Now, this is my way of keeping my October promise of making a fanfic focused on a scene from Walking Alongside the Past. Here you go.

As for Walking Alongside the Past itself, that is going to be returning next week. With an extra surprise.

Also Merry Christmas (or Happy Christmas if you prefer) to everyone. I hope your holidays are going well. And Happy Birthday, Allen! Seeing as the first manga was previewed in 2004, Allen is now 29 years old if you consider how long the manga has been going for.

I do not own D. Gray Man. It belongs only to the mind of Katsura Hoshino.

"Talking"

'Thoughts'

"Neah"

2017 - one year before Allen reunites with his old friends

Sitting in his apartment, Allen looks back on his life. From the eighteen-eighties, to the nineteen-forties, and now in the early twenty-first century. Remembering his old life, he thinks of what he'd lost and what he had gained from this time change. People don't die as easily and it's easier getting from one place to another. But he'd lost those he held dear to his heart.

Sighing as he stood up from the couch, Allen goes to his room, stopping in a doorway. Looking inside, he glances at the girl sleeping on the bed. Felicity. She'd only recently completed her transformation and she was exhausted easily from earlier blood loss. Making sure she was asleep, he continues on to his own room.

Entering his room and closing the door silently, he moves to undress, stopping as he looks into the mirror. Looking back is Neah, smiling at him sadly.

"Happy birthday, Nephew. You are now one hundred and fifty-five years old."

"So I am, Neah. It's surprising how much time has gone. It feels like a lot less."

Undressing quickly, Allen gets into bed and falls asleep.

CO-CO-CO-CO-CO

1880 - Two years after Allen joined the Order. Neah is present but has been appeased to sharing a body.

European Headquarters of the Black Order

"Hey Allen! Whatcha up to?"

Allen looked back to his friend, Lavi. Two years of combat had done much to Allen's physique; he had grown an extra two inches since the year before, now only an inch shorter of Kanda's 5 feet 11 inches. Over this time, his face had also thinned out, taking on a rather aristocratic look, and his hair had now reached an inch past his shoulders.

"Hello, Lavi. How is your day?"

Throwing an arm around his friend, Lavi spoke up again. "Come on, Allen. There is no need to be so formal with me. I thought you'd gotten over that by now." Ruffling the younger man's hair, he continues. "So, I recently found out that today is your birthday, on Christmas. You lucky devil!"

Raising an eyebrow at his friend's words, Allen looked to his friend. "It's the twenty-fifth already?"

Looking to his friend, Lavi grew concerned. "Wait, you forgot about your birthday?"

Allen nodded to his friends question. "Yeah. I've never really had a reason to remember it. I always considered it just another day to survive." Now realizing something, he laughs silently. "I guess I'm seventeen now."

Struck by Allen's nonchalance towards his own birthday, Lavi immediately thought up something to do about this new situation. "I guess you are, Moyashi. I'll see you later."

Ignoring the other's cry of "It's Allen!", Lavi walked away, deciding that he'd do something drastic about his friend's birthday.

CO-CO-CO-CO-CO

Walking into the lounge an hour later, Lavi looks at the people he had gathered. Lenalee, Komui, Kanda, Krory, Miranda, and other exorcists and some finders were already there at his request.

"Okay, everyone. I've gathered you all here today so that I could discuss today with you. If any of you not know, it is Allen's birthday today, but I've just learned that he doesn't really recognize it. So I'd like to suggest that we throw Allen a large surprise party so that this can be the best birthday he has ever had."

Looking around the room, Lavi could see that most everyone looked happy at this. Lavi then looked at the one person who wasn't happy; Kanda. The other man seemed to have become even more tense as Lavi had discussed his idea, his scowl deepening farther than ever before.

Walking over to the other man, Lavi decided to ask. "What's wrong, Yu? You don't want to make little Allen happy with this?"

Glaring at the other, Kanda growled. "Don't call me that, Baka Usagi! This idea of yours isn't going to work."

Feeling the other exorcists' eyes on them, Lavi decided to push Kanda further. "Why do you say that?" I'm sure that Allen will enjoy this little surprise."

Kanda closed his eyes sharply, calming down his breathing. "I'm just telling you that the Moyashi's reaction will not be what you expect. There is a reason why he doesn't talk about his birthday. I'm not going to tell you what exactly as I've promised the Moyashi that I wouldn't. This little idea of yours isn't going to go the way you want." Standing up, Kanda pushes past Lavi and exits the room, calling over his shoulder as he leaves. "You can count me out of your little scheme!"

CO-CO-CO-CO-CO

Allen walked quickly down the hall, thinking of the one person he wanted to see today. Of all the days he needed someone by his side, he couldn't find anyone. Thinking quickly, he started walking toward his partner's room.

Sadly though, he was stopped before he rounded the corner.

"Hey, Buddie! It's great to see you this afternoon."

Attempting to get out of Lavi's hold around his neck, Allen glared at the other. "Lavi, you saw me only five hours ago. What the hell do you want?"

Keeping his arm around the other's neck, Lavi pulled Allen alongside him. "Come on, Allen. I just wanted to see you right now. Let's go to the cafeteria. Get you something to eat."

Before Allen could protest, Lavi pulled the other further away from the one place he wanted to be.

OC-OC-OC-OC-OC

Lavi's lips curled into a smirk as he pulled the younger along. Along the way, his thoughts moved toward his plan that is about to be completed.

'This was the greatest plan of mine. Allen is going to love this. Of course, Kanda is wrong he doesn't know Allen like the rest of us do. Yes, he had spent six months alone with Allen, trying to find a way to stop the Fourteenth from taking control, but he isn't close to Allen whatsoever. The rest of us have been friends with him for years. Just because I've been back for only a month does not mean I don't know my friend.'

Moving closer to the cafeteria, he pulled Allen through, already prepared for the noise.

"Surprise! Happy Birthday, Allen!"

Jumping back at the noise, Allen instinctively moved his hand toward his left arm, ready to activate his Innocence. When he realized what was going on, he crossed his arms as his eyes hardened.

"What the hell is this all about?"

Surprised at his reaction, everyone just looked over at Lavi. Feeling all the eyes on him, Lavi just looked to Allen, also confused at the latter's words.

"Allen, it's your surprise birthday party. Since you told me, I thought this would be a good way to celebrate your birthday, and I told everyone else and they agreed with me. Well, except for Kanda."

Looking closely, Lavi could see Allen's eyebrow twitch at his words. "You should have listened to Kanda." Turning around, he walked out of the room, shouting over his shoulder. "I hate my birthday! It has only ever brought me bad luck!"

Now shocked by the other's words, Lavi stood still for a second before darting forward, grabbing onto Allen's arm, "Come on, Al. At least celebrate your own birthday with us. It's the least you -"

Tired of hearing the words spouting from Lavi's mouth, Allen shouted. "My father died on this day! If you can't get that fact into your head, so help me I will kill you. Understand?!"

With the entire room in silence from his outburst, Allen stalked out of the room, leaving the others behind to enjoy their little 'party'.

OC-OC-OC-OC-OC

Allen shook his head, frustrated at his friends. He knew Kanda had warned them against trying to celebrate Allen's birthday, but he was disappointed in the others that they hadn't taken the man seriously.

Walking toward his destination, his thoughts drifted toward his partner, the only person he wanted to see right now.

Reaching the room, he glanced to both sides quickly before silently opening the door, moving inside quickly for closing it softly. As his eyes adjusted to the lack of light, he sees a figure standing next to the bed, holding the candle at its chest.

"Happy birthday, Allen. I know you don't want to hear it, but I feel I should tell you anyway."

Moving toward the other, Allen blew out the candle, plunging the two into darkness. When the other put down the candle, he wrapped his arms around Allen's waist and pulls the other to him.

"Really, Kanda? You tell Lavi and the others off for deciding to celebrate my birthday, and yet you do so to."

Kanda rolls his eyes at his partner's accusation. "I know you don't like big celebrations. I planned to only do a small acknowledgement between the two of us, unlike what the others did with their large outgoing parties."

"I guess you're right."

"Of course I am. I'm the only other person that knows anything about your past, besides Cross and yourself."

Allen laughs at the other's forwardness. "You only know because I told you."

"Exactly."

CO-CO-CO-CO-CO

The next morning saw the two lying alone, Kanda holding Allen closely to his chest. Waking up slowly, Kanda looked down at the younger man, raising his hand to brush a strand of hair out of the other's face.

Watching as the other stirred slightly before falling back asleep, Kanda chuckled silently. Looking to his lover's face, he saw that the hardness that usually lined his face had disappeared, making the man's beauty show in full. Staring at him, Kanda stared at his lover's luminous hair and skin as it glowed in the early morning light.

Leaning down to his lover, Kanda kissed Allen lightly. "I love you, Allen Walker."

CO-CO-CO-CO-CO

Little did anyone know, that on December 30th, 1880. They would lose one of their own.

CO-CO-CO-CO-CO

2017 - Christmas Day, England.

Allen awoke with a start, looking around the room frantically. For a second, he forgot where he was. Then he remembered.

He remembered everything.

Curling into himself, he remembered those he had lost. First Lavi, then Lenalee, and then finally Kanda. Now, he was alone.

"You are not alone, Allen. You have me. You have Timcanpy. And now, you have Felicity. You are no longer as alone as you were."

Laying flat on his back, Allen lets out a tired laugh as he looks out the window. 'You're right, Neah. I'm not alone. I have someone who needs me to help her. And I know she's strong. Felicity can and will make it through this.'

Getting out of bed, he moves toward a box on the other side of the room, opens it, and pulls out a piece of Innocence. "Felicity needs me, as much as I need her. I'll see my old friends again. Some day."

Oh, I loved this one. And as stated in the first, Walking Alongside the Past will be coming back next Tuesday. I've yet to take off the hiatus on The White Demon, but that will not be far behind.

Please review this story. And take a look at my other story that this was inspired by. Felicity is my character from that, so if you want more information about her, you'll have to look at Walking.