WARNINGS: Yaoi, "mild" violence via asphixiation, carnivourous butterflies

Disclaimer: Doth not owneth

Allen gasps as the Noah's hand wraps around his throat. His Innocence had been destroyed, and he was far too wounded to defend himself. The hand is gentle at first, the man's thumb rubbing circles on the pulse point. The Noah murmurs soothing words as his grip tightens, but he doesn't stop. Allen desperately forces his remaining arm to move, scrabbling at the hand wrapped around his throat. The man continues to murmur soothingly in his ear, all the while tightening his grip. Black spots dance in the teen's vision, and it gets harder and harder to focus. The world distorts and blurs, his hand falling limp beside him as he finally succumbs to the darkness. When he wakes up in an infirmary, he is not as surprised as he should be.

"What's with the butterfly?" Allen asks perturbed, staring at the small creature fluttering nearby. It had been following him around since he woke up, and it made him oddly uncomfortable. Bak blinks at him in surprise.

"Isn't it yours? Fou found it with you, and it hasn't left your side since…" He explained in confusion. It was Allen's turn to blink. He squints at the creatures and, upon further inspection, recognises it. Black and purple in colouring, with strange, poker-like designs. Allen's stomach flops uncomfortably as the Tease floats up to him, gently brushing his cheek. He sighs as he looks at it, the question that had been burning in his mind coming back to the surface.

"How am I still alive?" Allen asks quietly, fingers brushing the hand shaped bruise on his neck. Bak tilts his head gently, peering at the bruise for a moment before answering.

"The positioning suggests that he had his thumb over your pulse point, like he was feeling for it to stop. Because he used his thumb, he might have mistaken your pulse for his own and let go earlier than he meant to…" Bak theorised vaguely, tapping the point of the bruise. Allen frowned slightly, Bak didn't sound confidant.

The teen tried to think back, shuddering at the memory. His heart had been racing, not to mention it would have gotten weaker with time… How did the man confuse his pulse? Because he didn't want to kill you, a traitorous part of his mind whispered. Allen shook his head to clear it. The teen's thoughts wandered to the way the man had spoken at some points, like he knew the boy. But that was impossible, Allen would remember meeting him… So it really had been a mistake? But why, then, had the man left a butterfly behind? It may be a golem, but that didn't seem like a good enough reason. The man had seemed extremely fond of the creatures, not likely to part with them. Allen huffed in frustration, this wasn't getting him anywhere…

He tries to keep the thoughts at bay and focuses on his arm. Allen almost snaps when another butterfly floats out of the Ark, but he might need it to get to Edo safely so he leaves it alone. He sighs dramatically as it joins its twin. When he's finally ready to leave, the two butterflies flutter intently towards the door, dancing in front of it eagerly. The golems do lead him through the Ark and he ends up in Edo in no time, saving Lenalee, arguing with Kanda and reassuring them all that he was okay. The air is tense while they recollect themselves, and his newest additions do not go unnoticed.

"Allen, why do you have two butterflies?" Lenalee chirps questioningly, trying to lighten the mood. Allen visibly grimaces.

"That's a… long story…" He mutters, scratching the back of his head uncomfortably. He still didn't know why the Noah gave him the butterfly after all, and explaining the one from the Ark would be just as headache inducing. When they all get dragged onto the Ark, Allen and co. are very surprised to see the vagabond from the train. Allen yelps in pain and more surprise when the man's forehead connects with his own.

"Why aren't you dead…?" He murmurs, hand gently cupping the teen's cheek. This close up, Allen can see through the swirly glasses and into his eyes. There's confusion there, but also excitement and happiness and something else… The teen almost wants to say affection. But the man just head-butted him because he was alive, so that seems unlikely. He disappears after revealing himself and explaining their "game", but not before leaving Allen another little gift.

"Allen!" Lenalee gasps suddenly, looking at the other teen's shoulder.

"There's another butterfly!" She exclaims, pointing just above his shoulder.

"Eh?" A frown mars the teen's face as he sees three of the insects above his shoulder instead of two. Timcanpy is not pleased by Allen's new pets.

"Where did that come from?" Lavi says incredulously, Kanda narrowing his eyes in suspicion. Allen chuckles nervously.

"Who knows?" He laughs, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"We should probably get moving…" He says to distract them, swiping the key off the ground. When he finds Tyki and Road at the top of the tower, another Tease surreptitiously joins the other three. They float around him as he fights, not harming or helping in any way. They stay that way until the exorcists almost leave. After Allen saves Chaoji and Tyki drags him through the floor, the golems are suddenly far more active.

The four butterflies flutter around the teen furiously, almost as if to protect him. Tyki immediately pauses in his attack, cocking his head as he momentarily stares before turning his attention elsewhere. Allen blinks in surprise, before shaking his head. The reason didn't matter, he needed to help his friends. This continues for the entirety of the fight. Every time Allen manages to attract the Noah's attention, the butterflies immediately fly around him like a living shield and the man moves on. Allen's eye is visibly twitching. He does not like being ignored.

In the end, he is somewhat useless as anything more than a shield, and is by far the least damaged of all of them. Eventually, an unconscious Tyki gets carried away by the Earl as Cross forces Allen to stop his attack and listen to him. The white-haired teen controls the Ark far too easily for his liking, the butterflies happily dancing to the tune. Allen tries not to think about Tyki's sweet, whispered words inside the vacuum. He was probably just teasing the boy anyway...

In the months that follow, Allen's collection of butterflies grows almost every mission he goes on, exasperating Lavi beyond words. The red-head is very dramatic in his questioning of where they all come from and, after weeks on end of pestering, is finally rewarded.

"Where are you getting all of those?" Lavi asks exasperatedly as he notes that the teen's collection has gotten bigger again. They had all figured out that there was something most definitely wrong with the butterflies, as Allen mostly refused to talk about them and always evaded their questioning. The white-haired teen sighs in resignation.

"Tyki gives me a butterfly every time he sees me." Allen explains, not looking up from his book. He had been dancing around the problem for too long, and really, he was rather sick of it. Lavi makes a bewildered face as he goes to count the butterflies.

"You haven't met Tyki that many times…" He mutters confusedly, not even bothering to ask why the man would give him butterflies.

"I didn't say every time we meet." The teen replies placidly. Lavi looks mildly horrified as he counts the butterflies again.

"Shit…" He murmurs. Allen merely hums in response.

Another few weeks later and they all learn a new and mildly terrifying fact about the creatures. The exorcists had all been eating in the cafeteria when Allen ordered an extra food item and left with it. Lavi, the curious creature he is, followed the teen back to his room and watched him set the plate down and open the terrarium he got from the Science Division.

"Al, they're not gonna eat that…" Lavi protests, before clamping his mouth shut moments later. The red-head watches incredulously as the butterflies swarm the meat, devouring it in minutes. He gapes comically as he watches the teen easily usher the creatures back into the container after they had finished.

"They're carnivorous." Allen deadpans.

Lavi is rather pleased that he goes another month without incident. His streak does not last.

"Hey Al, are you –" Lavi stops immediately at the sight before him, mouth hanging open slightly with half-formed words. Allen is sitting cross-legged on his bed, every single butterfly from his collection perched in varying positions on the teen's body. Lavi shudders visibly as he stares.

"Aren't they carnivorous…?" He questions faintly, leaning back slightly.

"Mmhmm…" Allen confirms distractedly as he peers at the sheets of paperwork in his hand, a huge pile sitting on the bedside table next to him. Link sits a few feet away, staring at the insects with clear distaste.

"Did you need something?" The teen asks absentmindedly.

"Uhh… Right. Are you busy? Komui wants us for a mission brief…"

"Oh, sure!" Allen replies eagerly, practically throwing his paperwork aside (much to Link's chagrin). He quickly ushers the golems into their home and follows the older teen out. They're in the middle of the mission when it happens.

"Tyki's nearby." Allen announces suddenly.

"What?! Where, I don't see him?!" Lavi yelps, looking around wildly. A crowd is surrounding them in the busy market, making it hard to pinpoint any one person. The white-haired teen merely points to the butterfly now hovering over his head.

"I made sure they were all back in the tank before we left…" He says by way of explanation. Lavi grits his teeth, swatting at the creature in annoyance. It flutters angrily, but doesn't leave Allen' side. Lavi scowls.

"Leave it Lavi… Use that eye of yours to find our foe." Allen says, pointedly scanning the crowd. He narrows his eyes suddenly and moves forward with surprising speed, easily weaving through the crowd. There's an intense few minutes of cat and mouse before Allen finally manages to cut ahead of the man and trap him in an alleyway.

"Good to see again, boy~" Tyki purrs happily, leaning on the wall beside him. There's a playful smirk on his lips as his eyes rake over the teen. Allen tries to ignore the intense look as he confronts the Noah.

"What are you doing here Tyki?" He asks sharply. The man hums.

"This and that~ Maybe I just wanted to see you…" He replies huskily. The teen's breath hitches just slightly, his heartbeat increasing momentarily before he berates himself. No, he was not happy about that! He makes a show of rolling his eyes and huffs, trying to change the subject.

"What exactly am I supposed to be doing with these, anyway?" He asks, slightly annoyed as he gestures to the butterfly now hovering over his shoulder. Tyki looks moderately baffled by the question, staring at Allen in a mildly perturbed fashion.

"Think of me when you look at them…?" He answers as if it were obvious.

"Oh…" Allen murmurs as understanding dawns on his face, a light blush colouring his cheeks. Lavi facepalms. Allen ends up with a total of five butterflies at the end of the mission, and the two exorcists can only account for seeing Tyki twice. Lavi is visibly twitching by the time they return to the Black Order through the Ark Gate.

END

AN: Just an idea I got from a meme I saw. I think it was on Pinterest, though it may have been Facebook… Hope you enjoyed!

Omake: Too pleased

"Your "target" has come back, (not that I really mind) ~" The Earl informs vaguely.

"Really? Left arm and all?" Tyki asks, surprise and excitement lacing his tone.

"You look entirely too pleased, Tyki-pet~" The Earl murmurs knowingly.

"Do I?" The man says innocently, already getting another Tease ready to present to his exorcist while devising a way to get him to Edo. The Earl huffs affectionately as he drags the man through the Ark.