Ehe...Originally, this was gonna be another smut chapter...but in the end Saya decided to cut it just before it got to the actual smexing... She just didn't want to do that to the story. Still, she ended up getting some plot-moving stuff in there to replace the smut, which makes her much happier with this chapter :3.

Disclaimer: Saya doesn't own the actors, just the script they're acting to.

Warnings: Rated M for sexual material en masse, and pedophilia, considering how both Cross and Tyki are much older than Allen.

4. Nostalgia

Allen felt sunlight stinging through his eyelids when he woke, it was nearly excruciatingly bright. Faintly, he wondered why the sun was so bright when he usually woke up at dawn, when the sun as still weak. The idea of having slept in hit him suddenly, and he was so startled by the thought that he bolted upright and nearly fell out of the bed while scrambling about, trying to gain his bearings. Allen Walker did not sleep in, it was unheard of, there was just no way it could happen to him, right? Unfortunately, once he stopped panicking and started looking around, he saw Cross, already awake, simply sitting at the bedside as he took a long drag on his cigarette.

"I don't recall you being so spastic in the mornings." A low chuckle followed that statement, and slowly Allen remembered that he had fallen asleep in the master's room.

"Wh-what time is it...?" Allen asked hesitantly, unsure of whether he really wanted an answer to that or not. He was feeling extremely worried, and he had every right to be, since he'd woken up after Cross.

"Good morning to you too. It's noon." Allen could see the teasing grin on his master's face, Cross was probably finding his behavior to be quite entertaining. He wanted to fall back into Cross' soft down pillows and groan; He had slept in really late, people would notice.

Maybe that was Cross' real punishment for him, making him late? To be so late would most definitely cause problems, people would ask questions, everything he had to do in the mornings would go undone. Many people in the manor resented the fact that he had such a high position at such a young age, but he had always prevented them from criticizing him by never giving them a reason to. They were vultures though, they would take the first opportunity they got to berate him for slacking. This was most definitely the perfect opportunity for them to do so, seeing as he really had no excuse for being late.

Allen knew he did not have to worry about losing his position over what anyone else said, because he knew that no matter what anyone said he was one of the most diligent workers under Cross' employ, and Cross knew it too. As long as he continued to work his hardest and keep his master happy, he would always have a place in this manor and in his bed. Honestly, he did not really care what he did, as long as he was with his master.

Still, those vultures were annoying as all hell. Really, he did his job well, did he not? The home was run smoothly and the sky was not falling so could they just back off a little? They did not have to nit-pick every little thing he did or point it out every time he did something as small as trip. At any rate, dealing with his critics was much more of a punishment than sleeping with Cross was.

Allen did not waste any more time sitting down, and sat up, pushing himself off the bed while silently hoping his legs would support him. He was only half-surprised to find his clothes all neatly folded by the bedside; Cross treated him well most of the time, but it was always something of a surprise when he broke character and did something small yet kind like that. Allen had only just pulled his trousers on when he felt a strong arm wrap around his waist. He was pulled back against Cross' chest, as the man's other arm wound around him to tilt his face to the side, and gave him a light kiss on the side of his mouth. It was part of their morning routine that would not be overlooked, even though Allen had never left the manor.

Allen gave a small smile as he moved away; He did not mind being possessed in the least, not as long as it was his master who kept him so close. Once dressed, he left to start the master's bath; Cross had a hang up over being clean, he usually washed as soon as he got up. "Cleanliness is close to godliness" as they say, and Cross was definitely godly in his own mind, and the minds of the women he bedded. Most men thought he was just plain arrogant though.

He walked into the bathroom with a familiar, dull ache between his legs that he had long since grown used to. The memory it invoked made him blush, as it always did; He was bashful by nature. The bathroom was large and luxurious, tastefully decorated with not too much ornamentation, yet still a far cry from plain. The floor had a black and red checker pattern on the tiles, there was a large mirror on one of the walls, and on the opposite side of the room a large claw foot bath sat. The walls were a pale gold and the curtains matched the red of the tiles.

This was the exact room where everything had started, where Allen had gone from being just an assistant, to a lover. Sometimes Allen caught himself wondering whether or not it was a good memory. Maybe it was just a confusing one? But that incident had ended in something good, so he felt that the memory itself was of little consequence. Despite that though, Allen could never stop that supposedly inconsequential memory from flowing into his mind.

0 Three Years Earlier 0

Allen Walker was thirteen, he had been for months. Almost as many months as Mana had been dead. He could no longer think of anything, not even his age, without remembering that his beloved foster father was dead. While it was true that he was thankful to still be allowed to live and work within the manor, he had taken his father's job, the reason being because he had helped Mana with it ever since he had been well enough to work and was the only one who knew how to make Cross' tonic. But it was just too much, to remember everything every day. Even if he was working, and keeping everything in the perfect order his father had left things, he felt numb, like he was just going through the motions of living. He knew that his lackluster attitude was annoying (and he wasn't quite sure but maybe worrying?) His master, but he just could not bring himself to care.

He had just brought his master back from a particularly raucous party, and Cross felt the need to bathe. Because he could not think of any particular law or health reason why he should not take a bath in the middle of the night (besides the obvious reason that Cross may fall asleep, in which case Allen would just wake him up), Allen heeded his master's order and started to fill the bath. For some reason or other, Cross seemed just a bit more dependant on him than usual, though maybe he had just had that much more liquor that night? He'd had so much to drink that Allen had lost count of the number of bottles Cross had drained; He was surprised Cross had not gotten alcohol poisoning.

So, Allen helped Cross undress (blushing every shade of red known to man, along with several that had yet to be discovered by humans), and lowered him into the steaming water. He waited for a moment to be sure that his master would not need anything more for the time being, and turned to stand by the door, there and alert, but not intrusive in the least.

A large hand caught his thin wrist in a strong, but not painful grip. Allen did not have to look back to know that Cross was holding him back; After all, who else could it be? He did anyway though, because he could not think up a reason why Cross would in the first place.

"Allen." One word was all the warning he got before Cross pulled him back, and he fell, fully clothed, into the tub of steaming hot water and onto his master. Water slid over the edge of the tub and hit the tiled floor with a loud splattering sound that echoed through the now-silent room. The heated liquid around him moved with the disturbance he had caused.

"M-Master...?" Allen was confused and almost frightened by what was happening. It was not every day that he was yanked into the bath by Cross. His eyes widened when Cross put two fingers on his neck, almost as if he were feeling for a pulse, and then slid them up the column of his neck with a teasing slowness, using his fingers to guide Allen's face toward his. He was granted a searing kiss, which only served to confuse him more, especially when he realized he was kissing back, albeit more than a bit clumsily. This was something that Cross usually did with women, so why was he kissing Allen? Had he forgotten that the younger boy was, indeed, a boy? What Cross really capable of getting that drunk?

Cross broke off their kiss, the start of a trend that Allen would always follow. "Master...why?" Allen was panting as though he had just run a mile. Cross' expression became serious, and as close to sober as he could get in his current intoxicated state.

"I'm sick of you acting like the ghost of your former self, it reminds me too much of her. If you really need someone special to you in order to live, then belong to me." Allen was far too confused to question Cross about whom this mysterious woman was, and Cross was too drunk to notice that he had even said that.

"Belong to... you?" The water rippled and splashed onto the floor as Cross began moving Allen, in quick, efficient movements. Before he realized it, Allen found himself facing Cross, staring into eyes that were too clear to belong to someone who was supposedly drunk off his ass.

"Yes. If you need someone to live for, then live for me and only me. Never let another person speak to you the way I will, never let another person touch you how I will. Be happy when I am, and fix whatever is wrong when I am not. But most importantly, never leave," Cross whispered, his commanding tone hiding plenty of other thoughts and emotions; He may have been hammered, but he was had that much control of himself.

Cross had pulled the dumbstruck Allen into a sitting position on his lap, facing him. Allen was not quite sure he wanted to live for another person again. People die, people leave and never come back, he could devote his entire life to one person, adore them and make them his reason for being, but that could not stop death. Of course, by now Allen had realized that Cross intended to treat him in an entirely different way than Mana ever had. Even so, could he stand to lose another important person? He could lose his master at any time really, especially when one considers all of Cross' unhealthy habits. Then again, Cross had lived with them all for so long any way (how old was he, really?) That Allen could not see Cross dying. Then again, he had never imagined Mana could die, either.

Cross was not expecting an answer anytime soon. Well, at least not a verbal one. He pulled Allen flush against him; If Allen did not want to live for him and him alone, then he would pull away, Cross would let him leave. Allen could stay with him if he wanted, or he could leave. Cross may take pride in his rather immoral lifestyle, but he would never force Allen. If Allen left he would simply pretend that he did not remember a thing about this little confrontation (he might really forget anyway), and after a while, Allen would forget too.

Cross trailed kisses down from Allen's lips to his neck, until he could feel Allen's pulse under his lips. Hard, quick, excited, afraid, it was like feeling the boy's life. Allen, well, his body at least, seeing as his mind was too busy being dazed and confused, tilted his head to the side to give Cross more room to work. But in doing so he turned his face to the left, and quickly realized that his white dress shirt had soaked through, and was nearly transparent on his skin. That in itself would not be so horrible, but what it revealed made reality crash down on Allen, his mind was instantly cleared of all its haze. That horrible, evil, mutated arm of his that had gotten him thrown onto the streets when he was small was showing through his shirt almost as clearly as if he was not wearing one at all. He panicked; He had to hide it, he had to hide it or he would be thrown out again. Somehow though, leaving in order to hide it had never crossed his mind, maybe he was just a bit too panicked?

The bigger problem though wasn't that his arm was showing, for it seemed that Cross had yet to notice it, the problem was that Allen's frenzy was making the fact that he had something to hide much more obvious. Now that Allen had inadvertently called attention to his left side, Cross could not help but look. The deep red of his arm clashed obscenely with the rest of his pale form, and once Cross had seen it, it was impossible to look away from or for Allen to hide. Allen let out a frightened whimper as Cross pushed his sleeve up his arm, though the gesture was pointless as the white material had been made transparent. Allen did not want to see the look on his master's face when he inspected his devilish hand, so he closed his eyes.

"If you belong to me, that means I must know everything about you." Cross murmured, bringing the bizarre hand to his lips. The warm breath that hit his skin made him whimper for an entirely different reason from before.

Cross raised an amused eyebrow; Allen could feel him smirk lightly against his hand. "Sensitive, aren't we?" He soon began to undress Allen, peeling away his wet vest and shirt, to see how far the boy's strange skin extended. His expression was not one of disdain or disgust, rather it was a mix of curiosity and some strange amusement.

"M-Master...?" Allen did not want to let hope rise, he refused to let himself believe that another person would so easily accept that hidden part of him. It was outlandish and strange, evil, cursed, frightening. It was something that he did not want and yet had no choice in living with. One part of him had destroyed his life when he was just a child. He could not wrap his mind around the idea that his insensitive, womanizing, drunkard, slacking master could look at his gross imperfection as though it were a normal thing to have. Better than normal, if one where to judge Cross' opinion based on his expression.

"You've got one chance. You can run now, or you can stay." Allen was still as he thought for a moment. He could run away. He could jump out of the bath, run out of the room, and just pretend none of this had ever happened. He could leave the manor and find a job elsewhere, he was close to an age where he could find some decent work, and many of the business owners in the greater London area knew him and would be glad to hire him.

Or he could stay. He could stop just going through the motions, he could stop trying to shield himself from pain by neglecting to be happy. He could take a chance and do his best to care for his new important person. He could stay with the people he knew and the people he had grown attached to. He could keep the manor running perfectly and make his deceased father proud of his hard work. He could allow himself to feel again.

Allen leaned forward, resting his forehead on Cross' chest. He would stay.

0 Present 0

At the time, Allen had been desperate for something, he was so tired of living without someone important to him, and he hated being afraid of having a special person. He could not live for his own happiness, for he did not know how to do that. From the moment he had been adopted, his main focus had been to make Mana proud, to make his father happy, because that made him happy. He had been raised by a servant, and taught to be a servant, he did not know of a happiness that existed where he did not make someone else happy.

So though he hesitated, in the end Allen could not decline Cross' invitation to live for him. But he had been young, he had not fully realized what those kisses and caresses meant, what chains those words could be. Still, he learned, eventually, and even now he would not have it any other way. He could not help but want to live for his master.

Allen shook his head when he realized that he had lost focus. He noted that the tub had filled and that he had unconsciously prepared the rest of the bath. Turning off the water, he went to fetch his master.

I can get lost in thought some other time, right now I should focus!

Allen stepped out of the adjoined bathroom and into Cross' bedroom.

"Finally done, my little daydreamer?"

"Yes Master!" Allen was embarrassed to have been caught letting his thoughts wander, but at least he was so used to the morning routine that he had been able to work without putting much thought into anything.

Cross walked passed him to enter the room, Allen following close behind. He took Cross' clothes and folded them as they were shed. Once the vermilion-haired man was comfortably seated in the claw-footed tub, Allen turned to leave.

"Allen." A light blush dusted his face, as a shy but happy smile made its way onto Allen's face, and he turned back.

000

Despite popular belief, Cross did not spend all of his time womanizing. Far from it, really. He was more than a little busy dealing with the businesses that his family had owned for generations. However, he usually let other people make decisions about those, and only stepped in when it came to making important, final decisions. He was a genius scientist and had already made many contributions to the scientific community. He had also discovered quite a few things that he was sure the world simply was not ready for, and was keeping to himself. Of course, he had help in all of his endeavors. At that very moment, Cross was holed up in one of his labs with his science partner.

Komui Lee, age 29, elder brother to Lenalee, had met a young Cross on a rainy day in a back road 15 years before, when he was only 14 and had smuggled himself and his then 1-year-old sister into the country. They had been best friends for years, and both had a mutual interest in a few of the darker, slightly occult sciences. If there was one person who was even close to thinking in the same strange, twisted way that Cross did, it was probably Komui. Even so, the Chinese man could not understand two things about his friend and benefactor. One was why he found sleeping around so enjoyable. The second, and perhaps the most baffling, was Allen. Well, he knew why Cross had chosen to have such a relationship with the boy, but he just could not understand his friend's reasoning.

The two scientists heard a knock on the door before the white haired butler himself entered the room, carrying two empty mugs. The boy could not help but smile confusedly at what he saw, but he stayed quiet, trying not to disturb the two older men, one who was concentrating extremely hard on the project at hand, the other wondering about the same thing Allen was.

"And done! Allen, be a dear and pass me that mug, would you?" Allen did as told and slid the strange blue bunny mug that Komui was unusually attached to down the table; It conveniently missed every flask, measuring cup, and test tube holder in its path. Komui grinned in his happy way as he poured the richly colored concoction into his mug. He took a sip and his grin widened with glee.

"It's perfect!"

"Komui, sir, if you wanted coffee, I would have been glad to make you some in the kitchen..."

"Now, now, don't be foolish, I couldn't bare to put you through the trouble," Komui said, waving off Allen's suggestion.

"But you'd put me through the trouble of preparing one of my labs so that you could make yourself some Blue Mountain coffee?" Cross asked, with a hint of annoyance in his voice as his eye twitched. Friends they may have been, but that did not make Komui's excessive love of coffee any more tolerable.

"Of course! It's much easier to impose on you, and I'd feel just awful if I drank anyone besides my dear Lenalee's coffee! So I make it myself."

"Why you..." Cross scowled, and pulled off the beret that Komui always wore for no notable reason, turning on a Bunsen burner and threatening to burn it. Komui looked horrified, and Allen did his best to hold in his chuckles; his master and Komui always did the strangest and most entertaining things...

Originally, Komui was just going to show up once, but give some incredible insight into Cross' reason for being with Allen, but...Saya decided that she would save that for the next chapter... She likes Komui... he's so fun. This story needed a little normality, you know? Saya felt that she should give you guys a little peak at what Allen's day-to-day life is like, because its not just sex all the time, and Cross seems a little too criminal at the moment... These guys have normal fun too.