activated Crown Clown once more as his heart began to race.
"Relax, boy. I just came to say hello."
"I don't want to talk to you, Tyki." Allen said, glaring at the man in front of him. Lenalee was wide eyed, shocked that neither of them had noticed the Noah appear behind them.
Taking another drag from his cigarette, Tyki snorted. "Rude."
"What do you want?" Allen demanded, getting frustrated. Neither he nor Lenalee had the energy to take on a Noah at the moment. He was starting to panic.
Tyki was calm as he put his cigarette out. "Didn't you hear me? I was just saying hello." He said, wiping some stray ashes from his coat. "It might be a while until we all catch each other again."
Allen didn't understand what he meant by that. He opened his mouth to question him, but Lenalee spoke before he could find the words.
"What's that supposed to mean?" The girl asked. Allen hadn't noticed that she reactivated her anti-akuma weapon.
"Hm?" The Portuguese man hummed, looking at the two. "It seems there was a hidden chapter in the Earl's script. One he wasn't prepared for." He answered, a smile pulling at his lips. "He won't tell us what. I'm not even sure he knows what's going on."
Lenalee's eyes widened. She looked over to Allen for his reaction, only to see him looking just as confused as she was.
Snorting at their reactions, Tyki turned his back to them, tipping his top hat. "Be warned. Once he figures out what it is, I'm not sure what his plan of action will be. Don't think too hard about it. See you around, boy." He said, just before disappearing.
Returning to the Order after that was tense. The two Exorcists brought this information to the Chief. It left everyone confused and anxious.
Allen was trapped in that room again. This time, it was all dimly lit and he was finally able to see. There was a bed in the back center of it. He was sitting on the floor, right in the middle of the room, staring.
"Nea, what are you doing awake?" The woman's voice asked, soft and quiet. "Come back to bed."
After a moment of silence, Allen heard her again as he stood up.
"Nea, come back to bed…"
He was so tired of people seeing him for his uncle. He wasn't Nea.
He wasn't Nea.
Finding his voice, Allen spoke up, loud, clear, and confident. "I'm not Nea."
Everything became black again as the bed in front of him disappeared.
"You're not Nea D. Campbell." The voice echoed in agreement as his surroundings lightened, turning from a stuffy darkness to a calming white. For the first time, he was able to see the figure in his dreams, smiling warmly at him. "You're Allen Walker."
Allen stood there, wide eyed as he looked at the woman in front of him. He didn't recognize her. She had long, curly dark hair and striking blue eyes. What looked like a halo floated above her head. He almost couldn't tell if he could really see her or not. "How do you know who I am? Who are you?"
The woman kept smiling at him. She reached a hand out and cupped his cheek gently. Her hand was warm. "Your guide." She told him. "Nea is lost, and he's dragging down everyone around him. Allen Walker, you must not let Nea Campbell drag you down."
Tears spilled over in Allen's eyes as he listened to her speak. She carefully stroked his cheek with her thumb. It comforted him greatly.
"I will help you as I can, but there is only so much I can do. You must be willing to fight him off yourself."
Putting his hand on her wrist carefully, he nodded. "I'm trying." He said, closing his eyes. "Who are you?"
When he opened them again, he was in his bedroom. He stared at the ceiling, noticing the light that peeked through his curtains. It must be early morning. It took a second before he noticed someone shift next to him, turning his head to see a waterfall of dark, black hair. Unable to contain his excitement, Allen rolled over and wrapped his arms around broad shoulders, burying his face into the crook of his partner's neck. Hearing a soft grunt, he then felt Kanda put his hand on top of one of Allen's as he woke up. "Happy birthday, Yuu." Allen said, kissing the tired swordsman on his cheek.
Turning as best as he could to look at the younger man behind him, Kanda looked up at him with tired eyes before he stole a kiss.
"How did you end up in here?" Allen asked, managing to tuck a long strand of black hair behind his boyfriend's ear.
Taking a minute to actually wake up, Kanda yawned. "Well, you weren't in my room."
Allen paused for a second. "... You wanted to sleep with me?"
"What kind of question is that? Yes, dumbass. We sleep together every night, don't we?"
A smile pulled at Allen's lips before he nuzzled his head gently against Kanda's. That made him happy. "When did you get back?"
Picking his head up and taking a moment to find the clock Allen kept in his room, Kanda let his head drop back on the pillow. "About three hours ago."
"Oh, I'm sorry for waking you up." Allen apologized, feeling bad for waking the other up so soon.
"It's fine." Kanda said. "I wanted to see you."
Allen's smile widened. "That's really gay."
"Shut up and go back to sleep." Kanda grumbled, turning back over and shutting his eyes.
The response caused Allen to chuckle, settling back behind the other. He wrapped his arms around Kanda's body, nuzzling his face into the back of his neck. Letting out a soft breath, he let himself drift back to sleep.
The two slept longer than they would have liked to, waking up around one in the afternoon. Kanda woke Allen up with a kiss, the younger letting out a soft moan as he regained consciousness. The noise made Kanda smirk, snorting. "Come on, wake up." He said, sitting up in the bed.
Allen groaned softly, opening his eyes to look at him. He cuddled under the blankets, pulling them close. "But I'm tired."
"You slept longer than I did."
"But I'm tired." Allen whined again, pulling the blanket over his head.
"I'm gonna get a shower, Moyashi. When I'm out, you better be at least up." Kanda warned, standing up from bed. "Tim, wake him up in like five minutes."
"No, Tim. Don't wake me up in five minutes." Allen said, pulling the blankets closer.
"Timcanpy, wake the little bastard up in five minutes." Kanda repeated before closing the bathroom door behind him.
Huffing in annoyance, Allen rolled onto his back and draped his arm over his eyes. He was starting to get a headache. The headache only worsened when he started thinking of the dream he had awoken from earlier. What the hell was going on? It couldn't have been a Noah memory… But if it wasn't, then how the hell did this woman know Nea? How did she know Allen?
It seemed like Kanda was in the shower forever, and after a few minutes, Allen felt nibbling on his fingers. "Okay, okay, Tim. I'm getting up." He said, a hint of frustration in his voice. Just as Allen placed his outfit down on the bed, Kanda emerged from the bathroom, towel around his waist. Allen looked up, disappointment clearly written on his face.
Seeing the expression, Kanda snorted. "What, brat?"
"Nothing, don't look at me." Allen groaned, dragging himself to the bathroom.
Kanda got dressed while he waited for Allen to shower, sitting on the edge of the bed when he was done. He looked at the clothes his boyfriend had laid out on the bed before he heard the door click open, turning his head to look. His eyes widened as the naked bean sprout walked in his direction, the towel around his shoulders rather than his waist. "You're indecent."
"You're in my bedroom." Allen shot back, drying his hair with the towel around his shoulders.
"Tch." Kanda ground his teeth together and crossed his arms, turning his head as he blushed.
Allen was deliberately teasing him, slowly pulling on his boxers and pants, his back to the other. Glancing back, he just caught Kanda staring at him before turning his head to face the wall. Allen smiled slyly as he finished getting dressed. "Thank you for being so patient." He said, brushing his fingers through his hair, pulling his bangs off of his face.
"Shut up." Kanda mumbled, flustered.
Letting out a chuckle, Allen wrapped his arms around Kanda as he plopped down beside him on the bed. "What do you have planned?"
Scoffing and letting the other hang on him, Kanda shrugged. "I didn't really have anything planned."
"You're so boring." Allen huffed, ignoring the scowl cast in his direction. "There's nothing you want to do? Nothing?"
Rolling his eyes and actually putting thought into it, Kanda said, "We can start with lunch."
Allen had no qualms with that idea. The two carefully left his bedroom, making their way to the cafeteria. Much to Kanda's dismay, there was a big banner hanging up that said 'Happy 21st, Kanda!' and the moment he stepped foot in, he heard Jerry scream over the counter, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KANDA SWEETIE!"
Pinching the bridge of his nose and shutting his eyes tightly, Kanda growled softly as his cheeks flushed in embarrassment.
"Happy birthday, Kanda!" He heard Lenalee exclaim as she threw her arms around him. Opening his eyes, he squinted at her, not finding it in himself to be completely angry with her.
"You hung the banner, didn't you?" He questioned, earning a giggle and a nod. "I trusted you."
"Oh, lighten up. You're twenty one today." The girl said, letting go of him. "Right, Allen?"
Allen grinned slyly at Kanda, who crinkled his nose at the boy. "I don't like you. Either of you."
"Stop brooding and come on, Jerry made you lunch." Lenalee said, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him to the window. Once Jerry stopped fawning over him, going on and on about how it felt like just yesterday that he had cooked up soba for Kanda for the first time as a child, the three moved to an empty table and sat down with their lunch.
It was surprisingly empty in the cafeteria, everyone who was there sitting in front of Kanda and Allen rather than behind them. Taking advantage of that, Allen slipped his hand under the table and took hold of Kanda's, loosely entwining their fingers together. To his pleasure, Kanda tightened his grip on his hand as he ate his soba.
Seeing them being affectionate made Lenalee smile. The only thing that made him let go was Lavi clinging to him from behind, hugging him around the neck. "Happy birthday, bestie!"
Kanda took a deep breath, shutting his eyes. "If you don't unhand me this second-"
Letting go, Lavi laughed, shoving Kanda's shoulder playfully. "Just because it's your big day, I'll listen." He said, taking a seat next to his dark haired friend. Allen huffed softly, putting his now empty hand on the table. "Any plans for tonight, buddy?"
"No, I'm going back to my room and going to sleep." Kanda lied, shoving more noodles into his mouth.
"You're lame."
"You're annoying."
"Lavi, stop instigating him." Lenalee scolded. Lavi crossed his arms on the table and rested his head on them as Kanda continued to eat his lunch in peace.
The peace didn't last very long. "Hey, Allen." The redhead spoke up.
"Yes, Lavi?" Allen responded, finishing up his last plate.
"Did you sit next to Kanda willingly?" Lavi asked curiously.
Allen nearly choked as Kanda shot him a glare. Lenalee's eyes widened at the question.
"What's that supposed to mean? You sat next to me willingly, didn't you, baka usagi?" Kanda sneered, putting his chopsticks down.
"Yeah, but you two hate each other." Lavi said.
"I hate you." Kanda reminded him. Lavi rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, but I always sit next to you. You never use to let Allen sit next to you. In fact, you two have been acting pretty mild toward each other."
Allen swallowed slightly. "Well… Since he's ordered to watch over me the majority of the time, we've been trying not to lash out at each other as much." Allen lied this time.
Lavi gave a small shrug and a nod. "Yeah, that's it." He didn't sound convinced. Not by a long shot.
Sneering again, Kanda stood up. "Now you're pissing me off." He said, storming off.
"Kanda, wait!" Lenalee tried to get him to stay, but he was already out the door. She smacked Lavi's arm from across the table and Allen pinched Lavi's side in frustration. He couldn't get up and follow Kanda because that would just cause more suspicion. Maybe in a few minutes he could go look for him.
Kanda found himself in the training room, letting out his frustration on a wooden dummy. Everyone was constantly in his business and he was getting tired of it. Letting out a grunt, Kanda knocked the head off of the dummy just as footsteps approached.
"No days off, huh, Kanda?" The familiar voice asked. Kanda turned his head to see Marie approach him.
"What?" Kanda asked, his annoyance evident in his voice.
Used to the attitude, Marie sat on the single step on the edge of the landing where the training dummies were located. "Well first, I wanted to wish you a happy birthday." The blind man began. "And I just wanted to talk to you before Allen got here."
Turning to look at him with a look of shock, which he was glad Marie couldn't see, Kanda struggled to ask what he was talking about.
Marie let out a chuckle. "I may be blind, but I'm not that blind, Kanda. How long have the two of you been together?" He asked.
Kanda's face burned red. Unable to think up a decent enough lie, he huffed in annoyance, crossing his arms. "... Seven months or so…" He mumbled under his breath. Marie was still able to hear him. The older man remained silent, waiting for Kanda to talk on his own. "The stupid idiot rabbit was teasing me and pissing me off, so I got up and left." He explained. "I just wanted some goddamn peace and quiet with my-" Kanda stopped suddenly, getting caught up on the word 'boyfriend'. He had never said it out loud to describe Allen. Every time he tried, he found himself feeling embarrassed. Not that he was embarrassed to be Allen's lover, the fact that he couldn't see himself being affectionate in that way.
Understanding him, Marie nodded. "You shouldn't let it ruin your whole day, Kanda. You still have all night to enjoy your birthday with him."
And then, as if on cue, the white haired boy in question opened the door to the training room. "Kanda- Oh." He stopped, noticing Marie sitting with his lover. "I didn't mean to interrupt." He insisted, already shutting the door.
"Get your ass in here, Moyashi." Kanda huffed, putting the training sword away. Allen looked hesitantly at the two before Kanda spoke again. "He knows. You can come in." He didn't miss the blush on Allen's face before he entered the room, walking toward them sheepishly.
"I was just leaving anyway. I just wanted to wish Kanda a happy birthday." Marie said, smiling as he stood. "Have a nice evening, you two."
Allen said goodbye to Marie as the older man left. After the door closed, he turned to look at Kanda, who was pinching the bridge of his nose again. "I can't get anything past him."
Chuckling, Allen wrapped his arms around Kanda's shoulders, resting his head on the broad chest. He lifted his head a bit to look up at Kanda's face. "Come on, let's get out of here." He told him.
The stoic swordsman couldn't help but give a small smile, nodding in agreement.
Thinking about what he wanted to do, Kanda stopped by Komui's office to tell him he was going out and taking the bean sprout with him, and if anyone interrupted them he'd kill them. Kanda told Allen this as they reached their destination, an open space near the edge of the island where the Order was located, far enough away where no one could see them. The sounds of the rolling water beneath the cliff was calming as the sun slowly began to set.
Allen laid back on the grass, letting out a small laugh. "You don't think that was suspicious at all?"
Kanda sat cross legged next to him. "I told him it was training related. Komui is an idiot anyway."
Allen let out another laugh. He had his hands folded on top of his chest. Both of his knees were bent with his feet placed firmly on the ground. "So, how does it feel to be twenty one years old?"
Kanda shrugged. "I've only been conscious for like, twelve of them." His answer earned him a pinch on his side. He managed to grab Allen's hand before he pulled it away, pressing a kiss to the back of it before biting it in retaliation.
"Ow! Are you a child, Kanda?" Allen shouted, pulling his hand back. "You must be, since you've only been thinking for twelve years."
"You'll regret those words, Moyashi." Kanda warned, grabbing both of Allen's hands and pinning them down as he sat on top of him.
Letting out an 'oof', Allen struggled for a moment. "You're crushing me." He complained with a huff.
"Shut up, you're fine." Kanda snorted, leaning down to tenderly kiss the boy beneath him.
Perfect. He was off guard. Allen had somehow managed to wrap his legs around Kanda, flipping the older of the two onto his back, hitting the ground with a thump.
"Hey-"
Giggling a little, Allen sat triumphantly on top of Kanda, his turn to pin his hands to the ground. "Shhh. You're fine." He said, leaning down. Keeping Kanda firmly pinned on the ground, he pressed their lips together, kissing him delicately. The kiss deepened and Allen felt satisfaction when he heard a small moan come from Kanda. Sitting up, he began to unbutton his shirt.
Kanda watched, his hands resting on Allen's thighs. "Where did this sudden boldness come from, Moyashi?"
"Shut up, dummy. I'm giving you your present." Allen insisted, tossing his shirt aside.
"I hope you kept the receipt so you can get a refund."
Gasping at the response, Kanda grabbed both of Allen's forearms and coaxed him down into another kiss. "I'm kidding. I wouldn't have asked for anything else for my birthday."
Sitting up and throwing his head back with a groan, Allen put one of his hands on his forehead. "God, you're so corny."
Kanda chuckled and pulled him back down, the two sharing a few more passionate kisses before they made love in front of the setting sun.
First of, thank you so much for the kind reviews! They make me so happy and I appreciate it so much, you don't even know. ;v;
We're getting there. Slowly but surely, we're getting there. Thank you again for the support!
DGM belongs to Katsura Hoshino
