Haha, yeah probably should be updating "Innocence, Magic, and Growing Up. Oh my." but this idea's been in my mind for a while about Red and Allen so I just decided to write it. Anyway, I hope you like it, probably a oneshot, dunno where I'd go with it exactly, but hey, thought it'd be fun. Anyway, here it is!

Allen was always cold. No, it wasn't because he wasn't wearing enough layers or that there was just some weird breeze that kept getting under his clothes. No. Allen was cold.

If you were to ask him when he started feeling this way, he probably would say back when he was a kid. Back then, it was dog eat dog and there was no room for warmth in a person. If you were warm, either it died or you did. No, Allen wasn't warm. In fact, back then it was Red, and Red was freezing.

He would tell you though, that Red did warm up once, when a mad clown and dog danced into his life. The first time Red has ever felt warm, was when Allen the dog licked his hand. The next was probably when Mana the clown unofficially adopted him and gave him the mask 'Allen'. Red really liked his mask, so much in fact that he almost couldn't tell if it really was one, but that didn't matter, because when 'Red' was 'Allen', he was warm. Red liked being warm.

But then, one day, Red found the edge of the mask, and remembered why he'd been cold again. The clown that Red had followed and become 'Allen' for, died. That day, when he tried to bring him back, Red remembered how fake 'Allen' really was. 'Allen' was a warm mask to wear for dealing with others, Red was the cold one who understood how others really were, that's how it was supposed to be, and the next clown reminded him of that.

Red didn't know how he felt about the second clown, who promised the first one and a chance to make 'Allen' real again. The second clown though, was a liar and a cheat. The second clown, was like the rest of the world. Cold. Red almost wanted to thank the second clown, since it woke Red up from being 'Allen'. Sure, he hated the fact that it almost killed 'Allen' and Red, but at the same time, he wanted to thank him, because Red was the one who was cold and could survive in it.

That didn't mean though, that 'Allen' was useless. No, having 'Allen' was quite nice for Red. Easier to deal with people when he had to. Red usually wore the 'Allen' mask, since in the end, everyone loved 'Allen' and no one knew Red. But that was how Red liked it. Red didn't need others like 'Allen', Red didn't need to keep telling himself to "Keep walking forward". No, Red was a survivor who didn't need anyone else, 'Allen' was just a nice face to put on and get things from people.

'Allen' was especially useful in those years, where he had that man who called himself his master. Not that Red cared, after all, no one was Red's master. He was able to live pretty well then, getting some sympathy from some of the people who'd dealt or been with that man Cross before.

It was the most useful though, when he'd gone to the Black Order. Really, all the people here could be so depressing sometimes, and they always cling to some odd hope, excluding the occasional exorcist, that made 'Allen' fit right in. Honestly, Red would rather not have to deal with any of them, but that didn't matter in the end, because 'Allen' needed them. None of those people however, that 'Allen' found so precious, could see how cold Red was, hiding right behind 'Allen'. They probably couldn't even tell that 'Allen' was fake, and how the warmth he was wasn't real, since they didn't know how close Red and 'Allen' had been to warm long ago.

"Allen! Hurry up, we need to get our next mission statement from Komui!"

Yes, 'Allen' was just a mask that Red had been wearing for a long time. So long that you couldn't see Red underneath. But he was always there.

"Just a minute, I'll be right over!"

And Red was always cold.

If any of you couldn't tell, the first dialogue bit is probably Lenalee, (but it honestly could be anyone really, use your imagination) and then the second is Allen. So yeah, just a quick little oneshot. Thanks for reading! (if you did) I'd also like your opinions on this sort of style of writing. I feel like it's different from my usual. Anyway, thanks again~! ^_^