This chapter has been in Saya's head for a while, but Saya hadn't expected it to pop up in the story so soon though. Oh well, it did fit rather well where it came in...

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.

7. Touch

"What?"

"I just said you won't be seeing me around for a few months. I'm leaving tomorrow." Tyki blinked owlishly, as though he didn't understand the concept. So Allen was leaving? Where was he going, how long would he be gone? Why had he not been told this earlier, and why did it bother him so much that he had not been previously informed? Tyki shook his head as though that would rid him of his foolish thoughts. It wasn't as though Allen had some sort of obligation to tell him these things.

"I see, so where will you be off to?" Tyki asked conversationally, acting as though he didn't want to convince Allen to somehow stay behind, if only to continue going on these morning walks together. Allen smiled at the question, oblivious to Tyki's thoughts on the matter; He was obviously looking forward to the trip.

"Venice. Master Cross owns a summer home there, and as his personal assistant, I must go with him. We leave tomorrow, and won't be back until the last week of August, most likely." Allen had always loved the beautiful City of Water, ever since he'd first been brought to the master's second estate by Mana. Maybe it was the lack of stagecoaches, automobiles, and all-around vehicle-congested roads, but the entire city seemed to be relaxed, as if there was never any need to rush.

"Oh, that sounds rather pleasant." Wait, August? It was only the second week of June, that was nearly three months time. Did Cross really intend to monopolize Allen for so long? Not that Tyki knew that was actually exactly what Cross Marian was doing, but it definitely felt that way to him.

"It is. The city is beautiful, especially the canals. And at the summer home, all the servants are elderly grandparent-types, so for a younger worker like me it's really quite pleasant." Cross too, didn't seem to mind all the older servants fussing over him, though he always said he'd rather they didn't. Of course, Cross loved the canals too, but that was more or less because women just seemed to love taking rides in gondolas with him in the moonlight. That trick seemed to work too well, you'd think the natives had never seen the canals before. Allen preferred to be left at port whenever his master did that. But Allen could understand, for he loved those rides too.

"It is a beautiful city though, isn't it? I remember going there once before," Tyki said, with the voice of one who was reminiscing about a very fond memory.

"Really?"

"Yes, back when I was a run-away, my group of four stowed away on a ship to France and eventually we wound up working there for a while."

"You worked in Venice? What did you do?"

"Gambled," Tyki said, looking far too proud of that fact; Allen didn't know whether or not he should laugh. It was comical, to think that someone of Tyki's wealth and stature had once gone to that beautiful city to gamble!

"That must've been quite a unique experience." Allen decided that was probably the best answer he could give on the subject. He still wanted to laugh, but thought it might be rude of him to laugh at someone's memory. Tyki chuckled and nodded.

"Indeed."

"We'll have to play a game or two sometime, then," Allen said, changing the subject just slightly. A bit of a mischievous glint lit up Allen's eyes, to which Tyki raised an elegant eyebrow.

"Do you play poker?" He asked, finding the idea of such an innocent-looking boy sitting at a table filled with shifty-eyed men laughable (and somewhat troubling, too). But then again... no one would ever expect that a boy like Allen, who looked as green as they come, to be able to pull anything off. That could be a dangerous weapon in the boy's hands.

"Yes. I'm nothing special when it comes to gambling, but what's there to lose when playing for the sake of the game?" In truth, Allen had gotten exceptionally bored once upon a time, and Mana had been there and equally bored. His father had taught him how to cheat like the best of them, and though he realized he'd never need such skills, and he never played for money (what need had he for that?), he was just a little too competitive to lose.

"Your pride, for one thing," Tyki thought aloud, because a game lost was a game lost, and a gambler's pride would suffer greatly, even if his wallet didn't.

"Got none. In any case, I'm a bit unlucky, so feel free to hold back a little." Tyki laughed at the request.

"All's fair in love and poker." The corners of Allen's lips turned up into a devious smirk.

"Indeed."

With the ending of their conversation came the grumbling of the skies. Tyki looked up, he could smell it in the air, the oncoming of a storm. The leaden skies showed that this assumption was correct, and the faint thunder he could hear rumbling in the distance proved without a doubt that a large storm was on the way. Any moment now, the winds would carry raindrops with them, and the two of them would be forced to take shelter. Tyki wouldn't have minded that so much, but judging by the way Allen was staring at his pocket watch as though he couldn't believe that it was already 11 told him that Allen needed to get home.

And oh, did he. Allen knew it would take at least a little less than a half hour to reach the manor on foot, and that was only if he ran all the way back home. Then he'd have to prepare the master's tonic and, well, the manor was not a small place by any standard, it would take time to get from the kitchens to the master's chambers. Not to mention that if it started to rain, he'd have to change before he saw the master. He wouldn't make it on time. Allen fretted. This was getting to be a horrible habit of his, this constant lateness. This was troubling, he'd have to break himself of it. Maybe he could get Komui to make a portable alarm of sorts for him? That would be useful.

Though Allen tried not to show his distress, it was already too late for Tyki had anticipated it the moment he'd seen the boy take out his pocket watch. He'd stared a little too long at the watch's face, closed it with a little too much force, and had shoved it back in his pocket as though it were something incriminating. Allen's eyes no longer looked straight ahead, but instead darted around the street, as though looking for a clear path to take. Yes, Allen definitely needed to get home.

Without quite thinking his choice though (what was there to think about, anyway?) Tyki grabbed the boy's hand and wove through the crowds of people who were steadily making their way indoors. At the end of the street there was an empty coach, looking as though it had been sent there just for them. For a moment, Tyki's heart seemed to jump into his throat at the almost-contact that wasn't really. Both he and Allen were wearing gloves, despite how the weather was getting warmer, so there was no direct skin-to-skin contact, but even so. Tyki did his best to ignore his quickening heartbeat and convince himself that it was only palpitating at such a rate because he was moving so quickly. In his efforts to act calm, he failed to notice Allen's flushed face.

"Um, ah...Tyki, what are we doing-" The two of them came to a sudden halt in front of the coach, and Allen understood. Tyki had noticed his panic, though he had tried his best to hide it. Tyki always noticed, and Allen wasn't sure what to think of that. It was flattering and yet somewhat questionable, but Allen didn't like to question people he trusted.

Tyki helped Allen into the passenger cab as always, and got in after him. Just as the door shut, the first few drops of rain fell, and as though that had been the straw that broke the camel's back, the storm broke out, with rain pounding the coach in a steady thrum. Allen sighed with relief as he leaned back in his seat, and took a deep breath to get his breathing back to normal.

"Good thing we didn't get caught in that. Thank you, Tyki," Allen said, as his eyes fluttered shut for a moment and the coach lurched forward as it began to move.

Tyki really wished Allen wouldn't do that. He looked far too beautiful and tempting, with that relaxed expression, the slight flush on his face, and his lips curled into a content, lovely smile. Tyki looked in the opposite direction.

"Yeah, good thing."

Allen opened his eyes when he heard the other's voice, and looked at Tyki worriedly. He suddenly sounded rather down, and Allen was concerned. He never would've imagined that it was he who was troubling Tyki, plaguing his thoughts and heart with problems and feelings he shouldn't have and had no use for.

"Tyki, are you all right?" Allen asked. The older man shook away his cluttered thoughts and turned to face Allen once again.

"Yes, I'm fine, why do you ask?"

"No reason in particular, you just sounded a little troubled." Tyki would have liked to tell Allen that yes, he was troubled. He would have liked to say that it was Allen, being there and kind and beautiful and so damned innocent yet alluring and Tyki just couldn't describe what it was that made him want to be around Allen so much, and trying to find the words for it, so that at least he could understand it, was frustrating! Allen was the reason he couldn't think straight, he was what Tyki was denying himself. But he couldn't tell Allen that, he couldn't say a word about it.

But then again...why couldn't he? After all, Allen had just said he was leaving. Sure, it was only temporary, and just a little while ago Tyki had felt as though for those few months the world would come to a grinding halt (this was him being overly dramatic, yes), but now he was seeing this as an opportunity. Allen would be gone for three months, that was plenty of time to think over a confession, or just forget it completely if he wanted to reject it. Allen could leave, then come back and pretend nothing had ever happened, if he was so inclined to.

But wait-what was he thinking? Tyki couldn't do that, of course he couldn't. For one thing, Allen was over ten years his junior and (barely) under the legal age of consent, being in a relationship with Allen would make him a pedophile. For another thing, Allen was a boy, and while Tyki wasn't a practicing Christian or anything at all, really, that was still unnatural. Besides, Allen wasn't interested in him that way, and his occasional talks about some nameless important person only drove home that fact. If Allen held any romantic interest in anyone, it was that person. Tyki just couldn't say something that would ruin the one thing he was allowed to have with Allen; friendship, and that was all.

Allen was still looking at Tyki with those pale, wide eyes, concerned despite Tyki's insistence that he was fine.

"Are you sure? You seem to be thinking deeply on something. Is it anything you can talk with me about?"

Don't make that face, don't say such things. I'm trying my best not to make any foolish decisions, but you're making it hard to do the right thing.

"I'm fine, really, I've just got a lot on my mind that I can't really explain well."

"Oh."

Allen turned to face forward, and there was a few moments of silence. From the corner of his eye, Tyki inspected the boy's profile, before noticing something on Allen's cheek. It was white, and shone dully in the little light that managed to make its way into the coach.

"Turn this way for a moment, would you?" Tyki asked, curious as to what that glittering thing was. Allen did as told, turning back to face Tyki with a confused expression. Upon closer inspection, Tyki discovered that it was an eyelash. Carefully, Tyki took the boy's cheek in his hand and gently wiped away the eyelash with his thumb.

Allen's eyes were wide with questioning, and he could feel his face heating up, unbidden by him.

"U-um..."

"This was on your cheek," Tyki explained, showing Allen the little white lash. Allen looked at it for a moment, and felt even more embarrassed. For a moment he had thought Tyki was going to... But of course not, and Allen wouldn't allow it anyway. He couldn't, right? But maybe whether or not anything actually happened wasn't the real problem. Allen chose not to think about that.

"Make a wish on it," Tyki said, and for a moment Allen didn't understand what he was talking about. "When an eyelash comes out, you put it on the back of your hand," Tyki explained, and held up one of Allen's hands, before putting the eyelash on the back of Allen's left hand. "Then you close your eyes and make a wish." Allen had never been one to believe in these sorts of things, but they were fun, sometimes. It was never bad to have a wish or two, so Allen saw no problem with playing along and did as told.

"Then you blow on it, but not too hard. If it's gone when you open your eyes, your wish will come true." Allen made his wish, and Tyki watched the lash floated into the air, before disappearing from sight.

Allen opened his eyes and smiled when he saw that the lash was gone. He lifted his eyes back up to Tyki's own, and suddenly found himself captured by those smoldering golden eyes. His voice died in his throat, he felt as though his vocal cords had been paralyzed. He had just realized that those eyes held something in them that he hadn't noticed before; something that was familiar, something that shouldn't have been there.

Allen wanted to look away, but found he couldn't. He looked like a frightened deer, and Tyki wasn't quite sure why. For some reason, he also found himself staring and not able to look away. Tyki had never dared to stare at Allen so boldly like this, and wondered if maybe his earlier thoughts were guiding his actions. But that hardly mattered because right now they were staring at each other as though it was impossible to look away.

Tyki was suddenly seized by the feeling that he could do anything at that moment and get away with it. Allen would let him. Why he thought this, he couldn't be sure, but he had this strong desire to take advantage of the moment. No, he was being sucked in by the very idea that maybe, for one moment, it might be acceptable for him to perhaps kiss those lips...

Tyki moved forward just a small bit, and Allen followed suit, surprisingly enough. His mind had all but shut down when he'd seen this move of approval, for some reason Allen seemed so much more enchanting, suddenly. Tyki moved closer yet again, leaving all of a few mere inches between them. They could feel each other's breath ghosting over their lips. His hand came up to Allen's face, and his fingers touched down over the boy's left temple for a moment, sliding down just a bit until his palm rested on the boy's cheek and his fingers were pushing the hair away from Allen's face. His hand caressed the boy's cheek lightly, and Allen leaned forward just a little more, giving into the touch that was so familiar-

Familiar because this was something that Cross did all the time, just before he was going to kiss Allen. The spell that had come over them was quickly and violently broken when Allen pulled away with his entire body, until his back hit the other side of the cabin. It suddenly felt too cramped, like Allen couldn't get enough space between them.

Tyki came back to his senses after this denial, and quickly looked away, berating himself once again. Goodness, he had just decided not to say anything about what he was thinking and feeling, and then he completely bypasses speaking and tries to kiss the boy! But then, perhaps more alarming was the fact that Allen had almost let him. He wondered just why that was so alarming.

Tyki coughed into the awkward silence, as the coach pulled to a stop. Allen all but threw open the door and jumped out.

"Thanks for the ride, see you in three months!" He said hurriedly, before slamming the door with all the force of his embarrassment.

"Well, that could've gone better..." Tyki said with a sigh, and hoped that perhaps in three months time, Allen will have forgotten the incident.

000

Allen didn't bother shooting Kanda a glare when he ran past the guard. Said guard thought this and the fact that Allen hadn't given his escort a proper farewell as he usually did was abnormal. So, instead of shooting glares at the boy's back, Kanda pondered the reason for his superior's flustered state, but then decided it was really none of his concern.

Allen understood now. That strange glint in those molten eyes, his way of watching and noticing everything around and about Allen, the consideration he always showed, he understood it now. It was something he couldn't face, something he couldn't acknowledge, something he refused even to name.

But, for a moment, he had wanted to do all of that, and that was the problem. What had Allen been thinking? Going along with something like that! He should have backed away sooner, he should've slapped Tyki or something! But he hadn't. No, instead Allen had almost let Tyki kiss him and he couldn't understand why. Allen had to think over whether or not he actually would have let Tyki kiss him, and came to the horrifying conclusion that yes, had Tyki not done that one little thing, Allen would have. But it was that one little move made to push the hair away from his face, so similar to what Cross did all the time, that reminded Allen that the person he'd been with was not his master. Of course, the moment Allen had realized this, he had been disgusted with himself and pulled away.

How horrible he was, letting another man touch him the way his master did! "Never let another person touch you how I will" were the words his master had said to him, but well, that was what Allen had just let happen, wasn't it? Allen was just thankful that Tyki hadn't actually kissed him, Cross would've known if he had. Allen wasn't sure that he could face his master in- he looked at his watch again- 7 minutes. Could he do it at all? Could he look Cross in the eye and act as though nothing had happened, as though today had been a normal day?

But it hadn't been just another morning, to say so would be to lie to his master. But would it be lying if Cross never asked about it? But then Allen would be hiding things, and that seemed just as bad.

Allen's hands shook just a little as he prepared the master's tonic and placed everything he needed on a tray.

Stop that. Calm down Allen, nothing will come of worrying about something that didn't completely happen, and spilling the master's tonic definitely won't solve anything.

Allen took a deep, calming breath and forced his hands to stop shaking. Then, he left the kitchen looking as relaxed as he ever did.

000

Allen knocked at the door of his master's chambers before entering, as he did every morning out of politeness. The room was cast into shades of red as it always was. The walls were a dull ruby hue, and the shadows were a dark crimson. It was as beautiful as it had always been, and very suited to the master's personality. For once though, Allen wondered why the room had blood-colored shadows, if only for the sake of keeping his mind off the day's earlier events.

Allen walked across the room as he usually did, put the tray he was holding down on the bedside table as he usually did, and gently called for his master to wake as he usually did. It had to be a normal day, it just had to be. He decided it would be for the best to not mention what happened if he could help it, because he didn't want to anger Cross first thing in the morning by informing him of something that had hadn't even really happened. And he really didn't want to get Tyki involved with Cross in such a way, that was the last thing he wanted or needed. Tyki didn't deserve the trouble, and Cross didn't really need another headache.

The master rolled over to the other side of his bed, grabbed his mask off the bureau on that side, and sat up. He did that every morning, and sometimes he even fell asleep with the mask on. Allen had always wondered about it but had never dared to try and look at his face, or ask his master about his reasons for wearing the mask, or his reasons for never showing Allen what it hid. People hid things they were ashamed of, Allen understood that better than anyone. Sometimes when he was in a particularly foul mood, he thought it was unfair that Cross had seen his arm and yet Allen had never even seen his master's whole face. How could Allen be expected to trust someone who never showed their face? (Not to say Allen didn't trust Cross, but that didn't make it any less unfair). Still, it was easier to just accept it as a fact of life, rather than dwell on it.

Cross swung his feet over the edge of the bed, and beckoned Allen over with his hand. Allen suppressed an involuntary shiver that arose when he saw the look in his master's eye. It was far too similar to the look he'd just seen in... someone else's eyes. No, now wasn't the time to think about it, if he did that now he would just end up saying or doing something foolish.

He took a step forward, and for a moment felt his heart stop beating, then beat faster than before. His master's hand was coming towards his face, his fingers brushing over his left temple, his palm resting on Allen's cheek, his fingers slowly threading though his hair, pushing it away from his face. The places he had been touched before still felt warm on Allen's skin, and it felt as though Cross were retracing the area Tyki had touched before. The imitation was so perfect that Allen wondered if a trail or mark had been left on his skin.

Something in Allen broke. He felt as though he had betrayed his master. Betrayed him because something had almost happened, because he'd almost allowed something to happen, because he had anticipated it and if it had happened he knew that he would've enjoyed it. Allen had never come so close to disobeying his master before, and never before had he wanted to so much.

Allen bowed his head, hiding his face from his master's view. Cross' eyes took on a confused glint, and his hand moved down to the boy's chin so that he could lift his face up once again. Allen's eyes were damp, which immediately alarmed Cross. He'd only just woken up, so he couldn't imagine what he had done to upset Allen already. But maybe all it was, was just Allen waking him up late and expecting to be reprimanded? But Allen knew better than that, he knew Cross wouldn't be so horribly annoyed by that. Besides, it didn't feel late, so he doubted that was the problem.

But that didn't matter, because those dewy eyes were getting wetter and tears were forming and getting ready to break past those white-lashed lids and fall. Cross had no idea what to do because he rarely ever dealt with crying people, and it was Allen. He'd only seen the boy cry once, when Mana had died. Cross didn't know how to properly deal with it then, and he sure as hell didn't know what he should do now, especially since this seemed so out of the blue. Somehow though, this scenario seemed so very familiar that it filled Cross with dread and concern.

"I'm sorry Master..." was all Allen would say, and with that sob-choked voice, it was almost the echo of the only other apology that Cross had ever bothered to remember.

"I'm sorry Cross..."

Cross pulled the upset boy closer to him, and wrapped him in what he hoped was a comforting embrace. Allen mumbled into the crook of his neck, but Cross couldn't understand any of it, so he just ran his hand over the back of Allen's hair, and hoped that the situation wasn't as bad as his premonition made it seem.

Allen seems too emotional at the end, Saya thinks, but at the same time he also seems like the type of person who wouldn't take betraying another person lightly. Still...this entire chapter (excluding the whole Venice thing) has been in Saya's mind for so long...she's glad she got it out finally.