Disclaimer - I do not own D Gray Man nor any of it's wonderful characters.

Chapter Ten - Renewed Promise

Allen hadn't expected to feel so much better after confiding his feelings with someone but he found that after telling Lenalee about his fears his heart was much lighter. He was still concerned about the threat posed by the Fourteenth but he knew that there were people willing to help him with the fight.

Every so often Lenalee would pause in her work and reach over and grasp Allen by the hand. It was as though she wanted to reassure him that she was there and Allen found himself comforted by her gentle touch.

And every time that she did this Allen would give her delicate hand a gentle squeeze.

The work was difficult but together the two young Exorcists managed to move enough rocks so that they could crawl out of the cave through a small opening. Taking Lenalee by the hand Allen got down on his hands and knees and began to crawl through the tight space.

Holding his hand grasped tightly in her own Lenalee followed along behind the white haired youth.

Allen shielded his eyes as he once again emerged out into the world of sunlight. The light inside the cave had been dim and it took a couple of moments for his eyes to adjust to the brighter light. But he soon adjusted, at the same time remembering that Lenalee was behind him. He got quickly to his feet and then helped Lenalee to rise.

"We did it Allen," Lenalee said with a smile, gazing around at their surroundings. They had spent hours trapped in that cave and being out in the open was the most wonderful feeling. "Have you ever seen anything more beautiful?"

Allen's gaze was focused squarely on Lenalee and he replied, in a voice somewhat deeper than his normal tone, "No I haven't."

Noticing the change in his voice Lenalee turned to look at Allen and caught the tender look in his gray eyes.

Allen blushed as Lenalee turned to face him, and made a move to turn away, but he was prevented from doing so. Reaching out Lenalee touched his chin with the tips of her fingers, keeping him from looking away.

"Lena… lee…"

Lenalee didn't say anything as she leaned closer and gently pressed her lips to Allen's. She had yearned to do this for so long but had never had the nerve.

But today was different.

Something had changed between the two of them and she felt more daring than she ever had in her life.

At first Allen tensed as Lenalee pressed her lips to his own but then, after a moment, he wrapped his arms around her slender waist and kissed her with all the passion that he could muster.

The two young Exorcists held this embrace for a moment before they broke apart, each unable to contain the smile that came to their lips.

"That was…" Allen began.

"Amazing," Lenalee supplied, placing her head on his shoulder.

They stood that way for a few moments, each content in the other's arms, but then the magic was interrupted by reality.

"I guess we should try to find Lavi and the others," Allen said, knowing that they were technically still on a mission.

"Alright," Lenalee said, albeit reluctantly. She pulled away from Allen's embrace but seized him by the hand, not willing to give him the chance to pull away from her again now that she had managed to break through the wall.

As scary as the thought was, Lenalee felt that the attack by the Akuma was the best thing that could have happened to them. If not for that set of circumstances then she may have never been able to reach Allen.

And she wasn't willing to risk undoing all of the progress that the two of them had made together.

"So do you think the others are looking for us?" Lenalee asked as the two of them made their way down the path.

"I'm not sure," Allen said with a shrug. On the one hand Link was supposed to follow him no matter what but on the other hand they had been ordered to retrieve the Innocence. He wasn't sure which of these orders would prove to be higher up on his watch dog's priority list.

Not that Allen really cared all that much. He was rather enjoying this time that he was spending with Lenalee. The white haired youth had missed the contact with his friends and, out of all of those people that he had been avoiding, Allen missed speaking with Lenalee the most. It felt wonderful to be walking hand in hand with her and he wanted this moment to last as long as possible. He didn't want to return to the reality of his current situation.

"Um Lenalee..."

Lenalee turned violet eyes in his direction. "What is it Allen?"

"I just want to thank you," Allen said, his voice barely above that of a whisper and his gray eyes downcast. "I know that I acted like a jerk and yet you never gave up. Thank you for being there for me, even when I didn't want you to be."

Lenalee gave the hand that she was holding a comforting squeeze. "Always Allen."

Despite the difficulty of getting to the location of the Innocence, the little fragment actually proved to be fairly easy to obtain. They only had to fight a couple of level two Akuma to take it.

"That was a little anticlimactic," Lavi complained as he placed his hammer back in it's little case. "I'm a little disappointed." He turned his attention to Kanda and opened his mouth to speak.

"Shut up," Kanda snapped before the red haired Exorcist even had the chance to utter one syllable.

"You really need to learn to be a little nicer Yu," Lavi said, his bottom lip stuck out in a slight pout.

"Tch."

"We should retrace our steps," Link said, breaking up the argument before it escalated. "We have to find Walker."

"And Lenalee," Lavi added, shaking his head at Link's short sidedness. The man was far too dedicated to his job, which was saying something coming from the future Bookman.

The group began the journey back to the location of the battle with the Akuma, each silent and lost in their own thoughts.

For his part Lavi hoped that being alone with Lenalee had done Allen some good. He was tired of watching the white haired boy isolate himself from everyone and hoped that Lenalee had been able to make him come around.

After all, if anyone could do it, she could.

With their fast pace it didn't take long for the two groups to meet up. Lavi was the first one to spot the other two members of their groups and his green eye widened as he noticed that Allen and Lenalee were holding hands.

"I knew she could do it," he thought to himself as his ever perceptive eye picked up on the changes in Allen's appearance.

A/N - and this is the end of this little story. Lenalee finally managed to get through to Allen and now they're a couple. Hope that you enjoyed. Once again this story was requested by and is dedicated to Allen Walker the Crowned Clown.