AN: I dont really have a lot to say about this chapter...

The two hunters managed to make it into the city without getting caught by anyone or anything. The hardware store wasn't too far into town luckily enough. Neither had it been picked clean by raiders. Seems the raiders didn't see the value in seeds and such. Allen was thankful for that. He was in the gardening section stocking up onwhat fruit, vegetable and herb seeds there were as kanda was gathering supplies that could be used to do some repairs around the compound. The two hunters gathered what supplies they wanted before meeting up at the center of the store.

"You good Moyashi?" Kanda was ready to head back. It was best to stay outside of the compound for as little as possible. Allen nodded signalling it was time to go. They had no trouble getting out of the city but half way back to the hidden gate they ran into a problem. There was a small horde of Akuma cutting off their path so they had to hide in the woods to wait until the horde moved on and they could continue home. Allen and Kanda were sitting leaning against different trees a few hours later still waiting for the Akuma horde to move on. They seemed to intend to stay there for a while so Allen and Kanda had to either wait them out or try to sneak around them. It was safer to just stay put and wait the Akuma out so that's what the two hunters agreed on.

Sadly they were stuck overnight and sleeping outside left they rather exposed so they had to sleep in shifts to prevent them from getting killed in their sleep. Well they had agreed to sleep in shifts but Allen didn't bother to wake Kanda up to take over. His insomnia allowed him to stay up all night with no trouble. It was his fault they were stuck there overnight since he was the one who had wanted to go to the city. So to make up for that he let Kanda sleep through the night. It was only fair. Besides Kanda was an even bigger asshole when he was tired.

The next morning Kanda woke up before the sun really had a chance to rise. Allen was busy roaming around right near their 'camp' picking fresh herbs to take home. Some had medical uses and others just made good spices. Kanda didn't bother questioning why Allen hadn't woke him up. Standing up Kanda looked to check on the Akuma. It looked liked they had cleared out an hour or so ago. Now that it was safe to head back Kanda pulled Allen from his harvest so they could leave.

Waiting in the underground room of the compound was Cross and two hunters clearly awaiting Allen and Kanda. Allen knew Cross was rather pissed off, well his expression said it all. Seeing Allen and Kanda return the two hunters left but Cross stared glaring at Allen.

"Kanda leave us." Cross ordered his tone leaving no room for argument. Not that Kanda would argue or even want to stay. Kanda hoped up onto the same level as Cross walking past the angered General climbing the ladder out of the room.

"Cross-" Allen started to explain himself but was cut off by Cross.

"I told you that the city is off limits. Do you have any idea what it was like when you didn't return last night? Don't do that shit again." Cross growled before turning his back to Allen leaving. Sighing Allen went up into the compound shortly after Cross did. Since Cross was clearly angry with him Allen took the seeds he had gotten to an open grassy area he could start a garden in after he had dropped his weapons and coat off in his room in the hospital. Allen spent most of the day building a garden. He ended up falling asleep in the grass around dinner time. All the hard work and the heat from the sun had easily put Allen to sleep.

When Allen woke up a few hours later he didn't find himself in the field where he had been working. Instead he woke up to the ever welcome sight that was Cross' bedroom. Curling up in the bedding Allen closed his eyes relaxing. Even though Cross was mad at Allen he still cared for Allen. Well it was actually BECAUSE he cared for Allen that he had gotten so mad. Last night Cross had been so afraid that Allen had gotten hurt and that was why he hadn't made it back. Of course Cross would never show his fear.

Cross watched Allen sleep from the couch where he sat smoking. Yes, last night he had feared he had lost Allen. Allen was the only thing left in the world that Cross cared for everything else be damned. How they had ended up in such an... intimate relationship Cross couldn't really remember. Most people in a normal society would probably disapprove of their relationship since Allen was only 22 and Cross was 40 and Cross had known Allen since he was 4 years old.

They had met when Mana and Allen had wandered into a small house looking for some shelter for the night. Cross had already found the same house before Mana and Allen had entered. Of course the two groups didn't trust each other at first and had stuck to opposite parts of the house and Mana had kept Allen very close to him. Of course Allen was too young to understand why Mana didn't trust the other man in the house so when Mana had turned his back on Allen for just a second Allen had wandered off through the house. Allen peeked his head into the back room where Cross was sitting at a table smoking. Cross looked to Allen out of the corner of his eye when he caught the boy peeking in at him.

"Hey kiddo I don't think your dad wants you roaming around by yourself. You should go back." Cross said a little dull as he watched the kid stare at him with a child's curiosity.

"What's that?" Allen asked softly as he pointed to Cross' hand. Cross looked to the cigarette he was holding between two fingers. It was not too surprising that Allen didn't know what a cigarette was.

"Its a cigarette. They are bad for you though so don't ever smoke them. If you could even fond them..." Cross put out what was left of his cigarette watching Allen walk up to him.

"If they are bad for people why do you smoke them...?" Allen asked purely out of curiosity as he stared up at Cross innocently. Cross sighed as he stared back at Allen. He couldn't possibly be mean to the kid.

"Because it calms me down. Its hard to explain to a kid okay? Now really you should get back to your dad." Cross tried to shoo Allen away but the kid was too curious for his own good.

"How does it calm you down if its bad?" Was Allen ever going to stop asking questions?

"It just does."

"Allen! I told you to leave him alone." Mana scolded as he walked up to Allen picking him up. Allen whined as he was lifted up. He was curious about the stranger so he wanted to stay and talk to him.

"He was just curious." Cross said looking to Mana. Mana's response was cut off by Allen's stomach growling followed by Mana's stomach growling as well. "There's some food over in the cupboard. Its not a lot but its better than nothing." Cross pointed over to a set of cupboards. Setting Allen down Mana walked over to the cupboard to look at the food. When Mana turned around he found Allen climbing into Cross' lap and Cross looked unsure what to do.

"Allen what are you doing?" Mana moved to pick Allen up out of Cross' lap but Cross held up a hand signaling it was okay as he watched Allen sit in his lap reaching up to play with some of his long red hair. Cross didn't seem dangerous so Mana decided to relax just a little. While Cross was held hostage by Allen Mana worked to make them some food. Really all there was was canned soup and since there was no power they ended up eating cold soup.