Disclaimer: I don't own D Gray Man or any of its characters.

Link had been growing on me ever since he first appeared. At first, I thought of him as the typical, boring assistant helper kind of guy that just shadows his superiors. Then, after he's been assigned to watch over Allen, we get to see that there's a lot more to the guy than we think. He's a fighter, a member of Crow and he risked his life several times to help Allen and other people. Even Timcampy is seen hanging around Link more, even perching on his head once. He's quite the complex, fascinating guy and I would love to learn more about him.

So this is dedicated for the awesome Howard Link. Hope you enjoy and please review!

Set In Stone

The first thing he said to me was, " You look terrible."

It was a perfectly justifiable comment. I was, after all, covered in dirt, blood and bruises at the moment. My clothes were anything but in their former glorious state, left tattered and bloodied. A rather nasty gash on my neck left trails of blood soaking into the remnants of my clothes. My left arm hung limply at my side, fingers dangling uselessly, nails scrapped raw. The ends of my once neatly combed hair were singed and scorched so much that I could smell my own horribly burnt hair.

Then again, he looked no better off than me. And I pointed out the fact to him.

He laughed, but it was soon reduced to a hacking wheeze. He must have broken a few ribs, I took note of. He sagged to the floor next to me, wincing as he did. His hair, not as white anymore, hung in heavy strands, sticky with sweat, pressed thickly against his forehead and cheeks. That wound on his stomach needed to be looked at soon or else it might become infected.

" You worry too much," he told me. Which I found a bit ironic. I'm not the one with my stomach half cut opened. " I'm sure the others will find us soon enough," he added, almost like it was supposed to console me.

I didn't like the sound of "soon enough". "Soon enough" might be "too late" for us.

" It'll be all right. It could have been a lot worse."

I found it hard to imagine a more worse place than where we are currently imprisoned at. Being trapped in a cave where the exit was sealed off with many, many massive rocks and suffering from potentially dangerous injuries from our previous encounter with a brigade of Akuma, including a Level 4, wasn't exactly my idea of fun.

Rather impressing of Walker to maintain his optimism during this crisis. Not that I'm not hoping the other Exorcists will find us soon. That would be absolutely wonderful if that happened. It's just that I'm more realistic.

We may have dealt with the Level 4, but out there were still many Akuma, all itching to sink their venomous fangs into us and tear us to pieces. Besides, the others don't know where we are. We had been separated during the attack and if it wasn't for my job of keeping an eye on Walker, I would probably be inhaling clean, dust-free air and also frantically searching alongside with the others for a missing Walker.

" At least we're together," he commented.

True. I would imagine that without me, who knows what kind of trouble that Walker would have provoked, while in this cave? An enraged bear? A clan of raving bats? A rabid monster awakened by Walker's clumsiness? Without a doubt, those things would have happened. And he would most likely, somehow, found a way to drag the rest of us into the mess he created.

I famously dubbed it the "Walker effect". Chaos and trouble inevitably followed after him like a lost puppy demanding and whining for attention. And Walker could not help but allow it to tag along. A little too willing, I might suspiciously add.

He looked at me with an amused look. " I promise I won't get us into any (more) trouble," he said with an uncanny smile.

And why am I not feeling any more comforted at this? I could swear that smile of his was more unnerving than anything I've ever come across. And this is coming from a member of the execution squad from Crow.

Of all things, why did I had to be trapped in a cave with him?

That grin of his only seemed to widen more. As if he enjoyed mocking me. " Is that apprehension I see in your eyes?" Walker innocently remarked.

Apprehension? A sane person would have been terrified out of his very wits if he had to deal with the likes of Walker for the duration of time that I had endured with him. It took agonizing patience and composure to have survived what I went through.

" It's almost like you're scared of me." The mischievous twinkle in his eyes spelled trouble.

No, not scared. Annoyed and slowly losing my mind - yes. But never scared.

He nodded, making a noncommittal sound, lips curled in skepticism, before causally looking away. I saw him rolling his eyes just as he turned. I should have known better that he wouldn't believe me.

I shifted my arm slightly and suddenly, found my arm erupting in a roar of fire. I fought hard not to make a sound, biting my lip in order to muffle the scream deep in my throat. I quickly sucked in a breath to pacify myself, only to realize how thin the air was getting.

We were running out of oxygen.

My body's natural reaction was to immediately and greedily gulp all the air I could take. But training and practicality made me clamp down on my instincts, biting back that tempting extra breath. This was not the time to panic and lose my calm.

Hearing Walker's ragged breathing and each of his slow, shaky mouthfuls of air, I debated whether I should tell him or not. Quietly, I decided not to. He had enough to worry about, being the more wounded out of the two of us. I effectively began breathing slower and less, as to conserve the little, precious air we have left.

" I know." I was startled to hear Walker's voice, so much that I involuntarily inhaled, nearly choking on the breath I just took. He looked at me, his expression treading between gratitude and displeasure. " You shouldn't have done that," he scowled. Judging from his glower, I figured that he noticed my little cover. He was too observant for his own good.

Minutes lengthened and the suffocating silence grew between us. I wondered if Walker was still awake or had fallen unconscious or merely floated in-between the two.

The dryness in my mouth was getting extremely aggravating. I swallowed several times, rolling my aching tongue uselessly, wincing as there was nothing left to swallow.

" You could stop swallowing," Walker suddenly suggested.

I gave him an irritated look and he simply replied with an innocent face. Then, I chucked, feeling the cracks in my dry lips swelled and bled. Still, it hurt less if I laughed than if I didn't.

Staying by Walker's side for the last few months has taught me to expect the unexpected from him. You could learn a lot about another person just from how they interact around other people, how they speak to them, the way they walk, what they eat and what they do under pressure. From my experience, being under pressure could reveal who a person truly is. Are they really a coward or a hero underneath it all? Will they run and fall or stand and fight?

And being where we are, trapped in a cave, running out of oxygen, suffering from our injuries, I could see that Walker was not a coward nor was he a distressing damsel. Not once has he complained about his injuries. He somehow managed to summon the strength to joke around, to keep up ours spirits. Even now, he remained hopeful of our anticipated rescue. Something that I commended him for.

A familiar voice, without warning, exploded from the deafening darkness and echoed, pounding in my eardrums.

" Allen! Link! Are you two all right?"

Slumping back on the stone wall in relief, he let out a weak chuckle. " We're here!" he called out, coughing hoarsely. " We're here!"

For a moment, when nothing but silence answered us, I feared that Walker's shout wasn't loud enough.

Then, my fears were vanished when we heard the unmistakable shifting of rocks and more voices trembling throughout the cave in loud, worried waves, interrupting and meshing together.

" Hold on - coming to get - are they still alive? - thank goodness - hurry - just hang on - could they breath in there?! - get that rock out of the - heavy - get doctor - wait just a little more -"

Knowing that help is coming, Walker's head sank down, resting against my good shoulder. He must have been more exhausted that he showed. " Can I just - borrow your shoulder for a moment?" he murmured, hair brushing down past his eyes as he slid close to me.

Not that I could really decline his request. His head was already on my shoulder and it would be too cruel to simply shrug the boy off. Besides, he had already drifted away to sleep or unconsciousness. Which one it was, I couldn't quite tell.

" - almost done - Allen? - few more - can you hear - Link? - we're almost -"

My vision was beginning to blur and the rest of my senses followed suit. Finally succumbing to my injuries, I was dimly aware of the suddenly glaring light coming from the once sealed off entrance. Voices vibrated like a badly tuned radio, some loud, some soft, all around me and yet, they seemed so faraway.

I glanced over at the sleeping Walker. It hit me then that he was still only a child. Sixteen years old and already burdened and entangled in this war. It seemed unfair that he was. But since when do we ever get a say in this?

Absently, as I was being gently carried out of the darkness of the cave and into the light, I would have liked to thank Walker for giving me a little comfort while trapped here.

Then again, I suspected that he already knew.