Warning: Minor spoilers (including dialogue)


"A shame we couldn't spend more time together. Next time, we'll have more fun. Next time."

Tyki breathed out a cloud of smoke as he leaned over the balcony of Sheril's mansion, staring up into a star-littered sky. It'd been a few weeks since he confronted the long haired Exorcist that Cheater Boy was close to, and unexplainably since then, he hadn't been able to stop thinking of Allen Walker.

He was feeling something that he couldn't quite explain. Concern? Was he concerned for the boy?

Tyki then heard a giggle come from behind him, turning his head to see Road approach him, a grin on her face. "You're worried about Allen? I didn't know you had a heart, Tyki."

"Isn't it past your bedtime?" He questioned, sticking his cigarette back in his mouth as he turned around to face her, leaning back against the balcony. "And who said I was worried?"

"Your own mind gave you away." Road giggled again, walking closer to him. "You know that you can't keep anything from Wisely and I."

"Both of you brats better stop prying through my thoughts." Tyki warned, his gaze hardening into a scowl. It frustrated him when he got a bratty giggle from the girl in front of him. "What do you want, Road?"

Another giggle slipped from her lips before they curled into a smile. "I'm worried about him too, Tyki. He is family, after all."

"But why am I worried about him? He's our enemy. Both him and the Fourteenth."

The smile remained on Road's face. "The two are you are connected, one way or another."

At the mention of being connected with the little cheater, Tyki's wounds ached for a moment and he grabbed at his chest, silently holding his breath for a moment. After the pain had passed, dark eyes trailed over to the girl, his gaze hard. "I don't understand how the two of us could be connected. Whenever I see Nea, I just feel so… So-"

Road cut him off with a giggle. "Silly Tyki. I didn't say that Joyd and Nea were connected."

Tyki's words were caught in his throat as she turned to leave, still giggling. Before he could manage to question her, Road was gone. He silently cursed to himself, taking another stress filled drag from his cigarette.


"One morning, when I woke up, I found myself to be an old man."

"I was so sure that I'd been seventeen just the day before. My hair was longer, I wasn't this tall, and I didn't have any stubble."

Sighing heavily, Allen let his arms fall over his face. It had been almost four whole weeks since Kanda had been put on leave and he couldn't stop thinking about his last dream of his father, nor the surprise meeting he'd had with Agnes on the Ark. Since then, small memories from his own past that were buried in his mind were resurfacing.

When Mana told Allen that he didn't remember becoming older, Allen had thought that the man was absolutely out of his mind. That or just trying to get a rise out of him. And that led Allen to remember what else had happened on that day.

They talked about Mana's missing brother. His missing brother, that he now knew to be Nea, the Fourteenth Noah. Had Mana known then that his brother was a Noah?

He let out a loud groan, moving to cover his eyes with his palms before running his fingers through his hair, leaving them there for a moment. There was so much for him to unpack, so many details for him to sort through, and he felt like he was getting nowhere.

"Thinking again, Moyashi?"

Allen moved his arm a bit so that he could see Kanda, who was standing at the edge of the bed with his arms folded loosely in front of his chest. Sighing again, Allen draped his right arm on his forehead, shutting his eyes. "Thinking is an overstatement. I feel like my brain is scrambled eggs."

"I don't doubt it." Kanda said with a snicker, sitting down on the edge of the bed closer to where Allen laid. Said boy moved his arm to glare at his boyfriend, lobbing his left arm to back hand him gently for his remark. Kanda snorted, catching the arm. He moved his hand to hold Allen's, bringing the Innocence hand to his lips. "Don't stress yourself out, Moyashi. We don't need any more trips to the infirmary."

"I'm pregnant, remember? Trips to the infirmary are inevitable." Allen said, curling his fingers around Kanda's hand as he kissed it carefully, watching the older boy give half an eye roll. "Actually, speaking of the infirmary, there was something that I wanted to ask Head Nurse, maybe Komui."

Kanda's brows knit together as he lowered Allen's hand, holding it on his lap. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing." Allen said, sitting up, leaning back on his left hand that he pulled from Kanda's lap. "At least, I'm pretty sure it's nothing."

"Moyashi…"

"Since last week, I keep getting these weird spasms in my stomach. I think it's my muscles. I just wanted to ask if maybe it was a symptom or something since my hormones are all over the place." Allen explained, tracing his fingers along his stomach carefully, eyes lidded as he looked down at it.

"Does it hurt?" Kanda asked, trying not to show concern in his voice. He scooted closer on the bed as Allen let out a soft sigh, leaning back on his left arm, continuing to trace his fingers against his belly.

"No, it's just weird." Allen said, his hand coming to a stop. "There's another one."

Without asking, Kanda nudged Allen's hand out of the way and placed his own in its place. "... I don't feel anything, Moyashi. Are you sure you're not imagining things?"

Allen pursed his lips as he stared intently at the hand on his belly. "You don't feel that?"

"I just said no."

Allen swatted his hand away with a frustrated huff, getting up off the bed. "We'll worry about it later. Right now, I just want to get something to eat. My head is killing me." He said, letting Timcanpy settle on top of his head. "I'm getting hangry."

"Right. We don't want a moody Moyashi, do we?" Kanda asked, standing from the bed. Allen turned around to face him slowly.

"One more remark like that, and I'm going to put you on your ass in the training room." He warned, watching as Kanda walked by him, snickering, as he opened the door for him.

"I'm sure you will. Now, let's go." He said, looking down at Allen as the bean sprout narrowed his eyes at him on the way out, chuckling and shaking his head before walking out after him.


Allen's eyes examined the room as they entered the cafeteria, taking notice of all the people that were there this morning. A feeling of anxiousness welled up in the pit of his stomach. Ever since he'd hit eighteen weeks, he'd started feeling more and more self conscious of his growing middle, worrying that people would start to take notice. He was still scared to tell the people closest to him, fearing that they would turn their backs on him. But what scared him even more than that was people that he didn't want to know finding out. Finders, Scientists, even Exorcists who still believed that he was a traitor to God and the Order, and Central personnel that watched his every move, waiting for him to slip up. Suddenly, he couldn't make himself move, frozen in his spot. "Kanda… I'm not so sure about eating right now. I think I lost my appetite."

"Why?"

"I just… I think my stomach is too noticeable now, and there's a lot of people…"

"Noticeable?" Kanda repeated, turning his head to look him up and down. "You're barely showing."

Allen scoffed at him. "Oh, I'm barely showing? Didn't you have a meltdown over how big I got?" Kanda frowned at his remark.

"You wouldn't be having this problem if you'd just suck it up and tell Johnny so he could tailor your clothes." Allen pouted and looked away from him.

"I'm not ready for all of that, Kanda." Allen mumbled, crossing his arms loosely over his chest. "For a little longer, I'd prefer if it were just us, Lavi, and Lenalee who knew- What are you doing?"

Kanda gave a swift tug at the bottom of Allen's black shirt. "Untucking your shirt."

"Why?"

Kanda snorted slightly. "What do you mean why?"

Allen responded by swatting his hand away. "Why are you untucking my shirt? You know that I don't like having my shirts be untucked."

"Have you taken notice that tucking in your shirts makes your stomach more obvious?" Kanda asked, eyes trailing up to see the realization slowly set in on Allen's face. "If you leave your shirts untucked, it won't accentuate the curve of your stomach so much."

Allen's realization soon turned to embarrassment as his cheeks turned pink, pressing his lips together. When Kanda questioned him, he said, "But I don't like leaving my shirts untucked. It makes me feel… Unkempt. I don't want to look fat and frumpy."

The comment earned him a serious glare. "I hate when you say things like that." Kanda grumbled, shaking his head. Before Allen could continue and question him, Kanda had already turned his back and started walking. "Let's go, Moyashi. I know you didn't really lose your appetite."

Allen gazed at him for a moment or two before he followed him to Jerry's counter. Inhaling deeply, Allen was able to smell whatever delicious dish the chef was currently making and it brought a smile to his face. "Good morning, Jerry!"

Upon hearing the young man's bright greeting, Jerry turned his head back to grin at him, also finding Kanda standing there, waiting. "Good morning, boys! Soba for you, Kanda?" Jerry was used to the hum in response from the older of the two, nodding. "And you, Allen? Anything else with your usual?"

Taking a peek over Kanda's shoulder, Allen tried to see what Jerry was currently making. Whatever it was, it smelled great. "Can you make me an order of whatever you're making right now?"

"Of course I can." Jerry called out. "Anything else?" Just as Allen opened his mouth, Jerry raised one of his hands. "No dango. I'm not giving you sweets for every single meal."

"Please, Jerry?" He heard the boy whine from behind him. He could practically see in his mind the way he was pouting in order to get his way. "Just one stick?"

"... Okay. One stick, and that's it until dinner." Jerry stated firmly, even though he was giving in.

Allen smiled brightly, grinning triumphantly at Kanda, who rolled his eyes. "You are the biggest brat I've ever met."

"Coming from you, that's a compliment." Allen said to him, hearing Kanda click his tongue at him in annoyance as he turned his back to him, walking off to find somewhere to sit.

"Allen!"

Picking his head up, he saw Lenalee wave at him from where she sat with Lavi and Krory. His face brightened upon seeing the three of them and began to make his way over to him, paying no mind to the occasional dirty look that was thrown in his direction. He soon took a seat next to Lenalee and was greeted by Lavi and Krory.

"It's about time you showed up. Now you can help me to get Krorykins to stop bullying me for no reason." Lavi said.

"I'm no bully, you brat. If anything, you're the one bullying me." Krory insisted.

Allen shook his head as the bickering continued, turning his head to Lenalee to smile at her. "Good morning."

"It's almost the afternoon, Allen. Did you sleep in again?" Lenalee chuckled, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. "You need a hair tie, so your hair isn't in your face while you eat?"

"Yeah, I do." Allen said with a smile, leaning forward a bit as she reached into her pocket to pull one out, leaning back behind him to carefully brush his ivory locks back into a low ponytail. Lenalee admired his hair, loving how he was letting it grow out. It reached just below his shoulders now. "I was just doing some thinking, that's all. I got distracted."

"Thinking about what?"

"Hm?" Allen hummed absent-mindedly, pulling down his shirt by its hem. "Oh… Nothing. I was just thinking about my father again." Allen looked down when he felt her rest her head on his shoulder. He grinned gently and tilted his head so it was resting against hers. "I'm fine, I promise."

"You better not be lying to me, Allen Walker." The young woman warned as she pulled away. He let out a chuckle, watching her get back to her lunch.

"I'm not, I promise." He assured her. It was hard keeping things from Lenalee. But ever since their last mission together where he told her about his pregnancy, he'd been working on that. Keeping secrets wouldn't do him any good, and the stress and guilt that built up inside him for doing so certainly wouldn't be good for his baby. That's why he would probably express his concerns to her about his sudden abdominal spasms.

Spasms that he was trying his best to ignore while he and the group of them ate their brunch. He tried to ignore it while they bickered.

"Really! I don't know why you're so aggressive toward me today, Krory. Is it something I said?" Lavi asked. Krory growled a bit at the slight teasing tone that the redhead had in his voice.

"It definitely isn't because of the way you tease him for talking to Adelina, Lavi." Allen noted, his hint of sarcasm going a long way for everyone except the red headed rabbit.

"No, that can't be it."

"I am… Not talking with Ms. Adelina. In that way." Krory sputtered a bit, taking a break to drink some of his water and hopefully divert the fact that he was becoming flustered.

"I stick up for you and you lie to me. I thought we were friends, Krory." Allen said. Lenalee giggled, covering her mouth. Krory struggled to find words to respond to his younger friend. Before he could, Lenalee placed her hand on the table and looked him in the eye.

"There's nothing wrong with speaking to Adelina in a romantic way, Krory. Lavi is only teasing you, well, because he's Lavi."

"It's because he's an immature dumbass who has nothing better to do with himself." Kanda interjected, placing his tray down on the table next to Allen, dragging a cart behind him. A fit of giggles broke out as Lavi looked at his friend in outrage.

"You're heartless, Yuu." Lavi whined, crossing his arms.

"I think he's romantic. He even brought Allen's lunch over for him." Lenalee said, teasing the Japanese Exorcist lightly, giggling again when his face turned red and he sneered at her. Lavi joined in with a laugh, much to Kanda and Allen's embarrassment.

Allen only managed half of an eye roll when the fluttering in his stomach startled him. He flinched involuntarily, trying to discreetly press his hand to his abdomen. He tried to ignore it for now, taking a deep breath and releasing it silently.

"What's wrong, Allen?"

He should have known that Lenalee would notice. "I can't get anything by you, can I?" He knew she wasn't playing around by the stern expression she wore, and that's when Allen realized that he still had his hand on his stomach, even if it was mostly covered by the table.

"What's wrong?" She asked again, keeping her voice low. She gripped his forearm gently, her stern expression turning into one of concern. "Does something hurt?"

Allen debated for a moment on whether or not he should lie to her, to appease her for the moment so she didn't worry so much. But one glance into her violet eyes, and he couldn't find it in himself to even think about uttering a lie to her. He could, however, muster one of his famous fake smiles. "I'm not in pain, Lena. I promise." He told her, lowering his hand to his side. "I've just been getting a weird spasm this past week, and it's starting to become more frequent."

For a moment, it looked like maybe Lenalee was going to start fretting over him, but then her eyes widened as she looked at him. "Wait, spasms?" She repeated. "What does it feel like?"

Allen blinked once. "Kind of like… Flutters. It doesn't last very long, only a second or two, maybe." He explained.

"Allen… How many weeks are you again?"

Needing to do a quick calculation, Allen thought over the number of weeks and confirmed the answer in his head before speaking. "Twenty weeks. Why?"

"Do you think that maybe what you're feeling is the baby kicking?"

The words worked slowly through Allen's head as he tried to comprehend what she had just suggested. The baby kicking? He hadn't even thought of that.

"Allen? Did you hear what I said?" Lenalee asked, giving his arm a bit of a shake.

Though he could feel his eyes on the back of his head, Allen ignored Kanda and kept his attention on Lenalee. "Maybe I should check with your brother, just to be sure."

"We should go right now." Lenalee said eagerly, grabbing onto his wrist, beginning to pull him up out of his seat and out of the cafeteria without another word. He didn't put up much of a fight, and the two of them began to run out of the room, leaving their other friends in confusion.

"Hey! What the-" Kanda trailed off, snatching Mugen up off the floor and running after them, Lavi on his heel. The group left poor, confused Krory behind, the vampire watching after them and trying to figure out what had happened.

From a different table, Johnny had watched Allen get up and run from the dining hall with Lenalee and he couldn't help but notice that something about Allen looked different. Though not by much, it almost looked to him like the boy was putting on weight, which was unheard of for the parasite type. He found himself thinking back to the last real conversation that he had with Allen, the words running back in his head.

"You have to take better care of yourself than that. You're an Exorcist, you need all the strength you can get. Not to mention… You know."

"Who… Who told you?"

"Allen, I've seen the Fourteenth try to take over. Remember? When Kanda and I came looking for you?"

Johnny remembered the mix of panic and confusion on Allen's face as the conversation unfolded and he remembered his worry for the boy increasing, the way it was doing now. He also remembered the second Allen put his poker face back on and smiled at him.

"I'm okay, Johnny. My mind's just been scattered lately. I was confused."

There was something that Allen was keeping to himself, and he worried that he wasn't the only friend that he was keeping it from. Johnny promised himself that he wouldn't let Allen go through any more obstacles alone and it included this one, whatever it was.

"Wonder where they're off to in a hurry." Jiji said, his attention also on the group that had suddenly bolted.

"Maybe the Chief's office." Cash suggested, taking a sip of coffee.

Johnny stared at the door even after the four of them had left, thoughts continuing to turn in his head. "Yeah. Maybe they're going to talk with the Chief."

Allen and Lenalee hadn't gotten very far in the hall when the other two caught up to them, Allen stopping when he felt a firm grip on his wrist, snapping his head up to see Kanda glowering at him, Lavi huffing and puffing as he nearly ran into Kanda. "Where are you two off to in such a rush?" The redhead questioned.

"My brother." Lenalee answered. "We were going to ask him about something."

"About your stomach?" Kanda asked, keeping his focus on Allen. "Why didn't you tell me it was bothering you again?"

"Because it's not bothering me." Allen responded. He felt Kanda loosen his grip on his wrist and watched as his expression morphed into a confused one. "I think those flutters I'm feeling might be the baby kicking. I just want to check with Komui before I start getting excited for nothing." The way Kanda's eyes widened in surprise made him smile and it took everything in him not to reach his hand up and brush his fingers against his cheek.

"What are we all waiting for, then?" Lavi exclaimed, hooking his arm onto Allen's as he began to pull him forward.

"Wh- Lavi!" Allen exclaimed, almost tripping over his own feet as got dragged along by both Lavi and Lenalee, Kanda following quickly behind them.


"What is that contraption, anyway?"

"I'm so glad you asked." Komui said to Bak, holding up the incomplete device. "I've been working on something that will let me amplify the sound of Allen and Kanda's baby's heart beat." Bak's eyes widened with curiosity and Komui handed it over to let him study it. "I was hoping to have it done by now, but I've been distracted with other stuff."

"Like what? Building more of your other fucked up robots?" Bak asked, setting the device back on the desk, Komui snatching it a second later.

"Actually, it's more like dealing with an ongoing Holy War, but thank you for confirming that I'm a brilliant engineer in my free time."

In a split second, the door was opened without a knock and Komui panicked, trying to get the device out of the intruder's line of sight. That is, until he realized that the intruder was his precious baby sister, in which he let out a sigh of relief.

"Brother, are you busy?" His sister asked, peeking her head past the door.

"Never too busy for you, Lenalee!" Komui exclaimed, standing up from his desk. "What do you need?" Komui was more than a little surprised when Lenalee fully opened the door and behind her was Allen, Lavi, and Kanda, all entering the office and closing the door behind him. "Actually, I was just getting ready to-"

"Relax, I just want to ask you a question." Allen chuckled, walking closer to his Chief's desk. Komui eyed him questioningly before slowly lowering himself back into his seat. "I just wanted to ask you if it's possible that I'm feeling the baby kick."

Both Branch Chiefs looked at him, their eyes practically bugging out of their heads.

"They're kicking?" Bak asked, a hint of excitement in his voice.

Draping his arm across his stomach and resting his palm against it, he smiled sheepishly at the two. "I think so. I've been feeling something for a while now and it just clicked that it could be her kicking me. Thanks to Lenalee, anyway." He said with a chuckle, smiling as his friend stood next to him, grinning back at him.

"How long have you been able to feel something?" Komui asked, folding his hands on his desk.

"Since about last week. It didn't feel like kicks or anything, it felt more like fluttering, maybe gas, so I didn't put two and two together until this morning when I was in the dining hall." Allen ignored Lavi's childish snicker at the mention of gas, hearing what sounded like Lenalee smacking him on the arm.

Komui nodded, looking pleased. "Well, you're right. At twenty weeks along, it's very likely that your baby is starting to get used to moving her hands and feet around. They're probably not strong enough for anyone else to feel them yet, but give her time. She'll get the hang of it." Komui said with a chuckle.

Allen smiled warmly, tears gathering in the corners of his eyes as he gazed lovingly down at his bump, running his hand over it. Lenalee let out a small squeal of delight, throwing herself, carefully, at him and hugging him tightly. Overwhelmed with emotion, Allen returned her hug and let out half of a happy cry, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, he looked over to his boyfriend, who had an expression of what Allen could only describe as confused wonder on his face. Once Lenalee released him, Allen carefully wrapped his arms around him, resting his head against his shoulder, grinning softly. Hesitantly, Kanda loosely wrapped his own arms around his bean sprout, tilting his own head to rest on top of his.

"I'm glad you're here, Kanda. I wanted to discuss your status with you." Komui said to him.

"Are you finally going to stop overreacting and put me back on duty?"

"Well, no." Komui said. The glare that the young General shot him was fierce, but he ignored it. "I'm extending your leave."

"I'm fine. I didn't need to be put on leave in the first place." Kanda stated firmly, picking his head up, still keeping his hold on Allen.

"What about that bruise?" Allen heard Bak say, his silver eyes shooting open. Picking up his head, he looked at Kanda. How had he missed a bruise?

"What bruise?" Kanda asked, annoyed.

"Here." Allen said, gently touching his fingers to the mark on Kanda's right arm, his eyes lidding. "You must've gotten it from sparring in the training room."

Kanda scoffed. "You're not going to make a big deal out of a bruise, are you?"

"Of course I am." Komui answered. "A simple bruise like that would have healed on you by now. My concern with what happens when your seal gives out still stands. Your leave is extended."

"And I second that." Bak agreed for once.

Kanda wanted to argue. He wanted to scream at the two numb skulls sitting in front of him, even if it didn't get him his way. But he soon turned his attention to the bean sprout, who made him turn his face in his direction, cupping his cheek. "Don't argue with them, Kanda. You and I know that they're both right."

Much to everyone's surprise, Kanda did not argue. The two lovers were staring sternly at each other, both waiting for the other to break. And to Allen's pleasure, Kanda was the first to do so. Turning his head and scowling at the floor, Kanda crossed his arms over his chest. "Fine. I'll continue the leave. Just hurry up."

"You're so stubborn." Lavi stated, earning a glare from the swordsman. It only made Lavi snicker.

All heads turned toward the door as it opened once again without notice first. None other than Johnny stood in the doorway, a look of determination on his face as his focus landed immediately on Allen.

"Don't any of you knock anymore?! I could have been indecent in here for all you know!" Komui exclaimed, throwing his hands up dramatically.

Lavi gave a puzzled look to his supervisor. "In your office?"

"With all of us in here?" Bak added, scrunching up his face.

"Anyway," Komui huffed, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back in his chair, "what do you need, Johnny? Is it an emergency?"

All of Allen's attention was placed on Johnny, who was gathering all of his courage and determination to confront his young friend. Taking a deep breath, he lifted his head to look him in the eye. "Allen, you've been to Hell and back more times than anyone can count, and you always try to deal with your problems by yourself. But you don't have to!" Johnny exclaimed, watching Allen's eyes widen as he spoke to him. "You have so many people around you who love you and want to help, including me. Please, just tell me what's going on with you so I can help you."

Komui watched silently from his seat as he covered his mouth with his folded hands, seeing Allen's expression fall, his head hanging as his guilt once again began to eat away at him. That's when he noticed Kanda eyeing the two of them with a hard expression. "Now is your chance to tell him." Allen bit his lip, turning his head away in shame. "Moyashi…"

Lifting his gaze, Allen glanced over to the worried American for a moment before looking away again. It wasn't that he didn't want to tell Johnny. In a perfect world, he would have told all of his friends in an instant. But they didn't live in a perfect world, and the truth was that Allen was afraid to tell even his closest friends, afraid that the wrong people would find out. And more than anything, he was afraid of what would happen to his lover and his child if they were found out.

Allen barely registered the hand that was placed on his shoulder, not looking at his lover as he leaned his head in. "I think that you should tell him." Kanda whispered softly into his ear. "He's already helped with bringing you back here and getting the Fourteenth to back off. He can help with this, too. Not to mention, he can tailor your clothes."

The end made Allen scowl at the swordsman, but the look didn't faze him. He even gave a scowl of his own to match. Once Allen realized that Kanda wouldn't let up, he found his frustration beginning to fade, letting out a heavy sigh as he looked at Johnny again. Gathering all the courage he could muster, Allen breathed in once more before turning to face him. "Johnny," Allen began, nervousness evident in his voice, "I'm not sick, so don't worry."

Johnny's posture relaxed as he sighed in relief. "Well, that's good, at least… But if you're not sick, then what's going on?"

Allen smiled reassuringly at him, keeping his hands clasped in front of him. "Well, uh… I'm actually... pregnant. Uhm… Twenty or twenty one weeks?"

"Twenty." Bak, Lenalee, and Komui all corrected in unison.

"Twenty weeks." Allen repeated. He couldn't help but notice the dumbfounded look on Johnny's face as he struggled to comprehend what the young Exorcist just said. Starting to worry, Allen laughed nervously. "That's why I asked you to move the button on my pants. They were becoming a bit snug because the baby is growing, a-and-"

"Wait a minute, Allen." Johnny said, rubbing his temple with his palm. "How… How can you be pregnant?" His gaze turned to the oldest in the room.

"We're not quite sure yet. I'm still trying to get to the bottom of it." Komui answered. "But nonetheless, this is real, Johnny. And it is of utmost importance that this information stays under wraps and out of Central's ear. I'm sure you know that."

Allen swallowed silently as Central was mentioned. At some point he had subconsciously curled his left arm around his belly, shuddering for a moment. Feeling Kanda's hand on his lower back helped to relax him, even as he made eye contact with Johnny once again. From the way he clammed up, he assumed that Johnny was put off by the news and wanted nothing more to do with him. He definitely wasn't expecting the man to throw his arms around his neck in an embrace, nearly knocking him back. The action even startled Kanda, who took a step back as a reflex. "J-Johnny?"

Johnny didn't answer at first, just tightening his grip on the young man, shutting his eyes. "Allen, I… I don't know what to say … I'm so sorry. It just seems like things just keep happening to you one after the other."

Unexpectedly, Allen let out a chuckle and Johnny let him pull away, keeping his hands on the young man's shoulders. "I actually think this is a good thing." Allen said, his smile never leaving his face. "Yeah, we don't know how it happened, and we didn't plan for it, but… I'm really happy."

Johnny smiled warmly at those words, tearing up a bit. "This is… Kind of nice news! We're saying hello to someone instead of saying goodbye."

Allen's heart clenched suddenly as he picked his head up, blinking. Silver eyes began to tear up as he pressed his lips together. "... Y-You're right… You're right. I didn't think about it that way." He said, letting out a light laugh as he rubbed at the corner of his eye with his palm.

Keeping the grin on his face, Johnny could see how Allen's recently heightened emotions suddenly made sense. Letting go of Allen's shoulders, he turned to face the Chief again. "So, Allen's baby will be the first person to be born at the Order, right?"

"Well, not quite." Komui answered. "Prior to this, the last two to be born at the Order were-"

Johnny knew immediately why Komui had suddenly cut himself off, but it took Allen a moment for it to dawn on him.

Turning quietly to look back at his silent boyfriend, like everyone else in the room, Allen saw Kanda's jaw tighten as he closed his and turned his head away. Carefully, he reached his hand over, locking two of their fingers together loosely. Kanda had opened his eyes, but kept his gaze averted from the rest of them. "I wasn't born here. And it was the Asian Branch, not Headquarters." The silence that followed became uncomfortable and in self defense, pulling his hand away from Allen's, Kanda snapped. "I thought we were talking about the kid. Stop fucking staring at me and carry on already." Kanda purposely avoided looking at Allen's hurt expression, only having meant to blow up at the others in the room.

"I was also born at the Asian Branch. In case anyone was wondering." Bak added, trying to break the silence.

"Yeah, that means you were actually the first. What an old man you are." Komui teased with a grin. Bak sputtered for a moment, but before he could get the words out, Johnny spoke up one again.

"Anyway, I'll leave you guys be, then." He said, turning to Allen to hug him a second time, grinning warmly. "Congratulations again, Allen. Anything you need, just let me know. And if you need more comfortable clothes, you know who to ask!"

Allen giggled a bit as Johnny pulled away. "Thank you, Johnny. We'll talk about that later, okay?"

With a nod, the American moved to the office door. He left the group to their business as he made his way back to the Science division, feeling an incredible amount of relief. The answer he found wasn't one that he was expecting, but it left him with a good feeling.

Inside of the office, silence fell upon the group. "Well." Komui spoke up. "Is there anything else that any of you need? Perhaps a lesson in etiquette, such as knocking on the door when you would like to enter?"

"Will you shut the fuck up already?" Kanda sneered, crossing his arms. Allen shook his head and rolled his eyes a bit, putting his one hand on Kanda's upper arm.

"No, that was all. Thank you for your time, Komui." Allen said, guiding Kanda toward the door, Lavi and Lenalee in tow.

"Bye, brother! I'll see you later!" Lenalee said over her shoulder before the door closed, only the two chiefs remaining.

"... They're quite the bunch, aren't they?" Bak asked.

"Always keeping us on our toes." Komui said with a chuckle. "Now, where were we?"

Outside the office, the group had walked past Bridget Faye. Allen couldn't help but notice the serious and slightly sorrowful expression she wore. Part of him wanted to stop her and ask what was wrong, but he only watched as she let herself into Komui's office, closing the door behind her before anyone had a chance to hear the Chinese man start shrieking about knocking again.

"Allen."

"Huh?" He hummed, turning his head toward his three companions.

"Isn't this great news? About the baby?" She repeated, smiling warmly at him.

Allen blinked before his eyes trailed down to his middle and he smiled too, resting his hand over it. "Yeah… It is… I'm still a little impatient because they don't really feel like kicks, but she's starting to get a hang of it. It's crazy, really. I feel like we only found out about her just yesterday."

"I mean, it's only been, what? Six weeks? You did kind of wait forever to find out." Lavi stated. Allen gave him an annoyed look.

"You're right, Lavi. That was totally my fault for not assuming that I was pregnant sooner, as a man." Lavi soon realized his mistake, but it was too late to apologize. Kanda had already smacked him on the back of his head. Lenalee gave the redhead a look that he was sure was meant to reprimand him, even as she took hold of his arm.

"Anyway," Lenalee said, looking over at Allen and Kanda again as the group moved forward in the hall, making sure that no one was around to hear them, "when are we going to start shopping for her?"

The question struck both parents by surprise the two of them taking a moment to comprehend it. Somehow, they'd gone through an entire month and a half without even thinking for a second of how and when they were going to get clothes and furniture for their baby.

"Oh my God. I haven't even started to think of that." Allen said, eyes wide. "You're right, we're going to have to start doing that soon, aren't we?"

"Well, yeah, if you want to be ready before she gets here." Lavi said. "You're gonna need a crib at the very least."

"Who's room are you going to put it in?" Lenalee asked them curiously.

They had nearly forgotten that the two of them didn't officially share a room together. "Oh, well-" Allen started off, getting cut off again.

"You're gonna need clothes, too." Lavi noted.

"Oh, baby clothes are so cute!" Lenalee gushed. "We can get her so many cute little dresses, and we can get her toys, too, and-"

"Hold on, hold on, hold on!" Kanda shouted suddenly, making the three of them stop in their tracks. "Will you stop before you pass out?"

"I'm sorry! I'm just so excited, and it's obvious that neither of you have put any thought into it yet!" Lenalee exclaimed.

Allen groaned softly, rubbing the back of his neck and tilting his head back. "You're right, I haven't. I've been so preoccupied with worrying about Kanda, Central, my own body and keeping this a secret the past few weeks that I haven't even put any thought into the reason that my body is changing in the first place." He said guiltily, sighing.

"Well, Yuu is back and alive for now, so you can scratch that off the list at least." Lavi said enthusiastically, the two of them both glaring, unamused.

"I'm about to scratch you off the list." Kanda grumbled darkly.

Before Kanda made any more threats against Lavi, Lenalee cut them off. "You still have twenty weeks to go until she's here, but it's better to prepare and be ready for before she gets here, so you're not scrambling to get any supplies after she's born."

"How can we prepare in advance for a baby when we don't even know if it's really going to be a girl or not?" Kanda questioned.

"Gender neutral clothes exist, Kanda. Get with the times." Lavi said, shielding himself when Kanda reached his right arm over to strangle him. Allen lifted Kanda's arm and Lenalee tugged on Lavi's arm, huffing at him.

"He's actually right, Kanda. You could always get something neutral for a start and then get something more later, if that's what you prefer."

Kanda looked down at Allen, who looked back up at him silently. Allen was still incredibly sure that the baby inside him was a girl, even though he would be happy with whatever their baby turned out to be. "I don't mind doing that. Maybe we could go into town and at least start getting an idea of things we need to get." He suggested with a smile. He saw Lenalee's light up and sparkle with excitement as she clasped her hands together.

"What are we waiting for, then? Let's go!" She exclaimed with a small squeal, grabbing her best friend by the arm and pulling him along, despite his protests for her to slow down. Kanda couldn't help but groan heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose, ignoring Lavi's annoying snickering from next to him.

The four of them had just barely made it to the entrance room before they were welcomed by the sounds of heavy sobbing, coming from several different sources. It was crowded with Finders, injuries varying in their severity. They spotted Marie and Chaoji among them, both of them looking a bit worse for wear. Making their way through to them, Marie picked up his head when he heard Kanda's voice. "What happened? What are all these Finders doing here?"

"Mission gone wrong." Marie answered, lowering his head. "We were called in to support Linnea and Christine. Even Master had to come and help us. Many of these Finders were called to replace the ones that didn't make it."

Allen's heart sank into his stomach as his eyes moved around the room. This is what Bridget was on her way to tell Komui, why she looked so serious. It was a casualty report. Many, from what he could gather from the emotion in the room.

And all he could think of in that moment was poor Linnea, who tore herself up on a daily basis, blaming herself for the death of her girlfriend. Allen swallowed and took a second before picking his head back up. "Why don't you guys go on without me? The weather isn't that bad outside today, you can wait outside."

"Moyashi." Kanda said, looking down at him questioningly. Allen smiled up at him.

"I need to take care of something before we go. I won't be long, I promise." He insisted, looking at Kanda, then Lavi, and then Lenalee. He didn't wait for them to leave. He began to walk off without them, making his way through the crowd.

Allen ignored the way people moved out of his way, giving him dirty looks as he passed. He didn't immediately see the woman he was looking for, so he mustered up his courage and began to ask around for her. One after another, each Finder ignored his question, most acting like they hadn't heard him, but others flat out turning their backs on him.

A familiar feeling of loneliness crept up on him, his heart panging with emptiness for a moment as the space around him seemed to darken. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't change the tainted image that everyone had of him. No matter what, he couldn't escape the fact that Nea had destroyed his life and was continuing to do so.

"Sir Walker!"

Allen wasn't quite sure if he had blacked out for a moment or not, but when he looked up, he saw Toma walking toward him. It didn't seem so dark around him anymore, and the feeling of loneliness that he had seemed to dissipate almost instantly. "Oh, Toma. I didn't know you were sent on this mission."

Stopping in front of the young Exorcist, the Finder nodded. "I was sent in as a reinforcement. Unfortunately, it was quite gruesome."

Allen's heart ached again and he swallowed. "I heard. I was actually looking for the Exorcists that were assigned to the mission. I wanted to see if they were okay."

"Lady Jokinen and Lady Halvorsen?"

"Yes. You haven't happened to see them, have you?" Allen asked hopefully. Toma turned around and then pointed to one of the halls leading away from the entryway. "They went down that way. Lady Jokinen was very upset."

Allen figured she would be. With a nod, Allen smiled at one of his oldest comrades. "Thank you, Toma. I really appreciate it."

"My pleasure, Sir Walker."

As Toma walked away to check on another one of their comrades, Allen could have sworn he saw another Finder staring at him, without the malice that some of the other Finders harbored.

Without wasting another moment, Allen walked off in the direction that Toma pointed him in, keeping his eye out for either Exorcist that he was looking for. He could hear cries begin to get closer and closer as he kept walking. Before he knew it, at the end of the hallway, he found them. Linnea was sitting on the floor, sobbing hysterically while Christine held her in her arms, holding her desperately close. As soon as she heard footsteps approach, she lifted her head. She was prepared to turn away anyone that came to bother them, but once she realized who was standing in front of them, her expression softened. "Allen…"

Allen managed a smile, though sorrow was evident in his features. He took a few steps closer before kneeling in front of the women. His heart clenched in his chest as another sob tore through the brunette. "Linnea… I'm so sorry." He wasn't surprised when she started to cry harder, not showing her face. "What happened?"

Christine took it upon herself, continuing to hold the Finnish woman's head to her chest protectively. "We were ambushed by a group of Akuma, and then, out of nowhere, a Noah appeared." She started out. "She didn't attack us, she just watched. And just like that, she was gone. But in her place, a new horde of Akuma appeared. The Finders didn't stand a chance." She said, her voice coming out little more than a whisper. She held Linnea closer when she felt the grip on her tighten.

The story sent chills down Allen's spine. It sounded eerily similar to Kanda's story. Tyki had appeared and without much of a fight, had left and sent in a horde of Akuma after him. "The Noah… You said she only watched… Was it Lulubell?"

"Yes…" Linnea muttered, finally speaking up. "When she left, the Akuma moved in and killed our Finders… I tried to get them before they were attacked, but I couldn't… One of them was just a young teenager. We had talked earlier that day… She was afraid. She told me that she was afraid. And I couldn't save her. Again, I couldn't save someone."

"Linnea-"

"I couldn't save those Finders who died! And all of them would have died if Marie, Chaoji, and General Tiedoll hadn't have come to help us! I couldn't save them, just like I couldn't save Ainsley!" Linnea screamed as she sobbed, covering her face in her hands. "I'm tired of saying goodbye! I'm tired of it!"

The scene was heartbreaking and Allen himself was struggling to keep it together. He saw from the tears that gathered in Christine's eyes that he wasn't the only one. The poor woman cried her heart out as her two comrades watched silently, not knowing what to say to make her feel better.

That is, until Allen remembered his earlier conversation with Johnny.

"We're saying hello to someone instead of saying goodbye."

Christine wasn't sure why Allen had smiled suddenly, staring at him questioningly. He then picked his head up and carefully reached to pull Linnea's hands away from her face, holding them in his own. "I know it hurts. And I understand how you feel about not being able to save your Finders. I know that there isn't any way to replace them, or Ainsley. But… Maybe there is a silver lining."

"How? How could there possibly be one? Every day, the bad news just piles up."

Allen's smile remained on his face as he lowered his gaze. "... I don't know exactly how it was able to happen, and we're still working on the details, but… I'm pregnant." He admitted. Christine's eyes widened for a moment before they softened and she let out a shaky breath, her own smile curling at her lips. Linnea stared at him with bewilderment, trying to figure out if she had just heard him correctly.

"W-What? You?" She asked, pointing at the boy.

Allen wasn't sure if she was taking the news well at that moment, and part of him was beginning to wonder if he had made a mistake by telling her. He swallowed, moving his hand to rest on his upper abdomen. "Yes, me… I'm not really sure if I'm four or five months along, it's really confusing. But I'm twenty weeks, and according to Komui, that's about half way through." He explained, rambling a bit as he nervously scratched at his cheek with his finger, noticing the way Linnea was gaping at him. Christine looked happy with his announcement, with the smile on her face and the tears that gathered in her eyes. "I just thought that telling you would make you feel better, since you're my friend. Plus, this way, we're welcoming a new member into our family instead of-" Allen had almost flinched when Linnea lunged at him, but he blinked as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and buried her face against his neck as a new wave of sobs began. But he could tell that they were different from before. They were cries of relief. Choking on his own tears, he returned her hug and held her close.

"You're really having a baby?" Linnea cried, lifting her head a bit so he could hear her.

"Mhm." Allen hummed, grinning softly. "Though, I haven't told many people yet. I would like to keep this a secret for as long as possible." Christine nodded before joining in on their hug, wrapping her arms around the two of them as best as she could.

"I won't say a word."

"Neither will I." Linnea promised, pulling away after another moment, wiping her eye. "Thank you. Thank you so much, Allen. This is the third time you've helped me."

Allen's warm smile widened and he gently gripped her shoulder with his human hand. "Of course. We're friends."

Linnea smiled at him again. When she felt a hand on her back, she turned her head and directed her smile toward Christine, grateful for her as well. Once they collected themselves, the three of them stood. When they parted their ways, Allen hoped that he had made her feel at least a little better. And, admittedly, he felt good. Maybe telling the rest of his friends would be that easy.

He could worry about that later. Right now, he had to meet up with the friends that were waiting outside for him. He had just made it to the front door when someone yelling had startled him.

"ALLEN WALKER! DO YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST WALK AROUND ALL WILLY NILLY WITHOUT EATING BREAKFAST?" Jerry screamed from down the hall, looking absolutely furious.

Well, then he would have to put going out on hold as well. Otherwise, Jerry would have his head.


Wow! That took me so long to finish! And to be honest, I'm not that happy with it. I was struggling for a while with finishing it, but along with hetalian-gemini encouraging me, I read the latest review that was left (by Ana M. Campbell) and I literally cried because it made me so happy. I'm so sorry that this chapter kind of stinks, but thank you for sticking with me through it and I have a good feeling about the next chapter. I'm finally getting started on one of the major points I thought of when I first thought up this fic. Thank you guys so much again.

DGM belongs to Katsura Hoshino