Chapter seven...woot!

Rating: T for now (Will go up to M later)

Coupling: Kanda x Allen, Lenalee x Lavi, OC X OC

Disclaimer: I do not own D.Gray-Man or any of the characters associated with it. They all belong to Hoshino-san, Shounen Jump, Viz, and any other respected copyright holders.

I only own this storyline and the original characters that may appear throughout this fan fiction.

Warning: This story will eventually contain Yaoi and strong smut. (Boy x Boy love). I am not responsible if you read it and are disgusted.

PLEASE DO NOT FLAME!

Author's Note: It's short since it's in between missions. It has its purpose, though. Also, there's a contest at the bottom.

Oh, and forgive Kanda's OOC-ness in this chapter. It just came out that way.

Moonlight and Midnight

Chapter Seven: Something Worth Fighting For

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"Love is strange. It's in your heart, it has no shape or weight. You can't measure its size or its depth. No one has ever actually seen it, but it aches without a doubt."

Mana spoke these words once before. Allen remembered because it was a hot August day, much like it was today.

Back then, the young boy didn't understand what that meant. Allen, now sixteen years old, still didn't understand the point of those words. This fact was slightly annoying...

But what was even more annoying was the fact that Allen had no idea why he had remembered this.

Closing his eyes tightly, Allen rolled himself out of bed.

-Page Break-

Allen made his way down the corridors, towards Mannen's room.

The cursed boy had a strong urge to turn back around and just stay in his hospital bed until they had to leave.

Allen tried to kid himself into thinking this was because he wouldn't know what to say...But the truth was that he was afraid.

Afraid of seeing the hurt and despair on the boy's face. Afraid that he would be blamed for letting it all happen.

He was afraid that Mannen would see just how much of a failure he really was...

But Allen had decided the night before that he could not let that fear take over...

Because, in all honesty, he would be okay, eventually. He had the people he cared for around him...but Mannen did not.

Last night , he lost everything...including his freedom. He was now bond to innocence.

That boy, he was the one who was suffering most.

When Allen opened the door, he saw Mannen laying still on the small hospital bed, staring up at the ceiling, his fingers moving in a drumming motion on his chest.

His eyes shifted from there position on the ceiling to the door for a brief moment before returning.

Allen stood in front of the door for a long time, simply staring at the boy who was staring at the ceiling.

"Ms. Lenalee told me about the innocence." Mannen whispered after a long silence. Allen's head shot up.

"What?"

"She said...that I...had the power to change things...to avenge Kino and my father's deaths...to become an exorcist..."

Mannen turned his head, smiling weakly.

"I'd like to...be of some help."

"..." Allen clenched his fist, walking towards the bed, sitting down on the stool that was next to his bedside.

"...are you...sure?"

"It seems..." he breathed out slowly. "...that I don't have many options...besides..."

A sad smile graced the boy's thin lips.

"Mr. Lavi...told me about why you became an exorcist...I was moved...I figured that of you could overcome your sadness, I could too...eventually."

Allen blinked.

"...I'd like to redeem myself as well...for father...and for Kino...and I don't plan to try to revive them, so don't worry about me."

Allen smiled sadly. If only everyone who lost a loved one could be as strong as this boy.

"Mannen-san..."

"Hey...Allen...?"

"Hm?"

"Do you...do you think Kino hates me?...I let him die..."

Allen shook his head. "No...he saved you because he loved you. How could he hate you?"

"Heh..." Mannen wiped some stray tears that fell from his eyes. "You're right."

Allen nodded. "You'll be going to the Black Order after this then?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah...It's time for me to start over again..."

The door could be heard slowly opening.

Lavi came into the room, with a half smile on his face.

"Hey, you two. What's going on?"

Allen smiled. "Just talking."

The junior bookman came towards the bed.

"Mannen, mind if I take a look at what the innocence synced with?"

The boy frowned slightly. "You won't take it, will you?"

"Ah, no, no. Of course not."

He loosened the collar around his shirt and pulled out a large pendant in the shape of the sun. It shone brightly as he held it in his hands. It was tied to his neck by a sturdy looking black string with small red and orange beads lightly decorating it. The middle of the pendent had a small cross in the middle.

"The sun charm was a gift from Kino that he brought for our first anniversary...strangely enough...I was born with a sun-shaped birth mark on my chest..." The boy unbuttoned the top part of his shirt to show them the mark.

"...so Kino thought I'd like it."

"It's nice..."

"Heh..."

Lavi studied the pendant carefully. "Whoa...nice. I can't wait to see what your weapon will look like." Lavi giggled happily.

"Hee...well, I'll be outside stretching, so if ya need me, you'll know where I am." The junior bookman said, practically skipping out the door.

Allen sat back down on the chair.

"Sorry about him. He has his serious moments, but he's also a goof." Allen chuckled.

Mannen smiled slightly. "Kino was like that too...he seems so serious but no matter what, he always ended up looking like a dope..."

At the mention of the deceased boy's name, Allen frowned.

"Mannen-san...I...I'm so..."

"What are you apologizing for...?" He chuckled slightly. "It wasn't your fault..."

"I can imagine what you must be feeling..."

Mannen closed his eyes and smiled sweetly, as if recalling a pleasant memory.

"Have you ever been in love, Allen?" He asked, his eyes still closed.

"Eh?" Allen blushed slightly at the question. "W-Why?"

"It's such a strange feeling...it's...painful but at the same time, you need it...your body craves it. Your nerves tingle in response to it...it takes over your entire being, making you question everything you have ever done."

Allen half nodded.

"I understand...I think..."

"Really? Then how would you know if you were in love?"

Allen blushed again in response.

"I guess I wouldn't know...I've never...thought of someone in that way."

"Hm. I see..." Flaxen hair blew gently around the boy's shoulders. The boy chuckled.

"Be careful, then...it may take you by surprise."

"Were you surprised when you fell in love with Kino-san?" Allen asked softly.

Mannen opened his eyes.

"Yeah...I was. I didn't expect to fall in love with a man...never mind a poor one. It hit me all of a sudden...that night I saw him walking in the moonlight...he was brilliant. His tanned skin glowed softly and I could clearly see every strand of his chestnut colored hair. I could make out every detail of his toned chest and ripped muscles. It was...overwhelming...I didn't know what to think. I..."

Mannen took a deep breath as tears rolled down his cheeks.

"...I almost forgot how to breath..."

Allen, who was deeply moved by the sheer force of Mannen's words, brushed some tears from his own eyes.

"That's...incredible...almost...soul consuming...it must be wonderful..."

The boy wiped his face. "Y-Yeah...but, it's also hard...it's easy to drive yourself crazy. You wonder what they think of you constantly, always thinking of ways to improve yourself. Kino was such a smart person. I loved him but I also admired him. I wanted to be someone who could earn his respect..."

Allen another one of those strange pangs he'd been feeling recently...it bothered him as he realized that there was someone who he admired and wanted to earn the respect of. Allen didn't chase the thought, however.

"I-I see...that's so admirable of you, Mannen-san."

"You think so? I thought it was...rather selfish...the way I wanted him to myself..."

"You think love is selfish?"

"There are different types of love, I guess...Some are selfish and some aren't."

"I suppose that makes some sense..."

"Yeah right...you'll find that love hardly ever makes sense...but, it's something worth fighting for..."

"Hmm..." Allen sat on the wooden stool, deep in thought until he heard light snoring. Mannen had fallen asleep.

-Page Break-

"How's the kid?" Lavi asked as Allen took a seat next to him in the cafeteria.

"He talked himself to sleep."

"Oh yeah? Well, that's good. Rael said that once his room stopped spinning, he'd escort him to HQ."

"Eh...is he gonna be okay?" Allen asked skeptically.

Lavi waved his hand up and down in front of Allen.

"No biggie. He's all good."

"Lavi..." Allen paused. "What do you think love is?"

Lavi blinked a couple of times and flushed slightly.

"Allen...I-I'm so flattered that you feel that way about me and I'll gladly accept those feelings!" He half yelled, trying to grab Allen.

"N-No! Lavi! I'm asking you a question! I'm not in love with you!"

Kanda and Lenalee walked in, talking about the area in Canada that would be their next destination. That is, until they saw Lavi, once again, trying to molest Allen.

Kanda twitched. "I assume you're doing better, Moyashi."

"Eek! No! Help!"

"Allen confessed his love to me! I'm so happy!" Lavi squealed, trying to place kisses on the younger exorcist's face.

"No! No, I didn't!"

Lenalee managed to pry Allen out of Lavi's death grip and smacked the red head over the head with her free hand.

"Ow! Lenalee, you meanie!" Lavi pouted.

She laughed slightly and took a seat across from Allen, whereas Kanda was sitting across from Lavi.

"So, Allen. You okay?" The girl asked, a worried tone in her voice.

"I-I'm fine!"

"Tch." Was Kanda's only response and he went to eating his breakfast.

Allen rolled his eyes half heartedly at Kanda but ended up with a smile on his face.

Kanda stared at him for a moment and Allen felt as though he couldn't peel his eyes away from the other man.

Kanda breathed out of his nose.

"What?" He growled.

"N-Nothing!" Allen studdered, snapping out of his little trance. He felt his face heat up and ducked his head.

"Um...I feel light headed again..."

"Eh? You wanna lay down?" Lenalee asked half concerned, half curious.

"No...I need some fresh air..." he scrambled and ran out of the room.

Kanda raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with him?"

Once Allen was outside, he took a deep breath and surveyed the area. The land looked so different in the sunlight than in the dark. He ran his sweaty palms through his hair and let out a breath before he felt a large hand push at his shoulder. Briefly he wondered how he knew it was Kanda just by the heat of his contact.

"K-Kanda!" He jumped slightly.

The man frowned.

"You are okay, right? We leave for Canada, tomorrow."

"Y-yes! I'm fine!" He babbled. His mind was filled with strange notions and thought of how one discovers love. He wasn't sure why, but having those thoughts around Kanda made the boy nervous.

Kanda sighed. Despite everything, he'd been in a good mood that morning, so he decided he might as well share his good attitude with everyone.

"What the hell are you zoning out for?"

Allen's shoulders shot up.

"Nothing! Sorry, my mind's not in the right place."

"Is it ever?"

"Look who's talking, Bakanda!"

"Moyashi!"

The two glared at each other before silver eyes averted black ones.

"Say...Kanda?"

"Eh? What?"

"What do you think love is?"

Kanda frowned.

"Next topic."

"Come on, Kanda. I wanna know...what do you think? Lavi won't take me seriously if I ask him."

Kanda sighed. He knew that if Allen really wanted to, he'd pester him for an answer all day.

"Listen...I don't know about nonsense like that. If you ask me, then I couldn't really tell you because I think that having feelings for people just makes things more complicated. It's useless...pointless. It may not even exist. Love is nothing but a word used to express emotions that don't make any logical sense."

Kanda turned towards the boy again and saw that he wore a sad frown.

"I-I see..." He sighed. Of course, he should have expected that answer from Kanda. It was the most reasonable one that he could give.

But it upset Allen. The fact that the samurai thought of feelings as nuisance was a sad thought.

Not just love but all feelings. Happiness, sadness, fear, friendship...everything.

Kanda sighed in defeat after glimpsing at Allen's face.

"I can't deal with brats like you..." He growled.

Allen shot his head up and was about to give the man a good cussing until he felt that warm, large hand on his head again.

He began. " IF such a thing ever existed...I guess it would be more intense that feelings you have for your comrades in battle...stronger than friendship..."

Allen's heart did back flips for a second.

"Anyway, everyone has a different perspective on what it is. You have to think about how you feel in order to gain your own perspective on what it means to "love" someone. No one can tell you what it is, only their experiences and thoughts on it."

Kanda ruffled the boy's hair slightly, hoping that now he would leave him alone about this matter. More that anything, Kanda hated talking about emotions.

He pulled away and saw Allen looking up at him with an unreadable expression which made him catch his breath for a brief moment.

"Kanda...I..." Allen shook his head and smiled brightly. "Never mind. Thank you."

Kanda frowned. "Whatever, Moyashi." He added a shrug and walked away, back inside the air conditioned hospital.

Allen couldn't seem to get rid of the smile, even when Timcanpy landed on his shoulder and almost scared him.

"Hey Tim..." He beamed. The small golem sweat dropped and waved its wings around.

"Me? I'm not acting weird." He chuckled softly.

Timcanpy perched atop Allen's head.

It didn't seem like the happiness he felt boil up inside of him could grow anymore, but it did when he could hear Kanda's voice calling for him.

Love is strange. It's in your heart, it has no shape or weight. You can't measure its size or its depth. No one has ever actually seen it, but it aches without a doubt...it responds only to him.

-End Chapter-

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Yes, short. I know...hardly ten pages. Oh well, next chapter I'll make up for it.

Anyway, it's prize time. The first reviewer who can tell me what anime the above quoted line is from gets a free, DGM one-shot, of any rating they choose.

I want to make it hard so you have to give me the name of the show, the episode number, and who exactly said it. And no, I'm not giving out clues. You either know it or you don't. If you don't win this time, there will be other chances.

So, TBC? Review please. They inspire me to write faster.