Disharmony

(For May)

Melody.

Rhythm.

Tempo.

The 14th Noah's fingers moved gracefully on the black keys that contrasted against the pure white piano in the Ark's control room. The piece was a slow, lethargic one, something that the 14th had composed himself during one of his many extended meditations inside the Ark. His eyes were closed as he played, his long lashes almost touching his cheeks.

Soft laughter made the 14th open his eyes, just as long silky strands of blue-black hair danced forward to curtain his moving hands, individual strands twining and going in between his fingers. The expression on his face softened as he watched the other Noah, who had been sitting on his piano top as he played.

The playful smile never left the other Noah's thin but sensual lips.

"Don't you have a task somewhere, Kyuuya?" the 14th asked.

"I'm being a bum" the other Noah answered, lifting his gaze just a bit, the smallest of movements. The gesture still made sure his long, beautiful hair still framed and covered half of his deceivingly angelic face. "Unless you want me to go already?"

The 14th's expression softened a bit more as he ended the piece and caught up a handful of the other Noah's dark hair. He raised the strands to his nose and sniffed, letting the scent of cold steel and lotus flowers flood his senses gently, a deluge that he wanted and reveled in, a scent he desired.

"I would never want you to leave, Kyuuya. You know this."

He was answered with a small smile. The gesture was a small one, as was Kyuuya's nature, but for the 14th it was as breathtaking as ever. Somewhere deep inside him the Will of Noah was glad for everything that had transpired to make them both like this. He would have given up everything just to see Kyuuya smile.

"Sit on my lap, Kyuuya."

The Illusion of Noah straightened up and obeyed, letting himself cascade down the piano keys and onto the 14th's lap. This close, the 14th had to use all of his self-control not to ravish the other Noah with kisses.

Such a sweet temptation Kyuuya was even without trying.

The 14th curled his arms around a slim waist and buried his nose into the other's dark hair. His eyelids fluttered shut as he took in that scent, as his arms gently crushed the other's seemingly frail frame into himself.

"You're affectionate today, moyashi…" Kyuuya whispered. The 14th could feel the other's lips just mere inches away from his right earlobe.

"Why do you insist still calling me that when you're the one who's shorter now?" the 14th replied softly as he lowered his head to let his lips rest against the other's throat. Kyuuya purred somewhere and tipped his head back.

"Or do you prefer me to call you….Allen?"

His fingers dug into the other Noah's back quite painfully, but if there was hurt, Kyuuya did not acknowledge it.

"Are we name-calling now…Kanda?"

He felt hands run through his hair, sending a tingle of pleasure down his neck and spine. The 14th lifted his face and let his lips close over the other's in an intimate kiss. Kyuuya still tasted of caramel apples whatever he did. The 14th reveled in the mingled essences of apple and dark chocolate in that little, hot and wet mouth.

Why did Allen Walker succumb to the Noah genes in his system?

It wasn't because he was losing his mind. He could have fought back the 14th perfectly well had he set his mind to it. It wasn't because he was doing Mana or Cross Marian a favor, either. It wasn't because it was the only path left for him to take. He could have mowed his way through anything, again, if he had set his mind to it.

No, Allen Walker became Noah not because of such grandiose and vain things.

His reason was simple enough.

His reason was in his arms.

He had desired this person ever since he first met him at the doorstep of the Black Order. Things had been very complicated back then. The 14th knew how his old eyes followed every moment Yuu Kanda had made, how he unconsciously increased his desire for the dark-haired enigma with each passing day. As Allen Walker, he had been weak when he first came into contact with Yuu Kanda's vicious way of rejecting people. He had not understood how to overcome the distance. He had not known how to break through the walls. He had been overwhelmed by the other's coldness.

And they all thought he had felt something for Linali too.

No. Allen Walker had desired his sword-wielding comrade above anything else, even though he had been terrified to admit it, even to himself.

"Kyuuya…"

Gray eyes flickered and looked up, meeting his gaze levelly.

"When did you hear the voice?" The 14th inquired, letting his lips rest at the corner of the other's mouth. "Or if you ever did hear a voice at all…or was it a figure you saw and no one else can, like me?"

The Illusion of Noah didn't answer for a while, but the 14th was a patient man.

"It was a voice," Kyuuya replied. "Inside my head."

The 14th let his lips rest on Kyuuya's forehead.

"What did the voice tell you?"

"That I was fucked up and delaying the inevitable would not do anything."

"You believed the voice?"

"I knew I was fucked up. But I wasn't delaying."

The 14th drew back for a moment, blinking in mild confusion. The other Noah smiled, that same unreadable smile, and placed a finger on his lips.

"I hated my Innocence, moyashi." Kyuuya continued. "Because it gave me a stunted crap of a life."

Silence.

"Do you know the feeling of hatred, Allen, of hatred so great you can't even tell anymore if it's logical or not? It's just there, the hate, festering deep within you, coursing as poison in your blood, corrupting your thoughts, slowly numbing your heart. And then you start hating everything else around you. Friends become despicable. Teammates become nuisances. The scientists from the Science Department become burdens. Then duty becomes a burden. Living as an Exorcist becomes a bore, a despicable and degrading condition."

The 14th closed his eyes, his forehead resting against Kyuuya's, the crosses on his skin touching the other's own set.

"Did you hate me…?" the 14th asked, quietly. "I remember vividly how you pushed me away, Kanda, when I tried to tell you about what I feel for you. Sometimes I can still feel Mugen making a dent in my neck…"

"Moyashi, moyashi, even as a Noah you are stupid." Kyuuya laughed, his voice a caressing wind against the 14th's senses. "If I hated you, I would not be here on your lap in the first place."

The statement made the Will of Noah smile. He let his lips cover Kyuuya's again and claimed the other's mouth for all of its worth, his hands and arms bringing the other ever closer to him. As an Exorcist he never had the chance to prove the worth and measure of his feelings for the other, and he had thought that maybe as a Noah he would be stronger, would be more powerful to break through those walls.

If Yuu Kanda fell into sin, Allen Walker was there with him with all that he ever was.

Abruptly Kyuuya pulled away, and the 14th turned his head to the doorway just as the Earl Millennium came fluttering down, Lero opened and acting as a parachute. They both watched in silence as the Earl landed neatly, almost gracefully, impossible for such a girth and width of figure. With his disturbing smile in place, the Earl calls to them, his children, his boys, his most powerful boys, and tells them their time on the board has come.

The 14th's arms tightens just a little bit around the slim figure on his lap. They stared at the Earl, both of them, cheeks resting against the other's, their eyes unreadable, the crosses on their forehead vivid, telling the world of their lineage.