Soooo... This was actually supposed to be updated yesterday, but because of my busy schedule, it's up today. ^_^ I'm glad everybody's enjoyed this so far, it makes me really happy. I hope you guys will all stick with this as the story progresses.
Second chapter: In which Erika learns she knows pretty much nothing about taking care of kids, and other stuff happens.
Read and enjoy~! ^_^
Disclaimer: I don't own D,Gray-Man. I do, however, own any and all OC's that show up, unless otherwise mentioned.
Allegro's Crescendo
Allen was never found by Cross after attempting to bring Mana back. Neither did the Millennium Earl or the Noah's take him in. No, a third party found young Allen instead, and from that day on, he wasn't 'Allen' anymore. Instead, the Destroyer of Time gained a new name. That name was…
The Second Movement: The Song's Ritard
"Won't you speak? Please?" A tray of cold breakfast rested on the near-by nightstand, while Erika looked on at the young boy curled on the bed with eyes filled with tears that she was determined not to let fall. She knew while it was unreasonable that the boy would like her only after her just bringing him home last night, she thought the boy would at least speak.
Though, he hadn't said a word. She was up at eight; he woke up at eight-thirty. She made breakfast, but he hadn't touched it. Erika had brought clothes with her, but he wouldn't change into them [and yes, she had left the room to give him some privacy, thank you very much]. He wouldn't even talk. He just… sat there and stared on at the other side of the room, like there was something very interesting.
She sighed, and leaned back in her chair.
"Won't you tell me your name at least?" Silence. A blink.
Erika waited five minutes for an answer, and received none.
"Something really bad must have happened to you in that grave yard for this to happen to you." Erika looked up towards the ceiling. "I can't imagine what it must be like for you… That grave you were at… That must have been the grave of someone you were really close to, huh?"
She stood up, moving the chair to the side of the wall, and picked up the tray with the cold breakfast on it.
"I'll be downstairs if you need anything," Erika informed the boy as she exited, neither expecting nor receiving a response or an acknowledgement.
~~It slows down, slows, until it is at a barely moving pace~~
He had searched for the little brat for three days now. Timcampy hadn't found anything from flying around the city the past few times, but Cross was [not that he'd admit it to anyone else, of course] hoping that there'd be something about the kid this time because, fuck it all, he was worried about the kid God Damnit! He hadn't kept an eye on the kid all this time just to allow him to up and vanish like he did!
Cross had been searching thirty years for him. And now, the brat had just slipped out of his grasp and out of his sight at the wrong time. He knew he should've been at that cemetery, waiting for the Earl to show up, because the Earl was sure to with how the brat had been moping over Mana Walker's death, but he hadn't. He had allowed himself to ahh… get distracted, shall we say, and missed everything- straight from the Earl's arrival to the disappearance of the brat.
Cross Marian wasn't a happy camper, and he was so unhappy that he was on his fifth pack of cigarettes in three days, soon to be sixth. And that was bad because he wasn't normally that bad of a chain smoker. Oh well… At least he hadn't started drowning his 'sorrows' or 'bad luck' or whatever in alcohol… yet…
He looked over at the bar across the street, then shook his head. No, he was going to find the brat first. Then, Cross was going to make him suffer for making him go through so much just to find the brat.
Revenge on the brat would be sweet; Cross would make sure of that.
~~The song's Ritard down to Andante~~
"Open up," Erika held out a spoon towards the boys' mouth, much like a mother would do to their one or two year old. "Say, 'Ahh!'"
It had been three days already, and the boy hadn't done anything, besides sleep. He would wake up in the morning, and stare at the wall opposite of the bed he inhabited. He wouldn't eat, he wouldn't speak, he wouldn't even go use the bathroom on his own- he'd just go ahead and wet the bed.
After the first day, Erika had taken to feeding the boy herself, like she remembered seeing her neighbor feed their eighteen month old. She also had to start changing the sheets on the guest bed, cleaning them and the boys' clothes as well. Erika had also started cleaning out the guest room, if only to give her a reason to be in the same room as the boy.
Normally she would be in at work, but she had called in, and was given time off. As she worked for the local police station, Middlesford had inadvertently helped her, as they wanted her out of the office anyways as they tried to sort this out.
"C'mon, open up," Erika hedged. Normally he'd open his mouth by now at least, but he hadn't done anything so far today. "I didn't want to do this, but…"
She leaned over the boy further and pinched her finger over the bridge of his nose, cutting off the air passage through the nostrils. If the boy wanted to breathe, he'd have to do so through his mouth. It was a mean route, one normally taken by irate mothers trying to get their children to take their medicine, but Erika was irate, and she wanted the boy to eat, because she wasn't about to have him starve on her watch.
When she got him to eat half the plate, she finally left, to try and clean up a bit before it was time to prepare the next meal.
~~First the song decrescendos, then it ritards~~
Erika had been caring for the boy for five days before she realized something very important- she never learned his name. Or had a name to call him, seeing as he hadn't spoken once since she brought him into her house.
Her realization had come to her when she came up one night after supper to put him to bed. She had said "Goodnight," like she always did, but found herself trying to go on, like she used to do when she was a kid, saying goodnight to one of her friends or siblings or parents. Except, this little boy had no name for her to say.
"That's right, you never told me your name," Erika mused aloud as she shifted the boy into a lying down position. "Do you want to tell me your name?"
She received no response, and she sighed.
"Do you mind if I give you a name? At least to call you until you tell me your real one?" There was no response again, and Erika took that as permission.
"How about I call you…" She thought about it for a moment. "Allegro." Erika let out a laugh and looked at the boy- no, at Allegro.
"Yeah, Allegro sounds perfect for you." Erika pulled the blanket up and over his prone form. Then, she didn't know what possessed her to do it, but as she looked at the newly-named Allegro, Erika couldn't help but lean over and press a small kiss to his forehead.
"Goodnight Allegro," Erika smiled as she made her way out of the room, pausing at the door to shut the lights off.
"See you in the morning."
And, if just for a moment, everything seemed right.
~~That is how the song begins~~
Timcampy finally came back, two days later, making it five days since the brats' disappearance from the cemetery. The golem had perched itself in Cross' hand and opened it mouth, a recording coming up in front of Cross. It wasn't much, but it gave him at least a lead.
With Timcampy leading, Cross set out across the city to find [and retrieve] the nuisance of a host that has already taken him this long to find, without the added trouble the brat was putting on top of it now.
"How's your little cemetery stray, Erika?"
~~Allegro's Crescendo~~
There you have it, chapter 2. Again, not much action, but I promise, it picks up next chapter and chapter 4.
If you have any questions on the story or on updates, feel free to review/pm me and let me know so I can try and answer them to the best of my ability.
Until next time in Allegro's Crescendo: The Sforzando Piano
"Inno...cence... Innocence" ... "Where is the Innocence, human?"
Read and Review, please! ^_^
~~Paw-Chan Signing Out~~