Title: The Price

Synopsis: "I told you that when you became the 14th you'd have to kill someone who you loved. If you don't act now, that person will be that girl." Allen must decide between the past and present and change his fate. Allen, 14th, Cross, Mana, & Lenalee-centric.

Rating: T

A/N: I'm sick. Again. Blaurgh. Good news is, that gives me time to write! Bad news is… I'm sick. Anyways. This is another one of those weird fics that I keep writing that has really bad stuff happening to Allen. Sorry Allen! I don't mean to keep hurting you like this! It's all because I hate Mana and his silly pants and his creepy child-like attitude… Honestly, that guy haunts my nightmares. Oh, and in order to understand this, you must remember that Cross used to be a wizard… Yeah. So… um… enjoy. Oh, and this is my longest one shot ever. I'm quite proud.

Disclaimer: I don't own DGM, because if I did, Kanda would not be essential to the plot.

--

"Tell me what I'm supposed to do with all these left over feelings of you, 'cause I don't know. And tell me how I'm supposed to feel when all these nightmares become real, 'cause I don't know."

-"Roadside" by Rise Against

--

Waking up, Allen had no idea where he was. Around him were rocks. Strange rocks in even stranger, random formations. Looking around, he realized that they were in some sort of circle, but to his recollection, he had no idea what these rocks were or why he was there. Written on the rocks was some sort of archaic alphabet that he had never seen. He got the feeling that it predated even the language of the Vatican or ancient Greeks. A shiver ran up his spine.

"Allen~! Allen~!" From the foggy distance came a lumbering body with ridiculous striped pants, the red shining through even the dimly lit atmosphere. In an instant all fear was erased from Allen's heart. Trying to doge the seemingly random placed rocks, Allen ran as fast as he could to where Mana was standing there calling him. Though he was far away and his words were muffled, Allen swore that he could hear Mana calling his name as he had when Allen was just a child. "Allen~!" His smile was the same that it had always been and his arms waved up and down just like they had seen each other yesterday.

For the first time in a long time, Allen felt a true happiness bloom within himself.

These reoccurring dreams that he would have of Mana were the best that he ever had and brought the only happiness to his more and more stressful life… Even if he could not remember what happened many times, he was still aware of his foster parent's presence, and because of that, they were wonderful.

Sometimes, in the bottom of his heart, he wished that he could stay there in them with him. When he was with Mana, things were more simple and fun. For a while he was able to regain the innocent and happy person that he was during childhood; the person that his heart ached to be once again.

"That can arranged with ease, Allen." Walking as smoothly as if he were on level ground, and yet keeping up at the same pace as Allen's sprinting was…

"Tyki?" Astonishment filled his voice. This was not right; why would Tyki be in his dream with Mana? Tyki was a Noah, one of the people that Allen escaped into his dreams to avoid meeting with. If that were Tyki than he would have liked to be awake once again. Nightmares were the territory for the clan of Noah.

The man laughed. "Is that what he's called? Tyki? That's a ridiculous name, don't you think?" Pausing in his speech, the person turned his head and beamed at Allen. "Tell me, little Allen, where is that chap from?" The smile that had seemed kind and sincere a moment ago grew dark and sinister; Allen could not look the ma in the eyes.

For some reason, Allen's words were caught in his throat. "P-p-portug-gal, I t-think." The uncharacteristic stuttering threw Allen off edge. What was it about this man that was so much more frightening than Tyki despite the fact that the two of them shared the same face?

Laughing harder than he did a moment ago, the man did not miss a step. In the distance Allen could see Mana, though it appeared to be that he and whoever this person was weren't getting any closer to Allen's foster father, despite the fact that Allen was running so hard that he could feel a dull pain in his chest from his heart overworking itself.

"Portuguese? Are you serious? Tyki doesn't sound at all like a Portuguese name!" The man's pace quickened just a little, and before Allen took even another step, the man was halfway to Mana. "Does that name sound Portuguese, Mana?" With the goofy smile that he always wore, Mana shook his head. Satisfied with Mana's reaction, the man turned back to Allen. "Little Allen, that's quite some joke that the Earl has played with the name of that one, don't you think?" Without warning, Allen was next to the man and was running stationary while the man did not move. Desperately trying to break through whatever barrier that was holding him back, Allen ignored the man's words. Apparently that was not what the man wanted. Within the blink of an eye Allen's legs felt like lead and he was on the ground with that man crouched down next to him, holding up his chin in his hands. "My little Allen, when one asks you a question, it is polite to give him an appropriate and timely response. Did my dear friend Cross not teach you that?"

"That bastard taught me nothing." Allen spat, as his legs suddenly regained their natural weight. Before the man could do anything else, he got back up on his feet and began running towards Mana once again…

To find himself smacking into his master.

"Stupid apprentice, what are you doing?"

"Ma-master?" The shock of seeing the master who was supposed to be in his grave, floored Allen for a moment. Though they had never found his body, Allen had assumed that- "But you're dead."

His master laughed and brought a cigarette that he had not been holding moments ago to his mouth. "And shouldn't you be as well, Allen? Do you think that you really could have survived a hole opening in your heart, you could have been dead all this time and-"

That voice was coming from behind him. This was not his master; this was not real.

From behind him came a light round of applause. "Very good, little Allen. You saw through my little charade. I just thought it would be interesting to see how long it would take you." There was a whooshing sound and the person appeared before him and a strong hand was clutching his neck, squeezing it harshly with the intention to kill. "You always exceed my expectations; I'm so glad that I chose you."

Feeling suddenly desperate, a tear slid down Allen's face. "Please, whoever you are, just let me go to Mana. Let me see him one more ti-" Allen was cut off by the cruel laughter of the man. Using all of his energy he tried to push the man away, but it was no use. As Allen struggled the man's grasp only became tighter and tighter. Around them the rocks began to glow a sinister green… the same green that Innocence glowed as it activated.

"My little Allen wants to see my little Mana?" The green light hit the back of the man's head making his features dark and sinister. All that Allen could see between the shadows and the fading of his eyesight as his mouth could collect no air was the sinister white teeth in a smile that rivaled that of the Cheshire cat's. "On a condition, my little Allen, on a condition…"

--

The crash of items falling to the floor in the room next door woke Lenalee from the slumber that she had been clinging to so fleetingly. For weeks sleep hadn't come easily to her; tonight was no different except for the fact that in the room next to her Allen was awake as well.

Still groggy from the half-sleeping state that she was in, Lenalee slipped on some shoes, only have surprised to find that she had dozed off in her exorcist's uniform. With all that they had to do lately, there was no time for other clothes. At any moment one of their superiors could tell them that the Earl was sighted and they wanted them to go attack. Some of the exorcists never took their uniforms off now; it would only waste precious times where they could be saving lives.

With a yawn she walked over to Allen's bedroom door, wanting to ask him what was happening and why things were falling. As usual there would be some reasonable explanation; Tim was bored or Allen had just gotten back from somewhere and was stumbling because he was so tired. That boy had a knack for overworking himself until the point of exhaustion; it was something that he had done since she had first met him.

So softly she knocked on his door. "Allen, are you alright?" There was suddenly an even louder banging noise from within the room; startled, Lenalee instinctively took a few steps backwards, hitting the other side of the hallway with her back. A moment later the sound of the door shuffling quietly across the carpet of Allen's bedroom came forth and Allen's head emerged in the doorway. "Allen?"

He smiled and the white hair that seemed much more curly than usual fell into his black-rimmed eyes. "Yes?" With a soft determination his eyes scanned over Lenalee's body. "What do you want, girl?"

The words were so uncharacteristic coming from Allen's mouth, and for a moment she felt that this wasn't Allen who she was talking to. That something had happened and this was just an imposter with Allen's face. Of course, that was ridiculous, but there was such a cold feeling coming from him. 'Girl' wasn't something that he would call her, usually.

Screwing her courage to the sticking place, Lenalee tried to smile. "Allen, are you alright? I heard some noises from your room and-"

"Yes, I was knocking a few things down. I'm not quite used to…" His voice trailed off giving way to a sinister smile. "Why don't you come in, girl. It must be cold in the hallway." The door opened a bit more revealing Allen's body and the room that was now a complete mess.

There had been a few times when Allen had let Lenalee into his room, but never so late. Usually he was worried about what her brother would do if he caught the two of them together like that. Torn between the fact that Allen was obviously not himself and that she really did want to be with him, she took a few steps forward towards the beckoning smile of her friend.

Like a gentleman he held the door open for her as she entered and shut it softly once she was in the room. The room seemed to be in even more of a disarray than she had thought. All around were the things that Allen had cherished broken and tattered on the ground. A painting that had been on his wall since he first came to the Order had marks on it as if some sort of wild animal had scratched it. It seemed so…

"That painting was always very depressing, I thought." There was a weight on Lenalee's shoulders; it was Allen's arm hanging over them. "It was time to move on past that sort of thing, don't you think?" Frightened… No, nervous, she shook her head. There was no need to be frightened of Allen. "Besides, there are so many pretty things to look at in the world, why would one need to waste their time with the ugly." A gloved hand gently made its way to Lenalee's cheek, touching it softly. "You're very pretty, just so you know."

Maneuvering so that she would no longer be under Allen's arm, Lenalee walked to the other side of the room, nearly stepping on all sorts of debris from Allen's momentary lapse in sanity. "You know, Allen, we should probably clean this up before you step on something and get hurt." Cheeriness was in her voice like usual, but it was all forced. Inside her chest her heart beat fast and hard; she felt like she was going to be sick for no reason at all.

There was a chuckle from behind her. "Don't worry little girl, I wouldn't let myself be hurt that easily. No, there's too much at risk this time around for me to be so foolish and careless as to let my body be injured." The arm that Lenalee thought that she had escaped made its way around her waist.

"Allen, what are you-"

"You're very pretty. It's a wonder that he hasn't snatched you up before this; your feelings for him shine through like a beacon of hope in his dim world. Might as well take that too." Confused, Lenalee could only stare at Allen. There was something so wrong. "From what I've seen, your brother won't like this, but I doubt that matters now; no one can stand up against me." With a harsh push she was turned to face Allen. "This time I can do anything." One of his hands reached up and cradled her head, pushing it forward to reach Allen's.

It was then that Lenalee Lee had her first kiss.

--

"Mana!" For the first time in a long time Allen could feel the arms of his beloved foster parent around him. True happiness with the one that he loved the most. It was wonderful. "Mana, I'm so happy to see you." Tears flowed from his eyes as a warm hand was on top of his head.

When at last Allen pulled away, Mana was no longer in his clown get-up, but now in the top hat and traveling clothes that he was also fond in. "It's been a long time, Allen." There was a smile on his face, and Allen couldn't help but to copy it. So what if the Fourteenth had taken something from him; it didn't matter as long as he was with Mana once again.

"Mana, I've missed you so much." The tears did not feel like they could stop. "So much has happened since you've been gone."

Putting a hand on Allen's head, Mana's smile grew. "So much has happened since you've been away *****. I've been very lonely without you. I'm glad that you decided to come back." All Allen could do was stare; he was confused. "You see, ******, the Earl has taken more steps to try to find us and… Is there something wrong, ******?"

Desperate and scared, Allen grabbed Mana's hand. "Allen, I'm Allen, Mana." Feeling like the small child that he once was, he tugged on Mana's arm. "Allen." There was a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that told Allen that he had experienced this once before; there had been a time, however distant and faded in his memory, that he had felt the extreme loneliness of being forgotten.

Confused, Mana looked down at Allen. "I've never met anyone with that name before. What are you playing at ******? You know how I feel about these practical jokes; I only like slapstick!" Once more Mana appeared in the clown costume that had charmed even the most morose audiences in Mana's prime.

At last Allen gave up his grip on his foster father's arm. "Mana, do you really not remember?" Looking at the ground, there was a different sort of tear falling from his eyes like rain. In response the clown did nothing but jump around and laugh at the jokes that he made in his own mind. With a booming voice he called for ****** to join him, but gave up with a shrug after seeing the look in Allen's eyes. Defeated, the exorcist sunk to his knees, the soft grass on his bear hands and feet feeling like the only comfort in his life.

Smoke filled Allen's nostrils as the green light came once again from the rocks. Next to him a man appeared. "I had told you that he lost it, didn't I?" To his master, Allen said nothing. "Not that I'm trying to mock you in any way, idiot. I'm sure that this hurts quite a bit." On his master's face was a small smile. "Anyways, you should probably get back." There was a tug at the former exorcist's long coat from the pitiful creature on the ground. "What do you want?"

The boy looked up at his mentor with misery on his face. "What happened… What happened to Mana?" Tugging so hard that Cross's coat ripped, Allen screamed. "Tell me what happened to him! He wasn't like this when I was a child!" Feeling like he had lost all control he let go of his master's coat and ripped out a clump of grass. "He was the thing that was most important to me; how could this have happened without me knowing!?" As Allen let forth a scream that rivaled a newborn child's, Mana looked his way for a moment, but quickly returned to his more interesting world of magic and merriment.

With a sigh, Cross let go of his dignity and leaned down to be eye-level with the screaming boy. The last thing that he needed was for him to lose his sanity like his foster father. "Allen, look at me." Despite all of the rage that he felt for the world, Allen was able to tilt his tear stained face to his master. For the first time, Cross noticed, there was no determination, only defeat, hidden within his apprentice's eyes. "Mana is dead."

The eyes of his apprentice grew dark and full of hatred. "I know that."

Seeing that look surprised Cross, almost so much that he laughed. "Then listen to me," His apprentice began to turn his face away, but Cross pinched his child between his thumb and second finger, holding it tightly despite the discomfort that his apprentice was in. "This isn't real, you moron. The only thing that's reality in here is you and I. The rest of this is just a limbo created from your fears and anxieties." Ignoring the surprised look that Allen gave him, Cross let go and got back up to his full height. "It's a miracle that I was able to break the barrier to your mind here; he must be losing his touch."

"W-what?"

"But you better find reality sooner rather than later, Allen." Cross raised his arms and made some strange motions with his hands. After a moment spiraling letters of a strange language that Allen had never seen before appeared around his hands. "Because if you don't, it will be too late."

The letters swirled together in front of Allen's eyes forming something that looked like a screen. On it he saw Lenalee and himself… Doing something that he would have never imagined them doing. "What… what is this?" It wasn't the past, and he didn't see that action happening in the foreseeable future.

For a long time Allen had harbored feelings like that for the other exorcist, but he tried to push them down to the bottom of his heart; Lenalee was already having enough difficulties as it was. The last thing that she needed was someone to make things in her life even more complicated than it already was, especially if the feelings that he had were not returned on her side.

"This is what's happening right now, you idiot." There was a deep jab in his side, and Allen turned to see Cross's boot in his stomach. "You didn't pay attention to the deal that you made with that guy, did you?"

A weight that felt like a ball of lead fell into Allen's stomach. "No, I didn't." Eyes wide open, he could not take his eyes off of the screen. His arms were around Lenalee's body, traveling up and down touching her harshly, more harshly than she deserved to be treated. It seemed like she wanted to stop; that she wasn't enjoying what was happening at all, but when she tried to resist he only came upon her harder. "… Make it stop." Allen whispered as his body pushed Lenalee onto his bed with a mischievous grin. Moments later he was back at it… Lenalee screamed. "Someone… Help her!" Lunging for the screen, Allen yelled. It was too much to take; he had to return. Even if she didn't believe that it wasn't him who was doing that and hated him forever, he had to help her.

"Long ago I told you that when you became the Fourteenth you'd have to kill someone who you loved," Cross said more seriously than Allen thought he had ever heard him before. "If you don't act now, that person will be that girl."

Dread filled Allen and threatened to choke him. "What do I have to do?" He asked, eyes fixed on the horrible scene before him, unable to move away. His voice rose to a desperate cry. "Tell me what I need to do!"

By this point Mana ambled over to the group and watched ****** grow more and more frantic for what seemed like no reason at all. With sadness he saw him scream and cry and be upset, but Mana could not figure out why. Losing patience he needed to ask. Crouching down to the ground to be closer to ***** he smiled. "What's wrong? You seem so upset for no reason whatsoever." With all of the happiness he had, he put a hand on *****'s head and tried to transfer that positive energy back to him. "There's no reason to be so sad! Smile! Come on, smile! I hate it when people don't smile…"

Looking up, Allen thought that it was like the old days. Mana and him traveling around… When that dog died. He had said things so similar when his dog died and Allen was crying. Memories surfaced in Allen's mind and suddenly, it didn't matter whether or not Mana remembered him; if he didn't, then the two of them could make new memories. All he had to do was stay here with Mana and-

"Allen, if you're going to save that girl, you have to go now." Irritated, Cross made the screen with Lenalee larger. Once it was back in Allen's eyes, he couldn't remove them. "You need to listen to everything that I say and-"

"Oh be quiet, Marian! Can't you see that he wants to play!" As cheery and bright as sunshine, Mana grabbed Allen's hand and tried to get him to stand up. "Forget all about your problems and come play. Everyone should just be happy, no matter what sort of troubles are going on!" It was so easy to listen to Mana's words of happiness; it would be easy to forget about the hardships of his life and just spend eternity with Mana here in limbo or wherever they were. The happiest times of his life were with Mana or…

"Lenalee." There were memories of that girl, too. So many of Allen's good times were shared with her, and so many of the bad, as well. But when he had needed her, Lenalee never gave up on him. Even when he was almost dead she had believed that he would return. It wasn't fair of him to let her die by the person controlling his body. "I have to save… Lenalee."

Suddenly there was the noise of a gun being shot. Ripping his eyes away from Lenalee, Allen saw a horrific sight Next to him, Mana fell, blood spilling over his clown costume and into the soft grass.

Once before he had seen Mana die; this time was no different. The pain was still as crippling as ever. Blood was everywhere; it was impossible to not see it. Oozing out of Mana's wound, covering the ground, splattered on Allen and his master… The redness clouded Allen's vision and made him want to be sick. In the screen, Allen's face looked up and smiled, knowing that his tactic had worked.

Knowing that the shot had to have come from somewhere, Allen turned to his master. "What did you do?!" He screamed as the light faded from Mana's eyes. "Why did you kill him?" There was poison coming from each syllable uttered by the boy as he stared at his master. "He wasn't hurting anyone; he wasn't doing anything. He didn't deserve to die!"

Disgusted, Cross looked down at Allen with just as much hatred. "I have no gun, or weapon of any sort, and yet you accuse me of these things. I came to help you, and yet you consider me to be the enemy." With an indignant sigh, he turned his head and spat at the ground. "Get a hold of yourself, idiot. There was no gun and Mana is already dead. You can either choose to cling to a past that's gone or go save the people who you care about in the present." With a huff, Cross took a few steps back. "Either way doesn't matter to me, my fate doesn't change with your decision."

It was a tough choice. To Allen, Mana represented everything good and kind in his life; he represented the mistakes that he had made and the choices that came with each turn in life. Mana was also something that was much more important to Allen… Mana was hope. That man was the force behind all that Allen did; because of Mana, Allen would continue walking along the path that he set out for himself.

Lenalee was the sun in his life now, however. Without her smile and warm words of encouragement even in the toughest times, that path that he walked upon would be dark and cold with unfriendliness each step of the way.

"Take me back, master." Soft and tearful, the words reached Cross's ears. All that he had done would not go to waste. "Just tell me… how to get to Lenalee."

The smallest sliver of a smile appeared on Cross's rough and sarcastic face. "Good, now listen to my instructions…"

After taking one last glance at Mana, and his past, Allen listened to his master's instructions to return to the present.

--

In a moment, the torture was over. The instant that Allen was off of her and fell off of the bed screaming, Lenalee activated her Innocence and began to button her shirt back up once again. If she needed to, she would now be prepared to protect herself from whatever was inside of Allen.

Scared, she looked down at Allen, or whoever he was, screaming in agony as if his limbs were being ripped off. Eyes bulging out of his head, his cries echoed inside the room. With all of the people being killed out there, exorcists were rarely around headquarters anymore, so the chances of someone else hearing his cries were very small. Lenalee did not know if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Stop!" Was the first thing that he yelled that could be understood. "This is my body now, you made that choice!" He screamed. Sighing with slight relief, Lenalee let a small tear drip down her face. It was not Allen; she had been right. That meant that the person who had hurt her so had not been the one who was dearest in her heart. "You can't take this chance away from me now that I've tasted freedom once aga-"

There was a loud noise as Allen rolled into the wall on the opposite side of the room, going over many of the objects that he had broken in the process. Blood from the glass cuts that he now had spilled slightly on the floor, leaving a red stain on his possessions.

Then, as sudden as it had all began, there was silence, and Allen's body moved no more. Frightened, Lenalee whispered, "Allen?" hoping that there would be a response, and from the Allen that she loved. Yet, no response came from the body. Blood made a slight pool around it from the new wounds that he had accumulated because of the struggle that he was having within himself.

Scared and worried at the same time, Lenalee climbed to the edge of the bed and hesitantly placed a foot on the floor. Still, there was no movement from Allen. Praying that he would be back to normal, Lenalee cautiously walked across the floor, trying to avoid the debris and blood that was now spread all around it. And with the upmost uncertainty she reached the body and placed a hand on his hair.

Like a flash there was a hand on top of hers, and when she tried to pull away it tightened its grasp on her. Whimpering, she tried to shuffle away, but found that Allen's grip had now loosened, and he was now holding it gently, like it were a child, and bringing it to his cheek. Once it was there, he let go, bringing his hand back to his side where it sat.

Slowly, Lenalee inched her body towards Allen's. "Allen? Are you back?"

The body tried to chuckle, but it just turned into a groan of pain. "So you knew… that it wasn't me?" Feeble and weak, it hurt Lenalee's ears to hear Allen's usually so determined and strong voice sound like that.

"Of course I did; you would have never done those things." There was a wetness that dripped onto Lenalee's hand from Allen's face; he was crying.

Using what seemed like all of the energy that he had, he reached his hand back up to hers. "Thank goodness, I thought that you'd… never speak to me again, Lenalee."

Realizing that tears were now falling from her eyes, she wrapped her body around Allen's, a smile on her face. "Idiot, I'll never leave you, no matter what."

"I'm glad, so glad." Allen said, this time his chuckle turning into a loud, painful sounding cough. "Don't leave me, Lenalee… Mana." Gently, he shut his eyes, tired from the battle that went on inside of his own body and mind that night.

--

Cross stood waiting, ready to accept the punishment that he knew would come his way. The Fourteenth was a just man, but Cross had broken their promise to one another. By helping his stupid apprentice, he had made the Fourteenth lose a valuable shot at getting a body back.

Sure enough, the rocks glowed green once more and a swirling tornado came in dropping in the Fourteenth in all of the glory of his younger years. "I forgot how attractive you were." Cross said as he tapped his cigarette on a nearby stone. "It makes even me question my sexuality."

"Moron!" The Fourteenth screamed, his eyes full of rage. "You'll pay for this, Cross. To betray me now, at the final step… You're a demon." The roar came and went by Cross's ears as he continued to smoke, the wisps of smoke flying up into the air of this fake space and disappearing.

Smiling, Cross tapped a foot with impatience. "And so are you. That boy… He deserves at least a little happiness in his existence, don't you think?" Putting on the smile that was usually reserved for the people that he hated the most, Cross finally spoke the words that had been haunting him for fifteen years now. "Besides, who are you to decide the fate of such an innocent person? Wouldn't it have been better to have chosen someone who you knew could do nothing for humanity?"

The Fourteenth glared at one of the men who he had once called an ally. Cross had been one of the men whom he had handpicked to be involved in his plans to overthrow the Earl, now…

"Burn in hell, Marian."

Letting out a laugh, Cross dropped the cigarette, now finished, into the place where the fake Mana Walker's body had disappeared. "And I'm sure I shall. I know the rules of your little games. In exchange for Walker's freedom this time, I'll give myself up to live in your little make believe world for a while. It's not like I have anything else to do considering that I'm dead."

A sinister look came over the Fourteenth's face. "You know, Marian, I was going to go easy on you, considering the fact that you were once my comrade, but now…" The smile grew into a grin that covered most of his face. "Now I'll make you suffer." In a cloud of smoke the Fourteenth was gone, probably to try to find some new way to ensnare Allen into giving him his body.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, *****." Cross said happily as through the smoke came a very familiar person. "Good evening, Anita." He said, tipping his hat to the only woman who he seemed to have ever cared about.

"Cross-sama." She said, a tear running down her face, "how could you have let me die like that?"

Smiling up to a presence that he knew was watching he laughed. "Damn, you really now how to make something truly feel like hell."

--

Using all of her strength, Lenalee carried Allen up onto his bed and laid him out flat. Frantically trying to avoid anything that would hurt her, she ran about the room and found some pieces of cloth that she could use to help tie up the wounds of his that were still bleeding. When she got back to his bed with the material she put her hand to his chest to make sure that his heart was still beating.

Silently, she thanked God for the fact that it still was.

Trying to be as quiet and as gentle as she could possibly be, she ripped the cloth apart in her teeth and began to wrap it around some of his wounds. There weren't many, but she thought that she should try to stop any more blood from coming out; he had lost a bit already, and it would be bad for him to lose anymore.

It was strange seeing him so vulnerable like this. Sure, there had been times before when she had watched Allen sleep, but now, even more so, he seemed like he was a taught piece of string ready to snap apart. That darkness inside of him was now threatening to escape, and it must be difficult to keep it hidden within. If he were to let it escape again…

No, she would not think about what the Order would do if Allen turned to the darkness within.

But if she could lift any of this burden off of him, even if it was to be the target of his darkness or just to cover up the wounds that he has, Lenalee didn't mind. No matter what was happening inside of him, Lenalee would always love Allen, and that fact would never change, no matter what price she had to pay because of it.

Once she was finished with his wounds, she took one last glance at the peacefully sleeping Allen. Without thinking she leaned down and gently placed a single kiss on his sleeping lips. "Goodnight, Allen." She whispered before getting up and leaving the room.

When Allen woke the next morning, the night was a blur that he could hardly remember. The only remnant of it left was a warm sensation left on his lips.

--

Fin