"The Noah… inside of me…?" Allen asked, his eyes concerned and confused. I nodded. "Y-You mean that… That I myself am not a Noah…?" he asked, his eyes transfixed on me. I sat beside him on his bed, my eyes staring into his mismatched orbs, reaching out one of my arms and gently placing a hand on his cheek. His eyes widened and he flinched a little when he saw me reaching, as if he feared that I was going to hit him. Then, when he felt my hand, he relaxed, leaning into my touch, blushing a little.

"It's like I've always told you, Short-Stack…" I murmured, my gaze on him unwavering. "You're not a Noah. You never were. And, if I can help it… you never will be." His eyes moistened a little with tears, and I smiled kindly down at him, realizing how small and fragile he seemed compared to me. "You're just sick, Allen. A Noah is trying to take your body away from you. And, even if it kills me, I'm going to stop that from ever happening."

"But, Kanda, I-" he began to speak in protest, but I pulled my hand away from his cheek and reached both of my arms around his waist, pulling him onto my lap and into an embrace. He was silenced, blushing as he rested his head and hands against my chest.

"No buts," I spoke somewhat playfully. "I'm going to cure you, and that's final. No matter what the outcome will be." I could feel his small frame tremble as he hid his face into my chest, wetting it with his overflowing tears as he sobbed. I sighed, holding him to me just a little bit more tightly, as if he would vanish if I were to let go. "Che," I mumbled, reaching one of my hands up and patting his head, letting my fingers run through his soft, messy, snowy hair as I petted him. "Why are you crying?"

"K-Kanda…!" he sobbed, though his voice was muffled by my chest. I sighed in understanding, looking away and feeling somewhat embarrassed when he stayed that way and blushing from how adorable I found him to be, especially when he hiccupped. I had no real experience in these kinds of situations and didn't really know what to do to comfort him other than hold him, so I decided to let myself try something that I had felt an overwhelming urge to do for some time now.

Withdrawing my hand from his hair, I placed it under his chin, pulling his head up so that he looked me in the eyes. To his surprise, I leaned in, closing my eyes in the process, locking my lips with his. I wrapped my arms around his waist and pulled him onto my lap more so that he was straddling my hips as we sat there, feeling him tense as I kissed him, then relax as he returned it. His lips were tender and sweet against my worn and tough ones, and they felt amazing. I felt his arms wrap around my neck, hanging somewhat loosely over my shoulders, and I couldn't help but smile a little, deepening the kiss and surprising him with a nip to his lower lip, causing his lips to open in a slight yelp. I took the chance, doing what came naturally to me as I darted my tongue into his mouth, feeling my blush deepen as I began to explore with the action. He moaned a little as I did so, and I loved the sound, flipping our position around so that I had him pinned under me on the bed. I pulled away, somehow not feeling much of a need to breathe as I started to experiment further, allowing my body to move how it wanted as I moved lower and began to kiss and suck on his neck. He gasped from the actions, his cheeks a bright pink, contrasting with his ghostly pale skin and snowy white hair. My fingers began to move on their own, undoing the first few buttons on his long-sleeved, white button-down shirt, but he suddenly lightly pushed me away a little. I looked up at his face, which was flushed, embarrassed, and… afraid.

"K-Kanda… I-I'm scared…" His words took me by surprise, and I blinked, letting them sink in.

"Scared of… what?" I asked, my expression serious as I stared into his eyes, which were looking off to the side. My face flushed red when I saw how he now looked. Along with his embarrassed and pink face, his hair and clothes were disheveled, his left arm was covering his mouth timidly as he looked off to the side, and his knees were squeezing my hips a little in a nervous manner. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down as he tried to speak again.

"I-I… This is… I've never…" he mumbled, becoming quieter with every word he uttered. I gazed at him blankly when what he was saying started to make sense to me.

"You mean… You've never had sex…?" I asked, slightly amused by his innocence.

His eyes flew open, and his expression was an entirely flustered one. "I-I-I, I never said that!" he stuttered, his soft voice now loud. My eyebrows twitched and my grin turned into a frown as I began to wonder if he'd kissed or had sex with someone before.

"Then… has someone else touched you like this before?" I asked, feeling a little jealous of whoever might have touched him before me, reaching downward and lightly but firmly squeezing his backside. He squeaked and jumped a little beneath me, trying to push me off of him again. "Well?" I questioned again when he was unsuccessful at escaping.

"N-No… No one has…" he murmured, and I smiled again.

"Then, has anyone ever kissed you before?"

"No…"

"So, you were saying that you were a virgin a little while ago?" He nodded in embarrassment, and I chuckled, rolling off of him and laying by his side. He was still a blushing mess, and I thought that it was kind of funny.

"You realize that you could have avoided that whole situation just now if you'd just admitted it instead of being stubborn, right, Bean Sprout?" He nodded again, a little calmer now, and he rolled onto his side, resting his head on the crook of my shoulder, lying on his side as he gazed up at me questioningly.

"S-So… What about you…?" he suddenly asked, breaking the comfortable silence.

"Hmm?"

"Have you… Ever had sex with someone before…?" he questioned. I smirked, looking into his eyes.

"Well, let's see… Have I?" I joked. He pouted and sat up, his arms holding him up as he placed them on both sides of my head so that he could gaze directly down at my face and into my eyes as he searched for the truth of the matter with his stern and childish expression.

"I'm serious, Kanda! I want to know! So… Have you?" he asked again. I laughed, using my elbows to prop myself up, surprising him as I suddenly kissed him as I had earlier. He pulled away, still pouting. "Kanda!" he complained, and I laughed as I pinned him under me the way he had pinned me moments before.

"Silly," I said to him. "I'm just as inexperienced in this as you." I leaned down, kissing him again, his eyes soft now that he got his answer. I pulled away after a while, smiling down at my wonderful, childish, somewhat idiotic little shrimp.

"We won't do anything that you're not comfortable with doing until you want to try doing them, Allen," I murmured. He giggled softly, his beauty breathtaking as he truly smiled.

"I'm glad… Thank you… Yuu…"

A pure chapter of fluff and awkwardness. I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you all so much for your continuing support in this fanfic. As always, I truly appreciate your reviews. I like to hear what you all think, feel, or want, and I love it when you give me suggestions. I will do my best for you all! See you again next chapter!