Beautiful

"You look nerdy," Allen complained as they walked along the vendors.

"Do not," Tyki replied reflexively, examining a pomegranate. He looked down at Allen briefly, who shook his head, declining the offer of the imported fruit.

"Your glasses have swirls on them. How am I supposed to parade a sexy man on my arm when youʼre busy looking like that?"

"Youʼre not. Iʼm doing it for you."

"Youʼre so thoughtful." Sarcastic but pleased, Allen allowed Tyki to direct them to another row of vendors.

It was a rather substantial change from the usual sleek appearance Tyki favored, but Allen privately thought that it had its charm. Besides, in this guise, Allen had watched Tyki play with children, pet small animals, and even speak, briefly, with Lenalee.

The best I can do is dress up as a clown, Allen thought sadly. In some ways, he wished that he had such a costume that would disguise him. But all he had was his exorcistsʼ uniform and those gloves, to conceal the inhuman surface of his Innocence. A red scar and a cursed eye.

Every now and then, a child would point and vocalize half a query before a parent would swoop in and hurry away. Tyki, though- Tyki traced his scars and kissed them. He inquired and Allen didnʼt have to lie about any of them, either visible or not. Allen shook his head. He could hear mocking laughter in the back of his mind; obviously, he was over idealizing. He already knew that Tyki was dangerous; Allen had never come close to landing a hit, even when he playfully sped up during their little mock battles.

And eventually, he would have to choose between the Order and the Noah.

"A penny for your thoughts." The coin rolled its way down a forearm, spinning and throwing off light.

"Do you think of me as cursed?" Disfigured. It was something that he was more than aware that people thought, whenever they seemed unable to stop themselves from staring at his odd arm, jerking their gaze back up when caught. Not even the Black Order was devoid of assholes who saw him that way.

"No, I think youʼre more like me than you know."

Not exactly reassuring, but it didnʼt really matter what Tyki said, as long as it took the form of a reassurance. Tyki learned a few things about Allen that day.

First, that Allen had a set dialogue that he would run past Tyki just to see if he stumbled. He wasnʼt particularly interested in the rationale, just in weeding out those without the common sense to provide the correct response. It didnʼt give Tyki a very high opinion of Allenʼs previous bedmates. He spiraled a coin down his shoulder and into his palm, presenting it to his companion.

"Thinking of switching careers? Youʼre not wearing your magician outfit." Allen snickered.

"Do I ever?"

Allen raised a snowy eyebrow. "Did you think top hats were on trend or something? But today..."

Tyki allowed Allen to survey him.

He shook his head. "And to think I actually took the effort to dress well." Allen mourned, having switched his exorcist gear for another pair of distressed, low, tight jeans.

Tyki ran his thumbs beneath his suspender straps pointedly. "Is this not good enough?"

"What are you, a coal miner?"

Receiving an amused headshake in response, Allen decided that it was time to demonstrate the second quality that Tyki would learn, one that most people found hard to turn down. He pulled Tyki down to him, tongue against his tonsils, grinding against his leg.

"Youʼre shameless, arenʼt you." His smooth voice made it sound almost vulgar, even as he pressed Allen against the wall, hands roaming under his shirt and up his sides.

The edges of Allenʼs lips curved upwards in response, even as he arched away from the wall and into Tyki, reciprocating his advances. "Donʼt you have somewhere we can - "

There was no mistaking the approval behind Tykiʼs reaction, and Allen could see his own expression in the mirror across from him, eyes half-lidded and open mouthed. His vision blurred, and for a moment he saw two Tykiʼs in the reflection, but it was the third person in front of him that demanded all his attention.

A flight of stairs and a bumped head later, theyʼd managed to mostly close a door and and reach a soft surface. Later that night, Allen would never forget how, in the middle of a rather rough and pleasurable ride, Tyki had paused, touching the warmed flesh of his cheek softly and slipping out of character.

And how he had spoken reverently, genuinely, the words that belied all the degradations around them.

"Did you know youʼre beautiful, boy?"

Allen felt tears prick at his eyes and turned his inadvertent sob into a moan, resuming motion. All he knew was that, from that moment on, Tyki had him.