Hello, this story has been on dA and LJ for a while, but because of Saya wanting to be a little backwards, it's showing up here last. (A.k.a., the kind people on dA and LJ pointed out flaws and whatnot, and Saya fixed them up so you guys get the finished result.) This is a Cross/Allen + Tyki/Allen fic. It's got some explicit stuff pretty early on. If you don't like the pairings, Saya warns you now that you probably wont like this fic much. Also, this is an AU story, same time period as the manga, but there's no Millennium Earl, no Black Order, no Akuma, just the charas. Sorry for the long A/N.
Disclaimer: Saya doesn't own the actors, just the script they're acting to.
Warnings: Rated M for sexual material en masse, and pedophilia, considering how both Cross and Tyki are much older than Allen.
1. Secrets
He was a dapper young man, in his mid twenties, mocha skin and abnormal yet alluring golden eyes. He was tall, well built, and his clothes were tailor-made for him. Though they weren't flamboyant, anyone could see they were of the highest quality. Lord Tyki Mikk, age 26, of the Mikk Earldom, walked down the main street with the utmost confidence.
Some would say that it was dangerous for a well-known, rich, man from a noble family to be walking around alone, but it was not so for Tyki Mikk. He was well-known because he helped find jobs for the unemployed with fair wages. Some would assume he was just exploiting the lower classes to help fuel the economy, and on some level that was true. But Tyki's honest goal was to help the people who lived on the streets. Everyone knew him, most respected him, and as he walked down the street, he was met with familiar greetings.
"Hello, Lord Tyki! I've got that order you asked for. I wasn't expecting you to come in person to pick them up!" Tyki had just come to the door of a local cobbler who made very high quality shoes at a very convenient price. Tyki wasn't fond of grandeur, showy, overly expensive things, he'd always held a preference for practical things of good quality.
"Don't I always come in person, though? I don't get out often enough as it is, I'll take any excuse to walk around the city," Tyki replied with a smile, he really was a people person, but business often had him holed up in his estate for days and weeks.
"That you do. It's always unusual to see a man of your status acting as you do, it's rather refreshing, actually."
"Thank you." From there, their conversation took its usual path, with each of them asking about business or the family, and all those usual things that acquaintances talk about. However, there was a disturbance nearby that was steadily getting louder. Tyki tried his hardest to ignore it, because it wasn't his business, but in the end curiosity got the better of him and he looked around to find the source of the disturbance.
"What is that?" it looked like there might be a scuffle nearby but everyone was just going about their business like nothing was happening.
"Oh, it's probably just the Walker boy, in trouble as usual..."
"Is he a delinquent or something?"
"No, no, he's a good enough kid, he's Lord Marian's assistant, and head butler of the Marian household. He often comes down here to run errands for Lord Marian during the mornings, but he tends to attract a lot of ... unwanted attention." Tyki tilted his head to the side; "unwanted attention" could mean quite a few things really. The shop owner understood his confusion and continued his explanation.
"The boy's got looks that make women swoon with adoration and seethe with jealousy at the same time. While most people are civil with him, there are plenty of ruffians and street rats who love to give him a hard time."
"It doesn't seem like any one's helping him..." the people of this part of town were generally nice people; they didn't seem like the types who would just ignore it when a boy was being solicited.
"No one needs to, he's a real fighter. The first few times we tried to help him, it was too late, and he'd knocked the sense out of anyone who came near him, confusing them for his attackers...."
"I see..." Tyki, deciding the situation was taken care of, pushed it out of his mind. The two chattered for a while longer, before Tyki decided he had disrupted business long enough and left. As he left, the ruckus came to a sudden stop, and something about that irked Tyki. Though he intended to go home, his feet had other plans, and soon enough, he was facing the mouth of an alley.
A rather full alley, at that. Pinned to the wall, surrounded by five rather large men, stood a worn out boy child with silvery blond hair, that Tyki immediately decided must be the Walker boy the cobbler had spoken of. Though Tyki didn't have a clear look at the boy's face, the child seemed very tired, and he guessed the five had tired him out fighting; the boy could be as great a fighter as he wanted to be, but when so slight a person takes on five people of such considerable size, there's only so much one can do before they inevitably lose. Tyki thought it was despicable that these men would fight a young boy with such a disadvantage, it was pathetic.
"Hehe, little Walker got himself a name and a job, and now he's too good for the other street rats. We should remind him of what he is, eh boys?" The five leered at the boy, who just looked to the side with an air of disinterest. It was an almost snooty gesture, not something someone in his position had any right to.
"Excuse me, kind sirs, but would you mind letting the boy go? I'm sure his master would appreciate his getting home on time," Tyki said, stepping farther into the alley, his sense of justice would not allow him to stand and watch any longer.
"Shut yer mouth! Just leave, this ain't none of your business."
"Yes, well, I'm choosing to make it my business," Tyki stated, with an aura of confidence that gave away the fact that he had something up his sleeve.
"Listen you, pansy gentlemen like you should just stay outta the allies," The one (who was apparently their leader) said, as he pulled out a pocket knife of medium quality, probably stolen, and pointed it in Tyki's direction, and obvious threat to the other man to back off or else. Tyki, however, was unfazed. Instead of looking frightened, he brought forward his cane (more of a status symbol, rather than a necessity), holding both ends in his hands. He then pulled the handle away from the rest, allowing the dim light of the alley to glint off the steel that was showing. Yes, Lord Tyki Mikk, everyone's model for the perfect gentleman, never went anywhere unarmed. He rather liked having that sort of power in his hands, the power of life and death. He trusted the people he lived around, but security was nice too.
"Well then, this pansy gentleman will leave with the boy."
"Why you..." the man ran toward Tyki, prepared to inflict some fatal wound or other, but was quickly and soundly beaten by Tyki, who did nothing more than hold his cane parallel to the ground; when the Man came within range, he ran right into the end of it, and was hit right between the eyes. He fell back, out cold, his own force had been his undoing.
"I'd prefer not to dirty my hands gentlemen, so, if you please..." The other four, having watched their leader get beaten so simply, lost their courage and nearly threw the boy at Tyki, running out of the alley while he focused on not letting the other fall.
"You alright kid?" Tyki asked, taking his hands away from the boy once he was balanced. The child looked up at him with wide, surprised eyes. That was all Tyki saw for a moment, those large, gray-blue eyes framed by long, silver lashes. As his vision expanded, he saw the boy's face, pale, with some still childish characteristics, and very beautiful. His hair was a little long, a soft platinum blonde that looked almost white, and just brushed his shoulders. A jagged scar ran down his face, one that made Tyki wonder, but he wouldn't ask a stranger about something that would undoubtedly be personal.
"Yes, thank you," The child said, giving Tyki a look that clearly said he'd fight him off if need be. However, all Tyki saw was that, yes, this boy did indeed possess a beauty that could rival any woman of nobility's.
"Well, it's dangerous for a young boy to be walking these streets alone, would you like a ride back to the Marion Manor?" Tyki asked, the boy just gave him a skeptical look. Tyki took a minute to think of what he was doing wrong, not realizing that it was just in the child's nature to distrust strangers.
"Oh, yes, forgive my manners! I'm sir Tyki Mikk, of the Mikk Earldom, you who might you be?"
"Uh...I'm Allen Walker, I'm Master Cross' personal assistant. It's an honor to meet your acquaintance," Allen said, bowing at the waist, his manners coming into the picture now that he knew he was dealing with a noble.
"Well, Allen, it would be my pleasure to escort you home."
"Thank you," Allen said, feeling it would be impolite to decline his invitation. Besides, it was getting late, that fight had wasted so much of his time that even if he ran he wouldn't be able to make it home in time on foot.
Tyki lead the way onto the streets, where he flagged down a carriage, asking the driver to take them to the Marion Manor first, then to his own estate.
Once comfortably seated in the carriage (which was quite impossible, but one never stops trying anyways...) silence reigned. Tyki searched his pockets for a pack of cigarettes, he always had a pack on him, it was one of his worst habits. "Do you mind if I smoke?" He asked Allen, deciding it would only be proper to ask his fellow passenger before lighting up.
"Not at all." Allen was used to smoke, his master was probably the heaviest smoker in London. Tyki lit up, taking a long drag on the cancer stick.
"So...I've heard about you...I I mean what you've done..." Allen was horrible with silences between strangers, but unfortunately, he was just as bad at breaking them. Luckily, Tyki was quite the talkative person.
"Yes, well, it's nothing really. I'm in a position where I can help, so I figured I should try, at least."
Allen blinked, slightly surprised. Tyki's face had grown a bit soft, he seemed to be remembering something fond. Allen had half expected Tyki to have a God complex over it or something; Allen was used to stuffy nobles thinking they were the greatest thing to grace the planet.
"You're rather modest about it, but you've helped a lot of people get off the streets."
"I know the streets a little better that most would think." Allen tilted his head in confusion, silently asking Tyki to continue. Another drag on his cigarette later, Tyki continued.
"Want to know why? It's a secret though. When I was about 14 or so, I ran away from home for three years. I was so fed up with all the noble crap that I just had to get away, and to me, from my comfortable room where the worst thing that ever happened to me was getting scolded, the streets looked like the greatest freedom I could ever get. I didn't realize how hard it would be though, and I almost turned back after only a few weeks!
"Luckily, I was sort of taken in by these two other vagabonds, they were a few years older than me, but it all worked out. We traveled around doing odd jobs so we could make enough money to eat. Not soon after we joined together, we found a small child, hardly old enough to walk, and he was horribly ill. We added him to our group, brought him to a hospital, and when they'd treated him the best they could, we continued on, with our new edition. It took nearly four years for my family to track me down and almost two years later my uncle died heir less and I inherited his position as head of the house. Those years were hell on Earth, and I loved every minute of them."
"Oh...wow." Allen was surprised, Tyki honestly could say he knew something about street life, unlike so many nobles who think they know it all, just because they could look down from their high windows and see the little people scurrying about.
"Wait...why'd you tell me all that? I mean... you said it was a secret, and something like that would surely cause a scandal. Why trust a stranger?"
"What? We're not strangers! I know you're name, you know mine, and we've talked. We're not strangers."
"You have an odd definition of the strangers..."
"Fine, then tell me about yourself, make it even."
"Uh...ok...but I don't have anything to say that's nearly as interesting as your story."
"That's alright, I'm sure you have some fine stories."
Allen looked down at his lap for a moment, feeling a little embarrassed to be sitting in a carriage, swapping life stories with a stranger. Because in Allen's mind, just knowing someone's name did not make them an acquaintance.
"Well... I was kinda abandoned when I was really young... This man, Mana, adopted me. He was the head butler, and assistant at the Marian Manor, and I was allowed to stay there with him, and help him as he worked. I eventually learned all I needed to know in order to run the estate. Three years ago though... he died. Master Cross never officially appointed anyone to Mana's old position, but seeing as I was the only one who knew how to do his job... I just inherited his duties, in a way."
Tyki's eyes widened in surprise. "But you're so young, and yet you're running the estate? There must be quite a few people against it."
Allen shrugged, there were some who would love the chance to give him trouble, but he was on good grounds with most of the workers.
Soon, the carriage started to slow, and Allen looked out of the window to see that they were pulling up to the Marian Manor. "Well, this is my stop, it seems. Thank you again for the ride. Could you maybe do me a ...favor?"
"Depends, but probably yes."
"Could you...not tell anyone you met me? The Master would get very angry if he thought I was goofing off..."
"I see, in that case, I'll keep this a secret, and you keep my secret."
"Ok, thank you." Allen gave the older man a grateful smile, and the carriage came to a complete stop. The door was opened and the driver appeared to help Allen out. As Allen left, he looked back one more time. Tyki's eyes widened ever so slightly, Allen really was beautiful. His frosty blue eyes were half lidded in a most alluring way as he looked back from the corners of his eyes, and the makings of a smirk settles on his lips. For just one long second he looked back on Tyki, and then, all too soon, it was over, and he was rocketing towards the manor.
And that's chapter one for you loves :3. Saya should say, even though it starts off this way, the next few chapters really focus more around the CrossxAllen relationship, and Tyki is just kinda waiting in the wings.