A/N: So, um. *sheepish smile* I have, here, ah... Another. Oneshot collection. That will update only occasionally. As for, um, excuses... Tumblr. Again. *flees*

Title: Something We Create

Author: liketolaugh

Rating: T

Pairings: Link/Allen

Genre: Romance

Warnings: None

Summary: Destiny is not enough to make a relationship work; you need to help it along a little. A collection of Linkllen soulmate AUs.

Disclaimer: I only wish I owned D. Gray-man.

"Break," Allen groused, tugging harshly at the scarlet thread that trailed off into the distance. "C'mon, you stupid string! Break!"

There was a brief pause, and then there was a returning tug – too soft to be a reprimand. More like a question, Allen guessed. He scowled, slumping over grumpily on the edge of the bed, and pulled again – not as hard as before, but still irritably.

"Mm…" Mana's yawn drew Allen's attention to the other side of the room, and he frowned at the man's stirring form, ignoring the answering pull at the base of his little finger. Mana rolled over to meet Allen's eyes and smiled at him sleepily. "Morning, boy!"

"Morning," Allen muttered, twisting the red thread absently between his fingers. He gave it another vicious yank, this time so the person on the other side couldn't feel it, and scowled when nothing happened. "Stupid fucking piece of shit string."

He didn't know why he was so pissed at it, honestly. For a long time, it had been the only thing that even suggested that someone might care about him. He was alone, not deaf – he'd heard people talk about their strings, invisible threads that tied soulmates together – that told you who would love you more than anyone. He knew what it was.

Allen had even followed his, once, before he'd met Mana, but it hadn't led anywhere – not anywhere he could reach by himself, anyway. He'd starve to death first.

But it was just. Soulmate. Christ, what the fuck did they do to end up with Red?

Yank.

What did Red know about loving someone?

Yank.

This time he wasn't careful enough, and apparently the person on the other side had had enough of the harsh pulling, because their answering tug, this time, was sharp and quick, and Allen reluctantly released his end, letting it relax between them.

"Allen."

Mana's chiding voice made him look up, scowling slightly, but the man was looking at him with clear eyes, and that was enough to make it fade – a good day, then. As he watched, Mana knelt in front of him and wrapped one hand around Allen's, the thread falling through it without a trace, and gave him a gentle smile.

"Be nice," Mana instructed quietly, keeping his eyes completely focused on Allen's. "If you only ever treat one person kindly, Allen, it should be this one." His smile, if possible, softened further. Allen scowled, because it was almost sad, and it looked weird on Mana's face. "You don't want that thread to break… even if you think you do."

"What do you know," Allen grouched, kicking his feet at the ground. "Maybe I do want it to break!"

Mana laughed, light and amused. "You play with it every day," he reminded Allen, as if he didn't fucking know. "You'd miss it, wouldn't you, Allen?"

Allen grumbled wordlessly, but he also took the thread again and wrapped it securely around his wrist, running the smooth, familiar material between his fingers.

"Whatever," he muttered.

"Did they finally stop jerking your string?" Tokusa asked with interest, eyes on Link, who fiddled with the thread between his fingers, rubbing and stroking it almost compulsively.

Link nodded. "I think so," he murmured, wrapping it around his index finger and then letting it unravel restlessly, worry at the forefront of his mind. "They seemed upset about something."

"They're always upset about something," Tokusa dismissed, smirking at Link's disapproving frown. "What? They do this all the time!"

"Not like this," Link protested, and then huffed lightly, letting the thread go.

It had been more vehement than usual, and had lasted longer- but also there was just something about it that had rubbed Link the wrong way, something he wasn't sure how to explain. So he didn't.

"I hate to break it to you, Link, but your soulmate has anger issues," Tewaku said cheerfully, distracting Link; she was, he noted with a smile, cheerful much more often now that they had a place to stay and food to eat. "And also, you're a freak."

Link's smile vanished. "How?" he demanded, giving Tewaku a dismayed look.

"No one else communicates with their soulmate this much," Madarao pointed out for Tewaku, a slight, dry smile on his face. Link had noticed that; he'd only seen any of them pull on a thread he couldn't see maybe once or twice each, if that. "But you do it every day. Even when you're busy."

Link refrained from pouting, because Leverrier didn't approve of petulance. "I like to," he said defensively. "It's fun." It was amazing how much emotion could be conveyed through nothing but the strength and duration of the tension of the string. It wasn't a conversation, but-

Was it really bad for Link to like to pretend he could talk to the person everyone said he'd someday love more than anything?

"It's fun to pull a string back and forth," Kiredori deadpanned.

Well, when you put it that way.

"They started it," Link offered weakly, knowing he was losing, losing terribly, and his friends were terrible people and never going to let him live in peace.

(He was glad to worry about things like that, was glad that Director Leverrier had taken them in and given them work to do and a roof over their heads, food to eat, a promise of a future, a purpose, something he could be proud of doing, of having done-)

Goushi patted him on the shoulder, not bothering to hide his small, rare smile, and told him, "If you're getting along this well before you've even met, I'm sure you'll have a fine time of it together."

"He means you're infatuated," Tokusa informed him with rabid glee.

Link sulked. He was not infatuated.

Years later, Link doesn't notice that his red thread is growing shorter and shorter until he walks into the room where he's meant to meet the suspect, presents him with his pie, and notices, suddenly, that there's only a foot or so left – and the other end wraps around the pinky finger of Allen Walker.

And he thinks, oh no.

And that's the first entry. *smile* So, like I said at the start, this will update on the far side of often, probably, but since soulmate AUs are fun and these don't require the commitment of a full, coherent story, it'll be technically active. *sheepish grin* Thanks for reading, and please review!