Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man and its characters are not mine.

Warnings: Male x Male relationship, curse words, violence/minor character deaths/murders (not very descriptive, just many mentioned), OOC-ness, etc.

He was always the odd one out. Always standing in the shadows he was left in and constantly ignored. There was only one exception, the neighborhood stray, a mutt named Allen. He may have been an orphan like all the others he knew, but one single thing made him different. When he was orphaned it was thanks to a large fire, this fire damaged his left arm most. The damage was bad, bad enough to disfigure, but not bad enough to require an amputation. It was a dark red, almost black; and thanks to that discoloring got him his name, Red. Red and Allen were inseparable, until one unfortunate day.

"Red! You have to come back inside!" One of the older orphans' was calling from inside the orphanage. It was a downpour out, and no one had seen the young orphan, which was weird being it was dinner time. That boy never missed out on a meal. Currently the boy was out in the mud behind the building. He was on his knees, and though it was hard to tell, he was crying. By this time the scouting older orphan, a handy umbrella in hand, located his younger.

"Go away!" Red huffed out to the other.

"What's your problem?" the elder huffed back and directed his umbrella to cover the both of them from the rain.

"I said go away!" Red's sobbing became apparent and he dropped his head to his knees. The elder glanced around, spotting a small mud mound in front of Red.

"Did your dog die?" He asked.

"Shut up!" Red sat back up to turn and glare at the other orphan.

"I doubt he'd like to see you like this. And there's no point in trying to follow after him, there'd be no good from it. Now let's go inside and eat – I'm tired of waiting for your sorry ass." The elder turned his back to Red, glancing back to watch his actions. Red slowly stood back up and wiped the wetness from his eyes despite the rain. The two then walked back to the building. Another orphan came running up as soon as they came.

"You found him Yu! I'll go tell the headmaster!" The just arrived orphan quickly turned on his heel and ran back the way he came.

"You can thank that one later, he begged that I go out and look for you after all. His name is Alma by the way." The older orphan handed his umbrella over to Red and walked away. Red's eyebrows knitted together and confusion, but nevertheless, he put the umbrella by the door and headed for the kitchen; he was starving.

Since the day of Allen's passing Red became friends with the two others he had met. There was Yu, who warned Red to call him Kanda or else, and Alma, the one who initiated this whole friendship thing. The trio became very close, which meant a lot to Red. And things were going swimmingly until another tragedy came Red's way. Alma grew very sick, so sick that the hospital had no means of being able to cure him. Because of this, Kanda grew more violent than ever. He secluded himself to Alma's room and alienated Red. This caused the pair to fight and later be permanently separated. The only time Red ever saw Kanda again was on the day of Alma's death, and the day when Kanda got adopted. Once again, Red had lost everything that became important to him. Since then Red would cry in his bed all night long; claiming that he was cursed and he'll never be happy. After all, should that happen he'll lose it all soon enough. A full year had passed and it was soon the day for the Adoption Fair. A handful of volunteers had come to help Red in particular get ready. Red went through their fussing with a frown; he didn't know why they tried, there was no way he was getting adopted anyway.

"Now try to put on a smile dearie, just because your arm is a bit scary doesn't mean you are. I'm sure someone will love to adopt you." The headmaster explained to Red as she finished putting Red's brown hair into a ponytail; finalizing his groomed look. Red had just brushed her words off. And as soon as he was left alone, Red snuck to the back of the orphanage. He walked over to Allen's grave and placed a small rubber ball on top of the dirt mound.

"I know it's not a flower, but I think you'll like this better." Red muttered as he straightened back out.

"That's very sweet of you kid, but what are you doing back here?" Red turned his head to see that it was a clown that had just discovered him.

"I could ask the same to you." Red glared at the adult.

"Well I saw you wonder back here and I thought this place was a no-no zone," The clown chuckled slightly, "But to say the least I was curious as to what you were up to."

"Well it's none of your business." Red kicked at the dirt under him. The clown hummed, noting that the boy was growing shy all of a sudden. So very carefully he started to walk closer. Once close, he squatted so that he was level with the boy and could get a better look at the makeshift grave.

"Was he a pet? I bet he took good care of you." The clown stated.

"Go away." Red tensed up.

"Not unless you are coming with." The clown gave a smile.

"No, they don't need me at the fair. I won't get adopted anyway." Red muttered the last part.

"What makes you say that? You seem like a fine young man." The clown carefully patted the boy on the head. Red stared at the man with disbelief.

"What was your pet's name?" The clown easily switched subjects.

"He was a stray dog, his name was Allen…He was the only one that didn't treat me different," Red slowly brought his left hand in front of him, "When we first met he licked my hand." Tears welled up in the boy's eyes.

"It sounds like he was a very good friend to you. Hey, I never got your name kid." The clown went back to standing.

"Everyone just calls me Red." Red answered with a frown.

"Is it because of your hair?" The clown chuckled and ruffled Red's hair. Then before the boy could protest, the clown lifted him to his shoulders. "How about we change things? Why don't I call you Allen, I'm sure your pet would like the idea." Red looked down at the clown quizzically.

"S-Sure, but hey, who are you anyway?" Red muttered.

"My name is Mana, but you can call me dad - if you want to that is." The clown the started to walk back to the front of the building. Red was ready to burst into to tears, so he decided to bury his face in Mana's hair to hide his face. Mana just smiled. And by the end of the day Red was proudly adopted and was soon Allen Walker. And said boy couldn't be any happier…