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Cross Marian had just finished his 2nd bottle of wine and was opening a third. A clock chimed 2am somewhere in the shabby hotel in which he was staying in with his apprentice, Allen Walker.

The infamous general shifted in his seat, finding the most comfortable position possible on the hard wooden chair. He took a swig from the bottle, finishing the contents in one gulp, and placed it down on the glass table next to his feet with a resounding 'thump!' Cross' neck rolled onto his chest as he made an attempt at sleep. A gentle snore escaped his slack mouth.

The drunk sat bolt upright in his chair and stared with wide eyes around the pitch black room searching for what had woken him from his slumber. When he couldn't find the cause he slapped a hand to his forehead and massaged his temples. After a minute or so there was a timid knock at his bedroom door. Muttering a string of colourful profanities he ambled across the room and yanked open the cheap door.

"What?!" He screamed at the empty passage. Huh? The red haired man looked left then right, looking for the source of the knocking. His inspection yielded no results so he turned back to the room and almost shut the door.

"Master?" Allen's small round face peered nervously through the remaining crack. "Can I come in?" His delicate hand gripped hold of the door keeping it open. After three bottles of wine no-one's mind would be as up to speed as usual so it took a few moments for him to register Allen's sentence and let him in.

"What time is it, Idiot Apprentice?" He murmured as he settled back onto his chair.

"About 3am, Master", the thin boy answered all the while fisting his baggy night shirt. When the boy didn't move further into the room Cross became impatient.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you disturbing me in the middle of the night?!" He bellowed at the kid who mumbled something incoherent. "WHAT?! Get the fuck over now and stop looking so pathetic. It's annoying!" When the boy had shuffled over to stand next to where his Master was perched Cross asked him why he'd been disturbed again, more calmly this time.

"I had a bad dream", came the muffled response. Definitely not what Cross had been expecting. He was expecting an Akuma attack or something more serious. Why on earth would the boy go to him for comfort anyway? The general stared blankly at the boy unable to comprehend why he was there when Allen's eyes began to tear up. Oh shit. What do I do?! At that point General decided to take a stab at confronting the sniffling tot. You always know that you've drank too much when you start talking to yourself.

"Umm…look idiot… what was the dream about."

"Mana." Ah. The red head gave the boy a pained look.

"C'mon kid. Yeah he's dead and stuff but he's alright now. No-one can hurt him anymore 'k. Just worry 'bout keeping yourself alive." The boy shuffled closer to the man, standing next to his propped up legs.

"It's not that he's …dead that bothers me." Allen's babyish hand traced a crease in the black trousers. "I just miss him more than anything s'all." The general sighed and let his head fall back onto his chest.

"Umm…Master? Are you asleep?" Allen asked timidly.

"What do you want me to do? You miss him, I can't magically bring him back to life for you." No matter how much I want to. He privately added. The silver haired boy mumbled something quietly again. "Hey, Idiot Apprentice. I was the one that wanted to know not your feet! Look at me when you speak to me!" The boy obediently looked into his Master's hard set eyes. The young exorcist's mouth moved as if to say something but stopped, as if it wasn't appropriate to voice the words forming in his mind.

After some deliberating the boy decided to do what he wanted instead of asking first, which was unusual for the docile boy. He climbed over onto the General's leg so he was firmly placed in the centre of the man's lap. He then hooked the red head's arms around his shoulder so he was being held to the shocked Exorcists' chest. The boy began to sob quietly into the black fabric of Cross's coat and the man's anger melted away. Well, I might as well indulge him this one time.

Cross gently put a hand onto the top of the shaking head and gave it a slight rub, soothing the tortured body and shattered mind.

The End

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