Oh my God, guys, I'm not dead! :3 Really sorry for the unexpected hiatus, I wasn't planning on it at all, it just kinda happened... I had writer's block in January and February of last year, then in March a friend showed me an anime that I'm deeply engrossed in the fandom of now... So, my D Gray writer's block continued... But, I'm back, and it's time to get some parental fluffs again~ :3
This one is for SunsetKitsune, since they gave me a prompt, which I'll gladly take, if anyone else has any suggestions :3 So, thank you for the prompt, Love, it really helped with my writer's block :3
On with the show then, since I'm alive~! :3
Those who claimed they knew General Cross Marian, and weren't completely infatuated by him, would say that he tended to forget his problems by drinking, smoking, gambling, and womanizing, and if they were from a certain Order of the Church, they would also say he would readily shirk his job to do all these things. And among the various other pieces of his description, how aloof he could be, how easily he could leave a room without notice, how little of himself he allowed to be truly known, there was always the piece that said, 'he's very hard on his apprentice.'
And while even Cross himself would admit that he was harsh and blunt and sometimes even cruel to Allen, he still loved his Idiot very much.
The only three that knew this, of course, were Timcanpy, Allen, and Cross himself.
While he had considered it Hell to take care of Allen the first week or two, with all the attention Allen had needed, he'd still been concerned, and honestly hadn't taken the ordeal lightly. Of course, as soon as Allen popped back to life, although oddly with Mana's tone and disposition instead of his own, Cross iced over, not even showing the small moments of subtle concern he had when Allen had stayed in bed, traumatized.
The description of, 'he's very hard on his apprentice,' had been very, very true in those few months. Those few, few months between when Allen snapped to and they'd left Mother's, and the night Allen had inadvertently nuzzled his way into Cross' heart.
Before that night, Cross had had one idea on what a bedmate was, and it certainly wasn't an innocent child. He'd very much enjoyed having that sort of bedmate to cuddle, but had always attributed the feeling that came from it to the promiscuity beforehand, not simply the fact that another person would be warm and comforting just by presence alone.
That fact startled him when he thought about it. The apprentice that he'd been trying to hate so much had taught him that, to make matters worse. Cross knew he'd let himself slip, and he'd pay for it eventually; letting himself become attached to what he knew wouldn't be 'Allen' for very long, he'd just have to enjoy it while it lasted...
And within the next several months, Cross did enjoy the opportunities he got to show how much he cared on the inside, and with each instance, that care doubled, unbeknownst even to himself.
And all of this culminated in one simple fact.
General Cross Marian was pissed off to no end when a couple of boors he was indebted to had the audacity to swipe his Idiot.
Which he was about to rescue; he was harsh enough to make Allen share some of the debt, but not enough to expect him to get himself out when this happened. Allen was, after all, his Idiot.
While it did piss him off, at least Cross knew that the kidnappers were nice enough people to keep
Allen alive and well until he came.
Mostly from the video feed Timcanpy had taken at dusk, the time of Allen's capture; it seemed to Cross that Allen couldn't turn down food, even from strangers. Hmm, may want to talk to him about that later...
But, Cross had identified Allen's two 'kidnappers' as the owners of the last inn, and bar, that they'd stayed at, and Cross had talked to them while they'd been there. They wouldn't hurt him, just hold him until Cross paid them...
So, this would be easy, walk in, talk everything over, and leave with Allen.
Which is why Cross found it odd that Timcanpy insisted not taking the door like a normal person, and instead pushed and pulled Cross to a back window. And inside was...
Ah. Well, this group of people might be a little more rough on his apprentice; the couple that owned aforementioned inn were no where to be seen.
Thankfully, and relievedly, Cross saw his apprentice bound, but unhurt, at the far wall. Allen was shaking a bit, but it seemed the idiot had his own plan after all! Cross could see him mouth something, and even though he couldn't physically hear him, he could still hear his voice.
'C-could we play a round of Poker?'
The next voice was loud and demanding, and Cross could hear it from outside. 'Poker? What do you think you're here for, boy? Well, whatever you think, it certainly ain't a round a' cards!'
Cross saw a glint form in Allen's eye. If Allen got his way, this would be fun to watch.
'Sure? We could make a deal out of it; If I win, I get to leave, and if you win you can... Cut Master's hair off!'
Cross snorted; Timcanpy, obviously completely against the idea, nuzzled into the red mane and began chewing territorially on a strand. Cross muttered under his breath. 'Leave my hair out of this...'
Cross saw the demanding one hmph, then heard him. 'That's pretty big talk for such a small brat. It might be kinda interesting, fun even, to see that vain bastard embarrassed like that. It's a deal.'
The game was short.
The game was very short.
But it had been extremely entertaining to Cross to watch a group of five men be beaten into submission by his little Idiot.
The demanding one from earlier threw down his deck. 'That's it; how are you so good at this, brat?!'
Allen shrugged,the glee shown on his face.
...Maybe a bit much glee, Cross thought. Demanding was getting red in the face...
It was at this point that Cross made the conscious decision to intervene. Allen had won, and instead of being set free, he was about to become the punching bag of that demanding guy. Probably his gang, too. No time like the present, Cross...
Cross slid the window open as quietly as he could and climbed in the room; all attention was on Allen, so it was easily enough done. He slipped Judgement from its holster; while there was a click from Cross cocking the gun to the ready, there was no time for anyone to react.
While Judgement had been physically facing the side wall, six bullet holes haloed in the wall around Allen's head; Allen, of course, was at the wall opposite Cross' entrance window.
The five men turned dumbly around to see Cross nonchalantly emptying his bullet chambers. The hollows made a dull metallic thud as they hit the wood flooring.
Timcanpy launched himself off Cross' shoulder and flew over the dumbstruck men to Allen, who nuzzled Tim as he squirmed around in Allen's arms to show a toothy growl to the group.
Demanding finally found his voice. 'P-pay up, Marian, or the kid'll get it!'
Cross casually made himself comfortable on the windowsill. He chuckled. 'Oh, that's intimidating, coming from a bunch of fully grown men that just got shown up at poker by an idiotic brat.'
He glanced at Allen. 'Cm'ere, Idiot.'
Allen ran as best he could with Timcanpy to his master's side.
Cross stood and wasted no time making his want to leave apparent. He picked Allen up and began to climb out the window, but paused halfway.
He tossed a comment over his shoulder. 'Just for the record, you'd be dead before you got near enough to my hair to cut it off.' And with that he slipped off into the night.
Cross opted to walk back to their current residence; while he knew Judgement wasn't just a gun, they didn't know that, and he readily used that to his advantage.
And while Allen could have easily walked on his own, Cross opted to carry him home.
'...Were you seriously offering to let them cut my hair off?'
Allen looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. 'Did you think I wouldn't win?'
Despite himself, Cross smirked. 'Shut up, Idiot. I asked a question first.
'...And, no, I knew you'd win.'
Allen's eyes widened. 'Really? How?'
'Because you had the same damned look on your face that you did the last time we played.'
Cross shifted Allen to where he could reach down one of his sleeves.
The smirk grew to a full grin.'Not to mention you're a cheating little card shark.' He held a playing card between two fingers.
A sweat drop rolled down Allen's distraught face.
Cross gave a short laugh. 'You really think I care if you're a card shark? You really are an idiot.'
He shifted Allen to where his head was on the shoulder not occupied by Timcanpy and thought to himself.
He was saddled with an idiot.
What was he to do with with a clever card shark of an Idiot?
So, there's the hiatus-breaking update, hope you enjoyed~!
I've done this on my chapter story, so I'll do it here too: If I ever go about two months without an update, someone please PM me. I haven't forgotten the story if it's been that long, but I have forgotten it's been that long, so please, someone~ :3
And, as I said at the beginning of this, should you want me to write off a prompt you have/thought up, I will gladly oblige, though, I will say, should a guest post one, please give me an alias I can accredit it to when I go to writing it :3
As always, thanks for reading, reviewing, following, favoriting, and putting up with that ridiculous hiatus~!