warning: mild spoilers


"Bak!"

The blond stopped his movements toward his designated Ark gate as he heard a familiar voice call his name, turning to look back at the approaching Exorcist. "Walker? What happened?"

Stopping a bit short in front of the other, Allen sucked in a breath. "I needed to tell you something. It's really important."

Confused, Bak furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm listening." The Chief blinked as Allen carefully grabbed onto his wrist, pulling him back, away from the Ark gate. "What-"

"I don't want the guards to hear us talk." Allen muttered under his breath as he led Bak away, a bit down the empty hall. Once he was sure no one would be able to hear them, he let go of Bak and went back to loosely crossing his arms over his chest. "I know you said that you'll do all you can to help Kanda, but… I really, really need you to find a way to strengthen his seal."

"Walker…" Bak sighed heavily, hanging and shaking his head. "You know that I want to. And I am going to try. But there may be nothing I can do."

"Bak, please." Allen begged, eyes widening as he picked his head up. "I can't afford to lose Kanda, I-I… If anything were to happen to him, I don't know what I would do. I would fall apart."

"Walker…"

"I know you already said that you would try your best, and I appreciate that." Allen said, gaze dropping to the floor as he tightened his grip on his forearms, hugging himself. "But… I need him to stay alive. Not just for me." Bak didn't say anything, throwing the boy a questioning look. Swallowing softly, Allen chewed his bottom lip for a second before speaking again. "I'm pregnant with Kanda's child."

Allen looked up to see Bak gaping at him, completely shocked from what he just heard. His lip trembled softly for a moment before he turned his head away, shutting his eyes as he hugged himself tighter. "Y-You can ask Komui if you don't believe me… But… I just wanted you to know that… To know that it's not just Kanda and I that are at stake here."

The silence was crushing. Bak quietly rubbed his forehead, breathing out. "God… Allen…" He looked quietly over the young man, moving his hand to grip his jaw and cover his mouth as he crossed the other arm over his chest. Allen Walker was one of the most powerful Exorcists that the Order had ever had in its history, and he was only seventeen. Yet, here he was, telling him that he was expecting a child. "So that's why you got sick in Komui's office. How far along are you?"

Allen looked down, quietly counting in his head just to be sure. "Um… Komui says that I'm around fifteen weeks… Almost sixteen, I guess. And, yeah… That's also why I've been a hormonal wreck the past couple of months."

Bak nodded, taking a deep breath and straightening his posture as he looked the slightest bit up at the teenager. "Listen to me, Walker. I won't leave any stone unturned." He promised. "I'll make sure I look at every possibility, okay? I'm going to try my best."

Allen raised his head to look at his Superior when the older gentleman placed his hand on his shoulder, grinning confidently. "I am a brilliant scientist after all."

Relief and gratefulness filled Allen's eyes as he smiled softly, rubbing his nose gently as a stray tear trickled down his cheek. "Heh, I can't argue with that." He chuckled, his smile widening. "Thank you, Bak. For everything. You're a good man."

Allen didn't miss the look of pride that crossed Bak's face. He felt the hand on his shoulder tighten for a moment. "Well, I should be getting going now. There's not a moment to spare."

Allen nodded as Bak pulled his hand away and began to make his way back to the Ark gate. He moved to turn away, but before Bak got very far, he called back out to Allen, getting his attention.

"Oh, and congratulations, by the way. Please give Kanda my regards as well." He said, making sure they were still out of earshot.

Allen smiled again, nodding. With a wave goodbye, Allen turned his back and walked forward, on his way to catch up with Kanda. Glancing down, he carefully rested his hand on his stomach, his smile staying. He had a strong feeling that they'd be okay.

All three of them. They would be okay.


Kanda blocked out everything around him as his feet hastily carried him back to the training room, his destination the same as it was just a little bit earlier. He needed the quietness of the garden to help sort his thoughts and clear his clouded mind.

For the second time that day, the training room's doors were thrown open by the tense swordsman, a few shrieks echoing through the room as groups huddled together in fear that he would lash out at them. They only stared as he rushed past them, paying no mind as he approached the garden.

Once stepping into the brightened area, Kanda finally broke. He dropped Mugen to the ground and fell to his knees, hiding his face in his hands as he hunched over and tried to keep a lid on his overflowing, overwhelming abundance of emotions.

Everything that was discussed in Komui's office that he was trying to keep buried in the back of his mind was coming back up. Every little detail, the worry that was evident in Komui and Bak's voice, the anxiety that welled up in his chest.

And the two thoughts that made his heart ache the worst:

Allen, his lover, his partner in crime, his bean sprout, worrying so bad that he made himself sick, and the realization that he could die before their child even took their first breath.

He couldn't stop thinking of the sight of Allen's bare stomach, seeing how much it had already grown, even if it wasn't by much.

He thought of a baby that looked so much like Allen, cradled in the younger man's arms as he hung his head over a coffin, sobbing uncontrollably.

Kanda's chest tightened and he sucked in a breath, gripping his chest with a shaking hand. He struggled to both catch his breath and slow down his racing heart.

What was happening to him? He never had reactions like this before. He usually just let everything sink in and roll off his shoulders and usually kept a cool head. But now he sat there, feeling beads of sweat trickle down his face and no matter how hard he tried to control his breathing, he couldn't stop his heart from trying to race out of his chest.

Hopeless. For the first time in years, he was feeling hopeless. He was shutting down and he couldn't stop it.

It was a feeling that he hoped he would never have to feel again, after everything he'd been through while growing up in the Second Exorcist laboratory. He hated to feel this way, to feel so weak and fragile.

Kanda was afraid to feel this way.

Letting out a shudder, he sat down on the ground and pulled his knees up to his chest, hiding his face in them as he continued to breathe in and out, his shoulders trembling.

The silence did nothing to comfort him. It only aided in him slipping away, shutting out the world around him, at least for a few minutes.


When Allen first arrived at Kanda's room, he had to admit, he had forgotten that the other had told him where he would be. So, with a heavy sigh, Allen turned on his heel to make his way to the training room instead.

But before he had even closed the door, something caught his attention. What sounded like a bird chirping was coming from the room he had just glanced in, though he was nearly certain that he hadn't seen one when he was in there. Nonetheless, he opened the door and took a step back inside, eyes shifting around the room until they landed on the source of what he heard; a little white dove, sitting on the windowsill. It had the most pure ivory feathers that Allen had ever seen, almost too pure and bright against everything else around it. A sense of familiarity filled him as he took another step into the room, his hand lingering on the door. "Oh… Hello. How did you get in here?" He asked, as if the bird would answer him. He didn't recall neither him nor Kanda opening the window that day. Birds didn't normally wind up inside of the Order, surprisingly, so he couldn't really figure out how this little guy found itself trapped in their bedroom.

He then recognized where he had seen white birds before. On the Ark, flying above the city, on more than one occasion.

'Did they accidentally fly out of one of the Ark gates?' He thought to himself, rubbing his chin gently.

His train of thought paused when he realized that the bird had begun singing a melody, Allen freezing as it took only a second to recognize what the song was.

So then the boy fell into a deep sleep…

"The melody…" Allen murmured softly, the bird continuing to sing. "How do you…?"

Just like that, the bird stopped, their attention falling onto Allen, giving the slightest little head tilt.

'Open the Ark.'

Those words repeated over and over in Allen's head. He wasn't supposed to open gates without authorization from Central, but… There was just a feeling that he couldn't ignore and a small voice telling him that he should do it.

Besides, he was in his own bedroom. No one besides Kanda would come in, and that was only if he was planning on finishing up training any time soon.

So, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, Allen softly began to murmur the lyrics to the song that the bird had started to sing itself once again.

"So then the boy fell into a deep sleep…"

When Allen's eyes opened again, a gate to the Ark had appeared in front of him. Turning his head to look at the bird on the windowsill, he smiled warmly as he carefully reached his hand out. "Come on, let's get you back home, yeah?"

Without hesitation, the dove hopped into his hand and he carefully took a step forward, letting himself cross the Ark's threshold.

White surrounded him as he stepped into the piano room, looking around silently. Everything was exactly the same as he had left it last, no surprise there. He would be a little concerned if anything had changed, given that he was the only person who had access to the room. He glanced over to the door that would let him out to the rest of the Ark, turning his body toward it as he glanced down to the bird that was in his hand.

"Eh?" Allen's eyes widened in shock and confusion when he noticed that the bird was no longer sitting in his hand. He started to look around, finding no sign of them. The door wasn't open, so they couldn't have flown out. "Where…?"

"It's been quite some time since I was last in this room."

Allen's head whipped around to face the mirror where he heard the voice come from, fear filling his heart as he recalled the last time someone appeared in that mirror, Nea's threatening grin flashing in his mind.

This time, he was met by a different smile. A warm, welcoming one.

A sigh of relief left Allen's lips as he stared at the mirror. "Agnes…" He stepped forward, stopping when he reached the piano, glancing at the white instrument for a second. "Was that you? Did you lead me here?"

The woman hummed in response, nodding. "Yes. I'm glad you took my hint and knew to go to the Ark, otherwise it might have been a little harder than it was to get you here." She said with a chuckle.

Allen lowered himself onto the piano stool, placing his hands on his lap as he lifted his head again. "I didn't know that you knew the song."

"Mhm." Agnes hummed again, eyes looking to the piano next to Allen. "I wasn't authorized to operate the Ark, if that's what you're wondering. I just used to love hearing Nea play it."

Allen could see the longing in her eyes as they almost glazed over, the woman becoming lost in thought for a moment. He then remembered his recent dream, the memory of Nea kissing her on the cheek popping into his mind. "You and Nea were together, weren't you?" He asked softly, keeping his eyes low. "You loved him."

"I still very much love him." Agnes answered as her smile returned to her face. "Even if things turned out different than we all wanted, I still love him. And that won't change."

A small smile graced Allen's lips. "How did the two of you meet, anyway?"

"How did we meet?" Agnes repeated. "When I was about fourteen years old, my family packed up and moved to England. I wasn't completely sure why, but I didn't ask any questions." She began, thinking back on the event. "It was hard for me to get adjusted at first. I spoke English fine, but I was still having trouble growing accustomed to being in a new country." Allen nodded as he listened to her story and waited for her to continue. "Often I would wander off, trying to get used to the new town I lived in. Singing usually helped me, and so did the scenery. That town had the most lovely foliage. One day, I had found a small field of these beautiful flowers. Purple, pink. It just instantly made me feel better, like I was at home, finally."

Agnes looked up to see Allen smile warmly at her, returning the gesture.

"I spent most of my free time in that field, sitting on the ground, appreciating the earth around me, singing to myself. And that's how Nea found me." She said, her smile widening. "He was out wandering with Mana and the two of them heard me and spotted me sitting amongst those flowers."

Allen tried to imagine the scene in his head. He could almost see it vividly, just as Agnes had described it. He thought of the two young boys, watching in awe as they listened to the young girl sing from her spot in the field of wildflowers.

"Who is she?" Mana asked curiously.

"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure she's an angel." Nea said with fascination, his voice echoing as it began to fade. "We should say hi to her."

"I'll only say hi if you say hi first."

Allen opened his eyes as he heard her hum softly. "I spent every day together with Nea and Mana until the day I died."

Agnes didn't look very old. When he'd seen her for the first time in Italy, he didn't think she could be any older than twenty five, and he still thought that. "How old were you when you died, Agnes?"

Agnes hummed again. "I had just turned seventeen. Mana and Nea were sixteen."

Suddenly, Allen's heart clenched in his chest, aching with sorrow. They were no older than he was.

They were just kids.

"You are very kind, Allen. Shedding tears for people you barely know. You have a good heart."

Sniffling, Allen wiped his damp cheek with his hand, only vaguely realizing that he had started crying. It just wasn't fair. In this world, people his age and even younger had to be subjected to death and heartbreak, and for what? "Wh-When did Nea die? How old was he?"

"Nea died over a year after me, in January. He was seventeen as well."

"Actually, I'm only seventeen."

Allen gasped softly as his eyes widened. He suddenly remembered that day from when he was a young child. On that day, Mana was nearly struck by a carriage, the event like a cruel precursor to his future. That day, Mana had told him about his-

… His brother.

His brother that he had been looking for.

Things that Allen had been so shocked to hear from his Master when he told him that he would be awakening as the Fourteenth Noah, things that he'd never heard before.

Except that he did.

Those were things that Mana told him when he was young, and the information stayed locked away in the back of his mind all this time.

He let out a shaky breath, leaning forward to hold his face in his left hand. "I don't understand. I don't understand." Allen said in frustration. "Why do I feel like everything I've ever known in my life is wrong? Why do I feel like there's always something I didn't know, that people weren't telling me?"

"In due time, Allen, you'll have the answers you need to understand. I promise you that." He heard Agnes say to him. "For now, there's something else that needs your attention."

Something else that needs his attention? "What do you mean?" He asked, lifting his head out of his hand. When he did so, the woman in the mirror was nowhere to be seen. "Agnes?"

"Allen!"

Letting out a startled gasp, Allen's head whipped around at the mention of his name, finding none other than his red haired friend standing in front of his still opened Ark gate. Placing his hand on his chest, he breathed out the breath that he was holding. "L-Lavi? How did you get in here?" He had opened the gate inside of Kanda's bedroom. Unless he had just welcomed himself in, then he shouldn't have-

"Allen, how long have you been sitting in here? You left the bedroom door wide open." Lavi informed him. "You're lucky that I'm the one who found you here. Anyone could have walked by and seen."

He had left the door wide open? Allen could feel his heart pulse nervously, swallowing silently. How could he have not noticed that he forgot to close the door? "I…"

"Forget about it, we have bigger things to worry about right now." Lavi told him, Allen blinking at him, starting to become alarmed.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"It's Yuu. Lenalee found him in the training room and there's something up with him." Lavi explained.

At the mention of his lover, Allen was on his feet in a second, ignoring the minor shooting pain in his abdomen. "What's wrong with Kanda?" He asked, almost afraid of getting an answer. All he could picture was Kanda, lying unconscious, unable to shake the fear that his seal had failed.

"He's not responding to anyone."

Allen felt suddenly light headed, having to grip the side of the piano to steady himself. "H-He's unresponsive?"

"No, no. He just… He's shut down. We can't get through to him, he won't talk to anyone." Lavi said, noticing the way Allen had shifted and leaned his weight against the white instrument. Walking over, he placed his hand on Allen's back and helped him stand up straight, leading him to the Ark entrance. "I think you might be the only one who he'll talk to. I hope, at least."

Allen let out a soft, shaky breath as he walked forward with his friend, closing his eyes for a moment. "I hope so, too."


"Kanda…" Lenalee said, keeping her voice soft as she sat cross legged in front of him. Her friend didn't even flinch as she spoke to him. All he did was keep his face hidden against his knees that he held against his chest.

Lenalee had gone to the training room to start her daily workout routine. She wasn't expecting to find Kanda there, a few people crowded around the garden entrance as they murmured to each other and stared at him. Once she had managed to push her way through the crowd, she tried to speak to him, thinking he'd merely fallen asleep. After a few seconds, it became clear that he wasn't asleep, he was shutting everyone out.

It worried her to think about what could have happened to make him react this way. Kanda was usually a very explosive person. He never shut down before, at least not in front of her. She wondered if something happened between him and Allen after he left the infirmary. She knew that Komui needed to speak to the two of them privately. Maybe something happened while they were there. Still, she hoped that there was something that their white haired friend would be able to do to pull the swordsman out of this state.

The crowd had long since cleared out, giving them some that Kanda definitely needed. Sighing, she carefully rested her hand on his forearm. "You don't have to speak to me, Kanda…" She almost whispered. "I just… Whatever happened… I want you to know that it's going to be okay. And if you do want to talk, I'm here."

As footsteps approached from behind her, she swore she saw his hands grip his forearms a little tighter.

"Lenalee, I found him." Lavi said, walking up to her from behind. She turned her head to look up at the two of them, immediately noticing the concerned look that Allen was giving the man in front of them.

Wordlessly, Allen walked over to lower himself onto the ground next to Kanda, folding his legs. He looked at Lenalee, who smiled at him, reaching over to hold his hand in hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze. It made him smile back at her in appreciation, watching her as she stood up and pulled her hand away. With that quiet interaction, Lenalee and Lavi turned to leave the two of them be.

For a few minutes, Allen didn't say anything. He merely stared at his hands that he had folded in his lap, thinking of the right thing to say. Unlike Lenalee, Allen thought he had an idea of what was making Kanda act the way he was. He thought back on all the information that had been hurled at the young General in their last meeting with Komui. Glancing over to him, he let a small smile grace his lips. "What's gotten into you, Kanda? You usually blow up when something is bothering you. You must have a fever or something." When Kanda didn't respond to his statement, he let out a huff, letting his shoulders slump. "Kanda… Please, talk to me. Nothing is going to get better unless you get it off your chest. What set you off?"

For a moment, Allen didn't think he was going to get an answer. Then, suddenly, Kanda mumbled into his arms. "Your stomach."

"Hm?"

"Your stomach grew."

Allen's face flushed a bit, embarrassment beginning to bubble up inside him. "You're having a meltdown because I got fat?"

"No." Kanda almost growled out, the frustration evident in his voice. "It's not because you got fat. You didn't get fat." He lifted his head, taking a much needed deep breath, inhaling loudly through his nose, exhaling slow and quiet through his mouth. Somehow, it helped the tightness he felt in his chest, but not by much. "The baby grew. The baby is growing and I… I still feel like it's not… That it's not real." He tried to explain.

Allen looked at him silently, listening carefully without trying to jump to any conclusions or cut him off.

"I don't feel like I'm connected to it. I know that it's mine, but… Whenever I think about it, or whenever anyone speaks of it, it's 'Allen's baby, Allen's baby'. I just…" He sighed heavily again, feeling short of his breath. "But when I saw that your stomach had grown during the three weeks I was gone while Komui was telling me that there's a greater chance that I'm going to die, I just… I felt everything crash down on me. I know that you're scared that I'll die and leave you here alone, and you don't think that I'm taking the threat seriously. But what you don't understand is that my biggest fear is that I'll die and leave you alone, with a child no less, and that I'll never get to see you again. I would put my life on the line to save you without a second thought. But to die like this, because of this cursed seal… I..."

Allen's lips pressed into a thin line as his eyes brimmed with tears. Kanda admitting that he was afraid that he would die and leave him behind broke his heart. He'd never known Kanda to be afraid of anything, much less dying.

He remembered vividly all the times Kanda swore he wouldn't die until he found 'that person'. It was almost a relief. But then Kanda found out that person had been Alma Karma. Now that Kanda knew that and Alma was gone for good, that relief had gone with him.

"I didn't know that you felt like this." Allen said quietly, keeping a sad smile on his face as he looked down at his lap.

"I was keeping it bottled up, remember?"

Allen sighed and lifted his head up, sitting up straight. "We have the same fear. More than anything in the world, I'm afraid to lose you. And even though we've only known about her for a few weeks, I'm afraid to lose our baby. The two of you are my world now. But we have to have a little bit of faith, Kanda. Bak said that he's going to look for a solution."

Kanda scoffed and rolled his eyes. "But Bak is an idiot."

Allen didn't laugh. "Bak is the son of the people who put that seal on you in the first place, Kanda. If anyone can figure out how to strengthen it, it's him. I believe that he can do it." Allen paused to look over at Kanda, finding him staring down at the ground in a similar fashion to how he'd been zoning out. "And I believe in you. I don't think you're going to go down without a fight." Kanda looked over at him with wide eyes, finding Allen to be smiling warmly back at him. "Not that I don't want you to be careful. If you ignore us and go get hurt, I'll beat your ass." Kanda clicked his tongue and Allen giggled at him, leaning over to lay his head against his boyfriend's shoulder. "I love you. That's the bottom line. I love you, and I will always love you. And no matter what happens, I'll always be by your side."

Allen wasn't expecting to watch Kanda's hand move slowly, reaching to entwine the fingers of his right hand with Allen's left ones that still rested on his lap. His tears returned as Kanda squeezed his hand firmly. Albeit, they were happy tears. One trailed down his cheek as his smile widened, shutting his eyes as he nuzzled his face against Kanda's shoulder.

Kanda moved his head to rest against the top of Allen's, his lips touching the soft ivory hair. "I love you, too…" He muttered quietly.

Allen's heart leapt when he heard those words, a warm and happy feeling filling his being. For once, their silence was comfortable. Allen decided to push his luck a bit and he pulled on the hand that was intertwined with his over, guiding it until it was lying flat against his stomach before he rested his hand on top. He heard a soft breath leave Kanda's lips as he continued to smile down at their hands. "I know that this is hard for you, Kanda. It's hard for me, too, but this is something you've never been exposed to before. I'll be patient with you, and so will she."

Kanda stared at their two hands, his heart pounding. He could feel the small bump under his fingertips and for the first time, he could feel a small spark of something that he couldn't explain inside him. Shutting his eyes, he nuzzled his face against Allen's hair once more, giving a small nod.

Patience is what he needed. And he was thankful that Allen realized that without him having to admit it himself. It was something that someone else also realized without him having to say it out loud. "Hey, Moyashi?"

"Hmm?"

"Remind me to thank Lenalee later."


"Do you think Allen was able to get him to talk?"

"Of course I do. No way that Kanda can stay quiet when Allen's around. He's always got something to argue about." Lavi said lightheartedly, leaning his elbow against the table and resting his head in his hand. Still, Lenalee sighed heavily, pushing around the noodles in her bowl as she stared down at it.

"I just… I'm worried about him. Both of them. They're dealing with a lot… What if it's too much?" She asked, looking over to the redhead with concern filled eyes.

Lavi loved those beautiful violet eyes. It hurt him to see when they showed anything but happiness. He smiled at her cheekily. "Too much for Kanda? I think not. And Allen? That little squirt's dealt with worse than a baby. Besides, they've got the both of us here to help."

It relieved him to see the small smile that pulled at her lips. He knew that she was excited for the new addition to arrive, even if it was still a few months away. He could only imagine how relieving it was to have someone so new and innocent join their family in a time where it seemed like they were surrounded only by death and sorrow.

The two of them dropped the conversation as Marie joined them. "Good evening you two. How have you been?" He asked them, sitting down across the table from them.

Lenalee sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. "Stressed. I'm worried about Allen and Kanda."

Marie sighed as he placed his tray of food down on the table. "I am too. It seems that they have a lot on their shoulders at the moment." Lenalee closed her eyes and Marie heard how she tried to quietly breath in and out. "That just means that we'll have to be there for them when they need it."

"Well, that's a given." Lavi said, smiling over at Lenalee, who grinned back at him. "Right?"

Lavi held back his blush when Lenalee leaned toward him, resting her head against his shoulder. "Right."

Speaking of the devils themselves, Kanda and Allen stepped into the cafeteria not a moment later. Lenalee felt Lavi exhale in relief once their eyes both landed on the swordsman. Allen had gotten through to him. No one had made a scene as they approached, knowing that that wouldn't be what either of the young men wanted.

"How are you feeling, Kanda?" Lenalee asked as they both sat down, Kanda sitting down next to Marie and Allen taking a seat next to him.

"I'm fine." Kanda stated curtly. But after a second, he glanced up at her. When the two made eye contact, Lenalee wondered why her friend had such a flustered look on his face. "... Thanks." He muttered, loud enough for her to hear.

Lenalee thought she misheard him for a moment, but then she understood why he had said that. She smiled warmly at him, giving him a small nod.

The interaction between the two made Allen happy. He carefully placed his hand on Kanda's thigh, making the other glance over at him. Allen smiled warmly at him, and that warm feeling moved to his chest when he felt Kanda put his hand on top of his and squeeze it gently.

Then, suddenly, he felt like he was being bulldozed from behind, letting out a breath of surprise as someone hugged him and clung to him, wrapping their arms around his shoulders. "Allen!" The young voice shouted. "You haven't been showing up for our chess matches! You know I can't win against Johnny without you!"

"You can't win against Johnny with me, either, Timothy." Allen said with a chuckle.

"It increases my odds when you're there!"

Allen's laughter continued as the boy hung onto him, lifting his feet off the ground. If he weren't sitting firmly on the bench, the boy would probably make him fall right off. Kanda watched intently, making sure that didn't happen. They didn't need another visit to the infirmary for Allen falling onto his ass and worrying about the baby.

"It would be so much easier for me to win if Link were here!" Timothy whined, hanging his head back. Allen grabbed the boy's forearms and pulled him up, straightening his back.

"Timothy, you're going to choke me." He said, feeling him relax his arms as he planted his feet on the ground. Kanda quirked an eyebrow.

"He is here." Allen heard him grumble under his breath, apparently being missed by the child. The comment earned the General an elbow to his ribcage, which turned into the two of them smacking each other back and forth, akin to two children fighting.

As dinner went on, more of their friends began to join them. Johnny took a seat next to Allen, and after, Krory, Miranda, and Chaoji joined them at the table. It was a bit quiet at first, everyone feeling like they had to tread lightly around the General as to not set him off.

Still, Miranda took it upon herself to speak to him first, feeling genuinely concerned for the young man who had nearly died in front of her just a day before. "I'm so glad to see that you're out of the infirmary, Kanda. I was really worried about you."

Kanda scowled at his tray in front of him, trying not to show how flustered he was over someone worrying about him. "I told you not to worry about me. I'm fine."

"But you weren't fine, you were dying." Chaoji interjected calmly, earning a death glare from his superior.

"Yes! You have to be more careful!" Miranda exclaimed, finding a sudden burst of courage, a few people at the table looking to her with surprise, including Kanda.

"I-"

"She's right, Kanda. You have to be more careful, or Miranda and I are going to kick your butt." Lenalee scolded him, Kanda turning his head to gape at the young woman, not able to believe that everyone was ganging up on him, even if it was because they cared.

"Me too." Allen added.

"Moyashi-"

"Me too." Marie said with a smile.

"Give it up, Yuu! You can't get away from it, you have too many people that care about you here!" Lavi snickered, holding his head in his hand while he gave his friend one of his goofy grins.

Unable to hide his flustered blush anymore, Kanda crossed his arms and turned his head away. "Tch! You guys are so annoying!"

Allen's grin never left for the duration of their dinner. Everyone was having such a good time, and it warmed his heart to see how much everyone truly cared about his boyfriend, even if some of them were intimidated by him at times. His grin stayed, even as the people in the cafeteria dwindled and dwindled, most of them going to get a good night's rest, hopefully.

Soon, it was Allen and Kanda's turn to leave, the two of them able to walk down the quiet halls, hand in hand for once. Allen locked their fingers together, leaning his head against Kanda's shoulder as he carefully hugged his arm. He heard Kanda sigh in content and felt the grip on his hand tighten. It was so nice for them to be able to freely show affection towards one another, even when it was just for a few minutes.

Once they returned to their bedroom, they were free to show as much affection as they wanted. The second that the door closed behind them, Kanda had carefully taken Allen's face into his hands, delicately but passionately kissing his love, who was more than happy to return the gesture, loosely holding onto the arms that held his face. He hummed quietly, shutting his eyes in bliss.

After breaking the kiss to take a soft breath, Kanda shut his eyes and rested his forehead against Allen's, keeping his hands on his face. "You don't know how badly I wished I was with you those three weeks."

Allen smiled softly, lidding his eyes. "I do know… I missed you so much… Hopefully we won't have to be apart for so long again…" He murmured, lifting his own right hand to brush his fingers against Kanda's cheek lovingly. He didn't object when Kanda crashed his lips against his for a second time, melting into it as he moved to pull Allen closer, hands on his waist. Using nimble fingers, he began to unfasten the buttons on the swordsman's shirt, making his way down to the very last one before putting his hands back on his shoulders, sliding them underneath his shirt to touch his smooth skin before helping the garment fall onto the floor. He couldn't help but stare and rest his right hand against the blackness of the seal that had come to cover most of Kanda's shoulder, letting out somewhat of a displeased hum.

"Moyashi… Look at me." Allen lifted his eyes to meet Kanda's hard gaze. "We've done enough worrying about this for one day. Right now, it's just you and me."

'It's just you and me…' Allen repeated in his head, his smile pulling at his lips again a second later. He wrapped his arms around Kanda's neck and buried his face against it. He even let Kanda pick him up and carry him a few feet to their bed, wrapping the younger man's legs around his waist. It lasted only a few seconds, and Kanda carefully placed him down on the bed, placing a kiss to his lips before he pulled away. Allen chuckled softly, looking up at him. "I'm surprised you didn't throw me."

"I was going to, but then I would also be throwing the baby."

Normally, Allen would have at least chuckled at the comment, but he was too surprised by Kanda actually acknowledging the baby to even snort. After Kanda had felt so detached, it gave him a hopeful feeling that he was quickly starting to come around.

Kanda seemed to notice the bean sprout staring at him as he crawled onto the bed and laid down, reclining back against the pillows. "I would ask if you're enjoying the show, but there hasn't been much of one yet." Allen scoffed and rolled his eyes, Kanda snorting at him. "Come here."

Without any remarks, Allen crawled carefully on top of Kanda, leaning his head down to press his lips against the lips of the man under him, slowly getting back into where they had left off just moments before. He stopped when he felt fingers start to unbutton his shirt, breaking the kiss to sit up straight and take over for him. Unfastening from top to bottom, Allen somewhat hesitantly shed the button up from his torso, letting it fall back along with the cardigan onto Kanda's legs behind him.

Something about having his small bump exposed in front of Kanda made Allen blush with the tiniest ounce of embarrassment. Their baby was growing, and that made Allen feel incredibly proud and ecstatic, but another small part of him was self conscious about the weight he was putting on. The thought of other people looking at him and thinking that he was getting fat nearly mortified him, almost as much as the thought of Kanda looking at him in that way. So when he looked down and saw Kanda move his own hands to cup his small belly as delicately as he could, the embarrassment he felt almost instantaneously fizzled away and was replaced with a feeling of utter elation. His blush darkened and his heart began to pound in his chest as Kanda moved his hands slowly, staring at Allen's stomach with a sense of wonder that he was trying very hard to hide.

"Oi, Moyashi."

"Yeah?"

"You referred to the baby as 'she', didn't you?" Kanda asked, not moving his gaze away from where his hands laid. "Did Komui tell you that it was a female?"

Allen hummed softly, shaking his head. "No. We won't actually be able to find out what the baby is until they're born." He admitted. He saw the look of confusion that overtook Kanda's expression as he looked up at the man sitting on top of him. Allen let out a chuckle and moved his hand to join Kanda's. "Do you ever just have this gut feeling where you're absolutely sure of something? That's how I feel about the baby. I can't explain it, but I'm almost certain that we're having a daughter."

"A daughter…" Kanda muttered in disbelief. A baby girl.

Visions of him, Allen, and their little baby girl cradled safely in his arms crossed his mind. Looking down, he saw that it was the same baby he had thought of earlier, this time in a positive light. Everything about her resembled Allen, from her shining silver eyes to her chubby, rosy cheeks. He couldn't quite describe the way he was feeling at that moment, but there was a sense of longing that he couldn't shake. A longing to meet their daughter, to hold her in his arms.

For he and Allen Walker to have a little family together. Something he'd never really had before.

To protect them and keep them safe.

Kanda was somewhat startled out of his thoughts when he realized that Allen had leaned down and buried his face against his shoulder. In a moment, Kanda wrapped his arms around him, holding him close as he buried his own face against his lover's snow white hair. What Kanda didn't know was that Allen thought that he came on too strong, pushing the swordsman to shut himself off again in defense. But to his surprise, he felt and heard Kanda snort, picking up his head to look down at him questioningly. "What if it turns out to be a boy, instead? Will you be disappointed?"

Allen blinked at him before grinning a little and shaking his head. "Of course I won't. But I still have that gut feeling that it's going to be a girl." He explained, Kanda giving half an eye roll, the small smirk on his lips not going unnoticed. "Will you be disappointed?"

Snaking his arms back around Allen's waist, Kanda shook his head. "I just want them to be healthy. And you."

Allen leaned down once more to press a loving kiss to Kanda's lips, cupping his face with his right hand. "And I want that too. For all of us." He muttered softly against his lips before kissing him again, letting Kanda take him into his arms and guide him into a comfortable position, the two of them finally getting their evening of passion spent together after weeks of being apart.


Hey! Hope everyone had a great holiday, and Happy New Year! I'm trying to get back into the swing of things and once again, I appreciate the patience and kindness. We're finally getting somewhere.

DGM belongs to Katsura Hoshino