Stolen Kisses

Written by xmystorytime

Full Summary: One-shot. 'Feeling rather panicky, he did the only thing he could think of to shut Link up – he kissed him again. In retrospect, not the brightest thing to do.' A hunt for warmth turns into much more when morning light comes. Whoops. Allen/Link.

Warnings: Shonen-ai.

Ships: Allen/Link

Disclaimer: Anyone know where I can get an Allen plushie?

A dedication to Smiling Mask - its her artwork I got the inspiration for Allen/Link romance.

What an awful time of year to be in a place like this.

Inspector Howard Link stared up at the sooty ceiling, arms folded over his stomach. Goosebumps littered his skin from the cold floor and, every few minutes, he heard a new deluge of rain assault the shack he and his charge resided in. However, other than small shivers, he didn't let on how much the chill affected him – that would go against everything drilled into him.

Each time the rain eased off, he could hear Allen Waller's light breathing in the only bed in the room. When they'd discovered the shack and one-bed there was no question on who would sleep on it, even if the exorcist had tried to make him take it instead.

Walker was far too nice for his own good.

He sighed silently, refusing to curl into a ball. I'm a member of CROW, I was trained in such situations, I should be able to handle this. But, in his most hidden heart, under lock and key ever since he'd signed away his soul, he wished he was sleeping on the bed. Doubtless it would be much warmer and comfortable... but it made no difference. They would leave in the morning so whether he slept on the floor or not didn't matter.

A particularly strong gust of wind hit the shack, shaking the walls and sending a tiny patter of wood down. For a moment, he longed for Walker to be awake – if only for company – but then wondered what insanity had taken hold and shut his eyes. Several seconds later, Walker made an incomprehensible noise. Howard blinked.

"gnfnf..."

Was he trying to say something? Howard crossed his fingers and hoped the younger would go back to sleep, so he could back to enjoying the solitude. "L-Link..." but, it seemed his wish was not answered.

"What?" he answered.

For a long moment Walker didn't respond and he'd just begun to think the boy had gone back to sleep when, "Close the window, it's cold," was heard. He rolled his eyes and didn't reply, praying Walker would let it go. "Liiiink," the whine in his voice was too annoying to ignore.

"The window is broken Walker," he hissed, relieved when it seemed to shut Walker up. Nice, peaceful solitude...

"Oh," Walker grunted, and although Howard couldn't see through the darkness, he heard a bit of wriggling and assumed the other changed position, "It's cold..."

"Yes, Walker, I can tell," he bit back a sigh.

"Are you cold?" What kind of question is that? If Walker, in bed with a thin cover was cold, would that not imply Howard, on the floor with no cover, was cold?

"No."

"Oh," yes, oh. Howard really wanted that solitude back now. Why on earth would he have wanted Walker awake previously? "Are you sure? There's a bit of room on this bed-"

"I'm fine," he stopped that statement before it could get any further, knowing that it would break far too many boundaries than he was comfortable with, "just go back to sleep."

"I can't, it's cold."

"We've already established this, now go to sleep," maybe, if he made it obvious how much he didn't care, Walker would take the hint and do what Howard had been attempting to do for several hours (go to sleep). Mind you, if history was to be studied, Walker wouldn't get it. He never seemed to understand the subtle hints Howard gave for him to not do this or that... even when they hadn't been all that subtle.

'Walker, that's a very bad idea'.

'Did you say something?' –crash-

He'd never had such a troubling, frustrating mission as one Allen Walker.

"You're cold, aren't you?" his face heated up. How did he work it out, when he couldn't catch the hint that Howard didn't want to talk? "I can hear your teeth chattering," he blinked and then clamped his teeth around his bottom lip, silencing the chatter. I was probably too busy complaining about Walker to notice...

"I am not cold," he tried to say, but the lip-in-teeth garbled his words to something even he didn't understand.

Walker sighed, "Look, get over here. It's a big bed, so if we sleep together then we'll be much warmer-"

"I am not doing any sleeping with you," he cut in, cheeks aflame and feeling much hotter than he liked. He only felt worse when he realised he wasn't entirely opposed to the idea, "I am perfectly content on the floor. Do not make something out of nothing."

"I didn't mean that," his charge sounded a mixture of annoyed and embarrassed, "I was just – did you forget sharing body heat is the best way to stay warm?" Of course he'd meant that. How could I think any different?

"Thank you for your consideration," he cleared his throat, "I am fine on the floor, however. Now, try to sleep. We have a long way to travel tomorrow."

He shut his eyes when Walker didn't reply and listened to the pounding rain. In some ways it soothed him and, gradually, he felt each of his muscles relax one by one. It didn't take long before he finally felt drowsy and he exhaled, longing to be lost in the oblivious, dark depths of sleep. He barely heard the footsteps, and by the time they penetrated the haze it was too late.

Warmth pressed against his side and he jerked awake, twisting and focusing on the dark shape next to him. The faint light through the window gleamed off of white hair and he frowned.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, wishing he could see features and not just shapes.

"You told me to go to sleep, so I am," Walker replied.

"I didn't mean sleep with me," but, despite his protests, his arms wouldn't respond to his command to push the other away. After so long on the floor, Walker's warmth felt too addicting to give up.

"But you ordered me to sleep and this is the only way I'm going to do that," the exorcist had a thickness to his voice that belied the innocent act. He's a tiny bit nervous about this too, thankfully. "Just accept it, unless you want me awake all night bothering you," Howard shuddered, but before too long his brain started wailing again at all the ways this was wrong. He'd spent so long listening to them that he couldn't let this slide.

"Do you know how many protocols you're breaking?" his voice cracked and he silently cursed. Walker sat up and their eyes met.

"How many more would be broken if you froze to death?" he murmured, reaching out to put a hand on Howard's shoulder and the inspector jerked away from the heat, "You're like an ice block! How can you not be complaining?" Walker grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him closer.

"T-this isn't allowed!"

"So?" the exorcist lay back down on the ground and tugged Howard beside him, "If it bothers you that much pretend I'm not here. Who's going to tell, anyway? It's not like the finder can hear anything from in here," Howard finally won over the craving for warmth and tried to shove Walker away, but the boy just wriggled back the instant he let go.

"... you're too stubborn for your own good," he sighed, realising he'd lost this battle. The exorcist was a teenager, however mature he acted, and teenager always thought they knew best. He would allow it for tonight, but tomorrow morning promised a long talk.

He tried to relax and found it easier than expected. Walker's weight by his side was a comforting presence and he couldn't deny how much warmer he felt. A bit awkward, unused to this, but warm. He sighed and, after a long moment, rolled over so his back pressed against the other's. Oddly, he felt hyper-aware every move he made would be felt by Walker. He didn't feel embarrassed; he just... didn't want to disturb the other? No, that didn't feel right either...

Giving up on understanding it, he wriggled around until he felt comfortable and shut his eyes again. To his surprise, even though he could hear the hideous weather outside, it sounded quieter than the slow breathing of Walker behind him. Maybe the boy did have a good idea every once in awhile.

His exhaustion from the previous nights of no sleep caught up to him and, with a tiny smile on his face, he drifted off to sleep.

--

It had been a long time since he'd felt so warm.

Only Mana had made him feel this safe, through the long nights when storms howled and the evenings after being beaten for his deformity. For a heart-breaking second, he could imagine he was back with Mana, back in a time when the world felt right.

But, like every time he thought of his beloved father, the memory of Mana becoming something he loathed crept through, tormenting him with the painful reminder he was responsible for Mana's death.

He bit back a sob. He couldn't be with Mana, so who...?

Allen cracked open his eyes, meeting a bare chest with light follicles of hair down the middle. His memory returned in a flash and his breath caught. He clenched his fist, praying he was just remembering wrong. He hadn't really moved to sleep beside Link, had he?

Through his eyelashes he looked up, not sure what he wanted to see, and his heart constricted when he saw the familiar face of Link sleeping peacefully. He had and, what's more, hadn't accepted no for an answer.

He suddenly became aware of an arm hung loosely over his shoulders. With that revelation came another; how close he actually lay to Link. If they'd been liked this most of the night, no wonder he felt so warm and comfortable. He glowered at Link's chest, heat rising to his cheeks when he realised he didn't actually mind lying here, and glanced back up at Link's face. He hadn't ever seen the other look so peaceful before.

Normally he showed no emotion on his face, but he always had tense shoulders, like he fought an internal struggle.

That peacefulness was all that stopped him from flinging himself away. He couldn't disturb Link when he looked like that, especially when this was the most sleep he'd had all mission, no matter how uncomfortable the tingling on his skin felt wherever bare skin met. Why did they both have to sleep without a shirt on?

Allen had no clothing but his uniform and if he wore that all the time it would get even sweatier and smellier than it already was, so he had a good excuse, but what about Link? Especially after how cold last night had been?

He probably wouldn't ever get an answer. He sighed and lifted his left arm. Although no longer the red, bumpy limb he remembered, it would take more than a few months to rid sixteen years of loathing and he inched around until it was far away from Link. No one needed to be near the ugly thing unnecessarily.

Of course, knowledge of their situation wiped away any sleepiness, so with nothing better to do he studied the features of his minder. However, he couldn't see much and his neck complained about the craning, so he shifted until he lay face-to-face with the other. His heart pounded when Link started to move, but settled down soon enough. It seemed he slept too deeply to be disturbed yet, thank goodness.

His cheeks reddened again as he felt Link's arm around his waist but ignored it. He started to study Link's features more clearly this time, automatically focusing on the small pimple first, but was soon distracted by the tickle of Link's breath on his cheek. He swallowed, stomach twisting, and wished he thought about things before actually doing them. Granted, he'd never been in a situation like this before, but...

Lavi mentioned something about this part of him, too, or maybe Kanda... possibly Lenalee... definitely Link...

Gray eyes flickered from one feature to the next. Link looks so much younger when he's sleeping... not at all like the up-tight guy we know. Over time, he'd begun to see what new thing he could do to make Link turn that funny shade between purple and red – that game kept him entertained for hours.

Link moved and he tensed. He stopped breathing when the arm around his waist tightened and his face burned with embarrassment. Maybe he should just wake Link now, and get it over and done with...

... but, if he really didn't like it, he could have done that before, so why hadn't he?

This time, the blush didn't go away. He wanted to shut off his thoughts but that would mean denying that he actually kind of liked it. He'd always tried to avoid physical contact with anyone, not wanting them to come in contact with his arm, although since joining the Order he'd become much more relaxed around his friends. Truthfully, if he hadn't been dreaming of Mana last night, he wouldn't have moved at all.

Dawn's light slipped in through the grimy window, blinding Allen. He winced and moved until the older male's body blocked the light, before checking he was still asleep (although really, if he hadn't woken up yet then what kind of CROW member was he?). His eyes dropped to Link's mouth and a funny feeling swept over him.

Almost involuntarily, he placed the lightest of kisses on Link's lips, only centre metres away. His lips tingled when he pulled back and he felt giddy, brave enough to do it again. This time, he lingered for a few seconds before pulling back and his smile grew.

Until it hit him what he'd done.

He couldn't breathe. He'd kissed Link. He'd kissed Link. He'd kissed Link. A variety of emotions swept through him, until he had no idea how to feel and wanted to laugh and cry. Instead, he just looked back at Link.

The Inspector stared at him, stunned, and Allen's eyes widened, horrified.

"Walker...?" Link asked, questioning, and said male shut his eyes. If only he could pretend it hadn't happened... "What -?" he didn't want to hear anymore and, panicked, he did the only thing he could think of to shut Link up. He kissed him again (in retrospect, not the brightest thing to do, but no one ever did the sensible thing when they panicked and oh no he'd screwed up everything and oh my god Link was kissing back?!)

The feeling from before multiplied.

The arm around his waist tightened and he hadn't thought he could be pulled closer, but Link proved him wrong. Hyper-aware he had no clue what to do, he hesitantly rest his right arm over Link's waist. After that, the Inspector took the initiative and rolled them over under he was on top, heavy weight pinning Allen to the ground. Their kissing became much more comfortable and enjoyable.

He shut his eyes and surrendered to the more experienced male's actions. Link pulled away suddenly, leaving Allen breathless and his mind hazy.

"What am I doing?" he murmured, but Allen refused to let the other go now that he'd felt like this. He tugged Link back down and crashed their lips together. Link gave up protesting after that.

Several minutes later, after parting for air, Allen revelled in the new sensations, his mind feeling rather befuddled and mushy. The heavy weight of Link on top, while at first odd, now only made this seem more real. He reached out and ran a hand down Link's cheek, unable to hide a smile at the heat in the other's eyes. He'd made Link feel like that. He was responsible.

"Walker..." Link's breath felt hot against his lips.

"Allen," he interrupted, stealing another light kiss, and felt Link's lips curl up in a tiny smile. With a start he realised he'd never seen Link smile before, so he kissed him again. If he couldn't ever see one then he would feel one instead and cherish it. His giddiness drained when he felt a warm hand over his left arm. He tried to tug out of Link's grip.

"Why do you not use this?" the other whispered, interlocking their fingers, "what's wrong?" he ducked his gaze, avoiding the piercing eyes. Link was, first and foremost, an Inspector, after all.

"It's nothing," he muttered, failing to make Link let go of his hand and so tried to distract him by kissing him again. Link turned his head so lips met cheek, and then dropped his chin to Allen's shoulder.

"I doubt this," the hot breath on his ear sent a shiver down his spine. Link shifted in response and their groins met. Allen couldn't hold back a moan, "Tell me," the order sent another spark of heat through him and he rolled his hips, searching for more of that pleasure. He heard Link mutter something, a curse, and felt smug that he'd been able to distract him.

And then Link ground against him, pressing his back into the ground, and he let out a needy sound without thinking.

"You don't want to play that game," Link hissed, after a few seconds of recovery, and Allen swallowed. How could he explain some things were hard to overcome? How could he explain the disgust and loathing he'd felt for all his life, or the way people flinched away from the grotesque, alien limb?

"It... doesn't deserve to touch you," he whispered, but barely heard the words himself.

"It's a part of you, yet you refer to it as 'it'?"

"I hate it," he shut his eyes, wishing they could go back to the kissing. He'd liked that part.

Link seemed to realise he wouldn't say another and didn't question further. He didn't continue kissing, although he didn't let go either, so Allen planted butterfly kisses on the skin he could reach and buried his face in Link's shoulder, content to remain like this for the rest of his life. For long moments it felt like the world didn't exist, that there was no akuma or Noah, exorcists or Innocence. Only they existed.

"We should leave soon," the inspector pointed out, sounding near and far away. Allen shook his head and tightened his grip, "Walker, we have to-" Link tried to pull away but Allen refused to let go.

"Don't," he whispered, "please, just a few more minutes."

"Walker..."

"You make me feel safe," his throat tightened, "I haven't felt like this since Mana left." Link seemed to sigh, but didn't continue pulling away. He changed position until he could wrap an arm around Allen's shoulder and waist and pressed his forehead against Allen's temple, leaving the smaller more grateful than he could convey.

And they lay there in silence until the finder knocked and they had to leave to finish their mission, and if Allen grabbed Link's hand each time they were alone and Link didn't seem to look quite as harsh as they had before, neither mentioned it.

Until the next night, anyway, where lips and arms spoke all.

A/N: Waaah, do you know there's not one word to describe this thing as? It's not fluff but it's not explicit. It's not slash because it's manga characters. It's not yaoi because they didn't really do anything. It's not shonen-ai because they acted on their feelings. DAMNIT how hard can it be to label things with a warning?!

-pukes on epic fail- What started as a gen turned into a slash, and you have no idea how awkward and hard I found it to write. Not because its slash, but I'm really not comfortable with writing this stuff, I guess. I reckon I really need to improve on this genre, then, so I'd really appreciate some advice or C/C about this, and little tips for future stories.