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[likethelight]

< An.Exorcist > Aʟʟᴇɴ Wᴀʟᴋᴇʀ

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[likethelight]

[ Timcanpy is so crestfallen. Sticks are for everyone!! They make great chew toys for all toothy individuals!! He flops onto his round side next to her in dramatic woe, but it's more cuddly than anything. And Shouto isn't growing that much faster!!! And Allen will catch up! ... height-wise, at least. Mostly.

The promise of a nice dinner puts him in an even better mood for the rest of the day—and that of the desserts Shouto had made which Allen has been agonizingly curious to taste. He occasionally tries to find excuses to sidle into the kitchen and try to steal a taste... but mostly he behaves. And quickly excuses himself to wash himself earlier rather than later as he can feel the flour in his hair begin to thicken into something pasty. Even if that's cold, really cold to when they can't use the bath and there isn't actual hot water, but he doesn't feel like preparing anything fancy and is actually, being Victorian and usually poor, rather used to having to quickly wash oneself with cold water. At least it's still fresh running water and not a pitcher. But he might still drape on Shouto when he gets back in an effort to try and warm up.

When they aren't hanging the pictures, he sits by the koi and beckons Tim and Kizu over, attempting to entertain them with card tricks and sleights of hand. Tim is like an adoring small child who finds it all delightful with chattering mechanical squeaks, and for Kizu he tries disappears a card to replace it with one of her overpriced toys Shouto had been overcharged for. Shouto he'll do it for as well if he joins them, producing a coin from behind his ear with a rakishly cheeky smile, before rolling that between his red left fingers and snapping up two cards instead: ace and king of hearts. If he's entertained that's great, and if he's not Allen is undaunted and continues to play with the omens and koi, chatting happily with them. Until eventually he gets bored of that and curls up instead in the reading nook with plans of reading something he got from the archives a while back... but quickly dozing off for a while instead, especially if Shouto joined him at all. They got up very early...

Hope he's ready for Allen's rather dramatic reaction to his crème brulees though. While he cracks the caramel on top a bit cautiously, noting how it isn't burnt, the face he makes when tasting it is one of absolute shock. And he slams a hand down hard on the counter. It's good!!! Really good!!! And he says it very emphatically and like it's a really big shock, which it is!! But he'll also never tell him that or that the bar was set incredibly low after his cooking debut at the baking contest and jam debacle... Instead, he's radiantly hopeful and a little shiny-eyed when asking him if he thinks he'll try baking more things. _{Maybe he just needed to find his niche...}

He sits and watches Shouto clean the koi for a while when he does that, leaning against the tub with his chin resting on his folded forearms. Tim joins him and Kizu outright though, paddling around in the water like a yellow ducky and trying to play with whichever koi isn't currently being cleaned. He laughs when one of the koi wriggles and splashes Shouto with their tail, clearly one of the reasons why he enjoys watching. But he excuses himself after a while to go make sure everything is cleaned up and get the futon ready—and maybe have a few moments to get lost in his own thoughts and have time to himself. Timcanpy stays with Shouto and Kizu though.

It's also one of the few days where they've really been... able to take so much time to just enjoy each other's company? All six of them, for a whole day. Between Allen's commitment to Sanctuary and Shouto's work with the more open-minded and less lethal Hunters, it's hard for the time they have for themselves to sync up. Or, has been... since November Allen's tried to find ways to have what time he has for himself match up with Shouto's. And it's been the silver lining with the deep snows and his own symptoms from Dorothea's sickness that they've had a lot more of that the last few weeks.

Nice doesn't even cover it. It's the most wonderful kind of feeling he could never even describe, like his heart is full to overflowing with a deep kind of contentment that makes him feel whole. Without a haunting feeling of guilt, and that might be the most shocking of all.

When Shouto finds him he'll be standing by the mostly-made bed and just staring out one of the windows into the snowy night with a bit of an odd expression on his face. Disconnected and distracted, like he'd spaced out in the middle of putting the pillows back. He snaps out of it immediately, of course, with a gentle kind of smile that's as heartfelt as much as it's also a little bittersweet, and just asks him to bed. With a touch to the side of his head, brushing back a lock of hair in a quiet and loving manner, before taking his hand and tugging him to follow. ]

[swellter]

[ After the long day, Kizu curls up to sleep, fading into golden light to slip back into her Sleeper. He bids her goodnight and walks in on Allen looking out into space. He stops for a second, unsure what to make of it, before walking in without commenting on it.

They all have their secrets.

A thought that's set aside when Allen beckons him to bed, tugging him forward.

He follows without a second thought. ]

[likethelight]

[ They do. And part of him wonders a little at how obvious he might have seemed, and if he was he appreciates that Shouto doesn't comment on it all the more. It isn't a bad thing. He was just lost in thought and dwelling on a ghost of Christmas past.

To him, it's like saying hello to someone dear.

He is maybe a touch more sentimental and affectionate for it, or simply because of having a heart full to bursting with new happy memories. Rolling onto his side after getting into bed and they've said goodnight and just watching Shouto for a moment as Tim makes a nest in the blankets on the other side of him. Whether he's noticed first or not, he just reaches out to let his fingers graze against the side of his cheek, brushing some of his hair back. Following to trace along the outside of his ear where the pale bloodstone band is in a very quiet, appreciative kind of manner.

Just smiling when he is noticed, eyes soft and warm, and shaking his head lightly as if to say it's nothing. He just tucks a little closer to Shouto then, burying his nose into the blanket by his arm. ]

Good night, Shouto.

[ It's a final soft murmur, before he lets his eyes close to drift off. ]

[swellter]

[ Ghosts and secrets are signs of life. No one is free of them. Some are too big to bear. Others are small and easily kept. He doesn't ask which it is. Doesn't question what has him staring off into the distance on one of the longest nights of the year. He'll tell him if he needs to know.

Shouto slips into bed beside Allen, giving Tim enough room to bury himself in the covers. That, too, he doesn't question. Along with why Tim needs to eat or why he recently started to grow. He has his theories, ones he keeps to himself. In much the same vein, he doesn't question those fingers skimming across his cheek or the way they linger on his bloodstone. Allen's bloodstone. At times like this, he doesn't think it matters if he doesn't fully understand. The feeling matters, strong and vibrant despite the secrets and ghosts.

With the night growing darker and the chill seeping in, he scoops Allen into his arms in a loose embrace, radiating a gentle heat to keep the cold at bay. ]

Good night, Allen.